Non-Theistic Affirmations

I really enjoy the writings of Ernest Holmes known primarily for his Science of Mind book. I do struggle with the belief in God as taught by most religions and common interpretations. This caused me to slightly modify some of the affirmations he suggests in his book How To Change Your Life so that I could be feel more in tune with their message.

This brings to mind a discussion I once had with the deacon at the St. Marks Church where he advised that if you have trouble with the word God then find a word that works for you. He suggested love. You can find that conversation embedded in Episode 5 of Norm Scott's Audio Zine Lo-fi Confessional. All you have to do is scroll down and click the bar to listen. One thing you are guaranteed to find out is that I laugh a lot. There are plenty instances on there of me cackling away. That tape is one of my favorites of his very impressive body of archival works. It captures an important moment in time, the protests surrounding the 2004 NYC Republican National Convention, but I digress.

Another important teacher that brought home the power of a minor semantics makeover is Emma Curtis Hopkins. She is commonly referred to as the teacher of teachers for the string of students that went on to become household names within the new thought movement. In her later years she even taught Mr. Holmes himself. As a matter of fact she forced him to recognize something he had been hesitant to embrace his whole life - that he was a mystic. Although she heavily used the word God in her own work, she also likens it to "good" stating that "God is Love" and also "My Good is my God." It is in the service of these concepts that I began to work with the appearance of the word God I keep coming across in New Thought literature as "My Good" and "Love." Perhaps blasphemy to some but a lifeboat to others. There is no reason why we can't work with the power of spirit even if we have a lot of questions. I now present to you the aforementioned affirmations:

Abundance
I identify myself with abundance; I surrender all fear and doubt. I let go of all uncertainty. I know there is no confusion, no lack of confidence. The Presence of All Good is with me. The Mind of All Good is my mind. The Freedom of All Good is my freedom. The power of All Good is my power. The abundance of All Good fills my every good desire right now.

Success
I know exactly what to do in every situation. Every idea necessary to successful living is brought to my attention. The doorway to ever-increasing opportunities for self-expression is open before me. I am continually meeting new and larger experiences. Every day brings some greater good. Every day brings more blessings and greater self-expression. I am prospered in everything I do. There is no deferment, no delay, no obstruction or obstacle to impede the progress of right action.

How to Attract Good Things
I know accepting only good in my life penetrates any unbelief in my mind, casts out fear, removes doubt and clears away obstacles, permitting that which is enduring perfect and true to be realized. I have complete faith and acceptance that all the worthwhile ideas I now affirm will be fulfilled as I have believed. I do everything with a sense of reliance upon the Law of Mind, therefore I know that my word shall not return unto me void. I accept this word and rejoice in it. I expect complete and success fulfillment of the thoughts of increased good which I now establish.

Fear, Writing, and Presence

When things are on track we churn through life smoothly not even thinking about circumstances too closely. Not until the rug gets pulled out from under us do we find ourselves face to face with fear. This is when the pedal hits the metal and we need to start looking at our lives more closely. We can either deal with fear or run away into distractions, bad habits, mindless TV shows, you name it. We can see the trap and instead work directly with the situation, puncturing holes in the veil of confusion with the sword of insight. We must stay focused, keeping our grip on the big picture, our goals and aspirations.


Thich Nhat Hanh tells a story where a man came to interview him about all of his good works. Nhat Hanh advised him not to waste his effort writing a book about him, and instead to write a book about himself, and how he is learning to work with his own mind. This is the invitation for all of us to tell our personal journey firsthand.


Some more thoughts:

• Sensory Overload versus Media Deprivation
• Finding your spot in the world, taking your place.
• Keep Sight of your Definite Chief Aim
• Nature is made of fractals
• Starting with a Framework and Building Outward from there.
• Become a community manager  

Make Your Denials

Kenny Scharf (Opera Gallery)

Once you have got all your good out in the form of a list, freewritten, thought about, spoken aloud, and you are continually working with this idea, you can begin the 2nd step which is your denials. According to Emma Curtis Hopkins you must deny:

• Evil, 
• Matter, 
• Absence of Life Substance or Intelligence
• Hate
• Sin sickness or death

It is that easy so far, Name Your Good, and Make your Denials...

