Science of Mind - Workbook - Foundations

Foundations
of the Science of Mind

Department of Education
United Centers for Spiritual Living
STUDENT WORKBOOK
Basic Principles for Spiritual Living

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Foundations of the Science of Mind is a certificated Science of Mind course. When taught in a
covenanted community of United Centers for Spiritual Living, students who satisfactorily complete
this course may be registered for and receive a certificate of credit hours to be used toward further
education in United Centers for Spiritual Living.
Copyright 2007, revised 11/08
by United Centers for Spiritual Living/ United Church of Religious Science
FOUNDATIONS
of the Science of Mind
By Rev. Christian Sorensen, D. D.

Acknowledgements and Appreciation
The Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the work of
many who made this course possible: Dr. Christian Sorensen who
authored it, Dr. Linda Mc Namar and Gladys Carlson who created
the first versions along with the former education core group,
Joanne Millison, RScP and Kathleen Sibley, RScP for proofreading,
Karen Axnick, RScP, who produced it, and Barbara Novak, RScP,
Curriculum Coordinator, who made it all happen. Deep appreciation
also goes to the many dedicated Religious Science ministers,
practitioners, and teachers who have contributed their love, insights,
and experience to this curriculum.

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Foundations of the Science of Mind
STUDENT RECORD SHEET

Term _____ Year______

Name:_________________________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________________________
(Street Address)

_______________________________________________________________________
(City) (State) (zip code)

Phone Numbers: _________________________________________________________
(home) (cell) (work)

E-mail Address: __________________________________________________________

CLASS ATTENDANCE:
1 ____2 ____3 ____4 ____5 ____6 ____7 ____8 ____9 ____10 ____
Spiritual Mind Treatment Workshop _____

COURSE COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance and Active Participation _______
Visibly engaged in Home Study Assignments _______
Personal Project Complete _______
Financial Commitments Complete _______

Class Complete _______
Certificate Issued _______

INCOMPLETION:
Class Incomplete _______ Reason _____________________________________

CLASS AUDITED: _______
SIGNATURES:
Teacher:____________________________________________ Date:_________________
Teaching Assistant:___________________________________ Date: _________________
FOUNDATIONS OF THE SCIENCE OF THE MIND STUDENT WORKBOOK
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5
A Note from the Author

Dear Foundations Student,
You are about to embark upon a life-changing journey toward greater good! The material
revealed in these pages, along with the masterful facilitation of your teacher, will help you
embrace practical spirituality for everyday living. The spiritual principles and practices that are
laid out here are intended to give you a clear understanding of the basics of Science of Mind,
while at the same time enhancing your world in an immediate and tangible way. As powerful
as these ideas are, they are of no use to you unless you can apply them beneficially in your
life. Over the years countless students have applied these concepts to realize wholeness.
Its now your turn to learn how to be a channel of Gods great grace.
Rather than selecting a companion book to the Science of Mind text for this class, we have
asked some of the elders of our movement, upon whose shoulders we stand, as well as
some of our contemporaries to share their insights as experienced teachers of the nine
spiritual principles that are presented in this course. You will find their writings in this Student
Workbook. These diverse perspectives will leave you with a broad understanding of the
timeless principles Ernest Holmes wove together through his years of teaching and writing,
and you will complete this course with a solid foundation which will assist you with your future
spiritual studies.
Remember, youll get as much out of this course as you put into it; so bring yourself wholly into
the experience of the reading, the exercises and the classes.
The exercises are structured to take you deeper into the understanding of these universal
principles and practices, which is why we recommend starting on the next weeks lesson as
soon as you complete a class instead of waiting until the day before the next one and
cramming it all in. The goal is not so much to get the work done as it is to integrate a new
awareness into your daily life.
These lessons are designed for all students no matter where they might be on their spiritual
path. Whether you are new to the journey or have been practicing all your life, they will take
you to a deeper understanding of Spirits personal expression as your life. Enjoy your journey!

In love,

Rev. Christian Sorensen, D.D.

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A MESSAGE FROM
ERNEST HOLMES

What the world needs is spiritual conviction, followed by spiritual
experience. I would rather see a student of this Science prove its
principle than to have him repeat all the words of wisdom that have
ever been uttered. It is far easier to teach the Truth than it is to
practice It.

But the practice of Truth is personal to each, and in the long run no
one can live our life for us. To each is given what he needs and the
gifts of heaven come alike to all. How we shall use these gifts is all
that matters. To hold ones thought steadfastly to the constructive,
to that which endures, and to the Truth, may not be easy in a rapidly
changing world, but to the one who makes the attempt much is
guaranteed.

The essence of spiritual mind healingand of all true religious
philosophyis an inner realization of the presence of Perfection
within and around about. It is the hope of heaven, the Voice of God
proclaiming: I am that which thou art; thou art that which I am.

Ernest Holmes (1887 1960) founded the International Religious Science movement, wrote The
Science of Mind and numerous other books on metaphysics, and originated the international periodical
Science of Mind magazine, which has been in continuous publication since 1927. Holmes' Science of
Mind teaching, recognized today as one of the leading viewpoints in modern metaphysics, is a spiritual
philosophy that has brought to people around the world a working cosmologya sense of their
relationship to God and their place in the Universeand a positive, supportive approach to daily living.

Welcome to
Foundations
of the Science
of Mind
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STUDENT AGREEMENTS

I understand that my cooperation with the following agreement is essential for certificated
completion of this class.
Attendance and Active Participation
Attendance and active participation is crucial for certificated completion of this class.
Note that this course is a prerequisite for all certificated courses.
In the event of excessive absence from class, arrangements for makeup must be made
with the teacher or with an assistant. Excessive absence will be determined by the
teacher. If the class requirements cannot be met and it becomes necessary for you to
drop out of class, please inform your teacher.
Class begins promptly at the scheduled time. Pease be in your seat and ready to
participate when class begins. Likewise prompt return from break is expected.
Active participation is measured by several factors including attendance, actively
listening and sharing in class, and visible appearance of your active weekly engagement
in your home study (which includes reading, writing and engagement in spiritual
practices). Note: There is no written final and there are no assignments to be handed
in; thus, your visible active participation becomes the criterion for completion.
Assignments
Your assigned home study includes reading from the Science of Mind textbook and
from your Student Workbook; practical application exercises outlined in your Student
Workbook to be completed before, and in preparation for, the next class; along with
practicing the spiritual practices reviewed in class.
It is recommended that you start on the next weeks lessons as soon as you complete
the previous class as the reading and exercises are meant to take you deeper into the
understanding of the spiritual principles and practices. Thus, doing a little each day and
giving yourself time to reflect on the material will make your experiences richer. Note
that you will get as much out of this course as you put into it, so bring yourself wholly
into the experience of the reading, the exercises and the classes.
Personal Project
Satisfactory presentation of your Personal Project in the last class is required for
certificated completion of this course.
You are expected to prepare a personal project as your final exam for this course.
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Among the exciting things about this course are many insights and changes in lifestyle
and thinking which will occur for you. Your final project is intended to reflect some or all
of these changes.
Students will present their projects in Week10, as part of the end-of class celebration.
You may begin to work on your project as early in the course as you would like but be
sure to symbolize your spiritual development throughout the course. Choose from the
following list or use any other visual medium that appeals to you:
Poem
Self Portrait (any medium)
Collage
Diagram
Puzzle
Song you have written
Collection of Photographs
If your project is in a form that can be duplicated, you may wish to make copies for
your classmates and the teaching staff.
If you have questions about your idea consult your teacher or an assistant.
The Importance of Sharing
Why We Share
You will find that sharing your insights and experiences and learning from others is
an important part of the class. The purpose of sharing is multifaceted. It provides an
opportunity to:
Acknowledge your breakthroughs and wins in life and receive recognition for them.
Recognize the negatives (opportunities) in your life and start moving away from
those experiences.
Develop the ability to listen and really hear other people, and to benefit from
their sharing.
Every part of this class is designed to assist you. A good question to ask yourself is,
What am I to know through this sharing?

Guidelines for Sharing
Confidentiality Very important in the process of your and others spiritual
development in this course is having a safe space for evolvement. Your part in this
is your commitment to observing and practicing confidentiality. For confidentiality
to be maintained it is important for each person to do the following.
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*Note: There is a 3.5-4 hour Spiritual Mind Treatment Workshop that is a
mandatory class and requires makeup work if the student is unable to attend.

Course Details
Length: 10 weeks, 3 hours each class, 30 hours
Plus, 3.5-4 hour Spiritual Mind Treatment Workshop
Text Books: The Science of Mind, by Ernest Holmes
Student Workbook for Foundations of the Science of Mind
Optional Text: It is About You, by Kathy Juline
(may be required for Spiritual Mind Treatment Workshop)

Students Will Need: 3-ring 2 binder with set of 10 dividers along with notebook
paper and something with which to write for taking notes.

COURSE CALENDAR AND OUTLINE

CLASS

DATE

PRINCIPLE

PRACTICE
1
2
3
4*
5
6
7
8
9
10

God
Creative Process
Grace
Wholeness
Attraction
Abundance
Living in the Flow
Oneness...God Is All
Immortality
Joy
Journaling & Listening
Affirmations
Meditation & Visioning
Spiritual Mind Treatment
Fear to Faith
Gratitude
Sacred Giving & Sacred Service
Forgiveness
Christ Consciousness
Celebration
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Speak about your own feelings and experiences and not about what someone else
has shared as their feelings or experiences.
Actively listen while another person is sharing and then refrain from commenting or
giving advice.
Keep your sharing short (two to three minutes). If you tell only the important facts,
it will give everyone who wants to share the time to do so.
Respect the rights of others and share one time only in each sharing opportunity.
If you later remember something wonderful you intended to share wait until
everyone else has had a turn to share.

How to Support Sharing and Maximize Listening
As sharing begins center yourself in love and compassion.
Become aware of the precious gift being given when someone has the courage to
share him/herself.
Make the space for listening when other people are speaking without categorizing
what you are hearing as positive or negative, or good or bad.
Be sensitive to the Divinity underneath the roles and games we all set up.
Be sensitive to the amount of class time you spend in sharing. If sharing is easy
for you, hold back in order to allow time for others. If sharing is more difficult for
you, learn to speak up and share yourself.

I, ______________________________________, understand and am in agreement
with the above requirements for certificated completion of this course.

Course Completion Requirements
To receive a Certificate of Completion for this UCSL Foundations Course, you must
meet the following requirements:
Attendance and Active Participation as stated above.
To be visibly active in your engagement in your home study assignments.
To have any makeup arrangements completed by Week 10.
To present a personal Project in Week 10.
To have your financial commitments fully met by the beginning of class Week 10.
In order for your requirements to be considered met please make sure the above data
has been recorded on your Student Record Sheet by your teacher or an assistant.
Any area of incompletion must be discussed with the teacher.
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Course
Outline
Course Overview

Week 1 God
Journaling
Listening

Week 2 Creative Process
Affirmations

Week 3 Grace
Meditation
Visioning

Week 4 Wholeness
Spiritual Mind
Treatment

Week 5 Attraction
Fear to Faith

Week 6 Abundance
Gratitude

Week 7 Living in the Flow
Sacred Giving
Sacred Service

Week 8 Oneness God Is All
Forgiveness

Week 9 Immortality

Week 10 Joy
Celebration
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A Prayer for Choosing My Perfect Journey

With absolute Choice,
I have entered into this world of forms.
With absolute Choice,
I remember that which I have chosen.
It is this higher connection, which recognizes
the perfect flow of life moving through me.
This Divine Power knows Itself as me.
That which cloaks this conscious knowingness
falls away, exposing pure Presence.
This brilliant blaze of pure potential
enlightens me to see and choose rightly.
The unveiled Truth of my being aligns me
on my perfect and enchanted journey.

My being boils with passion
for the journey, which lies before me.
Courageously I say YES to the adventure,
which brings both terror and ecstasy.
No longer Earthbound, I spread celestial wings
and soar the currents of God
and awaken to the splendor of my arrival.
My noble heart leads
me on the proper paths
of my souls unfoldment.

Motivated by love, I disappear into love.
I am transformed into love,
for it becomes me and I its expression.
Sprung free from the trappings of this world,
I discover the ever-flowing treasures of God validate my choice
of the spiritually enchanted path I have chosen to walk.
Blessed is the place I am, for God is.
My life reflects the splendor and the glory
of a journey presented by God and accepted by me,
thus dissolving any separation and merging
awareness into Divine Expression.

Joy-filled for being snatched and lifted
to experience beyond my normal knowing,
my heart is ecstatic with gratitude
for these words of Truth.
As the stars in heaven gaze and smile
upon this enchanted journey,
I choose to surrender the pain of controlling
the outcome to Trusting the Journey
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Week 1-
God
This Week
Everything begins in God.
When all the great religions of the
world say, In the beginning, God,
they are saying that there has never
been anything else but God from
which to create: all that is or ever
will be must come from this one
Source. Mathematically 1 plus 0 =
1; similarly God plus nothing can
only equal God.
As we begin this exploration to-
gether you will find that because
there are so many different
experiences and names for what
we call God, all sorts of feelings and
beliefs may be stirred up within you.
You may sense a connection or
disconnection to some of the terms
and ideas. Some may bring up
uncomfortable old beliefs while
others may send chills up your
spine, and still others may evoke
a beautiful response that entices
you to want to experience and
know more about God.
What matters most is your personal
understanding and feeling of this
all-animating, original First Cause
and its expression as you.
First Cause, Life Force, Divine Mind,
Spirit, God, Life, Infinite Intelligence,
Universal Wholeness, Absolute
Being. . .
As you expand your awareness of
this Life Force spend some time
contemplating how it is expressing
as you.
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The Thing
Itself - God
I am only the house of your
beloved, not the beloved herself: true
love is for the treasure, not for the
coffer that contains it. The real beloved
is that one who is unique, who is your
beginning and your end. When you find
that one, you'll no longer expect
anything else: that is both the manifest
and the mystery. That one is the lord of
states of feeling, dependent on none;
month and year are slaves to that
moon. When he bids the "state," it
does His bidding; when that one wills,
bodies become spirit.
Rumi

That truth is written in the inner
sanctuary of every soul, and all know
it without external formulas. It is the
intuitive perception of what is right in
the sight of God. It is the truth and
justice that every man recognizes as
the foundation of true living.
Charles Fillmore

God is another name for infinite
intelligence. To achieve anything in life,
a piece of this intelligence must be
contacted and used. In other words,
God is always there for you.
Deepak Chopra

I do benefits for all religionsId hate
to blow the hereafter on a technicality.
Bob Hope

This is a simple meaning of true
metaphysical teaching, the study of
Life, and the nature of the Law,
governed and directed by thought;
always conscious that we live in a
spiritual Universe, that God is in,
through, around and for us.
Ernest Holmes

Always pressing against the
gateway of consciousness,
seeking admission is That
which forevermore sings the
song of Its own wholeness,
forever embracing us.
Ernest Holmes
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The Thing
Itself - God

Always pressing against the
gateway of consciousness,
seeking admission is That
which forevermore sings the
song of Its own wholeness,
forever embracing us
Ernest Holmes

Class Outline

Welcome, Invocation, Class Logistics and Course Overview
Introductions: How did you find New Thought?
Class Talk/Discussion: What is Religious Science? What is UCSL? What is
Science of Mind? Who is Ernest Holmes?
Experiential Exercise/Discussion: GodWhat is God?
Introduction to Invocations and Benedictions
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Journaling
Home Study for Class 2 Creative Process
Experiential Practice: Meditation and Journaling
Closing
Week 1
God
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The Science of
Mind is built on the
theory that there is
One Infinite Mind
which of necessity
includes all that is,
whether it be the
intelligence in
man, the life in
the animal, or the
invisible Presence
which is God. In it
we learn to have a
spiritual sense of
things.
What is Religious Science?

Religious Science is a correlation of laws of science, opinions of
philosophy, and revelations of religion applied to the needs of humanity
and the aspirations of humankind.

What is United Centers for
Spiritual Living?

United Centers for Spiritual Living is the core organization, the hub of
all the ministries, centers and churches internationally which practice
the philosophy of the Science of Mind. United Centers for Spiritual
Living provides spiritual tools to transform our personal lives and to
make the world a better place.

What is Science of Mind?
Dr. Ernest Holmes
The Science of Mind that is taught in these lessons is an outgrowth of
the spiritual faith which people have had throughout the ages. Before
science was conceived the Presence of God was felt. Before mental
actions or reactions were analyzed history was filled with instances of
men and women who had experienced God.

The Science of Mind is comparatively new, but the mental experience
of the invisible universe is as old as the history of man. It is new in that
for the first time in history we have put together all the findings which
contribute to the establishment of man's relationship with the universe,
to the end that he may be able to apply his spiritual understanding to
the everyday problems of human life.

This science necessarily starts with the proposition that we are living in
a spiritual universe whose sole government is one of harmony, and that
the use of right ideas is the enforcement of its law.

The Science of Mind is built on the theory that there is One Infinite Mind
which of necessity includes all that is, whether it be the intelligence in
man, the life in the animal, or the invisible Presence which is God. In it
we learn to have a spiritual sense of things. This spiritual sense of
Foundations
begins with our
founder,
Ernest Holmes
explaining the
Science of Mind.

The Science of
Mind is built on the
theory that there is
One Infinite Mind
which of necessity
includes all that is,
whether it be the
intelligence in
man, the life in the
animal, or the
invisible Presence
which is God. In it
we learn to have a
spiritual sense of
things.
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things is what is meant by the Consciousness of Christ. To be able to
discern the spiritual idea back of its physical symbol is to use the mind
that Jesus used.

The Science of Mind is intensely practical because it teaches us how
to use the Mind Principle for definite purposes, such as helping those
who are sick, impoverished, or unhappy. Each one of us should learn
to become a practitioner of this science, a demonstrator of its Principle,
a conscious user of its Power. Power already exists, but the existence
of Power is of no particular value to us until we use it. We must not only
be conscious of Power, but we must be actively conscious of it. This is
one of the first lessons we learn in the Science of Mind.

This science is more than mental; it is also spiritual, since we live in a
spiritual universe. The Science of Mind declares the Truth about this
spiritual universe and it also declares the Truth about false belief,
considering everything which is opposed to good as an accumulation
of human thought, the collective negative suggestion of the race.

Wrong conditions are resolved into false beliefs, and through the use
of right ideas a transformation of thought takes place. We learn to build
our ideas upon an affirmative rather than a negative factor. To state the
Truth and deny or disregard that which in belief is opposed to it, is to
prove that the Principle of the Science of Mind is actual.

The ever increasing thousands of persons who are daily proving this
Principle add to our conviction that we are dealing with the most intense
reality the human mind has ever conceived. As you will learn later, the
practice of this science is the application of a definite technique, the law
of right thought, of true spiritual understanding.

Ernest Holmes

The Science of
Mind is intensely
practical because
it teaches us how
to use the Mind
Principle for
definite purposes,
such as helping
those who are
sick, impoverished,
or unhappy.
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What Is Spirituality?
John White
In essence, spirituality is simply living with the intention to realize God
in every circumstance of your being your thoughts, emotions, words,
deeds, relations, aspirations in short, the totality of your life, right to
its very end (as saints and sages do by dying a good death). That
attitude, that stance in life is the only thing which can truly create a
better world. There will never be a better world until there are better
people in it. The way to build better people is to begin with your self
by realizing God. To realize God means to know God on every level
of reality and in every mode or aspect of Gods being. Thus, spirituality
can be defined, level by level of reality, this way:
In physical terms, spirituality is recognizing the miraculous nature of
matter and the creative source behind the mystery of matter.
In biological terms, spirituality is realizing that a divine intelligence
underlies all life change and that such change is evolving all creation
to ever greater degrees of wholeness and perfection in order to
perfectly express itself.
In psychological terms, spirituality is discovering within yourself the
ultimate source of meaning and happiness, which is love.
In sociological terms, spirituality is giving selfless service to others,
regardless of race, creed, color, gender, caste, or nationality.
In ecological terms, spirituality is showing respect for all the kingdoms
in the community of life mineral, vegetable, animal, human, spirit,
angelic.
In cosmological terms, spirituality is being at one with the universe, in
tune with the infinite, flowing with the Tao.
In theological terms, spirituality is seeing God in all things, all events
and all circumstances, indwelling as infinite light and unconditional love,
and seeing all things, events, and circumstances in God as the matrix
or infinite ocean in which the universe occurs.

Reprinted from the Science of Mind magazine, June 1990, monthly column
Explorations in Consciousness.

In theological
terms, spirituality
is seeing God in
all things, all
events and all
circumstances,
indwelling as
infinite light and
unconditional love,
and seeing all
things, events,
and circumstances
in God as the
matrix or infinite
ocean in which the
universe occurs.
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Ernest Holmes, The Man
Rev. Marilyn Leo, D.D.
In his early years of writing and publishing, Ernest Holmes wrote a small booklet titled The
Philosophy of Emerson and Finding the Real Christ. The philosophy of Emerson was of the
utmost importance for Ernest. In this booklet he emphasizes paragraphs and their meaning in
Emersons Essays, History and Spiritual Laws.
In the front of this small and precious book in Ernests hand he wrote, Emerson is a friend, a
present I give myself. There is no copyright date and it was printed by Jon. C. Boyer in Los
Angeles. Throughout the years, when asked by people new to metaphysics, New Thought and
Religious Science, What shall I read first? Ernest would direct them to Emersons Essays.
This man of small stature (54) was very big in enthusiasm, humor, passion, dedication and love.
Born the last of nine sons on January 21, 1887, to Anna Heath Holmes and William Nelson Holmes,
Ernest was a special child, a curious personality. Normally about the age of two a child brings all the
questions of the world to ask of its parents and others. After a time, the questions subside. But not
with Ernest. His entire life was filled with questions and he wanted to know the answers.
When he found Emerson in his teen years, it was the beginning of a life, already filled with curiosity,
of great study. At age 18 Ernest went to live in Boston with his cousins. They had a store and Ernest
learned to cut meat and became a butcher. This served him well in future years, for he loved to cook
and barbeque and have parties with many friends. Ernest and Hazel had many friends, scientists
such as Bob Oppenheimer; celebrities from the arts and movie industry; Peggy Lee, Robert Stack
and Adela Rogers St. Johns; and clergy such as Norman Vincent Peale and Canon Gottschall, an
Episcopal Priest. Ernest loved people and enjoyed their company, especially when he could bring
forth his theories and ideas about life. His greatest dream, I believe, was for everyone to realize their
greatest potential and act on it. To live the greatest life they could imagine, to experience their own
Divine Presence, a consciousness of Love, Peace, Wisdom, Beauty, Joy and Abundance.
At the age of about 26 Ernest went to visit his mother
and brother Fenwicke in Venice, California. He decided
to stay. He worked for the City of Venice in the Parks
and Recreation Department and later in the Purchasing
Department. There, during his slow time he would read
many books, including those by Thomas Troward. When
his employer would ask him about the books he was
reading, he was always ready and willing to share. The
employer invited Ernest to his home to talk with some of
his friends, and from there a long and very successful
lecturing career began.
Ernest loved to read and when he wasnt reading, he
was writing or lecturing. He gave many classes every
week, both day and evening classes. Ernest had a
wonderful memory and could recite many stanzas of
poetry, and he often did from the platform. This ability
20
came through his attendance at the Leland Powers School of Elocution where he learned
dramatization and presentation. This was the only formal training Ernest acquired after completing
the 8
th
grade in Bethel, Maine. However, Ernest received many honorary doctorate degrees from
universities all over the world.
Ernest practiced what he believed and taught others how to heal through the Mind. His first client
was himself, as he was a very sensitive boy and desired to not be susceptible to others comments.
That healing was attained to a great degree. The first practitioners that he trained and who held
office hours were Anna Holmes, his mother, and Reginald Armor, his close friend and colleague.
In 1926, after many tours and speaking engagements, with a stenographer present to write down
his words, Ernest wrote the first Science of Mind from these lectures. By 1938 Ernest requested
that the then editor of the Science of Mind magazine, Maude Allison Lathem, help him to edit and
redesign the textbook.
1927 was a major year, for it was during this year that Ernest Holmes married his beloved Hazel.
Also, the corporation of the Institute of Religious Science and School of Philosophy was formed.
And lastly, in October of that year, Religious Science magazine was first published and distributed.
In January 1929 the magazine was renamed Science of Mind.
In 1953 the organization changed its name to the Church of Religious Science and in 1954
there was a major uprising and disaffiliation regarding the change in name (church) and the
reorganization. It was again renamed in 1964 to United Church of Religious Science.
In May 1957 Ernests beloved Hazel died suddenly while he was away from home. This was a
major event in his life and many believe he never truly recovered.
Over the years Ernest Holmes had spoken in many venues, usually in theaters and to thousands of
people. When he stayed in one theater for a while and the audience grew to a full house, he would
give the platform over to a minister and tell them to start a new work. [Church]
Founders Church was built and completed in January 1960 and the congregation from the Wiltern
Theater moved in. William H. D. Hornaday was the minister. In March 1960, Ernests work was
complete, although he apparently didnt recognize it at first. It took him about two and one half
weeks to decide to move on after experiencing a stroke. He made his transition on April 7, 1960,
in his home.

Rev. Marilyn Leo, D.D., longtime Religious Science minister and Doctor of Divinity, grew up in the environment of the
Holmes household. Acknowledged by her ministerial colleagues as A Living Treasure, Marilyn volunteers as archivist for
Religious Science. She compiled and edited Love and Law, a Tarcher/Putnum book on the lectures of Ernest Holmes and
is the author of In His Company Ernest Holmes Remembered, 2006. Dr. Marilyn has published many articles in
Science of Mind magazine.
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In-Class Exercise
Five Names for God

Always pressing against the gateway of
consciousness, seeking admission is that
which forevermore sings the song of Its
own wholeness, forever embracing us.
Ernest Holmes
22
In-Class Exercise
My Experiences of God

Time______________ Place_______________
My experience of a Power or Presence greater than I am was...
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Invocations and Benedictions
Each weekly class will begin with an invocation.
The intention of an invocation is for you to verbally recognize that the
Spirit of wisdom and love blesses and inspires the speaker, the listener
and subject (or the meal, the learning, the proceedings, etc.). It is to
call our awareness to the spirituality which is within and is why we are
gathered together for the class, meal, meeting, etc.
An invocation may include:
Recognition recognizing the Source of All, Spirit, God, the
Presence, the Infinite Supply of Life.
Unification knowing that all present are and always have been
one with the Source of Life.
Thanksgiving blessing and giving thanks for the speaker, the
food, the people, the endeavors, etc.
And so it is, or, Amen.
An invocation lasts no more than two 2 minutes and may include a
moment of silence to connect to Spirit.

Each weekly class will end with a benediction
The intention of a benediction is to express gratitude for the blessings,
learning, and inspirations of the class, knowing that all go their various
ways uplifted and that each one leaves with the blessing of a safe
journey home.
A benediction may include:
Thanksgiving expressing gratitude for Spirits expression
Blessing the people, the evening, the message, the gifts.
Ending acknowledge consensus with And so it is, Amen or
Blessed Be.
The benediction lasts no more than 2 minutes and may be done with
everyone gathered in a circle holding hands.
There is a format
for doing an
opening and
closing prayer
for meetings,
classes or any
other events.
The invocation
and the
benediction are
explained here.

Truth is One, the
sages speak of it
by many names.
Vedas,
Hindu Scriptures

24
Week 1 Practice
Journaling
If you already keep a journal then you know the gift that you are
giving yourself. If you do not, this is an invitation for you to give it a
try. Journaling will provide you with an opportunity to capture the inner
experience of your journey. This writing will facilitate your inner growth
and allow you to realize its direct impact on your outer manifestations.
Journaling has many benefits. It can be used to document your daily
life; to record meditative experiences and insights; to discover what is
important to you, such as your values and your life dreams; to reveal
detrimental patterns in your life so you can change them; to identify
and celebrate your wins; to record your dreams and the meaning and
insight you gain from them; and to recognize thought processes that
may have pulled you into a spin an unhappy cycle of behavior.
You will be using journaling both in class and as a home practice to
help facilitate and deepen your process of learning and growing through
the Spiritual Principles and Practices. This week you will create your
own personal journal. We suggest you build your journal using a three
ring binder with tabs, naming the following sections:
Daily Log: Here you record important events, what happened, the
people involved, and most importantly, your feelings and inner
experiences.

Wins: This section is for you to capture anything you have
accomplished or celebrated throughout the day.

Meditation Insights: Here you keep track of your meditation
experiences and insights gained from them.

Gratitude Log: Capture that for which you are grateful, including
experiences, people, places, etc.

Dialogue: This section provides a space for you to create a
conversation between yourself and meaningful aspects of your life,
including your body, life experiences, work, family members, other
people, etc. By generating an inner dialogue with different aspects of
your life you allow yourself insights into what is going on within you,
revealing questions you may have while giving a voice to that aspect of
your life and its meaning for you. Your conscious self, conversing with
your inner self can help you with your spiritual growth and guide you in
your decision-making for your life.
Each week, we will
be exploring a
spiritual practice
that helps to
realize the spiritual
principle we are
discussing. This
weeks practice is
spiritual journaling.
25

Dream Log
Everybody dreams; it is your subjective mind communicating with you.
By capturing your dreams, their essence and symbols, you can access
direct understanding of what is in your subconscious. The personal
significance and interpretation that you bring to your dreams is another
way of listening to your inner wisdom. Logging and writing about them
can bring great insight and provide direction for you in your life.

Organizing your journaling in this way allows you to focus on whichever
sections you want to work with and to refer back easily to your journal
entries by category.
Note: You will be asked to bring your journal to class and to share only
what you are willing from what youve created. At the end of class youll
be asked to show how you have been using it as a tool for Spiritual
Practice. While the specific content of your journal is personal and
private we will encourage you to share your experiences, revelations
and insights with the class in ways that feel safe to you. This sharing is
to assist both you and others in learning, growth and movement along
the spiritual path.
This type of journaling is loosely inspired by Ira Progoffs work
presented in his book At a Journal Workshop. He speaks of the
relevance of the journaling process and uses self-reliance, the topic
of one of Ernest Holmes favorite teachers Ralph Waldo Emerson, as
a premise for journaling.
Progoff writes, When our reliance is upon things or people outside
of ourselves, we are not drawing upon the strengths that are inherent
within us, and what is more important, we are not developing them
further. The progressive strengthening of our inherent capacities gives
us a resource that draws upon itself, and that is, therefore, self-
sustaining and self-amplifying.
So, have fun creating your personal journal, make it uniquely yours
and then simply begin. Commit to discovering yourself by allowing
your inner voice to express.
To believe your
own thought, to
believe that what is
true for you in your
private heart is
true for all men,
that is genius.
Emerson

The unexamined
life is not worth
living..
Socrates

26
Spiritual Practice
Listening
Listening is a spiritual practice that is sometimes overlooked in all of our days of doing and creat-
ing and conversing with each other. This spiritual practice is critical, however, in order to
deepen the inner life and grow in a conscious awareness of truth. As a spiritual practice, listen-
ing takes on a new meaning from that used in our usual daily life, because here we mean not just
listening to the general noise of the world, but rather listening with the heart.
To listen in this way means to listen with ones whole heart and whole being, in order to be
completely present to what is occurring in this present moment. By being present with our-
selves and others, the gift of listening gives us the wisdom of knowing our own mind and al-
lows us to develop generosity, patience and a loving presence with others.
Listening Within
When we attune the inner ear to truly listen within our own being, what are we listening for? In
the purest sense, we are listening to our own guidance, our own wisdom, what many call the still
small voice that speaks, giving us direction. Listening within is listening with ones whole being.
Taking a question within, we may feel a sensation in the body, an intuition, an urge within the
heart, a certainty in the stomach. And deeper, we may find ideas, words, peace and a certainty
of what to do next. Like all spiritual practice, the ability to listen deeply develops over time as
we make it a daily practice for ourselves and our decision making.
Listening to Others
It has been said that the deepest need of most people is simply to be heard. In this context, be-
ing willing to patiently listen to others is a spiritual practice and a healing gift. To give the pure
gift of listening, it is important to give up the need to comment, have an opinion, fix or argue
about anything that is being said. Remember that all people are Divine and are entitled to
their own individual perspective. Each person lives a life with unique experiences and perspec-
tive. By being willing to listen, to simply listen to another, you will find that each is able to find
their own way and sort out their own feelings, in their own time. Listening with your heart in this
manner, is empowering for the other as you hold within your own being the idea that each per-
son is powerful and has the power to know their own way.
As a practice, sit with another and let them know that you are there just to listen. Do not react,
or respond. Simply listen with your heart and be there for them. And see what happens.
Hear the voice of their truth. In this way you will learn and experience another aspect of God.
At the center of Being, we are all one. Practice listening with the heart and you will discover a
new oneness with everyone around you.
Embrace the spiritual practice of listening and find the many ways it can bless your life.
Let the inner ear listen to the voice of truth that is always speaking. Ernest Holmes
27
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. William H. Hornaday, D.D.
Can We Talk to God?
Now, in the Science of Mind we think of God as a universal principle, a universal
intelligence and power, the essence and energy of all nature and the being Itself. We
are thinking of God or attempting to, at least, in universal terms.
But it is impossible for the finite to grasp the meaning of the infinite. We cant grasp the
significance of nature, or even how the hummingbird, for instance, flies and flutters its
wings moving at a flight speed of 55 miles an hourin courtship dives, their wings may be
200 strokes a second. Think of it, one and a, ohthere is a second, 200 strokesbeyond
the understanding of science itself. We are thinking of God as a universal and infinite
being, as perfect law, the immutable law of cause and effect. And, in doing this we are
discarding, shall we say, the ancient idea of a huge person in the nature of deity.
Now people like to think of God as a man in the great somewhere who holds, shall we say,
a magic wand. Now, in doing this we are undoubtedly losing something, losing the sense
of personal contact with this invisible power. And we are liable to think of God only as
law or as an infinite some thing. Now, an infinite something is a very adequate thing in
certain respects, but in other respects it is very inadequate. We cannot derive much
comfort, pleasure or joy from talking to the principle of chemical affinity, yet we do derive
a great benefit from learning that such a law exists, and certainly we cannot hope to get
very much satisfaction from thinking of God only as an infinite It.
Now, we are intelligent; we think, know and understand at least something. Can we
suppose that we are accidents? Can we believe that the works of Shakespeare are the
results of an explosion in a printing factory? There must be and there is, a universal
consciousness which directly responds to our thought, and we are in contact with it, if
we so choose. Not only does the human heart yearn for such a possibility, but the
human mind comprehends, understands, senses it, feels it, and knows it. Youve all had
moments when your individual consciousness felt itself merge with the universal. You
were uplifted, you were in love with life, in love with something within yourself and
everything was beautiful. You knew something, and you no longer asked for explanations.
It happened, it just happened. The heart longs for, the mind comprehends, and the
intellect needs such a contact. The inflow of divine ideas, stimulating the will to
divine purpose.
Now, it is fundamental to our belief that there is a presence in the universe with which
we may consciously communicate, and which will consciously respond to such
communication. In fact, we hold this as fundamental to any consistent philosophy or
religion, not only because we long for and need it but because such a presence is an
inevitable necessity. Tell me, how can we assume that a finite mind constitutes the only
intelligence in the universe, or that there is nothing beyond our present comprehension?
How could we assume that we could be, could be more, unless being itself is a fact?
28
Could we recognize anything, unless that something within us which recognizes existed
before the thing which is recognized?
Therefore we ask, what is it then that we recognize, unless it is some intelligence within
us that is in unity with the great and final intelligence, the eternal being? Now we have
not and cannot exhaust its totality. However, we must assume that this final being is
conscious of us as part of itself. It is life, and we are life. And if this be true, it must be
true that we can communicate with itno question; but then again we realize that we
cannot communicate with a God external to our own nature of being, for the simple
reason that we cannot know anything beyond our own knowledge. Isnt that true? You
cannot know anything beyond your own knowledge.
In other words, there is an intelligence, and a responsive presence, in the universe.
There is a presence who knows, who cares, understands and responds, but only to our
own spiritual nature. Now, I think that we must be very careful, in the transition from the
old to the new, not to knock the props out from under ourselves which perhaps we still
need, not to rob any person of their God, unless we can give them a better one, for that is
the most destructive thing in the world. Dr. Ernest Holmes wrote, I would rather see an
Indian with his idea of deity than to see him have no concept of deity at all, because each
must interpret God through his perception of the divine being. In the transition then, let us
be careful that in place of every false supposition which we once had we can and shall find
a divine reality which is an eternal verity. Love is an eternal verity, truth, beauty, wisdom,
immortality. Now remember, there has never been a counterfeit made until after there had
been an original, a divine reality, shall we say. And the idea which has been instinctive in
the mind of everyone that has ever lived, the idea of a personal relationship to God, to
a deity, and this instinctive feeling is not there without a reason: it is a proclamation of a
deity indwelling our own soul. And we intuitively always are conscious of this divine fact.
You know that there is something more. There is a power and a presence in the universe
which responds to us so completely, so perfectly, that we shall be amazed when we
understand the truth. But it can only operate for us by operating through us. Therefore,
our communication with God must as necessity be and always remain an inner something,
an inner light, an inner realization, a true noble communication with an indwelling God
right where we are within ourselves. Now, the only God we can know is the God which
we sense, and since there is an inner light we must know it is God in and through us.

Rev. William H. Hornaday, D.D., (1910-1992) was one of the worlds leading teachers and ministers of metaphysics
and the originator of Founders Church of Religious Science in Los Angeles, California. He was a fifth generation
Methodist minister when he began his studies in metaphysics. A former business executive, Dr. Hornaday earned his
Doctor of Divinity in 1952 and studied directly under such prominent people as Ernest Holmes, Carl Jung, Albert
Schweitzer, Karl Barth, and Rheinhold Neibuhr.
The minds highest good is knowledge of God, and the minds
highest virtue is to know God.
Benedict de Spinoza, Dutch Philosopher
29
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Frank Richelieu, D.D.
What (Who) is God?
God is not a person, God is not away from you. God is energy, Presence, Power. God is
Love and right within us, and we are in God. God is an inner feeling, something which you
sense deep within you. God is Truth, God is Law, God is abstract and yet we are all the
outcome of God. God is a Presence which you have to find in your heart and sense deep
within you, not on a mountain top or in a desert. Wherever you go, God is. Recognize
God is Life YOU ARE THE LIFE OF GOD. GOD IS ALL IN ALL.
The Scriptures state, And God breathed into man and man became a living soul you
are the breath of life, you are God in ACTION. When you ask, What is God, realize God
is an idea. Each person has his or her idea about God. Moses asked God his name, and
God answered, I AM THAT I AM. Whatever you BELIEVE God is, God is to you;
whatever you think God is, that is what God is to you. You have to find God WITHIN
yourself. God is LOVE, LIFE, SPIRIT within each individual.

