January 21, 2012 - I will see things differently

ACIM workbook lesson #21:

"I am determined to see things differently"

[Marsha's thoughts]

Today's lesson commentary asks us to examine our thoughts for varying degrees of anger, from irritation to rage -- although it makes it quite clear there is no difference in degrees. An emotional reaction I find myself having frequently is the facetious bless-her-heart attitude so often used. If something seems too ridiculous to ignore, yet I don't want to admit the seeming idiocy of it, this is an example of when I would bless someone's heart. This is no different from saying "boy is that dumb"! These feelings of superiority are another way of setting up a separation between me and God. By holding myself up as better, smarter, cooler, that same old separation of myself from others, and therefore from God, is put into action yet again. And so today whenever anything I feel, think, do sets off a feeling of uneasiness within me, I'll pause and ask to see God where my thought may see discord. Looking through the eyes of Love (God) precludes all erroneous thought and allows us to see as we are seen -- purely, as reflections of the only Father-Mother God.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Eyes: Spiritual discernment -- not material but mental. Jesus said, thinking of the outward vision, "Having eyes, see ye not?" [Mark 8:18]" Science & Health Page 586:3-6

January 20, 2012 - I see

ACIM Workbook Lesson #20

"I am determined to see"

Zion National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

The determination which I feel with regard to this certainty that I can see and will see comes forth because I want to see. Not because I'm forcing myself into some practice which goes against my nature, but because it is my true nature to see Truth. And the opposite blindness which surrounds me is not a natural, true state, but a learned one. One of our learned behaviors is to place blame on others for things they have said or done which we perceive as detrimental to us or others. When we see what truly is, we are able to simply witness these events, without apportioning blame or cause to them. By this lack of reasoning, we then see things as they really are, without placing our own, personal meaning on them. More and more often, I can simply say, "And so it goes ...".

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The question, "What is Truth," convulses the world. Many are ready to meet this inquiry with the assurance which comes of understanding; but more are blinded by their old illusions, and try to "give it pause. The efforts of error to answer this question by some ology are vain. Spiritual rationality and free thought accompany approaching Science, and cannot be put down. They will emancipate humanity, and supplant unscientific means and so-called laws” 

Science & Health Page 223:14-24

January 19, 2012 - I am not alone

ACIM Workbook Lesson #19

"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Such a wonderful world is opening up for us with the influx of this Truth concerning our thoughts! I highly recommend a book by J. Allen Boone, "Kinship with All Life". During the 50s, Mr. Boone realized that his dog knew when he was thinking about going for a walk, even before he made a move to get up from his typewriter. This caused him to explore many ideas concerning our interconnectedness. My ah-ha moment for this came when I was in our local office supply to make copies. There were a number of other people there for the same reason. When I commented on how busy they were, the owner told me it had been slow all day until a few minutes before. I began to notice various occurrences such as these and decided to take myself out of the lemming effect in order to save time. When I am getting ready to go to the library, grocery store, or other places people flock to in mass, I simply ask within if this is the right time to go. As often as not, my order of chores is rearranged when I listen for this guidance. It may seem that the impulse we receive from mass consciousness and the guidance we receive from inner listening would be hard to distinguish, one from the other. But paying attention to these callings teaches us to differentiate and follow where we need to be and when!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"...Truth is the light which dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God."

Science & Health Page 282:32-3

January 18, 2012 - Not alone

ACIM Workbook Lesson #18

"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."

A Mayan statue stands in Playa Del Carmen, on the Caribbean Coast
.Irael Leal/AP

[Marsha's thoughts]

Yesterday I expressed my desire to be alone in communion with Spirit. Today we  are asked to realize what an impossibility that is -- albeit for different reasons than the solitary need stated by this writer on Day 17. The connection between all Being through the omnipresence of our source cannot be denied. It can be ignored, but that doesn't make it go away. So every modicum of my "seeing" is experienced by all in this infinite web of eternal Life. And everyone's remembering Truth is mine, too. For these reasons, I no longer allow into my experience those who want to recount pain and injustice perceived in their lives. As one who used to take almost everything personally, I fully appreciate how this can consume thought, and how we seem to want commiseration of our feelings. So I find myself being with those who help my Being, while seeing more and more the metaphysical basis of all that Is.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry. Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rationality, is slowly yielding to the idea of a metaphysical basis, looking away from matter to Mind as the cause of every effect."

