Have a Peaceful Day

photo credit: Aaron Springston

 

Wage Peace - a poem by Judyth Hill 

Wage peace with your breath.

Breathe in firemen and rubble,

breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.

Breathe in terrorists

and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.

Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.

Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.

Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.

Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.

Make soup.

Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages.

Learn to knit, and make a hat.

Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,

imagine grief

as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.

Swim for the other side.

Wage peace.

Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:

Have a cup of tea and rejoice.

Act as if armistice has already arrived.

Celebrate today.

By: Judyth Hill

Forgiven and Understood

 

art by J. Clement Wall

judyclementwall.com

"I can forgive but I'll never forget." How often have we heard those words? The realization that we're all doing the best we can in any given situation has been a freeing thought for me. Recognizing what is of value and what is valueless is a factor in forgiveness, also. Nothing is of value, if it's changeable and transient. ​True substance is that which does not change. Nothing else truly matters. I spoke with a distant relative who told me she was so sad that I “hadn’t had a chance to forgive my parents before they died”. I had to laugh, because no blame leaves nothing to forgive!

“The real world is the state of mind in which the only purpose of the world is seen to be forgiveness. Fear is not its goal, for the escape from guilt becomes its aim. The value of forgiveness is perceived and takes the place of idols, which are sought no longer, for their ‘gifts’ are not held dear. No rules are idly set, and no demands are made of anyone or anything to twist and fit into the dream of fear. Instead, there is a wish to understand all things created as they really are. And it is recognized that all things must be first forgiven, and then understood.” A Course in Miracles Chapter 30:V:1

Outside Our Comfort Zones

 I've been making it a point to hang out with people who are outside of my regular social circle. It’s easy to fall into the habit of establishing tribes who agree with our belief systems. We join churches because folks support us in our preconceived beliefs and further root us in those understandings. We may join a community choir for the love of singing, or a theater group to stretch our imagination. Many of the activities we participate in encourage our personal growth and foster new experiences; others may cause us to be more deeply set in our ways. I love to participate in pods which do neither. Finding a group of people whose beliefs and understandings are as vI’aried as our ages and clothing choices is a stimulating and freeing activity! This is one of the reasons I love a group of people who regularly play duplicate bridge in my area. My thoughts are stretched, challenged, and amused by these folks. Wishing everyone the openness and mental exercise this activity fosters!

“…sacrifice is nowhere and love is everywhere. For communication embraces everything, and in the peace it re-establishes, love comes of itself.” A Course in Miracles Chapter 15 XI:7

Corrective Learning

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"Finding Their Voice"

sculpture by Ken Starbird

“Do what you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold. Fall in love whenever you can. “ These are words from an Alice Hoffman book I recently finished called Magic Lessons. Some of you may have read or seen the movie, Practical Magic. After this book she wrote two others tracing the ancestors of this family. In the latest, we go back to the 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts and witness the fear which colored the lives of people who killed things they didn’t understand. Whether it was brown-skinned people who lived off the land or black crows which seemed to mock them, these men killed for fun and ruled their women with an iron hand. The women who refused to follow their Bible-based so-called rules were done away with, and no one was able to stop the murders. But many free spirits continued to be visited by other women late at night, searching for healing herbs and spells to calm their men — or bring them the true love they desperately sought. Historical fiction allows us to witness the parallels with many of today’s surprising events. Human nature causes us to sink back to the depths of depravity and ignorance which would be laughable if it weren’t tragic. For this reason, we must continue the uncovering of our true Selves. We are divinely created and that is seen when it is acknowledged and embraced. The tipping point of human awakening is near. Don’t forget…

“Corrective learning always begins with the awakening of spirit, and the turning away from the belief in physical sight. This often entails fear, because you are afraid of what your spiritual sight will show you.” T-2.V.7:1-2

Unseparated Idea of God

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

You are the presence of God. Does this statement make you uneasy? Perhaps traditional theology has taught you that such an idea is sacrilege. Maybe you simply feel too inferior to accept yourself as Godlike. It's not so difficult to say that you are one with everything. We're happy to feel a connection with all things and often go on retreats and do workshops which help us feel this unity. But what does this thing called Oneness really mean? It could be taken wholly on a material basis, and you might say that we're all the same in our physical makeup of minerals and flesh, etc. You might be willing to go a step further and say we're all the same because God made us in Its image and likeness. Does it make you cringe to call God It rather than He? We're rather accustomed to anthropomorphizing God, making deity like us rather than the other way around. As we learn to accept and embrace our identity as the experience and expression of God, we learn we can proudly announce our goodness, our wholeness, even our perfection. This honors God and Its creation in a way that self-conscious deprecation or self-righteous pride cannot. What a beautiful day to explore what all this means in daily practice!

"God, without the image and likeness of Himself, would be a nonentity, or Mind unexpressed. He would be without a witness or proof of [Its] own nature. Spiritual man is the image or idea of God, an idea which cannot be lost nor separated from its divine Principle." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 303:25-30

Queen of the Sun

 

Photo credit: Kevin Wright

At this time of the year, I love revisiting a documentary called “Queen of the Sun". In this film about bees, we are told that pollen is materialized light. I love that, don't you? When thought of like this, it seems possible that we, too, are materialized light. We're also shown that the bee's light is freed through blocks of honeycomb, beautifully shared with all as sweet, beautiful honey. And yet again, the light is freed in the goodness of beeswax candles. The freeing of light is cumulative with the bees, and we can experience the same thing as we unshackle the light and peace and joy within ourselves. Another lesson from the bees is the importance of community. Watching them working together for a common cause is uplifting and inspiring to me. It makes me want to join with my neighbors and do something important. But wait -- I'm doing that! What blesses one blesses all. My awakening to light and joy and peace is yours, too. Bees, people, trees -- as infinite ideas, we're all in this together!

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 510:27-1

To Rant Or Not To Rant

 

photo credit: Aaron Springston

On this day of celebrating freedom and independence, I pause to think how difficult it is to keep my mouth shut — and wonder when I should and should not do so! For instance, someone was talking about Dunkin’ Donut coffee pods and how much they like them. I nearly told them how horrid pods were for the environment, and ​also had a desire to rant about coffee production killing songbirds. Then someone was talking about television and I almost began a lecture on hypnotism and mind control by corporations. So ​here ​I sit and ponder where to draw the line on this one. If I saw someone torturing an animal (or other living creature), I would step in and stop them. If someone was dumping their waste into a river, I would speak up and attempt to do something to change it. But what if someone is looking at life from a different perspective than mine, even if I feel it to be harmful? Do I have the right to impose my ideas on them? I know I must walk the talk and change the world by changing myself, but sometimes it’s difficult to keep quiet! Happy Independence Day...

“Watch carefully and see what it is you are really asking for. Be very honest with yourself in this, for we must hide nothing from each other. If you will really try to do this, you have taken the first step toward preparing your mind for the Holy One to enter.” ACIM Chapter 4: III.8