Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Camera of Divine Mind

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #32: “I have invented the world I see.”

A few years ago, a woman made two rather large purchases from my gallery, writing me checks on an account which was frozen due to a pending divorce from her husband. Apparently, she had been having a last fling in our town and I was not the only one who received "bad" checks. I sent her numerous loving notes, trying to help her to feel better about herself. I called her on the phone once and that didn't go well, so I went back to sending her a note every few weeks. At one point, she wrote me a letter and signed it, "your friend". About four months after her original purchases, I received money orders for the entire amount she owed. Most people thought there would be no way to collect this debt without resorting to legal means, but every time I thought of her, it was with kindness, seeing her true nature as a child of Love. I refused to think of her the way others described similar situations and the people who were involved. When doubt would creep in, I would replace it with an assurance of good. This is the world I wish to see, and so I do. Having a Pollyanna attitude doesn’t mean you do nothing, rather it’s expecting the best and being led in ways to facilitate that end!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The crude creations of mortal thought must finally give place to the glorious forms which we sometimes behold in the camera of divine Mind, when the mental picture is spiritual and eternal.” Science & Health Page 264:3-7

Monday, January 30, 2017

A Brave New World

"Glacier National Park"
photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #31: "I am not the victim of the world I see"   

It's very easy to feel victimized by current events. It seems as though "they" are going to do whatever they want and come up with reasons why it's necessary. I don't know and don't want to wonder why things are as they are, but I am excited and expectant of good as I watch individuals doing things to improve communications and provide knowledge. One of my heroes is a man named Michael Moore who has dared question powers that be on topics most of us are afraid to broach. One of his documentaries is "Capitalism: A Love Story". While he shows us transgressions of government and corporations, he also tells of individuals and businesses that dare to challenge the accepted standards and bring about much-needed change. He gives us hope by showing how we, too, can carry a light and spread it to others. While we can never know what material truth is, as it is ever-changing and fickle, we can know spiritual Truth and allow it to lead our way toward a brave new world!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss."

Science & Health Page 481:2-4

Sunday, January 29, 2017

In My Mind

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook lesson #30: "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind."

Seeing everything as a part of us by looking within rather than without is the point of today's exercise. This looking is not limited to what we can see with our eyes. We are asked to close our eyes and see what pops into our thought, too. We are working toward changing sight to vision. I look at my sweet dog and see my experience of him. I close my eyes and envision all the Love expressed by all the dogs I have known. I feel the Love expressed by my parents and children and friends. I can feel the warmth of a spring day, smell the earth and flowers, see past my limiting thoughts to the ideas of Soul. As explained by a sentence in today’s lesson: “Real vision is not only unlimited by space and distance, but it does not depend on the body's eyes at all.” I look forward to seeing everything as a reflection of unlimited Love!


Mary Baker Eddy quote: "It is the illumination of the spiritual understanding which demonstrates the capacity of Soul, not of material sense. This Soul-sense comes to the human mind when the latter yields to the divine Mind." Science & Health Page 85:2-6

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Everything I See

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #29: "God is in everything I see.”

A few readers of my “dailies” have asked why I don’t address the political situation in our country. Upon reflection, I feel that I do. Everything is connected by way of Mind, and the multitude of forms we experience are projections of illusion. So with our goal of purifying thoughts of unnecessary dogma, belief, and fear, we are left with Love and Its infinite manifestations. So, yes, I do address the current situations, but not from the point of being a problem identifier. Some of us need to look through the other end of the telescope, with the lens of Love. No matter how we perceive things with these material eyes and thoughts, the true idea of Spirit, God, Love, is there waiting for us to glimpse it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love, redolent with unselfishness, bathes all in beauty and light.” Science & Health Page 516:12-13

Friday, January 27, 2017

I Want to See Differently

photo credit: Richard Quick
ACIM Workbook Lesson #28: "Above all else, I want to see things differently."

