Peace to Every Mind

 “There is a place of peace in the heart that looks out and sees the foolishness of the world but does not judge, criticize or condemn but compassionately accepts the unawakened behavior of others.

This place is called Love.

It is that which cannot be taught, only shown by example.

It is not a lesson to give, it is a relationship with life.

It is not a beating with a stick, but a caress with an open hand.

It is the strongest force in the universe, but needs time to be understood.

The one who encourages you to be afraid is not your friend. The one who shows the unity and interconnectedness of all things will not want something from you.

When you are afraid you are already the victim.

When you are loving, you are exactly where you want be.

This sharing of love without conditions is the way of the heart.”

Michael Kewley

“How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind! How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means 

for letting this be done through you! 

What purpose could you have that would bring you greater happiness?” 

A Course in Miracles W-63.1:1-3

"Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,--this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. 

The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 324:3-5

 

Forgive Yourself

Have you ever been accused of something you did not do? An unjust charge carries with it a terrible feeling. This same feeling follows many of us around because we have been told that we are born sinners — and that there is nothing to be done about the life sentence. We have come to believe it is our function on this earth to try ever so hard in order to overcome this innate badness. Isn't it a wonderful thing to experience teachings which show us that this is not true? The understanding of our essence as the pure expression of God — and the realization that anything unlike this expression is a material illusion, one which is brought to us courtesy of tainted human beliefs — frees us to be happy. Gone is all the guilt we may have carried around, thinking we were condemned by a power from which we couldn't escape. There has been no condemnation by any power, only illusionary powers to which we have given credence. Breaking free from these beliefs, we are free to be happy, healthy, whole -- and we bloom!

“Whatever indicates the fall of man or the opposite of God or God’s absence, is the Adam-dream, which is neither Mind nor man, for it is not begotten of the Father. The rule of inversion infers from error its opposite, Truth; but Truth is the light which dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 282:28:3

“Nothing the body’s eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet we have learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of as your sins. In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation.”
—A Course in Miracles W-64.2:1-4

Misnamed Groups for Banning Books

Moms for Liberty, The Moral Majority, Citizens United: Many names seem to be copacetic with our personal beliefs. For example, Moms for Liberty is an organization which have taken it upon themselves to remove books from school libraries. They have many ideas about why certain books should be removed, mainly having to do with gender and race. Years ago, Judy Blume was the author who addressed issues which some parents thought should be unmentionable. Now it’s gender identity which has certain people all het up. In a day and age when the internet and mass media outlets expose our children to any- and every-thing, it seems ridiculous to try to stop children from reading books which will tell the facts about things they are hearing about on a daily basis. Not only are sex and gender issues fearful to specific groups, they are also concerned that the truth of our country’s history will make kids embarrassed about our government’s actions. Well hello!! When we know truth and it is shameful, we will try to do better in the future, so future generations do not need to be ashamed. Stuff happens, but we can rectify the past by our actions today. And that changes the future. It’s fear or love, people. Fear or Love.

“You have no idea of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes from meeting yourself and your brothers totally without judgment. When you recognize what you are and what your brothers are, you will realize that judging them in any way is without meaning. In fact, their meaning is lost to you precisely because you are judging them. All uncertainty comes from the belief that you are under the coercion of judgment. You do not need judgment to organize your life, and you certainly do not need it to organize yourself. In the presence of knowledge all judgment is automatically suspended, and this is the process that enables recognition to replace perception.”
—A Course in Miracles T-3.VI.3:1-6

“The power of the human will should be exercised only in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judgment and free the lower propensities. It is the province of spiritual sense to govern man. Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both upon the body and through it.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 206:4-9

Freed From Illusions By Truth

 Polly in Wonderland: Polina Kostanda

Truth has always been very important to me. Having this great love of truth, it came as quite a surprise to find out that the life I'd lived for 37 years, my name, birthdate, and parents, were not the ones given at birth. At two months of age, my parents took me from a niece who was 17 and had given birth with no one to help her. Her boyfriend had skipped over the border into Mexico. Her family ignored her, in an effort to convince her to give away her baby. After two months of being on her own, she relented and gave me to her aunt -- which is what her family had wanted all along. These wonderful people (who were the only parents I had ever known) then moved across the country and made a new beginning for us all. They did this in part to save this baby from the flood of criticism and judgment which accompanied a child born out of wedlock in the 1950s. Perhaps it was their living of this huge lie which caused them to instill truthfulness so solidly within me. For whatever reason, I am thankful to have it. Because of this love of truth, I've always wanted to know it -- in every way. But in the past three decades, it's taken the form of spiritual Truth, which shows me my function and is my happiness. And it has set me free!

