Beyond Darkness, Into Light

I know many people who are social activists. They have worked for years to improve our environment, politics, and the multitude of things in need of advancement. Some have told me they are tired of the fight. I am extremely grateful to each and every one of you who work to clean up rivers, who are passionate about producing uncontaminated food, who stand up to various tyrants and declare, "The emperor has no clothes!" Not a single person has told me that they're tired of the physical effort involved in these projects; it's the butting up against thought stuck in strong opinion, or that which is fueled by hate and fear, which is frustrating to them. This is where our metaphysical advice can be helpful: Don't try to change anyone else's mind, only your own. More and more of us are witnessing the effect of truth when it is brought to seemingly impossible situations, and we're finding that new avenues of action appear when this is done. There is no need to defend ourselves or proclaim our own strong opinions in support of this Truth. Knowing it, within our own selves, is sufficient!

“As when an acid and alkali meet and bring out a third quality, so mental and moral chemistry changes the material base of thought, giving more spirituality to consciousness and causing it to depend less on material evidence.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 422:14-18

“In you is all of Heaven. Every leaf that falls is given life in you. Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you. And every flower that ever bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. What aim can supersede the Will of God and of His Son, that Heaven be restored to him for whom it was created as his only home? Nothing before and nothing after it. No other place; no other state nor time. Nothing beyond nor nearer. Nothing else. In any form. This can you bring to all the world, and all the thoughts that entered it and were mistaken for a little while. How better could your own mistakes be brought to truth than by your willingness to bring the light of Heaven with you, as you walk beyond the world of darkness into light?” 

A Course in Miracles T-25.IV.5:1-12

Translating, Understanding, Communicating

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Translating words from one language to another can be difficult. I read a column which is dedicated to words, their origins, and usage. They told an amusing anecdote recently about the old adage “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. An online translating program turned this phrase into: “the vodka is good, but the meat is rotten.” Ha!! It often seems as though the people to whom we are speaking hear things in a very different way from what we meant to convey. Perhaps we should say: Now, repeat that back to me. Actually, I’m pretty sure a great many people quit listening as soon as they think they know what you are going to say. Their brains jump into respond mode and they have no true understanding of what you are trying to convey. Translations, listening skills, critical thinking ability, communicating clearly — whew! With all these factors involved in a conversation, perhaps it’s no wonder we mistake others’ intentions. This is yet another reason I love the practice of divine metaphysics. We are learning to live in the present, and that includes listening in the now. Happy communicating to everyone on this beautiful almost-summer day!

“Laws must be communicated if they are to be helpful. In effect, they must be translated for those who speak different languages. Nevertheless, a good translator, although he must alter the form of what he translates, never changes the meaning. In fact, his whole purpose is to change the form so that the original meaning is retained. The Holy Spirit is the Translator of the laws of God to those who do not understand them. You could not do this yourself because a conflicted mind cannot be faithful to one meaning, and will therefore change the meaning to preserve the form.” 

A Course in Miracles T-7.II.4:1-6

“The compounded minerals or aggregated substances composing the earth, the relations which constituent masses hold to each other, the magnitudes, distances, and revolutions of the celestial bodies, are of no real importance, when we remember that they all must give place to the spiritual fact by the translation of man and the universe back into Spirit. In proportion as this is done, man and the universe will be found harmonious and eternal.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 209:16-24

Tribes and Oneness

Art by Nino Mak

While talking to a friend about the tribes people associate themselves with, I paused to think about the cocoon I feel cozy within here in Eureka Springs. There are a number of groups of people with whom I feel a deep kinship, but there is no limiting identity with any particular one. I remember when my boys and I moved here three decades ago. It was to attend the Clear Spring School. One of the mothers told me this school was a way of life, and I soon found out what she meant. We worked together to raise money to keep the school viable, and leaned on each other for child care and support in every avenue of life. This was a total-immersion situation unlike any other I’ve encountered. From that new beginning, I have been involved with and loved our metaphysical group, The Arkansas Metaphysical Society (Metafizzies), along with my Eureka Thyme Gallery family. Now, I feel a deep kinship with the three congregations where I have been organist/accompanist, along with the choirs I have accompanied. There is also our duplicate bridge community, the local Course in Miracles group, and my book club, Novel Women. Every day our lives can expand to include others we meet. The practice of non-duality we study opens us to our universal family, which is fluttering just out of sight! Life is Good!

