February 4, 2015 - Immortal Ideas

"Ozark Winter Sunset"
photo by Arthus Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook lesson #35

"My mind is part of God. I am very holy."

A good friend has struggled with depression all her life. She feels her existence has been a series of horrible events, occasionally interrupted by happy times which inevitably end in pain. In an attempt to escape this existence, she has turned to alcohol, drugs, and God. But the judgmental God she sees makes deals with her, and never deems her worthy of favor. Repetition of the past seems to be in her thought constantly, affecting her every action. By accepting today's lesson, which tells us that we are actually holy as a reflection of God,  feelings of hopelessness and sadness can disappear in an instant! By releasing our material history, we are free to learn the reality of our spiritual Self, which is unending, uninterrupted good. It's a beautiful thing to see someone realize the nothingness of their personal history and to see the wondrous peace which lies within. I think of God as defined by Mary Baker Eddy: Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love. Divine Mind is a palpable presence, realized when we release false belief. To misquote a well-known Bible verse: Let this Mind be you, which was also Christ Jesus. This Mind is you, and me, and everyone, because it is God, which is omnipresent, omniscient, always.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results."

Science & Health Page 259:26-31

February 3, 2015 - Peace Within and Without

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #34:
"I could see peace instead of this."

Peace is inherent in every seemingly volatile situation​. Ask someone who has been involved in a violent attack and they will scoff at you at the very least. I was told today that one in every three calls to the police in our little county involve domestic abuse. I can only assume that this is a woman calling concerning a man's actions, although I know this isn't always the case. Alcohol, anger, and a strong sense of right can be a deadly combination when they come together against someone or some thing. I am reminded that I can't change anyone other than within my own thought. By a change in thought, I may be guided to take particular actions in my world, or I may be led to quietly know the Truth about us all and by that knowing facilitate peace. I wish I could force everyone to live by The Four Agreements. I wish I could quiet everyone's mind so they wouldn't need to lash out at others. Hum -- maybe I can, right here within me! Do I really understand Oneness? I sure do want to. 
  
Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose 'light shall we see light;' and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.” Science & Health Page 510:9-12

February 2, 2015 - Shifting Perceptions

painting by Carol Dickie

ACIM Workbook Lesson #33:
"There is another way of looking at the world."

Everywhere we look, huge changes are occurring. I love that we are not afraid to look at traditional values in a new light! New ways of looking at old words, such as The Lord's Prayer give us new insights and understanding. Some fear these interpretations are sacrilegious, and perhaps they are. Religion should be about spirituality, but often it is no more than dogma and tradition, which is perpetuated from fear. In the late 1800s, Mary Baker Eddy gave us a spiritual interpretation of the prayer which Jesus gave us (or at least the interpretation offered through translation in our modern-day bible). Today I saw a beautiful modern-day interpretation by Peter Russell, which I'd like to include here. I feel these words are very helpful in facilitating our shifting perception.
Peter Russell's Contemporary Lord's Prayer

Our essential Being, that dwells within,

'I am' is thy name.

May thy true nature be revealed.

May thy knowing inform our daily lives,

As it does our inner Being.

Nourish us today with thy Presence.

Release us from any judgment we have held against ourselves,

As we release others from judgments we've held against them.

Let us not be tempted to seek solace in worldly things.

Liberate us from that which veils the truth.

For it is in our Being that we find your Presence,

The Source of all good, the home of all joy,

Eternally, and without change.

So be it.

http://www.peterrussell.com


Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Our Father-Mother God, all harmonious, Adorable One. They kingdom is come; thou art ever present. Enable us to know, -- as in heaven, so on earth, -- God is omnipotent, supreme. Give us grace for today; feed the famished affections. And Love is reflected in love. God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death. For God is infinite, all power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All." Science & Health, Page 16:27-15

February 1, 2015 - Seeing Love in Every Reflection

photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #32:
“I have invented the world I see.”

