Your Subconscious Mind....What ARE You Thinking ?!

Join us this Wednesday March 23rd to find out! Come hear Rev. Bruce Fredenburg and as an added treat hear the music of Laura & Joe Seymour. A splendid time is guaranteed for all and tonight Rev. Bruce is topping the bill! (apologies to Messrs. Lennon & McCartney).

Your Subconscious Mind

Decide to be Creative

Are you creative? Recently i met a woman who has been collecting dolls for years. She has thousands of dolls in her home. She has dolls from every region of the world and made from various materials in every size and shape you could imagine. Many of dolls' faces were created in her own kiln. Their expressions were chosen by her. The clothing, jewelry and shoes were made by her. Nobody would deny that she is very creative! This picture is of part of her collection.

Photo by Linda Lyerly

Many people have an idea about creativity that is incorrect. They think that creativity can only be expressed through the arts. I know I used to think that because I couldn't draw things that even faintly resembled the thing I was drawing, I decided that I was not creative.

When I started studying the Science of Mind, I began to realize that we are  all creative beings. I began to understand that through our beliefs and passions we were creating our worlds. Creativity can take many forms. What we think about, comes about.

What is on your mind? That is the thing you are passionate about. If you are worried about something, you tend to visit that idea many times a day. You are actually creating the very thing that you fear. You are planting an idea. You are passionate about the idea.That idea must become your creation. It is not because God wants you to be unhappy; it is simply because you have been planting ideas of misfortune. You could start planting ideas of good fortune. You could fertilize it with gratitude.

What would it be like if you took the same time to prayerfully or passionately consider the good that is already in your life? What if you used your creative imagination to dwell upon uplifting ideas?

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote these words of wisdom:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

Thinking about these things will create more of them in your life. You are creative right now! Choose something beautiful. You will have a collection like our hostess.

The Myth of Security

Ernest Holmes wrote: 

"The greatest good that can come to anyone is the..absolute certainty of himself, and of his relationship to the Universe, forever removing the sense of heaven as being outside himself..

Such an understanding teaches us that there can never come a time when we shall stop progressing...Such an understanding will rob man of his loneliness, and give him a sense of security which knows no fear." 

What great news this is! Most people think that their security comes from their portfolio, their homes, their possessions. 

But where do all these things come from? They all come from the same place. They come from Infinite Supply through the always faithful Law of Cause and Effect. 

Long ago I was instructed by Divine Presence to stop putting my faith outside myself, and to always trust God! What great advice that was! Much greater than I knew at that time.

Deepak Chopra reminds us that the things we think bring us peace of mind, don't.

Trust God. Trust God. Trust God.

Meditation is the best way to live a life of peace.

I thought you might enjoy one of Deepak's beautiful meditations. This one is a meditation to live a carefree life. He leads the meditation  and there are about 8 minutes of silence. During that time there are beautiful pastoral, deeply peaceful scenes being shown. I watched it all the way through then closed my eyes the second time.
Enjoy.

THE ART OF LIVING: The Wisdom of the Tao

There was something formless and perfect 
before the universe was born.
It is serene.  Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite.  Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
There are the four great powers.

Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
          
                    -The Tao Te Ching, Verse 25


Isn't it beautiful and eloquent the way Lao Tzu describes the Infinite Greatness that lies within each of us?  At 7:00 pm on Wednesday, June 25th, at the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley, come join the conversation about the incredible wisdom of The Tao Te Ching and its author Lao Tzu.  See how these wise words from over twenty-five centuries ago can change your perspective on life TODAY!  Rev. Pattie and I will be facilitating this exchange, and will possibly discuss continuing the discussion beyond just that Wednesday service.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."  -Lao Tzu 

ONCE UPON A LIFETIME

To my spiritual family...

There is no closing door that can refuse Life nothing that can staunch Its movement.

It has forever been a river whose origin is Divine and it flows inexorably back to that Ocean.

Once upon a lifetime I believed I could hold each moment as an exquisite jewel, that the Universe was no longer expanding, and I expounded as a child, without vision or clarity.

I swam against the tides and waves and currents until, exhausted, my battered soul washed up on the shore of this blessed place and here I saw the face of Peace.

Even then did I still clutch at the smoke and sand that was my warped remembering.

I held in my hand the priceless pearl with only the merest glimmering of recognition.

Something pulled my consciousness and pushed me to pursue the connection between thought and that which is thought of; in that process I discovered Love.

