Senior Minister
Rev. Julie Lobato
We meet VIRTUALLY for the forseeable future
Our Center is a member church of Centers for Spiritual Living, and our teaching or philosophy is the Science of Mind. We are guided by a declaration of Principles that says in short:
We believe and teach that there is One Power, and only one Power in this universe, that flows through, and is, in everything, everywhere, at all times. This Power can be, and is called many things including God, Spirit, Universal Mind, Nature, and Creator.
We believe and teach that there is only One Source, but many avenues from which to hear Truth. Each person has an inner knowing of what is true and what is not. Your truth is important and it matters not whether you hear it from the pulpit or the podium.
We believe and teach that this One Power is non-judgmental, holds no grudges, thinks not of what happened yesterday, but gives us all we need today, for us to have a successful and happy life.
We believe and teach that this One Universal Power responds to our thoughts in exactly the same way and to the same degree that we believe them. It gives to us freely without reservation what we ask for in our thoughts.
We believe and teach that everything comes from this one power, and it is our judgment that determines whether it is good or not.
We believe and teach that physical healing is done first in the mind, then in the body of the person suffering a dis-ease, and when we become at ease within our minds we then allow the healing to occur.
We believe and teach about the ongoing life of Spirit , forever expressing as us, and in everything around us, and this expression is perfect as it is.
This is the great message the Science of Mind brings to people of all faiths. It is a fresh concept of religion as a life philosophy and a science. As a philosophy, the Science of Mind presents a practical, down-to-earth way of thinking about the nature of the Universe and our relationship to it. As a religion, it presents a philosophy that is both mentally stimulating and emotionally satisfying. As a science, it presents specific and definite ideas which you can demonstrate for yourself and directly experience the benefits in your life.
The Science of Mind is a system of mental and spiritual principles, combined with a technique for the application of these principles. It is designed to live and expand consciousness in ways that lead to an even higher order of livingness. It emphasizes the spiritual connection of all, thus promoting peace and greater harmony at all levels of experience. The consistent application of the Science of Mind principles result in health, satisfying relationships, enhanced creativity, and prosperity.
The Science of Mind is not a closed system of thought. It grows continually as humankind evolves, drawing on the frontiers of knowledge as well as the wisdom of the ages.
A "Center for Spiritual Living", like the Center for Spiritual Living Castle Rock is a member church of Centers for Spiritual Living. We provide spiritual tools to transform our personal lives and help make the world a better place. We teach powerful principles for personal and global transformation, honoring all paths to God. We help people experience a personal relationship with the creator; promote a community of tolerance, understanding and respect; provide classes, programs, prayer and meditation; and advocate a safe spiritual community of like-minded people interested in living a spiritual life.
Dr. Ernest Holmes founded the spiritual movement that started the Centers for Spiritual Living. Born in 1887 on a small Maine farm, Dr. Holmes spent his teenage years out-of-doors, asking himself “What is God? Who am I? Why am I here?” This questioning led to his 1926 book, "The Science of Mind", which outlined the foundational viewpoints of modern "New Thought".
"Science of Mind" (also referred to as "Religious Science") is the core teaching of Centers for Spiritual Living and the Center for Spiritual Living Castle Rock. Science of Mind is a philosophy that integrates spiritual truths with science and physics. Simply put, Science of Mind teaches the unity of all life. Intentions and ideas flow through a field of consciousness, which actually affects and creates the world around us. This idea is common to most major religions and is supported by the teachings of psychology and quantum physics.
In Science of Mind, we believe that the secret to living a successful life is to consciously choose positive and productive thoughts. Put another way, "As you think, so you become." It is the intention of Center for Spiritual Living Castle Rock to use Science of Mind principles as a force for good in our world by transforming personal lives.
A "Center for Spiritual Living", like the Center for Spiritual Living Castle Rock is a member church of Centers for Spiritual Living.
The central teaching of New Thought is that our thinking creates our experiences. When we choose empowering and loving thoughts we create a new experience of life that is in alignment with what we desire, what we believe and what we really accept.
As a philosophy we teach spiritual laws that can be learned and applied in our lives, which offer sure results that can be duplicated by anyone who is willing to learn these laws and use them.
