Mind-Reading

Just as a mathematics teacher reads a student’s error on a test to correct it, Jesus read the minds of others, to correct their erroneous beliefs about God, Life, and themselves.

Christ Jesus said, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Successful mind-reading is done by first knowing original Mind, God. Any thought unlike the divine is an error. And even if we don’t learn to mind-read properly, technology forces us to start learning appropriately since millions of people believe they need to post online their every thought.

Read thoughts through the lens of Love, Truth.

“Truth has no consciousness of error. Love has no sense of hatred. Life has no partnership with death. Truth, Life, and love are a law o f annihilation to everything unlike themselves, because they declare nothing except God, good. Science rules beliefs, errors, disease out of human mind and body.”–Cheryl Petersen, author of 21st Century Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: A modern version of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health. And author of, from science & religion to God: A briefer narrative of Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health.

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Traveling II: Trusting Old Friends and Meeting New Friends

Yesterday, my week long trip to Seattle came to an end. The airplane ride home to upstate New York was uncomplicated―beside the fact I could not, try as I may, try as I might by twisting and pulling, open the plastic packet of duck sauce to put on the egg roll I ate at the airport in Minneapolis. But, compared to the last trip west, I figured the actual transportation segment of my trip very grand. No delayed planes. I didn’t have to clear a foot of snow off my car. I didn’t have to hack ice out from around the wheels in minus 3 degree weather, or drive in a blizzard, like the last trip I took.

Last night, just after midnight, I walked into the house to Richard greeting me. This is the epitome of bliss. I missed my kitty. Give me cat hair, a litter box, dirty feet, and I am content and jovial. No matter that it was past my bedtime and I was wiped out, Richard and I hugged, wrestled, and played fetch until 2:30 a.m. when finally my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I became unconscious.

Beulah and Betsy, two of my trusty neighbors, came to feed Richard while I was gone. Before leaving, I wisely deposited a typewritten note on the counter dictating the proper amounts of food to leave Richard each day. However, apparently, my 2/3 of a cup per day of dry cat food was taken to mean 2 to 3 cups each day. Richard’s bowl was filled to the brim. Providentially, Richard is able to walk right-on-by too much food, because he did not turn into a fatty.

I did return to snow. The northeast region of the United States had 6” while I was gone. A columnist in the local newspaper depicted this winter as relentless, and most residents would probably agree, but compared to the over 100 inches of snow I’ve participated in shoveling this season, this last 6 inches is not an issue. Most of it had melted by time I arrived on the scene and I thank God for changing seasons. Some “changes” do not appear to be good, but with the goal of spiritual life and love before us, goodness does appear.

For example, on my airplane ride from Minnesota to Albany, I happen to sit next to Aaron, an American in the Military. His unit is stationed in Japan, only miles away from the center of the horrendous recent geological and weather changes occurring there. Aaron was in Japan a few weeks ago and unimaginably, he did not feel a tremor. His unit’s location was untouched. Not even a wave. The unit’s location is now being used as a safe base for people who were in the damaged areas.

Thankfully, human beings can stop resisting change, stop attempting to maintain a mortal condition, and instead seek immortal life and love.

The infamous unopened plastic packet

Richard walking on by

From 21^st Century Science and Health:

“You can find in 21^st Century Science and Health, how to recognize thoughts that lead to spiritual and physical goodness. You can learn that in this ever-changing world, you can change for the better. We can make responsible choices as our knowledge of immortal good increases.”

“Meditation cannot change the Science of spiritual existence, but it brings us into sync with this scientific existence.

“Repetitive requests bring to mortals only what they believe will be the result. A desire for spirituality is requisite in order to gain spirituality; but if we desire it above all else, we will surrender everything for spirituality. We must be willing to do this, to walk securely in the only practical road to spirituality. Prayer can’t change the unalterable Truth, nor can prayer alone give us an understanding of Truth. Prayer, attached to an eager consistent intent to know and do God’s will, will bring us into all Truth. This prayer really has little need of audible expression. It is best expressed in thought and in life.

“The ordinary theological views of atonement will continue to change and improve, just as opinions regarding predestination and future punishment have evolved.

“Belief is changeable, but spiritual understanding is changeless.

“Man and woman are not a dichotomy of non-intelligence and intelligence. Soul, substance, is God, unchangeable and intelligent; and we coexist with and reflect Soul, God, for we are God’s image.”

Amateur Photographer Takes Pictures of Melting Snow and Cat

The temperatures here in upstate New York have been above freezing for the last few days. People feel as if they are witnessing a minor miracle. Myself included. I can actually see my infamous entire driveway for the first time in what feels like years, but has been months. All that fluffy, icy, bravura, soggy, sullied snow I shoveled is almost gone.

Because I would not put it past Mother Nature to cover the ground in snow tonight while I’m resting serenely, I decided to take pictures of the dirt this afternoon. And, to liven up the pictures, I located my photogenic and astute cat, Richard, and asked him to pose as an added dimension. He blithely accommodated me by giving me about 3% of his attention. I followed Richard around, taking a surplus of digital pictures, aspiring for one good shot. Here is what I came up with.

Richards bum

Richards side

Richards body

Richard with driveway behind him

Richards best shot, what a lovey

From 21st Century Science and Health:

“Open-mindedness and universal facts naturally trigger anything that is false to work against its self, bringing error from under cover. It requires courage to voice truth. The higher Truth’s voice is lifted, the louder error will scream until its inarticulate noise is forever silenced in oblivion. “’He lifts his voice, the earth melts.’[1] This Scripture indicates that all mortality will disappear before the supremacy of Spirit.

