Open the curtains

The human mind is like a house with windows and curtains in every room to the outside world. Over the house is a bright sun shining massive amounts of light all around, illuminating a beautiful landscape and scenery to behold.

A person sitting in the house in a room with the curtains closed sees nothing of the light and beauty around his abode. He sits in darkness wondering why life is so dim and dreary.

The occupant who throws opens the curtains and lets in the light rejoices in the warm sunshine and the awe-inspiring flowers, grass and trees surrounding his home. Beckoned by the beauty and promise of adventure, he walks out the door to participate, leaving the structure behind.

Jesus preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Heaven is at hand!

How close is “at hand?”

How close is your hand?

It’s closer than close. It’s attached. You have it now. It’s here. You’re in the kingdom at this moment.

Christian Science explains that heaven is not a physical place, but a state of Mind. We find heaven, not in a material world, but in spiritual consciousness.

Material sense is the darkened room of the house that has all the curtains closed. The view is dismal. Throw open the curtains—open thought to Spirit—and the light pours in.

Spiritual awareness is an open window to the kingdom of heaven at hand.

So, if you’d like a brighter day today, fling open the draperies of the human mind. Toss off a material sense of your environment, and consciously live in the omnipresence of God, good.

Let the light of Truth and Love flood your perspective and illuminate heavenly good abundant.

Let God light up your life!

“Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God.” Mary Baker Eddy

Magical existence

From Marianne Williamson’s book “Everyday Grace.”

I have always had a sense that something is missing in this world – that at the very least there is something important we're not discussing.

I believe that hunger for a "lost dimension" of experience is a natural
yearning in all of us, and it doesn't go away just because we ignore it. It is evidenced among other places in the millions of children and adults who obsessively read the Harry Potter books. It is said that fiction is where someone gets to tell the truth. We are a bunch of silly Muggles, and we really do miss out on the magic of existence. There's a collective knowing that a dimension of reality exists beyond the material plane, and that sense of knowing is causing a mystical resurgence on the planet today. It's not just children who are looking for a missing piece. It is a very mature outlook to question the nature of our reality.

We are like birds who have forgotten we have wings, kings and queens
who have forgotten our royal heritage. We feel enslaved by conditions that should have no power to bind us, and powerless before forces over which we have been given dominion. No wonder our children are drawn to reading about a world in which people live a more magical existence than the one we offer them here.

Rigid categorization

I find thought provoking ideas in the most unexpected places.

Julia Cameron, author of the international bestseller “The Artist’s Way,” a book that has become a classic on creative discovery for countless aspiring artists around the world, wrote a follow-up book titled “Walking in this world.” A reviewer of this new volume wrote

Cameron shows us how to inhabit the world with a sense of wonder, a childlike inquisitiveness that each of us was born with. "Great artists are actually great amateurs," she writes. "They have learned to wriggle out of the seriousness of rigid categorization and allow themselves to pursue the Pied Piper of delight."

The words “rigid categorization” leaped off the page when I read this. “…pursue the Pied Piper of delight,” lit me up like a lightbulb.

Rigid categorization. Wow! What a concept to contemplate, I felt.

Have you ever been victimized by rigid categorization? Here’s a few examples that crossed my mind:

“But this is the way they always done it.”
“You can’t do that. It hasn’t been done before.”
“You are too young.”
“You are too old.”
“You don’t have enough education.”
“I get up. I eat breakfast. I go to work. I come home. I eat. I go to bed. That’s what I do.”
“I was born. I grow up. I earn a living. I retire. I die.”

Can you think of any others? There are thousands…

I haven’t read Cameron’s book, but I can easily relate to the concept of rigid categorization from a spiritual point of view. To grow spiritually, we must not let our thinking be paralyzed and frozen in apathy and inaction by the rigid categorization of mortal mind.

By “mortal mind” I mean all the worldly ways of reasoning that discourage worthy ambition and fresh creative endeavor.

