I love speaking at services in various faith communities, especially if people bring their open hearts and minds. Today I had the joy of offering ideas at New Thought Philadelphia which is aligned with the concepts of Ernest Holmes.
Science of Mind uses a five-step affirmative prayer called spiritual mind treatment. The five steps are:
1. Recognition—know that God is all there is.
2. Unification—know that you are one with God.
3. Declaration—state your word for the circumstance you want to manifest.
4. Thanksgiving—give thanks for your word being acted upon by the Law of mind.
5. Release—“And so it is!”
Although this is not the tradition in which I was raised, it makes perfect sense to this ‘Spiritual Gypsy’ who has a buffet style practice when it comes to aligning with the Divine.
This service was led by the two Spiritual Directors, Rev. Dave Schpok and Rev. Bill Marchiony. Both God-infused guys who have been part of my overlapping soul circles for many years, they set the tone for a powerful morning. There had been a snowstorm yesterday with residual ice and freezing temps here in chilly Philly, so turnout was sparse. It wouldn’t have mattered how many showed up, since the message I was guided to share, called out to be spoken regardless of who was listening. I usually set an intention to be the hollow reed/instrument through which God plays a song. As I stood on stage, I felt a surge of energy flowing powerfully through me. You know what it’s like, I imagine, engaged in an activity that you feel you were born to do. When I am speaking, it is like I am where I was meant to be. The topic I chose was Pivotal Moments; those times when we are guided to meet specific people, or have particular experiences, as if by divine design.
I think about those elements and know that had I not been at a certain place and time, I am likely to have missed some of the most crucial events and important people who have come into my life…but then again, what if our paths were meant to cross in that ‘big somewhere out there’ , no matter what the circumstances?
Another potent example of that concept occurred right there today. The musician who was scheduled to perform for the service, had a flat tire and couldn’t make it, so another amazing singer who happened to be there, jumped into place. Without rehearsal, he wowed the congregation with a rendition of How Great Thou Art. Had the original singer shown up, Bryn and those gathered, would have missed out on the opportunity to touch Spirit together.
One of the concepts that was explored was about calling into our lives, that which would increase our level of joy. So often, we tell the Universe what it is that we don’t want, for fear of losing what we have or maybe never having what we desire. Instead, it is in our best interest to reframe and focus on what we do want, declaring and claiming it. Then the idea is to use language that reflects it.
One concept that came into play at the end of the service reminds me of handing off the baton in a relay race. It is the idea of setting intention, doing the leg work and then surrendering and turning it over, knowing as either Dave or Bill reminded us, “It’s God’s idea now.” And so it is!
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