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"No
limit can be placed upon the spirit of man. It merges with the
Universal Spirit for the two are really One. God is in us as we
are in God - the same essence, the degree apparently different.
The one finite and the other Infinite, and since the Infinite cannot
come from the finite, it follows that the finite must come from the
Infinite - a little circle within the big circle." -
Dr. Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind
There are two
great Spiritual Principles that we must understand in order to realize
our true relationship with God, Infinite Spirit. We must
understand Omnipresence and that God is "no respecter of
persons." The reason for this is that it does not benefit us
to understand Omnipresence, if we continue to believe that God responds
to some, but not to others. A tele-preacher made the statement
recently that "if you don't accept Jesus as your savior none of
this works" ... he was referring to, "ask and it will be given
to you." Of course, this could not be further from the Truth.
God is "no respecter of persons" ... and God is "no
respecter of religion." There is no god that cares if we are
Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or atheist ... or not! God
responds to our beliefs and our beliefs alone. If I believe that
God responds to my prayer for success ... then God, Universal Principle,
responds to my prayer affirmatively.
To understand Omnipresence, we can use the
example of the air that we breathe; is air divided in fragments? ... is
their your air, my air, someone else's air? ... of course not ... there
is only air. And we all share it ... and we are all surrounded by
it ... and it permeates our physical being ... just like God, Infinite
Presence. Omnipresence means that God surrounds us and in-dwells
us ... just like the air that we breathe. Our separation from God
is an illusion ... and this illusion must be eliminated from our
consciousness, for as we believe that we are "separate and apart
from God" ... it follows that we also believe that we are
"separate and apart from our Good." As we understand the
infinite nature of God, we realize that we are "God, infinitely
individualized" ... this is why the Master Mind Jesus declared,
"don't ye know that ye are gods?" In other words, what
God is in the Infinite, we are in the finite ... it can be no other way.
Is the air that I breathe, different from the air that you breathe? ...
do I have an "exclusive" on the air that I breathe? ... I
guess I might if I refused to exhale ... but then, we know what the
conclusion of this would be!
It is the right and perfect thought to know
that God is "personal" to each of us. Since God is
"in and through us" ... what could possibly be more personal.
God is always with us, always living in us ... this is the Truth.
And as we begin to dwell upon this, the greatest Truth, then we begin to
realize a greater idea of "Unity" ... One Life ... One God ...
One Power ... One!
When the illusions of discord hit our
consciousness ... through our thoughts ... we must cling to God's idea
for us ... "Good and Very Good." God's idea for us never
changes ... even when we are believing that we are sick, poor, lonely or
frightened. God is never "tempted" to believe the
"illusion" ... and this we must keep uppermost in mind as we
make the decision to "reflect God in our thoughts." Each
of us gets to choose how we are to express the divine qualities of God;
strength, completeness, joy, satisfaction ... and however we choose to
express these qualities, let us make it a "conscious choice"
... without limitation to the best of our ability to understand
limitation.
Whenever we feel depressed, frustrated or melancholy
... it is always the best idea to take the time to sit in the silence of
our mind and remind ourselves of the personal nature of God.
Oftentimes, I am asked, as we reflect more and more of God in our
experiences, do we lose our personality? No, we do not. As
we take in the qualities of God in our own unique consciousness, we
differentiate how they are expressed ... and this is but more evidence
of the infinite individualization of God. One of us may find great
joy in owning a BMW X5 ... while someone else may not care for this type
of vehicle at all, but instead finds great joy in owning a Porsche.
Yet, the joy of God is felt in both instances. This is why Emerson
stated, "imitation is suicide" ... it is our nature to be
unique and to express the qualities of God in our own unique way.
God-Personal ...
our relationship to God is personal to each of us ... and God's
relationship to us is also personal. There is no
"far-away" God that wants us to live a life of conformity ...
or dullness. God, Infinite Spirit, is constantly seeking creative
expression ... and we are the best avenue It has for this expression,
for we have the ability to be Co-Creators with God ... through our
choices. As we remind ourselves often of this God-Personal
relationship, we will find ourselves involving God or Good, more and
more in the thoughts and ideas that we entertain in our minds. And
as we do, we will realize, as did the mystics, that God is indeed closer
to us than breathing.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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