Held In Fear By The Past?

Cesar Milan, “The Dog Whisperer", (whom I mention often in these writings) tells us he rehabilitates dogs and trains people. He observes that dogs live in the moment. When he is helping people to understand a dog which seems maimed by past experiences in its life, he always tells us that feeling sorry for the animal is of no benefit. How can this be? The dog is hurting and we're being asked to deny that? Yes!! This is why we are learning that it's necessary to give up all beliefs -- not just those we deem to be "bad", but all material beliefs. By letting them go and replacing them with an openness of thought which allows us to hear the Truth of our Being, we experience the miracle which is the natural order of Life. It may not seem logical to say that we can simply release feelings of fear and anger. They can appear very real to us, but if we stop and examine them, do they have any purpose other than to bind us to the past? One dog Cesar worked with had slid into a glass door. The dog was now afraid to walk on any floor without a carpet. Upon investigation of its people's reactions, they had immediately reinforced the dog's fears by petting, and commiserating, and talking about what a horrible experience it had been. They held the dog in fear by acts they thought of as compassion. What Cesar explains is that dogs live in the moment, unless they're held in the past by everyone around them. I’m so grateful for every experience which helps me to discern between belief and reality -- especially when it's shown to me by a dog!

“When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, 'I am hurt!' Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 397:12-16

“The present now remains the only time. Here in the present is the world set free. For as you let the past be lifted and release the future from your ancient fears, you find escape and give it to the world. You have enslaved the world with all your fears, your doubts and miseries, your pain and tears; and all your sorrows press on it, and keep the world a prisoner to your beliefs. Death strikes it everywhere because you hold the bitter thoughts of death within your mind.“

A Course in Miracles W-132.3:1-5

One Step at a Time

During a lull in the rain today, I drove to do an errand. On the way, I saw a woman sweeping up leaves and debris from her front porch and sidewalk. This dear neighbor  has recently lost her son in a tragic bicycling accident. She also has been struggling with memory loss and cognitive problems. But there she was, sweeping her porch; doing what needs to be done, despite her sorrow and confusion. She inspires me to meet the challenges of my day with a smile and the quiet determination to see a task done. When I think about people I know and the difficulties they face simply getting out of bed in the morning, it makes me proud to call them friend. Consciousness unfolding is the stuff of God, and I’m so happy to share it with everyone! Namaste, my friends …

“Fixing your gaze on the realities supernal, you will rise to the spiritual consciousness of being, even as the bird which has burst from the egg and preens its wings for a skyward flight.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 261:27-31

“A major contribution of miracles is their strength in releasing you from your false sense of isolation, deprivation and lack.” 

A Course in Miracles  T-1.I.42:1

Weaving Webs of Illusion

Photo credit: Robert Gonsalves

I’ve been thinking today about the illusions we create for ourselves and others. Perhaps we don’t want our children to know things about our past, or maybe there is a deep, dark secret we think would bring shame on our family, or perhaps it’s something as simple as not examining ourselves in the mirror because we can’t accept the physical changes we see. I remember years ago when I was helping a neighbor who was in denial about many things. I would take her with me to an empty church and play the organ for her, while other neighbors sneaked into her house to clean. She probably hadn’t cleaned her house or herself for years. She had two huge dogs which she fed chicken and rice, but she, herself, would only eat green beans and ice cream. Part of the illusion she had created involved taking down the mirrors in her house. Once someone took a photo of us in the front yard with her dogs. When I showed her the photo, she asked if one of the women was her. She had decided how things were in her life, and nothing was going to change her illusions. Sometimes we weave such a web that everything would fall apart without their false security. There is much to be considered here …

“We must look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things. Can we gather peaches from a pine-tree, or learn from discord the concord of being? Yet quite as rational are some of the leading illusions along the path which Science must tread in its reformatory mission among mortals. The very name, illusion, points to nothingness.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 129:22-29

“Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions, they restore your sanity.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.I.33:1-4

Rectify the Past and Change the Future

 

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Tonight I attended a meeting of our local metaphysical society. Although I haven’t done so in years, the man presenting this evening’s program is a friend, and he asked me to be there. I enjoyed hearing him tell of the stumbling trail which led him to this point in his life. Some of the experiences he related led to others asking questions about “past life regressions” and related subjects. It’s always surprising to me that anyone cares about these things, but I managed to keep this opinion to myself. Do we need to know if we’re carrying “bad karmic energy” around in order to rectify it? I have a feeling we’re here to learn to express the Love which created us, and this expression is manifested in our every thought and action. Living every moment as lovingly and with as much compassion as we possibly can, this is what feels important to me. This statement has stayed with me, although its author’s name has not: “We cannot change the past, but what we do in the present rectifies the past and changes the future.” That’s enough for me!

