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Here
in the United States we will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day this week
on the 23rd and so it is natural to reflect on those in our lives that
we are grateful for. And one of the people in my life that I am
most thankful to is Dr. Robert H. Bitzer, founder of the Hollywood
Church of Religious Science in Hollywood, California. His was the
first Science of Mind lecture that I attended and this lecture changed
my life. Dr. Bitzer did not use superfluous words or flowery
sentences ... his teaching was straight-forward and direct ... and
always in alignment with Absolute Principle.
Dr. Bitzer purchased property
in 1940 on the famous Sunset Boulevard for his church. At the time
of the purchase there was a house on the property and Dr. Bitzer hired
one of the most gifted architects in Los Angeles to design the
auditorium around this house. The result of this work was an
amazing sanctuary on Sunset Boulevard. And as the years went by
many celebrities, movie stars, ministers, politicians and business
magnates sat in the seats of this auditorium in rap attention as Dr.
Bitzer presented Sunday lectures and classes on the Science of Mind.
Dr. Bitzer lived the Science of Mind and
taught that we are to depend on Principle and Principle alone. He
taught that this Life Principle would respond to us automatically as we
aligned our thoughts, beliefs and ideas with It for a definite purpose.
Considered the Hallmark Church of the entire Religious Science movement,
Dr. Bitzer paid for this church within eight years and when he made his
transition in 1994, the church had no debts and over $3-million dollars
in assets in addition to the building and the property on Sunset
Boulevard.
His advice to other ministers was to
always stick to their purpose ... to teach the Science of Mind and to
look to this absolute Principle for everything. Dr. Bitzer did not
advise his students and congregants to stray from the Principle by
reading or putting into their consciousness lesser ideas from popular
authors. He was not concerned about the philosophies of popular
authors ... he naturally assumed that if you wanted to study Buddhism or
Hinduism or Toltec Wisdom ... you would seek out qualified teachers of
these works ... any serious student would. His work was to teach
Principle and Principle alone. He studied the Science of Mind
constantly and continually became aware of nuances in the mysticism
contained in it. He authored but a few books and each of them is a
book to be treasured.
The following contains most of the material Dr.
Bitzer used in 1991 when I attended my first Science of Mind lecture
which was presented by him at the then glorious Hollywood Church of
Religious Science:
"YOUR ONLY CHALLENGE in life is to
stop looking at outer conditions as power objects or symbols and to
recognize the unlimited, unformed creative consciousness which you are.
.... You should live in a world of beauty and opulence, but what you are
is greater that what you demonstrate. It is this limitless
consciousness of your un-manifested thinking that challenges you.
Your desire and your thought give this unformed mind-substance its form.
What you think of yourself is accepted by Spirit. You create your
conviction of being it. What you conceive in mind is manifest in
your outer world. .... Your idea has power. You can produce
what you desire. Just as the seed that has creative power must be
placed in its creative medium, the soil, so your idea must remain in
consciousness. Let your ideas finish themselves. Each
completed idea makes way for a new idea. Life cannot be stopped.
You cannot stop living. Are you maintaining the quality of
consciousness you want to sustain? Your life does have meaning,
but it must be consciously established. You are perfect, whole,
and complete, but you must know it. .... No one can grow
spiritually for you any more than another person can eat for you.
No one can solve a problem for you or make you rich or poor. Only
you. .... You have access to the wisdom of the ages. There is no
messiah nor seer to give you the answer you want. Only you can
meet your challenges. And you can." -
Dr.
Robert H. Bitzer, You Control Consciousness
I
will always be ever so grateful to Dr. Robert Bitzer and for the
teaching of the Science of Mind ... always bearing in mind his
instruction, I have always met every challenge presented to me knowing
that nobody can but me ... and you can too!
AND SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev. Hank
Bates
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