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 discov-er?—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.

63

ERNEST S. HOLMES

THE SCIENCE OF MIND

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 psychoanalyst 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.

UNIVERSAL SPIRIT UNIVERSAL SUBJECTIVITY

PARTICULARIZATION

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.

Spirit

Christ Logos

Sonship

Intellect

Microcosm

Will

Purpose

Emmanuel

Choice

Decision

God with us

Personality

Individuality

Conscious

State

Mental-Spiritual

Reason

Inductive

And Deductive

Volition

Auto-Suggestion

Soul

Reason

Subjective

Deductive Only

Sub-consciousness

Unconsciousness

Consciousness

Karma

Aura

Memory Conflict

Psyche

Inherited Tendencies

Race Suggestions

Prenatal Conditions

Images of thought

Occupation

Body

Effect

Affair

Conditions

Results

Health

Disease

Destiny

Riches

Poverty

Business

Vocation

Profession

Reason None

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 “psychoanalysis,” 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 externali-zation, 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.”

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 un-create 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 reën-acts 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.

90

ERNEST S. HOLMES

THE SCIENCE OF MIND

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