The Science of Mind

by Ernest Holmes

  We should approach the Law normally and naturally and with a sense of ease. There is nothing peculiar or weird about this; it is a natural Law, working in a normal way, and must be thought of in this light.

  We should come to consider the Law and the Spirit as friends and think of them as such; in this way we will gradually go from good to more good and from peace to a greater peace. This is the natural unfoldment of Reality through man. We should expect the best and so live that the best may become a part of our experience.

  Lesson Four: The Control of Conditions

  In taking up this subject, let us very clearly understand that we do not differentiate between Conscious Mind and Spirit; there is no difference, for they are One.

  The Spirit of Intelligence, which is God, in order to do something for us must do that thing through us, and what It is to do must first become a part of our mentality before it can become an individual experience. OUR MENTALITIES ARE BUT THE SPIRIT WORKING THROUGH US AS INDIVIDUALS.

  In the new schools of thought there are those who claim to demonstrate only by the Spirit; also those who claim to demonstrate only by the Mind. This is a distinction which is suppositional rather than real and is impossible, because, if there were two powers, we would at once have duality and our philosophy of Unity would be contradicted. There is but One Active Intelligence, whether it be the Universal Intelligence or Universal Spirit individualized in us.

  We do, however, distinguish between the phase of mind which we call conscious and the phase which we call unconscious or subjective, as has already been explained.

  In demonstrating conditions, the only inquiries we need to make are: do the things that we want lend themselves to a constructive program? Do they express a more abundant life, rob none, create no delusion, but instead, do they express a greater degree of livingness? If they do, then all the power in the universe must be behind them. If it is money, automobiles, houses, lands, stocks, bonds, dresses, shirts or shoestrings, cabbages or kings,—all of which come from the same source,—there can be nothing, either in the Law or in the Spirit back of the Law, to deny us the right to the greatest possible expression of life.

  So we need not hesitate to use the Law for personal motives, for we have a perfect right to do so. It is good for every one to express himself, provided that in so doing, he does not destroy the independence of others.

  LAW OF REFLECTION

  In turning to the Law, then, realize that It is a Law of reflection. "Life is the mirror of king and slave." Chart No. IV is divided into two parts with a suppositional line in the center; on one side is depicted the world of thought and on the other, the world of the reflections of thought. The world of thought is the world of our individuality; it is the part of us that knows. The other is the world of soul or receptivity and of reflections. In the thought is the cause that reflects the effect; the belief that reflects the correspondence. Here is the image; and here is a form. Here is the limited thought, the result of which reflects poverty. Here is the freed thought, the result of which reflects wealth. Here is a thought of peace which reflects peace. Here is a prayer and here is its answer; the answer to prayer is in the prayer when it is prayed, and the answer is identical with the prayer. Here is Yes and here is Yes; and here is No and here is No. Why is this? Because the Law takes us at our own valuation; if we say "Yes," It says "Yes"; and if we say "No," It says "No"; for It can only reflect; It cannot initiate anything. So here is friendship and over here is friendship. Emerson said: "If you want a friend, be a friend"; and so, as the idea of friendship dawns upon the consciousness, the law of attraction produces friends; for one is the picture and the other is the thing. This is the great teaching of Involution and Evolution, the thought involved and the result evolved; one is the treatment and the other is the demonstration.

  We mean by demonstration, bringing into our experience something which we had not experienced before; bringing it in as the result of conscious thought; and unless it is possible to do this the whole science is a mistake and a delusion.

  Unless there is a Divine Principle, Universal Soul or Subjectivity, or Medium, which, of Itself, without any help or assistance, can produce things, and will, then there is nothing in this teaching. But there is Divine Principle; and what It does for us, It must do through us. Our part in the demonstration is to set the word in motion, thus compelling, through the law of subjectivity, the result or manifestation.

  ATTRACTING FRIENDS

  When we are dealing with Causation, we are dealing with that which has involved within Itself all effect, as it unfolds. We may leave it to the Law to compel right action. With this in mind, let us go on to treatment.

  Suppose we wish to attract friends. We must begin to image ideal relationships, be they social or otherwise; to sense and feel the presence of friends; to enjoy them in our own mentalities, not as an illusion, but as a reality; not as a dream, but as an experience; to declare that their presence is now here; that they know it and that we know it. But we must never look to see if they are here, because this would imply doubt and would neutralize our word. We can attract the kind of friends we wish if we specifically designate the kind; but we must never think of certain people, or that a particular individual must be one of them, for this would be hypnotic; just thinking the idea will bring the right kind of friends.

  In order to have this friendship enduring, true, really worth while and a thing of beauty, we should cultivate an attitude of friendship toward everybody and everything.

  THE PRINCIPLE OF PROSPERITY

  We are surrounded by a Universal Subjectivity, a Subjective, Creative Consciousness, which is receptive, neutral, impersonal, always receiving the impress of our thought, and which has no alternative other than to operate directly upon it, thus creating the things which we think.

  Each one should realize that there is nothing in him that denies that which he desires. Our unity with our good is not established while there is anything in us that denies it.

