Who has ever flown First Class? I have, and I love the experience of the extra touches that First Class offers. Especially on longer trips like the one from here on Kaua’i to the Mainland.

What if First Class was not a ticket on an airline or a destination, but a state of consciousness? What if it doesn’t take money or a first-class ticket to live a first-class life?

This is the truth of it. Living a First-Class life is about beginning with First Cause — the One Mind, the Quantum Field, the Creative Intelligence – a place in our consciousness that is not affected by outside appearances. Whatever you choose to call it, it is the Source Energy from which all else comes. It is the Field that has never been touched by anything. Living and thinking from this place allows us to respond to the challenges of life instead of reacting to them. Unless we can live from this place, we might always be bumping up against our limitations and struggling in everything we do.

When we live from First Cause, we begin living a first-class life — not because circumstances are perfect, but because our consciousness is.

Right now, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “When life becomes difficult: what comes first in your consciousness?”

First-Class living begins by putting First Cause first. Ernest Holmes wrote this:

“Stay with the One and never deviate from it, never leave it for a moment. Nothing else can equal this attitude. TO DESERT THE TRUTH IN THE HOUR OF NEED IS TO PROVE THAT WE DO NOT KNOW THE TRUTH. When things look the worst, that is the supreme moment to demonstrate to ourselves that there are no obstructions to the operation of Truth. When things look the worst is the best time to work, the most satisfying time. The person who can throw himself with a complete abandon into the Limitless Sea of Receptivity, having cut loose from all apparent moorings, is the one who will always receive the greatest reward.”

“Stay with the One and never deviate from it…”. This is a powerful statement. Reflecting on the One as the Infinite Power of the Universe, ask yourself, “When do I usually leave the One?” The answer might be: when we’re afraid; when the doctor calls; when money gets tight; when someone betrays us; or when the world seems to be falling apart. The greatest temptation is to make these conditions the Cause; therefore, creating our next moment from that condition. When our conditions become Cause, we spend our lives trying to manipulate the world from that place. It is a slow process that usually doesn’t work. In New Thought, it’s called “secondary causation.”

A condition is never a cause. It is an effect. If we could comprehend this one thing, our lives would be enhanced immeasurably. First Cause is not a destination. It is always Consciousness. Conditions do not equal Cause. Consciousness is Cause and create our experiences. In quantum science it is called “downward causation.”

Holmes writes: “To desert the Truth in the hour of need is to prove that we do not know the Truth.” Knowing is different from hoping. Knowing is different from wishing. Knowing is different from positive thinking. Knowing is standing in Principle when appearances scream otherwise.

I have many personal stories of falling into the trap of deserting the Truth. But those times were only moments compared to the times I remembered this quote and used it to change my whole experience. As an actress and a singer, I return to it continuously — I am always challenged by the difficult work of interpreting music, practicing, practicing, practicing, memorization, and so much more. When I wrote my recent book, Once Upon a Rainbow, I wanted it done before Pride Month. A lot went wrong and there were holdups. However, I kept seeing that book on the table at the festival, and I kept going, amidst the challenges, pulling myself back to First Cause through Spiritual Mind Treatment.

When we came here and began CSL Kaua’i, no one gave us a bundle of money to begin. We started with nothing and yet we always had enough. We injured ourselves along the way, faced death in our family, left our security and so much more. However, none of those things were First Cause to us. We continued to bring ourselves back to First Cause.

Take a moment now, as you are reading this, and choose a moment when appearances suggested failure. Ask: “What was First in my consciousness?”

Holmes writes: “When things look the worst is the supreme moment to demonstrate…” That feels backwards. Most of us think: “When things get better, then I’ll trust.” Holmes reverses it. Trust first. Demonstrate first. Know first. Conditions follow.

The line, “Throw himself…into the Limitless Sea of Receptivity,” is one of his most beautiful metaphors. Imagine standing on a dock. The dock is certainty. The ropes are our attachments. The boat is our identity. The shore is our comfort zone. Holmes says: Cut the ropes. Leave the dock. Throw yourself into Infinite Life. Notice he doesn’t say: Step cautiously. He says: “Throw yourself with complete abandon.” Faith is not careful. Faith is surrender.

Most people think first-class living means: enough money, good health, success, recognition, comfort. No. First-Class living means First Cause thinking. Everything else follows.

The question is never “How bad are my circumstances?” The question is “What is first in my awareness?” When First Cause becomes first in our thinking, life begins to express itself in first-class ways.

My challenge to you is whenever something upsetting happens, ask — “What am I making First Cause right now? Am I making the diagnosis first? The bank account first? The news first? Another person’s opinion first? Or am I making my Source — my God — first?” Because whatever occupies first place in consciousness becomes the lens through which everything else is interpreted. Faith is not believing that everything will work out. Faith is refusing to give appearances the authority that belongs to First Cause.

With Love and Aloha,

Dr. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author, Co-Founding Director CSL Kaua’i

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