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Stop Forgetting Everything About Reality! [My best “definition” of F.E.A.R.]
CedarS Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“Reality”

for September 27, 2015

by Warren Huff, CedarS Executive Director, Met Editor
and
guest contributor when a late sub is needed

[Letting the need be known for donations to our Matching Funds for
Adopt the Herd” and
“Maintenance Musts”. Thank you in advance!]

This week let’s heal a sense of amnesia or memory loss about who we are in REALITY! I’ll never forget what Grace Wasson said in a Christian Science lecture over a half century ago: “Where there’s loving attention, memory is inevitable!” The fourth Commandment instructs us to “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) Let’s give our all-out, loving attention to the fact that on the Sabbath day God’s creation was complete (Gen. 2:1-3) and that we have already passed God’s quality-control test with “very good” flying colors! (Gen. 1:31) Whenever we are facing unreal challenges, instead of even temporarily drawing a blank about our spiritual identity and divine heritage, we can instantly recall that we are the highly-favored and beloved children of the Almighty God—as this week’s lesson shows us! It will dispel our every worry —which after all is just “ingratitude in advance” and snuff out all F.E.A.R.—which after all is nothing more than Forgetting Everything About Reality!

The Golden Text—(“Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see” Luke 10:23)
Here’s how The Message paraphrases the Golden Text:
“He (Jesus) then turned in a private aside to his disciples. “Fortunate the eyes that see what you’re seeing! There are plenty of prophets and kings who would have given their right arm to see what you are seeing but never got so much as a glimpse, to hear what you are hearing but never got so much as a whisper.” (Luke 10:23, MSG)

Mary Baker Eddy made the point this way about advanced perception bringing more obligations with it: “we, as Christian Scientists, should give to the world convincing proof of the validity of this scientific statement of being. Having perceived, in advance of others, this scientific fact, we owe to ourselves and to the world a struggle for its demonstration.” (Retrospection and Introspection, 93-94, in yesterday’s Met P.S., bold added).

So, Christian Scientists, much has been given us; and much is expected of us. We have been shown, in advance of others, that the “correct view of man” which “Jesus beheld” still heals and uplifts all today. (S12, 476:3) So, let’s give our full and loving attention to obtaining and retaining “this correct view” of ourselves and of our fellow man! There will many attempts to make us forget and neglect our Sabbath-day perfection—but with loving attention to our ongoing oneness with God, we can and will remember our spiritual heritage and so pass each new test “with flying colors!”

The Responsive Reading from Matthew ends with Jesus saying close to the same words to his disciples that he spoke in the Golden Text from Luke: “…blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” This was after he answered their question “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” with “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matt. 13: 16, 10, 11) To make easier to remember and demonstrate for ourselves and for others “the correct view of man” (S12, 476:3) and the mysteries of “the kingdom of heaven… within” (B12, Luke 17:21), this Met will use memory devices like Jesus did—including everyday human activities like texting, acrostics and mostly examples of present day healings, to help us love and inevitably remember that the Science of the Christ proves today still that Reality is the demonstration of God’s good will being done “in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:10)

Section 1—See & remember Reality—“the reign & rule of universal harmony”(S5)!
Cobbey Crisler points out that John by opening his book with “In the beginning was the Word..” (B2, John 1:1) is asking readers to go back to our spiritual origin in the book of Genesis which also starts with “In the beginning”. Cobbey points out too that by opening verse 3 with “All things were made by him;” John puts a challenge out to all the unreal things we see around us that “we’d rather not think were created by God…. He doesn’t leave it there. The very next sentence adds, ‘without him was not any thing made that was made.’ That’s a denial, dealing with the minus element, like “All things were made by him was an “affirmation, a real solid plus.” [See 5 pages of Cobbey Crisler insights about John’s unique opening in the first Download online in the upper right.]

