An End to Polarization

 

People have become extremely polarized in their views about almost everything. Yet, a recent study by the University of Maryland found that voters place more importance on accountability through direct dialogue with their elected officials than they do on party identity. This give us hope that people are NOT irrationally polarized and will never change. This study is based on conversations with more than 4,000 voters. The findings start out a bit pessimistic with more than 90% of them believing our lawmakers have little interest in we the people’s views. But when asked if it would matter if a candidate promised always to consult his or her constituents and give their recommendations higher priority than the view of the candidates’ party leadership — more than 7 in 10 said it would, and 60% of those questioned said they would cross party lines to vote for a candidate making that pledge. More than 70% said that the majority of the public, as a whole, is more likely to show the greatest wisdom on questions of what the government should do — rather than relying on either party’s platform. And so we are not as polarized as it might seem! But we must talk to each other in order to discover that most of us are rational human beings. Let’s hold on to that thought!

“When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 205:22-27

The savior’s vision is as innocent of what your brother is as it is free of any judgment made upon yourself. It sees no past in anyone at all. And thus it serves a wholly open mind, unclouded by old concepts, and prepared to look on only what the present holds. It cannot judge because it does not know. And recognizing this, it merely asks, ‘What is the meaning of what I behold?’ Then is the answer given. And the door held open for the face of Christ to shine upon the one who asks, in innocence, to see beyond the veil of old ideas and ancient concepts held so long and dear against the vision of the Christ in you.” A Course in Miracles T-31.VII.13:1-7

More Peaceful Every Day

Photo credit: Arthur Bruno

Growing More Peaceful Every Day  — These are the words written on a pillow a friend gave me. Through the decades, my idea of what constitutes peace has evolved. In younger days, the only peace I wanted was during sleep. The rest of the time was happily busy with people and learning things. Then came the years spent partying, which I don't think were peaceful, but memory is rather foggy during that time. Motherhood brought a certain peace to my restless soul, but it was full of the activity of child rearing and caring for a home where my boys’ friends were always welcome. Following that was the relative quiet of running a business. The practice of relating to others in a peaceful manner was my education during that decade. Finally, I now understand it's not what I'm doing, but how I'm experiencing it. The peace which seemed fleeting is possible in every moment, and not because there is nothing to do, but because I enjoy every single moment without judging it against anything from the past or wishing it to be different in the future. Ah, the bliss of a quiet(er) mind!

"Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still. Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait and listen for Your Voice. Speak to me today. I come to hear Your Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and answer me." A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #221

“Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,--this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 323:32-2

Communion?

Baby Communion

I’ve been contemplating the traditional religious act of communion. I play the organ for three congregations, two of which are Catholic, so I needn’t think about it in that church, as you must be one of them to partake in this ritual. But the second church I play for on Sunday morning is Presbyterian. They offer communion once a month, and today was the day. They also have numerous preachers who come on different Sundays, so they usually try to get me to eat and drink the body of Christ. Having been raised in Christian Science, I had never witnessed this process until I began playing for mainline religions six years ago. When I played for the Methodists a few years back, I asked the pastor if it was rude to decline when it was offered. He assured me it was not. I certainly would have done it if their feelings were going to be hurt, as I’m not saying “no” on moral grounds or anything like that. The Mary Baker Eddy quote below explains how I feel. To me, communion is a moment-by-moment, constant spiritualization of thought. And so it is …

“Our baptism is a purification from all error. Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love. We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick. Our Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread, ‘which cometh down from heaven,’ is Truth. Our cup is the cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 35:19-28

“Communion is impossible alone. No one who stands apart can receive Christ’s vision. It is held out to him, but he cannot hold out his hand to receive it. Let him be still and recognize his brother’s need is his own. And let him then meet his brother’s need as his and see that they are met as one, for such they are. What is religion but an aid in helping him to see that this is so?” A Course in Miracles P-2.II.9:1-8

Change Something …

 

Unknown artist 

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said.. 

