Emma Curtis Hopkins - Scientific Christian Mental Practice: Also Includes High Mysticism

Before I knew much about Emma Curtis Hopkins, before I knew I would be impressed by her ability to create a life of independence and financial comfort in the male-dominated world of the late 1800s and early 1900s, before she became the major influence of my life and ministry, her teaching style shifted my life for the better.

Yes, I knew of her teachings, buried in archaic language and rambling prose, like someone with a severe focus disorder. It would be hard to escape knowing her works while taking ministerial training with a New Thought emphasis, but Im not sure I ever gave her Nike (Just Do It!) teaching style much credence until it was absolutely necessary. Maybe thats when many of us give up our fluffy metaphysicswhen we really need a miracle. (As I tell my story, perhaps what I mean by fluffy metaphysics will become clear.)

I took my ministerial training to become a minister of the United Church of Religious Science, which is now known as the Centers for Religious Science, and part of the larger philosophy known as New Thought. I did my training in Seattle at what was then called The Northwest College for Holistic Studies. We were a rogue group of students and teachers, defying the established tradition of ministerial education in Religious Science, which then was offered only in the L.A. area. Perhaps because of this, we were never assured of our acceptance into the ministerial ranks Religious Science. We were, however, promised an opportunity to take the written test and the oral examination required for licensing.

During my trip to Los Angeles for the final stages of my licensing process, I was filled with awe and wonder at being at the headquarters of the religious organization I had adopted years before. At the same time, I felt at the fringes of the established leadership, like a distant cousin who showed up for a family gathering uninvited. Then it got worse. Four of my fellow Seattle students were informed that they lacked an essential requirement for licensing and would need at least a year of interning under a more senior minister before they could be considered for licensing as a Senior or full-time Minister. I too lacked that vital requirement. Since I had already planned to go out on my own and become the Senior Minister of a church, I was crushed. And Im not too proud to say I didnt take the news well. In fact, I could hardly walk back to the hotel I was staying at, and eating was out of the question. I bawled (not cried, bawled) for hours. Yes, I was attached to an outcome.

I eventually called my Spiritual Coach and Mentor, Rev Virginia Seville, with the bad news. Virginia was a very strong woman of Faith and I now attribute that to her decades long study of Emma Curtis Hopkins. I sobbed and sobbed about regrets at leaving my previous and well-paying employment, and blamed the leaders of the Seattle campus for missing an important licensing requirement. Blame, shame and regrets filled my one-way conversation as Virginia listened patiently. When I ran out of steam, she finally said, Kathianne, what is your Good? Id heard the phrase before, but was never very impressed by its power. I want to not hurt so bad, which at the time seemed true. I wanted comfort, to magically reach the place of not caring that the thing Id worked for was now out of reach for at least another year. Virginia wouldnt have it. What is your Good, my dear? What is your Highest Good? Finally out of exasperation I said, To be a licensed minister now! Then you sleep, Ill pray, she said. And I did. Exhausted but much more peaceful, I fell asleep quickly.

The next day I had my appointment with the licensing panel. They asked for a short 10-minute talk, asked me about my schooling, my history with the organization; they looked numerous times at my file and mentioned the outstanding references I had from people who knew me. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. It didnt, and instead with big smiles and standing to congratulate me, they said I was now a Licentiate Minister in the Church of Religious Science. I was in awe again, but also in disbelief. Had they missed a page in my transcripts? Should I point out the error? I chose not to, and after hugs I scurried out of the room with an inner commitment to never bring up what must have been an error on their part, but one that launched my now 36 years of ministry. I got what I wanted: an opportunity to serve as a Senior Minister in a Church. This all happened in June of 1984, and in October of the same year I was employed by the Salt Lake City Church of Religious Science.

Now back to my comment about fluffy metaphysics. For many, myself included, fluffy metaphysics means praying for what we have already figured out is possible. We never venture out into the wild waters of jaw-dropping miracles. We stay on the shore of pleasant affirmations, sunny attitudes, and feeling better about what we have perceived to be possible. Emma Curtis Hopkins, and my beloved Mentor Virginia, would have none of that. Go Big in your Faith in God, or go home.

The book you have picked up is not for the faint of heart or someone who just wants a quick affirmation to fix the current irritation in their lives. I really doubt that is you. Emma, as I have grown fond of calling her, wants every reader, every student, to not only transform their relationship to God, prove the promises of the Bible, but to then go on and be a healing presence for others; and like the old-fashioned teacher she was in her early life, she will tell you to do certain things whether they initially make sense or not. In other words, dont wait to understand these principles; understanding can only come from experience, and experience comes from jumping in and doing what is taught. So, with the first lesson in Scientific Christian Mental Practice, you will be pushed into really listening to your deepest longings and naming what they are. The first lesson finds out what your mind is seeking and names it. Can you name now just exactly what your mind is seeking Many people would have their good come instantaneously if they could name it and have a clear idea of how it ought to be. I have found this idea to be incredibly powerful. I started a successful employment ministry for those unemployed or under-employed when we had the dot-com crash, using this principle.

In the second lesson, you are urged to decide what has power in your life, God-the-Good or the world of effects and current circumstances. One by one, you will be led to deny that anything can come between you and God, which is the Source of all you desire.

And on it will go. Lesson after lesson, you will be told what to do and how to think. For Emma, these arent suggestions, they are directions! Dont complain. Praise everything! Declare you have the power and authority to preach, teach, heal and eliminate suffering. Know you have more than faith in God, you have the Faith of God. Dont judge. Stop accusing others or yourself of wrongdoing. I said this wasnt for the faint of heart. However, Emma promises, Whoever follows the Science discovers that something about himself is soon healed. You will find that already you can point to different ways in which you are better for knowing this Science.