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."

November 12 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

THE PRACTICE of SPIRITUAL MIND HEALING
Ernest Holmes

"Let us again briefly go over what it is that one must do.  He must first of all BELIEVE.  The supposition is that the reader already believes or he would not be studying thus far.  Why must we believe?  Because God is belief.  God is belief and belief is Law, and the Law produces form, in substance.  When Jesus explained to his disciples that they had failed to heal because of lack of faith, they protested that they did have faith in God.  Jesus explained to them that this was insufficient; they must have the faith of God.  The faith of God is very different from a faith in God.  The faith of God IS God, and somewhere along the line of our spiritual evolution this transition will gradually take place, where we shall cease having a faith IN and shall have the faith OF.  Always in such degree as this happens, a demonstration takes place.  We must believe because God is belief; the  physical Universe is built out of belief - faith, belief, acceptance, conviction.

This is only the starting point.  What good is the possibility until it is used?  What good is knowledge unless we make practical application of it?  Therefore we must definitely speak our conviction in concrete form in Mind.  A treatment should always be definite, specific, concrete.  In practical treatment one does not become subjective.  The creative act is always conscious.  In other words, a treatment moves in thought, sets something in motion, is an active thing.

For instance, suppose we have received a request for help for a physical condition.  Immediately we take the name of the person in consciousness - as every man maintains his identity in Universal Mind, just as he maintains it in the physical world - and we declare the truth about that man, the truth about the spiritual man, and we know that the truth about Spiritual Man is the truth about that man's condition right now.  First, recognition; second, unification.  We continue to do this until something comes into our consciousness which says "Yes."  We know the work has been accomplished.  This is the third step, realization.  This is what a treatment is.  Perhaps we would hold this consciousness a while, and we might repeat this treatment two or three times a day for a time.  If we have agreed to treat the man, we should be certain to do so.  At the same time, we should be careful, after the treatment has been given, that we take no responsibility of trying to make it work.  The Law will work from its own energy; how, we do not know."

July 8 ~ The Science of MInd in a Year

MENTAL EQUIVALENTS
By Ernest Holmes

See Life Expressed

"One should analyze himself, saying, "Do I look at myself from a standpoint of restriction?  Do I see life limited to the eternal round of getting up in the morning, eating, going to work, coming home, going to bed, sleeping, getting up again and so on?"  Break the bonds of apparent necessity and see life as one continuous expression of the Infinite Self, and as this conception gradually dawns upon the inner thought, something will happen in the outer conditions to relieve the greater demands of necessity.  Free yourself forever from the thought that God may be pleased by a life of sacrifice, that the world is any better because of your misery, or that righteousness is more perfectly expressed through poverty than abundance.  Know that the greater abundance of every good thing which you are bringing out in your life, the more perfectly you are satisfying the Divine Urge within you.  ANYTHING YOU CAN DREAM OF is not too great for you to undertake, if it hurts no man and brings happiness and good into your life.  If one were doing the work he should be doing he would never become tired, because the energy which holds the universe in place is tireless.  The reason we become tired is that we have cross currents of thought about our work.  This arises from a belief in duality - a belief in both Good and evil.

In treating we conceive of the ultimate of the idea but never of the process.  Never treat a process.  We plant a seed and there is in the seed, operating through the creative soil, everything that will cause it to develop, unfold and produce a plant.  The ultimate of effect is already potential in its cause.  This is the mystical meaning of the words:  "I am Alpha and Omega."  Our word for the fullest expression of our life or for its smallest detail should be the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of the thing thought of.  All cause and effect are in Spirit, they are bound together in one complete whole.  One is the inside, the other the outside of the same thing.

Never let anything cause you to doubt your ability to demonstrate the Truth.  CONCEIVE OF YOUR WORD AS BEING THE THING.  See the desire as an already accomplished fact and rest in perfect confidence, peace and certainty, never looking for results, never wondering, never becoming anxious, never being hurried nor worried.  Those who do not understand this attitude may think you are inactive but remember: "To him who can perfectly practice inaction, all things are possible."

What we know about Subjective Mind proves that It is unconscious of time, knows neither time nor process.  It knows only the completion, the answer.  That is why it is written, "Before they call, I will answer."  Cosmic Creation is from idea to object.  It does not know anything about process; process is involved in it but not consciously.  Correct practice should know that ultimate right action is now, today.  If we say, "Tomorrow it is going to be," then according to the very law we are using we hold the answer in a state of FUTURITY WHICH CAN NEVER BECOME PRESENT.   If a gardener holds his seed in his hand and says, "Tomorrow I am going to plant this seed," his garden will never start growing.  Therefore, Jesus said:  "When ye pray, believe that ye have and ye shall receive."  He did not say believe and you will immediately have.  He said, "Ye shall receive."  He did not deny the natural law of evolution and growth.  Nature operates according to a law of logical sequence."

July 7 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MENTAL EQUIVALENTS
By Ernest Holmes

How to Demonstrate a Home

"All our beautiful dreams, all our wishing and praying, for material good, will reach no higher level in our experience than our belief in the power of God and in His willingness to help us.  God's willingness to help us is expressed in the existence of that Immutable Law which gives us exactly the type of objective experience for which we build a mental likeness.  If we have the mental equivalent of a commodious home, roomy, light, cheery, and an income in keeping with it; if we are able to build in mind the kind of home we wish, and there is nothing in our subjective thought which denies this, then we shall be able to decide and demonstrate for ourself the kind of home we desire."

