Helen Schucman
Helen Schucman, Ph.D. (July 14, 1909–February 9, 1981) was a research psychologist from New York City. Raised by Jewish but non-religious parents, Schucman had always had an interest in religion. From 1958 through 1976 she was a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York.
Helen Schucman is credited as co-author of The Retarded Child from Birth to Five : A Multidisciplinary Program for the Child and Family [1]. In his book Absence from Felicity: The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles, Kenneth Wapnick claims that Helen Schucman was once asked by Mother Teresa to work with mentally handicapped children in her Indian foundation. Helen Schucman is quoted as not accepting the offer.
During her tenure at Columbia University, Schucman worked with Dr. William Thetford. During this time, Schucman worked in a collaborative venture with Dr. William Thetford in scribing A Course In Miracles (ACIM), and also with its initial edits. [1]
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 William Thetford, a colleague at Columbia, 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 Dr. Schucman and the other two primary editors, Dr. William Thetford and Dr. Kenneth Wapnick.
The text of the book "A Course in Miracles" is the product of seven years of the scribing of an inner voice by a Mrs. Helen Schucman. The spirit that channeled a "new gospel" to Mrs. Schucman claimed to be Jesus Christ. The "spirit" made contact with her to correct errors in Sacred Scripture, and the teachings of the Church. The "spirit" that channeled through Mrs. Schucman wrote that Sacred Scripture was in error in teaching us that sin separates us from God, and that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for our sins.
Schucman also scribed two supplemental ACIM pamphlets via this same process and took down a collection of inspired 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 editors, Bill Thetford and Kenneth Wapnick.
In a manner which is highly atypical for such a prolific modern American 'scribe', Schucman did not seem to turn her experiences into any significant financial advantage, nor did she cultivate personal celebrity.
In 1980 Schucman was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. After a prolonged illness, Helen Schucman died of related complications at age 71 in 1981. After Schucman's death, Wapnick started the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, the organization that copyrighted A Course in Miracles.[1]