Rev. Frank Richelieu, D.D., did much of his training directly with Ernest Holmes. In 1957 he and his wife, Anita, began
developing a ministry which would include founding two churches prior to being called to the ministry at Redondo Beach
Church of Religious Science where he remained until his retirement. He inspired many listeners with his radio program
Living Ideas as well as a weekly television program. Dr. Richelieu published 4 books including, The Prosperity
Connection, Reincarnation, The Inheritance of a Soul, The Art of Being Yourself, and The Universe Always Says Yes,
Yes, Yes. Always active in his local community, Dr. Richelieu also served as president of the Board of Religious
Science International. This article is taken from The Prosperity Connection.

Everything must be based on a simple idea. Once we have
finally discovered it, it will be so compelling, so beautiful, that we will
say to one another, yes, how could it have been any different.
John Wheeler, American Physicist

To myself, I am only a child playing on the beach while vast oceans
of truth lie uncovered before me. Through the gate of emptiness for that child,
the vast unknown is not a source of terror, but a field of his joy.
Issac Newton, English Physicist

I saw my Lord with the eye of the heart.
I said: Who art Thou?
He answered: Thou
Al Hllaj, Sifi Master
30
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Linda McNamar, D.D.

God Is
As we start on a spiritual pathway in our lives we must answer for ourselves two
questions, What does it mean to be spiritual? and Who or what is God?
It has been said that God lives at the center of the universe, and the center of the universe
is everywhere; it is inside of each of us and all around us. We are part of the whole. Our
physical and spiritual worlds are not separate worlds but integral parts of each other. And
so the only way we can come to consciously know God, or Spirit, is within us. When we
are still, within our heart and mind we can sense this intelligent Power coursing through
our feelings and thoughts. We can feel this Life Essence when we set aside our false
beliefs. It is our consciousness of Something Greater than our human experience which
leads us to the certainty of Godwithin and as all life, including each human being.
Ernest Holmes wrote in his book, Can We Talk to God, In the Science of Mind we believe
in God as Spirit. First, I believe that God is Universal Spirit, and by Spirit I mean the Life
Essence of all that isthat subtle and intelligent Power which permeates all things and
which, in each individual is conscious mind. Our ability to think, to know, and to act are
direct channels through which the Universal Spirit flows.
The closest to a description of God contained in the Christian Bible is where Jesus said
that God is Spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Universal Spirit is without form, yet it expresses itself as all form. It is Infinitely Intelligent,
Loving, Creative, and Powerful. It is not just within each person, but is the very core of our
being. This core, this essence within, means that we have access to all the Intelligence,
Wisdom, Creativity, and Power that we could ever want or need.
Each individual comes forth from the One Spirit, and transcends life and death. When we
become consciously aware of our spiritual nature and aware of the universal laws of life,
our life expands in fuller and richer ways. We have something to believe in, to strive for,
to activate in our lives.
Each person is like an individual prism, with each having the same life-light shining
through him or her. God as illumination shines through us as light shines through the
prism. As it passes forth into expression, we see its many facets reflected in the details of
life. Each individual shines this God-Spirit-Light in unique ways. Once we recognize the
Light, and let it shine, it becomes brighter and brighter within us. To know the Spirit as the
only Source of light and aliveness reveals to us our unity with each other and with all life.
We are the ultimate reflection of the Creator and the created.
So we can say that God is infinite potential, infinite givingness, and infinite aliveness
shining through human beings as the qualities of Love, Wisdom, Peace, Joy, Abundance,
31
etc. As we free ourselves from false beliefs and open our minds and hearts to our Source
we become a transparency for the qualities of this divine Love-Intelligence-Energy and its
Creative Expression in our daily living. In other words, God is the Life of all life. God is all
there is.
Rev. Linda McNamar, D.D., has served United Centers for Spiritual Living in many capacities in her
twenty-five years of ministry. Her ministry includes being Dean of Education at Home Office, developing
and writing curricula, and serving successively as a minister in three of our churches. She currently is the
minister of First Church of Religious Science, Laguna Woods, California. A frequent teacher at Holmes
Institute, she also facilitates retreats across the country for New Thought and non-profit boards. Dr. Linda
is a regular contributor to Science of Mind Magazine. She lives in Laguna Woods, California, with her
husband, Mac.

You are One with the Creative Genius
You belong to the universe in which you live, you are one with the Creative Genius back of
this vast array of ceaseless motion, this original flow of life. You are as much a part of it
as the sun, the earth and the air. There is something in you telling you this like a voice
echoing from some mountain top of inward vision, like a light whose origin no man has
seen, like an impulse welling up from an invisible source.
Your soul belongs to the universe. Your mind is an outlet through which the Creative
Intelligence of the universe seeks fulfillment.
This is your starting point for investigating the meaning of those impulses, longings, and
desires which accompany you through life. You may accept that the source through which
they come is real. You may accept that the universe is filled with a Divine and Infinite
Presence, perhaps the infinite of yourself. Not the infinite of your limited self, but the
infinite of the Divine Self you must be. There must be a pattern of yourself in this invisible.
The greatest minds of the ages have accepted that such a pattern exists. Socrates called
it his spirit, Jesus his Father in Heaven. Some ancient mystics called it Atman. Why dont
you call it just you, your complete self? For surely this is what they all have meant.
Just try to catch the larger vision and realize that there have been and are people, many
of them, who have wooed and wed some invisible presence until Its atmosphere and
essence have become woven into the fabric of their own existence. Every man is a
doorway, as Emerson said, through which the Infinite passes into the finite, through which
God becomes man, through which the Universal becomes individual.
Ernest Holmes
This Thing Called You (pp. 3-4)

32
33
Home Study
for Week 2
READING
1. Readings in Week 1 of the Student
Workbook
2. The Science of Mind,
Ch. 1, The Thing Itself, pp. 25-34
(This relates to Week 1 materials.)
Ch. 8, The Power of Thought,
pp. 137-148
3. Student Workbook Week 2:
Creative Process
WRITING
This week write a letter to yourself
describing how you see your life at the
end of this course. Bring your letter to
class next week in a self-addressed,
sealed, stamped envelope. The letters
will be prayed over throughout the
duration of this course and then mailed
to you at the end.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
1. Create your Personal Journal binder
and bring it to show the class.
2. Once youve created your Personal
Journal, begin using it.
3. Apply invocation and benediction to
your life. Be prepared next week to
share how this impacted your week.
OTHER
Clean closets, drawers and/or garages,
creating space for the new to show up.

34
Week 2 -
The Creative
Process
This Week
Ernest Holmes was clear that the
ideas of the Science of Mind were not
original to him. He was a synthesizer,
a mystical correlator, bringing universal
spiritual principles to a practical, usable
and repeatable format. He created a
scientific method for the Creative
Process and organized it in a way
that supports living a conscious,
spiritually based life.
You may have heard of this principle
before, as it has been referred to in
many different ways: It is done unto
you as you believe, Karmic law, As
you sow so you reap, the law of cause
and effect, What goes around comes
around. In this class you will be shown
how you can take an invisible idea and
make it visible. We will work with the
analogy of planting a seed (thought)
into the soil (law) to bring forth a plant
(experience/form) to help clarify how
you can use this principle to bring about
greater good into your life. And you
will learn to use the power of positive
affirmations to assist you in doing so.
Also included this week is a look at
the wonderful history of New Thought
written by Rev. Arthur Vergara, D. D.
It shows the common thread of the
spiritual principle of the Creative
Process, one of Science of Minds
uniting concepts, from the earlier days
of New Thought teachings through
Ernest Holmes synthesis.
Yet another rich source of historical
perspective is the book, Lights Along
the Way, by Rev. Margaret Stortz, D.D.
Her wisdom is also included in the
readings for this week.

35
The Way It
Works - The
Creative Process
Experience is the name everyone
gives to their mistakes.
Oscar Wilde

The Unlimited is the first-principle
of things that are. It is that from
which the coming-to-be [of things
and qualities] takes place, and it is
that into which they return when
they perish, by moral necessity,
giving satisfaction to one another
and making reparation for their
Injustice, according to the order
of time.
Anaximander,
Ancient Greek Philosopher,
5
th
century BC

Late in the 20
th
century,
experiments confirmed that were
bathed in a field of energy that
connects us all with the events
of our world. Given names that
range from the Quantum Hologram
to the Mind of God, research has
shown that through this energy,
the beliefs and prayers within us
are carried into the world around
us. Both science and ancient
tradition suggest the very same
thing: We must embody in our
lives the very conditions that we
wish to experience in our world.
Gregg Braden

You are not a human being in
search of a spiritual experience.
You are a spiritual being immersed
in a human experience.
Teilhard de Chardin
French Geologist, Priest,
Philosopher and Mystic
Within us, then, there is a
creative field, which we call
the subjective mind; around
us there is a creative field,
which we call Subjective.
One is universal and the
other is individual, but in
reality they are one. THERE
IS ONE MENTAL LAW IN
THE UNIVERSE, AND
WHERE WE USE IT, IT
BECOMES OUR LAW
BECAUSE WE HAVE
INDIVIDUALIZED IT.
Ernest Holmes
36

Class Outline

Silence, Invocation and Check-in
Emergence and Development of New Thought
Introduction of The Creative Process and Metaphysical Chart
Experiential Exercise: Metaphysical Chart
Experiential Exercise: The Human Creative Process
Personalized Experience of the Seed-Soil-Plant Process
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Affirmations
Experiential Practice: Affirmations
History of New Thought
Home Study for Class 3 Grace
Closing
Week 2
Creative Process
37
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries:
Rev. Jesse G. Jennings, D.D.

Two Aspects of Consciousness
are simply this: thought plus emotion equals belief and it is done
to us as we believe. It is not necessarily done to us as we think, or
as we feel, but unite those two and what results is a dynamic creative
powerhouse. Heres why:
We have two, shall we say, aspects of mind at work within us.
Ernest Holmes and others identified these as the conscious and
subconscious realms. The first is the thinking aspect of self, the
second is the doing aspect. The first is intellectual and chooses, while
the second is emotional and creates. Each is active all the time. We
are always choosing to fasten our awareness some place. Even when
our thoughts drift, there is a certain mental terrain they are covering
that is unlike other terrain they could be covering, but are not. So in
a general way, at least, the conscious branch of mind chooses.
As it becomes more sure of itself in the creative process, the intellects
choices naturally become more focused. The subconscious part of
the mind is likewise constantly active, receiving the direct
impress (Holmes words) of whatever the conscious part is scouting,
and attempting to build an emotional framework around it which often
gets taken down midway through when the conscious mind suddenly
shifts its attention onto something else. When we are not manifesting
any particular outcomes, then, this is why: our choosing minds flitted
on to some other contradictory idea before we were able to feel as
though the original idea had congealed into form.
Now, the linkage of thought to feeling is called involution. The result
of this process as described by the senses is called evolution. New
conditions, circumstances, and so forth evolve into form because the
self has first involved itself in their realities while they were still unseen.
When we bring ourselves to realize that our ideas and our feelings
about them are already totally real when still in mind, and not yet in
solid form, we will seem to live in the two worlds of potential and actual
reality at once, and will have achieved mastery in the creative process.
To achieve this, first practice thinking of what you prefer, instead of
what you do not. This may be new behavior. Many of us were taught
to think about our problems over and over, as this would lead to a
solution. So we became adept at using the creative process to

To fully understand
our own power to
create, we begin by
understanding how
our consciousness
works.
38
generate newer, bigger problems. There is a more effective way to
achieve happiness. Imagine what happiness is to you rather than what
you imagine is standing in its way. Think about what you would prefer
but dont stop there. Now, allow emotion to rush in behind the thought.
Here is an example. Many examples deal with possessions and status,
but lets aim higher. Say you want to be a real beneficial presence in
the world, an agent of healing, a mensch. Now, take time every day to
sit and think about what this means to you, and write about it, or create
art or music that represents it to you. Think about it not as a wouldnt-it-
be-nice-if, but as an accomplished fact. You are now that fine human
being who is contributing to everyones life being brighter, and who is
energized and thoroughly elated by doing this. Get specific. What do
you do with your day, as this person you have become? Then what?
And, then what?
Now, watch the feeling follow. If this really is your dream, putting
yourself into the place of living it will deeply emotionally move you.
Tears come. You are so grateful. If it is hard to summon up feeling,
this may be an indication your heart is in the place of a different goal.
If so you can ask it to lead you there. Either that, or feeling in this way
is new territory so be patient with yourself as you work this process.
How to Use the Creative Process
Step 1: Think about things as you would prefer them to be, as though
they already were that way. Support your thinking as desired
with journaling, artwork, or other ways of recording it and
building on it.
Step 2: Step into the picture youve created in mind and feel what it
feels like to be there.
Step 3: Keep doing this until you notice that what you were envisioning
has actually built itself out in form all around you. It is now
your real life.
Step 4: Relax and enjoy. Then, when you are ready, select your next
goal.

Rev. Jesse Jennings, D.D., is in his 22nd year as Senior Minister of Creative Life
Spiritual Center, a Religious Science community in suburban Houston. In the 1990s
he served two terms as Chair of the International Board of Trustees of the United
Church of Religious Science. He has had published over 300 articles and essays; has
been a monthly columnist for Science of Mind magazine since 1989; compiled and
edited The Essential Ernest Holmes (Tarcher/Putnam, 2002); and contributed the
foreword to the republication of Holmes' long-lost The Hidden Power of the Bible
(Tarcher/Penguin, 2006). In 2007, three of his Science of Mind essays were named
"Articles of Distinction in Science and Theology" by the Templeton Foundation.
That which you
have will save you
if you bring it forth
from yourselves.

The Gospel
of Thomas
39
The Creative Process
The Seed, the Soil and the Plant
When we stop to look we can see the process of creation all around us,
and we can easily understand it by reflecting on the natural process of
the seed, the soil and the plant.
What we know is the seed is already complete within itself, just waiting
to germinate into form when it is planted. In this analogy, the thought
seed is the idea we select in our mind or in our visioning. Our seed
idea contains within it all that it will ever need to manifest into form. In
our thought process, we choose an idea, a seed, which we want to
plant and nurture in our consciousness. As quantum science would say,
we collapse all of the possibilities into the choice of this one seed idea.
Just as a seed is planted into fertile soil where it is watered and
nourished, our idea is received by the creative medium of mind.
In spiritual terms, this is the law of Mind, that part of spiritual
consciousness which receives the Divine idea and begins to create
the form of it in our lives. In the Science of Mind, this creative principle
is called the law because it cannot be changed in any way. Like the soil,
it does not offer any resistance to what is planted in it. The law simply
says yes. It does not choose which idea to honor; it honors each and
every idea. It does not judge. It simply receives the seed idea and
begins to germinate into the form it will be in life.
Just as the seed, germinating in the soil, unfolds into a plant, so do
our thoughts, moving through the creative principle of mind, unfold
into the form of our lives, or what we call a demonstration. Like the
wise gardener, we must be patient while the process takes place and
have faith that our thought will demonstrate in our lives in the Divine
right time.
Usually when someone plants a garden, they expect to grow a plentiful
crop. They also anticipate nurturing the ground and caring for the
seedlings as they sprout. With each carrot top that appears, they know
they will find an edible carrot root attached. On each tomato vine, they
anticipate tomatoes not carrots. They trust the seeds they have planted
will produce their own likeness and have faith in the process by which
the seeds do this. They also have the ability to pull up, or destroy, any
plant they no longer want thus ending the creation of further harvests.
It is often said, if you wish to understand your thoughts, take a look at
your life. Like the gardener, you can only harvest from seeds that you

This is the
manner in which
Nature creates
It contemplates.
As a result of Its
contemplation, It
lets fall the seed
of its thought into
the Universal
Subjective
which being
Law, produces
the object
thought about.
Ernest Holmes
40
have planted. If you are challenged with money issues, stress, health or
relationship problems, take a look at what your beliefs are about these
things. You can only grow what you have planted. Ernest Holmes
says, when seeking to heal an issue in your life, turn your thoughts
completely away from the situation and look only at the Divine ideal.
The Divine ideal of your life, your finances, your health is a perfect
idea of all the good that you can imagine. When you align your
thinking and your consciousness with these Divine ideals, you will
find them beginning to grow in your life. This is the way the creative
process works.
We have seen many examples of this in our lives. We know someone
who is always so worried and stressed that they cannot demonstrate
anything other than more causes for worry or stress. Or someone who
is always lonely, who seems to keep being alone and lonely, even when
they are with other people. Or one who is always joyful, no matter
what, so that challenges seem to disappear quickly and the joy returns.
These examples demonstrate the creative process at work. As the
scriptures say, we can only reap what we sow.
If we have had many challenging experiences and discouraging
moments in life, it can sometimes seem that we are still living out our
old ideas. Like a second crop of old plantings that come around later,
these challenging issues may show up again, even after we have
corrected our current thinking about them. It is important to give no
attention to them at all, to not replant them or hold any fear of them in
your creative mind. They are, after all, only old weeds from an old way
of thinking. When you do not tend to them, they will simply die away.
Understanding the creative process is very important when it comes
to growing in your spiritual power and consciousness. By doing your
daily meditation and prayer, you begin to nourish your thinking only
with the high ideas, the Divine inspirations of your life. These spiritual
ideas move through the law without resistance or judgment and begin
to reflect into your life in wondrous ways. And as you continue your
spiritual practice, the process speeds up, bringing you the joy, love,
health, and prosperity you are seeking. Most importantly, you find that
you are experiencing the flow of the Divine creative process within your
own being, that your consciousness becomes a resource for others,
and in your life and all around you, the wholeness of God is revealed.
We cannot say
that one thought
is creative while
another is not.
We must say
that all thought is
creative, according
to the nature,
impulse, emotion
or conviction
behind the
thought.
Thought creates
a mold in the
Subjective, in
which the idea
is accepted and
poured, and sets
power in motion
in accordance
with the thought.
Ignorance of this
excuses no one
from its effects,
for we are dealing
with Law and
not with
whimsical fancy.

Ernest Holmes
41
The Creative Process:
The Metaphysical Chart
The chart on the next page is adapted from Chart No. II-A, presented in The Science
of Mind on p. 569. It is designed to illustrate the triune or threefold nature of God and
humankind, and to clarify the Creative Process.
This Chart shows:
In the top section, UNIVERSAL SPIRIT, which we also call Love, Conscious Mind,
the Absolute, or First Cause.
In the center section, UNIVERSAL SUBJECTIVE MIND, also called Law or Soul,
which is the Creative Medium by means of which Spirit passes into form.
In the lower section, PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF SPIRIT form, effects, or
conditions.
The point drawn down through the center symbolizes the passage of Spirit from Cause into
effect, through the Creative Medium. Spirit must manifest in form in order to express itself.
The words Many from One on the descending line show that the infinite number of different
forms and conditions which fill the physical universe all come from the One. This illustrates
the Continuum of Creation, an eternal Divine process.
The unbroken circle symbolizes the infinity of God no beginning and no end. The dotted
lines between the sections remind us that there is no actual separation between the three
aspects of God: this is only an illustration of Gods triune nature three aspects, all within
the One.
The chart is both universal and human in its description. A human being re-enacts the
Universal Creative Process, and his/her nature is identical with that of God. We are
microcosms of the Infinite Macrocosm.
You will recognize this chart as the model for the Religious Science emblem, seen in many
forms throughout our centers, churches, offices, and publications and used in our classes
for many years as a primary teaching tool.
42
God: The Thing Itself
Alls Love, yet all is Law
Robert Browning
...all is Love and yet all is Law. Love rules through Law. Love is the Divine Givingness;
Law is the Way. Love is spontaneous; Law is impersonal. We should study the nature
of reality with this in mind...We shall see that there is an Infinite Spirit, operating through
an Infinite and Immutable Law. In this, Cosmos, and not chaos, finds an eternal
existence in Reality. Love points the way and Law makes the way possible.
Ernest Holmes
Science of Mind, p. 43
43
Individual Use of the Creative Process
Personal Experience of the Seed-Soil-Plant Process
The opportunity to share with God the shaping of the conditions of life is a tremendous
challenge and the great responsibility that comes with freedom.
Arthur H. Compton
American Physicist and Nobel Laureate, 1927
OLD IDEA
Repeats
And
Repeats
Becomes Automatic
Pattern
Experience
Validates Belief
NEW IDEA
VISION
NEW CHOICE
LAW
Creates a
New Experience
Habitual
Belief/Behavior
44
In-Class Exercise
The Three-fold Nature of God and Humankind
45
Week 2 Practice
Affirmations
To affirm means to declare positively that something is true. An
affirmation is a positive statement asserting that the goal the thinker
wishes to achieve is already happening. Affirmations are effective
tools for training your thoughts and feelings regarding what you desire
to experience in your life; they are an important part of your Spiritual
Practice. Using the seed/soil/plant analogy your affirmations are your
seed thought, placed into the creative medium (soil) in which they are
nurtured and from which the form (plant) of your life experiences
are created.
To write Affirmations which are effective and powerful for you:
Make them personal, begin with I AM, I KNOW, I LET.
Write them in present tense, as if it is happening now.
Use active language, verbs which indicate action, your
experience occurring as you speak.
Use feeling language, words that induce the emotional
experience you desire.
Keep them short, one sentence, easy to remember,
easily repeatable.
Use personal terminology words that are important to you,
words that evoke the appropriate experience and feeling
within you.
Be specific, and refrain from outlining: state WHAT and leave
out the HOW.
If your affirmation doesnt feel right, keep rewriting it until it does. You
may find that creating affirmations can help bring out hidden, untrue
beliefs, creating an opportunity for you to work to release these beliefs.
For instance, if your response to your affirmation is No! or That will
never happen, then you have a belief that is silently sabotaging the
creation of your desired experience. We will address hidden beliefs
in more depth in week 5 of this course; in the meantime, use the
revelation of this hidden belief to your advantage. Ask yourself, What
is it that I really believe, right now? Ask yourself, Is that the ultimate
truth? Notice the purpose that it might have served, thank it and, if
you no longer need it, let it go.

Man often
becomes what he
believes himself to
be. If I keep on
saying to myself
that I cannot do a
certain thing, it is
possible that I may
end by really be-
coming incapable
of doing it. On the
contrary, if I shall
have the belief that
I can do it, I shall
surely acquire the
capacity to do it,
even if I may not
have it at the
beginning.

46
Replace it with the truth. If you have not been able to eliminate the
belief bring it to class in weeks 4 and 5 for further exploration. After
writing your Affirmations, use them actively in your life in a way that
works for you. Some suggestions are:
Put your affirmation in places where you can easily see it to
remind you to keep it in your thought.
Repeat it often, speaking enthusiastically and powerfully, with
feeling. Do this at least 3 times per day, when you wake up,
mid-day and when you go to sleep.
Write your affirmation out repeatedly in your journal.
Record the affirmation and play it back to yourself while doing
activities around the house, driving, or going to sleep.
Visualize yourself in the experience that the affirmation
describes, feeling the feelings, seeing what your world looks
like around you. Actually be in your body experiencing your
body, seeing with your eyes and feeling with your feelings! The
stronger the felt experience the greater the message placed
into the action of Spirit.
Enjoy your affirmation process, have fun, and play with making
affirmations a part of your life.
Thought is
very subtle and
sometimes
when you are
making such
an affirmation,
arguments will
rise against it.
Stop at once
and meet those
arguments.
Refuse to accept
them. We speak
into our words the
intelligence which
we are, and
backed by that
greater Intelligence
of the Universal
Mind, our word
becomes law unto
the thing for which
it is spoken.
There goes forth
from this work
the Power of
the Infinite.
Ernest Holmes

The five universal affirmations are:

1. My Good is my God. My God is Life, Truth, Love, Substance,
Intelligenceomniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent.
2. In God I live and move and have my being.
3. I am Spirit, Mind, Wisdom, Strength, Wholeness.
4. The I AM works inevitably through me to will and to do that
which ought to be done by me
5. I am governed by the law of God and cannot sin or fear sin,
sickness or death.
From Emma Curtis Hopkins, Scientific Christian Mental Practice
(Known as the teacher of teachers in the New Thought Movement)
47
In-Class Exercise
AFFIRMATIONS

I am
I am
I am
I am
I am
I am
I am
I am
I am
I am

You, ______________, are
(your name)
You, ______________ ,are
(your name)

You, ______________ ,are
(your name)

You, ______________ ,are
(your name)

You, ______________ ,are
(your name)
48
Affirmations...continued

He/She is
He/She is
He/She is
He/She is
He/She is

49
In-Class Exercise
AFFIRMATIONS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
50
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Margaret Stortz, D.D.
The Creative Process
All religions have their means of describing what they perceive as the
workings of God, both on universal and individual levels. Often these
descriptions are full of mystery and shrouded language, which is the
human tendency when trying to translate Infinite activities into human
terms. Some of this is unavoidable. Ernest Holmes understood this
when he said that it is impossible for a finite mind to comprehend
such a complete Life and Power. (Science of Mind, 82.2) But Holmes,
in his logical, pragmatic thought processes, produced the idea of the
Creative Process as an understandable, graphic way to imagine the
movements of the Infinite Mind, and by extension, the human mind.
We can see Holmes depiction of the Creative Process in the teaching
charts at the back of The Science of Mind textbook, particularly
Metaphysical Chart No. 11-A. Every element of this chart holds
symbolic meanings. The Circle denotes Infinity, where all of life is
held in that which has no beginning and no end. The three horizontal
levels within the Circle depict the activity of Thought as Holmes sees
it. At the top level there is Infinite Decision-making, so to speak.
God thinks and sets the Creative Medium (level 2) into growth motion.
The outcome (level 3) is the physical result of the whole process.
Throughout all, we see the V of Spirit descending into form, which
tells us that the Creative Process is always in action, even during the
quiet periods. Let us remember that, although the chart appears to
suggest that each part of the Process works independent of the others,
the whole Thought-Action-Outcome flows together in one motion.
We in our finiteness replicate the Creative Process within our own
thoughts. At the conscious, outer level of mind, we think creatively;
our inner or subjective level of mind gestates and grows our thought,
and we get a physical result. Since we use the Mind of God each time
we think, we cant help setting the same Process in motion, but be-
cause of our finitude we do not utilize the Creative Energies to the
fullest. Our understanding is sometimes limited, but our aim is to
dissolve as much limitation as possible and become more adept at
using the Creative Process in our lives.
Spirit, Soul, Body
Ernest Holmes depiction of the Creative Process is his idea of the
general, all-encompassing way in which the Mind of God works. He,
like all organizers who create and seek to identify their systems, has

When
consciousness
collapses actuality
from possibility,
there is room for
free will,
for creativity,
and for divine
purposiveness.

Amit Goswami
Quantum Physicist
51
produced a body of nomenclature, a specialized use of language that
illustrates his spiritual philosophy. Among his specialized language,
three important terms appear that provide powerful definitions in the
Creative Process. They are: Spirit, Soul and Body, and these terms
as used in Science of Mind nomenclature hold larger meanings than
they do in intimate parlance.
Looking at the charts in the back of the Science of Mind textbook,
particularly Metaphysical Chart No. 1, we will find these three terms,
one in each of the three levels of the Process. Spirit, in this instance,
means more than our individual sense of ourselves. It denotes the
entirety of the Mind of God as It consciously propels Itself into the mode
of creation. Spirit may be the major term, but in the chart we will find
many other descriptive words along with it, which try to broaden our
imaginative perceptions about this level of Mind.
The word Soul is found at the second level of Mind, and again, its
meaning is much greater than the personal, human view of the soul as
that part of us that survives after physical death. Soul in Holmes usage
signifies the collective subjective, or inner level of Mind that holds the
actual power of growing ideas into form. The non-volitional nature of
Soul as the receiver of ideas to work out is surrounded also by other
descriptive terms to help expand the thinkers perceptions of Soul.
Last, at the third level of Mind, the word Body is used to indicate the
final outcome of the Creative Process, the result of the energies of
Thought. It represents more than just our physical body; it suggests
the entire Body of Creation as palpable effects, which include form,
matter and observable relationships. Again, other terms accompany
Body to elaborate on Its meanings for greater understanding.

Rev. Margaret Stortz, D.D., is Minister Emeritus of Oakland's First Church of
Religious Science and past President of the United Church of Religious Science.
Dr. Margaret has taught for over 25 years, touching the lives of hundreds of students.
For over 30 years her articles and meditations have been published in Science of
Mind magazine. In 1995-1998 she served as President of United Church of Religious
Science and in 1999 she was awarded with the Doctor of Religious Science Degree.
She is active in her retirement as she continues her writing, her private practice, guest
speaking and studies. She earned her BA from California State University, Hayward in
2002 and received her Masters Degree in 2006. She is the author of I Am Enough
and Other Wisdom and the recently published Lights Along the Way.

All matter
originates and
exists only by
virtue of a force.
We must assume
behind this force
the existence of a
conscious and
intelligent Mind.
This Mind is the
matrix of all Matter.

Max Planck
Theoretical
Physicist
52
Rev. Marlene Oaks, D.D.
Invisible PrincipleVisible Results
Although principles themselves are invisible, we see their effects everywhere
in our world and our universe. Lets consider mathematics. The one who
studies the principles of mathematics may use those principles freely
whether that person is old or young, male or female, rich or poor, in the city or
in the country. No one has to delve deeply into mathematics, yet everyone is
free to do so. The one with a cursory knowledge of mathematical principles
may use them up to a point. The one with a deep and thorough knowledge
of these principles may use them to the fullest extent. The use made of
the principle does not alter the principle; it is not depleted, or added to, or
changed in any way. No amount of use of the principle makes the principle
itself visible. It is always an invisible idea that operates consistently. The
principle is there, whether used or not.
It becomes practical in our lives when we understand and use it. Say we have
entered in our checkbook many deposits and deductions for checks written.
The laws of mathematics will not automatically figure our balance for us. They
are there for us to use or not use. If we want to know our balance, we must
add and subtract and arrive at it, using the principles of mathematics correctly.
In Science of Mind we study a Universal Principle and Presence that is
invisible, which also makes Itself known here in the visible by the results of
Its activity. The Principle is invisible; the results are visible. We can know we
have found and are using correctly a Spiritual Principle in just the same way
we can know we have found and are using correctly the laws of mathematics
by results.
Look around you today. What results do you see that are not man-made?
Look at the clouds, the sunrise and sunset, the stars, the moon and the
planets, the plant life, the animal life, the human life. These are all visible
results from an invisible Cause. What can you tell about the Cause by
studying the results? Do you see an Order? A Harmony? A Beauty?
A Wisdom? A Love? A Joy?
Say to yourself about everything you survey, There is an invisible Principle
behind this ______(star, flower, puppy, etc.). By studying this creation I now
know more about the invisible. Repeat this process often. Allow yourself to
be immersed in knowing the answers from within your very Self.
Rev. Marlene Oaks, D.D., was ordained in Religious Science in 1978 and received a
Doctorate of Divinity from Emerson Theological Institute in 1995. She began her
ministry founding the Community Church of the Island in Hawaii, then serving at the
Divine Science church in Pueblo, CO. Rev. Marlene went on to found yet another
UCRS church in Palo Alto. She finally moved to the Fullerton Church of Today where
she was until she retired. Her vision has always been to be a beneficial presence in
the world and she certainly lives that vision through her teaching of New Thought in
Russia through the LaVida Institute. She is the author of Forgiveness and Beyond.
In your light
I learn
how to love,
In your beauty,
how to make
poems,
You dance
inside my chest,
Where no one
sees you.

Rumi
53

The Creative Process:
Substance and Form

If you fold a piece of paper into the form of a dart, it will fly through the
air by the law of the form which you have given it. Again, if you take
the same bit of paper and fold it into the shape of a boat, it will float on
water by the law of the new form that you have given it. The thing
formed will act in accordance with the form given it, and the same
paper can be folded into different forms; but if there were no paper,
you could not put it into any shape at all. The dart and the boat are
both real so long as you retain the paper in either of those shapes; but
this does not alter the fact that you can change the shapes, though
your power to do so depends on the existence of the paper.
This is a rough analogy of the relation between the ultimate substance
and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor shape is
an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit; only, by the
nature of the Creative Process, the Spirit has power to determine what
shape substance shall take at any particular time.

