Spiritual Practices
Our Guiding Practices are the spiritual practices and consciousness-elevating techniques which allow us to live from our inner being of Divine wholeness and to be a beneficial presence in the world. The five fundamental practices include prayer (spiritual mind treatment/affirmative and devotional), meditation, spiritual education, the principle and practice of financial circulation, and selfless service.
Visioning, the Co-Creation Process, mindfulness are three of the new spiritual practices which were incorporated into our organizational design model after the merging of United Centers for Spiritual Living and Religious Science International in 2012.
Prayer Spiritual Mind Treatment is the affirmative prayer we use to commune with the eternal Presence which consists of 5 steps including: Recognition, Unification, Realization, Thanksgiving, and Release. The simplest prayer is there is only one God, I am one with it now, it is a perfect life and all is well, I give thanks as I release it to the creative action of the law where it is made manifest now. And so it is! Devotional prayer is more personal and a communion with the God/Spirit/Source Energy/Presence of your understanding in any way that is comfortable for you, without any formula and a free flow of or stream of consciousness from the heart.
Meditation Meditation can take many forms such as silent sitting, chanting, movement (walking, yoga, dancing, etc.), drawing mandalas, etc. When we meditate we allow ourselves to slow down and give the mind a rest from thought and doing, moving into a state of being. Centered and anchored we emerge with new energy, clarity, and vitality of Spirit.
Spiritual Education This is ongoing and can include taking a class or workshop, daily readings from a spiritual book of your choice, attending a Sunday service or a lecture and so on. We encourage learning more about our philosophy by reading the Science of Mind textbook, or other Ernest Holmes writings, or perhaps reading the daily guides from the Science of Mind Magazine for example.
Financial Circulation We practice giving to our spiritual community where we are nourished and fed spiritually out of the generosity of the Spirit within us in a regular fashion. As we do this we strengthen our trust in the Spirit knowing that as we give we also receive and the giving enhances the value of our community. Our gifts return to us multiplied abundantly.
Selfless Service We participate in selflessly serving our spiritual community in any way that we can based on our talent and devotion. It takes a village for any community to thrive and as each individual contributes from their heart there is growth and beauty that emerges. Some people might be called to do administrative work while others may be called to become licensed prayer practitioners, or to serve on the Leadership Council. Still others may love to create beautiful graphics for the website, banners, flyers, etc. Whatever it is, we encourage you to bring your talents and gifts with heartfelt joy and love. There is no small act of service and we graciously appreciate each one of you!