Have you been converted?

Have you been converted?
Commonly, the term conversion has a specific connotation to most religious believers. In the early Christian church, many of the Jewish faith as well as others, known as Gentiles, converted to the new religion that became known as Christianity. That process has continued ever since. Millions of other people over the centuries have found it in their hearts to “convert” from one religion to another - not necessarily Christianity.
So, what then does it mean to be converted? Too often the popular meaning of the term has simply to do with changing one’s declaration of belief in one religious teaching or secular denomination to another. While such a conversion surely has important significance in the individual lives of those so converted, does the act of changing one’s denomination or even basic religious faith really constitute a life-changing step? Most religious believers would say, “Of course.” For an atheist, agnostic, or member of a different religion to find and claim an immortal connection to the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and become a Christian is momentous and without doubt changes an individual in many ways. There is undoubted, true value in finding a faith that uplifts and inspires one in life. But is that the only meaning we can ascribe to the idea of being converted?
In the Bible, Jesus is quoted as telling his followers: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Since “entering the kingdom of heaven” is without a doubt the goal of all Christians, that makes this declaration vitally important. So what exactly did Jesus mean? Was he simply referring to, as Nicodemus asked him, the chance to return to the womb and be born again physically? Jesus made clear to Nicodemus and to his followers as well that being born again had nothing to do with one’s physical circumstances, but rather with one’s thoughts and attitudes. So too does the idea of being converted. In truth, that act has nothing to do with changing the church one attends or adopting new religious beliefs. No, Jesus was referring to the entire nature of “little children” when he commanded that his followers be converted. He meant that those who wished to find a place in the kingdom of heaven must change their thinking patterns to mimic those of little children in order to reach a state of consciousness where heaven is possible.
All of us inherently know what Jesus was talking about. We know that little children are innocent, guileless beings who trust unwaveringly in their parents. And we know that they smile and appear happy and joy-filled nearly all the time largely because they have such perfect trust and confidence in their source of provision. It is only over time as human parents fall short and disappoint their trust that older children begin to adopt the cynical, doubting attitudes that indicate their mental growth toward adulthood. Likewise it is the instruction, both direct and indirect, that parents give children that changes their natural-born loving natures into the more doubting and distrustful attitudes of the adult world. In the musical “South Pacific,” the composers include a song, “You’ve got to be carefully taught” that expresses the universality of such false teaching that too often adults impart to their children.
So, when we consider our need for “conversion” in life, do we think that since we’re members of some popular, accepted religious denomination that we have no need for such a change? I think Jesus’ admonition to his followers tells us resoundingly, “No!” We ALL need to examine our lives and most especially our thoughts to see if we are truly thinking and acting in life as little children would. Are we able to feel a complete sense of trust in others, never doubting or worrying that we may be let down? Are we happy nearly all the time because we have complete trust that we will be provided for? Do we accept all that happens to us without anger, confusion, or pain because we so trust our heavenly Father/Mother, God to be all good and to keep us perpetually safe?
Unless you can answer all those questions in the affirmative, then, at least to some degree, you do need to seek conversion in your life. You need to find that key to Jesus’ teachings that will open to you the way to childlike trust in your life. In one of her publications, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in regards to being “born again” and becoming as a little child: “The new birth is not the work of a moment. It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love.” (Mis. 15:13)
Too often adults distance themselves from their innate childlike natures, thinking that they have “matured” and are thus wiser and better able to cope with life. But the very opposite is true. The more we ascribe reality to conflict, anger, lack, neglect, fear, pain, etc. – all the things that adults believe life in the mortal universe must include, the less childlike we become. And if we aspire to follow our Master, Christ Jesus, we must change our course, 180 degrees. We must return to attitudes of love, trust, and faith in our heavenly Father’s provision for us in every instance. To do this, we must find the Truth of divine Life, the reality of spiritual being, and we must consistently look away from the distorted images that mortality tries to impress upon our thougths. This process may not occur overnight or in one blinding moment of insight. It is more likely found and won in patient, consistent prayer and study of scripture and in remaining vigilant and steadfast in one’s appreciation of God’s presence and power in our lives. Yes, there may be times when the mortal senses try to convince us that such childlike trust is foolish, but it is during those very times when our faith in and adherence to the Allness of God, divine Love, as little children would cling to a human parent, that we will be lifted to find a surer sense of the validity of God’s loving care. These are the moments when we will begin to feel God’s kingdom “within” us and commune with the angels. Mrs. Eddy, in her book, Miscellaneous Writings, when defining “Angels” describes their presence thus: “The Psalmist saith: "He shall give His angels charge over thee." God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies.Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have. This sweet assurance is the "Peace, be still" to all human fears, to suffering of every sort.”
This “glorious inheritance” is what childlike trust includes, and finding the path that leads us to such trust should be our prime directive in life.
Love, love, love.
Nestling

Why you should rejoice in whatever problems you may be going through...

