Keep, Give Away, Throw Away

 

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

Keep, give away, or throw away: these are the choices we must make when clearing out spaces around our homes. My carport has storage cabinets which have become chock full of things which don’t need to be there. When my oldest son was visiting, he and my younger son tackled this mess, while I made decisions on what would stay and what would go. More than once in this process, I wondered how much useless information I was keeping in my thoughts. As with the dusty masses of nails, screws and other things too good to throw away but of no use to me, I find many false beliefs have been passing through my thoughts on a regular basis. When I say “false beliefs”, it could be said all beliefs are false, but some of them seem to help us navigate the maze of living on this planet, while others simply occupy our time and bring about concern for our well-being. In striving to pay attention, I will try to keep and use all the pure thoughts received from divine Mind; I will share them with others, along with the physical practices which have served me well. Everything else will be sent to the landfill. As with items I choose to purchase, I will try not to take in any of those useless thoughts, making it easier to clean our the nooks and crannies in the future!

“The first step toward freedom involves a sorting out of the false from the true. This is a process of separation in the constructive sense, and reflects the true meaning of the Apocalypse. Everyone will ultimately look upon his own creations and choose to preserve only what is good, just as God Himself looked upon what He had created and knew that it was good. At this point, the mind can begin to look with love on its own creations because of their worthiness. At the same time the mind will inevitably disown its miscreations which, without belief, will no longer exist.”

A Course in Miracles T-2.VIII.4:1-5

“If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal mind, the brood of evils which infest it would be cleared out. We must begin with this so-called mind and empty it of sin and sickness, or sin and sickness will never cease. The present codes of human systems disappoint the weary searcher after a divine theology, adequate to the right education of human thought.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 234:17-24

The Sight is Costing You Vision

Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Photo credit: Stephen Shogren

Expect the best of people and that's what you'll get. I've always felt this to be true, and I've never been disappointed. Perhaps that's because I've realized everyone is doing the best they can, even if it doesn't seem very good to me -- ha! A friend said yesterday that she had, once again, been disappointed when someone didn't keep their word to her. She stated that it "always happened to her". Which reminded me of the old story of a woman out for a walk and meeting a man who had recently moved to town. She was asked what the people were like in his new community. She turned the question around and asked what the people were like where the newly-arrived man was from. He responded that they were wonderful. "Well, that's what they're like here, too!", responded the woman. Another day the same situation happened with someone else, but when she asked what people were like where the man came from, the response was that they were rude and mean. "Well, that's what you'll find here, too." Perceptions are everything, don't you think? I can look at a situation and see joy, but someone else may find problems and sadness. Perhaps it goes back to my favorite one of Ruiz's Four Agreements: Don't take anything personally! 

“The world you see must be denied, for sight of it is costing you a different kind of vision. You cannot see both worlds, for each of them involves a different kind of seeing, and depends on what you cherish. The sight of one is possible because you have denied the other. Both are not true, yet either one will seem as real to you as the amount to which you hold it dear. And yet their power is not the same, because their real attraction to you is unequal.”

A Course in Miracles T-13.VII.2:1-5

“Spiritual perception brings out the possibilities of being, destroys reliance on aught but God, and so makes man the image of his Maker in deed and in truth.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 203:13-16

We’re Here to Help Each Other

 

When politicians and leaders are heartless, it may seem okay for individuals to be the same, or for churches to say they must take care of themselves, or communities to build fences and declare themselves safe. It's way past time for us to look at what really matters. We are here to help each other. Yet many people and institutions seem to have a self-centered, me-first attitude. A wise man once said the measure of a country is in how it treats its animals. It's also in how it treats the hopeless, the homeless, the hungry, the children, and others in need. I will vote for candidates who care about human growth, about our planet, our rivers, our food supplies. Corporations are not people. They don't cry or care. Look your neighbor in the eye, listen to a friend in need, say a kind word to the serviceperson helping you, vote for people who do the same. We can make a difference!

