September 30, 2011

ACIM Lesson #273
“The stillness of the peace of God is mine.”

"Shibori Dancer" from the hands of
Sandy Wythawai Starbird

[Marsha's thoughts]

We have many experiences which bring a taste of the stillness of the peace of God. I love the quiet moments watching a sunset, or sitting in the woods listening to its sounds, or that sublime moment when slipping quietly to sleep. Recently a friend asked me to listen to and give an opinion on a CD having to do with alien beings controlling our actions on the planet Earth. Although much of what was said could be considered rhetoric of the conspiracy-theory crowd, the main theme was the Principle we are studying and hearing from various avenues. This Truth involves turning away from the illusion and seeing reality. While the woman on this recording was telling us that lizard people were controlling our actions, she also advised to not be frightened or give it too much importance, but to focus on Love and see through any supposed power these creatures may have. What a wonderful metaphor! It certainly is no more outlandish than the Adam and Eve story or any other legend meant to show us the difference between the illusion and the Truth. And so as I go through this day hearing all the insanity, I know it can only disturb my tranquility if I give it more power in thought than I give the stillness of peace.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Mind [God] demonstrates omnipresence and omnipotence, but Mind revolves on a spiritual axis, and its power is displayed and its presence felt in eternal stillness and immovable Love.”

From “Retrospection and Introspection” pp 88–89

September 29, 2011

ACIM Lesson #272
“How can illusions satisfy God's Son?”

Diana Harvey oil on linen
"Elusive"

[Marsha's thoughts]

So often we think something brings us satisfaction. It's the stuff of classic songs and movies. From prospective soul mates to the dreamed-of perfect surroundings, we're compelled to keep searching for the completeness we feel we do not have. And there are moments we think we've found it, but a circumstance can change and we're back where we started. I have a friend who refers to this as "filling up the God hole". He says that's why he drinks and smokes and flits from woman to woman, trying to fill that emptiness. And even though it's recognized for what it is, he finds it too hard to turn within for the fulfillment he so relentlessly seeks. I see this in myself, too: the unwillingness to let go of illusions and dreams blocks the entry of higher ideals. To paraphrase a Bible verse, "That which I don't want, I do; that which I do want, I don't." Today I'm forgetting what I don't want and holding thought to what I do!

“Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man. We cannot circumscribe happiness within the limits of personal sense. The senses confer no real enjoyment.”
Science & Health Page 60:31-3

September 28, 2011

ACIM Lesson #271 “Christ's is the vision I will use today."

Photo by Aaron Springston

[Marsha's thoughts]

This lesson causes me to consider how the way in which we place our attention affects our experience. Think for instance of monumental events in your life. What comes to my mind is having a baby and it seems everyone has one, too. Perhaps you just got a new car, and you see the same model everywhere you look. It's not surprising that we see what our attention directs, but it is surprising to me that we are so adamant about keeping our sight tuned to things which no longer serve us. A friend was recently telling me that after retirement from his job as an airplane mechanic, he had yet to find anything that interested him as much. He related that photography and bluegrass music intrigued him for a while, but then that passed and he was left disinterested once again. Upon reflection, this seems a natural progression. Only something which stirs us deeply and is a never-ending unfoldment can be the passion of a lifetime. For me, the learning to let go of the many perceptions I have of how things are, or how they ought to be, is a passion. The leaving behind, even to a minuscule degree, of these beliefs, and the replacement of them with the vision of God, is an adventure which allows every moment of this existence to be exciting and new. What my attention is fixed upon is what I see. So today I see through the eyes of the One, and I will do this by having a single Eye focused only on the Truth of Being. And if past experience has shown me anything, it is that what thought is consumed by is what appears before my eyes!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Agassiz, through his microscope, saw the sun in an egg at a point of so-called embryonic life. Because of his more spiritual vision, St. John saw an "angel standing in the sun." The Revelator beheld the spiritual idea from the mount of vision. Purity was the symbol of Life and Love.”

Science & Health Page 561:5-10

September 27, 2011

ACIM Lesson #270
“I will not use the body's eyes today.”


From Sandy Starbird's fabric primal images series



“Father, Christ's vision is Your gift to me, and it has power to translate all that the body's eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world.

 

[Marsha's thoughts]

Being part of the art community in Eureka Springs brings many opportunities to see through others' eyes into the depth of their connections to All That Is. I love talking to these artists in the Eureka Thyme Family and seeing their reflections come to life in physical form! And from these reflections emanate energies seen to all who are willing to look within. Love is the creator and Love is the appreciator. In these times of shifting thought, many of us are frightened by the feelings and insights we are having. Our artists lead the way fearlessly because they are accustomed to allowing other-dimensional energy into their experience. But even those used to being this conduit for spirit are feeling a difference in the flow. It could be interpreted as a blockage, but it can also be the calm before the deluge of never-before-felt creation. As their egos move away from center stage, something else is opening up and bringing forth guidance. And by the act of looking upon these palpably loving works of Art, I am taken to other realms of sight. The expressions take me past the obvious into the ethereal. Every instance of this "seeing through the veil" brings us closer to our goal of seeing that way all the time. Slipping into the silence between thoughts, seeing past the obvious, hearing within -- all this and more seek our awareness. Listen, See, Be.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

“Spiritual vision is not subordinate to geometric altitudes. Whatever is governed by God, is never for an instant deprived of the light and might of intelligence and Life.”

