November 19 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

THE PRACTICE of SPIRITUAL MIND HEALING

Ernest Holmes

"One should never allow himself to think of, or talk about, limitation or poverty.  Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.  The more spiritual the thought, the higher its manifestation.  Spiritual thought means an absolute belief in, and reliance upon, Truth.  This is both natural and normal.

All is Love and yet all is Law.  Love is the impelling force and Law executes the will of Love.  Man
is a center of God-Consciousness in the great Whole.  He cannot deface his real being, but may hinder the Whole from coming into a complete expression through his life.  Turning to the One with a complete abandonment and in absolute trust, he will find that he is already saved, healed and prospered."

October 13 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

WHAT The MYSTICS HAVE TAUGHT
Ernest Holmes

Cosmic Consciousness - Illumination

"Dr. Bucke defines Cosmic Consciousness as:  "One's consciousness of his unity with the Whole."  The mystic intuitively perceives Truth, and often without any process of reasoning - immediately is aware, with what Swedenborg called a sort of "interior awareness," a spiritual sense.

There can and does descend into our minds - embody and personify in our person - a Divinity, a Unity, the Spirit of God, the direct incarnation of the Original Thing, in us - the mystical presentation of Christ.

Dean Inge, perhaps the best thinker in the Anglican Church of today, tells us that Plotinus had seven distinct periods of cosmic consciousness, in which state he was so completely unified with the Universe that he became One with It.  His spiritual philosophy was a result of these experiences.  Plotinus, you will recall, was one of the greatest of the Neo-Platonic Philosophers.

Dr. Buck, the author of that most rational book, "Cosmic Consciousness," cites many instances of known and authentic records of people who have had definite Cosmic experiences.  In his scientific approach to this subject, he calls attention to the necessity of distinguishing between psychic revelations and Cosmic Consciousness.

Reports of the experiences of most psychics are contradictory.  While on the other hand, the experiences of those who have entered into Cosmic Consciousness - over a period of thousands of years - tell us an identical story, once we get the key to their language - all tell the same story of Reality.  The psychic may or may not be true; the spiritual is always true. The psychic realm is the realm of the subconscious, or relative first cause.   The spiritual is the realm of First Cause.  Therefore, we may read Buddha, Jesus, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Swedenborg, Emerson, Whitman, Browning or any of the other great mystics, no matter in what age they have lived, and we shall find the same Ultimate.  By reading the writings of most psychics, we enter confusion; therefore, we must understand clearly this vital difference between psychism and mysticism.  One may or may not be true; the other is always true."

September 27 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

WHAT The MYSTICS HAVE TAUGHT
Ernest Holmes

Unity (Continued)

"In treatment there should always be a recognition of the absolute Unity of God and man:  the Oneness, Inseparability, Indivisibility, Changelessness.  God as the big circle and man as the little circle.  Man is in God and God is man, just as a drop of water is in the ocean, while the ocean is the drop of water.  This is the recognition which Jesus had when he said, "I and the Father are One."  There is a perfect Union, and to the degree that we are conscious of this Union, we incorporate this consciousness in our word; and our word has just as much power as we put into it, nor more and no less.

Within this Infinite Mind each individual exists, not as a separated but as a separate entity.  We are a point in Universal Consciousness, which is God, and God is our Life, Spirit, Mind and Intelligence.  We are not separated from Life, neither is It separated from us, but we are separate entities in It - individualized centers of God Consciousness.

We came from Life and are in Life, so we are One with Life; and we know that Instinctive Life within - which has brought us to the point of self-recognition - still knows in us the reason for all things, the purpose underlying all things; and we know that there is nothing in us of fear, doubt or confusion which can hinder the flow of Reality to the point of our recognition.  We are guided daily by Divine Intelligence into paths of peace, wherein the soul recognizes its Source and meets It in joyful union, in complete At-One-ment.

The power of Jesus is understood when we study His method of procedure.  Consider His raising of Lazarus from the dead.  Standing at the tomb, He gave thanks; this was recognition.  He next said:  "I know that thou hearest me always;" this was unification.  Then He said:  "Lazarus, come forth," this was his command.  The method is perfect and we shall do well to follow it.  This method can be used in all treatment.  First, realize that Divine Power is; then unify with It; and then speak the word as "one having authority," for the Law is "the servant of the Eternal Spirit throughout all the ages."

Jesus prayed that all might come to see the Unity of Life.  "That they may be One even as we are One," was His prayer as He neared the completion of His great work - the prayer that enabled those closest to Him to understand the Unity of Spirit, in which man clearly recognizes his Oneness with his Creator and with all Creation.  All mystics have sensed that we live in One Life:  "In Him we live and move and have our being."

The Unity of Good is a revelation of the greatest importance, for it teaches us that we are One with the Whole and One with each other.  The Fatherhood of God and the actual Brotherhood of Man will be made apparent on earth to the degree that man realizes true Unity."

September 23 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

WHAT The MYSTICS HAVE TAUGHT
Ernest Holmes

What Is a Mystic? (Continued)

"The teaching of the mystics has been that there should be conscious courting of the Divine Presence.  There should be a conscious receptivitiy to It, but a balanced one.  As one of the Apostles said, in substance, that he would rather speak ten words with his understanding than ten thousand with confusion.  "God is not the author of confusion but of peace."  Unlike the great psychics of the ages, who have been more or less confused, the great mystics have been intensely and pre-eminently the sane people, sound people.

The philosophy of Jesus will remain sound when the belief in a material universe shall have been rolled up like a scroll and numbered with the things once thought to be real.  So will be the philosophy of Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Emerson and Walt Whitman, and the philosophy we are writing about today.  But the more or less unconscious disclosures of many psychics are not entire true, even in the day in which they are given.  While psychism is a most interesting field of study, we should understand it for what it is worth.

It is through the teachings of the illumined that the Spiritual Universe reveals Itself, imparting to us what we know about God.  What we directly experience ourselves, and what we believe others have experienced, is all we can know about God.

Jesus taught a Power transcendent, triumphant, absolute, positive, against which lesser laws meant nothing.  By Its very Presence It heals.  The mystics did not contend or argue with people.  There was nothing to argue about.  THEY SAW and KNEW.  They are the great revealers to man of the nature of the Universe, and the relationship of man to God."

September 21 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

WHAT the MYSTICS HAVE TAUGHT
Ernest Holmes

What Is a Mystic?

"A mystic is not a mysterious person but is one who has a deep, inner sense of Life and of his unity with the Whole.  Mysticism and psychism are entirely different.  One is real while the other may, or may not, be an illusion.  There is nothing mysterious in the Truth, so far as It is understood, but all things seem mysterious until we understand them.

