Carving out our grand and noble lives

This is another reason why I love Christian Science: you work it. You pray, but you also demonstrate those very ideas that you are praying with. You learn to walk your talk. You heal. This is such an honest working out. One cannot harbor any sense of dishonesty, false pride or greed and still heal. The Science of it demands strict adherence to its rules.














My husband is an artist blacksmith. His work provides me with a great analogy to working in Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy says it best when she likens our thoughts to that of the work of a sculptor. She writes:

The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in order to perfect his conception. We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding and chiseling thought. What is the model before mortal mind? Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering? Have you accepted the mortal model? Are you reproducing it? Then you are haunted in your work by vicious sculptors and hideous forms. Do you not hear from all mankind of the imperfect model? The world is holding it before your gaze continually. The result is that you are liable to follow those lower patterns, limit your life-work, and adopt into your experience the angular outline and deformity of matter models.

To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right direction, and then walk that way. We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives. Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love--the kingdom of heaven--reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear.

Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

Photo by Helmut Preller

Loving those uphill climbs!

Spiritual resource to share: persistence

(updated!)

Thank you everyone for the inspiring ideas you shared in the last couple of blogs! I prayed with and sung each one of them while racing the Birkebeiner last Saturday!

A little background on the day:
The weather conditions were not good. At all. There were rumours that the whole race would be called off. Limited snowbase and warm weather created both dry and icy patches. What resulted was that the race officials decided to cut down the length of the major race from 50k to 23k; the Kortolopet from 23k to 18k and my run, the Prince Haakun run, from 12k to 7 k. One of the elite men's racers, Mike Manley of Milwaukee, had skiied the course the day before and shared that it was dangerous in spots due to the sheer ice. Many of the top competitive skiiers decided not to race - due to the race being shortened and that only the top tier of racers would be timed.

I was going to race with my friend Janet and her friend Mary. We talked about what we should do. We knew our motive was to challenge ourselves, have fun, and just be surrounded by the joy of skiing and being out in the snow and the forests. This was our first time doing the Birkie, but I couldn't see coming here to just do 7k. So I decided to join my friends and do the Kortolopet which was now 18k, instead of the Prince Haakun run, which was now 7k.

Up to that point, I had only gone 11-12k at any one stretch. That morning at breakfast with my son and friends, about an hour before we were to start, I seriously started to doubt the wisdom of this whole idea.

• We were all new at this.
• I never did 18k at one stretch.
• Conditions were far from ideal.
• Everyone else looked Nordic, in top form and looked like they had been doing this for years..

So what turned it around?

• I knew our motive was good.
• I knew I had incredible support. The ideas many of you shared, combined with the fellowship of the women I was with, encouragement from my son, and the knowledge that with God, all things are possible moved me forward.
• We were prepared physically and metaphysically.
• I prayed and it felt right to go ahead. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous, but I knew I could overcome whatever challenges I would meet.
• I have had some amazing life experiences and every time I have turned to God, these experiences have taught me more and more about God's goodness and love.
• I love opportunities where I get to learn more about God's goodness and love.

And so we began. Because the course wasn't being timed, people were welcome to put transponders which would track that we started and ended ( thus we have a record that we actually did the race), but people could start any time they wanted. So my very experienced son and I and my two friends all started together. I can honestly say that my son and I raced together, even though it was only a nanosecond. He finished in one hour and 45 minutes. We three finished just short of four hours and were the second to the last group to finish. And we finished just as they were taking down the finish line sign.

This didn't phase us at all ! We were ecstastic! When we were 100 yards to the finish line, the three of lined up side by side, held hands and crossed the finish line together! Our names were called out on the loudspeaker as we approached. People cheered! Because it was our first time, we were given medals. We were laughing out loud, people were clapping and congratulating us!

There is nothing like facing a challenge, persisting and overcoming obstacles. God's inspiration, the love of fellowship and pure joy move us forward to seeing new views of ourselves, each other ...and of God's majesty. What could be better!




To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

inspiration falling like snow

Spiritual resource to share: list of amazing quotes

(I am doing a Friday post after all.....)

Thanks so much everyone for your inspiring ideas that you posted on my last blog! I am listing them here in a format that can be printed and easily stuffed into parkas and fannypacks to be read along the race course.

