Thoughts Are Things

“If when one prays his prayer is a recognition of Spirit’s Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence, and a realization of man’s unity with Spirit, then his prayer is a spiritual treatment.” – Ernest Holmes

It’s been a primary part of my work recently to remind others that the “go to” spiritual practice for us in New Thought is affirmative prayer, more commonly referred to, among those of us who are practitioners, as spiritual mind treatment. When I was studying to become a licensed practitioner, and ultimately a minister I spent a lot of my time looking at the use of prayer in faith traditions, and considering how it agrees or differs from the method we teach.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers this, which I believe is an explanation of affirmative and scientific prayer:

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask them?” – Matthew 7:7-11

That is really the way it works. To activate the law of cause and effect purposefully we must set our specific intention and requirement in motion. This is done by asking, searching, knocking. The nature of the law is to provide in return the exacting demonstration of that thing in mind.

The law is infallible. It always gives in precise measure, and will never return a “stone” when we ask for “bread.”

I think sometimes we get lost in the asking, and let our willy nilly thoughts take precedence. As we begin the study of New Thought it is important to remember this adage: “You can’t get the ‘yes’ unless you ask.”

In the asking, I think it is important to understand one caveat: do not ask for anything that brings harm to another, and do not purposefully act in a way that brings harm to another. This brings us to this next part of the sermon.

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 7:12

If we were to scrap all other commandments, this would be the one to retain. This is, for me, the most important guidance to follow. This same idea, the Golden Rule, is also echoed in all faith traditions.

Is it easy to do all this? Not always. It’s work, but the payoff is a life of joy. But it IS work, until it’s not – and as you work to embody the principles they become a part of your being. When this happens, the work is no longer work, it’s just your being-ness!

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who would take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14

We can easily get lost on the easy path, yet it may not be the most productive. To keep our minds focused on the constructive life is our work.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” – Matthew 7:15-20

There are two things to know here. First, we must be on high-watch to release those things which lead us to believe in any sense of separation from the Infinite. The degree to which we give power to those things is the degree to which we live in disharmony.

The second part of this is to let go of that which doesn’t work for us in life (the bad fruit) and willingly accept the constructive (the good fruit). It is our work to make these determinations but to do so free of condemnation. We will know what works for us, and what doesn’t.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.” – Matthew 7:21-23

Seems harsh, huh? Well, remember that these are metaphors. Here’s what I really believe is being offered here: Our work is to personally embody, not to simply intellectualize. We can learn so much from our study, but until we activate our lives from the conscious perspective of the constructive, and purposeful use of creation for the “upliftment” of all humanity we are just spinning our wheels.

If there is a Divine will, I think it is this: LOVE, and act from love. When we do this we activate the creative process for the good of all. The time to start the journey of embodiment is right now.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell—and great was the fall!” – Matthew 7:24-27

The words of this sermon are guides and possibilities. It is up to those who hear the words to decide what to do with them and how to live them. Will they be rooted in our hearts like the house on rock, or are they just lovely considerations like the house built on sand?

Faith is the key to the entire teaching. We chose whether we rise or fall.

“Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” – Matthew 7:28-29

And we’ve reached the end of the Sermon on the Mount. I think, just as the crowds did, that it is an astounding call for us all to embody. I am grateful for the wisdom contained within, and strive daily to embody the principles as I understand them.

I look forward to what is next as we continue down this path of new thought, and deepened understanding together.

“Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what [they] think into it.” - Ernest Holmes

I find myself saying frequently, “this is a fundamental part of the New Thought teaching,” and I’ve started to wonder why. There is so much depth in the philosophy, and the philosophy in so many ways reflects the wisdom of the ages. I think I am settling into the personal need to allow the fundamentals to be at the root of my thoughts and experience. A sort of “back to basics” approach to living.

The concept of beginner’s mind comes to the forefront of my thought in considering this. Beginner’s mind is something I strive for often as it keeps me out of judgment, and opens me to greater possibility and potential.

