An Upside Down World

photo credit:
Arthur-Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #72

“Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.”

An upside down world seems normal to us. We have become accustomed to believing that the testimony of our physical senses is reality, while we discount the feelings gained through what we think of as otherworldly intuitions. Many of my favorite authors write about the metaphysical concepts we are discovering, and some of them use the genre of fiction to allow them the leeway to take this new/old thought all the way without empirical evidence in support. And I applaud this method! What better way to introduce ideas to a skeptical audience than through the entertainment field? Dan Brown is an expert at this form of writing. He brings us thought-provoking concepts without asking us to accept them as true, such as in "The Lost Symbol". Paulo Coelho gently hits closer to home in his books. Two of my favorites are "The Alchemist" and "The Aleph". These and other novels are softly preparatory for the life-changing concepts presented in A Course in Miracles textbook and also by Mary Baker Eddy's writings. Without prior opening of thought, the ideas contained in these books can be jarring indeed! In the lesson today, we learn that God did not create this body. God created everything that is real and eternal, and it's our realization of this true Self which brings us peace and harmony of being. I find that revelations in thought such as this open doors to understanding. Oftentimes what we think of as religion leads us down dead-end streets, with no logical explanation. "A creator wholly unlike [its] creation is inconceivable." (ACIM) "[You are] not material,[you are] spiritual." (MBE) These concepts are slowly beginning to be understood. To me, this is salvation! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Divine metaphysics explains away matter. Spirit is the only substance and consciousness recognized by divine Science. The material senses oppose this, but there are no material senses, for matter has no mind. In Spirit there is no matter, even as in Truth there is no error, and in good no evil. It is a false supposition, the notion that there is real substance-matter, the opposite of Spirit. Spirit, God, is infinite, all. Spirit can have no opposite."

Science & Health Page 278:3-11

March 9, 2013 - No Grievance in Love

"Colorado Mountaintop"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #68:

“Love holds no grievances.”

How many of you can remember something said in grade school which brought hurt feelings or humiliation? I find that painful memories become dimmer as they are less rehearsed. Throughout the years, certain memories have played regularly in my mind at the slightest provocation. Although these remembrances are mostly gone now, what of the day-by-day events which seem to beg me to take offense? They jump up and down asking to be retold, wanting to hold me to the past through emotion. To hold a grievance, you 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, are thought processes which are symptoms of holding grievances. Today's lesson commentary tells us that forgetting that I am Love, forgetting that everyone is Love, forgetting that everything is Love, is holding a grievance. So today I will hold thought to a return to Love -- a figurative return, as I remember that I never left, and neither has anyone else. This Love replaces all grievances in my thought, and by this process I am safely and peacefully at One with God and all.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.”

Science & Health Page 574:27-30

March 19, 2012 - Seeing with Love

ACIM workbook lesson #78

"Let miracles replace all grievances."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Heather and Aaron in South Africa
Photographer unknown

Today's lesson asks us to choose one person and see them as God sees them, rather than with all the muddled grievances we may be holding. This person might be a co-worker who seems to find ways to undermine us regularly. Perhaps this person is a good friend whose behavior seems irritating to us. Maybe it's a neighbor who allows their dog to poop in our yard. Gosh, there are so many it's hard to choose just one!!  The circumstance really doesn't matter though, because when we choose to see the miracle of Spirit, the false testimony of material sense disappears. It seems that once we fall into the trap of expecting "bad" behavior from others, that's what we get! A fellow shopkeeper and I were discussing this last week. It seemed that the people coming into her place were careless with merchandise, loud, dull, and not contributing to the fun-loving atmosphere we strive to achieve in our sweet tourist town. And so do we get what we expect to receive? Can changing that expectation change the result? Or is the result the same and we're simply seeing it differently? I'm not sure it matters, as we're not seeing a result and trying to change it. We're seeing with God's eyes, and with that sight we are led to do what needs to be done, in every circumstance. It's been said in so many ways by so many people throughout time. Ghandi tells us to be the change we wish to see. Rumi tells us to be with those who help our being. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is within. Say it any way you choose, while you see it with Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Human affection is not poured forth vainly, even though it meet no return. 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."

Science & Health Page 57:22-30