As Radiant as a Star

A lot has changed in the last couple of millennia, don't you think? We could spend hours listing changes in our understanding of the universe! Something which has not changed appreciably is our idea of God. Religion has pretty much held us locked in to what has been thought of as the truth. Many of us are fearlessly admitting that we are all, each and every one, the expression and experience of God. We're happily allowing our thoughts to embrace new concepts such as, "I am the light of the world"! This is not a self-important declaration, but an all-inclusive, divine-Love centered exclamation of the wonder we know as Life. Our burgeoning understanding is bringing a joy we never dreamed would be possible on this earth plane. We're starting to see that the kingdom of heaven is right here, within and without, waiting for us to embrace it. Let's go forth today and shine!

“Your will be done, you holy child of God. It does not matter if you think you are in earth or Heaven. What your Father wills of you can never change. The truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as love itself. And you are worthy that your will be done!” 

A Course in Miracles T-31.VI.7:1-5

“Accompanying this scientific consciousness was an other revelation, even the declaration from heaven, supreme harmony, that God, the divine Principle of harmony, is ever with men, and they are His people. Thus man was no longer regarded as a miserable sinner, but as the blessed child of God. Why? Because St. John’s corporeal sense of the heavens and earth had vanished, and in place of this false sense was the spiritual sense, the subjective state by which he could see the new heaven and new earth, which involve the spiritual idea and consciousness of reality. This is Scriptural authority for concluding that such a recognition of being is, and has been, possible to men in this present state of existence, — that we can become conscious, here and now, of a cessation of death, sorrow, and pain. This is indeed a foretaste of absolute Christian Science. Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus’ words, “The kingdom of God is within you.” This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 573:11-2 

What Would Jesus Do At Christmas?

 

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

I was in one of our local food markets. The check-out person asked me if I had all my Christmas shopping done. I told him I didn’t do Christmas shopping. He and a couple of people standing around just gaped at me. It was as though I’d confessed to something horrid. Later in the day, my favorite pastor, Blake Lasater, posted the following on Facebook. My gratitude for this man is immeasurable. Namaste …

Day 19 of Advent:

May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

    the hills the fruit of righteousness.

May he defend the afflicted among the people

    and save the children of the needy;

    may he crush the oppressor...

                          --Psalm 72

“It is convenient how we, the powerful and privileged, pick and choose the scriptures we like and ignore all the rest. It is such the irony because the Bible was written for the poor and oppressed. 

The prophecies of the Messiah and coming King speak of the lowly being lifted up and the rich sent away empty. In this season of Advent as we anticipate the birth of the Messiah we should be asking what sort of Kingdom is coming, and what sort of Christian nation we are becoming.

It is heartbreaking to work in food pantries. It brings you face to face with the poor and oppressed. You see at once the ravages of an unjust economic system and oppressive culture. People who go hungry for days, waiting for someone to notice their pain. People who are plunged into poverty because they had a medical bill that no other civilized nation would tolerate. People who lose their job because their car broke-down and they had no other way to work. People who are living in their cars, in a tent, or if lucky, a few warm nights in a hotel, thanks to a generous soul. Rents are skyrocketing, and entry level housing is now portable Derksen buildings. 

I'll be honest, it is getting harder and harder to believe in this current capitalist system that is crushing so many. I watch as multi billion dollar companies receive corporate welfare -- tax breaks, subsidies, and the like -- while the poor are condemned as freeloaders.  I watch a government under both parties give tax cuts to the rich. I watch as Americans fret over billionaires being asked to pay more in taxes, but not a thought given to the kids who can only find a meal at school.  I see businesses not paying a living wage, forcing their employees to rely on food handouts to stave off hunger. I listen as colleges and universities brag about their food pantries that feed students and faculty, as if this is something to brag about? Coaches making obscene amounts of money, tuition skyrocketing, and they think it acceptable their students and staff must rely on food pantries?!?

I listen in disgust as self-righteous preachers and Christians crow about how we are a ‘Christian Nation’. Show me how we are when so many are hungry, sick, and living on the streets. Make me understand. [Jesus] preached that the mighty would be toppled and the rich would be sent away empty. We live in a nation where inequality is reaching proportions never seen before in history. I see churches focused solely on their buildings and their worshiptainment, never giving a thought to the people outside huddling in the cold, their stomachs empty.  

Yes, it is Christmas, we are full of joy at the thought of Christ, but that first Christmas was a radical, revolutionary idea that God was coming into the world to topple the powers and principalities that were crushing the poor.  Christ will never be found in our shopping malls and mega-church; Christ will not be found around the fireplace of large mansions. Christ will be found in the tent cities, near the families living in cars, huddling in the cold with the homeless, standing in line at soup kitchens with the hungry.  

Wealth is not a sign of God's blessings, but perhaps nothing more than a calling to do something to help others.  We enjoy power and privilege, and when we look at the brokenness of the world and wonder why, we shouldn't blame God. We should blame those with the resources who could do something about it.

