April 11, 2014 - Perfect Happiness

ACIM Workbook Lesson #101

“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”

Were you taught that salvation involved some sort of penance for your sins? Most people were, in some form or fashion. That's probably one of the main reasons people turn away from religion. I'm really not sure how theology has decided that we're sinners, because when I read the teachings of Jesus, I don't see that being said. For this reason (and many others), I'm most grateful for the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and, also, A Course in Miracles. Both of these disciplines attempt to show us that we are the expression of God. As God's experience, we are the embodiment of happiness and joy! Anything opposite of this harmony is but our misunderstanding. As we clear away these misapprehensions, we allow what we've always known, deep inside, to begin lighting our path. As we walk more surely, the brighter the illumination becomes!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Science of Mind disposes of all evil. Truth, God, is not the father of error. Sin, sickness, and death are to be classified as effects of error. Christ came to destroy the belief of sin. The God-principle is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power." 

Science & Health Page 472:4-10

April 10, 2014 - Happy!

ACIM Workbook Lesson #100

“My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.”

A sentence from today's lesson says: "God's Will for you is perfect happiness." Wow! God wants me to be happy!! Today we are urged to be fully present in the joy which is our inheritance as a reflection of God. Sometimes it seems too simple, doesn't it? All we have to do is to allow everything to be Love: to reflect it, to live it, to be it! Here's a little video of happy people dancing to the song, "Happy". Let's scatter joy!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyyQDVVNqFU

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Man's happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense. Truth is not contaminated by error. Harmony in man is as beautiful as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal.”

Science & Health Page 304:16-21

April 9, 2014 - Saving Function

ACIM Workbook Lesson #99

“Salvation is my only function here.”

It can be difficult to understand that salvation and forgiveness are a part of this material dream; that there is, in reality, nothing from which to be saved nor forgiven. The distinction between illusion and reality is essential to this understanding. Even an understanding may not preclude a desire to hold onto unreality. I was shown an illustration of this reluctance while sleeping. I had a long and elaborate dream involving not being able to find nor help a loved one who was in trouble. There was snow so deep it couldn't be passed, along with many other impediments which produced anxiety and distress in my slumber. The dream seemed to go on forever. and I kept trying to climb out of it. But when I woke up, my first thought was of going back to sleep to see how the dream would end! As I was sliding back into sleep, the thought came to me that this wasn't necessary. Why should I care how it ended? Couldn't it end any way I wanted it to?? As I came back to conscious awareness, it occurred to me that this was a perfect analogy, illustrating our desire to hold onto illusions. From this perspective, I will notice my actions and thoughts today, looking at them from all sides to see if they are coming from God or my own personal ideas of how things should be. Remembering that God is All, and that I reflect this divine Love as my governing Principle, I gratefully accept this salvation today and always.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind,--that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.”

Science & Health Page 275 6-9

April 8, 2014 - Resurrection

ACIM Workbook Lesson #98

“I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.”

The words crucifixion and resurrection mean different things to us all. Some images in memory may be rather gruesome, while many are joyful and celebratory. I see these words as standing for the freedom which comes with our resurrection from the tomb of material belief. The Christ Idea is risen in all the beauty of divine Love, as our ascension in thought shows us the ultimate reality of Life. I interpret God's plan for salvation as the acceptance of myself as the spiritual idea I Am; a letting go of the material thought-basis which binds me to unreality. Now is the time to rise in the spirit of Truth, to celebrate the transformation which comes with the renewal of my mind. Now is the time to realize that no one can give me salvation, because it's already mine. Now is the time to claim this salvation and wear it with a calm which only comes from yielding mortal mind's control. And I lay down the sword ---

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"RESURRECTION: Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding."

Science & Health Page 493:9-12

April 7, 2014 - Fearless Living

ACIM Workbook Lesson #97

“I am spirit.”

