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Lesson Two: Introduction
Mental Science, which is the Science of Mind and Spirit,
makes a tremendous claim when it states that it can free the individual
from the bondage of sickness, poverty and unhappiness; but it makes this
statement without hesitation and without qualification; it does not retract
from that claim and it never will. It does, however, carefully set forth
the conditions under which it operates and the laws governing Life, warning
man that, unless he understands these conditions and obeys these laws,
he will not receive full benefit from the Science of Mind.
THE WORLD HAS LEARNED ALL IT CAN
THROUGH SUFFERING
The world is beginning to realize that it has learned
all it can through suffering and pain. Perhaps they were good in their
place, but surely there can be no power in the Universe which wishes man
to be sick, to suffer pain, to be unhappy and end up in the grave. Surely
God could not ordain that man should ultimately be other than a perfect
expression of Life.
We should have no intellectual difficulty in realizing
that even God Himself could not make an automatic individuality, and this
explains why man must suffer on the road to self-discovery. He must suffer,
not because pain is a necessity, but because he must have experience in
order to become individualized.
WHAT INDIVIDUALITY REALLY MEANS
Perhaps it would be a good idea to elaborate on this and
explain just what individuality really means. Individuality means self-choice,
volition, conscious mind, personified Spirit, complete freedom and a POWER
TO BACK UP THAT FREEDOM.
We cannot imagine a mechanical or unspontaneous individuality.
To be real and free, individuality must be created IN THE IMAGE OF PERFECTION
AND LET ALONE TO MAKE THE GREAT DISCOVERY FOR ITSELF.
The answer to the question, "Why did not God make us free
and compel that freedom?" is apparent when we realize that even God could
not do this. A freedom under compulsion would produce a freedom that would
ultimately amount to the very worst kind of bondage. There is no such thing
as compulsory freedom; even God Himself could not ordain this; for He could
do nothing that would violate His own nature. No; man must be created with
the possibility of limitless freedom and then be let alone to discover
the fact for himself. On the road to that discovery he must be subject
to the Law of all Life, and if in ignorance he violates that Law, he must
thereby suffer. This is not, however, because God imposes the suffering
or desires it, but simply because it is the necessity of the case.
THE MEANING OF FREEDOM
Freedom of will means the ability to do, say and think
as one wishes; to express life as one personally desires. To be able only
to think and dream of freedom would not be liberty. To imagine, without
the power to manifest that imagination, would be to remain in a sort of
dream world which would never come to complete self-realization. This is
not the world in which man lives at all, for man's world is one of self-expression,
even though that expression appears at times to destroy him.
SIN AND PUNISHMENT. RIGHTEOUSNESS AND REWARD
We do not wish to enter into theological discussions in
this course of instruction, but we do wish to make the thought clear to
those who care to study it. There is no sin but a mistake and no punishment
but an inevitable consequence. Wrong doing must be punished, for the Law
of cause and effect must
be eternally operative. Right doing must be rewarded for
the same reason.
We do not say that man cannot sin; what we say is, that
he does sin or make mistakes and that he is thereby automatically punished,
AS LONG AS HE CONTINUES TO MAKE MISTAKES. This does not mean that there
is an evil power in the Universe; but it does mean that there is an immutable
Law of cause and effect running through everything. Sin is its own punishment
and righteousness ITS OWN REWARD.
The age-long discussion of the problem of evil will never
be answered until we realize that it is not a thing of itself but is simply
A MISUSE OF THE LAW OF FREEDOM. The problem of evil will be met only to
the degree that we cease doing evil and do good, for evil will disappear
when we no longer indulge in it. When the whole world sees the right and
does it; then, and not until then, will the problem of evil be solved for
the entire race.
THE INCARNATION OF SPIRIT
To return to individuality; it is that which distinguishes
man from the mere brute creation; it is the greater Incarnation of God
in the human; the Indwelling Spirit of the Most High.
Man is created and left to discover himself, and on the
road to this self-discovery he experiences the creations of his own imaginations
which ultimately show him the Truth and lead to real freedom.
There is an interesting myth in regard to the creating
of man which may serve to point out this fact. It is said that when the
gods decided to make man, and make him a Divine Being, they held a long
discussion as to where would be the best place to hide his Divinity. Some
of the gods suggested that it be hidden in the earth, but others argued
that some day man would penetrate the earth and so discover himself; it
was then suggested that it be hidden in the depths of the sea, but this
idea was rejected, for man would go under the sea and there discover his
true nature; it was next suggested that his real nature should be deposited
somewhere in the air, but this also was rejected, for he would surely fly
through the air and
find himself. After a long discussion it was finally agreed
that the best place to hide man's Divinity would be IN THE INNERMOST NATURE
OF MAN HIMSELF—this being the last place he would look to find it!
This discovery would not be made until he had had all
the experience necessary to complete a well-rounded life. "The Word is
very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do
it."
Of course, this is a fable, but how clearly it sets forth
the reality of the case! The word is really in our own mouths, and every
time we say "I AM" we are repeating it; for "I AM" is the secret of nature
and the emblem of Eternity.
The story of "The Prodigal Son" is the story of man's
return to "His Father's House." How truly the poet puts it when he says
that "Trailing clouds of Glory do we come from Heaven which is our home."
This is the mystical meaning of that marvelous poem of Robert Browning's,
called "Saul." Saul had lost his sense of real life and lay in a stupor
in his tent when David came to sing to him, to awaken him to the realization
of his true nature. At first David sings of the wonders of Creation and
of the delights of life; he tells Saul of his power and glory as a human
being; and, as the song expands, he touches the secret spring of Saul's
being—"He is Saul ye remember in glory, ere error had bent the broad brow
from the daily communion." Then, he plainly tells Saul of the Christ. This
revelation finally awakens Saul to "His old motions and attitudes kingly."
The healing has taken place and the realization of the Truth has freed
Saul from the thraldom of false belief.
DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS
Some take the viewpoint that man was cast forth to discover
himself; and others contend that man decided to do this for himself. It
makes no difference what the case may be; man is certainly on the pathway
to self- discovery, and everything in his experience points to the truth
of this fact. We know that the forces of nature wait on man's discovery
of them and
obey his will as soon as he understands how to make use
of her laws. We certainly have freedom enough when we understand how to
use that freedom. The Pilgrim Fathers might have had steam cars if they
had understood the nature of steam. It was not pushed into man's experience
by any autocratic power, but served him only after he had discovered how
to use it. We might say the same of any and all of the laws that we now
understand and utilize.
THE LESSON OF NATURE'S LAWS
If we find this to be true of the laws of the mechanical
world, why should we not also find it true of those Mental and Spiritual
Laws which transcend the mechanical world? No doubt, we shall find latent
powers and capacities of which we have never dreamed; powers and abilities
waiting to be understood and used. "Behold I stand at the door and knock."
It certainly will pay man to spend much time and thought in the study of
his own nature; for he will discover things about himself that will cause
him to "Arise and shine." Man is to-day, more than ever before, awakening
to the real facts of the case, and from now on his evolution will become
very rapid. Nothing is impossible; all things are possible to the Great
Whole, and man is a part of that Whole.
THE RELATION OF MAN TO THE UNIVERSE OF SPIRIT
As the evidence of design in the Universe proves a Designer,
so the evidence of self-choice shows a Power that Knows Itself. The Spirit
is Self-Knowing; God knows that God Is. But a Universal Self-Knowingness
really means a Universal Personalness; and so we see how God can be Personal
to every living soul who believes in Spirit. We could truthfully say—so
it seems to me at least—that there is One Infinite Person, in whom we all
"live, and move and have our Being"; for we all live in the One.
MAN'S EXPERIENCE
Let us assume that man is on the road to self-discovery.
What is he to discover?—That he is really free, but that, in order to be
free, he must first go through experiences which will teach him how to
use his freedom properly; and, after the lesson is learned, he will be
free indeed. Everything seems as if this were true. We have traced man's
progress carefully through his journey on this planet from the time when
the first face "Was turned from the clod," to now, and what have we discovered?
That all nature waits upon man's self-discovery and is ever ready to serve
him and do his bidding. Laws and forces undreamed of by our ancestors are
now being employed; powers and forces which to prehistoric man would have
seemed as gods, are to-day called nature's forces, and we consciously make
use of them. Man has gradually merged with nature and her laws, and to-day
stands forth as a new being so far as the mechanical world is concerned.
It seems as if he had conquered nature and compelled her to serve him.
NATURE WAITS ON MAN
Nowhere on this path has he found nature opposed to him.
She has silently waited for his recognition and as silently done his bidding.
She will never contradict herself nor operate contrary to her inherent
laws; but she will serve whoever comes to understand and use them along
the lines of her way of working. Man never created any of these laws but
simply uses them, and he can do this only as he first obeys them. "Nature
obeys us as we first obey it" is an old saying and a true one. We learn
the fundamental principle of a law, obey its mode of operation and then
have conscious use of it. It would be absurd to say that nature punished
us because we did not make proper use of her laws. She simply will not
work harmoniously for us until we harmonize with her; she will obey us
only after we have obeyed her. This is, of course, true of any and all
law. If we obey, it serves; if we disobey, it seems to punish us.
MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL LAWS
It is the same with those great Mental and Spiritual Laws
of our Being. We must come to discover and utilize the inner forces of
Mind and Spirit, for they are the highest powers.
Man will be delivered from sin, sickness and trouble in
exact proportion to his discovery of himself and his relationship to the
Whole.
Law is law wherever we find it, and we shall discover
that the Laws of Mind and Spirit must be understood if they are to be consciously
used for definite purposes. THE SPIRIT KNOWS AND THE LAW OBEYS.
Hidden away in the inner nature of the real man is the
Law of his life, and some day he will discover it and consciously make
use of it. He will heal himself, make himself happy and prosperous, and
will live in an entirely different world; for he will have discovered that
LIFE IS FROM WITHIN AND NOT FROM WITHOUT.
GOD AND MAN
Man is made out of and from Life; and, as effect must
partake of the nature of its cause, so man must partake of the Divine Nature
from which he springs.
MAN REËNACTS THE NATURE OF GOD
If we realize that God is "Triune" and that man is made
in the Image and Likeness of God, we shall see that the whole scheme of
Life and the whole nature of the Divine Being is reënacted through
man. This, of course, does not mean that man is God; it means that, in
his small world of individual expression, his nature is identical with
God's. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "As the Father hath Life
within Himself so hath He given to the Son to have Life within himself."
A single drop of water is not the whole ocean, but it
does resemble the ocean and does contain within itself the same
qualities and attributes. We might say that man is in
God and that God works through man. "I and The Father are One," "The Kingdom
of God is within you"; and we might add, "God's in His Heaven, all's right
with the world."
THE TWO WAYS TO REASON
There are but two processes of reasoning known to the
human mind: inductive and deductive; and from these two ways of reasoning
all our knowledge of life has come. Inductive reasoning is the systematic
process of reasoning from a part to the whole. Deductive reasoning is the
process of accepting certain conclusions as truths and drawing other conclusions
from them; it is reasoning from the whole to a part. For instance, in inductive
reasoning we would say that everything happens just as if there were what
we call electricity and that it is everywhere present. Deductive reasoning
says that since electricity is everywhere present, it is always where we
are and can always be generated from any center.
Using these two methods of reasoning to deduce the nature
of God, we may start with the assumption that God IS, drawing all our conclusions
from this premise; or we may carefully study the nature of man and the
Universe and so draw the conclusion that a God must exist. Whichever method
we use will lead to the same conclusion; namely, that there is a Divine
Being and that man is made in His Image and must reënact and portray
the same attributes as the Life from which he came.
NOTHING HAPPENS BY CHANCE
Nothing in the Universe happens by chance. All is in accordance
with Law, and the Law of God is as Omnipresent as is the Spirit of God.
This Law is a Law of Mind, but back of the Law is the Word. "All things
were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made."
Back of our lives is the Law of our Being; and through
that Law runs the word which we speak; for "What things soever
He (the Son) seeth the Father do, these also doeth the
Son likewise."
MANY ARE WAKING UP TO THE FACTS
Thousands of people to-day are beginning to realize this
and put it into operation, and the results attained would fill more books
than one man could read in a lifetime. Thousands to-day are using the silent
power of Mind to heal their bodies and bring prosperity into their affairs;
and the Law is always working in accordance with the belief of those seeking
to use It. As the Universe is run by an Infinite Mind, so man's life is
controlled by his thinking; ignorance of this keeps him in bondage; knowledge
will free him.
One by one, people will investigate the Truth and put
It into operation, and the time will come when disease and poverty will
be swept from the face of the earth, for they were never intended to be.
They are simply the by-products of ignorance, and enlightenment alone will
erase them.
THE TIME HAS COME TO KNOW THE TRUTH
The hour of freedom has struck, the bell of Liberty is
ringing, and "Let him that is athirst come." Let us, then, plunge more
deeply into our own natures and into the nature of the Universe and see
if we shall not find treasures undreamed of, possibilities never imagined
and opportunities which the fond thought—yearning for freedom—has often,
in our vision of the greater Life, given us.
"Prove me now, herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that
there shall not be room enough to receive it."
A WONDERFUL EXPERIMENT
It would be a wonderful experiment for any one to make
to begin to live as if this promise were true; to talk, think and act as
though there were a Limitless Power attending him on his
journey through life; as though his every act were directed
and guided into expressions of peace, health, happiness and harmony. It
is surely worth while, and understanding will make the way so clear before
us that we shall some day come to see the logic of it; and then, indeed,
shall we really begin to live. Our lives, fortunes and happiness are in
our own hands to mold as we will—provided we first obey the Law and learn
how to make conscious use of It. "With all thy getting get understanding"—an
old adage—but to-day as true as ever.
It has been the teaching of all times that man reproduces
the Divine Nature; and if he does, we shall expect to find in his nature
the same qualities that we suppose must be in the Nature of Life Itself.
WHAT PSYCHOLOGY TEACHES ABOUT MAN'S NATURE
A study of the psychological nature of man verifies the
belief in "The Trinity" running through all Life. Man is self-conscious;
of this we are sure, for he can say "I AM." This fact alone proves his
claim to immortality and greatness. In psychology we learn that man is
threefold in his nature; that is, he has a self-conscious mind, a subconscious
mind and a body. In metaphysics we learn that the three are but different
attributes of the same life. Man's self-conscious mind is the power with
which he knows; it is, therefore, one with the Spirit of God; it is, indeed,
His only guarantee of conscious being.
THE SELF-KNOWING MIND
It is from this self-knowing mind that man is able to
realize his relationship with the Whole; for without it he would be unhuman
and most certainly not Divine; but since he has it, he must be Divine.
It is the self-knowing mind alone that constitutes reality,
personality and individuality. It is the "Image of God," the essence of
Sonship, and the "Personification of the Infinite."
MAN'S UNITY WITH THE WHOLE
We recognize, then, in man's self-knowing mind his Unity
with the Whole. For while a drop of water is not the ocean, yet it does
contain within itself all the attributes of the limitless deep.
Man's self-knowing mind is the instrument which perceives
reality, and cognizes or realizes Truth. All illumination, inspiration,
and realization must come through the self-knowing mind in order to manifest
in man. Vision, intuition and revelation proclaim themselves through man's
self- knowing mind; and the Saints and Sages, the Saviours and Christs,
the Prophets and Seers, the Wise and Learned, have all consciously perceived
and proclaimed this fact. Every evidence of human experience, all acts
of kindness and mercy, have interpreted themselves through man's self-
knowing mind. All that we know, say or think, feel or believe, hope or
long for, fear or doubt, is some action of the self-knowing mind. Subjective
memories we have, and inner, unexpressed emotions we feel; but to the self-knowing
mind alone does realization come. Without this capacity to consciously
know, man would not exist as an expressed being; and, so far as we are
concerned, would not exist at all. The self-knowing mind of man proclaims
itself in every thought, deed or act, and is truly the only guarantee of
his individuality.
MAN A CENTER OF GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS
With this vast array of facts at our disposal it would
be foolish to suppose that man's self-knowing mind is any other than his
perception of Reality. It is his Unity with the Whole, or God, on the
conscious side of life, and is an absolute guarantee that he is a Center
of God-Consciousness in the Vast Whole.
UNITY WITH LAW
We will say, then, that in Spirit man is One with God.
But what of the great Law of the Universe? If we are really One
with the Whole we must be One with the Law of the Whole,
as well as One with the Spirit. Again psychology has determined the fact
to be more than a fancy. The characteristics of the subconscious mind of
man determine his Subjective Unity with the Universe of Life, Law and Action.
THE SUBJECTIVE OBEYS THE OBJECTIVE
In the Subjective Mind of man we find a law obeying his
word, the servant of his Spirit. Suggestion has proved that the subconscious
mind acts upon our thought without question or doubt. It is the mental
law of our Being and the creative factor within us. It is unnecessary,
at this point, to go into all the details of the Subjective Mind and its
mode of action; it is enough to say that within us is a mental law, working
out the will and purposes of our conscious thoughts. This can be no other
than OUR INDIVIDUAL USE OF THAT GREATER SUBJECTIVE MIND WHICH IS THE SEAT
OF ALL LAW AND ACTION, AND IS "THE SERVANT OF THE ETERNAL SPIRIT THROUGH
ALL THE AGES."
Marvelous as the concept may be, it is none the less true
that man has at his disposal, in what he calls his subjective mind, a power
which seems to be Limitless. This is because he is One with the Whole,
on the subjective side of life.
Man's thought, falling into his subjective mind, merges
with the Universal Subjective Mind and becomes the law of his life, through
THE ONE GREAT LAW OF ALL LIFE.
