January 19, 2014 - Of Tipping Points and Private Thoughts ...

"Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #19

"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."

Does it bother you to think that there are no private thoughts? How often has someone come to mind, then the phone rings and there they are? There are many things we consider to be coincidence leading us to the truth of our connectivity, but we insist on finding reasons it can't be true. One of my favorite stories, the 100th monkey theory, is constantly being "debunked". And that's all right, because we are always seeing ways in which our thoughts pass to others with no spoken words. Once again, animals are our proving ground. If you call your dog to you, yet truly believe he won't come, watch and see what happens! If we say we want world peace, yet fill our thought with violence-filled movies and dooms-day conjectures about everything, are we truly choosing peace? Every thought is important. That tipping point (which many say does not exist) is getting closer all the time. I feel that's why such violence and craziness is happening everywhere: fear of losing control, fear of change, fear of Love. Let's live as though every thought DOES make a difference!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"...Truth is the light which dispels error. As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God."

Science & Health Page 282:32-3

January 18, 2014 - We're All In This Together

Kapoochie

ACIM Workbook Lesson #18

"I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."

I've learned many things from Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer. And I'm reminded of his teachings when I read today's words which tell me that what I see, what I understand, is not mine alone.  We can observe how our tensions and fears are imaged upon canine companions. It becomes very obvious as we see aberrant behavior turned harmonious when countered with a calm, assertive demeanor. This change in thought shines from you and reflects back from all around you. It's easier to see it in dogs, as they're so transparent. They just lay it out there like it is, no pretense, no excuses! My dog is a great gauge for testing where I am in thought. Also, by watching his way of soaking up my feelings, I more readily understand and accept how all thought affects all thought. We can find a multitude of ways to witness this kinship with all life. I look forward to noticing how these exhibitions will play out today. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry. Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rationality, is slowly yielding to the idea of a metaphysical basis, looking away from matter to Mind as the cause of every effect."

Science & Health Page 268:1-9

January 17, 2014 - No Thought is Neutral

"Mt. Superior in Utah"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #17

"I see no neutral things".

The admission to ourselves that everything we see is colored by our beliefs and judgments is a large realization indeed! Being aware of this is a very important step in clearing the way for spiritual sense to be recognized. Sometimes standing up to illusion and stating Truth seems necessary. While waiting in line at the food market recently, I was having a conversation with the woman behind me. She was telling me how she had moved here from Washington D.C. and she couldn't get used to the fact that people were so nice. She said she kept expecting a variety of horrible things to happen (which she listed with rising fervor). I told her she could allow herself to change thought about this, as it wasn't true. "Change!", she shouted. "The way you talk, it sounds like you voted for that [explicative] who's our president!" Not having a desire to get into that with her I just said, "The change I'm talking about happens within you. That's the only place it can occur; you can't change anyone else." And that calmed her down. Imagine everyone knowing the true source of their well-being and demonstrating it in daily life. Just imagine ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"To corporeal sense, the sun appears to rise and set, and the earth to stand still; but astronomical science contradicts this, and explains the solar system as working on a different plan. All the evidence of physical sense and all the knowledge obtained from physical sense must yield to Science, to the immortal truth of all things."

Science & Health Page 493:2-8

January 16, 2014 - Every Thought is Important

Mongolia Sunset
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #16

“I have no neutral thoughts.”

We are remind today that "Every thought you have contributes to truth or illusion: either it extends truth or it multiplies illusion." Recently a number of things have occurred which I'm tempted to think of as disturbing. These things involve seeming losses, and my mind wants to dwell on the what-ifs, imaging reasons for people's actions and wondering what I could have done to change things. I understand how silly this is, as living in the past or pondering the future does nothing to change the now! Today I heard of a dear friend's son's passing. It was unexpected and surprising. I keep imaging her pain. But wait! Does that help her? If every thought is important (which I truly think it is!), then I should hold thought to Love, not pain or grief. What we dwell on multiplies, right? We've all seen it happen, in our lives and others'. So today I will take these words to heart and truly work toward practicing them in every facet of life. I can choose to see through my ego, or I can clear the way for seeing truth through divine Mind. I Am That -- I Am!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"In divine Science, the universe, including man, is spiritual, harmonious, and eternal. Science shows that what is termed matter is but the subjective state of what is termed by the author mortal mind." 

