How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

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Dr. Phineas Quimby, who started teaching and healing in Maine in 1847, often used the term, 'The explanation is the cure." By this Dr. Quimby meant that his explanation as to why the patient had the particular disease was a penetrating truth aiding the sick person to change his mind and keep it changed. The cure was wrought by his insight. When the patient grasped his explanation, the cure was immediate insofar as the inner life was concerned.

Last year I said to a girl in a convent which I visited in England, who had suddenly lost her voice: "You feel guilty. You would like to speak out about it, but you feel you should not and your subconscious has responded accordingly." She nodded her head, attesting to the truth of what I had said. She forthwith came to a decision to speak to the Sister Superior of the convent and her voice came back immediately. The explanation was the cure in that instance.

Dr. Quimby very suddenly and convincingly spoke to some of his patients that illuminating word which brought far-reaching results affecting the health, religion and mode of life of his patients. Quimby was clairvoyant. He said the test of clairvoyance is the ability to read a letter in the pocket of another person, which that person had not yet read.

Ulcerated Thoughts

Some time ago, in consultation, a man said to me that he was on a milk diet and was taking medicine for his ulcers. Casually, I mentioned that ulcers are generally due to worry, fear, anxiety, deep-seated resentment, stress and strain. He admitted that this statement was absolutely true.

The next step was to teach him that if these habitual thoughts had created his ulcers, he could reverse his thought life and instead contemplate regularly thoughts of peace, harmony, right action, love, goodwill, wholeness and vitality. All he had to do was to make a habit of constructive spiritual thinking. He had been attributing his ulcers to heredity, diet and other factors.

I gave him the following patterns of prayer to be spoken out loud three times in the morning, three times in the afternoon and three times at night prior to sleep:

 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1). I have a new, strong conviction of God's Presence which holds me spellbound, entranced and unmoved, and I feel serene, confident, and unafraid. I know there is nothing to fear—nothing to draw away from, for God is all there is and everywhere present. In Him I live, move and have my being, so I have no fear. God's envelope of love surrounds me and His golden river of peace flows through me; all is well. I am not afraid of people, conditions, events or circumstances, for God is with me. Faith in God fills my soul, and I have no fear. I dwell in the Presence of God now and forevermore, and no fear can touch me. I am not afraid of the future, for God is with me. He is my dwelling place, and I am surrounded with the whole armor of God. God created me and He sustains me. God's wisdom leads and guides me; so I cannot err. I know in my heart the great truth, 'Closer is He than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.' "

He followed this procedure regularly, and after a reasonable period of time his doctor, who was much surprised, pronounced him healed. The explanation was the cure. The clarifying words of truth work wonders when accepted by the mind of the sick or confused person.

He Saw that He Was Foolish

A businessman frankly admitted to me recently that he was wishing failure for a competitor across the street from him. The reason he gave was that the competitor was underselling him. His prices for the same merchandise were much lower.

I explained to him that his attitude was very foolish, because what he was wishing for the other he was at the same time wishing for himself. He was the only thinker in his world, and, because his thoughts are creative, he was attracting lack, loss and limitation and was actually impoverishing himself.

He saw the point immediately. His competitor obviously believed in success, prosperity and expansion and, therefore, could not receive his negative thoughts of failure. He detected his folly and grasped immediately the cause of his slow business. He quickly dropped his negative thinking and prayed for the prosperity and success of his competitor. Then he found that he prospered, also.

To bless the other is to bless yourself. Prayer always prospers. There is an old saying: "The ship that comes home to your brother also comes home to you." The explanation was the cure.

Self-Healing

Self-healing means the awakening in our mind of the truth which sets us free, the dawning in us of the healing power of God, which restores and responds when we call upon it. To unite with that power, declare boldly: "I AM Spirit and have Infinite Life to draw upon now." You will then turn the tide.

Remember also that the vast majority of sick people get well without any help from anybody, and doctors know that. The tendency of life is to heal and restore. Most of our fears are borrowed. They have little basis in fact.

Expectant Attention

It is generally recognized that in order for the therapist's suggestion to take effect in the mind of the percipient, there must be predisposing conditions, such as faith and expectancy. The percipient's favorable and receptive attitude is, in reality, self-suggestion. This auto-suggestion explains many of the wonderful results occurring at sacred shrines where so called miracles of healing have taken place.

Hypertension

In conversing with a man suffering from acute high blood pressure, I pointed out to him the comment of many medical men, who claim that one of the chief personality characteristics of persons with high blood pressure is resentment. This man had not only chronic high blood pressure but experienced cardiac spasms at times.

This man had been cheated and swindled out of at large sum of money and, as he said, he was seeking vengeance. I explained to him that if he desired a complete healing he must follow the Biblical injunction:. . . Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). The spiritual meaning of the word vengeance in the Bible is to justify, to vindicate. It means victory of truth over error or any negative state. The Truth of Being and the goodness of God are vindicated in our lives when we turn to God and call on Divine love to saturate our whole being.

I suggested that he release completely to God the man who had swindled him, wishing for him harmony and peace and that he claim frequently for himself: "God's peace fills my mind and heart, and God's love saturates my soul."

Through frequent habitation of his mind with these truths, he realized an inner peace and tranquility. Whenever the man who had cheated him came to his mind, he blessed him by affirming, "God's peace fills your soul." As he changed his mind, his physical condition changed and he eventually healed himself.

The Lord is the law of life. If anyone misuses the law, the latter will always even things up, as action and reaction are equal. The tendency of all life is to heal and restore, but we must permit the Life Principle to heal without hindrance.

This man saw the folly of trying to get even with the other man in hiring someone else to do him bodily harm. He realized all of this brooding was the cause of his malady and that he had brought it all upon himself. He was stealing health, vitality, discernment and peace of mind from himself and impoverishing himself along all lines.

The explanation is the cure, as he perceived that nothing happens by chance. The reason anything happens to us is because of our own state of mind. In other words, the equivalent is in our mind. If we are in a mood of loss and despair, we will attract loss along all lines. If we live in fear of being cheated, swindled, robbed, etc., we must realize that we attract what we fear. This is a cardinal and fundamental truth. Therefore, we must accept responsibility for what happens to us. Cease blaming others, for this habit will only compound the misery.

Look Within Always for the Cause

I have talked with girls who have married men of a different race, religion and background for no other reason than to try to irritate and disgrace their parents. The trouble is that they do not know the Real Self—God—within.

When they learn to exalt the Divine Presence, the Living Spirit, the Reality of them, they will automatically respect the Divinity in others. The criminal hates himself and projects that hatred on to others. He has never found his real Self, which is God, within him. Boys and girls who were mistreated, neglected and unloved in their home life, become misfits, trouble makers at school, agitators and prone to fighting, stealing and lying. They are trying to get attention and recognition, but they get it the wrong way. They do not know that it is their state of mind that is playing havoc with them.

In truth, there is no one to change but ourselves. If we have the wrong attitude toward life and people, everything will go wrong. Realize that when you are Divinely guided, all of your ways will be ways of pleasantness and all of your paths will be peaceful and harmonious. Remember, you create your own success, happiness and peace of mind.

You are wise when you realize that your success and prosperity in life do not depend on what other people say or do, or do not say or do not do. Realize also that you were born to win, to succeed and triumph over all obstacles. Your success depends on your attitude of mind and your conviction about God, life and the universe. God is always successful in all of His undertakings, and God indwells you.

As you continue to know, feel and believe that you can do all things through the God-Power which strengtheneth you, you will find yourself going up the ladder of life irrespective of what others say or do, or do not say or do. Knowing that God is the Source of all your blessings, you will find yourself free of all jealousy, hate, resentment and hostility. Decide to look to the Infinite for all your good and you will never be disappointed.

You Can Call on Your Reserves

There is an inexhaustible reservoir of strength, wisdom and energy within your deeper mind. All armies on the march, for example, make sure that reserves are there when needed and can be called upon. This gives the general in charge a certain assurance and confidence.

