Category: Spiritual Living

What Do I Do Today?

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Greetings from social isolation and socially distanced San Manuel!

I have found this “down time” to be far less troubling and disconcerting than a lot of people. One of the blessings of being an introvert and apparently able to entertain myself with a variety of activities not found on my “to do” list. That list is still way too long and uninviting. I’m also retired and not facing any of the myriad problems many people are. Truly, a blessing too large to measure.

What I have been doing is continuing to write every morning and expanding my daily reading of CSL teachings. The time to sit and be still — as still as is possible for me — is a gift of amazing grace and joy.

“All the ideas of infinite Mind are being offered to me now. These nourish and sustain me; I accept and assimilate them. They are inspiration to my mind. They are wisdom in handling my emotions. They are beauty and peace to my soul. Joyously, I accept the good which God is distributing in my life.”
— Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker, 365 Days of Richer Living 103.2


One of the ideas I’ve been thinking about is the question of enough. Not all the hoarding memes that have blasted through social media, but the basic enough of contentment and ease. When does all my activity and needing to juggle a calendar reflect not the good times of retirement, but more my inability to simply be and to listen.


“The Intelligence within me is constantly guiding me. Clearly I see the right thing for me to do; I know the right thing for me to say in every circumstance. This Intelligence within me deals with every situation harmoniously. I find life thrilling, stimulating.”
— Ernest Holmes, 365 Science of Mind 138.3


Except that, of course, being well-practiced in and habituated to doing and distraction, I don’t find practicing this beautiful listening in stillness all that easy. When I do allow it, it is an experience of beauty and joy and such an inner peace that one could crave it. Yet that is as aspect of wanting more. That really isn’t the way either. Working hard for it, striving toward it essentially hides it elsewhere.


“Without effort or strain, and in a relaxed receptivity, let us know that the Law of Mind acts upon our word. Not asking how or why, but with simple acceptance and complete belief, let us permit this good to be established in our experience.”
— Ernest Holmes, 365 Science of Mind 76.2

“The one Mind is working in and through us now, not as big or little, or hard or easy, but merely as spontaneous self-expression. Back of our smallest act is the strength of the universe. Behind all our thoughts is the Infinite Thinker. Diffused through every human activity is the Divine Presence.
— Ernest Holmes, 365 Science of Mind 218.1

And that is my goal during this time — “Be Still and Know” – Psalm 46.10.

Wishing you and yours a safe and peaceful journey through this time.


–Peace, Mariann

Introducing Susan Seid, Our Newest Board Member

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Looking back over my life, one of the “constants” has been my connection to God. As a young child in Sunday school, our teacher asked, “Where is God?” I answered, “ I think that God is inside of me”. It was clear that was not the answer she was looking for. However, I have always felt that God was both around and within me. Despite being one of six children, I often ended up being the only one to go to Sunday school and then to church. I even attended a Bible camp one summer in Maine but it was run by the Baptists and that was another story.

I was born in Syracuse, raised in the Boston suburbs and attended the Congregational Church. Like many, I drifted away during college and early adulthood. In my early twenties, a friend invited me to go to the UCC Congregational Church in Norwell MA and it re-ignited my connection to God. A few years later, I was going through a very difficult divorce. My minister and church family were especially supportive. One day I sat by myself in a courtroom waiting for the judge to order a restraining order. And then, I had a physical sensation of a warm hug. Puzzled by it, I mentioned it later that evening to one of my church friends. It turned out that they had all been together praying for me at that moment. Since then, I have never doubted the power of prayer.

As single mom with two young children and no support, I began to work full time. I had graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with a degree in buying and merchandising. After a few years in retail, I began working in the mail order industry. Later in 1990, I was recruited by Arizona Mail Order, which is how I found my way to Tucson. I loved it here immediately.

During the following decade, I was recruited away by companies in other parts of the country but always wanted to return. It was during this time I found myself being drawn to New Thought. While working in Atlanta, I heard an ad for the Church of Religious Science on the radio. I wandered in one Sunday morning and listened transfixed to Reverend Paul Gonyea speak and knew I was home. I began feverishly taking classes and learned the wisdom of Holmes, Troward and Emerson. Science of Mind began a major transformation of my life. So when an opportunity arose to buy a portion of the business for which I had been working, I took a life-changing leap. Troward said, “When we have the end held firmly in consciousness, the means to bring it about has already been set in motion”. And during this time, I was honored to serve on the Board of Trustees for a newly formed center, CSL Midtown.

