New Day's Lyric by Amanda Gorman

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

New Day’s Lyric by Amanda Gorman

“May this be the day

We come together.

Mourning, we come to mend,

Withered, we come to weather,

Torn, we come to tend,

Battered, we come to better.

Tethered by this year of yearning,

We are learning

That though we weren't ready for this,

We have been readied by it.

We steadily vow that no matter

How we are weighed down,

We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.

Even if we never get back to normal,

Someday we can venture beyond it,

To leave the known and take the first steps.

So let us not return to what was normal,

But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.

What was plagued, we will prove pure.

Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,

Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,

Where we weren't aware, we're now awake;

Those moments we missed

Are now these moments we make,

The moments we meet,

And our hearts, once all together beaten,

Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,

For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.

We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,

But to take on tomorrow.”

— Amanda Gorman

Smile of the Great Spirit

 

A friend and I went to the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville, Arkansas. It was a beautiful space which took us on a journey through 14,000 years. It amazed me that there were textiles more than 1,000 years old! How could woven fabrics last so long? While I was intrigued by the pottery and other creations, it took my thoughts to spiritual insights we have gained from ancient cultures, and the understanding which is being shown us today. The days of believing in an “unknown God” will  be over, as we open our minds to the ideas Jesus (and others) have explained to us -- such as:  “The kingdom of heaven is within. The things I do, so can you — and more! You only need two commandments: Love thy neighbor, and love God.” The end of an era is coming, and many people are fearful — to the point of declaring that any thought other than traditional religious teachings are from the devil. Change is difficult, but as we look around us, we know shifts are necessary in almost every aspect of life. As a new year quickly approaches, I ask nothing of myself other than more understanding. On this last day of the year, may we all love ourselves more, so we can love our neighbors as we love ourself.

“Man is the expression of Soul. The Indians caught some glimpses of the underlying reality, when they called a certain beautiful lake “the smile of the Great Spirit.” Separated from man, who expresses Soul, Spirit would be a nonentity; man, divorced from Spirit, would lose his entity. But there is, there can be, no such division, for man is coexistent with God.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 477:26-3

Dimensionalism

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

​My friend in the Netherlands sent me writings on higher thought. When I saw the title of one, I couldn’t remember having heard the word before: dimensionalism. While this pamphlet has to do with aspects of divine Science, it gives an example to which we can all relate. If we are rowing a boat downstream, we may not see what is around the bend — a waterfall, perhaps? But if we are looking at the scene from above, we get the whole picture. As with many things in life, we see from our own perspective and it can be hard to visualize the whole picture. This doesn’t mean that the picture changes when we realize an aspect of it; but simply that we see what was always there. Perhaps we were brought up by people who believe the earth is a flat plane, and so we believe that, too. When something happens which causes us to see the truth of being, our world expands. The world didn’t change; we did. This principle applies to everything in life. I pray to not be close-minded to the wonders around me! 

“The Revelator tells us of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom?” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 91:1

Successive Stages of Progress

 
Long, long ago, perhaps in the 1980’s, I read a book called “Mary’s Message to the World”. It was purported to be a channeled writing in which Mary, Jesus’s mom, told us predictions for civilization. The only one which stuck in my mind was that this area of the country would become tropical. Judging from what has gradually happened with our weather, I would say that sounds accurate! We have practically no snow, and there is more rain along with moderately hot summers. I’ve always said if you don’t like the weather here, wait until tomorrow, because we’ve always been erratic in our little corner of the Ozarks. Perhaps abnormal is the new normal? Climate change is interesting in its intensity and unpredictability. During our metafizzie days, we had a number of folks who thought violent weather was caused by violent emotions. Whether or not this is true, we are all well-served to stay on an even keel in these tumultuous times, don’t you think? It feels like walking a balance beam, but I’ll keep on trying! 

"The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress." Mary Baker Eddy S&H 506:11-14

Heal the World -- Cook Dinner!

