Replacing the Vanishing Sense Dream

Photo by Aaron Springston

“Beyond this world there is a world I want.” [A Course in Miracles Lesson #129] The uninitiated in this way of thinking may perceive today's lesson to be referring to a world which will appear when we pass from this material realm through the change we call death. This "beyond" which is spoken of is seen through the death of old belief and a rebirth in new thought. As a child I was taught in school that all animals have instincts except humans; that everything is a learned behavior with us. While marveling at the expansive instinctual behavior of numerous species, I remember thinking how silly that seemed. Didn't we have instincts, too? Why would we be left out of this amazing system of knowing? Why could animals easily have babies and humans couldn't? Why did animals not fear death and we do? At every new wonder learned in science class, I asked myself why we were different from every living thing on earth. It didn't seem right. And, as we are coming to understand, it is not. As we try to lose learned beliefs in order to allow inner knowing to shine forth, it is inspiring to notice the ease with which trees, plants, animals, and insects perform their function. Looking beyond the world we have made for ourselves, we see reality. We find that we do have so-called instincts, which we become aware of when we release the barriers we have built to this inner knowledge. "This is the world of time, where all things end."[ACIM] Let's look beyond this world into the world of Being, where time neither ends nor begins, and everything simply Is.

“Beyond this world there is a world I want. This is the thought that follows from the one we practiced yesterday. You cannot stop with the idea the world is worthless, for unless you see that there is something else to hope for, you will only be depressed. Our emphasis is not on giving up the world, but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. Think you this world can offer that to you?” 

A Course in Miracles W-129.1:1-4

“How true it is that whatever is learned through material sense must be lost because such so-called knowledge is reversed by the spiritual facts of being in [the] Science [of the Christ]. That which material sense calls intangible, is found to be substance. What to material sense seems substance, becomes nothingness, as the sense-dream vanishes and reality appears."

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 312:1-6

Is That All There Is?

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

The topic of today's A Course in Miracles workbook lesson is one of those which could cause you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks”!! But before you close the door, really think about the meaning of it: “The world I see holds nothing that I want”. It isn't asking you to give up enjoyment of everyday life. On the contrary! It's asking you to look past the world which is the creation of mortal mind, to the world of divine Mind. By setting aside the unrealities of belief, we are breaking the same type of thought barrier which had to be set aside for humanity to realize the world was round. When asked to see everything with new eyes, daring to stretch past belief and learned behavior, we may be frightened or confused. In this state of mind, our "ego" can tell us it's all just nonsense and we’d best stay with what is well-known. But is it? If you feel -- really feel, deep inside — that there must be more to this existence than meets the human eye, then you will want to know what that is. We are capable of so much more than we realize. The veil which hides reality is getting thinner!

"In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry. Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rationality, is slowly yielding to the idea of a metaphysical basis, looking away from matter to Mind as the cause of every effect."  

Mary baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 268:1-9

“Today we practice letting go all thought of values we have given to the world. We leave it free of purposes we gave its aspects and its phases and its dreams. We hold it purposeless within our minds, and loosen it from all we wish it were. Thus do we lift the chains that bar the door to freedom from the world, and go beyond all little values and diminished goals.”

A Course in Miracles W-128.5:1-4

Love Without Boundaries

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

Self-help books talk of the many faces and facets of love. In divine metaphysics, there is no division in Love. Love does not judge. No one is more worthy of receiving than another. No one is more able than another when it comes to expressing Love. Despite its inclusive nature, Love may not appear to be a factor in the world we witness daily. We see love which is variable and hate that is solid, but we are learning the unreality of changing love and abiding hate. Reality is the Love which is God. A Course in Miracles workbook lesson #127 asks us to affirm this often today: "I bless you, brother, with the Love of God, which I would share with you. For I would learn the joyous lesson that there is no love but God's and yours and mine and everyone's.” Every instant when I catch a glimpse of this true Love is a moment to treasure!

“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

“With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 469:30-5

What Am I Giving?

"All that I give is given to myself." [ACIM workbook lesson #126] Today’s topic brings an examination of what it is I’m giving. I would hope I’m giving happiness, peace, love, compassion — but sometimes I give judgment, condemnation, self-righteous thoughts, and false forgiveness. You might wonder, What is false forgiveness? It’s all too easy to forgive in a way which gives the impression that I’m superior and, in some way, better than the forgiven one. This is akin to the “back-handed compliment”, where people may say “thank you very much” when they are not thanking someone at all; but rather, making a point of feeling slighted in some way by another’s actions. The forgiveness I give may be a charitable act on my part, an act I may withhold as punishment to them and self-aggrandizement for myself. I am working toward understanding this thing called forgiveness. I ask myself, How would Love look on this? What would Mind think about this? Today I will strive to see through the veil of belief which dictates how I should interpret others’ actions — hopefully remembering if I don’t judge someone, there is nothing to forgive.

