June 2, 2012 - Safety is Mine -- and Yours!

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #153

“In my defenselessness my safety lies.”

Baby and Aaron
Photo by Heather Magnan

One of the lines from today's lesson is: "You do not realize what you have done to sabotage the holy peace of God by your defensiveness." The truth of this statement really hit me in the wake of a vivid dream I had last night. In this dream, I was with a group of people. We were being extremely defensive in guarding against a gang of people who were planning to kill us. It was a very graphic dream which I couldn't escape. I'd almost wake up, then sink back into it. This is very unusual for me to experience nightmares, and so I've closely examined what I've been thinking recently. And, yes, I've been defensive, hence attacking and feeling attacked. The inability to pull myself out of the illusion of this nightmare certainly parallels the miasma of material beliefs which come at us every day. The world we live in teaches us we should try to defend against every contingency which may come up -- i.e., get your inoculations, take out insurance for every possible disaster, check your blood pressure, teach your children not to talk to strangers -- the list goes on and on. Our acceptance of good as the only reality is where our safety lies. Is it possible to protect our mortal selves from every material malady which may befall us? Of course not. But we can be aware of the still, small voice which is always guiding us in our every action, when we listen. I've taught my children to be aware. If intuition tells them to slow down the car, or even speed up! -- (although this is not something I told them when they were young :) -- then they should do so without question. Trust yourself! Listen to your instinctual prompts. This is where safety lies. I now see that defensive behavior is nothing more than trusting in suppositional evil more than the good which is God. Trusting Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle Truth, Life, Love, God, is how safety is experienced. Then a peace you've always dreamed of is actualized, and you find yourself imparting that peace to others, through your living of it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Instead of tenaciously defending the supposed rights of disease [and other seeming threats], while complaining of the suffering disease brings, would it not be well to abandon the defense, especially when by so doing our own condition can be improved and that of other persons as well?”

 Science & Health Page 348:21-25

June 1, 2012 - Hiding from Truth

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #152

“The power of decision is my own.”

"Truth or Shadow"
photo by Aaron Springston

I have mentioned before that much inspiration is derived from a monthly meeting of our book club. We have grand discussions and I, personally, walk away with much insight into this life which perhaps would never have occurred to me without these sweet gatherings. Our most recent meeting centered around a book of historical fiction which looks at the life of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife: The Paris Wife. Apparently they led quite a hedonistic life, and we had an interesting conversation centered around this. We pondered why people forsake all conventional rules and indulge in wild behavior usually involving consuming mass quantities of alcohol. One of our astute members put forth the opinion that we are trying so hard to put off the shackles of human behavior which is stifling and not serving us in the first place that we go overboard in trying to affect a change. Bingo! This is exactly what we're doing in these metaphysical studies, but without the drugs and alcohol. We're seeing that life as we know it is not working. We want a change. But we don't just want to shut out our dissatisfaction by passing out drunk, we want to do something about it! A quote from today's workbook lesson is this: "Truth can have no opposite. Nothing but the truth is true, and what is false is false." That's quite a straightforward statement, but we don't always recognize what this Truth is.  We think that all the falsities are as much a part of our existence as is the Truth, and we end up very confused and think there is no way out of this circular life of dualistic beliefs we have accepted. I once heard Deepak Chopra say he thought it was a good sign that we had so many people experiencing substance abuse, because this meant they were searching for God but had no idea how to find It. That's what we're learning today: how to fill that God-hole by recognizing that we can make the decision to do so. To accept the truth of our being, our relationship to God, annuls falsity. Hallelujah!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The point for each one to decide is, whether it is mortal mind or immortal Mind that is causative. We should forsake the basis of matter for metaphysical Science and its divine Principle.”

Science & Health Page 195:11-14

May 31, 2012 - Affirmative Studies and Practices

A Course in Miracles Lesson #151

“All things are echoes of the Voice for God.”

"Aaron, Utah Sunset"
photo by Heather Magnan

I love the affirmative nature of our metaphysical studies! It is not necessary to deconstruct ourselves in order to figure out what is wrong so we can fix it. That is not even an element in the development of the spiritual sense we are exercising. In the acknowledgement that all true seeing, hearing, feeling, is spiritual -- or "ehoes of the Voice for God", as today's lesson expresses it -- all we need do is practice this truth and the error falls away. Recently, women have become angry with me during discussions concerning women's issues and what is to be expected at a certain stage in our life. If I walk up stairs on an 85-degree day and I become flushed and perspire, I think of it as a natural occurrence, not a symptom of a malady predominantly thought of as inevitable. When someone begins to tell me of their experiences of "hot flashes" and expect me to commiserate with them, I don't. And it's not because I'm not compassionate for their discomfort. I am, but I don't feel that simply feeling sorry and agreeing with someone is the ultimate kindness. Rather than feeding a false sense of punishment enforced by some material law, I attempt to break the illusion by expressing spiritual truth. Perhaps something such as, "Take possession of your body, govern its action. God has made you capable of this." (This is a paraphrase of a statement in Science & Health) When said in reference to so-called menopause symptoms, I usually get a disgruntled response at the very best! But I can't be silent any longer. I have reached a point in time where it's impossible to sit and watch. Now is the time to express and live Truth, recognizing all reality as the Voice of God. And anything which is not this reality will be left behind and forgotten.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Your mirrored reflection is your own image or likeness. If you lift a weight, your reflection does this also. If you speak, the lips of this likeness move in accord with yours. Now compare man before the mirror to his divine Principle, God. Call the mirror divine Science, and call man the reflection. Then note how true, according to Christian Science, is the reflection to its original. As the reflection of yourself appears in the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of God. The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by [Its] creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.”