 

Penzeys Spices

Have you noticed that when you feel like cooking, the food seems to turn out tastier? When my boys were young, they joked that I should write a cookbook called “Just Barely Edible”. And they were correct! I was usually rushed, having other things I would rather be doing, and the meals were perfunctory at best. I heard one of my “gurus” talking about people’s emotions going into food, and one of the reasons so many people are angry is that their food is being prepared by fearful, angry people. There is only one place in town I truly enjoy eating out, and when I pause to think about it, the owner/chef is a very calm and joyous person. Our food supply chain is questionable, too, and it seems the vegetables from happy farmers taste better than mass-produced factory farm output. There is much to consider in this world we live in, but our health and happiness are a direct result of what we put into our bodies and our minds. I make a resolution to watch those last thoughts before sleep and the first hour upon waking. Have a beautiful day, dear Friends …

“Did the careless doctor, the nurse, the cook, and the brusque business visitor sympathetically know the thorns they plant in the pillow of the sick and the heavenly homesick looking away from earth, — Oh, did they know! — this knowledge would do much more towards healing the sick and preparing their helpers for the ‘midnight call,’ than all cries of ‘Lord, Lord!’” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 364:32-6

Ridding Your Mind of Negativity

 

There are a large number of groups on Facebook devoted to self-improvement and/or spiritual understanding. I belong to Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, and David Hoffmeister’s groups — plus a few more. A recurring topic of conversation is people wondering how to release and rid themselves of negativity. We could go on and on with tips and thoughts about how to do this, but today I heard the simplest, most wonderful one I have heard: stop thinking about it. A thought will hurt you; a thought will heal you. BK Shivani gets right to the point without mincing words. She’s my kind of woman! If you’re interested in making some changes in your way of thinking, I highly recommend you look up her youtube videos. 

https://youtu.be/6LEJWeVmOXw

“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.” A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #23

A Happy Feeling ...

art by J. Clement Wall

judyclementwall.com

Poem by Mary Baker Eddy

"Blest Christmas morn, though murky clouds

Pursue thy way,

Thy light was born where storm enshrouds

Nor dawn nor day.

Dear Christ, forever here and near,

No cradle song

No natal hour and mother’s tear

To Thee belong.

Thou God-idea, Life encrowned,

The Bethlehem Babe—

Beloved, replete, by flesh embound—

Was but Thy shade!

Thou gentle beam of living Love,

And deathless Life!

Truth infinite—so far above

All mortal strife,

Or cruel creed, or earth-born taint:

Fill us today

With all Thou art—be Thou our saint,

Our stay, alway."

MBE

Merry Christmas!

 

“Observed by material sense, Christmas commemorates the birth of a human, material, mortal babe — a babe born in a manger amidst the flocks and herds of a Jewish village.

This homely origin of the babe Jesus falls far short of my sense of the eternal Christ, Truth, never born and never dying.” 

Mary Baker Eddy- Miscellaneous Writings 262:6-12

Eternal Christ

 

"Observed by material sense, Christmas commemorates the birth of a human, material, mortal babe — a babe born in a manger amidst the flocks and herds of a Jewish village.

This homely origin of the babe Jesus falls far short of my sense of the eternal Christ, Truth, never born and never dying.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 262:6-12

Light and Joy and Peace

 

photo credit: Chip Ford

So-called hate groups have increased alarmingly all over the world. A man named Tony McAleer describes himself as being beaten and bullied as a child; bitter and isolated as a teenager. He became involved in one of these groups while seeking a connection with others. To quote him: "When you're starving and somebody keeps feeding you what you think are your favorite foods, even though it's junk food, there's going to be a while where you're not going to get up from the table." He continued to practice violence and anger until after the birth of his daughter. He said that was the first time in his life he had felt connected to another human being, and he started to want to change. He has now organized  a group called "Life After Hate" and is helping others to build relationships with people. He says if we are to counter these groups, we must get to a place where empathy outweighs fear. “Light and joy and peace abide in me" (ACIM) -- and in everyone!

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 510:27-1

A Wonder-filled Happening

 

Little Dog Found

A wonderful thing happened today! A dear friend’s dog had disappeared from her country yard. It’s a densely wooded area, away from any main road, and the dog is elderly, so they didn’t think she would wander far. When she didn’t come home in a timely fashion, after they had searched the area, they started calling vets and shelters and posting to social media. No Murtie. Today when she was checking with their vet to see if they had heard anything, the receptionist said, Wait just a minute! Someone was bringing their sweet old dog into the office! Some out-of-towners had been walking on wooded trails close to the Passion Play when they found her. They took her to someone in charge and they were bringing her to the vet’s office exactly when Christine was calling them. Synchronicity, indeed! Perhaps a Christmas miracle? Whatever the case, my friend loves her dogs so much, and her family — one of which requires full-time care from her — well, the holidays wouldn’t feel very happy if she had not known the whereabouts of her beloved dog. Gratitude is flowing from so many of us today! Namaste…

“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.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 168:30-2

What Brings You Joy?

