November 11 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

THE PRACTICE of SPIRITUAL MIND HEALING
Ernest Holmes

"Unlike the physician who must diagnose the disease and work with it, the metaphysician turns entirely away from the disease in his thought.  Diseases - whether they be mumps, measles, poverty or unhappiness - all are wrong adjustments to life; this is what disease is.  Lack of ease.  The mental and spiritual practitioner must turn completely from the condition, as it is, and MUST CONTEMPLATE IT AS IT OUGHT TO BE...never as it appears to be.

And he has a techniques for this, a method of procedure.  He has a way in which he thinks.  He starts with the premise that God is perfect, the Spiritual System is perfect, man is perfect a part of this Spiritual System, therefore, the spiritual man is perfect.  The practitioner does not deal with the material man; he says the spiritual man is perfect, and that disease cannot attach itself to this spiritual man.   If he were dealing directly with disease, poverty or unhappiness, he would be caught in its mental vibration.  We should seek to disentangle our imagination from the material man and join it with our contemplation of the spiritual man.  THE SPIRITUAL MAN IS PERFECT.  The spiritual man is continuously remolding and remaking the material or physical man.

In the natural processes of evolution, what we call time elapses - one day, one week, one month, one year - but in Spirit there is no time.  The Spirit is Timeless.  Therefore the mental and spiritual practitioner must not deal with time, he must transcend time.  Not only must he transcend time, but he must resolutely turn away from any form of limitation.  God is not limited by any form.  He turns to the Formless, for out of this a new form shall come."

August 24 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
Ernest Holmes

Heart Trouble

"The heart is the center of Divine Love and perfect circulation.  Its action is harmonious, vital, adequate and complete.  There is no false action and no wrong action.  The pulsations of life are steady, unceasing and perfect.  "Let not your heart be troubled."  Love is at the center of man's being, and the calm, continuous, pulsations of life are governed by Love.

Solomon is accredited with many words of wisdom, none of which are more appropriate just here than his admonition:  "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."  (Prov. 4:23)  In the days when we had no knowledge of whether the emotions should be expressed, repressed or suppressed, the reference to the heart was hardly as significant as it is today.  Now, in the light of experience, there is no question but that anything that touches the sympathetic nature of man has within it the power to build up or destroy the physical body of man.  The daily record of fatalities from "heart trouble," bears evidence of this.  Sudden shock, terrific loss - particularly loss of love - FEAR, all kinds of fear, are some of the thoughts which quickly manifest in the body of man as "heart trouble."  The remedy for this is LOVE.  "Perfect love casteth out fear;" and a Divine fearlessness, a singleness of purpose, a determination to think only God-like thoughts, should be used in treating heart trouble.

Almost every case of heart trouble can be traced to thoughts of strain and inharmony; sometimes to disappointment or disagreement with a loved one; or to a feeling of loss from financial reverses.  A belief that we can be in a position from which God absents Himself.  We reiterate, a remedy for all heart trouble is LOVE.  The heart is known as the center of love, which is the healing balm for every inharmonious thought.  As we recognize our Oneness with Infinite Intelligence, we are set free from uncertainty and pain.  As long as we realize that our heart is a living center, through which the Love of God flows to bless eternally, not only our own lives but the lives of all whom we contact - as long as we realize this, our heart cannot be troubled.

Another thought to be handled in treating any kind of heart trouble is the thought of age.  The race-suggestion carries a strong belief about the unpleasant conditions which may present themselves as one "grows old."  Among these is the physical condition termed hardening of the arteries, which hinders the free flow of blood to the brain.  A treatment must be so formulated as to recognize that there is but One Mind, consequently, no thought of depression, fear, or suggestions of imperfection can flow through It.  Man is birthless, deathless, ageless Spirit; and this should be the consciousness of our work.  This leaves nothing to be born, mature, decay and die.  Life cannot grow old.  God - in us, and through us, as us - can only express according to His Own Nature, which is Perfection.  Therefore, the Law of our being is the Law of perfect assimilation, elimination and circulation; and it is the law of obliteration to anything unlike Itself.  A knowledge of our Oneness with the God-Life all about and within us, that this life is governed by Divine Law and Harmony within us, that our only need is to cooperate mentally with this Law of Life, will heal when we recognize Its presence and activity within us.

