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A Course In Miracles (ACIM) 200 Word Glossary


A Course in Miracles is one of the most precise and most frequently misunderstood spiritual texts of the modern era. Its language is exacting, internally consistent, and uncompromising. Words that appear familiar are often used in radically different ways than in psychology, theology, or everyday speech. Over time, this can make reading ACIM feel disorienting, especially when the same term appears across the Text, Workbook, and Manual with layered nuance.


This glossary exists because guessing is not enough but memorization is not required.

This free glossary offers clear, faithful definitions of over 200 core ACIM terms, thoughtfully informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS). It is not therapy, and it does not replace the Course itself. It is designed as a companion resource for students, readers, and teachers who want to engage ACIM with accuracy, depth, and intellectual honesty, without diluting its metaphysics or flattening its meaning.


A Course in Miracles is not a text you finish. It is a text you live with. You do not need to memorize these terms You are not expected to master the language. Nothing here is meant to be studied in order or held in the mind all at once.

This is a reference — a place you return to when a word catches, confuses, or quietly tugs at you.


Think of it as a companion sitting beside you while you read. Something you can open when curiosity arises. Something you can close the moment it feels like too much.

Inside the Everything IFS Academy, we offer multiple courses exploring A Course in Miracles, non-duality, and related contemplative traditions. This glossary was created to support that broader ecosystem a shared language you can lean on as you move between teachings, perspectives, and depths of inquiry.


Some people will use this glossary occasionally. Some will return to it often. Some may simply skim it once and know it’s here when needed. All of those ways are welcome.


ACIM is a non-dual teaching expressed through dualistic language. It speaks in contrasts — fear and love, illusion and reality, ego and Spirit — not to trap the mind, but to gently undo confusion. This glossary is not here to replace your experience of the Course, but to help clear unnecessary obstacles so understanding can deepen at its own pace.


There is no rush. There is no finish line. There is only willingness and even that can be small. Use this glossary however it serves you. Set it down whenever it doesn’t.

It will be here.



What This Glossary Offers

This glossary invites you to slow down and learn the language of A Course in Miracles as it actually functions — not as it is commonly assumed or loosely paraphrased.

Inside the glossary, you’ll find:

  • Precise definitions of ACIM’s metaphysical vocabulary

  • Clear distinctions between similar or easily confused terms

  • Core identity, perception, and ego concepts explained consistently

  • Emotional, relational, and psychological language as ACIM uses it

  • Symbolic and poetic phrases clarified without over-interpretation


Throughout the glossary, insights from Internal Family Systems (IFS) help illuminate inner experience — how guilt organizes perception, how protection shows up as defense, how fear distorts meaning, and how correction restores clarity.

This approach does not replace the Course. It does not turn ACIM into psychology. It offers another lens for noticing what is already there.



How This Resource Is Different

You won’t find:

  • Loosely paraphrased or modernized definitions

  • Psychological reinterpretations of ACIM metaphysics

  • Vague or inconsistent use of key terms

You will find:

  • Language faithful to the Course’s internal logic

  • Careful distinctions that prevent conceptual drift

  • A reference designed for clarity, not simplification

Each entry is designed for slow, accurate engagement, allowing meaning to settle without distortion and understanding to deepen over time.



EXAMPLE Glossary Entries


Father’s Will / Ego’s Will

Key Authoritative ACIM Formulations

The Father’s Will is love. The ego’s will is separation.

The Father’s Will is shared. The ego’s will is private.


The Father’s Will creates. The ego’s will makes illusion.


The Father’s Will is changeless. The ego’s will fluctuates.


The Father’s Will is real. The ego’s will is illusory.

Core Course Emphasis

There is no conflict in the Father’s Will. Conflict is the ego’s will.

The Father’s Will is your true will. The ego’s will opposes truth.


Choosing the Father’s Will restores peace. Choosing the ego’s will sustains fear.


Only one will is real.

One-Line ACIM Summary

In ACIM, the Father’s Will is love and unity and is identical to your true will, while the ego’s will is the illusory belief in separation, undone as peace and salvation are accepted.



ANOTHER EXAMPLE


Attack Thoughts


Key Authoritative ACIM Formulations

Attack thoughts are the belief that harm is justified. Attack thoughts arise from guilt. Attack thoughts are the ego’s defense against love. Attack thoughts assert separation as real. Attack thoughts project blame.


Core Course Emphasis

Attack thoughts are not caused by others. Attack thoughts are not justified. Attack thoughts are learned. Attack thoughts always reflect fear.


Attack Thoughts and Forgiveness

Forgiveness undoes attack thoughts. Forgiveness releases blame. Forgiveness restores awareness of innocence. Forgiveness replaces attack with peace.


One-Line ACIM Summary

Attack thoughts are the ego’s guilt-driven belief that harm is justified, distorting perception and maintaining separation, and are undone through forgiveness, responsibility, and the acceptance of shared innocence.



