December 9, 2013 - No Sacrifice Necessary

ACIM Workbook Lesson #343

"I am not asked to make a sacrifice

To find the mercy and the peace of God."

What if all I need do to find the peace of God is to stop thinking habitual limiting thoughts? Let's say someone wants to change a personal relationship which we've had for some time. What comes to mind is when my son was 14 and woke up one morning and said he didn't belong here, in this town, going to this school. My first thoughts were ones of blame -- toward myself and him. Why would he want to leave? What have I done to cause him to feel this way? Now we're years past the time this happened, and it's easy to look back and see that his going away to school was the best thing that could have happened for both of us. But at the time it felt devastating. This is the type of feeling we so often bring to our lives when we look at a situation from an egotistical standpoint. But with an acceptance and the loving assurance that all is well, these relationships ebb and flow, yielding to the peace of God which is ever-present, and which is found with a release of personal sense. All we need give up are long-held beliefs in the way we want situations to be. What a joy to give up personal agendas, preconceived notions of how things should be, and to welcome the Love which is God! I feel no sense of sacrifice in this trade-off!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

" The divine hand led me into a new world of light and Life, a fresh universe — old to God, but new to His “little one.” It became evident that the divine Mind alone must answer, and be found as the Life, or Principle, of all being; and that one must acquaint himself with God, if he would be at peace." Retrospection and Introspection Page 27:29-4

December 8, 2013 - No Secrets

"Winter"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #342

"I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me."

"The world goes with us on our way to God." That statement in today's ACIM lesson is worth pondering. We believe we can hide our emotions and thoughts from others, simply by not saying anything. Where did we ever get that idea? I guess it's because we have spent so many years not listening inwardly. In an episode of the "Dog Whisperer" there was a dog fixated on attacking its own image in a mirror. This was not its only aggressive behavior, and the dog's person was afraid that it would attack someone or another animal any time it was outside. How did Cesar Milan stop this dog's aberrant behavior? By calming its owner. This woman was constantly in a state of fear and worry. The dog was mirroring her tense behavior. At first she had to pretend she was calm because she didn't know how to be that way! But as she watched the changes in her dog, she began to understand that her feelings and thoughts were being passed on to not only her dog, but to everyone around her. And so it is that "the world goes with us on our way to God."

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The spiritual reality is the scientific fact in all things. The spiritual fact, repeated in the action of man and the whole universe, is harmonious and is the ideal of Truth. Spiritual facts are not inverted; the opposite discord, which bears no resemblance to spirituality, is not real. The only evidence of this inversion is obtained from suppositional error, which affords no proof of God, Spirit, or of the spiritual creation. Material sense defines all things materially, and has a finite sense of the infinite."

Science & Health Page 207:27-4

December 7, 2013 - What is a Miracle?

"Cardinal Beauty"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #341

"I can attack but my own sinlessness, and it is only that which keeps me safe."

Today's lesson begins the next to the last section which is entitled, What is a Miracle? There is such confusion surrounding this topic, I will simply copy this beautiful introduction here. May it help you to see the miracle of grace, the miracle of Life, the miracle of Love.

"A miracle is a correction. It does not create, nor really change at all. It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. Thus it stays within time's limits. Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and love's awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy it brings.

A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.

Forgiveness is the home of miracles. The eyes of Christ deliver them to all they look upon in mercy and in love. Perception stands corrected in His sight, and what was meant to curse has come to bless. Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love. And each is laid before the Word of God, upon the universal altar to Creator and creation in the light of perfect purity and endless joy.

The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand. Yet faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there.

Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up, to show that what is born can never die, for what has life has immortality."

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love."

Science & Health Page 494:15

December 6, 2013 - One Mind

"Eureka Springs Christmas"
photo by Dale Johnson

ACIM Workbook Lesson #340

"I can be free of suffering today."

