Judge Troward, the mystic and author of the 20th Century, on whom 25% of the Science of Mind teaching is based according to Ernest Holmes, claimed that the reason for our existence is to be happy. If we truly think about what this means, we would logically agree that if we were truly happy, if everyone was truly happy, the world would be a heavenly place. Everyone would be fulfilling their heart’s desire. Happiness is contagious

Ernest Holmes once wrote, “We see the abundance in the Universe. We cannot count the grains of sand on a single beach. The earth contains untold riches, and the very air is vibrant with power. Why then, is man weak, poor and afraid? The Science of Mind deals with these questions.” He then answers his question with, “The Divine Plan is one of Freedom; bondage is not God ordained. Freedom s the birthright of every living soul. All instinctively feel this.” Do you feel free? If not, why not? If so, why so? Is it based on what you are experiencing on the outside? Or, is it a feeling that comes from within no matter what is occurring in your relative world.

Yes, we are free, whether or not we appear to be. We are free to choose the life we want to live. Some would argue with this. They might say that not everyone is free and some have a hard time in life or might not be born under the right circumstances to enjoy freedom.

But, this is not the freedom Ernest Holmes is talking about. He is talking about the freedom to choose what we shall think and what we shall believe. Thoughts are things and as we choose to think and so it is. Sometimes we think we cannot change our thoughts. That is because they come from our beliefs. It is our beliefs that create our thoughts. It is our beliefs that need changing. Everything is belief.

What is easy street? “Easy street is a situation in which things are easy and comfortable for you.” and that is what I want to claim for all of us today – that our road may be easy even when it feels uncomfortable

I believe that we can have a life of ease and grace and I do not believe that it comes from having everything go our way. It comes from being able to ride the ups and downs of life with an attitude of gratitude and a deep faith. It is in realizing that we are the storm, the tumultuous river,  and that we have everything within us to meet everything. We are the creators of our destiny and everything is calling us back to ourselves. To look at the dark times as well as the light times with acceptance and a knowing that everything is happening through us and for us is the sign of a Master. I want to be a Master of my life.

I do not seek to change things but to change my consciousness around those things. When I do, then the experience shifts. When I can’t see the sun on the other side of the storm, I can still know it is there. I know that everything is temporary and good is here right now. The more I trust this and have faith in it, the more my outer conditions begin to shift.

We, at this time, live in a world that learns through suffering; however, not our destiny. When we are done with suffering, we will begin to learn in a whole new way. Easy Street is a life that is lived in the flow, while at the same time realizing that we are co-creating that flow.

How do we get to Easy Street or a life that is in the flow? Here are few ways and not necessarily in this order.

• Gratitude – If I can find reasons to be grateful instead of getting swallowed up in any experience, I shift.
• Releasing the past – I’m here now. Whatever I did in the past is past. The present moment is where I can make changes.
• Trust – There is always more that’s going on than meets my eye. Can I trust what’s happening behind the scenes, that perhaps there is a bigger plan for me in place?
• Taking Action – If I say I want something, then I must begin to take steps toward it. I do my part and ask the Universe to do its part.
• Surrender – sometimes I have to surrender my way. This is not a cop out. It just means that I have to stop manipulating others and force the situation in which I find myself. Get my own self out of the way in order and really look at whether I’m trying to change someone else or do I need to change myself in relation to the situation. Also, I must surrender my small finite self to a higher version of myself that has this situation and it will lead me if I let it.
• Respect for self and others – Have enough respect for myself to speak my truth when needed but also listen to what others with an open heart.
• Clarity – If I am clear enough of my intentions and the path I am walking, then it is easier to speak my truth without worrying what others are thinking about me.
• Affirmative Prayer – Prayer works and when I truly use it and trust the law of my being to make my prayer so, my life gets easier. My prayer is always for the highest and best outcome. I get out of the way of how it happens. I fill my prayer with calmness, knowing ease and grace.

I think Covid19 has been a truly perfect place to practice walking on Easy Street. I know about all the conspiracy theories. I am not about being blindsided or walking like a sheep without any thought to what is being demanded of me.

This is what I know. We do not have to give up who we are because we are wearing masks or because life is a little more restricted than usual. It’s about adjustments, not compromises. No problem is ever solved with the same energy that created it. Anger will not bring peace. Hatred will not bring Love. Confusion will not bring solutions.

I watched Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and it was the perfect example of what I am talking about. They had an intention to keep their tradition and rather than dump the whole baby with the bathwater, or to fight the rules that are in place, they created something by making adjustments. Were they compromises? That’s a matter of opinion, and is exactly what I’m talking about. The most important thing to Macy’s was to bring in the Holiday Season in the way they’d made famous for so many decades. Love was present. Oh, you could argue about big corporations and advertisement, etc., etc., but Love was behind it in the people who came out to make it happen – volunteers, artists, police, and a million other workers, giving just so we could have an experience.

There are a lot of gifts that are presented to us each day. We can be blinded by our need to be right or celebrate what is going right. Things will begin to shift and change for the better when we pour more love on the experience we are having now. The COVID19 virus can not live without a host and hosts are created by a weakened immune system. We don’t have to be a scientist anymore to know what causes a weakened immune system.

We do not all have to agree in order to have a peaceful and healthy world. What we need is respect for each other’s differences. My mission is to be responsible in creating a world that works for everyone for the highest good of all, not just for myself.

Suffering is caused by resisting what is and not living powerfully in the present moment. Evolution is about overcoming the past and living in the present and dreaming about the future.

Easy Street is for all of us strong enough to know who we are, admit it and live by it, those of us who trust the Laws of the Universe to work for us and learn how to work them, those of us who give up thinking small and open up and live bigger lives outside of ourselves.

Easy Street isn’t about “sleeping ‘til noon,” it is about the choice to stay awake and know that it i.s the best day ever and we wouldn’t every want to miss it – any of it.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita Andriello-Feren