Climb Onto the Skinny Branch

Dr. Edward Viljoen, in accepting the role of spiritual leader for Centers for Spiritual Living, says, “My intuition nudged me onto the skinny branch because although I believed I have the experience and qualifications for the position, I wrestled with my inclination to continue working in the background.”

In his interview with Guide for Spiritual Living: Science of Mind magazine, Dr. Viljoen explains, “I felt a calling, a duty and an opportunity to give back something of what I’ve received from this teaching.”

When asked what his vision is for CSL, he responds, “Our organization already has a vision – of a world that works for everyone. It is my task to bring our global vision to life in my words and my interactions with people.”

Dr. Viljoen succeeds Dr. Kenn Gordon as CSL’s spiritual leader. He also continues to be the minister of the Center for Spiritual Living Santa Rosa, where he has served for more than 25 years.

Learn more in the June issue of Science of Mind magazine, and follow Dr. Viljoen on Facebook click here.

Resources During the Pandemic

Psychologist Judith Moskowitz says, “Humans are wired to come together physically. But loneliness has become widespread in modern life. And social distancing has just exacerbated the problem.”

Dr. Sandro Galea, Boston University's School of Public Health, agrees that finding ways to connect is essential to our well-being. Prolonged isolation increases the risk of depression and anxiety. “We know from other events,” she says, “the longer the isolation, the more risk.”

They offer tips to maintain connection during the pandemic, including:

1. Don't scroll, but do connect online, with real-time activities.
2. Make art as a social act. Express yourself and share.
3. Reach out to the elderly.
4. Become a citizen-scholar, an online tutor or assistant to the visually impaired. Find your way to volunteer, virtually.
5. Keep friendships alive, with small acts of kindness.

While churches in many areas continue to livestream their services, there are additional online ways to remain connected. Through Facebook, you can listen in to the weekly After-Lunch Special interviews on the Science of Mind magazine page. You can enjoy the Cozy Couch concert series, announced each week on Centers for Spiritual Living’s Facebook page.

There is an ever-increasing abundance of online training sessions, workshops and webinars designed specifically for this time. One that may be of particular interest is offered by Mark Nepo, a poet, philosopher and cancer survivor who has been featured in recent years in our magazine. He is offering a three-session webinar in June at live.marknepo.com, as a way to help us mitigate our fear and navigate our anxiety.

However you choose to connect, be sure you continue to both find and offer support to the community of your choice.

Expand Your Thought

—by Ernest Holmes

All things come to us through the use of our thought. If we have a small concept of life, we will always be doing small thing. First in the create series is the word, but the word carries us no further than our consciousness back of it. Unless we are constantly expanding our thought, we are not growing.

Growth is the law of life and it is necessary. We cannot stand still. If you want to do a new thing, get a new thought and then you will have the power of attraction, which has the possibility of drawing to you the circumstances that will make for the fulfillment of your desires. …

God has created you for a glorious future. Dare to fing out into Mind the greater assurances about yourself.

--Excerpted from Creative Mind.