March 4, 2013 - Listen, Hear, Share

"Zion National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #63

“The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”

Today I will focus on accepting my function of seeing through illusions so that this sight may be extended to the world. By quieting my mind to the noises of materialism, I prepare myself to hear the voice of Truth, of Spirit, and hear the thoughts which are healing in any given situation. I'm reminded of a young newlywed couple who came into my gallery. They were filled with happiness and excitement about their new life together and their adventure in Eureka Springs. As we talked, she mentioned that it was her birthday and she was sad because it was her first celebration without her mom. As she told me about this, she became teary-eyed and seemed to lose the joy she had been expressing a moment before.  By listening to Spirit rather than her words, I was led to tell her something which was more than just sympathetic commiseration. Taking her hand I told her that Love was eternal and the love she and her mom felt for each other was present no matter where they were at any given time. Her sweet husband, who had been randomly patting her here and there, wanting to help but not sure how to do so, immediately started to smile and excitedly told her how true this was. He stated that he would remind her of that whenever she was sad. In this moment, I realized how important it is to listen and speak from the heart. Giving away whatever it may be that we hear when listening inwardly is Love expressed. Let us not be afraid to listen, hear, and share!

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. Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,--this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

Science & Health Page 323:28-6

March 3, 2013 - My Function as Light

"Zion National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #62:

"Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world."

Seeing illusions for what they are and letting them go is my function as the light of the world. Through this sight we are enabled to live a life of peace and joy. In the realization that none of these so-called threats are reality, something happens to us which we never thought possible: We experience true bliss. Not just a momentary high, but a lasting peace. I'm sure we all know people who seem to go from one disaster to another. And they delight in telling everyone the gory details! If nothing horrible is happening to them at that moment, they are anticipating what will befall them next. I know such a woman who lives in a constant state of panic. She will tell me what diseases are coming our way, how the government (both small and huge) is plotting to do us in, the weather is either too hot or cold (or it's going to be awful soon) -- You've met her, haven't you? Of course she wants sympathy and feels slighted if you won't give it to her. At a time when the electricity in our neighborhood was out for a few hours, she came over wringing her hands, telling me there was going to be a storm in the evening and asking me what we would do if the lights weren't back on when this happened. I suggested that the lightning would be delightful in our darkened homes and asked if she wanted to watch the show with me. Every possible horror she came up with was easily seen through as illusion, leaving nothing but peace passing between us. This forgiveness, this lifting of the veil of materialism, is not only possible, it is inevitable when seeing with the eyes of Love. I look forward to the time when everyone looks to solutions rather than problems!

Mary Baker Eddy has a spiritual interpretation for the Lord's prayer. Her correlation for the line, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" is this: "For Love is reflected in love."

Science & Health Page 17:7

March 2, 2013 - Shining Reflections

"Shadows and Reflections"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #61 

"I am the light of the world."

The understanding that we are all "the light of the world" is liberating! So often when we catch glimpses of our Godly reflection, we deny the sight in the name of humility, or a false sense of sinfulness, or perhaps because Jesus said that's what he was and we don't think we can be, too. We are learning that there are no degrees of perfection, and this realization enables us to proudly reflect the light which we are, never hiding under a guise of smallness. This light which we are is demonstrated in many ways, sometimes contrary to what we've been taught. A friend and I were recently talking about our children and how wonderful they are, and how glad we are to know them. She said she didn't know how her boys had turned out so great, as she had moved them around frequently when they were young, and many of her ways wouldn't have been advocated by the so-called experts in childrearing. Perhaps because she was honest with her children, and always loved them fully without judgment, they are wonderful human beings and super parents in their own right. My boys also are wonderful, but the physical circumstances of their childhood was entirely different. They attended a beautiful independent school in a small town, had a full-time mom and every-other-weekend dad, and made lifelong friends while learning about the world from their small neighborhood. There are some things my friend and I had in common. We encouraged their light to shine and made sure they knew what that meant. We weren't afraid to teach them about God, but we didn't threaten them with this knowledge. Now that they're adults, we have the pleasure of watching their shining lights, fearless and loving, giving forth what they have received. What a lovely reflection!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: 

"Light: Symbol of Truth; revelation and progress." Science & Health Page 591:23-24

March 1, 2013 - Material/Spiritual Meaning

"Clorado Sunset"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #60

Today we review Lessons 46-50

Love, forgiveness, salvation -- these and many other words have taken on interesting connotations through our material interpretations and beliefs. How often does our version of love include jealousy, attachment, and various demands we insist upon for someone to be a worthy recipient of our matter-based love? And forgiveness seldom is an acknowledgement that there is truly nothing to forgive, but carries with it superior thoughts and magnanimous gestures. Salvation has an odd interpretation which includes a paying of penance to someone or something. As we turn away from the material conceptions of these and other words, we are allowed to glimpse Love, wherein there is no forgiveness nor salvation as we think of them. We are told in the first lesson review today that "God does not forgive because He has never condemned." And we are told that the forgiveness we are learning of as human beings is "the reflection of God's Love on earth." How beautiful is that!!  When looked at from this angle, it seems senseless to say that we can forgive but not forget. If we truly are, in reality, the perfect reflection of divine Love, if this is the spiritual reality (hence, the Only reality), how easy it becomes to lay down the sword and go forward living from the heart rather than the brain. We can let go all thoughts of retaliation or revenge and live by the law of grace. How I long to forget everything and begin again from Love!

