A Peaceful Mind

Ozark Sunset

Although I know that peace is a choice within my own self, I want to share it with everyone, everywhere. It has taken a lifetime to grasp this concept: The only thought I can change is my own! After years of trying to change loved ones, it was my children who finally taught me the meaning of Oneness. It was shown to me as I watched the household mood change its tone, as my moods changed from calm to frantic. Holding to peace within myself is all I can do — and it’s the most I can do! Jumping on the bandwagon of resentment, or the other negative emotions of the collective, may seem impossible to avoid. But we are discovering it is possible to simply witness these things, without becoming a part of them. While I can't change what anyone else is thinking or feeling or experiencing, I can adjust my vision of reality. Every thought is important! We’re all in this together, in every way, at every moment. And so today I will make an effort to see through the eyes of Love, excluding nothing, no matter how inflammatory things may seem!

“Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe. Your peace surrounds me, Father. Where I go, Your peace goes there with me. It sheds its light on everyone I meet. I bring it to the desolate and lonely and afraid. I give Your peace to those who suffer pain, or grieve for loss, or think they are bereft of hope and happiness. Send them to me, my Father. Let me bring Your peace with me. For I would save Your Son, as is Your Will, that I may come to recognize my Self.

“And so we go in peace. To all the world we give the message that we have received. And thus we come to hear the Voice for God, Who speaks to us as we relate His Word; Whose Love we recognize because we share the Word that He has given unto us.”

A Course in Miracles W-245.1:1–2:3

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 264:24-27

The Cement of a Higher Humanity

“I am in danger nowhere in the world." This statement [ACIM Lesson #244] is particularly comforting to me in the face of the fear which is associated with the presidential elections this year. In a recent conversation with friends, I learned that people are afraid to put out signs in support of Kamala Harris. For the last eight years, we have heard about instances where certain factions of people have retaliated toward people who dare to speak out against the tyranny of Donald Trump. I had not realized how timid we had become, and now that I see the extent of our fear, I’m feeling empowered to be fierce in taking a stand for honesty, morality, and decency.  When I am relying on my own knowledge and beliefs, I may be afraid of many things, seeing possible dangers around every corner.  Returning to Love releases illusions of fear, enabling us to see Truth, to live Love, in safety. I know many of you are thinking of horrible things you personally have witnessed; things which make this seem like a frivolous statement. In the material world we witness, this certainly is true. In the realization that true substance is that which does not change, we see that reality is spiritual, not material. And that is freedom!

“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 571:18-21

“I am in danger nowhere in the world. Your Son is safe wherever he may be, for You are there with him. He need but call upon Your Name, and he will recollect his safety and Your Love, for they are one. How can he fear or doubt or fail to know he cannot suffer, be endangered, or experience unhappiness, when he belongs to You, beloved and loving, in the safety of Your Fatherly embrace?

“And there we are in truth. No storms can come into the hallowed haven of our home. In God we are secure. For what can come to threaten God Himself, or make afraid what will forever be a part of Him?”

A Course in Miracles W-244.1:1–2:4

I Will Be Honest With Myself

“Today I will judge nothing that occurs." This ACIM workbook lesson comes at a perfect time for me. A man I shared my life with sent me a message, and I'm extremely tempted to judge what he said. While I have moved past what we had 30 years ago, he continues to bring up things in detail that I would rather not contemplate. I tell myself that I have better things to think about. This implies that he does not. That is a judgment. Every thought I have had about this communication feels unnecessary. As I sit and contemplate his words and my reactions, I realize that it simply is what it is. There is no reason for me to think about it as good or bad; it just is. Once again, I turn to the ancient Toltec wisdom as interpreted by Don Miguel Ruiz in "The Four Agreements": I will not make assumptions, and I will not take anything personally. I'm so grateful to be learning to rely on divine Mind and release the circular thoughts of mortal mind! It is only my thoughts I can change, my opinions I can interpret, and my forgiveness which will release me from the past. Namaste …

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

Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 467:9-13

“I will be honest with myself today. I will not think that I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not think I understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. Today I recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgments that I cannot make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as God created us.

“Father, today I leave creation free to be itself. I honor all its parts, in which I am included. We are one because each part contains Your memory, and truth must shine in all of us as one.”

