“Outside influences” include anything from outside the Course—like other spiritual teachings— that influence one’s view of the Course. Don’t kid yourself about these—they have an influence. And that influence can be profound.

Jesus displays a great deal of concern about outside influences

• He did a lot of correcting of Freud, a major influence for Helen and Bill.

• He did a lot of correcting of the Bible, saying at one point, “I emphasize this only because I

  do not want you to allow any fear to enter into the thought system toward which I am guiding

  you” (T-6.I.23:3).

• He repeatedly corrected the Edgar Cayce readings (which could easily have been taken as a

  fully compatible channeled teaching), another important influence for both Bill and Helen.

  See Cameo 15.

• He devoted a section in the Manual (Section 24) to explaining why reincarnation should not

  be taught as part of the Course.

How Jesus handles other teachings

When Jesus comments on other teachings, he almost always makes balanced remarks in which he affirms what he can and corrects what he needs to.

1. Affirm: “Freud’s identification of defense mechanisms was quite correct.”

2. Correct: “But...He made two kinds of errors. The first was that he saw only how the mechanisms worked in the mentally ill. The second was his own denial of the mechanism of the Atonement.”

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