A mystic is one who intuitively perceives Truth and, without mental process, arrives at Spiritual Realization.  It is from the teachings of the great mystics that the best in the philosophy of the world has come.  Who was there who could have taught such men as these?  By what process of mentality did they arrive at their profound conclusions?  We are compelled to recognize that Spirit alone was their Teacher; they were indeed taught of God.

Our great religions have been given by a few who climbed the heights of spiritual vision and caught a fleeting glimpse of Ultimate Reality.  No living soul could have taught them what they know.

The great poets have been true mystics who, through their poems, have revealed the Presence of God.  Men like Robert Browning, Tennyson, Wordsworth, Homer, Walt Whitman, Edward Rowland Sill, and others of like nature, have given us poetry which is immortal, because they had a spiritual sense of life.

Great spiritual philosophers are mystics.  The old prophets were mystics - David, Solomon, Jesus, Plotinus, and a score of others, all had the same experience - the sense of a Living Presence.  The greatest music ever composed was written by the hand of a mystic, and the highest and best in art has come from men of spiritual perception."

September 16 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM the TEACHINGS of JESUS
Ernest Holmes

The Secret of Prayer (Matt. 6:6)

"The secret of prayer and its power in the outward life depends upon an unconditioned faith in, and reliance upon this inner Presence.  We must enter the closet.  That is, we are to shut out all else and enter the Presence of Spirit, in quietness and confidence - believing.  Prayer has power, not through repetition, but by belief and acceptance.  Prayer is to be simple, direct and receiving.  We are to believe that God indwells our own life, that this Divine Presence is sufficient for all needs.  we are to believe that God will provide for us and bless us abundantly.  And when we enter this secret place, we are to leave all else behind; all hate, animosity and vindictiveness, for only in so doing can we enter.

How God Forgives ( Matt. 6:14, 15)

We are told that God will forgive us after we have forgiven others.  This is a direct statement and one that we should ponder deeply.  Can God forgive until we have forgiven?  If God can work for us only by working through us, then this statement of Jesus stands true, and is really a statement of the law of cause and effect.  We cannot afford to hold personal animosities or enmities against the world or individual members of society.  All such thoughts are outside the law and cannot be taken into the heavenly consciousness.  Love alone can beget love.  People do not gather roses from thistles.

The Father who seest in secret will reward us openly.  Shall we not learn to enter the "secret place of the Most High," within our own soul, in gladness?  We are to fast without outward sign, but with the inner mind open and receptive to the Good alone.  Our treasure is already in heaven, and our thought can take us to this treasure only when it is in accord with divine harmony and perfect love.

The Single Eye (Matt. 6:22)

If our eye is single, we shall be filled with light.  That is, when we perceive the Unity of Good, we shall perceive it in its entirety, an undivided whole.  But if our eye be filled with evil, we shall remain in darkness.  We must cleave to the good, and trust absolutely in the Law of God to bring about any desired end.  Spirit will mold our purposes when we allow It to do so.  As we learn to depend more and more upon the perfect Law, we shall find that the outward things which are necessary to our good, will be provided.  We shall be cared for as the lilies of the field, which live directly upon the Divine bounty.  And yet they toil not nor do they spin.

The Divine Bounty (Matt. 6:26)

As God cares for the birds, who do not gather into barns, so shall we be cared for if we trust and do not doubt.  But we are to seek the Kingdom first.  Jesus bade us to completely trust in God for everything and in every instance.  He had a complete reliance upon God.  Dare we say that such confidence will be misplaced?  Have we ever tried it?  Until we have tried and failed, we are not in a position to contradict this theory.  Those who have implicitly relied upon this theory are providing the principle to be definite, and one upon which an absolute reliance may be placed.

Have no fear of tomorrow; enjoy today.  Refuse to carry the corpse of a mistaken yesterday.  What untold misery is suffered through the burdens imposed by our yesterdays and the bitter prospects of our tomorrows!  The good of the present day is too often sandwiched between these two impossible situations.  The day in which we live is sufficient.  We are to live today as though God were in His Heaven, while all is well with our souls.

Jesus made the greatest claim upon God, of anyone who ever lived.  He demanded a complete and unreserved trust in the goodness and loving kindness of the Creator.  And harking down the ages - since he lived and taught his marvelous philosophy to mankind - those who have followed his teachings have been justified in their faith."

September 14 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

By Ernest Holmes

Thanksgiving and Praise

I will give thanks to my Inner Life for all Its Marvelous Wonders, and for all Its Wonderful Works.

I will sing and be glad, for I know that I am hidden with Truth in a Perfect Life.

The fullness of Joy is mine.

September 10 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM The TEACHINGS of JESUS
Ernest Holmes

The Pure in Heart Shall See God (Matt. 5:8)

""The pure in heart shall see God."  Can we ever see God?  Is there any news of Heaven other than that which comes through our own thought, or through the thought of another?  Who thinks purity see it, and is beholding god.  The face of "The Ancient of Days" onlooks eternity, and the upward glance ever sees this reality in all things.  The pure in heart not only shall see God, but do see Him.

The peacemakers are called the children of God.  We never associate warriors with the divine Kingdom.  Struggle and strife are outside the Kingdom; they cannot enter in because of their confusion.   Only peace can enter the gates of Reality and sit at the table of love.  The Divine Host serves not his bounty to confusion, but distributes His gifts to those who enter His gates with peace in their minds and love in their hearts.

"Ye are the light of the world."  Man is the candle of the Lord.  How important then that this light be kept trimmed and burning with the oil of pure Spirit, through the wick of peace and joy.  In this way do we glorify that Indwelling God who is the Heavenly Father and the Cosmic Mother of all.

The Altar of Faith (Matt. 5:23)

Again, Jesus tells us that our gifts, brought to the alter of life, are unacceptable while there is aught between us and our fellow man.  Here is a hard saying.  We cannot always please our fellow men.  Human experience has taught that this is impossible.  What attitude, then, are we to assume?  This:  whether we please or whether we displease, we need have no personal animosity toward others.  The altar of faith is approached through peace and goodwill toward all.  The Divine Ear is attuned to harmony and cannot be approached through discord.

When we agree with our adversaries quickly they will disappear, for there can be no reality to us unless we recognize it.  But if we recognize that which is false, by our acceptance of it, we shall be delivered to the judgment whereby we ourselves have judged.  The utmost farthing must be paid, until we no longer indulge in evil doing.

Jesus tells us to resist not evil, to love our enemies, and to do good to them who would do us evil, for this is to manifest the spirit of love, which is God.  God loves all alike and causes His rain to fall and His sun to shine alike upon all.  In arms which are all inclusive, Divine Love encompasses everything.

