The Need to Grow

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Audrey Hepburn said, “To plant a garden is to believe in the future.” One of the things I’ve been doing in this past week of quarantine is to watch YouTube videos about gardening. As it’s been too rainy to get out and put seeds in the ground, I’ve been planning with Kevin and getting excited about possibilities. Also, it seems to be time to become stronger. I thank my friend, Ramona, for suggesting a breathing exercise which she practices. That has inspired me to get up and do chair exercises, led by a sweet couple on the internet. They can be found by looking for Hasfit (heart and soul fitness). You can find exercises for the infirm, for those already fit, or heavy-duty workouts designed for different purposes. Our friends at Fire Om Earth are leading twice daily yoga sessions, which can be found on their Facebook page. They are available all the time on YouTube, also. There are a multitude of documentaries designed to get us up and moving, both figuratively and literally. Tonight we watched “The Need to Grow”, about how we can and are changing the way we grow food. We are ready to make many changes in our lives, and this educational, inspiring film helps us to know how ready we truly are! Happy growing, everyone!

"Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens -- all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light." Mary Baker Eddy, Science & Health Page 240

What if...

Last night, a friend in California sent me the following. I share it with you...

“There  is so much fear, and perhaps rightfully so, about COVID-19.

And, what if…

If we subscribe to the philosophy that life is always working out for us, that there is an intelligence far greater than humans at work…

That all is interconnected.

What if…

the virus is here to help us?

To reset.

To remember.

What is truly important.

Reconnecting with family and community.

Reducing travel so that the environment, the skies, the air, our lungs all get a break.

Parts of China are seeing blue sky and clouds for the first time in forever with the factories being shut down.

Working from home rather than commuting to work (less pollution, more personal time).

Reconnecting with family as there is more time at home.

An invitation to turn inwards — a deep meditation — rather than the usual extroverted going out to self-soothe.

To reconnect with self — what is really important to me?

A reset economically.

The working poor. The lack of healthcare access for over 30 million in the US. The need for paid sick leave.

How hard does one need to work to be able to live, to have a life outside of work?

And, washing our hands — how did that become a “new” thing that we needed to remember. But, yes, we did.

The presence of Grace for all.

There is a shift underway in our society — what if it is one that is favorable for us?

What if this virus is an ally in our evolution?

In our remembrance of what it means to be connected, humane, living a simpler life, to be less impactful/ more kind to our environment.

An offering from my heart this morning. Offered as another perspective. Another way of relating to this virus, this unfolding, this evolution.

It was time for a change, we all knew that.

And, change has arrived.

What if… "

-Gutpreet Gill

Helping Each Other

photo credit: Aaron Springston

One of the benefits of our newly-imposed solitary lifestyle is having the time to contact people we've been meaning to talk to. My new goal is to call two people a day, and let them talk as much as they want. In the olden days, we would sit on the front porch and visit with our neighbors. Back then, there weren't as many labor-saving devices as we have nowadays. We may not have had washing machines, but we didn't have as many clothes to manage either. Our phones kept us connected to the wall, with one person at a time on the other end (excluding party line members, of course!) -- but now we are connected to hundreds if not thousands of acquaintances every day. During these current days, we are called upon to help all humankind, beginning with just one person. Today I got a phone call from a sweet 90-something-year-old. Earlier in the week I sent her a card with butterflies on it, telling her I was thinking of her. She was so delighted when she received it that she called and we had a nice chat. She said the remembered the word "pandemic" from her school days, but never thought we'd experience such a thing. I assured her she wasn't alone in her thoughts and we talked about that a bit. So let's all reach out to others when we feel the urge. We never know who may need it!

