February 28, 2012 - Real Thoughts

ACIM Lesson #59

Today is the ninth of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:**http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=59

"Reflections in Glacier National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

As usual, today's review offers so many avenues to explore that I find it impossible to settle on one! Of course, it all comes back to one thing: I Am One with All That Is. And so it is that God goes with me wherever I go; God is my strength, and vision is Its gift; God is my Source, and I see only Truth; God is the sight with which I see; God is the Mind with which I think. I have also been considering the writings of yesterday, in which I was filled with negative and erroneous thought. My stated way of coming back to Truth was through deeper spiritual study in every way, and an allowing of the purity of nature to show me my Real thoughts. A dear friend reminded me that only the inner voice, the relaxing into Truth as discerned from within, is necessary to get "back in tune". Of course, I know this is so -- and yet I find it difficult to still the illusory voices which seem to come from within! And this is why I resort to outside influences such as the writings of people whose works mirror what I've come to know as True. They bring me back to the realization that I Am One, that any seeming disruptive thoughts come from without, and allow physical senses to take a backseat to the spiritual sense which replaces material appearances. I look forward to the day when a moment of stillness will accomplish what I seem to strive for now! This harmony is my true Being -- so why won't I allow it in every moment? A Course in Miracles calls it ego; Christian Science refers to it as mortal mind. It doesn't matter what it's called as it's all unreal.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man's absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace."

Science & Health Page 265:10-15

February 27, 2012 - Transforming Thought

ACIM Lesson #58

Today is the eighth of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:**http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=58

Butterfly Garden in St. Louis
Photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

This is a perfect time for me to be reviewing lessons concerning my purity and holiness. For some reason, terrible thoughts have been coming to mind. After all these years of practicing holding thought to "the enduring, the good, and the True", it seems to be easy seeing things through the proverbial rose-colored glasses. But thoughts have turned murky in the last few days. For instance, I packed up a box of mobiles to ship back to an artist. As I'm sending it off, I see the box as damaged and the mobiles broken. One of my sons works in a factory and when he left for work I saw a possible accident involving him. What's up with this?? It seems every thought I have is colored by a horrible interpretation. Of course, since I'm thinking like this, I'm also having horrible interpretations as to why I'm thinking like this!  So today must be a cleaning day for me. I will delve deeply into my daily studies rather than a cursory reading. I'll listen to an audio chat from spirituality.com while doing some household chores. I'll play an inspirational recording in the car while running errands. And while out, I'll stop by a peaceful little lake and soak up some sunshine and see what early flowers are peeking out, showing me pure holiness without thought. All these things I will see in Truth, and if anything else wants attention, I'll just say no!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Man walks in the direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure is, there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affections are spiritual, they came from above, not from below, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit." 

Science & Health Page 451:14-18

February 26, 2012 - Radical Reliance on Truth

ACIM workbook lesson #57:

Today is the seventh of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=57

[Marsha's thoughts]

Aaron in Mongolia

I have often been asked if (or perhaps told that) Christian Science is a cult. Having been affiliated with this way of life since childhood, it assuredly is not. I've never been controlled by anyone, or asked to worship anyone, or any of the other criteria necessary to qualify for this category of action. And I'm sure that Course in Miracles students often get the same thing, judging from what a quick search of YouTube videos reveal! What we do ask of ourselves is a radical reliance on God, a wholehearted acceptance of God as the only power, to recognize that Love leads every action. This is the goal I set for myself at every moment. And this is why I see such a strong interaction with these two disciplines: they both ask us to give up material beliefs and rely on Truth. This may not be as hard as we'd like to make it out to be! Think back on the so-called laws of life you have adopted in the past. Shouldn't' it be as easy to allow spiritual principles to guide your actions as it is to accept material rules which make no sense? For example, why should being cold and wet give you a cold? What silly admonitions we have heard about things that will cause us to "catch cold". This is only one example, but I'm sure you can think of many you have heard and lived by in your life. This quote from Lesson 34 says it all: "When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey." And the rules of God are simple to hear when we have cleared out the cacophony which hides them from our thought. To live from the Truth within rather than the made-up rules of material existence, this is the freedom which will lead us into harmonious peace for all.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The conceptions of mortal, erring thought must give way to the ideal of all that is perfect and eternal. Through many generations human beliefs will be attaining diviner conceptions, and the immortal and perfect model of God's creation will finally be seen as the only true conception of being."

