September 1, 2012 - Where does our safety come from?

 A  Course in Miracles Lesson #244

“I am in danger nowhere in the world."

"Aaron in Zion National Park"
photo by Heather Magnan

Reading the above affirmation of our safety in any situation reminds me of a profound example of this Truth. A young woman was abducted from her college campus, tied up and blindfolded, and taken to a remote area. Throughout this trip, the woman continuously affirmed the One ever-presence which we all reflect. She affirmed this not only in relation to her well-being but also for the perpetrator.  After quite a while, the man stopped the car and apologized to the woman, at which point she shared some thoughts concerning the truth of his being. Then they proceeded back to her apartment so she could give him a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I'm sure we all have stories of instances of protection through seeming divine intervention. Let's not think of this as intervention, but as the way things really are; not a setting aside of material danger, but an understanding of the divine Principle of all being. By this, we rest in the assurance that all is well. This knowledge has enabled me to peacefully know my son is safe during numerous travels. He's been away from home since he was 14, and flitting around the globe on his own since he was 19. Friends have wondered how I can be so calm and free from worry about him. It's because I know where his safety lies -- as does he.

Mary Baker Eddy poem:

Mother's Evening Prayer

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;

         O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,

Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!

         Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

Love is our refuge; only with mine eye

         Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall:

His habitation high is here, and nigh,

         His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.

O make me glad for every scalding tear,

         For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain!

Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear

         No ill, — since God is good, and loss is gain.

Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing;

         In that sweet secret of the narrow way,

Seeking and finding, with the angels sing:

         "Lo, I am with you alway," — watch and pray.

No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain;

         No night drops down upon the troubled breast,

When heaven's aftersmile earth's tear-drops gain,

         And mother finds her home and heav'nly rest.

(Poems by Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 4, 5)

August 31, 2012 - Judging Nothing

"Happy or Sad? - World Cup 2006"

A Course in Miracles Lesson #243

“Today I will judge nothing that occurs."

It seems as if we're expected to judge everything all the time. Which political party is right? Should there be a deer hunt in downtown Eureka Springs? What's wrong with our educational system and what can be done to fix it? The list is endless. How is it possible to "judge nothing that occurs"? This practice of non-judgment is a constant meditation with me, and I must admit I often feel like a failure at it. (Which in itself is a judgment!) This basic metaphysical precept of letting go and letting God, realizing that we of our own selves know nothing, facilitates giving up judgment because how can we judge what we do not know? And so I will continue to make note that my opinion is simply that: an opinion, not a Universal Truth. I thank Mr. Shakespeare for a thought that is in the front of Science & Health: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“It should be thoroughly understood that all men have one Mind, one God and Father, one Life, Truth, and Love. Mankind will become perfect in proportion as this fact becomes apparent, war will cease and the true brotherhood of man will be established.”

Science and Health Page 467:9-13

August 30, 2012 - Centering Thought

"Salt Lake City Sunrise"
photo by Aaron Springston

A Course in Miracles Lesson #242

“This day is God's. It is my gift to Him."

What's the first thing you think in the morning? It's easy to immediately start making plans for the day, thinking of what to do first and how to do it. Obviously there are many things to be attended, but as often as not our plans must change -- due to a multitude of factors. To give this day to God is to listen for intuition to lead the way. Starting our day with clear, spiritual thought allows this intuition to be heard more easily, without that back-and-forth volley we fall into when weighing the possibilities of our actions. I'm not sure how people manage who must begin to speak to others when they first wake up. As a child, I found it upsetting to be forced to talk first thing in the morning. Even then, I innately knew that silence, a certain centering, needed to occur before facing the cacophony of daily life. But even with this centering of thought, there is still that first moment upon awakening and that last thought before falling asleep at night. Through our studies, we have many quotations on which to call to start and end our day. I have no ritual to these moments; no set prayers or by-rote actions, but simply a clearing of thought and acceptance of what comes. The practice of turning every thought away from worrying and wondering "what-if" is sufficient to supply me with everything I need to walk this path. And it's exciting to see what will unfold!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Emerge gently from matter into Spirit. Think not to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come naturally into Spirit through better health and morals and as the result of spiritual growth.”

Science & Health Page 485:13-16

August 29, 2012 - Celebration of Seers

A Course in Miracles Lesson #241

 “This holy instant is salvation come."

