Lay your burdens down -revisited

Spiritual resource to share: freedom from resentment

I felt I had a perfectly justifiable reason to feel this disgust. I had been a part of a noble effort to uphold a cause that was near and precious to me. Others I would have normally depended to help uphold this issue  were distracted into ignoring this effort and some even maligned it. I buried my anger and took up the fight without them. We gained some ground, lost some ground, and life went on.


A couple of decades later this anger surfaced in a very subtle way. I found myself becoming dismissive to anyone who even slightly resembled this type of distracted and reluctant thought. This grew to feeling contempt  towards others. Every time I recognized these thoughts, however, I would replace them, and gain some ground on the front of loving my neighbors as myself.


As I continued to grow in my healing practice, I realized that I needed to root out these feelings of contempt, once and for all.  There is simply no room for anything in a healing thought, but love.


A good friend once defined sin as a boulder. One voluntarily picks up the boulder, carries it around for however long they want and then decides when they want to lay it down. The sin is never a part of them.


I also realized that if I was seeing others as misguided (or in any way sinful), that I have planted in my thought the possibility that others could be misguided.  I too could be misguided. So, in essence, if I am seeing another as sinful, I have picked up my own boulder! No wonder I feel burdened!


In my prayer, I realized that God knows nothing about the human drama. It is so irrelevant to life, that God does not even acknowledge it. Whereas I don't ignore what others are saying or doing, I realized that the human drama of apathy, resentment, distraction only has the power we give it -- it simply has no reality or power of its own. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.


When we pray, we let in the light. We accept that there is another way to see things. We follow the Christ, who multiplies our efforts to see and to do good things. Thought totally shifts from a material basis to a spiritual.


Then, if God doesn't know it, why should I? Why should I experience any type of discord?


And why did Christ Jesus say that we could cast all our cares on him?  He said that  "my yoke is easy, my burden in light." What did he know? Perhaps he knew that the only real thing going on is God's activity.
Christ Jesus could take on our burdens because he knew their weight - nothing. And he knew the allness, the thoroughness of God's pure and perfect control of each of Her ideas.


Each idea of God (this includes each person, each activity, each group) is coordinate, harmonious, self-less and helpful. I realized that I cannot lose anything good. And if this is true for me, it is true for others. No one can lose anything good.


I can lay my burdens down. The battle is not mine, but God's and Truth is always the victor. With this, I felt God’s power and love. I felt power in my ability to replace apathy and contempt with compassion for others, who may be feeling that they are fighting an uphill battle. I felt power in my ability to reflect God's love. And I felt more freedom and joy in my days.

Prayer: speaking Truth to power*

Spiritual resource to share:  trust in one power, God



I woke up this morning thinking of the Lord's Prayer and how important it is to the healing of all oppression and conflict, whether we are talking about Libya, the protests in my home state of Wisconsin, or personal struggles.

Oppression seems to be about fear of limited power.  Its extreme forms must come from an extreme fear that power is limited to only a select number of people.  Fear of losing power is one side of the coin and feeling powerless is the other side.  The whole coin needs to be tossed aside.  When we pray, we recognize only one power, infinite God, and that prayer can unify men and nations. 

I took the Lord’s Prayer and its spiritual interpretation as found in Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and used that as my guide. The Lord’s Prayer is considered the most succinct prayer that Christ Jesus gave us, and covers all human needs. Mary Baker Eddy also said of this prayer “Only as we rise above all material sensuousness and sin, can we reach the heaven-born aspiration and spiritual consciousness, which is indicated in the Lord’s Prayer and which instantaneously heals the sick.”



Here are my thoughts that ran parallel to the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father-Mother God, whose nature is all good, the source of Truth, the place of Love and the origin of all Life.

All that is sacred and all that animates life is found in You.


The blueprint for justice comes out of Your design for all of Your creation. The signs and the seeds of justice, mercy, honor, dignity and peace are everywhere.

We can trust Your supremacy to guide all our actions, all our thoughts in times of joy and in times of strife. Truth is inevitable and has the only power there is. Your law of order and calm is pervasive and supreme.


Your grace feeds our hungering hearts. We are fed with the assurance of seeing Your design of Love demonstrated in our present day experiences.


Our forgiveness melts and gives way to blessing. We drop the burden of anger and offensiveness and Love is revealed. Your love for Your creation blossoms into brotherly love. We forgive and are forgiven and harmony prevails.

