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"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 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." –
Dr. Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind, Introductory Chapter 2
As we understand that the Spirit is living in and through us, we
need not look any further than what we see around us to gain the
awareness that G-d can only do for us, what G-d can do through us.
We each are living to the sum total of what we choose to believe and
what we choose to accept for ourselves. Now, this is not to say
that we are to blame for the calamities that appear in our lives.
Blame or self-denigration, are self defeating. All things come to
our awareness for us to examine our beliefs in the light of Truth.
It is as simple as that. Dr Holmes writes in The Science of Mind:
"We are bound because we are first free; the
power which appears to bind us is the only power in the universe that
can free us. This is why 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."
I believe that we suffer because we
are unaware of the Truth that all things work to our good.
I have great certainty that a positive faith is more powerful than
positive thinking, because faith depends on belief. The Master
Mind Jesus did not say, "it is done unto as you think" but
instead used the word "believe" ... belief is G-d because
"belief" is what determines what we receive and accept for
ourselves. Someone with a positive faith in the good may
experience adversity, but will transcend it. And, often, will have
an even greater faith still. There is nothing complex about this.
It is simple and easily understood. Yet, it is not easily accepted
because we see so much that appears to contradict this in the world,
that we let the appearances deny our faith, because we believe in what
we see ... more than in what we believe.
In The Science of Mind we are engaged in
understanding that faith based on Principle or Universal Intelligence,
can be depended on ... and can be demonstrated. We can state this
simply as "there is a Power in the universe and we can use it"
... but, first, we must "recognize" It as Power ... and then
we must foster and nurture a positive faith that It will work for us,
through us, for in Truth, It is us. At first our mind may find it
difficult to accept that this Infinite Presence we call G-d, is in us,
as us. To contemplate the Infinite, infinitely individualized is
easier to grasp when we realize that we all have unique fingerprints and
unique voices. DNA researchers have found that we are unique in
multiple ways ... some beyond our imagination.
Back to 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. If 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 no great and no small to
the soul that maketh all," then we may experience a greater good
because we have conceived it. ... 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, nor of Its ability. It is
entirely a question of our own receptivity."
The kingdom of Heaven is within us, but how may
times do we disturb this Heaven by dwelling on thoughts that are not so
heavenly? Doubt and worry are just step-children of fear. We
cannot waver in our belief that good is without limitation ... that
there is only good, not good and evil. We must be willing to
discard duality ... release it from our consciousness ... and most of
all never dwell on fear in our mental household. Dr. O. C. Smith
stated, "fear is the child of an undeveloped
consciousness." And so we must develop our consciousness
with a positive faith in the good ... good for us, and good for everyone
without limitation.
Let's begin to develop our faith in a greater
good, right now using these words given to us by Dr. Ernest Holmes in
his book, "Living The Science Of Mind." Please
say this to yourself: "Good and more good is mine.
There is no limit to the good that is mine. Everywhere I go I see
this good, I feel it, I experience it. It presses itself against
me, flows through me, expresses itself in me, and multiplies itself
around me."
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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