May 15, 2012 - Plan of defense??

A Course in Miracles Lesson #135

"If I defend myself I am attacked."

"Rain Catchers"
oil painting by Denise Ryan

I love this lesson as it pertains to absolutely everything. (But I guess they all do!) Let's think of the more obvious ways we defend ourselves. Perhaps we are watchful of what we say and do, planning responses and activity based upon accepted behavior. Maybe we use hand sanitizer and take vitamin-c pills during so-called cold and flu season. I often wonder why we focus so intently on that which is not reality, rather than developing and demonstrating spiritual sense.  In this life, we tend to feel attacked by everything from ice cream to nuclear weapons, and we defend ourselves in various ways, insuring the attack our thought insists upon. As an example, let's take ice cream. Most everyone enjoys ice cream, but lots of us think of it as attacking us with fat and cholesterol and sugar, things which we must defend ourselves against if we are to be healthy. We are told in both A Course in Miracles and Christian Science that the body performs best when given the least thought. 'The body ... need merely be perceived as quite apart from you, and it becomes a healthy, serviceable instrument through which the mind can operate until its usefulness is over.' (ACIM) Another point I love in this lesson is this: 'A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans that it receives through listening to wisdom that is not its own. It waits until it has been taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it.' (ACIM) What a freedom it is to realize we needn't be in charge of everything! To wake up in the morning, open to Spirit, God, we are led in ways that wouldn't be obvious if we weren't listening. Of course, there are often parameters involved in our day, but that doesn't preclude our being open to thought about ways to "think outside the box". Life is an adventure, and a harmonious one when we leave behind the desire to plan every moment of it!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"One says: 'I take good care of my body.' To do this, the pure and exalting influence of the divine Mind on the body is requisite, and the Christian Scientist takes the best care of his body when he leaves it most out of his thought ..."

Science & Health Page 383:5-9

May 14, 2012 - What is forgiveness?

A Course in Miracles Lesson #134

"Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."

"Forgiveness in Washington, D.C."
photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

In our material world, forgiveness has many faces. In everyday life, someone tells us they're sorry and we say, That's all right. Or maybe someone has done something which stays on our mind as a transgression until we finally decide to forgive them, perhaps noting that we won't or can't forget. This is not what we're talking about today. Our topic involves the releasing of illusions, the acknowledgement that there is no reality in sin. And I use the definition of sin as anything which separates us from the love that is God. I often go back to the ancient Toltec wisdom as interpreted by Miguel Ruiz in his book, The Four Agreements. One of these agreements asks us not to take anything personally. This request speaks to "forgiveness as it is". He goes so far as to state that even if someone shoots you in the head, it's not your problem, it's theirs! What an interesting thought! Mortal mind tells us that anything which seems to threaten this physical body is to be feared. I recently watched a movie, Soul Surfer, which related the events surrounding a shark attack which took a young surfer's arm. The most beautiful part of this story was that she not only held no fear of returning to the ocean, but how her realization of her true worth was expressed to others. This forgiveness acknowledges no blame in the first place, holds no grudge as there is no blame, and requires no forgiveness because there was no blame or grudge. As we learn to see ourselves and everything through this spiritual sense we're developing, forgiveness takes on a different flavor for us. It becomes a peaceful acknowledgement of reality, and facilitates a letting go of the belief in separation.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.”

Science & Health Page 63:5-11

May 13, 2012 - Do I value the valueless?

"Sunrise at Snowbird"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Lesson #133

"I will not value what is valueless."

