“A new world right where the old one seemed to be”

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What is the kingdom within? How can a whole kingdom – the divine creation – be within us? The kingdom within us is spiritual consciousness – when we’re awake to the divine creation, to “a new world of light and Life, a fresh universe” (Retrospection and Introspection 27:29–30), it is necessarily at hand and within. I’m finding it’s important to recognize that because Spirit fills all space and all that God creates is constant and infinite, God’s kingdom is always at hand. But while spiritual consciousness perceives the immediacy of that presence, a mortal sense of things is quite blind to it. Isn’t this exactly what our Leader explains concerning the “new heaven and new earth”? In Science and Health, she writes:

“In Revelation xxi. 1 we read: –

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

“The Revelator had not yet passed the transitional stage in human experience called death, but he already saw a new heaven and a new earth….This testimony of Holy Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the unillumined human mind, the vision is material. This shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness….When you read this, remember Jesus’ words, ‘The kingdom of God is within you.’ This spiritual consciousness is therefore a present possibility” (Science and Health 572:19–25; 573:5, 31).

It’s so striking to me that the “consciousness which God bestows” is also “human consciousness.” It’s obviously not mortal mindedness, but it’s also not some transcendental, out-of-reach consciousness. It’s saying that right in our everyday lives we can lay claim to the “consciousness which God bestows,” or, as the Bible exhibit film script stated, we can be spiritually awake and able to “see a new world right where the old one seemed to be.”

But how do we have spiritual consciousness rather than “the unillumined human mind”? Among the essential steps, I would include the following: 

  • Claim it: As a manifestation of divine Mind, I have spiritual consciousness, Mind-bestowed consciousness.

  • Daily devote time and fullness of heart to prayer, spiritual study, and communing with God.

  • Remember that we’re not trying to bring spiritual understanding into a material context; rather, we are striving to be awake to the true context of all being– God’s allness. That’s where we “live and move and have our being” and that’s the kingdom at hand and within.

  • Handle aggressive mental suggestions and don’t get hoodwinked.

  • Expect spiritual progress, while also recognizing that “trials are proofs of God’s care.”

  • Be patient; be persistent; be grateful.

  • Live the love that God gives.