Changing thought changes our experience

This post became an article entitled "A 'change of base' in thinking," published in the February 1, 2016 issue of the Christian Science Sentinel. 

 

You can read or listen to it by following the link above.

Q: How have you prayed about loneliness -- moving to a new city, changing schools, making friends, etc.?

This is the current "Question of the Week" on JSH-Online, and what I posted in response.

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A: Between being an army brat and moving out on my own, I've never really stayed settled anywhere for longer than a few years. So when I started studying Christian Science just before transferring to a university where I didn't know anyone, this paragraph with the marginal heading "Uses of adversity" from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy stood out to me:

Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth. Friends will betray and enemies will slander, until the lesson is sufficient to exalt you; for “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” The author has experienced the foregoing prophecy and its blessings. Thus He teaches mortals to lay down their fleshliness and gain spirituality. This is done through self-abnegation.  Universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science.  (p. 266)

This gave me the impression that sometimes we're going to be alone, but it's always an opportunity for spiritual growth--to better understand God, man, and how God's laws govern everything.  After college, I thought a lot about Mrs. Eddy's definition of "wilderness" from the glossary of Science & Health.  I love that she defines its surface appearance, but then goes on to explain what's really going on in "wilderness" situations:

WILDERNESS. Loneliness, doubt, darkness.  Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence. (p. 597)

 
So I've enjoyed using the time I have alone not to be lonely, but to think about God in all the ways He is a companion and provider--what it means that God is my Father and my Mother. That He is my husband ("Thy maker is thine husband" Isaiah 54:5) and my Shepherd. I'm never alone, because He's always with me--as close to me as my own thought. Every day He's just got something so wonderful in store for me, and He delights in me enjoying it. So I've tried to take the time to listen, to feel that He's near, and just enjoy the "now" He's prepared for me. (See Psalm 23).

And if I ever struggle with loneliness, I just ask God to help me feel that He's with me. To feel at peace. It's actually our divine right to claim that as God's children. But the way I like to claim it is to simply, humbly, ask God for whatever thoughts and feelings I need that moment. I find that prayer is always answered very quickly, usually immediately, and I feel at peace again. 

Thoughts on the election . . . before the results

Elections today.
Your guy may win.
Your guy may lose.
Either way, the winner will be our country's leader.
And he deserves our prayers and support.
That he'll hear and act upon inspiration, rather than human will.
That he'll be honest.
That he'll be good.
We may not agree with the way he does things
All the time, or ever.

But he'll be acting from his highest sense of right
And that can be the starting point for seeing him as God's man,

Made in His image
(See Gen. 1:26)
And a protection to him
And to us
From anything untoward.

Grace

from burning bridges
to mending fences
what a softening
of my pride
what a strengthening
of my heart
I am not 
"the captain of my soul"
for Soul
is simply Its own
and I
am Its

Let.

Breathe.

Inhale Love
Exhale stiffened will
Inhale gentleness
Exhale peace
Inhale forgiveness
Exhale renewal

It takes no self
to let Him in
It wakes oneself
to know His grace

Answered prayers

I realized just now that a prayer of mine had been answered, and thought it would be a good idea--for myself and others--to mention it and another one--since this made two answered prayers in as many days.

The first answered prayer--well, I didn't even realize I'd prayed it until it was answered! On Tuesday, I attended a conference, and by the end of the day felt the weight of some accumulated disappointments and annoyances having to do with the content of some of the sessions and the behavior of some of the attendees. I think we all naturally rebel against this sort of negativity, since it is so contrary to our nature as God's children. And at the heart of that rebellion is the desire to see harmony. So, at the same time I felt the imposition of this weight, I also desired to be free of it. At the time, that's all I was aware of--that I felt annoyed and didn't want to.

I was leaving the building where the conference was held, when I saw a former colleague, whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Now, when we worked together, I have to tell you, that I had a pretty low opinion of him. And employees came and went so frequently where we used to work, that I was genuinely surprised that he remembered me. At any rate, the last time we had bumped into one another, he told me he had just gotten engaged, so I asked him about it. He was ready to celebrate his second anniversary with his wife, and they were expecting a son in a few months. He'd bought a house, and for the past couple of years had been working somewhere I knew would be easier than where we'd worked together. From where I was standing, his life was PERFECT! So where was this guy I'd looked down on a few years ago? He certainly wasn't the guy standing in front of me!!

