Spring Cleaning!

Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
photo by Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #69

“My grievances hide the light of the world in me.”

The last words of today's lesson are: "Be sure to tell yourself: If I hold this grievance the light of the world will be hidden from me, if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today." I think of spring cleaning in my home as similar to rooting out hidden grievances which are hiding the light within myself. Perhaps I'm holding on to some of these illusions because it's comfortable. Maybe I  have convinced myself that I like my history and wouldn't want to give up any of it, much less all of it. But what brilliance is hiding behind the cover of these grievance clouds? What light have I hidden with illusions I've created for myself and the world? I know something wonderful is there; I can feel it. So when an old story comes to mind, I will turn thought instead to contemplation of the wondrous Truth which flows in, out, and through me when I lift the veil created by my grievances. Now that's spring cleaning!

Mary Baker Eddy Quote:

“The manifestation of God through mortals is as light passing through the window-pane. 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 295:14-24

We Are Love!

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #67

“Love created me like itself.”

In today’s lesson we are asked to recognize ourselves as unchanging Love rather than the limited self we have been thinking we are.  “Love created me like Itself.” Love has created everyone like Itself!! We have many false ideas about what we are and what others are, but let’s realize the illusory nature of those ideas and see ourselves as the one infinite divine Love. It’s fairly easy to see ourselves as loving, but as pure Love its ownself?? Let’s try to undo our ideas of what God is, what we are, releasing all our beliefs and asking Holy Spirit to fill us with the Truth of our being! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The great miracle, to human sense, is divine Love, and the grand necessity of existence is to gain the true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of heaven in man.”  

Science & Health Page 560:11-15

Happiness is My Function

creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #66:

“My happiness and my function are one.”

If we are created to be happy, why are we so often not? While wondering about this interesting question, I looked up happiness on Wikipedia. "Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology, are employing the scientific method to research questions about what happiness is and how it might be attained. The United Nations declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness to recognize the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals." Today I will ponder why we find happiness to be elusive and joy to be fleeting, when they are clearly our native state of Being! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it."

Science & Health Page 57:18-21

Blossoming Function

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #65:

“My only function is the one God gave me.”

A friend once said to me: “You can’t help what goes through your mind; it’s what you do with it that’s important.” As she always got upset when I talked about perception and how things are as we see them to be, I didn’t think I should tell her I disagreed with her statement. I do think we can keep rampant negative thoughts out of our head. I also think we can stop ourselves from flitting from one memory to another, flowing through a tangent of remembrances and idle repetitions. Through these studies, we are practicing training our mind away from blame and guilt, away from circular, meaningless thought, and hence allowing our function as the expression of divine Mind to flow through us, beautifully blossoming for others to share and experience. On this perfect day, I will work toward cleansing my thoughts of unnecessary chatter, opening myself to my function as the reflection of Love!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.” Science & Health Page 261:4-7

Bullying a Wave

photo credit: Heather Peters

ACIM Workbook Lesson #64:

"Let me not forget my function"

“Have you ever tried to bully a wave in the ocean?” This is the question a 104-year-old Buddhist nun asks her great granddaughter in a beautiful novel I’m reading, A Tale For the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki. They had just gone into a store to get food for a picnic on the beach. A group of gangster girls were hanging around outside the store and had harassed them as they went in. When they came out the old woman bowed deeply to the group of young women before walking away. When they got onto the train the nun wondered aloud if it was a holiday of some sort, mentioning that the girls were all dressed so brightly and seemed so happy. The granddaughter tried to explain that they were gang colors and that they were being derisive in their words and laughter. The grandmother didn’t see this as the fact and asked her young charge if she had ever tried to bully a wave, explaining that no matter how much you hit at it or yell into it, it stays what it is. That is its function, and that is our function. Namastè ~~~ 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Can we gather peaches from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading illusions along the path which Science must tread in its reformatory mission among mortals. The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.”  Science & Health Page 129:24-29 

Facilitating Peace

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #63

“The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”

It’s easy to feel peaceful when everything is going according to our plans, but what about those unexpected events such as loss of a job, breaking up of a marriage, illness and accidents? At such times, it can feel as though our peace has been disrupted, perhaps never to be felt again. In order to extend peace to others, we must accept it for ourselves. How grateful I am for this inkling of knowledge about the Science of Being! The unfolding reality which has replaced the shattering illusions around me have been facilitating a change in perception and an acceptance of peace. It’s sort of like Michelangelo chiseling away everything but the image he was seeing. We are working to release everything unlike Love, leaving behind pure peace! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear,--this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress."

Science & Health Page 324:3-5

Forgiveness is My Function

photo credit: Chris Fischer

ACIM Workbook Lesson #62:

"Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world."

First of all, let’s define forgiveness as letting go of illusions. When I let go of the meaning I have given to everything, I am able to hear something other than my own beliefs dictating my actions and expectations. A shining light of the world told a story on herself at a recent ACIM meeting. She recounted how she became upset over an inconvenience and ended up eating a cheeseburger. This violated many rules she has set for herself about eating meat, gluten, dairy, and not frequenting the place she bought this juicy forbidden food. That night, she woke up in much physical distress and (although she did not say it this way) she reached out to Holy Spirit. She heard a voice call her name and the distress disappeared. While she did not say this either, I feel part of this “miracle” was forgiving herself for breaking material rules and giving herself that one moment of clarity which allows us to BE the expression and experience of God. Whatever the case, it was a wonderful holy instant and a delightful moment for all of us hearing her tale! What a great reminder to look behind the illusion of separation and live our reality as One with divine Love!

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