There Is No Justification For Cruelty

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

The belief in separation fosters fear, and fear and cruelty go hand in hand. We think we’re defending ourselves, our loved ones, or values which are of importance to us and our way of life. To this defensive end, we are willing to attack others in our words and actions, not listening to the voice of sanity which divine Mind is forever supplying. If I witness attack thoughts around me today, I will remember that those propounding such ideas believe they are justified in their defenses. And in this remembrance, I will see them as a child of Love, knowing this is their true Being, and praying that they may realize it, too.

“And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 497:24-28

“With love as enemy, must cruelty become a god. And gods demand that those who worship them obey their dictates, and refuse to question them. Harsh punishment is meted out relentlessly to those who ask if the demands are sensible or even sane. It is their enemies who are unreasonable and insane, while they are always merciful and just.”
A Course in Miracles W-170.6:1-4

Infinite, As Many of One

Contemporary Art Museum in Denver, Colorado

Photo by Aaron Springston

“Conscious human individuality is not individual as one of many but infinite as many of One.” [Margaret Laird] The enormity of Oneness may seem more than we can fathom, but knowing we are an individual reflection of goodness, and united therein, seems much more manageable! Realizing our spiritual nature as the experience of divine Love opens a new world in which I am not a victim of mortal mind and its manifestations. I am unafraid to take a stand for harmony and peace, knowing that it is our birthright as reflections of Mind.

"As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible.When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.”

Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 264:13-19

“Miracles make minds one in God. They depend on cooperation because the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. Miracles therefore reflect the laws of eternity, not of time.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.I.19:1-3

Peace Is Shining Through You

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

A cantankerous friend who insists he’s an atheist engaged me in a discussion about God. His diatribe consisted of stories from the news about people’s actions in the name of their church and beliefs. He told me of close friends who profess to be Christians, yet have become increasingly hateful in their speech in the last few years. I countered each of his stories with stories of my own which illustrated what I think of as God. I told him of a non-dualistic God, one which doesn’t sit up on a cloud granting favors and dispensing retribution, but which is found within. I endeavored to explain how this ever-presence wasn’t pantheism because God is not IN us, but God IS us in much the same way as a sunbeam is the expression of the sun. We are the experience of divine Love, Mind, Soul, Truth, Spirit, Life. The peace of God is shining through me now.

“The peace of God is shining in you now, and from your heart extends around the world. It pauses to caress each living thing, and leaves a blessing with it that remains forever and forever. What it gives must be eternal. It removes all thoughts of the ephemeral and valueless. It brings renewal to all tired hearts, and lights all vision as it passes by. All of its gifts are given everyone, and everyone unites in giving thanks to you who give, and you who have received.”
A Course in Miracles W-188.3:1-6

“Truth and Love enlighten the understanding, in whose ‘light shall we see light;’ and this illumination is reflected spiritually by all who walk in the light and turn away from a false material sense.”
Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 510:9-12

Nature Voices Divine Love

Art by Abbott Henderson Thayer

Forgive Me - Poem by Mary Oliver

Angels are wonderful but they are so, well, aloof.

It’s what I sense in the mud and the roots of the

trees, or the well, or the barn, or the rock with

its citron map of lichen that halts my feet and

makes my eyes flare,

 feeling the presence of some spirit, 

some small god,

 who abides there.

If I were a perfect person, I would be bowing

continuously.

I’m not, though I pause wherever I feel this

holiness, which is why I’m so often late coming

back from wherever I went.

Forgive me.

~ Mary Oliver

“Nature voices natural, spiritual law and divine Love, but human belief misinterprets nature. Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, — all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons. The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 240:1-9

“Forgiveness turns the world of sin into a world of glory, wonderful to see. Each flower shines in light, and every bird sings of the joy of Heaven. There is no sadness and there is no parting here, for everything is totally forgiven. And what has been forgiven must join, for nothing stands between to keep them separate and apart. The sinless must perceive that they are one, for nothing stands between to push the other off. And in the space that sin left vacant do they join as one, in gladness recognizing what is part of them has not been kept apart and separate.”

