The Pearl of Great Price (Matt. 13:45, 46) ~ Ernest Holmes
"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a pearl of great price, for which a man will sell all that he has, that he may possess it. This, perhaps, best explains the way of the illumined. To them, the kingdom of heaven has meant everything, and has been above all else. We find them going away by themselves that they may more completely enjoy this inner realization of their relationship to the Whole. A divine companionship has ever attended such, on the pathway of human experience. The description of the things they have seen, felt and heard, constitutes some of the most valuable lessons the world has ever learned.
The only news we have of Heaven has come through he consciousness of men, and to those few who have penetrated the veil of illusion and entered the realms of deeper reality, we owe a debt that cannot be paid in any other terms than those of appreciation and thanksgiving.
That the illumined have had experiences which the average man cannot conceive of, is certain; and that anyone who wills to know Truth may know it, is evident to all who make the attempt. But let us not forget that spiritual experiences are normal, natural and rational. The illumined have always had rational intellects and well-balanced mentalities.
No experience is salutary, unless it be gained while in a normal state of mind. Too great a warning cannot be given against any attempt to break through the veil, when in any other but a perfectly normal mental state.
Jesus lived in the spiritual world just as normally as we live in the material, and just as consciously. And what is the spiritual world? And where is it? It is right here, could we but see it. Behind everything material, stands the spiritual, supporting it, and without which there could be no material.
That Which Defiles (Matt. 15:18, 19, 20)
Not what we eat or drink, but what we think, defiles. The issues of life are from within. If a man is clean in his mind, then is he clean indeed. We must keep the mental house free from any thought which contradicts the truth of being.
Life is what consciousness makes it. This is a great realization. Experience may appear to disclaim this fact, but the principle involved is an immutable one, and cannot be shaken any more than the integrity of the universe can be violated.
Let each resolve to be true to himself, true to his inner light, true to the Truth as he understands It. When every man learns to speak the Truth, a complete salvation will come to the world. If one thinks impurity, then his acts will be impure. If his thought dwells on purity and Truth, then his acts - reflecting his mind - will make him pure and true.
Every plant which is not of God's planting shall be rooted up. In the long run, everything that does not belong to the Heavenly Kingdom will be destroyed. Truth alone can endure.
When the Blind Lead the Blind (Matt. 15:14)
"If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." We must be careful what kind of thought we are following. We must test all ideas to see whether they are of the Truth. It is a mistake to accept every man's philosophy simply because it sounds plausible. We are to be on guard against accepting that which is not true. And let us remember this: the Truth is simple, direct and always self-evident.
False ideas heaped upon false ideas make bad matters worse. The whole confusion of the world arises from the fundamental errors of thought. Chief among these errors - and the father to a greater part of the others - is a belief in duality. The belief in duality supposes that evil is equal to good: that a suppositional devil divides, with Good, the kingdom of Truth. Such things cannot be. Remember the teachings of Moses, that "God is One." If, on the other hand, we accept that evil has a power equal to good, then we must fall into the ditch of our own confusion.
To believe in the good alone, may seem fallacious to many, but he who thus believes will find his path lighted by a torch which flickers not, nor fails."
