“…so far I have a list of over 16 of these chapter ‘gems’”
/I have studied the "Creation" chapter at least eight times so far -- (and I'm not finished yet!).
Read MoreResponses to assignment
“It was so simple. Singular thoughts, not long prayers.”
/Creation starts with “dropping off the mental swaddling clothes” which is Gen 1, “let there be light".
Read More“Mrs. Eddy assists, encourages, admonishes, awakes, rouses, reminds, instructs and guides human thought to the true creation.”
/In this chapter, Mrs. Eddy reaffirms the Scriptural basis of spiritual creation and then dismisses a few human theories on the topic.
Read More“Not just a creation of trees, and grass, planets and people, but of ideas, all the ideas in the universe.”
/The phrase "Let there be light" stood out to me. Light must be a key element for Mrs. Eddy to place it in the beginning of the chapter. Light has the meaning of Life, awakening, knowledge, and true knowledge is "changing the universe", our everyday lives and the world around us.
Read More“I got down on my hands and knees and began to speak calmly and quietly into her ear that God loved her, that He was taking care of her, and He was here right now.”
/Throughout the chapter, Mrs. Eddy correlates the following ideas with spiritual creation: limitlessness, boundlessness, freedom, expansion, incorporeality, enlargement, infinity, infinite reflection, infinite ability, infinite range, infinite possibility, achievement, rising up, ascending.
Read More“I felt refreshed and awake and an inner strength that I hadn’t felt in days!”
/I found the chapter “Creation” to be so full of spiritual facts that cannot change and will always be true. Each statement is essential to the understanding of our real being. Even breaking the entire chapter into small parts, or pausing line by line gives one plenty to work with and know.
Read More“They are all such ‘action words’ and have a dynamic effect but also are gentle reminders to be awake.”
/I adored that fact - that there are no creations from mortal mind - human thought, prognosis or diagnosis, speculation, personality or inharmony in any form - phew. How could there be? God created All and He is the only creator.
Read More“I’m so grateful to be a part of this Association, full of bright lights in the world.”
/This feels like a chapter that Mrs. Eddy wrote with a strong understanding of actual divine theology. From one paragraph to the next, she destroys common beliefs about man’s origin and the nature of all things. My favorite right now is, “Mind is within and without all things...” p. 257
Read More“He created everything, I mean EVERYTHING… and its essence is Light or Love.”
/I am desiring to be a healer of others because it is a way to care for God’s children. Previously, I looked at being a practitioner as the “right thing to do” but have held back because I knew I didn’t have the right motive. Now, I am open and willing to practice CS for others. That’s what is finally important to me. Yay!!
Read More“So I came to an infinite, always has been, always will be universe which can only be contained in the Mind of God.”
/I know that patience is a virtue – unfortunately, it usually is not one of mine. It isn’t so much that I want things, it’s more that I’m not good at handling uncertainty. I like decisions. I knew that there was no guarantee that our house would sell quickly and I knew that impatience wouldn’t help, so I began working, even before the house was listed, on the idea of harmony.
Read More“…how seeing all creation continually being ‘in His hands’ lifted the concerns and wiped the slate clean to allow for a very fulfilling day.”
/A wave of peaceful relief swept over me as the solo continued. The realization came quickly into focus, the realization of Who is doing the work, governing the schedules, providing the strength, direction, and dominion needed.
Read More"Like all Mrs. Eddy’s writings, the love, light, affirmation shines through."
/I wrote “AP class” in my Science and Health when you particularly emphasized a paragraph, and one of those is the first paragraph of the second page of Creation. I love that because it covers the basics and ends with the powerful: “Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and Mother of the universe, including man.” (SH, p. 256)
Read More"Through all of human history, reason, love, truth, harmony, peace have never disappeared from human hearts and hopes."
/“God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows.” (SH 6:5-6) We are wise, true, good, expressing life, because God is the originator of these qualities and we reflect them. Therefore, mortal man is not a creator of anything, but God’s spiritual reflection/creation has infinite access to infinite new ideas.
Read More“There is no question that my simple cry (before CS) was ‘If there’s anyone out there, help!’”
/I received your email abut the new postings and fruitage just after I arrived in a new city halfway around the world, had difficulty finding the place I was to stay, finally got in and opened the email from you and then truly (again) found home-the grounding that IS Home, no matter where we are—as we are always home with God.
Read More“There’s a light about this chapter…because it’s all about reflection.”
/I was forced to change my thinking and behavior. I had to spiritualize it. I became kinder, gentler, more tolerant. I learned to turn to God more, acknowledge God as present and good as real.
Read More“The chapter speaks to me of an infinite universe of living ideas cared for by a Mind so large it knows and adores each one.”
/It implies the outcome of God, which is to say the infinite outcome of Life, Love and Mind.
Read More“Creation is defined as reflecting light, order, harmony, perfection, infinity, and filled with divine Love.”
/The chapter on creation is very inspiring and helpful, lifting thought above mortal, material conceptions of God and man, and of sin and sickness into spiritual reality, and into the consciousness and sense of God and man as created in and of Spirit.
Read More“Creation continues and does not stop, because the source is unconfined.”
/It was particularly moving to me to find how much several passages have come to mean to me over decades. As a teenager, when I told a practitioner I really wanted to learn more about the real man, she turned me to learning more about God: "We know no more of man as the true divine image and likeness, than we know of God." (SH 258:16)
Read More“True creation is the infinitely multi-faceted idea of God.”
/It involves turning away from the sense of one human mind needing to love, heal, or elevate others, toward the sense of God working equally through all, listening carefully for my individual role (if any).
Read More“Awake to God's truth. Shower ourselves with God's grace cleansing our thought from false beliefs. Dress ourselves in God's protection…”
/As I reflect on the meaning of this year's Association assignment there is so much that I'm learning that is relevant to my personal experiences and to those I am helping to overcome their own challenges. In our daily lives we wake up, take a shower, get dressed, go to work, come home, eat dinner, pray, and then go to bed. But here is what this assignment has shown me about what is truly going on spiritually and is showing us our illimitable new Life:
1. Awake to God's truth.
2. Shower ourselves with God's grace cleansing our thought from false
beliefs.
3. Dress ourselves in God's protection (or as the Bible says, “put on the
whole armor of God” – Eph. 6:11).
4. Occupy ourselves with divine Love (love others).
5. Come home to His spiritual idea (we must continually do this with what
seems to be the constant reminder of error in this material world).
6. Feast on His ever-present power and goodness.
7. Pray with the one divine Mind.
8. Rest in the Life eternal.