The Divine Feminine in New Thought

"Hey Lady"

The Divine Feminine in New Thought

Aquarian Rebirth II Divine Feminine Consciousness Awakening Painting by Robyn Chance

After a church service one Sunday morning, I overheard a young girl in line announce to her mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."

"Great honey," her Mom answered, "but what made you decide that?"

"Well," said the little girl, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen."


In honor of March's Women's History Month, I want to talk about the women of the New Thought Movement. As the Universe would have it, one of my best friends - Kathleen Freeman, the actress from "Singing in the Rain," many Jerry Lewis movies and so much more, introduced me to New Thought and the Science of Mind. She invited me to hear Dr. Robert Bitzer speak at the Hollywood Church of Religious Science and I was hooked. I had found a philosophy that I connected to and by which I felt supported. A faith, a way of life that saw me as the Divine Creative Force in the Universe individualized as Jay Willick. A teaching that taught me that my experiences were colored, flavored and filtered by my beliefs, which were developed by my thoughts and feelings, and through which I could change my life. So, you could say that I was introduced to and studied this teaching of which I have become an ordained minister in, because of a New Thought woman...I am the New Thought Guy because of a New Thought woman.

So, who were the women of the New Thought Movement's beginnings....the poets, teachers, thought leaders, magazine editors and publishers, writers, and developers of the Movement who used the Divine Feminine to create, nurture and forward this movement, who inspired the Science of Mind and other New Thought religions and philosophies and who taught us how to think and live in our magnificence? Who were these women that were also the influential and instrumental champions in the unfolding of women's rights, the abolition of slavery, enactment of child labor laws, and were active in the suffrage movement as well as in the mental and holistic healing practices? You might be very surprised as you recognize sayings and concepts we still use in metaphysics and New Thought today. You might have thought these sayings and concepts came out of the New Age or self-help folks of the 70's to early 2000's, but listen and learn their true beginnings. Let's check our Divine Feminines of New Thought by starting with...

Margaret Fuller

Margaret Fuller was a member of The Transcendentalists, the group whose most famous founder was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was also an unknowing founder or grandfather (you might say) of New Thought. Henry David Thoreau was also a member of the group. Ms. Fuller edited and wrote for THE DIAL magazine, the literary and philosophical journal of the Transcendentalists. Her book "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" profoundly affected the women’s rights movement and its first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York in July 1848. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, wrote in "History of Woman Suffrage" in 1881:

...Fuller possessed more influence on the thought of
American women than any woman previous to her time.

Fuller also fought for prison reform, abolitionism and educational and political equality. Although she did not teach New Thought principles directly, her association with Emerson, puts her on the list in my book.

Next, we have:

Annetta Seabury Dresser

Annetta Dresser, along with her husband Julius, were patients, students and teachers of Phineas Quimby's mental healing methods (Quimby is considered the father of New Thought for his work). They spoke the loudest in the claim that Mary Baker Eddy had stolen his methods in the creation of her books and the teaching called Christian Science. After his death, the Dressers continued to teach Quimby's methods. Their son, Horatio, wrote a famous biography on Phineas Quimby.

Speaking of Mary Baker Eddy, we next look at the works of:

Genevieve Behrand

A former student of Christian Science and Ms. Eddy, Genevieve Behrand became disillusioned by Eddy's work and wanted to study with Judge Thomas Troward (author of "The Creative Process in the Individual" and "The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science"), but she lacked the money to travel to Cornwall, England, where he lived. Every night and morning she visualized counting out twenty $1,000 bills, buying her ticket to London, travelling on the ship and being accepted as a pupil. She constantly affirmed “My mind is a center of Divine operations.” From her book, Your Invisible Power:

While these reflections were going on in my mind, there seemed to come up from within me the thought: 'I am all the substance there is.' Then, from another channel in my brain the answer seemed to come, 'Of course, that's it; everything must have its beginning in mind. The I, the Idea, must be the only one and primary substance there is, and this means money as well as everything else.'  My mind accepted this idea, and immediately all the tension of mind and body was relaxed.

In six weeks, she received the money and, from 1912 - 1914, Behrand studied with Thomas Troward. In fact, she was the only personal student he ever had. Later, she founded a New Thought school called The School of the Builders in New York City and, in 1925, she founded another one in Los Angeles while traveling throughout North America lecturing on mental science and New Thought for 35 years, as well as giving radio broadcasts. She wrote:

Your ability, at all times, to use the unfailing power which is yours

depends upon your recognition of its presence.

Doesn't that sound familiar? She's talking about the first and second steps in spiritual mind treatment:  Recognition and Unification, without which the rest of the affirmative prayer is, at best, lackluster in its effectiveness. Whereas, if we live these first two steps, be the vibration of this recognition / unification, the rest of the treatment work is assured to be a success.