Science & Health Page 260:7-12

February 25, 2012 - Seeing Love

ACIM workbook lesson #56:

Today is the sixth of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=56

Photo by Mawuena Davies

[Marsha's thoughts]

Once we develop the habit of seeing everything in Love, it is jolting to hear someone speaking from a space of fear and attack. One of my neighbors has become so sure that everything is attacking him, that everything is attacking him! For almost 20 years, I've watched him as he goes from one drama to the next, including divorces, lost jobs, personal attacks of various types, all of his thoughts magnetized and attracting more of the same. Many of us have been there to some extent or another, and most of us reading these words have made a conscious choice to see -- to see Love, to see the Reality of our being rather than the attacks often envisioned in uneducated thought. Wanting to see differently more than anything else is the key to finding this open secret. The acknowledgement that God is everything, including my true self, is the first step in demonstrating Truth. Closing the door on the illusionary images we have become accustomed to thinking of as reality allows us to see true Reality. And when we see it, we can live it.  As soon as we allow ourselves to not only observe this truth, but to actualize it in daily practice, we start to notice synchronicities in various surprising ways. It may be that we're in the right place at the right time in order to meet people we need to meet to facilitate projects and other related things. Or maybe we notice we are where we need to be in order to help someone else by the utilization of a particular skill or resource that we have. The only thing more satisfying than noticing these parting-of-the-veil experiences in ourselves is watching this light come on within others. It's with childlike wonder that we relate these events to each other, until they become such a part of our lives we expect nothing else but good, God, to be manifest in our experience. There is nothing to fear in this change of thought. Embrace it and feel joy!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Here let a word be noticed which will be better understood hereafter,--chemicalization. By chemicalization I mean the process which mortal mind and body undergo in the change of belief from a material to a spiritual basis.”

Science & Health Page 168:30-2

February 24, 2012 - Aghast at Nothingness

ACIM workbook lesson #55:

Today is the fifth of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=55

Aaron Loosing Bonds - phograph by a friend

[Marsha's thoughts]

This review is so exciting I want to write about each and every one -- but I've already done that! So I'll just go with the first part of the review from lesson #21: "What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death. This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son." Christian Scientists are often criticized for using Spirit to heal disease. Obviously this would be impossible. Alternatively, we are chastised for doing nothing when faced with this thing called disease. If you have a so-called disease, it does no good to pretend it's not there. While affirmations, visualizations, different psychological techniques are often effective at changing matter, that is not what spiritual healing is all about. Some think that the metaphysical treatment of disease is trying to affect a change in your experience. It is not. And some think that spiritual healing through prayer is praying to God to heal disease. It is not.  Yet others feel that prayer is "doing nothing". It is not. Witnessing and demonstrating the Truth of our being is what it is. Seeing past the illusion to a single moment of Reality, that is what spiritual healing is about. And when you see this Truth, you live it in whatever realm you're experiencing at the moment. This Principle cannot be changed, and the moment you realize the unchanging nature of this law, you will see it as the governing principle of everything. Today I will not be afraid to live my purpose.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a diviner sense, harmony is the real and discord the unreal. We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, death. We may well be perplexed at human fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?”

Science & Health Page 563:1-7

February 23, 2012 - Unreal or True Thought?

Workbook Lesson #54

Today is the fourth of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link:http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=54

Shared Thought at the Great Wall of China
Photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

Upon awakening today, I had about 20 inane and/or insane thoughts before I realized what I was doing! Thoughts that start out as simply as "What day is this and where am I supposed to be?" quickly followed a chain of remembrances which took me from a lovely cooking store to my childhood home, zooming over to a friend's house and a remembered conversation, and zipping back to a neglected household chore. This is why it is so important to guide your first thoughts in paths of Spirit. Without this discipline, we can spend all our time with meaningless thoughts which create turmoil rather than peace within us. I have found that leading first thoughts to Truth helps keep my mind in tune with the real for the rest of the day, rather than the material insanity which comes at us from every direction once we leave the sequestered world of our home. We so often feel we are bombarded by thoughts of fear and hostility, lack and disease, error and disharmony. What if our thoughts of peace and harmony could still the seeming turmoil of the world? Then would it be worth the effort to pull these thoughts away from the untrue and keep them steadfastly on the True? These teachings tell us that this is so, that we are not alone in experiencing the effects of our seeing. Everything true we think or speak or do is shared with all. How important then to see Reality rather than the insane beliefs we are taught by the repetition of them. What I see is what I think; what I think is what I see. Take a stand for Truth today and every day and see the transformational power.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free, not needing to consult almanacs for the probabilities either of his life or of the weather, not needing to study brainology to learn how much of a man he is."

