h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi AV,

Truth vs Falsehood is a hefty read, but a very interesting one. It's made me reassess my thoughts on some issues.

It will be interesting to hear what issues you feel you have from being brought up as a Christian Scientist. My mother was the Christian Scientist (dad is agnostic as far as I have been able to discover) and her father and grandmother were also Christian Scientists. I found that she could not discuss issues, but would simply quote Mary Baker Eddy to me, which I found deeply dissatisfying. It was almost as though she was hiding behind someone else's words, so I never actually discussed anything. It was like a dialectic. On the positive side, I did find that she gave me a good spiritual grounding, so that I've been able to be open to learning from different spiritual traditions. I was quite clear from an early age that I disliked fixed positions and intolerance of other systems. I've always liked the image of 'in my house are many mansions'.

The Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest movie was fun. I think on balance I preferred the first one, but it was a good romp. Little enjoyed it.

Greetings HZSF,

I'm glad the movie turned out to be a good romp for you and Little Fish

About the Christian Science upbringing, I mostly see positive benefits from it and also feel that it has provided a good spiritual grounding. I'm sure that it's helped me be strong in times of pain or personal difficulties, and to trust in the larger picture that's harmonious and calm, above and beyond the perturbations of the moment.

The sticky point for me has been something akin to the current debate over whether light is a wave or particle by nature, and can easily be considered either depending on the method of measurement. It's the guilt associated with the material label that needs healing in my life.

I often feel like a material girl (not related to the Madonna song), and this sends the guilt meter off the chart. It's an odd reflex, I know. I brought children into this material world and need to find reconciliation and healing for a harmonious whole perspective to emerge. The dialectic runs deep but I know that "this too will pass".

I love life, and am deeply awed by the miracle of it. The flesh itself doesn't describe the miracle of consciousness, and I believe there's so much more than meets the eye.

I just read last night a passage by Marianne Williamson from "Everyday Grace":
<<...there is negative denial and positive denial. Negative denial is when we ignore the darkness, claiming that since only love is real and all else is illusion, we need not dwell on the problems in our midst. But positive denial is something else: we do look at the darkness, yet we deny its power over us. Our function is not to ignore the darkness, but to transform it by becoming the light.>>

I've experienced the negative denial in my C.S. childhood, and learned to choose not to complain about problems which wouldn't get recognized. Life is so full of choices. Like the wave/particle duality, we can choose which tools we use to measure our circumstances and get the results we expect. You mentioned in a couple postings that one sees what they're looking for basically.

I learned to memorize Mary Baker Eddy's "Scientific Statement of Being":
<>

This is a lovely bit of inspired wisdom, as are much of Mrs. Eddy's writings. I can't begin to count the times when I felt like a mere material, corporeal mortal, a failure not living up to my divine inheritance. There's a mountain of undiscarded negative labels from all the times I've measured myself and come up short. I want healing from this swirling mess of negativity that's not been completely removed yet. I'm drawn to authors and musicians (and friends such as you) who are instrumental in the healing process.

I especially want healing for my kids' sakes. They deserve and need a harmonious environment to live and thrive. If I'm wrestling with negativity, I'm not fully present and aware of their needs, and I'm not a fun mom to be around. I want to be a good person and parent and I insist on a full healing.
Thanks for listening,
AV

Greetings, AV,

Just back from a Toastmasters' meeting, so I'm a bit tired and I may need to do some thinking before replying properly.

However I thought I'd just say that I too learned the 'Scientific Statement of Being' off by heart. I can't remember who is was who said that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. It may have been Wayne Dyer.

'I brought children into this material world' - I think that children choose their parents and the experience they are going to have. I'm certain that my son chose me to be his mother, and although I have a little more difficulty believing I would have chosen my particular parents I'm sure there was a good reason for it. Hold onto that thought and you are immediately freed of a great part of the guilt. I hadn't heard that Marianne Williamson quote before, but I do like it a lot.