“Truth never destroys God’s idea. Truth is spiritual, eternal substance, which cannot destroy the true reflection. Temporal sense, or error, may seem to hide Truth, health, harmony, and Science—as the mist obscures the sun or the mountains—but Science, the sunshine of Truth, will melt away the shadow and reveal the celestial peaks.

“We cannot be mesmerized by the flesh or hypnotized by human mind while practicing the Science of Truth which cannot be reversed, but the reverse of error is true. An improved conviction cannot retrograde. When Christ, Truth, changes a human mortal conviction of sin or sickness into a better conviction, then thought melts into spiritual understanding, and sin, disease, and death disappear.”

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[1] Ps. 46:6

Irreconcilable Differences versus Reconcilable Similarities

Last October, I blogged about one of my co-workers who was going through a divorce with a cohort of anger and blame. On the days she came to work with the “quivering chin,” I knew that the slightest nuance would set her to crying with infuriation. So, I spoke as happily as I could and we got straight to business, which was best, because to be perfectly honest she wasn’t that much fun to work with.

As you would expect, the anger spilled over into the work place. I’d nonchalantly, and sometimes bluntly, pointed out that anger is stupid and doesn’t get the story straight so maybe let it go. One day, she told me she realized she had a choice, either to listen to fuming blaming thoughts, or not. And, to listen to comforting, nice thoughts is a form of prayer for healing.

Our legal system permits a divorce when the existence of significant differences between a married couple are so great and beyond resolution that they make the marriage unworkable. But, does this mean irreconcilable differences are forever?

No.

In the case with my co-worker, young children were involved and her and her ex finally saw that shrapnel from their firing of anger back and forth was hitting the children. So, they took a breath. They love their children.

Anger can rant and rave, but it will never reconcile itself to progress or happiness.

Forgiveness, humility, love, and honesty are reconcilable. From 21^st Century Science and Health, “Christ can’t reconcile Truth to error, for Truth and error are irreconcilable.”

So, anyway, a few weeks back, my co-worker and I were busy and I could tell she wanted to say something. I listened. She told me she didn’t have to take more time off from work for her “court and lawyer appointments” because her and her ex-husband are now speaking to one another, calmly. Her chin was quivering. Was she going to cry?

We both know more challenges will come up in life, but sometimes we can take a minute to cry with happiness.

Earthquakes and Life

Human beings clear forests,
Plunder oil reserves,
Mine the earth,
Enlarge their girth.

Nature is unfazed,
Trees self-produce,
Resources show new form,
Human’s quake and storm.

Life says:
I will be what I will be.

Statements from 21st Century Science and Health

“This material world is becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be disorder and disappointment, on the other side there will be science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, deficit, and depression, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all disorder will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.”

The calm, strong forces of true spirituality are manifest as health, purity, and a magnanimous self. Spiritual mindedness must expand the human experience until the beliefs of temporal being are clearly exposed as impositions. Confusion, danger, and disorder will then give everlasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit.”

The expression human mind is really a grammatical error, because Mind is spiritual, not material. Spirit, Truth, pierces the ambiguous error of materiality as a sunbeam penetrates the cloud. Error, mortality, will always ‘sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.’ The human mind is mortal, self-destructive.” (Hosea 8:7)

In Isaiah we read: ‘I bring prosperity and create disasters; I, the lord, do these things.’ (Isa. 45:7) The prophet refers to divine law dawning on human consciousness, causing evil and wrong thinking to surface before being reduced to its common denominator, nothingness.”

Soul imparts the understanding which spiritualizes consciousness and leads into all truth. The psalmist said: ‘mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea―the Lord on high is mighty.’ (Ps. 93:4) Spiritual perception is the discernment of spiritual good.”

Human power is the reckless flood, the devouring flame, the tempest’s storm. It is lightning and hurricane, all that is selfish, wicked, dishonest, and impure.”

Spiritual Gratitude as Related to Everyday

Gratitude may be an absolute necessity when it comes to spiritual progress; however, gratitude is not absolute as related to everyday experiences. The tabloid version of gratitude―being thankful for health, friends, and nice things―drudges up the question, Are the people who lack in health, friends, and “stuff” not grateful?

Years ago, I was at a meeting where people were “being grateful.” A lady, who has a high-profile, high-paying job, spoke up and sincerely declared her thankfulness for the rain we’d just had (we lived in a desert). The rain gave her a reprieve from physically watering her plants and flowers in her backyard with a hose.

I said nothing. I sat in my own silence.

I live 4 miles up the road from this grateful lady and had just spent 3 days and night, with my husband, in our orchard, trying to save our cherry crop from rain damage. We failed. That crop was to pay our next year’s bills.

I was not grateful for the rain. I was tired and sad, but somewhere, somehow, I still knew gratitude. It was in the cosmos of divine knowledge.

“The Science of spirituality comes with tool in hand to separate the chaff from the wheat.” (21^st Century Science and Health)

Chaff

• gratitude is triggered by some human event or thing
• thinking humans should be grateful for the same object
• assuming gratitude for a mortal thing is absolute

Wheat

• Consciousness, gratitude, and spirituality are inextricably bound together―prolific and identifiable as us

Einstein’s theory of relativity points to the fact that life goes on despite the comparativeness of time and space. Gratitude goes on despite the comparativeness of human health, friends, and things. Gratitude can’t be warped by relativity. Appreciation can’t be diminished by an absolutist. Gratitude is spiritual, shared, and coexists with us.

Another way to look at gratitude: Spiritual gratitude is not being grateful for “time” but for ever-abiding now.