Religious Science is a spiritual philosophy for the modern man and woman. It is based on the Truth which arises in every culture in the form of science, philosophy, and religion. Religious Science views religion as a source of wisdom for revealing the Truth about the seemingly unknown forces that shape our universe. This enables us to participate in our own life as a co-creator with the Divine. Religious Science was founded by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world's Spiritual paths for most of his life. In 1926, he wrote "The Science of Mind", which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of the world's faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles of Religious Science. He never intended to begin a new faith, but was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.
Ernest Holmes used the terms "Science of Mind", which he called the book that describes his synthesis of the truths running through all of the religions of the world, and "Religious Science" interchangeably. He believed that religion and science were truly complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed that, eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings, and the Universe. His beliefs have been borne out by many modern scientists, who have found that the universe is truly made up of energy. Religious Science, along with all of the mystics of the ages, knows that that energy is God.
Yes.
On Thursday we come together as a spiritual community to be inspired and to hear a positive message about our oneness with all life. We study many of the great spiritual teachers from Emerson to Gandhi, Jesus to Buddha. We also bring in contemporary teachings including Dr. Ernest Holmes, Allen Cohen, Deepak Chopra, and Dr. Wayne Dyer. Each week we learn how to live in harmony with spiritual principles that promote greater peace, happiness and joy.
If you are new to the Center and would like more information about us, please feel free to visit the Information table for a Guest Packet. In it you will find several resources including brochures and our monthly magazine called "Science of Mind Magazine".
As well, feel free to ask our Senior Minister after the service any questions that you may have about our teaching and our Center. During the week you may call our Center office at 720-988-9298.
There are many ways to get involved at the Center - taking classes, attending workshops, volunteering, and becoming a member.
If you are interested in serving the Center, or have something to offer this growing community, call us at 720-988-9298. We would love to hear from you.
The V symbol of Religious Science can be interpreted on many different levels. On a Universal level, the top of the V shows the Universal Spirit (God), then the universal subjectivity, which is the medium of all thought, power, and action, then, at the bottom, at particularization of our manifestation of Spirit.
The point drawn through the center symbolizes the descent of Spirit into matter, or form. It is necessary that Spirit be manifested in order to express Itself. The descending line shows that all comes from the One (God)). Humanity reenacts the whole Universal Life, and the nature of humanity is identical with Spirit. What is true of the Whole is true of any of its individual undivided parts. Humanity comes to a point of individualization in the Whole and is subject to the Law of the Whole. (Paraphrased from The Science of Mind by Dr. Ernest Holmes, p. 569.)
Meditation is the time honored technique for taming, training and transforming the mind. Religious Science endorses all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind stilling techniques. It is through meditation that we come into a state of God communion and thereby experience a greater sense of unity of all life.
Religious Science honors and endorses all forms of sincere prayer. In addition, it teaches a unique and scientific form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment. This is a powerful, affirmative method of prayer that was developed by Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science. It involves a five step process that embodies all of the elements of the creative process of Life itself.
To affirm something is to state something positively. Affirmative prayer, or Spiritual Mind Treatment as it is also called, is a step-by-step method of prayer in which we state a desired outcome in a positive manner. It is an effective way of changing and shifting any limiting beliefs to empowering and positive beliefs.
We end off our Affirmative Prayer with these words to declare to the Universe that we know God has already fulfilled our desires, even if we cannot see it right at this moment. It is equivalent to planting a seed, or in our case “a thought” into the soil or “our mind” and releasing it to do its work. And so it is!
Simply put, a professional practitioner is an individual who is trained to offer affirmative prayer (or Spiritual Mind Treatment) to others. They have completed a minimum of three years of classes and examinations to achieve the title of licensed Religious Science Practitioners, and they offer their assistance throughout the week as professionally paid for service. Our Center has a number of wonderful Practitioners.
The term affirmation is normally associated with a verbal statement that is made about some goal that we are trying to achieve, or some experience we desire to have. However, the act of affirmation is really much more than that. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement, act, or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we "act as if" our highest aspirations were already a reality.