I've edited them to better fit into a list format, but check out the comments section in my last blog for the full comments and to connect with some of the people who were so good to write in.

We have had unseasonably warm days, and the very races will most likely be altered if not cancelled. There is a promise of snow tonight and tomorrow, and we need three inches in order to put on a good race. I'll keep you all posted.

Here are the ideas many have shared:

You are full of love and love is the motivation behind EVERYTHING....even your sweet body of activity and joy!

"Let us lay aside every weight, ... and let us run with patience the race that is set before us ..." Hebrews 12:1

Hymn 412 - O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking; o captive rise and sing ffor thou art free; the Christ is here, all dreams of error breaking, unloosing bonds of all captivity.

I like to think about what it means to break the dream that we are bound by or dependent on a material body and I like to think about how the Christ is here now helping me to break those bonds.

"God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony and boundless bliss." -- Mary Baker Eddy
When I ran my last marathon I used hymn 144 "In atmosphere of Love divine, we live, and move, and breathe." It helped keep me going picturing myself surrounded by God.

"We are all capable of more than we do." -- Mary Baker Eddy

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run, and not be weary. They shall walk, and not faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

"You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however." -- Richard Bach

"To those leaning upon the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." -- Mary Baker Eddy

"Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." -- Mary Baker Eddy (came in handy when I caught a glimpse of The Wall at mile 22 in my first marathon)

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours." -- Richard Bach

"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man who is doing it." -- onfucius (?)

"So many men seem destined to settle for something small, but I won't rest until I know I'll have it all." -- Stephen Schwartz

"Right motives give pinions to thought and strength and freedom to speech and action." -- Mary Baker Eddy

And from the last blog......

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

All things work together for good to them who love God.

Glorify God in your body and in your spirit.

You have all the strength you need.

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and disport themselves [with joy!]. In humility they climb the heights of holiness.

I climb, with joy, the heights of Mind, to soar o'er time and space;I yet shall know as I am known and see Thee face to face.Till time and space and fear are naught my quest shall never cease,Thy presence ever goes with me and Thou dost give me peace. - #139 Christian Science Hymnal

Thanks again everyone!! Think snow!






To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

Race Day this weekend! Calling in all inspirational quotes!

Spiritual resource to share: inspiration to run with

Okay all you wonderful readers, I need your inspiration and best quotes to take along with me this weekend as I go into my first ever cross-country ski race. I have been training these last few months with my good friend (see our hardly-ever-written-in blog) and NOW I feel so ready. Yesterday I did my first 11k run and felt great.

I'll be doing the easy part of the Birkebeiner - a run called the Prince Haakon Run which is 12K. It is, I am told, a good beginner run. My friend and my son are more ambitious and will be doing the 23K Kortolopet.

To start us off, a new friend emailed the other day. He found my blog while checking out "Christian Science," was delighted to know I prayed and skiied, and shared how he had been healed through prayer while training and racing the Birkie. He also shared one of his favorite quotes:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

Going through my archive of kayaking and racing inspiration, I came across some other goodies. These are the kind of ideas that you can shout to one another over the noise of a river rapid or probably even down a ski trail:

• All things work together for good to them who love God.
• Glorify God in your body and in your spirit.
• You have all the strength you need.

Then there are others that are easy to write out and carry. These are helpful in the calm waters and eddies of a river, and would fit during a rest break available every 6K along the race course:

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Mind, joyous in strength, dwells in the realm of Mind. Mind's infinite ideas run and disport themselves. In humility they climb the heights of holiness.

Here is a good one to remember when I am soaring downhill - a good humming song:

I climb, with joy, the heights of Mind,
To soar o'er time and space;
I yet shall know as I am known
And see Thee face to face.
Till time and space and fear are naught
My quest shall never cease,
Thy presence ever goes with me
And Thou dost give me peace. (#139 Christian Science Hymnal)

Do you have any inspiration that has hit you on the slopes, the river, the track, the trail, the field or the court? It's all good.

I probably won't be posting on Friday, but will be back at my post, posting on Monday!

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

Good is not helpless

Spiritual resource to share: goodness













Some cold winter morning musings on goodness:

Good. What a word. We must say it dozens of times every day. “Good morning” Good bye!” What a good meal this is!” “Goodness!’ “Were you a good girl today?” “Is this a good deal?” “Any good news today?” etc.

