April 6, 2014 - One Self

ACIM Workbook Lesson #96

“Salvation comes from my one Self.”

Communications are a tricky thing! A friend and I were discussing how interesting it is to be recounting events and have someone else tell of them from an entirely different angle. Sometimes it seems you weren't even at the same place, seeing and hearing the same things! The practice of quieting the mind is integral to listening. I've found that when thought is jumping about, it's impossible to truly listen to anything. One thought leads to another, and before you know it, you've gone all around the world and have no idea what's happening right in front of you. By the same token, it I want to hear from the point of spiritual discernment, it's pretty darn hard to do if my own self won't be quiet long enough to concentrate on a simple sentence in a book. This is always a good indicator me: If I can't read and digest what I've read, then I'd best have a "time out" and quiet my monkey mind from its busy-ness! What a peaceful, harmonious world this will be when we all take time to quiet self-importance and listen for Self-knowledge.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The point for each one to decide is, whether it is mortal mind or immortal Mind that is causative. We should forsake the basis of matter for metaphysical Science and its divine Principle."

Science & Health Page 195:11-14

April 5, 2014 - I Am One

"Full Moon & Flowing Waters"
Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #95

“I am one Self, united with my Creator.”

You are the presence of God. Does this statement make you uneasy? Perhaps traditional theology has taught you that such an idea is sacrilege. Maybe you simply feel too inferior to accept yourself as Godlike. It's not so difficult to say that you are one with everything. We're happy to feel a connection with all things and often go on retreats and to workshops which help us feel this unity. But what does this thing called Oneness really mean? It could be taken wholly on a material basis, and you might say that we're all the same in our physical makeup of minerals and flesh, etc. You might be willing to go a step further and say we're all the same because God made us in Its image and likeness. Does it make you cringe to call God It rather than He? We're rather accustomed to anthropomorphizing God, making deity like us rather than the other way around. As we learn to accept and embrace our identity as the experience and expression of God, we learn we can proudly announce our goodness, our wholeness, even our perfection. This honors God and Its creation in a way that self-conscious deprecation or self-righteous pride cannot. What a beautiful day to explore what all this means in daily practice!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"God, without the image and likeness of Himself, would be a nonentity, or Mind unexpressed. He would be without a witness or proof of His own nature. Spiritual man is the image or idea of God, an idea which cannot be lost nor separated from its divine Principle."

Science & Health Page 303:25-30

April 4, 2014 - Ask and Listen

ACIM Workbook Lesson #94

“I am as God created me.”

Have you ever sat quietly and asked, "What is the truth of my being?" Other than asking, only one thing is required: Give up any belief of what you think you are. By focusing on what is rather than what isn't, we are learning to understand our connection to God. As I go about my activities today, the seven synonyms for God as given in Science & Health will flow around and with today's ACIM topic which is, "I am as God created me." The synonymous terms for God are Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love. If a situation comes up in which I'm tempted to express irritation, I will think: I Am as Love created me. If I don't understand something, I will declare: I Am as Mind created me. This will be a lovely challenge to think of myself in this way! What a fun day it will be!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Sometime we shall learn how Spirit, the great architect, has created men and women in Science. We ought to weary of the fleeting and false and to cherish nothing which hinders our highest selfhood.”

Science & Health Page 68:4-9

April 3, 2014 - We're All In This Together

ACIM Workbook Lesson #93

“Light and joy and peace abide in me.”

If you find it difficult to feel that light and joy and peace are abiding in you, I would suggest you watch a documentary called "Queen of the Sun". In this film about bees, we are told that pollen is materialized light. I love that, don't you? When thought of like this, it seems possible that we, too, are materialized light. As the reflection of God, that's exactly what we are! We're also shown that the bee's light is freed through blocks of honeycomb, beautifully shared with all as sweet, beautiful honey. And yet again, the light is freed in the goodness of beeswax candles. The freeing of light is cumulative with the bees, and we can experience the same thing as we unshackle the light and peace and joy within ourselves. Another lesson from the bees is the importance of community. Watching them working together for a common cause is uplifting and inspiring to me. It makes me want to join with my neighbors and do something important. But wait -- I'm doing that! What blesses one blesses all. My awakening to light and joy and peace is yours, too. Bees, people, trees -- as an idea of divine Mind, we're all in this together!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.."

