Quiet prayer

There are few things better or more enriching to me than silent prayer. This is a quiet communion with God where I listen for thoughts from the Holy Spirit. These spiritual insights refresh and uplift me.

When there is so much noise in the world, it is essential to be still and remember our relationship with God and who we are. For me, this includes being reminded of my eternal, pure spiritual identity. And being reminded of God’s goodness as Mother Love.

When things are rough or chaotic, take moments to be still. This quietness stills the turmoil of material thought. It tunes out the static and tunes in to the divine. This tuning in is essential! It can never be overvalued! It gives us the fullness of life and richness of health. It brings harmony to our relationships and our day. It saves us from wasting time and resources.

So feel the energy of divine inspiration strengthening you today and make you feel like new. Be gentle and kind to those around you and yourself. See the light of God!

The love of trees

There is something so wonderful about being in nature. Perhaps because it is a time when I delight in beauty.

20171023_16210234076464.jpgI love getting to spend time each day in nature. For me, this means simply taking my dog and son to the park each afternoon as a family. We are fortunate enough to live near a park with beautiful trees and lovely wooded trails.

This “outside time”, as we call it, feeds our souls. The trees in this park are beautiful sugar maple and black walnut trees, surrounded by wooded hills, caves, mountain biking and hiking trails. It makes me want to go and plant more trees for our children’s children to enjoy for decades to come.

Trees are like quiet, uncomplaining sentinels, giving of their energy. They are familiar old friends. I am in awe and gratitude for trees. They are a spiritual symbol of home to me.

20171023_161808718632813.jpgStudies show that average Americans spend 90% of their days indoors. This tells me that specific effort is needed to carve out time to spend in nature, to enjoy the stillness around us, to take deep breaths and slow walks, and to give space to notice the little wonders around us.

Nature is where I feel God’s presence. It is so beautiful and wonderful that it reminds me of how much She loves us. I believe divine Love is the creator of the universe, and I am in awe of Her majesty all around us. It is as though She is showing off Her beauty, grandeur, order, stillness, and harmony, whispering “I love you” in Her still, gentle ways.

Harmony is the natural order of the universe

I love exploring the idea of harmony. Harmony is a beautiful attribute of God, which we can bear witness to in all of our activities. It’s actually pretty fun. How is harmony being expressed right now? How will harmony be present today? These are great questions to ask ourselves when we want to see where our thought is dwelling.

Here is a quote that I love about harmony (although it was originally written to a group of Christian Scientists, it can be applied to everyone universally).

The real Christian Scientist is constantly accentuating harmony in word and deed, mentally and orally, perpetually repeating this diapason of heaven: “Good is my God, and my God is good. Love is my God, and my God is Love.”

Seeing harmony expressed around us is enlightening! And it has added benefits to our health. Today there are many people who recognize the power of consciousness on the body. Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science 150 years ago, described health as the “consciousness of harmony and of nothing else.” And many people today are finding physical healing, restoration of relationships and financial difficulties through a change in consciousness — through a more enlightened sense of the Infinite and the natural, beautiful laws of harmony that govern our experience.

Here is another quote that I love:

God is harmony’s selfhood.

Wow, what an idea! When we are focused on our a personal selfhood, it’s much harder to see harmony working in our lives. However, when we focus on the whole picture and perceive through a spiritual lens, we can see harmony working around us. You could even say that we perceive harmony, because we are spiritual! We are perceiving who we really are, our Maker and the natural order of existence.

Focusing on harmony’s selfhood enables us to see that we are an active component of a whole Being. Perceiving harmony is perceiving wholeness (perhaps that is why it’s linked to health).

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

What fun it is to discover more about harmony everyday. Enjoy the joyous adventure!

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Quotes are (in order) from:
Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, p. 206:19
Mary Baker Eddy, Rudimental Divine Science, p. 11:13
Mary Baker Eddy, Unity of Good, p. 13:8
I Cor 13:12 For (only) KJV