Just turn on the light! – CLICK HERE

10/03/11

At that point, my parents said we either needed to call a Christian Science practitioner or go to an emergency room immediately. I asked my mom to call the practitioner. Because I was raised in Christian Science and had attended the Christian Science Sunday School my whole life, I knew and held to the following laws:

The practitioner shared the absolute spiritual truths with my mom that it was impossible for me as the idea of God to be injured, and that the only cause of anything in my life was God—which precluded accident or injury.

The next day I talked with the practitioner directly, and he shared something that has remained vivid in my mind. He asked me to imagine I was looking for a book on a desk in a dark room. To find the book in that dark room, all I had to do was turn on the light. Turning on the light would not create the book; it would just reveal its location. I understood this to mean I was and am already perfect, but I just had to turn on the light—eliminate the darkness of what the material picture was trying to say—to reveal my perfection. With this thought in mind, I was able to go to school that day.

— ., (The Christian Science Sentinel)

A God-listening heart –  Click Here 

In the Bible, Jesus used strong words to defend minor breaches in Mosaic law: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). And he provided some great examples. On one occasion he said boldly: “Why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matt. 7:3–5, New Living Translation).

The message is clear: Be aware of your own failings before you judge anyone else. If you do this, you’ll be brought to a point of humility where you won’t be so quick to jump on another’s shortcomings. Often we do this to make ourselves look better. But if we hold to a standard of perfection set by God, we won’t have to compare ourselves with others to validate ourselves. Right judgment stems from the way we see ourselves in relation to God. If we see ourselves as God’s loved children—already whole and perfect—then we must see others in the same way.

This doesn’t mean we gloss over another’s dubious behavior. We are required to see the speck in our neighbor’s eye. But our duty then is to help remove it prayerfully—with love, compassion, and a deeper understanding of our shared relationship with God. Sometimes, for example, in our roles as parent or teacher, friend or colleague, it’s important to honestly, frankly, and lovingly address mistakes and take a stand for what is right, so that those mistakes won’t be repeated in the future.

Loving the critic – Click Here

Fear and the economy

http://christianscience.com/prayer-and-healing/inspiration/online-lectures/spiritual-training-learning-to-listen-41-mins-eng

Block about 40 minutes to be still and listen to this lecture if you have some free time. 

It is about facing down mental ambushes such as hate, fear, doubt. I add homophobia.

The message that has come several times to me in the past few days is that a sense of hate doesn’t belong to us and is not attached to us because we are the pure, loved idea of God.

And if this is true for us then it is true for everyone. A belief of hate, fear, or even homophobia can’t attach itself to a person if you stand and uncover it as a lie. It has no power because it didn’t come from God or good.

This is what would have saved Jamey Rodemeyer (see CS Monitor article cited earlier). A simple lesson but life saving.

Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.

— ., (www.christianscience.com)

— John Minard, (www.spirituality.com)