November 13, 2012 - Follow and Rejoice!

"Sandy Wythawai Starbird"

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #317

“I follow in the way appointed me.”

For a number of years I have felt that I am beginning to yield my will to "follow in the way appointed me". Usually this yielding happens without thought, and I am happy to release strong opinions and other emotions which have in the past led to turmoil and difficulties. Reflecting on why many people, particularly those in public office and positions of leadership, seem to be so headstrong and often unhappy, has led me to the conclusion that they are not "following in the way appointed [them]". I look at friends who are following the path of Love. The joy which they leave in their wake is contagious! Those who have turned away from conventional life pursuits to follow their heart are listening to Truth and acting on what they hear. Now, some might say that everyone can't do this or there would be no one to deal with the day-to-day necessities, their lifework consisting of what many consider to be drudgery. I watch an individual close to me who works in a job which is considered to be such, and I see how he is happy because it's more than just a job. It's his ministry. He's always noticing ways to help others and bring joy to situations. He, too, is listening and following. I will not let this day leave me where it found me, as I follow and rejoice.

 Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science, to the immortal truth of all things.”

November 12, 2012 - Does Bad Cancel Good?

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #316

“All gifts I give my brothers are my own.”

"Lake Leatherwood"
photo by Gerry Tolerg

When I think of all the good that is being given and received by everyone everywhere, and when I realize all of the goodness which I give to others is given to me – well, it makes me feel like Snoopy when he floats up into the air with happiness!! After expressing these thoughts to someone, they said, But what about the bad? Isn’t it given and received by everyone, and doesn’t it cancel out the good? We could go through lots of conversation about these points, concerning the unreality of bad and the reality of good. But I don’t want to think in those ways any longer-- of right and wrong, good and bad -- so I won’t speak in those ways either. There is only One God, expressing only Itself. If we are the idea of God, there’s nothing else to consider. God is Love. We are Love and that’s a powerful principle to abide by! “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Rumi

“… that joy which finds one’s own in another’s good”

Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 127

November 11, 2012 - Pay It Forward

"Hobbs State Park"
photo by Gerry Toler

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #315

“All gifts my brothers give belong to me.”

Pay it Forward. Almost everyone knows what this means. In 2000, Catherine Ryan Hyde wrote a book by this title. A few years later, a movie was made based on the premise. Since that time, numerous movements have been started to perpetuate this idea.. In Utah, a man has started a Pay it Forward movement dedicated to spreading Love. As part of Charley Johnson's vision, there are Pay It Forward bracelets. When you do something nice for someone and they thank you, you give them a bracelet and ask them to pass the kindness on. There are so many ways for us to give of ourselves unto others. Every good thought we send out into the universe multiplies. The good we do for one is done for all. Let's never be afraid to express Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,--Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply."

Science & Health Page 206;15-17

November 10, 2012 - See Spiritual Perfection

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #314

“I seek a future different from the past.”

"Bridge into Beaver, Arkansas"
photo by Jim Young

History was always my least favorite subject in school. I questioned why I needed to know these things. Of course, people told me I must know this in order to benefit from the good things and not to repeat the bad. This never felt right -- and it still doesn't! Now that we're more fully realizing the possibility of living in an entirely new way, through other-dimensional thought, my reluctance to read and study past events makes more sense to me than ever before. With new understanding concerning the nature of our Being, there is no need to educate ourselves by past mistakes. When we live by the understanding of spiritual Truth, many material laws seem pointless and we are able to turn away from them with no worries for our well-being. It is this understanding which allows us to surpass what has been thought of as human limits. I see a future of happiness and love. Giving up strong opinions, along with expectations based on past experience, helps me to see spiritual perfection. How exciting!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The human mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, is capable of greater endurance, escapes somewhat from itself, and requires less repose. A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.”

Science & Health Page 128:11-19

November 9, 2012 - It's All in How I Look at It

Fall 2012 in Eureka Springs
photo by Lori Carter

ACIM Workbook Lesson #313

“Now let a new perception come to me.”

Our thought for today is very exciting! "Now let a new perception come to me." I've been told that everyone sees a rainbow differently, according to where they are when they view it. Isn't that a perfect metaphor for everything from politics to the clothes we put on our bodies? Where I am, in thought, is how I will perceive something. Things which I may think of as being for the good of everyone, someone else may see as the downfall of society. It's just a matter of how you look at it. A line from a movie comes to mind in which an octogenarian tells us that life is like a ride on a roller coaster. Some people think it's frightening and stressful; others see it as fun and exciting. My excitement in living combines with the calm of resting in divine completeness. New ways of seeing and acting on that sight are revealed to us as we tap into the thought which is God, supplying us in ways we never knew existed. I eagerly anticipate this new perception!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The effects of Christian Science are not so much seen as felt. It is the 'still, small voice' of Truth uttering itself. We are either turning away from this utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher."

Science & Health Page 323

November 8, 2012 - Take Possession of Your Body

"November Fall Day in the Ozarks"
photo by Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #312

“I see all things as I would have them be.”

We seem to have enacted laws of illness for ourselves. The common cold (as it's called!) is a perfect example of this, along with all the other disease we take for granted as being unavoidable. We think that certain symptoms appear then progress through phases, either to disappear or to become chronic. Do we have a choice in this progression? Many people, including myself, think that we do. A year ago today, I awoke with a runny nose and scratchy throat. I know it was a year ago because I first wrote about it last year on this date. It was a rainy day in late fall. Although the leaves were exceptionally beautiful at the time, something spectacular happened as the brown oak leaves evolved into glorious gold. I spent most of the day in a back room which overlooks the forest. As the rainy day progressed, so did the symptoms of this so-called cold . I would occasionally pick up Science & Health, open it at random, and ponder a passage as I enjoyed the exquisite fall colors. Around dusk, the rain stopped and something wonderful happened. The air seemed to be golden! The trees glowed and the sky was purple/pink. As I walked through our neighborhood, I realized two things: I didn't have a camera with me, and there were no more cold symptoms.  I'm glad my friend took this photo which is included today, and I'm glad to demonstrate the Truth of our Being as written of below by Mary Baker Eddy.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man."

Science & Health Page 393:10-15

November 7, 2012 -One Unified World

"Eureka Springs Fall"
photo by Randal Thompson

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #311

“I judge all things as I would have them be.”

I write this on the eve of a day of decisions for the people of the United States of America. I don't know who our president will be when we read this in the morning. And I don't care. Please don't take this to mean I haven't had my preferences based on numerous policies and choices which these candidates have told us they will enact or uphold. But I have never understood why we should have two or more political parties if everyone is for the good of all. This shift in consciousness we are incorporating into our lives on a moment-by-moment basis through these and other teachings -- these ideas which are showing us the truth of what we are -- this is all that matters. As with events in our daily lives, it is impossible to make a set of rules and follow them no matter what. We must have the flexibility to change and evolve in thought as circumstances unfold before us. We have come to believe we must have rules to protect ourselves from numerous forces. In the realization that there is only one force, one omniscient, omnipresent God, we are acknowledging and recognizing our Oneness. This unfoldment can take many faces, but if we're only expressing the Love that is God, there is nothing other than peace, justice, the innate goodness which we truly are, being expressed in every action -- for the Good of All.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,--whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.”

Science & Health Page 340: 23-29