Might There Be Another Way?

 

I love Marianne Williamson’s morning meditation from August 23, and so I’m sending it to you. 

“Today I consider that there might be another way

We were all indoctrinated into a disenchanted world, and we’ve sacrificed a lot in order to live here. The world isn’t better off for having forfeited its tenderness. The meanness and cynicism of our age, the reflexive sarcasm that passes for intelligent reflection, the suspicion and judgment of everyone and everything – such are toxic by-products of a disenchanted worldview.

Many of us went off that wheel of suffering. We don’t want to accept that what is is what has to be. We want to pierce the veil of illusion that separates us from a world of infinite possibility. We want another kind of life for ourselves and for the world. We are considering that there might be another way – a door to miraculous realms simply waiting to be opened.

Today I consider that there might be another way” Marianne Williamson

“You cannot stop with the idea the world is worthless, for unless you see that there is something else to hope for, you will only be depressed. Our emphasis is not on giving up the world, but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. Think you this world can offer that to you?” 

A Course in Miracles W-129.1:2-4

“How are veritable ideas to be distinguished from illusions? By learning the origin of each. Ideas are emanations from the divine Mind. Thoughts, proceeding from the brain or from matter, are offshoots of mortal mind; they are mortal material beliefs. Ideas are spiritual, harmonious, and eternal.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 88:9-13

The Blossom Shines Through the Bud

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

When David Hoffmeister was "called" to go on the road and talk to people about the teachings of A Course in Miracles, he didn't know how he would have the funds to do this. He was told by Spirit that all his needs would be supplied, but he didn't believe that. David is a man with excessive formal education, including knowledge of economics, and so he felt certain that Jesus simply didn't understand how the world worked. We tend to think of people like Buddha and St. Francis and Jesus as being beggars of sorts. They didn't make a lot of money, but trusted in the Universe to provide. David was being asked to rely on Spirit to articulate this new/old curriculum. He was being led to teach using everything available -- music, dance, lectures, gatherings -- to help others express deep Love and peace.  The reign of peace has begun, and many people are fighting against it. Let's not be concerned with that. Let's put our energy where it will grow -- on this peaceful transition. Christ consciousness is coming out of hiding and we're being called to help everyone see (by way of our own sight) that this is not some esoteric thing which must be kept secret. It's to be shouted from the rooftops! Fear not, shine your light, call forth witnesses to this light -- and above all, don't tone down your joy!

“Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:19-21

“You have been called, together with your brother, to the most holy function this world contains. It is the only one that has no limits, and reaches out to every broken fragment of the Sonship with healing and uniting comfort. This is offered you, in your holy relationship. Accept it here, and you will give as you have accepted. The peace of God is given you with the glowing purpose in which you join with your brother. The holy light that brought you and him together must extend, as you accepted it.” 

A Course in Miracles T-18.I.13:1-6

Reinterpreting Illusions

 

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Taken in a vineyard in France

We live in a world with many laws to protect us, such as wearing motorcycle helmets and seat belts in cars. Yet the items we find in our grocery stores are filled with chemicals and other things which can barely be classified as food. We are told to use pesticides on ourselves, our gardens, our pets, even though the rates of autoimmune disease and cancer climb steadily. Yet I truly think there IS a spiritual solution to all the things which seem impossibly horrible. I'm not suggesting we hide under the covers and pretend everything is all right, but rather that we recognize the difference in spiritual truth and material illusion. This reinterpretation is similar to what we do when looking down train tracks when they seem to come together, appearing to end, even though we know perfectly well they continue. The proof before our eyes is terribly convincing and it takes a bit of thought, perhaps study, to understand why it is an illusion. Remember how long it took for “us” to realize we wouldn’t fall off the edge of the world if we got in a ship and sailed towards the horizon? There seems to be much to fear when we look out at the world, but when we look inward, we hear truth in the silence. We are nearing a tipping point and every thought is important. Keep up the good work everyone!