On this day last year, I wrote about an incident where a woman had made purchases at my gallery and written two large checks on an account which turned out to be frozen. Apparently, she had been having a last fling in our town and I was not the only one who received "bad" checks. I sent her numerous loving notes, trying to help her to feel better about herself. I only called her once and that didn't go well, so I went back to sending her a note every few weeks. At one point, she wrote me a letter and signed it, "your friend". Then around the middle of April, I received money orders for the entire amount owed. Most people thought there would be no way to collect this debt without resorting to legal means, but every time I thought of her, it was with kindness, seeing her true nature as a child of Love. I refused to see her the way others described similar situations and the people involved. When doubt would creep in, I would replace it with an assurance of good. This is the world I wish to see, and so I do. I know you do, too!
Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." Science & Health Page 261:4-7

January 31, 2015 - Unrealized Abilities

"Great Wall of China"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #31:
"I am not the victim of the world I see"

I heard myself say to someone, "We could all have animosity toward         our parents , either actual or imagined." Hum -- isn't all animosity imagined?? We like to think that some outside influence has forced us to feel hurt or angry, but is that true? Aren't we just setting ourselves up as a victim to say that someone else "made us angry"? After all, I don't have to react with a specified emotion; I can choose to see any given situation as a calm witness rather than as an upset personality, can't I? It's tempting to say things like, He/she pushes my buttons. By blaming outside influences for our actions, we can pretend we're victims of life's circumstances. We're so accustomed to looking for help outside of ourselves that we also blame outside influences for our reactions, thinking we have no choice. Truth shows us that we are more than we believe we are. We aren't mortal victims, but spiritual beings with unrealized abilities and power. It's time to wake up to Truth!
Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss." Science & Health Page 481:2-4

January 30, 2015 - Seeing Within

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #30:
"God is in everything I see because God is in my mind."

Seeing everything as a part of us by looking within rather than without is the point of today's exercise. And this is not limited to what we can see with our eyes in the limited proximity of them. Close your eyes and see what pops into your thought and include that in your knowing. We are working toward changing sight to vision. I look at my sweet dog and see my experience of him. I close my eyes and envision all the Love expressed by all the dogs I have known. I feel the Love expressed by my parents and children and friends. I can feel the warmth of a spring day, smell the earth and flowers, see past my limiting thoughts to the ideas of Soul. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "It is the illumination of the spiritual understanding which demonstrates the capacity of Soul, not of material sense. This Soul-sense comes to the human mind when the latter yields to the divine Mind." Science & Health Page 85:2-6

January 29, 2015 - Everything I See

ACIM Workbook Lesson #29: 

"God is in everything I see". 

A dear friend, Patricia Robinett, has recorded these daily workbook lessons, which can be found on youTube by searching for Auntie Patricia.  She also posts them on her Facebook page. Before starting to write, I went there to listen to this lesson. Following her post, someone had asked if God is in "rapists, pedophiles, and murderers". Mary Baker Eddy tells us that the word "in" is obsolete if used in reference to Spirit, or Deity. So just a slight change in thought would render the statement to be that God is Everything.  Where does that leave evil? "Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is unreal, temporal." (MBE) Evil is a mortal belief, often seeming vividly real. But it's not, because the only true reality is spiritual. To see past the material miasma to the spiritual Truth takes practice. And that's what we're doing today. I'm so glad we're doing it together!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"God is individual, incorporeal. He is divine Principle, Love, the universal cause, the only creator, and there is no other self-existence. He is all-inclusive, and is reflected by all that is real and eternal and by nothing else. He fills all space, and it is impossible to conceive of such omnipresence and individuality except as infinite Spirit or Mind. Hence all is Spirit and spiritual."

Science & Health Page 331:18-25

January 28, 2015 - Seeing Differently

"Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #28:
"Above all else, I want to see things differently."

Today's lesson asks us to give up any notion we have concerning the meaning of anything and everything. By doing this, we cease to look at a thing and start to look at the consciousness which sustains it. With enough practice, we can see everything as God revealed. When we begin asking what things are rather than telling them what they are, interesting answers may be coming our way. For instance, the way we, as a society, punish wrong-doing: Does our present system of retaliation and retribution actually accomplish anything? In reading a book, "The Buddhist and the Terrorist", an alternative to the treatment of a murderer is explored. This book is one of many which encourage me to see differently, to see myself as God sees me, to continue asking mySelf how that sight is gained and kept, to practice the Presence in every moment.
Mary Baker Eddy quote: "The objects cognized by the physical senses have not the reality of substance. They are only what mortal belief calls them." Science & Health Page 311:26-28

January 27, 2015 - I want to see!

photo by Heather Magnan

ACIM Workbook Lesson #27

"Above all else I want to see." 

