Spiritview

Down with overeating

2009-11-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

If combating the temptation to overeat, starve gluttony out of your way of thinking by not feeding it with compliance, passivity or mindlessness.

Who are you helping today?

2009-11-09T03:06:00.000-08:00

I have this cute paperweight that was given to me as a gift with a picture of one little girl pushing another up a steep slope. The quote on the side reads,
It's a useful reminder that we never suffer to help another out in need. Our generous giving and sharing benefits us too and takes us to a higher place.

"When you help someone up a hill, you get that much closer yourself." ~ Anonymous

What are you seeing?

2009-11-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

In light of the spiritual universe God created that is filled with goodness but that goodness is not always apparent to the human mind, it's not the world we have to change to find it, it's our perception of the world that needs improvement.

Need to protect yourself better?

2009-11-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

This quote arrested my attention and got me to wondering about abusive states of mortal mind I need to be more diligent in defending myself from...

"If you are constantly being mistreated, you're cooperating with the treatment."

~ Robert Anthony

Your protection from swine flu

2009-11-05T03:05:00.000-08:00

With the onslaught of publicity and commotion about swine flu fears, aggressive measures being taken in schools and workplaces to prevent contagion, and daily reports of people suffering, reminders to spiritually defend thought from being influenced by prevalent concerns cannot be too frequent.

Keep your spiritual armor on!

A strong protection from swine flu is a spiritual understanding of your infallible health as a beloved and secure child of God. Your individuality as a child of God is wholly immune to swine flu. A spiritual idea of God can't get it.

When aware of the swirling fears about catching the flu, I remember the story of the three Hebrew boys cast into the fiery furnace, recounted in the Old Testament. The flames were fierce and wild. But the boys were not touched. They walked through the fire and came out without a single hair singed.

While in the furnace, the King noticed a fourth figure with them, a presence commonly identified as the Christ. The boys obviously stayed in such a heightened spiritual state of mind, that their spiritual mindedness totally neutralized any effect from those flames. Their spiritual mindedness protected them.

The same rule works for us today. Spiritual mindedness neutralizes all the germs of fear, worry and concern swirling about us coming from other people, the media, doctors and the government. In a right state of mind, those germs do not affect us. They have no impact on our thought, our health, the body, our well being. They are as nothing. Just like Christ was with those boys in the heated flames, Christ is with us wherever we go. Christ protects us. Christ defends us. Christ knows what to do to keep us safe and well.

So, have no fear of the "flames" leaping up today in the form of flu fears. They are powerless. They are nothing to fear. They are as nothing to the spiritually inspired consciousness.

Keep your armor of protection on. Stay spiritually minded. Pray for your own safety and well being. Pray for your neighbor's safety and well being.

In a right state of mind, we can walk out of this "furnace" of error without a single hair singed on our head--without a trace that anything happened in the first place.

Layers of unflattering error

2009-11-04T03:05:00.000-08:00

I caught a segment on TV a few days ago about a young man who lost 450 pounds. They showed a before and after shot of this guy, and the difference in appearance was astounding, as you can probably imagine.

What grabbed my attention, though, was how strikingly handsome this man was at a normal weight. At 650 pounds, his innate beauty was very difficult, if not impossible to see, from a physical point of view.

I pondered the metaphysical lesson.

Covered under layers of fat is one way mortal mind tries to hide the beautiful man or woman of God’s creating, but there are many other ways cover-ups happen.

People can take on layers of fear, anger, disappointment, discouragement, pride, conceit, and other sins. And if allowed to grow, adding layer upon layer in thought, they soon hide the beautiful, humble, strikingly handsome creation of God underneath. It's not a physical cover-up so much as a mental one.

This ought not to be!

We must vigorously rebel against any tendency of the carnal mind to hide our beautiful spiritual character under layers of error, mental or physical.

I pondered what layers of error I might be laboring under that needed to be shed. I’ll keep those thoughts to myself! But you may have some layers you’d like to shed too.

When faced with a deformed picture of identity, reform and improvement is possible. God created each of us in the divine image, and the outline is a beautiful sight to behold.

Don’t let mortal mind hide your incredibly beautiful character and spiritual form!

Healthcare reform and prayer treatment

2009-11-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

There was an interesting article printed in the Los Angeles Times today that highlights a wrestling in our society over the merits, value and legitimacy of treatment for health problems through prayer.