We are no longer tempted to indulge in appetites of revenge, disorder, fear and hatred but are naturally compelled to the freedom of finding and the hope of discovering infinite ways to bless mankind. Love leads us to solutions.

In the final analysis, Truth is always the victor and Love never fails. God’s justice and mercy trump all. God’s justice, mercy, Truth and Love are everything.

Note:  Here is the full Lord's Prayer and its spiritual interpretation (in italics) given by Mary Baker Eddy:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,


Hallowed be Thy name.
Adorable One.

Thy kingdom come.
Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is omnipotent, supreme.

Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And Love is reflected in love;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.

 
 
*speaking Truth to power is a phrase attributed to the American Friends Service Committee in Speak Truth to Power : A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence (1955)

Prayer as protest

Spiritual resource to share:  power of good
 

From the civil rights movement in the 60’s to the falling of the Berlin wall to recent events in Egypt and the Middle East, prayer is oftentimes the muscle behind the movements that have blessed mankind. However,  sometimes prayer is  portrayed as a tool for dominating others or even just simply  wishful thinking. 

But Mary Baker Eddy wrote that “Desire is prayer… ”  Our deepest desire  is prayer that goes beyond material comforts and personal recognition to the spiritual – our desire to realize  our innate freedom, joy, intelligence, love and productivity.  For that reason, prayer is a protest against anything that would undermine the expression of those spiritual ideals.

Christ Jesus’s healing works were based on  his "...humble prayers (that) were deep and conscientious protests of  Truth,--of man's likeness to God and of man's unity with Truth and Love. ”

This conversation (below) played out on my facebook wall talking about the situation in Madison where tens of thousands of protesters are fighting against a controversial bill regarding collective bargaining rights and unions.  It speaks of the fears and hopes of many:

W: As the subtitle of the Christian Science Monitor article explains, the union protesters are "defending their most cherished ideals. " As history shows us, that takes more than prayer. Jesus himself did far more than praying. Oh, but I wish mere praying would solve the problem. I am quite frankly, scared. Perhaps I'm scared because I know too much (Ph.D. in political science, J.D. in law). Very scared 

P: As far as protest and prayer, I think that true protest IS a prayer and is really nothing without it; anger has absolutely nothing to do with it. Clearly there is great need for reform in many areas and these are all opportunities to come together in the spirit of Love and unity to work these things out... that's the spirit I'll be going to the protests in tomorrow :)

K: W, I'm so glad to be connecting with you again! You got me thinking about prayer. To me, there is no such thing as mere prayer. Prayer (going beyond denomination) is aligning thought with the power of Love, of Truth and of Principle. Thought imbued with this prayer is the basis for all actions that have brought peaceful, productive and progressive results.

Fear, blame, power struggles, frustration and posturing will not accomplish anything of substance.  (Have they ever?)

Our deep and conscientious protests of Truth can affirm the power of good and affirm every person’s ability to reflect integrity, humility and love for our fellowman.  That is power.  And that is the foundation for a solution that will be a blessing.

protection of prayer in Egypt

Spiritual resource to share: living your truth

These pictures were taken off of a site showing Christians guarding Muslims in prayer.  (Egypt's Coptic Christians use the tattoed cross on their inner wrist to identify themselves as Christians.  Read here for more info.)


There is not much to add to a picture like this.  Thousands are praying for a peaceful restoration of order and right government.  This picture of unselfish courageand the desire to protect others inspires me to step out and add my prayer. 

The prayer that I want to share is one that has been prayed for millenia.  It is a song of hope and safety: Psalm 91 


Background on the 91st Psalm from Resources for your Ministry:


"Luther said of Psalm 91, “This is the most distinguished jewel among all the psalms of consolation.” It is not certain who authored its words (David, Moses?), but we do know that this is a psalm for times of danger. Still, it is cheerful and full of comfort, unlike Psalm 90 which is somber and full of concern. The psalmist is encouraging both himself and his audience of the wisdom of trusting the Most High God, for He is able to protect us from any danger....  It all results in a statement of strong confidence in the care of the Lord—in all the circumstances of life— and calls us to rest in Him."

Psalm 91 (New International Version, ©

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

healing prayer: a super power or divinely natural?

