Humanity and Divinity

I recently visited my family in San Francisco for Thanksgiving, and also to celebrate my birthday. As I was preparing to buy my usual bus ticket home, my daughter -- who didn’t like me to ride the bus -- said, “Mom, you’re 79!”


What? You’re afraid I’ll have a heart attack on the bus? No. It turns out she felt guilty leaving me on the corner of Mason and O’Farrell to catch my shuttle bus back to Los Angeles, where I am dropped off in North Hollywood.

Long story short. She offered to pay for a private limo service to whisk me in luxury from door to door.  
And for the first time, I actually felt “elderly,” like I needed to be looked after. I know the hair has gone gray and I’ve slowed down a bit, but “elderly?” 

Nah! Gotta think youthing! Gotta create a mental atmosphere around strength, vitality, radiant good health! And what would Ernest Holmes say to this unexpected offer?

Accept, absolutely! Tootling down I-5 in a sleek, black chauffeur driven Cadillac is a joyous experience. And a lovely gift. 

To put this in perspective,  I had decided to pay for six months of vocal lessons for my granddaughter, who watches The Voice and wants to sing. We even wrote up a mini-contract, where she would practice so much each day. Three generations of women...lovingly looking out for each other. All good.

Then there’s the bad. My daughter was quite sad about the election. My advice? The antidote to despair is action. Look into the local political party. Possibly run for office. She has natural leadership abilities. When the kids were in pre-school she was president of the board. Now that the kids are in elementary school, she’s president of the PTA. She’s a great fundraiser and runs a junior scout group.

So how does this relate to Religious Science?

The answer may be in the writings of Walter Starcke. We see the good, the bad, and the ugly all around us. Whether it’s the recent election or personal losses we’ve endured, Walter Starcke puts it in perspective. 

It’s necessary to find a realistic balance between living in the Absolute and the Relative world, he says, -- to find the balance between our humanity and our divinity.

It's not a matter of “one or the other,” but rather, discovering the key to doing both at the same time. God is ever present--he says. God is all there is. It’s in the bad and the ugly, as well as the good. The human and the divine are one and the same. Even Christ was flawed, and we can learn from his mistakes.

In the very controversial Martin Scorsese film, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” based on a book of the same title, Jesus struggles with his divinity. 

He is tempted with the possibility of living a regular, happy, human life -- marrying Mary Magdalene, having a family, and being free from the weight of being the savior. 



Instead of being crucified, instead of being the son of God, he experiences being a man.  On his death bed, he realizes  his mistake, and remedies the situation.

If we can accept failures, weaknesses, and the bad or the ugly in life as opportunities for expansion, growth and learning, we can evolve our own Christ consciousness. 

Knowing we are divine as well as human, knowing we are energized by spirit, knowing we can develop a positive mental atmosphere around things that concern us, we can work toward, and we can create, a world that works for everyone. 

And so it is.

Transformation

Chicken breasts with broccoli, every three hours, six times a day for months. Canned tuna, mixed in a blender with water, and downed day after day for months.  Sound appetizing?

Who would eat that way? Actors prepping for roles in movies, that’s who.


In my ongoing relationship with Netflix and Amazon Prime, I rented two movies which starred men who literally transformed their bodies through rigid diets and intense workouts.

Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard, pushing his body to its extreme, chiseled himself into the hunkiest beefcake ever to leap and swing through a CGI jungle. He was described as “incredibly ripped” with not six-pack, but eight-pack abs for the film, The Legend of Tarzan.

Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts gained 50 to 60 pounds and, along with exhausting iron-pumping workout regimes, transformed himself for the lead role of Jacky in Bullhead, an academy-award nominated foreign film.

Jacky is a cattle farmer, part of the “bovine mafia” in Belgium who illegally shoot hormones and steroids into their cows to make them bigger.  Because of a tragic childhood incident affecting his manhood, Jacky regularly shoots hormones and steroids into his own body until he is transformed -- looking a bit like the bulls he works with.  Unlike Jacky, the actor transformed his body with food and intense exercise, as did the actor playing Tarzan.

