This Thing Called You, Chapter 8

This Thing Called You, Chapter 8

Everything you have ever thought, said, done, seen, learned or experienced, has left an imprint upon your subconscious mind. This subconscious also contains memory images of your family life, your ancestral background and the sum total of what the whole world has thought or believed. 

These memories are not dead things. Quite the reverse, they are always active. But there is more to it than this. Just as you are being acted upon by your own memories, the mind of history and your environment, you are also being acted upon by the Mind of God which is within and around you. 

Between this Divine Presence, this upper part of your being, and your outward experience, there is a field of subconscious reactions which have been gathered up throughout the ages. But you are a creator and not a creature. Today you may be suffering from the effects of the race consciousness and your own beliefs, but today you can begin to change them. 

The desire you have to be something, to do something, is a mental echo in your mind of the Spirit which already exists within you. It is an impact of your divine and spiritual self upon your mental or psychological self. It is the Spirit in you seeking an avenue of expression through you. It is the real Self you would like to be, the deep spiritual Self having all knowledge, having access to all power, being one with Life. This is the Self that can heal the sick and raise the dead. It is a transcendent, triumphant self. 

While it is true that suffering exists in the world, that poverty and unhappiness have been the common experience of mankind, it would be an unwise person who would ascribe these negations to the Divine Will. Those who would deny you the privilege of having the things you so earnestly desire in this world, hope themselves to receive them in the next life. 

You are assuming that you are an immortal being now. You are assuming that the good which exists in the future, already exists in the present. Therefore, to place your good in the future is merely to delay your entering into the kingdom of heaven now. You are selfish only if you would affirm a good for yourself which you would withhold from others. It simmers down to the word "goodness," to the concept of "kindness"—to the one Presence, which is Love, and to the one Principle, which is Law; to the one Person, which is God, and to yourself as a manifestation of this Divine Presence. 

If you wish to be successful you must identify yourself with success. The law of identity is a definite thing. That with which you mentally identify yourself sets up an image of thought in your consciousness which tends to attract the situations with which you are mentally identified. The subjective state of your consciousness, which means the sum total of your unconscious thought processes, is continually attracting or repelling. This process goes on beneath the threshold of the conscious mind. People are often attracting things to themselves which they do not consciously desire, but with which they have become unconsciously identified.

The subjective state of your thought is an accumulation. While these subjective images of thought act as a cause as long as they are permitted to remain, they can be uprooted and others put in their place. It may take time to do this, but the reward is worth the effort. Your whole aim is to bring your mind to a place where it unconsciously accepts the good it desires. 

Divine Guidance is yours for the asking.  The answer to any problem which can ever confront you already exists at the center of your being. It is not enough merely to know that Divine Guidance exists—you must use it. You use it by consciously recognizing its source within yourself and by deliberately calling upon it, expecting it to answer.

In order that you may not receive false impressions, you can test the thoughts that come to you. For instance, if you receive subconscious impressions having the slightest element of destructiveness in them, you may know that they do not emanate from a Divine source. For Life is not the author of confusion, but of peace. 

If you wish to be certain that the impressions that come to you are from the Spirit, analyze them and see if they are of the nature of the goodness and peace which the Spirit must be. God never sets one man's opinion against that of another. God, being love, never wills hate or destruction. God, being peace, never ordains confusion. When a problem confronts you, take it into the silence of your consciousness. 

Instead of thinking of the problem, think of the answer. God does not have problems; therefore, the Divine Mind is the answer to every human problem. Principles never have problems. Problems are solved by bringing them under the control of principles. The problem is dissolved as the principle flows through it to the correct answer. 

Mentally act and think as though the problem were only an argument trying to convince you that you do not know the answer. It is your business to neutralize this argument, taking it apart, thought by thought, until there is nothing left of it, until you reach a realization that dissipates it. The Divine Presence will guide, guard and protect you. It will counsel you with wisdom. Its might and majesty will enter into your being. It will sustain and uphold you in everything you do. You will learn to talk with It and you will receive direct intuitive answers. Faith is the essence of this communion. 

Having recognized the Divine Presence as your guiding star of hope, assurance and certainty, be equally certain that you recognize the Universal Law of Mind as your servant. This Law is the Principle you are to use. Your faith in this Law causes It to act upon that faith, to bring into your experience those things you accept. All you need be sure of is that you never use this Law for destructive purposes. When you have complied with Love you can use the Law without any sense of limitation or fear.

