Corrected Thought

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #107

“Truth will correct all errors in my mind.”

Every prayer, every meditation, every expression of divine Mind is magnified exponentially. We have the power to change the world through ourselves. Every interaction identifies us with either a world of love or of fear. This healing Love spreads through the web of Oneness. In the same way that we take personal responsibility for ourselves, our health, our well-being, we can take responsibility for a return to Love. Every thought contributes to the whole! We never know what difference a simple interaction could make in someone's life. A single word or a smile may turn them away from reactive fear to healing Love. The Truth which corrects all errors in our mind is our ascension into heaven within. Never doubt that you matter, that you make a difference.  Allow silence and listening to guide you in your role of being the change you want to see! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results." Science & Health Page 259: 27-31

Be Still and Know

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #106

“Let me be still and listen to the truth.”

We are advised today to "be still and listen" to Truth. We are also told that for every five minutes we spend listening, a thousand minds are opened to the Truth we hear. Don't you feel we are very close to a tipping point in spiritual discernment? Every thought we have is important, especially during difficult times. When events occur which bring forth strong negative emotions in people, it is even more important to hold thought to this Truth which is heard in silence. Listening, hearing, receiving, and giving the Truth which is God is our job today and every day!

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. The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress.”

Science & Health Page 323:32-5

Extending the Limitless to the Unlimited

Photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #105

“God’s peace and joy are mine.”

I love these sentences from today's ACIM workbook lesson: "True giving is creation. It extends the limitless to the unlimited, eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself." To live our lives from this perspective allows us to express Love freely, with no fear of it being rejected or misinterpreted. It allows us to gently reach out to people we've just met with heartfelt expressions of empathy and compassion. We bloom in unexpected ways when "extending the limitless to the unlimited". It's ours to give and to receive, in an eternal loop of Love. There's no way to measure how far the ripples of our joy and peace may extend. My cup runneth over!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress." Science & Health Page 506:11-14

Peace, Joy, Happiness

ACIM Workbook Lesson #104

“I seek but what belongs to me in truth.”

“I hate computers!” This is not something I would say, because I've learned what happens if you do: they hate you back! I'm saying this semi-jokingly, but a lot of you have probably experienced this phenomenon. If we get frustrated and tense, this translates into blocked ability to know what's going on. I often tell people to think like a computer, to appreciate what it has to teach you, and listen for instruction on how to learn. Computers are actually very zen-like machines, don't you think? My experience with them has helped me to understand calmness. If I'm not achieving the results I want, it's tempting to throw up my hands and give up. That's the time to sit quietly and ask for the knowledge which divine Mind is always providing. Once again, we're asking ourselves to be still and know, to silence mortal mind and hear divine Mind. This is part of "what belongs to me in truth": peace, joy, happiness -- the kingdom of heaven which is within. Ommmm ~~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God has built a higher platform of human rights, and He has built it on diviner claims. These claims are not made through code or creed, but in demonstration of ‘on earth peace, good-will toward men.’”

Science & Health Page 226:14-17

Happy as a Butterfly

photo credit: Heather Peters

 ACIM Workbook Lesson #103

“God, being Love, is also happiness.”

I know a man who insists he's never known happiness. He also says he doesn't have any idea what love feels like, yet he has a twinkle in his eye and is usually smiling. I'm pretty sure he's happy, but just doesn't recognize what that means, perhaps grasping for something he thinks is always just out of reach. I would guess he feels love, too, but thinks it's supposed to bring on an epiphany of some sort. Personally, I feel intense rushes of love from something as purely beautiful as seeing the first flock of butterflies in the spring. A group of swallowtails frolicking in my flower bed is more than enough to break open my heart and leave me feeling giddy. Remembering my friend’s lament over the lack of love in his life, remembering the butterflies' grace which flows to me, I will think twice before I pass by any divine Idea without drinking in its happiness. Love and happiness are our divine heritage as the expression of God. God is Love, and so are we!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul. Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man.” Science & Health Page 60:28-1

Happiness is Our Natural State

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson # 102

“I share God’s Will for happiness for me.”

We all know people who seem to be chronically sad, don't we? They share a commonality of repeatedly replaying sad and distressing events in their thought and conversation. I have some sad memories which pop into my head occasionally. When this happens, there's a choice: I can relive the events mentally and/or verbally and thereby keep them alive, or I can acknowledge that they're still in my thoughts, but know that they are not the Truth of my Being. Yes, it happened (whatever it is). It's part of my material history, but my spiritual reality has not been touched by it. The peace brought by this understanding is priceless. I can be happy! Even in the midst of things which I may not think of as particularly joyful, I can give myself permission to be happy. It is, after all, my natural state of Being!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Man’s happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense.” 

Science & Health Page 304:16-19

Perfect Happiness

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #101

“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”

Today's ACIM lesson states: "Today we will continue with the theme of happiness. This is a key idea in understanding what salvation means. You still believe it asks for suffering as penance for your 'sins.' This is not so. Yet you must think it so while you believe that sin is real, and that God's Son can sin." Were you taught that salvation involved some sort of penance for your sins? Most people were, in some form or fashion. I'm really not sure how theology has decided that we're sinners, because when I read the teachings of Jesus, I don't see that as being taught. For this reason (and many others), I'm most grateful for the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and, also, A Course in Miracles. Both of these disciplines attempt to show us that we are the reflection of God. As Love's expression, we are the embodiment of happiness and joy! Anything unlike this harmony is but our misunderstanding. As we clear away these misapprehensions, we allow what we've always known, deep inside, to begin lighting our path. As we walk more surely, the illumination becomes brighter!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The Science of Mind disposes of all evil. Truth, God, is not the father of error. Sin, sickness, and death are to be classified as effects of error. Christ came to destroy the belief of sin. The God-principle is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power." 

Science & Health Page 472:4-10