|
Christian Healing
Lesson 7
[<- Go back to Lesson 6]
[Christian Healing]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
Lesson Seven
Spirituality or Prayer and Praise
1. By the employment of many symbols the Bible describes
man in his wholeness--Spirit, soul, and body. The symbols
used are men, places, tents, temples, and so forth. The
name of every person mentioned in the Bible has a meaning
representative of that person's character. The twelve sons
of Jacob represent the twelve foundation faculties of man.
The name of each of these sons, correctly interpreted,
gives the development and office of its particular faculty
in triune association; that is, its relation to
consciousness in Spirit, in soul, and in body. For example,
when the sons of Jacob were born, their mothers revealed
the character of the faculty which each represented. This
is set forth in the twenty-ninth and thirtieth chapters of
Genesis.
2. It is written of the birth of Reuben, "Leah conceived,
and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she
said, Because Jehovah hath looked upon my affliction." The
emphasis is upon the word "looked," and by referring to the
concordance we find that the meaning of the word Reuben is,
"One who sees; vision of the son." It is clear that this
refers to the bringing forth of sight.
3. "And she conceived again, and bare a son: and said,
Because Jehovah hath heard that I am hated." Here the
emphasis is upon the word heard, and we find that Simeon
means, "That hears or
Page 73
obeys; that is heard." This is the bringing forth of
hearing.
4. "And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now
this time will my husband be joined unto me." In this case
the emphasis is upon the word joined. Levi means "unity,"
which in body is feeling; in soul, sympathy; and in Spirit,
love. So each of the twelve faculties in the complete man
functions in this threefold degree.
5. What is here described as the birth of the twelve sons
of Jacob is the first, or natural, bringing forth of the
faculties. A higher expression of the faculties is
symbolized in the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Simon
Peter is hearing and faith united. John is feeling and love
joined. When we believe what we hear, there is formed in us
the substance of the word, which is Peter, a rock, a sure
foundation. "Belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ."
6. The Bible is a very wonderful book; as man develops in
spiritual understanding it reveals itself to him, and he
sees why it has been reverenced and called holy by the
people. It is a deep exposition of mental laws, and it is
also a treatise on the true physiological estate of the
body. It shows that the human organism is mind in action,
rather than an aggregation of purely material functions.
But above all, the Bible explains the spiritual character
of man and the laws governing his relation to God. These
are symbolically set forth as states of consciousness,
Page 74
illustrated by parables and allegories. Paul says,
referring to the history of Sarah and Abraham, "Which
things contain an allegory." It is written of Jesus, "And
without a parable spake he nothing unto them: that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things
hidden from the foundation of the world." Jesus was Himself
a parable. His life was an allegory of the experiences that
man passes through in developing from natural to spiritual
consciousness; hence the Bible and the prophets can be
understood only by those who arrive at that place in
consciousness where the writers were when they gave forth
their messages. It requires the same inspiration to read
the Scriptures with understanding that it required
originally to receive and write them.
7. In the 29th chapter of Genesis we read of Jacob's wife,
Leah: "And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she
said, This time will I praise Jehovah: therefore she called
his name Judah." The Hebrew meaning of the word Judah is
"praise." In Spirit praise, or prayer, the Judah faculty,
accumulates ideas. In sense consciousness this faculty is
called acquisitiveness; it accumulates material things and
when self is dominant, "hath a devil." This is Judas.
8. Each of the twelve faculties has a center and a definite
place of expression in the body. Physiology has designated
these faculty locations as brain and nerve centers.
Spiritual perception reveals them to
Page 75
be aggregations of ideas, thoughts, and words. Thoughts
make cells, and thoughts of like character are drawn
together in the body by the same law that draws people of
kindred ideas into assemblies and communities. The
intellectual man centers in the head; the affectional man
lives in the heart; the sensual man expresses through the
abdomen. The activities of these indicated regions are
subdivided into a multitude of functions, all of which are
necessary to the building up of manifest man as he is
idealized in Divine Mind.
9. At the very apex of the brain is a ganglionic center,
which we may term the throne of reverence or spirituality.
It is here that man holds converse with the knowledge in
Divine Mind. This center is the place or "upper room" of
spiritual consciousness, and is designated in Scripture as
Judah. Its office is to pray and praise. The Judah faculty
opens the portal of that mysterious realm called the
superconsciousness where thought is impregnated with an
uplifting, transcendent quality. Every lofty ideal, all the
inspiration that elevates and idealizes in religion,
poetry, and art, originates here. It is the kingdom of the
true and real in all things.
