A Purer Vision

Moonset in the Ozarks

Photo courtesy of Susan Luddy

The commentary in today's Course in Miracles lesson asks us to "Let all appearances seem pure .. that we may pass them by in innocence ..." Wow! I want to do that, don't you?  This is a perfect time for me to practice seeing with a pure vision, rather than my faulty material vision. Thousands of motorcycles are in town for a gathering in our area. In the past, I've seen them as a nuisance, disrupting peace and quiet in our serene village. I vow today to see with holy vision, pure and true.  Om ~~~~~~~~~~

“My holy vision sees all things as pure. Father, Your Mind created all that is, Your Spirit entered into it, Your Love gave life to it. And would I look upon what You created as if it could be made sinful? I would not perceive such dark and fearful images. A madman’s dream is hardly fit to be my choice, instead of all the loveliness with which You blessed creation; all its purity, its joy, and its eternal, quiet home in You.

“And while we still remain outside the gate of Heaven, let us look on all we see through holy vision and the eyes of Christ. Let all appearances seem pure to us, that we may pass them by in innocence, and walk together to our Father’s house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.”

A Course in Miracles W-263.1:1–2:2

“When we learn that error is not real, we shall be ready for progress, ‘forgetting those things which are behind.’”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 353:22-24

Together

Aspens - photo by Aaron Springston

William Blake said: "I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine Love". I understand this to mean that the perfection we are learning to see as ourselves also is everyone else. I often tell people “We’re all in this together”, but I think I’ll change it to “We are all this – together!” I love the study of the Science of Being! Every day, every moment, revelations in thought bring me a deeper understanding of how this Truth sets us free. I am learning more of what it means that God is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love. It's joyous to expand understanding, including myself in that definition, as a reflection of All that Is!

“So-called mineral, vegetable, and animal substances are no more contingent now on time or material structure than they were when ‘the morning stars sang together.’ 

Mind made the ‘plant of the field before it was in the earth.’ The periods of spiritual ascension are the days and seasons of Mind’s creation, in which beauty, sublimity, purity, and holiness — yea, the divine nature — appear in man and the universe never to disappear.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 509:20-28

“Let me perceive no differences today. Father, You have one Son. And it is he that I would look upon today. He is Your one creation. Why should I perceive a thousand forms in what remains as one? Why should I give this one a thousand names, when only one suffices? For Your Son must bear Your Name, for You created him. Let me not see him as a stranger to his Father, nor as stranger to myself. For he is part of me and I of him, and we are part of You Who are our Source, eternally united in Your Love; eternally the holy Son of God.

“We who are one would recognize this day the truth about ourselves. We would come home, and rest in unity. For there is peace, and nowhere else can peace be sought and found.”

A Course in Miracles W-262.1:1–2:3

Cleaning Out Clutter

Photo courtesy of Kailey Jones

Most people I know are getting rid of things they don’t need. We’re letting go of items which are cluttering up our house and material surroundings. More importantly, we're clearing out thoughts and beliefs which no longer are needed in our new-found perception of reality. As with our surroundings, we look through the accumulation of years and decide what to release and what to keep. Sometimes we keep more than we had planned, but with our mental clutter, there is very little which needs to stay. Just as we accumulate more and more books and music and all sorts of things, we also accumulate erroneous beliefs. Isn't it just as easy to hold on to Truth as it is error? Now is the time to do just that!

“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 227:24-29

“God is my refuge and security. I will identify with what I think is refuge and security. I will behold myself where I perceive my strength, and think I live within the citadel where I am safe and cannot be attacked. Let me today seek not security in danger, nor attempt to find my peace in murderous attack. I live in God. In Him I find my refuge and my strength. In Him is my Identity. In Him is everlasting peace. And only there will I remember Who I really am.

“Let me not seek for idols. I would come, my Father, home to You today. I choose to be as You created me, and find the Son whom You created as my Self.”