"Divine Truth must be known by its effects on the body as well as on the mind, before the Science of being can be demonstrated. Hence its embodiment in the incarnate Jesus, -- that life-link forming the connection through which the real reaches the unreal, Soul rebukes sense, and Truth destroys error." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 350:24

Joy is Spiritual

photo credit: Aaron Springston

We have had torrential rainfall for almost 24 hours now. It’s tempting to think of floods and plagues, wondering if toads will fall from the sky. I suppose it’s conditioning which makes us feel punished when we're ill or things seem to be out of whack. “What did I do wrong? Why me?” While there is no one to blame for our predicament today, there are contributing factors being cited by the media. Most of those scenarios make sense, given our irresponsible actions as humans during the past centuries. We have much work ahead of us, but for right now I’m hoping we can keep our energy high with good food from local farmers, good thoughts shared with each other, and happy, positive visual and audio entertainment. I’ve been a practicing Pollyanna for so long that this comes easy to me — and most everyone I know! You’re all smart, cool people and I trust you are sharing your joy with others. Much Love sent to everyone! 

"Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265

Heal the World

I just read that swans and dolphins have reappeared in the canals of Venice. The water is clear enough that fish can be seen from the banks. This is but one of the beautiful things happening around the world, resulting from our lack of busy-ness and constant polluting. We are acting differently because of fear of contagion, but hopefully we will see the wonder of changing our behaviors in a multitude of different ways, and will reset our values as a result. We will finally grok that we don't need to buy everything in sight simply because we can. I have a great bumper sticker from Penzey Spices which says, "Heal the World. Cook Dinner Tonight." Isn't that the truth? Take the time to love your family and friends, cook them food, eat it with appreciation for the farmer who grew it and the animal who made it possible. I feel so fortunate that the last book I checked out from the library, before they closed to protect us, was about Instant Pot Vegan cooking. What fun! I'm ready to pick dandelions and purslane and wild onions and have a feast! (I joke to some extent here) My point is: We are ready for this change which is being forced upon us. Let's do everything we can to help each other through it to the other side!

"This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:12

Social Distancing

Gnosticism: Embracing God’s World 

For those of us used to hugging any and everybody, this idea of physically distancing ourselves from each other is a difficult one to get used to! But we know the reason for it is valid and we are trying our best to keep from doing so. In my recent experience, I'm finding that heartfelt eye contact expresses the same care as the spontaneous hug has done in the past. Our physical proximity is not the important thing when we are showing empathy for those who are frightened or worried or sick. It is our honest, loving response that lifts us all above the fear of this unknown situation. We're in uncharted territory here, and I keep thinking about the prophecies concerning the year 2012. It was the end of an era, and we were told it would be difficult. And it has been, don't you think? It feels like we had a chance to make the shift on our own, but refused to do so and so we're being forced to go beyond our learned behaviors and take charge of our lives. Our current viral situation feels similar to the election in 2016. We were willing to go along complacently, thinking things weren't too bad. But then pow! We got to see how awful they really were, and have been forced to face what we have been doing to ourselves with our materialistic, selfish ways. And so we continue to be forced to look at ourselves, while learning more about loving and forgiving...

"Advancing spiritual steps in the teeming universe of Mind lead on to spiritual spheres and exalted beings. To material sense, this divine universe is dim and distant, gray in the sombre hues of twilight; but anon the veil is lifted, and the scene shifts into light." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 513:6

New Earth Army

photo credit: Aaron Springston

I watched the movie, Men Who Stare at Goats. It has inspired me to think of all the people I know who have been honing their metaphysical skills for the past few decades, or all their lives. Everyone who has been awake and noticed there is more going on around us than meets the physical eye, each and every one of you, have been doing this. We have been awakening the ability to view remotely, to see past disease and realize the true state of what appears to be a material body, to work with reiki and life force energy, to utilize psychic abilities, to communicate with all things living, to recognize the healing power of plants -- there are more energies flowing around and through us than can be delineated in a writing this short. In the movie I mentioned, there is a group of people who call themselves the New Earth Army. That's what we are! Having spent hundreds of hours interacting with higher thinkers during our metaphysical meetings between 2005 and 2011, I have seen a large sampling of the unseen abilities at work in our very midst. It's time to wear them proudly and be willing to help the world in any way we can. I've seen what you can do, and once the floodgates are opened, those talents will multiply. Let's shine those lights!!

"In order to apprehend more, we must put into practice what we already know. We must recollect that Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated. If 'faithful over a few things,' we shall be made rulers over many, but the one unused talent decays and is lost." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 323:13