Ask: Would you comment on the passing of Ken Wapnick?

“Please would you consider sometime commenting in your blog to the passing last week (December 27) of Kenneth Wapnick.  You never commented on those individuals who helped transmit the Course and I know that you exclusively used the UR text that was in the public domain.  But I would love to know how you would estimate the contributions of someone like Dr. Wapnick to bringing ACIM into the culture.  He and Helen worked side by side to refine the text and then the workbook before it was ready to be made public.  He devoted 40 years of his life to ACIM...” - SS (January 10, 2014)

            Someone told me that at the Foundation for Inner Peace website in reference to Dr. Kenneth Wapnick’s passing they quoted from A Course in Miracles: “There is no death. The Son of God is free.” What more is there to say? I am certain that Dr. Wapnick would not want anyone dwelling on “Ken” and would rather that you turned inward and remembered your Reality in Truth.
            I did not know or study the teachings of Kenneth Wapnick so I do not have any personal feelings about his passing. I had heard that he was ill, and he was in his 70s, so I was not surprised.
            As for estimating his contributions to the culture: If I want to get into my personal story I would certainly be grateful to Helen and Bill and Ken for bringing ACIM into the world. But I really don’t live in a story for the world anymore. Individual people and events no longer stand out to me. So the relative worth of an individual or event over others has no meaning to me. It is all the same and has become rather flattened out. It is all equally unreal. So anything I would say would feel inauthentic and made up to me.
I’m sorry if what you want is a eulogy of Ken Wapnick from me. But the reason I did not write one last week (the week after his passing) is that I honestly have nothing to say.
But it seems like you may have some strong feelings about Dr. Wapnick’s work and passing. Perhaps there is some ACIM venue online (blog, community, etc.) where you can express them.
(By the way, I used the first and second published editions when I studied ACIM. And for my translation of it into plain language I used the first published edition, which is in the public domain).

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Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

Christine said…
This makes sense. When the Course was first presented to me 13 years ago, I read everything I could that had anything to do with Helen and Ken Wapnick, Gloria, etc...my sister and I even flew out to Temecula for a class. I had listened to so many tapes and cd's of him at first...I remember his stating a number of times that he, as Ken Wapnick, was "unimportant", and to remember the message of the Course...don't 'worship' the person or the 'filter' through which the information comes (paraphrasing). I loved his Woody Allen-like sense of humor! If we get caught up in thinking the 'message dies with the messenger', then we are making someone special and more significantly "separate" from us all over again. I am still sad - but he reminded us to "act normal" in the world!
6:05 AM
will said…
Liz has 30 years with the Course this year. Well Done.
8:07 AM
Anonymous said…
"I really don’t live in a story for the world anymore. Individual people and events no longer stand out to me"

Right on ;-)
6:20 AM
Henry said…
What did Ken die of? I have a reason why I’m asking.
9:11 PM
ACIM Mentor said…
I believe it was cancer of some kind, but I'm not certain. You may ask FACIM. They'll know.
9:50 PM
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