A Course in Miracles W-243.1:1–2:3

Preserving a Gentle Spirit

Art: Arseniy Lapin

“Gentleness is not weakness. Just the opposite. Preserving a gentle spirit in a heartless world takes extraordinary courage, determination, and resilience. Do not underestimate the power of gentleness because gentleness is strength wrapped in peace, and therein lies the power to change the world.” L.R. Knost

"Certain moods of mind find an indefinable pleasure in stillness, soft, silent as the storm's sudden hush; for nature's stillness is voiced with a hum of harmony, the gentle murmur of early morn, the evening's closing vespers, and lyre of bird and brooklet." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Christian Science versus Pantheism Page 3:8-13

“I will not lead my life alone today. I do not understand the world, and so to try to lead my life alone must be but foolishness. But there is One Who knows all that is best for me. And He is glad to make no choices for me but the ones that lead to God. I give this day to Him, for I would not delay my coming home, and it is He Who knows the way to God.

“And so we give today to You. We come with wholly open minds. We do not ask for anything that we may think we want. Give us what You would have received by us. You know all our desires and our wants. And You will give us everything we need in helping us to find the way to You.”

A Course in Miracles W-242.1:1–2:6

We’ll Get By With a Little Help From Our Friends

I joined two friends today to accomplish a chore which we all dreaded — for various reasons. Through our loving support of each other, we not only accomplished what we set out to do, but we had a good time and felt joyfully at peace when the day was done. When I opened A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #241, I knew it perfectly expressed everything I feel at this moment about our shared experience!

“What joy there is today! It is a time of special celebration. For today holds out the instant to the darkened world where its release is set. The day has come when sorrows pass away and pain is gone. The glory of salvation dawns today upon a world set free. This is the time of hope for countless millions. They will be united now, as you forgive them all. For I will be forgiven by you today.

“We have forgiven one another now, and so we come at last to You again. Father, Your Son, who never left, returns to Heaven and his home. How glad are we to have our sanity restored to us, and to remember that we all are one.”

A Course in Miracles W-241.1:1–2:3

“Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man. We cannot circumscribe happiness within the limits of personal sense. The senses confer no real enjoyment.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 60:29-31

Our Illusory Selves

Aaron Springston in Zion National Park 

Our lives tend to fall into familiar patterns as we move through our days. We may find ourselves going to the same places, saying the same things, thinking the same thoughts -- and all these habits become comfortable. Even if we're experiencing disharmony, we often fear change. We may say, "Something told me I should do so-and-so". We may hear this calling, this inner voice leading us toward a different path than we're on, but we feel it takes courage to walk a road less or never traveled — and so we settle. To settle for anything which brings us less than a joyful existence is to dishonor ourselves, which is to dishonor God. The next time I think I'm feeling this thing we call fear, I'll choose to interpret the emotion as excitement about what will come next!

“Walking in the light, we are accustomed to the light and require it; we cannot see in darkness. But eyes accustomed to darkness are pained by the light. When outgrowing the old, you should not fear to put on the new. Your advancing course may provoke envy, but it will also attract respect.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 452:7-12

“Fear is deception. It attests that you have seen yourself as you could never be, and therefore look upon a world which is impossible. Not one thing in this world is true. It does not matter what the form in which it may appear. It witnesses but to your own illusions of yourself. Let us not be deceived today. We are the Sons of God. There is no fear in us, for we are each a part of Love Itself.” 

A Course in Miracles W-240.1:1-8

I Celebrate and Sing Myself

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

The truth about ourselves is often hidden by a false humility. This "false humility" we use to hide the truth about ourselves can take many forms. It's usually easy to catch ourselves in self-deprecating actions, which we deem to be humility, but actually are expressions of our inability to accept the glory of our true identify as an expression of God. But there are other insidious ways we reject Truth. Many of us take things personally and we feel attacked by friends’ words, or co-workers' rivalry, or thousands of other things which can be perceived as diminishing to us. Accepting our glory allows us to see the unity we share with all of creation. Holding to a calm, positive attitude often neutralizes ugly situations, whereas commiserating can brings escalation in negativity. An example: A woman expressed her anger concerning the motorcycles in our town. She stated it was no longer peaceful here, as it was when she had been here twenty years earlier. I happily told her that peace was everywhere in Eureka and not to become discouraged, ending the conversation by asking her if she felt peace standing right where we were. This caused her to pause and realize she did. And so every time I hear or see something today which seems to come from a space of unhappiness, I will smile with the assurance that no one and nothing can change the harmonious Truth of our Being. 