It is certain that you cannot believe in abundance while identifying yourself with lack. Forget the lack and think only of abundance. Control your mental reactions so that they automatically become affirmative. This will be an interesting and happy experience, for you will be working in the laboratory of mind with the great Law of being. Abundance belongs to you. Good will come to you if you affirm its presence. 

Learn how to think abundantly. Think of the vastness of everything, the limitlessness of space, the numberless grains of sand on the seashore—how abundant, how lavish nature is! Learn to see abundance in everything, to multiply the good you already possess. Be consciously one with the law of abundance. Expectancy will speed your progress.

Your subconscious mind is the medium between unconditioned good and the amount of that good you shall experience. The operation of your subconscious mind is that of a silent force within you which holds up its images of thought to the Universal Law of Mind which, in Its turn, reflects into your experience the things you inwardly believe. 

Your problem is to change these subjective images of thought, so that you will automatically attract good. There are no exact formulas for doing this. You will do well to work out your own method, always remembering that definite statements produce definite results when these statements are sincerely believed in. For example, you might use the following thoughts. 

Now mention to yourself something which you wish to bring into your experience. Think it over for a moment so that you have a clear idea of it and say: 

*I know that everything in my experience is working together to bring this about. I am filled with calm confidence, with expectancy of good. I know that this particular thing is transpiring in the invisible at this very moment, and that it will become a part of my visible experience. Everything within me accepts this.* 

Expectancy speeds progress. Therefore, live in a continual state of expectancy. No matter how much good you are experiencing today, expect greater good tomorrow. Expect to meet new friends. Expect to meet new and wonderful experiences. Try this magic of expectancy and you will soon discover a dramatic side to your work which gives full vent to constructive feeling. It makes life a game that is a joy to play. It enables you to enter into the spirit of things and of people.

You have a right to know that when you live in harmony with the Divine Presence around you, you will be protected by Its omnipotent power. No harm can come to you when you know that God is at the center of everything. This knowledge will protect you from all evil. Evil is as night before the on-rushing light of your consciousness. It is as darkness dissipated by the sun of your faith. It is as fire extinguished by the waters of your spirit. 

Your enthusiastic anticipation and happy contentment water the seed of faith which you have placed in the soil of Divine Substance. Believing this, do not delay the joy of possessing until tomorrow. There are no tomorrows in the Divine Mind. Your tomorrow is merely more of God's today. 

Back of every event, the slightest effort you make, the smallest concept you entertain, there is an inexhaustible reservoir of life, of imagination, energy and will, flowing through you into action. Keep it as simple as this and think about it until it becomes as natural to you as walking and talking. Divine Power exists everywhere and takes form for you through your ideas, your faith. You neither create this energy nor hold it in place. All that your faith does is to form a mold through which it may take a temporary form. 

Place a mirror in front of you, hold before it what you call a small object, such as a pencil, and you will see that the reflection is neither larger nor smaller than its image. Now remove the pencil and place a book in front of the mirror.

Instantly the mirror reflects the larger object. Suppose you had a mirror large enough for you to place a mountain in front of it. Would not the mirror as easily reflect the image of the mountain? It would not be hard. It would not be easy. It would not be large. It would not be small. It would merely be a reflection. Life is a mirror reflecting your images of thought. If you see confusion in this mirror, don't blame the law of reflection, don't even bother to blame yourself, but be willing to acknowledge that this confusion must be a reflection of your own consciousness. "But," you may say, "it is really a reflection of the confusion around me." 

Maybe so, but unless this confusion around you had found entrance to your consciousness it could not be reflected in your mirror. No doubt many of the reflections are caused by the images of thought entertained through previous years of disappointment, uncertainty and doubt. But this must not discourage you. Learn to sit at home with the cause, to reaffirm your position in life, to remold your consciousness, and you will see that the reflections will change. Just as a gardener pulls up old plants that are no longer desirable, so you will uproot the images of thought which you no longer wish to experience. You will plant new thoughts in the garden of your mind, and you will reap a new harvest

This Thing called You, Chapter 8,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 7

This Thing Called You, Chapter 7

Your faith can penetrate clouds of unbelief and reveal the Truth which is forever perfect. Your words do not create this Truth, they merely reveal It. By way of illustration, imagine yourself looking at the picture of a beautiful landscape. In this picture there are trees, a house, a stream of water, a beautiful meadow, and in the background mountains and a blue sky, dotted with clouds. 