“To my sense, the most imminent dangers confronting the coming century are: the robbing of people of life and liberty under the warrant of the Scriptures; the claims of politics and of human power, industrial slavery, and insufficient freedom of honest competition; and ritual, creed, and trusts in place of the Golden Rule, ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’”

Mary Baker Eddy - from The New York World, December, 1900 (An article entitled Insufficient Freedom)

“The Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This means that the perception of both must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both.⁷You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.III.6:2-7

Creatures Great and Small

 

I was reminded, once again, of what animals have to teach us. Today I reached into a small, dark lift (elevator, of sorts) in a 150-year-old church where I play organ. I heard a buzz go by my ear and then a trapped buzzing sound coming from my back. After shaking my shirt shoulder a couple of times, I realized a wasp was trapped in between my diaphanous overblouse and my linen shirt. I took off the sheer outer garment and by looking over my shoulder, I saw the buzzer sitting quietly on my back shoulder. I walked outside and requested it leave, and he/she did so. This brief episode brought into focus how our attitudes affect everything around us. The wasp and I had direct contact on my hand, my ear, and my back. Never at any time did I feel anxious or afraid. And neither did it. When I think back on the times my pets have been anxious or calm, depending upon my feelings — well, our thoughts are mobile and emotions fly fast! Let’s stay calm and positively directed today. Who knows who may benefit from it? Namaste …

“Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions’ den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless. All of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 514:26-30

“Are you invulnerable? Then the world is harmless in your sight. Do you forgive? Then is the world forgiving, for you have forgiven it its trespasses, and so it looks on you with eyes that see as yours. Are you a body? So is all the world perceived as treacherous, and out to kill. Are you a spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the stain of sin upon you? So the world is seen as stable, fully worthy of your trust; a happy place to rest in for a while, where nothing need be feared, but only loved. Who is unwelcome to the kind in heart? And what could hurt the truly innocent?” 

A Course in Miracles T-31.VI.6:1-10

A Sweet Story

 

Sunday Flight by Christian Schloe

I love this story from Kurt Vonnegut. Happy Sunday everyone!

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

“And he went wow. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at any of them.’

“And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: ‘I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.’

“And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘win’ at them.”

Kurt Vonnegut

The Good That Is Unfolding

Afternoon Tea

By Catrin Welz-Stein

I heard a term which sent me directly to a search engine: Adulting. Its definition is: “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks”. I have found it difficult to “adult” at times when I let myself become overwhelmed by too many activities. If my mind is racing in circles with a multitude of duties whirling around in it, I may flit from one to another with no focus anywhere. At those times, it’s easy to think there is too much on my plate and I’d rather retreat into a good book. Through the years, I’ve learned to sit quietly, listening for the rhythms of divine order to lead the way, and then to be present in the Now. Some people like to make lists and prioritize, others want someone to tell them what to do first, but few of us believe there is an omnipresence which can help us navigate life’s activities. It can be difficult to override our ego’s dictates, admitting that we may not know what is best, releasing control and flowing with the good which is unfolding right in front of us. But I’m going to keep trying, because I’ve seen how much easier it is than thinking I know it all!

“The objects of time and sense disappear in the illumination of spiritual understanding, and Mind measures time according to the good that is unfolding.” Mary Baker Eddy, Science & Health Page 584

“Do you really believe you can make a voice that can drown out God’s? Do you really believe you can devise a thought system that can separate you from Him? Do you really believe you can plan for your safety and joy better than He can? You need be neither careful nor careless; you need merely cast your cares upon Him because He careth for you. You are His care because He loves you. His Voice reminds you always that all hope is yours because of His care. You cannot choose to escape His care because that is not His Will, but you can choose to accept His care and use the infinite power of His care for all those He created by it.” 

A Course in Miracles T-5.VII.1:1-7

Frugal Repast

When I was a very young child, my parents had a slaughterhouse. It was a small operation in a small town and people would bring in the steer they raised, or the chickens they kept in the yard, to have them killed and dressed to put in their freezer. I wasn’t particularly traumatized by any of this, but I did hold the false notion that this humane treatment was the standard practice in our country. Then I started paying attention. After that, I began to restrict my animal intake and now call myself a wanna-be vegetarian (because I do on occasion eat meat). Apparently those occasions are rare enough that an indulgence in a big burger and fried side dishes has made me feel groggy and sluggish for more than a day! I’m not writing this to promote any particular way of eating, but I am hoping that everyone in the world will pay attention to what exactly it is we’re putting in our mouths. Our vegetables are poisoned on a regular basis, the corn syrup situation is frightening, and animals are living a nightmare to supply the outlandish amount of meat which is eaten. I know I eat too much and often am uncaring of what that intake is. While I’m not going to beat myself up over that burger and fries, I am going to try to eat a diet suitable for a small planet! 

"When error confronts you, withhold not the rebuke or the explanation which destroys error. Never breathe an immoral atmosphere, unless in the attempt to purify it. Better is the frugal intellectual repast with contentment and virtue, than the luxury of learning with egotism and vice." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 452