The Father Who Seeth in Secret (Matt. 6:4)

We are not to give our alms before men to be seen of them, but to do good for the pure love of good.  Here Jesus is teaching the lesson of sincerity.  Men will come and men will go, friend and foe alike may fall away, but always the soul shall be thrown back upon itself.  The Indwelling Spirit who lives in the secret place of our lives, will ever be with us.  And this Father who seeth in secret will reward us openly.  Here, again, is a suggestion of the Law of Cause and Effect, about which Jesus so often spoke.

Our prayers are to be made to God in the secret place of our own being.  They are not to be shouted aloud for the ears of  men.  The soul must enter this secret placed, naked and alone.  This is how the One returns to the One."

September 9 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM The TEACHINGS of JESUS
Ernest Holmes

The New Birth (John 3:3-9)

""Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Jesus is referring to the heavenly birth, which means being born into the knowledge of Truth.  He refers to this as being born of water and Spirit.

The symbol of water is used to express the idea of a complete immersion in Spirit.  As water flows in and around, so we are immersed in an everlasting Spirit which flows around, in and through us.  To be immersed in water symbolizes our recognition that we are surrounded by pure Spirit.  It is the outward sign of an inner conviction.  But water alone cannot make us completely clean or whole.  We must be born of the Spirit, for "that which is born of the spirit is Spirit."

Man partakes of the Divine nature and the Divine nature is man.  The recognition of this is being born of the Spirit.  But we cannot be born of the spirit unless we do the will of the Spirit and the will of the Spirit is goodness, peace, mercy, justice and truth.  It is conscious union with God.

The new birth comes not by observation nor by loud proclamation, but through an inner sense of reality.  We cannot tell where this comes from, if we look to outward things, as it proceeds from the innermost parts of our own being.

Heaven (John 3:13)

"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he hath came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."  Here is another of those hidden meanings which places Jesus among the great mystics.  He says that no man can go to heaven unless he came from heaven, and that he can neither go to, nor come from, heaven unless he is already there!

This is in line with the idea that the Truth knows neither yesterday, today nor tomorrow.  It knows sequence but not time.  Only that can return to heaven which was born in heaven, and since heaven is not a place, but a state of consciousness, the return must be a recognition that heaven is already within.  The son of man, who is also the son of God, is already in heaven and knows it not.

The Son of Man (John 3:14)

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus tells us must the son of man also be lifted up.  By looking on and believing in this son, we are saved.  Jesus could not have been referring to his own personality, for he knew that this would soon be taken from the sight of humanity.  We must look for a deeper meaning.

We must be lifted up, that is we must realize our Divine nature and relationship to the Truth of God.  This relationship is one of complete unity.  The cross represents the tree of life and may also be thought of as the tree of unity.

When Moses lifted up the serpent, those who looked upon it were healed.  This understanding produced a consciousness of unity, which had healing power.  The Life Principle is either looked up on as material or spiritual.  When looked upon as material, it casts us from the Garden of Eden - the garden of the soul.  The Life Principle viewed only as matter is death, but viewed as life and unity, It becomes life everlasting.  Moses elevated the Life Principle and Jesus did the same.  The son of man must be lifted up, even as Moses lifted up the Life Principle, symbolized by the serpent.

We are reminded here of another symbol, one used in the Old Testament, that of the serpent which cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.  The serpent meant the outer rim of spiritual existence - the Life Principle viewed from an isolated and materialistic basis.  The worship of material existence, apart from God, cast Adam and Eve from the Garden of Perfection.  The attempt to live in effects, apart from True Cause, always does this.

The story of the Fall, taken literally, would be ridiculous to the point of absurdity; hence it is necessary to look for a deeper meaning.  The writer was trying to teach a Cosmic lesson ... the lesson of right and wrong.  The Garden of Eden typifies life in its pure essence.  Adam means man in general, generic man.  Man exists in pure Life and has all of Its agencies at his command.  This si the meaning of his being told to till the soil and enjoy the fruits of his labor. 

The Tree of Life is our real being, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil means the possibility of dual choice - that is, we can choose even that which is not for our best good.  Man is warned not to eat of the fruit of this tree, for it  is destructive.

Eve, the woman in the case, was made from a rib of Adam.  this story suggests the dual nature of man as a psychological being.  The woman is made from the man.  She must have been in him else she could not have been made out of him, and the story clearly states that she was taken from his being.

Adam and Eve are potential in all of us.  The serpent represents the Life Principle, viewed from a material basis, which beguiles us in this way:  he says that evil is as real as good; that the devil has equal power with God; that negation equals positive goodness, and that the Universe is dual in Its Nature.  From the acceptance of this argument, we experience both good and evil.  And should we come full-orbed into individuality, without having learned the lesson of unity, we should live forever in a state of bondage.  This is the meaning of God saying, "He shall become as one of us and live forever."  The eternal Mind does not wish us to live forever in bondage, and this is what would happen unless we first learn the lesson of right and wrong.

And so that part of us which can be fooled eats of the fruit of dual experience and in so doing reveals its own nakedness.  The native state of man is one of purity, peace and perfection and it is only when we compare these with impurity, distress and imperfection, that we are revealed as naked.  Emerson tells us that virtue does not know it is virtuous.  It is only when virtue tastes of impurities that it becomes naked and must hide from itself.

The Voice of God, "walking in the garden in the cool of the day," means the introspective and meditative part of us, which in its moments of pure intuition and reason, sees the illusion of a life apart from God or Good.  Error is ever a coward before Truth, and cannot hide itself from Reality, which sees through everything, encompasses all and penetrates even the prison walls of the mind with Its clear effulgence.

The conversation between God and Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, represents the arguments that go on in our own minds, when we try to  realize the truth.  These arguments are familiar to all.  The expulsion from the Garden is a necessary and logical outcome of tasting of dual experience.  If we believe in both good and evil, we must experience both.

But, lest we should become discouraged, we remember that Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and those who looked upon it were healed.  The serpent means the Life Principle.  Viewed from a material basis alone, it casts us from a perfect state.  Lifted up, that is, viewed from a true meaning of the Unity of God, it heals.  Here is the choice again, only stated in different words.  The difference is not in the thing itself, but in the way we look at it.

The son of man is every man who ever lived or ever will live.  Our life is from Spirit, not from matter.  This viewpoint is the truth and truth alone makes free.  We come into everlasting life as we elevate this inner principle to a sense of the unity of man with God.  Each must lift himself to the cross of the tree of Life, thus unifying himself with Reality.  The concept is glorious and the reward certain.  The revelation of the self to the self - this is the great lesson of lessons."

