Author: easeofspiritministries

Rev James and Rev Andrea are ordained ministers who are also teachers of New Thought Principles. Both were licensed as New Thought teachers through the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary.

Week 4: Radical Presence and the Energetic Shift of Gratitude

When most people hear the word gratitude, they think of good manners—a polite “thank you” when things go right or a sweet sentiment reserved for a calm morning.

In the practice of spiritual breakthrough, gratitude is far more than a passive emotion. It is a way to align your awareness with the good already present in your life.

Matching the Frequency of Demonstration

In Week 1, we learned to center our intentions. In Week 2, we began rewiring neural pathways. In Week 3, we embraced the churning of chemicalization and chose surrender over control.

Now comes a powerful practice for recognizing and expanding your blessings: gratitude.

Gratitude does not have to wait until a manifestation arrives; it can establish an atmosphere of openness and appreciation along the way. When anxiety, frustration, or waiting fills your awareness, it can become harder to notice the good already unfolding.

Have you heard the saying, “What you praise, you raise”? Gratitude is not just saying thank you—it is lifting your awareness toward the abundance you want to experience. It anchors you in power instead of postponement.

When you are grateful right now, right in the thick of things, you declare to your mind and spirit: “I already abide in completeness.” And that requires real mental strength.

Mental Strength in the Present Moment

It is easier to be thankful when life is smooth. It takes radical spiritual strength to look at temporary disorder, unfulfilled goals, or daily pressures and still say: “I bless this moment because, even here, divine order is at work.”

Practicing gratitude as a discipline helps redirect your attention:

·       It shifts your focus from lack to possibility. Gratitude does not require you to deny fear or difficulty. It invites you to notice what is sustaining you, even when challenges remain.

·       It grounds you in radical presence. Anxiety can pull your attention toward an imagined future, while regret can draw it toward an unchangeable past. Gratitude brings your awareness back to the present moment, where you can choose your next step.

The Practice: Reverse-Engineering Your Breakthrough

To shift your focus from seeking to abiding, practice the Evidence Audit today:

1.        Pause and breathe. Step out of the rush. Take three deep breaths and bring your awareness into this room, this chair, this breath.

2.        Recognize past prayers. Look at your life right now and identify one thing you experience today that was once a goal or prayer.

o   A job you once hoped to get.

o   An apartment or home you once wished for.

o   A level of peace, wisdom, or maturity you once hoped to develop.

3.        Anchor the evidence. Acknowledge that something you once prayed for is now part of your daily reality. Let that evidence encourage you as you work toward what you hope for today.

4.        Speak the blessing. Express gratitude for what is unfolding, trusting that the seed has been planted even if you cannot yet see the full result.

Breakthrough Reflection

“Gratitude is my energetic foundation. I stand grounded in power, radically present to divine abundance, knowing my current blessings are already mine.”

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Week 3: What Happened? (Navigating Chemicalization & Surrender)

You’ve been doing everything right. You’ve been practicing intentional grounding and centering yourself in Truth. You understand that habits are a form of mental conditioning, which is why you’ve been using affirmative prayer and observation to rewire your thinking.

Things were going so well—as if the most wonderful energies of the Universe were rearranging the atmosphere just for you.

Then… wham, bam, alakazam! Everything went crazy. A new fight showed up out of nowhere.

If this is where you find yourself today, take a deep breath and do not be discouraged. What you are experiencing is a powerful spiritual shift, and in New Thought, there is a name for this: chemicalization.

Understanding Chemicalization

The concept of chemicalization originally comes from science. Think of what happens when you drop an effervescent tablet into a glass of still water: the water fizzes, bubbles, and churns as the chemical reaction takes place. The water isn’t ruined; it is undergoing a transformation.

You, my friend, are transforming.

Your consistent practice of seeing and speaking positivity over your life has caused a spiritual and mental reaction. As those words of Truth interact with old toxicity still held in the subconscious mind, a temporary churning happens. The energies of your life are indeed being rearranged—God is simply shifting the furniture in your mental room to make space for the new version of you.

Your ego has been running the show for a long time, filling your head with fear, limitation, and doubt. Old habits don’t die easily—they die daily, one step at a time. Do not fear what is surfacing right now. Allow the negativity that may have been hidden (even from you) to be revealed, so that it can be healed. It is all part of the process.

The Power of Active Surrender

When chemicalization happens, the natural instinct is to panic, fight harder, or try to force results. But true mastery requires active surrender.

Surrender is not throwing up your hands in defeat. Surrender means doing the practical, alignment work and then releasing the how and the when to the divine order of life. You handle the intention; Spirit handles the provision.

