Committing to Forgiveness by Mariann Moery

 

Edwene Gaines’ The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity – Tithe, Forgive, Set Goals and Divine Purpose.

For me one of the absolute hardest steps is when she declares:

“The only sure-fire way to know whether you’ve made a commitment is when there’s no turning back and the only way out is through, all the way to the other side, because if there’s a side way out of it, that’s not a commitment. That is so important, I’m going to say it again” If there’s a way out, it’s not a commitment.” Edwene Gaines The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity p.156-7

But wait – stop…there’s always a side door – or a window – or something.

I repeat our POWER class because it’s the hardest practice I’ve encountered so far, just as I find myself re-reading Edwene from time to time. Yes, I need the reminders of the Four Laws, but primarily for that very sentence. To commit to leading a good life, to be Spiritual in the truest sense.

To accept that the very people I have the hardest time accepting are also emanations of Spirit – just like me. Under their disliked behaviors there is that self-same spark of Divinity.

Does this mean I don’t work hard to change what I think are bad laws and practices – that I accept behavior which is demeaning or harmful to me or others. No it does not – working to make things better is a worthy commitment. It does mean not demeaning, not brutalizing mentally or physically the people I hold responsible for the behaviors I find unacceptable.

It means not hating the people whose acts I find despicable.

Told you it was hard.

In a perfect world there would be no back doors. Once we understand the Truth of we are all One, spiritual behavior should become the way of Life. Well on my good days I can come close, but when all around there is noise and static and reasons to be immensely upset – it gets hard to focus on the act and not the actors.

And now giving Edwene the final word:

“But I believe that on our spiritual path, we must learn to ask new questions. Instead of asking, ‘Who’s to blame?’ we should instead ask, ‘How can we solve this, fix this, make this better?’ “

….It’s our nature to find answers, seek solutions, fix what’s broken. But simple forgiveness is the best possible tool for ‘fixing what’s broken’ in our bodies, in our relationships, in our finances, in our careers and in the world. Forgiveness frees us from the endless loop of blame and bad feeling that keeps our minds focused on all the wrong things. With forgiveness, we can let go of the past and turn to other, more important issues in our lives…” Edwene Gaines The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity p 124.

Like so much of the good stuff, it sounds simple – it’s just really hard.

–Peace and Poise to you on your journey. Mariann

SYNERGY INCLUDED by Chris Wheeler

The book study facilitated by Robie-Jean on Thursdays has been a continuously expanding knowledge base for me. The more I can absorb from Science of Mind related texts the more at home I feel in my daily life. Even small adjustments in my understanding bring benefits that bring me comfort.

I have a slip of paper I use for a bookmark to the page that has an affirmation that we read together at the end of each book study session. This is what is printed on the bookmark.

“The Mind of God is eternal Cause in an eternal Process of thinking within Itself, upon Itself, creating ideas of Itself which it projects into form through the Law of Itself. The Infinite Is forever in the process of Self-Discovery. This Self Discovery, individualized in man, is called evolution. We are the Infinite unfolding Its newly discovered aspects.” From the book The Power of Decision by Raymond Charles Barker

The infinite potential referred to in this statement about God and purpose excites me because like everything it is always changing and improving through discovery. A continuous process of exploration and progress.

As we have been progressing through the book This Thing Called You by Ernest Holmes. I realized the text is punctuated with affirmations that are a summary of the preceding text or an affirmation that compliments the text. And I very much like the affirmations and their availability throughout the book. That means I can randomly read any of the italicized text and have a great affirmation to ponder as I move through my daily life. This book is an even better resource than I anticipated.

I have heard that this book referred to as a concise rendition of the SOM textbook. The book does a good job at generalizing some of the principles. And of course what would a book study be without a wide range of perspectives.

Due to my cognitive biases and blindspots, engaging in dialogue is necessary for improving my overall perceptions. I need to remember these tendencies, and working with other people helps to develop a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of our universe. More about the Book Study

–Chris Wheeler

Why We Are Here – Briefly – Simply by Mariann Moery

“We should move beyond a commitment to survive into a commitment to prosper. Then, beyond that, we must make a commitment to make this a be;er world. That’s why we’re really here. You might want to start with a prosperity commitment, and then graduate to a commitment to doing good in the world in a real and concrete way. – Edwene Gaines Four Spiritual Laws of Success p 157.