Speaking of success, our next Divine Feminine leader of the New Thought Movement is:

Elizabeth Towne

Elizabeth Towne was a successful publisher, editor, and writer. She was also a student of Emma Curtis Hopkins (who we will talk about later). In June 1900, Towne began publishing Nautilus Magazine. This publication went from a 4500 copy, four pager to an illustrated mag of 50 thousand copies, all of which were mailed from the Holyoke, Mass. home she shared with her husband. Many New Thought writers contributed to the Nautilus, such as Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Horatio W. Dresser and William Walker Atkinson (one of the leading New Thought writers of the time). In 1924, Elizabeth Towne was elected president of the International New Thought Alliance and assumed editorship of the INTA periodical Bulletin, in which she doubled its size and readership. She wrote over 30 books including:  "Experiences in Self-Healing," "Health Through New Thought and Fasting (with Wallace Wattles)," "How to Grow Success," and "Joy Philosophy." In her book, "The Life Power and How to Use It," she tells us:

Man is a magnet, and every line and dot and detail of his experiences come by his own attraction. To all who want to accomplish something I say, Go into the silence regularly for power and wisdom to accomplish.

In other words, the mental equivalent to your experience is the thoughts, feelings and beliefs you have, which attracted that experience like a magnet to steel. Another great quote, this time from her book (I love this title) "Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus" says:

The Solar Plexus, or sun center, is to the human body precisely what the visible sun is to the solar system.
It is the source of all life and light;
it is the manufacturer of life and light.
Every effort of the individual is for the one purpose of
freeing him to breathe; to inhale intelligent will; retain it until
it has rejuvenated every cell and become tinctured
with the essence of his being; and to EXHALE it as still more intelligent will for the accomplishment of his purposes. Man breathes in intelligent will; focuses it within; and radiates it in new and more powerful form.

I have to say it again, I love that title, Just How to Wake the Solar Plexus, and the quote reminds me

of that great affirming breathing practice of inhaling and saying or thinking, "God Is" and exhaling with the knowledge, thought or verbiage, "I Am." A powerful, calming, connecting and Divine-affirming practice.

Our next Divine Feminine New Thought leader is the multi-talented:

Florence Scovel Shinn

An illustrator of children's magazines and books, Florence's success was interrupted by the failure of her marriage in 1912. This disruption led her to a more intense examination of her life and its meaning. She turned to New Thought and became a New Thought teacher and writer. She wrote "The Game of Life and How to Play It," which she self-published (remember this is in the early 1900's, not as easy a task as today). She later wrote "Your Word is Your Wand" in 1928 and "The Secret Door to Success" which was published by her students using a compilation of her notes. In "The Game of Life and How to Play It", Ms. Shinn wrote:

The game of life is a game of boomerangs.
Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.

What goes around, comes around. Thoughts are things, yes? And from "The Secret Door to Success" we find something similar that Dr. Wayne Dyer and others have had much success in writing about:

Change your thoughts, and in the twinkling of an eye,
all your conditions change.
Your world is a world of crystallized ideas, crystallized words.
Sooner or later, you reap the fruits of your words and thoughts.
Powerful, simple Truth.

Out next women, not only contributed to the New Thought Movement, they created a religion:

Melinda Cramer and Nona Brooks

 

Ms. Cramer and Brooks were Ministers, authors, and most importantly for the Movement, founders of Divine Science. They explained their philosophy thusly:

The whole of Divine Science is the practice of the Presence of God.
Truth comes through the Bible, Affirmative prayer, contemplation
and meditation and the practice of the presence of God here and now.

It is important to note that both Ernest Holmes (author of "The Science of Mind") and Charles Fillmore (founder of Unity) were ordained Divine Science ministers before their more notable fame and successes were achieved. Which brings us to another Divine Feminine of New Thought:

Myrtle Fillmore

Along with her younger husband, Charles, Myrtle Fillmore founded the Unity Church of Practical Christianity. She was also a student of Emma Curtis Hopkins (as were her husband and Ernest Holmes). From one of her books, "From How To Let God Help You," written in 1897, is this poetic gesture of belief called MY FAITH:

I do not believe in evil. I believe in Good.

I do not believe in sin. I believe in Truth.

I do not believe in want. I believe in Abundance.

I do not believe in death. I believe in Life.

I do not believe in evil. I believe in Good.

I do not believe in ignorance. I believe in Intelligence.

There are no discords in my being. Being is peace.

My faith, understanding and love are becoming one.

"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Another Truth teller and organization leader was:

Annie Rix Militz

Ms. Militz was the founder of Home of Truth, an inclusive community in which to learn, practice and express ourselves as unique expressions of the Divine (they are located in Alameda, CA). Annie was another student of Emma Curtis Hopkins and later lectured and taught at Unity Churches. She moved to Los Angeles in 1911 and opened the University of Christ and a major metaphysical library to train New Thought teachers. Later, she started Master Mind Magazine, which was comprised of lessons and discussions on theology, the bible, prosperity, immortality, soul communion, planet healing, healing circles and much more. She continued publishing the magazine till passing on June 22, 1924. Annie Rix Militz wrote five books. In her address to the Boston class of 1918, she said:

The absolute truth is, that there is but One Being in the universe, and that one is God; that man is nothing of himself, separate from God; that it is a delusion, a false belief, that there is any separation that is real. The doctrine that destroys this delusion of separateness and proves the unity between God and Man; between God and His world; between God and the one Power, Good, is that called The Atonement. The word atonement defines itself, when it is divided into its syllables: the first syllable is "at," the second is "one," the last syllable is "ment," this Latin ending meaning "state of being." The whole word means "the state of being at one." This is the simple, direct definition of the word "atonement"-the state of being at one. 