May 30 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

GENERAL SUMMARY ~ Ernest Holmes
(Continued from April 30th)

"The only concentration necessary in the best use of Mind is specific mental attention and complete mental acceptance.  Always remember that you are not dealing with a reluctant Force but with a completely receptive one which, by Its very nature, is compelled to receive the images of your thought.  It has no other choice and can conceive no other.  You make up Its mind for It.

Acceptance and realization.  These words are fraught with the greatest meaning to the one who wishes to consciously use the creative power of thought for definite purposes.  Acceptance and realization are mental qualities and may be consciously generated.

When we treat we should be specific.  "Whatsoever things we desire" when we pray we should "believe that we have them."  If we wish money we should ask for, or mentally accept, money.  If we wish a home we should ask for, or mentally accept, a home.  We can put as much detail into our mental work as we desire.  Sometimes to do so will be of great service in gaining a complete mental acceptance of our desires.  This is the whole secret, a complete mental acceptance and embodiment of our desires.

Our mental acceptances should be filled with conviction, warmth, color and imagination.  The creative power responds to feeling more quickly than to any other mental attitude.   Therefore we should try to feel the reality of what we are doing when we give a treatment.  This reality is felt as we become more and more convinced that Spirit responds to us.

We should grow into the understanding that Spirit responds to us and becomes more conscious of Its Presence within us.  It is the very breath of our breath...the imagination back of our word.  It is the creative power in our thought and the law and energy that executes that thought.  "God is all in all, over all and through all."  There can be no greater or more complete Allness.  This Allness is within us, or we may say that within is the only place we can contact It.  It is necessary to understand this else sometimes we shall be trying to reach outside and this is impossible.

If one were to make a complete mental picture of himself as he would like to be, filling in all the details of his desire and trying to accept the whole thing as a present reality, he would soon demonstrate that the control of affairs is from within out and not from without; the cause being that whatever exists as a mental picture in Mind must tend to, and finally does take form if the picture is really believed in and embodied.

We should be careful to distinguish day dreaming and wistful wishing from really dynamic and creative treatment.  When we treat we do not wish, we KNOW.  We do not dream, we STATE.  We do not hope, we ACCEPT.  We do not pray, we ANNOUNCE.  We do not expect something is going to happen, we BELIEVE THAT IT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.

We should think clearly and allow the image of our thoughts to sink into a subjective state.  We do not crowd them down, we let them sink into this inner receptivity with power and with conviction.  Our individual subjective mind is our place in the Universal Creative Law and immediately connects us with limitless power and energy.

There is a vast difference between "holding thoughts" and holding things in thought.  One is the attempt at an impossible coercion; the other is a mental acceptance.  To hold thoughts, as though we were forcing issues, does no good and utilizes but a fraction of the creative power at our disposal.  To hold in thought, as though we were LETTING something happen, is to use the greater power...the greatest power of all."

May 12 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Only Our Own Concepts Limit Us ~ Ernest Holmes

“Realizing that conscious thought operates through a Power which is Infinite, we see there can be no limit to the power to heal, other than the limit of our ability to conceive that Power as healing.  We are limited, not by Principle, but by our own inability to see perfection.  Our thought can bring out a condition as perfect as we can conceive.  Therefore, the man whose thought is the most God-like – that is, the truest, the highest, the most noble, the most complete, the most peaceful – will be the best healer.  His thought reflects a greater perfection.  That is why we cannot divorce true mental healing from true spiritual work.  When thought reaches a higher degree of perfection, as the race consciousness unfolds and evolves, it will bring out a still greater development of life than we know now.”

May 5 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

The Law of God Is One of Liberty (II Cor. 3:17) ~ Ernest Holmes

"The law of God is one of liberty and not one of bondage.  The Spirit of the Lord is everywhere.  Freedom and liberty are also everywhere if we could but see them.  Freedom, like Truth, is self-existent and self-propelling.  The Spirit, Truth, and Freedom are co-existent with one another.

Whenever we are conscious of God, or pure Spirit, we are made free. This is proven in mental and spiritual healing; when we are conscious of perfect life, the body is healed.  We must become unconscious of the imperfect and conscious of the perfect alone.  Since our ideas of perfection are limited to our present understanding, we do not yet manifest perfection.  With a greater unfoldment of Reality through our consciousness, we shall evolve a more perfect body.

In the demonstration of abundance, we seek to realize the liberty of the Sons of God - the freedom whereby God proves His absoluteness.  This is done, not by meditation upon limitation, but by contemplating plenty, abundance, success, prosperity and happiness.

It is unscientific to dwell upon lack, for it will create the undesired condition.  It is scientific to meditate on plenty, to bring the mind to a point of conceiving an eternal flow of life, truth and energy through us...and through everything that we do, say or think!

How to Demonstrate Liberty

To demonstrate liberty, drop all negative thoughts from the mind.  Do not dwell upon adversity but think plenty into everything, for there is power in the word.  Meditate on the things you are doing as being already done - complete and perfect.

Try to sense the Infinite Life around and within you.  This Life is already fully expressed and complete.  This Life is your life now and the life of all that you do, say or think.  Meditate upon this Life until your whole being flows into It and becomes one with It.

Now you are ready to prove your principle by allowing this Life to flow through the thing that you are working on or for.  Do not will or try to compel things to happen.  Things happen by an immutable law and you do not need to energize the Essence of Being; It is already big with power.  All you need do is to realize this fact, and then let it be done unto you, or unto that for which you are working.  L-E-T is a big word and an important one.  By taking thought, you do not add one cubit to Reality, but you do allow (let) Reality to manifest in the things you are doing.