  People often say: "How shall I know when I know?" If you knew you would not ask this question; the very fact that you can ask it proves you do not know; for when you know that you know you can prove it by doing.

  Thought sets definite force in motion in Mind, relative to the individual who thinks. For instance, I am known in Consciousness as Ernest Holmes, for that is my name; and every claim made for me, which I accept, operates through avenues of mind-activity and returns to me as some condition.

  In practice, always forget the limitations of individuality. Each treatment should embody a recognition of the Whole, because It is Omnipresent.

  WE DEAL WITH ABSOLUTENESS

  We deal with Absoluteness; this is the attitude that we should have. What we need is to know the Truth. This does not mean that we need not be active; of course we shall be active; but we need not compel things to happen. A good demonstration is made when the Truth, gathering Its own power, lifts one out of his environment; and until that time comes he should stay where he is, in order that he may know when he has made a demonstration.

  It is not a good demonstration if, when we give our treatments, we have to struggle just as before. Principle is Absolute, and in so far as any individual can actually induce, within consciousness, upon Principle, a definite, concrete acceptance of his desire, it will manifest, even if every thought on earth had to change to compel it. If it were a bit of information that only one person on earth knew, and he was in the center of Africa, it would be produced.

  PRAYER IS ITS OWN ANSWER

  Cause and effect are but two sides of thought; and Spirit is both Cause and Effect. Prayer is its own answer. Now, if the one who prays only partly believes, then there is a tendency to set an idea in motion; if the next day he wholly doubts, this idea must be wiped out. In dealing with Mind, we are dealing with a Force which we cannot fool. We can fool ourselves; we can fool others; but we cannot cheat Principle out of the slightest shadow of our most subtle concept; for this is impossible. The hand writes an
d passes on, but the writing is left there, nevertheless; and the only thing that can erase it is a writing of a different character. We must either transcend all that has gone before, by walking above it, neutralize it by an opposite state of consciousness, or endure it.

  Get a sense of self-mastery, of being equal to every occasion. There is nothing too great; there is no obstacle that you cannot surmount; no obstruction that you cannot dissipate by the power of Truth, if your concept of Truth is dynamic enough and clear enough, and if the embodiment is complete.

  IF YOU KNOW

  If you know that the Power with which you are dealing is Principle and not personality; if you know and believe that Mind is the only Actor, Cause, Effect, Substance, Intelligence, Truth and Power that there is; and if you have a real embodiment of your desires, then you can demonstrate.

  If you lack, if you are poor, if you are without friends, if you are without opportunity, don't fight anything; but be sure to erase from your consciousness any sense of that lack.

  You erase thought from consciousness by pouring in an opposite thought; this opposite thought meets the other and neutralizes it; that is, it rubs it out, just as we rub a chalk mark off a board. Take a consistent, positive, aggressive mental attitude in the Truth.

  We walk by falling forward; water falls by its own weight; the planets are eternally falling through space; for everything sustains itself in nature. The only reason that man is limited is that he has not allowed the Instinctive Life to come out through him, and the reason why this is possible, is that his own Divine Individuality, as soon as it was evolved, compelled Infinity to appear in his experience as duality, because he believed in duality.

  Take no personal responsibility for making anything happen. Throw your word into Mind, and know that Mind receives it; Mind believes it; Mind accepts it; Mind acts upon it; and Mind produces it.

  NO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

  No matter how great a responsibility may rest in that which must be done, never let one minute's responsibility rest in your own thought about it, because that to which the mind gives birth is, and EVERY IDEA IS BOUND TO PRODUCE AN EFFECT EXACTLY LIKE ITS CAUSE.

  When we make a demonstration we must take what goes with it. Therefore, all demonstrations should be made in peace, confidence and joy and in the realization of Divine Love and Perfection as permeating everything. The reason for this is evident, for we are dealing with the law of cause and effect. We are not depending upon chance, but upon Law.

  We must know that we are dealing with the substance from which all things are made—people, brains, monkeys—everything that is. Nothing moves but Mind, and we are dealing with the Mind that is the Mover, the Creator, the Cause of all that is or is to be.

  HELPING AN INVENTOR

  Suppose an inventor came to you and said: "I am trying to perfect a piece of machinery and have not been able to work out the right plan." You sit with him for treatment; that is, you concentrate in Mind, in order to produce the desired idea through him. You know that all ideas come from Mind and that Mind is always unfolding Its Ideas through man. You say: "John Smith is an inventor; a certain idea is trying to operate through him and there is nothing in him that can obstruct this idea." Then state that this idea is known in Mind, and is now flowing through him. If you do this, thinking clearly, new ideas will begin to operate through him and he will discover the thing he needs.

  LOOK ONLY AT WHAT YOU WANT

  Never look at that which you do not wish to experience. No matter what the false condition may be, it must be refuted.

  The proper kind of a denial is based upon the recognition that, in reality, there is no limitation; for mind can as easily make a planet as anything else. The Infinite knows no difference between a million dollars and a penny. It only knows that IT IS. It would be just as easy to demonstrate a million dollars as it would be to demonstrate ten cents, if the mental concept embodied the idea of a million dollars.