God indwells you, and all the powers, attributes and qualities of God indwell each one of us. All of us live, move and have our being in that Infinite Being which created all things and is the very life of us. "There is " says Emerson, "guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right words"

A girl who was attacked by a purse snatcher said, "God watches over me. He cares for me." Her attacker ran off. She called on her reserves and there was a response. This is a reciprocal universe; action and reaction are always and everywhere equal. In her emergency she called on the Almighty One and there was a response which set her free from the mugger.

Begin every day with your thought of God and His love for you. Remember also a simple truth: The beginning of all manifestation or phenomena in this material universe is a thought or a word; and a word is a thought expressed. Your thought is first cause. God is the Creative Power in you, and the only immaterial power you know is your thought. Your thought is creative, and you are what you think all day long.

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 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Eight, Fulfill Your Desires

 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Eight, Fulfill Your Desires

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God is forever seeking expression through you. God speaks to man through desire. If you are sick, you desire health; if poor, you desire wealth; if in prison, you desire freedom; if lost in the jungle, you desire to find your way out and be secure.

The realization of your desire is your savior. Everyone is his own savior, and every man answers his own prayer, because whatever he really believes comes to pass. You have a desire to grow, expand, unfold and realize your heart's desire. You desire to be greater tomorrow than you are today.

If you are a musician you don't want to be a mediocre musician; you desire to excel so that your music may stir the souls of men and women. Scientists desire to know more of the secrets of the genetic code; other scientists delve into the secrets of the atom. Their desire or hunger for more knowledge of cosmic laws and the secrets of the universe is continuing to bless mankind in countless ways. The urge to express is in everything, everywhere.

Your Innermost Desire

Your real innermost desire is to find your true expression in life where you are doing what you love to do. Divinely happy and Divinely prospered. You may do six things well, but there is one thing you can do better than the six—that is your true place, or true expression.

Your Higher Self knows all your talents and will reveal to you the answer. Affirm, "Infinite Intelligence within me reveals my true place in life and I follow the lead which comes clearly into my conscious, reasoning mind." The lead will come to you. Follow it. You desire to express yourself at your highest level and exercise your faculties at the highest degree, and you desire a marvelous and wonderful income consistent with integrity and honesty.

Desire Is the Gift of God

Desire is basic in life. Desire is! It is impossible to get rid of desire. If you are hungry, you want food; if thirsty, you want water. A man asked the electrical wizard, Thomas Edison, "Mr. Edison, what is electricity?" Edison said, "Electricity is. Use it."

You can use the power to bless mankind in countless ways. You can also use it to electrocute someone. You can thus use any power two ways. You never, under any circumstances, should desire another man's job, his wife, his home or anything that is his. To covet or envy another is to attract loss, lack and limitation to yourself. You impoverish yourself along all lines. You are saying to yourself, "He can have these things, but I can't." You are denying your own Divinity. To steal from another mentally is to actually steal from yourself.

The loss can come to you in many ways: loss of health, prestige, promotion, love or money. The way loss comes is past finding out. You do not want the other fellow's position: You really want a position like it, giving you the same privileges, emoluments, salary and perquisites.

Infinite Intelligence can open a new door of expression for you if you call upon it. You will get an answer.

Suppression of Desire

In India and other places in the East students are taught to suppress their desires. This is foolish and has disastrous consequences. One woman said to me that she wanted to reach the place where she did not want anything, and then she would be free. However, she was the most frustrated, neurotic woman I have ever met in any Ashram.

I asked her: "Don't you desire a cup of coffee in the morning? If you are a musician, don't you desire to play music and lift others up? If you are a medical doctor, don't you desire to alleviate pain and suffering? If you are a farmer, don't you desire to plant and harvest and have food for your children?"

His Desire Was to Go to College

A young man was stealing money from his employer and was caught and discharged. He said to me later, by way of explanation, that he stole because he wanted to go to college. He had misdirected his desire. There was nothing wrong with the desire to go to college. I explained to him that God, who gave him the desire, does not mock him and that he has the unqualified capacity to go to the God-Presence within and claim his good. I added that God, being the Source of everything in the world, would somehow open up the way for him to complete his college course.

I gave him a simple prayer, as follows: "God is the Source of my supply, and God's wealth is circulating in my life. There is always a Divine surplus. God opens up the way for me to enter college in Divine order."

I explained to him that his desire was good but that he had misdirected it and misused the law of mind. You do not steal, rob or injure another in order to get ahead. To do so is to attract all manner of loss and limitation to yourself. The mere fact that you steal indicates you are in a mood of lack, followed by a sense of guilt, all of which have destructive consequences.

So he used the law constructively based on the above prayer, and the way opened up for him. He won a scholarship and found the Source of all blessings.

Reason Things Out

If you did not desire, you would not make any choices. However, you are a choosing, volitional being. If you made no choices, you would not grow. You would not do anything. In everyday language, you would not exist. If you did not desire, nothing would rouse your interest. You would be dead to love, to peace, to laughter and to motivation. You would shrivel up spiritually, emotionally and physically. Actually, you would be a nonentity.

Trying to suppress or eradicate desire is a sort of spiritual suicide. Welcome the desires for health, happiness, peace, joy and true expression. You are here to express all the qualities, attributes and potencies of God. You are here to reveal more and more of your Divinity every day. You are here to contribute to humanity, to put your shoulder to the wheel and to make the world a better place to live in. You are here to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

There Is an Answer

Realize that desire is the motivating force behind all progress and advancement in science, art, industry and in all phases of life. It is the moving principle behind all of your achievements. There is an answer for every true desire of the heart. There is a right way to fulfill your soul's sincere desire. You could not desire unless the answer to the desire existed. Realize that Infinite Spirit which gave you the desire will reveal to you the perfect plan for its unfoldment in Divine law and order.

Paul said, For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). You desire to excel and grow in wisdom. This desire is of God, the Life Principle, working in and through you, urging you to climb the ladder of life and express yourself at higher levels. Do not repress desire. To do so is to repress the Life Principle, Itself. It is foolish to refuse to breathe air or drink water, since death would quickly follow.

You Are Needed

Every person wants to feel needed and wanted, and desires to achieve his true place in life. In other words, he wants his riches in life and all the necessary money to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Money is a symbol of freedom, luxury, refinement, abundance and security.

Look to the Source of all blessings and affirm from an Infinite standpoint: "God's wealth, spiritual, mental, material and financial, is circulating in my life and there is always a Divine surplus." The Infinite Intelligence within you will respond according to the universal law of action and reaction.

Each person is unique and wants to express himself at his highest level. To be successful in the art of living, contribute to the well-being and fulfillment of other people's desires and hopes. Then you will be prospered. Recall the old Hindu maxim, "Help thy brother's boat across and, lo, thine own hath reached the shore." The most worthwhile and truly successful person is the one who continuously aids and assists other people to achieve their hearts' desires.

There Is a Light Within You

Years ago I read the words uttered by the late King George of England. He quoted the poet, who had said, "I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the Unknown.' And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.'"

The light referred to is the Supreme Intelligence within you that knows all and sees all. As you turn to this Indwelling Light, It will turn to you and lead you to green pastures and still waters.

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 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Eight, Fulfill Your Desires

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Seven, Thought Patterns Are Creative

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Seven, Thought Patterns Are Creative

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The faculty of imagination, in the estimate of masses of the world population, and even among those who are presumed to be highly educated, has been greatly undervalued. With many, imagination has been degraded to a lower level among their intellectual powers. Nevertheless, remember that imagination is really one of the highest and most important powers within you.

Imagination is the formative power of your mind. It has creative potency. God created the universe and the galaxies of space by imagining Himself to be all of these things, and He became what He imagined Himself to be. God had to image man for man to appear.

