Wonderment

"Wonderment"
created by Sandy Wythawai Starbird

ACIM Workbook Lesson #159

“I give the miracles I have received.”

A quote attributed to Albert Einstein says something like this: We can live as though nothing is a miracle or as if everything is a miracle. I, personally, have always leaned toward the side of wonderment, looking at life with rose-colored glasses and being tickled pink at the ever-changing miracle of life, as witnessed by trees and flowers and flowing water and all of nature. Today I’m enjoying the miracle of driving a car! Following a lower-leg amputation over two years ago, I didn’t drive for more than six months. The situation reminded me of when you lose electricity in your home for a period of time, then when it’s restored you’re so mindfully grateful! When I’m driving, I can actually feel my foot, although intellectually I know it’s the prosthetic one. People tell me this is “phantom pain”.  I think of it as a gift of Life. I'll nurture the feeling, and other inexplicable ones which are showing me Truth in all its forms and functions. I will continue to recognize the miracle so I can give it away!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "The great miracle, to human sense, is divine Love, and the grand necessity of existence is to gain the true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of heaven in man."  Science & Health Page 560:11-16

A Clearer Transparency

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #158 “Today I learn to give as I receive.”

From today’s ACIM workbook lesson: “Thus do you learn to give as you receive…This lesson is not difficult to learn, if you remember in your brother you but see yourself. If he be lost in sin, so must you be; if you see light in him, your sins have been forgiven by yourself. Each brother whom you meet today provides another chance to let Christ's vision shine on you, and offer you the peace of God.” For more than two decades, I have practiced seeing light in my neighbor, Whit. Regular readers of this blog know of his shenanigans — and we have an update today. His quest for convincing the vulture population to move elsewhere has reached a new fervor which surprises even me. He has taken pipes from an organ and made a large gong, which he beats with his grandmother’s rolling pin, in an effort to drive off a valley-full of birds. I had an honest dialogue with him today, sparing no words in trying to help him examine things and be at peace. It could be said I’m being self-centered and grasping at my own peace. But I will remember that “if [I] see light in him, [my] sins have been forgiven by [myself].” My goal for today is to be a clearer transparency for this light to pass through. Namastè. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “The sun, giving light and heat to the earth, is a figure of divine Life and Love, enlightening and sustaining the universe.” 

Science & Health Page 538:11-13

One Moment of Divine Consciousness

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #157 “Into His Presence would I enter now.”

"Practicing the Presence" was the first book I read by Joel Goldsmith. In it, he reminds us that we already are and always will be "in his Presence", as this Course in Miracles lesson is reminding us today. The space "I enter now" is a shift in my perception, a change of my thought. This shift allows me to realize that I always was and always will be the experience and expression of God. I Am that I Am. If good news were reported in the media, they would be proclaiming universal yielding to Truth, because we're seeing it everywhere! That's what it's all about, huh? We are being "renewed by the transforming of our mind". We're transforming our mind into Mind and entering into the kingdom of heaven which is within. How wonderful to know we have that choice!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“One moment of divine consciousness, or the spiritual understanding of Life and Love, is a foretaste of eternity.” Science & Health Page 598:23-25

Leaving, With Joy

"Mongolia" PC: Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #156

“I walk with God in perfect holiness.”

Walking with Love in perfect holiness implies a yielding, don't you think? This is something I wasn’t interested in doing, because it involved leaving behind definitions of myself, and that seemed like a loss. What finally got through to me was the realization I was not giving up myself, but releasing a mishmash of everything I had ever been told was me, combined with an erratic belief system I had decided for myself. When we add to those beliefs the hypnotism of media and the pull of mass consciousness, we're left with a rather convoluted idea of what we are. Little by little, I'm leaving beliefs and learned behaviors. Being present in the moment, giving my full attention to whatever may be in front of me, loving myself and everyone and everything in Its oneness -- this is what I see as walking with God. Accepting myself and everything as holy demands living without judgment. Simply witnessing events, perhaps with amusement, is certainly more fun!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from [It] in [which] we have our being.” Science & Health Page 264:10-12

Turn On The Lights!

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #155 “I will step back and let Him lead the way.”

We would all love to save the world, wouldn’t we? Yet we understand we can’t change someone else; that can only be done within the individual. But then again, I’ve found many people are simply regurgitating things they have heard all their lives, and when they find something which turns on a light (or rings a bell, if you will!) deep inside them, they suddenly want to know more about these ideas which have piqued their interest. It may seem as though we are not doing anything when we interact with a person, deeply listening for what they are saying. Often, we listen to another for the purpose of responding to their words. Listening allows true communication, not just our interpretation of what is being said. What’s the point of doing this? When we open ourselves to the leading of divine Mind, we may speak in surprising ways, lighting a fire in someone who didn’t realize they were ready for new knowledge. This makes me want to shout Hallelujah!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.” Science & Health Page 205:22-27

Unprejudiced Minds

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #154 “I am among the ministers of God.”

In pondering what it means to be a minister of God, many thoughts come to mind. First I think of my half-brother, Little George Havens, traveling evangelist, who was quite short and very flamboyant. I can still hear him singing, to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic, "The circuit ridin' preacher traveled through the mire and mud; preached about the fiery furnace and of Noah and the flood". What a character he was! His life was spent spreading the Word of God as he knew it, and he helped countless people find hope along the way. But did he ever listen for the voice for God, or did he just recite what he had come to believe as truth? That, I can't say. We can only know our own heart, not others’, and so today I will examine my motives in my interactions. Am I truly listening for that still, small voice when I respond to life's situations? That's a question I'll ask more than once today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Millions of unprejudiced minds--simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert--are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences.” Science & Health Page 570:14-17

Light, Given and Received

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #153

“In my defenselessness my safety lies.”

This is my favorite topic of all! The reason I love this lesson so much is because I feel it pertains to absolutely everything we say, do, and feel in our daily existence. Obviously this topic could inspire the writing of a very large book, but now I shall give you a sentence from this lesson along with a short example of what they mean to me. “Defenselessness is strength; defensiveness is weakness.” How did you feel and what did you do the last time someone disagreed with you, perhaps vehemently? If you began a verbal defense, listing all the reasons you were right, you may have been left feeling many negative emotions such as anger. On the contrary, any time I’m able to witness events and calmly watch and listen, perhaps saying something simple such as, “You may be right”, then I am able to walk away happily and peacefully. We are told in this workbook lesson that we will not see the light until we offer it to others and they take it; then we will recognize it as our own. How lovely is that! I look forward to the opportunities for seeing peace today.

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