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What We Believe

Create and Live Your Greatest Life

Centers for Spiritual Living is a spiritual philosophy for the modern man and woman. It is based on Truths which arise in science, philosophy, and religion. In today's language, we view religion as a source of wisdom for revealing the Truth about the seemingly unknown forces that shape our universe. This enables us to participate in our own lives in direct connection with the Divine.

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, it is possible. 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!

Dr. Ernest Holmes

Religious Science was founded by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world's Spiritual paths for most of his life. In 1927, he wrote The Science of Mind, which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of the world's faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles of Religious Science. He never intended to begin a new faith, but was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.

The principles of Religious Science

Science of Mind Teaching Symbol of the Creative Process of Life and the Divine.

Rev. Dr. Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science

How to Create and Live Your Greatest Life

Meditation - 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 greater state of God-connection and thereby we can experience a greater sense of unity of all life.

Sin? Evil? Devil? Heaven and Hell? We believe these are false mental beliefs that keep us from our true connection with God.

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

Evil -We teach that evil does not exist as a real force or power in the world. That which is called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only real power, which is God or Spirit. At Center For Spiritual Living , we teach the only presence truly acting in the universe is God, which is always Good. Evil is when we accept false beliefs in our minds.

The Devil -We believe the only power acting anywhere is God; therefore, the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God. The concept of the Devil is simply falsely held beliefs within our minds. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life. Generally, the appearance of evil, or the devil, is a lack of connection with God.

Heaven and Hell – We believe heaven and hell are states of mind. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with Life. 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.

What is the meaning of Death?

Centers of Spiritual Living, along with many advanced spiritual beings, embraces the eternality of life. Our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. Even though we have a body, we are not just our body. We really are the Life force that animates our body. Life is infinite and immortal. As we increasingly become identified with our divine and eternal nature, our fear of death begins to dissolve. Our experience of life become more joyous.

Our beliefs about Jesus Christ and Christianity

Jesus of Nazareth was an advanced spiritual, albeit human being, through which Christ consciousness was expressed. The principle of Christ consciousness represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. The potential for this expression lies within each of us. Therefore, Jesus is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception.

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 metaphysical way that applies to today's life.

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

Yes.

Ernest Holmes, the founder of what is now Centers for Spiritual Living, originally used the terms "Science of Mind" and “Religious Science” interchangeably to define his teachings. He believed that religion and science are complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed science would eventually 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 made up of energy. What was called Religious Science, today called Centers for Spiritual Living, along with all of the mystics of the ages, know that energy is God.

Our Essential Doctrine

We believe GOD and HEAVEN are within us and that we experience IT to the degree that we become conscious of It.

We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a complete emancipation from all discord of every nature, and that this goal is sure to be attained by all.

We believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the innermost God is one God. We believe that God is personal to all who feel this indwelling Presence.

We believe Universal Spirit, which is God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God; and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind which receives the direct impress of our thought and acts upon it.

We believe in the healing of the sick through the power of this Mind.

We believe in the control of conditions through the power of this Mind.

We believe in the eternal Goodness, the eternal Loving-kindness, and the eternal Givingness of Life to all.

We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we understand that OUR LIFE is God.

-Dr. Ernest Holmes is the founder of Science of Mind, Religious Science and what is today Centers for Spiritual Living, a contemporary spiritual organization which has grown into 450 Spiritual Centers Around the world.