Empathy: A Beautiful Act of Rebellion

On the podcast, Politics Girl, the host, Leigh McGowan interviews an authoritarian expert, Andrea Chalupa. She began her interview by saying that the only way through these trying times is to embrace our inner strength, and that will give us the super power we need. In order to recognize and grow this strength, we must cultivate a daily practice which we hold as sacred. You may already have a morning study of prayer and meditation. Perhaps you spend time in nature, finding your center with the trees and animals. Yoga and/or Tai Chi is a way to find inner peace and connection with all that Is. Do not fall into despair because you feel overwhelmed by all this “shock and awe”. Ms. McGowan made this grand statement: “In an age of cruelty, empathy becomes a beautiful act of rebellion.”
I love that …

“The changelessness of Heaven is in you, so deep within that nothing in this world but passes by, unnoticed and unseen.The still infinity of endless peace surrounds you gently in its soft embrace, so strong and quiet, tranquil in the might of its Creator, nothing can intrude upon the sacred Son of God within.”
A Course in Miracles T-29.V.2:3-4

“Practice, not profession, — goodness, not doctrines, — spiritual understanding, not mere belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence, and call down blessings infinite.”
5Mary Baker Eddy - Pulpit and Press Page 9:26-29

Giving Peace and Happiness

Art by Peter Max

Sometimes we feel as though our peace has been taken from us by external events. I remember years ago when I took a course in Oneness Blessing. This process appeals to me because there is no need to delve into all the reasons we are not peaceful. When becoming a Oneness Blessing Giver, you first go through an intense day of releasing the past. We started with rectifying our relationships with our parents. And this is not done by counting all the ways we feel we have been wronged, or that we have wronged them. It is a release of guilt and blame, then a replacement of the space left with the realization of divine Love. When you are given this Oneness Blessing you can expect to feel happiness. After completing my training, I gave a blessing to my son, and he immediately started to laugh. I asked why: was he nervous? No, he said, he just felt happy. And that is what this transmission of divine Love is all about: feeling happy and sharing the peace of God. The best gift of all!

“This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 96:12-20

“Holy child of God, when will you learn that only holiness can content you and give you peace? Remember that you learn not for yourself alone, no more than I did. It is because I learned for you that you can learn of me. I would but teach you what is yours, so that together we can replace the shabby littleness that binds the host of God to guilt and weakness with the glad awareness of the glory that is in him. My birth in you is your awakening to grandeur. Welcome me not into a manger, but into the altar to holiness, where holiness abides in perfect peace. My Kingdom is not of this world because it is in you. And you are of your Father. Let us join in honoring you, who must remain forever beyond littleness.”
A Course in Miracles T-15.III.9:1-9

Translation Into Heaven

The divisions we are witnessing among everyday people are heartbreaking. Ten years ago, I didn’t hesitate to say anything to anybody. The assurance which comes from naivety is a thing of the past with me. Nowadays, it’s become second nature to censor my opinions about certain subjects. And in that light, I wonder at people who seem to bait others with their social media posts. Perhaps they still think that if people with differing ideas about important topics only knew what they thought, then they would see the light and change their mind. And that is what I’ve learned in the last decade: I really, truly cannot change anyone’s thoughts but my own. While I still drive around with a “,la” hat on my dash, I wouldn’t bring up a political topic at my duplicate bridge games for anything! But when I hear about injustice and bigotry being whitewashed into acceptable behavior, it will be translated in my thoughts; translated into how divine Love, God, sees such things. And guess what? Love does not see it, because “…it is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity”.

“The destruction of the claims of mortal mind through Science, by which man can escape from sin and mortality, blesses the whole human family. As in the beginning, however, this liberation does not scientifically show itself in a knowledge of both good and evil, for the latter is unreal.

On the other hand, Mind-science is wholly separate from any half-way impertinent knowledge, because Mind-science is of God and demonstrates the divine Principle, working out the purposes of good only. The maximum of good is the infinite God and His idea, the All-in-all. Evil is a suppositional lie.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 103:6-17

“This is a very simple course. Perhaps you do not feel you need a course which, in the end, teaches that only reality is true. But do you believe it? When you perceive the real world, you will recognize that you did not believe it. Yet the swiftness with which your new and only real perception will be translated into knowledge will leave you but an instant to realize that this alone is true. And then everything you made will be forgotten; the good and the bad, the false and the true. For as Heaven and earth become one, even the real world will vanish from your sight. The end of the world is not its destruction, but its translation into Heaven. The reinterpretation of the world is the transfer of all perception to knowledge.”
A Course in Miracles T-11.VIII.1:1-9

Less Segregation; Stronger Democracy

Good Friends — Marsha and Richard

“Blueprint, the Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society”, is a book written by Nicholas Christkis, a professor at Yale. His basic premise is that love, friendship, cooperation, and teaching have been hardwired into human beings, but we tend to deploy these qualities selectively, only toward those who are like ourselves. He says America is an unprecedented social experiment, testing whether we humans can share these behaviors more broadly. This statement of his feels especially true: “The less segregated we are — not just racially, but by ideology, religion, income, and education — the stronger the democracy.” His conclusions I’m sure are many, but one discussed in this review is that we need to overcome the urge to tribalism, if we are to have a diverse democracy. He believes that political tides can push against our innate desire for love, friendship, and cooperation, “but only for a while.” I am thrilled to read of this and other messages of hope! 

