Feed the Famished Affections

I feel the need for grace today -- to feel it, give it, receive it -- just grace. So I searched my blog to see what I might turn up, and here is an entry from 2012.

Accepting the grace which is ours involves giving it at every opportunity. Recently someone asked why it doesn't bother me to work closely with someone who seems hard to get along with -- for many reasons! I answered that I realize how miserable she must be to act in such a way. So I don't take her actions personally, nor do I claim them as a part of my existence. And what she thinks of me is absolutely none of my business!  Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer includes this correlation to "Give us this day our daily bread": "Give us Grace for today, feed the famished affections." Starving affections are a symptom of not accepting the Truth about ourselves and others as a creation of divine Mind. When someone seems agitated and angry, or defensive and irritable, the Grace which is ours is the antidote. By practicing kindness when faced with hardness of heart, meekness when all around us are aggressive, loving those who seem unlovable, and paying it forward in every action, we prepare ourselves to acknowledge the God-given Grace which is our true heritage. I simply say an inward Namaste, recognizing  that their divine essence and mine are absolutely the same. I've found that loving my neighbor as myself is cause for loving myself more -- which is a nice bonus!

“What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 4:3-10

Why Can't We Just Be Nice?

Photo Credit: Richard Quick

I have been helping in the campaign of our District 97 state representative candidate, Suzie Bell. While I am quite aware of the cavernous divide in political thought, I had not truly seen the blatant rudeness and lack of manners which people have been exposing by their words. Some of them are very imaginative with their condemnations and suggestions concerning what my candidate should do — along with the Democratic Party. Then some of these folks speak (type?) right up and tell me they won’t vote for anyone who kills babies or any number of other fantasies they believe as truth concerning the world. I enjoy those who respond to my plea for their vote, and am doing my best to plant a seed of kindness during our interactions. The pain from most of these people is palpable. I feel compassion for their confusion and misunderstanding of what is happening around them. I enjoy texting rather than speaking on the phone, because I can take time to breathe, have a moment to go within for guidance, and try to respond in a kind, hopeful, mind-expanding manner. Their second response is most always calmer, sadder, more willing to talk with me. We end our interaction with a suggestion that they visit Suzie’s website and contact her if they have any questions. I like this assignment very much!

"Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interest in the one divinity." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 571:18

The Earth Needs Mothering

"Mother and Child - Self and self"
creation of Sandy Starbird

You may have guides to which you listen, who raise your thought to a higher level than your own mind. Perhaps you take your prayers to Jesus or another spiritual guru. Almost everyone relies on a power they think is larger than themselves, and many are relaxing into the divinity they are finding within themselves and everywhere else, too. So when I ran across the women who carry on the work of Net of Light, I was very accepting of their telling me they receive guidance from the council of the Grandmothers. I shared their latest newsletter with you in the last "daily" I sent you, and since then I've listened to a couple of their videos. As with the other Guides I mentioned earlier, these loving Spirits are all encompassing in their compassion and wisdom. I think this idea reminds me of The Akashic Records: a place you can go to access everything which ever has been or ever will be. I love the idea of Grandmothers supporting me, sharing their wisdom, bringing loving comfort. We all need someone to lean on, don't you think? I'm going to rest with them for a while. Join me...

"Angels are God's representatives. These upward-soaring beings never lead towards self, sin, or materiality, but guide to the divine Principle of all good, whither every real individuality, image, or likeness of God, gathers. By giving earnest heed to these spiritual guides they tarry with us, and we entertain 'angels unawares.'" Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 299:11

Stay the Course

Have you heard of Net of Light? How about Grandmothers Speak? From their website: "The Net of Light," the Grandmothers say, "supports everything in the Universe and will hold the earth steady during the times of change that are upon you now. Work with the radiant Net," they urge, "to support life." I include a writing from Sharon McErlane, sent out in a newsletter today, and forwarded to me by my fine friend, Sandy Starbird. 

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"The lever is moving," the Grandmothers said, and I watched as a metal handle or lever turned slowly.  The movement it made was so subtle it was barely perceptible.  But as I watched it continue to turn, I could see it honing in, getting nearer to pointing straight up.  The lever was righting itself, and as it crept closer to center, chills ran down my back.  "Something is shifting now," I said to myself, "and though what I'm seeing isn't the final shift for this lever, not the last or the ultimate turn it's going to make, still," I said, "things are starting to right themselves."

I looked up at the Grandmothers then but their heads were turned away from me; they were looking elsewhere.  And when I followed their eyes, I saw crowds of masked protesters, the people who'd been demanding justice for the man who'd been killed in Minnesota.  "This shift to the center point that you are seeing now has to do with them," the Grandmothers said, "with the protestors' commitment to truth, to what is fair.  It has to do with their desire for justice and a better life for all of humanity, for all the George Floyds of this world.  They are on target.

"At this time George Floyd has become the centering point for humanity.  His life, his suffering has awakened the world," they said.  "Now and then comes a moment when one life is put into a position of such power and purpose that it affects the entire world.  George Floyd's life is such a one," they said, "and his terrible sacrifice will not be wasted.  Because of what he went through at this particular moment in time, the course of life on earth will change, and humanity will return to being human.

