January 2, 2015 - True Gifts

"Thailand Mokney"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #2
I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.

Isn't it wonderful that we have the ability to interpret events in any way we choose? Many people think of a rainy day as bad weather; others see it as the beauty of water returning to the earth to perform its function. Christmas is seen by many as a stressful time when they spend too much money and are involved with gatherings that they would rather not be in. Others relax and enjoy the beauty of lights and decorations while enjoying their family and rejoicing in the meaning of Christmas. We have choices. I was amazed today when I realized that my children and I hadn't even given a thought to giving each other gifts. It truly never crossed my mind, and as far as I know, it didn't theirs either. Wow! I feel as though we've passed some portal of material belief. When I woke up on Christmas morning, I didn't wonder what anyone had bought me. When I saw my son walk through the door, unexpectedly, that same morning, I certainly didn't look at his hands to see if he was bringing me anything. He had brought me the gift of his Love. What more could anyone want?

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." Science & Health Page 261:4-7

January 1, 2015 - A Meaningless Day!

"Yield"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #1
“Nothing I see in this room [on this street,
from this window, in this place] means anything.”

At the start of this new year, with its many possibilities and prospects, I reaffirm the desire to release preconceived meaning which I have placed on everything. I love that in today's application of this practice they say "This foot does not mean anything"! Having recently had my foot amputated, this is a wonderful exercise for me, reminding me that everything only has the meaning we have placed on it. I'm finding this foot is not necessary to move around, it's not necessary for acceptance by society, it's not even necessary for balance -- which I'm learning slowly, for sure! As we practice letting go of long-held beliefs about everything, we learn to see Truth. We are learning to allow ourselves to see through the illusions we have accepted as reality. What a beautiful new day!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The enslavement of man is not legitimate. It will cease when man enters into his heritage of freedom, his God-given dominion over the material senses." Science & Health Page 228:11-13

Hiatus

Due to being in the hospital, there is a break mid-December until January 1 in these writings. We are now back on track!

December 12, 2014 - Eternity

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #346

"Today the peace of God envelops me,

And I forget all things except His Love."

Have you ever felt a moment when it seemed that time stood still? These sentences from today's ACIM lesson brought back a remembrance in me: "What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love." A number of years ago I experienced a breach of time when I first saw a man who later became my very good friend. I was playing the organ at a Sunday morning service when he walked in and sat down. As I looked over at him, it was as though time didn't exist. Everything was still, and yet it felt like eons rushed through me. My material interpretation of this event was that I knew this man from forever; that he was the one I'd been waiting for. I see the event today as something different. Our meeting opened a portal, if you will. I became aware of a doorway I could step through where nothing existed other than the Love which is God. What a gift! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized."

Science & Health Page 468:26:30

December 11, 2014 - Reciprocol Miracles

Photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #345

"I offer only miracles today,

For I would have them be returned to me."

When I first began reading ACIM writings, the word "miracle" bothered me very much. As a student of Christian Science, I had learned that a miracle, as we think of it, is non-existent, because all these wonderful things are natural occurrences. And so there are actually no such things as miracles, only a revealing of the perfection that Is. But, as with many words, it is only the meaning we have placed upon them that makes them good or bad. Now I choose to think of miracles as anything which reveals the omnipresence of God, good. By this I can freely offer miracles to others and accept them in turn. God's goodness is reflected in my actions and everyone else's. This I embrace whole-heartedly. Giving and receiving; receiving and giving. What a lovely cycle!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Christian marvels (and marvel is the simple meaning of the Greek word rendered miracle in the New Testament) will be misunderstood and misused by many, until the glorious Principle of these marvels is gained."

Science & Health Page 474:11-15

December 10, 2014 - Give and Take

ACIM Workbook Lesson #344

"Today I learn the law of love; that what

I give my brother is my gift to me."

Today's lesson is the number one thing to keep in thought during our daily interactions with others. In my position as proprietress of an art gallery in a small tourist town, I am an information center, a museum, a drop off point for others, and sometimes a retail establishment. In the process of talking with hundreds of people on a busy day, I sometimes forget that giving is receiving. I sometimes forget that the law of Love is my only reason for being there. Sometimes I don't see myself as one with those wanting to know directions to the Beaver Bridge, or asking where is the best place to eat, or telling me how their aunt/sister/mother is a fantastic artist, or the multitudinous streams of consciousness that flows from them, through me, and back at them. Whew! It can seem overwhelming from a human standpoint. But on those days when I manage to transcend this maze of materiality, then it's one large, swirling ball of joy. The interactions are enjoyed on a level invisible to me when I'm operating from egotistical ideology. Today I choose Love and receive as much joy as I scatter to others!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Finite mind manifests all sorts of errors, and thus proves the material theory of mind in matter to be the antipode of Mind. Who hath found finite life or love sufficient to meet the demands of human want and woe,--to still the desires, to satisfy the aspirations? Infinite Mind cannot be limited to a finite form, or Mind would lose its infinite character as inexhaustible Love, eternal Life, omnipotent Truth."

Science & Health Page 257:22-29

December 9, 2014 - No Sacrifice

Thailand Beach

ACIM Workbook Lesson #343

"I am not asked to make a sacrifice

To find the mercy and the peace of God."

Someone recently asked me if I thought there was anyone on this planet who had attained the ideal of no suffering. One of the reasons she was thinking deeply about this topic was that a friend of hers had awakened in the morning to find that her partner has passed on during the night. How, we wonder, is it possible to not feel pain in such a situation? I believe the key is in knowing that they haven't gone anywhere. Passing on to where? Mary Baker Eddy tells us that the dead will be surprised to wake up and find they are not dead. Of course, we have turned this scenario into a different sort of material life, with the addition of wings and such. Everything we imagine is from our personal standpoint, don't you think? That is why we're endeavoring, in these studies, to release all thoughts which are engrained beliefs. Even within this material existence which we claim as a necessity, many people are able to feel grief and then release it for the joy of time spent together in this realm. Numerous people are able to feel even closer to loved ones after they are gone, as they commune on a different, more pure, level of consciousness than they had previously known. Perhaps we hold on to these feelings of grief because we're afraid that love, too, will be lost in the letting go. I have a hunch that the Love which is left will be sweeter than we ever could have dreamed!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The divine hand led me into a new world of light and Life, a fresh universe — old to God, but new to His 'little one.' It became evident that the divine Mind alone must answer, and be found as the Life, or Principle, of all being; and that one must acquaint himself with God, if he would be at peace." Retrospection and Introspection Page 27:29-4 (MBE Autobiography)