The Practice: The Surrender & Release Sheet

When you feel internal friction, anxiety, or the urge to micro-manage your life, use this simple practice to regain your center:

  1. Recognize the Stirring: When old doubts or chaotic circumstances flare up, label them correctly. Say to yourself: “This is just chemicalization. Old energy is clearing out to make room for my growth.”
  2. Divide Your Page: Take a piece of paper and draw a line straight down the center.
    • On the Left Side (My Job): Write down 1 to 3 practical action steps within your direct control today (e.g., maintaining your morning devotion, making necessary calls, staying calm).
    • On the Right Side (God’s/Spirit’s Job): Write down the timing, the specific outcomes, and the worries you cannot control.
  3. Release the Right Side: Visually and mentally hand over the right side of your page. Consciously stop trying to micro-manage the Universe.

Breakthrough Reflection: “I do not fear the churning of old thoughts. I stand firm in Truth, do my part with faith, and surrender the rest to divine order.”

Week 2: Rewiring for Victory (Tracking Micro-Wins)

Have you ever wondered why changing your mindset feels like an uphill battle?

Psychology and neuroscience show us that our mindsets are highly habitual. Every time you engage in repeated thoughts, emotional reactions, and daily actions, your brain creates physical neural pathways—like well-worn grooves in a trail. When we focus on thoughts of doubt, fear, or limitation regularly, we literally wire our brain to expect defeat.

But here is the truth: your mind is designed to be rewired for success.

To step into your breakthrough, you must shift from passive thinking to active rewiring. How do we do this? Through the power of intentional observation.

Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows

There is a fundamental spiritual and psychological principle: where focus goes, energy flows. What you give your attention to expands in your experience.

If you want to rewire your mind for victory, you must actively track every sign of progress, no matter how small. Celebrate your micro -wins! When you consciously identify and celebrate “micro-wins,” you force your brain to build new, positive neural pathways. As you count your blessings and measure your growth, your mindset changes. And as your mindset changes, your entire world transforms.

The Practice: The Daily Micro-Win Log

Put this rewiring exercise into practice starting today:

1. Observe Your Focus: Pause twice a day and ask yourself, “What am I currently giving my mental energy to?” Interrupt negative thought loops immediately by redirecting your attention to what is going right.

2. Track Three Micro-Wins: Every evening, write down three small victories from your day. These don’t need to be massive achievements—a calm reaction to traffic, completing a task, or choosing gratitude over frustration all count.

3. Anchor the Feeling: Spend 30 seconds feeling genuine appreciation for those victories. This emotional anchor is what locks in the new neural pathway

Breakthrough Reflection: “Where my focus goes, my energy flows. Today, I actively wire my mind for victory by counting my wins.”

Week 1: Start Your Day Centered

We often treat our mornings like a five-alarm emergency! It’s all rush, rush, rush.

The alarm sounds, and within seconds—there we go. We immediately slip into reaction mode: checking notifications, scanning emails, rushing to meet external demands, and surrendering our mental energy before our feet even hit the floor.

Take a moment and BREATHE! Then, give thanks for the opportunities of a brand-new day.

When you spend your first moments in a reactive state, you set a blueprint for a chaotic, stressful day. Mastering the breakthrough requires a shift from reaction to intention.

Real personal power isn’t built in the heat of a crisis; it is anchored in the quiet moments before the day begins. When you intentionally center your mind before the noise of the world takes over, you move from letting life happen to you to directing how you show up for it.

The Practice: The 3-Step Morning Alignment

To build an unshakeable inner foundation, put this three-step centering ritual into practice tomorrow morning before opening your phone or checking your email:

  1. Silence First (5 Minutes): Sit in complete stillness. Take deep, deliberate breaths to clear overnight tension. Recognize that your awareness in this moment is the steady anchor beneath whatever the day brings.
  2. Set the Dominant Intent: Ask yourself, “What energy am I bringing to today?” Choose one word to govern your focus—such as Clarity, Poise, Strength, or Peace.
  3. Decisive Action: Define the single most important task for your day and execute it early. Breakthroughs are built on deliberate, focused action, not busywork.

You have now given yourself a threefold makeover—spirit, mind, and body! You are ready.

Breakthrough Reflection: “My inner state dictates my outer experience. Today, I lead with intention, not reaction.”

Announcement:

Something new is coming next week! 💫

Starting next week, I’m launching a brand-new weekly series: Mastering the Breakthrough.  

Together, we’ll be exploring practical insights on mindset alignment, personal mastery, and conscious living—giving you actionable steps to center your energy, step out in faith, and claim your growth.  I

Whether you’ve been here with me for years or you’re just joining the journey, this series is built to help you clear the noise and live with unwavering purpose.  

Stay tuned—Week 1 drops next week! Drop a 🙌🙌🏿 in the comments if you’re ready to step into your next level.

How are you feeling about launching this week, and is there anything else you need before you share it with your community?

 

Bondage or Liberty? The Choice is Yours.

Bondage or Liberty - Which?

