Keep our head above it all

The below picture was sent to me with the caption, “Winter is almost over in Michigan and we can see the deer wandering around now.”

I laughed and laughed…


The deer making their way through the deep snow with barely enough height to keep their head above the drifts reminded me of times in life when I felt “snowed in” by fear, worry or doubt and not sure how to proceed. But I always made it through those times and moved on to something better. Spring inevitably follows winter.

This picture inspires hope. I imagine those deer are going to survive the wintry weather just fine. They look expectant and grateful, and perhaps even enjoy their romp through the soft stuff. They make the best of what they have to deal with and trust their needs to be met. In a few months time, they'll be happily chomping on lush green buds and grass all around.

The dangers of blind loyalty

Have you ever been very loyal to another, only to find yourself betrayed by them unexpectedly?

I have. In fact, recently, and I’ve been wrestling with how to prevent myself from being taken advantage of by another’s adverse change of heart in the future.

When I read the Bible lesson yesterday, the passage “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another,” jumped out for scrutiny.

In the past, I’ve interpreted this verse as wise counsel to stay out of debt, to not put yourself into a position where you’re serving creditors, and becoming enslaved to worry and fear about how to pay bills more than you are paying attention to serving your debt and duty to God.

As I listened for fresh inspiration, the words, “Owe no man your loyalty,” screamed out for attention.

I thought, “Whoa!” Isn’t loyalty a good quality? But then I thought about my recent sour experience where I did have loyalty to another, and thought they had loyalty to me, but when selfish pursuit entered the equation, without warning the loyalty suddenly meant nothing. My trust felt betrayed.

As always, I know these types of trials serve to lift us higher and closer to God.

I remembered Hymn 204 from the Christian Science Hymnal, which refers to God sending His witnesses to speak the truth, and states in part,

No trouble shall touch them, no foes that appear,
Shall e'er from their loyalty move them;

And the lightning bolt of inspiration struck me; it was loyalty to God that I needed to perfect, and not loyalty to mortals.

Loyalty to a mortal can be blind and misguided.

For example, blind loyalty to a good boss may work fine 98% of the time, but if the boss had a temporary lapse in ethics or discretion, our unwitting compliance could lead to evil consequences that harm the innocent and injure our career.

Mortals are fallible.

But divine Mind is infallible, and this is where our loyalty needs to be placed—to the right and the true, to the moral and the spiritual, and not into mistake-prone mortals.

When we put our trust in God, rather than in man, we are able to more clearly sort out the right from the wrong and make better decisions for everyone involved. This rule works for marriage, family, church and any other relationship we are involved with.

“Owe no man your loyalty…” and no man will be able to violate your trust and faith.

Throw my loyalty more consistently to Truth, I decided, and my relationships with others still would be healthy and a joy, but also strengthened, protected and purified by my commitment to right and keener discernment of lurking errors that need to be admitted and faced up to along the way before they stab me in the metaphorical back.

I feel a lot lighter today! No burden of false loyalty to carry around anymore...

Cheers

That sinking feeling

My son and I went snowmobiling today, but it was not a good day to go out.

It had been snowing about an inch an hour for some time where we went to sled in the Blue Mountains. The snow cover was very soft for several feet in some places, which was ideal for getting a snowmobile stuck big time!

We carefully wove our way up a trail to the top of Balloon Tree Ridge, but the conditions were so bad with the wind, cold and snowfall, I decided it was not safe to be up there. I drove off the trail at one point into a huge clearing in order to make a wide circle and head back down the mountain.

I could not see very well, and when I was way out in the clearing on the top of a mountain that was miles from home base my snowmobile started sinking into fluff that would not end. My sled slowed and slowed, spinning faster and faster but covering less and less ground. It was that dreaded sinking feeling no snowmobile driver wants to feel!

Images of being miserably stranded flashed through my mind.

In my habit of praying in times like this, I threw a quick prayer out to God for help.

I got back the message, “Do not give up. Do not slow down. Do not stop!” I was sinking so fast, it was tempting to concede failure, let go of the throttle, and quit. The sensation of hopelessness was sweeping over me faster than the wind that howled around me.

If I would have let go of the throttle even a bit, I would have gone down like a lead anchor. But I gave it more gas as I was told, and kept pushing forward.

I visualized a hand of God sweeping out of the sky, positioning itself under the rear of my sled and bumping me out of trouble. As I warmed over with trust in divine Love’s ever-protecting care, I gained confidence I would get out. The track caught solid snow and jetted me to freedom.

I thanked God all the way back home.