Twenty years ago, when I wanted to go into the full-time practice of Christian Science, I was besieged by rigid categorization. “You can’t afford to quit your job. You aren’t spiritually minded enough. You’re too young. You’ll fail. It’s too hard,” and more doubts and fears worked overtime to stop my progress. I had to face them all down, and I did by knowing all things are possible with God. I followed my “Pied Piper of delight,” and embarked down a path that has taken me into the happiest most worthwhile career I can ever imagine myself in.

Are you fighting rigid categorization in some form? It’s time to wake up and protest. Break out of the prison cell of tradition and get going with your progressive idea. All the help you need is coming from God. And as you truly trust His provision each step of the way, that right idea will come to fruition.

You are already approved

Have you ever grown frustrated waiting for someone else’s approval before you could proceed with a project or idea?

Maybe you’re waiting on a boss to give the go-ahead on a proposal? Perhaps a spouse is taking forever to decide on a course of action? Or you’re waiting for someone unknown to snuggle up to your side and simply approve of who you are as a person?

While working as a department manager in a large administration for two years I had to learn great patience while my superiors decided whether to let me proceed with new proposals. This was a growing experience for me because I had been self-employed most of my working life, and successfully so. I was not accustomed to waiting for other people’s approvals before acting. After what seemed an interminably long waiting period on one project, I asked God for a new perspective that would keep me calm.

“I wanted approval for the project so I could proceed,” I agitated.

In a flash of divine inspiration, I was told that maybe I would never get approval for the project, but nonetheless, I did have approval to be content, happy and joyful anyway.

Aw…a spiritual perspective that took away my temporal fears.

The most important approval is not yeas or nays we receive from bosses, other people, or mates. It’s the divine permission we already have to live a joyful life regardless of whether or not our human ideas are accepted.

Our happiness and success as a living being is not conditional upon other people. It’s predetermined by God, and it’s scheduled to be good, fulfilling, and eternally enlightening.

We all have times of waiting for other’s to agree or disagree with our suggestions and ideas, but life does not have to go into a holding pattern in the meantime. Our most important activity is spiritual reflection. And we already have approval to do that!

So, what are you waiting for?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed…” II Timothy

Don't play hurt

Found a powerful article by Alan Cohen on not playing the role of victim. If you are the type to ever feel hurt by events not flowing your way, check it out.

His piece, “I don’t play hurt,” masterfully outlines a better approach to untoward circumstances than crying “Woe me.” It explains that we all have experiences that cause hurt, but we don’t have to stay hurt. And he shows you how to prevent the pain.

Keep the spam out!

How well do you keep the spam of mortal mind out of your thinking?

You know what spam in your email inbox looks like--unsolicited advertisements, vendors hawking wares, purveyors of illicit material, rants and raves of fanatics, junk, garbage, and waste of time reading....

What do you do when you spot a junk email? Most people punch the DELETE key!

We learn from experience that we have to keep the junk mail out to find the good content when we need it. Junk email is unwanted clutter and confusion.

The same rule applies to our thinking.

Mortal mind works overtime sending spam messages our way. We don't ask for it, but it seems to come anyway.

Beliefs like:

I'm feeling down.
I'm angry and mad.
This project is too hard.
I can't do it.
Nobody likes me.
I'm alone.
I'm poor.
Nothing ever goes right for me.
God doesn't love me.

You can probably add to the list. It goes on and on...

The good news is, we don't have to take it in. We can turn on our spiritual junk filter and keep the unwanted nonsense out.

By maintaining consecrated spiritual awareness we can keep our mind filled with good, positive, healing thoughts.

Like darkness cannot intrude upon light, evil thoughts cannot intrude upon good thoughts. When our mind is filled with truth and love, evil cannot get in. And that's a demonstrable fact!

There is one Mind, the divine Mind, your Mind.

The divine Mind is our junk filter for mortal mind. It automatically keeps the garbage out.

As we think out from divine Mind, and claim divine Mind as the only Mind, the junk mail won't get through.

Spam, be gone. Hooray!

Be kind to others

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”

~ Philo of Alexandria

Put on your spiritual Teflon

Did you put on your metaphysical Teflon today?

