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

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

REMOVING & MOVING – SPIRITUALLY Chris Wheeler

Lately, I’ve been experiencing episodes of paralyzing fear. This is not a place I want to dwell, as it is far too uncomfortable. Fear urges me to react in ways that are counterproductive to living a happy and peaceful life. In response, I’ve been turning to books, seeking the regeneration that comes from gaining perspective through the printed page.

This approach is working. Recently, I came across an insightful concept. I made some small edits, but the core message remains unchanged.

**The Law of Non-Resistance** Edited excerpts from “Working With The Law” by Raymond Holliwell.

Resistance fails because it is not in harmony with universal law and order. By practicing non-resistance, one can tap into the universal flow of energy, leading to a more harmonious and fulfilling life experience. Think flow like water, water has no agenda water simply moves according to the force acting upon it.

If we go through life fighting, opposing, resisting, and arguing, we are bound to encounter many obstacles and may become so occupied with battling them that we lose sight of our true objectives. If we constantly brace ourselves for opposition or trouble, we can expect plenty of it. In contrast, if we strive to minimize obstacles and keep our minds focused on our goals, we may have to navigate winding paths, but perseverance will ultimately lead us to success.

When a person resists a situation, it clings to them. If they try to run away, it follows like a shadow, repeatedly reappearing. However, if they ignore the difficulty and fearlessly work around it, they will eventually find that the condition has been absorbed and removed.

Accept the condition as evidence of some good. Seek out that good, and by being open to it, more evidence of good will appear. We attract what we expect. Definite statements produce definite results. Add in some positive expectancy and we are off to a good start.

Remove and dissolve every obstacle by blessing it and being willing to understand it. Transform it from a stumbling block into a steppingstone toward your highest good.

–Chris Wheeler

Change and More Change Mariann Moery

Nature will not let us stay in one place too long. She will let us stay just long enough to gather the experience necessary to the unfolding and advancement of the soul…. When the change comes, we should welcome it with a smile on the lips and song in the heart. Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, 385.1.

In six weeks we will be moved into a new home with a new schedule – Sunday Service will be at 11 a.m. We will have office space, classrooms, and fellowship opportunities while celebrating CSLT in the sanctuary space at the Unity of Tucson campus.

A lot of change officially happening NOW! Oh my! We’ve talked about a one site home and though this one looks a little different than what we may have imagined in the past, it is a place for us to gather, to cocreate our spiritual lives with time and space to explore and be together.

AND to grow.

Live Theatre Workshop has been a welcoming space, and it has been good. Now we are looking to grow, both by returning to some missed rituals & events, and leaning in to new, exciting and yes challenging options as we become the next best CSLT.

All the good we have known and something better, as we include in our Spiritual Mind Treatments. Or …

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, p.155

It will take some adjusting, some changes, and as with all moves some things will work perfectly, some will take a bit of re-framing. But it will become what we as the community of CSLT create together.

It truly is up to us as a community and also to each of us as an individual within that community.

It will be interesting to watch what Energy blossoms. And as summed up by that wise man Bilbo Baggins: “the road goes ever on and on”. J R R Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring.

–In Peace, Mariann

Exciting News! from Chris Wheeler

This Sunday, we explored an incredible opportunity at the Annual Meeting—one that could truly transform our community. We have the chance to rent space on the beautiful Camino Blanco campus, which includes a sanctuary, adjoining areas, and oCice space. The best part? It’s within reach financially for us!

This move isn’t just about a new location. It’s about the future of New Thought in southern Arizona. Think about it: a dedicated home for us to expand, connect, and thrive, surrounded by others who understand and support the New Thought philosophy. It’s a space that could become our launching pad for growth, deeper connections, and a place where we can contribute even more to our community and beyond.

Where we are now has served us well—small congregations like ours excel at fostering close, caring, authentic relationships. We know each other deeply, and that’s something special. But, when we called our minister, we said we wanted more. We wanted to grow, to reach a larger community, and to spread the transformative philosophy of Religious Science. Our 2024 vision statement says it perfectly: “Open and Expanding into the Mystery…” This potential new home aligns perfectly with that vision.

But here’s the challenge we’re facing: we’ve been in “maintenance mode.” This happens when a church focuses on keeping things as they are, rather than growing and taking risks. It feels comfortable, but it keeps us stuck. If we want to break free from that, we need to make bold moves. We need to position ourselves for growth.

Rev. Robert T. Latham, in *Moving on from Church Folly Lane*, explains that staying in maintenance mode means prioritizing the status quo, avoiding risks, and limiting our vision. And sure, we feel safe that way—but are we really fulfilling our potential? I believe *we’re called to do more*.

So, why is it so important to expand the philosophy of Religious Science? For me, this hits deeply. I’ve had my share of reservations about traditional organized religion. But what makes Religious Science diCerent is its openness—it’s a philosophy that’s always evolving, always ready to embrace new truths. As Ernest Holmes said, it’s “open at the top.” It’s not about rigid doctrines; it’s about continuous growth and learning. That’s a powerful mission, and I want to see New Thought reach more people and create a larger community of likeminded souls.

So, how do we make that happen? The Camino Blanco space solves the very catch-22 we’ve been stuck in: we need more space to grow, but we need to grow to get more space. This move gives us the room to expand and the visibility to welcome new people into our community.

Imagine what we could achieve with a permanent, recognizable location. More space means more opportunities to share the life-changing teachings of Science of Mind. It means we can create new relationships, support each other’s growth, and contribute to a world that’s ready for this transformative philosophy.

This move is more than just a rental. It’s a steppingstone toward the future we’ve envisioned. A future where our thoughts, beliefs, and intentions align with the spiritual principles we hold dear, and where we grow together into a larger, more connected community.

Let’s be bold. Let’s embrace this opportunity and step into the growth we’ve been dreaming of.

Are you ready?

–Chris Wheeler

CSLT Considers Moving….

CSLT has been presented with a most intriguing possibility… of moving to a combined location offering many of the activities we don’t have now and would like to.

Currently Sunday Service is at Live Theater Workshop – which has been a most accommodating landlord for us since June 2022.

But as we grow, our requirements and our dreams mean we need a space that offers CSLT and our larger community options for …

Sanctuary space and office in one location A more central location..

More people attending & participating

Social and fellowship whenever we gather (Potlucks!)

Special events and holiday observance on other than Sundays

On-site storage with less set-up and take away for

Altared States

Our musicians

Greeters and the welcome area, bookstore, etc.

Seating without stairs for easier access

Better technology allowing us to share online easier & better

Now we have the possibility of achieving these and more:

Rev. Rhoni, our Practitioners, the Board and Michael Zimmerman as Music Director have been in conversation with Rev. Dr. Jonathan and the Board at Unity regarding CSLT using their Sanctuary on Sunday and having a separate office and storage space on the 18-acre campus located at River & Camino Blanco.

CSLT renting space there would include a one address home with:

Sanctuary for service at 11 a.m. Sunday morning

Harmony hall for social and fellowship

An office & space separate from the Unity building.

Our musicians could plug-in and play

Technology that truly supports our needs Seating for 175 on one level (no stairs and a center aisle)

Potlucks and other socials in Harmony Hall next to the Sanctuary

Special events not restricted to Sunday morning: Endings/Beginnings, etc.

Classrooms with built-in technology

The labyrinth

A more central location

Storage near that would facilitate Altared States set-ups much more easily

Space nearby that would hold and display CSLT materials

There would be a new sign at the Camino Blanco entry with equal space for both communities.

Moving our Service to 11 a.m. is a large request of our community. Unity would be moving their Service earlier to 9:00 or 9:30 to provide that time for us. It will allow for a 30-minute break for shared fellowship and our Meditation.

To accomplish this major change we would need to sell the office space at 911 S Craycroft. Being released from our current mortgage and the monthly payment to LTW would essentially leave our monthly expenses unchanged but with a much larger center for our community.

