Going Home to the Mountains

Rocky Mountain High

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and enrich their own little ongoings with those of Nature, and to get rid of rust and disease.” ―  John Muir - Our National Parks

“To mortal mind, the universe is liquid, solid, and aëri-form. Spiritually interpreted, rocks and mountains stand for solid and grand ideas.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 511:23-25

“Accept the miracle of healing, and it will go forth because of what it is. It is its nature to extend itself the instant it is born. And it is born the instant it is offered and received. No one can ask another to be healed. But he can let himself be healed, and thus offer the other what he has received. Who can bestow upon another what he does not have? And who can share what he denies himself? The Holy Spirit speaks to you. He does not speak to someone else. Let by your listening His Voice extends, because you have accepted what He says.” 

A Course in Miracles T-27.V.1:3-12

Awake Awhile …

 

It’s not often I find myself despondent throughout an entire day. But this has been one of them, and so I search out inspiration from some of my favorite writings…

Awake Awhile - By Hafiz

“Awake awhile.

It does not have to be forever.

Right now.  One step upon the Sky’s soft skirt would be enough.

Awake awhile.

Just one True moment of Love will last for days.

Rest all your elaborate plans and tactics for knowing Him,

For they are all just frozen spring buds

Far, so far from Summer’s Divine Gold.

Awake, my dear.

Be kind to your sleeping heart.

Take it out into the vast fields of Light

And let it breathe.

Say, ‘Love, give me back my wings.

Lift me, lift me nearer.’

Say to the sun and moon, say to our dear Friend,

‘I will take you up now, Beloved,

On that wonderful Dance You promised!’”

“Earth has little light or joy for mortals before Life is spiritually learned. Every agony of mortal error helps error to destroy error, and so aids the apprehension of immortal Truth. This is the new birth going on hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 548:11-17

“The world will end in joy, because it is a place of sorrow. When joy has come, the purpose of the world has gone. The world will end in peace, because it is a place of war. When peace has come, what is the purpose of the world? The world will end in laughter, because it is a place of tears. Where there is laughter, who can longer weep? And only complete forgiveness brings all this to bless the world. In blessing it departs, for it will not end as it began. To turn hell into Heaven is the function of God’s teachers, for what they teach are lessons in which Heaven is reflected. And now sit down in true humility, and realize that all God would have you do you can do. Do not be arrogant and say you cannot learn His Own curriculum. His Word says otherwise. His Will be done. It cannot be otherwise. And be you thankful it is so.” 

A Course in Miracles  M-14.5:1-15

A Senseless Death

Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall Trail

Around 25 years ago, I met Cal and Stephanie Piston when he was coaching my son’s club soccer team in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Recently I have enjoyed photographs of a vacation they took to England. While they were there, they walked the 70-plus miles known as Hadrian’s Wall. It brings me great joy to see this beautiful retired couple traveling and enjoying life in this way. Sixteen days ago, they posted photos to social media of an iconic tree on the trail they were hiking. The Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian’s Wall is more than 200 years old and has been featured in movies. It is a landmark and a national treasure. Yesterday, someone vandalized it in the most terrible way possible: they cut it down during the night. Why would anyone do such a thing? It’s inexplicable. I join with countless others who must be feeling sadness tonight. Perhaps we will all find ways to nurture the earth today, maybe we’ll even hug a tree in memory of this lost life. 

“Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, — all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 240:1-9

“There is a light in you which cannot die; whose presence is so holy that the world is sanctified because of you. All things that live bring gifts to you, and offer them in gratitude and gladness at your feet. The scent of flowers is their gift to you. The waves bow down before you, and the trees extend their arms to shield you from the heat, and lay their leaves before you on the ground that you may walk in softness, while the wind sinks to a whisper round your holy head.” 