"Sunburst in Zion National Park"
photo by Aaron Springston

For millennia we have been moving toward this point of awakened consciousness! We celebrate joy today, as sorrow and pain pass away. As part of this celebration, I am going to be remembering seers whose words have awakened the knowledge of salvation within me. These seers are people who have become a part of us all, who are so prominent that they are often in our conversations and thoughts. I want to remember the salvation which was passed to us by John Lennon, Emerson, Shakespeare, Rumi. I will celebrate those whose words have encouraged me to live Truth, through knowing I'm not the only one who feels this way. And while visiting these words I love, I will know that this salvation is not only something to be desired, but that it is here, now, for the remembering.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The ancient prophets gained their foresight from a spiritual, incorporeal standpoint, not by foreshadowing evil and mistaking fact for fiction,--predicting the future from a groundwork of corporeality and human belief. When sufficiently advanced in Science to be in harmony with the truth of being, men become seers and prophets involuntarily, controlled not by demons, spirits, or demigods, but by the one Spirit. It is the prerogative of the ever-present, divine Mind, and of thought which is in rapport with this Mind, to know the past, the present, and the future.

Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired,--yea, to reach the range of fetterless Mind.”

Science & Health Page 84:3-18

August 28, 2012 - Fear or Excitement?

"Aaron in Zion National Park"
photo by Heather Magnan

A Course in Miracles Lesson #240

“Fear is not justified in any form."

Living in familiar patterns, moving through our days in similar ways, saying the same things, thinking the same thoughts -- all these habits seem to bring us comfort. Even if the conditions of our lives are not bringing us happiness, we fear change. Perhaps all fear stems from a resistance to change!  We sometimes say, "Something told me I should do so-and-so". We often hear this calling, this inner voice leading us toward a different path than we're on, but we feel it takes courage to walk a road less or never traveled, and so we settle. To settle for anything which brings us less than joyful existence is to dishonor ourselves, which is to dishonor God. The next time I think I'm feeling this thing we think of as fear, I choose to interpret the emotion as excitement about what will come next!!

Mary Baker Eddy quotes:

“Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.”

Science & Health Page 199:25-31

“Walking in the light, we are accustomed to the light and require it; we cannot see in darkness. But eyes accustomed to darkness are pained by the light. When outgrowing the old, you should not fear to put on the new. Your advancing course may provoke envy, but it will also attract respect.”

Science & Health Page 452:7-12

August 27, 2012 - False Humility?

"Eureka Springs Eternal"
fabric creation by Sandy Starbird

A Course in Miracles Lesson #239

“The glory of my Father is my own"

The truth about ourselves is often hidden by a false humility, as today's workbook lesson in ACIM tells us. This "false humility" we use to hide the truth about ourselves can take many forms. It's usually easy to catch ourselves in self-deprecating actions, which we deem to be humility, but actually are expressions of our inability to accept the glory of our true Selves. But there are many insidious ways we reject Truth. Many of us take things personally and we feel attacked when we hear news of governmental actions. Perhaps friends’ words seem to bring hurt feelings. Maybe our co-workers' rivalry is hard to handle. These and thousands of other things can be seen as actions which somehow diminish us. Accepting the glory of ourselves allows us to see the unity we share with God and all of creation. Holding to a calm, positive attitude neutralizes ugly situations, whereas agreeing often brings escalation in negativity. Recently a woman expressed her anger to me concerning the motorcycles in our town. She stated it was no longer peaceful here, as it was when she had been here twenty years earlier. I happily told her that peace was everywhere in Eureka and not to become discouraged, ending the conversation by asking her if she didn't feel peace standing right where she was. This caused her to pause and realize she did. And so every time I hear or see something today which seems to come from a space of unhappiness, I will smile with the assurance that no one and nothing can change the harmonious Truth of Being. How glorious!

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

Walt Whitman

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“The Divine Being must be reflected by man,--else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One 'altogether lovely;' but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire.”

Science & Health Page 3:12-15

August 26, 2012 - Decisions

"Salt Lake City, Utah"
photo by Aaron Springston

ACIM Lesson #238

“On my decision all salvation rests."

It seems we have too many decisions in daily life. Even the tea section in the grocery store has so many choices it can be daunting! And so when we are told that "On my decision all salvation rests", it's tempting to say "No thanks!" But this salvation spoken of here is received by one decision: to wake up and accept our own divinity. There are no considerations to mull over in this decision, there are no choices which are better than others, nor is there any reason for fear of failure. All duality, all choice, vanishes when we realize there is only one thing to desire: to know that God is Life. Not my life, or your life, but Life. From this understanding, everything is manifested in our experience from the freedom we have in knowing that the Love which is God is the only Principle of our existence.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“By interpreting God as a corporeal Savior but not as the saving Principle, or divine Love, we shall continue to seek salvation through pardon and not through reform, and resort to matter instead of Spirit for the cure of the sick. As mortals reach, through knowledge of Christian Science [the Science of the Christ], a higher sense, they will seek to learn, not from matter, but from the divine Principle, God, how to demonstrate the Christ, Truth, as the healing and saving power.”

Science & Health Page 285:23-30