Helen Schucman

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Helen Schucman bigraphy, stories - Clinical Psychologist

Helen Schucman : biography

July 14, 1909 – February 9, 1981

Helen Cohn 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 (1st edition, 1975),The 1st edition of A Course in Miracles was published in 1975 as a 4-volume set of books. Vol. 1 contains Chapters 1-14 of the "Text" section of the Course, Vol. 2 contains Chapters 15-30 of the "Text" section of the Course, Vol. 3 contains the "Workbook" section of the Course, and Vol. 4 contains the "Teacher’s Manual" section of the Course. The Foundation for Parasensory Investigation – founded and run by Judith Skutch and her husband Robert E. Skutch – was the publisher of the 1st edition of the Course, and also held the 1975 Copyright to the work. The Freeperson Press, a small privately owned printing/publishing company located at 325 Ninth Street in San Francisco, California, did the actual printing and binding of the 1st edition of the Course. The edition published by the Foundation for Inner Peace claims that the course "was published in three volumes in June 1976".

The 1st edition of the Course consisted, in total, of 300 sets of the 4-volume Course. These 300 sets of the 4-volume Course were printed and bound – over a period of several months in 1975 – by the Freeperson Press. Eleanor Camp Criswell, owner/manager of the Freeperson Press, was in charge of the printing and binding of the 1st edition of the Course. Consequently, it has become customary to refer to the 1st edition of the Course either as the "Criswell edition" or the "Freeperson Press edition."

Criswell only printed 100 sets of the 4-volume Course at a time – as they were needed for sale and distribution – so the 1st edition of the Course is actually three separate "printings" of the books. The "first printing" of the "1st edition," consisting of the first 100 4-volume sets of the Course printed by Criswell, were bound in yellow covers. The "second printing" of the "1st edition," consisting of the next 100 4-volume sets of the Course printed by Criswell, were bound in white covers. The "third printing" of the "1st edition," consisting of the final 100 4-volume sets of the Course printed by Criswell, were bound in blue covers. By February 1976, all 300 4-volume sets of the "Criswell edition" of the Course had been sold and/or distributed.

Judith (born Judith M. Rothstein in 1931) married Robert E. Skutch (born on July 19, 1925) in 1966 (it was Judith’s second marriage), but they divorced (on friendly terms) in 1980. Later in the 1980s, Judith Skutch married William Wallace Whitson (born in 1926) and became known as Judith Skutch Whitson.

Eleanor Camp Criswell (born in 1938) became known as Eleanor Criswell Hanna after her marriage to philosopher Thomas Louis Hanna (Nov. 21, 1928 – July 29, 1990). Thomas L. Hanna was the originator of Hanna Somatics, aka Hanna Somatic Education. In 1975 Thomas and Eleanor co-founded the Novato Institute for Somatic Research and Training, located at Novato, California.A complete copy of the 4-volume 1st edition of the Course, known variously as the "Criswell edition" or the "Freeperson Press edition," has been placed online and can be read here: http://openacim.org the contents of which she claimed to have been given to her by an inner voice she identified as Jesus. However, as per her request, her role as its "writer" was not revealed to the general public until after her death.

