Category: contemplation

Transitions by Linda Bullock

Spirit understands adversity as opportunity. Spirit is able to work for the good in all things. As I encounter difficult transitions in which I doubt the good which is unfolding, I remind myself there is a higher plan in motion with which I can consciously cooperate. As I face my resistance to change, as I choose to align myself with events as they are unfolding, I find in my acceptance a sense of tranquility, a promise of safety. Change embraces me as I myself embrace change. Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life by Julia Cameron.

Sometimes difficult circumstances are the impetus for change. Such is life and in the midst of personal change I am relying on the promise of safety and occasional sense of tranquility. We are preparing to sell the house that has been our home for 24 years. I don’t want to focus yet on all the change this house has seen, the life changes retirement and health decline have brought, the 5 dogs and 3 cats no longer with us, the friends who enhanced our experiences. That will be part of my grieving, reliving the joy and the pain. There is work to be done now.

This is a time I need my faith to be strong and my physical strength to be sustained. There will be opportunities to assume more of the decision-making in the ongoing elements of a big move, to ensure safety for my husband and pet throughout, to plan and adjust to a new community which will be very different from our rural one.

This is a time when I need to release my reluctance to ask for help, to remember that I am part of the Living Spirit. Julia Cameron affirms on page 94; Today I place my trust in universal love. I open my heart to receive care and comfort from unexpected sources. I allow my good to come from many quarters. I surrender my fixed ideas as to what best serves me. I open to the innovative grace of my unfolding life.

This is a time to be grateful for new experiences, new conveniences, new relationships ahead. I am grateful that this move is our choice, not one necessitated by disaster. I am grateful that technology accommodates ease of ongoing communication with likeminded individuals despite physical distances. I am grateful for Science of Mind teachings that overcome fear and anxiety. I am grateful for the practice of affirmations, such as the following from Ernest Holmes in Creative Ideas, page 27.

Today I do affirm that I am divinely guided and that the Spirit goes before me and paves the way. There is that within which knows what to do and how to do it, and it compels me to act on what it knows.

I accept this guidance as now flowing forth into action through me. Therefore I shall do that which I should do, I shall know that which I need to know, I shall encounter those new ideas I need. With nonresistance and complete acceptance, I let the inward stream of life carry me safely and surely to the accomplishment of my every good purpose.

May all your transitions be peaceful.

–Love, Linda

A Pot of Gold Consciousness by Rev. Rhoni

“Yes, you can have it all!!” Was the “consciousness cry” of the 80’s for Religious Science. Many of us concentrated on manifesting partners, palaces and parking places. Manifesting our hearts desire, proof that the power of the mind and the Divine does in fact work. In the Christian dogma there is now the “Prosperity Gospel” (Abundance Good News). Something metaphysicians have always practiced. However, has this consciousness changed? I have been a lifetime member of Religious Science, and I have been a witness and a participant in all the metamorphosis our philosophy continues to experience. I have watched other faith traditions embrace what we already have as a spiritual practice, of knowing “It’s my good, and I ought to have it” said Emma Curtis-Hopkins with conviction.

In the face of our current existence, we are bombarded by the financial stability of our country. Which I understand for me is to also look at my prosperity consciousness. There is a revelation a foot. A mirror reflecting to me, do I feel impoverished in my life? Or do I feel full and accept everything and “all that I need comes to me?” Abundance consciousness is not about money, it is about how we live. Sure, money creates things to be easy and carefree, no worries etc., but what about the other facets of our lives?

Ernest Holmes said, God wills us to have everything. As we express life, we fulfill God’s law of abundance, but we do this only as we realize that there is good enough to go around-only as we know that all of God’s gifts are given as freely and fully as the air and the sunshine.

