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Kenneth Wapnick – Wikipedia

Kenneth Wapnick – Wikipedia

Kenneth Wapnick

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Kenneth Wapnick

Kenneth Wapnick ( born February 22, 1942 in Brooklyn , New York ; † December 27, 2013 in Temecula , California ) [1] , was an American psychologist, psychotherapist, author and teacher.

Wapnick was a close friend of Helen Schucman and William Thetford , who wrote A Course in Miracles , [2] and was instrumental in publishing the course.

Major works include The Message from A Course in Miracles (1997), Helen Schucman's biography Beyond Bliss (1991), and Love Does Not Condemn: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil According to Platonism, Christianity, Gnosticism, and A Course in Miracles (1989). [3]

With his wife Gloria, Wapnick ran the Foundation for A Course in Miracles , an academy and conference center in Temecula , California . He was a board member of the Foundation for Inner Peace, which edited the original American edition, A Course in Miracles . [4]

life [ edit | edit source ]

Kenneth Wapnick attended a Jewish elementary school and then transferred to high school. There he became interested in Freud and in music, especially Beethoven and Mozart . After graduating from high school, he majored in clinical psychology . He wrote his doctoral thesis on the Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila under the title "The Psychology of the Mystical Experience" (The Psychology of Mystical Experience) and received his doctorate in 1968. [5]

Wapnick initially worked as a psychotherapist, school psychologist and chief psychologist at a mental hospital. In 1970 he separated from his first wife. After visiting the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani in Kentucky , he was baptized a Catholic in 1972 . He gave up his job and spent a few months in various monasteries in Israel . [6]

In 1972, in New York, Wapnick met psychology professors Helen Schucman and William Thetford , who had recorded the spiritual textbook A Course in Miracles after communicating an inner voice to Schucman. [2] Schucman and Wapnick jointly edited the manuscript. [7] A Course in Miracles was published in 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, of which Wapnick was a board member. [8th]

In 1982, with his second wife Gloria, whom he married in 1981, Wapnick founded the Foundation for A Course in Miracles in Ardsley , New York . They expanded it into a training center in Crompond , New York in 1984 and opened an academy and convention center in Roscoe , New York in 1988, which became a state-approved teaching institute in 1995. Since 2001, the Foundation has been based in Temecula , California . Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick see the model of their Foundation in Plato's Academy. Her goal is to promote and deepen the understanding of A Course in Miracles and its practical application in everyday life in her lectures, seminars and publications. [9] In addition, Kenneth Wapnick oversees the translations of A Course in Miracles into non-English languages. [10]

Plant [ edit | edit source ]

Kenneth Wapnick's work dealt with the explanation and commentary of the spiritual textbook A Course in Miracles . His concern was to create a basis for a sound understanding of the thought system and the application of the course.

A Course in Miracles and Christianity [ edit | edit source ]

In his first books (esp. Forgiveness and Jesus, 1983), Wapnick bridges the Course with Christianity . [11] He shows how the course takes Christian terms to redefine them and correct traditional thinking from his point of view. He often refers to the course as a "correction of Christianity" and presents ways to reconsider New Testament statements in light of the course's teachings.

After his early creative period, Wapnick presents the Course more clearly as a spiritual path in its own right. [12] In A Course in Miracles and Christianity: A Dialogue, Wapnick and the philosopher and Jesuit Father Norris Clarke jointly demonstrate that the Course and the Bible are mutually exclusive theologies are that cannot be integrated into a system.

Presentation of the course and its contribution [ edit | edit source ]

With The Message of A Course in Miracles (1997), Wapnick provides a comprehensive systematic account of the course and its key messages. He states that the course presents his nondual system of thought on two levels: 

  • The first, metaphysical level distinguishes the spiritual reality of heaven from the illusory world of perception. 
  • The second, practical level remains in the perceptible world and distinguishes two modes of interpretation of what is perceived: the judgment of the ego and the forgiveness of the Holy Spirit.