As the power of your meditation is centered on what you are doing, life flows through that thing, animating it with real power and action, which culminates in the desired result.  The Spirit of God is loosed in your work.  Where this Spirit is, there is liberty."

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 24 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

Ernest Holmes

My Word Comes Back to Me

My word comes back to me laden with the fruits of its own speech.

My word is the Law unto my Life, and the Law unto everything that I speak.

O Word, go forth and heal and bless all humanity.

Tell them of their Divine Birthright.

Tell the stranger that he is not alone, but that One goes with him

Who knows and cares.

Tell the sick that they are healed and the poor that they cannot want,

Tell the unhappy of the joy of the Soul, and break the bonds of those who are in prison.

My word shall come back to me blessed of God and man.

My Word Shall Bear Fruit

The Word of my mouth shall bear fruit.

It shall accomplish and prosper, and shall not return unto me void.

My Word is the law unto the thing whereunto it is sent, and it cannot come back empty-handed.

I send out my Word and it is the law unto my life.

My Word is the Law unto the thing whereunto it is spoken, and will become fulfilled in the right way and at the right time.

My Word is complete and perfect, and is the Presence and the Power of the One Mind that is in and through all.

I speak the Word and know that it will accomplish.

I wait in perfect confidence for the Word to fulfill itself in my life.

My Word Is Law.

April 22 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Treatment Not Explained in the Bible ~ Ernest Holmes

"From beginning to end, in one way or another, the Bible teaches the law of cause and effect, based upon the premise that the Universe is a spiritual system, that the Infinite creates by the power of Its word or the contemplation of Its consciousness, and, as a complement to this, that man reproduces the Universal on an individual scale.

The bible does not tell us how to give a treatment.  It is only within the last hundred years that the science which we are studying has been given to the world.  It is not an old system of thought.  The old systems of thought did contain the Truth, but one would never learn how to give an effective mental treatment by studying them.  We would no more learn how to give a treatment by studying the Bible, than we would learn how to psycho-analyze a person.  The principle of spiritual treatment is implied in the Bible as well as in other sacred writings of antiquity, but one could not learn how to give a treatment from reading any of these Scared Books.  From all of these sources we gain a tremendous spiritual inspiration, but they do not teach how to give a treatment.

What Is a Practitioner?

The one who attempts to heal himself or another through a recognition of the creative power of Mind and the ever availability of Good, is a mental or spiritual practitioner.  Such a one refuses to allow negative thoughts to control his consciousness.   He endeavors to greet the divinity in every man he meets.

The one seeking to demonstrate the power of spiritual realization in everyday affairs should believe in Divine guidance.  He should affirm that his mind is continually impressed with the images of right action, and that everything in his life is controlled by love, harmony and peace; that everything he does prospers, and that the Eternal Energy back of all things animates everything which he undertakes.  Every objective evidence contrary to good should be resolutely denied, and in its place should come a sense of right action.  He should feel a unity of Spirit in all people, and running through all events.  He should declare that the Spirit within him is God, quickening into right action everything he touches, bringing the best out of all his experiences, and forever guiding and sustaining.  The greatest good which his mind is able to conceive should be affirmed as a part of his everyday experience.  No matter what the occupation of such a man, he is a mental and spiritual practitioner, and from such daily meditation he should venture forth into a life of action, with the will to do, the determination to be, and a joy in becoming!

The professional mental and spiritual practitioner is one who has dedicated his life - his time, his energies, his intelligence - to helping others, through mental and spiritual means and methods."

March 23 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

What Is the Body? ~ Ernest Holmes

"When man first awakened to self-consciousness, he had a body with a definite form, showing that Instinctive Life - which is God - had already clothed Itself with the form of flesh. Body or form is the necessary outcome of self-knowingness.  In order to know, there must be something to be known.  Some kind of a body (or expression) always was and always will be, if consciousness is to remain true to its own nature.

Body is a concrete manifestation, existing in time and space, for the purpose of furnishing a vehicle through which Life may express Itself.  The physical Universe is the Body of God; it is a manifestation in form of the Mind of God.  It is that Creation which - while It may have beginnings and ends - of Itself neither begins nor ends.  The manifestation of Spirit is necessary, if Spirit is to come into Self-Realization - hence, Body.

We say that body is composed of matter, but what is matter?  Science tells us that matter is an aggregation of small particles arranged in some kind of form.  We are also told that matter is in a continuous state of flow.  Strange as it may seem, we do not have the same physical bodies that we had a few months ago, they have completely changed.  New particles have taken the place of the old, and the only reason that they have taken the same form is that something within has provided the same mold.  Our bodies are like a river, forever flowing.  The Indwelling Spirit alone maintains the identity."

March 16 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Spirit and Mental Law ~ Ernest Holmes

"It is impossible to divorce spiritual understanding from the proper use of mental law. The Spirit within man is God, and only to the degree that we listen to and seek to obey this Spirit shall we really succeed.  At present very few people differentiate between the Spirit of the Universe and the Law of the Universe.  The Spirit of God, which we think of as the Heavenly Father, is a Divine Presence, while the Law is a mechanical force.

