Just the Facts, Please

Chet Huntley and David Brinkley

On the NBC Nightly News

When I was in high school, we had civics class and also something called social studies. I remember that one assignment was to choose a current event, a news item, and tell about it in class. (I do not remember in which of these classes this was a requirement) After dinner, the nightly news was a staple in our home, with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley bringing us the facts of what was happening in the world. I found it boring and often did homework at this time. Also there were daily newspapers which floated around the house. When we would see tabloids in the grocery store, we would laugh about the silly stories. We developed critical thinking through reading and discussion, and there was no need to differentiate between what was real news and fictional nonsense. Nowadays, I have five or six trusted news sources which I check in with after spending the morning centering my thinking around spiritual truth — meditation and study which cleans my mind for the day. I feel concern for friends who do not know how to discern the veracity of what they hear and see. I long for the good old days of those men in suits on the television, smoking cigarettes and stating facts after dinner. 

"When error strives to be heard above Truth, let the 'still small voice' produce God's phenomena. Meet dispassionately the raging element of individual hate and counteract its most gigantic falsities." 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellany Page 249

“Be still and listen to the truth today. For each five minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth and they will hear the holy Word you hear. And when the hour is past, you will again release a thousand more who pause to ask that truth be given them, along with you.”

—A Course in Miracles W-106.9:1-3

Home to the Mountains

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

“In you is all of Heaven. Every leaf that falls is given life in you. Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you. And every flower that ever bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. What aim can supersede the Will of God and of His Son, that Heaven be restored to him for whom it was created as his only home? Nothing before and nothing after it. No other place; no other state nor time. Nothing beyond nor nearer. Nothing else. In any form. This can you bring to all the world, and all the thoughts that entered it and were mistaken for a little while. How better could your own mistakes be brought to truth than by your willingness to bring the light of Heaven with you, as you walk beyond the world of darkness into light?”
—A Course in Miracles T-25.IV.5:1-12

“To mortal mind, the universe is liquid, solid, and aëri-form. Spiritually interpreted, rocks and mountains stand for solid and grand ideas.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 511:23-25

Ubuntu

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

We can’t survive on our own. We need each other. In prison, the worst punishment is solitary confinement, because we can’t flourish without other human beings. Ubuntu: “I am what I am because of who we all are.” Some may think this is a primitive way of thinking, but it’s a fundamental precept of our being. With these thoughts floating around in my head, I begin to wonder why we spend so much time separating ourselves from each other. Even our United States — the actual state divides which make separate states which we call united — these 50 states must work together in order to support each other. Many of us like to think we can do everything on our own, but we know that is not possible. Spring is almost here, with the feeling of rebirth and rejuvenation, which we all appreciate after winter. I hope to experience a resurrection of my mind, rising above the claptrap which has been spoon-fed to us for as long as I can remember. We are meant to love — each other and everything. True compassion means caring for our world and its inhabitants. Let’s join in raising each other up and feeling the sunshine, allowing it to be a symbol of renewal. Namaste …

“My resurrection comes again each time I lead a brother safely to the place at which the journey ends and is forgot. I am renewed each time a brother learns there is a way from misery and pain. I am reborn each time a brother’s mind turns to the light in him and looks for me. I have forgotten no one. Help me now to lead you back to where the journey was begun, to make another choice with me.”
—A Course in Miracles W-rV.in.7:1-5

[Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of the meaning of Benjamin, Jacob’s son] ””Renewal of affections; self-offering; an improved state of mortal mind; the introduction of a more spiritual origin; a gleam of the infinite idea of the infinite Principle; a spiritual type; that which comforts, consoles, and supports.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 482:9-13

Joy Loves Company, Too!

Do you remember the saying, ”misery loves company”? Perhaps that way of thinking is the reason so many of the conversations we hear are centered around disease and inclement weather! I suppose it would be rude and counterproductive to tell people why this way of living is not conducive to happiness. But I can feel joy -- and scatter it!! -- even in the face of any suffering thought that is brought to me today. And no, this won't be a laughing-in-the-face-of-sorrow type of joy. This will be a gentle joy, a quiet joy, sent out in true compassion while seeing divine reality. This will be my holiness shining today. We know that joy loves company, too. Let's see how infectious happiness can be!

