You Establish the Amount of Your Tuition

Participation in The Miracles Course requires a $50 enrollment fee which simply covers the administrative costs of creating a new student account. After that, what you give is determined by you. You will have an opportunity to give at the end of each week's lesson as well as a request to confirm that you are still an active student. Please attend to this each week so that we know you still wish to be enrolled. If we haven't heard from you through the last four weeks of any quarter, we won't continue your enrollment into the next season. You're welcome to start up again at the next seasonal entry point, however you will need to pay an additional $50 enrollment fee. Because there is no set fee for The Miracles Course, the financial giving becomes much more of a conscious act than simply paying an established amount. As the creator of The Miracles Course curriculum, I consider the offering of money to be an integral part of the spiritual work here. I ask that you thoroughly read the following and take the financial giving as seriously as we take the giving of this program.

About this Financial Policy

I have, for many years, operated my business in a way that many people find surprising, inspiring or foolish, depending upon their point of view. I lead groups and workshops on spiritual empowerment for a living and set no prescribed fee for these services, instead asking people to give whatever amount feels right. This has resulted in offerings ranging from zero to thousands of dollars. I didn't come to this way of doing business because I believe that "spiritual" work shouldn't be paid for, or because I think it's wrong to make too much money, or even because I don't want to have to deal too directly with money. Rather, this approach to money enforces a heightened consciousness around both the giving and receiving of money that makes it part of the spiritual work instead of something separate from it. It forces me to continually trust in the abundant nature of God, healing my own attitudes around money and helping me to extend that same healing to the people I serve.

I first began exploring alternative ways of doing business in the early 80's, when I was Director of the nonprofit Baltimore Center for Attitudinal Healing. The Center reached a financial crisis point where our funds weren't stretching to meet our needs. As Director, I was the head fund-raiser and agonized over the burden of this responsibility: I worked harder and harder to make ends meet; I whined to God about the unfairness of there being insufficient funds for the work that felt like my highest calling; and, since my salary wasn't getting paid, I panicked and frequently lost sleep worrying.

In my clearer moments, I meditated on why this was happening. What was the lesson in it? My reflections led me face to face with an enormous, and previously overlooked, double standard I held about money. I thought I believed in the principles of attitudinal healing—that everything is love and that giving and receiving are the same—but I lived as though these spiritual principles didn't apply to the "real" world of finances. In my meditations, I kept getting the message that if I wanted to create more of something, I needed to give it away unconditionally.

The specific suggestions that came from my inner guidance were to eliminate all fees for the Center's workshops, which provided the organization's only revenue and, instead, ask people to give whatever amount felt right, as a voluntary offering rather than a mandatory fee. My guidance told me this would result in the givers prospering as well as the Center. I was also directed to tithe 10% of my personal income to whatever I felt to be my source of highest inspiration and to tithe 10% of the Center's income, as well.

At the time, this guidance was startling and frightening. It brought up a host of "rational" reasons why it wouldn't work. Yet, there was something about it that just felt right. When I presented my ideas to the Center's board of directors, I was met with even more "real world" resistance. Somehow, though, in spite of virtually zero enthusiasm for my plan, they allowed me to implement it.

The Win/Win Results of Unconditional Giving

What happened was truly miraculous. Not only did people who attended the Center's programs give generously even when they didn't have to, the amount of people coming for courses doubled. While some people didn't give as much as the full fee we used to charge, some people gave more, so the average per-person collection remained about the same. As I gave away my own money in the form of tithes, for the first time in my life I began to receive large and unexpected gifts of money from other people. They often shared with me later that they had received inner guidance to give me the money. The gifts I gave frequently opened doors to new opportunities and linked me with people who helped me in many ways. As the Center began to give tithing gifts it, too, began to receive large donations of money.