The spiritual lesson I took down the mountain was the need to not lose confidence when confidence is most needed. And I don’t mean mere human confidence, but spiritual confidence in God’s ever-present care.

I thought about Peter walking on the water.

He at first succeeded in taking several steps when he knew he could do it. But as soon as he looked around at the tempestuous circumstances and the supposed impossibility of what he was doing, he “let go of the throttle.” He “let up on the gas,” lost his confidence and sunk.

I wanted to learn from my experience and not "let up on the gas" like Peter did when I'm supposed to keep moving ahead.

If we lose faith in any circumstance, sink and get stuck, there is still a way out and God provides the aid needed. But it’s a lot easier to keep on going and skip the getting stuck part in the first place! I decided.

I’m looking at other areas in my life now where I need to keep my “thumb on the throttle” and not let up.

One example I thought of is, if I come into contact with people who have a reputation for getting upset, angry and making life difficult for others. If I were to think, “Oh, here we go again,” and expect trouble and hate to take over, I would be preparing my thought to sink into darkness. I would be “letting up on the throttle” of blasting full speed ahead with a trust in the omnipotence of Love to govern.

I'm looking for other instances too. You may have some to share.

Christian Science has taught me to not fear hatred and evil, and also to have confidence in the omnipresence of Love and the omnipotence of God. The more faith I have in God’s infinite goodness, the more confident I am in experiencing that goodness wherever I am, I’ve discovered. Trust and confidence in God enables me to keep my “thumb on the throttle,” and not “let up on the gas,” until I’ve made it to safe ground.

The hand of God is always underneath, around and above to rescue us from difficulty, lift us out of “sinking scenarios” and keep us free. And knowing this truth can help prevent that "sinking feeling" in the first place.

God holds you up

I’ve always been leery of walking to the ledge of a deep canyon and peering over the edge. It’s a ridiculous fear, I know, but one I’ve never fully come to terms with until last month when walking the rim of the Yellowstone Canyon.

While approaching one viewing platform that sat 1500 feet above the bottom of the abyss on top of a small piece of rock jutting out from the canyon wall, I stopped to read a plaque that said a previous viewing platform had been 100 feet further out in the canyon. But in 1978 an earthquake crumbled the walk to the bottom of the hole.

“Oh, great,” I thought. “What if an earthquake hit today and the new platform went crumbling to the bottom with me standing on it?”

I looked up, and the destination ahead looked precarious indeed as if dangling out in the middle of space with no source of support.

I took this as a lesson on how mortal mind plants unwarranted fears and doubts into our thinking and holds us hostage to them if we don’t kick them out with spiritual truth.

For me, hovering over an incredibly deep hole in the ground may create some antsy feelings. For others, speaking in front of a thousand people may produce a few jitters, or getting on an airplane, or asking for a pay raise. But any fears come down to one lie, and that is, that God is not in control.

I was not going to shy away from this opportunity to conquer fear. I was going to look over the steep edge of the railing ahead. I knew.

As I approached the wide open space, I thought about how a few days previous I had absolutely no fear about entering the Lewis and Clark Caverns and walking into the heart of the earth through skinny narrow caves and very confined spaces. Evidently, some people fear the experience for the guide had made a big deal about how there was no turning back at one point. So, I thought, why should I have any less confidence and sense of security now?

There was no sound reason, I concluded.

Then I asked, “Why do I fear walking to the edge of this precipice?” The answer was simple. “What if the ground failed underneath?”

Suddenly the premise of my fear was unveiled, I felt.

I was afraid because I was depending upon rocks and earth, or matter, to hold me up, and of course, I would be nervous, because I had no trust in matter. I was spiritually programmed to not trust matter, and I didn’t.

But I had no fear in the cave, which mortal mind could have gone wild with “What ifs…” So, why should I have any more fear here? I pondered. Wasn’t the cave just as material as this canyon wall? I asked. Maybe not, I reasoned. In the cave, for whatever reason, I was not thinking of it as a material experience. I was so caught up into the beauty, wonder and surprise of it all, that the trip was much more a Mind-experience than a so-called matter experience.

There was no sound reason, for my canyon fear, I concluded. The concern was one of those unwarranted conjectures of mortal mind that seems real when believed, but had no logical basis to back it up.

So I changed the premise of my reasoning. As Christian Science explains so beautifully, we do not live in a universe of matter, but of Mind. It’s not matter that holds us up, but the forces of Spirit.

As I advanced down the path, I decided that I was not walking out onto a material ledge, but exploring in the universe of divine Mind.