 

joyous Eureka women

photo credit: Richard Quick

I’ve always had a difficult time keeping things tidy. Reading the book, The Life-Changing Manga (Magic) of Tidying Up, written by Marie Kondo, has helped me understand why. She suggests putting all your clothing in the middle of the room, then going through them, keeping only the things which bring you joy. Well, that concept is life-changing for sure! Keep what brings you joy — wow! I’m now listening to her follow-up book, Spark Joy, where she tells how some people throw away their vacuum cleaners because they don’t bring joy, only to find out they miss them terribly. So she asks us to express appreciation for those items — for instance, thank the iron for helping your clothing to be all that they can be. Another interesting aspect is that some people don’t know what sparks joy, and she must teach them what it means. This opened my eyes to a whole aspect of my fellow beings which I had not considered. How could anyone not know the feeling of joy? Is joy a learned behavior? Are we afraid to feel joy? When she teaches them what joy is, does she simple give them permission to feel what was already there? I’m loving this book!

"Unity of spirit gives new pinions to joy, or else joy's drooping wings trail in dust." Mary Baker Eddy, Science & Health Page 58

Silence First and Last

 

How we react to someone else is either peaceful or tumultuous, and we have that choice to make in every moment. When I was a child, I didn’t like to have conversations when I first awakened in the morning. My mother thought this was a flaw in my character and tried to change me. Looking at this now, I see that silence in the morning works best for many of us. If I start out the day with inane conversation, or news stories hand-picked to feed my fears, the timbre of the day has been set and it’s difficult to center myself in the calm needed to move happily through it. Similarly, when I don’t sleep well at night, it’s because I haven’t been able to shut down my thoughts. Although I am not a fan of ritual, morning and evening meditations work for me. We are all individuals, and through an examination of your feelings, habits, and demeanor, you can discover what works for you, too! 

"Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still. Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait and listen for Your Voice. Speak to me today. I come to hear Your Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and answer me." A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #221

Honoring yourSelf

photo credit: Aaron Springston

For the last few days, images of past hurts and regrets have been flooding into my memory. This is unusual for me as I tend to let the past stay where it is, without rehashing whys and why-nots. So when I started waking up in the morning thinking about things I’d said or done to a loved one in the past, or hearing the hurtful words of a teacher from grade school, or remembering a harsh reaction I may have had in a relationship, I began to question myself. It even occurred to me that perhaps I don’t know what love is, or that I could be a mean person. Then I read these words Jim Young posted on his Facebook page today: “To betray yourSelf is to betray the world around you. Honoring Self is the remedy!” It suddenly seemed as though the remembrance of horrible things (at least in this case) could be the last step in totally releasing them! If I’m thinking of events and then repacking them into the hidden places in my mind, I’m not honoring Self. To face them and release them in complete forgiveness of myself and/or others, I am honoring the world around me. Thank you, Jim, once again, for opening my eyes to something which seems so simple. Namaste…

"If I am not feeling peaceful, it is important for me to remember that I have made a judgment on my own. If I am not peaceful, I have not listened to the Holy Spirit. The way I return to peace is to once again open my mind to the healing perceptions of my inner Comforter, the One Who straightens my mind. My one vocation now becomes that of stepping back and following the lead of my inner Teacher, the One Who can return me to my true Identity." A Course in Miracles - Workbook Lesson #352

You Can't Bully a Wave

 

“Have you ever tried to bully a wave in the ocean?” This is the question a 104-year-old Buddhist nun asks her great-granddaughter in a beautiful novel titled, A Tale For the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki. The two went into a store to get food for a picnic on the beach. A group of gangster girls were hanging around outside the store and harassed them as they went in. When they came out, the old woman bowed deeply to the group of young women before walking away. After they got onto the train to go to their destination, the older woman wondered aloud if it was a holiday of some sort, mentioning that the girls were all dressed so brightly and seemed so happy. The granddaughter tried to explain that they were gang colors, and that they were being derisive in their words and laughter. The grandmother didn’t see it that way and asked her young charge if she had ever tried to bully a wave, explaining that no matter how much you hit at it or yell into it, it stays what it is. That is its function, and that is our function. I love that!

