This is an essential and often misunderstood topic within our A Course in Miracles community. Because of its importance, I approach this research with the utmost seriousness. For the past 15 years, I have been guided by Jesus to connect with every individual who has played a role in bringing A Course in Miracles to the world. My journey has included access to historical documents that were previously hidden, as well as hidden books and court papers that reveal critical facts.
Through years of dedicated exploration of the literature and interviews with key figures, I was inspired to write a book and produce a documentary detailing this incredible story. For more details on the history of A Course in Miracles, you can find additional resources found here.
What is A Course in Miracles?
A Course in Miracles is the result of a collaboration between two Columbia University psychologists: Dr. William T. Thetford and his colleague, Dr. Helen Schucman. Bill was the head of the pre-doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and also served as Associate Professor of Medical Psychology. In 1958, he hired Helen as his research assistant. 
After seven years of working together, they managed to bring some organization to their department. However, both still experienced significant turmoil. One day, Dr. Thetford exclaimed, “There has got to be a better way of doing this.” To his surprise, Helen jumped up and responded, “You are absolutely right, Bill, and I will help you find it.”
Over the next seven years, Helen and Bill collaborated on scribing A Course in Miracles. By 1973, the first edition, then called the Hugh Lynn Cayce version (now often referred to as the Sparkly Edition), was completed. This manuscript was later heavily edited and republished as the official “Blue Book,” also known as the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) Edition. For two decades, this was the only version available. In the late 1990s, however, the earlier editions (Hugh Lynn Cayce, URText, and Helen’s Notes) were rediscovered in two U.S. libraries.
When these earlier editions came to light, it became evident that substantial editing had been done to the original material. It was through what many consider miracles and cooperation that the “hidden material” was revealed, ensuring that everything given through Helen and Bill became accessible to the world.
Content vs. Form: Understanding the Differences
The content of A Course in Miracles remains consistent across all versions. What changes is the form. The further a version is from the Original Dictation (URText), the more editing and errors it contains. While these errors do not fundamentally diminish the message, they can influence how the material is perceived, learned, and understood. For some, these variations in form can have a significant impact on their experience with the Course.
A Personal Approach to Study
Personally, I study from the Sparkly Edition and frequently reference the Circle of Atonement Edition. My husband, Tom, has exclusively studied from the Foundation for Inner Peace Edition. I encourage everyone to use whichever version resonates with them, and to look to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as their inner teachers and guides for truly understanding and experiencing the Course, no matter which edition they choose.
Understanding the Different Versions of A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a profound spiritual text that has inspired countless seekers on their journey to awakening. Since its scribing by Dr. Helen Schucman and Dr. Bill Thetford between 1965 and 1972, ACIM has undergone various edits and revisions, resulting in several versions available today. Understanding these versions can help you choose the one most aligned with your spiritual path. Here is an overview of the key editions. I will provide you with a brief overview of the different editions here:
The Different Editions of A Course in Miracles are:
These are the original handwritten shorthand notebooks in which Helen Schucman recorded her inner dictations, which she believed came from Jesus. These notes contain deeply personal dialogues and guidance that was given to Helen and her colleague, Bill Thetford from Jesus. Jesus also gives Helen many instructions about the Course and her personal life, as she was learning how to do the Course as Jesus asked her to do. The things Jesus talked about and the answers He gave to her, are also helpful for us to hear and learn from.
You can purchase a copy of the Notes, here
The URText is a transcription of Helen’s Notes and represents an early manuscript of ACIM. It includes personal conversations and teachings that were later edited out, such as detailed discussions on psychology and sexuality. The URText was not made public until 2000 and remains an unpolished yet comprehensive resource for those interested in the original dictations.The URtext is the original version of A Course in Miracles. Helens notebook (The Notes) is where she would write what she heard Jesus say, and every morning she would read what she wrote to Bill Thetford to type up. After 7 years, when this document was finished being scribed and typed up, it became known as The UR Text, the Original Edition.
This version includes the textbook, workbook for students, manual for teachers, Use of Terms, Psychotherapy Pamphlet, Song of Prayer and Gifts of God. It is in its raw form and has not been edited for easy reading/study.
The UR Text was hidden and completely unknown to the world until it was discovered in June of 2000 in the A.R.E library and made it onto the internet by Doug Thompson in August of 2000 through Miracle Action Press. It includes conversations between Helen and Jesus and discusses sex, politics, psychology, the world, it includes Soul, and the proper use of extension/projection; as well as includes many other things that are helpful to students to know.
In 1972, Helen and Bill worked on editing the URText to remove personal references and streamline the material as per Jesus’s instructions. They were told, in Helens Notes, that Bill was “responsible for what stays in and is taken out of the Course”. Bill was told to make sure the Course is generalizable and anything too personal to be taken out of the Course proper. Bill followed this guidance, and led the editing of this edition alongside Helen.
This manuscript, named after Edgar Cayce’s son Hugh Lynn Cayce (who reviewed it), served as a precursor to the widely known published versions. While less personal than the URText, the HLC version is still not the most commonly used edition as it was also hidden from the public until the early 2000’s.
This version is also called the Sparkly edition and was brought to the world through a series of miraculous collaborations.
You can order a copy of this edition for free (pay only for shipping) here.
This is the edition most widely know at this time. It has been translated into 27 languages and is carried in most major bookstores around the world.
