We Need More …?

 Artwork by Natasha Tarasova

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”

David W. Orr - Ecological Literacy: 

Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World

“Do you not think the world needs peace as much as you do? Do you not want to give it to the world as much as you want to receive it? For unless you do, you will not receive it. If you want to have it of me, you must give it. Healing does not come from anyone else. You must accept guidance from within. The guidance must be what you want, or it will be meaningless to you. That is why healing is a collaborative venture.” 

A Course in Miracles T-8.IV.4:1-8

“Truth, not corporeal will, is the divine power which says to disease, ‘Peace, be still.’” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 144:20-22

Grace in Unity

 

“Just For the Fun of It”

A Kriste-lee creation

The mass consciousness in which we swim tells us we've done something wrong and we can't be saved until we do a whole bunch of things right. Let's release all of those beliefs and concentrate on what feels true, right now, in this moment. Toward this end I will, at every possible moment, quiet my thoughts and allow Truth to permeate my being. It's there all the time, this Love which is God, this Truth which supports us more surely than the swirling waters of mass consciousness. Our true consciousness is expressed most perfectly in two words: I Am. I think I’ll keep it simple today. Have a happy day!

“Grace is an aspect of the Love of God which is most like the state prevailing in the unity of truth. It is the world’s most lofty aspiration, for it leads beyond the world entirely. It is past learning, yet the goal of learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself for true acceptance. Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have prepared a table where it can be gently laid and willingly received; an altar clean and holy for the gift.” 

A Course in Miracles W-169.1:1-4

“The scientific unity which exists between God and man must be wrought out in life-practice, and God's will must be universally done. If men would bring to bear upon the study of the Science of Mind half the faith they bestow upon the so-called pains and pleasures of material sense they would not go on from bad to worse …” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 202:3-9

Perpetual New Leaf

Leon Wyczolkowski - Spring in Goscieradz

"The chief beauty about time

is that you cannot waste it in advance.

The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,

as perfect, as unspoiled,

as if you had never wasted or misapplied

a single moment in all your life.

You can turn over a new leaf every hour

if you choose.” 

Arnold Bennett

“Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity. One ceases in proportion as the other is recognized. Time is finite; eternity is forever infinite.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 468:27-1

“Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Time will cease when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning.”

A Course in Miracles T-1.I.15:1-4

A Priceless Visit

For several years I avoided one of my neighbors, who was 90-plus years old, because it seemed there was no such thing as a short visit. She would tell me things I didn't want to know about her family and other people, so I began to avoid her. One morning she was sitting on her porch and asked for my help. Her phone was not working and it's connected to a Lifeline button which she can push if she needs help. As it was going to take some time to get the phone company there to reconnect her, I told her I'd come over every hour and make sure she was okay. As we sat on her porch, she started talking about herself, from childhood through more recent times, and it was fascinating! She told me the happiest times of her life were picking cotton with her sisters in the 1930s on a farm in Mississippi. Every visit that day brought me new stories from her life. When she wandered into condemnation of others, I would simply tell her I had to go, but would be back soon and wanted to hear more stories about her -- not others. It was like watching a documentary -- and I'm glad I was tuned in! She’s gone now and although I’ve forgotten all of her gossipy news, I remember some delightful looks into her life experience — and I am grateful.

“The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father’s loving-kindness.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health - Page 365:31-2

“Without judgment are all things equally acceptable, for who could judge otherwise? Without judgment are all men brothers, for who is there who stands apart? Judgment destroys honesty and shatters trust. No teacher of God can judge and hope to learn.”
A Course in Miracles M-4.III.1:8-11

Freedom Through Storytelling

Storytelling Workshop with Elaine

I once took a weekend workshop on the art of storytelling. We had a great instructor named Elaine Blanchard, and the group consisted of nine beautiful, passionate women, all of us as different as we were the same. We were all there to release a story from where it had been hiding within us. It was an emotional weekend, full of tears and laughter, with joy being the frontrunner coming down the stretch when we were through. Elaine, our instructor, has gained national attention from going into women’s prisons, gathering stories, writing them into screenplays, performing them, and allowing the prisoners to see their stories on stage. This process frees everyone involved and many of the inmates have been empowered to release the past and go forward into a new life. Sometimes you just need someone to listen in order to understand what must be done. Truth does set us free!

“Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454:21-23

“Truth will correct all errors in my mind, and I will rest in Him Who is my Self. Then let Him lead you gently to the truth, which will envelop you and give you peace so deep and tranquil that you will return to the familiar world reluctantly.”
A Course in Miracles W-107.9:5-6

Witnessing Without Judgment

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

One of our learned behaviors is to place blame on others for things they have said or done which we perceive as detrimental to us or others. We are learning that we can simply witness these events, without apportioning any blame or cause to them. Then we can see things as they really are, without placing our own, personal meaning on them. As often happens, I am reminded of The Four Agreements, as interpreted by Don Miguel Ruiz: don’t take anything personally, and don’t make assumptions. I thank him for helping me to realize I can witness events, without constantly blaming and questioning why. Again, this doesn’t mean we don’t take action when necessary. It helps us to know what to do and when to do it. 

“Without attack thoughts I could not see a world of attack. As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy. And it is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now.” 

A Course in Miracles W-55.3:3-5

“The question, 'What is Truth', convulses the world. Many are ready to meet this inquiry with the assurance which comes of understanding; but more are blinded by their old illusions, and try to 'give it pause'. The efforts of error to answer this question by some ology are vain. Spiritual rationality and free thought accompany approaching Science, and cannot be put down. They will emancipate humanity, and supplant unscientific means and so-called laws” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 223:14-24

Turn on Some Lights

Photo credit: Susan Luddy

We would all love to save the world, would we not? Yet we know we can’t change someone else; change only happens within our own thought. But then again, I’ve found many people are simply regurgitating things they have heard all their lives, and when they find something which turns on a light (or rings a bell, if you will!) deep inside them, they suddenly want to know more about these ideas which have piqued their interest. It may seem as though we are not doing anything when we interact with people in our day-to-day activities. When we notice our thoughts, we may find we're listening to another for the purpose of responding to their words. Real listening allows true communication, not just our interpretation of what is being said. I've discovered that my perception of what someone is saying to me may not be what they are really saying, and I am twisting their words to fit what I expect them to say. Every time I catch myself doing this, my desire to understand is renewed. Hallelujah!

“The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:11-14

“I have already said that miracles are expressions of miracle-mindedness, and miracle-mindedness means right-mindedness. The right-minded neither exalt nor depreciate the mind of the miracle worker or the miracle receiver. However, as a correction, the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver. In fact, its purpose is to restore him to his right mind. It is essential, however, that the miracle worker be in his right mind, however briefly, or he will be unable to re-establish right-mindedness in someone else.”
A Course in Miracles T-2.V.3:1-5