Mary Baker Eddy astutely wrote,

“Spirit is the life, substance, and continuity of all things. We tread on forces. Withdraw them, and creation must collapse. Human knowledge calls them forces of matter, but divine Science declares that they belong wholly to divine Mind, are inherent in this Mind, and so restores them to their rightful home and classification.”

I was going to rely upon the forces of Mind to hold me up, keep me safe and protected, not upon what mortal mind called matter. The forces of Love were ever-present, above, below, around and beneath. I could proceed with no fear.

The jitteriness disappeared as I went all the way to the ledge and enjoyed the view. And even more, celebrated a victory over an unwarranted fear!

Trusting the unseen

All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing stuck in Mind

Sometimes I have an unpleasant experience which I wish was not happening at the time it was happening, but it happens anyway.

Ever had one of those?

I had one last week.

It was lunchtime. I grabbed a newspaper with one hand, a hard Anjou pear with the other, and sat down to eat. In too much of a hurry, I bit the pear and quickly found myself gagging on the bite which when straight down my throat without a single chew first.

My life flashed before my eyes as jumped to my feet and gasped and fought for breath but couldn’t find any. The pear piece was jammed, and in a very bad place.

Realizing no person was around to help, I did remember God was there! In my plea for divine intervention, I accepted that no matter what the material senses were telling me, my life could not be taken from me, not by a pear, not by an accident, not by a mishap.

No sooner did I quit fighting physically, and calm down, I realized that I could breathe. The pain was terrible, but I could get air down the appropriate channel. I relaxed and turned wholeheartedly to God for complete resolution.

But relief did not come fast.

I repented of being in a hurry to eat in the first place. I realized more divine grace could have been expressed and less hurry-hurry mentality. That realization felt good and progressive. I knew God forgave me too.

I felt better spiritually, but my throat situation still felt unbearable.

I felt so desperate at one point that I stood on my head to see if it would help. It didn’t! And I’m glad no one was around, for I was quite a spectacle I’m sure.

I quickly got past trying to physically remove the piece though, for nothing was working in that direction. I gained complete trust that Mind was going to get the chunk out of there one way or the other.

After four hours of consecrated prayer covering every pertinent topic I could think of, and no relief, I finally asked myself, “Why can’t I feel perfect and healed right now?”

And the answer came clear.

“Because you believe a piece of pear is stuck in your throat.”

Duh! Yes, I knew that! But suddenly the angel message made sense.

I had spent all afternoon spiritualizing my thought so this healing could happen, and every prayer was necessary, but I was still clinging to the belief that a chunk of matter mass was stuck in my throat.

I remembered a favorite phrase of mine when working on outdoor projects. If a bolt was rusted in place or an axe head unyieldingly lodged in a log, I might echo, rather playfully, “It’s stuck!”

This pear piece definitely felt stuck! I decided to redeem my consciousness from the belief that anything could get stuck when it ought not to be stuck.

Maybe I was a victim of my own casual acceptance of things sometimes getting stuck. I wondered.

The concept of “stuck” implies unyielding, unmoving, fixed and stubborn.

Nothing is stuck in Mind, I declared. Whatever Mind wants, Mind gets, for Mind makes it happen through its own power and abilities. It was Mind’s will that I express Life freely without impediment, obstacle or obstruction, I felt strongly.

I remembered that I lived in a universe of Mind, where everything and every occasion expressed intelligence and wisdom. In Mind, there are no stuck relationships, no stuck healings, no stuck projects, no stuck perspective, no stuck attitudes and no stuck pear pieces!

I even prayed to see the nothingness of matter. The fear I had struggled with all afternoon was having a too large piece of food trying to go down a much smaller hole. This dilemma was easily resolvable in Mind, I finally saw.

In Mind, things are thoughts. The pear was an idea, throat was symbolic for an idea, and eating was a metaphor for an idea in action. Ideas are not physically large or small. They are metaphysical. They do not have physical dimensions that are either too large or too small. Every idea is always just right.

Activity is not matter mass elbowing with each other, but ideas expressing divine functions. So, I concluded, whatever the idea of eating was, Mind was the one doing the “eating” and Mind could handle a bite of any size. Matter-mass was a mortal mind concept I could dispense with and not be troubled by any longer.

Metaphysically considered, divine Mind could swallow a large bite of pear as easily as a small bite. And the idea of throat could handle whatever Mind sent its way. In Mind, there were no large bites or small throats. There was just harmonious activity, every idea working in harmony with another. The idea of eating a pear could never conflict with Mind’s ability to handle the bite, and the one intelligent Mind would never allow a conflict to occur in the first place.

