A Thousand Treasures

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

What blesses one blesses all. Divine Love does not look fondly on one and turn away from another. Love is boundless and blesses the world as it blesses me — and it blesses me as it blesses the world. Love has never left us. It has nothing to do with form, it is everywhere. I must let go of meanings I have placed on divine Love and allow it to Be. Acknowledging the reality of our Being, affirming our goodness as the experience of God, knowing that everyone is created as a manifestation of divine Mind, these are some of the ways we bless ourselves and everyone else. Join me in falling in love today -- with Life!

“Each day a thousand treasures come to me with every passing moment. I am blessed with gifts throughout the day, in value far beyond all things of which I can conceive. A brother smiles upon another, and my heart is gladdened. Someone speaks a word of gratitude or mercy, and my mind receives this gift and takes it as its own. And everyone who finds the way to God becomes my savior, pointing out the way to me, and giving me his certainty that what he learned is surely mine as well.” A Course in Miracles W-315.1:1-5

“Divine Love blesses its own ideas, and causes them to multiply, — to manifest [Its] power.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 501:13-18

Ancestry

My son and grandson

 

Ancestry" by Fred LaMotte 

My DNA results came back.

Just as I suspected, 

my great great grandfather

was a monarch butterfly.

Much of who I am is still 

wriggling under a stone.

I am part larva, but 

part hummingbird too.

There is dinosaur tar in 

my bone marrow.

My golden hair sprang out 

of a meadow in Palestine.

Genghis Khan is my fourth cousin,

but I didn't get his dimples.

My loins are loaded with 

banyan seeds from Sri Lanka,

but I descended from Ravanna, 

not Ram.

My uncle is a mastodon.

There are traces of white people 

in my saliva.

3.7 billion years ago I swirled 

in hydrogen dust,

dreaming of a planet overgrown 

with lingams and yonis.

More recently, say 60,000 B.C.

I walked on hairy paws 

across a land bridge

joining Sweden to Botswana.

I am the bastard of the sun and moon.

I can no longer hide my heritage of

raindrops and cougar scat.

My mud was molded with your grandmother's tears.

I was the brother

who marched you to the sea 

and sold you.

I was the merchant from Savannah

and the cargo of blackness.

I was the chain.

Admit it, you have wings, 

vast and crystal,

like mine, like mine.

You have sweat, dark and salty,

like mine, like mine.

You have secrets silently 

singing in your blood,

like mine, like mine.

Don't pretend that earth 

is not one family.

Don't pretend we never hung 

from the same branch.

Don't pretend we do not ripen 

on each other's breath.

Don't pretend we didn't 

come here to forgive.

Who Is My Neighbor?

[image of unknown origin]

What is the definition of neighbor? That question was asked by the priest of a church where I play keyboards. American Heritage Dictionary lists these three definitions: “One who lives near or next to another. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. A fellow human.” The question was asked as a prelude to a sermon centered around the story of the Good Samaritan and how he helped the man in need whereas others passed him by. While we were instructed on how to help others, my thoughts turned to a dear friend who took a young woman and her child into her house. They had been living in a motel, trying to make ends meet with a minimal income, and when my friend met them, her heart opened and she brought them into her lovely home. I thought this was great, and it’s a good example of what we should all be doing for each other. But her family and friends did not think so. Most of her people thought she was being foolish to open her home to a stranger. And isn’t that where most of us stand on this issue? How many of us would welcome an immigrant family or any other people in need, unless they were friends or family? I know there are many instances where I am selfish and/or fearful. This homily and my neighbor’s actions are going to stay with me for a while, hopefully helping me to love humankind more actively. Namaste…

“If selfishness has given place to kindness, we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless them that curse us; but we shall never meet this great duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition of our hope and faith.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 9:11-16

“You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave. The Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This means that the perception of both must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others.” A Course in Miracles  T-1.III.6:1-7

What Is God?

South Africa Sunset

Photo credi: Heather Peters

If you ask a hundred people what they think God is, you will get almost that many different answers. Whether it’s an old man sitting in the sky and pointing a finger or an ethereal presence, years of propaganda have created an image in our thoughts, and that is what we envision today. This is one of the main reasons I prefer to think of It as divine Mind or infinite Love. It’s easier for me to depersonalize the God I have made in my own image, to turn the tables and allow myself to be the expression of Mind, the experience of Love. 

“Question. — What is God? Answer. — God is incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 465:8-10

“Listen and learn, and do not judge. It is to God you turn to hear what you should do. His answer will be clear as morning, nor is His forgiveness what you think it is.” 

