I must admit, I really enjoy Pilates. Not that I am a big exerciser. But if I were to get into a regular routine Pilates would probably be one of my first choices. I love the gentleness (not to be confused with ease - I find it quite challenging) and the pacing of the movements. And the concentration. I am also intrigued by the vocabulary of Pilates, most especially the term "powerhouse," which I have appropriated to use in my work to describe one's spiritual core. For background, the Pilates method incorporates six key principles: centering, concentration, control, precision, breath, and flow of movement. Joseph Pilates, founder of the method, taught that all movements of the human body emanate from the center or core which he called the powerhouse of the body. The Pilates method endeavors to strengthen the powerhouse as one of its primary goals. According to Joseph Pilates, the powerhouse is muscular. But I use the term to refer to the spiritual core, or true facts of man's divine being. To me, it's what Christ Jesus taught when he said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” (see Luke 17:20-21) I believe that to access and utilize our spiritual powerhouse, we have to understand what the kingdom of God is and what purpose it serves for us. To translate "kingdom of God" into simple terms, we might call it the seat of the divine in us. Please don't confuse "in" to mean "confined to a material body." I am talking about spiritual consciousness - the unlimited, unconfined essence of true being as spiritual. Everyone of us has this powerhouse - the wholeness of God - expressed in us in an individual way. We aren't the compilation of strengths/weaknesses that a material view of man suggests. We also don't have to create or develop the kingdom of God within. God expresses His own divinity and that expression is reflected in you and me. The divine is already here, whether we acknowledge it or not. And through prayer we can gain full access to the divine powerhouse - the kingdom of God within us. Referring to God as divine Principle, the Christian Science textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy explains, "Principle and its idea is one, and this one is God, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being, and His reflection is man and the universe." (p.465) It isn’t that you reflect some of God’s being, and I reflect some, and it takes all of us to reflect all of God’s being. Divinity isn't like cake. It isn't divided up and dished out in a variety of shapes and sizes. It isn't just occasionally available, or saved for something/someone/sometime special, like a dessert. As the full individual reflection of God, we EACH reflect divine omnipotence (ALL-power), divine omniscience (ALL-knowing), and divine omnipresence (ALL-presence). The kingdom of God as ALL is with us, in us, all the time. Prayer that explores the infinite nature of God and the full potential and power of man as God's reflection leads to knowing and experiencing one's spiritual powerhouse of divinity. Prayer can radically redirect the reality-view to include only what God, infinite Good, sees and knows about His creation. You (and I do mean YOU) express the fullness of God who is the divine Mind. In an individual way, we each express omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. By individual, I don’t mean small. I mean each of us reflects uniquely the All-intelligence, All-power and Everywhere-presence of God. This is no small thing. The human mind, imbued with this spiritual understanding, becomes more elastic, Is not man metaphysically and mathematically number one, a unit, and therefore a whole number, governed and protected by his divine Principle, God? You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source and daily demonstrate this. So, do you want to "preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source" and see the effects today? Let's work on your powerhouse: OMNIPOTENCE. You are strong. Nothing can withstand the powerful God of Love you reflect. Anger, hatred, malice, sickness, sin, any weakness, have no power to stop, interrupt or disturb the harmonious flow of your life. You reflect the omnipotent Life that is God. Mrs. Eddy wrote, “Wait patiently on illimitable Life.” (ibid, p.4) Wait patiently - to me, that is patiently serve Life as it’s full unlimited expression. “Reflect this Life and with it cometh the full power of being.” (ibid, p.4) And remember, you reflect that full power of omnipotence in an individual way. Science and Health reinforces this thought. “A knowledge of the Science of being develops the latent abilities and possibilities of man." (p.128) Through your powerhouse - the kingdom of omnipotence within you - you have completely unrestricted access to divine good and to God's all-power in your life. OMNIPRESENCE. God is everywhere. Reflecting omnipresence, you are never in transit to your right place. You are not heading to a better "somewhere else." Place - call it home, job, new career, fresh opportunity - is in you. You are always present and safe in God, sheltered in Love, active in the full sunshine of Mind. You are where you need to be. You include all you ever need to be happy and complete. Your expression of omnipresence reveals the right idea of activity and movement - which is always at hand. You are right where you should be, so you are always on time. The kingdom of omnipresence is within you. It's your powerhouse. Mrs. Eddy puts it this way, “Who lives in good, lives also in God, - lives in all Life, through all space." (ibid, p.4) OMNISCIENCE. You are the reflection, the manifestation, of omniscient Mind. As the unique, one-of-a-kind expression of God's omniscience, you reflect complete, divine intelligence. This means that you know exactly what you need to know, in the right place, at the right time, all the time. Because Mind is not dependent on educational processes to know, as Mind's reflection, neither are you. You include and express the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-hearing Mind that is God. God is your Mind. You don't have intelligence, ego, or creative capacity through a personal and separate mind. Therefore, you don't tumble under self-condemnation, doubt, or fear. You can't be made to believe that you are ignorant. Through your powerhouse - the kingdom of omniscience within you - you know and embrace God, the true and only Mind, as the source of your intelligence. Your reflection of Mind always reveals what you need to know. There is no limit to your intelligence. Science and Health reminds us that understanding the Science of man's true being “raises the thinker into his native air of insight and perspicacity.” (p.128) Perspicacity refers to an acute mental vision or precise discernment. You are the focused reflection of omniscient Mind. Nothing worth knowing or seeing can be hidden from you. Through your powerhouse of omniscience, you are open to and ready for the special delights that your Mind is reflecting in you. These are a few thought-starters for your consideration. What are your prayers showing you about your powerhouse? Thank you for reading and sharing.
