Cause For Fear?

 

Newton County, Arkansas

photo by Tim Ernst

Visiting with an old friend today brought many new thoughts into my head. This kind, gentle woman feels the need to have a gun in her house, a sign on her front door stating that fact, and a sophisticated security system which gives her the ability to shout warnings at people walking onto “her property”. I put this in quotations because she used the phrase numerous times. Of course, the logic cannot be refuted when analyzed from a material, logical standpoint. Statistics show senseless shootings, robberies, and other heinous crimes are happening all the time. Other than a few questions asked of her for my own clarification, I remained silent during her recounting of strangers coming to her door and her subsequent actions. Perhaps the almost-two-years I’ve spent in semi-seclusion have narrowed my field of vision, keeping me from understanding this fear. I was raised by parents who had lived through two world wars and a devastating economic depression. They had many reasons to live in fear, and were extremely cautious and conservative in their thinking. Because of this, I understand people’s concerns about violence and lack. This is something I’m going to seriously ponder, because I don’t even know where my house key is and my front door doesn’t shut all the way. Namaste…

“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." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 410:17-21

“No one attacks without intent to hurt. This can have no exception. When you think that you attack in self-defense, you mean that to be cruel is protection; you are safe because of cruelty. You mean that you believe to hurt another brings you freedom. And you mean that to attack is to exchange the state in which you are for something better, safer, more secure from dangerous invasion and from fear.” A Course in Miracles W-170.1.

Why Is It So Difficult?

 

photo credit: Heather Peters

There are literally hundreds of translations of the Bible upon which most Christians base their faith. Individual understanding of these words seem to be facilitated by preachers and other religious teachers. Most people never read the Bible, but rely on what they are told by these learned folks. One sect thinks blood transfusions are against the laws of God. That idea is based on the same chapter of the Old Testament wherein others find scripture which forbid them from eating shellfish and associating with homosexuals. The god represented in the early chapters of this Bible is a rather harsh entity. The crass laws Moses brought down from the mountain are full of warnings and threats. Jesus brought us simpler rules, much easier to understand and apply. Love everybody; love God. It seems pretty simple, but we humans like to complicate things. I've spent half a century trying to understand why we make life so difficult. I like the way A Course in Miracles explains all this mess. It's just ego. Not Ego, as in the way Mary Baker Eddy describes it, but ego, as in yours and mine fighting to be right about everything. But I keep coming back to the same question: Why is it so difficult to love everybody? 

"Our goal is but to follow in the way that leads to You. We have no goal but this. What could we want but to remember You? What could we seek but our Identity?" A Course in Miracles

"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." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 11:28-32

Mrs. Smith Thinks She's Dead

 

Years ago, when our nearly 100-year-old Christian Science church was on the Christmas Tour of Homes, a man came in and told me he knew lots of Baptist jokes, because that's what he was, but he only knew one Christian Science joke, and asked if I wanted to hear it. Of course I did! A little girl comes home from school and tells her mother that her teacher, Mrs. Smith, is sick. The girl's mom says, No, dear, she only thinks she's sick. A few days later the girl comes home and tells her mother that Mrs. Smith is still sick. The mother once again explains that Mrs. Smith only thinks she's sick. A few days later the little girl comes home and tells her mom that Mrs. Smith thinks she's dead. While I chuckled with him over this joke, I also told him that the reason it was really funny was because it was true! And then we had a big laugh!

"The artist is not in his painting. The picture is the artist's thought objectified. The human belief fancies that it delineates thought on matter, but what is matter? Did it exist prior to thought? Matter is made up of supposititious mortal mind-force; but all might is divine Mind. Thought will finally be understood and seen in all form, substance, and color, but without material accompaniments. The potter is not in the clay; else the clay would have power over the potter. God is His own infinite Mind, and expresses all."Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 310:1-10

Tasting Mindfulness

 

Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs, AR

photo credit: Harrison Sutcliffe

Embracing Formal Practice: Tasting Mindfulness

- by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely?

of being in your body so completely,

of being in your life so completely

that you knew and what you didn’t know

that what had been and what was yet to come,

and the way things are right now

no longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord?