Wapnick shows that the course adds a major new thought to nondual metaphysics from the Advaita Vedanta tradition: a motivation for the apparent emergence of the physical universe and the perceptible world - the desire for individual existence without assuming responsibility for it.

According to Wapnick, the psychology of the course rests essentially on the earlier work of Sigmund Freud . According to Wapnick, the course also offers a way out of ego thinking. According to him, the course completes Freud's portrait of the human psyche by emphasizing the human choice to identify with the ego's thought system of guilt , fear , and attack as a defense against the Holy Spirit 's choice of thought system of forgiveness, healing , and peace . With his doctrine of forgiveness Wapnick's course provides a method that makes ego thinking conscious through non-judgmental viewing and enables one to make a different decision that goes beyond ego thinking. [13]

In The Illusion of Time (1990), Wapnick elaborates on Course's holographic , nonlinear theory of time. The book series The Practice of A Course in Miracles is dedicated to the practical application of the 'Course' in everyday life.

Biography of Helen Schucman [ edit | edit source ]

Wapnick is the author of a biography of Helen Schucman ( Beyond Bliss, 1991). He describes her visionary experiences, her relationship with William Thetford and the story of the writing of A Course in Miracles , and traces the ambivalent relationship Schucman had with God and Jesus.

Classification of the course [ Edit | edit source ]

Wapnick's work demonstrates the parallels in the history of ideas and the essential differences of the course, in particular to Christianity , Plato , Neoplatonism and philosophical idealism , Gnosticism , Hinduism , Buddhism , Freud's psychoanalytic theory and more recent currents such as the New Age . In this way, Wapnick allows the course to be placed within the philosophical and spiritual thought systems of the world.

In Love Does Not Condemn: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil According to Platonism, Christianity, Gnosticism, and A Course in Miracles (1989), Wapnick shows how A Course in Miracles solves the theodicy 's theological-philosophical problem : the question how an imperfect material world in which evil and suffering are evidently omnipresent can come from a perfect immaterial omnipotent omnipotent God. 

According to Wapnick's argument, any theology or philosophy that begins with the premise that the visible world is in some way the manifestation of God's will, inevitably fall into the paradoxical trap of locating within the almighty, all-good God an inherent vulnerability that contains a tendency toward evil, suffering, and death, or at least, according to the traditional Christian theological position, a will that allows it. Therefore, any school of thought that regards this world as ontologically real faces an insoluble dilemma. 

Some 2nd-century Gnostic schools , most notably the Valentinian , considered a real world of misery to be incompatible with a loving God, and therefore viewed the material world as an illusion, but gave it psychological reality by declaring it a den of sin. According to Wapnick, A Course in Miracles solves the paradox by presenting his system of thought on two levels [14] . The Course views the physical world as an illusion but not as inherently negative. Rather, if we give it that purpose for us, it serves as a “royal road to heaven,” [15] a valuable school in which to learn forgiveness with the help of the Holy Spirit. [16]

Second edition of the course and concordance [ edit | edit source ]

In addition to his own publications, Wapnick edited the 2nd edition of A Course in Miracles (1992), which contains a sentence count for the first time. He directed the preparation of the Concordance to A Course in Miracles , modeled on the concordances on the Bible and the works of Shakespeare .

Overall, Wapnick has published more than 20 books on A Course in Miracles (as of 2006). Translations have appeared in eight languages.