A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made.. 

Or a garden planted.. 

Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, 

and when people look at that tree 

or that flower you planted, you're there..

It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something 

from the way it was before you touched it 

into something that's like you 

after you take your hands away.. 

The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said.. 

The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all..

the gardener will be there a lifetime.”

-Ray Bradbury

“Never accord the ego the power to interfere with the journey. It has none, because the journey is the way to what is true. Leave all illusions behind, and reach beyond all attempts of the ego to hold you back. I go before you because I am beyond the ego. Reach, therefore, for my hand because you want to transcend the ego. My strength will never be wanting, and if you choose to share it you will do so. I give it willingly and gladly, because I need you as much as you need me.” A Course in Miracles T-8.V.6:4-10

“It is of comparatively little importance what a man thinks or believes he knows; the good that a man does is the one thing needful and the sole proof of rightness.” Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 281: 8

Seeing Through Awakened Eyes

Photo credit: Alden Stallings

We are aghast at the injustice which seems rampant everywhere we look. How have we allowed corruption to reign supreme? Why is our food poison, our water scarce, the things we value meaningless? Why do we allow it to happen? The recognition of our unity is a major turning point in our evolution. With the knowledge that everything is connected, that what affects one affects all, we are prompted to stand up and make the change within ourselves that we would like to see in the world. This interconnectedness of All that Is was first shown to me by my Beagle, Harry. He was so sensitive to feelings around him that the mildest irritation on my part would send him to the deepest corner of the closet, where he would remain until I had "cleared my energy field" -- so to speak. We have within our Being the ability to change the world. True evolution is the evolution of consciousness. What a wonderful thing, to see through awakened eyes! To wake up from the hypnosis we have allowed ourselves to fall under is a very exciting proposition, don’t you think? Reality, as we have accepted it, is falling away to reveal a way of life we have believed to be impossible. Love is the liberator. Embrace the change which is moving away from human intellect, back into the space of the heart. Open yourself to the divine and live as you were created: free. Accept your reality as the reflection of God, with no fear, only Love guiding your every action. Live Love now! Hallelujah and Namaste!

“The mind that serves the Holy Spirit is unlimited forever, in all ways, beyond the laws of time and space, unbound by any preconceptions, and with strength and power to do whatever it is asked. Attack thoughts cannot enter such a mind, because it has been given to the Source of love, and fear can never enter in a mind that has attached itself to love. It rests in God. And who can be afraid who lives in Innocence, and only loves?” A Course in Miracles W-199.2:1-4

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 49:16-22

What Do You Believe Is Possible?

 

Muir Trail

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

“If you want to change your dog's behavior, you first have to change your belief of what you think is possible." This statement was made by Cesar Milan, a/k/a The Dog Whisperer. I've quoted this mindful man many times in the past, and his words have brought me guidance and comfort. We, as people, tend to hold on to our learned behaviors, keeping ourselves and our animals stuck in place even when we recognize the need to move upward in thought. Our expectations are powerful hindrances or goals for forward movement. My dog teaches me many things, but the most important is how I sabotage myself with my fixed way of seeing myself and others. Calm, assertive behavior brings an instant karma which shows Truth mirrored forth in both myself and those I see as others!

"This mortal is put off, and the new man or real man is put on, in proportion as mortals realize the Science of man and seek the true model." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 408:22-26

“Freedom must be impossible as long as you perceive a body as yourself. The body is a limit. Who would seek for freedom in a body looks for it where it can not be found. The mind can be made free when it no longer sees itself as in a body, firmly tied to it and sheltered by its presence. If this were the truth, the mind were vulnerable indeed!” A Course in Miracles W-199.1:1-5

Love, Truth, and You

Photo credit: Alden Stallings

The Little Paris Bookshop is an exquisitely-written novel. It's a love story on many levels. If you love food, or people, or romance, and especially if you love books, this story will pick you up and take you to  places you may have been afraid to visit before reading it. The main character has a bookstore which is floating on a barge in the Seine. He calls his business The Book Apothecary and he prescribes specific books for the needs of his customers. This story explores the limitations we put on love and leads us to see that Love is truly all there is. There may seem to be other things -- lots of them! -- but ultimately it comes down to choosing between what you've decided is truth and what Truth actually is. There were many parts of this book which illustrated that it really doesn't matter what we think; truth is truth no matter what we may believe. The One we are may not be the one we seem to be!