Consider fiction writers for a moment and realize that all of the wonderful scenes they create are products of a lively imagination. Fiction, in the etymological sense, is that which the imagination creates. Poetry is a mental creation. The imagination is the image-making faculty, or that which forms an idea which is projected on the screen of space.

The imagination is the foremost faculty of man. It is a spiritual force and a creative power. The very fact that a man imagines himself to be sick is a proof that he is so, for the disease is only the effect of the misuse and the abnormal action of this creative power. If we could trace the mental history of every ailment or disease in individuals, we would undoubtedly discover the power of misdirected imagination.

You can use any power two ways. Be sure to use disciplined, controlled, directed imagination based on universal principles and eternal verities. Imagine what is lovely, noble, dignified and God-like. Imagination combined with faith works wonders in effecting healings of all manner of diseases. In these two spiritual powers—namely, imagination and faith—we have the most important of all creative devices.

He Ministered to a Mind Diseased

The late Carrick Cook, who was a minister in San Francisco for many years and an associate of the late Ernest Holmes, founder of the Science of Mind in Los Angeles, once told me about a black woman who was a remarkable healer. It seems that someone had sold her a bone relic presumed to be that of a saint, and she had been convinced that when people came to her for a healing, if they would only touch that bone, they would be healed of whatever infirmity they had.

Great numbers were truly healed, but in the words of Carrick Cook, it was actually the bone of a dog. The patients who had come to her believed what she said, and their faith and imagination did the rest. Carrick Cook said a medical doctor who had examined the bone explained to her that it was part of the foot of a dog.

This shows you the power of faith and imagination, which resurrected the healing power within those who accepted what the practitioner had said. This, of course, was blind faith, as they had no understanding of how or why they were healed. True faith is the union of your conscious and subconscious mind, scientifically directed.

The most potent forces of nature act silently, with no noise. Your thoughts have power over your body. Your thoughts may be morbific, a type which generates disease; or your thoughts may be wholesome, constructive and promotive of health. The state of thinking and feeling is the cause of the bodily condition.

Thoughts and ideas represent the underlying reality of all outward and visible objects. As you look out at the world, everything you see, such as the starry heavens, the mountains, seas, lakes, trees, etc., are the thoughts of God. By studying nature, we communicate with the Infinite, in the same way as we do with the ideas of an author by reading the words of his book.

Where Are the Enemies?

Frequently I receive letters from men and women who ask, "How can I forgive or love those who rape, murder, steal, plunder, rob, mistreat their children and in some cases murder them?" They go on and talk about Iranians who hold Americans in hostage and treat them so cruelly.

In the Bible it says: . . . Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). Many people misinterpret and misunderstand the real meaning of "love your enemies." You are also told that the enemies are of your own household (mind). If the thoughts in your mind are hateful, resentful, angry and full of rancor and bitterness, you are emotionally disturbed. Your health suffers, perhaps bringing on disease, such as ulcers, high blood pressure, failure in business and poor human relations.

Why He Did Not Prosper

Some time ago a brilliant businessman who had achieved great success in his field of expression said that his business was dropping off, his clerks were stealing, and many of his customers had gone elsewhere.

The reason was that he was involved in a marital problem, a bitterly contested divorce. He hated his wife, and his mind was polluted with anger, suppressed rage and fear. The enemies were created by himself.

I explained to him that he was the only thinker in his world and that he was responsible for the way he was thinking about his wife. He began to see clearly that it is not what happens to him but his reaction to it—the way he thinks about it—that makes the difference between success and failure, or health and sickness.

Accordingly, he practiced the law of substitution. He supplanted his negative thoughts with constructive  thoughts and began to claim that there was a Divine, harmonious solution to his legal problem and that Divine justice would reign supreme.

He discovered that the real enemies had been his own thoughts, created by him; so he practiced right thought, right feeling and right action. A simple prayer he used was, "God thinks, speaks and acts through me. God loves me and cares for me." When fear or hateful thoughts came to his mind, he immediately affirmed, "God's love fills my soul." Thus, he healed himself and his business prospered.

Dominion of the Mind

There is no part of the body that is not under the dominion of the mind and that cannot be influenced by an intelligent voluntary action. I knew a man in India who could suspend the pulsation of his heart at will. This capacity is well known in research circles today.

There were other teachers at the Ashram who could perspire at will. Others were able to contract or dilate the pupils of the eyes as they wished. They said that all they had to do was to think of a very dark place and the pupils of the eyes would dilate. When they thought of a very bright spot the pupils of the eyes would contract. For example, if you think of something sour, such as lemon juice, it affects your salivary glands and causes your mouth to water.

Thus, an idea, a thought, an imagination, may act as a medicine or as a poison. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . . (Proverbs 23:7). This is one of the wisest things Solomon ever said. In your subconscious mind reside all the active, vital powers. Given a certain mental state, a corresponding bodily condition follows with the unerring certainty of the law of cause and effect. There is a power in thought over all the organs of our body that is not recognized by the masses.

To live truly means to think truly and to discern the truth. It is important to bear in mind that imagination is a mode of thought, and every idea in the mind tends by its inherent nature to an actuality in the body. The only living force of the body is the mind.

Remember a simple truth: It is your thought, created by yourself, that is the real enemy. Come to a point of decision regarding these enemies in your mind and cast them out. Consume them and burn them up with the fire of Divine love. It is foolish to assume that loving your enemies means to invite felons, rapists, murderers and dope fiends into your home and entertain them, putting your arms around them and telling them how much you love them. That is absurd.

You understand why they act the way they do. They are under the compulsion of negative, destructive and irrational emotions. You understand that they are full  of self-hatred and are projecting that on to others. You look upon them with a degree of comprehension and tolerance. You do not under any circumstances condone their crimes, but you understand the malignant forces operating in their minds. Furthermore, you realize that justice and punishment will prevail.

The murderers, rapists, etc., should be incarcerated so that society may be protected. Some do-gooders who have little or no understanding of wisdom and who are on the parole boards, oftentimes release these hardened criminals to prey again on society. One such criminal freely admitted to me that he pretended to be religious and said that he was converted and born again, so they released him. That is not love. There is no love without wisdom and no wisdom without love.

The Word Made Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). A word is a thought expressed, and it is creative. It is the only immaterial power we know. Your thought is God in the sense that it is a creative power at the level of the individual mind. It is not God in the sense of Universal Mind and Infinite Spirit.

The word of God which people speak of represents the truth of God, which is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Bible says: . . . Say in a word, and my servant shall be healed (Luke 7:7).

When you pray for another, you claim that what is true of God is also true of the sick person. Turn to the Indwelling Presence and Power (God) and remind yourself of absolute peace, absolute harmony, beauty, boundless love and limitless power. Cease dwelling on symptoms, organs, or any part of the body. Feel and know that there is only one Healing Presence and Power; quietly and lovingly affirm the uplifting, healing, strengthening power of the Infinite Healing Presence flowing through the person you are praying for, making him whole and perfect. Know and feel that the harmony, beauty, wholeness and love of God are manifesting in the other. Get a clear realization of this; then you will be sending the word which heals.

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How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Seven, Thought Patterns Are Creative

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Six, Becoming Spiritual-Minded

 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Six, Becoming Spiritual-Minded

Many people have a vague idea of what it is to be spiritual. To become spiritual-minded, according to the beliefs of many people, is confused with conforming to certain devotions, rituals and ceremonies. What is it to become spiritual? How may I become so? These are questions of great importance to all men and women.

You will become spiritual-minded when you make up your mind to think heavenly thoughts, which means to think according to eternal verities and principles of life, which are the same yesterday, today and forever. Your subconscious mind is the seat of habit, and as you continue thinking God-like thoughts, you will form a very good habit and wonders will happen in your life.