  It is the consciousness back of the word that forms the word. Consciousness means the inner embodiment of an idea through the recognition of Truth and a direct relationship to the Divine. The greatest Teacher Who ever lived was the most spiritual man; for the more universal and comprehensive the thought, the more Godlike it must become.

  A good treatment is always filled with the recognition of the Presence of God or Good. Even in Spiritual Things we are still dealing with the law of cause and effect, for God is Law. The more exalted the thought, the more heavenly, the more boundless, the more Godlike or Christlike the thought, the more power it will have. This is why the greatest Teacher should become the Saviour; He couldn't help it. A great teacher would have to be a Saviour.

  DEFINITE PLAN

  We will say that there are four men, "A," "B," "C," and "D." "A" receives 15 a week, "B" receives 50, "C," 75, and "D," 100. Now these four are all without positions and they come to a practitioner for mental treatment. The practitioner takes the thought that there is nothing but activity; he neutralizes, in his own thought, any belief in inactivity and declares that each of these four men is divinely active and occupied. Without question he has set in motion a law which will respond and will reproduce something for each of these four. We will suppose that his treatment is a good and an effective one; they receive it, and consequently each one of them receives a position. You will find that each does not receive the same compensation, for in all probability "A" will receive 15 per week; "B," 50; "C," 75, and "D," 100. "But," one might say, "he spoke the same word for each; why did they not all receive 100 per week?" Because, while his word was used for each in a like manner, each could receive only his fill, his mental capacity to comprehend. Each was full, and no doubt running over; but the molds which their perceptions of life provided were limited to the subjective remembrance already set in motion by themselves. Each attracted to himself, out of the Universal Good, that which he could comprehend. It is the old statement that water will reach its own level by its own weight, and without effort. So a treatment will only level itself in the objective world at the level of the subjective thought and realization.

  This does not mean that each of the above-stated men will always have to receive the same compensation; for with an enlarged consciousness he would receive more.

  ATTRACTION

  Every one automatically attracts to himself just what he is, and you may set it down that wherever you are, however intolerable the situation may be, it is just where you belong. There is no power in the Universe but yourself that can get you out of it. Some one may help you on the road to realization, but substantiality and permanence can come only through the consciousness of your own life and thought. Man must bring himself to a point where there is no misfortune, no calamity, no accident, no trouble, no confusion; where there is nothing but plenty, peace, power, Life and Truth. He should definitely, daily, using his own name, declare the Truth about himself, realizing that he is reflecting his statements into Consciousness, and that they will be operated upon by It.

  This is called, in mysticism, High Invocation; invoking the Divine Mind; implanting within It seeds of thought relative to one's self. And this is why some of the teachers of older times used to teach their pupils to cross their hands over their chests and say: "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful me!" definitely teaching them that, as they held themselves, so they would be held. "Act as though I Am and I will Be."

  One of the ancient sayings is that, "To the man who can perfectly practice inaction, all things are possible." This sounds like a contradiction until one gets down to the inner teachings; for it is only when one completely practices inaction that he arrives at the point of the true actor. For he then realizes that the act and the actor are one and the same, that cause and effect are the same; which is simply a different way of saying: "Know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." To reduce the whole thing to its simplest form, whatever one reflects into Mind will be done.

  HOW TO DEMONSTRATE A HOME

  Suppose you wish to demonstrate a ho
me; daily, looking into Mind, visualize it just as you wish it to be, making the picture as clear as possible; for it is a lack of clearness of thought that hinders demonstration. Then sit there about ten minutes, saying, "It is, it is, it is." Perhaps thoughts will come in which say "that it is not." Pay no attention to such thoughts but return to your meditation, and seeing the picture anew, say again, "It is, it is, it is." Use no effort, but simply see the picture very clearly and declare for its presence.

  Never look for results from treatment; for if you do you will not find them. This is in accordance with law, for what you look for you know that you do not have and are only trying to fool yourself into thinking that you do have. Treatment is not a process of hypnotism; it is a process of self-knowing; and if you really know you will be sure to demonstrate.

  Treatment is the art, the science and process of systematically inducing within consciousness concepts of definite desires as already accomplished facts and experiences in life.

  RESIST NOT

  When Jesus said "Resist not evil," He meant that non-recognition of evil is the only way to avoid it. This is true according to the law of cause and effect; for what we persist in recognizing, we persist in holding in place. That which we non-recognize, we neutralize, and it is no longer there, so far as we are concerned. In making a demonstration, don't try to demonstrate; for demonstrations are not made through effort, because this would contradict one of the fundamental principles of the universe, which is the Self-Existence of Causation. In other words, nothing can come before that which is, consequently everything must come out of that which is; and within that which is, is the inherent possibility of that which is to be. All things exist as a potentiality, as a possibility, now. "I Am Alpha and Omega." Try to get a recognition of your desire and pass the whole thing over to Mind, and let It operate. Just know that the desire is already a fact, and quietly say to yourself, as often as the thought comes into mind: "It is done." The lighter the thought is, the less care or worry over it, the better. The best work is done when the element of struggle is entirely left out.