Thomas Troward
The Creative Process and the Individual, pp.96-97

54
Rev. Arthur Vergara, D. D.
The Emergence and
Development of New Thought

The history of New Thought rightly begins with the investigations and discoveries of the American
clockmaker, daguerreotypist, inventor and healer Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-66). Some of
his clocks and daguerreotypes (early photographs) are still to be found, and his inventions are
down on paper; but it is for his thousands of healings that he is known today and for his right to be
regarded as the first psychoanalyst on record and the first discoverer of the subconscious mind.
Franz Anton Mesmer
This history next looks back to an era slightly before Quimbys in which the Austrian physician and
healer Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) flourished. Mesmer, in conducting healings with people
first put into a trance state similar to the hypnotic condition, was working with the subconscious
mind. However, he confused that with what he took to be an intangible cosmic energy (which we
might well say it is) that he did not associate with mind although he was working with mind and
the power of suggestion. Mesmer should not be underestimated, but he was theoretically wide of
the mark, although a great humanitarian and successful healer.
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby
Quimby witnessed exhibitions of mesmerism given in his native New England and was curious to
try his hand at it. Together with a young man that he found susceptible of being put in the trance
state by him, Quimby proceeded to travel a local circuit giving the same kind of demonstrations
as those he had witnessed. In the trance state the young man was able to act clairvoyantly, read
minds, and tell sick people what their trouble was without himself being told in advance. This
enlisted great confidence in his powers, so that when he prescribed remedies, they proved to be
remarkably effective.
Of course he didnt really know what was physically wrong with these people, nor were his simple
herbal remedies effective in themselves. What he was doing in diagnosing was simply reading
the mind of the patient (or of the doctor in attendance, after Quimby began to get referrals). And
the reason his prescriptions worked is that the impressed patients trusted in them.
Over time Quimby began to suspect these things. He next dispensed with the young mans
services, and in working alone with his patients he duplicated what had been done through the
mediumship of his former aide. Next he dispensed with the mesmeric sleep, as the trance
state was called, working now directly mind to mind.
In the process, he made one clinical, and one therapeutic, discovery. The first was that in
clairvoyantly arriving at the patients fears, regrets, sorrows, etc., he could impress the patient
with his insight so that in explaining the source of the patients problem for example a fear of
Gods wrath, inducing depression or illness the patients acknowledged awareness became
the healing dynamic. For this Quimby coined the phrase The explanation is the cure. This
prefigured the achievements of clinical psychology specifically, psychoanalysis.
55
The therapeutic discovery was that he could heal the patient by silent mental means no
outward explanation, but rather the understanding that the patient was out of touch, in regard
to the illness, with his real or Christ self what Quimby called the real man or the scientific
man the Christ within.
Quimby believed that his altogether new science revealed that people are inhabited by beliefs or
opinions greatly at variance with their real self; that these beliefs work to the detriment of mind
and body; and that by the healers knowing for the patient his/her true self, devoid of all sickness
and malady, the patient could be restored to health.
Thus it mattered very much whether the patient entertained wholesome or unwholesome
thoughts and beliefs. But she/he might be wholly unaware of the workings of their own mind.
Here Quimbys investigations into mesmerism supplied the key; there were two aspects of mind,
one the subliminal or subconscious, the other the outer or conscious, with which everyone
presumes to be familiar. The subconscious (not his term) was not only a storehouse of
everything internalized by the patient, but it was also the maker of the patients condition
mental and physical.
If we dwell much on Quimby it is because he is of prime importance to an understanding of the
history that followed, which we call New Thought even thought paradoxically, his legacy be-
came greatly obscured, which explains why the clinical and therapeutic establishment has not
known about and honored his very real, and historically verifiable, achievement. Students of the
Science of Mind quickly come to appreciate his importance and relevance for their own teaching.
Quimby numbered among his patients four of particular note: Annetta Seabury (1843-1935) and
her husband-to-be, Julius Dresser (1838-93), Warren Felt Evans (1817-1889), and Mary Glover
Patterson (1821-1910); later Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science. The Dressers
were devoted to Quimby, and after his death they exerted themselves as healers, teachers, and
writers. Of their sons, Horatio, a Harvard Ph.D., championed the Quimby cause, and his brother
David, a famed psychologist, was a contributor to Science of Mind magazine.
Mary Baker Eddy
Mrs. Patterson (later Mrs. Eddy), healed by Quimby, was his almost adoring enthusiast and
advocate. She became ill again after Quimbys death and languished until, while reading the
Bible, she suddenly experienced a healing. Eleven days later, however, she complained of
slowly failing and wrote to Julius Dresser for help; but he was unable to give time to her case,
so she was thrown on her own resources, which over time persuaded her that Quimby had little
insight into the truth of healing and that she, Mary, had found it in a revelation. She went on to
work out her discovery of Christian Science, founding a church and organization by that name.
This was the beginning of a long dispute, ranging over decades, about the true source of Mrs.
Eddys (her final name) discovery and revelation. On one side would be the Quimbyites and
New Thoughters; on the other, the Eddyites and her followers. The guns are largely stilled
today, but they still smoke.
Warren Felt Evans
Warren Felt Evans came to Quimby for healing and then proceeded to undertake his own career
as a healer. However, he is famous for a series of really brilliant works including what some
regard as the first New Thought text, The Mental Cure (1869) that, although they were in some
56
ways a mixed bag of doctrines, traditions, and ideas, raised many a consciousness and spread
wide much of what we call the Truth teaching (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free). Quimby too called it the Truth.
Emanuel Swedenborg
The beginnings of New Thought have several derivations. One of them is the slow fermentation of
the Quimby ideas, the early healing and teaching activities, and the attention paid to Evans books.
Swedenborgians a small but influential cross-section of East Coast urban society saw in the
new teachings and practices corroboration of the teaching of the Swedish philosopher and religious
writer Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). They proceeded to embrace the new cause in the light
of their revered mentors teachings and the corroboration of its practical aspects that the
burgeoning New Thought seemed to lend it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Although Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) is often taken to be a founder of New Thought (which
has no founder as such), his is at best a supportive influence. The same intellectual climate that
made the New England of his day a sort of New World Athens was breathed by a variety of people,
including New Thoughters and Transcendentalists. His influence on the young Ernest Holmes,
however, was considerablebut surpassed by later influences.
East Coast New Thought
New Thought on the East Coast gradually began to form around Mental Science i.e. an
understanding deriving from, or similar to, the Quimby legacy of the dual aspect of mind. Some
groups were somewhat eclectic, mingling philosophy, Eastern religious teachings, and esoteric
elements, depending on the particular blend. These were thought both to substantiate the new
thinking and to confer an aegis of universality on it. The Mental Science tradition, leading to Ernest
Holmes, is a complex and indirect one, involving no little confusion and misunderstanding about
just what Mental Science consists in. However there begins to develop a substantial work in the
Quimby tradition along the Boston Hartford New York corridor. Two other developments,
however, forged ahead under the leadership of several dynamic personalities.
Midwest: Emma Curtis Hopkins, Ursula Gestefeld
One was the independent activity of former pupils of Mrs. Eddy, disaffected, banished, or simply
acting on their own. Their heartland was Americas: the Middle West Chicago, Kansas City
and they numbered such luminaries as Emma Curtis Hopkins (1849-1925) and Ursula Gestefeld
(1845-1921). Mrs. Hopkins was influential in the rapid spread of her version of New Thought,
lecturing and teaching in many cities and towns. She operated a seminary in Chicago.
The tendency of teachers like Hopkins and Gestefeld was in part to make of New Thought a
remake of Christian Science minus Mrs. Eddys authority and organization. Nor were they always
at one with the whole of her teaching or practice. Still, they constituted a distinctly Christian
Science wing of New Thought. A major New Thought organization to take shape in the Middle
West under Mrs. Hopkins influence is the Unity School of Christianity.
West Coast: Malinda Elliott Cramer & Divine Science
The third development, on the West Coast, was that of a single woman, Malinda Elliott Cramer
(1844-1906), who came to the Truth teaching through her own experiences and insights, and who
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created the teaching and movement known as Divine Science. She had no teacher but herself,
became true New Thoughts most influential teacher through her Divine Science teaching, her
International Divine Science Association, and her magazine Harmony, which went just about eve-
rywhere in the English-speaking world.
The Brooks Sister & Divine Science, Denver
A major branch of Mrs. Cramers activity in Denver, under the leadership of three sisters Nona
Brooks (1861-1945), Fannie Brooks James (1854-1914), and Alethea Brooks Small (1848-1906)
was created when the sisters rejected Mrs. Hopkins Christian Science stand on the unreality of
matter and embraced Mrs. Cramers nondualistic Law of Expression the centerpiece of her
teaching and her textbook, Divine Science and Healing. Cramer refuted the Christian Science
position by positing the Allness of God as consisting of Creator, Creative Action, and Creation
or Being, Action, and Result. This was all-inclusive and left nothing outside the allness of God.
The Brooks sisters promoted Divine Science by reducing Mrs. Cramers brilliantly conceptual
system to the single proposition of Omnipresence. In both Divine Science traditions, of which the
Denver-based was the survivor after Mrs. Cramers operation was destroyed in the San Francisco
earthquake of 1906, the teaching was implemented through spiritual mind treatment.
Charles and Myrtle Fillmore & Unity
Mrs. Hopkins most notable legacy is Unity School, originally in Kansas City and now in its own
Unity Village in Missouri. Co-founders Charles Fillmore (1854-1948) and his wife Myrtle Page
Fillmore (1845-1931) had, like Mrs. Cramer and two of the Brooks sisters, both experienced
personal physical healing from longstanding illness due to their application of Truth principles.
Basing their teaching on a New Thought version of Christianity, they undertook, like Cramer and
the Brooks sisters, a healing activity and outreach that flourishes to this day. Whereas Divine
Science today has a very small network of centers and churches some 19, as against many
more in past years Unity thrives in many places in many states. Its telephone (and letter)
prayer ministry Silent Unity is world famous.
The Rix Sisters & Home of Truth
Among Mrs. Hopkins many pupils were the sisters Annie (1856-1924) and Harriet (ca.1864-1931)
Rix. These two took her brand of Christian Science and propagated it in their Home of Truth
movement, with centers up and down the West Coast, extending also to the Midwest, the South,
and east as far as Boston. San Francisco was the original base, but under Annie it moved to Los
Angeles. One Home of Truth center survives today at Alameda, California.
Albert Grier & Church of the Truth
A Universalist minister in Washington state, Albert C. Grier (1864-1941), received his healing
from reading a pamphlet written by one of Mrs. Hopkins pupils incorporating a simple statement:
Steadfastly facing Thee, there is not evil on my pathway. Like those who had caught the fire
before him, he embarked at once on a study of the New Thought truth teaching and before long
but not before trying to bring the Universalist Church association round to his way of thinking
resigned his pulpit to begin his own work as the Church of the Truth. This spread rapidly in the
pacific northwest, moving east and south, with a New York City outreach founded by him in later
years and served faithfully there and elsewhere by his daughter, Gladys. The Church of Truth
(its later name) has some five churches in the league.
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Others
There have been many single New Thought centers, churches, and even small leagues, some
of them greatly distinguished, such as the Christ Truth League in Fort Worth, the Society of the
Universal Living Christ in Cleveland, and the Church of the Healing Christ in New York. Similarly,
there have been many teachers and ministers with wide personal outreach but most usually
serving in a single place.
What Do They Believe?
But, it will be asked, what have these organizations taught? It is the spirit of the New Thought to
have a commonality of belief that covers most of the ground of the many leagues, groups, and
individuals that make up the Truth movement.
New Thought has always held for the oneness of God and the individual by understanding that
the individuals true identity is in God, and God is all the individual truly is. By God we mean
such things as Infinite Being, Love, Intelligence, and Power. New Thought affirms that human
experience derives from the individuals own sphere of thought and feeling, with consequences
for all areas of life, such as health, expression, happiness, wealth, and companionship.
New Thought holds that for all these reasons we are spiritual beings living in a spiritual universe
governed by spiritual law, empowered to shape and mold our experience for good (or not) in all
things, under all circumstances. This we do by working with spiritual law, which is cooperation
with divine causation, working always from Mind within to result without. By knowing the truth
that makes us free, we realize the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
These things and more could be said in any of many ways. They attest to the spirit of New
Thought, with each individual or group nuancing the truths in ways borne out by results.
Thomas Troward and Mental Science
The very serious embrace of the dual action conscious/subconscious of mind as
individualizing, in us, Spirits own creative action, and indeed being an extension of that, lies
at the heart of the Mental Science movement in New Thought and characterizes much of how
it regards God and the individual in the unity of omnipresence. The late-nineteenth-century
discovery of the subconscious mind, in the absence of Quimbys priority and precedent, ushered
in a new knowledge of mind and its workings that met, in the retired British colonial administrator
and student of spirituality Thomas Troward (1847-1916), a penetrating analyst and systematizer
of a new metaphysics.
Frederic Myers and Thomson Jay Hugson
The researches of the London Society for Psychical Research under Frederic Myers (1843
1901) paved the way for the breakthrough discussion in The Law of Psychic Phenomena, by
Thomson Jay Hudson (1834-1903) of the extraordinary power of a subliminal, subjective aspect
of mind, activated, as it seemed, by suggestion. This was the finding based on the same subject
of Quimbys own investigations; Mesmerism and hypnotism. Trowards gift was for taking
Hudsons study to higher, metaphysical planes, revealing how the mental process in the individual
replicated the divine process of all creation, arguing union of God and the individual in One Mind,
with limitless vistas of personal growth and fulfillment.

59
Ernest Holmes
Ernest Shurtleff Holmes (1887-1960), read Troward after becoming acquainted with much of
New Thought. In reading a single book of Trowards The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental
Science his clarity of vision and understanding came, and he was able to bring his own
resources to bear on explaining the teaching in a manner all could comprehend. Further, he
systematized a mental-healing process called treatment that made this, too, comprehensible
and practicable for all. Urged to organize, he founded the Religious Science movement,
whose teaching the Science of Mind is text and testament of everything that has been
found to be true and reliable by New Thoughters from Quimby to our own day.
New Thought Communities
"Communities" might be a better way of describing so-called "umbrella" organizations that
operate in the New Thought field, of which two are prominent.
The International New Thought Alliance (INTA), with headquarters at 5003 E. Broadway Rd,
Mesa, AZ 85206, describes itself as "a world-uplifting spiritual community that has its roots in
timeless and universal principles, and is a strong, vital, and distinctly democratic organization
that has served New Thought since 1914. It affirms the integrity and practicality of the spiritual
philosophy of New Thought, including the realization and demonstration of wisdom, wholeness,
abundance, and peace for all. INTA celebrates the spiritual unfoldment, freedom, diversity,
and full creative participation of individuals and communities in the New Thought movement
throughout the world. INTA is dedicated to the spiritual transformation of humankind." You are
invited to find INTA at www.newthoughtalliance.com.
The Association for Global New Thought (AGNT), with headquarters at 220 Santa Anita Rd,
Santa Barbara, CA 93105, describes itself as "born out of a deep conviction and pure passion
to give our movement a clear voice and commanding presence on the global stage," citing
"the broader intention of twenty-first-century New Thought: planetary healing through
self-realization as the new promise of these teachings." The AGNT's vision of this planetary
transformation is based on the conviction that "there are universal spiritual truths which
represent the emerging spiritual paradigm for the new millennium." These truths the AGNT
articulates in its Principles of Universal Spirituality, which you are invited to find, along with
more about the AGNT, at www.agnt.org.

Rev. Arthur Vergara, D.D., a student of Religious Science under Raymond Charles Barker, was
ordained by the Divine Science Church in San Jose and received his doctorate from Religious Science
International. He has been an active speaker throughout New Thought as well as a frequent contributor
to both Science of Mind and Creative Thought magazines. He served as a member of the Advisory
Board of Science of Mind magazine. As the publisher at DeVorss and Company for 17 years, Rev.
Vergara was a key figure in editing and contributing to many New Thought works including The Ernest
Holmes Transcripts, Living the Science of Mind, the biography, That Was Ernest: The Story of Ernest
Holmes and the Religious Science Movement, and the Complete Writings of P.P. Quimby; he also
served as a contributing editor for the Thomas Troward Society. For over 30 years Rev. Vergara has
been immersed in researching the history of the New Thought movement. His research was the basis
of his doctorate recognition.
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61
Home Study
for Week 3
READING
Student Workbook Week 3: Grace
WRITING
1. Complete the Growing in Grace
Exercise in your Student
Workbook.
2. Using the page in your Student
Workbook, answer the question:
Where am I allowing Gods
Grace to show up in my life?
3. Complete the Love Exercise in
your Student Workbook. Note
that this exercise involves six
days of contemplative meditation
and journaling. Start tomorrow
and practice each day per the
instructions.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Continue working with your
affirmations. Make them a part
of your daily life by repeating your
affirmation 100 times twice per day
and writing it out several times a
day. Be ready to share your results
in our next class.
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Week 3 -
Grace

The Love of God is the
Divine givingness; the
eternal outpouring of Spirit
through its creation.
Ernest Holmes
This Week
In this class you will explore what
it means to live by and to grow in
Grace. You will also experience
using the spiritual practice of
meditation to learn to see life in
the way of Spirit.
To learn to live by Grace makes
life a lot easier! You will find that
opening to the eternal givingness
of God requires a trust. This is
much easier to achieve when you
can see, feel and experience the
divine vision of infinite possibility.
The exercises in this class will
help you deepen your connection
to, and your receptivity of, Spirit so
your consciousness may become
a clearer transparency for the
All-Good to reveal Itself in your life.
We will also introduce to you The
Global Heart Vision, our compelling
call of Gods Love expressed for
humanity. This Vision resonates
with people of all denominations
and cultures. Imagine a world that
works for everyone that certainly
would require living in Grace, which
includes our ability to receive it, live
it and be it.
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A Way of Being
- Grace
The winds of Gods grace are
always blowing, it is for us to
raise our sails.
Ramakrishna
Hindu Religious Teacher

Grace is not something that is given
to us or withheld from us. Grace is
a state of being which comes into
active expression the moment
consciousness has been purified,
just as the law of gravity comes
into operation when an object is
dropped. The law of gravity is
always present and in operation,
but nothing happens until an object
is released. Divine Grace is forever
present in our consciousness, but
it cannot operate, that is, It cannot
manifest or express in the presence
of fear or hate. It cannot exist side
by side with the belief of a selfhood
apart from God or an activity or
substance or law apart from good.
Joel Goldsmith

A human being is part of a whole,
called by us the universe, a
part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his
thoughts and feelings, as
something separate from the rest
a kind of optical delusion of his
consciousness. This delusion is
a kind of prison for us, restricting
us to our personal desires and to
affection for a few people near us.
Our task must be to free ourselves
from this prison by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole
of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
In an intelligent study of
the teachings of the
Science of Mind, we come
to understand that all is
Love and yet all is Law.
Love rules through Law.
Love is the Divine
Givingness; Law is the Way.
Ernest Holmes
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Class Outline

Introduction of United Centers for Spiritual Livings Global Heart Vision
Talk/Discussion: What is Grace?
Visioning for the Recognition of Grace
Experiential Exercise: Grace
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Meditation
Home Study for Class 4 Wholeness
Experiential Practice: Meditation
Closing
Week 3
Grace
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Dr. Ernest Holmes
A Shift in Perspective
It is generally believed that Ernest Holmes was not interested in developing an organization to
support the Science of Mind philosophy. However, the following personal correspondence
from Dr. Holmes to Rev. Clifford L. Chaffee, a Religious Science minister, reveals a shift in his
perspective. This shift laid the groundwork for the evolution of organizational structure within the
Religious Science movement. (Rev. Clifford and his wife Sally shared a ministry in Southern CA.)
My dear Clifford:
Your most generous letter has been carefully reviewed. As a matter of face, I have tried to
study it paragraph by paragraph, because, of course, I realize its sincerity and I value your
friendship very highly.
You are right in saying that I have not advocated much organization in our work. The
principle reason being that I have always been cautious lest it rob me of my own personal
independence. Circumstances, however, have compelled me to somewhat change
my opinion.
It is impossible to progress without enough organization to make our work effective. For
instance, as an individual I cannot hold title to property which the public pays for. From a
financial viewpoint I am the loser, personally, since I used to make at least twice as much
from my work as I do now.
When we found it necessary to have branches, we found it equally necessary to organize
the work with enough authority to make it impossible for the branches to institute a
teaching entirely separate and different from ours. It has not only been necessary to create
a system of thought which we feel keeps faith with the best conclusions of the ages, it has
become equally necessary to so organize our effort that it shall not be used for personal
advantage.
We are trying to organize around an idea, not a person, not a revelation, but a spiritual
idea. It has taken me several years to come to the conclusion of the necessity of doing
this. I am really sold on the program, but realize with you the dangers that must attend any
spiritual organization. However I believe the possibility of strength is greater than any
danger which confronts us. As a matter of fact our experience has proven that there is far
greater danger in disorganization.
Our problem is merely to work out our organized effort in a democratic way. I see no
reason why we should not be able to do this. . . .

66
We are both a school and a spiritual institution, and it will be necessary for us to separate
the idea of school and the training from the idea of local organization. I dont see how it
would be possible to create a new world movement without giving it some definite
form. The universe itself is an organized unit, and as much as I opposed the idea in the
past, I am now equally convinced of its necessity.
We ought to be able to work out such a federated plan and have a vision great enough
to maintain a spiritual democracy within the larger framework of a unified and intelligent
effort. Because of certain thought patterns in your previous experience, and in my own
previous experience, we both have been reluctant to do this, but now for the sake of the
greater good, I feel we should combine, we should unite, and I still am of the opinion that
with your experience as a background your advice would be most valuable. . .
Perhaps better than you realize, I understand exactly the position you are in, and yet my
opinion has been compelled to be remolded somewhat to fit the necessity of the case. . .
Surely there is a Divine Intelligence which will govern us, even as there is a Divine
Power which will sustain us, and, I believe, a Divine Wisdom which is inspiring us. . . .
With love and best wishes, I am
As ever, Ernest
(October 22, 1943)

67
Rev. Kathy Hearn, D.D.
The Global Heart Vision Its History,
Spirit and Influence
In early 2000, an Organizational Renewal Project committee was formed and charged
with the task of creating a design for our organization that would be renewing and
innovative, vision and values-oriented and effective for a 21
st
Century spiritual
movement. A subcommittee comprised of Rev. Drs. Michael Beckwith, Kathy Hearn,
Christian Sorensen and Roger Teel met over a three day period of visioning, prayer
and discussion to initiate the work. The first question the team sought to answer was
What is the world we want to help bring into being through our principles, practices
and activities? The answer was and is the Global Heart Vision.
The Global Heart Vision begins with the document that resulted from the subcommittees
work. The United Church of Religious Science Organization Design Model contained
both philosophical and functioning changes and it represented and articulated a
substantial departure from the organizational model embraced by United Church of
Religious Science for most of the previous three decades. It sought to establish
not only the vision for a world that works for everyone but also for who we are as
individuals and a collective spiritual community bringing forth the world we wish to see.
The Organization Design Model was accepted by the majority vote of the delegates at
the 2001 Convention in Long Beach, California, and became the guide for the unfolding
of our organization. It was updated in 2007 and is now known as the United Centers for
Spiritual Living Organizational Design Model Update. The updated document remains
a visionary and philosophical guide to our organizations expression internally and
outwardly in the world. Its spirit, vision, principles and purposes are intended to abide
through time and to support our evolving pathway as a spiritual organization and
movement. At the heart of it lies the Global Heart Vision.
The Global Heart Vision places the transformative work of Science of Mind within the
larger context of the world in which we live. Rather than being an abandonment of
our traditional focus on deep personal awakening and change, it encourages us to
also open to embrace a larger sphere of activity for the expression of our principles.
It acknowledges that we live in a field of oneness on a planet we share with everyone
and everything and that people of today have care and concern not only for themselves
and their circles of family and community for also for all beings in creation at this time.
The Vision seeks to harness the creative power of thought and the transformative nature
of love in service to the evolution of humanity and the unfolding of life on our planet.
Its principles of generous sharing, caring, forgiveness, creativity, aesthetics, active
compassion, diversity and inclusiveness may be practiced at any time in any situation
by individuals or groups to good global-heart effect.
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An important part of the Vision is high thoughts of who we are as a spiritual community
a bridge across the illness and illusion of separation; and, one community with many
locations, each of which is a point of inspiration and influence effectively advancing the
vision of Global Heart. Many of our centers and communities embracing the Global
Heart Vision have quickened with new energy and expanded their activities to include
more loving service within their congregations and in the greater community. Our
international works have been strengthening and expanding as the net of inspiration
and influence extends. I have had the opportunity to travel to many of our centers,
churches and communities within the US and abroad and have witnessed and felt
rooms full of people whose hearts open when they hear the Global Heart Vision. What
has been articulated for our organization is the deep intention and desire of so many.
John Lennon was right when he sang, You may say that Im a dreamer, but Im not
the only one.
One aspect of the Global Heart Vision has been challenging for some Religious
Scientists who have learned well Ernest Holmes admonition to turn away from
appearances and know a greater truth.
They have reacted to the line We see a world free of homelessness, violence, war,
hunger, separation and disenfranchisement, feeling that naming some of the difficult
conditions present in our world is off principle. Those of us who welcomed the Vision
into words felt that naming the conditions was important to do at that time, primarily to
avoid spiritual by-pass. Our teaching is not one of denial of facts and experience. It is
about knowing the divine reality that lies behind all conditions. If the wording of the line
bothers you, re-write it for yourself rather than letting this keep you from experiencing
the Vision. The real opportunity here is to allow the collective dream of a world that
works for everyone to awaken in and open your own Global Heart.

OUR VISION
The Global Heart Vision
Whereas in this information age the "global brain" has become an operative reality, we
envision the emergence of the Global Heart to balance and guide the further evolution
of humanity.
We see a world free of homelessness, violence, war, hunger, separation and
disenfranchisement.
We see a world in which there is generous and continuous sharing of heart and
resources. ...A world in which forgiveness, whether for errors, injustices, or debts, is
the norm ...A world in which borders are irrelevant. A world which has renewed its
emphasis on beauty, nature and love through a resurgence of creativity, art, and
aesthetics ...A world in which fellowship prospers and connects through the guidance
69
of spiritual wisdom and experience ... A world in which we live and grow as One
Human Family.
The spiritual community of United Centers for Spiritual Living is united and actuated
by this compelling vision of a healthy worlda world experiencing Global Heartand
is ardently committed to bringing this vision forth through its ministries and its
transformative teaching.
We envision United Centers for Spiritual Living as a bridge across the illness and illusion
of separation thereby dynamically empowering the vision of Global Heart.
United Centers for Spiritual Living is a global community of people pervasively caring
for and about each other and the entire human family, thereby bringing the gift of active
compassion to the world. Our local churches and communities become "points of
inspiration and influence" effectively advancing the vision of Global Heart.
OUR MISSION
Awakening through Spiritual Community
United Centers for Spiritual Living experiences and manifests the truth of Oneness
through the demonstration and development of spiritual community. We experience
being one community with many locations.
The "glue" for our spiritual community is our shared commitment to spirituality, love,
vision, community service, education, integrity, financial health, caring, and compassion.
We make our decisions and guide our growth by continuous sensitivity to the unfolding
vision of God for our community and by devotion to our shared values and guiding
principles.
We convey a way of life based on spiritual practices that builds spiritual community
globally. Every center, church or aspect of our spiritual community serves as a point of
inspiration and dynamic influence for the vision of Global Heart, and we further express
our vision through compassionate service to our members and to the world.
Our vital and growing spiritual community fuels an expanded awareness of our
transformative teaching throughout the world. As we communicate "New Thought
Ancient Wisdom" through the teachings of Science of Mind and Spirit, we further the
experience of a "universal spirituality" bridging all peoples, cultures, nations and faiths.
The richness of our expression of spiritual community cultivates leaders, not just
followers. We bring forth an enlightened citizenry and generate an abundant flow of
spiritual leaders in service to the transformation of our world.
OUR SHARED VALUES
Spirituality: We live in constant realization of the Divine Presence and we see, feel and
trust this Presence in everyone and in everything.
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Love: We embrace Love as the Self-givingness of God to Its creation, moving through
us and into expression. We know that God is Love and is free from condemnation
and fear.
Vision: We see the highest and Divine Idea in all circumstances and situations and
make welcome its revelation and expression. There is only One Perfect Seeing, which
sees in and through us.
Community Service: We dedicate our time, talent, treasure and expertise to the
healthy and joyful unfoldment of our spiritual community, the community in which we
live and the greater community of the world.
Education: We walk a path of awakening, growth and spiritual deepening through
class work, workshops, seminars and spiritual practices that allow us to embrace
education as a life-long endeavor.
Integrity: We express wholeness, honesty and fairness in all of our relationships and
activities. We embrace and live by the standards and values of our spiritual principles
and practices and of our spiritual community.
Financial Health: We express order and balance in our finances and experience
optimal well-being and prosperity.
Caring: We express interest in and support for the well-being of ourselves and others.
Compassion: We express sympathetic concern for the suffering of another and do
what we can to give aid and support and to show mercy.
Safety: We create a community-wide environment and climate that are conducive to
honest reflection, deep and direct communication, and change and growth in which all
members are encouraged and able to reach out to support and be supported.
Diversity and Inclusivity: We value, embrace and celebrate the individual uniqueness
and contribution of all people as they express through differences of gender, ethnicity,
culture, history, experience, talents and sexual preference. We include representatives
from all our various organizational constituencies in leadership, work groups and
decision making.
Growth: We value and cultivate deepening and expansion on the part of individuals,
spiritual communities, churches, centers and ministries. We envision ourselves as a
"learning organization, continually cultivating a flow of realizations that inspire continual
enhancements and evolution.
Prosperity: Through the richness of our teaching and its application, we value the
experience and expression of prosperity as a means to provide resources to empower
our personal and collective vision.
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OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Spiritual Mind Treatment and Visioning: To anchor our expression of spirituality, we
value an emphasis upon spiritual mind treatment and meditation for spiritual connection,
along with the practices of Visioning and Co-Creation for spiritual insight to reveal our
pathway. Vision teams operate at the center of our community and within each activity,
group, program and ministry. Ministers, practitioners and laity leaders coordinate the
function of discerning and representing our pathway through these practices.
Leaders as Vision Facilitators: Leadership at all levels of our community is centered on
the facilitation of the Vision and the ever-unfolding pathway revealed through continued
visioning practices. Rather than "Lone Rangers" advancing their personal opinions and
preferences, our leaders participate in discerning the pathway for the unfoldment of our
vision and facilitate progress along that pathway. Furthermore, our leadership involves
as many as possible in service to the vision and continually cultivates more leaders.
Congruence: The guiding principle of congruence suggests an all-pervading dedication
to living out our values and principles and to advancing our Vision and Mission in every
way possible and at all levels of our community. Simply put, our community and its
members "walk our talk" in dedication to expressing a living embodiment of our Vision
and Mission and of our teaching. We are demonstrating and actualizing our Vision and
our possibilities.
Accountability: By means of rigorous dedication to our values and guiding principles,
we manifest a natural accountability for our commitments, actions, and community
participation. We are thoroughly principled and constructive.
Teamwork: At all levels, we work together to achieve our goals and to develop an ever
richer, more involved and impactful community.
Open Communication: Information and insights flow openly and dynamically in our
community, enhancing creativity, engendering a sense of inclusion, and nurturing the
efficient resolution of misunderstandings or conflict.

Rev. Kathy Hearn, D.D., is the Community Spiritual Leader of United Church of Religious Science/United
Centers for Spiritual Living, the first to hold this position in a full-time, elected capacity. She has been a
practicing Religious Scientist since 1980, ordained by Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker in 1985 and by UCRS
in 1989, and awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 2003 at the Albuquerque Gathering. She founded
Pacific Church of Religious Science in San Diego where she was Senior Minister for 15 years.
She currently serves on the Leadership Council of Association for Global New Thought and is a member
of the Religious Science International/United Centers for Spiritual Living Visioning Bridge. She is an
instructor in the Holmes Institute Graduate School of Consciousness Studies.
Dr. Kathy has traveled around the United States and internationally to share the Global Heart Vision.
She led Global Heart Journeys to Russia, Ukraine and Mexico and attended the Parliament of the Worlds
Religions in Barcelona, Spain. In November 2006 she traveled to the Middle East as part of the Abraham
Path Initiative sponsored by the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University.
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Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Alice Bandy
Grace: Being a Transparency
of the Divine
Grace is an age old concept and is found in all religions. It is usually
defined as a sort of profound blessing or perhaps unexpected Divine
gift in ones life. Old paintings show the circle of light around the
heads of the saints, as if to say: this is one who is holy, one who
lives in grace. Or perhaps we have seen portrayals of streaming
light down from the heavens, showering the sainted one in a blessing
of grace.
In the Science of Mind, we do not look for halos or clouds parting in
order to know the essential Divine nature of every human being.
We are each individual manifestations of the One God and we are
living the One life. From this perspective, our natural state is to live
the Divine life happily, joyfully and at one with our world. Heaven,
as Ernest Holmes said, is to be found in our experience of life now.
If we re-examine the concept of grace we can see that there is a
new definition for todays understanding. Some sensitive people can
describe the physical experience of Grace as it sometimes can be felt
in very subtle terms as a sense of lightness, sweetness, fullness and
blessing. Most people experience Grace from witnessing it at work
in their lives. When we are able to surrender our own needs to do, to
control, to manage, to fix, then we become more open and peaceful.
As we become more open, we can begin to center ourselves in our
own inner nature and observe our life and all that is taking place.
When we can give up our attachment to how things may turn out, we
can simply witness the process of life and begin to see its patterns,
and most amazingly, its profound intelligence. And, surrendering
even more deeply, we can begin to see that the Cause is the Effect,
and that all is well. This is the process of living in Grace. Knowing
that the Universe is unfolding exactly so at all times and that it is all
God and all Good. And the Presence within us is also the Grace that
flows through every moment of life.
This is the heart of Visioning. To align ourselves with the highest
good possible for our lives, to fill up our minds with its goodness and
to sing its praises. And then to simply rest as all of the goodness of
grace flows through our lives. When we are living in Grace, all goes
smoothly. Events happen effortlessly. Old angers and resentments
just dissolve. Everything unfolds seamlessly and we need do nothing

When we are living
in Grace, all goes
smoothly. Events
happen effortlessly.
Old angers and
resentments
just dissolve.
Everything unfolds
seamlessly and we
need do nothing to
make this happen.
73
to make this happen. We need only surrender our old ways and
embrace only Goodness in our hearts and minds. And allow
ourselves to fall into Grace.
Joel Goldsmith likes to write about the importance of being a
transparency for God. This is a beautiful idea, and shows the way
to living in Grace. In this idea, we do not give up our individual
power or our highest intentions. Rather we align our entire being
consciously, by choice, with the very highest, finest Goodness of
God. And invite it to flow through our minds and bodies into our
lives, our relationships and all we do.
Try this exercise for yourself. Find a quiet place to sit undisturbed
and center yourself within. Use the gift of your imagination to
imagine your skin becoming completely transparent, so that all
of your muscles and tendons show through. Now imagine that all
of your muscles become transparent, so that your organs and
bones show through. Now all of your bones and organs become
transparent, revealing all of your blood vessels and nerves. Now
even your blood vessels and nerves become transparent, until you
are completely transparent, a clear shell of a human. Now bring
your attention to God, the great undifferentiated Spirit. And invite it
to flow through your transparent being into this world. Relax and let
this flow of God pour through every inch of you into the world, as if
you are a clear window, a conduit of the Divine. And as this essence
pours through your being, set your intention in love, knowing that
this too is Grace. Pouring through you into your whole life.
This simple exercise brings you to living in Cause, becoming one with
the Source, as you offer yourself as a conduit of blessing to the world.
And then, as it deepens, you are not just offering your body as this
conduit, you are surrendering to the process of being the Source,
surrendering into the wholeness of the flow of this blessing. And
then, more deeply, you take no thought for any of it, because the
flow of blessing is your life. As you experience the deep certainty of
this Divine flow, as there is nothing to ask for or want, only the desire
to just be, you begin to live in Wholeness. There is only gratitude for
all of it. And you begin to comprehend the reality of living in grace.

...we do not give up
our individual
power or our
highest intentions.
Rather we align
our entire being
consciously, by
choice, with the
very highest, finest
Goodness of God.
Rev. Alice Bandy is a former Ecclesiastical Core Coordinator for United Centers
for Spiritual Living. In this role, she oversaw all of the ecclesiastical services
including GEMS, Education, World Ministry of Prayer, International Youth and
Family Ministries, Practitioner Core, International Core and the Ecclesiastical
Representatives. She also served as the Lead Dean of the Holmes Institute
school of ministry, the San Diego Regional Dean of Holmes Institute and Assistant
Minister of the Seaside Center for Spiritual Living in Encinitas California. She is a
dedicated teacher and the author of more than 50 classes for spiritual living.
74
Home Study Exercise
Growing in Grace
Read The Global Heart Vision in your Student Workbook and read the Glossary
definition of Grace in The Science of Mind p. 596. Now read the following quote:
How much life can any man experience? As much as he can embody. There is
nothing fatalistic about this. We are so constituted that we can continuously
increase our embodiment. We grow in grace, as it were. We grow in power and
theoretically there should be no limit to that growth. But right today we can expect
to demonstrate or to have our prayers answered according to our belief and the
embodiment of that belief.
Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind, p. 280.2
Contemplate what it means to grow in Grace and then record your thoughts and feelings
using the space provided below.
What do I believe it means to grow in Grace?

Allowing Grace
Record your thoughts and feelings in response to the following question:
How am I using the Creative Process to manifest Grace in my life?

75
Spiritual Practice
Visioning
Through the spiritual practice of Visioning, we create a space of deep listening and awareness in order to fully
embrace the Divine idea for our highest good. Visioning is an excellent tool for personal direction, ideas for
spiritual community or any important project or life structure that you are presently engaged in. There is a
spiritual prototype or Divine ideal for all that exists. Through Visioning, we make ourselves available to
embrace the highest idea for our lives and work, in order that we may more completely experience and live
the highest good.
The Process for Visioning
A group comes together for the express purpose of visioning. A facilitator brings the group together in
prayer using the recognition and unification steps of treatment. During the prayer, the facilitator recognizes
unconditional love as the field that will hold the vision, guiding the group into their heart. The group
rests in this place for a few moments.
Out of the silence the facilitator may ask the following questions:
1. What is the highest vision or perfect idea for (person, project, organization)?
2. What must we become to empower the vision?
3. What must be released?
4. What must be embraced?
5. Is there any other information that we need in this moment?
Participants may write down images, thoughts and ideas that come through for each question. They will not
lose center. They simply go back into the silence once they have written down what has come through. Allow
3-5 minutes or more of silence between each question. After the last question is asked, the facilitator anchors
the visioning in prayer. This includes the realization, thanksgiving, and release steps of treatment.
Recording the Vision
Each member reports out loud what was received for each question, avoiding judgment or evaluation. The
facilitator records on a flip chart for the whole group to view. When everyone has reported, together the group
may identify themes. Themes are words that appear more than once, images or ideas that are repeated.
Facilitator underlines the themes. It is important that people do not interpret the meaning of the words. It
keeps the process clean and free of the possibility of personal agendas entering the practice.
Tips for the facilitator
A) Some aids to consider using: candle, meditation music to aid centering, flip charts, pens, masking tape,
sheets with the questions and space for participants to write notes.
B) As you present each question during the visioning, wait a minute or so and then repeat the question.
Especially with new people, doing this helps them to focus.
C) Reassure participants ahead of time that sometimes we dont get anything. Thats ok. Just stay quiet and
listen.
Tips for participants in visioning
A) Remain open, receptive, unafraid, and listen.
B) A perfect time to practice non-judgment of yourself and others.
C) Avoid moving to how to do something that appears in the vision. Make no effort to design implementation
steps or share how something might be accomplished.
D) The vision may appear as color, feeling, words, images or nothing. Everything is valid.

For more information on Visioning and how to use it in your community consult
www.religiousscience.org. Click on Global Heart Vision and then Visioning Workbook.
In flash-like Visions of mystic grandeur, we know we are made of Eternal stuff,
fashioned after a Divine Pattern. Ernest Holmes
76
In-Class Exercise
Visioning for Recognizing Grace

77
Wisdom of Our Elders: Joel Goldsmith
Living in Grace

Take time to work in your garden or read a good book or even a good novel.
You must learn to stop, sometimes for a day or two, and say, Let me not
trust my mind, let me relax in God. Invite the Soul! Relax the Soul, without
words or thoughts. God is not in the whirlwind. God is not in your problems.
God is not in your thinking. God is not in your books. God is in the still,
small Voice. In order to hear that Voice and receive Its importations and
Its Grace, we must live quietly and peacefully in the within.
There must come a rest from the activity of the mind, from taking thought
for our lives, from fearing for our lives, from constantly knowing the Truth in
order to avoid some experience. There must come a rest the Sabbath.
In this Sabbath we live by Grace, because now we do not merely know the
Truth, we are Truth, and Truth reveals Itself to us. It is not an activity of
our minds, it is the Soul revealing Itself. This period of rest is the fruitage
of abiding by these principles. It is the true meaning of the Sabbath that
Moses gave to the Hebrews. It was a period of rest forever.
Realize, I is God, and the Word that It imparts to me is the bread, the
meat, the wine, and the water. Then you have entered the Sabbath,
and for the rest of your days you live by the Grace of God, by my Spirit.
When you reach that stage, you can relax and rest in the Truth instead of
feverishly searching for and reading and studying Truth. You become a
state of awareness without taking thought and without speaking or thinking
and discover the meaning of Man shall not live by bread alone but by every
Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Every word, every feeling,
every emotion, every thought that comes to you from the deep withinness
of you is what you now live by. It guides, it directs, it sustains, it protects.
It goes before you to make the crooked places straight. Our ultimate goal
must be to live in God, through God, and as God. Otherwise, how could
the Master have revealed, Take no thought for your life? It is to be lived
by every Word of God that we receive in our consciousness. There is
always a sufficiency of Gods Grace present for this moment. Therefore,
we only have to be still in this moment to receive a sufficiency of Grace for
this moment.

Joel S. Goldsmith (1892-1964), a leading spiritual teacher of the twentieth
century, taught from and of the Infinite Invisible. A monumental teacher of
practical mysticism, he devoted most of his life to the discovery and teaching
of spiritual principles that he defined and called The Infinite Way. He was a
transparency for the light of truth found in the realization of Gods presence
within. His teachings are contained in more than thirty-five volumes and
twelve hundred hours of tape-recorded lectures.

I discover the
secret of the sea
In meditation
upon a dew drop.

Kahlil Gibran
Artist , Poet
78
Living in Grace
When one can step out of the universal hypnotic trance of cause and effect or
shake free from the tabloid consciousness of the dramas of this world, then
there is a chance for Divine Grace to express through your world. The more
one can surrender the self-appointed desires, the more Spirit can function as
the individual mind and body. What a tremendous satisfaction comes in the
realization, I and the Father are One, as no longer are there worries about
tomorrow; there is only the now.
To rest in Spirit, ones desires vanish and needs disappear because every
need was met before becoming aware of it. Living by grace allows Spirit to
express to Its fullness. In this pure state of being, prayers are no longer for
something because that means there is a desire. Prayers become simply
listening; this allows the power of the God thought through. Of course its I
who first starts the listening but that I dissolve into the wholeness and the
prayer becomes a Divine proclamation. This graceful approach lets in the
warmth, color and love of Gods kingdom made manifest as your life.
To be able to enter the silence just for the joy of communing with God is
magical. To abide in the peace until one feels the grace take form as a
healing, upliftment and manifestation of supplying is to surrender to ease.
Its an attitude of self-surrender that allows one to rise above wanting and
achieving to trusting that the Divine right direction is revealed. The miracle
is not just that struggle has been dissolved, discomfort has disappeared or
that an unhappiness has given way to Joy; its that the world of form has
been overcome through the ease and grace of God. Nothing has been
withheld. Grace takes one out of being, as Ernest Homes writes in The
Voice Celestial, Victim to the law of cause and its effect, into the divine
space of Grace. Living by grace is a way of being. Youll find yourself living
in a new dimension that is fulfilling and soul satisfying. Lay down your
struggle and surrender to living in Grace.

