Do Atheists Pray?

A friend brought me an interesting question, which I’d never heard before. He said one of his friends had asked him to pray for them, that they had an incurable disease and they wanted his prayers. He explained to the person that he was an atheist and he couldn’t do that. They begged him to do so anyway. He called me wanting to know what to do, mainly wondering what to say to them in order to not hurt their feelings by refusing. I assured him it wasn’t necessary to believe in a big guy in the sky which would grant favor if he asked; that it was perfectly acceptable to tell his friend he would send good thoughts to the universe, or something along those lines. Anything which expresses love is a gift, and one which may be given in a multitude of ways. Honestly expressing love to those in need is a gift which circulates freely to them, back to us, and out to everywhere!

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 243:25-29

Ketanji Brown Jackson

 Ketanji Brown Jackson

A short 60 years ago black women were not allowed the most basic of rights in this country, including the right to vote. Today we witnessed an historic happening when Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the highest court in our nation. To see a black woman nominated and voted into this position is, to me, a sign of hope. I am grateful …

“Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.”

~ Excerpt from Dr. Maya Angelou’s~ ~ STILL I RISE

"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." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 22

Peace is the Path

 

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Few of us have no regrets when we look back on our lives. Sometimes it's tempting to replay instances in our minds and think of ways we could have done things differently. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese man who lost his family during the war in the 60s. He spent his life practicing peace and showing others how to do the same. He helped American Vietnam veterans forgive themselves. He told them that no matter how badly they felt, it would never bring back the lives that were lost, but that there are many ways in which to help people today, right here and now. He showed us how to be the Love which we are. Peace Is the Path, he told us. I want to follow that Path, without looking back.

"Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must 'have her perfect work.'" Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454:18-24

Happiness in This World

artist ~ Claudia Tremblay

 “She was damn happy to be alive.

She didn’t have millions in the bank.

She wasn’t at the top of the

corporate ladder and still her deepest

dreams ... though she pursued them

hadn’t yet come true. But still 

she was damn happy to be alive.

She had people to love; a roof over her head;

she had all the essentials for living;

water, gas electricity, food;

she could appreciate the flowers blooming,

the sun beaming and the skies blessing.

She had good books to read. 

She spoke to the moon at night.

She often had a good sing in the shower.

And she lived her life with a touch of her own style.

The world’s mindless noise went quiet at the 

sight of her relentless joy.”

~ S.C. Lourie

“The Holy Spirit begins by perceiving you as perfect. Knowing this perfection is shared He recognizes it in others, thus strengthening it in both. Instead of anger this arouses love for both, because it establishes inclusion. Perceiving equality, the Holy Spirit perceives equal needs. This invites Atonement automatically, because Atonement is the one need in this world that is universal. To perceive yourself this way is the only way in which you can find happiness in the world. That is because it is the acknowledgment that you are not in this world, for the world is unhappy.” 

A Course in Miracles T-6.II.5:1-7

I Will Receive Whatever I Request

Photo from unknown source

I am remembering a meeting in which a woman confided a situation of abuse from her childhood. Some of the people in the metaphysical meeting we were attending insisted that she had chosen this scenario, whether to rectify something from a "past life" or for some other reason. This woman became very upset to think that a little girl would be tortured and want such a thing. A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #339 iterates that no one desires pain, but often we are confused about what we would want. Without going into the possibility of past lives, or reincarnation and retribution, I remind myself that all I want is One Thing. My only desire is to know God, and everything else will be attained without my delineation of what that is. I also remind myself not to judge others in any way, as we are all on an individual path. That's what it's all about. We are the experience of God, and there are no outlines as to what that means. Go in peace. Live in truth. Namaste …

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #339 "I will receive whatever I request."

"Faith is higher and more spiritual than belief. It is a chrysalis state of human thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever-present, is becoming understood." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 297:20-24

Every Thought is Important

 "When we think of communication, we usually see it as being between two people, between two bodies. One form of communication is to feel somebody’s touch, hug, or caress. Another form of communication is sitting together having a cup of tea or coffee and a very intimate talk about your deepest thoughts and feelings. But even when the other person is not with you, you can communicate. Your thoughts are powerful, and anytime you think of another person, you communicate. It’s like prayer. I sometimes tell people who have someone who’s not around anymore, ‘Well, you might as well keep talking to them because they are still there. You just can’t see them, but they are still there.”’And if you have attack thoughts toward somebody, you will see that person as the thoughts you have about them. It may feel like a very foreign idea, but it is within your own thinking that you have all of your relationships and your communications. This is why you need to take great care of what you think and be aware of what kind of relationship you have with your thoughts." 

