living in community as an example of the abundance of the universe, by Rev. Sara Nichols

(formatting preserved from the original blog.  See reference below.)

whether i’m aware of it or not, i live in an abundant universe. as a spiritual being having a spiritual experience in a human body on a human plane, i am capable of experiencing that all my needs–both individually and collectively–are met.  but at the level of appearances it shows up quite differently.  in addition to experiencing beauty, creativity, joy and love, i can witness and experience poverty including homelessness, hatred including racism and sexism, war and environmental destruction. 

one place that builds my belief in the ability of the universe to meet all needs is living in community.  many people across the world, many of them living much more simply and humbly than i, may share this experience of community support as an experience of abundance.

for the past 25 years my husband and i have lived in a type of intentional community called “cohousing.”  imported from denmark about 30 years ago and spread across the country (there are now 100s of communities, ours was the third built) by architects katie mccamant and charles durrett, cohousing uses architecture and design to foster community.  a typical community (such as ours) has multiple households on a parcel of land surrounding a “common house” in which residents may hang out, share meals cooked by residents as a duty of residence, do laundry, watch their kids play, etc.  every individual dwelling has its own normal kitchen too.  maintenance and management of the common areas is shared. often the community is co-developed as well, with each household putting in upfront money to get it built.

specifically we live in southside park cohousing in downtown sacramento, one of the few cohousing communities in the country situated in an urban neighborhood.  it has been a wonderful safe place to raise our children with other households (some of which had children too, many of which did not).  and it is still a lovely place in which to live.

while there are many benefits to living in intentional community, the one i want to tease out today is the joy of the email list as an experience of abundance.  indigenous communities across time and space may not have had email lists, but we do.  it’s a late 20th century technology that is still serving us.  we’ve tried slack and other methods of communicating but they haven’t taken off yet, probably because most of us are over 50 at this point.  

our community norm is that if you want something or need something, before you buy it you put it out on the email list. 

typical subject lines include: 

“wanted to borrow in next 10 minutes: zora neale hurston’s their eyes were watching god”  

body of the email:  help!  turns out my kid has to bring in a book that shows the diversity of america tomorrow.  it’s 9pm and we just found out about it.  is anybody up?  does anybody have a book like this or this book?”

or “wanted:  need (specific) fuel for camp stove – leaving tomorrow at 9am”

or “wanted:  someone to pick up my kid from school this afternoon”

or “wanted:  car to borrow tomorrow from 9am to 11am – ours is in the shop”

we also frequently offer items that we want to give away or seek people to go in on something expensive with us that we don’t need to own on our own (sometimes the whole community of 25 households decides through our budget process to purchase something for all of us, but that’s beyond the email magic).

the point is that virtually every one of these requests will be met and met within minutes. and not by the same people. sometimes it feels like there’s a bidding war to be the first to meet the request. and there’s no quid pro quo. some people or households go through long periods of time where they are only making requests and not offering anything. or vice versa. 

putting out requests and having them fulfilled, or watching others fulfill other requests, builds belief in me not only in the goodness of humanity and the joy of living in community, but in the power of the universe itself to deliver if we just ask.

someone once said (and now i do, a lot), “spiritual etiquette requires that we ask for help.”  have i told you about the time i broke down and did (prior to living in community) and a very special person appeared?  i should.  the universe is always saying yes.  so whenever we think we have to be self sufficient and do it all ourselves, the universe says yes to that.  it says “okay, let me know when you need help.”  

it’s interesting to imagine what would happen if we started asking the universe to deliver the way my community does.  what emails should we put out on that listserve?

wanted:  environmentally sustainable human habitat

wanted:  affordable safe housing for everyone

wanted:  loving world that celebrates and embraces diversity

what else is possible?

how does it get even better than this?

Rev. sara nichols

Originally posted on living in community as an example of the abundance of the universe – snicholsblog

Because awareness leads to impact: GreenFaith's Invitation to Reflect on the Climate Crisis

From our Strategic Partner, greenfaith, an invitation to reflect about the moral and religious dimensions of the climate crisis.

Because awareness leads to impact:

Join us on 28 September for a global, multi-faith forum.

More and more religious people are concerned about climate change and are experiencing its impacts.

Yet our religious communities are not yet publicly addressing climate destruction or restoration with boldness that meets this moment.

Most of us haven’t had the opportunity to reflect about the moral and religious dimensions of the climate crisis or its true causes and solutions. We need to develop relationships and skills that empower us to make an impact.

But we can do that together.

On Sept 28, hosted by the Catholic University of East Africa in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and Laudato Si’ Movement, GreenFaith invites you to join Faiths for a Just Energy Transition.

RSVP NOW

This will be a 2-hour webinar, with live interpretation in Spanish, French, and Swahili.

Participants will learn the basis for the three commitments that religious groups are calling for around the globe:

• an immediate end to new fossil fuel projects,
• an equitable phase-out of coal, oil and gas,
• and a generous commitment to a just transition for impacted communities and workers.

Speakers from diverse religious and activist communities will share reflections from the heart of their traditions, while experts will describe why the three commitments are so important.

Awareness always precedes action. Let’s learn and take action– together. 

https://actionnetwork.org/events/faiths-for-a-just-energy-transition?source=direct_link&

Sacred Disruption - Reimagine Everything!, by Dr. Petra Weldes

Disruption has become the norm!

The pandemic has certainly disrupted us, for good and for ill. Devices and technology continue to disrupt our homes and the way we do business, for good and for ill. The internet, social media, and AI have disrupted us for good and for ill. The polarization of our politics and the divisiveness in our government have disrupted us. The turmoil over the civil right of African Americans, immigrants, women, and transgender people have disrupted our ignorance, while the spiraling issues of climate change have disrupted our complacency.



