Higher Ideals of Life and Joy

I received a phone call from a relative I’d lost touch with following the passing of my dad three decades ago. There were some very weird events and ugly words precipitating our split, and I can honestly say years have gone by without her crossing my mind. I was happy to hear from her, and when she mentioned some of the dissension between us, I was able to answer honestly that she had been very helpful in many ways and I was glad she had been there. After our call ended, I asked myself if I had meant what I said — and, yes, I did. Of course, upon examination, I could have said many other things which were not so complimentary, but I had felt no compulsion to do so and didn’t feel as though they were defining elements in our interactions. I’m grateful she reminded me of our disagreement and I’m joyous there are no painful memories of that time.

“I am affected only by my thoughts” A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 338

“My angels are exalted thoughts, appearing at the door of some sepulchre, in which human belief has buried its fondest earthly hopes. With white fingers they point upward to a new and glorified trust, to higher ideals of life and its joys.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 299:1-11

Which World?

The changes we have witnessed in our lifetime have been exciting and — to take a phrase from the ‘70s — mind blowing! Decades ago, when we were told about the Age of Aquarius and, more recently, when 2012 was explained as a shift in consciousness, I'm not sure we recognized there would be any real change in our lives. Those who are looking for material reasons to explain the shifts in everything from politics to weather, are feeling helpless and overwhelmed. Looked at from a different perspective, we see changes are necessary in order to facilitate the realization of this new earth which we are ready to embrace. As with any shift in thought, some people are afraid and working to keep the old ways, but it is impossible to "see two worlds”. Living in fear or embracing love, those are our choices. I know which one I want!

“What we would learn today is more than just the lesson that you cannot see two worlds. It also teaches that the one you see is quite consistent from the point of view from which you see it. It is all a piece because it stems from one emotion, and reflects its source in everything you see.” A Course in Miracles -  W-130.6:3-5

“The visible universe and material man are the poor counterfeits of the invisible universe and spiritual man.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 337:22-24

Changing the Material Basis of Thought

Photo credit: Richard Quick

Many of my friends are activists. They have worked for years to improve our environment, politics, and the multitude of things in need of advancement. Some have told me they are tired of the fight. I am extremely grateful to each and every one of you who work to clean up rivers, who are passionate about producing uncontaminated food, who stand up to various tyrants and declare, "The emperor has no clothes!" Not a single person has told me that they're tired of the physical effort involved in these projects; it's the butting up against thought stuck in strong opinion, or that which is fueled by hate and fear, which is frustrating to them. This is where our metaphysical advice can be helpful: Don't try to change anyone else's mind, only your own. More and more of us are witnessing Truth brought to seemingly impossible situations, and we're finding that new avenues of action appear when this is done. There is no need to defend ourselves or proclaim our own strong opinions in support of this Truth. Knowing it, within our own selves, is sufficient!

“As when an acid and alkali meet and bring out a third quality, so mental and moral chemistry changes the material base of thought, giving more spirituality to consciousness and causing it to depend less on material evidence.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 422:14-18

“Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed.” 

A Course in Miracles - W-23.1:4-5

Mother’s Day?

Around 1870, mothers from both sides of the Civil War came together in an attempt to stop the fighting brought on by what they called “irrelevant agencies”. In other words, stop sending our sons to their death for whatever-in-the-heck reasons you may come up with. Julia Ward Howe wrote this letter calling on women to come together. Finally, in 1907, Woodrow Wilson watered down the idea and made up Mother’s Day in an attempt to appease women. And so it goes …

“Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.

‘Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.’

From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, disarm! The sword is not the balance of justice.’ Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each learning after his own time, the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.” 

Julia Ward Howe 

“Illusion meets illusion; truth, itself. The meeting of illusions leads to war. Peace, looking on itself, extends itself. War is the condition in which fear is born, and grows and seeks to dominate. Peace is the state where love abides, and seeks to share itself. Conflict and peace are opposites. Where one abides the other cannot be; where either goes the other disappears. So is the memory of God obscured in minds that have become illusions’ battleground. Yet far beyond this senseless war it shines, ready to be remembered when you side with peace.” 

A Course in Miracles T-23.I.12:1-9)

Have a Nurturing Day!

I didn’t teach my children to celebrate Mother’s Day. I suppose the world did, as I received a memorable note from Aaron one year. He listed 20 reasons why I was the best mother in the world. It was humorous and I loved it! My younger son, Dylan, regularly picks flowers from my garden (and his dad’s) for me. He knows I love flowers in the house and he thinks of me often. I’m not sure either one of my children know my birthdate, and that’s fine, too. I much prefer the Aboriginal idea of telling people when you’ve become a better person, then calling everyone together to celebrate! Why party because time has passed? With this said, have a happy Mother’s Day everyone. Please remember it’s not necessary to have borne a child in order to celebrate a nurturing spirit. Tend your flowers, love an animal, help your neighbor, cook a meal with loving attention, give of your time and energy to things which matter to you — the list is endless in ways your mothering nature can be shown! Namaste…

“Physical birth is not a beginning; it is a continuing. Everything that continues has already been born. It will increase as you are willing to return the unhealed part of your mind to the higher part, returning it undivided to creation.” A Course in Miracles T-5.IV.2:4-6

“Both sexes should be loving, pure, tender, and strong. The attraction between native qualities will be perpetual only as it is pure and true, bringing sweet seasons of renewal like the returning spring.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 57: 8-14

Is Healing Love a Cliché

Photo credit: Stephen Shogren

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 an omnipotent, gentle presence which is a synonym for Source. 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 598:23-25

“Who uses but Christ’s vision finds a peace so deep and quiet, undisturbable and wholly changeless, that the world contains no counterpart. Comparisons are still before this peace. And all the world departs in silence as this peace envelops it, and gently carries it to truth, no more to be the home of fear. For love has come, and healed the world by giving it Christ’s peace.” 

A Course in Miracles - W-305.1:1-4

Awareness of Love’s Presence

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

Spending the better part of two weeks with my son, his fantastic wife, and their baby, has been a time of renewal for me. The past few years have been difficult for us all. We’ve experienced friends’ deaths, illnesses, and other emotionally draining events. It seems there’s no time to recover from one sadness before another is upon us. Even so, until I held my sweet grandson in my arms, I had not realized how bereft I was feeling. The rejuvenation of spirit this new child brought to my existence was surprising in its intensity. And the gratitude I feel for the rushes of love experienced from holding him have been an awakening from a slumber not realized. I suppose it’s easy to slip into a certain ennui and not know it. Perhaps this is something many others are not aware of feeling, because nothing has awakened them, such as a sweet new baby looking in their eyes. Let us not forget to be kind to each other. There’s no way to know how it could change a life. Namaste…

"When angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts." 

~ Mary Baker Eddy

“The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance.” A Course in Miracles T-in.1:6-7