Ken Wapnick edited A Course in Miracles, working closely with Bill Thetford and Helen Schucman, eventually growing particularly close to Schucman. Ken often suggested that Helen was the first student of the course and he its first teacher; this chutzpah was characteristic of both his learning and teaching. Later, Wapnick became a primary course teacher and translator, effectively overseeing the public transmission of the ACIM material unto the world. Wapnick’s influence on A Course in Miracles, especially its cultural aspects and community, is hard to underestimate. His emphasis was always on understanding the underlying metaphysics and being faithful to them as the most effective way to meaningfully practice the course. This insistence often placed Ken in conflict with other course teachers and students. His fidelity to the course is unquestioned; his public handling of the material always reflected his ongoing learning process. He is, like Helen and Bill, and all the other folks associated with A Course in Miracles, especially in its early days, our equal. One can be grateful for Ken’s work – and should be – but also recognize the way in which it reflected a site of learning to undo our shared guilt.
Related Posts: On Ken Wapnick, Choosing an ACIM Teacher, Fear and Love and Teachers of A Course in Miracles