A Course in Miracles W-156.4:1-4

Uprooting Shallow Roots

It often seems humanity is on the verge of becoming the best that it can be, and then something happens and we slide down, beginning our Sisyphean push back up the hill, always hoping we can reach the peak and live there. In contemplating our human condition today, I ran across this which was written by Mary Baker Eddy in the late 1800s. I know it’s still true and we must continue to correct error with truth …

“To my sense, the most imminent dangers confronting the coming century are: the robbing of people of life and liberty under the warrant of the Scriptures; the claims of politics and of human power, industrial slavery, and insufficient freedom of honest competition; and ritual, creed, and trusts in place of the Golden Rule, ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’”

Mary Baker Eddy - The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany

“All shallow roots must be uprooted, because they are not deep enough to sustain you. The illusion that shallow roots can be deepened, and thus made to hold, is one of the distortions on which the reverse of the Golden Rule rests. As these false underpinnings are given up, the equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, nothing is less stable than an upside-down orientation. Nor can anything that holds it upside down be conducive to increased stability.” A Course in Miracles T-1.V.6:3-7

To Believe Or Not

This quote comes to mind often: “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true." Soren Kierkegaard. To me, social media is a way to keep up with loved ones far away, people close by, and cool happenings either close by or far away. Of course, it is also the avenue for conspiracy theories and purveyors of horrid happenings. Intermittently, stories travel around our little town about something unexpected and ugly. I truly believe most folks think they are helping others by warning them about trouble. The same holds true on the national level when people warn us that Tom Hanks is a pedophile or that Hillary Clinton drinks baby’s blood. Hence, I come back to the sentiment in the Kierkegaard quote often: Am I being fooled by believing or not believing?? It has always seemed to me that truth just feels true. But with so much misinformation going around in everyone's heads, I think it's easier to be pulled into swirling, chaotic thought now than it used to be. It's rather like an approaching storm with its electric, exciting expectancy: will it be beautiful and cleansing or are we going to Oz? And, is that necessarily a bad thing? Hum...

"Science only can explain the incredible good and evil elements now coming to the surface. Mortals must find refuge in Truth in order to escape the error of these latter days. Nothing is more antagonistic to Christian Science than a blind belief without understanding, for such a belief hides Truth and builds on error." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 83:6

“Hear, then, the one answer of the Holy Spirit to all the questions the ego raises: You are a child of God, a priceless part of His Kingdom, which He created as part of Him. Nothing else exists and only this is real. You have chosen a sleep in which you have had bad dreams, but the sleep is not real and God calls you to awake. There will be nothing left of your dream when you hear Him, because you will awaken. Your dreams contain many of the ego’s symbols and they have confused you. Yet that was only because you were asleep and did not know. When you wake you will see the truth around you and in you, and you will no longer believe in dreams because they will have no reality for you. Yet the Kingdom and all that you have created there will have great reality for you, because they are beautiful and true.” A Course in Miracles T-6.IV.6:1-8

Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Adventures in Mongolia

Photo by Aaron Springston

Often, things appear to be what they are not. Take this photograph, for instance. It appears as though this young man is doing something dangerous; jumping over a great abyss and courting disaster. He is not. This was taken in Mongolia when my son, Aaron, was there on a college trip. They spent 6 weeks in that country, with two weeks spent in the city and four in the wilderness. What an experience for them! Three teachers and 18 students were involved in this adventure. Aaron shaved his head because they knew they would have a period of time when showering was not possible, with miles of hiking and climbing up hills. They learned to help each other. They witnessed the Mongolian people invite them into their huts and offer food, when it appeared they had very little. They faced their fears and nurtured their compassionate natures. We can't all go on a trip such as this one, but we can reap the benefits by realizing what is really happening and what is simply an illusion being perpetuated by people wanting to mislead us. We can demonstrate compassion and love everyone, even while recognizing they may not seem deserving of it. There is nothing to forgive if there is no blame in the first place. Today I'm going to look closely at situations, desiring truth above all else. Namaste...

