All Gifts Are Ours

Buffalo River

Charles Baker Photographer

All the good that is being given and received by everyone, everywhere, is goodness being given by and to me, right here, right now, all the time. How cool is that??! After expressing this thought to someone, they said, "But what about the bad? Isn’t it given and received by everyone, and doesn’t it cancel out the good?" We could go back and forth about these points, talking about the unreality of bad and the only-ness of good. But I don’t want to think in those terms any longer. We have spent too much time arguing what is right and wrong, good and bad -- and I try to not speak or write in those terms either. There is only One God, expressing only Itself. If we are the idea, the reflection, of God, there’s nothing else to consider. God is Love. We are Love and that’s a powerful principle by which to abide! As the Persian poet Rumi tells us: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”

“All gifts I give my brothers are my own. As every gift my brothers give is mine, so every gift I give belongs to me. Each one allows a past mistake to go, and leave no shadow on the holy mind my Father loves. His grace is given me in every gift a brother has received throughout all time, and past all time as well. My treasure house is full, and angels watch its open doors that not one gift is lost, and only more are added. Let me come to where my treasures are, and enter in where I am truly welcome and at home, among the gifts that God has given me.
—A Course in Miracles W-316.1:1

“… that joy which finds one’s own in another’s good.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 127

One Problem; One Solution

Everyone is tired of problems without solutions. We seem unable to do anything about mass shootings, although there is a simple solution. Self-serving politicians appear to be an unsolvable problem, but that also has an obvious fix. One of my earliest experiences with A Course in Miracles was Wayne Dyer’s book, There’s A Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. People often tell me it’s too difficult to change long-held beliefs and move their thoughts to a spirit-based level. To them, I say that it is simple, but it is not easy. It’s not easy because it is a constant, conscious monitoring and translating of learned behaviors. In the past few years, we have all been tested. When we are bombarded daily by ugliness from leaders and media reporting, it can be tempting to throw up our metaphorical hands and surrender to the sorrow. But let’s remember there is only one problem, which is a cherished grievance; and but one solution, the miracle of forgiveness. In this understanding, problems are solved before they appear!

"In the Apocalypse it is written: 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.' In St. John's vision, heaven and earth stand for spiritual ideas, and the sea, as a symbol of tempest-tossed human concepts advancing and receding, is represented as having passed away. The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 536:1-9

“I seek a future different from the past. From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past. The future now is recognized as but extension of the present. Past mistakes can cast no shadows on it, so that fear has lost its idols and its images, and being formless, it has no effects. Death will not claim the future now, for life is now its goal, and all the needed means are happily provided. Who can grieve or suffer when the present has been freed, extending its security and peace into a quiet future filled with joy?”
—A Course in Miracles W-314.1:1–2

Follow and Rejoice

It seems many people in public offices and positions of leadership are headstrong and seemingly unhappy. Looking at friends and public figures who are following the path of Love, we see contagious joy spreading around them! Those who have turned away from conventional life pursuits to follow their hearts are listening to divine Mind, then acting on what they hear. Some might say that everyone can't do this or there would be no one to deal with the day-to-day lifework, which many consider to be drudgery. In watching my son, who works in a job which is considered to be mundane, at best, I see that he is happy, because it's more than just a job; it's his ministry. He's always noticing ways to help others and find joy in situations. He, too, is listening and following. Let not this day leave us where it found us, as we follow and rejoice!

“I follow in the way appointed me. I have a special place to fill; a role for me alone. Salvation waits until I take this part as what I choose to do. Until I make this choice, I am the slave of time and human destiny. But when I willingly and gladly go the way my Father’s plan appointed me to go, then will I recognize salvation is already here, already given all my brothers and already mine as well.”
—A Course in Miracles W-317.1:1–2:5

“Jesus’ promise is perpetual. Had it been given only to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would read you, not they. The purpose of his great life-work extends through time and includes universal humanity.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 328:27-31

Choosing Our Path

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

Two years ago, after the election of DJT as the leader of the free world, many of us had the hope of his taking the high road and recognizing his opportunity to bring people together, creating for himself an honorable legacy. As we watched him make many questionable (if not outright unlawful) choices, we have seen our country united in our desire to save democracy and change our system back to something which is truly of and for the people. I urge everyone to support the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and any other group which can help us resist the dismantling of democracy which we have been witnessing. And don’t forget to take good care of yourselves: meditate, exercise, bring your mind back to peace through calming music, kiss your kids, hold your neighbor’s hand. As I heard someone say today: “Go and love intentionally, unconditionally, the broken world waits in darkness for the light which is you.” Namaste, dear Friends …