“And so again we make the only choice that ever can be made; we choose between illusions and the truth, or pain and joy, or hell and Heaven. Let our gratitude unto our Teacher fill our hearts, as we are free to choose our joy instead of pain, our holiness in place of sin, the peace of God instead of conflict, and the light of Heaven for the darkness of the world.”
—A Course in Miracles W-190.11:1-2

"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 57:18-21

My Only Function

Autumn Skye Art

As a restless young person, I resisted the only thing which was required in order to experience peace, thinking that living in Spirit would be predictable and boring. Decades past that time, daily life is exciting and new! Without the willingness to be open to the field of all possibilities, by-rote behaviors would be repeated, while following along with learned beliefs. That is the definition of boring! By being willing to listen inwardly, one can never be sure of what will be said or done, but we can be confident that guidance will never lead us astray. On the occasions I forget to listen, but instead hold forth with long-held strong opinions, things don't usually work out in the same harmonious ways as they do when I'm willing to yield. That is a strong reminder to remember that I, of my own self, know nothing.

"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

“The full acceptance of salvation as your only function necessarily entails two phases; the recognition of salvation as your function, and the relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented for yourself. This is the only way in which you can take your rightful place among the saviors of the world. This is the only way in which you can say and mean, ‘My only function is the one God gave me.’ This is the only way in which you can find peace of mind.”
—A Course in Miracles W-65.1:4–2:3

We Are Love

Sunrise - 1933

Maxfield Parrish 

What is love? As a personal value, love changes and shifts. Friendships end over disagreements, marriages fall apart, societies struggle to remain cohesive while accepting those who think differently. A Course in Miracles tells us that only perfect Love exists. This realization can change our material expectations of what constitutes love. When we see people in their true identity as spiritual expressions of Love, we understand that they share in the wisdom of the ages, because they are reflections of divine Mind. Plus, seeing others as the expression of Love, they can see themselves this way, too! When we recognize ourselves as complete, a shift occurs in the way we treat others. All problems, large and small, are symptoms of a basic misconception that we are fallen humans, separated from Love. The acceptance that we are Love, wholly and purely, starts a domino-effect which inevitably includes everyone in this shift of thought. Through this acceptance, our views shift from unreal beliefs of what we are, to the pure understanding of ourselves as One with All.

“From Love and from the light and harmony which are the abode of Spirit, only reflections of good can come. All things beautiful and harmless are ideas of Mind. Mind [Love] creates and multiplies them, and the product must be mental.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 280:4-8

“Meditation is the art of divine appreciation of the outer forms, because meditation gives us an understanding of the divine Love which produced the form. Meditation develops the insight which carries us from the outer form to its creative principle and then, with this new insight, the world is revealed as it really is.”
—Joel Goldsmith

“Love created me like itself. Today’s idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are. This is why you are the light of the world. This is why God appointed you as the world’s savior. This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation. He is saved by what you are. We will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth.”
—A Course in Miracles W-67.1:1-6

No Grievance in Love

Photo credit: Don Matt

Some painful memories seem to stay with us. Throughout the years, certain events have re-played regularly in my mind. Although these re-runs are mostly gone now, there are current events which beg me to take offense. They jump up and down asking to be retold, wanting to hold me to them with emotions. To hold a grievance, we must live in the past. I remember a line from a little book by Alan Lightman called "Einstein's Dreams". He tells us that those who live in the past are condemned to live there alone. Habitually recounting what used to be, or wishing for what never was, or wanting what could have been — these thought processes are symptoms of holding grievances. A Course in Miracles tells us how forgetting that we are Love, forgetting that everyone is Love, forgetting that everything is Love, is holding a grievance. So today let’s return to Love -- a figurative return, as we remember that we never left, and neither has anyone else. This Love replaces all grievances in our thoughts, and by this process we are safely and peacefully at one with all.

