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SEASIDE CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING |
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What we get to do in January is go back to the basics. It's something that a majority of the Religious Science churches do across the nation, actually across the globe. They go back to the initial chapters of Ernest Holmes' book 'The Science of Mind', which has become known as our text book. They go to the first four chapters, which are an abridged version of the whole text book and go through those chapters and just once again, remind us that it all begins with God. This morning the message is called: 'The Thing Itself'. It is God - that's what today is about - it is about God. In some of the traditional religions, if you start calling God a Thing, or you start calling God an It -- blasphemy. It's not an OK thing. But, the truth is, let us get beyond our conceptions of the way God is and the way it's supposed to be approached, and begin to open up to what is, because, God is. Wherever you are, God is. If we can remember that right in the midst of any of the situations that begin to arise, you will begin to experience a healing in your life, and it can be that simple. This is the theory. Actually putting it into practice is not always that simple. I had the opportunity last Friday -- you might remember all the storms we had a week ago -- I was taking off on a ski trip, heading up to British Columbia, on Reno Air, that goes through Reno. Well, it just so happens that Reno was under water, particularly the airport, on that day. I got to the airport about 9:00, down in San Diego. I tried to call them the night before, but their lines were busy for the twenty four hours preceding. So, I didn't realize that the corporate offices were under water, also. I showed up at the airport and said: "I'm ready to go" and they said: "The flight has been canceled, but, we can rebook you on Monday." "Nooooo, I'm supposed to go skiing. My ride from Vancouver to Whistler will be waiting for me." They said: well we can't do it." I said: "You've got to be able to do it." They said: "Well, we can't do it." They was someone who had been working on them for over an hour, before I got there, so I joined parties with them. All of a sudden a lot of other people were coming up and being turned away, but, for some reason they were attempting to reroute us on Reno Air. Reno Air wasn't flying, so, they were going to put us on another flight up to L.A., but we missed that one because they were working so long. In the meantime, I heard that there was a flight up in Oregon, on Delta, that could get us from Oregon to Vancouver. Around midnight that night I said: "What about Delta, that would work fine?" They said: "Well, we don't have a reciprocal relationship, with them." Right about time, they got faxed from the president of Reno Air that said: "No rerouting anybody." So in the meantime, I'm saying: "Come on, God. Come on, God. Delta would be just fine. So, I said: "Why don't you call Delta and tell them to do this." This went on for two and a half hours. They finally were able to reroute us from San Diego, on Horizon Air, to L.A. -- from L.A. on Alaskan Air to Oregon -- and then there was a five hour layover for this Delta Airline that I had been praying for, and I knew was the answer to my prayer. All of a sudden, we arrived just in time to catch a Canadian Air subsidiary called Air B.C., that went on strike the next day, that got us in there. What I came to realize was that sometimes, when we get attached to having it look a certain way -- it having to be Delta, or having to get there -- we begin to be, in a sense, in bondage. We get to be caught up in our expectations, as opposed to opening up to God, as to what is. Ernest Holmes, who is the founder of Religious Science, and his philosophy was actually, incorporated back in 1927, wrote, in the very first chapter of his book, page 25: "The Divine Plan is one of Freedom; bondage is not God-ordained. Freedom is the birthright of every living soul. All instinctively feel this. The truth points to freedom, under Law. Thus, the inherent nature of man is forever seeking to express itself in terms of freedom." Our nature is forever seeking to express itself in terms of freedom, but, as long as we get attached to expectations, as long as we think that we are supposed to be praying in a certain way and asking God or telling God that this is the way it's supposed to be, what we are doing is usurping God's power. Do you realize that? We are dealing with this Omniscience, which means It knows it all, that knowledge is everywhere, and we're trying to tell God that Delta is the way to go? If we could just begin to enter into that Thing Itself, if we could just step into that Presence and absolutely trust It with all our heart and soul and choose to know God in the midst, we will be freeing ourselves. God knows I needed to get up there. And, It knew all the airlines and how to get me there. I didn't but, from my limited perspective, I tried telling God: "This is the way to do it." How often have we prayed to God for some thing, you don't have to answer that. This is a drastic change from the majority of the New Thought churches, that tell you to pray for the thing, for the Lotto, for