Making It Sacred and Worthwhile

How shall we deal with all this disruption – with angst, anger, apathy or with our spiritual principles and human values? What if we decided to engage with these disruptions as something sacred? Even going so far as to invite sacred disruptions to take us on unexpected healing and growing journeys. Making disruptions sacred is realizing that “the way it’s always been” isn’t and can’t continue to be the same as it always has been. So, how do we reimagine our lives, individually and collectively? How do we reimagine life in such a way that challenges the norms while answering the call of our soul for courageous action, and authentic connection?



Step #1 – Embrace Change as a growth opportunity

We begin by allowing, even inviting, disruption to become sacred. This means embracing change and uncertainty with powerful and positive intentions and actions. The first step is to seek the good that has emerged amid any disruption. This does not deny or avoid the pain nor the challenges we or others have faced. But it does focus us on the fact the something greater is always present and there is a way to learn, grow, and move through disruption to a powerful awakening. Deciding to make a particular disruption sacred means that we take it to the altar of our awareness and invite it to reveal something meaningful and profound. Listening rather than analyzing, feeling rather than forcing, and sensing rather than projecting are all sacred skills our souls develop as we engage in this process.



Step #2 – Make Friends with Ambiguity and Uncertainty

The next step is to invite sacred disruption. This means to court the new, make friends with the unknown, and expect change. Ambiguity and uncertainty become our guides as we decide to invite the wildest parts of our soul and our deepest intuition to lead. We deliberately try new ways of being and doing that are more congruent and aligned with our values, spirituality, and ideals (no matter how uncomfortable). This is way beyond improving ourselves; it calls for sacred and profound acts of authenticity and deeply taking responsibility.



Step #3 – Make it a Creative Act

Sacred disruption becomes a creative act when the destruction has made way for something truly new. Newness begins with reimaging life, not from the normal way it’s been, but from a soulful, connected, profoundly directive decision to make a difference. Reimagining everything begins with values that we espouse but aren’t actualizing, and the hopes we are afraid to believe are possible to achieve. What if they are? What if these are the impulses and desires of your truest essence? Reimagine life, is not trying to create a utopia, but rather, it is day-by-day, moment-by-moment mindfully making a life the contributes, restores balance and justice, reveals creativity and connection, and is utterly in alignment with the highest vibrations of your truest self.



Step #4 – Engage Your Imagination

The creative faculty of imagination is what breaks the bonds of habitual patterns and behaviors. Imagination is the ability to see and sense something in the mind’s eye that is not actually present yet. Every one of us has this ability. Usually it feeds our anxiety, doubt, and fear as we imagine catastrophic outcomes or our inadequacy for creating change. Just remember, our imagination is just as good at imagining outrageously amazing outcomes and our courageous contributions to change. Begin today, imagine a world that works for everyone, even when we have no idea how it will come about. Imagine our planet healthy, people prospering, divides discussed civilly, and an economy in service to humanity and our future. Now all the disruptions have truly been made sacred.

About | Dr. Petra Weldes

For more than 30 years, Dr. Petra Weldes has brought a dynamic, genuine, and engaging style of ministry to congregations around the country. Leading CSLDallas since 1998, she has created a thriving spiritual community, empowering and transforming lives. She serves as Co-Spiritual Director along with her wife, Rev. Karen Fry. A compelling and gifted speaker and teacher, Dr. Petra's purpose is to transform lives and her mission is to grow people, communities, and ideas.

She has served in many capacities at the Centers for Spiritual Living and in local and national interfaith programs and received her honorary Doctor of Divinity from the Holmes Institute in 2004.

​A highly regarded and deeply admired teacher, Dr. Petra engages students with her interactive style. This provides a safe, sacred environment for personal growth and exploration. Her deep wisdom, wealth of knowledge, as well as humility and humor, guide students into journeys of awakening to their unique expression and creative, joyful potential.

An elegant, powerful speaker, her ability to translate seemingly complex and confusing life issues into concise and clear messages invites the audience into deeper levels of understanding of their being and engagement in the world by igniting the change within.

​In the nonprofit, religious, and business communities, Dr. Petra has coached countless leaders to a more conscious, powerful, and courageous presence in their work. She develops potential and connects leaders to ideas that expand consciousness.

Dr. Petra has co-authored three books: Joyous Freedom, Joyous Living, and Joyous Abundance Journals with Rev. Soren Christian, as well as numerous articles and thought papers.

Is Your Greatness in Your Way? by Rev. Tara Steele

Decades ago, my grandmother and I were chatting on her living room couch. At some point, she looked at me and said, “You’re so smart, you could be president.” Though she meant well, that statement set up roadblocks of self-judgment and not-enoughness around what I was doing with my life. Perhaps you’ve had similar experiences?

If I could be President of the United States, anything less than that is a failure. “You’re only a [fill in the blank], you could be so much more!” Now and then, when I look back at my life, I still question whether I lived up to my potential.

“Whole, perfect, and complete.” “This life is God’s life, this life is perfect, this life is my life now.“ I remember shaking my head at the naivete of those statements when I first heard them in a church of religious science. Aware of my limitations, my failures, my regrets, how could I be perfect? There was some unconscious template, a hidden belief, about what wholeness, perfection, “greatness” meant. Whatever it was, it was always a bit beyond my reach.

A couple of antidotes work for me. The first is recognizing what I have accomplished. After getting by the voices in my head, I smile in gratitude for my daughter, for my ministry, for my friends. Those aren’t entirely my accomplishments; they are signs of a life well lived, just the way it is. That’s the second antidote, remembering I am perfect, just the way I am.

