June 18 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

PHYSICAL PERFECTION ~ Ernest Holmes

Treating Insanity

"In treating one whose mind appears to be deranged, realize that there is but One Mind, which Mind is God, and is Perfect.  This is the only Mind there is.  It is the Mind of your patient; It is your own Mind.  This Mind being a Complete, Perfect, and Indivisible Whole, cannot labor under a delusion, cannot for one moment lose Its Self-Consciousness.  After you have realized this Truth about Life, know that it is also true about the one whom you are treating.  His thought is perfect.  If one should have a complete realization of this, knowing there is just the One Mind, there would be no doubt or confusion, and the mentality of the patient would cease to be deranged.

The practitioner must never allow himself to think of the patient as having "lost his mind."  If once the consciousness of the practitioner becomes clouded by such a thought, he would be truly "the blind leading the blind."  The practitioner must believe that there is but One Intelligence in the universe, and that this Intelligence is everywhere, flows in unlimited supply through every individual.   Man's mentality is a point in Universal Mind, to which all things are known.  In this Mind all persons are rational and poised."

February 8 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

BODY ~ Ernest Holmes

Definition

The Universe has been called the Great Trinity, or Triune Unity of Spirit, Soul and Body - the Body being the result, the effect, the objectification of Spirit.  Soul is the immaterial, plastic and receptive Medium.  It is primordial or Cosmic Stuff, unmanifest form.  Body is the result of Spirit working through Soul or Law.  THE ENTIRE MANIFESTATION OF SPIRIT, BOTH VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE, IS THE BODY OF GOD. There is One Body of the Universe.  Within this One Body is included all lesser bodies.

Body means the entire manifestation of Spirit on all planes.  "In my father's house are many mansions," said Jesus.  We do not, of course, see all these mansions.  Science has revealed to us that many exist which we do not see and revelation has shown that the Universe is Infinite..."For we know in part, and we prophesy in part."

The word "body" as used in the Science of Mind means all objective manifestations of the invisible Principle of Life.  The body is distinguished from the idea, in that the body is seen while the idea is invisible.  The physical universe is the Body of God - the invisible Principle of all life.  Our physical being is the body of the unseen man.  Behind the objective form of the rose is the idea that projects the rose.

Body is always an effect, never a cause.  Body expresses intelligence, its apparent intelligence being lent by the consciousness which permeates it.  We would not say that consciousness is in the body, but rather that body is in consciousness!  If one is unconscious he has neither pain nor fear.  Pain and fear are in consciousness, but consciousness so completely envelopes the body that it appears to be intelligent.

Perhaps the human body is an exact counterpart of an invisible body which is non-material as we now understand matter and physical form.  The physical body is evolved for the purpose of allowing consciousness to function on this plane.  The body is necessary to this plane, since only through a physical body can we properly function here.  When the body is no longer a fit instrument the soul deserts it and continues to function on another plane.

To say that the body is unreal is a mistake.  It is real but is an effect, not an entity.  It may yet be proven that the mind completely controls the body, and that the body is but a reflection of the mind.  In no way would this contradict the reality of the body nor the experience of pain and sickness, but it might help in an understanding of these experiences.  While we may affirm that the body is not a thing of itself, we cannot say there is no body.  The simplest way to think of body is to realize that it is the objective manifestation of a subjective mind and consciousness; and if we are to be well and happy, not only the body but the mind also must be peaceful and harmonious.

Psychology has shown that physical (or subjective) disturbances produce physical reactions in the body.  If the body is to be permanently well, the soul or subjective life must be in poise, the mind peaceful and happy.  It may be considered as a general rule that when the soul is poised in true spiritual realization the body will be normal and healthy.  This is the purpose of mental healing, whether it be approached from the psychological or metaphysical angle.  Psychology and metaphysics are but two ends of the same thing.  So we treat the body as a legitimate effect, controlled by the soul life.