“There are three ways of dealing with the principles announced in Truth. There is deep thinking which the mind exercises respecting them. There is the speaking them forth which we do not hesitate to do. There  is the careful recording of them, which is writing down what we know of them. The next is living them, which we are sure to do if we think, speak, and write them. It is by faithfully doing all these things with Spiritual doctrine that we accomplish the works of the Spirit in us.”
~ Emma Curtis Hopkins ~

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It is one thing to have an intellectual understanding of the universal laws that govern our lives, it is quite another thing to apply these infallible laws consciously and deliberately for our personal benefit as well as for the benefit of the collective. To accomplish this ideal, it takes practice, practice, practice. Otherwise, it is so easy to succumb to the false appearances we encounter that appear to be real.

For the past six years, as a spiritual practice, I have written about how spiritual laws are applicable to daily living. This practice has served me in gaining even greater clarity about what I believe to be true and at the same time provide others with a springboard from which they may begin to ponder their thoughts, feelings and beliefs about the subject being written. It has been my intention to convey the unchanging universal spiritual principles in my writing, lest I forget the reasoning and logic behind my convictions. Walking in lockstep is never the goal; however, walking in unity is. Suggesting what to think is never the goal; however, suggesting how to think is.

Spiritual practice is essential on the journey of enlightenment. It keeps us aware that we are much more than we appear and that we have the inner power to overcome any obstacle. However, the actual modality itself may change from time to time. For example, I may journal my thoughts and feelings consistently, every day for months, only to reach a point that I am complete with that process. I may then go to another writing practice such as poetry, allowing its newness, inspired by journaling, to awaken a part of myself that was otherwise dormant. Soon, both journaling and poetry may become intermittent practices. Meditation, a time of introspection, remains the underlying practice that never changes.

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Yes, just as our perceptions of the physical and material aspects of life are forever changing in accordance with our beliefs, expectations, and new ideas that emerge; likewise, the modalities we use when practicing our Oneness with the Divine change as new insights evolve. However, although everything must change, the undergirding principles of Peace, Love, Harmony, Order, Beauty, Wisdom, Joy, and Power are the eternal verities and are changeless in their nature.  

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For the seasoned meditator, there are usually several practices maintained simultaneously, such as community with like-minded people, reading inspirational material, and affirmative prayer. Emma Curtis Hopkins affirms spiritual practice as follows:   I think it …   I speak it … I write it    … I live it!

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Once more I find myself in the midst of change as I take a break from writing a weekly blog. I invite you, however, to join me in going deeper by embracing the words written in the various posts that resonate with you. I invite you to review, ponder, and incorporate these concepts into your spiritual practices, yielding a greater understanding of the creative process.

Now, as we each move forward on our hero’s journey, let’s find our unique way of staying centered in the Truth, practicing peace on earth and goodwill towards all people; experiencing health, wealth, success; and, expressing love, beauty, harmony, joy, wisdom, and divine order in everything we think, say, and do.

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This Week’s Affirmation

“I am guided by the Wisdom of God.”

Ernest Holmes, 365 Science of Mind, p.198

“All’s Love – yet all’s Law”
~ Robert Browning ~

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“Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”
~ Romans 13:10 ~

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“How precious did that Grace appear, the hour I first believed.”
 ~ Amazing Grace, by John Newton ~

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No matter what you call it, there’s no denying that there is a Presence, a Power, an Intelligence that is Self-Existent and is The First Cause of all Creation.  It is Perfect Love, Perfect Peace, Perfect Wisdom. It is Harmony and Order. These attributes and qualities of The One Transcendent One are within every one of us.   It is the essence of all life.

From a metaphysical point of view, this primordial essence is Spirit or Divine Mind. It is an Omnipresent Creative Energy that makes all things out of itself.

The philosopher asserts: “As above, so below”; “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”; and “It is done unto you as you believe.” These are just a few examples of what mystics throughout the ages have discovered about the innate power within every individual.

In the field of science, the scientist discovers a principle; i.e., an invisible, infallible law that activates that which is unseen, demonstrating its reality. The thing is then experienced in the physical, material world, no matter how long it had laid dormant.  Electricity, mathematics, and music are common examples of universal principles made manifest.  The principle of a thing is the law that governs it. It responds to all who tap into its nature and applies its way. The law, or Principle is unbreakable and non-negotiable. It works the same, all the time, without exception.

