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True womanhood and reform - in honor of National Women's History Month

03/20/2012

Just some of the women heroes in my life:

Sor Juana de la Cruz, 1651-1694; Mexican writer, poet, nun, defender of women's education and considered by many to be among the first feminists of the New World (See http://bit.ly/GF6Xt2.).

Mary Baker Eddy, reformer, discoverer of Christian Science, author, teacher, healer, speaker and founder of the Christian Science Monitor and more. See marybakereddlylibrary.org.

Christiana Figueres, current day Climate Change warrior and appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in May 2010 to today. See http://figueresonline.com/

Sybil Doreen Crooks, my mother and teacher, horsewoman, pilot, skiier, adventurer, entrepreneur, and my introduction to life and how crazy wonderful and good the world is!

For this very special month, I certainly wanted to do more than just celebrate the achievements of women, I wanted to dig in deeper to understand the spiritual impulse behind the many lasting reforms women have initiated throughout the years. So what I did was to collect a number of selected stories and ideas from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that highlight the spiritual undercurrent behind all reforms. In the Bible I share a story from the Old Testament when a group of sisters were able to overturn an oppressive law about inheritance. In Science and Health, I chose selections that bring out what true reform is and how it is happening today.

A question and a response are central to these readings:"A higher and more practical Christianity, demonstrating justice and meeting the needs of mortals in sickness and in health, stands at the door of this age, knocking for admission. Will you open or close the door ... ?"
"In this revolutionary period, like the shepherd-boy with his sling, woman goes forth to battle with Goliath."

For those of you who would like to listen in on these readings (which are then followed up by people sharing their inspiration, healing and spiritual progress), please check out the following:

The Wednesday Gathering is a live, teleconferenced prayer and gratitude meeting open to all, hosted by prayerfulliving.com.

To participate by phone, call:1+559-726-1300; Participant access code:463846#

The Wednesday Gathering begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time; 10:00 am Pacific or 1700 hrs GMT

For those of you who would just like the citations, here they are!

Zeph 3:14-17
Prov 31:10-26
Num 27:1-8, 11
Num 36:5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13
Prov 11:16
Prov 31:29-31

SH 268:6-13
561:22-25
562:3-7, 24-28
514:10-19
28:32
534:18-30
65:13-23
63:12-20, 23-27
327:1
248:19-32
516:24-31
508:17-25
517: 7-14
516:21
57:4-11
60:6-11
340:23-28 (to ;)
67: 32-3
68: 4-8
256: 1
170: 22
224: 22
232: 16-19
268: 11-13
570: 14-23

Hymns are taken from the Christian Science Hymnal
Hymn 200
Hymn 374
Hymn 12

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caring for the earth = caring for ourselves

02/12/2012

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It makes sense when you think of it. A person who loves and values herself, takes care of herself. So it isn't a stretch to see that if we have an appreciation for the earth and truly love and value the earth, we take care of it.

Taking this idea higher, how can we pray about the earth in a way that leads to its protection?

MBEddy offers a keen insight to the spiritual definition of earth:

S&H 585:5
EARTH. A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality, which are likewise without beginning or end. To material sense, earth is matter; to spiritual sense, it is a compound idea.

Her definition of man includes the "compound idea" just as in the definition of earth.

S&H 591:5
MAN.The compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind.

If we interchange the idea of man for earth, we get another insight:

S&H 475:6
Man (earth) is idea, the image, of Love; he is not physique. He is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas.

This way of praying - interchanging myself for the earth and the earth for myself - helps me to see the intimate connection we all have with the infinite. The strength of the mountains, is strength I can draw on myself. I can recognize the beauty and grandeur of the northern lights, simply because I can recognize beauty. And I can claim that beauty for myself. The same Creator that created me created all the wonders of the earth. We are inseparable.

Prayer becomes an affirmation of the power of God and that inseparable relationship, just as it sings out in this Psalm:

Ps 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and
wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works;
and that my soul knoweth right well.

The prayer can end with an affirmation that we each have the intelligence, the ability to recognize what is beautiful and grand, and the strength to persist and protect that which we love. We are not overwhelmed, but find that we can relate to the infinite nature of the sky as well as we can accept the infinite possibilities for right solutions that will restore balance in our environment.

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patience, politics and transforming prayer

02/02/2012

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Welcome to this cluster of posts that I've written over the years: each post tackling an issue about politics or highlighting transformative prayer and the people behind it. With our political arena heating up in the US, I hope you'll find the assurance that prayer can be the engine that brings out the highest and noblest in us and in our political endeavors.