But Mary Baker Eddy – a very careful wordsmith – says good is not helpless. “Evil is not
supreme; good is not helpless; nor are the so-called laws of matter primary, and the law of Spirit
secondary. "

The term “Good” is a derivative of the word “God.” And so MBEddy’s statement makes much more sense. We practice good. We do good things for one another and that makes up most of our day. The power of the good things we do for one another are part of the larger fabric of life, that keeps life going, and keeps life growing.

Good deeds are based on Love. They are life affirming and nurturing. This is not the weak stuff that is easily displaced. Goodness has eternal roots.

What about something that would threaten good. What about evil?

MBEddy tells us: "Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense." Stripped of any identity, location or energy, evil is baseless. It is no thing. That means –
It cannot claim the actions of someone.
It cannot be the animating force of anyone’s character.
It cannot take away good. (Darkness cannot take away light.)
It cannot fool you into thinking that good is weak or that goodness can easily be taken advantage of.

God is good. That means Good is principled, orderly, self sufficient, gracious, patient, all-powerful and all present. Right now we can claim that good is the only thing present. Evil motives and actions amount to nothing. Honesty is spiritual power. This is our basis and foundation for life. Nothing can be taken from it.




To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

speak once...listen twice

Spiritual resource to share: listening





Speak once, listen twice - I actually heard that at a community meeting recently. Sage advice. And powerful, too, if you can do it!

My husband has been meeting with a men's group for over 15 years. The group has actually been meeting for decades with men going in and out as they wish. There has been a core group of his friends that have been meeting now for over 10 years.

Once when all the families of this group were together, I came up to the group and joined their conversation. I had something to add and spoke. As I was speaking I had this funny sensation. It took me a while to figure out: They were all quietly listening intently. I realized that this group has so diligently crafted the skill of listening so well, that it was startling!

There are people who are excellent listeners. (I count Christian Science practitioners as some of the best listeners I know!) They take time for the person speaking. They give their full attention. They silently engage and in so doing, they create an accepting attitude so the speaker feels a freedom to let his or her thoughts flow.

There's a lot to be said for good listening. Browsing the internet proves this to be the case. Check out these quotes from the international group Listen.org:

The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. — Ralph Nichols

Effective listeners remember that "words have no meaning - people have meaning." — Larry Barker

Sometimes the most revealing part of a message isn't found in the words themselves but in the subtle messages wrapped around those words. Failure to pick up on these "secret messages" may leave you blind to what is really being communicated. . . . — Dianne Booher

Our first responsibility as effective listeners is to understand ourselves as communicators. ... (listeners)should ...know themselves. — Carolyn Coakley

Every person in this life has something to teach me -- and as soon as I accept that, I open myself to truly listening. — Catherine Doucette

The first step to effective listening is to stop talking! — Ken Fracaro

And here is some more fun stuff about listening:

LISTENING STYLES

• People listen through one of four primary styles, including people oriented,
  time oriented, action oriented and content oriented.
• Females are more likely to be people-oriented and males are more likely to be action, content, or time oriented (Barker & Watson, 2000).
• 40 % of individuals choose to listen with two or more distinct styles
  (Weaver, Richendoller, & Kirtley, 1995).
• Those with a high people-orientation have a low apprehension for receiving
  information (Bodie & Villaume, 2003).

But do listening styles differ across cultural barriers? Yes, says an Oxford Study:

Do the listening styles preferred by young adults in Germany, Israel, and
the USA differ significantly?

In order to address this question, college students in all three countries completed versions of the Listening Styles Profile (LSP; Watson et al. 1995) presented in their native languages. Factor analysis revealed four predominant constructs underlying the LSP, which were designated as people, action, content, and time listening styles.

Comparisons between the three cultures revealed distinctively different patterns of listening style preferences, with Germans preferring the action style, Israelis
endorsing the content style, and Americans favoring both the people and time styles.

And now, if you are really ambitious, you can even give yourself a test!

So, if you have hung with me thus far, and are still hungry for more listening ideas, let's go to the underlying basis of listening: LOVE.

The still, small voice of Love is what we listen for, and out of that "deep listening, life happens." Regardless of culture, age, circumstance or time, the love, respect and dignity given to the person you are listening to communicates volumes. Click here to hear one woman's account of listening to divine Love.



