Mental Laws ~ Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind
"As we think of the medium of radio transmission in terms of law, so we should think of the Mental Medium in terms of law, for the Mental Medium must be the Law of mental action. While we might think of It as the Mind of God, we could not think of It as the Spirit of God; for the Mental Medium is automatic, while the Spirit must be Self-Knowing. We could not call the Universal Medium of Mind "God" any more than we could call electricity "God." The Universal Medium of Mind is but one of the many attributes of God, the avenue through which God operates as Law.
We should differentiate between Universal Mind and Universal Spirit. As we examine the Subjective, we find It to be both intelligent and conscious, without knowing that It is intelligent, and without being self-conscious. All law must be subjective; the soil knows how to take a seed and make a plant from it; it does not know whether it is making a tomato or a potato. If this were not true of the laws of nature, we could not depend upon them, we should be confronted with caprice. One of the most difficult problems to realize is that when we are dealing with the Law of Mind, we are dealing with an absolutely impersonal thing. It knows how to create without knowing what It creates. Therefore, we must distinguish between the Law of Mind and the Spirit which uses the Law. The ancients taught that there is an Infinite Self-Knowing Spirit (one of the oldest sayings in the world is: "Spirit is the Power that knows Itself.") in addition to which there is an Infinite Law which knows how to do but does not care what It does. This Law is the Karmic Law of Buddha: "The Law that binds the ignorant and frees the wise," as Anna Besant stated it. It is the Cause and Effect of the West; but It is not to be confused with Kismet, which is fate, because Its tendency can be changed.
There is a Law in the Universe which operates in a certain way according to the tendency set in motion, and does so mathematically, inexorably. We cannot destroy the Law but we can re-direct Its movement. Just as we plant seeds and later decide we wish something else, we go out and uproot the first seeds and plant others in their place. We are not thereby destroying the soil; we have simply determined to use it in a different way. When we are dealing with Subjectivity, we are always dealing with that which is subject to the conscious volition.
The conscious volition in the Universe is what is meant by the Spirit or Dog. The Mental Medium, the Universal Subjectivity, the Law, is the doer of the Word! Plotinus speaks of it as a doer but not a knower. He called it a blind force, not knowing only doing.
This is the principle which we use in practice. We should distinguish between conscious volition as Spirit, and the Subjective Law, which works with intelligence but not self-conscious awareness. When this is realized we shall no longer be superstitious about our use of the Law. It has been difficult to get away from such a superstitious reaction, because of a theological rather than a scientific approach to the subject. The Law we are discussing is simply a law of Nature, a force of Nature. It happens to be a mental force, and an intelligent and creative one, like electricity, which will either light our house and cook our food or will electrocute us if we use it incorrectly.
The Threefold Nature of God
We find, then, as we study our own being we begin to deduce what the nature of God, or the Universal Being, is. There is no way we can know God except by studying man. Someone may say, "God reveals Himself;" yes, we think God reveals Himself to us, but only by revealing Himself through us. We know about God only as we judge what God must be, by studying the nature of those things which we can somewhat analyze, plus that intuitive feeling we have of eternal verities.
If we study the true nature of man, then we shall have delved into the real nature of God, or First Cause, from which man springs. As we have found that man is threefold in his nature, we must deduce that God is threefold in His Nature, i.e. that God is Spirit, or Self-Knowingness; God is Law and action; God is result or Body. This is the inner teaching of "The Trinity." God, as Self-Knowing Spirit means the Divine Being Whom we have always thought of and believed in, the Being to Whom we have prayed and Whom we have adored. God as Law means the way in which Spirit works, and Law in this sense would be the servant of the Spirit. God as Body means the manifestation of the Spirit.
Trinity of Being
This trinity of being appears to run through all Nature and all life. For instance, there is electricity, the way it works and its results, which is light or motive power. There is the seed, the creative medium of the soil, and the plant.
Turn it as we may, we are confronted with the necessity of a Trinity of Being. Throughout the ages, this Trinity has been taught. Every great religion and every great spiritual philosophy has taught this Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is the Christian Trinity. It is the Thing, the Way It Works, and What It Does. The Thing is Absolute Intelligence; the way It works, is Absolute Law; and What It does, is the result - manifestation. The action of the Thing Itself is what the Bible calls "The Word."....Absolute Intelligence."