Science & Health Page 171:4`11

Marsha

February 22, 2012

Review of 6-10

February 21, 2012 - To see or not to see

ACIM workbook lesson #52:

Today is the second of a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link: http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=52

Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

We who are practicing metaphysicians often hear words like these: "Get real! Face facts! Pull your head out of the sand!" I usually just smile and say, "You may be right", and politely wander away. Trying to explain my actions to the spiritually-deaf ear would be akin to explaining purple to a blind child. But if I were asked to do that, it would have to be through feeling the color and allowing that sight to pass to the sightless. And so rather than explaining -- or worse, arguing! -- I will feel Love, the spiritual reality, while allowing the material argument to pass through and be gone. I have not always been so easy to get along with! Recently I've had a chance to spend time with an old friend who will be moving far, far away. A number of years ago, she and I had an altercation which was deeply interconnected to lots of areas in our friendship. If either she or I had held onto the past, we wouldn't share the palpable Oneness we feel today. As this lesson tells us, it's not a choice of seeing past or present, but a choice to see or not to see. Where I've chosen to shade my thoughts with unreality, I will choose again and flow in Oneness with God.

 Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Spiritual causation is the one question to be considered, for more than all others spiritual causation relates to human progress. The age seems ready to approach this subject, to ponder somewhat the supremacy of Spirit, and at least to touch the hem of Truth's garment." 

Science & Health Page 270:22-27

February 20, 2012 - Illusion to Reality

ACIM workbook lesson #51:

Today we begin a ten-day review of the first lessons. For a guide to this review, and a short description of each of the five, go to this link: http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=51

[Marsha's thoughts]

In the first 50 days of the year, we have started to recognize what is reality and what is illusion. We have learned that what we think we see is actually taking the place of true vision. By realizing that nothing means anything, we are giving ourselves permission to drop beliefs and accept spiritual facts. Everything I think I see is colored with judgment, both mine and others. This judgment has given me whatever meaning I've placed on anything. These meanings make no sense and cannot be understood because they have been interpreted through erroneous thought and belief. By seeing through the illusions we've made, we free ourselves to see Truth. When we accept that these thoughts mean nothing, we let go of the self-importance we've attached to everything we think. Then we are able to release them and replace them with the inner knowing that is God. When I become upset, it is never for the reason I think. In order to justify these incomprehensible beliefs, I have made up a complex defense system of attacks and  retreats which only serve to leave me in a state of disharmony. I don't want this crazy fantasy to be my life! I want to follow the leadings of Love, to hear through Spirit, to see with Soul, to live Life.

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Spiritual perception brings out the possibilities of being, destroys reliance on aught but God, and so makes man the image of his Maker in deed and in truth.” 

Science & Health Page 203:13-16

February 19, 2012 - Sustained by Love

ACIM workbook lesson #50:

“I am sustained by the Love of God.”

Heather Sustained
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

When an animal looks at us lovingly, do we ever wonder if we need to comb our hair or if we have spinach in between our teeth? This loving glance is pure in many ways which our human love seems to lack. I look to my dog(s) to show me the way to express and to feel the Love that is God. In order to recognize that "I am sustained by the Love of God", I must give up all previous notions of what love is. I once heard a mother say of her child that she had to love him, but she didn't have to like him. I think we often have this idea about God's Love, too. Yes, we'll tell ourselves, God loves me -- but there's a nagging suspicion that it's only because He has to. But this idea never existed in divine Love. Can we even begin to imagine a Love that just is? I certainly want to. I want to know this Love of God and allow it to sustain me constantly, not just when I don't know what to do and reach out in desperation. Today I'm feeling out of sorts for no particular reason. So I think I'll take a walking meditation, stilling my mind and feeling nothing but the air around me. And pretty soon I know there will be a hint of Love coloring my mood. A taste is all it takes for me to want to throw off the shackles of ennui and swim in a sea of all-sustaining Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

In the following Psalm one word shows, though faintly, the light which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures by substituting for the corporeal sense, the incorporeal or spiritual sense of Deity:-- Psalm XXIII

[DIVINE LOVE] is my shepherd; I shall not want. [LOVE] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [LOVE] leadeth me beside the still waters. [LOVE] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [LOVE] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [LOVE] is with me; [LOVE'S] rod and [LOVE'S] staff they comfort me. [LOVE] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [LOVE] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever.

Science & Health Page 577:31-18

February 18, 2012 - All day

ACIM workbook lesson #49:

"God's Voice speaks to me all through this day."