I understand it as most people, probably feel somewhat comfortable with their present beliefs, and might prefer to stay at the present level of consciousness and at the present level of life it provides, rather than spending the energy to change your consciousness, and our life. The question deep down is, “Do we want something more? To have a different experience of this life we have currently chosen? How about giving yourself permission to want a different experience and totally change it! Jacob Needleman a professor of mine while studying at the University of Philosophical Research said, Our modern world-view tragically misperceives and wrongly defines what it is to be human. We are conditioned by our society to believe happiness comes from pleasure, or from getting things or power over people or money or fame or even health and survival. None of these sometimes very good things can bring ultimate meaning to our lives. We are born to be deeply conscious, inwardly free and deeply capable of love. The longing for these things is the definition of what it means to be human. Yes, we are human. It is important to note, although it is nice to have material “things”, it is not our source or our supply. God-in-me is the Source and Substance of my highest good throughout my life experience. We are, prosperous as love as the Divine lives and breathes and has its being through me and you. Is it really about the material we want to live in? Or is it about our relationship with our Highest Source? When we live in the consciousness of abundance of our entire life, WILL BE THAT EXPERIENCE. Through our mind in action, we embrace the mantra, “God is my source, God is my supply.” When we live in that mind set, IT IS. This month I will be speaking each Sunday on the topic of abundance as we explore together what it really “feels” like to live in an abundant universe. I hope you will join us either on YouTube or in person at 11 am on Sundays.

–Namaste, Rev. Rhoni

It’s An Inside Job by Mariann Moery

It’s cyclical for me. Ups and Downs. Feeling the Spirit within and then not so much.

The lesson story of the difference between two stone masons: one was doing his job laying bricks and the other was building a cathedral…same/same but totally different.

We always succeed, so our immediate problem is not one of success, but what kind of success we are having.…We need to learn to succeed in the right things. Ernest Holmes – A New Design for Living, 143 & 148

There was a time when automobiles were forbidden to go faster than 35 mph, because it was known that faster than that and our brains would explode.

Because we fail to realize that Principle is not bound by precedent, we limit our faith to that which has already been accomplished, and few miracles result. When, through intuition, faith finds its proper place under Divine Law, there are no limitations, and what are called miraculous results follow. Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, 162.3

And so, we are in charge of how we view life, of how we live Life. We choose the Energy we use to create our experiences. We are not actually governed by what has gone before, or how we responded to events before – or how we named the experiences of our life before.

…only by starting now, not tomorrow, will we ever come to believe more, to experience the proof of that which we do believe. We have in this moment the choice, the right, and the privilege either to maintain and support any pattern of thought we may have previously established, or to establish an entirely new pattern of action.

We must decide…Now is the only time we can ever act. Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living, 130.2

Consistency is all important. Consistent negative thought gets us into most of our trouble; consistent positive thought is the only thing that can get us out. … each additional successful experience will breed more of it. Success breeds success, so let us be sure of the direction in which we are going. Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living, 146

If you are like me, and sometimes feel negative energy eroding that which is our basic good, then I will share these words from Dr. Holmes – the capital letters are his – he thought it important enough to YELL:

WE ARE BOUND BY NOTHING EXCEPT BELIEF. WE MAY CHANGE THE TREND OF CAUSATION WHICH HAS BEEN SET IN MOTION AT ANY TIME WE DECIDE TO DO SO. Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, 128

–Knowing for each and all peaceful change toward the good, Mariann

 

Here Now by Chris Wheeler

One concept that resonates with me is that religion evolves over time. That it is a process that humans have adopted and curated for many reasons. I wanted to recognize the role mass communications is playing in the process. In my quest for material to present in this article I have stumbled onto new wisdom to include in my philosophy. I have shared that as part of the piece.

As human societies have become more complex, religious ideas have continued to evolve and diversify. Today, there is a wide range of religious beliefs and practices around the world, reflecting the ongoing evolution of religious ideas in response to changing social, cultural, and intellectual contexts.*

Today with the 21st century well underway. Computing continues to accelerate. The world has gotten closer than ever before. There are human beings circling the entire globe every 90 – 92 minutes. Our communications can operate at the speed of light and an ever-increasing number of people are gaining the ability to communicate from wherever they are. Information is flowing at an astounding rate. Life continually presents opportunities for growth and transformation.

This globalization is opening the door for spiritual practices from around the world to mix and merge. Online spiritual communities are connecting people who are sharing spiritual experiences. This is allowing for hybrid practices to develop.

The process of Humanity continues.

“ Source is everything and inherently includes everything. It is magical and messy; heartwarming and heartbreaking; delightful and disappointing; filled with grace and grief; exquisite and excruciating, often at the exact same time. Embracing the great fullness of life asks us to attend to everything that is present, everything that shows up unexpectedly, and even everything we might be inclined to push away.”