Teflon is a non-stick coating used to protect frying pans from burning food to their metal surface and creating stubborn messes to scour and scrub later. It’s a brand name trademarked by DuPont after a researcher named Dr. Plunkett discovered the stick-resistant material back in 1938.

Millions of cooks are grateful for Teflon in the kitchen, but there’s a metaphysical kind of Teflon you can put on to keep your thinking clean of insults and jabs sent your way by other people. It’s called a consciousness of Love!

In a consciousness of Love, other people’s mean remarks, rude gestures or indifferences will not offend you. Your focus is not on judging or condemning what they do, but on loving them the way God loves them.

You’ve probably heard the old ditty:

“Sticks and stones may injure my bones, but what you say cannot hurt me. “ Or something like that….

When we get mad and angry, we’re usually letting pride and self-righteousness rear their ugly heads in our thinking. The person who thinks they are better than another, smarter, or more intelligent is the one inclined to be offended. Their ego feels threatened. But the thought governed by Love responds with humility, wisdom, understanding, patience and temperance.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you.” A panoply is a full suit of armor for a warrior. It’s impenetrable protection from the spears and arrows of the enemy.

Metaphysically speaking, insults, anger, unfair comments and their kin are the spears and arrows of those who might offend. When you have your armor on, though, they cannot reach you. They bounce off and fall harmlessly to the ground.

Our spiritual Teflon is a consciousness of Love that stays calm, composed, balanced, and stable regardless of what comments come our way. Evil does not stick to it.

Love is not afraid of other people’s ignorance. Love does not take an eye for an eye. Love does not condemn harshly, react unkindly or anger easily. Love is not impressed by arrogance or pride.

Love sees God in control, not humans. Love knows truth prevails. Love sees beyond the short term error to the long term truth. Love responds with love.

So, if any untoward remarks come ripping your direction today, fear not. You’re safe behind your spiritual Teflon. Maintain a pure consciousness of Love’s omnipotence and omnipresence, and any verbal or mental mess thrown at your awareness of Love will hit and simply slip off with no residue left behind.

Too thin models

“Thin is not in—at least in Madrid,” AP reports.

Fashion models with a BMI of less than 18 were turned away from Madrid’s Fashion Week show recently because they were unhealthy and promoting an image that young girls try to emulate to their own health detriment. Organizers want to project an image of beauty and health—not the waif-like lollipop or heroin-chic look models have gone for in recent times, the article reported.

This is good!

Yes, many people need to lose weight not gain it, but too much weight is not the trouble on fashion runways and advertisements. The opposite extreme of not enough substance begs for attention. Trying to maintain an unnatural body weight can lead to eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and a poor self-image. Thinkers are finally standing up for a health principle and protesting unnatural and distorted practices and images.

Hooray! I’m grateful for teenage girls and budding women everywhere.

The real sum and substance of a woman is not a BMI or any type of mortal measurement. Spirituality is the reality, not physicality.

I look forward to the day when spirituality on parade is the fashion, rather than lanky looks and overly thin physiques.

Many model bosses don’t agree with Madrid’s decision. They want to continue promoting the “dying to be thin” craze regardless of the harmful consequences it causes to women’s self-image at large. But right triumphs sooner or later and I pray that people everywhere value women more from a spiritual point of view so this obsession with unnaturally slim figures dissolves.

What do you think?

You already have it

Have you ever worried about not having enough,--enough money, enough company, enough understanding, or enough patience? Fear not. God knows what you need before you ask him, Jesus reminded his followers. And He supplies the need in abundance. But not always in the way we’ve pre-determined.

Debrah from Austin shared the following comments on her own efforts to understand her spiritual completeness better.

Something that I’ve found pretty inspiring is what I read in a Christian Science Sentinel article by Barbara Cook Spencer where she touched on “Love’s law of revelation, the Holy Ghost, or Divine Science – the law that causes to appear or makes visible that which already exists.” Reading that gave me a clearer sense that all of creation is complete (hello – I already knew that but wasn’t thinking or living in those terms).

