May 29, 2014 - Translating Matter

ACIM Workbook Lesson #149

Review of: #137 "When I am healed I am not healed alone." #138 "Heaven is the decision I must make." The main thought to hold to in this review: “My mind holds only what I think with God.” 

A dear friend of mine has been told he has cancer. It is in the form of a brain tumor which they have given the beautiful name of astrocytoma. I accompanied he and his wife to the radiologist's office to discuss treatment. All the people working there were positive and caring. Having not been in a doctor's office for more than 20 years, I was a bit out of my element, but happily went along with my dear friends on this adventure. As we waited for our turn with the doctor, there were two people who asked questions concerning how anxious the patient was and other things which could affect treatment. Although I don't know what people's demeanor typically is when they are in this situation, I would guess that the three of us were as cheerful and calm as anyone has ever been in their offices. We calmly talked and laughed while appreciating the beauty of the art on the walls and the kindness of the people. At one point it was requested that we watch a 20-minute video on radiation treatment. During most of this, I read a little booklet entitled "Spiritualizing Thought". Often during the doctor's quiet, knowledgeable prognosis, my mind would go into translation mode. While all these effects may be a given for the medical profession, due to what they have witnessed, my reality is something entirely different, due to what I have witnessed. We are not limited humans, we are evidence of divine being. We are not material, we are spiritual!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:    

"God never ordained a material law to annul the spiritual law. If there were such a material law, it would oppose the supremacy of Spirit, God, and impugn the wisdom of the creator. Jesus walked on the waves, fed the multitude, healed the sick, and raised the dead in direct opposition to material laws. His acts were the demonstration of Science, overcoming the false claims of material sense or law."

Science & Health Page 273:21-29

May 28, 2014 - Down the Rabbit Hole

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #148 Review of:

#135 "If I defend myself I am attacked." #136 "Sickness is a defense against the truth." The main idea to hold to in this review: “My mind holds only what I think with God.”

These two review topics take us all the way down the rabbit hole! If you want feel-good, improve-your-relationships, make-more-money types of reading material, I suggest you stay away from this. And I don't mean that in an ugly way. I've found a momentary recognition of the Truth of Being tends to make me want more, but I've known many people who don't want to go there at all, and that's cool, too. The present beliefs perpetuated in daily life are comfortable to us, and it can be hard to let them go. Even if thought systems aren't working very well, we hold onto them for fear things might be worse. I know how hard it can be to buck the system. Years ago, I took my child out of the medical miasma when they told me there was no cure for his situation. They didn't want to let us go and checked up on us for years. This new way of looking at everything can be frightening, especially if you've convinced yourself you don't like change. So if you start to become afraid while trying on the new thoughts you are having, realize that Love is all there is. Sing a Beatles song or two! Do anything you can to cultivate joy. Live fully in the whirlpool of divine Love! Go all the way down the rabbit hole, knowing every step is sure when you walk with Love. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing them all, is the central sun of its own systems of ideas, the life and light of all its own vast creation; and man is tributary to divine Mind.”

Science & Health Page 209:5-8

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