There are not two subjective minds. There is but one
subjective mind; and what we call our subjective mind is really only THE
USE THAT WE ARE MAKING OF THE ONE LAW.
Each individual maintains his identity in Law through
his personal use of It; and each is drawing from Life what HE THINKS
INTO
IT.
TO LEARN HOW TO THINK IS TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE, for our
thoughts go into a Medium that is Infinite in Its ability to do and to
be.
MAN, BY THINKING, CAN BRING INTO HIS EXPERIENCE
WHATSOEVER HE DESIRES, IF HE THINKS CORRECTLY AND BECOMES
A LIVING EMBODIMENT OF HIS THOUGHTS. This is not done by holding thoughts
but by KNOWING THE TRUTH.
THE BODY
But what about man's body? Is that, too, one with the
Body of the Universe? Let us briefly analyze matter and see what it really
is. We are told that matter is not a solid, stationary thing; but is a
constantly flowing, formless substance which is forever coming and going.
Matter is as indestructible as God, as eternal as Timeless Being; nothing
can be either added to or taken from it. The very bodies we now have were
not with us a short time ago. As Sir Oliver Lodge says, we discard many
of them on the path through this life, for the material from which our
bodies are composed is in a constant state of flow. Vistas of thought open
up along the line of mental healing when we realize this fact; later we
will thoroughly discuss and work out a definite technique for the purpose
of healing.
Matter is not what we thought it to be; it is simply a
flowing stuff taking the form that Mind gives it. How about the matter
from which other things than the body are made? It is all the same—ONE
SUBSTANCE IN THE UNIVERSE TAKES DIFFERENT FORMS AND SHAPES AND BECOMES
DIFFERENT THINGS.
LAST STAGES OF MATTER
The last analysis of matter resolves it into a universal
ether and leaves nothing more than a stuff which may be operated upon.
Matter, in the last analysis, is composed of particles
so fine that they are simply supposed to be. In other words, it disappears
entirely, and the place where it once was is again "without form and void."
Matter, as we know it, is only an aggregation of these particles arranged
in such order as to
produce definite forms, which are determined by something
WHICH
IS NOT MATERIAL.
There is no difference between the particles which any
one form takes and the particles which all forms take; the difference is
not in the minute particles but in their arrangement.
THE UNITY OF ALL BODY
Our bodies are One with the Whole Body of the Universe.
Seeds, plants, cabbages and kings are made of the same substance; minerals,
solids and liquids are made from THE PRIMORDIAL SUBSTANCE WHICH IS FOREVER
FLOWING INTO FORM AND FOREVER FLOWING OUT AGAIN INTO THE VOID.
THE FORMLESS AND THE FORMED
Nothing could form a formless stuff, which has no mind
of its own, except Intelligence operating upon it. Again we come back to
the Word as the starting point of all Creation—God's Word in the Great
World, man's word in the small world.
ONE SPIRIT, ONE MIND, AND ONE SUBSTANCE; ONE
LAW BUT MANY THOUGHTS; ONE POWER, BUT MANY WAYS OF USING IT; ONE GOD IN
WHOM WE ALL LIVE, AND ONE LAW WHICH ALL OPERATE; ONE, ONE, ONE. NO GREATER
UNITY COULD BE GIVEN THAN THAT WHICH IS ALREADY VOUCHSAFED TO MANKIND.
But why is man so limited? Why is he still poor, sick,
afraid and unhappy? Because he does not know the Truth—that is the only
"Why." But why was he not so made that he would have to know the
Truth? The answer is that even God could not make a real man, that is,
a real Personified Expression of Himself, without creating him in freedom
and leaving him TO DISCOVER HIMSELF. This is the meaning of the story
of the Prodigal Son and the whole meaning of it.
INDIVIDUALITY MEANS SELF-CHOICE
Individuality means real individualized being and real
personified self-choice. We could not imagine an individuality without
self-choice; but what would be the use of self-choice unless the ability
to choose were backed with the power to externalize that choice? It would
remain simply an idle dream, never coming into real self-expression. A
little thought will make it clear that, if man is created to express freedom,
he must be left to discover himself. Of course, during the process he will
have much experience, but in the end he will come out a real being.
The day of man's discovery of himself marked the first
day of the record of human history on this planet; and from the day when
he first made this discovery he has constantly risen and continuously progressed.
All the forces of nature attend him on his way, but he must first discover
them in order to make use of them.
THE GREATEST DISCOVERY EVER MADE
The greatest discovery that man ever made was, that his
thought has creative power; that is, that it uses creative power. His thought,
of itself, would have no power unless it were operative through a creative
medium. We do not have to compel Law to operate; all that we have to do
is to use It. The Law of Mind is just like any and all other laws of Being.
It simply Is.
A COMPLETE UNITY
We have now discovered a Unity with the Whole on all three
sides of life or from all three modes of expression. We are One with all
matter in the physical world, One with the Creative Law of the Universe
in the Mental World, and One with the Spirit of God in the Conscious World.
What more could we ask or hope for? How would it be possible
for more to be given? We could ask for no more, and no greater freedom
could be given. From now on we will expand, grow and express, only to the
degree that we consciously coöperate with the Whole.
Lesson Two: Metaphysical Meaning of Words
Used in Individual Chart No. II-B
UPPER SECTION
Spirit.—That part of man which enables him to be self-conscious.
That which he really is. We do not see the spirit of man any more than
we see the Spirit of God. We see what man does; but we do not see the doer.
Christ, Logos.—The Word of God manifest in and through
man. In a liberal sense the Christ means the Entire Manifestation of God
and is, therefore, the Second Person of the Trinity. Christ is a Universal
Idea, and each one "Puts on The Christ" to the degree that he surrenders
a limited sense of Life to the Divine Realization.
Sonship.—We are all Sons of God and all partake of the
Divine Nature.
Microcosm.—The individual world as distinguished from
the Universal.
Emmanuel.-God-with-us.—Means that Christ is in every one.
Personality.—The external evidence of individualized being.
Individuality.—Each one is a separate identity in Mind
and no two are alike. Each is an Individualized Center of God-Consciousness.
Our personality is the use that we make of our Divine Individuality.
Conscious-State.—The conscious-state is the self-knowing
mind of man. It is the only thing that distinguishes him from brute creation.
Without a conscious-state of mind man would not be at all; or, at least,
he would not know that he is. The conscious mind should be carefully guarded,
as it is the real man.
Mental.—Means that man is mentally conscious.
Spiritual.—Means that man is a Spiritual Being.
Reason: Inductive and Deductive.—The conscious mind of
man can reason both inductively and deductively. It can reason from the
Whole to a part or from a part to the Whole.
Will.—Means conscious ability to determine.
Choice.—Ability to differentiate and choose.
Volition.—Power to act independently.
Intellect.—Mental quality of analysis.
Purpose.—Determination with incentive.
Decision.—Ability to choose.
MIDDLE SECTION
Soul.—The Subjective Side of Life. Man's place
in the One Subjective Mind of the Universe; his identity in Mind. Man's
soul life reënacts the Soul Life of the Universe with which it is
at One.
Subjective.—The Soul is subjective. Read again the meaning
of subjectivity as given in the Universal Chart.
Subconscious.—The Soul is subjective to the conscious
thought.
Unconscious.—Word used in Psycho-analysis to denote soul.
It is a poor way of expressing soul-life, for it really is not unconscious.
It is subconscious but certainly not unconscious.
Consciousness.—Another way of saying soul. The Bible says,
soul; the psycho-analyst says, unconscious; the psychologist says, subjective
or subconscious; and the metaphysician says, consciousness. All have the
same meaning.
Karma.—The subjective law of tendency set in motion by
the individual. The mental law acting through him. Karmic Law means the
use that man makes of his mentality. Karma is not Kismet; for Kismet means
"fate," and Karma simply means "the mental tendency." Karma is both individual
and Universal.
Aura.—Mental atmosphere or vibration. It extends from
a few inches to a few feet around the individual and can be seen by many
people.
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UNIVERSAL SPIRIT
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UNIVERSAL
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SUBJECTIVITY
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PARTICULARIZATION
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Lesson Two: Metaphysical Chart No. II-A.
This chart shows, first, the Universal Spirit; then the
Universal Soul or Subjectivity, which is the medium of all thought, power
and action; then particularization or manifestation of Spirit.
The point drawn down through the center symbolizes the
descent of Spirit into matter, or form. It is necessary that Spirit be
manifested in order to express Itself. The word Unity on the descending
line shows that all come from the One. Man reënacts the whole Universal
Life, and his nature is identical with Spirit. What is true of the Whole
is true of any one of Its undivided parts. Man comes to a point of individualization
in the Whole and is subject to the Law of the Whole.
Memory.—The soul, or subjective mind, is the seat of memory,
and retains within itself everything that the individual has ever said,
thought, seen, heard, felt, read or been told; and, indeed, everything
that has ever happened to him. It also contains race memory, and may, or
may not, contain much of what we call Cosmic Purposes. Cosmic Purposes
mean the Ideas of God. The soul of man, being in constant contact with
the Soul of the Universe, might contact tremendous powers if it would turn
to the One.