"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." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 340:21-29

“Love does not limit, and what it creates is not limited. To give without limit is God’s Will for you, because only this can bring you the joy that is His and that He wills to share with you. Your love is as boundless as His because it is His.” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.I.6:6-8

How Far Do We Go?

 

What do you do if you have an acquaintance or neighbor who is asking for monetary assistance on a regular basis, but doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help himself out of the hole he’s in? I recently visited with seldom-seen friends who had this situation with one of their neighbors. They had offered to teach him a trade so he could support himself, but it seems he’s so deeply involved with drugs that he has no desire to work at lifting himself up. What to do? I don’t see any set responses to these situations. I’ve known single mothers who are indeed victims of life’s circumstances and need a foot up to keep on going. And I’ve seen people who appear to be users, hoping to get by all their lives on what others will give them. I know that if someone is in need sitting on the sidewalk, I’ll give him what I can, and if the person chooses to buy alcohol, so be it. That’s where he is and that’s what he needs. I think we must trust our gut feelings in these situations. I wish there was a set answer to life’s tough problems, but it doesn’t seem that’s possible. Let’s keep on loving each other and looking for answers. Namaste…

“Charity is a way of looking at another as if he had already gone far beyond his actual accomplishments in time. Since his own thinking is faulty he cannot see the Atonement for himself, or he would have no need of charity. The charity that is accorded him is both an acknowledgment that he needs help, and a recognition that he will accept it. Both of these perceptions clearly imply their dependence on time, making it apparent that charity still lies within the limitations of this world. I said before that only revelation transcends time. The miracle, as an expression of charity, can only shorten it. It must be understood, however, that whenever you offer a miracle to another, you are shortening the suffering of both of you. This corrects retroactively as well as progressively.” A Course in Miracles T-2.V.10:1-8

“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.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:15-19 

Releasing the Future

What does it mean to release the future? We've learned that we must release the past in order to live in the present. "Those who live in the past are condemned to live there alone." (Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman) But what of releasing the future? Does that mean we can't make plans and have dreams of what we'd like to do? No, of course not. It simply means that we mustn't allow those "what-if" situations to control us. If we take the future to the level of constant worry, affecting our every moment in the present, then it's time to release it! I feel there is nothing wrong with thinking about the past or the future, unless it begins to be our focus. With no fear of the future, nor regret in the past, I am free to live in the eternal now — Woo-hoo!

“I place the future in the Hands of God. The past is gone; the future is not yet. Now am I freed from both. For what God gives can only be for good. And I accept but what He gives as what belongs to me. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” A Course in Miracles W-214.1:1-8

“As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer ground.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 224:4-7

What Can We Do?

Grandbaby Torin 

What Can We Do? This is an editorial addressing school shootings from Mark Sappenfield, Editor of the Christian Science Monitor. June 13, 2022 edition. 

“In the days after 9/11, we published a story that Monitor readers still talk about to this day. The headlines was ‘Why do they hate us?’ And the article asked the question that a confused nation most needed. It interrupted the spiral of despair and instead reset readers on a new footing: Why did this happen, and how do we begin to address it? 

The same thought has been present in our conversations at the Monitor. The news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was numbing. The national conversations about guns, mental health, and school safety repeat with no discernible change. The miasma seems thick enough to deaden the soul and dash any sense of hope. Uvalde’s question is: What can we do?

