Thanks For The Reminder!

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #194 “I place the future in the Hands of God.”

It takes practice to let go. A mere 25 years ago, I still thought I was in control. It took a child's illness for me to realize I didn't have the power to bend life to my liking. In the space it took to hear a diagnosis, I had a change of heart. I'm sure I went through all the emotions associated with this sort of thing: sorrow, anger, blame, and so on. But I knew deep down that there was only one answer: to release my wants and desires, then listen deeply for guidance. "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." (Psalms:27:4) Sometimes I forget this. I'm happy to have this reminder today!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 469:4-5

A New Way of Living

Bryce Canyon
photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #193

“All things are lessons God would have me learn.”

"A new species is arising on the planet. It is arising now, and you are it!" These lines end Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth. I wish it was required reading for every person on earth! The beautifully clear way he explains how we cling to old belief, allowing ourselves to be influenced by fear, by the past, by illusion, is both inspiring and illuminating. We are told in today's ACIM workbook lesson, "Forgive, and you will see this differently.” Mr. Tolle's book gives numerous examples of seeing differently. I am dedicated to seeing this new world, allowing the disappearance of old belief and hypnotic thought to provide a transparency for the arising of our new way of living. What an exciting time for humanity!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “The Revelator tells us of “a new heaven and a new earth.” Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom?” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures  Page 91:1-4

Function Filling

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #192 “I have a function God would have me fill.”

We are created from Love and it is our function to extend this Love in the world. It may seem as though our little offerings aren’t worth much, but I’ve recently heard of the effects of a small gift given many years ago in the form of $20 a month. My boys and I gave to an organization which helped children in Africa. We occasionally got notes from a boy named Paul Ndungu, and we would write letters in return. I always wondered if our donation really made a difference. Recently this boy, now a young man, found me on Facebook and wrote asking if I was the same person who had helped him when he was a child. He tells me it did make a difference! He would not have been able to go to school without this gift and he is now in the Kenya Air Force — and he attended university, too! And so, whatever form your giving may take, never be afraid to follow through with your intuitive feelings, because we never know how far Love will extend!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Truth not error, Love not hate, Spirit not matter, governs man.” Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 419:3-4

Reflection of Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson #191c“I am the holy Son of God Himself.”

There's a young woman who works in a market I frequent. I was surprised when she told me she had been gone for almost a year. Time is so elastic! She tells me she got married and it was a horrible experience. She said she didn't think she could ever look at herself in the mirror without blame. She wanted to tell me details, but I asked her not to. I told her she's the reflection of divine Love and that nothing could change that. I suggested she walk in the woods, plant some flowers, get plenty of exercise. She said there was nothing she would rather do than walk in the woods and talk to God, but that she didn't know where to go. I suggested a beautiful spot not far from town. When I described it to her and explained a bit about her nature as a child of Love, she cried tears of happiness. We all have times we need to hear about our true, pure Being.  Namasté dear friends.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“God creates neither erring thought, mortal life, mutable truth, nor variable love.”

Science & Health Page 503:24-25

The Lightness of Hope

"Timpanogos"
photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #190 “I choose the joy of God instead of pain.”

The idea that we have a choice between joy and pain may not be easy to accept. Let’s not allow mortal mind or ego to lay a guilt trip on us in this regard. The only thing we are guilty of is a mistaken perception, for which there is immediate remedy: Change your thought! Through the wonder of social media, I have become acquainted with a woman I never would have met otherwise, as her life’s circumstance and mindset are on the opposite side of the world from mine. She openly writes of her pain and weaknesses, lashing out at others in a way so honest my heart aches in empathy. I feel I know this woman, perhaps because there was a point in my life I could have been her. I felt victimized by circumstances and didn’t think there was a way out. It’s difficult to believe we have a choice when everything we see appears solidly hopeless. Unfortunately, it will stay that way as long as we believe it to be true. What can cause our mind to open up to the lightness of hope? The willingness to do so…

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, — this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony."  Science & Health Page 323:32-4

The Art of Loving People

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #189

“I feel the Love of God within me now.”

I was visiting with friends and talk turned to traveling and problems which arise concerning transportation. Someone made the observation that we remember the really bad things and the really good things. In listening to their recounting of events, I noticed the line between a bad experience and a good one is very thin. One woman told about the frustration of muddled connections being smoothed out by someone offering to make her a sandwich. She was tired and hungry, and this loving gesture from a stranger made everything all better. I would love to write a book called "The Art of Loving People". It would be based around all the beautiful stories of us being kind to each other. The Love which is God is everywhere! All we need do is allow ourselves to feel it and express it.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth."

Science & Health Page 454:17-21

Reflected Illumination

"John Muir Trail"
photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #188 “The peace of God is shining in me now.”

It’s a wonderful thing to realize the peace we so crave has always been within, waiting for us to discover it. This peace of God is ours, now and always. The recognition of this fact is the meaning of enlightenment. It isn't necessary to seek for ways to change ourselves in order to experience this light. We're not being asked to change anything, to do anything differently; only to see the truth of our Being. I have a dear friend who moved to a remote area in an idyllic setting. She sat herself down and read through the Course in Miracles textbook, in its entirety, three times! As I spoke with her on the phone recently, I felt a softness about her which has been growing for years. Its appearance isn't indicative of enlightenment to something new, but of recognizing the Truth of her own Self. Some days I feel this same knowing about myself. Other days it seems impossible to climb out of the busy-ness which can hide this reality. One thing I know for sure, laughter and joy are the keys to opening the door. The more joy which is shared, the easier it becomes to express the qualities of Spirit, which come flowing through us with our recognition of what we truly are: Love!

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