January 6, 2015 - Illusions

"Illusions in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #6
“I am upset because I see something that is not there.”

Have you seen a documentary entitled, "My Life as a Turkey"? I found it to be profound in many ways, but today I relate it to our practice of seeing the unreality in everything we have come to think of as real. For more than a year, Joe Hutton lived with a flock of 16 wild turkeys, which he incubated and bonded with while they were still in the eggs. He didn't just live with them as you and I might. He was with them 24 hours a day to the exclusion of seeing any humans. He spent his days walking the woods as part of the flock, seeing through their eyes, speaking their language, striving to match their awareness of nature and their ability to live totally in the moment. The dedication and love expressed by this man is wonderfully inspiring to me. By his all-encompassing need to understand nature, to be a part of it without any of the learned beliefs he has acquired in his life, he has shown me what is possible when a discipline is approached with a "single eye". It is this singularity of purpose which we are learning to recognize in our study of both A Course in Miracles and Christian Science. I want to know God as much as Joe wanted to know turkeys. He gave it his all, and so will I!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Befogged in error (the error of believing that matter can be intelligent for good or evil), we can catch clear glimpses of God only as the mists disperse, or as they melt into such thinness that we perceive the divine image in some word or deed which indicates the true idea, — the supremacy and reality of good, the nothingness and unreality of evil."
Science & Health Page 205:15-21

January 5, 2015 - Unnecessary Conflict

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #5
“I am never upset for the reason I think.”

If you're like me, when you get upset about something, you try to justify your feelings with reasons about why you should be upset about it! We think in terms of something upsetting us. Today we are asked to forget about any reason for feeling hurt, or angry, or irritated. I saw a movie called "Where Do We Go Now?". It's set in a small village in Lebanon. It starts out with a group of women, Christian and Muslim, making their weekly visit to side-by-side cemeteries where their husbands and sons are buried. This movie is a combination of musical comedy and tragedy. I won't give away the ending as you may want to enjoy this fine film, but I will say that these women find a unique way of stopping their men from fighting over religious beliefs. When I think back on their fighting about what I deem to be nothing, I wonder if they are truly upset over what they think they're upset about! It seems that sometimes we're upset because things are changing, ideas are causing us to see everything in a new light, and we're afraid of the necessary shifts which are staring us in the face. In living true to our heart, let's not fear change or what others think of us for leaving behind anything which binds us to anger in any form. The harmony we long for is waiting for us!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Harmony in man is as beautiful as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal." Science & Health Page 304:20-21

January 4, 2015 - Levels of Pain

"Bird at Heart"
created by Sandy Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #4
“These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place].”

A nurse recently asked me if I really didn't have any pain associated with my current physical condition or if I simply had a high pain tolerance. I assured him that I knew what pain was, as I've given birth twice -- once while being tortured in a hospital and once at home. I haven't had any significant pain during this amputation and recovery. They insisted I rate pain while in the "big" hospital, and the highest I ever rated it was 5 out of 10. When pain appears, I acknowledge it, move around, change thought from fear to simply feeling the experience, and then rejoice at its disappearance. Perhaps it's because I've always been a student of Mary Baker Eddy. Even when I didn't think about the teachings for 25 years, I knew them and understood something about my spiritual origin and nature. Now that I'm making a conscious effort to live in Truth, everything seems easier. No matter what the circumstance, I can move through it with joy!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Thought will finally be understood and seen in all form, substance, and color, but without material accompaniments. The potter is not in the clay; else the clay would have power over the potter. God is [Its] own infinite Mind, and expresses all."

Science & Health  Page 310:6-10

January 3, 2015 - Phantom Pain

"Thai Jungle"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #3
“I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place].”

Most of us have heard about "phantom pain", but not many have experienced this phenomenon. I'm finding it fascinating to feel the twinges of a foot which no longer exists. It is truly showing me the unreality of matter, the belief of mind, and the power of Mind. While it is memory which brings a feeling to a foot which is no longer there, it is mind which takes the feeling away, and I'm beginning to understand that it is Mind which keeps it away. I recently slid off the bed and landed on the stump of my leg. While this wasn't particularly painful, it did set off a series of pains in my phantom foot! Experimenting with different thoughts, I found that what stopped the pain was repeating the "Scientific Statement of Being" and pondering its meaning. I am most grateful to the great metaphysicians I follow: Mary Baker Eddy and Jesus the Christ. These studies are bearing fruit, and I am most grateful!

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 468:8-15

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!