Miracles News
July-September, 2005
A Course in Harmony
The 2005 ACIM International Conference, held in April in Salt Lake City, attracted teachers and students from all over the world. They came together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the scribing of A Course in Miracles and to pay tribute to the Course itself. There was sharing in music, song, comedy, teaching lectures, questions and answers, guided meditations, interactive experiential activities and heartfelt stories of healing. It truly was a wonderful gathering.
The most powerful part of the conference, for me, was the all-inclusiveness of it. All points of view about the Course were given full expression. Currently, teachings and visions of the Course’s words and meanings are in the process of developing. Although all are sincerely held, they are not all in total agreement. Like any complex and brilliant work of art, many levels and themes are present to inspire understanding. Accessing the timeless is explained in words - how else would we read about it! Naturally, there are many theories of meaning and suggestions as to how to read, study and practice the Course’s concepts evolving now. There is a growing and wide-ranging diversity of opinions, interpretations and methods of teaching.
Some might question how we can even come to this state of affairs since the Course teaches oneness, or whether presenting varied opinions is proper. Discussion of the Course is always proper and to be encouraged. For me, it was a powerful experience to have so many teachers sharing their experiences and insights in many different ways. Respectful sharing and listening were modeled continuously. It was a delight to experience this, having been present at other types of supposedly spiritual gatherings where the focus was on controversy, exclusion and negative comparisons.
Everyone at the conference shared thier thoughts and experiences freely and honestly. The focus, both collectively and individually, was always a spirit of gratitude that the Course was offered to us and scribed for us, and that it is now studied around the world. The focus was on harmony and respect, where we agree rather than where we disagree, and overall, what we are grateful for rather than where we may be doubtful.
The conference, in short, offered something insightful and healing for everyone who attended. It was a grand opportunity to hear and learn from many of the most respected teachers of the Coruse. Because it was all-inclusive, we were one. No one was excluded from offering what they have learned. It was a powerful example of the Course at work in the world. Healing can only be found in respectful and loving sharing, and that was present in abundance at this conference.
I feel confident that future conferences will continue this path - offering all visions and viewpoints full expression, all teachers of the Course invited with the freedom to teach as they receive teaching from the One Teacher. If we cannot always understand why that may seem different in form, we can still affirm that everyone must follow holy Spirit’s Voice as they hear it, everyone hears His Voice. Let the harmony of Holy Spirit always be invited first and foremost as we go forward to the 2007 conference in San Francisco and others. The 2005 conference modeled the way.
Rev. Barbara Kraetsch is a Pathways of Light minister living in Hartford, Wisconsin.
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