Today I look forward to having the single-minded exercise of wanting to see. Yesterday was spent tying up loose ends with the closing of my gallery. I became sadder as the day progressed. I've been told that attachment brings with it a loss of self when that to which we attach ourselves is gone. I don't feel a loss of self, but a sadness that the beauty, grace, and just pure fun associated with that business is no longer going to be. I will miss it. So today I will bring thought back to my purpose of desiring one thing: to know God. In the act of returning thought to Love whenever it is tempted to fall into sadness, I will see new views, which would only be hidden by a desire to look back. I am grateful for the spiritual study which keeps my eye single!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love,which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation;6and when we subordinate the false testimony of thecorporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere." Science & Health Page 516:4-8

January 26, 2015 - Nothing Unreal Exists

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #26
"My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."

The realization that all attack comes from within is an eye-opener! In the introduction of A Course in Miracles textbook is the following statement: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” At first glance this may seem to make no sense! But when you think of reality as being the creation of divine Love, the reflection of God (Love), and this is all that is real, then anything unlike God, good, is nonexistent -- hence its unreality is exposed. When we worry about lack of money, or possible illness, or what our neighbor might do, these are thoughts which seem to attack our invulnerability.  Actually our invulnerability as an expression of God cannot be attacked, but we certainly can think of ourselves as weak victims of life's circumstances. Through a conscious choice to reject the unreality of material existence and claim our heritage as powerful spiritual beings, unafraid to stand up and declare our Oneness with God and all Its creation, we are able to transcend the fears we have thought to be inevitable. I love the new world which is being revealed through this understanding!
Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust decrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery." Science & Health Page 380:32-4

January 25, 2015 - I Wonder ...

"Wonderment"
by Sandy Wythawai Starbird 

ACIM Workbook Lesson #25

"I do not know what anything is for".

Being in the business of selling art gives me lots of practice in realizing "I do not know what anything is for"! Often I've advised prospective buyers to go with how the piece they're considering makes them feel. Does it bring a smile to your face? Will it add beauty and grace to your life? If it does these things, then don't miss your chance for that! And from the other side, the artists we represent bring forth their art from Love. One of our artists describes her style as abstract naturalism. Her love of nature glows forth in every painting she brings to canvas. Another artist births what she sometimes calls primal images. These fabric creations are profoundly moving. For me, they elicit emotions which perhaps have been hiding for years. But this is neither here nor there. When this art is made, it is not examined for what it does for either the artist or the appreciator of it. When I put it on the wall, it is not placed there because of how much money it will bring. My exercise today is to allow everything to Be, with Love expressed all around, and to let its real meaning and purpose come forth without my personal sense being projected onto it. How fun it is to listen while deeper meaning seeks my awareness!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine Science accurately to human thought lies in this, that like all other languages, English is inadequate to the expression of spiritual conceptions and propositions, because one is obliged to use material terms in dealing with spiritual ideas. The elucidation of Christian Science lies in its spiritual sense, and this sense must be gained by its disciples in order to grasp the meaning of this Science."

Science & Health Page 349:13-21

January 24, 2015 - Non-reaction

ACIM Workbook Lesson #24:
"I do not perceive my own best interests.”

​

photo by Gerry Toler

​

​How do you feel when people disagree with you? It's tempting to become defensive, stating why you are right and they are wrong. In trying to keep an open mind and heart, for the last few years I've practiced not reacting to others when they think something contrary to what I do. Recently a situation has brought this to my attention. There is a well-known man in our town who is accused or perpetrating violence against a woman. Of course, I do not condone such actions. What I have seen, personally, with my own eyes, is a kind and caring man who taught my children soccer and was a great ambassador for our small tourist town. I have stated this publicly without regret, even though many feel he should be run out of town on a rail. This statement speaks only to what I have observed of this man. I don't have any harsh feelings toward anyone who wants to decry his actions and I hope they don't feel I'm standing up for him and against them. This isn't even a matter of perceptions, as I'm simply remembering the goodness I've seen expressed. Namastè!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings."

Science & Health Page vii:1-2

January 23, 2015 - Escape tp Freedom

"London Morning"
photo y Aaron Springon

ACIM Workbook Lesson #23:
"I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts."

It can be difficult to free ourselves from the prison of attack thoughts. It seems normal and natural to think and talk about things we don't agree with or like. It can occupy the majority of our thought and we think it will facilitate a change if we talk about it enough. This fertilization of attack thoughts can be found everywhere from coffee shops to churches, and it doesn't do a single thing to change the world. We are told today that the only way out of fear is giving up attack thoughts. If the world we see is an effect, the only way to change this hallucination is to alter the cause: our thought. Some may ridicule this idea, and for those who do I only ask this: Have any material manipulations ever, in all of history, affected a change? Did our civil war free the slaves? It was a beginning, of course, but many people stayed in bondage long past when laws were enacted. It takes a change of thought to bring freedom. Let's free ourselves today -- and forever! 
Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Legally to abolish unpaid servitude in the United States was hard; but the abolition of mental slavery is a more difficult task. The despotic tendencies, inherent in mortal mind and always germinating in new forms of tyranny, must be rooted out through the action of the divine Mind." Science & Health Page 225:22-28

January 22, 2015 - Love is Reflected in Love

Zion National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #22
"What I see is a form of vengeance."

​Having been a court reporter for 30 years, I have often witnessed people's desire for this thing called vengeance. I've also witnessed that when they get whatever form of retribution they seek, it makes them feel no better about the situation.​ Why is vengeance thought of as a good thing in our society? It seems to me it should be one of Dante's deadly sins and something we would want to negate or, at the very least, hide under the table. But, no, we want to put it on the front page and proudly tell others of the vengeance we seek. As ACIM tells us:

 "Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense." May be remember that our safety lies in our defenselessness

​ -- and our happiness, too

!
Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Truth destroys error, and Love destroys hate. Being destroyed, sin needs no other form of forgiveness." Science & Health Page 339:2-4

January 21, 2015 - Seeing Softly

photo by Aaron Spriungston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #21
"I am determined to see things differently"

Seeing things differently was illustrated for me today. I went on a car ride with a person who saw the world entirely differently than I did. Every car that came up behind us was following too close; when a car pulled out onto the highway, it should have waited until she was past; people in front of her were going to slow; many others were simply guilty of being "idiots". I became more and more amused as the ride progressed. She has mentioned before that she's been in a number of vehicular accidents in the past, which have always been the other person's fault. So the question comes to mind: Is she driving defensively because of past events, or are events happening because she's expecting them? I'm not going to try to make this determination, but what I do know is the difference in our attitudes towards drivers. When someone pulls out onto the highway in front of me, I'm glad because they probably want to go faster than I do. If someone zooms up behind me, I find the nearest place to happily pull to the side of the road and let them past. If someone in front of me is going slower than I usually drive, I'm glad because I know I'm in the place I need to be. I won't go so far as to say this keeps me safer, but I know it makes me happier!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Seeing is no less a quality of physical sense than feeling. Then why is it more difficult to see a thought than to feel one? Education alone determines the difference. In reality there is none." Science & Health Page 86:20-24

January 20, 2015 - Throwing Away the Veil

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #20
"I am determined to see"

Today's topic has prompted me to look back on the past fifty years and think about the extremes I have gone to in order to NOT see. We, as humans, clutter our selves with any number of trivial pursuits in order to keep from seeing and knowing Truth. We may occupy our time with busy-ness in order to keep Truth from sneaking in. There was a time in my life when I was a semi-hermit. I read five or six books a week, but nothing of import;  lots of horror stories and historical romances. Time spent with others was in a bar, talking about politics, gossip, and other mind-humbing topics. I went to extremes to keep from thinking about the reality of my being. I see others using television, the internet, anything that will totally occupy their minds to keep from seeing. What is this we refuse to see? The Truth of our being, the Truth that is God, the essence which I Am, the meaning of Life and our function as the expression of divine Love. There are many ways to define this sight, but only one way to see. We must have the desire to want sight and the willingness to let illusions disappear. "I am determined to see!".

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “The question, 'What is Truth', convulses the world. Many are ready to meet this inquiry with the assurance which comes of understanding; but more are blinded by their old illusions, and try to 'give it pause'. The efforts of error to answer this question by some ology are vain. Spiritual rationality and free thought accompany approaching Science, and cannot be put down. They will emancipate humanity, and supplant unscientific means and so-called laws.”
Science & Health Page 223:14-24

January 19. 2015 - Never Alone

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #19
"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."

