September 24, 2011

ACIM Lesson #267

“My heart is beating in the peace of God.


Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought. Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. Father, my heart is beating in the peace the Heart of Love created. It is there and only there that I can be at home.”

Sherry Young's Quan Yin

 [Marsha's thoughts]

Today I met four wonderful women who meet here every year for vacation. They have made lots of friends in past stays, and I was very pleased when they invited me to their place for dinner. While listening to their happy banter, it became clear that they think Eureka Springs is utopia, in that no one lives in "reality" here. I certainly can see why they think that, as we seem to have a different sense of time, of what is and is not "appropriate", and then there's that total sureness that we're on the "right track". Living the "peace of God" may seem like a fantasy to those who abide by the laws of materiality. Some think we're delusional, or sticking our heads in the sand, or denying reality in favor of wishful thinking. But that's okay! When you know the Truth of being, put it into practice in daily life, and watch the demonstration of it bloom in your every activity, your "heart is beating in the peace of God". And that state of mind does more for the world than all the preaching we may be tempted to do!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“More effectual than the forum are our states of mind, to bless mankind”
Pulpit and Press, p. 87

September 23, 2011

ACIM Lesson #266

“My holy Self abides in you, God's Son.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“Father, You gave me all Your Sons, to be my saviors and my counselors in sight; the bearers of Your holy Voice to me. In them are You reflected, and in them does Christ look back upon me from my Self. Let not Your Son forget Your holy Name. Let not Your Son forget his holy Source. Let not Your Son forget his Name is Yours.”

[ACIM commentary]
“This day we enter into Paradise, calling upon God's Name and on our own, acknowledging our Self in each of us; united in the holy Love of God. How many saviors God has given us! How can we lose the way to Him, when He has filled the world with those who point to Him, and given us the sight to look on them.”

[Marsha's thoughts]
What opportunities we will have to see God today! In every action and interaction we will have a chance to see the Divine. Our tourist town is known for its friendly and helpful shopkeepers. Numerous times a day people mention to me how nice everyone has been to them. Upon reflection,, I see that it’s easy to be nice to those who are nice to us. And so I look forward to the occasional "tough cookie" who will allow me to see if I'm truly looking past the illusion! Recently, a woman was in my gallery who had nothing but complaints and wanted to tell me about them in detail. At one point she was expounding on how awful her husband was. And so I asked her if she liked him! And she looked startled and said, Why yes, I do!! And I said, Well, that's all that matters. For a moment, at the very least, the mesmerism was broken and she was in another reality. One of my favorite stories that Wayne Dyer tells is of walking on the beach and meeting someone who has just moved to the neighborhood. The person asks what people are like here, and he asks in return what the people are like where they came from. The person replies that everyone is kind and it was a great place to live. He responds, That's pretty much what you'll find here, too. At another time he's walking on the beach and the same scenario occurs, but this time the person responds that the place they left was filled with rude, stand-off-ish people. He responds, That's pretty much what you'll find here. Today I will express my holy Self and expect nothing other than that to be bounced back from all I meet. And when it's not, I'll listen expectantly for something which will break the spell!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“He that touches the hem of Christ’s robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing,—in a sweet and certain sense that God is Love”.
Science & Health Page 569: 11-14

September 22, 2011

ACIM Lesson #265
“Creation's gentleness is all I see.


I have indeed misunderstood the world, because I laid my sins on it and saw them looking back at me. How fierce they seemed! And how deceived was I to think that what I feared was in the world, instead of in my mind alone. Today I see the world in the celestial gentleness with which creation shines. There is no fear in it. Let no appearance of my sins obscure the light of Heaven shining on the world. What is reflected there is in God's Mind. The images I see reflect my thoughts. Yet is my mind at one with God's. And so I can perceive creation's gentleness.”


[ACIM prayer for today]


Angelo leading drumming in Eureka Springs



“In quiet would I look upon the world, which but reflects Your Thoughts, and mine as well. Let me remember that they are the same, and I will see creation's gentleness.”

 [Marsha's thoughts]

Gentleness and joy are realized in numerous ways, and one of my favorites is a drumming which occurs at the slightest provocation in Eureka Springs. When one drum is played, the others vibrate in happy unison. When a number of people come together in a joyous activity, they too join the vibration in Oneness objectified. It's a gently powerful experience to be a part of this, and playing a drum is not necessary to feel the unity of the gathering. Like birds dipping and diving without running into each other, while they joyfully play with a freedom which seems hard for us to experience, the rhythms of the drum circle metamorphosize as the two-hour melding progresses. The gentleness which is expressed in these loudly happy gatherings is surprising. At first glance, it may sound like a meaningless cacophony. But if you sit with it for a while, it opens a space within not often noticed. And so, dear friends, let's be on the lookout for experiences which open us to feeling the reality of Oneness. And gentleness isn't always a fuzzy kitten. It could be a roaring symphony!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love.” Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896, p. 15

September 21, 2011

ACIM Lesson #264

“I am surrounded by the Love of God.”


