Missing Mr. Rogers

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Perhaps our moral compass in the United States went haywire when Mr. Rogers' soothing show was no longer on television. He taught us all to be nice, but it was more than that, don’t you think? I read an article about him which said his goal was to promote “self-esteem, self-control, imagination, creativity, curiosity, appreciation of diversity, cooperation, patience and persistence.” He taught us how to perform necessary tasks, such as tying our shoelaces; he informed us about things which enrich our lives, like planting a garden. He never told children they were just as good as anyone else, or that they were infallible, but rather he taught us that we each have value, and that value isn’t tied to particular successes or failures. He encouraged children to go to school and listen to their teachers, humanizing educators by telling the young viewers that the teachers were once children, too. Mr. Rogers taught us to be mindfully aware, to enjoy the process, and to love our neighbors. What more do we need? I think we need another Mr. Rogers...

“A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor’s worth simultaneously.”
A Course in Miracles T-1.I.18:1-4

"Incorrect reasoning leads to practical error. The wrong thought should be arrested before it has a chance to manifest itself."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 452:4

Challenge the Lies

I remember a time long, long ago when I was a child, asking my mother why the people killed Jesus. Oddly enough, she told me she didn’t know; that it made no sense to her either. I can only suppose she said this because she didn’t want me to be crucified by my little fundamentalist friends, because she knew I never could keep my mouth shut. She was an ardent student of the Bible and Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures, so I’m sure she knew exactly why religious leaders were afraid to let him live. He was preaching the doctrine of Love, which had nothing to do with taking an eye for an eye or persecuting others because they didn’t acquiesce to prescribed doctrine. We know it was not the heathens who nailed him to a cross and laughed at him for his new way of thinking. It was the religious leaders. These men who wanted to be in charge of everything and not let people know that the power was within them, they are the ones who tried to bury his teachings about God. In 2000 years we’re still afraid to speak truth to error. I applaud every one of you who question the nature of reality and the veracity of the leaders we follow!

“Led on by the grossest element of mortal mind, Herod decreed the death of every male child in order that the man Jesus, the masculine representative of the spiritual idea, might never hold sway and deprive Herod of his crown. The impersonation of the spiritual idea had a brief history in the earthly life of our Master; but ‘of his kingdom there shall be no end,’ for Christ, God’s idea, will eventually rule all nations and peoples — imperatively, absolutely, finally — with divine Science. This immaculate idea, represented first by man and, according to the Revelator, last by woman, will baptize with fire; and the fiery baptism will burn up the chaff of error with the fervent heat of Truth and Love, melting and purifying even the gold of human character. 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 566:9-27

“I have said that the crucifixion is the symbol of the ego. When it was confronted with the real guiltlessness of God’s Son it did attempt to kill him, and the reason it gave was that guiltlessness is blasphemous to God. To the ego, the ego is God, and guiltlessness must be interpreted as the final guilt that fully justifies murder. You do not yet understand that any fear you may experience in connection with this course stems ultimately from this interpretation, but if you will consider your reactions to it you will become increasingly convinced that this is so.”
A Course in Miracles T-13.II.6:1-4

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A Gateway to Peace

Marianne visiting the Amazon 

Morning meditation and photo from Marianne Williamson:

Negativity poisons my mind and positivity restores it

“I have a choice whether to join in the darkness of the world, its petty judgments, and constant blame. When I do so I inject my psyche with poison, and today I choose a healthy mind.

I replace all negativity with a positive attitude, in which I seek to find, and to articulate, the good in others. If I disagree, I will disagree with respect. If I debate a point, I will debate fairly. If I need to draw a boundary for the sake of justice, I will do so with honor for the dignity of all.

I will no longer be careless with the working of my mind. Rather, I will use it as it was created to be used, as a conduit for love and as a gateway to peace. May everyone, including myself, feel the tenderness of my approval and not the harshness of my unkindness.