A Course in Miracles S-2.III.6:9-11

StarGirl

Grace Vanderwaal in 2016 - America’s Got Talent

We’ve probably all had the experience of seeing someone who was so delightful that we immediately began to smile, perhaps to laugh. When I first saw Grace Vanderwaal on America’s Got Talent, she was 12 years old, played a ukulele and sang a song she had written herself. Her voice was so beautiful she got the golden buzzer and we all laughed and cried along with her. Now, fast forward a few years to the StarGirl Hollywood movie. I would not have thought of watching this coming-of-age film, but David Hoffmeister (one of my favorite Course in Miracles gurus) featured this film in a recent movie chat he had on youTube. It was delightful to see a semi-grownup Grace as one of my favorite book characters of all time! When my boys were young and we traveled quite a bit to soccer games, we listened to scores of books on tape. StarGirl, by Jerry Spinelli, was one of our favorites.  While this sweet movie won’t be up for any awards, it kept me smiling the whole time. And that’s worth a lot in my book! A link to Grace’s AGT performance in 2016 is included here, and the StarGirl movies can be found on Disney. We can all use some gentle entertainment, I think. Rock on, Grace …

https://youtu.be/eNxO9MpQ2vA

“Beauty, wealth, or fame is incompetent to meet the demands of the affections, and should never weigh against the better claims of intellect, goodness, and virtue. Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57:15

“To be wholehearted you must be happy. If fear and love cannot coexist, and if it is impossible to be wholly fearful and remain alive, the only possible whole state is that of love. There is no difference between love and joy. Therefore, the only possible whole state is the wholly joyous. To heal or to make joyous is therefore the same as to integrate and to make one. That is why it makes no difference to what part or by what part of the Sonship the healing is offered. Every part benefits, and benefits equally.” A Course in Miracles  T-5.in.2:1-7

Trust Your Self

Thailand Sunset

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Have you noticed people are making major shifts in their lives? The cool thing I've observed is how these are not painful changes, but beautifully flowing shifts which seem almost effortless in their perfection. I love seeing people coming alive with the excitement of doing things which bring them happiness and deep fulfillment! Whether it's moving to another part of the globe, or starting a new career, or "retiring" and finding that life is just beginning, people are changing their focus in major ways. We’re feeling free to follow our heart and move into the space of Love which fulfills our function. And how do we know what that is? Listen inwardly and trust yourSelf! (I suggest listening to the Bob Dylan song, Trust Yourself). 

“Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as [It] opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 506:18-21

“Changes are required in the minds of God’s teachers. This may or may not involve changes in the external situation. Remember that no one is where he is by accident, and chance plays no part in God’s plan. It is most unlikely that changes in attitudes would not be the first step in the newly made teacher of God’s training. There is, however, no set pattern, since training is always highly individualized. There are those who are called upon to change their life situation almost immediately, but these are generally special cases. By far the majority are given a slowly evolving training program, in which as many previous mistakes as possible are corrected. Relationships in particular must be properly perceived, and all dark cornerstones of unforgiveness removed. Otherwise the old thought system still has a basis for return.” A Course in Miracles M-9.1:1-9

Choices

Photo credit: Judy Kavan

From Ugly Bunny Garden

We have so many choices these days! From the time we wake up and decide which tea to drink, there are a myriad of choices every minute of the day. It seems as though the choice of joy or pain would be an easy one, wouldn’t you think? But making wholesome choices aren’t always easy. One day at the farmers' market, I had a conversation with a couple of people who said that good food was a luxury which they could not regularly afford. This caused me to consider the choices we have. If a person quits smoking, that frees up money for organic, fresh food. It was tempting to ask how much they spent on alcoholic beverages. There are all sorts of expensive luxuries, such as Starbucks coffee, which could be exchanged for a farm-fresh salad. Perhaps if they did a little research on how to easily prepare food, they would be prompted to do so. There's a book called "This Organic Life" where the author explains in detail how almost anyone with a small backyard can grow enough vegetables to feed themselves and their family. The main point of my rant today is that we most always have a choice. As we are told in A Course in Miracles: Don't like your choice? Choose again!

“As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality!” Mary Baker Eddy Science & Health Page 480:31-2

“The world has not yet experienced any comprehensive reawakening or rebirth. Such a rebirth is impossible as long as you continue to project or miscreate. It still remains within you, however, to extend as God extended His Spirit to you. In reality this is your only choice, because your free will was given you for your joy in creating the perfect.” A Course in Miracles T-2.I.3:7-10