April 30 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

GENERAL SUMMARY Continued ~ Ernest Holmes

"The engine of the Subjective Mind must be guided.  It is neither person, place nor thing of Itself.  It is Subjective to the desire of man, consequently It has for him only the power he decrees It to have.

Because thought is made of the stuff that forms the universe into definite creation the Law is charged with the power that we give It.  No more and no less.  It responds by correspondence.  It is a mirror and a perfect one.  It molds our ideas and beliefs into visible form and casts them back multiplied.  It does not know that It is doing this, but It knows how to do it.  This is one of the great enigmas of the universe.

The nature of Reality is such that Universal Mind has unlimited power but so far as man is concerned It has only the power which he gives to It.  He gives It power when he says, "I am weak, sick or unhappy."  It says for him what he first says for himself.  And since for countless ages, man has believed that which is not true of God, his body and environment reflect this limited concept of the Universe.  This Law is a force in nature to be used and brought under conscious control of the spirit of man which is his conscious mind.  Man's conscious mind is the consciousness of God in him.

Mind as Law is helpless without direction.  It has nowhere to go and nothing to do of Itself.  IT MUST BE DIRECTED OR IT WILL DO NOTHING OF PERMANENT WORTH FOR MAN.  Mind as Law is an abstraction, merely a possibility.  Man is a concrete knower; he is the consciousness of Spirit, individualized, the personality of God multiplied.  Spiritual man is One with Spiritual God.  Spirit operates through man as self-knowingness and this makes man distinct and different from all other creations so far as mentality is concerned.  Mind as Law is unconscious Intelligence and lives only through man.  It is his to command, his servant.  It has no desire of Its own.  Man is Its desire, will and purpose.

While Mind as Law is always subjective to man's desire, we must not forget that It has Infinite Intelligence within Itself.  It is Mind in the abstract and in the unformed.  It is Mind in an unthought state, so to speak.  It takes concrete form from desires and mental images impressed upon It.  It resides within us for the purpose of being used and It should be used definitely and with conscious knowledge that It is being used for specific purposes.  It will do for us whatever we wish It to do provided we first create the thought mold.

God as Conscious Mind is Spirit.  God as Subjective Mind is Law.  God as Conscious Mind is Self-knowing but the Law of God's Mind, like all other laws of nature, is given us to be used.

The Law of Mind obeys the orders that are given It whether we are conscious or unconscious that such orders are being given.  Being entirely sensitive to our thought and by its very nature absolutely receptive as well as intelligent and responsive to it - and at the same time being creative - it is easy to see what a tremendous power we have at our conscious disposal.

The Universal Mind in Its subjective state is what we mean by the Law of Mind.  The subjective Medium is limitless and can do anything that we may wish It to do.  It must obey the conscious thought since It has no power to reason other than deductively.  This is why conscious thought has power.  Power and energy are phases of mind acting as law.  Mind in all its phases is some part of God.  Man is some part of God and since God or Spirit is a complete and a perfect Unit then man's mind is simply the place where he individualizes as God."

April 29 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Let Us Not Fool Ourselves ~ Ernest Holmes

"But we should not fool ourselves about any demonstration.  We know there is a state of consciousness which can heal instantly, but if we do not arrive at this in a moment, we should never admit defeat.  Let us not despise our sums in addition because we cannot at the outset extract the cube root.

The kind of demonstration we believe in is the kind that can be checked by a physician, if one so desires.  If we are treating for the removal of a cancer, we have not made a demonstration until the cancer is gone and the wholeness of the body is evident to anyone.  This is not a process of saying "Peace" when there is no peace.

A practitioner working for one whose blood pressures is high might say, "Go every week or so and have your blood pressure tested."  If one's blood pressure is high, a demonstration will not have been made until it is reduced to normal.  To claim that he is perfectly normal, while the blood pressure remains high, would be to affront the intelligence of any sane individual.

While it is possible that we might have to work on a case for some time, there should be some sign of improvement from the first treatment.  If the practitioner admits to himself that it is going to take a long time, he is losing sight of the fact that he is dealing with the instantaneous now and the ever-present here.

Our theory rests entirely upon the supposition that it is impossible to have a true subjective concept, without there being a positive, absolute and equal objective fact.  The two will exactly balance.  For every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.  If this is true and the equal and opposite reaction is automatic - like a reflection which nothing can stop - then the practitioner does not try to create the reflection; he tries to embody the image.  There cannot be an embodiment of the image without the appreciation of what the image means.  A man who is always distraught cannot give a good treatment for peace.  So there must not only be the image in the man's mind who is giving the treatment but there must be an appreciation of what the image means, before the image can reflect itself; otherwise, it is a word and not an embodiment.  There is a great difference between the two.  The word which carries power is the one which has conviction back of it.  Let us not blithely repeat words and say the treatment has gone forth and the healing work accomplished, unless we have the evidence that our word has accomplished "that, whereunto it was sent."  Let us not deceive ourselves about our treatments.

This matter of self-deception about the truth of a demonstration is the most prolific field for delusion in our system of thought.  There is nothing in all our teaching which calls for lying to ourselves or others.  The more natural we can be, the more spontaneous we can be, and the more we can discharge the obligation of giving the treatment without taking on the responsibility of healing the condition - of putting the power into the treatment - the more power we shall have.

There is nothing in the world more specific than a scientific treatment, but there is nothing that should be so released from the outline as a scientific treatment.  However, there is no secret in this business of demonstrating.  The only secret is the persistent ability to use the Law, and the determination to continue to use It until we prove It."

April 28 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

When and What Is a Demonstration? ~ Ernest Holmes

"In the language of metaphysics, a "demonstration" is made when the thing is accomplished which the one treating desires to achieve...whether it be health, happiness, or abundance.  A demonstration is a manifestation.  It is prayer answered.  When the word of a practitioner takes form, this is a demonstration.  When desire is given a subjective mold and then becomes objectified in the life of the one for whom the practitioner is working, this is demonstration.  The practitioner, of course, gives thanks as he makes his demand on the Infinite, knowing that supply and demand are one, and that his request is instantly manifest on the invisible plane.  "Before they call, will I answer," is the divine promise.

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 ourselves - in spite of all weakness, in spite of all fear, in spite of all that is in us - because such is the power of Truth.  We wait only for our own awakened thought.  The Law is neither good nor bad.  Law is and responds.

The possibility of demonstrating does not depend upon environment, condition, location, personality or opportunity.  It depends solely upon our belief and our acceptance, and our willingness to comply with the Law through which all good comes.  The Universe will never deny us anything, unless we conceive that it is possible for us to think of something that is impossible for the Universe to produce!  Everyone who asks receives, according to his belief."

April 27 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Different Methods of Treatment ~ Ernest Holmes

"Although several methods of treatment are used, there are but two distinct methods; one is called the argumentative and the other realization.

The argumentative method is just what the word implies, though the argument is never with another person - it is a process of mental reasoning in which the practitioner argues to himself about his patient.  He is presenting a logical argument to Universal Mind, or Principle, and if it carries with it complete evidence in favor of his patient, the patient should be healed.

The realization method is one whereby the practitioner realizes within himself - without the necessity of step by step building up a conclusion - the perfect state of his patient. It is purely a spiritual and meditative process of contemplating the perfect man, and if the practitioner arrives at a perfect embodiment of the idea, without confusion or doubt, 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 through the patient.

