I'd like to share my favorite quote or concept from the founder of Science of Mind,
Dr.
Ernest Holmes.
It's the one that is the most foundational for me.
He says that God cannot do anything for us that God cannot do through us.
When I first heard that I was like wow.
As I have evolved in my awareness of our teaching I understand that it is Holmes really pointing us towards the reality that is foundational in what we teach and believe that we are co-creators with the infinite.
Now that can be very empowering except when things aren't going well.
When it's not the way I want it.
When my life isn't the way I want it or a condition or situation isn't the way I want it.
I often find myself fantasizing about some God out there that if it would just fix this for me or take away this condition I would be so much better.
But that abdicates my power and I don't think is what the truth of the universe really is.
That we are imbued and given the creative opportunity to utilize the energy of spirit.
It's as though that infinite one meets us right where we are and within our being we are constantly contemplating,
Making stuff up,
Drawing conclusions,
Coming to decisions about ourselves and the nature of life and what's possible and the infinite lovingly says to us as you wish.
As you wish.
You may have all that you've been spending time thinking about,
Contemplating about,
Worrying about,
Affirming about.
You get to choose.
So at the heart of this quote then becomes how do I make a new choice?
I've looked back at many examples in my life and that's part of why I'm still such an advocate of our teaching.
Having an understanding and seeing for myself and my life and the lives I've shared with other people how powerful this can be.
That things can't change until I change.
That life can't transform without the renewing of my mind or the transforming of my own mind.
One of the most profound examples of this was as a young person in my 20s I had dated and explored relationship but I finally came to the conclusion that I was ready to find a life partner,
Someone to share my life with in a romantic situation and I kept finding myself in the same relationship with a different face over and over and over again.
I think that's they call it serial monogamy.
I would date the same person,
The same outcome,
Which just happened over and over again and I was absolutely flummoxed by this.
How is it that I keep bringing forth the same experience?
And so I went to my practitioner.
Complain,
Complain.
Why?
Why?
Why?
It's not fair.
It's not fair.
And my wonderful loving but very honest practitioner invited me to look at myself.
I think a lot of us have that willingness except in the places where we're really pouty and whiny about how things aren't working for us and then we don't want to look at ourselves and so I was in that state.
I did not want to look at me but I had to look at me.
She pointed out that I was the the one factor that remained consistent through all of these different relationships.
It was very irritating but the truth is when she lovingly guided me into this deepened awareness,
I saw that I had strong deeply held beliefs from my past experiences that said I'm not lovable and I'm not worthy of that kind of companionship and love and support and it really was eye-opening.
And so together we endeavored to change that internal programming idea decision that I had made about myself through conversations and and revealing awarenesses and she prayed beautifully for me and I began to feel a greater sense of confidence about myself.
A greater sense of worthiness.
It took a little while.
I admit it wasn't like BAM!
You're healed!
Yay!
It took a little time and energy but eventually my relationships began to change and so I really do think that a huge part of what we get to constantly remind ourselves is that there's always value at some point in saying okay I'm not having the experience that I want.
What do I believe about that?
What limiting beliefs might be keeping me from being an open receptive place such that spirit can manifest through me and bring the greater good I desire to me because I've changed my mind about myself.
I've changed what I think.
I've changed how I feel.
I've changed my approach.
I've changed my decision about what I'm worthy of and that can make a huge difference and that is a cornerstone aspect of our teaching that I love because it's so empowering to know that I can be a part of transforming the experience that I'm having.
The second thing that I think can really help us to be a transformational being in that regard for ourselves is to look for the things we say we want in life and celebrate them as other people have them.
For example,
I learned during that period of time that there was a part of me that when I saw other happy couples loving each other I would have resentment and envy and even in my own mind I would never say it because I can be smiling right at someone and be thinking oh I wish I had what you had.
Inside me I'm weird but it's outside of me oh so nice to see you guys so happy.
What really began to change it was when I came into a more authentic sense of if I can see something and celebrate it I can have it.
I then am tuning into that and saying yes to that.
So I started to look for,
See,
And celebrate other happy couples.
Other happy people.
To say oh there's a happy couple.
Wonderful.
Isn't that amazing?
If I can see it I can have it.
Or as Reverend Ike would say,
You can simply say to yourself hey that's for me.
What they have,
That's for me.
There's an alignment that comes with that willingness to do that.
And so it really is then making ourselves a greater instrument,
A more perfect instrument,
A more aligned instrument for the good that we seek to experience as we bring forth the life we choose to live.
So I urge you to look around at life at some of the places that aren't exactly satisfactory and consider asking what am I contributing to this in my thoughts and ideas and emotions about myself and how can I begin to celebrate the existence of this in the lives of other people that I see so that I can anchor it in for myself.
God can only do for us what it can do through us.
