United By Empathy

Dan Rather’s book, What Unites Us, takes us on a journey. He is old enough to remember what life was like in the aftermath of the great depression, times before we had government programs to help people in need, along with the suffering which was thought of as normal. When someone lost their job, it felt like death, because there was not another job to be found. Neighbors would do what they could for each other, and when little Dan asked his mother why they were helping the people across the street (thinking perhaps it was pity which inspired his folks to give) he was told it wasn’t because they felt sorry for them, but because they understood the feeling of being in need. He writes of empathy building community. In the last three decades, I’ve watched our little town band together to help people in every kind of need that you can imagine. I have been the recipient of that kindness more than once, and it has built empathy within me, too. When we don’t blame people for their misfortune, we don’t judge their circumstances, but simply meet their need, whatever it may be. It seems so simple, and it is a beautiful thing to watch in action. I wish everyone in our country could read or listen to this book by Mr. Rather. Good will multiplies exponentially, don’t you think? Let’s go forth and multiply!

"Do we love our neighbor better because of this asking? Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer? If selfishness has given place to kindness, we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless them that curse us, but we shall never meet this great duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition of our hope and faith."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 9:6

“A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor’s worth simultaneously.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.I.18:1-4

Peace or Chaos

My grandchildren are presently visiting and it is a joyful time in our lives! Having not seen my son and his family for a year-and-four-months, this is particularly wonderful. Many of these daily writings are centered around peace, with a tendency to reiterate how it is found within yourself, no matter what craziness is swirling around you. It’s quite easy to be peaceful when living alone and having almost complete control of your environment. Add to the household a two- and four-year-old, then check out your peace barometer! It’s not easy being a parent, and some people take to it more naturally than others. Some feel the loud, high-pitched voices are an icepick in their ears; others can look at the little angels and see just that, no matter what. Bottom line, it’s easy to be calm on a mountaintop by yourself; the test is when you are interacting with people. Whatever you’re doing, there is always an opportunity to express more Love — with a capital “L”!

“Learn to be quiet in the midst of turmoil, for quietness is the end of strife and this is the journey to peace. Look straight at every image that rises to delay you, for the goal is inevitable because it is eternal. The goal of love is but your right, and it belongs to you despite your dreams.”
—A Course in Miracles T-12.II.5:5-7

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 264:24-27

Protected From Hatred

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springs

“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." This Mary Baker Eddy quote is one of my favorites, which I've always thought of as meaning that the human hatred others feel cannot reach me when wearing the armor of divine Love. But what if it includes the hatred inwardly felt toward others, too? It's very easy for me to think that I don't hate anyone or anything. Actually, it's a word which has been pruned from my vocabulary and simply is not used. BUT if I am irritated by another's actions or words, or if a situation which caused anger in the past replays in my mind, or if criticism gnaws at me and I think of retaliatory statements which could have been made -- isn't that human hatred? Wearing this cloak of Love calms these nagging feelings and thoughts. When wearing the protection of Love, hatred cannot enter from inside or out!

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 243:25-29

“Let me not think that I can find the way to God, if I have hatred in my heart. Let me not try to hurt God’s Son, and think that I can know his Father or my Self. Let me not fail to recognize myself, and still believe that my awareness can contain my Father, or my mind conceive of all the love my Father has for me, and all the love which I return to Him.”
—A Course in Miracles W-246.1:1-3

The Holiest of All Spots

Those who live by the ancient adage of “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth”must have a tough time being happy. Students of metaphysical science are learning that forgiveness is not some sort of divine pardon, but rather a yielding within ourselves to the purity of divine Mind. Without the impediments of holding on to personal memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pain, we are freed to live in a new way. This yielding includes the release of things which we think have been done to us, and things which we believe have been done to others, along with actions by people everywhere in the world. My prayer today is for the grace to choose again, to Love Out Loud, and to live the precepts which Jesus, and many other seers, have taught. Namaste …

