Category: Spiritual Living

Prayer Partners and Practitioners

I meet with two prayer partners and have a session with a Spiritual Practitioner once a month. Each relationship is unique and vital to my being. With one of my prayer partners we talk about spiritual principles, and our humanness. I shared an experience that activated my inner two-year-old and I didn’t want to play anymore. I could feel it and see it as it was happening. And learning to recognize limitations, I know that I am at choice with my feelings and behavior and don’t have to stay stuck, or in bondage, as Ernest Holmes would say.  As I talked about my humanness, I saw the humor, and both of us start laughing. In the lightness of laughter, I saw that the comment someone made, was simply data about something I didn’t do. At first, I took it as a criticism. Then I realized that my behavior (the data), was not the truth of who I am, and I can change my behavior to live my truth. It gave me a totally different way to look at those words that seem critical. It is merely an opportunity to get back to my Truth. It is God nudging me to choose a course correction.

In practitioner training we would get a new pray partner every 10 weeks. My first prayer partner and I decided we would continue meeting with each other. from class. At first we would talk a little and go directly into prayer. Now our conversations are an hour long. It has been wonderful to see our time together expand and see our lives grow and manifest our prayers.

My monthly meetings with a Spiritual Practitioner, anchor me in my practice. It is a time of emptying out and refueling for the next month’s journey.

These meetings with pray partners and practitioner are compass to keep me on course.

–Maria

Energy is Fundamental

Energy is a fundamental aspect of the universe we inhabit. At the deepest levels of our understanding, everything could be described as energy and vibration. The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. This law is fundamental to our understanding of how the universe operates.

Chanting is one of the oldest forms of human expression, dating back to our earliest ancestors. It is believed that chanting originated from guttural utterances that humans made as they developed consciousness in the womb, listening to the sound of their mother’s heartbeat. We recognize waves in many forms, such as ripples in a pond, radio waves, and light waves. Music can be summed up as orchestrated waves, and our interpretation of sound or waves of any sort.

Waves contain energy, and chanting must have an effect on the body and mind. Healing using sound has been documented by many cultures over the centuries. Harmonics have been proven to affect stability, and low frequencies have been used by the military to communicate underwater. Sonic interventions can warm our souls and unify groups of people, affecting consciousness or awareness.

There is scientific evidence to support the physical benefits of sound healing. According to David Perez-Martinez, M.D., “there’s a little branch of the vagus nerve that goes right to the tympanic membrane [also known as the eardrum], which vibrates in response to sound waves. So that means that every sound that you process through your ears sends that information to the vagus nerve.” The vagus nerve is responsible for “rest and digest” activities such as reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and relaxing muscles. In addition, “when you have two vibrating entities next to each other, the stronger vibration will affect the weaker one; eventually, they’ll synchronize. That’s basic physics,” explains Dr. Perez-Martinez.

In conclusion, chanting and sound healing have been used by many cultures over the centuries to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Waves contain energy, and chanting must have an effect on the body and mind. The physical benefits of sound healing are backed up by science, and the power of sound can unify groups of people and affect consciousness or awareness. The universe is a complex system of energy and vibration, and chanting is just one way in which we can tap into this powerful force.

—Chris Wheeler

We Always Succeed

We always succeed.
We need to learn to succeed in the right things.

Ernest Holmes – Art of Life – page 148

Without realizing it we too often negate what we affirm.

Ernest Holmes – A New Design for Living – page 144.3

One of the main reasons people don’t reach for their goals is that they believe there is something about themselves that will prevent them from getting whatever it is they really want in their deepest heart of hearts.

Edwene Gaines – The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity. page 69

One benefit from spending 6 years exploring New Thought at CSLT is discovering the incredible number of tools and practical methods of bringing more of what I want into my Life. Basic to all of them is the need to be clear on what I want and to be consistent – in a good way.

Consistency is all important. Consistent negative thought gets us into most of our trouble; consistent positive thought is the only thing that can get us out.

Ernest Holmes, A New Design – page 146.1

Mental equivalents were one of the first things I heard about during Rev. Janis’ classes on Wednesday evenings. Those classes were the teasers that intrigued me to read more and to begin attending Service. And Mental Equivalents were intriguing, yet somehow they felt just out of my reach.

Now creating a Mental Equivalent of my highest dreams is an ongoing effort. Getting past the limits others or more frequently that I create for myself is my daily job. Journaling daily is one of my primary tools. First, I define what I want, then all those internal voices tell me why I can’t or shouldn’t or that it’s beyond my reach.