It would be a moment of complete presence, beyond striving,

beyond mere acceptance,

beyond the desire to escape or fix anything or plunge ahead,

a moment of pure seeing, pure feeling,

a moment in which life simply is,

and that ‘isness’ grabs you by all your senses,

all your memories, by all your very genes,

by your loves, and

welcomes you home”

By: Jon Kabat-Zinn

Intuition/Planning

 

Tomorrow there is a wedding scheduled at the church where I play organ. We had rehearsal today and hardly anything went the way it was planned. As I watched mini-dramas unfold from my organ bench in the balcony, I was reminded of a recurring conversation my son and I had a few weeks ago. I'm not a big fan of planning; he thinks it's necessary. I'm sure we're both correct, as was shown by the events today. The priest was late because he didn't know there was to be a rehearsal. There was a glitch in the planning and so he had not heard. Many things were set up according to "usual" wedding protocol, but it turned out the priest and/or the wedding party didn't want it that way. So there had been some wasted effort in planning as things were changed at the last minute. The biggest faux pas was that the bride and groom didn't know they needed to get a wedding license! I'm not sure what category that falls into, but it added to the possible stress of the situation. Father Joseph speaks a number of languages in his native Nigerian accent, and he is delightful. When he entered the church 30 minutes late, he immediately began to work the room, putting everyone at ease, joking, and giving orders. Listening to his Spanglish (the wedding party are Hispanic, but most speak at least some English), was a fun and interesting activity. From my viewpoint up above, I hardly ever had any idea of what was going on, but I shall trust my intuition to carry us through the Spanish service tomorrow. It will be a lovely wedding...

“Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 298:13-15

True Happiness

 

Maxfield Parrish - Early Morning, First Snow, 1959.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” Seneca

Happy Thanksgiving

 "Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:22-27

Imagine

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photo credit: Richard Quick 

Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a world where losing is impossible, where love lasts forever, where hate does not exist, and vengeance has no meaning? It would be grand if we never had misunderstandings because communication was clear and precise, without the burden of forming words to tell others what we mean. There would be no hard feelings between people as we wouldn't blame others for thinking differently than we do, because we know that at our core all of us are One. The world we have created is wonderful in many ways, but there are also horrors beyond words, and this is what causes people to lose faith in this thing we call God. We have created an un-God-like world and blame an unknown deity for what we think we cannot change. What if we're wrong and what we see is not true creation? Imagine that!!

“That which material sense calls intangible, is found to be substance. What to material sense seems substance, becomes nothingness, as the sense-dream vanishes and reality appears." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 312:3-6

Love Fills All Space

photo credit: Arthur Bruno

 
Our neighborhood once had a situation where house cats were being neglected. Their person went into a nursing home and they had been living by themselves for many months, with someone coming to feed them once a day. Occasionally they were let outside, and when this happened they would go to someone’s door and cry for attention. It has recently occurred to me that if anyone or anything is outside our door, crying in need, we should open the door. In our society, it’s very easy to think someone else should take care of people in need or animals crying from loneliness. Although I have no hard and fast answers, I do know that Love has an answer. Today I will listen to hear where divine love is leading me!

“The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 519:3-5

Expectation of Good

photo credit: Edward Robison

 My youngest son and I occasionally enjoy watching Master Chef Junior while sharing brunch. Recently, when we sat down to do this, the Hulu website seemed to be malfunctioning to the point of causing me to call customer service. In the past, I have dreaded phone calls to techies, which can be fraught with conflict, whether from my ignorance or their arrogance. I vowed to return to Love in my thoughts before picking up the phone and contacting them. I was quickly connected with someone, who passed me on to someone else, who sent me to his supervisor, who told me I needed to talk to the first person I spoke with. The good side of this was that it happened quickly, with much laughter and good will on all our parts, and the illusion of a problem was fixed within a few minutes. I am grateful for the tools which allow me to be absolutely certain that all is well, without expectation of what comes next!