Science & Health Page 510:27-1

April 2, 2014 - Illumined Sight

"Ozark Sunset"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #92

“Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.”

The sight we are learning about today has nothing to do with our physical eyes. With the understanding that anything unlike God, good, is a material illusion, we are able to see through the darkness into the reality of Light. In this illumination, everything is seen differently. The strength which comes from Truth is manifest in every aspect of our experience. Something as simple as finding a lost object can show you how seeing in light magnifies true sight. For instance, if you've lost your keys, instead of rushing about looking every possible place they could be, try seeing in the light. Sit down, quiet your mind, know that you are One with divine Mind, and watch yourself go straight to where they are. What fun it is to simply know where to go and what to do! To rely on divine Mind rather than material brain cells is an exciting adventure with no end in sight!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The brain can give no idea of God's man. It can take no cognizance of Mind. Matter is not the organ of infinite Mind. As mortals give up the delusion that there is more than one Mind, more than one God, man in God's likeness will appear, and this eternal man will include in that likeness no material element. As a material, theoretical life-basis is found to be a misapprehension of existence, the spiritual and divine Principle of man dawns upon human thought and leads it to "where the young child was," --even to the birth of a new-old idea, to the spiritual sense of being and of what Life includes. Thus the whole earth will be transformed by Truth on its pinions of light, chasing away the darkness of error."

Science & Health Page 191:1-15

April 1, 2014 - Cleaning the Windowpanes

"Spring Thunderstorm"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #91

“Miracles are seen in light.”

What am I? This question has been asked from the beginning of recorded history -- and probably longer. Spiritual seers inform us that we are not a body. So if I am not a body, what am I? Intellectually, we can say that we are the reflection of God. We can tell ourselves and others that we're not material, we're spiritual. But then we'll stump our toe and declare that we can't be blamed if it hurts because we're not walking on water yet. We make jokes to explain why we aren't living the precepts which Jesus tells us are our heritage as children of God. But really, why is it that we've been so stunted in our realization of what all this means? Actually, we're not evolving slowly. There is no evolution involved in spiritual awakening, there is only getting rid of material belief and dogma. What we're doing now is clearing the windowpane so the light has a transparency to flow through, rather than thousands of years of grime hiding our illumination. What are we? We're finding out more every day -- but that doesn't mean we have to wait a certain amount of time to learn a set amount of liberating facts in order to experience this light. That's the miracle! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Divine Science rolls back the clouds of error with the light of Truth, and lifts the curtain on man as never born and as never dying, but as coexistent with his creator."

Science & Health Page 596:11-19

March 31, 2014 - Problems and Solutions?

Photo Courtesy of Jim Young

ACIM Workbook Lesson #90

Review: “Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.” and “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.”

How do you respond when an acquaintance comes to you asking advice concerning a problem? It's probably not a good idea to tell them they they don't know what their actual problem is and, if they did, then they would recognize that the problem has been solved. I was visiting with someone who knows the veracity of this seeming-conundrum and we mentioned a number of people we know who have problems with drinking alcohol. It seems as though alcohol is the problem, but they are thinking of it as the solution. Looking at their situations from the outside, it appears that they are holding onto guilt because of their actions (for example, wartime killing of others), or pain because of others' actions (e.g., abandonment by a mother), or any of a multitude of things we think of as human problems. I bring this up to illustrate today's lesson review: There is only one problem, feeling separated from God -- hence, everyone. And there is only one solution: realizing what the problem is, letting the miracle take over, and being willing to accept it. So, when someone asks my advice concerning a problem of theirs, I will pause and realize God's law of adjustment, which is already done. I will recognize that nothing needs fixing by me or anyone else. And by this understanding, I will see them as whole, upright, free. With clear, non-judgmental thought, what they need to hear will come out of my mouth. Namaste'.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Human reason and religion come slowly to the recognition of spiritual facts, and so continue to call upon matter to remove the error which the human mind alone has created.”

Science & Health Page 173:25-28