[ACIM prayer for the day] “Father, You stand before me and behind, beside me, in the place I see myself, and everywhere I go. You are in all the things I look upon, the sounds I hear, and every hand that reaches for my own. In You time disappears, and place becomes a meaningless belief. For what surrounds Your Son and keeps him safe is Love itself. There is no source but this, and nothing is that does not share its holiness; that stands beyond Your one creation, or without the Love which holds all things within itself. Father, Your Son is like Yourself. We come to You in Your Own Name today, to be at peace within Your everlasting Love.”

[ACIM commentary]
“My brothers, join with me in this today. This is salvation's prayer. Must we not join in what will save the world, along with us?”

                                                                                     [Marsha's thoughts]
It is a constant meditation to look through the brainwashing which comes at us from everywhere. The media permeates our every waking moment -- if we let it. Having spent two hours in the laundromat with a radio playing in the background, it was graphically brought into focus how insane the content was! The songs were totally inane and yet mesmerizing, the commercials were mostly for drugs and disease, the news -- yikes!! When I stop and think about it, almost everything out there carries these messages to us. It even seems collective consciousness gives us no choice. But this is the illusion, this is not the consciousness of the Love that is God, the Love that permeates everything, leaving no room for anything else to intrude. There is no other true power. "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach me." (MBE) "I am surrounded by the Love of God." (ACIM) Today I will know that this is True.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares. Then thought gently whispers: Come hither! Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb's wife,--Love wedded to its own spiritual idea. Then cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will destroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material sense.”
Science & Health Page 574: 25-6

September 20, 2011

ACIM Lesson #263

“My holy vision sees all things as pure.”

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

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

                                                                    [Marsha's thoughts]

Photo by Richard Quick

In reflecting upon "my holy vision which sees all things as pure", many instances come to mind when I have seen with these eyes, and quite a few jumped out as existing only in material messes. I am refusing to dwell on the latter, dismissing their unreality with a smile, and seeing no need to revisit them further than a nod in passing. Just today I've been presented with a circumstance which seemed to have no good resolution, with someone being left out regardless of the good intentions involved. Shortly after I allowed about a hundred possibilities to run through thought, I caught onto the futility of these intellectual choices and settled into a quiet space of listening. Almost immediately an interesting possibility came to mind! A very exciting option for all involved! And who knows where this will lead these two dear people when the idea is presented to them? Not me personally, that's for sure. But I have complete trust that the situation will be viewed through the pure vision of our real Being, allowing all the seeming problems to disappear into their actual nothingness.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The age has not wholly outlived the sense of ghostly beliefs. It still holds them more or less. Time has not yet reached eternity, immortality, complete reality. All the real is eternal. Perfection underlies reality. Without perfection, nothing is wholly real. All things will continue to disappear, until perfection appears and reality is reached. We must give up the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit the somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be wise. When we learn that error is not real, we shall be ready for progress, ‘forgetting those things which are behind.’”

Science & Health Page 353:13-24

September 19, 2011

ACIM Lesson #262
“Let me perceive no differences today.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“Father, You have one Son. And it is he that I would look upon today. He is Your one creation. Why should I perceive a thousand forms in what remains as one? Why should I give this one a thousand names, when only one suffices? For Your Son must bear Your Name, for You created him. Let me not see him as a stranger to his Father, nor as stranger to myself. For he is part of me and I of him, and we are part of You Who are our Source, eternally united in Your Love; eternally the holy Son of God.”

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

                                                                                     [Marsha's thoughts]

To the uninitiated in divinely metaphysical thought, the first sentence above might appear to be saying that Jesus is being singled out when One Son is referenced. And he is, but in the inclusive sense that we All are! This consciousness which Jesus tried to show us IS that true being which we speak of so often. This one Mind, Life, Truth, Love -- God, if you will -- cannot be split between you and me, it cannot shine from one and not the other. William Blake says it well: "I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine Love." which means that the perfection we are learning to see as ourselves also is everyone else. I often tell people “We’re all in this together”, but I think I’ll change it to “We are all this – together!” I love the study of this Science of Being, as every day -- every moment -- revelations of thought bring us to the understanding of how this Truth sets us free!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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.”

Science and Health Page 469:30–5

September 18, 2011

ACIM Lesson #261

“God is my refuge and security.

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

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

 [Marsha's thoughts]

We all are in the process of lightening our load. I see us getting rid of unneeded things in so many ways. All the clutter in our surroundings and inner self must go! The last time I changed residences was 16 years ago. At that time, I got rid of every possession I didn't feel was absolutely necessary. It was a freeing act which facilitated dropping the sad and perhaps guilt-filled memories from the past decade of combined illness, death, divorces, and other drama-filled events. And so I know it is part of the process, this freeing of ourselves from outer shackles in order to spur us to let go of inner turmoil. Or is it letting go of the inner turmoil which spurs getting rid of “stuff”? This letting go seems to involve a reciprocal effect, in that the more we let go of either, the more we let go of the other! Recently, I’ve noticed that the simplicity of the surroundings I chose many years ago has disappeared. Just as we accumulate more and more books and music and all sorts of things, so we also accumulate so-called emotional baggage. Now is the time to take more positive action toward this cleansing which allows the Source of all true refuge and security to be realized in its totality. I Am, God Is, I Am…

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being.”

Science& Health Page 227:24-29