In position to pray

When the world pushes you to your knees...you're in the perfect position to pray.

The King and his 4 wives

A reader forwarded the below story to me today. I thought you’d enjoy reading it…


Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry." His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." Her answer came like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was so skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance."


In truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives.

Our 4th wife is the body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our spirituality, which is often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our spirituality is the one thing that follows us wherever we go.

So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that remains forever and continues throughout eternity.

Ever felt used?

Have you ever felt used by a boss, a co-worker, or by a family member?

A reader sent in this thought-provoking quote:

“We need to love people and use things—not love things and use people.”

Parents, children and sports

For parents who have children playing sports, C.J. Mahaney wrote an inspiring piece titled, “Fathers and Sons and March Madness,” that explains how he uses his son’s participation in sports to instill spiritual values.

Check it out. It’s a worthwhile read.

Think before you act

The ancestor of every action is a thought.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday's problem

A reader from the US wrote in telling me that she had called a PC repair center, which happened to be in India, for help on a technical problem with her printer. During the conversation, she realized that the tech worker was a day ahead of her time-wise.

She thought, “My problem today is yesterday’s problem for her!” This realization brought a new perspective for her on why we don’t need to worry about tomorrow’s troubles for there is a solution already being worked out before we get there.

Jesus taught us to never worry about tomorrow.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

God, the all-knowing, all-wise, and all-providing Mind, is everywhere.

There is no place we can go, including “tomorrow,” where God has not been before us.

What we think is a trouble today, God has already solved “yesterday!” We can trust the solution to appear when we need it.

Hooray!

Life springs eternal

Jeff Johnstone emailed me the below picture he took outside of Glacier National Park.

I find a deep spiritual message in the scene it shares, in that right where all looks devastated and lost new life is springing from the ashes of temporal destruction. Look closely, and you'll see little plants and flowers emerging from the dust. (Click on the picture and it should enlarge.)

“Life is eternal.” Mary Baker Eddy wrote. “We should find this out and begin the demonstration thereof.”

I imagine most everyone has trials and challenges they face at times where survival appears uncertain. It could be a lost job, a huge debt, an unfaithful partner, or a health crisis. Whatever the adversity, its heartening to remember that our life sustenance is ultimately rooted in Spirit, and we need never fear lack or loss of the temporal. Where the world fails us, God is there to continue supporting us.

The conditions and circumstances of the earth come and go, but Spirit is forever. Where all hope appears lost in the material, the divine Source can spring forth life anew.

Thanks Jeff for sharing.

God and telephone companies

I’m moving my office from Kennewick to Richland this week, and part of the move requires me to cancel phone and DSL services in one location while restarting them in another.

Oh boy, calling the phone company…one of my favorite tasks…

You would think that with one call I could make all the changes at once. But nope, it’s not that easy. Different departments perform different services and one operator sent me to another until I wore out the buttons on my telephone punching in all the different options I was supposed to navigate through to get to the department I needed to talk with.

I told one operator I wanted to cancel my old DSL service, and politely waited for her next question while she pulled up my records. Well, without asking me when I wanted to cancel, she went ahead and deleted my account that moment.

“Not yet,” I protested. “On April 2nd, not today!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. She didn’t know how to retrieve my account so had to find a higher-up in her office to help. Well, you can imagine…one person after the next takes part while hope is diminishing rapidly on my end of the phone. Eventually, she said it would be restored and assured me not to worry.

Well, the words sounded find, but in actual fact, my email service never was restored and I was told it would be 5-7 days before I could get it back. This was not encouraging news!

My heart sunk low. No email service for a week! What was I going to do….?

I prayed.

I decided that all communication is in Mind, not over telephone lines. That the communication of Mind never ceases, never stops, and is never interrupted. I understood that the activity of my practice was not at the mercy of the human mind and therefore it was not affected by incompetency, error, and mistakes. God ordered, organized and protected all relations with my patients, and I did not have to go through a 7 day waiting period for normalcy to be restored.

I truly found peace of mind about the whole fiasco and let my worry go that having no email for a week would be a problem.

No sooner did I lose my fear, but the idea came strongly to call a different number of the DSL company and ask for a tech person. I called, punched through my options for the umpteenth time, and ended up in a different place than ever before.

I found an intelligent young man who knew all the answers to my problems. Within 20 minutes, he restored my email, transferred my old account to my new one, and had me completely set up for my move. I thanked and praised God’s beneficent care during the whole conversation and thanked the tech guy profusely as well.