"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

“Reality can dawn only on an unclouded mind. It is always there to be accepted, but its acceptance depends on your willingness to have it. To know reality must involve the willingness to judge unreality for what it is. To overlook nothingness is merely to judge it correctly, and because of your ability to evaluate it truly, to let it go. Knowledge cannot dawn on a mind full of illusions, because truth and illusions are irreconcilable. Truth is whole, and cannot be known by part of a mind.” A Course in Miracles T-10.IV.2:1-6

Discerning Truth From Fiction

While watching a documentary on nutrition, they broached a topic which gave me pause to ponder. A woman said that if she decided to start a campaign to say that smoking is beneficial to our health, she could cherry-pick medical reports which supported her theory. This means she would take a sentence from here and there — for instance, “study on women who smoke shows they weigh less than women who don’t”, or something like that — and draw the conclusion that smoking is good for you. Then she said it’s pretty easy to get the media behind you, and she cited an instance of someone who wanted to promote chocolate as a weight-loss substance. They were able to get various tabloids to promote this idea. This all turns my thoughts to the silliness we see every day with political parties demonizing each other. As with nutrition, it is possible to find the truth behind statements. And there’s always intuition, that inner BS detector, which leads us to “greener pastures”. 

“The way to correct distortions is to withdraw your faith in them and invest it only in what is true. You cannot make untruth true. If you are willing to accept what is true in everything you perceive, you let it be true for you. Truth overcomes all error, and those who live in error and emptiness can never find lasting solace. If you perceive truly you are cancelling out misperceptions in yourself and in others simultaneously. Because you see them as they are, you offer them your acceptance of their truth so they can accept it for themselves. This is the healing that the miracle induces.” 

A Course in Miracles T-3.II.6:1-7

“We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe error. Then, when the winds of God blow, we shall not hug our tatters close about us.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 201:13-16

An Optical Delusion

Art by Andrea Kowch

“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.”
Albert Einstein to a friend in a letter circa 1950.

“As mortals give up the delusion that there is more than one Mind, more than one God, man in God’s likeness will appear, and this eternal man will include in that likeness no material element.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 191:4-7

“God’s Oneness and ours are not separate, because His Oneness encompasses ours. To join with me is to restore His power to you because we are sharing it. I offer you only the recognition of His power in you, but in that lies all truth. As we unite, we unite with Him. Glory be to the union of God and His holy Sons! All glory lies in Them because They are united. The miracles we do bear witness to the Will of the Father for His Son, and to our joy in uniting with His Will for us.”
A Course in Miracles T-8.V.3:1-7

A Moment of Lift

Eureka Women

Photo credit: Richard Quick 

Few things bring me more sorrow than to hear of a fine woman running for public office being called a baby killer. I read a book by Melinda Gates titled "The Moment of Lift". In this informative and frank writing, she tells of visiting African countries and realizing what was holding people in their poverty-stricken lives. She saw women carrying water on their heads and babies in their arms, while the men sat and smoked and told stories. She talked to women about their lives, and time and again it came back to the fact that they had no control over how many babies they had. Maybe they were too young, or too old, or too sick to be having a baby, but they had no choice. Oddly enough, many were expected to have as many children as possible because most of them would die. What is the solution? Better health care, more abundant birth control, and education are the keys to uplifting these and other societies. Her foundation has been working toward these goals for more than a decade. For those who believe abortion should be illegal, I urge them to watch the PBS series, "Call the Midwife". This is a show about Catholic nuns and nurses dealing with the same issues -- lack of birth control, education, and health care -- but in 1960s England. What a difference it has made to get these issues out into the open, discuss them, and find solutions! No one wants to abort a pregnancy, and it hurts me when I hear people say that Democrats love abortions. This type of disconnect must stop. How? Education, empathy, facts, truth, love: those are the antidotes as I see them. We must talk about these things and understand that organizations such as Planned Parenthood contribute to lower abortion rates, not higher. Let's choose love over fear!

"Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 574:25

“He will remove all faith that you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering and loss. He gives you vision which can look beyond these grim appearances, and can behold the gentle face of Christ in all of them. You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings, and teach the single lesson that they all contain.” 