What if I am perfect, from the moment I gasped for breath and cried? How does that idea impact me? The first thing I notice is a feeling of relief that I don’t have to keep working at doing better, striving for that goal of greatness just out of reach? Then there’s a smile that starts deep within, that leans into a sense of okayness, of acceptance, of ease. There is also surrender or alignment, opening to accept there is no need for fixing. Spirit’s got me and adores me, just the way I am. Of course, that is so, for I am one with That.

Full circle, into the greatness, the possibility, the aliveness – without having to change anything, fix anything, figure anything out. Being present, letting go, smiling – all is well. I am free to allow the unique beauty within to unfold, just the way I am. Glory hallelujah, it’s great!

Rev. Tara Steele is a minister at the Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa. Since beginning her service, she has been Staff Minister, Community Minister, and now Education Minister. Whatever her label, she delights in circles where participants connect and share their experiences, their knowledge, and their questions. It may be a class on wholeness, a book study, or a weekly gathering of mystics.

The oldest of five children, she is finally learning it’s way more fun to collaborate on projects than it is to tell everyone what they should do. It’s time for more play.

Are You Mindful or Mind-Full, by Rev. Trish Hall

Pathways Theme: "Stay Teachable" August 1, 2022

Do you practice “mindfulness” or have you succumbed to “mind-fullness”?

“Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, without being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” The practice can shift how we are in the world, moving us from reactivity to calm, chosen responsiveness.

Mindfulness has gone mainstream. “Gurus” of every kind have popped up everywhere from spiritual communities and churches to corporate boardrooms. There are myriad benefits of mindfulness even when practiced haphazardly and even greater benefits when practiced consciously and artfully.

There is a vast difference between “mindfulness” a contemplative practice and “mind-fullness” a state of having so much knowledge and/or busyness that there isn’t space for new insights. Innovation and creativity are blocked. Learning is constricted if not actually stopped. Some people are so attached to their own perspective that different perspectives are condemned and rejected before being investigated. Thinking is a good thing, however, thinking to the exclusion of allowing space for original thought, is not productive. Receptivity is essential to possibility thinking – to innovation.

In Zen Buddhism, there is a story about Japanese Master named Nan-in who lived during the Meiji era (1868-1912). During his days as a teacher, he was visited by a university professor curious about Zen.

Being polite, Nan-in served the professor a cup of tea.

As he poured, the professor’s cup became full, but Nan-in kept on pouring. As the professor watched the cup overflow, he could no longer contain himself and said, “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

Nan-in turned to the professor and said, “Like the cup, you are too full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Interestingly, this is a human challenge. Within nature, being teachable is a matter of life or death. Learning is essential to the flow of life. There is, an ebbing and flowing, throughout nature: giving and receiving, learning and teaching, loving and being loved, listening and speaking, buying and selling. All aspects of life are cyclical.

When teaching about circulation, I have students close their fists as tightly as they can and then I try to pry the open to give them money. They cannot receive from the flow of abundance when they have closed themselves off. A closed fist cannot receive the generosity of the world. A closed mind cannot receive the wisdom that abounds around us.

This exchange process applies to giving and receiving assistance – assistance that is deeply desired but is pushed away by not being a willing recipient. Whether it’s physical aid or collaboration, when the circulatory system is stifled all parties suffer. This is true physiologically, ecologically and psychologically.

In the Old Testament a cup running over was a symbol of abundance and considered a very good thing. In the Zen Buddhist story, a cup running over is quite the opposite. It is not about the cup nor its contents. It is about how we relate to them.

Ask yourself: Do I accept the blessing of the contents and set it free to bless others? Or am I attached to having been chosen for the blessing of a full cup? And, by chance, am I so full of myself that I am unaware that there is a cup – empty or full? Perhaps I am so full of myself that I am no longer available to learn from new experiences. Where is the void into which new can flow?

The tendrils of the original question “Are you mindful or mind-full?” wander in all directions. Prejudices such as racism are rooted in this same arena. Prejudice is nothing other than prejudgments made based on assumptions drawn from rumors and gossip, then perpetrated on others. When we allow ourselves to be so full of our opinions, we shut down our growth potential and stop evolving. If we shut down before learning, how can we be anything other than stuck, allowing the past to dictate our future?

Practicing mindfulness can be a tremendous aid if we want to remain open to learning and growing. Watching and listening to ourselves– observing our reactions and interactions, we can note our reactivity and investigate what beliefs are lurking inside us that caused certain behaviors. We can look at those behaviors to see if they presently serve us or ever did. How can we grasp how it is to be someone else, if we dishonor their uniqueness by assuming that their life experience is similar to ours? We must first drop our assumptions and change our perceptual filters. This is not easy. We see, hear, and feel through our own filters thus diminishing our ability to perceive the experiences of others. Many assume that this only happens among people of different ethnicities, socio-economic groups, etc., which is just another assumption. People who share many commonalities frequently impose their prejudgments on one another. All our life experiences are different!! Each of us is unique.

Mindfulness is an excellent tool to heighten your awareness of your own other -than-conscious behaviors that result in “mind-fullness” and render us unteachable.

Practicing mindfulness may cause you to awaken from a lifelong slumber – you may discover that you have been sleepwalking through life, allowing your past to direct your thoughts, words, and actions. I invite you to take a two-part challenge - be your own observer:

1. Keep a log of how many actions you take each day that you do, “because that is how you always have.”

2. Keep another log of all your original thoughts, innovations, creativity.

Choose what you will do with what you discover. Will you default to how it has always been, or will you choose to stay awake, stay alive and learn something new every day.

--------------

Rev Trish Hall came home to Science of Mind in the mid-1980’s. She walked in the doors of a Religious
Science Church and instantly remembered the loving embrace of a spiritual community very much like
the one she had attended with one of her best friends as a child. The cross cultural array into which she
was welcomed filled the gaps she had experienced in the interim. She immediately started taking
classes and volunteering. She never questioned – this was the teaching that pulled all of her searching
and studies together into one practical way of life. She was home.