Being at One with the Divine within was the logical, practical teaching of our next thought leader of which I could not find a photo of...

Mildred Mann

Ms. Mann lived from 1904–1971 and founded the N. Y. Society of Religious Pragmatism, which was later reorganized as the Society of Pragmatic Mysticism in Vermont. Her many books include, "Mind and Consciousness," "Pragmatic Mysticism," and "Become What You Believe" in which she defines her "Seven Steps in Demonstration:"

Desire. Get a strong enthusiasm for that which you want in your life.

Decision. Know definitely what you want and be willing to pay in spiritual values.

Ask...assuredly and enthusiastically in simple, concise language.

Believe...in the accomplishment with strong faith, consciously and subconsciously.

Work...at it a few minutes daily, seeing yourself in the finished picture without outlined details.

Feel gratitude....in your heart and always remember to say, "Thank you, God." It is the most powerful prayer we can ever make, provided we really feel it.

Feel expectancy. Train yourself to live in a state of happy expectancy. Act it until it becomes part of you, as it must and will.

Sound familiar? And then there's this:

We train ourselves to think positively and constructively. Take any particular problem in your life, and face up to it. Don't deny that it exists, because it does, and has, through the sustenance your thought has given it. Now, you decide you are going to change your diet. You are going to put that problem on a starvation routine, by refusing to nourish it with thoughts which have fed it so far. You look through it; you realize it is but a shadow, because behind it lies the perfect pattern given you by your God. You make your mind dwell on that. When your thought slips back to the worry or fear patterns it has known, pull it back to positive thinking, and stick to it. Remind yourself that you are a child of God. Within you is locked the perfection of Divinity  and only you have the key to open it. No one can do that for you. You can only turn the key by turning your thought, and you can only keep the door open by keeping your thought turned in the direction of positive, constructive thinking.

Turning away from the condition does not mean denying or ignoring its shadow, it's looking at it from a different light, a Divine light in which the darkness loses its power over you and eventually goes away. How's that for being simultaneously pragmatic and metaphysical?

Now let's find a bit about one of our best selling New Thought Divine Feminists:

Emilie Cady

Dr. Emilie Cady was a metaphysician and chiropractor. Also a student of Emma Curtis Hopkins, she was an avid reader of Emerson. She wrote for Unity Magazine and helped start the organization with the Fillmores. Her most famous book, LESSONS IN TRUTH, has sold over 1.5 million copies since its publication in 1896. In it, she wrote:

God is not only the Creative Cause of every visible form of intelligence and life at its commencement:  but each moment throughout its existence [God] lives within every created thing as the Life, the ever-renewing, re-creating, up-building cause of it. [God] never is and never can be for a moment separated from [Its] creations.

You might have noticed that the last few of our thought leaders were instructed by the same teacher, who also schooled Dr. Ernest Holmes, William Walker Atkinson and Charles Fillmore; known as the THE TEACHER OF TEACHERS:

Emma Curtis Hopkins

By now, there should be no questioning why Emma Curtis Hopkins was called "the teacher of teachers." This scientific Christian, also called an “inspired mystic,” can easily be titled “the mother of New Thought,” and “New Thought’s forgotten founder.” Emma was an ardent feminist who believed in the goodness and innate spirituality in women (as well as, not in comparison to men) and ordained over 111 of her advanced graduates, both male and female, as ministers and another 350 or more as healing practitioners at the Emma Curtis Hopkins College of Metaphysical Science in Chicago, Illinois. Note that Ernest Holmes studied with her in the last year of her life on this plain of action.

Whether reading her first book, "Scientific Christian Mental Practice," her magnum opus, "High Mysticism," or the other more than two-dozen works, every page is chock full of quotes from the Bible and the other sacred texts of the world, both Eastern and Western. She sought to reveal the Truth that runs through all of them by illustrating her translations, interpretations and commentary on the subjects of the Divinity of Man and our ability to use this mystic ability for healing. Here is a great example of this powerful and one of the most influential theologians and leaders of the New Thought Movement:

My god is working with me, for me, by me, and through me, to make me a living demonstration of the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient good, in the form of health, prosperity, success, and wealth! There is a sure helper in every man, woman, and child, who will give you and I the desires of our heart, if we turn to no other source but the spirit. Now for you, who have been so good and true, and

who have prayed and prayed ... Nothing seems to happen.

Get quiet. Sit down. Watch and wait . . .

There will come an hour when the tree of life will burst into flower and cast at your feet the most glorious shower of things far grander

than you ever knew!

Ye are above the wheel of matter and the net-work of mind. Ye are light of the world--free, flawless, immortal.

Powerful stuff from this no-nonsense, Divine knowing feminist and prophet.

I want to close with a poem by the woman who might be considered the poet laureate of the New Thought Movement:

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Another student of Emma Curtis Hopkins, in her 1902 book, "Poems of Power," she wrote:

BEGIN THE DAY

Begin each morning with a talk to God, 

And ask for your divine inheritance 

Of usefulness, contentment and success. 