"It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man wlll be established." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 467:9

“The Holy Spirit was given you with perfect impartiality, and only by recognizing Him impartially can you recognize Him at all. The ego is legion, but the Holy Spirit is one. No darkness abides anywhere in the Kingdom, but your part is only to allow no darkness to abide in your own mind. This alignment with light is unlimited, because it is in alignment with the light of the world. Each of us is the light of the world, and by joining our minds in this light we proclaim the Kingdom of God together and as one.” 

A Course in Miracles T-6.II.13:1-5

Athirst in the Desert

I am a fan of Facebook. I’ve never enjoyed the other facets of social media, and only used them to promote my gallery when it was open. That was my original reason for signing up for Facebook: business promotion. But now, I enjoy it because it keeps me up to date on local events, it informs me of who may have passed away in the night, I get to see my friends’ gardens who live far, far away — not to mention Wordle comparisons!  I think of it like driving a car: it’s not the ideal form of transportation, but isn’t it fun! I unfollow disagreeable people, allowing into my feed only happy things. Some of my friends post their political opinions, and I sometimes look at what people have to say about it (for instance, Steve Grant at KY3 in Springfield). It’s shocking in its ferocity. I’m happy to see and hear the many religious leaders who are reiterating Jesus’s words of peace. My gratitude for them is immense. May we never be silenced when speaking truth …

“The way out of conflict between two opposing thought systems is clearly to choose one and relinquish the other. If you identify with your thought system, and you cannot escape this, and if you accept two thought systems which are in complete disagreement, peace of mind is impossible. If you teach both, which you will surely do as long as you accept both, you are teaching conflict and learning it. Yet you do want peace, or you would not have called upon the Voice for peace to help you. Its lesson is not insane; the conflict is.”

A Course in Miracles T-6.V-B.5:1-5

“Millions of unprejudiced minds — simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert — are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ’s name, and never fear the consequences.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-18 

An Invincible Summer

Basil in my Summer Garden

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

This quote by Albert Camus has come to my attention many times, but never with the emotional charge it had for me today. Perhaps that’s because I have a dear friend who is having a tough time this winter. Someone close to her left this plane of existence a couple of weeks ago, and she was blind-sided by the intensity of her response. Add to this, frigid temperatures and an onslaught of squirrels in her attic and crawl space, and she began to feel helpless. The shenanigans of our current president have brought her to greater despair. Our difficult-to-maneuver medical system has her waiting for tests until February 13. So she is staying as quiet as possible, popping nitroglycerin and aspirin and waiting. I check on her daily, knowing she can find her “invincible summer”, and hoping I can share mine. Our happiness is contagious!

“Do not allow yourself to suffer from imagined results of what is not true. Free your mind from the belief that this is possible. In its complete impossibility lies your only hope for release. But what other hope would you want? Freedom from illusions lies only in not believing them. There is no attack, but there is unlimited communication and therefore unlimited power and wholeness. The power of wholeness is extension. Do not arrest your thought in this world, and you will open your mind to creation in God.”
A Course in Miracles T-8.VII.16:1-8

“My weary hope tries to realize that happy day, when man shall recognize the Science of Christ and love his neighbor as himself, — when he shall realize God’s omnipotence and the healing power of the divine Love in what it has done and is doing for mankind.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 55:16-21

Love is Freedom

Art of Mary Engelbreit

At times, we all feel overwhelmed by life's circumstances -- or, at least, I know I do. Everything seems easier to me now, with grown children, no daily jobs to show up for, and most arduous demands gone from my days. But sometimes things happen and we are drawn into them. I have a friend whose life has been turned upside down when least expected. How do we cope when an illness befalls us or our loved ones, changing the rhythm of the life we cherish? Of course, we do what we must, and we pray for strength and guidance, and we listen for answers in whatever form they may appear. This is not an easy task -- but really, what is our choice? To all of us who are afraid, perhaps angry, feeling put-upon unnecessarily, overwrought by things beyond our control -- just breathe. Breathe deeply and find something to be happy for, an idea to be peaceful about. Sometimes we must release a problem in order to find its resolution. We can't change the situation, but we can change our thought about it. Love to you, each and every one, during these trying times.

“Love is freedom. To look for it by placing yourself in bondage is to separate yourself from it. For the Love of God, no longer seek for union in separation, nor for freedom in bondage! As you release, so will you be released. Forget this not, or Love will be unable to find you and comfort you."
A Course in Miracles T-16.VI.2.

“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 494:10-14