Spiritual resource to share: miracles


When I told my friend, a physical therapist, about the time I had been healed of abdominal pains through prayer, she was surprised. “That’s just like magic!” was her immediate response.


But it wasn’t magic. It seemed perfectly natural to me that when we turn to God, expectant and listening, that we find healing. This is the way we dealt with all illnesses and injuries in our family, through Christian Science healing prayer.

Physical healing in Christian Science comes from realizing a law of being – a divine law of being. When applied (that is when it is understood), the body responds.


This is similar to when you have a happy thought, the face smiles. What is in our thought is made manifest in the body. So it is very important that we determine what is in our thought. Prayer aligns our thought to God – an all-powerful force of Love and harmony. Aligning one’s thought with harmony, brings harmonious results.


Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, a system of healing based on Christ Jesus’ works and teachings, explains “Miracle” as that which is divinely natural, but must be learned humanly. She goes on to say that “ these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural.”

For more stories of physical healings brought on through prayer as taught in Christian Science, check out spirituality.com.

To read more about healing prayer, read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

La Silla de Familia --- The Family Chair

Recurso espiritual de compartir: el consuelo y paz de Dios

Tengo un recordatorio dulce de ternura de Dios y todo-presencia que me gustaría compartir con ustedes.

Cuando mi más joven (Gabe) era un niño y bebía su leche, mi más viejo (Micah) tenía tres años. Cuando esto vino el tiempo para una alimentación, Micah y yo nos sentaríamos en una silla de gran tamaño cuando sostuve a Gabe. Mi hijo mayor se sentó silenciosamente y sostuvo los pies de su hermano y hablaríamos. A veces éramos tranquilos. La silla consiguió ser conocida como la Silla de Familia..

La tranquilidad y la satisfacción entonces me recuerdan de las mismas calidades espirituales que están disponibles a cada uno de nosotros cuando rezamos.

Cuando rezamos, nos sentamos en un espacio con el cuarto en el pensamiento para cada uno amamos. Estamos en las armas de Amor. Somos seguros. Escuchamos y aprendemos de paz de Dios, gracia y permanencia. Aprendemos que Dios es Todo. Confiadamente recibimos aquel alimento de Dios que nos refuerza y hace que nosotros crezcamos. A veces nos hablamos a Dios. A veces somos tranquilos y sólo escuchamos. Somos colocados y en nuestro lugar derecho.

'Tome de nosotros ahora la tensión y la tensión, y deje a nuestras vidas pedidas admitir la belleza de Su paz.' - John Greenleaf Whittier

English version.........................................................................................

Spiritual resource to share: God's comfort

I have a sweet reminder of God's tenderness and ever-presence that I would like to share with you.

When my youngest (Gabe) was an infant and still nursing, my oldest (Micah) was three. When it came time for a feeding, Micah and I would sit on an oversized chair as I held Gabe. My older son would sit quietly and hold his brother's feet and we would talk. Sometimes we would just be quiet. The chair got to be known as the Family Chair.

The quietness and nourishment being given at that time stays with me. I see in it the same spiritual qualities that are available to each of us when we pray.


When we pray, we sit in a space with room in thought for everyone we love. We are in the arms of Love. We are safe. We listen and learn of God's peace, grace and permanence. We learn that God is All. We trustingly receive that nourishment from God that strengthens us and causes us to grow. Sometimes we talk to God. Sometimes we are quiet and just listen. We are settled and in our right place.  God is holding our feet.




"Take from us now the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace." - John Greenleaf Whittier




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: true power in organizations

These statements have persistently intrigued me: that good is not helpless; truth always triumphs and love never fails. The power behind these absolute statements forms the basis for their expression.

So - I have puzzled - how do you engage with organizations that seem to fall flat of ethical and noble goals? Who have told outward lies, blatantly disregarded laws? Quitting those organizations is one option. Staying with and trying to bring about change is another. Both responses to these moral dilemmas are difficult.

Once a group hired a non-professional musician who was earnest and consistent and, as one friend said, "he plays most of the right notes most of the time." This grateful and compassionate approach helped me to see how I could engage with other groups where I didn't always agree with how they operated. I could see the good that they do and work with that.

But this went deeper. This wasn't a Pollyanna approach.

I understand that good works are born of honesty, commitment, dedication and selflessness and are powerful. In fact, these are the only qualities that accomplish anything worth accomplishing!

