October 10, 2011

ACIM Lesson #283
“My true Identity abides in You.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

"The Well-Loved Child"
fabric creations of
Sandy Wythawai Starbird

It is good to remind ourselves of today's topic on a regular basis. Already this morning there have been three instances in which people who have forgotten their true Identity have attempted to pull me into their forgotten state. By the remembering that these illusions are only that -- illusions -- and the true Being of everything is the Love which creates all, I have been able to look for answers to seeming personal conflicts without resorting to speculation and psychological nit-picking. When we get into a "he-said-she-said" playing of people against each other, there is no true resolution. So I've stepped back and said, inwardly, that I know there is only one solution, the Love-based One, and now I'm waiting to hear (see, feel, know) how these seeming conflicts will be resolved. I refuse to speculate on what they may be, or wonder who is going to "back down", because we are all in this together and there is only Good to be reflected by us all. I will not project my thoughts onto others, and I reject any that are thrown toward me from them. Divine Mind guides and governs us all, when we allow it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Human thought never projected the least portion of true being. Human belief has sought and interpreted in its own way the echo of Spirit, and so seems to have reversed it and repeated it materially; but the human mind never produced a real tone nor sent forth a positive sound.”

Science & Health Page 126:8-14

October 9, 2011

ACIM Lesson #282
“I will not be afraid of love today.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

I will live Love today. Having just read an article about Steve Jobs' final days and his realizations of what is important, I am inspired to live with a single goal -- to reflect Love through the multitude of ways in which it is possible. Join with me in taking to heart these words from Mr. Jobs: "Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept.”

Science & Health Page 454:21-23

October 8, 2011

ACIM Lesson #281
“I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.”


"The Gathering"
Clay Sculpture which flowed through Ken Starbird



[Marsha's thoughts]

We all know of instances which demonstrate the supremacy of spirit to matter. We've heard of, or witnessed, or experienced events which cause us to examine our long-held beliefs concerning material so-called laws. The first one that always comes to my mind is of my older son falling 15 feet or so off of an embankment, landing in an area of rocks and boulders. When he was falling, he tells me he didn't think anything in specific, but because of his early teaching and his knowledge of God he simply knew that all was well. It never crossed his mind that he would be injured, because he knows the Truth of his existence. When he landed, he looked down and saw his foot and lower leg inside the bolder! As he walked away he realized he wasn't particularly surprised, but he was certainly attentive. What was this which allows material laws to be put aside? Hum -- they must not be laws! His sureness in limitless Good has been shown in other instances, such as close encounters with a crevasse in Mongolia and a snow-covered boulder while skiing in Colorado. A moment-by-moment certainty of the Principle of all Being assures us that all is well, and allows us to walk in the surety of that beautiful fact.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“You cause bodily sufferings and increase them by admitting their reality and continuance, as directly as you enhance your joys by believing them to be real and continuous. When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, "I am hurt!" Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real. Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All.”

Science & Health Page 397: 9-22

October 7, 2011

ACIM Lesson #280
"What limits can I lay upon God's Son?"

Beaver Bridge
photo from Jim Young

[Marsha's thoughts]
So many thoughts go through my mind about how we limit ourselves. By the act of thinking we are material, we limit ourselves. But we are freed by the realization that spirit is not in matter. Okay, so we are truly Spirit, but we appear to be matter, and spirit isn't in this matter. So how does that work? Our governing force, our True Self, is spiritual. We are an idea -- a divine, compound Idea of God. This idea is what is perfect. The matter we see all around us is corporeal -- obviously! It changes, it disappears, it does not fit any definition of perfection we have in our vocabulary. So we try to make it fit, saying that everything is perfect just as it is, which leaves us feeling somehow punished because we're so miserable. I have found that every concept which includes spirit as being somehow co-mingled with matter brings me to a dead-end in thinking time and again. Only by agreeing that we are limitless Spirit, neither compressed in nor bound to matter, can I feel the freedom that has no limits. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The everlasting I AM is not bounded nor compressed within the narrow limits of physical humanity, nor can He be understood aright through mortal concepts. The precise form of God must be of small importance in comparison with the sublime question, What is infinite Mind or divine Love?"
Science & Health Page 256:13-18

October 6, 2011

ACIM Lesson #279
“Creation's freedom promises my own.”