August 19 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM the TEACHING of JESUS
Ernest Holmes

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth (Matt. 5:5)

""The meek shall inherit the earth."  This is a teaching of non-resistance.  War lords and plunderers of human possessions have come and gone.  Kingdoms have risen only to crumble in dust and become numbered with past events.  Passion and lust for power have strewn the earth with destruction.  It would seem as though the meek had lost out in the titanic struggle for temporal supremacy.

In the midst of this drama of human existence, Jesus declared that the meek shall inherit the earth.  Let us inquire if his teaching is a true one.  Do we teach our children to follow the steps of a Caesar and a Napoleon? Or do we tell them the story of Jesus or Buddha?  The cross is mightier than the crown and we teach our children that LOVE MASTERS EVERYTHING!  The meek shall inherit the earth.  To whom have our artists turned for inspiration and that quickening power which enables them to depict the idea?  Not to the war lords, nor even the captains of industry, but to the meek.

What characteristics are set before us as being worthy?  Have not faith and belief in the divine Goodness been the theme of our greatest singers?  Who could write a beautiful story about hell?  But heaven and love have inspired thousands to the uplifting of humanity.  Jesus was right when he said that the meek shall inherit the earth.  They have done so and will continue to do so!

They That Hunger Shall Be Fed (Matt. 5:6)

They who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.  Is there anyone who does not have a soul hunger?  Does not the spirit of man thirst after knowledge and understanding, yearn for Truth and Reality, as blind men yearn for light?  And his hunger can only be satisfied with spiritual food, as manna from heaven.

Let us inquire into this teaching and see if it be an illusion.  Turn to the history of those who have been spiritually-minded, and the question is answered.  They have not received a stone when they asked for bread.  All who have been hungry have been fed; their hunger has been blessed, in that it has led them to that only food - that heavenly manna - which has sustained, strengthened and upheld them, while the rest of the world (with thirst unsatisfied and appetite unappeased) has eagerly inquired from what store they bought their goods.  They who hunger and thirst after Reality are always fed, and directly by the hand of God Himself.

The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy (Matt. 5:7)

"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy."  Again we are confronted with an apparent contradiction.  Do the merciful always obtain mercy?  From casual observation, it would seem otherwise.  But are not many of our observations based on a finite outlook, from a limited concept?  Can we estimate life from the range of one human experience?  If life begins with the cradle and ends with the grave, then are all of our hopes, not only forlorn, but useless.  It is only with the "eye views the world as one vast plain, one boundless reach of sky," that it sees truly.

The perspective of reality is lost when we view life from the range of a short experience.  Jesus saw beyond the veil and estimated life from the great perspective - the long run of the adventure of the soul.  He knew that the law of cause and effect takes care of all, and that the "Mills of God" will grind the chaff of unreality from the wheat of the Spirit. What matter if these mills do not do all of their grinding while we are clothed in flesh! Did not Jesus know another life which to him was as real as this one?  Can we expect, in this world, to receive full compensation for all our work?  Of course not.  We are building on an eternal foundation, one that time cannot alter nor experience destroy.

A true estimate of real values cannot be built on the shifting sands of time alone.  In the long run, the merciful will obtain mercy!  In the long run, we shall reap as we have sown!"

August 17 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM the TEACHING of JESUS

By Ernest Holmes

Why Jesus Had Such Power

"In this book no attempt is made to discuss all the sayings of Jesus.  He lived in a world of spiritual realization far beyond that of which the average man has any understanding.  As spiritual things must be spiritually discerned, so the full meaning of his sayings can never be clear to us until we have attained a consciousness equal to his.  But in the record of his sayings there is much which bears witness to our own belief, and, no doubt, could we penetrate the meaning of his teaching, we should have a perfect explanation of our own philosophy.

Jesus discerned spiritual truth.  Why or how we do not know, nor does it make any difference.  The world has not produced another like him and, until it does, he must receive a unique place in the history of human character.

Man Shall Not Live by Bread Alone (Matt. 4:4)

What did Jesus teach?  "It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Who eats of bread alone, will continually hunger.  To the physical benefits of the human board must be added the spiritual strength of divine wisdom."

August 14 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

OTHER TEACHINGS FROM the NEW TESTAMENT
By Ernest Holmes

There Is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1)

""There is therefore now no condemnation to them...who walk...after the Spirit."  As it is impossible for us to be in another man, and as it is necessary that each live his own life, within the One Life, it follows that the writer was not referring to personality but to a universal Principle.

We are in Christ when we are in the Truth; we are in the Truth when we live in harmony with It.  There is no mystery about this.  It is common sense.  The law of the Spirit makes us free from sin and death.  The law of the Spirit is freedom, and knows no bondage.  When we enter the Spirit, we come under Its law of freedom.

"To be spiritually minded is life and peace."  Who does not long for life and peace?  These are contained in the Spirit, which is the center and circumference of all.  The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God because it is a limited concept of Truth.  The carnal mind symbolizes anything that disbelieves in the supremacy of Good; it is a belief in isolation, a sense of separation from good.

The Spirit That Raised Jesus (Romans 8:11)

The Spirit that raised Jesus dwells in all.  This Spirit quickens our mortal bodies when we let It.  Here is a lesson in mental and spiritual healing.  As the Truth dawns upon the subjective state of our thought, it stimulates it into newness of action.  Everything works from within out.  The body is a reflection of the soul and when the soul, which is the subjective state of thought, is illumined by the Spirit, it quickens the mortal part of us and heals the body.  The mortal is always an effect, a creature of time but a necessary one, for without it we could not function as objective individuals.

The Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8:15)

We have not received a spirit of bondage but one of adoption.  This is a mystical and beautiful saying.   It implies that we are adopted by the Supreme Spirit as Its own offspring.  How could it be otherwise, since we are made of the same stuff as the central fire?  There is no fear in the Spirit, and there will be none in us when we realize who and what we are.  God wishes us well and knows only that we are now free and perfect.  This is the spirit of freedom whereby we are all born free.

Joint Heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16, 17)

The inner Spirit, which is God, bears witness to the divine fact that we are the sons of God, the children of the Most High.  As sons of God, we are heirs to the heaven of reality; joint heirs with Christ.  This means that we are all one in Christ as we are one in God. Christ typifies the Universal Son, of which each is an individual member.

Our expectation looks for a more complete manifestation of our own inner divinity.  Evolution will bring this about, as it does all things.  We are an unfolding Principle of life, Truth, perfect law and action.  We wait for a more complete unfolding of our inner life.  It is already within, the perfect way and the eternal Truth.  We wait for the unfolding of ourselves, through the law inherent within our real nature."