“Can we gather peaches from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading illusions along the path which Science must tread in its reformatory mission among mortals. The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.”  Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 129:24-29

Happiness, Not the Sport of Circumstance

 

As sage words tell us: There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way. We often witness people sabotage their own happiness in a myriad of ways. And, alternatively, we see people who insist on happiness even in the face of the most harsh experiences.  Many times a day we may be tempted to lose a peaceful, happy feeling because of the habit of thinking in unhappy ways. A friend told me a story of a state trooper, somewhere in the panhandle of Texas, wielding his authority in a petty and foolish way. When I hear things like this, I silently affirm the Truth of the situation: that this person is also a child of God. In this affirmation, it's implied what he is not: that is, the material illusion of tyranny he is putting forth. On the other hand, I could entertain thoughts of what is wrong with this policeman. But this would rob me of happiness! I could say, "I hate it when people do that." And that leaves me hating certain actions, rather than seeing the situation through spiritual sense. I would give away my happiness for unnecessary finger pointing. For every action which quashes happiness, there are multitudes which affirm its ever-presence. It feels good to find them!

"Upon this stage of existence goes on the dance of mortal mind. Mortal thoughts chase one another like snowflakes, and drift to the ground. Science reveals Life as not being at the mercy of death, nor will Science admit that happiness is ever the sport of circumstance." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 250:28-1

Remember to Breathe

 

photo credit: Blake Lasater

What a difference a day makes! I've been encouraging a dear friend who has been going through tough times, feeling suicidal, hopeless, deeply sad. Something shifted in her attitude yesterday and today she's almost happy again! I encourage everyone who is feeling depressed, or desperate, to know there is an end to it. Plant some flowers, even if you have no energy. Take a walk, even if you want to stay in bed. Get some sunshine, even if you'd rather stay in a deeply-curtained room. Talk to friends, when you'd rather be alone. Watch a funny movie, even if you want to cry. But don't be afraid to cry, and savor every moment of the grief. It, too, is life. Feel everything to its ultimate end. Be grateful for all these things, and remember to breathe.

"Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love." Mary Baker Eddy 

A Beautiful Time of the Year

 

photo credit: Arthur Bruno

Many people have told me they don't like Christmas. What they mean, of course, is they don't like the way Christmas is promoted by the media and corporations, placing emphasis on buying unnecessary things and going into debt to do so. We all know people who are over-stressed for various reasons during this beautiful time of the year. And so the words of Mary Baker Eddy which are quoted below are what I will concentrate on today. Spending the day quietly listening, in peace and joy, today and every day, is all I want. This is the gift which is ours for the claiming of it, anytime, anywhere. Happy Christmas to All...

"Certain occasions, considered either collectively or individually and observed properly, tend to give the activity of man infinite scope; but mere merry-making or needless gift-giving is not that in which human capacities find the most appropriate and proper exercise. Christmas respects the Christ too much to submerge itself in merely temporary means and ends." Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 259:23-39

Come, Sit With Me

photo credit: Aaron Springston

 

LIFE - by Jim Young

"come, sit with me

let yourself simply be

plunge, if you will, to the depths of your grief

loosen the slipknot on your weary body and ravaged soul

freeing your burdens

your anger, your pain

whatever it is that discomforts you

whatever it is you feel

come, sit with me

open to the joy that is you

letting laughter’s release unfold your Truth

allow yourself to bask in my love for you

healing your mind, your body, your soul

bathe in the Light of transformation

knowing all you have to be is you

that I’m always here for you

come, sit with me

travel with me through the universe

be open in your silence

mindless in your solitude

resting your thoughts and feelings here beside me

fully present in this art of relationship

and you will come to know

yet again

that we are One

come, sit with me

no matter what the condition or circumstance

no matter what our past

it is safe now

in Eternal Friendship

this presence is all that matters

all we must do is be what we both are

and these precious moments become our Truth

authentic love, our bond."