Science & Health Page 515:25-6

May 30, 2012 - Unity Through Realization of Truth

A Course in Miracles Lesson #150

Review of:

#139 "I will accept Atonement for myself."

#140 "Only salvation can be said to cure."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God."

Photo by Aaron Springston

This atonement which is spoken of is mine for the acceptance of myself as God created me -- and, that is, in the image and likeness of God Itself. This acceptance includes the acknowledgement that we are all created as ideas of divine Mind, and this creation includes everyone and everything. As we are one with this emanation of Mind -- much like a ray of sunshine is the same with its source -- it only requires an awareness of this Truth in order for us to demonstrate it. If I am as God created me, then you are, too! When I accept this atonement -- this acknowledgement that I am as God created me, in perfect Oneness -- then, through this unity, we all accept it. Now, some may ask, if we are One in this sense, wouldn't all the horrible things that happen to everyone become a part of us? No, because divine Mind is all that's One. Material, mortal mind (ego, to ACIM-ers) is the epitome of the division which we all appear to live, because that is what we have accepted as inevitable for ourselves. Remember the hit movie, The Matrix? There were some profound metaphysical principles addressed! I particularly liked when Neo is in what appears to be a center for extraordinary behavior. He goes up to a person bending a spoon without touching it. He tries to do the same, to no avail. He is told that the way to do this is through knowing the truth: the spoon is not there. That's what metaphysical healing is all about. Today's workbook lesson review makes plain that the only cure is the understanding that there is no place where sickness can abide. The spoon is not there. Awakening to this knowledge brings with it the revelation that all which seems to be unlike good, God, has no reality. If we are attempting to change a material condition, it's just like trying to bend the spoon by the power of your mind. Only by the knowledge of its unreality is it seen for what it actually is: an idea. We are all ideas of divine Mind. We are all One in this reality. What will this realization unfold in experience  today? I am open with no expectations!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Universal salvation rests on progression and probation, and is unattainable without them. Heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind in which all the manifestations of Mind are harmonious and immortal, because sin is not there and man is found having no righteousness of his own, but in possession of 'the mind of the Lord,' as the Scripture says.”

Science & Health Page 291:12-18

May 29, 2012 - Learning a New Language

A Course in Miracles Lesson #149

Review of:

#137 "When I am healed I am not healed alone."

#138 "Heaven is the decision I must make."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

"St. Petersburg Quartet with
11-year-old Claire Luan Wells"
photo from the Lovely County Citizen

The language of the symphony is so exquisite! Recently, I've been finding the most wonderful performances on the internet. These musical masterpieces are performed wordlessly in the language of beauty and harmony, excitement and grace. As a result of this listening, I've been practicing the same thing with music which we are doing with words denoting things and circumstances in these daily ACIM workbook lessons. If I've heard a piece of music before, it's very likely I have put some material meaning onto it. It may be a melody I remember hearing with a loved one, or something played on the piano at a particular occasion, or any of a multitude of interpretations I've placed upon the piece of music. Through the practice of releasing any meaning which I've placed on anything, I'm learning a new language. This is the language of Spirit, which we're discovering in our study of divine metaphysics.  For instance, the word "Spirit" as I used it in the last sentence has an entirely different meaning than how the Ghost Tours at the Crescent Hotel may refer to it! The capitalization of this word not only creates a synonym for God, but incorporates all the other nuances which are a part of its spiritual interpretation. For instance, Spirit is tangible; Spirit is substance. It "blesses the multiplication of its own pure ideas". (MBE) As with the learning of anything new, we must practice until it becomes natural to us; until we incorporate these ideas into our lives without specific thought. As we bring this Truth to our illusionary beliefs, we realize the healing we practice is universal, we see there is no choice between heaven and anything else, and we find it All in "what we think with God".

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.

Science & Health Page 264:15-19

May 28, 2012 - No Defense for or against Truth

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #148

Review of:

#135 "If I defend myself I am attacked."

#136 "Sickness is a defense against the truth."

The main idea to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

"Heather in Utah"
photo by Aaron Springston

Recently I listened to a recorded session of our local metaphysical society. This is a group which I assisted in founding a number of years ago and had been actively involved with. The recording I listened to took place a week after my announcement that I would no longer be a part of that group. "If I defend myself, I am attacked" is the statement which reminded me of this discussion. Although I never felt attacked at the time this took place, I had a desire to explain myself while listening to this recording almost two years after the fact. And so I am very glad of this review to remind me that attack is not possible, unless I allow it to be by my defense. Any time this comes to mind, I recognize it for what it is, which is just that! It is what it is. It truly has nothing to do with me, unless I feel the need to speak to it, at which point I will be taking it personally and defending myself in some way. So if anything I heard on that tape causes me to want to explain my actions or thoughts, I'll smile with the remembrance of the Love expressed within that particular group of people, and I'll remind myself that "my mind holds only what I think with God". Our defenses against the truth of our being are rampantly expressed in numerous ways, including our belief that sickness trumps spiritual perfection. My reluctance to accept Truth as mine is defended by any actions which place matter as superior to Spirit. Divine Mind expresses everything which is the actuality of Its ideas, demonstrated as the creation we experience. I am the creation of this divine Mind, and as such there is no need for defense of any kind; only acceptance of the reality of Being and how I emanate that Truth.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing them all, is the central sun of its own systems of ideas, the life and light of all its own vast creation; and man is tributary to divine Mind.”

Science & Health Page 209:5-8

May 27, 2012 - Unreality

A Course in Miracles Lesson #147

Review of:

#133 "I will not value what is valueless."

#134 "Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

"Eclipse 2012"
photo by Aaron Springston

God is All. I am a reflection of that all-ness: Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love and everything which that implies. Namaste' ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Everything good or worthy, God made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make, -- hence its unreality."

Science & Health Page 525:20-22