Today, we look at a passage from the 1954 book Three Magic Words by mid-twentieth century New Thought author Uell S. Andersen (1917-1986) and explore it a bit to see what wisdom it offers us here in the 21st century. Spoiler alert: it’s all about isolating ourselves from Spirit and the negative impact that has on our lives.
U. S. Andersen?
Andersen’s first claim to fame was as an athelete. In fact, he played professional football in the early days of the NFL. However, even before college, he had discovered that metaphysical teachings held an interest for him, first studying Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science philosophy and then later jumping into various New Thought teachers, including Science of Mind founder Ernest Holmes.
In 1952, Andersen began teaching a New Thought course that he created. Those lessons were brought together in his first book in 1954 entitled The Key to Power and Personal Peace and then later renamed Three Magic Words, the name that it carries to this date. The book is said to have been an influence on many well known people, from Elvis to Wayne Dyer.
For more information on Andersen and links to a few free online resources by him, visit our resource page here.
Catching a Quote
My intuition recently called me to pull Three Magic Words off my shelf and begin reading it. I can see why it has had staying power. It is a good New Thought summary with each chapter having a summary of what it covered, a recommendation of a book to read that connects with the chapter and a closing affirmative prayer linked to the content of that section. It is easy to see that the book had its genesis as class lessons.
In chapter 6, Andersen discusses the topic of “faith” and one of the subheadings in that chapter was labeled “Isolation Brings Fear”. I had just in the past few days posted on my YouTube Channel a video entitled “From Isolation to Unity”, so the label certainly caught my eye.
My video covered one key teaching point: that we have a choice every moment; that choice is to see ourselves in isolation and separation from others or to see ourselves as part of an interconnected unity with others. I also linked the point to a quote from a recently discovered 1951 Radio Program by Ernest Holmes. For more on that I encourage you to watch the video.
In the section, the following words by Andersen caught my attention:
“We human beings are creatures of little faith. We isolate ourselves from God, from the roots of our being, and we are so ready to see on all sides a hostile and preying world that we are constantly going about our daily tasks affirming our faith in disease, disaster, poverty, failure and loneliness. Yet the reins of our destinies are in our very own hands. All things, good and evil, have their beginnings in faith, and “as ye believe, so shall it be done onto you”. We shall have our beliefs anyway, why not make them beliefs in good, in the fine ends of man, in abundance, in health, in vigor, in integrity?”
Connections and Thoughts
So what is ours to learn here today from this quote from around 70 years ago? What is Andersen advising us?
In a sense, Andersen’s statement and my video are getting at the same point. We humans frequently see ourselves as these individual and distinct entities that are separate from every thing else. We tend to keep our focus on being these individual “islands” that move around in the outside world and try to get our needs met via our interrelations with the “world out there”. This over emphasis on our separation from the rest of the universe can lead us into feeling that we are moving through life isolated and alone. It can call us to levels of fear, competition with others, expecting the worst, feeling lonely.
But who are we isolated from? In the material world of the relative, our isolation can feel as if it is from other people, other aspects of the One Life. In the spiritual world of the Absolute, our isolation can feel as if it is from our source, from God, from Spirit.
How can we break the chain of isolation and move back to a sense of Oneness, interconnectedness, to unity? Both Andersen and I agree that it begins with a choice. We can, in every moment, choose to feel disconnected from others and Spirit or choose to feel connected. We can, in every moment, choose fear of the outcomes of life or choose faith that live is orchestrated for our greatest good. We can, in every moment, choose to remain in isolation or choose to live in the flow of Love.
Love is a power that seeks to break us out of our isolation and to call us into a sense of connection with others. Love can connect us to other people. Love can connect us to God. Love can ultimately connect us to our Truth.
Mark Gilbert