Let Them BE

 

                                                            

Someone posted this on Facebook today. It reminds me of my beloved friends. Happy Spring to each and every one!

"When you meet that person, a person, one of your soulmates, let the connection, relationship be what it is. 

It may be five mins, five hours, five days, five months, five years, a lifetime, five lifetimes.

Let it manifest itself the way it is meant to, it has an organic destiny, this way if it stays or if it leaves, 

you will be softer from having been loved this authentically.

Souls come into, return, open, and sweep through your life for a myriad of reasons.

Let them be who and what they are meant.”

Nayyirah Waheed

Be The Ones

 

Art by Lucy Campbell  -- lupiart.com

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"May we raise children

who love the unloved

things - the dandelion, the

worms & spiderlings.

Children who sense

the rose needs the thorn

& run into rainswept days

the same way they

turn towards sun...

And when they're grown &

someone has to speak for those

who have no voice

may they draw upon that

wilder bond, those days of

tending tender things

and be the ones."

~ Nicolette Sowder

wilderchild.com

Follow and Rejoice

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Have you ever felt as though you’re walking through quicksand when going about your daily activities? I’ve been feeling that way for a few days and have observed that it doesn’t take long to sink into expectations of difficulties. At first, I decided I had reached the “anger” phase of grief, because it seemed everything irritated me and nothing felt quite right. Knowing that our outer experiences are a direct result of our innermost thoughts, I began an examination of mine. In much the same way as early spring days call us to weed our flower beds, I began to cull through my random thoughts and emotions, identifying and transforming those which caused me to feel bad. I returned time and again to a mantra which Mary Baker Eddy called the daily prayer: “Thy kingdom come. May the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me. And rule out of me all sin [anything which separates from Love], and may Thy word enrich the affections of all mankind and govern them.” Tomorrow may bring a different repetition to help me to keep thought in line with Love, but wherever I’m led, I will follow.

“Shepherd, show me how to go, o’re the hillside steep.

How to gather, how to sow, how to feed thy sheep.

I will listen for thy voice, lest my footsteps stray.

I will follow and rejoice, all the rugged way.”

Poem from Mary Baker Eddy

Words Matter

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I just read an editorial Kevin wrote in 2018 when he worked for the Elgin Courier in Texas. It's titled "We Print Facts, Not Speculation". This piece had to do with not knowing all the facts about a city official and some alleged shenanigans. He writes about times when people's lives have been ruined by speculation when a number of people know 10% of the facts and get together to speculate on the rest. He was always very careful not to gossip about anyone, and he learned those lessons from listening to his dad, who was on the local school board and many other community-centered committees and clubs. I will be posting the editorial in its entirety on Facebook tomorrow, but here's a snippet: "The thing that hurts, though, from a community perspective, is the loss of our presumption of good -- innocence. That loss is what drives what we now call 'fake news.'" One of the things Kevin strived to teach others was that words matter. He certainly has taught me this lesson, and if he had a tombstone that's what I'd put on it: Words Matter! 

"The divine Science of man is woven into one web of consistency without seam or rent. Mere speculation or superstiition appropriates no part of the divine vesture, while inspiration restores every part of the Christly garment of righteousness." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 242:25

Translating Misidentification

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

"Gut feelings" are often discounted as being invalid for any number of reasons. Some say they're nothing more than paranoid thoughts, others may think of them as wishful thinking, a few of us see them as reflections of divine Mind. I'm reminded today that we must reinterpret everything we see. Discord and inharmony can be changed in thought by re-identification and reinterpretation.  As an example, when we see train tracks coming together in the distance, we immediately reinterpret that into the truth of the situation. We know that those tracks aren't coming together and that it will not be dangerous to travel on the train which carries us toward that end. The metaphysical studies we've embarked upon are doing the same thing: teaching us to recognize misidentification and translate it into Truth. Love extending Itself is ​the ​correct interpretation. Translating erroneous thought is our job!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes: “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.”  Science & Health Page 393:12-15

Centered in Truth

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

Upon awakening, I had about 20 inane and/or insane thoughts before I realized what I was doing! I started off with, What day is this and where am I supposed to be?, which was quickly followed by a chain of remembrances which took me from a lovely cooking store, to my childhood home, then my little mind zoomed over to a friend's house and a remembered conversation, before zipping back to a neglected household chore. This illustrates the importance of stilling rampant thinking and centering ourselves in Truth before beginning our day. We so often feel bombarded by thoughts of fear and hostility, lack and disease, error and disharmony. To hold thought in accord with divine Mind is a lofty goal, and may seem daunting, but we are learning it is a possibility and that even a glimpse of Truth is tantalizing. Join me in taking a stand for higher, deeper thought today and every day!

“Temporal things are the thoughts of mortals and are the unreal, being the opposite of the real or the spiritual and eternal.” ​Mary Baker Eddy - ​Science & Health Page 337:26-28

We Are All Sculptors

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

It’s easy to feel peaceful when things are going according to our plans, but what of times when we have unexpected events such as loss of a job, breaking up of a marriage, illness, or accidents? At such times, it can feel as though our peace has been disrupted, perhaps never to be felt again. In order to extend peace to others, we must accept it for ourselves. How grateful I am for an inkling of knowledge about the Science of Being! The unfolding reality which has replaced the shattering illusions around me have been facilitating a change in perception and an acceptance of peace. It’s sort of like Michelangelo chiseling away everything but the image he was seeing. We are working to release everything unlike Love, leaving behind pure peace! 