“We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives. Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love—the kingdom of heaven—reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 248:25-32

“The escape from darkness involves two stages: First, the recognition that darkness cannot hide. This step usually entails fear. Second, the recognition that there is nothing you want to hide even if you could. This step brings escape from fear. When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be willing to enter into communion but will also understand peace and joy.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.IV.1:1-5

Peace to the Struggling Hearts

Blessed are those who do not fear solitude,

who are not afraid of their own company,

who are not always desperately looking for something to do,

something to amuse themselves with,

something to judge.”

Author ~ Paolo Coelho

“Blessed are you who learn that to hear the Will of your Father is to know your own. For it is your will to be like Him, Whose Will it is that it be so. God’s Will is that His Son be one, and united with Him in His Oneness. 

That is why healing is the beginning of the recognition that your will is His.” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.I.11:6-9

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment

with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 26:14-21

True Healing

Photo courtesy of Chris Flanagin 

Many of my friends are experiencing emotional and physical upsets. This has caused me to ponder healing and its meaning. Today I went to my blog and searched for healing topics from the past. It’s interesting how understanding changes as consciousness unfolds. I’m going to post a writing today from a few years back. In the days to come, I shall probably continue my musings surrounding this vein of thought.

A friend recommended that I read, “Dying to be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing”, by Anita Moorjani. One of the important points made in this book is something which is recognized in our studies: Sickness is not your fault. Often new-age teachings tell us that past thoughts and actions create karma which returns to us in terrible ways. Ms. Moorjani assures us that this is not the case. Although many factors may be involved in physical illness, blaming yourself and seeking absolution has nothing to do with true healing. The recognition that you are Love, the knowledge that you are connected to everything, the joy which comes from acceptance of yourself just as you are -- this understanding of your being is what allows the body to be well. It doesn't matter what caused it, what "stage" the problem has advanced to, what mortal predictions are on the table -- nothing matters but the acceptance of yourself as a product of Love. When feeling the purity of Oneness, all material thought must be silenced. We can stop striving and start Being. When slipping into this space of pure Love, nothing else matters. And all is well.

“To heal is to make happy. I have told you to think how many opportunities you have had to gladden yourself, and how many you have refused. This is the same as telling you that you have refused to heal yourself. The light that belongs to you is the light of joy. Radiance is not associated with sorrow. Joy calls forth an integrated willingness to share it, and promotes the mind’s natural impulse to respond as one. Those who attempt to heal without being wholly joyous themselves call forth different kinds of responses at the same time, and thus deprive others of the joy of responding wholeheartedly.”
—A Course in Miracles T-5.in.1:1-7

“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

People Are Good

Art by Sam Toft

GOOD

By Donna Ashworth

“Most people are good. Most people kiss their pets goodbye and read just ‘one more’ bedtime story to their children. Most people visit their grandparents even when they have no time and stop by to check on quiet friends, after a long day. Most people give money when money is scarce and most people worry about people they don’t even know, day in and day out. When the world seems bad, remember, most people are good.”

                                     Written by Donna Ashworth from the book “Wild Hope”

“Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 66:13-16

“Nothing that is good can be lost because it comes from the Holy Spirit, the Voice for creation. Nothing that is not good was ever created, and therefore cannot be protected. The Atonement is the guarantee of the safety of the Kingdom, and the union of the Sonship is its protection. The ego cannot prevail against the Kingdom because the Sonship is united. In the presence of those who hear the Holy Spirit’s Call to be as one, the ego fades away and is undone.”

A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.1:7-11

Take Me To The Church

St. Emilion in Bordeaux, France

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

A recent writing which was sent out to you ended with the hope that churches would follow the two great precepts which Jesus left us: love each other and love God most of all. I received a note from a dear friend who said this: “It seems to me, at least in large part, that Eureka Springs itself is a church/religion that fits the two basic principles.” I agree with him totally, and his words caused me to think about ways this is true. When anyone is in trouble — be it physical, financial, emotional, or anything in between — the people of our town come together to support them. No one stops to think about political affiliations, gender orientation, or past run-ins. We just help each other. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. I’ve seen it firsthand when I was in need. A number of years ago, I had no means of supporting myself for almost a year. It was six months before I got a prosthetic device which allowed me to walk and drive, but people picked up books from the library, took me to the grocery stores, ferried me back and forth to doctor’s appointments — everything. And recently, I have had a similar situation. My every need was met before I knew I had it! Yes, Eureka Springs, collectively, is a religion. Take me to the church!