The electrician may be a Methodist or Catholic or Buddhist.  He may be a spiritual man or a material-minded man, but electricity, being a natural law, can be used by one man as easily as by another.  It will work here, there and anywhere.  This does not seem strange to us, but often when we approach things which seem to be religious and spiritual, we think, "Now we are outside the realm of Law, God is good, therefore Law no longer exists."  We fail to recognize with Browning that "All's love, yet all's law."  We must differentiate between the Divine Presence as a Universal Spirit - a thing to be communed with - and the Universal Law, which is simply a blind Force.  The Law is a blind Force, and lest we misuse It, we should be very careful to follow a constructive course.  The Law is Absolute and we should trust Its impersonal action implicitly.  It can do anything for us THAT WE CAN CONCEIVE OF IT DOING.  It is the Law of freedom to all who believe in and obey It.

We must realize that the Universal Spirit is the Supreme Knower in the Universe.  The Law can only operate on that which is known.  In such degree as our knowledge partakes of Its Original Knowledge, or Nature, it has power.  The highest realization we can have is a recognition of the Omnipresence of Spirit.  This will set greater possibilities in motion and will, automatically, provide a better concept of life. Consequently, those people who have had the greatest sense of the Divine Presence - wherever it has been coupled with the definite knowledge of the Universal Law of Mind - have had the greatest power over that Law.  This was the secret of the power of Jesus.

We should daily train our thought to recognize the Spirit in everything we do, say or think. There is no other way, to try any other way would be to make a complete failure.  "Render, therefore, unto Caesar, the things which are Caesar's' and unto God the things that are God's."  A constant realization of the presence of Spirit will provide a sense of Divine Companionship that no other attitude could produce.  Why should we not take the highest and best?  GOD IS - and we should realize this truth and make use of it. As soon as we recognize that God is, we can turn to the Law and tell It what to do.

We have no record of Jesus asking God to do anything, except in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said:  "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt."  Aside from this instance, Jesus' method of approach, during His entire ministry, was to give thanks and then command the Law to work.  This is the correct manner of approach to the Spirit and the Law.   Yet have we any record of another man so apparently trying to follow the Divine Will?  No!  When Jesus healed people and told them to get up and walk, He did not pray that they might be able to get up and walk.  He exercised an authority which seemed to be the result of His communion with the Spirit, and undoubtedly it was.  Practice is a definite statement in mind, a positive affirmation.  It is an active, conscious, aggressive mental movement and in such degree as it embodies an idea - and there is no longer anything in our minds which denies the idea - it will take form, because it now becomes a part of the law and order of the Universe in which we live.

The Law is subject to Spirit and is Its servant.  Man is Spirit, but until he KNOWS this, he will be only half using the Law, for he will not have a clear understanding to fall back upon.  Treatment removes doubt and fear, lets in the realization of the Presence of Spirit, and is necessary while we are confronted by obstructions or obstacles.  Every problem is primarily mental, and the answer to our problems will be found in Spiritual Realizations."

February 22 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Subjective Law ~ Ernest Holmes

"We should grasp the idea of Universal Subjectivity, the Potentiality of all things, the Divine Creative Medium.  This is the Principle through which we are to demonstrate the healing of the body or of condition; and It acts accurately and mathematically, because It is the Law of Cause and Effect.

When we think, we think from conscious intelligence, or Spirit.  The thought then becomes subjectified; it goes into the subconscious mind.  What is man's subconscious mind?  It is his atmosphere or mental center in Universal Subjectivity.  It is held in our philosophy that there is no such thing as your subjective mind and my subjective mind, meaning two, for this would be duality.  But there is such a thing as the subjective state of my thought and of your thought in Mind.  This should be seen clearly, for here is where psychology and metaphysics separate, where their interpretations differ.

When we think, we think into a Universal Creative Medium, a receptive and plastic medium which surrounds us on all sides, which permeates and flows through us.  When we think, we must and do think into and upon It, since It is omnipresent. 

As each subjectifies a consciousness about himself, he is surrounding himself with a mental atmosphere; and nothing can enter this except through the avenues of his own thought.  But this thought might be conscious or unconscious.  In most cases it is unconscious.  However, the student of metaphysics is learning to consciously control the stream of thought that he allows to enter his inner and creative mentality.

The Result of Our Own Thinking

Thought is an inner movement, which is largely the result of one's perception of life and his reaction to it.  Every time this movement takes place it takes place within Mind, upon Cause, according to Law.  We are dealing with the same Power that molds the planets and all that is upon them, and the limit of our ability to use this Power is not in Principle, but in our understanding of It!

We are dealing with a neutral, creative Power, just as we would be in the case of electricity or any other natural force.  It is on a higher plane for It is the Power of Intelligence.  Our thought, in its externalization, will reach its own level, just as water reaches its own level by its own weight and without effort.  This is in line with the necessity for the Universe, in order to be at all, must be Self-Existent.  By the Self-Existence of the Universe is meant a Universe which is Its own reason for being; a Universe which exists by virtue of Itself being All.

Each one of us today is the result of the use he has made of the Law, either consciously or unconsciously.  As soon as we realize this we shall see that what we are now (or what we now have and experience) is the result of what we have thought; and the answer to what we shall be is contained in what we are now thinking, FOR WE CAN CHANGE OUR THINKING!

Man thinks, and supposes that he lets go of those thoughts,...that he is finished with them; but such is not the case, for thought becomes subjectified in the Mind like a seed planted in the soil, and , unless neutralized, it stays there and determines the attraction and repulsion in the experience of the one thinking.  There is a constant action on the subjective side of life; and it is the unconscious process which decides what is going to happen in the outer experience.  Whatever we think, act, believe in, feel, visualize, vision, image, read and talk about - in fact all processes which affect or impress us at all - are going into the subjective state of our thought, which is our individualized use of the Universal Mind.  Whatever goes into the subjective state of our thought tends to return again as some condition.  So we, and we alone, control our destiny.