Its the blue book published by the Foundation for Inner Peace. Ken Wapnick and Helen Schucman are the editors of this version. Like many people, Dr.Wapnick was given a copy of the Course to review grammar and paragraph headings.
Wapnick suggested further editing and Helen agreed.
Ken looked at A Course in Miracles through the eyes of an intellectual who wanted to live a monastic life. The Foundation for Inner Peace has 45,000 words less then the UR Text (Original Edition) and has many references changed completely, such as when Jesus used “man” as in “mankind” it was taken out and replaced with “you”. This happened over 295 times. The use of and reference to us as ‘Soul is also edited out of this version.
I am grateful that the version of this course carries with it an A Course in Miracles legacy and story. It has been made available to so many for so many years, and that’s a gift. You can learn more at the Foundation for Inner Peace Website.
This edition was published by the Course in Miracles Society in 2000, and was first edited from the HLC* version and is now cross-references with ‘the Notes’ and Ur Text. It is often listed as the “original edition” or “Jesus’ edition” or the “one with the pearls”. I love how it has the “Entitled to Miracles” ACIM lesson on the back of the book. Here is some information, taken from the CIMS website:
“An organization formed named Course In Miracles Society (CIMS) and they published the HLC and titled it Jesus’ Course In Miracles (JCIM) in 2000. The words “A Course In Miracles” were controlled as a legal service mark at that time, so they couldn’t be used. Tom Whitmore is the president of CIMS, and one of its founders. CIMS was legally blocked from distributing the book shortly after it was released, but they eventually were able to legally distribute after FIP lost the primary copyright by a decision of the United States District Court in 2003 by Judge Sweet. The official court order, declaring the original copyright null and void, happened in 2004 and CIMS started redistributing JCIM shortly after in 2004. When CIMS published again in 2006, it added a Workbook and a Manual it took from the Urtext version to it’s JCIM and titled the new edition, A Course In Miracles Original Edition. “
The Thetford Edition (Sparkly) is published through the Borderland Inc. This version is the Text from the HLC* version that was found in the ARE (Association of Research and Enlightenment) Library in 1999, combined with the nearly untouched Workbook and Manual from the URText to make the “Sparkly/Sparkle/ Thetford Edition” of A Course in Miracles.
This is the version I currently use and love.
✔️It has Soul reinstated
✔️ The use of “humanity, man, us, we” is put back in (they were all changed to “you” in FIP)
✔️Proper and simple type setting.
✔️All 40,000 words that were taken out from the first 8 chapters from the Text are reinstated.
Ted Poppe was the original publisher of this version, and now as of 2022- a group of us called “The Borderland Inc” are responsible for its printing and distribution. We currently have a print in the process and should be ready to ship by Fall 2022.
Ted has shared his personal stories with me about his revelatory experience, whereby he was taught who he is and what his life is for in a very intimate and direct way inside his mind. This happened before he was given the physical A Course in Miracles to study. He said he was told by Jesus at this time that he would receive directions as to what to do with his life. A few weeks later some one gave him the A Course in Miracles for the first time and he knew that it came as the answer to what Jesus had promised him. After working with ACIM very very closely for three months and after learning how to HEAR Jesus teach him, he found out there were other words and content NOT included in the book. When he asked Jesus about that, Jesus said, “Don’t worry, all the material will be made available to you.” After which, Ted was one day sitting on his deck in Australia and a box arrived with all the notes Helen had received from Jesus over those 7 years in dictating ACIM, along with the UR text and the HLC version. Ted was given the WHOLE picture of the process Helen and Bill went through, and he knew at that point that part of his function was to bring forward this new version of A Course in Miracles and make it Open Source and freely available to all people. Five other people were given guidance completely independent from each other, on the same day, to put the SPARKLY together. And so they did in 2002. It just so happened that Ken Wapnick heard about this, and him along with the Foundation for Inner Peace and Penguin Publishing brought a lawsuit against Ted and the Endeavor Academy for copyright violation of A Course in Miracles. The judge ended up siding with Ted and the Academy. It was shown that Judy Skutch and others had given away free copies of ACIM before it was copyrighted. This threw out the copy-right claims and all of the material was made open-source. That is how Sparkly was born.
- Watch this video “What is different about the Sparkly Version?”
- *Annie Liley (President of the Borderland Inc, Publisher of Sparkly) and I are going through reading Sparkly and Foundation for Inner Peace versions side-by-side to show the substantial changes and editing that was done to the Text. Watch our video series here.
This edition is based on the handwritten Notes of Helen Schucman. It has taken a commitment of over 10 years by Robert Perry and the Circle of Atonement team to complete. Currently Robert Perry, Emily Bennington and others are bringing this version of ACIM to Course students every where through their Community of Course Companions. This CE version includes the Text, Workbook and Teachers Manual…. along with Cameo’s of some important Notes from Helen, as well as Robert’s words, insights and bible references throughout in citations.
When one takes a look at the UR Text, we can see that the UR Text was edited, but not always referenced against the notes. So this CE version is very refreshing as it appears to be following the guidance Jesus lays out in the Notes for how the book should be edited. I personally love this version and find the footnotes helpful to reference.
You can learn more about and buy the CE version here.
If you have any further questions or comments about these edition, do not hesitate to ask me in the comments below.
You can also watch this full and detailed video I made on the different editions.