Perceiving Infinite Possibilities

Throughout the ages, we've been given hints about the unrealized possibilities in our world. We long for the ability to change what seems to be the reality of situations in and around our personal existence, and we enjoy stories of powerful mythological and fictional characters who do so. The world tells us that we are victims of circumstance, with our life experiences being changed at the whim of happenstance. Every time we hear a story telling of something we think is impossible, but which contains an outcome so beautiful we wish and hope it could be true, let's contemplate the possibility that there are no limits. Who knows what we're capable of doing? We seem to exceed expected outcomes in every avenue of our existence. Wasn't it said that running a mile in less than four minutes was impossible? Today let’s surrender any thoughts of limitation, thereby opening the door to a new understanding.

“Have you really considered how many opportunities you have had to gladden yourself, and how many of them you have refused? There is no limit to the power of a Son of God, but he can limit the expression of his power as much as he chooses.”
—A Course in Miracles T-4.IV.8:1-2

“Through all the disciples experienced, they became more spiritual and understood better what the Master had taught. His resurrection was also their resurrection. It helped them to raise themselves and others from spiritual dulness and blind belief in God into the perception of infinite possibilities.”

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 34:17-23

Bathed in Beauty and Light

Photo by Blake Lasater

You have probably heard of, or witnessed, people facing dire situations calmly, with an other-worldly peace. Years ago I was privileged to witness one of these times, visiting with a couple who were learning to cope with the change we call death. Upon entering their home, the first thing I felt was an all-encompassing peace. My dear friend related how inspired she was by the leaves falling from the trees in their regular autumnal cycle. She explained how they take care of themselves. She never rakes them up into piles, but allows them to go where they need to be, and there they change to whatever form is required of them -- soil, protection for seedlings, shelter for insects and small animals. She sees perfection in this plan and knows that the same perfection is taking place in all existence. I am grateful to have experienced this deep and quiet peace with them. Divine peace is there for all, no matter what the material circumstance. The gift of Love satisfies the hungering senses, it calms fear, it allows us to release the ties which bind us to material existence, giving us more than we knew was possible. This understanding is priceless …

“When you have looked on what seemed terrifying, and seen it change to sights of loveliness and peace; when you have looked on scenes of violence and death, and watched them change to quiet views of gardens under open skies, with clear, life-giving water running happily beside them in dancing brooks that never waste away; who need persuade you to accept the gift of vision?”
—A Course in Miracles T-20.VIII.11:1-2

“As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer ground. Every sensuous pleasure or pain is self-destroyed through suffering. There should be painless progress, attended by life and peace instead of discord and death.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 224:4-10

This Part of Our Journey is Important

This quote caused me to search for something to counter it.

“The more unpredictable and uncertain our world becomes, the harder it is for our brains to navigate it effectively. As a result, we struggle to make decisions, solve problems, and consciously communicate with each other. It can feel like having fog in our brains that just won’t clear.”

So I give you these words from Marianne Williamson:

“I read the news and like so many others these days, I grieve. So much that we thought of as the greatness of our country, even though we’ve been flawed and weak and wrong at times, appears to be crumbling into the dust of memory. Feeling sad and even depressed about this is not a dysfunctional reaction. In a way it’s healthy. Something has gone very wrong and we need to feel it.

The issue in life, whenever things have gone awry, is to pray ‘May I become a better person because of this.’ And it applies to the country too. What is going on in America now is humbling us in a way that can ultimately be positive. We need to think deeply about where we have gone wrong and to imagine ways to make things right. To be more responsible. To be more compassionate. To care more about what people are going through. To care more for our children. To care more for our elderly. To care more for the sick and suffering. To care more for the rest of the world. To be more just. To think more for ourselves. To stop allowing foolish and greedy people to make life-and-death decisions for millions of people. To be more wise. To stop treating life so carelessly.

The fact that it’s so sad thinking about some of this is not a bad thing. It’s good, because we’re burning through something. It’s how we mature. We have allowed ourselves to be infantalized in this country, remaining so often in shallow waters. We didn’t take life seriously enough, in large part because we took ourselves too seriously. Of course it doesn’t feel good to look at any of this, but there’s no real healing unless we do.

This part of our journey is important. Read history. Read about the great ones. Be inspired by great leaders. Become one yourself. Refuse to hate. Try to be more gentle. Let art uplift you. Don’t spend too much time on ultimately unimportant things. Despite it all so much good remains. There is so much to love in ourselves and others. Life is hard for people now and we need each other’s kindness. Listen more, forgive more, and bless more. Remembering all this is how we will make it through.

On any given day, we can improve. And we will rise up from this. It won’t be immediate, but we will rise.”

This part of our journey is important — vote!

A New Vision

Lovell Estates

Eureka Springs, AR 

In the early 1900s, people flocked to Eureka Springs for the healing waters. Thousands of people in need found their way here, as they still do today. People are drawn to our town, often without knowing why. I love watching the transformation as people's thoughts change from focusing on their problems to relaxing into solutions. In varying degrees, we are all realizing that true healing comes when we release our beliefs in things and open ourselves to feeling and understanding the presence of Love. When this is our only desire, when there is no other need or want, new perceptions become visible and viable. Often it takes extreme conditions to cause us to seek the understanding of our unity with the consciousness we call God. But isn't it sweet when we skip that step and fall straight into Love!