My testing, texting & proving time to affirm God’s will is done “in earth, as… in heaven”:
I got a call on last week to drive from camp to meet a dear friend in need at an Emergency Room. My friend was still working with a Christian Science practitioner, but after several weeks of diligent prayer, felt it right to have a medical diagnosis for what needed to be handled to stop the pain and other issues that remained unmet. I shared an angel encouragement to exchange an emergency mindset to a calm “Emerge-And-See” mindset while there. While I was still en route, over an hour away, my friend (accompanied by an in-town driver) texted me that they had arrived and were in the waiting room. Since I was still driving and didn’t want to pull over to safely text back some supporting ideas, I decided to see if I could ask Siri (a digital assistant program in my iPhone) to text what I dictated to “her” without my taking my eyes off the road or my hands off the wheel. At that point citation B4 about waiting was played in the car CD player: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” (Isaiah 64:4) To help handle the thought of waiting and to stop all pain through mental means, it came to me to text “O’er waiting harpstrings of the mind There sweeps a strain, Low, sad, and sweet, whose measures bind The power of pain, And wake a white-winged angel throng Of thoughts, illumed By faith, and breathed in raptured song, With love perfumed…” (Hymn 257) What came out from Siri definitely helped to break the mesmerism with a good laugh. The text (that I could quickly decide to send or to cancel) read: (1) “Overweight teen heartstrings (of the Mind) there sweeps a strain” I sent it with a laugh and called shortly thereafter to ask if there were any overweight teen harpstrings in the waiting room… After we laughed together I followed by texting these words (2) “Low sad and sweet whose measures bind the power of pain” at which point the pain had lifted. Then, came the sleeping, winged angel frogs… (3) “And wake white winged Angel Frogs of thoughts illumed”. Our thoughts were illumed and amused by Siri’s not-so-serious and divinely inspired dictation. I got there soon after texting, but these divinely mistaken words and humor set the tone for a completely metaphysical reversal of every false claim. Several hours later, my dear friend who was wheeled in pain into the ER, walked out after a battery of exams with joy and freedom—and without any medication. We all bore witness to the healing power of God’s angel “frogs” even at a distance—as with Jesus healing the nobleman’s son in citation B15. (The patient didn’t come close to croaking!— just groaning!)

We loved this joyful opportunity to “learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, — the reign and rule of universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen.” (S5, 208:20)

Section 2—Act confidently “by faith”, remembering in Reality “thy home is heaven”. (S11)
Abram (renamed Abraham at 99, after his covenant with God in Genesis 17:5) showed such faith and spiritual sense that Paul cited him as an example for us all: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went…” (B9, Hebrews 11:8)

Will we, like Abraham, be willing to leave or stretch our “comfort-zones”— where we have everything (to material sense)—and obediently go into our “growth zones”—into wilderness experiences—where to material sense we have nothing except a total reliance on God and His provision?
Of course, what we see depends upon where we look—upon “where our gaze rest(s)”. (S10, 264:7, 28) Like Abraham, we’ll always be blessed whenever “we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (B7, II Cor. 4:18)

Hymn 278 summarizes how Abraham lived confidently in his growth zone—called REALITY—and how we can too!
“Pilgrim on earth, home and heaven are within thee,”
(“Pilgrim on earth, thy home is heaven; stranger, thou art the guest of God.” S11, 254)
“Heir of the ages and child of the day.
(“…inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” B1, Matt 25:34)
“Cared for, watched over, beloved and protected,”
[like Abraham was when he let his nephew Lot choose first where to settle, proving
“it matters not what be thy lot (groan again), so Love doth guide” (Hymn 160, 447)]

“Walk thou with courage each step of the way.”
[“act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being…” S10, 264]

“Truthful and steadfast though trials betide thee,”
[like when he immediately went to free Lot & recover all taken items. (Genesis 14:13–16)]
“Ever one thing do thou ask of thy Lord,”
“Grace to go forward, wherever He guide thee,”

[like going to Haran, to Shechem, to Egypt, to Bethel, to Sodom… ]
“Gladly obeying the call of His word.”

“Healed is thy hardness, His love hath dissolved it,”
[like when the angel reminded him & Sarah that nothing is too hard for God. (Genesis 18:1–8, 14) & when we affirmed at St Luke’s there’s no challenge too hard to heal.]
“Full is the promise, the blessing how kind;
[like when he & Sarah, in old age, had the promise of Isaac fulfilled (Genesis 21:6–7]
“So shall His tenderness teach thee compassion,”
[like when he was led to sacrificed a ram instead of his son (Genesis 22:1–19)]
“So all the merciful, mercy shall find.”
(Section 3 link: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” B11, Matt. 5:8)
(Christian Science Hymnal #278)

Section 3—Act confidently by faith; remember in Reality “thy home is heaven”. (B9, S11)
Cobbey Crisler in his commentary on the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount (the second Download online for B11 in the upper right) talks about the Beatitudes as scientific equations and the disciples (mathetes) as “learners who go out and practice what they learn.” Carrying on a mathematical theme and language, this section features the mathematical relationship of “in proportion” in citations S15 (337:14) and S16 (409:20). I had a life-saving healing (as related in my P.S. for Section 3) in proportion as I put my whole heart into seeing myself as “God’s own likeness” (S12, 476:28–5) and into actively feeling and declaring that “the kingdom of God is within” me. (B12, Luke 17:20, 21)