July 31 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

By Ernest Holmes

Abiding in the One (John 15:7)

“If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

It is impossible for humanity to literally abide in the man Jesus, so we must look for a figurative meaning in these words.  He is speaking of the spirit of his teachings; and the whole spirit of his teachings is to the effect that man is an individualized center of God-Consciousness.  The spirit of man is the spirit of God, for God is One.

When we abide in the One, we cannot ask amiss, but we must ask for that which is right and good.  Consequently, our prayers to the One will be answered.  But let us remember that the prayer is answered according to the law, and this law is one of liberty and never one of license.  True liberty comes only through true harmony; true harmony only through true unity; and true unity can come only through the conscious realization that we are one with God or Good.

Jesus implies a power which can and will work for those who harmonize with, and believe in it.  But we must first abide in the Spirit of Truth.  And what is the spirit of Truth other than that we live in conscious unity with good and do harm to no one?  Goodness is natural, while evil is abnormal.

To trust in the law of good is to constantly believe that we are surrounded by a Power which can and will cast all fear from our minds, free us from all bondage, and set us safe and satisfied in a new order of living.

That Ye Bear Much Fruit (John 15:8)

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”  When we express a greater livinginess, then Life is more completely expressing Itself though us.  A barren tree does not express the principle of abundance and production, so a life barren of good does not fully express the divine ideal.

Evolution has brought man to a point of self-expression and it can do no more for him until he consciously co-operates with it.  Its law is one of growth and unfoldment.  God goes forth anew into creation whenever anyone discovers a new truth or increases knowledge about an old one.  Each is a center of the All, and each has access to the All, through his own nature.

Jesus refers to his joy on the eve of his greatest lesson to mankind.  That joy which is full and complete.  That joy which no man can take away:  the joy of a sense of completion.  He was about to lay down his earthly life, as the greatest object lesson ever taught.  And what was this lesson?  That LOVE knows no bounds and that the Eternal Goodness gives Itself to all.  God as man, in man, is man.”

July 10 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHING OF JESUS
By Ernest Holmes

God Can Only Give Us What We Take

"God cannot give us anything unless we are in a mental condition to receive the gift.  The Law cannot do anything for us unless it does it through us.  Belief is absolutely necessary to right demonstration.

We are on the path of experience, just waking to the real fact of our true being; as we awake, we find we are surrounded by many false conditions, but there is something within which remembers the real state.  If one will sit in quiet contemplation of good, as an inner experience, he will experience the good which he contemplates.  He can do this only as he turns from that which is evil and dwells on the good alone.  The Universe will not be divided.

The Universe Holds Nothing Against Us

The Universe holds nothing against us.  No matter how many mistakes we have made, we are still perfect beings within, and the within may become the without, if we will carefully train ourselves to listen to the inner voice of truth which speaks to us in our moments of quietness and solitude.

There is nothing in the Universe that wishes evil to anyone.  Indeed, it is only as we experience good that God is expressed through us.  The more completely we realize good, happiness and success, the more perfectly do we express God and the more of God do we become, that is, the more does God become personified through us.

As the prodigal returns to his father's house, so must we return, not with a morbid mind, but consciously and definitely, with direct intent and a complete concentration of purpose.  The journey back should be fraught with happiness and joyful expectation for we shall be met with a smile from the Universe and shall be folded in the arms of love forever.

The Eternal Completion

Substance and supply exist eternally in the Father's House; health, happiness and success are native to the Heavenly Home, and God Himself shall be our Host.  More we could not ask, more could not be given than that which has been given from the foundations of the Universe.

Discord, misery, and unhappiness are the result of a misuse of our true nature, the result of ignorance.  Ignorance of the law excuses no one from its effects; but knowledge clothes us in the seamless robe, while wisdom puts the ring of completion on our finger and understanding feeds us with the fat of the land.

No one who has tried this has failed; it would be impossible to do so.  If any have thought they have failed, let them realize that somewhere they have fallen short of the divine calling.  The Truth cannot fail, for it is God, the Absolute and Unconditioned One, who is the Truth.

Let us no longer fight the old; let us no longer remember that we were once on the outer rim; let us forget the past and live in the eternal present of God's happy smile.  Today is good; tomorrow will be even better, and that vista of tomorrows that stretches down the bright eternities of an endless future will all be good, for the nature of Reality cannot change."

July 3 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

By Ernest Holmes

When We Are Strong (John 5:19)

““The Son can do nothing of himself.”  We are strong only as we are in unity with good, which is God.  But the Father showeth the Son, that is, it is revealed to us, through the innermost parts of our being, that there is a complete unity, a perfect wholeness.  As this concept of unity takes place, it brings with it great authority.  The Father quickens the Son, the Son quickens whom he will.

Here is a lesson in the practical application of the Science of Mind.  As the subjective state of thought becomes unified with goodness and love, it automatically reflects these in whatsoever direction the thought goes.  The tendency of this inner thought sets the tendency of the outward life.

Let us make this plain.  IF ONE IS NOT ATTRACTING GOOD INTO HIS LIFE, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIS UNCONSCIOUS THINKING.  The subjective state of his thought is wrong.  As the subjective state of his thought constitutes the sum total of his belief, it is his habitual attitude toward life and living.  This inner thought content is the sole medium between the Absolute and the relative, between causes and condition.

When this inner thought is clarified, that is, when it knows the truth, it will reinstate the outer man in peace, poise, health and happiness.  This inner thought becomes clarified as we unify with good; this is the inner quickening.  Following this is the outer quickening – the outward sign of the inner belief.

The Word of Power (John 5:26)

As the Father has life, so the son has life.  Again we have the teaching that there is but One Life, Mind or Spirit.  This Life is now our life, and manifests through us as we believe in It.  When our word is spoken in this consciousness of life, power and action, then our word IS life, power and action.

THE word has power only as it is one with power.  The word is a mold which decides what form the thought is to take as it assumes shape and becomes a part of our conditions.  Mental treatment is for the purpose of forming the word into such shapes and designs as are desirable for experience.

The word gives form to the unformed.  The greater the consciousness behind the word, the more power it will have.  Just words, without conviction, have no power, and just conviction without words, will never stir up latent energy.  There must be a combination of the two to make a complete thing.

We are surrounded by a spiritual consciousness and a mental law.  From combinations of these two, all things are made.  We unify with the spiritual consciousness as we become aware of it, we speak it into form as we believe in the power of our own word.  In treatment, there should be first a realization of power then a spoken word.  One generates, the other distributes.