“The ego has a strange notion of time, and it is with this notion that your questioning might well begin. The ego invests heavily in the past, and in the end believes that the past is the only aspect of time that is meaningful. Remember that its emphasis on guilt enables it to ensure its continuity by making the future like the past, and thus avoiding the present. By the notion of paying for the past in the future, the past becomes the determiner of the future, making them continuous without an intervening present. For the ego regards the present only as a brief transition to the future, in which it brings the past to the future by interpreting the present in past terms.” 

A Course in Miracles  T-13.IV.4:1-5

“Jesus aided in reconciling man to God by giving man a truer sense of Love, the divine Principle of Jesus' teachings, and this truer sense of Love redeems man from the law of matter, sin, and death by the law of Spirit,--the law of divine Love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 18:6-11

Prayerful Listening

 

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

Eureka Springs, AR - 2023

The past two weeks have been a blur to me. Snow, ice, prayer and meditation while waiting for an answer to the puzzle of what is to become of my sweet nonagenarian friends. That seems an odd way to think of them, as I’ve known them for around 30 years and they are just “friends”, but the clarification seems necessary when I’m explaining their extreme need. Many friends have been forthcoming with suggestions and possibilities for someone to live with them. Today, I think they have found the perfect person to help them through this. An incredibly loving and kind woman, with grown children, a part-time job, and a desire to find purpose for her life, has appeared. When Clarence, my friend with Alzheimer’s, asked where I found her, I happily told him the Universe had brought her to us. A series of synchronized events bring us to this parenthesis in eternity. The gratitude I feel is immense! 

“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health 497:24-27

“The secret of true prayer is to forget the things you think you need. To ask for the specific is much the same as to look on sin and then forgive it. Also in the same way, in prayer you overlook your specific needs as you see them, and let them go into God’s Hands. There they become your gifts to Him, for they tell Him that you would have no gods before Him; no love but His. What could His answer be but your remembrance of Him? Can this be traded for a bit of trifling advice about a problem of an instant’s duration? God answers only for eternity. But still all little answers are contained in this.” A Course in Miracles S-1.I.4:1-8

Ch-ch-ch-changes…

Four “Novel Women”

 Ramona posted this on social media today, and I send it on to you:

“I asked a friend who has crossed 70 and is heading towards 80 what sort of changes she is feeling in herself? She sent me the following:

1. After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself.
2. I have realized that I am not ‘Atlas’. The world does not rest on my shoulders.
3. I have stopped bargaining with vegetable and fruit vendors. A few pennies more is not going to break me, but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.
4. I leave my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than I am.
5. I stopped telling the elderly that they've already narrated that story many times. The story makes them walk down memory lane & relive their past.
6. I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection.
7. I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me. And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say ‘Thank You.’
8. I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appearances.
9. I walk away from people who don't value me. They might not know my worth, but I do.
10. I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.
11. I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human.
12. I have learned that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships, I will never be alone.
13. I have learned to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last.
14. I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be!”

Smile on Your Neighbor

New/Old Friends

Events surrounding my nonagenarian friends, who have been having a rough time, have caused me to think about neighbors. During a recent ice event in our town, my friends were alone in their home (their son having passed away the previous week). The ice came quickly, and they had a problem with their phones so no one knew if they were in need. Friends called the police who did a welfare check, discovering they were safe. They then contacted a close-by neighbor to see if they would be available in case of emergency. When the neighbors visited in my friends’ home, it was the first time they had ever spoken, even though they had been next door to each other for years. I find this concept to be foreign because my neighbors have always been close friends, too. I hope this is true for most people! Even though sitting on the front porch visiting with neighbors is not as prevalent as before the invention of the television and computer, I hope people still gather together just for the fun of it! That common ground we all need to find is there, waiting for us to open the door, no matter what our philosophical differences may be. As a person who enjoys solitude, I know this isn’t always easy to do. But let’s remember, we don’t have to spend lots of time with people to acknowledge that we’re all in this together …

“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:15-19

“You are being blessed by every beneficent thought of any of your brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of gratitude. You need not know them individually, or they you. The light is so strong that it radiates throughout the Sonship and returns thanks to the Father for radiating His joy upon it. Only God’s holy children are worthy channels of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by sharing it. It is impossible for a child of God to love his neighbor except as himself. That is why the healer’s prayer is: Let me know this brother as I know myself.” 

A Course in Miracles T-5.in.3:1-8