Parody Humor

A Course in Marigolds
by Michael Stillwater

Paperback
Publisher: Inner Harmony; Revised edition (October 1, 1988)
ISBN: 0923860002
Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 5.5 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces.

"And for those who may tire of spiritual seriousness, there's some comic relief available in A Course in Marigolds, and ACIM parody written and published by student Michael Stillwater. Purportedly approved by the "Foundation for Dinner Peas," this booklet-length course in home horticulture claims to be "quite consistent in what it presents, with the seeming goal of leading and incompetent gardener into a state of psychological torment by mentally fabricating a war of epic proportions with the snails. Why it wants to do this is unclear."

"Students of the thicker ACIM sill appreciate the familiar style of Marigolds' Workbook lessons, including such inspiring meditations as "What I see in my garden is a form of vengeance," "I am upset because I see snails everywhere," and "In better fences my safety lies." The witty accuracy of Stillwater's satire has been appreciated even by Course purists; Marigolds bears an endorsement from Ken Wapnick declaring that "Gloria's gardening will never be the same!"
D. Patrick Miller in Complete Story of the Course- The History, the People, and the Controversies Behind "A Course in Miracles"

A Gently Mystifying Tweak
"This Is A Course In Marigolds..." For anyone who enjoys a little humor with their metaphysics this is great fun. A well-patterned parody of A Course In Miracles with a sweet and gentle wisdom of its own. Laugh out loud!

Intended for students of A COURSE IN MIRACLES
A COURSE IN MARIGOLDS would certainly strike the average person as strange because it is not a manual for growing marigolds or for understanding horticulture. A COURSE IN MARIGOLDS is a spoof, a parody, of the book A COURSE IN MIRACLES. For those unfamiliar, A COURSE IN MIRACLES is a self-study book about spiritual psychotherapy.

A sample line from A COURSE IN MIRACLES is "I am not the victim of the world I see." Spoofed in A COURSE IN MARIGOLDS, it reads, "I am not the victim of the snails I see." Get it? Okay, probably not. One would most likely have to be a student of A COURSE IN MIRACLES to get this stuff. A friend of mine (himself a gardener) was once given this book as a present, and he had no idea what it meant. He gave it to a mutual friend to pass on to me, saying, "He can tell you why this is funny."

A strange book, August 9, 2002
Reviewer: A reader
I bought this book without any description of it, wanting a book about Marigolds. What I got is a book about Marigolds, but it's so strange and uninformative that I couldn't possibly recommend it to anyone. Unless, of course, you are headed to a mental hospital. It's definitely NOT what I was looking for.

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Endarkenment

I had a dream last night. I was in some kind of group that was listening
to a speaker. Every one was smoking. There was background music playing
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. It was a nightmare. The subject he was
discussing was : "The Endarkenment Theory." It was the opposite of the
Enlightenment theory. He was reading from a book called: The Curse in
Miracles, subtitled; The Ego Strikes Back.

He read a number of the principles. I have listed several of them below:

1. Take no responsibility for your behavior. You are a victim of the
world you see. If anything goes wrong blame the person on your left or
right or preferably both. Its all their fault.

2. Nothing in the world works. If anything goes right, it is a miracle.

3. I am always upset for no reason at all.

4. I am upset because of the idiots in my life.

5. My mind is preoccupied with people trying to take advantage of me.

6. I am upset because my wife ran off with my best friend and he keeps
trying to bring her back.

7. I am a victim of the world I see.

8. My attack thoughts against my enemies are giving me no end of happiness.

9. Above all else I want to see revenge.

10. There is nothing my vengeance cannot do.

11. I am sustained by my guns.

12. I am the darkness of the world.

13. Vengeance is my function as the darkness of the world.

14. The darkness of the world brings fear to every mind through my
vengeance.

15. My only function is the one the ego gave me.

16. The ego made me like itself.

17. Fear holds only grievances.

18. In my defenselessness my utter fear lies.

I felt trapped in the room. I thought I would be there forever and the
only way out was to wake up. So I did.

From: "alan" <remembertolaugh@c...> > To: <Disappearance_of_the_Universe@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 5:55 AM > Subject: [Disappearance_of_the_Universe] The Endarkenment Theory