To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

Comfort on every side

Spiritual resource to share: comfort


In this Valentine's Day, saturated with poems of love, I thought I would write about comfort.

Anyway, an old favorite German movie "Wings of Desire" by Wim Wenders depicts angels as men in trenchcoats giving comfort and companionship to the mortals they are assigned to. The moodiness and tender beauty of this movie left me with the tangible feeling of angels among us.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy defines angels as "God's thoughts passing to man." We can feel, right now, that we have angels - Love's messages - surrounding us as we go about our day. And these angels are never more close than when we are grieving.

I had an amazing weekend with an amazing friend. She had experienced three major losses in her life recently and was working through this. It was heartening to hear her speak of these "angels" that came to her in different ways: as a friend to spend time with, memories of wonderful times and the deep lessons learned from those who had gone on, poems, getting out in the fresh air, fun movies, etc.

Other angels included recognizing the wisdom of forgiveness and the strength of the spiritual growth she garnered from those she loves. In each moment, her needs were being met. When she needed quiet, it was there, or distraction, or release from sadness, there was complete love and complete comfort.

I was most touched by how gentle all of this was. This was in the middle of a busy weekend that included training for the Birkebeiner, attending a conference about the proposed Department of Peace, lunch at Sara's Table with its owner, a remarkeable former state senator and other earnest and articulate women, attending church and having a birthday celebration.

Life is always full, and the people we love (and the people we leave) are indelibly woven into the fabric of our lives, leaving their unique reflection of divine Love's goodness, grace and spontaneity.

We are left with angels of comfort, moving us from one stage of experience to the next, making sure that we see higher, deeper and wider views of the Life and Love that is given to us from God.


So, for this Valentine's Day, I wish you all love and the rich knowledge that we are never alone, but are comforted on every side as we live and grow.







To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

global warning

Spiritual resource to share: love for our shared planet





Have I told you recently that it is cold here? We are into another day off of school for my son because the temperature is ridiculously below O degrees Fahrenheit. It has been so cold that is has lit up casual conversations with one another about what global warming might mean for us all and what we can do to reverse this.

My family recycles, keeps informed about environmental issues and supports some green groups, but underlying these actions is prayer.

Thought determines experience, and when thought is aligned with infinite Mind/infinite intelligence, we are open to literally infinite possibilities. This is where prayer comes in.

God, the Creator of the earth, saw everything that He made and announced it completely good. (See Genesis 1:31.) To take a look at the material scene, though, it would appear that deterioration, neglect, greed and ignorance have altered this view and put us on a dangerous course of further deterioration.

So, then, does God get shoved out of the picture? Hardly. And are we helpless to stop this downward spiral? Not at all. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Omnipotent Spirit ( another name for God) shares not its strength with matter or with human will." God, and all of God's attributes such as unconditional love, intelligent care, balanced systems have divine authority. God is at the helm of thought. And God is supreme good. God will not be overwhelmed.

The mental environment we accept is the physical environment we live in. So it is important that we identify with what has divine authority and work out from that basis, and accept only a mental environment that is sustainable, harmonious and pure. This then will become our physical environment.

• Out of an orderly thought comes orderly actions.
• Out of a loving thought comes loving provisions for the future.
• Out of a commitment to serve God comes a commitment to serve mankind
• And out of that commitment comes an expectation to find innovative solutions, a patience that fuels collaborative ventures and a persistence to continue working until we see the harmonious results we are praying for.
  

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.






To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

Fire, sub-zero weather and thought police

Spiritual resource to share: watchfulness

So here we are, my husband and I, sitting around our living room fire while outside the temperature is dropping way below zero. And we are talking about God and my healing practice. [I know it sounds so cliche - the fire, the cold and the talk about God ; ) ] I like hearing my husband's views on Christian Science. He has been practicing it now for quite a few years and has a fresh take on many of the truths that I have grown up with.

"So, what do you think happens with a practitioner and patient?" I asked, curious to hear his perspective.

"Well, a practitioner is kind of like the thought police. Not in the sense that they are going to be punitive about it, but that they help you guard your own thought; help to bring it in line with what is real."

Hmm. Neat image. Jesus has always given me the model of the most perfect and thorough healer, and I can see how Jesus helped others bring their thought in line with how God sees them. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy writes,

"Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick."