And immediately I know what & how not to think.

It’s then I reach for Holmes A New Design for Living, or Edwene Gaines Four Spiritual Laws and let them fall open to any page and I re-read and I re-learn and practice once again – Affirmative Prayer as an active answer to all the doubting voices in my head.

It’s pretty amazing when I get it right and remember the unlimited Good already available to me and to all.

–In Peace, Mariann

Crayons

I have always loved to color. One of my fondest memories as a child is coloring with my Aunt Ellie who taught me how to shade and outline with crayons, turning the simple drawings in my coloring books into works of art. I also have memories of drawings in school and being graded, having my art judged as good, or do better, or that’s not good at all. This taught me that I’m not an artist (my drawings were never really very good) and to keep my work to myself. This extended into writing and public speaking – I was afraid to share anything that might reveal me as not good enough. I took refuge in math, where the answer is either correct or not. There are logical steps to solving problems. I became really good at that and thought I had made peace with not being “artistic.”

Creativity runs through each of us and can never be completely silenced. In my twenties I would draw mandalas that I would color as a way of relaxing. I continue to color as a form of meditation. I have a dozen coloring books that range from simple children’s coloring books to complex “adult” mandalas. I have colored pencils, pens, and of course, crayons.

Over the course of my 20+ years with the Berkeley Physic Institute (BPI), I slowly began reclaiming my creativity. An integral part of every class is coloring with crayons. There were big bowls of crayons, and it was always such a joy when a box of sharp, new crayons was added to the mix. I got over my fear of my work not being “good enough” and embraced the stick people and scribbled roses I drew in class. Set in the vibration of spiritual kindergarten, the point of coloring was self-discovery and not to produce a work of art worthy of hanging on the wall, or even a refrigerator.

Recently crayons have been my medium of choice as I began doing nondominant hand (NDH) work. In her book, Living with Feeling, The Art of Emotional Expression, Lucia Capacchione writes, “writing and drawing with the nondominant hand give you greater access to the right-hemisphere functions: feelings, intuition, gut instinct, inner wisdom, and spirituality.” Writing and drawing with our NDH helps us to access our inner child that remembers the Truth about who we are. I have found her to be feisty and no nonsense.

As I consider my dream of doing Spiritual Coaching for a living, my inner critic, from that familiar place of “not good enough,” tells me I don’t know what I’m doing, I have nothing to offer, and I can’t really help anyone. The first picture below is my NDH’s response – I am the guide and Spirit is the compass, and together we navigate the mountains of our lives. The second picture is my NDH’s response to the Truth that I am an expression of the Infinite – I am both me as Sharon and Me as the I Am.

With crayons I access that little girl coloring with my Aunt, when every picture was a work of art made with love.

–Sharon Whealy, RScP

 

Thoughts about Wholeness

A life of wholeness is a life of health and balance. In the process of healing from our wounds, we begin to harmonize our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual parts. Christina Grof, The Thirst for Wholeness, page 267

As stated in our CSLT Sacred Covenant Easy Prayer, “Because I know that the highest Purpose of my New Minister is to express Spirit, I therefore know that my New Minister is a Revelation of Spirit as: Wholeness.” Eleven of us spent about 14 hours in the Co-Creation process, facilitated by Reverend Doctor Kathy Hearn. Our Sacred Covenant was the end result.

Every word in the Sacred Covenant had to be agreed upon by all eleven of us. Choosing words to express an important concept and getting 11 people to agree on each word presented a predictable challenge. Different people can have varying reactions to the same word. Semantics in the context of communication refers to the meaning of words. It is how we personally interpret a word. The word Minister can have both positive and negative connotations depending upon one’s experiences or culture. Reverend Dr. Hearn led us in processes where full agreement was eventually achieved and any subtle shades of meaning were resolved.

We concluded that Wholeness assumes balance in several God qualities and more fully expressed what we seek in our New Minister. Reverend Dr. Hearn described wholeness as “nothing broken, nothing missing.”

