Category Archives: Christian Science

The Gift of Gratitude

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In God I find a precious gift
That knows no fear, no feud,
That glows so still, serene and pure:
The gift of gratitude.
– Christian Science Hymnal, #146

Monday is my errand-running, photo-taking, take-time-to-create-something, walk-on-the-Bellingham-boardwalk day. It is a sacred day for me – the day I set aside every week to be an explorer, and an earth-tourist.  I am hugely grateful for the gift of Monday.

With confidence it hails each task,
With courage undismayed,
For naught against Infinity
Can ever be arrayed.
– Christian Science Hymnal, #`146

I had a boatload to accomplish yesterday – needed to prepare readings for Wednesday night, mark my books for Thanksgiving, and choose hymns for Wednesday, Thanksgiving and the Sunday morning church services; had photos and writing I needed to print; books and packages that needed to be mailed;  food for Thanksgiving that needed to be picked up; and a Thanksgiving service that needed to be rehearsed. When I looked at all that needed to be done, I was a little overwhelmed. But, taking each thing one at a time, step-by-step, trusting in God, Love, I was able to get the bulk of it done by noon.

The oldest son is home from university, and at noon – just about the time I’d finished getting most of my to-do list done – asked me if I was planning to go up to Bellingham for my walk. I told him I was, and asked him if he’d like to join me. Within the hour both my sons had joined me for an expedition to Bellingham’s Boulevard Park.

It was good to be all together again – good to hear the rascally sons laughing with each other again, wonderful to be able to sit down together at Mambo’s Italian Restaurant, eating pizza and calzones, and talking about books we’re reading, plans for the future, good memories from the past. It was just good to be in the same space and time together.

So much good! Family and friends, home, satisfying work, endless opportunities to give and share and love…

I am enjoying the moments of Life. Right now. I’m not going to wait for Thanksgiving to be grateful. The gift of gratitude is one gift we don’t need to wait to open. 🙂

Thank you, Life!

In seamless gratitude I weave
A silent, healing prayer,
With shining threads of ceaseless joy;
For man is God’s great heir.
– Christian Science Hymnal, #`146 

“Love… blazons the night with starry gems”

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 It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches  the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness. – Mary Baker Eddy

Arctic regions, sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, – all point to Mind, the spiritual  intelligence they reflect. The floral apostles are hieroglyphs of Deity. Suns and planets teach grand lessons.  The stars make night beautiful, and the leaflet turns naturally towards the light. – Mary Baker Eddy

***

Just took the dog for her nightly walk. It is freezing out there. The lawn is sparkling with frost, and the sky is sparkling with stars…

I heard stories today – scary stories about people doing scary things – hurting each other, showing no kindness or care for their fellow man. I admit that for a while I felt overwhelmed by the sadness of those stories. Helpless to make things better.

But when I looked up at the stars tonight – their far-away light reaching us through milliions of miles and thousands of years  – I felt as I always feel when I look out at the stars – like I’m part of something really amazing. Like there’s a majestic purpose to it all, and we’re all of us a part of that purpose. 

And my thoughts went to those people doing the terrible things to their fellow man. I wondered if they were looking up at the stars, too – or if, at some point, they’d stopped looking at them. I asked them, in my thoughts, if they realize how amazing they are, and what an amazing world they are a part of.  I found myself hoping that they would look up at the glittering sky and share in what I’m feeling right now – share in the joy, share in the love – know their beauty and nobility as Love’s children.  I found myself hoping  and longing for all of creation to see the universe through the eyes of Love.  As Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:  “It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches  the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.”

There’s an oft-repeated line from the movie, Clash of the Titans: “Release the kraken!” And it came to me yesterday that it’s beyond time we “Release the peace!” instead. Our world is long past krakens. We all deserve more than myth and hatred and violence.  It’s time we recognize who we each are as the children of Love, made in the image and likeness of Love.

A new friend in Africa who’s just finished reading my book, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist, sent me a lovely message this morning. This part of his message especially touched me: “i now feel like you are an African and i can boast of having a new and a good friend…” I love that! I love being seen as an African by an African. That has got to be the highest praise.

