The Face of Divine Love

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Acknowledging that everything and everyone we look upon is the face of divine Love takes our perception to another level. With this sight, we do not need to see race or nationalities nor gender, there are no political parties for which to wave flags, and no enemies to fight against, nor allies to side with. I see beautiful things happening in our world. Long-held beliefs are being released in favor of an open-hearted acceptance of everyone as they are, not as we want them to be. Change can seem difficult, but our new perceptions of Life are a conscious choice by which we break free of habits and old thought patterns which have held us in bondage for far too long. Let’s celebrate our new-found sight today!

“Now there are no distinctions. Differences have disappeared and Love looks on Itself. What further sight is needed? What remains that vision could accomplish? We have seen the face of Christ, His sinlessness, His Love behind all forms, beyond all purposes. Holy are we because His Holiness has set us free indeed! And we accept His Holiness as ours; as it is. As God created us so will we be forever and forever, and we wish for nothing but His Will to be our own. Illusions of another will are lost, for unity of purpose has been found.”
—A Course in Miracles M-28.5:1-9

“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.” 
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454: 20-23

Co-Exist

A few readers of my “dailies” have asked why I don’t address the political situation in our country. Upon reflection, I feel that I do. Everything is connected by way of Mind, and the multitude of forms we experience are projections of illusion. So with our goal of purifying thoughts of unnecessary dogma, belief, and fear, we are left with Love and Its infinite manifestations. So, yes, I do address the current situations, but not from the point of being a problem identifier. Some of us need to look through the other end of the telescope, with the lens of Love. No matter how we perceive things with these material eyes and thoughts, the true idea of Spirit, God, Love, is there waiting for us to glimpse it.

“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself;’ annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 340:23-29

“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-56.4:2-6

Juneteenth

The people of our country celebrate many things, some of which are made-up holidays to promote the sale of goods and/or services. Ah, what a fun, capitalistic society we have become! But today we celebrate June 19th, which is by definition: “Juneteenth — first observed in Texas and now recognized throughout the United States — celebrates a historic freedom moment for Black Americans. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the long-overdue news that all enslaved Black people were free. This news came through Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger’s General Order No. 3, issued more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863.” And so today we celebrate the acknowledgement of freedom, which many, to this day, do not recognize. Let us ponder the following words from Mary Baker Eddy and look for instances to liberate others through Love!

“A few immortal sentences, breathing the omnipotence of divine justice, have been potent to break despotic fetters and abolish the whipping-post and slave market; but oppression neither went down in blood, nor did the breath of freedom come from the cannon’s mouth. Love is the liberator.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 225:16-22 [circa 1865]

“I have no purpose for today except to look upon a liberated world, set free from all the judgments I have made.”
—A Course in Miracles W-312.2:1

Ancient Truth, Newly Born

Photo courtesy of Don Matt 

A dear friend will be having major heart surgery. I was reminded of this daily writing from a few years back:

I was chatting with a local health care professional who had open heart surgery. He tells me that many people in the "zipper club" (as a group of bypass patients call themselves) are anything but open-hearted. He says many people are angry that their lives have changed so much. He told me that some don't want to go forward, but rather they spend time and energy wanting their old lifestyle back. I find this difficult to understand. Having gone through a life-changing physical event, I found the major changes to be exhilarating and exciting. If I had this surgery, the name "open heart" would cause me to smile every time I thought of it, leading me to open myself to everything that life has to offer and bringing a new appreciation. Certainly it has for many, as it did for the beautiful man with whom I shared this conversation. I open my heart to happiness, safety, comfort, certainty of purpose, and peace so perfect it can never be upset. I am grateful, moment-by-moment, for all that I am learning and seeing demonstrated in daily life. Thank you greatly!!

“Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:25-26

“Open your eyes today and look upon a happy world of safety and of peace. Forgiveness is the means by which it comes to take the place of hell. In quietness it rises up to greet your open eyes, and fill your heart with deep tranquility as ancient truths, forever newly born, arise in your awareness. What you will remember then can never be described. Yet your forgiveness offers it to you.”
—A Course in Miracles W-122.8:1-5

Only Truth Remains …

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

I've been pondering lies and truth. There is only one way to tell the truth, but there are scores of ways to lie. Perhaps you're not admitting certain events occurred the way they did, spinning webs of words to keep from admitting something you want to hide -- or think needs to be hidden, for a multitude of reasons. Then there's the lie involved in turning your head and ignoring something. Or maybe you're blatantly denying what you know to be truth. We could name many other forms of lying, but to take an oath to tell the truth -- well, there's only one way to do that. For years, people have told me lies are necessary, and I haven't believed it. Long ago, a friend's husband was dying of colon cancer. They never talked about it, never acknowledged it was happening, and pretended everything was okay and he would be out of the hospital soon. So there are also lies born of fear. But the truth is still sitting there waiting to be heard and seen. Nothing can change truth, but many things change lies. I can't imagine lying until it seems like truth. I pity those who have done so.

“What can correct illusions but the truth? And what are errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are? Where truth has entered errors disappear. They merely vanish, leaving not a trace by which to be remembered. They are gone because, without belief, they have no life. And so they disappear to nothingness, returning whence they came. From dust to dust they come and go, for only truth remains.”
—A Course in Miracles W-107.1:1-7

“Reasoning from cause to effect in the Science of Mind, we begin with Mind, which must be understood through the idea which expresses it and cannot be learned from its opposite, matter. Thus we arrive at Truth, or intelligence, which evolves its own unerring idea and never can be coordinate with human illusions.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 467:29-3

Crazy Thoughts or Baby Goats?

My mind is full of strange ideas, brought to me courtesy of the people on earth. Why would anyone think that Alex Jones is a reporter giving us news? Why do people believe the earth is flat? What about a new world order making tunnels beneath the ground, with headquarters under the Denver Airport, and that's why that crazy horse with glowing eyes is out front? Really?? What are we thinking? The United States of Conspiracy is a PBS, Frontline, documentary which prompted these thoughts and more. Have I ever believed a conspiracy theory? Probably. Maybe I still do. In my youth, my dearest friend thought our government was being run by lizard people (basically aliens from somewhere far, far away). It seemed logical. Everyday unbelievable tidbits are tossed into our collective minds, and if we choose to believe it, we're doing more than ourselves a disservice. Every thought is important, don't you think? The collective consciousness of life truly is a thing. What goes around, comes around, whether it be thoughts or actions. We have a choice, so let’s allow compassion, kindness, understanding, truth, love, to fill our head -- and when something else tries to crowd its way into our thinking, just look at a picture of a baby goat. Sending happiness and love to each and every one of you!

“The wearying, dissatisfying gods you made are blown-up children’s toys. A child is frightened when a wooden head springs up as a closed box is opened suddenly, or when a soft and silent woolly bear begins to squeak as he takes hold of it. The rules he made for boxes and for bears have failed him, and have broken his ‘control’ of what surrounds him. And he is afraid, because he thought the rules protected him. Now must he learn the boxes and the bears did not deceive him, broke no rules, nor mean his world is made chaotic and unsafe. He was mistaken. He misunderstood what made him safe, and thought that it had left.”
—A Course in Miracles T-30.IV.2:1-7

"Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb’s wife, — Love wedded to its own spiritual idea. Then cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will destroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material sense.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 575:1-5