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 227:24-28

“All this beauty will rise to bless your sight as you look upon the world with forgiving eyes. For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past. The smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.” 

A Course in Miracles T-17.II.6:1-3

Anchored With Love

 

First United Methodist Church of Eureka Springs

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

When churches are in the news, it’s often because they’ve done something racist, or selfish, or ridiculous. We hear about those things, but how often do we hear of small churches doing great things? I read an article about Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, Mississippi. One woman said, “We’re not trying to be fake. We’re trying to fix Mississippi so we can say that we do love each other. If anyone ever wants to learn about race and how to overcome the problems we all face, come to Little Zion. We teach love.” This little town has many problems, including extreme racism, prejudice, and economic challenges. One person quoted Elie Wiesel, who was sent to a concentration camp when he was 15 and witnessed his father, mother, and sister’s death. He chronicled his ordeal in the book, “Night”, and he assures us that night does indeed turn into dawn. To quote from his memoir, “Open Heart”: “Even in darkness, it is possible to create light and encourage compassion.” I pray that each one of us, along with the residents of Greenwood, Mississippi, will continue to bring light to the darkness. To quote Mr. Wiesel again: “Even in exile, friendship exists and can become an anchor”. Namaste, dear friends...

"The Church is that institution which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas..." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 582:14

“A church that does not inspire love has a hidden altar that is not serving the purpose for which God intended it. I [Jesus] must found His church on you, because those who accept me as a model are literally my disciples. Disciples are followers, and if the model they follow has chosen to save them pain in all respects, they are unwise not to follow him.” 

A Course in Miracles  T-6.I.8:5-7

Effects Without a Cause

 

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

[the use of his photograph does not indicate he agrees with what I say]

When listening to a youtube audio recording of Joel Goldsmith from the early 1960s, time and again the subjects he broached were things which have become major disruptions in our daily living today. As an overview of the many specifics, he says that if all the people in universities were studying ways to save humanity rather than ruin it, the world would be a utopia. He mentions marketing and the selling of yucky things to us, he talks about war and how we’ve convinced ourselves it’s okay to kill others if it’s to protect ourselves, he dares to say religious doctrine is leading us down hopeless paths. And here we are today, ruled by marketing and media, killing each other at an alarming rate, watching environmental disruptions roil up all around. As I write this, I know that no matter how upset I become about events, it will do nothing to rectify what has been done. I am reminded of a Paulo Coelho quote which goes something like this: We cannot change the past, but what we do in the present rectifies the past and changes the future. I’m going to listen to more Joel Goldsmith tomorrow and keep an open heart and mind, trusting myself to recognize paths of righteousness. 

“Speaking of the origin of mortals, a famous naturalist says: ‘It is very possible that many general statements now current, about birth and generation, will be changed with the progress of information.’ Had the naturalist, through his tireless researches, gained the diviner side in Christian Science, — so far apart from his material sense of animal growth and organization, — he would have blessed the human race more abundantly.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 548: 18-25

“The plans you make for safety all are laid within the future, where you cannot plan. No purpose has been given it as yet, and what will happen has as yet no cause. Who can predict effects without a cause? And who could fear effects unless he thought they had been caused, and judged disastrous now? Belief in sin arouses fear, and like its cause, is looking forward, looking back, but overlooking what is here and now. Yet only here and now its cause must be, if its effects already have been judged as fearful. And in overlooking this, is it protected and kept separate from healing. For a miracle is now. It stands already here, in present grace, within the only interval of time that sin and fear have overlooked, but which is all there is to time.” 

A Course in Miracles T-26.VIII.5:1-9

Caring For Those in Need

 

Characters in Ted Lasso

Most of us have friends experiencing maladies of a physical, mental, and/or emotional nature. We all have roles to play in the care and comfort of these friends. My main focus has always been on seeing through the material illusion to the spiritual truth. But recently I’m finding myself called to address, one-on-one, situations with people who need help in various physical ways. Of course, every situation is individual and many factors come into consideration. Whereas, I may be able to joke with one friend about her memory loss, another one might be in denial or take offense to me making “light” of it. One friend and I can laugh about cancer and the effects of chemotherapy, but another might burst into tears at the thought of their possible demise. Our conversations with others is not a one-size-fits-all response, and a good amount of empathy is required in any given moment. I’ve never been one to ignore the elephant sitting in the middle of the room; I like to talk to it and ask if there’s anything I can do for it. And so I find myself finding ways to commiserate and care without exacerbating the problem by heaping on excess sympathy. Every day brings new ways to express Love!

