My Theology

How do I live from my theology? What are my beliefs?

• I give meaning to diversity, oneness, unity, peace, belief, love, compassion, and freedom. 
  
• I give emphasis on the education of our world’s cultures, histories, religious beliefs and backgrounds in understanding how to apply spiritual principles in these different contexts to better our way of living and being on the planet together. 
• Universal principles can be taught and lived anywhere. 
• Language, however, and jargon must be shifted depending on where people are to meet people where they are.  
• It's about embodying principle, showing up as love to all people that I meet, and modeling values to inspire others to shift and transform their lives.
• What we think about, we bring about. Where we put our attention, is where our life moves and is. 
• We are creators of our destiny.  
• We have the power to transform any trauma, challenge or past event through self-love, forgiveness, self-awareness, compassion and a new idea-a new thought.
• Anything we dream about, think of, and believe is possible.
• We each have an individual and collective responsibility to the planet and to humanity. 
• We all have gifts and talents to share with the world. 
• We are on the planet to grow and evolve. 
• As we do our inner work to reveal more love, light, harmony and peace to ourselves and others, we elevate the consciousness of the planet and bring more light everywhere we look.
• I believe in the power of prayer and its healing over conditions.
• I live and create my own personal heaven and hell on this planet, not in some far off place in the sky or below ground. I get to choose where I will live. Heaven.
• My connection to my Source, or God, Allah,Yaweh, Krishna, Spirit, is through my direct revelation of truth, not through any messenger or prophet. I am connected as easily as the air I breathe.
• I honor and respect all walks of faith, culture, lifestyle and sexual orientation. Diversity is what makes us part of the puzzle of One. 

The Holy Trinity and Spiritual Principles

What is your idea of the holy trinity and how does it apply to my life as a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian?

My Theology: God encompasses All, the father, the son and the holy spirit are all within God Itself.  We are all part of the One. This principle is Oneness. We are all connected and interconnected by this powerful Presence, called by many names. We each have our own way of finding and connecting to the God of our understanding. So even in our oneness, it is important to honor our likeness but also our differences-
the different cultures, languages, and countries 
we come from.

Ernest Holmes & Science of Mind Philosophy: All the great New Thought thinkers had their roots in Christianity yet many of them also studied the great philosophies of the east as well. Ernest Holmes, the founder and teacher of the Science of Mind philosophy held his roots in Christianity as did the greats, Thomas Troward, Phinneas Quimby, and Emma Curtis Hopkins. They all believed in mental healing and the power of thought over conditions to change experience and situation. New Thought is based in spirituality not religiosity. ("New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality", Anderson & Whitehouse) Thomas Troward was well known to speak about subjectivity and law. He said, "Right thinking leads to better health, wealth and happiness." Mary Baker Eddy took it even further and believed that one could heal through affirmative prayer and the power of thought over conditions. 

Jesus Christ

The principle of Jesus Christ represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. This union produces an expression of Life that includes both, yet is greater than either. The potential for this expression lies within each one of us. Therefore, Jesus is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception.

  Ernest Holmes, says:

"Religious Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus; but it does affirm the divinity of all people. It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God; but affirms that all beings are children of God. It does not deny that the Kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus; but affirms that the Kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me."

Your Ukrainian Orthodoxy may hold that there is only one God, but that this one God consists of 3 "persons."

• God the Father
• God the Son
• The Holy Spirit

I offer another idea that all are contained in the ONE. 

                                                                                 

How does this apply to your life?

It means you are not an original sinner but a divine expression of the One Life, which is God. It also affirms that what Jesus could do, we can also do. It is the Christ Consciousness that we want to exude and embody, to live from in our lives. It is the "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" notion, to live from love rather than from fear. It also shows that we are in control over our thoughts, actions, and beliefs. When we start to look at what we believe about life, love, relationships, family, etc. we start to see where we are out of alignment with the goodness of life. 
This then, helps us get back on track by 
"changing our thinking and changing our life." 
We are able to then learn the mental healing posed by 
the New Thought philosophers by:

• Believing in Good, Abundance, Prosperity, Oneness, Wholeness, Perfect Health 
• Having faith in ourselves and our dreams which
• Manifests the lives of our desires ----> through our understanding of our connection to God as our Life, as the One Spirit expressing as us, and by our power over our thoughts through spiritual practices and prayer.