“We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought. What is the model before mortal mind? Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering? Have you accepted the mortal model? Are you reproducing it? Then you are haunted in your work by vicious sculptors and hideous forms...To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right direction, and then walk that way. We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 248:12

A Higher and More Permanent Peace

 

​Excitement is in the air! Warmer weather, the appearance of flowers, and the hope of full vaccinations allowing us to co-mingle again — well, it’s almost too much to bear! While colder weather and grey days don’t bother me (I enjoy being cozily swaddled in flannel and books), I’m ready to plant something and be outside. I have missed my book club and a spades game I regularly played with three dear friends, but other than that, I really don’t miss anything about the “old” life. I’m a bridge fanatic, and tournaments are more readily available online than they were in real time. I’m almost a Life Master after this year of seclusion. I never was into “party bridge”, but three friends and I play all Monday afternoon, online, with a conference call allowing us to talk on our phones. It’s better than being physically with each other — because we don’t have to go anywhere! I’ve never enjoyed small talk and chit chatting at parties and such, and it sometimes causes me discomfort to be forced into it. The past year has allowed me to realize many things about myself, as I’m sure you have, too. I look forward to embracing life in ways which bring peace and fulfillment!

“This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man’s absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace.” ​Mary Baker Eddy - ​Science & Health Page 265:10-15

Why Are You Happy?

Kevin Wright

I heard of a study which has been in the making for 40+ years. It followed certain people throughout their lives and came to conclusions about why they are or are not happy. Turns out happiness isn’t reliant on how much money people have, nor does it matter what religion they espouse — or not. Happiness isn’t dependent or where people live, what job they have, nor if they’re married or single. But it does have a direct correlation to their interpersonal relationships, their friendships, their interactions with others. While there was no direct correlation to marriage nor job, the way we relate to our spouse or co-workers affects our happiness levels. Those who were not married or didn’t have a job were still happier if they interacted with others on a regular basis. So let’s go out and gather joy, spread happiness, and be Love!

"Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:18-21

The Truth About Ourselves

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

An old friend tells me that it has taken her seven decades to stop believing the things her parents told her about herself. They said she was ugly, stupid, worthless, and other horrid things. She believed them, and their words stayed with her until she joined a group of spiritually-aware people who allowed her to see the truth about herself. She no longer feels unworthy of love and goodness. Hallelujah! Her salvation has come! How often we believe lies about the reality of our being. We don’t realize we have chosen guilt for ourselves, but thankfully we are recognizing this and seeing that we have a choice. Nothing outside of our own Self can save us; nothing from outside can bring us peace. The source of salvation and peace lies within. This acceptance is, indeed, cause for celebration!

“Innocence and Truth overcome guilt and error.”  Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 568:1

Mindful Love

 

photo credit: Steve Shogren

​It’s difficult to think we would want anything other than happiness for ourselves. I know from personal experience that there have been many times when it seems I have set myself up for misery, yet I also do not think I did this purposefully, simply Mindlessly. The egotistical leanings of a person who is wild and blue oftentimes leads to poor life choices, and I feel fortunate to have survived and thrived despite turning away from goodness. There is so much beauty in this life, and we need only pay attention in order to experience it. Leaving behind our expectations may seem futile, but I think of it as freeing me to experience Love in its many manifestations. And I am grateful.

"The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by His creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 515:4-8

True Recognition

photo credit: Aaron Springston

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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 them all as holy! If God is Love, and we express that Love, then isn't everything we do coming from that Love which is our essence? Unfortunately, our human ego often gets in the way. What we think of as love is often colored with human emotions such as guilt, jealousy, lust, and fear. This is a tough admission for any of us to make. A dear friend has been talking to me recently about a romantic relationship he is ending, and it's caused me to examine the reasons my marriages have not become a holy union. The thing that keeps coming back time and again is that each and every entanglement I have ever had was based in some way or another on the words, "I want". Maybe I wanted to be a grown up, 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 differences which caused their incompatibility. He could have stayed, 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 that settling down with someone because it's easy is not what he wants. And I know he will recognize, within himSelf, what it is he's waiting for.

“Will, as a quality of so-called mortal mind, is a wrong-doer; hence it should not be confounded with the term as applied to Mind or to one of God’s qualities.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 597:24-26

Truth Sets Us Free

 ​The Dog Whisperer, (whom I’ve mentioned 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!!

A Course in Miracles teaches us 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 was afraid to walk on any floor without a carpet, because it had once gone sliding into a glass door. Upon investigation of its people's reactions, they had immediately reinforced the dog's fears by petting, commiserating, and talking about what a horrible experience it had been. They were holding the dog in fear 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. I’m so grateful for every experience which helps me to discern between belief and reality -- especially when it's shown to me by a dog!

“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." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 397:12-16

The Secret Life of Bees

photo credit: Aaron Springston

 "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of my favorite books ever. I've read it twice and listened to it once, but that was years ago. So tonight when I had the opportunity to watch the movie, I was delighted! And rightfully so. The narrator is a broken, young girl whose mother deserted her in every way possible. Its setting is 1960s rural America, with all the racial paranoia you can imagine would be present. I ponder why some people are able to transcend awful events in their lives, while others are stuck in them. I'd love to have a round-table discussion about this. Every person, their experiences, their perceptions of life, they are all individual to us each, and nothing is universal about our pain. The honesty and grace lived by the family our main character is living with (and their love) heal her. By fearlessly looking at the pain and its source, she is able to make sense of it, feel it thoroughly, and find ways to be happy around it, until she will let it go. My focus for this year is: How to know the truth, and how to be an anti-racist. This movie sparked many ideas in my brain and I'm excited to see where they lead. I hope you have a joyous spring day!

"'Love one another', (I John, 3:23) is the most simple and profound counsel of the inspired writer. " Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 572:6

Rolling Back The Clouds With Light

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

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. 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 cleaning 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! 

"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." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 596:11-19

Let These Be Your Desires

photo credit: Aaron Springston

 

LET THESE BE YOUR DESIRES - KAHLIL GIBRAN

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself

But if your love and must needs have desires,

Let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook

That sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart

And give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer

For the beloved in your heart

And a song of praise upon your lips."

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Contributing To The Delinquency

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photo credit: Aaron Springston

What would you think if you heard I had been issued a citation for “contributing to the delinquency of minors”? The Boston Globe has started a program called Fresh Start, where people can ask them to forgive and forget. In other words, the newspaper will consider updating old articles about lesser crimes and misdemeanors, or hiding them from Internet search engines. The debate between people is now: Is this a fresh start or a cover-up? So back to my first sentence: Yes, I was issued such a citation, but it’s not what it sounds like! My son was 14 and going to The Principia in St Louis. It was spring break and he was visiting with some lifelong friends who lived on our street. About 10 o’clock, he called and asked if he could stay awhile because they were having fun. Of course I agreed, and went to sleep shortly thereafter. The phone rang at 1 a.m. and it was Aaron asking me if I could come to get them; that they were in jail. It turns out they had taken a walk on this beautiful spring night (it’s perfectly safe to do this in Eureka Springs), and they had been picked up by a new policeman and charged with curfew violation. When I went to get the teenagers, I was given a ticket for contributing to the delinquency of a minor because I didn’t know where my children were! This caused quite a brouhaha in our village with letters to the editor and even an editorial written about the whole situation. In a couple of weeks, the chief of police apologized and expunged my record. But what if he hadn’t? If this ticket showed up on my record from an internet search, what doors might have closed to me? Obviously, I’m all for this wonderful program called Fresh Start! 

“It would sometimes seem as if truth were rejected because meekness and spirituality are the conditions of its acceptance, while Christendom generally demands so much less.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health page 343:21

The Humanity Behind the Headline

 

Behind every headline there is a human being with a story. When we hear about frightening events, real people just like us have been affected. When we read about uplifting stories of people’s lives, those are actual people with friends and pets and sorrows and joys. An earthquake, a car accident, any event affects someone with a story. When we hear about a diplomat being tortured or a bomb blowing up in a public place, we feel bad for the people involved, rarely the place which has been destroyed. When we hear about half-a-million deaths because of Covid-19, it’s tempting to ignore the families left behind, grieving the loss of someone they love. Everybody has a story and good journalism brings them to life for us, allowing us to see the humanity behind the headline. In a world of headline readers, it’s nice to ponder the rest of the story sometimes!

   
“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” Mary Baker Eddy

Uplifting Dialogues

"School Rules" painting by William Holbrook Beard

Do you ever feel a kinship with others which is so perfect that you know you are one Self, united in Creation? Perfect unity precludes conflict, and we feel this perfection with people whom we love no matter whether they agree with our every idea or not. It seems difficult, if not impossible, to feel this wholeness with everyone, especially those who are diametrically opposed toward our beliefs.  Today I will practice enjoying the middle road of conversations. If someone wants to talk about things I think are wrong, or foolish, or simply counter to my thoughts, I will listen with the purpose of understanding, not responding. I will find ways to encourage deep thinking without jumping up on my high horse and insisting that my way is the only way. It really doesn’t matter what the topic of conversation is, there is a middle ground to be found and an uplifting dialogue to be had. I want that. I want that a lot.

“Atonement is the exemplification of man's unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love. Jesus of Nazareth taught and demonstrated man's oneness with the Father, and for this we owe him endless homage.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 18:1-5

Empty Vessels

 

photo credit: Gerry Toler

Many of life’s experiences are humbling. They help us to admit that we know nothing or that we’re wrong. I’ve gone through phases in the last 60 years when I didn’t want to admit either of these things, but now I am willing. On this beautiful nearly-spring day, join me in having no opinions and allowing beliefs to dissolve. Let’s see what shows up when we are an empty vessel! 

"We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe error. Then, when the winds of God blow, we shall not hug our tatters close about us.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 201:13-15