Through careful observation, I recognize phrases like: “You are the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:27); “Know ye not that ye are gods” (Psalm 82:6/John 10:35); and “The Father and I are One” (John 10:30) are all statements about my nature and my relationship with the source of all life. As I begin to accept these words as a description of me in the here and now, I realize that while The Infinite One is the Macrocosm, or Universal Presence, that I am the microcosm; i.e., an individualization of The One.  It becomes clear to me that the highest God and the innermost God are inseparable and forever unified.

Each day I must remember to remind myself that I am a channel through which God’s idea of Itself flows through me, as me each time I apply the principles of Perfect Love, Perfect Peace, Perfect Wisdom, Harmony, and Order to every person, place, and thing I encounter in my daily round.    Otherwise, it is easy to forget, and I become like the seed upon the wind that Howard Thurman describes saying, “He takes his clue to all meaning and values from the passing moment, the transitory event, the immediate issue of his day.”

The spiritual practices that I engage in are not required to please a Super Power outside of myself. Rather, they are to awaken the awareness of the Super Power that lives within me, lest I get caught up with error-thought and imaginings through downward gazing. Therefore, I practice the principle of peace on earth and goodwill towards all people, knowing that Principle is never bound by precedent, but is immediate in its response.

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This Week’s Affirmation

“I GOT THIS! I am a channel for good, ever-present and ready to flow.”

~Keith Childers~

Originally posted on May 7, 2024

“The highest God and the innermost God is  One  God.”
~ What We Believe, Ernest Holmes

Earlier today I asked Robbin what  the word “re-calibrate” brought  up for  her. The following is what she said:

“From time to time, when I have gotten out of balance, living more from the physical aspect of myself; when I get caught in the matrix of doing…   doing…   doing… because   I have been thinking… thinking… thinking…, so I  can figure things out, I have to stop and “Pause for First Cause”  (meditate), so that I can recalibrate. I  come back to center and allow myself to be sourced and supplied from the Infinite  All-Knowing Source and Supply that is within me. And when I live from this space,  I find that thinking and doing are now aligned with my Spirit; and when all is balanced, I find myself being and expressing my True   Self, with ease and grace.  As Howard Thurman would say,        “I belong more to God, than to self.”

Yes,  I concur!

I am reminded that God, the Indwelling Presence, is a Three-Fold Being, within us, expressing Itself as (1) Invisible Consciousness/Causation,  as (2) Mental/ Emotional/ Subconscious/Soul/ Creative Medium, and (3) Physical/Material Existence/Effect.  Each aspect reveals the unique nature that is the inherent nature within every one of us.        

It is when all three aspects of our being  are aligned  that  we  are divinely guided into right action in  everything  we think, say, and do; and  we  find ourselves in our right and perfect place.  

The  Pure Spirit, the Great I AM  within us, yields Its universal consciousness of Love, Peace, Harmony, Wisdom, Order and Joy.  This  Presence  imagines and  accepts  the  creative vision  of  Its  own  divine nature flowing through the people & places,  and things  It mentally sees.  The  Manifestation that follows is filled with the essence of this,  our divine agreement.

This process of re-calibration is spiritual practice, such as Spiritual Mind Treatment, Meditation, Affirmative Prayer,  Breathing Exercises,  Life Visioning,  Yoga,  Walking the Labyrinth, etc. The  list of modalities  goes  on and on. However, do not forget  that the  objective  of practicing re-alignment, is  “the union of body, mind, and spirit, or the integration of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.”

The re-calibration takes place when we have the courage to stop time and time again and let God be God, in, through, and as us.  And so it is.

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This Week’s Affirmation

“Today,  I come back to  Center and allow myself to be sourced and supplied&n bsp;by Pure Spirit.”

By Robbin G. Ruffner, RScP

It was back in the mid 1980’s when I took a class where the facilitator frequently used the word “energy” in a context that was unfamiliar to me. She would say things like so-and-so’s energy was really big, or so-and-so’s energy was subdued,  or the energy in the room is scattered today.  At the time, I thought, ” What is she talking about?”

