June 17, 2014 - Grace

"Tiny Praying Mantis"
photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #168

“Your grace is given me. I claim it now.”

A definition of grace from Webster's Dictionary: "Divine Love and protection bestowed freely on people." As I was closing the gallery, a couple of young women came in. They were a little tipsy and were very appreciative of what they were seeing. One of them said that she didn't have any talent because she had been sexually abused as a child. I smiled at her and she said, No, I mean it! Every day for years and years! I told her I wasn't smiling about what she had said or what had been done, but I was smiling at the part of her which had never been touched by any of this. I told her she had lots of talent and to try different things she found interesting until she found something that she really loved -- and then keep on doing it! By practicing kindness when faced with hardness of heart, meekness when those around us are aggressive, loving those who seem unlovable, and paying it forward at every opportunity, we acknowledge the  grace which is our true heritage. By this, we learn what it feels like, not just what it means.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds."

Science & Health Page 4:3-5

June 16, 2014 - Frozen Thought

photo courtesy of Creation Spirit

ACIM Workbook Lesson #167

“There is one life, and that I share with God.”

After watching the hit movie, Frozen, someone told me that it had been attacked as being Hollywood propaganda for a liberated way of living which particular groups think of as ungodly. I decided to see if I could turn the movie into a vehicle to push what I think, so here it is -- without going into too much detail. We are frozen in a thought system which has been perpetuated by years of dogma and habit. When someone happens to realize their  power as the expression of divine Mind, they are labeled as bad, perhaps someone to be feared, maybe even told to hide their light so as not to upset others. So they hide until someone finds out how fabulous they are, then they either deny it and continue to hide or accept themselves in all their glory -- and they shine. Shining lights up the world from the inside out . "For the wakened mind is one that knows its Source, its Self, its Holiness." (ACIM)   

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Question: What is Life?

Answer: Life is divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit. Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite. Life is neither in nor of matter. What is termed matter is unknown to Spirit, which includes in itself all substance and is Life eternal. Matter is a human concept. Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited. Death and finiteness are unknown to Life. If Life ever had a beginning, it would also have an ending.”

Science & Health Pages 468:26-6

June 15, 2014 - Happiness Heals

photo from Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #166

“I am entrusted with the gifts of God.”

Happiness is profoundly palpable. It affects everything and everyone around it. We all have stories of seeing situations change when touched with peaceful joy. This doesn't mean we laugh in the face of misery. That is not compassion, but neither is being overly sympathetic while perpetuating the illusion. I hope to never lose the ability to empathize with others. On the other hand, I want to retain the ability to see past the form of sorrow and know the Truth of the situation. Carrying a calm, buoyant feeling of happiness wherever we go is to bring healing to everything, everywhere. Whether it's a gentle internal smiling or an exuberant outward giggling, I invite you to join me today in the expression of Love, "giving living waters to the thirsty" -- and never fearing the consequences!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love--be it song, sermon, or Science--blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ's table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty.”

Science & Health Page 234:4-8

June 14, 2014 - I Know Nothing

ACIM Workbook Lesson #165

“Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.”

When I was a school-aged child, I never wanted to admit I didn't know things. Most of the education I received seemed more like a reminder rather than learning about something new. So when I didn't understand something because it actually seemed foreign, I wouldn't admit it. Only in the past few years have I been comfortable with the words, "I know nothing." Now it seems like a wonderful relief and freedom to say them -- both silently in prayerful humility and out loud in an odd sort of open confessional. I'm so grateful for this cleansing of false pride and egoism. I was full of self-importance. Now I welcome into my mind every thought that divine Mind has to offer me. I love this type of education! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“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 514:6-9

June 13, 2014 - United in Good

Arthur Lau-Sed photo

ACIM Workbook Lesson #164

“Now are we one with Him Who is our Source."

Even the slightest understanding that I am one with God brings me a glimmer of what that means. The enormity of Oneness is more than I can fathom! To be united in goodness is such an exciting prospect, don't you think? Realizing our spiritual nature as the experience of God opens a new world in which I am not a victim of mortal mind and its manifestations. I am unafraid to take a stand for harmony and peace, knowing that it is our birthright as reflections of God.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: 

"As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible. When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.”

Science & Health Page 264:13-19

June 12, 2014 - We Are Free

ACIM Workbook Lesson #163 

"There is no death. The Son of God is free."

Many meanings, both literal and metaphorical, come to mind when thinking of the word "death". The first thought which came to me upon reading today's topic was the death we experience when we are born into this existence. Suddenly our spiritual sense is deadened by the deluge of materialistic stimuli which constantly bombards us. In this forgetting of the Truth of our Being, life becomes very uncertain. We are victims of inharmonious circumstances, until we recognize ourselves as expressions of divine Mind. We begin to see glimpses of eternity. We start to realize the unreality of time and space. I think we've always known this. Perhaps it's part of the dissatisfaction which drives us to "feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace." (Browning)  We know there's something more, and we keep grasping at what it might be. We search for freedom from the belief that we are victims of circumstance. We have the choice of waking up! Today's lesson gives many examples of how we allow death to be stronger than life. To wake up from this dream of erroneous thought, let's switch on the light of Truth, and see that we have it backwards. We will see through the veil we have hung to hide the truth of our being. With this sight will come the understanding of Life as timeless!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The chief stones in the temple of Christian Science are to be found in the following postulates: that Life is God, good, and not evil; that Soul is sinless, not to be found in the body; that Spirit is not, and cannot be, materialized; that Life is not subject to death; that the spiritual real man has no birth, no material life, and no death.”

Science & Health Page 288:20-25

June 11, 2014 - I Am

Photo from Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #162

“I am as God created me."

That first thought in the morning upon waking sets the tone for the day. I have always tried to have that thought be something such as a line from the scientific statement of being (quoted below), taking it in and pondering its meaning as I wake up. For the last few weeks, I've been waking up with anxious dreams swirling around in my mind. It's been difficult to think about anything other than what was happening in this vivid illusion. So tomorrow I am going to wake up to the thought "I Am as God created me." I'll go to sleep telling myself this fact, knowing I'll wake up with the thought, too. I'm not going to wonder about what that means to me or anyone else. I'm going to hold to the thought and that thought alone. I trust any meaning I need will be shown to me as I embrace this Truth!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Question: What is the scientific statement of being?

Answer: There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual."

Science & Health Page 468:8-16

"The more I think it