Flipping Fearful Thoughts

“No Looking Back”

Creation From Sandy Wythawai Starbird

In the two disciplines which I study, we often talk about changing the way we think about things. But how do we change these thoughts? I had a good example of this last night. I repeatedly woke up having frightening dreams. As soon as I awakened feeling fear, I would think of something beautiful – for instance, light coming through trees in a forest, with birds chirping, and butterflies flying around. This happened, perhaps, four or five times during the night. When eventually waking up this morning, I had been enjoying a happy dream, and my eyes opened with a smile on my face. This healing was so thorough that I remembered neither the bad nor the good dream’s context after getting out of bed. This lesson is something I’ve been needing. My daytime dreams have been anxious and fearful. When these feelings arise today, I shall practice what I learned during my sleep: Imagine beauty, feel beauty, spread peace…

“I am alone in nothing. Everything I think or say or do teaches all the universe. A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain. He cannot be alone in anything. It is therefore in my power to change every mind along with mine, for mine is the power of God.”

A Course in Miracles W-54.4:2-6

“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 261:4-7

Sovereign Rights

I truly try to not divide people into tribes, liking or disliking them because of their affiliations. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re a fan of the LSU Tigers or a member of the Rotterdam Symphonic Orchestra, my only goal is to listen to your words and hear the motives of your heart. I will bask in your company or stay away from you according to your kindness to others as shown by the goodness you live. And so when people begin berating actions because someone is labeled as liberal, it brings up questions in my mind as to why they are throwing these barbed verbal attacks. Since the accusations usually sound uniformly similar to each other, I can only surmise they are being spoon-fed by a larger source. Our information transportation is so fast today that almost anyone can set themselves up to spread the word — no matter its veracity. This statement from John Smallman’s writings rings true: “The only way forward is for humanity to engage lovingly with itself, instead of divisively and judgmentally, by fully honoring and respecting the sovereign rights of every individual on Planet Earth”. 

“The relationship of anger to attack is obvious, but the relationship of anger to fear is not always so apparent. Anger always involves projection of separation, which must ultimately be accepted as one’s own responsibility, rather than being blamed on others. Anger cannot occur unless you believe that you have been attacked, that your attack is justified in return, and that you are in no way responsible for it. Given these three wholly irrational premises, the equally irrational conclusion that a brother is worthy of attack rather than of love must follow. What can be expected from insane premises except an insane conclusion? The way to undo an insane conclusion is to consider the sanity of the premises on which it rests. You cannot be attacked, attack has no justification, and you are responsible for what you believe.” 

A Course in Miracles T-6.in.1:1-7

“Jesus was the son of a virgin. He was appointed to speak God’s word and to appear to mortals in such a form of humanity as they could understand as well as perceive. Mary’s conception of him was spiritual, for only purity could reflect Truth and Love, which were plainly incarnate in the good and pure Christ Jesus. He expressed the highest type of divinity, which a fleshly form could express in that age. Into the real and ideal man the fleshly element cannot enter. Thus it is that Christ illustrates the coincidence, or spiritual agreement, between God and man in His image.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 332:23-2

Life’s Illusions …

Graphic credit: Robert Gonsalve

I’ve been thinking today about the illusions we create for ourselves and others. Perhaps we don’t want our children to know things about our past, or maybe there is a deep, dark secret we think would bring shame on our family, or perhaps it’s something as simple as not examining ourselves in the mirror because we can’t accept the physical changes we see. I remember years ago when I was helping a neighbor who was in denial about many things. I would take her with me to an empty church and play the organ for her, while other neighbors sneaked into her house to clean. She probably hadn’t cleaned her house or herself for years. She had two huge dogs which she fed chicken and rice, but she, herself, would only eat green beans and ice cream. Part of the illusion she had created involved taking down the mirrors in her house. Once someone took a photo of us in the front yard with her dogs. When I showed her the photo, she asked if one of the women was her. She had decided how things were in her life, and nothing was going to change her illusions. Sometimes we weave such a web that everything would fall apart without their false security. There is much to be considered here …