A Course in Miracles T-26.IV.2:1-6

Traumatic Religious Practice

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Not having experienced any specific childhood trauma, I didn’t think about the results for those who have — at least not until I was living with a man who had excessive trauma in his younger years. As I began to examine the aftereffects of both physical and mental abuse, I came across the fabulous Dr. Gabor Matè, who shares his extensive work with the effects of trauma through books and YouTube videos. A few weeks ago, I mentioned a woman named Tia Levings, who wrote “A Well-Trained Wife”. She tells of how she has survived years of abuse, most of which was religion-based. If you want to know more of her experiences — and millions of others in our country — watch Shiny, Happy People, which is the story of the Duggar family. For decades, certain religious sects have promoted the ideas which these people are living. Women are controlled in every facet of their lives: no voting, no birth control, no choice in education - in other words, to have no voice or power over any part of their lives. Ms. Levings also exposes how men are victims of these religions. There are unrealistic expectations placed on men, who often have psychotic breaks because of the stunted emotional development they have been forced into. We like to think of those who live like this as an aberration. I now see how it is not only pervasive, but growing exponentially. This is a deep subject in which to delve.

“True denial is a powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment but a correction. Your right mind depends on it. Denial of error is a strong defense of truth, but denial of truth results in miscreation, the projections of the ego. In the service of the right mind the denial of error frees the mind, and re-establishes the freedom of the will. When the will is really free it cannot miscreate, because it recognizes only truth.”
A Course in Miracles T-2.II.2:1-7

“Suffering, sinning, dying beliefs are unreal. When divine Science is universally understood, they will have no power over man, for man is immortal and lives by divine authority.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 76:18-21

Out of Fear, Given Back to Love

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

Someone once told me he thought that hope holds us captive, and that 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. Our reality is the divine Mind which we reflect. What a freeing concept!

“Oh my brothers, if you only knew the peace that will envelop you and hold you safe and pure and lovely in the Mind of God, you could but rush to meet Him where His altar is. Hallowed your Name and His, for they are joined here in this holy place. Here He leans down to lift you up to Him, out of illusions into holiness; out of the world and to eternity; out of all fear and given back to love.”
A Course in Miracles C-4.8:1-3

“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

Justice

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

In my younger days, I enjoyed horror stories. Stephen King was a favorite because of his exceptional writing skills and his insights into the psyche of the psychopath. I was fascinated by the awfulness of it. Going hand in hand with that fascination, was my desire to pollute my body with substances which seemed to be fun, but ultimately were not. Over the last three decades, I’ve given up these things one by one, some more readily than others. I’ve been thinking about the horrors of the political scene, as we’ve watched it unfold over these same decades. It has culminated in a particularly intense awfulness at this point, and I have no desire to partake of its emotional rollercoaster. While staying informed, it is my goal to remain calm. A wise woman once told me she only wanted to hear about the problem once; from then on, we would only speak of solutions. As of today, I reaffirm my conviction to do this. I wish you peace in whatever way you choose to solve problems!

“The Holy Spirit’s problem solving is the way in which the problem ends. It has been solved because it has been met with justice. Until it has it will recur, because it has not yet been solved. The principle that justice means no one can lose is crucial to this course. For miracles depend on justice. Not as it is seen through this world’s eyes, but as God knows it and as knowledge is reflected in the sight the Holy Spirit gives.”
A Course in Miracles T-25.IX.5:1-6

“The mild forms of animal magnetism are disappearing, and its aggressive features are coming to the front. The looms of crime, hidden in the dark recesses of mortal thought, are every hour weaving webs more complicated and subtle. So secret are the present methods of animal magnetism that they ensnare the age into indolence, and produce the very apathy on the subject which the criminal desires.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 102:1