The Thought of Life

photo credit: Gerald Wesson Dupy

ACIM Workbook Lesson #167

“There is one life, and that I share with God.”

I’m so grateful this is the topic for today’s lesson. A short while ago, I came home from a meeting of our local Course in Miracles group and found a message that one of my closest friends had suddenly died. There is so much in this lesson I would like to share, but right now I shall simply quote this bit: “The opposite of life can only be another form of life. As such, it can be reconciled with what created it, because it is not opposite in truth. Its form may change; it may appear to be what it is not. Yet mind is mind, awake or sleeping.”

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Question: What is Life?

Answer: Life is divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit. Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite. Life is neither in nor of matter. What is termed matter is unknown to Spirit, which includes in itself all substance and is Life eternal. Matter is a human concept. Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited. Death and finiteness are unknown to Life. If Life ever had a beginning, it would also have an ending.”

Science & Health Pages 468:26-6

June 28, 2015 - Deathless Life

photo from Jim Young
www.creationspirit.net

ACIM Workbook Lesson #179

Central Theme: "God is but love and therefore so am I." Review of: #167 "There is one life, and that I share with God." #168 "Your grace is given me. I claim it now."

I joyously accept the fact that Life is deathless! But then I try to turn that immortality into material existence. I imagine myself going into the "afterlife" in this body, with these feelings, seeing others I love in their bodies with their individuality intact. I may get very upset if anyone tries to tell me differently! I think it's comforting to believe that life beyond the "pearly gates" will be just like this one is -- except better! But wait a minute. If we are spiritual right now, not material, if we are One by virtue of being an idea of God, then we are joined with everyone we love right here and now. We needn't wait until we die to be together because we've never been apart! No one of us knows exactly what will happen after the change we call death, but by listening to those who have more experience than I do in such matters, I am gaining a sense of what seems plausible and what doesn't. One thing I'm absolutely sure of is that there is nothing to fear and nothing to lose. Life is eternal right now!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"If the Principle, rule, and demonstration of man’s being are not in the least understood before what is termed death takes mortals, they will rise no higher spiritually in the scale of existence on account of that single experience, but will remain as material as before the transition, still seeking happiness through a material, instead of through a spiritual sense of life, and from selfish and inferior motives."

Science & Health Page 290:3-10

June 16, 2015 - Frozen Thought

"Rainbow Over The Ozarks"
photo from Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #167

“There is one life, and that I share with God.”

After watching the movie, "Frozen", I learned that it had been accused of being propaganda for a liberated way of living which particular groups think of as ungodly. I decided to see if I could turn the movie into a vehicle for what I think, so here it is -- without going into too much detail. We are frozen in a thought system which has been perpetuated by years of dogma and habit. When someone happens to realize their power as the expression of divine Mind, they are labeled as bad, perhaps someone to be feared, maybe even told to hide their light so as not to upset others. And so they hide until someone finds out how fabulous they are, then they either deny it and continue to hide or accept themselves in all their glory -- and they shine! This shining lights up the world from the inside out. "For the wakened mind is one that knows its Source, its Self, its Holiness." (ACIM)

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Question: What is Life?

Answer: Life is divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit. Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite. Life is neither in nor of matter. What is termed matter is unknown to Spirit, which includes in itself all substance and is Life eternal. Matter is a human concept. Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited. Death and finiteness are unknown to Life. If Life ever had a beginning, it would also have an ending.”

Science & Health Pages 468:26-6