Sunday Message for January 18, 2015

A GRAND EXPERIMENT, PART 2

This month, we are following a tradition to get "back to basics" and to reground in our fundamental Unity tenets. And, that is exactly what we are doing this month - in our own unique way as we bring fresh eyes and a new perspective to our life-altering teachings.

So let's back up to last week during which we engaged in a Grand Experiment - well a couple of experiments, actually. Our experiments were to test the theory, to build our faith/belief in the idea, that there is an infallible Law in this Universe that works through us!

Last Week's Experiment 1: The first experiment was to set an intention, which we did in the service, to experience an unexpected blessing or to receive an unexpected gift within 48 hours of Sunday and then to have our eyes open so that we were sure to see it.

Last Week's Experiment 2: Experiment 2 was in two 24-hour segments. The first 24 hours was spent manifesting green cars, or whatever color you picked; and then the next 24 hours seeing butterflies or purple feathers or something else that you don't normally see.

What was your experience with these experiments? Ready for more today? Good, then let's go! Ready to go deeper into our experiments? Great.

EXPERIMENTS 3 & 4

Experiment 1: The Ciri Principle. And we are going to jump right into our experiments that coincide with our teachings around the Law. Our first experiment is called "The Ciri Principle."

In the Science of Mind, Holmes writes: "Perhaps the simplest way to state the proposition is to say that we are surrounded by a Mind, or Intelligence, that knows everything; that the potential knowledge of all things exists in this Mind; that the abstract essence of beauty, truth and wisdom co-exist in the Mind of the Universe; that we also exist in It and may draw from It. BUT WHAT WE DRAW FROM IT WE MUST DRAW THROUGH THE CHANNEL OF OUR OWN MINDS. A unity must be established and a conscious connection must be made, before we can derive the benefits which the greater Mind is willing to reveal or impart to us. The Spirit can give us only what we can take; It imparts of Itself only as we partake of Its nature."^a So we are an inlet from God in order to be an outlet for God.

Here's a good modern-day example in technology. Ciri is the name of the "go-to-person" for the Apple iPhone. She responds to voice commands or queries for information. The owner of the phone tells it or commands it to do as told. She responds without question or judgment or argument.

Now, Ciri doesn't just have access to her small storage of data, rather, she has immediate access to a pretty gigantic bank of information called the World Wide Web. But it won't do us any good at all unless we call upon it and unless we do it in a way that aligns with Ciri's technology.

We have access to Infinite wisdom and knowledge in exactly the same way, but we have to access it and Holmes tells us we access it by making a conscious connection! We call this intuition or inner guidance.

Pam Grout in E2, writes: "Where did we ever pick up the foolhardy notion that inner guidance was restricted to a lucky few? A lot of it goes back to those myths we believe about God. That he's oh-so mysterious and only on call on Sundays. The part that was left out is that our inner guidance is reliable and constantly available. It's there anytime you choose to listen, same as CNN is on anytime you decide to switch on the TV. It's that reliable. And you are free to put it on the spot, to demand clear answers, now."^b

So that is what our experiment is going to be. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to spend the next 48 hours expecting a specific, concrete answer to a specific, concrete question.

It can be as simple as whether or not to purchase that new appliance or more life altering as whether or not to adopt an animal companion or move across the country to be with your boyfriend or something in between, but make it something that is troubling you, something you are confused about or in an area in which you don't know what to do. Whatever it is, give your inner guidance 48 hours to deliver the answer and send the message that you want the guidance to be crystal clear.

But be prepared for the answer! Pam Grout says that when she posed the question "Is it time to launch my freelance writing career?", her answer came as getting fired from her job. She wrote that, in retrospect, it was the perfect answer and perhaps the only way she could actually have heard it.

That is your first 48 hour experiment to prove to yourself that, to paraphrase Holmes , we exist in and may draw from a Mind, or Intelligence, that knows everything and that the abstract essence of beauty, truth and wisdom are ours if we but establish a conscious unity and connection with It! So spend the next 48 hours establishing that conscious unity and connection!