“The great miracle, to human sense, is divine Love, and the grand necessity of existence is to gain the true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of heaven in man.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 560:11-15

“Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.I.20:1-2

Forgiving Everything

 Art: Adrian Borda

“Therefore, dark past,

I'm about to do it.

I'm about to forgive you

for everything.”

~ Mary Oliver

I knew a man who was the smartest, funniest, most messed-up person I’ve ever known. We met late in life and I felt he was the “love of my life”. Neither one of us were particularly easy to get along with — for various reasons. The four years we knew each other were an extremely turbulent time for us personally, and the world in general. He died nearly six years ago and recently I’ve been dreaming of him almost every night. This has caused me to examine my feelings about him and the time we shared. While I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, there is much forgiveness needed in my thoughts and memories. A recent Course in Miracles workbook topic reminds us to “behold my brother in the light of holiness”. As I examine the grudges I’m holding and the guilt I’m feeling, I pray to release them from my being and know that “I am saved because the past is gone”.

“Let me forget my brother’s past today. This is the thought that leads the way to You, and brings me to my goal. I cannot come to You without my brother. And to know my Source, I first must recognize what You created one with me. My brother’s is the hand that leads me on the way to You. His sins are in the past along with mine, and I am saved because the past is gone. Let me not cherish it within my heart, or I will lose the way to walk to You. My brother is my savior. Let me not attack the savior You have given me. But let me honor him who bears Your Name, and so remember that It is my own.

“Forgive me, then, today. And you will know you have forgiven me if you behold your brother in the light of holiness. He cannot be less holy than can I, and you cannot be holier than he.”

—A Course in Miracles T-288.1:1–2:3

“Spiritually to understand that there is but one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the Scriptures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain, and of man deathless and perfect and eternal.”

==Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 69:13-16

Untouched By The Past

Toni, Brud, Marsha

Class reunions are fascinating. The reasons people enjoy them are as varied as the people, but it seems many are wondering who is the most successful, or who has been married the longest, or if anyone still looks pretty. It's a perfect opportunity to think of today's ACIM workbook lesson topic: "The past is over. It can touch me not." In my observations of these get-togethers, we tend to revert into whatever we were umpteen years ago. The mean girls are still catty, the flirty girls are still flipping their skirts, and the cool kids are still hiding their feelings. While I've always enjoyed these get-togethers, I tend to either wander away with an old friend to talk in a corner or, perhaps, drink a bit too much and ask the cowboys to dance. I love this line from today's lesson: "Unless the past is over in my mind, the world must escape my sight." I want to live in the present, in a world full of divine Love and Truth. Reliving illusions can be fun, much like watching a movie. But I'd rather wake up in a new world every day, excited about the adventures it holds!

“As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and
shall plant our feet on firmer ground.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 224: 4-7

“The past is over. It can touch me not. Unless the past is over in my mind, the real world must escape my sight. For I am really looking nowhere; seeing but what is not there. How can I then perceive the world forgiveness offers? This the past was made to hide, for this the world that can be looked on only now. It has no past. For what can be forgiven but the past, and if it is forgiven it is gone.”
—A Course in Miracles W-289.1:1–2:5

A Day of Stillness and Peace

Félix Vallotton 

 Bridge Over Béal (Le Pont sur le Béal), 1922

It's a beautiful day in the Ozarks. Peace is easily felt in the splendor of a fall day. I am grateful for the words in A Course in Miracles. I am grateful for the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, and her determination to demonstrate the Science of The Christ. The words contained in these lessons point toward the Truth of our Being. We are assured Truth is eternally discoverable by anyone willing to see. We are shown how to move away from the learned behaviors of a lifetime. The stillness and peace of nature aids in leading me to the door of Truth, and I am grateful.

"Certain moods of mind find an indefinable pleasure in stillness, soft, silent as the storm's sudden hush; for nature's stillness is voiced with a hum of harmony, the gentle murmur of early morn, the evening's closing vespers, and lyre of bird and brooklet."  
—Mary Baker Eddy - Christian Science versus Pantheism Page 3:8-13

“This is a day of stillness and of peace. Christ’s vision looks through me today. His sight shows me all things forgiven and at peace, and offers this same vision to the world. And I accept this vision in its name, both for myself and for the world as well. What loveliness we look upon today! What holiness we see surrounding us! And it is given us to recognize it is a holiness in which we share; it is the Holiness of God Himself.

“This day my mind is quiet, to receive the Thoughts You offer me. And I accept what comes from You, instead of from myself. I do not know the way to You. But You are wholly certain. Father, guide Your Son along the quiet path that leads to You. Let my forgiveness be complete, and let the memory of You return to me.
—A Course in Miracles W-291.1:1–2:6