Joseph Campbell described a society of individuals who lack wholeness as “where men who are fractions imagine themselves to be complete.” Other comments about wholeness include the following:

You don’t need another person, place or thing to make you whole. God already did that. Your job is to know it. Maya Angelou

The wholeness and freedom we seek is our true nature, who we really are. Jack Kornfield

Whole people see and create wholeness wherever they go; split people see and create splits in everything and everybody. Richard Rohr

A true desire is not to have but to be. We are whole creatures in potential, and the true purpose of desire is to unfold that wholeness, to become what we can be. Eric Butterworth

Perhaps the most “spiritual” thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness. Jon Kabat-Zinn

I’m glad that the Divine led us to select the quality of Wholeness as our New Minister’s expression of Spirit. The desires, intentions, commitment, and faith of our community, as expressed in our Sacred Covenant Easy Prayer and read at the end of every service will manifest CSLT’s perfect New Minister. And so it is.

–Linda Bullock

Easter Bunny

We all know of the Easter Bunny who brings brightly colored eggs on Easter morning. But how did this custom come to be?

Easter is thought to be derived from Eostre, a spring goddess of fertility often depicted with a rabbit. In German folklore we find the Osterhase, or Easter Hare, who was said to hatch and hide multicolored eggs for children to discover around their homes and gardens on Easter Sunday. Children would make nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.

When the German immigrants brought their traditions to America, the hare became a rabbit. The Easter Bunny’s deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests for the children.

The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are often compared as they both deliver gifts to children. I remember a talk Rev. Donald gave at Easter one year. He suggested that we should be less like Santa Claus – who deems children naughty or nice to determine who will get a gift and who will get coal – and more like the Easter Bunny who delivers gifts to all children without discrimination.

And how did elaborately decorated eggs become a symbol of Easter in various traditions? Eggs are representative of new life. Also, early churches had their congregations abstain from eggs during Lent, allowing them to be consumed again on Easter. In anticipation, eggs would be colored and adorned to be eaten in celebration on Easter Sunday morning. If you’d like to experiment decorating eggs naturally using common things found around your kitchen, here are some recipes:

Make Natural Easter Egg Dye with Ingredients in Your Kitchen (bhg.com)

This spring, consider embodying the spirit of the Easter Bunny by sharing your gifts to all alike without judgment.

Happy Easter!

–Janet Salese

GOT CHANGE

I’m sure you know, some things change and some things never change. But did you know there are different kinds of change? This is something I hadn’t really thought much about. Reversible change—melting of ice. Irreversible change—burning of paper. Desirable change—ripening of fruits. Undesirable change—rusting of iron. Natural change—changing of seasons. Slow change—growth of a plant. Fast change—occurrence of lightning during a thunderstorm. You get the idea. It’s all change. We all experience change.

As we all know, our beloved community is in the process of calling forth a new minister to serve us. Now that’s some change!

What hasn’t changed is the spiritual way CSLT offers solutions to life’s challenges. We offer principles and practices that aid in spiritual exploration and discoveries. Some of these practices include meditation, classes and affirmative prayer practiced by a community eager to learn and to live a life more abundant in all ways.

Our community amongst each other, and our individual relationships with each other, I have found to be such a blessing in my life. Our morning meditation group has evolved into such an important part of my daily life. It’s a practice that has grown to be immeasurable. I am sure others feel as I do, and it is open to all who want to join us.

Our classes and book studies expand upon our teachings, principles and practices. Most of the time I get my homework or readings done before class, but even when I don’t, I still show up and get so much out of the classroom discussion. The most recent Ernest Holmes book study, “A New Design for Living” may be one of my favorites now. From page 131 we pulled some affirmations and I’m saying them multiple times per day and am receiving positive results!

• Something new and wonderful comes into my experience today.
• Today I bless everything I touch and am prospered in everything I do.
• Today nothing but good goes forth from me, therefore nothing else can possibly return.
• Today, this day, I am happy and whole.

We all change. Everything changes, yet everything stays the same.
I’m so happy and grateful to be a part of this loving community. That never changes.

–Madeline

Our Co-Creation

When we use our creative imagination in strong faith, it will create for us, out of the One Substance, whatever we have formed in thought. In this way we become Co-Creators with God.
–Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind 157.2

It is the day before CSLT’s Co-Creation process begins with Dr Rev Kathy Hearn that will take place Thursday to Sunday. On Thursday everyone is invited to be a part of the process either by coming to the office or on Zoom. Please contact Mariann if you would like to attend, as there are handouts you will need. On Friday evening and Saturday, the Covenant Creation Team will create our New Minister “Sacred Covenant” which will establish the consciousness that welcomes our New Senior Minister. On Sunday Dr. Rev Kathy will be our speaker and we will read the “Sacred Covenant” together.

