Judge Nothing - August 31, 2016

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #243

“Today I will judge nothing that occurs."

It’s easy to not judge things as long as everyone agrees with you, don’t you think? I can rock along and be happily non-judgmental and then bam! — someone says something I don’t understand, or don’t agree with, and I get up on my high horse and pontificate on how silly they are. Good grief! And so today I will read these words from our daily lesson and attempt to freely accept them into my being: “I will be honest with myself today. I will not think that I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not think I understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. Today I recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgments that I cannot make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as God created us.” [ACIM] I send these thoughts to all I may have judged today. Namastè ~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The optical focus is another proof of the illusion of material sense. On the eye’s retina, sky and tree-tops apparently join hands, clouds and ocean meet and mingle. The barometer, — that little prophet of storm and sunshine, denying the testimony of the senses, — points to fair weather in the midst of murky clouds and drenching rain. Experience is full of instances of similar illusions, which every thinker can recall for himself.” Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 122:15-23

Celebrate Life!

"Crystal Bridges, creations by Phillip Haas"

ACIM Workbook Lesson #242
“This day is God's. It is my gift to Him."


Exciting days, routine days — what’s the difference? Truly, there is none. Every moment is cause for celebration! One of my favorite Wayne Dyer quotes is, “If you drop a pen and don’t enjoy picking it up, drop it again!” But of course, I think you’ll agree with me that some days feel enchantedly delicious with prospect and fruition. Some times in our lives feel pregnant with possibilities and we eagerly go forward, ready to grasp all the wonder-filled moments. This day is Love’s and it is my gift to It!! Let me embrace every action with the same anticipation that I would expect from a day at Crystal Bridges! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Spiritual perception brings out the possibilities of being, destroys reliance on aught but God, and so makes man the image of his Maker indeed and in truth.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 203:13-16

Celebrate Awakening

Creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird
"Mongolian Shaman"

ACIM Workbook Lesson #241 “This holy instant is salvation come."

Today let's celebrate words which have awakened us to the knowledge of salvation within! We all have our favorites -- people whose words are so familiar they have become a natural part of our conversations and thoughts. Today I commemorate the wisdom passed to me by John Lennon, William Blake, Shakespeare, Rumi, Mary Baker Eddy, and others. I will remember those whose words have encouraged me to live Truth, by way of their living of It. While visiting these well-loved words, I know that salvation is not only something to be desired, but that it is here, right now, for the remembering.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired,--yea, to reach the range of fetter-less Mind.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 84:14-18

Resolve Into Action

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #240

“Fear is not justified in any form."

Has fear kept you from doing something you really want to do? A few years ago, through these writings, I became acquainted with a man who lives halfway around the world. Recently, he asked if he could come to visit and get to know me and our sweet village in person. I immediately said, “Yes”! When telling a close friend of this impending visit, she stated that she could never do anything like that because she would be too afraid. I reflected on this statement of hers, realizing how many events cause a fear response to rise up within us. And I also realized that to settle for anything which brings us less than joyful existence is to dishonor ourselves, hence dishonoring God. How could I do anything other than go forward with joy?? And this meeting of Mind with a kindred spirit has been nothing but joyful and filled with Love. And so, the next time I think I'm feeling what we call fear, I'll choose to interpret the emotion as excitement about what will come next!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 199:25-31

I Celebrate Myself!

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #239

“The glory of my Father is my own"

“Let not the truth about ourselves today be hidden by a false humility.” (ACIM) This "false humility" we use to hide the Truth about ourselves may take many forms. It's usually easy to catch ourselves in self-deprecating actions, deemed to be humility, but which actually are expressions of our inability to accept the glory of our true selves. There are many insidious forms which are not as easily noticed. Do we take things personally and feel attacked when we hear news of governmental actions, friends’ words, co-workers' rivalry, or the thousands of other things which occur around us? Every time I hear or see something today which seems to cause me chagrin, I will smile with the assurance that no one, including my own self, can change the Truth of Being.

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

Walt Whitman

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Unfathomable Mind is expressed. The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space." Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 520:3-5 

Forget the Dream - August 26, 2016

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #238

“On my decision, all salvation rests.”

My decision, (my job, if you will) is to forget the dreams of malice, revenge, hatred, and anger. These dreams of separation from our Oneness are simply that — dreams, with no relation to the reality we are coming to know. My self is the one Self we all share, so I may choose to accept this as my identity, or I can continue to choose the illusions of belief in separation. It’s not always easy to see this false identity as something I no longer want. It jumps up and down and insists that it is good and I am bad if I choose anything other than it. How grateful I am to have friends who support my decision to grasp for the heights of my Being, allowing the lower propensities to remain where they lie. Thank you greatly —

“Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness, to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 405:4-9

Image and Likeness

ACIM Workbook Lesson #237

“Now would I be as God created me."

How did God create me? If I think of creation from a standpoint of human, mortal mind, I may think of the  Adam and Eve story. Looking beyond material, illusory opinions to pure spiritual ideas is a step toward understanding how "God created me". We tell ourselves: I'm only human and I couldn’t be created as the image and likeness of God. If we accept material creation myths as the truth of our being, we live the dream of life in and of matter with all the limitations that implies. The realization that we are an idea of God takes us to the threshold of understanding Life. Today I will see everything in the light of spiritual truth, omitting no one nor thing!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The mythical human theories of creation, anciently classified as the higher criticism, sprang from cultured scholars in Rome and in Greece, but they afforded no foundation for accurate views of creation by the divine Mind.”

Science & Health Page 255: 5-10