Rev. Rhoni and the Board will have Q&A time available after Service at LTW on Sundays 10/20, 10/27 & 11/3. A special Zoom Room will be made available for those unable to attend at LTW. If you are unable to attend those sessions, please email your questions to Rev. Rhoni at revrhonitretsven@gmail.com Be sure to include your best contact information.

We would have a true Sanctuary with space to grow and celebrate all the aspects of being a community. We have grown over the last few months, this location and all it offers could provide the full-on facilities and options we need to thrive.

This possibility was discussed at length during CSLT’s Annual Meeting. It was received very positively by the members in attendance with one dissenting. We look forward to enlarging this conversation to the entire community.

On 10/20/24 there will be a combined meeting of the CSLT leadership and Unity’s Board. Rev. Jonathan received a large supporting response when he described the possibility at their Service on 10/13.

If we proceed with this there will be a special meeting on 11/10/24 to vote on the approval to sell the 911 S Craycroft space. As always, only Members will have true votes, though all will have a chance to share their opinion.

Rev. Rhoni and the Board look forward to hearing from our members and larger community in respect to this possibility.

Here – Now! Maybe… By Mariann Moery

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Or as Raymond Charles Barker expressed it: “Yesterday ended last night.”

How much of our time is spent reviewing, reliving past experiences that brought little joy in their first experiencing and only grow more embedded as we mentally repeat it thereby strengthening it and the emotional cost to ourselves. I have been known to do this.

This summer I spent several weeks reading a book by Jack Kornfield : No Time Like the Present. Filled with exercises and understanding as he says on page 65:

When you are here, you see with greater clarity and respond with genuine love. There comes a growing capacity to accept and embrace what is here now with a courageous heart.

Being here – now, has become almost a throwaway line since Ram Dass created a rather amazing book with that title. It is a practice so simply stated and so very difficult to maintain for more than… well… nanoseconds for me. It’s not like I always mislike where I am or what I’m doing, it’s just that brain/ego/id – call it what you will – it likes to mess with us.

Yep, most of the time that whole struggle to be here – now, is a true power struggle and I need all the help I can enlist. Because just as I create the absent state of being, just so it is up to me to create the state of being present.

“You must live fully in the now to make your dreams come true… Frances Scovel Shinn

The only time in which I may create or experience my new design for living is now. …, there is only the fact that I may have barred from my experience of today much of the good it can hold. The past has no hold on me other than that which I permit it to have. I have to learn to live today, as this is the only time I will ever know. Ernest Holmes: A New Design for Living, p 133

When it works, it’s a fabulous sense of YES!. Knowing that I can recognize where and who I am and that gives me the power to disentangle myself from the wayward emotions that misdirect so much of my time. It is our default tendency to “emote” life rather than live it . Here it comes again – Live it Here and Now.

I’m learning for me that truly seeing and ‘accepting’ what is now, does not mean acquiescing to a state. It can and should mean being here without attaching so that I can see my next best steps in this present to build a better future.

And sometimes it works.

-In Peace, Mariann

Spiritual Bypass by Linda Bullock

“The extent to which I need to present myself as being just fine in all circumstances is the extent to which I am going to experience much more anxiety. Fear expressed allows relief.” Anne Lamott

The term “spiritual bypassing” was coined by the Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist John Wellwood. He describes the concept as “trying to rise above the raw and messy side of our humanness before we have fully faced and made peace with it….a tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks.”

According to Melissa Noel Renzi, “We all have parts of ourselves we’d rather not look at, so we deny or push them aside. When we bury these aspects in the subconscious rather than resolve and integrate them, they often take on dysfunctional roles and behaviors that prevent healing and cause harm to ourselves and relationships.“ I have heard the phrase ‘you have to feel it to heal it.’ This concept applies and overlaps somewhat with the Shadow.

Jeff Foster writes, “Feel the grief, the anger, the terror that’s lurking inside. Feel it and process it and validate it and give it expression in a healthy way….We can’t skip to en-lightenment without en-lightening ALL our parts….I used to believe enlightenment was a transcendent state, free from sadness, free from anger, free from doubt. That was my spiritual ego, the part of me that wanted to be special, that wanted to escape, that wanted to be superior and safe.”

