Spirit and Mental Law ~ Ernest Holmes
"It is impossible to divorce spiritual understanding from the proper use of mental law. The Spirit within man is God, and only to the degree that we listen to and seek to obey this Spirit shall we really succeed. At present very few people differentiate between the Spirit of the Universe and the Law of the Universe. The Spirit of God, which we think of as the Heavenly Father, is a Divine Presence, while the Law is a mechanical force.
The electrician may be a Methodist or Catholic or Buddhist. He may be a spiritual man or a material-minded man, but electricity, being a natural law, can be used by one man as easily as by another. It will work here, there and anywhere. This does not seem strange to us, but often when we approach things which seem to be religious and spiritual, we think, "Now we are outside the realm of Law, God is good, therefore Law no longer exists." We fail to recognize with Browning that "All's love, yet all's law." We must differentiate between the Divine Presence as a Universal Spirit - a thing to be communed with - and the Universal Law, which is simply a blind Force. The Law is a blind Force, and lest we misuse It, we should be very careful to follow a constructive course. The Law is Absolute and we should trust Its impersonal action implicitly. It can do anything for us THAT WE CAN CONCEIVE OF IT DOING. It is the Law of freedom to all who believe in and obey It.
We must realize that the Universal Spirit is the Supreme Knower in the Universe. The Law can only operate on that which is known. In such degree as our knowledge partakes of Its Original Knowledge, or Nature, it has power. The highest realization we can have is a recognition of the Omnipresence of Spirit. This will set greater possibilities in motion and will, automatically, provide a better concept of life. Consequently, those people who have had the greatest sense of the Divine Presence - wherever it has been coupled with the definite knowledge of the Universal Law of Mind - have had the greatest power over that Law. This was the secret of the power of Jesus.
We should daily train our thought to recognize the Spirit in everything we do, say or think. There is no other way, to try any other way would be to make a complete failure. "Render, therefore, unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's' and unto God the things that are God's." A constant realization of the presence of Spirit will provide a sense of Divine Companionship that no other attitude could produce. Why should we not take the highest and best? GOD IS - and we should realize this truth and make use of it. As soon as we recognize that God is, we can turn to the Law and tell It what to do.
We have no record of Jesus asking God to do anything, except in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said: "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." Aside from this instance, Jesus' method of approach, during His entire ministry, was to give thanks and then command the Law to work. This is the correct manner of approach to the Spirit and the Law. Yet have we any record of another man so apparently trying to follow the Divine Will? No! When Jesus healed people and told them to get up and walk, He did not pray that they might be able to get up and walk. He exercised an authority which seemed to be the result of His communion with the Spirit, and undoubtedly it was. Practice is a definite statement in mind, a positive affirmation. It is an active, conscious, aggressive mental movement and in such degree as it embodies an idea - and there is no longer anything in our minds which denies the idea - it will take form, because it now becomes a part of the law and order of the Universe in which we live.
The Law is subject to Spirit and is Its servant. Man is Spirit, but until he KNOWS this, he will be only half using the Law, for he will not have a clear understanding to fall back upon. Treatment removes doubt and fear, lets in the realization of the Presence of Spirit, and is necessary while we are confronted by obstructions or obstacles. Every problem is primarily mental, and the answer to our problems will be found in Spiritual Realizations."
"It is impossible to divorce spiritual understanding from the proper use of mental law. The Spirit within man is God, and only to the degree that we listen to and seek to obey this Spirit shall we really succeed. At present very few people differentiate between the Spirit of the Universe and the Law of the Universe. The Spirit of God, which we think of as the Heavenly Father, is a Divine Presence, while the Law is a mechanical force.
The electrician may be a Methodist or Catholic or Buddhist. He may be a spiritual man or a material-minded man, but electricity, being a natural law, can be used by one man as easily as by another. It will work here, there and anywhere. This does not seem strange to us, but often when we approach things which seem to be religious and spiritual, we think, "Now we are outside the realm of Law, God is good, therefore Law no longer exists." We fail to recognize with Browning that "All's love, yet all's law." We must differentiate between the Divine Presence as a Universal Spirit - a thing to be communed with - and the Universal Law, which is simply a blind Force. The Law is a blind Force, and lest we misuse It, we should be very careful to follow a constructive course. The Law is Absolute and we should trust Its impersonal action implicitly. It can do anything for us THAT WE CAN CONCEIVE OF IT DOING. It is the Law of freedom to all who believe in and obey It.
We must realize that the Universal Spirit is the Supreme Knower in the Universe. The Law can only operate on that which is known. In such degree as our knowledge partakes of Its Original Knowledge, or Nature, it has power. The highest realization we can have is a recognition of the Omnipresence of Spirit. This will set greater possibilities in motion and will, automatically, provide a better concept of life. Consequently, those people who have had the greatest sense of the Divine Presence - wherever it has been coupled with the definite knowledge of the Universal Law of Mind - have had the greatest power over that Law. This was the secret of the power of Jesus.
We should daily train our thought to recognize the Spirit in everything we do, say or think. There is no other way, to try any other way would be to make a complete failure. "Render, therefore, unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's' and unto God the things that are God's." A constant realization of the presence of Spirit will provide a sense of Divine Companionship that no other attitude could produce. Why should we not take the highest and best? GOD IS - and we should realize this truth and make use of it. As soon as we recognize that God is, we can turn to the Law and tell It what to do.
We have no record of Jesus asking God to do anything, except in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said: "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." Aside from this instance, Jesus' method of approach, during His entire ministry, was to give thanks and then command the Law to work. This is the correct manner of approach to the Spirit and the Law. Yet have we any record of another man so apparently trying to follow the Divine Will? No! When Jesus healed people and told them to get up and walk, He did not pray that they might be able to get up and walk. He exercised an authority which seemed to be the result of His communion with the Spirit, and undoubtedly it was. Practice is a definite statement in mind, a positive affirmation. It is an active, conscious, aggressive mental movement and in such degree as it embodies an idea - and there is no longer anything in our minds which denies the idea - it will take form, because it now becomes a part of the law and order of the Universe in which we live.
The Law is subject to Spirit and is Its servant. Man is Spirit, but until he KNOWS this, he will be only half using the Law, for he will not have a clear understanding to fall back upon. Treatment removes doubt and fear, lets in the realization of the Presence of Spirit, and is necessary while we are confronted by obstructions or obstacles. Every problem is primarily mental, and the answer to our problems will be found in Spiritual Realizations."
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