Looking at America Through the Lens of Values

For the last nine years, Lucy Harper has been trying to get Americans to think about their country differently. She has been teaching classes and workshops to instill the idea that America is not a political prize to be fought over, but an idea to be fought FOR. What started her on this journey was becoming part of the Idea of America Network. This organization’s goal is to create a network of Americans who can help their communities look at the country through the lens of values. Ms. Harper says, “When you talk about values and America, everyone knows life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but the values that really drive the United States are all about balance: freedom and equality, law and ethics, common wealth and private wealth, unity and diversity. How citizens find the balance between these essential but conflicting values determines the nation’s character and direction.” She has now written a play which has many historical characters debating these points. To quote her: “It’s about seeing this as a country of good people. There’s plenty of evidence to the contrary, but we jolly well better see [the good in] people, ... giving people the room to grow – including ourselves.”

“Values are relative, but they are powerful because they are mental judgments.”
A Course in Miracles - T-7.VII.4:3

“Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable … Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfish love, receives directly the divine power.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 192

Life After Hate

There has been a large increase in so-called hate groups in the world. A man named Tony McAleer describes himself as being beaten and bullied as a child; bitter and isolated as a teenager. He became involved in one of these groups while seeking a connection with others. To quote him: "When you're starving and somebody keeps feeding you what you think are your favorite foods, even though it's junk food, there's going to be a while where you're not going to get up from the table." He continued to practice violence and anger until after the birth of his daughter. He said that was the first time in his life he had felt connected to another human being, and he started to want to change. He has now organized a group called "Life After Hate" and is helping others to build relationships with people. He says if we are to counter these groups, we must get to a place where empathy outweighs fear. That is what we are realizing through these studies, too. Light and joy and peace abide in me -- and in everyone!

“Light is a symbol of Mind, of Life, Truth, and Love, and not a vitalizing property of matter. Science reveals only one Mind, and this one shining by its own light and governing the universe, including man, in perfect harmony.." 

Mary Baker Eddy- Science & Health Page 510:27-1

“Why would you not be overjoyed to be assured that all the evil that you think you did was never done, that all your sins are nothing, that you are as pure and holy as you were created, and that light and joy and peace abide in you? Your image of yourself cannot withstand the Will of God. You think that this is death, but it is life. You think you are destroyed, but you are saved.”

A Course in Miracles W-93.4:1-4

Peace Is The Path

Old Friends

Art by Vicky Mount

Few of us have no regrets when we look back on our lives. Sometimes it's tempting to replay instances in our minds and think of ways we could have done things differently. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese man who lost his family during the war in the 60s. He spent his life practicing peace and showing others how to do the same. He helped American Vietnam veterans forgive themselves. He told them that no matter how badly they felt, it would never bring back the lives that were lost, but that there are many ways in which to help people today, right here and now. He showed us how to be the Love which we are. Peace Is the Path, he told us. I want to follow that Path, without looking back.

“Look inward now, and you will not behold a reason for regret, but cause indeed for glad rejoicing and for hope of peace. It has been hopeless to attempt to find the hope of peace upon a battleground.”
A Course in Miracles T-29.II.2:8–3:1

"Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must 'have her perfect work.'"
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 454:18-24

Time of the Season

Art by Judy Clement Wall

Do you ever feel guilty about feeling good? I don’t usually, but recently I had a moment of regret for being happy and contented. A number of us had enjoyed an hour of musical meditation and then went out to lunch at a wonderful restaurant. On the way back to my cozy, safe home, probably to take a nap, I suddenly thought about the people of Ukraine and their frightening plight. A number of possible horrid images flooded into my thoughts. Quickly I corrected these useless images, realizing that it makes no difference how bad I feel, it’s not going to help anyone. But I have used that moment as a reminder to help my neighbor, and to do everything I can to extend Love to the world. My guilt will not improve any situation, but my joy will. This realization helps me extend Love and healing to everyone, knowing that my happiness and contentment allows me to do this. I pray that we may love so passionately that it spreads exponentially all over the world!

“He will withhold no blessing from it, nor limit it in any way. He will join to it all the power that God has given Him, to make each little gift of love a source of healing for everyone. Each little gift you offer to your brother lights up the world. Be not concerned with darkness; look away from it and toward your brother. And let the darkness be dispelled by Him Who knows the light, and lays it gently in each quiet smile of faith and confidence with which you bless your brother.” 