God is good!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes tech problems have appeared overwhelming and hopeless to solve to me. I’m not a tech oriented kind of guy. But I’ve learned through experience to not let my thinking fall to the level of despair and despondency when wondering what to do next. It’s a dark place down there. God always has a solution.

Rather than complaining and worrying, we can keep our thinking spiritually clear so God’s angel messages become apparent to us. God knows our need and supplies it before we ask. And there are no delays!

Listen! And you will hear. Answers will appear and solutions found.

Even phone companies are included in God’s plan of progress.

I can’t wait for the day when I don’t have to punch in all those menu options to get to where I need to be! Mind must have a better plan in the works…

God's love on earth

What God Hath Promised

God hath not promised

Skies always blue,

Flower-strewn pathways

All our lives through;

God hath not promised

Sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow,

Peace without pain.

But God hath promised

Strength for the day,

Rest for the labor,

Light for the way,

Grace for the trials,

Help from above,

Unfailing sympathy,

Undying love.

~ Annie Johnson Flint

Give someone a hug today

Everyone Needs A Hug!

It's wond'rous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.

A hug can say, "I love you so"

or, "Gee, I hate to see you go."

A hug is, "Welcome back again!"

and "Great to see you!"

or "Where've you been?"

A hug can soothe a small child's pain

and bring a rainbow after rain.

The hug! There's just no doubt about it,

we scarcely could survive without it.

No longer do we have to worry,

for a hug is the way to say "I'm sorry."

A hug delights and warms and charms,

it must be why we all have arms.

Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,

sweet for sisters as well for brothers.

Chances are some favorite aunts

loves them more than potted plants.

Kittens crave them, Puppies love them.

Heads of state are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier

and make the dullest day seem merrier.

No need to fret about the store of 'em.

The more you give the more there are of 'em.

So stretch those arms without delay, and

GIVE SOMEONE A HUG TODAY!

~ Unknown

Hugs that heal

The Rescuing Hug

This picture is from the article "The Rescuing Hug," which details the first week of life for these twins.

Each baby was in her respective incubator, and one was not expected to live. Against odds, a hospital nurse fought the hospital rules and finally gained permission to place the babies in one incubator.

A beautiful thing happened.

Upon placing them together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby's heart rate stabilized and her temperature rose to normal.

Hugs heal!

True substance in ideas

I received the below experience today from a reader that points out to a degree what real substance is and where to find it. It’s not things, money and objects that constitute the real, but ideas—spiritual ideas coming from God. And they are forever present in Mind, the creator of them.

Enjoy…

The orchestra teacher showed a short film to my class today about JS Bach called “Bach's Fight for Freedom.”

In it, a person who was very angry at Bach grabbed his recent manuscripts and ripped them to shreds in front of Bach while yelling something like—“This is what I think of your precious music, look at it, where is it now?”

Bach calmly sat down at the harpsichord while looking him steadily in the eye and began to play the pieces. He said, "You destroyed paper—that’s all. The music is still here (pointing to his head). You can't take my music.”

Later, while arguing for Bach's freedom from servitude to the Duke, another said "Bach is already free. No matter how long you keep him locked up he will always have his music, so he will always be free."

He was finally released from servitude to the church and to the Duke to work at the palace where the full range of his music finally gained the notoriety we know today.

I thought this story was a great example of the substantiality of Spirit and a cool way of seeing how things of the Spirit can never be lost.

Smiles and money

Here’s a new take on supply I hadn’t considered before a few days ago…

Having enough money to pay bills is like having enough smiles to share with other people. Both are effect, and neither is cause.

For example, take love and smiles.

Understanding that Love is cause and a smile effect, we never fear having enough smiles to share with others. We know there are an endless number of thoughts available to inspire smiles, and that we can readily access those happy thoughts whenever we want to. We never fear a shortage of smiles because we never fear a shortage of “smiling thoughts.”

The same rule applies to supply and money.

Supply is not money. Supply is God. God is the sum and substance of all true value and worth. The more we understand that Truth and Love are the infinite resources of the universe supporting and fulfilling all life activities, we never fear lack because we know that we are inseparably connected to this boundless supply of Spirit. We can access “supply thoughts,” at any time, and those divinely inspired thoughts, in turn, manifest in the human experience as needs met.

Supply is never in the thing that humanly manifests supply anymore than love is in a smile. A smile manifests love, but a smile is not the substance of love. And likewise with supply; money manifests supply, but it is not the substance of supply.

So, don’t get mesmerized by the belief that money is your supply. It is not. God is your supply and He is infinite, unending. There are no limits on your supply just as there are no limits on Love. Love and supply are one and the same.

