The Illusions We Believe

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #13

“A meaningless world engenders fear.”

Violent crime in the United States has gone down 50% since the year 1990, but most of us, if asked, would say it has increased in the last 25 years. This is because the media has dictated our perception of life! Not only do we have constant reporting by news networks, but there's the factor of social media and online sources adding to our misconceptions. Also, the big-impact violent situations cause us to think that overall violence is up. I was reminded of this when pondering the ramifications of a "meaningless world". If we were able to see the world as meaningless, releasing our beliefs and assumptions about it, this is when we could tap into the truth imparted by divine Mind. But once we have the void of a still mind waiting for Love to flow in and out of it, then our ego jumps up and says, No, you can't do that! Our little mind proceeds to infuse our thought with fear and dread, once again keeping harmony away. If we can face the clamor of our little mind without fear, we will see that a meaningless world cannot exist, but our thoughts about it can certainly be without meaning!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Hebrew Lawgiver, [Moses], slow of speech, despaired of making the people understand what should be revealed to him. When, led by wisdom to cast down his rod, he saw it become a serpent, Moses fled before it; but wisdom bade him come back and handle the serpent, and then Moses' fear departed. In this incident was seen the actuality of Science. Matter was shown to be a belief only. The serpent, evil, under wisdom's bidding, was destroyed through understanding divine Science, and this proof was a staff upon which to lean. The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really but a phase of mortal belief." 

Science & Health Page 321:5-18

I'll Meet You There

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #12

“I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”

Today's lesson asks us to witness events without giving them any meaning. By not assigning meaning to everything, we allow ourselves to see the Truth which is hidden by our personal interpretations. This exercise is designed to help us see that the world has no meaning, other than what we apportion to it. When we allow Spirit (God) to manifest through us -- which is our native state as the experience and expression of divine Mind -- we open ourselves to the field of all possibilities. We then become a blank slate for Love to write on. Who's to know where this will lead us? To quote Rumi: "Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there".

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Alas for the blindness of belief, which makes harmony conditional upon death and matter, and yet supposes Mind unable to produce harmony! So long as this error of belief remains, mortals will continue mortal in belief and subject to chance and change.” Science & Health Page 486:18-22

Substantive Thought

from Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #11

“My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”

I still vividly remember a sleeping dream I had a few years ago. We had 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 ego-driven thoughts and desires. 

Mary Baked Eddy quote:

“Sleep and apathy are phases of the dream that life, substance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night dream is sometimes nearer the fact of being 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

Open to Divine Ideas

photo credit: Alden Stallings

ACIM Workbook Lesson #10

“My thoughts do not mean anything.”

Humility is the 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 can be 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. And so I can then 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

No Understanding Needed

"Yield"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #9

“I see nothing as it is now.”

I was asked by a person who recently began receiving my daily writings, “Are all the topics as random as the first ones have been?” She stated that there seemed to be no reason for thinking of such things, and so I stopped to ponder that. I realized that her question made a good point, which is addressed in the text of workbook lesson #9: "the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas." What a relief to relinquish understanding! When we have admitted that we know nothing, but we are open to learning everything, we will learn it. These early lessons are helping us to see what it means to know nothing. We’ve been taught from early childhood that we want to know everything, and so releasing this need can be daunting. But, when you think about it, we never have known anything for sure. All the “facts” keep changing and we start all over with a new vision of truth — you know, things like you should eat margarine because butter is bad for you — stuff like that! What an exciting adventure we have awaiting us each day, as we learn to understand the difference in what we seem to know through material sense and the reality of Spirit. 

[If you want to read these lessons, please go to this site: http://acim.org/Lessons/lesson.html?lesson=9

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“We must silence this lie of material sense with the truth of spiritual sense.” Science & Health Page 318:12-13

Evolution of Thought

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #8

 “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”

In my lifetime, I have seen a huge evolution in thought! I’ve recently been watching a series which is set in Australia in the 1950s, and I had not realized how far we’ve come until this delightful show reminded me. (For you video buffs, it’s called A Place to Call Home.) It’s beautiful to see what beliefs we have given up, replacing them with Love rather than fear. For instance, we had many closed-minded ideas about people of different skin color marrying each other, not to mention the barriers imposed by religious separation and gender. People had to live through electrical shock treatment and its aftermath to “cure” homosexuality or hysteria. Natural acts, such as giving birth, were thought of as a disease which needed to be managed in torturous ways. We’ve come a long way in dispelling erroneous thought and replacing it with what we now see as advanced thinking! What if we’re meant to advance even further? We’ll never know until we are able to divest thought of the shackles holding us in place, and listen to the guidance of divine Mind inspiring us to heights never before imagined!

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 

A World Uncolored by the Past

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #7

 “I see only the past.”

Most of us have changed a lot from the time we were small children, both in looks and the way we think. In pondering today's lesson, I realize that I have done a disservice to any number of people by holding them frozen in time within my thoughts. I know that everything is colored by past experience, and I'm willing to release these feelings in order to catch a glimpse of Life without prejudice. While the two people I've had difficulty seeing with the grace of forgiveness have, undoubtedly, changed in many ways, my thoughts about them have not. I've mentioned these two situations in past writings, and there is no need to reinforce my judgments further by repeating the circumstances, but there is reason for me to examine why I'm so dedicated to blaming them for their actions. Why does it bother me so much? Why am I taking it personally? These are questions I am now willing to turn over to Holy Spirit, yielding to divine Love and its all-encompassing presence.

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