“We must look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things. Can we gather peaches from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading illusions along the path which Science must tread in its reformatory mission among mortals. The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 129:22-29

“Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions, they restore your sanity.”
A Course in Miracles T-1.I.33:1-4

Moral Chemicalization

A.I. image from social media

Something which is emphasized, in both A Course in Miracles and Christian Science, is the difference in believing and understanding. Perceptions influence what we see and feel, so we do our best to see with purer eyes — divine Mind’s eyes, God’s eyes. I know that we are each the center of our own universe, and I regularly make an effort to see past my belief bubble. For instance, today I decided to listen to a presidential press conference with ears of innocence, as though I knew nothing of current events. If what I heard was all I knew, it could sound very nice. And I allowed that to happen. But then I pondered the points the pretty lady had made, and allowed a different story to play out in my thoughts. As I sit in my living room, watching my cat sleep, knowing my children are happy, listening to calm music accompanying beautiful tropical birds, I send Love to anyone who needs to feel it, to everyone willing to receive it. No exceptions. And I see a world of safety and comfort …

“Mortal error will vanish in a moral chemicalization. This mental fermentation has begun, and will continue until all errors of belief yield to understanding. Belief is changeable, but spiritual understanding is changeless.

“As this consummation draws nearer, he who has shaped his course in accordance with divine Science will endure to the end. As material knowledge diminishes and spiritual understanding increases, real objects will be apprehended mentally instead of materially.

“During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:21-4

“The ego analyzes; the Holy Spirit accepts. The appreciation of wholeness comes only through acceptance, for to analyze means to break down or to separate out. The attempt to understand totality by breaking it down is clearly the characteristically contradictory approach of the ego to everything. The ego believes that power, understanding and truth lie in separation, and to establish this belief it must attack. Unaware that the belief cannot be established, and obsessed with the conviction that separation is salvation, the ego attacks everything it perceives by breaking it into small, disconnected parts, without meaningful relationships and therefore without meaning. The ego will always substitute chaos for meaning, for if separation is salvation, harmony is threat.”
A Course in Miracles T-11.V.13:1-6

A Great Need

A Great Need

Out

Of a great need

We are all holding hands

And climbing.

Not loving is a letting go.

Listen,

The terrain around here

Is

Far too

Dangerous

For

That.

Poem by Hafiz (c.1325 – c.1389) - translated by Daniel Ladinsky

“You who hold your brother’s hand also hold mine, for when you joined each other you were not alone. Do you believe that I would leave you in the darkness that you agreed to leave with me? In your relationship is this world’s light. And fear must disappear before you now. Be tempted not to snatch away the gift of faith you offered to your brother. You will succeed only in frightening yourself. The gift is given forever, for God Himself received it. You cannot take it back. You have accepted God. The holiness of your relationship is established in Heaven. You do not understand what you accepted, but remember that your understanding is not necessary. All that was necessary was merely the wish to understand. That wish was the desire to be holy. The Will of God is granted you.  

For you desire the only thing you ever had, or ever were.”

A Course in Miracles T-18.III.4:1-15

“After the stars sang together and all was primeval harmony, the material lie made war upon the spiritual idea; but this only impelled the idea to rise to the zenith of demonstration, destroying sin, sickness, and death, and to be caught up unto God, — to be found in its divine Principle.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 565:23-28

Seeing Peace

Lake Hamilton photo by Craig Matthews

If I’m perceiving conflict, it’s because I want to see it. My ego gets very excited and begins jumping up and down, telling me that I’ve got to do something; I can’t just sit here and pretend the sky is not falling. Whew! That is also my ego telling me that seeing the truth of the situation — “I can see peace instead of this” — is a waste of time. What good does that do for the world? In an attempt to understand more fully, I’ve listened to every interpretation of A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #34 which I could find on youtube, and they have all given me morsels of understanding. This has also reinforced for me that the Take Me To Truth women help me see through my fear more than other interpretations — which I also appreciate, and am grateful for and to! We all need each other now, more than ever. Oftentimes when I admit I’m afraid, I realize it’s not true. Excitement and anticipation can be interpreted as fear. If humanity is to evolve, if we’re going go get back to the garden, a huge shift must happen in our understanding of who and what we are. Personally, I’ve had to be forced into wanting to understand; complacency hasn’t provided the impetus to know my true identity. Hang on tight, ‘cause we’ve got big changes coming at us!


“When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.”
A Course in Miracles W-57.4:2-4


“Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual. 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 265:23-5

Perception is a Choice, Not a Fact

Ozark Sunset

Photo Courtesy of Blake Lasater

We, as humans, have a tendency to focus on what we don’t want, rather than what we do want. A teacher once told me to reinforce positive behaviors in our children, rather than trying to turn them away from things we do not want them doing. For example, if you say, “Don’t play in the reet”, all they hear is “play in the street”. Perhaps this is the key to opening the eyes of those who do not want to see. Heather Cox Richardson (my very favorite historian) told us today that it is imperative for everyone to know that the richest man in the world now has access to our national checkbook, along with private information of every citizen. I know many people who listen to and read only conservative news media output. They do not know what the highest elected official in our country plans for us. I pray for clarity in words and actions.

“The still, small Voice for God is not drowned out by all the ego’s raucous screams and senseless ravings to those who want to hear It. Perception is a choice and not a fact. But on this choice depends far more than you may realize as yet. For on the voice you choose to hear, and on the sights you choose to see, depends entirely your whole belief in what you are. Perception is a witness but to this, and never to reality. Yet it can show you the conditions in which awareness of reality is possible, or those where it could never be.”
A Course in Miracles T-21.V.1:6-11

"It is only by acknowledging the supremacy of Spirit, which annuls the claims of matter, that mortals can lay off mortality and find the indissoluble spiritual link which establishes man forever in the divine likeness, inseparable from his creator."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 491:12-16

A Real Qualitative Shift

 

The Crescent Hotel

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Years ago a friend gave me a coin purse with the words “change is good” printed on the front. She said she thought of me when she saw it because I said this phrase so often. I’m seeing change everywhere, aren’t you? We are being called on to change everything in our experience, from the way we shop to the way we love. We are all releasing ties which hold us to ways which are simply not in our best interest. As we examine the beliefs we live by, we realize we can be a law unto ourselves. The fears which have followed us throughout our lives have shaped our views of ourselves and everything around us. But a universal paradigm shift is upon us and we're each feeling it in our own way. The understanding that we don't have to be bound by any material belief, because our true identity is spiritual, is bringing us to a tipping point in consciousness realization. This freedom will be absolutely experienced. When? Well, since we're not slaves to time, why not now!!

“Laws of nature are laws of Spirit; but mortals commonly recognize as law that which hides the power of Spirit. Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health - Page 183:18-25


“The Holy Spirit, the shared Inspiration of all the Sonship, induces a kind of perception in which many elements are like those in the Kingdom of Heaven itself:

First, its universality is perfectly clear, and no one who attains it could believe for one instant that sharing it involves anything but gain.

Second, it is incapable of attack and is therefore truly open. This means that although it does not engender knowledge, it does not obstruct it in any way.

Finally, it points the way beyond the healing that it brings, and leads the mind beyond its own integration toward the paths of creation. It is at this point that sufficient quantitative change occurs to produce a real qualitative shift.”
A Course in Miracles - T-5.I.7:1-6

I Don’t Have to Agree With My Thoughts

Creation from Sandy Wythawai Starbird

The first thought you have in the morning sets the feeling of the day. I’ve said this many times in these writings, and I always try to awaken with the recitation of a spiritual truth and a happy thought. But this morning I woke up with the words of a power-hungry man in my head, complete with the vision of his maniacal face imprinted in my memory. It was a great comfort to go to the Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson for today, which reminded me that “I am not a victim of the world I see.” And then Coreen Walston and Nouk Sanchez helped me understand how it is possible to hear awful things, without feeling victimized. Coreen said: “Let everything just move through, peacefully, noticing thoughts as they pass through our awareness, without agreeing with them or colluding with them.” Thank you, sister Coreen! Later in the day I heard Joe Dispenza talking about quantum physics, explaining why our thoughts affect everything around us. He mentioned that our brain can’t tell the difference in something that has actually happened and something which we are imagining happening. This all seems to tie together and I’ve been pondering it all day. Your comments will be appreciated!

