skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I held my yearly Association meeting last Saturday. And what a glorious day it was.
For those unfamiliar, I am a Christian Science teacher, which means I hold a two week class once a year for students wanting to improve their practice of Christian Science and learn how to heal others spiritually. Each year I hold what is called an Association meeting, where all my students come together, and guests also, to keep their practice of spiritual healing abreast of the times and fresh with new inspiration.
This year, our theme for the day was “Standing on the Mount.” We dived into the Sermon on the Mount looking for truth that enables one to demonstrate in degrees the perfect man of God’s creating that Jesus Christ held out as the ideal man and is the ideal Christian Science constantly espouses.
One of the main points I covered was the benefits that come from syncing one’s thought with the letter and spirit of the Sermon. As we truly love unselfishly, eliminate all evil thinking, all resentment, complaint, ill-will, fear and other dis-eased attitudes of mortal mind, and love, love, love as Christ taught, we experience Kingdom living in the here and now of everyday experience.
Saturday evening, a couple of hours after the event had wound down and people had dispersed to their rooms and moved on to their next destinations, I played a bit of tennis with my son. While on court, the benefits of the day spent immersed in Sermon thinking was tangibly present with me. I felt so light, joyful, buoyant, free, and honestly--quite heavenly. There was not a bit of strain, stress, heaviness, darkness, burden or weight in my thought or body. And I thought, “This is the way one should always feel!”
The contrast I saw was in how I responded to my missed shots. I have much to learn in playing tennis! I do it strictly for fun, let me tell you… In the past, though, when I made a foolish mistake or miss-hit, I typically would make a mental note of it, get down a bit on myself, and move on. No big deal. But this night, I was not getting down about anything. If I missed a hit, I just prepared for the next ball coming my way. It didn’t matter that I had missed. I would concentrate on hitting the next one correctly. There was absolutely no sense of judgmentalism attached to my playing. I just played and kept working to do better. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. I failed many times to hit the ball accurately, which is not unusual for me! But the failures didn’t matter. I was living in a moment of love where the attitude of love is what mattered, not whether I was hitting the ball perfectly every time.
After a while, I exclaimed, “I’m standing on the Mount!” And I was. The Mount is not a physical place but a high state of Mind. I was in a consciousness of Love that existed independent of material circumstance.
It’s a great place to be—on the Mount! Love is all that matters there, and all the worries, concerns and fears that come from pursuit of matter-based goals don’t exist. Pure bliss and peace are the outcome of Sermon thinking, and it's a very healthy happy place to be.So, you can find your place on the Mount too. It's all in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7.I highly recommend the trip. It's worth the reward.
One of my students shared a terrific experience she had recently which proved the mental nature of encounters with others, in this case, with bees!
She loves bees. She loves nature. She loves.
In her community, a swarm of bees had gathered on a tree in the middle of her town. Because of the swarm's proximity to the public and people walking up and down the street, she wanted to act quickly to remove them before someone sprayed and destroyed the creatures.
Acting on short notice, she had only a bucket and her garden gloves to work with.
Climbing into the tree with a short sleeved shirt and face exposed, she began the process of pulling thousands of buzzing bees into her container.
She was not naïve about the act and prepared her thought ahead of time to be safe. She filled her thought with pure positive love for the bees. She said that she quietly spoke to them while moving them down, expressing her love and care for their well being and assuring them they were safe and had nothing to fear.
Countless bees lit on her body, on her face, on her arms, moving about, curious and searching for direction and home. But she worked on without fear and concern.
When almost finished, the swarming mass in her bucket realized the queen was not there and they all flew back up into the tree where the queen still sat. And she had to start all over again. But she did without resentment or complaint. She kept on loving the swarming brood until she finished the task, queen and all, and was able to take them home to an empty hive she had waiting for them.
After the task was done, she had 2 mild stings on one arm that were quite harmless to her. The bees were rescued and in a place no one minded.
As she told the story, I saw in her face all the love and care she had for these special creatures. She had no fear of them, and they had no fear of her. They had no reason to attack her because they felt safe in her presence.