It seems counterintuitive to say that we should "rejoice" in hard times and with painful problems.  And if viewed from a strictly human perspective, rejoicing would be the least likely outcome.  But there is a reason, even in pain and suffering, to rejoice, to see and acknowledge the presence of good in our lives even when it seems to be missing.
If life was truly mortal and material and if human circumstances were the truth of being, then judging our lives and our sufferings from a mortal basis would be reasonable.  And this certainly is the way most of us view existence.  But the Bible offers a different perspective, a spiritual view of life and reality, that totally changes what we think and see.  According to the Bible, God is Spirit, and we are made in His image and likeness.  The likeness of Spirit cannot be material.  So that which we see as real, that which we universally accept as our substance and life in matter is actually false, unreal.  And if it is unreal, then all the manifestations we see in matter are equally unreal although they surely seem to be real.
So what then do dire and troubling material circumstances really mean to us?  When we have human problems, be they related to health, wealth, or anything else, their only reality is as a spur to prick our mortal sense of existence with a jolt so painful as to awaken within us the need to seek a higher reality.  In times of pain and suffering, the common response is to turn to God for relief.  "There are no atheists in a foxhole."  But when we turn to God, how we do it is vital to our finding relief.
If our prayers are merely human, fearful pleas to an unknown deity somewhere vastly far away and above our situation, then they have only limited benefit.  True prayer, the prayer that does bring us healing and relief, is always declaratory.  Our need in times of trouble is not to look outward from the pain and suffering and beg for intervention, but to silently and confidently declare that we are not in the pain and suffering at all, but held in the arms of divine Love, the one and almighty God.  If we back up this acknowledgement with a certain faith and clear understanding of this holy Truth, then we will experience what Jesus described when he said, "And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free."  Free from the pain, free from the suffering, free from all mortal claims on our being.
So, today, as we think of all the suffering that mankind has gone through, from the 9/11 tragedy to the floods in Pakistan, to the suffering of people from war and poverty and disease around the globe, it's time to change our outlook and our prayerful attempts to find relief.  It's time to know God more as a precious, loving Father-Mother than as an elevated and distant figurehead in the clouds or as another inspired mortal named Jesus who walked the earth over 2,000 years ago.  It's time to understand heaven as a state of mind entirely connected to God, divine Mind, and not as a big city in the clouds with streets of gold.  It's time to begin to see and understand the spiritual reality of all life and being and to know that suffering is simply a call to look deeper into Truth to find whatever it is that the pain and suffering are there to lead us to find.  There are lessons in all suffering.  There are gains to be made whenever we endure the pain and learn more of the Truth by holding steadfastly to God and turning away from matter, mortality, and error.  Jesus is our savior not merely because he suffered on the cross and died for us, but more because he revealed through his life and teachings and resurrection that life is not mortal at all, but spiritual.
Let us begin today to find the spiritual call in all the times we find ourselves suffering or in need.  Let us respond to that call by delving deeper into our understanding of divine Mind, perfect Love, the All-in-all, God and in Christ Jesus who showed us the Father in deed and in truth.  In this way we will not only find relief from suffering and pain, but we will begin to find more and more of heaven in our daily lives.  We are in heaven already, all the time.  We just need to turn away from the mortal, human sense of reality and stay in the spiritual every moment.  Never let mortal, material seeming, as real as it may claim to be, persuade you to believe that God is not right with you giving you safety and peace and joy.
Have a blessed day, and by all means, seek ye the Lord.   CM