That is the life I would like to see reflected back to me. One free of judgment, and infinitely open with possibility and potential. That’s actually the nature of life… but we get ourselves twisted in knots, and mess it up.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23

How great is the darkness indeed! We are the ones who co-created the experience of darkness, and in that respect it is a pretty great feat of living. There is also a great lesson in knowing that if we created that darkness, we can re-create it as something new. It’s a little backwards in the way that it has been expressed here. Yet, when understood, it makes sense.

We are the responsible conscious beings for the expression and flow of our lives. We get to decide whether we use the eye to look at all creation from the point of view of Love, or from some other consideration. The healthy eye is the one that sees everything through the lens of Love, and the unhealthy eye is the one that sees something else.

What it all boils down to is choice.

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” – Matthew 6:24

There is a concept in religious organizations and faith traditions called the “Prosperity Gospel.” The notion that prosperity is an important part of spirituality seems to fly in the face of this part of the sermon. I will offer this… I don’t think it does at all. In fact, it is very much in alignment with New Thought. New Thought philosophies hold to the notion that prosperity is welcome both in mind and expression. It is not money that is the root of all evil, rather it is the love of money. Prosperity is an inner feeling, and that inner feeling (just as all inner feelings/beliefs/thoughts) expresses itself in our world in perfect alignment and accordance. We experience prosperity not because we have money in the bank – rather we experience money in the bank because have prosperity consciousness.

No, we cannot serve two masters. We cannot live in duality and unity at the same time. To believe that money is something other than Divine expression is to believe there is something other than God, and that is a limited and limiting viewpoint. To love money is to be devoted to the form. A devotion to form may imply that we consider it separate from Spirit. All abundance, all wealth, all prosperity expression comes from one source, and guess what, that source is NOT your job. The source is Infinite Spirit.

Keep this in mind the next time you feel like you have no money in the bank. The potential for flow is within you, and it is in unlimited supply.

The next part is a long quote… so bear with me! Here we go…

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s troubles is enough for today.” – Matthew 6:25-34

I could almost get by with saying this is all pretty clear. Almost. I think there are some fine points, though, that require a little look.

First, the sentiment is clear – do not worry! I can just see Alfred E. Newman’s freckled face grinning from ear to ear with the classic words on the banner below the image reading, “What—me worry?” To have this worry-free freedom is a blessing. We get so bogged down in the minutiae of life. We can become obsessed with where the source of our basic needs is rooted, and many of us are obsessed with that source. The obsession leads us to a belief that the source is beyond our control, and beyond our reach, and beyond our ease. The worry about this creates one thing in the expression of life: more to worry about.

The words in this section of the sermon are asking us to require of ourselves a deeper reliance on the inner good at our core; again the heavenly Father, which is the creative source in each of us, is the provider. When we live in faith, we are provided for. Faith is pretty tricky, though, when you require proof (in fact, that’s not faith!).

If we are able to live completely in this moment (letting go of our past regrets and the anxiety for what lies in our future) and give in to the consciousness of unity, everything takes care of itself. Is this easy? Well if it were I would not need to do things like serve as a minister on Sundays, and host a blog and podcast to consistently remind people of this.

What I think we can work toward is the total and complete giving in to the embodiment of the first two steps of affirmative prayer as we teach them. God is all there is and it is what we are. Recognition of the divinity of all things, and knowing that includes us and is the core of our very identity. When we give in to this without any questioning needed, everything in our lives is provided for.

This is truly a call to us to deepen our Faith and living in the moment more profoundly.

What if you knew you were provided for?

Would you worry?

You are.

So perhaps let the worry go.

I want to take a little more time and continue into chapter 7… here is some good advice:

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” – Matthew 7:1-5

This seems like pretty common-sense advice (as does much of this sermon to me). We live in a world where it seems common sense is not so common. There seems to be a proliferation of purported leaders who all have logs in their eyes, and cast aspersions and judgments on others. The challenge here for me is this: am I casting judgment about them? If I see them and experience them in my life, I think it important for me to remove the log in my eye and recognize that they are a reflection of my consciousness.

This section also reminds us that the law of cause and effect works in perfection irrespective of the user. Just like a computer program will deliver whatever the programmer inputs, the law will deliver whatever the user inputs. It could be a program that brings ease to life, or malware that brings strife. The impersonal nature of the law doesn’t judge.