Science & Health Page 215:11-13

September 26, 2011

ACIM Lesson #269
“My sight goes forth to look upon Christ's face.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“I ask Your blessing on my sight today. It is the means which You have chosen to become the way to show me my mistakes, and look beyond them. It is given me to find a new perception through the Guide You gave to me, and through His lessons to surpass perception and return to truth. I ask for the illusion which transcends all those I made. Today I choose to see a world forgiven, in which everyone shows me the face of Christ, and teaches me that what I look upon belongs to me; that nothing is, except Your holy Son.”

[ACIM commentary]

“Today our sight is blessed indeed. We share one vision, as we look upon the face of Him Whose Self is ours. We are one because of Him Who is the Son of God; of Him Who is our own Identity.”




[Marsha's thoughts]

First I must mention that Christ is not Jesus. Jesus was a man who was here to show us the Truth of our Being. Christ is the Sprit, God (if you will) which is the essence of everything. Source, The Christ, The Universe, Harold -- it really doesn't matter what you call It, because It simply Is. So this face of Christ that we are looking at today is what you see when you look in the mirror, what you see when you look at your loved ones, what you see when you look at your so-called enemies -- it is everything, minus the material beliefs and learned behaviors which we are impelled to attach to it. Some people tell me that it's impossible to see past all our learned behaviors, that we can't let go and freely see in a way other than we're accustomed to doing. I say why not?? Well, I've just had a two-hour conversation with a friend who told me lots of reasons why not! And every one of them was the same: fear. I questioned him relentlessly when one of these "reasons" would surface. It seems he's afraid of leaving a hole in his ego; almost as though he fears he would implode if anything is taken away -- whether it's serving him or making him miserable, it makes no difference. Although he isn't ready to accept any definition of forgiveness I could come up with, he was able to admit a possibility of being at peace within himself. And I look upon God's face.

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“The eternal Truth destroys what mortals seem to have learned from error, and man's real existence as a child of God comes to light.”
Science and Health Page 288:31–1

September 25, 2011

ACIM Lesson #268
“Let all things be exactly as they are.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“Let me not be Your critic, Lord, today, and judge against You. Let me not attempt to interfere with Your creation, and distort it into sickly forms. Let me be willing to withdraw my wishes from its unity, and thus to let it be as You created it. For thus will I be able, too, to recognize my Self as You created me. In love was I created, and in love will I remain forever. What can frighten me, when I let all things be exactly as they are.”

[ACIM commentary]
“Let not our sight be blasphemous today, nor let our ears attend to lying tongues. Only reality is free of pain. Only reality is free of loss. Only reality is wholly safe. And it is only this we seek today.”

Joy in Mongolia with Principia students

[Marsha's thoughts]

What is, is. Some people have told me they don't like this saying, or that they don't know what it means, or that it makes no sense. But that's not going to stop me from saying it, because saying it helps me to mean it! I don't want to look for a cause for anything unlike good, it just is. Nor will I justify ugly thoughts and actions from myself. What is, is. BUT I will recognize that there is only One Cause and that single One Cause is the only Source of any effect realized in my life. The spiritual, metaphysical Truth of all that is IS All That Is! There is no cause for anything unlike good, God, and so its seeming reality can be challenged with divine authority. Erroneous thoughts of any sort are the same as a dark closet in a light room. When you open the door, the dark doesn't escape into the light. The light dispels the darkness. And so it is with our realization of unrealities which seem so solid. And when we open the door and acknowledge the Truth, anything unlike God, good, simply dissipates before the certainty of light. I needn't judge or condemn anything I see or do. I need only acknowledge the Truth of how things are. Namaste~~~

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“Man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God.”
Science and Health Page 276: 9-10

September 24, 2011

ACIM Lesson #267

“My heart is beating in the peace of God.


Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought. Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.”


[ACIM prayer for the day]
“Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. Father, my heart is beating in the peace the Heart of Love created. It is there and only there that I can be at home.”

Sherry Young's Quan Yin

 [Marsha's thoughts]

Today I met four wonderful women who meet here every year for vacation. They have made lots of friends in past stays, and I was very pleased when they invited me to their place for dinner. While listening to their happy banter, it became clear that they think Eureka Springs is utopia, in that no one lives in "reality" here. I certainly can see why they think that, as we seem to have a different sense of time, of what is and is not "appropriate", and then there's that total sureness that we're on the "right track". Living the "peace of God" may seem like a fantasy to those who abide by the laws of materiality. Some think we're delusional, or sticking our heads in the sand, or denying reality in favor of wishful thinking. But that's okay! When you know the Truth of being, put it into practice in daily life, and watch the demonstration of it bloom in your every activity, your "heart is beating in the peace of God". And that state of mind does more for the world than all the preaching we may be tempted to do!

Mary Baker Eddy quote:
“More effectual than the forum are our states of mind, to bless mankind”
Pulpit and Press, p. 87