Radical Reliance on Love

photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #194

“I place the future in the Hands of God.”

I used to be a worrier. I remember the oppressive feeling. When I would be waiting for my husband to come home from work, if he was late, the worry was so intense that I couldn't stand myself! I remember at one point I just started thinking that the worst had happened, that this truck-driving man had died on the road and I'd never see him again. This seemed to be easier to accept than all the what-ifs involved in the waiting and wondering game. Whew, am I glad that's over! Today I only want to know one thing: what it means to be a creation of divine Mind. Having this radical reliance on Love allows me to release worry and fear of the future. It is stated in today's ACIM lesson that if we see this yielding for the deliverance it is, we won't be hesitant to give it our wholehearted effort in order to make it a part of us. Eventually, trusting this Truth will permeate our every thought and action, allowing us to see the world as a friend rather than the opposite. What a beautiful Life!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“It is the prerogative of the ever-present, divine Mind, and of thought which is in rapport with this Mind, to know the past, the present, and the future.”

Science & Health Page 84:11-13

I Will Forgive and This Will Disappear

photo from Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #193

“All things are lessons God would have me learn.”

I am learning to let go of illusions. Some of these illusions are perceived hurts and grudges which tend to accumulate until they form a dam keeping us from a more wholesome way of thinking. Sitting down to write these words, I looked back at last year’s daily writing. In it I spoke of seeing someone whom I held grudges toward and wondering what she thought of me. At that time, I vowed to release those feelings. As I read the words, I had absolutely no idea who or what I was referring to! I have changed my mind about that situation — whatever it was! Yippee!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, 'The kingdom of God is within you.' This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.”

Science & Health Page 573:28-2

Strength Through Forgiveness

photo from Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #192

“I have a function God would have me fill.”

Forgiveness is the function I am to fill. How often have you heard it said that we must remember some horrendous event, that we must never forget? Throughout the ages, we've heard these words (or something similar) so often that we think there is a mandate telling us that this is the way to handle our hurt. From the Holocaust to 9/11, these words resound over and over in memory. By releasing this type of fear and hatred and disgust, we clear the way for something else to appear: the reality of our Being, the wholeness of this Life, the beauty of Love. This is not a weakness, but the ultimate strength. Today I want to build on this until it overtakes me. I want to know Truth until illusion is pushed away. In mercy I find freedom.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Not to avenge one's self upon one's enemies is the command of almighty wisdom; and we take this to be a safer guide than the promptings of human nature. To know that a deception dark as it is base has been practiced upon thee, and yet not to avenge thyself, is to do good to thyself; is to take a new standpoint whence to look upward; is to be calm amid excitement, just amid lawlessness, and pure amid corruption."

Miscellaneous Writings Page 228

Hearing Heartbeats

"Ozark Rainforest"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #191

“I am the holy Son of God Himself.”

What barriers am I putting up which keep me from seeing my reality as the experience of divine Mind? This is something I will think about today, because it could be anything. I’m reading a novel right now with the intriguing title of “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats”. The main character loses his eyesight when he’s a young boy. One of his mentors tells him that the true essence of things is invisible to the eyes. He says the eyes distract us as they love to be dazzled, and that we rely too heavily on them and neglect our other senses — and he means more than hearing or taste or smell. “I’m talking about the organ within us for which we have no name. Let us call it the compass of the heart.” So today I will let barriers fall and intuition rise, knowing in Truth I’m the holy reflection of Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God creates neither erring thought, mortal life, mutable truth, nor variable love.”

Science & Health Page 503:24-25

From Pain to Joy - July 9, 2015

photo from Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #190

“I choose the joy of God instead of pain.”

I witnessed a simple example of pain and guilt being turned into forgiveness and joy. I went for a car ride with a friend. As I got in she asked how I was and I said, "To quote my dear friend, Richard, it's the best day of my life!" She said, "Oh, I've only said that once, and I've regretted it for 20 years." She explained that she had been working in a restaurant and had said it was the best day of her life to a young couple when they asked how she was. Later on, she found out that they had just lost a baby, and she felt so guilty about feeling good that she not only never said that again, but has remembered it, with guilt, all these years. When she finished telling her tale, I laughed. I told her that if they were out eating and drinking that soon after their loss, they must have wanted happy diversion or else they would have stayed home. My sweet friend was thrilled! She said that after all that time of feeling guilty, it was suddenly gone! So there was a perfect, simple example of how a little shift in perception can turn pain to joy. Woo-hoo!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, — this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony." 

Science & Health Page 323:32-4

Ever-Present Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson #189

“I feel the Love of God within me now.”

I know a friend who doesn’t want to quiet her mind. She tells me that goal would go against everything she’s ever worked toward all their life. She says it’s taken a lifetime to gain all this knowledge and she wants to hold on to every bit of it. It can be scary, I suppose, to let go of belief and ritual, not to mention wanting to stop thinking about all the memories of a lifetime. I woke up this morning and decided to notice every thought I had which was not necessary. They started coming to me fast and furious, but with each acknowledgement, it became easier to “hold thought to the enduring, the good, and the true…” MBE. I have a reason for wanting these thoughts to be gone: to allow the ever-present Love of God to be foremost. This Love is everywhere, and I know I need only clear the way for it to be felt and expressed!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth."

Science & Health Page 454:17-21

Peace Within - July 7, 2015

"Salt Flats, Utah"
photo from Aaron Springston

ACIM Lesson #188

“The peace of God is shining in me now.”

A cantankerous friend who insists he’s an atheist engaged me in a discussion about God today. His diatribe consisted of stories from the news about people’s actions in the name of their church and beliefs. He told me of close friends who profess to be Christians, yet have become increasingly, vocally hateful in the last few years. I countered each of his stories with stories of my own which illustrated what I think of as God. I told him of a non-dualistic God, one which doesn’t sit up on a cloud granting favors and dispensing retribution, but which is found within. I endeavored to explain how this ever-presence wasn’t pantheism because God is not IN us, but God IS us in much the same way as a sunbeam is the expression of the sun. We are the experience of divine Love, Mind, Soul, Truth, Spirit, Life. “The peace of God is shining in me now.”

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose "light shall we see light;" and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.”

Science & Health Page 510:9-12