The Nature of Man
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The Science of Mind, by Ernest Shurtleff Holmes [1926], at sacred-texts.com
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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." 35 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
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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.
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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,
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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.
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[paragraph continues] 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
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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
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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." 36 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." 37 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
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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." 38 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." 39 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
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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,
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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
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[paragraph continues] 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
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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
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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.
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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,
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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." 40 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."
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." 41 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." 42
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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"; 43 and when He said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." 44 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." 45 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.
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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," 46 He
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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
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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." 47 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
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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," 48 and because they "limited the Holy One of Israel." 49
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.
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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
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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." 50 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
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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
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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.
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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.
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