This was, and continues to be an unfoldment that has no real beginning, and it is the thread of an infinite tapestry that has no borders.

As it unfurls, my world grows ever greater.

Every corner turned is an adventure for me now.

I sail through storms and float in waking dreams knowing that all uncertainty is spoken for by the Mind and Power that has gifted me with life.

Now do I see that wall, once formidable and tall is an ever-opening portal to the real Thing, and every answer I seek, when found, begs another question, forever and ever.

My realization is that explanations explain nothing and that the voyage to knowledge and wisdom is endless, that the impermanence of human life makes it all the sweeter.

And the only thing of true import in this temporality is Love Itself.

And here I have found that Love in forms and ideas, in people, and in the inspired doing that is music.

It is the compassion and caring that carries all lovers through.

It is the force of creation that makes all things new.

This is my home; this the well from which I draw that which quenches me.

This is my family; you are the ones who lift me from my darkness.

And these are they who gently hold my love, that I will not fly away.

God is here, and all of you are His face and Her grace.

-Written by Rick Dale, Singer/Songwriter/Poet

Who's Your Boss?

Back in the early 2000s, I began to experience a symptom I now know as air hunger. I should say, re-experienced, because I’d had the same problem when I was in my early 20s. “It’s just nerves,” the doctor said. “Relax and it will go away.” And indeed within a year it was a distant memory. When it happened again, my doctor said, “nerves” and handed me a prescription for Xanax. But this time it wasn't going away, in fact it was getting worse.

When I was young, I believed doctors knew best…better than I did. After all, they were highly educated, trained professionals, right? So when my body didn't do what it's supposed to do, the doctor could fix it. And if the doctor couldn't fix it, then it was either unfixable, or all in my head.

But I've learned a lot in the intervening years. I learned that if I was in a relationship where my partner treated me badly, that I could choose to leave – or stay. I learned that if my employer was taking advantage of me, I could choose to leave. In fact, I learned that it was I who chose that disparaging partner, that disappointing job and if I’d listened to my own inner wisdom, I might have taken a different path.

My inner wisdom was telling me this breathing problem was not “all in my head”. It wasn't just stress. And when my tests came back normal, I trusted my inner wisdom. I kept searching. Specifically, I refined my perception of the issue and discovered “air hunger”. Once I could clearly name it, I could find the condition – Babesia, a malaria-like infection that often comes with Lyme disease, which I also have.

I’d like to say I did this all on my own. And while taking total responsibility for my health was all me, I had invaluable help. I tapped into the vast well of knowledge and experience of other Lyme patients. There’s not one symptom; one reaction to medication, one painful procedure I experienced, that someone else in my Lyme community hadn't been through. There was always someone ready and willing to share, guide and support me.

Inner wisdom, what some call intuition, is simply the Universe speaking. Sometimes It speaks so softly you have to lean in. Sometimes the inner chatterbox drowns It out, but you can learn Its voice. Inner wisdom never fails.

--Pamela Rocke

Marriage Equality is a Basic Human Right

Rev. Dr. Kenn Gordon

"Everyone is equal in the eyes of God"

Marriage equality is a basic human right,  says Dr. Kenn Gordon, spiritual leader to more than 250,000 adherents worldwide of the New Thought philosophy known as Religious Science.

"This is a spiritual question, not a political one. Today's U.S. Supreme Court decisions are important steps toward the ultimate goal of full marriage equality. It is inane for us to put laws  forward in our social contract like marriage and say it is OK for some but not for everyone. Everyone is equal in the eyes of God. We believe that love is the foundation of all major religious philosophies, and therefore we support the expression of love in same-sex couples and the right of same-sex couples to marry."

"Religious Science endeavors to get to the spiritual truth of the matter and through that lens we see that marriage equality is about human and civil rights.  It is not up to a court to deny basic human rights to anyone."

Begun in 1924 by Dr. Ernest Holmes, Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind,  was founded on the belief that all individuals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.  Gordon notes that from the beginning, a large percentage of adherents and ministers within the Centers have identified as LGBT and that continues today.



ABOUT CENTERS FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING: Founded in 1924 by Dr. Ernest Holmes, there are now more than 250,000 adherents in over 400 centers and communities worldwide. Centers for Spiritual Living's vision is to awaken humanity to its spiritual magnificence and create a world that works for everyone.  www.CSL.org

Come join us!