Full Disclosure

Would you be frightened to see a living creature which is not like us, one which has come to our planet from somewhere in the universe? No one I know well would be freaked out by such a happening, and most would welcome an extraterrestrial visitation. The general opinion of our so-called leaders is that humanity could not handle the knowledge, and the world would fall apart because everything we have ever held true would not be. The same supposition seems to be held by our religious leaders: if people knew the truth of what Jesus taught, the world would be in turmoil, because people’s belief basis would have to shift. It is my personal opinion that neither of these things are true. I feel that people would welcome the understanding that there is a reason things are not working out well. Wouldn’t it be a relief to see the light which is being hidden by beliefs? Perhaps our world is in turmoil because nothing is built on a solid foundation; we have based our civilization on a shaky basis. Every time our churches and political establishments tell us we have to believe them “just because”, our minds either open a bit more in search of truth, or they close more with a layer of false protection. I think that not knowing, not understanding, is far more frightening than the alternative. Let’s listen, love, and learn!

“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

“It can indeed be said the ego made its world on sin. Only in such a world could everything be upside down. This is the strange illusion that makes the clouds of guilt seem heavy and impenetrable. The solidness that this world’s foundation seems to have is found in this. For sin has changed creation from an idea of God to an ideal the ego wants; a world it rules, made up of bodies, mindless and capable of complete corruption and decay. If this is a mistake, it can be undone easily by truth. Any mistake can be corrected, if truth be left to judge it. But if the mistake is given the status of truth, to what can it be brought?”
—A Course in Miracles T-19.II.6:1-8

Peace To Struggling Hearts

Photo courtesy of Chris Flanagin

Recognizing anger in my heart, irritation in my mind, often brings shame. In striving to work through these feelings, I have been listening to many of my favorite seers. Thich Nhat Hanh tells me to embrace that anger. He relates a story of a woman in the kitchen, busily cooking dinner, when she hears her baby crying. She rushes to the infant, embraces it, and discovers why it is crying, transforming its anguish by finding out what is wrong, changing its diapers, calming its fears, meeting its needs. So, he tells us, by embracing our anger, we are able to look deeply at it, get insights into its cause, by which we are able to liberate our feelings and transform them into freedom. Once I am free, I no longer see myself as a victim and I am in a position to be a catalyst for positive change. I feel immense gratitude towards this gentle man, as he leads me on the path of peace. Namaste...

"The material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:12

“The holiest of all the spots on earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love. And They come quickly to the living temple, where a home for Them has been set up. There is no place in Heaven holier. And They have come to dwell within the temple offered Them, to be Their resting place as well as yours. What hatred has released to love becomes the brightest light in Heaven’s radiance. And all the lights in Heaven brighter grow, in gratitude for what has been restored.”

—A Course in Miracles T-26.IX.6:1-6

A Future Very Different From The Past

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

“A new species is arising on the planet. It is arising now, and you are it!”
—Eckhart Tolle

“In the Apocalypse it is written: 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.' In St. John's vision, heaven and earth stand for spiritual ideas, and the sea, as a symbol of tempest-tossed human concepts advancing and receding, is represented as having passed away. The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 536:1-9

“From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past. The future now is recognized as but extension of the present. Past mistakes can cast no shadows on it, so that fear has lost its idols and its images, and being formless, it has no effects. Death will not claim the future now, for life is now its goal, and all the needed means are happily provided. Who can grieve or suffer when the present has been freed, extending its security and peace into a quiet future filled with joy?”
—A Course in Miracles - W-314.1:1

No Order of Difficulty in Miracles

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

When I first encountered A Course in Miracles, I was bothered by the use of the word "miracle". In Christian Science, I had learned that what we tend to think of as a miracle is actually the demonstration of divine law. In most cases, when someone says, "It's a miracle", there's the implication that material laws have been set aside for something unbelievable to happen. I have come to see that A Course in Miracles is using the word miracle in much the same way as Mary Baker Eddy refers to it. It is the demonstration of divine Principle, which is realized by replacing material illusions with spiritual sense. This experience is referred to in Science and Health as "not supernatural, but supremely natural". I love that we are seeing ourselves as complete beings, utilizing our so-called sixth sense in everyday life, and not being surprised when "miraculous" things happen! ACIM also tells us that there are no degrees in miracles, so we needn’t think of little miracles and unbelievable miracles. When we wash away the dust of material belief, the light of Love can shine through, giving us strength where we before thought we were weak. We need not worry about which road to take when we trust our inner knowing, our intuition, our true Self.

