I Live Large

Breathing in, I feel the power and presence of Spirit - in my body, in my life, in my Soul. I am willing to know this possibility for good, and know that the infinite power and presence of Spirit is expressing as me, as you, as all people, right now. It expresses through me, as me and for me in all my labors, all my finances, all my activities, and all my growth -- both personal and splritual.

I am open and receptive to the action of Creative Intelligence in all my affairs. I enjoy the beauty and the abundance all around me, knowing that everything and everyone is God in action here on this plane of existence. I know it is my birthright to live large, to live in joy, in love, in peace, and in harmony with the Divine Source.

From the Cosmic vortex I attract all good into my earthly experience and listen for Divine guidance to spur my journey toward spiritual illumination. I step into that field of good, into the unfolding of right and perfect action.

With gratitude, I release my word into the Law of Mind, knowing it returns to me multiplied abundantly.

And so it is.

Positive Values Power My LIfe

 

As there is one Power, and I am one with that Power, I declare this to be my truth. I heal any sense of separation, any sense of race consciousness that separates me from others. I hold those values of love, joy, peace, harmony, tolerance  and compassion within me. I keep a sacred trust for my role in the human experience, a trust from which I pass on those positive values to the next generation. I am a loving, compassionate, tolerant and understanding example of humanity, and know that I model values that impact positively the world of affairs. I bring a level of mindfulness and consciousness to all my worldly affairs, knowing that I can shift my thinking and step into behaviors that enable me to live my best life now.

As I live the life of Science of Mind, I know I have built up a spiritual bank account from which I can withdraw the strength, power, love, happiness, joy, creativity and faith to sustain me on my life’s journey. I regularly deposit spiritual substance into my account, building a reserve force to power the four pillars of my life -- loving relationships, creative expression, radiant good health and financial abundance -- in the ways that I desire.

With deep gratitude for all this and more, I release my word into the Divine Vortex, knowing it returns to me, multiplied abundantly.

And so it is.

"I'll See You In My Dreams" Hits Home

  I’ve been to the movies again -- that seems to be my favorite pastime lately. This one, I’ll See You In My Dreams, is memorable because it hits so close to home -- to where I am in life.

I went with a female friend, in my age range, and we both came out of the theater feeling dissatisfied. We’re programmed for a happy ending. It didn’t happen. We expect, when a viable romance rears its head, to see a see a satisfying rom-com fantasy go the expected route. It didn’t.

Instead, we see a portrait of a seventy-something woman, Carol, played beautifully by Blythe Danner, widowed as we are:  two nice, sensible women, living alone in our comfortable Southern California homes, enjoying our independence, some pleasant friendships, loving family connections (however distant geographically), and reasonable good health and prosperity.  Both of us, like Carol, had solid marriages and raised offspring.

Carol has three friends living in a retirement community nearby, but she resists their suggestions she join them. She lives happily with her dog until he dies.

Then she experiments with speed dating -- with the usual disappointments; has a brief but promising relationship with the charismatic Bill, played by Sam Elliot, until he suddenly dies;  strikes up a December-May platonic friendship with the pool cleaner; and demonstrates in a karaoke bar that she can still sing.  Long ago, before she became a teacher, she was a singer.

So we find her, in her twilight years, struggling to find meaning in her life. As Stephen Holden of the New York Times says in his film review, “It’s real subject is time and how people old enough to know the end is in sight deal with looming finality.”

Yes, her circumstances are comfortable. But as Holden says, “...when most of your life is behind you, what does having everything really mean? That’s the question this timid, wistful film addresses as it tiptoes around the subject of mortality.”

I found myself wanting more for Carol, which is no doubt a projection of my own desire for more -- more of something, something. At one point, Carol’s friends enthusiastically agree to take a cruise together -- to Iceland. I didn’t feel that would happen, perhaps because a cruise to Iceland doesn’t interest me.

At the end of the film, Carol adopts a rescue dog, so she has a new companion. For me, I’ve avoided dogs, cats, birds and hamsters since the kids left and the dog died.

Carol considers singing, as she visits the karaoke bar again, only to find no karaoke that night. That resonated with me, as I’ve been taking vocal lessons and had a fun experience recently with the San Fernando Valley Chorale.

One thing glaringly apparent to me, aside from the brief foray into singing, is her lack of creative expression and a spiritual path. Carol sits around sipping chardonnay and occasionally plays a round of golf. Other than that, her life appears aimless.

If Bill had lived, would she have “found happiness?” That’s a lot of responsibility to put on another human being. Yes, it would be nice to have a companion like Bill, but there’s still that shank of life to live, that gift of time on this plane of existence. What’s she going to do with it?

What are any of us going to do with it, no matter where we are on the age continuum? As Religious Scientists, we know we carry a divine spark within, that there is a Power for good in the Universe and we can use It.

As Ernest Holmes says, and I love this quote: “Life lies open to me--rich, full, abundant.
My thought, which is my key to life, opens all doors for me....I have only to open the portals of my soul and accept that which is ready to express through me. Today I fling these portals wide; today I am the instrument through which life flows.”

So Carol, as well as the rest of us: fling those portals wide! Do more, be more,  have more.

And so it is.

Eternal Youth

If you were given the gift of eternal youth...let’s say your body would never grow older than age 29, would you consider it a blessing or a curse?

