Let Me Be An Empty Vessel

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Many of life’s experiences are humbling. Through them, I learn to admit that I know nothing; it gives me opportunities to say that I’m wrong about an opinion. I’ve gone through phases in the last 70 years when I didn’t want to admit either of these things, but now I am willing. On this beautiful spring day, join me in having no strong opinions and allowing beliefs to dissolve. Let’s see what shows up when we are an empty vessel, listening for Spirit to fill us! 

“In choosing salvation rather than attack, I merely choose to recognize what is already there. Salvation is a decision made already. Attack and grievances are not there to choose. That is why I always choose between truth and illusion; between what is there and what is not. The light has come. I can but choose the light, for it has no alternative. It has replaced the darkness, and the darkness has gone.” 

A Course in Miracles W-88.1:2-8

"There is no material truth. The physical senses can take no cognizance of God and spiritual Truth. Human belief has sought out many inventions, but not one of them can solve the problem of being without  the divine Principle of divine Science. Deductions from material hypotheses are not scientific. They differ from real Science because they are not based on the divine law."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 273:2-9

Light Shall Be My Guide Today

My thoughts turn today toward the holy relationship. We have many relationships in this life and, if you're like me, you prefer to think of all of them as holy! If God is Love, and we express that Love, then isn't everything we do coming from that Love which is our essence? Unfortunately, this is not true. What we think of as love is often colored with human emotions such as guilt, jealousy, lust, and fear. This is a tough admission for any of us to make. A dear friend has been talking to me recently about his sadness over a marriage which is ending. I have been thinking back over relationships I could have stayed in to this very day, and how that would have led my life in different paths. The thing which keeps coming back time and again is that each and every entanglement I have ever had was based in some way on the words, "I want". Maybe I wanted to be loved, maybe I wanted to be IN love, maybe I wanted a love affair like the movies and songs tell us is the be-all, end-all. My friend is feeling sad because he liked so many things about this woman, but there were some basic differences which caused their incompatibility. He could have stayed and been contented, but there was something missing: It wasn't a holy relationship. It was based on expectation of change and other material desires. My friend innately knows there is more than settling down with someone simply because it's easy. And I know he will recognize, within himSelf, what it is he's waiting for.

“Will, as a quality of so-called mortal mind, is a wrong-doer; hence it should not be confounded with the term as applied to Mind or to one of God’s qualities.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 597:24-26

“I will use the power of my will today. It is not my will to grope about in darkness, fearful of shadows and afraid of things unseen and unreal. Light shall be my guide today. I will follow it where it leads me, and I will look only on what it shows me. This day I will experience the peace of true perception.” 

A Course in Miracles -W-87.1:2-6

Realized Salvation

Ozarks Evening

Photo courtesy of Steve Poynter

Letting go of grievances frees us to express facets of ourselves which we didn't know were there. Have you noticed that you're stretching beyond what you've always thought of as your boundaries? While listening to what I think of as free-form piano playing of the new-age variety, it struck me how important it is to be singing your song, whatever form that may take. For me, piano lessons began at the age of four. By the time I went to college, playing was so ingrained that it was like speaking. But it was always structured interpretation from pages of music. Never once had I just sat down and played without thought. A few years ago, I did. Something pulled me to the piano and a tune came out. It's a simple melody which mutates here and there, with interesting progressions and surprises. It's never the same, and it never leaves me where I started. It has beautiful healing notes which shift and appear when they are needed. We all have a song to sing! It's a divine voice which requires a yielding of material sense in order to be heard and reproduced. It may be expressed through prose, or poetry, or music, or painting. It may be realized through raising children, caring for animals, or growing vegetables. The forms this Love will take are without limit! Just as we are the ideas of God, so are these emanations which shine through us. Let's free ourselves to allow Love to show itself in all Its varied forms of salvation!

"Salvation: Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 593:20-21

“Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God’s plan for salvation will not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances, I am therefore excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would no longer defeat my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept God’s plan for salvation, and be happy.” 

A Course in Miracles W-86.3:2-6

Salvation Is Within

St.Elizabeth Catholic Church

Eureka Springs, AR

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

Too often I've expected a savior of some sort to bring salvation from all the wrong I think should be made right. I've pointed fingers and expected guilty parties to fix what they've wrought. In these teachings, we are beginning to understand that salvation lies within. And so when we see someone step up and do whatever they can to alleviate pain, to bring the light of salvation to a situation, it's an occasion to rejoice! A good friend of mine regularly puts this idea into practice. She is a veterinarian and a number of years ago, she vacationed in Belize, a beautiful tropical paradise. While there, she realized that many (perhaps most) dogs were left to fend for themselves, particularly when it came to reproduction -- or the stopping thereof! She was led to return with a couple of her associates and they spent a week spaying and neutering dogs, and performing any other tasks which their limited budget and care facilities would allow. Following her lead, other veterinarians have joined the cause and there have been donations enabling the building of a facility from which these volunteers can do their work. What started out as one woman doing what she could has snowballed into many people sharing in an awareness (a salvation, if you will) of how to improve conditions for animals and humans alike. This wonderful woman has followed her heart, and through this action she has inspired others to follow theirs. I see this as the perfect demonstration of living Love. Her love for and kinship with all things living is an inspiration to many. The realization of this inner knowing, and her fearless efforts to improve conditions for these animals and the ones who love them, this is the salvation we all hold within ourselves. And it blossoms when we set it free through our actions.

