Peace is My Purpose

photo credit: Alden Stallings

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #360

"Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. Peace to my brother, who is one with me.

Let all the world be blessed with peace through us."

Let it go. Just breathe. We hear these instructions when learning how to break the hold of distress and open ourselves to peace. It took me years to realize that someone or something wasn't "making" me upset, it was my perception and interpretation and reaction to things which caused these feelings. Even with this realization, it's sometimes difficult to not get caught up in the craziness of the world. When I find myself becoming agitated about anything, I will remind myself to "let all the world be blessed with peace through us." After all, I can't change anything but my own self, and how wonderful that it’s the most important thing to do!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Let us learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven,—the reign and rule of universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen."

Science & Health Page 208:20-24

Peace Like a River - Happy Christmas

photo credit: Stephen Shogren

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #359 "God's answer is some form of peace. All pain is healed; all misery replaced with joy. All prison doors are opened. And all sin is understood as merely a mistake."

Peace like a river. As I read the above words. this is what keeps coming to mind. Peace like a river. On this beautiful Christmas morning, I allow all imprisoning beliefs to leave my mind, while welcoming Love through the Science of the Christ. The Christ that we celebrate today flows through each and every thing there is. It leads us to healing in all thought and deed. It keeps us happy, safe, wholly directed by eternal Truth to green pastures and quiet repose. Peace like a river, flowing before and around us, pulling and pushing wherever we need to be. I won't fight the flow. I'll float and rest in the Christ consciousness which we celebrate today. This Spirit which permeates everything is recognized by me for what it is: God's answer.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: I celebrate Christmas with my soul, my spiritual sense, and so commemorate the entrance into human understanding of the Christ conceived of Spirit, of God and not of a woman—as the birth of Truth, the dawn of divine Love breaking upon the gloom of matter and evil with the glory of infinite being.

I love to observe Christmas in quietude, humility, benevolence, charity, letting good will towards man, eloquent silence, prayer, and praise express my conception of Truth’s appearing." Miscellany Page 262

Walking in the Light

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #358 "No call to God can be unheard nor left unanswered. And of this I can be sure; His answer is the one I really want." 

Today's lesson helps us understand that there is no need for audible prayer, constant pleadings, repetitious affirmations, or anything else which falls under the heading of talking to God. Everything is already known to this divine Principle, and we can't tell It anything — but we can listen! Through this listening we remember who we are and thereby become aware of our purpose. There is nothing other than the Love which is God, and when we yield to this fact, wonderful things happen! This yielding consists of refraining from worry and wondering about "what-ifs". In order to keep erroneous thought from taking over, we can hold to spiritual Truth — such as, God is Love, or I am the expression of Love. That is enough!

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 

Truth Confers Harmony

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #357

"Truth answers every call we make to God,

Responding first with miracles, and then

Returning unto us to be itself."

Most people I know are enjoying the beauty of the holidays, many even peacefully! But I've spoken with a few people today who are disenchanted with the commercialism and materiality associated with these times, and they're all too happy to tell others just how upset we should be, too! Although I don't want to be upset and, actually, refuse to be, I do want to spread peace and joy to those who can't or won't feel this harmony. I really wish I could spoon feed them and make them be as happy as can be! Unfortunately, there's no magic potion to cause this to happen. But there is a divine Principle which allows Truth to be heard and felt within ourselves, and shared through the miracle of forgiveness. The story of the Christmas miracle is the story of the daily miracle, the Truth, living within each of us, waiting for expression in the reality of Life!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Truth is affirmative, and confers harmony. All metaphysical logic is inspired by this simple rule of Truth, which governs all reality." 

Science & Health Page 418:20-22

The Sunlight of Truth

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #356 "Sickness is but another name for sin. Healing is but another name for God. The miracle is thus a call to Him."

When we read the above words, "Sickness is but another name for sin", the immediate response could be to think these words mean that we're sinners and are being punished for it by sickness. We are learning that sin is defined as anything which separates us from the Love which is God.  Most of us have been taught that sickness, evil, and many other aspects of this material existence are powers over which we have little to no control. Divine Principle, law, negates these mesmeric thoughts. As we wake up to this truth, multitudes of things we thought to be our master turn out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. As we lift the veil and reveal reality, the quotations we read here today begin to be more than words. They are principles by which to live. I relish every step of this awakening!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and purifies. The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind." 

Science & Health Page 162:4-5, 9-11

Giving Place to Truth

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #355 "There is no end to all the peace and joy, And all the miracles that I will give, When I accept God's Word. Why not today?"

If our true selves are the creation — the image and likeness, if you will — of God, then why do we see so much which seems to be unGodlike? Because God did not create matter! This human body we seem to reside in, to be inseparable from, is not our true self. If divine Mind creates everything and it is good, that cannot encompass the dual good/bad stuff we see around us. Our vision for today is to accept our true being, the Truth which does not change. What doesn't change? Our reality as the image and likeness of Love. When we realize we’re not what we seem to be, it brings us into harmony with Principle. Declaring the Truth of our being helps to establish this Truth within our thought. This establishment leads to demonstration of Truth, which brings us back to where we began, and never leads us anywhere other than the home which is forever within -- wherever in eternity that may be!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear,--this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true." 

Science & Health Page 423:8-12

We Stand Together

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #354 "We stand together, Christ and I, in peace And certainty of purpose. And in Him Is His Creator, as He is in me."

Once again we have witnessed a massacre of people. It seems unthinkable, unspeakable, impossible. We may find ourselves asking God how this can happen. I find solace in knowing that God has nothing to do with it. God does not create material circumstance and leave us to figure out what to do. The Oneness we all share is Spirit, not form. In Spirit, we all "stand together". Looking with God's eyes shows us the Truth of our being, and that Being is the same whether it's Hitler or Mother Teresa. With this in mind, I will look with true compassion, seeing the dear children and their families with the same eyes as I witness the perpetrators of this travesty, because we are all the same in the eye of divine Love. When these people come to thought, I send them feelings of peace, love, and care, while listening for ways to help. We have all seen how our thoughts affect those around us, demonstrating our unity. This "certainty of purpose" blesses all.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear.”

Science & Health Page 506:18-21