Today's lesson asks us to give up any notions we have concerning the meaning of anything and everything. By doing this, we are able to stop looking at a thing and begin seeing the consciousness which sustains it. When we start asking what things are rather than telling them what they are, interesting answers may be coming our way. For instance, in one of my favorite novels, "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared”, the main character doesn't make plans, but follows his intuition and ends up in some very interesting situations. Whether he's spending a few years in jail or crossing the Himalayas on foot, he doesn't interpret new circumstance from past experience, but views them as they are and does what needs to be done. The desire to see things differently is the beginning of doing so — and we begin the adventure!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The objects cognized by the physical senses have not the reality of substance. They are only what mortal belief calls them." Science & Health Page 311:26-28

Thursday, January 26, 2017

I Want To See

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #27: "Above all else, I want to see."

Today someone said to me, "There are only two powers, and she’s chosen the wrong one." Wow. Once we have split power into a loving God and Its evil twin, some seriously hard-to-let-go images have taken hold in our mind. So when I'm thinking of today's lesson throughout the day, I won't concentrate on the myriad of ways we've constructed to cloud our vision, but I'll ask to see with true sight, as God sees. If I wonder how that view can be mine, I'll go to the definition of God given us by Mary Baker Eddy, which is quoted below after a passage from a T. S. Eliot poem, “Little Gidding”. “We shall not cease from exploration, / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.”

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Question.--What is God?

Answer.--God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love." Science & Health Page 465:6-8

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Unfounded Decrees

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #26
"My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."

Today many of us may feel attacked and quite vulnerable. The realization that all attack comes from within is an eye-opener! I often feel I’m defending myself when I attack others, but I’m not. This is not a defense against anything, only my acceptance of  perceived attack and the resultant retaliation. When I realize I cannot be attacked from anywhere other than within myself, I can release these defenses I have built in protection of what I believe. Through a conscious choice to reject the unreality of material existence and claim our heritage as powerful spiritual beings, unafraid to stand up and declare our Oneness with divine Love and all of Its creation, we are able to transcend the fears we think is inevitable. I love the new world which is being revealed through this understanding!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust decrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery." Science & Health Page 380:32-4

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

No Offense Taken

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #25
"I do not know what anything is for.”

Part of me is offended to think that I don’t know what anything is for! I’ve spent a few decades learning about things and figuring out how they fit into life, and my ego doesn’t want to give up all the beliefs in which it has invested so much. It’s tempting to say this doesn’t make sense, that I don’t understand it, but then I see what yielding to the understanding that everything works together for good allows me to do. I can relax into the living of divine Mind, the imaging of divine Love. By seeing God as Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love, then seeing ourselves as the image of God, we know we can live as Mind, reflecting Love in everything. From this point, it’s not a huge stretch to admit to myself that I don’t know what anything is for, because by doing so my mind is freed of false meanings, allowing awareness of Truth and the living of this Love. And I am content at last.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine Science accurately to human thought lies in this, that like all other languages, English is inadequate to the expression of spiritual conceptions and propositions, because one is obliged to use material terms in dealing with spiritual ideas."

Science & Health Page 349:13-18

Monday, January 23, 2017

Opening to Mind

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #24: "I do not perceive my own best interests.”

Today’s lesson is a step in opening the mind so that learning can begin, a step in seeing that there is a need for another way of looking at everything. This is not a need for another action, or a change in the world; rather it is a sincere and humble desire to allow divine Mind to show our mortal mind the nothingness of perception. To quote a passage from today’s workbook lesson: “If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could be taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do know what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for today is a step toward opening your mind so that learning can begin.” It’s always difficult to admit that we don’t know things — at least it is for me! We need not seek for our identity, as the reality of our being is right here and now, in all its perfection, waiting for us to find it!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“John saw the human and divine coincidence, shown in the man Jesus, as divinity embracing humanity in Life and its demonstration, — reducing to human perception and understanding the Life which is God.” Science & Health Page 561:16-20

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Freedom of Thought

ACIM Workbook Lesson #23:
"I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts."

Working to correct injustice is not attacking — unless we make it so with thought! Many people feel the way of life we’re studying demands we sit around having happy thoughts, meditating, and turning away from pain and suffering. Of course, it does! But that does not preclude speaking truth to error when it is uncovered. By turning away from attack and demonstrating the Love which is our reality, we begin to understand our purpose on a totally different level than we may have espoused all our lives. I will remind myself time and again of these words from today’s ACIM lesson: “There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will change automatically.” It takes a change of thought to bring freedom. Let's free ourselves today -- and forever!