Ernest Holmes touches on this in his words, “There is a Law, common to all people, which responds to every [individual’s] belief in life, at the level of that belief. No [person] can be happy who lives in a continuous state of condemnation of people, conditions, and things. We must learn to praise and not condemn.”

Sage words from a sage mystic.

“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” – Matthew 7:6

This may be a downer way of completing today’s exploration. But it is a call to us to keep the high watch for ourselves and in the lives of others. We cannot change anyone else’s life, that is up to them, but we can always claim and know in our own minds the highest and best expression of their magnificence.

It is also not up to us to try to convince them of something, most definitely it is not up to us to convince them that our philosophy and way of life is in any way “correct.” I always say, this is what works for me and I trust each person alive to find what works for them. We do not proselytize. We cannot give to those who are unwilling to receive, so it is fruitless to try.

We are in no position to judge (which seems to be a theme today). Our only job is to live the Truth and be beacons of light. Those who are ready will see it. As the Buddhist proverb suggests: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15

Just after the Lord’s Prayer is this little follow up. It speaks to a very important aspect of creation… forgiveness. When we practice forgiveness (and it is a practice), we free our own minds to more infinite creative expression. When we release the attachment to our need to be right, allow forgiveness to be centered in our soul, we create a framework in our own minds and heart that opens up the floodgates of love. Basically, we reap what we sow.

How can it be that the “heavenly Father” has any dominion over us, you might ask. Well, again, the heavenly father is that creative energy within that matches our mind. It is not some being “out there” passing judgment on our actions. When our consciousness is rooted in love, kindness, and forgiveness, we attract that into our lives.

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who is in secret will reward you.” - Matthew 6:16-18

Here we return back to a consideration of our practice, that it is for us and for no one else. Why do we return to this? Well, I think we return to this as a reminder of the importance of spiritual practice as personal. It’s totally personal, and we don’t need to make a show of it for anyone else. Again, we fast for the “Father” who is in secret… and by that “Father” we are rewarded. Are you understanding the pattern of what the “Father” is, and the importance that creative energy plays in our experience? Our work, is completely in mind, not for show, and not for the accumulation of things in the world of form. Which ties right in to the next passage.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21

It is a common misconception that New Thought is a philosophy about “getting.” I think this is rooted in what many of us come to understand early in the study of the New Thought philosophy, that demonstration is the point of prayer. We mistake demonstration as being the thing “out there” rather than the consciousness of the thing. As we deepen in the study I believe we come to realize that the consciousness is the thing. Ernest Holmes was clear when he taught, “We do not teach that you can get what you want.” What we teach is deeper realization of truth in all circumstances. What we are met with is form in alignment with that truth. As we store up the treasure of loving kindness in our minds, we are rooting that in our hearts, and met with that in our experiences. The form is never more important than the consciousness.

In Matthew 6:9-13 it is written:

“After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

The Lord’s Prayer is, perhaps, the most famous prayer in the world. It is also a challenge for many adherents to the new thought philosophy as it seems very dualistic in its nature.

We’ve already covered some of the metaphysical metaphors that are utilized in previous parts of the Sermon on the Mount. If we transfer those basic understandings to the very beginning of this prayer, then we begin to know it in a different way.

So I ask, who is the Father? Perhaps a better way of considering this is to ask, WHAT is the Father. We have previously established that the Father is the infinite creative source. There is nothing separate from the infinite, and that is how we can understand the second part of the phrase. Heaven is the inner realm of cause within each of us. So “Our Father which art in heaven,” can be metaphysically understood as an address to, “The One infinite source of creation which is rooted in our inner realm of cause.”

For those among you who have studied the structure of affirmative prayer, or spiritual mind treatment, as we teach it in Religious Science, you may recognize this, then, as the first two steps: recognition and unification. Recognition of only one infinite creative source, and unification, or identification of each of us being a magnificent part of the infinite wholeness. There is that within each of us which is cause to all that we experience.

For something to be hallowed, is a recognition of its infinite, holy nature. The nature of the Divine is whole and complete. “Hallowed be thy name,” is a recognition of the holy nature of the infinite as an energy, untouched and pure, consecrated. This is the nature of our inner being. There is no separation. Our individualized nature is an energy, untouched and pure, consecrated.