“Have faith in only this one thing, and it will be sufficient: God wills you be in Heaven, and nothing can keep you from it, or it from you. Your wildest misperceptions, your weird imaginings, your blackest nightmares all mean nothing. They will not prevail against the peace God wills for you. The Holy Spirit will restore your sanity because insanity is not the Will of God. If that suffices Him, it is enough for you. You will not keep what God would have removed, because it breaks communication with you with whom He would communicate. His Voice will be heard.”
A Course in Miracles T-13.XI.7:1-7)

“The verity of Mind shows conclusively how it is that matter seems to be, but is not. Divine Science, rising above physical theories, excludes matter, resolves things into thoughts, and replaces the objects of material sense with spiritual ideas.”
MaryBaker Eddy - Science & Health Page 123:11-15

The Double Threat of Defensiveness

After watching a documentary called “The Fight Before Christmas”, I have a better understanding of how people manipulate facts to turn them into half-truths. In this film, a man in Idaho wants to decorate his house to the hilt, including live camels and other excesses. He plans to have people come from far and near to enjoy hot cocoa and sing carols. His neighbors think this is a bad idea. He does it anyway. Well, this seems like a straightforward situation, but the decorating man calls news media and starts a campaign against what he calls his anti-Christian neighbors. He turns the whole scenario into an attack against himself, claiming to be an innocent man who is only trying to save Christmas. Well, this story has twists and turns and unkind actions on both sides. But what struck me about it was how easy it was for him to portray himself as a victim and set his neighbors up to be grinches and horrid people. I’m not sure why I’m writing about this, other than it has stuck with me. I keep feeling the neighbors’ sense of hopelessness in the face of a pointless attack. Also, it turns out this guy wanted to run for political office and was trying to make a name for himself. Which he has done. 

“The world gives rise but to defensiveness. For threat brings anger, anger makes attack seem reasonable, honestly provoked, and righteous in the name of self-defense. Yet is defensiveness a double threat. For it attests to weakness, and sets up a system of defense that cannot work. Now are the weak still further undermined, for there is treachery without and still a greater treachery within. The mind is now confused, and knows not where to turn to find escape from its imaginings.” 

A Course in Miracles W-153.2:1-6

“Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 231:31-3

Empathy: A Beautiful Act of Rebellion

On the podcast, Politics Girl, the host, Leigh McGowan interviews an authoritarian expert, Andrea Chalupa. She began her interview by saying that the only way through these trying times is to embrace our inner strength, and that will give us the super power we need. In order to recognize and grow this strength, we must cultivate a daily practice which we hold as sacred. You may already have a morning study of prayer and meditation. Perhaps you spend time in nature, finding your center with the trees and animals. Yoga and/or Tai Chi is a way to find inner peace and connection with all that Is. Do not fall into despair because you feel overwhelmed by all this “shock and awe”. Ms. McGowan made this grand statement: “In an age of cruelty, empathy becomes a beautiful act of rebellion.”
I love that …

“The changelessness of Heaven is in you, so deep within that nothing in this world but passes by, unnoticed and unseen.The still infinity of endless peace surrounds you gently in its soft embrace, so strong and quiet, tranquil in the might of its Creator, nothing can intrude upon the sacred Son of God within.”
A Course in Miracles T-29.V.2:3-4

“Practice, not profession, — goodness, not doctrines, — spiritual understanding, not mere belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence, and call down blessings infinite.”
5Mary Baker Eddy - Pulpit and Press Page 9:26-29

Giving Peace and Happiness

Art by Peter Max

Sometimes we feel as though our peace has been taken from us by external events. I remember years ago when I took a course in Oneness Blessing. This process appeals to me because there is no need to delve into all the reasons we are not peaceful. When becoming a Oneness Blessing Giver, you first go through an intense day of releasing the past. We started with rectifying our relationships with our parents. And this is not done by counting all the ways we feel we have been wronged, or that we have wronged them. It is a release of guilt and blame, then a replacement of the space left with the realization of divine Love. When you are given this Oneness Blessing you can expect to feel happiness. After completing my training, I gave a blessing to my son, and he immediately started to laugh. I asked why: was he nervous? No, he said, he just felt happy. And that is what this transmission of divine Love is all about: feeling happy and sharing the peace of God. The best gift of all!

