May 27, 2014 - Forgiving and Valuing

ACIM Workbook Lesson #147

Review of:

#133 "I will not value what is valueless."

#134 "Let me perceive forgiveness as it is."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

"I can forgive but I'll never forget." How often have we heard those words? If true forgiveness means realizing that the "offense" never happened, then how wonderful it is when we don't even remember the event! Very few things can I dredge up which I thought were so terrible that they would be painful memories forever. But they're not. I honestly can say that nothing stands out in my mind which seems horrible. I think the realization that we're all doing the best that we can in any given situation was the freeing element for me. Now, that may not be what I would deem best, but I really feel that even the most heinous of crimes are perpetrated because the person believes he is serving a higher good of some sort. Perhaps recognizing what is of value and what is valueless is a factor in forgiveness, also. Nothing is of value if it's changeable and transient. So the only things of value are, for example, Life, Truth, and Love. Nothing else really matters. I'm reminded of George Carlin's comedy routine about our "stuff". It puts our so-called valuables in proper perspective! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Everything good or worthy, God made. Whatever is valueless or baneful, He did not make, -- hence its unreality."

Science & Health Page 525:20-22

May 26, 2014 - What Drives Your Action?

"Afternoon Moon"
painting by Carol Dickie

A Course in Miracles Lesson #146

Review of:

#131 "No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth."

#132 "I loose the world from all I thought it was."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

How do we know if our actions express divine consciousness or if we're simply doing things because we think we should? I recently read about a good test to help us know the difference. Doing involves planning and following steps to get us from here to there. Being, on the other hand, doesn't mean that we just sit around and do nothing, but that we follow our feelings while staying in the present moment. The author, Anita Moorjani, says that she can tell the difference by looking at the emotions behind her everyday decisions. If her actions are the result of fear, she is in the doing mode But if everything she does is driven by passion and a zest for living, then she is Being. As an example, she gives the process of buying a house. There are many steps and plans you might make when deciding between two places, but the ultimate decision would be how you feel about one of them. As I tell people when they're deciding to purchase a piece of art: If it makes you smile, if it brings grace to your life, it's for you!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony. This Mind forms ideas, its own images, subdivides and radiates their borrowed light, intelligence, and so explains the Scripture phrase, 'whose seed is in itself.' Thus God's ideas 'multiply and replenish the earth.' The divine Mind supports the sublimity, magnitude, and infinitude of spiritual creation.”

Science & Health Page 510:28-6

May 25, 2014 - Stretching

Water Lily by Arthur Lau-Sed

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #145

Review of:

#129 "Beyond this world there is a world I want."

#130 "It is impossible to see two worlds."

The main thought to hold to in this review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

We are so much more powerful than we know! Have you begun to realize this and started to stretch what you've thought of as limitations? Maybe it's in small ways, such as telling gnats and other pesky bugs that they have no place on or around you. You may be seeing that it's possible to tell them to go away and they do! This, as with any other form of animal communication, has nothing to do with the words that come out of your mouth. It's what you're thinking that makes the difference. Another way to practice this is with your dog. Rather than giving verbal commands, think them. Your success in these endeavors has to do with body language, demeanor,  attitude, and your thought. We think we're limited mortals, victims of circumstance, with no choice but to accept whatever comes our way. What if we're actually powerful, immortal creations of divine Mind, reflecting all that implies? Every day my function becomes more clear, and I am grateful.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“When will the ages understand the Ego [note capitalization], and realize only one God, one Mind or intelligence?”

Science & Health Page 204:19-20

May 24, 2014 - Seeing Through the Eyes of Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson #144

Review of: #127 "There is no love but God's." #128 "The world I see holds nothing that I want.” And the main thought to hold to in this review: “My mind holds only what I think with God.”

Thinking about love and perceptions brings to mind the story a friend once told about a relative who had been married seven times. Perhaps this dear man felt he was a  failure at love for having been divorced so many times. So he was very much surprised when an uncle told him it was a wonderful thing! Why would you say that?, everyone wanted to know. The uncle said, How wonderful that seven women have loved you enough to marry you! This is an example of a slight shift in perception making a huge difference to everyone involved, don't you think? Seeing the world through the love of God shows us reality which looks nothing like what we've become accustomed to seeing. A world of judgment and fear is not one which holds an interest for me.  If "my mind holds only what I think with God", that world doesn't exist. And I see a world of Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“When the divine precepts are understood, they unfold the foundation of fellowship, in which one mind is not at war with another, but all have one Spirit, God, one intelligent source, in accordance with the Scriptural command: 'Let this Mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.' Man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God.”