It is hard to imagine the great wealth so many have accumulated. A million seconds is just a mere 11 days; a billion seconds is 30 years. Such is the wealth so many are accumulating in this nation and world. These people shouldn't be praised; they should be shamed.  

It is probably the devil's greatest feat turning the birth of Christ -- a  baby born to impoverished refugees and laid in a feeding trough -- into an orgy of consumerism that enriches corporate elites.  

Christ's birth was good news to the poor. It could be so again if we would refuse to tolerate the injustice and cruelty of an economic system that rewards the rich and punishes the poor.”

FEED MY SHEEP — A Poem by Mary Baker Eddy

“Shepherd, show me how to go

O’er the hillside steep,

How to gather, how to sow, —

How to feed Thy sheep;

I will listen for Thy voice,

Lest my footsteps stray;

I will follow and rejoice

All the rugged way.

Thou wilt bind the stubborn will,

Wound the callous breast,

Make self-righteousness be still,

Break earth’s stupid rest.

Strangers on a barren shore,

Lab’ring long and lone,

We would enter by the door,

And Thou know’st Thine own;

So, when day grows dark and cold,

Tear or triumph harms,

Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,

Take them in Thine arms.

Feed the hungry, heal the heart,

Till the morning’s beam;

White as wool, ere they depart,

Shepherd, wash them clean.”

“You will awaken to your own call, for the Call to awake is within you. If I live in you, you are awake. Yet you must see the works I do through you, or you will not perceive that I have done them unto you. Do not set limits on what you believe I can do through you, or you will not accept what I can do for you. Yet it is done already, and unless you give all that you have received you will not know that your redeemer liveth, and that you have awakened with him. Redemption is recognized only by sharing it.” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.VI.9:1-6

Truth Corrects Illusions

Sunlight turning winter into fall

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

I've been pondering lies and truth. There is only one way to tell the truth, but there are scores of ways to lie. Perhaps you're not admitting certain events occurred the way they did, spinning webs of words to keep from admitting something you want to hide -- or think needs to be hidden for a multitude of reasons. Then there's the lie involved in turning your head and ignoring something, or maybe you're blatantly denying what you know to be truth. We could name many other forms of lying, but to take an oath to tell the truth -- well, there's only one way to do that. For years, people have told me lies are necessary, and I haven't believed it. Long ago, a friend's husband was dying of colon cancer. They never talked about it, never acknowledged it was happening, and pretended everything was okay and he would be out of the hospital soon. So there are lies which happen because of fear. But the truth is still sitting there waiting to be heard and seen. Nothing can change truth, but many things change lies. I can't imagine lying until it seems like truth. I pity those who have done so.  

“What can correct illusions but the truth? And what are errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are? Where truth has entered errors disappear. They merely vanish, leaving not a trace by which to be remembered. They are gone because, without belief, they have no life. And so they disappear to nothingness, returning whence they came. From dust to dust they come and go, for only truth remains.” 

A Course in Miracles W-107.1:1-7

“Reasoning from cause to effect in the Science of Mind, we begin with Mind, which must be understood through the idea which expresses it and cannot be learned from its opposite, matter. Thus we arrive at Truth, or intelligence, which evolves its own unerring idea and never can be coordinate with human illusions.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 467:29-3

What Leads You?

Crescent Hotel - Eureka Springs. AR

“It is hard to steer a church in an age when no one is listening to the messages and call of the gospel.” This statement was made by a pastor I greatly respect. It has prompted me to think about what causes the majority of my friends to listen to their inner knowing, divine guidance, intuition — whatever they choose A call this cosmic consciousness of which we are all part. I know many fine people who are deeply religious, but that, in and of itself, is not enough to cause them to be compassionate. I watch as awakened, aware, conscious people handle difficulties in this world, and I learn what it takes to live from the heart, from an open mind, with Love reflected moment-to-moment. My conclusion is that we need not be led by sermons and gospel writings in order to live as the reflection, the image and likeness of divine Oneness. We have an ever-present ability to tap into expanding thought, and for this I am grateful.

“Our baptism is a purification from all error. Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love. We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick. Our Eucharist is spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread ‘which cometh down from heaven,’ is Truth. Our cup is the cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 35

“A major tenet in the ego’s insane religion is that sin is not error but truth, and it is innocence that would deceive. Purity is seen as arrogance, and the acceptance of the self as sinful is perceived as holiness. And it is this doctrine that replaces the reality of the Son of God as his Father created him, and willed that he be forever. Is this humility? Or is it, rather, an attempt to wrest creation away from truth, and keep it separate?”

A Course in Miracles T-19.II.4:1-5

Holding a Peaceful Space

I often mention the function of holding the peace, or holding the space of love, or something along those lines. I've been asked what that means and why I think it's necessary to do anything of the sort. I've been asking myself this question while people dear to me are having some tough decisions to make and are facing uncertainty in the midst of change. I have the deep feeling that it is my "job" to stake out a neutral space and hold it as an oasis of peace. Sometimes that space is invaded by fear or anger, but that doesn't mean it has been spoiled. The recognition that reflecting Love is our native state, and that other emotions are human diversions, is the way I reclaim this neutral, loving attitude, and hold it steady for any who wish to join in the peace. While I agree with those who tell me there is a spiritual solution to every problem, I am learning there never was a problem to begin with, and that this basic understanding is the solution. 