How often has someone come to mind, then the phone rings and there they are? Many things we consider to be coincidence are leading us to the truth of our connectivity, but we insist on finding reasons they can't be true. For instance, the 100th monkey theory is constantly being "debunked". But that's all right, because we are always witnessing ways in which our thoughts pass to others with no spoken words. Once again, animals are our proving ground. Try thinking well-known commands toward your dog, without using your voice, and watch what happens! Similarly, if we say we want world peace yet fill our thought with violent movies and dooms-day conjectures about everything, are we truly choosing peace? Every thought is important. That tipping point (which many say does not exist) is getting closer all the time. I feel that's why such violence and craziness is happening everywhere: fear of losing control, fear of change, fear of Love. Let's live as though every thought DOES make a difference!
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"...Truth is the light which dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God."

Science & Health Page 282:32-3

January 18, 2015 - A Foretaste of Eternity

"Altai Mountains"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #18

"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."

The realization that we're not alone in our seeing of Truth is a great incentive to see it more! Every glimpse I catch of what I Am is a foretaste of eternity. Every taste savored of eternity whets my appetite to leave belief and dogma behind and make room for spiritual reality to fill its void. I don't fear that this leaving will cause me to be an automaton or puppet for something wanting to control me. It will simply allow me to be more of me. Divine Mind's expression is as idividual as your experience of it. Think of your favorite spiritual seer and how different he is from another metaphysical maven, even though they espouse the same Principle. Divine Love flows through us all, and manifests Itself in a myriad of ways. The way I see it, our Oneness allows us to experience everything there is, but individually through our own expression. The more we understand and see, the more everyone does, too. And what keeps us all from experiencing horrible things together? Their unreality!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry. Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rationality, is slowly yielding to the idea of a metaphysical basis, looking away from matter to Mind as the cause of every effect." Science & Health Page 268:1-9

January 17, 2015 - Can I Be Neutral?

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #17
"I see no neutral things".

It's difficult to discern if I'm receiving an intuition about a person, place, or thing, or if I'm simply being wary because of past experiences with something similar. I'm in a bit of a quandary concerning a person who has placed himself in a position of leadership in my world. Just looking at him, I immediately think of motorcycle ruffians, self-declared bigots of varying sorts, and perhaps even gestapo. I get a good feeling from him in many ways -- but is this just because I want to see the good in everyone and insist on it? Does he have a hidden agenda of which I want no part? Am I just being a bigot myself to think these things? It can be hard to tell, and there's no way I can personally know such a thing. I see no neutral things and it's impossible for me, the material, mortal, ego-riddled Marsha to tell the difference. But the true Self, stripped of past experiences, beliefs, and bias, knows without a doubt what is Truth. I'm going to look for her today.
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"To corporeal sense, the sun appears to rise and set, and the earth to stand still; but astronomical science contradicts this, and explains the solar system as working on a different plan. All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science, to the immortal truth of all things."

Science & Health Page 493:2-8

January 16, 2015 - Every Thought

"Sunset in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #16
“I have no neutral thoughts.”

We are reminded today that "Every thought you have contributes to truth or illusion: either it extends truth or it multiplies illusion." In talking with an acquaintance, it was brought home to me what a Pollyanna attitude I have! His outlook on life is that it must be endured; that we're miserable most of the time and we should not only put up with it, but we should embrace it. Now, I'm not sure he realizes that this is his attitude! I found myself mentally contradicting everything he said -- and this was not because I want to be difficult or to put him down in any way, but to protect myself from his rapidly-multiplying and negative illusions. He wanted to give me graphic details of an operation he recently had, and he was also offering pity towards my situation. In the past, I might have made up an excuse to cut our conversation short, perhaps saying that someone was at the door. But I felt it was important to break the illusion within myself by telling him that I really didn't feel put-upon in any way, that I felt that life was an adventure and I was smack dab in the middle of a good one, and that I had many thank you notes to write and I must be getting to them. I am very grateful to everyone whose thoughts "contribute to Truth"!! Namaste ----
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"In divine Science, the universe, including man, is spiritual, harmonious, and eternal. Science shows that what is termed matter is but the subjective state of what is termed by the author mortal mind."

Science & Health Page 114:27-31