You look at it long, contemplating its beauty. Now, suppose that a colored glass is placed between you and the picture so that the picture appears blurred. Everything seems distorted and yet nothing has happened to the picture. It is your business to remove the colored glass. 

Because the picture is still there on the wall, it still may be seen. Mental statements are merely a method you use for the clearing up of mental images. Neither affirmations, denials nor statements create the pattern of perfection, nor can they change it. They merely rearrange your thinking. If you could rearrange your thinking instantly, you would have an instantaneous result. If it takes time, do not become discouraged for you are working with a definite Principle which cannot fail you. 

Your desire for self-expression is inherent in the Divine Pattern itself, and it is because you intuitively feel this Pattern that you grope back toward it. Learn to trust the intuition within you, which causes you to sense the Pattern.

There is a stream of Life running into every organ and function of your being. This stream is always there. It never stops for a second. If it did, the universe would cease to exist. Inexhaustible energy exists at the center of your being. Therefore, learn to live without effort. Activity is the joy of life flowing through you. 

Since no two persons are alike there must be a unique place for you in the scheme of things. The Divine Pattern would be imperfect without you. Dare to be yourself. Stand in wonder before the majesty and might, the beauty and power of that Divine Presence which seeks expression through your individual life. Accept all the good there is. Whatever things you desire, believe that you have them.

There should be a definiteness in your mental attitude, but no sense of coercion.  There should be a one-pointedness without any attempt at concentration, a definite direction without trying to force anything. There should be a positive decision without compulsion. If there is any doubt in your mind as to whether or not God or Life wishes you to have the best, ask yourself: Could God, who is freedom, conceive restriction? Could God, who is limitless, conceive lack, want, limitation or bondage? 

Could God, who is perfect life, conceive anything that limits the joy of living? If God wills death, then God is not Life. If God wills lack, then God is limited. If God's will operates against peace, then God is confused. Nothing rewards or punishes you but the immutable law of cause and effect. There is no good which you cannot experience provided you first embody that good. There is no joy which you cannot reach provided you first clear your consciousness of anything which would limit this joy in yourself or in others. Expect, accept, and you shall receive. 

The Will of God for you is the will of a boundless life, flowing through you. It is the will of joy, of success, of happiness, of peace, of abundance. It is the will of the Kingdom of Heaven, not absent from this earth, but imperfectly seen. You cannot build happiness or sanity on the proposition that God wills evil, that there is a devil, a hell or a future punishment. The Law of cause and effect works at all times as absolute justice. While you would harm others you can be hurt yourself. While you withhold good you can have an equal amount of good withheld from you. 

The ceaseless human struggle for liberty is an attempt to rise above the limitations which the consciousness of man knows to be false. Every scientific discovery is proof that limitation is not ordained by the laws of your being. The limitation of locomotion and travel in ox cart days was not imposed by Divine fiat. It was imposed by ignorance. 

When the Prodigal was in a far country, destitute, nothing had happened to the Divine Abundance. The Father's house had not been dismantled. The celestial garden still produced the fruit of the vine. But the son's face was turned, his eyes were closed, his ears were stopped, his consciousness was numbed. He had to come to himself. In coming to himself, he met, face to face, the heavenly Presence which pervades all. He was enfolded in the arms of love. A banquet was spread before him in his wilderness. There was feasting, enjoyment, reconciliation. 

Where had God been all this time? God had not been anywhere. The Divine is always present and appears wherever recognized. As you enter more completely into conscious union with Life, you will realize that the universe holds as much good for you as you can take, that you can take only what you give. 

You cannot draw love into your consciousness through hate. You cannot draw peace from confusion. You cannot see beauty through ugliness, nor hear harmony while your ears are filled with discord.

You rob no person when you discover your own good. You limit no person when you express a greater degree of livingness. You harm no one by being happy. You steal from no one by being prosperous. You hinder no person's evolution when you consciously enter into the kingdom of your good and possess it today. 

Your thought, operating through the Law of Life, can meet your need, convert fear into faith, loss into gain, failure into success. Act as though you already had dominion over evil. Refuse to entertain images of fear. Know that good is the only power there is. Believe that you are governed by Divine Intelligence, that you are directed by Divine Guidance. Know that everything you say, think or do that is constructive, is done through Divine Authority. Know that the freedom which already exists in the Mind of God belongs to you and now manifests through you.

