The Business of Us All

Writer Raymont Anderson, Ph.D., poses a series of questions in the July issue of Science of Mind magazine: “What is the purpose of religious or spiritual organizations? Is it to assist people by giving them the means to live their best lives? What happens when religious organizations operate in opposition to life, liberty and freedom? When their silence serves as a demonstration that they act in opposition to equity, justice and unity?

“What is the point of declaring that we practice a living faith of action by saying such things as, ‘Treat and move your feet,’ if there is going to be a choice, consciously or unconsciously, to abstain from any effective action and activism?”

Anderson points to Ernest Holmes' assertion, often repeated, that there is only One Life, and that Life (God/Spirit) is incarnating Itself in, through and as each of us. In a speech at Asilomar in 1954, Holmes said, ”Your life is my life; my life is your life. I cannot leave you out and understand myself. I am incomplete. I am lame and blind and halted without inclusion.”

“If our spiritual organizations are to survive and thrive in the 21st century and beyond,” Anderson writes, “we must engage and embody a new paradigm and a new practice. And it must be one that recognizes the importance of supporting human rights with true advocacy beyond offering just thoughts and prayers.”

He stresses that the “call to action is now. The warning alarms are ringing now. The red flags are waving vigorously now. The question before us is: What will New Thought do to be a healing presence in the world?”

Practicing Sacred Activism

How can we be the change we want to see in the world and live from our commitment to the Beloved Community? How do our words, thoughts, intentions and beliefs become meaningful action?

From Naropa University: Sacred activism is an approach to social justice that synergizes mindful awareness and spirituality with the work of diversity, equity and inclusion. Spirituality … nurtures roots of hope, self-awareness and sacred community to human rights work, while social justice work activates and focuses spiritual practice on tangible injustices.

This interdisciplinary framework prepares today's Beloved Community with the skills needed to be active change agents while simultaneously improving personal resilience, intrapersonal communication and emotional balance.

From Andrew Harvey: We can live from a vision of action that is inspiring, hopeful and grounded in deep spiritual wisdom and compassion. People are rising up who have fused deep spiritual knowledge, experience and practice with wise, incessant action for justice and peace.

Together, we can accomplish the unimaginable.

One Intelligence,

Continually Responding

By Ernest Holmes

There is but one Intelligence in the universe. It made you and It made me, and through us, It made the toy balloon and the steam engine. It was always the one Mind doing these things, and each one of us, using this Mind, individualizes it. There is one Intelligence in everything that responds to us in the way we use It.

In every cell of the physical body, there is a Divine Intelligence responding to us. This Intelligence is a lower form of Mind stuff that always responds to the higher form. In this instance, the higher form of intelligence is our conscious awareness, our conscious thinking, the mind we use every day.

The Mind stuff in every atom and every cell, in every organ and every function of this physical body continually responds to our affirmations and our denials of life. The Divine Intelligence created this physical body so that it runs automatically when it isn't interfered with. But our conscious minds are continually interfering with this Divine pattern, and so we are in conflict with ourselves, and the lower form of intelligence that makes up this physical body is continually being disturbed by our conscious thinking. …

So we have to find a few simple affirmations that will offer a blanket coverage, sort of a general insurance policy, that meets every need. And this simple coverage would be something like this: “There is a Divine Life in every atom of my being. Every cell is alive with this Life. This Life is one Life. Therefore, every atom of my being, every cell of my body is in harmonious unity with it. There is one Life; that Life is God; that Life is my life now; and that Life is perfect. It is harmonious; it is happy; it is whole.”