“What Comforter can there be for the sick children of God except His power through you? Remember that it does not matter where in the Sonship He is accepted. He is always accepted for all, and when your mind receives Him the remembrance of Him awakens throughout the Sonship. Heal your brothers simply by accepting God for them. Your minds are not separate, and God has only one channel for healing because He has but one Son. God’s remaining Communication Link with all His children joins them together, and them to Him. To be aware of this is to heal them because it is the awareness that no one is separate, and so no one is sick.” 

A Course in Miracles T-10.III.2:1-7

“Speak the truth to every form of error. Tumors, ulcers, tubercles, inflammation, pain, deformed joints, are waking dream-shadows, dark images of mortal thought, which flee before the light of Truth.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 418:28-31

Unity in Times of Turmoil

 

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The people of Ukraine have discovered their unity in surprising ways. One woman’s church was hit by a Russian missile. She told of people coming to clean up the debris and salvage what could be saved. She said neighbors who were self-proclaimed atheists were working side by side with the parishioners of the Transfiguration Cathedral. She was crying tears of joy because of the newfound camaraderie with her neighborhood. The reporter who wrote the article interviewed many older citizens who had always spoken the Russian language, but have recently learned to speak Ukrainian in solidarity with their fellow countrymen. There is a youth camp in Odesa where it’s recognized that children need to be children, and here they are free to laugh and play. At the same time, they realize many of these kids are emotionally troubled by what they have experienced, and they address the problems head on.  In reading the many instances of people becoming stronger and more compassionate because of the daily battles, there was a realization that the people of American are finding ways to stand in solidarity, too. It’s been a tough seven years. We’ve been lied to, manipulated, mocked, and it has been relentless. We need each other. We need to recognize our similarities while we heal and find our footing again. There is much work to be done, but let’s not forget to share joy with our neighbors. It’s cleansing and energizing!

“If you would look upon love, which is the world’s reality, how could you do better than to recognize, in every defense against it, the underlying appeal for it? And how could you better learn of its reality than by answering the appeal for it by giving it? The Holy Spirit’s interpretation of fear does dispel it, for the awareness of truth cannot be denied. Thus does the Holy Spirit replace fear with love and translate error into truth. And thus will you learn of Him how to replace your dream of separation with the fact of unity. For the separation is only the denial of union, and correctly interpreted, attests to your eternal knowledge that union is true.” 

A Course in Miracles T-12.I.10:1-6

“Unity of spirit gives new pinions to joy, or else joy’s drooping wings trail in dust.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 58:2-4

Through Laughter and Tears

 

Laughter is such a cleansing activity, don’t you think? In times of trouble, I have been very grateful for friends who aren’t afraid to laugh with me. Yesterday was full of activity, which included visiting a friend who has been diagnosed with a bone condition. Although she is facing an uncertain future, we had a lovely time visiting and laughing with each other. Also included in our festivities was a friend who is experiencing some severe memory loss. We weren’t afraid to address that problem as it was happening and share a few chuckles about that, too. The woman who experienced the spontaneous break of her tibia is as full of life and laughter as she was before this malady showed up in her experience. What I love most about all of the older women in my life is how we are not afraid to address what is going on and come together to help each other, whether it be with tears or laughter.  We support one another through trying times, and celebrate during the joys. I’ve touched on this subject before, but I can’t repeat it often enough. The women I know are one tough bunch, and I’m so happy to know all who love out loud — no matter the circumstance. Here’s to you!