The consciousness that God is in and through everything will enable you better to see perfection and harmony in people and affairs. Know that the Spirit is right where you are. It is the very essence of your being. It is at the center as well as at the circumference of your life. Learn to sense this Divine Presence in every thought and act. Let the warmth and color of this Presence permeate your entire consciousness. 

Let your thought be filled with an atmosphere of helpfulness, of life, of givingness and of peace. Know that the doorway of opportunity is never closed. Know that experience opens up before you like a blossoming flower. Live in continuous, joyous anticipation. 

It might come as a surprise to many if, when they say; "My poor head!" "My poor back!" or "My poor circulation!" you were to tell them they are actually using a creative law in a negative way. The laws of mind do not work in one instance while refusing to operate in another. Every time you think, you are using the Law of Mind. How careful, then, you should be to think constructively.

Mental laws are as real as physical laws, reproducing physical laws in the mental realm. The use of your creative power is as natural as the use of electricity, but there is not as much known about it. Many think it is something delivered only to a few by special edict. Fortunately, this is not the case. 

When the Spirit thinks, knows or wills, a law is set in motion which projects and governs what It thinks, knows and wills. Since God is always in harmony with Himself and knows only that which is good, then God thinks only that which is good. Since God thinks everything into being, there must be a perfect pattern at the center of everything. Your individual world is a unique and individualized representation of the whole universe, following the same laws, governed by the same principle, and stimulated by the same mind

It is because the Law of Life is at the center of your being that your thought is creative. The Law of God acting through you makes your thought creative. It takes the form of your thought and reacts to your word exactly as you think it. Your individual use of this Law becomes the law of your individual being. While this is one of the most profound concepts ever believed in, it is also one of the simplest. Instead of having an individual creative mind, you really have an individual or personal use of a Law which is infinite. Through this Law you can bring things to you from the uttermost parts of the earth. 

The Mind Principle around you is reactive to your thought. Its chief characteristic is Its susceptibility to impression. It receives the slightest vibration of thought and acts upon it. Since this Law acts like a mirror, when you withdraw old images of thought and place new ones in front of this mirror of Mind, the old reflections or conditions cease to exist and the new ones take their places. But if you only half withdraw the old images and only half create new ones, your experience will partake of the nature of both kinds of thought. 

This Thing called You, Chapter 7,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 6

This Thing Called You, Chapter 6

Spirit withholds nothing from you. To believe that God refuses the good you desire is to deny the goodness of God. It is a refusal to accept the profound conclusion of the one who said, "It is done unto you as you believe." 

Often you may find that even though start with an enthusiastic conviction, you become stranded on the rock of unbelief. Refuse to let this discourage you. The law still is that it is done unto you as you believe. No matter how subtle the thoughts of lack, fear, uncertainty or loneliness may be, they do not belong to you. Your affirmation can erase them. Become master of your thinking, hence master of your fate. 

Always do this with a sense of union with good, for you have not been left alone to fight a losing battle or contend against powers of evil. You have been left alone to discover your real nature, that as an individual you may consciously unite with the Law of Life and the Presence of Good. 

Do you remember the story Jesus told about the woman who came to a judge asking for help? At first the judge refused her request because he was comfortably settled with his family and did not wish to be disturbed. Do you remember how persistent this woman was? She refused to take no for an answer. She just kept on knocking at the door until her faith and determination were rewarded. 

This is the story of your life, and of every man's life. Just keep right on knocking at the doorway of your consciousness until every "no" becomes a "yes," every negation an affirmation, every fear a faith. You cannot fail if you remain steadfast. Finally, the fetters of bondage will drop from you. You will walk out of your self-imposed prison only to discover that the door was never really locked and the windows were not actually barred. You were bound merely by chains of unbelief. 

If you listen to peace, you will experience it. If you listen for truth, you will hear it. If you listen to power, you will receive it. If you listen to wholeness, you will discover it. 

The creative law which you use is like a mirror. The thought you hold before it is like an image. The mirror reflects the image you hold before it. Hold there, then, the image of faith and expectancy, with enthusiastic conviction and with undying trust. The only thing that can hinder you is yourself. The only thing that can help you is yourself. Because it is you who reflects the image in the mirror. 