Deeply understanding the fixed nature of good trumps the mesmeric and discouraging aspects of greed, selfishness and even criminal thought that would bring on apathy and a sense of hopelessness.

Understanding the nature of good also heightens our awareness of good so that we don't mistake well intentioned efforts incorrectly.

I realized that it doesn't matter how many people are involved in an organization or how many differing opinions arise in the operation of an organization. Good will prevail.

Tangled bureaucracy, rumor mills, gossip and lawlessness do not have an absolute or spiritual basis. They can't stand.

Like a blade of grass pushing up in a desert - Truth, Life and Love - all elements of good - are insistent. Truth slices away at the tons of conflicting opinions like sand dunes drifting back and forth. Love plants its roots deeply. Life continues to create and perpetuate Life.

I continue to apply these ideas to my own life, the smaller groups I belong to and those larger groups that are fighting genocide, are encouraging earth stewardship and global efforts toward peace.

A human organization with noble goals is working its purpose out as surely as I am understanding and fine-tuning my life purpose.

Compassion, patience and an absolute hold on the power of Truth continue to guide me and remove any baggage as surely as it is guiding each of those organizations that I am committed to. I found I need to be as patient and persistent with these groups as I hope others are with me.

This can only bear good fruit. Love never fails; Truth always triumphs; and good is never helpless.

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.

Spiritual resource to share: our moral excellence

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?” “Good dog!" “Is this a good deal?” “Any good news today?” etc. 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 Eddy’s statement makes much more sense.

We practice good. Or, said another way, we do good things for ourselves and for one another and that makes up most of our day.

Goodness in life may get lost in the fabric of everyday life, but without that good life, the fabric of life unravels. The power of the good things we do keeps life going, and keeps life growing.

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

Evil has all the characteristics of a mistake. By stripping it of its identification with a person, place, or thing, 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, because God is omnipresent. Another aspect of moral excellence, or goodness, is honesty. "Honesty is spiritual power. " This is our basis and foundation for life.

Our day starts with goodness. And throughout our day, we can see this goodness everywhere.







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.

Praying for the world...healing conflict

Spiritual resource to share: our insights

TMCYouth.com has got some great conversations going -- on all kinds of topics! Check them out here. A weekly poll asks visitors how they are praying for the world on a variety of issues. This is mine about healing conflict.

Conflict anywhere can be boiled down to a belief in limitation or division fueled by fear.When there is the thought of limited resources (which could be land, money, inheritance, homes, opportunity, time or people, etc.), there can be conflict among two people or groups to get this resource.The belief of division arises when there is a conflict of opinions, a fear of being separated from something good or rightfully one’s own, deterioration of meaning (which could be one’s identity or sense of belonging, physical well-being, mental health).

MBEddy instructs that we “always begin (our) treatment by allaying the fear of patients . And we handle fear by our growing confidence in understanding Love’s accurate, active and thorough power to annihilate anything unlike God, good. Love and Principle have all power. That means hatred, conflict, fear, doubt do not.

I found this quote helpful: “The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right".

When I read about conflicts such as the Palestinian/Israeli one, I can replace the conflict, violence and hatred with the highest right of God’s governance. By not empowering evil, I open thought to affirm God’s power. I recognize that, right where conflict seems to be, there is the Christ, actively and persistently claiming victory. Truth always triumphs and Love never fails. And that is where I take my stand.







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.

Some musings on the entering the "closet of prayer"

Spiritual resource to share: the clarity of words

If all of nature teaches of God's love to man, then it has taken all of nature to get me to the point of understanding the practical dimension of prayer, with a nod of thanks to my teachers: the pines, lakes and broad sky.

What I’ve most noticed about living here in the northwoods is that there is a lot of space between words. Let me explain. I can think – and there are few other distractions squeezing into my thought space. I can walk in large and open frozen lake fields and among tightly grown harvesting pines and not be ruffled by opinions or glamour.

Unlike the city, invigorating as it is, where I go outside and my words are layered onto a cacophony of billboards, traffic, and other conversations; here I say one thing and it goes zinging into the open air. Each word has its own stage, and is given its own weight.

I don’t need to shout. There is no din. My thoughts do not compete with distracting elements and do not conform to editorial agendas.

It gives me a new sense of what is purposeful and prayerful.