The Bible says: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (John 7:24). To judge is to separate that which is false from that which is true. In other words, you come to a decision in your mind regarding the truth or falsity of any thought. To affirm the good and the true is righteous judgment and brings harmony and peace into your life.

If a man is sick or crippled, you don't deny the evidence of your senses, but you go to the Infinite Healing Presence within you and affirm wholeness, vitality and perfection for him. You see him as he ought to be: happy, joyous and free. Your interpretation of what your five senses report to you may be wrong. Check on how you interpret what your senses report to you.

Many people think that in order to be spiritual-minded, they must put in practice ascetic mortifications, which are really of no value. Instead, to develop spiritually, you start from the inside, not the outside. As you spiritualize your thought life, your body will magically melt into the image and likeness of your contemplation.

You Can Rise

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (John 12:32). Lift up your concept of God and realize that the Holy of Holies is within yourself. As you dwell upon the attributes and qualities of God within yourself, the more your spiritual power and psychological force are augmented. Just so far as we know God, do we become more God-like, and we can do Divine works to the same extent.

Affirm frequently:

 "I exalt God in the midst of me, mighty to heal and restore. I am illumined from On High." 

Make a habit of this and you will find that you are lifted up and inspired to accomplish great things. Be careful not to subsequently deny what you affirm.

Begin to Believe

Belief and life, from an etymological standpoint, are the same. To believe is to live. To believe is a movement of our interior life towards the fulfillment of our desire. In other words, pour life and love into your ideal, goal or desire. Live in the state of being it. Live the role just like an actor or actress. Animate your desire. Contemplate its fulfillment and see the happy ending.

To believe that you are being healed or prospered now turns the current of Universal Life in that direction. Believe in the truths of the Spirit rather than in the evidence of your five senses. This is salvation in the complete signification of the word.

The Price You Pay

The price you pay for spiritual unfoldment is attention, recognition and devotion to the eternal truths of life. You pay with mental and spiritual coin. There is no free lunch, and attention is the key to life. As you absorb and mentally digest more and more of wisdom, truth and beauty, you will be able to impart the healing message to others.

You cannot give what you do not have; therefore, . . . seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness (right thinking); and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Gold and silver in the Bible are symbols of celestial good and truth. As you look to the Source of all blessings, you are recognizing your everlasting inheritance and you will never want for any good thing.

Why He Was Disappointed

Recently I talked with a man who had been experiencing an acute business problem. He needed a loan from the bank to tide him over for some months, but due to recent restrictions he was turned down. He was very tense and anxious. He also understood that these negative emotions would generate the reverse of what he was praying for.

I suggested that he go to the Source of all blessings—namely, the Infinite Spirit within him—and affirm the great eternal truths to bring his mind to a state of peace and rest. I suggested that he detach his mind from the problem and assume an attitude of Divine indifference, which means that it is impossible for your prayer to fail. Infinite Intelligence knows only the answer.

I suggested also that he reiterate the following age-old truths, realizing that when his mind was at peace, the answer would come. Accordingly, he meditated on the following scriptural verses several times a day, and when fear thoughts came to him, he would immediately quote one of the verses to himself:

—But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory . . . (Philippians 4:19).

 —In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength . . . (Isaiah 30:15). 

—. . . God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy (I Timothy 6: 17).

—. . . But with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

—. . . Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).

—. . . According to your faith he it unto you (Matthew 9:29).

—. . . If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). 

—He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him (Psalm 91:15).

—All things be ready if the mind be so (Shakespeare).

—The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall Ifear?. . . (Psalm 27:1)/

—I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help (Psalm 121:1).

He remained faithful to his meditation, and one of his customers, to whom he had previously mentioned his predicament, suddenly came to him and generously advanced him far more money than he needed and his problem was solved. When he established a Divine indifference to results, the answer came. Contemplating these statements of the Law of Life frequently, he succeeded in building into his mentality a state of peace and equilibrium.

The Psalmist expressed it this way: But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2). You induce a quiet, receptive mind as you reflect on the great truths, and you then will dramatize the answer more quickly. 

How He Conquered Despondency

A young college student came to see me and told me that the girl to whom he had been engaged and was about to marry had been killed in one of the recent air crashes. He was failing in his studies and was depressed, dejected and suffering from melancholia. At the same time he was taking tranquilizers, but when the effect wore off, he was right back where he started. I suggested to him that he must not let these negative emotions gel and crystalize in his subconscious mind, which would cause a very negative subconscious complex with harmful results. I explained to him that an expert motorist here in Leisure World had had a crackup while going 90 miles an hour. He had not been seriously injured, and while the Automobile Club truck was towing his car to the repair shop, he immediately called a taxi and drove around for about an hour or more, the reason being that he wanted to prevent that experience from forming a negative pattern in his subconscious. He did not want to develop a fear complex.

This young man began to realize that everyone eventually passes on to the next dimension and that his gloom and despondency were not helping his sweetheart in the next dimension of life, but were actually holding her back. He decided to loose her and let her go, affirming whenever he thought of her, "God gives you peace and harmony." He then redirected his mind to his studies and began to keep his mind tuned in to the Infinite Presence and Power, reflecting frequently on Divine guidance, peace and harmony. Following this procedure, his negative emotions were dissolved in the light of Divine love.

The Prince of This World

. . . For the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me (John 14:30). A young college girl in a nearby university, who has read several of my books, including Songs of God, said to me that she had belonged to a certain cult and had since dropped the association when she realized that it was all rank superstition and balderdash. The other three members had told her that they would pour imprecations upon her and that she would suffer.

She knew that the prince of the world is fear and that their intention was to instill fear and terror into her mind, a sort of hypnotic suggestion. She read the inner meaning of the 91st Psalm and reiterated many passages during the day. Whenever the memory of their threat came into her mind, she would immediately affirm, "God loves me and cares for me."

She knew that if she could not give hate, she could not receive it. All she did was bless them and walk on, laughing at their dire predictions, knowing full well  that they were negative suggestions which she refused to accept. Of course, the negative thoughts of her former friends boomeranged and were returned to them. All three, she told me, were subsequently killed in an auto crash.

The prince of this world (fear) had come to her and had found nothing in her to correspond to that fear. She knew the Law of Life. She had enthroned in her mind peace, harmony, right action and Divine love. The truths of the 91st Psalm had penetrated her subconscious and she walked with God, finding ways of pleasantness and paths of peace.

There Is an Easier Way

A businessman said to me after a lecture a few Sundays ago, "I spent my early years toiling, moiling, and grabbing for the good things of life. I was always trying to make ends meet. I wanted more money, a home, a car and lovely surroundings."

He had gone to a spiritual counselor for advice, and she had told him that he was trying too hard. She taught him to go to the Source of all good—the God- Presence within—and to claim peace, harmony, right action, beauty and abundance. She told him that God was flowing through him, filling up all the empty vessels in his life.

He continued along that spiritual path, and all the things he had been seeking were added to him. His faith and confidence in the Infinite Presence within him were translatable to health, wealth, true expression and an abundant supply of money, also. He stopped trying so hard, begging and beseeching for the gifts of Life which have been proffered to all of us from the dawn of time.

Shakespeare said, "All things be ready if the mind be so." Open your mind to receive; learn to be a good receiver. God has given you Himself and the whole world. It is, therefore, foolish and stupid to beseech the Infinite to do something for us, because it is written, . . . Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear (Isaiah 65:24). No matter what your problem is, the answer is there even before you ask.

The best spiritual medicine today is to get acquainted with the Spirit within you and then claim peace, harmony, and Divine law and order in your life. Reflect and dwell upon the Divine Law, which is: "I AM that which I contemplate." Contemplate whatsoever things are true, lovely, noble and God-like and let wonders happen in your life.

The Answer to Doom and Gloom

We have a great number of prophets today predicting all manner of disasters, and they are instilling fear and uncertainty in the minds of millions of people. I counsel with many people who are morose, morbid, sullen and ill humored. They are afraid of old age, atomic warfare, insecurity and the future, and many are living in fear of death.

