Clap Your Hands!

As we all know, there are many lessons to be learned from children. For instance, imagine a child making a sand castle when a wave comes in and takes it back to its original state. Does the child cry? I'm told that they laugh in delight! Children innately know the impermanence of things and happily accept that -- until they learn differently from adults. Also, think about a child achieving a new benchmark in their young lives. They jump up and down with glee, clapping their little hands in celebration! When was the last time you applauded yourself? I hope it was recently! Part of our "learning" experience tells us that to celebrate ourselves would be a form of arrogance or self-righteous behavior. I don't think an honest appreciation for ourselves is anything of the sort, do you? Life isn't always easy, and when we come through a tough time, or when we perform a task we were afraid of attempting, or when we wake up happy when we have been sad -- well, there are countless things which deserve gleeful hand-clapping. The next time you applaud a friend or loved ones' achievements, think about doing the same for yourself, dear friends. You deserve it!

“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

"Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, -- this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 323:32

Loving Prayer

 

A friend, who claims to be an atheist, brought up an interesting scenario which I’d never thought about before. He said one of his friends had asked him to pray for them, saying they had an incurable disease and wanted his prayers. He explained to the person that he was an atheist and he couldn’t do that. They begged him to do so anyway. He called me wanting to know what to do, mainly wondering what to say to them in order to not hurt their feelings by refusing. I assured him it wasn’t necessary to believe in a big guy in the sky who would grant favors if he asked; that it was perfectly acceptable to tell his friend he would send good thoughts to the universe, or something along those lines. Anything which expresses love is a gift; one which may be given in a multitude of ways. Honestly expressing love to those in need flows freely to them, back to us, and circulates out to all! Let's never hesitate to express good will, best wishes, and Love!

“Prayer is a stepping aside; a letting go, a quiet time of listening and loving. It should not be confused with supplication of any kind, because it is a way of remembering your holiness. Why should holiness entreat, being fully entitled to everything Love has to offer? And it is to Love you go in prayer. Prayer is an offering; a giving up of yourself to be at one with Love. There is nothing to ask because there is nothing left to want. That nothingness becomes the altar of God. It disappears in Him.”

A Course in Miracles S-1.I.5:1-8

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 243:25-29

Adjusted Levels of Perception

A Fun Room in Meow Wolf - Denver, Co

When my oldest son was in school, we watched a movie which we both thought was hilarious. Shortly afterward, he took the movie to a friend's house and shared it with her and her mother. The mother thought the movie was a tragedy and cried through most of it. This perfectly illustrates a statement in A Course in Miracles: "Perception is a mirror, not a fact. What I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward." Isn't that the truth!! I’m sure we can all remember times when you and someone else interpreted things totally differently. I will try to remember this dichotomy when others interpret an event in a way which I do not understand. Today I will strive to clear my mind, in order to allow Truth to melt away illusion.

“By recognizing spirit, miracles adjust the levels of perception and show them in proper alignment. This places spirit at the center, where it can communicate directly.”

 A Course in Miracles T-1.I.30:1-2

“Corporeal sense, or error, may seem to hide Truth, health, harmony, and Science, as the mist obscures the sun or the mountain; but Science, the sunshine of Truth, will melt away the shadow and reveal the celestial peaks.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 299:26-30

Sheer Delight and Gratitude.

Jef Bourgeau - James River Trail (Blue Ridge), 2023

 “Oh do you have time

to linger

for just a little while

out of your busy

and very important day

for the goldfinches

that have gathered

in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,

to see who can sing

the highest note,

or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,

or the most tender?

Their strong, blunt beaks

drink the air

as they strive

melodiously

not for your sake

and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning

but for sheer delight and gratitude –

believe us, they say,

it is a serious thing

just to be alive

on this fresh morning

in the broken world.

I beg of you,

do not walk by

without pausing

to attend to this

rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.

It could mean everything.

It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:

You must change your life.”

Mary Oliver - Invitation

from A Thousand Mornings, 2013

“In you is all of Heaven. Every leaf that falls is given life in you. Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you. And every flower that ever bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. What aim can supersede the Will of God and of His Son, that Heaven be restored to him for whom it was created as his only home? Nothing before and nothing after it. No other place; no other state nor time. Nothing beyond nor nearer. Nothing else. In any form. This can you bring to all the world, and all the thoughts that entered it and were mistaken for a little while. How better could your own mistakes be brought to truth than by your willingness to bring the light of Heaven with you, as you walk beyond the world of darkness into light?” 

A Course in Miracles T-25.IV.5:1-12

“Undisturbed amid the jarring testimony of the material senses, Science, still enthroned, is unfolding to mortals the immutable, harmonious, divine Principle, — is unfolding Life and the universe, ever present and eternal.” 

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 306:25-29

Never-ending Studies

Online duplicate bridge

I’ve been thinking about things we do which are universally understood. Music: no matter what language you speak, people can sit down and play together in perfect harmony. Mathematics: I’m not much of an expert at this science, but math is the same no matter where you are. The extent I understand it has to do with 52 cards, dealt out in the form of bridge hands. Having never played bridge online with actual people before 2020, a whole new world opened to me with the forced isolation we experienced. As long as our local duplicate bridge clubs had ten games a month at local clubs, it was never brought to my attention that the world of online bridge was vibrant, thriving, and free! At any hour of the day or night, I can log on and play a single hand or a few hours, enjoying the universal language of bridge bidding as we try to get to the best contract. Or as defenders, it does not matter if my partner is from Armenia or Zambia, there are universal laws which pertain to this fascinating game. I would encourage all parents to teach their children things which can never be fully conquered. My love of bridge, the study and practice of spirituality, along with the desire to become a more proficient pianist, these things are a never-ending source of enjoyment. I am grateful to have activities which will always keep me striving to grow in understanding. These things I mention can be enjoyed at any level, so it's never too late to start!

"Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 13:2

“This is a course in mind training. All learning involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily on these earlier sections not to require their careful study. You will also need them for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful of what is to come to make constructive use of it. However, as you study these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of the implications that will be amplified later on.” A Course in Miracles T-1.VII.4:1-6

Highest Selfhood

Beaver Moon taken by Richard Quick 

What am I? This question has been asked from the beginning of recorded history -- and probably longer. Spiritual seers inform us that we are not a body. So if I am not a body, what am I? Intellectually, we can say that we are the reflection of God. We can tell ourselves and others that we're not material, we're spiritual. But then we'll stump our toe and declare that we can't be blamed if it hurts because we're not walking on water yet. We make jokes to explain why we aren't living the precepts which Jesus tells us are our heritage as children of God. But really, why is it that we've been so stunted in our realization of what all this means? Actually, we're not evolving slowly. There is no evolution involved in spiritual awakening, there is only getting rid of material belief and dogma. What we're doing now is cleaning the windowpane so the light has a transparency to flow through, rather than trying to look through thousands of years of grime which is hiding our illumination. What are we? We're finding out more every day, and that's the miracle! 

“Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts that tell me where I am and what I am. The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering and loss and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my insane thoughts, and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent light on what I see. Yet God’s way is sure. The images I have made cannot prevail against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him.” 

A Course in Miracles W-53.5:2-7

“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 & Heath Page 62: 32-8

Can Fiction Lead to Truth?

An upside down world seems normal to us. We have become accustomed to believing that the testimony of our physical senses is reality, while intuition is often discounted as being imaginary. Many of my favorite authors write about metaphysical concepts, and some of them use the genre of fiction to allow the leeway to take this new/old thought all the way, without the need for empirical evidence in support. And I applaud this method! What better way to introduce ideas to a skeptical audience than through the entertainment field? Dan Brown is an expert at this form of writing. He brings us thought-provoking concepts without asking us to accept them as true, such as in his book, "The Lost Symbol". Paulo Coelho gently hits closer to home in two of my favorite books, "The Alchemist" and "The Aleph". The enjoyment of these novels is softly preparatory for the life-changing concepts presented in A Course in Miracles and, also, Science & Health. Without prior opening of thought, the ideas contained in these books can be jarring indeed! We have been preparing for this opening of mind and heart for all eternity, and there is no time other than that, is there?

"In Spirit there is no matter, even as in Truth there is no error, and in good no evil. It is a false supposition, the notion that there is real substance-matter, the opposite of Spirit. Spirit, God, is infinite, all. Spirit can have no opposite."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 278

“Walk safely now, yet carefully, because this path is new to you. And you may find that you are tempted still to walk ahead of truth, and let illusions be your guide. Your holy brothers have been given you, to follow in your footsteps as you walk with certainty of purpose to the truth. It goes before you now, that they may see something with which they can identify; something they can understand to lead the way.” 

A Course in Miracles W-155.9:1-4