✨ David Hoffmeister ✨ 

♥️🕊♥️ 

This quote was taken from the book “This Moment is Your Miracle”. You can find this book and many others at https://buff.ly/2vzIiMI 😍 Enjoy! ✨🙏🏽🥰

I Want to Be Kind

 

Art from Judy Clement Wall

 

Light, Joy, and Peace

My son and grandson, screen shot during FaceTime

There has been a large increase in so-called hate groups in the world. A man named Tony McAleer describes himself as being beaten and bullied as a child; bitter and isolated as a teenager. He became involved in one of these groups while seeking a connection with others. To quote him: "When you're starving and somebody keeps feeding you what you think are your favorite foods, even though it's junk food, there's going to be a while where you're not going to get up from the table." He continued to practice violence and anger until after the birth of his daughter. He said that was the first time in his life he had felt connected to another human being, and he started to want to change. He has now organized a group called "Life After Hate" and is helping others to build relationships with people. He says if we are to counter these groups, we must get to a place where empathy outweighs fear. That is what we are realizing through these studies, too. "Light and joy and peace abide in me" -- and in everyone!

“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.." Mary Baker Eddy- Science & Health Page 510:27-1

The Peaceful Path

Years ago, I had an acquaintance who was in a horrendous automobile accident. The first thing he said to me when I spoke with him afterwards was, I always knew I’d be in a bad wreck. Some folks would say this statement was a premonition of the future; others would say he caused the situation because he thought about it with intense energy. Other thought systems may blame a person for their illnesses and the trauma in their lives, perhaps saying they have chosen these paths for themselves in order to make up for a past life or to learn something they need to know. This is why I love our teachings so much: It just doesn’t matter! We are learning what our true self is, without the beliefs and fears and supposititious realities we believe to be truth. And that is all that matters. We are learning to know ourselves as the experience of Mind, the reflection of Love, the interpretation of Truth. What a peaceful path to walk! 

"Faith is higher and more spiritual than belief. It is a chrysalis state of human thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever-present, is becoming understood." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 297:20-24

“Irrational thought is disordered thought. God Himself orders your thought because your thought was created by Him. Guilt feelings are always a sign that you do not know this. They also show that you believe you can think apart from God, and want to. Every disordered thought is attended by guilt at its inception, and maintained by guilt in its continuance. Guilt is inescapable by those who believe they order their own thoughts, and must therefore obey their dictates. This makes them feel responsible for their errors without recognizing that, by accepting this responsibility, they are reacting irresponsibly. If the sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement for himself, and I assure you that it is, then the responsibility for what is atoned for cannot be yours. The dilemma cannot be resolved except by accepting the solution of undoing. You would be responsible for the effects of all your wrong thinking if it could not be undone. The purpose of the Atonement is to save the past in purified form only. If you accept the remedy for disordered thought, a remedy whose efficacy is beyond doubt, how can its symptoms remain?” A Course in Miracles T-5.V.7:1-12

No Matter Where You Go, There You Are

“Maybe the only enemy is that we don’t like the way reality is now and therefore wish it would go away fast. But what we find as practitioners is that nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. If we run a hundred miles an hour to the other end of the continent in order to get away from the obstacle, we find the very same problem waiting for us when we arrive. It just keeps returning with new names, forms, manifestations until we learn whatever it has to teach us about where we are separating ourselves from reality, how we are pulling back instead of opening up, closing down instead of allowing ourselves to experience fully whatever we encounter, without hesitating or retreating into ourselves." ~ Pema Chödrön, in "When Things Fall Apart"

“Your whole perspective on the world will shift by just a little, every time you let your mind escape its chains. The world is not where it belongs. And you belong where it would be, and where it goes to rest when you release it from the world.Your Guide is sure. Open your mind to Him. Be still and rest.” A Course in Miracles W-128.7:3-8.     

