December 22, 2011 - Healing is Ours

"Girl in Snow"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #356 

"Sickness is but another name for sin. Healing is but another name for God. The miracle is thus a call to Him."

The first sentence in today's ACIM workbook lesson could be upsetting to someone who is not familiar with the spiritual sense of the words we use in both these teachings and Christian Science. When we hear "Sickness is but another name for sin", the immediate response is to think it's telling us we're sinners and, hence, are being punished for it by sickness. We are learning that sin is defined as anything which separates us from the Love which is God. If we believe in another power other than God, this is sin. Most of us have been taught that sickness, evil, and many other negative aspects of this existence are powers unto themselves, over which we have little to no control. The law of God, the spiritual Principle which we are learning, negates these material mesmeric thoughts. By that negation, we come to see that our real Being is as a reflection of the one and only Cause, God. Anything else is a learned response in a material world. As we wake up to the Truth of Being, multitudes of things we thought to be our masters turn out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. As we lift the veil and reveal reality, the quotations we read here today begin to be more than words we read. They are principles we live. I am most grateful.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and purifies. Christian Science acts as an alterative, neutralizing error with Truth. It changes the secretions, expels humors, dissolves tumors, relaxes rigid muscles, restores carious bones to soundness. The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind." 

Science & Health Page 162:4-11

December 21, 2011 - All is peace and joy

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #355 

"There is no end to all the peace and joy, And all the miracles that I will give, When I accept God's Word. Why not today?"

"Sunny Ski Day"
photo by Aaron Springston

Our true selves are the creation, the image and likeness of God. Why then is there so much which seems to be unGodlike? Because God did not create matter. This human body we seem to reside in, to be inseparable from, is not our true self. When we declare our perfection as a child of God, that perfection has absolutely nothing to do with this material world we are living in. If God created everything and it is good, that cannot encompass the dual good/bad stuff we see around us. Our vision for today is to see with the eyes of our true Being. That true Being does not change. Reality does not change. What doesn't change? Our true Selves which are the image and likeness of the One; that which we all truly are. So what good does it do to realize that we're not what we see with our so-called mortal eyes? It brings us into harmony with what is True. Declaring the Truth of our Being is more than just a mental exercise. It's establishing this Truth within our thought. This establishment leads to demonstration of Truth. This demonstration of Truth brings us back to where we began, and never leads us anywhere other than to the home which is forever within -- wherever that space may be in eternity.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"A demonstration of the facts of Soul in Jesus' way resolves the dark visions of material sense into harmony and immortality. Man's privilege at this supreme moment is to prove the words of our Master: 'If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.' To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear,--this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true. Thus we may establish in truth the temple, or body, 'whose builder and maker is God.'" 

Science & Health Page 423:3-14

December 20, 2011 - Letting go and Being

ACIM Lesson #354
"We stand together, Christ and I, in peace
And certainty of purpose. And in Him

Is His Creator, as He is in me."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Photo by Jim Young

Once again, I've seen proof of how letting it Be, and feeling the omnipresence of the One which brings peace, allows the perfect solution to appear. A good friend has been considering "going for it" with her and her husband's art. They want to open a gallery and make a living from the multitude of wonderful art they create. I've encouraged them, in that I have kept telling her that no one can know if this is what they should do but them. I've explained how listening, being open to anything, with no expectations, is the way I know what to do. I assure her it's not a particular talent of mine, and that anyone can do it. How? By standing with the Spirit, feeling and expressing the Love which is God, knowing and demonstrating Truth, living Life. Through listening, she has found that another avenue is presenting itself which utilizes their talents in ways they hadn't considered, and which seem to make more sense at this time, in this place. And so I celebrate the joy of Christmas with her and everyone, knowing that when we live in this Christ-space which is within us all, things happen which could be considered miraculous. But we know it's just the way it is, when we allow it to Be.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science; and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history."
Science & Health Page 470:32-5

December 19, 2011 - Bless the World

ACIM Lesson #353

"My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today

Have but one purpose; to be given Christ

To use to bless the world with miracles."

 

[Marsha's thoughts]

At this time of the year, we are often reminded that not everyone includes themselves in this thing we call Christianity! In order to be politically correct, we go through all sorts of angst while expressing the Joy of the season to others. Today's lesson states that Christ is but my Self. Not just my Self, but everybody's! The man we know as Jesus was here to show us the Truth of our Being. There were no limitations placed on this message’s target. Everyone, everywhere were and are the recipients of his revelation that we are all the Sons of God, not just him. In seeing, speaking, and moving with the realization that God is our Life, this lesson is demonstrated in everything we do. And so today I will speak from my heart when the occasion arises to express the joy of the season to others.

I will let actions speak for me. What I say will be heartfelt,

with no regard to what should or shouldn't be said.

And I will see everyone as the Christ that they are, regardless of how it may seem to my limited human concepts.