Seeing Spirit as substance shows us how to live beyond thought which holds us in the belief that we are a body. Seeing past this mental image of ourselves caged in matter allows a breaking free within us. The much-quoted "Our Deepest Fear" from Marianne Williamson's book, A Return to Love, tells us that what we fear most isn't our inadequacies but our power. Here is the paragraph from the book: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Mary Baker Eddy quote: [This is from a dialogue between matter and Spirit. Spirit is speaking here]

“I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory,--all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I AM THAT I AM.”

Science & Health Page 252:32-8

April 6, 2014 - One Self

ACIM Workbook Lesson #96

“Salvation comes from my one Self.”

Communications are a tricky thing! A friend and I were discussing how interesting it is to be recounting events and have someone else tell of them from an entirely different angle. Sometimes it seems you weren't even at the same place, seeing and hearing the same things! The practice of quieting the mind is integral to listening. I've found that when thought is jumping about, it's impossible to truly listen to anything. One thought leads to another, and before you know it, you've gone all around the world and have no idea what's happening right in front of you. By the same token, it I want to hear from the point of spiritual discernment, it's pretty darn hard to do if my own self won't be quiet long enough to concentrate on a simple sentence in a book. This is always a good indicator me: If I can't read and digest what I've read, then I'd best have a "time out" and quiet my monkey mind from its busy-ness! What a peaceful, harmonious world this will be when we all take time to quiet self-importance and listen for Self-knowledge.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The point for each one to decide is, whether it is mortal mind or immortal Mind that is causative. We should forsake the basis of matter for metaphysical Science and its divine Principle."

Science & Health Page 195:11-14

April 5, 2014 - I Am One

"Full Moon & Flowing Waters"
Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #95

“I am one Self, united with my Creator.”

You are the presence of God. Does this statement make you uneasy? Perhaps traditional theology has taught you that such an idea is sacrilege. Maybe you simply feel too inferior to accept yourself as Godlike. It's not so difficult to say that you are one with everything. We're happy to feel a connection with all things and often go on retreats and to workshops which help us feel this unity. But what does this thing called Oneness really mean? It could be taken wholly on a material basis, and you might say that we're all the same in our physical makeup of minerals and flesh, etc. You might be willing to go a step further and say we're all the same because God made us in Its image and likeness. Does it make you cringe to call God It rather than He? We're rather accustomed to anthropomorphizing God, making deity like us rather than the other way around. As we learn to accept and embrace our identity as the experience and expression of God, we learn we can proudly announce our goodness, our wholeness, even our perfection. This honors God and Its creation in a way that self-conscious deprecation or self-righteous pride cannot. What a beautiful day to explore what all this means in daily practice!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"God, without the image and likeness of Himself, would be a nonentity, or Mind unexpressed. He would be without a witness or proof of His own nature. Spiritual man is the image or idea of God, an idea which cannot be lost nor separated from its divine Principle."

Science & Health Page 303:25-30

April 4, 2014 - Ask and Listen

ACIM Workbook Lesson #94

“I am as God created me.”

Have you ever sat quietly and asked, "What is the truth of my being?" Other than asking, only one thing is required: Give up any belief of what you think you are. By focusing on what is rather than what isn't, we are learning to understand our connection to God. As I go about my activities today, the seven synonyms for God as given in Science & Health will flow around and with today's ACIM topic which is, "I am as God created me." The synonymous terms for God are Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love. If a situation comes up in which I'm tempted to express irritation, I will think: I Am as Love created me. If I don't understand something, I will declare: I Am as Mind created me. This will be a lovely challenge to think of myself in this way! What a fun day it will be!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Sometime we shall learn how Spirit, the great architect, has created men and women in Science. We ought to weary of the fleeting and false and to cherish nothing which hinders our highest selfhood.”

Science & Health Page 68:4-9

April 3, 2014 - We're All In This Together

ACIM Workbook Lesson #93

“Light and joy and peace abide in me.”