Another illustration:  Let us suppose that Mary is sick and John is the practitioner.  She comes to him, saying:  "I am sick"  He understands the power of Mind; she does not understand it.  He does not try to hold a thought over her or for her, nor suggest one to her.  He speaks her name and makes his declarations about this name.  He contradicts what appears to be wrong and declares the truth about her.  What happens?  His word, operative through Universal Mind, sets a law in motion, on the subjective side of life, which objectifies through her body as healing.

Mary thinks a miracle has been performed.  No miracle has been enacted. John has used a law, which all men may use if they will.  If Mary had been perfectly well, and her need had been for a position, the treatment would be of like nature; John would have declared into Mind what should be done for Mary.  There is only One Law; Mary could set It in operation for herself if she understood Its nature; sooner or later she must come to understand and make conscious use of this Law.

Between "John" and "Mary" there is One Universal Medium, which is also in John and in Mary.  It is not only between them but in them and around them.  As John, right where he is, knows the Truth, since there is only One, he is at the same time knowing the Truth right where Mary is, because his word is operative through a field which is not divided, but a complete Unit or Whole.  As he knows within himself, he is knowing within the same Mind which operates through the person whom he mentions in his treatment, no matter where that person may be.  There is no absent treatment, as opposed to a present treatment.  When you know in one place, you know everywhere.  When you give a treatment, you never send out a thought, or hold a thought, or make a suggestion.  A treatment is a conscious movement of thought, and the work begins and ends in the thought of the one giving the treatment.  The practitioner must do the work within himself.  He must know the Truth within himself, and as he does this the Law unfolds; a thing which is known by any part of Universal Mind is known by every part of It, for It is an undivided Whole.

If one were treating "Henry Black," who is in another city, he would say:  "I am treating Henry Black of such and such a place."  Then he would forget all about Henry Black as a personality and give the treatment.  It is not necessary to specify the trouble.  Occasionally, there might be reason to mention a thing, in denying its existence, but this is not the best method.  Of course, there are certain thoughts back of certain things, and a knowledge of the disease might better enable some practitioners to know what thought to deny.

Another illustration of the difference between the argumentative method of treatment and the realization method, will be found in the following:

Mary Jones come to John Smith and says, "I have tuberculosis."  In answer to this, he states:  "the word I now speak 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 in the mind of "John Smith" trying to bring out the evidence in favor of "Mary Jones'" perfection; it is an argument which produces certain conclusions in his mind, and as a result it sets a certain law in motion for Mary Jones.  As John does this, day after day, he gradually becomes convinced of her spiritual perfection.  This is the argumentative method of treating.  All argumentative statements merely conduct the mind of the practitioner to a place where he believes what he is saying!

In using the method of realization, "John Smith" would say:  "The word that I now speak is for Mary Jones."  Then he would begin to realize the Perfect Presence, the ONLY Perfect Presence.  "God is all there is; there is nothing else.  God is in Mary Jones, she is now a perfect being, she is now a spiritual being."

It makes no difference, however, which method one uses as each produces the same results.  One method is a logical argument in the mind of the practitioner, by which he convinces himself of the Truth of Being; the other is the instant cutting through of all appearances to the Reality back of all things.  Undoubtedly, when we can pursue only the way of pure realization, we will have attained the ideal method.

But since we do not at all times realize man's perfection, we go through this process called "treating" to find it out.  Do not be afraid of this scientific approach; do not be afraid to set down on one side all of the negative appearances, admitting them as a condition; and on the other side bringing all the arguments, one at a time, which offset these apparent conditions, and finally realization will come.

This argumentative method of treatment is a series of affirmations and denials, for the purpose of building up in the mind of the practitioner a state of realization and acceptance.  The power is in the realization, but there is also power in the argument.  The one giving the treatment believes that there is a Power and a Presence that responds to his thought.   No matter what all the world believes, no matter what anyone says, he must believe that this Power does respond to his word.  As Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."  This is conviction, and if a practitioner does not have such conviction he must acquire it.  After much experience, he will learn how best to build up a faith in the Power of Spirit.  We are to approach this Presence simply, directly and easily, for It is within us.  We can never get outside ourselves; we shall always be interior in our comprehension, we are here and It also is here.

In giving spiritual treatments we find that the more completely the mind turns away from lack, the more completely the thought stops trying to figure out how the demonstration can be made, the more completely it refrains from will power, and, strange as it may seem, the less it tries to concentrate, THE MORE POWER IT HAS.  Treatment has nothing to do with any effort which attempts to concentrate the Energy of God.  The Energy of God is already concentrated everywhere.  The gardener does not will potatoes and cabbages into being, but he has a willingness to comply with the law of nature, and provides the conditions which make it possible for this law to produce them."

April 26 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

Ernest Holmes

Perfect Vision

There is One Vision and One perfect seeing.

My eyes are open and I behold Perfect Life.

No suggestion of imperfect vision can enter my thought.

I perceive that all people can see and that the One, looking through all,

sees and is not limited in vision.

I am one with a complete understanding of Truth.

I do open my eyes and I do see.

This Word operates even through me and manifests through my eyes NOW.

Open my eyes that I may see.

The All-Seeing Eye

The eye of the Spirit cannot be dimmed, neither can It be limited in Its ability to see.

My eyes are the Vision of my Indwelling Lord; they are the Windows of my Inner Spirit

and are always open to the Vision of Truth.

I see with the Vision of the Spirit, and this sight cannot be weakened nor lost; it is forever effective.

My word which I now speak is the Law of Perfect Sight, my eyes are opened and I see.

Spirit sees through me.

April 25 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The Father-Mother God (Matt. 12:45, 48)

"It is related that while Jesus was talking, he was told that his mother and brethren waited to speak with him.  "But he answering him said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?"  He then told them that whoever does the will of God is his mother, sister and brother.   We are not to suppose, by this, that he did not care for his earthly parents or friends.  He was explaining that anyone who lives in harmony with the Truth automatically becomes the brother, the sister or the mother of all.

This is a lesson in the brotherhood of man.  God is the Androgynous Principle, the Father and Mother of all.  Our earthly parents symbolize this heavenly parentage.  Jesus was a consciously cosmic soul, who recognized his unity with all.  He knew that love must become universal before it can reach its maturity.  Hence he said that all who live in harmony with the Truth are brothers in it.

To Him Who Hath Shall Be Given (Matt. 13:12)

"Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."

This certainly sounds like a very hard saying, and is most discouraging to one who has not fathomed the depths of its meaning.  We appear to have little enough, and to have this little withdrawn from our small possessions seems more than we can bear.  And for us to feel that those who already have, are to receive more, sounds unfair.

Let us examine this saying in the light of an understanding of the law of cause and effect, that subtle reality which lies hidden in the creative power of man's mind.  Unless one conceives of himself as possessing good things, he will not possess them.  From the objective world of such a one, even that which he has will be taken away.  This is but another way of stating the law of cause and effect, that immutable principle, which governs all things.

The Concept of a Successful Man

Could we see the mentality of a successful man, we should find the imprint of success written in bold letters across the doorway of his consciousness.  The successful man is sure of himself, sure of what he is doing, certain of the outcome of his undertakings.   As much gathers more, as like attracts like, so success breeds greater success, and conviction is attended by certainty.  The whole teaching of Jesus is to have faith and to believe.  He placed a greater value on faith and belief than any individual who has ever taught spiritual truth.  We are to believe in ourselves because we have first penetrated the invisible Cause back of the real self.  We are to have absolute faith in our work because we have positive conviction of the inner power which enables us to do this work.

