Diversity and Inclusion: A Practical Approach

In the June 2018 issue of Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine, Rev. Dr. Petra Weldes opens a three-part series dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Weldes, co-spiritual director of CSL Dallas, reminds us that Science of Mind teaches there is one Infinite Presence and Power, “yet that Infinite One is forever expressing Itself through the variety of form and creation.

 “So why,” she asks, “would we look at people and the human race any differently?”

She includes a practical approach to contemplating diversity and inclusion by offering five quotes from Dr. Ernest Holmes. By focusing on one each week during June, she suggests you will witness your life beginning to shift.

Those quotes, shortened here and printed in their entirety in the June magazine, are:

1. “Unity does not mean uniformity. Our unity with other people does not mean that we must think and act as they do.”
2. “Everything in the universe is a unique individualization or expression of the One Thing that is the Cause of all things.”
3. “You should become aware that the One Creative Power is expressing in you in a unique way and that it is always pressing against you, seeking a fuller outlet of its infinite possibilities.”
4. “You exist that this Power may have another, a unique, outlet for Its expression. The more life you express, the more of It flows through you.”
5. “Every longing and yearning you have ever had, every secret desire of your soul, every constructive ambition you have ever had is a whispering of this Life assuring you that you are one with It…. There is no one else like you in all the universe; there never will be.”

Honoring Our Pets

June is the month when Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine honors all of the four-legged, winged, finned and scaled beings that complete our lives. Along with the many pets highlighted in the magazine, www.ScienceofMind.com includes even more photos and stories about our beloved family members.

But how do we cope with the death of a pet? Writer Sara Awad, working with Dr. Patty Luckenbach, notes, “Our animal companions leave their paw prints on our hearts, and when they die, we are often expected to carry on without taking time to mourn.”

In a sidebar to her main article, “Understanding Grief: How To Cope When a Loved One Dies,” Awad offers these suggestions:

• Set aside time to grieve in your own way and release your emotions.
• Reflect on the life you shared with your previous pet.
• Choose a calming practice and use it frequently.
• Maintain routines with your animals as much as possible. Remember, they’re grieving, too.
• Memorialize your animal friend’s life.
• Support your children.
• Reach out for help.

— For more on coping with the loss of a loved one — human or otherwise — see Awad’s full article in the June 2018 issue of Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine.

Best Friends Offers Sanctuary to Animals

There’s no doubt: We love our pets. In the United States alone, there are 88.3 million cats and 74.8 million dogs who share their lives with humans. Add in more than 150 million fish, 16 million birds, 13 million reptiles — well, you get the picture. We love our pets.

When those pets lose their homes, whether through natural disasters or because of life changes, sometimes they struggle to find a new family to adopt. For the past 30 years, Best Friends Animal Society has dedicated its resources to taking “un-adoptable” pets to a safe haven.

Best Friends is a sanctuary where, at any given time, about 1,600 animals are turning their lives around, receiving medical help, and getting love and acceptance to help them recover from a variety of traumas. Best Friends owns nearly 3,700 acres and leases another 17,000 acres of state and federal land, making it the largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals in the United States.

The future of Best Friends lies in the same place where it began: with caring individuals who want to make this a kinder world for our pets. If you’d like to help “Save Them All,” visit www.BestFriends.org.

What We Believe: A Meditation

— Dr. Ernest Holmes

And now let us take as the thought for our meditation today these words of Jesus: “… As thou hast believed, so it is done unto thee.”

And let us again reaffirm our faith in the all-sustaining power of the living Spirit, as each says quietly to himself: We affirm our belief in the Living Spirit and accept the simple fact that we live and move and have our being in a Divine Presence which is perfect, whose nature is love and peace and joy.

We reaffirm our conviction that the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind, and as we accept its divine givingness, so in turn do we give to others.

We affirm our conviction that the infinite Giver forever forgives and that we, in our turn, forgive ourselves and everyone else for any mistakes we may have made.

We affirm our belief that every day is a fresh beginning and that our world can be made new today. And we reaffirm our conviction that the whole world lives in the one Spirit and that one God is the Father of us all.

May we so live and think and act that the love, the life, the givingness and the forgiveness of our Father which art in heaven shall flow through us to bless and heal the world.

— The complete article “What We Believe About This Thing Called Life” from Dr. Ernest Holmes is available at SoMArchives.org for only 99 cents.

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