“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.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:12-20

“Holy child of God, when will you learn that only holiness can content you and give you peace? Remember that you learn not for yourself alone, no more than I did. It is because I learned for you that you can learn of me. I would but teach you what is yours, so that together we can replace the shabby littleness that binds the host of God to guilt and weakness with the glad awareness of the glory that is in him. My birth in you is your awakening to grandeur. Welcome me not into a manger, but into the altar to holiness, where holiness abides in perfect peace. My Kingdom is not of this world because it is in you. And you are of your Father. Let us join in honoring you, who must remain forever beyond littleness.”
A Course in Miracles T-15.III.9:1-9

Translation Into Heaven

The divisions we are witnessing among everyday people are heartbreaking. Ten years ago, I didn’t hesitate to say anything to anybody. The assurance which comes from naivety is a thing of the past with me. Nowadays, it’s become second nature to censor my opinions about certain subjects. And in that light, I wonder at people who seem to bait others with their social media posts. Perhaps they still think that if people with differing ideas about important topics only knew what they thought, then they would see the light and change their mind. And that is what I’ve learned in the last decade: I really, truly cannot change anyone’s thoughts but my own. While I still drive around with a “,la” hat on my dash, I wouldn’t bring up a political topic at my duplicate bridge games for anything! But when I hear about injustice and bigotry being whitewashed into acceptable behavior, it will be translated in my thoughts; translated into how divine Love, God, sees such things. And guess what? Love does not see it, because “…it is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity”.

“The destruction of the claims of mortal mind through Science, by which man can escape from sin and mortality, blesses the whole human family. As in the beginning, however, this liberation does not scientifically show itself in a knowledge of both good and evil, for the latter is unreal.

On the other hand, Mind-science is wholly separate from any half-way impertinent knowledge, because Mind-science is of God and demonstrates the divine Principle, working out the purposes of good only. The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all. Evil is a suppositional lie.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 103:6-17

“This is a very simple course. Perhaps you do not feel you need a course which, in the end, teaches that only reality is true. But do you believe it? When you perceive the real world, you will recognize that you did not believe it. Yet the swiftness with which your new and only real perception will be translated into knowledge will leave you but an instant to realize that this alone is true. And then everything you made will be forgotten; the good and the bad, the false and the true. For as Heaven and earth become one, even the real world will vanish from your sight. The end of the world is not its destruction, but its translation into Heaven. The reinterpretation of the world is the transfer of all perception to knowledge.”
A Course in Miracles T-11.VIII.1:1-9

Less Segregation; Stronger Democracy

Good Friends — Marsha and Richard

“Blueprint, the Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society”, is a book written by Nicholas Christkis, a professor at Yale. His basic premise is that love, friendship, cooperation, and teaching have been hardwired into human beings, but we tend to deploy these qualities selectively, only toward those who are like ourselves. He says America is an unprecedented social experiment, testing whether we humans can share these behaviors more broadly. This statement of his feels especially true: “The less segregated we are — not just racially, but by ideology, religion, income, and education — the stronger the democracy.” His conclusions I’m sure are many, but one discussed in this review is that we need to overcome the urge to tribalism, if we are to have a diverse democracy. He believes that political tides can push against our innate desire for love, friendship, and cooperation, “but only for a while.” I am thrilled to read of this and other messages of hope! 

"It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man wlll be established." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 467:9

“The Holy Spirit was given you with perfect impartiality, and only by recognizing Him impartially can you recognize Him at all. The ego is legion, but the Holy Spirit is one. No darkness abides anywhere in the Kingdom, but your part is only to allow no darkness to abide in your own mind. This alignment with light is unlimited, because it is in alignment with the light of the world. Each of us is the light of the world, and by joining our minds in this light we proclaim the Kingdom of God together and as one.” 

