A Practitioner's Heart - Rev Ed Rosenback, R.Sc.P.

A Practitioner’s Heart Rev. Ed Rosenback, R.Sc.P. We Practitioners are held to a high standard, something beyond dedication to the cause of living a principled life based on Spiritual Truth. It is a devotion to living, being, and embodying that Principle. It is not an easy path! I have moments when I forget, and I’m sure most of us can say the same. What we need to remember when we or one of our colleagues falters, is to keep before us our “moments of high resolve,” in the words of Howard Thurman. None of us is alone; each of us is united, in Spirit and in intent. Our part is to reveal the Truth that is ever-present: we (all) are God in We share a common bond, our hearts beat in a common rhythm, and our minds are focused on a single idea: God is all there is, and each of us is one with all others. Being a representative of Spirit demands adherence to this idea. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.” It is our part to do the loving thing, at all times, even when we question the motives of others. When Rev. Dr. Terry Cole-Whittaker said, “What you think of me is none of my business,” I believe she was coming from this idea. When Jesus said (we are told), “Greater things than these shall ye do,” his words seem to have been based on this idea as well. Even if people “despitefully use us,” we hold to the Truth of Life as being of the One which we call Spirit or God. If we falter or fall short of our own expectations, we should know that who and what we are is inviolate. The older I get, the more I come to believe that a Practitioner is one who is ready to aspire to that high calling, whether they have actually completed the required coursework or attained a licensed professional status. It is who we are, regardless of appearances & regardless of circumstances. In this sense, I believe that there are “born Practitioners,” those who enter into Life with the Heart of a Practitioner. They have a caring spirit and an inborn desire to do Good Works, to bring forth God’s glory in Creation. Many enter our Churches and Centers, and take the training required to attain formal Practitioner status. Others do not, yet they are Practitioners-at-Heart: kind and caring healers of others’ spirits, and definitely beneficial presences in the world. This falls into line with what Ernest Holmes once said, about us all being our own Practitioner. Who was there to teach the first Practitioner? No one! Whoever it was, was guided by the Indwelling Spirit. It may have been rooted in the lineage of the early Hebrew prophets, but I suspect it was more ancient than that. We have record in the Old Testament of healings and deliverances through spiritual means, and this I submit was the result of some early “Practitioner-like” activity. While we now have specific training for our Practitioners, the first acts of healing came through individuals having intuitive understanding of the essential, indwelling Truth. Spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. Spiritual Truth is often revealed when we are led by our intuition. Divine Science teaches that the Superconscious is the seat of the intuition, and is also called the “Christ Mind.” To “have that Mind which was also in Christ Jesus” is to live by one’s intuitive nature. The Old Testament prophets had that intuitive sense of well-being and brought it forth into form. Licensed Practitioners have demonstrations due to their training and ability to apply that knowledge. To me, this is evidence of the universality of the Truth of Being, the intrinsic desire to bring forth the Divine Reality of perfection in spirit, soul, and body. This Reality is ever-present, even though circumstances may cloud our observation of It. Practitioners, formally trained or not, understand this and act accordingly to clear away the outer debris and allow the Truth to shine through. This some have called illumination, and I like that phrase. “If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” Keep your vision on the good, the beautiful and the true, and all will be well, as it should be. If or when a Practitioner falters, let us support them in the light of healing Love, knowing that the Truth will out, that God in their midst is greater than any challenge, and that in helping our brother or sister in need we are indeed doing God’s Work, expressing our Practitioner Heart. We are Spirit, we are Life, we are Love, we are Light, and we Rev. Ed Rosenback, R.Sc.P., is an ordained Divine Science Minister and a licensed Religious Science Practitioner serving the First Church of Religious Science in Vallejo, California. He is a published author and a Life Member of the International New Thought Alliance and the Divine Science Federation.