“The circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 574:27-30

“It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image, as it is certain that God created them like Himself, and defined them as part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt, as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are, as it is certain that those who forgive will remember.”
—A Course in Miracles W-68.3:1-3

Sweeping Away Grievances

Finding and clearing out hidden grievances within ourselves is similar to cleaning away cobwebs from dark corners in our home. Perhaps we’re holding onto them simply because we’re afraid the story we’ve created for ourselves might fall apart if we let go any part of it. Maybe we’ve convinced ourself that we like our history, and don’t want to give any of it up — much less all of it! But what brilliance is hiding behind the cover of these grievance clouds? What light have we hidden behind the illusions created for ourselves and the world? I know something wonderful is there, just out of reach. So when an old story comes to mind, I will turn thought instead to contemplation of the wondrous Truth which flows in, out, and through me when I lift the veil created by my grievances. Now that's deep cleaning!


“The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. The light and the glass never mingle, but as matter, the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality--much error--in order to become a better transparency for Truth. Then, like a cloud melting into thin vapor, it no longer hides the sun.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 295:14-24

“From where you stand, you can see no reason to believe there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. The clouds seem to be the only reality. They seem to be all there is to see. Therefore, you do not attempt to go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would be really convinced of their lack of substance.”
—A Course in Miracles W-69.5:1-4

A Cause For Celebration

Photo Credit: Aaron Springston 

A dear friend tells me that it has taken her seven decades to stop believing the things her parents told her about herself. They said she was ugly, stupid, worthless, and other hurtful damnations. She believed these things and they stayed with her, until being in a group with spiritually-aware people allowed her to see the truth about herself. She no longer feels unworthy of love and goodness. Hallelujah! Her salvation has come! How often do we believe lies about the reality of our being? We don’t realize we have chosen guilt for ourselves, but thankfully we are recognizing this and understanding that we have a choice. Nothing outside of our own self can save us; nothing from outside can bring us peace. The source of salvation and peace lies within. This acceptance is, indeed, a cause for celebration!

“Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. In understanding this you are saved.”
—A Course in Miracles W-70.1:2-6

“Innocence and Truth overcome guilt and error.”  
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 568:1

Filling the Empty Space in. Life

There have been three movie versions of A Star is Born. My personal favorite is the one with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The movie brings back memories of all the alcoholic/drug addicts who have been friends, along with all the incredibly talented Texas musicians I’ve loved. Whew! And this has led me to think about this thing we call will power. I’m not sure there is such a thing in our material sense of things. We say addiction is a disease, and that’s probably true, as it’s an acute sense of dis-ease which is felt in the throes of addictive behavior. An ex-heroin addict once told me he was trying to fill the “God hole” in his life. The religions he has tried to embrace did not fill his need, and he repeatedly turned to drugs. At one point I was addicted to many substances, and it was the illness of a child which caused me to want to change enough to struggle to do so. The study of the Science of Christ satisfied that longing in my life. Discovering A Course in Miracles closed the deal in my search for a happy existence. For this, I am thankful with all my heart.

“The power of the human will should be exercised only in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judgment and free the lower propensities. It is the province of spiritual sense to govern man. Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both upon the body and through it."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 206:4-9

“Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light. We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily passed, and cannot stand between you and your salvation. The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die?”
—A Course in Miracles W-73.5:1-8

Giving the Gift of Peace and Love

Dulaine Dancing Students

Pierre Dulaine wanted to be a ballroom dancer. After years of performing, he became a teacher. He was determined to bring ballroom dancing to the classrooms of New York City. No one wanted him to do this. Administrators, teachers, and especially students thought it was a horrid idea. He persisted and now his way of teaching is integral in more than 500 schools around the world. His idea is that if you can dance together, you can get along. He paired up kids by height, with no regard to nationality or gang affiliation or anything else. When these kids are dancing, they are happy and everything else falls away. It doesn't matter if their families have feuded for years or if someone hurt the other's feelings the day before. These students are being taught respect for themselves and others through dance. They must hold each other and cooperate in movement. They are taught to look into each others' eyes and learn the confidence to do so in daily life. Pierre Dulaine was led to do something everyone thought to be foolish and a waste of time. He has followed his heart and brought a gift of Love and peace and grace to thousands by doing so.