And the same rule applies to all people we encounter. Enemies often attack because they see someone or something they fear. But if there is no reason to fear, they lose fear themselves, and see no reason to act in defense.
Love, love, love… It’s the route to peace and harmony amongst all God’s creatures.Jesus got it right when he taught, "Love your enemies." Why? Because, as he knew, love has no enemies.
For all you animal lovers, here's a clip that will touch your heart and cheer your spirit.It certainly illustrates the universal nature of a true mother-love. It's a relationship lesson we all might learn from to bless our acceptance of those who differ from us on the outside but share the same spiritual common worth on the inside.
While flipping through a newspaper this week, I glanced through an ad for losing weight written by a clinic of doctors who specialized in treating obesity. Half-way through the text I stopped reading, a bit dazed by one of their assertions.
The ad stated, “Only a doctor can help you.”
I know millions of people put total faith in doctors, but I hadn’t read such a wide-sweeping and absolute affirmation by doctors for faith in their own expertise.
The motive of this group of physicians was obviously to build business, and bring profit and customers their way. But the assertion that only they could help seemed over the line to me. I know many people, including myself, who have successfully lost weight without any help from a doctor.
I saw the ad as a blatant and aggressive form of mental manipulation that needed to be guarded against. My spiritual sense of things rebelled and protested, “Where is God in all of this?”
Doctors have done, and are doing, much good for humanity. The doctors I know are wonderful people, caring, unselfish and truly committed to alleviating suffering and pain the best way they know. But there are many other people in society who do wonderful good for humanity too. And then there is God as well. When I read the words, “Only a doctor knows best,” what I really saw was, "A doctor is god."
Because of this aggressive mental suggestion that a doctor, and only a doctor, can address health needs, I welcome all signs of God and prayer getting back into the sick room. People suffering from obesity, or any claim of disease, need more than physical change. It’s typically a deep moral and spiritual transformation that truly meets the need. Experience proves that the outward man reforms as the inner man reforms. Spiritual healing facilitates this kind of improvement, and long lasting positive results come, not from a scalpel or pill or procedure, but from genuine spiritual growth, humility, and increased spiritual mindedness.
The ad would have served its constituency better if it had stated, “Only God knows best.” And then went on to explain how workers at the clinic prayed first to know how to help their clients. This possibility probably didn't cross the minds of those who wrote the ad, but I can say that I would trust a doctor more who started his practice from a basis of humility and meekness, rather than the position of "I know everything."
I watched the movie, "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise, last night with my
family. It's based on a true story that recounts one Nazi colonel's attempt
to assassinate Hitler and reorganize the German government in order to
change the direction of the war.
According to the movie, large numbers of Germans wanted Hitler out of
office, including generals and military leaders in high places. I don't want
to give away the story, but I think you can guess what happened if you know
any World War II history. The result was not a happy ending for those who
planned the coup.
The movie concluded with a byline stating that 15 assassination attempts
were made on Hitler's life during his rule.
I wondered why so many attempts on his life had failed, not because I was
rooting for success, but from wanting to understand more why things happen
the way they do.
Hitler was not a good guy. His thinking was filled with prejudice, hate,
malice, racism, vitriol, anger and a whole lot of other evil qualities that
I'm not thinking of at the moment. Anyone who can sentence millions of
innocent people to concentration camps as he did is manifesting a void of
any kind of compassion, understanding or humanity normally associated with
sane people.
And there I found my answer to why all the assassination plots had failed.
They were likely predicated on returning evil for evil-motivated by revenge,
hatred and anger. And no matter how justified the would-be assassins felt, their sense of power in evil was not anything as large as Hitler's.
As far as evil planning, conniving, deceiving and thwarting good intent was concerned, none of the assassins rose to Hitler's level. He outdid them all. So, any assassination attempts were basically little evil verses huge evil. And which was going to win out? The bigger of the two!