If you find it difficult to feel that light and joy and peace are abiding in you, I would suggest you watch a documentary called "Queen of the Sun". In this film about bees, we are told that pollen is materialized light. I love that, don't you? When thought of like this, it seems possible that we, too, are materialized light. As the reflection of God, that's exactly what we are! We're also shown that the bee's light is freed through blocks of honeycomb, beautifully shared with all as sweet, beautiful honey. And yet again, the light is freed in the goodness of beeswax candles. The freeing of light is cumulative with the bees, and we can experience the same thing as we unshackle the light and peace and joy within ourselves. Another lesson from the bees is the importance of community. Watching them working together for a common cause is uplifting and inspiring to me. It makes me want to join with my neighbors and do something important. But wait -- I'm doing that! What blesses one blesses all. My awakening to light and joy and peace is yours, too. Bees, people, trees -- as an idea of divine Mind, we're all in this together!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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.."

Science & Health Page 510:27-1

April 2, 2014 - Illumined Sight

"Ozark Sunset"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #92

“Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.”

The sight we are learning about today has nothing to do with our physical eyes. With the understanding that anything unlike God, good, is a material illusion, we are able to see through the darkness into the reality of Light. In this illumination, everything is seen differently. The strength which comes from Truth is manifest in every aspect of our experience. Something as simple as finding a lost object can show you how seeing in light magnifies true sight. For instance, if you've lost your keys, instead of rushing about looking every possible place they could be, try seeing in the light. Sit down, quiet your mind, know that you are One with divine Mind, and watch yourself go straight to where they are. What fun it is to simply know where to go and what to do! To rely on divine Mind rather than material brain cells is an exciting adventure with no end in sight!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The brain can give no idea of God's man. It can take no cognizance of Mind. Matter is not the organ of infinite Mind. As mortals give up the delusion that there is more than one Mind, more than one God, man in God's likeness will appear, and this eternal man will include in that likeness no material element. As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought and leads it to "where the young child was," --even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes. Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error."

Science & Health Page 191:1-15

April 1, 2014 - Cleaning the Windowpanes

"Spring Thunderstorm"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #91

“Miracles are seen in light.”

What am I? This question has been asked from the beginning of recorded history -- and probably longer. Spiritual seers inform us that we are not a body. So if I am not a body, what am I? Intellectually, we can say that we are the reflection of God. We can tell ourselves and others that we're not material, we're spiritual. But then we'll stump our toe and declare that we can't be blamed if it hurts because we're not walking on water yet. We make jokes to explain why we aren't living the precepts which Jesus tells us are our heritage as children of God. But really, why is it that we've been so stunted in our realization of what all this means? Actually, we're not evolving slowly. There is no evolution involved in spiritual awakening, there is only getting rid of material belief and dogma. What we're doing now is clearing the windowpane so the light has a transparency to flow through, rather than thousands of years of grime hiding our illumination. What are we? We're finding out more every day -- but that doesn't mean we have to wait a certain amount of time to learn a set amount of liberating facts in order to experience this light. That's the miracle! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Divine Science rolls back the clouds of error with the light of Truth, and lifts the curtain on man as never born and as never dying, but as coexistent with his creator."

Science & Health Page 596:11-19

March 31, 2014 - Problems and Solutions?

Photo Courtesy of Jim Young

ACIM Workbook Lesson #90

Review: “Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.” and “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.”

How do you respond when an acquaintance comes to you asking advice concerning a problem? It's probably not a good idea to tell them they they don't know what their actual problem is and, if they did, then they would recognize that the problem has been solved. I was visiting with someone who knows the veracity of this seeming-conundrum and we mentioned a number of people we know who have problems with drinking alcohol. It seems as though alcohol is the problem, but they are thinking of it as the solution. Looking at their situations from the outside, it appears that they are holding onto guilt because of their actions (for example, wartime killing of others), or pain because of others' actions (e.g., abandonment by a mother), or any of a multitude of things we think of as human problems. I bring this up to illustrate today's lesson review: There is only one problem, feeling separated from God -- hence, everyone. And there is only one solution: realizing what the problem is, letting the miracle take over, and being willing to accept it. So, when someone asks my advice concerning a problem of theirs, I will pause and realize God's law of adjustment, which is already done. I will recognize that nothing needs fixing by me or anyone else. And by this understanding, I will see them as whole, upright, free. With clear, non-judgmental thought, what they need to hear will come out of my mouth. Namaste'.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Human reason and religion come slowly to the recognition of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon matter to remove the error which the human mind alone has created.”

