I DOUBLE-DOG-DARE YOU!, by Rev. Susan Overland

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
~Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

 

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt

 

“GOD SPEAKS AND IT IS DONE.”
~Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

 

There’s no doubt that most people have seen the iconic moment in 1983’s “A Christmas Story” when 14-year-old Flick is dared to stick his tongue to the school’s flagpole in freezing weather; Ralphie as an adult narrates the scene saying, “NOW it was serious. A double-dog-dare.” It inevitably leads to the sinister triple-dog-dare and Flick being “thtuck” to the pole. Even after almost 40 years (yes 40!), I still find myself yelling, “Don’t do it!” every time I watch that scene because I was the last kid on the block who would ever accept a dare, whether single, double, or triple.

 

Growing up I was the youngest of 5 children and spent a lot of my youth alone and over-protected (the first eight years I was in and out of hospitals a lot). My home life was more Jerry Springer than Brady Bunch and it served me well to be the “good girl,” and not make any trouble. That risk-averse mindset carried well into my adulthood and became the topic of many counseling sessions.

 

Fast forward to 2001. I took a class at a new church I was attending, and I heard the question, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” I went home that night and cried because I couldn’t come up with an answer. Not fail? How would I know that? All that early programming came flooding back, “You can’t do that.” Or, worse, “Who do you think you are?” But Science of Mind™ had opened the flood gates and the messages kept coming, until one day I realized what God was saying to me:

        I double-dog-dare you to stop playing small!

 

Imagine discovering that life is meant to be a grand adventure and all I need do is keep saying “Yes,” and, as Ernest Holmes wrote, “Begin to blot out, one by one, all false belief—all ideas that one is limited…Refuse to think of failure or to doubt your own power. See only what you wish to experience and look at nothing else.” (The Science of Mind, Pg. 302.3)

 

Please, don’t get me wrong, I have not yet jumped out of an airplane, and I know better than to stick my tongue to a frozen flagpole in freezing temps! I’m not a very good swimmer and I never did learn to ride a bike. But the best news is that I no longer scare easily; I love change and trying new things. Finding my voice, taking a stand and not compromising my values, getting into “good trouble,” it took a solid spiritual practice, faith, a good support network, and the occasional sheet of “spiritual bubble wrap” taped around a broken heart. But oh, I do love this life and I can’t imagine not living it fully.

 

It seems both Alice in Wonderland and Eleanor Roosevelt were both right, and I have solid proof that Ernest Holmes was, too. I’ll end with posing the same question to you, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” I can’t wait to see what kind of double-dog-dare God has in store for you! Do let me know.

 

 

“The average person could probably list at least three good reasons to prove why he or she can't do whatever it is he or she really wants. But in the deepest recesses of our hearts, don't we really know that we could do it all - if only we dared?” ~ Jack Canfield, Dare to Win

 

 

Rev. Susan has been a member of the Center for Spiritual Living San José (CSLSJ) since May of 2001. She became a Practitioner in 2005 and obtained her M.A. in Consciousness studies in 2011. As Associate Minister, she is dedicated to inspiring transformation and possibility in the lives of others. Whether as a speaker, facilitator, director, or teacher, her passionate, quick-witted and straightforward point of view gives a new perspective to living the Science of Mind and Spirit. In February 2021, she took on the role of Regional Support Coordinator for Region 3. Prior to her call to ministry, Rev. Susan had a thriving career at Hewlett-Packard and, along the way, collected numerous awards for her theater work from New York to California. She lives in the Rose Garden area of San Jose with her husband Max (a licensed Practitioner), and 1-year-old puppy, Cara, a 10 lb. Maltipoo who is prone to Zoom bombing her meetings and classes!

Can You Hear Me Now? By Rev. Susan Overland

I’ve always gotten a chuckle over the cellular service commercial where we find the salesman going from point to point asking, “Can you hear me now?” or, “How about now?” We see him coming out of a manhole on a busy city street, in a swamp, a bustling office, and even what looks like the frozen tundra. Every time he asks, “Can you hear me now?” he smiles and says, “Good“ when he receives the inevitable “yes”, meaning his cell service has passed the good reception test.

I’ve experienced those calls when suddenly I can’t hear the caller, or they can’t hear me and, sure enough, one of us ends up asking, “Can you hear me now?” I may have to walk outside or change rooms, or turn myself to face a different direction, trying to get better reception, each time asking again, “Can you hear me now?” Ultimately, I either resume my call, or the call is dropped – either one of the two leaving me to roll my eyes in mild annoyance.

Deeper Musings

Funny, this clever commercial with a catchy phrase that many of us repeated as a joke, has actually turned into deeper musings on my relationship with God, especially my prayer practice. I typically end my Spiritual Mind Treatments by saying, “And so it is,” the declarative statement that means I have released my Word to the Law; it is done. Or is it?

How many times have the really difficult challenges of 2020 left me wondering, “Can you hear me now?” I may not be climbing out of a literal manhole in the middle of a busy street, but maybe I’m climbing out of bed on day #255 of the COVID-19 quarantine and the cacophony in my head is just as loud as that busy street. I may not be in the middle of a swamp, but the quagmire that is our current political atmosphere has been just as murky at times.

In the stillness and the quiet

There are days when my prayer and the prayers of the world may leave me asking, “Can you hear me now? I mean, really, can you?” Those occasional (thankfully far and few between) days when I need that extra boost for my prayer signal! Days when I need to change rooms, face a different window, go outside, or phone a prayer partner. And I always find that if I just wait a little bit, in the stillness and the quiet, I realize that what I’m really hearing is the Thing Itself asking me the same question, “Can you hear me now?” And I just smile and hear, “Good.”

Rev. Susan Overland is the Associate Minister at Center for Spiritual Living San José. Prior to ministry, she had a successful career at Hewlett-Packard; she has received accolades and awards for her theater work on various stages from New York to California. During her almost 20 years at CSLSJ, she’s worn every hat from Board Secretary to Board President, Business/Operations Administrator to Programs Core Coordinator, Founder of Center Stage Productions, and let’s not forget Minister of silly voices, prayer warrior, and too many others to list.

Rev. Susan’s passion is teaching – either certificated classes or her Beginning Acting or Improv classes. When not teaching, you will find her directing theater, or co-authoring one of the many plays or musicals she’s created for the Center. Rev. Susan is a contributing author to the book, All is Well: 29 Stories of Guts & Grace, Courage & Compassion, and she recently finished writing a children’s book entitled Why Is There a Meatball On the Ceiling!?

Rev. Susan lives in the Rose Garden area of San José with her husband (and licensed Practitioner), Max Overland, and their dog, Moody! She spends as much time as she can with her 4 grandchildren.