But to those who believe only in failure, the law comes in corresponding measure, measuring back to them the logical outcome of their beliefs.  The habitual failure bears, across the threshold of his thought, an image of his inability to attain.  The old law says that what little he has shall be withdrawn until he has learned the lesson of life and action.

Each should train himself - and do so consciously - to conceive of himself as a success.  Sailing on that boundless sea of livingness, upon whose bosom we are all carried forward, we should go from success to greater success.  All thoughts of failure or depression must be erased from the mentality, and positive thoughts of achievement should take their place.  Have faith in God, in life, and in your fellowman.  KNOW THAT RIGHT IS MIGHT.  Get some degree of real conviction and stay with it.  The cosmic Mind is neither wishy-washy nor willy-nilly.  It is positive, creation of Itself, and sure of the outcome."

April 24 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

Ernest Holmes

My Word Comes Back to Me

My word comes back to me laden with the fruits of its own speech.

My word is the Law unto my Life, and the Law unto everything that I speak.

O Word, go forth and heal and bless all humanity.

Tell them of their Divine Birthright.

Tell the stranger that he is not alone, but that One goes with him

Who knows and cares.

Tell the sick that they are healed and the poor that they cannot want,

Tell the unhappy of the joy of the Soul, and break the bonds of those who are in prison.

My word shall come back to me blessed of God and man.

My Word Shall Bear Fruit

The Word of my mouth shall bear fruit.

It shall accomplish and prosper, and shall not return unto me void.

My Word is the law unto the thing whereunto it is sent, and it cannot come back empty-handed.

I send out my Word and it is the law unto my life.

My Word is the Law unto the thing whereunto it is spoken, and will become fulfilled in the right way and at the right time.

My Word is complete and perfect, and is the Presence and the Power of the One Mind that is in and through all.

I speak the Word and know that it will accomplish.

I wait in perfect confidence for the Word to fulfill itself in my life.

My Word Is Law.

April 23 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The First Requisite ~ Ernest Holmes

"The first requisite for the mental and spiritual practitioner is a full sense of the sacredness of his trust; the sacredness of the confidence of his patient, which impels him to pour out his very soul.  This confidence, a practitioner should keep sacred, inviolate.  He should no more betray this trust than would a priest who officiates at the confessional, a lawyer who handles the business and finances of his client, or a physician who cares for the physical well being of his patients.

Practitioners do meet occasionally and discuss cases, as doctors might in a clinic, but they should never mention the names nor the personal affairs of those under treatment.

A Practitioner's Business

It is the practitioner's business to uncover God in every man.  God is not sick.  God is not poor.  God is not unhappy.  God is never afraid.  God is never confused.  God is never out of His place.  The premise upon which all mental work is based is perfect God, perfect man, perfect being.

First, perfect God, then perfect man.  There is a spiritual man who is never sick, who is never poor, unhappy; never confused nor afraid...who is never caught by negative thought.  Browning called this "the spark which a man may desecrate but never quite lose."

These are the tools of thought with which a practitioner works.  Where does he do his work?  IN HIS OWN MIND.  Never anywhere else.  Always in his own thought.  A practitioner never tries to get away from the mind within.

We are practicing scientifically when the mind refuses to see the apparent condition and turns to the Absolute.  A scientific treatment cannot be conditioned upon anything that now exists, upon any experience less than perfection.  In treatment, we turn entirely away from the relative - entirely away from that which appears to be.  We might begin a treatment with the statement:  "With God all things are possible, God can find a way."  We might say:  "They that dwell in the Secret Place of the Most High, etc."  It does not matter so much what one says, it is what one believes when he says it that counts.  He must believe, if he is going to be a successful practitioner, that his word is the law that whereunto it is spoken.

A practitioner, then, is one who, recognizing the power of Mind, definitely, specifically, concretely and consciously speaks from his objective mind into Subjectivity and gives direction to a Law, which is the Actor.

What the practitioner really does is to take his patient, the disease and everything that appears to be wrong, into his own mentality, and here he attempts to dissolve all false appearances and all erroneous conclusions.  At the center of the practitioner's own being, the healing work must be accomplished.

The more completely the practitioner is convinced of the power of his own word, the more power his word will have.  THERE MUST BE A RECOGNITION THAT THE POWER OF THE WORD, OPERATING AS THE TRUTH AND REALITY OF BEING, CAN DO ALL THINGS.  Therefore, the person whose consciousness is the clearest, who has the most complete faith, will be the best healer."

April 22 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Treatment Not Explained in the Bible ~ Ernest Holmes

"From beginning to end, in one way or another, the Bible teaches the law of cause and effect, based upon the premise that the Universe is a spiritual system, that the Infinite creates by the power of Its word or the contemplation of Its consciousness, and, as a complement to this, that man reproduces the Universal on an individual scale.

The bible does not tell us how to give a treatment.  It is only within the last hundred years that the science which we are studying has been given to the world.  It is not an old system of thought.  The old systems of thought did contain the Truth, but one would never learn how to give an effective mental treatment by studying them.  We would no more learn how to give a treatment by studying the Bible, than we would learn how to psycho-analyze a person.  The principle of spiritual treatment is implied in the Bible as well as in other sacred writings of antiquity, but one could not learn how to give a treatment from reading any of these Scared Books.  From all of these sources we gain a tremendous spiritual inspiration, but they do not teach how to give a treatment.

What Is a Practitioner?

The one who attempts to heal himself or another through a recognition of the creative power of Mind and the ever availability of Good, is a mental or spiritual practitioner.  Such a one refuses to allow negative thoughts to control his consciousness.   He endeavors to greet the divinity in every man he meets.

The one seeking to demonstrate the power of spiritual realization in everyday affairs should believe in Divine guidance.  He should affirm that his mind is continually impressed with the images of right action, and that everything in his life is controlled by love, harmony and peace; that everything he does prospers, and that the Eternal Energy back of all things animates everything which he undertakes.  Every objective evidence contrary to good should be resolutely denied, and in its place should come a sense of right action.  He should feel a unity of Spirit in all people, and running through all events.  He should declare that the Spirit within him is God, quickening into right action everything he touches, bringing the best out of all his experiences, and forever guiding and sustaining.  The greatest good which his mind is able to conceive should be affirmed as a part of his everyday experience.  No matter what the occupation of such a man, he is a mental and spiritual practitioner, and from such daily meditation he should venture forth into a life of action, with the will to do, the determination to be, and a joy in becoming!

The professional mental and spiritual practitioner is one who has dedicated his life - his time, his energies, his intelligence - to helping others, through mental and spiritual means and methods."

April 21 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The Way of Treatment ~ Ernest Holmes

"In treatment, we turn entirely away from the condition, because as long as we look at it, we cannot overcome it.  By thinking upon a condition, we tend to animate it with the life of our thought, and thereby it is perpetuated and magnified.  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.

Treatment is not willing things to happen; it is to provide within ourselves an avenue through which they may happen.  Treatment opens up the avenues of thought, expands the consciousness, and lets Reality through; it clarifies the mentality, removes the obstruction of thought and lets in the Light; it removes doubt and fear, in the realization of the Presence of Spirit, and is necessary while we are confronted by obstructions or obstacles.  We already live in a Perfect Universe, but It needs to be seen mentally before It can become a part of our experience.  Every problem is primarily mental, and the answer to all problems will be found in Spiritual Realization.