Mary Baker Eddy correlative quote:

"Progress takes off human shackles. The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal. Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and Mother of the universe, including man."

Science & Health Page 256:1-8

February 28, 2013 - Walking the Talk

"Glacier National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #59:

Today we review Lessons 41-45. 

As a child, I had a recurring dream of walking on the edge of a razor blade, with deepest outer space surrounding me. It wasn't painful, nor frightening, it just was. It seemed I could fall off at any moment, but there was no fear of that either. Sometimes it feels as though we're walking a tightrope in this life, with erroneous thought everywhere other than the straight and narrow way. Throughout the first forty years of my life, I indulged what is often termed an addictive personality. I really liked alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, men -- well, you get the idea. Those indulgences fell by the wayside when I embarked on a deep spiritual study and quest for change. But in the last few years, I've found myself allowing food to become somewhat of an idol to me. In an effort to break this illusion, I decided to go on a five-day green juice fast. While this has facilitated a letting go of caffeine and a break in the compulsion to eat whatever is in sight, it has also brought to my attention what I've been doing. That is, falling into old habits of material pleasure, rather than seeking first the kingdom of heaven within. In that resting place, everything falls into place and is witnessed by balance. Now I step back and ask myself what I'm really hungry for. Interestingly, the documentary which broke the miasma of materiality for me is appropriately entitled "Hungry For Change". I am grateful for having been drawn into a structured fasting situation, wherein I have experienced more than a physical change. I have seen a shift which has always been there, waiting for me to change gears and catch up, showing me Life through true Vision rather than personal sense. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man's absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace."

Science & Health Page 265:10-15

February 27, 2013 - Holiness For All!

Park City, Utah Sunset
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #58:

Today we review Lessons 36-40 

This review speaks of "my holiness" in four of the five summarized lessons. What does that mean? Is my holiness different from your holiness, perhaps based on  actions or thoughts? We are learning that this holiness is our true state of being as reflections of Love, realized through forgiveness in its purest sense. When I assert this Truth about myself, I affirm it for everyone. The urge to micro-manage things is strong in most of us, because we've been taught to make plans, to set goals, to nail down all the details. Recently the building in which I have my gallery was sold. The new owners have undertaken repairs which include replacing an old wooden awning on the front. While I had accepted that this was going to be done to the benefit of all, numerous people questioned if they were doing this in the proper way. And I had fallen into this questioning thought myself. While in the market, someone asked me how long it was going to take to get the new awning up and wondered about the appropriateness of the material to be used. When I told her that I didn't know when it would be done or how it would be done, but that I was trusting that everything would turn out best for everyone involved, she told me that rarely happened, particularly with people our age. Wow! Could this be true? We can't trust in goodness and our ability to allow it to be? And what did age have to do with it? This was enough to wake me up to what I'd been doing. I've learned to listen for inner guidance when making decisions of any kind. Most things in this life are beyond our control, aren't they? How many times do we make intricate plans only to have to change them when circumstances change?  I could write a book! Wayne Dyer tells us that worry is counterproductive. Why worry, he says? If we can do something about it, we will. If we can't do anything about it, what's the use in worrying? Living by this precept has brought a freedom I wouldn't have known had I held on to my old drama queen ways. My mantra is, Only Good can come of this. For this realization, I am most grateful.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Man walks in the direction towards which he looks, and where his treasure is, there will his heart be also. If our hopes and affections are spiritual, they came from above, not from below, and they bear as of old the fruits of the Spirit." Science & Health Page 451:14-18

February 26, 2013 - Radical Reliance on Truth

"Altai Mountains"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #57:

Today we review Lessons 31-35 

I have often been asked if (or perhaps told that) Christian Science is a cult. Having been affiliated with this way of life since childhood, it assuredly is not. I've never been controlled by anyone, or asked to worship anyone, or any of the other criteria necessary to qualify for this category of action. And I'm sure that Course in Miracles students often get the same thing, judging from what a quick search of YouTube videos reveal! What we do ask of ourselves is a radical reliance on God, a wholehearted acceptance of God as the only power, to recognize that Love leads every action. This is the goal I set for myself at every moment. And this is why I see such a strong interaction with these two disciplines: they both ask us to give up material beliefs and rely on Truth. And this may not be as hard as we'd like to make it out to be! Think back on the so-called laws of life you have adopted in the past. Shouldn't it be as easy to allow spiritual principles to guide your actions as it is to accept material rules which make no sense? For example, why should being cold and wet give you a cold? What silly admonitions we have heard about things that will cause us to "catch cold". This is only one example, but I'm sure you can think of many you have heard and lived by in your life. This quote from Lesson 34 says it all: "When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey." And the rules of God are simple to hear when we have cleared out the cacophony which hides them from our thought. To live from the Truth within rather than the made-up rules of material existence, this is the freedom which will lead into harmonious peace for all. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The conceptions of mortal, erring thought must give way to the ideal of all that is perfect and eternal. Through many generations human beliefs will be attaining diviner conceptions, and the immortal and perfect model of God's creation will finally be seen as the only true conception of being."

Science & Health Page 260:7-12