Often good and sincere persons ask if it is right to use Divine Power for personal purposes. No one thinks it wrong to use other laws of nature for personal purposes. The laws of Mind and Spirit are natural laws. The only difference between the use of them and other natural laws is that most people have not realized that they can use spiritual law as consciously as they do other laws. 

Do not hesitate to use this law for any purpose which is constructive. It is no more selfish to use spiritual law for personal purposes than it is to plant a garden for your personal use. Moreover, there is no escaping this law, for it is as intimate as your own thought, as personal as your own being. 

The world starves in the midst of plenty, weeps in the midst of joy. Yet the Eternal Manna has never ceased to fall. The fields of God are ripe unto harvest. The garden of your mind was planted by a Wisdom superior to yours. Enter in and possess this promised land. When you accept in simple faith, you will receive. 

When you knock in childlike belief, the door will be opened. What you seek with enthusiastic acceptance, you will find. Did not the great and beautiful Jesus proclaim, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"? Reality has not changed since Jesus walked the shores of Galilee. The Power he used is still here. 

It makes little difference what method you use, provided you have conviction. Some will tell you that you should affirm the Divine Presence, denying all else. Well and good. This method will work. Others may tell you that all you need do is to ask, believing. They are right. Each receives according to his belief. Don't be too concerned over methods. Any method that leads to conviction will produce results. 

Stop arguing. Learn to believe. Stop debating. Learn to accept. Stop looking for an authority outside your own conviction. This calls for complete confidence in the Law and an equal confidence in yourself. If you wish to be healed, you must expect to be made whole. If you wish freedom, you must no longer think bondage. Bondage and freedom are but two ways of using one law. If you spend all your time saying, "I am poor, weak, sick, miserable and unhappy," you will attract poverty, weakness, sickness and unhappiness. 

Use your intellect, imagination and feeling for the purpose of seeing and sensing freedom instead of bondage, joy instead of unhappiness, plenty instead of want, health in place of disease. The very denial of your good keeps that good from you. Reversing this process, through affirmation, will bring about the good you desire. 

Open the gates of your consciousness to the Divine Presence and you will be flooded with light. Consciously commune with the Spirit and you will receive a direct answer. This answer will always fit your individuality because you are Life individualized. 

No one can take your place. There is neither competition nor monopoly in Spirit. Coming daily to the Supreme Source of Being for inspiration and guidance, you will receive a new influx of Life, always fitted to your need. 

Communing with the Spirit you receive inspiration, you acquire confidence and faith, you rest in peace, you are poised. From this spiritual consciousness your word becomes the law unto that thing whereunto it is spoken. It is acted upon by the Law of Life. Your authority is not one of egotism or arrogance. It is the authority which comes when one's consciousness is in tune with the Infinite. 

Practice the Presence of the Spirit until your whole being is flooded with Its light. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ... If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me ... If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me."

The prayer of power is an affirmation so completely believed in that there is no longer any conscious or subconscious denial of it. When your prayer or treatment arrives at a complete acceptance, it will be answered. Enter the closet of your mind, close the door, speak with complete authority. You are one with an Infinite Presence which can inspire, one with a Universal Law which can execute.

When ideas of evil, lack or fear present themselves, exercise your dominion over them. Realize that your faith is the law of elimination to evil. There is no spiritual law of discord, sickness or lack. The laws of Spirit are complete, perfect and good. From the standpoint of the Life within you, anything that denies this is false. 

You do not put power into your word, you take it out. When your word is based on Divine Love, Infinite Goodness and Eternal Peace, you may know that it is no longer the word of an isolated individual, it is the word of the Supreme Power in you—not some mighty, but Almighty.

You are, as Emerson implied, an organ through which the Spirit executes Its will and performs Its act of creation. God does not depend on you. You do depend on God. Electrical energy exists independently of the appliance through which it operates. However, the mechanical device depends upon the electrical energy. It is only as this mechanical device permits a flow of energy that it can distribute it. So it is with your mind. Divine Energy flows through your thought. 

The nature of the Mind Principle you are using is that wherever a mental image is set up in it, an objective form will be created. Learn to convert thought patterns of sickness, unhappiness, fear and doubt into patterns which conform to spiritual perfection. You cannot change a pattern of fear by maintaining an attitude of fear or by fluctuating between fear and faith. 