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a statement of mental equivalence. The infinite creative nature, the Divine will, is expressed in each of us. The infinite heavenly idea is formed and expressed on earth as form. The infinite and the relative are exactly the same.

A demand in consciousness produces a result in form. The inner realm (the kingdom) is present within each of us, and always working constructively, in our favor.

Having rooted the consciousness in the established premise of the creative, we then turn to stating our requirement: “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Bread can be understood as the infinite, life sustaining good. To know that it is ours for the asking each day, this is a statement of claiming that very good. It is a statement of requirement unto the divine Law of Cause and Effect. All supply in our lives is rooted in this Law, and all we need do is make our statement of requirement known.

And then there is a statement which may or may not be as familiar in its phrasing depending on the religious tradition which expresses it.

You may have heard, “Forgive us our debts,” which is the translation I have used today. That is a translation used mainly by Presbyterian and reformed traditions of Christianity. Those in the Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist traditions may have it translated as “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It is also possible you’ve heard “Forgive us our sins.”

So which is right? Well, none of them, and all of them. From a pure translation point of view, the words “debt” and “debtors” is most close to the original Greek.

What is important, as always, is the underlying meaning we attribute to this phrase. This is a call to us to personally release any sense of being owed anything, both externally and internally. A way we might understand being owed anything externally is to believe that our piety requires other’s admiration or respect. To believe this is descend a slippery slope to a sense of moral superiority. This is out of alignment with the deepest sense of unity.

A way that we might believe we are owed anything internally, and this is rooted in the deeper subconscious, is to believe that we “owe” ourselves more than our mental equivalent can supply. When we believe that we are owed more than our mental equivalent can supply we may begin to have thoughts rooted in condemnation for the self because we cannot demonstrate more than our mental equivalent.

A simplified example of this can be quantified in this way: if we have a strong mental tendency that we are limited to an annual income of, say, $40,000 that is the limit that we will have placed on our financial experience. We may think on the surface that we are owed more than that, but until it is a deeply rooted belief, we will never demonstrate that. We either beat ourselves up, or we expand our belief. The choice is entirely up to us. In the meantime, we must let ourselves off the hook for the ways in which we consider ourselves limited. Our life is a journey of the uncovering of our perceived limitations, and the expansion of our consciousness to surpass those perceptions of limitation.

Finally, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” It’s all an inside job. Any temptation is, first and foremost, internal. Any perception of evil is rooted first in our mind. So to be delivered from these things is the mental work we do in New Thought. The path of light is at our core, and when we follow the light, we are lifted out of the darkness.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever.” Simply put, God is ALL there is.

Amen - literally translated means “it is so.”

And so it is.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” - William Shakespeare (Hamlet Act 2 Scene ii)

When we take the actual time to deeply consider our consciousness we begin the road to create change in our lives. The road map to change is consciousness, but that requires awareness. And all spiritual practice is about deepening awareness. An awareness of our unity with all things. This includes those beings of light whom we may have deemed enemies in our lives.

“You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have” Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

Following on heels of deepening our understanding of the consciousness of retaliation we are met with a challenge: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

On the surface there is this message, if we are beings born of love then we should love only. That is pretty straightforward. Do you find it difficult to love those whom you feel have wronged you in some way? From where does that sense of being wronged stem? I would suggest that it is a belief rooted in our own consciousness. It is our consciousness that creates enemies, and it is a decision to allow the enemy to remain an enemy. It is also a decision to live based on love. It is a choice and it is all about energy.

The more power we give to the consciousness that enemies exist, the more we experience enemies. Does this suggest that if we are in a frame of mind that doesn’t accept enemies as a possibility that there will no longer be people with whom we disagree? Of course not. There will always be people with whom we disagree. It is our consciousness that attracts them into our experience or keeps them from our experience.

The more we give in to love only as the primary focus of our awareness, the more we experience and attract those who are in alignment with love. The “Father in heaven” (which is another way of saying the creative nature at the core of your mind and heart) is impersonal… it is mechanical… it simply creates. We are the ones who infuse meaning and heart into the creation. It is very personal to us.

So then, this becomes a call to live in the fullness and recognition that we are already perfection expressed (if God is perfect… and that is who we are… then we must to be perfect… that’s the simple transitive property of equality). It also means that all people are perfect expressions and embodiments of the One. Whether they act accordingly is another story, and if they don’t act accordingly, there is no requirement that we maintain them as factors in our lives.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” - Matthew 6:1-4

Simply put… nothing we do should be for show. Our spiritual practice is for us. When we concern ourselves with what it looks like to others we remove ourselves from the experience itself. That brings us down to a focus on the form rather than the absolute creative nature.

Each of us has a unique, creative expression of our Spirituality. That expression should be for us, and for no one else. There is no “doing it right” or “doing it wrong.” There is only our connection, and the more deeply we connect in our own unique way, the more effective it becomes in our lives.

This is not a call for us to hide our expression of spirituality, though. The part of the passage which says it should, “be done in secret,” is not literal in a strict sense. What is secret is that which is ineffable and undefinable in our own connection to and as Spirit.

There is a song that we sing in my center sometimes. The lyrics are, “So sacred, so secret, so precious, this Love.” I have given a lot of thought to the “so secret” part of the lyric, and thought for a time that I should change it. I have decided against changing it because no matter how public our expression may be, there is that part which is so personal and intimate it will always be secret. I don’t have to try to keep it from others. This goes hand in hand with the next passage.

“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:5-8

Here is a challenge. How open is too open? How closed is too closed? To take it more personally, how open or closed are you about your Spiritual nature? If we are open, to what degree are we open and for what purpose? Is it for the purpose of setting ourselves apart from others—or can we simply wear our faith on our sleeve by simply being, and living the principles we teach?

I have a tendency to believe that if I am in the consciousness of knowing that my word is my bond, then I don’t need to make a show of it. The life I experience will be the evidence necessary to inspire. I don’t need to try to make a show of it. I simply choose to live it. It’s all about the energy and consciousness (are you sensing a recurring theme here?).

My spiritual practice is ongoing, 24/7. I even got a tattoo on my right inner forearm that reads “…and so it is.” as a reminder that my word is my bond, and I am constantly creating. The tattoo is for me, and for no-one else.

When we simply live our best lives, rooted in the knowledge of our unique individualization of infinite Divinity, then life gets better. Pretty soon we will have everyone around us exclaiming, “I’ll have what s/he’s having.”

“[Jesus] lived in a world of spiritual realization far beyond that of which the average man has any understanding.” - Ernest Holmes

Can we begin to accept that we can rise above averages, and that we don’t need to live in the consideration that Jesus, or any other mystical prophet, was somehow greater than we are? I think it’s time!

As we continue to consider the sermon on the mount we’ve come to a section that seems pretty straightforward, pretty literal, and frankly quite condemning. Taking a deeper dive into spiritual realization can help us unpack some less obvious meaning here. Here’s the whole section (and, yes, it is a bit long):

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be, ‘Yes, yes,’ or ‘No, no’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

“You have heard it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

- Matthew 5:27-42

These directives, or commandments, may seem like tough pills to swallow. And if we take them a their surface, they can be. Metaphorically speaking, though, what is happening here is a great reminder of one major aspect of our great teaching: we are responsible for our actions.

The section here is a direct reference to the ten commandments. In the first part of this section on adultery, the metaphorical understanding of adultery is to believe in a creative power other than the One. If we settle into this dualism, thinking on any level, that there is God and something else, we may be putting our faith in that something beyond. This sense of separation leads to heartache, pain, and suffering. When we know that there is only one infinite (and, just by way of logic, if there were something else, it wouldn’t be infinite) then we come to know ourselves as that very thing. We empower ourselves consciously by knowing that there is no power separate from ourselves, and all creation has equal access to this power of creation. This allows us to rise up to a new way of being, free of the confines of heartache, pain, and suffering.

There is no separation. This concept becomes integral to the eyes and hands as the potential cause of sin. To remove our eye, to remove our hand, these are metaphors for releasing from our sight and our touch any idea that form has any power. Form is simply a result, and the actual power is in the energy and consciousness behind the form. If we keep our eye focused on the form and our hands touching the form with any notion that form has power we tacitly condemn our entire being-ness to the results of that belief. That result? A consciousness of hell, and that consciousness creates hellish circumstances in our lives right now.