"The miracle introduces no disorder, but unfolds the primal order, establishing the Science of God's unchangeable law."
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 135:6-8

“There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not ‘harder’ or ‘bigger’ than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.I.1:1-4

Learning Means Change

From the Christian Science Foundation in Cambridge UK

Photo courtesy of Arno Bons

In the United States, in the late part of the 1800s, the robber barons were busy trying to take everyone’s money, while yellow journalism was helping to spread lies and propaganda, thereby convincing people of things which were not true. At the same time, people were excited about a new way of thinking about health, and many were happy to be able to participate in their wellness, rather than being victims to the multitude of maladies which ran rampant through the populous . There were many modalities which people were following, hoping that new thought systems would heal them. As we moved into the 1900s, great advances were made in the medical field of study, and people were relieved of much unnecessary suffering. As time advanced into the 1900s, people became convinced that a pill or treatment would cure them. And they were happy to have an easy “fix” for their ills. As we came into the 2000s, we saw reasons to, once again, take responsibility for our health and wholeness. Our medical system, while advanced in many ways, is not the be-all/end-all we had supposed. At this point, many of us are not able to find out if we can be helped by the medical system, because we cannot wade through the complex system — whether because of monetary reasons or the inability to get an appointment with a specialist. This is a complex problem, and it’s not my purpose to help you navigate the labyrinth. This series of daily writings, examining the healing of our mind through opening ourselves to Mind, may show you some alternatives to your by-rote way of thinking. One thing we do know for sure, change is needed …

“Many stand guard over their ideas because they want to protect their thought systems as they are, and learning means change. Change is always fearful to the separated, because they cannot conceive of it as a move towards healing the separation. They always perceive it as a move toward further separation, because the separation was their first experience of change. You believe that if you allow no change to enter into your ego you will find peace. This profound confusion is possible only if you maintain that the same thought system can stand on two foundations. Nothing can reach spirit from the ego, and nothing can reach the ego from spirit.”
—A Course in Miracles T-4.I.2:1-6

“Divine Science does not put new wine into old bottles, Soul into matter, nor the infinite into the finite. Our false views of matter perish as we grasp the facts of Spirit. The old belief must be cast out or the new idea will be spilled, and the inspiration, which is to change our standpoint, will be lost. Now, as of old, Truth casts out evils and heals the sick.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 281:27-1

The Substance of Spirit

Many new-age thought systems try to find reasons for disease, then work to get rid of the "problem" which is causing you to be unwell. This is something which has no place in quantum thought. When Mary Baker Eddy realized the nothingness of matter and the substance of Spirit, not many were willing to imagine the possibility — until they saw physical proof. The healing which comes about through this understanding is not a manipulation of matter, but a yielding of erroneous belief to the Truth shown us through divine Mind. The Catch-22 is that if you are trying to heal something, you can't. But if you're knowing the Truth of existence, and that knowledge becomes more than just wishful thinking, the changeability of matter is shown in ways which we think of as healing. Knowing that there is nothing to be healed, that all is perfectly reflected as a creation of divine Mind, therein lies the healing. Going to the core of yourSelf and recognizing that your consciousness is One with Spirit, that is what brings an all-encompassing joy and peace which makes us happy to release false belief. Once that is gone, Truth shines forth in all Its magnificence!

