September 25, 2012 - What is -- is.

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #268

“Let all things be exactly as they are.”

"Fun in Mongolia"
unknown photographer

What is, is. Some people have told me they don't like this saying, or that they don't know what it means, or that it makes no sense. But that's not going to stop me from saying it, because saying it helps me to mean it!  I don't want to look for a cause for anything unlike good, it just is. Nor will I justify ugly thoughts and actions from myself. What is, is. BUT I will recognize that there is only One Cause and that single One Cause is the only Source of any effect realized in our lives. The spiritual, metaphysical Truth of all that is IS All That Is! There is no cause for anything unlike good, God, and so its seeming reality can be challenged with divine authority. Erroneous thoughts of any sort are the same as a dark closet in a light room. When you open the door, the dark doesn't escape into the light. The light dispels the darkness. And so it is with our realization of unrealities which seem so solid. And when we open the door and acknowledge the Truth, anything unlike God, good, simply dissipates before the certainty of light. I needn't judge or condemn anything I see or do. I need only acknowledge the Truth of how things are.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God.”

Science and Health Page 276: 9-10

September 24, 2012 - Changing Thought

"Eureka Fairy"

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #267

“My heart is beating in the peace of God"

I've become acquainted with four wonderful women who meet here every year for vacation. They have made lots of friends in past stays, and I was very pleased when they invited me to their place for dinner. While listening to their happy banter, it became clear that they think Eureka Springs is utopia, in that no one lives in "reality" here. I certainly can see why they think that, as we seem to have a different sense of time, of what is and is not "appropriate" -- and then there's that total sureness that we're on the "right track". Living the "peace of God" may seem like a fantasy to those who abide by the laws of materiality. Some think we're delusional, or sticking our heads in the sand, or denying reality in favor of wishful thinking. But that's okay! When you know the Truth of being, put it into practice in daily life, and watch the demonstration of it bloom in your every activity, your "heart is beating in the peace of God". And that state of mind does more for the world than all the preaching we may be tempted to do!

“More effectual than the forum are our states of mind, to bless mankind”

Pulpit and Press, p. 87

September 23, 2012 - Seeing Through the Illusion

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #266

“My holy Self abides in you, God's Son.”

"A Happy Customer"

Our tourist town is known for its friendly and helpful shopkeepers. Numerous times a day people mention to me how nice everyone has been to them. Upon reflection, I see that it’s easy to be nice to those who are nice to us. And so I look forward to the occasional "tough cookie" who will allow me to see if I'm truly looking past the illusion! Recently, a woman was in my gallery who had nothing but complaints and she wanted to tell me about them in detail. At one point, she was expounding on how awful her husband was. As I didn't want to hear this, I made an attempt at ending the conversation by asking her if she liked her husband. She looked startled and said, Why yes, I do!! And I said, Well, that's all that really matters. For a moment, at the very least, the mesmerism was broken and she was in another reality. One of my favorite stories that Wayne Dyer tells is of walking on the beach and meeting someone who has just moved to the neighborhood. The person asks what people are like there, and he asks in return what the people are like where she came from. She replies that everyone is kind and it was a great place to live. He tells her that's pretty much what she'll find there, too. At another time he's walking on the beach and the same scenario occurs, but this time the person responds that the place they left was filled with rude, stand-off-ish people. He responds, That's pretty much what you'll find here. With that in mind, I will express my holy Self and expect nothing other than that to be bounced back from all I meet. And when it's not, I'll listen expectantly for something which will break the spell!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“He that touches the hem of Christ’s robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing,—in a sweet and certain sense that God is Love”.

Science & Health Page 569: 11-14

September 22, 2012 - Gentleness is Realized in Action

"Angelo Drumming in Eureka"
photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Lesson #265

“Creation's gentleness is all I see.

