December 29, 2011 - Listen and Rejoice

ACIM Lesson# 363
"This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

[ACIM commentary]
"And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.'

[Marsha's thoughts]

"Glacier National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

Recently my son and I have been making video segments for a virtual studio tour of the artists of Eureka Thyme. Today it was my turn to speak in front of the camera. I didn't anticipate any problems and hadn't planned what to say because I trust these thoughts to flow from their source through me. After the first "take" my son made some suggestions about what I should be saying. At this point, I started to think and plan what I was going to say. He even suggested I practice what I would say, and I did. This was the beginning of an hour-long series of starts and stops which digressed to the point of me not being able to get past saying my name before being tongue-tied or making an odd face. It was ridiculous! At this point, he suggested I speak from the heart. And so I slipped back into my native state of trusting that I will know what to say and do. I got out of my way and let the only Way come through. And so it Is.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Mind is not necessarily dependent upon educational processes. It possesses of itself all beauty and poetry, and the power of expressing them. Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent. We are all capable of more than we do. The influence or action of Soul confers a freedom, which explains the phenomena of improvisation and the fervor of untutored lips."
Science & Health Page 89:18-24

December 28, 2011 - Calm Assertive Behavior

ACIM Lesson #362
"This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

[Marsha's thoughts]
I have mentioned many times in this past year that I feel animals are showing us the way to living our true Being. Not only do they mirror back to us any emotions we may be secretly harboring, they show us how to communicate more effectively through telepathy and actions, rather than words. Today I visited four homes where dogs were very much a part of the family. Only one of these dogs was not exhibiting aberrant behavior of some sort! I must mention that my own dog has some behaviors which I find baffling. But I continue to see positive behavior changes in him as I become more honest and calm in my own reactions. In watching The Dog Whisperer, I have gained many insights into the reasons our dogs often seem neurotic and out of control. It always comes back to people. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to see what we're really thinking! Calm, assertive behavior is the mantra of Cesar Milan. Assertive doesn't mean aggressive. It involves a certainty which is only attained through listening to an inner knowledge which is heard in quiet, calm moments. These moments express the eternal holy instant where we forever abide with the certainty of peace.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The Revelator tells us of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom? Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth."
Science & Health Page 91:1-6

December 27, 2011 - No Health

ACIM Lessons #361
"This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Included is the entire introduction to the final lessons, because we do want to go beyond words. Words will be used only as a reminder of that which we do not want in our lives any longer. We have been practicing letting go of each and every belief we ever held to be true -- or false! I am reminded of an Infinite Way tape which is entitled "There Is No Health". By the admission that there is good health, you leave the door open for the belief that there is bad health. This same principle is at work in every facet of our lives. In ceasing to think of anything as good or bad, we are simply open to what Is. Everything I need, whether it be a word, a thought, anything, I need be only open with no expectations in order to receive everything I need.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies.”
Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, Page 307

December 26, 2011

ACIM Lesson #360
"Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.
 [Marsha's thoughts]

The Village of Elsah

When we are feeling inner peace, it seems impossible to feel anything else. And then we find ourselves in a situation which tries our peace. Is it possible to lose the peace which is God? Of course not, but we certainly can cover it up in unnecessary feelings of angst and worry and irritation. Today I feel as peaceful as I can imagine feeling (which is not to say that more isn't possible!). This feeling was shattered by a visit with a dear neighbor who is solitary and worried about most everything. My plan of spreading a bit of holiday cheer seemed on the verge of backfiring! Why does it seem easier to "catch" disruptive feelings rather than peaceful ones? It seems easier to "catch" a cold rather than to let one go. I was able to recognize what was happening and take myself out of the dis-ease which was threatening to spread to me. I took a breath, felt the peace of God, and left her home with a smile. The "reign and rule of universal harmony" is here and now. We are on the verge of this realization! The shift in consciousness we are in the midst of is causing some of us to fight back. When I feel this reaction occurring within myself, I remind myself to yield to the Peace which is the only reality of my Being. Anything else is a mirage. What a joy to watch it dissipate as I walk through it, oblivious to its seeming reality.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Let us learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven,—the reign and rule of universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen."
Science & Health Page 208:20-24

December 25, 2011 - Peace Like a River

ACIM Lesson #359
"God's answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake."

 

Mark in Mongolia
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

Peace like a river. As I read the above words this is what keeps coming to mind. Peace like a river. On this beautiful Christmas morning, I allow all imprisoning beliefs to leave my mind, while welcoming God through the Science of the Christ. The Christ that we celebrate today is the spirit which is God, which flows through each and every thing there is. It leads us to healing in all thought and deed. It keeps us happy, safe, wholly directed by eternal Truth to green pastures and quiet repose. Peace like a river, flowing before and around us, pulling and pushing wherever we need to be. I won't fight the flow today. I'll float and rest in the Christ consciousness which we celebrate today. This Spirit which permeates everything is recognized today by me for what it is: God's answer.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"This homely origin of the babe Jesus falls far short of my sense of the eternal Christ, Truth, never born and never dying. I celebrate Christmas with my soul, my spiritual sense, and so commemorate the entrance into human understanding of the Christ conceived of Spirit, of God and not of a woman—as the birth of Truth, the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being”
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 26

December 24, 2011

ACIM Lesson #358

December 23, 2011 - Truth Answers

ACIM Lesson #357
"Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself."

[Marsha’s thoughts]

Mongolia photo from Aaron Springston

As this year comes to a climax of spiritual study and demon-stration, I look forward to starting all over again next year with these lessons guiding the way to further exploration.What fun it will be to wonder what insights will be found during daily reading and meditation! The Course in Miracles lessons are such sweet tools to guide us through the Principles we examine daily. The Christian Science Weekly Lesson consists of 26 topics which are rotated through twice a year. Watching these two disciplines flirt with each other and culminate in a merging which is impercep-tible in its union has been an exciting adventure this year! The Truth is the Truth no matter where you find it. What I love about these two ways of thought is that there is no conflict, no space where I must set one aside for the other, they are both saying the exact same thing. They each have an elegant delivery, and I see images from them in different ways, but it's the same thing. May we all realize our sameness when we meet and talk. As a popular soft drink commercial has been telling us for years: "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony!" And now we're realizing we've always known this, and we're finding ways to demonstrate this Truth.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"We call the absence of Truth, error, Truth and error are unlike. In Science, Truth is divine, and the infinite God can have no unlikeness. Did God, Truth, create error? No! 'Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?' God being everywhere and all-inclusive, how can He be absent or suggest the absence of omnipresence and omnipotence? How can there be more than all?"
Science & Health Page 287:9-15