“The suppositional warfare between truth and error is only the mental conflict between the evidence of the spiritual senses and the testimony of the material senses, and this warfare between the Spirit and flesh will settle all questions through faith in and the understanding of divine Love.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 288:3-7

Another Road

 

Leatherwood Trail, Eureka Springs, AR

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson

I.

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I fall in.

I am lost ... I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes me forever to find a way out.

II.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place

but, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in ... it's a habit.

my eyes are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V.

I walk down another street.

By: Portia Nelson

Nobody's Right, Everybody's Wrong?

 

November 19, 2021 Lunar Eclipse

unknown origin

Have you noticed it’s impossible to tell what people are pontificating about if they don’t mention names or political parties? When someone is adamantly against something, or self-righteously promoting their agenda, they sound pretty much the same. After realizing this, I’ve started looking at social media posts with an eye to identifying what people are really talking about. There is a forum called What’s Happening Carroll County which I notice occasionally. Today the topic was the Rittenhouse trial and acquittal. I read the comments on this topic and honestly could not tell who was glad he was released and who was not (unless they specifically said this). Everyone appears to have a firm idea of what is right and what is wrong, but the lines seem to be blurred in many cases. I’ve mentioned in the past that I try not to have strong opinions, because it closes my mind to anything else. It could be that we have all decided where we stand on certain issues and are willing to manipulate facts to fit what we believe. Some say that lunar eclipses bring about events which are part of the cosmic plan. Whatever is happening now, it feels important, so I'll pay attention. Namaste…

“Wrong-mindedness listens to the ego and makes illusions; perceiving sin and justifying anger, and seeing guilt, disease and death as real. Both this world and the real world are illusions because right-mindedness merely overlooks, or forgives, what never happened. Therefore it is not the One-mindedness of the Christ Mind, Whose Will is one with God's." A Course in Miracles - Clarification of Terms

Sacrificing Fear?

art by J. Clement Wall 

judyclementwall.com

 Why is it so difficult to let go of something we don't want? No one wants to live in fear, but it seems we've convinced ourselves its necessary for survival. I know I sometimes fall into this trap. The fear-based life going on around us seems to be contagious. I'm tired of living from a place of worry about what-if situations. The confusion which comes from a mind full of crazy scenarios and potentially dangerous situations is not the way I choose to be. ACIM Workbook Lesson #323 says: “I gladly make the 'sacrifice' of fear". So today I am actively giving away these feelings in favor of peace and Love, knowing it becomes easier with every so-called sacrifice of fear.

"Give up your material belief of mind in matter, and have but one Mind, even God; for this Mind forms its own likeness." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 216:30-32

The Good Life

Josh's Dogs

 Most people I know are yearning for a more simple existence, one in which needs are met in nurturing ways. We want real food, grown with love by people we know. We don't want knick-knacks to fill our shelves, but would rather have meaningful objects which bring grace and beauty to our lives. These changes in material trappings exemplify the changes in our thought, whereby we strive to release illusive beliefs in exchange for the new/old ideas of Spirit. Today I will recognize the difference between unnecessary illusions, which only serve to dull my senses, and the palpably glowing Ideas which nourish me.

“Man is the idea of Spirit; he reflects the beatific presence, illuming the universe with light.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 266:27–29

Living Love's Laws

photo credit: Blake Lasater

I have a cousin who made a post to social media about revenge being best served cold. He went on to expound on how to make our “enemies” uncomfortable while they wait to get what they deserve. I am expressing gratitude for the freedom we are finding through our recognition of everyone as the expression of divine Love. Recognizing ourselves as this Creation frees us from hurt feelings and thoughts of retaliation during times when things don't go as we had hoped and expected. I have a dear friend who has gone through what is traditionally known as a break-up with the woman he was going to marry. He sees this as a natural progression of their relationship, feeling that they had a wonderful time together, that they learned a lot about life, and it's all right if they go their separate ways. I think he feels this way because he knows that Love includes everyone, not just those whose actions he likes. This knowledge brings us the freedom to be joyful and allows others the same right! For which I am thankful!

“God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 480:3-4

Are We Powerless?