Resign all fear, all doubt, and all despair. 

The stars doubt not, and they are undismayed, 

Though whirled through space for countless centuries, 

And told not why or wherefore: and the sea 

With everlasting ebb and flow obeys, 

And leaves the purpose with the unseen Cause. 

The star sheds radiance on a million worlds, 

The sea is prodigal with waves, and yet 

No luster from the star is lost, and not 

One drop is missing from the ocean tides. 

Oh, brother to the star and sea, know all 

God's opulence is held in trust for those 

Who wait serenely and who work in faith.

Hey Lady....thank you for your blessings and Namaste!

Affirmation

I affirm my connection to the Divine Feminine in me. The creative essence that awakens my consciousness and life to the Source and Substance of my Supply:  my mind, body, spirit, pocketbook, relationships and all experiences – God. I ground myself to Sacred Mother Earth connecting to the Creative Medium, the very energy of giving birth to ideas, expressions, dreams, revelations and declarations; sanctifying my life in the pool of magnificence, prosperity and Love.

Science of Mind: The Next 100 Years

I am proud to be a Religious Scientist.

I am proud to be part of a 100 year old philosophy, faith and way of life.

I am proud to be part of a 180+ year movement of New Thought and mental science, taking the Ancient/Ageless Wisdom of Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and many other isms, along with the teachings of Yeshua, Moses, Plato, the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, the Tao, the Apanishads, and so many more and melding all that with the advances in quantum physics and consciousness sciences.

In his book, The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes stated "Religious Science is a correlation of laws of science, opinions of philosophy, and revelations of religion applied to human needs and the aspirations of man." He also stated that Religious Science/Science of Mind  is not based on any "authority" of established beliefs, but rather on "what it can accomplish" for the people who practice it. Whether I and others in this Movement are speaking, writing or teaching this philosophy, the idea is to always state how to think in order to manifest one's greatest good, not what to think in order to receive favor from a Santa Claus version of the Divine.  There is no favor to receive, it is always there as a birthright to each of us. It is a power for Good (unconditional Love) and we get to decide what that good (the experience) looks like.

It was 100 years ago this year that Dr. Holmes wrote his first book....

It was the precursor, along with CREATIVE MIND AND SUCCESS, to his masterpiece/magnum opus and what is considered the textbook of a Religious Scientist and many other New Thought thinkers, THE SCIENCE OF MIND (originally titled THE SCIENCE OF MIND AND SPIRIT).

In CREATIVE MIND, Dr. Holmes laid out the basic tenets of the Religious Science philosophy. He wrote about who, what and why we are; stating that "Spirit is the first cause in the creative Universe" - call It God, Father/Mother, Divine Intelligence, the Power, the Force, the Big Bang, the Genesis, whichever (God doesn't care) - and that "Man is the outcome of the desire of that Spirit to make something which expresses the same life that It feels."  Here, I would refer you to the Burning Bush in the Old Testament's Exodus describing Itself as the "ehyeh asher ehyeh", the "I Am that I AM." Basically, Dr. Holmes was saying that there is One Mind and we are an individualization of that Mind, a personification of that Universal Power, call It what you may. Or as it says in the Gospels, "the Kingdom of Heaven is within."

In the book we are celebrating this year, Ernest Holmes also stated the concept of "The Law of Life is always with us and for us." Speaking here about the Law of Cause and Effect or the Law of Attraction or Correspondence, etc.  He pronounced the Law's function at the beginning of every broadcast of his radio show or as he began his television show...

And we are using it right now!

That was during the last 100 years and many other books and periodicals, blogs and lectures from various New Thought and transformational leaders have taught and inspired us from those same or similar ideas that Dr. Holmes and others of his time wrote about. 

But what about the next 100 years?

One of Holmes's most passionate beliefs was that our teaching should stay "open at the top" to new insights.  He stated that "nothing in our teaching is cast in stone."  He even wrote about the idea that if in 100 years you are still depending on the Science of Mind book, you didn't get it. He didn't state that to discount his work or that of any of the New Thought and Ageless Wisdom writings. He wanted us to keep progressing through his teachings, those of the Ancient/Ageless Wisdom and what is now considered the beginnings of the New Thought Movement (i.e. Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists, Phineas Quimby and mental healing, Thomas Troward's clear and concise writing on the metaphysical mysticism of mental science, Emma Curtis Hopkins' open at the top perspective and teaching of "High Mysticism" and "Scientific Christian Mental Practice" to the 20th centuries' new thought leaders, and several others) to the point where science and metaphysics met and beyond. Dr. Holmes stated:

Whenever you find truth, it belongs to everybody. You can't patent or copyright it. Truth isn't a product of our thinking. It exists. You must have faith and confidence in your own interpretation of God, man and the universe.

February was Black History Month. Last Sunday, on February 25th, I read of a man, who on that date in 1870, using his strengths as one of faith and confidence, began to share his wisdom and position in the advancement of not only the rights and dignity of the African American people, but for all, and in a way that was never before done or even allowed. His name was Hiram Rhodes Revels. He was a Mississippi Republican and also a minister of the AME Church. On that day in 1870, Rev. Revels took the oath of office as the 1st African American Senator of the U. S. Congress. 