The “throat” of divine Mind was free and clear of all food pieces, I decided, and so my sense of throat, guided by this truth, had to be clear too.

After this prayer, I truly felt like my praying was finished, like I had arrived. The piece still felt stuck, but I had no fear of it. I headed to the tennis club to play singles with spittoon cup in hand, for I could not swallow. But was absolutely confident all was well.

Ten minutes into warm-up, I swallowed and realized the pear piece was gone. I exalted in God’s love and care the whole evening, and won my match too.

Nothing is stuck in Mind.

If something appears stuck in matter, go to Mind, and Truth will jar the obstinate fear loose of its seeming grip, and all will be found well.

Ah, freedom…

Benefits of trust

Speed happens when people...truly trust each other.

~ Edward Marshall

Worry less, trust more

I don't know who said this, but it carries a thought-provoking message:

Worry doesn't help tomorrow's troubles, but it does ruin today's happiness.

The best way to conquer worry is to trust God.

Worry often comes from trying to figure life's events out ourselves. But God always has a plan at work on our behalf, and it's designed for success. The less we worry, and the more we trust God, the sooner we see the divine plan unfolding before our eyes, and life's events make more sense.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs

What do you trust?

Have you ever glanced through an issue of National Inquirer or Star magazine? If so, did you believe everything you saw on their pages?

If you are a reader outside the US, you may be unfamiliar with these tabloids, but I imagine you have similar publications in your country. They are the type of magazine that frequently get sued by Hollywood stars they write about for falsifying facts, making wild and unsupported claims and drawing exaggerated pictures of reality.

While waiting in a grocery store line to buy food, I noticed the periodicals prominently displayed in a kiosk nearby. The pictures looked tampered with and the headlines were highly sensational.

I thought, “These magazines are an excellent example of why one cannot trust the material senses. They print pictures that are doctored to make a misimpression and they manipulate words that mislead the reader into believing a lie.”

In pondering the message further, I saw lessons for spiritual healing.

Mortal mind frequently tampers with the body to make it look sick and messes with human thought to create sensations of illness. If we are not alert to how mortal mind is mentally tinkering and creating sensations that misguide thought, we might start believing what we’re seeing through the eyes and feeling through the nerves, and thus conclude that we have to be ill when we do not have to suffer.

Like reading magazines of questionable content, from a strictly outward view, the altered pictures look real and the words are undeniably present in print. If you believe everything you see and read you are liable to get duped by misrepresentations. Experience teaches us to be wiser, to question the external evidence and seek out truth.

To succeed in spiritual healing, we cannot believe what the eyes tell us and what sensation reports. The corporeal senses are the agents of mortal mind which often get steered in a dangerous and harmful direction. We must go to Truth, to divine Science, and learn the spiritual facts of being in order to reason wisely and keep our mental defenses from being penetrated by error.

Christian Science explains what Truth is and how to rely upon it for protection. It's teachings are explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, a book that clearly defines Truth and distinguishes it from the errors of sense that lead to wrong conclusions.

Basically, Christian Science explains that we are spiritual beings reflecting a heavenly God that has permanently endowed us with health, harmony and life. As we identify ourselves spiritually,--as God’s ever-present manifestation of health and well being,--we keep ourselves from being duped by mortal mind’s suggestions through the material senses that we are vulnerable, victimized mortals who have to suffer.

We don’t have to suffer. We can stay well, and Truth is our faithful guide to this preserved state of being.

If you're looking out from a material perspective, don't believe everything you see! There's a better view to take in, and Christian Science helps you find it.

Safety and the unknown

Sent to me by a reader...

In her classic poem “The Gate of the Year,” the poetess M. Louise Haskins penned the lines:

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!”

The man 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.”

(In Masterpieces of Religious Verse, ed. James Dalton Morrison, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1948, p. 92.)

Hanging out on a limb?

A man tripped and fell off a cliff. Tumbling over the edge and plunging to certain death he grabbed hold of a shrubby bush sticking out of the rock. Dangling in space and filled with terror, he called out to above, “Is there anyone up there?”

A calm, powerful voice boomed out of the sky, “Yes, there is.”

The tourist pleaded, “Can you help me? Can you help me?”

The steady voice replied, “Yes, I can.”

“What do you want me to do?” The tourist pleaded.

“Let go of the bush, and you’ll be fine.” The deep voice instructed.

There was a long tense pause. The tourist then yelled, “Is there anyone else up there?”