“I am sorry when my brothers do not share my decision to hear only one Voice, because it weakens them as teachers and as learners. Yet I know they cannot really betray themselves or me, and that it is still on them that I must build my church. There is no choice in this, because only you can be the foundation of God’s church. A church is where an altar is, and the presence of the altar is what makes the church holy. A church that does not inspire love has a hidden altar that is not serving the purpose for which God intended it. I must found His church on you, because those who accept me as a model are literally my disciples. Disciples are followers, and if the model they follow has chosen to save them pain in all respects, they are unwise not to follow him.”

—A Course in Miracles T-6.I.8:1-7

“Church: The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle. The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Pager 583:12-19

The Presence of Light

Art by Rich Urbaniak

“We are not saints, we are not heroes. Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary. We build tiny hearth fires, sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth. But to the person lost in the darkness, our tiny flame may be the road to safety, the path to salvation. It is not given us to know who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us or even if our light is seen. We can only know that against even the smallest of lights, darkness cannot stand. A sailor lost at sea can be guided home by a single candle. A person lost in a wood can be led to safety by a flickering flame. It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity. It is simply an issue of the presence of light.”
—Kent Nerburn: Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 510:27-1

“Come therefore unto me, and learn of the truth in you. The mind we share is shared by all our brothers, and as we see them truly they will be healed. Let your mind shine with mine upon their minds, and by our gratitude to them make them aware of the light in them. This light will shine back upon you and on the whole Sonship, because this is your proper gift to God. He will accept it and give it to the Sonship, because it is acceptable to Him and therefore to His Sons. This is true communion with the Holy Spirit, Who sees the altar of God in everyone, and by bringing it to your appreciation, He calls upon you to love God and His creation. You can appreciate the Sonship only as one. This is part of the law of creation, and therefore governs all thought.”
—A Course in Miracles T-7.V.11:1-8

Religion of the Heart

Christian Science Edifice 

Eureka Springs, AR

Painting by Julie Kahn Valentine

Many people, from lifelong Christians to adamant atheists, are talking about the Exodus from organized religion. I understand the pain involved in closing down a church. We were forced to do so a few years ago with our Eureka Springs Christian Science edifice. But according to Mary Baker Eddy, she had not wanted to start a new religion, but felt it necessary to found a church in order to insure that the book, Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, would continue on through the years. And so to that end, she has succeeded. I’m not sure the church she founded has been successful in furthering the “cause of Christian Science”. I could speculate on the reasons, but it seems the culprit is a staid insistence on following the letter, without “imbibing in the Spirit”. With regard to other religions, I think the ones which need to flourish are those willing to reach out to “the least, the last, the lost”, and their congregations are dwindling. And it is strange (at least in my mind) to see evangelical, holier-than-thou congregations thriving. But perhaps the bottom line is that the kingdom of heaven is within, and we don’t need a building and a preacher to tell us how to love. But we do need more community, in the form of a network of people who can help those in need. So while we’re leaving religion and rebelling against rhetoric, let’s not forget the two commandments Jesus gave us: love each other and love God above all else. I hope churches which practice this precept flourish during these interesting days of change.

“We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God. Religion will then be of the heart and not of the head. Mankind will no longer be tyrannical and proscriptive from lack of love, — straining out gnats and swallowing camels.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 140:10-15

“Communion is impossible alone. No one who stands apart can receive Christ’s vision. It is held out to him, but he cannot hold out his hand to receive it. Let him be still and recognize his brother’s need is his own. And let him then meet his brother’s need as his and see that they are met as one, for such they are. What is religion but an aid in helping him to see that this is so? And what is psychotherapy except a help in just this same direction? It is the goal that makes these processes the same, for they are one in purpose and must thus be one in means.”
—A Course in Miracles P-2.II.9:1-8

Transformative View of the World

Reading an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor, I was again struck by the importance of this publication. I am going to quote a paragraph from it here, but the prologue to this quote is that the Boston Globe has discontinued overseas news because it’s too expensive to keep correspondents all over the globe, and they say that no one in America cares or reads news from anywhere else. Hum … I could write a page or two about that, but I won’t. Here is the beautiful sentiment Mark Sappenfield, Editor, wrote: “What does the Monitor do better than every other news organization on the planet? I would argue that it offers a transformative view of the world itself — that the human story is more interconnected and more hopeful than much media coverage would have us to believe. The Monitor can’t NOT cover the world. To focus only on the United States — or any other country — would be to misapply its mission. Quality ties like compassion, respect, generosity, and honesty know no borders, and to understand how they shape the human experience requires chronicling how the struggle over them is convulsing the world. That’s what news is.” As I contemplate these words, I visualize what a difference it would make if all media understood this and acted accordingly.

