Thinking like Jesus

Young Chang

The water tank on Donna Brown’s toilet cracked this week and drenched

the bathroom carpet.

Instead of panicking, Brown, 66, and her 40-year-old daughter, Cindy,

calmly turned off the water and figured out the problem. Then they called

a repairman.

The Costa Mesa residents believe they were divinely guided to the

solution. They didn’t get mad, and they didn’t wonder why it had to

happen. They also trust that good will somehow come from the experience.

Because they believe that’s what Jesus would have thought.

The duo have learned this form of thinking in part from a class based

on Laurie Beth Jones’ book, “Jesus in Blue Jeans.”

The Browns and a handful of others are reading the book with the Rev.

Gail Miller of the New Thought Community Church in Costa Mesa, an

independent religious science organization in which members practice

disciplining their thoughts.

The premise of “Jesus in Blue Jeans” is the concept that when Jesus

lived among people who wore robes, he wore robes. So, if Jesus were alive

today, he’d wear jeans.

Class participants say Jesus’ spirit is with them, and they’re

learning to handle life’s curve balls the way Jesus would have.

“If we have something crazy happen, we’re supposed to declare it good

and know that by doing so, we’ll attract more good in our lives in some

way,” Cindy Brown said.

Her father, Jack, died in June. And learning to think positively has

helped the mother and daughter have faith that there is life after death.

“The tendency is to want to give up on life. But what has helped me,

is to look beyond the death, to my husband’s life after death,” Donna

Brown said, who added that her classmates are unaware of her loss.

Miller and her students focus on the smaller things in life too.

If Jesus were standing in line at a Sav-On Drugs and the clerk gave

him attitude, Jesus would bless him, Miller said. So that’s what she did

the other day, when the exact situation happened to her.

If Jesus met someone who was gossiping about him, he would bless the

person and not gossip back.

If Jesus got a speeding ticket, he would even bless the police

officer.

“We practice how to use our minds in a positive way, to create a

different energy,” Miller said.

Billie Allen, 88, a student in the class, says religious science

improved her outlook on life and reassured her that God is always with

her.

“I try not to get mad at anyone,” she said, “But if I do, I say ‘Now

Billie, that’s not the way you want to go.”’

FYI

* WHAT: A class based on Laurie Beth Jones’ book “Jesus in Blue Jeans”

* WHEN: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays

* WHERE: New Thought Community Church, 1929 Tustin Ave., Costa Mesa

* CALL: (949) 646-3199