Make a picture of yourself as happy and successful. Refuse to entertain contrary ideas. Since you are the only one who has complete access to your thought, you can do this for yourself better than anyone else can do it for you. You cannot be responsible for the acceptance of others. Each is an individual. 

Though you poured an ocean of love over one, he must receive it. A bucket that is turned upside down, even in a cloudburst, will not be filled. Though manna fall from heaven, one remains famished unless he eat. 

It is not always easy for one to control his thoughts. It is not easy in the midst of pain to think peace, in the midst of poverty to think abundance, in the midst of unhappiness to think joy. But if you do this you will meet with success. The Law of Mind reflects your mental attitudes exactly as they are.

Even God must wait your conscious cooperation before the full light of His presence and the power of His law can be made manifest through you. Your conscious cooperation with Him starts with a realization of the Divine Presence and your union with It.

Now make known your desires and accept them as manifest facts in your life. Every organ, function, action and reaction of your physical being, circulation, assimilation and elimination, are parts of a Divine Pattern which is forever perfect within you.

When you think with complete conviction, the Law of Mind will operate on your thought exactly as you think it, for the thing, condition or person you are thinking about. The repeated experience of thousands during the last fifty years has proved this. The principle you are using has been scientifically demonstrated. It is  now merely a question of how effectively you use it. 

This Thing called You, Chapter 6,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 5

This Thing Called You, Chapter 5

It is wonderful to know that your good is at hand. Your night wanes. Your dawn is breaking. There is a living Spirit at the center of your being. The original Author of all life is in and around you—not a God who was,  but a God who is.  This is the great secret which you share with Life. Life is wherever you are. It revolves around you even as It flows through you. Keep the doorway of your mind open. Feeling, thinking, communing with this Life, know that It fills you with light and with power. 

Learn to exchange fears, doubts and uncertainties for faith. Faith can make you whole. Faith can convert fear into certainty, poverty into riches, disease into health. Faith can lift you from a valley of despair into a mountain of hope and certainty. There is a power which flows out through your words of faith. 

There is a law of faith which has the power to bring into your life everything you need. Jesus understood this. It was through this law that he healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind and fed the multitudes. He said that anyone who believes can do what he was doing. He said that you can do it. This power is in you. It is where you are. It is yours. But it must be used. 

You need not go through any practices to unify with this Power, for you are already one with It. You need not go in search of It because It is already where you are. Because you are always in contact with It, you can bring into your life the good you so greatly desire, for It will honor your desires. It will bring them into manifestation in your life. Say to yourself, then: I place my affairs in the hands of goodness, love and wisdom. 

The greatest adventure of your life lies in your conscious use of this power. You need not believe in any particular religious system to discover the wellspring of life. You find it at the center of your own being, in the quiet of the evening, in the stillness of the night, at the dawn of the new day, and in the midst of activity. 

Nothing can be more immediate or personal to you than this Presence which is in everything, and without which there could be neither life, thought nor action. Accept this here and now, today.

You need not mold your life after another. Trust yourself. Believe in your direct relationship with Life and you will not be disappointed. Do not wait. Today is the time to start. Right where you are is the place to begin. 

Electricity exists everywhere but its energy must be directed. So it is with this Power. If you wish It to pour out through your thought in any direction you wish, you must use it consciously. You do not pray this Power into existence. 

Your use of It is not a prayer to the Power but a recognition of It. This is not a petition but a performance. 

To realize that God is ever-present, ever available, is to know that all the wisdom, intelligence and power of the universe is right where you are. Your word is power when you know this. This is why everything in your life depends upon your belief, why it is done unto you as you believe. Change your belief and you can change your world. 

Don't let anyone tell you this isn't true. Those who have used it in the right way have proved it to be true. Those who have never tried it know nothing about it. Don't argue with them. Let them alone. 

The answers to your problems lie not in God's willingness but in your ability to believe. Certain statements repeated over and over help you to believe. Gradually these statements sink into consciousness, changing your mental reactions from negative to positive.

When you use the word "God" you mean the Power that creates everything, that gives life to everything. When you say, "All things are possible," you mean that the Power which created the planets is now operating in your affairs, in and through everything you do. Your faith in It clears your mind of fear and uncertainty and provides a channel through which the Power may work for you. There is nothing this Power cannot do for you if you learn how to use It. It is impossible for It to fail. All failure is of man. None comes from God. 