A Course in Miracles W-151.10:1-3

Tell the Truth, Right Out Loud

How many people does it take to repeat the truth before everyone begins to see it, too? Mark Twain supposedly said a lie would travel around the world while the truth was still lacing up its boots. I'm not sure that's true today, with the internet connecting everyone in its web. I'd bet the truth will travel just as fast if enough people speak it and write it!  Aristarchus first noticed the sun was stationary somewhere around 300 B.C., then it took a number of centuries before Copernicus revealed this truth with a mathematical model in the 1500s. Even then, Copernicus was so afraid of religious leaders, who thought everything was centered around them, that he didn't tell anyone until he was on his deathbed. Sound familiar? What about the earth being flat, railroad tracks coming together, mirages, and other such illusions? How long did it take for us to understand what was happening? While most of us know these things, I saw a horrifying statistic recently which said that 1/4 of the people still believe the sun revolves around the earth every 24 hours. Knowing the depth of ignorance (lack of knowledge) makes it even more important for each and every one of us to speak out about things which we know to be true. Research is easier than ever and more fun than it was 50 years ago. So pick a fact, study it thoroughly through a variety of sources, and tell everyone you know! 

 "Agassiz, the celebrated naturalist and author, has wisely said, 'Every great scientific truth goes through three stages. First, people say it conflicts with the Bible. Next, they say it has been discovered before. Lastly, they say they have always believed it." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 104:8

“Call to your Father, certain that His Voice will answer. He Himself has promised this. And He Himself will place a spark of truth within your mind wherever you give up a false belief, a dark illusion of your own reality and what love means. He will shine through your idle thoughts today, and help you understand the truth of love. In loving gentleness He will abide with you, as you allow His Voice to teach love’s meaning to your clean and open mind. And He will bless the lesson with His Love.” 

A Course in Miracles W-127.9:1-6

Hypnotized?

Meow Wolf - Denver, Colorado

Most of us acknowledge that certain prescription drugs cause adverse reactions, perhaps causing side effects of sleep-driving or other unconscious activity. We know this and have a choice in whether or not to reap the meager benefits anyway. But what if we were told that our favorite food caused us to believe things which simply are not true, or made us buy things, or perhaps think the earth is flat? Would we stop eating it, or would we say, "Oh, I know when I'm being manipulated and I can eat chocolate and still think independently."? There is a documentary called "The Social Dilemma" and it tells us in detail how we are being manipulated by Facebook, in particular. This platform is the reason many people have become flat earthers, believing the world is flat and there is a great ice wall at the perimeter and you will be put into jail if you get there. Others believe in pizzagate and think there is a network of well-known people kidnapping children and performing horrendous atrocities. These are the extremes, but what of the influences which are much more subtle? I leave you with this quote from a NetFlix documentary, posted at Independent.co.uk: “It’s easy to think that it’s just a few stupid people who get convinced,” warns the engineer who created the rogue Youtube algorithm, “but the algorithm is getting smarter and smarter every day. Today they’re convincing people that the Earth is flat, but tomorrow they will be convincing YOU of something.” I'm not sure where I come down on this theory, but certainly will think seriously about it.

"As named in Christian Science, animal magnetism or hypnotism is the specific term for error, or mortal mind. It is the false belief that mind is in matter, and is both evil and good; that evil is as real as good and more powerful. This belief has not one quality of Truth. It is either ignorant or malicious. The malicious form of hypnotism ultimates in moral idiocy." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 103:18

“Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions, they restore your sanity.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.I.33:1-4

Smile and Carry On!

 

For the last eight years, I have been an organist/keyboard accompanist for a number of local churches and choirs. It’s been great and I’ve met wonderful people and learned valuable lessons. Something I realized last weekend is a good life lesson for others, too. Playing in front of numbers of people, often through some sort of sound system, it can be shocking if I strike an incorrect chord. It used to bother me when this would happen. I’d probably grimace and miss the next two or three notes, too, before sloppily recovering. My epiphany last weekend was that it’s not the mistake which matters, but how you recover. Smoothly carrying on without missing a beat pretty much insures that no one (other than the music director) is going to even notice it happened. This is a good life lesson, too. When we make what we think of a a mistake in our daily lives, we can be pretty sure no one else is going to notice. Unless, of course, we call attention to it by nervously giggling and then going on and on explaining something which matters to no one other than ourselves! So my point in telling you this is: lovingly forgive yourself, as you would someone else’s missteps. Be kind to yourself, smile, and carry on!