“Groups of people who have shared spiritual Love are bound together for eternity.” [paraphrased] 

Joel Goldsmith

“Peace is extended from you only to the eternal, and it reaches out from the eternal in you. It flows across all else. The second obstacle is no more solid than the first. For you want neither to get rid of peace nor limit it. What are these obstacles that you would interpose between peace and its going forth but barriers you place between your will and its accomplishment? You want communion, not the feast of fear. You want salvation, not the pain of guilt. And you want your Father, not a little mound of clay, to be your home. In your holy relationship is your Father’s Son. He has not lost communion with Him, nor with himself. When you agreed to join your brother, you acknowledged this is so. This has no cost, but it has release from cost.” 

A Course in Miracles T-19.IV-B.4:1-12

Lift Your Voice and Love Loudly!

Art by J. Clement Wall

JudyClementWall.com

What do you do when you hear someone say something racist, or sexist, or ageist -- something that lays like an ugly splotch in your memory? When I was a child, I distinctly remember other children saying mean things to and about a girl. She didn't seem to have much going for her. To our way of thinking, she wasn't pretty or smart. But I liked her. I was only 8 or 9, and I was afraid to refute the words of a mob of kids who reveled in being mean to her. I never forgave myself for that. But I hope I'm rectifying it now. After that time, I began to speak up in the face of injustice. Of course, I sometimes went overboard and would challenge others, trying to defend things which didn't need my defense. Hopefully, I'm learning when my words are needed, as opposed to keeping my mouth shut and letting someone dig a hole for themselves! Whatever the case, this chalkboard art from J. Clement Wall speaks to how I feel today. "Lift Your Voice & Love Loud"! May I have the wisdom to know what to say and when to say it -- or not!

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and Love are a law of annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 243:25-29

“Light cannot enter darkness when a mind believes in darkness, and will not let it go. Truth does not struggle against ignorance, and love does not attack fear. What needs no protection does not defend itself. Defense is of your making. God knows it not. The Holy Spirit uses defenses on behalf of truth only because you made them against it. His perception of them, according to His purpose, merely changes them into a call for what you have attacked with them. Defenses, like everything you made, must be gently turned to your own good, translated by the Holy Spirit from means of self-destruction to means of preservation and release. His task is mighty, but the power of God is with Him. Therefore, to Him it is so easy that it was accomplished the instant it was given Him for you. Do not delay in your return to peace by wondering how He can fulfill what God has given Him to do. Leave that to Him Who knows. You are not asked to do mighty tasks yourself. You are merely asked to do the little He suggests you do, trusting Him only to the small extent of believing that, if He asks it, you can do it. You will see how easily all that He asks can be accomplished.”
A Course in Miracles T-14.VII.5:1-15

Take a Stand For Truth

How many people need to repeat truth before everyone begins to see it? Supposedly, Mark Twain jokingly said a lie would travel around the world while the truth was still lacing up its boots. I'm not sure that's true today with the internet connecting everyone in its web. I'd bet the truth will travel just as fast if enough people speak/write it! It seems Aristarchus first noticed the sun was stationary somewhere around 300 B.C., then it took a few centuries before Copernicus revealed this truth, with a mathematical model in the 1500s. Even then, Copernicus was so afraid of religious leaders, who thought everything was centered around them, that he didn't tell anyone until he was on his deathbed. Sound familiar? What about the earth being flat, railroad tracks coming together, mirages, and other such illusions? How long did it take for us to understand what was happening? While most of us know these things, I saw a horrifying statistic recently which said that 1/4 of the people still believe the sun revolves around the earth every 24 hours. Hearing things like this make it even more important for each and every one of us to speak out about things we know to be true. Research is easier than ever and more fun than it was 50 years ago. So pick a fact, study up, and tell everyone you know!