 

Most religious doctrine and non-secular belief propound the idea that we, as humans, are weak, sinful, and powerless. Our interpretation of the language of A Course in Miracles and Mary Baker Eddy could keep us in that belief too, if we are holding onto past perceptions. But we are being asked to release everything we ever knew in order to see ourselves as the actual experience of God. It's very difficult to stop thinking of God as somewhere outside of us, perhaps passing judgment from a throne, and that's why I find it helpful to use some synonyms for Deity. Thinking of myself as a creation of divine Mind, a reflection of divine Love, makes it easier to grasp these concepts without separation. Would I rather see God as an old man in the sky, or as divine Love flowing in and through everything, not as a judgmental figure but as a gentle presence? I know which one brings me peace!

"Mortals must look beyond fading, finite forms, if they would gain the true sense of things. Where shall the gaze rest but in the unsearchable realm of Mind? We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being."​ ​Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health  Page 264:7-12

What One Gains is Given to All

 

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #318 topic is: “I came for the salvation of the world". This could be interpreted to mean we should go forth and proselytize, or perhaps that we need to save souls, or something of that sort. It is not. I know a large number of loving, compassionate people who want to save the world. This lesson tells us, "...what one gains is given unto all", and the salvation spoken of is not to be found at some future date, but right here, now, always. Every iota of Truth we accept is a gift to the world. We are all the expression of divine Mind and it only takes a cleansing of ego-based thought to accept this. By our humble yielding, we begin to understand that our salvation lies in this knowledge.

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-17

Allow

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Newton County, AR

Allow - by Danna Faulds

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt,

containing a tornado. Dam a

stream and it will create a new

channel. Resist, and the tide

will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry

you to higher ground. The only

safety lies in letting it all in –

the wild and the weak; fear,

fantasies, failures and success.

When loss rips off the doors of

the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair, practice

becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your

known way of being, the whole

world is revealed to your new eyes

By: Danna Faulds

A Satisfying Visit With Friends

 

Magnetic Springs Road - Eureka Springs, AR

Today brought a satisfying visit with a couple of nonagenarian friends who have been dealing with various health problems. The sweet woman had broken a hip and recently returned home from five weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation. Her husband has been having memory problems and recently was diagnosed with cancer. The visit was satisfying because my sweet female friend is doing so well — walking and laughing and trying to learn new things. (I took her a portable CD player so she can listen to books and she happily learned how to use it!) She is also a life-long student of Christian Science, although she hasn’t actively studied in many years. But once you know the principles of metaphysics, you look at life in a different way. She is sure in her understanding of her true being as the image and likeness of God — of Life, Truth, and Love. Her husband, on the other hand, is materialistic in his understanding of life. He is distressed and thinks his life is over and he wants to be done with it all. We are good enough friends that I was able to tell him about a time in my own life when I could have felt as he does, but I chose to be grateful for the things I could do, rather than being angry or sad over what I could no longer have. We talked about how great his life has been and still is! If anyone reading this feels helpless or hopeless, start a gratitude journal. Every day I’m thankful for the sunshine, or the butterflies, or my friends, or books — well, you get the idea. Allow yourself to feel joy in the little things. Life is Good…

“All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science, to the immortal truth of all things.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 493:6-8

Finding Joy in Another's Good

photo credit: Blake Lasater

 A Course in Miracles workbook lesson #316 states: “All gifts I give my brothers are my own.” I take that to mean all the good that is being given and received by everyone, everywhere, is goodness being given by and to me, right here, right now, all the time. Well, how far out is that??! After expressing this thought to someone, they said, "But what about the bad? Isn’t it given and received by everyone, and doesn’t it cancel out the good?" We could go through lots of conversations about these points, concerning the unreality of bad and the only-ness of good. But I don’t want to think in those ways any longer -- of right and wrong, good and bad -- so I won’t speak or write in those ways either. There is only One God, expressing only Itself. If we are the idea of God, there’s nothing else to consider. God is Love. We are Love and that’s a powerful principle by which to abide! “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Rumi