It is hardly necessary to state here that without an understanding of the limitless medium of Subjectivity there can be no full comprehension of how Law operates, when a treatment is given.  Unless we understand the three-fold nature of both man and the Universe: as active consciousness which we call spirit; receptive or creative Law, which we call the medium or Universal Subjectivity; and manifestation, which we call form or Creation...unless we realize further, that as we deal with our own individuality, we are dealing with the Universal, which has projected out of Itself that which is like Itself on a miniature scale...unless we have this understanding, we shall be working much of the time on a basis of blind faith.

As an illustration of the importance of this understanding, take the following:  Suppose a man in New York wired a practitioner in Los Angeles, explaining to him that he had been unable to sleep for weeks and that he wished treatment for insomnia.  How would the practitioner go about this?  The practitioner in Los Angeles knows that the man in New York fails to sleep because there is lack of peace in his consciousness; there is a mental disturbance, and the mind keeps working all night.  The practitioner begins to think peace about this man.  He does not say:  "Now, John (supposing the man's name is John), you are going to be peaceful;" rather, he says to himself, "John is peaceful."  The practitioner does not send out thoughts nor suggestions; he realizes, in his own mind, the truth about this man.  The practitioner treats the practitioner, for the patient, always!  The practitioner begins to pour the uplifting truth into his own mind:  "John sleeps in peace, wakes in joy, and lives in good.  There is no fear, no worry, no doubt, no confusion.  He has not acquired the habit of wakefulness, because his consciousness is filled with peace."

Universal Mind, being Omnipresent, is wherever the man is who asked for help.  If he is receptive to the harmony of the belief which the practitioner has poured into Subjective Mind, it will externalize for him at the level of the embodiment of the thought of the practitioner.  Thus the man "John" in New York is helped through the work of the practitioner in Los Angeles.

A practitioner works through the Law of Mind, definitely, for someone else.  He declares the truth about the person whom he is treating, stating that this person is a Divine Being, complete, happy, satisfied, conscious of his own spiritual being; that this thing which is causing him to suffer now is not a law, has no right to be, is no longer effective through him, cannot suggest anything to him; that he is free from it; that this word - which the practitioner is speaking - removes any obstruction in mind, or obstruction in manifestation, and allows the flow of life through this individual.  He makes such statements to himself, about this individual, as tend to clear up, in his own thought, his belief about the person whom he is treating, until finally he comes to a place in his treatment where he says that the person is now all right; he is free from that condition.  It can never return.  That this is the Truth about him; that this now is the Truth.  This is a formed treatment, stated definitely - a scientific treatment.

To the average person, when a result is obtained by this method of work, it looks as though a miracle has happened, but such is not the case.  It is only a miracle as everything else in life is a miracle.  A definite, conscious idea has been set in motion in the subjective World, which accepts ideas at their own valuation and tends to act upon them."

April 20 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MENTAL and SPIRITUAL TREATMENT

Ernest Holmes

Treatment:  What It Is

"Effective mental treatment is propelled by a consciousness of love and a realization that the Creative Spirit is always at work.  The practitioner does not feel that he must compel the Force to work.  It is the nature of the Creative Power to take form, and it is the nature of man to use It.

A treatment should be given a calm, expectant manner and with a deep inner conviction of its reality, without any fear or any sense that the human mind must make it effective. The work is effective because the Law is always in operation.

The Purpose of Treatment

Mental or spiritual treatment should bring into actual manifestation the health and happiness which are mankind's normal and divine heritage.  Such healing includes the emancipation of the mind from every form of bondage through a new concept of God, which causes the heart to beat with joy and gladness.  This healing power is a consciousness of the Unity of all Life and the spiritual nature of all being.  Man's life is rooted in the Universal and the Eternal, which life is none other than the Life of God.  The healing process, in so far as it may be termed a process, is in becoming conscious of this eternal truth.

Treatment should incorporate a conscious recognition that health has always been ours, abundance has always been ours, happiness and peace have always been ours; they are ours now, for they are the very essence and Truth of our being.  All there is of evil, of whatever name or kind is an inversion of eternal good."

April 19 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS

for Self-Help

By Ernest Holmes

No Weariness

There is no weariness.

Mind and Spirit do not become tired nor weary, and I am Mind and Spirit.

The flesh cannot become weary, since it has no mind of its own.

I am free from all illusions of weariness.

My whole being responds to the thought of Life.

I am alive with the Great Vitality of the Spirit.

I am alive with Spirit.

Perfect Hearing

My hearing is perfect.

It is God in me hearing His own voice.

I hear That Voice, and no belief in inaction can hinder that hearing.

There are no impaired organs.

Every idea of the body is now complete and perfect and functions according to the Divine Law.

I open my ears to hear.

I am receptive to Truth and can understand it.

Open my ears that I may hear.

April 18 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

How to Approach the Spirit ~ Ernest Holmes

"If we wish to come to the Spirit for the healing of our wounds, let us come in peace and with spontaneous joy, for the Spirit is joy; let us come with thanksgiving also, for a thankful heart is in harmony with life.  But we must come in quiet confidence, with an open and receptive mind, a believing heart, naturally, sanely and expectantly.  In this way, we ware entering the portals of Reality, clad in garments of righteousness.

We often think what we require is money, friends and physical healing. After these things, do those, who are outside a knowledge of the Law, seek; and they do well, for we need all these things.  But they are the effects of right relationships to life.  All people need some form of healing. Most people are unhappy, few have any realization of permanent peace.  We seek fragments, when the whole is at hand.  How illogical to think that anything can rise higher than its source.  The Universe is a perfect, undivided whole, and healing can take place only when one is unified with It.  How can anyone, then, be healed in part?  Let us seek wholeness above all else.

If we would come to the Universal Wholeness, we must approach it through the law of its own nature. This means that we must give our undivided attention to the spiritual unit back of all things.  Since all else is included within this unit, we find our particular good only through unity with life.  This conscious unity makes our mind receptive to completion, since Life Itself is complete.  This perception is always an inner light, for the individual can use only such knowledge as he inwardly possesses.  In reality, we know God or Truth, only as we ourselves embody God or Truth.  AND SINCE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EMBODY ANYTHING OUTSIDE OURSELVES, THIS KNOWLEDGE MUST BE AN INNER LIGHT.  The Truth Itself is Infinite, but we only embody the Infinite in degree.  To the degree that we do embody Reality, we become poised and powerful.

The Purpose of the Science of Mind

The whole purpose of the Science of Mind is to reconcile the apparent separation of the spiritual world, which must be Perfect, with the material world, which appears imperfect.  The Spiritual world is the CAUSE of the material; we are spiritual beings governed by mental law.  ONLY THAT WORLD CAN APPEAR TO US WHICH WE MENTALLY PERCEIVE.  Man's experience is the logical outcome of his inner vision; his horizon is limited to the confines of his own consciousness.  Wherever this consciousness lacks a true perspective, its outward expression will lack proper harmony.  This is why we are taught to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Since no one lives by proxy, but each unto himself, every individual must make the test in his own soul.

And Jesus Knew Their Thoughts (Matt. 12:25)

"And Jesus knew their thoughts..."  That is, he had an extended vision which enabled him to know what others were thinking.  He had healed a man possessed of unclean thoughts, and the priests had reasoned within themselves that his power to do this was of the "evil one."

Jesus, understanding what was in their minds, told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand; and that if he cast out evil by the power of evil, then evil would be a house divided against itself.  "But," he said, "if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."

