And this is what I want to speak about today. Why I love Science of Mind.
I was never much of a churchgoer. I never went as a kid, never went as a young adult, and only began going when I joined my local church of Religious Science for the first time around 2000 or so. And my attendance at Sunday church was sporadic because I worked late on Saturday nights, and getting up early to go to church on Sunday was difficult. But I was at every class. Every workshop. Every book study. Now THOSE I loved! Because my reason for going to the church in the first place was transformation. It wasn’t for fellowship, I had that already. It wasn’t because I was seeking. I knew what my God was, and it wasn’t that entity that lives in the sky, it was a force beyond description that existed within me. Such a belief in a predominantly Christian culture meant that I quite frequently felt like a stranger in a strange land, and somehow I knew that at my local church of Religious Science I would find people who felt as I did. Because quite frankly I was tired of having conversations with folks who were forever trying to convince me that I was not worthy and that I had no responsibility nor freedom in my life because the guy in the sky was in charge. I went to my local Science of Mind to confirm that what I believed to be true was, in fact, actually true.
I began attending because I had experienced a devastating loss in my life and knew that the spiritual tools given to me in Science of Mind would help me feel better. And they did.
I went for all of those reasons, and I found peace. I found folks who thought as I did, which meant the fellowship I already had in my life simply got bigger. I went and found my worthiness. I went and found the joy in personal responsibility and was able to let go of my perpetual victimhood. I went and felt a part of life and of Life.
Today, the spiritual practices we teach in Science of Mind are my foundation for living. Specifically, self-awareness, practicing the presence, spiritual mind treatment, and affirmations. I do these daily.
Life for me is one big science of mind party, and my perception of life is colored by my beliefs, which have all been reshaped by Science of Mind. I live breathe and eat Science of Mind.
Today, I enjoy church. But I still love the classes and workshops and retreats more. Science of Mind is about so much more than going to church.
I love Science of Mind because, in a nutshell, it has made my life better. Don’t get me wrong, other than that devastating loss that occurred that threw me for a loop and affected many of my lifelong beliefs, my life was pretty good. Today my life is pretty good. Well, actually, it is awesome. But there is still room for transformation. Still room for growth. Still room for examination of beliefs and thoughts and feelings, still room to change some of those if I decide they are no longer working as well as I would like.
Today the principle of Oneness guides me in all my decisions. It also helps me to remember that in these times of separation and duality and “us and them,” there is underneath it all a common ground. We all come from the same stuff. The “stuff that is” as Ernest Holmes called it. And so when I’m upset about the latest atrocity, the latest mind-blowing and unbelievable opinion voiced by someone at the public level, the latest law enacted or redacted, I must go back to my roots, the stuff that is, and remember that on some level we are all one. This helps me to want to seek out the common ground, which in turn helps me to be able to practice compassion, which in turn helps me to be able to have civil conversations with people. Because honestly, if we can’t have civil conversations with people with whom we disagree, then we are contributing to the demise of this country. I don’t want to be a part of that.
I slip up once in a while and voice some scorn, but mostly, because of Science of Mind, I am able to keep my mouth shut until I calm down enough to have a civil conversation.
This teaching called Science of Mind allows me to ask the tough questions of myself. It allows me to be still and Know. It allows me to show up the way I want to show up in a world that is full of things that dismay and frustrate me on a daily basis.
This teaching also allows me to continuously transform into something greater while simultaneously knowing that there was nothing wrong with the way I was before. And, as a Practitioner friend of mine recently said, “transformation is the way of being.”
On the cover of one of my copies of the Science of Mind textbook, it says “a philosophy, a faith, a way of life.” Yes.
All of that. A lifestyle. A faith. A life rooted in this philosophy. Continuously answering the soul’s call for ever greater evolution and transformation. All of this is why I love the Science of Mind.
I am so grateful for this teaching that took me on a journey that continues to this day. It’s a wonderful journey.
Sending you Love, Light, and Laughter!
Karen Linsley, M.A.
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