Planning ahead vs. living in the now

One of the most common words used in the Bible is faith.  The ancient Hebrews as they wandered in the desert and were fed by manna from heaven were told not to gather more than they needed for one day.  Jesus advised his followers that they should: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
And yet, with all this wisdom advising against it, how many of us truly don't try to plan ahead?  Whether our planning is for a day or week or a month or longer, it is all too common for men and women to feel compelled to figure out what they should do and plan for future eventualities.  Most of us don't feel we could move forward safely without lots of planning ahead.  How could we live any other way?
Well, if the Bible and Christ Jesus are correct, there is no need for us to spend out time in an effort to plan out our future.  If we live with faith in a divine, loving creator who always cares for us, we can live safely one moment at a time.  A wise spiritual teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health, advises us that: "When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path."  
Human logic and mortal reasoning rebel against such a notion.  The mortal dream of life seems to be infinitely complex and dangerous, and most of us wouldn't dare release control of our futures to an invisible power outside our personal senses.  But could we?  Do we have the spiritual faith and discipline to truly "Let go and let God?"  What would a life lived on this basis be like?  Certainly we would have to devote time to consciously remembering that we are being guided, guarded, and governed by God.  We are going to be faced with decisions that we must act on.  So, how do we turn it all over to God?
I think that if we live "in the moment," we are not asked not to take human actions, we are just asked to act when the moment demands it, and not before.  For instance, if seeking employment, it would be reasonable to feel that we should do research and make applications.  We are led to the moment for doing this, and there is no contradiction to following the impulse to take those actions.  But once we have taken the human footsteps, we shouldn't then spend days, weeks, or months fretting over what the results will be.  Living in the now demands that we release the issue into the hands of divine Love, our Father-Mother, God.  If another human step is necessary, divine Mind is surely capable of putting it before us so we can act accordingly and in the proper way.  We thus live each day focused only on being the most faithful follower of God we can possibly be, and we let our human lives and the paths we take be shown to us spiritually.  We thus release what we believe is our control of the situation into the only hands truly able to bring us safely home.
And what a relief it is to not feel humanly responsible and burdened for the choices we face in life!  To be sure, we are not shirking our  responsibilities by acting in this way, for the only true responsibility we ever have is to listen for God's guidance and follow it faithfully.  So if you are ready, it's never too soon to begin the glorious process of turning your life over to divine Spirit, the only God, who loves and cares for you and me and all.  Just let go and trust yourself to Almighty God, Love.  Peace to all.

Popular religion and the Wizard of Oz

Thanks to its yearly rebroadcast, the film, The Wizard of Oz, is familiar to generations of TV viewers.  Its popularity may also stem from the message it conveys.  The heroine is lost and afraid and is told that all her questions can be answered by the wonderful wizard.  She must "follow the yellow brick road" facing trials and dangers to reach this wizard and his wisdom, and she must persevere if she wants to get back to her home.  When she finally reaches the wizard's castle, rather than provide her with what she needs, he sends her forth on yet another seemingly impossible quest.  Viewers, as well as the heroine, Dorothy, pretty soon clearly see that the wizard is really only a charlatan.  The one piece of truth he has is that the salvation she seeks is within her grasp all the time.  She has only to think about her home, and she is transported back there.
Too often, the dictates of popular religion are like this movie.  We are told that if we do certain things, we will find our heavenly home. We are constantly advised that we must follow all sorts of twisted paths and accomplish all sorts of miraculous feats to find what we seek.  And too often, even after we have faithfully followed these dictates, we find that we are still in the hellish world of mortality.  Such unfulfilling results "...try men's souls" and lead many to turn from religion as false.  Unfortunately, much that is associated with popular religious practice is just that - completely false.  In an age where science has revealed more and more material facts that seem to contradict popular religious teachings, many are driven to agnosticism or atheism, abandoning popular religion altogether.  Others turn to Eastern religions like Buddhism in hopes of finding some answers that make sense.
The real solution to this desperate need is to find "true religion" - the religion that Jesus would recognize and embrace.  And unlike the fake power of the wizard in our movie, that religion does not spring from a wizard or a religious potentate or even a local preacher.  As Jesus would say, true religion "...is within you."
So when we seek to find this vital Truth that will "...make us free," we need to turn away from religions which spout a worship of personalities outside our own souls.  We need to listen to what Jesus taught and try to follow his teachings rather than worship his personality or his bodily presence.  We need to look for the Truth of God within our hearts and our souls and cease to expect some modern-day wizard or preacher or guru to give us the answers we seek.  This inner search for the Truth is possible because the answers are already within our souls.  We know our connection to God and our place in his heavenly kingdom, now.  We know it beyond the cellular level; we know it in the very core of our being.  And when we are still and our mortal senses are silenced, we can hear the answers we need.  Jesus taught us that we should "...enter into our closet(s) and shut the door."  We must take him at his word.  We must stop trying to find a wizard to guide us and rely on the very voice of God.  We must have faith that Jesus told us the Truth - all that we need to find our heavenly home.  And as we patiently and prayerfully hold his words and his example in our thoughts, we will surely find that we are back in Kansas or wherever heaven happens to be for us.