The people who had stepped beyond their scarcity fears in the process of giving to the Center started having equally miraculous experiences. Many shared feeling an initial discomfort with having to determine their own fee and fear when their inner guidance directed them to give a larger amount than they believed they should. Invariably, though, their doubts quickly transformed into blessings. One man almost didn't attend a workshop because he had no job and felt bad about having nothing to give. At the end, his inner guidance directed him to give an amount much larger than he could immediately pay as an unemployed person so he promised to pay it in small incremental payments over time. Two days later, he found a job at a much higher salary than he had expected and was able to pay his promised gift very quickly.

Then there was a married couple who attended a workshop together. Neither of them had very much money, but at the end of the workshop when they consulted their inner guidance about what to give, each felt directed to give the same very large amount, which was about double the average contribution for this workshop. Neither knew what the other had come up with and when they conferred immediately after, they were horrified by the amount they had been guided to give as a couple. They debated for a few moments about what to do and finally decided to trust their initial instincts. As soon as they inwardly committed to giving, a friend of theirs who was also in the workshop came over to them and, knowing nothing of their private debate or the amounts they'd pledged, said his inner guidance had directed him to pay for both of them. Not only was their workshop paid for, but prosperity seemed to follow them home. Shortly thereafter, the man was given many thousands of dollars worth of equipment and grants for a community service project he had been wanting to start. The woman found ways to quit her job and pursue her creative interests full-time and found that money was no longer an obstacle to her doing what she wanted.

I also remember a woman whose guidance directed her to give less than she had planned. With some ambivalence, she honored her inner voice and, as a result, was able to offer financial aid to a friend in crisis who called her several days later. One might think her giving less was at my expense, but that particular workshop grossed far more than usual. Do you think I was unhappy to hear her story of helping a friend in need? Hardly. Inner guidance always leads to win/win outcomes.

Discerning Inner Guidance

When people truly listen for the highest voice, their giving isn't rooted in fear (as in, "I'm afraid to give more than....") or obligation (as in, "I'll feel guilty if I don't give at leastÉ."). Inner guidance comes when we're quiet and still. It often seems to pop into mind from out of nowhere rather than as the end result of a rational train of thought. A funny, yet typical, story was told by a woman who sheepishly admitted to falling asleep during the offering meditation I led at the end of a five-day workshop. She said the amount her inner guidance told her to give was so big it woke her up! She also shared that shortly thereafter she unexpectedly happened upon a hand modeling job that paid her that very same amount per hour for a number of hours work.

To find the right amount for you to give, take some time to quiet your mind and turn within. When you're in a meditative state, let an amount come to you that gives value to, not just the spiritual material you've received, but to the results you want the material to produce. Money is strongly linked at a subconscious level with worth, so what we voluntarily give money to we believe, at a very fundamental level, to be valuable—as valuable as the money we've given. Once we've given money, our subconscious creative mind sets about getting our money's worth by producing valuable results.

Our Financial Goals

In our first two years of operation, as we prepared The Miracles Course for a larger influx of students, our fee for the year-long program was $1750, or $150 per month. Our goal is to maintain this amount as a per-student average in a way that allows some to pay less and others to pay more. We have no sliding scale fee or suggested donation amount and will never apply pressure on students to give more. We fully trust in the spiritual laws of unconditional giving and offer The Miracles Course in this spirit.

Please Only Affirm Your Prosperity

Many years ago I had a student who attended one of my workshops and didn't follow through with the financial commitment he promised. I lived in the same small country community as this fellow and when we sometimes encountered each other in town, rather than offering a friendly greeting, he'd immediately launch into an apology and tell me all the reasons he hadn't paid me yet. I found these encounters vaguely draining and soon was ducking the other way if ever I saw him at the grocery store. Then one day, he showed up at my house unexpectedly, solely for the purpose of telling me more about the sad state of his finances and why he couldn't pay me. At this point, I realized I was beyond drained, I was thoroughly annoyed! Not only was he not contributing to my prosperity, he also seemed to be on a campaign to bombard me with misery and lack!

Ultimately, I found a profound gift hidden in this experience. Through pushing me to my limit, it helped me clarify an important request that I now make of all students who receive my services for a self-determined donation. It's that you not share with me any explanation regarding why you didn't make your donation larger.