We cannot do good while we continue to do evil, nor can we heal evil except by the power of good.  To all sincere students of Spiritual Science, this lesson is a guide post, pointing to the fact that the thought of good must ever overcome any thought that is less than good.  By the presence of good, evil is cast out, just as by the presence of light, the darkness disappears.

Good Thoughts and a Good Harvest (Matt. 7:17, 18)

A good tree produces good fruit, so good thoughts bear a harvest of good deeds, while evil consumes itself in the flame of its own fire.  If a man's life produces good deeds, then the man is himself good; and this, no matter what his particular religious belief may or may not be.

The mouth speaks from the heart.  It is impossible for a man to conceal himself.  In every act, word, or gesture, he stands revealed as he is, and not as he would have himself appear to be.  From the universe, nothing is or can be hidden; the very walls have ears and the mirror of life cannot help reflecting back to us that which we really are.

Jesus plainly tells us that we are held accountable for the very words which we speak.  No man every lived who placed a greater power in the word.  By our words we are justified or condemned.  The word may be considered to be the complete thought and act of man.  There must be a thought before there can be an act, and a thinker before there can be any thought.  The thinker condemns or justifies himself through his thought." 

April 17 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

Ernest Holmes

Whose Right It Is to Come

He has come Whose right it is.

He has made His home within me, and will nevermore depart from me.

I shall walk no more alone, for One walks with me

Who knows the path of Life, and Whose feet will never falter nor fail.

My Inner Light shines through the mist of human beliefs

And frees me from the bondage of fear and limitation.

I shall walk with You, my Friend, and shall learn of You the ways of Life and Freedom.

We shall travel together from this day, and none can part us,

For we are united in the perfect bonds of an everlasting unity.

I walk with Thee.

I Control My Mental Household

I conquer my mental household and cast out all fear and doubt.

Let my Word cast out all sense of fear and doubt

and let my thoughts be lifted unto Him Who lives Within.

My Word has dissolved all fear within me, and has cast out all doubt.

My Word shall guard my thought and make me receive only that which is Good and Perfect.

I control my life.

April 16 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Conviction ~ Ernest Holmes

"Mental Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus; but it does affirm the divinity of all people.  It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God; but it affirms that all men are the sons of God. It does not deny that the kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus; but it says that the kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me.

Jesus said:  "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."  Faith is centered in, and co-operates with, Divine Mind.

Because we fail to realize that Principle is not bound by precedent, we limit our faith to that which has already been accomplished, and few "miracles" result.  When, through intuition, faith finds its proper place under Divine Law, there are no limitations, and what are called miraculous results follow.

While Jesus remained with the disciples, their faith for the most part was of the same essence as his, but as the years passed and his followers became more and more immersed in objective organization, they ceased to preach the necessity of a living faith.  In fact, a few hundred years later, the Christians where teaching that the early "miracles" merely provide the divinity of Jesus!

If we are to have an active faith - the faith of God instead of merely a faith in God - our thought must be centered in Universal Mind.  We are convinced that under Divine Law all things are possible, if we only believe, and work in conformity with the principles of that Law. Such a faith does not spring full-orbed into being, but grows by knowledge and experience.  No matter what the outside appearance, we must cling steadfastly to the knowledge that God is good, and God is all, underneath, above and round about.  Thus we shall be able to say, with conviction:  "I know in whom I have believed...""

April 15 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The Technique of Acquiring Faith ~ Ernest Holmes

"One cannot be a good student of the Science of Mind who is filled with fear and confusion.  He must keep himself in a state of equilibrium, in a state of poise, peace and confidence...in a state of spiritual understanding. By spiritual understanding, is not meant anything strange or unnatural, but merely that the belief in goodness must be greater than any apparent manifestation of its opposite. It is this science of faith we are seeking to uncover - a definite technique that will conduct our minds through a process of thought, if necessary, to that place which the sublime minds of all ages have reached by direct intuition.

There is no one who believes more in faith, more in prayer, or more in the necessity of the Divine Will being done, than he who practices daily the Science of Mind.  He has relieved his mind of the morbid sense that the Will of God can be the will of suffering; for if there were a suffering God, and if we are eternal beings, then we should suffer through all eternity.  But a suffering God is an impossibility.  We suffer because we are not in both conscious and subjective communication with the affirmative side of the Universe.  All human misery is a result of ignorance; and nothing but knowledge can free us from this ignorance and its effect.

As students of the Science of Mind, we find in the remarkable character of Jesus, a great impetus toward faith and conviction. The Centurion came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant, and Jesus said:  "Go thy way; and as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee."  The Centurion had what we call a mental equivalent of Divine authority.  In the realm in which he lived, he was accustomed to speak his word with authority.  He accepted the word of Jesus as having authority on the invisible plane.  Jesus said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in all Israel."

It is wonderful to contemplate the mental attitude of people who are not afraid to believe their prayers will be answered, and are not afraid to say, "I know."  We shall all arrive at this same assurance, this perfect faith, in such degree as we cease contemplating the Universe as opposed to Itself; as we cease having the will to do or to be that which is contrary to the Universal Good.

There is nothing in the universal order that denies the individual's good, or self-expression, so long as such self-expression does not contradict the general good, does not contradict Goodness Itself.  There is nothing in the Universe that denies us the right to be happy, if our happiness does not deny or interfere with the general good.  The Universe remains unlimited, though the whole world has suffered a sense of limitation.

We should be careful not to divide our mental house against itself. Having announced the law of liberty, we must not deny it.  When we shall all know the Truth, then ways and means and methods will be found for the freedom of all.  The mold of acceptance is the measure of our experience.  The Infinite fills all molds and forever flows into new and greater ones. Within us is the unborn possibility of limitless experience  Ours is the privilege of giving birth to it!"

April 14 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Vitalizing Faith ~ Ernest Holmes

"In order to have faith, we must have a conviction that all is well.  In order to keep faith, we must allow nothing to enter our thought which will weaken this conviction.  Faith is built up from belief, acceptance and trust.  Whenever anything enters our thought which destroys, in any degree, one of these attitudes, to that extent faith is weakened.

Our mind must be steady in its conviction that our life is some part of God, and that the Spirit is incarnated in us.  Affirmations and denials are for the purpose of vitalizing faith - for the purpose of converting thought to a belief in things spiritual.  The foundation for correct mental treatment is perfect God, perfect man, and perfect being.  Thought must be organized to fit this premise, and conclusions must be built on this premise.  We must keep our faith vital, if we hope to successfully treat for ourselves or others.

All sciences are built upon faith principles.  All principles are invisible, and all laws accepted on faith.  No man has seen God at any time, nor has he seen goodness, truth or beauty, but who can doubt their existence?

Not only must we have complete faith in Spirit, and Its ability to know and to do, but we must have complete confidence in our approach to It.  We must not be lukewarm in our conviction.  We must know that we know.  We are to demonstrate that spiritual thought force has power over all apparent material resistance, and this cannot be done unless we have abounding confidence in the Principle which we approach.

Pure faith is a spiritual conviction; it is the acquiescence of the mind, the embodiment of an idea, the acceptance of a concept.  If we believe that the Spirit, incarnated in us, can demonstrate, shall we be disturbed at what appears to contradict this?  We shall often need to know that the Truth which we announce is superior to the condition we are to change.  In other words, if we are speaking from the standpoint of the Spirit, then there can be no opposition to It!  It is only when we let go of all human will, and recognize the pure essence of the Spiritual Principle incarnated in us, that thought rises above a belief in duality.  We should constantly vitalize our faith by the knowledge that the Eternal is incarnated in us; that God Himself goes forth anew into creation through each one of us; and that in such degree as we speak the Truth, the Almighty has spoken!"

