Empty Conceptions of Deity

Photo attributed to Agneta Cristea 

How surprised would you be if your prayers were answered? I have a friend who tells me she's given up on God, because she's never seen any proof. Upon questioning her, it turns out she has a laundry list of things she asks for regularly, and none of her wishes have come true. Once again, I think we often confuse divine Love with Santa Claus. We may be asking some guy in the sky for special dispensation, rather than recognizing that this Principle is an eternal activity which we can plug into at any time. It's kind of like electricity: It's there, but it doesn't supply our needs unless we know how to utilize it. I’m learning the secret to plugging in is to not want anything! By not delineating what we think we need, but rather keeping our thoughts tuned to the divine Mind, all our needs are supplied, often before we know what they are …

“How empty are our conceptions of Deity! We admit theoretically that God is good, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite, and then we try to give information to this infinite Mind. We plead for unmerited pardon and for a liberal outpouring of benefactions. Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:17-27

“I need but call and You will answer me. I am not asked to take salvation on the basis of an unsupported faith. For God has promised He will hear my call, and answer me Himself. Let me but learn from my experience that this is true, and faith in Him must surely come to me. This is the faith that will endure, and take me farther and still farther on the road that leads to Him. For thus I will be sure that He has not abandoned me and loves me still, awaiting but my call to give me all the help I need to come to Him.

“Father, I thank You that Your promises will never fail in my experience, if I but test them out. Let me attempt therefore to try them, and to judge them not. Your Word is one with You. You give the means whereby conviction comes, and surety of Your abiding Love is gained at last.”

A Course in Miracles W-327.1:1–2:4

A Transformed and Forgiven World

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Do you have an incident from childhood which has stayed with you, perhaps affecting the way you live today? I know someone who, as a young child, caught her mother in a compromising position with a man other than her father. She refuses to marry. I know a man who found his father dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His whole life is a series of dramatic events which he blames on that incident. I'm sure you know many stories, too. The Disappearance of the Universe, a book by Gary Renard, speaks to events such as these, and more. When we let go of beliefs, we can release our personal history, too. I love hearing stories of people who experience horrendous events and remain not only happy, but proactive. This thing we call forgiveness isn't some sort of divine pardon, but a yielding within ourselves to purity of thought, without the impediments of holding on to memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pain of all sorts. This yielding includes the release of things we think have been done to us, along with things we think we have done to others. So let's choose again, rest in Love, and go forward with joy!

“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 223:4

“I am forever an Effect of God. Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide. And all Your attributes abide in me, because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God.

“Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God’s holy Will.”

A Course in Miracles 26.1:1–2:1

Reflecting Truth or Dreams

Once a month, I play the organ at what previously was the Christian Science society. I was one of three remaining members of that organization and when we closed our doors, the building was deeded over to a non-profit organization called Heart of Many Ways. This was the dream of a local woman — to create a safe space for smaller spiritual groups to meet.  This month, a flutist joined me. She chose a beautiful number called Deer Song, from the oratorio, Concerning Matthew Shepard. We asked a local Englishman to narrate the beautiful words along with this exquisite tune. We ended our hour of classical duets with this emotional piece. (If you’re interested in knowing more about this young man, Matthew, or the song, it’s easily found online). After the well-received program, the woman who facilitates happenings in this group called me with fears and concerns. She was worried that this emotionally-charged selection could cause people to sink into despondency, perhaps even triggering suicide. I listened to her. Realizing that “all things I think I see reflect ideas”, I understand everyone will not interpret events the same. I choose to see this song as a beautiful call to action for those of us who stand up for human rights. I realize, also, that some may see it as a sad event which stays with them, creating anxiety. I am grateful to see both sides of this story. 