Rev. Christian Sorensen D. D. is the minister of the Seaside Center for Spiritual
Living in Encinitas California. He took his first church in 1982 at the age of 22. He
was the last appointed President of the United Church of Religious Science and its
first Community Spiritual Leader. Dr. Christian is the Director of the Holmes Institute,
San Diego Campus, an accredited masters degree program in Consciousness
Studies, Diego Campus. He has authored several books, including the Catch the
Spirit Series, Free Your Own Tibet and Soar. He serves as part of the leadership
council for the Association for Global New Thought.

Once
consciousness is
cleared of the
belief of a selfhood
apart from God or
an activity,
substance,
or law
apart from God,
consciousness is
then ready for the
blessing of
divine Grace.

Joel Goldsmith
79
Home Study Exercise
Letting Your Love Flow
Expanding Your Heart

In this exercise you will be meditating and writing. Make sure you have the space, the
time and the environment so that you will be both comfortable and uninterrupted. Have
your personal journal and writing instrument with you for journaling following each
meditative session.
You will do this meditation every day. The first day practice stage one, the second and
third day, stage two and then the last three days, stage three. Follow the instructions for
that day. For you to get the best from this exercise read only the part you will be doing.
Do not read ahead but allow the exercise and the process to unfold. Allow yourself at
least 15 or up to 30 minutes each day, expanding your time as you move forward in the
stages. Allocate half to two-thirds of your time for meditation and one-third to half the
time for journaling.
Before you begin, read the meditation through several times. Put the paper aside so that
you can be in the contemplative experience. When you have meditated the full time you
have allotted begin journaling about your experience in your Meditation Insights pages of
your personal journal. Address how it was for you, what you felt emotionally, what you
felt in your body, whether it was easy/challenging, or anything else that your inner voice
would like to express.
Day 1: Sit down quietly. Breathe easily and allow your whole body to relax with each
breath. As you relax, focus all of your attention on your breath becoming aware of the
rise and fall of your chest. Now focus your attention on your heart and again relax into
the feeling of your chest expanding as you breath in, relaxing as you breathe out. Begin
thinking of someone very dear to you, someone easy to love, and allow the sensation of
pure love to be your focus. Notice what it feels like. This is not a thinking or visualization
process; this is truly a sensing process. Notice what you feel. You might feel warmth,
tingling, or other sensations. Become in tune with love and how it feels to you. Truly
experience what loving feels like.
Note: during this exercise you may feel various sensations in the chest area, some of
the common sensations are warmth, tingling, lightness, heaviness, or emotional pain. All
of the sensations are energy movement. If emotional pain is felt it is evidence that your
physical body needs time to adjust to the higher frequency of feeling love. Simply relax
and ease into the feeling. There is no rush here. If emotions arise or you feel tears come
to your eyes, allow them, being gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to slow down and
80
experience the release. As this exercise is repeated, the awareness of unconditional
love comes more frequently and brings you a wonderful sense of tranquility. You are
exercising your Love Muscle, allowing it to get into shape, easily and gently and very
importantly gracefully and lovingly.
Days 2-3: Sit down quietly. Breathe easily and allow your whole body to relax with
each breath. As you relax, focus all of your attention on your breath, being aware of the
rise and fall of your chest area. Now focus your attention on your heart and relax into a
feeling of expansion in your chest area. Begin thinking of someone very dear to you,
someone easy to love, and allow the sensation of pure love to be your focus. Notice
what it feels like. This is not a thinking or visualization process; this is truly a sensing
process. Notice what you feel. You might feel warmth, tingling, or other sensations;
the point is to be in tune with feeling love and how it feels to you. Truly experience what
loving feels like. Begin to add additional people whom you care for, love, like and are
fond of as you contemplate love, and experience the feelings and sensations that love
evokes for you. Continue to feel the flow of love.
Days 4-6: Sit down quietly. Breathe easily and allow your whole body to relax with
each breath. As you relax, focus all of your attention on your breath, being aware of the
rise and fall of your chest area. Now focus your attention on your heart and relax into a
feeling of expansion in your chest area. Begin thinking of someone very dear to you,
someone easy to love, and allow the sensation of pure love to be your focus. Notice
what it feels like. Notice what you feel. Truly experience what loving feels like. Now bring
to mind more people whom you care for, love, like and are fond of as you contemplate
love, and experience the feelings and sensations that love evokes for you. Continue to
feel the flow of love. And now while staying connected to this flow of love, bring into your
minds eye those people who are more challenging for you to love, beginning with lesser
challenging situations/people and building to harder ones. Play with seeing their good
qualities and characteristics, and building up your friendly feelings towards them. Begin
with little things, such as their smiling eyes, generosity to others, skill set, etc. Continue
finding positive things to see and practice maintaining your flow of love. If you begin to
have difficulty maintaining the flow, think of your dear ones again, and exercise your
Love Muscle through building the feelings and sensations of love back up again and
then bring those who are challenging back into the presence of your mind. Be gentle
with yourself, loving and kind.
As you practice this exercise like with any exercise, done with care and not overdoing,
it becomes easier and you build your skill and your strength. It will be easier and easy
to maintain the sense of unconditional love as you practice.
Use your journal to dialogue, to record insights and to support you in the process of
working through the challenges in this exercise. As long as there are unfriendly thoughts
and feelings in your process, there is an indication of a need for this exercise. Use this
exercise to your advantage and build your strength in love.
81
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Mark Vierra, D.D.
Meditation
Meditation is an essential practice in the Science of Mind Teaching. Dr. Holmes
teaches that there is no real transformation without the ongoing practice of meditation
and prayer. As I see it, Science of Mind is preparation for Mystical consciousness and
there is no mysticism without meditation. Part of the great legacy Ernest Holmes
gave us is the method of affirmative prayer that we also call Spiritual Mind Treatment.
This is valuable to us on our journey of expanding consciousness because as Holmes
teaches us, God is both Love and Law. Law is a principle that we learn to work
with intelligently through Spiritual Mind Treatment. Love is a presence that we court
in meditation.
The process of meditation we teach at our church comes from the Buddhist
Vipassana tradition. Sit up straight either in a chair or on the floor. You can have
your back against the wall or sit on a pillow, if that helps you sit up straight. Do not
try to meditate in bed. That is always self-sabotaging. One of the major enemies of
meditation is "sinking mind." This is the tendency to fall asleep. Your body equates
the bed with sleep, so get up. Meditation is about becoming more conscious not
going unconscious. Do what you need to do to stay awake. Splash water on your
face before you sit. Open a window. Have a couple of sips of tea. Sit up. Close
your eyes. Begin to bring your awareness to your breathing. This meditation is
about awareness so try to stay present in each moment. Try to stay present with
each breath. Because our Western minds are so active it is helpful to silently say
to yourself on each inhalation, "I am breathing in" and on each exhalation "I am
breathing out."
You will notice that you may quickly get distracted. That is absolutely normal. It
happens to everyone. Monkey mind (thoughts jumping from one thing to the next
and then the next just like a little monkey) is one of the common meditation
distractions. The practice we are engaging in is to simply notice the distraction and
gently return your awareness to your breathing. This may take place over and over
again as different things grasp at our attention and take us away from the breath.
Body sensations can be distractions. These might be things like "my back hurts,
my foot is falling asleep." Simply notice that body sensation and come back to your
breathing"I am breathing in. I am breathing out." Sounds may pull at your
attention, such as "The air conditioning is humming," "I hear a leaf blower outside."
Just notice that you have gone away from your breathing and with tremendous
compassion bring your awareness back to "I am breathing in. I am breathing out."
Fantasies into the future may also come up, as well as little trips into the past. "I
wonder what's in the kitchen for breakfast. Maybe there is leftover pizza? I love cold
pizza." "That person called again. What did I ever see in them? What a waste of
time that was." These powerful distractions are just to be noticed. Pick up your
82
awareness and return it to your breathing again and again, just like you would keep return-
ing a new puppy to the newspapers. There is no need to freak out, get angry or give up.
You just keep training the awareness this is where to go. Over time you will have fewer
distractions, but they will never go away completely. Life is filled with distractions and
what you do with them is up to you.
In the evolution of consciousness Buddha comes before Christ. We must become a
Buddha before we become a Christ. Watching our thoughts with great compassion is
the work of the Buddha. Our founder, Ernest Holmes, said, "The Buddha was the first to
practice the Science of Mind." We have to know what we are thinking before we can
change what we are thinking. Again from Ernest Holmes, "Change your thinking, change
your life." This happens through spiritual practice. There are no short cuts and you
cannot build consciousness overnight.
Begin by selecting a place in your home where you will start meditating for 5-10 minutes
each morning. Return to the same spot every day. Each week add one minute until you
are up to 20 minutes. Set a timer for yourself. Following the meditation do your Spiritual
Mind Treatment for yourself and other people for whom you are committed to pray. This
is the anchor of your spiritual practice. I cannot encourage you enough to do this first thing
in the morning. Then it is done for the day.
You may still choose to do reading and some other spiritual practices but nothing takes
the place of this. Of course you will take an uplifted consciousness with you when you are
walking or driving and doing other things but that is not your spiritual practice. That is
being a person of good consciousness. There has to be some time in your day early each
day that is devoted to meditation and affirmative prayer. This is the crux of what we teach
and how your consciousness grows and how your life changes.
Lastly, don't judge your meditation or tell yourself "I'm not good at meditation." There is
no good or bad meditation, there is only consistent meditation. You are showing up each
day for the development of your own consciousness.

Rev. Mark Vierra, D.D., graduated from Ernest Holmes College School of Ministry in 1990. He has been
the Senior Minister of the North Hollywood Church of Religious Science since 1992. Rev. Vierra holds a
Bachelors Degree from Emerson College in Boston and received his Doctor of Divinity in 2004. He is one
of the most popular and beloved teachers in the Religious Science movement.

83
Spiritual Practice
Meditation
Nearly all great religions and many philosophies embrace meditation as one of the great
practices for spiritual growth. A regular commitment to meditation is essential to spiritual living
because it is certain to transform, soften, deepen and expand the consciousness of the inner
realities of life in a profound way. Once these inner experiences occur, it is nearly impossible
to return to old ways of living. Rather, the path becomes easier, clearer and more joyful.
Set aside time every day for meditation. It will change your life.
There are many kinds of meditation and many people use this practice in different ways.
You can find many uses for meditation and it is fun to experiment with different methods.
Because our essential Oneness is the very truth of our being, meditation is one tool for a
conscious experience of this reality. Any type of meditation that brings your attention to this
present moment, in which you let go of the mind chatter and the past and future, will also
bring to you an experience of Oneness. Following the breath in and out, for example,
disciplines the mind to relax, brings calm, and can serve as a way to higher awareness of
Oneness. Begin slowly, perhaps a few minutes each day, focusing on the breath, until you
can keep your attention on the breath for longer and longer periods. Other methods that can
achieve this same end are chanting, movement, such as yoga or Tai Chi, the use of a mantra
repeated over and over. All of these train the mind to focus on the present moment and bring
you into the Eternal Now that is the true nature of life.
Ernest Holmes used meditation in a specific way, using the power of the mind to focus on
a desired state and to increasingly become one with that idea. This is the essence of the
Science of Mind teaching, to create through the power of attention. This method may not take
you into the altered state sought by other religions, or perhaps it may. In either case, it will
change your life in ways that seem miraculous.
To do this type of meditation, put aside time every day to sit quietly and contemplate your
good. Begin by centering your attention in the heart and becoming still. Allow the mind to
drain out any old worries or events. Give up thinking about what is ahead. Breathe. Bring
your full attention to your good and the essential goodness of Life. Bring all of your attention
to this great sense of good in your lifenot the people or the detailsbut rather the great
Divine expression of life that is so good. Allow yourself to not only think of this but to begin to
actually feel what this idea feels like to you. Feel yourself bathed in your good, sharing your
good, living your good. Like a living prayer, this meditation on your good creates a new reality
in your life, as the Power of God moves through your meditation and you are one with it.
Thomas Troward, who was a favorite author of Ernest Holmes, advised doing this type of
meditation before sleep. In this way, the mind and the whole being is bathed all night in the
cheerful expectation of Good.
Meditate upon Life until your whole being flows into it and becomes one with it. Now you are ready to prove
your principle by allowing this Life to flow through the thing you are working on. Do not will it or compel things to
happen. You do not need to energize Being. It is already big with power. All you need to do is realize this fact.
The Spirit of God is loosed in your meditation. Where this Spirit is, there is liberty. Ernest Holmes
84
In-Class Exercise
Meditation
85
Home Study
for Week 4
READING
1. The Science of Mind Ch. 9,
Prayer, pp. 149-154
Mental and Spiritual Treatment,
pp. 163-176
3. Student Workbook Week 4:
Wholeness
WRITING
1. In your Student Workbook,
answer the question: How
have I used the creative
process to realize wholeness,
or the apparent lack of
wholeness, in my life?
2. Complete the Eight Questions
to Focus Your Life exercise
found in your Student Workbook.
We will use your answers to this
exercise in class next week.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Meditate and Journal Daily.
86
Week 4 -
Wholeness
This Week
Our focus this week is the spiritual
principle of Wholeness. Rather
than the concept of healing, which
implies there is something to fix, we
will look at revealing the Wholeness
which is our true state.
When all sense of separation
between our Divine Truth and our
current experience disappears, all
false conditions fade away. There
is an Intelligence which created this
universe and we, from our limited
perspective, by no means need to
be telling It how to fix things. The
Divine healing power flows through
a persons life as grace, when that
person surrenders into this wisdom.
You will be learning the prayer
method practiced in the Science of
Mind, called Spiritual Mind
Treatment. Just as you might go to
a medical practitioner for a physical
treatment, as you come to believe in
the realm of mind and spirit, you
may go to a spiritual Practitioner for
a Spiritual Mind Treatment. This
method of prayer has proven over
the years to be a tremendous tool
for revealing and re-establishing
wholeness. Every physical and
mental ailment imaginable has been
and can be transformed, when we
claim our true state of wholeness.
87
At the Center
of Our Being -
Wholeness
In all men the mind has
leadership over the body with
respect to health, to sickness
and to everything else!
Antiphon
Ancient Philosopher
To assert our individuality is to
rise above the law of averages
into that more highly specialized
use of the Law which brings
freedom rather than bondage, joy
in place of sickness. We cannot
do this unless we are first willing
to judge not according to
appearances. In this judging
not according to appearances
we are impressing the Law with
a new idea of ourselvesa less
limited idea: and we are learning
to think independently of any
existing circumstances. This
is what is meant by entering
the Absolute.
Ernest Holmes
The self aware mind is simply
one that continues to use its
intelligence with love. It can at
times even have an experience
of pure love. No matter in what
age or place, the records of all
such experiences have an
undeniable similarity. The
description is always of a primal
moving force, at once dynamic
and all-pervasive, that cannot be
separated from Wholeness.
Deepak Chopra
Ive never seen a sick body, only a
perfectly healthy body doing what a
sick mind has told it to do.
Fletcher Harding

There is in all visible things
a hidden wholeness.
Thomas Merton,
Catholic mystic
88

Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: The Creative Process and Wholeness
Talk/Discussion: Spiritual Mind Treatment
Experiential Exercise: Spiritual Mind Treatment
Talk/Discussion: Eight Questions to Focus Your Life
Experiential Exercise: My First Treatment
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Spiritual Mind Treatment
Home Study for Class 5 Attraction
Experiential Practice: Candle Meditation
Closing
Week 4
Wholeness
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Prayer, in its broadest sense, is an act of communion with God. Are prayer and
treatment the same? Yes and no treatment is prayer, but prayer of a very special
kind affirmative and scientific.
Affirmative prayer is not supplication or petition, but recognition and
acceptance that God is all there is; that there is no spot where God is not;
that we are all Spiritual Beings here and now; and that all the abundance of
the universe is already ours if we accept and embody it.
Scientific prayer is based on our knowledge that the universe is a Wholeness
in which God as Presence (or Love) works continuously as Principle (or Law)
to manifest as form or effect; that this Creative Process takes place in a
provable, reproducible manner; and that we can consciously allow it to bring
about changes in our lives. The five stages of treatment provide a structure
and technique that empower this process.
As in any kind of prayer, the faith and conviction of the one praying are vital
ingredients in the effectiveness of the prayer. Pure faith is a spiritual conviction,
says Holmes. It is the acquiescence of the mind, the embodiment of an ideaIf I
jump up and down and scream, I am rich; all that God has is mine, that is dynamic,
but unless it means something to me, unless I am One with the substance of the
belief, nothing will happen. Jesus, announcing the same Law of Mind, said, It is
done unto you as you believe.
The five stages of treatment are identified as Recognition, Unification, Realization,
Thanksgiving, and Release; each has its own function in the treatment, as outlined
in the following information. Observe that the first two stages, Recognition and
Unification, are akin to meditation and considered by many Religious Scientists to
be the most deeply significant and essential parts of treatment. Their function is to
assist you in bringing your consciousness to the highest level possible at any given
time. In your knowing the Allness of God and your Oneness with It, you are able to
turn completely from the condition about which you are treating, and realize the
Spiritual Truth of it. This is the next stage, called Realization. This stage is greatly
enhanced by carefully formulating the purpose of your treatment before you actually
begin your treatment. Stages four and five, Thanksgiving and Release, are important
parts of the treatment and bring you to the close of your treatment.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is doubt, faith.
St Francis of Assisi
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The Five Steps of Treatment
The following is the memo from Orrin Moen, Ernest Holmes Administrator of
Education, introducing the Five Steps of Treatment to students in the early days
of Science of Mind.
To: All students
From: Orrin Moen, Administrator of Education
Subject: SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
The Board of Regents has established an approved technique for giving a Spiritual
Mind Treatment, consisting of five steps, to augment the subject matter of the Science
of Mind textbook. Although you will find these ideas in the text material, particularly in
Dr. Holmes practical suggestions for mental treatment, we trust the five steps will
prove helpful to you.
The steps are as follows:
Recognition
Unification
Realization
Thanksgiving
Release

1. RECOGNITION: In this step I recognize that God is the Absolute Reality and, as
such, the only Intelligence.
2. UNIFICATION: I next unify my thinking with God, recognizing that my mind is an
individualization of God-mind as my mind. Even though I know that God is the only
Intelligence, this knowledge does nothing for me in a specific way until I identify
with It. In this step, I accept the idea that I am now thinking with the mind of God.
The Spirit of God moves through me as my spirit of self-awareness.
3. REALIZATION: The word realization means to make real. During this step I
consciously erase or dissolve whatever has caused the difficulty in my life. I am
willing to give up my false beliefs, opinions and attitudes. I use whatever words are
needed to establish in me the feeling of already having a life that is whole, perfect
and complete. (If I am treating for someone else, I state the name of the person I
am speaking my word for.)
4. THANKSGIVING: I now give thanks that my Spiritual Mind Treatment is a new
mental cause that I have set in motion and I give thanks also for its manifestation.
5. RELEASE: In this step I mentally let go of the treatment and let the Law work out
the good I have established in mind for myself, or a patient. I am no longer
concerned about the situation and am free to act as though the demonstration is
already complete.
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Essentials in Creating Successful
Spiritual Mind Treatments

Stating the Purpose:
Before beginning, carefully formulate the purpose of your treatment. First, state the
condition in your life that you would like to change.
Example: I urgently need a job. Unemployment benefits are running out
and bills are piling up.
Then, state the changed condition that you expect to experience as a result of your
treatment.
Example: My new job meets my financial needs with substance to share
and to spare and offers room for growth and contribution.
The Technique and the Fire:
There is a technique for Spiritual Mind Treatment that can be taught, and there is
something vital to a treatment that cannot be taught. That which can be taught is
outlined here for you as the steps of treatment. That which cannot be taught is your
own identification with the Center and the Source of your own being. This is a felt
sense that you must discover and foster within yourself through continuous awareness
of the Presence that surrounds and indwells you. It is the fire that you feel within your
self that fuels knowing the Truth of Spirit as your Source and Substance in Life. The
Spiritual Practices taught in this course are here for you to nurture your ability to
access the fire of Life that resides within you. Practice and implement them as they
will assist you in enriching your own sense of knowing and experiencing this Truth.
Recognition and Unification
The first two steps of treatment, Recognition and Unification, form a portal through
which you allow your perception of wholeness to shine, illuminating every work you
think, speak or write. It is important to establish the feeling aspect of your connection
in these two steps before moving on in treatment. The degree in which you know and
feel this truth will have direct impact on the effectiveness of your treatment. Make
conscious use of the Principle for a definite purpose by establishing that action in a
deeper inner perception and conviction of the Spiritual Truth about yourself and any
condition related to the treatment.
The Realization
Example: I deeply and fully realize that the good I desire is already mine because of
Who I Am, an emanation of Divine Life, a Spiritual Being right now, right where I am.
I am One with all the abundance and energy of the Universe. I wholly recognize,
accept and embody this Truth, and I allow it to unfold in my experience.
FOU NDA
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Treating for Myself
PURPOSE: I state the condition I desire to change.
I state the changed condition I expect to experience.

RECOGNITION: GOD IS ALL THERE IS
(In my own words) I acknowledge the Oneness, the Allness, the Wholeness of God.
I express my deep conviction that God is all there isthat there is nothing anywhere
but Godthat there is no spot, no situation where God is not, because God is ALL-
inclusivethat God is the Infinite Love that rules the Universe through the Law of Its
Being. I am wholly immersed in my awareness of the Presence and Power in, under,
over, around, and through all that is, and I allow this awareness to flood my being,
bringing peace and serenity. I know that All is LOVE and All is LAW.
UNIFICATION: I AM ONE WITH GOD
(In my own words) I declare that there is One Mind, that Mind is God, that Mind is my
mind nowthat I am inseparably One at the Source with the Infinite Presence and
Powerthat Thou are that which I am, I am that which Thou art. I express my deep
knowledge that God in me, as me, is me...that I am made of the same God-Stuff, a
whole, perfect, and complete child of God. This is WHO I AM. This is the Truth about
me.
REALIZATION: I ACCEPT AND EMBODY MY GOOD
Now, I speak my word for myself. (In my own language) I express my deep realization
that all the riches of the Universe are my heritage because of WHO I AM, an
emanation of God. I declare that I wholly accept and embody this realization as the
Spiritual Truth of my being and my affairsthat I clearly see the special good that I
desire as already mine, right now being manifested through the perfect action of Law.
My entire being is open and ready to receive this good that is mine now. My deep
feeling of acceptance in this stage is the fire from heaven that must be present if the
treatment is to be really effective.
THANKSGIVING: I GIVE THANKS
(In my own words) I express my overwhelming thankfulness for the Truth of my being
and affairs and for my knowing of this Truthfor the good that is taking form in my
experiencefor my joy in this manifestation. This stage is simply an outpouring of my
attitude of gratitude for the Goodness of God as my life.
RELEASE: I LET GO AND LET GOD
(In my own language) I now release my word to the action of the Law. I know that, as I
have spoken in Truth, believing and accepting, my good is now coming into
manifestation. It is important that this release be total. I may treat again tomorrow for
the same good; but the present treatment is a spiritual entity, and as such, is being
released into the Law.
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In-Class Exercise
Crafting a Spiritual Mind Treatment

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
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Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and Wholeness
Contemplate the following question and write your response in the space below.
How have I used the creative process to create wholeness or the apparent lack of
wholeness in my life?
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Home Study Exercise
Eight Questions to Focus Your Life

Answer these eight questions thoughtfully as they will be helpful to you in future class
exercises, discussions and prayer work.

1. What are three of your most favorite aspects of your life right now?

2. What are three of your least favorite aspects, i.e., your challenges, in your life right now?

3. If time and money were not an issue what would you most love to do?

4. What are the five things that you value most in your life?

5. What are two things that when you take part in them time dissipates?

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Home Study Exercise...continued
Eight Questions to Focus Your Life

6. If you could solve one world problem what would it be?

7. What is one thing that you havent done yet that you would love to do?

8. What great thing would you give your life to if you were absolutely assured of
success?
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In-Class Exercise
My First Treatment

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
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Prayer Is a Process
Ross Foti, RScP
Reflecting on the effects of prayer in my life, I realize the power of prayer lies in my understanding of
prayer as a process. Just as each prayer uttered, whether in silence or aloud, falls upon the ears of an
eternal generosity I know as God, at the same time each prayer further refines my own sense of God
and cultivates an atmosphere of receptivity within me for this generosity to give of Itself and flow into all
areas of my life.
The understanding that prayer is a process is not simply limited to the five identified steps of Spiritual Mind
Treatment, but can be more deeply appreciated through recognizing the cumulative effect of my prayers
in consciousness. While it is true that each treatment and prayer I utter is an entity in itself, and no two
prayers are ever alike, it is also true that just as a spiritual center is a repository for all the prayers offered
up between its walls, so my consciousness is a repository for all the prayers I have offered up within the
walls of this life I live. Whether praying for myself, my family, my friends, or my beloved, I am always
contributing to the evolution of who I am.
To quantify the results or assess the efficacy of my prayer work, I need look no further than within my
own heart and mind to understand how changed I am from the young man who began his studies in
Science of Mind in earnest a decade ago. The cumulative effect of all my prayers has changed me. It is
in recognizing how fundamentally my consciousness has shifted, how changed is my outlook, and how
more attuned I am with my own world view that I can see the truth of prayer as a process and know its
inherent value. And for this, I am grateful.

Ross Foti, RScP, is a licensed practitioner and serves as the Manager of the Department of Growth, Expansion, and
Ministerial Support (GEMS) for the United Centers for Spiritual Living (UCSL).

The Life Transforming Practice of Prayer
Pamela Morgan, RScP
It was in Foundation class that I was introduced to Affirmative Prayer also known as Spiritual Mind
Treatment. The creative aspect of affirmative prayer turned it into a daily practice for me. In the beginning,
at least once a day, I did a Spiritual Mind Treatment where I remembered that there is a benevolent
Presence and that I am one with It. Then I claimed my good and for all this, I couldnt help but be grateful.
And then I let it go. Five simple steps. The daily practice of surrendering to that which is all good through
these five simple steps, has transformed my life beyond my wildest expectations.
Today Affirmative Prayer is my way of life. It allows me to automatically move past conflicts and confusion
to a place of faith and peace. Each time I have witnessed answered prayer, it has strengthened my faith.
I know that the appearance of doubt and fear is an illusion and love, joy, peace, health, and all the qualities
of God are eternal.
Sometimes, when it is not easy to remember that God is present, prayer is what I use to remember. I first
come to a place of stillness, usually with a single deep breath. Then I open my heart as wide as I can. And
then I surrender. This is when Spirit takes over and the truth of God, the good of God, pours through me in
thought, feeling, word and action. My faith is expanded and I truly know that all is well. And again my life is
transformed.
Pamela Morgan, RScP, is the first practitioner to have served as the Director of the World Ministry of Prayer. She
oversaw this ministry for United Centers for Spiritual Living at the home office in Burbank, California.
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Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
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Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. James Pottinger, D.D.
Wholeness: Reflections
Regarding Two Geniuses

In my twenties I met Ernest Holmes and his brother Fenwicke Holmes, which
changed the course of my life. It was actually my mother that first contacted Ernest
Holmes because of my being involved in a major accident that subsequently affected
my brain. Key doctors in the medical profession told my mother that I needed to be
institutionalized for the remainder of my life. Their prognosis was not acceptable to
my mother. Since the medical community offered no hope she was determined to find
a cure in the metaphysical community. She traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles
and met with Ernest Holmes.
Today, one year short of my eightieth birthday, I am writing a testimonial about the
healing performed by Ernest Holmes. He did indeed have the answer to my mothers
prayers.
After I moved to California, I was fortunate to develop a special connection with Ernest
and Fenwicke. In fact, they both on occasion would introduce me as their adopted
son. As a result of these two giants, my entire life has been a continuous celebration
as it has been spent proving the Science of Mind principles they taught me. I call it
giggle power.
Ernest held a Tuesday Group meeting at the Institute in Los Angeles in which he would
free flow on the principles of the Science of Mind. We as a group would then dialog
with him, asking questions about statements he had made. After the meeting he would
take about twelve of us to lunch. A number of major questions surfaced at these
meetings, which established the direction my life would take for the rest of my tenure
on Planet Earth.
Less than one year before Ernests passing in 1960, he took me aside one night at his
home, where I often spent the night. He challenged me to incorporate new scientific
findings into the research of Science of Mind as its principles became accepted by the
general public.
As a result of this challenge, I founded an organization in 1961 that is oriented to
research that justifies every individuals spiritual quest for enlightenment, both East
and West. Since the 1960s we have found countless examples of scientific research
(biology, physics, psychology, and linguistics) that expose an evolutionary process in
which human beings start their lives (with a philosophical identity or self-image) as
separate, finite individuals and through learning and meditation, become aware of how
to live their lives as extensions of what Ernest Holmes called Universal Mind (as an
actual self-image).
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This research makes it clear that an individuals mind and Universal Mind are one and
the same mind. Philosophically, this produces a monism which justifies utilizing the
scientific method in our research.
Our organization has been able to add to modern research justifying the importance
of Science of Mind, including their courses, by explaining the part an individuals
self-image or world view plays in determining an individuals behavior as s/he evolves
from a separate identity to an extension of an INFINITE I AM identity. This includes
the different levels of understanding s/he expresses when comprehending the
different levels.
The psychological schools that have developed over the past one hundred years
(behavioristic, psychoanalytic, humanistic and transpersonal) expose these behavioral
changes as different levels or belief systems. It includes the research of the two
hemispheres of the brain, which helps us understand the importance of the two
treatment methods stated in The Science of Mind textbook.
The first is the intellectual or argumentative which is practiced when we are still
working from a separate, finite individual basis and the second treatment method is
realization of feeling as if the desire is already accepted when working consciously
from a Universal Mind basis.
Being able to differentiate the two methods presents an example of human evolution
that our research refers to as first, second and third reality. A human is capable
of changing from a first and second reality of cause and effect, which is rational,
when still believing in a separate identity (space/time dualism), to a third reality
of acceptance by degree, after oneness (monism) realization of Universal
Mind awakens.
Ernest Holmes helped us understand that we use a Universal Mind that is INFINITE,
not an individual brain that is limited. The brain is the hardware with the transcendent
(Universal Mind) the software. It is this paradigm shift of two different cosmologies
(levels of understanding) that Science of Mind helps us awaken to within ourselves.
In other words, wholeness or excellence in every area of life is pre-existing our
acceptance of Universal Mind, even when our first and second reality of functioning
means we are still believing we are separate finite human beings expressing
limitations.
When we understand our conditioned brain is determining our behavior, it explains
why and how we can be stuck with a habit and seem incapable of entertaining an
option to change. As we consciously replace my mind (first and second reality) with
Universal Mind (third reality), we are capable of replacing blame about anything
with solutions about everything or acceptance by degree of pre-existing wholeness.
This is the ability to practice the feeling as if change (pre-existing wholeness of
Universal Mind), which already exists (we have evolved from a potential to actual).
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In first reality and early second reality, this practice of feeling as if our desired goal is
achieved, when our current brains conditioning is still feeling the limitation of our current
habits, is why Ernest had the argumentative method where practicing change will
originally seem like practicing a lie.
Ernest often quoted Baruch Spinozas famous belief that all of creation is an extension
of an INFINITE I AM. He also quoted Emersons statement, One mind common to all
men. Ernest helped us understand the steps that are necessary to practice such an
awesome belief by showing that the Science of Mind can be tested in the same way the
physical sciences are tested, using the scientific method.
We have reason to be very grateful for the giants that dared to question the cultural
givens. This helped later generations realize how awesome life can be, when we better
understand the principles that are producing our lives. As Isaac Newton said, If I have
seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
To this day, I thank these two giants for paving the way for so many of us. By sharing
their wisdom they help us express healthier and happier lives.
Rev. James Pottenger, D.D., was a student and friend, a protg, of Dr. Ernest Holmes. As Holmes
neared his death, he charged Dr. Pottenger with the responsibility of investigating the deepest essence of
spirituality and cosmic principles, and the world religions and spiritual practices in support of the continued
vitality of the Religious Science movement. Dr. Pottenger was ordained in 1961 and founded the Los
Angeles Community Church of Religious Science where he served as Senior Minister for many years.
The Community Church of Religious Science is an independent Religious Science organization that
furthers investigation into Universal knowledge and New Thought spirituality. For more information about
the Science of Spirit research, check out Dr. Pottengers website at www.thescienceofspirit.com. For
Holographic Psychology check the website www.simplyjoy.com.

Dr. Ernest Holmes
Healing Awareness
We want to become aware of our own consciousness and its absolute oneness and
fusion with all that is, so there can be nothing separate from what we ourselves are or
apart from it, so that we know every word we speak is the presence and power and
activity of the One and only in us, as us, so that we realize the transcendence of what
we are doing, that the heart and mind and intellect and the will and consciousness
completely accept it and that nothing within us can reject it.
We are aware of this that our word is the presence and power and action of love, the
living Spirit almighty, and of perfection and of peace and joy and wholeness, oneness
we are aware of the infinite and limitless joy of being. All the energy there is and all the
enthusiasm there is, all the intelligence there is and all happiness, is at the point of our
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Now it is the law of the being of each person that everything that he does shall prosper,
that joy shall follow him, that everything he touches shall succeed, that goodness shall
surround him, that love shall flow through him to everything he touches and healing and
wholeness that everything he touches is made whole. This is the law of each one of
us, and we accept the law of our being. We accept the realization of the light and life and
power and presence of the truth at the center of our being. We accept the absoluteness
of that truth and our own authority in it.

Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. David J. Walker, D.D.
On Healing
One of the greatest things you can ever learn about yourself is that you have power
the ability to affect life. The second greatest thing is that your power can be used to
heal, bless and create. Blessing and creating seem to be within the realm of feasibility,
but when it comes to healing, most of us grew up believing that the power to heal
belonged only to those who were spiritually advanced, or had earned a degree from
the medical profession.
The truth is, the person who can think, can heal, and that means you. Healing is a part
of your nature, not because you want it to be, but because it couldnt be any other way.
Where does healing power come from? Its Source is the Life Force Itself, or if you
prefer, God or Divine Mind. Since we are some part of the mind of God, we partake
of Gods healing power. And the place where this power appears is in our minds.
How must we use our minds to effect healing? We must provide the mental equivalent
of the experience we want to have. We do that by means of Spiritual Mind Treatment,
which is really a form of self-talk. Essentially, we talk ourselves into health, happiness
and a better life.
Mind is the healing agency regardless of whatever or whoever else might be involved.
Healing can only happen when we are actively involved with the process. Healing then,
as Dr. Holmes tells us, doesnt happen TO us, it happens THROUGH us. Create the
kind of life you desire, and bless a lot of people along the way, but never discount your
ability to heal. That Power is God in you seeking a higher expression of Itself.

Rev. David Walker, D.D., has been living and teaching the principles of Science of Mind in his lectures,
his long running TV show Successful Living, and in his writings for over 30 years. A past president of
Religious Science International, Dr. Walker began his ministry with studies with Robert Bitzer at the
Hollywood Church of Religious Science. After five years ministering to the San Bernardino Church of
Religious Science, he went on to found the Los Angeles Church of Religious Science in1989 where he
continues to serve. He received his doctorate degree in 1994 and his Doctorate of Divinity in 2003.
Dr. Walker has consolidated his teachings on self-worth and the sacredness of life in his new book,
You Are Enough.
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105
Home Study
for Week 5
READING
1. Science of Mind Ch. 10, Faith,
pp. 155-162
2. Science of Mind, Ch. 18,
The Law of Attraction,
pp. 294-307
3. Student Workbook Class 5:
Attraction
WRITING
1. Write a paragraph regarding
What I want to create in my life.
Then write a Spiritual Mind
Treatment (purpose, followed
by the 5 steps of treatment).
There is a page in your Student
Workbook for this exercise.
Workbook, answer the question:
How do I use the Creative
Process to create what I have
attracted in my life?
3. Complete the Hidden Belief,
Language and Self-talk
Exercises found in your Student
Workbook. The information
gained from this will be used in
class next week.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Meditate and Journal Daily.
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Week 5 -
Attraction
This Week
This week we bring our conscious
awareness to any underlying limiting
beliefs which seem to sidetrack our
spoken intentions or our true
desires.

The Law of Attraction is a simple
principle that we will come to
understand through a fun skit you
will create with your classmates
in class.

Despite its simplicity, the Law of
Attraction will show any underlying
energetic filters of emotions and
beliefs we have which may not be
in alignment with our truest desire.
Our challenge lies in realizing what
the actual sum total of our thinking
is, in differentiating what parts are
not in alignment with what we really
want. We can then in appropriate
ways change our thinking, our
feelings and our beliefs so that we
change our lives accordingly.

