No Condemnation = Forgiveness

 

Love, forgiveness, salvation -- these and many other words have taken on interesting connotations through our material interpretations and beliefs. How often does our version of love include jealousy, attachment, and various demands we insist upon for someone to be a worthy recipient of our matter-based love? And forgiveness seldom is an acknowledgement that there is truly nothing to forgive, but carries with it superior thoughts and magnanimous gestures. Salvation has an odd interpretation which includes a paying of penance to someone or something. As we turn away from the material conceptions of these and other words, we are allowed to glimpse Love, wherein there is no forgiveness nor salvation as we think of them. A Course in Miracles assures us that "God does not forgive because He has never condemned." Also, the forgiveness we humans are learning about is "the reflection of God's Love on earth." How beautiful is that!!  When looked at from this perspective, it seems senseless to say that we can forgive but not forget. We can release all thoughts of retaliation or revenge and live by the law of grace. How I long to forget everything and begin again from Love!

"Progress takes off human shackles. The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal. Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and Mother of the universe, including man." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 256:1-8

The Invincible

my grand baby, Torin ...

 “He said, 'In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger -- something better, pushing right back." Albert Camus 

"If I am not feeling peaceful, it is important for me to remember that I have made a judgment on my own. If I am not peaceful, I have not listened to the Holy Spirit. The way I return to peace is to once again open my mind to the healing perceptions of my inner Comforter, the One Who straightens my mind. My one vocation now becomes that of stepping back and following the lead of my inner Teacher, the One Who can return me to my true Identity." A Course in Miracles - Workbook Lesson #352

Music of the Spheres

 

photo of Miten, from Deva Primal

Science fiction, the speculation of how life will be in the future, has always fascinated me. The serene surroundings of those who neither want nor need is very appealing. A place where there is no room for anger or warlike behavior because all actions are filled with Love, where the rare disagreement is settled through the decision of a "fair witness", the utopia which ensues in this atmosphere seems so simple. It feels as though these dreams of future perfection are here with us now. They are being realized in a myriad of ways. Do an internet search on good deeds, or Age of Aquarius, or peaceful living, if you feel the need for affirmation that this reality is with us here and now. I recently saw a movie in which a 102-year-old woman said these words: "We ain't what we should be, we ain't what we gonna be, but at least we ain't what we were." The major shifts in thought that we're experiencing is making many people uncomfortable. Some tell me that they feel restless and discontented. I think this is a symptom of the shift we're experiencing. It is tempting for many to cover these feelings of distress with alcohol and drugs, perhaps even with extreme physical activity. I urge you to fear not, but to hold thought steadily to the good and true. Follow your intuition to find ways to assuage this discontent. I see now that nothing can keep the miracle away, no matter how hard we try.

"Eternal Truth is changing the universe. As mortals drop off their mental swaddling clothes, thought expands into expression. 'Let there be light,' is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 255:1

Sweeping Away Distortion

 

Newton County, Arkansas

unknown photographer (probably Tim Ernst)

"Forgiveness sweeps away distortion, and opens the hidden altar to the truth." Looking at this sentence from A Course in Miracles -- even through the limited eyes of our mortal mind -- it seems so beautifully true! I was chatting with a friend who tells me that her neighbor is convinced there is a mountain lion in their country neighborhood. He's going through all sorts of interesting practices in an attempt to "insure his family's safety". I live in town and my next door neighbor has strobe lights going all night long off of his back porch, attempting to deter turkey vultures from bedding down in the trees surrounding his house. Both of these people are afraid for reasons only they know. I can join them, either by fearing along with them or thinking about how silly I believe their actions to be. Either way would exacerbate their fears. So knowing that our minds are joined by virtue of our parent Mind, I choose forgiveness and allow love to replace any feelings of ridicule which may tempt me. Now that I've said it, let's see if I can do it!

"The nearer a false belief approaches truth without passing the boundary where, having been destroyed by divine Love, it ceases to be even an illusion, the riper it becomes for destruction. The more material the belief, the more obvious its error, until divine Spirit, supreme in its domain, dominates all matter, and man is found in the likeness of Spirit, his original being."Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 97:14-20

Lest We All Fall Into the Pit ...

 

Most of us know someone who lives with debilitating depression. Something I did not realize is that many family members feel guilty being happy around their depressed loved one. So oftentimes, the whole family ends up depressed on some level because of the one who is at the depths. Hum. While listening to BK Shivani talk about this phenomenon, I suddenly realized how much I have witnessed this happening amongst people I know. She gives an example of how a family may be walking in the woods and one member falls into a pit. Right away, one by one, the others jump in to be with the trapped member. They’re family after all, and they stick together. But wait! At least one must stay out of the pit if they are to survive. And so it is with depression and grief: one person must be willing to keep their vibrations high and joyous in order to bring the others up to that level, raising them out of the pit. And so, instead of guilt over feeling happy in the face of someone who is chronically depressed, we need to be proud that we have the courage to stay out of the pit and be happy, raising the vibration of everyone around us. An example came to mind of a dark closet. When you open the door, the dark doesn’t escape into the light room; the light chases away the darkness. Keep on keeping on everyone!

"Harmony is produced by its Principle, is controlled by it and abides with it. Divine Principle is the Life of man. Man's happiness is not, therefore, at the disposal of physical sense. Truth is not contaminated by error. Harmony in man is as beautiful as in  music, and discord is unnatural, unreal." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 304:17-21

Soul

 

Anna Pavlova with her pet swan, Jack, 1905.

“How it is that animals understand things I do not know, but it is certain that they do understand. Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it. Perhaps there is a soul hidden in everything and it can always speak, without even making a sound, to another soul.” Frances Hodgson Burnett – A Little Princess, 1905.

Finding Joy Within Sorrow

photo credit: Blake Lasater

 In yesterday’s blog, I hailed the wonder of joyful living. A few people tell me I was wrong. I fully understand that sometimes things happen in our lives, and we are overcome with grief. I know this is true, and I think grief should be honored. Cry when you feel like it, and ask for help if you can’t stand the pain alone. These are parts of active grieving and I think they are necessary. One person told me it was impossible to be joyous when so many people in this world are starving, homeless, seemingly without hope. I remember one of my favorite wise men saying that no matter how bad we feel, it won’t change what someone is experiencing. And writing this reminds me of another author who said that what we do in the present changes the future and redeems the past. This stream-of-consciousness post is to clear my thoughts. What has come from it, for me, is the knowledge that joy is still there within the grief. At some point, we begin to see glimmers of that light. My hope is that we’re not afraid to accept our feelings of joy and sadness, even when they occur simultaneously. When we witness children in need, we can hold them high in our thoughts, leading humankind to acknowledge their need and seeing how, individually and collectively, to supply it. There is a solution to every problem, and joy, love, and compassion lead the way to answers. 

“My angels are exalted thoughts, appearing at the door of some sepulcher, in which human belief has buried its fondest earthly hopes. With white fingers they point upward to a new and glorified trust, to higher ideals of life and its joys.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health P 299:11