Negativity poisons my mind and positivity restores it” - Marianne


“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 261:4-9

“Perhaps it will be helpful to remember that no one can be angry at a fact. It is always an interpretation that gives rise to negative emotions, regardless of their seeming justification by what appears as facts. Regardless, too, of the intensity of the anger that is aroused. It may be merely slight irritation, perhaps too mild to be even clearly recognized. Or it may also take the form of intense rage, accompanied by thoughts of violence, fantasied or apparently acted out. It does not matter. All of these reactions are the same. They obscure the truth, and this can never be a matter of degree. Either truth is apparent, or it is not. It cannot be partially recognized. Who is unaware of truth must look upon illusions.”
A Course in Miracles M-17.4:1-11

Waking Up

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater 

Like most of you, I grew up with an understanding of what it meant to awaken. I knew it as awakening from a slumber, a dream, or from a misconception. Then there are the biblical words which speak to awakening when you understand that the Christ Light is alive in everything and everyone. Of the many definitions, none held the negative connotations which have been pushed onto the word in the past decade. My neighbor came to visit this evening and we listened to an astonishing new singer on the folk music scene, Jesse Wells. This young man could be called a political activist because he’s not afraid of telling it like it is. Some of the titles of his songs are: That Can’t Be Right; Tylenol; The Poor; Meet The New Swamp; Venezuela; No Kings. He is such a quietly powerful songwriter, singer, presenter of truth — well, we commented numerous times on the chills we got during particularly powerful statements. I first heard him a few weeks ago at the Farm Aid benefit, and most recently in concert with Joan Baez. It seems to me he is the definitive “sign of the times” today. May he inspire us all to be truth sayers. It’s time to wake up.

“The Holy Spirit never itemizes errors because He does not frighten children, and those who lack wisdom are children. Yet He always answers their call, and His dependability makes them more certain. Children do confuse fantasy and reality, and they are frightened because they do not recognize the difference. The Holy Spirit makes no distinction among dreams. He merely shines them away. His light is always the Call to awaken, whatever you have been dreaming. Nothing lasting lies in dreams, and the Holy Spirit, shining with the light from God Himself, speaks only for what lasts forever.”
A Course in Miracles T-6.V.4:1-7

“Ontology receives less attention than physiology. Why?Because mortal mind must waken to spiritual life before it cares to solve the problem of being, hence the author’s experience; but when that awakening comes, existence will be on a new standpoint.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science. & Health Page 556:25-30

It’s Your Party, Too!

 

Art by Inge Löök Oy Ab 

 DON’T MISS YOUR OWN PARTY - BY DONNA ASHWORTH

You know that feeling, when you have daily cleaned, cooked and prepared for a big family get-together or party?

You bustle around doing everything and making sure everyone has a wonderful time and when you finally do get the chance to sit down and relax with your guests, it’s home time...

Don’t let that be the metaphor for your life.

Don’t let the moment you finally relax be a moment too far...

I guess what I am trying to say my friend is, don’t miss your own party because you wanted everyone to else to have the best time.

  

Now is the time to sit down, take a beat and chat with a friend or loved one.

Now is the time to eat, break bread and be merry.

Now is the time to be fully here.

Fully present.

Enjoying.

Experiencing.

Living.

Not after, not when ‘everything is perfect’.

The dishes can wait, this is your party, your life.

You’re invited too.”

Donna Ashworth

From my poetry book ‘LIFE’

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 45:16-21

“You will not find peace until you have removed the nails from the hands of God’s Son, and taken the last thorn from his forehead. The Love of God surrounds His Son whom the god of crucifixion condemns. Teach not that I died in vain. Teach rather that I did not die by demonstrating that I live in you. For the undoing of the crucifixion of God’s Son is the work of the redemption, in which everyone has a part of equal value. God does not judge His guiltless Son. Having given Himself to him, how could it be otherwise?” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.VI.7:1-7

