Religious science in the name of Ernst Holmes’ philosophy

Seaside Center for Spiritual Living

• Contact: 1613 Lake Dr. Encinitas 760-753-5786 www.seasidecenter.org
• Membership: 1100
• Pastor: Christian Sorensen
• Age: 59
• Born: Hollywood
• Formation: California State University-North Ridge; Ernst Holmes College (Holmes Institute), Los Angeles
• Years Ordained: 37

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon?

Pastor Christian Sorensen: I get inspired by life, and the whole week I have my eyes open for whatever is supportive of my Sunday message. All week long I’m gathering ideas, and then focus on it on Friday and Saturdays. On Sunday mornings, I get up around 3-3:30 a.m., and start meditating, getting that energy rumbling through me. I spend a lot of time with Spirit before I step up to the lectern.

SDR: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

PS: I love for people to become familiar with their inner voice and be guided by that. Mysticism is really the high end of our teaching. We have a book called Living from the Mountaintop: Be the Mystic You Were Born to Be. Our philosophy is a little different from traditional beliefs. We believe that God or the higher power is infinite. I know a lot of philosophies believe that God is the infinite and in everything. But from my perspective, if God is everything, there can’t be anything else. So the truth of your being is Spirit. We try to get people back into alignment with themselves.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PS: I was in New Zealand and the lights came on. Both my parents in the late 1970s became religious science ministers. Religious science is the name of this philosophy, started in 1927 by Ernst Holmes, an American philosopher. Religious science wasn’t a revelation or religion to him, but the accumulation of that common thread that runs through all the great religions but without the dogmas and creeds. New Thought philosophy is America’s unique contribution to the world body of theology. It emerged out of the Transcendentalists, especially Emerson and Thoreau. The idea is that you’re able to direct your life and heal your world or your body. So this is why I had all the preliminary classes, and after my parents became ministers, it was a natural step for me to step into it.

SDR: What is the mission of your community?

PS: Our mission here is to provide a thriving spiritual community that inspires people to live their divinity. For the whole movement, our mission is to make a difference on this planet through the Centers for Spiritual Living.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PS: My view is that there is continuity to existence. This life is only one of the stopping points. In Super 8 film, one frame leads to the next – and that’s the kind of continuity I see. One continues on. I don’t think the slate gets wiped clean, but you get to continue to experience the unfolding of that which you cast before you. Who you are, your essence, your life lessons — these are what continues, and wherever you land, you’ll have whatever you need to house consciousness. Who you are is far more than this physical body — and the body is how you operate in this realm. But when it no longer serves you, your awareness continues on. I also believe that just as nature provides for your arrival in this dimension, I have no doubt that nature provides for that transition to the next expression of your existence, where you’re not bound by the same physical constraints of time and space.