In these teachings and in my writings there is much talk about "today". I've had someone ask me, Why are you going to do this today? Why not yesterday or tomorrow? Well, I really hadn't thought about that before, but I understand his consternation concerning this. Today is always, which would be now in no-time days. (I can hardly wait to see his reaction to this!) I have a lovely illustration of things coming together in now-time. We are having a snow and sleet episode in our mountain tourist town. The merchants are distraught because this is the time of year we save up for the slower winter months of January and February. The Christmas Festival started today and includes many fun events from now through the 25th. But everything has come to a standstill because of the snow. Today we were contacted by one of our town's marketing mavens and asked if we had on-line shopping sites which she could promote. I had just started to build one shortly before she contacted me! Talk about One mind! We really are all in this together.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Mind: The only I, or Us; the only Spirit, Soul, divine Principle, substance, Life, Truth, Love; the one God; not that which is in man, but the divine Principle, or God, of whom man is the full and perfect expression; Deity,which outlines but is not outlined."

Science & Health Page 591:16-20

December 5, 2013 - Expect the Best!

"Beautiful Snow, Clear Roads!"

ACIM Workbook Lesson #339

"I will receive whatever I request."

"Let us resolve today to ask for what we really want, and only this, that we may spend this day in fearlessness, without confusing pain with joy, or fear with love." I've been thinking about this statement today, especially in relation to the weather forecast we have. For the past few days, everyone has been anticipating the worst possible scenario of ice and snow. People have been recounting horror stories from past ice storms and predicting a repetition. I see this as an extreme example of what we do in every day life. We have been taught to expect the worst in every situation and prepare for it. I often wonder what a utopia this world could be if only we would expect it. Isn't that why we all love Christmas so much? The expectation of peace, love and beauty is such an innate desire within us. Let's all feel the Love and visual white, fluffy snow!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Faith is higher and more spiritual than belief. It is a chrysalis state of human thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever-present, is becoming understood."

Science & Health Page 297:20-24

December 4, 2013 - Only Thoughts

"Utah Sky"
photo by Aaron springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #338

"I am affected only by my thoughts."

When our nearly 100-year-old Christian Science church was on the Christmas Tour of Homes, a man came in and told me he knew lots of Baptist jokes, because that's what he was, but he only knew one Christian Scientist joke, and asked if I wanted to hear it. Of course I did! A little girl comes home from school and tells her mother that her teacher, Mrs. Smith, is sick. The girl's mom says, No, dear, she only thinks she's sick. A few days later the girl comes home and tells her mother that Mrs. Smith is still sick. The mother once again explains that Mrs. Smith only thinks she's sick. A few days later the little girl comes home and tells her mom that Mrs. Smith thinks she's dead. While I chuckled with him over this joke, I also told him that the reason it was really funny was because it was true! And then we had a big laugh!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The artist is not in his painting. The picture is the artist's thought objectified. The human belief fancies that it delineates thought on matter, but what is matter? Did it exist prior to thought? Matter is made up of supposititious mortal mind-force; but all might is divine Mind. Thought will finally be understood and seen in all form, substance, and color, but without material accompaniments. The potter is not in the clay; else the clay would have power over the potter. God is His own infinite Mind, and expresses all."

Science & Health Page 310:1-10

December 3, 2013 - Sinless, Pure, Free!

"Altai Mountains in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston 

ACIM Workbook Lesson #337

"My sinlessness protects me from all harm."

The sinlessness which protects us from all harm, once again, refers to a realization of our unity with God. Remember we've defined sin as anything which separates us from the Love which is God? I have a very dear friend who was a Marine in the Viet Nam conflict. He spent two years in hell, at times shooting people with machine guns for so long he couldn't feel his arms. Even though he doesn't often speak of those days, his life has been a series of tragedies and illnesses. It could be said he's a victim of life's circumstances. I so often wish he could see his sinlessness as a child of Love. Only through the eyes of God can he be seen in this sinlessness. Left to material sense, there is blame, guilt, shame. I pray today that we recognize the untouched purity which is our birthright as the evidence and experience of God. Namaste' ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The sinless joy, — the perfect harmony and immortality of Life, possessing unlimited divine beauty and goodness without a single bodily pleasure or pain, —constitutes the only veritable, indestructible man, whose being is spiritual."

 Science & Health Page 76:22-26