I know my new friend looks up at the stars when his part of the world is dark. And I’m sure that he feels what I feel, too, when he gazes on them. I know he looks up at the stars through Love’s eyes.

I’m so very glad to know we are dwelling under the stars, and amongst them, together.

Midnight foretells the dawn. Led by a solitary star amid the darkness, the Magi of old foretold the Messiahship of Truth. Is the wise man of to-day believed, when he beholds the light which heralds Christ’s eternal dawn and describes its effulgence? – Mary Baker Eddy

 

Bokononism, Humoristianity, and Christian Science: A Really Scholarly Essay

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The time for thinkers has come. –  Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

“All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies.” –Kurt Vonnegut’s character, Lionel Boyd “Bokonon” Johnson, in Cat’s Cradle

You must be able to recognize how ludicrous your beliefs might appear to others. – Alpha Wingoov Karen, The Humoristian Chronicles

***

I just finished reading Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. In his book, Vonnegut introduces us to a new religion, Bokononism. I very much enjoyed learning about Bokononism. I am also pretty sure that I myself am a Bokononist.  But then, the books suggests that we ALL are.

So, counting the religion I was raised in – Christian Science – and the religion I founded – Humoristianity – I guess I can now identify myself as a Humoristian Bokononist Christian Scientist – or HuBoChriSci, for short.

I thought it might be useful – at least to me – to compare and contrast these three sects.  In keeping with the religion I founded, Humoristianity, this will, of course, be a really thorough and scholarly presentation. 🙂

And away we go…

THE PURPOSE

Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. – Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy

As Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science Church, states in The Manual of the Mother Church, the Christian Science Church was  “…a church designed to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing.”

In the textbook for Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Eddy defines “Church” as “The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle,” and says, “The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the  dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.”.

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Health-Scriptures-Authorized-Trade/dp/0879522607/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1384621398

In Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut’s character, “Bonobon” Johnson, explains the purpose of his religion in a “calypso” poem:

I wanted all things
To seem to make some sense,
So we all could be happy, yes,
Instead of tense.
And I made up lies
So that they all fit nice,
And I made this sad world
A par-a-dise.”
–Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

http://www.amazon.com/Cats-Cradle-Kurt-Vonnegut-ebook/dp/B003XRELGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384621450&sr=8-1&keywords=cat%27s+cradle

My purpose in founding Humoristianity was to bring laughter to those weary seekers of humor, athirst in a discussion board desert of stodginess, pomposity, and people who took themselves waaaay too seriously.

Here, as I laid them down on that discussion board, are the tenets of Humoristianity:

1) You must be able to laugh at yourself.

2) You must be able to recognize how ludicrous your beliefs might appear to others.

3) You must want nothing but good for everyone, everywhere in the universe. (Editor’s note: Don’t let this one scare you. None of us is quite there, yet.)

4) You must have a natural aversion to meetings, committees, and scheduled events (as we will be having none of those).

5) You must enjoy the humor of Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, Tom Lehrer, and Jerry Seinfeld (if you’re a Jerry Lewis kind of guy, you might want to think about starting your own religion – although we wish you nothing but good). 

http://www.amazon.com/Humoristian-Chronicles-Most-Unusual-Fellowship-ebook/dp/B005MGBEJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384621350&sr=8-1&keywords=humoristian+chronicles

LOVE

God is Love. – I John 4

In the Christian Science textbook, Eddy writes, “’God is Love.’ More than this we cannot ask, higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go.”

And in Cat’s Cradle, one of Vonnegut’s characters seems to echo this thought when she recounts a (fictional) conversation she had with one of the inventors of the atomic bomb:

“Do any conversations stick in your mind?”
“There was one where he bet I couldn’t tell him anything that was absolutely true. So I said to him, ‘God is love.’”
“And what did he say?”
“He said, ‘What is God? What is love?’”
“Um.”
“But God really is love, you know,” said Miss Faust, “no matter what Dr. Hoenikker said.”
“Miss Faust,” Vonnegut writes, “was ripe for Bokononism.”