Law is Mind in Action

There is One Infinite Life acting through Law, and this Law is mental.   Law is Mind in action.  We are surrounded by an Infinite, subconscious, impersonal, neutral, plastic and ever-present Thinking Stuff, from which all things come, and which, in Its Original State, permeates and penetrates all things.

By impressing our thought upon this Substance, we can cause It to produce for us that which we think. Impressing our thought upon It is not an external act, for when we impress our thought upon ourselves, we are thinking into It. This is because of the Unity of all Mind.

Jesus said:  "As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."  Knowing the nature of Law, He did not say:  "It is done unto you as you wish."  He announced the universality of the Law when he called it a Law of Belief.

The Destructive Use of the Law

Someone may say, "I cannot imagine God not caring."  I cannot either, but we are dealing with Law.  Does the law of electricity care whether it cooks the dinner or burns the house?  Whether it electrocutes a criminal or warms a saint?  Of course, it does not.  Does the Urge which impels people to express, care whether a man kneels in ecstasy or lies drunk in the gutter?  We are dealing with Law, and it follows that since we are dealing with Law, It will ultimately bring back to us the result of the forces which we set in motion through It.

Consequently, no person who is enlightened would seek to use this Law destructively, for he would know that, sooner or later, the very power set in motion by himself would ultimately destroy him.  "All they that take the sword shall perish by the sword." The Spirit of Christ is the spirit which constructively uses the Law.  The spirit of antichrist is the destructive use of the Law. The Spirit of Christ, being in line with the Cosmic Life, will always transcend, neutralize, destroy, and utterly obliterate the spirit of the Antichrist.  Finally, only the Spirit of Christ can succeed."

February 21 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATION

by Ernest Holmes

No Obstructions

There are no obstructions to Life's Path;

no hindrance to man's endeavors.

Let my Word be the Law of elimination to all thought of hindrance or delay.

And let the thing that I speak come forth into manifestation at once.

I behold it and see that it is even now done, complete and perfect.

February 18 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Spirit, Soul and Body (continued) ~ Ernest Holmes

"There can be no real enjoyment of life until we see that everything is animated by the Spirit, and as we see that things are thus animated, we are beholding the real Universe. The Essence of Reality is invisible, but the substance of the invisible is seen and heard, and is a part of the everyday life of all!

We find that on the subjective or soul side, man is subconscious; but subconscious does not mean unconscious.  Subconscious merely means subjective to the conscious thought, compelled by reason of its subjectivity to receive what is put into it. It is Karmic Law, because it is the use we are making of Universal Subjectivity.  Karma means the Law of Cause and Effect.  Soul contains the memory because It is the receptacle for the seeds of our thought, and because It is the seat of memory it contains our inherited tendencies. It also contains the race-suggestion, for we are not dealing with a separated or isolated subjective mind, but with the One Subjective Mind - there is a vast difference between thinking of having three or four minds, and thinking of One Mind which we all use.

We treat of soul as being that part of our mental being which is subjective to the conscious mind.  From this viewpoint, the individual soul is an effect and not a cause.  This understanding of soul life is in accord with the deepest thought of the ages, and is a legitimate point of view in the light of recent investigations, in both the psychological and metaphysical fields.

The soul is the seat of memory, the mirror of mind in the individual. It is the creative power within us, creating from the patterns given it, and from the memories it contains.  We gather soul, or subjective force, as we accumulate the right kind of experiences.  The law of the soul is subject to the conscious spirit; tendencies set in motion in the soul, or subjective life, tend to produce their like in the objective world. From this is deduced the possibility of the healing power of the spoken word, operating thorough mental law, for the law of the mind is always subjective.

The soul, being the seat of memory, already contains a record of everything that has ever happened to us.  These memories as a whole, constitute the subjective tendency of the individual life; this tendency can be changed through constant effort and a determined persistency of purpose. The soul life of all people merges, more or less, and this creates the soul life of the race - the collective subjectivity of all humanity - called by some the "collective unconscious."  This "collective unconscious" contains a record of all human events that have ever transpired.  We are all, more or less, subject to this collective thought, since it acts as a powerful race suggestion.   The sum total of all erroneous human belief, binds until the individual mentally lifts himself above the law of averages into the higher law of Spiritual Individualism.

In studying man's relationship o the Universal, we have discovered how the spirit and soul of man are like the Spirit and Soul of the Universe.  Let us now consider the idea of body.  Body - effect, affairs, conditions, health, disease, destiny, riches, poverty, business, vocation, profession, results - any word which stands for the externalization of man's thought and endeavor, we class as a part of this body.

Man's outward life is a result of the subjective state of his thought. The thinker is conscious mind but when he thinks he lets fall the forms of his thought into Subjective Mind, which is the Universal Medium of all thought and action and, as a result of this, the Creative Medium at once sets to work to produce the thing outlined.

Plotinus, perhaps the greatest of the Neo-Platonic philosophers, in personifying Nature said:  "I do not argue, I contemplate; and as I contemplate, I left fall the forms of my thought," this is the manner in which Nature creates - It contemplates.  As a result of Its contemplation, It lets fall the seed of Its thought into the Universal Subjective which, being Law, produces the object thought about.  We must expect to find - and it is exactly what we do find - the same principle reproduced in man.  This means that whatever man thinks (whether it is what he calls good or bad) falls into this Universal Creative Medium, is accepted by It, is at once acted upon and unless neutralized tends to take objective form.