“All things I think I see reflect ideas. This is salvation’s keynote: What I see reflects a process in my mind, which starts with my idea of what I want. From there, the mind makes up an image of the thing the mind desires, judges valuable, and therefore seeks to find. These images are then projected outward, looked upon, esteemed as real and guarded as one’s own. From insane wishes comes an insane world. From judgment comes a world condemned. And from forgiving thoughts a gentle world comes forth, with mercy for the holy Son of God, to offer him a kindly home where he can rest a while before he journeys on, and help his brothers walk ahead with him, and find the way to Heaven and to God.

“Our Father, Your ideas reflect the truth, and mine apart from Yours but make up dreams. Let me behold what only Yours reflect, for Yours and Yours alone establish truth.”

A Course in Miracles W-325.1:1–2:2

“Ideas of Truth alone are reflected in the myriad manifestations of Life, and thus it is seen that man springs solely from Mind.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 543:26-28

Political Events and Spiritual Insights

Starting on November 6, in these daily writings I included a definitive statement on my feelings about the recent presidential election. Throughout the past 13 years of writing this blog, I have either blatantly or by inference addressed different political situations. For the past two weeks, I have steeped myself in writings and videos from spiritual seers who are very helpful in the present situation we face. When it seems appropriate, I will be sharing my interpretations of this wisdom. I fully understand if someone does not want to read about this, and I will not be upset if you ask to be removed from this mailing list. Today I went to lunch with old friends, and one of my Course in Miracles buddies was with us. As we entered the restaurant, I asked him to not bring up politics. While I have come to terms with my feelings about this situation, I’m not ready to speak to anyone who wants to argue points of fact. One of our group knows nothing about current events, and the other is in the midst of cognitive decline. At this point, and perhaps for a long time to come, it’s important to be aware of others’ feelings. Tomorrow, I will have something to say about that, as there was an inadvertent upsetting of others in a musical performance I was involved in today. May we be kind to others, ourselves, and all the animals and plants around us … Namaste. 

“Life, Truth, and Love are the realities of divine Science. They dawn in faith and glow full-orbed in spiritual understanding. As a cloud hides the sun it cannot extinguish, so false belief silences for a while the voice of immutable harmony, but false belief cannot destroy Science armed with faith, hope, and fruition.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 298:2-7

“I merely follow, for I would not lead. Father, You are the One Who gave the plan for my salvation to me. You have set the way I am to go, the role to take, and every step in my appointed path. I cannot lose the way. I can but choose to wander off a while, and then return. Your loving Voice will always call me back, and guide my feet aright. My brothers all can follow in the way I lead them. Yet I merely follow in the way to You, as You direct me and would have me go.

“So let us follow One Who knows the way. We need not tarry, and we cannot stray except an instant from His loving Hand. We walk together, for we follow Him. And it is He Who makes the ending sure, and guarantees a safe returning home.”

A Course in Miracles W-324.1:1–2:4

A New Development Paradigm

Art from J. Clement Wall

Thomas LeGrand has written a book called “Politics of Being - Wisdom and Science for a New Development Paradigm”. I discovered him in an interview on Buddha at the Gas Pump. He lives at Plum Village and refers to himself as a “wisdom seeker, a social scientist, and sustainability practitioner.” In order to facilitate change, he thinks we should turn our attention to becoming better humans. To quote him: “Most importantly, the emerging science of happiness is evolving our vision of well-being from hedonism, materialism and consumerism towards human flourishing and eudaimonia. Research emphasizes human relationships as the main factor for happiness, while highlighting the potential of meditation practices and spending time in nature.” I look forward to learning more of his ideas …

“Give up your material belief of mind in matter, and have but one Mind, even God; for this Mind forms its own likeness. The loss of man's identity through the understanding which Science confers is impossible; and the notion of such a possibility is more absurd than to conclude that individual musical tones are lost in the origin of harmony."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 216:30-5

“I gladly make the ‘sacrifice’ of fear. Here is the only ‘sacrifice’ You ask of Your beloved Son; You ask him to give up all suffering, all sense of loss and sadness, all anxiety and doubt, and freely let Your Love come streaming in to his awareness, healing him of pain, and giving him Your Own eternal joy. Such is the ‘sacrifice’ You ask of me, and one I gladly make; the only ‘cost’ of restoration of Your memory to me, for the salvation of the world.