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

Gifts For Everyone

Lothar, Jim, Jenny 

When someone compliments us on something, it feels like a gift, don't you think? I sometimes feel like Snoopy when he levitates from pure joy! We're beginning to understand that any time anyone gives this gift to anyone, anywhere, it buoys us, too. When we open ourselves to the radiance of Love, which flows through all existence, we are carried along effortlessly and joyfully. We no longer expect the so-called Murphy's Law to be in effect, bringing us challenges rather than harmony. Instead, we allow all the goodness and knowledge of the universe to be ours, expecting nothing and welcoming everything. Every good thought we send out into the universe multiplies. The good we do for one is done for all...​

“The sun, giving light and heat to the earth, is a figure of divine Life and Love, enlightening and sustaining the universe.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 538:11-13

Perceiving Change

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Have you ever felt that you're a victim of life's circumstances? Someone I know repeatedly falls into similar types of dramatic victimization. He spends his waking hours worrying about what will happen in the future and blaming others for what has happened in the past. His perception of the world is one of expecting the worst in every case scenario. How can we break free of this debilitating way of thought ""From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past."[ACIM workbook lesson #314] Could it possibly be so simple? It hasn't been easy for me to change the way I think and to allow myself to live with no expectations, but the concept is certainly simple enough. As with any new skill we learn, it's a matter of practice. Every day is yet another chance to live this new/old thought as the expression of Love!

“The human mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 128:11-19

New Perceptions

 

Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs

It's my understanding everyone sees a rainbow differently, according to where they are when they view it. Isn't that a perfect metaphor for everything from politics to the clothes we put on our bodies? Where I am, in thought, is how I will perceive something. Things which I may think of as being for the good of everyone, someone else may see as the downfall of society. It's just a matter of how you look at it. A line from a movie comes to mind in which an octogenarian tells us that life is like a ride on a roller coaster. She says that some people think the ride is frightening and stressful; others see it as fun and exciting. I love this reminder, and there are so many times in our experience where we could go either way with our perception of a situation. A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #313 states: "Now let a new perception come to me." How exciting to look at everything through new eyes as we go through the day!

“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. Then man will recognize his God-given dominion and being." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 531:10-14

One Mind

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

If I told someone I want to give up the thoughts I think and think the thoughts of divine Mind, they might assume I am involved in a cultish-type of group. But I think of it as just the opposite! If I am making decisions based on past events and learned behaviors, then I have no freedom of thought. I am living by material restrictions and repeating thoughts dictated by human opinion, my own included. My desire to live as an idea of the one Mind opens me to an expansion of thought and action which has no limit. What an exciting world this is, when we go beyond set boundaries dictated by past education and see our way to a deeper education, facilitated by divine Love!

"The supposed existence of more than one mind was the basic error of idolatry. This error assumed the loss of spiritual power, the loss of the spiritual presence of Life as infinite Truth without an unlikeness, and the loss of Love as ever present and universal."Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 479:5-10

Pondering Judgment

 

Leatherwood Trail

Eureka Springs, AR

Pondering judgment causes me to think of ancient Toltec wisdom as shown to us by Don Miguel Ruiz in the Four Agreements. Two of these agreements lead us easily to non-judgment: "Don't make assumptions" and "Don't take anything personally". These suggestions always come to mind when I'm tempted to take offense by someone's statements or to apportion blame in any way. If I don't take anything personally, then I need make no assumptions as to others' motives. If I make no assumption about why someone says or does something, then I won't be thinking they are attacking me or anyone else. With the realization that there is no judgment in divine Love, no condemnation in the one Mind, no censure from Spirit, we are able to stop doing those things to ourselves and those we perceive as others. Our thoughts of separation are free to cease as we embrace Unity!

“The earth’s diurnal rotation is invisible to the physical eye, and the sun seems to move from east to west, instead of the earth from west to east. Until rebuked by clearer views of the everlasting facts, this false testimony of the eye deluded the judgment and induced false conclusions.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 121:17-22

What, Me Worry?