Be clear that God is your supply and you will never fear having enough funds to pay legitimate bills anymore than you fear having enough smiles when approached by dear friends.

Now that truth, my friend, should give you something to smile about!

“My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Paul

Posting comments

Some of you are wondering how to post comments on my blogs.

Click COMMENT underneath the blog you want to comment on.
Underneath the comment box, if you do not have a google account, click OTHER or ANONYMOUS.
Enter a name in the username box.
Type your comment.
PUBLISH.

That should do it.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Cheers

Clutter in our lives

A reader sent in the below which I thought you might find inspiring, especially if you feel overloaded with things!


I was watching Oprah recently as an expert who helps people organize their homes and de-clutter their lives was interviewed. He shared some amazing statistics.

He believes that 2/3’s of the people in the USA today live with clutter. He pointed out that 1 in 10 rent a storage space for the things they own, even though Americans today live in houses that are twice as big and families are twice as small as they were 50 years ago.

He said it was interesting to note that not only is 2/3’s of the population clutter’ers, but 2/3 of the population is also overweight.

He continued to explain that all of this excess, or clutter, reflects out-of-control living that many people live.

The way out of the box, he shared, is not to focus on the clutter but to look within oneself. He found there is always an emotional source for all of this clutter in ones’ life.

Some are holding onto the past thru memories and things that remind them of those memories, and others are holding onto things in fear they might need it in the future.

The tragedy is; it leaves very little room for living in the NOW. It would be more helpful to recognize that this moment in time is when we can find joy in the family, friends and relationships that we have rather than being burdened by excess mental baggage and things from the past.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told us how to get rid of clutter. He instructed,

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."

I find it amazing to consider that there isn’t any rust corroding the love I have for my children. And no one can steal the peace I have each day as I spend time in prayer and meditation. Harmony permeates my home with smiles and laughter that no one can take away and no one can complain are a burden.

Once we put on our spiritual glasses and begin to see the world through spiritual eyes, the things we have held onto so tightly lose their grip and don’t seem so important anymore.

Maybe it’s time to study the New Testament and gain a fresh reference for what is important and will last, so as we go through our day we see the things we own and store in an entirely new way. Old things can then be let go, they can pass away and allow for a renewal of our lives in less cluttered ways.

The movie "The Secret"

I watched the movie “The Secret” last weekend and am happy to have a clearer understanding of its main message.

Here are some of the movie’s points:

• A practitioner of The Secret starts with the question, “What do I want?”
• The practitioner must visualize that desire in their mind and hold to it.
• The universe exists to serve your desires. Like the Genie that emerged from Aladdin’s lamp, “Your wish is my command,” says the universe to each of us.
• Our thoughts call forth the resources we need from the universe to have our wants fulfilled.
• Thoughts are things, so the more pronounced the thought the more likely you get the thing you want.
• You have to remain in the spirit of joy and love to receive the positive blessings you desire. Depressing and sickly thinking brings forth depressing and sickly circumstances.
• The law of attraction brings to you what you focus on whether good or evil.
• You are the creator of your own destiny.

Jack Canfield, co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series was used as a shining example of The Secret in action. He told how he lived in a 4½ million dollar house, had a wife to die for, vacationed in all the hot spots of the world and had achieved celebrity status by putting The Secret into practice.

A young teenager was shown cutting out a picture of a bicycle he wanted, and then worshipping the pictorial image until the bicycle was manifested in his experience, showing up on his doorstep one day.

A gay man’s story about feeling condemned and picked on all the time was used to show how when he dropped his negative feelings about co-workers and neighbors, they started treating him nicer.

As I watched the movie, the words animal magnetism, which is a term used in Christian Science to signify mind with matter type thinking, came forcefully to my attention. Testifiers in the film referred to being a magnet, and having magnetic thought-waves flowing out into the universe calling forth the fruition of their desires as being part of understanding how The Secret worked.

It was refreshing to hear that depressing thoughts bring forth depressing experiences. Who could argue with that? And contrariwise, positive joyful thoughts spawn happy experiences. But through it all I felt uncomfortable with the underlying premise that life is all about getting what we want and the human mind, or brain, viewed more or less as a god. All goals surrounded self, feeding the ego, and satisfying personal desires. People become gods unto themselves.

To have all our life goals start with “What do I want?” brought other questions to my attention.

What if we wanted the wrong things? What if what we want is not in our best interest to have or in the best interest of humanity? Is a life centered on self going to benefit the greater good of the world?