Section 4—Remember in REALITY, space is no obstacle to Mind! (S22, 179:5–7)
Another Christian Scientist (like me) who is here today to “live to give”, solely thanks to God’s healing power, is my dear friend, Doug Jenkins. He tells his amazing story in a great Time4Thinkers podcast that you can hear by clicking this link http://time4thinkers.com/t4t-events/healed/ and then clicking the play arrow. If you think that amazing healings in Christian Science are things of the past, think again!! And, the prayerful work that helped get Doug back to work in a very short time—and without any medication or operation—after he experienced a broken back, a broken leg, broken ribs, a heart attack… was all done at a distance as was Jesus’ healing of the nobleman’s son. (B15, John 4:46–53) (See CC Download online for B15) I hope Doug’s experience (that I can vouch for) helps you to believe and your “whole house”! (B15, John 4:46–53) If so, get ready to “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”! See this message (above Moses sandals) on a CedarS Bible Lands Park prayer shawl in the third Download online in the upper right. (B13, Isaiah 60:1, 4)

In Doug’s podcast many other points in this section are illustrated such as:
“It is mental quackery to make disease a reality — to hold it as something seen and felt — and then to attempt its cure through Mind.” (S20, 395:21–23)
and
“To prevent disease or to cure it, the power of Truth, of divine Spirit, must break the dream of the material senses… Mentally insist that harmony is the fact, and that sickness is a temporal dream. Realize the presence of health and the fact of harmonious being, until the body corresponds with the normal conditions of health and harmony.” (S21, 412:16–18, 23–31)
and
“There is but one way to heaven, harmony, and Christ in divine Science shows us this way. It is to know no other reality — to have no other consciousness of life — than good, God and His reflection, and to rise superior to the so-called pain and pleasure of the senses.” (S23, 242:9)

Section 5—GRATITUDE SEES REALITY—NOW!—Exchange “uninspired thought” (S24) for “this spiritual consciousness” (S28)cognizant only of the things of God” (S29).
A favorite high-school Sunday School teacher, Miss Mary Kessler, was full of memorable one-liners such as: “Gratitude outlaws blindness to present good.” The “present good” that seems invisible to most of mankind is the REALITY of our present spiritual perfection and wholeness that can only come from our oneness with God. By using the Christian method of gratitude in advance (that Jesus shared when he raised Lazarus and fed the multitude), we find that “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…” (B16, Romans 1:20) And our grateful, spiritual consciousness of all that’s real being made by God also includes an awareness and instant rejection of all unreal things that God did NOT make and never would make! As spelled out by John in Revelation these excluded unrealities include “all tears… death… sorrow… pain: for the former things… any thing that defileth… worketh abomination, or maketh a lie” (B17, Rev. 21) These lies are categorically impossible—and are all ruled out when our “eyes are ever toward the Lord”. (B18, Ps. 25:15) Having our eyes ever toward the Lord might include viewing some of the growing array of popular, so-called “Reality” TV shows. However, “in proportion” as they feature people and situations that make a reality of disease, of “tears… death… sorrow… pain: … any thing that defileth… worketh abomination, or maketh a lie” (B17, Rev. 21), they need to be UN-seen as “UN-Reality” TV shows not worthy of viewing, that need to be specifically counteracted in one’s thought to unpolluted it and so avoid acceptance of such lies as real and as able to be repeated in one’s experience.
Making an unreality of these lies is a foundational part of the Science of the Christ as will be made even clearer in our next two Bible Lesson on “Unreality” and “Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?”

As you can see from the testimonies shared: “The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.” (S25, 574:5–30)

We can say first-hand with confidence: “Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will surely appear sometime and in some way. There will be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When you read this, remember Jesus' words, "The kingdom of God is within you." This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility.” (S28, 573:29)


