Don't Take it Personally

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Today I’ve been pondering a situation in which one person thinks another person isn’t doing his job. She wants things to change, but I’m not sure what those changes could possibly be! We are talking about dynamic personalities on both sides: two people who do good work in the community, take pride in their accomplishments, and are sorely disappointed when everything doesn’t work out as planned. I like them both and hope they can find a way to resolve their differences. I could take sides, but that wouldn’t help bring about resolution. Talking to them has allowed me to see they are hurt by the others actions. Which brings me back to a point I’m always making in these writings. If we would all live in harmony with The 4 Agreements, as interpreted by Don Miguel Ruiz, the world would be a peaceful, harmonious place. I once again affirm to not take anything personally, and to refuse to make assumptions about why people do what they do.

“Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time.” Don Miguel Ruiz

Bound Together For Eternity

Photo Credit: Aaron Springston

I'm remembering something I read years ago, saying that groups of people who share spiritual love are bound together for eternity. I'm feeling that connection this evening when finding out some sad news within a group of us who gather regularly. The Love we have for each other causes us all to feel joy and pain when one of us has a happy or tragic event in our lives. We share the giddiness of our children marrying and having babies; we're sad when one of us loses a loved one or suffers through an illness with a family member. I'm grateful for every one of these women who care enough to hold each other close through life's trials. We may be present physically, or sending loving thoughts and prayers from afar, as I'm doing tonight. May this omnipresent Love be felt by everyone, everywhere, who is feeling lost and alone, frightened and sick. Let us remember that loving energy is palpable, and when we send it, it is felt. 

“You will lose someone you can’t live without,​ ​and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.”
― Anne Lamott

Times of Your Life

Photo Credit: Gerry Toler

A Meditation on Times

(patterned after Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

There is a time for every spiritual thought,
and a time for every activity within the soul:

A time to imagine,
     and a time to let a vision die;
A time to cultivate a hope,
     and a time to let a dream go;
A time to forget the past,
     and a time for memories to be healed;
A time to analyze possibilities,
     and a time to construct a plan;
A time to ponder sad things,
     and a time to rejoice at good news;
A time to grieve over losses,
     and a time to write music or poetry;
A time to spread information,
     and a time to gather it;
A time to fellowship,
     and a time to practice solitude;
A time to investigate,
     and a time to cease from research:
A time to defend your opinion,
     and a time to give it up;
A time to change your mind,
     and a time to reaffirm your purpose;
A time to be still before God,
     and a time to intercede for others;
A time to turn from trivialities,
     and a time to adore the Lord your God;
A time to wage spiritual warfare,
     and a time to enjoy spiritual tranquility;

There is a time for every spiritual thing,
and a time for every activity of the soul:

A time for meditation, and a time for ministry;
A time for meditation, and a time for ministry;
A time for meditation, and a time for ministry.

— David L. Hatton, 3/14/1998

The Language of Spirit

Photo Credit: Gerry Toler

We’re learning the language of Spirit through our study of divine metaphysics For instance, the word spirit, as I used it in the last sentence, has an entirely different meaning from its use on the Ghost Tours at the Crescent Hotel. The capitalization of the word Spirit not only indicates a synonym for what we think of as God, but incorporates all the other nuances which are a part of its spiritual interpretation. For instance: Spirit is tangible; Spirit is substance. It "blesses the multiplication of its own pure ideas". (MBE) As with the learning of anything, this new language requires practice for it to become second-nature to us; allowing the incorporation of these ideas into our lives without specific thought of doing so. As we bring this Truth to our illusionary beliefs, we begin to understand that healing is universal, and that heaven is within. Have a joyous day everyone!

“God is Spirit; therefore the language of Spirit must be, and is, spiritual.”​ Mary Baker Eddy - ​Science & Health Page 117:6-7

Do You Hear What I Hear?

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What one of us may think is beautiful may not be so to all. It's my understanding that some people hear music in an inharmonious way. How can this be? It seems so odd, as I sit here listening to Yo-Yo Ma exquisitely playing his cello. There's a book by Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, which documents many instances of people's ability to hear and/or play music changing after traumatic physical events. I thought it was pretty cool when someone woke up from a coma and wanted to do nothing but play the piano, even though they had never played before. On the other end of the spectrum, it was horrid for the man who heard dissonance when playing the violin he had dearly loved before a car accident. This has caused me to wonder about what I think I see and hear, and the possibility that others don't see or hear the same thing. I've written before about everyone seeing a rainbow differently, depending on where they are in respect to it. I know that someone may tell me something and I can take it totally opposite of how it was meant. But to hear music differently? We are, indeed, an interesting species! 

"Material beliefs and spiritual understanding never mingle. The latter destroys the former. Discord is the nothingness named error. Harmony is the somethingness named Truth." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 176

Obedience to Authority?

Photo credit: Richard Quick

Obedience to Authority, a book written by a man named Stanley Milgram, contains ideas worth examination. This man performed a number of experiments during the 1970s. He was prompted by the horrors perpetrated during Hitler’s reign, wanting to know why people would hurt or kill others for no reason other than being told to do so. He made subjects believe they were administering shocks to someone when questions were answered incorrectly. Sometimes they even believed that someone had passed out from the pain, yet they continued to hit the shock button when the subject didn’t answer right away. They didn’t know it was a set up; they thought they were hurting someone else badly, but continued to do so. These obedience experiments are cited in university classes and are referred to time and again when atrocities occur around the world. I think now is an excellent time to think about the reasons for this blind obedience. Perhaps it’s time to revisit Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience?

"Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 91:5

One Grand Brotherhood

After watching a movie called Crazy Rich Asians, I've been thinking about some of the human behavior exhibited in this chick-flick-date-night film. The main thing I've been wondering about is why in the world the super rich would think they're a higher form of humanity than everyone else. Exclusion is a sad concept, no matter how minor it may be. This is not to say I think everyone should be included in everything. Of course, that cannot be. For instance, my book club has 12-15 people who have been meeting once a month since 2005. We had to close our ranks because it's difficult to have a good discussion with too many present, and it's hard to meet in each other's homes if there are more than this. We don't think we're better than anyone else, but a line must be drawn for many reasons. Perhaps this is how the uber-rich feel, too. I don't know. But I'm certainly going to hold those in the higher echelons of our government in a purer light than they hold me! Sending warm thoughts to everyone on this cold winter's night.

“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's good." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:15-19