It Is Impossible to See Two Worlds

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

It is impossible to see two worlds. This is another lesson topic in A Course in Miracles. There is a world of Love, and there is a world of fear. I cannot see them both at the same time. This seems like an easy choice, but fear is often insidious and I may not realize which viewpoint is driving my actions. I can't know the world of Spirit when I'm thinking from the standpoint of mortal sense. I can't love my neighbors when I'm judging them. I can't hear the guidance of intuition when my thought is full of chaotic chatter. These dualities represent the two worlds we wish to embrace simultaneously. Everything I do, or say, or think, places me firmly in one world or the other. Moment by moment, I choose what to accept as truth. By consistently turning away from mortal concepts and looking to spiritual interpretations, I am choosing the world I want to see. And if I'm not comfortable with what I'm seeing, guess what? I can choose again!

“Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, 'The kingdom of God is within you.' This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 573:29-2

What I Think I Know

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photo credit: Nick Franchi

Many of us resort to chants and/or affirmations when seeking a specific outcome in life. ​Some people see nothing wrong with this approach -- and perhaps even a lot of right in it! I've come to think of this as mental manipulation, or a form of hypnotism, which may create a temporary change, but is not a lasting solution to anything. So then, if I'm not going to try to talk life into doing what I want it to, what am I going to do? I'm going to work to get out of my own way, to quiet my mind, to forget everything I’ve ever thought I knew about spirit. It's not my job to delineate what that is. Releasing what I think I know, surrendering projected outcomes, and totally relying on Love, I trust that everything I need will be added unto me. I needn’t think about what these things are,  because whatever the outcome is, it will be far better than anything I could have planned. Truth is waiting for me to clear the mist which is hiding it. For this, I am most grateful.

"This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not 'for the loaves and fishes,' nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 367:10-16

Of Eclipses and Such...

 

Total Eclipse of the Sun - Photo Credit: Blake Lasater

In mid-March, a group of 15 people, 7 men and 8 women between the ages of 27 and 50, went into the Lombrives Cave in France. Their intent was to spend 40 days without any outside stimulation. They had no watches and no schedules. They created their own electricity from stationary bikes and brought up water from an underground source. They were supplied with food and the temperature was a constant 54 degrees, with humidity of 95%. The purpose of this experiment was to see how people adapt to isolation. You and I have learned quite a bit about this topic in the last year, don’t you think? When this group of people came back into the “real” world, 2/3 of them said they would have liked to continue their underground experiment longer! They enjoyed being task-oriented rather than time-constrained. They fell into their natural sleep patterns and ate when they were hungry. We have learned a lot in the past 14 months. I’m hearing fabulous stories about the changing norms of education, ways of dispersing food to those in need, improved healthy living habits, and creativity in all areas of living. What an exciting time to be alive!

“Man is not absorbed in Deity, and man cannot lose his individuality, for he reflects eternal Life; nor is he an isolated, solitary idea, for he represents infinite Mind, the sum of all substance.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259:3

A Higher and More Permanent Peace

 

photo credit: Kevin Wright

I had a friend who died from cancer. She was very active and always busy doing things. I once asked her if she ever had any quiet time and she told me that she didn't want any because then she would have to think. Many traumatic events had happened in her life, including the violent deaths of her parents and tragic passing of her children. Our thoughts can be occupied by many temporal things, such as collecting material possessions, or perhaps we simply need the busyness of daily life to keep us from thinking about painful memories -- whatever the case, we rarely allow ourselves the quiet we need to hear Spirit. We may fear the unknown and think that the activities we busy ourselves with are necessary, rather than looking beyond them to the Truth which heals our fear. We may use alcohol and drugs to cover up the turmoil for a little while, but lasting peace only comes through knowledge of Love. Sometimes love is used as a soporific, placating our desire for an all-encompassing Love with no beginning nor end. Today I vow to remember to remember what I have forgotten, which is only known by quietly listening for the still, small voice within. Namaste, dear friends...

Mary Baker Eddy quote: “This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man’s absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace.” Science & Health Page 265:10-15

The Heights of Holiness

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

There is a delightful little book called, The Holy Man, ​written ​by Susan Trott. ​There are numerous ​stories recounted through a group of people who are waiting in line to see The Holy Man​, whose little house is at the top of a tall mountain​. They feel all their questions will be answered, all their problems solved, if only they can meet and speak with him. The irony is that when they are finally admitted to his home, he simply leads them through the house and out the back door. The beauty of the book is that everyone sees what they need to see from their interactions with others while waiting in the long line. We, too, have these ah-hah moments while going about our day-to-day activities. By releasing our by-rote reactions, we are free to practice forgiveness with every blameless thought we have. With this clean slate, who knows what insights will be ours? Like those people waiting to speak to The Holy Man, whom they believed had all the answers, we will be finding insight in every moment, simply by allowing ourselves to accept that we are One with God. As such, all answers are ours, even without asking questions!

“Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and disport themselves. In humility they climb the heights of holiness.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 513:26-9

Heaven Within

 

Why would we fear to look within our own hearts? Why would we fear seeing our true self? I think it's because we believe all the little horrible things we've done in our lives are what we'll be looking at. Perhaps we feel that to look within would involve some sort of life review which would require us to answer for every supposed sin we've committed. But what if we're looking within at our pure and perfect Self, as we are created by divine Love? And what if, after we find what we've forgotten, we allow it to come forth and live with us? In the process, we truly forgive ourselves for all of it, allowing thought to stay on the good and the true, releasing guilt and fear, living only in Love. What if ...

“When speaking of God's children, not the children of men, Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is within you;’ that is, Truth and Love reign in the real man, showing that man in God's image is unfallen and eternal." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 476:28-32

No Conflict in Truth

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

In this material world, we often have conflicting wishes about events and outcomes. When someone in our immediate family has a problem, we tend to think of it as our own. We have been conditioned to think we can fix others, and if we don't try, we fear that people will think we don't care. Then we're thrown into a quandary of feelings: love for our family, perhaps embarrassment over their actions, worry about what will happen to them, concern over what others will think -- the list can be endless! When we are able to release these feelings and see everyone as the spiritual creation they truly are, we begin to release this sense of personal responsibility, while affirming their goodness -- and ours! -- as a reflection of divine Love. Before we know it, we're thinking something wonderful about them when they come to mind, and we're free from the conflicting wishes born of material sense, revealing spiritual reality.

“We cannot serve two masters nor perceive divine Science with the material senses.” Mary Baker Eddy quote: Science and Health Page 167:11-12