Become a Guardian of the Earth

A water crystal, treated kindly

Dr. Masaru Emoto was a Japanese scientist who devoted his life to experiments which show that our thoughts and intentions impact the physical realm. He studied the scientific evidence of how the molecular structure in water transforms when it is exposed to human words, thoughts, sounds, and intentions. He also experimented with grains of rice in water. One was spoken to kindly and politely; one was shouted at and abused; one was ignored. The one showered with kindness developed roots and thrived; the one treated rudely did okay; but the one ignored, turned into lifeless sludge. We must become a guardian of our environment. Mostly, we don’t give attention to where our water and food come from. We take it for granted; we ignore it. We can all become guardians, even if it is of a small space. Plant herbs in a flower pot on a windowsill and give them attention. Pick a spot in a local park and send it love. Sit with a few blades of grass and do a meditation. Attentive love is a force of nature. That’s a proven fact!

“There is a light in you the world can not perceive. And with its eyes you will not see this light, for you are blinded by the world. Yet you have eyes to see it. It is there for you to look upon. It was not placed in you to be kept hidden from your sight. This light is a reflection of the thought we practice now. To feel the Love of God within you is to see the world anew, shining in innocence, alive with hope, and blessed with perfect charity and love.” 

A Course in Miracles W-189.1:1-

“As when an acid and alkali meet and bring out a third quality, so mental and moral chemistry changes the material base of thought, giving more spirituality to consciousness and causing it to depend less on material evidence. These changes which go on in mortal mind serve to reconstruct the body. Thus Christian Science, by the alchemy of Spirit, destroys sin and death.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 422:14-21

Metaphorical Front Porches

While speaking with a friend, our talk turned to front porches. We lamented the loss of visiting with neighbors as we relax with iced tea and watch the fire flies rise at dusk. The camaraderie and community brought about by visiting together is indeed a loss for our society. But isn’t the front porch metaphorical? I mentioned to her that social media is a substitute for the building of friendships and banding together for common causes. We can be victims of things like Twitter and Facebook, or we can control what comes into our minds and make friendships with people all over the world who share our values. For instance, I unfollow folks who provoke anger and distrust, and welcome the posts of those who love books and music and esoteric spiritual teachings. We can join groups, such as those who follow the words of Ram Dass, Eckhart Tolle, and other people we admire. It’s a great way to share how we put into practice peaceful ways of living, and to give inspiration to those of us who need a helping hand. I also belong to a few groups of folks who love books, and we have interesting chats about what we’re currently reading. We can bring the world to our front porch in this age of instant communication, and it can be a fabulous nurturing experience, if we mold it to be a force for love.

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

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

“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 will be established. Having no other gods, turning to no other but the one perfect Mind to guide him, man is the likeness of God, pure and eternal, having that Mind which was also in Christ.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 467:9-16

A Happy Place to Rest

I have a friend who went on an eight-month solo camping trip to remote regions of the United States. At the age of 74, she jumped into her car with a pup tent, a few blankets and changes of clothing, her sketch pad — and not much else! She slept under the stars, when possible by a river, met many interesting people, and got quite an education about Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Arizona, and Utah. As I related some of Lizzy’s adventures to a mutual friend, she said she could never do anything like that until she “conquered her fear”. Hum, what an interesting concept! I suppose we are taught that fear is something to be overcome, but I think of it as something to be replaced. I suggested she start by giving up sensationalized news in the media, surrender her addiction to crime dramas on the television, and stop reading horror stories. She thought I was joking, as she can’t imagine life without those activities. I could have given her a lecture, but I let it go with a smile. ☺️

“Are you invulnerable? Then the world is harmless in your sight. Do you forgive? Then is the world forgiving, for you have forgiven it its trespasses, and so it looks on you with eyes that see as yours. Are you a body? So is all the world perceived as treacherous, and out to kill. Are you a spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the stain of sin upon you? So the world is seen as stable, fully worthy of your trust; a happy place to rest in for a while, where nothing need be feared, but only loved. Who is unwelcome to the kind in heart? And what could hurt the truly innocent?” 