“And as we pay the debt we owe to truth,—a debt that merely is the letting go of self-deceptions and of images we worshipped falsely—truth returns to us in wholeness and in joy. We are deceived no longer. Love has now returned to our awareness. And we are at peace again, for fear has gone and only love remains.”

A Course in Miracles W-323.1:1–2:4

Separating Silver From the Dross

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

For years, I’ve been saying a universal shift in thought is upon us — and I still believe that to be true. With all the turmoil in our world, this may seem to be a preposterous statement, but I keep remembering something about separating silver from the dross. Although it is a Bible verse, this is what I found about its meaning: “Dross is a substance related to the process of refining precious metals. Smelting involves the heating and melting of ores. Intense heat causes the dross to separate from the ore and rise to the top where it forms a scum and can be extracted, leaving a pure metal base.” These thoughts give me comfort. Combined with the Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson cited below, I am sure nothing must be sacrificed, only unreality given up to reveal the Truth which has always been there. 

“I can give up but what was never real. I sacrifice illusions; nothing more. And as illusions go I find the gifts illusions tried to hide, awaiting me in shining welcome, and in readiness to give God’s ancient messages to me. His memory abides in every gift that I receive of Him.And every dream serves only to conceal the Self which is God’s only Son, the likeness of Himself, the Holy One Who still abides in Him forever, as He still abides in me.

“Father, to You all sacrifice remains forever inconceivable. And so I cannot sacrifice except in dreams. As You created me, I can give up nothing You gave me. What You did not give has no reality. What loss can I anticipate except the loss of fear, and the return of love into my mind?

A Course in Miracles W-322.1:1–2:5

“In Isaiah we read: ‘I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things;’ — but the prophet referred to divine law as stirring up the belief in evil to its utmost, when bringing it to the surface and reducing it to its common denominator, nothingness. The muddy river-bed must be stirred in order to purify the stream.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 540:5-11

Freedom From Fear

 

Art by Vladislav Yerko

"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of couragewhich help to preserve man's self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people, conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right, to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery, courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”  

Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom From Fear 

 

"The rights of man were vindicated in a single section and on the lowest plane of human life, when African slavery was abolished in our land. That was only prophetic of further steps towards the banishment of a world-wide slavery, found on higher planes of existence and under more subtle and depraving forms." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 225:31

“Father, my freedom is in You alone. I did not understand what made me free, nor what my freedom is, nor where to look to find it. Father, I have searched in vain until I heard Your Voice directing me. Now I would guide myself no more. For I have neither made nor understood the way to find my freedom. But I trust in You. You Who endowed me with my freedom as Your holy Son will not be lost to me. Your Voice directs me, and the way to You is opening and clear to me at last. Father, my freedom is in You alone. Father, it is my will that I return.

“Today we answer for the world, which will be freed along with us. How glad are we to find our freedom through the certain way our Father has established. And how sure is all the world’s salvation, when we learn our freedom can be found in God alone.”

A Course in Miracles W-321.1:1–2:3

The System Needs Work

 

Words from Ram Dass

"One of the systems we’re part of, of course, is the political system. We may wish we weren’t part of it often, but we are. And all of those people playing with the power of the medium of politics, and its effect on the media and its effect on collective human consciousness, and those people that are addicted to power are there because of us. It boils down to that. That we create a field in which they can play with power, and that power is more or less compassionate. And the political system is a system in which as long as you have a passport, you are a member of it whether you like it or not. You’re part of a government, and your not voting is voting. So there’s no way out. You can’t say, 'I’m not going to have anything to do with politics.' You can say it, but you’ve got to watch where you’re saying it from. You may say, 'I’m not going to get involved with politics because I am so busy with something else that I think is my dominant theme, and I’ll vote, but I’m not going to put my time into campaigning for candidates and things like that, or issues, because my energies are best used here.' That’s fine. If you’ve thought it through and felt that way and can look somebody in the eye and say, 'This is the way it is.' If you’re saying, 'I’m not having anything to do with politics because it’s too dirty and because I don’t approve of it,'. Forget it – you are abdicating your responsibility to society. It’s as simple as that.

