October 25, 2012 - Loving Everyone

"Walking at The Principia"
photo by Marsha Havens

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #298

“I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.”

A dear friend and I had to make a few adjustments in our working and personal relationship. This is the same type of adjustment we occasionally find to be necessary within ourselves. If a way of thought needs to be purged of error, we do so. And I feel the same about this friendship. When we are willing to accept our Oneness with divine Love, there is no way anyone can do or say anything which offends us. This beautiful acceptance allows for avenues to open which we may not have seen otherwise. We may not have seen them because we were blinded by "senseless journeys ... and artificial values". I'm pleased to go forward with renewed thought and purpose in this ever-expanding friendship which has always been and always will be. When one of us made joking mention about winning the way back to friendship, we both knew there was no necessity for anything as dualistic as winning or losing when it comes to Love. Namaste, dear Friend.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon its object. One marvels that a friend can ever seem less than beautiful. Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom.”

Science & Health Page 249:3-7

October 24, 2012 - Give Yourself Forgiveness

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #297

"BuddhaBirdBath"
photo by Dale Johnson

“Forgiveness is the only gift I give.”

We often think of forgiveness as being given by ourselves to others, or given from someone to us. It seems to be that when we give this grace to ourselves, it is automatically given to everyone. I have a good friend who glows with inner beauty and Love. She recently told me that she realized she had no guilt. All those little things she had blamed herself for are gone. Most of us have things we feel bad about, whether it's something unintentionally hurtful said to a friend or perhaps a premeditated act from childhood.  I know I do. By following my friend’s beautiful example, I hope to feel this grace which is God, and through this feeling I will watch all blame and pain disappear and be replaced with the peace and acceptance which is my heritage. 

 Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection”

No and Yes, p. 39:17-18

October 23, 2012 - Changing Perceptions

Fall at The Principia
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #296

“The Holy Spirit speaks through me today.”

Not long ago, on a busy afternoon, two things struck me as profoundly and oddly wonderful. At one point, there were ten or so people in the gallery, happily enjoying art and listening to the jazzings of Diana Krall on the stereo. Suddenly, we heard shouting outside. It was someone yelling out his car window at another driver. Immediately -- and I mean immediately!! -- we all burst into laughter! It was so wonderful. What a beautiful shift in thought that none of us saw anything either right or wrong with this behavior, but we did see how ridiculous it was -- in a funny way! Wow. I was and am awestruck by the way this felt. And later on, a woman asked me if I was going to take "early ascension"! What a conversation we enjoyed around that question!! All of these signs and wonders are very exciting, as we watch and meld into this shift of consciousness which is being evidenced everywhere! A popular movie on quantum physics asks us: How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Hum -- I'm not sure we have a choice!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Eloquence re-echoes the strains of Truth and Love. It is due to inspiration rather than to erudition."

Science & Health Page 88:26-27

October 22, 2012 - Exciting Time to Be Aware

"#6, Through the Barn"
photo by Jerry Dupy

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #295

“The Holy Spirit looks through me today.”

Things are changing very quickly. Everywhere we look, people are seeing through different eyes, as they open themselves to the reality of other-dimensional thought. Today three persons asked me why people come to Eureka Springs. And they didn't ask it in the general way people often ask about this phenomenon. They leaned on the counter, looked me deep in the eyes, and sincerely asked it! And from the opposite end of this thought a friend who lives here asked why so many people were in town today. There is no "event" to draw them and many are surprised to see the throngs in the streets. But I see it as a lovely symptom of everything that's happening everywhere. We're waking up! We're being drawn to what will help our Being. We talking to each other about things that matter. What an exciting time to be aware!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The seasons will come and go with changes of time and tide, cold and heat, latitude and longitude. The agriculturist will find that these changes cannot affect his crops.The mariner will have dominion over the atmosphere and the great deep, over the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air. The astronomer will no longer look up to the stars,-- he will look out from them upon the universe; and the florist will find his flower before its seed.”

Science & Health Page 124:21-28

October 21, 2012 - Neutrality

photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #294

“My body is a wholly neutral thing.”

I'm glad we're getting past the thought that something must be "wrong" with the body in order for it to be cast off. I've had two friends who died in their 50s with no physical cause. One of these people was traveling, stopped at a hotel, laid down on the bed and was gone. As this was an unattended death, all the legal protocol were followed and it was determined that there was no physical reason at all for her passing. I think this is great! The new realms of thought we're accessing allow many old beliefs to be abandoned -- finally! How many material laws have imprisoned us with unlocked doors? This body as a wholly neutral thing is an empty vessel waiting to be filled up with thought. Let's make sure that it’s thought independent of erroneous learning and dogma. Everything is important; nothing is important -- neutrality.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The elements and functions of the physical body and of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes its beliefs. What is now considered the best condition for organic and functional health in the human body may no longer be found indispensable to health. Moral conditions will be found always harmonious and health-giving. Neither organic inaction nor overaction is beyond God's control; and man will be found normal and natural to changed mortal thought, and therefore more harmonious in his manifestations than he was in the prior states which human belief created and sanctioned.”

Science & Health Page 124:32-10

October 20, 2012 - Following Intuition

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #293

"All fear is past and only love is here."

"Mongolia Trek"
photo by Aaron Springston

One evening, I had planned on going to our Course in Miracles meeting, but intuition kept holding me at the gallery until well past the starting time. Although numerous people came in and a few sales were made, nothing seemed worthy of keeping me from people of like mind sharing good food and inspiration.  Some time after seven o'clock, I started to close up and was turning off the lights when a woman came in the door, in tears, asking if I'd found her wallet. She had been in earlier in the day, but had no idea where she may have left all her credit cards and money. She said her husband was very angry with her because they'd had their "identity stolen" a few years before and he was worried it would happen again. We retraced her steps and found her wallet in a print rack. While she was very grateful to have found her things, she was still very fearful because of her husband's reactions concerning things from the past. After she left, I realized what I'd kept repeating to her: You're good. You're good. I'm not sure why I was saying this, but hopefully she knows! This incident has shown me how living in the past is the only place fear exists, and that living in the now allows loving reality to shine forth as our only reality.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Apostle John says: 'There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out fear. . . . He that feareth is not made perfect in Love.' Here is a definite and inspired proclamation of Christian Science."

Science & Health Page 410:17-21

October 19, 2012 - Happy Outcomes

"Lila Allison in the
May Festival of the Arts Parade"

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #292

“A happy outcome to all things is sure.”

Putting God first is living a life of constant prayer. This prayer brings us into harmony with divine Mind, and from this we witness happy outcomes. In 1999, I took my young boys on a 3,000-mile road trip. We made no reservations at hotels and had no plans on where to stop -- other than to attend women's World Cup soccer games and look for miniature golf courses. In preparation for this trip, I spent a lot of time studying the science of Mind and bringing thought into alignment with these metaphysical principles. Through this process, we witnessed many happy outcomes, but the most dramatic was on the first day of our trip. I had worn glasses to see at a distance for more than 30 years and suddenly found I could see without them. I enjoyed this freedom until a few years ago when renewing my driver's license and found that they were needed again. Although I complied with the law and obtained glasses, I steadfastly refused to accept this prognosis as reality. The next time I renewed my license, there were no restrictions as to sight. Instances such as this affirm my conviction to live single-mindedly, with  God as my only goal, expecting happy outcomes.

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.”

Science & Health Page 203:3-5