Conflict.—In the study of Psycho-analysis, which means
the analysis of the soul, we learn that the subjective side of thought,
being the seat of memory, often retains thoughts and suppressed emotions
which more or less tear or bind. This is what is meant by inner conflict.
Psyche.—Means soul.
Inherited Tendencies.—The subjective, being the seat of
memory, contains the race characteristics and tendencies. We do not inherit
diseases, but we do inherit tendencies. This is the way that family and
race traits are handed down.
Race-Suggestion.—The tendency to reproduce what the race
has thought and experienced.
Prenatal Conditions.—The tendency to inherit family traits.
Images of Thought.—The soul, or subjective mind, contains
all of our thoughts as mental images or pictures.
Auto-Suggestion.—The soul receives the suggestions of
the individual.
Reason Deductive Only.—That which is subjective can reason
deductively only.
LOWEST SECTION
Body.—The definite outline of flesh, containing all of
the ideas which go to make the complete physical instrument.
Effect.—That which follows cause. The body is always an
effect.
Affairs.—That which happens to the external man.
Conditions.—External things, the result of thought.
Intellect
Purpose
Decision
|
Spirit
Christ Logos
Sonship
Microcosm
Emmanuel
God with us
Personality
Individuality
Conscious
|
Will
Choice
Volition
|
| |
State
Mental-Spiritual
Reason
Inductive
And
Deductive
|
|
|
Auto suggestion
|
Soul
Subjective
Sub-consciousness
|
Reason
Deductive only
|
| |
Unconsciousness
Consciousness
Karma
Aura
Memory Conflict
Psyche
Inherited Tendencies
|
|
| |
Race Suggestions
Prenatal Conditions
Images of thought
|
|
|
Occupation
|
Body
Effect
Affair
Conditions
Results
|
Reason None
|
| |
Health
Disease
Destiny
Riches
Poverty
Business
Vocation
Profession
|
|
Lesson Two: Metaphysical Chart No. II-B.
This chart shows how man reënacts the Whole and is
subject to the law of his own being. If the meaning of this chart is carefully
studied it will be made plain that man thinks consciously and that his
conscious thought becomes the law of his life. The upper section stands
for the Self-Conscious man; the middle section stands for the subconscious
man; and the lowest section stands for the man as he appears in the flesh
and in the conditions of his life.
Results.—Conditions.
Health.—Result of correct thinking.
Disease.—Result of wrong thinking.
Destiny.—Result of what man thinks.
Riches.—Result of a consciousness of supply.
Poverty.—Result of limited thought.
Business.—Also result of thought.
Vocation.—The thing that our thought causes us to do.
Profession.—Same as vocation.
Occupation.—Same as vocation.
Reason, None.—Everything in the body of man, as well as
in his affairs, is the result of what he thinks. Nothing in the external
is a cause, and nothing that happens causes itself to happen. Things have
no power to reason, but are always the result of some inner cause.
Lesson Two: The Nature of Man
In the first lesson we studied the Universal Chart; we
are now taking up the individual chart. Whatever is true of the Universe
as a Whole must also be true of the individual as some part of this Whole.
Man is evolved from the Universe, and is a self-conscious, thinking center
of Living Spirit, and, as such, he must, in his nature and being, reproduce
the Universe. This is what Jesus meant when He said, "As the Father hath
(Inherent) Life in Himself, so hath he given to the Son to have (Inherent)
Life in Himself." Inherent Life means real Life. The whole Cosmic Scheme
must be reproduced on the plane of the individual, if there is an individual.
We must expect to find in man, therefore, the same inherent
attributes that we find in the universe from which he springs.
Chart No. II-A symbolizes, first, the Universal Spirit;
next, the Universal Subjectivity, which is called the Soul of the Universe;
and third, the particularization or manifestation of Universal Spirit.
We have marked Unity on the descending line, because the Spirit emanates,
or particularizes Itself, at the point of our personality becoming what
we call man. It is essential that we realize the Unity of life, i.e., the
Unity of God and man on all three planes.
Let us start with the objective plane: matter or body,
devoid of mind or intelligence, has no volition; it may be permeated with
intelligence, but it is not intelligent. It is one with the Body of the
Universe.
Now, what do we know about the soul? Remember the things
that were discussed in connection with the qualities of the Soul of the
Universe; and you will find all of them depicted in what is called the
psychological, subjective nature of man; for our subjective or subconscious
mind reproduces all the attributes belonging to the Universal Mind. When
we turn to the spirit of man, we find that it is one with the Spirit
of God—that is, man is a self-conscious, thinking, choosing
center of individualized intelligence, or God-Consciousness in the great
Whole.
So we find man is one with all matter in the material
world, one with the Soul of the Universe in the subjective world, and one
with the Spirit of God in the conscious world. What we call our objective
or conscious mind is as much as we know of God and Life. The objective
mind is the spiritual mind for which we have been looking, but it is not
fully developed; if this were not so there would be no mind with which
to look. The objective mind must be the spiritual mind of man, since it
is the only thing about him which knows that it has life and is conscious
of itself.
The whole of Spirit is potentially focused in our individual,
objective consciousness; but we have not yet evolved to a realization of
this, except in a small degree. Back of the objective mind is the subjective
mind or soul, which is the medium through which intelligence operates.
There is but One Universal Subjective Mind or Soul; and
what we call our subjective mind is simply our use of Universal Subjectivity;
for our subjective mind is not a thing apart, but is our place in Universal
Subjective Mind; and our place in It is the use that we make of It.
SPIRIT
Turning to the chart of man, Chart No. II-B, we find that
the spirit of man is his conscious state of mental and spiritual being;
that this mental state is equipped with decision, will, choice, volition,
intellect and purpose. We find that it is individuality, personality, and
is called Emmanuel or God with us. It is the microcosm within the Macrocosm,
which means the little world within the big world; it is also called the
Image of God; it is Sonship, the Sonship of the Father; it is the Christ
or Logos, which means the Word. It can reason both inductively and deductively,
and is the only thing known to us that can reason both ways.SOUL
We find that on the subjective or soul side man is subconscious;
but subconscious does not mean unconscious. Subconscious means subjective
to the conscious thought, compelled by reason of its subjectivity to receive
what is put into it. The term "unconscious" is used by psycho-analysis.
Consciousness is the word that some use in speaking of the soul side of
life. It is Karmic Law, because it is the use that we are making of Universal
Subjectivity; Karma means the law of cause and effect. Soul contains the
memory, because it is the receptacle for the seeds of our thought. It is
psyche, soul, psychic; this is where we get the word "psycho-analysis,"
analysis of the soul. It contains the inherited tendencies, because it
is the seat of memory. It also contains race-suggestion; for we are not
dealing with a separated and isolated subjective mind, but with the one
Subjective Mind. There is a vast difference between thinking of having
three or four minds and thinking of having but One which all use. Its reasoning
capacity is deductive only, yet it contains an intelligence which is infinite
compared with the human concept of intelligence.
BODY
Next we come to the body of man, which is simply the effect
of what his thought has been in Mind. Body, effect, affairs, conditions,
health, disease, destiny, riches, poverty, business, vocation, profession,
results, occupation, any word that stands for the externalization of man's
thought and endeavor, we class as a part of the body.
"What a man has, as well as what he is, is the result
of the subjective state of his thought." The thinker is conscious mind,
but when he thinks, he lets fall the forms of his thought into Subjective
Mind, which is the Universal Medium of all thought and action, and as the
result of this, the Creative Medium at once sets to work to produce the
thing thought of. This is the way that Nature works and it is the way that
man works, although he is just waking to this realization.
Plotinus, who was one of the Neo-Platonic philosophers,
personifying Nature, said, "I do not argue; I contemplate;
and as I contemplate, I let fall the forms of my thought." This is the
way Nature creates; It contemplates through Its Conscious Mind. As the
result of Its contemplation, It lets fall the seeds of Its thought into
the Universal Subjective, which, being Law, produces the thing thought
of. Now we must expect to find, and we do find, the same thing reënacted
in man. This means that whatever man thinks (whether it is what he calls
good or bad) falls into this Universal Creative Medium, is accepted by
It, is at once acted upon, begins to take form, and, unless neutralized,
tends to become a thing in the objective world.
LIMITLESS MEDIUM
When we realize that as we deal with our own individuality
we are dealing with Self-Conscious Mind, and when we realize that as we
deal with subjective mind we are dealing with the Universal Subjectivity,
we see at once that we have at our disposal a Power compared to which the
united intelligence of the human race is as nothing; because the Universal
Subjective Mind, being entirely receptive to our thought, is compelled
by reason of Its very being to accept that thought and act upon it, no
matter what the thought is. Since we are dealing with an Infinite Power,
which knows only Its own ability to do, and since It can objectify any
idea impressed upon It, there can be no limit to what It could or would
do for us, other than the limit of our mental concept. Limitation could
not be in Principle or in Law but only in the individual use that we make
of It. Our individual use of It can only equal our individual capacity
to understand It, to embody It. We cannot demonstrate beyond our ability
to mentally conceive, or to mentally provide, an equivalent. We must
have a mental equivalent of the thing we want, in order to demonstrate.