It’s hard enough getting myself to a place that feels like thriving – and now I am supposed to take that commitment into the world….let alone make it a better place. That would be an affirmative. (Note to self: Remember this does not mean trying to change people into what/how I think they should be.)

Then what does it mean for me….

“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him – it cannot fail.” — Walt Whitman

“Every right recognition you give to this Life will increase your own livingness. Every time you use It in a dynamic way you will be cultivating the ability to use It in an even more effective manner, and this will go forever. There will never come a time when unfoldment will cease.” Ernest Holmes The Art of Life p 87.2

I know when I’m in Flow with Life, when my thoughts are alive and vibrant rather than cautious, judgmental, defensive. Convoluted thinking is the big sign flashing stop now. Even though I do it so well.

So much of the world around us provides ongoing opportunities and invitations to live otherwise: crabby, critical, self-defeating and angry, the reason to read and re-read books like The Art of Life or A New Design for Living and firecracker Edwene is they provide the reminders and road signs to a better way of thinking.

And if thinking makes it so, and it does, then these guides to better thinking/living are one of the greatest assets we have available. I can use that help every day.

“We conscientiously move forward step by step, idea by idea, and as we do so we find we are able to remove limitations which may now exist and make certain no new ones are established.” – Ernest Holmes. A New Design for Living p 71.3

–In peace, Mariann

LOVE IN A WORD

Our theme for September is Loving Outloud and it’s got me thinking a lot about the word Love. In the     English language we say we love our  partner, our parents, our children, and our pets. We also say we love the ocean, the mountains, the desert, and the dessert. We love cake and ice cream, we love our cars and our homes, and some of us really love our stuff (you fill in the blank). We use the word love so loosely that it can almost lose its meaning.

 

 

The Greeks have eight words for the various types of experiences of love:

• There is the love of family, or storge, that is the natural love family members have for one another

• There is philia, the type of love friends have for one another

• Pragma is the love grown out of obligation, duty, or logic

• Erotic love is eros, the love expressed by physical desire.

• As it sounds, mania is obsessive love, the love that sparks jealousy and possessiveness

• Borrowed from Latin, ludus is playful love, often associated with courtship and new relationships

• Love of self is philautia that expresses how we feel about ourselves and our bodies

• Finally, there is unconditional, sacrificial love known as agape’. This is the love that one can have for God, humanity, or life itself.

Source: Dictionary.com

The famous passage in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes this agape’ type of love:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Ernest Holmes defines Love as “the self-givingness of the Spirit through the desire of Life to express Itself in terms of creation. Emerson tells us that Love is a synonym for God. . . . Love is free from condemnation, even as it is free from fear. Love is a cosmic force whose sweep is irresistible.” The Science of Mind pg. 608

This is the love we strive for, the love that fills our hearts and helps us to find forgiveness that transcends human level conditions. In love, there is no fear, no doubt, no separation, only the infinite Love of Spirit that unites us with all of Life.

–Sharon Whealy, RScP

The Experience of Evil

All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune. — Henry David Thoreau

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. – Richard Bach

The origin of evil is in the human mind, and the belief in the devil, hell, & purgatory has its origin in the human mind, and nowhere else. This belief must be erased from the mind. We must come to know that there can be no Ultimate evil. We must have an assurance that evil will disappear from our experience in such degree as we no longer feed it with our imagination, or through our acts create situations that encourage it.

Dr Ernest Holmes, Living the Science of Mind 354.6-355.1.

Each one of us gets to wrestle with the big challenge, “Is there evil in the world?” in our

From Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka

own minds. At first blush, and according to the point of view of the collective unconscious,
the answer has to be “Of course there is! Just look at all the harm humans do to each other, and to the planet.”

Therein lies the rock and the hard place.

Is there one power in the world, or are there two? Is there a unity, or a duality? What do you honestly and actually-factually believe?

We know what the world thinks, we get to see and experience that on a regular basis. How do we see our life experiences with new eyes and remember that the Universe is for us, and everything we experience and observe is for our awakening in consciousness?

For me, one of the keys that helps me remember is that everyone is already, and perpetually, an eternal being, and these years spent in ‘earth school’ don’t encompass all of our lives. It’s just a chapter. In this chapter, we may choose to experience hardship, or difficulty. We may choose to live in, and from, our zone of genius, or we may choose to spend it as a victim. We may choose to overcome the difficulty and become stronger as a result, or we may be toppled by it. No matter what, how we play the cards we have in this life is not the whole story of who we are. It doesn’t ultimately impact us negatively. This human life is for gathering experiences.