In the days following the shooting, The Monitor offered its answer to that question in a special issue of the Daily based on one conviction: This is unacceptable. This week’s news section likewise focuses on the Search for Solutions to this seemingly intractable problem.

The Monitor’s job is not to prescribe paths forward. It is to show they are possible. How the United States finds progress is for Americans to decide. For years, the Monitor has looked around every corner and under every stone for different options. In the wake of this latest tragedy, we explore several more coming to the surface. But continuing to live with the slaughter of children in schools is not an option. We can do better than the status quo, and defending our freedoms is not at odds with protesting lives. Uvalde, Parkland, and Sandy Hook are screaming signs of something that is broken and needs to be fixed.

Too often, values and freedoms are pitted against one another as a zero-sum either/or. Someone wins, someone loses. The Monitor rejects that thinking. Solutions are often imperfect, but they can light a way forward and reveal the unity that makes us stronger, not weaker. And finding a way to keep schoolchildren safe does not seem too unreasonable a demand.”

Give Me Away …

Best Friends Forever

Tina Cone and Lin Wellford

Lin - July 28, 1951 - April 13, 2022

Lin Wellford’s memorial service was today. Even though I could not be there with her friends and family, I thought of her often. And words from  this poem kept running through my head all day …

“Epitaph" by Merrit Malloy

“When I die

Give what’s left of me away

To children

And old men that wait to die.

And if you need to cry,

Cry for your brother

Walking the street beside you.

And when you need me,

Put your arms

Around anyone

And give them

What you need to give to me.

I want to leave you something,

Something better

Than words

Or sounds.

Look for me

In the people I’ve known

Or loved,

And if you cannot give me away,

At least let me live on your eyes

And not on your mind.

Hands touch hands,

By letting

Bodies touch bodies,

And by letting go

Of children

That need to be free.

 

Love doesn’t die,

People do.

So, when all that’s left of me

Is love,

Give me away.”

Poem by Merrit Malloy

“Can you be separated from your life and your being? The journey to God is merely the reawakening of the knowledge of where you are always, and what you are forever. It is a journey without distance to a goal that has never changed. Truth can only be experienced. It cannot be described and it cannot be explained. I can make you aware of the conditions of truth, but the experience is of God. Together we can meet its conditions, but truth will dawn upon you of itself.” 

A Course in Miracles T-8.VI.9:5-11

“Question. — What is Life?

Answer. — Life is divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit. Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite. Life is neither in nor of matter. What is termed matter is unknown to Spirit, which includes in itself all substance and is Life eternal. Matter is a human concept. Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited. Death and finiteness are unknown to Life. If Life ever had a beginning, it would also have an ending.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 468:25

Super Brain

 

Richard and I at Andy Warhol Exhibit

A book titled “Super Brain” by Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi is bringing me affirmation of many things I’ve witnessed in people, particularly during the pandemic isolation and beyond. The first chapter speaks to things people do which exercise their brain and the value of those activities. Something mentioned is how we may get up in the morning, do the same thing that we do every day, think the same things we think every day, without challenging or stretching ourselves in any way. This, they say, is a recipe for dementia and disease. Learning new things, reading about topics you do not understand and deeply thinking about that information, learning new languages — or contract bridge! — there are many activities we can do to keep our thinking fresh and our lives exciting and fun. I have a dear friend who takes me on adventures regularly. Although I would prefer to stay in my home and do things I love, he takes me outside of my little world and opens my mind to experiences I would not ordinarily have. I hope you have a friend like Richard!

