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“But
let them ask in faith, with no doubting, for they who doubt are like a
wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
- James
1:6, Holy Bible
“Quench
not the Spirit." We are not to be ashamed of our trust in
God, nor are we to deny the Inner Light that lights every person's
reason to the ultimate reason of all. Spiritual emotion is common
to all people, and is one of the ways through which the Spirit works.
When this emotion is blocked, it hinders the currents of life from
flowing and the result is stagnation.”
- Dr.
Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind
There comes a time
for all of us when we must take the time to honestly examine our
beliefs. What are we believing? What are we believing about
God? What are we believing about our relationship with God?
What are we believing about ourselves? These questions are of
utmost importance if we desire to change the conditions and
circumstances of our lives. The only way we can increase anything
is to begin right where we are, with what we have. And our faith
is the most important thing we have.
In order to realize what we believe we must
take the time to contemplate the questions; i.e. what do I believe about
God? ... and most will say that they believe that God is Good or that
God is All Powerful and All Knowing ... or simply that God is All.
And all of this is true ... but what we want to get at, is how is that
true for us personally? In other words, how does this belief about
God demonstrate in our personal experience? How does it
demonstrate in our work, our relationships, our health, our wealth and
our peace of mind? These are just some of the things we can
contemplate.
An authentic spiritual life requires mental
work ... thinking about God, nurturing and fostering our faith in this
Power Greater than us, but which also in-dwells us. Closer to us
than breathing ... and for far too many of us ... totally ignored until
something goes "bump" and we find ourselves feeling outside of
Omnipresent Good. Far too many of us read spiritual book after
spiritual book seeking the answers that we will only find within us.
Far too many of us seek spiritual teachers, giving them lots of our
money ... only to find out that they cannot "think for us" ...
and the only thing that will ever create change in our lives ... is the
way in which we think about God and our relationship to It.
Nothing else can and nothing else will, for no one can think for us.
Now, I am not saying that there is no value in
reading books or listening to the words of wisdom from spiritual
teachers ... but, these are only "spiritual guides" ... they
can only guide us by sharing their "truth" with us. But
... their truth is not always our truth and until we find our own truth
... we are still "seekers of Truth" not "practitioners of
Truth." We must "practice" the Truth we have gained
intellectually ... for practice is the only thing that will give us the
consciousness to demonstrate the Truth in our experiences.
How often should we take the time to
"contemplate" our faith and beliefs? No one can tell us,
for this is a very individual thing. But, I would suggest that if
we have pressing issues in our lives, we might want to practice this
contemplation daily until we begin to have peace of mind about our
issues. And if we find ourselves feeling separated from God,
Infinite Spirit, this practice of contemplation will bring us back to
the reality of our unity.
It is my desire that each and everyone of us, fosters
and nurtures a personal relationship with God, Infinite Spirit. It
is the most important relationship of our life ... and impacts every
area of our life; finances, health, relationships, success ... and we
must recognize this daily.
I
am believing for everyone who reads these words that you are drawing
closer and closer to God ... to the Good that you seek. I am
believing that God, Infinite Spirit, has a personal relationship with
you now and always. I am believing that no matter what your
current experiences of life may be, that the moment in which you turn to
God, God responds to you in the affirmative. I am believing that
in this great sea of life, our faith and belief in God is an anchor that
will always keep us steered on the right course of action in all things.
I believe that what God does for one, God does for all. And I
believe that what one person can do ... everyone can do ... for the
doing is God working through us, as us, and for us ... always and in all
ways.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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