The objective man is body.  By objective or physical man, we mean the man who is formed, who has flesh and blood.  This physical man is in unity with all other physical or objective elements in the Universe, and in unity with the invisible Source from which they come. We analyze the body and find it is made of the same stuff from which a brick is made, not different in its essence, but different in its composition, its vibration.  There is One Universal Substance whose business it is to take form in multiplicity.

We are told that matter is not a solid, stationary thing; but a constantly flowing formless substance, which is forever coming and going - "an etheric whirl of energy" it has been called.  Whatever its nature is, it is as indestructible as God, as eternal as Timeless Being; nothing can be added to or taken from it.  The bodies we now have were not with us a short time ago; we discard many of them on our path through this life; for the substance of which they are composed is in a constant state of flow - a flowing substance, taking the form that Mind gives it.  How about the matter from which other things than the body are made?  It is all the same - ONE SUBSTANCE in the Universe, taking different forms and shapes and becoming different things.  Unity is expressed in multiplicity.

The last analysis of matter resolves it into a universal ether, and leaves nothing more than a stuff which may be operated upon; a force and energy, without volition, ready to become molded.  In the theoretical beginning of creation, the world was "without form and void."  There is no difference in the ultimate and minute particles which take innumerable forms - only a difference in the arrangement.  Our bodies are One with the Whole Body of the Universe; seeds, plants, cabbages and kings are all made of the same substance.  Minerals, solids, and liquids are made from this primordial Substance which is forever flowing into form and forever flowing out again into the void. 

Nothing could give form to a formless stuff, which has no mind of its own, but some Intelligence operating through it.  Here, then, we come back to the Word as the starting point of all Creation - God's Word in the Great Creation, the Great World, and man's word in the small world; One Spirit, One Mind, and One Substance.  One Law, but many ideas, one Power but many ways of using It.  One God, in Whom we all live, and One Law, which we all use.  ONE, ONE, ONE!!  No greater unity could be conceived than that which is already given.

So we find that man is one with the physical universe in which he lives.  The physical universe has no self-determination; we find that man's physical body is a latent mass of matter.  Our body is really one with the Body of God, with the physical universe, but body does not know it is body.  If feet knew they were feet with the physical capacity to walk, they might be cut off and still be able to run down the street on an errand.  IT IS ONE THING TO SAY THAT OUR FEET DO NOT KNOW THEY ARE FEET AND QUITE ANOTHER THING TO SAY THAT THEY ARE ILLUSIONS, yet all are agreed that they have no intelligence of their own.  Of itself, the physical universe is an effect.  So it is with the physical part of man which we call his body."

February 15 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MAN'S RELATIONSHIP to the SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE ~ Ernest Holmes

Man Re-enacts the Nature of God

Whatever is true of the Universe as a Whole must also be true of the individual as some part of this Whole.  Man is evolved from the Universe as a self-conscious, thinking center of Living Spirit, and as such he must, in his nature and being, reproduce the Universe.

If we realize that God is "Triune" and that man is a spiritual likeness of God we shall see that the whole scheme of Life, and the whole nature of the Divine Being, is reenacted through man.  This, of course, does not mean that man is God.  It means that in his small world of individual expression, his nature is identical with God's.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, "As the Father hath life within Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life within himself."  This refers to the inherent Life, real Life.  That is the only life God could have.  We must expect to find in man, therefore, the same inherent attributes that we find in the Universe from which he springs.  A single drop of water is not the whole ocean, but it does contain within itself the same qualities and attributes.

Man is made out of and from Life.  As effect must partake of the nature of its cause, so man must partake of the Divine Nature from which he springs.  We did not create our nature; We cannot change its inherent reality; we are what we are and we use this nature for better or for worse.  Being what we are there are certain responsibilities that go with our natures - certain obligations; if our thought is creative and if we have selectivity - that is, volition and choice - and if we are unfolding to a discovery of our true nature, which must already be perfect, then the obligation and responsibility of this nature could impose freedom or bondage upon us temporarily, but our bondage cannot be real from the standpoint of the Absolute.

The World Has Learned All It Should Through Suffering

The Science of Mind and Spirit, makes a tremendous claim when it states that the individual should be free from the bondage of sickness, poverty and unhappiness.  It does, however, carefully set forth the conditions under which freedom operates and the laws governing Life, stating in no uncertain terms that unless man understands these conditions and obeys these laws, he will not receive full benefit from its teachings.

The world is beginning to realize that it has learned all it should through suffering and pain.  Surely there can be no Intelligence in the Universe that wishes man to be sick, suffer pain, be unhappy and end in oblivion.  Surely if God or Universal Intelligence is imbued with goodness, then It could not ordain that man should ultimately be other than a perfect expression of Life.

We have shown that man's nature is the same as God's Nature; we should have no intellectual difficulty in realizing that an Infinite Intelligence could not make an automatic individuality, and this explains why man suffers on his road to self-discovery.  His suffering is not God-ordained, because he creates his own experience as he becomes individualized.  By individuality is mean self-choice, volition, conscious mind, personified Spirit, complete freedom, and a POWER TO BACK UP THAT FREEDOM.  We cannot imagine a mechanical or unspontaneous individuality; to be real and free, individuality must be created in the image of Perfection and let alone to make the great discover for itself.