A Course in Miracles - T-22.VI.9:7-11 

“Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 264:14-17

Art, In All Its Forms, Is Necessary

Tsagaglalal​ - creation of Sandy Wythawai Starbird​

Ask anyone why art is essential and you may hear that it's not. But ask someone else and you might hear that it's necessary for the survival of our species. I've come to feel that art is the answer to our current problems, concerning beliefs and the inability to assimilate facts. Any society which wants to suppress its people tries to eliminate art in its various forms. In the United States, we have been taught to believe that art is a luxury which is not necessary in our children’s education. This has caused many people to think that anyone who appreciates art is highfalutin in some way; perhaps even defined as elitist for their love of beauty and critical thinking. I ask that we stop and remember the Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn. She was as down-home as a person could be, and her songs praise the evolution of thought and the revolution for women. She understood the pointlessness of sending our loved ones to war. Her stories rival those which have come through great authors, and her melodies are as pure as our finest composers bring forth. Art in the United States is fabulously diverse, and is representative of our country far more than corporations and politicians. We could list pages of writers and musicians and artists in all their glory, and they have all opened us to something more than we were before we heard or saw their creations. Yes, I think the answer to every question is art!

"Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source."
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 507:28

“You are being blessed by every beneficent thought of any of your brothers anywhere. You should want to bless them in return, out of gratitude. You need not know them individually, or they you. The light is so strong that it radiates throughout the Sonship and returns thanks to the Father for radiating His joy upon it. Only God’s holy children are worthy channels of His beautiful joy, because only they are beautiful enough to hold it by sharing it. It is impossible for a child of God to love his neighbor except as himself. That is why the healer’s prayer is: Let me know this brother as I know myself.”
A Course in Miracles T-5.in.3:1-8

Distorted Vision?

Photo Credit: Aaron Springston

I can't imagine making the huge decisions world leaders are called upon to make every single moment of every single day. There are too many pros and cons to think about assimilating by yourself. And that's why they need trusted advisors; people who accumulate facts and are able to fairly report them for group discussions, which then result in informed decisions. No one is an island. That saying comes to mind often when I see someone who thinks they know everything and no one's opinion other than theirs is of value. We, individually, are a microcosm of the world. We each have decisions to make every day, whether it's something as small as what type of tea to have with breakfast or one of the milestones of life. We watch our city officials struggle with budgets and opinionated city council members, knowing some will side with one and some with another. It's difficult to understand, because if we all want what's best for humanity, there simply should not be so much dissention. Maybe our perceptions are colored by the manipulations of the few who are out to pad their pockets with cash, under the guise of helping everyone else. Maybe we're lulled by apathy, thinking somebody will take care of things so we needn’t pay attention. Whatever the case, we can all hold a higher thought when confronted by injustice. I feel we're at the tipping point of a new world. Don't give up!

"Unconstitutional and unjust coercive legislation and laws, infringing individual rights, must be 'of few days and full of trouble.' The vox populi, through the providence of God, promotes and impels all true reform; and, at the best time, will redress wrongs and rectify injustice. Tyranny can thrive but feebly under our government. God reigns, and will 'turn and overturn' until right is found supreme." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings - Page 80

“Fantasy is a distorted form of vision. Fantasies of any kind are distortions, because they always involve twisting perception into unreality. Actions that stem from distortions are literally the reactions of those who know not what they do. Fantasy is an attempt to control reality according to false needs. Twist reality in any way and you are perceiving destructively. Fantasies are a means of making false associations and attempting to obtain pleasure from them. But although you can perceive false associations, you can never make them real except to yourself. You believe in what you make. If you offer miracles, you will be equally strong in your belief in them. The strength of your conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle receiver. Fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both giver and receiver. Reality is ‘lost’ through usurpation, which produces tyranny. As long as a single ‘slave’ remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete. Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only goal of the miracle-minded.”
A Course in Miracles T-1.VII.3:1-14

The Joy of Learning New Things

“Beginners, The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning”. Tom Vanderbilt has written a delightful book relating the joy he has experienced through learning new things. He took singing lessons and sang with a choir; he learned to surf, taking his whole family to Costa Rica for this endeavor; he learned to juggle, draw, and create jewelry. Tom isn't looking for something to crow about on social media, but rather he wants skills he can relax into and slowly develop over his lifetime. He says, "It's about small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical." He's also interested in finding out more about the process of learning. He believes the key to learning new things is shifting the focus off yourself. He uses juggling as an example: you don't look at the balls, but rather the apex of where they are thrown. He has learned that time slows down when you stop thinking. He has found that doing these things brings him "an immense and almost forgotten kind of pleasure." I love the idea of learning new things, simply for the pleasure of learning them, don't you?

“A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man. It extends the atmosphere of thought, giving mortals access to broader and higher realms. It raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 128:14-19

“Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Time will cease when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning.”
A Course in Miracles T-1.I.15:1-4