Science & Health Page 173:25-28

March 30, 2014 - Thinking Makes It So

ACIM Workbook Lesson #89

Review: “I am entitled to miracles.” and “Let miracles replace all grievances.”

It's the general belief in this world that some things are too horrendous to get over and that we will be plagued with certain effects from these events forever. "The Dog Whisperer", (whom I mention often in these writings) Cesar Millan, tells us he rehabilitates dogs and trains people. He observes that dogs live in the moment. When he is helping people to understand a dog which seems maimed by past experiences in its life, he always tells us that feeling sorry for the animal is of no benefit. How can this be? The dog is hurting and we're being asked to deny that? Yes!! This is why we are learning that it's necessary to give up all beliefs -- not just those we deem to be "bad", but all material beliefs. By letting them go and replacing them with an openness of thought which allows us to hear the Truth of our Being, we experience the miracle which is the natural order of Life. It may not seem logical to say that we can simply release feelings of fear and anger. They can appear very real to us, but if we stop and examine them, do they have any purpose other than to bind us to the past? One dog Cesar worked with had slid into a glass door. The dog was now afraid to walk on any floor without a carpet. Upon investigation of its people's reactions, they had immediately reinforced the dog's fears by petting, and commiserating, and talking about what a horrible experience it had been. They held the fear in thought by acts they thought of as compassion. What Cesar explains is that dogs live in the moment, unless they're held in the past by everyone around them. It's all too easy to replay in thought unhappy circumstances, bringing more into our experience by our expectations of them. We tell ourselves that bad things come in threes, that this is a "bad day", that Murphy's Law is in effect (one of my personal pet peeves!). I'm so grateful for every experience which helps me to discern between belief and reality -- especially when it's shown to me by my dog!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, 'I am hurt!' Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real."

Science & Health Page 397:12-16

March 29, 2014 - Listening for the Light

Photo Courtesy of Jim Young

ACIM Workbook Lesson #88:

Review -- "The light has come." and "I am under no laws but God's"

Releasing many long-practiced ways of life facilitates our recognition of the light which has come, the Truth which is known within. This inward listening for spiritual discernment allows us to speak without fear. I love listening to divine Mind rather than chasing in circles with mortal mind! It's more interesting, it frees me from worry and doubt, it leads me in fascinating paths, it teaches peace. In my gallery, we represent over a hundred people and carry thousands of items, so when someone comes in, it is impossible to show them everything! Intuiting what people may be interested in seeing and purchasing is a nice practice in allowing spiritual sense to supersede mortal mind. This is the same listening sense which allows us to stop weighing pros and cons of any choice we may have in life. In a day and age where there are hundreds of choices in the aisles of our food stores, this is particularly freeing! In the past, I've almost had an anxiety attack simply trying to choose which flavor of tea to purchase. Thank goodness those days are over!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"There is no material truth. The physical senses can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. Human belief has sought out many inventions, but not one of them can solve the problem of being without  the divine Principle of divine Science. Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law."

Science & Health Page 273:2-9

March 28, 2014 - Am I In Love, or Am I Love?

"Rays of Sunrise"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #87

Review: “I will there be light.” and “There is no will but God’s.”