“That mortal mind claims to govern every organ of the mortal body, we have overwhelming proof. But this so-called mind is a myth, and must by its own consent yield to Truth. It would wield the scepter of a monarch, but it is powerless. The immortal divine Mind takes away all its supposed sovereignty, and saves mortal mind from itself. The author has endeavored to make this book the Aesculapius of mind as well as of body, that it may give hope to the sick and heal them, although they know not how the work is done. Truth has a healing effect, even when not fully understood.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 151:31-8

“Truth has a power far beyond defense, for no illusions can remain where truth has been allowed to enter. And it comes to any mind that would lay down its arms, and cease to play with folly. It is found at any time; today, if you will choose to practice giving welcome to the truth.”
—A Course in Miracles W-136.14:1-3

Mighty Thoughts and Strong Illusions

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Having embarked on this journey of examining the causes and cures of disease in our world, I’ve been asked how someone like me, who was raised in Christian Science, and has spent the last three decades in sincere spiritual study, could possibly have lower-leg amputations! I’ve already stated that we should not blame ourselves for disease, and I’m not attempting to do that here. But at an early age, my mom’s brother lost limbs due to disease. There was such fear expressed by the whole family over this occurrence, that I distinctly remember thinking it was the worst thing that could happen to a person. While I never dwelt on these thoughts as an adult, they were always with me — as is anything which makes an impact on us, particularly as a child. I’m not attempting to find a cause, but I do know that the growth I have experienced in the past decade far exceeds that which would have occurred if I was tiptoeing through the tulips, happily in a relationship, with plenty of cash in the bank. The joy I’ve experienced recently has been total, with no regrets or wishes for something different. The only reason I tell you this is so there is no question about why my life isn’t “perfect”, if I’m so absolutely certain about the Truth of our Being. Please continue loving every little minute of this existence, knowing that whatever is happening is a doorway to something — and, oh, what an adventure it is, following that path!

“What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs? And what can save the world except your Self? Belief is powerful indeed. The thoughts you hold are mighty, and illusions are as strong in their effects as is the truth. A madman thinks the world he sees is real, and does not doubt it. Nor can he be swayed by questioning his thoughts’ effects. It is but when their source is raised to question that the hope of freedom comes to him at last.”
—A Course in Miracles W-132.1:1-7

“It is enough to heal the past and make the future free. It is enough to let the present be accepted as it is. It is enough to let time be the means for all the world to learn escape from time, and every change that time appears to bring in passing by.”
—A Course in Miracles W-110.2:2-4

“A correct view of Christian Science and of its adaptation to healing includes vastly more than is at first seen. Works on metaphysics leave the grand point untouched. They never crown the power of Mind as the Messiah, nor do they carry the day against physical enemies, — even to the extinction of all belief in matter, evil, disease, and death, — nor insist upon the fact that God is all, therefore that matter is nothing beyond an image in mortal mind.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 116:11-18

“That mortal mind claims to govern every organ of the mortal body, we have overwhelming proof. But this so-called mind is a myth, and must by its own consent yield to Truth. It would wield the scepter of a monarch, but it is powerless. The immortal divine Mind takes away all its supposed sovereignty, and saves mortal mind from itself. The author has endeavored to make this book the Aesculapius of mind as well as of body, that it may give hope to the sick and heal them, although they know not how the work is done. Truth has a healing effect, even when not fully understood.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 151:31-8

The Only Choice We Need To Make

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The relationship of sickness/health to our thoughts is a hot topic on many levels! First of all, it is NOT your fault for being sick, even though our thoughts may open the door for it. If every erroneous thought we had caused us to fall victim to that malady or situation, we’d be in horrid shape, would we not?? And if it was as easy as affirming our perfection and the symptoms we are experiencing would disappear, then we would all be well — right? So it is both more complicated than this, and far more simple, too. Let’s examine how we could come down with a disease we’ve never heard of before: collective consciousness. We are all one, if we share the same consciousness which is the “soup” of the Universe. If we are not “clad in the panoply of Love” (as Mrs. Eddy phrases it), we are leaving the door open to the myriad of erroneous thoughts this world presents to us. This is where it gets a bit tricky: it’s not simply a matter of thinking our way out of situations. It’s a product of holding our thoughts in line with the Truth of our Being — and doing so to the extent that nothing else has room to invade our mind. We are training ourselves to think with divine Mind, not with material, mortal mind. This way of living can, indeed, be learned, but it takes diligence. It’s terribly easy to fall into the ditch and wallow with the baser elements. The important thing to remember is that we have a choice. And if we slip and fall, choose again!

