June 5, 2014 - I Walk With Love

photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #156

“I walk with God in perfect holiness.”

I've always had a resistance to yielding. Walking with God in perfect holiness implies a yielding, don't you think? How else could you walk this walk without giving up what you think of as yourself? You can't. What finally got through to me was the realization that what I was giving up was NOT myself, but a mishmash of everything I had ever been told was true, combined with an erratic belief system I had decided was me. Add to that the hypnotism of media and the pull of mass consciousness and we're left with a pretty convoluted idea of what we are. Little by little, I'm letting go of beliefs and learned behaviors. Being present in the moment, giving my full attention to whatever may be in front of me, loving myself and all in Its oneness -- this is what I see as walking with God. Accepting myself and everything as holy becomes easier when viewed without judgment. Simply witnessing events, perhaps with amusement, is certainly more fun! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being.”

Science & Health Page 264:10-12

June 4, 2014 - I Am All Right

photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #155

“I will step back and let Him lead the way.”

I really try to let Truth lead the way in everything I do. For instance, today I was driving to the country to visit with friends. Before I left the house, I sat and quieted my thoughts and reminded myself to be open to guidance in all ways. By this, I mean everything, including slight variations in driving which would put my tires where they need to be, safe from any sharp rocks or nails. Now, I don't think about these details in particular, or that would be counter productive. I simply say something like, Let me be open to your thought. By silencing my plans and controlling tendencies, there is a protection at work because I'm listening. Today my dog took a tumble down a steep staircase. As he was rolling down, I began affirming to myself his safety -- and knowing the reason why. It's a simple shift from saying, Are you all right? to knowing, You ARE all right! I am very grateful.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality." Science & Health Page 298:13-15

"When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, 'I am hurt!' Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real. Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All…" Science & Health Page 397:12-21

June 3, 2014 - Common Ground

ACIM Workbook Lesson #154

“I am among the ministers of God.”

It's been a very interesting day in the gallery! Most people who came in seemed to have an "agenda". The first one I noticed was a man and his wife who were wearing guns on their belts. They both were very excited about their visit to Eureka and they hope to move here. As our small tourist town exhibits a lot of diversity in people and thought systems, it gives me great opportunities to witness the unity we all share. It doesn't matter that someone may be a right-wing republican gunslinger, he should be able to live amongst the liberal hippies and vice versa, because we truly are all One. Although I had difficulty finding common ground with this man, the next surprise comment was easier. Later in the day a nice man came in and said that this town seemed like a very spiritual place. I wholeheartedly agreed with him, whereupon he took my hands in his and asked me if I'd taken Jesus Christ as my personal savior. I was able to honestly answer that my main focus in life is to live as Jesus taught. A few years ago (or maybe less than that), I would have probably been polite to these people, but my demeanor would have shown that I didn't approve. I was happy to see that I simply witnessed these events and responded in a mellow way to them. All this practice of living Love seems to be working!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences.”

Science & Health Page 570:14-17

June 2, 2014 - Truting in Good

ACIM Workbook Lesson #153

“In my defenselessness my safety lies.”

The world we live in teaches us we should try to defend against any contingency which may come up -- i.e., get inoculations, take out insurance for every possible disaster, check your blood pressure, teach your children not to talk to strangers -- the list goes on and on. Acceptance of good as the only reality is where our safety lies. Is it even possible to protect our mortal selves from every material malady which may befall us? Of course not. But we can be aware of the still, small voice which is always guiding us in our every action. Trust yourself! Listen to your instinctual prompts. This is where safety lies. I now see that defensive behavior is nothing more than trusting in suppositional evil more than the good which is God. Trusting Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle, Truth, Life, Love, God, is how safety is experienced. Then a peace we've always dreamed of is actualized, and we find ourselves imparting that peace to others, through our living of it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Instead of tenaciously defending the supposed rights of disease, while complaining of the suffering disease brings, would it not be well to abandon the defense, especially when by so doing our own condition can be improved and that of other persons as well?”

Science & Health Page 348:21-25

June 1, 2014 - Be Still and Go

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #182

“I will be still an instant and go home.”

This lesson is asking us to quiet all the hubbub in our existence for just an instance, in order to feel the peace of God which is ours. And so today I will pause for many instants. I will sink deeper into the wonder of Truth, knowing all else is but a made-up dream of existence. When I hear anything which might cause me to think in a defensive way, I'll remember what is true and what is imagined. If the world has decided to live in an attack mode, defending against everything which it deems to be harmful, I will do my part in bringing in the dawn of Truth by accepting spiritual reality and rejecting material myth. An instant is all it takes to feel the presence of God!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“As mortals begin to understand Spirit, they give up the belief that there is any true existence apart from God.”

Science & Health Page 282:30-32

May 31, 2014 - Inspired to Aspire

ACIM  Workbook Lesson #151

“All things are echoes of the Voice for God.”

I thought of Eckhart Tolle often today. I've been listening to many of his youtube videos where he speaks to quieting the mind. He goes so far as to say that thinking is an addiction which we can release. I've witnessed excessive thinking in customers who have come into the gallery today. There was the woman who would ask a question and not allow me to answer it before she asked another. Then there was the man who asked things and answered them before I could. Eckhart teaches us how to quiet our busy minds and listen to the silence, being totally present in the moment, enjoying every bit to its fullest. He inspires me to aspire!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“As the reflection of yourself appears in the mirror, so you, being spiritual, are the reflection of God. The substance, Life, intelligence, Truth, and Love, which constitute Deity, are reflected by creation; and when we subordinate the false testimony of the corporeal senses to the facts of Science, we shall see this true likeness and reflection everywhere.”

Science & Health Page 516:2-8

May 30, 2014 - There is no Spoon

Ceramic Sculpture by Ken Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #150

Review of: #139 "I will accept Atonement for myself." #140 "Only salvation can be said to cure." The main thought to hold to in this review: “My mind holds only what I think with God."

In the movie, "The Matrix", there were some profound metaphysical principles addressed! I particularly liked when Neo is in what appears to be some sort of center for extraordinary behavior. He goes up to a person bending a spoon without touching it. Neo tries to bend the spoon with his mind, but cannot. He is told that the way to do this is through knowing the truth: The spoon is not there. This is what metaphysical healing is all about. Today's ACIM review tells us that the only cure is the understanding that there is no place where sickness can abide. In other words, the spoon is not there. If we are attempting to change a material condition through metaphysical practice, it's just like trying to bend the spoon with the power of your mind. Only by the knowledge of its unreality is it seen for what it actually is: an idea. We are all ideas of divine Mind. We are all One in this reality. What will this realization unfold in experience today? I am open with no expectations!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Science of Mind denies the error of sensation in matter, and heals with Truth. Medical science treats disease as though disease were real, therefore right, and attempts to heal it with matter. If disease is right it is wrong to heal it. Material methods are temporary, and are not adapted to elevate mankind."

Science & Health 318:22-27