Mastering the Propensities

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson #238 says: “On my decision, all salvation rests.” My decision, (my job, if you will) is to forget the dreams of malice, revenge, hatred, and anger. These dreams of separation from our Oneness are simply that — dreams, with no relation to the reality we are coming to know. My self is the one Self we all share, so I may choose to accept this as my identity, or I can continue to choose the illusions of belief in separation. It’s not always easy to see this false identity as something I no longer want. If I choose anything other than duality, my ego identity jumps up and down and insists that it is good and I am bad if I choose anything other than it. How grateful I am to have friends who support my decision to grasp for the heights of my Being, allowing the lower propensities to remain where they lie. Thank you greatly —

“Christian Science commands man to master the propensities, — to hold hatred in abeyance with kindness, to conquer lust with chastity, revenge with charity, and to overcome deceit with honesty.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 405:4-9

“Father, Your trust in me has been so great, I must be worthy. You created me, and know me as I am. And yet You placed Your Son’s salvation in my hands, and let it rest on my decision. I must be beloved of You indeed. And I must be steadfast in holiness as well, that You would give Your Son to me in certainty that he is safe Who still is part of You, and yet is mine, because He is my Self.

“And so, again today, we pause to think how much our Father loves us. And how dear His Son, created by His Love, remains to Him Whose Love is made complete in him.”

A Course in Miracles W-238.1:1–2:2

Be Ignited

What I Have Learned So Far - Mary Oliver

“Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I

not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,

looking into the shining world? Because, properly

attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the

ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit

to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a

story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.

Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of

light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.”

“Today I will accept the truth about myself. I will arise in glory, and allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day. I bring the world the tidings of salvation which I hear as God my Father speaks to me. And I behold the world that Christ would have me see, aware it ends the bitter dream of death; aware it is my Father’s Call to me.

Christ is my eyes today, and He the ears that listen to the Voice for God today. Father, I come to You through Him Who is Your Son, and my true Self as well. Amen.

A Course in Miracles W-237.1:1–2:3

“Eternal Truth is changing the universe. As mortals drop off their mental swaddling-clothes, thought expands into expression. ‘Let there be light’ is the perpetual demand of Truth and Love, changing chaos into order and discord into the music of the spheres. The mythical human theories of creation, anciently classified as the higher criticism, sprang from cultured scholars in Rome and in Greece, but they afforded no foundation for accurate views of creation by the divine Mind.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 255: 1-10

I Rule My Mind

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

After watching the wild movie, “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, I’ve been thinking about alternative universes — ones which are similar, yet entirely different from each other. This movie also brought into focus the powerful forces which are unseen in our world. In these Marvel movies, forces are harnessed for evil and for good, with good eventually winning — but oftentimes not before extreme havoc is wreaked. Today we watch in amazement as seemingly evil forces attempt to take control of our world. I have always believed Love is a force more powerful than any form of hatred, and I still see this as true. After watching a short video by Eckhart Tolle with the subject, “Beware of Mental Viruses”, I suddenly saw exactly how susceptible we humans are. If we replay something over and over in our thoughts, it becomes part of who we are. It becomes our reality. With this in mind, all of you who know in your heart that Love is an actual force, I’m asking you to be active in becoming a transparency for that all-powerful energy. Any time thought is pulled into a hopeless state, replace it with a translation of the situation, affirming the spiritual truth of it. We’ve been practicing all our lives, and we are ready for this!

“Love is not something put upon a shelf, to be taken down on rare occasions with sugar-tongs and laid on a rose-leaf. I make strong demands on love, call for active witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand achievements as its result.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings Page 250:16-18

“I have a kingdom I must rule. At times, it does not seem I am its king at all. It seems to triumph over me, and tell me what to think, and what to do and feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever purpose I perceive in it. My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the Holy Spirit to employ as He sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus I set it free to do the Will of God.

“Father, my mind is open to Your Thoughts, and closed today to every thought but Yours. I rule my mind, and offer it to You. Accept my gift, for it is Yours to me.”