“Today we try to understand the truth that giver and receiver are the same. You will need help to make this meaningful, because it is so alien to the thoughts to which you are accustomed. But the Help you need is there. Give Him your faith today, and ask Him that He share your practicing in truth today. And if you only catch a tiny glimpse of the release that lies in the idea we practice for today, this is a day of glory for the world.”

A Course in Miracles W-126.8:1-5

“We must reverse our feeble flutterings--our efforts to find life and truth in matter--and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the God-like man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 262:11-16

A Day of Stillness

Photo thanks to Aaron Springston

Attention deficit disorder: ADD. Many who haven’t been diagnosed with this disorder often say they are afflicted with it. If you get right down to it, aren't we all? Doesn't it seem that our "normal" state of mind wants to flit about from one topic to another, gathering steam as one thought triggers yet another? The thing I find unfortunate is that people really think they have no choice. As with anything else, it takes practice to calm our thoughts. You have to want a quiet mind in order to attain one. I know I've said it before, but watch that first thought of the day. It can set the tone for everything which comes after it. Refusal to start the day thinking about worrisome things is a choice we have. Choose the quiet mind over the busy one, then choose again whenever needed. Quiet is nurtured through meditation and prayer, and we reap peace. 

“We must silence this lie of material sense with the truth of spiritual sense.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 318:12-13

“Let this day be a day of stillness and of quiet listening. Your Father wills you hear His Word today. He calls to you from deep within your mind where He abides. Hear Him today. No peace is possible until His Word is heard around the world; until your mind, in quiet listening, accepts the message that the world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.”

A Course in Miracles W-125.1:1-5

Pain Gives Way To Peace

Photo courtesy of Arthur Bruno

I visited with an old friend who feels as though she’s drowning in sadness. A man she didn’t want to live without died, and she’s having a tough time going forward on her own. I can understand how she feels as she tries to remember how to be happy. The things we spoke of led me to tell her about Mary Haskell, the woman who loved Kahlil Gibran. Although she was much older than him, he died many years before her. At his funeral, her friends were amazed that she was so peacefully happy and they wanted to know how that could be. She told them she felt closer to him than she ever had before. I talked to my friend about our unity in divine Love, and our inseparability as the experience and expression of God. These realizations are not meant to negate sorrow for her. I fervently believe we should honor our grief and give in to it fully. Allow the tears to dilute your sadness, and when you’re ready to embrace infinite Love, you will do so with an open heart. Namaste, my friends…

“Today we see only the loving and the lovable. We see it in appearances of pain, and pain gives way to peace. We see it in the frantic, in the sad and the distressed, the lonely and afraid, who are restored to the tranquility and peace of mind in which they were created. And we see it in the dying and the dead as well, restoring them to life. All this we see because we saw it first within ourselves.”

A Course in Miracles W-124.4:6–5:4

“If grief causes suffering, convince the sufferer that affliction is often the source of joy, and that he should rejoice always in ever-present Love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 377:3-6

The Glory of Spring

Photo courtesy of Richard Quick

The gratitude I feel this spring is boundless! Flowers, rain, birds, clouds — such beauty is overwhelming! Our whole world seems to be telling us we are special and that we deserve much more than the gifts of divine Love. We yearn for peace and plenty, purity of heart and environment, joy, satisfaction -- but we keep forgetting the spiritual Principle which guarantees this reality. Sometimes we catch glimpses of what could be. For instance, I witnessed a man and woman in their 70s cavorting like teenagers in giddy expectation of exchanging marriage vows. Their happiness was infectious! A true new beginning is at hand -- your hand and mine, today, right now.  I will not be distracted by ego-based taunting to play the game being enacted all around me. I will look through the temptation to stay stuck in the muddle of material belief by giving energy to the lower propensities. Raising thought above what cries out so loudly for attention, I'll see a beginning in every situation. But if there is no end, can there be a beginning? Ah -- ever-flowing, forever, now!

“Let us be thankful. We have come to gentler pathways and to smoother roads. There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the truth. A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance, but you can well be grateful for your gains, which are far greater than you realize.”

A Course in Miracles W-123.1:1-4

“Man’s individuality is not material. This Science of being obtains not alone hereafter in what men call Paradise, but here and now; it is the great fact of being for time and eternity.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 285:2-6