Is It True?

Photo courtesy of Blake Lasater

How would you feel if everyone defined you by the “worst” thing you ever did in your life? At a celebratory event, I did just that. I saw a young woman, whom I remembered from her teen years. Although I didn’t know her well, I remembered a particularly unfortunate event in her younger life. That would have been all right if I had turned it around and remembered her as the innocent child that we all truly are. I shared my ugly memory of her with the woman sitting next to me, and later with someone else. I’ve felt regret ever since.  When something keeps coming back to my mind, I know it needs examination. I’m remembering “The Work” by Byron Katie. Before I repeat something in the future, I shall ask myself these questions: “Is it true?  Can you absolutely know that it's true? How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? Who would you be without the thought?” For someone like me who is “into” the truth, I sure fell into the ditch on this one! 

“When examined in the light of divine Science, mortals present more than is detected upon the surface, since inverted thoughts and erroneous beliefs must be counterfeits of Truth.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 267:19-22

“I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts. Father, Your Son is perfect. When I think that I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, and that I am as You created me. Your Thoughts can only bring me happiness. If ever I am sad or hurt or ill, I have forgotten what You think, and put my little meaningless ideas in place of where Your Thoughts belong, and where they are. I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts. The Thoughts I think with You can only bless. The Thoughts I think with You alone are true.

“I will not hurt myself today. For I am far beyond all pain. My Father placed me safe in Heaven, watching over me. And I would not attack the Son He loves, for what He loves is also mine to love.”

A Course in Miracles W-281.1:1–2:4

Where Learning is a Joy …

Kindergarten, Clear Spring School, 1994

The Clear Spring School has been a recurring topic in these writings for the last 13 years. And this month we celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary! What a joyous celebration it has been, with the school’s founders, its supporters, its teachers, and many students who came together to express gratitude for the ongoing stellar educational opportunities which have been provided for five decades. This little “miracle in the woods” — as the school has been dubbed by many who marvel at its amazing history — is the epitome of a village raising its children. When my boys  and I moved here 30 years ago, specifically for the school, I was amazed by the atmosphere of caring expressed by teachers and parents. We helped each other car pool to school, fostered friendships by helping each other with childcare outside of school, enjoyed soccer weekends, camping trips — well, it truly does take a village to raise a child! And many of those children we all raised were there to share in their gratitude and hope for the future of this sweet idea, which was brought to physical reality all those years ago, and which continues to evolve and flower to this day. The goodness we see in students echos back the limitless possibilities we dreamed for our children. And a beautiful world is manifested right before our eyes!

“What limits can I lay upon God’s Son? Whom God created limitless is free. I can invent imprisonment for him, but only in illusions, not in truth. No Thought of God has left its Father’s Mind. No Thought of God is limited at all.⁵No Thought of God but is forever pure. Can I lay limits on the Son of God, whose Father willed that he be limitless, and like Himself in freedom and in love?

“Today let me give honor to Your Son, for thus alone I find the way to You. Father, I lay no limits on the Son You love and You created limitless. The honor that I give to him is Yours, and what is Yours belongs to me as well.”

A Course in Miracles W-280.1:1–2:3

“Divine Science, rising above physical theories, excludes matter, resolves things into thoughts, and replaces the objects of material sense with spiritual ideas.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 123:12-15

Creation’s Freedom

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

When we are told we are free, we have images of what that means, and perhaps these imaginings cause us to wonder about our perceived bondage. I know I live with limiting beliefs every day, and it often seems impossible to be released from them. We think a multitude of rules and beliefs must be obeyed in order to survive and thrive, and when we start to realize most of these so-called rules have nothing to do with our true existence, it can be frightening -- and exhilarating! The freedom of our true creation is seen through a change in our perception of reality. Taking ourselves out of the prison of preconceived notions allows  Love (of which we are a reflection) to show through our actions in sublime ways. And we glimpse freedom!

“The periods of spiritual ascension are the days and seasons of Mind’s creation, in which beauty, sublimity, purity, and holiness — yea, the divine nature — appear in man and the universe never to disappear.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 509:24-28

“Creation’s freedom promises my own. The end of dreams is promised me, because God’s Son is not abandoned by His Love. Only in dreams is there a time when he appears to be in prison, and awaits a future freedom, if it be at all. Yet in reality his dreams are gone, with truth established in their place. And now is freedom his already. Should I wait in chains which have been severed for release, when God is offering me freedom now?

“I will accept Your promises today, and give my faith to them. My Father loves the Son Whom He created as His Own. Would You withhold the gifts You gave to me?”

A Course in Miracles W-279.1:1–2:3

Feeling the Freedom

Photo courtesy of Aaron Springston

Do you feel that you are free? The complications of daily life can sometimes feel overwhelming. It's easy to feel trapped by illnesses and injuries, financial burdens, grief. We want to help our loved ones in times of trouble, and perhaps we feel helpless. Physicists tell us of a perspective called quantum entanglement, in which particles separate yet remain connected, reacting to stimuli in the same way even though they no longer occupy the same space. In a book by Dan Cowan, Mind Underlies Spacetime, he explains, "...this direct connectedness occurs because each real entity is already everywhere." How perfectly this explains Oneness! This omnipresence is our perfect identity, without boundaries. Our ACIM Workbook Lesson tells us that if we are bound, our [Creator] is not free. That sounds like an impossibility to me. Let’s celebrate our freedom today!