Some physicians now claim that the action of the heart is a reflex action, and that the dilation and contraction of the heart is controlled by sympathetic nerve centers in the spine; and while they say that will does not control the heartbeat, emotions do affect the heart and sudden and unexpected grief often causes instant death.  Loving thoughts for all will remove tenseness, stimulate the heart into healthy action, and send new life to every part of the body.  "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.""

August 11 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

Fevers

"In mind healing the underlying thought in the treatment for fever, is Peace.  Any thought which tends to inspire, to comfort and to give peace to the mind is good.  Through our knowledge of the kingdom within, we are able to claim our power and dominion.

A general treatment like the following will be found effective in allaying fever:

"At all times, I am aware of my immediate Oneness with God; and the glory of my thought makes me immune to negative experiences, even to negative suggestions.  I desert fear and turn resolutely and joyously to faith, and swiftly into my experience comes the desired good.  I give thanks that I am Divine and that I know my Divinity.  A sacraed refuge is this inner place where my thought contacts and consciously becomes one with the Indwelling Almighty.""

August 10 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

"Hardening of the arteries should be treated by thoughts of love.  A  knowledge that body is controlled by mind and need not grow old will help eliminate the fear of this condition, which race-suggestion says comes to many people with what is called "old age."  Treat to know that Love is stronger than any other force in the Universe, and that steadily and rhythmically the Life of God is pulsing through your body.  Persistently know the truth that God's Life flows ceaselessly out through your life and back to Him, where it is renewed, purified and refreshed; and that the pulsing power of divine Love propels it.

Suppose someone comes to you who has high blood pressure.  You wish to treat to remove this sense.  Your work will be recognized as effective if, after you have done your work, he can be examined and his blood pressure is found to be normal.

Take the idea of high blood pressure, or nervous pressure and all that goes with it, and transpose it for the spiritual sense that there is a divine circulation, it is the Spirit that is circulating through this person.  There is nothing to inhibit It, there is nothing to accelerate It; It is always perfect circulation, there is no thought of fear or congestion.  Undoubtedly the condition exists, as an experience, but as a mental practitioner, you are not dealing with objective symptoms but with thought alone.

If the circulatory system seems inadequate, then the practitioner should realize that his patient's circulation is equalized in Spirit, that Divine Life and Energy flow freely to every part of his being, cleansing, revitalizing , and restoring him to complete wholeness.  There is one circulation, which is the Spirit flowing through man.  There are no degenerative processes in the Spirit.

You sense this person as a being Divine, the Spirit indwells him.  There is no man outside of God.  The more convinced a practitioner is of this, the more certain he is that there now is a divine and uninhibited circulation, and that the blood pressure is normal in the experience of the one whom he is treating - the more definite will be the results.

In every case, the mental practitioner proceeds on the assumption that Spirit is already in his patient.  He thinks of Spirit back of the fact:  the Spirit of perfect circulation, uninhibited - that thing which must automatically eliminate everything that does not belong to that person.  Nothing can impoverish that flow; nothing can increase or diminish that pressure.

For any irregularities of the blood, the following simple meditation might be used:

"My existence is a harmonious progression, that of a son of God entering fully into conscious sonship.  My career through life is a joyous, happy expression, a daily expansion into realms of life and living.  My life in God is ageless, deathless, abiding.  I now surrender every personal doubt, fear or hard feeling that would retard the perfect flow of life through me.  There is no obstruction, no barrier in my mind, veins or affairs.  I am harmonious, peaceful, free and unafraid."