 "Heather in Fall"
Photo by Aaron Springston

When someone says that God is speaking to them, it is commonly thought that they are schizophrenic or unbalanced in some way. This is because we have come to believe that our material brains are the center for ideas and thoughts, and that anything else is some form of supernatural brouhaha.  With the understanding that divine Mind is the creator of all things spiritual, and that ideas are a product of this Mind, then it is easier to understand that it's natural; that we can and do hear God's voice all the time. The cacophony in our mind often drowns out the voice of the divine Mind. By training ourselves to quiet this constant chatter which we have become accustomed to accepting as a normal aspect of our material existence, we allow peaceful inner knowing to be heard. This Voice of God is always present, everywhere, for anyone to hear. But so often we are afraid to listen. Do you remember the last time you "just knew" something, but didn't follow through with it, pushing your intuition aside in favor of what we call common sense? These instances might be something minor in nature, or they may be something which would have resulted in a major shift in events. To know our spiritual nature as an idea of divine Mind is to know that the intelligence of the universe is ours for the listening. To allow ourselves to hear from spiritual sense is to hear God's Voice all through the day.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout [Its] creation, and the immortality of man and the universe. Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source. Mortal sense inverts this appearing and calls ideas material. Thus misinterpreted, the divine idea seems to fall to the level of a human or material belief, called mortal man. But the seed is in itself, only as the divine Mind is All and reproduces all--as Mind is the multiplier, and Mind's infinite idea, man and the universe, is the product. The only intelligence or substance of a thought, a seed, or a flower is God, the creator of it. Mind is the Soul of all. Mind is Life, Truth, and Love which governs all." 

Science & Health Page 507:24-8

February 17, 2012 - No Fear

ACIM workbook lesson #48:

"There is nothing to fear."

Photo from watermark on it

In thinking about the things that we fear, it seems they all have to do with lack and separation. Fear stems from the idea that we can be separated from the joy and love, peace and security, which we feel in a particular instance. I remember when my son left home for a boarding school at the tender age of fourteen. I was so sad that I felt I'd never laugh again. I literally couldn't imagine happiness, as everything I looked at reminded me he was gone. After a week or so of living in this maudlin state, I realized I was thinking of him as though he were dead. This led me to examine that avenue. What if he was dead? Wouldn't the love we felt still be alive? Of course, I would miss being around him, enjoying his company -- just as I was missing him right now with 300 miles of physical separation. This seeming loss was caused by separation. So I examined  what it is that allows us to be together no matter where we seem to be in this world. And that something is Love. The Love that we both are as the reflection of the one God is a connection which cannot be broken by any set of material circumstance. When I'm really feeling the security of divine Love, I'm reminded of the way a baby is swaddled in a blanket. The closer and tighter the swaddling is, the more secure the baby feels. Divine Love swaddles us in its ever-present protection. While we may seem to face uncertainties and losses, "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God." (ACIM text)

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Apostle John says: 'There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out fear. . . . He that feareth is not made perfect in Love.' Here is a definite and inspired proclamation of Christian Science." 

Science & Health Page 410:17-21

February 16, 2012 - My strength is not mine

ACIM workbook lesson #47:

"God is the strength in which I trust."

"Child in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

I am reminded of the strength two women utilized in order to commit these writings to paper, in a form that could be reproduced and kept alive for others to be reminded of Truth. In order to preserve the words for posterity, Mary Baker Eddy spent years writing, revising, editing that which came through her. Helen Schucman was an unwilling vessel for the Word, but she allowed it to fill her and flow onto paper for the benefit of all. Where does this strength come from, which enables people to start such world-wide changes in thought? I know that Mrs. Eddy gave the whole credit for every revelation to God. She understood that no matter how erudite and learned she had become, (despite no formal education), that there was no way mortal mind could know the divine realities she was writing. At least once she stated that she had no idea what Science & Health said, and that's why she read it daily. She stated her writing was divinely inspired. While today's vernacular would refer to this as "channeled", I think there's much to be said for the notion that everything is channeled! Loosing the bonds of materialism allows us see in ways we didn't know existed. Then every moment we are a channel for Truth!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The revelation of Truth in the understanding came to me gradually and apparently through divine power. When a new spiritual idea is borne to earth, the prophetic Scripture of Isaiah is renewedly fulfilled: "Unto us a child is born, . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful."

Science & Health Page 109:22-27

February 15, 2012 - Blameless, sinless, free

ACIM workbook lesson #46:

“God is the Love in which I forgive.”

Heather at Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

We are first told in today's workbook lesson that God does not forgive because there is no condemnation. I easily acknowledge the idea that God does not forgive because there is no need -- indeed, no concept of such! -- as forgiveness is letting go of separation, and how can the One know of such an idea? Unfortunately, it seems I can know of this illusion of thought! A number of years ago, two close friends of mine became embroiled in a difference of perceptions which escalated to the point of one of them leaving the community and the spiritual ties we had with each other. A few months ago, one of these friends showed up in my art gallery and it was as though we'd never had the separation we imagined. We had a lovely visit, with promises of keeping in touch. But this has not happened. Upon reflection, I feel that he wanted an apology from me, and I didn't think there was anything to apologize for. Today's lesson prompts me to do some deep searching concerning my actions. I see that now I would find a way to not "take sides". I regret having done so and wonder what may have transpired had I not. But that is past and there is no need to wonder about it. What I do wonder about is what will be said in the letter of apology I will write him today! The inspiration will come while practicing today's lesson of forgiveness and Love. And whatever it brings will be freeing to us both -- and us All!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"'God is Love.' More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go. To suppose that God forgives or punishes sin according as His mercy is sought or unsought, is to misunderstand Love and to make prayer the safety-valve for wrong-doing."