I thought about competing in tennis. If I have an opponent who is vastly more muscular than I am, and he wails on the ball, hitting it far harder than I do. If I try to play his game and wail on the ball back, I will lose. I'm trying to play his game, and he's far better at it than I am. To win, I have to come up with a different strategy. I have to use wisdom instead of muscle to find his weak spots and capitalize on my strengths.
Likewise, in the world of good vs. evil, returning evil for evil against someone who is much better at it is a losing proposition for the opponent.
Hitler was stopped militarily, eventually, but at a huge price for the world. It was inevitable that he lose the war, for the world was filled with enough morality and spirituality in high places to counter the tidal wave of hatred he sent out when attempting to rule the planet.
The lesson I picked up from this line of reasoning was, don't fight evil with evil. Go higher, to love and wisdom, as Jesus Christ did in his battle with the dark side, and then you'll win.
For a moment, I was feeling grateful that Hitler was gone, but then a little voice said, "But is he?"
What about cancer, heart disease, obesity, poverty, famine, pestilence? These claims on humanity take millions of lives every year, in much larger numbers than Hitler's concentration camps murdered innocents.
Isn't a medical diagnosis of terminal illness today equivalent to being sentenced to a concentration camp in the 1940s? This was a sobering assessment for me to consider.
Christian Science is constantly teaching its students to look beyond person to the thought forces at work behind the scenes. Hitler personified a horrendous evil in his time, but unfortunately, the authoritarian, absolute control evil wants to wield over innocent humanity is still around in different forms.
Another lesson to learn well...we must remain metaphysically ready and alert to meet the despotism of evil at all times to prevent becoming its servant, such as the Germans did when they elected Hitler into office.
I thank God for the tools Christian Science gives us to defend ourselves from modern-day Hitlers and enable us to keep thought and body out of the concentration camps of mortal mind.
"Mankind must learn that evil is not power." Mary Baker Eddy
A while back, while pondering the declining membership I’ve seen in many branch churches of the Christian Science movement, the question beckoned for attention in my mind, “What if the world no longer had Christian Science? Would it matter?”
To even consider the possibility of a world void of Christian Science teaching was depressing and disheartening because of the huge blessings I’ve seen it bring into my life and of many others. In a world overrun by materialistic ways of thinking and reasoning, the expansive spiritual perspective Christian Science offers is needed more than ever. But I learned much in arguing with the question, because it needed an answer and I know many other followers of the faith have agonized with the same.
Interestingly, as I wrestled with the question, “What if the world no longer had Christian Science?” I learned a lesson in how mortal mind works to deceive and mislead. As I reasoned, the question didn’t make sense. The implication of the question appeared impossible.
Let me explain.
The query implies that Christian Science can be lost in the first place. This will never happen. Why? Because Christian Science is not a human theory, an inspired woman’s personal sense of things, a temporal theology, a fading institution, or anything else human mind made. Christian Science explains how the universe works.
Jesus Christ understood better than anyone since his time how the universe works. Jesus understood primal cause, ultimate effect, the reality of good, and the unreality of evil. Jesus could make sense of anything and everything. He understood why things happened in the world the way they did, and what the outcome would be. He understood where he came from and where he was going. He saw the future of humanity and of himself. He understood life and death. He had the cosmos and operation of it all figured out better than Einstein, Descartes, Aristotle, Plato, and any other philosopher, scientist or observer. Jesus had the Mind of God guiding, inspiring and leading him.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, saw clearly in the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ what Jesus understood all along—how the universe works. For the sake of identification, she gave her discovery a name—Christian Science.
Christian Science is not a fad or passing fancy of the human mind that serves a temporal purpose than moves into the background while a new fad or way of thinking takes the lead. Christian Science explains how the universe works, what makes it tick and who is in charge. These facts never change. They are absolute.
For people who believe Christian Science is an institution, woman-made theory, or passing craze, the question, “What if the world no longer had Christian Science?” appears to be a plausible question. But for the thinker who understands Christian Science in its proper light, as explaining how the universe works spiritually, the question is illogical and falsely premised.
