Correct Interpretations

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Are you afraid that the realization of Oneness would take away your individuality? Two things which, in reality, do not exist -- mortal mind, as termed by Mary Baker Eddy, and ego as it's called in ACIM -- want you to think you would no longer be you if you admit that you are One with all that Is. What if free will does not exist unless you DO give up what you think of as individuality and embrace Oneness? I'm beginning to see that I have no will of my own if I'm simply regurgitating well-rehearsed lines from the history of my life. I'm starting to glimpse the freedom which comes from throwing off the chains I have bound myself with through a lifetime of fears and learned behavior. A dear friend related a story about thinking his stepmother had never liked him. Recently he found out she was practically deaf, and actions he had interpreted as slights to him were actually moments of confusion on her part. He now sees their relationship with the freedom of understanding. As we separate illusion from Truth, by way of thinking with divine Mind, we are freed! 

“There is but one I, or Us, but one divine Principle, or Mind, governing all existence; man and woman unchanged forever in their individual characters, even as numbers which never blend with each other, though they are governed by one Principle.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 511:11-16

Climbing the Heights of Holiness

photo credit: Aaron Springston

There is a delightful little book called, The Holy Man, by Susan Trott. It is comprised of numerous scenarios recounted through a group of people who are waiting in line to see The Holy Man. They feel all their questions will be answered, all their problems solved, if only they can meet and speak with him. The irony is that when they are finally admitted to his home, he simply leads them through the house and out the back door. The beauty of the book is that everyone sees what they need to see from their interactions with others while waiting in the long line. We, too, have these ah-hah moments while going about our day-to-day activities. By releasing our by-rote reactions, we are free to practice forgiveness with every blameless thought we have. With this clean slate, who knows what insights will be ours? Like those people waiting to speak to The Holy Man, whom they believed had all the answers, we will be finding insight in every moment, simply by allowing ourselves to accept that we are One with God. As such, all answers are ours, even without asking questions!

“Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and disport themselves. In humility they climb the heights of holiness.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 513:26-9

One With All That Is

photo credit: Aaron Springston

What does Atonement mean to you? I think of it as being at one with All that Is. The ease with which I accept this concept may have to do with the fact that I've always lived in small towns where we all know each other. I'm also in a rural area where it's easy to commune with nature and readily feel this connection. But, in the alternative, with the inception of the internet, it seems easier to see our Oneness reflected back at us from others all over the world. I have friends who have just returned from an extended trip around Europe. They are both outgoing, loving people who have many stories to tell about the friendships they made in their travels. Seeing ourselves as the experience and expression of God helps us to understand our Oneness with everyone everywhere, no matter whether we look the same or agree in any of our material beliefs. As we realize the unreality of our matter-based beliefs, we are better equipped to see the reality of our Oneness with God. This realization then resounds in our every interaction with life, turning it into an all-encompassing experience in which we can understand our at-One-ment. We truly are all in this together!

“Atonement is the exemplification of man’s unity with God, whereby man reflects divine Truth, Life, and Love." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 18:1-3

Healing Love

PC: Aaron Springston

Love heals. We hear this so often, it's probably become somewhat of a cliché. We may think that nothing can heal the ills of the world, much less something as intangible as love. What if love were the most powerful force in the universe? Not just an emotion called love, but a omnipotent, gentle presence which is what we think of as God. What if experiencing this Love was sufficient to heal every thought of evil or sickness or misery which has ever been imagined? Then we'd all be lining up to get some of this stuff, don't you think? And it's even easier than that. We only need get out of our own way to see what has always been there. Love heals.

"One moment of divine consciousness, or the spiritual understanding of Life and Love, is a foretaste of eternity.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 598:23-2

Relying on Love

Many of us resort to chants and/or affirmations when seeking a specific outcome in life. Many people see nothing wrong with this approach -- and perhaps even a lot of right in it! I've come to think of this as mental manipulation, or a form of hypnotism, which may create a temporary change, but is not a lasting solution to anything. So then, if I'm not going to try to talk life into doing what I want it to, what am I going to do? I'm going to work to get out of my own way, to quiet my mind, to forget everything I’ve ever thought I knew about spirit. It's not my job to delineate what that is. Releasing what I think I know, surrendering projected outcomes, and totally relying on Love, I trust that everything I need will be added unto me. I needn’t think about what these things are,  because whatever the outcome is, it will be far better than anything I could have planned. Truth is waiting for me to clear the mist which is hiding it. For this, I am most grateful.

"This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not 'for the loaves and fishes,' nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 367:10-16

A Present Possibility

photo credit: Aaron Springston

It is impossible to see two worlds. This is another lesson topic in A Course in Miracles. There is a world of Love, and there is a world of fear. I cannot see them both at the same time. This seems like an easy choice, but fear is often insidious and I may not realize which viewpoint is driving my actions. I can't know the world of Spirit when I'm thinking from the standpoint of mortal sense. I can't love my neighbors when I'm judging them. I can't hear the guidance of intuition when my thought is full of chaotic chatter. These dualities represent the two worlds we wish to embrace simultaneously. Everything I do, or say, or think, places me firmly in one world or the other. Moment by moment, I choose what to accept as truth. By consistently turning away from mortal concepts and looking to spiritual interpretations, I am choosing the world I want to see. And if I'm not comfortable with what I'm seeing, guess what? I can choose again!

“Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, 'The kingdom of God is within you.' This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 573:29-2

More Than Meets the Eye

One of the Course in Miracles lessons states that the world I see holds nothing that I want.  This could be interpreted as meaning we must give up all enjoyment from this delightful form we’re holding. On the contrary! It's asking us to look past the world which is the creation of mortal mind, to the world of divine Mind. By setting aside the unrealities of belief, we are breaking the same kind of thought barriers which had to be set aside for humanity to realize the world was round. When asked to see everything with new eyes, to dare to stretch past belief and learned behavior, we may be frightened or confused. In this state of mind, our "ego" can tell us that it's all just nonsense and it's better to stay with what is well-known. But is it? If you feel -- really feel, deep inside — that there must be more to this existence than meets the human eye, then you will want to know what that is. We are capable of so much more than we realize. The veil is getting thinner! 

"In the material world, thought has brought to light with great rapidity many useful wonders. With like activity have thought's swift pinions been rising towards the realm of the real, to the spiritual cause of those lower things which give impulse to inquiry. Belief in a material basis, from which may be deduced all rationality, is slowly yielding to the idea of a metaphysical basis, looking away from matter to Mind as the cause of every effect." Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 268:1-9