“I am an old man. I’ve had many problems, most of which never happened.”  Attributed to Mark Twain.

“I now accept all that I have hoped for and believed in. There is nothing in me that can doubt that good will make its appearance in my experience.”   The Essential Ernest Holmes, p. 124

About 29 years ago, I became engaged to my now husband. I was very anxious about getting married again. I focused on a myriad of possible negative outcomes in our future relationship. I was obsessed with “what ifs.” I shared these feelings with my sponsor from 12 step meetings. She gently reminded me that it’s not about assurance of possible experiences in my marriage; that I needed to use my faith in my Higher Power to know that no matter what occurs (conditions) that I would get what I needed to get through and be okay. She further reminded me that because of our fellowship, I would not have to go through events alone unless I chose to.

At the time I wasn’t familiar with Science of Mind teachings but recognized the truth of my friend’s statement. And such has been my experience. I was raised with a fundamentalist belief that stressed sin and punishment. I literally had trouble believing in a God that loved me unconditionally. I didn’t believe that life was supposed to be happy. I experienced shame and guilt without any sense of forgiveness. It took a lot of work to release the selfcondemnation and shift to a consciousness of a loving God. I’m grateful that I hung around New Thought teachings until this shift happened.

According to Ernest Holmes, “One cannot be a good student of the Science of Mind who is filled with fear and confusion… We suffer because we are not in both conscious and subjective communication with the affirmative side of the Universe… There is nothing in the Universe that denies the right to be happy, if our happiness does not deny or interfere with the general good.” (SOM, pages 160-161)

I now use affirmations and affirmative prayer to override old religious ideas. I have learned that it’s not how I feel but what I do that determines the quality of my life. A daily spiritual practice is the solution. I am usually aware of when I am entertaining negative thoughts and endeavor to release them. Anxiety based on fear is a useless emotion. Today I can choose to be happy. One day at a time.

“You’re not the limited, anxious person you think you are…really, you’re the very heart of compassion, completely aware, and fully capable of achieving the greatest good, not only for yourself, but for everyone and everything you can imagine.” (Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, The Joy of Living)

~Wishing peace and many blessings to all, Linda