April 14, 2012 - What is ours in Truth?

"Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #104

“I seek but what belongs to me in truth."

[Marsha's thoughts]

What belongs to us in Truth? Peace and joy and happiness; the kingdom of heaven which is within us. A few weeks ago I wrote a segment about the street repairs going on in front of our art gallery, Eureka Thyme. The project has grown since that time, with approximately 30 feet of excavated street and piles of limestone and other detritus. There's nothing like an in-your-face situation to bring forth erroneous thought and breakdowns between what we espouse and what we actually do. At one point, I realized that in my zeal to be unaffected by the mess out front, I was ignoring the situation, rather than transforming it in thought. First of all, if these workers had been in front of my house, I would have offered refreshment and made some sort of mini-friendship with them. I had been ignoring them while looking past the orange cones and ugly ply-board and black plastic. From that start, there has been progression in thought -- that is, until today. Mid-afternoon, I discovered the phone was dead, which means the credit card machine doesn't work. Realizing why this affected me so deeply and releasing it from my thought left the doorway unblocked for hearing and seeing Truth. And that Truth came through my sweet son, Aaron, (whose photographs grace these writings). He broke the spell I was falling into. Turn it into art, he said! Since we're having the first Gallery Stroll of the year, and my featured artists are two of the wildest and most fun creative geniuses I know, I think it's quite possible this will manifest soon! I was going to show you a photograph of the mess in the street. But I'd rather share peace and joy and happiness with you! This terrain may not be what we're used to, but it certainly is beautiful ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God has built a higher platform of human rights, and He has built it on diviner claims. These claims are not made through code or creed, but in demonstration of "on earth peace, good-will toward men."

Science & Health Page 226:14-17

April 13, 2012 - Butterflies, Love, Happiness

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #103

“God, being Love, is also happiness.”

Butterfly Gardens in St Louis
Photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

One of my favorite sayings is: If you have a choice of being right or being kind, be kind! I recently witnessed a man who was determined to be right no matter what. He  was relentless in correcting his wife on everything from her memory of events to her pronunciation of giclee'. I couldn't detect an iota of happiness anywhere in his aura. If he had been familiar with the above saying and had allowed himself to express kindness instead of a staunch determination to be right, perhaps a chink would have appeared in his armor and a ray of joy could have escaped. Mrs. Eddy made this declaration: "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." Unfortunately it seems the opposite also applies. We can put up a barrier to Love and refuse to admit that it even exists, much less understand that Love is our essence.   We can allow belief to cover up Truth; hiding the knowing that God is Love, happiness. I have an acquaintance who tells me he doesn't know what love feels like. He is certain he's never felt love and wouldn't recognize it if he did. Personally, a most intense feeling of Love came over me a few days ago when I saw the first butterflies of spring! There they were, a gathering of beautiful Swallowtails, joyously flying from flower to flower. My heart opened at the sight, and I breathed deeper trying to capture just a bit of their grace. And so today I will remember the butterflies, knowing that I Am that same reflection of perfect Love, exuding happiness wherever I go.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man.”

Science & Health Page 60:28-1

April 12, 2012 - Happiness is my Natural State

Aaron at Bryce Canyon
photo by Heather Magnan

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson # 102

“I share God’s Will for happiness for me.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

These last few lessons have concentrated on happiness and what allows us to feel and express it. We have acknowledged that God wants us to be happy, that we want it because our will and God's are the same thing, and that nothing can keep us from this peaceful joy -- other than our thoughts! I'm acquainted with a few people who are chronically sad. They seem to revel in this feeling and do everything possible to keep it foremost in their lives. A very talented artist, whom I greatly admire, uses bright colors and paints seemingly happy scenes. One is of a man riding a bicycle, pulling a huge house-like structure through a colorful forest. Everything looks bright and happy, but on the front of the oversized house is a sign which says "Baggage". I've talked to him about this and he realizes he's carrying around every sadness and hurt which have ever touched him, but he can't manage to let them go. Another man of long-acquaintance unfailingly reiterates a story of betrayal which happened to him 20 years ago. I personally have certain events from the last 50-plus years which repeatedly come to thought, usually when manifested by a reminder. At this point, there's a choice: I can relive the event mentally and/or verbally and thereby keep it alive. Or I can acknowledge that it's still in my thoughts, but it is not the Truth of my Being. Yes, it happened (whatever it is). It's part of my material history. But my spiritual reality has not been touched by it. What peace is brought by this understanding! I can be happy. Even in the midst of things which aren't particularly joyful -- such as, dealing with paperwork and phone calls and other things which can be tedious -- we can give ourselves permission to be happy. It is, after all, our natural state of Being!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"An ill-attuned ear calls discord harmony, not appreciating concord. So physical sense, not discerning the true happiness of being, places it on a false basis. [The] Science [of The Christ] will correct the discord, and teach us life's sweeter harmonies."