It is a known fact that thoughts, often repeated, form patterns in mind which automatically reproduce themselves. This is one of the basic principles of the new knowledge of the mind. This illustration is often used by psychologists to explain continuously repeated neurotic conditions. Why not use this creative law constructively, dislodging old thought patterns with their morbid reactions to life? These thought patterns have hypnotized humanity into the belief that fear, unhappiness, poverty and sickness must prevail. Why not disrobe this mental darkness with the glorious conception of the new light, now known to exist? 

If you would exchange joy for tears, forget the tears and turn to joy. Change your mental pictures and thus create new experiences. You must not only realize that God is right where you are, you must also know that the Law of God responds to you. 

Spirit is at the center of everything. It is the center of all personality. As a drop of water is in the ocean, so you are in an ocean of Life. This Life acts as law upon your thought. 

Perhaps this seems too good to be true. Remember, however, that the first steam-driven ship to cross the ocean carried in her cabin a book carefully explaining just why it was that a boat could not be driven by steam. A new energy is now being announced to the world—the creative power of thought which draws its energy from a universal source. 

Your consciousness, which means the sum total of your thoughts, is the medium between the invisible Cause and your personal life. Though you were in hell and you dwelt on heavenly things, you would immediately find yourself in heaven. Though you were in heaven and dwelt on evil, you would immediately find yourself in hell. Evil is the result of a wrong use of the Law of Life. Therefore, your greatest desire should be to use this Law rightly. You always use it rightly when you use it constructively. You use it constructively when there is nothing in you that would hurt anyone. You use it constructively when you use it with love. 

It is not necessary to spend your entire time in prayer and meditation. Rather, seek to make your work a prayer, your believing an act, your living an art. It is then that the object of your faith will be made visible to you. It is then that you shall "kiss the lips of your desire." Your thought is creative, not because you will, wish, hope, pray or long for it to be so. It is creative because there is a creative law operating upon it. You did not make this law; you only use it.

It is important that you maintain a strict censorship over your thinking. Just as you watch your garden that foreign seeds shall not fall into it, producing a growth of undesirable plants, so you must refuse entrance to any thoughts you do not wish to see manifested in your life. 

Guard well this garden of your mind. It is God's garden of your soul. It is your Garden of Eden wherein may grow your fondest desires and hopes, blossoming into fulfillment. Or, if you permit, the weeds of destruction, fear and doubt, will choke out the beauty of hope until despair alone remains. 

Watch carefully, then, this garden of your soul. Plant there only seeds of happiness, of joy, of peace and of good will. 

It may be necessary to cultivate your garden, to uproot the weeds and straighten out the rows, planting new seeds—new ideas, broader visions and deeper realizations of life. New aspirations must be bedded here, fertilized with the fervor of hope, the conviction of faith, the beauty of wholeness and the quietness of peace. Watch your garden carefully, guard it patiently, waiting for a new harvest—for you shall reap what you have sown. 

Plant love in your garden. Kindness and sympathy flow from the heart of love, and human goodness follows divine realization at every turn in life's road. 

Kindness and understanding are divine flames lighted from the altar of love, upon which burns the Light Eternal. 

Go often, into your garden. Sitting under the Tree of Life in cool, quiet communion, you will find fresh inspiration. God Himself will go forth anew into creation through you. 

The Power of the Spirit, which is ever with you, is sufficient to meet your every need. If you need healing, this Power can heal you. If you need happiness, the Spirit can provide it. If you need supply, the God who is ever with you can give it. No matter what situation you may be in, it can be changed. The winds of God never cease to blow. Set the sails of your hope that these winds may fill them. Learn to drink freely from the fountain of Life. 

It may seem strange that the law which now holds you in bondage can as easily give you freedom. But this is the truth. There cannot be two final powers in the universe. If there were, one would destroy the other. There is only One Power—use It! 

In such degree as your thought has a preponderance of successful feeling, your living will become successful. The Law of Life can work for you only as it works through your thought patterns. Since it is possible to control your thoughts, it is possible to control your destiny.

This Thing called You, Chapter 5,

Ernest Holmes

Three by Three Tableau Tarot Spread

Three by Three Tableau Tarot Spread

The 3x3 tableau spread in Marseille Tarot is a visually structured and intuitive method for reading nine cards laid out in a grid—three rows and three columns. This spread is especially popular among readers who favor the Tarot de Marseille's symbolic and non-prescriptive style, allowing for flexible interpretation based on imagery, positioning, and personal intuition.

