A New-Old Earth

 

photo credit: Blake Lasater

"A new species is arising on the planet. It is arising now, and you are it!" These lines end the Eckhart Tolle book, A New Earth. I wish it could be required reading for every person on this old earth! The beautifully clear way he explains how we cling to old belief​​, allowing ourselves to be influenced by fear, by the past, by illusion, is both inspiring and illuminating. Mr. Tolle's book gives numerous examples of seeing differently. I wish to dedicate every moment to seeing this new world, allowing the disappearance of old beliefs and hypnotic thoughts to provide a transparency for the arising of our new way of Living. What an exciting time for humanity!

“The Revelator tells us of “a new heaven and a new earth.” Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom?” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 91:1-4

Imagining Heaven

 

I heard well-known author and speaker, Marianne Williamson, say that worry was a lot like praying for something horrible to happen. Holding thought to the best possible outcome, without outlining what that outcome is, feels right to me. Whatever I put my attention on grows! Years of trying to plan my life (and that of those around me!) has taught me the futility of this. I now vow to listen for divine Mind’s ideas to lead me in the paths of Love. I don’t always hear this guidance above the cacophony of material existence, but I’m learning how to tune in to that still, small voice, and for this I am grateful.

“Life is divine Mind. Life is not limited.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 469:4-5

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Answered Prayer

 

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

How surprised would you be if your prayers were answered? I have a friend who tells me she's given up on God because she's never seen any proof. Upon questioning her, it turns out she has a laundry list of things she asks for regularly, and none of her wishes have come true. Once again, I feel we often confuse divine Love with Santa Claus. We may be asking some guy in the sky for special dispensation, rather than recognizing that this Principle is an eternal activity which we can plug into at any time. It's kind of like electricity: It's there, but it doesn't supply our needs unless we know how to utilize it. I’m learning the secret to plugging in is to not want anything! By not delineating what we think we need, but rather keeping our thoughts tuned to the divine Mind, all our needs are supplied. The nature of this Oneness ​brings what we need to us, and goes out to others, without us telling It about what that is!

“How empty are our conceptions of Deity! We admit theoretically that God is good, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite, and then we try to give information to this infinite Mind.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 3:17-22

Potent Grace

 

unknown photographer

There are many definitions given in the dictionary for the word grace. It is a noun, a verb, and an adverb, so it covers a lot of ground. The definition I want to focus on is this: "Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people." This grace which is ours shows itself in many ways. Perhaps it is seen in our kindness to others, and in theirs to us. It is emerging in the synchronicities we see in daily life. It is active when everything works together to bring order to our activities. Perhaps it is demonstrated in an apology, or an act of benevolence, a charitable deed, or an acceptance of someone's opinion which is opposite of ours. Grace is mine today, simply for the knowing of it.

“To see the world in a grain of sand,

And heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.”

William Blake

“Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other means and methods.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 67:23-24

Addictions, empathy, freedom

photo credit: Blake Lasater

 
I know numerous people who are living with addictions. Having been there myself with a variety of substances, I empathize and wish I could reach out and pull them from the quicksand. But no one can do that for anyone else. My beloved Kevin died from advanced alcoholism nine months ago today, and my dear friend Jane recently got home from two months in the hospital, and is working to recover from liver failure. Everyone perceives themselves differently, and these two people have helped me see these differences, and face my attitudes toward them and others who are struggling. Before knowing Kevin, my thinking toward addicts was probably ​more ​self-righteous than compassionate. Watching Jane struggle toward sobriety and healing is inspiring, yet frightening. Today I can’t help but feel gratitude to Kevin for passing quickly. What took him 40 years to cultivate was never admitted out loud, just as he never told me how horrible he felt all the time. The true compassion I have felt toward him since his death has changed my life. As a wise man once said, “We can’t change the past, but what we do in the present can rectify the past and change the future.” I will remember this when regrets try to push their way into my thoughts. And I’ll love more actively, right out loud.

“Nothing around you but is part of you. Look on it lovingly, and see the light of Heaven in it. So will you come to understand all that is given you. In kind forgiveness will the world sparkle and shine, and everything you once thought sinful now will be reinterpreted as part of Heaven. How beautiful it is to walk, clean and redeemed and happy, through a world in bitter need of the redemption that your innocence bestows upon it! What can you value more than this? For here is your salvation and your freedom. And it must be complete if you would recognize it.“ A Course in Miracles - T-23.in.6:1-8

The Miracle of Grace

 In 2016, then-president Barack Obama gave the eulogy at a memorial service for nine people who were murdered by a lone gunman in a church in South Carolina. Twice he repeated the words, amazing grace. Then he slowly started to sing the old hymn. The whole room began to sing along. In a lifetime of political rhetoric and drama, it was the most moving and heartfelt moment I have ever witnessed from a public figure. It is grace which allows us to embrace those who persistently speak words with which we disagree. It is grace which permits us to look beyond the actions of those whose lives run counter to the standard we have set for ourselves. It is grace which keeps us looking inward for peace while others shout for revenge. "Twas blind, but now I see."

"The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 494:15

True Communication

photo credit: Aaron Springston

From the moment we come into this form, we are taught what things are called, what those names represent, and the meaning we should place on them. These names and meanings tend to separate us from each other: they de-unify us. We think of learning as knowing what these things are, and we study to find out everything about them. In this world we have made, we need these symbols, these names, in order to convey information, yet we keep getting glimpses of true communication -- and, if you're like me, you want more! Watching birds fly in formation is but one way we glimpse a higher form of knowing. Rather than learning more about the illusion of names and notions, I'd rather work toward understanding the reality of a shared unity, via divine Mind. The knowledge that the confusion we are faced with in daily life is not true creation is a key to the door of Truth, wherein we find peace.

“The press unwittingly sends forth many sorrows and diseases among the human family. It does this by giving names to diseases and by printing long descriptions which mirror images of disease distinctly in thought. A new name for an ailment affects people like a Parisian name for a novel garment. Everyone hastens to get it.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 196:31-5