Aaron in Mongolia

[Marsha's thoughts]

Isn't it interesting to think of preconceived notions! For instance, when we have acquaintances whom we haven't met, we may imagine them sitting in their living room as they talk to us on the phone. When a loved one tells us about an experience, we "see" them in that situation and fill in the picture in interesting ways. When we think about God, images may come to mind which may be no more than fairy tales and other myths remembered. When we are told we are free, certain images may come to mind. And so what of our bondage which is only imagined? I know I live in those beliefs every day and it often seems impossible to be released from them. As children we are told not to talk to strangers, to be careful lest we fall, to be afraid of God, to live in certain ways in order to gain the approval of others -- the list goes on. It seems to make sense that we must follow a multitude of rules and beliefs in order to exist on this plane, and when we start to realize most of these so-called rules have nothing to do with our true existence it can be frightening -- and exhilarating! The freedom of our true creation is seen through a change in our perception of reality. Taking ourselves out of the prison of preconceived notions allows the Love we are to show through our actions in sublime ways. An "ah-ha" moment can become an "ummmm" moment!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Omnipotent and infinite Mind [God] made all and includes all. This Mind does not make mistakes and subsequently correct them.”

Science and Health Page 206:28–30

October 5, 2011

ACIM Lesson #248

“If I am bound, my Father is not free.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

Sometimes the miasma of materiality seems overwhelming. It's easy to feel bound by illnesses and painful injuries, financial burdens, grief, and all the other beliefs we see as reality. Our lives and the events in them may appear to have a beginning and an end. Physicists tell us of a perspective called quantum entanglement, in which particles separate yet remain connected, reacting to stimuli in the same way even though they are no longer occupy the same space. In a book by Dan Cowan, Mind Underlies Spacetime, he explains, "...this direct connectedness occurs because each real entity is already everywhere." This perfectly explains our Oneness with All That Is, and this understanding of our permanence in God frees us from fear of human circumstance. This omnipresence is our perfect identify, without boundaries, which we express more every day through our apprehension thereof. Today I will start with this idea and see where it takes me!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea. This conviction shuts the door on death, and opens it wide towards immortality. The understanding and recognition of Spirit must finally come, and we may as well improve our time in solving the mysteries of being through an apprehension of divine Principle. At present we know not what man is, but we certainly shall know this when man reflects God.”

Science & Health Page 90:24-31

October 4, 2011

ACIM Lesson #277

“Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made.”

[ACIM prayer for the day]

“Your Son is free, my Father. Let me not imagine I have bound him with the laws I made to rule the body. He is not subject to any laws I made by which I try to make the body more secure. He is not changed by what is changeable. He is not slave to any laws of time. He is as You created him, because he knows no law except the law of love.”

 

Photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

I've repeated the phrase "change is good" so much recently that a friend gave me a change purse with that saying on it! We are all loosing bonds which hold us to thought that simply is not working. We're changing everything from the way we shop to the way we love. As we examine the beliefs we live by, we realize we can be a law unto ourselves. The fears that have followed us throughout our lives have shaped our view of ourselves and everything around us. But a universal shift in thought is upon us and we're each feeling it in our own way. The understanding that we don't have to be bound by any material belief because our true identify is spiritual is bringing us to a tipping point in consciousness realization. This freedom will be absolutely experienced. When? Well, as we're not slaves to time, why not now!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The supposed laws which result in weariness and disease are not His laws, for the legitimate and only possible action of Truth is the production of harmony. Laws of nature are laws of Spirit; but mortals commonly recognize as law that which hides the power of Spirit. Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.”

Science & Health Page 183:16-25