Free Yourself From Memory

All the Flowers in the Universe

Art by Eli Halpin

“It takes a huge effort to free yourself from memory, but when you succeed, you start to realize that you’re capable of far more than you imagined. You live in this vast body called the Universe, which contains all the solutions and all the problems. Visit your soul; don’t visit your past.” Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Seeing this quote from one of my favorite authors caused me to think about something which has been happening recently: I’ve been regretting things from the past.  This is a practice I thought had been forsaken long ago, but I’ve found myself waking up in the morning and remembering things I would like to change. Self-examination is a good thing, and anytime anyone chastises me for an action, I examine my motives and double check to see if my thinking needs correction. But I don’t tend to have regrets and feel sad about past actions. As I write this, a quote comes to mind — perhaps from this same author, and maybe even the same book: “You can’t change the past, but what you do in the present rectifies the past and changes the future.” I’ve quoted this many times to other people, and it’s time to practice what I preach!

“We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are. If a friend informs us of a fault, do we listen patiently to the rebuke and credit what is said? Do we not rather give thanks that we are ‘not as other men’? During many years the author has been most grateful for merited rebuke. The wrong lies in unmerited censure, — in the falsehood which does no one any good.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 8:28-4

“In Him you have no cares and no concerns, no burdens, no anxiety, no pain, no fear of future and no past regrets. In timelessness you rest, while time goes by without its touch upon you, for your rest can never change in any way at all. You rest today. And as you close your eyes, sink into stillness. Let these periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that all its frantic fantasies were but the dreams of fever that has passed away. Let it be still and thankfully accept its healing. No more fearful dreams will come, now that you rest in God. Take time today to slip away from dreams and into peace.” 

A Course in Miracles W-109.5:1-8

Loving Grandchildren

My daughter-in law and grandson

I’ve been with my son’s family for the last week. Imagine my delight when the topic of Marianne Williamson’s morning email was her granddaughter! I give you these beautiful thoughts for today —-

From Marianne Williamson: “I’ve been in London for the last three weeks, as my daughter who lives here gave birth to my first grandchild. And today was Elizabeth’s baby naming! Parents, grandparents, and friends gathered to pray for her health and happiness throughout her life.

After the ceremony, I carried Elizabeth into a room where we had a few minutes alone. Nothing like the birth of a child reminds us of our ancestors who are no longer with us, as well as our descendants who are yet to arrive. We are reminded of our place in history when a child is born, as well as the responsibilities that go along with it. Praying for the wellbeing of a newborn child, we’re reminded to pray for the world in which she will grow up.

I worry about the world Elizabeth is inheriting, and I know that most new parents and grandparents feel the same these days. We’re anxious about the state of things, including the state of the planet itself. Yet with the birth of each new child comes the arrival of new hope. In our quiet moments that we had together today, I promised Elizabeth I would do my best to make the world a better place for her. Every person who surrounded her made a similar commitment today, and in our hearts we really meant it.

I feel sad to be leaving London next week, for every day Elizabeth’s little face takes on new layers of beauty. Watching my daughter and her husband parent her so lovingly, I’m present to a miracle simply gazing at their family. I’m sad to think of little things that I’ll be missing, not being a Mimi who lives around the corner as my own grandmother did. But I do know I’m supposed to go home next week, to hit the ground running on our campaign for a better world.

As I held Elizabeth in my arms, I spoke from my soul to hers. I told her how much I love her, and I reminded her to remember what she herself is here to do. In the ceremony of blessing, the rabbi had prayed she would grow up to be a woman of learning and a woman of service. When I had my own time with her, I added my prayer for her power and strength. May the love she has brought into the world already be magnified millions and millions of times throughout her life.

Meanwhile, her Mimi will travel back to the United States in a few days; but being a grandmother, I am changed. More than ever, I will commit our campaign to the wellbeing of children. More than ever, I will commit our campaign to the repair of the earth. More than ever, I will commit our campaign to love.

For Elizabeth, and for all the children just arriving in the world right now, together let’s create something beautiful for them all.”

Happy Children

 

My Grand Baby

It’s vacation time and I will not be writing to you for the next week. If anyone feels the need for an encouraging word, go to the blog where there are daily writings from the last 12 years. You can plug in any word in the search and be surprised by a morning note just for you! Please enjoy these coming days…

Blogspot.DivineMetaphysics.com

“Children are more tractable than adults, and learn more readily to love the simple verities that will make them happy and good.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 236:25-27

“Salvation can be thought of as a game that happy children play. It was designed by One Who loves His children, and Who would replace their fearful toys with joyous games, which teach them that the game of fear is gone. His game instructs in happiness because there is no loser. Everyone who plays must win, and in his winning is the gain to everyone ensured. The game of fear is gladly laid aside, when children come to see the benefits salvation brings.” A Course in Miracles W-153.12:1-5

Awakening Mind

Part of a light exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum in

Bentonville, Arkansas

Are you as excited as I am about the multitude of documentaries about the brain and Mind? Today I ran across one titled “Awakening Mind (Part 1) Know Thyself.” Numerous people are telling of their experiences leaving behind belief and allowing their brain to open to the field of all possibilities. This yielding to allow Mind to flow into our thoughts, to guide our actions, to nourish our being, is being demonstrated and celebrated everywhere! I know many people who will tell me to get my head out of the sand and look around at the outlandish thoughts and actions which follow in the wake of closed minds. That’s right, I choose not to pay attention to this — and why? Because there is So Much Good happening everywhere I look! Why should I backtrack and put my attention on its opposite? I can hardly wait to see what catches my attention tomorrow, as I got forward refusing to see anything but the good which is unfolding!