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

Walt Whitman

“Let not the truth about ourselves today be hidden by a false humility. Let us instead be thankful for the gifts our Father gave us. Can we see in those with whom He shares His glory any trace of sin and guilt? And can it be that we are not among them, when He loves His Son forever and with perfect constancy, knowing he is as He created him? 

“We thank You, Father, for the light that shines forever in us. And we honor it, because You share it with us. We are one, united in this light and one with You, at peace with all creation and ourselves.”

A Course in Miracles W-239.1:1–2:3

“The Divine Being must be reflected by man,--else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One 'altogether lovely;' but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:12-15

Mastering the Propensities

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #238 says: “On my decision, all salvation rests.” My decision, (my job, if you will) is to forget the dreams of malice, revenge, hatred, and anger. These dreams of separation from our Oneness are simply that — dreams, with no relation to the reality we are coming to know. My self is the one Self we all share, so I may choose to accept this as my identity, or I can continue to choose the illusions of belief in separation. It’s not always easy to see this false identity as something I no longer want. If I choose anything other than duality, my ego identity jumps up and down and insists that it is good and I am bad if I choose anything other than it. How grateful I am to have friends who support my decision to grasp for the heights of my Being, allowing the lower propensities to remain where they lie. Thank you greatly —

“Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness, to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 405:4-9

“Father, Your trust in me has been so great, I must be worthy. You created me, and know me as I am. And yet You placed Your Son’s salvation in my hands, and let it rest on my decision. I must be beloved of You indeed. And I must be steadfast in holiness as well, that You would give Your Son to me in certainty that he is safe Who still is part of You, and yet is mine, because He is my Self.

“And so, again today, we pause to think how much our Father loves us. And how dear His Son, created by His Love, remains to Him Whose Love is made complete in him.”

A Course in Miracles W-238.1:1–2:2

Be Ignited

What I Have Learned So Far - Mary Oliver

“Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I

not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,

looking into the shining world? Because, properly

attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the

ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit

to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a

story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.

Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of

light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.”

“Today I will accept the truth about myself. I will arise in glory, and allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day. I bring the world the tidings of salvation which I hear as God my Father speaks to me. And I behold the world that Christ would have me see, aware it ends the bitter dream of death; aware it is my Father’s Call to me.

Christ is my eyes today, and He the ears that listen to the Voice for God today. Father, I come to You through Him Who is Your Son, and my true Self as well. Amen.

A Course in Miracles W-237.1:1–2:3

“Eternal Truth is changing the universe. As mortals drop off their mental swaddling-clothes, thought expands into expression. ‘Let there be light’ is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres. The mythical human theories of creation, anciently classified as the higher criticism, sprang from cultured scholars in Rome and in Greece, but they afforded no foundation for accurate views of creation by the divine Mind.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 255: 1-10

I Rule My Mind

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

After watching the wild movie, “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, I’ve been thinking about alternative universes — ones which are similar, yet entirely different from each other. This movie also brought into focus the powerful forces which are unseen in our world. In these Marvel movies, forces are harnessed for evil and for good, with good eventually winning — but oftentimes not before extreme havoc is wreaked. Today we watch in amazement as seemingly evil forces attempt to take control of our world. I have always believed Love is a force more powerful than any form of hatred, and I still see this as true. After watching a short video by Eckhart Tolle with the subject, “Beware of Mental Viruses”, I suddenly saw exactly how susceptible we humans are. If we replay something over and over in our thoughts, it becomes part of who we are. It becomes our reality. With this in mind, all of you who know in your heart that Love is an actual force, I’m asking you to be active in becoming a transparency for that all-powerful energy. Any time thought is pulled into a hopeless state, replace it with a translation of the situation, affirming the spiritual truth of it. We’ve been practicing all our lives, and we are ready for this!

“Love is not something put upon a shelf, to be taken down on rare occasions with sugar-tongs and laid on a rose-leaf. I make strong demands on love, call for active witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand achievements as its result.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings Page 250:16-18

“I have a kingdom I must rule. At times, it does not seem I am its king at all. It seems to triumph over me, and tell me what to think, and what to do and feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever purpose I perceive in it. My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the Holy Spirit to employ as He sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus I set it free to do the Will of God.

“Father, my mind is open to Your Thoughts, and closed today to every thought but Yours. I rule my mind, and offer it to You. Accept my gift, for it is Yours to me.”

