Ernest Holmes
In “The Beverly Hills Lectures,” Dr. Ernest Holmes spoke of those who make the choice to live their lives based on New Thought principles this way:
“The moment you step out of the ordinary ranks, the moment you step out of the procession that moves endlessly down the aisle, you are in the spotlight of evolution. Your own choice has decided you, and you are no longer going to think as others. You are no longer going to lay your greatness at the feet of a person whom you recognize to be great. The moment a person steps out of the endless stream of humanity, he no longer goes by the norm that was set by the mass mind. He is a leader, he is a thinker. He is one who introduces new things to the world.”
What a powerful statement of Truth! What a challenging way to live – to move “beyond choice” to a true life calling based on the realization that you already have access to everything you need to live a life of meaning, abundance, and great contribution. That is what many of us in New Thought have made the choice to do – to let our own choice decide us. This means that we commit to our own personal evolution toward greater awareness, greater realization of the power which is possible for us, to higher values and to the demonstration of our good.
In Spiral Dynamics™ terms, it means to move from the fear-based ego-bound levels of 1st Tier consciousness to the empowered-by-the-realization-of-love-based beingness of 2nd Tier consciousness. To work through our old issues, including our Shadow-self, and move toward a level of self-mastery. To rise to a level of being from which we can truly contribute our unique genius to the world. This is not to say that there are no problems at 2nd Tier, but you are in a much better place to handle them. It is also not to say that a true life calling cannot be actualized at 1st Tier, however, it will be more difficult to do so consistently and effectively; there will not be a full version of self-mastery. It is often the power of the calling itself that pulls us upward through the Levels of Existence to 2nd Tier consciousness.
The same New Thought principles that brought Ernest Holmes, the Fillmores, the Brooks sisters and others of their generation to self-mastery will bring anyone anywhere to self-mastery if they are applied consistently and in a means that meets the demands of the environment in which you live.
Is a true life calling necessary for everyone in New Thought? No, probably not.
Is a true life calling necessary for practitioners and ministers in New Thought? I would say yes, definitely.
There is nothing casual about accepting the role of practitioner or minister/spiritual leader. The degree of accountability, talent, ongoing study and practice required is great, and a true calling provides the necessary motivation and drive to move to a level of self-mastery. Without that calling, that level is rarely, if ever, reached. Without that calling, the challenges of being a spiritual leader are unlikely to be mastered.
What gets in the way of our movement toward self-mastery? Two main things:
- We don’t do Shadow work widely in our movement.
- We are inconsistent in our spiritual practice.
Now you may be able to think of others, but I suggest that they are likely a subset of one of these two. By Shadow work, I mean dealing with our repressed Shadow aspects, where negative aspects active in our subconscious mind are projected onto others, while positive aspects of ourselves are not allowed to emerge, severely limiting our effectiveness in the world. Also, repressed elements can limit the effectiveness of our efforts to create more powerful positive mindsets. The repressed elements are like rocks buried under the surface of our conscious minds. They get in the way of deeper spiritual work.
“Any serious spiritual work brings up the shadow, the rejected parts of your own psyche, which have to be faced and accepted. It’s the process of inner purification. Other spiritual paths may focus on purification through diet or yoga or good living or correcting bad habits. Our particular Sufi path has a very strong psychological element, and the purification is analogous to Jung’s ‘shadow work’ in which the rejected parts of one’s psyche come to the surface to be confronted, loved and accepted. This begins the process of transformation. As Jung said, ‘One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.’ Then he humorously added, ‘The latter process, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.’” ~ Llewellyn Vaughan Lee
Inconsistency in our practice can be several things. It can be that we do not do a daily practice every day, or even very often. It can mean that we do a daily practice, but we are inconsistent in the level of focus and intention that we bring to it. It can mean that we are open to distractions that delay, disturb, or eliminate our practice all together. As a matter of fact, our unresolved Shadow issues can be a significant factor in our inability to be completely present for our spiritual practices.
“The Shadow is not necessarily ‘dark,’ as in evil. It’s all the unacceptable aspects of ourselves: ‘That’s not me.’ ‘I’m not like that.’ Ha!” ~ Daryl Sharp
So those two things actually lead us to just one thing.
I think this brings us back to the idea of a true life calling – what Dr. Holmes referred to as “your choice has decided you,” in the quote above. I am sure that not everyone who has attained the status of minister or practitioner has had a true calling. That is one reason why in the Religious Science organization ordination is not granted when one completes ministerial training and is licensed as a minister. There is a waiting period, which varies from individual to individual until ordination is conferred.
The reason for the policy of delaying ordination is, theoretically, to determine who has a true calling, but there is no external way to measure whether or not a true calling exists. The only thing that can possibly indicate a true calling is a joyously full engagement in spiritual practices and the fullest possible acceptance of and use of New Thought spiritual principles in one’s life, because there is no other choice which can be made. In other words – the person with a true calling does what needs to be done to maximize his or her own self-mastery, because to do otherwise has become unthinkable.
“Behind every specific call, whether it is to teach or preach or write or encourage or comfort, there is a deeper call that gives shape to the first: the call to give ourselves away – the call to die.” ~ Michael Card, The Walk: The Life-changing Journey of Two Friends
My own experience is this – when I have a true calling, nothing holds me back. I rarely get fatigued (often tired, but not fatigued), I have a true passion for what I do, and I actively seek to bring the best, most masterful version of myself to that calling every day. I practice, read, study, ask questions, and seek whatever will bring me toward a greater expression of that calling. I pay attention to the world around me as it relates to my calling – not becoming buried in what I am doing, but having it continually emerge as something new. If anything else is happening other that what I have just described, I must question my calling. The calling is an almost insatiable urge to fully engage with what will further the calling itself.
