October 8, 2013 - Open Thought to Change

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #281

“I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.”

Today's ACIM lesson begins a ten-day examination of "What is the Holy Spirit". The Holy Spirit is the memory of what you are, what you always have been, what you always will be. This becomes clear when interference is cleared, allowing us to hear this gentle presence speaking within our consciousness.  How this will be heard is as individual as you are. Our Oneness doesn't dictate that we are all the same. On the contrary! We are led in ways we couldn't have concocted in our own mind. Divine Mind is quite another story, where everything is limitless in scope. Let's grow with our new perception, expressing spiritual completeness in daily experience. That's the Holy Spirit!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear." 

Science & Health Page 506:18-21

October 7, 2013 - No Limits

"Sunset on the Delaware River"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

A CIM Workbook Lesson #280

"What limits can I lay upon God's Son?"

We all know of instances which seem miraculous to material sense. The most profound one which comes to me is of a woman born without eyes, yet she could see. We are able to understand this phenomena on many levels. Materially we could say that she is mind reading, "seeing" what others think about colors and placement of furniture and such things. Spiritually we know that we are all One, and hence know everything because we reflect all that Is. Both of these concepts can seem impossible while we're stuck in the day-to-day illusions we accept as real. Let's start out with small practice sessions to see where expansion of thought can take us. I enjoy giving my dog commands without speaking or gesturing. This is much easier than trying to open my thought to what he has to say! Animal communication is one of my daily goals as I work towards the clarity which comes with letting go of erroneous thought. Kinship with all Life. Namaste ~~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The everlasting I AM is not bounded nor compressed within the narrow limits of physical humanity, nor can He be understood aright through mortal concepts. The precise form of God must be of small importance in comparison with the sublime question, What is infinite Mind or divine Love?"

Science & Health Page 256:13-18

October 6, 2013 - Freedom From Bondage

"Park City Mountain Resort"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #279

“Creation's freedom promises my own.”

When we are told we are free, we have an idea of what that means. What of our imagined bondage? I know I live with limiting beliefs every day, and it often seems impossible to be released from them. As children we are told not to talk to strangers, to be careful lest we fall, to be afraid of God, to live in certain ways in order to gain the approval of others -- the list goes on. We think a multitude of rules and beliefs must be obeyed in order to survive and thrive, and when we start to realize most of these so-called rules have nothing to do with our true existence, it can be frightening -- and exhilarating! The freedom of our true creation is seen through a change in our perception of reality. Taking ourselves out of the prison of preconceived notions allows the Love we are to show through our actions in sublime ways. And we glimpse freedom.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Omnipotent and infinite Mind [God] made all and includes all. This Mind does not make mistakes and subsequently correct them.”

Science and Health Page 206:28–30

October 5, 2013 - We are Free!

"Yellowstone National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #278

“If I am bound, my Father is not free.”

Sometimes the miasma of materiality seems overwhelming. It's easy to feel bound by illnesses and injuries, financial burdens, grief. Our lives appear to have a beginning and an end. Physicists tell us of a perspective called quantum entanglement, in which particles separate yet remain connected, reacting to stimuli in the same way even though they no longer occupy the same space. In a book by Dan Cowan, Mind Underlies Spacetime, he explains, "...this direct connectedness occurs because each real entity is already everywhere." How perfectly this explains Oneness! This omnipresence is our perfect identity, without boundaries. We are free!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea.”

Science & Health Page 90:24-25

October 4, 2013 - Material Law or Spiritual Truth?

ACIM Workbook Lesson #277

“Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made."

A universal shift in thought is upon us and we're each feeling it in our own way. The understanding that we don't have to be bound by any material belief because our true identity is spiritual is bringing us to a tipping point in thought. Mass media and collective material consciousness tells us what to expect from material laws of cause and effect. Just think about how many things have been "proven" untrue which we learned as "fact" at some point. We can laugh when we see old advertisements proclaiming that lard makes families happy and that cigarettes are good for you, but many of us are frightened by giving up crutches we have relied on for years. Today I will notice the appearance of long-held beliefs telling me what is good and bad for me. I'll let them go and listen within for Truth. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The supposed laws which result in weariness and disease are not His laws, for the legitimate and only possible action of Truth is the production of harmony. Laws of nature are laws of Spirit; but mortals commonly recognize as law that which hides the power of Spirit. Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.”

Science & Health Page 183:16-25

October 3, 2013 - Let Go of Belief and Dogma

"Butterflies and Thistle"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #276

“The Word of God is given me to speak.”

When I read the topic of today's ACIM workbook lesson, I immediately thought of a man who sometimes stands in prominent places in downtown Eureka Springs. He wears a sandwich board declaring that any man who marries a divorced woman is an adulterer. He speaks to people and warns them of various things which will send them to hell. And so I wonder: Does he think he's speaking the Word of God? I would hazard to guess that he does. I find it's very easy to jump up on my soapbox and declare various things. This is why I'm  making an effort to let go of beliefs and dogma! With practice, we can begin to recognize the difference in speaking from the heart, from Love, or voicing the rhetoric of a lifetime. I look forward to checking my understanding of this discipline as I travel through this parenthesis in time!  

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Let discord of every name and nature be heard no more, and let the harmonious and true sense of Life and being take possession of human consciousness.”

Science and Health Page 355:11-14

October 2, 2013 - Enlarged Perception

"Beloved Family"

ACIM Workbook Lesson #275 “God's healing Voice protects all things today.” 

The fragile feeling which envelopes us following the loss of a loved one isn't often thought of as something to cherish. In times past, I may have wished this feeling away. Now, I choose to honor it as one of the exquisite experiences we are granted in this beautiful plane of existence we call life. As with love, we are told life is fleeting. We are advised to grab hold and not let go, because there is a finite amount of it. Our human experience of life and love does seem to come and go with the wind, and it can feel just as hard to hold on to. From the perspective of mortal mind, this is so. When looked at from our humanness, there is no predicting when we may lose life or love. Accepting ourselves as spiritual Beings allows an expanded viewpoint of our experiences. Yes, they are to be savored. But enlarged perceptions of existence bring us something different. Understanding that my true self is a product of divine, never-ending Love causes me to want to experience that here and now. And so I'll listen for this healing Voice we are told of in today's ACIM lesson, because an inner knowing tells me of its Truth.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Faith, if it be mere belief, is as a pendulum swinging between nothing and something, having no fixity. Faith, advanced to spiritual understanding, is the evidence gained from Spirit, which rebukes sin of every kind and establishes the claims of God."
Science & Health Page 23:14-17