Science & Health Page 6:17-22

February 14, 2012 - Mind

Principia students studying daily
 CS Lesson in Mongolia
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM workbook lesson #45:
“God is the Mind with which I think.”

[Marsha's thoughts]
The idea that Mind is God has been one of my favorite topics to explore in Christian Science. Actually, this week's study topic for Christian Scientists all over the world is Mind. This topic is explored through citations from the Bible and correlative readings from Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. The knowledge that there are countless people studying the same topic and readings is a unifying practice in the Science of The Christ. Also, a consistent unity is shown through the study of A Course in Miracles workbook lessons, bringing us together in thought. We are learning to listen for divine Mind's guidance, to listen for the still, small voice of God, to know and to express that knowledge through our actions and words. The demonstration of this truth which is gained through listening can be observed in many ways. One of my favorites is to simply be still when I've misplaced something. Rather than rushing about looking for it, I will sit down and clear my mind of everything. On the occasions this clearing happens, I'm soon smiling as I walk directly to the 'lost" item. This is what these practices are about: getting out of our own way to "hear" spiritually, metaphysically, with Mind as our intelligence and only guidance.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Every concept which seems to begin with the brain begins falsely. Divine Mind is the only cause or Principle of existence. Cause does not exist in matter, in mortal mind, or in physical forms.” Science & Health Page 262:28-32

February 13, 2012 - Seeing through Light

ACIM workbook lesson #44:

"God is the Light in which I see."

Zion National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

Seeing everything in Light, in God, brings us happiness and peace. Reflecting that Light to others shows them that they, also, are this harmony. When viewed as the image and likeness of God, this light is easily seen as the essence of everyone. A few simple words, expressing what we are seeing, brings joy to those we come into contact with every day. A compliment shared with someone in the grocery store or library may be just the encouragement they need at that moment. Shining the light of Oneness from within brings with it big blessings! I think we all know at least one someone whose expression of Love seems to be a bit contrived. It's been my observation (both in others and within myself!) that these loving expressions must be sincere, not simply something we decide to say to make someone feel good. So today I will be feeling the joy which comes from seeing everything through Light, and giving heart-felt expression to that joy, blessing the world.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Spiritual vision is not subordinate to geometric altitudes. Whatever is governed by God, is never for an instant deprived of the light and might of intelligence and Life."

 Science & Health Page 215:11-14

February 12, 2011 - Source and Sight

ACIM workbook lesson #43:

"God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him."

Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

A recurring point of semantic difference between A Course in Miracles writings and the works of Mary Baker Eddy is the use of the word ego. In ACIM, "ego" is synonymous with Mrs. Eddy's "mortal mind". When the word is used in Science & Health, it's used with a capital "E", signifying the Only. For example, "When will the ages understand the Ego, and realize only one God, one Mind or intelligence?" (S&H Page 204:19-21) It seems to me that the realization of this idea, that there is one source, one vision,one Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, one Life, Truth, one Love -- with that single realization lies infinite peace and harmony. And this from today's ACIM lesson, "You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be apart from God." This statement solidifies our position of Oneness and allows us to assert these facts fearlessly as a child of God. Continuously I will ask myself how God sees a situation, person, place. Do I truly think that God sees one person as holier than another? Does God see one bird as more beautiful than another, one tree more special? I think not. So neither will I.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“In viewing the sunrise, one finds that it contradicts the evidence before the senses to believe that the earth is in motion and the sun at rest. As astronomy reverses the human perception of the movement of the solar system, so Christian Science reverses the seeming relation of Soul and body and makes body tributary to Mind. Thus it is with man, who is but the humble servant of the restful Mind, though it seems otherwise to finite sense. But we shall never understand this while we admit that soul is in body or mind in matter, and that man is included in non-intelligence.  Soul, or Spirit, is God, unchangeable and eternal; and man coexists with and reflects Soul, God, for man is God's image.”

Science & Health Page 119: 25-6

February 11, 2011 - Strength and Vision

ACIM workbook lesson #42:

“God is my strength. Vision is His gift.”