Science & Health Page 276:4-11

May 23, 2014 - Free Will

ACIM Workbook Lesson #143:

Review of:

#125 "In quiet I receive God's Word today."

#126  "All that I give is given to myself."

And the main thought to hold to in these review:

“My mind holds only what I think with God.”

Are you afraid that the realization of Oneness would take away your individuality? Two things which, in reality, do not exist -- mortal mind, as termed by Mary Baker Eddy, and ego as it's called in ACIM -- want you to think you would no longer be you if you admit that you are One with God and all that Is. What if free will does not exist unless you DO give up what you think of as individuality and embrace Oneness? I'm beginning to see that I have no will of my own if I'm simply regurgitating well-rehearsed lines from the history of my life. I'm starting to glimpse the freedom which comes from throwing off the chains I have bound myself with through a lifetime of fears and learned behavior. A dear friend related a story about thinking his stepmother had never liked him. Recently he found out she was practically deaf, and actions he had interpreted as slights to him were actually moments of confusion on her part. He now sees their relationship with the freedom of understanding. As we separate illusion from Truth, which is done by thinking with God, we are freed. I give thanks and look inward to heaven!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“There is but one I, or Us, but one divine Principle, or Mind, governing all existence; man and woman unchanged forever in their individual characters, even as numbers which never blend with each other, though they are governed by one Principle. All the objects of God's creation reflect one Mind, and whatever reflects not this one Mind, is false and erroneous, even the belief that life, substance, and intelligence are both mental and material.”

Science & Health Page 511:11-19

May 22, 2014 - Spiritualization of Thought

A Course in Miracles Workbook lesson #142:

Review of: #123 "I thank my Father for His gifts to me." #124 "Let me remember I am one with God." And our main thought to hold in these review lessons: "My mind holds only what I think with God."

Spiritualization of thought is said to be a slow process, and many people think they don't have "time", hence it's not worth the effort to try. To remember that I am One with God is a giant step toward this spiritualization. This puts our goal right where we are, here and now, rather than somewhere far off which we may or may not reach at some point in the future. I am One with God right now! To know this intellectually and to understand it from the core of your being are not the same thing. The hunger to think God's thoughts, the longing to know what my relationship is to divine Mind, these desires cannot be satisfied with words. Glimpses of Truth cause me to crave more. The rising above human belief may seem like the work of a lifetime, but the realization that you want to know God happens in a heartbeat. Listen ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Before human knowledge dipped to its depths into a false sense of things,--into belief in material origins which discard the one Mind and true source of being,-- it is possible that the impressions from Truth were as distinct as sound, and that they came as sound to the primitive prophets.” 

Science & Health Page 213:30-3

May 21, 2014 - The Holy Man

ACIM Workbook Lesson #141:

Today begins a review of the last 20 lessons. Our main theme is:

“My mind holds only what I think with God" 

Review of: #121 “Forgiveness is the key to happiness” #122 “Forgiveness offers everything I want.”

There is a delightful little book called, The Holy Man, by Susan Trott. It is comprised of numerous scenarios recounted through a group of people who are waiting in line to see The Holy Man. They feel all their questions will be answered, all their problems solved, if only they can meet and speak with him. The irony is that when they are finally admitted to his home, he simply leads them through the house and out the back door. The beauty of the book is that everyone sees what they need to see from their interactions with others while waiting in the long line. We, too, have these ah-hah moments while going about our day-to-day activities. The realization that our true thoughts are those we think with God brings a newness to everyday life. By releasing our by-rote reactions, we are free to practice forgiveness with every blameless thought we have. When our perceptions are spiritual, we needn't place meaning on anything we experience today. With this clean slate, who knows what insights will be ours? Like those people waiting to speak to The Holy Man, whom they believed had all the answers, we will be finding insight in every moment, simply by allowing ourselves to accept that we are One with God. As such, all answers are ours, even without asking questions!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God creates all forms of reality. His thoughts are spiritual realities. So-called mortal mind--being nonexistent and consequently not within the range of immortal existence--could not by simulating deific power invert the divine creation, and afterwards recreate persons or things upon its own plane, since nothing exists beyond the range of all-inclusive infinity, in which and of which God is the sole creator. Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and disport themselves. In humility they climb the heights of holiness.”

Science & Health Page 513:26-9