Subjectivity is entirely receptive and neutral, as we
have learned, and It can take our thoughts only the way we think them.
There is no alternative. If I say, "I am poor," and keep on saying, "I
am poor," subconscious mind at once says, "Yes, you are poor." and keeps
me poor, as long as I say it.
This is all there is to poverty. It comes from impoverished
thinking. We deal only with thoughts, for thoughts are things, and if the
thought is right the condition will be right. An active thought will produce
an active condition. Suppose I have thought poverty year after year, I
have created a law, which keeps on perpetuating this condition. If the
thought be unerased, the condition will remain. A law has been set in motion
which says, "I am poor," and sees to it that it is so. This is, at first,
auto- suggestion; then it becomes an unconscious memory, working day and
night. This is what decides the law of attraction, because the laws of
attraction and repulsion are entirely subjective. They may be conscious
to start with, but they are subconscious as soon as they are set in motion.
Now suppose I did not say I was poor, but came into the world with an unconscious
thought of poverty; so long as that thought operated, I would be poor.
I might not have understood the Law, but it would have been working all
the time.
There is also a race-suggestion which says that some people
are rich and some are poor; so we are all born or come into this world
with a subjective tendency toward negative conditions. But we are also
dealing with a subjective tendency toward ultimate good; because, in spite
of all conditions, the race believes more in the good than in the evil;
otherwise, it would not exist. It believes that everything will come out
all right, rather than all wrong. This is the eternal hope and sense of
all life.
No matter what may be in the soul, or subjective state
of our thought, the conscious state can change it. This is what treatment
does. How can this be done? Through the most direct method imaginable—by
consciously knowing that there is no subjective state of poverty, no inherited
tendency toward limitation, no race-suggestion operating through subjectivity;
nothing in, around or through it that believes in or accepts limitation
in any way, shape, form or manner. The conscious state must now provide
a higher form of thought. What does it do? It supplies a spiritual realization,
a self-conscious realization, and says, "I partake of the nature and bounty
of the All Good and I am now surrounded by everything which
makes life worth while." What happens then? This Soul
side of life, this Universal Medium, at once changes Its thought (because
Its thought is deductive only) and says, "Yes, you are all of these things."
Whatever
is held in consciousness until it becomes a part of the subjective side
of thought must take place in the world of affairs. Nothing can stop it.
The reason we do not demonstrate more easily is that the objective state
of our thought is too often neutralized by the subjective state. There
is more fear of poverty than there is belief in riches. As long as that
fear remains it is sure to produce a limited condition. Whatever is
subjective must objectify. Matter is immaterial, unknowing, unthinking,
and plastic in the hands of Law or Mind; and Law or Subjective Mind, which
is entirely unvolitional, but not unintelligent, is compelled by its own
subjectivity to receive the thought of the conscious mind, which alone
can choose and decide. It follows then that whatever the conscious mind
holds long enough is bound to be produced in external affairs; nothing
can stop it, because we are dealing with Universal Law. This is called
Divine Principle. It is the Medium in which we all live, move and have
our being on the subjective side of life; our atmosphere in Universal Subjectivity;
the medium through which all intercommunication takes place on every plane.
It follows from what we have said that any suggestion
held in Creative Mind would produce its logical result, no matter what
that suggestion might be. If it were a suggestion of destruction, it would
destroy; for this is a neutral field. If it were a suggestion of good,
it would construct.
CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST
The Spirit of Christ means that mentality which recognizes
the Law and uses It for constructive purposes only. The spirit of Antichrist
is the spirit of the individual, or class of individuals who, understanding
the Law, use It destructively. The meaning of the Flood or Deluge (which
is recorded in every sacred scripture we have read or heard of) is that
a race of people were upon the earth who came to understand psychic, or
subjective, law as being the servant of the Spirit. They
understood themselves to be Spirit, but they did not understand
the harmonious Unity of Spirit. They had arrived at an intellectual concept
of the Law,—a very clearly defined mental concept; but that knowledge and
wisdom were not used for constructive purposes. They used it destructively,
and what happened? The confusion which took place in the psychic world
(or the psychic atmosphere of this planet) caused its physical correspondence
in the form of the Deluge or Flood.
Psyche also means "sea," and it was into this psychic
sea that Jonah fell. This is the meaning of the story of Jonah and the
whale and is also why, in Revelation, it says: "There was no more sea."
It does not mean that Law shall be eliminated, but that the time will come
when It will be used for constructive purposes only. The misuse of this
Law to-day is called "Malpractice." We have no fear of malpractice, because
it can be practiced only upon the person who believes in it. If we say
to Mind: "There is no such thing as malpractice," there being only One
Ultimate Reality, as far as we are concerned, we are free from it. "Against
such there is no law." We recognize Subconscious Mind as the Great Servant
of our thought. It is the Medium through which all treatment operates.
How do we contact this Universal Subjective Mind, which is the Medium through
which healing and demonstration take place? We contact It within ourselves
and nowhere else. It is in us, being Omnipresent. Our use of It, we
call our subjective mind; but It is Universal Subjectivity.
MAN IS IDENTIFIED IN MIND
Mental treatment recognizes that each individual has his
identity in mind and is known in Mind by the name he bears. This Subjective
Law knows there is a John Smith and a Mary Jones. Why? Because John Smith
and Mary Jones know that there is a John Smith and a Mary Jones. But
It only knows about them what they know about themselves. Being subjective
to their thought, It could not know anything else; consequently, whatever
John Smith and Mary Jones say, It
says, accepts and does. This is a marvelous concept. Unless
we have thought it out, it may seem rather startling. But it means this:—that
the
Law absolutely accepts us at our own valuation. Now this does not mean
that it accepts us at an assumption of valuation, but at
the actual valuation. It can reflect to us only the actual embodiment
of ourselves. It is the deep inner conviction that we carry which decides
what is going to happen. So we are each known by the name we bear,
and each is daily making some statement about that name. When we say "I
am this or that," we are involving in Mind statements which Mind in turn
produces as conditions.
TREATMENT
In treatment we turn entirely from the condition, because
so long as we look at a condition we cannot overcome it. That is why the
mystic said: "Behold my face forevermore." "Look unto me and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth." That is, look up and not down. It is useless
to treat one's business, because business is an immaterial thing. It is
an unthinking, unknowing thing—a lot of stuff in form, a lot of forms in
stuff. That which decides what the business shall be is in Consciousness
or Mind. Consequently, we must involve in Mind a correct concept of the
business, seeing it as we want it to be; and when we have seen it that
way long enough, it will be so. How long will it take? Until the subjective
side of thought accepts the new concept as true, or until we have neutralized
the old concept.
Jesus had a great understanding and He gave a clew to
that understanding when He said: "The Prince of this world cometh and findeth
nothing in me." He meant that race-suggestion found no mental correspondence
or equivalent in Him. His consciousness was so clear that it operated directly
from the Spirit.
THE AIM OF EVOLUTION
The aim of evolution is to produce a man who, at the point
of his objective thought, may completely manifest the whole
idea of life—i.e., bring the concept of Unity to the point
of particularization, finding nothing in the Law to oppose it. The reason
Jesus was able to become the Christ was, that at the objective point of
His thought there was a complete realization of the Unity of the Spirit
and the Absoluteness of his word. His spiritual and psychical faculties,
his objective and subjective mind, were completely poised and perfectly
balanced.
It is evident that if this took place in any individual
his word would be manifested likewise. It would have to be, because behind
the word is Universal Soul, Omnipotent Law. Divine Principle is Limitless,
but It can only be to us what we believe It is. Why must we believe
It is? Because until we believe It is, we are believing It is not. The
reason some people cannot demonstrate the Truth is, they do not realize
It. The whole thing is a matter of belief; but belief is scientifically
induced into a subjective state through conscious endeavor and effort.
Treatment is the science of inducing within Mind concepts, acceptances,
and realizations of peace, poise, power, plenty, health, happiness and
success, or whatever the particular need may be.
What does a practitioner do? He sets the Law in motion
in Universal Mind. Let us suppose that Mary is sick, and that John is a
practitioner. She comes to him, saying, "I am sick." He, being a metaphysician,
understands that Mind is all; she does not understand this. She feels that
she is sick. But he knows that all sickness is mental. He does not try
to hold a thought over her, nor does he try to suggest anything to her;
for that is not mental treatment. He simply declares the Truth about her;
he speaks her name and says: "This word is for her; she is perfect; she
is well." In other words, he contradicts what appears to be and declares
the Truth about her. What happens? A law is being enacted on the subjective
side of life. His word, operative through the Universal Sea of Mind (in
which both live) sets in motion a law which objectifies through her body
as healing.
