Dare to Be Rare

CHAPTER ONE AWARENESS Heroes take journeys, confront dragons and discover the treasure of their true selves. -- Carol Pierson Unless we know where we are it’s impossible to know where we‘re going, so let’s examine the importance of knowing our core beliefs and how we may change them. Many of our beliefs are hidden, meaning we often are not consciously aware of them; yet, basically, our beliefs run our lives. From the beginning of time we have been programmed to function and behave according to the beliefs that were instilled by others. Unknowingly we accepted false beliefs that caused us to create lack and limitation, victimhood, ill health and perhaps a lack of confidence in ourselves. As we become aware of the strength and power our beliefs have, in how we live our lives, we will uncover and uproot those contrary to our well-being. The old adage “If it’s not broken, don’t fi x it” applies here. If you are living a prosperous life and loving it, enjoying excellent health, great relationships, the career of your choice and are financially secure, it seems obvious that your BELIEF SYSTEM serves you well, for as we know now, your thoughts and actions are based on your beliefs. Who can improve on perfection? As we become aware of our beliefs, we observe how we have created our life on the very foundations of those beliefs. When I first began studying the Science of Mind, I had some difficulty understanding the Science of Mind jargon. One day as I was going through the final stages of my divorce I was feeling very victimized. Dr. Whitehead came into my office and saw that I was visibly upset. When I explained to him what was happening, he asked me the following, “What’s going on in your consciousness?” I didn’t understand and told him so. He explained that our consciousness consists of our beliefs, conscious and subconscious, our thoughts and our feelings. At the time I had no idea that my internal beliefs had played such an important role in what was occurring in my life. Now, of course, I realize all of our lives are based on what we have been taught to believe from our earliest caregivers, our parents, grandparents, teachers and others who influenced us early in life. Our consciousness is the sum total of what we learned to believe, think and feel, much of which is held in our subconscious mind which may be likened to a huge hard drive, filled with memories regarding every person and experience we have had. Much of this we don’t consciously recall, but it’s there and greatly influences what we believe. As we observe some of our seemingly poor decisions and actions we’ve taken in the past, they make a lot more sense when we consider what the beliefs were that we based those actions on. In order to create a different scenario, we have to change what we once believed and acted from. Much of what we believe today is due to the programming we received as children, before we had the ability to consider, accept or reject what we were being taught. Thus, due to our conditioning, we may have experienced some failures which can be attributed to what we believed and acted upon. Our deeply held beliefs control the way we live, every day of our lives so it is of utmost value for us to know what we really do believe. For instance, ancient teachings of relying on a male God who abided in the sky caused many to believe they had no real power of their own. Thus, the idea of being weak and insufficient was instilled into generations of humanity. In this way the church was able to exert control. A common inference was that we came here to suffer and that we should suffer because of our sins. Some religions even prohibited one from feeling joy, decreeing that there was to be no joy on this plane. Believers were to look forward to joy only in heaven after death. A prevailing belief that kept humankind powerless was that the more one suffered on earth, the greater the reward in heaven. Jesus’s basic tenant was to teach that those who had faith in God, or as He referenced, “the Father within” would do even greater things than He. Jesus accepted no personal accolades for His ability to heal as He believed He was living his mission on earth. He gave absolute honor to the indwelling Spirit, being totally aligned with IT. He surrendered to Spirit, allowing IT to work through Him, saying, “Of my own self, I can do nothing. It is the Father within who doeth the work.” He did not slay His ego or negate it but surrendered His Divine Purpose to his Higher Spiritual Self. He used the word “Father” because he was speaking to a patriarchal society and “Father” was the highest, most respected name his followers could relate to. God has remained in the male gender since that time, although some are now using the term: “Father, Mother God,” which is a nice balance, although the gender doesn’t make any real difference. Many would argue that point! As we realize we have the freedom to choose our thoughts and that we are supported by the Power within that Jesus spoke of so long ago, we can celebrate. He taught His followers to reach inside themselves, to utilize the power of God. What He taught was misinterpreted, and unfortunately people worship the person Jesus, which He told them not to do. He knew they could change their lives if they accepted that they had the Power within themselves. Unfortunately they didn’t get it and of course many still don’t get it. Jesus revealed that each of us is made in the image and likeness of an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent ONE and therefore endowed with the attributes of the ONE. The Science of Mind philosophy teaches is that there is a POWER for good in the Universe and we can use IT. We can use it to change our lives. Dr. Ernest Holmes did not intend his multicultural philosophy to become a religion when he published The Science of Mind textbook in 1926. And he continued to write many books, lecturing to thousands on the Power within each one of us and explaining how we can use IT to change our lives. In the Science of Mind Textbook, Dr. Holmes described the Science of Mind: “A correlation of the laws of science, the opinions of philosophy, and revelations of religions applied to human needs and the aspirations of all. Peace is the power at the heart of God. It is through the revelation of the self, to the self, that one understands life; that he approaches the Power which is at the heart of God. This comes through recognition of the unity of the individual, with the Spirit back of, in, and through all.” We are each like a rare and unique gem. However, not unlike many raw gemstones there may be a density covering our luminosity that must be chipped away before our magnificent qualities can be revealed. The denseness could be likened to “false beliefs” and lack of awareness of our true potential. You may question, “If I am such a gem, why do bad things happen in my life? What blocks me from my good?” We may not like to hear the answer to that question since we are the ones who unintentionally block our own good in a myriad of ways by what we believe and think. Making a conscious choice to embrace the best life has to offer us, we may do so if we have a strong belief supporting that idea, but if we have an unconscious belief that we don’t deserve our good, we’ll self-sabotage.