In this class you will become more
aware of your use of language in
creating your life. You will be
introduced to the Fear to Faith
process developed by Dr. Marcia
Sutton and Dr. Lloyd Strom. This
powerful practice dissolves those
no longer wanted experiences in
your life.
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Expect the Best
- Attraction
Experience always takes place
within a given attitude and a given
inner perspective.
Plotinus
The Law of Attraction brings you
more of whatever you give your
attention, energy, and focus to.
If, however, you identify your
desire and dont give it attention,
energy and focus, then there is no
manifestation. The key here is to
identify your desire and continue
to give it attention. As youre
giving it attention, you are now
including the vibration of your
desire in your current vibration.
The Law of Attraction responds to
your current vibration.
Michael J. Losier
According to Bohr and Heisenberg
(physicists), the universe exists as
an infinite number of overlapping
possibilities. Theyre all there in
a kind of quantum soup with no
precise location or state of being
until something happens to lock
one of the possibilities into place.
Gregg Braden
We are the mirror as well as the
face in it.
Rumi
Be a lamp unto yourself! Work out
your liberation with diligence!
Buddha

It is done unto you as
you believe.
Jesus
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Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: The Law of Attraction
Talk/Discussion: Hidden Beliefs and Language Inventory
Experiential Exercise: Attraction Skit
Experiential Exercise: Presentations of Attraction Skit
Talk/Discussion: Transforming Fear into Faith
Home Study for Class 6 Abundance
Experiential Practice: Fear to Faith Process
Closing
Week 5
Attraction
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Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Howard E. Caesar
Law of Attraction
The spiritual principle of the Law of Attraction is exact and impersonal. The patterns
of our life, however good or bad, have a magnetic pull or gravitational field to them.
It is a dynamic of the mind in which we attract what we think about; as in mind so in
manifestation; where attention goes, energy flows.
Because thought is creative, we dont have a choice as to whether we create or not,
only in what we create by virtue of how we choose to direct our thoughts. Any person
will eventually attract that to which he or she gives consistent attention, energy, and
focus.
Biblically, the Law of Attraction has numerous references including; As a man thinketh
in his heart so is he; As you sow (in thought energy) so shall you reap; The measure
you give (in thought energy) will be the measure that you get; Be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind; According to your beliefs, so be it, and many others.
We have all come to accept that there is a mind-body connection. Embarrassing
thoughts make our cheeks turn red. Fearful thoughts make our hands sweat or heart
beat faster. We have learned that thoughts also extend beyond the body into a
relationship with the Universe. The Universe responds. In addition to a mind-body
connection, there is a mind-Universe connection.
In the material world, if a person gives their attention, vision and focus to something
they want, and add emotion and belief to it, they shall have it. I have demonstrated
this so many times in so many ways that I could never question the validity of this law.
I have manifested cars, land, houses, people, and more as a direct result of this law.
However, we can only pile up so much in the physical, material world. It is also
important that a person apply this law to those things of a higher nature or purpose
than the world of form. I am speaking of attracting the attributes of Being. Being love,
being peace, being joy, are the intangible dimensions of Gods good that should not
be forgotten, but attracted to and built into ones consciousness.
The great teacher Jesus encouraged us not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth
only. May you learn to use the Law of Attraction to create a healthy balance of earthly
and heavenly treasures.
Rev. Howard Caesar has served at Unity Church of Christianity for more than 20 years. Rev. Caesar is
a recognized leader and speaker in New Thought, a founding member of the Leadership Council of the
Association for Global New Thought and a previous board member of the International New Thought
Alliance and the Association of Unity Churches. Rev. Caesar was recognized with the Voice of Unity
Award for Excellence in his 25 years of work in radio and television and is the recipient of the Light of
God Expressing Award, an honor given by his peers and the association of Unity Churches.
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Hidden Limiting Beliefs
People are not consciously aware of all that they believe. Your beliefs, however hidden,
are still active in your belief system through your sub- or unconscious mind. Limiting
beliefs are repetitive thoughts, which are restrictive by their negative nature, their
untruthfulness, and in the way that they hold you back from creating what it is you wish
to experience. These limiting beliefs create an atmosphere of mental rejection therefore
affecting the outcome you experience. Remember the soil is the feeling filter through
which your seed thought germinates, therefore your felt beliefs, whether they are
positive or negative, shape your experience.
The bad news is that humans have hidden limiting beliefs! The good news is that
hidden limiting beliefs can be revealed, let go of and replaced with positive beliefs that
illuminate the truth and support your desires.
There are several ways to uncover and transform hidden limiting beliefs. First it takes
a true willingness to discover them and then it takes a commitment to claim the truth
in a way you really feel.
Uncovering Hidden Limiting Beliefs
Hidden beliefs can reveal themselves through listening to the statements you make.
Here are several statements which help reveal hidden beliefs
That would be great, but(hidden limiting belief)
I cant have/do that, because(hidden limiting belief)
I should...(hidden limiting belief)
Im not...(hidden limiting belief)
Other hidden beliefs are:
Statements made that contain a societal or family-learned rule. Ultimately you
have adopted these as your own internal rule, such as Hard work pays off.
Self-talk is statements which you might not even reveal to others, i.e. your
internal dialogue you have with yourself. Looking in the mirror and saying, Im
fat or not skinny enough, or being on the job and comparing yourself to others
internally saying, Im not as skilled as that person is so or Im not
Are you listening to yourself?
You will find that generally negative statements will come from a sense of doubt or
lack, which leads you to negative feelings which fuel the atmosphere of your mind.
Once you identify these statements and the feelings associated with them, you have
the opportunity to choose otherwise, to reclaim your truth.
111
In the study of the Science of Mind, it is important for you to become aware of your
hidden beliefs so that you can consciously choose to change them when your life is
not functioning well. Areas of life that are often of concern are relationships, work,
health, and prosperity. The following exercise will help you take a look at these areas.
In Week 2, The Creative Process, you wrote affirmations. By looking at those
affirmations you may be able to identify some hidden beliefs. If you identify some
bring them into this next exercise.

Dr. Ernest Holmes
What We Will Attract
We will attract to us, in our lives and conditions, according to our thought. Things are
but outer manifestations of inner mental concepts. Thought is not only power; it is also
the form of all things. The conditions that we attract will correspond exactly to our
mental pictures. It is quite necessary, then, that the successful business man should
keep his mind on thoughts of happiness, which produce cheerfulness instead of
depression; he should radiate joy, and should be filled with faith, hope, and
expectancy. These cheerful, hopeful attitudes of mind are indispensable to the one
who really wants to do things in life.
Put every negative thought out of your mind once and for all. Declare your freedom.
Know that no matter what others may say, think or do, you are a success now and
nothing can hinder you from accomplishing your good.
All the Power of the Universe is with you; feel it, know it, and then act as though it were
true. This mental attitude alone will draw people and things to you.
Begin to blot out, one by one, all false beliefs, all idea that man is limited or poor or
miserable. Use that wonderful power of choice that God has given to you. Refuse to
think of failure or to doubt your own power.
See only what you wish to experience, and look at nothing else. No matter how many
times the old thought returns, destroy it by knowing that it has no power over you; look
it squarely in the face and tell it to go; it does not belong to you, and you must know
and stick to it that you are now free.
To define yourself in terms of human limitations
is a desecration of the image of God you are.
Paramahansa Yogananda

Often to be free means the ability to deal with the
realities of ones situation so as not to be overcome by them.
Howard Thurman
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Home Study Exercise
Hidden Belief Exercise

Pick an area in which you would like to improve.
Relationships Work Health Prosperity
Complete the following statements. Then take a look at the society or family rules you
have adopted and at your self-talk concerning this area of your life. Then answer the
questions following these statement to clarify the truth you would like claim. Create an
affirmation statement for each.

_________________would be great, but_____________________________

I cant do/have_____________ because______________________________

I should _______________________________________________________

Im not________________________________________________________

My societal or family-learned beliefs Ive adopted are:

Here is what I usually say to myself regarding this area of my life:

113
Pick one of your beliefs or several. How does this belief make you feel? How does it
limit you?

Ask yourself, Am I willing to change this, to choose differently, to reclaim the truth for
myself? Yes No
If yes, then answer the following. If no, perhaps you are not willing to give it up now (or yet).
Pick another belief.
What is the truth? How is it you want to feel, to be, or to act?

Write your Affirmation Statement that aligns with the truth and your new belief. Remember
to craft Affirmations which are effective and powerful for you:
1. Make them personal, begin with I AM, I KNOW, I LET.
2. Write them in present tense. It is happening Now.
3. Use active language, verbs which indicate action, your experience occurring as
you speak.
4. Use feeling language, words that induce the emotional experience you desire.
5. Keep it short, one sentence, easy to remember, easily repeatable.
6. Use personal terminology words that have import for you, words that evoke the
appropriate experience and feeling within you.
7. Be specific, and refrain from outlining: state WHAT and leave out the HOW. For
example, I am loved!

Affirmation Statement:
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Language Is Power

Your thoughts have power; therefore, language is power. With this
in mind it is important to evaluate the words you use so you are
speaking in freeing, empowering and intentional ways that serve
your life as well as the Global Community.
The Law is always working, manifesting your thoughts and words.
Whether you say them out loud or to yourself, whether conscious or
unconscious, your thoughts and feelings are fueling your creations.
To support your Affirmations and your Spiritual Mind Treatments your
language and feelings must be in alignment, otherwise you are giving
the creative process mixed or conflicting messages. You cannot say
yes to faith and yes to fear at the same time.
The Law is impersonal. It simply responds to what you give it,
producing more of what you declare. If you are consistently
congruent with your ideal, or if you are consistently incongruent,
the results will reflect your words. Thus, to give full power to your
treatment work, you want to be sure that your daily speaking is in
alignment with the treatments message rather than maintaining the
belief system which created the condition to be healed.
A commonly used aphorism in the Science of Mind philosophy is
Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life. You can be thinking lots
of thoughts while doing other things. This is sometimes called mind
chatter, and, while it is mostly below the level of your conscious
awareness, it will influence the demonstration of your treatment.
Thoughts are the equivalent of construction tools with which you build
your reality. So, to change your life, you must change your thinking.
The first step in changing your thinking is to become aware of what
you are thinking. You have many thoughts during the day, and the
quality of these thoughts may vary. The following exercises are to
support you in becoming aware of your thinking and the pattern of
your thought.

Language is
power in ways
more literal than
most people think.
When we speak,
we exercise the
power of language
to transform reality.
Why dont more
of us realize the
connection
between language
and power?

Julia Penelope
115
Home Study Exercise
Language Inventory
In column one jot down limiting language that you find yourself using this week. In column
two, transform your limiting statements into freeing, empowering ones.
Use a separate sheet or your personal journal for this exercise if necessary.

Limiting Language Freeing, Empowering Language
Example:
I cant afford to travel this year.
There is plenty of support for my trip. I am
planning it for May.
116
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Carlo Di Giovanna, D.D.
The Law of Attraction
At this time on our planet this is the most recognized Spiritual Law that is being made
known to the world. Oprah Winfrey on her television show presented the author
Rhonda Byrne who wrote The Secret. Oprah said that she had the largest TV
audience she ever had in the history of her show when she presented Rhonda Byrne.
Oprah also said on her show, Why do they call this the secret? I thought everybody
knew about this. I have used this principle all of my life.
We who study the Science of Mind certainly are aware that there is a whole chapter
devoted to this principle in The Science of Mind textbook by Dr. Ernest Holmes. This
Chapter 18 is one that I have many times said to new people, they should read first.
Why? It is the most potent, powerful and mystical revelation that Divine Cosmic
Intelligence is revealing to the individual manifestation of that Intelligence when any
individual is seeking their personal relationship with GOD!
Dr. Holmes writes that we should approach this Law normally and with a sense
of ease. Of course we will do this so much easier if we really understand how Dr.
Holmes wrote his concepts of this Spiritual Law of Equals. You see we are all created
with equal opportunities to use Spiritual Laws for individual and personal progress.
Dr. Holmes writes that we must bring ourselves to the place in mind where there is no
misfortune, no calamity, no accident, no trouble, no confusion. As that is the case,
what is left for us? Holmes says, Plenty, peace, power, Life and Truth!
In bringing you some of the profound concepts in this chapter, I would call your
attention to the second paragraph of this chapter in which Dr. Holmes refers to this law
as the Law of Attraction and Repulsion. Why are we not accepting peace in every area
of our lives? Why are we not accepting health in every area of our lives? Why are we
not accepting success in every area of our lives? I believe the answer lies in how we
have used the Law of Repulsion without knowing we are doing so! We are immersed
in an Infinite Creative Potential; however, it can only manifest for us when we are truly
open to It.
How do we make ourselves open to It? Through Treatment! If we look at the glossary
we see that Dr. Holmes defines a treatment as clearing the thought of negation, of
doubt and fear, and causing it to perceive the ever-presence of God. In other words
entertaining negativity is using repulsion to keep your divine self in the dark. All the
good is still there but you cant see it. That dark is the subjective state of your thought.
No one truly hears their own negativity. They may feel it, but not hear it.
Dr. Holmes tells us that we should EXPECT THE BEST, and live so that the best may
become a part of our experience. I have to work on that expectation every day. Why?
Because in so many subtle ways people are continually putting their negativity in
117
consciousness. People you love have been doing this to you all your life and will
continue to do this in the name of Love.
Now Dr. Holmes presents the Law of Correspondence. He says we must provide a
mental equivalent of our desires. To this I add that we must provide an emotional
equivalent. Thoughts and feelings must go in the same direction. They must embody
the same desire.
Think, see and feel activity, Dr. Holmes writes. You see, that is where the emotional
equivalent comes in. Please understand that no one should expect these simple
remarks to be the whole answer. The deeper we plunge the greater is our experience.
Rev. Carlo J. Di Giovanna, D.D., has taught Science of Mind for more than 35 years. He began his
ministry as the Senior Minister at the First Church of Religious Science, Orlando, FL, and was the
founding minister of the Lakeland Church of Religious Science in Lakeland, FL. For 20 years, he was
Senior Minister at the North Hollywood Church which continues to be a tribute to his vision. Retiring
from the Claremont Church of Religious Science, Dr. Di Giovanna has continued to serve the United
Church of Religious Science in many capacities.

Home Study Exercise
Self-Talk Inventory
Make 7 copies of the chart on the following pageone for each day of the coming
week. Use the chart as a tool to help you become aware of your quality of thought
throughout your day. Keep it nearby so that you can jot down your answers. Or use
your daily log section in your journal to track your answers.
Ask yourself the following questions each day.
1. What am I saying to myself right now?
2. What have I been saying this past hour?
3. Are my thoughts about myself negative or positive?
4. What part of the day is my self-talk most active?
5. Under what circumstances do I notice my self-talk?
After tracking your self-talk, summarize your observations focusing on what you are
more aware of now regarding your self-talk, your thoughts, your beliefs. Write an
affirmative intention statement regarding your self-talk.
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Self-Talk Tracking Chart

Day of the Week:
_____________
ASK YOURSELF:
9
AM
11
AM
1
PM

3
PM
5
PM
7
PM
9
PM
Bed-
time

What am I saying
right now? Use a
separate sheet to
record your thoughts.

What have I been saying
this past hour? Use a
separate sheet to record
your thoughts.

Are my thoughts positive
or negative? Use a (-)
for negative or (+) for
positive thoughts.

What part of the day is
my self-talk most active?

Under what circum-
stances do I notice my
self-talk?

Affirmative Intention Statement:
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Home Study Exercise
Law of Attraction Exercise

Contemplate the following statement and write your response in the space below.
Then, write a Spiritual Mind Treatment for yourself on the following page.
What I want to create in my life is

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Home Study Exercise

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
121
Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and Attraction

Contemplate the following question and write your response in the space below.
In what ways am I using the Creative Process to create what I have attracted
in my life?
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123
Home Study
for Week 6
READING
The Principles of Successful
Living, pp. 266-278
2. Student Workbook, Class 6:
Abundance
WRITING
1. Complete the My Money
History exercise found in your
Student Workbook. Complete
this exercise before proceeding
to the next written assignment.
This will be used in class
next week.
2. Complete What is my
Abundance Quotient?
Complete this exercise before
proceeding to the next written
assignment. This will be used
in class next week.
3. Answer the question How is
the Creative Process unfolding
in my experience of
Abundance? Then write a
treatment for a particular area
in which you desire greater
ease. Use pages provided in
the Student Workbook.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Practice your Fear to Faith releasing
Prayer. Continue to Meditate and
Journal.

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Week 6 -
Abundance
This Week
Abundance is our natural state.
As an expression of the Divine,
its good to know there is nothing
lacking in Gods world! There is
always enough. Whether struggling
in finances, health, or relationships,
that experience can be reversed at
any moment by stepping into the
infinite flow.
Some of the exercises this week
take a look at your relationship with
money (since there seems to be a
lot of energy around this subject) to
help focus your attention on some
of your beliefs that might be limiting
you in any area of your life.
Also, this week we will focus on
the spiritual practice of gratitude, a
powerful launching pad for creation.
Expressing gratitude is a declaration
of the good that is already present
in your life. Because the creative
energy flows where attention goes,
you are demonstrating from a place
of abundance (rather than scarcity)
when practicing from an attitude of
gratitude.
Gratitude lines you up with
Wholeness made manifest in
your world.
125
Our Natural
State -
Abundance
Gratitude is not only the greatest
of virtues but the parent of all the
others.
Cicero
Our journey into a consciousness
of wealth begins with the realization
that we have already arrived!
In the exact moment each of us
was thought into being as an
individualized expression of God,
all that the Father hath became
our divine inheritance. Through
time and eternity there is no
greater wealth than consciously
realizing that the Divine image
and likeness out of which we have
been created is the essence of
who and what we are. On this point
all self-realized teachers of the
worlds wisdom traditions agree.
Rev. Michael Beckwith, D.D.

If you look to others for fulfillment,
You will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on
money,
You will never be happy with
yourself.
Be content with what you have;
Rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing
lacking,
The whole world belongs to you.
Lao Tzu

If the only prayer you say in your
whole life is thank you, that would
suffice.
Meister Eckhart

Abundance is not something
we acquire. It is something
we tune into.

Wayne Dyer
126

Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: What is Abundance?
Talk/Discussion: My Money History
Experiential Exercise: My Abundance Quotient
Talk/Discussion: The Joy of Prosperity
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Gratitude
Talk/Discussion: The Spiritual Practice of Giving
Home Study for Class 7 In the Flow of Life
Experiential Practice: Gratitude Contemplation
Benediction
Week 6
Abundance
127
Abundance Is My Inheritance
A Meditation by Dr. Ernest Holmes

Abundance is mine. I cannot be deprived of my supply. The trees
do not lack for leaves, nor do the flowers fail to bloom. Am I not as
important as they? Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not
neither do they spin, yet.Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
as one of these.
I look at the lavish wastefulness of Nature and know that God
intended me to be as abundantly supplied, with everything that makes
for beauty, well-being, progressive living and happiness. I, myself,
am to blame when these fruits of the Spirit fail to appear.
Since I know the Truth of my being, I will no longer hinder or retard
my good from coming to me. I will expect and accept all that I need
to make life happy and worthwhile; for I am a child of the Spirit, and
every attribute of It every attribute of Good is my inheritance.
Nothing but lack of faith can keep my good from me, for I am one
with the Universal Essence of Life, or Spirit, and Its Substance will
manifest in my experience as I believe. No longer will I go for my
good, carrying only a dipper to be filled. This day, as I turn to the
Father within, I bring All the empty vessels knowing they will be
filled, and my abundance will become manifest.
Abundance Is My Inheritance.
In Chinese, Tint
To means the
Universal Law of
Abundance, by
which you can be
all that you can be,
because you are of
the Tao, and the
Tao is all-abundant.
This Universal Law
simply tells you that,
as you are of this
spiritual energy of
the Tao, so you are
all - abundant.

Leonard Willoughby
Every Day Tao

Love, like a flame
cannot fail to give
out light.

Hazarat Inayat Khan
Founder of
Universal Sufism

To see the world
in a grain of sand,
and heaven in a
wildflower, hold
infinity in the palm
of your hand, and
eternity in an hour.

William Blake
Visionary Mystic
and Poet

128
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker
The Principle of Prosperity

Prosperity is a state of mind, an attitude, a deep sense of knowing that God is our eter-
nal, opulent, and constant Source and supply. Poverty is also a state of mind, but instead
of faith in God, the persons misplaced faith is in their fears of lack and limitation. Je-
sus told us that we cannot serve God and mammon at the same time but need to un-
derstand and remember from whence comes everyone and everything. A person with a
prosperity consciousness understands how life works and who they are as a divine be-
ing, made in the image and likeness of God. The outer world of effects, of people, places,
things, and conditions is the reflection of our inner state of concepts, desires, and imagina-
tion set into creative motion by our speech, emotions, and activities. One either has faith in
God or faith in their fears. Whichever the person chooses, governs what they will experi-
ence and manifest.
Fear of lack, meaning separation from God, is the root cause of poverty in mind and af-
fairs; whereas placing our faith in God and following the principles of successful living
always brings the abundance of every good and wonderful thing and experience. The key
to living abundantly and fulfilling our divine destiny as a child of God, is shifting our basic
belief from, "I don't have enough" to "I always have enough." As children of God, we are
obviously godlike in nature possessing divine qualities. Our challenge is to recognize
who we are and then develop our divine qualities fully as supreme human beings in
every way. Everyone has enough to begin this process and achieve the topmost that is
possible for anyone to attain both spiritually and materially, as we are equal parts of God.
What we do with what we have is what makes the difference.
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, which is the teaching of Jesus through the
Parable of the Talents, is a Truth that does not seem fair according to material logic, as
the poor should be able to also prosper. No one is lacking anything, but the lack of knowl-
edge of who we are and what is available to each brings on all human problems. On the
other hand, knowledge of Truth gives everyone the keys to the kingdom of abundance
of intelligence, love, talents, bliss, beauty, genius, strength, and resources.
Anyone can prosper by shifting their awareness from fear of lack to the spiritual realm of
eternal opulence and abundance. This takes practice as we are creatures of habit. Be-
lieving that we do not have enough or that we will not have enough in the future causes
people to be afraid for their future so they horde what they have, even their love. The root
word of miserable is miser. No matter how much a person with a poverty consciousness
accumulates, still he thinks that he does not have enough, nor are his fears alleviated. Je-
sus said, Perfect love casts out fear. Perfect love happens when we are in constant un-
ion with God as our Beloved in loving reciprocation. Giving and receiving is the principle
of prosperity for without giving there can be no receiving and without receiving there can
be no giving. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin as they are happening
simultaneously as a divine dance between lover and beloved, between God and us.
129
Giving is based on one's experience of having. By knowing that we are love, then how
can we give too much love? The more we give of the love we are, the more love we
have to give by the principle of circulation and increase. The basis of prosperity is
having; whereas the basis of poverty is not having. Whatever it is we want to have in
the future, including happiness, money, love, talents, and things, we must give of what
we have. Sharing our talents for the glory of God as a gift to others that they may
increase their happiness and well-being is the proper use of whatever we have. By
hiding or hording our love and talents out of fear that we will be criticized, or that we
are not good enough, or that we will suffer from lack in the future, must manifest as
our fears taking form just as we thought. Because we reap only what we have sown,
whatever it is we want to reap, and all is possible to us, then this is what we need to
give and do. One small seed when planted and nurtured will produce an abundance
of flowers or vegetables, plus more seeds to plant for future harvest. The same seed if
hidden will dry up and wither away. No one can cheat the process and get something
for nothing or prosper by hurting others.
Like the person in the parable, who out of fear of lack hid the one talent that she had
been given and did not use it in the field of life, a person who does not contribute to
the welfare of others in service to God will lose even that which she has.
It does not matter how much love we have or how many talents or how intelligent, for
these will grow when invested, used, and expressed. We prosper by starting the giving
process with whatever we have. Everyone has enough to give something, even if it is
a smile and a kind word. Using whatever we have for a higher purpose of serving God
by being the instrument of Spirit and love in the world, ensures that all our needs are
met. Contributing our time, talents, and resources into Gods work to bring love,
prosperity, and abundant living to all, guarantees our success and fills us with bliss.
We are in the family business as children of Mother and Father God. The happiest
and most successful people are the ones who use what they have with love, including
their talents and resources to help others to also be happy and prosperous.
Matthew 25. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have
abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he
hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Rev. Terry Cole-Whittaker, ordained in the United Church of Religious Science in 1975, grew a
30-member church in La Jolla, CA, to over 8,000 members and an international television ministry
reaching millions in a few short years. More recently she co-founded Innerfaith Ministries in Palm
Springs, CA. An inspiring and popular speaker and writer, she has published five best selling books
that include her pioneering book, What You Think of Me Is None of My Business. Her most recent
book, Dare to be Great!, continues her legacy of inspiring others to live the successful, happy and
prosperous lives God designed them to live.
130
My Money History
Your experience of abundance and prosperity, of course, has to do with more than
money; however, your relationship with money is an important aspect of this Spiritual
Principle. And it is certainly an area where you can measure what is happening now
and look at how your financial life got to be the way it is through examining your
money history.
Your rapport with money began when you were very young and it has shaped the way
you handle money now. Reviewing your money history can reveal your thought
patterns, belief systems and behavior patterns regarding your experience with financial
flow, giving you the opportunity to tune in to what is working and not working for you in
regard to your experience of abundance in your life.
Taking some time to reflect on and examine your money history will provide you with the
information necessary to clear your limiting patterns regarding your financial situation,
goal setting and dreams for your life, freeing you to change your thinking, make better
choices and reconnect with the truth of who you are.
Begin your money history with considering where, when and from whom you first
learned about money, earned your first dollar, lost your first dollar, invested your first
dollar, made your first big purchase, spent money on yourself, bought a gift for
someone, made your first donation, etc. Was money given to you or did you earn it?
What were your familys financial circumstances? Who took care of the finances when
you were growing up? How was money talked about or not talked about? What were
your thoughts and feelings about money? Continue your money history bringing you
through your life to your present day experience. Throughout your remembering give
thought to what the environment was like, how you felt, what your thoughts were.
What were the reinforced concepts surrounding money in regard to earning it, spending
it and saving it? What was it like for you to receive money, to give money? What have
you learned along the way about money? What is your situation now and how is that
the same or different than how it was when you were growing up, when you were
becoming independent, or when you were growing in your dependence? Reflect on how
you feel about money now. What do you think about having money, not having money,
about people who have it, dont have it? On what do you spend money and on what
dont you spend money? What judgments do you have about how you earn, spend,
save your money, how others earn, spend or save their money? What language do
you use when you describe your relationship with money, your bank account, your
compensation for work?
Allow these questions to guide, however not limit, your money story. Be honest and
truthful as you write and allow your story to unfold. This is your money story and whether
you want it to continue in the same vein or whether you want to make changes, allowing
your story to come out will help you shape your future money story.
131
Home Study Exercise
My Money History

From whom did you first learn about money?
Where did you earn your first dollar?
When did you lose your first dollar?
When did you invest your first dollar?
When did you make your first big purchase?
When did you first spend money on yourself?
132
My Money History...continued

When did you first buy a gift for someone?
When did you make your first donation?
Did you earn it or was money given to you?
What were your familys financial circumstances?
Who took care of the money when you were growing up?
How was money talked about or not talked about?
What were your thoughts and feeling about money?
133

What were the reinforced concepts about earning, spending and saving money?
What was it like for you to receive money?
What was it like to give money?
What have you learned along the way about money?
What is your situation now? How is it different or the same as when you were
growing up?
growing your independence?
134

growing in your dependence?
How do you feel about money now?
What do you think about
having money?
not having money?
people who have it?
people who dont have it?
135

On what do you spend your money?
On what do you not spend your money?
What judgments do you have about
how you earn money?
how you spend it?
how you save it?
how others earn, spend or save their money?
136

What language do you use when you describe
your relationship with money?
your bank account?
compensation for your work?

Once youve taken at least 45 minutes to write your story, reflect on what you like
about your story and what you would like to be different. This will provide you with
great information for writing the Spiritual Mind Treatment after completing the next
few abundance related exercises.
137
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Frank Richelieu, D.D.
The Joy of Prosperity Your Birthright

The word Prosperity is one that most people associate with money and its availability.
Nothing could be further from the Truth. PROSPERITY IS A STATE OF MIND,
accompanied by an inner feeling of peace, security, joy and omnipotence. To feel
prosperous is to be in tune with the Universe and its unlimited resources and power.
The substance of the Universe is available to all alike and in its availability there is no
discretion. It is up to each individual to expand his/her consciousness to embrace more
of this Universal substance.

Say to yourself, I AM OPEN TO RECEIVE MY PROSPERITY RIGHT NOW! The
prosperity I am referring to is on a Spiritual basis. It is important to recognize that it has
to be on a higher, deeper level of consciousness because prosperity IS SPIRITUALITY.
God said, Beloved, all I have is thine. Feel that you live in that consciousness of
prosperity, it belongs to you. There is no withholding on the part of the Universe. If you
go without, it is not because the Universe has a problem. It is because you have not
opened yourself to it, you have not attracted to you the consciousness of prosperity. If
you know that you are part of a Spiritual Universe which knows no lack, then you know
that all you need to do is reposition yourself in Universal Mind. The laws of the universe
are impersonal laws of increase. When one cycle ends, this becomes the beginning of
a new cycle, a larger cycle. TO INCREASE YOUR ABUNDANCE, POWER/SUBSTANCE
HAS TO BE CHANNELED THROUGH YOU.

Many of our ideas and feelings about money and prosperity in general were instilled in us
as children. It is high time that our minds are cleared of many misconceptions. You either
restrict your good or are open and receptive to the realization that God is the unlimited
source of your supply, the substance of all your abundance. Remember, the substance has
to be channeled through you. Begin to move into the consciousness that is prosperous;
prosperous in love, in ideas, in expressions, in everything that you want to do. Relate to
the Universal Source and let It channel Itself through you. Open your new consciousness
to attract your good to you from every direction. Say to yourself,
I accept the responsibility for what I experience in my life. I know that I demonstrate according to
my own consciousness. My consciousness is of abundance in all things. I circulate my good,
knowing that my supply is unlimited. I draw from an ever-flowing fountain. My life cannot be limited,
my abundance cannot be withheld, I open myself to the riches of the Universe.
Rev. Frank Richelieu, D.D., did much of his training directly with Ernest Holmes. In 1957 he and his wife,
Anita, began developing a ministry which would include founding two churches prior to being called to the
ministry at Redondo Beach Church of Religious Science where he remained until his retirement. He inspired
many listeners with his radio program Living Ideas as well as a weekly television program. Dr. Richelieu
published 4 books including, The Prosperity Connection, Reincarnation, The Inheritance of a Soul, The Art of
Being Yourself, and The Universe Always Says Yes, Yes, Yes. Always active in his local community, Dr.
Richelieu also served as president of the Board of Religious Science International.
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Home Study Exercise
What Is My Abundance Quotient?
Think about each statement below; then for each statement circle the number that
represents your appraisal of its accuracy for you. Strive for honesty.

Use the following order when considering your appraisal:
1 = never 2 = seldom 3 = sometimes 4 = usually 5 = always

1. I find it easy to accept gifts from other people. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I find it easy to give myself gifts. 1 2 3 4 5
3. I see myself as a generous person. 1 2 3 4 5
4. I believe it is spiritual to prosper. 1 2 3 4 5
5. I give generous percentage of my money,
time and talent to spiritual work. 1 2 3 4 5
6. I feel comfortable asking others for help. 1 2 3 4 5
7. I feel comfortable being asked for help by others. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I am a contributing, participating member of life. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I have a surplus of money so that I do not live
on the edge. 1 2 3 4 5
10. I am comfortable with risk and ambiguity. 1 2 3 4 5
11. I am at ease and comfortable with money. 1 2 3 4 5
12. It is easy for me to give and receive love. 1 2 3 4 5
13. My life flows effortlessly and my needs are
always met. 1 2 3 4 5
14. I receive compliments graciously. 1 2 3 4 5
139
15. I am optimistic in general about life, not only when
things are going just as I think they should. 1 2 3 4 5
16. I am happy about other peoples success. 1 2 3 4 5
17. I am comfortable with my own success. 1 2 3 4 5
18. I feel capable of handling lifes situations. 1 2 3 4 5
19. I enjoy receiving praise and compliments. 1 2 3 4 5
20. I am accepted by most of the people I meet. 1 2 3 4 5
21. I accept other people just as they are. 1 2 3 4 5
22. I trust Life for the highest and best to be mine. 1 2 3 4 5
23. I allow changes to happen with ease. 1 2 3 4 5
24. I have an abundance of ideas always available. 1 2 3 4 5
25. I easily see options and opportunities, even in
the midst of challenges. 1 2 3 4 5
26. I know I am creative. 1 2 3 4 5
27. I understand that giving and receiving are the
same thing. 1 2 3 4 5
28. I have total faith and no fear about having
what I need. 1 2 3 4 5
29. I trust the natural Abundance of the Universe to
provide me with the appropriate things at the
appropriate time. 1 2 3 4 5
30. I enjoy paying my bills and bless them. 1 2 3 4 5
31. I am aware of my unlimited spiritual resources. 1 2 3 4 5
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When you have circled your choices, make a graph of your Abundance Quotient by
drawing a line connecting all the circles. The number 5 points indicate the highest
abundance consciousness, and the number 1 points the lowest. (It is not likely that anyone
honest with him/herself will have all 5s.) The low points on your curve indicate the areas
in which your abundance consciousness could use some work.
Did you notice that each statement is an affirmation? Decide on an area or two in which
you would like to raise your abundance consciousness and create your own effective
affirmation in the following space provided.
After completing the other exercises in this chapter use your awareness from this exercise
to assist you in deciding what you would like to include in your Spiritual Mind Treatment for
this week.
Abundance Affirmation(s):
141
Wisdom of our Elders: Rev. Louise L. Hay
Gratitude
I have noticed that the Universe loves gratitude. The more grateful you are, the more goodies you get.
When I say goodies, I dont mean only material things. I mean all the people, places, and experiences
that make life so wonderfully worth living. You know how great you feel when your life is filled with love
and joy and health and creativity, and you get the green lights and the parking places. This is how our
lives are meant to be lived. The Universe is a generous, abundant giver, and it likes to be appreciated.
Gratitude brings more to be grateful about. It increases your abundant life. Lack of gratitude, or
complaining, brings little to rejoice about. Complainers always find that they have little good in their life,
or they do not enjoy what they do have. The Universe always gives us what we believe we deserve.
Many of us have been raised to look at what we do not have and to feel only lack. We come from a belief
in scarcity and then wonder why our lives are so empty. If we believe that I dont have, and I wont be
happy until I do, then we are putting our lives on hold. What the Universe hears is: I dont have, and I
am not happy, and that is what you get more of.
For quite some time now, Ive been accepting every compliment and every present with: I accept with
joy and pleasure and gratitude. I have learned that the Universe loves this expression, and I constantly
get the most wonderful presents.
When I awaken in the morning, the first thing I do before I even open my eyes is to thank my bed for a
good nights sleep. I am grateful for the warmth and comfort it has given me. From that beginning, it is
easy to think of many, many more things that I am grateful for. By the time I have gotten out of bed, I
have probably expressed gratitude for 80 or 100 different people, places, things and experiences in my
life. This is a great way to start the day.
In the evening, just before sleep, I go through the day, blessing and being grateful for each experience. I
also forgive myself if I feel that I made a mistake or said something inappropriate or made a decision that
was not the best. This exercise fills me with warm fuzzies, and I drift off to sleep like a happy baby.
We even want to be grateful for the lessons we have. Dont run from lessons; they are little packages of
treasure that have been given to us. As we learn from them, our lives change for the better. I now rejoice
whenever I see another portion of the dark side of myself. I know that it means that I am ready to let go
of something that has been hindering my life. I say, Thank you for showing me this, so I can heal it and
move on. So, whether the lesson is a problem that has cropped up, or an opportunity to see an old,
negative pattern within us it is time to let go of, rejoice!
Lets spend as many moments as we can every day being grateful for all the good that is in our lives. If
you have little in your life now, it will increase. If you have an abundant life now, it will increase. This is a
win-win situation. You are happy, and the Universe is happy. Gratitude increases your abundance.

Rev. Louise L. Hay is a metaphysical lecturer and teacher and the bestselling author of numerous books including
You Can Heal Your Life, I Can Do It, and Empowering Women. Her works have been translated into 29 different
languages in 35 countries throughout the world. Since beginning her career as a Science of Mind minister in 1981,
Louise has assisted millions of people in discovering and using the full potential of their own creative powers for
personal growth and self-healing.
142
In-Class Exercise
Gratitude
Gratitude is practicing the art of appreciation, a practice of thanksgiving for the people,
events, and experiences in your life. The Spiritual Practice of gratitude provides a
powerful loving place to look and act from and, therefore, a wonderful place from which
to create your life. A life of gratitude comes from living in connection with your heart
and expressing love and appreciation for all of life, from the little to the grand things.
A life full of gratitude is a prosperous and happy life.
Practicing gratitude aligns you with the Grace of God, the Divine Givingness of Life,
and opens your heart in a way that allows you to live in the truth of abundance.
When in the space of practicing gratitude there is only room for love, appreciation,
acceptance, kindness, generosity, and a receptivity to life that aligns with you with your
Good in Life. Stepping into actively practicing gratitude can at any moment help you
shift your perspective, for when in gratitude there is no room for doubt, lack, judgment,
or fear. This makes it a wonderful universal remedy when things appear to not be
going well.
Remember what you focus on or give thought and feeling to grows and multiplies in
your life. The feelings and experiences that come with the Practice of Gratitude (ease,
joy, thanksgiving, peace, love, etc.) are certainly worth growing, and, as you will see,
can make changing your thinking easy, and, as such, changing your life a snap. One
way to see how this works is that anytime you notice that you are feeling like things are
not what you want them to be, stop yourself and shift to focusing on your surroundings
and your life and directing your attention to what you are grateful for. Do this with a
number of items, people, places as many as it takes until you feel the shift to a more
positive come from state within yourself.
Ernest Holmes said, An attitude of gratitude is most salutary, meaning that it is of
value and benefit and that it promotes good health. Practice living from an attitude of
gratitude and you will find that this is most certainly true!
There is a section dedicated to journaling about what you are thankful for in your
personal journal. Use it daily to exercise your thankful heart muscle and expand your
realm of realizing the abundant world within which you live. Take time each evening
before going to bed or each morning when you get up to regularly write down 5 things/
people/experiences for which you are grateful. This is a great lifetime practice as it
sets the ambience from which you see your world. Of course you dont have to limit
your number to 5, there can be many more! Train yourself to see from a perspective
of gratitude and then witness how your life changes. Once you begin to see life
through the eyes of gratitude you will find yourself being actively positive and
becoming more and more optimistic. You will find yourself appreciating life in all of
your experiences, which facilitates your creating the life of your dreams.
143
Week 6 Practice Exercise
Gratitude
Answer each question without reading ahead. Follow one step at a time.

1. Take a moment to record how you feel in this moment. Ask yourself, How has my
day been; how do I feel; what are my emotions; how is my energy; how does my body
feel? Gather yourself to this moment, Check in with yourself and honestly capture
your experience of life right now.

2. Now describe a recent experience for which you feel grateful. In essence recreate
the scenario including in the description what or whom you felt appreciation for.
Also include the ambience of the experience, the atmosphere of the space you
were in, how you felt, and answer the question, What are the qualities of the
situation or person for which I feel gratitude?

3. Follow your writing with sitting for 5 minutes of quiet reflection upon this experience.
144
Week 6 Practice Exercise...continued

4. Following your meditative time, take a moment to record how you now feel in this
moment. Record how your body feels, what emotions you are feeling and how you
feel energetically. Notice if there is a shift from how you were feeling before this
exercise.

