March 22 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Where Did Man Come from and Why? ~ Ernest Holmes

"To inquire why Life itself is, is useless, for Life is self-existent, and all of the science, wit and art of man can never fathom that which is self-existent.  "I am that I am."  Since we are, we must have evolved from, or become manifested in, that which is.  Our physiological and psychological reactions, are reactions to something which has an actual existence, intelligence and consciousness.  Our actions and reactions can be analyzed.  The invisible Life Principle incarnated in us cannot be analyzed.  Any attempt to do so is futile.

Facts admit of proof, Life announces Itself.  We know that we are; even a flat denial of our existence would constitute a bold affirmation of its reality.  If we were to push our history back to some beginning, we should still be compelled to make the simple statement that man is.  If man's life is of God, then it comes from a Source that had no beginning, so the question as to WHY he is, must forever remain unanswered.  God could not tell why God is!  To suppose that Life could give an excuse or reason for being would be to suppose an absurdity.  Life IS, and right at this point all inquiry into Truth starts, and from this point alone must this inquiry continue.

We are not so much interested, however, in why we are, as in what we are.  That we are some part of Life, no one can deny and keep faith with reason."

March 9 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Inducing Thought ~ Ernest Holmes

"That which thought has done, thought can un-do.  Life-long habits of wrong thinking can be consciously and deliberately neutralized, and an entirely new order of mental and emotional reaction established in Mind.  Merely to abstain from wrong thinking is not enough; there must be active right thinking.  We must become actively constructive and happy in our thinking - not merely passively so.  New and wholesome ideas of life, vitality and hope must be accepted and incorporated into the sub-stratum of our mental life, so that a more wholesome externalization may manifest in our bodily condition and environment.

Since we must all begin right where we are, most of us will be compelled to begin our healing work with a mechanical process.  We should take the highest thought we have, and attempt to enlarge on this consciousness until it embraces a more vital concept of Reality.  Consciousness in this sense means an inner embodiment of ideas. If one wishes to demonstrate prosperity, he must first have a consciousness of prosperity; if he wishes health, he must embody the idea of health.  This is more than faith; it is the knowledge that we are dealing with Law. While a certain consciousness may be mechanically induced, of course, the more spontaneity put into the mechanical word, the more power the word must have.

Choosing Thought

We cannot live a choiceless life.  Every day, every moment, every second, there is choice.  If it were not so we would not be individuals. 

We have the right to choose what we wish to experience.  We have the right to choose the kind of companions with whom we wish to associate; to say in what city and in what type of house we would like to live. We are individuals and the only way we can be individuals is to be spontaneous.  There is no such thing as a mechanistic individuality, it must have the essential elements of spontaneity.  There is no spontaneity and no individuality without prerogative.  There can be no choice unless there is something form which to choose, otherwise the ability to choose would be merely a fantasy.  Therefore, there must be not only the possibility of choice; but the liability of experiencing that which is chosen.

We have a right to choose what we shall induce in Mind.  The way in which our thoughts are to become manifest, we cannot always see - or should we be disturbed that we do not see the way - because effect is potential in cause.  "I am Alpha and Omega," and all that comes between cause and effect.  Cause and effect are really one, and if we have given cause set in motion, the effect will have to equal the cause.  One is the inside and the other the outside of the same thing. A certain, specific, intelligent idea in Mind, will produce a certain, specific, concrete manifestation equal to itself.  There is One Infinite Principle, One Infinite Thought-Stuff, One Infinite Creative Power, but countless numbers of forms, which change as the specific idea behind them changes."