The Tipping Point of Love

ACIM Workbook Lesson #348 "I have no cause for anger or for fear, For You surround me. And in every need That I perceive, Your grace suffices me."

I have always felt as though there is a tipping point in mass consciousness, a point in which everyone sees their perfection and recognizes there is no difference in their own self and the self of that person over there. In this sight, there is a world bathed in peace and contentment. There are no conflicts because everything good and pure is done for the good of everyone, and nothing contrary exists because we do not have such thoughts in the face of beauty and Love. There is no world of separation because we are all One and happily recognize this Truth. In order for perfection to emerge, error must be washed away. A dear friend, who has never believed these things I espouse, called to ask me what’s happening to this tipping point of Love, as he feels we’ve tipped the other way. Once again, I reiterate: Every thought is important! I feel like we're getting close!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "We cannot build safely on false foundations. Truth makes a new creature, in whom old things pass away and ‘all things are become new’."  Science & Health Page 201: 7-9

What Is, Without Judgment...

photo credit: Aaron Springston 

ACIM Workbook Lesson #347 "Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is the weapon I would use against myself, to keep the miracle away from me."

I love to play bridge. I play a competitive form of this game which takes away the luck of the shuffle and deal, allowing people to compete on a purer level. Part of the fun of this game is watching how I, personally, react to mistakes in play. When I first became involved with this game around a year ago, I was very insecure concerning the play of the cards and would judge myself, often replaying situations while feeling inadequate. There is one couple in our group who regularly berate each other, loudly judging the others' bids and play. At first I found them disruptive, eventually seeing them as amusing. Today I thank them for showing me what I was doing to myself with my self-judgment. I could have easily walked away from this activity, giving any number of excuses for not enjoying something which I find to be fun and challenging. Living a life with no excuses allows us to examine situations for what they are, not for what we fear might be, opening us to the miracle that's looking for us!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Material man is made up of involuntary and voluntary error, of a negative right and a positive wrong, the latter calling itself right. Man's spiritual individuality is never wrong." Science & Health Page 491:7-10

A Moment or An Eon?

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #346

"Today the peace of God envelops me,

And I forget all things except His Love."

Have you ever felt a moment when it seemed that time stood still? These sentences from today's ACIM lesson brought back a remembrance in me: "What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love." A number of years ago I experienced a breach of time when I first saw a man who later became my very good friend. I was playing the organ at a Sunday morning service when he walked in and sat down. As I looked over at him, it was as though time didn't exist. Everything was still, and yet it felt like eons rushed through me. My material interpretation of this event was that I knew this man from forever; that he was the one I'd been waiting for. I see the event today as something different. Our meeting opened a portal, if you will. I became aware of a doorway I could step through where nothing existed other than the Love which is God. What a gift! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote: "Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized." Science & Health Page 468:26:30

The Great Miracle

photo credit: Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #345

"I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me."

"Do you think we live in a police state?” These were the opening words of a phone call I received. I generally steer clear of these types of conversations, but since my friend was upset, I stayed with him on the subject. While I don’t like to express strong opinions, the conversation was, for the most part, a call for both of us to return to Love. I see our current mortal, mental state as a reflection of the fear we harbor; a fear which is fed by almost everything in daily life. I talked to him of tipping points, and mass consciousness, and our true consciousness as an expression of Love. We could go on and on about the material conditions, causes, and solutions, but to get to the heart of it takes spiritual sense, which cannot be gleaned from intellectual exercises. And that's where I see the miracle: the revelation which shows us the omnipresence of divine Mind in every situation, no matter how dire physical sense tells us it is.

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 560:11-15

Stepping Out Of Separation

photo credit: Aaron Springston

ACIM Workbook Lesson #344 "Today I learn the law of love; that what

I give my brother is my gift to me."

Some brothers I feel a loving unity with; others seem to elicit fear and anger in me. I have so completely bought into the idea of separation, I think there is something I need to forgive in another. When giving this gift of forgiveness, I feel better for it. Sometimes I may think that someone’s behavior has changed, and I might even attribute it to my generous giving! Perhaps I only think it has changed because I’m seeing it differently. What a gift we have in the opportunity to see our innocence in another’s purity! We have been given a mega-mirror in which to view ourselves reflected in others, moment by moment -- and this may seem like a curse at times! Knowing that I am not like that guy in the mirror allows me to see through the illusion and view the face of Truth. We are all changeless and pure in our spiritual reality, and every time I see this in my brother, I take another step out of separation and one more closer to my true Being. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.” Science & Health Page 243:25-29

No Sacrifice

photo credit: Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #343

"I am not asked to make a sacrifice To find the mercy and the peace of God."

What if all I need do to find peace is to stop thinking habitual, limiting thoughts? Let's say someone wants to change a personal relationship which we've had for some time. An example is when my son was 14 and he told me he didn't belong here, in this town, going to this school. My first thoughts were ones of blame -- toward myself and him. Why would he want to leave? What have I done to cause him to feel this way? Looking back, I see that his going away to school was the best thing that could have happened for both of us, but at the time it felt devastating. Living with the certainty that all is well, yielding to the intuitions given by divine Love, allows relationships to ebb and flow with nourishing experiences. What a joy it is to give up personal agendas and preconceived notions of how things should be, welcoming Love without the expectations we so often have of others! I feel no sense of sacrifice in this trade-off!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “…divine Principle never repents, but maintains the claim of Truth by quenching error. The pardon of divine mercy is the destruction of error.” Science & Health Page 329:24-26 

Acceptance

photo credit: Alden Stallings

ACIM Workbook Lesson #342 "I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me."

I am amazed it’s so difficult to accept myself for what I truly am! In Christian Science, this acceptance is often called "knowing the Truth”; in A Course in Miracles, it is known as forgiveness. Of course, there are many other ways to define this, but it's all semantics. What it boils down to is not just talking about this Principle, but really, truly knowing it! We are not material, we are spiritual. Spiritual perception is reality; material illusion is just that. I can talk about this until the cows come home, but it doesn't make it true in this reality I’ve created unless I quit talking and begin knowing! Our learned behavior is strong, but not as strong as Truth. Ego, mortal mind, wants us to stay with what seems real. I've convinced myself it is real and it seems impossible to release this fallacy, but I shall hold to the Truth of spiritual reality until the false falls away. 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"The spiritual reality is the scientific fact in all things. The spiritual fact, repeated in the action of man and the whole universe, is harmonious and is the ideal of Truth.” Science & Health Page 205:32-3