October 22, 2013 - Fear or Love?

"Through the Barn"
photo by Jerry Dupy

ACIM Workbook Lesson #295

“The Holy Spirit looks through me today.”

I am caught by a phrase in today's ACIM workbook lesson: "Fear appears in many different forms, but love is one." Yet another reason to live in love rather than fear! Fear is ever-changing and appears in as many forms as we can have thoughts. Whew! I recently went through a period of fear. I hadn't realized what was happening until my son visited and brought it to my attention. I had become -- or was fast beaming! -- a nervous nellie, if you will. When did I start to think in this fearful manner? I'm not sure, and it doesn't matter. No need to deconstruct and correct error! When erroneous thought is discovered, no matter what the bent, all it takes is the leaving behind which can happen in the time it takes to giggle! And then turn to Love. It truly is One. Individually, together, all One.

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, 2013 - The Body is Neutral

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM 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, 2013 - Love Trumps Fear

photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #293

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

I love to watch the television show, Master Chef. In it, home cooks are called upon to compete in cooking a variety of dishes. They may be asked to cook something as basic as perfect sunny-side-up eggs. Or maybe they are given a box of exotic food and must come up with a palatable dish using ingredients they may never have worked with before. Now there is a show called Master Chef Junior. Children aged 8 to 13 compete in the same format. These fearless children are amazing! Recently they were given a box with "bad" foods in it. There was liver, kidneys, snails, brussel sprouts, blue cheese, and a few other smelly things. As they were making interesting creations from the ingredients, one 9-year-old was asked if she was afraid of the ingredients and cooking them. No, she most definitely was not. When asked if she was afraid of anything, she answered yes, that she was afraid of clowns! What a perfect illustration of trusting yourself and, alternatively, the fear of illusion! Love and fear are opposites. Which do you choose?

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, 2013 - Happy Outcomes

"Romeo in the Birdbath"
photo by Randal Thompson

ACIM Workbook Lesson #292

“A happy outcome to all things is sure.”

In 1999, I took my young boys on a 3,000-mile road trip. We made no reservations at hotels and had no definite plans -- 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 the metaphysical Principle. On this trip, we witnessed many happy outcomes, but the most dramatic was on the first day. 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 number of years later. When renewing my driver's license, I found that glasses 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 applied for renewal, 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

October 18, 2013 - Stillness and Peace

"Moonrise Over the Ozarks"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #291

“This is a day of stillness and of peace.”

This still and peaceful day is a perfect backdrop for the thoughts we are holding today. It's a beautiful day in the Ozarks.  The peace is easily felt in the splendor of a fall day. I am grateful for the words in A Course in Miracles. I am grateful for the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and her determination to demonstrate the Science of The Christ. These words point toward the Truth of our Being. They assure us that Truth is eternally discoverable by anyone willing to see. These writings show us how to move away from the learned behaviors of a lifetime. By living in Light, we share it with all -- especially children, who have not been indoctrinated in material belief as heavily as we have. The stillness and peace of nature aids in leading me to the door of Truth. Thank You greatly -------

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Certain moods of mind find an indefinable pleasure in stillness, soft, silent as the storm's sudden hush; for nature's stillness is voiced with a hum of harmony, the gentle murmur of early morn, the evening's closing vespers, and lyre of bird and brooklet." 

Christian Science versus Pantheism Page 3:8-13

October 17, 2013 - Happiness Now!

"Mongolian Shaman II"
created by Sandy Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #290

“My present happiness is all I see.”

The last ten lessons have been showing us how it's possible to live outside human belief systems. We have pondered the recognition and practicality of spiritual sense. It feels right that today we allow ourselves to be present with happiness! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Earth has little light or joy for mortals before Life is spiritually learned. Every agony of mortal error helps error to destroy error, and so aids the apprehension of immortal Truth. This is the new birth going on hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being.”

Science & Health Page 548:9-16

October 16, 2013 - Love Living the Present

"South Africa Sunset"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #289

“The past is over. It can touch me not.”

This is one of the reasons I love the business of selling art. Every day I meet new people. Knowing nothing about them when they walk in the door, when they leave we’ve made a mini-friendship based on what we have learned about each other in a few minutes. It’s pure and clean and nothing matters but the in-the-moment experience we've shared in this small Love-filled area.  Through these daily meetings, I’m seeing this now-ness being demonstrated time and again. It enables me to forget my past when I constantly live in the present. And when others try to take me to the past (whether it’s theirs or mine), I am learning ways of bypassing these trips. While in this present-moment bliss, I don't allow myself to wander through memory land. And I won't let others bring it into my existence while in the realm of Eureka Thyme. I love the serene otherworld we create within these walls. It’s helping me see the now in every moment, and the nothingness of moments gone by.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer ground. 

Science & Health Page 224: 4-7