Mary Baker Eddy quote: “By purifying human thought, this state of mind permeates with increased harmony all the minutiae of human affairs.” Miscellaneous Writings Page 204:23-25

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Clear Sight

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #22
"What I see is a form of vengeance."

One of the definitions for vengeance is: "Punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense; retribution." And part of the commentary from this ACIM workbook lesson is: "Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense." When we see through the eyes of anything other than divine Love, we are seeing through the lens of mortal belief and all the erroneous thoughts which could cloud our sight. Today I'm going to be aware of this and release all attack thoughts, leaving empty this vessel to be filled with divine Love, which will lead me in paths I hadn’t before considered.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Any statement of life, following from a misconception of life, is erroneous, because it is destitute of any knowledge of the so-called selfhood of life, destitute of any knowledge of its origin or existence.” Science & Health Page 553:8-12

Friday, January 20, 2017

Seeing Differently

"Blue Flutist" by Bosch
ACIM Workbook Lesson #21: "I am determined to see things differently"

In this era of instant information, it is becoming increasingly obvious that most of us are receiving the news and opinions which agree with what we have decided is true. Social media is tailor-made to give us what we want, much in the same way as you will get advertisements for things you have searched for on the internet. It has become extremely easy for us to justify our opinions and become convinced that everyone agrees with us — unless, of course, they are on the other side of the fence and their opinions then become diametrically opposed to our own good intentions. We are asked today to examine our mind for anything which arouses anger in us. The lesson also tells us that the degree of anger, from slight irritation to rage, makes no difference. I suspect I will not need to search very far to fill in the blank in this sentence: “I am determined to see ________ [name of person] differently.” Today I will work toward seeing that none of my attack thoughts are justified, no matter how much I want to think they are. Namastè.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The human mind will sometime rise above all material and physical sense, exchanging it for spiritual perception, and exchanging human concepts for the divine consciousness.” Science & Health Page 531:10-13

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Beyond the Appearance

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed
ACIM Workbook Lesson #20
"I am determined to see"

One of our learned behaviors is to place blame on others for things they have said or done which we perceive as detrimental to us or others. When we see what truly is, we are able to simply witness these events, without apportioning blame or cause to them. By this lack of reasoning, we then see things as they really are, without placing our own personal meaning on them. Today I am determined to see beyond the appearances. I strive to release what I believe about circumstances, allowing room for reality to show itSelf.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“The question, 'What is Truth', convulses the world. Many are ready to meet this inquiry with the assurance which comes of understanding; but more are blinded by their old illusions, and try to 'give it pause'.” 

Science & Health Page 223:14-18

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

No Private Thoughts

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #19
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."

Would it bother you to think that there are no private thoughts? There are many things we think of as coincidence which are leading us to the truth of our connectivity, but we insist on finding reasons it can't be true. That's all right, because we are also noticing ways in which our thoughts pass between us with no spoken words. Think of the times someone comes to mind just before the telephone rings and it's them calling you. On a personal level, if we say we want world peace, yet fill our thought with violent movies and doomsday conjectures, are we truly choosing peace? Every thought is important. A peaceful tipping point is getting closer all the time. I feel that's why such violence and craziness is happening everywhere: fear of losing control, fear of change, fear of a new world. Let's live as though every thought DOES make a difference and choose Love over fear!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established.” Science & Health Page 467:9-13

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Giving Impulse to Inquiry

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #18
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."

A good friend who receives these writings has asked me how she is to be compassionate if she is not going to accept the reality of someone’s pain or loss. This is a very good question! Today’s lesson emphasizes the idea that our minds are joined by way of divine Mind. The admission that everything is unified helps us to hold thought to a more elevated level, knowing that I am “not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing”.  This doesn’t mean we should not help those in need, nor that we should make light of others’ pain and suffering. I strive to give people comfort without accepting within my thought that it’s a horrid event to be feared, or a sad event which will take time to release, or that change is something to avoid. There’s nothing “wrong” with crying with friends, holding their hand and offering comforting words, and helping them to find joy again. Never think that these teachings are meant to make us an automaton which unfeelingly goes forward in some sort of metaphysical trance. We are all individuals with a purpose! Never fear living life to the fullest!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry." Science & Health Page 268:1-6

Monday, January 16, 2017

Spiritual Intuitions or Material Beliefs?

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #17
"I see no neutral things".