Three prominent senators inserted a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill that would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses. I'll let you read the article yourself about the debate surrounding this provision.

In my own prayers, I pray that our country more largely recognizes the benefit of prayer. The present healthcare crisis is not primarily a financial one, but a moral and spiritual one. Our present system is crying out for a moral and spiritual overhaul that elevates the kind of healthcare people receive. And spiritual treatment is a viable and proven form of care.

Health is more than a medically manicured body. It involves living a spiritually responsible life, which spiritual treatment can help people find.

Millions of prayer-motivated people have proven the benefit of prayer to meet health needs over the centuries. We may all have plenty to learn about how to meet all health needs consistently and constantly solely through prayer, but the success to date and the benefits already garnered merit continued support of prayer-based treatment.

It certainly is monumentally less expensive than conventional medical care.

If everyone sincerely turned to God first before racing to the doctor or to the emergency room when a trouble developed, there would be far less visits to medical facilities and far fewer burdensome medical bills.

Prayer works. It heals. It brings huge benefits to society.

The future of Christian Science treatment is in no way tied to the outcome of a healthcare bill in Congress, but it would benefit our population to recognize the benefits of prayer and use it more frequently for healthcare needs. A provision in the healthcare bill recognizing the value of spiritual treatment could be a step in that direction.

Click here for article:

"Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatments"

Body image and losing weight

2009-11-03T03:01:00.000-08:00

Here’s a new podcast I recorded for tmcyouth that was posted yesterday.

Taking a look in the mirror

That glass object in your room can sometimes be your worst enemy. It tells you if you’re fat or thin—good-looking or ugly. Click here to find out how to see your true image and shed off pounds of worry and doubt!

Learning patience by watching mothers

2009-11-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

Sent in by a reader...

A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a three-year-old girl in her basket. As they passed the cookie section, the child asked for cookies and her mother told her "No." The little girl immediately began to whine and fuss, and the mother said quietly, "Now Ellen, we just have half of the aisles left to go through; don't be upset. It won't be that long."

He passed the mother again in the candy aisle. Of course, the little girl began to shout for candy. When she was told she couldn't have any, she began to cry. The mother said, "There, there, Ellen, don't cry. Only two more aisles to go, and then we'll be checking out."

The man again happened to be behind the pair at the check-out, where the little girl immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into a terrible
tantrum upon discovering there would be no gum purchased today.

The mother patiently said, "Ellen, we'll be through this check-out stand in five minutes, and then you can go home and have a nice nap."

The man followed them out to the parking lot and stopped the woman to compliment her. "I couldn't help noticing how patient you were with little Ellen..."

The mother broke in, "My little girl's name is Tammy...

"I'm Ellen."

It's okay to love yourself

2009-10-31T03:05:00.000-07:00

tmcyouth.com posted a new blog I wrote for them this week, "It's okay to love yourself."

God didn’t make you grumpy

2009-10-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wake up grumpy in the morning? Ever sit down for breakfast in a sour mood, sending all nearby neighbors in the opposite direction or make them wish they were sitting at a different table?

A depressed attitude is not a good place to be, and definitely not a necessary mood to entertain.

God didn’t make you grumpy!

God is your Mind, and that Mind is filled with inspired points of view, reasons to rejoice and gratitude. If you’ve not feeling inspired in the morning, then you just haven’t awakened yet. So, it’s time to wake up, to wake up to reality.

The reality is that life is spiritual. It’s not a series of events happening over time. It’s Spirit’s ever-unfolding goodness making an impression on your life through spiritual mindedness. To participate, it helps to stay spiritually minded, awake and alert to spiritual messages coming from God.

We can’t just roll out of bed half-dazed and aimlessly wander through our days and expect the results to be reliably fun and enjoyable. We need to put in some effort, some prayer and study, to stay spiritually minded and in mental touch with God’s goodness. That’s part of waking up in the morning. And it’s part of keeping ourselves in a good mood.

Waking up is not just opening our eyelids. It requires us to open our thought.

Open thought to what? To God, to good, to infinite divine Love!

We can’t stay in a grumpy mood if we’re doing our job of being receptive to God’s omnipresent love for one and all. The more we see how much God loves us, the more we love others. Love displaces grumpiness. One can’t be a dark sink hole and a bright ray of light at the same time.