“You may know when first Truth leads by the fewness and faithfulness of its followers. Thus it is that the march of time bears onward freedom’s banner. The powers of this world will fight, and will command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to their systems; but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on. There is always some tumult, but there is a rallying to truth’s standard.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 225:5-13

“All this beauty will rise to bless your sight as you look upon the world with forgiving eyes. For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past. ³he smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.”
—A Course in Miracles T-17.II.6:1-3

Thank You For Lying

Over 70 years ago, a young Chicano woman had a baby out of wedlock. She kept me for two months before her family forced her to give me to her Tia Sophia, who was 40 and had always wanted a baby, but she and her husband could not have children. And so they took me as their own, changed my name and birthdate, and moved to a state where no one knew them. I found out about these events as my dad was on his deathbed, and it came as quite a surprise. I was disappointed and angry because they had taught me to be incredibly honest, and it felt as though my whole life had been a lie. It didn’t take too many years for me to see the wisdom of their ways. In the 1950s, an illegitimate child carried quite a stigma; perhaps an adopted one did, too. Looking back on the situation, I have nothing but gratitude for the people who educated me, loved me, and provided me with an understanding of divine metaphysics which could not have occurred in most households in Arkansas. Thank you greatly …

“Physical birth is not a beginning; it is a continuing. Everything that continues has already been born.” 

—A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.2:4-5

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free!”
—Mary Baker Eddy — Science & Health 227:24-25

Unity in Times of Turmoil

The people of Ukraine have discovered their unity in surprising ways. One woman’s church was hit by a Russian missile. She told of people coming to clean up the debris and salvage what could be saved. She said neighbors who were self-proclaimed atheists were working side by side with the parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral. She was crying tears of joy because of the newfound camaraderie with her neighborhood. The reporter who wrote the article interviewed many older citizens who had always spoken the Russian language, but have recently learned to speak Ukrainian in solidarity with their fellow countrymen. There is a youth camp in Odesa where it’s recognized that children need to be children, and here they are free to laugh and play. At the same time, they realize many of these kids are emotionally troubled by what they have experienced, and they address the problems head on. In reading the many instances of people becoming stronger and more compassionate because of the daily battles, there was a realization that the people of the United States are finding ways to stand in solidarity, too. It’s been a tough decade. We’ve been lied to, manipulated, mocked, and it has been relentless. We need each other. We need to recognize our similarities while we heal and find our footing again. There is much work to be done, but let’s not forget to share joy with our neighbors. It’s cleansing and energizing!

“If you would look upon love, which is the world’s reality, how could you do better than to recognize, in every defense against it, the underlying appeal for it? And how could you better learn of its reality than by answering the appeal for it by giving it? The Holy Spirit’s interpretation of fear does dispel it, for the awareness of truth cannot be denied. Thus does the Holy Spirit replace fear with love and translate error into truth. And thus will you learn of Him how to replace your dream of separation with the fact of unity. For the separation is only the denial of union, and correctly interpreted, attests to your eternal knowledge that union is true.”
—A Course in Miracles T-12.I.10:1-6

“Unity of spirit gives new pinions to joy, or else joy’s drooping wings trail in dust.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 58:2-4

How Can I Help?

Characters in Ted Lasso

Most of us have friends who are experiencing maladies of a physical, mental, and/or emotional nature. We all have roles to play in the care and comfort of these friends. My main focus has always been on seeing through the material illusion to the spiritual truth. But recently I’m finding myself called to address, one-on-one, situations with people who need help in various physical ways. Of course, every situation is individual and many factors come into consideration. Whereas, I may be able to joke with one friend about her memory loss, another one might be in denial or take offense to me making “light” of it. One friend and I can laugh about cancer and the effects of chemotherapy, but another might burst into tears at the thought of their possible demise. Our conversations with others is not a one-size-fits-all response, and a good amount of empathy is required in any given moment. I’ve never been one to ignore the elephant sitting in the middle of the room; I like to talk to it and ask if there’s anything I can do for it. And so I find myself finding ways to commiserate and care without exacerbating the problem by heaping on excess sympathy. Every day brings new ways to express Love!