I realized that I can’t start anything that doesn’t already exist – nor am I without anything that already exists. It’s not my work but the law of Love that reveals its own idea – the preexistent idea. When I intellectually neglect preexistence – or God as the creator—I feel worried about income and outcome and then feel overcome – oh my! So that is what I need to do better—stay tuned into God’s creation revealing itself through the law of Love.

Jesus never worried about tomorrow. He lived out from abundance everyday. He didn’t worry about his level of savings, how many friends he had, how famous he would be, or whether he could cope. He lived at-one with God every moment of his existence and all his needs were met, proving the ultimate supplier is not an employer or stock portfolio, but God, the source and substance of all real supply to begin with.

International Day of Peace

You may not realize it, but September 21, 2006, is the International Day of Peace, as declared by the United Nations in 1981. The world certainly could use more peace, and every effort by any organization to promote brotherly love among mankind is worthy of support.

I asked myself this morning, "How can I contribute to worldwide peace from my humble and remote locale here in Kennewick, Washington?

Every thought we think is part of the collective whole and has an impact on humanity's experience. I may not be a national leader making military decisions, but that doesn't mean my prayers aren't just as effective in resolving mental conflict in remote regions. God's harmonizing love is not available only to leaders with famous titles. God's love works through Truth, and Truth knows no boundaries, geographical or political.

Some of my prayers...

I pray for peace in Iraq. That all parties involved let go of their selfish pursuits, personal grievances, and ideological extremes to find common ground in Love where brother can unite with brother for the public good.

I pray that Muslims and Christians everywhere see the good in each other and unite in Love based on that goodness.

I pray for understanding and compassion in Africa, for tribal members to see the child of God in one another and value each life as they do their own.

I pray for the dissolution of political polarization in the US. That Republicans and Democrats cease warring between themselves, and become a model for how differing groups can work together as one for the greater whole.

I pray for young children to be raised in homes of harmony so that when they grow up and go out into the world they have a model of peace embedded in their minds to share with others.

I pray that people around the world value living a life of Love more than they do the pursuit of personal gain, recognition, position and worldly power.

I pray that we all see each other as brothers and sisters united in the family of God which knows no cultural, ethnic, political, religious, social or economic divide.

I pray to see one perfect child of God living in a land of Love where the one Mind reigns and peace is the rule, not the exception.

What's you prayer for the world today?

Who's your provider?

Quote of the day seen on a church sign board by a reader in S. CA:

God is always a wireless provider.

Cute!

Does God want us to be rich?

It’s the feature article in Time magazine this week.

Many popular preachers in mainstream America today preach a prosperity gospel, the lead article claims, promising health and wealth to those who follow their church’s teachings. The reporters query as to whether God intends His followers to be wealthy or not as a reward for faithfulness.

I sighed when I read the article for its premise implied that wealth is measured materially and spiritual success is defined by a worldly status quo.

Are true riches material? I don’t think so.

I find relief in knowing Jesus Christ did not focus on worldly gain and social stature in his ministry. He focused on spiritual growth and commitment. True wealth to Jesus was heavenly, not earthly. It didn’t make any difference to him how much money someone possessed if their heart was in the right place. He loved the rich and the poor.

Perhaps a better question to ask would be, “Do you realize how rich you already are?”

God made us all rich from the beginning—rich with eternal life. Materialism cannot give us anything better.

Jury duty

I was summoned to jury duty today. Oh boy! A favorite job!

While waiting at the Justice Center at 8 o’clock this morning for instructions on what to do along with 36 other dutiful citizens, I read a brochure titled, “A Juror’s Guide.” Under the question “Might I be called but not sit on a jury?” the answer stated, “Sometimes parties in a case settle their differences only moments before the trial is scheduled to begin.”

From no effort of my own, the thought flit across the screen of my consciousness that if pre-settlement was an option, then the case I was supposed to listen to could be settled promptly. God was the decider of all issues. And God being all and of one Mind, He didn’t need a long drawn out trial to arrive at a just conclusion.

Ten minutes later a court representative entered the room looking bewildered. Amazed, he announced to the group that we could go home because the opposing lawyers had just agreed on a settlement. No trial was necessary.

Are you too busy doing things?

Do you ever keep busy for the sake of keeping busy?

In this “task-a-minute-world” with endless to-do lists and countless demands on our time, a mindset of always keeping busy can start to develop. If we aren’t doing something, we think we’re failing somehow. Down-time is labeled a waste of time and is avoided.

But should it be this way?

I find peace in knowing Jesus took time out for quiet communion with God. He hiked to the mountaintop, fled to the wilderness, and hid from the crowds to be away from the mob scenes and taunting of the masses.

If Jesus needed time-off from work, don’t we need it too?

Down-time from worldly demands gives us up-time with God.

I am very busy during the day with my practice, and when I get home late in the afternoon I can easily stay in the same mode of keeping busy with my work. The phone keeps ringing, the emails keep arriving, there are bills to pay, dinner to cook when mom is out, and other household chores to do. It’s easy to get swept away by staying busy, busy, busy. I have to catch myself and say “Halt! Go throw the baseball with Tyler. Pet the dog. Take a walk with Kathy. Enjoy dinner with the family. Ask the kids what happened in school.” It helps.

There’s more to life than keeping busy. Life is about expressing God, living Love, feeling inspired. If we get too focused on doing things, pretty soon the things we’re doing become the dominant focus, and not the original purpose for living in the first place.

God is our Life.

Life is good. Life is Love. Life is peace. Life, lived rightly, is a joy to experience.

If life isn’t feeling that inspired, it might be feeling down because we’re too mentally or physically busy doing something else. Life is a spiritual experience, not a to-do list.

As we make it a daily priority to experience God rather than just get things done, our emphasis changes from racing blindly from one task to the other to feeling close to God, loving others more, and staying inspired about what we do. Life is more enjoyable this way.

Are you or God doing the talking?

Found an excellent piece by Linda Douty on silencing all the noise in our head that prevents us from hearing the voice of God. She points out that external commotion is only one distraction to spiritual communion with the divine. There are other types as well, including our own talking, orally and internally.

While praying have you ever removed yourself from all external noise but still had a mind full of confusion, argument, dismay and worry? That’s the internal voice of mortal mind still chattering away preventing us from listening to God. We need a total lockdown on mortal thoughts to truly hear God and discern the divine direction.

And there’s the other aspect of being physically quiet and filling thought with praise and gratitude, but perhaps, still not truly listening to God.

Douty comments,

“…we can't hear God if we're constantly talking; so we commit to spending more time in prayer and solitude. Even then, we are apt to fall into a distorted definition of silent, listening prayer—one in which our mind keeps talking to God, petitioning, thanking, adoring—good things, certainly, but still prayers controlled by us, the product of OUR efforts. We've simply decided to close our lips! And the internal chatter continues..."

Who’s doing the talking in your thought today--you or God?

Life not in a shell

I’m going to conduct a funeral service today for a family in town whose patriarch passed on this weekend. In looking for words of comfort to assure my audience their beloved family member is still alive and well I thought about my son’s hermit crabs he had years ago.

Hermit crabs are little critters that live in shells. They jet in and out to get food, but mostly stay in their shell protected from activity in their environment.

Hermit crabs also grow up. They get bigger, and in the process need bigger shells to live in. They move out of their “starter homes” into larger living quarters and leave the old place behind.

People passing on is much like a hermit crab moving from one shell to another. The physical body is a “shell.” We seem to occupy it for a span of earthly life, but like the crab is never part of his shell, we are never part of the physical body. We have spiritual being at-one with God that is not material. It is immortal. It never dies. The different shells may fade and disappear over time, but the identity of the one who thought they occupied the shell, never expires or fades away.

Life is eternal. It never ends. Temporal existence on earth ends, because this is not our final resting place. Heaven is home for every child of God, and we can be assured that regardless of what happens to a material shell on earth our identity and individuality as a child of God goes on forever in the realm of Spirit where all is well and healthy.

To do or to be?

Trouble figuring out what to do today? Rick Warren, popular Christian preacher of Saddleback Church in California said it well in a recent interview.

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed
and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better...God didn't put me on earth just to fulfil a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

"Peace begins with a smile"

Mother Teresa said it, “Peace begins with a smile.”

Think how much faster peace would come to the world if we approached everyone we met with a beaming glow of love! Peace not only to the world, but to our home, our workplace, our community, our church, the streets in our town.

Try it today. Greet every person you encounter with a thought of love. Smile!

Every man, woman and youngster is a child of God. It might not always look like it, but behind the mortal picture is a wonderful spiritual creation. Focus on the spiritual individuality, not on the human personality of the people you meet. See what God put in place. Value their good. Behold their spiritual nature made in God’s intelligent, loving image. Love them before they have a chance to say a word or consider a thought toward you.

Smile!

Laugh, enjoy, rejoice, and be happy. Spread God’s love abundantly and don’t hold back.

Love is infinite. It never runs out. It never gets tired, depleted or weak. Love is God, and it operates at full bore every moment, every place, every time. You are Love in action! Let Love happen. Be Love's healing action.

Smile today!

Be God’s presence at work wherever you go. It feels good to love others unselfishly, and it bears the fruit of peace, not only for others, but for you too.

Smile! Its a route to peace.

Is bigger better?

I just read the article, “We are what we eat,” by William Saletan in The Washington Post National Weekly, (which I can’t find on the Internet) that says “…thanks to low-cost high-fat food, obesity has become a global condition.” He explains that in the past only rich people could afford to get fat. Now poor people can afford the same waist-busting eats and are likewise constantly letting their belt out to accommodate their indulgences.

With all the focus on keeping weight under control over the last couple of decades, and the utter failure to succeed, I can’t help but wonder if the problem is much bigger than simply what we put in our mouth.

We are in a culture of get more, more, more. People want more money, more status, more choices, more attention, more fame, and more success. Consumers buy bigger cars, bigger houses and bigger closets to house their overflowing wardrobe. Connected with the craving for more, we order bigger helpings, down larger quantities and spend more time indulging the senses and entertaining the palate.

Is the overweight epidemic only a matter of what we eat? Or could it include how we view eating altogether? As part of the “give me more” culture, perhaps we need a revision of our attitude toward consumption in general? Maybe less is better? Could it be possible…?

“Godliness with contentment is great gain,” the Bible mentions. True contentment doesn’t come from consuming more. It comes from spiritual mindedness and feeling close to God. Prayer, quiet moments with God, discipline, dominion and commitment to improving oneself spiritually and morally, lead to a truly happy state of mind.

God made each of us complete. We don’t need more things, more food, another dessert, an extra helping of food, to be happy and satisfied. It’s not more matter that makes us happy. It’s more spiritual understanding.

When it comes to “bigger is better,” the rule applies only if the “bigger” is a greater and grander view of spiritual reality. Go for it! It will have a good effect on your waist.

Making a difference through art

Alex Cook is a muralist, sculptor, poet, musician, and storyteller who lives what he loves. Living in the Boston area, he works as a multi-talented artist and helps other budding artists aspire to their artistic desires too.

Check out some of the scenes his mural painting program for teens has produced in his community. This activity not only directs the energies and talents of local youngsters in a productive way, it beautifies the environment they live in.

A practicing Christian Scientist, Alex is guided by a spiritual view to his work that permeates his whole sense of being. "I have come to see that my whole life in art," he says.

Thank you Alex for sharing your beautiful thoughts in the form of paintings, murals, music, and more for the rest of us to enjoy, plus helping others aspire to similar good works.

You can view Alex's art at www.stonebalancer.com.

Is it all in your mind?

I flew to Victoria, Canada, yesterday to give a talk on why we can trust Christian Science for healing. During one flight, I sat next to a talkative middle aged-man who asked what I did for work. When I mentioned spiritual healing he immediately launched into his own recent experience with medicine and prayer.

He said his body had been suffering intensely for months from strain and stress. His doctor had been prescribing different medicines to relieve the pain, but none of them worked. Every month the doctor would give him a different pill to take, but every month he’d return with no relief. After several months of persistent failure, he finally told his doctor that all the medicine he’d been taking was junk. It was useless and did not work. To his surprise, the doctor agreed. After a long pause, the physician told the man to see a psychiatrist or psychologist. From which the patient retorted, “You mean it’s all in my thinking?” The doctor said “Yes.”

“Well, I don’t need to see a psychiatrist to get my thinking straightened out,” the patient protested. I can do that myself. Chagrined that he had wasted all those months on useless medical remedies, and impressed that he could heal himself by changing his thought, he went home and began his own prayer program. Soon the pain was gone, the stress relieved, and the whole problem became history.

He enthusiastically told me that as soon as he realized the suffering was mental, he could find relief. As long as he thought the pain was physical, healing had eluded him.

This man does not follow any particular religion or want a church telling him how to live, but he does believe in a spiritual power and presence. He finds this divine presence in quiet moments, in the wilderness, under a tree, video-taping wildlife in the North Pole.

I enjoyed sharing a brief explanation of Christian Science with him because Christian Science is what he was practicing in his own simple way. Christian Science is not a church or a bossy institution. Christian Science is universal Love active at all times and in all places. It is the one Mind in operation that gets our thinking straightened out when needed.

Prayer brings us closer to this one Mind, and allows healing to take place through the uplifting effect it produces on our thought. It doesn’t matter if we call ourselves a Christian Scientist or not, the healing power is the same, and it produces a universally good effect.

Be a porter not a doormat

Doormats come in different sizes, shapes and colors. Some are more durable than others. All are intended to welcome a visitor into the entrance of a dwelling. But woe is the fate of the entry mat, for visitors scuff their feet across its surface to wipe the dirt and scum away, or simply tromp right on over its top indifferent to its presence.

Have you ever felt used like a doormat? Instances like, people taking advantage of your generosity, extending a helping hand only to be slapped, working with a partner who turned against you, trusting someone’s goodwill only to learn the hard way they were motivated by self-interest and not concerned about your interests at all?

You might have some examples to share of your own…?

“Be wise as serpents,” Jesus admonished his disciples. Jesus was not naïve about the evil intent of the worldly minded. He told his followers to be stay alert, pay attention, be aware and diligent to not let the selfish thought take advantage of their desire to help. Do not cast your pearls before swine, he further instructed.

But he also taught us to be harmless as doves. Love, but don’t be used, I read into this guidance.

It is not true humility to let one be used by selfishness.

Humility is power, strength, authority and control. Humility is wise, discerning, alert, and acts ahead of evil. It does not cower, cave-in to wrong, or resign to loss. Humility does not play the role of victim, fear evil, or let wrong dominate.

Humility acts with Love and Principle. It is clear-minded, focused, convicted of right, unafraid to confront wrong, and stands with God. Humility is protection, power and strength. It is the weak human ego pushed aside and God in action through us.

We don’t have to let the intruders of self-interest, self-righteousness, indifference, anger, or jealousy stomp over top us and invade our mental house of purity and love. Rather than laying down for evil as a doormat, stand at attention like a porter. Keep your hand on the doorknob to your mental house and allow in only the visitors you wish to commune with. The unwanted trespassers can go elsewhere.

Preparing a will

I was reminded today that many people procrastinate preparing a will because they don’t want to think about death and dying. It seems to be a superstitious belief that if one outlines the disposal of one’s estate upon leaving earth it’s going to speed up getting there. This is not true.

I was the same way for years, not wanting to think about making a will. Then it occurred to me one day that preparing a will is not a matter of preparing for death, it’s a courtesy to one’s family. It gives them legal direction for the disposition of your assets once you’re gone, and if done correctly, can save one’s family immense grief and hassle in settling your estate.

