Love is the Answer

photo credit: Stephen Shogren

ACIM Workbook Lesson #46:

“God is the Love in which I forgive.”

We are asked to close our eyes and search our mind for things which we have not forgiven. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small unforgiven experience or a great, big unforgivable event — we are asked to examine ourselves and identify these instances. We are preparing to forgive ourselves! Divine Love is the love which we are giving and getting in this forgiveness, not the human love which puts parameters on its flow. What we extend, we are. When I see the people I am withholding forgiveness from, I don’t want to think of their actions which I feel justify my feelings. I find I still blame someone from 50 years ago, a sweet woman who gave my pet turtle a bath and it died. I don’t want to think of that incident every time I see her or hear her name! I want to release my mind from these illusions, extending Love because I am Love!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

 "'God is Love.' More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go." Science & Health Page 6:17-18

Celebrate Love!

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #45:

“God is the Mind with which I think.”

On this day when we celebrate love, I am reminded of the amazing ways people are expressing Love all over the world. It's wonderful to hear stories of individuals who see a need and find a way to meet it! I read a story of a man who started a website to track refugees, in order to let those who want to help know what needs to be done and where to find people in need. Another man has dedicated his life to saving dogs by transporting them to areas of the country where they can find homes. I have vowed to find at least one incidence of good every day -- and good news is everywhere! I'm going to take time today to think of all the people I know personally who are expressing divine Mind, reflecting Love and living a life of grace. This grace doesn't have to be expressed in large ways, it only needs to be heartfelt and sincere. Happy Valentine's Day to us all!!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“No wisdom is wise but His wisdom; no truth is true, no love is lovely, no life is Life but the divine…”  Science & Health Page 275:17-19

A Clearer Transparency

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #44

"God is the Light in which I see."

At a recent function, someone leaned in close to me and said, sotto voce, something derogatory about another person. I was reminded of Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias when she said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say about anybody, come and sit by me”.  I wanted to say just the opposite and ask this person to go away! But I also wanted to see her comments with the light of Love and interpret them through Mind rather than my judgment of the words. So I just smiled at her. I was standing there asking Holy Spirit what to say, and nothing came, so I didn’t nervously babble something meaningless, nor did I condemn her as I am wont to do. I hope to remember on a daily basis that light is within, not without. My work is to become a clearer transparency from which this light may glow!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the windowpane. The light and the glass never mingle, but as matter, the glass is less opaque than the walls. The mortal mind through which Truth appears most vividly is that one which has lost much materiality — much error — in order to become a better transparency for Truth. Then, like a cloud melting into thin vapor, it no longer hides the sun.” Science & Health Page 295:16-24

Perception or Knowledge

Eureka Gras Parade - PC Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #43:

"God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him."

Today we are pondering the differences in our personal perception and universal knowledge. Our perception, as we well know, is colored by belief and what we think of as knowledge, but knowledge is Truth. This Truth, with a capital T, is God. From today's Course in Miracles lesson: "You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be apart from God." This reminds me of a couple I met in the laundromat today. They were so joyously happy that I felt compelled to start a conversation with them.  They told me their house had burned to the ground last month, that they hadn't had insurance on it, but they were happy to have gotten out alive and were extremely grateful that their five cats had escaped, too. As I talked with them, I realized that awakening to life as consciousness is spreading far and wide. Join me in noticing how Truth is self-revealed as individual conscious experience in your daily walk. The proof is everywhere!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Man is more than a material form with a mind inside, which must escape from its environments in order to be immortal. Man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God."

Science & Health Page 258:9-12

The Gift of Sight

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #42:

“God is my strength. Vision is His gift.”

I had a good friend whose two daughters died in tragic ways. After that, dear Betty wanted to quit living, and so she did. First of all she stayed incredibly busy, so she wouldn't have time to think. Then she died of multiple cancers. During this time I would have given anything to impart to her today's lesson; to have the ability to show her this "Vision [which] is His gift". But only she could have done that. What I did do was to offer her a cup of cold water in the form of divine Love: I showed it to her, I gave it to her, I let her know it was hers. So today, dear friend, I will think of you while I go about the day's activities, remembering that I have the strength of eternity and the infinite vision which I share with you and everyone in the Oneness of divine Mind. This cup I raise to you, Betty Lou!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.” 

Science & Health Page 393:12-15

No Division Possible

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #41 

“God goes with me wherever I go.”

Contemplating today's topic brings many platitudes to my mind. I smile at them and reach deeper within for silence. Many great teachers, including Jesus, tell us the same thing: The kingdom of heaven is within. For years I've known this, but it's taking a while to understand, and without understanding, it’s nothing but blind belief. For years, I suffered all the symptoms of separation from God: depression, anxiety, worry, a sense of helplessness and loneliness. I also went through the typical material means to quiet these feelings, but none of them worked for long. It took a major wake-up call to break the spell, and I am so grateful to have answered it! When we're thinking "God goes with me wherever I go", it's very easy to visualize a little angel on our shoulder, or someone walking beside us. Hence the importance of going deep within and silencing the multitudinous beliefs we have acquired in this existence. Knowing ourselves as consciousness, melded like a drop of water with the ocean, or a ray of sunshine with its source -- that's the feeling we're hoping to remember. I say remember because it's something we've always known, but perhaps have forgotten. Peace, joy, happiness: these are ours in the kingdom of heaven within, no matter what the outward circumstances may appear to be. Take a deep breath and feel the Oneness!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Existence, separate from divinity, [divine] Science explains as impossible.” 

Science & Health Page 522:10-11

Happiness Actually

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #40:

“I am blessed as a Son of God."

I’ve noticed that some people are always happy, no matter that circumstances seem to dictate the opposite. One such person stands out in memory. When I was a teenager, a woman who was a friend of my parents had a series of things happen which we would think of as bringing sadness. In a three-year period, her husband passed on, their house burned down, and then her daughter was in a car accident which left her in a coma for over a year before she died. Oh — she had also lost an infant daughter years before. This woman lived joyously into her 80s, always helping others, and died with a smile on her face (so I'm told). I often wondered how she did it. I see now that she knew the open secret of Life. With each loved one who passes on, with each beloved animal I’ve known through the years, something is growing more certain within me: They haven’t gone anywhere. Never born, never dying. If there’s a beginning, then there must be an end. That thought brings a certain smile to my heart!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Man is, and always has been, God's reflection."

Science & Health Page 471:17-18