“‘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.7:12

“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality — infinite Life, Truth, and Love.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:15-22

Effects Without a Cause

 

Creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird

When listening to a YouTube audio recording of Joel Goldsmith from the early 1960s, time and again the subjects he broached were things which have become major disruptions today. As an overview of the many specifics, he says that if all the people in universities were studying ways to save humanity rather than ruin it, the world would be a utopia. He mentions marketing and the selling of needless and/or harmful things to us; he talks about war and how we’ve convinced ourselves it’s okay to kill others, if it’s to protect ourselves; he dares to say religious doctrine is leading us down hopeless paths. And here we are today, ruled by marketing and media, killing each other at an alarming rate, watching environmental disruptions roil up all around. As I write this, I know that no matter how upset I become about events, it will do nothing to rectify what has been done. I am reminded of a Paulo Coelho quote which goes something like this: We cannot change the past, but what we do in the present redeems the past and changes the future. I’m going to listen to more Joel Goldsmith tomorrow and keep an open heart and mind, trusting myself to recognize paths of righteousness. 

“The plans you make for safety all are laid within the future, where you cannot plan. No purpose has been given it as yet, and what will happen has as yet no cause. Who can predict effects without a cause? And who could fear effects unless he thought they had been caused, and judged disastrous now? Belief in sin arouses fear, and like its cause, is looking forward, looking back, but overlooking what is here and now. Yet only here and now its cause must be, if its effects already have been judged as fearful. And in overlooking this, is it protected and kept separate from healing. For a miracle is now. It stands already here, in present grace, within the only interval of time that sin and fear have overlooked, but which is all there is to time.” 

—A Course in Miracles T-26.VIII.5:1-9

“Speaking of the origin of mortals, a famous naturalist says: ‘It is very possible that many general statements now current, about birth and generation, will be changed with the progress of information.’ Had the naturalist, through his tireless researches, gained the diviner side in Christian Science, — so far apart from his material sense of animal growth and organization, — he would have blessed the human race more abundantly.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 548: 18-25

Uplifting Interactions

Communing With Art at Meow Wolf

Sometimes we meet someone with whom we feel an immediate kinship. We experience a “meeting of minds”, so to speak. We find that it doesn’t matter if there are spaces in which we differ in beliefs or understanding, because we respect them and enjoy hearing their thoughts. There have been times when hearing particular ideas (from people with whom I seemingly share no common ground) have caused me to want to flee or lash out. This is a reaction I’ve worked hard to neutralize, as it helps no one and causes me to fill my thoughts with irrelevant discord. It helps to remind myself that we are all made up of the same “stuff”. Our material bodies are remarkably similar to each other, and our spiritual selves are absolute in Oneness. And so today I will look for the middle of the road when interacting with people. It really doesn’t matter the topic, it can always be an uplifting and informative conversation. As my daddy always said, “If I can’t learn something from the dumbest man I know, then I’m just not listening.” Ha!

“Today we will accept our union with each other and our Source. We have no will apart from His, and all of us are one because His Will is shared by all of us. Through it we recognize that we are one. Through it we find our way at last to God.”
—A Course in Miracles W-329.2:1-4

“Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.” 
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 574:25-30

The Matter With Things

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The lifework of Iain McGilchrist has captured my attention. His book, “The Matter With Things”, and the multitude of youTube interviews he has given, are deeply profound. For the first time, I’m beginning to understand some interesting patterns of thought in society. Many of us have become ruled almost entirely by the left brain. This side of our thinking organ is necessary because it is logical and literal. But the right side is ruled by intuition, and both sides are needed for us to be fully-functioning people. When we decide music and art are not necessary, when we shut down our creative side, we become more willing to believe what we are told, without question. Dr. McGilchrist gives the example of two people in a car. The driver is being directed by GPS and the map on the screen is showing that they are at a particular intersection. The passenger says, “Wait a minute! That’s not where we are. Look out the window.” But the driver refuses to even look because he is positive he is being told the truth. This is the difference in being ruled by the right and left brain. In my lifetime I’ve watched many things disappear from our educational system, including free play and civics. It’s easy to believe things have gone to hell and we can’t do anything about it. Some of us “think different”.

