Free Your Mind

 ​

photo credit: Richard Quick

In my lifetime, I have seen a huge evolution in thought! A video story set in Australia in the 1950s has reminded me of how far we’ve come. (For you video buffs, it’s called A Place to Call Home.) It’s beautiful to see what beliefs we have given up, replacing them with Love rather than fear. For instance, we had many closed-minded ideas about people of different skin color marrying each other, not to mention the barriers imposed by religious separation and gender. People had to live through electrical shock treatment and its aftermath to “cure” homosexuality or hysteria. Natural acts, such as giving birth, were thought of as a disease which needed to be managed in torturous ways. We’ve come a long way in dispelling erroneous thought and replacing it with what we now see as advanced thinking! What if we’re meant to advance even further? We’ll never know until we are able to divest ourselves of the shackles holding us in place, and listen to the guidance of divine Mind inspiring us to heights never before imagined!

"Our false views of matter perish as we grasp the facts of Spirit. The old belief must be cast out or the new idea will be spilled, and the inspiration, which is to change our standpoint, will be lost." ​Mary Baker Eddy - ​Science & Health Page 281:28-1

Ethereal Flights

 

photo credit: Datura Böes

I vividly remember a sleeping dream from a few years ago. In it, we had no need to speak, as we knew each other's thoughts. We had no fear, as our thoughts were uncluttered and pure. Everywhere I looked there were happy people, busy at tasks which would benefit everyone. There was no need for television or radios, as we knew everything, and it was Good. At one point, I thought I was lost in the woods, but that was impossible because others sensed my confusion and were there immediately to lead me to a safe and beautiful home. While traveling on a road, suddenly the way was filled with huge boulders and ancient fallen trees, but to the left side there was a field filled with beautiful flowers, and a pathway leading to my destination. All needs were met before I knew of them. And there was the most wonderful sense of peace. I will hold to these beautiful feelings today, while seeing the meaningless basis of my ego-driven thoughts and desires. [I wrote this a number of years ago. There was also a man in the dream who reminded me of Steve Jobs. A few years later, I met a man and remembered him from this dream]

“Sleep and apathy are phases of the dream that life, substance, and intelligence are material. The mortal night dream is sometimes nearer the fact of being than are the thoughts of mortals when awake. The night-dream has less matter as its accompaniment. It throws off some material fetters. It falls short of the skies, but makes its mundane flights quite ethereal.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 249:24-30

Art Is The Answer

 

Tsagaglalal​ - creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird​

Ask anyone why art is essential and you may hear that it's useless, or that it's necessary for the survival of our species. I've come to think that art is the answer to our current problems involving beliefs and our inability to assimilate facts. Any society which wants to suppress its people tries to eliminate art in its various forms. In the United States, we have been taught to believe that art is a luxury and is not essential in educating our children. This has caused some to think that anyone who appreciates art in its various forms is highfalutin in some way, perhaps defined as elitist for their love of beauty and critical thinking. I ask that we stop and remember the Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn. She was as down-home as a person could be, and her songs praise the evolution of thought and the revolution for women and the pointlessness of sending our loved ones to war. Her stories rival those we think of as coming through great authors, and her melodies are as pure as our finest composers brought forth. Art in the United States is fabulously diverse and is representative of our country far more than corporations and politicians. We could list pages of writers and musicians and artists in all their glory, and they have all opened us to something more than we were before we heard or saw their creations. Yes, I think the answer to every question is art! 

"Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 507:28

Surrendering Defenses

 ​

Many words and actions may seem to bring on feelings of being attacked. The realization that all attack comes from within is an eye-opener! I may feel I’m defending myself when I attack others, but I’m not. It's not a defense against anything, only my acceptance of  perceived attack and the resultant retaliation. When I realize I cannot be attacked from anywhere except  within my own self, I can surrender the defenses I have built for protection against outside circumstances. Through a conscious choice to reject the unreality of material existence and claim our heritage as powerful spiritual beings, unafraid to stand up and declare our Oneness with divine Love and all of Its creation, we are able to transcend the fears we think are inevitable. I love the new world which is being revealed through this understanding!

"Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust decrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 380:32-4

Boundless Bliss

 It's easy to feel victimized by current events. It seems as if "they" are going to do whatever they want and come up with reasons why it's necessary. I don't know and don't want to wonder why things are as they are, but I am excited and expectant of good as I watch individuals working to improve communications and provide knowledge. One of my heroes is Michael Moore. He dares to question the powers that be on topics most of us are afraid to broach. One of his documentaries is "Capitalism: A Love Story". While he shows us transgressions of government and corporations, he also tells of individuals and businesses daring to challenge the accepted standards and bring about much-needed change. He gives us hope by showing how we, too, can carry a light and spread it to others. While we can never know what material truth is, as it is ever-changing and fickle, we can know spiritual Truth and allow it to lead our way toward a brave new world!

"Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 481:2-4

Empathy Builds Community

I’m reading Dan Rather’s book, What Unites Us. He is old enough to remember what life was like in the aftermath of the great depression, times before we had government programs to help people in need, along with the suffering which was thought of as normal. When someone lost their job, it felt like death, because there was not another job to be found. Neighbors would do what they could for each other, and when Dan asked his mother why they were helping the people across the street, thinking perhaps it was pity which inspired his folks to give, he was told it wasn’t because they felt sorry for them, but because they understood the feeling of being in need. He writes of how empathy builds community. That feeling is strong here in Eureka Springs. In the last two-and-a-half decades, I’ve watched our town band together to help people in every kind of need imaginable. I have been the recipient of that kindness more than once, and it has built empathy within me, too. When we don’t blame people for their misfortune, we don’t judge their circumstances, but simply meet their need, whatever it may be. It seems so simple, and it is a beautiful thing to watch in action. I wish everyone in our country could read or listen to this book by Mr. Rather. Good will multiplies exponentially, don’t you think? Let’s go forth and multiply!

"Do we love our neighbor better because of this asking? Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer? If selfishness has given place to kindness, we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless them that curse us, but we shall never meet this great duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition of our hope and faith."  Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 9:6

What is Morality?

 

“If I had to write a book on morality, it would have a hundred pages and ninety-nine would be blank. On the last page I should write: 

'I recognize only one duty, and that is to love.'” 

Albert Camus