Gentleness and joy are realized in numerous ways, and one of my favorites is a drumming which occurs at the slightest provocation in Eureka Springs.  When one drum is played, the others vibrate in happy unison. When a number of people come together in a joyous activity, they too join the vibration in Oneness objectified. It's a gently powerful experience to be a part of this, and playing a drum is not necessary to feel the unity of the gathering. Like birds dipping and diving without running into each other, while they joyfully play with a freedom which seems hard for us to experience, the rhythms of the drum circle metamorphosize as the two-hour melding progresses. The gentleness which is expressed in these loudly happy gatherings is surprising. At first glance, it may sound like a meaningless cacophony. But if you sit with it for a while, it opens a space within not often noticed. And so, dear friends, let's be on the lookout for experiences which open us to feeling the reality of Oneness. And gentleness isn't always a fuzzy kitten. It could be a roaring symphony!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love.” Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896, p. 15

September 21, 2012 - I Am Love

"Aaron & Friends in Mongolia"
photographer unknown

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #264

“I am surrounded by the Love of God.”

Often it seems impossible to keep out the barrage of false beliefs which we're exposed to every day. Media, in various forms. permeates our every waking moment -- if we let it. Recently I spent two hours in the laundromat with a radio playing in the background. This forced exposure graphically brought into focus how insane the content was! The songs were totally inane and yet mesmerizing, the commercials were mostly for drugs and disease, the news -- yikes!! When I stop and think about it, almost everything out there carries these messages to us. It even seems that collective consciousness gives us no choice. But this is the illusion. This illusion is not the consciousness of Love which is God. Love permeates everything, leaving no room for anything else to intrude. Nothing but this Love truly has power.  "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach me." (MBE) "I am surrounded by the Love of God." (ACIM) When I am tempted to be mesmerized by some material scene, I will remember what  is True. I am surrounded by the Love that is God. And more than that, it is my essence, my essential Being. So I needn't try to see or feel this Love, because it is what I Am.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sackcloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-winged dove descending upon you. The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares. Then thought gently whispers: Come hither! Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb's wife,--Love wedded to its own spiritual idea. Then cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will destroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material sense.”

Science & Health Page 574: 25-6

September 20, 2012 - I see all in purity

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #263

"David Rajnah Deal"
photo by Richard Quick

“My holy vision sees all things as pure.”

In reflecting upon "my holy vision [which] sees all things as pure", a few instances come to mind when I have seen as God sees -- purely and without judgment. The commentary to today's ACIM lesson asks us to "Let all appearances seem pure .. that we may pass them by in innocence ...". Wow! I want to do that, don't you?  Every day we have opportunities to see situations with "holy vision". Recently I've been involved in a circumstance which seemed to have no happy resolution, with someone being left out regardless of the good intentions held by all involved. I allowed about a hundred possibilities of action to pass through my head, before catching on to the futility of pondering these intellectual choices. After turning from the material picture, I settled into a quiet space of listening. Almost immediately an interesting possibility came to thought! And it was a very exciting option for all involved. Who knows where this will lead these two dear people when the idea is presented to them? I sure don't! But I have complete trust that the situation will be viewed through the pure vision of our real Being, allowing all the seeming problems to disappear into their actual nothingness, while revealing new perceptions and possibilities.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The age has not wholly outlived the sense of ghostly beliefs. It still holds them more or less. Time has not yet reached eternity, immortality, complete reality. All the real is eternal. Perfection underlies reality. Without perfection, nothing is wholly real. All things will continue to disappear, until perfection appears and reality is reached. We must give up the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit the somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be wise. When we learn that error is not real, we shall be ready for progress, ‘forgetting those things which are behind.’”

Science & Health Page 353:13-24

September 19, 2012 - No Differences Today

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #262

“Let me perceive no differences today.”

Photo by Marsha Havens

To the uninitiated in divinely metaphysical thought, there is a sentence in today's workbook lesson which could appear to be saying that Jesus is being singled out as the One Son which God created.  And he is, but in the inclusive sense that we All are! This consciousness which Jesus told us about IS that true being which we speak of so often. This one Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love -- God, if you will -- cannot be split between you and me, it cannot shine from one and not from the other. William Blake says it well: "I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine Love", which means that the perfection we are learning to see as ourselves also is everyone else. I often tell people “We’re all in this together”, but I think I’ll change it to “We are all this – together!” I love the study of this Science of Being, as every day -- every moment -- revelations of thought bring us to the understanding of how this Truth sets us free!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.”

Science and Health Page 469:30–5