Peace Fills My Heart

 

What If? 

By Ganga White

“What if our religion was each other?

If our practice was our life?

If prayer was our words?

What if the Temple was the Earth?

If forests were our church?

If holy water - the rivers, lakes and oceans?

What if meditation was our relationships?

If the Teacher was life?

If wisdom was self-knowledge?

If love was the center of our being”

~ Ganga White

“The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which Jesus built. 

His sublime summary points to the religion of Love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 138:14-16

“Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought. Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.” 

A Course in Miracles W-267.1:1-7

Too Marvelous To Be Understood

 

Tijana Lukovic, "Wolf Moon"

Mysteries, Yes

by Mary Oliver

“Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous

 to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the

mouths of the lambs.

How rivers and stones are forever

in allegiance with gravity

while we ourselves dream of rising.

How two hands touch and the bonds will

never be broken.

How people come, from delight or the

scars of damage,

to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those

who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say

‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment,

and bow their heads.”

“Listen,—perhaps you catch a hint of an ancient state not quite forgotten; dim, perhaps, and yet not altogether unfamiliar, like a song whose name is long forgotten, and the circumstances in which you heard completely unremembered. Not the whole song has stayed with you, but just a little wisp of melody, attached not to a person or a place or anything particular. But you remember, from just this little part, how lovely was the song, how wonderful the setting where you heard it, and how you loved those who were there and listened with you.” 

A Course in Miracles T-21.1.6:1-3 

The Negative Impact of Ignoring Intuition

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

I often mention intuition in these writings. Today I proved to myself how important it is to listen to that “still, small voice”, that subtle hint, or the idea which seemingly comes from nowhere. Unfortunately, my reminder to listen to divine Mind is the result of a negative experience. When I was pulling out of my driveway to run errands, a thought came as to which route to travel to my first stop. But I decided to go the other way. And I rear-ended a car which was stopped in the road to turn left, with no turn signal or other indication of its intent. The events which followed showed me the beauty of the principle that my safety lies in my defenselessness. The car I hit was driven by a 17-year-old who had bought the car the day before and had no insurance. Blessedly, his mom and grandma and sister were all safe, although the back window of his vehicle shattered from the impact. All my needs were met promptly. My car was towed to my mechanic, my son arrived to take me to pick up the farm-fresh vegetables which would have been my first stop, and friends finished the errands I had been out to accomplish. When the policeman asked me what had happened, I simply said the car in front of me stopped and I plowed into it. I didn’t try to defend myself by blaming the young driver, I didn’t make excuses for myself, I simply sat in gratitude for the protection we all witnessed. The few people who know about this incident are amazed that I don’t know the future of my 30-year-old Jeep, I don’t know the contents of the police report, I’m not going to the doctor to be “checked out”, and I have no concerns about any outcome. This trust in Good can be directly attributed to the years I’ve studied the laws of Love, and the trust I have in them. My heart is full of gratitude…

“It is the illumination of the spiritual understanding which demonstrates the capacity of Soul, not of material sense. This Soul-sense comes to the human mind when the latter yields to the divine Mind.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 85:2-6

“Defenselessness is strength. It testifies to recognition of the Christ in you. Perhaps you will recall the text maintains that choice is always made between Christ’s strength and your own weakness, seen apart from Him. Defenselessness can never be attacked, because it recognizes strength so great attack is folly, or a silly game a tired child might play, when he becomes too sleepy to remember what he wants.”
A Course in Miracles W-153.6:1-4

Is Loneliness the Absence of Others?

Almost everyone has felt lonely at some point in their lives. Many people attribute their loneliness to lack of a life partner, but I’ve always questioned this belief. Having never been sure why I feel this way, this quote by Johann Hari helps explain my view on the subject: “Loneliness isn’t the physical absence of other people, it’s the sense that you’re not sharing anything that matters with anyone else. If you have lots of people around you – perhaps even a husband or wife, or a family, or a busy workplace – but you don’t share anything that matters with them, then you’ll still be lonely.” Perhaps this is why I’ve never been lonely, although I’ve been partnerless for the majority of my life. Feeling surrounded by love, through friendships and from my children, sharing heartfelt ideas has always been possible. After reading the aforementioned quote, I’m thinking my lack of loneliness could be partially attributed to these daily writings! When something strikes me as important, I write about it and share it with you. Daily events, wonderful books, important documentaries, memorable movies — I tell you about it. And I am grateful for this never-ending circle of communicants.

“No one can change the law of Christian metaphysics, the law of right thinking, nor in any wise alter its effects. It is a forever fact that the meek and lowly in heart are blessed and comforted by divine Love. If the proud are lonely and uncomforted, it is because they have thoughts adverse to the law of love. Pride, arrogance, and self-will are unmerciful, and so receive judgment without mercy; but the law of metaphysics says, ‘Blessed are the merciful,’ and will allow no one to escape that blessedness, howsoever far he may stray, whatsoever lawlessness of hatred he may practice and suffer from.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany Page 41:7-15

“The wish to see calls down the grace of God upon your eyes, and brings the gift of light that makes sight possible. Would you behold your brother? God is glad to have you look on him. He does not will your savior be unrecognized by you. Nor does He will that he remain without the function that He gave to him. Let him no more be lonely, for the lonely ones are those who see no function in the world for them to fill; no place where they are needed, and no aim which only they can perfectly fulfill.”
A Course in Miracles T-25.VI.3:1-6A

Why Am I Seeing an Illusion?