In raising our children, my wife and I work hard to help them think unselfishly. We don’t start the reasoning process with the question “What do I want?” but with asking the question, “What is best? What does God want?” We explain that there are moral and spiritual imperatives that need to be learned and followed to live a decent life and contribute to the well being of the world.

If everyone on the globe started their decision-making with “What do I want?” where would that leave everyone else? I was wondering….

I’m glad I watched the film so I am more informed about all the talk surrounding The Secret. I can see how people find beneficial ideas in its message to uplift their perspective and stay out of the gutter of negativity and self-pity. But the constant barrage of “Seek what you want,” left me doubtful that what the movie’s experts claim to be “The Secret” is really the ultimate key to life and happiness in the long run.

The things of matter are temporal, fleeting, and short-lived in the big picture scheme of things. To center one’s life on finding happiness through material conditions and circumstances is not going to set one up for long run joy when the material sense inevitably gives way to the allness of Spirit.

Yes, seeking joy independent of things is a worthy pursuit, as suggested by the film, but the prevalent linking of joy to things and worldly conditions, leaves one mentally still in a universe of matter and spirit rather than in a reality of All-Spirit.

The greatest riches in the world are not material things we acquire or status we achieve, even when we think so, but is found in the truth and love of God that keep us spiritually centered and grounded in a life of genuine unselfish giving.

I'm inclined to believe that knowing and understanding God, infinite Love, is The Secret to success in life. This truth has been taught by many religious traditions for untold eons, and, interestingly, that fact is no secret at all.

Feeling the Spirit, conquering depression

I was reading an article in the March 2007 Men’s Journal titled, “Anderson Cooper’s Private War,” which reports on what motivates Cooper to cover the life and death stories he often brings to his audience’s attention. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the brutality of war and strife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are two noted examples of his efforts.

In trying to explain Cooper’s frequent focus on suffering, the article’s author, Jo Bronson, looks for motivation in Cooper’s past including the unexplained and sudden suicide of his brother. Bronson wrote, “In the summer of 1988 Cooper’s older brother Carter took his own life by dangling from the terrace of the family’s 14th story penthouse, then letting go—with his mother right there, begging him not to do it. His last words were, ‘Will I ever feel again?’”

My emotional insides went into meltdown mode when I read this wrenching plea for help from Carter for I have heard the same type of words uttered from the lips of many patients over the years. Depression and hopelessness are common struggles for many people in our times. People are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives, and often don’t know where to look.

I know no other way out of this deep dark pit of human despair then to find life in Spirit where there is always hope and always a reason to live and rejoice.

I haven’t made any scientific study, but it seems from casual observation that mental depression has grown immensely over the last couple of decades among our population. I also believe the pursuit of materialism, consumerism and economic success has grown beyond reason the last few decades as well. I can’t help but see a parallel between the two.

When children are raised to find happiness in things and physical sensation, they pursue those objectives in their effort to find meaning and purpose. But there is no meaning or purpose in the accumulation of riches or perpetual stimulation of the senses. They are empty holes of mortal mindlessness. True happiness is spiritual and can only be found in one’s relationship to God, in feeling close to the divine Love that makes life worth living.

To find Love, we have to turn away from the active pursuit of selfish materialistic goals. We cannot pursue spiritual life and life in matter at the same time, for one forsakes the other.

Cooper’s brother’s plea, “Will I ever feel again?” to me, sounds like a plea to feel Love, to know God. And the right answer is “Yes! You can feel love in your life. God is that Love, and God is right here right now with His arms around you giving you what you need to flourish spiritually and find true meaning and purpose in living a life of generous unselfish love.”

In Spirit, there is no depression. All is light, buoyancy, joy, gratitude, and good. To live in the Spirit, is to live in a consciousness of worth and value, meaning and purpose. It is to be in touch with Life, the one true Life in God, that we have forever. And it is a good life, a happy full life.

The joyous life will never be found in the realm of physical sensation. There is no true life there to be found. Meaningful existence is found in God, in Spirit.

Look to Spirit for happiness in your life. Turn away from the flesh, away from things, away from physical sensation, and get tuned into reality—spiritual reality—where life is a joy, and hope is not an empty promise.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Apostle Paul

Life is good. We can each find this out and enjoy it's benefits.

Don't beat up on yourself

Have you ever heaped criticism and condemnation upon yourself? Jabs coming your way in the form of

• I can never get it right!
• I always mess up.
• I’m a total failure.
• My future is hopeless.
• I might as well not try anymore…

Many people fight these kinds of depressing thoughts and feel overwhelmed by them. But there is a victory to be had over such self-destructive thinking.