She licensed as a Professional Practitioner in 1991 and graduated from Holmes Institute with a Master of
Divinity in 2001. Rev Trish is a regular contributor to the Science of Mind Magazine. She has served
what is now Centers for Spiritual Living as a Regional Support Coordinator for 10 years, as Chair of the
Lifelong Learning Committee that designs cutting-edge spiritual education through the World Ministry
of Prayer and on the Global Services Committee. Having served in two prior pulpits, she became the
founding minister of Center for Spiritual Living Metro in 2015.

Shifting tides cross the pond - a world that works for everyone, by Laura Topper

I have often contemplated deeply how a spiritual community can align and thrive as a global entity in 2022. Viewing the teachings and this blessed spiritual community through the sociocultural lens of being across the pond. Living in the UK, my birth land offers me an outlook that differs from those in the founding homeland of New Thought. I am no different in truth and nature from any other, I do, however, have one certain thing in common with a few other Science of Mind spiritual warriors based around the world, and that is a resourcefulness that pushes and pulls me to seek to show up and express in uniquely creative ways, that are not based in Spiritual Centre community life. You may call it outreach, focus practitionering, I see it as being an ambassador for the weird and wonderful diverse expression of me as this teaching, open at the top and over the pond, doing me and bringing the principles to those that are willing to receive them, in my way.

With the collective shifting in consciousness of what it means to ‘be spiritual’, vast populations of individuals globally are currently taking conscious action to choose their own way to express religious and spiritual ideas and concepts. I am not surprised at all to discover that the tendency to ‘change religions’ is on the rise. With ‘Islam growing faster than any other major religion and If current trends continue, by 2050,  the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.’ [wicki] whilst in the UK ‘over half (55%) of Britons say they do not belong to any particular religion.’ [https://yougov.co.uk/], additionally in the United States, approximately 10% of Americans identify as atheists, compared with China - 91% and the United Kingdom - 73%.

I am not driven by statistics, and yet I like what I am learning here, and I embrace this movement, as this speaks to me of a Divine discontent, a shifting tide, and an out-picturing of the collective coming into a new idea/ concept of autonomy around personal and collective, spiritual and religions choice. Yes, there is a new emerging paradigm exposing itself as an awakened opportunity for knowing Oneness. This may at times feel like separation, and yet as a Religious Science forever student, I know that this is too is the One expressing humanity's desire to express a deeper awareness of freedom. The greater question in my heart is, what will it really take for this teaching, Science of Mind and Spirit, to leap from beyond the statistic of being the ‘10% other religion’ category to becoming humanities choice for spiritual understanding and embodiment?

As a practitioner and soon-to-be minister, I know that I am not here to change anything or anyone’s point of view. This teaching shows us how to think and not what to think, and it is our personal choice to take action to living a love-centered and peace-infused life. I also know that being the example, is required for transformation and transition into a new world that works for everyone. This world that works for everyone, a part of our Global Vision, has often bugged me as it often feels like a spiritual bypass, Disney slogan! I realise that as the Divine perfection, wholeness, and completeness, this world is working for everyone right now … the point is that we don't all always realise this, hence the messiness that out pictures and saddens our collective heart. I am invited to firstly be this vision, to be the change I want to see in the world. So how do I harmonise this within me?

As we collectively continue to decipher the political, social, religious, and medical policy and decision-making fiesta that seemingly has its intention set in confusing the masses, I can only root and ground myself in the knowing of one thing, that this too is God expressing, and that I too am the living Divine expression of God and that I have a choice in each and every moment and that my choice affects everything. When I read that my sisters in the US are being biologically controlled by governmental policymaking, my womb churns. When I hear of another race gun crime anywhere on our planet, I feel wounded within, and when I see victims of circumstance caught in the crossfire of waging war, I feel the terror of my Jewish family ancestors as they fled from Russia and Poland at the turn of the 19th Century and entered into the UK as immigrants.

Dr. Ernest Holmes states that he would rather know of one person profoundly practising and demonstrating the principles of Science of Mind than to have a thousand Practitioners uncertain of these teachings. As a ‘global’ community, beyond USA, Canada, and even Spanish-speaking countries, we are being called to more profoundly step into the vision of oneness and relinquish the need to hold onto the shore of Americanisms, and more fully embrace our sisters, brothers and others globally. Our greatest strength is the willingness to listen and our urge to transform.

It astounds me that Science of Mind and Spirit, this powerful, dynamic teaching of Truth, is not in every book store globally, on everyone’s lips, and in everyone's heart. I am amazed at how this teaching isn’t currently taught in all schools, in medical schools, universities, prisons, and hospitals around the globe. I am also quite amazed that these transformational mystical and metaphysical teachings have actually journeyed thus far outside of the USA, Canada, and Spanish-speaking communities! The paradox here for me is that as necessary as Science of Mind and Spirit is right now, the idea of this beloved collective Spiritual community intentionally prioritising and pollinating global awareness has only just begun to raise eyebrows. And so we are being called as a community to go much deeper, to truly know what global connection means, to practice deep outrageous listening, to live from childlike wonder, to speak authentic truthing, to pick up the phone and reach out and share, to be of service in action and a to have a profound willingness to see no pond.

In God, all things are possible, and I know that as I continue to transform my world within and expand my mental equivalent, that there has to be an uplifted outer demonstration of love, peace, joy, justice, abundance, beauty, and vitality for all. There is a calling on our hearts now to emerge from me to we, and we are being deeply moved and supported to each be the example of Oneness in action, treating and moving hands, heart, and feet. We are being not so gently reminded to ramp up the idea of service and truly live into the knowing of Oneness in action, no walls, distance, or ponds; now is the time for authentic connection and true understanding to be more than the vision, and to walk the talk of a world that works for everyone, everywhere.