Experiment 2 - the Abracadabra Principle. Most people think of the word "abracadabra" as a nonsensical word a magician uses before he does a magic trick, right? Did you know that it actually is an Aramaic term that translates into English as, "I will create as I speak." Pretty powerful idea, eh?

Pam Grout in E2, writes: "The only reason we don't change water into wine or heal cancer with one touch is because our thoughts are scattered all over the place. Instead of being one, constant well-aimed tuning fork, our thoughts are more like a junior high band of beginning trumpet players. On one hand we are praying for things to work out, but on the other, we worry they won't. At the same time we imagine a positive outcome, we secretly think optimism is a bunch of baloney. We want to be committed to a relationship with so and so, but what if he/she leaves. We want to make money, but didn't the Bible say something about camels and rich people and the eye of a needle? The force [Law] is literally bouncing off walls. Go this way. No, wait go that way. It's knocking around like a lightning bug in a Mason jar. It's being dissipated because we have no clear bead on what we really want. It's not that the field of potentiality isn't answering our prayers. It's just that we're 'praying' for too many things. Sure you begged for peace of mind today, but you also spent 1,200 thoughts obsessing about that damned co-worker who stole your website idea. Yes, you made the intention to 'think and grow rich,' but you also devoted 500 thoughts to worrying about your overdue car payment. When you understand prayer for what it really is, it's easier to understand why that one-time plea to God doesn't always pan out."^c

Holmes in the Science Of Mind, said something similar: "Many people begin their treatment in this manner: 'I know that the Principle of Intelligence within me will direct me, etc." then they complete it with the thought, 'Well, I certainly hope it does.' This is entirely forgetting any definite statement, and is simply wondering if possibly some good will come along. This is not a correct treatment, and is not the scientific use of this Principle. Hope is good; it is better than despair, but it is a subtle illusion and is an unconscious compromise, and has no part in an effective mental treatment. We should say to doubt: 'Where did you come from, who is your father, etc . . . You have no place in my mind. Get out! I know that the faith within me now neutralizes ALL doubt.' This is the scientific use of mental statement. There must be no compromise with the consciousness."^d

In this experiment, you will use nothing but the power of your thoughts to magnetize something specific into your life, more significant that green cars or butterflies and yet not something that will immediately send your thoughts to "yeah, right, when pigs fly, that will happen!"

Start with a baby step, something you can get your mind around like front-row theater tickets or flowers. The important part of this experiment is to be laser focused and not let your doubts get in the way.

Holmes in the Science Of Mind wrote: "When we think, something happens to thought. The field through which thought operates is Infinite. There is no reason to doubt it. No matter how it is approached, to thought there can be no limit, so we will say that it is the nature of Being to react in this way. Here and now, we are surrounded by, and immersed in, an Infinite Good. How much of this Infinite good is ours? ALL OF IT! And how much of It may we have to use? AS MUCH OF IT AS WE CAN EMBODY."^e

We are going to have fun with rejecting our doubts. Did any of you see a You-Tube video of two of Ellen DeGeneres' crew members sent into a Walking Dead zombie haunted house around Halloween? It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

The man, who continually hides behind the woman and when she asks him what he is doing he says "I'm protecting you," screams out to the zombies every time one comes out of the dark: "Stop it, stop it, now!"

So, when a doubtful thought comes into your consciousness, you are going to say, "Stop it, stop it, now!" And if you have seen the video, you can't help but get a chuckle out of it. Then, return your focus to what you are saying "abracadabra" to - remember creating with your word!

Those are your two grand experiments this week:


Testing the Ciri Principle - by opening up to inner guidance on a specific issue and then . . . Testing the Abracadabra Principle by setting your intention to experience/manifest something specific for yourself.

In these experiments, we are training our mind and our thoughts because we know that a trained thought is much more powerful that an untrained thought.

Because trained thought can stay true to the Truth of our being regardless of conditions and circumstances much better than untrained thought. But we must develop it. We must be in training, just like the body must be in training to be strong. It takes spiritual discipline, which develops strength, to stay with it through whatever may occur in life.

Think about what your life would be like if your mind was trained. Let's train our minds and work in harmony with What It Does!