A Better Tomorrow

Thailand - Photo Credit: Aaron Springston

People are starting to think this isolation thing may be more than temporary, and it's a difficult possibility to face. I've heard from a number of friends who are feeling sad, lonely, depressed -- they are mourning the loss of their beloved way of life. As am I. But I keep hearing about people being beautifully honest about happenings, and it lifts my spirits thinking that this phase is simply a necessary step in our universal awakening. One local minister is openly defying pastors who are telling their flock to come to church, no matter what. He tells them the purpose of the church is to serve the community, and they can do that in ways which do not involve congregating together for reasons which may well be self-serving. Numerous businesses are finding ways to keep their employees and customers safe, while supplying our needs. Our local "health food store" has developed a comprehensive online shopping cart which allows us to order and pay online, and schedule a curbside pickup time. This market, and our other two food outlets, are being innovative in ways which would never have happened without this crisis. I love how we are all contacting people we haven't heard from in years, reconnecting and checking to see if they're all right. I'm still feeling warm and fuzzy after hearing from an old friend from my Fayetteville days, more than 40 years ago. Yes, this time is tough to bear in many ways, but as with everything else in life, we can look at it as scary and stressful, or full of expectations for a better tomorrow!

"When the destination is desirable, expectation speeds our progress. The struggle for Truth makes one strong instead of weak, resting instead of wearying one." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 426:8

Unfolding Unity and Reality of Good

Metaphorically, it seems the chaff is being separated from the wheat in many ways. This photo shows the old-fashioned way of throwing wheat up into the air to get the chaff to fly away into its useless state. It has served its purpose, protecting the wheat berry, and now it's time to leave. In this time of isolation from the activities we are accustomed to participating in, we are finding out what is truly necessary and what was only filling our time with busy-ness. I have some friends who are noticing butterflies for the first time! Stop and smell the roses, right? How many of us didn't slow down and notice our surroundings before we were forced into it? In the political world (and what isn't political??), we are seeing lying and cheating being separated from facts and ethical actions. It's painful to recognize that our long-held beliefs may not only be erroneous, but that this recognition is going to rock our world, changing everything we held as gospel and throwing the chaff to the wind. I could go on and on thinking up examples of this, but I'd rather you tell me. What have you noticed in the world around you? Happy threshing!

"From first to last the supposed coexistence of Mind and matter and the mingling of good and evil have resulted from the philosophy of the serpent. Jesus' demonstrations sift the chaff from the wheat, and unfold the unity and the reality of good, the unreality, the nothingness, of evil." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 269:9

Universal Understanding

Gates and Buffet playing duplicate bridge

I’ve been thinking about things we do which are universally understood. Music: no matter what language you speak, people who read music can sit down and play together in perfect harmony. Mathematics: I’m not much of an expert at this science, but math is the same no matter where you are. The extent I understand it has to do with 52 cards, dealt out in the form of bridge hands. Having never played bridge online with actual people, a whole new world has opened to me with this forced isolation we are experiencing. As long as we had ten duplicate bridge games a month at local clubs, it was never brought to my attention that the world of online bridge was vibrant, thriving, and free! At any hour of the day or night, I can log on and play a single hand or more, enjoying the universal language of bridge bidding as we try to get to the best contract. Or as defenders, it does not matter if my partner is from Armenia or Argentina, there are universal laws which pertain to this fascinating game. I would encourage all parents to teach their children things which can never be fully conquered. My love of bridge, the study and practice of spirituality, along with the desire to become a more proficient pianist, these things are a never ending source of enjoyment during these interesting times. I am grateful to have activities which will always keep me striving to grow in understanding. These things I mention can be enjoyed at any level, so it's never too late to start!

"Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 13:2

Being True to Ourselves

photo credit: Aaron Springston

This season of renewal seems so pertinent to our daily life in this age of pandemic. A change of thought is looming and is also being resisted. The words our friend, Jim Young, sent out on Easter, bear repeating, whether you've already read them or if they're new to you here. 