A Course in Miracles W-236.1:1–2:3A

We Are Love

There are a few books I like to have on hand to give people who show an interest in this way of thought. I think of them as primers.  One of those books is, "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. More than once people have thanked me for sharing this book, telling me that it has led them on a new path in life. I think we all have ah-ha moments, don't we? Although I have always known about divine metaphysics as explained by Mary Baker Eddy, many other authors have enriched my knowledge and understanding through the years. I'll always remember looking down at a stack of books at a yard sale and seeing Wayne Dyer's, "When You Believe It, You'll See It". It had a blue cover and jumped out at me in flashing neon! I took it home and it started me on a trip with A Course in Miracles which has continued through the last three decades. I love his writing style, and especially cherish recordings which have seen me through many a long car trip. I'll always remember driving 200 miles through torrential rains late at night. What could have been a tedious, perhaps frightening drive was pure joy because I had both Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra with me on tapes. The authors I’ve listed above are gloriously joyful people who can give you a jump-start when you may be feeling uninspired. And we all need that sometimes!

“One kind of faith trusts one's welfare to others. Another kind of faith understands divine Love and how to work out one's ‘own salvation, with fear and trembling.’ ‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!’ expresses the helplessness of a blind faith; whereas the injunction, ‘Believe . . . and thou shalt be saved!’ demands self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 23:23-31

“Father, Your Holiness is mine. Your Love created me, and made my sinlessness forever part of You. I have no guilt nor sin in me, for there is none in You.”

A Course in Miracles W-235.2:1-3

The Abolishment of War

 

“The man of imagination, maintaining the absolutely neutral position of Principle, with no pro-this or anti-that, is the one who will discover steps and techniques for communication leading to the abolishment of war.” 

We Are the World We Walk Through (or Christian Science, Re-explored) by Margaret Laird 

“The memory of God comes to the quiet mind. It cannot come where there is conflict, for a mind at war against itself remembers not eternal gentleness. The means of war are not the means of peace, and what the warlike would remember is not love. War is impossible unless belief in victory is cherished. Conflict within you must imply that you believe the ego has the power to be victorious. Why else would you identify with it? Surely you realize the ego is at war with God. Certain it is it has no enemy. Yet just as certain is its fixed belief it has an enemy that it must overcome and will succeed.” 

A Course in Miracles - T-23.I.1:1-9

“We thank You, Father, that we cannot lose the memory of You and of Your Love. We recognize our safety, and give thanks for all the gifts You have bestowed on us, for all the loving help we have received, for Your eternal patience, and the Word which You have given us that we are saved.”

A Course in Miracles W-234.2:1-2

We’re All This — Together

I love cooking shows, and there are some very innovative ones these days. I’m watching one called Taste of a Nation, in which Padma Lakshmi travels around the United States, meeting immigrants and visiting with them in their homes and restaurants. The first show was from El Paso, and it spoke frankly about immigration problems which have not been solved, but rather multiplied in these last few years. It was heartening to hear everyone supporting each other, no matter what their particular conservative or liberal leaning was. Hearing about people’s lives and watching them cook is so much fun! They bring new ideas to my kitchen, and a knowledge of their heritage, both in their cooking and personal history. It’s a wonderful way to be an "accidental tourist" and to visit other cultures from the recliner. Ah — life is good!

"Beauty, wealth, or fame is incompetent to meet the demands of the affections, and should never weigh against the better claims of intellect, goodness, and virtue. Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish, therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57 

“Father, I give You all my thoughts today. I would have none of mine. In place of them, give me Your Own. I give You all my acts as well, that I may do Your Will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained, and wasting time in vain imaginings. Today I come to You. I will step back and merely follow You. Be You the Guide, and I the follower who questions not the wisdom of the Infinite, nor Love whose tenderness I cannot comprehend, but which is yet Your perfect gift to me.

Today we have one Guide to lead us on. And as we walk together, we will give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is His day. And so it is a day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.”

A Course in Miracles W-233.1:1–2:4

Be My Mind

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Someone once told me that hopes hold us captive, and if we don't accept the "reality" of what we see around us, we are lost in dreams of what could be, giving up any chance of changing what is. I’m coming to see that the opposite is true. The material picture of good and evil warring with each other is what we have decided is truth, hence we hope and strive for good to win. With the burgeoning knowledge that divine Mind is the reality and mortal mind is the illusion, we are freed to do more than hope. The divinely-endowed, spiritually-scientific consciousness within us is opened and, like a fountain, the ideas we need flow forth. This consciousness is realized when we see that God IS our Mind, not just IN our mind. What a freeing concept!

“When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 227:22-25

“Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son.”

A Course in Miracles ACIM, W-232.1:1-5