Overlooking Senseless Aims

 

Art from Lucy Almey Bird 

As a young woman, my fondest wish was to be content. For decades, it seemed this was an out-of-reach dream. I didn’t find peace when alone, nor when married, or in a roomful of friends, or with a comfortable companion. It felt as though something was missing and I couldn’t find it. Then circumstances brought me to Eureka Springs and a serious study of Christian Science. Every day brought a deeper understanding of my relationship with everyone and everything, via the universal flow of infinite Love. Years of running a business in a tourist town showed me I need not agree with everyone in order to empathize and feel compassion when faced with disagreeable attitudes. Raising children taught me to feel the joy of learning, while developing patience in trying circumstances. Being associated with spiritual groups has shown me that diversity of thought is a wonderful thing. The peace and contentment I feel this evening has been learned through surrender to not knowing everything — perhaps not anything! Thank you greatly …

“Better is the frugal intellectual repast with contentment and virtue, than the luxury of learning with egotism and vice.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 452:15-17

“Let me remember that my goal is God. All that is needful is to train our minds to overlook all little senseless aims, and to remember that our goal is God. His memory is hidden in our minds, obscured but by our pointless little goals which offer nothing, and do not exist. Shall we continue to allow God’s grace to shine in unawareness, while the toys and trinkets of the world are sought instead? God is our only goal, our only Love. We have no aim but to remember Him.

“Our goal is but to follow in the way that leads to You. We have no goal but this. What could we want but to remember You? What could we seek but our Identity?”

A Course in Miracles W-258.1:1–2:4

Undisciplined? Or Remembering My Purpose…

Photo credit: Nick Franchi

"If I forget my goal, I can be but confused ..." This is a phrase from A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #257, which is titled, “Let me remember what my purpose is.” Looking back over the last six decades of my life, I see many times of major confusion, and even more instances of minor tailspins. I now feel these were nothing more than times when I forgot to listen for omnipresent guidance. My purpose is unfolding every moment, and all I need to do is show up and be willing -- willing to be open-hearted, open-minded -- with no expectations of how things should be. It's tempting to think of this as undisciplined, and others may be critical of this attitude. I can attest to the fact that wandering around in college for five years perfectly prepared me for freelance court reporting. And thirty years of taking down and transcribing depositions was an incredible education which paved the way for running an art gallery for ten years. All those things brought me to where I am today, and none of it could have been planned. Today, I think of this as listening and following. Back then, I didn't think of it at all…

“Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:18-21

“Let me remember what my purpose is. If I forget my goal I can be but confused, unsure of what I am, and thus conflicted in my actions. No one can serve contradicting goals and serve them well. Nor can he function without deep distress and great depression. Let us therefore be determined to remember what we want today, that we may unify our thoughts and actions meaningfully, and achieve only what God would have us do this day.

“Father, forgiveness is Your chosen means for our salvation. Let us not forget today that we can have no will but Yours. And thus our purpose must be Yours as well, if we would reach the peace You will for us.”

A Course in Miracles W-257.1:1–2:3

One Goal

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

I heard myself say to someone, "We could all choose to have animosity toward our parents, either actual or imagined." But now that I think about it, isn't all animosity imagined? We like to think that some outside influence has forced us to feel hurt or angry, but is that true? Aren't we just setting ourselves up as a victim to say that someone else "made us angry"? After all, I don't have to react with a specified emotion; I can choose to see any given situation as a calm witness, rather than as an upset personality, can't I? It's tempting to say things such as: He/she pushes my buttons. By blaming outside influences for our actions, we can pretend we're victims of life's circumstances. We're so accustomed to looking for help outside of ourselves that we also blame outside influences for our reactions, thinking we have no choice. Truth shows us that we are more than we believe we are. We aren't mortal victims, but spiritual beings with unrealized abilities and power. It's time to wake up!

"Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 481:2-4

“God is the only goal I have today. The way to God is through forgiveness here. There is no other way. If sin had not been cherished by the mind, what need would there have been to find the way to where you are? Who would still be uncertain? Who could be unsure of who he is? And who would yet remain asleep, in heavy clouds of doubt about the holiness of him whom God created sinless? Here we can but dream. But we can dream we have forgiven him in whom all sin remains impossible, and it is this we choose to dream today. God is our goal; forgiveness is the means by which our minds return to Him at last.