Mary thinks a miracle has been performed. She exclaims:
"I am healed. I did not have a bit of faith, but john healed me." No miracle
has been performed. He used a law which all may use if they will. Suppose
Mary were perfectly well,
but wanted a position,—what would the treatment be? It
would be the same. John would state in Mind what should be done for Mary.
There is only One Law, and Mary could demonstrate just as well for herself
if she understood It, but she must first see It demonstrated to realize
It. This is the state of mind of most people who come for healing. They
do not know what ails them; they think their condition is due to some external
cause. Nevertheless, they are healed and exclaim: "This is a marvelous
thing, though I do not understand what it is all about." Often they become
superstitious about it, as people do about the things they do not understand;
once they understand the law, however, healing is no longer a mystery.
The only reason a man has difficulty in throwing off some
weakness of character, while believing in Spirit implicitly and having
faith that he is going to overcome his limitation, is because he has not
induced the necessary mental images in Mind. If he had, he would have overcome
his trouble; thinking of his weakness keeps the image of it before him.
In treating, turn entirely away from the condition.
Disease and limitation are neither person, place nor thing; they are simply
images of thought. Turn entirely from the condition, or the limited situation,
to its opposite, that is, to the realization of health, happiness or harmony.
METHODS OF TREATMENT
Although several methods of treatment are used, there
are but two distinct methods; one is called argumentative, and the other
realization. The argumentative method is a process of mental argument in
which the practitioner argues to himself about his patient. He is, consequently,
presenting a logical argument to Universal Mind, or Divine Principle; and
if that argument carries with it a complete evidence in favor of his patient,
it is supposed that the patient will be healed.
The method of realization is one whereby the practitioner
realizes within himself the perfect state of his patient; it is purely
a spiritual and meditative process of contemplating the
Perfect Man; and if the embodiment of the idea is really
made, it will at once produce a healing.
Treatment is for the purpose of inducing an inner realization
of perfection in the mentality of the practitioner, which inner realization,
acting through Mind, operates in the patient.
Between John and Mary there is One Universal Medium which
is also in John and Mary; It is not only between them, but in them. As
John knows right where John is (since there is only One), he is
at the same time knowing right where Mary is, because his work is operative
though a field which is not divided but which is a complete Unit or Whole,
i.e., Universal Subjectivity. As he knows within or upon himself, he is
setting in motion the Law, which operates through the person whom he mentions
in his treatment, no matter where the patient may be. There is no such
thing as an absent treatment, as opposed to a present treatment.
Mary must have a consciousness of health before the healing
can be permanent. It will have to become a part of her subjective thought.
If the consciousness did not change she would perpetuate the old thought
images and would get sick again; and that is why, in treating, people get
well for a while and then become sick again. They are not permanently healed
unless the consciousness is healed.
A treatment begins and ends within the thought of the
one giving it. The practitioner must do the whole work within himself.
He must know the Truth, and as he does that, he sets in motion the Law.
A thing which is known by any part of the Universal Mind is known by every
part of It, for It is an Undivided Whole. When you know in one place you
know everywhere. When you give a treatment you do not send out a thought,
or hold a thought, or give suggestion. A treatment is a positive thing.
If you are treating a certain John Smith, you say (if
he is not present), "I am treating John Smith of such and such a place."
Then you forget all about him as a personality and give your treatment.
It is not necessary to specify the trouble. Once in a great while, you
might find yourself mentioning a thing in order to make some statement
against it, but probably
that is not the best way. Of course there are certain
thoughts back of certain things, and a knowledge of the disease might enable
you to know better what thought to destroy.
It is like this: Mary Jones comes to John Smith and says,
"I have tuberculosis." In answer to this he declares, "This word is for
Mary Jones. She is a perfect and complete manifestation of Pure Spirit,
and Pure Spirit cannot be diseased; consequently she is not diseased."
This is an argument, trying to bring out the evidence in favor of perfection.
It is an argument which produces a certain conclusion in the mentality
of John Smith, and, consequently, it sets in motion a certain law for Mary
Jones. As John does this, day after day, he gradually becomes convinced
of her perfection and she is healed. If he could do it in one minute, she
would be healed in one minute. There is no process in healing. It is
a revelation, an awakening, a realization of Life. Man exists in Divine
Mind as a Perfect Image; but he covers himself with the distorted images
of his own thought along the pathway of his mental experience.
If using the method of realization, say, "This word or
this thought is for Mary Jones." Then begin to realize the Perfect Presence,
the Only Perfect Presence. "God is all there is; there is no other
Life"; very little argument, but more and more a complete realization.
This is very powerful, although it makes no difference which method you
use, as they produce the same result. It is a good idea to combine both.
In the case of a child, the treatment should be the same.
It
would have an effect commensurate with the absolute conviction that the
practitioner has. But in the case of an infant, who is subjective to
the conscious thought of the people around it, you must teach those people
how to think about the child, and see that they do think that way; else
you might heal the child and their thought might make it sick again.
In case of failure, it is probable that the trouble is
more with John than with Mary, as far as the immediate healing is concerned.
However, diseases are the direct results of certain habitual mental attitudes
which people entertain, and unless those mental attitudes are changed,
there will be no permanent healing. It is the business of the practitioner
to discover
what those attitudes are and to change them. It is also
the business of the practitioner to show people why they are as they are,
and to teach them how to overcome undesirable attitudes.
In giving a treatment, you talk to yourself about somebody
else.
We must grasp the idea of Universal Subjectivity, the
Potentiality of all things, the Divine Creative Medium. This is the Principle
through which we are to demonstrate the healing of the body or of the condition;
and It acts accurately and mathematically, because It is the Law of cause
and effect.
SUBJECTIVE LAW
When we think, we think from conscious intelligence, or
Spirit. We will say that the thought becomes subjectified; i.e., it goes
into the subconscious mind. But what is man's subconscious mind? It is
his atmosphere or mental vibration in Universal Subjectivity. There is
no such thing as your subjective mind and my subjective mind, meaning two,
for this would be duality. But there is such a thing as the subjective
state of your thought and of my thought in Mind. This should be made very
clear, for here is where psychology and metaphysics separate; i.e., their
understandings are different. When we think, we think into a Universal
Creative Medium, a receptive and plastic substance which surrounds us on
all sides, which permeates us and flows through us. We do not have to think
that we are thinking in It or upon It; for when we think we do think into
and upon It; there is no other place that we could think, since It is Omnipresent.
As each subjectifies himself in consciousness he is building
around himself a mental atmosphere; and nothing can enter this unless he
allows it to, through the avenues of his own thought; but this thought
might be conscious or unconscious; in most cases it is unconscious, but
the student of Truth is learning to consciously control the stream of thought
that he allows to enter his inner and creative mentality.
THOUGHT AND THE CREATIVE MEDIUM
Thought is an inner movement which is the result of one's
perception of life and his reaction to it. Every time this movement takes
place it takes place within Mind, upon Cause, according to law. We are,
without question, dealing with the same Power that molds the planets and
all that is upon them; and the limit of our ability to prove this is not
in Principle, but is in our understanding of It; in our ability to incorporate
within ourselves an embodiment of our ideals.
EACH IS THE LOGICAL RESULT OF HIS OWN THINKING
We are dealing with a neutral, creative power, just as
we would be in the case of electricity or any other natural force. It is
on a higher plane; for it is the power of intelligence. As we think into
this Universal Mind, our thought, in its externalization, will reach its
own level, just as water will reach its own level by its own weight and
without effort. This is in line with necessity; for the Universe, in order
to be at all, must be Self- Existent.
What is meant by the Self-Existence of the Universe? This
means a Universe which is Its own reason for being; a Universe which exists
by virtue of Itself, being All.
Each one of us is to-day the result of what has gone before,
either consciously or unconsciously, no matter what kind of a condition
he may be in. As soon as we realize this we shall be better off, because
we shall see that since what we now are, or what we now have and experience,
is the result of what we have thought; the answer to what we shall be is
contained in what we now are; for we can change our thinking.
Man thinks and supposes that he lets go of the thoughts
he thinks. But such is not the case; for thought becomes subjectified in
Mind, like a seed planted in the soil; it stays there, unless neutralized,
and decides the attraction and repulsion in the experience of the one thinking.
There is a constant action on the subjective side of life; and it is this
unconscious process which decides what is going to happen in the outer
expression. Whatever we think, act, believe in, feel, visualize, vision,
image, read, talk about, in fact, all processes which
affect or impress us at all, are going into the subjective state of our
thought, which is our individualized use of Universal Mind. Whatever goes
into the subjective state of thought tends to return again as some condition.