Are You Borrowing Your Light or Shining Yours Brightly?

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Just the other day, Rev. Pattie Mercado and I were having a conversation about Thomas Troward, who was one of the key influences on Dr. Ernest Holmes and the teachings of the Science of Mind, and it reminded me of one of my favorite quotes of his:

"You never get what you want just because you want it.  But you always get what you believe whether you want it or not."  

This is such a statement of freedom for me.  Why?   Have you ever prayed or pleaded for something like winning the lottery, getting the perfect, well-paying job, or finding the perfect mate even though you didn't feel deserving of it?  When you really go within yourself and examine those pleads or prayers, did you really believe that you were going to attain them or was it just hopeful (doubtful) thinking?  The freedom for me is knowing that believing is seeing, rather than seeing is believing. When everything in your heart and soul is telling you yes, that is believing.  When your head is messing with you, telling you why you should or why you shouldn't believe something or move forward with it, that is simply the ego or fear trying to make sense of whatever your dream is.

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Field of Dreams," not only because it involves baseball, but because of the profound leap of faith and belief Ray (played by Kevin Cosner) took to allow his dream to unfold at the risk of losing all of his and his family's material wealth.  Listen and watch the argument between his intuition and his ego...

"People will come."  BELIEVE in your dream, and watch it manifest!

Where is the Balance in Moving?!

Where is the Balance in Moving?!

The height of the boxes almost cover the windows. Newspapers swallow up the dinning room table. "Where is this, where is that?" The family yells. Every time I turn a corner dust bunnies the size of tennis balls are lying in wait to pounce on me.

This chaotic picture I'm painting is the preparation for moving house.

I come from a long line of women who are clean freaks. I kid you not, you could have a full meal at my grandmother's house and use the floor as your plate. In fact her floors are cleaner than your plates!

Every Saturday morning while growing up with my single mom it was a ritual to take the whole day and scrub the house from top to bottom. Because who knew if someone would just pop in unannounced. I equate it to having clean underwear on in case you get into a car accident. WHO CARES!!

As I grew older this obsession of cleanliness of theirs became absurd to me. Yet I was beginning to develop the same characteristics of this obsession.

As a newly wed I remember putting my poor new husband through the same Saturday ritual. When my children came along I couldn't function very well outside my home if I knew that I had left it dirty.

I always used to joke and secretly dread about us having to move one day. The pinnacle of messy and unorganized. Just thinking about it made my blood pressure rise.

Well here we are. Moving. All my worst fears have come true. Or so I thought. Having a few Science of Mind classes under my belt gave me some tools to cope.

Nowadays I'd rather spend the day at the beach with my kids than have a clean house. My life is temporarily in chaos and I know there will be an end. If someone happens to stop by unexpectedly and my house is a mess and they judge me for that, well, too bad for them. I'm still an ok person.

When I die I don't want to only be remembered for a clean house. There is no balance in moving. At all.

Life is messy. Don't be afraid of getting your hands dirty once in awhile. Go to the beach instead!

The Poised Perspective

In my busy family life, often times balance seems like a myth or a fairy tale. As I race from one school to the next or try to listen to three children talking at once ALL wanting to be heard over the other, I feel like the woman in the old Calgon commercial voicing..."Calgon...take me away." In that moment, I want to escape my life for a little peace and quiet. I tell myself, I really need to find some balance, like that would solve all my problems.

In the Science of Mind text book, Ernest Holmes doesn't even have a definition for balance. Instead, he defines poise. Poise is a synonym for balance but for me conjures up a very different picture in my mind. Say the word balance and I picture a tightrope walker, tense and focused, making each step count so as not to fall. Or I envision a scale, adding and taking away activities to create an even spread of my time and attention. On the other hand, when I think of poise, I think of a way of being or a graceful person, calm and centered, moving with ease.

I've thought a lot about balance this month and I have discovered that the internal sense of poise is really where I want to put my attention. What I know is that creating my life is an inside job. How I feel and think creates my perceptions. My perceptions in turn create my reality.

With a new awareness of poise, I find myself praying more and not one of those throw-your-hands-in-the-air "So help me God!" kind of prayers. But rather an affirmative prayer that starts with a deep breath and recognizes right where I am is all good and all God. I've also found the perspective to be grateful for the fiery daughter who knows her own mind or the bountiful life that affords us all of our activities and the car that gets us there and back. I have also been more mindful of my choices, knowing that I am the creator of my experience.