The Bible says: . . . God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). It is true that fear, in some form, comes to all of us. When hearing the honk of a horn when walking along the road, you step aside, and the momentary fear is transmuted to desire to live, and you are free.

Many listen to the news and read the magazines and papers predicting nuclear war, the end of the world, earthquakes, etc. As they dwell on these predictions, they are seized with a sort of crippling fear. I suggest to them that they hold these fears up to the light of reason, examine them and recognize that most of these predictions never come to pass, but come out of the fetid brain of the prognosticator of doomsday. Paul points out in Corinthians, . . . Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail. . . (I Corinthians 13:8).

Basically, all of this abnormal fear is due to a man's basic sense of insecurity, in failing to align himself with the Infinite Presence and Power. When he joins up with this Source, the Life Principle, which is all-powerful, all-wise and knows no opposition, he discovers a reflex action and his abnormal fear is gradually dissipated.

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How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Six, Becoming Spiritual-Minded

Dr. Joseph murphy

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Five, Teach Us To Pray

 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Five, Teach Us To Pray

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The Holy of Holies

You can make contact with the Infinite through the medium of your thought. You can sit down quietly and think of God as boundless love, infinite intelligence, absolute harmony, indescribable beauty and absolute joy and dwell on these attributes and qualities. As you do this, you will experience a transfusion of God's grace and an effulgence of light and love. In this way you are the Holy of Holies—the Presence of God within you* All creeds and liturgies, as well as intercessors, are removed and you experience your personal fellowship with God.

The Prayer of Faith

The Bible says: . . . The prayer offaith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. . . (James 5:15). There is no time or space in mind or Spirit. True prayer for a sick person does not consist of supplication or flowery words addressed to the Deity, nor a series of nicely wrought statements projected from unfeeling lips in the direction of the throne of God, which fall short of the mark. True prayer for the sick person is to claim earnestly and feelingly that the uplifting, healing, strengthening power of the Infinite Healing Presence is flowing through the patient, making him whole and perfect. Know and feel that the harmony, beauty and Life of God manifest themselves in him or her as peace, vitality, wholeness and perfection. Get a clear realization of this, and the sick condition will then dissolve in the light of God's love.

Paul says: . . . Glorify God in your body ... (I Corinthians 6:20). Make sure that your mental picture agrees with your affirmation. In your mind's eye, you see the patient radiant, happy, joyous and bubbling over with life and love. That would be true prayer. True prayer is claiming that what is true of God is true of the person you are helping.

There is the type of prayer that cannot be ''worded," since prayer becomes oftentimes more efficacious in proportion to the degree it becomes more internal. It is simply turning to the God-Presence within and opening your heart to receive the influx of His healing currents and Divine love. True prayer, when uttered, is radiant with love and spiritual life. Look upon true prayer as carrying a Divine fragrance from the God- Presence in you, and when wafted upon the ill person, it has a life-giving spiritual potency in it. The subconscious of the sick person is stimulated and reinforced and proceeds to resurrect God's omnipotent love. A healing then follows.

. . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16). It is in accordance with the laws of mind, unbending and invariable spiritual laws, that sincere, earnest prayer for the sick affects them and helps in the restoration of perfect health. If one should rise instantly and walk, or be raised to newness of life, in response to prayer, it would be no miracle, no violation of the laws of mind.

Angels Watch Over You

Many people have asked me about angels. The word angel means the angle at which you look at God. It also means an attitude of mind, an inspiration, or a message from your Higher Self. The Bible says: And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him (Luke 22:43). . . . Angels came and ministered unto him (Matthew 4:1 1).

All of us are angels of God in another way of looking at it. When we pass on to the next dimension, we are still angels, or expressions of God, operating in a rarefied and attenuated body. Your loved ones are all around you, separated by frequency only. It is unequivocally stated in the 91st Psalm,* There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91:10-11).

The Infinite Presence responds to each person according to the law of reciprocal relationship. In the highest sense of the term, prayer is contact with the God-Presence within. Whose nature is responsiveness. There are many people all over the world praying to saints and angels. In the hour of their extremity, they are speaking in the language of Hamlet: ''Angels and ministers, defend us!"

Saints represent any man or woman dedicated to the truths of God, and who practices the Presence of God. In other words, it means any person who entertains God-like thoughts and walks in paths of righteousness. The invocation of saints and angels has been practiced by millions of people all over the world. These represent good men and women who led Godlike lives.

A man in India once said to me that he addresses holy men in the next dimension as living beings, living in a higher realm of mind, namely the fourth dimension. He asks their aid, their prayers and their intercession with God. Because of his faith and belief, he gets results. Whether the object of your faith be true or false, you will get results, for according to your faith is it done unto you. Your subconscious responds to your blind faith. His faith and confidence and his belief that the holy men would respond to him was accepted by his subconscious mind and, of course, his prayers were answered.

People all over the world have had remarkable healings by calling on saints and angels long since gone. But if you reason it out, they have not gone any place. They are all around you, functioning fourth-dimensionally, just like your relatives who have passed on.

All good must come from God, the primal source of all blessings. Millions theorize that it is perfectly proper to ask dedicated souls in the next dimension of life for help in times of extremity. If to ask a spiritual healer or a dedicated doctor to aid and help you involves nothing objectionable and is not robbing God of the worship due Him, why is it improper to ask the same dedicated man who is now in a higher realm of mind to aid us after he has graduated to a higher world? All these forms of prayer get results, also. . . . If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23).

Are You Omnipresent?

A Yogi at the Forest University, Ashram at Rishikesh, which is at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, said to me that many people ask him if they request aid of those in the next dimension, is it possible that they hear them, or are they in different lands, with omnipresence only applying to God? He explained to them that to be present in 15,000 places is not omnipresence. Spirit (God) is out of the limitations of time and space. This is the distinction between Spirit and matter. 

He added that when he speaks in India to thousands of people, he is present to all of them through the medium of sight and sound. A man who writes a book, by his thoughts and beliefs, is present to millions of readers all over the world through the medium of his book. Therefore, he said, it may be easily conceived that those holy people in the next dimension are present by their thoughts and their love, which constitute their essential life, to a great many people and places at the same time, through spiritual law.

The old aphorism states: "The saints on Earth, and all the dead, but one communion make." There is really no separation, since subjectively we are all one. The word humanity means the One appearing as many.

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How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Five, teach us how to Pray

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to the Laws of Mind, Chapter Four, The Power of the Spirit

How to the Laws of Mind, Chapter Four, The Power of the Spirit

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A Simple Truth

The power of the Spirit (God) is not a half-way measure. We must carry the spiritual life into every sphere of our natural and social interests. We are here to live by the Spirit. God is Spirit, and this Spirit has become manifest in this beautiful world of time and space. This Spirit in us gives us the power to be victorious. There is in us a Divine Presence enabling us to lift our problems into heavenly light and see them transfigured by the guidance we claim and receive. There is a guidance for every need; there is love for each heart. Love is the greatest healing power, touching the subconscious, quickening, strengthening and transforming us into radiating centers which bless mankind.

The Inner Meaning of the Golden Rule Is Important

The Golden Rule is known to almost everyone, but how many understand what it really means? To put it in simple, everyday language, all it means is that whatever you think about another person you are creating in your own life, because your thought is creative. Knowing this to be true, you will be careful to think only God-like thoughts about the other. Every thought tends to manifest itself.

What a different world it would be if all of us practiced the Golden Rule and the law of love. We would create heaven on earth. The average man can quote the Golden Rule by heart, but he does not really understand the inner meaning of it. Therefore, he does not obey it.

