The Gifts of God Prose Poem was the last of dictated messages to Helen Schucman from Jesus. It is contained at the end of a collection of poetry by Helen, also called by the same title,
The Gifts of God.
The year was 1978. The Course had already been taken down by Helen Schucman and was published. The two Course pamphlets (Psychotherapy & Song of Prayer) were also already scribed, between 1975 and 1977.
It was a cold, snowy February weekend in New York City… and Ken Wapnick was scheduled to head out of the Big Apple on a train for a couple days, to a Catholic center (about 30 miles north) to do some counseling work. Helen was terrified that Ken would be hurt, or worse, in an impending snowstorm. She had already talked him out of going the previous weekend for the same reason, and Ken dutifully said that this time he had to go, and he did. Helen had herself so worked-up about it, that her conscious fear became over-the-top and out of control. Later, by 3am in the middle of the night, she decided to finally talk to Jesus about it.
What then developed, over a three month period thru April of ’78, were Jesus messages to help her walk thru… not the distracting conscious fear about Ken’s safety, but the real underlying fear (hers and ours) of simply letting go of separation and being with Jesus. These messages were collectively put together in what today is known as the Gifts of God Prose Poem.
The best description of this process, and a great discussion by Ken Wapnick on the contents of this piece, is Ken’s ten CD set/MP3 download:
“The Gift of the Ego (Fear) vs The Gift of God (Love)”
The Gifts of God Prose Poem contains five sections (on 14 pages):
- The Dream of Fear
- The Two Gifts
- The Ending of The Dream
- Our Gift to God
- The Father’s Love
The Prose Poem is a beautifully written synopsis of the entire Course, with all its verses in Shakespearean iambic pentameter. For best understanding, it is recommended and helpful to have some clear previous study of the Course’s basic metaphysics, prior to reading and applying the poem’s teachings to our lives.
However The Gifts of God Prose Poem is an insightful capstone to the Course itself, and resonates with all Course students as an incredible addendum that wonderfully crowns A Course in Miracles.
Also, for a complete discussion of the entire Prose Poem by the School for ACIM, visit the SFACIM’s replay series on this amazing literary work of art…
and the expression of Jesus’ love for us in it:
click here