GLOSSARY LAYOUT


Core Metaphysical Concepts

  • Atonement

  • Expiation

  • Salvation

  • Forgiveness

  • Holy Instant

  • Holy Relationship

  • Special Relationship

  • True Perception

  • False Perception

  • Projection

  • Extension

  • Creation

  • Miscreation

  • Separation

  • Miracle

  • Revelation

  • Vision

  • Right-Minded

  • Wrong-Minded

  • Correction

  • Error

  • Illusion

  • Reality

  • Knowledge

  • Perception

  • Time

  • Timelessness

  • Eternity

  • Infinite Mind

Identity and Selfhood

  • Christ

  • Christ Vision

  • Christ Self

  • Sonship

  • Son of God

  • Holy Son of God

  • Self

  • Self-Concept

  • Identity

  • True Self

  • False Self

  • Ego

  • Ego Mind

  • Ego Thought System

  • Decision Maker

  • Split Mind

  • Right Mind

  • Wrong Mind

  • Teacher of God

Emotional and Psychological Terms

  • Fear

  • Love

  • Guilt

  • Shame

  • Sin

  • Mistake

  • Innocence

  • Purity

  • Healing

  • Grievance

  • Attack

  • Defense

  • Sacrifice

  • Suffering

  • Vengeance

  • Anger

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Temptation

  • Joy

  • Peace

  • Gratitude

  • Grace

  • Faith

  • Willingness

  • Trust

  • Judgment

  • Condemnation

  • Denial

  • Dissociation

Spiritual Beings and Inner Guidance

  • Holy Spirit

  • Holy Spirit’s Voice

  • Comforter

  • Counselor

  • Guide

  • The Father

  • The Creator

  • Jesus

  • Elder Brother

  • Ministering Angels

  • Helpers

  • Divine Will

Relationships

  • Holy Relationship

  • Special Relationship

  • Unholy Relationship

  • Shared Interest

  • Mutuality

  • Joining

  • Communion

  • Union

  • Oneness

  • Brotherhood

Perceptual Error and Ego Mechanisms

  • Attack Thoughts

  • Projection

  • Defense

  • Sacrifice

  • Idols

  • Magic

  • Magic Thoughts

  • The Tiny Mad Idea

  • The Authority Problem

  • The Impossible Situation

  • Confusion of Levels

  • Form and Content

  • Perception of Weakness

  • Perceptual Distortion

  • Fear of Redemption

  • Fear of God

  • Fear of Love

  • The Gap

  • The Ego’s Use of Time

  • The Ego’s Plan of Salvation

Time, Space, and Miracle Mechanisms

  • Past

  • Future

  • Presence

  • Real World

  • Dream

  • Sleeping Mind

  • Waking

  • Awakening

  • Dream Figure

  • Dreamer of the Dream

  • Script

  • Holy Instant

  • Miracle Worker

  • Advanced Teacher

  • Level Confusion

  • The End of Time

Manual for Teachers Terms

  • Teacher of God

  • God’s Teachers

  • Healed Healer

  • Open Mind

  • Closed Mind

  • The Trust Ladder

  • Defenselessness

  • Honesty

  • Tolerance

  • Gentleness

  • Joy

  • Faithfulness

  • Open-Mindedness

Symbolic and Poetic Language

  • The Light in You

  • The Great Rays

  • The Lamp

  • The Altar

  • The Veil

  • The Bridge

  • The Door

  • The Inner Sanctuary

  • The Circle of Atonement

  • The Little Willingness

  • The Forgotten Song

  • The Quiet Center

  • The Stillness Within

  • The Echo of God

  • The Call for Love

  • The Answer

  • The Peace of God

ACIM Conflict Pairs

  • See and Judge

  • Forgive and Condemn

  • Give and Receive

  • Teacher and Student

  • Victim and Persecutor

  • Fear and Love

  • Illusion and Reality

  • Body and Mind

  • Form and Content

  • Self and Self

  • Father’s Will and Ego’s Will

Additional Core ACIM Terms

  • Acceptance

  • Agreement

  • Alignment

  • Authority

  • Awakening

  • Choice

  • Cause and Effect

  • Commitment

  • Communication

  • Correction of Error

  • Defense Against Truth

  • Deliverance

  • Dependency

  • Desire

  • Equality

  • Function

  • Giving

  • Guiltlessness

  • Innocence of God

  • Learning

  • Lesson

  • Mind

  • Misperception

  • Need

  • Non-Duality

  • Obedience

  • Opposition

  • Order of Difficulty

  • Peace of Mind

  • Purpose

  • Recognition

  • Reflection

  • Release

  • Responsibility

  • Return

  • Seeing Truly

  • Separation Anxiety

  • Shared Purpose

  • Stillness

  • Trust in God

  • Undoing

  • Use of Time

  • Value

  • Willingness to Learn








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