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What
is Religious Science?
"THE
SCIENCE OF MIND"
Ernest
Holmes
is the founder of Religious Science, which began in America in the early
part of the 20th century. He considered it a synthesis of Eastern and
Western spiritual teachings, and philosophy, psychology and science.
Not of all of it by any means, but of what his lifelong pursuit of knowledge
brought to him. He developed a study he called The Science of Mind that
included his synthesis plus definite ideas and instructions on the creative
nature of Mind and how to work with one's own mind so as to experience
what is desirable in life.
The
book, "The Science of Mind" is the chief text
book of the study. Holmes did not initially consider his work to be
a religion, but more of a philosophical study. He felt that any person
of any religion could benefit from studying and applying The Science
of Mind. Over time Holmes developed a strong mystical sense of unity
with what he sometimes called First Cause. He also used terms such as
God, Spirit, Infinite Mind, or The Creative Principle. He realized this
Principle (by whatever name) as being Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent
and Omniactive. He did recognize his teaching as one that connected
people, in consciousness, with their source and that calling it a religion
was not inaccurate. As a study of what is beyond or behind all expressed
life or form it is called a metaphysical study and/or metaphysical religion.
Many of the people who had become leaders in this new spiritual movement
desired to have it recognized as a religion and ultimately this is what
happened and the centers of teaching were designated as churches.
Religious
Science views the Universe as Consciousness, or Infinite
Mind expressing itself in and as all creation. This Consciousness is,
as noted previously Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omniactive.
Another way of saying this is that God or Spirit or whatever is chosen
as a name is everywhere at all times and is all knowing intelligence
and is the one and only power and is always in business being itself.
Humans
are thought of as being centers of self-awareness within this
Consciousness. The Bible statement that we were created "in the
image and likeness of God" is taken literally. It is considered
that this Consciousness is the creating, maintaining and sustaining
Principle of all that there is, invisible and visible. It is considered
that It created all form through an action of choice within Itself.
Spirit
thought Itself into form through the actions of initiative
and selection. This thought was elaborated by Judge Thomas Troward and
influenced the thinking of Ernest Holmes. Because we are It as us, our
life forms are created through the action of our own thought and we
experience the dominant state of our own consciousness.
Consciousness
is more than surface thought; it is a combination of thought
and feeling. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." This
teaching puts full responsibility for an individual's life within him
or her, as each person experiences the dominant state of their own mind.
As thought, or deeply held belief, is changed, the circumstances of
the individual change. Without a change in consciousness there is no
real change in experience and often not even in outer circumstance.
Religious Science teaches that there is only one power, God or Consciousness.
It works on a conscious (choosing) level and subjective or sometimes
called subconscious (accepting and creating) level.
There
is thought to be a Law of Mind whereby what is known in Mind
produces a corresponding effect in the emotions, body, and world of
effects of an individual. The vast subconscious area of Mind is often
thought of as acting to mirror back to an individual his states of thought/feeling.
We are all considered as part of this One Mind, all using it individually
as we are individualizations of it. Because we are connected, actually
are the same "life stuff" we are in a communion that is indissoluble
.
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We
often communicate without words; and this ability can be developed.
We teach a specific way of thinking to align ourselves with the Creative
Principle, or God, so as to have our consciousness be a way that the
innate perfection, order, harmony, beauty, love, life, intelligence
etc. of this Principle may be revealed in our experience or as the life
of another for whom we may be doing this kind of thinking. We call this
way of ordering our minds Spiritual Mind Treatment. Sometimes we call
it Scientific Prayer. It is not done to change God, but to change the
thinking of the individual, or clear the thinking of the individual
so as to allow the expression of the inner invisible good. It is not
to make something happen, but to allow good to happen. It is also called
Affirmative Prayer. There is nothing of pleading in it; it is a recognition
of the Presence of God (or good) and an identifying with it. Then, there
is a choice for the experience of good and an inner coming into the
spirit of the good, a knowing of it already accomplished at the causative
level and a gratefulness and then a release of concern as to how it
shall take place. The individual may be guided into appropriate action,
or may be a beholder of the expression of what is innate within himself.
Because
we are all of the same substance and are part of the same Mind,
a person may do Treatment for another. Truth known by anyone for the
benefit of another who is in deep agreement to accept a good allows
the revealing of God or good in the other person's experience. This
is simply because a choice for good within Mind (which is really an
action of Love) works through an inherent creative Law to produce some
form of what is accepted. Because we know that we experience what we
think, a person who understands Religious Science becomes increasingly
free of resentment and or guilt.
We
all have beliefs that do not serve us, as they are based on a
false idea of who and what we are, and on the effects of those beliefs.
We think of people as being ignorant of truth, but not as being sinners,
or bad. We think of forgiveness as not only not condemning another or
oneself, but of now knowing a Truth that replaces an error so a person
is literally a new being having a new experience. For me, Religious
Science is wonderfully freeing as well as very demanding. Knowing that
God really is present as every individual leads to a great respect for
and care for all people. I personally feel my role as a person is to
know myself truly, know myself as I am known in the Mind that created
me, and to reveal God, or the goodness of being through my thoughts,
words and actions. As a minister I think of myself as an individual
knowing what is true of others and providing an environment for self-
discovery and encouragement and unconditional love.
by Rev. Nancy
A. Anderson, Minister North San Diego County Church of Religious Science
March 7, 1994
Copyright 1994 by Rev. Nancy Anderson. Permission is granted for free
distribution of complete 9718 byte file by electronic means. Publication
by printed media is reserved by the author, Nancy Anderson.
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