Current events & community – Page 26

Praying for Our Representatives and World

Published on January 24, 2011 by lindseybiggs2 Comments

On the evening when I read about Gabrielle Giffords being shot, I felt compelled to pray. At first I wasn’t sure how to pray. I knew I didn’t want to pray about specific human circumstances, so I started to think about God as Love. And I instantly got a sense and a vision in my mind of Love being all – filling all space, the only Creator and manifested as Creation. In this image all is happy, healthy and peaceful because all there is is Love.

Why is this image important? If Love is all there is, then there is no hate. If Love is all, then there is no cause of anything that is unlike Love. Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of the universal science — Christian Science, teaches that sin and the sinner are both unreal. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 472) God’s creation is entirely good, spiritual, loving, happy and eternal. Where, then, is the sinner? Where then is the source and cause for the incident? No where. And as this healing takes place in our thought, there is also healing and transformation in the physical.

In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Yancey illustrates how necessary grace and forgiveness are in our personal and nation-wide experience. When a situation is redeemed or healed in our heart and thought, we can go on with new views, unity, and work for progress and blessings for everyone. He depicted many nations who are in conflict today based on challenges centuries ago. Many people today don’t even know why their nation is fighting, it’s simply because they always have. He labels this as “ungrace”. I love this term “ungrace” because it makes things so clear to me — if it’s not grace we are thinking and expressing, then it’s ungrace. What a help this is in being proactive about healing our world and individual thoughts and hearts.

Eddy states, in her compilation of Miscellaneous Writings, “A little more grace, a motive made pure, a few truths tenderly told, a heart softened, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest the movement of body and soul in accord with God.” (p. 354)

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the Stanford University studies on the correlation between health and forgiveness. I see it this way: we are a window for God’s light and love; if the window is filled with dirt – resentment, hate, revenge, fear – then we experience as much of this substantial, healing light which is the source of all health, happiness, and peace.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV) This healing spirit of Truth and Love has profound physical effects and certainly leads to transformation of mind, body, soul and the world.

For an additional article on this incident check out: “She does not have that permission from me” by John D. Clague.

Getting Beyond Ourselves

Published on January 21, 2011January 21, 2011 by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

It is very helpful to pray for ourselves. And it is also helpful to realize that every negative thing going on in your experience is actually just a negative suggestion about the spiritual truth of God, man, and woman.

Lately I’ve been thinking that some bad school memories probably have some residual effect on me right now. But actually when I zip back and rewind, I see all there ever has been and is — is God’s perfect child. I have never been vulnerable or lacking stability or confidence. There has never been a moment when I haven’t had all that I need because God is always fulfilling my needs.

Has God ever not been present? (This is a rhetorical question…) Therefore all the spiritual qualities which He/She include, such as poise, grace, love, confidence, wisdom, and inspiration, have always been present. God is and has been expressing these qualities in me, His reflection, all the time.

Has there ever been a child different than the child of God? No. This means that a school-bully is simply an illusion or suggestion. No child has ever been separated from God’s love. No Beloved child is insecure or aggressive. Each one is wrapped up in God’s love and we can simply remove the mask, in thought, of an unloved, unwanted school-bully.

When these instances come to thought, it’s an opportunity when I can pray for each child and parent, and know the only influence that can go on is good, loving, and pure, the influence of Divinity.

I confront other issues in this same way. When something comes to thought such as personal comparison, jealousy or envy, fear about supply – is this something I’m really dealing with? No. This is just the impersonal opposite of God, good. With a realization that man and woman are created equally — beautiful, balanced, intelligent and complete — I can see (again, in thought) that there can’t be any competition or limited resources; there is only gentleness, kindness, brotherhood and sisterhood between men and women.

This sure makes me feel better! And when I “see” — with my spiritual consciousness — the view is alot clearer and my experience, and the experience of those around me, improves.

Jesus’ teachings are so spiritual, practical and tender, full of grace and compassion. If you haven’t checked them out recently I highly recommend a refresher – especially the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8). It speaks about seeing from this spiritual viewpoint, and beholding God’s perfect men and women as the only Creation.

Love and Blessings

Reaching goals & living in the now

Published on January 3, 2011 by lindseybiggs2 Comments

The past few days I’ve been thinking about goals.

A spiritual leader, Mary Baker Eddy, speaks of her experience this way:

“The discoverer of Christian Science finds the path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, than when she counts her footsteps in endeavoring to reach it. When the destination is desirable, expectation speeds our progress.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, P. 426)

I’ve had trouble balancing this statement because to me focusing on reaching a goal doesn’t seem like living in the now.

But I just realized the two actually go hand in hand.

Living in the now is actually an appreciation and awareness of infinite good, Love, joy, and health that is here, right now. It is a knowing that God is as full as He can be, and man and woman are made in His/Her image and likeness – totally spiritual, harmonious and free.

This fact is not going to be more true once we reach a certain goal. We can relish the fact that we don’t have to wait for spiritual perfection.

For me, the high goal means the absolute spiritualization of all thought and life; infinite Spirit, Mind, Love understood and expressed; and man/woman seen as It’s image and likeness, totally eternal and spiritual.

Ultimately our goals are a sign and symbol of this – of our spiritual rights, heritage and freedom, and our oneness with the Source of goodness being seen and expressed.

Goals may keep us going on the forward path, the path of progress. However, we can rejoice that reaching our goal only means seeing more clearly what has always been true about us and the universe.

So we can also celebrate, today, that the Truth is already true; that God is here and now, and we are His spiritual, perfect, eternal creation. There will never be more supply, beauty, health, harmony, love, or freedom present than is present right now, spiritually. We can rejoice in this and have the expectation that we will meet our goals and see this spiritual fact more clearly each day.