As we study our own being, we begin to deduce the nature of God.
— Ernest Holmes
Our classes give you what you need to expand your knowledge of spiritual principles and to gain practical spiritual tools for everyday use. In addition to learning about our philosophy and how to apply it, being in a class is one of the best ways to enter more deeply into our spiritual community. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know people from many different backgrounds.
Our teachers are experienced and love to share the power that these teachings have to change lives. Classes combine experiential exercises with explanation how to establish a spiritual practice. Many lifelong friendships have begun in our classrooms. Come and join us as we explore and experience the transformation spiritual practice can bring to every life!
Classes are typically 8 to 12 weeks in length and begin in January, May, and September. Registration begins 6 weeks prior to the first class.
Core Classes – All completed course work contributes to the required pre-requisites for entry to the Advanced Spiritual Living Program and Professional Prayer Practitioner Studies.
Basic Principles of the Science of Mind
Using Dr. Frederick Bailes’s home study course, this 12-week class is a thorough, systematic walk-through of the key teachings of the Center for Spiritual Living. Topics include your mind and how it works, thought and its power, the focus of attention, our creative mind, and the technique of treatment. In this class, you will learn about the Power within you that responds to you and can lift your life to its highest level, promote health, bring peace amid turmoil, bring success out of failure, and bring happiness out of loneliness.
Textbook:
Basic Principles of the Science of Mind by Frederick Bailes
Beyond Limits: How to use the power of spiritual practice to change your life
In this class we study core spiritual concepts and practice applying them to the conditions in our lives. We learn how to gain more clarity and less confusion about what to do and how to do it. The classes are experiential, with guided meditations and exercises to assist you in incorporating spiritual practice and understanding into your daily life. The 120+ page workbook will become a resource for you to return to for inspiration again and again, so you may experience your life soaring beyond limits!
Textbook:
Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes
The Creative Process in the Individual
This class is based on the book The Creative Process in the Individual by Thomas Troward which explains the nature of creative action, beginning with the formation of the universe and ending with a vista of infinite possibilities attainable by the individual. Troward argues from basic principles we all understand, and shows how these principles may be carried into the future. He relies on the maxim that “Principle is not bound by precedent,” and by the premise that we are not only able, but also required, by the law of our own being, to take a more active part in our personal evolution than has ever occurred in the past.
Textbook:
The Creative Process in the Individual by Thomas Troward
The Edinburgh Lectures
The Edinburgh Lectures delivered by Thomas Troward had a profound effect on the development of spiritual metaphysics. In particular, he was a major influence on Ernest Holmes as he was developing the Science of Mind philosophy. Troward formally inaugurated his contribution with a series of lectures given in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1904. The study of these carefully crafted and beautifully delivered lectures is designed to give students a deeper wisdom and understanding of universal spiritual principles and What We Believe at the Centers for Spiritual Living.
From a former student: “To study Troward is like being pulled into a vortex of ancient wisdom wrapped in the language of the turn of the last century. The study took me beyond a place of intellectual understanding and back again. Troward understands “the mystery” and speaks not only about it, but speaks into it. I recommend this class to anyone who wants to dance a familiar dance in a different rhythm.”
The Essential Ernest Holmes: Feeling the heart behind the teaching
Ernest Holmes studied many teachings in developing our spiritual teaching. Along the way he adapted what he learned to suit his audience and his time. He left us with the charge to continue to adapt his teaching to the world we live in now. In order to adapt and grow, it is vital to understand the foundation. In this class, you will experience the real Ernest Holmes and discover the gifts he has left for you through his teaching. The text book for the class is The Essential Ernest Holmes, a brilliant compilation of Holmes’s key ideas on a broad range of topics including social awareness, non-dualism, mysticism, healing and prayer.
Textbook:
The Essential Ernest Holmes edited by Jesse Jennings
5 Gifts of an Abundant Life
This class promises to change your consciousness, leading to the experience of a more abundant life. If you have struggled with ideas about lack and/or limitation in the world beyond your control, this class will help build a bridge from where you are to an experience of spiritual living in which you feel the infinite support of an abundant universe. The five gifts that lead to clarity and inspiration are: Gratitude, Intentions (both setting and manifesting), Forgiveness (of self and others), Tithing (practice of structured giving), and Surrender. You will savor the spiritual community that you build with your fellow travelers through specific spiritual practices that are designed to guide you in the process of mastering some spiritual principles.
Textbook:
5 Gifts of an Abundant Life by Diane Harmony
The Heart-Mind-Body Connection
This class explores the effects of our thoughts and feelings on our body and our sense of wellbeing. We learn a simple and powerful tool called heart coherence which balances our thoughts and emotions, enhances our intuition, facilitates wellness, and opens our heart to more love, compassion, and forgiveness. There is a great variety of readings, as well as experiential exercises to more fully embody class material. We discuss the influence of gratitude, love, doing and allowing, some quantum physics, and our connection with Spirit in healing. This class provides opportunities to develop a greater heart connection to self and others, and also opportunities to learn how to experience more peace in our body and environment.