“In gentle laughter does the Holy Spirit perceive the cause, and looks not to effects. How else could He correct your error, who have overlooked the cause entirely? He bids you bring each terrible effect to Him that you may look together on its foolish cause and laugh with Him a while. You judge effects, but He has judged their cause. And by His judgment are effects removed. Perhaps you come in tears. But hear Him say, ‘My brother, holy Son of God, behold your idle dream, in which this could occur.’ And you will leave the holy instant with your laughter and your brother’s joined with His.” 

A Course in Miracles T-27.VIII.9:1-8

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health - Page:106:26-29

Thank You For Lying

 

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Seventy years ago, a young Chicano woman had a baby out of wedlock. She kept me for two months before her family forced her to give me to her Tia Sophia, who was 40 and had always wanted a baby, but she and her husband could not have children. And so they took me as their own, changed my name and birthdate, and moved to a state where no one knew them. When I found out about these events as my dad was on his deathbed, it came as quite a surprise. I was disappointed and angry because they had taught me to be incredibly honest, and it felt as though my whole life had been a lie. It didn’t take too many years for me to see the wisdom of their ways. In the 1950s an illegitimate child carried quite a stigma; perhaps an adopted one did, too. Looking back on the situation, I have nothing but gratitude for the people who educated me, loved me, and provided me with an understanding of divine metaphysics which could not have occurred in most households in Arkansas. Thank you greatly …

“Physical birth is not a beginning; it is a continuing. Everything that continues has already been born.” A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.2:4-5

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free!” 

Mary Baker Eddy — Science & Health 227:24-25

God Does Not Retaliate

 

Photo credit: Christopher Fischer

Almost every day, we hear people either thanking God for some goodness which has come into their lives, or else expressing disappointment in this God they’ve made in their image and likeness. Perhaps they’re distressed because their god has taken a loved one from them: “God called him home”. Or maybe they’re lamenting why god chose to allow a horrible thing to happen, such as a fire or tornado. I suppose we have these ideas because of Biblical teachings and preachers’ interpretations of them. But even if you choose to take the Bible literally, after the 40 days and nights of rain, God told Noah he would never do it again. Last Sunday, in the mainstream churches for which I provide musical accompaniment, the scriptural readings had to do with “God was not in the earthquake, fire, etc”. I guess it’s easier for us to have someone to blame, or give credit to, or fear, or love. So we anthropomorphize Spirit because it’s easier to visualize a person walking along with us. “God is my co-pilot!” Really??? We think we’re in charge and God’s riding in the next seat? Interesting. The whole God thing can be quite confusing if we try to follow the instructions given us in Sunday School. I have never run into dead-end conundrums when following the teachings of “primitive Christianity”. And the study is always joyous!

“God does not believe in retribution. His Mind does not create that way. He does not hold your ‘evil’ deeds against you. Is it likely that He would hold them against me? Be very sure that you recognize how utterly impossible this assumption is, and how entirely it arises from projection. This kind of error is responsible for a host of related errors, including the belief that God rejected Adam and forced him out of the Garden of Eden. It is also why you may believe from time to time that I am misdirecting you. I have made every effort to use words that are almost impossible to distort, but it is always possible to twist symbols around if you wish.” 

A Course in Miracles T-3.I.3:4-11

“Christian Science eschews what is called natural science, in so far as this is built on the false hypotheses that matter is its own lawgiver, that law is founded on material conditions, and that these are final and overrule the might of divine Mind. Good is natural and primitive. It is not miraculous to itself.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page127:30-3

The Presence of Light

 

Art by Rich Urbaniak

“We are not saints, we are not heroes. Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary. We build tiny hearth fires, sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth. But to the person lost in the darkness, our tiny flame may be the road to safety, the path to salvation. It is not given us to know who is lost in the darkness that surrounds us or even if our light is seen. We can only know that against even the smallest of lights, darkness cannot stand. A sailor lost at sea can be guided home by a single candle. A person lost in a wood can be led to safety by a flickering flame. It is not an issue of quality or intensity or purity. It is simply an issue of the presence of light.”