It's difficult to discern if we’re receiving an intuitive feeling warning us about a person, place, or thing, or if we’re simply being wary because of past experiences. I’m remembering a time where I was asked to make a decision about allowing a particular person to be in charge of my gallery. Just looking at him, I immediately thought of motorcycle ruffians, self-declared bigots of varying sorts, and perhaps even the gestapo. I got a good feeling from him in many ways, but wondered if it was because I always want to see the good in everyone. Did this man have a hidden agenda of which I wanted no part? Was I indulging bigoted thinking? It can be hard to tell, and there was no way I could personally know for sure. I see no neutral things and it's impossible for me, the material, mortal, ego-riddled Marsha to tell the difference, either then or now. But the true Self, stripped of past experiences, beliefs, and bias, recognizes Truth without question. I think I’ll listen to her today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"To corporeal sense, the sun appears to rise and set, and the earth to stand still; but astronomical science contradicts this, and explains the solar system as working on a different plan. All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science [the knowledge of Christ-consciousness], to the immortal truth of all things." Science & Health Page 493:2-8

Sunday, January 15, 2017

No Neutral Thoughts

photo credit: Dan Campbell
ACIM Workbook Lesson #16
“I have no neutral thoughts.”

We are reminded today: "Every thought you have contributes to truth or illusion: either it extends truth or it multiplies illusion." [ACIM] On a regular basis, things occur which we think of as disturbing. For instance, I recently heard of a dear friend's son's surprising suicide, and I found myself repeatedly imaging her pain. But wait -- Does that help her? If every thought is important (which I truly think it is!), then I should hold thought to Love, not pain or grief. What we dwell on multiplies, right? We've all seen it happen, both in our lives and the circumstance of others. So today I will take these words to heart and truly work toward practicing them in every facet of life. I can choose to see the world with ego-based thoughts, prejudiced by long-held beliefs, or I can follow the path cleared by divine Mind. I'm grateful to know there is a choice!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"In divine Science, the universe, including man, is spiritual, harmonious, and eternal. Science shows that what is termed matter is but the subjective state of what is termed by the author mortal mind." Science & Health Page 114:27-31

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Images in Thought

"New Zealand"
photo credit: Dan Campbell
ACIM Workbook Lesson #15
“My thoughts are images that I have made.”

The world seems so real that it’s easy to get caught up in the image-making story. This topic reminds me of an experiment I witnessed in a video. A woman sitting at a table was asked to hold her right arm out, resting it from elbow to hand on the surface. They erected a barrier so she couldn't see her real hand and then they placed a rubber hand and arm in front of her, which she could see, with the elbow ending at her body. Then the person sitting on the other side of the table used a soft paint brush to stroke both her hand and the rubber hand. She stated she was feeling a little odd because she was beginning to experience sensation in the rubber hand. When the person moved the brush to the rubber thumb, stroking it but not hers, she jerked back because the feeling was so odd. Then the man across the table pulled out a hammer and hit the rubber hand. You can imagine how the woman reacted! This demonstrated how, in a matter of two minutes or less, a rubber hand became a human hand in the thought of this woman. This is, in essence, what we've done with everything around us. Belief becomes our reality -- and very quickly. So today I will practice moving away from beliefs and opening my thought to the reality of Spirit!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:
"Mortals evolve images of thought." "Mortal mind sees what it believes as certainly as it believes what it sees. It feels, hears, and sees its own thoughts. Pictures are mentally formed before the artist can convey them to canvas. So is it with all material conceptions." Science & Health Page 86:13 and 86:29:1

Friday, January 13, 2017

The Error of Belief

photo credit: Dan Campbell
ACIM Workbook Lesson #14
“God did not create a meaningless world.”