that relationship, for that spouse. Traditional churches don't even pray for specifics, they ask, they beseech. What we do in Religious Science is go to Spirit. We open our mind and our consciousness and our soul to It -- the Thing Itself. What It does is begins to lift us above and beyond our present level of circumstances within our life. That's what It naturally does, because our focus begins to be at a higher place that the ticket counter, than the confusion, than the discord that we find ourselves in. If we begin to put our mind and our awareness on the Presence, we will find a shift takes place. "I, of myself, can do nothing, it is the Father within." So, Kalli and I had been skiing for several days up in Whistler, in Canada. Our legs were tired so, we decided to take a day off and go snowmobiling. We went to an absolutely beautiful place, for these snowmobiles. We got on the snowmobiles and I didn't know what was up there. I didn't know what was beyond where we were. We just kept heading towards the beauty. We went off down this forest highway of snow and just kept going higher. We were in a clouded area when all of a sudden, as we kept going higher and higher, we went above that climate zone into the blue sky - pristine white mountains, snow flocked trees, that had not been touched and to be able to go out in this alpine meadow and go racing around was exhilarating. When Kalli got off the snowmobile, I decided to go exploring even farther and I, actually, the snow looked flat and I went over the edge and buried the snowmobile on a bank and got dumped into the stream down below. And yet, I knew that I was in the presence of God. The guide that had taken us out there, came and dug the snowmobile out and dug me out. I noticed I was getting a little cold, at that time, but, I didn't really want to go back. I kept looking beyond. I kept looking to God. We went up even higher and unbeknownst to me, they had this wonderful mountain cabin sitting on this hilltop, where they made us this wonderful lunch and cider, with these expansive views. Now, I would have probably taken myself back down below to dry out and warm up. But, looking to God, looking above, looking beyond, there was something even greater waiting for me, waiting for us. Well, in our lives, sometimes we get so caught up in the karmic stuff. We get so caught up in the law of cause and effect -- in this physical realm we are dealing with the law of cause and effect for every cause there is an effect -- but, when we go to that higher place, when we go above and beyond, we stop trying to manipulate the energies, we stop trying to redirect the law and telling God how to do it. We enter into the Grace of God. We enter into that place that is beautiful, that is whole, where the warmth is, where the abundance is, where the answer is, and from there it unfolds, from there it comes out into our life, it will come out into our world. But, it is up to us to abide in that level of consciousness. For as we abide within that Presence, without telling God what to do, but, as we abide in that Presence, what we begin to experience in our life are the benefits of the grace of God, of the Thing Itself -- not because we are telling God what to do, but, because the natural benefits of being in that God place that is above and beyond our present level of circumstance. Do you follow what I am saying? Ernest Holmes, from this chapter, tells us that "...behind the individual is the Universal, which has no limits. ... In this concept alone lies the possibility of eternal and endless expansion." Behind the individual is God. You find it all right where you are. It's true for you. It's true for me. I'll tell you it's true for the drunkard out on the beach. It's true for the beggar on the corner. It's true for the nastiest person in your life, that right where they are God is, the fullness is, and the only thing that is lacking within their world is a recognition of the Presence, an acknowledgment of the Presence. That's the only thing that is lacking. Sometimes in our life we will have discord. Sometimes in our life we will be out of balance. Sometimes in our life discord happens. You've seen the bumper sticker that -- 'something' -- happens. Discord happens! And, it happens because of that lack of connection. And, it happens when we begin to have those expectations; when we begin to think that what we need is going to come to us from the outside; when we think that what is out there or that what we have, somebody can take away from us. What is ours is God. When we can begin to look at the people in our life and in our world and realize that they are all Spirit. Imagine what it would be like if you looked out at everyone you saw and you realized that they were your friend. It would feel pretty good, wouldn't it? -- that everyone out there wanted to assist you, to help you, to empower you. Can you imagine what it would be like to be alive? --that through every avenue and experience you have that is looking for the Grace of God to bless you and enrich your world and it's not because you were trying to make it happen. Ernest Holmes, once again, from this chapter, writes, "God is always God." That means that person on the street, that ticket counter, that relationship, that business. "God is always God. No matter what