You can choose to be a light.

So, no more grumpiness in the morning. Wake up. Wake up to reality, to God, and let your light of spiritual inspiration shine.

Put in the effort it takes to be a positive influence on neighbors, family and friends. It’s a much happier way to start the day.

In a recession but not of it

2009-10-29T03:05:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the below quote before when a distinction is being made between eternal individuality at-one with God and the everyday experience of humans?

“We may be in the world, but we are not of it.”

I can’t put my mental finger on where it originated, but I think the same idea is applicable to the economic recession. We may be surrounded by beliefs of an economic decline, but we are not of it.

Elijah, in the Old Testament, foresaw a severe drought coming to his region. The Lord told Elijah to go to Zarephath and there he’d find a widow woman who would take care of him during the drought.

When Elijah arrived, the woman was destitute, with no money, and only a handful of meal left. She was preparing a last meal for herself and son to eat, and then figured the two would die from starvation. Elijah told her to prepare a meal, and that she would not run out of meal or oil to feed her family.

As it turned out, he was right.

God’s promise that the widow woman would care for Elijah was fulfilled. The home had plenty of food throughout the entire drought.

After I studied this story last week, I remembered the above quote and realized that Elijah and the widow's family were in a drought time, but not of it. They didn’t let their thinking fall to the level of want and fear. Elijah knew supply came from God, and he demonstrated it.

We can do the same. God loves us just as much as the widow woman.

Economic reports may forecast doom and gloom all around us, but we do not have to be of it, participate in it, or be adversely impacted by it. Our supply comes from God, just like the meal and oil came from divine Love for the widow woman’s household.

It seems miraculous to material sense how Spirit can supply human needs, but it does. Spirit is the fountain and source of all sustenance for God’s family of man.

“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.” Mary Baker Eddy

Anger not a healthy motivator

2009-10-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

Have you ever resorted to anger to get your point across to another person? Perhaps significantly raised the volume of your voice and edginess of your tone to emphasize a message to a child? Ever gotten into an ugly argument with a teenager, spouse or co-worker?

Heated anger can feel so justified to the mind that is embroiled in hate, ill-will, resentment, and self-righteousness. It can feel so “right” to the mind that feels it has to “get it all out.” It even feels normal to people who are used to being angry on a regular basis. But it is not normal, definitely not natural, and rarely justified.

There’s one kind of anger that is not out of place at times—fury at the evils of mortal mind such as at dishonesty, deception, destructive sin, and their kin. But this is not the kind of anger I’m writing about.

I’m thinking about the anger that gets directed at people, rather than at vice.

Talk show hosts targeting specific individuals, leaders, and politicians with venom is one example. Workers at the office seeking vengeance, assassinating the character of a co-worker, or yelling at an underling or peer are others.

It’s important that we defend our thinking from exposure to outbreaks of anger viewed and seen in society. It’s not representative behavior to emulate or model.

God created us beings of love. It’s our God-given nature to see the good in another, honor that goodness, voice acknowledgment of it and show our respect for it with appreciation, care and gratitude.

Anger is not a healthy motivator of good deeds.

I’ve noticed this in raising teenagers.

More than once I’ve been tempted to get mad about something our teens have done, or not done, but in every case, I’ve learned that getting angry does not help. It might kick-jump the errant into rectifying the immediate mistake, but it doesn’t inspire them into long-run reformation. It makes them mad. And when they’re mad, they don’t think in terms of how they can be better individuals, do the right thing next time and avoid the mistake to begin with. They ruminate over how unjustly they’ve been treated,--at least from their point of view,--how their parents are not fair to them, don’t understand them, and are hard to get along with. And so, I long ago came to the conclusion that anger is not a positive motivator of long term good behavior. It’s destructive to happy and healthy relationships between two people, especially between parent and child.

Love and understanding is the motivator of good behavior.

Love inspires people to think better, acknowledge their mistakes, want to rectify them, and do a better job next time. Love opens mental doors to new possibilities, the very doors that anger would close. Love finds ways to get along with people. Anger burns bridges. Love looks for the good in another and capitalizes on it. Anger sees only evil and becomes a victim to it. Love figures out a solution agreeable to both sides. Blinded by its own self-righteousness and pride, anger doesn’t see another side to consider, even when it should. Love is the lubricant that keeps discussion going in a constructive direction. Anger is the brick wall that halts progress. Love finds a way. Love inspires a better way. Love works it out.