“Acknowledging, accepting, and heeding all experiences allows us to learn, grow, see opportunities, and move toward greater empathy, agency, and possibility for ourselves and others. From everything fully seen and acknowledged, we can seek gratefulness and gain wisdom. As life invariably reminds us, it is often precisely from that which is most difficult that we are cleared out for some new delight.” Excepted from the article: Embracing The Great Fullness of Life by Kristi Nelson at Gratitude.org

It is unwise to attempt to stuff the unwelcome aspects of life — ours or others — behind closed doors without an eventual equalization. Life is too big, too mysterious, too much beyond our choosing and our control to compartmentalize.

Forces far greater than us are at work, and the results — while not necessarily “in our name” — belong to us and our interconnected world, nonetheless. Oppression. Degradation. Injustice. Violence.

Keeping our eyes wide open to see all that there is to see and accepting what is in our line of sight liberates us to better act and respond with agency.

To accept that something is true does not mean that it is acceptable.

We can perhaps only respond most effectively once we fully see and take into our hearts what is actually happening. Valuable energy and creativity can be lost in resisting what is actually “so” — energy that might be used in more empowered ways if we practice making room for holding the whole truth. What is happening is happening regardless of what we think about it, and our response is often the only thing over which we have control. The more we are in touch with the actual great fullness of life, the more we can respond with great fullness of heart.

Sources for this article: Article: Embracing The Great Fullness of Life by Kristi Nelson https://grateful.org/?s=kristi+nelson&swpmfe=e797ad6e7e8b736f3495d57dbc21a607

I use the LLM (Large Language Model, AI) “PERPLEXITY”. Perplexity cites its sources.

One of the first articles I discovered for this piece was one written by Google’s AI Gemini. I have included a link. I was fascinated. Google Gemini Article.

-Chris Wheeler

Editor’s note: I agree with Chris, this AI created article is absolutely intriguing.

A New Way of Thinking by Linda Bullock

Tamara Morrison illustration

“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

God and Grace Endure By Rev. Rhoni Tretsven

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Shift and change are part of our human experience as a soul here on this earthly plane. Many of us anticipate change when we flip over the calendar and see not just the month has changed but the numbers representing the year we are now entering. I have often stared at that blank January page and then quickly flipped through the rest of the pages, wondering what events will shift and change within me, not just my existence of what I name as a life lived. Beginning the new year I have written promises to myself, resolutions and half of them already are up for renegotiation. I have experienced a change in leadership not just nationally, but locally and set the intention to trust the process of these changes. When my life has felt uncomfortable, it is because I know there is a transformation that is wanting to give birth to a new idea, or a new lens of life to look through and be a witness to. All too often I know each of us has felt that uncomfortable and painful poke of what is trying to emerge, through us as us. Instead of pushing it away or down and saying to myself, “not now I’m not ready” Unconditional love of Spirit/God initiates the process of, “oh yes you are.” This is when we surrender and open our hearts and truly sense the reality of God. The unseen in the seen, love. All that is transposing, transforming, and transitioning for my highest good and yours as well. God’s grace endures.

One of my “teachers”, philosopher Paul Tillich said, “Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.”

The essence and great power of love I will name as God is always for us and never against us. Grace is a good and God thing when it strikes us. Grace is our continual conversation with It. Grace strikes us in multiple ways but the easiest is to simply embrace God’s acceptance of us. Each one of us IS accepted as a soul and as a continual presence of how God receives us unconditionally. God does not withhold acceptance, It is I, until some moment when I finally change in some way. God accepts and loves me right where I am, now, and It is the love that continues so that I may lean into it, rest if I have to, and begin again.

“Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, ‘You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now, perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted!’ If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed” *

I ask that we all take a few moments this week to be in the silence and allow Spirit/God to speak through us and take/receive a spiritual inventory of our conditions for a life well lived. To breathe and breathe into our life and the possibilities ever before us.

For Reflection:

• How have you experienced God’s gracious presence in this difficult year?

• When you thought you were separated from it, how did it show up for you as love?

• How has God/Spirit shown up?

• What have you experienced, or what has been demonstrated that you always know God is in and through you?

