Independence


This past week I was working on being more independent. No one wants to feel like they are dependent on anything. We all want to feel liberated, confident and free!

True independence actually comes from our total dependence on God, divine Love. Divine Love, God, is the source of all happiness, health, supply, purpose, vibrancy, companionship, order, creativity, etc.  And these come into our experience when we lean on Him/Her, when we go right to the Source.

If I want to feel happiness, I know that God, divine Love, is supplying me with infinite happiness this moment. God is providing me the opportunities to express this happiness and share it with others. Happiness is a quality of God so it is inherent in us! We were made to be happy 🙂

If I want to feel more health, activity or strength, I know that God is the source of all energy and is giving me boundless strength right now! God did not create or send sickness to any of us. It is our divine right to dispute  sickness at all times! And our thoughts (the ones that come from God) protect us. Good thoughts are the best immune system you have!

If we want to feel more fulfillment in our lives, we can rejoice that we are the satisfied ideas of God, divine Love. God saw all that She made and it was very good! That sounds pretty satisfied to me.
Be watchful of any unconscious pull towards materialism or thinking that matter can make us happy. Rejoice in the simplicity, beauty and childlikeness around you right now! Sometimes when I look around my house and feel that I want “more” I remember that a baby, child or pet doesn’t care what you have. They feel and value the love, joy and comfort that is around them. We can be that child, too, and feel so satisfied with the positive, abundant qualities that are with us all the time.

Go for a walk; look for something “new” that you’ve never noticed before. I did that on a walk home with my dogs when I was feeling kind of bored with our route. Every few steps I strived to notice something new that I hadn’t consciously appreciated before. And now I see light, joy and comfort expressed all around me on this route. You may even want to stop and explore a new area that looks appealing. It’s important to keep exploring new things – expand & grow. Don’t contract or confine your viewpoint and experience. Grow! 🙂

So as we think about Independence Day, here in America, we can rejoice in knowing our complete freedom, our independence, comes from all the good that God, divine Love, is supplying us each moment. And we can be so grateful that the Truth does indeed make us free!

 

 

Is there really a void?

Recently, I was feeling an inner void.

Or so I thought I was!

This feeling reminded me of a deep inner void that I used to feel when I was in my teens and early twenties. During this time, I would look to the world to fill this void, but to no avail. Because I’ve been studying Christian Science consistently for the past several years, I felt I could handle this feeling of “void” in a more productive way.

In my prayers, I find it’s important to ‘identity the problem’. If we think we are feeling lust, anger, addiction or depression instead of realizing we are really feeling a void then we will often be distracted by these ‘symptoms’ and not address the root of the problem.

In my prayers I could see that there really is no void since God/Spirit fills all space. God/Spirit is beautiful and perfect, and made man and woman in the image and likeness of the loveliness, wholeness and completeness of Spirit.  So, where is this void? Spiritual understanding told me that in reality there was no void.

Who or what feels this void? Mortal man. Mortal man is a term that is synonymous with mortal ego. Mary Baker Eddy, the discover of Christian Science wrote, “Mortal mind sees what it believes as certainly as it believes what it sees.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 86)  This YouTube video explains this ego and it’s self-deception:

So, I could see that only mortal man, or the mortal ego, was believing in a void. Was I going to let this mortal ego boss me around by telling me lies about myself and how I was feeling? No! I then felt completely free of the feeling of depression that had been lingering around me for a few days. I needed to see that this feeling or emotion was outside of me, meaning not a part of me, and this brought about freedom and healing.

I’m so grateful that God has given us spiritual understanding, so that we don’t have to believe the lies of the ego anymore.

Evil’s suggestions

I think we can learn a lot from Eve in the Bible. Notice in this allegory, that evil didn’t make Eve do anything. Evil didn’t force this metaphorical apple down her throat. Eve made the decision to consume the apple.

The illusion of evil is often suggesting that we do, say or think many things which are contrary to our nature. Our inherent nature is spiritual, pure and perfect. We bite into this apple when we are mesmerized to think we are not who we are.

If we think we are sinful, sickly mortals then we follow that pattern. But if we realize we are spiritual ideas of the Infinite/Supreme, the image and likeness of the Divine, then that will show us how to think and act right here and now.

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian teacher and healer, wrote,

“The Revelator tells us of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ Have you ever pictured this heaven and earth, inhabited by beings under the control of supreme wisdom?”

She then tells us how to live being controlled by supreme wisdom:

“Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 91)

Seeing and understanding our divinely given spiritual nature and identity gives us power and authority to resist the illusion of evil and live an inspired, thoughtful, compassionate and healthy life right here and now. This makes us live in accord with God’s will, allows the Holy Spirit, Christ, to impel, guide, uplift us, and enables us to help others.

Have fun living your Christly, spiritual life today! Let your light shine 🙂