February 9 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

That Which Changes ~ Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

"We have learned that Spirit is the Absolute Being, that It is the only thing in the universe which has self-knowingness, volition, choice or will.  The Soul is the servant of the Spirit and has no choice and no purpose other than to execute the purpose given It.  The Spirit of the Universe cannot change; begin ALL, there is nothing for It to change into.  The Soul of the Universe must obey the Will of the Spirit.  THE BODY OF THE UNIVERSE CANNOT HELP CHANGING!  This is what constitutes the eternal activity of Spirit within Itself; the Spirit passing into form - creation eternally going on.  Since Spirit must be manifest in order to be conscious, there must be a way in which It manifests and there must be a manifestation.  So we have Soul and Body.  Body, the manifestation and Soul, the Way, or Law by which It manifests."

January 28 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

How to Use It - Conclusion ~ Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

"A treatment is a spiritual entity in the mental world and is equipped with power and volition - as much power and volition as there is faith in it, given to it by the mind of the one using it - and, operating through the Law, It knows exactly how to work and what methods to use and just how to use them.  We do not put the power into this word, but we do let the power of the Law flow through it, and the one who most completely believes in this power will produce the best results.  The is the Law of cause and effect, again. 

When one gives a treatment for right action, and does not believe that right action will be the result, he makes his own treatment negative.  Therefore, we should spend much time in convincing ourselves of the truth of our treatments.  Now this is not a power of will, but a power of choice.  We do not put the power into the treatment, and we will take out of the treatment ONLY AS MUCH AS WE BELIEVE IS IN IT!

If one doubts his ability to give an effective treatment, he should specifically treat himself to remove this doubt.  He should say something like this, but not necessarily these words:  "I am convinced that this word has power, and I firmly believe in it.  I trust it to produce the right results in my life, (or in the life of the one for whom I am using my word)."

We should work, not with anxiety but with expectancy; not by coercion but with conviction; not through compulsion but in a state of conscious recognition and receptivity.  We do not have to drive or push but we must accept and believe.  We should, then, leave everything to the Law, expecting a full and complete proof of our faith.  We shall not be disappointed nor chagrined, for the Law is our faithful servant.

One should treat any given proposition until he proves his Principle, no matter how long it takes.  We should treat until we get results - until there comes into our objective experience the actual outpouring of our subjective words.  When working for someone else, speak the name of this person - into Mind - then proceed with the treatment.  Should someone come to you with the question, "Am I too old to find my rightful place?", what are you as a practitioner to reply?  You explain that there is no recognition of age in the truth; that everyone has his place in Truth; that God does not withdraw Himself from us at a certain age, for God is Omnipresence.  In this Presence, every being is fully provided for at every age.

A practitioner consciously removes the apparent obstruction, and leaves the field open to a new influx of Spirit.  He resolves things into thoughts, dissolves the negative appearance in the condition, by recognizing only perfection.  THE PRACTITIONER MUST KNOW, AND MUST STATE, THAT THERE ARE NO OBSTACLES IN THE PATHWAY OF TRUTH.  He must know that his word, being the activity of the Truth, removes all obstructions from the pathway of his patient, or the one for whom he is working.

If the obstruction is the result of a "hang-over" of belief from past years, the practitioner must know that no past mistake can hinder or obstruct the flow of Divine Intelligence through God's idea - which is perfect man, manifesting the attributes of God in freedom, happiness, activity and power, and that this Truth is now made manifest in his life.

The patient should try to be receptive, not to the will of the practitioner, but to the purpose of the Universe.  That is, the patient should expect results and should be willing to give up anything and everything that would hinder the demonstration.  Perfect belief is the beginning and the end of all good mental work.

The mental attitude of the practitioner is one of denial toward every false condition that opposes the principle of Life as one of absolute perfection.  God's world is perfect, and this is the Principle we have to demonstrate.  Spiritual things must be spiritually discerned and when we are ready and willing spiritually to discern, we shall find a ready response from the Invisible into the visible.  Let us do our work conscientiously and thoroughly and leave the results to that Law which is perfect.

A new light is coming into the world.  We are on the borderland of a new experience.  The veil between Spirit and matter is very thin.  The invisible passes into visibility through our faith in it.  A new science, a new religion, and a new philosophy are rapidly being developed.  This is in line with the evolution of the great Presence and nothing can hinder its progress.  It is useless, as well as foolish, to make any attempts to cover this Principle, or to hold It as a vested right of any religion, sect or order.  The Truth will out; the Spirit will make Itself known.  Happy are we if we see these things which, from the foundation of the human race, have been longed for by all aspiring souls.

True thought deals directly with First Cause; and this Science is the study of First Cause, Spirit or the Truth, that Invisible Essence, that Ultimate Stuff and Intelligence from which everything comes - the Power back of creation - The Thing Itself."

January 25 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

How to Use It ~ Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

"One of the great difficulties in the new order of thought is that we are likely to indulge in too much theory and too little practice.  As a matter of fact, we only know as much as we an prove by actual demonstration.  That which we cannot prove may, or may not, be true but that which we can prove certainly must be, and is, the truth.

Of course, the theory of any scientific principle goes beyond its application, at any given stage of the unfoldment of that principle, and the evolution of its accomplishments.  If this were not true, there would be no progress in any science.  The sciences are objectively real to us only in so far as we demonstrate them, and until demonstrated they are suppositional, so far as practical results are concerned.  If there is any field of research where the practical application is necessary, it is in the metaphysical field, the reason being that the principle of metaphysics seems less tangible to the average person than does the principle of other sciences.  As a matter of fact, all principles are as intangible, but the world at large has not yet come to consider the Principle of mental practice in the same light that it considers other given principles of life and action.  Its apparent intangibility is lessened whenever and wherever anyone actually demonstrates the supremacy of spiritual thought force over apparent material resistance.