A Course in Miracles T-6.II.13:1-5

Athirst in the Desert

I am a fan of Facebook. I’ve never enjoyed the other facets of social media, and only used them to promote my gallery when it was open. That was my original reason for signing up for Facebook: business promotion. But now, I enjoy it because it keeps me up to date on local events, it informs me of who may have passed away in the night, I get to see my friends’ gardens who live far, far away — not to mention Wordle comparisons!  I think of it like driving a car: it’s not the ideal form of transportation, but isn’t it fun! I unfollow disagreeable people, allowing into my feed only happy things. Some of my friends post their political opinions, and I sometimes look at what people have to say about it (for instance, Steve Grant at KY3 in Springfield). It’s shocking in its ferocity. I’m happy to see and hear the many religious leaders who are reiterating Jesus’s words of peace. My gratitude for them is immense. May we never be silenced when speaking truth …

“The way out of conflict between two opposing thought systems is clearly to choose one and relinquish the other. If you identify with your thought system, and you cannot escape this, and if you accept two thought systems which are in complete disagreement, peace of mind is impossible. If you teach both, which you will surely do as long as you accept both, you are teaching conflict and learning it. Yet you do want peace, or you would not have called upon the Voice for peace to help you. Its lesson is not insane; the conflict is.”

A Course in Miracles T-6.V-B.5:1-5

“Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert — are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ’s name, and never fear the consequences.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-18 

An Invincible Summer

Basil in my Summer Garden

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

This quote by Albert Camus has come to my attention many times, but never with the emotional charge it had for me today. Perhaps that’s because I have a dear friend who is having a tough time this winter. Someone close to her left this plane of existence a couple of weeks ago, and she was blind-sided by the intensity of her response. Add to this, frigid temperatures and an onslaught of squirrels in her attic and crawl space, and she began to feel helpless. The shenanigans of our current president have brought her to greater despair. Our difficult-to-maneuver medical system has her waiting for tests until February 13. So she is staying as quiet as possible, popping nitroglycerin and aspirin and waiting. I check on her daily, knowing she can find her “invincible summer”, and hoping I can share mine. Our happiness is contagious!

“Do not allow yourself to suffer from imagined results of what is not true. Free your mind from the belief that this is possible. In its complete impossibility lies your only hope for release. But what other hope would you want? Freedom from illusions lies only in not believing them. There is no attack, but there is unlimited communication and therefore unlimited power and wholeness. The power of wholeness is extension. Do not arrest your thought in this world, and you will open your mind to creation in God.”
A Course in Miracles T-8.VII.16:1-8

“My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 55:16-21

Love is Freedom

Art of Mary Engelbreit

At times, we all feel overwhelmed by life's circumstances -- or, at least, I know I do. Everything seems easier to me now, with grown children, no daily jobs to show up for, and most arduous demands gone from my days. But sometimes things happen and we are drawn into them. I have a friend whose life has been turned upside down when least expected. How do we cope when an illness befalls us or our loved ones, changing the rhythm of the life we cherish? Of course, we do what we must, and we pray for strength and guidance, and we listen for answers in whatever form they may appear. This is not an easy task -- but really, what is our choice? To all of us who are afraid, perhaps angry, feeling put-upon unnecessarily, overwrought by things beyond our control -- just breathe. Breathe deeply and find something to be happy for, an idea to be peaceful about. Sometimes we must release a problem in order to find its resolution. We can't change the situation, but we can change our thought about it. Love to you, each and every one, during these trying times.

“Love is freedom. To look for it by placing yourself in bondage is to separate yourself from it. For the Love of God, no longer seek for union in separation, nor for freedom in bondage! As you release, so will you be released. Forget this not, or Love will be unable to find you and comfort you."
A Course in Miracles T-16.VI.2.

“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 494:10-14

Welcome Joy

 JOY- By Donna Ashworth

“Joy does not arrive with a fanfare, 

on a red carpet strewn with the flowers of a perfect life.