The section that follows, discussing divorce, is more than just a commentary on matrimony. Divorce is a concept of running from our problems. As long as we run from our problems we will continue to experience the problem. You may have heard this concept in this way: what you resist persists.

The solution to this is to counteract the circumstances we are trying to escape with a consciousness of Spiritual Truth. It could be considered adulterous to run away from Spiritual Truth… remembering that adultery is believing in a separate power.

Concerning oaths, we must remain open to the Infinite possibility in all things. We move ourselves away from this when we “swear falsely.” To “swear at all” is to borrow against your future—in doing this we shut out the Infinite good from our present experience. To counteract this, spiritual practice can deliver us from a limited consciousness and place us in an expanded consciousness. This is remaining “open at the top.” When we are “open at the top” we welcome deeper insight and wisdom to pour forth.

Our responsibility, then, is to remain in present moment living, intuitive living, rooted in the power of now.

There is also a correlation in this to what we call “outlining” in our prayer work. To desire to make “one hair white or black” is demanding of the Infinite a specific way of delivering our Spiritual good. To anthropomorphize God, this is essentially telling God how to do its work. Instead, let us root our spiritual work in “Yes, yes,” and “No, no.” Like the affirmations and denials of Emma Curtis Hopkins. When rooted in Spiritual truth these frames of mind welcome the infinite possibility to show up for us in its highest.

The final section of today’s considerations is all about retaliation, revenge, and radical forgiveness. We experience the circumstances based on what is first in mind. If we actively participate in retaliation or revenge we are welcoming more for which to be vengeful into our experience of life. The antidote to this is forgiveness. Forgiveness is a tremendous healing power. Radical forgiveness, that is a deep spiritual understanding that there is that which has never been touched by any outside circumstance, provides a radical healing consciousness.

Turning the other cheek is a mental idea. It is not a call for us to allow ourselves to become doormats, or to abandon discernment. Turning the other cheek is about changing our minds. When we change our thoughts, we address underlying beliefs which may  create erroneous circumstances.

If our own concept of life is what we see and attract, then when people “wrong” us it is our responsibility to not only remember who we are, but remember who they are as well. This change of mind (turning the other cheek) changes the experience immediately.

Was that a lot to take in? Let yourself sit with the concepts more deeply and see what bubbles to the surface of your awareness! I believe you will find more peace and love available in your experience.

“Owning your own feelings, rather than blaming them on someone else, is the mark of a person who has moved from contracted awareness to expanded awareness.” - Deepak Chopra

If there is one thing that I still see as a constant in our society, it is the capacity and seeming need we have to blame. It’s a challenge as a new thought minister to recognize this. It is also daily work to keep my own mind from moving to a place of blame when I am faced with certain experiences and circumstances that seem beyond my control.

Today’s section of the sermon on the mount is a metaphor for this concept.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.’” - Matthew 5:21

There is a lot more to come in this section, but let’s just start with the obvious. This can be taken literally as well as figuratively. Obviously, we literally should not murder.

There is a corollary to the ten commandments here—the commandment which most people have understood to be “Thou shalt not kill,” is, in fact, “You shall not murder,” when understood in the original Hebrew. One consideration here is that murder implies premeditation.

More importantly, however, is the metaphysical concept of eternal and infinite life. While the physical form may be destroyed, the eternal energy, the Spirit and Soul, remain. It seems to me that a fundamental truth here can be that we cannot actually do away with consciousness, whether premeditated or not.

We may try to do so by living in anger, and holding anger.

“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” - Matthew 5:22-24

We must release our thoughts of anger (leaving them at the altar). When we carry our anger with us there is only one whom it affects… ourselves. When we are not able to leave our thoughts of anger we live in a hell of our own making. We may act out in ways that are detrimental, to ourselves, to our families, to our communities.

This is ultimate forgiveness. Even when we feel wronged by others, we must be the ones who live in forgiveness.

“Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” - Matthew 5:25-26

Own your feelings, do not try to blame others for them. When we blame others for our feelings, when we try to  pass our ownership of our feelings to others, we imprison ourselves. This consciousness wastes spiritual coin, and try as we might we will not be able to escape the prison of misplaced anger. Until we release the anger we will continue to pay.

It seems somewhat fitting that as I prepare today’s blog I am doing it on Good Friday. In the Christian tradition this is recognized as the day on which Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. One thing that is consistent in the stories of the crucifixion is Jesus’ capacity to lead with forgiveness… even to the point of uttering as he is on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” In the metaphorical sense, the Father represents the creative spirit at the core of each of us. This is activating consciousness in forgiveness, and we can expect to rise above our sense of circumstances being predominant in our lives. We come to the realization that we are in charge of our lives.

So let’s leave our thoughts of anger at the altar, let’s discontinue the murdering of our own minds, let’s step into forgiveness and allow the creative spirit of Love at our core prevail. It is in Love that we rise.

“The Science of Mind does not necessarily create a new religion or sect, for it may be added to any spiritual system of thought since it is a compliment to all.” - Ernest Holmes

There is a great deal of confusion among even the most deep adherents to the Science of Mind as to whether we are a religion or something else. It’s pretty clear from Ernest Holmes’ view that this was never intended to be a religion. And it isn’t, in the same way Buddhism is not a religion. It is a philosophy and a way of life.

There seems to be a correlation in this to today’s excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20

There is a lot to unpack in this passage. We start with the message that there is nothing to abolish. It was not Jesus’ intention to establish a new religion. Sound familiar? It is worth reminding ourselves in this moment that Jesus was Jewish. His point of view was rooted in Jewish faith and tradition. He was not here to establish something new, but to free people from the bondage of dogma.

The danger of any faith tradition (including Religious Science) is becoming so steeped in one’s consideration that we let go of inspired ideas. Ernest Holmes philosophy was audaciously “open at the top” and I believe it was his intention to create a context for lifelong evolution and exploration.

How do we accomplish this? Well this brings us to the next part of today’s passage… “until heaven and earth pass away.” This is not necessarily a reference to the concept of the end of times, rather it is a metaphor for the elimination of any consideration of separation. Essentially, this is saying that our journey is to eliminate in our own minds the notion that Spirit and matter are separate things. They are not. This is a fundamental part of the teaching of New Thought.

“There is no great and no small
To the soul that maketh all:
And where it cometh all things are;
And it cometh everywhere.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The fundamental building blocks and energy of the entire Universe is one thing… the energy of Love, the energy of God. This includes each of us. When we lower our self-conception to the “least”—that is we focus on ourselves and all things merely as form—we experience the results of that consciousness. We will have trouble breaking away and through to a higher understanding of Self.

When we align ourselves with the higher spiritual ideal, the Divine Ideal, we become active participants in our own evolution. This is how we “will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” It is a recognition that heaven is now, and this experience of heaven is rooted in our consciousness. The more we deepen into the ideal, the greater our experience of heaven becomes.

This is NOT accomplished through the adherence to rote recitations. The accomplishment comes more and more as we deepen in our awareness and open ourselves up to greater inspiration, education, and critical thinking. As we experience these things, we become imbued with a sense of feeling, a palpable sense of our own Divinity.

This is compatible with all faith traditions, provided your approach to your own faith is open hearted and open minded.

Science of Mind doesn’t claim to have cornered the market on faith. It is a great teaching that has supported many people and enhanced the lives of those whom it has touched. I have found it works for me.

The big question in my mind is not, “does this work for you,” but rather, “what works for you?”

Something to ponder until next time.

“The Universe and the light of the stars come through me.” - Rumi

There is so much about us that is magnificent. Sometimes we forget. At least, I forget sometimes. Spiritual practice is all about remembering.

This week I’ve spent some wonderful time remembering who I am and it is in perfect alignment with today’s continued deepening into the Sermon on the Mount.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.” - Matthew 5:13

This is a true and deep metaphor. Let’s start with the first two words… you are. This is akin to the phrase we use so often, I am. We are the expression of our consciousness, which is expressed by way of our thoughts… and our thoughts become our experience. So the salt of the earth, these are our thoughts. When the salt loses its flavor, that is, when our thoughts go off the rails (and hasn’t that happened to all of us at some point) they no longer serve us constructively. 