TRUTH

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. – John 8

“Dr. Breed keeps telling me the main thing with Dr. Hoenikker was truth.”
“You don’t seem to agree.”
“I don’t know whether I agree or not. I just have trouble understanding how truth, all by itself, could be enough for a person.”
– from Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

“Truth is ever truthful, and can tolerate no error in premise or conclusion,” writes Eddy in the Christian Science textbook, and “Christianity as Jesus taught it was not a creed, nor a system of ceremonies, nor a special gift from a ritualistic Jehovah; but it was the demonstration of divine Love casting out error and healing the sick, not merely in the name of Christ, or Truth, but in demonstration of Truth.”

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE A HUMORISTIAN BOKONONIST CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST?

What? You want me to, like, give you an actual answer to this question….?

***

“Are you a Bokononist?” I asked him.
“I agree with one Bokononist idea. I agree that all religions, including Bokononism, are nothing but lies.”
“Will this bother you as a scientist,” I inquired, “to go through a ritual like this?”
“I am a very bad scientist. I will do anything to make a human being feel better, even if it’s unscientific. No scientist worthy of the name could say such a thing.”
– Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

“In this country most people don’t even understand what pure research is.” 
“I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me what it is.”
“It isn’t looking for a better cigarette filter or a softer face tissue or a longer-lasting house paint, God help us. Everybody talks about research and practically nobody in this country’s doing it. We’re one of the few companies that actually hires men to do pure research. When most other companies brag about their research, they’re talking about industrial hack technicians who wear white coats, work out of cookbooks, and dream up an improved windshield wiper for next year’s Olds-mobile.”
“But here…? “
“Here, and shockingly few other places in this country, men are paid to increase knowledge, to work toward no end but that.”
“That’s very generous of General Forge and Foundry Company.”
“Nothing generous about it. New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.” 
Had I been a Bokononist then, that statement would have made me howl. – Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

 

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No sour grapes here, nosiree…

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What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord god, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine… – Ezekiel 18: 2-4

The transmission of disease or of certain idiosyncrasies of mortal mind would be impossible if this great fact of being were learned, – namely, that nothing inharmonious can enter being, for Life is God. Heredity is a prolific subject for mortal belief to pin theories upon; but if we learn that nothing is real but the right, we shall have no dangerous inheritances… – Mary Baker Eddy

***

I realized today that even in our own families there are things we skirt around in conversation. The things it’s okay to talk about are trips we’ve taken, hikes we’ve hiked, how much money is in the savings, what books we’re reading, and what movies we’ve seen. The men in the family bond over talk of sports and car up-keep, and the women bond over talk of politics and  flowers and pets. And I mean in no way to belittle any of those conversations  – they are legitimate, they have a place, they bring us together. But there are other conversations that we skip around, things that would be helpful to say, and that maybe should be said – but we’re afraid might bring confrontation or discomfort, or make someone feel hurt or attacked. And so we don’t go there.

Today as I sat at breakfast with my oldest son and my husband – as they talked sports and car up-keep – I realized I was standing at a sort of verbal crossroads – I could go the safe direction and throw in my two cents about the Seahawks and Pete Carroll, and the price of petrol, or I could go that other direction and maybe hear something that would hurt, but might be helpful to me.

I took a deep breath, and plunged towards the scary path.  I’m not going to tell you what I asked, or what was answered, because I do not want to. But because I went down the scary path, I had an epiphany this morning.

***

Speaking from a materially-genetic, hereditary standpoint, I guess you could say that I’ve inherited two very different natures from my very different parents. Mom is a wise, nurturing, loving, compassionate  empath –a  defender of the down-trodden, and champion for truth, justice, and equality.  She is Frodo Baggins in a Superman cape – a homebody without ego or the need for adventure, although she has had her share of adventures.  Dad is… Dad is a little more complicated.  He’s an explorer, an adventurer, a Renaissance man – artist, mountain-climber, geologist, hydrologist, ski instructor, cartographer, author.  He’s always up to something.  Last summer, at the age of 95, he finished a mural he’d painted on the side of their shed – and this mural covered a space that was 12 feet high – so I’m guessing there was some ladder-climbing involved. He’s traveled to six of the earth’s continents, hob-nobbed with politicians and celebrities, and lived a most unusual life. There are certain traits he possesses that have allowed him to lead this unusual life.