• Why not talk honestly with God about anything in our life, you can talk to God and It will always give you an answer.

Thank you for all that you are, and all that you are becoming.

*Paul Tillich, philosopher

In gratitude and love, Rev. Rhoni

Limitless, Infinite and All That Jazz! by Mariann Moery

Raymond Charles Barker when talking about ‘Limitless Opportunity’ chose this text from the Bible: “The world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come are all yours” 1 Corinthians 3:22

Barker continued: “This statement of Paul’s tells you that you can have what you want; you can become what you want; the Universe is a limitless opportunity for the exploration by the individual…. the people who are near to the heart of God are the people who are active – the people who are adventurous,….. not merely good; they are good for something. They are projecting, creating, and demanding from life that everything shall be theirs.” Raymond Charles Barker: Collected Wisdom 187-188

Jesus: It is done unto you as you believe. Matthew 8:13

“We do not have to do it, it is done unto us, it done by a power that is all….Life externalizes at the level of our thought.” Ernest Holmes: Creative Mind 25

“The law implanted within us is that we need nothing except ourselves and this All-Wise Creative Mind to make anything; and that just so far as we depend upon any condition, past, present or future, or upon any individual, we are creating chaos.” Ernest Holmes: Creative Mind 24

We know this. We have read it, studied it, been instructed in it….and yet. It is so easy to forget. To slide into …it is done unto me by events outside of my control….ooops.

One final quote from Ernest

“Where do we find the one who can live above their surroundings, who in their own thought can dominate all conditions, and in the midst of the crowd keep their own way and their own counsel. Ernest Holmes: Creative Mind 20

It is by our thinking, our knowing, our consistent persistence in ignoring the events that distract and staying fully present in the game – so say Holmes, Troward and even the Dali Lama. To stay present with joy knowing we are delivering our best unique expression as our contribution to lift that common hour pool of thought. That ‘gene pool of humankind’s history’ that governs events when we do not direct our own Life.

But first, before we can be in charge… we must decide and specify and keep constant what it is we want. The precise object/idea/change we want and then let it happen. As in get out of the way while holding on to the knowing that it or something better is coming.

Keep it in Focus. Always. Trust and Know. And so It is.

–In Peace, Mariann

My Beloved CSLT by Rev. Rhoni Tretsven

My Beloved CSLT,

Thank you for this gift, this opportunity to grow with you as not just your minister but as a spiritual being like you. I am truly grateful for all the shifts and changes this past year we have created and will continue to do more I am sure in 2025. As a spiritual community we are embarking on an infinite journey of love and learning together, and I am very excited for us. Wherever you are today, please know you are loved, and a light that shines in this world. My wish for you and our community is peace and infinite expanding love. My heart is full. May you continue to unwrap the gift that you are. Christmas was always a special time because as a child I always enjoyed the stories that were read at Christmas. Today, I wish to share with you a very special story, from my heart to yours…….

From the very beginning of time, there was a promise and a hope that there would be one who would come, who would show the way.

One who would be a light in the darkness, who would be inseparable from the Creator and, by their very being, would express the Truth of human existence.

It had been prophesied from times of old that there would be a child born who would rightfully inherit the kingdom.

One who, by their very nature, would bring Peace, Balance, Harmony, Tranquility and Serenity to this world and all whom they encountered. The world yearned for this coming, the birth of this child, the fulfilled promise. All the earth and heavens yearned for the coming of this child. Wisemen foretold and saw the signs in the heavens, for, indeed, it was to come to pass that a child would be born.

A holy child filled with knowledge, a child filled with love and understanding, one worthy of inheriting the kingdom on this earth. One whom by their very being would bring Love, and by their very existence would bring understanding of who they truly are and where they truly dwell.

The world and even the heavens yearned for the birth of this child, the Christ child, for the universe would not be complete, nor would the world ever be the same again. So, it came to pass in the perfection and fulfillment of time that this child was brought forth into the world.

This child was announced by the angels of heaven that the fulfilled promise had come, for God had become humanity. A new star appeared in the heavens, for a great soul, a teacher, had been born into this world.

And then, in the innocence and wonder of this new experience, YOU took your very first breath.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza dear ones.