“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, “Love thy neighbor as thyself;” annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 340:22-29

“It is this one intent we seek today, uniting our desires with the need of every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies beyond despair, the love attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has sought to sever, but which still remains as God created it. With Help like this beside us, can we fail today as we request the peace of God be given us?”
—A Course in Miracles W-185.14:1-2

One’s Gain is Given to All

Everything is Waiting for You — David Whyte

"Your great mistake is to act the drama

as if you were alone. As if life

were a progressive and cunning crime

with no witness to the tiny hidden

transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny

the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,

even you, at times, have felt the grand array;

the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding

out your solo voice You must note

the way the soap dish enables you,

or the window latch grants you freedom.

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

The stairs are your mentor of things

to come, the doors have always been there

to frighten you and invite you,

and the tiny speaker in the phone

is your dream-ladder to divinity.

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into

the conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you."

—David Whyte

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink.”

—Science & Health Page 570:14-17

“I came for the salvation of the world. Here is a thought from which all arrogance has been removed, and only truth remains. For arrogance opposes truth. But when there is no arrogance the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied by lies. Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which are curtailed and limiting. The ego thinks that what one gains, totality must lose. And yet it is the Will of God I learn that what one gains is given unto all.

—A Course in Miracles W-319.1:1–2:4

Shining Your Ego Away

Photo by Aaron Springston

Michael Pollan’s latest book, “A World Appears”, deals with his years’-long search for the meaning of consciousness, in which he also looks hard at “the ego”. After many instances of controlled psychedelic experiences, he says his ego is more or less under control. He states: “It’s still there, that supremely self-interested voice in my head, that over-eager contestant in the zero sum game of life, so quick to take umbrage.” But he has realized that while hearing the voice of ego, he is also able to release it, even laugh at it, as it carries on with its fear and hatred and blame. We needn’t be “stuck in the mud of unquestioned assumptions”. When we recognize ego for the bully which it is — always wanting us to be unhappy and fearful — we are freed from the emotions we thought ruled us. The other day I was becoming irritated by something a visitor to my home was saying. Rather than react, I breathed and silently slipped away for a moment into the consciousness uncontrolled by ego. That was all it took for the feeling of self-righteous superiority to be replaced by the peaceful acknowledgement that it doesn’t matter what someone else think, as I can only control my own emotions and reactions. Without that ego-driven voice in our heads, we can access our true being, expressed through lovingkindness and empathetic behavior. 

“Your mind and mine can unite in shining your ego away, releasing the strength of God into everything you think and do. Do not settle for anything less than this, and refuse to accept anything but this as your goal. Watch your mind carefully for any beliefs that hinder its accomplishment, and step away from them.”
—A Course in Miracles T-4.IV.8:3-5

“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

Deep Structural Change

Photo taken in Morocco

Unknown photographer 

Have you ever wondered if there is any merit to people shouting out loud, “Yes, We Can!!”? On the surface, it would be improbable — perhaps impossible — to think that three little words could make any difference in the outcome of anything at all. But think of why sports coaches give pep talks during halftimes of games. What about instilling confidence in a child who feels small and inconsequential? I’m sure you can think of hundreds of instances where it matters in a particular situation. But most people don’t think the collective can be joined together by the knowledge that something is possible. Usually when we practice “positive thinking” there is an element of doubt, a niggling sense that it would be nice, but probably won’t happen. We have just witnessed a huge “yes-we-can” moment in history. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but that doesn’t dim the beauty of it. Joining together for a deep structural change, not being afraid to speak truth to power, shouting hallelujah all together — that’s true communion! Yes, we can…

“The second step is a positive affirmation of what you want. This, then, is a step in the direction out of conflict, since it means that alternatives have been considered, and one has been chosen as more desirable. Nevertheless, the term “more desirable” still implies that the desirable has degrees. Therefore, although this step is essential for the ultimate decision, it is clearly not the final one. Lack of order of difficulty in miracles has not yet been accepted, because nothing is difficult that is wholly desired.”
—A Course in Miracles T-6.V-B.8:3-7

“It is a grave mistake to suppose that matter is any part of the reality of intelligent existence, or that Spirit and matter, intelligence and non-intelligence, can commune together. This error Science will destroy. The sensual cannot be made the mouthpiece of the spiritual, nor can the finite become the channel of the infinite. There is no communication between so-called material existence and spiritual life which is not subject to death.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 73:24-2