And so it is

Laura Topper UK

lauratopper13@gmail.com

www.lauratopper.com

The Intelligent Use of Creative Intelligence, by Rev. Dr. Maxine Kaye

The invisible things of God are manifested through the visible, and unless the invisible thought and desire of man is in line with Truth, his acts will fall into error.

Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, p. 436

In scripture, we are advised to, “Choose you this day whom you will serve,” an important reminder that we are always at choice with regard to how we direct the Intelligent Creative Law of Mind. We have learned that everything is created twice: once on the invisible level of Mind, and then as a visible, external manifestation of that idea, whether constructive or questionable.

In his book, “The Power of Decision,” Raymond Charles Barker points out that, “The individual’s ability to act unintelligently in a universe of Intelligence is amazing.” We live in the Presence of Divine Mind and set into motion the creative action of Divine Law. As we students of the Science of Mind deepen our understanding of this Presence and Power, we begin thinking, feeling, and acting more intelligently.

Since, “All’s Love and All’s Law,” as Robert Browning posed, we do well to follow Ernest Holmes’ recommendation that we, “Court the Presence, and Direct the Law.” It is in deepening our conscious connection with Spirit that the Wisdom of the Heart is able to guide us to compassionate, intelligent choices. It is in trusting the Immutable Law to bring about what we pray about that we become effective instruments for the Loving Presence to be more perfectly revealed in our lives and in the world.

Although we must be aware of the conditions that the misuse of Divine Intelligence has brought about, it is essential that we maintain our focus on that which is life-affirming and not become adversely influenced by these temporary circumstances. Each such event actually is, “a call to prayer.” Rather than slipping into others’ negative thinking, we truly are able to lift the consciousness around us by adhering to Truth and being determined to manifest a healthier environment and a wiser, more caring world.

As we are all being called to clearer thinking and more loving choices, we rely on Infinite Wisdom to guide and empower us in making truly intelligent and compassionate decisions. Let’s celebrate the Universal Creative Intelligence that we are guided to use, and let’s use It intelligently!

Rev. Dr. Maxine Kaye
Greater Philadelphia Center for Spiritual Living
Paoli, Pennsylvania

Raised in Religious Science and having been active nearly 46 years as Minister with the Centers for Spiritual Living, the Reverend Dr. Maxine Kaye served Centers in California before being called to the Greater Philadelphia Center for Spiritual Living in Paoli, PA. 

Devoted to this teaching, Dr. Kaye has served on the Religious Science International Board of Education (primarily as Practitioner Chair, Chaplain Minister Sponsor and Curriculum Writer), on the RSI Board of Directors as First Vice President, chairing the Ethics Committee, Co-Creation Committee, and Ministers Regional Meetings Committee. 

Her book, Alive and Ageless, embodies her philosophy of authentic youthfulness and enthusiasm at any age and she enjoys presenting lively workshops on the book. 

Agreeing with Dr. Ernest Holmes that we should take what we are doing seriously but not take ourselves too seriously while we are doing it, she believes also that, Everything is sacred, and nothing is serious. Contact: Rev. Dr. Maxine Kaye 1710 E. Lancaster Ave. #111 Paoli, PA 19301 dr.maxinekaye@gmail.com

Language Matters, Part II - Oneness, Really? - by Rev. Dan Granda - Part Two

Transformation and Evolution: We do deep inner-personal work of self-discovery and healing to reveal the greater truth of our divinity, wholeness, and freedom.

- From “Our Shared Values,” Centers for Spiritual Living Operation Design Model

Welcome to Part II of this blog mini-series, Language Matters. It has been a fun little journey to watch one idea turn into a multi-part communication about the importance of the language we use, how it impacts our communication, and ultimately, how it helps us come to a better understanding of ourselves.

Last time, we identified our human desire to be understood and feel seen as a catalyst for better understanding of the language we use while simultaneously recognizing that language often falls short of conveying the full experience one might be trying to share. Similarly, we took a little dive into observing how the way we learn language impacts how we use it and how that correlates to our use of language within a teaching like the Science of Mind. We then tackled the subtle but meaningful difference between the words “transcendence” and “transformation” as a powerful example of how the meaning and understanding of a single word can shift our entire belief system. Do you know what you mean when you say the word? It makes a difference. If you didn’t get a chance to read Part I (https://cslspiritualleader.blogspot.com/search/label/Dan%20Granda), you might enjoy reading through that one first.

There are so many other words within the Science of Mind and teachings like it that easily fall into similar categories of misunderstanding. Words like wholeness, consciousness, vibration, energy, etc..… the list goes on — Words that we are very familiar with. They are frequently used in just about all of our communities. Anyone hanging around one of these new thought centers for even a short time picks up on these words and others like them, easily integrating them into regular dialogue. We use them all the time. Jargon that seems so integral to the teaching and yet is so infrequently defined. We know this because when we take the time to truly find meaning in most of these words, we find that they probably don’t really mean what we had thought, or we find that we hadn’t thought much about what they meant in the first place. Worse, we find we have been using them in a way that actually implies the exact opposite of what it sounds like the word should mean.