And in that moment, the weight I'd felt just vanished. Here was God, divine Love, at work! Love was providing all this good in this man's life, and Love had lifted the clouds from my view of the world and this man. The realest thing to me was God's presence and love, and the perfection of his children. I was elated!

Driving home, I realized what had happened. First and foremost, my prayer for peace had been answered. "But you didn't actually stop and pray," you say? Well, the way I understand it, prayer is consecrated thought. And a right desire is certainly a consecrated thought. In one of my favorite passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind [God]. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in word and in deeds" (p. 1). So, really, I had desire-prayed, and within minutes, my prayer was answered. I'm still floating from this one, I have to say. :)

The other answered prayer I recognized this morning. Over the past few days, it felt like I was being pulled in many directions, especially related to what activities were filling my days. I had the sense of stress that I should wake up each morning and dive into my Bible study and prayer, but it wasn't quite happening to the extent that I wanted before I moved on to other activites, and then I felt guilty...and then I was mad that I was indulging thoughts of guilt because they're as unproductive as the other thoughts. Hmph!

So yesterday, as I was reflecting on the incident with my former colleage, I thought about those prayers that I have consistently seen answered immediately--the prayers for right feelings, and so I prayed to want to get more out of my Bible study and prayer, as well as not to be so hung up on time and my to-do list. Essentially, I was asking God to help me feel my natural desire to be close to Him, and to feel the freedom and joy that are natural to me as His child.

And that's exactly what happened. I woke up this morning feeling peaceful and excited to go learn something from the weekly Bible Lesson. At first, I thanked God for the feeling of freedom and was so happy it came at the time of day I seemed to want it most...then I realized my desire-prayer had really been targeted at that time of day anyway, and I was seeing exactly what I'd prayed for!

Okay, so I think I explained the concept of a desire-prayer. But what do I mean by a prayer for "right feelings"? Well, a right feeling would be something that's yours by right as God's child (and we're ALL God's children), something that comes from the basis that God is perfect and perfectly in charge of all. So things like peace, joy, freedom, comfort, creativity. And then we can also pray for "right thoughts." I usually think of right thoughts as seeing the situation the way God does; like I did with that former colleague--I caught a glimpse of the perfect man God created, not the ugly picture I seemed to have created and carried around all that time.

These prayers are always answered. Period. In the Bible, Jesus says, "Ask, and ye shall receive." But later, James writes, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). To me that means that the only reason a prayer wouldn't be answered is if it's asked from a selfish motive. This passage from Science and Health, really explains this point: asking amiss. And that's why we should never ask for things, or events to occur. God knows what's best for us all and provides it. [Here, I refer you to the title of this blog, and the Bible verse that inspired it. :)] And if we pray to see things like God does, we'll always be in good shape.

Poem I Found

I just came across this poem by Mary Baker Eddy when I was giving some thought to God's unchangeable law, how He is divine Love, divine Principle. I like it because it shows we all can and must turn to God, and that we only find good--security, peace, love--there! Enjoy! :)

Whither?

Father, did'st not Thou the dark wave treading
Lift from despair the struggler with the sea?
And heed'st Thou not the scalding tear man's shedding,
And know'st Thou not the pathway glad and free?

The weight of anguish which they blindly bind
On earth, this bitter searing to the core of love;
This crushing out of health and peace, mankind--
Thou all, Thou infinite -- dost doom from above.

Oft mortal sense is darkened unto death
(The Stygian shadow of a world of glee);
the old foundations of an early faith
Sunk from beneath man, whither shall he flee?

To Love divine, whose kindling mighty rays
Brighten the horoscope of crumbling creeds,
Dawn Truth delightful, crowned with endless days,
And Science ripe in prayer, in word, and deeds.

Traffic and Travel Turmoil Evaporated!

Just a couple days ago, I was returning home after visiting my grandma, who lives about six hours from where I do. I had hoped to get an early start because afternoon traffic where I live can be a bit hectic, and I really didn't want to be mixed up in it. However, as I approached the final leg of the trip, it appeared I would be arriving right smack dab in the middle of rush hour.

I called my dad to let him know, since he would be helping me unload something when I got home, and he recommended an alternate route, the one he normally took. I thanked him and told him I would think about that option. What I meant was that I would pray, listen for God's guidance, to see whether that was indeed the best option.

