January 9, 2015 - I Don't Understand

"Thai Beach"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #9
“I see nothing as it is now.”

Today's lesson tells us, "the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas." What a relief, huh? I'm reminded of attending a talk on quantum physics wherein a number of fairly complex concepts were addressed. The talk lasted an hour and a half and at the conclusion the speaker asked if there were any questions. There wasn't a single one. It could be perceived we knew it all, or maybe we didn't want to know about any of this, or perhaps we didn't know enough to ask questions! When we first hear a concept like today's topic, "I see nothing as it is now", it may seem nonsensical. But the more we study and talk about these ideas, they start to seem not only possible, but plausible. As Mary Baker Eddy tells us in the below quote, it takes the practice of turning away from matter to Spirit to develop the spiritual sense which allows us to understand the concepts we're hearing about. What an exciting adventure we have waiting for us each day as we learn to understand the difference in what we seem to know through material sense and the reality of Spirit.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"If the disciple is advancing spiritually, he is striving to enter in. He constantly turns away from material sense, and looks towards the imperishable things of Spirit. If honest, he will be in earnest from the start, and gain a little each day in the right direction, till at last he finishes his course with joy."
Science & Health Page 21:9-14

January 8, 2015 - Memories or Truth?

"Altai Mountains in Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #8
“My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”

Many of us, including me, pride ourselves on our effort to live in the moment. I know I'm pleased with myself when I don't get lost in planning or dreaming about the future; equally so when I don't let myself get trapped in the past by memories and regrets. Today's lesson tells us that we are always seeing things from past experiences, which precludes any thoughts of Truth from entering our consciousness. Can this be true? When we think about the past, we are really thinking about nothing but illusions. In doing so, we block ideas which are lurking around the edges, waiting for us to clear our mind and let them in. As long as we believe what we're thinking is important, we are blocking any progress in allowing truth to enter. About the time we acknowledge this, our ego-mortal-mind jumps up and tells us that this is ridiculous. Hence, the necessity for exercising our spiritual muscles! Hope you're having as much fun with this metaphysical therapy as I am!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Our false views of matter perish as we grasp the facts of Spirit. The old belief must be cast out or the new idea will be spilled, and the inspiration, which is to change our standpoint, will be lost." Science & Health Page 281:28-1

January 7, 2015 - Living in the Past?

"Yellowstone Moon"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #7
“I see only the past.”

In these exercises, we are learning that everything we think about objects, people, ourselves, is related to the past. 

[If you want to know more about this idea, here is a link: http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=7]

I'm finding this lesson particularly interesting in light of my missing foot. I used to have a bunion on this foot. I still feel it and want to stretch my toes apart to relieve this pain. Talk about seeing the past!! Or I find myself using this invisible foot to push the shoe off my other foot. Or perhaps I'll use it to shut a door, and then I'm surprised when my foot goes through the door. I feel certain that this new version of myself will be most informative in my metaphysical studies. When Mary Baker Eddy tells us of the unreality of matter, it's intellectually possible to grasp this -- but it's far more difficult to really understand, to honestly say we know what she means. Every glimpse I have of Truth spurs me on to open myself to know (gnow?) more. There is One Mind, One Life, One Love -- and I am the expression and experience of that One. Namaste ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"The history of error or matter, if veritable, would set aside the omnipotence of Spirit; but it is the false history in contradistinction to the true.”
Science and Health, Page 521:29-2

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