And, speaking from a materially-genetic standpoint, I might seem to be a weird combo of these two antipodal individuals. Sometimes these two natures seem to be at odds in myself. I can recognize the good stuff I seem to have inherited – the kindness and empathy that are qualities of Mom; the need to explore, discover, and create that are qualities of Dad. And I can recognize the other stuff – the not-so-good stuff –  I seem to have inherited, too.

A lot of people have labeled me “sweet.” Sweet is good. I kind of wish I was wholly that person.  But I am not.  People are sometimes surprised, and disappointed, when they realize at some point that “sweet” is just a part of my human personality.  My human personality has also been known to be impatient, angry, self-righteously indignant, opportunistic, cranky, and reactive.  There have been battles with ego. The human personality is not always “nice.”

Does the bad of the human personality totally negate the good? Does the cranky negate the sweet?

Geeze. I really hope not.

So a couple things:

Regarding genetics – I don’t think I ever fully recognized that I even had this belief until today. But this morning my belief in heredity was exposed. I saw that I had allowed it to make a claim on me – had, without being aware I was doing this, allowed genetics to be an explanation, and maybe an excuse, for being who I am.  I had made it some kind of law that I had to follow. And, as Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the textbook for Christian Science, “Heredity is not a law.”  It never was a law, and I never really was thrall to it.

Regarding the nature of man – In reality, we are all the children of God – the image and likeness of Love – and all we can inherit are the qualities of Love. There’s nothing Love, God, can create which could be in any way unlike Love.  That’s the truth about all of us – Mom, Dad, me, and you, too. In reality, there IS no dual nature of man.

I recently changed my “author’s bio” on Amazon  – removed the part about my up-bringing and how I was raised . I am responsible for my own behaviors at this point. Genetics is a two-headed coin – if you accept the heads of it, you also have to accept the tails. And I don’t wanna. I’m not dependent on inherited glories.  I don’t need to accept inherited pains, either. I am my own self.  And the only real inheritance I have comes from my Father-Mother God.

Questions from a friend about Christian Science…

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A while ago I had an interesting exchange with a non-Christian Scientist friend on a discussion board. A question somebody else recently asked me about “malicious animal magnetism”  brought my thoughts back, again, to this exchange.  I’m going to share that exchange below. Note that I wasn’t responding to my friend in any official capacity for the Christian Science church. This was just me, responding as me.  I do not represent other Christian Scientists, or the religion of Christian Science, in my response. I’m sure there are Christian Scientists who would give a much clearer and more articulate answer.  But this is my blog, and so it is my response you will be reading here. 🙂

My friend asks:

As a follower of MBE, do you believe that illness is caused by incorrect belief rather than germs? MBE frowned on meds; Do you take meds? What about malicious animal magnetism? MBE sued a guy for MAM, which she claimed inflicted great suffering. Do you believe in that?

Are you going to get a flu shot?

***

Karen responds:

Medical research has shown that certain emotions – fear, anger, hate – produce chemicals that can affect your physical health:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090304091229.htm
http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&fuseaction=showUIDAbstract&uid=2000-13324-011

– and I think this research on the mind-body connection correlates well to the teachings of Christian Science which include the belief that our state of mind plays a part in determining our human experience. On the first website I listed above, the research indicates that your emotions play an even bigger role than having basic needs – if this is true, I wouldn’t be surprised if your emotions/thoughts/beliefs ARE more powerful than germs in determining your health.

Do I frown on people using meds? No. I totally support people doing whatever it is they think they need to do to get well. I myself tend to not use many drugs, though – I’m not sure if this is so much because of my religious affiliation or just because I’ve always tried to live in a way that seems most “natural” to me – and the idea of putting a bunch of chemicals in my body just has never seemed very natural. I do remember taking antibiotics once, but I had a bad reaction and ended up getting sicker from the meds than I was from the original problem. I’ve found that using my understanding of God, Love, has been the most effective way for me to experience healing. But that’s just me and I would never think to force my beliefs on anyone else. (On a side note: I recently talked to a friend on the phone who has been diagnosed with cancer – the drugs she’s been prescribed to take while she’s in remission cost $30,000 to $40,000 a month!!!! Holy shamoley!!! There is something very wrong with our traditional health care system when the drugs people are told they need to take to keep them alive cost as much as a third of a house!!!!)

