From Duality to Unity
“The very force which makes us sick can heal us, the force which makes us poor can enrich us, and the power which makes us miserable can make us happy. If this were not true, there would be a duality in the Universe and this is impossible." – Ernest Holmes
The old religious paradigm of duality – God lives in heaven and the devil lives in hell – is a governing factor that keeps many people on the path of so-called righteousness. The belief in duality is also the mind set that has deeply scripted the militant approach to life, i.e., we fight disease, declare war on poverty and battle mental illness or alcohol and drugs. Many of us have cut our teeth singing the words to the old hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers”. This promotes the idea that we must march off to war and call on a power outside ourselves to help us ward off evil and wrongdoing, rather than knowing there is no war in heaven (state of mind), and there is nothing in the Universe that can oppose us! Too many people for far too long have believed in the old cliché, give Satan an inch and he’ll be a ruler!
Even modern day songs promote duality. Consider these words, “From a distance, God is watching over me”! Each time I hear the beautiful tune and the words that convey the idea of someone watching over me, I notice that it takes a conscious effort to not slip into the belief that God is “up there caring for me”. There is a tendency for the human being to deny the spiritual power within and to seek comfort and answers outside the self. However, to embody the idea that the universe is not in chaos and God did not create a power to oppose Itself affords one the opportunity to use the creative power intelligently and easily.
The teaching of the Science of Mind does not promote the denial of the appearance of evil. However, we teach that evil is not a “cosmic entity – no devil, no hell, no torment, no damnation outside of one’s own state of thought, and no salvation outside of conscious cooperation with the Infinite”. Truly, heaven and hell are states of consciousness. The need to replace the old story with the new creates a different pattern and sets the example and model for a sense of Oneness and the spirit of Unity. We live in an uni-verse, not a dual-verse. We sing a song of oneness, not twoness! Dr. Holmes wrote, “There is no devil and God is Love. Why not just accept this and begin to live?”
So, the questions are: what is it that keeps us from accepting the new paradigm of unity? Why is it that we lead lives that are fear-based instead of faith-based? What does it take to create lives that express the qualities of God in our bodies and all of our affairs?
Can we truly realize that our thoughts have power, and that we need not look for a law of health as opposed to a law of disease – that there is only one Law?
To fully understand that the Law which makes us sick can heal us, the power which makes us poor can enrich us and that suffering is optional is the way out of duality and helplessness. To know that the state of hell that appears in our experiences and conditions is created by our unconscious use of the Law is the opening to the acceptance that “There is Good in the Universe and we ought to have it!” The best news is that we enter into a state of heaven to the degree that we know the “kingdom of God is within”, and we can choose to use the law consciously and constructively to create something better.
One of the ways to do this is to look at your thought patterns. Do you still have prejudices? Remember the scripture, “if you have ought against your brother, STOP, take the beam out of your eye…”! That which blocks you from seeing unity, love acceptance and forgiveness will keep you in a state of hell and feeling separate, rather than unified. Where are you in self-acceptance? To the degree that you are unable to accept yourself, you will be unable to accept others. How often do you compare yourself to others and then plunge into a depression because you can’t be like them; or see yourself as better than others which sets up the ego, often defined as “edging God out”.
As we honor the Life that is in all of us, we treat ourselves and others with equal value and respect that helps humanity awaken to its spiritual magnificence. Thus, the unity felt throughout the world creates heaven on earth!Feel free to read more from Dr. Carolyn McKeown:
The Cosmic Process Demands Flexibility!
Cross Out The Fiction And Rise Up and Roar!
The Easter Urge
God With Us
Flexibility -- The Cosmic Process