There is a very important lesson that could pass us by in this if we are not careful. When the question is raised, “can its saltiness be restored?” this is not a mistake. It can’t be restored, just like our erroneous thoughts cannot be erased. When we are trying to resist the erroneous thinking we are tacitly telling our conscious mind to keep those erroneous thoughts at the forefront of our thinking. What does that do? The thoughts continue to create.

How about, rather than trying to change our thoughts we settle into letting those erroneous thoughts go and welcoming in the new.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Light is a symbol of intelligence. When we become illuminated by Spiritual intelligence this cannot and should not be hidden away from the world. In a culture where we are taught to be humble this may seem like an antithesis. Let your light shine! We should never try to hide our light.

Allowing our light to shine inspires others to do the same. Let it be rooted in a deeper sense of Infinite Reality. We get to chose our experience of life. Let that Infinite Reality be celebrated! That reality is the Father, or the creative nature, within you that determines your experience of heaven. You get to decide if you are living in heaven now, or descending to another place. It’s all up to you. Shine! Shine! Shine on!

Well… where the heck have I been? I start… I stop… there is no consistency.

Well, I get it, the starts and stops can be a little challenging. The excuse I offer is this… on March 15 Tucson New Thought took possession of a new space that we are calling our full time home. Since that time I have been deep in trying to make sure the space was suited to our needs. I had broken down my home office and only today have I finally pulled together a semblance of an office space at the new Center location… and now I am able to start blogging again.

So, where did we leave off?

We were still on the Beattitudes, the first section of the Sermon on the Mount.

Picking up with Matthew Chapter 5 Verse 8…

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

One of the aspects of spiritual practice that many find challenging is the consistency. Funny how that has played itself out perfectly leading up to this podcast episode. One of the basic habits to develop is the habit of keeping our mind focused on Spirit, not just thinking about Spirit, but knowing we are Spirit embodied. Spirit is God. So are we. When we keep our minds focused on the recognition of God, and an identification AS God, from both an intellectual perspective as well as an embodiment perspective, we come to know and understand the Divine nature of all things more deeply. This is becoming immersed in what Troward defines as the “Divine Ideal.” Knowing that ALL things are God. The Absolute is the relative, and the relative is the Absolute. There is no difference. Purity of heart is this very recognition and identification, and we not only see God in all things, we see God when we look in the mirror.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”
-Matthew 5:9

How do we find and experience peace? This, again, is a question that can be answered in one word, practice. We become peacemakers through the use of affirmative prayer and other spiritual practices. Through these practices we embody a more peaceful, serene, and perhaps contemplative attitude toward daily life. Daily practice changes our tendency in thought, and that change leads to a change in experience. This is the consciousness of oneness. We are OF God… that is the understanding I bring to my self-recognition. I call myself a child of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
-Matthew 5:10

What I am about to impart gets a little dicey for people. We can only be persecuted to the degree that we allow ourselves to be persecuted. When we allow persecution to be a part of our consciousness, we experience a life based on that consciousness. Now, you may think, “that’s easy for you to say as a white man in a first-world country, you’ve never had to experience persecution.” Well, I haven’t experienced the same kind of persecution as others, but there have been periods of my life where I was trapped in my own self-image as a gay man who could be persecuted by society. What it took for that persecution to stop was a change in me. The work I had to address was the internalized homophobia that I had embodied. The internalized homophobia was a persecutory thought space I had developed below the level of my awareness as I came of age.

We experience life based on thoughts both above and below the level of awareness. As we pray for a higher realization of our good, we begin to experience it. The good crowds out the persecutory thoughts. What we are left with in thought is the realization that we are NOW living in the Kingdom of Heaven, because Heaven is a state of mind.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
-Matthew 5:11-12

To stand in Spiritual Truth can be a lonely place. You may be met with resistance in the world of form. As we delve more deeply into our recognition of our deepest selves (which is no different than our surface selves) as God we are rewarded. We experience the consciousness of Heaven more and more. This takes work, work to maintain a state of mind in opposition to some of what you hear all around you.

Maintain your course just as all prophets do. You are worth it… and the reward is great!