Solidly Here

A Gathering of Friends 

“Lean on us, we are solidly here. Strong. With love in our hearts.” These are the words written from a friend to another friend whose husband had just begun hospice care. I’ve said before how important it is to have a strong network of friends, and this seems to be more important as we age. Perhaps it’s not more important; maybe it’s that we find ourselves in need of the comfort more often. For instance, I have friends with dementia, others with serious illnesses, a couple are having a tough time retiring from their life work; although some of us are enjoying said retirement very much, because there is more time to bask in the lifelong connections we have nurtured over the years. I also know some people who feel alone and without deep connections. That’s when it becomes important to realize that we are never alone, by virtue of our constant kinship with Mother Earth, and with each other through divine Mind. Allowing ourselves to sink into the arms of all-encompassing Love brings a security few other relationships afford us. And I am grateful …

“When we fully understand our relation to the Divine, we can have no other Mind but His, — no other Love, wisdom, or Truth, no other sense of Life, and no consciousness of the existence of matter or error.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 205:32-3

“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.2:1-5

You Can’t Push the River

Alaska - photo from Aaron Springston

A dear friend is trying to make a decision about her future: whether to sell her business, how to sell a house she loves, where to go — if anywhere. Hearing her worries reminded me of 30 years ago when I wanted to move to my present village. My boys were going to Clear Spring School and I decided to move from Berryville to Eureka Springs. There were obstacles which seemed insurmountable and no matter how much I planned and worried, nothing was working out. At some point I read an article purported to be written by Mary Baker Eddy entitled “Place”, and it was her words which allowed me to stop all the mental chatter and surrender to divine Mind. Shortly afterwards, I was recycling newspapers and a house rental ad jumped off the page at me. It’s the same house where I’ve happily raised my children, the home where inspiration was sparked for a business which introduced me to hundreds of great friends, the place I love to be more than anywhere. Through the years, I've watched in wonder as answers come when I no longer worry over possibilities. Unfortunately, trying to explain this concept is not easy. Yielding of personal will is not a popular idea. We are learning we can't push the river...

“The place you seek is seeking you, the place you need is needing you.”
—Mary Baker Eddy [There is some controversy as to whether she wrote the article entitled “Place”.

“Child of Light, you know not that the light is in you. Yet you will find it through its witnesses, for having given light to them they will return it. Each one you see in light brings your light closer to your awareness. Love always leads to love. The sick, who ask for love, are grateful for it, and in their joy they shine with holy thanks. And this they offer you who gave them joy. They are your guides to joy, for having received it of you they would keep it. You have established them as guides to peace, for you have made it manifest in them. And seeing it, its beauty calls you home.”
—A Course in Miracles T-13.VI.10:1-9

On Beauty …

Solar Eclipse in Antarctica 

Kahlil Gibran has always been my go-to inspirational guru. After watching numerous skating events, I was drawn to see what he had to say about beauty. Even if you do not want to read the whole poem, please go to the last stanza. It knocks me out!

On Beauty

BY KAHLIL GIBRAN

And a poet said, Speak to us of Beauty.

     And he answered:

     Where shall you seek beauty, and how

shall you find her unless she herself be your

way and your guide?

     And how shall you speak of her except

she be the weaver of your speech?

 

     The aggrieved and the injured say,

“Beauty is kind and gentle.

     Like a young mother half-shy of her

own glory she walks among us.”

     And the passionate say, “Nay, beauty is

a thing of might and dread.

     Like the tempest she shakes the earth

beneath us and the sky above us.”

 

     The tired and the weary say, “Beauty is

of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.

     Her voice yields to our silences like a faint

light that quivers in fear of the shadow.”

     But the restless say, “We have heard her

shouting among the mountains,

     And with her cries came the sound of

hoofs, and the beating of wings and

the roaring of lions.”

 

     At night the watchmen of the city say,

“Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the

east.”

     And at noontide the toilers and the way-

farers say, “We have seen her leaning over

the earth from the windows of the sunset.”

 

     In winter say the snow-bound, “She shall

come with the spring leaping upon the hills.”

