As Free As A Dream

photo by Alden Stallings

ACIM Workbook Lesson #219

Central Theme: “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” Review: #199 “I am not a body. I am free.”

Have you ever dreamed you could fly? My favorite freedom dream is one of running fast, sometimes leaving the ground and floating in mid-stride. Although I haven't had this recurring dream for some time, I can still fell the perfection of it. As I watch people dance and use their bodies in other life-affirming ways, I marvel at the beauty and grace expressed in these activities. Just as physical boundaries are broken and new records set, there is more to come in this so-called physical existence. We are learning of the limitlessness of divine Mind’s ideas, of which we are One.   What is your highest ideal of freedom? 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"This mortal is put off, and the new man or real man is put on, in proportion as mortals realize the Science of man and seek the true model." Science & Health Page 408:22-26

I Am Worthy -- And So Are You~

photo from Alden Stallings

ACIM Workbook Lesson #218

Central Theme: “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” Review: #198 “Only my condemnation injures me.”

"I'm not worthy!" When certain comedians say this in a silly movie, it seems funny. But when I hear this coming from people in everyday conversations, even though they don't use these exact words, it's tempting to tell them that they are very much worthy!! One evening, I had dinner with a group of people who were going to the Passion Play here in Eureka Springs. One woman stated that she had mixed feelings about the play because no one was "good enough" to play the part of Jesus. She felt it was presumptuous and arrogant for anyone to do so. As you can imagine, it was all I could do to stop myself from jumping up on the table and shouting that we are all worthy!! But I didn’t. Instead, I inwardly offered an affirmation of our goodness as the expression of God, the image of Mind, the reflection of Love — along with a silent Namastè.

Mary BakerEddy quote:

"And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure." 

Science & Health Page 497:24-27

Listening - August 5, 2015

"Tsgaglalal"
creation by Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #217

Central Theme: “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” Review: #197 “It can be but my gratitude I earn.”

I’ve felt rather muddled and dull last night and today. So I think I’ll spend the day cleaning house and listening rather than thinking. Here’s to clearer thought and more gratitude within!

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

Marriage or ...?

photo from Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #216

Central Theme: “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” Review: #196 “It can be but myself I crucify.”

When I think back on my marriages, I wonder if things would have been different if I had put as much effort into listening to divine Mind as I did into following the social morès of the day. Expectations abounded in every direction: what we would be doing in a few years, how many kids we would or wouldn't have, how we would grow together until we were some sort of perfect single being. All sorts of odd things go through your mind when you're young and you believe in the mid-1900s television version of marriage. And so I crucified myself time and again (and again!) with false expectations and blame. Would things be different today with the Knowledge I am beginning to attain? I like to think so!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Marriage should signify a union of hearts. Furthermore, the time cometh of which Jesus spake, when he declared that in the resurrection there should be no more marrying nor giving in marriage, but man would be as the angels. Then shall Soul rejoice in its own, in which passion has no part. Then white-robed purity will unite in one person masculine wisdom and feminine love, spiritual understanding and perpetual peace."

Science & Health Page 64:17-25

What, Me Worry?

"Blue Moon Set Over the Ozarks"
photo by Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #215

Central theme: "I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me." Review: #195 "Love is the way I walk in gratitude."

Today's review tells us to release the future: What does that mean? We've learned that we must release the past in order to live in the present. "Those who live in the past are condemned to live there alone." (Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman) But what of releasing the future? Does that mean we can't make plans and have dreams of what we'd like to do? No, of course not. It simply means that we mustn't allow those "what-if" situations to control us. If we take the future to the level of constant worry, affecting our every moment in the present, then it's time to release it! I feel there is nothing wrong with thinking about the past or the future, unless it begins to be our focus. No fear of the future nor regret in the past places me in the now. Woo-hoo!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer ground.”

Science & Health Page 224:4-7

Letting Go - August 2, 2015

photo from Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #214

Central theme: "I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me." Review: #194 "I place the future in the Hands of God."

Some of us are uncomfortable with relinquishing control and may recoil at the idea of placing the future in God's hands. But I see no loss of individuality in this process. On the contrary, there is more freedom from allowing divine Mind to be in charge than there is with making decisions dictated by material belief and habit. I know a woman who is involved in the messy settlement of her mom's estate. When she gets letters from the attorneys, she puts them in her bible and says she's giving it to God. This is not what we're talking about today! The willingness to radically rely on God opens the way for ideas and spiritual sense to lead us in ways we may not have considered before. Things may then "come up" from the depths of our emotional stores, allowing them to be acknowledged and released. That's what I call "giving it to God"! The past is gone. With every letting go of well-rehearsed past events, or the quiet release of guilt or pain, peace becomes reality for me. It doesn't matter if anyone was right or wrong, it doesn't make any difference what motives were involved, part of me has been emptied to be filled with the only reality: Love.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“We cannot fill vessels already full. They must first be emptied. Let us disrobe error. Then, when the winds of God blow, we shall not hug our tatters close about us.”

Science & Health Page 201:13-15

Listening and Learning

photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #213

Central Theme: “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.” Review: #193 “All things are lessons God would have me learn.”

I think most of us would agree that listening isn't always an easy task. Today I saw an example of a type of listening which is difficult to put into practice. My neighbor has a cat named Wyatt. This pretty feline goes outside regularly and returns when Jane whistles for him, but this afternoon he didn't return when she called. When it was starting to get dark and he still hadn't come home, she told her other cat, Doc, to "go find Wyatt", and then she listened to what Doc had to say. He went to a house up the street where no one lives, a house that is for sale. Doc went to the back door and stood there, looking from it to his person, who then called the realtor who has the house listed for sale. It turns out she had shown the property to a prospective buyer, and she drove back to our street to open the door. Sure enough, there was Wyatt inside the house. What a lovely demonstration of the power we possess when we're willing to listen and learn!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Spiritual sense, contradicting the material senses, involves intuition, hope, faith, understanding, fruition, reality.”

Science & Health Page 298:13-15