Only Will

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #331 “There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.”

I am reminded of many friends and loved ones who consider themselves victims, at the mercy of drugs and alcohol. With the proliferation of prescription drugs, I must include those dear imbibers in this group, too.  In hoping to find fixes for various maladies, we turn to drugs for cure. Seeking a way out of depression and sadness and fear, we turn to so-called recreational drugs to hide. The drugs taken for cure of disease rarely do more than mask symptoms and bring about other interesting side effects. The drugs we use to hide from ourselves usually work for a while, but then we're left in a deeper well than we were before. I've found the only way through this despair is a radical reliance on the Truth of our Being -- going within, if you will. Resting in the One. Relying on Love. Living in Truth. This is where healing is found, in this single-minded realization that my will is God's, and God's will is mine. There is nothing to fear when we see the truth in the acronym for that word: False Evidence Appearing Real.

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Will, as a quality of so-called mortal mind, is a wrong-doer; hence it should not be confounded with the term as applied to Mind or to one of God’s qualities.” Science & Health Page 497:24-26

Together or Alone

ACIM Workbook Lesson #330

“I will not hurt myself again today.”

I hurt myself by believing in separation more than unity. Feelings of aloneness are manifested in many ways in our daily life. Perhaps we think everyone is out to get us, or maybe we feel like no one knows what's best other than those in our particular tribe. There are any number of ways we assert our specialness and keep ourselves separate from God, hence from everyone, and sometimes this separation is manifest in ugly ways. Maybe something is said to another which we wish we could take back, or perhaps anger flares suddenly and we feel guilt over our feelings and shame about the outcome. There are a multitude of human actions we may regret, but the acceptance of our heritage as a child of divine Love allows us to forgive and choose again. For this, I am grateful.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Error begins by reckoning life as separate from Spirit, thus sapping the foundations of immortality, as if life and immortality were something which matter can both give and take away.”

Science & Health Page 539:3-7

A Calm Before Unknown

ACIM Workbook Lesson #329 “I have already chosen what You will.”

I spent years searching for love, grasping at brightly colored baubles and bangles, not realizing that I am Love and nothing can be more beautiful and complete than that. Seeing wholeness and unity, where I once saw separation, has brought the contentment which was so elusive. The false contentment found in marijuana and alcohol was an illusionary peace used as a hiding place for a while, but eventually I had to emerge and face what it was which kept me restless. When nothing ever seems to be enough, perhaps it's because we need it All, and that Allness can only be found in one place, a place not present in changing, temporal life. This study which teaches me the meaning of reality also fills me with a calm before unknown, and I am very grateful!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Who hath found finite life or love sufficient to meet the demands of human want and woe, — to still the desires, to satisfy the aspirations? Infinite Mind cannot be limited to a finite form, or Mind would lose its infinite character as inexhaustible Love, eternal Life, omnipotent Truth.”Science & Health Page 257:24-29

The Narrow Way

photo credit: Richard Quick

ACIM Workbook Lesson #328 "I choose the second place to gain the first."

A friend asked me if I feel like a failure when metaphysical practice doesn't keep physical maladies at bay. I couldn't help but laugh, as she was so seriously worried about me. I suppose this concern is a result of knowing nothing about Christian Science other than what fictional television shows have depicted. I explained to her that harmonious physical circumstances are not something to be sought, but are an inevitable result of aligning thought with God. Now this alignment is not an easy thing to do, as we're so accustomed to thinking with our mortal mind rather than divine Mind. Mrs. Eddy asks us if we would discount mathematical principles simply because we couldn't solve a problem with our limited knowledge. She tells us it's the same thing with our burgeoning knowledge of divine Science. The principle is sound, but it's often difficult for us to grasp. I will continue to hold to thoughts of Truth and Love as I move through this adventure from life to Life!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Divine Science, rising above physical theories, excludes matter, resolves things into thoughts, and replaces the objects of material sense with spiritual ideas.” Science and Health Page 123:12-15

Love Fills All Space

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #327 "I need but call and [Love] will answer me."

Change is liberating! I'm seeing many people releasing the past, and it's bringing them peace and a new level of joy. One friend tells me of her beloved cat being at the vet's office, perhaps getting ready to pass on. In years past, she would have been distraught, but is surprised that she is not. It's not that she loves any less, and perhaps she's experiencing love even more fully. Another friend tells me she's going through a time of letting go -- without even being aware of what exactly is being released! Isn't this great? We don't have to know what it is that's bothering us in order to be freed from it. This concept in itself is liberating! To have no need for analysis or so-called deconstruction, but to simply give yourself the gift of freedom -- what a joy! I am so grateful for all of you who stand unafraid, welcoming the new paradigm!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!”

Science & Health Page 519:3-5

Cause and Effect

photo credit: Richard Quick 

ACIM Workbook Lesson #326 “I am forever an Effect of God.”

What does it mean to be an Effect of God? Material "laws" of cause and effect tell us that if something is a particular way, then the effect is such-and-such. In the world of Spirit, there is but one Cause, therefore the effect is a reflection of the Cause. If we are the image and likeness of divine Mind, then the same perfection is inherent in each and every one of us. Once again, it's easy to get caught up in materialism and think we are many things which do not resemble the only Cause. This life's illusion is that we have effectively made up a most wonderful and horrible world.  Recognizing our status as the idea of God involves an awakening to the understanding that we are capable of much more than we have known, but we cannot convince anyone other than ourselves that this is so. And that's the nice thing about Oneness! What I know, what I express, is given to the world. Therefore, there is no need to do anything other than live Truth. And how do we know what that is? We ask and listen.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"What is the scientific statement of Being? Answer: There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual." Science & Health Page 468:8-15

Ideas of Divine Mind

PC: Mauwena Davies

ACIM Workbook Lesson #325 “All things I think I see reflect ideas.”

I Am an idea of divine Mind. I am a product of all the thoughts I have, I decide what those thoughts mean, and what might come about because of them. Which one of these sentences do you think is true? Thinking about being an idea of God is one thing; Being that Idea is yet another! Objectively thinking about being an idea of Mind is easy, but to subjectively reflect this idea might seem impossible. Could a sunbeam be anything other than an emanation of the sun? We, as a creation of divine Mind, cannot be anything other than Its experience. As a material creature subject to all the whims of mortal mind, we never know what to expect. Thank goodness we're actually spiritual!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Ideas of Truth alone are reflected in the myriad manifestations of Life, and thus it is seen that man springs solely from Mind.” Science & Health Page 543:26-28