~ Kent Nerburn: Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

“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

“Come therefore unto me, and learn of the truth in you. The mind we share is shared by all our brothers, and as we see them truly they will be healed. Let your mind shine with mine upon their minds, and by our gratitude to them make them aware of the light in them. This light will shine back upon you and on the whole Sonship, because this is your proper gift to God. He will accept it and give it to the Sonship, because it is acceptable to Him and therefore to His Sons. This is true communion with the Holy Spirit, Who sees the altar of God in everyone, and by bringing it to your appreciation, He calls upon you to love God and His creation. You can appreciate the Sonship only as one. This is part of the law of creation, and therefore governs all thought.” 

A Course in Miracles T-7.V.11:1-8                            

Take Me To The Church!

    

St. Emilion in Bordeaux, France

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The last writing which was sent out to you ended with the hope that churches would follow the two great precepts which Jesus left us: love each other and love God most of all. Today I had this note from my dear friend and Mentor, Jim Young: “It seems to me, at least in large part, that Eureka Springs itself is a church/religion that fits the two basic principles.” I agree with him totally, and his words caused me to think about ways this is true. When anyone is in trouble — be it physical, financial, emotional, or anything in between — the people of our town come together to support them. No one stops to think about political affiliations, gender orientation, or past run-ins. We just help each other. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. I’ve seen it firsthand when I was in need. Eight years ago, I had no means of supporting myself for almost a year. It was six months before I got a prosthetic device which allowed me to walk and drive, but people picked up books from the library, took me to the grocery stores, ferried me back and forth to doctor’s appointments — everything. My every need was met before I knew I had it! Jim is exactly correct: Eureka Springs, collectively, is a religion. Take me to the church!        
                    

"PSALM XXIII 

[Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [love] leadeth me beside the still waters.

[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.

[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 577:4-18

“Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son at his creation. It was then what it is to become; the single voice Creator and creation share; the song the Son sings to the Father, Who returns the thanks it offers Him unto the Son. Endless the harmony, and endless, too, the joyous concord of the Love They give forever to Each Other. And in this, creation is extended. God gives thanks to His extension in His Son. His Son gives thanks for his creation, in the song of his creating in his Father’s Name. The Love They share is what all prayer will be throughout eternity, when time is done. For such it was before time seemed to be.”
A Course in Miracles S-1.in.1:1-8

Church, Religion, Loving God

St. Emilion in Bordeaux, France

Photo by Blake Lasater

It seems many friends and acquaintances, from lifelong Christians to adamant atheists, are talking about the Exodus from organized religion. I understand the pain involved in closing down a church, as we were forced to do it eight years ago with our Eureka Springs Christian Science edifice. But according to Mary Baker Eddy, she had not wanted to start a new religion, but felt it was necessary to found a church in order to insure that the book, Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, would continue on through the years. And so to that end, she has succeeded. I’m not sure the church she founded has been successful in furthering the “cause of Christian Science”. I could speculate on the reasons, but it seems the culprit is a staid insistence on following the letter, without “imbibing in the Spirit”. With regard to other religions, it appears the ones which need to flourish in order to create fellowship and reach out to “the least, the last, the lost”, are struggling; and it is strange (at least in my mind) to see evangelical, holier-than-thou congregations thriving. But perhaps the bottom line is that the kingdom of heaven is within, and we don’t need a building and a preacher to tell us how to love. But we do need more community, in the form of a network of people who can help those in need. So while we’re leaving religion and rebelling against rhetoric, let’s not forget the two commandments Jesus gave us: love each other and love God above all else. I hope churches which practice this precept flourish during these interesting days of change.