“The admission to one's self that man is God's own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 90:24-25

“If I am bound, my Father is not free. If I accept that I am prisoner within a body, in a world in which all things that seem to live appear to die, then is my Father prisoner with me. And this do I believe, when I maintain the laws the world obeys must I obey; the frailties and the sins which I perceive are real, and cannot be escaped. If I am bound in any way, I do not know my Father nor my Self. And I am lost to all reality. For truth is free, and what is bound is not a part of truth.

“Father, I ask for nothing but the truth. I have had many foolish thoughts about myself and my creation, and have brought a dream of fear into my mind. Today, I would not dream. I choose the way to You instead of madness and instead of fear. For truth is safe, and only love is sure.”

A Course in Miracles W-278.1:1–2:5

A Universal Shift

A universal shift in thought is upon us, and we're each feeling it in our own way. Through the understanding that our true identity is spiritual and that we’re not bound by material beliefs, we are coming to a tipping point in humanity. Mass media and collective human consciousness tell us what to expect from material laws of cause and effect. Just think about how many things have been "proven" untrue which we learned as "fact" at some point. We can laugh when we see old advertisements proclaiming that lard makes families happy, or that cigarettes are good for you, but many of us are frightened by giving up the crutches we have relied on for years. Today I will notice the appearance of long-held beliefs telling me what is good and bad for me. I hope to listen with divine Mind  for Truth and allow for shifts in actions!

“Laws of nature are laws of Spirit; but mortals commonly recognize as law that which hides the power of Spirit. Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 183:19-25

“Let us not worship idols, nor believe in any law idolatry would make to hide the freedom of the Son of God. He is not bound except by his beliefs. Yet what he is, is far beyond his faith in slavery or freedom. He is free because he is his Father’s Son. And he cannot be bound unless God’s truth can lie, and God can will that He deceive Himself.”

A Course in Miracles W-277.2:1-5

Alice Knew

Photo from “Chasing the Ozarks”

My favorite quote from Alice in Wonderland is: “Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” I've always felt a kinship with Alice, as I'm sure many of you do, too. Everything seems to be “curiouser and curiouser”, until we realize it’s a dream — not just our dream, but a collective consciousness illusion what is reinforced to such an extent that we think it’s our own! In these studies, we’re working toward taking ourselves out of the illusion, away from the beliefs which are so instilled in our minds that we think they are Truth with a capital “T”. I think the Course in Miracles lesson for today could have been an inspiration to Alice: “The Word of God is given me to speak”. To speak the Word is to live it; to live it is to understand the purity and perfection of true creation. I want to continue allowing Love to lead, taking me to places I never thought could be, thereby finding my way to Truth, just like Alice!

“Father, Your Word is mine. And it is this that I would speak to all my brothers, who are given me to cherish as my own, as I am loved and blessed and saved by You.”

A Course in Miracles W-276.1:1–2:2

“Let discord of every name and nature be heard no more, and let the harmonious and true sense of Life and being take possession of human consciousness.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science and Health Page 355:11-14

Don’t Wish It Away …

Photo by Osama Fathi

The fragile feeling which envelopes us following the loss of a loved one, it isn't often thought of as something to cherish. In times past, I may have wished this feeling away. Now, I choose to honor it as one of the exquisite experiences we are granted in this beautiful plane of existence we call human life. As with love, we are told that life is fleeting. We are advised to grab hold of it and not let go, because there is a finite amount of it. Our human experience of life and love does seem to be as elusive as a breeze, and it can feel just as difficult to hold on to. From the perspective of mortal mind, this is so. When looked at from our humanness, there is no predicting when we may lose life or love. Accepting ourselves as spiritual Beings allows an expanded viewpoint of our experiences. Yes, they are to be savored, but an enlarged perception brings us peace during the so-called ups and downs of our days. And that never-ending Love replaces fleeting fears, leaving behind peace and joy. And I am grateful …

“Upon this stage of existence goes on the dance of mortal mind. Mortal thoughts chase one another like snowflakes, and drift to the ground. Science reveals Life as not being at the mercy of death, nor will Science admit that happiness is ever the sport of circumstance.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 250:28-32

“God’s healing Voice protects all things today. Let us today attend the Voice for God, which speaks an ancient lesson, no more true today than any other day. Yet has this day been chosen as the time when we will seek and hear and learn and understand. Join me in hearing. For the Voice for God tells us of things we cannot understand alone, nor learn apart. It is in this that all things are protected. And in this the healing of the Voice for God is found.

“Your healing Voice protects all things today, and so I leave all things to You. I need be anxious over nothing. For Your Voice will tell me what to do and where to go; to whom to speak and what to say to him, what thoughts to think, what words to give the world. The safety that I bring is given me. Father, Your Voice protects all things through me.”

A Course in Miracles W-275.1:1–2:5