Newsletter – December 2022 & January 2023

“Do We Cast Our Blessings Or Our Blame?”

In John 8:7 we read: “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”  And we all know the story of the woman blamed for her sin and those around her very keen to judge her and stone her.  After those words spoken by Jesus, no-one was able to cast the stones they already held in their hands.

Let us clarify the meaning of “sin,” and we teach in Divine Science that the only sin, is when we, in our minds, separate ourselves from Truth/God.  Now it is important to realize that we cannot actually do this; we are always ONE WITH GOD, TRUTH ALWAYS IS,  yet we forget, and as a result we live what we believe in any circumstance and situation, and reap accordingly.  Sin is…. missing the mark!

Jesus’ words were a reminder to those who were so quick to judge the woman, and we need to be mindful of them too. It may come easy to us to cast blame on someone or a challenging circumstance, yet we do have another option.

We are always casting something from our minds which are never still. Our thoughts and beliefs are always going forth from us; and they are like boomerangs – returning to us fulfilled. We all know the words: “as a man thinketh, and believeth, so is he!” Every day – in fact countless times a day, we cast out our thoughts and our beliefs.  These go out from our consciousness, very often quite mindlessly, and equally often we forget that what we give out comes back to us.  There will always be corresponding returns.

What often seems idyllic to us does not have lasting effects.  So what is it then that takes us to a level of completeness and satisfaction that is totally fulfilling and not fleeting?  Well let us take a look at three examples from scripture, remembering that the stories in scripture are not about people and incidents that took place many, many years ago………they are our stories too……applicable in life today.

We begin with the story of Ruth which gives the example of Naomi casting blame for their situation, and Ruth who rose above their situation. Ruth, metaphysically, represents love, and she illustrates for us how human love can be transcended and raised to divine love through willingness and choice.  She was a blessing to Naomi who, through Ruth’s example, rediscovered her own spiritual identity.

The story of Joseph, shows how he rose above all the challenges he faced  by turning always to God and in fact even telling his brothers in Genesis 45:8: “It was not you that sent me hither, but God.”  Even in the midst of all the misery to which he had been subjected, he chose not to blame; he saw God at work in his life.

We come next to Elijah, hiding out in a cave as all the other prophets of God had been slain. He was then told to pay heed to the seven thousand that remained true to God; the remnant, that presented a new opportunity for Elijah.  He heard the instruction when he became still and receptive to that inner small voice.

By maintaining spiritual awareness, we are being true not only to ourselves, but to the whole. From this inner centering come the blessings as they flow forth through our consciousness. We have the examples of those, who through spiritual consciousness, have attained a greater understanding and experience of Truth, and through this deeper awareness, in turn have cast their blessings.  Let us take stock: are we casting blessing or blame? We have the choice!!

In Closing……  Material consciousness is based upon the acceptance of the material, objective world as real.  It is the acceptance of materiality as being the decisive factor of existence.  It believes in appearances rather than in the truth behind appearances.  his state of consciousness limits man.  He sees certain conditions and accepts the outer appearance as inevitable, immovable and permanent.

Spiritual consciousness is that state of consciousness that is based upon true, divine ideas.  This consciousness is rooted in the realization of the absolute, the one mind and its creative activity, as the reality;  and in the understanding that man is a spiritual being ever connected with the Source, through mind essence. When man makes the effort to establish himself in spiritual consciousness, every aspect of his being begins to show forth accordingly.  His affairs and environment respond.  A spiritual consciousness is a radiating center of good in our world.

Helen Zagat—Faith and Works

Bountiful blessings,

 Mallory