"You have no idea of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes from meeting yourself and your brothers totally without judgment. When you recognize what you are and what your brothers are, you will realize that judging them in any way is without meaning. In fact, their meaning is lost to you precisely because you are judging them. All uncertainty comes from the belief that you are under the coercion of judgment. You do not need judgment to organize your life, and you certainly do not need it to organize yourself. In the presence of knowledge all judgment is automatically suspended, and this is the process that enables recognition to replace perception." 

A Course in Miracles T.3.VI.3

“Stick to the truth of being in contradistinction to the error that life, substance, or intelligence can be in matter. Plead with an honest conviction of truth and a clear perception of the unchanging, unerring, and certain effect of divine Science.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 418:5-9

Many Questions - One Answer

Photo Credit: Aaron Springston

 For Years my Heart Inquired of Me - by Hafez

Translated by Dick Davis

“For years my heart inquired of me

                   Where Jamshid's sacred cup might be,

And what was in its own possession

                   It asked from strangers, constantly;

Begging the pearl that's slipped its shell

                   From lost souls wandering by the sea.

Last night I took my troubles to

                   The Magian sage whose keen eyes see

A hundred answers in the wine

                   Whose cup he, laughing, showed to me.

I questioned him, "When was this cup

                   That shows the world's reality

Handed to you?" He said, "The day

                   Heaven's vault of lapis lazuli

Was raised, and marvelous things took place

                   By Intellect's divine decree,

And Moses' miracles were made

                   And Sameri's apostasy."

He added then, "That friend they hanged   

                   High on the looming gallows tree—

His sin was that he spoke of things

                   Which should be pondered secretly,

The page of truth his heart enclosed

                   Was annotated publicly.

But if the Holy Ghost once more

                   Should lend his aid to us we'd see

Others perform what Jesus did—

                   Since in his heartsick anguish he

Was unaware that God was there

                   And called His name out ceaselessly."

I asked him next, "And beauties' curls

                   That tumble down so sinuously,

What is their meaning? Whence do they come?"

                   "Hafez," the sage replied to me,

"It's your distracted, lovelorn heart

                   That asks these questions constantly."

“When apparently near the confines of mortal existence, standing already within the shadow of the death-valley, I learned these truths in divine Science: that all real being is in God, the divine Mind, and that Life, Truth, and Love are all-powerful and ever-present; that the opposite of Truth, — called error, sin, sickness, disease, death, — is the false testimony of false material sense, of mind in matter; that this false sense evolves, in belief, a subjective state of mortal mind which this same so-called mind names matter, thereby shutting out the true sense of Spirit.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 108:19-29

“All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognize yourself, your brother or God. To recognize means to ‘know again,’ implying that you knew before. You can see in many ways because perception involves interpretation, and this means that it is not whole or consistent. The miracle, being a way of perceiving, is not knowledge. It is the right answer to a question, but you do not question when you know. Questioning illusions is the first step in undoing them. The miracle, or the right answer, corrects them. Since perceptions change, their dependence on time is obvious. How you perceive at any given time determines what you do, and actions must occur in time. Knowledge is timeless, because certainty is not questionable. You know when you have ceased to ask questions.” 

A Course in Miracles T-3.III.2:1-11

Righteous Government

Mary Baker Eddy stated, when asked about her politics, that she really had none -- other than to "pray for a righteous government, love her neighbor as herself, and God above all else." I often look to her words on government to guide my thoughts during these surreal times. One of the sentences which helps me in times of confusion is this one: “Neither material finesse, standpoint, nor perspective guides the infinite Mind and spiritual vision that should, does, guide His children” (“Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 373). If left to the thoughts created by my ego-driven mind, I am tempted to jump up on my high horse and declare some governmental actions to be insane, at best. Perhaps I'll feel overwhelmed by too much misinformation and fall back on past ways of thinking about situations, not realizing each moment is different from the last. At these times, it helps me to know that infinite Mind (a synonym for what we usually call God) contains all the knowledge there is, and Truth (another synonym) can never be hidden, and Love (also, God) controls everything with Its all encompassing comfort and guidance. Rather than repeating in thought the things which are so upsetting, I hold to the Truth of our creation. We are the image and likeness of Truth, Love, Mind; reflecting those divine attributes leads me in purer pathways of thought and action than listening to error's hypnotizing repetitions. And I am grateful...

Mary Baker Eddy describes Jesus' prayers as “deep and conscientious protests of Truth, – of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love.” 

 Science & Health, Page 12

“Perception is the result of learning. In fact, perception is learning, because cause and effect are never separated. The teachers of God have trust in the world, because they have learned it is not governed by the laws the world made up. It is governed by a power that is in them but not of them. It is this power that keeps all things safe. It is through this power that the teachers of God look on a forgiven world.” 

A Course in Miracles M-4.I.1:2-7