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Luke 6:31). This is a directive from within your own soul, which, when followed, brings harmony, health and peace into the lives of all who practice it. If people practiced the Golden Rule there would be no war, no crime, no cruelty, no rape, no suffering and no inhumanity. There would be no need for armies, navies, air forces, police, nor atomic or other nuclear weapons. When your thought is right, your action will be right. It is impossible to produce right action out of a negative thought, in the same way that you cannot get an apple tree from a non-viable seed.

. . . That Ye Love One Another . . . (John 13:34)

The inside governs the outside. You can't love others unless you have loving and harmonious thoughts in your mind. The people who inhabit your mind are thoughts, ideas, beliefs, opinions and your reactions to everyday events. Be sure they conform to whatsoever things are true, lovely, noble and Godlike.

Your disciples and the disciples mentioned in your Bible represent the disciplined qualities of your mind. Are you disciplining your vision? Your vision is what you are focused on, what you are looking at in your own mind. And you go where your vision is. Your faith is disciplined when you adhere to and give allegiance to the creative laws of your mind and when you believe implicitly in the goodness of God in the land of the living. Your faith is not in creeds, dogmas, traditions, men or institutions, but in the eternal principles, which are the same yesterday, today and forever.

You discipline your imagination when you imagine what is lovely and of good report. Your judgment, when disciplined, means you decide upon the truth or falsity of any thought. When you affirm the good constantly, that is called righteous judgment and brings harmony and peace into your life. Whatever you make real you will demonstrate on the screen of space.

Remember, if your mind is full of fear, worry, resentment, prejudices, anger, jealousy or religious bias, then you cannot really love because the occupants of your mind are the opposite of love. You project your mental attitude upon others and you will blame them and criticize them.

He Said that the Explanation Changed His Life

In the month of August, 1979, I spoke in Caxton Hall, London, and said to a troubled man, "You must preach the gospel to yourself. The moneychangers and thieves that you are talking about are in your own mind. You are the temple of consciousness, and the thieves and moneychangers which rob you are fear, ignorance, superstition, self-condemnation, self-criticism and ill will. The spiritually minded man casts all of these thieves and robbers out of his mind by filling his subconscious mind with life-giving patterns and the eternal truths of God. Then he will experience peace and harmony within and confidently express it without, in his body, his business, and in his relationships with all people."

This man had been thinking of a temple which existed 2000 years ago and believed the thieves and moneychangers to be outside of his own mind. Realizing that he was robbing himself of vitality, peace, harmony, wealth and success, he stopped doing it. A light seemed to come into his mind, penetrating the fog. The explanation was the cure.

Your Desire Must Reach Your Subconscious

Many people have said to me that they wished for prosperity, success and the good things of life, and they prayed for a quiet and relaxed life, but nothing happened. Oftentimes they are so restless, fearful and habitually anxious that their routine thinking has become their master.

The way to overcome this is to think quietly about your desire for promotion, expansion, prosperity and success, realizing that your desire for growth and expansion is from God and that the power of the Almighty is bringing your desire to pass in Divine law and order. Gradually, as you think along these lines, you will succeed in integrating your desire in your subconscious mind, which will bring it to pass.

Many people in offices, factories and business establishments are more or less mechanical men and women, merely responding to the pressures and suggestions all around them. In this way, they tend to become automatons by responding to every wind that blows. Many are repeating the wrong thing, both in thought and action. Be sure to repeat to yourself the eternal verities. By repetition, faith and expectancy, you will reap a rich harvest.

She Was Hounded by Fears and Guilt

A young woman 22 years of age said to me, "I am hounded by all kinds of fear." She was afraid of God, of the future, of the after life, of evil entities, of a devil and of voodoo. The Bible says: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7).

I explained to her that when young, we are all highly impressionable and malleable and that her parents and those around her had conditioned her mind with falsehoods about God, life and the universe. She began to realize that she was not born with any fears, sense of guilt or self-condemnation, and that all these had been given to her. She possessed weird ideas about evil entities and beliefs that the woods were full of goblins and sprites. Danger seemed to lurk everywhere.

She began to read and meditate on the 27th Psalm night and morning and began to affirm many times a day: "God loves me and cares for me. I am a daughter of God and a child of Eternity." She practiced this simple affirmation doggedly and faithfully, and she found a new estimate of herself, a new blueprint of herself. With this healthy vision of herself, she is blossoming forth in Divine order.

The Two Selves in You

Think along these lines: The first self is that which I now am; the second self is that which I long to be. Therefore, I must die psychologically to what I am so that I can live to that which I long to be. The abovementioned girl died to the old self. All the falsehoods implanted in her mind in childhood were obliterated and she bequeathed all the energy she had locked up in the old beliefs to the new image of herself. The energy lost in her image of limitation, lack and fear passed over to the new image of success, charm and beauty.

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How to Use the Laws of Mind, 

Chapter Four, The Power of the Spirit

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Three, The Secret of Success in Life

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Three, The Secret of Success in Life

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He Said, "I Am Not a Success"

Recently I talked with a man who said that he had subordinated all ends to money-making, and he had accumulated a vast amount of money and real estate holdings. He added that in the business world he is called a great success. He admitted to me, though, that he was not a success; he had used questionable means to take advantage of others and had won his fortune through cheating and deceiving others who had trusted him. He was presently suffering from bleeding ulcers and extremely high blood pressure. Furthermore, he had a guilt complex, which meant to him that he had to suffer and be punished.

His bleeding ulcer, as I explained to him, was due to ulcerated thoughts. Further, if he would reverse his thought pattern a healing would follow. He was suffering from the side effects of the drugs he was taking. He consequently reversed his thought patterns by reiterating the following truths out loud night and morning:

'The Lord is my shepherd. I sing the song of the jubilant soul for I have chosen God as my shepherd. Divine Intelligence rules and guides me in all my ways. I shall not want for peace, harmony, or guidance because God's wisdom governs me. I lie down in green pastures always, since God is prospering me beyond my wildest dreams. I find myself beside the still waters as I claim the Infinite peace of God floods my mind and heart. My emotions (waters) are stilled and calm. 

My mind is now serene and it reflects God's heavenly truths and light (my soul is restored). I think of God's Holy Presence within me all day long. I walk the path of righteousness through my devotion and attention to God's eternal verities. I know there is no death and I fear no evil. I know 'God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love and power, and a sound mind.' God's rod (love) and staff (truth) comfort, sustain and nourish me. The banquet table of God is always set before me; it is the secret place of the Most High, where in my thoughts I walk and talk with God. I eat the nourishing truths of God whenever fear and worry (my enemies) trouble me. The bread I eat is God's idea of peace, love and faith in all things good. The meat I eat is the omnipotence of God; the wine I drink is the essence of joy. The wisdom of God anoints my intellect; it is a lamp unto my feet and a light on my path. My cup (heart) is truly the chamber of God's Holy Presence; it runneth over with love and joy. I mentally dwell on goodness, truth and beauty; this is my house of God."

As he saturated his mind with the interpretation of the 23rd Psalm over a period of time, he noticed a distinct change in his whole demeanor and outlook on life. He became more kindly, considerate and more loving in all ways. Drugs were no longer necessary. He discovered that a changed attitude changed everything. He ceased condemning himself. The Life Principle never condemns, and when you begin to use your mind in the right way, right results follow. Your mind is a principle, and if you think good, good follows; if you think lack, lack follows. The Life Principle holds no grudges, no more so than the principles of mathematics or chemistry hold grudges.

You may have been fired by companies you worked for because you could not add or subtract correctly, but by following proper instruction you don't make these mistakes any more. The principle of mathematics has no grudge against you. The same is true of your mind. Begin to use the law of mind in the right way according to the Golden Rule and the law of love. The Mind Principle has no grudge against you. The past is forgotten and remembered no more.

The Law of Reversibility

Edison knew that speech produced undulatory waves and theorized that these vibrations could reproduce the speech or song. In other words, he conceived of inverse transformation, the reproduction of speech or song by mechanical motion, namely the phonograph.