"As we think of the medium of radio transmission in terms of law, so we should think of the Mental Medium in terms of law, for the Mental Medium must be the Law of mental action. While we might think of It as the Mind of God, we could not think of It as the Spirit of God; for the Mental Medium is automatic, while the Spirit must be Self-Knowing. We could not call the Universal Medium of Mind "God" any more than we could call electricity "God." The Universal Medium of Mind is but one of the many attributes of God, the avenue through which God operates as Law.
We should differentiate between Universal Mind and Universal Spirit. As we examine the Subjective, we find It to be both intelligent and conscious, without knowing that It is intelligent, and without being self-conscious. All law must be subjective; the soil knows how to take a seed and make a plant from it; it does not know whether it is making a tomato or a potato. If this were not true of the laws of nature, we could not depend upon them, we should be confronted with caprice. One of the most difficult problems to realize is that when we are dealing with the Law of Mind, we are dealing with an absolutely impersonal thing. It knows how to create without knowing what It creates. Therefore, we must distinguish between the Law of Mind and the Spirit which uses the Law. The ancients taught that there is an Infinite Self-Knowing Spirit (one of the oldest sayings in the world is: "Spirit is the Power that knows Itself.") in addition to which there is an Infinite Law which knows how to do but does not care what It does. This Law is the Karmic Law of Buddha: "The Law that binds the ignorant and frees the wise," as Anna Besant stated it. It is the Cause and Effect of the West; but It is not to be confused with Kismet, which is fate, because Its tendency can be changed.
There is a Law in the Universe which operates in a certain way according to the tendency set in motion, and does so mathematically, inexorably. We cannot destroy the Law but we can re-direct Its movement. Just as we plant seeds and later decide we wish something else, we go out and uproot the first seeds and plant others in their place. We are not thereby destroying the soil; we have simply determined to use it in a different way. When we are dealing with Subjectivity, we are always dealing with that which is subject to the conscious volition.
The conscious volition in the Universe is what is meant by the Spirit or Dog. The Mental Medium, the Universal Subjectivity, the Law, is the doer of the Word! Plotinus speaks of it as a doer but not a knower. He called it a blind force, not knowing only doing.
This is the principle which we use in practice. We should distinguish between conscious volition as Spirit, and the Subjective Law, which works with intelligence but not self-conscious awareness. When this is realized we shall no longer be superstitious about our use of the Law. It has been difficult to get away from such a superstitious reaction, because of a theological rather than a scientific approach to the subject. The Law we are discussing is simply a law of Nature, a force of Nature. It happens to be a mental force, and an intelligent and creative one, like electricity, which will either light our house and cook our food or will electrocute us if we use it incorrectly.
The Threefold Nature of God
We find, then, as we study our own being we begin to deduce what the nature of God, or the Universal Being, is. There is no way we can know God except by studying man. Someone may say, "God reveals Himself;" yes, we think God reveals Himself to us, but only by revealing Himself through us. We know about God only as we judge what God must be, by studying the nature of those things which we can somewhat analyze, plus that intuitive feeling we have of eternal verities.
If we study the true nature of man, then we shall have delved into the real nature of God, or First Cause, from which man springs. As we have found that man is threefold in his nature, we must deduce that God is threefold in His Nature, i.e. that God is Spirit, or Self-Knowingness; God is Law and action; God is result or Body. This is the inner teaching of "The Trinity." God, as Self-Knowing Spirit means the Divine Being Whom we have always thought of and believed in, the Being to Whom we have prayed and Whom we have adored. God as Law means the way in which Spirit works, and Law in this sense would be the servant of the Spirit. God as Body means the manifestation of the Spirit.
Trinity of Being
This trinity of being appears to run through all Nature and all life. For instance, there is electricity, the way it works and its results, which is light or motive power. There is the seed, the creative medium of the soil, and the plant.
Turn it as we may, we are confronted with the necessity of a Trinity of Being. Throughout the ages, this Trinity has been taught. Every great religion and every great spiritual philosophy has taught this Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is the Christian Trinity. It is the Thing, the Way It Works, and What It Does. The Thing is Absolute Intelligence; the way It works, is Absolute Law; and What It does, is the result - manifestation. The action of the Thing Itself is what the Bible calls "The Word."....Absolute Intelligence."
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