You will first dream of peace, and then awaken to it. ²Your first exchange of what you made for what you want is the exchange of nightmares for the happy dreams of love.
—A Course in Miracles T-13.VII.9:1-2

“Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must ‘have her perfect work.’”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454:18-24

Let’s Stop the Madness

 

Mahatma Gandhi famously said to a rioting crowd: “I am a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist, a Jew — and so are you!” In the Book of Galatians we are told of the teachings of Jesus: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female…” If only everyone in the world acknowledged this truth. The worldwide persecution of people for their nationality, religion, gender, and who-knows-what-else, is rising. I can’t change how that guy over there thinks, but I can change how I see things. Instead of blaming, perhaps even hating, those perpetrating atrocities in the name of power, let’s see them as they were born: the pure reflection of Love. Anything else is an illusion they are living. We tend to think it will take some sort of physical force to break through the hate, but actually Love is the only power capable of that.

“You are what God created or what you made. ²One Self is true; the other is not there. Try to experience the unity of your one Self. Try to appreciate Its Holiness and the love from which It was created. Try not to interfere with the Self which God created as you, by hiding Its majesty behind the tiny idols of evil and sinfulness you have made to replace It. Let It come into Its Own. Here you are; This is You. And light and joy and peace abide in you because this is so.”
—A Course in Miracles W-93.9:1-8

“Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert — are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ’s name, and never fear the consequences. What if the old dragon should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea? He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night. In this age the earth will help the woman; the spiritual idea will be understood. Those ready for the blessing you impart will give thanks. The waters will be pacified, and Christ will command the wave.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-25

Dolly Lives!

A friend on the east coast called today, in tears over the passing of Dolly Parton. To me, she is every bit as much alive as she ever was! I can hear her voice and music any time I choose to do so. The good she did in this life will continue to live on and, hopefully, exponentially grow with those of us who emulate her actions. Dolly’s efforts to put a book into every child’s hand has been a beautiful thing to watch grow. We cannot say how far the seeds this woman has sown have and will spread. But everybody has a Dolly story! Everywhere she went, she treated people with kindness and respect. I remember years ago when she was traveling with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris in preparation for their album, Trio. They came through this part of the country and almost everyone I knew had a story about their visit. Whether it was restaurants, motels, or rest stops, Dolly (and her friends) were exceptionally friendly and generous. Sitting here, listening to her incredible voice coming through my device, my gratitude is great for this woman and her music. Dolly lives!

“‘Heaven and earth shall pass away’ means that they will not continue to exist as separate states. My word, which is the resurrection and the life, shall not pass away because life is eternal.”

—A Course in Miracles T-1.III.2:1-2

“A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the death of a friend, occasions the same grief that the friend’s real death would bring. You think that your anguish is occasioned by your loss. Another despatch, correcting the mistake, heals your grief, and you learn that your suffering was merely the result of your belief.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page386: 16-22

One With The Earth

“Lupins” by Era Leisner

We live in a world where many laws are enacted to protect us, such as wearing motorcycle helmets and seat belts in cars. Yet the items we find in our grocery stores are filled with chemicals and other things which can barely be classified as food. We are told to use pesticides on ourselves, our gardens, our pets, even though the rates of autoimmune disease and cancer climbs steadily. There are laws forcing us to immunize our children and our pets, yet what began as a life-saving procedure has been contaminated with odd chemicals and industrial waste. It seems impossible to get away from the multitude of horrors which are spoon-fed to us from every direction. And yet, I truly think there IS a spiritual solution to all the things which seem impossibly horrible. So I shall continue to study, continue working to rise above the miasma of erroneous thought, and strive to see past the hideous forms we seem to manifest. These things have nothing to do with the laws of Love, the creations of divine Mind, the Principle which we yearn to serve. May we live in the “glorious liberty of the children of God”! (MBE) 

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 227:24-28

“We have observed before how many senseless things have seemed to you to be salvation. Each has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself. You are not bound by them. Yet to understand that this is so, you must first realize salvation lies not there. While you would seek for it in things that have no meaning, you bind yourself to laws that make no sense. Thus do you seek to prove salvation is where it is not.” 

—A Course in Miracles W-76.1:1-6

Grievance or Miracle: You Choose

“Summer Rain”

Art by Catrin Welz-Stein

A morning meditation from Marianne Williamson was this: “Negativity poisons my mind and positivity restores it. I have a choice whether to join in the darkness of the world, its petty judgments, and constant blame. When I do so I inject my psyche with poison, and today I choose a healthy mind.” It dovetailed with an interview given by Matson and Tawni Browning, who have written a book, The Hate Next Door. This couple went undercover and became part of the new white supremacy, seeing what feeds these extreme views. As we know, strong, negative opinions breed hate and fear. And the opposite is also true: a positive outlook allows love and joy to permeate our lives. This is the miracle realization which replaces all our grievances. We can be unhappy about everything — i.e., the pollen is making me sick, politicians are liars, everything is too expensive, and on and on. Or we can notice the beauty of every little thing, and be grateful. Everywhere we look, there is much to be appreciated. What we put our attention on, grows.