Both films are fabulous examples of physical transformation. The actors struck me as men who had a strong desire, made a decision, developed a vision,  set goals, and had the discipline and determination to manifest that vision.

They demonstrated what Ernest Holmes would call “a mental atmosphere”-- which is the result of all we have thought, said and done, and consciously or unconsciously perceived. They each had a very clear  picture of what they wanted to achieve, and adhered to that picture, regardless of circumstances or conditions, with single-mindedness of purpose.

Although we might not want to transform our bodies as they did, we may seek other ways to transform ourselves, to move away from littleness, to develop a greater vision, to push the limits of our experience, to renew ourselves, and to bring greater health, wealth, creative expression or loving relationships into our lives.

The process is the same: change our thinking, change our lives. There’s a pragmatic side to  affirmative prayer, also known as Spiritual Mind Treatment.  "Treat and Use Your Feet" means be proactive: take action toward our goals.  As we do that, Universal Spirit, the One Mind, responds and supports us.

If it’s health we seek, our bodies can be healed as we transform our inner mind with thoughts of radiant good health. We replace any negative thoughts of disease or failure with positive ones of health, harmony and success.

I was reminded recently of my own encounter with cancer some 22 years ago. I took the medical treatment, and then I decided to do everything I could to survive. I took vitamins, went to support groups, stayed for a week at the Optimal Health Institute, and lost 35 pounds on a special  immune system enhancement diet.

One thing I did to change my mental atmosphere was to write a song, and sing it every time a negative or catastrophic thought came into my head. Although my voice is not ready for prime time, here it is.

I, Elizabeth, am radiantly healthy
Robust and strong, robust and strong
Free of all cancer, free of all dis-ease
Yes, yes, yes! Good health, health, health!
Yes, yes, yes! Long life, life, life! Yes!

Millions of white cells, created every day
Travel my body, searching for prey
They find and destroy, every cancer cell
To keep me strong and healthy, Yes!
To keep me strong and healthy.

And I’m still here...

And so it is.

Empower Yourself

I recently picked up the book, “The Hell I Can’t” by Terry McBride, and couldn’t put it down.


What was most interesting was Terry’s process of evolution in taking charge of his health and healing. He experienced some 27 surgeries from an incurable e-coli infection that had started in his back and moved to many other parts of his body. The medical interventions became overwhelming, and he decided he didn’t want to be crippled, to be an invalid, and to wear a colostomy bag for his entire life.

As he discovered the principles of metaphysics, he started small. He began with one thing he wanted to change: that his colon (which had been cut apart from one surgery) would be reattached and he would be able to go to the bathroom in a normal way. It’s fascinating to follow his journey of building one successful outcome after another to return to good health.

“It didn’t matter that the odds against my getting well were a million to one. It didn’t matter that some of the finest doctors in the world said I couldn’t expect to come out of this ordeal whole. I was done listening,” he says in his book.

He has a website, terrymcbride.net, with many inspirational articles designed to empower us to move beyond our limits and into the freedom we desire and deserve.

He advocates spending a few minutes a day creating our own reality, and recognizing that we are more powerful than we realize.

Let’s learn to focus our minds on what we want, rather than the distractions of everyday life, he advocates. Let’s create a supportive mental environment, use our imagination to daydream about our goals, and take the needed action to make those goals a reality. In Religious Science we call this “Treat and Use Your Feet.”

What about choice? We can take charge of our creative mind, but not with just a few affirmations or the occasional positive thought.

Our minds can be stuck in habitual grooves, running automatically according to our usual, programmed thinking. By using choice, we can act “as if” we are the person we want to be, and reprogram our mind to support our new process.

When an old thought pattern arises, we can become aware and change it; we the thinker; we are in charge of our creative mind, our life.

We can target what we are moving toward. We can ask ourselves: where do  I want to be at the end of this year? next year? Who do I want to be as I go on this journey? How can I best focus my mind to get the results I want?

Of course we want to move our energy and focus to what we DO want, rather than what we don’t want. It’s easy to get into a negative mind set about what’s not working, or what’s not showing up. It’s easy to focus on the negative, because so many things going on in the world around us seem to support that.