God did not make a failure!

Every one of God’s creatures is designed for success, and to experience more of our God-given worth, we need to identify ourselves as worthy children of God.

If we see ourselves as failures and hopeless cases, we’re not looking at a child of God. We’re looking at a demoralized mortal mind view, which is always depressing.

The cure for the depressed view is to get the right view, the spiritual view.

God’s child is full of good, full of promise, and endowed with talent and ability. God’s child is not weak, unintelligent or disconnected. God’s beloved is cared for, loved and divinely supported.

See yourself the right way, from God’s perspective, and you’ll realize more of your God-given worth and ability.

To a man who was getting down on himself and criticizing his past behavior, I said, “Quit beating up on yourself! You have infinite worth and value. Maybe you have more to discover about the real you, but give yourself a running chance to make that discovery. Value the brilliant child of God you are! What you did yesterday doesn't determine what you can experience today.” It helped turn his attitude around and head him in a more positive direction.

Same rule applies to all of us.

We must not get mesmerized by a lie. We can know the truth about ourselves as God’s child and not be mesmerized by a demoralized mortal mind view, which is always wrong.

God made each of us spectacular!

You are unique, individual and wonderful in your own special way.

Don’t beat up on yourself. Love your real self—your spiritual self--made in God’s image, and live Life to the fullest.

“Man’s spiritual individuality is never wrong. It is the likeness of man’s Maker.” Mary Baker Eddy

Delightful video

Looking for some magical entertainment?

Click on this Jerome Murat video clip for some fun surprises. It’s a delightful 8 minute run.

I love this video because it illustrates how you cannot believe what you behold with your eyes. Mortal mind has certain expectations about what it sees, and draws conclusions accordingly.

But what happens in the course of life when what you see is not the truth? Like when someone tells you a lie but in the guise of a truth? You get surprised, and in unpleasant ways.

With this video, you are surprised in a positive way, but when it comes to everyday activity, it's better not to believe without question everything you see and hear. Go to the spiritual truth first and reason out from what God knows, and then decide what's right and what's not. The negative suprises are much fewer then.

Enjoy!

You are unique

YOU ARE UNIQUE

Think what a remarkable, unduplicatable, and miraculous thing it is to be you! Of all the people who have come and gone on the earth, since the beginning of time, not ONE of them is like YOU!

No one who has ever lived or is to come has had your combination of abilities, talents, appearance, friends, acquaintances, burdens, sorrows and opportunities.

No, one's hair grows exactly the way yours does. No one's finger prints are like yours. No one has the same combination of secret inside jokes and family expressions that you know.

The few people who laugh at all the same things you do, don't sneeze the way you do. No one prays about exactly the same concerns as you do.

No one is loved by the same combination of people that love you - NO ONE!

No one before, no one to come. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE!

Enjoy that uniqueness. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else. You weren't meant to be like someone else. You do not have to lie to conceal the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else.

You were meant to be different. Nowhere ever in all of history will the same things be going on in anyone's mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now.

If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a gap in history, something missing from the plan for humankind.

Treasure your uniqueness. It is a gift given only to you. Enjoy it and share it!

No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can. No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can comfort with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person.

No one can be cheerful and lighthearted and joyous in your way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being.

Share your uniqueness. Let it be free to flow out among your family and friends and people you meet in the rush and clutter of living wherever you are. That gift of yourself was given you to enjoy and share. Give yourself away!

See it! Receive it! Let it tickle you! Let it inform you and nudge you and inspire you! YOU ARE UNIQUE!

~ Author unknown

Self-made or God-made?

The trouble with self-made men is that they tend to worship their creator.

~ Anonymous

How smart is your right foot?

The below exercise is so funny that it will jar your perspective.

1. While sitting on the edge of a chair, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number 6 in the air with your right hand.

What happened to the circling of your foot?

Did it change directions?

I bet you’re laughing right now…I was when I tried it…

It seems we can master one action at a time. We tell our foot to circle clockwise, but when our thinking diverts to drawing a circle on the bottom of a six counterclockwise, the circling of our foot changes to conform to what we’re doing with our finger in the air. It’s our mind’s preoccupation that is directing the action of foot and finger.

I can’t help but believe we see a similar effect in the health of the body at times.

Our body may be in fine health, but then, for some reason, we get mentally distracted onto the subject of disease, and then, without realizing the negative effect our preoccupation with disease has on the body, we later see evidence of that illness in the body. It’s like telling the right foot to circle clockwise and expecting it to stay in its course, but then we get focused on drawing a circle counterclockwise with our finger, and the action of the foot changes without our conscious consent.

