April 29 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Let Us Not Fool Ourselves ~ Ernest Holmes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 28 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

When and What Is a Demonstration? ~ Ernest Holmes

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

We cannot demonstrate beyond our ability to mentally embody an idea.  The argument is between our experience, what the world believes, and what we are convinced is the Truth.

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

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

April 16 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Conviction ~ Ernest Holmes

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

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

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

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

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

April 8 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

FAITH ~ Ernest Holmes

The Mental Approach

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

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

Always a Power

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

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

April 7 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Prayer Is Its Own Answer ~ Ernest Holmes

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

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

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

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

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

March 7 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Self-Healing Must Come First of All ~ Ernest Holmes

"If we think we can guide our brother aright, while our own feet still walk in darkness, we are mistaken.  We must first clarify our own vision, then we shall become as lights, lighting the way for others.  But can we teach a lesson we have not learned?  Can we give that which we do not possess?  To suppose so is hypocrisy, a thing to be shunned.  Jesus tears the mantel of unreality from the shoulders of hypocrisy, winnowing from the soul of sham and shallowness it last shred of illusion.  We cannot see Reality until our eyes are open; until the light of eternal Truth has struck deeply into our own souls.

Scientific Prayer (Matt. 7:7)

We now come to a definite teaching regarding prayer. we shall receive that for which we ask.  It shall be opened to us when we knock and we shall find that for which we are searching.  This teaching implies the definiteness of spiritual and mental work.  God is Intelligent Mind and Spirit, and there is a direct response from this Universal Intelligence to our intelligence.  If we ask for bread, we shall not receive a stone.  But we are told we must ask believing, if we are to receive.

Here again we are meeting the Law of Cause and effect in the teachings of Jesus.  Prayer is a mental, as well as a spiritual, function of intelligence.  It is a certain manner of approach to the Spirit, a conscious act of the mind, a concrete experience of the knowing faculty.  Prayer should be direct and specific, and should always be accompanied by a positive receptivity.  God cannot answer prayers which have no meaning. The answer to prayer is in the prayer when it is uttered or thought.  We do not "pray aright" when we are in opposition to the fundamental harmony.  The whole teaching of Jesus, relative to prayer, is that God will answer when we pray aright.  Jesus points to the fact that if we, being human and consequently limited, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will God give good gifts to those who ask; and he explicitly tells us to ask directly for what we want."