145
Spiritual Practice
Sacred Giving
Of all the aspects of life, it can seem the most difficult to integrate ideas of money and spirituality.
Our desire to live a deeply spiritual life can seem to be at odds with money, which is, after all an
invention of man. We bristle over requests for money from our churches, wrestle with our personal
checkbooks to see how to make our money grow, ponder over requests from others to give our
money for good causes and argue over money in our business affairs, with our teenagers, our
spouses, ourselves. And, in better moments, we pray over the words of the scriptures: See the
lilies of the field. They neither toil nor spin. Yet, even Solomon in all his glory was ever arrayed like
one of these.
So, here for consideration is the idea to once and for all, step into the use of your money as a
spiritual practice. Like every other aspect of life, the money you have, the money you earn, the
money you give, is a demonstration of your Divine presence here.
Ernest Holmes says, God is Spirit. Spirit is substance and substance is supply. This is the
keynote to the realization of a more abundant life, to the demonstration of success in all financial
matters. It is right we should be successful, for otherwise the Spirit is not expressed. The Divine
cannot lack for anything that makes life worthwhile here on earth.
But further than this knowing of God, is the law of giving and receiving. God gives life and well-
being to all, constantly. Because of the underlying unity of all life, no man lives entirely unto himself
but rather is part of the Infinite flow of the whole. The way to happiness lies in consciously choosing
to be part of this Divine flow of life. This includes being willing to share our lives, our time, our
talents, and our money with others because, in truth, it is not ours. It is only passing through our
being as part of the Infinite life.
The spiritual practice of Sacred Giving begins with the recognition that it is part of our nature to not
only receive but to give. Your inner life deepens when you make a conscious plan to give. And
you experience the great satisfaction of being part of the flow of life. When you receive your money,
of course you give back to yourself, paying your bills and buying food, shelter and the necessities
of life. You can also give back to yourself by setting aside money for your savings for your future,
and a certain amount for spending for your pleasure. But the inner question to ask is: How can I
use my money to create a difference in the world? Is there a new undertaking of value that you
would like to support? Can you give to those doing good work in the world? Will you give to your
spiritual community to continue to support those that support your inner life? Are there other things
you can dogiving your time, your talent, to make a difference for others and for our world?
The spiritual principal of tithing 10% of your wealth to all that inspires you and feeds your soul is
a deeply spiritual practice with astonishing results. As you live in the truth that you are the Source
of giving, you will create a new level of expansion in your receiving. This is the law of giving and
receiving, the law of circulation, at work. Claim this spiritual practice as your own.
Find out for yourself, the great blessing of Sacred Giving.
Only as we allow the Divine current to flow through us and out, that we really express life. Ernest Holmes
146
Home Study Exercise
Abundance Exercise
Write a paragraph in response to the following question. Then using the next page,
create a Spiritual Mind Treatment based on your answer.
How is the Creative Process unfolding in my experience of Abundance?

147
Home Study Exercise

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
148
149
Home Study
for Week 7
READING
1. The Science of Mind,
Introduction III, pp. 40-50
2. The Science of Mind, The Law
of Circulation, p. 440
Circulation
WRITING
Workbook answer the questions,
How have I used the creative
process in regards to the Law of
Circulation? and How can I use
the creative process to go with
the flow in my life?
2. Complete the exercise The
Gifts I Bring in your Student
Workbook.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
1. Journal Daily in your gratitude
Journal, recording at least five
things that you are grateful for
either before going to bed or
upon waking up in the morning.
2. When paying your bills or making
any transactions this week, think
of all the people that your
payment is blessing at that
company and beyond.
150
Week 7 -
Living in the
Flow of Life
This Week
The Law of Circulation is about
dedicating your life, resources and
talents to life. Practicing the law of
circulation engages you in the flow
of life, in both the giving and the
receiving part of it. There are so
many examples of circulation in life.
All of nature does it. Take a look
at the breath in your body, the cycle
of the seasons, the flow of our
waterways, and our financial
systems, and you will see that they
are all examples of flow in action.
To dam the life force, whose
natural expression is to refresh with
life-affirming revitalizing energy, is
to cut yourself off from the greater
yet to be.
This class will help you to consider
how you are a contributor to life,
reaffirm the gift that you are,
discover and recognize your soul
purpose, and claim how you want
to give and be in the world, thus
allowing yourself to be a clearer
conscious channel for Spirit to
express.
In this class we will work with
Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwiths
visioning process to assist you in
getting in touch with Gods highest
vision for your life.
Come and join in the harmony of
the flow of life.
151
Circulation -
Living In the
Flow of Life
First say to yourself what you
would be; and then do what you
have to do.
Epictetus
What we do with all of our
resources talents, skills, money
is made sacred or profane by the
consciousness in which we use it.
If we dedicate our life, resources
and talents to the Spirit, they are
made sacred and become a love
offering to life itself.
Give and it shall be given unto you.
For whatever measure you deal out
to others, it will be dealt to you in
return.
The Holy Bible
Strange is our situation here upon
the earth. Each of us comes for
a short visit, not knowing why, yet
sometimes seeming to divine
purpose. From the standpoint of
daily life, however, there is one
thing we do know: That we are
here for the sake of others...for
the countless unknown souls with
whose fate we are connected by a
bond of sympathy. Many times a
day, I realize how much my outer
life is built upon the labors of
people, both living and dead, and
how earnestly I must exert myself
in order to give in return as much
as I have received.
Albert Einstein
Impart as much as you can of your
spiritual being to those who are on
the road with you, and accept as
something precious what comes
back to you from them.
Albert Schweitzer
For true love is
inexhaustible; the more
you give, the more you
have. And if you go to
draw at the true fountain-
head, the more water you
draw, the more abundant
is its flow.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
152

Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: The Law of Circulation and Living in the Flow
Experiential Exercise: The Gifts I Bring
Talk/Discussion: Living on Purpose
Talk/Discussion: The Spiritual Practice of Sacred Service
Home Study for Class 8 OnenessGod is All
Experiential Practice: Visioning for Soul Purpose
Experiential Exercise: Treatment to Support Soul Purpose
Benediction
Week 7
Living in the Flow
153
Rev. Edward Viljoen, D.D.
The Law of Circulation
The best description of the "Law of Circulation" I know is in Luke 6:38
"Give, and it shall be given unto you in good measure pressed down,
and shaken together, and running over... for with the same measure
that ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
The message is simple: What you set in motion in life bears an
uncanny resemblance to what comes around in your life. In
particular, the scripture says it is the measure (attitude) in which
you do a thing that establishes the nature of the returning action.
To me "the measure" also means the awareness, or the motive
underneath the initiating actionand that is what determines the
nature of the result.
This is the clue to understanding the Law of Attraction. It's not only
what you do that matters, it's how you do it. The manner in which
you give a gift, for example, has everything to do with the resulting
activity generated by the giving. Another way of saying this is: The
spirit in which you give makes all the difference to your experience.
For example, if you give a little and your motivating awareness is to
get a lot, you can be sure that you are setting in motion the creation
of people, situations or originations who give you a little in order to
receive a lot from you. ("With the same measure that you mete.")
Catherine Ponder wrote: "In the past I tithed in a haphazard manner
so I received haphazard results. I became bitter and decided tithing
was not working for me. I now see it was the manner in which I
tithed, and the limited state of my thinking. More recently I have
begun to tithe faithfully with love and appreciation for what I have to
share."
This has helped me keep in mind that the spirit in which I give is far
more important than the gift itself, or the amount. If I give a gift of
100% of my income without love, it would be better to give something
far less for which I can feel a radiating love.
I have applied this idea successfully to my giving practice, starting
with an amount that I could truly and joyfully set free and then
building upon that practice. The result has been that over time I
developed a habit of giving I can feel good about, starting from that
beginning point of giving just a little, and over time working up to a
The consciousness
in which we give
makes all the
difference. Giving
to manipulate the
laws of prosperity
is in fact spiritual
materialism.
Purely and freely
participating in the
Law of Circulation
to support the
dissemination of
truth principles
and services to
humankind returns
to us multiplied
abundantly.
Rev. Michael
Beckwith, D.D.
,
154
substantial amount. This process has helped me carefully examine
the atmosphere in which I was giving and it has guided me to clarity
about my intentions. I have discovered there is a difference between
giving for the joy of giving, and giving with a hidden motive to control
or influence. When I notice in my thought that I want anything at all
in return for a gift, I call that a deal, or trade.
Giving free from expectation of "Thank you," recognition, or
appreciation, sets in motion the Law of Circulation in a particular
way. It is as if it opens up a flow of receiving that has no obligations
attached.
Eric Butterworth wrote, "A committed giver is an incurably happy
person.... a secure person, a satisfied person and a prosperous
person." Over time I think I may have figured out why this is so
from something Ernest Holmes taught about the nature of Love. He
called Love "the self-givingness of the Spirit. In other words, giving
is God's Nature, and when I am giving, I'm duplicating that nature in
my activity, and when I am not, it is as if I'm going against my own
nature, and that's when it gets all blocked up and stagnant.

Rev. Edward Viljoen, D.D., grew up in South Africa discovering Science of Mind
on a flight to the US reading a book by Ernest Holmes. He graduated from the
Ernest Holmes College of Ministry in Los Angeles and was ordained in 1996. Rev.
Viljoen became the Staff Minister at the Burbank church in charge of Pastoral Care,
then moved to the Santa Rosa Church of Religious Science where he has served
as Senior Minister for the past ten years. He has co-authored the book, Seeing
Good at Work, with Dr. Joyce Duffala and broadcasts a weekly radio program,
Spiritual Living. Because of his active involvement in the evolution of the United
Church of Religious Science organizational structure, he was awarded a Doctor of
Divinity. Dr. Edward continues to be an active facilitator of conferences and groups
supporting New Thought Ministers.
We are not only
observers. We are
participators. In
some strange sense
this is a participatory
universe.

John A. Wheeler
American Physicist
155
Home Study Exercise
The Gifts I Bring
Complete these questions as an inventory of the gifts you have to offer. We will use
these questions in class discussion.

The things that I love to do, that bring me joy and fill me with passion, are:

Talents that I am blessed with are:

Things that come naturally to me are:

Skills that I have developed which I enjoy sharing are:

156
The Gifts I Bring...continued

What is important to me is:

My concern for the world is:

In this life I feel called to:

157
Circulating Freely
The Gifts of Living on Purpose
So many times, when faced with ideas of circulation, tithing, abundance, service and
so on, we find ourselves overwhelmed and even confused about what this all means.
Of course, we wish to support our loved ones and those we admire. And if given the
opportunity, we no doubt will, always keeping in mind that our own families and our own
well-being come first. This is an important part of leading lives responsibly. Taking care
of the essentials and being generous to others. But there is a bigger question for
discussion this week, and it is the idea of all of these things reflecting our own purpose.
In all the clutter and distraction of our human world, it is easy to forget that there are no
accidents. We are not at the mercy of chaos and random choice. All that we do, reflects
who we are. All that attracts us, also reflects us. All that we give, we also receive.
So, as you look around you, you will see that it is no mistake. The one who is attracted to
the Humane Society display at the shopping mall, is the one who loves animals. She or
he is living a path of honoring all species of life and expressing love in this particular way.
He or she who loves to cook for others, organize the food drive at holiday time, give
restaurant gift certificates, is one who naturally nurtures, the one who loves providing this
way of feeding and restoring others. One who loves the arts and gives money to support
them, is one who is naturally creative in their own heart and is on a path of celebrating
Divine creativity in all life.
Thus, our instincts for generosity, for service and for giving, are more opportunities for self
reflection and for catching a better glimpse of our own life purpose. The answer is always
within. By listening to our own heart about such matters, following our own instincts, and
giving where we are inclined to love, we find our own role on the planet expanding. We
discover our own tenderness for children expanded by donating to the childrens hospital.
We find our own deep compassion for the elderly evolving by doing volunteer work at a
local nursing home. We uncover our love of ideas by helping in the local library. These
are not hobbies or just random opportunities. They are manifestations of our Divine na-
ture. They are expressions of our purpose for being.
One of the saddest things to hear is a person in old age still asking the question, Why am
I here? What is my purpose? This question many times comes from the idea that we are
here to cure cancer, or to establish world peace or to fly to the moon. These are outer
accomplishments and have no importance to the inner life. As we consider the larger
questions of the Divine life, we find our answers easily. Questions such as How can I be
Love here and now? How can I express the great joy of God here? How can I reflect the
Divine creativity now? These are questions of soul purpose. It is easy to express love in
any moment. It is possible to be joy, now, even in the darkest hour.
You have the great fun of choosing all the ways these inner qualities can be expressed in
your life. It is your unique personality that chooses all the ways that God is expressed as
you. And this is the manifestation of your true purpose. From this perspective, you are
always on purpose. And stopping to give a few dollars to the Humane Society at the mall
can be your personal choice to express God, as you, on purpose, right now.
158
Visioning
Excerpts of an Interview with Rev. Michael Beckwith, D.D.
The Science of Mind philosophy teaches that the way to our true path and to the
successful expression of who we are is through the use of our own spiritual sight,
or inner vision. Dr. Ernest Holmes writes in The Science of Mind that as we bring
ourselves to a greater vision, we induce a greater concept and thereby demonstrate
more in our experience. In this way there is a continuous growth and unfoldment
taking place.
The Process
Visioning is a process by which we train ourselves to be able to hear, feel, see, and
catch God's plan for our life or for any particular project we're working on. It is based
on the idea that we're not here to tell God what to do or to ask God for things but to
absolutely be available for what God is already doing, to open ourselves up to catch
what's already happening. There is a bigger pattern of life, a level of reality beyond the
mere human experiential life. The visioning process developed as a way of applying
that new insight.
People who have no vision for their life are sleepwalking without a hint as to why they
are here or what their purpose is. They are drifting along on the currents of the
culture's beliefs of the day, whether those beliefs be good or bad. Each of us is a
composite spiritual idea containing every idea that infinite Mind has ever thought.
When we begin to understand our purpose for being here, which is to be a revealer
of love, then we can start to open ourselves up to God's vision for us and to discover
our own unique way to deliver that love, our individual mechanism by which we can
express that love. We become inspired by the ideas held in the mind of God, and they
begin to live and express through us. We begin to be able to articulate them and to
live and embody and reveal them. The feeling we have is that we have come home.
We are fulfilling our heart's desire, which is the same thing as God's will for us.
Distinguishing Visioning and Visualization
Visualization is a beginning phase in metaphysics in which we mentally conceive of
something we want. We imagine doing it or having it and we generate the feelings
that would accompany the experience. Visualization involves having an idea of what
we want to accomplish or how we want to live our life, then imaging that goal as
already achieved and establishing the necessary mental and emotional vibrations to
bring it forth and manifest it. Visualization is a beautiful and wonderful stage in our
evolution, and it's very important.
When we do visioning, on the other hand, we align in consciousness with our divine
purpose, which is to love and to express a greater degree of life. Then we open to
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this unconditional love, and we open ourselves up to what that love feels like. The
feeling tone we develop is of a spiritual nature, and this feeling is the whole foundation
of visioning. We then declare what it is we are doing the visioning about. For example,
we may ask, How does God see Itself as my life? We then wait to inwardly hear, see,
and catch what comes to us, what it looks like, what it feels and sounds like, and we
pay close attention to any symbols or metaphors that appear. All of this is done without
judgment. We are throwing ourselves open to whatever comes up and we notice what
begins to flow through so we can articulate it, write it down, express it, dialogue about
it, and be aware of how it feels, not just emotionally but spiritually. In this way we can
begin to articulate God's vision for our life.
Once we begin to be able to get God's vision for our life, and are feeling and sensing it,
we ask the question: What is it that I have to embody or become in order for this vision
to manifest? As we listen inwardly in a meditative state, we begin to hear from the
deep levels of our being what we have to know, what we have to become, what we
have to embody and change. Then we write it down and dialogue about it. We know
metaphysically that we cannot have anything we are not willing to become. It's an
impossibility for us to have something in our life that is not aligned with our
consciousness. So we begin to get a picture of how we need to develop and grow and
unfold, of how we must change. Then we are ready to go on to the next stage, which is
affirmative prayer. We pray affirmatively not about how to accomplish the vision but
rather about the ways in which we need to grow. What qualities do we need to
embody, what things do we need to know, what do we need to change in our life, and
how do we need to unfold spiritually in order to bring forth the vision? The vision is
already accomplished in the mind of God. It's already a complete idea in Spirit, so we
don't need to pray for its accomplishment. What we do need to pray for is to be a
willing and able vehicle or delivery system for the vision.
Visioning is always for self-transformation. It's always to shift our perception of reality.
And this process goes on forever. We never reach a place where the process is
complete, because God's idea is infinite and it's always expressing. We just become
bigger and bigger places for it to express through. The prayer work that is part of
visioning allows for the invisible spiritual idea to be made visible through and as the
individuals involved. They literally become it, give it clothes, make it visible. And this
process goes on and on, because people keep becoming willing to be bigger, so
there's no stagnation. New ideas proliferate, and change is always going on. It's an
organic growth and transformation.
A Mystical Sense of Oneness
When we do visioning, we become more aware that we are spiritual beings, made in
the likeness of God and not separate from God, and that all the divine ideas God
has are within us already. We learn consciously to shift our perceptions and lift our
vibrations so these ideas can express through us. Since visioning starts with the
awareness that we are unified with God already, this process encourages a mystical
awareness, that absolute sense of the undissolvable union with the presence of God.
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We develop a willingness to become big enough for the expression of God, and enter
into a mystical state of being.
Visioning lets the presence of God use us, which is what all the great mystics who
have walked the planet have done. They haven't walked around telling God what to
do or what they wanted. They came here to glorify God. It's the difference between
saying, There's a power for good in the universe, and I can use it, and saying,
There's a power that can use me. The latter statement suggests allowing ourselves
to be available to the deeper levels of this Spirit that is everywhere and that is always
expressing through and as each of us.
The visioning process allows God to reveal Itself through us in infinite ways. We
become a living embodiment of God's ideas if we let God work through us. It's our
reason for being here. With every greater increase in our awareness, we have more
freedom and more creativity, because we know who we are.
by Kathy Juline, This interview originally appeared in the December 1996 issue of
Science of Mind magazine.
2001 United Church of Religious Science. All rights reserved.

Rev. Michael Beckwith, D.D., is a world leader and teacher in the universal truth principles found in
the New Thought-Ancient Wisdom tradition of spirituality. Gifted with a vision of a trans-denominational
spiritual community, he founded the Agape International Spiritual Center in 1986 whose membership
now numbers in the thousands. Dr. Beckwiths achievements as a humanitarian and an emissary of
peace are well known and have led him to, among other projects, co-directorship of A Season for
Nonviolence with Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi. Agape, under Dr. Beckwiths
leadership, sponsors humanitarian programs which serve the needs of individuals both locally and
internationally. As co-founder and president of the Association for Global New Thought, Dr. Beckwith
stands with other visionary leaders to call for an end to human suffering. As the originator of the Life
Visioning Process, he has made a key contribution to the central practices of the Global Heart Vision of
United Church of Religious Science. Dr. Beckwith is the author of Inspirations of the Heart, Forty Day
Mind Fast-Soul Feast, A Manifesto of Peace, and Living from the Overflow as well as being a principal in
the acclaimed cinema, The Secret.

People who have no vision for their life are
sleepwalking without a hint as to why they
are here or what their purpose it.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Albert Einstein
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In-Class Exercise
Visioning for Soul Purpose

What is Spirits highest Vision, Divine Idea for the expression of my Soul Purpose?

What must I become to be an avenue through which this Vision manifests?

What must I release?

What must I embrace?

What must I commit to, to live this vision?

Is there anything else that wants to be revealed?

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Spiritual Practice
Sacred Service
Service is increasingly popular in our world, especially among our young people and our
growing population of older people who wish to give back to our world. With the growing
presence of TV, Internet and other media, it is easier than ever before to witness the difficult
lives of many on our planet. And, in fact, one need go no further than the local recycling
center or grocery store food drives to find opportunities to volunteer or do service in our
world. Taking advantage of these opportunities to be of service can be satisfying ways to
feel good about ourselves.
Sacred Service is a spiritual practice, however, because it is a powerful source of love and
manifestation. Metaphysics and spiritual law will tell us that it is impossible to give to
someone if you have nothing to give. We see these examples every day. The tired mother
has little energy left in the evening to give to her husband. The worried employee who has
just lost his job tightens up on his spending and has nothing to give the homeless shelter
who is asking for donations. The busy executive is too busy to donate any time at all to
volunteering for anything. And interestingly, in these particular cases, the fact that they
have nothing to give, makes the situation worse. The tired mom remains tired from trying to
restart her relationship when it has fallen apart. The fired employee struggles to find work.
The busy executive gets exhausted from being too busy and having no time for self care.
This is one powerful reason why Sacred Service is so important. By engaging in the act of
serving others, you must affirm your wholeness since you are the Source of giving. Service
gives you the opportunity to gain more energy, more abundance, more timebut that is not
why we do it. We do it because it is who we are: the full healing, generous, loving presence
of the Divine as us on this planet. And it is our nature to serve and assist others.
Sacred Service can be easily practiced in small ways. Picking up after yourself rather
than littering. Letting others go first in the traffic. Helping someone across the street.
Giving direction to someone who is lost. Bringing in your neighbors mail when they are
away. Doing the random act of kindness whenever possible. And there are larger and
greatly satisfying ways by volunteering at your spiritual community, at a local shelter,
hospital, nonprofit organization, community event.
You are talented, loving and a student of the Divine life of God. You have much to share.
Make Sacred Service a daily practice as you share the Divine presence you are. Take that
which fills your hands: the people and activities and communities, and see beneath the
surface to the Divine realities that they are. Give in service to them with no expectation of
return. In this way, your willingness and your loving service will transform ordinary people
and events into the sacraments of your life.

The understanding heart is filled with sympathy and helpfulness toward all.
Ernest Holmes
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Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Eric Butterworth, D.D.
Spiritual Economics
Excerpt from Chapter 10
In a book devoted to the theme of prosperity, it might be assumed that the emphasis
would be on how to get. Perhaps by now you will understand why we say that such
an emphasis is not only grossly materialistic, but it is also extremely misleading. Any
study of prosperity fails unless it teaches you how (and why) to give.
Giving does not refer to money. It is a process that may involve money, but it also
involves your work and the many ways in which you make contact with life. Giving is
basically an attitude with which you touch things.
.Life is not lived from the outside-in, but from inside-out. Unless we understand this,
we miss the whole meaning of life. The purpose of life is not acquisition but
unfoldment and personal development. Even in the teaching of metaphysics, there
has been a tremendous swing toward this revolutionary attitude toward money and
things. Thus many books and courses by teachers of Truth emphasize how to
techniques for demonstrating money and possessions and jobs and success. The
constant theme is get, get, get, get. Just hold the right thought, and you can get
anything you want.
Your life is Gods gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to Godanyone who
has worked with people in the supervisory capacity will readily agree that there are two
general types of people in life: the givers and the takers. A word of caution: please
dont agree with this judgmentally thinking, Oh yes, I know many people who are
takers. We are not dealing with they or them. We are dealing with you. See it as
a test for yourself. We are not trying to change others. Our goal in this book is to help
you to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. (Rom. 12:2)
The takers are the people who believe that their lives will always be the total of what
they can get from the world. They are always thinking get, get, get. They plan and
scheme ways to get what they want in money, in love, in happiness and in all kinds of
good. No matter that they may be applying metaphysical techniques, they still may
very well be takers. But whatever may be their spiritual ideals, or lack of any, no
matter what they take, they can never know peace or security or fulfillment. The givers,
on the other hand, are convinced that life is a giving process. Thus their subtle
motivation in all their ways is to give themselves away, in love, in service and in all
the many helpful ways they can invest themselves. They are always secure, for they
intuitively know that their good flows from within.
.The most important aspect of John 3:16 is for God so loved the world that he
gave. God is the divine givingness of the Universe. And you are created in the
image-likeness of this divine givingness. You cannot make any sense out of life or of
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the free flow of substance in your experience until you begin to see yourself as a giver.
It may mean a complete turnaround in your approach to life, where you think, give
instead of get. In your spiritual quest, you are seeking to establish yourself in a
unitive relationship with the divine flow. You can never really achieve this level of
consciousness until giving becomes the main thrust of your life. And when it does,
when you discover the wonder of giving, you become, unblushingly, an incurable giver.
Meditate long on this point, for it is one of the most important keys of the prosperity law.
Life for the whole person is a giving process. We are not talking specifically about
church giving, giving to charity, and so forth. There are many channels through which
your giving may be funneled. We are talking about attitudes towards life, the basic
awareness that life is a matter of developing or unfolding from within. It is knowing that
life is not something to get but something to express. It is the fulfilling awareness that
your business is always the express business, no matter what name your worldly
vocation may bear.
Jesus clearly articulated the divine law: Give, and it will be given to you. (Luke 6:38)
The divine flow requires but one thing of you: your consent to be a receiving channel.
It is like the water faucet which must be opened to flow in order that the water may pour
forth freely. Jesus was stressing the need to get into a giving consciousness in order
to sustain the flow of good into your life. He did not mean simply money giving. The
giving is a state of consciousness that may eventuate in many different ways. But the
important thing is to think, give! Say to yourself, I will think give today. I will think give
every day of my life. The law is clear. It promises: Think give, and you will get. It is a
fundamental key to achieving prosperity.
A truly giving consciousness is the creative alternative to the worldly emphasis on
winning through intimidation or succeeding through positive selfishness. It is the better
way. And a committed giver is an incurably happy person, a secure person, a satisfied
person, and a prosperous person.
Rev. Eric Butterworth, D.D., (1916 -2003) graduated from Unity Ministerial School prior to establishing
three powerful Unity ministries, first in Pittsburgh, then in Detroit and finally in New York City where he
was Senior Minister at the Unity Center until his transition. He spoke at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and
after 1976 at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center where weekly attendance grew to several thousand.
He is considered by many to be among the leading spokespersons on practical mysticism. Dr.
Butterworth wrote sixteen best selling books on metaphysical spirituality including the very popular
Discover the Power Within You and more recently, Spiritual Economics: The Principles and Process of
True Prosperity and The Creative Life.

Everyone can be great because anybody can serve.
You dont have to have a college degree to serve.
You dont have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need to have a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Dr. Jay Scott Neale
Zenith of Spiritual Awareness:
The Law of Circulation in Action
From The Power of Positive Purpose

We attain the zenith of spiritual awareness when we move in
consciousness from knowing about our inner freedom to discovering
how to think and act from it. Every person has the power and right to
think as freedom thinks. Too many people fail to claim this birthright
and, hence, fail to do something wonderful with it. The great mind
of Goethe gave us this insight: Yes, to this thought I hold with firm
persistence the last results of wisdom stamp it true; he only earns
his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew.
The zenith of spiritual awareness has been attained when we reach
the highest pinnacle of metaphysical consciousness and then spring
into a greater awareness of Divine Spirit. Metaphysically, this unfolds
as the recognition by the individual of his or her spiritual identity with
Infinite Mind, which never acts temperamentally or from external
coercion, but in accordance with Its own Absoluteness. As Dr.
Holmes stated, The thing we change is not Reality or the Law of
Life or Mind, but our own action in It.
How do we change our own action in the One Mind? (1) By knowing
it takes positive faith and practice to achieve positive success. (2) By
rejecting negative thinking and filling our heart and mind with the
loving qualities of spiritual awareness. (3) By practicing mindfulness
and opening our thinking to new ideas. (4) By honoring our inner
desire to know and understand more. (5) By letting love flow from
the greatness of heart to the greatness of experience.
As the zenith of spiritual awareness in action, we can be wise and
nip limitation in the bud before it sets gloomily and heavily into our
thinking. The clearest minds of the ages have passed down this
lesson: Life is beautiful, but the eye of the beholder must be free to
see it so. We must be it, in our awareness, to see it in our experience.
All matter is simply Spirit compressed into form; the things of our
world are Divine Substance with tangible use for us. Our Universe
is based on a spiritual pattern of unlimited good, and no material
manifestation of this Truth can in any way be less than the best.
He who wishes to
secure the good of
others, has already
secured his own.

Confucius

166
As we honor the Divine Presence as the Provider of all creation,
which is made out of Itself, we are free. When our thinking is
balanced with this understanding, the necessities and comforts of
life become the celebration of our way. We give the best, everywhere
at once. We bless it, respect its proper value, and give thanks,
knowing that what we send forth must return to us multiplied. This is
the Law of Circulation, in action. Send forth the beautiful, centered
in spiritual awareness.
Rev. Jay Scott Neale, D.D., began his studies in Religious Science at Founders
Church with some of the early icons of our movement including Dr. Fenwicke
Holmes, Dr. Reginald Armour, Dr. William Hornaday and Dr. Charles Barker. He
became a licensed minister in 1975 and received his doctorate in 1983. With his
wife, Carol, Dr. Jay founded the Tri-City Church of Religious Science in Fremont,
California in 1975 where he continues to serve a vibrant community. He has been
an active participant within Religious Science International including serving as
a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Jay writes for Creative Thought magazine
and has co-authored the book, Fountain of Truth. He is a highly acclaimed speaker
and has been honored with receipt of the Ernest Holmes Legacy Award and the
Minister Meritorious and Minister of the Year Awards.
As I express my
gratitude, I become
more deeply aware
of it. And, the
greater my
awareness, the
greater my need to
express it. What
happens here is a
spiraling ascent, a
process of growth
in ever expanding
circles around a
steady center.

Brother David
Steindl-Rast

167
Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and Circulation
Respond to the following questions:

How have I used the creative process in regard to the Law of Circulation?

How can I use the creative process to go with the flow in my life?
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169
Home Study
for Week 8
READING
1. The Science of Mind, Ch. 6,
Mans Relationship to the Spiritual
Universe, pp. 106-128
Oneness
WRITING
1. Use the page in your Student
Workbook to answer the question
How have I used the Creative
Process to know God in the midst of
pain? Then write a treatment for
yourself based on your response.
2. After reading about the Practice
of Forgiveness in your Student
Workbook, follow through with
completing the Forgiveness
Exercise.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Your visioning is meant to inform
the strategy for your life. This week
take your visioning experience into
contemplative meditation and
journaling, considering along with
it the Gifts you bring to life. Allow
your soul purpose to emerge. For
class next week bring an intention
statement describing your soul purpose
as you know it at this time in your life.
You can be as general or as specific
as you feel right now.
OTHER
Bring two news clippings, one positive
and one not positive to class next week
for use in class.

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Week 8 -
Oneness
This Week
To fully realize our individual
lives it is important to realize the
fundamental reality of Life, which
is that we are all One. Yet there is
no way to realize our unity without
exploring and reaching beyond our
human experience of judgment,
right and wrong doing, and the
idea of good and evil. Neither can
we get there without going through
the powerful spiritual practice of
forgiveness.
It is a soul-stretching experience
to find God in the midst of pain, to
see beyond good and evil and to
release limiting views that come
from judgment. This class can
open your eyes and your emotions
like never before, if you are willing
to let it. If you are, the rewards are
great and many.
This class provides a lively
discussion around good and evil,
and breakthrough experiences
from authentically engaging in
the judgment and forgiveness
exercises. When each one
authentically and fully engages
in topics presented in this class,
great joy is possible.
You are invited to immerse yourself
deeply in the processes of this
class. Move into a greater embrace
of the philosophy of inclusion and
the experience the fundamental
reality of life, Oneness.
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The
Fundamental
Reality of Life -
Oneness
The Nature of God is a circle, of
which the center is everywhere,
and the circumference is nowhere.
Empedocles
I believe in the absolute oneness of
God and, therefore, humanity.
What though we have many
bodies? We have but one soul.
The rays of sun are many through
refraction. But they have the same
source. I cannot, therefore, detach
myself from the wickedest soul nor
may I be denied identity with the
most virtuous.
Even if a hundred people were able
to perceive the deepest stratum of
reality and tap into the collective
mind the ego would vanish for
these people, and they would form
a single consciousness, just as the
parts of a highly integrated person
are integrated as one.
David Bohm
Physicist
I, God, am in your midst,
Whoever knows me can never fall,
Not in the heights,
Nor in the depths,
Nor in the breadths,
For I am love,
Which the vast expanses of evil
Can never still.
Hildegard of Bingen
Mystic
Despite everything, I believe that
people are good at heart.
Anne Frank
We must develop and maintain the
capacity to forgive. He who is
devoid of the power to forgive is
devoid of the power of love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Joy is the realization of
oneness, the oneness of our
soul with the world and of the
world-soul with the supreme
love.
Rabindranath Tagore
172

Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: Philosophy of Inclusion
Talk/Discussion: God Is All, Oneness and the Problem of Good and Evil
Experiential Exercise: Judgment
Talk/Discussion: The Practice of Forgiveness
Experiential Exercise: The Practice of Forgiveness
Home Study for Class 9 Immortality
Talk/Discussion: The Spiritual Practice of Centering
Experiential Practice: Forgiveness Meditation
Benediction
Week 8
OnenessGod Is All
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Dr. Ernest Holmes
A Philosophy of Inclusion
Surely the world is waiting for the sun to rise across the scope of
a broader horizon. I trust and believe that at long last the world may
sense a liberty without license, a freedom without contradiction of
fundamental unity, an integrity of the human mind caught from the
changeless unity of the Divine.
One of the main errors in many of todays modern metaphysical
movements is that they have fruitlessly sought to divide the
indivisible, and to exclude certain acts, things and manifestations
from the one and only presence which manifests in and through
all things.
There can be no creation separate from the creator, and no person
separate from God. Everything, as Plotinus suggests, is as real as
it is supposed to be. But his philosophy affirms that things in and of
themselves are indeterminate, which merely means that the creator is
not subject to the creation, while the created is subject to the creator.
This philosophy of inclusion has been projected by all the deep
thinkers of the Ages. It is one of the outstanding proclamations of
Jesus, of Emerson and Whitman, who beheld the glory of God
everywhere.
It is this simple and direct approach to reality that causes us to feel
one with all creation, with each other and even with passing human
events. I cannot find any place where the created is separate from
the Creator.
Looking at things from the belief that they are separate
from the Divine Presence is like looking through dark
glasses, while viewing all things as acts and manifesta-
tions of the Divine presence is to view them as they
really are and have them given back to us as though
God Himself had personally brought them to us.
Whatever illusions there may be in life are in our own minds and not
in Gods creation. The Universe itself is alive, aware, and awake and
such awareness as we have is Gods awareness in us, recognizing
Himself in and through all. Indeed, our whole spiritual evolution is but
a process of awakening to that which was there and real before we
perceived it.
Quantum physics
thus reveals a
basic oneness of
the universe.

Erwin Schrodinger

The Original Spirit
is Harmony. It is
Beauty, Truth,
and everything
that goes with
ultimate Reality.
The Universe is
not divided
against itself.

Heraclitus

By Cosmic
Consciousness
we mean Ones
consciousness
of his unity with
the Whole.

Ernest Holmes
174
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. Ruth Wilkerson, D.D.
God Is All Oneness
God is good. Ho-hum, we've heard that before. God is omnipresent...another
"ho-hum." Nothing new under the sun, or under anything else, either. And the head-
lines scream at us from all quarters about one disaster piling upon another, and so
on. If God/Good is omnipresent, why this? The answer is simple, and the concept is
awesome! "GOD" is NOT a person, so there goes the "good" stuff. GOD, according to
Dr. Ernest Holmes, is a Principle! Yes, God is also called "good" in Dr. Holmes The
Science of Mind, which means IT (God) is consistent, in harmony with Itself and
therefore in harmony with Life. We can TRUST IT to be what It is under any and all
circumstances. So what is this "God" that we can trust to be consistent? Perhaps the
most personal aspect is that It/God is responsive to US!!!! WOW!
God actually listens to us, hears us, but NOT as a person with an opinion or personal
views. God is completely neutral and completely responsive to our ideas, thoughts,
attitudes, etc. In SOM, when that aspect of God is being addressed, it is called the
Law. This was Dr. Holmes' way of identifying the creative actions of God, meaning that
the Law of God is that It MUST respond to us. That brings up a remarkable conclusion
Creative God obeys us! Do we have power? Believe it! We have the power of God to
cause things to happen for us and for our world, for God, as the Law, is an inveterate
eavesdropper, and hears us ALL THE TIME! Since we can't stop thinking, the Law
always has something to which to respond.
That can bring up the "oops" response. What did I just think? I don't remember asking
for this current experience! How could this happen to me? ...and so on. There is no
need to attempt to trace the specific thought or personal concept that caused the
unfortunate event in our life. Just change the direction of one's thoughts. Dr. Holmes
wrote this in his The Science of Mind: "Turn entirely from the condition, or limited
situation, to its opposite, to the realization of health, happiness and harmony." When
the individual does that (and it may take some forceful thinking to accomplish it), a
new command is given to the Creative God-action, with the attendant result of a
desirable change.
The question arises, naturally, that since God is ALL that is, and GOD is supposed
to be good, how does one account for evil aspects, such as poverty, theft, physical
violence against another human being, and so on? The list is endless, because we, as
humans, have done very well in causing the negative aspect of Life/God to become
real in our lives. Perhaps a simple example will clear the way for understanding how
we can see God as ALL.
Consider a match...simple, piece of wood, with a head of a special material that
becomes a flame if struck against an object. Nothing wrong with the match it is made
perfectly and can perform perfectly. Example 1: Let us say I take that match and strike
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it against a scratchy object, and it bursts into flame. I hold it against some paper that
I've put in my fireplace, the paper responds appropriately and begins to burn. It then
affects the kindling I've placed in my fireplace, and, voila, I'm ready to spend a quiet
evening at home, reading a good book, and enjoying the fire. Example 2: I take the
match, strike it, it flames up and I touch it to some paper that is lying against some dry
straw that has been strategically placed against a building that belongs to someone
else. It takes just a few minutes for the straw to convert its flames to the building, and
destruction of private property is the result of that action.
Returning to that Perfect Match, whose allness/nature is to burn!! It does exactly what
its nature dictates it FLAMES UP!! Consider my first example, with a happy result.
Does that make the match good? NO, just an effective match. Considering the second
example, with the destructive result. Does that make the match bad? NO, it's simply
being an effective match. In both cases, the Perfect Match (my idiom for "God" in this
example) is being Its Perfect Self. What makes Its results good or bad is MY use of
it. God, the Principle of Life, is neither Good nor Bad, It simply IS. However, as I
command God/It, It could appear good or bad, but that is NOT the truth about God.
I am using a Perfect Power, and the results are according to MY use of that Power.
We now can arrive at the conclusion that God, truly, is NEITHER Good nor Bad. It
simply IS! Its nature is harmonious, and that "harmony" will always be in agreement
with OUR direction, our beliefs and attitudes. Dr. Holmes, in his The Science of Mind,
wrote several times that "thoughts become things." Well, thoughts cannot become
anything until they contact the Creative Power/God. That, in itself, takes no personal
energy on our part, since God is ALWAYS in contact with our thoughts, our attitudes,
our beliefs...whatever you wish to name them! God, as the Law, is an inveterate
eavesdropper, so it behooves us, as the thinkers in this "scenario," to keep our
thoughts in alignment with our good desires.
All of us have been given a great gift, the ability to change our lives by changing our
thinking. And how is this possible? Because we are related to God! It created us out of
the only substance available...Itself! THAT makes every human a manifestation of the
Divine. However, for that gift to be realized, each person must be willing to accept the
gift, the gift of Divine Relationship. When we do that, the Presence of God is given the
freedom to LIVE through and as each one of us. Now the question is: Are YOU willing
to acknowledge your birthright, your Divine Legacy? "GOD" awaits your response.