The best way to ensure on-going health is to be sure consciousness is focused on the permanent health and spiritual perfection that is divinely ours. That awareness of Truth sends the right signals to all parts of our experience, and keeps every action circling in a health producing direction.

Are you still trying to master the finger foot exercise…!?

Yielding to God

Have you ever been told to yield? To yield to God and let Him take over?

Did you ever wonder what it meant to yield to God?

Here's one way I've thought about the concept...

When driving up an on-ramp to a busy highway, we must yield to the flow of traffic in order to blend in without causing an accident. Usually we have to speed up our car, but sometimes we have to slow down, always looking for an opening in the traffic pattern to fit in and merge with the other vehicles. We cannot dictate terms to the on-coming traffic flow, but must adjust to the pace already established.

Yielding to God is similar.

God is a Mind filled with a “traffic flow” of truth and love.

When we are suffering or struggling, a healing prayer is to have the Mind of God as our Mind, to let God’s thoughts be our thoughts. Feeling the presence of this Mind can be like driving up an on-ramp to a highway. We have to adjust our mental position to fit into the divine pattern already established. As we reform our mental position to align with the divine standard, we fit into the heavenly flow, and healing happens.

To line up with the divine, we have to let go of mortal stand points, human mind attitudes like pride, fear, worry, woe-me thinking, dishonesty, and selfishness. We cannot change Mind, Truth, but we can align with it and experience its blessings. And this wants to be our goal!

To yield to God, is to align thought to the traffic flow of spiritual inspiration flowing through Mind, and let go of any human mind stance that prevents perfect alignment from happening.

And in God’s “traffic flow,” there are no arrogant drivers, head-strong actions, intimidating maneuvers or thoughtless lane changes. Every member flows in love and harmony with the rest of the travelers. Wouldn't that be nice!



Yield, and enjoy the ride!

Don't mess with Grandma

Printed in a Florida newspaper…

An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and, upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle.

She dropped her shopping bag and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice,” I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car…!!”

The four men didn’t wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her bags into the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why.

A few minutes later, she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station.

The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn’t stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large
handgun.

A moral to the story: Sometimes we’re demanded to do things based upon someone else’s false belief, and even though we know better, find it wise to obey anyway to preserve the greater good. If so, be patient, truth will eventually settle in and rectify the error. Don't be intimidated by the "handguns" of mistaken views!

Mistakes pass, but truth is forever.

Heaven around us

Ode to Immortality

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

~ William Wordsworth

God knows the way

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!"

And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

~ Minnie Louise Haskins

Are you going the right way?

"As a man headed for his golf game hurried down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!"

"Heck," said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"

The Frozen River

Have you ever prayed and prayed and saw no evidence of healing progress?

Don't give up. Truth is always the victor. Ills may appear intransigent and unyielding at times, but they will crumble and dissipate into their native nothingness. God's law of progress is always at work moving us in a healthy direction.

Here's a legend that was reportedly read in Mary Baker Eddy’s home many times at her request that addresses the obstinate belief and restores hope of inevitable cure.

Once the river flowed free and easy over its rocky bed, but one night the temperature of the river dropped a dozen degrees or so, and continued dropping all the next day, and by night it had formed a thin coating of ice under which the river flowed.

Accepting the best of it, the river flowed on under the ice, but that night the coat thickened, crowding the activities of the river further down. This went on until at last the river was a frozen mass. “O dear,” said the river, as it tried to move and couldn’t, “was it ever possible that I was free and could move and will that day ever come again?”

A south wind passed by and said, “If the sun would shine on you it would help you!” and the next day the sun did shine on the river, and the river was glad and full of expectations. “Now I shall flow and be free, but after shining all day nothing happened, and that evening the river was very despondent. But the sun, who had more persistence than the river, came again and shined all day. But nothing happened, and so this little drama went on day after day and week after week, and the river became very discouraged and almost knew it would never flow again, never would be free again.

But the sun kept on shining. And one day the river felt a little loosening. It couldn’t tell just what, but that night, it was solid again, and the river lost hope, but the sun came again the next day and it loosened again—and again at night it froze stiff. “How disgusting” said the river. “Every little bit I gain, I immediately lose it.” But the sun kept shining.

At last the ice broke up into great chunks and floated away so swiftly that the river was all of a quiver. How easily it had all departed.

