Playmates

Artist Yayoi Kusama 

While listening to an old Ram Das video I heard him say: “It’s delicious to find a playmate to play with your mind.” Hearing this, I laughed out loud remembering the wonderful mind playmates I’ve had in the last few decades! When moving to Eureka Springs almost 30 years ago, I found a different way of thinking from the parents and teachers at the Clear Spring School. It was a glimpse of intelligent free-thinking which was delightfully different to my experience. From there it just got better! Having an art gallery and representing the creative geniuses of our town and the surrounding area was a joyous time of life. I have no words for the beauty of these years, but the feeling will never leave me — nor the friendships. The five years of my association with our local metaphysical society was a whole other level of thought, which led to ideas and friendships which feel like a wonderful flavor in my mouth. A group of people who met monthly for a free-wheeling salon became my dearest of all friends and I will never forget our exciting and fun-filled conversations. My long-lived bookclub has kept me reading books I probably would not know about on my own, and our discussions have led to deep friendship and admiration for each and every one of these women. What a fortunate woman I am to have so many playmates! And I am grateful …

“Love never loses sight of loveliness. Its halo rests upon its object. One marvels that a friend can ever seem less than beautiful. Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 248:4-8

“There is no grace of Heaven that you cannot offer to your brother, and receive from your most holy Friend. Let him withhold it not, for by receiving it you offer it to him. And he will receive of you what you received of him. Redemption has been given you to give your brother, and thus receive it. Whom you forgive is free, and what you give you share. Forgive the sins your brother thinks he has committed, and all the guilt you think you see in him.”
A Course in Miracles T-19.IV-D.15:5-10

Isn’t It Madness …

Art by Catrin Welz-Stein

When I was a young child, I always heard that women could not be newscasters, or politicians, or astronauts, or any number of positions which were considered to be of leadership and importance. As I grew up, I saw that to be untrue. Often I wondered why we divided everything into male and female. As my youngest son asked when he was a small child : Why do we have men’s and women’s clothing? Why not just clothes? I agree! And while we’re at it, let’s quit splitting things up into gender for any reason! If somebody’s good at something, that’s what they should be doing. Give men the freedom to stay home and take care of children and cook, if that’s what they want to do. I feel a change in the air. Join me in celebration!

“Isn’t it odd that once upon a time in Europe a woman could be killed for making potions from the plants around her.

“Isn’t it insane that once upon a time wise women were burnt or drowned for helping birth babies, knowing their herbs, gathering in groups of more than two, being outside alone, being strong, being beautiful, being ugly, being different, being sexual, being non sexual or touching a nettle, smelling a rose or drinking wild teas.

“Isn’t it madness that a woman who knew her body, her mind and her heart was cast aside as evil, as a sinner and her life taken away.

“Women! Do not let the ancestral memory of this that is held in your make up, in your bones and blood hold you back. Rise dear sweet sisters, rise so that our daughters and daughters’ daughters don’t have to wonder when we lost our tongues and denied our hearts.

“Grow a new tongue, invite the wolf in, awaken the witch and dance under the moon. Embrace your heart, your womb, your gut and your wisdom.

“Roar dear sister, break the silence and take back your power so the young ones won’t have to.”
~ Brigit Anna McNeill

Always With You

Writing By Tahlia Hunter

“Patience visited me

And it reminded me 

That good things take time to come to fruition

And grow slowly with stability 

Peace visited me 

And it reminded me 

That I may remain calm through the storms of life 

Regardless of the chaos surrounding me 

Hope visited me 

And it reminded me 

That better times lay ahead 

And it would always be there to guide and uplift me

Humility visited me 

And it reminded me 

That I may achieve it 

Not by trying to shrink myself and make myself less

But by focusing on serving the world and uplifting those around me

Kindness visited me

And it reminded me 

To be more gentle, forgiving and compassionate toward myself 

And those surrounding me

Confidence visited me

And it reminded me

To not conceal or suppress my gifts and talents 

In order to make others feel more comfortable 

But to embrace what makes me me 

Focus visited me

And it reminded me

That other people’s insecurities and judgements about me

Are not my problem 

And I should redirect my attention 

From others back to me 

Freedom visited me 

And it reminded me 

That no one has control over my mindset, thoughts and wellbeing 

But me

And love visited me 

And it reminded me 

That I need not search for it in others

As it lies within me.”

By Tahlia Hunter

“I am Spirit. Man, whose senses are spiritual, is my likeness. He reflects the infinite understanding, for I am Infinity. The beauty of holiness, the perfection of being, imperishable glory, — all are Mine, for I am God. I give immortality to man, for I am Truth. I include and impart all bliss, for I am Love. I give life, without beginning and without end, for I am Life. I am supreme and give all, for I am Mind. I am the substance of all, because I am that I am.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 232:31-8

“When I said ‘I am with you always,’ I meant it literally. I am not absent to anyone in any situation. Because I am always with you, you are the way, the truth and the life. You did not make this power, any more than I did. It was created to be shared, and therefore cannot be meaningfully perceived as belonging to anyone at the expense of another. Such a perception makes it meaningless by eliminating or overlooking its real and only meaning.” 

