The Science of Mind

by Ernest Holmes

  When one realizes that he is depending upon Principle, he should educate himself to the point of realization of his ability to use It.

  We should always be impersonal in mental work. We do not have to be impersonal in life, for we are brought to the point of personality in order that we might enjoy each other. But in mental work we are dealing with an impersonal Principle. It will operate for one just as quickly as for another, because It is Law. Dare to speak and to know that what you speak is the law unto the thing spoken. One, alone in consciousness with the Infinite, constitutes a complete majority.

  Knowing this in your own thought, work in perfect peace and calm; always expect; have enthusiasm; and have a consciousness of love; that is, a radiant feeling flowing through the personality at all times. If one hasn't this he should treat himself until he does have it; for without it, he is diseased in mind. Treat until you feel an inner sense of Unity with the all Good. There is One Mind, and the moving impulse of this Mind is Love.

  In choosing words in treatment, say anything that will induce the right mental attitude. Giving formulas is a mistake, for how can any one put a spontaneous thought into the mind of another? Any one can stand in front of a dead man and say, "Arise," but who is going to have the consciousness to make this happen?

  PLACE NO LIMIT ON PRINCIPLE

  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 word which you speak would be just as powerful as the words which Jesus spoke, if you knew it; but know this within and not only without.

  After all, all there is, is mental action and reaction. If you have reached the point where the inner consciousness produces all things, then your word is simply an announcement of reality. There will come a time when demonstration will no* longer be necessary.

  Know that when you give a treatment, the act takes place in Infinite Mind. Infinite Mind is the Actor and you are the announcer. If you have a vague, subtle, unconscious fear, get still and think, "Who am I? What am I? Who is speaking? What is my life?" Think right back to 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 and nothing less.

  Note: Read carefully "Being and Becoming," F.L. Holmes; "Doré Lectures," T. Troward; "From Existence to Life," James Porter Mills; "Mind's Silent Partner," James Porter Mills; "History and Power of Mind," Richard Ingalese.

  Lesson Two: Recapitulation

  Man reënacts the Divine Nature on all three planes; he is self-knowing in his conscious mind, creative through his subconscious mind, and has a body. He reënacts the Trinity of Being.

  Man is in perfect unity with the Whole. His conscious mind is his understanding of God; his subjective mind is the use that he makes of the Universal Creative Medium; and his body is one with the Body of God.

  There is but One Mind in the Universe, and man uses It. Man is an identity in the Universe; he is a center of God-Consciousness. At first he is ignorant of this and misuses his power, consequently bringing upon himself misfortune and sickness.

  Man's thought operates through the medium of Universal Creative Mind. As he thinks within himself, he thinks upon Creative Mind and sets Law in motion. Since there is but One Mind a person may think for himself, or for some one else, and cause the Law to operate as he directs.

  The use of Creative Mind is like the use of the creative soil. Man never creates; he simply uses a Creative Law.

  Objective, conscious and self-knowing mind, all have the same meaning; they mean that part of man which knows that it exists.

  Subjective, subconscious, unconscious, soul and consciousness have the same meaning; they mean the inner creative medium.

  Body, effect and outward conditions all respond to the inner thought.

  The Spirit of man, which is his self-knowingness, is the only part of him which has volition or self-choice; all else is automatic law.

  Man's conscious thought, acting through law, may change any condition in his experience, provided he can clearly conceive of that condition as being changed. There is no limit to the Law. The limit is not in the Law but in man's ability to embody the Truth and constructively use the Law.

  Remember, there is but One Mind and One Law which all people use, consciously or unconsciously, constructively or destructively; One Spirit, One Mind, One Law, One Substance, but many forms. There is only One Ultimate Reality, but within this One there are many experiences. Man is within the One and draws from It any and all experiences in which he believes.

  As man thinks he subjectifies thought and sets Law in motion through the Medium of the Universal Mind. This Law works automatically until It is consciously changed.

  Man uses a Power which is Infinite as compared with the power of his conscious thought.

  Divine Principle means Universal Subjective Law; It is the Medium of all thought and action.

  Freedom and bondage, sickness and health, poverty and riches, heaven and hell, good and bad, big and little, happiness and misery, peace and confusion, faith and fear and all conditions that appear as opposites, are not really opposing powers, but are the way that the One Power is used.

  Man has within himself the key to every situation, but he must come to realize his relation to the Whole. That relationship is one of Perfect Unity.

  Lesson Three: Introduction

  HEALING

  Mental healing means mind healing. The possibility of healing physical diseases through the power of right thinking rests entirely on the theory that we are surrounded by an Infinite Mind which reacts to our thought.

