Course Oasis Writings

Before reading further, stop and ask yourself, “What do I want in this New Year?”

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The time was the late 1950’s; the place, New York–Columbia University’s Medical Center, to be precise. Two psychologists, Dr. Bill Thetford and Dr. Helen Schucman, were working together in a psychology department that was full of dissent, suspicion, competition, and back-biting. Although they were clear about their being meant to work together, their own relationship was filled with conflict and tension. As the years passed, they found themselves in a worsening situation, surrounded by ever-widening circles of interpersonal conflict with each other, as well as with others in their department, with other departments, and with other medical centers. (more…)

Jesus did not die for our sins; he was not punished because we are bad. A loving God would not punish any of His creations or cause them to suffer, let alone die for anyone else’s so called “sins.” Jesus died and was resurrected to demonstrate that we have not sinned; therefore, we have done nothing for which to be punished.

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Do you “teach only love”? Imagine how your life would be if you did; that is, if you demonstrated love in every aspect of your life. Luckily, we have the perfect example of someone who did exactly that–Jesus–and the most striking example of this was his crucifixion. (more…)

The question, “Who am I?”, is one that people have asked since time began. Am I just this body? Am I a spiritual being in physical form or a physical being with a spiritual side? Am I two selves, one a “lower” self and the other a “higher” self? You may be familiar with the tale that ends with the question, “Was the philosopher dreaming that he was a butterfly, or was the butterfly dreaming that he was a man?” In Who Dies? (p.29), Stephen Levine says, “If you made a list of everything you own, everything you think of as you, everything you prefer, that list would be the distance between you and the living truth….” (more…)

We have our own ideas of what miracles are, but chances are they do not include the concept that miracles are something in which you can take a course. A course, after all, is an educational program with a specific curriculum. It teaches something, and after having taken and passed it, the student has learned something new, which he or she can then apply to his or her life. (more…)

I grew up seeing Christmas as a time of sacrifice. My mother slaving over a hot stove for days preparing traditional Ukrainian dishes; hard-earned dollars stretched thin to accommodate food and drink and a child’s wish list; peace of mind given up by people rushing to meet the demands of the season and racing around shopping to meet the expectations of others; being deprived of a quiet family celebration by too much drinking and arguing. “Slaving over,” “stretched thin,” “given up,” “being deprived,” what do those words signify, if not sacrifice? What are “demands” and “expectations,” if not requests that others sacrifice to fulfill our idea of Christmas: “If you loved me, you would….” (more…)

Life can seem very complex and confusing at times, so it’s not surprising that we find it complicated and difficult to make decisions. It seems as if we have so many choices, and each of these choices has different outcomes. How do we know what the right choice is? How do we know we’ll get what we want? I’ve read recently that, overwhelmed and confused by the multiplicity of choices on grocery store shelves, shoppers tend to head right for a familiar brand and select it. No wonder we tend to stick with familiar patterns of behaviour and ways of thinking and make the same decisions over and over again. (more…)