It’s totally doable to love without anger. It’s our God-given nature, and it bodes us well when actively indulged.

Set the tone

2009-10-27T03:05:00.000-07:00

As a child of God, as a reflection of divine harmony and peace, your health, happiness and success are not influenced by other people's attitudes, the weather, contagion or the economy. God is your source, and an unlimited supply of all you need to stay healthy, happy and well.

Understanding this fundamental spiritual truth enables you to go through your day, not as a thermometer rising and falling according to the emotion of the moment, but as a thermostat that sets the tone of the moment and determines the surrounding atmosphere.

Be a thermostat today, not a thermometer.

Your inner and outer experience

2009-10-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

The following passage written by Mary Baker Eddy has always intrigued me when contemplating the relationship between my spiritual individuality as a child of God and my outward everyday human experience.

She wrote,

“…the human self must be evangelized. This task God demands us to accept lovingly today, and to abandon so fast as practical the material, and to work out the spiritual which determines the outward and actual.”

The words that grab my attention are “…work out the spiritual which determines the outward and actual.”

At first glance, the human mind may jump to the conclusion that the “outward and actual,” refer to material and physical conditions mortals face everyday. But this can’t be what Eddy meant. The teachings of Christian Science explain the nothingness of matter and the totality of Spirit. So the “outward and actual” cannot be material. They are spiritual.

There are countless thought-systems at play in society today telling people how to improve their physical body, increase their monetary wealth, become famous, etc., and in other words, improve their outward and actual experience. But it’s all from a material point of view. This type of counsel is based on the erroneous belief that man is enriched materially, through drugs, money, recognition and their accoutrements.

But man is not a material being. He is a spiritual being. Mortal so-called life is temporal. It’s like a blink of the eye compared to eternity. And all the stuff associated with it passes away with a blink of Truth too. It is as nothing in the eternal scheme of things. It is not the outward and actual for man, the child of God.

“…work out the spiritual which determines the outward and actual.” I love these words.

For me, it means that as I work out my spirituality, which is an "inside job," you might say, my outward experience is going to increasingly reflect what I am discovering spiritually.

For instance, the more spiritual peace I find within, the more peace I feel in my day, in my life, in my home, at work, in church, everywhere I go. But the peace is not emotional, a product of a physical environment, or a factor of material surroundings. It’s the objectification of what I know to be spiritually true.

And it goes to reason, the better my thinking the better my experience, the healthier my thinking the healthier my experience, the more spiritually minded I am the more heaven on earth I feel, see and live.

As one continues to spiritualize thought, "...and to abandon so fast as practical the material..." earth and heaven are seen to be one and the same. There is no more sense of evil, suffering, pain or sorrow.

This is good stuff!

The “outward and actual” is not found in matter or in any believed ideal material condition, situation or circumstance. It’s found in Spirit and we reflect it as spiritual beings.

So, if you want to improve the outward and actual experience of your life, begin by spiritualizing your state of thought. Keep thought in alignment with spiritual truth, and you’ll see evidence of that truth more and more, wherever you go, in whatever you do.

The harmonies of Spirit are the realities of your life. Looking through the lens of spiritual mindedness you find those realities to be tangible and concrete to a spiritual sense of things.

Strive for spiritual mindedness. It’s where the real action of life resides, and it determines the “outward and actual” of your being as a child from above. There is no better experience to embrace.

Lessons from Balloon Boy

2009-10-23T03:10:00.000-07:00

There has been a large outcry of disgust against the hoax contrived by the Henne family of Colorado last week is what has been dubbed “The Balloon Boy,” drama.

If you’re unaware, millions of viewers sat glued to their screens watching an uncontrolled balloon float over open expanse in Colorado wondering if a little boy named Falcon was in it or not, and whether he would survive or crash.

After the balloon tumbled to the ground and the box was discovered empty, parents found Falcon in the attic, hiding, so they claimed. Later, after the facts unraveled, it became clear that the parents had contrived the whole event to gain publicity.

People with good intentions to help and support the family felt severely let down by the self-serving deceit and dark violation of trust.

After learning about the hoax, I wondered how we as a population could prevent being misled in such a way again.

One way, would be to pray scientifically about any so-called threatening situation the instant it appeared, neutralize any fear about it, dissolve fascination with it, and spiritually contribute to a positive outcome.

For instance, if when the world heard the message, “Falcon is in danger,” they instantly went to the scientific truth that Falcon could not possibly be in danger because he lives, moves, floats, and has his being in divine Love, there would not have been fear and apprehension about his future.

Instead of breathlessly watching TV wondering if disaster was imminent, thought would be weighing in on the side of safety and security for the little one, affirming ahead of time what the outcome would be. And the whole force of world thought on the right side of the equation would contribute to a happy ending.

And if society was in the habit of doing this, misguided publicity-hounds like the Hennes would be discouraged from trying such pranks again because they’d know ahead of time that no one would be impressed with any show they tried to contrive.

Sounds like a better ending to me...

The benefits of no faith in evil

2009-10-22T03:05:00.000-07:00

Interestingly, some of the best snapshots of God that lead to profound revelation of truth later on happen for me while deeply engrossed in a tennis match.

Last weekend, a good friend of mine and I partnered for a doubles tournament. To gain experience, we signed up to play at a level higher than our demonstrated ability.

During our first match, it was obvious that we were out of our division. Our opponents were far better than we were. But we played on in good spirits and with a zest to learn.

Part way through the match, mortal mind hollered across my thinking, “Boy this is going to be messy. These guys are good!”

The suggestion of a bad outcome wanted to demoralize my attitude, but I immediately caught it and retorted, “How could there be an evil outcome if I had no faith in evil?”

I did not understand the thought when it came. It was too big to get my mental arms around while concentrating on serves and volleys and preparing for the next point. But it stuck, and stuck…

I wrestled with it for two days.

What did it mean?

During the match, my partner and I had no illusions about winning. We knew what we were up against before we stepped on court. We were there to learn, not to score the highest.
But, the temptation to measure success according to a score often gets players depressed if they don’t get the highest score.

The world seems to be divided into good and evil experiences. Like classic Disney movies, good versus evil, the darkest against the purest and everyone is on one side or the other. This sentiment spills right on down into the sports arena. You’re either on the winning side or the losing side; a good outcome or a bad outcome, one or the other.

As I fought to see differently, God’s message began to clarify.

I protested against everything in life coming down to standing on either a winning or losing side. It doesn’t have to be that way. Everyone can stand on the winning side if they are motivated spiritually and working for a spiritual purpose.

In competitive tennis, you win some matches, and you lose some matches. There is always someone better than you that you eventually play. But if you measure progress solely in terms of your own personal improvement and you continue to advance with every match, regardless of the score you are never a loser. You’re always a winner. Life is not good versus evil. It’s all good.

Aw, I began to see, for the mindset that believes the world is filled with evil they are going to find evidence of it wherever they look. It’s like paranoia finding reasons to fear when there are no reasons to fear. Faith in evil finds evil to fear and dread where there is no evil to fear and dread.

I got it!

That simple little message on the tennis court was an angel directive revealing to me the benefit of holding to a consciousness of God’s omnipresent goodness. When we are clear that God is all and God is good, we find good and feel good where another mindset that believes in evil finds evil.

To further explain, before the tennis match began, I was clear that winning was all about making progress, and had nothing to do with a final score. When the suggestion came in the heat of the match to get depressed and discouraged, (in other words, think evilly), because the competition was far superior, I quickly rejected it. There was not going to be an evil outcome. There was only going to be a good outcome, measured in spiritual, not material terms. And that was the case. We lost 3-6, 1-6, but were very happy with our performance.

Whew…maybe a bit of rambling here, but the overall message is, have no faith in evil, ever. Lose it in all walks of life.

It will take countless demonstrations for each of us to fully realize the unreality of evil, but every bit of progress toward accepting the allness of God’s goodness will get us closer to winning the final prize.

When we have faith in good, that’s what we see and experience—good! Whether we’re on a tennis court, in conference with a customer, in the marketplace with competitors, at home with a spouse, in the classroom with students, or driving through rush hour, when our perspective is informed by the omnipresence of God’s goodness, that’s exactly what we’re going to find and feel more of. The omnipresence of God’s goodness!