My thoughts turn today toward the holy relationship. We have many relationships in this life and, if you're like me, you prefer to think of all of them as holy! If God is Love, and we express that Love, then isn't every thing we do coming from that Love which is our essence? Unfortunately, this is not true. What we think of as love is often colored with human emotions such as guilt, jealousy, lust, and fear. This is a hard admission for any of us to make. A dear friend has been talking to me recently about a relationship he is ending. I have been thinking back over relationships I could have stayed in to this very day and where that would have led my life in different paths. The thing that keeps coming back time and again is that each and every relationship I have ever had was based in some way or another on the words, "I want". Maybe I wanted to be loved, maybe I wanted to be IN love, maybe I wanted a love affair like the movies and songs tell us is the be-all, end-all. My friend is feeling sad for the loss of this relationship. He liked so many things about this woman, but there were some basic differences which caused their incompatibility. He could have stayed and been contented, but there was something missing: It wasn't a holy relationship. It was based on expectation of change and other material desires. My friend innately knows there is more than settling down with someone because it's easy. And I know he will recognize, within himSelf, what it is he's waiting for.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea. The understanding and recognition of Spirit must finally come, and we may as well improve our time in solving the mysteries of being through an apprehension of divine Principle. At present we know not what man is, but we certainly shall know this when man reflects God.”

Science & Health Page 90:24-32

March 27, 2014 - Sing Your Song!

"Springing Forth"
by Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #86

Review: "Only God's plan for salvation will work." and "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation."

Letting go of grievances frees us to express facets of ourselves we didn't know were there. Have you noticed that you're stretching beyond what you've always thought of as your boundaries? While listening to what I think of as free-form piano playing of the new-age variety, it struck me how important it is to be singing your song, whatever form that may take. For me, piano lessons began at the age of four. By the time I went to college, playing was so ingrained that it was like speaking. But it was always structured interpretation from pages of music. Never once had I just sat down and played without thought. A few years ago, I did. Something pulled me to the piano and a tune came out. It's a simple melody which mutates here and there, with interesting progressions and surprises. It's never the same, and it never leaves me where I started. It has beautiful healing notes which shift and appear when they are needed. We all have a song to sing. It's a divine voice which requires a yielding of material sense in order to be heard and reproduced. It may be expressed through prose, or poetry, or music, or painting. It may be realized through raising children, caring for animals, or growing vegetables. The forms this Love will take are without limit! Just as we are the ideas of God, so are these emanations which shine through us. Let's free ourselves to allow Love to show itself in all Its varied forms of salvation!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Salvation: Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all."

Science & Health Page 593:20-21

March 26, 2014 - Shining Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson #85

Review: "My grievances hide the light of the world in me." and "My salvation comes from me."

Cynicism hides the light of the world very effectively. As a small child, I freely expressed joy in everything and to everyone, but slowly and thoroughly this joy was quieted by rules and other forces of conformity. By the time I was a teenager, cynicism had taken over my every action. This is a definition of cynicism: "An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others." During the 60s and 70s, although it was heralded as the Age of Aquarius, the free love that permeated our atmosphere was actually a charade of the Love I had felt as a small child. We made fun of those who weren't like us, and by doing so became unsure of what we were. There was an attitude of disdain which came with our superiority. We knew our government was wrong, as were our parents, most teachers, and the majority of our peers. It's no wonder that a major magazine's cover declared that God was dead, because materialism and cynicism had killed any expression of real Love. I was convinced that to have children would be a travesty, as this world was no place for humans to be. Nearly half a century past those turbulent times, I see wonderful changes in all of us. Everyone I know realizes that Love is a force within us which can't be quieted; that fear can never be as powerful as Love; that there is no reason to pretend only the foolish think this way. More people every day are waking up to the Truth of their being, living the salvation of this realization, and not allowing anything to hide this light. Any day now everyone will awaken to their function as a living ray of this Love, and we won't be afraid of it. It is our heritage! We have denied it as long as we can. The Truth is alive within us and it only takes recognition to bring it to fruition. Let's live our salvation today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Ignorance of the divine idea betrays at once a greater ignorance of the divine Principle of the idea — ignorance of Truth and Love. The understanding of Truth and Love, the Principle which works out the ends of eternal good and destroys both faith in evil and the practice of evil, leads to the discernment of the divine idea."