At the Toastmasters meeting this evening, someone gave a speech in which he said that it's no use being an anti-something, eg an anti-war protester. You just give life to war. Better by far to concentrate on what you do want than what you don't. It reminded me of a story told in America, where there had been a longstanding drought, and a Mexican 'rainmaker' was brought in. He went to a special spot 'where the space between the worlds is very thin'. He stood there for a couple of moments, then bowed and said, 'OK, let's go eat!'. Asked what he had been doing, he said he had not prayed for rain - the very act of praying for rain meant that rain would never come. What he had done was to feel mud between his toes and smell the smell of water. The thanks he gave was being able to choose between two possible futures, but not creating the futures.

There's something going through the back of my mind about Christian Science glossing over the subject of evil and something else about not being able to distinguish light if there wasn't darkness. Deepak Chopra said 'A man born blind will never know light' (or was it 'will never know darkness'? - I suspect both would be true).

Can you visualise what healing would feel like?

Hi HZSF,

Thank you for the words of encouragement.

Guilt is a very sticky emotion, rather like Dr. Seuss' Ooblek, and awfully difficult to remove.

I agree with your assessment of the futility of being anti- something as a solution to a problem, and that focusing on what one is "for" produces far greater results. I remind my husband of this when he gets frustrated with our politicians.

When Jesus said, "Get thee behind me Satan", he didn't turn around and argue with him all day. He turned and walked forward toward God - the goal.

We've enough sticky problems in the world today to make one despair. I discuss issues like global warming and other environmental difficulties with my 10 year old, and tell him that it's his generation and beyond who will have to discover solutions to the problems caused by so many generations before, and to rethink better ways to live if mankind is to survive in spite of itself.

I'm horrified at the thought of nuclear energy as a solution to replacing fossil fuel dependency before we've worked out the waste problem, for how many generations will have to trouble themselves with cleaning up and maintaining a liveable world?

My youngest son thinks that humanity should leave earth and start over elsewhere. He would probable rather move than clean up his room too. I will have to pull rank on him and do the drill sergeant mom thing. I don't like to be loud and pushy, but you should see his room! Not a pretty sight.

Best Wishes to K and a speedy recovery,
AV

Hi AV,

I think your youngest is 10, yes? So is mine. We have a routine that on Saturday, he does chores before doing anything else, and at present his chores consist of tidying his room (including making his bed and hoovering) and cleaning and tidying the lounge. It didn't take him long to work out that it was much easier to do his Saturday work if he kept his room reasonably tidy during the week, so that was a result! The key was that my man and I are in total agreement about what needs to be done, so he can't play one off against the other.

I heard something else about Jesus and sin, which gave me pause for thought and it's about the woman taken in adultery who was about to be stoned. He didn't forgive her as he's said to have. His words were, 'Does anyone here condemn thee? Neither do I condemn thee.' That's very different to forgiving her; he didn't condemn her in the first instance. I think the 'Get thee behind me Satan' is just like that.

'Guilt is a very sticky emotion' - yes, but it's also a fairly useless one as far as I can see. Either you can do something about whatever you're feeling guilty about or you can't. If you can't, then my current favourite saying is representated by the SUMO acronym - Shut Up Move On. (I used to use FIDO - Forget It Drive On, but I think SUMO is better).

As for global warming, I think I can really only do my bit to have a smaller global footprint. Where I live the local authority provides recycling bins which are collected from our houses (glass, paper, card, plastic, foil and tins) and it's separated out and sent for recycling. At present, we have a drought in my area and it's hot and sweaty, so there's a hosepipe ban and I'm showering rather than taking a bath. It's apparently hotter here than in parts of Africa and South America, although I'm sure it's much hotter in parts of North America. A neighbour who comes from the West Indies tells me that the heat is much more bearable over there than here.

Like you, I'm not keen on the thought of nuclear energy. I get my electricity from a supplier that uses only renewable sources like wind and water. It does cost more than a regular supplier though, so I am considering changing, however I would still want a 'greener' rather than a 'less green' supplier.

'Best Wishes to K and a speedy recovery'. K is Also Ran1's son. She's in her late 70s and we're going to see her tomorrow. She's a truly remarkable woman, and I'll give her and K your best wishes.

Blessings,

HI AV,

I've just visited your personal space as I was conscious that I hadn't heard from you for some time. Looking at the message about 'having troubled H2g2 with my foolishness', I gather you may have left and I felt sorrowful. I'm not sure what caused it. If you come back and see this message, please post and let me know how you are.