A few years ago, I met a lovely family who had just lost their house and belongings in a fire. There was a mom, dad, and little boy. When I expressed my sadness for their loss, the mom told me it was nothing. That they had lost a child a few years before, and this was no loss at all to them. It does put it in perspective when looked at through the eyes of Love.  One of the "tests" given in today's lesson for recognizing if something is valuable is to ask yourself if what you're valuing is changeable. What does not change? Certainly everything physical does, often quite rapidly. Love, with a capital "L" doesn't  change, although many of the fleeting things we call love do tend to change, grow, lessen, and even turn into other not-so-nice emotions. You will meet people who think that jealousy is part of love. Some believe that overprotective, controlling behavior symbolizes their love. Strangely, people even kill in the name of love. So the second part of our litmus test comes into play. This thing that we value, do we feel guilt in association with it? So now we have two tests to check for the reality of what we value: does it last and do we feel guilty in any way. I'm looking around the room right now and asking myself what do I value. Many things bring a smile to my heart, many things I enjoy looking at and remembering emotions I associate with them -- but value? No, I don't think I value anything in here as much as I value the love of my dog, and my love for him. The more I understand the Love that is mine through the inheritance I share with everything as a reflection of God, the more there is to value as I recognize its existence everywhere. And the less I have to worry about losing things to change. After all, how can I lose that which is not real?

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Everything good or worthy, God made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make,--hence its unreality. In the Science of Genesis we read that He saw everything which He had made, "and, behold, it was very good." The corporeal senses declare otherwise; and if we give the same heed to the history of error as to the records of truth, the Scriptural record of sin and death favors the false conclusion of the material senses. Sin, sickness, and death must be deemed as devoid of reality as they are of good, God.”

Science & Health Page 525:20-27

May 12, 2012 - Every Thought Counts!

A Course in Miracles Lesson #132

"I loose the world from all I thought it was."

[Marsha's thoughts]

People often ask me how I have time for these studies, telling me they are too busy for this. And I ask them how much time they spend each day in thinking meaningless thoughts, reviewing past conversations, fantasizing about the future in various ways, replaying events from their lives and giving them different outcomes, visualizing how things could have been different if only they had done something else. We've all been there. I have chosen (as can you!) to spend these times in pondering statements such as may be found in today's lessons, both A Course in Miracles and the Christian Science Bible Lesson. In the morning, I make time to read or listen to these spiritual writings and readings. When something jumps out at me, I make a note of it. On my walk to work, there is a good ten minutes or so to deeply ponder a thought, such as, what things can I loose from thought, allowing Truth to permeate it instead. Or perhaps I'll think, What is divine Mind? Hum -- Mind [as a synonym for God] is creator, is the only cause, is One. And as I allow myself to practice such thoughts, it becomes a part of my regular way of life. Instead of spending countless hours repeating what I don't want in my life, I hold thought to "the enduring, the good, and the true" (S&H Page 261:4) By living consistently in this way, turning away from material belief and looking toward spiritual truth, I am demonstrating today's workbook lesson: "I loose the world from all I thought it was." I am coming a step closer to knowing where Mrs. Eddy was standing when she said, "The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness." And so we have all those quiet moments to reflect, while standing in line at the grocery store, or waiting at a traffic light: moments of inactivity in a too-busy world. Not only that, but we can put them into active practice in every moment of every day, loosing any thoughts other than those led by Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In the Apocalypse it is written: 'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.' In St. John's vision, heaven and earth stand for spiritual ideas, and the sea, as a symbol of tempest-tossed human concepts advancing and receding, is represented as having passed away. The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness."

Science & Health Page 536:1-9

May 11, 2012 - No one fails seeking Truth

A Course in Miracles Lesson #131

"No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth."