Early life and education

Schucman was born Helen Dora Cohn in 1909 to Sigmund Cohn,Sigmund Cohn (born July 14, 1871) was a prosperous metallurgical chemist who was born in New York City. Cohn began his business career by partnering with David Belais (July 2, 1862 – June 5, 1933) in 1901 to form Belais & Cohn, which was located at 13 Dutch Street, near the Financial District in lower Manhattan, New York City. When Belais & Cohn was dissolved in 1917, David Belais remained at 13 Dutch Street and, partnering with his brother Henry Belais (March 2, 1857 – June 1, 1940), resumed business under the name Belais Brothers. Belais Brothers went out of business in 1929. Shortly after the dissolution of Belais & Cohn in 1917, Sigmund Cohn moved to 44 Gold Street (which is only about 2 blocks east of 13 Dutch Street) in lower Manhattan and resumed his business under the name Sigmund Cohn Manufacturing Company Inc. Over the years this company (whose main office was located at 44 Gold Street at least between 1919-1950) became very successful and expanded to become several different companies, located in different states. The parent company, which eventually relocated to Mount Vernon, New York, now operates under the name of the Sigmund Cohn Corporation. From the beginning of his career in 1901, Cohn was engaged primarily in the business of platinum refining and in the manufacture of precious metal platinum alloys for the jewelry industry. In the 1900-1925 period, the jewelry industry was by far the largest consumer of platinum alloys. Presently (2013) the Sigmund Cohn Corporation, via its several companies, specializes in manufacturing precious and base metal products, and supplies approximately 20 different industries, including: aerospace, defense, medical devices, semiconductors, temperature measurement and control, automotive components, jewelry, and electronics. After Sigmund Cohn’s death, his son Adolph Cohn (1897-1984) became President and Director of Research of the Sigmund Cohn Corporation. The current President and CEO of Sigmund Cohn Corporation is Thomas A. Cohn (born 1957), who is a great-grandson of Sigmund Cohn. For additional documentation on the history of both Belais & Cohn and the Sigmund Cohn Manufacturing Company Inc., see http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=1&xmldoc=19478716gztcm865_1664.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985&SizeDisp=7 – Cohn v. Commissioner 6 T.C.M. 865 (1947) (Sigmund Cohn v. Commissioner. Docket No. 9659. United States Tax Court. Entered July 18, 1947) a prosperous metallurgical chemist, and Rose Black,Rose (or Rosa) Black (born September 1, 1877), who was born in Cairo, Illinois, was a daughter of Simon Black and Minna (or Minnie) Holzstein (Holstein or Hollstin). According to U. S. Census records, Simon Black was born in Germany in August 1827/1828, and immigrated to the United States in 1861. He and Minna Holzstein were married in New York City. Minna died on January 30, 1897, in Manhattan. Simon Black was trained as a rabbi, and it is known that he acted in that capacity while living in England. who had married on October 18, 1896, in Manhattan. Schucman had a brother, Adolph Cohn,Adolph Cohn (November 19, 1897 – October 1984) who was 14 years her senior. Though her parents were both half-Jewish, they were non-observant. Schucman’s mother Rose dabbled in Theosophy and various expressions of Christianity such as Christian Science and the Unity School of Christianity. However, it was the family housekeeper, Idabel,For a detailed account of the relationship between Schucman and Idabel, see Journey Without Distance – The Story Behind A Course in Miracles (Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1984), by Robert Skutch, pp. 19-21. a Baptist, who had the deepest religious influence on Schucman while she was growing up. In 1921, when she was 12, Schucman visited Lourdes, France, where she had a spiritual experience, and in 1922 she was baptized as a Baptist. She received her B.A. from New York University (NYU), (1931–1935), where she met fellow student Louis SchucmanLouis Schucman (August 19, 1908 – December 15, 1999) in 1932 and whom she married, in a 10-minute ceremony in a local rabbi’s office, on May 26, 1933. Louis owned one or more bookstores on "Book Row" in Manhattan,Louis Schucman specialized in selling Americana and used and/or rare books. After 1935 he maintained several bookstores on "Book Row" in Manhattan, both upstairs and on the street level. "Book Row" was an area of Manhattan consisting of a certain part of Broadway and the section of Fourth Avenue between 9th and 14th Streets. Louis was a member of the Fourth Avenue Booksellers Association, whose membership in its heyday included 21 booksellers. In 1953 his main bookstore, named Louis Schucman Bookseller, was located at 77 Fourth Avenue. Louis retired from the bookselling business in 1993, at which time he sold his entire remaining book inventory to Pennsylvania State University. See Marvin Mondlin, Roy Meador & Madeleine B. Stern – Book Row: An Anecdotal and Pictorial History of the Antiquarian Book Trade (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2004; [Berkeley, CA]: Distributed by Publishers Group West) – Chapter 12 of this book contains information on Louis Schucman and his various bookstores in Manhattan. and during the early years of their marriage Schucman worked at his main store. Growing restless in her early forties, she returned to NYU to study psychology. She received her M.A. in 1952, followed by her Ph.D. (1952–1957).