“Do not allow yourself to suffer from imagined results of what is not true. Free your mind from the belief that this is possible. In its complete impossibility lies your only hope for release. But what other hope would you want? ⁵Freedom from illusions lies only in not believing them. There is no attack, but there is unlimited communication and therefore unlimited power and wholeness. The power of wholeness is extension. Do not arrest your thought in this world, and you will open your mind to creation in God.” 

A Course in Miracles T-8.VII.16:1-8

“To be master of chords and discords, the science of music must be understood. Left to the decisions of material sense, music is liable to be misapprehended and lost in confusion. Controlled by belief, instead of understanding, music is, must be, imperfectly expressed.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 304:25-30

Better Views of Humanity

Photo credit: Kailey Jones

When did you last tell a lie? We may tell “polite” lies, designed to protect loved ones’ feelings, or we might commit an indiscretion which is referred to as a white lie. But what about a lie told to benefit yourself, without caring who it hurts or what harm it causes? And what of cheating? Maybe you moved your Monopoly piece too many squares during family game night, but how about taking goods and services from people and refusing to pay for them, or maybe taking a possession from someone — outright theft? I don’t know many, if any, people who do this. Everyone I interact with has a higher sense of integrity and a moral standard which precludes such actions. Actually, most people I know would never consider lying or stealing or cheating, be it a small indiscretion or a major event. It always comes as a surprise to me when I witness blatant misconduct in public officials, movie stars, ministers — anyone, anywhere. I remind myself constantly that everything is either expressing Love or calling out for love. And so I shall not look the other way, and I will do my best to answer that call. Namaste...

“Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations, which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we get clearer views of Principle. Break up cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views of humanity." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 239:5

“The peace of mind which the advanced teachers of God experience is largely due to their perfect honesty. It is only the wish to deceive that makes for war. No one at one with himself can even conceive of conflict. Conflict is the inevitable result of self-deception, and self-deception is dishonesty. There is no challenge to a teacher of God. Challenge implies doubt, and the trust on which God’s teachers rest secure makes doubt impossible. Therefore they can only succeed. In this, as in all things, they are honest. They can only succeed, because they never do their will alone. They choose for all mankind; for all the world and all things in it; for the unchanging and unchangeable beyond appearances; and for the Son of God and his Creator. How could they not succeed? They choose in perfect honesty, sure of their choice as of themselves.” 

A Course in Miracles M-4.II.2:1-12

Who Are Your Heroes?

Marianne Williamson

Who are your heroes? After watching the movie “Hidden Figures”, which tells how three women were integral in getting the United States space program off the ground, my heroes are every woman who has continued to do her best in the presence of ugly racism. This movie helped me realize the depth of prejudice; the senselessness of racism and sexism. Every time this understanding reaches a deeper level within me, it becomes more difficult to understand its origins. How did we become a society which looks down on someone because of their skin color, gender, or social standing? Social standing, what the heck does that even mean? I look forward to the day we see people for who they are, appreciating qualities such as kindness, intelligence, integrity, morality, creativity, and such. My heroes today, specifically, are the women who are running for political office, speaking truth to lies, showing us the meaning of kindness and integrity through their actions. I’m sure we all have heroes in our own communities, those who walk the talk. Let’s write them notes, thanking them for their goodness and honesty —  because they probably don't know how valued they are!

"Ignorance, pride, or prejudice closes the door to whatever is not stereotyped." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 144:25

“Only honor is a fitting gift for those whom God Himself created worthy of honor, and whom He honors. Give them the appreciation God accords them always, because they are His beloved Sons in whom He is well pleased. You cannot be apart from them because you are not apart from Him. Rest in His Love and protect your rest by loving. But love everything He created, of which you are a part, or you cannot learn of His peace and accept His gift for yourself and as yourself. You cannot know your own perfection until you have honored all those who were created like you.” 

