October 5 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

WHAT The MYSTICS HAVE TAUGHT
Ernest Holmes

Ultimate Salvation for All (Conclusion)

"There cannot be a Law in the Universe which demands evil, lack, limitation, and the experience of unhappiness, to provide shades to magnify Its glory.  Therefore, the mystics have taught that evil has only the power to destroy itself; that it is not God-ordained.  From the viewpoint of reality, it is an illusion, but they have not denied it as an experience.  It is an experience all have had.  The great have not failed to recognize the appearance of evil, but they have separated the appearance from the reality.  They have done away with evil as a cosmic entity - NO DEVIL, NO HELL, NO TORMENT, NO DAMNATION outside of one's own state of thought, NO PUNISHMENT outside of that self-inflicted, through ignorance; and NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF CONSCIOUS CO-OPERATION WITH THE INFINITE.  Heaven and Hell are states of consciousness."

May 22 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

MEDITATIONS for Self-Help

Ernest Holmes

Oh, for a Tongue to Express

Oh, for a tongue to express the Wonders which the Thought reveals!

Oh, for some Word to comprehend the boundless idea!

Would that some Voice were sweet enough to sound the harmony of Life.

But Within, in that vast realm of thought where the Soul meets God, the Spirit knows.

I will listen for that Voice and It will tell me of Life, of Love and Unity.

Speak to me, Spirit.

O Soul of Mind, Look Out and See

O Soul of mine, look out and see; look up and know Thy freedom.

Be not cast down nor dismayed; be uplifted within me and exult, for Thy Salvation has come.

Behold the wonders of the Great Whole and the marvels of the Universe.

Look out and see Thy good.  It is not afar off, but is at hand.

Prepare Thyself to accept and believe; to know and live.

Let Life enter and live through Thee, Soul of mine, and rejoice that Thou hast vision so fair and so complete.

Rejoice that the Perfect Whole is so completely reflected through Thee.

My light has come.

March 27 ~ The Science of Mind in a Year

What of Reward and Punishment? ~ Ernest Holmes

"What of reward and punishment? Shall we be rewarded for our virtues  and punished for our short-comings?  Can we think of reward and punishment from any other viewpoint than that sin is a mistake and punishment a consequence, that virtue and righteousness must find their corresponding effects in our experience?  God neither punishes nor rewards. Such a concept of God would create an anthropomorphic dualism, a house divided against itself.  Such a house cannot stand.  Life is a blessing or a curse, according to the use we make of it.  In the long run, no one judges us but ourselves and no one condemns us but ourselves.  We believe in a law that governs all things and all people.  If we make mistakes, we suffer.  We are our own reward and our own punishment.

Some suffer, some are happy, some unhappy, according to the way they contact life.  No one judges us but ourselves.  No one gives to us but ourselves and no one robs us but ourselves.  We need not fear either God or the devil.  There is no devil, and God is Love.  The problem of good and evil will never enter the mind which is at peace with itself.  When we make mistakes we suffer the consequences.  When by reason of enlightenment and understanding, we correct such mistakes, we no longer suffer from them.  Understanding alone constitutes true salvation, either here or hereafter.

We need fear nothing in the Universe.  We need not be afraid of God.  We may be certain that all will arrive at the final goal, that not one will be missing. Every man is an incarnation of God.  The soul can no more be lost than God could be lost.  We should neither be disturbed by the wailing of prophets, nor the anathemas of theology.  We cannot believe that because we have subscribed to some creed, we have thereby purchased a seat in heaven, nor can we believe in any vindictive or malicious power in the universe, which damns us because we have erred through human ignorance.  We believe in God and that He is Good. What more can life demand of us than that we do the best that we can and try to improve?  If we have done this, we have done well and all will be right with our souls both here and hereafter.  This leaves us free to work out our own salvation - not with fear or even with trembling - but with peace and in quiet confidence."