On the first page of the Science of Mind it reads,  “These lessons are dedicated to that Truth which frees us from ourselves and sets us on the pathway of a new experience, which enables us to see through the mist to the Eternal and Changeless Reality.”

I came to the Science of Mind in 1998. I was pretty broken. I was in the midst of change, coming out of a 27 year marriage. I had decided to make a go of it as an actress in Los Angeles. I was in debt and I had been suffering on and off since the age of 13 with sciatica. At this time, I was in a very acute flare-up.

I walked into my first Center for Spiritual Living and the minister, Rev. Marlene Morris, said something that set me on my path. I don’t remember the exact words, but she spoke of our “heart’s desire” and how it was already ours. I’d never been in a church where I was told how perfect I was or that life was good. I’d never heard, in a way that I could understand, that God was within me and not outside somewhere. In the midst of all the pain I was experiencing, I felt for probably the very first time my life a true sense of hope, that something was possible for me, that I just might be able to experience true deep joy. I was finally able to see through the “mist” to a Reality that was just beginning to become clear.

What I didn’t know at the time was that I believed in a process and that it would be a while before I would arrive at the place of peace, prosperity and true deep expression of myself. What I possessed was the tenacity and perseverance to see it through. I wanted it more than I wanted to stay the same.

So, I kept practicing the Principles. I read and attended classes. I learned how to do Spiritual Mind Treatment. I took the road of becoming a practitioner, not at first because I wanted to be one, but because I wanted to go deeper. Slowly, I began to see changes in my life. Finally, today, I’ve broken through the lower levels of attachment to my self-made prison and I am an aware of myself, how I operate, and the truth of my spiritual nature. I know how to move through material resistance with a sense of deep knowing that everything is possible when I remember my Divine Nature. I would say that I am free and yet, I am still growing and expanding. I live in more moments of deep joy then I ever have in my life.

Within each of us, resides a Power, that moves us and breathes us. When we use it constructively it can bring forth wholeness in our lives. It doesn’t happen all at once because there are lots of ruts, programs and patterns that are already living us. We have to be willing to let them go. When people tell me this stuff doesn’t work and they’ve tried, I know that what they are saying is not the truth. First of all it does work and it is working for each of us according to our belief. If it seems not to be working, it means that there is more work to do in the area of consciousness.

Really, I know it works because I have proved it. It is done unto us as we believe. If we really want to be whole and happy, we have to be willing to let go of our past and embrace our present. We have to be willing to forgive everyone and everything. We have to be so self-loving and kind to ourselves. Most of all, we have to be willing to squarely look ourselves in the heart and ask ourselves what we want and we have to listen to the real answer.

That answer might mean giving up everything we were holding onto. It might mean losing face with all the people who so want us to stay the same. It might mean making a whole change in our lives. It might rip us out of the very fiber of our complacency and move us into the unknown and complete uncertainty.

However, what I know is that if we are willing to admit that we have to make a change and then begin to move in the direction we are led, the Universe will move through us and carry us through everything. It might not be easy and graceful, but the deepness of our joy will make all the difference in the world.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita