Recognizing Humility

Art by Catrin Weltz-Stein

Humility is my focus during this Lenten season. The priest at the Catholic Church where I provide musical accompaniment requested that his congregation choose a virtue to focus on every day, and I feel this is the one in which I need the most practice. While some think it is arrogant to accept our divinity as a child of divine Mind (a/k/a God), students of Mary Baker Eddy and A Course in Miracles feel it is the ultimate humility. It’s a yielding which allows us to realize that Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, Love, the Principal of all that Is — these things are all-inclusive, defining God, and all of creation. To rejoice in being One with everyone, to live from Love rather than fear and its imaginings, is to humbly accept the goodness inherent in us all. My focus on humility will hopefully lead me to turn away from the illusion of material problems, as I wholeheartedly accept my function as a reflection of God, and see that image mirrored in everyone I meet.

“To the ego, today’s idea [I am the light of the world] is the epitome of self-glorification. But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement. Humility consists of accepting your role in salvation and in taking no other. It is not humility to insist you cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God assigned to you. It is only arrogance that would assert this function cannot be for you, and arrogance is always of the ego.”

A Course in Miracles W-61.1:1–2:5

"Praying for humility with whatever fervency of expression does not always mean a desire for it. If we turn away from the poor, we are not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses the poor. We confess to having a very wicked heart and ask that it may be laid bare before us, but do we not already know more of this heart than we are willing to have our neighbor see?"

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 8:20-27

The Faces of Fear

Art by Vladislav Yerko

"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.” 

-- Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom From Fear 

“Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 199:25-31

“How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me?” 

A Course in Miracles W-60.3:2-6

A Wider Sphere of Thought

Photo credit: Arthur Bruno

I've never understood political conflict.  It seems to me that if everyone is for the good of all, what in the world is there to be conflicted about? I simply do not know why we have these clashes, and certainly have no desire to talk about these disagreeable scenarios. Times of major elections in our United States bring out interesting opinions from unexpected places. I try not to listen to any of it, holding to the knowledge of our true selves as the expression of Love, while looking past all the rhetoric and seeming idiocy. If God is the Mind with which I think, and that Mind is (and can only be) light, no fear nor condemnation is necessary. With this realization, we could stop trying to change others' thoughts to what we think they should be. Knowing that every thought which is a reflection of divine Mind grows exponentially, I find cause for continuing the quest to be a clean mirror. 

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:10-15

“Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ’s vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.” 

A Course in Miracles W-59.2:3-6

Perceiving My Holiness

“The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me.” This is part of today’s five-lesson review in A Course in Miracles. We are learning that this holiness is our true state of being as reflections of Love. This Love is realized through forgiveness in its purest sense. When I assert this truth about myself, I affirm it for everyone. Many of us think that such a statement about ourselves is arrogant; something to be avoided. What if the opposite is true, and it’s arrogant to think we can do everything through our individual, human intellect and reasoning?  Perhaps true humility is acknowledging our holiness, allowing divine Mind to guide us, knowing we are all One. 

 “My holiness is my salvation. Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the world. Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. And because I am unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding, which is the gift of God to me and to the world.” 

A Course in Miracles W-58.4:1-5

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 11:22-32

Living From Truth

Photo by Aaron Springston

I have often been asked if Christian Science is a cult. Having been affiliated with this  life since childhood, it’s easy for me to say it assuredly is not. I've never been controlled by anyone, or asked to worship anyone, or any of the other criteria necessary to qualify for this categorization. I'm sure Course in Miracles students often get the same type of questions, as a quick search of the internet indicates. What we do ask of ourselves is a radical reliance on God, a wholehearted acceptance of Love as the only power, and the desire to let Spirit lead every action. Both of these schools of thought ask us to give up material beliefs and rely on Truth. And this may not be as difficult as it seems. Shouldn't it be easy to allow spiritual principles to guide our actions, rather than accepting material rules which make no sense? Living from the Truth within, rather than made-up rules of material existence, this is the free thought which will lead into harmonious peace for all. 

“When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.” 

A Course in Miracles W-57.4:2-4

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 260:7-12

Connected — or Not!

Real Connections

I’ve been contemplating our connectivity and, also, our lack of connection. Many people say that we are suffering from loss of connections with real people; that we have given ourselves over to technology, thinking we are making connections when we're actually just passing time. I wonder if the face-to-face conversations we have are any more "real" than the computer relationships we sustain. So far, my conclusion is that any relationship can be shallow or deep, and how we connect makes no difference. Admittedly I don't sit on my front porch with neighbors, watching the sunset and chatting. It seems the great majority of one-on-one communications I do have consist mainly of mindless chatter. On the other hand, friendships I keep up with on the computer tend to be more substantial. No one emails me and tells me gossip about mutual friends or the details of their gallbladder operation. Although I have received no great insights about how changes in communications have affected friendship or global affairs, I do know that we have more opportunities to enjoy each other than ever before, and I want to take advantage of every moment of it!

“God is in everything I see. Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond all my insane wishes is my will, united with the Will of my Father. God is still everywhere and in everything forever. And we who are part of Him will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all.” 

A Course in Miracles W-56.4:1-6

“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

The Vanishing Sense-Dream

Hillspeak - Eureka Springs, AR

Photo by Blake Lasater

Wouldn't it be great to live 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 communications were 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 that 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

“What I see is a form of vengeance. The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a picture of attack on everything by everything. It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the Love of His Son. It is my own attack thoughts that give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have.” 

A Course in Miracles W-55.2:1-6

No Neutral Thoughts

Our hearts cry for children, animals, adults, trees, insects — all of life is in need of our higher thoughts and positive actions. When we see a heartbreaking situation and translate it into Love, we are helping. Everything we say or do is either a reflection of Love or of fear, and fear seems to attach itself to us with every new travesty we witness. Fearful responses get us nowhere and only cause the situation to be more solidified in our thoughts. We are flexible and easily-influenced, but we are also smart and intuitive. The choices we have may seem overwhelming sometimes, but when we realize there is only one real choice, Love, it becomes easier to see truth. We all want to be loved, to be safe, to be comfortable, to be at peace. It may seem as though hatred spreads like wildfire, but Love puts out the flames of hatred as surely as light brightens a dark room. It may hurt our eyes at first, but those reflective organs are made to adjust. I hope you can do something joyous today. Love as strongly as some are fearing, because it's an incredibly strong and unstoppable force, one which we hold right here in our hearts.

“Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. They will either make a false world or lead me to the real one. But thoughts cannot be without effects. As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. My thoughts cannot be neither true nor false. They must be one or the other. ⁸What I see shows me which they are.” 

A Course in Miracles W-54.1:2-8

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 95:28-3

We’re Ready!

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

The Age of Aquarius. Harmonic Convergence. The Shift. Ascension. Activating DNA Strands. What do these things have in common? They are events which herald a change in thought which has been happening for as long as I can remember. We have been seeking and hoping that a way will open for us to understand, to experience, the meaning of Life, and to demonstrate this reality. A Course in Miracles helps us see that the world we experience is meaningless. You may wonder why anyone would want to see a meaningless world.  I'm not sure we would, but that's certainly what we're doing. As we begin to glimpse the difference in spiritual realities and material illusions, we see that the world we hold in place through belief and misperception is meaningless. In order to see spiritual reality, we must give up the beliefs and illusions we have created. A single glimpse of this world of Love is enough to make me want to throw open the door to more! 

“Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world that pictures them can have no meaning. What is producing this world is insane, and so is what it produces. Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts as well as insane ones. I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing.”

A Course in Miracles W-53.1:2-5

"Spiritual attainments open the door to a higher understanding of the divine Life." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 10:15-16

Choose Again, That I May See

Grand baby Torin at Train Museum

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

“If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. I can see only what is now. The choice is not whether to see the past or the present; the choice is merely whether to see or not. What I have chosen to see has cost me vision. Now I would choose again, that I may see.” 

A Course in Miracles W-52.4:2-6

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 270:22-27

Reverse Our Feeble Flutterings

Upon awakening, I had about 20 inane and/or insane thoughts before I realized what I was doing. "What day is this and where am I supposed to be?", was quickly followed by a chain of remembrances which took me from a lovely cooking store to my childhood home, then zoomed over to a friend's house and a remembered conversation, before zipping back to a neglected household chore. This illustrates why it is so important to guide first thoughts of the day to paths of Spirit. Without this discipline, I could spend all my time with meaningless thoughts which create turmoil rather than peace within.  I have found that leading first thoughts to Truth helps to keep my mind in tune for the rest of the day, rather than thinking of all the material insanity which comes at me from every direction once I leave the sequestered world of my home. Often we feel bombarded by thoughts of fear and hostility, lack and disease, error and disharmony. What if our thoughts of peace and harmony could quiet the seeming turmoil of the world? Then would it be worth the effort to pull our thoughts away from inanity and hold steadfastly to the ideas of divine Mind? Everything we think or speak or do is shared. How important then to see the reality of it all, rather than the beliefs we are taught by the repetition of them. Join me in taking a stand for Truth, and experience the transformational power!

“I have judged everything I look upon, and it is this and only this I see. This is not vision. It is merely an illusion of reality, because my judgments have been made quite apart from reality. I am willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments, because I want to see. My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see according to them.” 

A Course in Miracles W-51.2:2-6

“We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God’s creation by diving into the shallows of mortal belief. We must reverse our feeble flutterings — our efforts to find life and truth in matter — and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the God like man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 262:9-16

Our Journey

Art From Catrin Welz-Stein

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do 

we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go 

we have come to our real journey.”

~ Wendell Berry

“Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.”