"Stay the course," the Grandmothers said, "and at this difficult time, help one another however you can.  March, sing, pray, serve and speak out.  Speak the truth and love one another," they said. "Help in whatever way is given to you to help. Now your every act, smile, thought, and prayer will make a difference. The collective good pouring forth from humanity at this moment will turn the tide. Mankind is no longer on a collision course with destiny. You have begun to turn toward the light. So, breathe deep, stay calm, love each other and keep on going."

"But Grandmothers,"I said," what about...?"  But, reading my thoughts, they interrupted me.  "Let those who are lost, rage on as they will," they said. "Let them bluster all they want, and while they rant, rave and blame, keep your every thought, word and deed in alignment with the love of the Divine.  Go forward now in love, light bearers," they said, and raised their hands in the air.  "We stand at your back."

Message from
the Great Council of the Grandmothers
6-6-2020

Weeding Out Prejudice

photo of unknown origin

We record the Presbyterian Sunday service on Saturday. Their fine pastor, John Gibson, is an expert at many things and is able to edit and post a church service which is a reasonable facsimile of being there. Today he brought a special guest with him: an effigy of a black man with a noose around his neck. This man with no name has lived with John for a number of years now. He was found by the toll road between Siloam Springs and Tulsa, and rescued by John, living in his home as a reminder of how far we have to go in this quest for civil rights. At the time John saw this image hanging high from a tree, he was teaching school. Coincidently, they were studying the civil rights movement, so he took the faceless black man to school. I hope the students in that class forever remember what so many seem to have forgotten: We are all the same. We all hurt the same, we all love the same, we all want security, we all want happiness. The reason we don't all have these things is because some of us feel others of us haven't earned it. Where did we get this idea, that some are more deserving than others? I admit to finding prejudices within myself all the time. I want to recognize them, face them, release them by replacing them with Love. Just like tending a garden, it's a never-ending process. Those weeds keep coming back unless we get to their roots, expose them, and let them wither away in the light. We can do this. 

"The history of our country, like all history, illustrates the might of Mind, and shows human power to be proportionate to its embodiment of right-thinking. A few immortal sentences, breathing the omnipotence of divine justice, have been potent to break despotic fetters and abolish the whipping post and slave market, but oppression neither went down in blood, nor did the breath of freedom come from the cannon's mouth. Love is the liberator." Mary Baker Eddy -- circa 1865

Through the Portal, or Into the Hole...

From White Eagle, Hopi Indigenous

"Bird at Heart"
creation of Sandy Starbird

“This moment humanity is going through can now be seen as a portal and as a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the portal is up to you.
If you repent of the problem and consume the news 24 hours a day, with little energy, nervous all the time, with pessimism, you will fall into the hole. But if you take this opportunity to look at yourself, rethink life and death, take care of yourself and others, you will cross the portal. Take care of your homes, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual House.

When you are taking care of yourselves, you are taking care of everything else. Do not lose the spiritual dimension of this crisis; have the eagle aspect from above and see the whole; see more broadly.

There is a social demand in this crisis, but there is also a spiritual demand -- the two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. But without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and lack of meaning. You were prepared to go through this crisis. Take your toolbox and use all the tools available to you.

Learn about resistance of the indigenous and African peoples; we have always been, and continue to be, exterminated. But we still haven't stopped singing, dancing, lighting a fire, and having fun. Don't feel guilty about being happy during this difficult time.

You do not help at all being sad and without energy. You help if good things emanate from the Universe now. It is through joy that one resists. Also, when the storm passes, each of you will be very important in the reconstruction of this new world.

You need to be well and strong. And for that, there is no other way than to maintain a beautiful, happy, and bright vibration. This has nothing to do with alienation.

This is a resistance strategy. In shamanism, there is a rite of passage called the quest for vision. You spend a few days alone in the forest, without water, without food, without protection. When you cross this portal, you get a new vision of the world, because you have faced your fears, your difficulties.

This is what is asked of you:
Allow yourself to take advantage of this time to perform your vision-seeking rituals. What world do you want to build for you? For now, this is what you can do -- serenity in the storm. Calm down, pray every day. Establish a routine to meet the sacred every day.

Good things emanate; what you emanate now is the most important thing. And sing, dance, resist through art, joy, faith, and love."

The Healing Power of Silence

photo credit: Arthur Bruno

I heard an interesting analogy concerning the body's immune system and the world's ability to heal itself. Each and every one of us are a cell in the immune system of the universe. Every thought we think is either contributing to the unified health of our planet or the propagation of fear and terror. Every prayer, every meditation, ever reaching out through inward listening is magnified exponentially. We have the power to change the world through ourselves. Every interaction brings us closer to a world of love or a world of fear. The Love which heals us personally spreads through the web of Oneness. In the same way that we take personal responsibility for ourselves, our health, our well-being, we can take responsibility for a return to Love. It does matter what we do and what we think. We never know when an interaction with someone will make the difference in that person's life which turns them away from reactive fear to healing Love. The Truth which corrects all errors in our mind is our ascension into heaven within. Never doubt that you matter, that you make a difference.  Allow silence and listening to guide you to being the change you want to see! 

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259: 27-31