52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles: Cultivate a Simpler, Slower, More Love-Filled Life

by Karen Casey

The impact A Course In Miracles (ACIM) has had on Karen Casey’s life is immeasurable. First introduced to ACIM during the early stages of sobriety when she hung on to Alcoholics Anonymous like her life depended on it (and, of course, it did), she yearned for something that could quiet her near constant anxiety. ACIM has done that for her, bringing her a simpler, softer, slower, and more loving life. “Writing a book of essays about the course, suggesting how one can practice it for personal benefit, is so pleasurable. Every word I write is a constant reminder to me of how to cultivate greater peace in my own life. What could be better than that? Nothing comes to mind, frankly.”  –from the introduction 52 Ways to Live the Course In Miracles  takes readers on a journey through simple ideas and affirmations for meditation. Casey not only offers an explanation of the ideas, but also shares her own experiences with them—stumbles and all—offering proof of how helpful and practical they really are and showing that the goal isn’t perfection, but rather progress toward creating a life of love and peace.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Self Help

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2016

About the author

Karen Casey, Ph.D., has spoken on spirituality, relationships, and personal growth for more than twenty years. She is the author of twenty books devoted to the enhancement of one's personal and spiritual journey.

Her first book, Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women has sold more than three million copies. Casey is a popular public speaker on the spirituality conference circuit, and she is passionate about helping others in Twelve Step support groups where her own recovery from addiction began more than three decades ago. Cultivating Hope: Weekly Readings to Open Your Heart and Mind is her latest book.

She shares her time between her homes in Minnesota and Florida.

Reviews

[Artemisia Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

With over 2 million copies of the original 1970's book, A Course in Miracles, in the hands of those who have read or studied its concepts, there are still a fair number who have used this positive Christian based philosophy predicated on the power of love and forgiveness as part of their personal spiritual approach to living. Probably the most famous of these is Marianne Williamson who has frequently quoted "the course" in her books for many years. In 52 Ways to Live the Course in Miracles, Karen Casey credits ACIM for becoming her main spiritual guidebook as part of her AA 12 Step recovery process after becoming sober in the late 70's. Having been a "student of the course" all these years, she has created a more succinct and practical guide to the principles first described in the original 1300 page text, making this new book another positive choice for modern spiritual seekers or those just trying to find peace in a stress-filled life.

[~ laura ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book to see if I want to undertake the years-long study of a book called A Course in Miracles. I thought this would be the Cliff’s Notes version, and it was. It was exactly what I was looking for.

My favorite quotes from the book are these four:

”Be the expression of love. Be the purveyor of peace. Be the extension of kindness to everyone, all of those souls who seem so separate but are merely extensions of each of us.”

“We will get to where we need to be when we need to be there. Don’t fret. You will get the message you need on time.”

“When the thought or action isn’t loving, choose once again.”

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

I have since bought A Course in Miracles & plan to start that journey soon. 💕📚

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much repetition. Too much 'we' stuff, assuming i'm just like her instead of telling her story, or examples from her life.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very, very repetitive. Did I mention that the text is repetitive? Seriously, although the concepts are wonderful and close to my heart, the writing is so general and redundant that it became a chore to finish this book. If only the author had thought to include far more personal or second-person anecdotes to exemplify the concepts, this could have been a much stronger book. If only she had stated each concept clearly and specifically once instead of returning to many major points over and over again. Superb ideas; mediocre execution.

[Grete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This book is more of a CliffsNotes edition of the (much) more expansive "Course in Miracles." I had no idea "A Course in Miracles" was a thing. Mostly, I feel like I would have to dive into the topics more fully in this very long (1300 page) tome to really get more than just the bare bones I got out of the couple page long essays. Not bad, just very glossed over.

[Richard Natali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

I have read A Course in Miracles and I'm reading it again, and it's often difficult to get through, but Karen's book is wonderful. It's easy to read, very clear and to the point, and each chapter is a nice "bite sized" chunk. :-) I will read this book again, probably once a year, along with ACIM.

[Timothy Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've already gone through this book several times, as I couldn't make myself wait for daily readings. LOL! Guess I 'dropped the ball' on slower, but felt the speed was perfect for me. Another beautiful book!

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worked really well as a chapter-per-day read. That pace allowed time to sit with the message of each of the essays and find ways to apply some of each message to my life. I plan to re-read in a couple of years.

[John Wigglesworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book

This is an inspiring book that I find myself regularly returning to. It is wonderful to read how living the course (ACIM) has transformed Karen’s life and how she so lovingly describes how it can for the reader too.

[Martie Orzech · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Humble & Gentle Guide

Karen Casey is the best possible guide to have in learning how to live a more peaceful & loving life. A book to be treasured & savored more than once.

[Karen Briscoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiration that transforms lives! Over a course of a year one can experience miracles. Karen Briscoe, author and podcast host 5 Minute Success

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring as well as teaching a new perspective while reminding me of concepts long forgotten.

[Pia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about finding peace inside. Soft and loving. I think it opened my heart a bit. Maybe it gave me some peace? It was easy to understand and I think I want to listen to it again.

[Angelika · Rating 3 out of 5]

52 short chapters on some of the lessons and concepts of the Course in a very gentle voice.

[Terrin Marino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve begun to read A Course in Miracles and this felt like a wonderful read to open my mind up to what is in store. Glad I read it. Perspective is so powerful.

[Jessica Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, and I intend to have a lesson per week at the forefront of my mind over the next year. I've been interested in the ACIM for quite a long time, but the heaviness of the text was a bit much for my attention span thus far.

What I liked most about this was how Karen's essays showed how she learned and lived these lessons. It's not just: "Here's a principle, now do it." It's: "Here's a principle, here's how I learned it and how I handle this in my life." It makes the material so much more memorable.

And the lessons are good. Other reviewers have said it's repetitive, and I agree to an extent, especially in the beginning when approaching the middle. But I came to realize that there's two common themes to all the lessons really. One, love. Two, ego.

The one thing that made me a little "grr" about the material was the frequent reinforcement that we will struggle with the ego every day. I don't agree with this. I am certainly not perfect, but in the calmer times of my life, I don't struggle with the unkindness & judgment of the ego or have it be the norm in my mind. There are definitely periods of days where the ego is firmly jailed behind kind lovingness and does not pop up for me automatically, so I don't want everyone who reads the book to think it WILL be a DAILY struggle; it might not. Maybe that has been Karen's reality so far, but it doesn't mean it will always be yours. I think what she's really stating is that the ego is such a habit. But habits can be overcome! By anyone. So I took all of the "daily ego struggle" mentions with a large grain of salt.

I very much recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel better in life and be a better human being. <3

[Bonita Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone who practices A Course in Miracles.

[Moonshadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened To this twice! One after another. Very insightful