As we integrate our choices with mental power and physical action, we can say: “I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if...” We can finish the sentence with the goals and dreams we want to show up.

Terry developed a Statement of Being to help him with his healing. We can adapt this to our own situation, whether it be in the realm of health, financial abundance, loving relationships or creative expression. His statement reads:

“As I move into this time of creation, I feel the power of something bigger than me, moving with me, supporting and empowering me.  I know all things are possible.  And as I explore how I am going to create the healing I desire, I will notice this support and acknowledge it. I know that I do not have to figure this out all at once.  All I have to do is begin right where I am and consciously choose to move toward what I want. My life is not one problem after another, it is right now a time of discovery and creation, and out of my own being I feel the joy and freedom that comes with knowing I can create reality.”

And so it is.

A New Story

Recently in the throes of looking through old slides, some from over 50 years ago, I came across a photo of myself. 


There I was, age 25 or so, gazing at the scenery of Versailles, the palace of Louis XIV, outside Paris. The image reminded me of something my mother used to say: “All young people are beautiful.”


I remember the outfit I was wearing...dressy by today’s standards for touring. Heels, stockings, a black sweater with the skirt from a lovely mohair walking suit. We dressed up in those days for traveling...no sneakers and denims.

On that day I was in the company of a friend, Jack, from San Francisco, where I had lived prior to my stint with the Foreign Service. 
 He was on a world tour with a wealthy, elderly man who wanted Jack along to carry the traveler’s checks and make arrangements for him should he die. 


We had a personal female guide, a private sedan and driver, and after some sightseeing in Paris we drove out to Versailles for a delicious lunch at an elegant outdoor patio. That’s where the photo was taken.


I thought: Who was that girl?

She was a risk taker--left everything behind to live and work in a foreign country. That was so long ago, and yet -- that period in my life is so vivid. 


Much has transpired since then. Marriage, family, working life, retirement, widowhood, and increasing age. 


Living on my own I sometimes feel stressed and overwhelmed by the conditions of not just my life, but the conditions of the world. 


My head will swim with the latest media circus election news, as I try not to engage anyone in talking politics. It’s so partisan! Then I’m immersed in pragmatic concerns such as RMDs (required minimum distributions), long term care planning, social security issues, drought-stricken yard maintenance, health and fitness management, and attempts to get my book manuscript off my computer and into print.


So much to do. Flagging energy. Sometimes I feel stuck.  Sometimes I forget I’m a Science of Mind minister.  Sometimes I fail to see the perfection behind all things.


Where’s the verve, joy, passion, boldness, inner vitality and adventurous spirit of that girl NOW, TODAY? Her story is from yesterday, faded into the dustbin of history. Yet she was illuminated with life, with possibility. The future lay before her.

Today I, facing my 79th birthday, need a new story. I need that verve, joy, passion, boldness, inner vitality and adventurous spirit.

Dr. Cara Barker, on her website (www.carabarker.com) has this to say: “Living in the gap between what was, the present, and what has not yet formed, is a course of secret anxiety and suffering. Learning how to address these times creatively and mindfully, brings transformation and healing.”
   
What would Ernest Holmes say?
   
“Every day is a fresh beginning, every day is the world made new...That moment in the eternal present when we are no longer conditioned by the past and when anticipation of the future does not condition the present -- we shall be free.”

And so it is.

Reinvention

How do we know when it's time to reinvent ourselves?

For me it came with an 8th grade English project. My son was assigned the "Time Magazine Man of the Year Project." Being artistically and mathematically talented, he chose Leonardo daVinci. He started with the cover, followed up with some colorful ads, and then the copy.

I don't remember how I got involved, but I do remember taking photos of Leonardo's projects, helping with layout, typing and captions, and overall using my journalism and photojournalism skills to help him create the magazine. Of course it was an outstanding project; no doubt he received an "A."

For me, it was a lot of fun, but I also had to stop and ask myself: What are you doing?

Basically I was having a midlife crisis. I wasn't sleeping well. Children were growing up, needing me less. I was into my helicopter mom mode with the Leonardo project, and it made me realize that I had to make a change.