Christian Science isn’t going anywhere. It’s how things work.
Everyone, for the most part, is seeking truth to some degree in their life. A sincere mother strives to understand how to raise her children better. This is pursuit of truth. A rocket scientist searches his equations for solutions to send spaceships further into space. This is pursuit of truth. A caring politician prays for ways to better serve his or her constituency. This is a pursuit of truth. A growing infant struggles with her first baby steps in obedience to nature’s impulse to walk. This is pursuit of truth.
The pursuit of truth is ingrained into the nature of man as time rolls on. It will never stop. And because Christian Science explains and defines truth, everyone, everywhere on planet earth, and for all time to come, will be struggling, wrestling and eventually succeeding in their effort to understand what Christian Science has been teaching all along—the truth of all things.
My worry and fear of loss instantly lifted. The future of Christian Science is extremely bright. It’s not a relic of the 19th century. It’s not the outcome of one historic woman’s extremely successful healing ministry that has been largely forgotten. It’s not destined to be plopped into the dustbin of irrelevancy. It’s how the universe works, and since the universe isn’t going anywhere, and people are going to keep living in it and wanting to understand it better, Christian Science isn’t going anywhere either. It’s been here before time began, and will remain forever after time ends. It explains how the universe works, and that's a fixed reality no one can get away from.
Last spring, I lectured to youth at the Northwest Summit on the topic of living a life of meaning and purpose, how to find the right education and job to find that meaning and purpose and how Christian Science could help. The lecture was recorded and is now posted on tmcyouth.com. Here's the link...Purposeful employment: Choosing schools and careersScroll down the page and you'll see a table of several lectures given along with mine.
Iran held its presidential elections over the weekend and President Ahmadinejad declared himself the victor, despite protests from his challenger Mousavi who claimed the elections were corrupted by fraud.
Whether the elections were corrupted, I cannot say, but the heavy-handed actions Ahmadinejad’s government immediately took against Mousavi’s supporters to silence them and prevent protest cause one to wonder what motivated Ahmadinejad to act in such a paranoid defensive way.
My heart went out to the masses of young people of the country yearning for reform and more liberal policies. When ruled by authoritarian governments and “supreme rulers,” the chances of reform can seem hopeless at times. But I thought about Jesus’ promise, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
Jesus Christ knew from experience what kind of attitude and state of mental and spiritual composure puts one in a position of strength to have the final say in human affairs. The battle for justice may seem intense and foreboding for long periods of time, but divine will always wins out in the end.
My mind holds the picture of tens of thousands of citizens in Eastern Europe holding candles and assembling for peace before the fall of the Iron Curtain. It was meekness that toppled that wall of intransigence, stubbornness, coldness, misguided ideology and ego of mortal mind that tried to divide the family of man into isolated camps. And it is meekness and divine Love that will topple other forms of injustice and unfairness that mankind faces for centuries to come.
Stones, bullets and other missiles of hatred do not promote peace and harmony around the world. They often vent frustration and anger, but the ultimate weapon against injustice is meekness, wisdom, and love, like the Master proved.
Jesus Christ faced gross injustices throughout his ministry. He was treated unfairly, evilly, and without understanding. Yet, he prevailed, and has been changing the world for the better ever since. His weapon of mass destruction was not a nuclear bomb or any type of terrorist tactic. It was love. The divine Love he lived and taught destroyed, and is still destroying, the ways of the evil one.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” I pray that all enlightened reformers around the world working for the betterment of humanity, are blessed with huge doses of genuine meekness that enables them to feel the presence of divine Love, find hope and promise in its strength, and maintain confidence to continue on their progressive path.
This week’s Christian Science Bible lesson has a section on heredity. It explains that God’s preserving power is felt in understanding that we inherit only God’s goodness into our lives, and never disease, evil or mortal shortcomings.