“Perhaps it is not yet quite clear to you that each decision that you make is one between a grievance and a miracle. Each grievance stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal. And as you raise it up before your eyes, you will not see the miracle beyond. Yet all the while it waits for you in light, but you behold your grievances instead.”
—A Course in Miracles W-78.1:1-4

"Love enriches the nature, enlarging, purifying, and elevating it. The wintry blasts of earth may uproot the flowers of affection, and scatter them to the winds; but this severance of fleshly ties serves to unite thought more closely to God, for Love supports the struggling heart until it ceases to sigh over the world and begins to unfold its wings for heaven."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:23-30

Joy Is The Key

Creative Joy from Sandy Wythawai Starbird

The joy of creation: that is the key to bringing people back to sanity. Creating a safer environment for our children to grow. Creating a world where we respect the earth and all its inhabitants. Creating a joyous family. Creating safe spaces for people in trouble to recover. The list is endless. But these are things which bring everyone happiness. We must be productive and have a reason for getting up in the morning. Let’s create a citizenry which works toward these ends! Every one of us are known for our good works, our spiritual focus, our Love for humanity — caring for the earth, the animals, the environment. Now is not the time to hide our light! Take a walk in the woods, visit a local lake or river, tend your garden, and as always, love your neighbor. That’s how we “keep the sabbath holy”!

“The mind is very powerful, and never loses its creative force. It never sleeps. Every instant it is creating. It is hard to recognize that thought and belief combine into a power surge that can literally move mountains. It appears at first glance that to believe such power about yourself is arrogant, but that is not the real reason you do not believe it. You prefer to believe that your thoughts cannot exert real influence because you are actually afraid of them. This may allay awareness of the guilt, but at the cost of perceiving the mind as impotent. If you believe that what you think is ineffectual you may cease to be afraid of it, but you are hardly likely to respect it. There are no idle thoughts. All thinking produces form at some level.
—A Course in Miracles T-2.VI.9:5-14

“Spirit diversifies, classifies, and individualizes all thoughts, which are as eternal as the Mind conceiving them; but the intelligence, existence, and continuity of all individuality remain in God, who is the divinely creative Principle thereof.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 513:16-21

Releasing Conflict

 

My Boys - circa 1997

Conflict resolution. Conflict transformation. How much time and energy do we spend in attempting to negate conflict between others and/or within ourselves? We can make lists of the merits of our choices, we can role play and put ourselves in each others' place in a situation, and we can enlist therapists to help us out. There are lots of ways to search for the door out of conflict. I have found the only way to truly leave it behind is to realize that such a thing does not exist anywhere other than in my thoughts I'll always remember a time when my boys were around 8 and 10 years of age. Their disagreements had advanced to the point where I saw no way out, other than to give one of them away! One day, during a particularly intense bout, I gave up and sat down in my bedroom to have a good cry. Next to my chair was a stack of Christian Science Sentinels, the weekly publication which has given us practical metaphysical writings for more than a hundred years. I reached down and pulled a copy from the middle of the stack and opened it up to an article about brothers fighting! I don't remember anything about the content, other than it was just what I needed. I also remember sitting there and thinking of all the reasons I loved them, and then thinking of what it truly means that they are the expression of divine Love. It came to me that I was exhibiting an I'm-right-and-you're-wrong attitude. While that day was not the last time they had disagreements, they never again seemed so intense, and it was the last day I was in total despair over their actions. Living Love creates bridges which bring us together in peace. Trust that your function and happiness are your God-given right, and don't be afraid to open up and see what unexpected ways this function will be manifested.