Rev Steph Amand wrote in her March 19 daily reading in the Science of Mind Magazine “I trust the universe to provide all the substance to carve, all the tools to use and all the people to share it with. I embrace that the silver lining of every experience is made known to me with ease and graceful awareness. I am the silver lining experiencing and expressing the divine. I am the infinite sparkle within all things.”

This is a chewy and challenging idea worthy of a deeper dive. I’m available to discuss this topic next Sunday (March 27th) at 1pm (AZ time) for an hour or so, on the Sunday morning zoom link with anyone who chooses to drop in. Join me.

–Rev Janis Farmer

 

 

 

It’s OK to Feel OK!

It is okay to feel okay! In fact, it is even okay to be happy! My 89-year-old mother says that we feel guilty feeling happy when so many people are sad and when there are so many problems in the world. It is like a survivor’s guilt. If I am happy, does it mean that I do not care about global warming? Does it mean that I do not think it is important if the school kidnappings in Africa have included children as young as 4? Do I not express my concern through my feelings of distress?

I still struggle with this ingrained belief, but continue to focus on living in the belief of “All As Spirit” helps me feel some relief. I work hard at feeling good. The decision to feel good that does not always translate into the emotion. However, I also decide to act in ways that promote happiness.

During a recent “Roots of the Science of Mind” class, Rev. Janis began the session with a video in which there was a regular recitation of Neville Goddard’s meditation, “Isn’t it wonderful?” The goal was to experience a feeling of wonder and joy. In Resilient, the book we’re using in the June book study, there are short experiential exercises on grabbing hold of a happy feeling and basking in it. With both of those examples, I was not able to translate the feeling into a happy feeling or even a pleasant experience. It is like I tamp down those feelings.

Two weeks ago, I talked to my therapist about those experiences. I practice EMDR with her which is a treatment modality designed to free one of stuck emotional reactions by processing traumatic experiences that, in effect, get stuck in our psyche. I have found the process extremely helpful. My therapist talked to me about asking the Universe for help in feeling good and being willing to surrender fear. I wrote that on the back of the index card that I have by my PC with Emma Curtis Hopkins’ quote from page 96 of Scientific Christian Mental Practice, “I do believe that my God now works with, through, by and as me, to make me omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. I have faith in God. I have the faith of God.”

Daily, I have been asking the Divine for a sense of connection. This is also where I allow myself to recognize myself as the Divine and then surrender fear. What surrendering fear looks like to me is to relax and spend money that I used to hoard. We tithe on our personal income, and I pay the handful of medical bills that accumulate every few months. I allow myself to take money from an account where I have stashed it. My fear is often around financial lack which I imagine and then pull into me. For the last two weeks, I have been happier and have relaxed more. I repeat to myself when challenges arise that it is okay to feel okay. It is even okay to feel happy. I plan on reading the book and attending Rev. Janis’s class on resilience. Perhaps I will have a different experience this time.

–Marya Wheeler

Tommy T is the Answer

The Roots class I am taking has been wonderful. I am actually surprised. I did not expect the authors we were reading to provide the stimulation and excitement that I have experienced in the class. I mean, actually, the word Roots made me think of something old and dusty and messy.

Surprise!

First, we read Emerson. I had, of course, heard of Ralph Waldo Emerson but had never read any of his work. Old, right? Do you remember how difficult it was to read the Science of Mind when you took the Foundations class? It made my head explode when I started. So circuitous and verbose. That was my experience reading Emerson. We read four articles and each article became easier to read and to understand. Some of the people in the class looked up words and references they did not understand. I do not have the time available to do that. I read for understanding and for glimmers of understanding. And I found them. Emerson believed in Unity, not dualism. Reading his words describing the crime of dualism made my heart sing.

Now we are reading Thomas Troward. Tommy T, as Reverend Janis calls him, was a retired judge. His writing is very systematic and logical. But his thoughts and his conclusions are spectacular. I do not know if his logic would survive a peer-reviewed publication at the U of AZ unless the peer reviewers were metaphysicians. His thoughts definitely encompass metaphysical ideas. “If we conceive of anything as entirely devoid of the element of extension of space, it must be present in its entire totality anywhere and everywhere – that is to say, at every point of space simultaneously.” (The Edinburgh and Dore Lectures, Essay on ‘Spirit & Matter’, page 5, paragraph 1). Judge Troward has changed my understanding of the Divine Spirit in that Its entire presence is complete at every space. I am not articulating this idea as well as I wish I could but after reading this book, I feel more confident in my understanding of the Spirit and of Law. It also helps to have a definitive text in addition to Ernest Holmes wondrous writings. I have received so much more than I expected from this class.