The Meat Which Perisheth (John 6:27)

“Labour not for the meat which perisheth.”  Jesus knew that we need food to eat while in the flesh, so he could not be referring to literal food, but rather to that inner substance which is spiritual.

Starvation takes place on more than one plane.  More people are starved spiritually and intellectually than physically.  A full stomach will never appease an appetite for learning, nor can a loaf of bread satisfy the inner craving for reality.  The whole being needs to be fed – bread and meat for the body, knowledge and wisdom for the soul, atmosphere and consciousness for the Spirit.

We live on three planes at the same time.  To attempt to desert any one of these, to the cost of the others, is abnormal.  To live only on the physical plane is to become a brute.  To live on the intellectual plane alone, might produce a learned and a scientific man, but he would lack true perception.  To live only on the spiritual plane, might cause one to become a dreamer without any practical way of making his dreams come true.

The Three Planes of Life

Man is a threefold principle of life and action; he is spirit, soul and body.  From the Spirit he receives inspiration and guidance; in the soul he finds a perfect Law of life; and through the body he proves that he is a real individualization of the Invisible Principle.

Man’s mind should swing from inspiration to action, from contemplation to accomplishment, from prayer to performance.  This would be a well-balanced existence.  The Spirit fires the soul with energy and understanding; the soul, which is the subjective mentality, vitalizes the body and animates all that we do.

No greater mistake could be made than to think we must separate life from what it does.  We must unify and not divide.  The spirit must go forth into creation through law and action.  Life must enter living, and God must flow through man, if there is to be a real representation of the Divine through the human.

Let us feel that our purposes are animated and inspired from on high and then let us go forth and make our dream come true in human experience.  With an invisible  Intelligence to guide, and an immutable Law to direct, let us take our place in any legitimate activity, and thus cause our dreams to come to full fruition.”

June 15 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHINGS of JESUS
~Ernest Holmes

The Child-Like Faith (Matt. 18:3, 4, 5)

"Jesus tells us that the child-like mind is more receptive to Truth than the over-intellectual who demand too rational an explanation of those truths which must be accepted on faith alone. What man can explain why he lives?  The self-evident fact of living is the only explanation possible or necessary.  In the whole life, and through the entire teaching, of this marvelous man, we find a child-like faith in the universe and an implicit trust in the goodness of God.  Judging his work by its results, and its influence on succeeding ages, we are compelled to accept the fact that "Wisdom is justified of her children."

The Real Father and Son (Matt. 11:27)

"And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

What reasonable explanation can we find to this passage, unless we look for some hidden meaning behind these words of the great teacher?  God alone knows the real Son, forever hidden in the bosom of the Father.  To God, this idea of sonship must be pure, complete and perfect; divine, holy and indestructible.  With our present limited vision, we neither see nor know the real Son, but the Father within knows and understands.  "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."  God is revealed through the Son, and the Son reveals himself to other sons when he realizes that God is his life.  This implies a direct relationship between God and man.

If one would know God, he must penetrate deeply into his own nature, for here alone can he find Him.  If he would reveal God to his fellowmen, he must do so by living such a God-like life, that the Divine Essence flows through him to others.  The only way to know God is to be like Him; and while this may seem discouraging in our present state of evolution, we should remember that we have but started on an eternal ladder which ever spirals upward.

When Jesus said to come to him and find rest ("Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest...") did he mean that we should, or could, come unto his personality?  Of course not.  Jesus knew that his human personality would soon be dissolved in his divine individuality.  He knew that he was soon to leave this world and go on to a deeper realization of life, truth and beauty.

It is evident, then, that he was referring to his understanding of life, when he told all who are weary to come unto him and find rest.  Had he not already explained that God indwells every soul?  He was inviting people to penetrate more deeply into their own natures, if they would find peace and comfort.  This has ever been the lesson taught by the illumined that we find God only within ourselves, and God can work for us only by working through us.  God reveals Himself directly through the Son.  The Son reveals God, when he realizes that God is already within him.  This understanding would not produce an undue conceit, nor would it set man in the temple of god as God; but it would place a true estimate of value on the life of man.

The Power at the Heart of God

Peace is the power at the heart of God.  It is through the revelation of the self, to the self, that one understands life; that he approaches the power which is at the heart of God.  This comes through a recognition of the unity of the individual, with the Spirit back of, in, and through all.

The problem of philosophy is to unite the Infinite with the finite; to join the abstract with the concrete; to find a meeting place between the Absolute and the relative; to unify with the First Cause.   The same problem confronts religion and is, indeed, its whole purpose:  to unify man with God.  This is also true of science, but from a different angle.  Science seeks to join causes with effects, and by so doing make practical use of its knowledge.  Science is really spiritual, while philosophy leads to true religion.  Science is the handmaid of religion and philosophy."

June 12 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
By Ernest Holmes

No One Gives to Us by Ourselves

"And he fain would have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him."

"How true this is; no one can give unto us but ourselves and no one can rob us but ourselves.  "There are no gods to say us nay, for we are the life we live."  In our greatest extremity, in the moment of great need and dire distress, who can help or serve us?  All of our troubles come from an isolated sense of being; we alone can return to the "Father's House."

The question might be asked, "Where was God and why did He not come to the rescue of His beloved son?  Did He not care - was He heedless about His son's welfare?  Why did God allow such a thing to happen?  There is only one answer to all questions of this nature; God is always God, and man can always do as he pleases.  He would not be an individual unless this were possible.  The Father is never conscious of incompletion.  The Father's House is always open, the latch string ever hanging out, the door always ajar, but man must enter, if he wishes to abide within. 

Harmony can never become discord.  The truth can never produce a lie.  God can never be less than God.  Could God enter into a field of strife, then He would not be God.  God cannot enter the pig pen.  We cannot contract the Infinite, but we can expand the finite.  "As no man gave unto him."  It is always thus.

The Great Awakening

"And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger!"

"And when he came to himself."  This is the great awakening the moment in which we now live; in this moment we are asking this question of ourselves!  Is there not plenty in the universe?  Why do we want?  In this divine awakening, there seems to be an inner witness who remembers that we came from a heavenly state.  There seems to be an answer from that great within which says the Father's House is filled with peace, power and plenty.  The Universe is not limited.  It is abundant, lavish, extravagant.  Nothing can be taken from, nor added to, It.  Creation is the play of Life upon Itself.

