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Dynamics for Living
God
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[Dynamics for Living]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
THE starting point in spiritual realization is a right
understanding of God. By describing God with words in our
human way we are but stating in the lisping syllables of
the child that which in its maturity the mind still only
faintly grasps. Words never express that which God is.
Language is the limitation of mind. Do not expect the
unlimited to leap forth into full expression through the
limited. We must drop the complex and find simplicity
before we can know God. We must become as a child.
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Being
God's name represents wholeness. He is holy, perfect. God
is Being; the Creator; the Infinite; the Eternal; the Ruler
of the universe. Being is omnipresent, omnipotent,
omniscient; it is the fullness of God. God is the absolute,
incomparable, omnipresent All-Good, the principle of divine
benevolence that permeates the universe. Being exists under
two phases: invisible and visible, abstract and concrete.
The visible comes forth from the invisible, and this coming
forth is always according to a universal method of growth.
From center to circumference is the plan of procedure
throughout the universe.
Principle
We must relieve our minds of a personal God ruling over us
in an arbitrary, manlike manner. God is not person but
Principle. By Principle is meant definite, exact,
unchangeable. It best describes the unchangeableness that
is an inherent law of Being. The fundamental basis of
practical Christianity is that God is Principle.
Divine Principle is fundamental Truth. God as Principle is
the unchangeable life, love, intelligence, and substance of
Being. It is the underlying plan by which God moves in
expressing Himself. Principle does not occupy space;
neither has it any limitations of time or matter,
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but it eternally exists as the underlying cause out of
which come forth all true ideas. Although Principle is
formless, it is that by which all form is produced. God
immanent in the universe is the great underlying Cause of
all manifestation; the Source from which form proceeds.
Law
God as law is Principle in action. Everything has its
foundation in a rule of action, a law. Divine law is the
orderly working out of the principles of Being. Divine law
cannot be broken. It places first things first. Divine
order is the first law of the universe. Indeed, there could
be no universe unless its various parts were kept in
perfect order.
Reality
God is the one harmonious Principle underlying all being
and the Reality out of which all that is eternal comes.
Reality is that which is abiding, eternal, and
unchangeable. The basic principles of mathematics and music
are real, because they are not subject to change.
Spirit
God is Spirit, the Principle of creative life, the moving
force in the universe, the omnipotent, omnipresent essence
from which all things proceed. God is life. God is in the
universe as its constant "breath." Life
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is a principle that is made manifest in living. Spirit is
not matter. Spirit is not person. Spirit cannot be analyzed
by the senses. It is beyond their grasp. In order to
perceive the essence of Being we must drop from mind the
belief that God is circumscribed in any way or has any of
the limitations usually ascribed to persons, things, or
anything having form or shape. As the animating life of all
things God is a unit, but as the Mind that drives this life
He is diverse.
Spiritual-Science
The only real science is the science of Spirit. It never
changes. By science we mean the systematic and orderly
arrangement of knowledge. Orderliness is law, and is the
test of true science. The facts of Spirit are of a
spiritual character and, when understood in their right
relation, they are orderly. The lawful truths of Spirit are
more scientific than the constantly shifting opinions based
on intellectual standards.
Mind
By the term Mind, we mean God--the universal Principle,
which includes all principles. In our talk about Mind we
are forced to leave the plane of things formed and enter
the realm of pure knowing. God is the original Mind in
which all real ideas exist. The Mind of the universe is
composed of
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archetype ideas: life, love, wisdom, substance, truth,
power, peace, and so forth. The one original Mind creates
by thought. The science of Truth is God thinking out
creation.
Truth
God as Truth is the eternal verity of the universe. He is
the underlying, unchangeable Truth. The absolute Truth is
that which accords with God as divine Principle; that which
is, has been, and ever will be; that which eternally is.
The Truth of God is reality. The verities of Being are
eternal.
Omnipresence
God as omnipresence is the only presence in the universe.
This refers to the all-pervading presence of God,
permeating the universe. God is everywhere present. There
is no place where God is not. He is in all, through all,
and around all.
Omnipotence
God is All-Power, all the power there is. God as
omnipotence is infinite power, the Almighty. All things are
possible with God, because He is infinitely all-mighty,
having all power or force to accomplish anything. All the
power, all the force, all the might of the universe are
God's. He is, in truth, Almighty God. Spiritual power is
omnipresent.
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Omniscience
God as omniscience is all-knowing, all knowledge. God is
Mind. God is omnipresent Mind enfolding and
interpenetrating all things. Mind is common to all, above
and below, within and without. God must be in His universe
as everywhere-intelligent power; otherwise it would fall to
pieces.
Substance
God is substance. This does not mean matter. Matter is
formed while God is the formless. This substance which God
is lies back of all matter and all forms. Substance is the
divine idea of the underlying reality of all things.
Substance is everywhere present, pervades all things.
Through substance all the attributes of Being are
expressed. It sustains and enriches any idea that is
projected into it. Divine substance is supply. It is that
which is the basis of all form yet enters not into any form
as finality. It cannot be seen, tasted, or touched. Yet, it
is the only "substantial" substance in the universe. God as
substance is the all-providing law which supplies
bountifully out of His own abundance.
Ideas
The real of the universe is held in the Mind of Being as
ideas. The firstborn of everything in the universe is an
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idea in Divine Mind. In God Mind an idea is the eternal
Word or Logos, the original, primary, or unlimited thought
of Being. Ideas may be combined in a multitude of ways,
producing infinite variety in the realm of forms. There is
a right combination which constitutes the divine order.
Love
Love, in Divine Mind, is the idea of universal unity. Of
all the attributes of God, love is undoubtedly the most
beautiful. Love is the power that joins and binds in divine
harmony the universe and everything in it. Divine love is
impersonal; it loves for the sake of loving. Love is the
great harmonizer.
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[Dynamics for Living]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
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