“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 497:24-28

“Sin is the symbol of attack. Behold it anywhere, and I will suffer. For forgiveness is the only means whereby Christ’s vision comes to me. Let me accept what His sight shows me as the simple truth, and I am healed completely. Brother, come and let me look on you. Your loveliness reflects my own. Your sinlessness is mine. You stand forgiven, and I stand with you.”
—A Course in Miracles W-247.1:1-8

Miracles Transcend the Body

Photo courtesy of Aaron Spingston

Everything we’ve been taught to believe is contradicted by seeing ourselves as free from limited beliefs. Many of our first memories are of being told to be careful, lest something dire happen. Quantum physics is helping us to understand how form is not as solid as we've been told. With that understanding, it becomes clear that many limitations we've placed upon ourselves are nothing more than beliefs in material laws. Limitations are discarded when an athlete breaks a record in the Olympics, or if someone performs a seemingly-impossible feat — such as lifting a car off of trapped loved ones. We've all heard people tell tales which we think of as supernatural, such as falling great distances and feeling as though they landed on a cushion, or so-called incurable diseases disappearing. Let’s look to the divine Mind to show us the truth about ourselves, then we will explore paths we wouldn't have considered before. Thought is shifting rapidly at this time! Let's not be afraid to listen to the still, small voice leading us down paths which before were invisible.

“As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible. When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 264:13-19

“Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they heal.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.I.17:1-3

Nothing But The Truth

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

We may feel alone in the desert, when we speak truth to error. When we take a stand for morality and goodness, we might feel we’re the only one who sees through the illusions. Maybe you've been verbally attacked for telling people the truth about GMOs, organic food, or climate crises. Perhaps someone has berated your efforts to recognize and change ideas about racism. And what of data mining? Are we being controlled every time we get on our computer? I mention these things because it’s very important to speak truth, to take a stand for morality, and never fear potential consequences. Don’t be afraid to speak up for integrity and honesty. You may find out you’re not alone!

“Because Truth is infinite, error should be known as nothing. Because Truth is omnipotent in goodness, error, Truth's opposite, has no might. Evil is but the counterpoise of nothingness. The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 329:21

“I am in need of nothing but the truth. I sought for many things, and found despair. Now do I seek but one, for in that one is all I need, and only what I need. All that I sought before I needed not, and did not even want. My only need I did not recognize. But now I see that I need only truth. In that all needs are satisfied, all cravings end, all hopes are finally fulfilled and dreams are gone. Now have I everything that I could need. Now have I everything that I could want. And now at last I find myself at peace.”
—A Course in Miracles W-251.1:1-9

Quieting the Voices in My Head

Photo of Buffalo River by Ashley Elliot

The weather has been delightfully cool here in Northwest Arkansas. After a long, hot summer, there is a feeling of new beginnings in the fresh air. The rushes of gratitude I’ve been experiencing are exhilarating! So I was particularly surprised to awaken this morning with regrets for past actions filling my thoughts. Not just one or two events either, but a barrage of hurtful words and acts from the last seven decades were glaring at me. It even crossed my mind that I might be passing away, and that this might be my “life-passing-before-my-eyes” event. (I say this jokingly, but it did occur to me.) Sitting on my porch, greeting the sun and watching the world awaken, it came to me that perhaps I’ve been judging others. Maybe this onslaught of guilt could help me to feel compassion for those whom I might have dismissed as foolishly self-centered in their repetition of the past. And so a few moments were spent forgiving myself for any and everything. “To forgive is merely to remember only the loving thoughts you gave in the past, and those that were given you.” [ACIM] A peaceful lesson for today and everyday …

“To forgive is merely to remember only the loving thoughts you gave in the past, and those that were given you. All the rest must be forgotten. Forgiveness is a selective remembering, based not on your selection. For the shadow figures you would make immortal are “enemies” of reality.”
—A Course in Miracles T-17.III.1:1-4

“Starting from a higher standpoint, one rises spontaneously, even as light emits light without effort; for ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 262:24-26