August 29, 2012 - Celebration of Seers

A Course in Miracles Lesson #241

 “This holy instant is salvation come."

"Sunburst in Zion National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

For millennia we have been moving toward this point of awakened consciousness! We celebrate joy today, as sorrow and pain pass away. As part of this celebration, I am going to be remembering seers whose words have awakened the knowledge of salvation within me. These seers are people who have become a part of us all, who are so prominent that they are often in our conversations and thoughts. I want to remember the salvation which was passed to us by John Lennon, Emerson, Shakespeare, Rumi. I will celebrate those whose words have encouraged me to live Truth, through knowing I'm not the only one who feels this way. And while visiting these words I love, I will know that this salvation is not only something to be desired, but that it is here, now, for the remembering.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The ancient prophets gained their foresight from a spiritual, incorporeal standpoint, not by foreshadowing evil and mistaking fact for fiction,--predicting the future from a groundwork of corporeality and human belief. When sufficiently advanced in Science to be in harmony with the truth of being, men become seers and prophets involuntarily, controlled not by demons, spirits, or demigods, but by the one Spirit. It is the prerogative of the ever-present, divine Mind, and of thought which is in rapport with this Mind, to know the past, the present, and the future.

Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired,--yea, to reach the range of fetterless Mind.”

Science & Health Page 84:3-18

August 28, 2012 - Fear or Excitement?

"Aaron in Zion National Park"
photo by Heather Magnan

A Course in Miracles Lesson #240

“Fear is not justified in any form."

Living in familiar patterns, moving through our days in similar ways, saying the same things, thinking the same thoughts -- all these habits seem to bring us comfort. Even if the conditions of our lives are not bringing us happiness, we fear change. Perhaps all fear stems from a resistance to change!  We sometimes say, "Something told me I should do so-and-so". We often hear this calling, this inner voice leading us toward a different path than we're on, but we feel it takes courage to walk a road less or never traveled, and so we settle. To settle for anything which brings us less than joyful existence is to dishonor ourselves, which is to dishonor God. The next time I think I'm feeling this thing we think of as fear, I choose to interpret the emotion as excitement about what will come next!!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.”

Science & Health Page 199:25-31

“Walking in the light, we are accustomed to the light and require it; we cannot see in darkness. But eyes accustomed to darkness are pained by the light. When outgrowing the old, you should not fear to put on the new. Your advancing course may provoke envy, but it will also attract respect.”

Science & Health Page 452:7-12

August 27, 2012 - False Humility?

"Eureka Springs Eternal"
fabric creation by Sandy Starbird

A Course in Miracles Lesson #239

“The glory of my Father is my own"

The truth about ourselves is often hidden by a false humility, as today's workbook lesson in ACIM tells us. This "false humility" we use to hide the truth about ourselves can take many forms. It's usually easy to catch ourselves in self-deprecating actions, which we deem to be humility, but actually are expressions of our inability to accept the glory of our true Selves. But there are many insidious ways we reject Truth. Many of us take things personally and we feel attacked when we hear news of governmental actions. Perhaps friends’ words seem to bring hurt feelings. Maybe our co-workers' rivalry is hard to handle. These and thousands of other things can be seen as actions which somehow diminish us. Accepting the glory of ourselves allows us to see the unity we share with God and all of creation. Holding to a calm, positive attitude neutralizes ugly situations, whereas agreeing often brings escalation in negativity. Recently a woman expressed her anger to me concerning the motorcycles in our town. She stated it was no longer peaceful here, as it was when she had been here twenty years earlier. I happily told her that peace was everywhere in Eureka and not to become discouraged, ending the conversation by asking her if she didn't feel peace standing right where she was. This caused her to pause and realize she did. And so every time I hear or see something today which seems to come from a space of unhappiness, I will smile with the assurance that no one and nothing can change the harmonious Truth of Being. How glorious!

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

Walt Whitman

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The Divine Being must be reflected by man,--else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One 'altogether lovely;' but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire.”

Science & Health Page 3:12-15

August 26, 2012 - Decisions

"Salt Lake City, Utah"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Lesson #238

“On my decision all salvation rests."

It seems we have too many decisions in daily life. Even the tea section in the grocery store has so many choices it can be daunting! And so when we are told that "On my decision all salvation rests", it's tempting to say "No thanks!" But this salvation spoken of here is received by one decision: to wake up and accept our own divinity. There are no considerations to mull over in this decision, there are no choices which are better than others, nor is there any reason for fear of failure. All duality, all choice, vanishes when we realize there is only one thing to desire: to know that God is Life. Not my life, or your life, but Life. From this understanding, everything is manifested in our experience from the freedom we have in knowing that the Love which is God is the only Principle of our existence.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“By interpreting God as a corporeal Savior but not as the saving Principle, or divine Love, we shall continue to seek salvation through pardon and not through reform, and resort to matter instead of Spirit for the cure of the sick. As mortals reach, through knowledge of Christian Science [the Science of the Christ], a higher sense, they will seek to learn, not from matter, but from the divine Principle, God, how to demonstrate the Christ, Truth, as the healing and saving power.”

Science & Health Page 285:23-30

August 25, 2012 - Disappearance of the Universe

A Course in Miracles Lesson #237

“Now would I be as God created me."