It wasn't easy for Revels. His credentials arrived in the Senate on February 23rd and was immediately blocked by a few Democrats who had no desire to see a black man serve in Congress. They argued that Revels had not been a U.S. citizen for the required nine years as black Americans became citizens with the passage of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, just four years earlier. Revels was born a freeman and his supporters dismissed that statement, pointing out that he had been a voter many years earlier in Ohio. When it came to the vote, the Senate voted 48 to 8 to seat Revels. 

Republican Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts sized up the importance of the moment as he roared, "All men are created equal, says the great Declaration, and now a great act attests this verity. Today we make the Declaration a reality.  The Declaration was only half established by Independence. The greatest duty remained behind. In assuring the equal rights of all, we complete the work."

Senator Revels only served for a year or so, however he was the forerunner of the ex-slave Blanche K. Bruce serving six years starting in 1874, Edward Brooke (R-Mass) who served two senatorial terms from 1967-1979, Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL), President Barack Obama, and six others including, most recently, California's Kamala Harris, and, as well, over 140 in the House of Representatives.

A preacher, educator, administrator, Senator, former Republican (he later left party), Revels was the embodiment, the flesh and blood of the 15th amendment, which stated...

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

...and, as well, the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which read...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We, as Religious Scientists, are the embodiment of the Science of Mind and Spirit.  We are the flesh and blood of the next 100 years of this philosophy. As Religious Scientists we must be bold in our word, clear in our thoughts, strong in our feelings, consistent in our spiritual practice, and always, always connected through our hearts.

We have launched a Movement which, in the next 100 years, will continue to be what Holmes called "the great new religious impulsion of modern times, far exceeding, in its capacity to envelop the world, anything that has happened since Mohammedanism started." He continued, "We have to have the same faith in what we teach and practice that the scientist has, or the gardener has, and when that great simplicity shall have plumbed and penetrated this density of ours, this human stolidness and stupidity, this debauchery of the intellect and the soul, something new and wonderful will happen. It is the only thing that will keep the world from destroying itself."

The next 100 years is about not only learning to walk this talk, but living this talk and being this talk, as around we walk. It is time we all be about the living of the Science of Mind and Spirit, not only in and for our own experience, but that of our community, city, state, country and planet. It is time we commit to standing tall and positioning ourselves mentally, spiritually and physically in declaring that we all are to be "devoted to knowing the Truth that sets humanity free from the problem of ignorance; that Truth which alone can bring enlightenment to the world, that war should cease, that people should live together in harmony because they have recognized the Divinity within each other," as Holmes stated. We are all called to be heart-centered, take a stand and step into Spirit-based social justice either with treasure, time, talent or a mixture of the three.

How do we do that, take a stand mentally, spiritually and physically?  In the dream I have written about before; the one where I met the Law of Cause and Effect, the gist of it was that where we take our stand in Mind and Heart, using our imagination, intuition and intention, matters. Do we take our stand on Truth Trail or Lack Lane? Is it on Fear Avenue or Faith Freeway? Is action taken with the perspective that we live on I Don't Deserve It Drive or Belief Boulevard?  We can teach the world that standing on Spirit Street or Truth Trail will not only recognize the Divinity within each other, it will show our magnificence and theirs. Faith, Love, Declaration, Revelation, Intention, Gratitude are all energy, expressed. As Albert Einstein would say...

And he wasn't alone. Nikola Tesla stated...

As well, many neuroscientists and psychiatrists, who are using the method of empirical or measurable evidence, are finding that consciousness is an intrinsic property of everything, like gravity. Many gather together yearly to discuss the crossroads of consciousness and science with the Dalai Lama at his Mind and Life conference.

So, let's make the next 100 years of the Science of Mind and Spirit one of making a cosmos out of the chaos we may be in at present, ease out of all the dis-ease there is the world, a harmonious balance of the Divine Feminine and Masculine in all genders, equality out of the imbalances that still exist in our systems, and most of all, love out of the ignorance's we face. Since all is energy, we can match the frequency of cosmos, ease, harmony, equality and love in Mind, Heart and body; in thought, feeling, belief and, especially, action. When we do the mental work, then take action, not only for our good, but for that of our world, we uplift everyone and everything.

There is One Mind, the Mind of God, and we have the Power of that Mind to use, be, and live in the vibration of Good. And to spread the joy of that communion of that vibration to illuminate, populate and celebrate our magnificence and that of everyone on Mother Earth.

Namaste!

Another Year, More Advice, Resolutions Abound ...Now What?

In the last week or two you have received much advise, tools, opinions, steps, goals and calls to action in blog posts, emails, tweets, newsletters, posts and Instagrams, Tumblrs, videos, mp3's or memes of one or another; describing what to do now that it is the new year, 2018. We hear it's the...

Year to come clean!

Best year to be seen!

or you should be...

Loud and proud - livin' the dream!