“God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.”
—Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 106:7-10[

“I have no function but the one God gave me. This recognition releases me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. With one purpose only, I am always certain what to do, what to say and what to think. All doubt must disappear as I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me.”
—A Course in Miracles W-83.1:2-5

The Infinite Calculus of Spirit

Hopefully our current era will be remembered as the age of wisdom. A.I. is supplying more information than anyone could consume, but this in and of itself is not wisdom. Yuval Noah Harari likened this parenthesis in time to the story every culture shares, about a genie in a found bottle. The genie has information, but our three wishes must come from wisdom or they will backfire on us. A.I. has the answer to anything we may ask, but what are we asking? We are seeking wisdom but, as usual, we want fast solutions. Artificial intelligence is not a tool; it is an agent. For instance, the printing press, a tool, cannot write books on its own, it can only print what we want it to print. But A.I. amasses information and does not need to be told what to do with it. We have many choices and large decisions to make. What will guide us in these decisions must be Infinite Mind, not something which gathers information and tells us what to do based on how many times these “facts” have been repeated. I have faith in humanity and trust this is the tipping point in our understanding.

“Material substances or mundane formations, astronomical calculations, and all the paraphernalia of speculative theories, based on the hypothesis of material law or life and intelligence resident in matter, will ultimately vanish, swallowed up in the infinite calculus of Spirit.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 209:25-30

Judgment, like other devices by which the world of illusions is maintained, is totally misunderstood by the world. It is actually confused with wisdom, and substitutes for truth.” 

—A Course in Miracles M-10.1:1-2

A New Standpoint

Are you a list maker? If you have a list of problems which need to be solved, it should be a relief to know there is only one problem and only one solution! If you watch or listen to news and feel overwhelmed by the problems of the world, it is a welcome respite to realize there is only one solution, and that solution is shown through a recognition of the problem. Actually, there is no need to think about a solution, you only need recognize that there is but one problem -- and that realization is, in itself, the solution. Every problem which seems to exist is the result of one thing: a belief in separation from our Oneness. I remember a friend had a poster in her office reminding the people who came in that the only reason she wanted to know their problem was as an identifier; after that, she only wanted to hear about solutions. Wayne Dyer wrote a whole book about it: There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. The problem is that we believe we have separated from Source. The solution lies in that recognition!

“A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is. Even if it is really solved already you will still have the problem, because you will not recognize that it has been solved. This is the situation of the world. The problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has already been solved. Yet the solution is not recognized because the problem is not recognized.”
—A Course in Miracles W-79.1:1-5

"Ontology receives less attention than physiology. Why? Because mortal mind must waken to spiritual life before it cares to solve the problem of being, hence the author's experience; but when that awakening comes, existence will be on a new standpoint."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 556:25-30

Feast On Your Life

“By the Open Door”

 Nikolai Astrup 1911

Derek Walcott - Love After Love.

"The time will come when, with elation,

you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome, and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life."

“If you overlook love you are overlooking yourself, and you must fear unreality because you have denied yourself. By believing that you have successfully attacked truth, you are believing that attack has power. Very simply, then, you have become afraid of yourself. And no one wants to find what he believes would destroy him.”
—A Course in Miracles T-11.V.10:5-8

“The wintry blasts of earth may uproot the flowers of affection, and scatter them to the winds; but this severance of fleshly ties serves to unite thought more closely to God, for Love supports the struggling heart until it ceases to sigh over the world and begins to unfold its wings for heaven.
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:24-30

Willing

Many of life’s experiences are humbling. Through them, we can learn to admit that we know nothing; it gives us opportunities to say that we wrong about an opinion. I’ve gone through phases in the last 70 years when I didn’t want to admit either of these things, but now I am willing. On this beautiful summer day, let us join in having no strong opinions and allowing our beliefs to dissolve. Let’s see what shows up when we are an empty vessel, listening for Spirit to fill us!

“In choosing salvation rather than attack, I merely choose to recognize what is already there. Salvation is a decision made already. Attack and grievances are not there to choose. That is why I always choose between truth and illusion; between what is there and what is not. The light has come. I can but choose the light, for it has no alternative. It has replaced the darkness, and the darkness has gone.”
—A Course in Miracles W-88.1:2-8

"There is no material truth. The physical senses can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. Human belief has sought out many inventions, but not one of them can solve the problem of being without the divine Principle of divine Science. Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 273:2-9

Book Clubs Saving The World

My book club has often been mentioned in these daily writings. We are a group of women who have met for over two decades, with a book at the center of our monthly gathering — but reading is just the vehicle we use to get together and enjoy each others’ company. Some of us think logically from the standpoint of science; others live intuitively from the heart. Our group includes teachers, body/mind/spirit workers, a veterinarian, businesswomen, farmers, a librarian — actually, a single definition isn’t enough for any one of these women. They are multi-talented and diverse. We have incredible discussions and enjoy one another more than I can say. It doesn’t matter if we agree with each other’s opinions, because we all live from the space of Love. Everything we do is guided by something larger than what our human reason can encompass. It seems this group of women could solve all the problems of the world — and actually it feels like we have done just that every time we get together! Thinking about them and basking in our friendship reminds me that problems come from a belief in separation, and I thank these women for helping me to feel whole.