Mark in Mongolia
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

How often I've felt it impossible to go on, as I'm sure you have, too. A child's illness, divorces and other endings, losing a business which is more than just a way to make money, parents' passing, lies uncovered, truths found out -- the situations which seem insurmountable, but never are. No, that's not right. If we really have no idea that God is our life, many things are too large to move past. I had a good friend whose daughters both died in tragic ways. Dear Betty just wanted to quit living, and so she did. First of all she stayed incredibly busy, so she wouldn't have time to think. Then she died of multiple cancers. During this time I would have given anything to impart to her today's lesson; to have the ability to show her what God sees. But only she could have done that. What I did was to offer her a cup of cold water in the form of God's Love. I showed it to her, I gave it to her, I let her know it was hers.  So today, dear friend, I think of you while I go about the day's activities, remembering that I have the strength of eternity and the infinite vision which I share with you and everyone in the Oneness of God, demonstrated as strength and vision by Its reflections. This cup I raise to you, Betty Lou!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Rise in the strength of Spirit [God] to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.” 

Science & Health Page 393:12-15

February 10, 2012 - Never Alone

ACIM workbook lesson #41 

“God goes with me wherever I go.”

Somewhere near the Great Wall of China
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]
The acceptance of today's lesson opens our existence to a world of joy and peace, even if situations seem less than loving. A Bible verse tells us: If I make my bed in hell, Thou art there. In many belief systems, this would be impossible because heaven is God's place and hell is the devil's, both entities battling for our attention. In the teachings we are studying, as in Jesus' words, we learn that the kingdom of heaven is within. In our reality as children of God, there is nothing other than heaven, harmony. Heaven on earth is our natural state. The hell we so often find ourselves experiencing, although unnatural, seems to be a part of this material existence. These are the situations we are learning to see as unreal, and through this we know that we are the reflection of the One good, God. By this understanding, we are always with God, and God with us, because we are One.

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Existence, separate from divinity, [Christian] Science explains as impossible.” 

Science & Health Page 522:10-11

February 9, 2012 - Blessed

ACIM workbook lesson #40:

“I am blessed as a Son of God."

Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

It may seem difficult to think of ourselves as a blessed child of God. There are as many reasons for this as there are individualized thoughts concerning it. So I choose to not look at it from why I am not this Idea of God, but from why I Am. For me, it's easiest to see myself as Love. This Love is a synonym for God, so when I see myself as this Love, I am seeing myself as I was created spiritually in the likeness of that Oneness. One of my friends finds it difficult to envision Love, so he uses Mind. Of course, we are using human concepts here, even if we put a capital letter on them! We intellectually know what we mean, but sometimes it's hard to feel the meaning. But I trust that through continued meditation, prayer, and quiet contemplation that I will feel more and more this Truth of All that Is. Seeing ourselves in this vast way opens doors to places of peace and joy. Anyone who has visited the depths of depression knows what a relief it is to regain peace, and how ecstatic to feel joy. And while we're remembering this to be true of ourselves, we will know it is true with everyone. Namaste ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God fashions all things, after His own likeness. Life is reflected in existence, Truth in truthfulness, God in goodness, which impart their own peace and permanence. Love, redolent with unselfishness, bathes all in beauty and light.” Science & Health Page 516:9-13

February 8, 2012 - Spiritually Whole

ACIM workbook lesson #39:

"My holiness is my salvation."

For you who are occasional readers of the workbook lessons, today would be a good time !

http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=39

As is stated in this day's lesson, "No one needs practice to gain what is already his." It seems difficult to forget the materialism that is so engrained in our daily lives. In remembering that those illusionary teachings are the only thing hiding our True Selves, we needn't concentrate on forgetting these beliefs, but on remembering our wholeness! An instance came up today where I had a chance to see something differently. One of the Catch-22s of life in our tourist town is that many shopkeepers are not open in the winter. We don't get enough tourists to stay open, is the logic. But perhaps we don't get enough tourists because not enough of us are open. My fill-in shopkeeper tells me that a woman called to ask if we'd be open on a certain day in March. When she was told that we would, she said that we were the first positive response she'd gotten from the few she had called. My by-rote response would have been a complaint against others. But I stopped and thought about how I could respond from my holiness. What I saw was the whole town as vibrant and joyful, whole and free. Seeing everything in its spiritual signification leaves no room for missing pieces or lack of any kind. Where there is no blame, there is no guilt. No guilt equals salvation!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Who would stand before a blackboard, and pray the principle of mathematics to solve the problem? The rule is already established, and it is our task to work out the solution. Shall we ask the divine Principle of all goodness to do His own work? His work is done, and we have only to avail ourselves of God's rule in order to receive His blessing, which enables us to work out our own salvation.”

