#ChurchFail

photo credit: Gerry Toler

Blake Lasater, minister of the Eureka Springs Methodist Church, is intelligent, kind, and quite brave. This month’s sermons fall under the heading of #ChurchFail. Today he told us the failure of American Christianity is its love affair with hellfire and damnation. He gave us a history of how churches ceased working for social justice and began the the business of “saving souls”. Rather than helping the least, the last, the lost, they began berating their congregations for supposed sins. He told us churches are meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I am honored to play music for this congregation which defines itself as a reconciling ministry. May more people examine their motives and acts in the way Blake so openly does!

“If the crucifixion is seen from an upside-down point of view, it does appear as if God permitted and even encouraged one of His Sons to suffer because he was good. This particularly unfortunate interpretation, which arose out of projection, has led many people to be bitterly afraid of God. Such anti-religious concepts enter into many religions. Yet the real Christian should pause and ask, "How could this be?" Is it likely that God Himself would be capable of the kind of thinking which His Own words have clearly stated is unworthy of His Son?” A Course in Miracles - Chapter 3, Atonement Without Sacrifice 

Usher in a New Era

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Writers, artists, musicians, all of us who are willing to live from intuition rather than belief, heart instead of head, each and every one of us are ushering in a new era. We're shifting consciousness to reality rather than the illusion of such. Every thought is important! Compassionate action is replacing fearful hibernation; honesty trumps lies. Let's all hold tight to each other and go forward with joy!

“The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace.Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:12-14

The Forms of Loneliness

photo credit: Aaron Springston

I’ve been talking to someone about loneliness and the many forms in which it appears. The years I spent in bars wasn’t for the alcohol, but for the people, the easy connection found in those bottles. I’ve known folks who belong to enough clubs and groups to keep themselves busy all their waking hours. Many people can’t abide silence and constantly have a radio or other device playing, often simply for the company they feel it brings to them. Then there are those who marry to keep from being alone, many times not realizing the most lonely of individuals are often not alone. To sit quietly by yourself, happy, realizing there is a deeper connection than the busy-ness often used as a substitution for it — this is the open secret to happiness, the key to contentment, the welcoming element of eternal Love. “I am in you, and you in me, mutual in divine Love.” William Blake

“Wilderness: Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spon‐taneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 597:16-19

“Today's idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of loss.” A Course in Miracles - Workbook Lesson #41

Freedom Through Shifts in Thought

photo credit: Aaron Springston

What do we do in situations where someone is “wasting our time”? Let’s say somebody you work with makes the same mistakes over and over, asking you the same questions time and again, never seeming to understand how their job is to be done. It’s easy to become upset and tersely answer their questions one more time. There are many situations I can think of where a co-worker may not do their job and, hence, take up your valuable time in the process. From past experience, I know it does no good to concentrate on their deficiencies, replaying in thought what they should have done — or, worse yet, telling others how awful they are. I feel the best thing I can do for everyone involved is to quietly listen for guidance, while looking past the form and catching glimpses of the reality (the perfection, if you will) of that person. If we are all reflections of divine Mind, there are no exclusions! Freeing my thought to include him in the realization that we are all the image and likeness of Love allows me to see past my beliefs and open my thought to this reality. Perhaps my expectations are holding someone hostage, not allowing them to realize they don’t have to be caught up in by-rote behavior and limited thinking about themselves and the world. This is well-worth the effort on our part, when we know this shift frees us all! 

“The human thought must free itself from self-imposed materiality and bondage.” 

Science & Health Page 191:16-17

“People become what you would have them be, and what they do you order.” 

A Course in Miracles - Passing of the Dream 

Light Shining On and On

photo credit: Arthur Bruno

Doug and Yael Powell are an integral part of our community. They are a bright and pure light which has illumined and warmed many of us through the years. No, let me reword that: they have affected all of us, all the time, whether we were aware of their goodness or not. I first met them when they came to my gallery of local artists asking if they could sell their spiritually-oriented books there. Due to Yael’s physical limitations, she spent many hours a day in bed, meditating and writing. The words which flowed from her were honest and enchanting. The first book I read of hers was called, Magic Cat Explains Creation. Yael’s deep connection with all things was obvious in this delightful book based on her communications with her cat. She has the same deep link with plants, people, everything and everyone. I loved her the first moment I met her. She will be missed by all who have known her. But she is not leaving a void, because she’s not going anywhere. Love lives on and on.

“In the illusion of death, mortals wake to the knowledge of two facts: (1) that they are not dead; (2) that they have but passed the portals of a new belief.” Mary Baker Eddy 

Interpretation Gives Rise to Negative Emotions

"Mongolia" photo credit: Aaron Springston

I had occasion to speak to a woman today whom I hadn’t seen face-to-face in well over a year. I had developed a distrust of her due to her actions toward a good friend. I wasn't actively disliking her, and I certainly would not have talked badly of her, but I also would have been happy never speaking with her again. When I saw her today, we had a short chat and I did something nice for her which she truly appreciated. By this simple meeting and interaction, any animosity I was harboring toward her disappeared. Just like that, it was gone! This felt so good, I am hoping to find other twinges of ill-will within myself, just to confront them and watch the consequent resolution!

“Perhaps it will be helpful to remember that no one can be angry at a fact. It is always an interpretation that gives rise to negative emotions, regardless of their seeming justification by what appears as facts. Regardless, too, of the intensity of the anger that is aroused. It may be merely slight irritation, perhaps too mild to be even clearly recognized. Or it may also take the form of intense rage, accompanied by thoughts of violence, fantasized or apparently acted out. It does not matter. All of these reactions are the same. They obscure the truth, and this can never be a matter of degree. Either truth is apparent, or it is not. It cannot be partially recognized. Who is unaware of truth must look upon illusions.” A Course in Miracles - Manual for Teachers

The Ties Which Bind

Humans seem to be pack animals. We love to break ourselves into groups and hang around with people who think as we do. We create churches, sororities, sewing circles, and numerous other clubs in which to gather and share our commonality. Perhaps the time has come for us to recognize that many of these tribal separations are keeping us from seeing the greater good in all humanity. Maybe if we can open ourselves in a more selfless manner, embracing each other because of our sameness, rather than in spite of our differences, perhaps we can stop worrying about what others may think of us and pull out all the stops for some honest to goodness truth. I don’t want to wait another moment for something which feels so right!

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.”