Joy sneaks in, as you pour a cup of coffee,

watching the sun hit your favourite tree, just right.

And you usher joy away,

because you are not ready for it. 

Your house is not as it must be,

for such a distinguished guest.

But joy cares nothing for your messy home, 

or your bank-balance,

or your waistline, you see.

Joy is supposed to slither through the cracks of your imperfect life,

that’s how joy works.

You cannot invite her, you can only be ready when she appears.

And hug her with meaning,

because in this very moment, 

joy chose you.”

By Donna Ashworth 

“To heal is to make happy. I have told you to think how many opportunities you have had to gladden yourself, and how many you have refused. This is the same as telling you that you have refused to heal yourself. The light that belongs to you is the light of joy. Radiance is not associated with sorrow. Joy calls forth an integrated willingness to share it, and promotes the mind’s natural impulse to respond as one. Those who attempt to heal without being wholly joyous themselves call forth different kinds of responses at the same time, and thus deprive others of the joy of responding wholeheartedly.” 

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

The Four Nutriments

I watched part of a video today, the unabridged reading of “How to Focus” by Thich Nhat Hahn. I love being reminded of what’s important in life. He speaks of the four nutriments which can bring us joy or pain; which enable living beings to grow and maintain life. What are these four nutriments? He tells us: “The first is edible food, the second is the food of sense impressions, the third is the food of volition, and the fourth is the food of consciousness.” In relation to edible food, it is important we learn to shop, cook, and eat food with certain caveats in mind. We must eat in ways which will nourish our spirit. We need to eat in a way which helps retain compassion and preserves our collective well-being. In everything may we minimize our suffering, and minimize the suffering of all beings. Mindfulness can purify our mind and allow us to look deeply into the nature of All that Is. Caring and compassion are utmost in my mind today. I’ll be on the lookout for ways to expand this Love as I walk through our world.

“As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought, and leads it to 'where the young child was,' -- even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes. Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 191:8

“Let us come daily to this holy place, and spend a while together. Here we share our final dream. It is a dream in which there is no sorrow, for it holds a hint of all the glory given us by God. The grass is pushing through the soil, the trees are budding now, and birds have come to live within their branches. Earth is being born again in new perspective. Night has gone, and we have come together in the light.”
A Course in Miracles W-pII.2.4:1-6

Creativity and Imagination

We must see beyond the confines of what we believe to be true. For the past few years, I’ve been thinking deeply about why we humans have drastically divergent ideas of what is true. It’s a fascinating, yet frustrating, study! Iain McGilchrist has the most plausible explanation I have found for this. He has written a book called The Matter With Things. Since this book is 1100-pages long, more topics are addressed than I know about, but I’ve been learning quite a bit by listening to a variety of his interviews and talks. From these, I’ve gleaned that we must exercise the creative side of our brains. Without both sides working together, we lose the ability to use critical thinking in order to see the whole picture of the world around us. The left hemisphere, knowing less, thinks it knows everything: the Dunning-Kruger effect. When we lose the right-brain creative input, the left has nothing to challenge it, and the literal side crowds out the questioning side. The left brain, the literal side, apprehends; the right side comprehends. Bottom line, we must — absolutely must — exercise creativity. Listen to and play music, draw and paint, read and write, walk in the woods and imagine what the sprites and fairies are doing — anything at all which takes you out of by-rote thinking. This doesn’t sound like a chore to me!

“Mortals are egotists. They believe themselves to be independent workers, personal authors, and even privileged originators of something which Deity would not or could not create. The creations of mortal mind are material. Immortal spiritual man alone represents the truth of creation.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 263:1-6

“An insane learner learns strange lessons. What you must recognize is that when you do not share a thought system, you are weakening it. Those who believe in it therefore perceive this as an attack on them. This is because everyone identifies himself with his thought system, and every thought system centers on what you believe you are. If the center of the thought system is true, only truth extends from it. But if a lie is at its center, only deception proceeds from it.”
A Course in Miracles T-6.V-B.1:5-11