“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

“The moral and spiritual facts of health, whispered into thought, produce very direct and marked effects on the body. A physical diagnosis of disease — since mortal mind must be the cause of disease — tends to induce disease.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 370:18-22

Mental Contagion

Art by Elise McDonald

Certain subjects have been coming up regularly, but I have chosen to put them back on the shelf — so to speak. Usually, if I keep getting prompts about something, I’m willing to look at the elephant in the room, no matter how inconvenient it might be. The subject of disease, and its causes and cures, brings up so many instances in my memory that I don’t know where to start. I think I’ll go with the first time I realized the extent of resistance to the subject from the general population. When I first moved to Eureka Springs, one of my neighbors had two little dogs. We spoke often when I was playing in my flowerbeds. Although we were not close, we were friendly. She often told me about her physical problems. One day she told me that her two little dogs had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and diabetes. These are the two maladies which she was being treated for, also. I couldn’t help laughing when she told me (unfortunately), so I was forced to tell her what I found amusing. In our metaphysical studies, we are learning that all disease is mental. Her dogs having the same maladies as hers seemed to prove how disease actually spreads. I suppose my explanation wasn’t as empathetic as it could have been, because the woman became angry and said I was accusing her of making her dogs sick. That instance shows what a slippery slope we embark on with this subject. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me!

“We weep because others weep, we yawn because they yawn, and we have smallpox because others have it; but mortal mind, not matter, contains and carries the infection. When this mental contagion is understood, we shall be more careful of our mental conditions, and we shall avoid loquacious tattling about disease, as we would avoid advocating crime. Neither sympathy nor society should ever tempt us to cherish error in any form, and certainly we should not be error’s advocate.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 153:25-3

“Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are not bound by all the strange and twisted laws you have set up to save you. You really think that you would starve unless you have stacks of green paper strips and piles of metal discs. You really think a small round pellet or some fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off disease and death. You really think you are alone unless another body is with you.

“It is insanity that thinks these things. You call them laws, and put them under different names in a long catalogue of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose. You think you must obey the ‘laws’ of medicine, of economics and of health. Protect the body, and you will be saved.

“These are not laws, but madness. The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself. The body suffers just in order that the mind will fail to see it is the victim of itself. The body’s suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers. It would not understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks itself and wants to die. It is from this your ‘laws’ would save the body. It is for this you think you are a body.

“There are no laws except the laws of God. This needs repeating, over and over, until you realize it applies to everything that you have made in opposition to God’s Will. Your magic has no meaning. What it is meant to save does not exist. Only what it is meant to hide will save you.

“The laws of God can never be replaced. We will devote today to rejoicing that this is so. It is no longer a truth that we would hide. We realize instead it is a truth that keeps us free forever. Magic imprisons, but the laws of God make free. The light has come because there are no laws but His.”
—A Course in Miracles W-76.3:1–7:6

Can Religion Be Scientific?

“Discovery and Revelation: Religion, Science, and Making Sense of Things” is an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. In this relatively small space, they examine the intersections of religion and science in American culture. Three prompting questions frame the exhibit: “What does it mean to be human? What do we owe each other? What is our place in the universe?” In this exhibit, you will find the Apollo 8 flight manual and Charles Darwin’s 1860 book, “On the Origin of Species”. This collection is meant to cause us to think, and reading about it certainly got me to thinking! I did not know there was something called Thomas Jefferson’s Bible, one in which he had excised all references to Jesus’ healings and metaphysical teachings. There is a portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the woman whose cells were used after her death, without her or her family’s permission. Corporations have made billions of dollars from these cells, with nothing benefiting her family. In the portrait she is holding a Bible and the question is asked: What do we owe each other? The purpose of this exhibit and its fascinating items and facts is not to give us answers, but to cause us to ask questions of ourselves and our beliefs. In the center of the exhibit there are eight figures with the question,” Can religion be scientific?” Of course, the discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, is one of those eight. I look forward to finding more information on this!

