Category: Mental health/wellness

Not guilty!

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments


Have you ever considered your innocence? The wonderful fact that you are not guilty?

The world is always trying to tell us we are guilty of something: not being good enough, past regrets or even simply because of this mortal existence.

Spirit is the creator; and Spirit creates everything in Her own image and likeness. Since Spirit has never fallen from Her perfect state that means we haven’t either. Goodness, innocence, purity, joy, childlikeness are all inherent in us. 

Sure, we’ve all made mistakes, fallen short of our own or other’s expectations; perhaps in the moment of that mistake we were governed by fear – fear of what would happen or what wouldn’t happen based on what we would we should do; in a sense we forgot, in that moment, who we were as the perfect, image & likeness of Spirit/Love/Truth with a rich, divine inheritance. 

These instances of mistakes can never change who we really are.

“If you believe in and practise wrong knowingly, you can at once change your course and do right.”¹

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”²

So we don’t need to be plagued by guilt today. We can drop whatever it is, perhaps even taking some footsteps to right a past wrong. 

I experienced this first hand yesterday. I suddenly found myself feeling quite unwell physically. I started to pray about this with the books and study resources I have for prayer/meditation. I called a Christian Science practitioner for metaphysical treatment (this is someone who prays to know the supremacy of divine Mind in your experience and that no other thought that is negative or sickly can reside in your consciousness. It is wonderfully effective and demonstrates the connection between mind, body and spirit).

Just before bed it occurred to me that I was feeling guilty about a mistake with a friend. Even though the situation wasn’t a big one there was still lingering guilt and fear about it. I decided the best thing to do was to email the friend and apologize. I wanted this person to know my intentions and that I didn’t want things to be awkward. 

After sending the email, I felt a lot better. I also watched an online lecture called “You’re not guilty” which shared a lot of great points:
1. You are not guilty of disappointing God
2. You are not guilty of creating your problems
3. You are not guilty of spiritual ignorance.

I went to sleep feeling peaceful. When I woke up I was hungry, feeling a lot better, and I received an email from my friend who said no worries and that all is well.

Recognizing our spiritual status as not guilty enables us to act that way, to love who we really are, and to love our neighbor better by recognizing their status as spiritual and not guilty! 

Have a blessed day! 🙂

¹Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
² King James Version, The Bible, Psalms 37:23, 24
 

Gratitude journal

Published on by lindseybiggs1 Comment


I have a gratitude journal where I jot down lists of the things I’m grateful for.

This morning I decided this would be a great way to start the day. There is a line from a hymn which says “Our gratitude is riches, Complaint is poverty…” (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 249)  I knew that the practice of gratitude would open me up to see all the good, all the ways our Father/Mother is expressing Herself.

I had a great weekend with friends. We did a lot of awesome activities and it was really fun. At first I thought I would write down the things we did and the friendships I had that I was grateful for. But I was moved beyond that to really be grateful for the qualities I see & feel expressed, which give proof that the Source of these qualities is real and tangible.

My list went like this:

Thank you for

  • Spirit
  • Love
  • Truth (these are synonyms, or other names for Deity. And I knew that from this Source comes the following that I am grateful for…)
  • virtue, integrity, honesty, kindness, willingness, innocence, affection, tenderness, patience, meekness, kindness, compassion, non-judgemental, no condemnation, purity, joy, unselfishness.

It is such a blessing (and healing) to get to experience and/or express any of these qualities.

What are you grateful for today?

Childlikeness & its benefits

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

Tobin Hart, PhD, author of The Secret Spiritual World of Children, writes about how children are naturally attuned to the spiritual. He says:

“Nearly all children experience ways of knowing and being – outside of any training or rituals. They include awe and wonder, intense feelings of love and compassion, startling moments of wisdom and a deep curiosity about the profound nature of life. They are naturally attuned to the spiritual.”

There are many ways that we can learn from children and cultivate our own forever innocence, childlikeness and receptivity. 

Here is what Christ Jesus says about children:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. (NKJV Matt 18)

And said in a slightly different way:

 “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.” (The Message Matt 18)

I have the joy of teaching Sunday School, and this past Saturday I went to prepare my lesson. At the time, I was feeling really bogged down by some plans my husband and I were trying to sort out. I couldn’t tell which direction we should go in or when. The limitations of my human sense of things was frustrating and confusing. And it was tempting to just stew about these plans rather than actively engage in the preparation of this Sunday School lesson. 

But I had just gotten a bunch of new lessons from a previous teacher so I decided to check them out. 2 of the lessons used a concept of a “thought bucket”; you and the children decide what can go in to your thought bucket and what can not. We adapted one of these games and tried it out. The game went like this:

You get 5 buckets (we used tupperware) and think of 5 temptations i.e. discouragement, fear, lack, revenge, hate, lust, etc. You then think of 5 “weapons” of God i.e. love, kindness, patience, meekness, trust, hope, faith, confidence, etc. We wrote the 5 “weapons” on a piece of paper and crumpled it up on in a ball. You then try to make a basket throwing the “weapons” into the buckets. If you make it, you go on to the next one. At the end, each bucket should have a “weapon” in it. And I thought it was really fun to unfold the weapon paper and see which weapon conquered each temptation. 

At the end of this exercise, I felt totally refreshed and joyful! The simplicity of this exercise reminded me of the simple, spiritual Truths and how easy it can be to practice them. Sometimes as adults we make it so complicated! But it can be as simple as determining if the thoughts in your bucket are from divine Mind, Spirit, or from the carnal mind, error. Our Father takes care of all the other details. All we have to focus on is what is going into our consciousness. 

It reminds me of this thought:

“Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously.” (Science and Health, p. 392)