Islam and Science of Mind; View of Evil

How can I use the SOM teaching to support my  Islamic faith? How will it help me in my life? What is  this philosophy’s view of evil?

The phrase “Besm’ alleh al rahman al raheem,” "In the name of    God, the merciful, compassionate", within Islam as a faith tradition, is the first declaration of the connection to God and of its essence.  In speaking about the first pillar, the confession of faith, or the shahada, bearing witness: “Ashadu ana le ileha ila allah,” or “I bear witness, there are no Gods, there is only God,” also recognizes the One life, One God that we are all connected.  

This is similar to my own understanding of my God for I recognize God in all things, as inherent in all of life.  The Science of Mind philosophy is the study of First Cause, Spirit, Mind, God, the invisible Essence of all of life, the Intelligence from which everything comes, the power back of creation, the Thing Itself (SOM, 26).  It brings forth the notion that there is a Universal Mind, Spirit that is the origin of everything.  Simply put, God is all that there is.  This presence is called by many names yet it is still the One life, One Mind, One Spirit, One Life. 

The phrase, “Mohammed rasul allah, “ or “Mohammed is his messenger” would appear

to seem different from my own belief in that Mohammed is God’s messenger only and that Mohammed had a divine revelation, was a clear channel for God, he was a servant or slave of God.  Islam recognizes over 124, 000 prophets.  If one looks at is as I do, from the perspective that we are all channels of infinite and divine wisdom, if we are open and willing to receive it, then it would seem that we are all revealers of truth, as we are all connected to God, this one Source.  

Similarly, both Islam and the Science of Mind teaching hold there is One God.  The Sufis would take it even further in saying that “the essence of all spiritually and religions is love and to love God."

How does this apply to your life as a Muslim?
The Science of Mind philosophy only enhances your faith in Islam and as a Muslim because it reiterates that there is One God. It teaches us that with God as our provider and 

sustenance, we can do anything and we can overcome any challenge or obstacle. When we trust in this power and Presence as our very lives, not separate from it, it means we can co-create the life we want by focusing our thoughts on goodness, peace, love, possibility and justice. It means we are co-creating with the Divine, Allah, God, for the highest ideas and possibilities to come to our lives. It affirms that prayer, reflection, and meditation is a necessary means to free ourselves from limiting thoughts, fears and worry, calming the mind and allowing us to remember the truth of who we are. We are God expressing. We are  God in action. It is this life force that is breathing itself through us. Mohammad may be another means to connect to God, living by his example and his words, and at the same time, as a Muslim, one can always turn to God, the inner self, for the answers. It also means that what we reap, we sow. What we think about and the energy we bring to our relationships, is what we will receive in return. It is the law of attraction and reciprocity. What I give to another, I will receive. We can learn so much from the Qur'an and also this spiritual philosophy that sheds deeper light on the wisdom of Islam.

What does the Science of Mind philosophy teach about evil?

Religious Science does not deny the appearance of evil. However, it teaches that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only power acting, which is Spirit.
The obstruction of Spirit's expression always occurs in the mind through the holding of false beliefs. According to Religious Science, the only presence acting  in the universe is God, which is always Good.

Science, Atheism, Communism and SOM

How does the SOM support my scientific views and atheistic upbringing in the former Soviet Union, and how can I live a better life using these principles?

I grew up during communist time in eastern Russia. I was raised atheistic and studied psychology and science as my background. I went to Russian Orthodox Church from time to time because my family is Russian Orthodox, but we had to keep it secret. Most the churches now have little funding and were closed, vandalized, or blown up during communist time. I do think there is some energy about life. 

My Theology: I hold the belief that science and spirituality are interconnected. We cannot have only one without the other. We are made of energy and every cell in our bodies is part of the wholeness of the universe. We are the “Thing Itself.” Ernest Holmes asked us to use this philosophy to experiment and question, to reflect and uncover our hidden beliefs so that we may prove it to ourselves through the demonstrations that happen in our experience, that it truly works. We do not believe it just by default, but because we have experimented with the principles, prayer, meditation, and in leaning into our own faith to see how it is working in our lives. We learn through an argumentative process in our own thinking and through affirmative prayer how to shift our experience and thinking to create the reality we desire. We move from lack, separation, limitation, doubt, scarcity thinking, and worry to unity, love, acceptance, trust, faith, surrender, and gratitude. 