A course in Miracles W-261.1:1–2:3

No Dead Ends

Great Salt Flats - Utah

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

I Am the experience and expression of God. We are learning what that means — and it's a wonderful adventure! For too many years, high officials of churches have tried to tell us that we are mortal sinners and the only way we can gain favor with God is to go through them, performing odd penances and other rituals which I feel certain have nothing to do with the Oneness we are embracing. God Is; I Am. There really isn't anything else to say, but yet there is so much! We have questions that seem unanswerable, but perhaps that's because we have been told there are things we must simply accept, because we can't understand. Through the study of divine metaphysics, we find there are no unanswerable questions. I’m finding there are no dead ends; no statements I must simply believe, relying on blind faith alone. God is as close as I am to myself, and all answers lie within, available for the asking -- and, most importantly, for the listening! Remembering what is true leaves me with a powerful peace. I am most grateful.

“Infinite Mind creates and governs all, from the mental molecule to infinity. This divine Principle of all expresses Science and art throughout His creation, and the immortality of man and the universe. Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 507:24-28

“Let me remember God created me. Father, I did not make myself, although in my insanity I thought I did. Yet, as Your Thought, I have not left my Source, remaining part of Who created me. Your Son, my Father, calls on You today. Let me remember You created me. Let me remember my Identity. And let my sinlessness arise again before Christ’s vision, through which I would look upon my brothers and myself today.

“Now is our Source remembered, and Therein we find our true Identity at last. Holy indeed are we, because our Source can know no sin. And we who are His Sons are like each other, and alike to Him.”

A Course in Miracles W-260.1:1–2:3

Doing the Most We Can

Ozark Milky Way - photo by Richard Quick

I love to sit on my back deck, where nothing exists other than a forest and the insects and birds talking to me. My gratitude for this peace is all-encompassing. Of course, we are conditioned to feel guilty when we are happy in spite of other people’s misery and fear, so the thought crossed my mind that I should feel bad for others. But this was quickly corrected, because I know that no matter how awful I feel about the plight of another, it will do nothing to improve their lot. This does not mean that I have no compassion for them, but that I correct the picture of despair in my thoughts and see them according to the first book of Genesis rather than the second: God created everything and it was good. That is the spiritual reality of Life. So rather than dwelling on images burned into my retina by my knowledge of world events,  I translate them into the purity of creation in its natural state: Love.  The compassion I feel for all of the earth is not dimmed by my turning away from the material picture; rather it expands to include everything in the panoply of this Love, unmarred by fires and earthquakes and pandemics and political unrest. This is the least I can do for my earthly family — or perhaps it’s the most.

“The notion of a material universe is utterly opposed to the theory of man as evolved from Mind. Such fundamental errors send falsity into all human doctrines and conclusions, and do not accord infinity to Deity. Error tills the whole ground in this material theory, which is entirely a false view, destructive to existence and happiness.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 545:1

“Sin is the only thought that makes the goal of God seem unattainable. What else could blind us to the obvious, and make the strange and the distorted seem more clear? What else but sin engenders our attacks? What else but sin could be the source of guilt, demanding punishment and suffering? And what but sin could be the source of fear, obscuring God’s creation; giving love the attributes of fear and of attack?

“Father, I would not be insane today. I would not be afraid of love, nor seek for refuge in its opposite. For love can have no opposite. You are the Source of everything there is. And everything that is remains with You, and You with it.”

A Course in Miracles W-259.1:1–2:5

A World of Glory

Photo courtesy of Mark McGee

My dear friend, Richard, brought to my attention that this is leap year and he (and others) had skipped over the leap day in order to end the year on A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #365. I am posting the lovely words below in order to get back on track with the elasticity of time. 

The Journey - By Mary Oliver

“One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
‘Mend my life!’

each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save

the only life you could save.”

Written by Mary Oliver

“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

“Forgiveness turns the world of sin into a world of glory, wonderful to see. Each flower shines in light, and every bird sings of the joy of Heaven. There is no sadness and there is no parting here, for everything is totally forgiven. And what has been forgiven must join, for nothing stands between to keep them separate and apart. The sinless must perceive that they are one, for nothing stands between to push the other off. And in the space that sin left vacant do they join as one, in gladness recognizing what is part of them has not been kept apart and separate.”

A Course in Miracles T-26.IV.2:1-6

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