“And so, our Father, would we come to You in Your appointed way. We have no goal except to hear Your Voice, and find the way Your sacred Word has pointed out to us.”

A Course in Miracles W-256.1:1–2:2

Calm Waters Bring Clarity

“This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.” The daily workbook lesson from the beautiful teachings of A Course in Miracles is exactly what I need to hear, to read, to ponder, to live — especially today! It is a constant meditation for me to stay calm, to not jump up on my high horse, to keep from pontificating about things in which I believe strongly. The following words of Mary Baker Eddy’s dovetail beautifully with peaceful choices. “This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.” Science & Health Page 92:12-20

“This day I choose to spend in perfect peace. It does not seem to me that I can choose to have but peace today. And yet, my God assures me that His Son is like Himself. Let me this day have faith in Him Who says I am God’s Son. And let the peace I choose be mine today bear witness to the truth of what He says. God’s Son can have no cares, and must remain forever in the peace of Heaven. In His Name, I give today to finding what my Father wills for me, accepting it as mine, and giving it to all my Father’s Sons, along with me.

“And so, my Father, would I pass this day with You. Your Son has not forgotten You. The peace You gave him still is in his mind, and it is there I choose to spend today.”

A Course in Miracles W-255.1:1–2:3

Quieting the Voices in My Head

Buffalo River - photo credit: Ashley Elliot 

The weather has been delightfully cool here in Northwest Arkansas. After a long, hot summer, it carries a feeling of new beginnings in the fresh air. The rushes of gratitude I’ve been experiencing are exhilarating!  So I was particularly surprised to awaken this morning with regrets for past actions filling my thoughts. Not just one or two events either, but a barrage of hurtful words and acts from the last seven decades were glaring at me. It even crossed my mind that I might be passing away, and that this might be my “life-passing-before-my-eyes” event. (I say this jokingly, but it did occur to me.) As I sat on my porch, greeting the warm sun and watching the world awaken, it came to me that perhaps I’ve been judging others. Maybe I had this onslaught to help me feel compassion for those whom I might be dismissing as foolishly self-centered in their repetition of the past. And so I spent a few moments forgiving myself for any and everything. And now I see A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #254: “Let every voice but God’s be still in me.” A peaceful thought for today and everyday …

“Let every voice but God’s be still in me. Father, today I would but hear Your Voice. In deepest silence I would come to You, to hear Your Voice and to receive Your Word. I have no prayer but this: I come to You to ask You for the truth. And truth is but Your Will, which I would share with You today.

“Today we let no ego thoughts direct our words or actions. When such thoughts occur, we quietly step back and look at them, and then we let them go. We do not want what they would bring with them. And so we do not choose to keep them. They are silent now. And in the stillness, hallowed by His Love, God speaks to us and tells us of our will, as we have chosen to remember Him.”

A Course in Miracles W-254.1:1–2:6

“Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens,--all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 240:1-9

Discovering Revelations

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

“I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence. It’s said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered. That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood. Slowly, no doubt. I’m not talking about a vacation.

Of course, at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am.

Are you following me?”

Mary Oliver

“It is impossible that anything should come to me unbidden by myself. Even in this world, it is I who rule my destiny. What happens is what I desire. What does not occur is what I do not want to happen. This must I accept. For thus am I led past this world to my creations, children of my will, in Heaven where my holy Self abides with them and Him Who has created me.”

A Course in Miracles W-253.1:1-6

“The pains of sense are salutary, if they wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections from sense to Soul, where the creations of God are good, ‘rejoicing the heart.’ Such is the sword of Science, with which Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man's higher individuality and destiny."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:31-5

A Dreamy Reality

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

Our true identity is so much more than we imagine. In this time of shifting perception and actualized reality, we humbly and happily accept our identity as a spiritual being! To illustrate this awakening, let's take as a metaphor the act of falling asleep in our favorite chair. We may succumb to blissful sleep, which includes both sweet dreams and nightmares. Anything is possible in our dreams, so maybe this falling into sleep is more prescient than we realize. Maybe it allows us to experience what seems impossible in daily living, and by it we realize the limitlessness of our true Selves. Today I'm not going to worry if my waking dream of material existence seems fraught with limitations and unwanted beliefs, because I know these can be transformed in the "twinkling of an eye". My true Self, with its shimmering, brilliant purity and limitless Love may seem like a dream, but I will look past mere belief to the depth of spiritual reality. 