In Jesus' healing of the leper (see other healings including the healing of sight) he touches the person. I looked up the word touch. One definition of it is "to bring to the same level of understanding."

I could see this in my healing work. When a patient calls, we connect and I work with them to awaken thought to a spiritual reality that is foundational to being - bringing thought to that level of understanding that says "You are made in the image and likeness of God, all-good, all-loving, all-embracing good."

Policing thought is another way of "...bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Or as Mary Baker Eddy explains it and its effects: "Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously."

I love the practice. I have been both a practitioner and a patient many times now. The calm, confident and comforting assurance of a practitioner helps to "police" the thought, remove the fear, while being a companion who is gently waking thought up to yield to the all might and tender love of our eternal Father, our forever Mother, God.

I know there are a lot of you healers out there! Your thoughts??

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

weapons of mass distraction

Spiritual resource: our shared heritage

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."

Yesterday I had a serendipitous meeting in my favorite bookstore with Greg - owner, and Richard, another healer from the Anishinaabe tradition.

We talked about the recent community meeting that brought out the desires of so many people to understand and support each other. For all that happened at that meeting, the momentum to heal the hatred and prejudice in our communities and so help our children got a big boost that day.

I was glad to talk with Richard face to face. It was Richard's talk at that potentially divisive community meeting that turned the meeting around. He turned it around to see where the healing was coming from. It was coming from our willingness to step outside of our own comfort zone to connect with others and to keep connecting until we could see that there is no "other," no divisiveness.

Regardless of race, we all share a common heritage of respect and doing good for one another. This heritage goes far beyond one's heritage as an Ojibway, a white, a WASP, etc. It is spiritual. I see it as being from God.

With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science.

We kept talking. What would distract us from moving forward? It is the anger, hatred, past hurts. As Richard said, if you bring these into the conversation, we don't go forward. These, Greg added, are the weapons of mass distraction. These weapons of anger, etc. try to derail progress, a natural response to loving motives and unselfish care.

In my own healing work, I rely on my growing understanding of the law of God that states good is not helpless, that God, good, is all powerful, and governs and guides us all. This law is self-enforcing, and so good is all that CAN go forward.

The belief that something else is more powerful, more threatening, more tenacious is a belief that is itself a distraction, not a reality. It is a distraction to what is true: God's law. Removing the distraction uncovers the attraction and operation of God's law.

But all this being said.....a healthy and progressive community is all about love. And love can pull down the strong holds of racism and hate and show that we all share a heritage of love. Coffee finished, connections made, heartfelt conclusions drawn, we said our goodbyes for now and went back into the cold sub-zero with a lingering warmth of soul.

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

a friend writes: "A Memo from God"

Spiritual resource to share: our healing stories

I can't get enough of reading people's healing stories -- their accounts of being healed through prayer. In each one there is a moment, or a series of moments, where thought is turning toward a more spiritual sense of things. This comes like a big "Aha!" or a slow reasoning of the thought that yields itself to understanding more about God as all-good, all-powerful and always present. The results are life-transforming, and one of its side effects is physical healing.

Recently a friend was healed of a back situation that had him flat on his back for two days. His prayer led him to a realization of what was fundamental to his own existence -- that he was loved, supported and cared for by God - always has been, always is, always will be. To explain this, he wrote a memo as if coming from God.

Memo from God

I made you. You were created out of My love for you. You are perfect as I am perfect. Your purpose is to reflect and express Me. That is My delight, as I delight in you.

Know that it is My pleasure to bless you with love, strength, intelligence, harmony - all My qualities. In fact, I have provided you with infinite resources to do My will.

It is important that you know you are My child and the finest of My handiwork. Do not be afraid. Fear will cloud your understanding of who you are and your relationship to Me.

Understand that I love you with a perfect Love, a Love that takes away all fear.

Know that I am providing you with every resource you need to do My will in your unique way. And it is your right to enjoy your being as much as I delight in you.

What I love about this healing is not only was he up and running after a short period of time, but his whole understanding of who he is shifted. And a simple and profound Truth, that we live, move and have our being in Love, in God, was understood and this brought very practical results: in the body conforming to this Truth.

There are lots more healing stories. Check out blogs from fellow healers in the right hand column or from spirituality.com or share your own here!





To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.