April 13 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

No Confusion ~ Ernest Holmes

"History has recorded many instances of healing through faith.  This is an undisputed fact.  Yet we cannot believe in a Divine Power that responds more quickly to one than to another.  We are compelled to see that prayer is not an end of itself; it is a means to an end.  Like the practice of the Science of Mind, it is a way.  The principle governing faith is, that when the one praying becomes convinced, his prayer will automatically be answered.  Jesus announced the law of mind, saying:  "It is done unto you as you believe."  The Universe exists by Its own self-pronouncement, by Its own affirmation.  It only know "I AM."  It knows nothing else.  Therefore, wherever prayer, in faith, touches Reality, prays aright - prays according to whatever the Truth is - then prayer must be answered.

Available to All

Persons familiar with Biblical history hardly need a lesson about faith, for the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is full of instances proving its sustaining power.  Paul enumerates at length the experiences of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Samuel and the prophets, and many more, "who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword; out of weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in power, turned to flight armies of aliens, women received their dead raised to life again."

Our ancestors believed these records and embodied this living faith in their consciousness, thereby leaving us a great legacy of faith.  Whatever they did, they were able to do because they grasped an instinctive faith and marched boldly on with it.

Since faith is a quality unconfined to age or station, it may be ours today as much as it has been any man's at any time.  We are not going through a harder time today, a longer or darker night, than has ever been experienced before.  It only seems darker because we have lost faith - the beacon light. 

If one will have faith in himself, faith in his fellowmen, in the Universe, and in God, that faith will light the place in  which he finds himself, and by the light of this faith, he will be able to see that ALL IS GOOD.  And the light shed by this faith will light the way for others.  We become conscious of darkness only when we are without faith - for faith is ever the light of our day and the light on our way, making that way clearly visible to us, even when to all others it may be beset with obstacles and the ongoing rough."

April 12 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for SELF-HELP

Ernest Holmes

I Do Not Inherit Disease

There is no inherited tendency to disease nor ill health.

I am born of Pure Spirit.

False ideas cannot be transmitted from one to another, and I am free from race-suggestion.

My Life is from Above, and I remember that I was always Perfect and Complete.

An Inner Light shines forth and frees me from the bonds of false belief.

I came from the Spirit.

No Congestion

There is no congestion nor stoppage of action.

Life, flowing through me, is Perfect and Clear;

It cannot be stopped, retarded nor hindered.

I feel the One Life flowing through me now.

It eliminates all impure secretions and cleanses my thought from any suggestion of false deposits in the flesh.

I am Clean, Pure and Perfect, and my Word eliminates all else.

There is no congestion.

April 11 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The Great Search ~ Ernest Holmes

"The world seeks a solution of its great riddle - the apparent separation between God and man; between life and what it does; between the invisible and the visible; between the Father and the Son - and until this riddle is solved, there can be no peace.

Peace is an inner calm, obtained through man's knowledge of what he believes and why.  Without knowledge, there is no lasting peace.  Nothing can bring peace but the revelation of the individual to himself, and a recognition of his direct relationship to the Universe.  He must know that he is an eternal being on the pathway of life, with certainty behind him, certainty before him, and certainty accompanying him all the way.

Peace is brought about through a conscious unity of the personal man with the inner principle of his life - that underlying current, flowing from a divine center, pressing ever outward into expression.  But this can never come by proxy.  We can hire others to work for you, to care for our physical needs, but no one can live for us.  This we must do for ourselves.

The Need of Spiritual Experience

We need spiritual experience, a first-hand knowledge of life and Reality.  There is no medium between God and man, nothing between life and living, between heaven and hell, but an idea.  But an idea has no real value until it becomes an experience.

In conversation, we assume great knowledge of religion and philosophy, but how much do we really experience?  We can know only that which we experience. All great religions have taught truth, but it means nothing to us unless it becomes our truth.

We need spiritual experience.  We shall never know peace until we embody it, we shall never know Truth until we become Truth, and we cannot know God unless we sense Him within our own being.  The Spirit is ever giving, but we must take.  What life does for us must be done through us.

Spiritual experience is deep, calm and self-assertive; it is the result of actually realizing that Presence which binds all together in one complete Whole.  This experience comes in the stillness of the Soul, when the outer voice is quiet, when the tempest of human strife is abated; it is a quickening of the inner man to an eternal reality.

Spiritual experience is a fact. Spirituality may be defined as an atmosphere of good, the realization of God.  It cannot - and does not - borrow its light from another, no matter how great or noble that other may be.  It springs from within, coming from that never-failing fountain of life, which quenches every thirst, whose Source is in eternity; the well-spring of self-existence.  It is a revelation of the self to the self, putting one back on the track of his own self-dependence on Spirit, his own at-one-ment with Reality.

The Cause of Human Troubles

The integrity of the universe cannot be questioned nor doubted.  The spirit must be, and is perfect.  That which is back of everything must be good, must be complete, must be love and harmony.  When we are out of harmony with some special good, it is because we are off the track along that particular line of the activity of Spirit.

But how are we to regain the lost Paradise?  Only through soul culture and by careful self-analysis.  What is my viewpoint of life?  This is a question each should ask himself.  What do I feel my relationship to the great Whole to be?  What do I believe about the Cause back of all? From whence come discouragement, fear, doubt and calamity?  They cannot proceed from the eternal Source - that perfect fount of life - the inexhaustible One. Therefore, they must come from my own consciousness. They cannot be born of the Truth.  The Truth is God, and God is free, happy , peaceful and ever poised in His own Being.  I must set myself right with the universe.  I must find the way back to the central fire, if I am to be warmed.  I must find the Source, if I am to be supplied.  I must be like God, if I wish to realize His Spirit in my life!

A change of consciousness does not come by simply willing or wishing.  It is not easy to hold the mental attention to an ideal, while the human experience is discordant, but - it is possible.  Knowing the Truth, is not a process of self-hypnosis, but one of a gradual unfoldment of the inner self."

April 10 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for SELF-HELP

Ernest Holmes

The Mantle of Love

Like a cloak His Love is wrapped around me.  Like a warm garment, It shelters me from the storms of life.

I feel and know that an Almighty Love envelops me in Its close embrace.

O Love Divine, My Love, how wonderful Thou art.  I am open to receive Thy great blessing.

Love envelops me.

The Voice of Truth

The Voice of Truth speaks to me and through me.

The Voice of Truth guides me and keeps me on the Path of the Perfect Day.

I will listen to the Inner Voice and It will tell me what to do in the hour of need.

I shall be told everything that I ought to know when the time of need arrives, and I shall not be misled.

The Voice of Truth cannot lie, but always speaks to me from On High.

Nothing enters but This Voice, for it is the Voice of God.

God speaks to me.

April 9 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Misplaced Faith ~ Ernest Holmes

"Someone has said that the entire world is suffering from one big fear ...the fear that God will not answer our prayers.  Let us analyze the fears which possess us and see if this is true.  The fear of lack is nothing more than the belief that God does not, and will not, supply us with whatever we need.  The fear of death is the belief that the promises of eternal life may not be true.  The fear of loss of health, loss of friends, loss of property - all arise from the belief that God is not all that we claim:  Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence.