See also [ Edit | edit source ]

Works in chronological order [ edit | edit source ]

  • Books (selection)
    • 1982 Glossary Index for A Course in Miracles . ISBN 0-933291-03-5 , 349 pages.
    • 1983 A Talk Given on A Course in Miracles: An Introduction. ISBN 0-933291-16-7, 131 Seiten.
    • 1983 Forgiveness and Jesus: The Meeting Place of A Course in Miracles and Christianity. ISBN 0-933291-13-2, 389 Seiten.
    • 1989 Love Does Not Condemn: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil According to Platonism, Christianity, Gnosticism, and A Course in Miracles. ISBN 0-933291-07-8, 614 Seiten.
    • 1990 A Vast Illusion: Time According to A Course in Miracles. ISBN 0-933291-09-4, 344 Seiten.
    • 1991 Absence From Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles. ISBN 0-933291-08-6, 498 Seiten.
    • 1995 A Course in Miracles and Christianity: A Dialogue. Mit Norris Clarke. ISBN 0-933291-18-3, 108 Seiten.
    • 1995 The Most Commonly Asked Questions About A Course in Miracles. Mit Gloria Wapnick. ISBN 0-933291-21-3, 113 Seiten.
    • 1997 The Message of A Course in Miracles . In 2 volumes. ISBN 0-933291-25-6 , 614 pages.
    • 2000 The Journey Home: „The Obstacles to Peace“ in A Course in Miracles. ISBN 0-933291-24-8, 510 Seiten.
    • 2004 Ending Our Resistance to Love: The Practice of A Course in Miracles. ISBN 1-59142-132-2, 94 Seiten.
    • 2004 Life, Death, and Love: Shakespeare’s Great Tragedies and A Course in Miracles. ISBN 1-59142-142-X, 380 Seiten.
    • 2005 Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles: The Study and Practice of the 365 Lessons. ISBN 1-59142-206-X, in 8 Bänden.
    • 2006 The Arch of Forgiveness: The Practice of A Course in Miracles. ISBN 1-59142-210-8, 103 Seiten.
  • Books in German translation (selection)
    • Glossary of A Course in Miracles . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 1995, ISBN 3-923662-35-1
    • Introduction to A Course in Miracles . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 1993, ISBN 3-923662-33-5
    • Forgiveness and Jesus . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 1997, ISBN 3-923662-42-4
    • The Illusion of Time . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 2002, ISBN 3-923662-57-2
    • Beyond Bliss: The Life of Helen Schucman and the Writing of A Course in Miracles . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 1999, ISBN 3-923662-49-1
    • A Course in Miracles and Christianity . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 2001, ISBN 3-923662-56-4
    • Heaven Has No Opposite: The Most Important Questions on A Course in Miracles . With Gloria Wapnick. Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 1996, ISBN 3-923662-37-8
    • The Message of A Course in Miracles . Greuthof, Gutach i. Br. 2000, ISBN 3-923662-55-6
  • Article (selection)
    • Mysticism and Schizophrenia. In: Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (ISSN 0022-524X), Vol. 1, No. 2, 1969, S. 49–68, Synopsis
    • Forgiveness: A Spiritual Psychotherapy. In: The Psychotherapy Patient (ISSN 0738-6176), Vol. 1, Issue 3, Spring 1985, S. 47–53
    • A Simple, Clear, and Direct Course (mit Gloria Wapnick). In: The Lighthouse (ISSN 1060-4987), Vol. 4, No. 4, Dec. 1993, facim.org
    • The World as the Royal Road to Heaven. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 7, No. 2, June 1996, facim.org
    • Being Kind. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 8, No. 2, June 1997, facim.org
    • Resistance (mit Gloria Wapnick). In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 10, No. 2, June 1999, facim.org
    • The Diver (mit Gloria Wapnick). In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 10, No. 3, Sep. 1999, facim.org
    • The Process of Awakening: Looking at Our Hatred (mit Gloria Wapnick). In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2000, facim.org
    • The Significance of A Course in Miracles as a Spiritual Path. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 2002, facim.org
    • How to Approach A Course in Miracles: Transcending the I. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 13, No. 3, Sep. 2002, facim.org
    • A Course in Miracles: A Still, Small Hope. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 2004, facim.org
    • A Porträt of a Course in Miracles Student as an Artist. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 16, No. 1, March 2005, facim.org
    • Gentle Means and Easy Tasks. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 16, No. 2, June 2005, facim.org
    • The World of 2 + 2 = 5. In: The Lighthouse, Vol. 17, No. 2, June 2006, facim.org
  • Article in German translation (selection)
    • An uncompromising course (with Gloria Wapnick), in: Lichtblick (Greuthof, Gutach i.Br., ISSN  1431-9047 ), No. 1, 1996
    • Of the Need for Gentle Vigilance , in: Lichtblick , No. 3, 1998
    • Resistance (with Gloria Wapnick), in: Lichtblick , No. 5, 2000
    • Goodness in Everyday Life (with Gloria Wapnick), in: Lichtblick , No. 6, 2001
    • Jesus, the companion on our journey , in: Lichtblick , No. 7, 2002
    • Learning the Course – Transcending the I , in: Lichtblick , No. 8, 2003
    • The Importance of A Course in Miracles as a Spiritual Path , in: Lichtblick , No. 9, 2004

