4 Things New Thought Must Embrace to Evolve
By Harv Bishop
All life and consciousness evolves says Rev. Chris Terry and New Thought needs to change to address the ecological and social challenges of our time.
In an earlier interview on this blog Terry called for an evolution of New Thought, what she calls New Thought 3.0. Terry is a Religious Science minister at Heartspace Spiritual Center, in Dallas, Texas.
She says New Thought 3.0:
1) calls us to embody our Oneness, interdependence and responsibility for social and ecological justice
2) is about more than manifesting our personal whims
3) recognizes that consciousness evolves
4) is comfortable with doubt and questions
What we need to question, says Terry, is how New Thought should work for social justice and how we should respond to the suffering of others.
“I seem to have been born with a natural state of curiosity, as well as a tendency to push boundaries and question answers,” Terry says. “New Thought empowered me in extraordinary ways, but that doesn’t mean it answered every question and explained every condition.
“Many of the questions that were unanswered (and remain so, to some degree) are related to how much influence any individual’s consciousness has on our reality; and does a Holy Other, or benevolent presence exist that has some sort of ‘plan’ or ‘place’ for each of us?
“If each of us is creating our reality with our thoughts (or the sum total of our thoughts, emotions, beliefs and intentions), why do the young and innocent suffer? Why natural disasters? Why the fortunes of birth such as a higher caste, for instance being white and male and straight?”
Terry also looks at her own life experience as a source of questions.
“I am 17 years sober. I said a prayer to a God I didn’t believe in, for something I didn’t want, and it worked. I have been guided, guarded and directed mostly ever since, but this does not mean I have been without struggle, depression, doubt. Why me sober? So many others die.”
“Oddly enough,” says Terry, “I feel more aligned with the spirit of [Ernest] Holmes [the founder of Religious Science] in my doubting and questioning than I do with any certainty elsewhere.
“When I knew I had a call to ministry and finally quit fighting it, I knew I was in the exact right place, a path that had been mine all along. If the New Thought absolutist view is correct, there is no ‘right path.’ There is only my choice. And yet, the biggest aha’s of my life and fortunate turns in my journey, have come as a result of surrendering to something. Sure, we can call it the Higher Self. But you know what? It doesn’t feel true to me to say that. I’m not talking about the guy with the beard that has a ‘plan’ for everyone. But something– something I cannot name.”
Terry credits teachers such as Rev. Petra Weldes of Center for Spiritual Living Dallas and Dr. Kathy Hearn, former spiritual leader of Centers for Spiritual Living (Religious Science) with providing both a solid foundation in Science of Mind teachings and with showing her the depth available within the tradition.
How does New Thought 3.0 deal with life’s inevitable suffering?
“Jeez,” says Terry. “It feels easier to begin with what ought not be done. Don’t blame the victim. Don’t ask what they did to ‘create’ it. Don’t distance yourself [from their suffering].
“We cannot know everything. This calls for humility. We bear the love of the One. Love takes the form of compassion. Ergo, we address suffering and tragedy with humility and compassion.”
How New Thought 3.0 addresses social justice and environmental issues
“There’s a book called ‘If You Meet the Buddha On the Road, Kill Him.’ In the back of that book is ‘An Eschatological Laundry List,’ and one of the items on that list is that all solutions breed new problems. What this means to me is that, as the Universe unfolds itself, we will ‘solve’ issues and experience the emergence of new ones.
“Right now, social inequalities and the decimation of the environment are two of the major issues at the frothy edge of our world’s evolution. I am called to a world that works for everyone and a life that works for me, so I am compelled to participate in both those issues, to be a beneficial presence in the collective experience.
“My actions, I was taught and still believe, must be theologically founded if I am to do things under the mantle of ministry. I have done the theological and philosophical due diligence and am satisfied that I am standing on firm ground.”
Rev. Terry’s recommended reading:
- Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory including the e-book “The Fourth Turning” and Don Beck’s Spiral Dynamics Integral.
- C. Alan Anderson’s Process New Thought website and books which brings together New Thought with the process philosophy work of the esteemed British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947).
- The leadership models of Suzanne Cook Greuter including “Postautonomous Ego Development”
- SQ 21 “by my beloved friend Cindy Wigglesworth,” says Terry. (Editor’s note: this book is a favorite of Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey and is included in the Whole Foods Market leadership training curriculum).
Thrilled to see someone talking about New Thought needing to evolve. For the past few months I have been working on a book, more than anything, trying to synthesize my personal thoughts and observations on where New Thought is in many ways making some of the same (and some different) mistakes of its evangelical cousins. I have always been wary of the absolutist language in much of New Thought philosophy. I applaud your efforts, and look forward to seeing where it leads.
thanks, sandy! i look forward to seeing your writings, so keep me/us posted. peace until then.
Our teaching is “absolutist” but I agree it can be hard to handle for most. I don’t think the answer is the dilution of Principle but a new, collective way or mapping and telling the story. We don’t have guilt, shame and obligation as a lever to keep people coming back–it’s one of the ironies of self-empowerment. There has been success with putting on a “good show” at some bigger churches but the bottom line is a realigning to the millennial who frankly doesn’t want anything remotely religious. Saying we’re spiritual but not religious isn’t enough. The focus on community driven, socially based issues prevails. The older are comfortable where they are, or we feel inclined to include elements that soothe. Teaching the Absolute was our power in the early days–refreshing and new. No muss no fuss. We have to stop pandering to whims and stand in Principle. “Stay with the One and never deviate from It.” – EH
Chris Terry shines light on an important issue here, though I do wish for a bit more.
Having once been very engaged with New Thought, I”m disposed every couple of years to do a web search for “New Thought Social Conscience”. The first time I did this – seven or so years back – I found one website that addressed both issues, the common theme within the discussion there being a sense of regret that the New Thought community wasn’t significantly attending to the “everyone” in a “a world that works for everyone”; instead, it tended to be more focused on “a life that works for me”. A couple of years later, that website was gone, and I found nothing else relevant. Now I see this, so it’s good to see the topic is getting attention again – and infers a call to action at that.
I’d like to see more discussion though on a prescription, beyond the helpful diagnosis that Chris provides. Relying upon the traditional maxim of “Your thoughts create your reality”, it’s arguable that New Thought in its original form almost mandates victim blaming, as it allows for no other possible cause of a problem than one’s own thoughts. It’d be helpful to explore options for how an updated version of New Thought could more fully embrace compassion, and even sacrifice, along with personal empowerment.
Hi, Todd,
Thank you for this. I agree all these interrelated things (and more) will be critical to address to move New Thought to a more compassionate and engaged space. Many of these topics are covered in my anthology of essays based on the blog, New Thought (R)evolution available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. At this point all our contributors and raising questions more than being prescriptive. I believe the need now is for questions and reflection within the movement and moving forward together rather than creating a new dogma. (With one exception- victim blaming should have no place in a New New Thought. We critique this view extensively and in detail in the anthology).