Despite some unforeseen major challenges, my company survived and thrived. Some years later, I sold all but the art portion of the company and was able to return to Tucson. I live here with my little dog, Brady. And although they are not near, I enjoy my seven grandchildren and yes, five great grandchildren. Such wonderful abundance!

–Susan

To Mask, or Not to Mask

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I went to town to do some scanning and returning of final exams from the Foundations Class that finished this week. (Yes, the class ‘Foundations of the Science of Mind’ still has a final exam, and everybody who took it passed with flying colors.) We’ve been meeting online, on Zoom, for about a month; it’s worked fairly well. Those of you who have taken Foundations remember that sweet feeling of camaraderie and community that arises when you spend weeks and weeks sharing with other people, and you discover we’re all pretty much the same. We have similar sorts of worries, struggles, doubts and fears, so we can relate to each other, and feel strong family-like connections with this unique and special subset of humanity. The students were sad the class was ending because they’ve gotten so close with each other over these many weeks.

While I was in town, I figured I’d stop at the Trader Joe’s closest to the office to pick up some supplies I’d run out of, and some fresh daffodils. Trader Joe’s instituted the wait-outside-the-store-line earlier than most of the other retail spaces in town, and so I wasn’t surprised to see a line. I was a little surprised to see such a long line. The TJ’s crewmember who had been tasked with managing the line was in conversation with an older fellow who was belligerently not wanting to stand exactly on the blue line which demarcated the 6-ft distance between prospective customers. Eventually the older man complied, because (I’m guessing here) he decided he wanted access to the store more than he wanted to argue with ‘the kid’. So we stood there a while, not too terribly long. Being my mother’s daughter (We used to tease her, saying that she could have a delightful conversation with a fencepost), I attempted to strike up a conversation with the fellow behind me in line. His face, what I could see of it behind his mask, was dour. I said something innocuous and bright, like how nice it was to be standing in the shade on this warm, sunny day. His reply, ‘Why are we doing this?’, left me nearly speechless and I responded with, ‘There are so many answers to that question running through my mind.’

Last week, I was again standing in a line, waiting to go into JoAnn’s. I needed thread to finish some projects. Many of the people who were in line were buying supplies to make masks for friends, family members or to give away to medical or care facilities. The camaraderie of this line was quite different from the one at TJ’s. Even though we were primarily standing in the sun, the mostly older crowd was quite chatty, sharing bits and pieces of their lives. The workers who came out of the store to talk with line-standers-like-me were answering questions about the availability of elastic, bias tape, Velcro and interfacing. Eventually, after about 80 minutes, I got my turn in the store, picked up my half dozen spools of thread and was out again double-quick, freeing up the space for the mask-makers in line/behind me to gain access. While this was a much longer and slower moving line, it was much more enjoyable.

During one of the daily spiritual practices last week, I read a paragraph from Ernest Holmes’ 365 Science of Mind (p.116) that was impactful to several individuals on the video-call. It read, ‘Our lives and experiences may well be likened to a river. If we stand on the bank of a river and watch it flow by, we become aware that the river never changes, but that its content is always new. By analogy, we might say the purposeful dynamic quality of life within us never changes, but the content of our experience of living never remains the same.’

‘The purposeful dynamic quality of life’, our point of view in how we see ourselves, the Divine, and others, is completely under our control. Our Essence, as the Foundations students learned, is Divine. We are made of, and for, Life, Love, Light, Peace, Poise, Power, Joy…. Whether we choose to remember that, and act from that place of wholeness, and holiness, is entirely up to us. The content of our experiences, how we engage with individuals, big ideas, situations or circumstances will vary moment-to-moment. Each one of us is always at choice how we see ourselves, our situations and others, and how we respond to, and engage with, life.

–Rev Janis

Caring: Without Clutching, Comparing or Competing

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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

Star-Stuff R Us

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The Milky Way over Monument Valley Image Credit & Copyright: Tom Masterson From Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)

In a 1973 publication, The Cosmic Connection, Carl Sagan wrote, Our Sun is a second- or third-generation star. All of the rocky and metallic material we stand on, the iron in our blood, the calcium in our teeth, the carbon in our genes were produced billions of years ago in the interior of a red giant star. We are made of star-stuff.