“My Self is holy beyond all the thoughts of holiness of which I now conceive. Its shimmering and perfect purity is far more brilliant than is any light that I have ever looked upon. Its love is limitless, with an intensity that holds all things within it, in the calm of quiet certainty. Its strength comes not from burning impulses which move the world, but from the boundless Love of God Himself. How far beyond this world my Self must be, and yet how near to me and close to God!”

A Course in Miracles W-252.1:1-5

“My angels are exalted thoughts, appearing at the door of some sepulchre, in which human belief has buried its fondest earthly hopes. With white fingers they point upward to a new and glorified trust, to higher ideals of life and its joys." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 299: 7-12

Nothing But The Truth

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

We may feel alone in the desert when we speak truth to error. When we take a stand for morality and goodness in our political system, we might feel we’re the only one who sees through the illusions. Maybe you've been verbally attacked for telling people the truth about GMOs and organic food. Perhaps a friend has berated your efforts to recognize and change racism. And what of data mining? Are we being controlled every time we get on our computer? Heck, the CEO of Facebook tapes over the camera on his laptop in an effort to insure privacy. I mention these things because it’s very important to speak truth, to take a stand for morality, and never fear potential consequences. Don’t be afraid to speak up for goodness and honesty. You may find out you’re not alone!

“Because Truth is infinite, error should be known as nothing. Because Truth is omnipotent in goodness, error, Truth's opposite, has no might. Evil is but the counterpoise of nothingness. The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 329:21

“I am in need of nothing but the truth. I sought for many things, and found despair. Now do I seek but one, for in that one is all I need, and only what I need. All that I sought before I needed not, and did not even want. My only need I did not recognize. But now I see that I need only truth. In that all needs are satisfied, all cravings end, all hopes are finally fulfilled and dreams are gone. Now have I everything that I could need. Now have I everything that I could want. And now at last I find myself at peace.”

A Course in Miracles W-251.1:1-9

New Paths Appearing

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Everything we’ve been taught is contradicted by seeing ourselves as free from limited beliefs. Many of our first memories are of being told to be careful, lest something dire will happen. Quantum physics is helping us to understand that form isn't as solid as we've been told. With that understanding, it becomes clear that many limitations we've placed upon ourselves are nothing more than beliefs in material laws. Limitations are discarded when an athlete breaks a record in the Olympics, or if someone performs a seemingly-impossible feat — such as lifting a car off of trapped loved ones. We've all heard people tell tales which we think of as supernatural, such as falling great distances and feeling as though they landed on a cushion, or so-called incurable diseases disappearing. Let’s look to the divine Mind to show us the truth about ourselves, then we will explore paths we wouldn't have considered before. Thought is shifting rapidly at this time! Let's not be afraid to listen to the still, small voice leading us down paths which before were invisible.

“A mortal, corporeal, or finite conception of God cannot embrace the glories of limitless, incorporeal Life and Love. Hence the unsatisfied human craving for something better, higher, holier, than is afforded by a material belief in a physical God and man.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 258: 1-6

“Let me not see myself as limited. Let me behold the Son of God today, and witness to his glory. Let me not try to obscure the holy light in him, and see his strength diminished and reduced to frailty; nor perceive the lacks in him with which I would attack his sovereignty.

“He is Your Son, my Father. And today I would behold his gentleness instead of my illusions. He is what I am, and as I see him so I see myself. Today I would see truly, that this day I may at last identify with him.”