My thoughts and words turn to prayer. In prayer, I am not trying to make a point or to defend or convince others. Stripped of ambition, competition and cleverness, my thoughts and words are naked. They form in their own atmosphere of intelligence and clarity. They rise up like a bubble from the depths of some lake and pop on top to the perfect word. They are delivered for the joy of seeing thought articulated.

My prayer is full of words with integrity because prayer is affirming what God has always known. My prayer words blend with God's word, and I know more of God than I did before.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." My prayer transforms me and the words are made flesh.





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.

Say amen somebody!*

Spiritual resource to share: one another's blessings

Staging at the Obama Inauguration 1.20.09

What can I say after a day packed with inspiration? Only to repeat what has already been shared.

Here is an excerpt from Reverend Lowery's benediction blessing at the Inauguration yesterday: (Thanks Maggie for posting this on facebook.)

The Rev. Joseph Lowery's Benediction:

"God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far along the way,
Thou who has by Thy might led us into the light,
keep us forever in the path, we pray,
lest our feet stray from the places, our God,
where we met Thee, lest our hearts,
drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand --
true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.

[...]

Help us then, now, Lord,
to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
when tanks will be beaten into tractors,
when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree,
and none shall be afraid;

when justice will roll down like waters
and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest,
and in the joy of a new beginning,
we ask you to help us work for that day
when black will not be asked to get back,
when brown can stick around -- (laughter) --
when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) --
when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) --
and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: Say amen --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

(Cheers, applause.)

See the whole benediction here:



*Say Amen Somebody is a little known documentary about the history of the American Gospel movement. A long time favorite of Rick's and mine.

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.

"American Prayer"

Spiritual resource to share: noble deeds



There are some actions taken - like this music video - that so effectively touch the heart, that the differences in race, age, orientation, education, party afiliation and gender fade in a united effort to hope, to pray and to become those actors of noble things.

These days, and this age is demanding from us our nobility. My prayer is that we remember that we are the children of God, "the noblest work of God" sings a hymn. We can do noble things.

American Prayer - Dave Stewart (Barack Obama Music Video)
Source: www.youtube.com









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.

healing in the chapel -revisited

Spiritual resource to share: prayer for the community


When it comes time for me to put in my volunteer time at the hospital's chapel, it gives me a space to pause and pray big. This isn't a time where I treat every single prayer request that gets written in the chapel's "Prayer Request" notebook. But it is a time where my prayer goes out to affirm that life and hope trump death and despair in this hospital, this community and everywhere.

Today's prayer requests cover a wide range: for the healing of pain, to bring unity to departments and families, for recovery. I notice there are many requests for prayer on behalf of others: a son-in-law, an uncle, the survivors from the Peruvian earthquake, the laundry staff, a sister, a mother, the family.

With my prayer, I don't try to bring God down to the level of human misfortune, but raise my thought to God - to God's perfection, love and constant care.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

This might be called a prayer of affirmation and gratitude and of a desire for growth in the understanding of God as omnipotent. I see God as all-good. This is intriguing to me and as I pray, I keep seeing how much of the flotsam of daily thought I can shed to feel a totally loving and powerful presence of God.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

It is clear that God does not cause suffering, nor is God changeable - from angry, to appeased, pleased, etc. God is constant.

God is love.

Would God use suffering as a tool to make us turn to Him? I don't think so. Would a loving parent purposefully cause harm to their child, in order for the child to turn to them? Mistakes, disease, evil are not God ordained but are the absence of God.

The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love.

My prayer is to affirm that the Christ is already active in all of these requests -and that Christ's harmonizing influence can be felt whenever and wherever there is a prayer for it.

When a hungry heart petitions the divine Father-Mother God for bread, it is not given a stone, — but more grace, obedience, and love. - Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 127

I pray and affirm that we are made in God's image and likeness - and that is good. Each person is complete and has whatever resources are needed for their spiritual growth. Gratitude helps to open our eyes to the good already here. God knows our needs before we even voice them. And God, Love, has met our needs now, then and in the future.

Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.

The omnipotence of peace, the felt presence of Love and the permanence of man's inseparable relationship to God is reflected in this little chapel and this prayer goes out to the community and the world. God is always present, God always hears us.

And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always....

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 time to keep silence"*

Spiritual resource to share: integrity

It seems the more experienced I become in dealing with relationships, the more I learn the lesson of keeping silent.