the emotional storm... (no matter what is going on in our world, no matter the challenge, you might be experiencing in your life) ... No matter what the emotional storm, or what our objective situation, may be, there is always a something hidden in the inner being that has never been violated. We may stumble, but always there is that Eternal Voice, forever whispering within our ear, that thing which causes the eternal quest, that thing which forever sings and sings." There is always that something inside of us. This is why it is essential, in our life, to continue to practice Spirit. This is why it is essential to read our Spiritual material. This is why it is essential to take time to connect with Spirit and Source, in our life, so we know what it is. So, it's not just some word. So, we're not praying to just a concept. But rather, that we are able to step into that energy vortex, that Spiritual place, and have that sense and that feeling. And, we may be so enlightened in that moment and you know what, we may not even remember that moment. But, it was there, for you, at that time. It is that simple. We do not need to have these complex ways of manipulating the Law, but, just step into that place that will lift us above and beyond to that higher state of awareness. It is there and It is that simple. YES!!! It's that simple. I looked and I said, 'How do I want to complicate that more.' And as I said it, I saw the heads going, 'YAH'. As we grasp It, It is sometimes difficult to grasp, that the world outside, there, just doesn't get It. You want your friends and your family to get It. Do you know what I mean by 'get It'. But, they do not seem to be sufficiently receptive to the simplicity of the loving expression of life. As much as we want them to be able to get It, they are not ready to hear It. It doesn't mean that you cannot live in that loving way, in that effortless flow of life, in that Grace of God. You still can live It. Your still can prove It. You can still be an expression. And, what you will find is that the world or your friends will come to you and say, 'Heh, what is It -- what are you doing?' Jesus ran into the same thing. He said: "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murderer of the Profits and stoner of those who are sent to her. How often I have wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and yet, you would not." There he was saying how as a hen would gather the chicks under her wings, he would just want to help, but, the hierarchy of the churches didn't want his teachings. He could have walked through the streets of the Holy Land, blessing those that are around, but, they did not want it. It doesn't mean that Spirit was any less present there. The Spirit was the same then, yesterday, today and forevermore. The Spirit fully is. The Spirit, Thing Itself is fully present. It's not as if we can tell God how to do something or how to create something. It is all created. All possibility exists, which means that right where you are to bring about the healing, the fullness, the abundance, the love, the success within your life is to recognize and to acknowledge that it comes through your consciousness. Just as an artist brings forth his artistic expression; musicians bring forth what it is they feel and hear inside themselves; an architect is able to bring forth all the details on that drafting table or on the computer, that is inside them. All that is necessary for your life is within your consciousness. It's not as if we're telling God what to do to bring it forth. It is already -- have you got what I'm saying -- the Thing is here. The truth is. It is that simple. And, it comes from an acknowledgment of stepping above and beyond the clouds, the mirk, the discord in our life and then the healing happens. It's not as if we are really healers and that we go out and fix anything. But rather, it is stepping into the Truth and having the experience of Love, having that experience of the Light, that the healing naturally happens, that the unfoldment goes. It's not as if we say, 'Hey God, come here and get rid of this lump.' When we step into that Place of God, that Grace of Spirit, that Omniscient Power knows how to interpret Itself and the lump dissolves. If we go to God with a sense of grief, we don't have to say, 'God, heal my grief.' Because once again we are setting up the dualistic, the dueling aspect of bringing that God Power against something else. That's the drastic change that I was speaking about when we started, this morning. That is the drastic difference in our prayer. We are not bringing the Power of God to combat or fight anything, but, if we go to God with grief, God interprets Itself in a sense of comfort. When we go to God with a broken bone, It knows how to knit. We don't have to say, 'Hey, God, fix it. If You're so wise, I don't need to tell you I'm hurting.' The Grace of God supersedes that karmic energy or that law of cause and effect. If you go there with stones, they seem to disappear. This is the way It works. It is that simple. That's what happens when you come to know the Thing Itself. So, my challenge to you, this week, is to take time, partake of those meals, you might not remember tomorrow. But, It's what brings life -- the Thing Itself. |
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