Of course there were starts and stops. I've made mistakes, I thought. I had opportunities I didn't grasp. I had gone for an interview for an unpaid internship in public relations, using my journalism background. But the result and underlying message was very negative. I was already 40. Younger people just out of college were preferred. I felt my opportunities were limited. I was not in a good place.

My husband was concerned, and if not for him I wouldn't have taken my first job, my first step back into the world of work. I had seen an ad for a job as a clerical assistant at the local university, which was walking distance away. I had a resume, but I didn't want to send it in. I thought: I have a master's degree in journalism; what am I doing looking for a clerical assistant job? I felt it was beneath me.

Well, my husband dropped the resume off right before the deadline, and before I knew it I had a job working for three professors on a gifted education project. I did that for a year; I still had insomnia and was working on my emotional issues. But it was a start.

While there I learned of a master's program in counseling psychology. I spoke to someone who had gone through it, and she reported it was "Micky Mouse," and very "touchy feely." Being more of a thinking, intellectual, head person, I immediately decided: that's exactly what I need. Something "touchy feely." So I enrolled and had a wonderful three years of learning not just about educational psychology, but about ME. And so I began my journeys in personal development.

Lately, in decluttering the garage, I came across some of my son's schoolwork, including the Leonardo project. I was reminded of my younger self, of the need to reinvent myself at that point in time. And of the ongoing reinventions during different periods of our lives. Recently I heard of a book called "The 100-Year Life: Living and working in an age of longevity" by Lynda Gratton. 100 Years! That's going to take quite a few reinventions.

And as Ernest Holmes says: "In mental work, we must realize that there is One Infinite Mind, which is consciously directing our destiny. Declare every day that: 'No mistakes have been made, none are being made, and none CAN be made.' And know that we stand at the point of limitless opportunity; that opportunity is right here today; that we see it and grasp it. We exist in Limitless Opportunities, which are forever seeking expression through us."

Leonardo seemed to express limitless creativity throughout his long productive life. So can it be for us. And so it is.

One of the ads in the Leonardo project.

The All American Mom

In the throes of decluttering my garage, I came across a box of my son David’s school work, including this 7th grade essay, “The All American Mom,” for which he received an “A” and the comment, “Great Job.” It’s not often we catch a glimpse of our former selves, which can be motivating for our present selves.

David writes: “Have some millet,” said my mother, offering me what looked like a bowl of yellow mush. My mother, who is a determined person, has been persistently searching for health foods and exercise programs which will slim her middle-aged body and keep her healthier.”

(Not so different from today, where I am still searching and working for programs to slim my now elderly body!”)

The essay continues, “Once my mother makes up her mind, there is no stopping her. We now have in our house a stationary bicycle, a mini-trampoline, a heartbeat monitor, many boxes of sprouted grain cereals, and of course, millet. She is not only determined to exercise every day, but to eat this stuff. When I leave for school, I often see her eating a bowl of sprouted grain cereals, and when I get home from school, I’ll see her jumping on her mini-trampoline.”

(Hmm. The bicycle is long gone, replaced by a Gazelle, now also gone, and a Total-Gym, still in the garage but calling to reclaim it’s former space in the rec room. The heart monitor, which now includes blood pressure readings, still has a favored place on my nightstand, and the mini-trampoline is still here, mostly unused. Sprouted grain and millet are not savored of late, but perhaps I’ll rethink my menus. Green drinks now take an important place.)

The essay continues, “My mother has managed to slim her middle-aged body and keep herself healthier. Her 5 foot 9 inch frame, which weighed 165 pounds only a few months ago, is now 20 pounds lighter.”

(Gee, I’m actually over the 165 starting point from years ago and a tad shorter, but the goal of becoming 20 or more pounds lighter is still there. If I achieved it then, I can achieve it now!)

David concludes, “My mother is becoming quite a character with all of her ‘health-nut’ ideas, but I think it’s really working out for her.”