At times when I want to blurt out some injustice and take someone to task for it, keeping silent has saved me from some pretty embarrrassing situations.

Now, I am not advocating ignoring situations that need to be brought out in the open, or dismissing our responsibility to speak up when needed. But when dealing with relationships where there is some kind of problem, keeping silent may be a good place to start the healing process.

Keeping silent many times has helped me to:

• step back from an emotionally charged situation
• given me space to prayerfully examine the whole picture
• given me space to stretch my understanding of God's governance of the situation: trusting Truth to reveal whatever needs healing, trusting Love to work in each individual's consiousness and trusting Principle to bring things out in an orderly and logical way.

MBEddy writes in her autobiography, "The best spiritual type of Christly method for uplifting human thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength; and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action."

There was a time early in my marriage when I felt a strong attraction to another person. It made no sense, I was happy in my marriage, but this attraction seemed mutual and compelling even though nothing happened between us. But I felt that the only way to break this spell was to confront this person directly. As I continued to pray, I realized that this was not the way to go. I saw that this compelling attraction was nothing more than a type of mesmerism. I could rest in our spiritual foundation of integrity and purity to burst through that dark cloud. And it did. The next day, I felt totally free of this attraction. And so did this other person.

Keeping silent and working this situation out prayerfully with God was needed in this situation. It also helped to move a small ego (me) out of the way and made room for divine Love to work. In the space of silence, I was able to turn my desires over to a higher law:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

*"...a time to keep silence...." from Ecclesiastes 3: 7


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a God at hand

Spiritual resource to share: God's ever-presence

Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.

Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. - Jeremiah

I have been thinking about this blog ever since I read about Mother Teresa's "crisis in faith" that chronicles her most intimate fear and despair, feeling that God did not show Himself to her once she took up the work with the poor. Now there is much to be said about this, and many questions I have about the ethics of publishing some of what Mother Teresa had to say. But the idea that has continued to egg me on to write this blog is the one that suggests that it is possible for anyone or everyone to feel a great gulf between God -the source of all good - and oneself.

I can't think of any single experience more difficult to deal with than this thought of separation. After a drawn out and difficult situation I was in, I felt this disconnect and it took me a long time to crawl out of it to the place where I am now - understanding that we can never be separated from God.

I'll share a couple of things I learned from this experience:

• I am worthy of love.
• God is always present; that means that a connection with God is always present.
• It is only fear or pride that would try to tempt us that we have lost our connection to God.

God cannot be outlined; when I pray, it is helpful for me not to outline how I want God to speak to me! Instead, I listen. God's presence can be felt in a memory that comes to me, a friend's communication, time spent outdoors appreciating nature, a thought that comes while I'm walking the dog, writing, driving, etc.

God can speak to each of us audibly as well. At different times in my life, I have heard, in answer to my prayer, the words, "Go this way" (when I was lost and alone in Central America); "Shutup!" (in answer to a rather self-centered and whiny prayer) and "You are dearly loved" (in response to a prayer where I was struggling with overload and anxiety and needing direction). For me, this audible response doesn't always happen, and I have learned to not limit God's voice to only one way.

There are times when I feel I am not getting any response. In those moments, I have found it helpful to know that those desires have been posted and trust the all-knowing Mind to already be operating on my behalf. Right now (because God is always loving and caring for His creation) progress is continuing, divine Love is supplying and Principle's laws are in operation. With this, I can take whatever steps I feel are a result of my highest sense of right and trust any necessary adjustments to God.

We are never alone. Jesus' promise "The kingdom of God is within you" is not a pantheistic claim, but a present fact that God is as close to us as our breath. Because God is, we are and because we are, God is. To Mother Teresa, whose work inspired a world to be more selfless and to love and serve one another, I hope that she will feel that love and closeness to God is still there.

See also Laura's blog about this same issue.







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.

when the desire to have a baby hits....

Spiritual resource to share: trust

I have had this conversation with mothers countless times. It goes like this: The woman wants to have a baby and tries everything she and her husband know to make this come about. When it doesn't happen, efforts are redoubled, new processes are introduced, and a period of grieving follows when the pregnancy doesn't come about. Then there is some letting go of this effort, adoption is considered or the idea is abandoned. Then, the woman gets pregnant.

A friend and I were laughing about this over the weekend. Both of us had this experience before getting pregnant with our firstborns. And we asked ourselves - what is it about letting go that seemed so powerful?