By Rev. Andrea M. Graham

 

 

In Exodus 3:7-8, the Lord said to Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings…”

The Israelites were suffering because they were in bondage to the Egyptians. This suffering actually caused them to lose sight of their true inheritance as children of the Most High. New Thought teaches that the primary cause of suffering is forgetfulness of one’s spiritual identity. When we suffer, we have forgotten who we are.

 

Have you ever been there? Have you forgotten who you are as a spiritual being? You may not have ever had a slave driver as your taskmaster. However, you may have felt that you have been in bondage to some circumstance, habit or memory in your mind that haunts you. You may have felt that you are being held captive by fearful thoughts. Thoughts of lack and limitation may cause you to believe that you don’t have enough or that YOU are not enough. Worry may have led you to believe that you are not going to be successful. Feelings of unworthiness may even cause you to believe that you do not deserve to succeed. For many, the taskmasters that hold them in bondage are low vibrational emotions like these that paralyze them. Emotions like fear, doubt, worry, anger, jealousy, and feelings of unworthiness will hinder you from expressing the wonderful gifts and talents that you have been blessed with. They will prevent you from fulfilling the plan and purpose that has been placed over your life.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMAIN IN BONDAGE! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!!!!

In her foundational work, “Lessons in Truth,” H. Emile Cady poses a very pertinent choice, “Bondage or Liberty, which?” YOU have the power to choose! The choice has everything to do with YOUR belief system: What you believe about God, yourself, and your relationship to God. Do you believe that God is a big dude in the sky that is separate from you? Do you feel that you must beg and plead with God to bless you? What about your beliefs about yourself and your relationship to God? Do you believe that you are a hopeless sinner that is unworthy of the unconditional love and grace of God? Do you even know who you are? How you answer these questions will determine what you are experiencing in your life, world, and affairs.

Beloved, you are a child of the Most-High. Any belief that is less than this falls short of the truth of your being. YOU are spirit; created in the Image and Likeness of Spirit. Affirm daily: “I AM spirit, and I am blessed with a multitude of spiritual attributes.” At some point we all must acknowledge this Truth for this is the Truth that will set us free. Every knee must bow, and every tongue must confess that the Christ (right within you – your hope of glory), is Lord.!

Metaphysically, the Biblical story of the children of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt represents the various stages of spiritual development that every soul must go through.

“Man, who is at first living in the selfish animal part of himself, will grow up through various stages and by various processes to the divine or spiritual understanding wherein he knows that he is one with the Father and wherein he is free from all suffering, because he has conscious dominion over all things.” (Complete Works of H. Emilie Cady, p. 21)

This is an inner journey that will take you from bondage to liberty. In Lessons in Truth, Cady states “every man believes himself to be in bondage to the flesh and the things of the flesh.” (Complete Works of H. Emile Cady, p. 19). This belief is the cause of much suffering, addictions, and obsessions. These are the new taskmasters.

If you feel you are in bondage to any experience, thought or habit, the first step out is to choose. Choose not to be in bondage. Make this intention very clear to the Universe and ask for assistance from your own Indwelling Christ to strengthen you. The next step is simply to remember who and what you are. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God‘s Spirit dwells in your midst?” I Cor 3:16. If God’s Spirit dwells within you, the Power and Presence of the Almighty is within you. If God’s Spirit dwells within you, the spiritual attributes of the Creator are within you. Attributes such as love, strength, power, and abundance are right within you. Literally, the Kingdom of God is at hand. You can touch it and feel it because it is right within you. Moreover, as children of the Most-High, this is your inheritance. However, if you do not know who you are, you cannot claim your inheritance.

When I think of how we sometimes find ourselves in mental and emotional bondage, I often think about the fable about the eagle that thought he was a chicken. Now, if you know anything about the animal kingdom, you know that the eagle in nothing like a chicken. An eagle is the king of the sky. However, in this fable the eagle had no remembrance of its true nature. You see, as a baby eagle, it had fallen out of its nest and a well-meaning farmer found it and raised it with chickens. These circumstances held the eagle in a kind of bondage. Instead of soaring the heights of the sky, this eagle was clucking and pecking like a chicken. When we forget that we are spiritual beings, formed in the image and likeness of the Creator, we become just like that eagle, clucking and pecking for crumbs on the ground when we should be soaring to new heights in Spirit.

It is your destiny to remember who and what you are. You are destined to rise into the heights of Spirit. In Truth, your true nature is spirit. In Truth, anything contrary to this is an illusion. In Truth, you are never sick, hurt or afraid because these concepts are not a part of your spiritual DNA. Your spiritual DNA is your Divinely Nourished Advantage over any and all circumstances. You just need to remember who you are. You are the King’s kid. Any belief that falls short of this is a lie.

