Enveloped in Peace

Scala Dei Turchi White Wall  - Italy

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

While things are not always the way we think they should be, we can still be happy and at peace. What happens within you is entirely yours; what happens around you is never yours alone.  How often do you hear someone say: He/She pushes my buttons! This means, of course, that someone “makes you angry or upset”. Is this really happening? How we react to someone else is either peaceful or tumultuous, and we have that choice to make in every moment. When I was a child, I didn’t like to have conversations when I first awakened in the morning. My mother thought this was a flaw in my character and tried to change me. Looking at this now, I see that silence in the morning works best for many of us. If I start out the day with inane conversation, or news stories hand-picked to feed my fears, the timbre of the day has been set and it’s difficult to center myself in the peace which is always a present possibility. Similarly, when I don’t sleep well at night, it’s because I haven’t been able to shut down my thoughts. Although I am not a fan of ritual, morning and evening quiet meditations work for me. We are all individuals, and through an examination of your feelings, habits, and demeanor, you can discover what works for you, too! 

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures Page 45:16-21

“O my brothers, if you only knew the peace that will envelop you and hold you safe and pure and lovely in the Mind of God, you could but rush to meet Him where His altar is. Hallowed your Name and His, for they are joined here in this holy place. Here He leans down to lift you up to Him, out of illusions into holiness; out of the world and to eternity; out of all fear and given back to love.” 

A Course in Miracles C-4.8:1-3

Life is a Meditation

 

Photo credit: Blake Lasater’s family

How do you integrate your spiritual practice into daily life? When asked this question, I had to pause and think about it. Since I don’t have any rituals which would be defined as “spiritual practice”, I suppose they are asking about the moments I stop to commune with the Universe — times when waiting in line at the grocery, or staying calm while choir direction is happening, or clearing my mind to listen for inspiration in the daily Wordle! Hum, I guess life IS a spiritual practice, don’t you think? When I find myself turning a situation around and ‘round in thought, or when I replay possible scenarios of how things may transpire, that’s the time for a mental reminder to just stop it! Spiritual practice, for me, can be defined as getting out of my own way and listening for the inner voice which could be called intuition, or God. While some may think going to church once a week constitutes a spiritual practice, most folks I know have a moment-to-moment awareness which is guided by Love. How do you know if you’re life is directed by Spirit or ego? If you’re at peace, it’s God; if you’re upset and unhappy, it’s ego!

“Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 1:10-14

“It is impossible to accept the holy instant without reservation unless, just for an instant, you are willing to see no past or future. You cannot prepare for it without placing it in the future. Release is given you the instant you desire it. Many have spent a lifetime in preparation, and have indeed achieved their instants of success. This course does not attempt to teach more than they learned in time, but it does aim at saving time. You may be attempting to follow a very long road to the goal you have accepted. It is extremely difficult to reach Atonement by fighting against sin. Enormous effort is expended in the attempt to make holy what is hated and despised. Nor is a lifetime of contemplation and long periods of meditation aimed at detachment from the body necessary. All such attempts will ultimately succeed because of their purpose. Yet the means are tedious and very time consuming, for all of them look to the future for release from a state of present unworthiness and inadequacy.” 

A Course in Miracles - T-18.VII.4:1-11 

Fearful Illusions

 

Italy - photo credit: Blake Lasater

One of my favorite acronyms is “False Evidence Appearing Real”. Fear stems from the idea that we can be separated from joy and love, from peace and security. It would be unkind to tell someone there is nothing to fear when they are in the middle of a war zone or have, perhaps, been brutally attacked. At this stage of our evolution, it's probably best to think this truth silently, affirming within ourselves that illusions are not facts and there is, in reality, nothing to fear. For instance, I have a friend who has been in a car accident and is now afraid to drive outside of our small hometown. While I did not make light of her fear, I also steadfastly refused to reinforce her trepidation by agreeing with her. I don’t think true compassion is shown by agreeing with erroneous thought; rather, thought can be changed by seeing the error in thinking and asserting the truth of our being as an expression of divine Mind (God). I pray for the grace which will guide me to silence or action!

“The epoch approaches when the understanding of the truth of being will be the basis of true religion. At present mortals progress slowly for fear of being thought ridiculous. They are slaves to fashion, pride, and sense. Some time we shall learn how Spirit, the great architect, has created men and women in Science. We ought to weary of the fleeting and false and to cherish nothing which hinders our highest selfhood.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:32-8

“You who have been unmerciful to yourself do not remember your Father’s Love. And looking without mercy upon your brothers, you do not remember how much you love Him. Yet it is forever true. In shining peace within you is the perfect purity in which you were created. Fear not to look upon the lovely truth in you. Look through the cloud of guilt that dims your vision, and look past darkness to the holy place where you will see the light. The altar to your Father is as pure as He Who raised it to Himself. Nothing can keep from you what Christ would have you see. His Will is like His Father’s, and He offers mercy to every child of God, as He would have you do.” A Course in Miracles T-13.X.9:1-9