Science & Health Page 268:1-9

January 17, 2012 - Neutral

ACIM Workbook Lesson #17

"I see no neutral things".

Colorado Snow
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

What I would give to live alone on a mountaintop, with no neighbors or roommates, with no job to go to or money to think about. What a nice life it would be to meditate, take long walks at any time of day, only cook when I want to, and not have social obligations. What a relief to not hear news or commercials from the media in any form. How nice to not go to church or board meetings or think about marketing of this town and its artists. How lovely to not deal with flat tires and fallen trees. And wouldn't it be sweet for non-profits to have all they need, for no one to be hungry, for everyone to know the true source of their well-being and not be afraid to shout it from the rooftops. Human thought has changed drastically through the centuries. It's changing now, too. I embrace it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"To corporeal sense, the sun appears to rise and set, and the earth to stand still; but astronomical science contradicts this, and explains the solar system as working on a different plan. All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science [the knowledge of Christ-consciousness], to the immortal truth of all things."

Science & Health Page 493:2-8

January 16, 2012 - No neutral thoughts

ACIM Workbook Lesson #16

“I have no neutral thoughts.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

Reflections photo by Heather Magnan

[Marsha's thoughts]

Today's lesson stresses that every thought we have is either loving or fearful. Folklore treats this concept through fable and example. One which fits this Truth for the day is the story of "Which Wolf Do You Feed?" In this native American story, a young man is angry to the point of distraction. His grandfather tells him we all have a peaceful wolf and a violent wolf living inside us, and the one which grows is the one that we feed. By recognizing our thoughts as feeding peace or war, Truth or illusion, we start to see how our thinking affects our world. As we go through this day realizing that no thoughts are neutral, it will be interesting to notice how this makes us feel. Are we uneasy or at peace with the thoughts we are thinking? Which ones bring us peace? Which ones make us squirm? Today I will allow Love to rule, which will starve the negative and feed peace.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Christian Science explains all cause and effect as mental, not physical. It lifts the veil of mystery from Soul and body. It shows the scientific relation of man to God, disentangles the interlaced ambiguities of being, and sets free the imprisoned thought. In divine Science, the universe, including man, is spiritual, harmonious, and eternal. Science shows that what is termed matter is but the subjective state of what is termed by the author mortal mind."

Science & Health  Page 114:23-31

January 15, 2012 - Images of thought

ACIM Workbook Lesson #15

“My thoughts are images that I have made.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

I just saw a thought-provoking experiment in which a woman sat down at a table. They asked her to put her right arm on the table, resting it from the elbow to hand. They placed a barrier so she couldn't see her hand, and then put a rubber hand and arm in front of her, with the elbow ending at her body. Then the person sitting in front of her used a soft paint brush to stroke both her hand (which she couldn't see) and the rubber hand, which she could see. She stated she was feeling a little odd because she was starting to feel as though the rubber hand in front of her was her own. When the paint brush stroker moved the brush to the rubber thumb, and not hers, she jerked back because the feeling was so odd. Then the man across the table pulled out a hammer and hit the rubber hand. You can imagine how the woman reacted! This showed us how, in a matter of two minutes, or less, a rubber hand became a human hand in the thought of this person. This is, in essence, what we've done with everything around us. Belief becomes our reality --and very quickly! So today I will see how quickly I can move away from beliefs and open my thought to the reality of Spirit.

"Mortals evolve images of thought." "Mortal mind sees what it believes as certainly as it believes what it sees. It feels, hears, and sees its own thoughts. Pictures are mentally formed before the artist can convey them to canvas. So is it with all material conceptions." Science & Health Page 86:13 and 86:29:1