By the end of the fable, the eagle remembered its identity and flew into the infinite sky. The eagle chose liberty! Choose liberty NOW! Choose liberty over bondage by changing your thoughts. Change your thoughts from lack to abundance. Change your thoughts from hopelessness to faith. Change your thoughts from procrastination to power. Change your thoughts from fear to love.

This is simple but not always easy because an erroneous belief system may have conditioned your mind. You must now begin the process of de-conditioning your mind from the error thinking that has held you in bondage for so long. Remember, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years before reaching the promised land. The actual trip should have taken eleven days. However, the journey back to Spiritual Awareness is a process. The children of Israel were no longer in physical bondage to the Egyptians, they were in emotional and mental bondage to their old mindsets. Old limiting mindsets must be cleared from consciousness before we can leave the wilderness of our own cluttered, error thinking and enter the expanded awareness of the Promised land. Our thoughts must be in alignment with who we are as spiritual beings. We do this through prayer and meditation. We do this by using denials and affirmations. Denials and affirmations are the soap and water of consciousness. Prayer and meditation are how we communicate with God. If you really want to enter the Awareness of Spirit, you must spend time in the Spirit daily. Meditate on aspects of God until you enter the Silence. Listen for the whispering of the Still Small Voice that is always speaking to you. Pray unceasingly.

It is time to develop the spiritual eyes that allow you to see the Power and Presence of God — everywhere. See the colors of Spirit painted on the Canvas of the Infinite Sky. Feel Spirit moving through the wind and in the trees. Smell the fragrance of Spirit in the atmosphere. Immerse yourself in the divine energy of Spirit.

“Finally…Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Phil 4:8 

Deny any thought that is not in harmony with your Indwelling Christ to have space in your heart or mind. Affirm daily: “I am not sick. I am not hurt. I am not afraid. I AM spirit and there is only Good in Spirit for Spirit is God.”

Now give thanks for the magnitude of your blessings!!!

Remember who you are. Remember who God is. Choose liberty over bondage.

 
 

 

Come Out of Your Valley Experience

By Andrea M. Graham

Have you ever had a valley experience?  During these times, it seems as though your entire world is crashing down around you. In the face of these trials and tribulations, it may seem as though the solution is simply out of your reach. You believe that you have hit rock bottom. The good news is this: if you think that you have hit rock bottom, you have no place to go but up.

A valley experience is really a soul experience that has come to teach you. Remember, your experiences are reflections of your own thoughts and feelings. Therefore, valley experiences reveal exactly what is going on in your heart and mind. They mirror your deepest fears. In actuality, a valley experience is a blessing because it is an opportunity to heal and grow. As the fear begins to bubble up and rise out of the cervices of your own consciousness, it shows you where a greater demonstration of faith is needed.

Regardless of what type of valley experience you might be having, face it head-on. Boldly proclaim with the psalmist that God has prepared a table for you in the midst of all adversities. Know in your heart of hearts that you may freely partake of this table at any time. If you are having a health related valley experience, affirm: “God is my health. I am bursting with radiant energy.” If you are facing a financial challenge, declare: “the Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want. My cup overflows with substance.” If there appears to be conflict in your relationships, affirm: Peace reigns supreme in my relationships now. God leads me besides the still waters.” In the face of all undesirable circumstances, affirm: “I refuse to judge by the appearances. God is anointing every area of my life with the infinite oils of love, peace and prosperity!” Continue to speak words of encouragement until you feel your thoughts rising beyond the circumstances. Then, stand firm on your two big spiritual feet,  dig in and begin the hike. It is all uphill now.

Remember, in the valley, you have full access to the mountain. So, just begin your uphill journey. As you do, you will build both spiritual strength and character. You will discover how beautifully powerful you are. You will know that you have nothing to fear. God has prepared the way. Move higher and your vision will expand. Ideas from the Infinite will abundantly flow in and through you. Like Abram, you will look in all directions, knowing that you can have as far as you can see. The seeming challenge is only a shadow. Move beyond it. Come out of your valley experience.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me…” Psalm 23:4, NKJV

Do you know what you are?

What you are?

You are in a process of unfolding and what you are unfolding is divine!

What you are? When asked, many will provide a laundry list of titles. In reality, you are far more than any title. You are spirit. You are created in the image/likeness of God.

In What Are You?, Imelda Octavia Shanklin states it this way: “You are a soul that has forgotten its divine identity…a soul now struggling to remember…

When it feels as though you are struggling through life’s experiences, it is difficult to remember your spiritual nature. However, the spiritual part of you always remembers. Therefore, to end the struggle, awaken to the spiritual essence within yourself.

Begin daily by practicing the presence through prayer and meditation. Activate the power of your spoken word by declaring peace over the conditions in your life. Affirm: “The Presence of God within me is greater than any outer appearance.” As you do, your spiritual identity will begin to emerge and you will remember.

“Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” I John 4:4, NRSV