When I think of this, I'm reminded about a quote from Science and Health:

Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.

Now the interesting thing is that some of the women went on from this experience to be mothers. Others went on to "mother" inspiring projects or careers. In each case, the desire was met in a most fitting and totally satisfying way for each particular person.

Being clear about what was being cherished becomes a prayer - and in these cases, it's an earnest plea to see the mothering qualities of comforting, creating, defending, loving and nourishing to take a front seat in our lives. As this desire loses its human trappings ( like - I want a baby at this time, to have my physical characteristics, etc.) it rises up to a level more unselfish, more receptive, and more at peace. We add to that a new level of trust in God. It becomes clear that God is good and has only good in store for us.

With this state of thought, one is more open to the infinite ideas of mothering available to all. And being unconditionally open to the idea of mothering, we receive according to our asking.

It is a wonderful lesson for all those moments when we are in such earnest about a desire.








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"no loss can occur from trusting God"

Spiritual resource to share: trusting God

Coming home from a meeting today I just had to laugh at what greeted me at the door: about ten pairs of shoes - all about the same large size. You see, we now have five teenage boys living with us. It's temporary, as three of them will be returning to their home countries of Germany, Russia and South Korea this summer. But this counts and I can say that with our own two sons and these three, we have, in a way, five sons.

So why is this funny? Flash back to when I was younger. I always thought it would be so very cool to have five boys. It was my secret wish. I wanted to raise them all to be gentlemen and scholars. Cutting edge types who would be respectful and respectable.

But after a failed first marriage, that, along with other things, seemed to be a distant and unattainable goal. But it didn't stop me from desiring a full and fulfilling life. MBEddy's thoughts on prayer gave me so much hope:

"Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds."

Fast forward to some years later, when I met and married my soul mate -- who happened to be the oldest of (of course) five boys.

So now, coming in the door this afternoon, I look at the shoes of these five kids who are adventurous and kind, smart and generous. I am reminded that God answers our prayers and our deepest desires. And She does so in a way that I could never have outlined! This reminds me of another piece of advice I got from a longtime healer - to not outline good, because you can't outline good enough.

What an encouraging reminder that we can trust God with our prayers and be open to the surprising and wonderful ways that our prayers are exalted and answered. It is so good.










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listening for an answer

Spiritual resource to share: persistence



Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling agitated. After having made plane reservations for my son to go overseas the night before, I went to look for his passport. It was not in the normal place. I looked everywhere. Nothing. The angst flooded in when I realized that the plane fare was non-refundable and having to replace the passport would take more time than we had.

This same morning, I had a list of things requiring my prayerful attention. Looking at the list, I realized that it was all about things being lost! Lost passport topped the list, but there were also issues like the loss of health, the loss of confidence, financial losses, lost opportunities, and loss of peace. Hmmmmm..... interesting.

I first tackled the lost passport. I knew that the passport represented identity, adventure and global awareness. None of those things could be lost. Looking at Mary Baker Eddy's writings, she wrote "The true concept is never lost." Even though the context in which she wrote this was different, this main idea was a help.

I earnestly prayed. This means I listened while affirming that no good thing could ever be lost. The thought came, "There is an answer" right before the idea came to look again in my purse. I had looked there and even cleaned out the purse the night before. But I did look again and, sure enough, hiding behind a loose flap of an inner pocket was the passport.

I was, of course, happy to find the passport. But I was even happier to directly experience God's guidance, to hear God's voice and to know that God always has the right answer for us.

I realized that this related to all issues of being lost. And like a series of dominoes falling, each of the issues where loss was a factor, could fall based on this idea that "the true concept is never lost."

Persisting in prayer, we can see that no opportunities are lost. How can God's will for us which is good ever be lost? How can the majesty and omnipotence of God's plan for us ever be lost?

We can reverse financial losses knowing that God governs all. That "...the reign and rule of harmony (in all we do) ...cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen."

Man's identity is never lost. "The loss of man's identity through the understanding which Science confers is impossible...." "Is man lost spiritually? He can only lose a sense material."

I really cherish the fact that we are never lost or separated from God. If there is the thought of loss, we can persist by claiming our oneness with God and expect to hear God's directing us, giving us the ideas, the answers we need. Is that wonderful or what?










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.