Why is Tommy T. the answer? This Saturday, Chris and my two daughters were to go to Flagstaff to go skiing. Nicole, whom many of you know, arrived Saturday night with only one dog in her car. Teddy had disappeared on the drive from her house to our house. We searched both neighborhoods to no avail. Nicole stayed home Saturday night and Chris and Aimee headed up to Flagstaff and to Snowbowl to ski, arriving at 2:30am! They were able to ski Sunday. Nicole found Teddy on Sunday morning on TucsonLostandFoundAnimals.org at a home in my neighborhood. He somehow snuck out of the car when she stopped to answer her cell phone. According to his rescuer, he ran up to her door and barked. When she opened the door, he ran right in, making himself at home with her four other dogs. Sunday, the question was how to get Nicole to Flagstaff to enjoy some skiing. You know, I was quite invested in making everything turn out okay. It is Nicole’s birthday on Tuesday, and she had really hoped to ski. I was in my usual mom-mode of being extra-controlling trying to ask the right questions to prompt Nicole to make the arrangements. This was not a fun space to be in – I clenched my jaw and I was wound up tight like a spring. I had to let it go and attend to my homework for Roots. Reading 4 lectures by Tommy T. relaxed me and gave me the space I needed to remember that Spirit will impress what I send out and return it to me. I was grateful for Tommy.

So, now for 2 1⁄2 days, my son Sam and I are watching 6 dogs, 3 of my own and Nicole’s two and Aimee’s one dog. But, luckily, I am still able to attend class Monday night. And have another great experience discussing Tommy T!

–Marya Wheeler

Caring: Without Clutching, Comparing or Competing

Like most of us I can be really good in some circumstances and with some people. But there are times when I know that I allow common hour thinking to initiate reactions that are not even close to my best choice. I find myself fretting or stressing over/about something/someone. And I am heading off course while steadfastly ignoring the fact that I am screwing up. This tends to muck up my own energy and obscure what would actually be best for me.

So, I’ve set a goal for myself to use this present time to clear out both physical and emotional clutter, and I’ve come to the following C’s.

Caring without Clutching, Comparing, or Competing. All of which sounds pretty cool and very Zen.

And very hard to do in this world that teaches us to value primarily how we compare to others; how well we amass and keep stuff forever; and how our behavior, work, car, practice is always better or worse than others and so on.

When, in fact, the only measurement of importance is the wholeness I find inside. Whether one calls it Spirit, self-fulfillment, heart or purpose, if I am not always looking to live from and as Peace within – my without is seriously compromised.

We are all individualized centers of God-consciousness and spiritual power, as complete as we know ourselves to be, and we know ourselves only as we comprehend our relationship to the whole.
— Ernest Holmes, How to Change Your Life 123.3

From Gay Hendricks’ THE BIG LEAP: …. When I was growing up my next-door neighbor shared a powerful bit of wisdom with me …. On Judgment Day, Mr. Lewin said, God will not ask ‘Why were you not Moses? ‘ He will ask ’Why were you not Sam Lewin?” I replace the ‘god judging day’ with a more immediate personal presence and practice. The questions I ask myself regularly:

To start a new day – How can I be my best self today?
Evening contemplation: When was I my best self today? When was I not?

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde

“Know Thyself.” — Dead Greek personage. Or Polonius. Or Hallmark.

“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the self-reliance of every one of its members.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

And finally, a bit of advice I keep posted where I see it regularly. Because change is hard, and learning to live in a more present, aware state of being is quite the challenge.

Success is not final,
Failure is not fatal,
It is the courage to continue that counts.
— Winston S. Churchill

So taking this time when we have been plucked from our “old normal” into a strange and unsettling time, I’m working to find and release those old rules of comparison, competition, clutching and replace them with a sense of self that springs from Spiritual Peace and personal choice.

Staying awake to inner Truth as well as the best practices needed here and now, we will all emerge different and better when we come back together.

–Peace, Mariann

Crumbs or Cake?

I’m not sure what specifically ‘made me notice this particular hidden belief, but it resurfaces for me now and then. Every time I think I’ve made progress, then l discover another deeper layer wanting to be seen and addressed. In any case, it’s in my face again.