We’re at an interesting moment within the shift of collective consciousness, specifically around the way in which we’re integrating the changes in power structures. Now business holds sway over government, over religion, in terms of social power. And business is like pirates on the high seas – the question is, do you control it from the outside, or does it control itself? Does the whole process have a meta-game that’s controlling itself, and can you stand back far enough to see how it’s playing out? How is the shift in collective consciousness going to evolve and what part do you play?

Part of the curriculum is looking at the systems that you are a part of and being able to say 'That system needs work.' It’s important to be able to shift your game so that you’re not simply pushing the system away and saying 'I don’t think about that stuff, because it’s too complicated. Let somebody else worry about it.' Because as long as you get really frustrated with Americanism, you may be standing in the way of everybody’s survival." Ram Dass -1995

“Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 192:21-30

“My Father gives all power unto me. The Son of God is limitless. There are no limits on his strength, his peace, his joy, nor any attributes his Father gave in his creation. What he wills with his Creator and Redeemer must be done. His holy will can never be denied, because his Father shines upon his mind, and lays before it all the strength and love in earth and Heaven. I am he to whom all this is given. I am he in whom the power of my Father’s Will abides.

“Your Will can do all things in me, and then extend to all the world as well through me. There is no limit on Your Will. And so all power has been given to Your Son”

A Course in Miracles W-320.1:1–2:3

Weary Wanderers …

Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte

"Your great mistake is to act the drama

as if you were alone. As if life

were a progressive and cunning crime

with no witness to the tiny hidden

transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny

the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,

even you, at times, have felt the grand array;

the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding

out your solo voice You must note

the way the soap dish enables you,

or the window latch grants you freedom.

Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.

The stairs are your mentor of things

to come, the doors have always been there

to frighten you and invite you,

and the tiny speaker in the phone

is your dream-ladder to divinity.

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into

the conversation. The kettle is singing

even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots

have left their arrogant aloofness and

seen the good in you at last. All the birds

and creatures of the world are unutterably

themselves. Everything is waiting for you."

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink.”

Science & Health Page 570:14-17

“I came for the salvation of the world. Here is a thought from which all arrogance has been removed, and only truth remains. For arrogance opposes truth. But when there is no arrogance the truth will come immediately, and fill up the space the ego left unoccupied by lies. Only the ego can be limited, and therefore it must seek for aims which are curtailed and limiting. The ego thinks that what one gains, totality must lose. And yet it is the Will of God I learn that what one gains is given unto all.

“Father, Your Will is total. And the goal which stems from it shares its totality. What aim but the salvation of the world could You have given me? And what but this could be the Will my Self has shared with You?”

A Course in Miracles W-319.1:1–2:4

The Dismantling of Democracy

‘

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Along with Bob Woodward and others, I had hope (albeit faint) that our president-elect would recognize his opportunity to bring people together and create for himself an honorable legacy. As I watch him choose his prospective cabinet, it seems more like a bad comedy sketch than a gathering together of noble people for a just cause. I urge everyone to support the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and any other group of attorneys which can help us resist this dismantling of democracy which we are already witnessing. And take good care of yourselves: meditate, exercise, bring your mind back to peace through calming music, kiss your kids, hold your neighbor’s hand. As I heard someone say today: “Go and love intentionally, unconditionally, the broken world waits in darkness for the light which is you.”