“When you say you are acting on the basis of knowledge, you are really confusing knowledge with perception. Knowledge provides the strength for creative thinking, but not for right doing. Perception, miracles and doing are closely related. Knowledge is the result of revelation and induces only thought. Even in its most spiritualized form perception involves the body. Knowledge comes from the altar within and is timeless because it is certain. To perceive the truth is not the same as to know it. “
—A Course in Miracles T-3.III.5:7-13

“Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color. It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 247:21-27

Recognizing Our Innocece

Photo courtesy of Datura Böes

Righteous indignation: There's a lot of it going around, don't you think? Perhaps I notice it because I'm expressing it, too. Maybe I'm too quick to jump on my high horse and adopt a holier-than-thou attitude. Some people think of forgiveness as looking the other way and doing nothing, but we are learning that forgiveness is seeing past the illusion of separation to the reality of our unity. With this view, I can set aside my stories of right and wrong, opening thought to the reality of Love. Some people wonder what good this could possibly do in a world rife with confusion. If everyone lived Love, opening themselves to listen for guidance on how to understand and practice this type of forgiveness — well, just imagine the utopia! There exists a voice audible to anyone willing to listen. Forgiveness, the releasing of illusions, allows this voice to be found. In our unity, one release is everyone's gift. There is no you, me, and God. There is only One. What a joy to be finding our voice!

"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

“The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is the reflection of God’s Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.”
—A Course in Miracles W-60.1:3-6

The Beauty of All Art

The Church at Auvers

Vincent van Gogh

For those of you who are in a book club, I highly recommend “Mona’s Eyes” by Thomas Schlesser.  (You’ll enjoy it whether you discuss it with others or not!) This entertaining and informative book takes us through 52 works of art, as seen through the new eyes of a 10-year-old girl and her extremely educated and knowledgeable grandfather. We could have talked about these painters and their subjects for days! I had the privilege of hosting this group of Novel Women in my home, and that, in and of itself, is a most wonderful thing. The great food and camaraderie of old friends is cause for celebration! Throw in a good book discussion and my gratitude overflows …

“Portraits, landscape-paintings, facsimiles of penmanship, peculiarities of expression, recollected sentences, can all be taken from pictorial thought and memory as readily as from objects cognizable by the senses. Mortal mind sees what it believes as certainly as it believes what it sees. It feels, hears, and sees its own thoughts. Pictures are mentally formed before the artist can convey them to canvas.”

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 86:25-32

“Let us join in celebrating peace by demanding no sacrifice of anyone, for so you offer me the love I offer you. What can be more joyous than to perceive we are deprived of nothing” 

—A Course in Miracles T-15.XI.8:2-3

Rising From the Ashes

Photo courtesy of Mark Hughes 

Here in Eureka Springs, about two-and-a-half years after St. James Episcopal Church went up in flames, it was reborn on Christmas Eve of this last year. Its small congregation never considered closing their doors, and through hard work and perseverance, it has risen from the ashes in the most beautiful reincarnation. Watching their resurrection has turned my thoughts to our own individual rising from the ashes. I often joke that I wake up in a new world every day, but maybe that’s not a bad thing. Starting over holds fearful connotations for many of us, but perhaps it need not be so. Looking at the world in a new light, seeing the purity in everyone, can bring the new beginning we are all craving. It seems necessary to metaphorically burn the house down in order to build back without the material mistakes we have come to believe are insurmountable. May we all examine our beliefs and do our best to release them into the ethers, making room for divine Love to rule our every thought. Namasté…

“The resurrection demonstrated that nothing can destroy truth. Good can withstand any form of evil, as light abolishes forms of darkness. The Atonement is therefore the perfect lesson. It is the final demonstration that all the other lessons I taught are true. If you can accept this one generalization now, there will be no need to learn from many smaller lessons. You are released from all errors if you believe this.”
—A Course in Miracles T-3.I.7:6-11

“In the sacred sanctuary of Truth are voices of solemn import, but we heed them not. It is only when the so-called pleasures and pains of sense pass away in our lives, that we find unquestionable signs of the burial of error and the resurrection to spiritual life.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 232:26-31