You can live a better life by testing one of the spiritual principles of the law of attraction-putting your attention on the things you desire and want to embody and experience as it will come to you as you believe. Understanding that you are the co-creator with the Divine, the God of your understanding, energy, Spirit, or "Duhk" in Russian, then you will see that you have control in creating the life you desire through your right action, right thought, and right intentions, having faith and knowing your Good is already at hand. When you believe and embody the truth that God is within you, forever and ever, and that you are a powerful creator, you can do anything! 

Ernest Holmes views on science: 
Ernest believed that religion and science were truly complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed that, eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings, and the Universe. His beliefs have been borne out by many modern scientists, who have found that the universe is truly made up of energy. 

Religious Science, along with all of the mystics of the ages, knows that that energy is God.  

Quantum Physics View: Quantum physics is taking this even further by helping us bridge the gap between science and spirituality in saying that the act of observing changes what is being observed. In other words, what becomes form, manifested, demonstrated or revealed is by our conscious observation of the wave that collapses into form, which then brings forth our experience. 

Evolution of New Thought and Religious Science

How did Ernest Holmes' Philosophy of the Science of Mind evolve and what is the history of New Thought up until his time?

(This piece of the blog is a bit dense, however it helps to explain where all these ideas came from:) 

Emanuel Swedenborg

Warren Felt Evans

Yogi Ramachakara

Charles and Myrtle Fillmore

There are many groups that formed within New Thought because of a healing that occurred and was witnessed by fellow members of these groups. All of which have roots in Christianity and therefore, they follow either 2 basic ideas: they emphasize Jesus or emphasize Divine Mind and healing. The branches of Divine Science, founded by Malinda Cramer, Nona Brooks and Fannie James and Unity, founded by Myrtle and Charles Fillmore, emphasize Jesus whereas the Religious Science philosophy that was founded by Holmes emphasizes Divine Mind. Charles and Myrtle were greatly influenced by the great Emma Curtis Hopkins, who was the teacher of teachers. Many great New Thought thinkers studied under her, and she originally studied with Christian Science founder, Mary Baker Eddy. She believed in the power of God, that God is all good and all One. 

Phinneas Quimby

Phinneas Quimby was the first in modern times to realize and understand how our thoughts affect our experiences. He was born with a very inquiring and scientific mind in 1802 and later became an inventor. Quimby studied mesmerism and started experimenting with how the mind could heal illness and conditions. He himself, suffered from tuberculosis and found that much of his kidney was gone. A man named Burkmar put his hands on Quimby and he was healed. He then realized that the power of his mind and imagination played a huge role in his healing.

Ernest Holmes

Ernest Holmes was greatly influenced by theologians, philosophers, and metaphysicians such as: Thomas Troward, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Plato, Plotinous, Emanual Swedenborg, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Warren Felt Evans, Phinneas Quimby, Horatio Dresser, and Mary Baker Eddy. He studied every philosophy and religious text he could find from all the western thought, including spiritism and Christian Science.  Holmes even studied the writings of Walt Whipman and Robert Browning. After he created the Religious Science philosophy, Ernest Holmes continued learning and growing through the writings and texts within Hinduim and Taoism, Yogi Ramacharaka. He found a way, by pulling the essential truths from the philosophies and religions from the east with those of the west to give us what is now The Science of Mind teaching philosophy.  It is a practical, life affirmative teaching, which encourages one to practice the Presence of God and heal through affirmative prayer, spiritual mind treatment.

Emma Curtis Hopkins

Mary Baker Eddy

Thomas Troward

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Does SOM interpret the Bible?

I am a Hasidic Jew, but I am wanting to understand other faith traditions' beliefs specifically their literalism of sacred texts. As Jews, the interpretation of the text is somewhat open, however Judaism is textually oriented when looking even at shapes of letters in the Torah. It is still very important. I'm curious, how does the Science of Mind philosophy, which has its roots in Christianity, interpret the Christian Bible? What are your views about Hebrew Scriptures and how do they relate to the SOM teaching?  