A Course in Miracles T-31.VI.6:1-10

“As human thought changes from one stage to an other of conscious pain and painlessness, sorrow and joy, — from fear to hope and from faith to understanding, — the visible manifestation will at last be man governed by Soul, not by material sense.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 124:12-16

A Delusional Prison

Photo from Marianne Williamson’s trip to the Amazon

 Day Breakers’ Community

This Albert Einstein quote caught my attention: "A human being is a part of the whole called by us 'the universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical illusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."  Albert Einstein

“Thus does the son of man become the Son of God. It is not really a change; it is a change of mind. Nothing external alters, but everything internal now reflects only the Love of God. God can no longer be feared, for the mind sees no cause for punishment. God’s teachers appear to be many, for that is what is the world’s need. Yet being joined in one purpose, and one they share with God, how could they be separate from each other? What does it matter if they then appear in many forms? Their minds are one; their joining is complete. And God works through them now as one, for that is what they are.” 

A Course in Miracles M-12.2:1-

“The belief that man has existence or mind separate from God is a dying error.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 42:19-20

Love Sets Me Free

Photo courtesy of Lisa West

The recognition that we are Love is liberating, in and of itself. Mary Baker Eddy tells us, "Love looseth me and lifteth me a'yont hate's thrall". Can you guess she was a fan of Shakespeare? Old-fashioned language aside, she's saying that Love sets us free, lifting us above and beyond any hate we may perceive. I’ve mostly given up trying to change anyone, and usually I can resist the urge to want to fix others, but I've come to see that it's my purpose to show them the way to freedom through living Love. By actions and words we bring ourselves, and thereby everyone, to the realization that Love is the only reality. To live Love allows a release from past habitual thought and the pain we've chosen. Then there is no need for blame, guilt, nor forgiveness — and we are free!

“With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 469:30-5

“To love yourself is to heal yourself, and you cannot perceive part of you as sick and achieve your goal. Brother, we heal together as we live together and love together. Be not deceived in God’s Son, for he is one with himself and one with his Father. Love him who is beloved of his Father, and you will learn of the Father’s Love for you.” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.VIII.11:3-6

Peace To Struggling Hearts

Many good things are happening in our world, and one of those is the recognition that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder happens to people other than those in active combat zones. Many of our addictions may be a direct reaction to abuses in our younger life. I’ve been pondering an article about the Ukrainian people who have basically been locked in battle with Russia since the 17th century. Martin Kuz is a reporter who is devoted to telling the plight of these people, and I quote him here: “This trauma is like a terrible national heirloom. But it also explains the strength of the Ukrainians. They’re bound by this idea of collective memory.” He has spoken with psychologists who advise residents who have endured loss to establish new routines which can liberate them from some of the triggers of their sorrow. He refers to “post-traumatic growth” on the other side of this war. I think we can all benefit from his conclusion: “That doesn’t mean trauma magically dissipates; it means that you recognize that you can overcome things beyond what you ever imagined — and that will allow you to have that brighter future.”

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 45:16-21

“The shadowy figures from the past are precisely what you must escape. They are not real, and have no hold over you unless you bring them with you. They carry the spots of pain in your mind, directing you to attack in the present in retaliation for a past that is no more. And this decision is one of future pain. Unless you learn that past pain is an illusion, you are choosing a future of illusions and losing the many opportunities you could find for release in the present.”
A Course in Miracles T-13.IV.6:1-5

All Hallows’ Eve

Photo creation from Blake Lasater

It seems many Christians are afraid of Halloween celebrations. Our local Methodist minister, Blake Lasater, wrote an explanation of this. I feel compelled to share it with you. Happy Halloween!

“All Hallows’ Eve

Traditions are established all the time, they maybe ancient or they maybe new, but they are simply ways for us to sanctify the rhythms of time. Halloween is a particular favorite of mine, probably my inner child speaking. It gets its name from the old English word for saint — hallowed.