​from Jim Young​

Forgiving Myself and Others

 

Regular readers of this blog know I have a next door neighbor who does not like me. Yesterday, he yelled ugly things at me while I was unloading groceries. It didn’t upset me at the time​,​ but different words he said have been playing over in my mind. This morning, I had a choice: I could continue to hear his words, repeating them to friends, feeling superior for not retaliating ​(​while having a certainty that I was right​)​ — or, I could humbly seek to release this encounter. It seemed a perfect time to practice Hoʻoponopono. By a persistent mental repetition of these words — I’m sorry, Please forgive me, I love you, Thank you — I allow myself to not apportion blame and forgive myself for any attack thoughts I have had toward him. As a bonus, I’m reminded how valuable this practice is. I look forward to noticing instances where these words can fill my thoughts, rather than something I would rather not think.

“If a friend informs us of a fault, do we listen patiently to the rebuke and credit what is said? Do we not rather give thanks that we are ‘not as other men’? During many years the author has been most grateful for merited rebuke. The wrong lies in unmerited censure, — in the falsehood which does no one any good.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 8:30

Drop Your Troubles in My Palm

After an eventful and rather emotionally-draining day today, I had many topics floating through my mind. But when a friend posted this Elizabeth Gilbert story to social media -- well, it says it all. Namaste...

“Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated with one another, with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here.

But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom."Folks," he said, "I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water."

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who had been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other’s existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?
Oh, he was serious.

At the next stop, just as promised, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up but everyone did it. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.

We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it is extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don’t know where to find it.
But what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?. That’s what this bus driver taught me, that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn’t some big power player. He wasn’t a spiritual leader. He wasn’t some media-savvy influencer. He was a bus driver, one of society’s most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and he used it beautifully for our benefit.

When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I think of this man and ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. I definitely can’t control traffic. But I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name. 

"No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river." 

 Elizabeth Gilbert

Superstition

Arrival - acrylic by William Haskell

 “Superstition was rising everywhere. People like to see human life as an upwardly sloping line towards knowledge and tolerance. But I have to say that has never been my experience. It isn’t in this century, and it wasn’t in that one. The lesson of history is that ignorance and superstition can rise up in almost anyone at any moment, and what starts as doubt in a mind can swiftly become an act in the world." Matt Haig - from How to Stop Time

“Superstition and understanding can never combine. When the final physical and moral effects of Christian Science are fully apprehended, the conflict between truth and error, understanding and belief, Science and material sense, foreshadowed by the prophets and inaugurated by Jesus, will cease, and spiritual harmony reign." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 288:9

Music is Divine

 

"The human sigh for peace and love is answered and compensated by divine Love. Music is more than sound in unison. The deaf Beethoven besieges you with tones intricate, profound, commanding. Mozart rests you. To me his composition is the triumph of art, for he measures himself against deeper grief. I want not only quality, quantity, and variation in tone, but the unction of Love. Music is divine. Mind, not matter, makes music; and if the divine tone be lacking, the human tone has no melody for me." Mary Baker Eddy - Message to the Mother Church, 1900, P11:8

Live Justly; Love Mercy

 

Many people are “daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief”. I have a friend who hides in mindless television. She refuses to watch the news as she feels it’s too horrid, but she immerses herself in yucky CSI shows and such. Even though I don’t understand her way of thinking, it’s better than hiding in a bar and living with the consequences, as do some I know. Another friend stays away from society and watches cooking shows 10 or 12 hours a day, topping it off with nightly movies. Both of these women are compassionate, loving people, yet they feel helpless when it comes to facing the injustice which is running rampant. There are far more people in the world who love than hate, but it’s easy to become bruised when you love, and easier to become more angry when you hate. That is why I loved the above statement when I saw it on Facebook: “Live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly now. You are not expected to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” 

“You who feel threatened by this changing world, its twists of fortune and its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the ‘gifts’ it merely lends to take away again; attend this lesson well. The world provides no safety. It is rooted in attack, and all its ‘gifts’ of seeming safety are illusory deceptions. It attacks, and then attacks again. No peace of mind is possible where danger threatens thus.

“Be still a moment, and in silence think how holy is your purpose, how secure you rest, untouchable within its light.” A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #153

A Great Secret

 'Tis the season! I am reminded tonight that many people are feeling bad for many reasons. Usually, I'm oblivious to these feelings unless someone points them out to me, as was done this evening during our celebration choir dress rehearsal. I came home and almost immediately fell asleep on the couch. I'm going to bed now with this Mary Baker statement in my mind.

Namaste...

"I have learned a great secret.

I have learned how to demonstrate, I have learned how to make Science a thing of life, not of words.