“Let me realize today that the problem is always some form of grievance that I would cherish. Let me also understand that the solution is always a miracle with which I let the grievance be replaced. Today I would remember the simplicity of salvation by reinforcing the lesson that there is one problem and one solution. The problem is a grievance; the solution is a miracle. And I invite the solution to come to me through my forgiveness of the grievance, and my welcome of the miracle that takes its place.”
—A Course in Miracles W-90.1:2-6

“Human reason and religion come slowly to the recognition of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon matter to remove the error which the human mind alone has created.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 173:25-28

An Earth Transformed By Truth

Morning Light — captured by Blake Lasater

I read an article in which people were questions about spirituality and religion. Most of those interviewed thought of themselves as spiritual but not religious, and the few self-proclaimed religious people were mostly looking for a sense of community and fellowship. A sense of inclusiveness was often mentioned in the answers. People apparently are looking for a spiritual group which will accept them as they are, without trying to change them. Many spoke of doubt, stating they needed groups of like-minded people to help them in times of loss and fear. It seems so simple for everyone to live together in Love, being kind and helping each other. Apparently it is not. Long-held beliefs cloud our vision and we fearfully try to pull others into our illusions. Today I will try to see the light of miracles everywhere I look, refusing to be pulled into darkness, even in jest.

“Strength comes from truth, and shines with light its Source has given it; weakness reflects the darkness of its maker. It is sick and looks on sickness, which is like itself. Truth is a savior and can only will for happiness and peace for everyone. It gives its strength to everyone who asks, in limitless supply. It sees that lack in anyone would be a lack in all. And so it gives its light that all may see and benefit as one. Its strength is shared, that it may bring to all the miracle in which they will unite in purpose and forgiveness and in love.”
—A Course in Miracles W-92.5:1-7

“As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought and leads it to "where the young child was," --even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes. Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 191:7-15

Longing For New Things To Learn

Back to school time! Simply saying those words brings a feeling of anticipation and excitement! This week’s Christian Science Monitor’s focus is on this topic. The editorial describes this time as having a “sense of potential — not in that self-focused way of many New Year’s resolutions, but as an expansive sort of longing for new things to learn and new relationships to forge.” Ah, much like those brand new pencils with their sharp tips and new erasers, it feels really good to enter a classroom with a new teacher, new classmates, and high hopes. The Monitor staff asked children for their best tips for Day 1 at school. Here are a few of their responses: “Talk to people who look like they need a friend. Don’t do things just because other people do it.” They also advised not to stress over grades or you might miss out on the experience. My favorite was, “Don’t try to take it in all at once. Also, don’t worry so much.” That feels like good advice for all of us!

“All living hearts are tranquil with a stir of deep anticipation, for the time of everlasting things is now at hand.”
— A Course in Miracles M-28.4:1

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

Healing Laughter

June At a Eureka Drumming

Photo by Richard Quick

Laughing Yoga. I had never heard of this until today, when talking to a lifelong friend on the phone. While relating a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver’s license and get a replacement car title for my friend, we began to laugh so hard the therapeutic aspects were immediately noticeable. She told me her sister had given her a calendar (perhaps semi-facetiously) about laughing yoga. This inspired us to relate a couple of other ridiculous incidents and we laughed for the better part of 15 minutes. What a wonderful way to end a day! Try it, you’ll like it!

