March 31, 2012 - No problems

ACIM Workbook Lesson #90

Review: “Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.” and “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.”

Aaron and Heather at The Principia
photo by Marsha Havens

[Marsha's thoughts]

I love these lessons which tell us there is no problem other than the multitude of beliefs in separation we have promulgated for ourselves. The solution is simply a matter of realizing that our seeming problems are solved as soon as we know the unreality of them. Such an idea may seem silly to someone who doesn't accept the unreality of the material world. I guess these concepts seem natural to me because nothing made sense when I looked at it from various standpoints put forth by mortal mind. Concepts from the natural sciences to astrology always seemed to have big holes in their veracity. I listened to the facts taught us in school and thought, "What's wrong with this picture?" In time, I came to understand that it was an innate knowing that in truth we are spiritual, not material. Basically, knowledge and understanding come with a yielding of material belief. And I love letting this yielding guide me in every endeavor! Throughout today, certain "problems" concerning an old and dear friend kept coming to mind. I recently spoke with a family member of hers who has not seen her for quite some time. She is worried about my childhood friend who now lives far away. And the worries seem valid, as there are things which need attended to and they are being neglected. The situation has deep roots running through the history of this family relationship. I feel like it could be picked apart from every angle and no solution would be found. And so when this sweet family came to mind today, I would simply see them as happy, responsive to each other, and willing to love. By staying away from all the "what-ifs" of this situation, by not holding onto visions of past hurts on both sides, by only seeing the family as God sees them, whole and perfect, all worries are chased from my thought. Each remembrance of them is pure and sweet, requiring no fixing or adjustment from me or anyone else. By realizing God's law of adjustment, we see that it is already done, with nothing needed on our part other than recognition.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Human reason and religion come slowly to the recognition of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon matter to remove the error which the human mind alone has created.”

Science & Health Page 173:25-28

March 30, 2012 - Stuck in the past? Never ---

ACIM Workbook Lesson 89

Review: “I am entitled to miracles.”

and “Let miracles replace all grievances.”

[marsha's thoughts]

Aaron Happy in the Moment
Photographer unknown

At a recent meeting of our book club, we discussed a book which dealt with a young woman who had lived in foster care all her life. We talked about the "problems' which seem inherent in a child who is not loved unconditionally, who is perhaps abused in multitudes of ways. It's the general belief in this world that some things are too horrendous to get over; that we will be plagued with certain conditions forever, no matter what. On "The Dog Whisperer", which I have and will mention often in these writings, Cesar Milan tells us he rehabilitates dogs and trains people. I love hearing him talk of dogs living in the moment. When he is helping people understand a dog who seems maimed by past experiences in its life, he repeatedly tells the people that feeling sorry for the animal helps no one. Our thought and action hold animals (and people) in the same thought system which put them there in the first place! How can this be? The dog is hurting and we're being asked to deny that? Yes!! This is why we learn in the study of metaphysics that it is necessary to give up all beliefs -- not just those we deem to be "bad", but all material beliefs. By letting them go and replacing them with an openness of thought which allows us to hear the Truth of our Being, we experience the so-called miracle which is the natural order of Life. It may not seem logical to say that we can simply release feelings of fear and anger. They seem very real to us, but if we stop and examine them, do they have any purpose other than holding us where we are? One dog Cesar worked with had at one time slid on the floor into a glass door. The dog was now afraid to walk on any floor without a carpet. Upon investigation of its people's reactions, they immediately exacerbated the fears by petting and commiserating and talking about what a horrible experience it had been. They held the fear in thought by acts they thought of as compassion. What Cesar explains is that dogs live in the moment. Period. Unless they're held in that space by everyone around them. And so are we. How easy it is to replay unhappy circumstances and bring more into our experience by expectations of them. We tell ourselves that bad things come in threes, that this is a "bad day", that Murphy's Law is in effect (one of my personal pet peeves!). And we think we have no choice. Our pets are wonderful teachers for us. I'm so grateful for every experience which shows me the difference in belief and reality.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“MIRACLE:  That which is divinely natural, but must be learned humanly; a phenomenon of [the] Science [of the Christ].