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Joyce
2/8/2014 04:50:11 am
That was really helpful because I have been feeling as though I was being deprived of inspiration.
Michelle
2/8/2014 05:15:56 am
Never! Thank you, Joyce.
Kim
2/8/2014 06:37:15 am
One of your best, Michelle! So clear and helpful. As someone who has done a lot of Pilates core work I really appreciate the conversion of the core emphasis to one that is spiritual. Excellent.
Michelle
2/8/2014 06:40:12 am
Well THAT does a blogger's heart good. Thanks!
Grace
2/8/2014 07:02:32 am
A powerhouse of a blog! I love to exercise to prove my ageless and limitless being so core is a term I know in the physical realm of exercise.If one's core is strong the body is strengthened to perform.Translating the core to the spiritual is a stunning breakthrough for me. Thanks ever so much, Michelle. I will love exploring how my true core, my reflection of omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience will strengthen my spiritual progress. This is a "deep dive" article that needs more than one reading, that's for sure!
Michelle
2/8/2014 08:57:19 am
Great motive for movement, Grace. Your comment will help others, too, I am sure!
Patt
2/8/2014 07:10:41 am
Thank you so very much, this is so clear, powerful and instructive. So beautiful. I am so grateful for your generosity in sharing your inspiring understanding of Love and Truth.
Michelle
2/8/2014 08:59:27 am
You are welcome, Patt. And thank you for your comment. Blogging, for me, is a form of prayer. Thinking these ideas through for myself, refining the way I explain it for others, is a big help to me. It's a form of prayer. 2/8/2014 08:57:37 am
I love how you put these two things together. In Pilates class I now have an even better image while working on the "powerhouse". I also had to smile because I take Pilates from a fabulous teacher, and her class loves her and what she teaches so much they call her class "The Church of Pilates." I just heard that term yesterday so it went perfectly with your blog. Thanks Michelle!
Michelle
2/8/2014 09:07:25 am
That is fun, Beca. That church remark reminds me of when I first moved to France. One aspect of culture shock was grocery shopping. I couldn't understand any labels and the stores were so small that they only had one or two cans of any one thing. Then I found Carrefour - essentially like a super Walmart - on the outskirts of the city. One day, feeling totally homesick, I drove to Carrefour. It felt so familiar, overstuffed with all kinds of stuff I would never need. (So American! ;) ) As I drove home, I felt much better. And I realized I had just worshiped at the "church of the holy Carrefour." I got over the culture shock and have sinced learned that when you feel at home, having only one or two cans of any item on the store shelf makes you feel just as secure as having hundreds. But I never forgot how "church" relates to comfort and security and familiarity and home. Thanks for writing, Beca!
Michelle
2/8/2014 09:09:55 am
uh, that should say "have never forgotten." I need an editor...
Dea
2/8/2014 02:02:17 pm
I loved this blog. I am reading and re-reading it and getting more out of it with each read. I have been looking for a God-centered approach to exercise and body, and this blog is a great help for that. Will I be able to read this blog in French on your website?
Michelle
2/8/2014 02:18:13 pm
Hi Dea, I am glad you are pulling out good ideas with each read. Yes, the translation is underway. Look for it to appear soon on the French blog. Thank for asking! Fun to know that some readers check out both blogs!
Béatrice
2/8/2014 02:44:58 pm
Like Dea, I am also reading and re-reading this post, as well as the last one about the virgin thought. Both these posts seem to me inexhaustible. Thank you so much for letting us have part in your wonderful (full of wonder) prayers (as you explained in your answer to Patt). And how nice that you have continued in this post with the passages that follow the ones cited in your last post from Pulpit and Press! After reading your post on the virgin thought I looked for the citation in Pulpit and Press, and of course I continued reading - so I found it very special to read these beautiful thoughts about what I had just read!
Michelle
2/8/2014 03:01:20 pm
Many years ago, a spiritual mentor encouraged me to work with the ideas on page 4 of Pulpit and Press every day as part of my self care regime. I have never forgotten that. And the ideas, as you see in these two blogs, never seem to run out of new inspiration. So glad you wrote in! Thank you, Béatrice.
Kate
2/8/2014 03:37:38 pm
I will read this many times. What a help it is and will continue to be. I simply love this.
Michelle
2/9/2014 04:08:04 am
Wonderful, Kate. I appreciate your feedback. 2/8/2014 05:31:52 pm
Love that story Michelle .. (and we all need editors - seems like another post doesn't it) Yes, home and community, something to treasure!
Michelle
2/9/2014 04:09:07 am
Don't be surprised!
Debi
2/9/2014 04:34:39 am
Kim said, One of your best...which is exactly what I was going to say!!!
michelle
2/9/2014 06:21:41 am
Thanks, Debi. Comments are closed.
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Find me on YouTube I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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