The original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or "miss the mark" of spiritual perfection. A sin is not a thing, it is merely an activity that produces an undesirable effect in our lives. In other words, we are punished by our sins, not for them.
Religious Science does not deny the appearance of evil. However, it teaches that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only power acting, which is Spirit. The obstruction of Spirit's expression always occurs in the mind through the holding of false beliefs. According to Religious Science, the only presence acting in the universe is God, which is always Good. Evil is merely the way that we withhold our expression and experience of that good by accepting false beliefs into our minds.
Religious Science believes that, since the only power acting anywhere is God, the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God's expression through Spirit. Therefore, there really is no devil. There is only the manifestation of falsely held beliefs within our minds, which produces that appearance of some sinister invisible force, or being, acting in our lives. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else, is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life.
Religious Science believes that heaven and hell are states of mind. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with the Life that surrounds us.
Hell is a state of mind that we experience when we don't understand why something unpleasant is happening to us. We can choose to create our own heaven or hell on Earth, and take our beliefs with us when we go through the transition the world calls death to the next plane of existence.
Religious Science teaches the eternality of life. It accepts that our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. However, even though we may have a body, we are not just our body. What we really are is the Life that animates our body, and that Life is infinite and immortal. As we become increasing identified with our divine and eternal nature, our underlying fear of death begins to dissolve and our experience of life become more joyous.
Religious Science neither endorses nor rejects any particular theory or concept of reincarnation. Since life is eternal, there are an unlimited number of possibilities for its evolvement after the experience of physical death. In Religious Science, we accept the on-goingness of life and we deal with what is before us in the present moment.
Everything that occurs in our lives is simply the out-picturing of our consciousness operating through the Law of Mind. Therefore, those events that seem to be miraculous in nature are actually the Law acting at a level beyond our awareness. As we evolve our consciousness, what previously seemed miraculous becomes a natural, normal and understandable way of life. In actuality, there is only one miracle, this is Life itself.Top of Page
In Religious Science, Christ is viewed as a universal principle rather than a person. It is the principle of God expressing through humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was a human personality through which the Christ Principle, or Divine Personality, expressed itself on Earth. The principle of Jesus Christ represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. This union produces an expression of Life that includes both, yet is greater than either. The potential for this expression lies within each one of us. Therefore, Jesus is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception. Ernest Holmes, founder of the philosophy of Religious Science, says:
"Religious Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus; but it does affirm the divinity of all people. It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God; but affirms that all beings are children of God. It does not deny that the Kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus; but affirms that the Kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me."
Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, came out of a Christian tradition. He studied all of the world's religions, and synthesized what he saw to be the truths running through them all, free of any particular dogma. He began the philosophy with the intention that all churches, especially Christian ones, would embrace the philosophy and incorporate those teachings into their own. When that did not happen on a large-scale basis, he allowed the people around him to talk him into starting a church to make sure that the teachings would endure. His original intention was not to start a new religion. Religious Science comes out of the Christian tradition in the sense that we believe in the teachings of Jesus and use them to create a "Heaven on Earth".
Religious Science is a New Thought philosophy. Although many people with New Age leanings are attracted to Religious Science and some of the practices of Religious Science such as meditation are also practiced by those who consider themselves New Age, Religious Science does not consider itself a New Age Religion. Religious Science honors all paths that lead to God, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age, or any other spiritual paths.
No. Religious Science should never be confused with Scientology.
No. Religious Science teaches that each individual has the power over and the responsibility for his or her own life. Religious Science highly discourages the following of or dependence upon any one person, including founder Ernest Holmes or any present ministers or teachers. Religious Science challenges people to think for themselves and only believe what rings true for them. One must look into one's own heart for truth.
No. Ernest Holmes studied with many of the spiritual leaders of his time, including Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Religious Science attracts many from the Christian Science tradition.
Yes. Religious Scientists believe that all is God, and that God is expressed through doctors and medicine just as God is expressed through all of the physical universe. Religious Science believes in spiritual as well as physical healing, and Religious Science Practitioners often work in conjunction with doctors and other physical and mental health practitioners to facilitate healing.