I still have a lot to learn about Co-Creation and looking forward to going through the process for calling our next minister, and seeing what aspects I can apply to my life. So far, I have learned that “Co-Creation is the state of consciousness that unfolds through the process of healing. It is the state of consciousness that arises when we come into agreement with others. When we come into the consciousness of consensus.” (Rev. Lloyd Strom, the Principles of Co-Creation)

And the sense I get of “healing” is learning about two relationships: My relationship with the Divine and my relationship with others and working through what separates me from others, so we move forward in writing the “Sacred Covenant” as One Mind.

The goal of Co-Creation is not to recreate, but create something new which is beyond my current knowledge. I look forward to a new CSLT that is Divinely created.

When a group of people come together with one accord and with one thought, a greater Power is generated. Not because the Creative Principle responds to a number of people more than It does to one, but because the combined faith of a group reaches a higher level of acceptance. Therefore, group spiritual practice should be definitely performed with the purpose in mind of arriving at a deeper conviction.

                        –Ernest Holmes, from handout on Group Spiritual Practice

–Maria

We Learn and We Grow

Our Interpretation of the world changes as new information is verified and added to the knowledge base. The list of changes is monumental because the experience of life is always changing.

We are explorers, innovators, inquisitors, and we adapt as we go. Because of all the advancements it is not advantageous for us to cling to outmoded concepts, rituals, and practices.

Like it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not we are bound to follow certain aspects of the universe. We may change our relationship with them. For example, cataclysmic events are not the result of an angry Deity. Or electricity in the form of lightning is not supernatural. Sure, it took us a while but today we have a better handle on these things than we did. Our application of electrical principles is expanding into other aspects of matter and energy.

Clinging to past logic loops and justifying them in any fashion will not allow for spiritual growth or expansion of our database. As they say in the computer programming world “Garbage In Garbage Out”.

I want to include in my present experience an element of zeal, which to me is kind of a mix of eagerness and energy. Particularly because our teaching releases me to experience unencumbered freedom like I never knew before. Now that I have Science of Mind, I want to step into the authentic version of me and feel the awesomeness of life.

Today is a great day. We are on a continually advancing adventure. Expanding into life learning and growing every moment. Our CSL is becoming and expanding. I am looking forward to the changes with excitement and anticipation.

–In shared growth, Chris

Stepping Out and Up By

Living in New York City for 35 years – a highly visual and colorful city – I particularly like Dr. Holmes when he uses especially vivid language to state that the responsibility for my Life is mine – all mine – AND only mine. It helps me remember the lesson.

“… The fact that our foot may be in a mud puddle now need not concern us for we can step to higher ground. We need to do this rather than to sit down with our foot still in the puddle and bemoan our situation, carefully noting in our mind every step we took which led us to our predicament, and probably finding ourselves sinking deeper into the mire rather than getting out of it.”       Ernest Holmes & Willis Kinnear. A New Design for Living (pp. 95-96).

That “stepping to higher ground” requires knowing not only that it exists, but it is within reach. Always already available. After 6 years of being around CSLT, I am finding the truth of that. As I’ve been taught, it’s simple, but not easy.

Persistent consistence are my bywords for moving out of the puddle and onto drier always somewhat higher ground. My house is papered with post-its reminding me to pay attention to now and to stay aware of and avoid the default state of mind that can so easily plop me right back into that puddle. The notes work better when I read them regularly.

Two weeks ago, in class (New Design for Living), Maria reminded us of the 5 ways to avoid any hole in our way. (The complete version of this is by Portia Nelson and follows this blog.)

Here’s my summary:

1- I see a hole and walk into it; complain, cry unfair, and eventually drag out of it.
2- I see it again and walk into it, say oh no, not again and begin crawling out.
3- I see it and walk into it, know it is my fault, and leave immediately.
4- I see it and walk around it.
5- I take a different path altogether.

Change is up to me, and I know that. I also know that the path and the changing are easier when I share it with like-minded individuals. The reminders on Sunday, chatting as we set-up and put away Sunday Service essentials, the small times we are together and share, the delighted laughter at some of the music choices these and so many more instances of sharing and caring provide the energy to reach up and out to that higher ground.

Thank you all for all the help in my stepping up and out.

–In Peace, Mariann

Continue reading for “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

V
I walk down another street.

Copyright (c) 1993, by Portia Nelson from the book There’s A Hole in My Sidewalk.

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