A Course in Miracles W-250.1:1–2:4

Bathed in Beauty and Light

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

I remember a time when so-called new-age thought was not often spoken of in the media, nor anywhere other than the privacy of our homes. Now, these new-old ideas are seen and heard everywhere. Every day we are witness to more proof that this shift in consciousness is happening now -- and we're talking about it! Thanks, Oprah! And even when these ideas are fictionalized, as in best-selling novels such as "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown, these possibilities are easily translated into plausible realities. This shift in consciousness allows us to embrace peace and harmony. Through a change in perception, we are understanding the truth of our being, and demonstrating that knowledge. This unfolding of consciousness is being realized in our own individual way. Every instance of pure peace we feel, each yielding of our personal sense to spiritual sense, brings us closer to living this realm of Love. We have always known this reality, but the knowledge has been forgotten. We are all needed at this time, to calm the tumultuous collective thought which fights the idea of such freedom! 

“Forgiveness paints a picture of a world where suffering is over, loss becomes impossible and anger makes no sense. Attack is gone, and madness has an end. What suffering is now conceivable? What loss can be sustained? The world becomes a place of joy, abundance, charity and endless giving. It is now so like to Heaven that it quickly is transformed into the light that it reflects. And so the journey which the Son of God began has ended in the light from which he came.

“Father, we would return our minds to You. We have betrayed them, held them in a vise of bitterness, and frightened them with thoughts of violence and death. Now would we rest again in You, as You created us.”

A Course in Miracles W-249.1:1–2:3

“God fashions all things after His own likeness. Life is reflected in existence, Truth in truthfulness, God in goodness, which impart their own peace and permanence. Love, redolent with unselfishness, bathes all in beauty and light."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 516:9-13

Disowning Falsity

Utah Salt Flats - photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

The workbook lesson from A Course in Miracles which states, “Whatever suffers is not part of me”, may sound like a heartless statement.  Actually, it does not deny the feelings we have, in favor of a hardness which excludes emotion. On the contrary! It expresses a pure Love which allows us to pass through the hard times, with a firm understanding of the beauty of Truth. Losing a loved one is difficult in many ways, but I feel that the myths we have concocted surrounding death do more harm than good. We say things like, God took her to be with him because she was so good. What lies we tell ourselves in the name of kindness! As we begin to understand divine reality, we are able to let loose the stories we tell ourselves, in favor of the Truth which sets us free. I'll always remember reading the story of the woman who loved Kahlil Gibran, "Beloved Prophet". One part tells of how she sat at his funeral, with a smile on her face. When asked how she could do such a thing she replied that she had never felt closer to him. Eternal Life — never born, never dying -- Life eternal. 

“A blundering dispatch, 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 dispatch, correcting the mistake, heals your grief, and you learn that your suffering was merely the result of your belief. Thus it is with all sorrow, sickness, and death. You will learn at length that there is no cause for grief, and divine wisdom will then be understood. Error, not Truth, produces all the suffering on earth.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 386:16-25

“I have disowned the truth. Now let me be as faithful in disowning falsity. Whatever suffers is not part of me. What grieves is not myself. ⁵What is in pain is but illusion in my mind. What dies was never living in reality, and did but mock the truth about myself. Now I disown self-concepts and deceits and lies about the holy Son of God. Now am I ready to accept him back as God created him, and as he is.

“Father, my ancient love for You returns, and lets me love Your Son again as well. Father, I am as You created me. Now is Your Love remembered, and my own. Now do I understand that they are one.”

A Course in Miracles W-248.1:1–2:4

The Holiest of All Spots

Those who live by the ancient precept of “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth”must have a tough time being happy. Students of metaphysical science are learning that forgiveness is not some sort of divine pardon, but rather a yielding within ourselves to the purity of divine Mind. Without the impediments of holding on to personal memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pain, we are freed to live in a new way. This yielding includes the release of things which we think have been done to us, and things which we believe have been done to others, along with actions by people everywhere in the world. My prayer today is for the grace to choose again, to Love Out Loud, and to live the precepts which Jesus taught. Namaste …

“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 497:24-28

“Sin is the symbol of attack. Behold it anywhere, and I will suffer. For forgiveness is the only means whereby Christ’s vision comes to me. Let me accept what His sight shows me as the simple truth, and I am healed completely. Brother, come and let me look on you. Your loveliness reflects my own. Your sinlessness is mine. You stand forgiven, and I stand with you.”