Namaste, I love you, and so it is…Amen. Rev. Rhoni

Smelling the Roses & All That by Mariann Moery

Seems this season is the time to stop and consider the following quote:

“Enough is as good as a feast. Enough brings satisfaction. Beyond that lies excess, not greater satisfaction. It says a lot about us (and about contentment) that people often wake up to the feast of plain life only when they reach death’s door. There, under the most “reduced circumstances” of all, many a person has discovered the sweetness of things previously too ordinary for them to notice.” Nelson Foster ” Storehouse of Treasures: Recovering the Riches of Chan and Zen pg.168

How many times have we told others…or been told by others ‘to stop and smell the roses.’ It’s good advice, in fact, well and good. Once we get past the stage of….I would if I had time. Oh yes, that bit of circular logic. Or non-logic.

And I am retired. As in no longer working in the world of corporate publishing in Manhattan NYC. Still it doesn’t seem like there is enough time in my life to actually enjoy all the good things I have in it.

And there are many excellent things in my Life. People, photography, good foods, the Catalina Mountains and an ever-increasing number of actively beckoning books on a growing number of subjects I want to know about.

Notice I said ‘know about’ not so much ‘learn about’ which takes time and focus and energy. Same issue different execution.

December I celebrated another birthday, there have been a bunch, and despite best effort not to do it – I once again am focusing on what do I want for me/as me during the next 12 months.

Dr. Ben Hardy is one of the major proponents of ‘focus today on who/how you want to be in the future”, rather than on the stickiness of today. Which I’ve decided flows well with

“I must let my thoughts encompass more and more of what I want and at the same time become more of what I really am.” Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living, pg.155

To that end I am changing my morning journaling to the practice of declaring where I will be as I move on from where I am. Which has meant forgoing whining to my pages about all the stuff that makes me crazy: including acts by me as well as others. Letting that go is hard.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill

So for the next 12 months (and foreseeable future), I work toward stopping to metaphorically smell the roses and instead to realistically take those moments for the actions which bring me joy and a richer Life.

-May your next year bring you brightness, peace and joy! Mariann

Peace be Unto Thee, Stranger by Sharon Whealy, RScP

Peace be unto thee, stranger, enter and be not afraid. I have left the gate open and thou art welcome in my home. There is room in my house for all. I have swept the hearth and lighted the fire. The room is warm and cheerful, and you will find comfort and rest within The table is laid, and the fruits of Life are spread before thee. The wine is here also, it sparkles in the light. I have set a chair for you where the sunbeams dance through the shade. Sit and rest and refresh your soul. Eat of the fruit and drink of the wine. All, all is yours, and you are welcome. Ernest Holmes

This invitation is found on the dedication page of The Science of Mind. Years ago, when I “discovered” the welcome, I printed and framed it. It currently hangs on my refrigerator, as a reminder that Spirit is always home, the table is laid with the abundance of the Universe, and that I am always welcome. All I need do is accept the invitation.

I also read this on a human level – is my gate open, am I welcoming, is there room for all? Am I sharing my abundance and making my home a place of renewal, so that our souls may be refreshed? Or am I guarded, protecting what’s “mine”? How often do I close myself off to those who might make me uncomfortable?

When we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the love, the light, and the peace of the season and I often hear reminders that this Love, Light, and Peace is available year-round. Can we hold compassion in our hearts and minds for everyone, regardless of if they look, believe, or celebrate as we do?

This year, Hanukkah is December 25 through January 2nd. This eight-day celebration honors the miracle of abundance and never-ending light. God is always with us, providing what we need, without hesitation or limitation.

Kwanza, the African American celebration of family, community, and connection, is celebrated December 25 through January 1st this year. As we honor this tradition, this year can we be inclusive in our definition of family, can we expand our community? Let us celebrate the connection we have with one another.

This is my holiday blessing for the season and the year to come,
May we welcome the stranger with open hearts and minds.
May we be the Love and Peace of the season, allowing it to radiate into the world.
May we honor the Light that dwells within each one of us, and express gratitude for the neverending flow of good.
May we celebrate the connection of family and community as a reminder we are never alone.
May we be blessed with knowing all is well, and all will be well.
God is Good, all the time!

–Sharon Whealy, RScP

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