Students of scientific laws know that all transformations of force are reversible. Heat produces mechanical motion. Reverse it and you discover that mechanical motion can produce heat. Science says electricity produces magnetism; likewise, magnetism can produce electric currents. Cause and effect, energy and matter, action and reaction are the same and are interconvertible.

Therefore. I say unto you. What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 1 1:24). Here you are told to pray, believing that you already possess what you pray for. This is based on the law of inverse transformation.

Achieving Success in Prayer

A mother wished to visit her son in London, who was graduating from college. However, she did not have the necessary funds. I asked her what her attitude would be if she were over there now, embracing him and witnessing the graduation exercises. She said, "Oh! I would be so happy! I would be delighted."

I suggested that she experiment at night prior to sleep, making there here and the future now and to feel herself embracing her son, making the whole scene vivid and realistic—so much so that when she opened her eyes she would be amazed that she was not in London with her son. Experimenting along these lines, the third night she subjectified the state. When she opened her eyes she was really amazed that she was not physically there. The answer to her prayer came with the repayment of a loan she had given to a woman ten years previously. With the interest added to it, it was more than the amount necessary for her trip.

She assumed that she was already witnessing the ceremony and conversing with her son, and that joyous feeling and assumption brought about the joy of the answered prayer. She contemplated her objective as an accomplished fact. She understood that all transformations of force are reversible. She knew that her physical presence in London would bring her great joy and satisfaction. Capturing in her mind the joy that would be hers in being there, this mood, she knew, must produce the answer to her prayer.

. . . He . . . calleth those things which be not as though they were (Romans 4:17). Success in your prayer life is based on laws of mind. Realize that if a physical fact can produce a joyous mental state in you, the joyous mental state can produce the physical fact.

Unscrupulous Methods

When a man uses unscrupulous financial or business methods, he may not suffer financial loss, but loss can come to him in many ways, such as loss of health, loss of promotion, loss of prestige, loss of self respect, loss of love, etc., for the ways of the subconscious are past finding out. All misdeeds or misuse of the law of mind must be accounted for sooner or later.

The only success that permits a man to rest peacefully and harmoniously is that which conforms to the Golden Rule, i.e., to think, speak and act toward others as he would wish others to think, speak, feel and act toward him. Success is primarily moral and spiritual, governed by honesty, integrity and justice and tempered by goodwill to all men everywhere.

All of us are interdependent, and it is reasonable to assume that the welfare of others is essential to the success of every man. It is undoubtedly true that the more man cares for and appreciates the spiritual life, the more he will use his material wealth wisely, judiciously and constructively.

A spiritually-minded person should be comfortably housed, clothed and fed. In other words, he realizes that all things are here for his use and enjoyment. . . . God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy (I Timothy 6: 17).

It is true that no one possesses anything in the absolute sense. God possesses all, but we have the use of God's treasures in the earth, including the sea and the air. A spiritual-minded person should have all the money he needs to do what he wants to do, and when he wants to do it. Money is simply a medium of exchange, and it has taken many forms down through the ages. It is God's way of maintaining the economic health of a nation.

The Source of All Blessings

The Bible says: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). The Bible is a psychological and spiritual textbook and is not referring to a particular man. The characters in the Bible are personifications of truth. You do not go to any person for rest, security or peace of mind. You go to the God of peace within you and boldly claim: "God's river of peace, love and joy is now flowing through me vitalizing, healing and restoring my soul."

The Divine Presence is within you. As you contemplate God's love, light, truth and beauty in your own heart, you are enfranchised and lifted up because you have found God in your own heart. The Divine Center is within you.

The Psalmist says, Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. . . (Psalm 37:7). The word "Lord" represents spiritually the Lordly power, which is God; but to "rest in the Lord" means to rest and trust that Infinite Spirit in you which created you, governs all your vital organs as you sleep and is in complete control of all externals. In other words, it is your Higher Self.

In ancient times there were feudal barons who had the power of life and death over the serfs, slaves and peasants under their control. The lords in England today represent titled nobility and have no such power. Look at the whole thing this way: The Lord in you is really your dominant conviction, your master thought or belief, which controls and dominates all lesser thoughts, ideas, opinions, actions and reactions. For example, your Lord could be fear, i.e., if you are dominated by fear. If fear predominates, then fear governs and controls all your thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions.

A wonderful Lord to enthrone in your mind would be a God of love ruling, guiding, and directing you along all lines. This dominant conviction would work wonders in your life, and your whole world would magically melt in the image and likeness of your dominant conviction. When Divine love and Divine right action govern you, the true Lord is ruling in you and will keep you in peace. You will be successful in your work and in your relationships with people. You will have good health and be free from despondency and melancholia.

Your dominant belief rules your world and determines your future, where you shall go and what your experiences will be, whether good or bad. Quimby said in 1847: "Man is belief expressed." You will be assured of success, true expression and harmonious relations with others when you make it a habit to tune in to the Divine Center within you and look upon the Divine Presence within you as your guide, counselor, way-shower and source of your promotion and welfare. Then all the petty, fearful, annoying worries, jealousies and envies will fall away. There is no room for them in your mind any more.

All of us suffer until we get the insight to look within. The Bible says: ...in returning and rest shall ye be saved . . . (Isaiah 30:15).

Meditation for Success

" 'Wist ye not that I be about my Father's business?' I know that my business, profession or activity is God's business. God's business is always basically successful. I am growing in wisdom and understanding every day. I know, believe and accept the fact that God's law of abundance is always working for me, through me and all around me.

"My business or profession is full of right action and right expression. The ideas, money, merchandise and contacts that I need are mine now and at all times. All these things are irresistibly attracted to me by the law of universal attraction. God is the life of my business; I am Divinely guided and inspired in all ways. Every day I am presented with wonderful opportunities to grow, expand and progress. I am building up goodwill. I am a great success because I do business with others as I would have them do it with me."

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How to Use the Laws of Mind, 

Chapter Three, The Secret of Success in Life,

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Two, How your Mind Heals You

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Two, How your Mind Heals You

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The Power of Belief

I had a phone call from a woman in Utah, with whom I had been in correspondence. She was suffering from terminal cancer and was praying for guidance, wholeness and perfection. She had been saying, "I don't want an operation. I don't want to go to the hospital. I don't want to see a surgeon."

I explained to her that she should never make any such statements, as they indicate fear and cause her to experience the very thing she is afraid of: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me . . . (Job 3:25). Furthermore, I explained to her that it was wrong for her to dictate the way the healing would come, as the ways of the Infinite Presence are past finding out. She kept on praying for guidance, wholeness, beauty and perfection.

A friend told her about a book published by Dr. John Richardson and Patricia Griffin, describing 90 cases of cancer sufferers who were healed by treatment with Laetrile. She went down to Tijuana, took the treatment, kept on praying and had a full recovery. She went there believing and received accordingly. Therefore I say unto you. What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them (Mark 11:24). . . . If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23).

The Father Within

The Father within is the Source of all things and beings. It is the Life-Principle. Jesus called this Presence "Our Father," which created all things visible and invisible. It is the Power which Jesus used to heal the blind, the halt and the lame. It is the mind and intelligence which quiets the storm, which multiplies the loaves and fishes, the mind which enabled Jesus to disappear in the multitude, to converse with Moses and to raise the dead to life.

When you see a mind like that operating, you know there is the Source and Power called the "Father within." . . . The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10). You do not see mind, thought, faith or confidence. The Bible says, . . . He that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . . (John 14:9). In other words, if you see a mind performing all these wonderful actions and miraculous healings, you realize that mental and spiritual forces operating are directed by the Father within.

Expect Security

Over the years I have found that a great number of people expect disappointments in life. Many are afraid of some unseen danger; a sense of foreboding, uncertainty and anxiety seems to hover over their mind like a cloud. Great numbers are convinced that the will of God for them is something downright unpleasant and that God is bound to send suffering, difficulties or obstacles of some nature in order to test their faith or punish them for their sins. It is amazing how many people think that the will of God for them is some sort of sickness, pain and punishment for their errors.

