April 15, 2015 - Receiving and Giving

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #105

“God’s peace and joy are mine.”

Today we concentrate on the nature of giving and receiving. We have become accustomed to thinking of giving gifts for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. Perhaps gifts are given as a form of compensation to those whom we appreciate because they are patrons of our business. Or maybe someone gave money to our favorite non-profit organization, so we give them a thank you gift. We may feel guilty if someone gives us a gift and we don't have anything for them. We have lots of beliefs about what should and should not be given and how we react to those offerings. It's difficult for many of us to accept gifts — perhaps it’s that old I'm-not-worthy syndrome rearing its head. I love these sentences from today's ACIM workbook lesson: "True giving is creation. It extends the limitless to the unlimited, eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself." To live our lives from this perspective allows us to express Love freely, with no fear of it being rejected or misinterpreted. It allows us to gently reach out to people we've just met with heartfelt expressions of empathy and compassion. We bloom in unexpected ways when "extending the limitless to the unlimited". It's ours to give and to receive, in an eternal loop of Love. There's no way to measure how far the ripples of our joy and peace may extend. My cup runneth over!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress." Science & Health Page 506:11-14

April 14, 2015 - Joy, Peace, Happiness

"Mongolia"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #104

“I seek but what belongs to me in truth.”

Joy and peace and happiness are my birthright. These things are what belong to me in truth. These gifts do not need to be earned. We needn't barter with a faraway god in order to experience them. We don't need to wait until we die, we don't have to do a certain number of good deeds, we don't need to take communion, it's not necessary to belong to a church. We have been hoodwinked into believing that we must strive all our lives to attain something which seems unattainable. The conflict of the world is so great that we can't make our way through the maze to the prize we know must be hiding somewhere. We are learning that we can confidently clear the altar of our minds, freeing our thought from fear and pain, and embracing our function as forgiveness, thereby healing our minds and allowing us to find what has always been there: joy and peace and happiness!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God has built a higher platform of human rights, and He has built it on diviner claims. These claims are not made through code or creed, but in demonstration of "on earth peace, good-will toward men."

Science & Health Page 226:14-17

April 13, 2015 - Happiness Is ...

"Japanese Cherry Blossom"
photo by Chris Fischer

ACIM Workbook Lesson #103

“God, being Love, is also happiness.”

As if he knew I'd been intensely thinking about happiness for the last few days, an old friend (whom I hadn't seen in months) called and asked if I wanted to see a good movie. He brought it over and its title is, ”Hector and the Search for Happiness". It involves a man who is a psychiatrist and goes to China, Africa, and the U.S. asking people what happiness means to them -- and, of course, finds out what happiness means to him. Ultimately, it is not anything out there which is going to make us happy. One of the people he meets along the way asks how many of us remember a moment in childhood when happiness was a state of being; when everything, inside and out, was all right. I think that says it all, don't you? What does it take to be happy? Forgetting everything that makes you unhappy and allowing your natural state to shine forth! To quote the ACIM lesson: "God, being Love, is also happiness. and it is happiness I seek today. I cannot fail, because I seek the truth."

Love and happiness are our divine heritage as the expression of God. God is Love, and so are we!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man.”

Science & Health Page 60:28-1

April 12, 2015 - I See Happy People!

"Dogwood Blossom"
photo by Chris Fischer

ACIM Workbook Lesson # 102

“I share God’s Will for happiness for me.”

I see happy people! Everywhere I go, everyone I see is exuding joy. Even in places other than Eureka Springs, most people seem to be happy. Very few have dead eyes or downward sliding smiles. A sweet friend passed on a couple of days ago after a short illness. The last time I saw her was about two weeks ago. We sat on her back deck on a beautiful spring day, talking and laughing. We laughed so much her husband came out and jokingly said the neighbors were complaining and we needed to hold it down. She was genuinely happy, totally unafraid, and profoundly grateful. She knew she hadn't long to enjoy the thrill of living on this plane, and she was making the most of it. These Course in Miracles lessons which are guiding us toward happiness are appreciated by so many. May we all scatter joy as we go about our daily activities! Happy spring!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Look away from the body into Truth and Love, the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and immortality. 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 261:2-7

April 11, 2015 - What Will?

"Spring in the Ozarks"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #101

“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”

This Course in Miracles topic was posted by Auntie Patricia on her Facebook page.  Patricia Robinette has recorded all 365 lessons which can be found on youtube with her reading them in her own delightful way. But I digress. Someone commented to her social media entry saying that they didn't want God's will because they wanted their own will. It's interesting how we react to statements which seem, on the surface, to take something away from our own self. I've come to see that doing God's will IS my will. When I'm doing what I think of as my own free will, more often than not I'm simply regurgitating some long-held belief or performing a by-rote action. Can there be free will in a brainwashed mind? No one likes to think they're being controlled, for sure! But perhaps we have it backwards.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The power of the human will should be exercised only in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judgment and free the lower propensities. It is the province of spiritual sense to govern man. Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both upon the body and through it." 

Science & Health Page 206:4-9

April 10, 2015 - All is Well

photo courtesy of Jodie English

ACIM Workbook Lesson #100

“My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.”

"Salvation and forgiveness are the same. They both imply that something has gone wrong; something to be saved from, forgiven for; something amiss that needs corrective change; something apart or different from the Will of God." I've had numerous thoughts about today's lesson, and have started to write about it in many ways, but none of them feel right. So I'm going to step back and let you tell me what this means to you today. Love to each and every one ---

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Man's happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense. Truth is not contaminated by error. Harmony in man is as beautiful as in music, and discord is unnatural, unreal.”

Science & Health Page 304:16-21

April 9, 2015 - Led By Spirit

photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #99

“Salvation is my only function here.”

When David Hoffmeister was "called" to go on the road and talk to people about the teachings of a Course in Miracles, he didn't know how he would have the funds to do this. He was told by Spirit that all his needs would be supplied, but he didn't believe that. He found himself trying to teach Jesus about the laws of supply and demand.  David is a man with excessive formal education, including knowledge of economics, and so he felt certain that Jesus simply didn't understand how the world worked. We tend to think of people like Buddha and St Francis and Jesus as being beggars of sorts. They didn't make a lot of money, but trusted in the Universe to provide. David was being asked to rely on Spirit to articulate this new/old curriculum. He was being led to teach using everything available -- music, dance, lectures, gatherings -- to help others express deep Love and peace.  The reign of peace has begun, and many people are fighting against it. Let's not be concerned with that. Let's put our energy where it will grow -- on this peaceful transition. Christ consciousness is coming out of hiding and we're being called to help everyone see (by way of our own sight) that this is not some esoteric thing that must be kept secret. It's to be shouted from the rooftops! Fear not, shine your light, call forth witnesses to this light -- and above all, don't tone down your joy!

[Many David Hoffmeister videos may be found on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g--bfDLRd8]

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud.”

Science & Health Page 518:19-21