However, despite my best intentions, I never actually made the effort to quiet my thought. And I certainly didn't feel the calm I knew came along with listening for and hearing God's inspiration. Instead, after filling up with gas, I somewhat willfully decided to take my dad's advice and charged ahead into unfamiliar territory, with the GPS as my back-up guide.

At first I wasn't too happy about all the traffic lights--since there would have been basically none on the route I usually took--but the GPS said I'd be getting home a half an hour earlier than I had planned, so I stuck with it. Then, at probably the sixth or seventh red light, as I looked at the GPS, I realized that it wasn't set for daylight savings time...so I would actually be getting home half an hour later than if I had taken the other route.

That's when things got unpleasant. I felt so trapped! I was too far from my normal route for it to make any sense to backtrack. And I had no idea how many more traffic lights I was going to be in for! I blamed myself. I blamed my dad. I blamed my sweet grandma who I just couldn't stand to leave any earlier than I had.

Then I saw a sign for a landmark I normally passed and abruptly decided to head that way. Now, this road was gorgeous--rural and curvy, with all kinds of pretty scenery. Exactly the type I like to drive on. But I was so concerned about making good time, that instead of enjoying it, all I could think about was the guy in front of me driving below the speed limit, and how irritating it was that I never had the opportunity to pass him.

So, because I've made it a practice to recognize these negative types of thought as mistaken views of what's really going on, during this whole time, underneath the loud, irritated thoughts, my heart was quietly reaching out to God, knowing that I didn't have to indulge the negative thoughts. Not only did they make no sense (like blaming my dad because he suggested the route), but, in fact, they actually weren't my thoughts at all, because they were not how God was viewing the situation, and all my thoughts had to come from Him. I recognized this, but I wasn't yet seeing it in my experience.

And that's when Paul Simon started singing.

You know how couples sometimes have a song? Or friends have special songs to commemorate special events? Well, God and I have a song, and it's "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon. The first words essentially say, if you wake up in the middle of a bad dream, and for a second can't remember where you are. My thought became very quiet. I was humbled. I said aloud, "This is exactly like a bad dream." And I realized that I had forgotten where I was--I was right in God's care, in His presence, because He, Spirit, was everywhere. And for the first time in the experience, I was ready to hear what God had to say, to see the harmony He was seeing. No sooner had my thought changed that way, than I came upon the road I normally took, just from the opposite direction. So from then on, I followed my normal route, and didn't even encounter any back-ups where I had anticipated them--AND I actually arrived home at the same time I'd originally predicted!

It was almost as if the whole unpleasant incident had been erased. In fact, it had--the unpleasant part--but I definitely gained some deeper insights into the way God and man relate to one another:

One was that we always need to follow our spiritual gut, i.e., our spiritual intuition about what's best to do, even in a seemingly non-life-changing event. As I looked back, I realized it had felt right all along to go the normal way. So all along, God was telling me what to do--I just wasn't listening!

Which leads into the next insight--God is always guiding us. The ideas we need--the right thoughts and right feelings, the practical guidance--are always knocking at the door of our thought, so to speak. But if we let the volume of a mental complaint stereo get cranked up too high, we can't hear the knock at the door. I had certainly proven that.

Now, those were both things I'd essentially already known. But the third insight was new to me. As it turned out, I had been thinking that I was responsible for my thought. That it was up to me to make the situation better by listening to God. But God is always in charge. Not only is He our divine Parent, our Father who shelters and cares for us like the dad in the Paul Simon song, but He is divine Love itself. Because Love is perfect, He has already seen to every need we have, meeting it perfectly.

And here's where I'll mention something I didn't earlier. That Paul Simon song was one of 383 songs in a playlist on my iPod, and I had it on shuffle. I had no way of knowing when that song would come up. But it did come up, not just at the moment that I needed it, but at the moment that I was ready to benefit from its message. I didn't do that. God did. So He not only sent me the thought and feeling I needed, but did it in such a way that it broke through the hypnotism of the negative thoughts. They simply evaporated when the sense of God's deep and special love for me came to consciousness. It's something so precious that my words don't really do it justice. But it's something that you and I always have the opportunity to prove.

God, Love, is always in the details of our lives. We are always with Him.

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. --Jeremiah 23:24