Chuckling a bit, I wondered what would happen to my assets if I ascended tomorrow! :) A nice thought, probably not likely, but along with the idea I realized that I was not going to stay on this earth forever, no matter what. Even if I lived a super long human life, I was not destined to stay here. That was a fact. Life is Spirit. It is not in matter. We may have considerable spiritual understanding to gain in order to fully realize Life in Spirit, but the final demonstration is inevitable. Leaving earth and all our worldly possessions behind is an absolute given.

So what’s the big deal about preparing a will? I decided. It can be done simply, quietly, and easily without much ado. It’s not a threat to life, but it does make decision-making easier for those who have to deal with business after we’ve left the earthly scene—whenever that happens to be.

Do you have time for God?

Some people believe they don’t have time for God. But is this true?

God is all good. God is all love. God is all wealth. God is all health. God is all happiness. God is all true success. If we don’t time for health, love and happiness, what do we have time for?

There is great misunderstanding in the world at large about the nature of God. Many think of God as remote to their experience, as being somewhere else in the universe not paying attention to what is going on locally. But this is a limited view of God stemming from the age-old belief of God being a man in the sky or some type of human savior that has limited ability.

God is infinite Love, an all-knowing Mind, and ever-present Spirit. We cannot think, act or exist without God. Our existence and God are one and the same. So to believe we don’t have time for God is to totally misunderstand our relationship to God.

If we’re working on a project and are on a tight deadline, every right idea we think to complete the work is coming from God. If we have a family to feed and clothe, every act of love and care for those family members is God in action through us. If we have a business to run, we can’t do it without intelligence, wisdom and insight—all God in action. We can’t do anything without God.

Now, there are some things that have nothing to do with God—like anger, hate, frustration, and discouragement. These are godless states of thought, and as we learn through experience, no joy comes from them. Eventually the suffering that results from indulging in such demoralized ways of thinking causes us to turn from them and we are more receptive to God’s ever-present help. But even when life looks dim and gray, God is there sustaining us, giving us life, perpetuating our being and ensuring we will live forever and triumph over every evil lie.

Do you have time for God? God is all you do have time for if you want to live a happy healthy life. God is all the good you pursue. God is responsible for all the success you accomplish, and all the strength, wisdom, insight and confidence that enable you to continue and prosper.

God is it. God is all there is in the big picture scheme of things. Without God we are a nothing. But we are not a nothing. We are something, and the real substance of the “something” is God at work through us.

Ever tempted to criticize?

Are you ever tempted to criticize other people, point out their faults, dwell on their shortcomings and grumble about their disposition?

Every person is like a window into a unique view of God. As the windows on our house are sometimes very clean and at other times spotted with gunk and muck, the human view of another can be very good at times, and not so commendable at others. But like with our windows, if dirty, it doesn’t help to get mad at the panes. We get out the Windex and clean the glass, knowing that behind the dirt there is a crystal clear view that lets the light shine through beautifully.

The critical thought often believes all the ugly spots are on their neighbor’s pane, though, and this is often not the case. We look at other people through our own windowpane of thought, and the unfriendly spots we see on others may be faults on our own pane, mistakenly identified as on the other guy’s glass. Thus the reason Jesus instructed, Take the beam out of your own eye first; and when you can see clearly, help remove the mote from your brother’s eye.

Faults in others are like dirt on the windowpane waiting to be washed away. As dirt is no part of the pane, faults are no part of another person. To get the right view of the other person, we have to get out the Windex of Truth and wipe the filth away. Then we get the right view.

From a spiritual perspective, our neighbor is perfect. He or she is God’s image radiating love, goodwill, harmony and peace. It’s not the person that needs to be changed, but mortal mind’s view of them. Once the view is correct, the person’s God-given identity becomes more apparent.

So, are you ever going to be tempted to criticize another again? If so, remember, you’re probably criticizing yourself, or at least, a false sense of self. Point the finger in the right direction. Not at your neighbor or at yourself, but at mortal mind. Instruct thought with the spiritual truth about God’s man and wash the filth away. The view is much better.