January 11, 2015 - I Dream of Utopia

Yellowstone National Park
photo by Aaron Springston 

ACIM Workbook Lesson #11
“My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”

I had a sleeping dream of Utopia. There was no need to speak, as we knew each others' thoughts. We had no fear, as our thoughts were uncluttered and pure. Everywhere I looked there were happy people, busy at tasks which would benefit everyone. There was no need for television or radios, as we knew everything, and it was Good. At one point, I thought I was lost in the woods, but that was impossible because others sensed my confusion and were there immediately to lead me to a safe and beautiful home. While traveling on a road, suddenly the way was filled with huge boulders and ancient fallen trees. But to the left side there was a field filled with beautiful flowers, and a pathway leading to my destination. All needs were met before I knew of them, and there was the most wonderful sense of peace. I will hold to these beautiful feelings today, while seeing the meaningless basis of my thoughts and desires.
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Sleep and apathy are phases of  the dream that life, substance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night dream is sometimes nearer than are the thoughts of mortals when awake. The night-dream has less matter as its accompaniment. It throws off some material fetters. It falls short of the skies, but makes its mundane flights quite ethereal.”

Science & Health Page 249:24-30

January 10, 2015 - Disappearing Beliefs

ACIM Workbook Lesson #10
“My thoughts do not mean anything.”

The realization that my thoughts mean nothing is such a freeing concept! If we fall into the habit of believing that every thought we have will cause us harm, it's easy to get stuck in analyzing these thoughts and wondering what pitfalls will come to us because of them. Humility is a word which keeps coming to mind as I read today's lesson. We are accustomed to believing that everything we think and do is important, and it seems hard to admit our thoughts mean nothing. Sometimes it is even difficult to admit we don't know or understand things in daily life, so how can we admit that our own thoughts mean nothing? For me, it's a matter of realizing that my true self isn't contained in this body, and any thoughts which are based in materialism are changeable. So I can humbly admit that my thoughts (even those which seem to be pretty good ones!) are not "founded on the divine rock". With this admission, I am happy to see the beliefs of a lifetime dissipate, leaving me open to the divine ideas which are my true reality as a child of God.
Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"Human thoughts have their degrees of comparison. Some thoughts are better than others. A belief in Truth is better than a belief in error, but no mortal testimony is founded on the divine rock. Mortal testimony can be shaken. Until belief becomes faith, and faith becomes spiritual understanding, human thought has little relation to the actual or divine."
Science & health Page 297:24-30

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