Back then, the word ‘energy’ had a limited meaning for me. For example, I agreed with meanings found in the dictionary, such as: “the capacity for doing work,” or “usable power (such as heat or electricity) and, “the resources for producing power.” I did not consider the concept of energy as a “spiritual force flowing through all people.” At the time I unknowingly separated science and spirituality, while at the same time affirming the unity of all life.

Since then, I realize the word energy, depending on how it is used, is synonymous with the term undifferentiated substance, as referenced in the Science of Mind. It is also used synonymously with “Life, Spirit, Divine Energy. Aristotle used the word to convey the realized state of potentialities, as opposed to their unrealized state (p.588).” In physics it is the quantum field: i.e., a universal energy field that connects all consciousness and matter. 

I now realize the depth of meaning in the way my mentor used the words. For instance, when walking into a room one may immediately feel a sense of hostility –or feel a sense of welcoming. These intuitive hits occur without spoken words. At such times we are at choice. We may react to hostility by matching that energy, i.e., giving as good as we get. Or we may respond by lifting the mood with kindness, letting others match your energy. Remember the teachings of the mystic Jesus: “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32)

I now realize when Ernest Holmes says, “There is something in the Universe  which responds  and corresponds to our mental states” (The Science of Mind, p.319). He speaks about Divine Energy. Words found in The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) read: “Where attention goes, energy flows; where intention goes, energy grows” imply our thoughts, focus, and intention set this Law of Correspondence in motion. 

With this illumined understanding comes the responsibility to “stand porter at the door of your mind “(Mary Baker Eddy). It is here that we choose to either match the energy we find ourselves by letting it grow or initiate a flow of energy that is a blessing to all humanity.

We become a beneficial presence in the world when the energy we release matches The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, as follows.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. 
O Divine Master, 
Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled, as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 
Amen.”

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This Week’s Affirmation

“I feel myself to be a perfect instrument in Life’s divine symphony.”

~ 365 Science of Mind, p.182.2, Ernest Holmes ~

 “Do Perfect God, Perfect Man, Perfect Being“
~ Ernest Holmes ~

The archaic language from another time and culture often blocks us from receiving a clear understanding of our innate nature which is the doorway to that which frees us from the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that show up as the false evidence and noise of the world.

 For example, while it is easy to feel the beauty and poetry of the words found in The Lord’s Prayer, they sometimes carry the hidden belief that somehow, we are pleasing The God-Being that inhabits the universe and winning “His” favor in so doing.

 The words are not speaking to a Deity, but rather they describe the nature of the Infinite One, much like Step 1 in a Spiritual Mind Treatment (affirmative prayer). The personal interpretation of these words brings life and meaning to the sincere seeker of Truth.

 When one takes the time to be with these words of ancient wisdom, starting with “Our Father,” their meaning begins to reveal hidden treasures, and one begins to realize the Everlasting Truth being imparted. They are words of Light, illuminating our path of freedom. They become a transformative factor in our lives when we are willing to receive these words that heal today.

 The word “will” and the context it is used, is a key factor when we begin to dive deeply into the ancient wisdom teachings about the inseparable relationship of the human and divine that co-exist in and as us. In some regards this unity of The One may be likened to the Yin and Yang of the eastern philosophy of Taoism.  

 There is a story found in the bible (John 5:6), where Jesus (the Master Teacher, Spiritual Genius, and Illumined Mystic), asks of one who had been suffering for years with a debilitating illness, “Wilt thou be made whole? In other words, are you willing to be well again? Duh, we may think, of course the answer is yes. After all, who wouldn’t want to be well?

 Willingness is about taking responsibility for your life by making the choices that are in alignment with your true nature of peace, love, harmony, joy, health, and wealth. Our good thoughts about these things are great and eventually become our mindset. However, remember, “faith without works is dead.” The choices, decisions, intentions, and self-determination are the substance that sets in motion the necessary action that ignites the Law of Good. We are not making something happen; instead, we are letting something happen.

 “…thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-13) This quote from the infamous prayer is an example of how once we begin walking in the direction of our soul’s sincere desire, our expanded consciousness is unified with the Indwelling  Spirit, and we experience the evidence of our willingness  to accept  the  nature of God within us  that is always the will of God.

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This Week’s Affirmation

“Today I am inwardly aware that there is a secret way of the soul, there is a secret pathway of peace, there is an invisible Presence forever externalizing Itself for me and through me.”

~ 365 Science of Mind, p.172.2, Ernest Holmes ~