“The human mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 128:11-19

Taste the Apples

 

Andrea Kowch - Reflections on Humanity, 2017

“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” Louise Erdrich

Grace

People are interesting. Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to what is right and what is wrong. Moral compasses are flipping from one point to another, wildly fluctuating with the opinions of their favorite newscaster or podcast host. Upon waking up this morning, I discovered (via my favorite  news source, YouTube) that a famous actor had  slapped a famous comedian at the Oscars for making a joke about said actor’s wife. It seems this is all people can talk about today. I suppose it’s nice to take a break from the horrors of wars and politics, and I don’t chastise either side of this moral debate. I know I’ve followed Will Smith’s spiritual journey over the last few years and it would be easy for me to judge him for his actions.  I admit to having done so in thought. But this is what those years of spiritual study do for us; they allow us to realize when we’re thinking we could have done something better, or handled something with more wisdom and love than someone else. I hope to more fully understand what the phrase “growth in grace” means, and put it into use in daily life every moment. Namaste …  

“What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 4:3

Awareness

 

Awareness by John Austen

Awareness-

her gaze is so constant,

our every move

watched

with such affection,

a ceaseless vigil

without condition

or agenda,

silent,

patient,

unrelenting in her

embrace.

There is endless room in

the heart of this lover,

infinite space for whatever

foolishness we may

toss her way.

But she is also

crafty, this one-

a thief who will steal away

everything we ever cherished,

all our beliefs,

all our ideas,

all our philosophies,

until nothing is left

but her shimmering

wakefulness,

this simple love

for what is.

The Friend Who Can Be Silent

John Currin - Pistachio, 2016.

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

Henri Nouwen

“Learn to be quiet in the midst of turmoil, for quietness is the end of strife and this is the journey to peace. ⁶Look straight at every image that rises to delay you, for the goal is inevitable because it is eternal. ⁷The goal of love is but your right, and it belongs to you despite your dreams.” A Course in Miracles T-12.II.5:5-7

Still Here …

Photocredit:BlakeLasater

Having heard the news that a good friend passed on this evening, I’ve been thinking about that. Phyllis is certainly as alive to me today as she was yesterday. I can still hear her laughter, see the light in her eyes, feel her excitement about living. As with my dear Kevin, my parents, anyone I have loved who is no longer walking around in their body, they are alive in my sleeping dreams. After having had an adventure with them while asleep, waking up is wonderful because I can still feel their presence. So have they really gone anywhere? I don’t think so. I’m not sure there’s anywhere for them to go. Mary Baker Eddy says the big surprise will be when they wake up and find out they’re not dead. What an adventure awaits us all! Tomorrow is an act of heroism, simply to wake up and love the world. If I don’t wake up in my physical body tomorrow, that, too, will be a great adventure. We are all Spirit. One. We are all the expression, the manifestation of Love. The tears may fall for a while, and that’s just the love overflowing from our bodies. Let’s hold each other close and know there is no end …

“A blundering despatch, mistakenly announcing the death of a friend, occasions the same grief that the friend’s real death would bring. You think that your anguish is occasioned by your loss. Another despatch, correcting the mistake, heals your grief, and you learn that your suffering was merely the result of your belief. You will learn at length that there is no cause for grief, and divine wisdom will then be understood.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 386

Friendship

Today I’m contemplating friendship. I know a man who thinks he is no longer friends with someone if they don’t “keep up” with each other on a regular basis. I find this to be sad, because I have hundreds, maybe thousands of friends, and naturally do not stay in regular contact with most of them. But our connections are unique and beautiful; I cherish them deeply. What fond memories I hold with childhood friends, and social media has enabled us renew our friendships in a way which would not have been possible 20 years ago. And I am grateful. There are a multitude of folks who became friends because our children had connections. The bonds we have made through the friendships of our children are some of my favorites. We have many warm fuzzy memories and love our time together. The people who shared metaphysical meetings are an eclectic group which has continued to grow through the years. Joel Goldsmith said that people who share a spiritual love are bound together throughout eternity. What love is not spiritual? Today I took a woman, who has been a friend for many years, to meet a person who is a good acquaintance through my association with her as an accompanist where she is in the church choir. These two are helping each other in a nurturing and heart-warming way. I’m still glowing from witnessing the interaction between them! Old friends, new friends, close friends, good acquaintances — the list is never ending! The joy it brings is exponential in scope and rich with blessings. And we are grateful …  

“When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.” Kahlil Gibran

Nothing Left But a Blessing

 I like to shop in thrift stores. The thrill of the hunt is a fun hobby and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy using mismatched plates and bowls: I always have a reason to look for another pattern which brings me joy! Now I'm happy when I chip a plate or break a bowl, as I now need a replacement and have a reason to wander around and look at things in my favorite resale shop. Libraries and secondhand stores hold a fascination I can’t quite describe. Not only is there a certain delight associated with finding treasures, but there’s the energy of all the hands these items have passed through. I can imagine who touched the pages before me and wonder if he/she was as excited to be learning about another way of life as I am. In this throw-away society, there’s a certain happiness I feel in not buying things. Exchanging belongings with friends and neighbors adds to the tapestry of life. It’s the little things, don’t you think?