A Course in Miracles W-236.1:1–2:3A

We Are Love

There are a few books I like to have on hand to give people who show an interest in this way of thought. I think of them as primers.  One of those books is, "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. More than once people have thanked me for sharing this book, telling me that it has led them on a new path in life. I think we all have ah-ha moments, don't we? Although I have always known about divine metaphysics as explained by Mary Baker Eddy, many other authors have enriched my knowledge and understanding through the years. I'll always remember looking down at a stack of books at a yard sale and seeing Wayne Dyer's, "When You Believe It, You'll See It". It had a blue cover and jumped out at me in flashing neon! I took it home and it started me on a trip with A Course in Miracles which has continued through the last three decades. I love his writing style, and especially cherish recordings which have seen me through many a long car trip. I'll always remember driving 200 miles through torrential rains late at night. What could have been a tedious, perhaps frightening drive was pure joy because I had both Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra with me on tapes. The authors I’ve listed above are gloriously joyful people who can give you a jump-start when you may be feeling uninspired. And we all need that sometimes!

“One kind of faith trusts one's welfare to others. Another kind of faith understands divine Love and how to work out one's ‘own salvation, with fear and trembling.’ ‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!’ expresses the helplessness of a blind faith; whereas the injunction, ‘Believe . . . and thou shalt be saved!’ demands self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 23:23-31

“Father, Your Holiness is mine. Your Love created me, and made my sinlessness forever part of You. I have no guilt nor sin in me, for there is none in You.”

A Course in Miracles W-235.2:1-3

The Abolishment of War

 

“The man of imagination, maintaining the absolutely neutral position of Principle, with no pro-this or anti-that, is the one who will discover steps and techniques for communication leading to the abolishment of war.” 

We Are the World We Walk Through (or Christian Science, Re-explored) by Margaret Laird 

“The memory of God comes to the quiet mind. It cannot come where there is conflict, for a mind at war against itself remembers not eternal gentleness. The means of war are not the means of peace, and what the warlike would remember is not love. War is impossible unless belief in victory is cherished. Conflict within you must imply that you believe the ego has the power to be victorious. Why else would you identify with it? Surely you realize the ego is at war with God. Certain it is it has no enemy. Yet just as certain is its fixed belief it has an enemy that it must overcome and will succeed.” 

A Course in Miracles - T-23.I.1:1-9

“We thank You, Father, that we cannot lose the memory of You and of Your Love. We recognize our safety, and give thanks for all the gifts You have bestowed on us, for all the loving help we have received, for Your eternal patience, and the Word which You have given us that we are saved.”

A Course in Miracles W-234.2:1-2

We’re All This — Together

I love cooking shows, and there are some very innovative ones these days. I’m watching one called Taste of a Nation, in which Padma Lakshmi travels around the United States, meeting immigrants and visiting with them in their homes and restaurants. The first show was from El Paso, and it spoke frankly about immigration problems which have not been solved, but rather multiplied in these last few years. It was heartening to hear everyone supporting each other, no matter what their particular conservative or liberal leaning was. Hearing about people’s lives and watching them cook is so much fun! They bring new ideas to my kitchen, and a knowledge of their heritage, both in their cooking and personal history. It’s a wonderful way to be an "accidental tourist" and to visit other cultures from the recliner. Ah — life is good!

"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 

“Father, I give You all my thoughts today. I would have none of mine. In place of them, give me Your Own. I give You all my acts as well, that I may do Your Will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained, and wasting time in vain imaginings. Today I come to You. I will step back and merely follow You. Be You the Guide, and I the follower who questions not the wisdom of the Infinite, nor Love whose tenderness I cannot comprehend, but which is yet Your perfect gift to me.

Today we have one Guide to lead us on. And as we walk together, we will give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is His day. And so it is a day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.”

A Course in Miracles W-233.1:1–2:4

Be My Mind

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Someone once told me that hopes hold us captive, and if we don't accept the "reality" of what we see around us, we are lost in dreams of what could be, giving up any chance of changing what is. I’m coming to see that the opposite is true. The material picture of good and evil warring with each other is what we have decided is truth, hence we hope and strive for good to win. With the burgeoning knowledge that divine Mind is the reality and mortal mind is the illusion, we are freed to do more than hope. The divinely-endowed, spiritually-scientific consciousness within us is opened and, like a fountain, the ideas we need flow forth. This consciousness is realized when we see that God IS our Mind, not just IN our mind. What a freeing concept!

“When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 227:22-25

“Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son.”

A Course in Miracles ACIM, W-232.1:1-5