Textbook:
Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra
Meditation: It’s More Than You Think
This course is suitable for beginners or those wishing to deepen and expand their spiritual practice. The experiential nature of the class will move you through several modalities, including meditation with light, mantras, sound, movement, breathing and more. With an innovative and inspiring structure, informative reading materials and gentle guidance, this class promises to take you deeper into your practice every day, for good!
Textbooks:
An Easy Guide to Meditation by Roy Eugene Davis
How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan
The Power of Your Word: The Artistry of Prayer
As you deepen in your spiritual practice, you will begin to realize how important prayer is in living a spiritual life. In this class you learn specifically what contributes to clear, powerful, focused prayer. Not only will you learn how to write affirmations and prayers to address personal circumstances for yourself and for others, you will also be coached in identifying and describing personal limiting beliefs that interrupt your progress. You will be invited to experience what it means to “pray continuously” and to live a life based on prayer.
Textbooks:
How to Use the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes
Can We Talk to God? by Ernest Holmes
Practical Mysticism: Living in Your Mystical Intuitive Nature
This class de-mystifies what many of us believe about mystics and mysticism. We have everything available to us here and now to live in the awareness of the presence of God. Each student has the opportunity to focus on a particular area of life and witness the changes and shifts that happen during our time together. Weekly focuses include Letting Go, Faith, Grace, Spiritual Discipline, Freedom, Self-Acceptance, and more. By reframing what a mystic is and learning ways to practice mysticism in everyday situations, you are invited to become a person who is committed to discovering Spirit in every action, person, and situation in your life. There is an abundance of sharing ideas, feelings, perspectives, and opportunities for transformation. This has often been referred to as “my favorite class.”
Textbooks:
The Foundations of Mysticism by Joel Goldsmith
Entering the Castle: Finding the Inner Path to God and Your Soul’s Purpose by Caroline Myss
The Principles of Financial Freedom: Duplicating the Nature of Spirit in Your Financial Affairs
The Principles of Financial Freedom is a recently updated course which utilizes money as a tool for engaging in a program of deep inner healing. It incorporates leading edge technologies in ‘whole brain’ and ‘whole body’ learning that make the highly effective student materials very user friendly. This class will assist you in the development of greater awareness of Spirit as the source of financial as well as personal freedom. At the same time, weekly healing segments assist in developing the awareness necessary to release self-defeating patterns of behavior based on old ‘error beliefs’ about money and other areas of life. You will explore your own current beliefs and attitudes about money to create a spiritual practice that will duplicate the nature of Spirit in your financial affairs. Learning these tools for personal freedom will give you the opportunity to apply them in all aspects of your life.
Textbook:
Financial Freedom Workbook (Provided at the class. Love offering.)
Roots of Science of Mind
Spiritual Giants: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Troward, and Emma Curtis Hopkins. What did they teach? How did they influence our movement? What does their teaching offer us today? Through discussion and practice we will revisit these elevating teachings and discover what it means to live a spiritual life.
Textbooks:
The Edinburgh and Dore Lectures on Mental Science by Thomas Troward
Emerson’s Essays (First and Second series)
Scientific Christian Mental Practice by Emma Curtis Hopkins
Self-Mastery: The Emergence of the True Self
Have you ever wrestled with the impulse to react when you want to respond compassionately and calmly? Do you wonder what causes you to react in ways that leave you feeling dissatisfied? Do you have questions about integrity and compassionate communication? Do you sometimes wonder how to be a spiritual person in a practical world? This class is an inward journey exploring feelings, ego, relationships, and the process of personal change. With direct, practical advice from Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements, the work of Byron Katie and others, you will discover new ways to deepen human love, trust, and forgiveness.
Textbooks:
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes
Spiritual Practices for Daily Living: Discovering and Designing Your Spiritual Practice
Building on the knowledge gained in Beyond Limits or Foundations, this class focuses on how to have an active daily connection with Spirit and how to find your own unique way of doing that through spiritual practices. You will explore receptive (meditation) and directive (prayer) ways of communing with Spirit to be able to choose the perfect spiritual practice for you in every moment and situation. Various forms of meditation are presented, and you will develop greater skill in verbal and written prayer, especially for others.
Textbooks:
Journey of Awakening by Ram Dass
Can We Talk to God by Ernest Holmes
Visioning
Are you wondering what is yours to do with so many possibilities? Do you feel stuck and overwhelmed? One of the spiritual practices of Science of Mind is Visioning, opening to the wisdom within you. Michael Beckwith, the originator of the Visioning practice, says, “Visioning is a process by which we train ourselves to be able to hear, feel, see, and catch God’s plan for our life and for any particular project we’re working on.” Visioning encourages mystical awareness and connection. We will practice consciously shifting our perceptions and opening to the still small voice within. Let the inner ear listen to the voice of truth that is always speaking. —Ernest Holmes