P.S. for Section 3: Warren’s healing that demonstrates that “the kingdom of God is within you.” (B12, Luke 17:21 and S17, 248:26) This sharing is offered in humble gratitude for the purifying & invigorating “sunlight of Truth” that the Science of the Christ brought to my body (S&H 162:4): “Should we be silent? Ah, never.” (Hymn 283) I can never keep from sharing my gratitude for the life-altering healing I had from applying these citations! As part of CedarS Bonus Thanksgiving Lesson Met for 2009 I wrote: “After a joyous 2008 summer and fall of service, I found myself agonizing in the passenger seat during our evening move home from camp. I sang (along with the sound system) many hymns that I knew by heart—thanks to years of camp Hymn Sing experience—belting them out, at first through tears of intense pain, and later through tears of immense gratitude. For the first part of the trip the disabling discomfort just wouldn't let up—no matter how I changed my position or what hymns or citations I prayed. The pain seemed to radiate from a huge internal growth that had been steadily growing for several months. It had attempted to rob me of my appetite and vigor as well as of all ability to lift one of my legs. In deepest humility—and supported by the prayers of the dear driver, of my mom and of a practitioner who I kept calling—I continued to reach out to God and to sing each word with renewed understanding, conviction and vigor. With tears of joy I cherished the truths about my spiritual nature as if they were being tenderly told to me in order to save my life for God's service—and that they did! All pain finally broke thanks to this all-out, fervent praying and singing—and I have hardly stopped smiling or singing since. I remain eternally grateful that I took "God-is-All" instead of Tylenol—that I chose Christian Science treatment to eliminate not only the pain, but also its cause rather that just opting to temporarily relieve suffering. I knew when I got home without pain that I was healed, although the draining and dissolving of the growth took several more weeks of consistent "ray-delineation therapy" which "dissolves tumors" with the invigorating purity of "the sunlight of Truth" that "Christian Science brings to the body." (S&H 162:4) I applied each ray of this divine, healing sunlight –shining the specific, promising laws and wonderful ideas laid out in this precious paragraph.”
"Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates (refreshes, revitalizes, stimulates, enlivens, energizes, animates, rejuvenates, strengthens) and purifies (cleanses, disinfects, sanitizes, decontaminates, filters). Christian Science acts as an alterative (a medicinal plant that causes a gradual beneficial change in the body, usually through improved nutrition and elimination, without having any marked specific action OR A medicine or treatment which gradually induces a change, and restores healthy functions without sensible evacuations), neutralizing error with Truth. It changes the secretions (emissions, discharges, oozings), expels humors (4 Medieval ones to be balanced: blood, yellow bile, phlegm, black bile), dissolves tumors (growths, cancers, lumps, swellings), relaxes rigid muscles ("thought-forces"), restores carious bones to soundness. The effect of this Science is to stir (rouse, wake up, budge, shift, get up, revive) the human mind to a change of base (basis, foundation, origin, heart, starting point), on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind." (S&H 162:4). Have fun letting your body and life sing-out about the amazing, joyous REALITY of this transforming "sunlight of Truth"!]


[We are forever grateful for all the good already received and LETTING ONGOING NEEDS BE KNOWN – Good News!–to meet current needs… A $25,000 "Maintenace Musts" Matching Funds grant offer has been renewed by dear supporters through year-end 2015! Our first "Maintenance Must" of this off-season, before we can turn out our 77 horses into our lush lower pastures, is to do about $7,000 in fencing repairs there caused by a July flash flood! In June and July CedarS received record rainfall (~30 inches that we wish we could share with those needing it). It caused 100-year flash floods (100 feet below camp buildings) in our Cobbs Creek, washing away watergaps and pasture fencing. (Not covered by insurance… ) Any quick one-time or monthly donation online or otherwise that you or friends could give us would buy new wire and posts and would be greatly appreciated! That's http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/give/] (Thanks for ~$1.5k given last week! ~$5.5k to go for the fencing!)

[You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 636-394-6162
or MAIL your tax-deductible support to our 501C3 organization
(Our not-for-profit, Federal Identification Number is #440-66-3883):

The CedarS Camps, Inc.
19772 Sugar Drive
Lebanon, MO 65536


Significant funding is still also needed for these two special opportunities:
1. “Adopt the Herd” Matching Opportunity! Generous donors, aware of the ongoing need to care for CedarS herd, will match donations for our horse program! (~$8k needed to reach $50k goal)]

2. Over 100 needed items are featured on CedarS Giving Tree that could fit the budget of every grateful Met-recipient and camper. You can choose for yourself $1-and-up ways to give to support CedarS needs. Click here to see 2 young alumni tell their reasons to give.

[The weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who have requested it. However, current and planned gifts are a big help and are greatly appreciated in defraying the costs of running this service and of providing needed camperships, programs and operations support. Click http://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/ for more about how you can provide even monthly support online. THIS WOULD BE A HUGE ANSWER TO PRAYER! Or you can always call the Huffs at 636-394-6162 to get information or discuss privately how to transfer securities or other assets to help support and perpetuate CedarS work.]

THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS FOR YOUR ONGOING, GENEROUS and NEEDED SUPPORT OF CedarS IMPORTANT WORK!

[The Met application ideas above are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of studying and applying the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp! YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) at http://www.cedarscamps.org/metaphysical/ ]

[For additional "Director's Notes" on the history, development & 4 translations of CedarS weekly Bible Lesson "Mets" go to Notes in our online version of it.]

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