1st Circle—Preserving Our Heritage
“First, last and all the time, our whole process is demonstration and that demonstration begins right here. It is the demonstration of a greater peace in our own life, a greater joy in our own consciousness, a greater spontaneity in our whole expression and a fuller, happier, more successful, and more vital life. People will see these things; outside of that we have no mission to convert. Ours is a mission of entering more completely into life for the joy of living. We want that we shall be a group of people who talk less and do more. Let us practice our belief in our own interior until people see in our daily living the outward result of our inner belief and conviction.” Ernest Holmes, Instructions to Practitioners: The Ethics of Our Profession,Lecture, May 5, 1933.
Why does the Science of Mind Archives exist? It exists to preserve and keep in circulation the words of Ernest Holmes, founder of Science of Mind; it exists to preserve and house memorabilia and historical artifacts from various churches and offices associated with Science of Mind; and it exists to preserve and share New Thought books, pamphlets, lectures, etc. of various New Thought authors. The Science of Mind Archives and Library house one of the largest collections of metaphysical books in existence today in the United States.
The lecture quoted above, given by Ernest Holmes to the first graduating class of practitioners, is available to ministers, practitioners, lay people, historians, and interested readers because of the hard work of countless volunteers to organize, sort, catalogue, document, and make materials available directly from the vaults of the Archives to the Internet for readers around the globe.
Many of us would like to go back in time and hear Ernest Holmes’ words of practical, wise advice from days long gone. Young practitioners, and even practitioners long established in their profession, are happy to hear Ernest Holmes’ practical advice about attracting clients and starting a business:
“To begin with a practitioner establishes himself in practice not because he works from an institution which has a great background, but because he knows how to practice and practices…..and so if people say to me, ‘How shall I get established in practice?’ I say, ‘Begin to practice in your own mind and it will not be long before you will have patients.’ Then they ask, ‘How are people to know about it?’ I do not know how they know about it. How do we know we are alive?”
In that same lecture, we hear Ernest Holmes’ frank words of counsel to all who so earnestly believe in and live by the philosophy of Science of Mind. He says:
“Don’t try to make converts. Don’t try to drag all your friends in and make them believe. We need to have the convictions that what we believe is so; we do not need to transmit that conviction to any living soul. If a multitude of men walk down the street and see a granite shaft withstanding the gale, they know it is solid, and if they see a straw blowing in the wind, they know it is just a straw. People are intelligent. In the long run we make an impress on life which is the exact correspondent of what we actually are.”
A new program has begun at the Archives that unites practitioners, ministers, and lovers of Science of Mind. We are committed to preserving Ernest Holmes’ ideas and words to the widest audience possible. But, unlike the main church or your local center, we do not have dedicated funding of our own. Currently, the Archives are being supported by a grant that is due to end in late 2013. That is why we have begun the 1st Circle Program. This program seeks to unite 1,000 passionate supporters, who will make an annual contribution of at least $125 to preserve, protect, and allow us to catalogue and share even more of the wisdom of Ernest Holmes and other “lights” of Science of Mind—those from our collective past, those present and working today, and those coming in our future.
This lecture and many works like it might be sitting in a forgotten box, in a neglected room, in a distant spot—far, far away from your eyes. But, due to a lot of hard work, you are reading it today on your computer screen. The Archives and Library is dedicated to making Holmes’ actual words available to anyone, anywhere who desires to “practice” Science of Mind.
Please take a moment to click on the PDF file below to download the entire Instructions to Practitioners: The Ethics of Our Profession. Also visit our 1st Circle page to find out more about becoming a 1st Circle member or click the “donate” button to make a tax-deductible contribution to support our efforts