Discernment: A Power We All Have Been Given

Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of the Unity movement, taught that it was really important to understand the Bible metaphysically and not necessarily to take it literally.

Great metaphysical interpretations – or the key spiritual lessons in a story – have become hallmarks of the Unity movement. In fact, I have encouraged people to do metaphysical interpretations not just of the Bible and other holy scriptures. These tools work when reading books or watching movies.

However, while many New Thought people have learned how to look beyond taking the Bible literally, they still often take so much stuff from Charles Fillmore and Ernest Holmes very literally.

Let me give an example of what I mean. Charles Fillmore wrote about 12 Powers that exist in all of us. These divine attributes include many things. The late Unity metaphysician Rev. Paul Hasselbeck came up with an unusual way to remember what all these 12 Powers are. 

Rev. Paul would say, “Remember the phrase: LIP JUZE FLOWS.” Then he would remind us that each letter in this strange phrase could stand for one of the 12 Powers: LOVE, IMAGINATION, POWER, JUDGMENT, UNDERSTANDING, ZEAL, ELIMINATION, FAITH, LIFE, ORDER, WISDOM, and STRENGTH.

People have taken Fillmore‘s 12 Powers and connected them with specific body parts such as the spleen or the stomach. Others have literally taken Fillmore’s 12 Powers and connected them with a color. 

I love how one of my spiritual teachers, Unity minister Rev. Nancy Purcell, taught me about the 12 Powers. She would say that we could think about the 12 Powers as being somewhat like basic primary colors. If you mixed them you could have something like a wonderful artist’s palette that could help you paint all the colors in the rainbow and beyond. Rev. Nancy would talk about, “the 12 Powers and all of their offspring.”

I believe, as John Denver sang, “It is in every one of us to be wise.” We are all filled with divine powers. Can they literally be broken down to 12 Powers? Who knows? But when we take the time to be in harmony with that divine flow, we can have an incredible artist’s palette that will help us paint a picture that will empower us to overcome any challenge that we face

My suggestion is that we read Charles Fillmore and Ernest Holmes metaphysically, and not necessarily literally. If these techniques work on the Bible and the Tao Te Ching, etc., then why shouldn’t they also work on Fillmore and Holmes?

So for a moment let’s just look at a single power: Judgment… which has also been called the power of Discernment. I think Kenny Rogers in the song "The Gambler", really got it right in describing the power of Discernment. Remember what Kenny sang?:

“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em

Know when to fold ‘em

Know to walk away

And know when to run.

You never count your money

When you are sittin’ at the table.

There’ll be time enough for countin’

When the dealing’s done."

A recent story I read by Janis Gregg Pressley of Maryland (she is no relation to Elvis) brought the above points home for me concerning the power of Discernment.

Janis was part of a group that got together to ride horses. They would go camping, explore trails, and ride in parades. During one of their rides, a horse bolted from a trailer. Without centering or thinking, Janis grabbed onto the lead line.

Instead of stopping the horse, the line was yanked at an incredible speed through her hands. The net result was that Janis got severe and painful rope burns.

“My injury prevented me from participating in the trail ride, so for four hours I was alone, nursing my hands as they began to blister. I know I should have just let the rope go instead of holding on. As I had often done in other areas of my life, I tried to control things by myself rather than trusting God,” she said.

“Looking at my injured palms, I thought of how I needed to let go of my desire to control and trust God in every area of my life. With that revelation, I gained a new sense of peace. When my friends returned they found me ready to head home,” she added.

I think that Janis’ story really demonstrates a principle that was driven home by the great Unity teacher Rev. Eric Butterworth. Rev. Eric believed that you can’t really make a mistake. In any given situation, either you have made a wise decision or you have made what seems to be a mistake. But he said that if we learn from our mistakes, then we will have a new level of Discernment and Wisdom.

Butterworth said that we often learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. In the long run, he said that we could count our blessings from the lessons we’ve learned in our mistakes. Rev. Eric believed that if we saw our so-called mistakes this way, then we aren't really making a mistake. 

I think all of the above boils down to a few key points:

First, Spirit has gifted us with many incredibly wonderful powers. Whether or not they are exactly 12 Powers or an artist’s palette of colors, we would be wise sometimes not to read New Thought pioneers — such as Charles Fillmore and Ernest Holmes — too literally. Often we will gain much more if we read their wisdom metaphysically.

Second, we have the power of Discernment. If we take the time to center and align with the Divine Mind we will be amazed at the wisdom that will flow through us.

Third, like Janis, we sometimes make what seems like foolish snap decisions.

Fourth, as Eric Butterworth taught, we really can’t make a poor decision if we use the so-called mistake to increase our level of Discernment.

However, I would add to this that some of us seem to need four or five rides on the same merry-go-round before we learn our lesson.

So?… It takes what it takes!

Many blessings,

Rev. Rick