Other sources [ edit | edit source ]

  • Interview with Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick conducted by Ian Patrick in English in Roscoe, September 1998, miraclestudies.net
  • Interview with Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick conducted by Corinne Edwards in English in December 1995 in Chicago. 1 video DVD. Foundation for A Course in Miracles, 1996.
  • D Patrick Miller: The Complete Story of the Course . Fearless Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9656809-0-8 (journalistic report on the creation and distribution of the course)
  • Robert Skutch: Journey Without Distance: The Story Behind A Course in Miracles. Foundation for Inner Peace: Mill Valley, 1996, ISBN 1-883360-02-1 (Entstehungsgeschichte des Kurses)

Web Links [ Edit | edit source ]

References and Notes [ Edit | edit source ]

  1. ↑ Foundation of A Course in Miracle, accessed January 3, 2014
  2. ↑ Jump up to:a b For the history of the writing of A Course in Miracles, see Wapnick: Beyond Bliss .
  3. ↑ Wapnick's work includes a total of more than 20 books on A Course in Miracles , 50 specialist articles and 100 multimedia publications (as of 2006).
  4. ↑ A Course in Miracles, ISBN 0-9606388-9-X.
  5. ↑ Wapnick: Forgiveness and Jesus , p. 15. ff.
  6. ↑ Wapnick: Forgiveness and Jesus, p. 19 ff.
  7. ↑ Kenneth Wapnick: Beyond Bliss, p. 395 ff.
  8. ↑ Original American edition: A Course in Miracles, ISBN 0-9606388-9-X .
  9. ↑ See the Foundation for A Course in Miracles home page, facim.org/about ( memento of 21 August 2006 at the Internet Archive ) and facim.org/vision ( memento of 1 September 2006 at the Internet Archive ), as well as Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick's article On Plato, Jesus, and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, in: The Lighthouse ( ISSN  1060-4987 ), Vol. 3 Sep 1992, facim.org ( Memento of 1 September 2006 at the Internet Archive ).
  10. ↑ Currently (2006) editions are published in 15 languages.
  11. ↑ Forgiveness and Jesus , p. 11.
  12. ↑ Cf. Wapnick's foreword to the German edition of Forgiveness and Jesus , p. 11 ff.
  13. ↑ Wapnick, The Significance of A Course in Miracles as a Spiritual Path, in: The Lighthouse (ISSN 1060-4987), Vol. 13, No. 2, Juni 2002, S. 1–5, facim.org (Memento vom 20. September 2006 im Internet Archive).
  14. ↑ See above or in more detail in Wapnick, Glossary on A Course in Miracles , p. 13 ff.
  15. ↑ Wapnick, The World as the Royal Road to Heaven. In: The Lighthouse (ISSN 1060-4987), Vol. 7, No. 2, June 1996, facim.org (Memento vom 2. September 2006 im Internet Archive).
  16. ↑ Siehe z. B. S. 4–7.
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