Science & Health Page 3:4-11

February 7, 2012 - Reversal of thought

ACIM workbook lesson #38:

"There is nothing my holiness cannot do"

Butterfly World in St. Louis
photo by Heather Magnan

[Marsha's thoughts]

I love the first two sentences of today's lesson! "Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world. It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind." Haven't you always felt that to be true? Isn't this why Harry Potter plays in our head for hours via reading and movies? We know -- we just know! -- that there is more to all this than meets the mortal eye.  I get very excited when pondering these concepts! How grand it is that we have so many writings from people who know A Course in Miracles, and that we have more than a hundred year's worth of detailed writing from the Christian Science movement. Through these tomes we find encouragement and support when it seems the material world's pull is easier to bow down to than it is to walk through, to the Truth it is masking. And what a fine tool the internet is for this study! A simple search on either discipline puts information at your fingertips in an instant. Tapping into our inner knowing has much the same result. An interactive word game I play online is a great experiment in thought. For instance, imagine you have seven letters to choose in order to figure out what a word is, and this is what you begin with: _ O _ _. There are a great number of possibilities! But by opening up to intuition, I just know what letter to choose to move forward.  What a great experiment to prove the effectiveness of the demonstration of this way of looking at things! And that's how it is with everything we encounter when looked at through holiness, through wholeness. If we choose based on material evidence, everything may seem to be a matter of luck. When we allow our holiness to guide us, there is only the peaceful certainty of Good.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Lulled by stupefying illusions, the world is asleep in the cradle of infancy, dreaming away the hours. Material sense does not unfold the facts of existence; but spiritual sense lifts human consciousness into eternal Truth. Humanity advances slowly out of sinning sense into spiritual understanding; unwillingness to learn all things rightly, binds Christendom with chains."

 Science & Health Page 95:28-3

"Love will finally mark the hour of harmony, and spiritualization will follow, for Love is Spirit." Science & Health Page 96:4-5

February 6, 2012 - My Wholeness Blesses the World

ACIM workbook lesson #37

"My holiness blesses the world."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Heather in Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love your neighbor as yourself. What a lovely world it is when we love ourselves more, and then let that love flow out to our neighbors. And when we honor ourselves as reflections of God, we are able to do no harm to others, because we wouldn't do it unto ourselves. That is what this day's lesson asks us to accept. We are whole, as is everyone, because we are all reflections of Love. Our purpose is to see this ever-present Truth in everything. When I am interacting with someone who is living in fear, someone who turns every situation into a threat, I will turn it around in my thought by seeing the situation through holiness. And this allows me to release any thoughts of trying to change their attitude, any words of correction, all attack thoughts of any kind. I will live with Love and express this holiness in words and actions as I move through this day, knowing that wholeness enacted is my only purpose.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in order to perfect his conception. We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought. What is the model before mortal mind? Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering? Have you accepted the mortal model?" "We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives." 

Science & Health Page 248:12-17 and 25-29

February 5, 2012 - What is holiness?

ACIM workbook lesson #36

"My holiness envelopes everything I see."

[Marsha's thoughts]

What does holiness mean to you? That's the question I will ponder today as I go about my activities. While "my holiness envelopes everything I see", I will think about what, exactly, that means. I feel that the question, Who Am I?, is an important one to ask when defining my holiness. Moses tells us that I Am is all that is: I Am that I Am. I take those words to mean that when I admit my true self, my spiritually-revealed Self, I am able to see and express my holiness enveloping everything, which includes me and my thoughts. Everything I see through a spiritual sense is seeing as I Am. This sight turns us to the presence of divine Love, God, and Its never-ending principle which guides and guards. To see as Love sees, to be as Love is, to relax into your True Self -- these things, and more, are both the principle and the practice of today's lesson.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"We know that a desire for holiness is requisite in order to gain holiness; but if we desire holiness above all else, we shall sacrifice everything for it. We must be willing to do this, that we may walk securely in the only practical road to holiness. Prayer cannot change the unalterable Truth, nor can prayer alone give us an understanding of Truth; but prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us into all Truth. Such a desire has little need of audible expression. It is best expressed in thought and in life." Science & Health Page 11:22-32

February 4, 2012 - I Am

Glacier National Park
view from the mountaintop
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM workbook lesson #35
"My mind is part of God. I am very holy."