March 29, 2012 - The Law of Light

Heather in the Light
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #88:
Review -- "The light has come."
"I am under no laws but God's"
[Marsha's thoughts]
It has recently come to my attention that a number of people whom I know and am frequently in contact with seem to be incapable of making a decision. They often need confirmation that their beliefs about a situation are worthy of them, and so they wait for someone else to tell them they think that way, too, and then they can give their opinion. This need for validation is not a rare condition. I believe I may have suffered from it at points in my life. The tools we have at our disposal from the study and practice of divine metaphysics tend to let us walk past the temptation to feel so self-important that we're afraid to be wrong. While it's usually thought of as low self-esteem which causes this, it seems to me that it's valuing your own believed-forever image of yourself over your true image in the likeness of God. Letting go many long-practiced ways of life facilitates our recognition of the light which has come, the Truth which is known within. And with the peaceful recognition of these things, we know the Truth which sets us free. This God-felt spiritual sense allows us to speak without fear. I love listening to divine Mind rather than chasing in circles with mortal mind! It's more interesting, it frees me from worry and doubt, it leads me in fascinating paths, it teaches peace.
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"There is no material truth. The physical senses
can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. Human belief has sought out many inventions, but not one of them can solve the problem of being without  the divine Principle of divine Science. Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law."
Science & Health Page 273:2-9

March 28, 2012 - Light Expressed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #87

Review: “I will there be light.” and “There is no will but God’s.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

"Top of the World in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

Last evening, there was a reception in my gallery, Eureka Thyme, for people who are in town for a meeting of the state Keep America Beautiful group. My temptation was to be embarrassed by the large and ugly hole in front of the gallery. There are orange cones, sandbags, black plastic filled with last week's rain, and a general air of destruction. But as I've chosen to look at it as free advertising, drawing attention to my shop, I also chose to look past the war-zone look of it all to the pure goodness reflected by everyone involved. Interestingly, not a single one of the party attendees said anything about the mess, but only complimented us on our beautiful town, the great gallery space, and the wonderful food provided for them. The Light being expressed by the people I met at this event was palpable! One woman, with whom I felt an immediate affinity, was not only the leader of her local beautification program but had spearheaded an unusual art show. The Arkansas State Hospital is committed to the treatment of mental illness. This woman inaugurated an art show featuring works from the patients. She said most of the people there had nothing but the clothes on their back when they came to the facility. This amazing art show and sale is benefiting them in many ways. Not just by increasing self-esteem, but putting some cash back for them upon their release. She said this has helped them to want to get better, as many stay all their life for fear of returning to the "real world". How inspiring it is to meet people who are following inner guidance in the bringing of light to the world! Today I vow to listen deeply and follow through on what I hear!

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. 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 90:24-32

March 27, 2012 - Sing Your Song!

Happy Camels in Mongolia
Photo by Aaron Sspringston

ACIM workbook lesson #86
Review: "Only God's plan for salvation will work.". "Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation."
[Marsha's thoughts]
In the original introduction of these two lessons a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that we should all be writing! I'd like to amend that a bit today. Whatever activity you can do to take you to a space of no-thought, this is what I'd like to encourage! In listening to what I think of as free-form piano playing of the new-age variety, it struck me how important it is to be singing your song, whatever form that may take. For those of you who think you "don't have any talent" I would suggest you follow your heart in trying something new, or examine what you are doing and see it as expression of inner knowing. Piano lessons began for me at the age of four. By the time I went to college, playing was so engrained that it was like speaking. But it was always structured interpretation from pages of music. Never once had I just sat down and played without thought. Four years ago, I did. Something pulled me to the piano and a tune came out. It's a simple tune which mutates here and there, with interesting progressions and surprises. It's never the same, and it never leaves me where I started. It has beautiful healing notes which appear when they are needed. Now it seems another tune or two are getting ready to be born. We all have a song to sing, an expression in some way of the Divine. These expressions give us something which mere education cannot. It's a purely divine voice which requires a yielding of material senses in order to hear and reproduce. It may be prose, or poetry, or music, or painting. But don't forget it might be words said to a loved one, or vegetables grown with love, or the salvation of an animal from misery when you adopt it. The forms this Love demonstrated will take when we get out of its way are without number. Just as we are the ideas of God, so are these emanations which shine through us. Priceless!
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Salvation: Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all."
Science & Health Page 593:20-21