He wasn’t the first to say it. That honor probably goes to a Greensboro, North Carolina newspaper columnist, Ellen Frizell Wyckoff in 1913, though she wasn’t quite brazen enough to claim that special status for humanity, only for the earth, when she wrote, The spectroscope analyzes the light if you please, and shows what it is made of. What was the surprise of the tireless searchers when they found common earth metals burning in the mighty sun!

There was once a little girl who cried out with joy when she realized for one little moment that the earth is truly a heavenly body, and that no matter what is happening to us we are really living right up among the stars. The sun is made of “star stuff, and the earth is made of the same material, put together with a difference.” Astronomer Albert Durrant Watson in 1918 said in his address to the Royal Astronomical Society, It is true that a first thoughtful glimpse of the immeasurable universe is liable rather to discourage us with a sense of our own insignificance. But astronomy is wholesome even in this, and helps to clear the way to a realization that as our bodies are an integral part of the great physical universe, so through them are manifested laws and forces that take rank with the highest manifestation of Cosmic Being.

Thus we come to see that if our bodies are made of star-stuff— and there is nothing else, says the spectroscope, to make them of — the loftier qualities of our being are just as necessarily constituents of that universal substance out of which are made

“Whatever gods there be.”

We are made of universal and divine ingredients, and the study of the stars will not let us escape a wholesome and final knowledge of the fact. (Thanks to Quote Investigator for compiling all these quotes in one place.)

And so what? This image from Brian Andreas at Flying Edna reads, You are made of the same stardust as all creation. Why would you believe that something so marvelous as that can’t be trusted to know how to live?

So much fear and doubt surrounds us and our world right now, the sudden shift in what can be known with certainty and depended on, and the lack of predictability in … well… life. Still, when we remember who and what we are, infinite expressions of life walking around in our physical bodies, there is something deep within us that cannot be damaged, hurt, or ruined, not matter what chaos seems to surround us.

We are stardust. How do you grab hold of that certainty and own it for yourself? How do you remind yourself when you forget? (Hint: daily spiritual practice helps.) Find your center. Get busy shining the stardust that you already are. The world needs your presence. Now…

–Rev Janis

My (Current) New Normal

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It’s 9:25am and I sit at my home office. I have much work to do even though the tax filing and tax payment deadlines have been extended to 7/15. I haven’t meditated or written in my journal yet. I feel the anxiety in my stomach. Somewhere in my psyche is a message that I am a naughty, little girl for not working enough. It’s funny how the words “naughty, little girl” strike a hurtful chord. Writing this down reduces my stress and I leave to meditate for my regular 20 minutes.

It’s 10:37 and I feel relaxed and calm. I accept that it is necessary for me to meditate and to journal and to exercise most days to maintain a sense of peace. While it’s more difficult to maintain my daily routines right now in the time of great disruption, I have been able to do so fairly well. The Prosperity Plus 3 group, of which I am a member, has been holding that for me this last week. The Spiritual Mind Treatment I included in my journaling today was that I remain calm and peaceful today and that I experience the God concepts of joy and beauty (including order) throughout my day. It could be because I am writing this article that it is working very well today! Yay!!!

I was also reminded this morning of my ability to experience sensations of change and not label them as fear. When I label a feeling as fear, I attach gloom and despair to it. I see myself in the fetal position under my desk or in the corner of my closet. When I simply allow the sensation to pass through me without a label or by labeling it as energy or anticipation, my outlook remains bright. This is the choice I make today. This is an example of the Law working in me, through me and for me that makes Science of Mind such an important component of my daily experience.

In the 12-step fellowship, the 1st step of the program of which I am a member is that “We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable”. I smile when I say that because, it’s not really true. I’m not really powerless, I can always make things worse.

–And I’m not doing that today! Take care! Love, Marya

Update

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Obviously, with the schools closed (by the order of the Governor of AZ) at least until the end of March and the restrictions on gathering (10 people or less, for now), we won’t be meeting in person on Sunday.

Watch for a Special Newsletter later this week with suggested online connection options with us and other CSLs around the country with online only services. Think of it as a virtually endless buffet of options!

If you wish to read what I thought I was going to write about this week, here it is.

These are crazy, and amazing times, and these may be the times that we have been have been called here for, or have chosen to incarnate on earth for, or however you wish to phrase it… These profound and special times may be why we are each, and all, are here, right now. I realize that statement could be perceived as totally egocentric and presumptuous on my part. Let me assure you, it is not. We are all represented by the ‘small man’ in the Hafiz-esque poem (right) when we forget our true nature; the ‘sage’ when we remember; we are always the beautiful rowdy prisoners. We hold the keys to our own prison, and we are the only ones who can free ourselves.