Do I believe in malicious animal magnetism? Well, I’m not sure what you mean by that, exactly – if you’re talking about the effect malicious thoughts have when they’re directed towards people, then I guess we’ve all, at one time or another, felt the force of hatred directed at us – there have been a few times when I’ve felt someone’s hatred as almost a physical kick in the stomach – and I don’t think we should underestimate the power of that. I think it’s wise to keep our thoughts on guard to that kind of emotion – to try to keep our own thoughts so full of love towards others that we don’t get pulled into that mental realm with them. Not sure that’s exactly what you’re talking about – but that’s the best I can give you, I think.

Karen

Oh. Flu shot? Don’t think so. Are you?

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/165/11/1495
http://vran.org/personal-stories/vaccine-brain-damage/
http://www.whale.to/vaccine/brain.html
http://www.mercola.com/article/vaccines/neurological_damage.htm
http://www.healing-arts.org/children/vaccines/vaccines-dpt.htm
http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/March-2013/effectiveness-of-flu-vaccine-raises-more-red-flags.aspx

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa011604a.htm

 ***

My friend responds:

“There is something very wrong with our traditional health care system when the drugs people are told they need to take to keep them alive cost as much as a third of a house!!!!)”


We agree!


“I think it’s wise to keep our thoughts on guard to that kind of emotion – to try to keep our own thoughts so full of love towards others that we don’t get pulled into that mental realm with them.”


You are right tolerable.


No flu shot for me either. I don’t like little pricks.

Ghosties and Goblins and Zombies, Oh My!

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Columbus: You see? You just can’t trust anyone! The first girl I let into my life and she tries to eat me!- from  Zombieland

***

Being raised in Christian Science, I guess I was sort of culturally deprived when it comes to ghosties and goblins – I’ve never believed in that stuff. And I think that’s why I was never able to get into movies like The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby or the recent crop of vampire dramas  – they just never made any kind of sense for me – I had no cultural context for them.  My friends would be trembling with wonderful frissons of terror as poltergeists and Satan’s spawn appeared on the screen, and I’d be sitting there trying to figure out what in the heck all the fuss was about. These things on the screen – the rotating heads and the walking dead and the wispy spirits – it was perfectly obvious, to me, that they weren’t real, that there was no reason or cause for them, and no reason to get all worked-up and freaked-out over ’em.

Nosiree, bub. If I’m going to watch a Frankenstein movie – it’s going to be Mel Brooke’s Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, and Peter Boyle. If I’m going to see a vampire movie, it’s going to be Love at First Bite with George Hamilton.  Werewolves? Yeah, give me An American Werewolf in London. Ghost stories? Give me Ghostbusters. And for zombie movies you cannot beat Zombieland. I mean, why would I want to get all ascared about something that doesn’t exist, when i could be laughing at it all instead?

Here’s wishing everyone a Halloween packed full of laughter and crazy costumes, and lots of chocolate!

***

Mortals evolve images of thought. These may appear to the ignorant to be apparitions; but they are mysterious only because it is unusual to see thoughts, though we can always feel their influence. Haunted houses, ghostly voices, unusual noises, and apparitions brought out in dark seances either involve feats by tricksters, or they are images and sounds evolved involuntarily by mortal mind. – Mary Baker Eddy

“Go into the arts…”

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??????????photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell

Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or how badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something. – Kurt Vonnegut

***

I love the Vonnegut quote above.  It expresses really well how I feel about the creative arts in my own life. I’ve come to feel that art is the purest expression of Soul, and I’ve found that the older I get the more important the expression of Soul has become in my life.  Photography, singing, writing – these things help me stay focused and help me stay sane. Literally help me stay sane. Looking back, I think photography was a big help in pulling me out of the whatever-that-was several years ago. When I’m out taking pictures I’m always looking for the magic – for the beautiful and joy-filled – for the “idea of truth”; and the other things – the things that would distract me from the beautiful and good – are stilled in my thought. When I’m out and about with my camera, the dialogue of mortal mind is silenced for a while, and I’m on a vacation from it.

In photography there’s that moment when the photographer spots something remarkable and captures it – to get that moment the photographer has to have appreciation for the beauty around her- she has to be able to recognize it when she sees it. And then the photographer takes home that moment and downloads it to the computer and does the art thing – crops and contrasts and highlights and saturates and leaches out the color until the artist in her recognizes that something has popped out that’s just perfect. And then she gets to share that moment with other people – gift an audience with that moment, too.

The audience is a huge part of the art – the people who read the books, or listen to the music, or look at the pictures, become, themselves, a part of the expression and experience.  When the audience members laugh or gasp at the right time during a play – they are working with the actors, helping them create their expression.  When the artist’s audience applauds or writes a review – laughs and cries and feels and learns because of the art – the audience becomes a part of the artistic endeavor, too.  🙂

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes: “Mortals are egotists. They believe themselves to be independent workers, personal authors, and even privileged originators of something which Deity would not or could not create.”  I’ve found that when what I’m seeking in my work is applause or personal recognition – when I’m creating something to show-off and impress – rather than to share and express – the work never turns out quite right. It’s lacking something genuine in it. Something real.  It’s a stilted, self-conscious, self-indulgent, self-absorbed, SELFED and ridiculous thing.  It really stinks.

But when the work comes from the inspiration of Love (God) – from the beauty, joy, and kindness I see around me and just HAVE to share with everybody else – then it’s real. Then it’s WORTH sharing.

Whatever furnishes the semblance of an idea governed by its Principle, furnishes food for thought. Through astronomy, natural history, chemistry, music, mathematics, thought passes naturally from effect back to cause. Academics of the right sort are requisite. Observation, invention, study, and original thought are expansive and should promote the growth of mortal mind out of itself, out of all that is mortal. – Mary Baker Eddy

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Tartan Kippah

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Last weekend a new friend invited me to a Jewish service – she was providing the food for the oneg Shabbat afterwards. I’d never been inside a Jewish temple before, and was really looking forward to this opportunity.

The service was of the Reformed Jewish type – informal and friendly – we all sat in a circle and sang songs and heard stories. It was cool. The rabbi conducting the service was a woman – attractive and funny,  intelligent and kind.  After the service was over, we all went downstairs and feasted on the food of the oneg Shabbat – breads and fruits, and sandwiches and triple chocolate cake.  Chocolate and new friends and a new adventure. Can it get any better than this?

And I’ve just got to share this picture – one of the temple’s members was wearing a kippah made out of a material with a Scottish tartan pattern on it – it totally cracked me up – he started laughing when I asked him about it. He actually got this one when he was visiting Israel – he’s partly Scottish, and this tartan happens to match his Scottish family tartan!  Here’s Doug in his tartan kippah:

Doug and his way cool yamulke

 

Hear what Love is saying…

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Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  – I John 4

***

I’ve been performing a sort of experiment the last couple days.  The experiment started when I was conducting the service yesterday morning, and reading with my way cool podium partner, Liz.  Yesterday’s Bible Lesson was on the “Doctrine of Atonement” – or, the doctrine of “at-one-ment” – the concepts of Love and unity and one-ness filled every section of the readings.  And, as I was listening to Liz read her citations from The Bible, I found myself mentally replacing the word “God” in the citations with the word “Love.”

Liz read (from Deuteronomy 6): “The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thine heart, and with all they soul, and with all they might… Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you…” and I heard: “God is one Love: And thou shalt love Love with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might… don’t pursue, seek, follow, or desire anything but Love…”.

Liz read (from Ezekiel 33): “Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord.” And I heard: “Come, I pray you, and hear what Love is saying…”.

Liz read (from Psalms 77): “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God. Thou art the God that doest wonders…” and I heard “Love’s way is the way to find peace: who and what is so great as Love? Love performs wonders.”

Liz read (from Jeremiah 32): “…the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work…” and I heard “Love is mighty, strong, and powerful.  To follow the counsel and course of Love and to perform the work of Love gives us power.”