“Jesus established what he said by demonstration, thus making his acts of higher importance than his words. He proved what he taught. This is the Science of Christianity.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 473:26-28

“All magic is an attempt at reconciling the irreconcilable. All religion is the recognition that the irreconcilable cannot be reconciled. Sickness and perfection are irreconcilable. If God created you perfect, you are perfect. If you believe you can be sick, you have placed other gods before Him. God is not at war with the god of sickness you made, but you are. He is the symbol of deciding against God, and you are afraid of him because he cannot be reconciled with God’s Will. If you attack him, you will make him real to you. But if you refuse to worship him in whatever form he may appear to you, and wherever you think you see him, he will disappear into the nothingness out of which he was made.”
—A Course in Miracles T-10.IV.1:1-9

We See What We Want

Art by Catrin Welz-Stein

I often wonder if we are hesitant to live from the heart because we worry others might think we're foolish. When we insist on seeing as Mind sees, rather than through the interpretation of human belief, we are often looked at askance! I remember once when I was in a monthly meeting of gallery owners in our town and the talk turned to theft in their shops. I turned my attention away from the discussion and was looking into a corner, thinking about something else, when suddenly I noticed everyone had stopped talking. I looked up and saw they were all looking at me! Someone asked me what I thought about this situation and I honestly told them that thievery was not a part of my existence and I didn't want to make it a reality by giving it energy. Someone said, Good for you! And the conversation continued in a different vein. With that in mind, I will not hesitate to wander away from discussions centered on fearful beliefs or angry reactions, while reinterpreting them with the Love which defines our being.

“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts."
—Mary Baker Eddy- Science & Health Page 261:4-7

“You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not see it, as you wish. While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.”
—A Course in Miracles W-32.1:2-5

The Gift of Peace

JudyClementWall.com

Praying for peace — I think we are all doing this in our individual way. It is extremely painful to see the ravages of war. It’s difficult to face and understand the unrest within the United States over more things than I care to count. With this in mind, I offer you quotes on peace today. Namaste …

"We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate - thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising."

Maya Angelou

"Peace is our gift to each other." 

Elie Wiesel

"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures." 

John F. Kennedy

"There is no time left for anything but to make peace work a dimension of our every waking activity." 

Elise M. Boulding

"Every year at this time, an important phrase marks the season: peace on earth and goodwill towards men. It's so common we sometimes forget about what it really means - that we strive for a world without war, a society where we respect and help our neighbors, a place where we protect and uplift our most in need. This isn't a phrase we should live by for one day or one month. It's a set of values that must bond and motivate us every day." 

Dennis Kucinich

“We cannot give what we do not have: We cannot bring peace to the world if we ourselves are not peaceful. We cannot bring love to the world if we ourselves are not loving. Our true gift to ourselves and others lies not in what we have but in who we are.”

Marianne Williamson

"The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress." 

Mary Baker Eddy 

“Illusion meets illusion; truth, itself. The meeting of illusions leads to war. Peace, looking on itself, extends itself. War is the condition in which fear is born, and grows and seeks to dominate. Peace is the state where love abides, and seeks to share itself. Conflict and peace are opposites. Where one abides the other cannot be; where either goes the other disappears. So is the memory of God obscured in minds that have become illusions’ battleground. Yet far beyond this senseless war it shines, ready to be remembered when you side with peace.” 