  That people have been healed through prayer and by faith in all ages, there is no question. But we live in a Universe of Law and Order, and at no time can that Law or Order be broken; therefore, if people have been healed through prayer and faith, it is because they have somewhere contacted a Law which really exists. To suppose that God would heal one man any more readily than another, would be to suppose that God is human and subject to the changing emotions that we ascribe to the human mind. To believe that the Divine Power would operate for one man simply because he asked It to, but would not operate for all, would be to believe in a God more human than man himself. It is very evident, however, that many times people have been healed through prayer; and either God has especially answered them, while He left others to suffer, or else by the act of prayer they have complied with some law. Again, many people have prayed and their prayers have not been answered; yet they have prayed to the best of their ability. Why have some been heard and others not heard? The only possible answer is that some reached a place in their mentality where they believed, while others fell short of this mental attitude. After all, prayer is a certain mental attitude, a certain way of thinking, a certain way of believing. All prayer is mental; some prayers reach a state of belief, while others fall short of that state. This leads us to suppose that the answer to prayer is in the prayer when it is prayed. True prayer stimulates a belief in Good which nothing else can, and often causes the one who prays to rise to a point in mentality where the healing work may be done according to the Law of the Universe, which is a Law of Mind.

  We have no objection to any form of healing. Anything that will help to overcome suffering must be good, whether it takes the form of a pill or of a prayer. We do not oppose doctors nor medical practitioners, but gratefully acknowledge the wonderful work that they have done and are doing. We hold no controversy with any one on the subject of healing. We are glad when any one is healed, or helped, by any method. We believe in any and all methods, and know that each has its place in the whole. We know that man's life is a drama which takes place on three planes;—the physical, the mental and the s
piritual. We know that each needs to be taken into account. We believe in proper food, proper exercise, proper clothing, proper sanitation and in everything that is real and sensible. We include all and exclude none.

  But, while we do not hold arguments with any one, neither will we allow any one to hold controversies with us. We know that man's life, in reality, is spiritual and mental; and that until the thought is healed, no form of cure will be permanent. We will gladly coöperate with any and all; but we will not accept the judgment of any and all. We know that there is a Law higher than the physical, and we seek to use It. We, perhaps, shall not always succeed, but we shall not become discouraged or confused over the issue, but will continue until we arrive.

  We hold no arguments over any form of theology. We believe in any and every church and in all forms of worship. Above all, we certainly believe in God. But we will not allow any one to tell us how to worship God, nor compel us to worship in any way other than the way we choose.

  We reject the theory that the Truth has been once and for all time given and that It cannot be added to nor taken from. We know this to be true about the Truth; but we also know that no one, so far, has arrived at a complete understanding of Truth. We expect more light all along the line, and we repudiate any belief that says that all truth has been given.

  We know that the authority of man is, in most cases, an assumption and not a reality, and we refuse to be hypnotized into believing in any man-made mandate.

  WHAT WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT HEALING

  We understand that health is a mental and not a physical state. We seek to heal men's mentalities, knowing that to the degree in which we are successful we shall also be healing their bodies. We know that to the degree in which we are able to see a perfect man he will appear. We feel that man is really perfect, no matter how he appears; and we seek to uncover that perfection which is within every man's life, for this is healing.

  We realize that mental healing must also be spiritual healing, for the two cannot be divorced. We know that a belief in duality has made man sick and that the understanding of Unity alone will heal him. We seek to realize that Unity with God in all our healing work. Every treatment must carry with it a realization of God if it is to be a good treatment.

  We are not superstitious about this, but understand that it is necessary since all Life is One. God stands to us for the One Life in which we all live.

  THOUGHTS ARE THINGS

  We know that thoughts are things. We know that thought is intelligent and has power within itself to objectify itself. We know that belief makes thought very powerful. We know that our thought lays hold of Causation and manipulates real Substance. We know that the word of man is the law of his life, under the One Great Law of all Life. We know that thoughts of sickness make man sick, and that thoughts of health and perfection will heal him. We know that a realization of the Presence of God is the most powerful healing agency known to the mind of man. We do not argue over the issue, nor seek to convince any one of its merits. We have passed the stage of doubt and uncertainty; for we KNOW. We also know that we can heal only to the degree that we can think from the higher motive; and we know that we should be constantly on the alert, seeking to embody higher thoughts.

  Meanwhile, we will use the best thought that we have and will expect to heal and help all who ask our aid.

  Thought is the conscious activity of the one thinking, and works as he directs; it works through Law, but that Law is consciously set in motion. We know that Law will operate for us to the fullest extent of our belief in, and understanding of, it.

  We realize that since our understanding is not yet complete, it is legitimate to use any and all methods that will help humanity; but we do look forward to the day when Truth alone will answer every need. That day will come to the degree that we know it is already here. The mental healer will do all of his work in Mind and will give his whole time and attention to correct knowing; but he will leave his patient free to use any method that will help him. In this way he will get the best results, for everything is good so far as it goes; but a consciousness of Truth alone can really and permanently heal.