“I ask to see a different world, and think a different kind of thought from those I made. The world I seek I did not make alone, the thoughts I want to think are not my own.” A Course in Miracles W-131.11:3-4

“We are all capable of more than we do. The influence or action of Soul confers a freedom, which explains the phenomena of improvisation and the fervor of untutored lips.” Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 89:21 

Educating Our Children

Fun new experiences

When I was a child, education seemed fairly straightforward. We all went to primary school, very few people we knew were functionally illiterate, and no one we knew thought the earth was flat. Today it’s a different scene. I hear tell that around 50% of the people in the United States cannot read on a 7th grade level, and that an alarming percentage believe the sun rotates around the earth. The recent pandemic changed the face of education, and time will tell if we have learned anything from those events. We see steps in the right direction. Tennessee has started a statewide tutoring program to get their students back to the “normal” level, and it will help around 150,000 students. Worldwide, we are also seeing baby steps. In Ethiopia, more than 2 million children are currently out of school, due to war, drought, flooding, and other circumstances. They have begun an accelerated learning program where in 10 months the first three years of school can be taught, allowing the children to enter school in 4th grade. This program is held in brightly decorated spaces with a focus on music and games in order to encourage a sense of joy. Perhaps this is the solution: bring the joy of learning back to school. If children are happy in school, feeling comfortable and safe, they will learn. We can do this …

“Child of God, you were created to create the good, the beautiful and the holy. Do not forget this. The Love of God, for a little while, must still be expressed through one body to another, because vision is still so dim. You can use your body best to help you enlarge your perception so you can achieve real vision, of which the physical eye is incapable. Learning to do this is the body’s only true usefulness.” A Course in Miracles T-1.VII.2:1-5

“Eternal Truth is changing the universe. As mortals drop off their mental swaddling-clothes, thought expands into expression. ‘Let there be light,’ is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page255:1 

Tribalism …?

 

I’ve never understood this thing we call tribalism. I have a friend who mentions the idea so often that I decided to delve into the topic. Starting with the definition of tribalism, I realize I know what it is, but I want to understand why we exhibit this tendency. As the Universe would have it, many writings have come my way concerning this phenomenon. Two recent issues of my favorite news magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, have looked at what we have done to indigenous people in our country and neighboring Canada. Then, for no reason other than the title, I chose the audiobook, “The Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger. This beautifully-written book takes us into the lives of young people who were forced into indigenous residential schools. While everything I learn is eye-opening, it doesn’t tell me why we the people exhibit this us-against-them behavior. I’m not sure anything can explain it to me because I’ve never had the desire to be with a certain group of people, and usually haven’t even noticed there are groups. But I have become more aware, in my later life, that many have suffered greatly because of these divisions. And so I will pay attention and put my energies into neutralizing these odd separations we have fostered. Namaste …

“A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct. This sense of separation would never have arisen if you had not distorted your perception of truth, and had thus perceived yourself as lacking. The idea of order of needs arose because, having made this fundamental error, you had already fragmented yourself into levels with different needs. As you integrate you become one, and your needs become one accordingly. Unified needs lead to unified action, because this produces a lack of conflict.” A Course in Miracles T-1.VI.2:1-5

“As the Psalmist saith, ‘Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.’ It is indeed a city of the Spirit, fair, royal, and square. Northward, its gates open to the North Star, the Word, the polar magnet of Revelation; eastward, to the star seen by the Wisemen of the Orient, who followed it to the manger of Jesus; southward, to the genial tropics, with the Southern Cross in the skies, — the Cross of Calvary, which binds human society into solemn union; westward, to the grand realization of the Golden Shore of Love and the Peaceful Sea of Harmony.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 572:11

Lending Ourselves to Each Other

 

“The Junes” with me in Eureka Thyme

Circa 2012

For several years, I shied away from one of my 90-year-old neighbors because it seemed there was no such thing as a short visit with her. She would tell me things I didn't want to know about her family and other people, so I began to avoid her. One morning she was sitting on her porch and asked for my help. Her phone was not working and it was connected to a Lifeline button which she could push if she needed help. She was very concerned about being alone without it, so I told her I'd come over every hour until her phone line was repaired. As we sat on her porch, she started talking about herself, from childhood through more recent times, and it was fascinating! She told me the happiest times of her life had been picking cotton with her sisters in the 1930s on a farm in Mississippi. Every visit brought me new stories from her life. When she wandered into condemnation of others, I would simply tell her I had to go, but would be back soon and wanted to hear more stories about her -- not others. It was like watching a documentary -- and I'm glad I was tuned in! She’s gone now and although I’ve forgotten all of her gossipy news, I remember some delightful looks into her life experience — and I am grateful. 