A Course in Miracles

Perceptions of Reality

Art by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920s

“I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”

Lewis Carroll 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

When I saw this quote, paired with this painted scene, my thoughts turned to instances when friends and acquaintances have laughed and expressed disbelief in the face of my unrelenting positivity. But the fact is, when someone is relating a tale of woe, very seldom do I see their situation as sadly as they do. While I’m almost always willing to help those in need, I don’t think of sympathetic agreement as helpful. I’m pretty sure Lewis Carroll would enjoy the principles of A Course in Miracles, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he and Mary Baker Eddy enjoyed tea and conversation on occasion! Wherever you are, go forth with joy on this fabulous day, enjoying your reality in all its difference!

“As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality! Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ Like the archpriests of yore, man is free ‘to enter into the holiest,’ — the realm of God.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 480:31-6

“I cannot unite your will with God’s for you, but I can erase all misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance. Only your misperceptions stand in your way. Without them your choice is certain. Sane perception induces sane choosing. I cannot choose for you, but I can help you make your own right choice. ‘Many are called but few are chosen’ should be, ‘All are called but few choose to listen.’ Therefore, they do not choose right. The ‘chosen ones’ are merely those who choose right sooner. Right minds can do this now, and they will find rest unto their souls. God knows you only in peace, and this is your reality.”
—A Course in Miracles T-3.IV.7:7-16

World Wide Web of Oneness

Graphic of unknown Origin

I heard an interesting analogy concerning the body's immune system and the world's ability to heal itself. Each and every one of us are a cell in the immune system of the universe. Every thought we think is either contributing to the unified health of our planet or the propagation of fear and terror. Every prayer, every meditation, ever reaching out through inward listening is magnified exponentially. We have the power to change the world through ourselves. Every interaction brings us closer to a world of love or a world of fear. The Love which heals us personally spreads through the web of Oneness. In the same way that we take personal responsibility for ourselves, our health, our well-being, we can take responsibility for a return to Love. It does matter what we do and what we think. We never know when an interaction with someone will make a difference in that person's life, the difference  which turns them away from reactive fear to healing Love. The Truth which corrects all errors in our mind is our ascension into heaven within. Never doubt that you matter, that you make a difference. Allow silence and listening to guide you to being the change you want to see!

“Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war; either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant, trivial and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them all as equally destructive, but equally unreal.” 
—A Course in Miracles W-16.3:1-3

"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: 27-31

Knowledge is Power

 

children’s bookshelf supplied by my bookclub to local food bank

“Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds: prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering, and pleasure. They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline.” 

This quote by Nichiren grabbed my attention, mainly because of the phrase “elated by prosperity”. There seem to be too many people in charge of the world who are delirious over money. Andrew Carnegie was very wise in telling us: “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.” Mr. Carnegie created 1,689 libraries in the United States. Information is power, and he was not afraid of that idea. I’m reminded of the women on horseback who would deliver books to people far out in the woods, such as those in the novel by Jo Jo Moyes, “The Giver of Stars”. How I wish we could reclaim the excitement associated with gaining knowledge! Perhaps we feel that the information freeway known as the internet takes care of our educational needs. To me, nothing replaces falling into a good book. I think it's necessary to develop critical thinking, don't you?

“Look at the kindly world you see extend before you as you walk in gentleness. Look at the helpers all along the way you travel, happy in the certainty of Heaven and the surety of peace. And look an instant, too, on what you left behind at last and finally passed by.”
—A Course in Miracles C-2.7:4-6

“Being in sympathy with matter, the worldly man is at the beck and call of error, and will be attracted thither ward. He is like a traveller going westward for a pleasure-trip. The company is alluring and the pleasures exciting. After following the sun for six days, he turns east on the seventh, satisfied if he can only imagine himself drifting in the right direction. By-and-by, ashamed of his zigzag course, he would borrow the passport of some wiser pilgrim, thinking with the aid of this to find and follow the right road.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 21:25-2