     And in the summer heat the reapers say,

“We have seen her dancing with the autumn

leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her

hair.”

     All these things have you said of beauty,

     Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of

needs unsatisfied,

     And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.

     It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty

hand stretched forth,

     But rather a heart enflamed and a soul en-

chanted.

     It is not the image you would see nor the

song you would hear,

     But rather an image you see though you

close your eyes and a song you hear though

you shut your ears.

     It is not the sap within the furrowed bark,

nor a wing attached to a claw,

     But rather a garden for ever in bloom and

a flock of angels for ever in flight.

 

     People of Orphalese, beauty is life when

life unveils her holy face.

     But you are life and you are the veil.

     Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mir-

ror.

     But you are eternity and you are the mir-

ror.

— On Beauty, by Kahlil Gibran

Wholehearted Joy

Alysa Liu in Free Skate Olympic Event

In the last couple of days, many of us have witnessed pure joy skating on ice. Alysa Liu skates with a freedom we seldom see in any creature other than the very young, when they are playing with no thought for anything other than how good it feels. This young woman began to win skating competitions at an extremely young age, then stopped because of the pressure she felt and the restrictions being imposed on her. But she missed the feeling of pushing herself physically, of giving everything she had, and she began competing again a couple of years ago. Yesterday, she won a gold medal in the women’s singles competition. She is the epitome of what these United States have been founded upon. Her father immigrated to this country following his participation in protests over the Tiananmen Square events in Beijing. Alysa had a very non-traditional childhood, but says that memories of living in a small apartment with her four siblings are happy ones. Look up her winning free-style performance on youtube. I guarantee some of her exuberance will spread to you!

“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.1:6-7

“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.”

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:23-30

Metaphorical Sunbeams

Pine Forest in Tirol - 1890

Art by Bertha Weggman

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

Perceiving Our Oneness is Healing

 

Bad Bunny at Super Bowl Halftime Show

Many times I day, I must remind myself to “practice what I preach”. It’s easy to see how others are allowing their thoughts and actions to work against the greater Good — or the lesser good, according to perceptions. But to recognize it within myself, that is more difficult. I tend to rationalize my way of thinking about things, pretending my words are coming from love, not fear. The main reason for keeping my thoughts above the onslaught of material turmoil is that it will do no good to join in the anger and sadness. No matter how bad I feel, it will not improve the situation. This goes for not only the global craziness we are witnessing, but the health issues many of our friends are in the midst of minding. My compassion doesn’t require me to cry and repeat symptoms to others, but it does demand that I lift up my thoughts about the situation. And by that I mean: seeing through the picture and recognizing the reality hidden by the illusion. As someone who has witnessed the beauty of spiritual/metaphysical healing since childhood, I also recognize how easy it is to fall into by-rote thinking about physical causes and cures. And so today I shall double down on my desire to know the Truth about our true, spiritual selves. Join me!

“Healing is a thought by which two minds perceive their oneness and become glad. This gladness calls to every part of the Sonship to rejoice with them, and lets God go out into them and through them. Only the healed mind can experience revelation with lasting effect, because revelation is an experience of pure joy. If you do not choose to be wholly joyous, your mind cannot have what it does not choose to be. Remember that spirit knows no difference between having and being. The higher mind thinks according to the laws spirit obeys, and therefore honors only the laws of God. To spirit getting is meaningless and giving is all. Having everything, spirit holds everything by giving it, and thus creates as the Father created. While this kind of thinking is totally alien to having things, even to the lower mind it is quite comprehensible in connection with ideas. If you share a physical possession, you do divide its ownership. If you share an idea, however, you do not lessen it. All of it is still yours although all of it has been given away. Further, if the one to whom you give it accepts it as his, he reinforces it in your mind and thus increases it. If you can accept the concept that the world is one of ideas, the whole belief in the false association the ego makes between giving and losing is gone.”
—A Course in Miracles T-5.I.1:1-14

“You render the divine law of healing obscure and void, when you weigh the human in the scale with the divine, or limit in any direction of thought the omnipresence and omnipotence of God.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 445:14-18