Progress is the law of God

In her revelatory book, Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy wrote the following:
       Every day makes its demands upon us for higher proofs rather than professions of Christian power. These proofs consist solely in the destruction of sin, sickness, and death by the power of Spirit, as Jesus destroyed them. This is an element of progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us only what we can certainly fulfill.


How often have I found myself believing that I was stuck in a state of limbo, unable to move forward with my life!  And yet, in each of those cases, God opened a door for me to step through.  A door that brought sure progress to my life and my spirit.  Perhaps more amazingly, the door never led where I was expecting to go.  I would endlessly research human options open to me and analyze each one from multiple angles.  Occasionally I would follow one of those options for a short time only to discover that, for all my careful planning, the end result was not right for me.  
But whenever I've completely released my human sense of logic and planning and turned my life over to divine Mind, perfect Love, I've always found peace and joy and fulfillment.  The important thing is to have an unyielding faith that your life is not your own, but is truly a manifestation of God's eternal Life, and to hold deep within your soul the eternal truth that releases you from human fears and doubts.  Jesus showed us how to live a life so free and conscious of God's power that he could face anything with the certainty that his Father-Mother, God, would bring him safely through.
So whatever your life is like now, just remember that progress is what God has in store for you.  No matter how long suffering has followed your footsteps, uplifting life and love are your destiny.  Expect omnipotent Love to reach you, wherever you are, and lift your life to joy and goodness.  Peace.

   

If you don't like something, let go of it.

A Sunday School teacher once told me a story I've never forgotten.  It was about how hunters captured monkeys in the jungle.  The trappers would simply put a banana in a jar with a narrow mouth.  They would then tie the jar to a tree and wait.  Soon enough, a monkey would come along and see the banana in the jar.  The monkey could squeeze his hand into the jar to grab the banana, but as he gripped the banana with his fist, his hand could not fit through the mouth of the jar, leaving him trapped to the jar and the tree.  It was a simple matter for the trappers to come and scoop him up.
The obvious moral of the story is that if the monkey had enough sense to just let go of the banana, he could have easily withdrawn his hand and escaped.  It was only his own stupidity and stubborn attitude that left him trapped.
Sadly, people are often guilty of the same type behavior.  No, we may not realize that it is within our power to let go of something and be free, but we are.  Whether we are clutching sickness, poverty, depression, or hopelessness, the story applies.  Mortal mind, aka. human reasoning, would argue that these things are imposed on us by forces and circumstances beyond our control - a weak body, bad genes, an economic downturn, failure in a relationship, and on and on.  We are educated from birth to believe that we live in an objective state of being and that there is scientific proof that something outside our control has had a negative effect on our well-being.  If you believe this, you are certainly in the majority.  But is it really true?
The science of physics has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that, in fact, we do not live in an objective state, but a subjective one.  The experimenter's thoughts and attitudes directly affect the results of his experiments.  Google the terms placebo and nocebo and read what you find there.
So, what if our attitudes and beliefs are truly a part, maybe even the whole, of our experience?  That means that if we are suffering humanly, that suffering is in fact a product of our thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs.  And if we can change those thoughts, we can change our experience.  Too often, though, just like our friends the monkeys, we are so fixated on having that banana, that we are not about to let it go, even if that simple action would free us.
Ask yourself, do I wholeheartedly believe that some problem is real and truly a part of my life?  Do I refer to "my cancer" or "my evil boss" or even "my horrible life?"  If you do, then stop and consider how much you want those negative things.  Are you tired enough of them to let them go?  Could you begin to think differently about yourself if you knew it would bring healing to your life?  Even if you're not convinced and certain of this, would it not be worth a little effort to try?  In speaking of healing, the Master Christian, Jesus Christ, tells us that we should, "...know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  If this Truth is that we are always held in God's loving arms - never hurt, never sick, never threatened - and if knowing this will free us from the human circumstances that say we are, shouldn't we listen to him?
Whether you believe this premise or not, surely we can all agree that thinking positively and expecting goodness is a better way to live than thinking negatively and expecting evil.  So, start each day by reminding yourself that you are Love's expression.  Remember that all through the day.  Fight any suggestion to see and believe in sin, sickness, or death.  You will find comfort and healing in proportion to how sincerely you hold onto these loving thoughts.  Healing in this way happens every day.  Don't be a silly monkey and refuse to let go of that mortal banana.  Peace.