My prayer will be to realize my true conception is spiritual, and to act and speak accordingly as led by Spirit.

Merry Christmas and Namaste'!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The illumination of Mary's spiritual sense put to silence material law and its order of generation, and brought forth her child by the revelation of Truth, demonstrating God as the Father of men. The Holy Ghost, or divine Spirit, overshadowed the pure sense of the Virgin-mother with the full recognition that being is Spirit. The Christ dwelt forever an idea in the bosom of God, the divine Principle of the man Jesus, and woman perceived this spiritual idea,

though at first faintly developed."

Science & Health Page 29:20-29

December 18, 2011 - Judgment?

ACIM Lesson #352
"Judgment and love are opposites. From one
Come all the sorrows of the world. But from
The other comes the peace of God Himself."

finding of Kasumi Sakai's graduational thesis
(2003, Department of Psychology, Ritsumeikan University

[Marsha's thoughts]

Did you know that colors appear differently when placed on different background colors? I recently read an article about this which explained that the way we perceive a color is based on our education about color perception and how we've been conditioned to see color. Who knew?? As I struggled to grasp this fact, I realized it's the same with our perceptions of what reality is. Spiritual perceptions allow us to see beyond the seeming reality of our material senses. Interactions with others may be full of judgments and suppositions when we look at the situation with by-rote, learned behavior and the immediacy of emotions. But the Truth that comes from seeing from a different standpoint, from a spiritual perspective, allows an improved interaction with others. This is true because our human experience is the visible expression of our thinking. To see the world and others through the eyes of Love frees us to love as God Loves: purely, without a skewed view of the color and fabric of everything we see. Now I know what the expression "showing your true colors" means!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Thought will finally be understood and seen in all form, substance, and color, but without material accompaniments."
Science & Health Page 310: 6:8

December 17, 2011 -- What I choose

ACIM Lesson #351

"My sinless brother is my guide to peace.
My sinful brother is my guide to pain.
And which I choose to see I will behold."

[Marsha’s thoughts]

Reflections
photography by Gerry Toler

One of our local artists tells me that she went to Crystal Bridges, the fabulous new museum here in Northwest Arkansas. When I asked her how she liked it, she told me many wonderful things about it, but then said that she had gotten depressed at one point. This feeling had come about when she met another local artist who was also there. This other artist said to her that she felt hopeless because she realized that no matter how good she was, she would never be as good as the people they were seeing on the walls there! And these words from the other artist had thrown her into a funk, putting quite a damper on her enjoyment of the day. Yikes!! I'm not going into the erroneous thought I see coming from that statement! But let's look at how this relates to today's lesson. If I see the statement-maker as sinless, whatever she says is also harmless. Her words cannot bring me pain or suffering of any sort. She is the pure Idea of God. Her words can only be translated into my depression if that's what I perceive. When I see her as she really Is, there is no need for pain, depression, or blame. She can't ruin my day. Only my thoughts toward her can do that for me. As this story was related to me, these are the things I thought toward the teller. These thoughts replaced all the incredulous ones which first came to me. I chose peace, even though my first reaction was to jump on my soapbox and tell her why she was wrong!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Final deliverance from error, whereby we rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's vicarious effort. Whosoever believeth that wrath is righteous or that divinity is appeased by human suffering, does not understand God."
Science & Health Page 22:23-28

December 16, 2011 - Miracle of Love

ACIM Lesson #350
"Miracles mirror God's eternal Love.
To offer them is to remember Him,
And through His memory to save the world."

[Marsha's thoughts]

If you have a choice of being kind or right, be kind. These words have come back to me numerous times today, and I hope I've succeeded in being kind. I really, really wanted to be right!! One of these situations involves an artist represented by Eureka Thyme. This dear man had decided that a number of his pieces were missing from our inventory. He gave me a detailed list with over a thousand dollars worth of his art which he stated was not here. To find out if he was correct would have involved a detailed inventory, checking for each piece and for mis-numbered pieces -- in other words, a few hours of time. So rather than rush through this process when I had other things waiting for my attention, I paid him his percentage and told him I'd get back to him when I "found" them (which he assured me I would not do as they were not there). Now that I've taken the time to do this chore, all the "lost" pieces have been "found". Lots of things went through my head as far as being "right". I really wanted to say them, but what good would that do? That old adage "two wrongs don't make a right" is so very true. No matter what I said to him, it wouldn't give back to me what I thought of as "stolen time". I could get huffy and complain about it (which is, I suppose, what I'm doing here!), or I can change my view of it and look at it as a sweet affirmation that my system of checks and balances does work. So by this writing, I offer myself the miracle of seeing this situation through God's eyes. I offer him the miracle of no blame. I offer the world the miracle of recognizing the divine order which is expressed through everything around us. Namaste ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love. Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science."
Science & Health Page 494:15-19