Can one be totally transformed? Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” I believe Einstein said the same thing, as did Oliver Wendell Holmes.  In fact, Einstein said it this way, “The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”

In our belief system, when we use the word mind, we are talking about consciousness or awareness, not our brains. Our brain is a tool we use in this life, but our consciousness is eternal and is forever-expanding.

I am contemplating this thought of my mind never again returning to its original size. I know that I have embraced many new ideas since entering into the New Thought movement and studying the Science of Mind and Spirit. I know that I do not think the same way anymore. I don’t look at experiences or people or anything the same way anymore. I have a new perception. I want to say that it is a daily choice to keep my expanded awareness and it is; but, I also know that when I choose to ignore it, there is something within me that pulls me back on track. I know now and I cannot pretend that I don’t.

Just two weeks ago, we had that terrible text alert here in Hawaii that gave us the warning that we would be bombed, “Ballistic missile inbound to Hawaii. Take Shelter. This is not a drill.”   When I look back, I remember how very surreal it felt. I also remember that I felt the eternality of life – that there was no life and death, just life.

Was my mind expanded? Is it still expanded? I’ve tried to recapture the feeling I had in that moment. Really, I can’t. It was distinct in that moment, as it was on another occasion when death seemed imminent; however, what I know now is that when and if I am in that situation again, the same knowing will be present. I also know that my mind didn’t become expanded in that moment. It was years of prep work that allowed me to feel at peace.

So the question I ask myself is am I ever fully totally transformed, never to return to my old way of thinking? I believe I have to make the choice to embrace the transformation and allow it to fill my life. I have to practice every day. It is a discipline.

Ernest Holmes once wrote that we tend to theorize too much and practice little. He encouraged us to test the Principles and prove them. I believe this is what transformation is all about. Once transformed, we must practice everyday.  Yes, I am transformed through my embracing of new ideas and by putting those new ideas into practice. Once I start testing them and proving them, I can never turn back. It takes faith and trust at first, but then our faith proves itself and is in plain sight as our lives.