Rev. Ruth Wilkerson, D.D., was ordained in 1979 and earned her doctorate of ministry in 1981 at the
Ernest Holmes College. This much appreciated and active leader received numerous awards for her
many contributions including Whos Who in California, Whos Who of American Women, Woman of
Distinction and honorary degrees (D.D. and Dr. of RS) from UCRS. Dr. Wilkerson was minister to the
Church of Religious Science in Redlands for 25 years prior to her retirement in 2002. Both before and
after her retirement, she has been an active participant and teacher in UCRS and a key contributor to the
teaching curriculum. She continues her support of the educational arm of UCRS participating in panels,
workshops, conferences and teaching Homiletics at the Holmes Institute of Consciousness Studies.
She has authored three books including The Metaphysical Interpretation of the Christmas Story.
176
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Petra Weldes, D.D.
Oneness and the Problem of Good and Evil
Oneness is the fundamental reality of Life. Remember that when we talk about God
in its fullest sense, we are talking about Spirit, Law and Creation as a part of the whole.
So if everything is one and everything is God, how can God be evil, do evil or experience
evil?
Lets approach the question from two separate angles. First we talk about good and evil
from a moral or personal value point of view. Then well focus on it in the philosophical
context of the sense of separation from God which Ernest Holmes reminds us is
ultimately the only thing we ever have to heal.
Things are not Good and Bad, but thinking makes then so. Emerson, Shakespeare
and Holmes all agree that Good and Evil are labels we place on things from our human
point of view. Ernest Holmes talks about things we prefer and things we dont. We
can see that things that are labeled bad or wrong in one culture, one family or for one
person, may not be for another. This reminds us that it has everything to do with our
perspective. Losing a job may seem bad at the moment, but in the long run we may
realize that it was a huge blessing.
In many cases the problem isnt the event itself that happens; it is in fact the way in
which we respond to the event, the way we allow it to define our lives, and the way in
which we make choices out of the experience. If we experience illness or loss or lack,
we can become victims of it (which then makes it a bad or evil experience) or we can
declare that somehow good will come of it. In declaring that good must come of this,
whether its next week, next month or next year, sets a new cause in motion. In that
moment, that declaration becomes impressed into the Law, and the Law must find some
way to make it so.
Did we need to experience that bad/evil thing to have the good come about? No. We
can learn and grow just as easily from healthy, good and happy experiences. However,
we can always take good from every experience. We can always declare that Good
must come of this! and it will. That way we choose to turn any situation that appears to
be negative or hurtful into something that ultimately brings good into our lives.
Rev. Dr. Kathianne Lewis reminds us that we either create, promote, or allow things
to happen in our lives. Some bad things we have created for example, a rift in our
relationships over our unwillingness to speak our truth. Some things we have promoted
for example not being careful about our thoughts about finances and lack, and
therefore always being on the verge of not making it. And some things we allow for
example having an abusive childhood continues to play out in abusive relationships as
an adult.
It is very important to realize that we did not necessarily create every bad thing that
happens to us hurricanes and parental alcoholism, for example. We are, however,
177
always at choice about how we allow these things to affect us, what choices we are
going to make out of the experience, and what truths we are going to believe about
God and Life because of them.
Unfortunately there are many ways that we as human beings do create and promote
bad things to happen. And then we are confronted with the question how can God
let that happen? So here we come to the heart of the matter. Because we are free to
choose, because we have been endowed with free will, we can choose things that are
destructive to ourselves and to others. Just remember the last time you were trying to
be constructive in your healthy eating plan, and then simply ate all those things you
know are not healthy for you. Or remember the time you decided you werent going to
let someone get under your skin, and then you found yourself engaging in gossip, an-
gry remarks or sullen silence.
Now we must ask, why would someone make destructive choices? And, of course,
this is why the idea of the devil was created. Since we cannot rationally imagine
actually choosing something which is destructive (although we all know we do it) its
easier to say, The Devil made me do it! In the Science of Mind we know there is no
devil because we understand that there is this fundamental Oneness. Therefore, there
cant be two opposing forces, one for Good and one for Evil. Science of Mind does
not believe in the duality, of the forces of Light and Dark contending against each
other, because everything is ONENESS. Unfortunately this means we cant blame
our negative actions, behaviors or choices on anything outside of ourselves. We must
accept that in some way we have created, promoted or allowed these to be or become
an evil thing or experience in our lives.
Now let us turn our attention away from the moral or personal viewpoint of Good and
Evil. As challenging as this may be, Science of Mind is not usually speaking about
Good in this way. When Emma Curtis Hopkins declares, There is Good in the
Universe, and I ought to have it! she is not speaking about something which we value
as good or label as morally good. This Good is the Good that fills us up, that satisfies
our longings for self expression and personal fulfillment. Ultimately the best Good we
can find or full ourselves with is God. We try to find lots of other good loving relation-
ship, big homes, fancy cars, titles at work or even addictions and self destructive
behavior, in pursuit of this Good.
This Good, then, is the experience of the Presence of God, as the ultimate fulfillment
of everything we have ever desired. However, remember that Ernest Holmes says
that it is the sense of separation that we ultimately must heal. We are reminded that
often those things we call negative, bad or evil experiences, are in fact, this sense of
separation. This experience shows up in our lives as an absence of our Good, rather
than its presence. Now, is it really absent? No, of course not, because we cant get
outside of God, therefore the Good is always available to us. However, remembering
that we are free, we can close ourselves off from the experience of Good, shut down
the avenue through which this good comes to us, turn away and only look at, expect
and see the negative, and that is, of course, then what we experience.
178
This absence/presence understanding really helps us put into perspective the
experience we have of those emotions we call good and those we call bad. For
instance, how is it that we can experience despair, when we are One with God and
God is Joy? As we remember what we know about God and this Oneness, let us
remember that it is in Spirit that there is the Presence and potentiality for Absolute Joy.
We learn from science and from the Hindu tradition, that in the manifest Universe we
have the pairs of opposites: hot and cold, up and down, male and female, etc. This
experience of the pairs of opposites is not in the Absolute realm of Spirit. Can you ask
the vast, infinite, Presence of God where up is? So, it is only in the Manifest Body of
God, the physical universe that these pairs of opposites exit.
We usually take Good and Evil as an example of this, but since its so hard to
separate the Moral Good from the Presence of Good, well use Joy instead. One of
the qualities of God is Joy, the absolute presence of Joy. However, we know in our
own lives we do not always experience the fullness of the presence of Joy. We might
call the opposite of Joy, Despair. Now this despair isnt a thing of itself, it is simply the
complete absence of Joy. Along the way from the complete presence of Joy to the
complete absence of Joy we might create a continuum something like Joy, glee,
happiness, contentment, neutral, disappointment, sorrow, grief, despair.
Not to quibble about the labels, can you see how the continuum moves from the
complete presence of Joy to its absence? We realize two things from this. First, there
is no force or thing called despair, because in Oneness there cant be anything that
isnt part of God. However, there can be, in our experience, the sense of separation,
or absence of something, but the absolute cannot experience despair, because it can
only experience the presence of Itself. We, on the other hand, living in the physical
Universe as well, can have the spiritual Presence of Joy, and experience the sense of
separation from it, which would be the absence of Joy, which we might call despair.
So, you see, despair isnt a thing of itself, it is the absence (or our sense of the
absence) of the presence of Joy.
And secondly, we call Joy good and despair bad or negative, because we like the way
one feels and we dont like the way the other feels. We try to live all on one side of the
scale, and avoid the other. Yet everything in the physical universe comes as pairs of
opposites, we cant have up without down, and we cant have hot without cold. If we
can shift our perception to realizing that these pairs of opposite are actually
complements of each other, then we are a long way toward seeing how this all fits
into Oneness.
What is the one thing we can say about the Manifest Body of God? It is always
changing. Yet we know Spirit is changeless. Therefore, the Presence of Joy, in the
absolute, is always there and available to us. However, when we are living in the
world of condition, stuck in our reactions to the events and circumstances of our lives,
we are not grounded in, or living in the Presence of Spirit. At that moment we are
living in the world of effects. And then we are stuck on the continuum of the pairs of
opposites, joy-despair, love-hate, good-bad, whole-broken, etc.
179

Our challenge is that we seek to capture Joy and avoid despair, calling one Good and
the other evil. Yet, grief is a perfectly reasonable response to the loss of someone very
dear to us. Despair may be a perfectly reasonable response when something happens
that is so overwhelmingly destructive, we are unable, in that moment to cope with it.
The problem only comes when we get stuck somewhere in the continuum, and dont
re-orient ourselves towards the Absolute presence of Spirit. When were stuck in grief,
or seek to cling to joy, we are totally enmeshed in the conditions of our lives, reacting
to circumstances and events. This is living on the horizontal axis. When we are able
to move easily along the continuum because we are spiritually focused, keeping our
eye on the Presence of Spirit, then we are living on the vertical axis, where we court
the Presence of Joy. Then we see the swings along the continuum as all contained
within the Oneness in which we live, move and have our being.

Rev. Petra Weldes, D.D, ordained in 1988, was the Founding and Senior Minister of the Renton Church
of Religious Science in Renton, WA. She has actively served UCRS in various capacities, receiving an
honorary D.D. degree in 2004. Rev. Petra has not only had a long history of involvement with the youth
movement but has also been involved in interfaith projects in her community of Dallas, Texas, has been
an Advisor to the Association for Global New Thought, and has developed and facilitated many
meditation and ministerial student retreats and fundraising events. She is now the Senior Minister,
since 1998, of the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas and is the Director of the Spiritual Development
Institute and the Dallas Satellite of the Holmes Institute.

Presence of
Absolute Joy
Absence of
Absolute Joy
Despair Joy
Body
Soul
Spirit
Absolute Joy
180
Week 8 Practice
Forgiveness
In the Science of Mind Ernest Holmes states, We shall do well to remember this lesson.
How often we condemn when we should forgive, how often censure when we might
praise! What untold grief of heart might be relieved by words of cheer and forgiveness.
Especially should this lesson be remembered in the training of children, for they so
readily respond to the thought of others. Remembering that the Spirit holds no evil
toward man, and that God is Love, we should emulate this divine lesson and forgive all,
that our hearts may be free from the burdens of our own condemnation.
Ah, to forgive that our hearts may be free. Free to live fully available and present to
the gift of life and free to bring our own presence to life.
When you forgive you give yourself the gift of life. The act of forgiveness releases you
from the hold that the past has, or the circumstances have, on you. You release yourself
from the burden of anger and pain, and free your energy up so that you may be present
to life now. By not forgiving, anger, pain, regret, or resentment can consume your life
and keep you from experiencing the good that you desire, the good that you deserve.
Forgiving does not mean that you forget or agree with the past, but it does mean that
you release and move on. Forgiving does not mean that you need to resume a
relationship or return to a situation that is harmful or abusive. Forgiveness is not about
denying responsibility for inappropriate behavior or condoning somebodys hurtful
behavior. It is about taking your lessons and realizations from the experience forward
and releasing yourself and others from any indebtedness.
Forgiveness is a choice. It is a choice that frees you to live your life fully. It may also
give the person you forgive, including yourself, a chance to live in peace and free from
recrimination. Remember that everyone is doing the best he or she can, given the
combination of upbringing and conditioning, and given experiences and interpretations
of experiences to date. Learning, healing, growing and remembering the truth of who
we are, all evolving processes. The act of forgiveness opens our hearts and allows for
positive movement in the evolution of everyones lives.
The first step in the act of forgiveness is to acknowledge your experience to be true to
your human feelings by recognizing your hurt, pain, anger, resentment or any fears and/
or doubts that have arisen from your experience. The next step is to identify any part
you had in it, being self-compassionate in the process, while acknowledging any
learnings or insights. In the Science of Mind philosophy, life is always for us, never
against us. As such it is important to look for the blessing: either how the situation is for
us, or what the situation is spiritually calling forth from us. Be clear about the freedom
and goodness you want to experience. And then, to finally forgive, release and let go.
If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive. Mother Teresa
181
Home Study Exercise
Healing through Forgiveness
Part 1
To begin this exercise, relax, center yourself, and take a look at your life, remembering
three people (living or dead) whom you have never been able to forgive for some hurt
you experienced in relationship with them. List these three people, name the event or
circumstance that you associate with them, and identify your feelings and judgments at
the time of the event. Allow yourself to name the hurt and pain, the anger or resentments,
and any fear or doubts this has brought up for you.

NAME EVENT EMOTION/JUDGMENTS

1.

2.

3.

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Healing through Forgiveness...continued
Part 2: Letter of Forgiveness
Choose one of the names/events from your list that you choose to heal through working
through this forgiveness process. Write a letter to your chosen person, following this
pattern (Note this letter is for your personal process and not a letter to send).

1. DESCRIBE THE EVENT
Describe the event, how it hurt you, what was painful, what your feelings were,
and how it is still affecting you. Suggested phrases to use: It hurt me when I
felt sad about I feel angry that I feel disappointed about I resent. I hate that
I was afraid that I doubt that Im still feeling I feel held back in my life now be-
cause
2. IDENTIFY THE PART YOU PLAYED
Next identify any part that you had in the situation, and any learnings or insights
that you have from the experience. Suggested phrases to use: I realize my part
I am sorry that I didnt mean to
3. SAY WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED
Write about what you would have liked to experience and how that is true for you
now or how that affects your life and your desires now. Suggested phrases to use:
What I really wanted is I deserved to. I would have liked
4. LETTING IT GO
Next write your release of this hurt, and its erasure from your mind now.
Suggested phrases to use: I understand that I forgive you for I know that
I am complete with I am releasing this now
5. I AM GRATEFUL NOW
Acknowledge the contribution this experience gave to your life, through what you
understand now, or what you learned. Suggested phrases to use: I appreciate that
I am grateful for What I gained from this experience is
6. COMPLETE AND RELEASE
To complete your letter, release and let go. Suggested phrases to use: In
appreciation, With love, Sending you many blessings, and sign your name.

183
Healing through Forgiveness...continued
Part 3: Letter to Myself
Complete this process with writing another letter, this time to yourself. In this letter
acknowledge what you have learned from this situation, identify what is clearer to you
now, forgive yourself completely for any contribution you may have made to the unhappy
event/circumstances, as well as for your unforgiving thoughts since that time. In addition
acknowledge where you are now and what is available to you now that you have set your
heart free. If necessary use the process above to guide you, and remember to complete
your letter, releasing and letting yourself go in love. Remember, you are not condoning
the past, you are releasing it. You are accepting your freedom from pain and moving on.
FOUN
184
Week 8 Practice
A Prayer of Forgiveness

Coming to know that which cannot be found,
I recognize the elegance of Gods face everywhere
by gazing into the mystery of existence.
Perpetual love unfolds its ever-fresh expressions of life,
as I feel its penetrating ray of light upon me;
A Divine breeze blows through me as the transparency
of my body gives way to the potential behind it.
Like a stream rushing from its source with great force,
This transforming energy moves me in total freedom.

Far removed from my emotions,
I am transported past all obstacles in my way.
Being in the flow, I forgive until there is nothing left to Forgive.
As I am able to let go, my life reflects a neutral buoyancy
released to the essence of Divine Giving and Forgiving.
Any conceited beliefs, which had burdened my soul
or invaded my mind and body, ultimately fall
to their final resting-place and vanish forever.
Lingering and unreleased emotions are overcome by love;
fear fades before faith, and joy overcomes despair.

I no longer serve the confused, discordant
part of my thinking, or create a dark side to my nature,
instead, I welcome the comfort of Spiritual Grace
brought on by forgiveness. In the presence of Divine Source,
the agitated part of me becomes still and invisible
as I reflect into the depths of unconditional love.
Knowing forgiveness neither condones nor condemns,
nothing vindictive may ever flow from my Spirit.

Freedom is my experience, not some theoretical future,
but in the eternal Here and Now.
Nothing in the Cosmos holds anything against me.
I no longer bring conflict to the indivisible kingdom of goodness,
because I surrender any thoughts of separation
to the all-embracing beneficences of the Beloved.

In gratitude, I come to peace, understanding the true relationship
between inter-connected events and Gods intentions;
Love, harmony, beauty inspire higher visions of light,
uniting me with its radiance.
By not being attached to the outcome, the Truth is thus confirmed.
Letting go I am encompassed by the power of love,
allowing me to see right into the heart and soul of All and Everything.
And so it is!
185

The Over-Soul

The Supreme Critic on all the errors of the past and the present,
and the only prophet of that which must be, is that great nature in
which we rest as the earth lies in the soft arms of the atmosphere:
that Unity, that Over soul, within which every mans particular being
is contained and made one with the other; that common heart of
which all sincere conversation is the worship, to which all right
action is submission; that overpowering reality which confuses our
tricks and talents, and constrains every one to pass for what he is,
and to speak from his character and not from his tongue, and which
evermore tends to pass into our thought and hand and become
wisdom and virtue and power and beauty. We live in succession,
in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul
of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every
part and particle is equally related; the eternal One. And this deep
power in which we exist and whose beatitude is all accessible to us,
is not only self-sufficing and perfect in every hour, but the act of
seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject
and the object, are one. We see the world piece by piece, as the
sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which these
are the shining parts, is the soul. Only by the vision of that Wisdom
can the horoscope of the ages be read, and by falling back on our
better thoughts, by yielding to the spirit of prophecy which is innate
in every man that we can know what it saith. Every mans words
who speaks from that life must sound vain to those who do not
dwell in the same thought on their own part. I dare not speak for it.
My words do not carry its august sense; they fall short and cold.
Only itself can inspire whom it will, and behold! Their speech shall
be lyrical, and sweet, and universal as the rising of the wind. Yet I
desire, even by profane words, if sacred I may not use, to indicate
the heaven of this deity and to report what hints I have collected of
the transcendent simplicity and energy of the Highest Law.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

186
Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and Oneness

Reflect on the following question before you write your response. Then write a treatment
for yourself on the following page.

How have I used the Creative Process to know God in the midst of pain?
187
Home Study Exercise
A treatment for where I would like to experience greater ease in my life:
Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
188
189
Home Study
for Week 9
READING
Immortality, pp. 371-389
Finding the Christ, pp. 357-370
3. Student Workbook, Class 9:
Immortality
WRITING
1. Complete the My Beliefs About
Immortality exercise in your
Student Workbook.
2. Use the page provided in your
Student Workbook to write a
paragraph or two regarding
your experience of the loss of
a loved one.
3. Write a short letter beginning
Dear Life, continuing: One
thing I would like to contribute
to the world is. and ending
with What it would take for me
to do this is.
Student Workbook to answer the
question, What lifelong patterns
has the creative process been
trying to get me to see?
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Practice Forgiveness, Centering and
being Inclusive.

190
Week 9 -
Immortality
This Week

This class will guide you in looking
into what you believe about death,
dying, life and immortality.
The sages and the mystics of
diverse cultures all claim the
continuity of life. The reporting
from near death experiences is
highly documented and you might
likely hear a first hand account
from someone in your class. One
of the greatest human fears is
physical death. When one is freed
from any subjective lingering
negative beliefs around the
physical transition, one can go for
life with a greater zest.
Come, entertain the idea of eternal
life and see what becomes clearer
for you. Spend some time with the
questions from this week regarding
the concepts of immortality, share
your opinions and listen to those of
your fellow classmates. You each
have opinions and it will be a
heart-opening conversation.
In this class, the Spiritual Practice
of Christ Consciousness will be
explored. The practice of Christ
Consciousness is a triumph of love.
Step into the experience and see
what it can provide for you.
Youll find the textbook reading
interesting for this week because
this is the only place in the book
where Dr. Ernest Holmes writes in
the first person. Consider why you
think that is so.
191
The Eternal Life
- Immortality
And, so we prepare not to die,
but to live. The thought of death
should slip from our consciousness
altogether; and when this great
event of the soul takes place it
should be beautiful, sublime
a glorious experience period.
As the eagle, free from its cage,
soars to its native heights, so the
soul, freed from the home of heavy
flesh, will rise and return unto its
Fathers house, naked and unafraid.

Ernest Holmes

In the Buddhist approach, life
and death are seen as one whole,
where death is the beginning of
another chapter of life. Death is
the mirror in which the entire
meaning of life is reflected.

Sogyal Rinpoche

You too, gentlemen of the jury,
must look forward to death with
confidence, and fix your minds on
this one belief, which is certain:
that nothing can harm a good man
either in life or after death, and
his fortunes are not a matter of
indifference to the gods. This
present experience of mine has not
come about accidentally; I am quite
clear that the time has come when
it was better for me to die and be
released from my distractions. That
is why my sign (guiding spirit) never
turned me back. (Platos apology)

Socrates
Lead me from the unreal to
the real. Lead me from
darkness to light. Lead me
from death to immortality.
Upanishad Invocation

192

Class Outline

Talk/Discussion: Immortality
Experiential Exercise: My Beliefs about Immortality
Talk/Discussion: The Spiritual Practice of Silence
Talk/Discussion: Christ Consciousness
Experiential Exercise: An exploration of Christ Qualities
Home Study for Class 10 Joy
Experiential Practice: A Letter from Life
Benediction
Week 9
Immortality
FOU N
193
Dr. Ernest Holmes
Immortality
Immortality has no meaning unless we continue to live after we have left this world,
retaining a full recollection of the self and with the ability to recognize our environment,
to know and to be known. We must be able to see and be seen, to understand and
be understood; in fact, unless one continues as a conscious being there is no real
immortality. Remembrance is necessary to this continuance because memory is the link
which binds the sequence of our lives together in one continuity. Real immortality means
the continuance and ongoingness of the individual life, forever expanding.
Immortality is not something we purchase from the Almighty, nor is it a bargain we make
with the universe. Immortality either is a principle in nature and common to all men or it
has no existence whatsoever. There are no good men or bad men in the sight of that
living Spirit which can know only perfection. He causes the rain and the sun to come
alike on the just and the unjust. Jesus said to the thief who passed from this world by
his side, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
While it is true that the soul needs a physical body on this plane, it will certainly not need
it on the next. Jesus said, In my Fathers house there are many mansions. He also
said that flesh and blood do not inherit the next plane; they must be left behind. The
soul is only lightly connected with this body even while functioning through it; it is really
independent of it at all times. This body is merely its physical organ. It is the body that
dies and not the soul. We should remember that we are spirits functioning on this plane
but transcendent of it. We are fourth dimensional beings functioning in, but not confined
to, a three dimensional world.
Death loses its sting, the grave its victory, when we realize the eternity of our own being.
Nature will not let us stay in any one place too long. She allows us to stay just long
enough to gather the experience necessary to the unfolding and advancement of the soul.
This is wise, for, should we stay here too long, we would become too set, too rigid, too
inflexible. She demands the change in order that we may advance. When the change
comes, we should welcome it with a smile on the lips and a song in the heart.
It is human to grieve over the loss of dear ones. We would not wish it to be otherwise.
We love them and cannot help missing them. But a true realization of immortality and the
continuity of the individual soul will rob our grief of any sense of hopelessness. We shall
know that loving friends have met them and that their life still flows on with the currents of
eternity. We shall feel that we have not lost them. They have only gone before. Let us
learn to view eternity as a continuity of time, forever and ever expanding, until time as we
now experience it shall be no more. Realizing this, we shall see in everyone a budding
spirit, a becoming God, an unfolding soul, an eternal destiny.
We are born of Eternal Day and the Spiritual Sun shall never set upon the glory of our
being, for it is the coming forth of God into self-expression. Every man is an incarnation
of eternity, a manifestation of the Infinite. No man need prepare to meet his God. He is
meeting Him every day and each hour in every day. He meets Him in the rising sun, in the
flowing stream, in the budding rose, in the joy of friendship and love, and in the silence of
his own soul.
194
Wisdom of Our Elders: Rev. John Hefferlin, D.D.
Dimensions of Life Beyond Life
Science of Mind Communications, 1991

To all thinking people there comes a time of deep questioning, when they ask them-
selves: What is life? and What is death? Before these questions can be answered
satisfactorily, however, the most basic question of all arises: What is God? To this,
no man can possibly give an answer.
We have progressed so far beyond the old anthropomorphic concept of a god with
human attributes and characteristics, that many people who formerly considered
themselves to be atheists or agnostics are now accepting the more modern and
scientific approach to God as Infinite Mind, Infinite Intelligence, Infinite Energy and
Substance, Infinite Wisdom and Love. The magnitude of God is so tremendous as
to be beyond the scope of mans imagination! God is so vast, so enormous.
Everything which exists or ever did exist or ever will exist is within God, from the
most inconceivably tiny particle to and beyond the outermost galaxies within the
infinity of space. I cannot possibly tell you what God is, but if you will allow me, I
can share with you what God means to me.
Try, if you will, to imagine the most beautiful and perfect tiny baby youve ever seen
only a few days before birth, still in the womb. Imagine that you can communicate
with this little one and you ask the question: What is your world like? Listen
carefully and you hear: My world is a wonderful world. Here I am snug, cozy and
warm. Im surrounded with love and my every need is provided for, even before the
need exists. I hope I can stay here forever.
Now you ask another question: Where is your mother? What does she look like?
You can almost imagine the little facial expression changing to one of quandary.
Listen again and you hear: My mother? I dont know what you are talking about!
What is a mother? Do I have one? You smile to yourself as you realize this little one
cannot possibly know anything about her mother until long after shes born and she
learns of the parent-child relationship. And yet, she will never be any closer to her
mother than she is right now, since she lives, moves and has her being within her
own mother.
This is very much like my concept of God. We live, move and have our being in God;
yet we know very little more about God than does the unborn baby know about its
own mother.
Then, although living in a world of comparative darkness, where the horizon is limited
to the smooth moist walls and surfaces of the womb, the unborn baby is suddenly filled
with but one extremely urgent and miraculous desire: to reach out for broader horizons.
195
Where does the baby go when it is born? It doesnt go anywhere, since it is already
here. And yet a whole new universe has come into being, where the horizon is
ever-expanding. What is birth? Beyond the biological and physical experience of
being ejected from the womb, birth is actually the transition of consciousness as the
baby passes from its seemingly one-dimensional world in the womb, out into this world
of three dimensions.
Following birth, this little one grows through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and
finally reaches maturity, taking its place in the world of adults. Then, eventually, death
occurs; it may be the result of accident, illness or old age, but death does come.
It is now that we face two of the most significant questions in our entire existence.
What is life? Life is the manifestation of the vital forces of God, individualized in man
as an individual entity, because God is All-in-All. We live, move and have our being in
God. That which we are is some part of God, individualized in us as us. We live,
therefore, that God may be more adequately and abundantly expressed.
What is death? Death is the passing beyond this three-dimensional world into other
worlds of varying dimensions into an ever-expanding Universe with ever-broadening
horizons. We die, but we live! Life, as we know it in this three-dimensional world, will
continue just so long as the body retains sufficient channels through which the vital
energy of God can flow. When enough of these channels cease to function, the body
dies. It is like discarding old clothes. In 1 Corinthians 15:40, the Bible says: There
are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the
glory of the terrestrial is another.
What happens when the individual passes through death? Where does one go? Just
as the unborn baby must pass through the process of birth so that Life shall continue,
the individual passes through death for exactly the same reason, to experience greater
life! Where do we go when we die? We dont go anywhere since were already there.
Like the process of birth, when the baby passes from its one-dimensional world
within the womb and moves out into this world of three dimensions, death is the
passing from this three-dimensional world into that world of many more dimensions.
Our consciousness continues to expand in direct relation to the ever-expanding
Universe, with its ever-broadening horizons, as it unfolds before us.
Just as the unborn baby cannot possibly perceive that its world is part of and within
the three-dimensional world, we apparently cannot and do not perceive that our world
is part of, and also within, other worlds of innumerable dimensions beyond this one.
Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubledIn my fathers house are many mansions:
if it were not so I would have told you. The mansions to which Jesus referred are
what we might call dimensions.
Death is not the lonely thing it appears to be. Remember the experience of birth, when
the newborn baby is greeted by a welcoming committee of friends and loved ones.
196
Since consciousness is the only reality, our conscious being, which
is the Spirit of God in us as us, will always clothe us in such form as
may be appropriate so that we shall conform to the needs of whatever
dimensional world we may be living within. In God we live, move and
have our being: for Life is Eternal.
Never the spirit was born;
The spirit shall cease to be never.
Never was time it was not;
End and beginning are dreams.

Birthless and deathless and changeless
Remaineth the spirit forever:
Death has not touched it at all,
Dead though the house of it seems.

Nay, but as one who layeth
His worn-out robes away,
And taking new ones sayeth,
These will I wear today,
So putteth by the spirit
Lightly, the garb of flesh,
And passeth to inherit
A residence afresh.
Edwin Arnold
The Song Celestial
Translated from the Bhagavad Gita

Rev. John Hefferlin, D.D., (1903-1987) served as the Minister at the Long Beach
Church of Religious Science. Though he retired after 16 years, he was unable to
stay out of the Ministry and so started a small church in Palm Springs in 1960. He
also served in the capacity of Board member of the United Church of Religious
Science. John Hefferlin and his wife Marian, both friends of Ernest and Hazel
Holmes, dreamed of helping to spread the teachings of Religious Science in the
world. In support of this dream, Marian endowed the Hefferlin Foundation, a
non-profit grant-giving foundation dedicated to carrying out their plans by supporting
ministerial students preparing to teach the Science of Mind, and by supporting
churches, curricula development and publication of books and audios.
...the inner man is
constantly forming
matter into the
shape of a body;
all of these
evidences should
prove to us that we
are not going to
attain immortality,
but that WE ARE
NOW IMMORTAL!
Our contention is
not that dead men
live again, but that
a living man never
dies.

Ernest Holmes
197
Wisdom of Our Contemporaries: Rev. Sandhi Scott
The Deathless Principle
The definition of Immortality in the 1938 edition of The Science of Mind is: "The Deathless
Principle of Being in all people." In the original edition of The Science of Mind, our beloved
founder, Dr. Ernest Holmes wrote: "Immortality means to the average person that man
shall persist after the experience of physical death, retaining a full recollection of himself
and the ability to recognize others." The first quote is a Universal Truth, now agreed upon
by philosophers and scientists. The second is Dr. Holmes' personal opinion.
How perfect. As students of the Science of Mind, we are free to discover, uncover, and
realize what Immortality means for us personally. As we ponder this "Deathless Principle" as
a Truth, Wisdom within us guides us as we develop our personal beliefs regarding our own
Immortality. My ministry to hundreds of people, who were in the end stage of their physical
lives, showed me that the people who had confidence in what they believed had the most
peaceful deaths. I learned that what I believed was irrelevant in service to others. What
mattered was what they believed. I learned from Stephen Levine's masterpiece, Who Dies?,
that there was "nothing to do, to say or to do in the presence of suffering and what was true
for them. I learned that the greatest gift I could offer was active listening and faith in the
Wisdom within each person to reveal their personal interpretation and beliefs about life and
death. An atheist I grew to love and respect had an inspiring peaceful death, confident in his
belief that his life would end with the death of his body. A born again Christian requested that
I stop telling him he was not a sinner, that the Light of his BEing was as innocent as the day
he was born, that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality and never judged anyone. This
courageous Christian stood his ground, asking me to support him in his beliefthat he was
a sinner who would be met and embraced by Jesus, forgiven, and shown to his "room in the
mansion." I agreed to support him, thereby learning a valuable lesson in unconditional love,
respect and compassion. I have no doubt that the Life we are expressing lifts to our thoughts
and beliefs at the time of death...that Buddhists lift to the frequency of their teaching, that
Christians go home to be with Jesus, and that Krishna devotees are with Krishna and his
beloved, bejeweled cows in a beautiful meadow!
What you believe about Immortality will guide you through your Life and Death. And, since
many mystics believe that death is the core fear from which all fears come, it is valuable for
each of us to decide what we believe about Life, Death, and Immortality. The grace of our
teaching is that students are trusted to develop their own beliefs, and as we discover and
change our beliefs, we could have no better guide than Dr. Holmes' teaching on Immortality.
Rev. Sandhi Scott was ordained in 1983 by Dr. Terry Cole-Whittaker. She was the co-minister of the United
Spirit Church of Religious Science in Hollywood for seven years. Ministering to people with AIDs virus deeply
impacted her, leading to her subsequent ongoing humanitarian ministry based on compassion which is the
topic of her soon to be published book, New Age Nausea. During her three years serving as Associate Minister
with Marianne Williamson in Detroit, she developed Spiritual Support services with outreach to prisons and
methadone clinics and facilitated 9/11 grief and loss support groups in Manhattan for nine months. Rev.
Sandhi serves as Senior Minister to The Mastery in Life Center in Las Cruces, NM.
198
Home Study Exercise
My Beliefs About Immortality
Adapted from a Gallup Poll Questionnaire

1. Do you believe in life after death? Why or why not?

2. In what ways do you think life after death will be different from your
present life? Please be as specific as you can about what you believe.

3. Do you think there is a Hell, to which people who have led bad lives
without being sorry are eternally damned?

199
4. Do you think there is a Heaven where people who have led good lives are
eternally rewarded?

5. Do you believe in reincarnation that is, the rebirth of the soul in a new
body (here on earth) after death? Why or why not?

6. Do you believe there is human life on other planets? Why or why not?

7. Do you think it is possible to have contact with the dead? Why or why not?

200
8. Do you think life after death will ever be proved scientifically? Why or why not?

9. Please read this list carefully and place check marks in the blanks following
those words or terms that describe your beliefs about life after death.

It will be peaceful. ______
I will be in the presence of God. ______
Gods love will be the center of my life after death. ______
There will be love between people. ______
I will see friends, relatives, spouse. ______
I will live forever. ______
Physically challenged people will be whole. ______
I will grow spiritually. ______
There will be humor. ______
There will be angels or devils. ______
I will be recognizable as the same person as on earth. ______
People will minister to the spiritual needs of others. ______
People will have responsibilities. ______
People will have human form. ______
There will be some sort of contact with people on earth. ______
I will be able to minister to the spiritual needs of people on earth. ______
I will enjoy material comforts. ______
201
It will be boring. ______
There will be total darkness. ______
None of the above. ______

10. Create your own statements regarding what you believe regarding life after death.

11. Some people have reported unusual experiences when they have been on the verge
of death or have had a close call. Have you, yourself, ever been on the verge of
death or had a close call which involved any unusual experience at that time? If
yes, please describe what you experienced.
202
Wisdom of Our Elders:
Dr. Dan Morgan

THE CRY OF THE SOUL
Eternal am I, birthless and undying; centuries old am I,
yet have I the freshness of youth.
Eons of time have I traveled,
yet am I unfatigued.
Eons ahead of me stretches my path,
yet am I resolute and unafraid.
Storms have raged,
yet I have pressed on.
Air and sea and the remotest corners of the earth,
I am known to them all.
Exquisite agony and ecstatic joy have throbbed within me.
Highest heaven and deepest hell have left their memories.
I have passed through the waters of sorrow and been unharmed.
I have passed through the gates of death and yet do I live!
And so it is.......
As for the nature
and harmony, the
situation is as
follows. The real
essence of actual
things is eternal,
and thus nature
must partake of
divine rather than
of merely human
intelligence.
For it would be
impossible for us
to recognize any
existing thing,
unless each of the
things of which the
universe is
composed had a
real essence: this
holds both for what
is limiting and for
what is limited.

Philolaus
Ancient Philosopher

203
Spiritual Practice
Silence

When the lips are closed, there is room for the heart to speak. When the heart is silent,
the great inner mystery of the spirit can blaze up and illuminate life. This is the secret
that all mystics know, the keeping of Silence as a Spiritual Practice.
In our busy lives, we often find no time for stillness, let alone Silence. And so the practice
of occasional periods of silence reminds us that it is important to take time, to step back
from the busyness of our lives, and rest. Our bodies and minds need regular period of
rest and refreshment, when nothing is planned and there is nothing to do. This gives us
the opportunity to be with ourselves and to let the richness of the inner world restore
our perspective.
This kind of silence and rest is different from simply being tired. Instead it is those
personal moments of silent repose when the mind, body and spirit come back into balance
from the activities of life. Continual action takes away from this practice of thoughtful
reflection and rest. And this kind of personal and conscious periods of rest are important
for children as well as adults. This kind of quiet personal time, filled with silence, allows
time to communicate with oneself and to walk the inner path.
The inner path is walked when one stops and moves into silence. And it is deepened
when, within the silence, one can sit and simply bring the attention to the breath. Or
perhaps walk and commune with the natural world. And allow time for inner stillness
where truth and nourishment are found for daily living.
Begin to include the spiritual practice of rest and silence in your week. You might begin
with perhaps only 15 minutes or 1/2 hour at the start. Some suggestions include
purposefully turning off the radio in your car while driving, turning off the television set
at home, refraining from talking the telephone for periods of time, and going for a run
without your iPod.
As you begin to relish the gifts of silence, you may decide to devote 1/2 a day each week
or more. Allow these periods of silence for your family, your children, and your friends too.
We all relate more clearly with each other when we live more thoughtful lives. Thoughtful
lives are encouraged by period of silence.
You can use your silence for meditation but that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to be
an open space, when nothing is planned, no outer activity is achieved. There is no
agenda. It is just a time to simply be. Be who you are. And the great Being you are,
will refresh your life.
I have listened to the great Silence; and in the deep places of Life,
I have stood naked and receptive to Thy songs and they have entered my soul.
Ernest Holmes
204
Rev. Joan Steadman
Mysticism
All spiritual traditions are ultimately grounded in mysticism. I believe
that Ernest Holmes, in his study of the worlds religions, discovered
the mystical roots, the belief in Oneness and our connection with it,
and made them the foundation of the Science of Mind and Spirit.
We are a teaching and a way of life that is profoundly mystical, for
mysticism is the art and practice of oneness, which is our core belief.
Ernest Holmes defines a mystic as one who intuitively senses
Reality. There is such an attunement to Spirit that s/he is convinced
of his/her oneness with the Infinite and goes beyond that to the
perception that all life, visible and invisible, is the wholeness of God.
It might be said that the mystic lives from the inside out in that the
invisible Truth is more real to this person than the appearances
and conditions of his/her life. Essentially, the mystic lives a life of
inclusivity, love and compassion for all.
Does this mean that the mystic has it all together all the time?
Absolutely not. However, the mystic is mindful and aware of his/her
thoughts, words and actions. While lovingly embracing both the light
and the shadow of his/her being, s/he shines the light of awareness
on all of it, thus integrating all aspects of him/herself.
We are all evolving mystics. As we are open, receptive, available
and surrendered to the innermost Presence, we realize and live our
mysticism ever more fully.
Rev. Joan Steadman is the Community Spiritual Leader of the Oakland Center for
Spiritual Living in Oakland, California. She has been a minister for eleven years
and was one of the original Vision Core members of the Agape International
Spiritual Center where she served on the Board of Trustees and was an assistant
minister. She developed the curriculum for the certificated Practical Mysticism
class taught in United Centers for Spiritual Living and has been a featured speaker
and workshop facilitator at Religious Science conventions and conferences, New
Thought centers and churches throughout the country. She has contributed to
Science of Mind magazine, Inner Visions and New Thought publication.
There can and does
descend into our
mindsembody
and personify in our
persona Divinity,
a Unity, the Spirit
of God, the direct
incarnation of the
Original Thing, in
usthe mystical
presentation of
Christ.