Photo by Aaron Springston

One of our material beliefs is that we are only human and that we cannot be as we were created by God. When we think of ourselves as material beings, it seems impossible to see more than a mere glimpse of our spiritual perfection. And that is the key to the way of thought we're studying. This material body, and all the wonder of this world we know so well, is not created by God. This is what Gary Renaud is referring to in his popular book, "The Disappearance of the Universe". To look past material illusionary so-called reality into the depth of pure spiritual reality is to begin to understand how "God created me". It's easy to imagine that the horrors around us are not of Spirit, but the beauty seems to demand a divine origin. The acceptance of the idea that God did not create matter opens us to another dimension of life.  If we accept the Adam and Eve story (or other material creation myths) as the truth of our being, we live the dream of life in and of matter with all the dead ends it contains. But we are an idea of God, and this realization takes us to another level. So today I will not only accept myself in this spiritual truth, but also everything and everyone. And I will remember a key fact: Reality is that which does not change.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Eternal Truth is changing the universe. As mortals drop off their mental swaddling-clothes, thought expands into expression. "Let there be light," is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres. The mythical human theories of creation, anciently classified as the higher criticism, sprang from cultured scholars in Rome and in Greece, but they afforded no foundation for accurate views of creation by the divine Mind.”

Science & Health Page 255: 1-10

August 24, 2012 - I Rule My Mind

A Course in Miracles  Lesson #236

“I rule my mind, which I alone must rule."

"By Bonfire in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

The words of today's lesson can have many interpretations. It could mean, Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Of course, we're all in such a hypnotic state it's difficult to tell when we are following preconceived notions or if we are in fact ruling our mind! I know someone who often says, You can't help what you think; it's what you do with those thoughts. Unfortunately, this person is miserable in her circular thought, going over and over events which are distressing to her, telling herself again and again that it's god's plan and she must abide by it. Whew! Today's lesson is telling us just the opposite. We do have a choice in what goes through our mind. We are the rulers of our thought and have the ability to choose to hold our thought to "the enduring, the good, and the true." I think of this as choosing Mind as my mind. In other words, rather than living by distressing blind belief, I choose to live in harmonious divine Science. Our best material intentions vacillate greatly according to many circumstances. In contemplating the love we feel for others, I see that many ego-driven motives and acts come into play. We all know parents who over or under nurture their children for reasons they see to be in their child's highest interest. We see love affairs where people alternately smother and reject one another, thinking they are doing what love demands. We see friendships which suffer or are broken by misunderstanding and the need to be right. A favorite quote of mine is, If you have a choice of being right or being kind, be kind. Today I will interact with multitudes of people in the gallery, and then go to a paranormal conference in the evening to hear a friend speak. Every day we have numerous occasions to choose between being right and being kind. Today I will rule my mind by being aware of all the communications I have with others. Everything I say will be brought forth from a space which is not merely repetition of past beliefs and habitual responses, but from a consecrated inner listening. In accepting this gift of Truth from God, there can be no choice between being right or being kind. Because, after all, Love is all there is.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God's thoughts are perfect and eternal, are substance and Life. Material and temporal thoughts are human, involving error, and since God, Spirit, is the only cause, they lack a divine cause. The temporal and material are not then creations of Spirit. They are but counterfeits of the spiritual and eternal. Transitory thoughts are the antipodes of everlasting Truth, though (by the supposition of opposite qualities) error must also say, "I am true." But by this saying error, the lie destroys itself.”

Science & Health P 286:21-30

August 23, 2012 - Williamson, Dyer, Chopra

A Course in Miracles Lesson #235

“God in His mercy wills that I be saved."

"Fish in South Africa 2010"
photo by Aaron Springston

There are a few books I'm always on the lookout for at used book stores, as I like to have a supply to hand out to people showing an interest in this way of thought. One of those books is, "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. More than once people have thanked me for sharing this book, telling me that it has led them on a new path in life. I think we all have ah-ha moments, don't we? Although I have always known about the divine metaphysics as explained by Mary Baker Eddy, many other authors have enriched my knowledge and understanding through the years. I'll always remember looking down at a stack of books at a yard sale and seeing Wayne Dyer's, "When You Believe It, You'll See It". It had a blue cover and jumped out at me in flashing neon! I took it home and it started me on a trip with him which has lasted about 20 years. I love his writing style, and especially recordings which have seen me through many a long car trip. I'll always remember driving 200 miles through torrential rains late at night. What could have been a tedious, perhaps frightening drive was pure joy because I had both Wayne and Deepak with me on tapes. I mention all this because today's lesson speaks to our living the Love of which we are created. There are so many ways to educate ourselves on what that means. The authors and speakers listed above are gloriously joyful people who can give you a jump-start when you may be feeling uninspired. They all understand our relation to God, as expressed through both A Course in Miracles and Christian Science. To paraphrase today’s topic: The Love that is God is Me and nothing else exists. This acknowledgement is all that is needed to feel the perfect peace which is mine in any circumstance. By this realization, I am saved.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done. If men would bring to bear upon the study of the Science of Mind half the faith they bestow upon the so-called pains and pleasures of material sense they would not go on from bad to worse …”

Science & Health Page 202:3-9