Trust, Belief, Faith and Knowing

Recently, I was exercising on the elliptical at my local gym and, as usual, I had a paperback book to read. Upon leaving, I realized I had forgotten my book. I went back to the machines and even checked the restroom, but the book wasn’t there. So I asked the young lady at the desk if it had been turned in, which it wasn’t, and to let me know if it turned up. She took my name and telephone number to call me, and I did a Spiritual Mind Treatment on the way to the car that the book would be safely recovered. It was a library book, and it’s expensive if lost, but possible to replace more cheaply.

After a few days, when she didn’t call, I ordered a replacement from Amazon. The next time I went to the gym, she smiled as I came in and said, “I have your book.”

So I realized....I had lost faith. The Spiritual Mind Treatment went to work as soon as I declared it, but I didn’t have patience. I didn’t trust the treatment would work, and I ordered the book. Meanwhile, the treatment had been activated and book recovered.

So this is a small thing, right? Why bring it up? Because sometimes a demonstration isn’t immediate. Sometimes it’s working and we don’t know it. And in my case, my trust in the process had eroded. It was a small thing but caused me to really examine my relationship to affirmative prayer and Science of Mind.

I’ve been having a number of physical challenges this year, everything from sleep apnea, urinary tract infections, cataracts, intestinal infection, dental issues, a leg injury and to top it off, a broken toe. Then anxiety about all this and other issues around aging swirled around in my head until insomnia kicked in. So sometimes I feel like a basket case. Too much monkey mind; too much anxiety and fear.

So I decided to immerse myself in the teaching; I’m taking SOM 103 with Reverends Kathy and Jessica, and it’s bringing me back to basics. Even though I’ve taken these classes before, and even become an ordained minister. I’m finding fresh inspiration in reading again about the Principles of Successful Living, Mental Equivalents and the Law of Attraction, Spiritual Mind Treatment and meditation.

It’s not enough to simply declare our intention with our objective mind. We must work at it until the subjective mind, our unconscious mind, believes what we say. I can declare: “There is One Supreme Intelligence which governs, guides and guards, tells me what to do, when to act and how to act.” But it’s not enough to just say it: I must know it, see it, feel it and BE it; If I do this every day I can build my trust, my belief, my faith in the creative process.  Only then can I get to truly KNOWING the Truth.

Meditation helps, because this is when we can quiet the mind, relax the body, and be open and receptive to Spirit. This little book, “The Joy of Meditation,” offers different ways to meditate. I like "Letting Go With Balance.”

First, I sit in the silence and periodically let go of, and release, every problem, all fear and anxiety, until I feel a sense of freedom. Then in the second part I interject the silence with declarations that God is able -- able to heal each and every concern. With this meditation I’m working to let go of all those monkey mind anxieties, and accept my highest good. As I practice this, my goal is a more balanced, healthy life.

And so it is.

Let's Tidy Up

This month’s theme at the Granada Hills Center for Spiritual Living is “Prosperity, Abundance, Wealth.” Living in my home for 43 years, raising a family, being a wife and then a mother, and then living alone for the past 10 years, I see the material evidence, certainly, of abundance.

An abundance of stuff. I’ve decluttered at different intervals, but there’s still a lot of stuff in the house...stuff I don’t really use or need.

I recently embarked on another decluttering mission, and ended up with 12 boxes of clothes, shoes, purses, books, a straw hat and a wedding dress waiting for a truck for the take away.

I came across a little graphic novel, “The Life-changing Manga of Tidying Up, A Magical Story,” by Marie Kondo. The heroine, 29-year-old Chiaki, is living in the midst of immense clutter. She signs up for a tidying lesson with Konmari, who promises tidying up will change Chiaki’s life and fill it with joy.

Chiaki needs first to visualize her ideal lifestyle and how tidying up can dramatically change her life. Konmari says material things need to be functional, informational, emotional, or possess rarity, but most important...they must spark joy. Take each item in hand and ask: Does it spark joy when I touch it? Is this something that’s going to make me happy?

The novel proceeds with various tips:  Fold clothes rather than hang, and fold with gratitude for the way they protect you. Unread, neglected books that don’t bring joy are discarded. Store so things are easily accessible.

Sentimental items are last. The principle here:  Your life now is more important than memories of the past. What really matters is not the past but the person you have now become, thanks to those past experiences.  Space can now be used NOT for the person you once were, but for your future self.

Once the home is filled with only things that spark joy, it becomes a joyful place. Real life begins. Konmari says if people are unable to discard things, they are either attached to the past or afraid of the future. So tidying up can set ourselves free.

By clearly identifying our own joy point, she says, we can gain confidence and trust in our own future.  Space opens up for positive things to happen out of the blue, to have different experiences and more.

So I realized: 12 boxes is not enough. There is a whole lot of remaining stuff that doesn’t spark joy, that’s attached to the past, and can be discarded. Then I have the space, the mindset, the clarity,   and confidence for Spirit, as Ernest Holmes says, to manifest an abundance of whatever I need to make my life NOW happy, opulent, and joyful.

And so it is.