Hope … Uninterrupted

The face looking out from the cover of the November issue of Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine is known across the globe. Dr. Jane Goodall represents that which is the best in us: a commitment to all life, a determined approach to environmental protection, a rigorous adherence to science in advancing all people. Above all, perhaps, is her dogged devotion to the concept of hope.

She illustrates her meaning in her memoir “Reason for Hope”: “With theri beautiful Dance of Peace [the Sandhill cranes] were, I believe, bringing a message for us humans. … This message, brought by the cranes, seemed clear to me: ‘However dark the times ahead, keep the knowledge of peace to come in your heart.’

 “I shall keep the image of that Dance of Peace constantly in my mind over the coming months,” she says, “for it is more important than ever to keep hope alive in these frightening times.”

She further describes her thinking: “One real reason for hope is that the people of the world are uniting everywhere to speak out strongly, but for the most part peacefully, against war. We need more people to swell the ranks. We must remember, each and every one of us, that our voices and our actions make a difference, every day.”

— “Hope … Uninterrupted” appears in the November issue of the magazine, with a look at Goodall’s life’s work and her continued ability to find hope in the world.

Lift Yourself Out of Powerlessness

Hurricanes. Wildfires. Violence at home and abroad.

Feeling powerless might be an expected reaction to the turmoil we’ve faced in recent days, weeks and months. Our problems are mammoth, and our lives sometimes feel small. We may find ourselves believing there’s nothing we can do to make anything better.

Dr. Joe Luciani, in a piece published by the New York Daily News, suggests at times like these we remember “the words of the 2nd century slave-turned-philosopher Epictetus, who said it is not what happens to us that matters, but how we react to it that does.”

Luciani offers three ways to overcome these feelings of powerlessness. In fact, he suggests we write them on the back of a card, always available to us to use, mantra-like, to improve our perspectives.

1. “I will let life unfold. There are obstacles but no dead ends.” Insecurity creates distortions, leading to feelings of hopelessness. You can overcome that insecurity by remembering that bottlenecks do not have to become dead ends.
2. “I trust that my instincts and intuition will serve me.” “If you’re willing to loosen your death grip,” Luciani writes, “and allow life to unfold, then things can begin to happen, shift and change.” In sum, “let go, let life.”
3. “Every problem has a solution, and sometimes I have to wait for an answer.” “What enables you to risk trust is a rational understanding that in time, every problem can be solved, dealt with, or overcome,” he explains. “You need enough discipline to believe that you may have to wait for closure.”

— Read all of Luciani’s advice for overcoming powerlessness here: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/ife-3-ways-overcome-feeling-powerless-article-1.3504692

We Have A Winner

Congratulations to Anne Fleming of Anchorage, Alaska, the winner of our raffle for a free deluxe stateroom on the Science of Mind 90th Anniversary cruise, January 28 - February 3, 2018.

The cruise caps off our year of celebrating 90 years of continuous publication of Science of Mind magazine. Along with the raffle, the cruise will help us create an endowment fund that will ensure the ongoing viability and vibrancy of the magazine.

There’s still time to sign up to join the celebration. For information, call 1-800-828-4813 or visit http://scienceofmind.com/sail-away-with-us-spirit-at-sea-cruise/.

Pray and Prosper

— Dr. Ernest Holmes

Today I am going to talk about how you can realize true prosperity. But first, you must know that Spirit is your Silent Partner … a wise and loving Presence ever ready to respond to you. The purpose of prayer and faith is to seek conscious union with this indwelling Presence. Always your prayer will be as effective as your faith.

There is a Law of Mind that responds to your faith. You need have no anxious thought concerning the operation of this Law, for it will always respond. This is why Jesus said that it is done unto you as you believe. If you would pray and prosper you must believe that the Spirit is both willing and able to make that gift.

But since the Spirit can only give you what you take, and since this taking is a mental act, you must train your mind to believe and accept. This is the secret power of prayer. …

Prayer ties you to a power that is able, ready and willing to fulfill every legitimate desire; to bring every good thing to you; to do for you even more abundantly than you have expected. “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” …

The Spirit can only give you what you take; and since this taking is an act of consciousness, you must be actively aware of the presence of your desire. You must know that the gift is made even before you see it. You must receive the gift.

— Excerpted from “Pray and Prosper” by Dr. Ernest Holmes, as heard on “This Thing Called Life” radio show, Sunday, January 8, 1950. For more, see the article by the same name in the November issue of Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine.