Vote!

Do you know anyone who doesn’t vote? I have been surprised to hear that some of my dearest, smartest friends haven’t done so in years. While this is disheartening, I find great solace in the fact that so many young people are now standing up and challenging long-held belief systems which have kept us tied to ways of living which no longer (perhaps never!) served us as a nation, as a world. Now, while momentum is flowing, is the time to encourage everyone to register to vote. If people say they can’t vote for all the obvious reasons, help them vote early at the court house, or obtain an absentee ballot if they’re out of town. Let’s keep our nation free by exercising our right to speak and vote!

“The elements and functions of the physical body and of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes its beliefs.” Mary Baker Edy - Science & Health Page 125:1-2

Purity of Thought

PC: Aaron Springston

Do you have an incident from childhood which has stayed with you, perhaps even affecting the way you live today? I know someone who, as a young child, caught her mother in a compromising position with a man other than her father. She refuses to marry. I know a man who found his father dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. His whole life is a series of dramatic events which he blames on that incident. I'm sure you know many stories, too. The Disappearance of the Universe, a book by Gary Renard, speaks to these events and more. When we release our beliefs, we can turn loose our history, also. I love hearing stories of people who live through horrendous-seeming events and remain not only happy but proactive. This thing we call forgiveness isn't some sort of divine pardon, but a yielding within ourselves to purity of thought, without the impediments of holding on to memories of wrongdoing, resentment, and pain of all sorts. This yielding includes the release of things which we think have been done to us and things we think we have done to others. So let's choose again, rest in Love, and go forward, with joy!

“The more material a belief, the more obstinately tenacious its error; the stronger are the manifestations of the corporeal senses, the weaker the indications of Soul.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 144:10-13

A Conscious Awareness of Good - March 23, 2018

photo cedit: Aaron Springston

We have a choice of  accepting ourselves as limited humans, or we can learn to recognize ourselves as spiritual beings. How does this recognition come about? By continually turning away from the material picture and knowing spiritual truth. It's easy to fall into the ego's trap of looking at the mortal situation and trying to turn it into something spiritual. And we, with our human thinking, cannot do anything but that. So let's stop analyzing and simply know a truth -- any truth which allows our mind to be cleared of the temptation to analyze and fix. Two times two equals four might work for you, but I prefer something like this: "I Am the infinite reflection of divine Mind.” Whatever truth comes to you, clear your thought and then listen. Sit quietly, if you have a moment, or go about your business with an open heart and uncluttered thought. Let's live every moment in the conscious awareness of good!

“…Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man's higher individuality and destiny." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 266:4-5

Remembering Truth

photo credit: Aaron Springston

God Is; I Am. There really isn't anything else to say, but yet there is so much! We have questions which seem unanswerable, but perhaps that's because we have been told there are many things we must simply accept because we can't understand. Through the study of divine metaphysics, we find there are no unanswerable questions. In this remembering, I find there are no dead ends where I must simply believe, relying on blind faith alone. God is as close as I am to myself, and all answers lie within, available for the asking -- and, most importantly, for the listening!! Remembering what is true leaves me with a wonderful peace. I am most grateful.

“This mental fermentation has begun, and will continue until all errors of belief yield to understanding. Belief is changeable, but spiritual understanding is changeless.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:22-24

A Secure Adventure

"Grotto Spring" - PC: Aaron Springston

It's easy to feel my security comes from physical things and my refuge is my home. I feel so safe and happy and often find myself expressing gratitude out loud for the peace and comfort I find here. As I learn to trust what is invisible to the human eye, but palpable deep within myself, peace becomes possible no matter what the circumstance. Of course, it's easy to forget and become caught up with hectic circumstances in daily life. But the process of discovering Truth is an adventure which is never-ending. That's why I love it so much! No matter how much I come to know, there is always more.

“Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free! This is your divine right.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 227:24-25

Living Love Out Loud

photo credit: Aaron Springston

More and more we're seeing animals showing us the way to being gentle with each other. In our realization of Oneness, we're beginning to understand that if violence is done to or by one, it's done to or by all. We're allowing our thought to change from fear and anger to love and gentleness. There may still be many people who want to stay with the old paradigm; they say it's necessary for heinous acts to be committed. But there are more people everyday who realize the error of this and know it's possible for the lion to lay down with the lamb. We’re living love out loud, proudly!

“The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love.” Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896, p. 15

Peace or Turmoil

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Peace is a state of mind. We can feel the epitome of peace in the midst of turmoil. At other times, we may be in an oasis of stillness but, due to our tumultuous state of mind, be experiencing stress and upset. It helps me to know that we are all the "son of God". With this realization, I am able to see everything through the eye of divine Love. This is not to say that I'm always calm. Sometimes I forget I am the idea of God, and that everyone else is, too. At those times, who knows how I may be interpreting events! In a state of forgetfulness, I am at the mercy of material belief, being swayed by thought systems which were put in place long before my appearance in this world. But when I remember my holy Self, things appear differently to me. And there is peace.

“He that touches the hem of [the] Christ’s robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing,—in a sweet and certain sense that God is Love”. Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 569: 11-14