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"Formulate
and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as
succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your
mind will seek to develop the picture ... do not build up obstacles in
your imagination." - Norman Vincent
Peale
"The Science
of Mind" written by Dr. Ernest Holmes, begins with the
"Introduction" which contains four chapters; I The Thing
Itself, II The Way It Works, III What It Does, and IV How to Use It ...
the first four weeks of January, 2007, I will focus on these
Introductory Chapters. This week I will focus on Introductory
Chapter II, The Way It Works. (Chapter I, The Thing Itself, is
posted on the 2007
Archives page.)
The Law of Life is a Law of Belief
and what we believe is a choice. But, not all of the beliefs that
we hold in our consciousness have been consciously chosen. The
Science of Mind gives us the knowledge to choose our beliefs based on
Universal Principles ... beliefs that are in alignment with the Nature
of God, Infinite Spirit.
[The Science of Mind] ... UNIVERSAL MIND, OR
SPIRIT, IS GOD ... There is a Universal Mind, Spirit, Intelligence, that
is the origin of everything: It is First Cause. It is God.
This Universal Life and Energy finds an outlet in and through all that
is energized, and through everything that lives. There is One Life
back of everything that lives. There is One Energy back of all
that is energized. This Energy is in everything. There is
One Spirit back of all expression. That is the meaning of that
mystical saying: "In Him we live, and move, and have our
being." (ACTS 17:28)
[The Science of Mind] ... The life which we
live is the Universal Life expressing through us, else how could we
live. Our thought and emotion is the use we make - consciously or
unconsciously - of this original creative Thing that is the Cause of
everything. Therefore, we shall say that the mind, spirit, and
intelligence which we find in ourselves is as much of this original,
creative God as we understand. That this is not robbing God is a
self-evident fact. Since we are, then we are real and actual and
have existence; and since we can reduce all that is to a fundamental
unit, we find that we have this proposition:
There is
Spirit - or this Invisible Cause - and nothing, out of which all things
are to be made. Now, Spirit plus nothing leaves Spirit only.
Hence there is One Original Cause and nothing, out of which we are made.
In other words, we are made from this Thing. That is why we are
called the "son of God." (note: the image and likeness
of God)
[The Science of Mind] ... We (have been) bound
because we are first free; the power which appears to bind us is the
only power in the universe which can free us. This is why (the
Master Mind) Jesus summed up His whole philosophy in this simple
statement: "It is done unto you as you believe."
... That "believe" and that "as" symbolize heaven
and hell. And so we suffer, not because suffering is imposed upon
us, but because we are ignorant of our true nature.
[The Science of Mind] ... SPIRIT WORKS FOR US
BY WORKING THROUGH US ... The Thing, then, works for us by working
through us and is us, always. It cannot work for us in any other
way. It spreads Itself over the whole universe and shouts at us
from every angle, but It can become power to us ONLY WHEN WE RECOGNIZE
IT AS POWER.
[The Science of Mind] ... We cannot recognize
that It is, while we are believing that It is not. Hence, it is
written: "they ... entered not in because of unbelief."
(Hebrews 4:6) We may enter in because of our belief, but we cannot
enter while there is unbelief. Here we come to a house divided
against itself. It we say we can only experience a little good,
then we shall experience but a little good. But, if we say, with
Emerson, "There is not great or small to the soul that maketh
all," then we may experience a greater good because we have
conceived it.
[The Science of Mind] ... Therefore, our belief
sets the limit to our demonstration of a Principle which, of Itself, is
without limit. It is ready to fill everything, because It is
Infinite. So, it is not a question of Its willingness, or of Its
ability. It is entirely a question of our own receptivity.
[The Science of Mind] ... HOW MUCH CAN WE
BELIEVE? ... That we must go the way of the Law, is a fundamental tenet
of this Science, because Nature obeys us as we first obey It, and our
obedience to It is our acceptance of It. How much can we believe?
AS MUCH AS WE CAN BELIEVE will be done unto us.
[The Science of Mind] ... How much can one
demonstrate? Just what one can believe. How much can we see,
how much can we accept, how much can we find in our consciousness that
is no longer repudiated by our own denials? What that is, THAT
MUCH WE CAN HAVE.
[The Science of Mind] ... We must instill into
the mind the fundamental proposition that good is without bounds.
Only good and loving-kindness shall "follow me all the days of my
life." (Psalms 23) We must get this concept, rather than
continuing to think there is a power of evil as opposed to the power of
Good. We experience good and evil because we perceive a presence
of duality rather than unity. ... Let us realize and work with this
sound knowledge and perfect faith: That as high as we shall make
our mark in Mind and Spirit, so high shall be Its outward manifestation
in our material world.
Simply stated, the
way It works is through our belief ... our belief in God ... and our
belief and confidence that God works through us. We must know and
realize within our minds that the Good desires that we carry in our
hearts ... that take nothing from anyone else ... is God's desires for
us ... and that much we can have.
AND SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev. Hank
Bates
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