Life lessons acquired before one’s spirit evolves into something as beautiful and free as a butterfly are known as "caterpillar wisdom," according to the Rev. Sue Crane.
"Emergence — Discovering the Butterfly Within You" is the theme for the new year at the One Spirit Center for Spiritual Living — a Religious Science church — that has been going through its own metamorphosis with a new name, new location and new minister.
In October, Crane moved the center from Kaneohe to Honolulu, where most of the membership lives. Sunday services are now held in the sunlit studio above the thrift shop at Moiliili Community Center, and Wednesday meetings at Crane’s Kailua home. Crane has served as spiritual leader of the former Center for Spiritual Living Windward Oahu in Kaneohe since founder Patri Hildreth retired in March 2011.
One Spirit is the only Religious Science church on Oahu and one of four statewide, Crane said, noting it should not be confused with Christian Science, which believes sickness should be treated with a special form of prayer rather than by medicine. "Although we believe in the power of prayer to heal, we also believe God works through doctors," Crane said.
Both faiths, however, are included in the "New Thought" movement, which espouses the idea of an infinite, omnipresent intelligence. People may refer to this force as "God" or "the divine" or "master Jesus" or the "Christ or Buddha consciousness," among other names, Crane said.
"This month we are focusing on what I call ‘caterpillar wisdom,’ going back to basics, which is Science of Mind (or Religious Science) in a nutshell: the thing itself, the way it works, what it does and how to use it," she said.
Crane said everyone starts out in life as a caterpillar crawling through the rubble, wondering, "Why is this happening to me?" During the caterpillar stage, the ego is the center of one’s universe.
"As you evolve spiritually and develop a deeper relationship with God, becoming his partner, you become a butterfly. There’s only oneness, unity; you’re about serving God because God is everything. You’re getting out of the ego and into selflessness," Crane said.
The Institute of Religious Science was founded by Ernest Holmes in 1927 based on his "Science of Mind" philosophy, which holds that the "universal mind" is a force that dwells in everyone, according to the church’s website, divinescience.com. Holmes said, "Any person, by deliberately applying the basic principle of cause and effect known as Universal Mind, can determine the conditions of his or her life."
For example, Crane said: "I think we (Religious Science) offer a way out of suffering. We don’t believe God is doing anything to us. We’re not being punished.
"If things aren’t working out, we are responsible for helping ourselves out of it," she said, not simply "waiting for the big daddy in the sky to just give you gifts."
"God is actually in everything and God created everything. … The things we consider evil and bad in the world are people’s misuse of the spiritual laws. There is an energy, a power we can use when we pray for people to be healed, but you can also misuse it. Most of us believe that if you misuse it, it’s going to come back at you — what we call that cause-and-effect, but basically it’s a karma."
However, accidents or disasters that occur as a result of forces of nature — anything from property damage to death — may be "just nature being nature," Crane said. It might seem contradictory to pray for God’s help if God is in everything, including circumstances some would consider "bad," but "I think we consider God is good. It’s probably the more accurate thing theologically to say is God is neutral, but we tend to think God is good."
In prayer "we actually claim it (the desired outcome) in a positive, affirmative way rather than petitioning God since … we have the same attributes as God, so we just know those attributes are available to us."
"Then we give gratitude as if our prayers are already answered because we already know it’s in the mind of God. It just needs to become a physical reality. Then we release it and let it go. We don’t have to keep thinking about it and worrying about it because when we do that, it’s like digging it up again — you know when you plant a seed and dig it up, it won’t grow."
Visualizing a positive outcome, along with daily meditation, is basic Religious Science practice. Meditation is essential to staying calm and being at peace. Religious Scientists strive for a state of "awakening," described by studies as a neurological shift in the brain, Crane said.
Crane offers a prayer and meditation session at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday, before service starts at 11 a.m. For additional information, call 725-8388 or email onespiritcsl@gmail.com.