In a nutshell what Emma is asking us to do is connect directly with our ever-present and evolving sense of Good, and follow this "Good Orderly Direction" as Julia Cameron teaches, and if the word God hangs you up then switch it to a word you don't have a problem with like Love. There is nothing beneficial to be gained from sitting in a sea of doubt because your skeptical mind can't prove everything, and it feels like a constant insult.

So from the being in touch with Good, we make the denials, this is where Emma goes hardcore, not only does she deny evil, but matter all together, she see only the spiritual universe, the malleable, and the mind ether. This is the radical approach, solipsism? I can't be hung up by fancy words just yet, so let us think about what our good, and all the things Emma is asking us to deny.

As you may have guessed Emma moves from denials into affirmations in Step 3.

Blog Journal

Augustine Kofie (Opera Gallery)

Yesterday began day one of my blogging pursuit. As I look to the world I see the audience coming into focus. I see the words stringing along to create value and interest. The energy that comes from maintaining an active blog is exciting. I am steadily building my audience. I started with a basic google search, a review of wikipedia, a couple of how to's, and finally dipped into the ever powerful resource, my "personal notes."

The "personal notes" is a bloggers treasure chest if they are compiled correctly. This is where you store away all of your gems of thought to be used as blog material down the road. I like to build a web, constantly drawing out the structure more and more. My workstyle is to start to slow, and progressively build, and the choo-choo rides from there. The train analogy is good because it also reminds us to stay on track.

We have a choice in how to view our lives, either in a linear fashion with an A to B concern, or we can shift, ride the wave, get lost and no longer need to be heavily bound to time, and the weight of drudgery. We can reawaken our relationship to our world in ever moment, renewing, and shifting our consciousness to a place of presence.

To tell the truth we don't have to wait around, we can begin telling it right away from a deeply personal standpoint. I like to think about this blog as "old friends sharing our thoughts over a cup of coffee and a typewriter."

Synthesis Rules of the Road

• Build harmony among the many voices
• Start with a framework and expand from there (fractals)
• Explore systems transparently
• Be consistent over an extended period of time
• Go where the energy leads you
• Approach your work with a feeling of abundance
• Use each action to move forward your plans naturally and organically

Blogging Basics

Live Blog... May 21, 2012 11:25 AM Here are some of those links to get our feet grounded... How do I Start a Blog? As you scroll down this page you are asked to answer a few questions in order to jog out a suitable title for your blog. I already have my blog named PathRHINO but have now changed the way I capitalize the letters, who knows where I will end up before this is all said and done. what do you want your blog to be about? Number from 1 to 50 and put out your own answers, now you have a list that is like a golden key to what will become the content of your blog. You don't need to show it to anybody, it will soon give the character to your voice, the point of view you are creating... Then go over your keywords, graphics and audience as well, and we will return to this...

Basics for Starting a Blog

Live Blog: Blogging Basics May 21. 2012 10:30 AM I have been blogging for many years in an informal context. I always enjoyed the freedom it allows me to express myself. Now as I look to the future I have decided to blog more regularly and to take a more tactical approach. I began with a simple google search. "Blogging Basics" which led me to a website called "Blogging Basics 101" I dug in a little deeper and ended up on a page called "How do I start a blog" From there it is suggested that if one is starting out that they use a free blog platform until they are sure they are ready to make a commitment to blogging. I already have this account so I decided to use this as my first platform for blogging. As I said I have been blogging here on Blogger since 2006 but my past entries are a little unfocused and I wanted to make more headway with a clearer trajectory as I build up my archive. After you settle on a platform, in this case I arrive at you live and direct from Blogger, as Path Rhino, and this is exactly where the article directs us. It talks about answering questions and drawing out the name, and also to stay away from generic titles. TBC...