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Page 168
to discuss it, practice it, and to earn a Ph.D. in the field of health research so as to be able to teach, study, and write about it.
An important part of my education has been the study of A Course in Miracles. It is a nonsectarian course in mind-training, which teaches about becoming aware of our connected nature. It gave me a perspective for my "mystical" experiences and my newfound healing abilities. The main focus of the course is to show people how their present experiences are profoundly affected by their past perceptions and fears. It teaches that we can have more peace in our lives, and more satisfying relationships with others, by changing our mind. The teachings deal with universal spiritual themes, but clearly state that they comprise only one form of the many spiritual pathways to inner peace that are taught throughout the world. 27
A Course in Miracles states that the teachings of different religions will always engender controversy, because all terms of language vary in their interpretation, and beliefs are subject to doubt. Therefore, it says, "A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary."28 In his book An Introduction to the Course in Miracles, Robert Perry says that the teachings undoubtedly have something to offend almost everyone:
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For a secular age, it is too spiritual. For those into alternative spirituality, it is too Christian. For Christians, it is too Eastern. For those into self-help, it is too emphatic about helping others and being helped by God. And for all of us, it presents deep, seemingly insurmountable challenges to our ego.29
The late psychiatrist Dr. Viktor Frankl, a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau, explains in his powerful classic, Man's Search for Meaning, how he discovered his power to choose the attitude he wanted to have as he went through his life, after losing his father, mother, brother, and wife in the Nazi death camps.30 His summary of how to find meaning rather than resentment from suffering is similar to the lessons of ACIM that have been so meaningful to me:

 
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