|
|
|
According to The Science of Mind, the Ten Core Concepts of SOM (taught in the "Fundamentals of Science of Mind" class) are: |
|
1. There is One Cosmic Reality Principle and Presence in the Universe - God. All creation originates in this One Source. God is. God is all there is. EXPLANATION: God is not one thing, but rather every thing in the Cosmos (i.e. everything seen and unseen in this and all other parallel dimensions of the Universe). It is not only present in, but IS the entire Universe. 2. God is threefold (triune) in nature, having three aspects or modes of being within the One: Spirit, Soul and Body. This is God seen as the Universal Macrocosm. EXPLANATION: The term "Universal Macrocosm" is another term for all dimensions of the Universe. 3. Spirit is the great Causative Power of the Universe. The Word, or thought, of God eternally initiates the Divine Creative Process. In this process, Law is continuously set in motion to create, from the Unformed Substance, innumerable forms which follow the thought-patterns of Spirit. EXPLANATION: God consciously initiates creation with thought and thereby forms all things from unformed substance by using Its Soul (i.e. the impersonal Law of Cause and Effect - that is "What you sow is what you reap." See further explanation in the second paragraph of this "Teachings and Practices" Section. Since God is everything (see #1), humans are part of God. and humans can also create in this way, on the human level. 4. In the Infinite Nature of God, all conceivable Good is eternally available, ready to flow into human experience. Through some cosmic Process, this flow of Good is activated and/or increased by human belief, faith, and acceptance. The expression of this essential belief, faith, and acceptance is prayer. EXPLANATION: "Prayer" is "Spiritual Mind Treatment" (see third paragraph of this section, above). This is the main Religious Science technique to tap into God (defined in #1 as "all there is" - i.e. Its "Infinite Nature") to create all the good we desire on the human level, analogous to God creating on the Universe level (see #3). This requires faith in the knowledge that the technique is working right now. 5. This is a Universe of Wholeness, Allness, Oneness. Spirit is a transcendent, perfect Wholeness that, in Its infinite inclusivity, harmoniously embraces all seeming opposites. EXPLANATION: Since the Universe is defined as God (see #1), these are some of the attributes of God. 6. This is a Universe of infinite abundance, spiritual, mental, and physical. This Bounty of Spirit, this Allness of Good, is limitless and can never be depleted. EXPLANATION: Again, since the Universe is defined as God (see #1), these are some of the attributes of God. 7. This is a reciprocal Universe. For every visible form, there is an invisible counterpart. Everything in nature tends to equalize itself, to keep its balance true. EXPLANATION: This is the Law of Cause and Effect (See further explanation in the second paragraph of this "Teachings and Practices" Section). 8. The Universe exists in the Eternal Now, each moment complete and perfect within itself. In this Universal Harmony, justice without judgment is always automatic, an infallible Universal Principle. There can be no place for Divine anger, unforgiveness, or punishment. EXPLANATION: God's and human's thoughts, actions, and manifestations can only occur in the present. The Law of Cause and Effect is always working. We make our "Heaven and Hell" experiences every moment in the present, with the choices we make. To the extent that mankind achieves the Divine attributes, it evolves into God's attributes. 9. Immortality is a Universal Principle, not a "belief' or a bargain made with the Universe for good behavior. God knows only Life, its eternal continuity, evolution, and expansion. EXPLANATION: Religious Scientists know (rather than believe) that life evolves in this as well as all other dimensions, even after our souls make their transition into those dimensions. In this case, the term "Universal" means "no exceptions." 10. The mystic concept of the Cosmic Christ is not that of a person, but of a Principle, a Universal Presence ... the Universal Image of God present in all creation ... the "pattern that connects." EXPLANATION: The term "Cosmic Christ" here is a metaphor for that God-like consciousness that was and is present in all the Prophets and other enlightened people who have and are using this Principle to assist in the positive evolution of mankind, society, and/or their own personal lives. "Christ" was not Jesus' last name, but rather a title for an enlightened person that was created and given to him before the 12th century A.D.[19] |