March 11, 2008 & Imagination

This treatment was written by Dr. Joseph Murphy, author of the classic, "Power of Your Subconscious Mind":

"Where there is no vision, the people perish ..." (Proverbs 29:18) My vision is that I desire to know more of God and the way He works. My vision is for perfect health, harmony, and peace. My vision is the inner faith that Infinite Spirit heals and guides me now in all my ways. I know and believe that the God-Power within me answers my prayer; this is a deep conviction within me. I know that imagination is the result of what I image in my mind. Faith is, as Paul says, the substance out of which the image is formed. (Hebrews 11:1)
I make it my daily practice to imagine only for myself and for others also that which is noble, wonderful, and God-like. I now imagine that I am doing the thing I long to do; I imagine that I now possess the things I long to possess; I imagine that I am what I long to be. To make it real, I feel the reality of it, and I know that it is so. Thank you, Father.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

February 26, 2008 & Heavenly

Knowing that I am in-God and of-God, I know and believe that this guarantees me that no matter what may appear in my experience, my Good is assured. I keep faith with Omnipresent Good ... for I know that as I recognize that there is only God, only Good ... anything that appears to me unlike the Good, is merely the collective belief in illusions that have distracted me for a moment. In the blink of an eye, I remind myself that there is only God and besides It there is none other. In this understanding that I am part of God, I know that as I bring the Power of God into my mind, identify with It, register it solidly in my consciousness, I can make use of this Power for my Good. I direct this Power of Good for Health, Happiness, Harmony, Peace, Joy ... and Love ... and I know that It responds to me to fulfill the Good desires that It has brought to my awareness. I am never, ever ... separate from God-consciousness ... and I realize this Truth and affirm it over and over again until it is my rock and shield against any drama that may attempt to hinder me from my Good. I am God-filled ... God-infused ... God-centered ... and God ordained to experience the best of times and the best of everything ... now. And so it is!

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

February 17, 2008 & Louise Hay Wisdom

Louise Hay is interviewed in the Science of Mind Magazine, March, 2008 issue. When SOM Magazine asked Louise Hay what message she would like to send readers, she replied:
"Please, please, please go to the mirror often during the day and say, "I love you, I really love you." Every time at the mirror, don't ask, "what's wrong?" But say, "I love you, I really love you." It makes a big difference in your life. That inner child wants to be loved."

...Sometimes we overlook things because they appear too simplistic. The words of wisdom from Louise Hay above is truly a treatment that we give our consciousness. Whether we are male or female, there is that within us that responds to these words. As we know in metaphysics, Love Is God and God Is Love ... God-in-the-midst of me responds to my affirmation that I am really loved. And so it is.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

January 17, 2008 & In the Quiet of My Soul

In the quiet of my soul I feel the Presence of God within me. I feel Its Power and Its Intelligence presses against me unifying my mind with Its Peace, and Joy, and Happiness, and Love. I am immersed in the Presence of Spirit. It fills my mind with Its Love and Power. In the quiet of my soul, my awareness is heightened and I realize that there is only God, only Love. In the quiet of my soul, Love gives me a higher ideal to contemplate, to dwell on in my mind. My heart senses this higher ideal and my love for Life is increased. I am immediately aware of my place in the Universe and know that I am here to express more of God, of Good. I know that Spirit moves through me as power, as confidence, and as self-assurance, and so I form the words in my mind that express a greater awareness of the abundant life that is available to me. I know that all that I receive, I have accepted through my consciousness, and this All is mine to share, to give, and to come back to me multiplied abundantly. Prosperity, success, health, and loving relationships have been gifted to me by this Loving Presence, Almighty Spirit ... and I accept them now ... in the quiet of my soul. And so it is.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

November 30, 2007 & Better and Better ......

"Only when we put our very best into our spiritual work will it satisfy us. A spiritual power is released through true thinking that is as much a law as is chemical affinity. There is no deliverance of the real self without mental conviction. To have faith in God is to follow this faith through by having faith in the self. The real self is God and as such is to be implicitly trusted. The spark which burns at the center of our own soul is caught from the living and eternal flame of the Spirit." - Dr. Ernest Holmes, "The Science of Mind"

Life is open to me. Life is God. And there is no separation from this Life ... for in It I live and move and have my being. And in this awareness, I know, and I know that I know; and I believe, and I know I believe ... that every area of my life gets better and better every day in every way. I am living in the infinite Good that God has prepared for me ... through my consciousness of Omnipresent Good. I feel all the joy ... all the love ... and all the hope .... that my unfailing faith provides for me. I embrace the Good that is mine in my mind ... and all my thoughts are focused on what is mine ... now. I live in perfect health, happiness, joy ... and peace ... for these things are of God ... and God freely expresses them through me and into my world of affairs. My soul is alive with enthusiasm and divine bliss knowing that my Good always manifests with grace and ease ... for I believe it ... and so I see it ... in the right and perfect time. And so it is.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

November 24, 2007 & not of the world

In metaphyiscs we understand that all things come to us through our consciousness, and in our awareness that our consciousness is One with God-Consciousness, we know that our Good is always assured. This assurance comes from knowing that our Source is "not of the world" ... but is God, Infinite Spirit ... It Is Spirit and It Is Principle ... and as we understand Its Nature, we use It for it is It's "good pleasure" that we do:

As I recognize God, Infinite Spirit, I recognize It as Universal Principle ... available to All. As I understand the Principle, I accept that I am using It as It expresses more fully through me ... through my consciousness. I am never concerned about the conditions and circumstances in the physical, for I know that my consciousness is "not of the world" ... and this is where my power is ... and my wisdom, my peace, and my joy. I live the good life for I understand and demonstrate the Principle of Life; health, prosperity, loving companionship, success and all good things. There is no obstructions as my mind is always One with the "Un-Obstructed Principle" that moves ever so gracefully through my experiences with Power and Wisdom. My Good is always right on time and I am always blessed in the most marvelous ways. My gratitude is for knowing this as the Truth for me and for everyone .... today and all-ways. And so it is.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

October 14, 2007 & Receiving

From the author of the Science of Mind, Dr. Ernest Holmes:

Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.
How can we receive that which the mind refuses to entertain? Should we not, then, consciously develop the ability to receive more? We make life little and mean and limit our Own Possibilities when we refuse to accept the whole gift of God. We should open our consciousness to a receptivity of the Divine. There will never be any point of saturation because God is infinite. We cannot contract the Infinite, but we can expand the finite.

Today I ask and know that I shall receive. Today I seek and know that I shall find. Today I knock and know that it shall be opened unto me.

Keep the faith!
Rev. Bates

July 13, 2007 & Dr. O. C. Smith

After my morning meditation this morning, I have been thinking off and on all morning about Dr. O. C. Smith and how powerful his ministry was. He was my teacher and my ideal as a minister of the science of mind ... because he lived his teaching. His Sunday messages are now being sold at: www.cityofangelschurch.com/events.htm ... and I have listened to each of them several times. The following is the last treatment he wrote for the City of Angels Church Sunday bulletin:

I believe in my prayer and the answer to it because I believe in God’s unfailing willingness to give me the kingdom, which is the immutable law of good. I do not make attempts to coerce or influence God because I realize that I am already one with God. As the result of this awareness, I expect, accept and receive every good thing that life has to offer. I believe, I know, and I act. I have accepted my
partnership with God, therefore today and every day what God has given me in abundance, I share with others, because God’s wellspring of good
never runs dry. And So It Is.
- Dr. O. C. Smith, November 2001