Living without want

2009-10-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

There is incredible freedom in not wanting. Have you ever noticed that?

Think of a time, if you’ve ever had one, when you really wanted something, and it just didn’t happen.

Maybe you wanted a different job, more income, another place to live, a boyfriend, or time to hurry up. And it didn’t happen! How enjoyable was the time you spent agonizing over getting something you wanted and you never got it? Probably not fun at all.

There’s a lesson in all this. God always gives us what we need, but when we put our “I want…” list first before listening to what God has in store for us, we miss out on the supply already at hand.

Harboring an unfulfilled “I want” list is a sure recipe for living a frustrated and discontented life.

I used to have “I want” lists. I probably still do. But I’ve learned to temper them way down. Why? Because they often don’t work out, and something much better transpires.

God always has our best interests in Mind, and a good purpose is constantly being worked out for us.

Constructing “I want” lists is a sign that we see ourselves as lacking, as needing, as uncared for by God. It’s not a good thing, really. Life is much happier when we spend each day grateful for what we have and trust continued blessings to unfold according to God’s plan.

Let go of those “I want” lists and replace them with “I’m grateful I have everything I need to be happy coming from God right now” lists. You’ll feel much better!

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Paul

It certainly is.

Musical inspiration

2009-10-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

For an absolutely gorgeous, sweet, yet chest-swelling rendition of Amazing Grace that will soar your heart, listen to this four minute video by Il Divo in the Rome Coliseum.

Il Divo Amazing Grace

Daily maintenance of thought

2009-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I reviewed some odd jobs that needed to be done around the house. The pilot light in the fireplace won’t stay lit. There’s a growing crack in the tile of the dining room floor that needs to be repaired, and my wife needs some yard work done before winter sets in. There’s more…

Geez, I protested. Keeping up a house is a never-ending maintenance project!

As a rule, I don't let jobs accumulate. For the most part, I get them done promptly.

But, I momentarily mused, what if I ignored items needing attention and went on my merry way with only activities I wanted to do?

The answer was simple. The house would fall into a continuing state of disrepair until the number of tasks needing attention was large, the place would look grossly neglected and it would take a huge amount of work to get the premises back into shape. This was not a place I ever wanted to be!

Then I thought about the human mind and body it governs. It seems to be an on-going maintenance project too. If neglected and allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, a huge list of “to-do” items is eventually faced. As with the care of a house, it's better to stay on top of things from the beginning.

Christian Science teaches a unique form of maintenance for mind and body. As Jesus taught, it’s not through material ways and means that an ideal state is attained, but through increased spiritual understanding. The metaphysical “maintenance program,” if you will, of Christian Science, is spiritualization of thought and Christianization of daily life.

But this takes work! It requires prayer and study work!

Many people try to slide by for decades without putting in sufficient prayer time for proper spiritual maintenance of thought. And like a nice new house slowly falling into disrepair, the evidence of need may appear very slight at first. But if repeatedly ignored, eventually the list of to-do items becomes so large that major remedial action is needed to salvage the premises. It’s much easier to stay on top of the to-do list from the beginning and not be overwhelmed later on.

So, after that brief review of the value of on-going maintenance, I decided not to tire of keeping up our home. Be grateful you have it! I reminded myself. And show your appreciation by taking good care of it.

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Jesus Christ

The Third Man

2009-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

I read a fascinating article titled “The Mystery of Survival,” in “Men’s Journal,” this week about special “invisible” help received by explorers and desperate individuals caught in dire and extreme circumstances.

Have you ever heard about the Third Man?

The Third Man metaphor was coined by a poet who wrote about Ernest Shackleton’s trek across South Georgia Island. It was actually a “fourth man,” presence that Shackleton’s group felt, but the poet got the number wrong.

John Geiger’s article includes this paragraph about Shackelton:

“There are some things which never can be spoken of,” Shackleton said of the presence. “Almost to hint about them comes perilously close to sacrilege.” After navigating a small boat on a 17-day sea journey, Shackleton and two other men had to traverse the forbidding peaks of South Georgia Island with little equipment or experience. As he later wrote, “I know that during that long and racking march of 36 hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia it seemed to me often that we were four, not three.” Both of the other men, without prompting, said the same thing."

Geiger shares many accounts of explorers caught in extreme need feeling the presence of the Third Man.

He tells about DiFrancesco, the last man out of the South Tower on 9/11, who faced horrendous odds to escape as he descended the stairs from the floor where the plane hit, through 4 floors of fire and super dense smoke. When all looked hopeless, something remarkable happened, “Someone," he says, "called me. The voice, which was male but did not belong to anyone in the stairwell, was insistent: Get up!” It gave him encouragement. It said, “Hey! You can do this.” But it was more than a voice, DiFrancesco claims. He goes on to tell how “he received help from a seemingly external source. He had the sensation that ‘somebody lifted me up.’ He felt he was being guided: ‘I was led to the stairs. I don’t think something grabbed my hand, but I was definitely led.’ When facing fierce fire that normally sends people in the other direction, the presence led him through three stories of flames. Once light appeared, the benevolent presence left.

Geiger tells about Reinhold Messner, the first man to conquer Everest solo, and without oxygen, encountering the Third Man more than once. On one tragic descent from Nanga Parbat’s Diamir face that claimed his brother’s life, he said, “Suddenly there was a third climber next to me. He was descending with us, keeping a regular distance a little to my right and a few steps away from me, just out of my field of vision…The mere presence somehow helped me regain my composure.”

Geiger shares other stories of survivors joined by an additional, unexplained friend who lent them the power to overcome the direst of circumstances.

He also addresses the topic of those who don’t survive. Do they feel the Third Man presence? He says, yes. He tells the story of Maurice Wilson, an Englishman who was hell bent on climbing Everest, but had no experience. On his ascent, and encountering severe weather, he was strongly advised by his Sherpa to retreat and not continue. He wouldn’t listen. He advanced on his own. In his diary he wrote about feeling someone at his side while struggling with partial snow-blindness and exhaustion later on. But he wouldn’t turn back. And he died. Geiger concludes, “Wilson’s sad story emphasizes something important: There is no saving the life of one who will not be saved. The Third Man requires a willing partner.”

While reading these accounts I couldn’t help but think of the fourth man in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew boys who were thrown into the flames by their angry king as told in the Old Testament. That fourth man was Christ. It’s the same “man” who helped the survivors Geiger tells about. And it’s a presence with each of us too, no matter where we are or what we face.

As Geiger recounts, though, it helps to be a willing partner.

Don’t let guilt overwhelm you

2009-10-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

With growing unemployment and jobs hard to find for many, articles have appeared throughout the media reporting the economic hardships individuals and families are facing.

Several stories report highly qualified individuals with a long list of credentials and experience to back them up but still unable to find work. Under ordinary times, jobs would be easy for them to find. But not today, they despair.

My heart went out to a man I read about yesterday who figured he had the experience and knowledge to easily land another job when laid off several months ago. He wanted to work, was able to work, but couldn’t find a job, and he felt horribly guilty because of his predicament. He wrestled with the belief that it was his fault things were so tough.

We probably all know the feeling, “What did I do wrong that got me into such a mess!” we sigh, when events go severely against us.

Sometimes, we do need an honest examination of our attitude and motives and a major course correction. But other times, condemning our self is not the solution. Forgiving our self is the solution.

I think of several Bible stories where Jesus forgave someone and he or she was healed of a crippling disease or infirmity.

To the lame man on the couch, Jesus said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” and the man got up and walked. Wow! Think about it. It was the man’s feeling of guilt that kept him hobbled on his bed for years. Jesus’ lifting of the guilt out of his thought instantly freed his mind and body to walk freely. In other words, the lameness was not the man’s fault and he needed to understand that truth.

Bringing the lesson to bear on our current economic times, for the average worker on the street minding his own business and working to care for his or her family, the recession is not your fault! You did not create it, make it happen, or think it up. It did not come out of your mind, and you don’t have to suffer from it. “Rise up and walk,” Christ instructs.

There are many lessons we all perhaps have to learn in demonstrating over the beliefs of shortage associated with recession, but one of them we can quickly embrace is to not feel guilty for a crime we never committed.

God gives each of us the resources we need to rise up and walk through the valley of limited belief, whatever form it takes, and come out on the other end well and strong. Steps to accepting these resources that meet human needs may require a firm proclamation of one’s innocence from wrong-doing to begin with.

You are innocent of having committed a recession.

What to believe

2009-10-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

I was asked today, "How do you stay out of the Adam-dream of material suffering when you hear so much about it all day long?"

I replied,

"What is true in heaven is what is true on earth."

Fitting in

2009-10-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I was listening to the story of a woman who felt she didn't fit in. She listed off all the reasons why she was different than everyone else, why nobody liked her, at least from her momentarily depressed point of view, and why she was an oddball. "I'm never going to fit in," she lamented.

Listening for a comforting reply after she finished, I blurted out, "Oh, that's okay. I don't fit in either!"

Quickly scanning my own personal history, I saw many instances where I did not fit in with people around me. In school, I was not athletic at all, so didn't fit in with all the sports oriented guys. I always have had strong faith in the power of prayer to heal, which has brought scorns and disapprovals from many around me. I don't drink or smoke, which sets me apart from a large bulk of the population. And I could go on and on...

Most everyone likes to be part of a family of people who share common interests, can laugh and cry together, support one another and be there for each other when help is needed. People like to "fit in," for many reasons.

But there's a downside to the desire to fit in that needs to be guarded against. If fitting in requires us to compromise our morals, sacrifice our ideals, and live dishonestly, the effect is harmful and not promotive of happiness and well being. We are unfair to ourselves and to those around us.

I look to the life of Jesus Christ for guidance.

Jesus did not "fit in." He stood out. He stood out and above worldly ideals, material motives, and selfish pursuit. He lived for God's approval, not for mankind's. He strove for spiritual ideals, heavenly reward and eternal life. He did not strive to fit into the world in anyway. In fact, he left it behind, and taught others to do the same. Why? Because he knew one couldn't serve worldly ideals and spiritual ideals at the same time. They work against one another. One seeks the approval of person. The other seeks approval of God. And approval of God is what matters in the long run.

In as much as I don't "fit in," with many people's way of thinking, that doesn't mean I don't have plenty of friends. I do. I don't have to share everything in common with another to love them, see the spiritual truth about them, shake their hand with joy, and be there to help when needed. We all can do the same. Love knows no boundaries or obstacles.

There is one God, and one family under God. Each of us have God's approval already, and we feel that approval as we live true to our lovely spiritual self.

As far as God is concerned, each of us already fit in. It couldn't be any other way.

"With one Father, even God, the whole family of man would be brethren; and with one Mind and that God, or good, the brotherhood of man would consist of Love and Truth, and have unity of Principle and spiritual power which constitute divine Science." Mary Baker Eddy

Prayer defied doctor's expectations

2009-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I made a new friend who visited my church Sunday with family and shared with me an inspiring story of healing.

Several months ago, she was being treated by doctors for a serious health problem. An angiogram into her brain caused a series of severe health problems for this woman, including three strokes, paralysis of her face and front part of her body, and bleeding on the brain. Her case became so severe that the doctors lost all hope of saving her and predicted she would pass on in a day or so. They gave up and quit trying to help her medically.

This woman comes from a close knit family, several of whom practice Christian Science to varying degrees. They were notified and immediately began praying for their dear one the best they knew how. She was in a coma at this point.

She did not die, but continued to live, defying all the doctor's expectations. She came out of her coma, regained her mobility, was restored to strength and fully recovered.

She stood before me beaming with joy and love as she told her story.

She explained that she did not understand how the recovery was happening, but knew something very spiritual was occuring in her life.

She recounted that during this recovery, she experienced a mass purging of darkness from her thinking. She said that all kinds of hate, resentment, and fear from decades of her past melted away. It was an incredible transformation, she impressed me with. She became a whole new person from the inside out, she stated. All the darkness vanished, and she couldn't even identify with it anymore.

As she told me about this transformation, a brother-in-law standing nearby pointed at her and said, "You can see it in her face. She never used to look like this." And she was glowing with joy, love and purity, as she talked to me.

She said that after getting out of the hospital and thinking it all through, she could then see that she had a spiritual healing. The evil inside was wiped out, and the body was freed.

Even to this day, the doctors are befuddled and can't figure out what happened.

And we agreed, the doctors haven't figured it out yet, because they're looking into matter for an answer, and the answer can only be found in thought where the real improvement occurred first.

Glory be to God in the highest! Prayer heals. Never give up! There's always hope, no matter what the doctors say.

Love is the most powerful healer in the world.