Science & Health Page 114:27-31

January 15, 2014 - So-Called Reality

"Snowbird Reflections"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #15

“My thoughts are images that I have made.”

I witnessed a thought-provoking experiment. A woman sat down at a table. They asked her to put her right arm on the table, resting it from the elbow to hand. They placed a barrier so she couldn't see her hand, and then put a rubber hand and arm in front of her, with the elbow ending at her body. Then the person sitting in front of her used a soft paint brush to stroke both her hand (which she couldn't see) and the rubber hand, which she could see. She stated she was feeling a little odd because she was starting to feel as though the rubber hand in front of her was her own. When the paint brush stroker moved the brush to the rubber thumb, and not hers, she jerked back because the feeling was so odd. Then the man across the table pulled out a hammer and hit the rubber hand. You can imagine how the woman reacted! This demonstrated how, in a matter of two minutes or less, a rubber hand became a human hand in the thought of this person. This is, in essence, what we've done with everything around us. Belief becomes our reality -- and very quickly! So today I will see how quickly I can move away from beliefs and open my thought to the reality of Spirit.

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

"Mortals evolve images of thought." "Mortal mind sees what it believes as certainly as it believes what it sees. It feels, hears, and sees its own thoughts. Pictures are mentally formed before the artist can convey them to canvas. So is it with all material conceptions."

Science & Health Page 86:13 and 86:29:1

January 14, 2014 - And it was Good ...

"Colorado Night"
photo by Mawuena Davies

ACIM Workbook Lesson #14

“God did not create a meaningless world.”

The last few days we've been seeing the world as meaningless and examining how that affects us. Today we are asked to see that this meaningless world was not created by God. This means that everything in this material world is not a creation of God. How can that be? We've been told that God created everything, is everything, and that it is good. But that can't be true, because we see so many things which aren't good! How can this be explained? Some choose to deny God, perhaps with thoughts of a devil which is as powerful as any god we've ever imagined. Some may say that God created both good and bad to give us choices in this testing ground we live in. The possibilities are limitless when it comes to trying to make sense of the confusion surrounding spiritual beliefs. In our study, we're seeing that God did create everything, and it is all good, but that this creation is spiritual, not material. Our true selves are spiritual; our material selves are but another belief, an illusion, which we are living. When we distance ourselves from the concept that life is in matter, we are able to realize that we actually have a divine origin. We can know that we are not governed by mental influences over which we have no control, but that we are free to live the Love which is our true heritage as the children of God.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“When will the error of believing that there is life in matter, and that sin, sickness, and death are creations of God, be unmasked? When will it be understood that matter has neither intelligence, life, nor sensation, and that the opposite belief is the prolific source of all suffering? God created all through Mind, and made all perfect and eternal.” Science & Health Page 205:7-13

January 13, 2014 - Why Am I Afraid?

photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #13

“A meaningless world engenders fear.”

What is it about a meaningless world which would make us afraid? Today's lesson discussion tells us this: "A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God." So often we act as though we're in charge and that we must tell God what needs to happen. We bargain and cajole to get our way, then get angry with God when we don't. We blame God when anything less than our idea of good comes our way. We thank God when we get our way, perhaps in a boastful or self-satisfied way. All these actions are symptoms of the separation we feel. Allowing everything to be meaningless is similar to letting go of an addiction! Interesting symptoms may show up when we decide to give up the beliefs to which we have grown accustomed. To see everything without the meaning we have given it can be frightening, but it doesn't need to be. The more we practice giving up strong opinions, or by-rote actions, rituals, or other habitual behaviors, the more sensible it seems. While realizing the meaninglessness of these ways we've taken on as our story, let's not be afraid of any rogue thoughts of fear which may seem to assault us. They can be acknowledged as symptoms of a clearing away of self to allow our Self to be demonstrated. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Hebrew Lawgiver, [Moses], slow of speech, despaired of making the people understand what should be revealed to him. When, led by wisdom to cast down his rod, he saw it become a serpent, Moses fled before it; but wisdom bade him come back and handle the serpent, and then Moses' fear departed. In this incident was seen the actuality of Science. Matter was shown to be a belief only. The serpent, evil, under wisdom's bidding, was destroyed through understanding divine Science, and this proof was a staff upon which to lean. The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really but a phase of mortal belief." 

Science & Health Page 321:5-18