October 26, 2014 - Veritable Ideas

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #299

“Eternal holiness abides in me.”

A friend made a passing comment pertaining to the erroneous thought we glom onto in daily life. He said that once you hear something, it's a part of you -- a part of your conscoiusness, if you will. I certainly know how difficult it can be to release any thought -- whether I have decided to think of it as truth or rumor. He is so right that once it's in you, it's difficult to let out -- but not impossible! The key to this release is realizing what you are. As long as I see myself as a material human, a victim of passing thought and circumstance, then, yes, it is difficult, even impossible, to release. When I start to glimpse that I am not this body, that I am Idea -- an Idea of God! -- then, and only then, am I freed from the bombardment of daily illusions and the lies of material sense. Looked at from this perspective, my goal is not to release anything, it is to understand my Being as an expression of divine Mind, an emanation of divine Love, the experience of divine Life! I will not think of this as an impossible task, but as a reachable Truth.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“How are veritable ideas to be distinguished from illusions? By learning the origin of each. Ideas are emanations from the divine Mind. Thoughts, proceeding from the brain or from matter, are offshoots of mortal mind; they are mortal material beliefs. Ideas are spiritual, harmonious, and eternal. Beliefs proceed from the so-called material senses, which at one time are supposed to be substance-matter and at another are called spirits.”

Science & Health Page 88:9-16

October 25, 2014 - Love One Another

Mongolia Group Adventure

ACIM Workbook Lesson #298

“I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.”

Friendships ebb and flow, change over the years, and mature into majestic alliances. I've formed friendships which felt they could never be breached. Looking back at my dearest friends through the years, most of us have grown apart, finding that we no longer share the same viewpoints or interests. This growth is a good thing, which I have usually welcomed. The few treasured relationships which have endured are so sweet. Loving God extends into loving Its expression, in the form of other humans. I am grateful for the burgeoning understanding which allows me to love without fear, to extend a hand when needed, and never fear the consequences. Namaste!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon its object. One marvels that a friend can ever seem less than beautiful. Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom.”

Science & Health Page 249:3-7

October 24, 2014 - The Only Gift

"October Sunrise"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #297

“Forgiveness is the only gift I give.”

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a neighbor being taken to the hospital and the accusatory words her daughter pointed toward me. I had not made an effort to see this dear woman, probably because my feelings were hurt and I didn't want to be involved in another dramatic scenario. But I finally put that behind me and went to see her in the hospital yesterday. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw her daughter's car and almost kept on driving, but then intuition told me that was the time to see them, so I listened. Our visit was the epitome of forgiveness, in my opinion. It was as if nothing had happened. My neighbor and I were happy to see each other, and her daughter was friendly and as nice as could be. I felt very happy to have taken the step which allowed us to see above past hurts and let our true feelings guide our words and actions. What better gift could we give the world!!

 Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection.”

No and Yes, p. 39:17-18

October 22, 2014 = In Love With Love

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #295

“The Holy Spirit looks through me today.

”For years I was in love with love. I loved being in love and flitted from one love affair to another. When I began a serious study of divine metaphysics, the love I had always chased seemed small in comparison to the Allness of the Love which is God. As I discovered that I am the expression of this Love, I spent quite some time separating these feelings and cordoning off the love which I had humanly craved. After a conversation with a friend today, I've realized the increased separation I'm creating with my definitions and restrictions on love. In thinking about it, the love I feel for my children is Love. What else could it be? There is only one Love, as we are told in today's ACIM workbook lesson: "Fear appears in many different forms, but love is one." So my silly giving up of love in favor of Love is simply another one of the many forms of fear. I thank my friend who asked me pointed questions and brought this realization. I invite divine Love to look through me today. I ask that I recognize what that means!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The astronomer will no longer look up to the stars,-- he will look out from them upon the universe; and the florist will find his flower before its seed.”

Science & Health Page 124:26-28

October 21, 2014 - A Neutral Body

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #294

“My body is a wholly neutral thing.”

Part of today's ACIM lesson speaks to allowing ourselves to leave the body without illness predicating the event. I'm glad we're getting past the thought that something must be "wrong" with the body in order for it to be cast off. I've had two friends who died in their 50s with no physical cause. One of these people was traveling, stopped at a hotel, laid down on the bed and was gone. As this was an unattended death, all the legal protocol were followed and it was determined that there was no physical reason at all for her passing. I think this is great! The new realm of thought we're accessing allows many old beliefs to be abandoned -- finally! How many material laws have imprisoned us with unlocked doors? This body as a wholly neutral thing is an empty vessel waiting to be filled up with thought. Let's make sure that thought is independent of erroneous learning and dogma. Everything is important; nothing is important -- neutrality

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The elements and functions of the physical body and of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes its beliefs. What is now considered the best condition for organic and functional health in the human body may no longer be found indispensable to health. Moral conditions will be found always harmonious and health-giving."

Science & Health Page 124:32-6

October 20, 2014 - One Love

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #293

"All fear is past and only love is here."

Do you know married couples who seem to stay together for fear of being alone? How about single people who want more than anything to have a partner with whom to share life? Of course, it's nice to have someone to talk to and enjoy. A dear friend tells me she just wants a man to run around with, but she wants someone smart and kind, and she doesn't know any men who fit that bill. I had to laugh! I have so many wonderful men friends and they are wildly intelligent and thoughtful. I think that by leaving past expectations where they began and lived (in the past!), I've allowed myself to see that divine Love is the cosmic soup, if you will, which runs through us all. That Oneness is the completeness I used to seek in others. The fear of aloneness cannot possibly exist where the comfort of Love is felt. By this allowing with no expectations, I have everything I need!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Wilderness: Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence."

Science & Health Page 597:16-19

October 19, 2014 - Happy Outcomes

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #292

“A happy outcome to all things is sure.”

The sky is falling!! I'm often reminded of the proverbial Chicken Little and his worries about everything. Many people I know remind me of him, with their certainty that something awful is going to happen. A dear woman came to me asking for advice. She told me that she was afraid to go outside her home, and so she would drink alcohol before she went out to have the courage to leave. She had been drinking heavily when she came to talk to me. She related many concerns she had about life in general and a few things in specific. I mentioned Wayne Dyer's words about worry: If you can do something about a situation, you will; if you can't, why worry?? She was very excited by this because she has heard him on television and she really wants to think this way, too. I told her she can, that all it takes is practice and applying the ideas to daily life. Replacing  practiced, circular thought with realized spiritual Truth may seem difficult, but a happy outcome is sure!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done.”

Science & Health Page 203:3-5