"Agassiz, the celebrated naturalist and author, has wisely said, 'Every great scientific truth goes through three stages. First, people say it conflicts with the Bible. Next, they say it has been discovered before. Lastly, they say they have always believed it.’”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 104:8

“When you lack confidence in what someone will do, you are attesting to your belief that he is not in his right mind. This is hardly a miracle-based frame of reference. It also has the disastrous effect of denying the power of the miracle. The miracle perceives everything as it is. If nothing but the truth exists, right-minded seeing cannot see anything but perfection. ⁶I have said that only what God creates or what you create with the same Will has any real existence. This, then, is all the innocent can see. They do not suffer from distorted perception.”
A Course in Miracles T-3.II.3:1-8

“No Kings”

With the upcoming peaceful “No Kings” protest on Saturday, I feel compelled to repeat this past writing about love and joy dissipating anger:

A long time ago, I was leaving my art gallery at the end of the day, walking down the sidewalk to my vehicle, when I heard the old Louis Armstrong song, What a Wonderful World. There was a young man in Basin Park, sitting with his guitar and singing this song. I stopped to listen and was completely enthralled; lifted out of myself and the worries of the day. I stood across the street from him, loving what was happening on this cool summer evening. Out of the corner of my ear (so to speak) I heard some ruckus, but it wasn’t really registering with me. As the song ended, I heard some voices shouting obscenities. When I looked toward the noise, they were looking right at me! But my mind had risen to a place of pure Love while listening to the song and feeling the words, and so I just stood there, smiling, with no thought of anything other than what a wonderful world it is. There were three young people sitting on a wall in the park and as I happily looked back at them, it was as though they deflated. Where before they had been angry and loud, their anger disappeared right before my eyes. I waved happily at them and went on my way. This was proof that Love conquers hate. I saw it happen. So don’t lose hope, dear friends. Allow yourselves to be overtaken by Love and watch it spread!


“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 571:18-21

“Today the lights of Heaven bend to you, to shine upon your eyelids as you rest beyond the world of darkness. Here is light your eyes can not behold. And yet your mind can see it plainly, and can understand. A day of grace is given you today, and we give thanks. This day we realize that what you feared to lose was only loss.”
A Course in Miracles W-129.8:1-5

The Holy Relationship

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Relationships are assignments made with the purpose of triggering each other’s wounds. These wounds are mainly from childhood, and we’ve probably been replaying a version of them all our lives. In order to have maximum growth, we must face them and heal them, which cannot be done unless they’re opened up and brought to the surface. And so we meet someone, fall in love, have a mountaintop experience, then trip and fall down the hill. From that point, we can work on climbing back up, or stay where we’ve landed. In the exhilaration of romance, we have seen the truth of each other’s innocence; after a while, we get to see each other’s messed-up-ness. We may look at it in a sacred context and recognize the spiritual meaning and purpose, or we can focus on the hurt and allow our egos to separate us. Whether we live together in bodies, or live separately but remain together in heart, it makes no difference, as relationships are of the mind. I keep reminding myself that all crises are an invitation to rise to the occasion. It’s quite a trip, don’t you think?

"The holy relationship, a major step toward the perception of the real world, is learned. It is the old, unholy relationship, transformed and seen anew. The holy relationship is a phenomenal teaching accomplishment. In all its aspects, as it begins, develops and becomes accomplished, it represents the reversal of the unholy relationship. Be comforted in this; the only difficult phase is the beginning. For here, the goal of the relationship is abruptly shifted to the exact opposite of what it was. This is the first result of offering the relationship to the Holy Spirit to use for His purposes." 

A Course in Miracles T-17.V.2:1-7 

“The power of the human will should be exercised only in subordination to Truth; else it will misguide the judgment and free the lower propensities. It is the province of spiritual sense to govern man. Material, erring, human thought acts injuriously both upon the body and through it.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 206:4-9