Van & The Science of Mind.

Today I thought I would tell you about a book which arrived here recently. It is called The Science Of Mind by Ernest Holmes. As is often the case with me it was Van Morrison who led me to discovering this book. Van mentioned it in his fascinating recent interview with Dylan Jones. Dylan asked Van how he came to write a song on his forthcoming album with Michael Beckwith founder of the Agape church. Van explained that in his library he came across a book The Science Of Mind which he was into many years ago and wanted to reconnect with. He looked to see if there were any Study Centres for Spiritual Living founded by Ernest Holmes near him and found that there wasn’t, the nearest one was in Bournemouth. However, whilst searching Van stumbled across the work of Michael Beckwith which he read about and something resonated. Sometime later Van discovered that his friend actress Roma Downey knew Michael Beckwith and introduced him to Van, and now Van has been attending services at Agape ever since, whenever he is on the US west coast. Van took words from a book by Beckwith and put music to them. 

Ernest Holmes

The connection to Ernest Holmes is that Michael Beckwith graduated from the Ernest Holmes College School of Ministry in 1985. Dylan said to Van that there is a very spiritual feel to the new album which there often is in his music and asked how his personal beliefs have changed over the years. Van retorted that it isn’t a belief, it’s an energy, a frequency. Van is quite a private introverted person, but he has always acknowledged an influence when he is checking it out and taking it further. I have learned so much by following up the pointers in his lyrics, not only discovering the music of other artists that influenced Van, but also important figures in such fields as literature, philosophy, psychology, and especially spirituality. 

Van at Agape.

Van’s whole career in many ways can be seen as a spiritual quest. I have always thought that Van’s best work is when he is channelling the creative energy of his spiritual muse. He seemed to lose it completely during the dark days of lockdown but happily seems to be back on the righteous path now. That is why I am looking forward to hearing this new album more than any new Van work for 20 years or more. When I ordered the book I expected to receive a slim paperback which I could read in a couple of days, so I was quite shocked when a massive weighty tome of 669 pages arrived. I have only read a few pages so far. It will take me a year to read it all. Happily for me it is advised to use it as a textbook and only read a few pages every day as a meditation. The book has a list of tables advising which pages to read on each day of the year. Therefore I can’t tell you much about the book yet, but I can tell you a little of what I know about Ernest Holmes so far in case you want to check it out for yourself.

Van, Roma Downey

Ernest Holmes was born in Lincoln Maine in 1887. At an early age he learned about Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science. His later influences included Thomas Troward, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Christian Larson, Evelyn Underhill, and Emma Curtis Hopkins. Eventually he became the founder of a movement known as Religious Science. That name comes from his assertion that his views can be scientifically proven. His great work The Science of Mind was first published in 1926. (My well used copy is from 1998) Holmes founded a Center for Spiritual Living in Los Angeles and there are now over 400 affiliated churches in the USA alone. He also began publishing Science of Mind magazine which is still produced today after 80 years. 

In his statement of beliefs Holmes said such things as that the manifest universe we can see is the body of God and the universal spirit and mind of which we are all part. He also said that heaven is within us all and we experience it to the degree that we are conscious of it. It is revealed through our intuitive and spiritual nature. I think Holmes would have been quite at home with modern science such as quantum physics because science and religion do seem to be merging these days. He also believed in a "core concept" – what he saw as a "Golden thread of truth" that ran through all of the world's religions as well as in science and philosophy. He died in 1960 aged 73. I better not say any more about him until I have actually read the book or I might make big mistakes, but thank you very much Van Morrison for leading me to The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes and I'm eagerly looking forward to June 13 and hearing the new album called Remembering Now.