Science & Health Page 560:28-4

March 25, 2014 - Break the Spell

ACIM Workbook Lesson #84

Review: “Love created me like Itself.” and “Love holds no grievances.”

During extremely busy times in our tourist town, I sometimes feel like I'm suffering from overload. Spring break is one of those times, as there are also many children involved in this give-and-take flow of energy and information. A day I particularly remember is one when I felt drained and didn't want to talk to another single person. I had retreated to my space behind the checkout counter, trying to look pleasant, but not truly feeling it. Then a family came in with a number of children, and a feeling of dread came over me. The dad had a small child on his shoulders and a few more swimming around his feet. The one he was carrying was fussy and sort of crying as the dad came up to me and started asking questions about where to eat dinner. I began talking to the baby -- answering the dad's questions, but looking at the whining child. Suddenly joy spread through my chest -- and the baby started to giggle, too! No more was I a tired mortal wishing I could be somewhere else. And the baby seemed to realize he had the best seat in town and he was the loved of Love. Whew! Was I glad that spell was broken!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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."

Science & Health Page 518:15-22

March 24, 2014 - My Function is Happiness

"Principia Soccer'

ACIM Workbook Lesson #83

Review: “My only function is the one God gave me.” and “My happiness and my function are one.”

Conflict resolution. Conflict transformation. How much time and energy do we spend in attempting to negate conflict between others and/or within ourselves? We can make lists of the merits of our choices, we can role play and put ourselves in each others' place in a situation, we can enlist therapists to help us out. There are lots of ways to search for the door out of conflict. I have found the only way to truly leave it behind is to realize that such a thing does not exist anywhere other than in my thought. I'll always remember a time when my boys were around 8 and 10 years of age. Their disagreements had advanced to the point where I saw no way out other than to give one of them away! One day, during a particularly intense bout, I gave up and sat down in my bedroom to have a good cry. Next to my chair was a stack of Christian Science Sentinels, the weekly publication which has given us practical metaphysical writings for more than a hundred years. I reached down and pulled a copy from the middle of the stack and opened it up to an article about brothers fighting! I don't remember anything about the content, other than it was just what I needed. I also remember sitting there and thinking of all the reasons I loved them, and then thinking of what it means that they are  the expression of divine Love. It came to me that I was exhibiting an I'm-right-and-you're-wrong attitude. While that day was not the last time they had disagreements, they never again seemed so intense, and it was the last day I was in total despair over their actions. Living Love creates bridges which bring us together in peace. Trust that your function and happiness are your God-given right, and don't be afraid to open up and see what unexpected ways this function will be manifested.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.”

Science & Health Page 106:7-10

March 23, 2014 - Radical Reform

ACIM Workbook Lesson #82

Review: “The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness” and “Let me not forget my function.”

The small, mountain town I live in is very close-knit. Most of us know and love each other on a personal level. There was an Equinox concert recently which was a beautiful expression of this community we share. By the same token, when someone is hurting or in trouble, we pull together to help them. There is currently a situation where one of our well-known, well-loved men has run amok and surprisingly been involved in an act of violence toward his family. The event seems to be fueled by ego and alcohol. We all feel terrible for him and everyone involved -- including ourselves, individually, as we each have a link to him by way of various community events. He's been fired from his job and ostracized by many. I keep thinking of the story of an African tribe which purportedly has a unique way of rehabilitating wrongdoers. They all gather in the center of the village and recount, in great detail, the admirable things they know about the person. This process may take days. When everyone is done, they have a joyous celebration, bringing the person back into their fold. I can see this happening here. We all share the same light, which brings peace to every mind. We can talk about this light until the cows come home, but it won't dispel the darkness unless we actually spark a flame. I pray we find a way to healing through active Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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.”

Science & Health Page 340: 23-29