Just like in the case of “transcendence” and “transformation,” the impact of understanding these words is huge. Let’s look at a very real example of this: oneness. Oneness is a word we use all the time in the Science of Mind. It is a core tenet of the teaching, and in this case, just about anybody could probably provide a general definition of this concept. It might sound something like, “Oneness recognizes that everything is one life, that we are all connected.” That sounds great, right? It does. It sounds great, and so we like it! But providing even this very innocuous definition almost immediately creates more questions than answers, even if it is just unconscious. Let’s give it some context. Often we can hear oneness being spoken about when we want to recognize, and sometimes even state, that there is no separation between ourselves and others. “We are all one.” And this is True, with a capital T. We are all one, and we are not separate. Yet, the context of this statement is so often amidst a conversation that is otherwise attempting to recognize, and maybe even honor, the perceived distinction that we, as humans, are wired to experience. And so, what happens is we end up either unintentionally bypassing someone’s experience — saying something like, “Yeah, but we’re all one,” implying, “So, your experience doesn’t matter” — or we inadvertently reinforce an unconscious belief that there are some elements of life that we would rather not look at and are not included in our perception of oneness; sometimes we do both. We end up implying and sometimes even saying out loud that our definition of oneness is actually two-ness, duality. “All of this over here is my version of oneness, and all of that over there — the stuff I don’t like, the things that make me uncomfortable, the experiences I don’t want to recognize or admit to — that is not part of my oneness.” It doesn’t take much to realize that doesn’t work out so well, and in no way does it actually means oneness.

Oneness must include the whole experience. We can’t have oneness and attempt to exclude certain experiences, things that make us uncomfortable, or things we don’t like. It must be that which we see as positive and that which we see as negative. It is feeling happy and (dare I even say it) feeling angry; all of the emotions. All of that is God. All of it is One. It can’t be any other way.

It becomes ironic in those times when our declaration of oneness actually beings to imply duality, which it seems might happen more often than we realize. This speaks directly to how easy it is to take on jargon and bear it as a shield. “If I say the right things, then perhaps it will all change,” or “If I say the right things, maybe I don’t have to change.”

And right here, we find the real importance of understanding oneness, of all of our language really. What do I mean when I say _____ (Fill in the blank)? It is not just in communication where understanding our language matters. It is also in understanding ourselves and our own journey.

When you say a word like oneness, what is it that you mean? Do you know what you mean, or is it just another word that got picked up along the way? When you say oneness, do you have a specific and intentional understanding that embodies the essence of true oneness as best as you can at this current moment? When you say oneness, are you aware of the human perception of the whole made up of all of the parts? When you say oneness, does it just sound good and feel right without really thinking too much about it?

There is no shame or judgment here in any of these answers. These are questions that help us better understand our own beliefs. What we believe about oneness is demonstrated in the ways that we unconsciously use and misuse… and then learn, and use and misuse… and then learn again, attempting to become more and more aware of our beliefs.

We can allow our use of oneness, or any of our words really, to be a mirror for a better understanding of ourselves. As stated in Our Shared Values, “We do deep inner-personal work of self-discovery and healing to reveal the greater truth of our divinity, wholeness, and freedom.” The deep inner-personal work of understanding and uncovering our beliefs, conscious and currently unconscious, allows for the creation and experience of that greater yet to be that is looking to come through us.

Rev. Dan Granda

Dan Granda, RScP | Better People Better World (revdangranda.com)

Do You Know When You Are Wearing Your Grumpy Pants? by Dr. Dennis Merrit Jones

When I am rushing through my life, consumed with everything I have to attend to, it becomes more and more likely that I will miss what is available to me. I notice that when I move through the world at this pace, I tend to do what a friend calls "wearing my grumpy pants." It's difficult to practice being mindful and experience grumpiness at the same time. Mindfulness generates a slower speed and is, I think, an antidote to grumpiness. ~ Dr. Edward Viljoen,

The Power of Meditation: An Ancient Technique to Access Your Inner Power

If you have been reading my writings for any time, you know that I am a true believer in the power of meditation and especially mindfulness which is, in itself, a form of moving meditation. As I was reading my friend, Edward Viljoen's book, The Power of Meditation, he really hooked me with the aforementioned quote. It always amazes me when I catch myself not practicing what I preach. Upon reflection, like Edward, there are times when "certain" people in my life ask me if there is something wrong because I am being a bit "grumpy." In response I will generally react by saying, "NO! I am NOT in a grumpy mood...I am just VERY busy...or, VERY tired...or, a combination of both, busy and tired." Fortunately, this doesn't happen all that often but, nonetheless, in hindsight, I can see that I must have a pair of "grumpy pants" hanging in my closet that I unconsciously slip on at times. The good news is, as Edward writes, there is an antidote for grumpiness and I think its worth exploring.

Has anyone ever called you "grumpy" and you had no idea what they were talking about? Just to confirm we are all on the same page, the dictionary defines Grumpy as, "surly or ill-tempered; discontentedly or sullenly irritable; grouchy." If you can relate with any of the aforementioned adjectives (or, if you know someone <wink, wink> who fits any of these descriptions) raise your hand now! If you find that you, from time-to-time, unknowingly slip on your "grumpy pants", the likelihood is that your mind is somewhere other than where your body is in that moment. It might have been that you are just not having a good day because of a poor night's sleep and your mind is lethargically dragging behind your body. Perhaps things aren't going the way you would prefer in a business transaction that hurls your mind frantically into the frenetic future. Then again, it could simply be that you have so much on your plate your mind becomes splintered and goes riding off in multiple directions all at the same time. If these sorts of things don't bring out the grump in you it's safe to say you have probably mastered the art of mindfulness, which is the practice of consciously merging your being with your doing in every present moment.

To give you a visual example of what mindfulness looks like, consider this image: With pen and paper, draw a long horizontal line. Consider that line as your "doing" whatever it is you do that moves forward from left to right, linearly, moment-to-moment, hour-to-hour, and day-to-day. Then draw a vertical line that intersects with the horizontal line and think of that vertical line as your "being." Consider any point on the horizontal line to the left of the vertical line as the past and anything to the right the future. Now draw a small circle around the point where the two lines intersect. Think of the inside of the circle as the present, where your "being" merges with your "doing." To consciously live inside that small circle is called the practice of mindfulness.