Being poised is a practice, a daily opportunity. I invite you to consider poise and see if it offers you a new perspective on life.

What Choice is There?

I am very full -- mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have come to the end of our spiritual living conference and I am filled with gratitude, excitement, appreciation and wonder.

One of the most profound workshops was offered by Bruce Sanguin, an ordained minister of the Canadian Memorial United church who writes and speaks about evolutionary Christianity.

When I was growing up in Conquest Saskatchewan, our family attended the United Church of Canada. I believed then that there was no longer vitality in that religion. In fact, although I loved my parents, friends and family who attended, I believed that few of them believed, actually believed, in "heaven" or even an afterlife.

Consequently, when I started to awaken spiritually, I rejected the church of my childhood. Life has many twists and turns, doesn't it?

Rev. Bruce Sanguin blew me away. He is a Christian mystic, whose poetry affects me as deeply as does the Sufi mystic, Rumi.  How could this man be part of the church I had rejected out of hand when I was in my thirties?

As I said to him after his workshop, if I had known that the United Church produced such extraordinary mystical thinkers, I may never have left it. Then I thought about my path, which led me away from Canada to the United States and the ministry I love and I realized that I would not change a thing. I can appreciate a poet and evolutionary thinker while still loving the principles of Science of Mind.

There is always a choice and we are on the right path now.
I am including Bruce's beautiful poem, "What Choice is There?"

When your words
are an assault
that drive me from our blessed unity
to take cover behind ego's bomb shelter,
my brave soul steps out
into no man's land,
waving a white flag.

What choice is there,
but to follow my courageous soul,
into enemy camp,
and there
sit with you in the living room
of your suffering,
and share a cup of hot tea?
I have only one question:
How has my love failed you?
Okay, two:
How is it that my ecstasy
has caused you
so much pain."

We find wisdom in unexpected places. Bruce Sanguin has written several books that you can buy on Amazon.com.

Universal Law Like a Piano?

I was always taught to sit in the front row.

You learn more.  You retain more. You hear more.  You see more.

Today as I sat in the front row of Sunday service, I watched the pianist beautifully navigate the keys of our piano at the Center for Spiritual Living.

What came to me, as I sat mesmerized, was how that very piano was an analogy to how the Universe works.

I was thinking what a disaster it would be if I scooted our talented pianist off the bench and started banging on the piano myself.

Because I don't know how to play the instrument, I would create a chaotic cacophony of sounds that would make most put their hands over their ears.

Yet, a professionally-trained musician can create beautiful symphony of music.

The Universe is like a piano.  

Untrained in universal principles, one will create a chaotic, disorganized cacophony of  events in their lives.  Mainly wondering why "life always happens to them."

When we understand how the Universe works, we can co-create a symphony of music in our own lives.  There is a multitude of things we can know in our lives, yet the one that makes the biggest difference in our lives so often goes unknown.  Mysterious.  Treated skeptically at times.  Yet, proven to be so in quantum physics.

If you are reading this and would like to co-create a symphony in your own life, join us for classes and learn the very principles that will turn your "Universal piano" into a beautiful instrument of joy!

LIFE: This is what I believe about it. What about you?

One of the beauties of life is diversity.  Each person is an important thread in the tapestry of life and each one has a personal belief system that either works for them or doesn't.  This is what I believe...

I believe that every living being is born a perfect creation of a Universal Energy; some may call it God, Source, Spirit or Unconditional Love. Whatever terminology moves and inspires someone is very personal to each. This Universal Energy has no limits or boundaries in power, presence or scope, and is here to be expressed by means of us, humankind.  We are Its expressions and are inherently imbued with, and part of, this power that embraces all life. I believe that any ideas or actions of fear, hatred, anger or resentment are simply a disconnect from this Source and that the authenticity of every person is that of LOVE.  When we are truly in the awareness of our own magnificence, our own truth, all is indeed well in our world

The Spiritual Dr. Seuss Rhymes and Raps New Thought Teachings!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. ~ Dr. Seuss

And So It Is! 

Science of Mind & Christmas

Rev. Barbara Waterhouse explores the concept of the Christ Consciousness as we embrace this mystical time of year.

Share Your Light
And So It Is!

What Is It You Want in Life?

"Behind the individual is the Universe, which has no limits." (Science of Mind, page 30)

What is it you want? You've got the Universe behind you...go get it!