The early church set aside days to honor those who had been martyred for their faith, but very quickly the calendar filled with saintly feast days. May 13th was the original date of All Saints, or the Feast of Martyrs, but then the Pope took possession of the ancient Roman Pantheon (pan = all, theos = gods, hence all the gods) and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary and “all the saints” in 615. By 840 the day was known as “All Saints’ Day”, and in old English, “All Hallows”, and then Pope Sixtus IV in 1484 moved it to the first day of November and gave it a ‘vigil’, where people could stay up the night before and keep watch while praying, hence our favorite holiday of mischief and candy, “All Hallows’ Eve” or “Halloween”. Many folks would go door-to-door asking for little baked goods called “Soul Cakes” in exchange they promised to pray for that family’s dead loved ones. 

The move to November 1st coincided with the first harvest, and the Pope wanted to make sure there would be plenty of food for those who made pilgrimages to their home churches. It is a great time to bring canned food to give to local food pantries on All Saints.

Halloween got mixed up with a lot of non-christian traditions and sacred days. Samhain is a Celtic festival during this same time, to mark the end of harvest season and the beginning of the “darker” half of the year. Interestingly, it is the halfway point between the Equinox and the Solstice, both of which are vitally important times for neolithic cultures. Many considered this time to be a moment when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest, and the spirits could come and go freely between the realms — hence ghosts and goblins.

Werewolves go back to ancient Sumerian mythology, and perhaps were ways of explaining the existence and motivations of ancient serial killers (they are indeed monsters). Vampires were folks suffering from light sensitivities, and often that condition struck the nobility the hardest — hence the moniker, “Count Dracula”. Mummies would eventually make an appearance as early archeologists uncovered ancient Egypt, and then quickly came the apocryphal Mummy’s Curse (Howard Carter was not cursed for opening Tut’s tomb). Devils and demons would emerge from the imaginations of Medieval Christians, and somehow God’s most beautiful angel would become a fallen dude with red skin, horns, and a tail. The idea of Hell would be fleshed out as Satan’s abode, and a place where sinners were punished. That’s not quite a biblical idea, but one that emerged gradually culminating in Dante’s vivid imagination. Today Christians talk more about Hell and Satan than they do about Heaven and Jesus — an odd transformation of a religion based on grace and love and eternal life.

But Halloween was never a separate, pagan holiday corrupting good Christians everywhere. All cultures have in their sacred beliefs times set aside to remember the ancestors, and to be reminded that death is nothing to fear. The darkness may descend — as it always does — but the light and life will go on. For me Halloween is that time of sacred mischief that whispers we have nothing to fear from the dark. The Light has come into the world and conquered the darkness. Ghouls, goblins, and demons have no hold over us, and our Halloween revelries are simply a time to remember that good news.

Don’t let the religious zealots frighten into believing it is an evil day.”

“The mind can make the belief in separation very real and very fearful, and this belief is the ‘devil.’ It is powerful, active, destructive and clearly in opposition to God, because it literally denies His Fatherhood. Look at your life and see what the devil has made. But realize that this making will surely dissolve in the light of truth, because its foundation is a lie. Your creation by God is the only Foundation that cannot be shaken, because the light is in it. Your starting point is truth, and you must return to your Beginning. Much has been seen since then, but nothing has really happened. Your Self is still in peace, even though your mind is in conflict. You have not yet gone back far enough, and that is why you become so fearful. As you approach the Beginning, you feel the fear of the destruction of your thought system upon you as if it were the fear of death. There is no death, but there is a belief in death.”
A Course in Miracles T-3.VII.5:1-11

“We cannot bring out the practical proof of Christianity, which Jesus required, while error seems as potent and real to us as Truth, and while we make a personal devil and an anthropomorphic God our starting-points, — especially if we consider Satan as a being coequal in power with Deity, if not superior to Him.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 351:16-21

Appreciate Yourself

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater 

Maybe you think you should be appreciated more, or perhaps you know someone who is always "fishing for compliments". Both of these beliefs fall under the category of expecting something which you already have. When you appreciate yourself, when you are grateful for the wonder which is you, that's all you need. And it is an all-encompassing gratitude! This recognition is one of the after-effects of loosening the bonds of materiality. The more we let go of expectations and beliefs, the more opportunity there is for Truth to take their place. We needn't do anything but clear the way! And that’s what we’re doing!!