A LAW OF BELIEF
Jesus said, "As thou hast believed so be it done unto
thee." Knowing the nature of the law, He did not say, "It is done unto
you as you wish." He announced the universality of law when He said, "As
thou hast believed so be it done unto thee."40
WE ARE DEALING WITH LAW
Some one may say, "I can't imagine God not caring." I
cannot either; but we are dealing with law. Does the law of electricity
care whether it cooks the dinner or burns the house down? Whether it electrocutes
a criminal or warms the feet of a saint? Of course it does not care at
all! Does the urge, which impels people to express, care whether a man
kneels in ecstasy or lies drunk in the gutter? We are dealing with law.
And it follows that, since we are dealing with law, it will ultimately
bring back to us the results of the forces which we set in motion through
it. Consequently, no person who is enlightened would seek to use this law
destructively; for he would know that, sooner or later, the very power
set in motion by himself would ultimately destroy him. "All they that take
the sword shall perish with the sword." The Spirit of Christ is the spirit
which constructively uses the law. The spirit of Antichrist is the destructive
use of law. The Spirit of Christ, being in line with the Cosmic Life, will
always transcend, neutralize, destroy, and utterly obliterate the spirit
of Antichrist; and ultimately only the Spirit of Christ can succeed. "He
that hath an ear, let him hear."
THE CYCLE OF NECESSITY AND KARMIC LAW
The cycle of necessity means that those things which the
individual sets in motion through the law must ultimately swing back to
him again. This is the Karmic Law; "The law that binds the ignorant but
frees the wise." This law has been announced by every great teacher who
has ever lived. Jesus referred to this law when He said, "As thou hast
believed so be it done unto thee"; and when He said, "Heaven and earth
shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." It is the law to which
Isaiah referred when he said, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish
that which I please." This is the law which to-day is called "Divine Principle,"
or the law of cause and effect; it means that once a tendency is set in
motion through law, it is bound to objectify at the level of the subjective
concept which entertains it. There is nothing fatalistic about this, for
we may consciously change the currents of subjectivity with the conscious
thought. Indeed, this is what treatment does.
THE LAW OF ACTION AND REACTION
This is simply the law of cause and effect, and instead
of getting too occult or mystical a concept of it we would better think
of it simply as something into which we think, and which returns to the
thinker what he thinks into it. This law can be applied for concrete purposes,
and once it is set in motion the rest works automatically. This is why
we may absolutely trust Principle when we understand how it operates. It
knows everything and can do anything; but in order to work for us, we must
let it work through us. This is the power that Jesus used when He withered
the fig tree and when He raised Lazarus from the dead.
WE ARGUE IN MIND
So we argue in Mind; and if we argue toward a belief in
health, we will be healed. It isn't a question of suggestion or of the
power of thought making us well, for this is but a limited sense of will
power. It isn't something over which we must clinch our teeth and will
to be; it is something which we have to know. Water doesn't have to will
to be wet, it is wet; and if we go into it we will get wet. Life doesn't
have to claim to be Life; It simply announces Itself to be what It knows
that It Is. So we argue in Mind, not to convince Mind that It is or can
accomplish, but to convince ourselves that we are now perfect.
WRONG USE OF MIND
There have been many controversies about the use and the
misuse of this power. Some claim that we cannot misuse this power, since
there is but One Mind, and It cannot act against Itself. Mind cannot act
against Itself; and any person who knows this, and who knows that there
is no human mind to destroy, or to be destroyed, is immune from malpractice.
But let any one believe in malpractice, and he will open mental avenues
of receptivity to it; for we can receive only that to which we vibrate.
Malpractice is the ignorant use of something which of
itself is good. It is the wrong use of mental power and will never be indulged
in by any one who understands the Truth; neither can one who understands
the Truth be affected by it. There could be innocent, ignorant and malicious
malpractice. Innocent malpractice, in the form of sympathy with disease
and trouble, thereby accentuating these conditions, is often prolific of
dire results. Ignorant malpractice would be about the same thing; for instance,
when one sees a criminal, thinking of him as such helps to perpetuate the
state in which he is manifesting. Malicious malpractice would be an act
of centering thought for destructive purposes. When Jesus said, "The prince
of this world cometh and hath nothing in me," He
meant that he had neutralized all race thought about destruction
and so was immune to all false suggestion. This we should all try to do.
SUBJECTIVE BUT NOT UNCONSCIOUS
The subjective mind can deduce only; it cannot, of itself,
initiate anything; but this does not mean that it is unintelligent. We
must be very careful not to labor under the delusion that because the subjective
mind cannot reason it is unintelligent, for it is infinitely more intelligent
than our present state of conscious mind, but is, nevertheless, controlled
by it.
If our subjective consciousness were always clear, that
is, if it never received any false impressions, the Spirit would always
flow to the point of objectivity and we would never make mistakes; we would
never be sick, poor, or unhappy.
HOW HABITS ARE FORMED
Back in the subjective are the images of thought surrounding
us, all acting as living intelligences. It is here that habits are formed;
for when one has a habit that he cannot seem to break he is hypnotized
by the thought and desire back of that habit; the thought force has grown
too strong to be controlled. Habits are healed by neutralizing the thought
forces behind them.
LAW IS MIND IN ACTION
There is One Infinite Life acting through Law, and this
Law is mental; Law is Mind in action. We are surrounded by an Infinite,
Subconscious, Impersonal, Neutral, Plastic, Creative, Ever-Present, Thinking
Stuff from which all things come, which, in Its Original State, permeates
and penetrates all things. By impressing our thought upon this Substance
we can cause It to produce for us that which we think, to the limit of
our ability to mentally embody the idea. Impressing our thought upon It
is not an external act, for when we impress our thought upon ourselves,
we are thinking into It; this
is because of the Unity of all Mind. This is one of the
great lessons to learn; we do not know anything outside ourselves. This
is what Jesus meant when He said, "Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth
shall make you free." When we know within ourselves we are knowing at the
point of that Individualized Spirit which we are; upon the very Heart of
the Infinite, the Ever-Present Substance, which is ever responsive to Itself.
WE ARE BOUND BY OUR OWN FREEDOM
We are all bound, tied hand and foot, by our very freedom;
our free will binds us; but, as free will creates the conditions which
externally limit us, so it can uncreate or dissolve them. The Universe,
being deductive only, cannot refuse man anything.
The very force that makes us sick can heal us; the force
that makes us poor can make us rich; and the power that makes us miserable
can make us happy. If this were not true there would be duality in the
Universe, and this is impossible.
ONENESS WITH ALL LAW
When we know of our Oneness with God and Law, what a great
burden will be removed which otherwise would cause us to struggle in making
a demonstration! The sense of opposition must forever be removed from the
consciousness which perceives Unity.
Instead of saying, "Here is a sick man to heal and I shall
have to work hard on this case," we should realize that there is nothing
but concept in the Universe and, therefore, say, "I am going to conceive
of this man as being absolutely perfect," then the same power which made
him sick will heal him. This is the reversal of thought.
That which we call our subjective mind is but a point
in Universal Mind where our personality maintains its individualized expression
of Spirit. If we think of ourselves as being
separated from the Universe we will be limited by this
thought; for it is a belief in separation from Good which binds and limits;
we are bound by nothing except belief. "They could not enter in because
of unbelief," and because they "limited the Holy One of Israel."
There is but One Mind. Here is the point: everything we
experience, touch, taste, handle and smell; environment, bodies, conditions,
money, happiness, friends; all are effects. Is it clear that the infinite
and limitless possibilities of that One of which man is a part, depend,
in man's expression, upon his own concepts? If he is a point of personality
in limitless Mind, which he is, and if all of his life must be drawn from
this One Mind, which it must, there cannot be anything else, can there?
And if there is nothing else, if there is nothing to move but Mind, and
if man is a thinking center in Mind, nothing is going to happen to him
that does not happen through him, whether this is the result of his own
erroneous conclusions, those of his grandfathers, or the race to which
he belongs. It is impossible to conceive of anything ever happening to
any one unless the force back of it was set in motion by himself, sometime
or somewhere. But this is not fatalistic, for we may change the chain of
causation which we have set in motion.
Everything comes from Intelligence; there is nothing but
Unity; there is nothing but freedom; there is nothing but completeness;
there is nothing but Totality. Begin at the beginning and reason this out
time after time till doubt disappears; for you will be neutralizing that
subjectivity which rises to slay you. It is necessary that each do this
for himself.
DEMONSTRATION
As far as making a demonstration is concerned, when we
get the correct consciousness this is the easiest thing in the world; but
we cannot demonstrate beyond our ability to mentally embody an idea. The
argument is between our experience, what the world believes, and what we
are convinced is the Truth.
It should be understood that we can demonstrate in spite
of our own selves, in spite of all weakness, in spite of every fear, in
spite of all that is in us, because such is the power of the Truth. If
we waited to be good before demonstrating, the wheel might turn a million
times; but law is neither good nor bad; law is and responds.
The possibility of demonstrating does not depend upon
environment, conditions, location, personality or opportunity. It depends
upon ourselves and upon nothing else. The Universe will never deny man
anything, unless we conceive that it is possible for man to think of something
that it is impossible for the universe to produce. Every one who asks receives,
according to his belief.