I made space and time to listen and watch Dr Edward and Dr Sharon host a CSL group spiritual practice last Friday morning. I felt deeply touched by the reminder that we all have the capacity to emanate the light of the divine presence, radiate the love of the One Heart, and flow like the river of peace that passes all understanding, because that peace is the peace that is unaffected by whatever happens to be happening around us, and in our minds when we just let them be taken over by the noise, fuss and bother of people who have forgotten who and what they are, divine beings walking around in human form.

This past Sunday, as we closed the service, we didn’t touch or hold hands like we usually do. A number of people attending were practicing social distancing, and we wanted to include them in our closing ritual without making them feel uncomfortable or left out.

Instead, I encouraged everyone to allow our individual radiant heart energies to expand, emanating from the core of our individuated beings and touching the other beings in the room, filling our 350-seat auditorium with love energy, and spilling out to the surrounding area. (This image from chapter 6 of The Science of the Heart by the Institute of HeartMath illustrates one possible representation of this experience and practice.) The heart is recognized as considerably more powerful than the mind; some say it is 1000 times more powerful. The good (scientifically-minded) folks at HeartMath have shown the heart’s electromagnetic torus capable of expanding considerable distances and positively impacting other beings. I believe this is what we do when we emanate and radiate Divine Love, caring and compassion.

In his address at the dedication of the Whittier Church in 1959, Dr Holmes said, We are a teaching order, not a preaching order. We are a practicing order, not a proselytizing order. The world has waited long for something to happen. Now the healing power of the unseen magic of the Spirit can be made evident. And so, as we move forward in these tumultuous times, knowing what we know, teaching what we teach, and practicing what we practice, we get to remember that we are the sage, the knower, and the doer who operates from love, wisdom and heart-power, remembering to honor, care for, and bless ourselves and everyone we meet.

–Best Blessings, Rev Janis

Living as a Center of God Consciousness

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No one can find God for us; each individual must do this for himself.
We cannot find God outside the self because we cannot go outside the self.
There is no place we begin and God leaves off.
We can only find God within ourselves. (Ernest Holmes, Living Science of Mind  111.1)

Once again, I refocus to reset myself as a center in the consciousness of God. It requires lots of work, stillness, and a willingness and desire to give up the idea that I live separate from God.

But wishing, hoping or longing will not bring about this self-discovery.
There must be a persistent and painstaking attempt to separate everything from us
that does not belong to The Spiritual Man.” (Ernest Holmes, Living the Science of Mind  111.5)

I have just recently finished digging deeply into our home study book, Into the Magic Shop by James Doty, M.D. It has provided me with some very valuable reminders and practices for connecting with the God of my understanding.

Since I am facilitating one of the home study groups on this book, I have taken the opportunity these past few weeks to really delve into, and begin to embody more of Ruth’s magic tricks, such as being more still, meditating more regularly, concentrating on breathing relaxation, and creating a personal mantra. (All of the previous have been difficult for me.)

I am happy to say that I am already experiencing more peace, and feel more certain that I am part of the One. I noticed that even the simple practice of totally relaxing the body caused an identifiable drop in my blood pressure! As a result, I feel more love, compassion and understanding of myself, and others. We are not separate beings, and I am beginning to deeply get that!

Instead of beating myself up because I am slow to learn this, I continue to become more
accepting of my own process of knowing my own well being, joy, clarity and confidence — the jewel-like properties of clear consciousness. Every time I open beyond the contracted and fearful states of mind I can still get into on occasion, I can come back to wholeness more easily.

This level of spiritual practice is a revolutionary process of investigation and discovery for me that will remain ongoing for a very long time. Repeated challenges bring me opportunities for new openings to a better life, if I am willing to work toward the center of my being, which is love. And, as Rev. Janis says “It does take intentional work!”

I think I will “Let go and let God”, and let God live through, and as, me.
–Namaste, Janie Hooper

Distractions, Diversions & Detours

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It’s all good: the morning is quiet – fountain pen in hand – journal notebook open to the next blank page — but wait — where am I? Or more accurately, where is my attention? Enter the THREE D’s that delay any form of personal meditation: Distractions, Diversions & Detours. We each have our preferred member of the dastardly trio.