“The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father’s loving-kindness.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science and Health Page 365:31-2

“As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work miracles belongs to you. I will provide the opportunities to do them, but you must be ready and willing. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, because conviction comes through accomplishment.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.III.1:6-10

Searching …

Photo by Dale Johnson

“Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" is a documentary on small-town life in the south of the United States. I watched in fascination, realizing for the first time what people find in so-called "holy-roller" churches. In their feverish love of God, they find the pleasure they crave. We see others in these small towns turn to mood-elevating drugs for the same reason. One person in the movie says that everyone is "lonely for God" in these desolate towns. Another line which struck me was this: "He was just a regular ol' Southern lunatic. In his quest for union, he ended up being more separate than ever." There is such truth to be found in their longing! I longed with them as they jumped up and down, speaking in tongues and dancing in odd jerky movements. There wasn't much difference in the drunken barroom scenes on Saturday night and the gyrations of the Sunday morning gatherings. They're all looking for the same thing: They want to fill the emptiness inside. They want excitement, fun, a way to pass time without feeling alone. I can't keep from thinking of how they would be set free with the knowledge of their true Being. I cannot change how anyone else understands this, only myself. Since I know that “what blesses one blesses all”, I want to really know this — not just believe, but understand; not intellectually, but with my heart. Namaste …

“As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God.”Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 283:1

“Father, our eyes are opening at last. Your holy world awaits us, as our sight is finally restored and we can see. We thought we suffered. But we had forgot the Son whom You created. Now we see that darkness is our own imagining, and light is there for us to look upon. Christ’s vision changes darkness into light, for fear must disappear when love has come. Let me forgive Your holy world today, that I may look upon its holiness and understand it but reflects my own.”

A Course in Miracles W-302.1:1-7

Slipping Into Peace

 

Salt Flats - photo by Aaron Springston

While listening to a friend recount details of a past painful event, my thought turned to a favorite book by Eckhart Tolle and a parable he often tells in his videos. In the book, A New Earth, he relates a story of two monks walking down the road. They see a young woman, dressed in white, attempting to cross the muddy roadway. One of the monks picks her up and carries her to the other side and they go on their way. A few hours later, the other monk says, You shouldn’t have carried that woman across the road; we don’t do that. The carrier responds: I put her down hours ago, but it looks like you’re still carrying her!  It’s easy to carry grudges and supposed hurts inflicted on us, taking events out and reliving them at the slightest provocation. I’m ready to put these things down and stop blaming someone else for the burden I’m carrying. What a wonderful freedom!

“In Him you have no cares and no concerns, no burdens, no anxiety, no pain, no fear of future and no past regrets. In timelessness you rest, while time goes by without its touch upon you, for your rest can never change in any way at all. You rest today. And as you close your eyes, sink into stillness. Let these periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that all its frantic fantasies were but the dreams of fever that has passed away. Let it be still and thankfully accept its healing. No more fearful dreams will come, now that you rest in God. Take time today to slip away from dreams and into peace.” A Course in Miracles W-109.5:1-8

“Progress is born of experience. It is the ripening of mortal man, through which the mortal is dropped for the immortal. Either here or hereafter, suffering or Science must destroy all illusions regarding life and mind, and regenerate material sense and self. The old man with his deeds must be put off. Nothing sensual or sinful is immortal. The death of a false material sense and of sin, not the death of organic matter, is what reveals man and Life, harmonious, real, and eternal.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 296:3-16

Would I Do It Again?

