My title, if I must claim one, is the minister of the Agape Center for Spiritual Living. I believe it to be my calling, but that’s not who I am. I truly believe I am primarily a teacher. That’s one of my top values in my life and what I do every week among the Agape community. So, what’s the “textbook” from which I work, and the foundation of what we explore at Agape? It’s The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes.
What is Science of Mind?
Not to be confused with Scientology or Christian Science, Science of Mind is a philosophy and exploration of how all things are connected to one source. Holmes offers his own definition:
“The study of Science of Mind is the study of First Cause, Spirit, Mind, or that invisible Essence, that ultimate Stuff and Intelligence from which everything comes, the Power back of creation – The Thing Itself”
– Ernest Holmes
Regardless of faiths, beliefs, and dogmas, Science of Mind embraces it all as part of one Universal Mind, one presence that is expressing itself in many forms. As Holmes said above, it all goes back to “The Thing Itself.”
The Universe Never Plays Favorites
We are part of a universal mind that is filled with natural law based on freedom. That law is simple: You get back what you put out. And the freedom at its foundation is to express and live life on our terms without judgement, because the Divine cannot judge itself. The universe doesn’t choose who gets to use that law; it responds equally to all who use it. It’s up to us to use that law to create our perception of our own life experiences. If we ignore these laws, we deal with life unconsciously and let outside influences dictate how we see and react to the world around us.
There’s Nothing Supernatural About the Study of Life
When people mystify life, they can create fear to control others. But we shouldn’t fear the study of life, we should be in awe of it. When we study life, we are studying how God creates, how we create, and the work that goes into creating your own life. In creating, some are healed through the power of prayer not because God has responded, but because they have done the work, built the spiritual practice, and responded to God more than others.
Limitless Power of Man’s Disposal
Each person has the power of the law within them to draw from life what he or she thinks into it. To create that life means building thought patterns and spiritual practices that align with your thinking. If you want wealth, health, and/or loving relationships, they can be yours. You have the power to do it, as long as you put in the work. Each mind is part of the whole Divine universe, and in that universe, there are no limits to what you can do. The only limits are the ones we give ourselves.
The Road to Freedom is Not Mysterious
It’s not a mystery. It can be found through the intelligent use of nature’s forces and laws we’ve discussed. Freedom comes the more we create our own life. We have a conscious mind which operates within a subjective field, which is creative. The conscious mind is a part of spirit, while the subjective mind is part of law. Part of our minds partake of the nature of the Divine, therefore we are an individualized part of that divine.
After all the work, all the conscious effort, all the study, and creating more awareness of our connection to the Divine presence that is everything and everywhere present, we find that the mind we discover within, is the same that governs everything. And that’s what Holmes called “The Thing Itself.”