Knowledge is Power

 

children’s bookshelf supplied by my bookclub to local food bank

“Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds: prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering, and pleasure. They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline.” 

This quote by Nichiren grabbed my attention, mainly because of the phrase “elated by prosperity”. There seem to be too many people in charge of the world who are delirious over money. Andrew Carnegie was very wise in telling us: “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.” Mr. Carnegie created 1,689 libraries in the United States. Information is power, and he was not afraid of that idea. I’m reminded of the women on horseback who would deliver books to people far out in the woods, such as those in the novel by Jo Jo Moyes, “The Giver of Stars”. How I wish we could reclaim the excitement associated with gaining knowledge! Perhaps we feel that the information freeway known as the internet takes care of our educational needs. To me, nothing replaces falling into a good book. I think it's necessary to develop critical thinking, don't you?

“Being in sympathy with matter, the worldly man is at the beck and call of error, and will be attracted thither ward. He is like a traveller going westward for a pleasure-trip. The company is alluring and the pleasures exciting. After following the sun for six days, he turns east on the seventh, satisfied if he can only imagine himself drifting in the right direction. By-and-by, ashamed of his zigzag course, he would borrow the passport of some wiser pilgrim, thinking with the aid of this to find and follow the right road.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 21:25-2

“Look at the kindly world you see extend before you as you walk in gentleness. Look at the helpers all along the way you travel, happy in the certainty of Heaven and the surety of peace. And look an instant, too, on what you left behind at last and finally passed by.” A Course in Miracles C-2.7:4-6

Sisterhood

 

Art by Rafael Lopez

I came across this writing titled “Sisterhood” after spending the day with two friends who are having memory problems and another who recently completed radiation treatments. It was a beautiful fall day, full of laughter and disjointed conversation — and it was so much fun! Here are Donna Ashworth’s words which meant so much to me following our adventures today …

“SISTERHOOD

When I have been stuck, cocooned in this life, it was women who came to free me. 

Women who reminded me what I am made of and who I am becoming. 

Women, who broke my shell, reached for my hands and pulled me out. 

Not just to fly again, but to fly higher than ever before. 

There is much beauty, much ancient history, in that intuitive network of strength, support and silent sisterhood. 

Treasure it, as you would a very special gift, 

because that’s what it is, my sisters, 

that is what it is.”

Donna Ashworth - From Wild Hope

“Perhaps you think that different kinds of love are possible. Perhaps you think there is a kind of love for this, a kind for that; a way of loving one, another way of loving still another. Love is one. It has no separate parts and no degrees; no kinds nor levels, no divergencies and no distinctions. It is like itself, unchanged throughout. It never alters with a person or a circumstance. It is the Heart of God, and also of His Son.”  

A Course in Miracles W-127.1:1-7

“Jesus said: ‘For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.’”

Mary Baker Eddy’s writing surround this biblical quote on Page 267 of Science & Health, With Key to the Scriptures

We Have Progressed …

 

I love old movies! Not only is it fun to watch actors we have known all our lives, but it’s absolutely fascinating to see behavior which was thought of as acceptable and now seems horrid. I checked out a 6-DVD set of Jack Lemmon movies from our library. In watching Carol Lynley in Under the Yum Yum Tree, it was very apparent everyone was caught in limbo, not knowing if they were progressive, honest women or manipulative sex-kittens. And the men — My goodness! Most were womanizers who couldn’t relate to women without making blatant innuendoes — except for the few who were portrayed as dullards or buffoons. In many films, we witness the cruel racism which continues on the fringes to this day. There are also many examples of environmental carelessness, animal cruelty, along with smoking and drinking to excess. It is more apparent to us now, looking back, because we have come so far in realizing civil, human, and animal rights. I love reading a section of the Christian Science Monitor entitled Points of Progress, wherein we can join in applauding people who are making a difference around the world. There are also websites which celebrate progress, in case you want to applaud the good news, too!

“The changing glow and full effulgence of God’s infinite ideas, images, mark the periods of progress.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 511:17-18

“Heaven is here. There is nowhere else. Heaven is now. There is no other time. No teaching that does not lead to this is of concern to God’s teachers. All beliefs will point to this if properly interpreted. In this sense, it can be said that their truth lies in their usefulness. All beliefs that lead to progress should be honored. This is the sole criterion this course requires. No more than this is necessary.” 

A Course in Miracles M-24.6:4-13

World Wide Web of Oneness

Graphic of unknown origin

I heard an interesting analogy concerning the body's immune system and the world's ability to heal itself. Each and every one of us are a cell in the immune system of the universe. Every thought we think is either contributing to the unified health of our planet or the propagation of fear and terror. Every prayer, every meditation, ever reaching out through inward listening is magnified exponentially. We have the power to change the world through ourselves. Every interaction brings us closer to a world of love or a world of fear. The Love which heals us personally spreads through the web of Oneness. In the same way that we take personal responsibility for ourselves, our health, our well-being, we can take responsibility for a return to Love. It does matter what we do and what we think. We never know when an interaction with someone will make the difference in that person's life which turns them away from reactive fear to healing Love. The Truth which corrects all errors in our mind is our ascension into heaven within. Never doubt that you matter, that you make a difference.  Allow silence and listening to guide you to being the change you want to see! 

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259: 27-31

“Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war; either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant, trivial and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them all as equally destructive, but equally unreal.” 

A Course in Miracles W-16.3:1-3

Differing Reality

Art by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920s

“I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”

Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

When I saw this quote, paired with this painted scene, my thoughts turned to instances when friends and acquaintances have laughed and expressed disbelief in the face of my unrelenting positivity. But the fact is, when someone is relating a tale of woe, very seldom do I see their situation as sadly as they do. While I’m almost always willing to help those in need, I don’t think of sympathetic agreement as helpful. I’m pretty sure Lewis Carroll would enjoy the principles of A Course in Miracles, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he and Mary Baker Eddy enjoyed tea and conversation on occasion! Wherever you are, go forth with joy on this fabulous fall day, enjoying your reality in all its difference!

“As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality! Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’ Like the archpriests of yore, man is free ‘to enter into the holiest,’ — the realm of God.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 480:31-6

“I cannot unite your will with God’s for you, but I can erase all misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance. Only your misperceptions stand in your way. Without them your choice is certain. Sane perception induces sane choosing. I cannot choose for you, but I can help you make your own right choice. ‘Many are called but few are chosen’ should be, ‘All are called but few choose to listen.’ Therefore, they do not choose right. The ‘chosen ones’ are merely those who choose right sooner. Right minds can do this now, and they will find rest unto their souls. God knows you only in peace, and this is your reality.” 

A Course in Miracles T-3.IV.7:7-16

Grace For All

Photo credit: Nils Reid

Accepting the grace which is ours involves giving it at every opportunity. Recently someone asked why it doesn't bother me to work closely with someone who seems hard to get along with -- for many reasons! I answered that I realize how miserable this person must be to act in such a way. So I don't take her actions personally, nor do I claim them as a part of my existence. And what she thinks of me is absolutely none of my business!  Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer includes this correlation to "Give us this day our daily bread": "Give us Grace for today, feed the famished affections." Starving affections are a symptom of not accepting the Truth about ourselves and others as a creation of divine Mind. When someone seems agitated and angry, or defensive and irritable, the Grace which is ours is the antidote. By practicing kindness when faced with hardness of heart, meekness when all around us is aggression, loving those who seem unlovable, and paying it forward in every action, we prepare ourselves to acknowledge the God-given Grace which is our true heritage. I simply say an inward Namaste, recognizing that their divine essence and mine are absolutely the same. I've found that loving my neighbor as myself is cause for loving myself more -- which is a nice bonus!

“There is no grace of Heaven that you cannot offer to your brother, and receive from your most holy Friend. Let him withhold it not, for by receiving it you offer it to him. And he will receive of you what you received of him. Redemption has been given you to give your brother, and thus receive it. Whom you forgive is free, and what you give you share. Forgive the sins your brother thinks he has committed, and all the guilt you think you see in him.” 

A Course in Miracles T-19.IV-D.15:5-10

“Comeliness and grace are independent of matter. Being possesses its qualities before they are perceived humanly. Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color. It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 247:19-27

Upside Down?

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

What if everything is upside down from what it seems to be?  We have all these ideas about what is true and what is false, what is good and what is bad, but what if we don't know? What if we are wrong? We have fact-checking sites to help us decide if something is true, we have preachers and politicians to tell us what is right and wrong -- but I think we're all tired of the constant push and pull of facts versus rumors and outright lies. My favorite thing about A Course in Miracles might be the workbook lessons, because they help us give up our beliefs about everything. I know some people think this is a "bad" thing, because they’ve been taught you MUST believe in something or else you're gullible and will fall for anything. What if that's upside-down thinking, too? When we allow ourselves to release what we think we know, we can step back and see what actually is, without putting labels on everything, then backing away from or embracing something without even knowing why. In my interactions with various forms of thought, it's often difficult to put my feelings and beliefs to the side and simply hear what is being said. But I'm working on it! Non-reaction, simply being with the words, is a peaceful, joyous way to live. I think we all want peace, but some of us have forgotten. Let's keep on remembering to look at things as they are, not as we've decided they are. 

“A miracle contains the gift of grace, for it is given and received as one. And thus it illustrates the law of truth the world does not obey, because it fails entirely to understand its ways. A miracle inverts perception which was upside down before, and thus it ends the strange distortions that were manifest. Now is perception open to the truth. Now is forgiveness seen as justified.” 

A Course in Miracles W-pII.13.2:1-5

"Human thought never projected the least portion of true being. Human belief has sought and interpreted in its own way the echo of Spirit, and so seems to have reversed it and repeated it materially, but the human mind never produced a real tone nor sent forth a positive sound." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 126:8-14