10. The importance of Judah is indicated by his place in
the family of Jacob and Leah. Jacob (supplanter) was
betrothed to Rachel (ewe). At the time of the espousal the
father of Rachel substituted his elder daughter Leah for
the covenanted bride. Leah means "weary." The first son of
Leah was
Page 76
"sight"; weariness saw the light of Spirit. The second son
was "hearing"; she was able to receive the word. The third
son was "union"; she merged with the limitless. The fourth
son was "praise." After the birth of Judah, Leah "left off
bearing." Praise is the complement of sight, hearing, and
unity. It is the redemption of weariness, and from it
issues Messiah, the anointed One, Savior of the world.
Instead of a supplication, prayer should be a jubilant
thanksgiving. This method of prayer quickens the mind
miraculously, and, like a mighty magnet, draws out the
spiritual qualities that transform the whole man when they
are given expression in mind, body, and affairs.
11. Spirituality is one of the foundation faculties of the
mind. It is the consciousness that relates man directly to
the Father-Mind. It is quickened and enlarged through
prayer and through other forms of religious thought and
worship. When we pray we look up from within, not because
God is off in the sky, but because this spiritual center in
the top of the head becomes active and our attention is
naturally drawn to it.
12. Prayer is natural to man, and it should be cultivated
in order to round out his character. Prayer is the language
of spirituality; when developed, it makes man master in the
realm of creative ideas. In order to get results from the
use of this faculty, right thinking should be observed here
as well as elsewhere. To pray, believing that the prayer
may or may not be answered at the will of God, is to miss
Page 77
the mark. It is a law of mind that every idea is fulfilled
as soon as conceived. This law holds true in the spiritual
realm. "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." In the light
of our knowledge of mind action, the law expressed in these
words is clear. Moreover, the faith implied is absolutely
necessary to the unfailing answer to prayer. If we pray
asking for future fulfillment, we form that kind of thought
structure in consciousness, and our prayers are always
waiting for that future fulfillment which we have
idealized. If we pray thinking that we do not deserve the
things for which we ask, these untrue and indefinite
thoughts carry themselves out, and we grow to look upon
prayer with doubt and suspicion. This is called the prayer
of blind faith, but it is not the kind that Jesus used,
because His prayers were answered.
13. It should not be inferred that the will of Divine Mind
is to be set aside in prayer; we are to pray that the will
of God enter into us and become a moving factor in our
life. "Not my will, but thine, be done," prayed Jesus. The
Father does not take our will from us; rather, He gives us
the utmost freedom in the exercise of the will faculty, and
He also imparts an understanding of the law, through the
operation of which we can make any condition that we
desire. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I
do," becomes our assurance.
14. One of the offices of spirituality is to aggregate
Page 78
divine ideas. Through this action man draws absolutely true
ideas from the universal Mind. Thus prayer is cumulative.
It accumulates spiritual substance, life, intelligence; it
accumulates everything necessary to man's highest
expression. When we pray in spiritual understanding, this
highest realm of man's mind contacts universal, impersonal
Mind; the very mind of God is joined to the mind of man.
God answers our prayers in ideas, thoughts, words; these
are translated into the outer realms, in time and
condition. It is therefore important that we pray with
understanding of the law, important that we always give
thanks that our prayers have been answered and fulfilled,
regardless of appearances. When Jesus multiplied the loaves
and fishes, He prayed, blessed, and gave thanks. With
understanding and realization of the relation between the
idea and the fulfillment of the idea, He quickened the slow
processes of nature, and the loaves and fishes were
increased quickly. We may not be able to attain at once
such speedy operation of the law, but we shall approximate
it, and we shall accelerate natural processes as we hold
our ideas nearer to the perfection of the realm of divine
ideas.
15. Praise is closely related to prayer; it is one of the
avenues through which spirituality expresses itself.
Through an inherent law of mind, we increase whatever we
praise. The whole creation responds to praise, and is glad.
Animal trainers pet and reward their charges with
delicacies for acts of obedience; children glow with joy
and gladness when they are
Page 79
praised. Even vegetation grows best for those who praise
it. We can praise our own abilities, and our very brain
cells will expand and increase in capacity and intelligence
when we speak words of encouragement and appreciation to
them.
16. "What is seen hath not been made out of things which
appear." There is an invisible thought-stuff on which the
mind acts, making things through the operation of a law not
yet fully understood by man. Every thought moves upon this
invisible substance in increasing or diminishing degree.