I was around New Thought for years with reluctance and half-hearted practice of the teachings. I eventually became aware of unresolved feelings of shame and guilt, held over from my religious beliefs from childhood of a punishing God. I lacked the feeling of worthiness necessary to accept the Good. Action was necessary to shift my perspective; I had to feel the grief and the anger in order to forgive myself.

I heard a psychologist who wrote a book of affirmations state that if we haven’t done our internal work and lack self-esteem our ‘affirmations can be like putting icing on a rotten cake.’ This calls to mind the comments we sometimes make to people who have lost a loved one. Comments such as ‘they’re in a better place’ reflect that we get uncomfortable when others are experiencing grief and want to make a quick statement that sounds spiritually wise and move away from the presence of pain and loss. This can also be described as toxic positivity.

Methods to avoid spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity include meditation which helps us become more aware of our thoughts, emotions, and patterns of behavior. We are encouraged to develop the skill of compassionate self-reflection as the first step in initiating real change. We all have blind spots that we cannot see. Relationships offer us a good opportunity to observe how our behaviors affect others and to pay attention to feedback. We can work on extending empathy to others.

According to Parker J. Palmer, “The question, ‘what’s life trying to teach me about myself and my world?’ has helped me find meaning amid the madness and tragedy that sometimes engulf our personal, professional, or political lives.”

–Linda Bullock

 

Soul Work, Leading and Loving the Power Within by Rev. Rhoni Tretsven

How many of us are conscious of the fact we are a soul, that is in a body, having a human experience we call life? We probably don’t think about it much, because we have so much other stuff to be concerned with. But for the moment, let us think about it. The soul has a great responsibility, or some would call an agreement here on this earthly plane. It is all about learning whatever it is we have come here to know, and then when we have learned or feel complete, we leave again and enter a space of rest, and maybe we decide because we had such a good time we return and open our soul to another earthly experience.

I tend to lean into teaching our philosophy and faith, the Science of Mind, through the lens of the soul. Yes, this is indeed deeper work, but I believe we can all benefit from it. I will learn with you. Together we share ideas as well as questions we may have but sometimes always don’t have the courage to ask. As your Spiritual Leader, I encourage you to please ask! I have spent much of my spiritual journey in the soul study. I find it to be both fascinating and intriguing how the soul usually knows what to do to heal itself, the challenge is to silence the mind, to listen.

What we understand working with the soul is our minds are part of our experience and we learn they are extremely powerful. The mind is something we study in the metaphysical/spiritual world. We learn through the mind we can demonstrate/manifest what our desired outcome is. Our mind creates daily how we feel about our experience of life. As Ernest Holmes often said, “Change your thinking, change your life.”

I want to open this portal for us to share the questions we may have about life. One of the many things I have learned on this journey is the meaning of life, is basically the meaning you give it. No one else has that answer but you. You are a soul, having a human experience, and what an experience it has been for all of us. Life and the way you are living it is truly all about you and your personal relation with the God of your understanding. As a soul, there is no beginning or end. Your body is the only finite thing about you. The soul is infinite/eternal and continues. Ernest Holmes taught that we are never born, and we never die, because the soul is infinite. For those struggling with end-of-life issues, I hope you find comfort in this. We simply step out of this life and into the next consciousness.

So, it is our “job” as both human and soul, to allow ourselves to listen to that still small voice. Jesus the Christ said, “Be still and know.” Know what, you ask? Everything that your Divine Self is calling you to create. Yes, you. You are creating a life but along this great adventure be mindful of your gift of you. YOU bring everything. Everything about you contributes to something that creates a difference in the world. Pablo Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”

I can remember a colleague once told me that same thing, a little differently. “My gift is not to keep, but share.” So, my gift to you is the desire and love I feel to share our discovery of our divinity. The part of us that is truly loving as our higher divine Self we tend to be unconscious of. I truly desire for all to awaken to the love-light within each of us and pass it on to enlighten others that appear in the dark. We are the lights of the world. Keep on shining the way!

Namaste – Rev. Rhoni

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