A Course in Miracles  T-7.III.1:7-12

Harmony

Art by J. Clement Wall

Peace is a state of mind. We can feel the epitome of peace in the midst of turmoil, or we may be in an outer oasis of stillness but, due to our tumultuous state of mind, be anxious and upset. It helps me to know that we are all, each and every one, the reflection of Spirit. With this realization, I am able to see everything through the eyes of divine Love. This is not to say that I'm always calm. Sometimes I forget I am the idea of God, and that everyone else is, too. At those times, who knows how I may be interpreting events! In a state of forgetfulness, I am at the mercy of material belief, being swayed by thought systems which were put in place long before my appearance in this world. But when I remember the spiritual Truth of creation, things appear differently to me -- and there is peace.

“Through divine Science, Spirit, God, unites understanding to eternal harmony. The calm and exalted thought or spiritual apprehension is at peace. Thus the dawn of ideas goes on, forming each successive stage of progress.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:10-14

“Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator. As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host within and the stranger without. ⁶When you bring in the stranger, he becomes your brother.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.III.7:1-6

The Function of Truth

Do you ever feel as though there’s too much information (and disinformation) floating around in our atmosphere? It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of facts which present themselves to us every moment of every day. We don’t even have to search for them; they find us. I remember when I was growing up and television and radio commercials were just coming into fashion. We were warned about subliminal messages hidden beneath the surface, and the brainwashing effects of repetitious phrases and tunes. The first political candidate’s commercial was for Eisenhower in the 50s, which, to those of us born in that decade, seems like yesterday. The bombardment of political misinformation is too much for many of us to handle, so we choose our favorite commentator and believe their words. I would like to encourage everyone to not give up! Please, find a trusted source for facts and read whenever possible. 

“To my sense, the most imminent dangers confronting the coming century are: the robbing of people of life and liberty under the warrant of the Scriptures; the claims of politics and of human power, industrial slavery, and insufficient freedom of honest competition; and ritual, creed, and trusts in place of the Golden Rule, ‘Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’”
Mary Baker Eddy - from the article Insufficient Freedom written in 1900 for the New York World.

“The function of truth is to collect information that is true. Any way you handle error results in nothing. The more complicated the results become the harder it may be to recognize their nothingness, but it is not necessary to examine all possible outcomes to which premises give rise in order to judge them truly.”

A Course in Miracles T-8.VIII.6:7-9

Bad News Is Not The Norm

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

An editorial lead caught my attention recently: “Bad news is NOT the norm”. The writer explains that newspapers tend to report on things which are out of the ordinary. In other words, a supermarket getting robbed is more unusual than a supermarket not getting robbed. So when people continually read bad news, they may think that it is happening everywhere, whereas it is actually abnormal, rather than a regular occurrence. We hear of terrible things happening around the globe, including closer to home. Yet every day wonderful things are happening; they are simply not reportable because they are not unusual. This writer is the editor for a feature called Points of Progress. She tells how progress in one place may not be progress in another. Progress is contextual. And it doesn’t travel in a straight line. It may be three steps forward, two back. But overall, the progress is happening. At times, we may think that evil actions are overcoming goodness, but that is when it’s important for us to focus on the loving, caring actions of those around us. We must love as passionately as some hate. What we put our attention upon, grows.

“The first step toward freedom involves a sorting out of the false from the true. This is a process of separation in the constructive sense, and reflects the true meaning of the Apocalypse. Everyone will ultimately look upon his own creations and choose to preserve only what is good, just as God Himself looked upon what He had created and knew that it was good. At this point, the mind can begin to look with love on its own creations because of their worthiness. At the same time the mind will inevitably disown its miscreations which, without belief, will no longer exist.”
A Course in Miracles T-2.VIII.4:1-5

The categories of metaphysics rest on one basis, the divine Mind. Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul. These ideas are perfectly real and tangible to spiritual consciousness, and they have this advantage over the objects and thoughts of material sense, — they are good and eternal.”
Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 269:13-20

Flowers

Art by Mia Tarney

“The earth laughs in flowers.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson - (from) Hametreya, 1803-1882.

“There is a light in you which cannot die; whose presence is so holy that the world is sanctified because of you. All things that live bring gifts to you, and offer them in gratitude and gladness at your feet. The scent of flowers is their gift to you. The waves bow down before you, and the trees extend their arms to shield you from the heat, and lay their leaves before you on the ground that you may walk in softness, while the wind sinks to a whisper round your holy head.”
A Course in Miracles W-156.4:1-

“Mortals have a modus of their own, undirected and unsustained by God. They produce a rose through seed and soil, and bring the rose into contact with the olfactory nerves that they may smell it. In legerdemain and credulous frenzy, mortals believe that unseen spirits produce the flowers. God alone makes and clothes the lilies of the field, and this He does by means of Mind, not matter.” 
Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 212:17-24