I Want To See

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #27:

"Above all else, I want to see."

It's often said that waking up to Truth is simple, but not easy. It takes a dedicated desire to see, to know. It takes discipline of thought, of word, of action. It is suggested that we repeat these few words as often as possible today: "Above all else, I want to see." This has been the advice of many seers throughout the ages who have told us that this is "the way". The way to what? The way to everything! Yet no formula or ritual is involved. There is no dogma nor any form of worship. The path is an individual one and only you can know what it is. All we need do is admit that more than anything else we want to see; we want to know God.  Know thyself. One thing have I desired …

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Question.--What is God?

Answer.--God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love."

Science & Health Page 465:6-8

Our Invulnerable Heritage

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #26

"My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."

The realization that all attack comes from within is an eye-opener! When we worry about lack of money, or possible illness, or what our neighbor might think, these are thoughts which seem to attack our invulnerability.  Actually our invulnerability as an expression of divine Principle cannot be attacked, but we certainly can think of ourselves as weak victims of life's circumstances. Through a conscious choice to reject the unreality of material existence and claim our heritage as powerful spiritual beings, unafraid to stand up and declare our Oneness with divine Love and all Its creation, we are able to transcend the fears we have thought to be inevitable. I love the new world which is being revealed through this understanding!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust decrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery." Science & Health Page 380:32-4

What's It For?

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #25

"I do not know what anything is for.”

Part of me is offended to think that I don’t know what anything is for! I’ve spent a few decades learning about things and figuring out how they fit into life, and my ego doesn’t want to give up all the beliefs in which it has invested so much. It’s tempting to say this doesn’t make sense, that I don’t understand it. But then I see what yielding to the understanding that everything works together for good allows me to do. I can relax into the living of divine Mind, the imaging of divine Love. By seeing God as Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love, then seeing ourselves as the image of God, we know we can live as Mind, reflecting Love in everything. From this point, it’s not a huge stretch to admit to myself that I don’t know what anything is for, because by doing so my mind is freed of false meanings, allowing awareness of Truth and the living of this Love. And I am content at last.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The chief difficulty in conveying the teachings of divine Science accurately to human thought lies in this, that like all other languages, English is inadequate to the expression of spiritual conceptions and propositions, because one is obliged to use material terms in dealing with spiritual ideas. The elucidation of Christian Science lies in its spiritual sense, and this sense must be gained by its disciples in order to grasp the meaning of this Science."

Science & Health Page 349:13-21

Listening to Intuition

ACIM Workbook Lesson #24:

"I do not perceive my own best interests.”

I've never been one to make plans or have goals, much preferring the adventure of watching life unfold. Apparently my oldest son feels the same way because he has moved from job to job, learning how to do them and feeding his passion for skiing and living life in the moment. When he first moved to Salt Lake City after graduation, he took a job doing something he wasn't interested in, but through it he learned skills which took him to other employment, all of which advanced his skills in photography and videography. By allowing himself to be open to the field of all potentiality, he is now working with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team as their video coordinator. This has come about because he had no strong opinions about what he should or should not be doing, and he knows that following his heart never leaves him where he started. Join with me today in thinking of times you have listened within, when you were "leaning on the sustaining infinite", and found yourself someplace you could never have planned!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings."

Science & Health Page vii:1-2

Giving Up Attack Thoughts

photo credit: Heather Peters

ACIM Workbook lesson #23:

"I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts."

It can be difficult to free ourselves from the prison of attack thoughts. It seems normal and natural to think and talk about things we don't agree with or like. It can occupy the majority of our thought and we often think it might facilitate a change if we talk about it enough. This fertilization of attack thoughts can be found everywhere from coffee shops to churches, and it doesn't do a single thing to change the world. We are told today that the only way out of fear is giving up attack thoughts. If the world we see is an effect, the only way to change this hallucination is to alter the cause: our thought. Some may ridicule this idea, and for those who do I only ask this: Have any material manipulations ever, in all of history, affected a change? Did our civil war free the slaves? It was a beginning, of course, but many people stayed in bondage long past when laws were enacted. It takes a change of thought to bring freedom. Let's free ourselves today -- and forever!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Legally to abolish unpaid servitude in the United States was hard; but the abolition of mental slavery is a more difficult task. The despotic tendencies, inherent in mortal mind and always germinating in new forms of tyranny, must be rooted out through the action of the divine Mind." Science & Health Page 225:22-28

Escaping Attack Thoughts

photo credit: Heather Peters

ACIM Workbook Lesson #22

"What I see is a form of vengeance."

Having been a court reporter for 30 years, I have often witnessed people's desire for this thing called vengeance. I've also seen that when they get whatever form of retribution they seek, it makes them feel no better about the situation. Why is vengeance thought of as a good thing in our society? It seems to me it should be akin to one of Dante's deadly sins and something we would want to negate or, at the very least, hide under the table. But, no, we want to put it on the front page and proudly tell others of the vengeance we seek or have supposedly received. As ACIM tells us: "Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense." May we remember that our safety lies in our defenselessness -- and our happiness, too!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Any statement of life, following from a misconception of life, is erroneous, because it is destitute of any knowledge of the so-called selfhood of life, destitute of any knowledge of its origin or existence.” Science & Health Page 553:8-12

See Different! (Apologies to Apple)

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #21:

"I am determined to see things differently"

Today's lesson commentary asks us to examine our thoughts for varying degrees of anger, from irritation to rage. Seeing things differently was illustrated for me when I went on a ride with a person who saw another world than I did. Every car that came up behind us was following too close; when a car pulled out onto the highway, it should have waited until she was past; people in front of her were going to slow; many others were simply guilty of being "idiots". I became more and more amused as the ride progressed! She has mentioned before that she's been in a number of vehicular accidents in the past, which have always been the other person's fault. So the question comes to mind: Is she driving defensively because of past events, or are events happening because she's expecting them? I'm not going to try to make this determination, but what I do know is the difference in our attitudes towards drivers. When someone pulls out onto the highway in front of me, I'm glad because they probably want to go faster than I do. If someone zooms up behind me, I find the nearest place to happily pull to the side of the road and let them past. If someone in front of me is going slower than I usually drive, I'm glad because I know I'm in the place I need to be. I won't go so far as to say this keeps me safer, but I know it makes me happier!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Seeing is no less a quality of physical sense than feeling. Then why is it more difficult to see a thought than to feel one? Education alone determines the difference. In reality there is none." Science & Health Page 86:20-24