We know, by intuition, that there is something beyond what we have so far consciously experienced in this world. Poets have sung of it and there are moments, in the lives of all, when the veil seems thin between and we almost enter into the heavenly estate.  This is the meaning of coming to one's self.  We are still in the awakening state, we have not yet consciously entered the state of perfect wholeness.  We know that such a state is a reality, and that we shall yet attain this reality.  Nothing can dislodge this inner and intuitive perception from our mentality; we know it as certainly as we know that we live.  This is God in us knowing Himself.  We are awakening to the realization that the Universe is perfect and complete.  It gives.  It is love.  It is good and wills only good to all alike.

Self-Condemnation

The prodigal said, "I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son:  make me as one of thy hired servants."

This represents a theological state of mind which is quite common to all of us; one of self-condemnation and personal distrust; it is morbid and detrimental to our welfare; a theological state of introspective morbidity, which might be classed as one of our worst mental diseases.  Self-condemnation is always destructive and should never be indulged in by anyone, it is always a mistake.  There is no question but that all of us have done that which is not for the best.  From this viewpoint, all have been sinners, because all have fallen short of the Divine Calling.  If we have sinned, it is because we have been ignorant of our true nature and because experience was necessary to bring us to ourselves."

June 6 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FROM THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

by Ernest Holmes

The Two Sons

"In presenting the parable of the Prodigal Son to his listeners, Jesus began by saying that the Father (which is the Universal Spirit) had two sons, meaning that, as the son of God, man has the right of self-choice.  This carries with it the possibility of an apparent duality (but, of course, not a real one) and the possibility of experiencing good and evil.  Moses referred to the same thing when he said that he had set a blessing and a curse before the Children of Israel, and they must choose whom they would serve.  The two sons referred to in this story, allegorically denote the two states of consciousness necessary to real individuality.  Man is a conscious, self-knowing mind, equipped with volition and choice; he is an individual and can do as he chooses.

God Does Not Argue (Luke 15:11-32)

"A certain man had two sons:  And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.  And he divided upon them his living."

When the younger son asked for his portion of good, God did not argue with him; did not try to dissuade him; did not suggest that he was using bad judgment.  God never argues.  To argue is to suppose an opposite and God has no opposite.  We argue to arrive at a correct conclusion.  God is already the correct conclusion of all things, therefore, He does not need to argue.  Plotinus tells us that Nature never argues, that It contemplates Itself; that Its contemplation creates a form, through which It may become expressed.  Undoubtedly, this is the whole meaning and process of Creation.

"And he divided unto them his living."  There was no argument.  God did not tell the son that it would be far better for him to remain at home.  He did not say that he might come to want and suffer, perhaps starve.  He did not tell him anything:  "He divided unto them his living."  The Universe gives us what we ask; experience alone will teach us what is best to have.  "He divided unto them his living."  No clearer statement of individuality could possibly be inferred than this.  The son received exactly what he asked for; no more, and certainly no less.  The cup of his acceptance was filled from the universal horn of plenty; he could do with it as he chose.

The Far Country

"And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living."

When the son had received his share of goods, he went into a "far country."  We are all in this "far country," for it symbolizes the descent of the soul, or the outer rim of spiritual existence.  It is omnipresent, we cannot escape the Divine Presence, so this "far country" means a state of consciousness which has separated itself from the eternal good.  The "true meaning," I believe, of the "far country" would be a conscious separation from God, an isolated state, one in which there appears to be no remembrance of God as an actual, living, and ever-present Reality; one where man feels himself to be separated and entirely apart from the Eternal good.

This "far country" has a real a meaning today as it had in the hills of Galilee, nearly two thousand years ago, for all of us have come from heaven and nearly all feel the isolation of this seeming apartness from the Eternal Good.  Indeed, the whole endeavor of mankind is to return to the Father's House.

Why We Are in Want

"And there wasted his substance with riotous living.  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want."

When one separates himself from the Divine Fire, he becomes an isolated spark.  We are strong only when united with Life.  As soon as our consciousness is detached from spiritual wholeness, we can no longer draw from that inexhaustible reservoir of eternal existence, so we become exhausted - there is nothing to fall back upon.

Life is one perfect Wholeness.  The Universe is a Unit.  God is One.  IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MAN TO FEEL SEPARATED FROM THE SPIRIT WITHOUT FEELING LOST AND IN WANT.  This is why Jesus said he could nothing of himself, but could work only as the currents of divinity ran through his personal mentality.  That subtle something which runs through all things and which we call "the Thing Itself," that energy without which nothing can be energized, that Life without which nothing can live, that Power without which nothing can move, and that Spirit without which nothing can be - IS GOD.  It is only as we live in conscious union with the Spirit, and consciously let It work through us that we really live.

The Fallen Man

So, the prodigal son "began to be in want.  And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine."

The symbolism here is most interesting, for it perfectly depicts the state of humanity while in the "far country."  The "citizen" referred to means the attempt, on the part of man, to find some cause outside of Spirit.  Man seeks to league himself with material forces alone, not realizing that there can be nothing outside the Unity.  Most of us seek the cause in the effect and unknowingly put the cart before the horse, not realizing that the flower is already in the seed, and that effects must follow causes.  There can be no true alliance apart from life and no good apart from a unity with the Whole.  "And he sent him into his fields to feed swine."  Jesus was a Jew.  The Jews did not consider the meat of the swine lawful to eat; consequently he used this term to show how completely the prodigal son had fallen from his high estate - he must even be compelled to feed the despised swine.  This demonstrated that his state of being was so low that it would be impossible for it to be any worse.  It had reached the outer rim of reality."

May 29 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

A Formula for Effective Prayer (Matt. 21:21, 22) ~ Ernest Holmes

"THE THINGS WE NEED, WE ARE TO ASK FOR - and WE ARE TO BELIEVE THAT WE RECEIVE THEM!  This plumbs the very depths of the metaphysical and psychological law of our being, and explains the possibility of an answer to our prayers.

When we pray we are to believe that we have.  We are surrounded by a universal law which is creative.  It moves from the thought to the thing.  Unless there is first an image, it cannot move, for there would be nothing for it to move toward.  Prayer, which is a mental act, must accept its own answer as an image in mind, before the divine energies can play upon it and make it productive.

As we must plant a seed before we can reap a harvest, so we must believe before our prayers can be answered.  Prayer should reach a point of acceptance, an unqualified and undisputed place of agreement.  Let us take the mental images of our desires to the bosom of the Creative Life, and here make them known by impressing them upon It with positive belief.  If we do this, our prayers will be answered.

But let us remember that true prayer is always universal.  There can be no good to us alone, only as that good is for all.  This does not mean that we are to refrain from asking what we desire, but that we should wish only for that which is good.  For instance, it is good to have a home; it is good for all people to have homes while here on earth; it is right to ask for one, but it would not be right to ask for one belonging to another.