  Lesson Three: Mental Healing

  Whatever exists at all must be the result of a definite image of thought held in the Mind of God or the Absolute, Who is the cause of all. Whether we think of man as a projection of God, an emanation of God, a manifestation or a reflection of God, we must realize that God, or the First Cause, holds man in His Consciousness as a Perfect Being, since the Perfect Mind could not conceive of an imperfect idea. If, on the other hand, we think of man as a part of God, which some schools of thought teach, we should then have to realize that man, as a part of the Divine Being, must inherently be perfect. This is a conclusion which is unavoidable. But man does not appear to be perfect; he certainly appears to have many experiences which are far from ideal. There can be no question but the human man suffers, is sick and has pain and eventually dies. To doubt this would be to doubt the evidence of the only quality we possess whereby we may consider ourselves conscious beings at all. We must, then, reconcile our conclusion of perfection with an experience which is apparently not perfect.

  INDIVIDUALITY

  While man must be, and is, a Divine Image or a Perfect Idea, yet he suffers and is sick. The answer to this is the same answer which can be given, philosophically, to the whole problem of evil—that man is an individual and does with himself what he wills. The Scriptures say, "God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Individuality cannot be automatically produced but must be spontaneous. It could not be real individuality unless it had the ability to think as it chose; and it could not be individuality unless its ability to think as it chose were backed by a power to produce this choice; because, if nothing ever happened as the result of man's choice, he would live in a dream world, and his dreams would never come to objectification. This would be a world of illusion. But man has the ability to choose and is unified with a Law which automatically produces his choice; whereas he does not have the ability to destroy the idea of himself, he does have the ability to deface it, to make it appear discordant; but he cannot destroy the Divine Image.

  We live in a Universe of Love as well as in a Universe of Law. One is the complement of the other—the Universe of Love pulsating with feeling, with emotion; and the Universe of Law, the Executor of all feeling and all emotion.

  In taking up this lesson on healing, then, let us remember that back of the man which we see is the Divine Image. There is a Perfect Concept, held in the Mind of the Universe as an already accomplished fact, but man is subject to the law of his own individuality.

  Let us turn to the Law, and find what It says: that man is conscious mind or spirit; this stands for his objective faculty. The objective mind of man is his recognition of life in a conscious state; it is the only attribute of man that is volitional, or self-choosing; consequently, it is the spiritual man. The conscious mind of man is the contemplator, the reflector. The Universe is the result of the Contemplation of the Divine Mind, or the Holy Spirit, which is God. God creates by contemplating His own I-AM-NESS; and this contemplation, through law, becomes the objectification of the Self-Realization of the Infinite Mind.

  MAN RE-ENACTS GOD

  The Divine nature is reënacted in man; he is conscious mind and spirit; and, as he contemplates, he reflects his thought into the Universal Subjectivity; it is received and acted upon.

  As Mind, or Soul, accepts these images of thought, It operates upon unformed substance and causes it to take definite form as body, which is unconscious form. It becomes definite form, but the form itself is unconscious, because it is made of immaterial substance. Body of itself, without Mind, has no consciousness nor volition. Devoid of mentality, the body neither thinks, sees, hears, feels, touches nor tastes. Take the mentality away from the body and it becomes a corpse. Having no conscious intelligence, it at once begins to disintegrate and to resolve again into the Universal Substance, or unform
ed matter, from which it came.

  Conscious thought or contemplation is a reflector, reflecting through mentality into matter, the forms which consciousness entertains. Although man is inherently a perfect idea, his individuality covers this idea with the forms of thought which he images. Of course, these forms of thought may, or may not, be conscious. Man comes into this life subjective to the race consciousness and with a belief in his own environment; and as he unfolds his own personality he begins to create new subjective thought. He thinks and observes, draws certain conclusions and deductions, and incorporates them within his mentality, until, at last, they also become a part of the relative cause of his objective existence.

  Healing is accomplished by uncovering, neutralizing and erasing false images of thought, and letting the perfect idea, or ideal, reflect itself through subjective mind into the body.

  When one realizes that everything is Mind and that nothing moves but Mind, and that the only instrument of Mind is thought (which is contemplation in some form or other), he will see that nothing can permanently heal but right thinking. It is the only permanent form of healing that is known, i.e., mental and spiritual healing.

  NOT LIMITED BY PRINCIPLE

  Realizing that conscious thought operates through a Power which is Infinite, we see that 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 ability to conceive perfection. Our thought can bring out a condition as perfect as we can conceive; therefore, the man whose thought is the most God-like will be the best healer. That is why we cannot divorce true mental healing from true spiritual work. The man whose thought is the most God-like, i.e., the truest, the highest, the most noble, the most complete, the most peaceful, will be the best healer because his thought reflects a greater perfection. When thought reaches a higher degree of perfection, it will bring out a still greater development, i.e., as the race consciousness unfolds and evolves.