But what is fear?  Nothing more nor less than the negative use of faith ...faith misplaced; a belief in two powers instead of One; a belief that there can be a Power - opposed to God - whose influence and ability may bring us evil.  In other words, to correct all the evils of the world, would be but to have the positive faith, faith rightly placed, a faith that laws hold of the integrity of the Universe, the beneficence of God and the Unity of all life.  Nevertheless, we cannot have faith in that which we do not in some measure understand.

Understanding Faith

We wish a faith based on the knowledge that there is nothing to fear!  "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  The thought of faith molds the undifferentiated substance, and brings into manifestation the thing which was fashioned in the mind.  This is how faith brings our desires to pass.

When we use our creative imagination in strong faith, it will create for us, out of the One Substance, whatever we have formed in thought.  In this way man becomes a Co-Creator with God.  There will never be an end to any of the eternal verities like Truth, Love, Beauty.  There will never be an end to God, nor to the any of the attributes which are co-eternal and co-existent with God.  If we are wise, we shall cultivate a faith in these realities.  This is not a difficult task, but a thrilling experience.

Spiritual Substance is all around us, waiting to be formed.  Thus we see what Jesus meant when he said:  "And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given unto you."  The Law must work in compliance with our demand.  The Divine Urge within us is God's way of letting us know that we should push forward and take that which is awaiting our demand.  If the good were not already ours in the invisible supply, it would be impossible for us to procure it in any manner.  "He openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of every living creature."

April 8 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FAITH ~ Ernest Holmes

The Mental Approach

"The Universe is a Spiritual System. Its laws are those of intelligence.  We approach it through the mind, which enables us to know, will, and act.  Prayer, faith and belief are closely related mental attitudes.

Prayer is a mental approach to Reality.  It is not the symbol but the idea symbolized that makes prayer effective.  Some prayers are more effective than others. Some only help us to endure, while others transcend conditions, and demonstrate an invisible law which has power over the visible.  In so far as our prayer is affirmative, it is creative of the desired results.

Always a Power

Faith has been recognized as a power throughout the ages - whether it be faith in God, faith in one's fellowmen, in oneself, or in what one is doing.  The idea that faith has only to do with our religious experience is a mistake.  Faith is a faculty of the mind that always finds its highest expression in the religious attitude, but always the man who has faith in his own ability accomplishes far more than the one who has no confidence in himself.  Those who have great faith, have great power.

Why is it that one man's prayers are answered, while another's remain unanswered?  It cannot be that God desires more good for one person than another.  It must be that all persons, in their approach to Reality receive results - not because of what they believe in, but because of their belief.  Faith is an affirmative mental approach to Reality."

April 7 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Prayer Is Its Own Answer ~ Ernest Holmes

"Cause and effect are but two sides of thought, and Spirit, being ALL, is both Cause and Effect.  Prayer, then, is its own answer.  The Bible tells us:  "Before they call will I answer."  Before our prayer is framed in words, God has already answered, but if our prayer is one of partial belief, then there is only a tendency toward its answer; if the next day we wholly doubt, then there is no answer at all.  In dealing with Mind, we are dealing with a Force we cannot fool.  We cannot cheat Principle out of the slightest shadow of our most subtle concept.  The hand writes and passes on, but the writing remains; and the only thing that can erase it is writing of a different character.  There is no obstruction one cannot dissipate by the power of Truth.

So we learn to go deeply within ourselves, and speak as though there were a Presence there at hat knows; and we should take the time to unearth this hidden cause, to penetrate this inner chamber of consciousness. It is most worthwhile to commune with Spirit - to sense and feel It. The approach to Spirit is direct...through our own consciousness.

This Spirit flows through us.  Whatever intelligence we have is this Spirit in us.  Prayer is its own answer.

We can be certain that there is an Intelligence in the Universe to which we may come,that will guide and inspire us, a love which overshadows.  God is real to the one who believes in the Supreme Spirit, real to the soul that senses its unity with the Whole.

Every day and every hour we are meeting the eternal realities of life, and in such degree as we co-operate with these eternal realities in love, peace, in wisdom, and in joy - believing and receiving- we are automatically blessed.  Our prayer is answered before it is uttered."

April 6 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Prayer is Essential to Happiness ~ Ernest Holmes

"Prayer is not an act of overcoming God's reluctance, but should be an active acceptance of His highest willingness.  Through prayer we recognize a spiritual law, that has always existed, and put ourselves in alignment with it.  The law of electricity might have been used by Moses had he understood this law.  Emerson said:  "Is not prayer a study of truth, a sally of the Soul into the unfound Infinite?"

Prayer is constructive, because it enables us to establish closer contact with the Fountain of Wisdom, and we are less likely to be influenced by appearances around us - to judge "according to appearance."  Righteous prayer sets the "law of the Spirit of Life" in motion for us.

Prayer is essential, not to the salvation of the soul, for the soul is never lost; but to the conscious well-being of the soul that does not understand itself.  There is a vitality in our communion with the Infinite, which is productive of the highest good.  As fire warms the body, as food strengthens us, as sunshine raises our spirits, so there is a subtle transfusion of some invisible force in such communion, weaving itself into the very warp and woof of our own mentalities.  This conscious commingling of our thought with Spirit is essential to the well-being of every part of us.

Prayer has stimulated countless millions of people to higher thoughts and nobler deeds.  That which tends to connect our minds with the Universal Mind lets in a flood of Its consciousness.  If we think of God as a Heavenly Dictator - something apart from that which lives and moves and has Its being where we are - then we are certain to believe ourselves disconnected from this Infinite Presence; and the inevitable consequence of such thinking would be a terrible fear that we should never be able to make contact with Him!  But if we know God as an Indwelling Presence, our prayer is naturally addressed to this Presence in us. We long for, and need, a conscious union with the Infinite.  This is as necessary to the nature and intellect of man, as food is to the well-being of his physical body."

April 5 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for SELF-HELP

Ernest Holmes

He Is Mighty Within Me to Heal

God within me is mighty to heal.

He healeth me of all my diseases and removes all fear from me.

My God within is now healing me of all sickness and pain and is bringing comfort to my soul.

God is my life; I cannot be sick.

I hear the voice of Truth telling me to arise and walk, for I am healed.

I am healed.

I Do Not Inherit Disease

There is no inherited tendency to disease nor ill health.

I am born of Pure spirit.

False ideas cannot be transmitted from one to another, and I am free from race-suggestion.

My Life is from Above, and I remember that I was always Perfect and Complete.

An Inner Light shines forth and frees me from the bonds of false belief.

I came from the Spirit.

April 4 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Nothing Can Be Hidden (Luke 12:2) ~ Ernest Holmes

"In saying, "there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known," Jesus was referring to the Mind that knows; to the all-seeing eye, from which nothing is concealed.  The cosmic Ear hears everything, the Eternal Mind knows all things, and the Law of cause and effect brings everything to pass in due time.

A Man's Foes (Matt. 10:36)

"And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."  There are no enemies external to our own mind.  This is one of the most difficult problems to understand, and - simple as it sounds - it penetrates the depths of creative causation.  Nothing can happen to us unless it happens through us.  That which we refuse to accept, to us cannot be, and that which to us is, cannot help becoming a reality in our lives.  But someone will say, "I did not conceive of this evil which came upon me; it was not in my mind."  The question then arises, "Can any particular evil be real to one, if he refuses to entertain it in his thought?"  The answer must forever be, it cannot.  This is one of those "hard sayings" which it is difficult to understand, but the principle involved is plain.