When we praise the richness and opulence of our God, this
thought-stuff is tremendously increased in our mental
atmosphere; it reflects into everything that our minds and
our hands touch. When common things are impregnated with
our consciousness of divine substance, they are transformed
according to our ideals. Through persistent application of
the Judah faculty, a failing business proposition can be
praised into a successful one. Even inanimate things seem
to receive the word of praise, responding in orderly
obedience when, before, they have seemed unmanageable. A
woman used the law on her sewing machine, which she had
been affirming to be in bad order. It gave her no trouble
afterward. A linotype operator received a certain spiritual
treatment given him by a healer at a certain hour, and his
linotype, which had been acting badly, immediately fell
into harmonious ways. A woman living in a country town had
a rag carpet on her parlor floor; she had for
Page 80
years hoped that this carpet might be replaced by a better
one. She heard of the law and began praising the old
carpet. Greatly to her surprise, inside of two weeks she
was given a new carpet from an unexpected source. These are
a few simple illustrations of the possibilities latent in
praise. Whether the changes were in the inanimate things,
or in the individuals dealing with them, does not matter so
long as the desired end was attained.
17. Turn the power of praise upon whatever you wish to
increase. Give thanks that it is now fulfilling your ideal.
The faithful law, faithfully observed, will reward you. You
can praise yourself from weakness to strength, from
ignorance to intelligence, from poverty to affluence, from
sickness to health. The little lad with a few loaves and
fishes furnished the seed that, through the prayer and
thanksgiving of Jesus, increased sufficiently to feed five
thousand people.
18. If we do not receive answers to our prayers it is
because we have not fully complied with the law. "Ye ask,
and receive not, because ye ask amiss." This does not mean
that we ask of the Lord things that we do not need; it
means that we miss the mark in the method of asking, that
our relation to Divine Mind is not in harmony with the law;
the failure is not in God, but in us. We should therefore
never be discouraged, but, like Elijah praying for rain, we
should persevere until our prayers are answered.
19. All causes that bring about permanent results originate
in Spirit. Spirituality, faith, and love
Page 81
are God-given faculties, and when we are raised in
consciousness to their plane they act naturally under a
spiritual law that we may not comprehend. There is a law of
prayer, which man will eventually recognize and apply as he
now recognizes and applies the laws of mathematics and of
music.
20. Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that
will I do." We ask in His name when we pray in the Jesus
consciousness of universal Spirit. He attained unity with
Divine Mind, and realized that His thoughts and words were
not from Himself, but from God. When we pray in His name we
enter into His unity with the Father, and attain the same
consciousness that He attained.
21. God is the always present, indwelling Mind. To realize
God we must quiet our outer thoughts and enter into the
stillness, peace, and harmony of Spirit. "When thou
prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut
thy door [outer consciousness], pray to thy Father who is
in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall
recompense thee." If we make proper connection with Divine
Mind in the kingdom of heaven within us, the Father will
surely answer our prayers. No good thing will He withhold
from us if we comply with the law of righteous asking. "Be
still, and know that I am God."
Page 82
Living Words To Quicken Spirituality
1. "It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth
nothing."
2. "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
3. "The words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and
are life."
4. "Ye must be born from above."
5. "I am the light of the world." "Ye are the light of the
world."
6. "Let your light shine before men; that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
7. "I am the light" that "lighteth every man, coming into
the world."
8. My understanding is illumined by Spirit. I am the light
of my consciousness.
9. I acknowledge God at all times as the one source of my
understanding.
10. "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of
Jehovah is risen upon thee."
11. The glory of the Lord is risen upon me, and I walk in
the light of life.
12. My body is the temple of the living God, and the glory
of the Lord fills the temple.
13. Christ within me is my glory. The brightness of His
presence casts out all the darkness of error, and my whole
body is full of light.
14. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and
there is no occasion of stumbling in him."
Page 83
15. "Jehovah is my light and my salvation; whom shall I
fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life; of whom shall I
be afraid?"
16. "Then shall Thy light break forth as the morning, and
thy health shall spring forth speedily."
Establishing The Perfect Substance
(To be used in connection with Lesson Seven)
1. "And God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them."
2. My perfection is now established in Divine Mind.
3. "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father
is perfect."
4. By seeing perfection in all things, I help to make it
manifest. "I must be in my Father's house."
5. The corruptible flesh is changed into incorruption when
it is seen as perfect and pure in Christ.
6. I see in mind that perfect character which I desire to
be, and thus plant the seed thought that brings forth the
perfect man.
7. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror
the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit."
8. "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then
shall ye also with him be manifested in glory."
Page 84
9. My mind is opened anew to the splendor of God's kingdom,
and a flood of rich substance now pours itself into my
affairs.
Page 85
[Go forward to Lesson 8 ->]
[Christian Healing]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
|