Understanding what matters and what doesn't

In the Ten Commandments, we find a prohibition against murder and another against bearing false witness.  Hmm...quite a broad spectrum there.  What can we learn from such widely varied commandments?
Again, in Isaiah 55:8-9, we read, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
The angel message in these passages is that mortal, material thoughts and actions and all the laws relating to them reflect their source - mortality, materiality, nothingness.  The Creator of the universe is divine, infinite Spirit and that which is the only truth of creation must likewise be completely Spirit, Mind, Love.  So when we think of human life and death, good and evil, morality and immorality, we are simply entertaining vacant unreality - nothing claiming to be something.  The sad thing is how many good and loving ideas of God have been condemned to misery and even death on the basis of vacuous mortal dictates.  The preacher who believes in the power of sin is just as guilty as the simple sinner who believes that there is pleasure in debauched mortal existence.
Does this mean that we have the freedom to completely disregard human morals and rules of righteousness?  Only if we never want to discover our true, eternally loving state of being.  A wise teacher once said that sin is anything that separates us from God, Love, Truth.  Since the ultimate reality of creation is that we can never truly be separated from our Father-Mother, God, sin cannot exist in the kingdom of heaven - our eternal, spiritual home.  
So what and where and why is sin?  Sin is simply a mistake about what is real - an illusion about life that, if believed and practiced will hide our true spiritual, perfect natures from us.  The only reality of sin is that it serves to reveal to us the suffering separation from divine Love brings.  Our Father-Mother, Love doesn't create sin or make us prone to it.  But divine Love does remind us through a still, small voice within our hearts that we are loving, pure ideas.  This voice triggers within us a repulsion to all that is sinful, impure, and mortal.  If we wish to uplift our lives, we listen to that voice and turn away from all that is unlike God, good.  The true meaning of "free will" is that we can choose to embrace sin, conclude its seeming pleasures are what we want, and live lives separated from heavenly good.  But those sin-filled lives are never real.  They are always delusional.  And we may choose to live in this way time and time again, but all that is really happening is that we are wasting eons in false dreaming, never aware that there is true happiness, peace, and everlasting joy at our very fingertips.  All we have to do is to turn away wholeheartedly from anything that makes us bow down to matter, sin, disease, and death. and steadfastly listen to that inner voice of Truth that is always with us - always guiding, guarding, and governing us.
To escape from evil, we must be steadfast in our focus on the Truth of being - in spiritual living and blessedness.  We must stand up against the subtle lies that delusional error tries to impress upon us as our own thoughts.  Humanly when we dream at night, we are convinced that we are living a real existence - traveling to foreign lands and doing wondrous things - when all the while we are simply lying motionless, asleep in a bed.  Likewise, when we look at our daily human existence as reality, all we are truly seeing is a waking dream - sometimes exciting or beautiful, but always false.  We are so acclimated to this pseudo-reality that we think it represents true being.  This is where we must listen to our inner voice - the voice of an angel - if we are going to awake and begin to seek what truly constitutes life and being - divine Spirit.
So, dear friends, do not despair, no matter how deeply mired in mortal delusion you may seem to be.  Your true being has never sinned.  Your true identity is "...hid with Christ in God."  And all the years of hopeless slavery to matter that you may believe you have spent are less than nothing.  It only takes a moment to awaken from this mortal dream and reach out with your heart to divine Love.  Your Father-Mother, God is always there to lift you up as we read in the book of James (4:8): "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded."  Keep your hearts and minds so focused on perfect Love that you listen to and claim no other mind but the divine Mind as your own.  Peace.