Sunday, September 4, 2016

Freedom Through Truth

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #248
“Whatever suffers is not part of me."

"Whatever suffers is not part of me" could possibly be taken as an unfeeling, heartless statement. I see it as an expression of pure Love which allows us to pass through illusions into the reality of good, God. The death of a loved one is difficult in many ways, but I think the myths we have concocted surrounding this passage may do more harm than good. We tell children they'll see grandma in heaven. We say things like, God took her to be with him because she was so good. These words are spoken in the name of kindness. As we begin to understand divine reality, we are released from the stories we tell ourselves in favor of the Truth which sets us free! I'll always remember reading the book, "Beloved Prophet", which is the story of Kahlil Gibran and the woman who loved him. She sat at his funeral with a peaceful smile on her face, and when asked asked why she wasn't upset, she responded that she had never felt closer to him. What a lovely realization of Oneness and eternity!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
"It was the divine law of Life and Love, unfolding to me the demonstrable fact that matter possesses neither sensation nor life; that human experiences show the falsity of all material things; and that immortal cravings, “the price of learning love,” establish the truism that the only sufferer is mortal mind, for the divine Mind cannot suffer."

Science & Health Page 108:5-11

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Forgive and Live!

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #247
“Without forgiveness I will still be blind."

Do you have an incident from childhood which has stayed with you, perhaps even affecting the way you live today? I know someone who, as a young child, caught her mother in a compromising position with a man other than her father. She refuses to marry. I know a man who found his father dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His whole life is a series of dramatic events which he blames on that incident. I'm sure you know many stories, too. The Disappearance of the Universe, a book by Gary Renard, speaks to these events such as these, and more. When we let go of beliefs, we can turn loose our history, too. I love hearing stories of people who live through horrendous-seeming events and remain not only happy but proactive. This thing we call forgiveness isn't some sort of divine pardon, but a yielding within ourselves to purity of thought, without the impediments of holding on to memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pain of all sorts. This yielding includes the release of things which we think have been done to us and things we think we have done to others. So let's choose again, rest in Love, and go forward, with joy!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “As the crude footprints of the past disappear from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer ground.”  Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 223:4-7



Friday, September 2, 2016

Protected by Love

photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Lesson #246
“To love my Father is to love His Son."

"Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." This Mary Baker Eddy quote is one of my favorites, which I've always thought of as meaning that the human hatred others feel cannot reach me when I'm wearing the armor of divine Love. I now see that it includes the hatred I may feel toward others, also. It's very easy for me to think that I don't hate anyone or anything. Actually, it's a word I have pruned from my vocabulary and simply do not use. BUT if I am irritated by another's actions or words, or if I replay a past situation in my mind which caused anger in the past, or if I allow criticism to gnaw at me and I think of retaliatory statements which could have been said -- isn't that human hatred? Wearing this cloak of Love calms these nagging feelings and thoughts. I know that if I'm wearing the protection of Love, hatred cannot enter from inside or out!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being.”  Science & Health Page 361:16-18

Thursday, September 1, 2016

A Peaceful Mind

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed
ACIM Workbook Lesson #245
“Your peace is with me, Father.  I am safe."

Although I know that peace is a choice within my own self, I want to share it with everyone, everywhere. It has taken quite a while to grasp the concept that the only thought I can change is my own! After years of trying to change loved ones, I think it was my children who finally taught me the meaning of Oneness. They showed me this as I watched the household mood change its tone along with my emotions. Holding to peace within myself is all I can do — and that’s a lot! Jumping on the bandwagon of resentment or other negative emotions can seem impossible to avoid, but it’s possible to simply witness these things without becoming a part of them. While I can't change what anyone else is thinking or feeling or experiencing, I can adjust my vision of reality. Every thought is important! We’re all in this together, in every way, at every moment. And so today I will make an effort to see through the eyes of Love, excluding nothing, no matter what!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 264:24-27


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Safe and Sound

"Thailand" photo credit: Aaron Springston
ACIM Workbook Lesson #244
“I am in danger nowhere in the world."

Reading the above affirmation of our safety in any situation reminds me of many personal examples of this Truth. Often when we hear of material so-called laws being usurped, we think of this as divine intervention. Let's not see this as God setting aside material law in favor of spiritual principle, but as the demonstration of how Principle operates. Holding on to my own personal knowledge and beliefs, I am afraid of many things, seeing possible dangers around every corner.  Returning to Love releases illusions which we have made, enabling us to see Truth, to live Love, in safety. I know many of you are thinking of horrible things which make this seem like a frivolous statement. In the mortal world we witness, this certainly is true. But is it the Truth? That is the question!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.” Science & Health Page 571:18-21





Tuesday, August 30, 2016

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

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