“The ego is afraid of the spirit’s joy, because once you have experienced it you will withdraw all protection from the ego, and become totally without investment in fear. Your investment is great now because fear is a witness to the separation, and your ego rejoices when you witness to it. Leave it behind! Do not listen to it and do not preserve it. Listen only to God, Who is as incapable of deception as is the spirit He created. Release yourself and release others. Do not present a false and unworthy picture of yourself to others, and do not accept such a picture of them yourself.” 

A Course in Miracles T-4.I.10:1-7

“When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who understands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 180

Where All Children Can Thrive…

Image: Giovanna Photography

“How do we love all the children? Not just our children, not just the ones who look like us or who have resources, not just the human children but the young of birds and salmon and redwood trees. When we love all the children, when that love is truly sacred to us in the sense of being most important, then we have to take action in the world to enact that love. We are called to make the earth a place where all the children can thrive.” ~ Starhawk, The Spiral Dance

“I bless you, brother, with the Love of God, which I would share with you. For I would learn the joyous lesson that there is no love but God’s and yours and mine and everyone’s.” 

A Course in Miracles W-127.12:4-5

“Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While age is halting between two opinions or battling with false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards Truth.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 236:28-32

There Is No Justification For Cruelty

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The belief in separation fosters fear, and fear and cruelty go hand in hand. We think we’re defending ourselves, our loved ones, or values which are of importance to us and our way of life. To this defensive end, we are willing to attack others in our words and actions, not listening to the voice of sanity which divine Mind is forever supplying. If I witness attack thoughts around me today, I will remember that those propounding such ideas believe they are justified in their defenses. And in this remembrance, I will see them as a child of Love, knowing this is their true Being, and praying that they may realize it, too.

“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 497:24-28

“With love as enemy, must cruelty become a god. And gods demand that those who worship them obey their dictates, and refuse to question them. Harsh punishment is meted out relentlessly to those who ask if the demands are sensible or even sane. It is their enemies who are unreasonable and insane, while they are always merciful and just.”
A Course in Miracles W-170.6:1-4

Infinite, As Many of One

Contemporary Art Museum in Denver, Colorado

Photo by Aaron Springston

“Conscious human individuality is not individual as one of many but infinite as many of One.” [Margaret Laird] The enormity of Oneness may seem more than we can fathom, but knowing we are an individual reflection of goodness, and united therein, seems much more manageable! Realizing our spiritual nature as the experience of divine Love opens a new world in which I am not a victim of mortal mind and its manifestations. I am unafraid to take a stand for harmony and peace, knowing that it is our birthright as reflections of Mind.

"As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible.When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.”

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 264:13-19

“Miracles make minds one in God. They depend on cooperation because the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. Miracles therefore reflect the laws of eternity, not of time.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.I.19:1-3

Peace Is Shining Through You

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

A cantankerous friend who insists he’s an atheist engaged me in a discussion about God. His diatribe consisted of stories from the news about people’s actions in the name of their church and beliefs. He told me of close friends who profess to be Christians, yet have become increasingly hateful in their speech in the last few years. I countered each of his stories with stories of my own which illustrated what I think of as God. I told him of a non-dualistic God, one which doesn’t sit up on a cloud granting favors and dispensing retribution, but which is found within. I endeavored to explain how this ever-presence wasn’t pantheism because God is not IN us, but God IS us in much the same way as a sunbeam is the expression of the sun. We are the experience of divine Love, Mind, Soul, Truth, Spirit, Life. The peace of God is shining through me now.

