Science of Mind Archives’ Blog
Celebrating One Year!
By Jeannette Quinn Bisbee
Wow! A year of writing and sharing all the many resources of the Science of Mind Archives and Library has just flown by me. I have had the distinct honor and privilege to share my love and passion for the history of Religious Science, the magnificent writings and speeches delivered by Ernest Holmes, and the wealth of material available from other Religious Science ministers and New Thought writers. I have written 26 great blogs on various subjects: Hollywood and Religious Science; the co-founder of the Science of Mind Archives, Dr. Marilyn Leo; new publications from the SOM Archives; free publications from the SOM Archives’ website; profiles of the very first SOM Practitioner class; sharing oral histories from some of Religious Science’s long-term members; Ernest Holmes’ moment of Cosmic Consciousness; his famous radio program, “This Thing Called Life”; and blogs thanking some of the amazing volunteers who keep the SOM Archives expanding, transforming, and sharing the thousands of resources contained within our collection.
It has been a great year. From the Archives’ inception in the 1990’s to today—its goal has been to preserve the wonderful legacy of Ernest Holmes, the early beginnings of Science of Mind, and the other great writers and thinkers in New Thought. Our goal is to be the #1 repository of New Thought texts and Science of Mind collections. Even more important than being a “repository”—is to be an active distributor and sharer of those materials to the global community through the technology of the Internet. We want people in South Africa, students in Peru, study groups in Shanghai, new members in the Ukraine—anyone, anywhere, at any time of the day or night to be able to easily access Ernest Holmes’ writings and all of the resources available in the Archives. But, it is a tremendous task, and it involves a lot of dedicated volunteers!
Just this past year, the SOM Archives have achieved the following:
✔ Have had visits to our website from over 80 different Countries
✔ Rare Books Index has been completed
✔ Religious Science International rare book index completed by volunteer, Ted Penberthy
✔ Marcus Bach (a leading authority on the world’s religions) book collection index completed by volunteer, Melinda Eskridge
✔ Anne Marie Hogel’s private book collection index completed by volunteer, Laurie Hendren
✔ Over 100 old issues of Science of Mind magazine (years 1927-1936) scanned and added to the Internet by volunteers Ted Penberthy and Tamara Kirsh
✔Creative Thought magazine scanning begun by volunteer Emily May
✔ Radio talks, “This Thing Called Life,” transferred to permanent collection by volunteer Diane Bullock
✔ Various Religious Science International items indexed and inventoried by volunteer Melinda Eskridge
✔ New book collections received from William Lynn, close personal friend of Ernest Holmes and former Executive Director of the Science of Mind Foundation; also, book collection donated to the Archives from Donald Curtis—well-known Hollywood actor and Religious Science minister and author. Checked in by volunteer Diane Bishop
✔ Science of Mind magazine index being updated by volunteer Andre DeLoach (Bulk of this index received from our good friends, Karen and Doug Jones of the International New Thought Association Archives, whose work and dedication we will be featuring in an upcoming blog!)
✔ Completed Past Presidents’ Index of Religious Science, Religious Science International, and United Religious Science
✔ Published Chronicles of Religious Science, Volume I. Volume II is currently being edited and crosschecked with source material by volunteer Melinda Eskridge and editor Debra Freeland
✔ Published reprinting of 1953 Extension Study Course in the Science of Mind, Volumes One and Two in print and Kindle editions. Volumes Three and Four available by early 2014
✔ Tarcher/Penquin is publishing the Holmes Papers: Volume 1-3 as a single Anthology—available in the summer of 2014; Archives volunteer Nan Agriesti made the original material available.
Some of the projects we are working on that should be completed or begun in 2014 are (more new projects will be added throughout the upcoming year):
All issues of Science of Mind magazine from 1927-2007 completely digitized, scanned, and available on website (still working on years 1937-1949)
Complete the scanning and digitization of ALL of Ernest Holmes’ writings (Over 200 of his writings are already available for free or for a nominal fee from the website)
Produce the recordings of Ernest Holmes radio talks on CD or available for download from the Archives website (the Live Again series already available; this would substantially add to that)
Finish scanning and digitizing the complete run of Creative Thought magazine (Years 1954-2013)
Transfer Ernest Holmes’ reel-to-reel recordings into CD or MP3 format
Scan and digitize lectures and classes by other famous Religious Science ministers like Rev. William Hornaday and Rev. Donald Curtis—to name just a few
Create an Online Library Classification System for our “display Library.”
Some of the upcoming blogs coming in the next few months are blogs on: Religious Science and its connection to science/scientists, Hazel Holmes, profiles of Rev. William Hornaday, Donald Curtis, Louise Hay, Raymond Charles Barker, the International New Thought Association archives’, other oral histories of laity, practitioners, and ministers of Religious Science, and more profiles of our amazing volunteers. Each week I am blessed to read and share more and more of Ernest Holmes’ writings and thoughts; I am blessed to research and spend time reading old issues of Science of Mind magazine. Most of all, I am blessed to work closely with James Abbott, the Director of the Science of Mind Archives and Library, who spends countless hours organizing fundraisers, meeting with donors, leading tours of the Archives in Golden, Colorado, publishing the Archives’ newsletter, and supervising the many volunteers who devote their time, passion, and energy to preserving Ernest Holmes and Religious Science for students, church members, and researchers from around the globe. I could not do, nor could any of us accomplish, all that we have done without his kind and thoughtful guidance and leadership.
We believe quite ERNESTLY in our motto: Science of Mind Archives, Where the Past Illuminates the Future!
Rev. Dr. Margaret Stortz says it best, “It is so important that we as an organization [Centers for Spiritual Living] maintain our past history. If we do not, we can drift into being a ‘nice’ metaphysical organization that becomes unrecognizable as we modernize ourselves right out of our roots.” The Archives is dedicated to preserving our unique and wondrous roots!
Here’s to another wonderful year of preserving and sharing all that we were and all that we are with the entire world!
Jeannette Quinn Bisbee R.Sc.P has been published in Science of Mind magazine, and was an Insight Speaker at the 2013 Asilomar Convention. Her passion is the Archives, and she contributes this blog twice monthly highlighting for readers around the world the wonderful projects and items available in the Science of Mind Archives.