“Today I will recognize where my salvation is. It is in me because its Source is there. It has not left its Source, and so it cannot have left my mind. I will not look for it outside myself. It is not found outside and then brought in. But from within me it will reach beyond, and everything I see will but reflect the light that shines in me and in itself.” 

A Course in Miracles W-85.3:2-7

“To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our affections are placed and what we acknowledge and obey as God. If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is then submitting to Spirit. The objects we pursue and the spirit we manifest reveal our standpoint, and show what we are winning.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 239:16-22

Love Holds No Grievance

Photo taken by Richard Quick

Most of us have a list of grievances we can call up in thought at the slightest provocation. In the past, I've held grievances which ranged from deeds of ex-husbands to actions of politicians. I've resented neighbors’ words and blamed friends for perceived betrayals. As I pause and ponder what grievances I am presently nurturing, only a few come to thought. I'm in the process of asking myself why I feel the need to hold on to these feelings of discontent. I don't have a reason for these resentments; it's just a habit. I do not want to attack Love with these grievances. "Love created me  like Itself" we are told in part of today's A Course in Miracles review. If I attack Love with grievances, I am attacking myself. If I am attacking myself, I'm attacking you. I think I'll just stop it!

“Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality-- infinite Life, Truth, and Love."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518:18-22

“I am in the likeness of my Creator. I cannot suffer, I cannot experience loss and I cannot die. I am not a body. I would recognize my reality today. I will worship no idols, nor raise my own self-concept to replace my Self. I am in the likeness of my Creator. Love created me like itself.” 

A Course in Miracles W-84.1:2-8

A Release From Conflict

My Boys — circa 1997

Conflict resolution. Conflict transformation. How much time and energy do we spend in attempting to negate conflict between others and/or within ourselves? We can make lists of the merits of our choices, we can role play and put ourselves in each others' place in a situation, and we can enlist therapists to help us out. There are lots of ways to search for the door out of conflict. I have found the only way to truly leave it behind is to realize that such a thing does not exist anywhere other than in my thoughts I'll always remember a time when my boys were around 8 and 10 years of age. Their disagreements had advanced to the point where I saw no way out, other than to give one of them away! One day, during a particularly intense bout, I gave up and sat down in my bedroom to have a good cry. Next to my chair was a stack of Christian Science Sentinels, the weekly publication which has given us practical metaphysical writings for more than a hundred years. I reached down and pulled a copy from the middle of the stack and opened it up to an article about brothers fighting! I don't remember anything about the content, other than it was just what I needed. I also remember sitting there and thinking of all the reasons I loved them, and then thinking of what it truly means that they are  the expression of divine Love. It came to me that I was exhibiting an I'm-right-and-you're-wrong attitude. While that day was not the last time they had disagreements, they never again seemed so intense, and it was the last day I was in total despair over their actions. Living Love creates bridges which bring us together in peace. Trust that your function and happiness are your God-given right, and don't be afraid to open up and see what unexpected ways this function will be manifested.

 “God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.”

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 106:7-10[

“I have no function but the one God gave me. This recognition releases me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. With one purpose only, I am always certain what to do, what to say and what to think. All doubt must disappear as I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me.”

A Course in Miracles W-83.1:2-5

The Light of Forgiveness

Drumming in Basin Park

Circa 2012

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

The small, mountain town where I life is very close-knit. Most of us know and love each other on a personal level. We have community celebrations for everything from the equinox to religious holidays. By the same token, when someone is hurting or in trouble, we pull together to help them. A situation comes to mind where one of our well-known, well-loved men ran amok and surprisingly was involved in an act of violence toward his family. The event seems to be fueled by ego and alcohol. We all felt compassion for him and his family, as many of us had links to him by way of various community events. He was fired from his job and ostracized by many. I keep thinking of the story of an African tribe which purportedly has a unique way of rehabilitating wrongdoers. They all gather in the center of the village and recount, in great detail, the admirable things they know about the person. This process may take days. When everyone is done, they have a joyous celebration, bringing the person back into their fold. I can see this happening here. We all share the same light, which brings peace to every mind. We can talk about this light until the cows come home, but it won't dispel the darkness unless we actually spark a flame. May our world find the way to healing through active Love. Namaste …

“Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose ‘light shall we see light;’ and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 510: 9-12

“My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds expression through me. My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world in me. My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed, together with myself. Let me, then, forgive the world, that it may be healed along with me.”

A Course in Miracles W-82.1:2-5