It is easy enough to rush about shouting that there are no sick people, but this will never heal those who appear to be sick.  It is easy to proclaim that there are no needy.  Anyone can say this, whether he be wise or otherwise.  If we are to prove such statements to be facts in our experience, we shall be compelled to do more than announce a principle, no matter how true it may be.

There is no doubt about the immutability and the availability of the Law.  The Law is Infinite.  It is right where we happen to be at any given time.  It occupies all space and fills every form with differentiations of Itself.  The Law also flows through us, because It flows through everything, and since we exist, It must be in and through us.  This is the crux of the whole matter.  Infinite and immutable as the Law is - ever-present and available as it must be, the potential possibility of all human probability - It must flow through us in order to manifest for us.

It has been proved that by thinking correctly and by a conscious mental use of the law of Mind, we can cause It to do definite things for us, through us.  By conscious thinking, we give conscious direction to It, and It, consciously or unconsciously, responds to our advance along the line of our conscious, or subjective, direction.

It must and will respond to everyone, because It is Law and law is no respecter of persons.  We are surrounded by an intelligent force and substance, from which all things come - the ultimate Essence, in the invisible and subjective world, of all visible and objective forms and conditions.  It is around us in its original state, ready and willing to take form through the impulse of our creative belief.  It works for us by flowing through us. This law we did not create; this law we cannot change.  We can use It correctly only as we understand and use It according to Its nature.

Hence, it follows that if we believe that It will not work, It really works by appearing to "not work."  When we believe that It cannot and will not, then, according to the principle, It DOES NOT.  But when It does not, It still does - only It does according to our belief that It will not.  This is our own punishment through the law of cause and effect; we do not enter in because of our doubts and fears.  It is not a punishment imposed upon us by the Spirit of God, but an automatic result of failing constructively to use the Law of God.

God does not punish the mathematician who fails to obtain the right answer to his problem.  The thought of the unsolved problem does punish him until he applies the right principle and thus secures the desired result.  Thus sin and punishment, righteousness and salvation, are logical reactions of the Universe to the life of the individual.

When we are dealing with real Life - with thoughts, impulses , emotions, etc. - we are dealing with Causation, with original Cause, and we should be most careful how we deal with such powers and forces.  In dealing with this subtle power of Mind and Spirit, we are dealing with a fluent force.  It is forever taking form and forever deserting the form which it has taken.  Thus a practitioner of this Science should not be confused over any given form, but should know that any form which is not of the original harmony is subject to change.  The Original Spirit is Harmony.  It is Beauty and Truth and everything that goes with Ultimate Reality.  The Universe is not divided against Itself.

We should learn to control our thought processes and bring them into line with Reality.  Thought should tend more and more toward an affirmative attitude of mind that is positive, stable, and - above all else - toward a real unity with Spirit that is already complete and perfect."

January 24 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

Place No Limit on Principle ~ Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

Know your own mind. Train yourself to think what you wish to think; be what you wish to be; feel what you wish to feel, and place no limit on Principle!

The words which you speak would be just as powerful as the words which Jesus spoke, if you knew your word was the Law whereunto it was sent, but you must KNOW this WITHIN and not merely accept it with your intellect.  If you have reached a point where the inner consciousness believes, then your word is simply an announcement of Reality!

KNOW - without a shadow of a doubt - that as a result of your treatment, some action takes place in Infinite Mind.  Infinite Mind is the actor and you are the announcer.  If you have a  vague, subtle, unconscious fear, be quiet and ask yourself, "Who am I?"  "What am I?"  "Who is speaking?"  "What is my life?"  IN this manner think right back to the Principle, until your thought becomes perfectly clear again.  Such is the power of right thinking, that it cancels and erases everything unlike itself.  It answers every question, solves all problems, is the solution to every difficulty.  It is like the sunlight of Eternal Truth, bursting through the clouds of obscurity and bathing all life in glory.  It is the Absolute with which you are dealing.  ALL THERE REALLY IS, IS GOD!

God Never Compromises

In demonstrating over conditions, the only inquiries we need to make are:  "Do the things we want lend themselves to a constructive program?  Do they express a more abundant life, rob no one, create no delusion, and express a greater degree of livingness?"  If we are able to answer these questions affirmatively, then all the power in the Universe is back of our program!  If it is money, houses, automobiles, lands, stocks, bonds, dresses, shirts or shoe strings - all of which come from the same source - there can be nothing either in the Law or in the Spirit back of the Law, to deny us the right to the greatest possible expression of life.

Good never compromises with Its opposite.  The one practicing must be able to look a fact in the face, and know that all manifestations are effects and can be changed by changing the mental cause. He must be able to look at the sick man who has come to him for help, and know that only perfection stands before him; he must see beyond the appearance to that which is basically perfect.  This will not be irrational to the one who has made a careful study of the Science of Mind and Spirit.

Truth knows no opposites.  When we take away the belief in evil - the belief that the outward appearance is the same as the inner reality - evil flees.  We must continually remind ourselves of the power of the Word, and of our ability to use it.  We must know that Truth produces freedom because Truth is freedom.  Our work will best be done in quiet expectancy and in calm confidence. The results rest in the Eternal Law of Good.