Natural Order

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #77

"I am entitled to miracles."

The miracles we so desperately seek are the natural order of things, and are ours for the knowing of that Truth. Most,  if not all of our material celebrations are based on myth, and often are quite odd and far-fetched. Why do we do these things? I suppose they're all based on history of some sort; remembrances of past events. Usually, they involve a lot of drinking and so-called celebrating, and there is often some type of nationalism involved. Like this St. Patrick's Day craziness -- what's up with that? Perhaps it's because we want to believe in magical beings which give us happiness and abundance. We tend to think these things are somewhere outside of us, and we can find them if only we get lucky enough to be at the end of the rainbow. Some think everything will be great if they give their lives to Jesus. And let's not forget about those birthday wishes coming true if we blow out all the candles! Maybe we celebrate so hard because we innately know all this good is ours simply for the acknowledgement of it, but we don't understand how to do that.  So we dance, drink, celebrate. We try so hard to find what is already ours, just waiting for us to be still and know it. The miracle is God's law. Now that's something to celebrate!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"A miracle fulfills God's law, but does not violate that law. This fact at present seems more mysterious than the miracle itself." Science & Health Page 134:31-32

Rising Above Erroneous Thought

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #76

“I am under no laws but God’s.”

We live in a world where there are many laws to protect us, such as wearing motorcycle helmets and seat belts in cars. Yet the items we find in our grocery stores are filled with chemicals and other things which can barely be classified as food. We are told to use pesticides on ourselves, our gardens, our pets, even though the rates of autoimmune disease and cancer climbs steadily. There are laws forcing us to immunize our children and our pets, yet what began as a saving procedure has been contaminated with odd chemicals and industrial waste. It seems impossible to get away from the multitude of horrors which are spoon fed to us from every direction. Yet I truly think there IS a spiritual solution to all the things which seem impossibly horrible. And so I shall continue to study, continue rising above the miasma of erroneous thought and the hideous forms brought forth. These things have nothing to do with the laws of Love, the creations of divine Mind, the Principle which I strive to serve. May we find ways to hold our heads above water!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right. The illusion of material sense, not divine law, has bound you, entangled your free limbs, crippled your capacities, enfeebled your body, and defaced the tablet of your being.” Science & Health Page 227:24-28

And So Are You!

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #75

"The light has come."

Perseverance in dropping false testimony of the material senses is celebrated today: The light has come! Of course, it has always been there, waiting for us to notice it. Thinking that we need a tribe in order to prosper, or that family is necessary for us to feel whole, or that a religion is needed to see God, these are all beliefs we have come to rely upon. We are seeing the Truth, and it has nothing to do with belief, dogma, or creed. The light has come! Critical mass tipping point isn't 51%, because just a taste of goodness spreads exponentially, as all Reality must. The light has come! To very loosely quote Mahatma Gandhi: I am Muslim. I am Hindu. I am Christian. I am woman. I am man. I am gay. I am straight. I am everything and nothing. And so are you! Let's join thought today in the realization that Love is all that is enduring. Other things pass away, but not this light which cannot be extinguished.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be.' Such is the true Science of being. Any other theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.” 

Science & Health Page 249:6-10

Divine Mind's Path

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #74

“There is no will but God’s.”

Yesterday we pondered what it means to “will there be light”. Today we examine the thought, “there is no will but God’s”, and then ask ourselves what, exactly, that means. I don’t take this to mean that there is a divine laundry list which I am expected to complete each day to win favor from a higher being. Rather, by realizing that my will and God’s will are the same thing, by virtue of the fact that I am an idea of divine Mind, I can comfortably allow myself to listen inwardly for this thing we call intuition, trusting that I will be led in paths of productivity, harmony, and Love. I vow today to not dictate what those paths are, but I will go forward with an open heart and mind, letting my will be God’s! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God’s will must be universally done.” 

Science & Health, with Key to the Scriptures 202:3-5

The Light of Truth

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #73

“I will there be light.”

"Quantum information is like the information of a dream. We can't show it to others, and when we try to describe it we change the memory of it." (Charles Bennett) This information we are learning is very difficult to put into words. We have already assigned long-held interpretations to many of these words, and  hearing them in a different context can be confusing and even upsetting. That is why we are asked to see everything with no meaning, so that Truth becomes visible.  Many new-age teachings advocate affirmations and various hypnotic means of convincing ourselves of certain things. The "will" spoken of in today's lesson has nothing to do with our own personal will power. As the expressions of divine Mind, we have access to an all-encompassing will which we can tap into by our willingness to do so. Looked at from this perspective, "I will there be light" sort of means "To infinity and beyond"!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The power of the human will should be exercised only in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judgment and free the lower propensities. It is the province of spiritual sense to govern man. Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both upon the body and through it."

Science & Health Page 206:4-9

No Fault in Love

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #72

“Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.”

As I searched my thoughts for a glimmer of inspiration this evening, nothing came. I am engulfed in sadness, missing my dog. So I opened my email and found what my busy mind was hiding from itself! A dear friend in The Netherlands said this: “I used to have difficulty with seeing what ‘plan’ is. But seeing Love, for instance as being the mother that takes all care, maximum care, - we see that the necessary and fulfilling aspect or plan can never be failing. Plan involves care. Care involves plan, the goal is the perfect solution.” I feel better now!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Divine metaphysics explains away matter. Spirit is the only substance and consciousness recognized by divine Science. The material senses oppose this, but there are no material senses, for matter has no mind. In Spirit there is no matter, even as in Truth there is no error, and in good no evil. It is a false supposition, the notion that there is real substance-matter, the opposite of Spirit. Spirit, God, is infinite, all. Spirit can have no opposite." Science & Health Page 278:3-11

Love, Understood and Demonstrated

photo credit: Arthur Lau-Sed

ACIM Workbook Lesson #71

“Only God’s plan for salvation will work.”

The topic for today's workbook lesson could be misinterpreted as meaning there is some sort of predestined plan which we must follow if we are to achieve happiness and fulfillment. What we are learning has nothing to do with blindly following something we don't understand. It involves knowing that we are the expression of God, and until we realize what that means, we have no hope of trusting what we hear within our being. Mortal mind (the thoughts which come to us from material teachings and long-held beliefs) tells us that to listen to anything other than "logic" is foolishness. And so we plant our feet on the shifting sands of materialism and think we're doing the best we can under impossible circumstances. Salvation is an ongoing event, facilitated by releasing our belief in separation. I’m ready to surrender to unity! How about you?

Mary Baker Eddy quotes: "Salvation is as eternal as God. To mortal thought Jesus appeared as a child, and grew to manhood, to suffer before Pilate and on Calvary, because he could reach and teach mankind only through this conformity to mortal conditions; but Soul never saw the Savior come and go, because the divine idea is always present." Unity of Good: 59:13-18

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Salvation: Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all…” Science & Health Page 593:20-21