“We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God. Religion will then be of the heart and not of the head. Mankind will no longer be tyrannical and proscriptive from lack of love, — straining out gnats and swallowing camels.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 140:10-15

“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? And what is psychotherapy except a help in just this same direction? It is the goal that makes these processes the same, for they are one in purpose and must thus be one in means.”
A Course in Miracles P-2.II.9:1-8

A Transformative View of the World

 

Photo by Blake Lasater

Reading an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor, I was again struck by the importance of this publication. I am going to quote a paragraph from it here, but the prologue to this quote is that the Boston Globe has discontinued overseas news because it’s too expensive to keep correspondents all over the globe, and they say that no one in America cares or reads news from anywhere else. Hum … I could write a page or two about that, but I won’t. Here is the beautiful sentiment Mark Sappenfield, Editor, wrote:  “What does the Monitor do better than every other news organization on the planet? I would argue that it offers a transformative view of the world itself — that the human story is more interconnected and more hopeful than much media coverage would have us to believe. The Monitor can’t NOT cover the world. To focus only on the United States — or any other country — would be to misapply its mission. Quality ties like compassion, respect, generosity, and honesty know no borders, and to understand how they shape the human experience requires chronicling how the struggle over them is convulsing the world. That’s what news is.” As I contemplate these words, I visualize what a difference it would make if all media understood this and acted accordingly. 

“You may know when first Truth leads by the fewness and faithfulness of its followers. Thus it is that the march of time bears onward freedom’s banner. The powers of this world will fight, and will command their sentinels not to let truth pass the guard until it subscribes to their systems; but Science, heeding not the pointed bayonet, marches on. There is always some tumult, but there is a rallying to truth’s standard.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 225:5-13

“All this beauty will rise to bless your sight as you look upon the world with forgiving eyes. For forgiveness literally transforms vision, and lets you see the real world reaching quietly and gently across chaos, removing all illusions that had twisted your perception and fixed it on the past. ³he smallest leaf becomes a thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God’s perfection.” 

A Course in Miracles T-17.II.6:1-3

The Perfume of Gratitude

 

Cheers with GrandmaMa and Torin

We tend to project our own feelings onto God, don't you think? I guess it's part of our upside-down  training to see Source as anthropomorphic, and hence it's tempting to put conditions and limitations on forgiveness and gratitude. Seeing myself as a reflection of God is a great first step in developing spiritual sense, but it's easy to think that God is a reflection of me! I may feel that I can never forgive certain things because they're just too bad. But God "is of purer eyes" than to see these things, so there is nothing to forgive when I'm living in Oneness. My beliefs may tell me I'm grateful that things aren't as bad as they could be, but God's creation is only good. And so anything unlike God, good, is unreal. Mortal mind, or ego, would tell me many other stories, but I choose to listen to Truth. My gratitude, your gratitude, God's gratitude -- it's all One and the same, as is the Love which conveys it!

“This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not ‘for the loaves and fishes,’ nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 367:10-16

“You are being blessed by every beneficent thought of any of your brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of gratitude. You need not know them individually, or they you. The light is so strong that it radiates throughout the Sonship and returns thanks to the Father for radiating His joy upon it. Only God’s holy children are worthy channels of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by sharing it. It is impossible for a child of God to love his neighbor except as himself. That is why the healer’s prayer is: Let me know this brother as I know myself.” 

A Course in Miracles T-5.in.3:1-8

New Views of Divine Goodness

           Art by Sam Toft

GOOD

By Donna Ashworth

“Most people are good. Most people kiss their pets goodbye and read just ‘one more’ bedtime story to their children. Most people visit their grandparents even when they have no time and stop by to check on quiet friends, after a long day. Most people give money when money is scarce and most people worry about people they don’t even know, day in and day out. When the world seems bad, remember, most people are good.”

Written by Donna Ashworth from the book “Wild Hope”

“Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 66:13-16

“Nothing that is good can be lost because it comes from the Holy Spirit, the Voice for creation. Nothing that is not good was ever created, and therefore cannot be protected. The Atonement is the guarantee of the safety of the Kingdom, and the union of the Sonship is its protection. The ego cannot prevail against the Kingdom because the Sonship is united. In the presence of those who hear the Holy Spirit’s Call to be as one, the ego fades away and is undone.”

A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.1:7-11