My mother was always settling for, making do with whatever life gave her, not imagining anything better or different, and it annoyed me immensely that this was the way things were. Some of the memories were challenging like hand-me-down clothes, wearing shoes that were a little bit too small, and sharing orders of toast when we would (rarely) eat breakfast out. Some memories are sweet, like the Christmas she sewed a pleated skirt and little blouse for my virtually hairless, much beloved doll, and made a boudoir chair (with cushion) to match the outfit out of a cylindrical oatmeal box. That’s just the way it was back then, when there was very little extra and you made what you had work for you, at least in our neighborhood.

There’s an old foreign film called Babette’s Feast‘. (In my mind, it is much older than 1987, but that’s what wikipedia says.) A French refugee spends her entire fortune to purchase ingredients, and prepares an amazing seven-course meal for some townspeople not used to ‘fancy food’. The elderly villagers who were recipients of the meal decided it was sinful to appreciate the food, and so they agree to eat it and say nothing. One guest, from out-of-town, raved about the meal. After the meal is done, they ask her when she is going back to Paris, and she says there’s no money left and she’s not leaving. Sigh.

My particular variation of this hidden belief is not particularly economic. I do always have what I need to do what is important to me. Partly because I recognize the law of circulation operates — when I generously give, I generously receive. It happens automatically. I don’t give to receive. I just give. Also, part of it is that I’m not particularly high-maintenance, except for books, and fabric. The spot where I get caught, and I feel like I’m operating from lack, is in collaboration/support. By way of explanation, my primary love language, as described in the Five Love Languages  is acts of service. I feel especially valued, seen, heard, and appreciated when people do things they say they will, or show up when they say they will. If I’m not managing my own internal resources, and not noticing when I have given control of my experience of well-being away to someone else’s action or inaction, I can feel unloved when people are not congruent. Most of the time, I’m pretty OK with the way life works because I generally pay attention to my own self-management.

[If you haven’t taken the free test at Five Love Languages, I highly recommend it.  If you are in relationship with someone, especially if you feel like you are sometimes not on the same wavelength, I suggest you ask them to take it too, and share your results with each other. It is eye opening to realize how you give and receive love and appreciation. If there is an absence of alignment in love languages in the partnership, there are suggestions of things you can do to strengthen the relationship.]

Almost as quickly as I recognize this old (irritating) story, name it, and release it, an email pops up from someone insisting they will take care of a necessary task. Then someone else chimes in too, to handle another choreIt almost doesn’t matter to me whether I accept the offers of help, simply that the offers have been made, and were genuine. Then a third person shows up. Now, I feel almost inundated by helpful people.

So, my awareness once again reminds me that I can see my life as crumbs, where I feel like I’m making do and settling for less than what I desire, or I can see my life as a beautiful slice of cake with a perfect cup of fragrant coffee, completely aligned with my needs and wants. As usual, it’s up to me, and how I choose to see my world. Is this a familiar story for you,too?  How do you handle it?

—Rev Janis Farmer

Soul Searching

Some of our members have been soul searching and asking questions like, is New Thought for me and is Science of Mind for me? It helps to know what one wants. Is it spiritual illumination? Is it prosperity? A relationship? A social network? I could only answer questions like those when I knew what I wanted.

As a member of CSLT, who facilitates book study and discussion and small groups, I have witnessed individuals reassessing their relationship with New Thought in general and with CSLT, specifically. They have been quietly asking themselves, where do I want to worship and celebrate the life that I have been gifted with? Has New Thought helped me get what I want? While obtaining an answer may sound very straight forward, feelings and muddled thinking have gotten in the way. Muddled thinking is cleared by knowing what you want.

To simply be disillusioned has never been enough for me. In a strange way, I have been guided by the words of JFK. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country”. Thus, to paraphrase, ask not what my spiritual center can do for me, but what can I do for my spiritual center? As for me, I give, and ask for nothing in return. My involvement in New Thought is not a transaction. If it is true that the greatest among us is one who serves, then if you want to know if New Thought or the Science of Mind is for you, then serve. I have found joy in service.

I also have viewed the decision-making process as a good thing, because CLARITY is the eventual outcome. Discerning our direction (want) is never a waste of time.

With clarity, you will be better equipped to confidently move in the direction of your dreams and hopefully be forever grateful for knowing that you were always at choice. If you understand this philosophy, then you will know that no New Thought individual will hold choice against you. It is our birthright. Finally, whatever the choice, embody it and be of service to others.

–Keith Gorley

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