September 4, 2013 - Definitive Terms

"Fun at the Great Wall of China"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #247

“Without forgiveness I will still be blind."

The sight which comes through forgiveness is our topic today. We are also told that sin is the symbol of attack. The topics of sin and forgiveness can make us cringe! I feel this is because they are not a part of our real Being, and so we recoil at the words.  And that’s what this lesson is about today: the nothingness of sin and the meaning of forgiveness. I think of sin as being anything -- anything at all  -- which separates us from the Love which is God. Since we are the image and likeness of God, there can be no separation other than in our belief. And this thing we call forgiveness isn't some sort of divine pardon, but a yielding within ourselves to purity of thought, without the impediments of holding on to memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pains of all sorts. This yielding includes the release of things which we think have been done to us and things we think we have done to others. So let's choose again, rest in Love, and go and sin no more!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Sin was, and is, the lying supposition that life, substance, and intelligence are both material and spiritual, and yet are separate from God,”

Retrospection and Introspection (p. 67).

September 3, 2013 - The Panoply of Love

"St, Louis Zoo Penguins"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #246

“To love my Father is to love His Son."

One of my favorite Mary Baker Eddy quotes is, "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." I've always thought of that statement as meaning that the human hatred of others cannot reach me. I now see that it precludes the hatred I may feel toward others, also. It's very easy for me to think that I don't hate anyone or anything. Actually, it's a word I have pruned from my vocabulary and simply do not use. BUT if I am irritated by another's actions or words, or if I replay a past situation in my mind which caused anger in the past, or if I allow criticism to gnaw at me and I think of retaliatory statements which could have been made -- isn't that human hatred? Wearing this cloak of Love calms these nagging feelings and thoughts. I know that if I'm wearing the armor of Love, hatred cannot enter from inside or out!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"God is universal; confined to no spot, defined by no dogma, appropriated by no sect. Not more to one than to all, is God demonstrable as divine Life, Truth, and Love; and His people are they that reflect Him -- that reflect Love."

Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896 Page 150

September 2, 2013 - Peace Within

"Great Wall of China"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACiM Workbook Lesson #245

“Your peace is with me, Father.  I am safe."

Today's statement of peace and safety may seem downright silly to some people. While we know that peace is a choice within our own selves, we really want that peace to spread to every corner of the world. And while we can affirm our safety, it seems heartless to see war-torn countries as a place of peaceful safety. So we set up a guilt trip for ourselves and won't allow ourselves to feel peace and safety because we think that would be selfish. But wait a minute! There is no separation in the essence of our Being.  While I can't change what anyone else is thinking or feeling or experiencing, I can adjust my vision of reality. Every thought is important! We are all in this together, in every way, at every moment. Today I will make an effort to see everything through the eyes of God, with the vision of Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.”

Science & Health Page 264:24-27

September 1, 2013 - No Danger

"Aaron in Altai Mountains"

ACIM Workbook Lesson #244

“I am in danger nowhere in the world."

Reading the above affirmation of our safety in any situation reminds me of many examples of this Truth. Often when we hear of material laws being usurped, we think of this as divine intervention.  Let's not think of this as God setting aside material law in favor of spiritual principle, but as the demonstration of how this Principle operates. Knowing the Truth of our Being enables us to put it into practice. This knowledge has also enabled me to peacefully know my son is safe during his numerous travels. He's been away from home since he was 14, and flitting around the globe on his own since he was 19. Friends have wondered how I can be so calm and free from worry about him. It's because I know where his safety lies -- as does he. The following Mary Baker Eddy poem is set to music as a hymn. I admit to singing it often, with gratitude for the reminder it has brought.

Mary Baker Eddy poem:

Mother's Evening Prayer

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;

         O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,

Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!

         Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

Love is our refuge; only with mine eye

         Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall:

His habitation high is here, and nigh,

         His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.

O make me glad for every scalding tear,

         For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain!

Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear

         No ill, — since God is good, and loss is gain.

Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing;

         In that sweet secret of the narrow way,

Seeking and finding, with the angels sing:

         "Lo, I am with you alway," — watch and pray.

No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain;

         No night drops down upon the troubled breast,

When heaven's aftersmile earth's tear-drops gain,

         And mother finds her home and heav'nly rest.

(Poems by Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 4, 5)

August 31, 2013 - Judge Nothing

"Mongolia - Top of the Mountain"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #243

“Today I will judge nothing that occurs."

How is it possible to "judge nothing that occurs"? This practice of non-judgment is a constant meditation with me, and I must admit I often feel like a failure at it. (Which in itself is a judgment!) This basic metaphysical precept of letting go and letting God, realizing that we of our own selves know nothing, facilitates giving up judgment because how can we judge what we do not know? And so I will continue to make note that my opinion is simply that: an opinion, not a Universal Truth. I thank Mr. Shakespeare for a thought that is in the front of Science & Health: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established.”

Science and Health Page 467:9-13

August 30, 2013 - First Thoughts, Clear Thoughts

"Mongolia Morning"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #242

“This day is God's. It is my gift to Him."

To give this day to God is to listen for intuition to lead the way. Starting our day with clear, spiritual thought allows this intuition to be heard more easily, without that back-and-forth volley we fall into when weighing the possibilities of our actions. I'm not sure how people manage who must begin to speak to others when they first wake up. As a child, I found it upsetting to be forced to talk first thing in the morning. Even then, I innately knew that silence, a certain centering, needed to occur before facing the cacophony of daily life. I have no ritual to these moments; no set prayers or by-rote actions, but simply a clearing of thought and acceptance of what comes. The practice of turning every thought away from worrying and wondering "what-if" is sufficient to supply me with everything I need to walk this path. And it's exciting to see what will unfold!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Emerge gently from matter into Spirit. Think not to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come naturally into Spirit through better health and morals and as the result of spiritual growth.”

Science & Health Page 485:13-16

August 29, 2013 - Celebrate Wisdom

"Mount Timpanogos"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #241

“This holy instant is salvation come."

Let's celebrate today by remembering seers whose words have awakened the knowledge of salvation within us. These are people whose words are so familiar they have become a natural part of our conversations and thoughts. I want to commemorate today the wisdom passed to us by John Lennon, Emerson, Shakespeare, Rumi, and others. Today I remember 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 salvation is not only something to be desired, but that it is here, now, for the remembering.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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 fetter-less Mind.”

Science & Health Page 84:7-18