Curating Your Inner Climate

When you think about traveling in a world of your own creation, what does that look like for you? What’s it made of? How does it look, feel, or sound? Is it peaceful, creative, chaotic, fear-based, or joy-filled? Perhaps it's all of those at different times.

Rev. Liz Morante opened Sunday’s talk by inviting us to consider how the world we experience is shaped by the world we hold in mind. Our thinking matters. To paraphrase Religious Science founder Ernest Holmes, we are the creative genius behind the ceaseless motion we call life.

The synchronicity of this talk was brilliant. Our Foundations class wrapped up the day before with a special session created by the Revs. Gary and Pam Ninneman just for us. The subject? Quantum physics, and how what science now reveals aligns with what Ernest Holmes put into print in the 1920s.

What we think about takes form.

While quantum physics research continues to evolve, we do know that the energy fields that make up the universe are influenced by observation. In other words, how we see things — our expectations, perceptions, and attention — plays a role in what we actually experience.

Just like Holmes wrote a century ago, the creative power of thought means consciousness itself participates in shaping our experience.

Early Influences

One of my early intros to this way of thinking came decades ago through the writing of Richard Bach. His book Illusions explored the idea that the world we experience is far more malleable than we think, and that our beliefs and expectations influence how life shows up for us.

Back then, it felt a little mystical and philosophical, but already aligned with what I sensed was true. And now, coming to CSL Ballard on Sundays, I continually connect those dots more deeply: What we think and feel matters - for our own lives and in the greater scheme of things.

And, if that’s true, and I believe it is, what we feed our minds matters, too.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Rev. Liz talked about the importance of curating our inner climate – paying attention to what we take in, what we dwell on, and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s possible.

She quoted Elizabeth Lesser of the Omega Institute: Garbage in, garbage out. I’ve always appreciated that saying, but until now I didn’t know its origin.

The media we consume, the conversations we engage in, and the thoughts we ruminate on all shape the atmosphere of our inner world. And that inner climate inevitably influences the outer one.

This feels especially personal for me right now. With constant messaging about the economy, the job market, and, depending on your sources, the state of the world, it can be easy to feel discouraged. But putting my energy and attention there doesn’t create the world I want to live in, nor does it help me create the life I say I want.

That's just one example of why being intentional about what we take in, and what we allow to settle into our thinking, matters.

I keep a copy of spiritual teacher Eric Butterworth's book, Spiritual Economics, on my side table. He wrote that what matters most is not what’s happening “out there,” but what’s happening “in here.” The outer world may be unpredictable, but our inner orientation still shapes how we experience it, and how we move forward within it.

Rev. Liz also reminded us of Holmes' This Thing Called You, and how important our own unique fingerprint - figuratively and literally - is. The world needs each of us to show up as our full, unique selves.

Curate Your Desires: What You Wish For Yourself, Wish for Others

Rev. Liz also made an important distinction about desires. There's a big difference between desiring a fancy car - "an impulse of the ego," and desiring a life of fulfillment - "a longing of the heart." Buddhism equates desire with suffering. And, not knowing enough about Buddhism, I suspect that refers to the desire of the ego. As Liz shared, from This Thing Called You, if it harms no one and expresses more "livingness," do that.

When we can imagine living our own lives as fulfilled and fully self-expressed, it's much easier to imagine, and wish for, that same fulfillment for others, even those we may not always agree with.

Rev. Liz closed with an invitation that feels especially fitting for this month’s theme of What If.

Imagine the world you want to see.

Imagine people doing meaningful work, living with enough not just to survive but to thrive. Imagine communities where creativity, contribution, and care are part of everyday life.

And don’t focus on the how. We only have to know the what.

Because if our thoughts truly participate in shaping the world we experience, then imagination is one of the most powerful tools we have. It’s what drives our Spiritual Mind Treatments and affirmations. It matters.

The journey toward that world begins simply… by paying attention to what we plant in our own minds, and what we choose to nurture.

With gratitude,

Laura