On December 29, 2020, one of my favorite authors on A Course in Miracles-related topics passed away. Gerald Jampolsky, M.D. Dr. Jampolsky mentioned that when his life was upside down, a friend gave him a manuscript to read. The title of that manuscript was A Course in Miracles, which hadn’t been published yet. The content of this manuscript and the work he did with himself with the principles of the Course changed his life completely.
Dr. Jampolsky developed 12 Principles based on the philosophy fo the Course and he opened in Tiburon, California, a center to work with children with terminal illnesses, using these principles. His work was so successful, that it was expanded to include the parents and relatives of the children. Later, this work was exteded to anyone who needed healing their attitudes.
As a tribute to him, who taught me so much, I will dedicate my following 12 blogs to one of the Principles of Attitudinal Healing that he wrote about in his book, Teach Only Love. Gerald Jampolsky, MD, was the author of many books. He was an internationally recognized authority in the fields of psychiatry, health, business, and education. Jampolsky was a child and adult psychiatrist, a graduate of Stanford Medical School, an author, and an inspirational speaker.
I met Gerald Jampolsky in Puerto Rico when I was starting on my spiritual path. The impression that I got from him as a loving and caring person and the sense that his philosophy made to me led me to be trained as an Attitudinal Healing Facilitator.
In the Introduction to his book Teach Only Love, he wrote:
As we emerge from the birth canal, we enter the world desperately struggling for breath. Most of us travel through life continuing to struggle feeling unloved and alone. All too often we are afraid – afraid of sickness and death; afraid of God; even afraid of continuing to live. Often we leave the world the same way we entered it-desperately struggling for breath.
I believe there is another way of looking at life that makes it possible for us to walk through this world in love, at peace and without fear. This other way requires no external battles, only that we heal ourselves. It is a process I call “attitudinal healing,” because it is an internal and primarily mental process. Properly practiced, it will, I believe, allow all of us, regardless of our circumstances, to begin experiencing the joy and harmony that each instant contains and to start our journey on a path of love and hope.
The mind can be retrained. Within this fact lies our freedom. No matter how often we have misused it, the mind can be utilized in a way that is so positive that at first it is beyond anything we can imagine. However, before the mind is retrained, it seems to be nothing but tightly locked compartments. We sense our potential, but it is held behind “closed doors.” ….(t)hese blocks are really only attitudes in need of healing, and because they are attitudes that we alone have chosen, they can be altered.
May he rest in peace, and his teachings keep helping millions.