August 6 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

Blood Troubles and Skin Diseases
(High Blood Pressure, Hardening of the Arteries, Eczema, Boils)

"The blood stream represents the circulation of pure thought, direct from a Divine Source.  The metabolism represents the intelligence within man which knows what to use, and what to cast out.  This blood stream represents the spiritual flow of life, pure and perfect.  The Spirit is never anemic.  We believe that the basic cause for all anemia is a lack of the consciousness of love, and the flow of life as represented by the out-push of Spirit in joyous self-recognition.  There is neither high pressure nor low pressure in this flow, since the pressure is always equalized by spiritual perfection.  There is no sensitiveness, no strain, no inaction or over action, no false action and no inadequate action.  Action, being spiritual, is always perfect.  This stream of life is renewed daily.  It is not material, but spiritual.  The blood stream is continuously renewed as it converts the idea of Spiritual Substance into material benefits.  Love, harmony and peace reign supreme.

The arteries convey this blood stream, and neither harden nor soften.  They are always flexible, always perfect.  There is no tension nor super-tension, but always a calm flow of life forever invigorating, forever renewing, forever revitalizing, carrying to every part of the body and distributing in every part of the body, pure spiritual substance, instantly and permanently perfect.  There is no inner agitation and no outward irritation.

Those of us who suffer from blood troubles and skin diseases have not proven for ourselves the promise:  "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  Many skin diseases and blood disorders can be traced to a break in the rhythmic harmony of life.  When the body is the harmonious temple of the Living God, Spirit, divine order reigns throughout.  Boils, eczema, and other skin irritations, should be treated by recognizing that the blood is manifesting as pure Substance.

If one has been irritated mentally, and has not been able to adjust himself to the undesirable cause of the irritation, it is but natural that it should manifest objectively sooner or later.  On the other hand, one may be unaware of the cause, it being so deeply covered in his subjective that it has not come to his outer consciousness.  Criticism and inability to live with people - to adjust oneself to the many - bring about many disorders.  A deep-seated resentment against persons or conditions will surely manifest itself in some disagreeable physical reaction.

The first step toward healing is one of honest self-analysis.  What has been our habitual feeling toward persons around us?  Have we really tried to let them live as they see fit, while claiming the same feeling for ourselves?  A good treatment for this would be:

"There is no irritation, frustration, or resentment in my life.  Any sense of inner agitation is now wiped away, and in its place there comes a warm sense of my oneness in essence and experience with all the good there is.  The center of my being is Understanding and Intelligence.  I am calm, poised and at peace with the world.""

August 5 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

Asthma and Hay Fever

"Many medical men believe that "nervous persons, and those whose work is largely mental, are most often attacked by hay fever, and that hay fever attacks only those who are predisposed to it."  The general acceptance is that it is the result of an undue sensitiveness of the nostrils to the pollen of certain flowers or plants, or even the hairs of certain animals.

We should know that the claim of hay fever has no power over us, that we are inspired and directed by Infinite Mind, and that perfect discrimination and judgment are established in us.  In treating oneself, declare that every day you are capable of expressing the greater possibilities which are your divine inheritance; that you are busy expressing good and have not time for any fear thoughts of asthma and hay fever.

Know that you alone are the door-keeper to the "Temple of the Holy Ghost," your body.  You have the power to say what shall enter there.  No false thing can enter there while you are recognizing your Oneness with Infinite Life.  The pollen which you have thought irritated you is made from the very same Substance from which you are made.  You are sending out only thoughts of peace, love and joy, and no irritating thought or thing can come back to annoy or obstruct the perfect functioning of every organ of your body.  The passages of  your mind are open only to the inflow and outflow of good.  You are sensitive only to good, dwelling in the higher altitudes of consciousness, understanding Life in Its spiritual purpose, experiencing exhilaration, vitalization, and exaltation.