A Course in Miracles W-247.1:1-8

Love Has No Sense of Hatred

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." This Mary Baker Eddy quote is one of my favorites, which I've always thought of as meaning that the human hatred others feel cannot reach me when I'm wearing the armor of divine Love. I now see that it includes the hatred I may feel toward others, also. It's very easy for me to think that I don't hate anyone or anything. Actually, it's a word I have pruned from my vocabulary and simply do not use. BUT if I am irritated by another's actions or words, or if I replay a past situation in my mind which caused anger in the past, or if I allow criticism to gnaw at me and I think of retaliatory statements which could have been said -- isn't that human hatred? Wearing this cloak of Love calms these nagging feelings and thoughts. I know that if I'm wearing the protection of Love, hatred cannot enter from inside or out!

“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

“Let me not think that I can find the way to God, if I have hatred in my heart ²Let me not try to hurt God’s Son, and think that I can know his Father or my Self. Let me not fail to recognize myself, and still believe that my awareness can contain my Father, or my mind conceive of all the love my Father has for me, and all the love which I return to Him.”

A Course in Miracles W-246.1:1-3 

A Peaceful Mind

Ozark Sunset

Although I know that peace is a choice within my own self, I want to share it with everyone, everywhere. It has taken a lifetime to grasp this concept: The only thought I can change is my own! After years of trying to change loved ones, it was my children who finally taught me the meaning of Oneness. It was shown to me as I watched the household mood change its tone, as my moods changed from calm to frantic. Holding to peace within myself is all I can do — and it’s the most I can do! Jumping on the bandwagon of resentment, or the other negative emotions of the collective, may seem impossible to avoid. But we are discovering it is possible to simply witness these things, without becoming a part of them. While I can't change what anyone else is thinking or feeling or experiencing, I can adjust my vision of reality. Every thought is important! We’re all in this together, in every way, at every moment. And so today I will make an effort to see through the eyes of Love, excluding nothing, no matter how inflammatory things may seem!

“Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe. Your peace surrounds me, Father. Where I go, Your peace goes there with me. It sheds its light on everyone I meet. I bring it to the desolate and lonely and afraid. I give Your peace to those who suffer pain, or grieve for loss, or think they are bereft of hope and happiness. Send them to me, my Father. Let me bring Your peace with me. For I would save Your Son, as is Your Will, that I may come to recognize my Self.

“And so we go in peace. To all the world we give the message that we have received. And thus we come to hear the Voice for God, Who speaks to us as we relate His Word; Whose Love we recognize because we share the Word that He has given unto us.”

A Course in Miracles W-245.1:1–2:3

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 264:24-27

The Cement of a Higher Humanity

“I am in danger nowhere in the world." This statement [ACIM Lesson #244] is particularly comforting to me in the face of the fear which is associated with the presidential elections this year. In a recent conversation with friends, I learned that people are afraid to put out signs in support of Kamala Harris. For the last eight years, we have heard about instances where certain factions of people have retaliated toward people who dare to speak out against the tyranny of Donald Trump. I had not realized how timid we had become, and now that I see the extent of our fear, I’m feeling empowered to be fierce in taking a stand for honesty, morality, and decency.  When I am relying on my own knowledge and beliefs, I may be afraid of many things, seeing possible dangers around every corner.  Returning to Love releases illusions of fear, enabling us to see Truth, to live Love, in safety. I know many of you are thinking of horrible things you personally have witnessed; things which make this seem like a frivolous statement. In the material world we witness, this certainly is true. In the realization that true substance is that which does not change, we see that reality is spiritual, not material. And that is freedom!

“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 571:18-21

“I am in danger nowhere in the world. Your Son is safe wherever he may be, for You are there with him. He need but call upon Your Name, and he will recollect his safety and Your Love, for they are one. How can he fear or doubt or fail to know he cannot suffer, be endangered, or experience unhappiness, when he belongs to You, beloved and loving, in the safety of Your Fatherly embrace?

“And there we are in truth. No storms can come into the hallowed haven of our home. In God we are secure. For what can come to threaten God Himself, or make afraid what will forever be a part of Him?”

A Course in Miracles W-244.1:1–2:4