To spiritualize this practice is to witness the true Self (your Being) vertically ascending from the depths of your spiritual core and becoming fully present in that circle as it moves along the horizontal pathway of your life. In this context, mindfulness means that you are aware that you are more than the experience at hand on the surface of life; you are the essence of that which is ascending from the sacred center of your true Self. This awareness alone will dissolve all sense of grumpiness because with it comes reverence, which is the act of making all that we think, say, and do a sacred practice. As my friend Edward infers, it's pretty difficult to wear your grumpy pants while in the midst of having a spiritual experience...which is exactly what mindfulness is when we remember the presence of the Self is always there in the moment--one breath--one sacred second at a time.

Is mindfulness as a way of life challenging to practice? Sure it is. That's why it seems many people spend a lot of time in their grumpy pants; they are not even aware they are wearing them. I, for one, have not mastered it yet but I am more successful today at living in that small circle where my being and my doing merge than I was yesterday. The good news is, while I am sure they are still hanging somewhere in the back of my closet, I have not had my grumpy pants on since reading Edwards' book. That, my friends, is the Power of Meditation--and, more specifically, one of the greatest forms of meditation in motion; mindfulness. If this topic strikes a chord with you, I recommend you give Edward's book a read. You might also be more inclined to let your grumpy pants hang in the back of your closet.

Peace, Dennis

Dennis Merritt Jones

(reprinted with permission from the author.)

Find me one person who is for something and against nothing, by Rev. Karen Linsley

On this 4th of July, I do not feel in a celebratory mood. In fact, I feel the opposite. I feel sad, I am worried. I feel the pain of my fellow humans who are of a different color than me, who still, even after this country was founded on all men being created equally, are not equal. They still suffer under shackles of red lining, efforts to prevent them from voting, racial profiling, and other efforts to intimidate them. I feel the pain of being a woman and feeling as if I am, simply because of my gender, relegated to second-class citizenship having to fight for the right to make my own decisions about my health care. I feel the pain of not even being able to own a credit card in my name in my lifetime, simply because of my gender. I feel the pain of folks who have different belief systems than much of America and yet are not given the same recognition as those who claim the mantle of Christianity. I have felt the scorn coming from a Catholic priest who simply refused to acknowledge that there was any other way to believe than his own way. I have felt the scorn of the evangelical who believes that women should not be ministers. I feel the pain of folks who dare to be different in the pursuit of their own happiness, which is supposedly guaranteed in our Constitution, and yet they are ridiculed and harmed.

I feel all this pain, and it is all so unnecessary. And I strive to live in spiritual principles. I strive to live from a place of being for something and against nothing. It is admittedly very difficult to do these days, yet I still strive. I adopted this spiritual principle after hearing about it for the first time in a talk originally given by Ernest Holmes in 1959. I first heard this talk sometime around the early 2000s, and my entire world was rocked. The entire talk is incredible but this one sentence gets me every time:

“Find me one person who is for something and against nothing, who is redeemed enough not to condemn others out of the burden of his soul and I will find another savior, another Jesus, and an exalted human being.” From that moment onward I began to explore how to remove the burdens from my soul so that I could be for something and against nothing.

“Redeemed enough not to condemn others out of the burden of his soul…” 

And then I remember that even Jesus told us that we could do all the things he did, and so much more and greater.

So why are we not doing that? Are we not redeemed enough to not condemn others out of the burdens of our own souls?

I spend much of my time answering these questions and attempting to find solutions to the problems we face, as a nation.  The separation cannot continue, because it really is true that united we stand and divided we fall.  And so my work continues, as does the work of many others who also feel the pain. And in my search to be for something and against nothing, on this July 4th holiday, here is what I am for:

I am for a way of life that embodies what Gary Zukav, in his book The Seat of the Soul, calls authentic power. This kind of power means that we have no burden on our souls, so we are against nothing. This kind of power shows up in full love of life, in all its forms. This kind of power shows up in loving everything and everyone. Loving all. No matter the color of their skin. No matter what religion they practice. No matter what their gender is. No matter what their sexual preference is. Because when we stand in this kind of power, we are at peace, confident in our own place in the world, and thus have no need to displace anyone else.

I am for true equality for all. I am for compassionate and honest communication to resolve our differences. I am for each and every human being to be free of the burdens that would cause them to lash out in fear and attempt to destroy anything that isn’t in their zone of approval. 

So on this 4th of July, I am for peace most of all. I call on each of us to look each person we encounter in the eye and think peace. That we greet each person we encounter with an expression of joy and acceptance. 

Let us begin there. 

Then let’s see what happens.

Rev. Karen Linsley

Moving from Me to We, by Gregory Coyle, RScP

Each of us is a reflection of our cultural norms, stereotypes, and biases. The same holds true for Centers for Spiritual Living. It's not a separate thing, but an organization of individuals with a common purpose and vision. And it is heavily influenced by American culture. There is a strong “ME” culture in “aMErica” (and true, other places around the world) due to the growth of Individualism, social media, and the internet. Regardless of where we are, we think, live, and act locally. That’s how it works in the human realm: I start with me (individual), my family, my neighbors, my groups, etc. Our awareness starts internally and moves its way outward.

I have the perspective of growing up in the US and experiencing and learning many of the cultural and regional differences. However, after living abroad for 18 years, many things leave me bewildered about how the US culture has changed. Change is happening, change is inevitable. Yet we are taught that there is One Power that is changeless, everywhere present, and we are part of this One. Within us is this changeless One. Osho talks about “Finding the Changeless through the Changing” in The Book of Secrets. How do we find this Changeless for ourselves, and for our communities? Yes, our spiritual toolboxes. And it starts with each of us individually doing the practice.