"Super Moon at Boardman Pass"
photo by Aaron Springston

This statement that we cannot fail in seeking to reach the truth seems silly to our ego-self, to our mortal mind. Isn't the fear of failure what keeps us from trying new things? I read somewhere that the fear of humiliation is at the top of the list for why we remain with the familiar. Looking back at my childhood, the embarrassing moments seem most vivid. Then why am I so eager to step out of my so-called comfort zone and reach for the truth which is seldom embraced? I think it's seldom felt because it's seldom sought. And this Truth is always there for our knowing. No one is ever turned away from this presence of God. As I think of the things we do in life, the foods we eat and how we obtain them, the modes of transportation we utilize, the lies we tell ourselves every day, the realization surfaces that we are craving simpler ways of doing everything. We want to eat fresh food in season. We want to heat our homes and travel without sucking the life out of the earth. What does this have to do with "seeking the truth"? In opening to our inner knowing, to the Truth that is waiting for us to remember it, solutions to problems which may have seemed insolvable to material sense suddenly are seen. Ways of approaching everything in our lives, from healthcare to relationships, are enlightened in thought and we wonder why we never thought of it that way before. But this is the secret -- if there is one. If you are seeking to receive something, be it material or spiritual, you are closing the door to truth. But if you are seeking like Mary Magdalene, in the humble single-mindedness of Love, then Truth becomes visible. How will you see it? That, I do not know. This adventure is quite an individual trip! However truth is seen in your world gives you glimpses of the Oneness we speak of. This pearl of great price, recognized and known, is the Truth I accept today.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not 'for the loaves and fishes,' nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.”

Science & Health Page 367:10-16

All original writings property of Marsha Havens

May 10, 2012 - Love and fear: mutually exclusive!

A Course in Miracles Lesson #130

"It is impossible to see two worlds."

Today's lesson reminds us that we cannot see a world of love and and a world of fear at the same time. We cannot know the world of Spirit when we are thinking from the standpoint of mortal sense. We cannot love our neighbors when we are judging them. These dualities represent the two worlds we seek to embrace. But this can't be. Everything we do, say, think, plants us firmly in one world or the other. Moment by moment, we choose what we accept as the truth. We are learning how to allow our true Self to come forth. One of those ways is remaining receptive in order to experience the guidance which is always available to us. Very recently, by an avenue opened through these daily writings, I have had a book brought to my attention which I didn't know existed. It's entitled, "Your Divinity Revealed", by Helen Wright. It speaks to concepts I hadn't thought of before in connection to the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. In the early 1900s, a group of people explored the supposition that she had written a new language, a spiritual language, centered around the seven synonyms for God, which are well-known to readers of Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures. By a thorough understanding of these capitalized words, (Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love) we are able to apply them to all of experience, allowing them to be spiritualized in thought and realized in the demonstration of Oneness. By consistently turning thought away from mortal concepts and utilizing spiritual interpretations, we are choosing the world we want to see. A close friend once wrote an essay called, "Upper Case Living". I will think of it as I choose this world today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, "The kingdom of God is within you." This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.”

Science & Health Page 573:29-2

May 9, 2012 - Life, demonstrated

A Course in Miracles Lesson #129

"Beyond this world there is a world I want."

photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

The uninitiated in this way of thought may think today's lesson is referring to a world which will appear when we pass from this material realm through the change we call death. This "beyond" which is spoken of is seen through the death of old belief and a rebirth in new thought. As children we're taught in school that all animals have instincts except humans; that everything is a learned behavior with us. While marveling at the expansive instinctual behavior of numerous species, I remember thinking how silly that seemed. Didn't we have instincts, too? Why would we be left out of this amazing system of knowing? Why could animals easily have babies and humans couldn't? Why did animals not fear death and we do? At every new wonder learned in science class, I asked myself why we were different from every living thing on earth. It didn't seem right. And, as we are coming to understand, it is not. As we try to lose learned beliefs in order to allow inner knowing to shine forth, it is inspiring to notice the ease with which trees, plants, animals, insects perform their function. Looking beyond the world we have made for ourselves, we see reality. We find that we do have so-called instincts, which we become aware of when we release the barriers we have built to this inner knowledge. "This is the world of time, where all things end." Let's look beyond this world into the world of Being, where time neither ends nor begins, and everything Is.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“How true it is that whatever is learned through material sense must be lost because such so-called knowledge is reversed by the spiritual facts of being in [the] Science [of the Christ]. That which material sense calls intangible, is found to be substance. What to material sense seems substance, becomes nothingness, as the sense-dream vanishes and reality appears."

Science & Health Page 312:1-6