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A Course in Miracles (ACIM) was "scribed" by Schucman between 1965 and 1972 through a process of inner dictation. She experienced the process as one of a distinct and clear dictation from an inner voice, which earlier had identified itself to her as Jesus. Her scribing of A Course in Miracles began with these words: "This is a course in miracles, please take notes."

helenken3Educater and Author Wouter Hanegraaff distinguishes Schucman's process as a type of channeling that articulates revelation, clarifying that "... in cases of inner dictation in which the medium hears a voice dictating messages, (s)he writes down [these messages] in a fully conscious state." Hanegraaff continues by specifically characterizing Schucman's case as spontaneous channeling, indicating that "...over the years the voice proved to be remarkably consistent, stopping the dictation when interrupted [by Schucman's daily activities] and continuing at the next opportunity.

 

Biography

Helen Cohn Schucman (July 14, 1909 – February 9, 1981) was an American clinical and research psychologist from New York City. She was a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York from 1958 until her retirement in 1976. Schucman is best known for having "scribed" with the help of colleague William Thetford the book A Course in Miracles (1st edition, 1975), the contents of which she claimed to have been given to her by an inner voice she identified as Jesus. However, as per her request, her role as its "writer" was not revealed to the general public until after her death.

 

Early life and education

Schucman was born Helen Dora Cohn in 1909 to Sigmund Cohn, a prosperous metallurgical chemist, and Rose Black, who had married on October 18, 1896, in Manhattan. Schucman had a brother, Adolph Cohn, who was almost 12 years her senior. Though her parents were both half-Jewish, they were non-observant. Schucman's mother Rose dabbled in Theosophy and various expressions of Christianity such as Christian Science and the Unity School of Christianity. However, it was the family housekeeper, Idabel, a Baptist, who had the deepest religious influence on Schucman while she was growing up. In 1921, when she was 12, Schucman visited Lourdes, France, where she had a spiritual experience, and in 1922 she was baptized as a Baptist. She received her B.A. from New York University (NYU), (1931–1935). Growing restless in her early forties, she returned to NYU to study psychology. She received her M.A. in 1952, followed by her Ph.D. (1952–1957).

Interview with Helen Schucman in 1976

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