So with the obstinate case, the first day’s treatment may not melt the ice, nor the second, nor the third,--and at night (in doubt or anxiety) it may freeze up again, but when faithfully followed, and the sunlight of Love is applied untiringly, the change does take place.

Judge not from appearances, neither the first day’s sun nor the last melted the river of ice. It took them both and all the days in between to overcome the condition that had been growing and intensifying for months and years.

It took seven times around the walls of Jericho to reduce them to dust, and who will say which was the most effective trip—the first or the last?

Spiritually, man is already free, and if he can get this established firmly in his thought and hold to it regardless of appearances, the demonstration is made.

Are you willing to take a risk?

Have you ever let “What ifs” or “shoulds” stop you from taking a progressive step?

“What if I fail…”

“I should try this new adventure, but…”

Check out the article “Does stepping out of the boat mean I have to get my hair wet,” by Julie Voorhees.

Among other revealing points, she wrote,

Many of us bury our true selves under the clutter of everyday shoulds. We get stuck in the perceived safety of avoiding risks: of failure, of not being good enough, of abandonment, of harm, of rejection. Our risk avoidance robs us of living valiant and contented lives….

The more we understand Life to be God, infinite Spirit, the “What ifs” and “shoulds,” fall away, and we start to experience more of the grand adventure life is meant to be.

Go for it!


Julie's insights will help.

The power to be spiritual

“God has not given us vast learning to solve all the problems, or unfailing wisdom to direct all the wanderings of our brothers’ lives: but He has given to every one of us the power to be spiritual, and by our spirituality to lift and enlarge and enlighten the lives we touch.”

~ Phillips Brooks, Episcopal Pastor of Trinity Church in Boston

Don't fear the boggarts

Anyone a Harry Potter fan?

If you know anything about boggarts, you’ll love what a friend wrote below that grew out of her prayers to conquer the “boggart” of fear regarding an aggressive physical condition she was defeating.

Enjoy…


Dear Evan,

I want to share with you an insight.

I am rereading the Harry Potter books in anticipation of the last of the series coming in June. In chapter 7 of year three, there is a description of the boggart in the wardrobe that really set me straight.

Here it is.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces, wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks…

“What is a boggart?” Hermiones put up her hand.

“It's a shape-shifter,” she said. “It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most....”

“The boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when he is let out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears."

Later on in the book, the author shares how to disarm the boggart.

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter."

That was my wake up call. I could see that what I was afraid of was simply a product of my own fearful thinking. Just saying that was funny.

The idea that popped into my thinking was, "Perfect love casteth out fear".

So my first job was to make sure that the boggart had no place to hide in my thinking. Light, that was my key, to know that the light of Love could shine into every mental nook or cranny.

I shined the flashlight of love into my thinking, and the fear dissipated. The boggart of error now had no place to hide.

It had taken a shape that was the most fearful to me. When I saw that, it made me giggle. I felt so empowered, so free from fear.

Mortal mind cannot grow or flourish where it is not feared. I was sooooo free from worry. The happiness I felt was simple and clear. I knew for sure that "There is no spot where God is not."

Is it a big deal?

When my family first moved into the house we presently live in, we had to set some rules about where to park our cars. When it’s dark, it’s very difficult to see behind your rig when backing out of the garage.

The family jumped into my CRV one evening to head out for dinner. I backed out at a slow pace, and “Scrunch,” I hit something behind. Stomping on the brake, I exclaimed, “What was that?”

Well, my wife was not thrilled, because I had just dented the front hood of her station wagon. Of course, there was no excuse on my part, but I asked her why she had parked behind me instead of over in her usual spot. She didn’t have a reason and I was already getting upset with myself for not looking better before backing out.

Anytime I feel tense inside, it’s a sign I need to go to God and regain a Love perspective.

To stay calm, I asked myself, “What is most important here: to get bothered by the accident or to stay in a loving and thoughtful frame of mind?”

I knew the answer, but had to fight off temptation to get worked up. It felt easy to go down the destructive route of self-condemnation, accusation, and feelings of guilt.

I prayed to keep in view what I call “The Big Picture.”

The Big Picture, for me, is living a life of Love. When you have Love, you have everything worthwhile and of value, and all else pales in significance.

It’s often tempting to think small things that happen everyday are big things, when they aren’t big things at all.

A dent in the hood of a car is a small thing. It should not be allowed to turn into a big thing.

My relationship to God was undisturbed by that backup mishap, I accepted. God loved me all the same, and my wife loved me just as much too.

I could quickly learn my lesson, stay grateful for life, and let the incident go, which is what I did.