If we wish to pray for a home, we should take the idea of a house with us into the silence and meditate upon its actual being.  We should believe that we have and own a home, but we should leave the idea free to fulfill itself, without any definite choosing of how, where, why or when.  In this way, we pray aright and when we so pray, we pray effectively.  God wills us to have everything.  As we express life, we fulfill God's law of abundance, but we do this only as we realize that there is good enough to go around - only as we know that all of God's gifts are given as freely and fully as the air and the sunshine...alike to all.

The Two Great Commandments (Matt. 22:36-41)

The two great commandments are to love God and our brother man.  On these hang all the law and the prophets.  Love is a complete unity with life, and we cannot enter this state unless we are in unity with all that lives, for all life is One.  To love God alone is not enough, for this would exclude our fellowman.  To love our fellowman alone is not sufficient, for this would be too limited a concept of God.

When we realize that God and man are One and not two, we shall love both.  We shall love man as an expression of God, and God as the Life Principle in all.

From this teaching, we are not to suppose that we are to love that in each other which does not savor of right, we are to love the right alone.  We are to look for God in each other and love this God, forgetting all else.  But would this compel us to accept from people that which is not good?  Of course not!  It is not necessary for one to make a doormat of himself in proving that God is love, for this would be like suffering for righteousness' sake, which is always a mistake.

We should be wise in the ways of the world, as well as imbued with Divine wisdom.  We are not to mistake a counterfeit for the real, nor accept every man's doctrine lest we disagree.  The Truth is positive but non-combative; It is sure of Itself, but never argumentative.  It loves sincerity and abhors deceit.  Above all else, the Truth is wise, It represents the All-seeing Eye, from which nothing can be hidden.  The student of Truth will receive all that comes in the name of the Lord, that is, all that is of the Truth; all else will fall by its own weight.

History Proves the Reality of Truth (Matt. 26:52)

As we glance over the pages of history, this saying of Jesus stands sure and true:  "...for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."  Those nations who have risen by the sword have fallen among the ruins of their own false hopes.  History has proven that strife begets strife, that the way of the transgressor is hard.

In international strife, all nations are beaten, in so far as they have taken up the sword in hate, avarice or lust.  We do not recognize this apparent power which lasts for a day, for it is but a false gesture, defeating its own purpose as falseness ever must.

Jesus speaking from the viewpoint of Eternal Truth, said that all who take the sword shall perish with it.  THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THE BEST TO THE WORLD HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BEST REMEMBERED BY IT, AND MOST LOVED THROUGHOUT THE AGES.  If we attempt to measure existence from this short span of life, it would not be explained, and we should find no real answer to life itself.  Hate begets hate and strife produces strife.  Love alone overcomes all and justifies the eternity of her dominion.

God Turns to Us as We Turn to Him (Luke 15)

The parable of the Prodigal Son constitutes one of the greatest spiritual lessons in the history of religious education.  It is an attempt, on the part of the Great Teacher, to show that God turns to us as we turn to Him; that there is a reciprocal action between the Universal and the individual mind; that the Spirit is ready to help us whenever we turn to It.

The greatest lesson we have to learn is the unity of Love and Law; the necessity of law in shaping a divine individuality and the necessity of experience in awakening to this divine individuality.

God is Love and God is Law; the Love of God is omnipresent and the Law of God is omnipresent.  The Love of God is the Divine givingness: the eternal outpouring of Spirit through Its creation.  The Law of God is the Law of Cause and Effect, which says that we can have only what we take.  Since this taking is a mental and spiritual (as well as physical) act, we can take only that to which we are receptive.  Jesus taught that it is done unto us as we really believe.  "The thought is ever father to the act.""

May 23 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

As Little Children (Matt. 18:3) ~ Ernest Holmes

"We must become as little children.  How we long for a return of that simple trust in life which children have; in their minds there are no doubts - they have not yet been told that they are sinners, destitute of divine guidance and spiritual life.  The life of the child is lived in natural goodness.  God is natural goodness.  The prison walls of false experience soon build themselves into barriers, shutting out the light, and the child grows into a man, often losing his sense of that inner Guide, leading his footsteps aright.

We must return the way we came.  As little children, who know that life is good and to be trusted, we are to approach our problems as though they were not.  Approaching them in this manner, they will vanish.

Let not the materialist deny us this right, nor the unbelieving cast any reflection of his blindness before our eyes.  There is a wisdom and power not of the flesh, which spring perennially from the inner life - all-powerful and all-wise.

Whatsoever Ye Shall Bind on Earth (Matt. 18:18)

Next we come to a passage difficult to understand and one which has caused confusion in many minds.  "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

A superficial reading of this passage might lead one to suppose that this earth provides the last chance for the salvation of the soul.  But this is not the meaning of the text which implies that the experience of death cannot change all.  As a man has lived on earth, so he will continue to live after death.  If he has been pure, he will continue to be pure.  If he has been otherwise, he will continue to be otherwise.

False experience will continue until the lesson is learned, until the soul turns from that which hurts to its greater good.  The spirit of man is of like nature to the Spirit of God, and it is impossible for the Spirit of God to remain in darkness.  The next life is a logical continuation of this one and could not be otherwise.

Divine Forgiveness (Matt. 18:21, 22)

In the next passage, Jesus clearly explains the meaning of divine forgiveness.  He says that we should forgive until seventy times seven.  This is but another way of saying that forgiveness is eternal and ever available.  What a load is dropped from the shoulders of personal responsibility, when we realize that the Eternal Mind hold naught against anyone!  But, to those who feel that this is unfair, it will be a hard saying.  "What," says one, "are not my virtues to be rewarded above those who have none?"  O, foolish one and blind, what do you know about virtue?  Has your life always been beyond reproach?  Have you never fallen short of the divine calling?  Who are you to point the finger of scorn at your brother?  The man who feels self-righteousness rise from his petty virtues, lives a life of self-delusion.

Know this:  Virtue does not know that it is virtuous, and could it know, it would immediately become vicious.  Virtue is sweet as the morning dew, soft as the evening star, and brilliant as the noonday sun.  Could the dew tell why it is sweet, the star say why its light is soft, or the sun say why it shines?  When we learn to put away our petty virtues with our petty vices, then shall we see clearly - not what either virtue or vice is - but what Truth is!

The mind which condemns, understands not the truth of being, and the heart which would shut the door of its bosom to one who is mistaken, strangles its own life, closing its eyes to a greater vision.  The biggest life is the one which includes the most.

Not that we foster vice or place a premium upon wrong-doing, but that we understand the frailties of human nature and learn to overlook much.  To him who loves much, much is forgiven."