I read the lesson real early in the morning before I did anything else, as I usually do, and before there was any stirring in the house. It truly was the beginning of my day. And I thought, “So, what did you inherit this morning that you are going to carry with you through the rest of the day?” And I asked, “Are you identifying only with God’s goodness, or are you inheriting in belief a bunch of problems from yesterday?”
Whoa…this was an eye opener to consider.
Every moment of our lives is a Spirit-moment. It’s not a matter-moment.
God is our Life, and God is good. We are spiritual beings living our eternal spiritual life now, and it’s overflowing with goodness, health, harmony and peace. As we identify ourselves correctly, we experience more and more of God’s goodness in every human activity and endeavor.
Consider your own position. What did you claim as your inheritance this morning when you arose? Did you identify with a conflict you struggled with yesterday? Did you believe you had a health problem from time past? Did you accept that you lacked something important or significant? If so, you don’t have to, because you’ve never inherited anything less than good. Lack, illness, despair, fear, and their kin, are not yours to identify with or claim and they never have been. If you think they have been a part of you, then disinherit them pronto!
The errors of yesterday are not the truths of tomorrow. God made you spiritual and free of all evil throughout all time and eternity.
Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “In proportion to our understanding of Christian Science, we are freed from the belief of heredity, of mind in matter or animal magnetism; and we disarm sin of its imaginary power in proportion to our spiritual understanding of the status of immortal being.”
There’s the key to success, folks, understanding our “immortal being!” Our immortal being is fresh everyday. It’s new every moment. It’s clean, pure and disease free.
Now this is in inheritance I can get excited about claiming. And maybe you can too...
The economic hardships many people face today are a call on all of us to be grateful more than ever for every good thing we can find in our life.
As a practitioner, I pray for supply with people who can’t afford food for the day to businessmen running multi-million dollar businesses. And one of the basic spiritual principles we almost always come back to, is to look for the good that is obvious and be grateful for it. It has been proven time and time again that the blessings you recognize opens thought to see more supply right next to it.
When I hear people in the neighborhood, on the news, or at random complain about not having enough, I ponder, “I don't think this is a time to complain." And I remember the people who have far less to keep a sense of perspective on it all.
I think of the simple life Jesus lived. He owned the garment he wore, and that was about it. Yet, he never complained about not having enough. Why? Because he knew he was rich, wealthy and totally cared for. He never saw himself as lacking. He was spiritually minded.
If Jesus was ever tempted to compare his economic situation to another’s I’m convinced that he saw himself possessing much more wealth than anyone he saw because he knew real supply was love, gratitude, joy and faith in God, which he had in great amounts. Money and possessions were as dead weight to him. And so Jesus led a perpetually grateful life. He frequently thanked God for blessings before they appeared humanly, like the time he lifted the scant loaves and fishes up to heaven before feeding the hungry thousands. Jesus never lacked.
So, anytime we are tempted to complain that we don’t have enough, that we need something more, or covet a neighbor’s paycheck, it’s a call to be more grateful for the blessings we have, for they are great! They come from God and are freely given. They are the riches of life, truth and love.
I have an office in a public place so visitors can feel free to drop in and ask questions about Christian Science. Strangers stop by randomly and at unexpected times, and I enjoy their company.
However, I've had one visitor recently that I'm not quite sure what to do with. He comes up to my door, pecks a few times, wanders around in front, makes a few noises and then eventually flies away. He's been back more than once over the last three weeks. I suppose seagulls are looking for spirituality too. I'm still listening on this one... :-) 
I had to laugh today when a woman told me her history with the coffee habit.
She said that years ago her son gave her a hard time about drinking coffee. He said to her, “Mom you need to quit drinking coffee. Don’t you realize that stuff is a drug?”
Mom replied, “Oh I only drink 3 or 4 cups a day, it’s no big deal.”
Her son came back with, “Well then, Is it okay if I smoke 3 or 4 joints a day?”
Mom suddenly had a rude awakening. She stood aghast at how comfortable she had been in drugging herself for many years and the kind of example she was setting for her children. She quit drinking, and that was the end of her coffee habit.
Spirit View Home Page