The last few days we've been seeing the world as meaningless and examining how that affects us. Today we are asked to see that this meaningless world was not created by God. People become confused or disillusioned when they see so much unlike good in this world, often deciding there is no God. Some may explain the situation by blaming something called the devil for bad things, but then there is a conflict in their mind because that means God is not all-powerful in this scenario.  Some may say that God created both good and bad to give us choices, and this is a testing ground we live in. The possibilities are limitless when it comes to trying to make sense of the confusion surrounding spiritual beliefs! In our study, we're seeing that God did create everything, and it is all good, but that this creation is spiritual, not material. When we distance ourselves from the concept that life is in matter, we are able to realize that we actually have a divine origin. We can then understand that we are not governed by mental influences over which we have no control, and this realization frees us to live the Love which is our true heritage as the children of God!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“When will the error of believing that there is life in matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of God, be unmasked? When will it be understood that matter has neither intelligence, life, nor sensation, and that the opposite belief is the prolific source of all suffering? God created all through Mind, and made all perfect and eternal.” Science & Health Page 205:7-13


Thursday, January 12, 2017

Peaceful Reality

photo credit: Dan Campbell
ACIM Workbook Lesson #13
“A meaningless world engenders fear.”

When we say no to Spirit, we believe that something outside — some cause other than divine Mind — is creating circumstances. We give this outside cause reality and make it and its effects real — but they are meaningless, and this false creation engenders fear. Today we realize that mind cannot create beyond itself and, by this realization, go beyond the fear we are creating in our confusion. Most of us who read these writings live in the United States, which is a country that drops a bomb on someone, somewhere, on an average of every 20 minutes. When I look at this fact and its effects, I feel dismayed. I am not attempting to find a way to accept this fear and what it stands for, but I am looking for a way to transcend this way of seeing the world and, thereby, bring meaning to the meaningless events created by the ego, or mortal mind. This day I will look toward the reality of Love for peace within myself, finding meaning there.


Mary Baker Eddy quote: “History teaches that the popular and false notions about the Divine Being and character have originated in the human mind.”  Science & Health Page 357:19-21

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

I'll Meet You in the Field!

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #12
“I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”

Today's lesson asks us to witness events without giving them any meaning. By not assigning meaning to everything, we allow ourselves to see the Truth which is hidden by our personal interpretations. This exercise is designed to help us see that the world has no meaning, other than what we apportion to it. When we allow Spirit (God) to manifest through us -- which is our native state as the experience and expression of divine Mind -- we open ourselves to the field of all possibilities. We then become a blank slate for Love to write on. Who's to know where this will lead us? To quote the Persian poet, Rumi: "Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there".

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Alas for the blindness of belief, which makes harmony conditional upon death and matter, and yet supposes Mind unable to produce harmony! So long as this error of belief remains, mortals will continue mortal in belief and subject to chance and change.” Science & Health Page 486:18-22

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

I Dreamed of Utopia

"The Lantern Bearers"
by Maxfield Parrish
ACIM Workbook Lesson #11
“My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”

I vividly remember a sleeping dream from a few years ago. In it, we had no need to speak, as we knew each others' thoughts. We had no fear, as our thoughts were uncluttered and pure. Everywhere I looked there were happy people, busy at tasks which would benefit everyone. There was no need for television or radios, as we knew everything, and it was Good. At one point, I thought I was lost in the woods, but that was impossible because others sensed my confusion and were there immediately to lead me to a safe and beautiful home. While traveling on a road, suddenly the way was filled with huge boulders and ancient fallen trees, but to the left side there was a field filled with beautiful flowers, and a pathway leading to my destination. All needs were met before I knew of them. And there was the most wonderful sense of peace. I will hold to these beautiful feelings today, while seeing the meaningless basis of my ego-driven thoughts and desires. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Sleep and apathy are phases of the dream that life, substance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night dream is sometimes nearer the fact of being than are the thoughts of mortals when awake. The night-dream has less matter as its accompaniment. It throws off some material fetters. It falls short of the skies, but makes its mundane flights quite ethereal.” 

Science & Health Page 249:24-30

Wiping Out Error

photo credit: Gerry Toler
ACIM Workbook Lesson #10 “My thoughts do not mean anything.”

It may seem insulting to yourself, demeaning even, to think all day long that your thoughts do not mean anything. But this exercise is helping us to release the untrue thoughts of separation, freeing us to welcome divine Mind’s all-encompassing Idea. Are there some instances in your life where you felt you said or did the wrong thing, and this situation repeats in your thought all too often? Maybe you think you don’t look good, or aren’t smart enough, or made wrong decisions, or were gullible, naive, or just plain foolish. These thoughts mean nothing, and releasing them leaves us with a clean slate, allowing Truth to rewrite our story. The goal is to be just as Love created us, allowing any other thoughts to return to the nothingness from which they came. What a beautiful, peaceful day we shall have!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: 

“Truth bestows no pardon upon error, but wipes it out in the most effectual manner.”  Science & Health Page 11:17-18

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Undoing False Ideas

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #9
“I see nothing as it is now.”