(This writing is sometimes attributed to Mary Baker Eddy, and sometimes Bicknell Young. It doesn’t matter to me as it is a product of Divine Mind. Namaste…)

“I have learned how to make Science a thing of life, not words, and I am going to tell you what the wonderful secret is, for it is wonderful. Now it is this: not to see or hear or repeat any kind of imperfection. It is seeing, hearing, and repeating only good at all times, under all circumstances, in spite of everything that appears to the contrary.

I make this resolution every morning when I wake up, when first I open my eyes, and I review it every hour of the day. I see perfection, a perfect cause and effect, perfect God and perfect man. And I refuse to admit the slightest imperfection in myself, of my friends, and in my so-called enemies, in my affairs or in the affairs of the world. I take my radical stand every day for the perfection of God in everything and everybody He has made.

I look upon the world with God’s eyes and see it as He sees it. I refuse to see it any other way. I stop a dozen times a day to review this resolution and to make sure that I am not giving way to fear or criticism. I watch my thoughts about people – the lame, the old, the unlovely (to sense) that I meet – and stray animals. I have taken a radical stand for the perfection of all things, and I will not, absolutely will not, release the perfect standard.

The results have been marvelous. Try it, and you will forget to wear your glasses, as they will not be necessary. You will be seeing with God’s eyes. You will behold a perfect universe, since outward conditions are pictures of our inward thinking. To change the picture, we must change the thought that produces the picture.” Bicknell or Mary or … 

Summer Day

Photo credit: Judy Kavan

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean--

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life?”

By Mary Oliver

“The senses of Spirit abide in Love, and they demonstrate Truth and Life” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 274:1-15

“All miracles mean life, and God is the Giver of life. His Voice will direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know.” 

A Course in Miracles 

Of Trans Fear and Cult Worship

 

Having just finished the book Mad Honey, written by one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult, in tandem with Jennifer Finley Boulanger, my head is swimming with new ideas concerning gender and the limits and boundaries which have been set for us. I’m contemplating questions which have many answers, but ultimately we come back to those two responses: fear or love. I’m also in the middle of a four-part series called Shiny, Happy People, the horror story about the Duggar Family and the  other families who have followed the lead of their guru, Bill Gothard who founded The Institute of Basic Life Principles. From the Picoult book, I have reinforced the loving compassion I want to feel toward all things living. From the Duggar documentary, I have faced the feelings of disgust which accompany learning about teachings which profess to be Christian. The revelations in this documentary have definitely triggered a fear response from me.  I am finding a loving response by being grateful to the film makers and family members who are brave enough to tell the truth. That’s all we need from everyone, everywhere, all the time: truth. Namaste…

“Gender means simply kind or sort, and does not necessarily refer either to masculinity or femininity. The word is not confined to sexuality, and grammars always recognize a neuter gender, neither male nor female.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 508:17-21

“The first corrective step in undoing the error is to know first that the conflict is an expression of fear. Say to yourself that you must somehow have chosen not to love, or the fear could not have arisen. Then the whole process of correction becomes nothing more than a series of pragmatic steps in the larger process of accepting the Atonement as the remedy. These steps may be summarized in this way:

Know first that this is fear.

Fear arises from lack of love.

The only remedy for lack of love is perfect love.

Perfect love is the Atonement.”

A Course in Miracles T-2.VI.7:1-8

Friendship

Photo credit: Susan Luddy

The longer I live, the more I appreciate the importance of women friends. Don’t get me wrong, I can think of a handful of men who are every bit as important to me, but right now I want to think about the women friends I love so dearly. They come from all walks of life, and every story of how we met and why we’re important in each other’s lives is different. But it’s all important. We are the stuff of which life is lived! When we’re in need, when we want to share joy, when we want advice, when we want to relax on the porch and chat about nothing, when we need to talk through political horrors, when we need comfort during times of loss, when we need a hand to hold, when we need to let off steam, when we are thirsty for small talk or hungry for deep conversation — whatever the scenario, I am incredibly grateful for my women friends. If I had one bit of advice for a young person, it would be to cultivate friendships all through your life. If you got busy and forgot to plant these perennials in your garden, it’s not too late!


“PSALM XXIII

[Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [love] leadeth me beside the still waters.

[Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.

[Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 578:4-17


“Love is freedom. To look for it by placing yourself in bondage is to separate yourself from it. For the Love of God, no longer seek for union in separation, nor for freedom in bondage! As you release, so will you be released. Forget this not, or Love will be unable to find you and comfort you.”
A Course in Miracles T-16.VI.2:1-5