“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.”
—A Course in Miracles M-14.5:2-8

“The good in human affections must have ascendency over the evil and the spiritual over the animal, or happiness will never be won. The attainment of this celestial condition would improve our progeny, diminish crime, and give higher aims to ambition.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 61:4-9

What My Illusions Hide

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

A good friend struggled with depression all her life. She felt her existence was a series of horrible events, occasionally interrupted by happy times, which inevitably ended in pain. In an attempt to escape the pain, she turned to alcohol, drugs, and God. But the judgmental God she saw made deals with her, and never deemed her worthy of favor. She often recounted events from the past, and they seemed to affect her every action. We can escape this trap by accepting that we are actually the holy reflection of divine Love, a/k/a God. Any feeling of hopelessness and sadness can disappear in an instant! By releasing our material history, we are free to learn the reality of our spiritual self, which is unending, uninterrupted good. It's a beautiful thing to witness someone realize the nothingness of their personal history and to see the wondrous peace which lies within. My dear friend never felt this light. I think of her often … 

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259:26-31

“As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.”
—A Course in Miracles W-57.5:3-6

Believe It To See it

Rock Formation in Peru

Markawasi, Peru is high in the Andes Mountains in South America. At this site, there are hundreds of figures, faces, and various shapes which may be seen in the living stone. There is much speculation concerning the origin of these fabulous monuments, yet some people cannot see them. As shown by time-lapse photography, these illusive figures are more obvious at some times of the day than at others. I would suppose it also is predicated (as so many things are) on whether we want to see or not. While watching a documentary on this subject, I was repeatedly reminded of its metaphorical relationship with our spiritual study. The very first Wayne Dyer book I discovered jumped out at me because of its title: When You Believe It, You'll See It. This is the exact opposite of our material basis of truth: When I see it, I'll believe it. These stone faces are easily overlooked if you don't want to see. With these thoughts as my inspiration, I shall go through this day seeing my holiness enveloping everything. And while many things are beyond my ability to see, that's okay, because knowing they're there is enough for now.

"As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible. When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 492:7-11

“From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.”
—A Course in Miracles W-58.1:2-5

Inevitable Consequences of Separation

Art by Marianne Faguy

“Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world. It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to them.” 

—A Course in Miracles W-41.3:1-2

“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love.

It may look paradoxical to you, but it's not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person, without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other.

They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now.

Their happiness cannot be taken by the other,

because it is not given by the other.”

~ Osho

“Today's idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of loss.” 

—A Course in Miracles - Workbook Lesson #41

“Wilderness: Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 597:16-19

Ten Qualities Which Can Change The Future

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

While Nate Hagens is primarily known for his studies about oil and other forms of energy, he has recently come up with a list of 10 qualities which can change the future. I found them all thought-provoking, but particularly loved this one. “Measure your worth in something other than money”. He say that more money tends to seek more money and it pulls everything into this monetary vortex, until nothing else is left on the scoreboard. From this acknowledgement, he asks us to measure our worth by things such as saving an animal’s life, mentoring a child, helping neighbors and friends. This may seem simplistic to those of us who have been doing this for years, but to someone who believes their worth is found in what they have and how much money they make, it is a revolutionary way of thinking.

“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.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:15-18

“A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor’s worth simultaneously.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.I.18:1-4

I Am An Eternal Reflection Of Love

Photo credit: Steve Shogren

Why can’t we all just be happy? I’ve heard this question voiced numerous times, and I’ve probably asked it a time or two myself. People may tell you that poverty and abuse keep many people from being happy. On the flip side, what of people who have everything a person could want, but are terribly unhappy? When I was a teenager, a friend of the family had a series of unfortunate events occur in her life. In a three-year period, her husband passed on, their house burned down, and then her daughter was in a car accident which left her in a coma for over a year before she died. And she had also lost an infant daughter years before. This woman lived well into her 80s, always happily helping others, and I was told she died with a smile on her face. At the time, I wondered how she did it. I see now that she knew the open secret of Life. With each loved one who passes on, with each beloved animal I’ve known and loved through the years, something is growing more certain within me: they haven’t gone anywhere. Never born, never dying. If there was a beginning, then there must be an end. Seeing myself as a blessed eternal creation of Love brings me joy!

“Can you imagine how beautiful those you forgive will look to you? In no fantasy have you ever seen anything so lovely. Nothing you see here, sleeping or waking, comes near to such loveliness. And nothing will you value like unto this, nor hold so dear. Nothing that you remember that made your heart sing with joy has ever brought you even a little part of the happiness this sight will bring you. For you will see the Son of God. You will behold the beauty the Holy Spirit loves to look upon, and which He thanks the Father for. He was created to see this for you, until you learned to see it for yourself. And all His teaching leads to seeing it and giving thanks with Him.”
—A Course in Miracles T-17.II.1:1-9

“As the reflection of yourself appears in the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of God. The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 516:2-8