Yes, I’ve become a character. Some of my ‘health-nut’ ideas have fallen by the wayside, but on reading this I’ve revived my determination to spend more time at the gym, less time eating, and to see if I can revive that determination and unstoppable enthusiasm toward my goals.

Certainly, Science of Mind and Spiritual Mind Treatment can bolster that determination and pro-active approach to health and vitality. As Ernest Holmes says: If we wish health, we must embody the idea of health, the consciousness of health. Since the body is an effect and not a cause, we must know that bodies and conditions never move but are always moved upon.  We can declare, "I am an open channel for good to flow in and through me, freely, generously, cheerfully.”

With that in mind, I declare I have perfect health of mind, body and spirit. I treat and use my feet.

And so it is.

Another Disappearing Act

Tonight I’ll speak of my brother TOM. He was 17 months older than me, turning 80 in a few days. I would see him now and then, when he would visit with his motor home for a few days. Tom led a nomadic life...living in a Majestic Class B motor home, and traveling from camp to camp as a member of Thousand Trails.

On June 13 he was discovered deceased in his motor home at a campground near Las Vegas. He had entered on May 31 and was due to leave on June 7. When he didn’t leave by June 13, maintenance checked and called authorities. Clark County Coroner’s office took the body, locked up the motor home, and declared it a bio-hazard.

I’ve learned quite a lot in the few days since I was told of his passing. Identification was obtained through fingerprints with the California Department of Justice and a photograph from me wouldn’t help in the ID. He died of natural causes and was sitting on the floor when found.

So my memories and grief about Tom are mixed with business realities. I have a will. I am named executor. If I don’t want to proceed then my understanding is Clark County Public Administrator can take over.

At one point I called my own local attorney who said I needed answers to two key questions prior to making that decision: What was his legal residence, and what are the assets and liabilities?

So really, I had to become Sherlock Holmes and try to ferret out information. From my photos and a picture from last year, I had his vehicle license plate...registered in South Dakota. I eventually learned his mailing address was in South Dakota. Probably his driver’s license but I don’t have that yet. I know he had $134 in his wallet and 6 credit cards, didn’t owe anything to Thousand Trails, and had a bank account and an online trading account in 2007 when the will was made. People and various entities won’t tell me more until certain documentation is presented.  I asked around for advice. Some said I needed to go to Las Vegas, go into the motor home, and look for evidence of assets/liabilities, etc.

Then I learned it wasn’t advisable for someone my age to go in, even with protective gear, because of the toxicity. One trauma clean-up service estimated the bill to clean up could be $8-10,000; the motor home in good condition would be worth about $14,000. Gradually a picture began to emerge, and I needed to answer the question: Do I go proceed with the responsibilities of the will or let Clark County Public Administrator take over?

All this has been very stressful, amidst the grieving for a brother who has now disappeared. He was very much a loner and very alone in those final moments of his life.  I contacted my younger brother and we reminisced about Tom. I thought about the trajectories of our lives. My other brother and myself led traditional lives with long-term marriages, reasonable prosperity and children who became upstanding citizens. Tom, a very intelligent guy, took a different path.

But he was a good brother. I was reminded of one recent event, where he agreed to escort me to the Center Gala, and bought a very nice suit, shirt, tie, shoes -- the whole works -- because it was important to me.

In my recent research I learned about the RV lifestyle and the different strategies RVers use to get mail forwarding, pay bills, have bank accounts, health and vehicle insurance and more. They are a free-spirited group, often living off the grid without the encumbrances of mortgages and 9 to 5 jobs. Freedom is important to them. I had new respect for the life and lifestyle Tom had chosen. It worked for him.

So for Tom, as with others I have known and lost, I think of the poem, “And That is Death,” where the author stands on the seashore watching a ship disappear over the horizon. Someone says, “Look--he’s gone. “Gone where? Gone from my sight, that’s all." But at that very moment, others eagerly watch his approach and call out, “Look, he’s coming.” So I imagine my mother and father eagerly waiting to embrace him on that other shore.

As Ernest Holmes says,   “You and I are born out of God, and just as we are born out of a divine urge that creates, so do we die. It is all creation. It is all evolution.”

And so it is.