[Marsha's thoughts]
I've recently been working with someone who has been struggling with depression all her life. She feels her existence has been a series of horrible events, occasionally interrupted by happy times which inevitably end in pain. In an attempt to escape this existence, she has turned to alcohol, drugs, and God. But the judgmental God she sees makes deals with her, and this God never sees her as worthy of favor. The repetition of her hopeless life story seems to be in her thought constantly, affecting her every action. By accepting today's lesson which tells us that we are actually holy as a reflection of God, the feelings of hopelessness and sadness can disappear in the twinkling of an eye. By releasing our material history, we are free to learn the reality of our spiritual Truth, which is unending, uninterrupted good. It's a beautiful thing to see someone realize the nothingness of the thoughts they've been replaying in their mind, and to realize the wondrous peace which is their only true story. I think of God as defined by Mary Baker Eddy: Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love..Divine Mind flows through us all, is always available to us to replace the thoughts of our mind, and is an ever-presence which can be counted on to replace any feelings of sadness and depression which may seem to be real to us. To misquote a well-known Bible verse: Let this mind be you, which was also Christ Jesus. This Mind is you, and me, and everyone, because it is God, which is omnipresent, omniscient, always.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Mortal thought transmits its own images, and forms its offspring after human illusions. God, Spirit, works spiritually, not materially. Brain or matter never formed a human concept. Vibration is not intelligence, hence it is not a creator. Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results."
Science & Health Page 259:22-31

February 3, 2012 - Peace instead of this ...

ACIM Workbook Lesson #34:

"I could see peace instead of this."

Glacier National Park
photo by Heather Magnan

[Marsha's thoughts]

Family disputes, contentious work situations, city council meetings in Eureka Springs -- every day we find ourselves involved in situations which give us the opportunity to see peace instead of the dissension which is taking form before us. Even if we're not directly involved in these scenarios, we are given the opportunity to "see peace instead of this". We are learning to sit quietly, with Love, and watch how that spiritual truth brings healing. Peace is inherent in every volatile situation. What a calm glow is brought forth when Love is felt within! By practicing peace we are allowed to witness its inevitable spread to everything it touches. I have numerous opportunities to practice this precept with my dog. He exhibits aberrant, aggressive behavior towards people and other dogs. It's difficult for me to not become aggressive myself! Even though I've witnessed the effect of calm, assertive behavior on this little bundle of nervousness, bringing him to a relaxed state, all too often I simply join with him in his tense communication. So today I scatter Love everywhere, with particular attention to myself,

 as I watch Its manifestation all around.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual. The pains of sense are salutary, if they wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections from sense to Soul, where the creations of God are good, 'rejoicing the heart.' Such is the sword of Science, with which Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man's higher individuality and destiny.”

Science & Health Page 265:23-5

February 2, 2012 - How do I see the world?

ACIM Workbook Lesson #33:

"There is another way of looking at the world."

Forbidden City Acrobats
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

This lesson asks us to recognize that we can shift our perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. We are asked to look at things around us, and then to look at our thoughts. This is to be done casually: no judgment, only noticing. Okay. I'm looking around the room. The first thing I see is a lamp which was bought at a Clear Spring School auction. Interestingly, it was donated by Victorian Reflections, a shop which occupied the space Eureka Thyme Gallery now has. This lamp has a story. It brings back lots of memories and feelings within me, all lovely to remember. Now then, when I close my eyes and follow my thoughts, a long trail has opened up with memory links galore! I could follow them and spend a great deal of time living in the past. Or I can simply see it for what it is and ask myself why that lamp makes me smile. It represents to me light, beauty, happy times with children and friends. Whether this exercise brought me lovely thoughts or caused distress makes no difference, because they both need to be released. This doesn't mean that I must never feel the Love reflected by this lamp and its connections. That feeling is mine all the time. This release lightens the barriers I've built against Spirit. It helps me become more transparent and allows good, God, to be my only Sight. What an adventure this is!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Dear reader, which mind-picture or externalized thought shall be real to you,--the material or the spiritual? Both you cannot have. You are bringing out your own ideal. This ideal is either temporal or eternal. Either Spirit or matter is your model. If you try to have two models, then you practically have none. Like a pendulum in a clock, you will be thrown back and forth, striking the ribs of matter and swinging between the real and the unreal."

Science & Health Page 360:13-21

February 1, 2012 - I have invented the world I see

ACIM workbook lesson #32:

“I have invented the world I see.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

We've invented a cocoon called Eureka Thyme. We are invisible to people who wouldn't appreciate us, we're invisible to anyone who wants to talk coffee-shop banter about politics and how the world is doomed, we are invisible to fans of gossip -- it's delightful! We just don't hear such things in the gallery, and on the rare occasions we do, I've found ways to lead people back to paths of peace. This is not to say our world is always spent in quiet contemplation. Everything in the gallery reflects the Love with which it was made, and that shows forth in an atmosphere which glows with this Love. And it's also joyous! We have artist shows, author events, celebrations for every reason imaginable. I tell you these things to illustrate that we needn't allow inharmony to permeate our world. Peace and love are the realities of spiritual creation. When disharmonious materialism raises its voice, we refute it, with Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." Science & Health Page 261:4-7