| Helen Schucman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Helen Cohn July 14, 1909 |
| Died | February 9, 1981 (aged 71) |
| Residence | New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Professor of medical psychology, Columbia University |
| Known for | A Course In Miracles (ACIM) |
Helen Schucman (July 14, 1909 – February 9, 1981) was an American clinical and research psychologist from New York City. She was a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York from 1958 until her retirement in 1976. Schucman is best known for having "scribed" with the help of colleague William Thetford the book A Course in Miracles (1975), the contents of which she claimed to have been given to her by an inner voice she identified as Jesus. However, her role as its "writer" was not revealed, as per her request, until her death.[1]
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Schucman was born Helen Cohn in 1909 to Sigmund and Rose Cohn. She had a brother, Adolph, who was 14 years her senior. Though Schucman's parents were both half-Jewish, they were non-observant while her mother dabbled in various expressions of Christianity. However, it was the family maid and governess, Georgia, a Baptist, who was Schucman's deepest religious influence while growing up. At age 12, Schucman visited Lourdes, France, in 1921, where she had a spiritual experience and the following year she was baptized as a Baptist.[2] She received her B.A. from New York University (NYU), (1931–1935), where she met fellow student Louis Schucman in 1932 and whom she married in 1935. Louis owned a bookstore and during the early years of their marriage Schucman worked at the store. Growing restless in her early forties, Schucman returned to NYU to study psychology where she received her M.A. in 1952, followed by her Ph.D. (1952–1957).[1][3]
Schucman was a clinical and research psychologist, who held the tenured position of Associate Professor of Medical Psychology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. During her tenure at Columbia University, Schucman worked with William Thetford, whom she first met in early 1958.
A Course in Miracles (ACIM) was "scribed" by Schucman between 1965 and 1972 through a process of inner dictation.[4] She experienced the process as one of a distinct and clear dictation from an inner voice, which earlier had identified itself to her as Jesus.[5] Schucman's scribing of A Course in Miracles began with these words: "This is a course in miracles, please take notes."[6]
Wouter Hanegraaf distinguishes Shucman's process as a type of channeling that articulates revelation, clarifying that "... in cases of inner dictation in which the medium hears a voice dictating messages, (s)he writes down [these messages] in a fully conscious state." Hanegraaf continues by specifically characterizing Shucman's case as spontaneous channeling, indicating that "...[o]ver the years the voice proved to be remarkably consistent, stopping the dictation when interrupted [by Shucman's daily activities] and continuing at the next opportunity."[7] Hanegraff also references specific dialogue between Shucman and Thetford citing author Robert Skutch,[8] among other authors, including Kenneth Wapnick, whom Hanegraaf indicates as a "good" source for complete discussion on this subject.
During this time, Schucman worked in a collaborative venture with William Thetford in scribing A Course In Miracles (ACIM) and also with its initial edits.[6] The main transcription process took seven years, from 1965 through 1972, during which time she would take down the notes in shorthand, then each day read back these notes to Thetford, who would type them out while she read them. After all the ACIM material had been initially transcribed it was then edited for publication by Schucman and the other two primary editors, Thetford and Kenneth Wapnick.
Schucman also wrote two supplemental ACIM pamphlets[9] by the same process as well as a collection of poetry later published as The Gifts of God. Following the transcription and editing, Schucman began to reduce the level of her direct involvement in the ACIM related effort and was never as heavily involved with teaching or popularizing the material as were its editors, Bill Thetford and Kenneth Wapnick.
In 1980 Schucman was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. After a prolonged illness, she died of related complications at age 71 in 1981. Her name as the writer of ACIM was revealed only after her death, and later a collection of her poems, The Gifts of God, was published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.[1]
Absence from Felicity: the story of Helen Schucman and her scribing of "A Course in Miracles" is the only biography of Schucman. It was written by her longtime friend Kenneth Wapnick. After Schucman's death, Wapnick founded the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, the organization that holds the copyright to A Course In Miracles.
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