KARMIC LAW
Annie Besant said of Karma, "It is the law that binds
the ignorant but frees the wise." That which is called Karma in the Orient,
we call cause and effect. The subjective state of consciousness is our
Karma; this is the result of the thinking that has gone before, and of
the race-suggestion operating through us. Karma is not fate; it is mental
law; and it can be changed by right thinking and right action. Karma is
not Kismet.
THOUGHT FORCE
Thought force is the movement of consciousness which sets
law in operation. The movement of consciousness upon itself creates a motion
or vibration in Intelligence and upon Substance, the force of which is
equal to the reality of the thought set in motion. For everything that
happens in the objective world, there must be something in the subjective
world to perfectly balance it. Just suppose for a moment that the Universe
is nothing but water, permeated by an Infinite Intelligence. Imagine that
every time this Intelligence moves or thinks an icicle is formed in the
water, exactly corresponding to the thought. We might have countless numbers
of icicles of different forms, colors and sizes; but these icicles
would still be water. If we could heat the whole mass,
it would melt, and all the forms would again become fluent; nothing would
have changed but form. This is all there is to matter; it is Spirit in
Form; and as such is perfectly good; to deny matter is poor logic.
First is Intelligence; then the Word, the vision, the
image, the concept; then the movement to the thing. Remember, thought is
an actual working power; otherwise there would be nothing with which the
Universe could be run.
CHOOSING THOUGHT
We have a right to choose what we shall induce in Mind.
The way that our thoughts are to become manifested we cannot always see;
but we should not be disturbed if we do not see the way, because effect
is potential in cause; "I am Alpha and Omega." and all that comes between
cause and effect. Cause and effect are really One, and if we have a given
cause set in motion the effect will have to equal this cause. One is the
inside and the other the outside of a concept or idea.
A practitioner's work begins and ends within himself.
If, in doing mental work, the thought should come that the thing cannot
be done, you must treat this thought as having no power, but only as an
impersonal suggestion trying to gain entrance to your mentality. Realize
that there is nothing in you that can hinder you from demonstrating the
Truth.
If one says to himself, "I am filled with life, health,
strength and vigor," and then goes down the street saying, "I see a poor
blind beggar, a criminal and a sick person," he is still treating himself
just as much as when he affirmed that he was perfect. We are only as perfect
as we perceive others to be. This does not mean that we shut our eyes to
those who are in trouble; for we may have sympathy with the one having
trouble without having sympathy with his trouble. We must have sympathy
with all, for, as one of the great prophets of the new age said, "The Divinity
of Christ was made manifest through the Humanity of Jesus."
A certain, specific, intelligent form, or idea in Mind,
will
produce a certain, specific, concrete manifestation in
matter, equal to itself. There is one Infinite Principle, One Infinite
Thought-Stuff, One Infinite Creative Power and countless numbers of forms,
which appear and disappear as the definite, specific, concrete thought
behind them changes.
A practitioner is one who changes the false thought and
builds on the Principle of Truth, which executes and manifests the truth
that the practitioner embodies. He can demonstrate to the limit of his
mental ability and his spiritual capacity to conceive of the Truth.
If one wishes to demonstrate prosperity he must first
have a consciousness of prosperity; if he wishes health he must embody
the idea of health. A consciousness of health, happiness and prosperity
can be induced within through right mental and spiritual practice. By consciousness
is meant the inner embodiment of an idea; the subjective image of the idea;
the mental and spiritual equivalent of the idea.
INDUCING THOUGHT
While a certain consciousness may be mechanically induced,
of course, the more spontaneity put into the mechanical word, the more
power the word must have. Since we all must begin right where we are, most
of us will be compelled to begin with a mechanical process. This is more
than faith, for it is a sure knowledge that we are dealing with Law.
Principle is Changeless Reality. That which we call personality
is the instrument through which Principle operates, but It can operate
for the individual only by operating through him. It is never bound by
the form that It takes, but is forever free. Principle fills all form,
and not only fills all forms but surges around them, and is in and through
them. Ice is water and water is ice; so God and man exist in an Eternal
state of Unity.
When one realizes that he is depending upon Principle,
he should educate himself to the point of realization of his ability to
use It.
We should always be impersonal in mental work. We do not
have to be impersonal in life, for we are brought to the
point of personality in order that we might enjoy each
other. But in mental work we are dealing with an impersonal Principle.
It will operate for one just as quickly as for another, because It is Law.
Dare to speak and to know that what you speak is the law unto the thing
spoken. One, alone in consciousness with the Infinite, constitutes a complete
majority.
Knowing this in your own thought, work in perfect peace
and calm; always expect; have enthusiasm; and have a consciousness of love;
that is, a radiant feeling flowing through the personality at all times.
If one hasn't this he should treat himself until he does have it; for without
it, he is diseased in mind. Treat until you feel an inner sense of Unity
with the all Good. There is One Mind, and the moving impulse of this Mind
is Love.
In choosing words in treatment, say anything that will
induce the right mental attitude. Giving formulas is a mistake, for how
can any one put a spontaneous thought into the mind of another? Any one
can stand in front of a dead man and say, "Arise," but who is going to
have the consciousness to make this happen?
PLACE NO LIMIT ON PRINCIPLE
Know your own mind; train yourself to think what you wish
to think; be what you wish to be; feel what you wish to feel; and place
no limit on Principle. The word which you speak would be just as powerful
as the words which Jesus spoke, if you knew it; but know this within and
not only without.
After all, all there is, is mental action and reaction.
If you have reached the point where the inner consciousness produces all
things, then your word is simply an announcement of reality. There will
come a time when demonstration will no* longer be necessary.
Know that when you give a treatment, the act takes place
in Infinite Mind. Infinite Mind is the Actor and you are the announcer.
If you have a vague, subtle, unconscious fear, get still and think, "Who
am I? What am I? Who is speaking? What is my life?" Think right back to
Principle until your thought becomes perfectly clear again.
Such is the Power of right thinking that It cancels and
erases everything unlike Itself. It answers every question, solves all
problems, is the solution to every difficulty. It is like the sunlight
of Eternal Truth, bursting through the clouds of obscurity and bathing
all life in glory. It is the Absolute with which you are dealing and nothing
less.
Note: Read carefully "Being and Becoming," F.L. Holmes;
"Doré Lectures," T. Troward; "From Existence to Life," James Porter
Mills; "Mind's Silent Partner," James Porter Mills; "History and Power
of Mind," Richard Ingalese.
Lesson Two: Recapitulation
Man reënacts the Divine Nature on all three planes;
he is self- knowing in his conscious mind, creative through his subconscious
mind, and has a body. He reënacts the Trinity of Being.
Man is in perfect unity with the Whole. His conscious
mind is his understanding of God; his subjective mind is the use that he
makes of the Universal Creative Medium; and his body is one with the Body
of God.
There is but One Mind in the Universe, and man uses It.
Man is an identity in the Universe; he is a center of God-Consciousness.
At first he is ignorant of this and misuses his power, consequently bringing
upon himself misfortune and sickness.
Man's thought operates through the medium of Universal
Creative Mind. As he thinks within himself, he thinks upon Creative Mind
and sets Law in motion. Since there is but One Mind a person may think
for himself, or for some one else, and cause the Law to operate as he directs.
The use of Creative Mind is like the use of the creative
soil. Man never creates; he simply uses a Creative Law.
Objective, conscious and self-knowing mind, all have the
same meaning; they mean that part of man which knows that it exists.
Subjective, subconscious, unconscious, soul and consciousness
have the same meaning; they mean the inner creative medium.
Body, effect and outward conditions all respond to the
inner thought.
The Spirit of man, which is his self-knowingness, is the
only part of him which has volition or self-choice; all else is automatic
law.
Man's conscious thought, acting through law, may change
any condition in his experience, provided he can clearly conceive of that
condition as being changed. There is no limit to the Law. The limit is
not in the Law but in man's ability to embody the Truth and constructively
use the Law.
Remember, there is but One Mind and One Law which all
people use, consciously or unconsciously, constructively or destructively;
One Spirit, One Mind, One Law, One Substance, but many forms. There is
only One Ultimate Reality, but within this One there are many experiences.
Man is within the One and draws from It any and all experiences in which
he believes.
As man thinks he subjectifies thought and sets Law in
motion through the Medium of the Universal Mind. This Law works automatically
until It is consciously changed.
Man uses a Power which is Infinite as compared with the
power of his conscious thought.
Divine Principle means Universal Subjective Law; It is
the Medium of all thought and action.
Freedom and bondage, sickness and health, poverty and
riches, heaven and hell, good and bad, big and little, happiness and misery,
peace and confusion, faith and fear and all conditions that appear as opposites,
are not really opposing powers, but are the way that the One Power is used.
Man has within himself the key to every situation, but
he must come to realize his relation to the Whole. That relationship is
one of Perfect Unity.
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