“The peace of God is shining in you now, and from your heart extends around the world. It pauses to caress each living thing, and leaves a blessing with it that remains forever and forever. What it gives must be eternal. It removes all thoughts of the ephemeral and valueless. It brings renewal to all tired hearts, and lights all vision as it passes by. All of its gifts are given everyone, and everyone unites in giving thanks to you who give, and you who have received.”
A Course in Miracles W-188.3:1-6

“Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose ‘light shall we see light;’ and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.”
Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 510:9-12

Nature Voices Divine Love

Art by Abbott Henderson Thayer

Forgive Me - Poem by Mary Oliver

Angels are wonderful but they are so, well, aloof.

It’s what I sense in the mud and the roots of the

trees, or the well, or the barn, or the rock with

its citron map of lichen that halts my feet and

makes my eyes flare,

 feeling the presence of some spirit, 

some small god,

 who abides there.

If I were a perfect person, I would be bowing

continuously.

I’m not, though I pause wherever I feel this

holiness, which is why I’m so often late coming

back from wherever I went.

Forgive me.

~ 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

Traumatic Religious Practice

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Not having experienced any specific childhood trauma, I didn’t think about the results for those who have — at least not until I was living with a man who had excessive trauma in his younger years. As I began to examine the aftereffects of both physical and mental abuse, I came across the fabulous Dr. Gabor Matè, who shares his extensive work with the effects of trauma through books and YouTube videos. A few weeks ago, I mentioned a woman named Tia Levings, who wrote “A Well-Trained Wife”. She tells of how she has survived years of abuse, most of which was religion-based. If you want to know more of her experiences — and millions of others in our country — watch Shiny, Happy People, which is the story of the Duggar family. For decades, certain religious sects have promoted the ideas which these people are living. Women are controlled in every facet of their lives: no voting, no birth control, no choice in education - in other words, to have no voice or power over any part of their lives. Ms. Levings also exposes how men are victims of these religions. There are unrealistic expectations placed on men, who often have psychotic breaks because of the stunted emotional development they have been forced into. We like to think of those who live like this as an aberration. I now see how it is not only pervasive, but growing exponentially. This is a deep subject in which to delve.

“True denial is a powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment but a correction. Your right mind depends on it. Denial of error is a strong defense of truth, but denial of truth results in miscreation, the projections of the ego. In the service of the right mind the denial of error frees the mind, and re-establishes the freedom of the will. When the will is really free it cannot miscreate, because it recognizes only truth.”
A Course in Miracles T-2.II.2:1-7

“Suffering, sinning, dying beliefs are unreal. When divine Science is universally understood, they will have no power over man, for man is immortal and lives by divine authority.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 76:18-21

Out of Fear, Given Back to Love

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Someone once told me he thought that hope holds us captive, and that if we don't accept the "reality" of what we see around us, we are lost in dreams of what could be, giving up any chance of changing what is. I’m coming to see that the opposite is true. The material picture of good and evil warring with each other is what we have decided is truth, hence we hope and strive for good to win. With the burgeoning knowledge that divine Mind is the reality and mortal mind is the illusion, we are freed to do more than hope. The divinely-endowed, spiritually-scientific consciousness within us is opened, and like a fountain the ideas we need flow forth. This consciousness is realized when we see that God is our Mind, not just in our mind. Our reality is the divine Mind which we reflect. What a freeing concept!

“Oh my brothers, if you only knew the peace that will envelop you and hold you safe and pure and lovely in the Mind of God, you could but rush to meet Him where His altar is. Hallowed your Name and His, for they are joined here in this holy place. Here He leans down to lift you up to Him, out of illusions into holiness; out of the world and to eternity; out of all fear and given back to love.”
A Course in Miracles C-4.8:1-3

“When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.”
Mary Baker Eddy- Science & Health Page 227:22-25