Slogans, sayings, quips, affirmations and quotes have been coming at you for days telling you what to do, what to say, what or how to think, affirming your ancestry and touting the inheritance of your prosperity. You're told that you are perfect, whole and complete right now, you're Divine Intelligence incarnate and individualized, and if you change your thoughts, you'll change your life. The Pope said to get rid of useless baggage (and he didn't mean the luggage in the garage). Deepak Chopra wants you to detoxify, meditate, rid yourself of self-judgement and choose to live in balance. Mike Dooley of TUT fame, is knowing we need to transcend, rise above, and live happily in abundance, health, and harmony...and that we all have the tools within to do so. Jim Lockard, the New Thought Evolutionary, encourages us to be part of a New Years Revolution. He wrote:

The key role of spiritual community today and in the future is to be places where such deep transformational work can be done in a safe and supportive environment. What the world needs now is empowered and realized evolutionary souls to contribute to an expanding consciousness of compassion, love, and service.

Dennis Merritt Jones talked about the seven practices that will shape your new year:  opening your mind to new possibilities, forgiving, writing down goals, challenging old patterns, being mindful, getting or being your own cheerleader and setting aside time to connect to the Presence of your Higher Power. 

Yes, ministers, preachers, philosophers, investors, parents, teachers, trainers, coaches, friends and enemies all have the secret to your 2018:  

buy this

avoid that

support them

stop doing something

start thinking something

...be your best!  

Advice is everywhere:  the folks at ThoughtCatalog.com published the article...

This Is The No Bullshit Advice You Need To Hear For 2018, 

Based On Your Zodiac Sign

And Forbes, Vogue, Business Insider, HuffPost, AARP, Dr. Hollywell, Mark Cuban, Fortune Magazine, Tony Robbins, Marianne Williamson, and soooo many others have shown you how to have the best investments, health, sex, fitness plan, anniversary destination or diet in 2018; and how to refresh your career and de-clutter your closet, office and life in 2018 or just simply how to be happier this new year the Gregorian calendar calls 2018. All great stuff. All fabulous reminders. All ideas to incorporate into your life. And not much different than you were told in 2016 or 2015 or too many other years.

SO NOW WHAT?

And what does the New Thought Guy want to tell you about 2018...

and a week into the game, no less?

Sorry, nothing new, nothing that I haven't told you before - nothing that you don't already know, though it may be hiding in the recesses of your mind and/or you aren't consciously and intentionally using It. I am here to joyfully remind you of what is already there, what you get to work with, what is all you need to be in your life to have all those things and activities that were listed in the first few paragraphs.  I don't mean to discount the tools the others have informed you or reminded you about - I like the reminders, too. What I want to remind you or inform you about is who and what is using these tools.

You (we, all of us) are always at choice, always have volition (conscious choice) and always get to decide what to resolve, transform, transcend and transmit. It is not something that needs to be put into any of us, though one might be required to re-ignite it now and again for purposeful / intentional use. It is not a secret kept from us, for even if one is intellectually ignorant of It, It reveals Itself everyday, if you care to listen and observe. It is something we were each born with and which can't be removed from us. It is the greatest gift and power of them all:

Divine Love

This is not some mushy, New Age-y, greeting card kind of love. This is that unconditional, non-judgmental, omniscient, omnipresent Love:

All Life is bound together by One common law of Love, and Love is the Self-Givingness of Spirit, manifested in and through all that is visible and invisible. It was the realization of this One Presence that illumined the saints and sages of the past.     ~Ernest Holmes

This unlimited, infinite Power that created everything, call It what you may, is that which empowers you. It is that which is beyond the physical, but is in your physicality. Is that which all the tools and goals and advise that is taken must be worked through, if they are to work consistently.

It is the Divine Matrix by which you are powered and empowered. It is the triune nature of your belief and manifestation process - the engine to create your best thoughts, plans, decisions and action. It is that holistic confluence of the creative force of your thoughts, feelings and perception. It is the balanced use of your mind, heart and gut (your imagination/intuition), that which molds your beliefs and then manifests into your experiences.

As I said in my November blog, SHOW ME THE GOOD, most have the mind thing down:

...the intellect and logic functions are always at play, the synapses are firing and the electro-chemical workings of the brain are flowing with the "I declare this in my life!" or "I reveal that in my life!" instructions. Other affirmations, prayers, declarative decisions are said, thought, contemplated and meditated upon using or starting with this mental function.



Some have the gut thing, the intuition and imagination thing going steadily:

...knowing what you want looks, smells, tastes, and sounds like and what its texture is. They use that intuition and constructive creativity, which is a direct infusion from the Divine, to create a symphonic symbiosis of the senses, describing and bringing to life, through this synesthesia, goals, desires, health, things, etc.

But the main connection....the one that matters most is that which we usually only think of as that muscle which pumps the blood through the circulatory system of our bodies.  But it is this often misunderstood organ that plays the greatest part in the Divine Matrix, the triune nature of that which is truly going to bring you the best 2018 that you could have: 

...the heart. 

And more specifically, the heart-brain connection.  