A Course in Miracles T-7.VII.6:1-6

A Second Chance To Be Kind

 

My hope for today is that everyone will love each other. Whether it's your child, spouse, friends, or strangers, just love them. A rather well-known seer once advised us that it's easy to love those who love you, but to love your enemies, to bless those who persecute you, that is the difficult task.  This advice is particularly pertinent today, when it seems almost everyone is determined to make someone an enemy. A dear friend told a story about herself in which she was terse with a loved one over a small act which made no difference in the scheme of life. During these days of high emotions and hateful rhetorical speech, we may become ensnared in the collective turmoil. So let's be aware that we might not be feeling our own emotions, but those being sold to us by people who will benefit from our angst and division. Whatever the case may be, let’s just love. It's not easy to understand each other under the best of circumstances, and with great unrest afoot, it can seem almost impossible. But it is not. Sometimes we may falter, but forgive yourself and begin again. We always get a second chance to be kind...

“Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn presented once again, so where you made a faulty choice before you now can make a better one, and thus escape all pain that what you chose before has brought to you. In every difficulty, all distress, and each perplexity Christ calls to you and gently says, ‘My brother, choose again.’” 

A Course in Miracles T-31.VIII.3:1-2

“Students are advised by the author to be charitable and kind, not only towards differing forms of religion and medicine, but to those who hold these differing opinions. Let us be faithful in pointing the way through Christ, as we understand it, but let us also be careful always to ‘judge righteous judgment,’ and never to condemn rashly.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 444:13-19

Run Toward Kindness

Gustav Klimt - Portrait of Beatrice Portinari, 1891

“Your empathy will be your salvation. When in doubt, run toward kindness.” Tennessee Williams

“Dream softly of your sinless brother, who unites with you in holy innocence. And from this dream the Lord of Heaven will Himself awaken His beloved Son. Dream of your brother’s kindnesses instead of dwelling in your dreams on his mistakes. Select his thoughtfulness to dream about instead of counting up the hurts he gave. Forgive him his illusions, and give thanks to him for all the helpfulness he gave. And do not brush aside his many gifts because he is not perfect in your dreams. He represents his Father, Whom you see as offering both life and death to you.” 

A Course in Miracles T-27.VII.15:1-7

“If selfishness has given place to kindness, we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless them that curse us; but we shall never meet this great duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition of our hope and faith.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 11-16

Lending Ourselves to Each Other

Exhibit at Meow Wolf

Denver, Colorado

Numerous times during our known history, there have been great disruptions in the norm, usually brought on by drought or disease or other outside influences. Our world is experiencing one of those times -- perhaps the most urgent ever known. Each and every one of us have been practicing for this parenthesis in time and we are ready to do whatever we are called upon to do. I see within our small communities a gathering, a desire to know if our neighbors have a problem we can help solve, or a physical need we can meet — perhaps a helping hand with a chore, or simply a kind word. As a dear friend often says: We lend ourselves to each other. But many are afraid to do this, thinking everyone has nefarious ambitions, and this causes us to withhold ourselves. I don’t deny the existence of some scallywags out there, and we must use our intuition and back off if we get a bad "vibe", but let's learn to trust ourselves and, thereby, trust others, too. We’re all in this together …

"Abraham: Fidelity, faith in the divine Life and in the eternal Principle of being. This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to create trust in good, and showed the life-preserving power of spiritual understanding." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 579:10

“Trusting your brothers is essential to establishing and holding up your faith in your ability to transcend doubt and lack of sure conviction in yourself. When you attack a brother, you proclaim that he is limited by what you have perceived in him. You do not look beyond his errors. Rather, they are magnified, becoming blocks to your awareness of the Self that lies beyond your own mistakes, and past his seeming sins as well as yours.”

 A Course in Miracles W-181.1:1-4