Choose Again?

 

Why do human beings find it so difficult to do the right thing? Let’s assume some things are right to one person and not so much to another. Setting that aside, yet aware it’s there, ponder on these thoughts with me. If we experience certain physical maladies (which are rampant), we know we could eat the right things and probably get better. But we’d rather take a pill and hope for the best, not wanting to abandon old habits. We improve our world by picking up litter, and we could facilitate change by not making litter! Yet we continue to use oil-based plastics which are as bad for our earth as that fried Twinkie is for that guy. Are there alternatives we could use? Yes, but it would take active participation on our part. Yours and mine. Maybe we would endure a few soggy straws before new technology evolves for the use of bamboo and hemp, for example. When the year of our isolation began, everyone was conserving their paper products to counteract all those who were hoarding theirs. That conservation caused us to examine how many wasteful habits could be replaced by copasetic-with-the planet alternatives. Word has it that an electric Ford pickup truck is making a big stir around the oil company break rooms nowadays. Thank goodness! We resist until a tipping point occurs, then we acquiesce and begin pulling weeds from cracks in sidewalks rather than getting out the herbicide. These are the types of “right things” I’m talking about. If your choices don’t feel right — choose again?

“Consciousness of right-doing brings its own reward, but not amid the smoke of battle is merit seen and appreciated by lookers-on.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 37:13

Discovering Better Ways

photo credit: Richard Quick

 ​What gratitude I feel in my heart for this past year! I’ve loved watching the changes we have undergone during what can only be described as challenging times. The extremes in behavioral tendencies have been remarkable, and my admiration and, alternatively, repugnance for people’s actions has been manic/depressive in scope! Schools, restaurants, medical facilities, churches, retail stores, bridge clubs, music festivals — everything! — has changed and evolved, mostly in positive, more efficient ways. While we look forward to getting back together in groups to celebrate holidays and enjoy events, many of us have become more sedate in our enjoyment of life. I remember one man posting on Facebook what a relief it was to not have to attend every event in Eureka Springs, as he had always felt he would miss something if he was not there. Eureka parades are legendary, and not having them has taken some of the exuberance from us — particularly Valerie Damon, who is in this wonderful photograph — but by not being obliged to attend gallery openings and fundraisers, many have relaxed into the silence between thoughts, and discovered they are happy there. Hopefully we don’t rush back into the old ways too quickly, missing the chance to find better ways of living. Namaste...

“The true theory of the universe, including man, is not in material history but in spiritual development. Inspired thought relinquishes a material, sensual, and mortal theory of the universe and adopts the spiritual and immortal.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 547:25

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