Joy or Pain

 

Photo credit: Blake Lasater

I remember a wonderful anecdote which relates to choosing joy rather than pain. In this story, we are asked how much a glass of water weighs. Then we are told it doesn't matter what its weight is; it matters how long we hold it. If we hold it a minute, it's light. If we hold it an hour, our arm and/or hand may become uncomfortable with the weight. If we hold it all day, our arm will feel paralyzed. This scenario is a metaphor for holding onto worries and fears. If we keep them with us, we become convinced that they are impossible to overcome. We are paralyzed from the carrying of this weight. All we have to do is put the glass down to be released from our burden! Then we are free to feel the joy which is innately ours as a child of Love.

“Who that has felt the loss of human peace has not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy? The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 265:23-30

“And so again we make the only choice that ever can be made; we choose between illusions and the truth, or pain and joy, or hell and Heaven. Let our gratitude unto our Teacher fill our hearts, as we are free to choose our joy instead of pain, our holiness in place of sin, the peace of God instead of conflict, and the light of Heaven for the darkness of the world.” A Course in Miracles W-190.11:1-2

Nothing Unreal Exists

 

Italy - photo credit: Blake Lasater

My mind is swirling with visions of past friendships and present turmoil and confusion. The confusion is not mine, and I’m not taking it on, but I am having a difficult time holding to the spiritual truth of this situation. The thing I keep coming back to is Ho’oponopono, the Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. Perhaps I find this so appealing because of my early Christian Science training. When facing difficult situations, I tend to go back to holding to the Truth of our being. The forgiveness practice of Ho’oponopono is a form of keeping thoughts away from the seeming problem, while concentrating on the words, “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.” It helps to quiet my circular thoughts and allow the still, small voice to be heard inwardly, guiding me to where I need to be. And so I will repeat these words every time the distressing situation tells me there is no solution. At times like this, I am extremely grateful for A Course in Miracles and all the teachers and students who are holding their thought above the illusion. Namaste...

“Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the peace of God.” 

A Course in Miracles

“Right is radical. The teacher must know the truth himself. He must live it and love it, or he cannot impart it to others. We soil our garments with conservatism, and afterwards we must wash them clean. When the spiritual sense of Truth unfolds its harmonies, you take no risks in the policy of error.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 452:18-23

Mary Oliver - Gratitude

 

Unknown photographer

Gratitude by Mary Oliver

“What did you notice?

The dew-snail;
the low-flying sparrow;
the bat, on the wind, in the dark;
big-chested geese, in the V of sleekest performance;
the soft toad, patient in the hot sand;
the sweet-hungry ants;
the uproar of mice in the empty house;
the tin music of the cricket’s body;
the blouse of the goldenrod.

What did you hear?

The thrush greeting the morning;
the little bluebirds in their hot box;
the salty talk of the wren,
then the deep cup of the hour of silence.

When did you admire?

The oaks, letting down their dark and hairy fruit;
the carrot, rising in its elongated waist;
the onion, sheet after sheet, curved inward to the pale green wand;
at the end of summer the brassy dust, the almost liquid beauty of the flowers;
then the ferns, scrawned black by the frost.

What astonished you?

The swallows making their dip and turn over the water.

What would you like to see again?

My dog: her energy and exuberance, her willingness,
her language beyond all nimbleness of tongue,
her recklessness, her loyalty, her sweetness,
her strong legs, her curled black lip, her snap.

What was most tender?

Queen Anne’s lace, with its parsnip root;
the everlasting in its bonnets of wool;
the kinks and turns of the tupelo’s body;
the tall, blank banks of sand;
the clam, clamped down.

What was most wonderful?

The sea, and its wide shoulders;
the sea and its triangles;
the sea lying back on its long athlete’s spine.

What did you think was happening?

The green beast of the hummingbird;
the eye of the pond;
the wet face of the lily;
the bright, puckered knee of the broken oak;
the red tulip of the fox’s mouth;
the up-swing, the down-pour, the frayed sleeve of the first snow—

so the gods shake us from our sleep.”

written by Mary Oliver

Gratitude

“Can you imagine how beautiful those you forgive will look to you? In no fantasy have you ever seen anything so lovely. Nothing you see here, sleeping or waking, comes near to such loveliness. And nothing will you value like unto this, nor hold so dear. Nothing that you remember that made your heart sing with joy has ever brought you even a little part of the happiness this sight will bring you. For you will see the Son of God. You will behold the beauty the Holy Spirit loves to look upon, and which He thanks the Father for. He was created to see this for you, until you learned to see it for yourself. And all His teaching leads to seeing it and giving thanks with Him.” 

A Course in Miracles T-17.II.1:1-9

“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