What Does The "V" Symbol Mean?

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The V symbol is our Founder,  Ernest Holmes, an illustration of the Creative Process of life.  It was created as a means to visually understand the process of creation and can be interpreted on many different levels. On a Universal level, the top of the V shows the Universal Spirit (God), then the universal subjectivity, (our stuff) which is the medium of all thought, power, and action, then, at the bottom, at particularization of our manifestation based upon our belief system (The Form we experience).  

 

The point drawn through the center symbolizes the descent of Spirit into the matter or form. It is necessary that Spirit be manifested in order to express Itself. The descending line shows that all comes from the One (God)). Humanity re-enacts the whole Universal Life, and the nature of humanity is identical with Spirit. What is true of the Whole is true of any of its individual undivided parts. Humanity comes to a point of individualization in the Whole and is subject to the Law of the Whole. (Paraphrased from The Science of Mind by Dr. Ernest Holmes, p. 569.)  

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 "Bottom Line "It is done unto you as you believe",  if you believe it IS POSSIBLE,  then it is with the right consciousness and action,  if you believe it is NOT,  then it is not.  We are at choice at all times and take full responsibility for the outcome.  One key element,  if you believe,  and do your part, keep the faith,  move forward with conviction and vision step by step,  anything is possible."  ~ Rev. Suzette

 

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What About Meditation?

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Meditation is the time-honored technique for taming, training and transforming the mind. We endorse all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind stilling techniques. It is through meditation that we come into a state of God-communion and thereby experience a greater sense of unity of all life.

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What About Prayer?

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We honor and endorses all forms of sincere prayer.  In addition, we teach a unique and scientific form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment or Affirmative Prayer. This is a powerful, affirmative method of prayer that was developed by Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science. It involves a five-step process that embodies all of the elements of the creative process of Life itself.

 

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What is An Affirmation?

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The term affirmation is normally associated with a verbal statement that is made about some goal that we are trying to achieve, or some experience we desire to have. However, the act of affirmation is really much more than that. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement, act, or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we "act as if" our highest aspirations were already a reality. 

 

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What About Sin?

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The original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or "miss the mark" of spiritual perfection. A sin is not a thing, it is merely an activity that produces an undesirable effect in our lives. In other words, we are punished by our sins, not for them.

 

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What About Evil?

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We do not deny the appearance of evil. However, we teach that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only power acting, which is Spirit. The obstruction of Spirit's expression always occurs in the mind through the holding of false beliefs. According to Religious Science, the only presence acting in the universe is God, which is always Good. Evil is merely the way that we withhold our expression and experience of that good by accepting false beliefs into our minds.

 

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Do You Believe in the Devil?

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Since the only power acting anywhere is God, our belief is the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God's expression through Spirit. Therefore, there really is no devil. There is only the manifestation of falsely held beliefs within our minds, which produces that appearance of some sinister invisible force, or being, acting in our lives. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life.

 

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Do You Believe in Heaven and Hell?

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We believe that heaven and hell are states of mind. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with the Life that surrounds us.  Hell is a state of mind that we experience when we don't understand why something unpleasant is happening to us. We can choose to create our own heaven or hell on Earth, and take our beliefs with us when we go through the transition the world calls death to the next plane of existence.

 

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What About Death?

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Religious Science teaches the eternality of life. It accepts that our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. However, even though we may have a body, we are not just our body. What we really are is the Life that animates our body, and that Life is infinite and immortal. As we become increasingly identified with our divine and eternal nature, our underlying fear of death begins to dissolve and our experience of life become more joyous.

 

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Do You Believe in Reincarnation?

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Religious Science neither endorses nor rejects any particular theory or concept of reincarnation. Since life is eternal, there is an unlimited number of possibilities for its evolvement after the experience of physical death. In Religious Science, we accept the ongoingness of life and we deal with what is before us in the present moment.

 

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Do You Believe in Miracles?

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Everything that occurs in our lives is simply the out-picturing of our consciousness operating through the Law of Mind. Therefore, those events that seem to be miraculous in nature are actually the Law acting at a level beyond our awareness. As we evolve our consciousness, what previously seemed miraculous becomes a natural, normal and understandable way of life. In actuality, there is only one miracle, this is Life itself.

 

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Do You Believe in Jesus Christ?

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In Religious Science, Christ is viewed as a universal principle rather than a person. It is the principle of God expressing through humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was a human personality through which the Christ Principle, or Divine Personality, expressed itself on Earth. The principle of Jesus Christ represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. This union produces an expression of Life that includes both, yet is greater than either. The potential for this expression lies within each one of us. Therefore, Jesus is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception.

 

Ernest Holmes, the founder of the philosophy of Religious Science, says:

"Religious Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus, but it does affirm the divinity of all people. It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God but affirms that all beings are children of God. It does not deny that the Kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus, but affirms that the Kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me."

 

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Are You Christians?

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Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, came out of a Christian tradition. He studied all of the world's religions and synthesized what he saw to be the truths running through them all, free of any particular dogma. He began the philosophy with the intention that all churches, especially Christian ones, would embrace the philosophy and incorporate those teachings into their own. When that did not happen on a large-scale basis, he allowed the people around him to talk him into starting a church to make sure that the teachings would endure. His original intention was not to start a new religion. Religious Science comes out of the Christian tradition in the sense that we believe in the teachings of Jesus and use them to create a "Heaven on Earth".  In today's world, you will hear many of our philosophy principles in Christian Churches with additional passages from the Bible.  We honor all paths to God and encourage you to listen to the Divine Impulse within as to what feeds your soul. We consider the Bible as a sacred text and honor it in a metaphysically way that applies to today's life.

 

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Is This New Age?

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Religious Science is considered a New Thought philosophy. Although many people with New Age leanings are attracted to Religious Science and some of the practices of Religious Science such as meditation are also practiced by those who consider themselves New Age, Religious Science does not consider itself a New Age Religion. Religious Science honors all paths that lead to God, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age, or any other spiritual paths.

 

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Is This Related to Scientology?

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No. Religious Science should never be confused with Scientology.

 

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Is This a Cult?

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No. Religious Science teaches that each individual has the power over and the responsibility for his or her own life. Religious Science highly discourages the following of or dependence upon any one person, including founder Ernest Holmes or any present ministers or teachers. Religious Science challenges people to think for themselves and only believe what rings true for them. One must look into one's own heart for truth.

 

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Is This Christian Science?

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No. Ernest Holmes studied with many of the spiritual leaders of his time, including Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Religious Science attracts many from the Christian Science tradition.

 

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Do You Go to Doctors?

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Yes. Religious Scientists believe that all is God and that God is expressed through doctors and medicine just as God is expressed through all of the physical universe. Religious Science believes in spiritual as well as physical healing, and Religious Science Practitioners often work in conjunction with doctors and other physical and mental health practitioners to facilitate healing.

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Why is This Called Religious Science?

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Ernest Holmes used the terms "Science of Mind", which he called the book that describes his synthesis of the truths running through all of the religions of the world, and "Religious Science" interchangeably. He believed that religion and science were truly complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed that, eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings, and the Universe. His beliefs have been borne out by many modern scientists, who have found that the universe is truly made up of energy. Religious Science, along with all of the mystics of the ages, knows that that energy is God.

 

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Are Religious Science, Science of Mind and Centers for Spiritual Living the Same?

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Yes.