“Are all the topics as random as the first ones have been”? This is the question I was asked by a person who recently began receiving my daily writing. I realized that her question made a good point, which is addressed in the text of the current workbook lesson: "the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas." We are accustomed to expecting that everything we learn is for a specific purpose, and when we encounter concepts such as these, they may seem to be random, even meaningless. And that is the point, isn't it? By relieving ourselves of the beliefs we have accumulated, we're opening thought for something different. I've heard it said that what we think of as thinking is merely the rearranging of our prejudices. Hum -- that's something to think about! What an exciting adventure we have awaiting us each day, as we begin to glimpse the difference in what we seem to know through material sense and the reality of Spirit.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“We must silence this lie of material sense with the truth of spiritual sense.” Science & Health Page 318:12-13

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Evolution in Thought

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed
ACIM Workbook Lesson #8
 “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”

In my lifetime, I have seen a huge evolution in thought! A video story set in Australia in the 1950s has reminded me of how far we’ve come. (For you video buffs, it’s called A Place to Call Home.) It’s beautiful to see what beliefs we have given up, replacing them with Love rather than fear. For instance, we had many closed-minded ideas about people of different skin color marrying each other, not to mention the barriers imposed by religious separation and gender. People had to live through electrical shock treatment and its aftermath to “cure” homosexuality or hysteria. Natural acts, such as giving birth, were thought of as a disease which needed to be managed in torturous ways. We’ve come a long way in dispelling erroneous thought and replacing it with what we now see as advanced thinking! What if we’re meant to advance even further? We’ll never know until we are able to divest ourselves of the shackles holding us in place, and listen to the guidance of divine Mind inspiring us to heights never before imagined!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Our false views of matter perish as we grasp the facts of Spirit. The old belief must be cast out or the new idea will be spilled, and the inspiration, which is to change our standpoint, will be lost." Science & Health Page 281:28-1 


Friday, January 6, 2017

Frozen in Thought

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed
ACIM Workbook Lesson #7
 “I see only the past.”

Most of us have changed quite a bit from the time we were small children, both in looks and the way we think. While pondering today's lesson, I realized that I have done a disservice to any number of people by holding them frozen in time within my thoughts. I know that everything is colored by past experience, and I'm willing to release these feelings in order to catch a glimpse of Life without prejudice. While the two people I've had difficulty seeing with the grace of forgiveness have, undoubtedly, changed in many ways, my thoughts about them have not. I've mentioned these two situations in past writings, and there is no need to reinforce my judgments further by repeating the circumstances, but there is reason for me to examine why I'm so dedicated to blaming them for their actions. Why does it bother me so much? Why am I taking it personally? These are questions I am now willing to turn over to Holy Spirit, yielding to divine Love and its all-encompassing presence.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The history of error or matter, if veritable, would set aside the omnipotence of Spirit; but it is the false history in contradistinction to the true.” 

Science and Health, Page 521:29-2

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Individual Interpretations

"Dancing with the Shadow Self"
created by Sandy Starbird
ACIM Workbook Lesson #6
“I am upset because I see something that is not there.”

While we may not be able to apply these ideas to every faction of our daily life, we are beginning to understand how such a thing could be possible. For example, if we wake up in the morning and are upset about something which happened  in our sleeping dream, it only takes a moment to shake off the feeling of fear or anxiety as we affirm the illusory nature of it. In our waking dreams, we often experience upset in many forms because we have accepted the illusion of separation from divine Love and each other. Perhaps we’re feeling sad or depressed; maybe we’re unhappy or have a bit of ennui following us around. Whatever form it takes, it matters not if the upset is small or large, it is all a mistaken interpretation of the reality of our being. Often it is distressing to think we have a choice in these feelings, as we don’t want to think this is our own fault. I will strive to not apportion blame to others or to myself, but rather to release upsetting emotions the way I would a bad dream. I'm willing to admit I don't know why or how these feelings come to me, but I can open my mind to All that Is, moving into a new world created by Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Mortal mind is constantly producing on mortal body the results of false opinions; and it will continue to do so, until mortal error is deprived of its imaginary powers by Truth, which sweeps away the gossamer web of mortal illusion.” Science & Health Page 403:16-20

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Natural Harmony

photo credit: Richard Quick
ACIM Workbook Lesson #5
“I am never upset for the reason I think.”