Aaron riding Leatherwood Trail

 From the moment we stand up and toddle we hear, Be careful, don't fall!! We instill fear and worry in our children even before they're born, don't we? Most mothers-to-be are worried about a myriad of things, and have been taught to believe it's necessary to do so. Everywhere we turn, there is something to fear. When I was a kid, the only things I was warned about in the woods were snakes, poison ivy, and perhaps an occasional wild carnivore. Nowadays, everything from ticks to the sun may attack us, and we go to great lengths to protect ourselves, putting poisons on our skin to avoid something we perceive to be worse. This is yet another example of the material illusions we have made for ourselves.  As I go through this day, I will notice what learned behaviors are ruling my life, holding me in fear rather than Love. The words of a great teacher come to mind: Perfect Love casts out fear!

“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.”Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health  Page 261:4-7

Forgotten Truth

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Why would we fear to look within? Why would we fear seeing our true self? I think it's because we believe all the little horrible things we've done in our lives are what we'll be looking at. Perhaps we feel that to look within would involve some sort of life review which would require us to answer for every supposed sin we've committed. But what if we're looking within at our pure and perfect Self, as we are created by divine Mind? And what if, after we find what we've forgotten, we allow it to come forth and live with us, as us? In the process, we truly forgive ourselves for all of it, allowing thought to stay in the realm of Oneness, releasing guilt and fear, living only in Love. What if ...

“For right reasoning there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence. In reality there is no other existence, since Life cannot be united to its unlikeness, mortality.” Mary Baker Eddy- Science & Health Page 491:3-6

“Within me is the Holiness of God. Within me is the memory of Him.” https://acim.org/acim/en/s/729#1:7-8 | W-309.1:7-8)

Timesless Thoughts

Eureka Springs, AR

 Time is an interesting concept. It passes differently depending on whether we’re in a dentist’s chair or having fun with loved ones. We always think we're too young or too old, or this physical malady will pass with time, or that we simply don't have time to do the things we want to do. I’m reminded of some favorite quotes about this thing we call time. Deepak Chopra said: "Time is something we have made up so everything doesn't happen all at once." Albert Einstein came to believe that time was not only relative, but unreal​.​ Here is a quote from him, written in a letter to a friend: "To those of us who believe in physics, this separation between past, present, and future, is only an illusion, if a stubborn one." I love novels having to do with time and its elasticity. When I realize that I'm not a mortal living in what seems to be now, but an immortal living in eternity, then some major shifts in perception can take place. Sleeping dreams, waking dreams, alternate realities, time travel — Beam me up, Scottie!

“Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment.” Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings Page 307

Freed From Conflicting Thought

 
When someone close to us has a problem, we tend to think of it as our own. We have been conditioned to think we can fix others, and if we don't try, we fear people will think we don't care. Then we're thrown into a quandary of feelings: love for them, perhaps embarrassment over their actions, worry about what will happen to them, concern over what others will think -- the list can be endless! When we are able to release these feelings and see everyone as the spiritual creation they truly are, we begin to release our sense of personal responsibility, while affirming their goodness as a reflection of divine Love.  Opening to ideas from divine Mind frees us of the conflict imposed by material wishes!

“We cannot serve two masters nor perceive divine Science with the material senses.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 167:11-12

True Idea, Voicing Good

 A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #306 states, “The gift of Christ is all I seek today”. To learn this course requires a willingness to question every value that you hold, to allow the sun to shine into your mind, to allow grace to be your natural state. To learn this course and have your mind healed from fear and limitation requires you to be willing to question every value you hold. We tend to think it’s a good thing to hold strong opinions on any number of things, such as politics. It may seem as though I’m saying we shouldn’t work for social reform, that we shouldn’t stand up to wrong-doers, that we should become the proverbial doormat. I think that giving up the things which make us angry, the things for which we become fighting mad, enables us to open ourselves to this gift of the Christ: this Love which guides us to do meaningful work in ways we hadn’t realized because strong mindsets were hiding them. I think it will be an interesting exercise to take note of the thoughts I have which keep me from the gift of divine Love. I hope you’ll join me!

“Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 332:9-11