Remember, God's will for you is the tendency of the Life-Principle, which always seeks to express Itself as love, beauty, joy, harmony and the life more abundant. The will of God for you is something marvelous, wonderful and beautiful, transcending your fondest dreams. God is absolute peace and cannot wish pain. God is boundless joy and cannot wish sorrow. God is boundless love and cannot do anything unloving. God is wholeness, beauty and perfection and cannot wish sickness. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Man brings on suffering, sickness, pain and misery for himself due to his ignorance of the laws of mind and the way of Infinite Spirit. Man must get away from the jungle ideas that God is a personal being with personal feelings of vengeance such as a man may have. God is also universal law, and the law is not vengeful; it is impersonal and no respecter of persons. . . . God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).

When man uses the law negatively, he suffers from the reaction of the law. The sun shines on the good and the bad man, on the murderer and the holy man. The rain falls on the just and the unjust, and the Infinite Spirit passes no judgment on any man. Man rewards and punishes himself based on the way his conscious mind impregnates his subconscious mind. If man thinks good, he receives good; and if he thinks evil, evil inevitably follows. It is as simple as that.

. . . How can ye, being evil, speak good . . . ? (Matthew 12:34). Rewards and punishments are inherent in man's own thinking and imagery. It is very foolish for him to postulate the cause of his good fortune or misfortune outside himself.

Don't Fight the World

When you open your newspaper in the morning or listen to the evening news on radio or television, you may read or hear about shocking cruelties and tragedies in the world. If you resent all the crime, rape and murders or try to fight these things in your mind, getting angry and upset, you will always be at odds. and, being inharmonious within, you will manifest disharmony in all phases of your life.

Realize that God's peace fills your soul and that God's love saturates your mind and heart. Furthermore, claim, feel and know that the light of God shines in all humanity. You are then contributing, to some degree, to peace in this changing world. Cease wasting your precious mental and spiritual energy in fighting and opposing worldly conditions. Use your energy constructively and create health and happiness for yourself and all those around you.

The Two Worlds

When we speak of metaphysics, we refer to that which is above and beyond the physical. It refers to the inner world of your thoughts, feelings, imagination and beliefs. When you stop and think, you realize that everything you do and that you refuse to do is previously determined by an attitude of mind—a way of thinking on your part. If you find your condition chronic, if you are leading a dull, routine, monotonous life, it is very likely that you too are dwelling on the past and repeating the same old mental patterns. You are here to grow, and when you refuse to let the Life Principle move through you at higher levels. It has no alternative but to, perhaps, bring about some negative experience such as sickness or other problems, which will arouse you out of your lethargy and cause you to find the solution. In that way, you discover yourself.

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How to Use the Laws of Mind,

Chapter Two, How your Mind heals You

Dr. Joseph Murphy

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter One, How your Mind Works

How to Use the Laws of Mind, Chapter One, How your Mind Works

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Your Early Training

All of us, when we were young, malleable and highly impressionable, received suggestions regarding religious beliefs, opinions, superstitions, false beliefs and prejudices from our parents, uncles, aunts, clergymen, teachers and others.

All of us accepted the suggestions, beliefs, language, customs and traditions of our parents and environment. We had no other choice. We could not reject their suggestions and indoctrination, as we had not yet reached the point in our lives of discernment or the capacity to differentiate between that which is false and that which is true.

You were not born with any religious beliefs, fears, taboos or strictures of any kind. Like all of us, you were born helpless, ignorant and completely at the mercy of your parents or those entrusted with your care. You were born with only two fears—the fear of falling and the fear of noise—both of which represent God's alarm system in you to protect you. All other fears were given to you.

I suggest to people that they examine the origin of their beliefs, religious concepts, and fears and see if they contribute to their health, happiness and peace of mind. You can eradicate and expunge from your subconscious mind anything that was learned, acquired or copied by you in your youth. In other words, you can recondition or reprogram your subconscious mind along the lines of eternal verities, which are universal and belong to all men. These eternal truths are the same yesterday, today and forever.

Look Within

Do not look outside yourself for peace of mind, wealth, security or inner strength. The Divine Presence is within you—the Supreme Intelligence which created all things and is All-Wise. No government, institution or person can bestow on you the quiet mind or inner peace.

Your subconscious mind is the seat of habit, and habits are built up in the same way you learned to walk, swim, dance, play the piano, type or drive a car. You repeated certain thought patterns and actions over and over, and after a certain length of time these patterns were implanted in your subconscious mind. Now you do these things automatically. You might call this second nature. The latter is simply the response of your deeper mind to your conscious choices and actions.

Frequently during the day, affirm: "God's river of peace saturates my mind and heart. I rest in the everlasting arms of wisdom, truth and beauty." Make a habit of repeating this prayer. Repeat it over and over again, knowing what you are doing and why you are doing it. As you continue to affirm and reiterate these simple truths, you will become peaceful and harmonious, and you will contribute to the peace and serenity of all those around you.

Many say to me that they would love to find some hamlet, some town near the beaches, where they could find rest and comfort. Remember, you take your mind with you wherever you go. Actually, you meet yourself at all times. If the mind is in turmoil and you are anxious and worried, the beach or the mountain will not give you peace. You must choose peace. 

Some people are unceasingly searching for a Shangri-La where all is bliss and harmony, a sort of Utopia, where all of us will share everything together and live harmoniously, peacefully and joyfully. You must remember, however, that you create your own Utopia. There is no such place except in the mind of man, who is in tune with the Infinite and who has found the peace that passeth understanding. The problems, challenges, difficulties and turmoil around us incite us to find that inner peace and also enable us to discover our Divinity and rise above the problems of the world.

Overcome the World

The world, in Biblical language, represents all the people in the world, some good, some bad. The mass mind, or law of averages, means the way four and a half billion people are thinking. Every day you read of wars, cruelty, crime, hate, jealousy, murder, race conflicts and religious struggles. You also read of the good and noble people who contribute to the peace of the world.

You cannot run away from the world or the mass mind. All of us are immersed in it because, subjectively, we are all one and the psychic sea impinges on all of us. That is why you should keep prayed up. Assume now, today, that Infinite Intelligence is guiding and directing you and that the power of the Infinite animates and sustains you. Radiate love, peace, and goodwill to all people and wish for them all the blessings of life.

This attitude will guarantee you success along all lines. Furthermore, you will be contributing to the welfare of all people everywhere. You can definitely move triumphantly through the maelstrom of this confused world into ways of pleasantness and paths of peace. Your inner assumptions, beliefs and convictions dictate and control all external actions.

Be Sure to Remember a Basic Truth

William James, the father of American psychology, stated that he felt the greatest discovery of the last one hundred years was the awareness of the powers of the subconscious mind. Dr. Phineas Qiiimby, who started healing people in 1847, pointed out in his experiments that, "If I really believed a thing, the effect would follow whether I was thinking of it or not."

This is of great importance, because it applies to all of us and reveals that whatever has been deposited in our subconscious mind governs and controls us. In other words, your subconscious beliefs, assumptions and convictions dictate, control and direct all your conscious actions, whether you are thinking about them or not. Whatever is impressed in your subconscious mind, whether good or bad, will always be expressed on the screen of space. Your habitual thinking is gradually absorbed and recorded in your subconscious. There they become laws and beliefs which act automatically.

Practice This Truth

Anything that your conscious mind assumes to be true is accepted by your subconscious mind, and the Infinite Intelligence of your subconscious proceeds to bring to pass and execute the role suggested by your assumption. Your assumption, true or false, hardens into fact and is projected on the screen of space.

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How to Use the Laws of Mind,

Chapter One, How your Mind Works,

Dr. Joseph Murphy