I am going to tell you what the secret is, and it is wonderful.

It is this: Not to see or hear or repeat any kind of imperfection.

It is seeing and hearing and repeating good only, at all times and under all circumstances, and in spite of everything that appears to the contrary.

I make this resolve every morning, when I first open my eyes, and I renew it every hour of the day.

I see perfection in myself, in my friends, in my so-called enemy, in my affairs and in world affairs.

I take my radical stand for the perfection of God and everything and for everything and everybody [It] has created. I look upon the world with God's eyes and see it just as [Love] sees it, and I refuse to see it in any other way.

I stop a dozen times a day, and renew the resolve, and make sure that I am not repeating error or giving way to criticism. I watch my thoughts about people, the lame, the old, the unloved to sense that I pass in the street, stray animals; I except nothing. I have taken my radical stand for perfection and I will not, absolutely will not, relax this perfect standard.

The result has been simply marvelous. Try it and you will find that you forget your glasses; they will become unnecessary.

You will be seeing with God's eyes, [Mind's] perfect sight, and you will behold a perfect universe, the outward condition of your inward thinking. To change the picture you must change the sight that produced the picture." 

By Mary Baker Eddy

Play Bridge!

 

A friend stopped for a visit today. She was on her way to apply for a job at a local restaurant. She is doing this because she needs interaction and stimulation. As she put it, if it weren’t for her husband’s doctors’ appointments, she wouldn’t know what day it was. I further contemplated this situation when I saw an episode of Boston Legal, wherein Betty White plays a character who has outlived all her friends and feels she has no purpose, nor anything which brings enjoyment. As she said, “What am I supposed to do? Go skiing?”  Most things I love to do are well-suited to a sedentary lifestyle, particularly the card game of bridge. I highly encourage everyone to cultivate this skill because you are guaranteed a lifetime of companionship and mental stimulation. Many of the best bridge players in the world are in their 80s and 90s. This activity successfully puts the young and old on the same playing field. Not just young and old, but all social and economical parameters are bypassed in this activity. Warren Buffett can sit at the same table with a penniless teenager and they will be equals. This game has also bridged the limits put on us by the pandemic. It has evolved into an online activity which is better than actually sitting at the table! And if you’re lucky enough to have bridge players within walking distance, you could play in your homes every day, in person. If not, get on the iPad and enjoy games with friends or strangers; competitively or casually. You can learn the game from home, too — so ask me if you’re interested!

"Beauty, wealth, or fame is incompetent to meet the demands of the affections, and should never weigh against the better claims of intellect, goodness, and virtue. Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish, therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57 

Falling Gently

 

I've been listening to Alan Watts quite a bit recently. Here's some sage advice from him -- and a photo of him and his cat :)

"When a cat falls out of a tree, it lets go of itself. The cat becomes completely relaxed, and lands lightly on the ground. But if a cat were about to fall out of a tree and suddenly make up its mind that it didn’t want to fall, it would become tense and rigid, and would be just a bag of broken bones upon landing.

In the same way, it is the philosophy of the Tao that we are all falling off a tree, at every moment of our lives. As a matter of fact, the moment we were born, we were kicked off a precipice, and we are falling, and there is nothing that can stop it.

So instead of living in a state of chronic tension, and clinging to all sorts of things that are actually falling with us because the whole world is impermanent, be like a cat." ~ Alan Watts

Invest in Bonds

 

Framework for Longevity — By: Michael J. Castori

“What is the secret of Longevity


Invest in bonds

Bond with love


Parental marital filial people spiritual


Love thy neighbor as thyself


No greater love hath man
Than he give up his life for another

Bond with nature


With its broad range of animal plant and mineral life


With its sun moon stars land sea and air


And all the creatures thereon and therein


With its solitude music challenge reverence

Bond with a positive mindset


Aim high and you won’t hit low


If things go your way don’t get too high


If things go against you don’t get too low

Bond with an upbeat lifestyle


Engage in spiritual intellectual social recreational pursuits


That guarantee health strength and daily bread


Woo the positive spurn the negative

Bond with existence


An existence that you deem worthy of your worship


Daily lift up some thought word and deed


To Him to Her to It

On each future birthday


Check your investments
If you can look at each bond and say


“Been there Done that”


You will end up dancing on the top rung


Of Longevity’s ladder”

By: Michael J. Castori