It is written that the breath of God animates creation, with the living presence of a pure divinity.  What breath are we breathing other than this true breath, unrestricted, flowing through channels of pure receptivity, from the Infinite Intelligence and the perfect Life of God?  Let your thought dwell, not on breath nor lack of breath, but on that which breathes.  Sense the freedom of this God-Life, flowing in and through you.  You did not create the Original Substance out of which your body was formed.  God Himself made your body, to be used as His Self-Expression.  This channel must be perfect.  With good-natured flexibility, free your thought from any sense of anxiety or strain, or indecision, or deep-seated worry and concern, knowing that you have only to keep your thought steady and clear, fixed upon the potential perfection of the Universe in which we live.  When you have lifted your consciousness in this manner, use this meditation:

"My entire body is now a receptive channel for the operation of God-Life.  My thought is pure, relaxed and peaceful.  My breathing is not obstructed (asthma) my thought is not sensitive to any discordant or disagreeable sentiment (hay fever), as Mind could not entertain a disagreeable sentiment.  I breathe in the eternal Life Essence.  By this breath I am purified and made strong.  I am freed from the belief in anything unlike Perfection.""

August 3 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

Paralysis

"Use the thought that Life cannot become paralyzed or inactive.  Life is forever present in Its fullness.  Therefore, where any form of inaction appears we should endeavor to recognize and realize the presence of Life and action.  The Spirit is neither inactive nor is It too active.  Its action cannot be cut off or need it be added to; where the seeming inaction is we should declare for right action.  As in constipation, there is a thought of restriction back of the manifestation of paralysis; often there is a very emotional nature to deal with, and often, though not always, a lot of stubbornness and resistance to heal.

Sometimes the husband or wife, having seen the other suffering from paralysis, will resent so thoroughly the bondage of the loved one, that further power is given to the belief, and the same condition begins to manifest in his or her body.  This person must be shown that in Mind there is perfect freedom, and that in this freedom nothing can bind him, either mentally or physically, that nothing which he ever did or thought or that anyone else did or thought, can bind him, that the very Life of God is his freedom, that this Infinite Life and Action compels him to act out the truth about himself on the objective plane.

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man, He first made him whole in consciousness, then told him to take up his bed and walk.  This is the perfect example for us to follow in the healing of any case of paralysis.  The practitioner should know, without shadow of doubt, that the very power by which the paralytic took up his bed and walked - the power by which Jesus raised His body - is exactly the same power by which paralyzed legs and arms are vitalized and made whole today.  A consciousness of the One Indwelling Presence must be built up, then the patient must accept this consciousness and act upon it.  Life is an idea everywhere present in Mind, and It must be accepted as present in the organs which seem paralyzed.  The following meditation is a good one to use:

"Infinite Spirit, Complete Essence of Life, is now my life.  That which is animated by Perfect Spirit or Life, must express or be like that which animates it.  My thought now rests in contemplation of my real self and that clarified thought makes easy the way for the operation of the Life Essence through me.

"There is no inaction or paralysis in Mind, the Mind of God.  There is no inaction or paralysis in Body, the Body of God.  All manifest life is some part of the Body of God.  My body is some part of the Body of God; right where the inaction appears to be, there is real life and action.  The free-flowing life of Spirit is now energizing every part of my being and quickening it into life and action.   The Spirit has never been paralyzed nor can It be.  I feel the life of the boundless action and energy of Spirit flowing through me.  I am free.

"The perfect co-ordination and functioning of the parts of my body, in their inter-related action, is in perfect rhythm and harmony.  I am conscious of this perfection...this beauty, this perfect action...first, in my thought, then I recognize it in my body as the thought becomes the thing.  I no longer entertain the thought of bondage.  I am no longer influenced by the belief that there is, or can be, any life or action apart from God.  I do not struggle.  I feel my freedom flow from within me.  It is complete, perfect and flowing now.  I am thrilled with the Almighty force of the Universe as it courses through every part of me.  It quickens every part of me into a newness of life and action.  I am the power of God within me, making the physical man perfect.  I am free.