If we can divorce our lives from the thought of evil - from receptivity to it - if we can bring our mentality to a place where it no longer conceives evil, then evil cannot exist for us.  The proof of this doctrine remains for individual conviction, through experience, but it is well worth trying.

The Reward of True Visioning (Matt.  10:41)

"He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man, in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward."  There comes to each the logical and exact result of his own receptivity.  To each, life brings the reward of his own visioning; to the pure, all is pure.  To the righteous, all is righteous, and to the good, all is good. The reward of merit is an objective outcome of merit itself and not a thing superimposed by any Divine Mandate.  Each man is rewarded not for virtue but through virtue.

Wisdom Is Justified of her Children (Matt. 11:18, 19)

"Wisdom is justified of her children."  Jesus had been questioning his hearers about John the Baptist.  "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say He hath a devil.  The Son of a man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.  But, wisdom is justified of her children."

This shows that the world ever finds some flaw in human character.  If a man fasts, he is possessed of peculiar ideas; and if he feasts, he is a materialist and a glutton.  But Jesus would have us understand that virtue consists neither in eating nor drinking, nor yet in abstaining from eating and drinking.  "Wisdom is justified of her children."  A man may desire to fast and be wise, or he may desire to feast and still be wise.  VIRTUE IS INDEPENDENT OF ANY MATERIAL FORM WHICH IT MAY TAKE.  The children of wisdom look to the inner, and not to the outer, for justification.  Wisdom knows neither publican nor sinner, but is conscious only of herself, though she may dress in many garments.

If one believes that virtue consists in fasting, then virtue appears to him through fasting; but to him who finds no virtue in fasting, feasting may appear to be a greater virtue.  We are over-concerned with non-essentials, straining at gnats, while swallowing mountains of superstition."

April 3 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for SELF-HELP

Ernest Holmes

The Witness of Truth

There is a Witness within me who knows the Truth and who will not let me enter into falsehood.

My Inner Guide keeps me on the Pathway of Life and directs me at all times to that which is right and best.

I shall never be without this witness of the Spirit, for I believe in It and accept It as the Great Companion of the Soul.

The spirit within me is perfect now.

Through the Long Night Watches

Through the long night watches Thou has been with me. 

In the dark places of human ignorance Thy hand hath guided me, 

Thy light hath lighted the pathway of desolation to a land of plenty.

I have perceived Thee from afar, and my soul hath yearned to Thee, O Thou Might One!

The Spirit within me hath urged me on to the goal, and I have not been misled.

I have been guided and guarded through the long journey, and thy Presence hath been made known to me.

I awake from the dream and reenter the house of my Lord clothed with Peace and robed in colors of Light.

The Spirit of Truth watches over me.

April 3 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for SELF-HELP

Ernest Holmes

The Witness of Truth

There is a Witness within me who knows the Truth and who will not let me enter into falsehood.

My Inner Guide keeps me on the Pathway of Life and directs me at all times to that which is right and best.

I shall never be without this witness of the Spirit, for I believe in It and accept It as the Great Companion of the Soul.

The spirit within me is perfect now.

Through the Long Night Watches

Through the long night watches Thou has been with me. 

In the dark places of human ignorance Thy hand hath guided me, 

Thy light hath lighted the pathway of desolation to a land of plenty.

I have perceived Thee from afar, and my soul hath yearned to Thee, O Thou Might One!

The Spirit within me hath urged me on to the goal, and I have not been misled.

I have been guided and guarded through the long journey, and thy Presence hath been made known to me.

I awake from the dream and reenter the house of my Lord clothed with Peace and robed in colors of Light.

The Spirit of Truth watches over me.

April 2 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Laws Governing Prayer ~ Ernest Holmes

"Most men who believe in God believe in prayer; but our idea of prayer changes as our idea of God changes; and it is natural for each to feel that his way of praying is the correct way.  But we should bear in mind that the prayers which are effective - no matter whose prayers they may be - are effective because they embody certain universal principles which, when understood, can be consciously used.

IF GOD EVER ANSWERED PRAYER, HE ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYER, since He is "the same yesterday, today and forever."  If there seems to be any failure, it is in man's ignorance of misunderstanding of the Will and Nature of God.

We are told that "God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."  The immediate availability of the Divine Spirit is "neither in the mountain nor at the temple; neither Lo, here, nor lo there, for behold the Kingdom of God is within."

This is a true perception of spiritual power.  The power is no longer I, but "the Father who dwelleth in me."  Could we conceive of Spirit as being incarnate in us - while at the same time being ever more than that which is incarnated - would we not expand spiritually and intellectually?  Would not our prayers be answered before they were uttered?  "The Kingdom of God is within you."  When we become conscious of our Oneness with Universal Good, beliefs in evil, sin, sickness, limitation, and death tend to disappear.  We shall no longer "ask amiss," supplicating as though God were not willing, begging as though He were withholding.

"If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you."  This gives great light on an important law governing the answering of prayer.  Abiding in Him, means having no consciousness separate from His consciousness - nothing in our thought which denies the power and presence of Spirit.  Yes, we can readily see why prayers are answered when we are abiding in Him.

Again we read, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do."  This sounds simple at first, but it is another profound statement like unto the first; its significance lies in the phrase:  "in my name."  In His name, means like His Nature.  If our thought is as unsullied as the Mind of God, if we are recognizing our Oneness with God, we cannot pray for other than the good of all men.  In such prayer we should not dwell upon evil or adversity.  The secret of spiritual power lies in a consciousness of one's union with the Whole, and of the availability of Good.  God is accessible to all people.

God manifests Himself through all individuals.  No two people are alike; each has a unique place in the universe of Mind; each lives in Mind; each contacts It through his own mentality, in an individual way, drawing from It a unique expression of Its Divine Nature.  If one makes himself receptive to the idea of love, he becomes lovable. To the degree that he embodies love, he is love; so people who love are loved.  Whoever becomes receptive to the idea of peace, poise and calm - whoever embodies these divine realities -finds them flowing through him and he becomes peaceful, poised and calm.

There is a place in us which lies open to the Infinite; but when the Spirit brings Its gift,by pouring Itself through us, It can give to us only what we take.  This taking is mental.  If we persist in saying that Life will not give us that which is good ("God will not answer my prayer.") It cannot, for Life must reveal Itself to us through our intelligence.  The pent-up energy of life, and the possibility of further human evolution, work through man's imagination and will.  The time is now; the place is where we are, and it is done unto us as we believe."

April 1 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Prayer and Treatment ~ Ernest Holmes

"One of the questions most frequently asked about the Science of Mind is, "Are prayers and treatments identical?"  The answer to this question is both Yes and No.

If when one prays his prayer is a recognition of Spirit's Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence, and a realization of man's unity with Spirit, then his prayer is a spiritual treatment.

If, on the other hand, one is holding to the viewpoint that God is some far off Being, Whom he would approach with doubt in his thought; wondering if by some good luck he may be able to placate God or persuade Him of the wisdom of one's request - then, there is but little similarity between prayer and treatment.  Nothing could bring greater discouragement than to labor under the delusion that God is a Being of moods, who might answer some prayers and not others.

It would be difficult to believe in a God who cares more for one person than another. There can be no God who is kindly disposed one day and cruel the next; there can be no God who creates us with tendencies and impulses we can scarcely comprehend, and then eternally punishes us when we make mistakes.  God is a Universal Presence, an impersonal Observer, a Divine and impartial Giver, forever pouring Himself into His Creation."