"Easter as a metaphor:

As a metaphor, Easter can be thought of as nailing our hidden guilt and shame, outmoded beliefs and opinions, regrets and fanciful desires on the cross of self-forgiveness—rising to begin life anew. Especially in these times of the coronavirus—but always—each new day can begin this way, freeing us from a mental, emotional and physical load that traps us in ego consciousness, manifesting as a world of seeming difference and separation.

Life is not about seeking to gain something we feel we’re not or have not. Life is about peeling away what we’ve taken on as the truth about life and our part in it, so we can instead reveal and express our innate essence Being—living true to our Self—united as one. This is where inner peace and the expression of authentic love begin and end.

NAMASTE!

Jim"

"The necessity for uplifting the race is father to the fact that Mind can do it; for Mind can impart purity instead of impurity, strength instead of weakness, and health instead of disease. Truth is an alterative in the entire system, and can make it 'every whit whole.'" Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 371

Peace, Be Still...

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Just when I think anger will never flare within me again, it does! My first reaction is always self-righteous: I'm right; you're not. And examining the seeming motive for my anger usually brings about more self-righteous thought. So I've found the only escape is by replacing the anger with the Love which is our only true nature as the image and likeness of God. If self-justifying thoughts persist, they are replaced again with the Truth of our being. This process may take a while because mortal mind, ego, insists that it is justified in this action. But when we know it is not, the process becomes more natural to us. And if anger is not replaced, it can mutate into many forms, all erroneous.  In thinking about a number of acquaintances who have committed suicide in the last few years, it seems we become stuck in feelings, thinking there is no way out. Mrs. Eddy posits that we will be surprised when we die and find out we're not dead. Salvation must be worked out here or hereafter. I remember this in times of sadness or turmoil. There is no escape other than through an understanding that we are a reflection of God, good, and that everything else is unreal. By bringing thought back to this truth time and again, we begin to see the veracity of it and the falsity of any other way of seeing this experience. Our inner peace cannot be taken away, even if joy seems to have disappeared!

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.”
Science & Health Page 264:24-27

Happy Easter!

Easter Message, 1902, from Mary Baker Eddy.

"May this glad Easter morn find the members of this dear church having a pure peace, a fresh joy, a clear vision of heaven here -- heaven within us -- and an awakened sense of the risen Christ. May long lines of light span the horizon of their hope and brighten their faith with a dawn that known no  twilight and no night." 

"Through all the disciples experienced, they became more spiritual and understood better what the Master had taught. His resurrection was also their resurrection. It helped them to raise themselves and others from spiritual dullness and blind belief in God into the perception of infinite possibilities." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 34:18

Cleaning Up Our Heart and Earth

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Does anyone else feel as though they're in a sort of limbo? On the one hand, we are finding out how little we actually need and what is truly important to us. On the other hand, many are suffering because of lack of income to handle the necessities of life. I'd love for the outcome of our quarantine to be a universal acceptance of free power from the sun and wind, more entertainment supplied by nature her-own-self,  and happy connections with our family and neighbors. I'd like to see people playing bridge and pinochle at the kitchen table after dinner together, going for long walks with their dogs, reading to each other, relaxing into being rather than always doing. Wouldn't it be perfect to barter our services within communities? Wouldn't it be great to have neighborhood markets and bakeries and shoe stores like in the olden days? I want our kids to be safe walking to school, where learning is a joy and they wake up every morning excited about going. What if we all worked at something we enjoyed, something which benefited our communities, things which brought satisfaction to our soul? What kind of world could we have if everyone was present in the moment, noticing the needs of others and our planet? We wouldn't need to eat animals at every meal, and could raise them in such a way as to not pollute our hearts and earth. We've strayed from what is important, but we can find it again. We must help each other or we'll never make it back to the garden. Nothing is more outlandish than the way we, as a society, are living right now. There are models of sustainable living all around us. Let's bring it into existence for us all!

"RESURRECTION: Spiritualization of thought, a new and higher idea of immortality, or spiritual existence, material belief yielding to spiritual understanding." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 593:9