As it turned out, we soon traded the station wagon in for a new car, and the dealer was not concerned about the dent. It was small enough that it did not affect the wagon’s trade-in value, for which I was grateful.

But how often has a similar event happened in your life. Have you ever seen little deals turn into big deals?

Has your ego ever got dented or bent out of shape by someone else’s comment, and then you fumed and fussed for hours, or days about it? Did you make a mistake and continue beating yourself up over it? Did another fall short of your expectations and you resented the outcome? These things ought not to be.

Life is about Love. Life is not about grumbling, grudges, selfishness, ego and mindless ruminating. It’s about reflecting the divine Ego, which is a mind-set of love, forgiveness and instant compassion.

The more we dedicate our existence to living love, the sooner little things stay little things, and don’t become the “big thing.”

The Big Thing is Love. Love is what matters most, and Love is all that adds up in the long run.

Love IS Life.

Live it to the fullest and keep "The Big Picture" perspective. It’s more fun that way!

“The right way wins the right of way, even the way of Truth and Love whereby all our debts are paid, mankind blessed, and God glorified.” Mary Baker Eddy

Autistic boy update

For those of you who have been reading this blog for a few months, you’ll remember a posting in December about a teacher’s touching experience with an autistic boy in her class. If you’re wondering what happened, here’s an update:


Remember my little autistic boy? Well for two months he has been a model student. Happy, willing to participate and interact—just plain transformed.

Yesterday, I started to do an activity with the class where I turn out the lights. When I said it was time to darken the room, he panicked and ran for the door. His aide told me he was terrified of the dark. So I talked to him and told him he could go into the hall while we did the exercise. There was no return to screaming or crying, but he was very agitated.

I said to him, “You know you are safe, and any time you change your mind you can come back in.” I gave the aide what she needed to do the activity with him in the hallway.

We started and I looked at him outside the window, returning to a parallel life and thought, “No way. That door cannot separate him or me from the progress we've made. In or out of the class, he knows Love's holding him safe. I will not be impressed by a closed door.”

We had been into the activity for maybe 60 seconds when the door flew open and in he came. He melted into the group, did the activity and was happy about it--darkness and all.

The aide said he kept looking through the window, and after a couple of false starts, decided he belonged with his class, not separate from them. She said it's the first time he's tolerated a dark environment at school that she's aware of.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!


Such inspiring progress... We should never underestimate the power of our prayers to bless others around us. Love heals, and the closer we feel to Love, the easier it is for people around us to feel Love's healing presence too.

What is your healing?

While conversing with a friend today I realized that the healing we’re looking for is not always the healing we first need.

When faced with a bodily complaint, the temptation is to assume we need the ache or pain to go away before we are free. We put a material condition on our freedom, and then hope, even wait, for something to happen physically before we proceed with our life. This may or may not be the need.

For example, several years ago, while lecturing around the country on Christian Science, I was in a large theater in S. CA preparing to go on stage. I was battling a splitting headache and sickness that would not release. I was in no shape to speak before 300 people, and it was ten minutes to starting time.

Hiding in the balcony in a quiet corner where I could get my thoughts collected, I prayed to understand better that God would give me everything I needed to fulfill my responsibilities.

As I affirmed the immediacy of my spiritual perfection and the unfailing care of divine Love, I saw clearly that I did not need to wait for the pain to go away before I could proceed.

God is All. So, in essence, God was the speaker, God was the speech, God was the presenter, and God was the energy, health and poise that would make the lecture a success. I did not have to wait for something to change materially in the body before God could do the job well.

Confident that the outcome of the event was totally in God’s hands, I headed for the lobby and then to the stage. The closer I drew, the less pain I felt. By the time I stood in front of the audience and greeted them with a big verbal bear-hug Hello! the illness and pain was gone. I was off and running with my talk, and the lecture was very successful.

I learned many lessons from that experience.

When I was suffering, my initial prayer was to be rid of the pain. But the pain persisted. Under the pressure of the moment, and with no choice but to go on stage, I yielded my worries entirely to God, acknowledging that He was doing all the doing, and if I really trusted Him, I could proceed without fear. I obeyed, and as I obeyed, the physical suffering rapidly diminished and I was able to follow through.

My healing was a strengthening of trust in God’s omnipresent and ever-active health and harmony. The physical healing was secondary.

It takes discernment and focused listening to decide the need of the moment when praying for relief. But one truth is for sure. All spiritual healing is in internal job. As we yield to spiritual truth, the pertinent truth we obey will take the fear away and any physical suffering it causes and lead us to the total freedom that is rightfully ours.