January 14, 2007

Martin Luther King, Jr., in being asked to publish some of his sermons, wrote in the preface to his book, “. . . a sermon is directed toward the listening ear rather than the reading eye. . . I offer these discourses in the hope that a message may come to life for readers of the printed words.” This is my hope for you, dear reader. ——Rev. Linda

January 14, 2007

EXPERIENCE HEAVEN IN 2007:

Are there Cell Phones in Heaven?

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, could he possibly have imagined what we’re seeing today? Some of us can still remember the days before we had a telephone, and now we all have cell phones we take everywhere with us. No young person today doesn’t have a cell phone. And not many adults don’t have them.

Everywhere we go, we see people talking on their cell phones—in the grocery stores, walking down the street, driving their cars, pumping gas, in the restaurant while they’re eating dinner, at sporting events. Even at my yoga lesson this week someone’s cell phone was ringing. The same thing happened at our square dance lesson.

It’s as though the cell phone has become a part of us, an extension of us, like a man’s wallet or a woman’s purse. What is it about a cell phone that feels so important? I think it’s symbolic of something. People are reaching out. They want connection. The days of being a Lone Ranger are truly over. We’re feeling, as a race, the human race is experiencing a great need to feel connected. So we’ve all got our cell phones, and we’re trying to stay connected by this little device.

This month we’re looking at the basics of the Science of Mind to help us Experience Heaven in 2007. Last week I talked about The Thing Itself, and today I want to cover The Way It Works. And the first thing our founder Dr. Ernest Homes says about the way It works is that It’s Good. And It’s Universal. So anyone can use it for as much good as they desire.

He says It works, lives and expresses through all of Its creations. It works through us. We make use of it through our thoughts and emotions—consciously or unconsciously. But it can’t give us what we can’t or won’t accept. (SOM, p. 35)

He also says the seed of perfection is in us. But we’ve misused our power and hidden that seed of perfection. And having hidden our perfection, we’ve believed in imperfection, and so brought suffering upon ourselves. Because, you see, it’s done unto us as we believe—as heaven or hell. (SOM, p. 37:1)

Spirit is power in us “ONLY WHEN WE RECOGNIZE IT AS POWER.” We can’t recognize it if we don’t believe in it. There is no limit to our good, except by our belief, which is our receptivity. When we think or speak, our thought or our word is unconditionally accepted by the Law. The Law has no choice, no volition. It MUST take our word, our thought, and act upon it, according to our belief about it. And It works on the “negative” as well as the “positive.”

“How much can one demonstrate? Just what one can believe. How much can we see, how much can we accept, how much can we find in our consciousness that is no longer repudiated by our own denials? Whatever that is, THAT MUCH WE CAN HAVE.” So says Ernest Holmes. (SOM, p. 39) So don’t dig up the seed after you plant it. Don’t hang up the phone after you dial the number.

The Law is impersonal, just like any other law. It works for all alike and It has no choice. It will give us—is giving us now—whatever we want that we believe we can have—whether it’s a penny or a billion dollars, whether it’s getting rid of a wart or a cancerous tumor. It makes no difference to the Law. One is just as easy as the other. We’re the ones who make up restrictions and limits about it.

Ernest Holmes wrote, “Metaphysical or spiritual mind healing is based on the assumption that we live in a spiritual Universe now, that we are spiritual beings now, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand now, that spiritual humankind is perfect now, that the mind of God and the energy of the universe are available now.” (Alcoholism, p. 19.3)

But that little thing—the belief—is the catch. What do you really believe? Look at your life. Most of the work that we do in the Science of Mind path is changing our beliefs, changing what we believe about ourselves and life.

Many—most—of our beliefs, unless we’ve made a conscious effort otherwise—have come from, and continue to be added to by, race consciousness—what the human race believes, most of which is not the truth. And we don’t even know what all those beliefs are. We’re born with some of them and then we continue to acquire them, completely unaware.

Like telemarketer calls, they bombard us, day after day. They’re like scams we fall for. We’re like that little ugly duckling who came to believe, because of his circumstances, his experience, that he was less than perfect. And it wasn’t until he found the right community for him, that he was able to see the truth of who he was.

Now we don’t blame people for their conditions and experiences. We don’t judge them or say things like, “Well, what’s in your thought?” We do know it’s a false belief operating. And we know what the spiritual truth is about it. That’s why our spiritual community—spiritual family—is so important, for that support, that unconditional approval, assistance, blessing, comfort, encouragement. Not enabling, not keeping us in the falsehoods, but holding us in compassion as we heal from our false beliefs, as we learn to see and manifest our perfection.

Cell phones can give us instant connection. But sometimes it’s a very weak signal. That’s what happens when we have a weak belief. Sometimes it’s because the towers are too scarcely placed.

Towers are great energy sources. On this Science of Mind path we have spiritual communities which are towers of great energy, where lots of people gather in one belief—like at Mile Hi in Denver, for instance, or many of our Centers for Spiritual Living in California where you have thousands of people every week.

And that’s why I really want to congratulate and honor those dedicated people here at The Maine Beacon who are here every week. They are true Beacons of Light. As we grow in members and friends who are truly committed to the SOM path, we’ll feel the energy, the strong connection, that strong signal of energy. We’ll become a true tower, because that power is exponential. Those of us who’ve experienced it, have been in that energy of so many Science of Mind people in one place, know what I’m talking about. It’s easier to change your thinking when you’re with so many other people of like mind who are also changing their thought.

So what I’m seeing is that people have a great desire to be connected. What they’re feeling is disconnected, so they try to feel connected by talking on a cell phone. But the connection or signal can be very weak. And of course, as soon as we hang up we’re disconnected again. So what might some possible causes of so many people feeling disconnected be?

I think a lack of spiritual community might be part of it. We know church attendance is way down in this country, and probably in other countries as well.

Certainly with everything open 7 days a week, there’s no day of rest—time to connect with family, with God.

And for many people consciousness has moved beyond the theology they were raised with. So that theology doesn’t make sense to them, but they don’t know that there’s another choice.

Spirituality is a very important part of a person’s life. There must be some kind of connection to it, at least at some level.

(Show chart of Spirituality Connection - the SOM Path)

The threads of the Science of Mind Path weave together to make a whole fabric, a wholeness, a healthy way of being. The horizontal elements are the earthly ways of the path. They’re like purchasing the cell phone. They’re the first steps, and they’re important. But to weave a fabric, we also need the vertical threads. They’re like dialing the numbers to make the connection.

The We Believe statement by our founder declares that “We believe in the unity of all life and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God. We believe that God is personal to all who feel this Indwelling Presence. We believe that the Universal Spirit, which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind, which receives the direct impress of our thought and acts upon it. We believe in the healing of the sick through the power of this Mind. We believe in the control of conditions through the power of this Mind.

That is the way it works.

So . . . are there cell phones in heaven? Heaven is here and now. So, I guess there are.