How does the Science of Mind philosophy which has its roots in Christianity, interpret the Christian Bible? 
The Science of Mind informs us through all the great faith traditions' books including the

Christian Bible. There is no simple way to answer this question. There is no way for us to prove that much of the Bible is factually true. Should we even try? Does it matter? In my view, a debate about the literal truth of the Bible misses the entire point.Is the Bible the literal word of God? That is purely a matter of faith. No human has ever heard the word of God unfiltered through his or her own mind and senses.We all hear the still small voice of God in our minds giving us direction, comforting and counseling. But do we receive God's word from without -from the heavens - or from deep in our own being? Are we not all direct revealers of God's Truth; if we are open to receive it? 

The Bible clearly states that God is a Spirit, not a superperson. This Spirit is everywhere present and therefore is in us. We are told to seek the Kingdom of God within ourselves. Do not look here or there but within!  Human beings wrote every word of the Bible. They may have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, as we like to call the God Spirit within, but Biblical authors were totally human and as such were fallible. They wrote what they believed and what they felt and it was their Truth.

The lessons taught by the parables and stories in the Bible are Truth, the greatest Truth every told. The facts of the stories are most certainly not the literal Truth.

The truth lies in the meaning of the stories not in the stories themselves. Was Jonah swallowed by a whale? Was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt? Did Sarah give birth at 80 years of age? Did Jesus walk on water?

The Bible was written in parable. A parable is a story told to teach a great moral or spiritual lesson. The ancient hearers of these parables understood that they were not to be taken literally; the lesson was the point of the story.

  

The people who gathered to hear Jesus speak were Aramaic speakers and they understood perfectly that the facts of the story meant nothing - it was the moral and spiritual Truth the story taught that was the message. The story was the vehicle in which Truth was conveyed to the listener and had no other value or purpose.

The Bible is an indespenisble book of God's Truth but was never meant to be taken literally. The Truth behind the stories and events in the Bible is the message and it is a message for the ages. 

Excerpted from: Awakened Heart Ministries: Rev. Dore' Jacques Patlian, 2006

 

What are your views about the Hebrew Scriptures and how do they relate to the SOM teaching?
Just as mentioned up above, the Hebrew Scriptures relate parables and metaphor that help us in our lives.  For example, the story of the burning bush. 

So there story goes: Moses was tending sheep on Mt. Horeb in the desert when he saw a bush on fire, that did not seem to burn up.God called out to him and asked him to take the sandals from his feet for he was standing on holy ground. God said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face for he was afraid. God told him he knew of the affliction of his people in Egypt, has heard their cries, and has come down to deliver them to the land of milk and honey. God said he would send him to Pharaoh to deliver his people.  Moses said, "Who am I to deliver the people from Pharaoh and deliver the children of Israel?" And God said to him," I will be with you." Moses asked God, "When I go to the children of Israel and they ask me who sent me for them, what name shall I say sent me?" God said, "I am that I am. I am AHIAH ASHAR High, the Living God. This is my name forever."

What we can learn from this story metaphysically is:
The desert represents a place in consciousness of man that seems lack of substance and life. But in truth these deserts do not exist because there is no lack and God is inexhaustible resources. The desert is sometimes where we go in consciousness when we are in fear, struggling with our faith or remembering we are connected to the Divine. 

The burning bush and the Angel of the Jehovah that appears to Moses represents what is within the consciousness of us all. The flame and light of God always burns inside of us, it is inexhaustible, and no substance is lost, hence the reason the bush didn’t consume itself in the fire. The bush is the “nerve center” through which this universal life runs.

The poet, Elizabeth Browning put it like this:

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, Sonnets from the Portuguese

Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, (limited thoughts)

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware.

The angel is the light and God that is ever present in our lives.  It also means that the inner fire within us, can be approached by spiritual thought. We are connected to God and it is always within us.  This was a reminder to Moses that this light is always there, even when we are out in the desert and all we see is lack and struggle.

The sandals that Moses took off represents symbolically the taking of all material concepts. “the words with which understanding (Truth) is clothed. When holy ground or substance in its spiritual wholeness is approached by man he must put off from his understanding all limited thoughts about the absolute-he must put his shoes off his feet.”

So this bush is the reminder that God, the light is always within and we are never consumed by it and it never goes out.  The true reality must be brought into our consciousness (children of Israel) and we must go to the Pharoah, which is our subconscious thought and see what we are planting in thought.  His name that he tells Moses, the Living God, is the reminder for us all to be grounded in that knowing, that God is always with us.

We can use these parables as teaching tools for our own lives as we see here with this story.