In today’s youth-obsessed society, many attempt to stop the clock on the aging process.  We see advertisements for all sorts of beauty creams to prevent wrinkles, products to color hair, gyms and exercise programs to keep us strong, and all sorts of anti-aging supplements, including one to stop telemeres in our DNA from shortening.

So we have the recent romantic fantasy film, The Age of Adaline, in which the main character, a young widow and single mother, has a freak accident in 1937 and never ages another day.

Is she happy about this? No, she lives her life as much under the radar as possible.
 She escapes at the age of 45 from curious government agents who try to take her away for testing; thereafter she takes a new identity every ten years, makes only short-term friends who won’t learn her “secret,” avoids love affairs, except for one big mistake, and takes a succession of springer spaniels as her companions.

Born in 1908, we meet her in the present at age 107 ... looking fabulous in her Lauren Bacall/Veronica Lake hair and vintage clothing. We also are privy to a conversation between Adaline and her now 82-year old daughter, who is concerned with assisted living, hip replacements and other such aspects of aging. These, of course, don’t concern Adaline, but her overall demeanor is one of sadness and melancholy.

I won’t spoil the story, except to say that it has a happy ending when she discovers her first gray hair.

My initial reaction to the film was: what total mis-mangement of the gift of youth.
Granted, it would be very challenging to see those around you grow old and die, to realize you’re different, very different, from the rest of humanity, to find yourself isolated and alone.

But also, could there be an upside? Being healthy, vigorous, and strong as the years pass, without the decrepitude of aging. Could there be opportunities for fantastic personal and spiritual growth, for incredible learning, mastery of all sorts of skills, and extensive travels, experiences and relationships that we could never fit in one lifetime?

I was reminded of a book I read years ago...My First Two Thousand Years, The Autobiography of the Wandering Jew. The main character, Isaac Laquedem,  hatefully mocks Jesus on the way to crucifixion and death. Jesus, in a blaze of anger, declares; “I will go, but thou shalt tarry until I return!”

And that’s what happened. Isaac tarries, remaining ageless while all around him people passed into history. Along the way he meets many now-famous persons, has fantastic experiences, and influences any number of important historical events.

All in all, it is a rousing trip through the past two thousand years, up to the point where the curse may be released as he confesses his story, under psychoanalysis, in a monastery in 1928. His chronicle, said one of the listeners, is the history of human passion; it sheds new and colorful light on religion, sex, morality, occultism, rejuvenation, reincarnation, and more.

One thing of note that Isaac discovered, and that I saw no hint of in Adaline’s story: “It is not enough to live. One must find a purpose, a reason for existence... What did I desire? What purpose could I make my own?” he asks, as he sets forth to conquer ennui, and other challenges of human life.

That’s the question for all of us, regardless of the number of years we are granted, or the number of challenges we face. What purpose can we make our own? How can we make the most of the present moment, be here NOW, and truly enjoy this gift of life?

And so it is.

Over the Rainbow

Our center's fifth annual spring fling was held recently, with music, food, dancing, a silent auction and a general good time by all. It’s a great opportunity for us to get together for just plain fun. The theme this year was "Over the Rainbow." That sent me to the Internet to learn a bit about various meanings attributed to the rainbow.

According to the Bible, the rainbow appeared after the great flood that destroyed all life on Earth, except that preserved in the Ark. It was s a sign of promise, from God.  He said to Noah: “I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. . . and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Over the centuries, the beautiful rainbow in the sky, which appears as a play of light upon the raindrops, has had many meanings, including Hope, Divinity, Potential, Connection, Transformation and Spiritual Cohesion.

In the Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, those who have attained the highest meditative state are said to experience the “rainbow body” or body of light when they attain oneness with the Divine. The rainbow is often seen as a bridge, such as a celestial bridge connecting the Earth to Heaven, or a channel to enlightenment.

For the Celts, the rainbow and its cauldron at the end symbolized fertility, the promise of a child and the continuance of the bloodline. This morphed into the familiar story of the pot of gold, guarded by a leprechaun, at the end of the rainbow.

Native Americans have a number of myths and sayings around rainbows. For example, from manataka.org comes a poem about the Rainbow Tribe by an unknown author, which includes the lines:

"The sun rose on a magical new day...
Over the whole earth they came,
The people of every colour,
Sister, Brother, Father, Mother
Traveling over many a land
People of the Rainbow
Children of the Way..."

The Sioux have this prophecy about The Rainbow Warriors: There will come a time when the earth is sick and the animals and plants begin to die, then the Indians will regain their spirit and gather people of all nations, colors and beliefs to join together in the fight to save the Earth.

Rainbow power can remind us to take a fresh look at our opportunities, our options for current challenges, our readiness to cross over from one phase of life to another, or to examine our own connection to the Divine.  The rainbow, that paintbrush of divinity, reminds us to open up to spirit, to let it guide us on our life’s journey.

We can also see it as a gift, and when we encounter its beauty, we can be reminded to be grateful for the gifts and blessings we already experience in our lives.

In the song” Over the Rainbow,” from the film, "The Wizard of Oz," Judy Garland asks plaintively why she can’t fly over the rainbow. Bluebirds do it. Why can’t she? It’s so elusive...we can’t seem to move over it, or reach its end. But it brings a promise -- a promise that our troubles will soon be over, and we’ll experience new beginnings and new prosperity.  We’ll reach our heart’s desire at the end of the rainbow and we’ll  celebrate the fulfillment of our dreams.  

And so it is.