A Course in Miracles Lesson #236
“I rule my mind, which I alone must rule."
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| "By Bonfire in Mongolia" photo by Aaron Springston |
The words of today's lesson can have many interpretations. It could mean, Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Of course, we're all in such a hypnotic state it's difficult to tell when we are following preconceived notions or if we are in fact ruling our mind! I know someone who often says, You can't help what you think; it's what you do with those thoughts. Unfortunately, this person is miserable in her circular thought, going over and over events which are distressing to her, telling herself again and again that it's god's plan and she must abide by it. Whew! Today's lesson is telling us just the opposite. We do have a choice in what goes through our mind. We are the rulers of our thought and have the ability to choose to hold our thought to "the enduring, the good, and the true." I think of this as choosing Mind as my mind. In other words, rather than living by distressing blind belief, I choose to live in harmonious divine Science. Our best material intentions vacillate greatly according to many circumstances. In contemplating the love we feel for others, I see that many ego-driven motives and acts come into play. We all know parents who over or under nurture their children for reasons they see to be in their child's highest interest. We see love affairs where people alternately smother and reject one another, thinking they are doing what love demands. We see friendships which suffer or are broken by misunderstanding and the need to be right. A favorite quote of mine is, If you have a choice of being right or being kind, be kind. Today I will interact with multitudes of people in the gallery, and then go to a paranormal conference in the evening to hear a friend speak. Every day we have numerous occasions to choose between being right and being kind. Today I will rule my mind by being aware of all the communications I have with others. Everything I say will be brought forth from a space which is not merely repetition of past beliefs and habitual responses, but from a consecrated inner listening. In accepting this gift of Truth from God, there can be no choice between being right or being kind. Because, after all, Love is all there is.
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“God's thoughts are perfect and eternal, are substance and Life. Material and temporal thoughts are human, involving error, and since God, Spirit, is the only cause, they lack a divine cause. The temporal and material are not then creations of Spirit. They are but counterfeits of the spiritual and eternal. Transitory thoughts are the antipodes of everlasting Truth, though (by the supposition of opposite qualities) error must also say, "I am true." But by this saying error, the lie destroys itself.”
Science & Health P 286:21-30