Distraction – the woodpecker pounding his beak on the metal pole in the backyard

Diversion – remembering any of the 112 things one has to do today or sometime

Detour – I need to put ‘that’ up before I can sit/write/be at peace

“One of the recurring concerns among people I teach or counsel spiritually is their discomfort with being alone. Yet, it is my experience that when we can contentedly be alone without distraction, we can get a clear sense of our place in the scheme of things and we can expect confidence and self-esteem to increase. Dr. Edward Viljoen (CSL’s newly elected Spiritual Leader) in The Power of Meditation 154.2-155.1

Yes, one must practice until one begins to succeed, but how can I practice what I don’t seem able to do for even a really short time?

Truth in essaying. I’ve been journaling in the morning (as many of you already know) for almost three years. And still the Three D’s all too often take me away from focus and presence. The good part is that now I catch myself more frequently and actually try with the recommended gentleness to bring my self back. When gentleness doesn’t work, I have been known to think some of the language I learned outside of parochial school.

Whatever works.

And that is what counts, because getting myself back to the actual act of taking time to be present with my self brings a deepening understanding of who I am – why I am that way – and blessed pointers on what needs to change so I learn to choose to claim more of who I want to be.

So, time to remember the good stuff:

“The one Mind is working in and through us now, not as big or little, or hard or easy, but merely as spontaneous self-expression. Back of our smallest act is the strength of the universe. Behind all our thoughts is the Infinite Thinker. Diffused through every human activity is the Divine Presence.”  Ernest Holmes in 365 Science of Mind 218 .1

Every sit, thought or step we do helps to strengthen our ability to gain easier access to that Infinite Thinker and gives us a clearer path to understanding the Good of it All.

And, that is what I really want for my self and for each of you. To learn to recognize, choose and claim more of what is our best expression of self.

–Peace and happy journeying, Mariann

Welcoming a Change in Perspective

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What I so appreciate about the Science of Mind is the surprising resolution to situations that occur in my life when I apply the principal that “All is happening for my good and the good of all involved.” When I stop looking at my life through the eyes of a victim, I find peace and love replacing fear and anxiety.

I write about this and it sounds easy to me but, recently, I have been clenching my teeth a lot and feeling the weight of the world as I have been dealing with a family member’s drinking plus familiar tax season stress.

I looked forward to writing this article as a means to reframe my recent experience. I regularly read 365 Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes. The daily meditations are lovely and bring me into a space of gratitude, regardless of any outside events. I often share them with my husband over the phone or across the table. My daily writing includes a listing of 5 things for which I am grateful. I also write a spiritual mind treatment daily. Often during the step of Unification, I sense the Divine expressing life through me, grokking It as living in me, as me and for me. The following Realization step states my daily intentions, often to complete pending tax returns and to return phone calls. So that I don’t lock myself into my controlling view of what needs to happen today, I often declare my intention as the more generic, “I joyfully accomplish today’s work with ease”. Putting it on a sticky-note by my computer reminds me to take a breath and reconnect.

Additional ways I stay connected:

  •  Exchange a daily intention with my prayer partner.
  •  Employ the services of Shelley Dunn, our licensed practitioner, to write a spiritual mind treatment for me. I have a lovely, handwritten treatment that I read regularly. $200 well spent on a discovery session resulting in a treatment tailored to my concerns.
  •  Mastermind group with Pat Masters and other Prosperity Plus III participants. Similar to the Power of 8 groups CSLT hosted, we meet to share and ask for fellow members to hold an intention for us until our next meeting. To hold an intention for another means, to me, that I read it daily, sending out my good thoughts, feelings and energy to the stated goals.

My regular practices help me feel good. It is important that I practice them with mindfulness. Otherwise, my practice can become just one more task in my busy day. I do this because I sometimes think my normal is about 15% below baseline. Dealing with the effects of my trauma-filled childhood is a daily process, and requires intention and attention.

The way I have re-framed the two opportunities is this –

Scheduled meetings with two people about expanding my business, bringing in more help. This would happen either as employees or perhaps a partnership.

An encounter with the police and my family member last week led to an eye-opening realization that this is a serious problem that needs to be dealt with now through Intensive Outpatient treatment and daily attendance at 12-step meetings. Both are happening.

With gratitude I realize that Science of Mind deals in actualities, not just simple, nebulous, affirmations chanted to myself in the mirror, although that sometimes works too. After writing this, I am more at peace, truly understanding, just for now, that all happens for my good.

— Marya Wheeler

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