The Tone of the Course's Voice

Do you feel attacked or loved by the Course?

When I was first a student of the Course I thought the tone of the books was often lofty, distant, even cold and hard. Oh, yes, there were beautiful passages, but they were offset by this other severe tone. It was as though the Course had a split personality! But because I sensed the Truth was contained in the Course, I felt compelled to keep studying.

Well, guess what? As I’ve developed trust in the Holy Spirit the tone of the Course has changed. When it isn’t neutral, it is simply loving. It is not lofty and distant, but direct and matter-of-fact. It’s all beautiful. It turns out I was the one with the split personality and I was projecting my own tone onto the Course all along!

Sometimes in my study group a student would respond as though a passage was attacking them. They would say things like, “The Course sounds angry here”, or “Why is it talking down to me? I already know this!” I would have to tell them they were reading anger or condescension into it and they would look at me dubiously. Trust me -- the tone of the Course is coming from you and you can chart your own progress by whether you feel attacked or loved by the message of the Course.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Why do you think that The Course uses iambic pentameter? I understand that Helen S. liked Shakespeare. I was just wondering if anyone had any other thoughts on this.
7:10 PM
ACIM Mentor said…
Yes, Helen Shucman liked Shakespeare and loved iambic pentameter. It took Helen at least 5 chapters to be able to hear the Course clearly and to let it flow through her without interference. I think the Course is in iambic pentameter specifically because she loved that form.
8:10 PM
Carrie Genevachild said…
Right from the get go, I loved the blunt and direct language of the Author.
4:00 PM
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