From the HeartMath Institute:

In the new field of neurocardiology, for example, scientists have discovered that the heart possesses its own intrinsic nervous system—a network of nerves so functionally sophisticated as to earn the description of a “heart brain.” Containing over 40,000 neurons, this “little brain” gives the heart the ability to independently sense, process information, make decisions, and even to demonstrate a type of learning and memory. In essence, it appears that the heart is truly an intelligent system. Research has also revealed that the heart is a hormonal gland, manufacturing and secreting numerous hormones and neurotransmitters that profoundly affect brain and body function. Among the hormones the heart produces is oxytocin—well known as the “love” or “bonding hormone.” Science has only begun to understand the effects of the electromagnetic fields produced by the heart, but there is evidence that the information contained in the heart’s powerful field may play a vital synchronizing role in the human body—and that it may affect others around us as well.

To have intentional conscious creation - to be consistent in your power to accomplish those 2018 goals, use those new or renewed tools, heed the great calls to action you have been reading about these last weeks for a great, love-filled, prosperous, and vibrant 2018 - tap into the triune nature of your being. Use your birthright of that Divine Matrix in you and around you to inform and empower your every move, thought, feeling and belief. I am constantly reminding all of us (myself included) that thoughts + feelings = belief ... and belief = experience. These thoughts and feelings are informed not only by the brain, but that of the heart-mind and the constructive intuition/imagination that is directed by the creative energy of the Universe. So, before, during and after you start using these recommendations from your favorite experts....

Put Your Hand on Your Heart

And Listen

The Universe is calling you to your greatness and is there to assist in whatever old, new or renewed plan or goal or call to action you have to live a prosperous life in every corner of your life.

Many blessings beloved reader and a joyous 2018!

The Gift of Hallelujah

The Gift of Hallelujah

In 1984, Leonard Cohen gave us a gift in the song Hallelujah.

Thought not popular at its release, over the years, especially the last dozen, it has become a recurring hit for many recording artists, featured in several television shows and theatrical films, and has been performed quite often in the New Thought spiritual centers throughout the planet - it is considered as the "baseline" of secular hymns and is one of the 500 best songs per Rolling Stone magazine. I have sung it a few times myself and as I studied Cohen's lyrics, it inspired me to dig deep into the stories that inspired its songwriter. The story starts with this:

Well I heard there was a secret chord

That David played and it pleased the Lord

….

Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth

The minor fall and the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

The story comes from 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. The baffled king spoken of is David, the youngest son of eight. Before he became King, David was a very protective sheep-herder that was well spoken, handsome, very connected to Nature and Spirit, a happy camper in life and evidently quite the charmer on the harp. The present King was Saul. Saul was

kind of a jerk:  forceful, willful, arrogant, tyrannical and destructive. He ruled by his head and not through his heart, pushing his rule from his consciousness of fear and lack ... taking, taking, taking. After many years of this, it started to take its toll, bringing dis-ease into his life. Saul became melancholic and at times violent, having consistent bouts of migraines, and the only panacea was music. Because of David's skill on the harp, he was summoned to sooth Saul with music. David immediately won the affection of King Saul, his music proving to be so effective in quieting the frenzied monarch, he was sent for quite often.

In metaphysical terms, David represents the beloved, the loved. He lived the essence of Divine Love individualized in human consciousness; one who daily communes with God and reflects divinity in all he thinks, does, acts on and reacts to. David may not have used these words, but he lived his life knowing the Universe has his back. He trusted Nature and Love to watch over him. Saul, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.  According to the metaphysical dictionary of Charles Fillmore, Saul represents the will functioning in the limitations of personality. Saul signifies personal will. He represents the "consciousness that is willful and stubborn, shy and impulsive, yet very brave under great stress. When first chosen as king, Saul was very humble; and true humility is one of the first qualifications for spiritual leadership. The will is a very complex phase of the mind, however, and its paradoxes often perplex the most acute."

All of this represents the power of Love (David) to harmonize the discords set up by disconnected thinking and violent consciousness (Saul). David was an innocent here.

He was just Being, he didn't think of himself or his music as magical, he was a heart-centered guy singing the Universe's praise. Which leads me to the title of the song, Hallelujah. 

The transliteration of the Hebrew of Hallelujah is:

hallalu - joyous praise in song

yah (short of yahweh) - God

Later, when he fought Goliath, King Saul offered his armor and weapons to do battle with. But David refused the armor ... he trusted his strengths and instincts (the sling)

That which is natural for him, the Truth to know he would prevail in a fight that didn't for all accounts look to be in his favor. But David knew the what, spoke his Word, and trusted the Universe to deliver the how:  Key to his success!  Interestingly, he killed Goliath with a shot to his forehead, the 7^th chakra area, the connection to Divine Intelligence

After he became king, David started believing his own propaganda. He got more and more into his head … without his heart. He began to depart from from what I call the...

Divine Matrix:  

the confluent integration of mind, heart and intuition/imagination

And that leads me back to the song – verse two:

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Now Cohen is melding the David and Bathsheba story with the Samson and Delilah story … and that's good. Both David and Samson became dependent on the physical, the accomplishments, the ego, the head – not the Divine within.