"All your past except its beauty is gone, and nothing is left but a blessing. I have saved all your kindnesses and every loving thought you ever had. I have purified them of the errors that hid their light, and kept them for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond destruction and beyond guilt. They came from the Holy Spirit within you, and we know what God creates is eternal. You can indeed depart in peace because I have loved you as I loved myself. You go with my blessing and for my blessing. Hold it and share it, that it may always be ours. I place the peace of God in your heart and in your hands, to hold and share. The heart is pure to hold it, and the hands are strong to give it. We cannot lose. My judgment is as strong as the wisdom of God, in Whose Heart and Hands we have our being. His quiet children are His blessed Sons. The Thoughts of God are with you.” A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.8:2-15

Anchor of Hope

Photo Credit: Richard Quick

Humans are extremely resilient, and our environment is awesome in its regenerative powers. I am currently reading/listening to The Book of Hope, the latest offering from Jane Goodall. I highly recommend it to everyone! She admits that it is difficult for us to maintain a hopeful attitude in the face of the destruction we are witnessing. She gives an example of hope with a tree which was destroyed during 9/11. While the clean-up was happening, about a month into the process, a remnant of a pear tree was discovered between two large pieces of concrete. It nearly went to the dump, but a woman asked that she be allowed to try to save it. It went to a nursery in the Bronx and survived. It is now planted at the memorial site and is a great inspiration to everyone, particularly those who feel hopeless. She gives another example of camphor trees is Nagasaki. We can all tell about demonstrations of the will to live, and, also, the ability to let go of this material existence gracefully. My friends inspire me with their adaptability and realization that Love is indeed the answer. The meaning of life is love — learning how to feel it, express it, and let it flow into its many forms. I am grateful…

“The nature of Christianity is peaceful and blessed, but in order to enter into the kingdom, the anchor of hope must be cast beyond the veil of matter into the Shekinah into which Jesus has passed before us, and this advance beyond matter must come through the joys and triumphs of the righteous as well as through their sorrows and afflictions. Like our Master, we must depart from material sense into the spiritual sense of being.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health P 40:32

Igor Gruppman Plays Tribute to Ukraine

https://youtu.be/i-jyP2vs30s

As the world watches the destruction of Kyiv, we feel great sadness. A native of this city, Igor Gruppman, is a violinist with the Rotterdam Philharmonic  Orchestra. Recently he performed this tribute to his country. It has been in my head all day and nothing has moved me quite so much as this video, which I share with you here. 

For some reason, this HG Wells quote also has stayed with me today: “We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams.” The Time Machine, 1895

What is Happening?

Do you believe in magic? It’s a good song, that’s for sure. We all want to believe that things can happen just because we think about them, but is that magic? Perhaps it’s simply the way things are. Thought is powerful. Tonight I watched a documentary called “You Can’t Kill Meme”. Frightening stuff, but I’m finally beginning to understand what has happened to us in the past few years. The mind control being exercised by large groups of people is scary, but what of the few people who utilize the internet to exponentially heighten their thought manifestation? To quote one man, “Introduce an element of chaos to break down social hierarchies.” Without citing specific instances, what I’ve ultimately taken away from this informative video is that we must be pure in our reflection of Love and its energy. There was one woman who came closest to my way of looking at the task before us as “lightworkers”, but unfortunately she wandered off into the ozone, talking about Obama being a time traveler and going to Mars. Let’s stay on point! I have friends who are working for Truth and Love by the food they ingest and the information they spread about a pure way of living. There are many paths and we all have a purpose. Let’s not be afraid to spread love and joy!

“One of the ways in which you can correct the magic-miracle confusion is to remember that you did not create yourself.²You are apt to forget this when you become egocentric, and this puts you in a position where a belief in magic is virtually inevitable. ³Your will to create was given you by your Creator, Who was expressing the same Will in His creation. ⁴Since creative ability rests in the mind, everything you create is necessarily a matter of will. ⁵It also follows that whatever you alone make is real in your own sight, though not in the Mind of God. ⁶This basic distinction leads directly into the real meaning of the Last Judgment.”

A Course in Miracles - T-2.VIII