Centers for Spiritual Living has centers around the world, but do you actually know where they are and what they do? CSL has a Global Vision, and we are a global organization, but what does that really mean? Global? What are the opportunities available to us now to think, talk, and act globally to truly embrace this idea? When you give a talk or teach a class, can it be done in such a way to bring a real sense of a global connection? Can we connect with these other global centers, so they feel part of the Global Vision and the CSL family?

I invite us, as leaders in this organization, to think when we use the word “Global”, and how we can embrace a Global Vision. We have an opportunity to teach Spiritual Principles locally and remind our communities that there is something greater, a Universal Oneness that we are all a part of. The air that you breathe is the same air that I breathe. We have an impact with our thoughts, words, and actions on everyone else. Let us use our spiritual tools, and have thoughts of Love, Joy, Compassion, and Oneness. Let us remember we are spiritual beings having a human experience. 

Blessings!

Gregory Coyle, RScP

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Greg started his spiritual journey early in life, inspired by his parents’ devotion, faith, and integrity.

Greg has been a licensed Practitioner with Centers for Spiritual Living since 2005 and has been living in Oslo, Norway since 2004.

He offers private coaching sessions, lectures, individual and group meditations, and courses.

He contributes regularly to the Global Heart of Peace Meditation service and has been writing monthly treatments for the Practitioner listserv since 2017.

Greg currently serves as Chairman of the CSL Global Services Committee and has been a member of the Committee since 2020.

He is also a yogi and has been teaching hatha-style yoga since 2001. Greg brings “Spirit, Joy, and Love” into his practice and teachings.

Juneteenth, Father's Day, and Pride - Celebrate!

There is a lot to celebrate in June. In the United States of America, Father's Day and the federal holiday, Juneteenth, are both on June 19, and June is also the LGBTIQ+ Pride in many countries worldwide[1]. (For a list of Father's Day celebrations around the world, visit When Is Father's Day This Year in Different Countries? (thespruce.com))

The fathers of the United States have Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, to thank for our Father's Day observance. In 1910, Sonora worked very diligently to establish a celebration equal to Mother's Day for dads.   She visited spiritual communities, the YMCA, shopkeepers, and government officials to drum up support for her idea. And she succeeded. Washing State celebrated the nation's first statewide Father's Day on June 19, 1910. Father's Day became a national holiday in 1972.

Thank you, Sonora Dodd, for having a vision and sticking with it until it became a reality.

June 19 is also the United States federal holiday commemorating the freedom of the last enslaved people in Texas. Although it has roots in the 1860s, it only recently became a federal holiday when in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. 

Juneteenth celebrations sometimes include reading the Emancipation Proclamation made by President Abraham Lincoln, a moderately conservative Republican with a moderately social-liberal political philosophy in terms of social justice, federal power, and equal rights. He proclaimed,

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested – do order and declare…[skipping to the third paragraph]…That on January 1, in the year of our Lord, 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, [referring to states in rebellion against the United States of America] shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

It was not until two years later, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state's residents learned that slavery had been abolished.

It's noteworthy that a proclamation had to be made to state what is a self-evident spiritual truth. And more remarkable that it would take 157 years before Juneteenth would become a federal holiday acknowledging freedom.

I'm reminded that in spiritual practice, we are to declare the self-evident spiritual truth and keep our eyes on that truth. However, the world may take a moment to catch up. All the while, never waiver from the truth; even when Black, Indigenous, and People of Color continue to suffer discrimination, harmful cultural stereotyping, and systemic racism, we are to keep our eye on the self-evident truth of equality and keep moving toward it. Like Bayard Rustin did.

Bayard was an openly gay African American leader for civil rights who, in 1941, marched on Washington to press for an end to racial discrimination in employment. He organized Freedom Rides to raise awareness that racial discrimination had not yet ended, even though it was proclaimed to be over and done in 1863. So many years later, discrimination had not ended. So Bayard Rustin couldn't rest. He helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to support Dr. Martin Luther King and introduced Dr. King to Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent resistance and civil disobedience philosophy.

He didn't give up when the world didn't seem to be catching up to the self-evident truth. He carried on, and later in life, he stood up for equality for LGBTIQ+ people. He was criticized and targeted because of his sexuality. Politicians threatened to tell the press that he and Dr. King were gay lovers, so Bayard usually acted behind the scenes. But he couldn't give up.

Thank you, Bayard Rustin, for having a vision and sticking with it until more of it became a reality, and may we stand for that vision until all of it is real.

I'm celebrating this Father's Day, Juneteenth, and Pride month by remembering to stay the course even though the world may not have caught up yet. I'm remembering to declare the self-evident spiritual truth and to keep moving toward it. I'm remembering to affirm, recognize, and align with the self-evident spiritual truth and to not waiver from it though the world may take a moment, a decade, or a century to catch up with the reality that all people are equal and that love is love, and that equality is not a special right

"The proof that one truly believes is in action."
 – Bayard Rustin

"The real radical is that person who has a vision of equality and is willing to do those things that will bring reality closer to that vision."
– Bayard Rustin

"When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it makes no difference whether or not I am afraid."
 – Audre Lorde

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[1] Pride around the world: Celebrate LGBTQ+ Month with IHG Hotels & Resorts - 2022 - News & Media - Newsroom - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (ihgplc.com)

Why I love Science of Mind, by Rev. Karen Linsley

I had the opportunity to spend some time with another minister yesterday and we shared some wonderful conversation. We talked about deep stuff, such as whether or not evil exists, where Centers for Spiritual Living is headed, and what this teaching called Science of Mind means for us.

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.