We often think in terms of something upsetting us, and then we usually build up reasons why we are justified in this reaction. Today we are asked to forget about any reason for feeling hurt, or angry, or irritated. This topic reminds me of a movie,  "Where Do We Go Now?”, which is set in a small village in Lebanon. It starts out with a group of women, Christian and Muslim, making their weekly visit to the side-by-side cemeteries where their husbands and sons are buried. This movie is a combination of musical comedy and tragedy. I won't give away the ending as you may want to enjoy this fine film, but I will say that these women find a unique way of stopping their men from fighting over religious beliefs. When I think back on their disagreements (about what I deem to be nothing), I wonder if they are truly upset over what they think they're upset about! It seems that sometimes we're distraught because things are changing, new ideas may be causing us to see everything in a different light, and perhaps we're afraid of the necessary shifts which are staring us in the face. I pray to not fear change, nor to wonder what others think of me for leaving behind anything which binds me to anger in any form. The harmony for which we long is waiting for us!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Harmony in man is as beautiful as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal."

Science & Health Page 304:20-21

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Divesting Thought of False Trusts

created by Sandy Starbird
ACIM Workbook Lesson #4
“These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place].” 

The fun exercises of the early lessons in the Course in Miracles Workbook are baby steps at the beginning of our journey. Through them, we are learning to examine our thoughts and see that they are meaningless, thereby freeing us to release them and let our mind be healed through this new way of viewing the world. We are examining what we think is important and then asking ourselves what exactly that means, and any thought that is not an extension of Love is meaningless. Our identity is defined by our ego thoughts about ourself and the world. Even if these thoughts hurt us, we tend to cherish them, to the point of reliving them over and over. To "let go and let God" requires a willingness to see everything around us simply as it is, with no long-held beliefs being expressed toward anything, having a willingness to listen inwardly for Truth. I look forward to an epiphany of universal understanding, in which we will cease from meaningless thoughts and yield to omnipotent Mind. The ability to see reality as spiritual, not material, is visible to all who choose to awaken to this knowledge. What an exciting thought!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear, — this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true.” Science & Health Page 428:8-12 

Monday, January 2, 2017

Innate Knowledge Within

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #3
“I do not understand anything I see in this room
[on this street, from this window, in this place].”

The workbook lessons we’re studying are designed to develop spiritual sense. It's difficult, if not impossible, to recognize Spirit if we think we know and understand everything through our material senses. Exacerbating this difficulty is our reluctance to admit that we don’t understand anything — much less everything! We are taught from childhood that it's good to know and understand things, and to be able to figure out what we don't know or understand. Today's lesson, which asks us to admit we don't know anything, might be thought of as a dumbing-down process, but this is not the case.  We're simply learning to look within for an innate knowledge which resides there.  While the knowledge we've amassed can serve us well in this world, let's not allow it to preclude a deeper knowing which is only audible when the material senses are stilled.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"God's ideas reflect the immortal, unerring, and infinite. The mortal, erring, and finite are human beliefs, which apportion to themselves a task impossible for them, that of distinguishing between the false and the true. Understanding is a quality of God ..." 

Science & Health Page 505:26-5

Sunday, January 1, 2017

How Do I See

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #2 
“I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.”

Isn't it wonderful that we have the ability to interpret events in any way we choose? Many people think of a rainy day as bad weather; others see it as the beauty of water returning to the earth to perform its function; some see it simply as a peaceful calm with its grey-dumpling clouds! Christmas is seen by many as a stressful time when they spend too much money and end up doing things they would rather not. Others enjoy the beauty of lights and decorations while relaxing with family and rejoicing in the meaning of Christmas. I give these examples simply to illustrate how we place different meanings on situations and our perceptions of objects. That is why we’re being asked to examine the meaning we have placed on everything, in preparation for releasing these beliefs, allowing our purified minds to glimpse reality and hunger to see more!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The only fact concerning any material concept is, that it is neither scientific nor eternal, but subject to change and dissolution." Science & Health Page 297:16-19

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