They weren't telling the Universe, I want what he's having;” meaning the flavor, the essence of a Bathsheba or Delilah, but that woman, the Bathsheba and Delilah.  They wanted to take, not receive. They thought they deserved it - their “status” deserved it. And that was misusing the Law of Cause and Effect.  For when you demand of the Universe that which is not yours to demand (i.e. someone else's property or someone's own choice in the matter [i.e. Bathsheba and Delilah]), the Universe reads that idea in your belief system as "I want to take/steal that" because "I can't have" or "I am full of lack without..." is screaming its limited idea to the Universe. That's trying to receive your Good from a lack and limitation consciousness, not trusting the Universe will provide the best version of the “that” (her, known as Delilah and Bathsheba) for you. Also, you may think you want x.y or z; but that may actually end up being settling for what is not best for you. We all have fantasies of ... well, for example, you may think you want Brad Pitt or Bathsheba or so and so's house, etc.; but you don't know what Brad Pitt is really like - he could be the biggest jerk of them all. What "Brad Pitt' represents is what you probably desire:  the success, the looks, the six-pack, etc. Hopefully you go a bit deeper than that, but that's what you want to require from the Universe. And then let the Universe will bring you the best version of that "Brad Pitt", etc.

These dorks (David and Samson) were so blinded by desire, they couldn't think straight:

    

    Samson knew that Delilah was a member of his enemies community, but that didn't stop        him. Delilah kept asking for the secret to his strength (5x), but, in his blindness and        

    arrogance, he didn't get what was going on. And we know how that story ended.

     And David:

      A. he's married, she's married and he knows it

      B. wants her so much, he sleeps with her anyway

      C. she gets pregnant
      D. David tries to hide it by bringing her husband back from battle, but they don't sleep                 together, so
      E. David sends her husband to front lines, where he was killed
      F. the son of David and Bathsheba dies in early childhood

Come on now, how dumb can a guy be? Yeah, I know, you don't have to answer. They, like so many of us, male and female, old and young, just...

Ignored the red flags

They were so disconnected to their intuition, their inner wisdom that they were deaf to the calling from the Universe:  the hints, the whispers, the repeated warnings from Divine Intelligence that a dumb mistake was being made.

Have you ever done that – ignore the red flags?

Did David and Sampson really think the Law didn't know about their lack and limitation consciousness? Do you? The Law is always at work and is no respecter of persons:

Hence, it follows that if we believe that It will not work, It really works by appearing to “not work”. When we believe that It cannot and will not, then, according to the principle, IT DOES NOT. But when It does not, It still does – only It does according to our belief that It will not. This is our own punishment [inevitable consequence] through the law of cause and effect; we do not enter in because of our doubts and fears. It is not a punishment imposed upon us by the Spirit of God, but an automatic result of failing constructively to use the law.

                                                                 ~Ernest Holmes THE SCIENCE OF MIND, p. 52-5

These boys were ruled by ego, those thoughts and actions dependent on looks, status, pretty wife, successful husband, wealth, achievements ... the “I'm gonna take, otherwise I won't have” syndrome.

The problem is not the ego itself. The problem is when the ego takes the driver’s seat of your soul. And it will. Every. Single. Time. Human existence was destined to be ego-driven. However, I also believe human existence is destined to realize that it is ego-driven and then have the greater realization that the ego is all an illusion...The only true reality is the eternal nature that is the indwelling spirit (God) inside each and every one of us. THAT spirit is both eternal and unchanging.    

    ~JOSHUA TILGHMAN - Spirit of the Scripture blog

Remember:  we have volition, we are always at choice. We choose to listen by Edging God Out or Entertaining God Only. We choose to listen to our head and ignore our intuition and heart. 

And now let's get into the third verse:

.....
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

What Word are you speaking in your beliefs?

When the will proves inadequate to the gaining of self-dominion what does our higher judgment reveal to us as the remedy? It shows us that the heart, not the head, is the dominant factor in life. Love (David) is more powerful than the will (Saul) to direct us into the way of self-dominion. Where there is a conscious subjective unity of head and heart victory is assured. Man can overcome every enemy, and establish a great kingdom, like David, by uniting and harmonizing the spiritual forces of his being.                

~Charles Fillmore

David did this, he learned his lesson and returned to heart-centered living. This whole lesson points to the heart as the center through which Spirit rules and the best decisions are conceived, intuited and made. As it says in the Samuel 16:7...
  

Jehovah looks on the heart 

-the Law works its stuff through your beliefs-

When you find that your willful self-rule is not proving a harmonious outcome – which you will, get still and:

Treat (affirmative prayer), Meditate...

Spark a Flame in the Divine Matrix

You can always come back from the misstep, the missing of the mark, the mistake, the short dumb journey into the head...

Practice Self Forgiveness!

The above is the ho'oponopono prayer

And now, with self forgiveness intact, the last verse reveals how to live the rest of your life:

.....

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

And even though some things went wrong

I'll stand before the Lord of Song

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Nothing on my tongue but praises and trust of that Divine within

Nothing on my tongue but the song of Love, prosperity, vibrancy and vitality

Nothing on my tongue but gratitude for my blessings and lessons

Nothing on my tongue but Truth …

!!Can I Get a Hallelujah!!

An affirmation:  I am the hero/heroine of my journey and I choose Love; I choose Grace and I choose to boldly stand before All with Divine Power and Wisdom guiding me.