Gary Renard

Gary Renard and his books have created a stir of controversy in the A Course community.  There’s one question that many people want to know, “Is Gary Renard telling the truth?”

Did two Ascended Masters really appear in his living room? Did they all have conversations about the meaning of life?

Whilst some ACIM teachers and students openly doubt Gary’s story, many others lap up his book.

They say that Disappearance of the Universe (DU) has transformed their lives and understanding of A Course in Miracles.

In a few short years DU has reached an iconic status, Gary Renard is a sought-after speaker, Arten and Pursah are still turning up in his living room and Disappearance of the Universe continues to divide opinion.

What’s so special about Disappearance of the Universe?

DU does not look like a conventional book. It is written as a dialogue taken (according to Gary) from transcripts of conversations between Arten, Pursah and himself.

Where DU rises head and shoulders above many ACIM books is the way it tackles some of Course’s most complicated concepts. The dialogue format helps to simplify some of the messages.

As Gary Renard learns about forgiveness, illusions and love (through his discussions) so does the reader.

Gary’s style of writing, with his one-liners and irreverent humour, appeals to many people. Whereas ACIM puts off many people because of the complex language and ideas, Disappearance of the Universe does the opposite.

Attracting people to ACIM as well as returning lapsed Course students back into the fold, DU does what no other book has done since Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love.

Is DU true?

One of the thorniest questions revolves around the authenticity of the book. Did Gary Renard really meet up with two Ascended Masters claiming to be the reincarnations of Jesus’ disciples Thomas and Thaddeus?

Gary has never deviated from this story. He says that in 1992 a man Arten and a woman Pursah appeared out of thin air in his living room.

Introducing themselves as ascended Masters they then continued to discuss in great detail some of the principles of ACIM.

These conversations continued over a period of nine years and Gary Renard tape recorded them and ultimately wrote transcripts from those recordings.

 Initially DU was published by Patrick Miller, a respected reporter who’s written acclaimed books about the Course. Despite his original scepticism Patrick Miller ultimately found DU fascinating.

He wasn’t the only one. Word of mouth and recommendations quickly turned DU into a best-seller.

It’s likely that had DU stayed as an obscure publication no-one in the ACIM community would have batted an eyelid.

However its prominence led some key ACIM teachers to examine it more closely - which in turn led to them questioning it.

Some of the bizarre claims in DU

It doesn’t help Gary’s case that there are some strange claims made within DU.

For example Arten and Pursah reveal to Gary that the true author of Shakespeare’s plays, were not William Shakespeare, but an Earl.

They also say that humans originated on Mars and not from earth. Gary is also told by these Ascended Masters that in a previous re-incarnation he was the Gospel St Thomas.

It’s not difficult to see why some people doubt Gary Renard when faced with such fanciful claims.

What do Gary Renard’s critics say?

Criticisms started to come in from areas of The Course community with publications in the Miracles Magazine.

Articles by Jon Mundy (a man who knew Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford personally) and Robert Perry, raised some uncomfortable questions.

These articles queried Gary’s lack of evidence, the similarity in the material to the work of Kenneth Wapnick and the distinct lack of in-depth knowledge displayed by Arten and Pursah to A Course in Miracles.

Gary has always stuck by his story and has openly asked people to enjoy the principles of DU even if they don’t believe its source.

What do Gary’s supporters say?

Taking a look on Amazon’s reviews you’ll soon realise that Disappearance of the Universe has transformed the spiritual lives of hundreds (and probably thousands) of people.

Those who have been put off A Course in Miracles, because of its long and complex nature are saying they’ve been re-inspired by DU. Readers report having returned to ACIM and study groups with a renewed understanding.

Whereas Marianne Williamson and A Return to Love seemed to explain the Course on one level, DU seems to have done so in a completely innovative way.

Since writing DU Gary has also written Your Immortal Reality and Love has Forgotten No-one (published in March 2009).

Gary’s background

Gary gives a short autobiography in Your Immortal Reality, describing himself as a lazy good-for nothing kind of guy.

 He was born two months premature in Salem Massachusetts and after a rather uneventful childhood and adolescence he went on to have a successful career as a guitarist during the 1980’s.

Gary’s adulthood involved him exploring spirituality. Becoming a born again Christian didn’t quite fulfil him and the exploration continued.

He was involved with Est Training and read about Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism.

Marrying Karen and moving to Maine meant Gary turned his back on his guitar career and instead dabbled in the financial markets. This career change didn’t prove financially fruitful.

Whilst in Maine he also began focussing on meditation. For Gary Renard meditation became a daily practice and a welcome escape of stillness from his real life.

It was in 1992 whilst meditating that Arten and Pursah made their first visit. They appeared regularly over the next 9 years.

Gary recorded these conversations and subsequently destroyed the tapes after transcribing them.

Gary Renard published Disappearance of the Universe first through Fearless books(2003) and later through Hay House.

In 2007 he divorced his wife Karen.

Information and Sources

Your Immortal Reality - Gary Renard
Disappearance of the Universe - Gary Renard
CMC Website