Independent of Doctrines

You may have read Lessons in Chemistry, or perhaps watched the Apple TV series based on this lovely book. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, defies the norms of 1960s life. She is a scientist and scholar, living with a man to whom she is not married, having a child without a husband, and speaking her mind calmly and concisely no matter what the circumstance. She reminds me of Mary Baker Eddy, who in the mid-1800s followed a calling which was unheard of for woman — writing about new/old ideas which people thought of as blasphemous, giving speeches in public about them (a lady preacher?!), and starting a school, then a church, to keep the ideas flowing into the future. When yellow journalism was doing its best to smear her name, she started a newspaper with the motto: “To injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” To this day, you can count on The Christian Science Monitor to tell the truth and bring the world to our doorstep. Thank you to every calm, assertive woman who refused to go away when she was told to do so!

“Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away. Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-stone to faith.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page vii:13-18

“Knowing is not open to interpretation. You may try to ‘interpret’ meaning, but this is always open to error because it refers to the perception of meaning. Such incongruities are the result of attempts to regard yourself as separated and unseparated at the same time. It is impossible to make so fundamental a confusion without increasing your overall confusion still further. Your mind may have become very ingenious, but as always happens when method and content are separated, it is utilized in a futile attempt to escape from an inescapable impasse. Ingenuity is totally divorced from knowledge, because knowledge does not require ingenuity. Ingenious thinking is not the truth that shall set you free, but you are free of the need to engage in it when you are willing to let it go.”
—A Course in Miracles T-3.V.5:1-7

Responding With Fear or Love?

What are your feelings when you hear someone justify their actions by stating that someone else did the same or “worse”? Do you cringe when you hear mention of woman being made from a man’s rib, and so she should be subservient to him? Does the extreme duality of the majority of religions cause you to wonder if they know the meaning of One? When someone is feeling hurt by another’s actions, why is it so difficult for them to speak out and state that? These are a few of the questions which have been brought to my attention. I, of course, could expound on my opinions concerning these dilemmas, but I’m trying to listen for the deeper questions here. As all things are a product of fear or love, what would the loving response be in these scenarios? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

“Comparison must be an ego device, for love makes none. Specialness always makes comparisons. It is established by a lack seen in another, and maintained by searching for, and keeping clear in sight, all lacks it can perceive. This does it seek, and this it looks upon. And always whom it thus diminishes would be your savior, had you not chosen to make of him a tiny measure of your specialness instead. Against the littleness you see in him you stand as tall and stately, clean and honest, pure and unsullied, by comparison with what you see. Nor do you understand it is yourself that you diminish thus.” 

—A Course in Miracles  T-24.II.1:1-7

“Human thoughts have their degrees of comparison. Some thoughts are better than others. A belief in Truth is better than a belief in error, but no mortal testimony is founded on the divine rock. Mortal testimony can be shaken. Until belief becomes faith, and faith becomes spiritual understanding, human thought has little relation to the actual or divine.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 297:21-28`

Bowing Continuously

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

Friendship and Common Causes

When the Surgeon General issued a statement calling loneliness and isolation an epidemic, it caused me to notice people around me and wonder if they felt lonely. My street is the epitome of community. We talk to each other and help out in times of need. I could write pages about how much I love my neighbors! But then I think about a few friends who have devoted their lives to spouses or jobs, which they no longer have. Many, if not all of them, seem to be looking for something they don’t think they’ll ever find. I have wondered in these writing why people don’t reach out to each other, why we don’t band together in friendship and common causes, what might we be afraid of in opening ourselves to others? I’m not sure I have any more answers now than when I last addressed this issue, but I do know more people are talking about the subject and finding avenues to help bring us together. I’m also thinking of days past when I may have felt lonely myself, and identifying reasons this is no longer my plight. I don’t feel separated from anyone or anything I love. And I’m no longer putting limitation on where that love can flow. And so, friends, my prayer for today is that we can be honest with ourselves and reach out to others when we need them or they need us. Namaste…