There are a number of important reasons for this. One is that when you truly let your inner guidance direct your giving, it's unquestionably the perfect amount and no explanation is necessary. The Miracles Course staff trusts you and gratefully receives your gift as perfect. (If you feel a need to explain, it may be that your giving was motivated by fear of not having enough or obligation to give more rather than inner guidance, in which case, you might want to meditate further.)

Another reason is that, as you'll learn from the Miracles Course lessons, words are powerfully creative and as we declare ourselves to be unable to afford something, we will continue to be so. We urge our students to affirm prosperity through your words rather than poverty.

Yet another reason is that, in offering classes and workshops on a donation basis for decades, I've found consistently that what people give financially has more to do with how much they've invested in and benefited from the work than the size of their income. People who truly want to give find ways of doing so that are creative, win/win and miracle-producing. Consequently, I no longer hold the statement, "I wanted to give more but couldn't," to be a true one. And, as I found with the aforementioned fellow, going through the motions in such situations of listening to explanations and apologies only serves to affirm scarcity for both of us.

Finding Ways to Give

If you sincerely want to give back to this ministry, I urge you to find a way to do so. One thing that's always yours to give is your committed participation. Your whole-hearted participation will make a positive contribution to other students as well as yourself. The more fully you involve yourself in the lesson work, the more they will enrich you and the more you'll have to give. Another way to give back is by spreading the word among your friends and in your spiritual community. Helping us grow our student body is a much needed and appreciated gift. If you feel guided to give money, instead of focusing on what you can't give, ask yourself what you can give. There's probably a lot of possibility between what you think you can't give and nothing at all. Some students choose to give smaller amounts over a larger period of time.

How to Integrate Unconditional Giving into Your Own Work

I've seen a number of people become inspired to adapt a self-determined payment policy in their own business; some experiencing great success this way while others have been disappointed by bleak results. Those who are less successful with it usually have difficulty declaring clearly what they want and may be devaluing the worth of their service. Or they may battle feelings of guilt when offerings are particularly high and resentment when they're low.

I've found attitude to be as important as practice in making a self-determined offering succeed. In my groups, before closing, I announce the amount that I want to average in fees per person per session and my intention to do this in such a way as to allow each person to give exactly what is right for him or her. I direct my intention up to Spirit rather than horizontally toward individuals. Then I let go. For me, letting go means not keeping track of who gives how much (and making judgments accordingly). It also means trusting that I will be paid, and possibly in very unexpected ways. If I don't receive what I want from a particular transaction, I may find my income increasing in other seemingly unrelated ways. Or, I may receive very little in contributions for several months and then, suddenly, one participant is guided to give a very large financial gift. Anything, including miracles, can happen with a self-determined fee system.

Give Unconditionally whatever Feels Scarce

The original seed of insight that became the cornerstone of my business—that whatever we want to magnify we need to be willing to give unconditionally from a place of love—is a principle that works on all levels. Whatever feels scarce is invariably what we most need to give—and give lovingly rather than grudgingly—if we want to experience increase. The limited perspective of the material world suggests that to have something we must hold it and not let it go. It's so easy to debate with the inner voice of guidance that urges us to give. We try to bargain and promise to give more as soon as we have more: "I will start tithing just as soon as I get out of debt," "I'll give more as soon as I have more myself." It is, however, just at these times of greatest poverty that we need to let go, to open our hearts and trust; to give and thereby start abundance flowing again.

I once led a Sunday service at a Minneapolis Church in which I gave away $1000 of my own money to ten people who were willing to take $100, grow it bigger and use it as seed money to help others. I thought this would be an effective way to magnify the good $1000 could do. Many felt it was bold and courageous of me to give so much money away but I knew from past experience that it would quickly come back to me. And so it did. Over the next few weeks, the offerings in my weekly group were so much bigger than usual that I easily netted $1000 over what I had been averaging in just a month's time. What's more, over the next few months I attracted all kinds of unexpected money-making and other beneficial opportunities into my life. This is trusting in the abundant nature of God put into practice and it isn't just spiritual rhetoric. It's a powerful and effective way to both do business and live one's life.