Science & Health Page 60: 24-28

April 11, 2012 - All you need is Love

Mount Timpanogos Goat
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #101

“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

How many of us cringe when we hear the words salvation and atonement? I know I always have, and that's just from the general collective consciousness of the world, because I wasn't taught that these are things which God demands of us if we are to get to heaven. I was taught in Christian Science that the kingdom of heaven is within you. That atonement is realizing your unity with God and all of creation. That salvation is understanding the truth of your being and demonstrating it in daily life. That God is Love, and therefore I Am, too. And so what is left other than happiness? If we give up fear and replace it with Love, peace reigns within and is demonstrated without. When we give up notions of separation from God and each other, replacing them with thoughts of unity and feelings of Oneness, joy is expressed. Every situation which seems so real in our material world can be seen through spiritual sense for what its reality is, not what we have made up about circumstances. It is said in A Course in Miracles that everything is either a call for love or an expression of Love. The only difference I see is that a call for love is looking for something outside of yourself to bring you something which you do not have. An expression of Love is an acknowledgement that everything you need is already there, because you are reflecting the Love that you are as the image and likeness of God. As we clear out material beliefs concerning our identity, happiness will fill the void in the realization that  Love is all you need and it truly is All that Is. The Beatles were right!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“That God's wrath should be vented upon His beloved Son [you], is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man-made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology, but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at the feet of everlasting Love.”

Science & Health Page 23:5-10

April 10, 2012 - Happiness is our Heritage

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #100

“My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.”

Heather, Sunset, Principia
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

Today we are urged to be fully present in the joy which is our inheritance as a reflection of God. When I hear the word joy, I tend to think of exuberant happiness. But quiet, peaceful happiness spreads joy, too. And we've all had times in our lives when happiness doesn't seem to be present at all. At times like those, it's even more important to understand what our part is in all of this: and that is to express God. In every situation, whether solemn or celebratory, our function is the same. Sometimes it seems too simple, doesn't it? All we have to do is to allow everything to be Love: to reflect it, to live it, to be it! A sentence from today's lesson says: "God's Will for you is perfect happiness." Wow! God wants me to be happy!! And not just wants me to, but tells me how to do this, if I will listen. Once again, quieting the material senses is the key to hearing this guidance. There are so many ways to open up to spiritual sense, and I love practicing them in daily life! One of my favorites is the nightly time of listening for what the topic of these writings will be.  I tune in Pandora radio to classical music and/or George Winston piano music and sit quietly, waiting to hear what I'm going to write about. Living all elements of life with an attitude of listening is a constant adventure, and at the same time, it's a calm road to peace and joy. Have you noticed that cameras capture inner feelings? The eyes tell it all, and whatever you're feeling is pretty easy to see in this digital age. But let's not be afraid of those times we're sad. Quietly do what needs to be done, in the surety that happiness and joy are ever present, waiting for each of us to let them in.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Man's happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense. Truth is not contaminated by error. Harmony in man is as beautiful as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal.”

Science & Health Page 304:16-21

April 9, 2012 - Salvation is my only function here

ACIM Workbook Lesson 99

“Salvation is my only function here.”

Heather in Glacier National Park
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thought]

Our only function is seeing, knowing, and living Truth. It's rather difficult to understand that salvation and forgiveness are a part of the dream of material existence; that there is nothing from which to be saved or forgiven. The distinction between illusion and reality is essential to this understanding. And even an understanding does not preclude a desire to hold on to the unreality. I had a dream last night which illustrates how we want to keep our illusions. I had a long and elaborate dream involving not being able to find nor help a loved on who was in trouble. There were piles of snow so deep they couldn't be passed, along with many other impediments which produced anxiety and distress. It seemed to go on forever and I kept trying to climb out of it. But when I woke up, my first thought was going back to sleep to see how the dream would end! As I was sliding back into sleep, the thought came to me that this wasn't necessary. Why should I care how it ended? Couldn't it end any way I wanted it to?? As I came back to conscious awareness, it occurred to me that this was an exact analogy illustrating our desire to hold onto illusions. This experience has caused me to examine everything I've done today, looking at my actions and thoughts from all sides to see if they are coming from God or my own personal ideas of how things should be. I am holding to the fact that God is All, and that I reflect this Love as my governing Principle. I accept this salvation today and always.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind,--that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.”

Science & Health Page 275 6-9

April 8, 2012 - Resurrection

Heather and Aaron in Red Butte
photo by Sandy Magnan

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #98

“I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.”

[Marsha's thoughts]

The wording of today's lesson could seem to be a form of predestination, in which our free will is taken away and we are put into some sort of automaton state where we are warriors for God. The freedom which comes with our resurrection from material belief does not feel this way to me! The message of the crucifixion and resurrection, I see as uplifting. Neither A Course in Miracles nor Christian Science puts Jesus on the cross. The crucifixion is not an act which is dwelt upon in divine metaphysics. It is simply the death of material belief, in which the Christ idea is risen in all the beauty of divine Love, and the ascension of our thought is the ultimate reality of Life. This is God's plan for salvation: Accept yourself as the spiritual idea you are and let go of the material thought basis which binds you to unreality. Spring is a time of renewal in all of nature. We have chosen this time of year to rise in the spirit of Truth, to celebrate our transformation which comes by the renewal of our minds, to realize that no one can give us salvation because it's already ours. What could be more joyously perfect!! I share with you in celebration today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"RESURRECTION: Spiritualization of thought; a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence; material belief yielding to spiritual understanding."

Science & Health Page 493:9-12