"I know that there flows through me now the Perfect Life Essence.  My body is the abiding place of this Life.  The very stuff of which my body is formed is an Eternal and Perfect Substance.  My body reflects the perfect motion, the rhythmic ease of Mind in action.  Perfect Life is mine.""

July 28 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION
By Ernest Holmes

Constipation

"Never think a sick person is one who merely has a sick body.  If you do, you will find yourself treating the body.  Why should we not treat the body?  For the simple reason that the cause of the disease is not in the body.  The body is an effect and not a cause.  You must know that bodies and conditions never move, they are always moved upon.  A sick person is one who has a sick thought as well as  a sick body.

Constipation is often due to a belief in limitation or burden, and is mentally helped by knowing that there is no restriction, no inaction, no limited action, no bondage, no fear, no congestion.  Realize that all action is normal, harmonious and perfect.

Any thought which produces a mental tension - fear of lack, of trouble, of disease of all kinds, fear of loss of friends, or loss of position - is likely to manifest itself as constipation.  Any kind of fear thought retards the free action of the life forces, thus greatly interfering with the functions of the body.

In such cases a treatment for complete relaxation should be given.  It is well to know:  "Infinite Intelligence within me rules me, and controls and directs all of the organs of my body, so that they function perfectly according to their nature.  I am an open channel for good to flow in and through me, freely, generously, cheerfully."

Every thought of cruelty is disturbing to the entire body.  Solomon tells us that "he that is cruel, troubleth his own flesh," and every adverse thought is cruel.  Thoughts of peace and good will, a recognition of the unity of all men, will produce harmony, and bring about perfect elimination in the body.

It is necessary that we release all thoughts - as well as things - that clutter  up our lives.  We are reminded that there is something resembling the Divine in the intelligence and fearlessness of the organs of our body, in the way they take that which is necessary to their sustenance and well-being, and release that which is not needed.  If the organs of the body followed the average tactics of man in his acquisitive habits, if the lungs hoarded the air they take in, if the heart kept the fresh blood stored within its walls, refusing to allow it to circulate, if the stomach retained the food taken in for nourishment, what a static condition we would have!  But the very reverse is true.  Such perfect assimilation, elimination and circulation has never been equaled by man in anything he has invented.

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  The is a promise we have all proven, in a degree.  Could we but comprehend the full significance of spiritual substance, we should be forever freed from all congestive thoughts - selfishness, greed, undue acquisitiveness - all of which have been called the waste products of the mind.  Understanding this, it naturally follows we should be freed from their effects.

Very often the word of healing is spoken and does not appear to operate because hindered by some obstruction.  Some people are obstinate, resistant, stubborn, and they must be healed of these beliefs.  The practitioner must know that there is no resistance to Truth, and no thought anywhere which can prevent the consciousness from perceiving the Truth.  Whatever the false condition is, array mental argument against it.  Turn the thought over and over, until either by reason or by chance, you hit upon the thing that is wrong.  Anyone can help the sick who can get away from the effect long enough to perceive a different cause...a perfect cause, back of what appears to be an imperfect effect.

A thought of Love is always healing, and particularly so in the case of constipation.  If the practitioner has a full realization that Love fulfills all the laws of life - his life and the patient's life - that there are no restrictions, no burdens, no inhibitions in Love, which is the very life within, healing will follow.

If one would take time, once a day at least, to let go of all that is not true and lay hold of Reality; let go of doubt, distrust, worry, condemnation and fear, and lay hold of Life in Its expressions of beauty, truth and wholeness, his mental congestion would be healed.  Keep the mind and body open to the reception of Truth.  It is the static, fixed, inflexible outlook, which produces a tendency on the part of the body and its muscles and functions to become tense and underactive.  Hold steadfastly to the thought that all of life is in a state of eternal flow.  Relax your thought and allow the free flow of the Life Essence, in and through you, and your body will respond to Its healing activity.  Inaction will quickly disappear into its native nothingness, in the rhythm and harmony of all your bodily functions."