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

Today has brought me reasons to examine the choices we make. My main question for myself is: If I know something will be detrimental to my emotional and mental well-being, is there a reason I would choose to do it anyway? This contemplation has led me to revisit some “bad” choices I’ve made in my past. These are not regrets or obsessions, but a simple questioning of myself about why I did these things and if I would do them again. While I’ve decided I would indeed repeat the questionable behavior, I don’t think I would handle the consequences in the same manner. We are learning that everything we do is either done from love or it is a call for love, and I see how this pertains to these past events. And if I’m not happy with my choices, I’m grateful for the ability and opportunity to choose again. 

“As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality! Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ Like the archpriests of yore, man is free ‘to enter into the holiest, — the realm of God.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 480:31

“The only judgment involved is the Holy Spirit’s one division into two categories; one of love, and the other the call for love. You cannot safely make this division, for you are much too confused either to recognize love, or to believe that everything else is nothing but a call for love. You are too bound to form, and not to content. What you consider content is not content at all. It is merely form, and nothing else. For you do not respond to what a brother really offers you, but only to the particular perception of his offering by which the ego judges it.” A Course in Miracles T-14.X.7:1-6

Growing Wiser and Wilder

Novel Women Book Club 

My forever-friend, Sandy Starbird, reminded us of these thoughts which were written by Donna Ashworth and posted on Tree Sisters: Women Seeding Change. We can all take this to heart, no matter our gender…

“There comes a day, somewhere in the middle of every woman’s life, when Mother Nature herself stands behind us and wraps her arms around our shoulders, whispering

‘It’s time.’

You have taken enough now. It’s time to stop growing up, stop growing older and start growing wiser and wilder.

There are adventures still waiting on you and this time, you will enjoy them with the vision of wisdom and the companionship of hindsight, and you will really let go.

It’s time to stop the madness of comparison and the ridicule of schedule and conformity and start experiencing the joys that a life, free of containment and guilt, can bring.’

She will shake your shoulders gently and remind you that you’ve done your bit. You’ve given too much, cared too much, you’ve suffered too much.

You’ve bought the book, as it were, and worn the t-shirt.

Worse, you’ve worn the chains and carried the weight of a burden far too heavy for your shoulders.

‘It’s time’ she will say.

Let it go, really let it go and feel the freedom of the fresh, clean spaces within you. Fill them with discovery, love and laughter. Fill yourself so full you will no longer fear what is ahead and instead you will greet each day with the excitement of a child.’

She will remind you that if you choose to stop caring what other people think of you and instead care what you think of you, you will experience a new era of your life you never dreamed possible.

‘It’s time’ she will say…

to write the ending, or new beginning, of your own story.” ~ Donna Ashworth

“Be confident that you have never lost your Identity and the extensions which maintain It in wholeness and peace. Miracles are an expression of this confidence. They are reflections of both your proper identification with your brothers, and of your awareness that your identification is maintained by extension. The miracle is a lesson in total perception. By including any part of totality in the lesson, you have included the whole.” 

A Course in Miracles T-7.IX.7:1-10

“Truth will at length compel us all to exchange the pleasures and pains of sense for the joys of Soul.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 390:9-11

Living The Four Agreements

Numerous times in these writings I’ve recommended the practice of The Four Agreements, which is ancient Toltec wisdom as interpreted by Don Miguel Ruiz. The events we are watching unfold in our political scene could have been avoided if people would simply follow these agreements: “Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best.” This last admonition can be augmented by something attributed to Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Simple advice, huh? As much as I’d love to feed these words into everyone’s belief system, I know I cannot. I can only change my mind, my beliefs, my way of life. And so I will…

“Today the holy Word of God is kept through your receiving it to give away, so you can teach the world what giving means by listening and learning it of Him. Do not forget today to reinforce your choice to hear and to receive the Word by this reminder, given to yourself as often as is possible today: Let me be still and listen to the truth. I am the messenger of God today, my voice is His, to give what I receive.” A Course in Miracles W-106.10:1-4

“A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 463:23-13