A Course in Miracles W-50.4:1-8

“Divine Love is infinite. Therefore all that really exists is in and of God, and manifests [Its] love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 340:12-14

Where Truth Abides

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

I’ve noticed in the past few years that many people want others to tell them what to do. We seem to flock to those who are willing (even eager) to guide us through the maze of life. I think it’s because if we’re doing what someone else tells us, then we can blame them if it doesn’t work out! I’m only partly joking about that. Sometimes we fear making decisions for ourselves because we don’t think we are informed enough to do so. At that point, we either throw up our hands and don’t do anything, or ask someone else what they’re going to do, so we can do the same. Perhaps we don’t trust our own inner guidance, because we have so often mistaken our busy little mind for the calm voice of divine Mind. We are told in Workbook Lesson #49 of A Course in Miracles: “God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.” Let’s not expect a big, booming human voice to come down from above, but a still, small certainty in the deepness of ourselves, leading us as the expression of Life, Truth, and Love!

“It is quite possible to listen to God’s Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not. It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys the world’s laws. It is this part that is constantly distracted, disorganized and highly uncertain.” 

A Course in Miracles W-49.1:1-4

"Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout creation, and the immortality of man and the universe." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 507:24-28

The Illusion of Separation

Maternity Shoot in Colorado

February 2024

It seems as though things that we fear all have to do with lack and separation. Fear stems from the idea that we can be separated from joy and love, from peace and security. I remember when my son left home for a boarding school at the tender age of fourteen. I was so sad, I felt I'd never laugh again. I literally couldn't imagine happiness, as everything I looked at reminded me he was gone. After a week or so of living in this maudlin state, I realized I was thinking of him as though he were dead. This led me to examine that avenue. What if he was dead? Wouldn't the love we felt still be alive? Of course, I would miss being around him, enjoying his company -- just as I was missing him then, with 300 miles of physical separation. A Rumi quote helped break this illusion: "Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. For those who love with heart and soul there is no separation." What is it which allows us to be together no matter where we seem to be?  Love. The Love which is our essence is a connection that cannot be broken by any set of material circumstance. When I'm really feeling the security of divine Love, I'm reminded of the way a baby is swaddled in a blanket. Divine Love swaddles us in Its ever-present protection.

“Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the peace of God.”

A Course in Miracles T-in.2:2-4

"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

A Problem Set in Conflict …

Blue Spring, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Photo by Arthur Bruno

In a world where we are being fed lies, it’s extremely difficult to figure out what is truth. Media spreads deception and distrust, dividing people in ways which seem irreparable. Bias doesn’t frighten me, but intentional lies do. Many of us remember the early days of television, bringing with it a new type of advertising, and consumerism became flagrant. It has reached an apex now, in which nearly everything we hear and see is designed to sell us something. We must continue to be vigilant in what we allow into our thoughts, not only for our own good, but for the collective. Repeating stories which create divisions through feelings of superiority or inferiority, that’s playing the game which has been created for us. It’s important to use our education, our intuition, our spiritual knowledge, every bit of common sense we still have, to discern truth. A Christian Science treatment is often referred to as “knowing the Truth”. It is in reference to knowing the Truth of our being, not the beliefs we’ve come to think of as facts. We need not be the victim of propaganda or other forms of hypnosis. “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach me”. This statement from Mary Baker Eddy is all we need to keep in mind. When we are filled with Love, there is no room for anything else. 

"The human mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. ... It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 128

“In quietness are all things answered, and is every problem quietly resolved. In conflict there can be no answer and no resolution, for its purpose is to make no resolution possible, and to ensure no answer will be plain. A problem set in conflict has no answer, for it is seen in different ways. And what would be an answer from one point of view is not an answer in another light. You are in conflict. Thus it must be clear you cannot answer anything at all, for conflict has no limited effects. Yet if God gave an answer there must be a way in which your problems are resolved, for what He wills already has been done.” 

A Course in Miracles T-27.IV.1:1-7

No Forgiveness Necessary

Photo credit: Stephen Shogren

Living in acknowledgement of our unity shows us a new paradigm, a different perception of what we call reality. The opposite of unity, separation, can be described as anything which separates us from Love. Our separation becomes very apparent on occasions such as Valentine's Day. Numerous people I know expressed their disgust for this sweet day of celebration, supposedly because they are not "in love". Someone even said, "Happy too-bad-you're-not-in-love Day!" I had to burst out laughing, because I feel very much in Love! Every moment is an adventure in experiencing the Love which is my Source. I revel in waking up each day and spending time aligning my thoughts with divine Mind/Love. Through this centering, I feel as though I'm having a love affair with all of life. Yes, situations occur which tempt me to revert to a judgmental way of living, and that’s okay. It seems that recognizing this behavior, and reinterpreting my responses, are an important part of learning the metaphysical precepts I’m studying. With enough practice, I hope to have no need to forgive, because I have not condemned. 

“God does not forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself.” 

A Course in Miracles W-46.1:1-5

 "'God is Love.' More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go. To suppose that God forgives or punishes sin according as His mercy is sought or unsought, is to misunderstand Love ..." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 6:17-21