March 26, 2012 - Cynicism Hides Light

ACIM workbook lesson #85:

Review: "My grievances hide the light of the world in me." "My salvation comes from me."

[Marsha's thoughts]

Joyous Child in Mongolia
photo by Aaron Springston

Cynicism hides the light of the world very effectively. As a small child, I freely expressed joy in everything and to everyone, but slowly and thoroughly this joy was quieted by rules and other forces of conformity. By the time I was a teenager, cynicism had taken over my every action. This is a definition of cynicism: "An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others." During the 60s and 70s, although it was heralded as the Age of Aquarius, the free love that permeated our atmosphere was actually a charade of the Love I had felt as a child. We made fun of those who weren't like us, and by doing so became unsure of what we were. There was an attitude of disdain which came with our superiority. We knew our government was wrong, as were our parents, most teachers, and the majority of our peers. It's no wonder that a major magazine's cover declared that God was dead, because materialism and cynicism had killed any expression of real Love. I was convinced that to have children would be a travesty, as this world was no place for humans to be. Nearly half a century past those turbulent times, I see wonderful changes in all of us. Everyone I know realizes that Love is a force within us which can't be quieted; that fear can never be as powerful as Love; that there is no reason to pretend only the foolish think this way. More people every day are waking up to the Truth of their being, living the salvation of this realization, and not allowing anything to hide this light. Any day now everyone will awaken to their function as a living ray of this Love, and we won't be afraid of it. It is our heritage! We have denied it as long as we can. The Truth is alive within us and it only takes recognition to bring it to fruition. Let's live our salvation today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"'Thy kingdom come:' let the reign of divine Life, Truth, and Love [God]

be established in me, and rule out of me all sin [erroneous thoughts of separation]; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!"

Daily Prayer from the Church Manual

March 25, 2012 - Living Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson 84

Review: “Love created me like Itself.”

and “Love holds no grievances.”

"Top of the Mountain in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

As I write this, I've just spent a week in the gallery during which time the town has been packed with families on spring break. It has been busy every day and I've talked to hundreds of people. By mid-afternoon today, I felt like I couldn't go on. The people all seemed to be demanding and just downright odd, and I simply didn't want to be there. At first I retreated, getting quiet and attempting to not relate to them, letting everyone mill about me with a minimum of interaction. Next, I examined my motives in all of this and reasserted why I was there. Of course, I'm doing this to make a living, but there's more to it than that. I'm there to express Love, because that's what I am. And by this expression, I hope that others can see that's what they are, also. Okay, I'm feeling a bit better now, but not good enough to change my attitude. When a friend and fellow shopkeeper came in, I was more than happy to tell her how tired I was. Shortly thereafter, the spell was finally broken when a small child, around a year old, came in on his dad's shoulders. He was fussy and sort of crying as his dad came up to me and started asking questions about where to eat dinner. I began talking to the baby, answering his dad's questions, but looking at him. Suddenly joy spread through my chest -- and the baby started to giggle, too! No more was I a tired mortal wishing I could be somewhere else. And the baby suddenly seemed to realize he had the best seat in town and he was the loved of Love. Whew! Am I glad that spell was broken!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality-- infinite Life, Truth, and Love."

Science & Health Page 518:15-22