This Imbroglio

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Everyone has heard the tale about blind people touching different parts of an elephant, and their interpretations of what they were feeling. It seems to me that's where we are in this political imbroglio. Some people see Democrats as the devil's spawn; others see Republicans as uninformed automatons. Where does it end? An election won't stop the disagreements, any more than a civilized debate will resolve our differences. For years I've looked for common ground on which to stand with one another. You would think love, peace, health, and happiness would be desired by everyone, but it seems people interpret these values in different ways. This is one of the reasons I love A Course in Miracles. We are taught to release any preconceived notions concerning what things mean. Look at a table and see it for what it is; not what you think about it and what it brings up in memories. As we practice doing this with things and situations, something shifts within us, allowing truth to be known and belief to be released. We don't automatically become all-knowing beings, but we learn to recognize the fallacy of our interpretations. So next time you think you're touching a snake, remember it just might be an elephant's trunk! 

"Science shows that material, conflicting mortal opinions and beliefs emit the effects of error at all times, but this atmosphere of mortal mind cannot be destructive to morals and health where it is opposed promptly and persistently by Christian Science. Truth and Love antidote this mental miasma, and thus invigorate and sustain existence." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 273:29

Thank You, Fact Checkers

photo credit: Jim Young

Gratitude is flowing today for the diligent people who do fact checking for reputable organizations. They are much needed at this time, and probably always -- at least until everyone decides to tell the truth, huh? During the Democratic Party's convention last week, there was a comprehensive fact-checking article every day from The Atlantic. It's wonderful to have knowledge at the click of a mouse, is it not? My friend, Jim Young, used to tell me how he enjoys listening to many different spiritual ideas, in order to check his understanding and to bring up questions about what he thinks he knows. I'm sure he feels the same way when reading fact checks about political speeches and outright propaganda, too. We always have a "gut feeling" about the veracity of words being put forth as truth, and I love seeing how my intuition matches up with the information people spend their lives amassing. Thank you greatly, each and every person who dedicates his or her life to bringing us truth -- about everything!! Namaste...

"Superstition and understanding can never combine. When the final physical and moral effects of Christian Science are fully apprehended, the conflict between truth and error, understanding and belief, Science and material sense, foreshadowed by the prophets and inaugurated by Jesus, will cease, and spiritual harmony reign." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 288:9

Thought's Images

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Nothing can be imaged forth in form unless it exists in consciousness. What?? I know, I know. You may say you had never heard of such and such disease until you got it. Well, collective consciousness counts, too. Yikes! So how do we keep from contracting every disease and imaging forth all the horrors of the world? This is exactly what Gary Renard tells us in "The Disappearance of the Universe" and what Mary Baker Eddy means by "there is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter". When we put more faith in matter than Spirit, then, yes, we are subject to every little quirk of the universe. On the other hand, the realization of our true Being puts us under no government but that of divine Mind. It may seem impossible to come out from under the tent of materiality in favor of Spirit. I've had enough glimpses to know it is, indeed, very possible, but it takes work. When you listen to detailed stories of disease, it becomes embedded in consciousness. I'm never surprised when something jumps out of that vast forever and gets lodged within my brain, but I do negate it in thought -- to the best of my ability. And practice does make perfect, so I won't give up!

“Disease is always induced by a false sense mentally entertained, not destroyed. Disease is an image of thought externalized. The  mental state is called a material state. Whatever is cherished in mortal mind as the physical condition is imaged forth on the body." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 411:21

Hold Thought Steadfastly

photo credit: Aaron Springston

“We do ourselves a great disservice when we let the bitter opinions of others mingle and subvert our own thoughts.” (Dodinsky) This brought to mind one of the Four Agreements as interpreted by Don Miguel Ruiz: “Don’t take anything personally.” And these thoughts are followed up by Gandhi’s wisdom: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him.” Namastè

“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." ​Mary Baker Eddy - ​Science & Health Page 261:4-7

Big Changes

photo credit: Don Matt

Often it takes a big shake up to force us to change ways of thought and actions which have become ingrained within us. It seems comfortable, easy, and safe to stay within the bounds of what we know. Looking back on the past decades, I see where I would have been stuck in mundane and perhaps even destructive living had it not been for events which shocked me into new ways of thought and action. I am most grateful for the times when life seemed good, when I rested in cozy contentment, but then changes were facilitated by seeming tragedy. The move from by-rote living to Uppercase Living takes courage, but to seek a future different from the past ensures that we shall have one!

“A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 128:13-19

Hope for Tomorrow

I have never enjoyed political conventions, but I loved the last four days of the Democratic push toward the presidency. It brought tears and laughter many times, along with a pride in our country which I had forgotten how to feel. How fine to hear actual ideas rather than blustering, selfish words. It was a joy to hear plans based on ideas which were backed up by education, knowledge, science, virtue, morality. What do you care about? Is it good enough to hold the status quo and continue barely surviving, or do we want to make some changes in our lives and our government and go forward into new and better ways of living? I know my answer. I'm sure you, too, have examined your innermost feelings and know what you want for our country. Respect for each other, without shouting rhetoric and outlandish beliefs, shown in real conversations without thinking everyone is out to get us and we must attack first -- this is my hope for future dialogues between the American people. I feel an honest hope for tomorrow. I hope you do, too!

"I am asked, 'What are your politics?' I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government, to love God supremely, and my neighbor as myself." Mary Baker Eddy Miscellany 276:23

Phases and Stages

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Cynicism hides the light of the world quite effectively. As a small child, I freely expressed joy in everything and to everyone, but slowly and thoroughly this joy was quieted by rules and other forces of conformity. By the time I was a teenager, cynicism had taken over my every action. This is a definition of cynicism: "An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others." During the 60s and 70s, although it was heralded as the Age of Aquarius, the free love that permeated our atmosphere was actually a charade of the Love I had felt as a small child. We made fun of those who weren't like us, and by doing so became unsure of what we were. There was an attitude of disdain which came with our superiority. We knew our government was wrong, as were our parents, most teachers, and the majority of our peers. It's no wonder that a major magazine's cover declared that God was dead, because materialism and cynicism had killed any expression of real Love. I was convinced that to have children would be a travesty, as this world was no place for humans to be. Nearly half a century past those turbulent times, I see wonderful changes in all of us. Everyone I know realizes that Love is a force within us which can't be quieted; that fear can never be as powerful as Love. More people every day are waking up to the truth of their being, not allowing anything to hide this light. Any day now everyone will awaken to their function as a living ray of this Love, and we won't be afraid of it. It is our heritage! We have denied it as long as we can. The Truth is alive within us and it only takes recognition to bring it to fruition. Let's live our salvation today!

"Ignorance of the divine idea betrays at once a greater ignorance of the divine Principle of the idea — ignorance of Truth and Love. The understanding of Truth and Love, the Principle which works out the ends of eternal good and destroys both faith in evil and the practice of evil, leads to the discernment of the divine idea." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 560:28-4