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The Revealing Word
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[The Revealing Word]
[Charles Fillmore's Works] [Unity on the Web Home Page]
I AM--Spiritual identity; the real or Christ Mind, of each
individual. The I AM Being. God is I AM, and man, His
offspring, is also I AM. I AM is the indwelling Lord of
life, love, wisdom, and all the ideas eternally in Divine
Mind.
The I AM is the metaphysical name of the spiritual self, as
distinguished from the human self. One is governed by
Spirit, the other by personal will. Christ and Jehovah are
the scriptural names for spiritual I AM. Jesus called it
the Father. I AM is eternal, without beginning or ending:
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the true spiritual man whom God made in His image and
likeness.
The I AM has its being in heaven; its home is in the realm
of God ideals. It is the center around which all the
thoughts of man revolve. The narrow concept of the personal
I AM should be led out into the consciousness of the great
and only I AM. Man identifies himself with that to which he
attaches his I AM, and whatever he identifies himself with,
that he manifests. Hitch your I AM to the star of Christ,
and infinite joy will follow as night the day.
I AM identity--As the will of God, man represents I AM
identity. Individual consciousness is like an eddy in the
ocean--all the elements that are found in the ocean are
also found in the eddy, and every eddy may, in due course,
receive and give forth all that is in the ocean. This is
individual consciousness, freedom to act without dictation
of any kind, selfhood without consciousness of cause, the
power to make or break without limitation.
I AM, used adversely--Man seeking happiness through sense
pleasure. This is sin (missing the mark), and the wages are
pain, sickness, poverty, and death. Think I AM in harmony
with God-Mind, and health, wealth, and harmony will be
yours.
"I am the light of the world"--(John 8:12). Refers to
Christ as the expresser of Truth in all its aspects.
idea--Original, primary, or unlimited thought of Being; in
God-Mind the eternal Word or Logos.
The first-born of everything in the universe is an idea in
Divine Mind. The divine idea of the universal creation is
called in Scripture Christ, "who is the image of the
invisible God, the first born of all creation" (Col. 1:15).
Everything is first an idea in mind, and this law holds
good, not only in the creations of God, but in the forms
made by man as well. The table upon which you write was
first an idea in the mind of the maker. All creation is
summed up or concentrated in man. Everything found in
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the universe is found in his constitution. "In him dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).
idea, Christ--The one complete idea of perfect man in
Divine Mind. Jesus is the name that represents an
individual expression of the Christ idea. Jesus Christ is
the name often applied to the man of Galilee who
demonstrated perfection. Christ Jesus is the idea that is
being expressed by men as a result of their faith in and
understanding of Truth. In this idea are involved all the
potentialities of that which is to be evolved through man.
The idea itself becomes the evolving power through which it
makes its inherencies manifest.
Christ ideas are the most heavily charged with Spirit.
Every expressed idea of the Christ Mind is powerful in
raising consciousness. Jesus could well say, "I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself"
(John 12:32).
ideas are catching--We are all heavily charged with ideas,
and when these ideas are released they spring forth and
pass from mind to mind, being "recorded" as they fly; when
they are expressed the whole race is lifted up--if the idea
is charged with the uplifting Spirit.
ideas, relation of, to the mind--As the son is to the
father, so is the idea to the mind. Mind is one with its
ideas, so the Father (God-Mind) is one with its offspring,
the idea, the Son. Mind is coexistent with its ideas, and
there is continual interaction and communion.
ideal--A mental pattern of perfection.
ideal, divine--The Christ man; the divine idea of man.
ideal of Spirit--The ideals in the Mind of Being that
produce the perfect creation.
ideal unfoldment--When the illumined intellect wholly
co-operates with Spirit there is a merging and blending of
these powers until the intellect ceases to be mere
intellect and is lost in Spirit.
idealism, divine--God's standard of perfection.
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idol--In scriptural language, a false god. Even as Jesus
was tempted by Satan, we are often tempted to worship the
false gods of greed, covetousness, jealousy, retaliation,
and other forms of negation.
ignorance, how dissolved--Ignorance (lack of knowledge)
that results from association with ignorant minds can be
dissolved by using the Word.
ills, cause of--Anger, jealousy, fear, hate, lust often
cause ills of the body. These result from our failure to
adjust our mind to Divine Mind. When the sinning state of
mind is forgiven and the heavenly state of mind
established, man is restored to his primal and natural
wholeness. "The Son of man hath authority on earth to
forgive sins" (Luke 5:24). This is wholly a mind process.
All wrong and right conditions of man result from his
thinking. "As he thinketh within himself, so is he" (Prov.
23:7).
illumination--The light of Christ; spiritual understanding;
intuitive knowing. Spiritual illumination is a state of
consciousness resulting from Holy Spirit baptism. It is
good to affirm: "Christ radiance lights my mind, and my
whole being is illumined with Truth."
illumined consciousness--A mind purified by the light of
Truth.
illumined thoughts--Thoughts quickened through their
conscious relationship to Spirit.
illusion--(see ghosts)
image--"A mental representation of anything not actually
present to the senses" (Webster). Everything that is
manifested was first a mental picture and was brought into
expression by the forming power of the imagination. Man
accumulates a mass of ideas about substance and life, and
with his imagination he molds them into shape. Each one of
us must not only see the image of our desires as a theory,
but we must also form it into a living, breathing thing
through every motive and act.
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Man gets the ideal images necessary to express his perfect
organism from the one perfect Mind. The perfect body will
be demonstrated through his beholding the perfect, eternal,
living, glorified Christ body.
image, graven--(Exod. 20:4). Graven images of God are made
by mental pictures. The thought of God as a great king in a
place called heaven makes just such a material image in our
thought realm, and we grow to believe in and worship such
an imaginary being, instead of the true God, who is Spirit.
imagination--The faculty of mind that images and forms; the
power to shape and form thought. The imaging faculty
presides at the nerve center between the eyes. Through this
faculty the formless takes form.
With our imagination we lay hold of ideas and clothe them
with substance. The body is the product of the mind. What
man pictures or imagines in his mind will eventually appear
in his body. In the communication of God with man, the
imaging power of the mind plays an important part. It
receives divine ideas and reflects their character to the
consciousness. According to Scripture this is the opening
of the heavens and the seeing the "angels of God ascending
and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51).
immaculate conception--(Luke 1:26-35). The coming into
activity of the Christ in us is the result of an exalted
idea sown in the mind. Therefore Mary, the soul, becomes
devout and expectant and believes in the so-called
miraculous as a possibility. Mary expected the birth of the
Messiah as the Holy Spirit had promised. She was
overshadowed by that high idea, and it formed in her mind
the seed that quickened into the cell. In due season there
were aggregations of cells strong enough in their activity,
and what is called the birth of Jesus took place.
Metaphysically interpreted, Mary, the virgin mother,
represents a pure state of mind that ponders spiritual
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things and believes in revelations from angels and
messengers from God.
Mary was "found with child of the Holy Spirit," which
refers to the miraculous conception by which the Virgin
Mary is held to have conceived without original sin.
Joseph, not fully understanding the prophecy, "was minded
to put her away privily," which refers to the fact that in
the first stages of the birth of Christ in us we do not
understand the process, and sometimes are moved to put it
away from us.
immanent--Indwelling, abiding in, remaining or operating
within. God is immanent in all creation including man. "One
God and father of all, who is over all, and through all,
and in all" (Eph. 4:6).
Immanuel (or Emmanuel)--A Hebrew word meaning "God with
us." The consciousness that God is with us and we are one
with Him. The understanding of how "the Word became flesh"
(John 1:14).
immortal--Not subject to death; that which has everlasting
existence; incorruptible.
impulse--Metaphysically, a movement of mind that urges man
on to spiritual achievement. That which urges man to go
forward. Thought activity that arises in the inner, or
spiritual mind.
impurity, how eliminated--The consciousness of personal
impurity is taken away through the realization of divine
purity in thoughts and words.
incarnate Word of God--The word of God made flesh.
Spiritual man, Christ, is the incarnate Word of God.
incense--A symbol of prayer. There must be a constant going
forth of the word of the Spirit, proclaiming Truth. This
spiritual essence should radiate from center to
circumference, and permeate the whole consciousness.
The symbology of the burning of incense (Luke 1:9) is
transmutation. The finer essences of the body are
transmuted to what may be termed the fourth or radiant
dimension,
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and a firm foundation laid for an organism of permanent
character. Paul calls it the "celestial" body (I Cor.
