The Contagion of Happiness

happy succulents - 

PC: Aaron Springston

I read about an interesting experiment. Two people were placed face to face. One was instructed to smile as happily as possible, and the other was asked to retain a neutral look. In most of the cases, the person who was supposed to stay neutral couldn't keep from smiling, too. Happiness, joy, and peace are all spiritual attributes which shine forth through us as the experience of divine Love. They are infectious, don't you think? Let's broadcast this seed far and wide today and watch it grow!

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

Happy Pottering!

photo credit: Aaron Springston

"Pottering: A Cure For Modern Life", by Anna McGovern is a book I love without having read it -- and that's probably because I'm living it, as many of you are, too. One definition of pottering is this: to move around without hurrying, in a relaxed and pleasant way. That's just perfect! Wayne Dyer was fond of saying that we aren't human doings, we're human beings. He reminded us we don't have to be rushing around all the time, doing things constantly; that we are free to "be" and enjoy doing what we are led to do, independent of what we think we should be doing. I've always loved this way of thought and feel fortunate to have been able to follow this advice for most of my life. As I tell people when they ask how I'm adjusting to this new way of life: I've been practicing for this for years! I love pottering around the house doing chores and putting total attention on the so-called mundane tasks -- the same attention which I give to playing duplicate bridge online. Washing dishes holds a rainbow of sensory events which I now have time to savor, as did making the meal which gave me the dirty dishes. To sit down and read a favorite weekly news magazine is bliss; to practice the piano is heavenly. I look forward to reading Ms. McGovern's book, because her title tells me we know each other though we've never met. Happy Pottering!! 

"Rushing around smartly is no proof of accomplishing much." Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings Page 230:12

The Sacredness of Daily Life

photo credit: Aaron Springston

While watching a documentary on India, I found myself weeping. It wasn’t the beauty of the country or the people, although those could bring a tear, but it was their election. Every five years this democracy comes together to elect their leaders. The thing of beauty which caused emotion to well up was the diligence with which their election officials set up voting facilities. There is a place to vote every two square miles, even where the population is so scarce that only one person is going to vote. There is a man living in a temple in the middle of nowhere — literally. The only time he leaves his space is to vote, and there is a place set up just for him. The beauty of their elections overwhelmed me. This country is on its way up, developing solar farms for energy production, and building a democracy worthy of emulation. I pray we in the United States can understand the sacredness of daily life and the obligation we have to each other. Namaste...

"Truth should emanate from the pulpit, but never be strangled there. A special privilege is vested in the ministry. How shall it be used? Sacredly, in the interests of humanity, not of sect." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 236:2

Keeping It Simple

photo by Aaron Springston

The mass consciousness we swim in tells us we've done something wrong and can't be saved until we do a whole bunch of things right. Let's release all of those beliefs and concentrate on what feels true, right now, in this moment. Toward this end I will, at every possible moment, quiet my thoughts and allow Truth to permeate my being. It's there all the time, this Love which is God, this divine Love which supports us more surely than the swirling waters of mass consciousness. Our true consciousness is expressed most perfectly in two words: I Am. I think I’ll keep it simple today. Join me!

“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done. If men would bring to bear upon the study of the Science of Mind half the faith they bestow upon the so-called pains and pleasures of material sense they would not go on from bad to worse …” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 202:3-9

What Rings True

 

from Anupam Nath/AP - Gauhati, India, 11/5/2020

A man named Bill Sweet, who has videos and books about spirituality and its relationship to our daily lives, contacted me. He has some views I like very much concerning how we are being fed ideas, and what causes us to think they’re our own. Personally, I think the key to safe social media consumption is reading many differing views and developing critical thinking skills. But for now I will give you some of his thoughts: “The spiritual threat to mankind is that our individual subjective thinking is being bombarded, manipulated and reprogrammed. The result is that we live in virtual realities where narratives are suggested to us to act out. These superimposed sidetracking narratives on our thinking separate us from knowing what is true about the divine realities of Life, Truth, and Love.” I find this explanation helpful in relation to conversations I have had with people who believe something to be true which I know to be false. I’ve found it’s best not to argue, but to try to understand. And it helps me examine my own idea of truth, to look at things from all angles, not just the ones where I’m comfortable. May we all do some soul-searching and brain cleansing in these days to come!

“There is nothing to work at.

There is nothing to purge.

There are no new bridges to build.

There is only a bonding

with what rings True to us,

coming out of inward awareness.”

Jim Young

For the Remembering...

photo credit: Aaron Springston

For millennia we have been moving to this point in consciousness! Today I am going to be remembering every seer whose words have awakened this knowledge of salvation within me. These will be people who have become a part of us all to such an extent that they are ever-present in our conversations and thought. I want to remember the words of John Lennon, Emerson, Shakespeare, Rumi -- all those who have given me hope in knowing I'm not the only one feeling this way. And while visiting these words I love, I will know that this salvation is not only desired, but is here, now, for the remembering.

"Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired,--yea, to reach the range of fetter-less Mind.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 84:14 

Warriors of Love

judyclementwall.com

Numerous times during history -- as we know it -- there have been great disruptions in the norm, usually brought on by drought or disease or other outside influences. Our world is experiencing one of those times -- perhaps the most urgent ever known. Each and every one of us have been practicing for this parenthesis in time and we are ready to do whatever we are called upon to do. I see, within our small communities, a gathering in our neighborhoods, a desire to know if our neighbors have a problem we can help solve, or a physical need we can meet, perhaps a helping hand with a chore, or simply a kind word. As our dear friend, Jim Young tells us: We lend ourselves to each other. It has begun to seem as though we're afraid to do this and think everyone has nefarious ambitions, causing us to withhold ourselves. And I won't deny the existence of some scallywags out there, and we must use our intuition and back off if we get a bad "vibe", but let's learn to trust ourselves and, thereby, trust others, too. I can hardly wait to hear your thoughts!

"Abraham: Fidelity, faith in the divine Life and in the eternal Principle of being. This patriarch illustrated the purpose of Love to create trust in good, and showed the life-preserving power of spiritual understanding." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 579: 10