This experiment has been a revelation for me.  It has added, for me, a new depth to the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”   If you think of “Love” as the “me”, then what that first commandment is really saying is “Don’t put anything else before Love. Don’t make anything else more important in your life than Love. Don’t worship any power but Love.”  And duh, right? Haven’t we all found that when we pursue money, prestige, position, material possessions, political power – when those things are our goals – we’re never really satisfied.  I have learned through my own life experience that to follow after anything but Love is not going to bring me joy, or peace, or wholeness.

In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes: “Dost thou ‘love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind’? This command includes much, even the surrender of all merely material sensation, affection, and worship. This is the El Dorado of Christianity.” And in Matthew 6, Jesus tells us, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Replace “kingdom of God” with “Love” and see where that leads you. Whoahhh…. right? 🙂

Jesus tells us (Luke 17: 21), “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Love is within us.  We don’t have to die to experience the kingdom of God.  It is ours to claim right now. Love lived is heaven on earth.

I know this has been said a gazillion times before, but that doesn’t make it less true:  It – everything, life itself – really is all about Love, isn’t it? Love is the purpose. Love is the solution. Love really is the answer.

I used this hymn – with words by Mary Baker Eddy – during the service yesterday.  I believe Eddy’s words totally capture the power of Love:

Brood o’er us with Thy sheltering wing,
’Neath which our spirits blend
Like brother birds, that soar and sing,
And on the same branch bend.
The arrow that doth wound the dove
Darts not from those who watch and love.

If thou the bending reed would break
By thought or word unkind,
Pray that His Spirit you partake,
Who loved and healed mankind:
Seek holy thoughts and heavenly strain,
That make men one in love remain.

Learn, too, that wisdom’s rod is given
For faith to kiss, and know;
That greetings glorious from high heaven,
Whence joys supernal flow,
Come from that Love, divinely near,
Which chastens pride and earthborn fear.

Through God, who gave that word of might
Which swelled creation’s lay:
“Let there be light, and there was light.”
What chased the clouds away?
’Twas Love whose finger traced aloud
A bow of promise on the cloud.

Thou to whose power our hope we give,
Free us from human strife.
Fed by Thy love divine we live,
For Love alone is life;
And life most sweet, as heart to heart
Speaks kindly when we meet and part.

“I am not willing to die to save society money.”

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My friend, Nikki – a beautiful, amazing, talented woman who is a most perfect expression of Soul – sent me a really powerful message the other day. I think Nikki’s message needs to be shared with my readers. I believe it’s time for our society – our for-profit health insurance companies, our politicians,  and our citizens – to ask what is really valuable to us. Is money really more important to us than life itself? Here’s Nikki’s message –

“I was told today that people that are a drain on society should no longer be given any care/benefits and left to fend for themselves. The person then said “No matter the reason, it just should be that way, I’m tired of paying for other people when I barely have enough as it is” (Side note: Said person is single, living rent-free with a friend and makes 70,000 a year). I was told that people that drain society are the exact thing wrong with our country, and that if it weren’t for us, we wouldn’t have a government that is shut down.

“So here’s the deal: I am a financial drain on society. I get it. I do. Trust me, I do not WANT to be a drain on society in any way, shape or form. There is nothing I can do about it, however. The only other option is death, and I am not willing to die to save society money.

“My medical care costs upwards of 1 million a year. My private medical insurance (which comes with a hefty premium) covers 80% of that, and doesn’t cover all of home-health nursing. They cover 50% of my home-health nursing costs.

“That means, left over, is 250,000 give or take, plus another $75,000 for the rest of the home-health nursing. Add to that my other benefits which are: 30,000 for respite, 7,500 (give or take) for social security and $70,000 for my enrollment in a state-funded care program for adults on ventilators (which provides ventilator care and supplies).

“All told, that is an average of 430,000 a year my insurance doesn’t pay for. That’s WAY over double my parent’s income, by the way, which means without that 430,000 I would not be alive. So, I am sorry everyone has to pay a lot of money to keep me alive. I truly am. But I have no choice, other than death.

“I am a financial drain on society. If we’re not willing to take care of our most fragile (medically speaking, age, disability, or income) then what on Earth is wrong with us? Aren’t we supposed to take care of each other? That’s how it works.”