15:40). This process of transmutation takes place whenever
the I AM makes union in the body with the Lord, or higher
self.
incorporate--To unite with or introduce into a body. We
incorporate spiritual substance into our body through
prayer.
individuality--The true self; that which is undivided from
God; our spiritual identity; the God part of us. That which
characterizes one as a distinct entity or particular
manifestation of divine Principle. Individuality is
eternal; it can never be destroyed. (see personality)
infinite--That which embraces all. The totality of Being
including all knowledge, all space, all life; the complete
all. That which was from the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be. Without end or limitation. It is that which is
boundless, immeasurable, inexhaustible. God is infinite and
eternal.
influence--"Emanation or effusion, especially of a
spiritual or moral force" (Webster). One's mental attitude,
thoughts, and words are the creative or destructive
influences in one's world. Do not say: "I am sick," "I am
poor," "I am unhappy." Say: "I am well," "I am at peace,"
"I am wealthy."
inheritance--"A possession or blessing" (Webster). Man's
inheritance from God is divine ideas. These ideas find
expression, and the expression forms what man calls his
good. Back of the expression is the idea.
iniquities--The mental habits that shut God out of the
consciousness.
injustice--"Violation of another's rights; wrong"
(Webster). The belief in injustice may be overcome by
understanding the divine law of justice and fixing faith
firmly in it. The remedy for all that appears unjust is
denial of condemnation of others or self. Thus the healing
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and forgiving law of Christ is allowed to function. Say: "I
deny all condemnation, judgment, and criticism of myself
and all others."
inn--(Luke 10:34). One's pure thought; the price of the
care received there is paid through overcoming.
inner chamber--(Matt. 6:6). The place within where we
consciously meet God. It is also called the "secret place
of the Most High" (Psalms 91:1), and the "Holy of holies"
(Heb. 9:3). Jesus names it "the Father in me" (John 14:11),
and "the kingdom of God . . . within you" (Luke 17:21).
insanity--An unbalanced condition of the faculties of mind.
The remedy is to know and realize that the unclouded Christ
Mind dominates all one's thinking, and that there is
perfect balance and control in both mind and body.
inspiration--Inbreathing of Spirit. The breath of God
infused into man, endowing him with super light and life.
"He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the
Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).
inspiration, original--The writings of the Hebrew prophets
are good examples of original inspiration, which is divine
wisdom.
inspiration, spiritual--An inflow of divine ideas; activity
of a spiritual character; understanding that comes from God.
instinct--"The native or hereditary factor in behavior"
(Webster). It is akin to intuition. Man instinctively
trusts in a higher power.
integration--When all the desire of the mind and heart is
to express God, man is made whole, unified, integrated.
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for
they hear" (Matt. 13:16). Man is spiritually integrated
when he experiences unity of mind and body through the
Christ consciousness.
integrity, spiritual--That quality of the consciousness
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which makes one unswerving in his conformity to the divine
standard.
intellect--"The power or faculty of knowing" (Webster).
Intellect is not wise. Wisdom is not its office. Intellect
is the executive officer of wisdom, and can do right only
when faithfully carrying out the instruction of its
principal. Intellect follows the letter of the law.
It is hard for the intellect to realize the spiritual "I AM
THAT I AM" (Exod. 3:14). The intellect always argues back
and forth, endeavoring to prove that it is the highest
authority. Jesus condemned the sins of the intellect, of
which self-righteousness is the greatest, as worse than
moral sins. People who live wholly in the intellect deny
that man can know anything about God, because they do not
have quickened faith.
intellectualism--Knowledge as independent of feeling.
Literal knowledge without consideration of the Spirit. The
devotee of intellectualism is often impractical and
unsuccessful; he has accumulated more knowledge than he has
wisdom and power to apply.
intelligence--The expression of man's powers and capacities
through the avenue of the limited mental attitude termed
the intellect. When the same avenue loses its boundaries
and catches sight of the great sea of infinite
understanding, which is always open to it, it takes on that
phase of knowing more properly termed wisdom.
intelligence, divine--Intelligence that accords with or
comes from Divine Mind. The next great proclamation of
scientific minds will be that one directive intelligence is
an essential cause of the harmonious universe.
intemperance--"Immoderate indulgence of appetites or
passions" (Webster). Men need and desire the stimulant of
Spirit, but not being in spiritual understanding they do
not know what it is they crave and they seek satisfaction
in material things.
intuition--The natural knowing capacity. Inner knowing;
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the immediate apprehension of spiritual Truth without
resort to intellectual means. The wisdom of the heart. It
is very much surer in guidance than the head. When one
trusts Spirit and looks to it for understanding, a certain
confidence in the invisible good develops. This faith
awakens the so-called sixth sense, intuition, or divine
knowing. Through the power of intuition, man has direct
access to all knowledge and the wisdom of God.
invisible, the--Reality that cannot be seen, touched, or
comprehended by any of the outer senses. In this realm a
great and mighty work is being accomplished.
invocation--The calling forth of the presence of Spirit
through the power of the Word.
involution (and evolution)--Involution (infolding) always
precedes evolution (unfolding). That which is involved in
mind evolves through matter. (see evolution)
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[The Revealing Word]
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