Ernest Holmes

The mystic
intuitively perceives
Truth, and often
without any process
of reasoning
immediately is
aware, with what
Swedenborg called
a sort of interior
awareness, a
spiritual sense.

Ernest Holmes

205
Week 9 Practice
Words of Great Minds on the Cosmic Christ
In the ancient world cosmic and religious mysteries were taught only
to the privileged initiates of secret, religious orders. The mysteries,
i.e., the teachings, were usually metaphysical or philosophical secrets.
But in the apostles letter to the Colossians, Paul states that he became
a minister so that he could thoroughly disclose the mystery to as many
individuals as possible.
This mystery is a universal revelation, open to all of us: that is, open
to every human being. And what is this mystery? According to Paul
it is Christ in you, the hope of glory. But what does it mean and what
is its purpose?
The Greek term Christ comes from the Aramaic-Hebrew word
Messiah. In Hebrew Scriptures Messiah literally means the
anointed one. This term was applied to the people of Israel because
they were chosen by God to fulfill His purpose. The early kings of
Israel were also referred to as the anointed of God, i.e., Christs.
Later on, the term was used exclusively to indicate an ideal king, a
descendant of David, who was to come and establish Israel as a
sovereign nation and who was to begin a reign of justice for all
humankind. Spiritually and metaphysically, the term means to be
enlightened, i.e., filled and enlightened with the power and presence
of God.
The power and office of the Christ was made known through Jesus
of Nazareth. The prophet and teacher from Galilee demonstrated the
kingdom of heaven on earth through his powerful healing and teaching
ministry. But his mission was not to end there, for he came to awaken
every human hearts potential and capacity to manifest the rich, spiritual
dimensions of heaven on earth. The purpose of Christ in us, then is
not only for self-realization, but for the manifestation of the kingdom of
heaven wherever we may be. Through the realization of the Christ
Consciousness we become fulfilled individuals, mature and complete.
Rocco A. Errico
Christ in You: The Divine Mystery
Excerpted from Science of Mind Magazine
Those who are
pure in heart
achieve God-
Consciousness;
they are truly
and actually
aware of God at
the center of their
being (their heart).
These sanctified
individuals are
said to be
Possessors
of Heart.

Rumi
206
The Cosmic Christ awakens mindfulness, which instructs persons in
their need and right to experience the presence of divinity around and
through them. It opens their minds and hearts to the universe, to what
is, and to who we are: citizens of a vast twenty-billion-year history that
is still unfinished and which we are called to complete; citizens of a
universe of one hundred billion galaxies, of which ours is a mysteriously
small one. A mindful religion, then awakens the mind rather than dulls
it; it praises the mind rather than diminishes it; it resurrects the mind
rather than rots it
The Cosmic Christ ushers in an era of coherence, of ending the
separations, divisions, dualisms, piecemealness that characterize a
world without mysticism, a society without a living cosmology. A cosmos
is always a whole, a unity, a state of coherence even if the coherence
seemingly exists for a time only in the hearts and imaginations of the
people, only in hope. The Cosmic Christ unites psyche and cosmos
once again.
In the beginning is compassion; compassion births us; compassion is
our origin it is the origin of our youthfulness. Our journey is indeed
a journey from our beginning, to our youth, to our divinity where we
rediscover our beginnings and there find that the youthful Cosmic
Christ has never ceased to play.
Matthew Fox
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ

God does not ask anything else except that you let yourself go and let
God be God in you.
The seed of God is in usnow the seed of a pear tree grows into a
pear tree, and a hazel seed into a hazel tree, the seed of God into
God.
What good is it to me if the son of God was born to Mary 1400 years
ago, but is not born in my person in my time and in my culture?
Gods ground is my ground and my ground is Gods ground. Here I
live on my own. All our works should work out of this innermost ground
without a why or a wherefore. Then, God and the soul do one work to-
gether eternally and very fruitfully. Then all that this person works God
worksAnd just as I can do almost nothing without God, so too God
can accomplish nothing apart from me.
Meister Eckhart
13
th
Century Teacher and Preacher
When Christ
dwells in us in
love, which is
unity, we are
able to understand
the things that
the saints have
understood.
Saint simply
means an
unusually wise
and good man
- all saints have
been human
beings just as we
are, for God
makes all people
alike. The
universe plays
no favorites.

Ernest Holmes
207
The only prophet of that which must be is that great nature in which
we rest as the earth lies in the soft arms of the atmosphere; that Unity,
that Over-soul, within which every mans particular being is contained
and made one with all other; that common heart of which all sincere
conversation is the worship, to which all right action is submission;
that overpowering reality which confutes our tricks and talents and
constrains everyone to pass for what he is, and to speak from his
character and not from his tongue, and which evermore tends to pass
into our thought and hand and become wisdom and virtue and power
and beauty.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Excerpt from Emersons Essays, The Over-soul

The cosmos is fundamentally and primarily livingChrist, through his
incarnation, is internal to the worldrooted in the world, even in the
very heart of the tiniest atomNothing seems to me more vital, from
the point of view of human energy, than the appearance and eventually,
the systematic cultivation of such a cosmic sense.
Teilhard de Chardin
French Geologist, Priest
Philosopher and Mystic

There is no need to leave the world of men
Nor to retreat to some high cave or glen;
Search deep within if you would truly find
The springs of life in the Eternal Mind;
Look in yourself and you at length shall view
Creator God who hid himself in you.
Within this precious bowl of alabaster,
Is found the secret of the hidden Master.
Too long a dying world has longed to see
The God that man and man alone can be.
Ernest and Fenwicke Holmes
The Voice Celestial
That higher
awakening is
called God-
consciousness.
In that condition,
you will see that
all the objects of
the world are your
own universal self.

Swami
Krishnananda

God
Consciousness
is what we are
here for. Its
the unfinished
business we
have left.

Swami Danavir
208

Our Christ Nature

In Genesis we find the first chapter telling how perfect are all the
creations of God. They are Good. Perfection cannot fall. Can God
fall? Can Goodness become badness? Can strength become
weakness? Yet Moses tells in the second chapter how the perfect
son of God fell from his high estate of goodness into the dusty
sinfulness of Adam. He is speaking in these two chapters from two
standpoints, one is Reality and the other is unreality. Christ, the
Spirit is Reality. Adam the dust man with his world is unreality.
Both of these natures come calling our attention, even within
ourselves. One is pure Adam nature, with its erroneous ideas of
God and Life. The other is our Christ nature, with its faithful ideas
of God and Life. One is our substance, the other our shadow. One
is our real and the other is our unreal. We abide in the Light by
acknowledging only our Christ nature. We are torn in conflict of
change, and ups and downs, by acknowledging two natures. We
abide in the darkness by yielding to the idea that we are matter and
intellect. Intellect is the Adam intelligence, naming all things by
material names, telling of them as matter. Intellect will subside in
meekness when we give utterance to Spiritwhen we admit that
the Spirit is all in all and the only Reality.
Understanding this we put ourselves in the ranks of the spiritual
being, fearless, satisfied, and powerful. We understand the way of
our life. We understand God.
As God I perceive that all is Good, says the Divine One within us.
As Mind I perceive all is Mind, says the Divine Mind. As Spirit I
perceive that all is Good, says the Holy Spirit within us.

Emma Curtis Hopkins
Scientific Christian Mental Practice, pp. 132-133
209
Home Study Exercise
Dealing with Loss
Use this space to write a paragraph or two regarding your experience of the loss of
a loved one.
210
Home Study Exercise
My Dear Life Letter
Write a short letter beginning Dear Life, continuing with One thing I would like to
contribute to the world is. and ending with What it would take for me to do this is.
Dear Life,
One thing I would like to contribute to the world is...

What it would take for me to do this is...
211
Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and Immortality
What lifelong patterns has the creative process been trying to get me to see?
212
In-Class Exercise
An Exploration of Christ Qualities
213
In-Class Exercise
An Exploration of Christ Qualities...continued
214

Write a Treatment for your Spiritual Practice of the Christ Consciousness.

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
215
Home Study
for Week 10
READING
Student Workbook, Class 10:
Celebration
WRITING
1. Answer the self-reflection
questions in your Student
Workbook.
Student Workbook to record
your unanswered or unresolved
questions.
3. Use the page in your Student
Workbook to answer the
question How am I going to
use the Creative Process to
implement these spiritual
principles and practices into
my life?
4. Follow this by writing a
Spiritual Mind Treatment for
the successful integration of
the material in this class into
your life.
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Practice seeing as God sees.
Meditate and Journal.
OTHER
1. Prepare for your Class Project
Presentation.
2. Prepare for the class
Celebration, including the
agreed upon potluck
arrangements.
216
Week 10 -
Joy
When we constructively
praise and creatively bless,
life abounds with love, peace
and joy. Let goodness shine
forth. Let us learn to see that
everyone is an evolving Christ.
Let us so live and think that we
may retire at night in peace,
knowing that no harm can
come to the soul; that we may
rise in the morning renewed in
body and in mind, with a
brighter outlook, a happier
expectation and a clearer joy,
looking upon all with love,
condemning none and blessing
even those who seek to injure
us. Let us learn to be perfect,
even as that Divine Being,
residing in the heart of all and
over shadowing Eternity, must
also be perfect.
Ernest Holmes
This Week
It is the intention of this course to
give you a practical application and
a deep relevancy of the spiritual
principles in your life. Have the
spiritual practices been integrated
into your daily routine? Are you
taking more time than ever to
remember God in the midst of
everything? Remember you are
truly free in all your decisions and
not bound by anything of this world.
You are a spiritual expression!
This final class is about embracing
and celebrating your journey and
the courage it took to go deep into
self-contemplation. The old style
of quiz-taking on the final night of
class has been transformed into
what we are calling the un-test.
Your teacher is not going to give
you questions to answer alone on
a piece of paper, but rather ask the
group to bring forth unanswered or
unresolved questions that you might
have, to share and prove what you
did learn.
In addition you will share your
learning through presenting your
class project. For many this
experience will be one of the most
memorable moments from this
journey. Relax and enjoy.
217
The Joy of
Your Journey -
Celebration
Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense
of living is joy enough.
Emily Dickinson

The more you praise and celebrate
your life, the more there is in life
to celebrate.
Oprah Winfrey

Dont take the game too seriously
stay laugh play and delight.
Rumi

On life's journey faith is
nourishment, virtuous deeds are
a shelter, wisdom is the light by
day and right mindfulness is the
protection by night. If a man lives
a pure life, nothing can destroy him.

Buddha

The greatest human quest is to
know what one must do in order
to become a human being.
Immanuel Kant

Focus on the journey, not the
destination. Joy is found not in
finishing an activity but in doing it.
-Greg Anderson

There is no formula to it. Writing
every song is a little journey. The
first note has to lift you.

Enya

In our work and in our living, we
must recognize that difference is a
reason for celebration and growth,
rather than a reason for destruction.

Audre Lorde
If we wish to come to the
Spirit for the healing of our
wounds, let us come in peace
and with spontaneous joy, for
the Spirit is joy; let us come
with thanksgiving also, for a
thankful heart is in harmony
with life. But we must come
in quiet confidence with an
open and receptive mind, a
believing heart, naturally,
sanely, expectantly.

Ernest Holmes
218

Class Outline

Un-Test
Projects Presentation
Party
Benediction
Week 10
Joy
219
Wisdom of Our Elders: Dr. Ernest Holmes
A Fond Farewell
Excerpt from his Sermon by the Sea at Asilomar, 1959

And now we meet for this fond farewell after the spiritual bath of
peace, the baptism of the spirit. Not through me, but you to me and I
to you through each otherthe revelation of the self to the selfwe
go back into the highways and byways of life with something so great
that never again will anything be quite the same. A little more light
shall come, a little greater glory added to the glory that we already
possess, a deeper consciousness, a higher aspiration, a broader
certainty of the mind.
You are Religious Science. I am not. I am only the one who put
something together. I do not even take myself seriously, but I take
what I am doing seriously. You are Religious Scienceour ministers,
our teachers, our practitioners, our laymen. You find me one
thousand people in the world who know what Religious Science is
and use it, and live it as it is, and Ill myself live to see a new world,
a new heaven, and a new earth here. There is a cosmic Power
wrapped up in a cosmic Consciousness and Purposiveness that is
equal to the vision which releases it.
What I am saying is this: There is a Law that backs up the vision,
and the Law is immutable. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but
my words shall not pass away. There is a Power transcendent
beyond our needs, our little wants. Demonstrating a dime is good if
one needs it, or healing oneself of a pain is certainly good if one has
it, but beyond that, at the real feast at the tabernacle of the Almighty,
in the temple of the living God, in the banquet hall of heaven, there is
something beyond anything that you and I have touched.
Find one thousand people who know that, and use it, and the world
will no longer be famished. How important it is that each one of us in
his simple way shall live from God to God, with God, in God, and to
each other. That is why we are here, and we are taking back with us,
I trust, a vision and an inspiration, something beyond a hope and a
longing, that the living Spirit shall through us walk anew into its own
creation and a new glory come with a new dawn.
Science of Mind is
the most direct
impartation of
Divine Wisdom that
has ever come to
the world, because
it incorporates the
precepts of Jesus,
and Emerson, and
Buddha, and all the
rest of the wise.
We have
rediscovered that
which the great,
the good, and the
wise have sung
about and thought
about the
imprisoned splendor
within ourselves
and within each
other and have
direct contact with it.
Whether we call it
the Christ in us, or
the Buddha, or
Atman, or just the
Son of God the
living Spirit, makes
no difference. You
and I are witness to
the Divine fact and
we have discovered
an authority beyond
our minds, even
though our minds
utilize it.

Ernest Holmes
220

To the Degree That You Want to Grow

The point I want to make is that we grow to the degree we want to
grow. Thats simple enough. But wanting to grow is not just
something that can waft casually through our minds once a week,
or once a day when we come to meditation. It must become an
on-going, living reality. In the Bible, it says, Ask and you shall
receive. I dont think they were joking. It is the depth from which
we want this growth that makes it begin to take place.
Think of a tree, or of any living event that emerges from within itself.
It is the degree to which it obeys its inner commitment to unfold a
certain pattern that enables it to overcome all of the resistance and
the obstacles in the environment, and to demonstrate itself as a vast
and vital manifestation of the energy of Life. In the same way, the
extent to which we are connected with that living, inner force is the
extent to which we really change and grow spiritually.
The essential idea here is that we grow to the degree we want to
grow. We grow to the degree that we mobilize resources that we
may not even know we have at the moment. But because we deeply
want to grow, because we have this deep passion for knowing God,
because we have this deep love of life and love for God, then that
love itself becomes a living event within us. It demonstrates every
kind of potential to overcome obstacles, to overcome barriers, to
move mountains. It certainly allows us to discover within ourselves
vast, unrecognized treasures. The stories of many great saints are
based on this understanding of the deep, deep desire to know God
a desire we have to cultivate. In cultivating it, countless extraordinary
capabilities organize themselves within us, and manifest for the
purposes of our liberation and fulfillment.
Swami Chetanananda
The Breath of God

221
A Simple Story

Chapter One

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.I am helpless.
It isnt my fault.
But it takes forever to find my way out.

Chapter Two

I walk down the same street.
I pretend that I dont see it.
I fall in, again.
I cant believe I am in this same place.
It isnt my fault.
But it still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three

I see it is there.
I fall inits a habitbut now my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter Four

I walk around it.

Chapter Five

I walk down a different street.
-Anonymous

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Home Study Exercise
Self-Reflection Questions:

What has been your greatest lesson and insight in this class?

Did you experience any healings? If so describe them.

What Spiritual Practices worked best for you and why?

How I am going to use the creative process to implement these spiritual principles
and practices into my life is:
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Home Study Exercise
Unanswered or Unresolved Questions

Jot down your unanswered or unresolved questions for further discussion in class.
224
Home Study Exercise
The Creative Process and My Life
How am I going to use the Creative Process to implement these spiritual principles
and practices into my life?
225
Home Study Exercise
A treatment for the successful integration of the material in this class into my life.

Purpose:

Recognition:

Unification:

Realization:

Thanksgiving:

Release:
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227
Spiritual
Spiritual

Practices
Practices

Daily Tools for
Daily Tools for

Growing and Deepening the Inner Life
Growing and Deepening the Inner Life

Department of Education
2008

228
Spiritual Practice
Centering
The first practice for leading a spirit centered life is to learn balance in the inner self, so that the outer
world can be observed from a perspective of truth. We have all had experiences of getting caught up
in the events around us, and have experienced the pain of feeling at the effect of what is happening in
our world. This pain is the natural result of giving our power away to the outer events which, in fact,
have no real power. The true power lies within.
It is important to learn to center the attention, and the intention within ones own being, and to do this
every day. Living from the inside out, is the true method of creating our outer reality. Aligning our-
selves with the Divine Power that lives at the very center of our being, we can learn to see that the
outer world corresponds with our own dreams and intentions.
Here is a simple step by step method for centering the attention, and perspective.
1. Begin by setting your intention to live more completely from your inner knowing, your inner heart.
Be willing to release old concepts, challenges and events from your thinking in order to see
more clearly.
2. Find a quiet place where you can sit for a few minutes alone, undisturbed. This can be a beautiful
spot out of doors, your meditation place, your bed when you awake. During the day, it can also
be as simple as closing your office door for a few minutes of alone time, sitting in your car,
stepping outside, or whatever it takes to find a few minutes alone.

Bring your attention to your breath and begin to breathe into your heart. Continue to breathe
until you can feel your heart becoming calm and peaceful.
Set the intention to create a sanctuary here in your own heart where you can rest and be safe.
Use your imagination to create this space for yourself in whatever way you choose. You may
wish to imagine a wonderful chair there only for you, a room that only you can visit, a color or
sensation that feels at home for you. Stay in this idea until it feels safe and grounded and
personal to you.
Breathe more deeply into this space and continue to claim the sanctuary of your own being.
Begin to realize that this is the place where pure Spirit exists, at the center of you.
3. Continue to allow your heart to open to this idea. Begin to look out on your life from this safe place
at the center, being aware that all of life is a spiritual event. Feel the power within you and just
observe the effects of the outer world, knowing that all is well. Practice relating to others from your
center, at your personal heart space, from your heart to theirs.
This spiritual practice is one that must be done constantly and faithfully practiced, in order to maintain
peace of mind and power of thought and word. Find time to center daily and begin to practice
maintaining a centered perspective under stressful conditions. Remember that your power lies within,
and from this centered place, you can create, and love, and find peace in every moment.
Pure Spirit exists at the center of all form. Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
Listening
Listening is a spiritual practice that is sometimes overlooked in all of our days of doing and
creating and conversing with each other. This spiritual practice is critical, however, in order
to deepen the inner life and grow in a conscious awareness of truth. As a spiritual practice,
listening takes on a new meaning from that used in our usual daily life, because here we
mean not just listening to the general noise of the world, but rather listening with the heart.
To listen in this way means to listen with ones whole heart and whole being, in order to
be completely present to what is occurring in this present moment. By being present with
ourselves and others, the gift of listening gives us the wisdom of knowing our own mind
and allows us to develop generosity, patience and a loving presence with others.
Listening Within
When we attune the inner ear to truly listen within our own being, what are we listening for?
In the purest sense, we are listening to our own guidance, our own wisdom, what many call
the still small voice that speaks, giving us direction. Listening within is listening with ones
whole being. Taking a question within, we may feel a sensation in the body, an intuition, an
urge within the heart, a certainty in the stomach. And deeper, we may find ideas, words,
peace and a certainty of what to do next. Like all spiritual practice, the ability to listen deeply
develops over time, as we make it a daily practice for ourselves and our decision making.
Listening to Others
It has been said that the deepest need of most people is simply to be heard. In this context,
being willing to patiently listen to others is a spiritual practice and a healing gift. To give the
pure gift of listening, it is important to give up the need to comment, have an opinion, fix or
argue about anything that is being said. Remember that all people are Divine and are
entitled to their own individual perspective. Each person lives a life with unique experiences
and perspective. By being willing to listen, simply listen to another, you will find that each is
able to find their own way and sort out their own feelings, in their own time. Listening with
your heart in this manner, is empowering for the other, as you hold within your own being
the idea that each person is powerful and has the power to know their own way.
As a practice, sit with another and let them know that you are there just to listen. Do not
react, or respond. Simply listen with your heart and be there for them. And see what
happens. Hear the voice of their truth. In this way you will learn and experience another
aspect of God.
At the center of Being, we are all one. Practice listening with the heart and you will discover a
new oneness with everyone around you.
Embrace the spiritual practice of listening and find the many ways it can bless your life.
Let the inner ear listen to the voice of truth that is always speaking. Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
Meditation
Nearly all great religions and many philosophies embrace meditation as one of the great
practices for spiritual growth. A regular commitment to meditation is essential to spiritual living
because it is certain to transform, soften, deepen and expand the consciousness of the inner
realities of life in a profound way. Once these inner experiences occur, it is nearly impossible
to return to old ways of living. Rather, the path becomes easier, clearer and more joyful.
Set aside time every day for meditation. It will change your life.
There are many kinds of meditation and many people use this practice in different ways.
You can find many uses for meditation and it is fun to experiment with different methods.
Because our essential Oneness is the very truth of our being, meditation is one tool for a
conscious experience of this reality. Any type of meditation that brings your attention to this
present moment, in which you let go of the mind chatter and the past and future, will also
bring to you an experience of Oneness. Following the breath in and out, for example,
disciplines the mind to relax, brings calm, and can serve as a way to higher awareness of
Oneness. Begin slowly, perhaps a few minutes each day, focusing on the breath, until you
can keep your attention on the breath for longer and longer periods. Other methods that can
achieve this same end are chanting, movement, such as yoga or Tai Chi, the use of a mantra
repeated over and over. All of these train the mind to focus on the present moment and bring
you into the Eternal Now that is the true nature of life.
Ernest Holmes used meditation in a specific way, using the power of the mind to focus on
a desired state and to increasingly become one with that idea. This is the essence of the
Science of Mind teaching, to create through the power of attention. This method may not take
you into the altered state sought by other religions, or perhaps it may. In either case, it will
change your life in ways that seem miraculous.
To do this type of meditation, put aside time every day to sit quietly and contemplate your
good. Begin by centering your attention in the heart and becoming still. Allow the mind to
drain out any old worries or events. Give up thinking about what is ahead. Breathe. Bring
your full attention to your good and the essential goodness of Life. Bring all of your attention
to this great sense of good in your lifenot the people or the detailsbut rather the great
Divine expression of life that is so good. Allow yourself to not only think of this but to begin to
actually feel what this idea feels like to you. Feel yourself bathed in your good, sharing your
good, living your good. Like a living prayer, this meditation on your good creates a new reality
in your life, as the Power of God moves through your meditation and you are one with it.
Thomas Troward, who was a favorite author of Ernest Holmes, advised doing this type of
meditation before sleep. In this way, the mind and the whole being is bathed all night in the
cheerful expectation of Good.
Meditate upon Life until your whole being flows into it and becomes one with it. Now you are ready to prove
your principle by allowing this Life to flow through the thing you are working on. Do not will it or compel things to
happen. You do not need to energize Being. It is already big with power. All you need to do is realize this fact.
The Spirit of God is loosed in your meditation. Where this Spirit is, there is liberty. Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
In Religious Science, we use a form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment. It is a scientific
method of affirmative prayer that is done as a form of mental treatment to realize the health
and happiness which are mankinds normal and divine heritage. It works according to the
laws of mind. We each share the One Mind and as we individually recognize and affirm the
essential Goodness of Life, it reveals itself in our life.
A treatment should be done in a calm, expectant manner with a deep, inner conviction of its
reality without any fear that the human mind must make it effective. Mans life is rooted in the
Universal and the Eternal, which is none other than the life of God. The healing process, so
far as it may be termed a process, is in becoming conscious of this eternal truth. Treatment
should always incorporate a conscious recognition that health has always been ours,
abundance has always been ours, happiness and peace have always been ours; they are
ours now, for they are the very essence and Truth of our being.
Steps of Spiritual Mind Treatment
1. RECOGNITION
We begin with the recognition of God as the essence of all and the very ground of all being. This is the
most important step, because you are turning consciously to the truth of Life. Do not proceed with your
treatment until you are fully steeped in this recognition. Speak this word of recognition that God is all.
2. UNIFICATION
Allow your emotions, body and intuition to assist in the full recognition of yourself as Divine substance.
Know and feel the unity of all in God. Declare this as True. I am now thinking with the Mind of God.
3. REALIZATION
Turn completely away from the issue at hand and affirm God manifesting its perfect qualities as your life.
Catch fire and thrill in this Divine realization. See it, feel it, in every detail. Open up all avenues of thought
and let Reality through. Remember that you are finding and realizing this truth for yourself and that this
treatment takes place within your own mind. That is all that is needed for the healing to occur. As you align
your own consciousness and declare that all good is already yours by your very nature, the Power of God
reveals its presence in all things.
4. GRATITUDE
Open your heart with gratitude for this Blessing occurring in your life now.
5. RELEASE
Let go. There is no more for you to do. The law is neutral and always works. Know that it is done now.

Secrets of Effective Treatment
1. Remember to listen. Although you are praying for a specific purpose, you are also aligning
yourself with Infinite wisdom. Go slowly and follow any inner guidance that directs your
words and ideas into complete alignment with the Divine.
2. Speak the word of your heart. Your own truth cannot be denied. Emphasize the inner
qualities and leave the outer manifestation to God.
3. Be passionate. Pray with fire. Miracles are at hand. It is all so amazingly Good!
Prayer is its own answer. Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
Visioning
Through the spiritual practice of Visioning, we create a space of deep listening and awareness in
order to fully embrace the Divine idea for our highest good. Visioning is an excellent tool for personal
direction, ideas for spiritual community or any important project or life structure that we are presently
engaged in. There is a spiritual prototype or Divine ideal for all that exists. Through Visioning, we
make ourselves available to embrace the highest idea for our lives and work, in order that we may
more completely experience and live the highest good.
The Process for Visioning
A group comes together for the express purpose of visioning. A facilitator brings the group together in prayer
using the recognition and unification steps of treatment. During the prayer, the facilitator activates unconditional
love as the field that will hold the vision, guiding the group into their heart. The group rests in this place for a
few moments.
Out of the silence the facilitator may ask the following questions:
1. What is the highest vision or perfect idea for (person, project, organization)?
2. What must we become to empower the vision?
3. What must be released?
4. What must be embraced?
5. Is there any other information that we need in this moment?
Participants may write down images, thoughts and ideas that come through for each question. They will not lose
center. They simply go back into the silence once they have written down what has come through. Allow 3-5
minutes or more of silence between each question. After the last question is asked, the facilitator anchors the
visioning in prayer. This includes the realization, thanksgiving, and release steps of treatment.
Recording the Vision
Each member reports out loud what was received for each question, avoiding judgment or evaluation. The
facilitator records on a flip chart for the whole group to view. When everyone has reported, together the group
may identify themes. Themes are words that appear more than once, images or ideas that are repeated.
Facilitator underlines the themes. It is important that people do not interpret the meaning of the words. It keeps
the process clean and free of the possibility of personal agendas entering the practice.
Tips for the Facilitator
A) Some aids to consider using: candle, meditation music to aid centering, flip charts, pens, masking
tape, sheets with the questions and space for participants to write notes.
B) As you present each question during the visioning, wait a minute or so and then repeat the
question. Especially with new people, it helps them focus.
C) Reassure participants ahead of time that sometimes we dont get anything. Thats ok. Just
re-center yourself and listen.
Tips for Participants in Visioning
A) Remain open, receptive, unafraid and listen.
B) A perfect time to practice non-judgment of yourself and others.
C) Avoid moving to how to do something that appears in the vision. Make no effort to design
implementation steps or share how something might be accomplished.
D) The vision may appear as color, feeling, words, images or nothing. Everything is valid.

For more information on Visioning and how to use it in your community consult
www.religiousscience.org. Click on Global Heart Vision and then Visioning Workbook.
In flash-like Visions of mystic grandeur, we know we are made of Eternal stuff, fashioned after a Divine Pattern.
Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
Sacred Study
For the avid seeker, our world holds a treasure trove of wonderful books and classes that
allow the student to undertake the study of life. Nearly all religions embrace the idea of
Sacred Study, which is the study of the Divine life and how it relates to human life. Like so
many people, you may be seeking support for your inner life. If you look around at the
marketplace, there are teachers, classes, programs, television shows, internet information
and many more resources to serve you..

If you feel that the Divine mystery of life is calling you, that an urge to know God is leading
you, then God is the best teacher for you. The Divine already knows the secret language of
your heart. As your Divine spiritual director, God wants nothing more than for you to learn to
listen to your own heart. This inner guidance will lead you to the books, materials and classes
that you are seeking.

Reading magazines and newspapers can be one way to kill time while waiting or relaxing.
Spiritual reading is different in that it relates to the growth of the whole individual. Spiritual
reading does not seek knowledge but messages. It is based upon the fact that, once you
have chosen God as your Divine spiritual director, there will be a constant flow of messages
and just the right information for your highest good. To redirect our ideas about reading into
spiritual reading takes some attention, because it is different than what you were taught.

Spiritual reading requires a different style if you are to find and understand guidance for your
inner life. Here are a few ideas that may begin to stimulate your own techniques. First, it is
not necessary to finish what you are reading before moving on to something else. It is okay to
read more than one thing at a time. You can read several writers at once. You can set a
pace that meets your schedule. Speed reading is opposed to spiritual reading. In spiritual
reading, you leisurely allow time for thought and prayer. You have the freedom to close your
eyes and ask yourself: How has this touched me? What does this mean for my life? Allow
time to let the message expand and deepen in its meaning for you. Spiritual reading also
demands that you find a way to share your insights with others, friends who share your
spiritual path. In this way, the word becomes flesh as it is spoken and your life more easily
reflects the progress you are making because of the insights of your spiritual reading.

Spiritual classes are accelerated opportunities for spiritual deepening because they not
only provide reading material and discussion time, but also have the added value of a trained
facilitator to support your progress. As when you are reading, it is important to remember that
when you engage in sacred studies, even the conversations and sharing in the classroom are
part of your Divine spiritual directors guidance for you. Rather than getting involved in
others stories and activities, go within and continue to ask: What does this mean for me?
You will find that every aspect of your study, every book, every classmate, every conversation
holds an insight or answer for you. And all the guidance you are seeking is expanding within.
These are the gifts of Sacred Study, a spiritual practice that can be a lifelong source of
comfort and of grace.
As we study our own being, we begin to deduce the nature of God. . Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
The understanding heart is filled with sympathy and helpfulness toward all.
Ernest Holmes
Sacred Service
Service is increasingly popular in our world, especially among our young people and our
growing population of older people who wish to give back to our world. With the growing
presence of TV, Internet and other media, it is easier than ever before to witness the difficult
lives of many on our planet. And, in fact, one need go no further than the local recycling
center or grocery store food drives to find opportunities to volunteer or do service in our
world. Taking advantage of these opportunities to be of service can be satisfying ways to
feel good about ourselves.
Sacred Service is a spiritual practice, however, because it is a powerful source of love and
manifestation. Metaphysics and spiritual law will tell us that it is impossible to give to some-
one if you have nothing to give. We see these examples every day. The tired mother has little
energy left in the evening to give to her husband. The worried employee who has just lost his
job tightens up on his spending and has nothing to give the homeless shelter who is asking
for donations. The busy executive is too busy to donate any time at all to volunteering for
anything. And interestingly, in these particular cases, the fact that they have nothing to give,
makes the situation worse. The tired mom remains tired from trying to restart her relationship
when it has fallen apart. The fired employee struggles to find work. The busy executive gets
exhausted from being too busy and having no time for self care.
This is one powerful reason why Sacred Service is so important. By engaging in the act of
serving others, you must affirm your wholeness since you are the Source of giving. Service
gives you the opportunity to gain more energy, more abundance, more timebut that is not
why we do it. We do it because it is who we are: the full healing, generous, loving presence
of the Divine as us on this planet. And it is our nature to serve and assist others.
Sacred Service can be easily practiced in small ways. Picking up after yourself rather than
littering. Letting others go first in the traffic. Helping someone across the street. Giving
direction to someone who is lost. Bringing in your neighbors mail when they are away. Doing
the random act of kindness whenever possible. And there are larger and greatly satisfying
ways by volunteering at your spiritual community, at a local shelter, hospital, nonprofit
organization, community event.
You are a talented, loving student of the Divine life of God. You have much to share. Make
Sacred Service a daily practice as you share the Divine presence you are. Take that which
fills your hands: the people and activities and communities, and see beneath the surface to
the Divine realities that they are. Give in service to them with no expectation of return. In this
way, your willingness and your loving service will transform ordinary people and events into
the sacraments of your life

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Spiritual Practice
Sacred Giving
Of all the aspects of life, it can seem the most difficult to integrate ideas of money and
spirituality. Our desire to live a deeply spiritual life can seem to be at odds with money,
which is, after all, an invention of man. We bristle over requests for money from our
churches, wrestle with our personal checkbooks to see how to make our money grow, ponder
over requests from others to give our money for good causes and argue over money in our
business affairs, with our teenagers, our spouses, ourselves. And, in better moments, pray
over the words of the scriptures: See the lilies of the field. They neither toil nor spin. Yet,
even Solomon in all his glory was ever arrayed like one of these.
So, here for consideration is the idea to once and for all, step into the use of your money as
a spiritual practice. Like every other aspect of life, the money you have, the money you earn,
the money you give, is a demonstration of your Divine presence here.
Ernest Holmes says, God is Spirit. Spirit is substance and substance is supply. This the
keynote to the realization of a more abundant life, to the demonstration of success in all
financial matters. It is right we should be successful, for otherwise the Spirit is not expressed.
The Divine can not lack for anything that makes life worthwhile here on earth.
But further than this knowing of God, is the law of giving and receiving. God gives life and
well-being to all, constantly. Because of the underlying unity of all life, no man lives entirely
unto himself but rather is part of the Infinite flow of the whole. The way to happiness lies in
consciously choosing to be part of this Divine flow of life. This includes being willing to share
our lives, our time, our talents, and our money with others because, in truth, it is not ours. It
is only passing through our being as part of the Infinite life.
The spiritual practice of Sacred Giving begins with the recognition that it is part of our nature
to not only receive but to give. Your inner life deepens when you make a conscious plan to
give. And you experience the great satisfaction of being part of the flow of life. When you
receive your money, of course you give back to yourself, paying your bills and buying food,
shelter and the necessities of life. You can also give back to yourself by setting aside money
for your savings for your future, and a certain amount for spending for your pleasure. But the
inner question to ask is: How can I use my money to create a difference in the world? Is
there a new undertaking of value that you would like to support? Can you give to those doing
good work in the world? Will you give to your spiritual community to continue to support those
that support your inner life? Are there other things you can dogiving your time, your talent
to make a difference for others and for our world?
The spiritual principal of tithing 10% of your wealth to all that inspires you and feeds your soul
is a deeply spiritual practice with astonishing results. As you live in the truth that you are the
Source of giving, you will create a new level of expansion in your receiving. This is the law of
giving and receiving, the law of circulation, at work. Claim this spiritual practice as your own.
Find out for yourself, the great blessing of Sacred Giving.
Only as we allow the Divine current to flow through us and out, that we really express life. Ernest Holmes

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Spiritual Practice
Silence
When the lips are closed, there is room for the heart to speak. When the heart is silent, the
great inner mystery of the spirit can blaze up and illuminate life. This is the secret that all
mystics know, the keeping of Silence as a Spiritual Practice.
In our busy lives, we often find no time for stillness, let alone Silence. And so the practice
of occasional periods of silence reminds us that it is important to take time, to step back
from the busyness of our lives, and rest. Our bodies and minds need regular periods of rest
and refreshment, when nothing is planned and there is nothing to do. This gives us the
opportunity to be with ourselves and to let the richness of the inner world restore our
perspective.
This kind of silence and rest is different from simply being tired. Instead it is those personal
moments of silent repose when the mind, body and spirit come back into balance from the
activities of life. Continual action takes away from this practice of thoughtful reflection and
rest. Personal and conscious periods of rest are important for children as well as adults. This
kind of quiet personal time, filled with silence, allows time to communicate with oneself and to
walk the inner path.
The inner path is walked when one stops and moves into silence. And it is deepened when,
within the silence, one can sit and simply bring the attention to the breath. Or perhaps walk
and commune with the natural world. And allow time for inner stillness where truth and
nourishment are found for daily living.
Begin to include the spiritual practice of rest and silence in your week. You might begin with
perhaps only 15-30 minutes at the start. Some suggestions include purposefully turning off
the radio in your car while driving; turning off the television set at home; refraining from talking
on the telephone for periods of time; and going for a run without your Ipod.
As you begin to relish the gifts of silence, you may decide to devote 1/2 a day each week or
more. Allow these periods of silence for your family, your children, and your friends, too. We
all relate more clearly with each other when we live more thoughtful lives. Thoughtful lives
are encouraged by periods of silence.
You can use your silence for meditation but that is not its purpose. Its purpose is to be an
open space, when nothing is planned, no outer activity is achieved. There is no agenda. It is
just a time to simply be. Be who you are. And the great Being you are will refresh your life.
I have listened to the great Silence; and in the deep places of Life,
I have stood naked and receptive to Thy songs and they have entered my soul.
Ernest Holmes

Science of Mind - Workbook - Foundations

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Science of Mind - Workbook - Foundations

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Foundations

of the Science of Mind

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