"the calm, strong currents of true spirituality"

Spiritual resource to share: putting trends into perspective

I am a self-proclaimed trendoid.  I am fascinated with new developments in thought, innovation, and the way social mores are formed.  I like to track what I consider to be the spiritual evolution of mankind, and in so doing, I read, collect and research what is meaningful in popular thought.

There is an important distinction, however.  Trends are an effect, not the cause of any spiritually significant progress. Similar to the way I don't look at a healthy body to determine my spiritual health, but seek to understand the supremacy of God, Spirit, and that understanding results in a harmonious body. 

So trends can be a sign, sometimes elusive, sometimes quite telling, that the spiritualization of thought is progressing. 

Mary Baker Eddy writes a bold, scientific statement of being  which says in part "...man is not material, he is spiritual."  And consciousness is slowly moving from a material basis to a spiritual basis.

Opinions, emotions, denominationalism drop away as we see the rational, logical and harmonizing influence of true spirituality.  It is our spirituality that propels us forward.  And progress requires us to continue to nurture our spirituality.  Mary Baker Eddy writes "the calm, strong currents of true spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self-immolation, must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect man."

Albert Einstein, in an address at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 19, 1939, and in an address presented at The Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in 1940 said, “The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge.”

And that's what I look for when researching trends: the rational knowledge and practices that point to the spiritual evolution of mankind.

Another wonderfully good read:
Mark Swinney's The Next 90 Years from spirituality.com

the race towards compassion

Spiritual resource to share: educational channels that inspire, transform, predict and feed the demand for spirituality

Karen Armstrong explains the Charter of Compassion

For years, even decades (!) I have been keen on tracking the movement of thought - past, present and future. One similar thread I have seen is the broadening of the demand for spiritual answers and for spiritual responses to current challenges.

There are three new channels I would love to share with you. Each brings out the demand for compassion and spirituality, the expression of spiritual ideals and the unifying possibilities of spirituality and religion.

The demand for spirituality

I'm reading an horizon-opening book called The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream” by John Zogby Here's an excerpt from a review:

Book in a nutshell: Americans will face the challenges of the 21st century with creative approaches to consumerism, a cooperative worldview and an inclusive view of spirituality.

That's according to Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling company that canvasses about half a million people every year to gauge public opinion ....

In survey after survey, he finds respondents more apt to be satisfied with less material wealth and more spiritual satisfaction.

Mr. Zogby also identifies four meta-movements that are redefining the American dream: living with limits, embracing diversity, looking inward, and demanding authenticity.

The expression and mainstreaming of spiritual ideals

What I am intrigued by is how well Zogby's identified movements coincide with a growing interest in becoming more accepting of diversity. One such example is with international youth exchanges. In the secular Rotary International Youth Exchange program that my family has been involved with, we have gotten an incredible education of what it means to be multi -cultural. This is a summary of a paragraph from a newsletter for students and families that are involved in the program.

"Successful culture-crossers who are able to build strong intercultural relationships tend to share the following traits: open-minded and accepting; tolerant; calm in ambiguous situations; empathetic; adaptable; perceptive of others and their environment; and they take time to reflect on their experiences and learn from them."

Tolerance, openness, empathy... wonderful qualities rooted in the spirit of good!

And these qualities are also front and center with another growing movement that is setting the groundwork for unifying diverse groups through the Golden Rule:

the unifying possibilities of spirituality and religion

In February 2008, Karen Armstrong, author, religious thinker and former nun "called for a council of Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders to draw up a “Charter of Compassion,” which would apply shared moral priorities to foster greater global understanding. Her interfaith initiative was awarded the $100,000 TED Prize." This effort recognizes the Golden Rule as the fundamental link to all world religions.

These are such encouraging signs of the blossoming of spiritual ideals!

Can you add to this list? What are you seeing in your life that gives evidence of the demand for spiritual answers and responses to current challenges?

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

FASCINATING conversation with a physicist.....

Spiritual resource to share: brilliant friends!


Two friends (one who is a physicist) and I were talking about the decades old rash of studies dealing with the effect of thought and prayer on healing. The physicist started out the conversation with a couple of things I would like to share here:

He asked what the difference is between
Brain over body
Mind over matter
Spiritual healing?

It seemed easy to answer on the basis of MBEddy’s outline on the scientific translation of mortal mind. Each of these three approaches to the different medical studies could be defined in the context of that definition! (Note: MBEddy’s translation of mortal mind is in bold and my comments are in italics.)

Scientific Translation of Mortal Mind

First Degree: Depravity. (Marginal heading: Unreality)

PHYSICAL. Evil beliefs, passions and appetites, fear, depraved will, self-justification, pride, envy, deceit, hatred, revenge, sin, sickness, disease, death.
Brain over body deals with a wholly material basis, proposing that thought is a result of reactions of the brain and works to manipulate matter to produce healthy effects
Brain over body studies deal with the physical: passions, appetite, and the analysis from a material basis of sin, disease and death.

Second Degree: Evil beliefs disappearing. (Marginal heading: Transitional qualities)

MORAL. Humanity, honesty, affection, compassion, hope, faith, meekness, temperance.

Mind over matter deals with thought as well as body; seeing that thought has an impact on health and works that idea toward healthy conditions
Mind over matter studies deal with the moral qualities of honesty, affection, compassion and humanity; these are transitional qualities

Third Degree: Understanding. (Marginal heading: Reality)

SPIRITUAL. Wisdom, purity, spiritual understanding, spiritual power, love, health, holiness.

Spiritual healing deals with absolute spiritual principle coming from an infinite and omnipotent Mind, God; the application of these principles bring about harmony resulting in health
Spiritual healing studies deal with understanding: This is the basis for reality.

So what’s the point here and why is this important for us to understand?

Whereas these studies and theories point to an increased discussion (and elevated discussion) about the role of thought and prayer on health, it is only the ones that deal with the moral element that bring the discussion to that “transitional level” and may open the way for more inquiry to and practice of spiritual healing. Other studies are looking for a way to reduce God to a neurological impulse – keep God at a material basis.


Here are some examples that could be categorized into the three degrees of Mortal Mind as defined by MBEddy:

Brain over Body: God as a Physical phenomenon

Emotional Intelligence By Daniel Goleman
“…we are wired for compassion and concern” There is a new field of science called neurotheology, which applies the methodology of neuroscience to study the “God experience,” or GE. A National Institutes of Health study showed that one third of Americans had an experience in which they felt “a divine and wonderful spiritual power.” Scientists are now interested in studying and measuring what is going on in the brain during these experiences. They want to know, “Is spirituality genetic?"

Mind over Matter: God as the source of Moral Qualities

What Happy People Know By Dan Baker and Cameron Stauth
What one reviewer wrote: "Dr. Baker engages and entertains by writing in a conversational style sharing inspirational experiences and insights. The book takes a "positive psychology" approach teaching the reader what actions one should take to be happy and suggests that simply talking at length about a person's problems in a private office can't get you as far as going out and taking action. He says love is the answer - we should practice altruism, appreciation, and forgiveness. This great book is easy reading but unbelievably interesting and thought-provoking."

Spiritual healing: God as universal principle

"Intelligence is everywhere. And the deeper you go beneath the surface, the more intelligence, the more dynamism, the more awareness, until at the foundation of the universe there is a field of pure abstract universal existence-universal Consciousness…the unified field.”
From: “Consciousness in the Unified Field” John Hageli, Light of Consciousness(Spring/Summer 2006)

So, would love to hear comments on this! Especially with those of you who have backgrounds in the sciences. (PS - Thanks to my Association mates who researched the above books and quotes!)







To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.