“Let him no more be lonely, for the lonely ones are those who see no function in the world for them to fill; no place where they are needed, and no aim which only they can perfectly fulfill.”
—A Course in Miracles T-25.VI.3:6

“Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 266:6-12

Consciousness Loving Itself

Art by Amanda Cass

On this beautiful day when the world celebrates love, I would like to quote words from an Eckhart Tolle talk: “To feel empathy with another human, to feel love or lovingkindness, isn’t an emotion. Emotion is the neediness of attachment to another human being, but the outflow of lovingkindness or love towards another human is not a turbulence; it’s a deep thing that comes out of the recognition that the consciousness that I am is the essence of who you are, also. So what I love in you is consciousness loving itself.” Today I will make a point of thinking of people who are expressing divine Love in various activities, living a life of grace, and let them know how important they are to me and others. Happy Valentine’s Day to us all!!

“The Holy Spirit has given you love’s messengers to send instead of those you trained through fear. They are as eager to return to you what they hold dear as are the others. If you send them forth, they will see only the blameless and the beautiful, the gentle and the kind. They will be as careful to let no little act of charity, no tiny expression of forgiveness, no little breath of love escape their notice. And they will return with all the happy things they found, to share them lovingly with you. Be not afraid of them. They offer you salvation. Theirs are the messages of safety, for they see the world as kind.”
—A Course in Miracles T-19.IV-A.14:1-8

“Love alone can impart the limitless idea of infinite Mind.” 

—Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 510:18-19

Pinions of Light

In my world, prayer is an affirmation of Truth and a denial of erroneous thought. By consistently turning in humble quietness to hear the inner guidance which is always there, we are enabled to look through the material pictures which we thought to be truth. The law of Love is so gentle that it is often not discerned in the face of the harshness of human existence. By the realization that God is All, that anything unlike God, good, is a material illusion perpetrated by thought, we are able to see through the darkness into the reality of Light. In this illumination, everything is seen differently. The strength which comes from this Truth is manifest in every aspect of our experience. Join with me in demonstrating this Truth! Something as simple as finding a lost object can show you how seeing in this way enables true sight. For instance, if you've lost your keys, instead of rushing about looking in every possible place they could be, try seeing in the light. Sit down, quiet your mind, know that you are One with All That Is, and see what thoughts come to you. What fun it is to simply know where to go and what to do!

“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 191:6-15

“Prayer is the medium of miracles. It is a means of communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love is received, and through miracles love is expressed.”
A Course in Miracles- T-1.I.11:1-3

New Beginnings

Every 60 years, a unique combination occurs with the Chinese calendar. There are twelve animals which cycle through yearly; and elements (such as fire, wind, etc) rotate every five years. And this year we have the year of the Fire Horse. This combination occurred in 1906 and 1966. These were times of great upheaval and change. I think most of us feel that the turmoil of our current days is coming to a head in some way. In our lifetimes, we have watched our environment become ravaged from selfish behavior on all our parts. We have seen inhumane treatment of people all over the world, including in our back yards. We have become complacent in too many ways. I quote for you an explanation of the symbolism of the coming New Year: “The combination of the Horse sign and the Fire element creates an exceptionally high-energy year of dynamic change. The Horse naturally symbolizes vitality and independence, while the Fire element adds intensity and drive.” We are all feeling something shifting in our lives. New beginnings are afoot, don’t you think?

“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself;’ annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science. & Health Page 340:23-30

“Rejoice in the power of forgiveness to heal your sight completely. Be confident that on this day there is a new beginning. Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see today. And what you see will be so welcome that you will gladly extend today forever.”
—A Course in Miracles W-75.9:3-7

Pay Attention …

“Wonderment”

A Creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird

I was reading Mary Oliver and these words jumped out at me: “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” This is the full paragraph:

“Yes! No! How necessary it is to have opinions! I think the spotted trout lilies are satisfied, standing a few inches above the earth. I think serenity is not something you just find in the world, like a plum tree, holding up its white petals. The violets, along the river, are opening their blue faces, like small dark lanterns. The green mosses, being so many, are as good as brawny. How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly, looking at everything and calling out Yes! No! The swan, for all his pomp, his robes of glass and petals, wants only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
—-Mary Oliver - Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

“Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:18-21

“To be in the Kingdom is merely to focus your full attention on it. As long as you believe you can attend to what is not true, you are accepting conflict as your choice. Is it really a choice? It seems to be, but seeming and reality are hardly the same. You who are the Kingdom are not concerned with seeming. Reality is yours because you are reality. This is how having and being are ultimately reconciled, not in the Kingdom, but in your mind. The altar there is the only reality. The altar is perfectly clear in thought, because it is a reflection of perfect Thought. Your right mind sees only brothers, because it sees only in its own light.”
—A Course in Miracles T-7.III.4:1-10

More Powerful Than Hate …

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny, is the talk of the world today. Of course, most of the world already knew his music, but a few sheltered folks (like me) have just been introduced to him and his beautiful unifying spirit. And so today, I’ve watched him on a Tiny Desk Concert, in an episode of Carpool Karaoke, and an interview with a woman who has written a definitive history of this talented young man. I also loved a video I saw of his today, one which is depicted in the photo which accompanies this writing. In multiple ways, I have learned about the kindness and compassion of this young musician. His message of unity has brought forth many reactions. I am basking in the beauty of his performance, along with the feelings of hope he has inspired. As the ending billboard reminds us: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” This man, this performance, is exactly what humanity needs right now. And I am grateful …

“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

“Healing is release from the fear of waking and the substitution of the decision to wake. The decision to wake is the reflection of the will to love, since all healing involves replacing fear with love. The Holy Spirit cannot distinguish among degrees of error, for if He taught that one form of sickness is more serious than another, He would be teaching that one error can be more real than another. His function is to distinguish only between the false and the true, replacing the false with the true.”

—A Course in Miracles T-8.IX.5:1-4)

All Creations United

Wild Turkey at Ninestone

Photo courtesy of Don Matt 

Have you seen a documentary entitled, "My Life as a Turkey"? I found it to be profound in many ways, but today I relate it to our practice of seeing the unreality in everything we have come to think of as real. For more than a year, Joe Hutton lived with a flock of 16 wild turkeys, which he incubated and bonded with while they were still in the eggs. He didn't just live with them as you and I might. He was with them 24 hours a day to the exclusion of seeing any humans. He spent his days walking the woods as part of the flock, seeing through their eyes, speaking their language, striving to match their awareness of nature and their ability to live totally in the moment. The dedication and love expressed by this man is wonderfully inspiring to me. By his all-encompassing need to understand nature, to be a part of it without any of the learned beliefs he has acquired in his life, he has shown me what is possible when a discipline is approached with a "single eye". It is this singularity of purpose which we are learning to recognize in our metaphysical studies. I want to feel our Oneness with all that Is the way Joe wanted to know turkeys. He gave it his all, and so will I!

“Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator. As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host within and the stranger without. When you bring in the stranger, he becomes your brother.”
—A Course in Miracles T-1.III.7:1-6

“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 191:8-15A

The Substance of an Idea

“Lupine Milky Way” by artist Jolene Ewert

Many mind-over-matter systems are practiced in the world. In the 19th century, mesmerism and hypnotism were thought to be the route to changing our physical experience and getting us what we want. Today we have "The Secret" and other systems telling us how to get the mate of our dreams, hot cars, and other material desires. Some may think A Course in Miracles or Christian Science falls into the same category, because we are "resolving things into thoughts". Here is an example of how it differs: Let's say we need a place to live. How do we think about this in order to manifest it in our existence? By understanding the substance of an idea! What are the spiritual qualities of this place to live, this house, this home? What does it represent? Some of the qualities of home could be warmth, comfort, peace, safety, beauty, love, hospitality. So the thought of "home" is really a spiritual idea, and these qualities of home already exist in our individual consciousness. We don't have to go out and find them, because they're already a permanent part of our being. And we can express all these qualities included in the concept of home, no matter where we are. And when we express these qualities, we are cherishing our spiritual home, and this blessing is extended to others as well. 

"Divine Science, rising above physical theories, excludes matter, resolves things into thoughts, and replaces the objects of material sense with spiritual ideas.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 123:12-15

“When you want only love you will see nothing else. The contradictory nature of the witnesses you perceive is merely the reflection of your conflicting invitations. You have looked upon your mind and accepted opposition there, having sought it there. But do not then believe that the witnesses for opposition are true, for they attest only to your decision about reality, returning to you the messages you gave them. Love, too, is recognized by its messengers. If you make love manifest, its messengers will come to you because you invited them.”
—A Course in Miracles T-12.VII.8:1-6

There Thousand Years of Longing

After reading an article concerning the fact that record numbers of people are feeling isolated and lonely, I began to ponder the reasons people feel this way. Then I saw a movie which helped solidify my thoughts: Three Thousand Years of Longing. Tilda Swinton plays a woman who is happy in her solitude, reveling in her intellectual endeavors and leading a lovely life. A djinn (or genie as we call them) is played by Idris Elba. He has spent most of his eternal life in solitude, in a bottle, hidden away in various places. When these two meet, they open up to each other with complete honesty. Two things became abundantly clear: It is a wonderful thing to love someone and share a life. And it is also a wonderful thing to love someone and not share a life. And so, as we all know but oftentimes do not want to admit — Love truly is all you need. And it matters not how it is manifested, only that it is acknowledged and embraced. And we are never alone. Love is a palpable Source of all that Is, and we are a creation of that energy. Next time something opens your heart, leave that door open, okay?

“The world I see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its continuance. While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my awareness. I would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God.”
—A Course in Miracles W-56.3:2-4

“Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454:18-23

Being Happy is a Duty to Others

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

In line with yesterday’s writing on bringing joy to sadness, I ran across an affirmation of this thought through a book I’m listening to: Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser. The paterfamilias in this lovely novel is showing his granddaughter great works of art, with the intention of teaching her about beauty. He quotes a French philosopher, Alain, who wrote in his Propos sur le Bonheur: “Those who strive to be happy deserve a medal — a civic medal — because their personal resolution to put on a cheery, happy face sometimes demands quite an effort of will power. Just the way a burst of laughter can produce a chain reaction, the search for happiness isn’t a personal development, it’s a political virtue. Being happy is a duty to others.” (loosely translated) Many events have reminded me that grief and sorrow are a part of this earthly existence, but suffering is a choice. We can express joy through our pain, and as the quote by Alain reminds us, it is our duty and, also, a political virtue. Scatter joy freely, my friends!

“It is no dream to love your brother as yourself. Nor is your holy relationship a dream. All that remains of dreams within it is that it is still a special relationship. Yet it is very useful to the Holy Spirit, Who has a special function here. It will become the happy dream through which He can spread joy to thousands on thousands who believe that love is fear, not happiness. Let Him fulfill the function that He gave to your relationship by accepting it for you, and nothing will be wanting that would make of it what He would have it be.”
—A Course in Miracles T-18.V.5:1-6

“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.”
—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:23-30

Chasing Pain Away With Joy

If we dwell on the sadness in the world, we will be overwhelmed. I know people who feel as though they can’t be happy while others are sad. But my sadness and fear will do nothing to bring others to happiness. Our thoughts spread to others, and when we are morose those around us begin to feel that way, too. Feeling bad for people doesn’t help their situation, but seeing through the illusions into the reality of spiritual Being helps them to know this reality along with you. Our joy, our laughter, clears the way to see this Truth. So even though we are often taught that being sad is a sympathetic act, I’m beginning to see that true compassion is shown by bringing my thoughts to joy.

“Repeat God’s Name, and all the world responds by laying down illusions. Every dream the world holds dear has suddenly gone by, and where it seemed to stand you find a star; a miracle of grace. The sick arise, healed of their sickly thoughts. The blind can see; the deaf can hear. The sorrowful cast off their mourning, and the tears of pain are dried as happy laughter comes to bless the world.”
—A Course in Miracles W-183.3:1-5

“Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love.”

—Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 14:16-18