Photo credit: Christopher Fischer

Having always believed that if people knew truth, they would understand truth, I’m having a personal crisis accepting that this is not true. Having spent years saying anything I want to say, with no worries about whether people think I’m insanely deluded, I’m beginning to see why Jesus was crucified. Wildly implausible religious beliefs are not only revered, but cherished. And so if I tell someone that the Mind of God knows nothing about our supposed sins, at best I’ll receive a blank stare or a roll of the eyes. While my personal goal is to release any beliefs that God is out there somewhere, watching and listening to my every thought and action, ready to reward or punish according to how I deem it should be done, many people are afraid to accept the new/old idea which denies these material beliefs. I want to understand God, realize unfolding consciousness, see Truth through the mirage. I cannot erase that mirage, because it is not there. But I can understand why I’m seeing an illusion, and thereby erase my fear of it. It takes a constant, conscious effort to understand there is no separation between this thing we call God and ourselves. I really want to do that …

“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. What if the old dragon should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea? He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night. In this age the earth will help the woman; the spiritual idea will be understood. Those ready for the blessing you impart will give thanks. The waters will be pacified, and Christ will command the wave.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 570:14-25

“Peace be to you who have been cured in God, and not in idle dreams. For cure must come from holiness, and holiness can not be found where sin is cherished. God abides in holy temples. He is barred where sin has entered. Yet there is no place where He is not. And therefore sin can have no home in which to hide from His beneficence. There is no place where holiness is not, and nowhere sin and sickness can abide.”
A Course in Miracles W-140.5:1-7

Upper Case Living

Painting by James Yale

Everything we do, say, and think, plants us firmly in either the world of fear or the realm of Love. Moment by moment, we choose what we accept as the truth. A number of years ago, through my daily writings, I became friends with a man in the Netherlands. He has studied Christian Science for decades, and at some point added A Course in Miracles. While I have been familiar with the work of Mary Baker Eddy all my life, there are facets of her writings which I am now looking at with new eyes. In the early 1900s, a group of people explored the supposition that Mrs. Eddy had written a new language, a spiritual language, centered around the seven synonyms for God, which are well-known to readers of Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures. By a thorough understanding of these capitalized words, (Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love) we are able to apply them to all experiences, allowing them to be spiritualized in thought and realized in the demonstration of Oneness. By consistently turning thought away from mortal concepts and utilizing spiritual interpretations, we are choosing the world we want to see. A close friend once wrote an essay entitled, "Upper Case Living". I will think of it as I choose the world I see today!

“What Truth is comes to view individually as intuition, inspiration. Truth is forever unfolding as individual self-conscious being, and our opinions (abstractions) are constantly becoming obsolete. Truth cannot be locked up in a strong-box; it is Infinity. When confined, Truth ceases to be Truth, and becomes an abstraction. Truth defines itself operationally by disposing of beliefs and theories. It is a way of life and cannot be argued about." "The man of today is intelligence; he is pure Mind” We Are the World We Walk Through” by Margaret Laird C.S.B

“A miracle is a correction introduced into false thinking by me. It acts as a catalyst, breaking up erroneous perception and reorganizing it properly. This places you under the Atonement principle, where perception is healed. Until this has occurred, knowledge of the Divine Order is impossible.”
A Course in Miracles T-1.I.37:1-4

We Are Capable Of More Than We Know

Jesus was here to teach us many things, not the least of which was how to be nice to each other. His two commandments were to love God above all else and to love our neighbor as ourselves. I've often thought that we need to love ourselves more, as it seems many of us are expressing a lack of love for ourselves in our actions toward others. Jesus was also instructing us that we are capable of much more than we know. We are not powerless victims of circumstance. He tells us that the things he does, so can we -- know the Truth and be free!Power and dominion have become ugly words because of the things done to others by ruthless people. True power and dominion have to do with peace and grace and Love, as expressed through the healing power within. We are capable of more than we know. Let's not be afraid to express that power in healing every ill which seems so real to our material sense. We are spiritual Beings, expressions of God, perfect and whole, needing nothing to be added or taken away for that perfection to show forth and bless all of humankind. More on this theme tomorrow …

“What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs? And what can save the world except your Self? Belief is powerful indeed. The thoughts you hold are mighty, and illusions are as strong in their effects as is the truth. A madman thinks the world he sees is real, and does not doubt it. Nor can he be swayed by questioning his thoughts’ effects. It is but when their source is raised to question that the hope of freedom comes to him at last.”
A Course in Miracles W-132.1:1-7

“In divine Science, man is the true image of God. The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow,--thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,--perfect God and perfect man,--as the basis of thought and demonstration.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259:6-15