"Knowing the Science of creation, in which all is Mind and its ideas, Jesus rebuked the material thought of his fellow-countrymen: 'Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?' How much more should we seek to apprehend the spiritual ideas of God, than to dwell on the objects of sense! To discern the rhythm of Spirit and to be holy, thought must be purely spiritual."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 509:28-5

“In me salvation’s means and end are one. In me, God’s holy Son, are reconciled all parts of Heaven’s plan to save the world. What could conflict, when all the parts have but one purpose and one aim? How could there be a single part that stands alone, or one of more or less importance than the rest? I am the means by which God’s Son is saved, because salvation’s purpose is to find the sinlessness that God has placed in me. I was created as the thing I seek. I am the goal the world is searching for. I am God’s Son, His one eternal Love. I am salvation’s means and end as well.

“Let me today, my Father, take the role You offer me in Your request that I accept Atonement for myself. For thus does what is thereby reconciled in me become as surely reconciled to You.”

A Course in Miracles W-318.1:1–2:2

The Way Appointed Me

Photo credit: Gerry Toler

While wondering why many people in public office and positions of leadership seem to be headstrong and, quite often, unhappy, I’m thinking perhaps they are not "following in the way appointed [them]". I look at friends who are following the path of Love, and the joy which they leave in their wake is contagious! Those who have turned away from conventional life pursuits to follow their heart are listening to Truth and acting on what they hear. Some might say that everyone can't do this or there would be no one to deal with the day-to-day necessities, their lifework consisting of what many consider to be drudgery. I watch an individual close to me who works in a job which is considered to be mundane (at best) and I see that he is happy, because it's more than just a job; it's his ministry. He's always noticing ways to help others and bring joy to situations. He, too, is listening and following. I will not let this day leave me where it found me, as I follow and rejoice.

“I follow in the way appointed me. I have a special place to fill; a role for me alone. Salvation waits until I take this part as what I choose to do. Until I make this choice, I am the slave of time and human destiny. But when I willingly and gladly go the way my Father’s plan appointed me to go, then will I recognize salvation is already here, already given all my brothers and already mine as well.

“Father, Your way is what I choose today. Where it would lead me do I choose to go; what it would have me do I choose to do. Your way is certain, and the end secure. The memory of You awaits me there. And all my sorrows end in Your embrace, which You have promised to Your Son, who thought mistakenly that he had wandered from the sure protection of Your loving Arms.”

A Course in Miracles W-317.1:1–2:5

“Jesus’ promise is perpetual. Had it been given only to his immediate disciples, the Scriptural passage would read you, not they. The purpose of his great life-work extends through time and includes universal humanity.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 328:27-31

 

All Gifts Are Ours

Photo credit: Christopher Fischer

All the good that is being given and received by everyone, everywhere, is goodness being given by and to me, right here, right now, all the time. Well, how far out is that??! After expressing this thought to someone, they said, "But what about the bad? Isn’t it given and received by everyone, and doesn’t it cancel out the good?" We could go through lots of conversations about these points, concerning the unreality of bad and the only-ness of good. But I don’t want to think in those terms any longer -- of right and wrong, good and bad -- so I won’t speak or write in those ways either. There is only One God, expressing only Itself. If we are the idea of God, there’s nothing else to consider. God is Love. We are Love and that’s a powerful principle by which to abide! “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Rumi

“All gifts I give my brothers are my own. As every gift my brothers give is mine, so every gift I give belongs to me. Each one allows a past mistake to go, and leave no shadow on the holy mind my Father loves. His grace is given me in every gift a brother has received throughout all time, and past all time as well. My treasure house is full, and angels watch its open doors that not one gift is lost, and only more are added. Let me come to where my treasures are, and enter in where I am truly welcome and at home, among the gifts that God has given me.

“Father, I would accept Your gifts today. I do not recognize them. Yet I trust that You Who gave them will provide the means by which I can behold them, see their worth, and cherish only them as what I want.”

A Course in Miracles W-316.1:1–2:3

“… that joy which finds one’s own in another’s good.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 127