🃏 Structure of the 3x3 Tableau Spread

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] 

[ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] 

[ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]

🔍 How to Read It

Here’s a common approach to interpreting the tableau:

🧭 Rows (Horizontal)

• Top Row (1–3): The past or underlying influences.
• Middle Row (4–6): The present situation or the heart of the matter.
• Bottom Row (7–9): The future or potential outcomes.

🧱 Columns (Vertical)

• Left Column (1, 4, 7): Internal factors, personal mindset, or emotional state.
• Middle Column (2, 5, 8): The core issue, central theme, or spiritual insight.
• Right Column (3, 6, 9): External influences, other people, or practical matters.

🔄 Diagonals

• Diagonal (1, 5, 9): A narrative arc or spiritual journey.
• Diagonal (3, 5, 7): Hidden dynamics or subconscious patterns.

🧠 Interpretation Tips

• Focus on visual connections between cards—gestures, gazes, and symbols.
• The central card (5) often acts as the anchor or key to the reading.
• Marseille Tarot encourages open reading, meaning you rely less on memorized meanings and more on intuitive storytelling.

If you’re curious to see this method in action, there’s a helpful YouTube walkthrough of the 3x3 tableau spread using the Claude Burdel 1751 deck.

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The 3x3 tableau spread in Marseille Tarot can be interpreted in several alternative ways depending on the reader’s style, intention, and the question at hand. While the standard approach involves reading rows, columns, and diagonals, here are some alternative layers of meaning that can enrich your reading:

🌟 Alternative Interpretive Frameworks

1. Psychological Layers

• Top Row (1–3): Conscious thoughts, aspirations, or mental focus.
• Middle Row (4–6): Emotional state, interpersonal dynamics, or current challenges.
• Bottom Row (7–9): Subconscious influences, ancestral patterns, or karmic baggage.

This approach is great for introspective or therapeutic readings.

2. Elemental or Energetic Reading

Assign elemental qualities (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) to rows or columns:

• Fire (Top): Passion, drive, creativity.
• Water (Middle): Emotions, intuition, relationships.
• Earth (Bottom): Stability, material concerns, health.

This method works well when exploring energy balance or spiritual alignment.

3. Narrative Flow

Instead of fixed positions, read the cards like a story:

• Left to Right: A linear progression or unfolding journey.
• Spiral Pattern: Starting from the center (card 5) and spiraling outward to explore layers of influence.

This is especially useful for open-ended questions or when seeking a holistic overview.

4. Corner Cards as Anchors

Cards 1, 3, 7, and 9 can be read as:

• The “frame” of the situation—setting boundaries or defining the context.
• Four directions or elements—North, South, East, West; or Fire, Water, Air, Earth.

This adds a spatial or elemental dimension to the spread.

5. Central Card as the Soul of the Reading

Card 5 is often treated as the core theme or significator. You can build the entire interpretation around this card, treating others as modifiers or clarifiers.

Would you like to explore one of these methods with a sample reading or dive deeper into a specific style? I can help you craft a spread or interpret a set of cards using any of these frameworks.

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There’s even more depth to explore with the 3x3 tableau spread in Marseille Tarot. Here are a few additional insights and advanced techniques that seasoned readers often incorporate:

🌀 Dynamic Reading Techniques

1. Mirroring & Symmetry

• Look for mirrored cards across the vertical or horizontal axis (e.g., cards 1 & 3, 4 & 6).
• These can reveal duality, conflict, or balance between opposing forces.

2. Corner Cards as the “Frame”

• Cards 1, 3, 7, and 9 form the outer structure of the reading.
• They can represent the environment, boundaries, or external pressures.
• Some readers interpret them as the four elements or four directions, adding a mystical layer.

3. Card Interactions

• Pay attention to gestures, gazes, and movement in the illustrations.
• For example, if a figure in card 4 is looking toward card 5, it may suggest a desire or influence directed at the central issue.

🧙‍♀️ Philosophical or Esoteric Layers

1. Alchemical or Hermetic Symbolism

• Some readers overlay alchemical stages (nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, rubedo) onto the tableau to explore spiritual transformation.
• The spread becomes a map of inner evolution, especially when using only Major Arcana.

2. Numerological Resonance

• Consider the numerical value of each card and how they relate.
• For example, a spread with multiple 7s might suggest spiritual testing or introspection.

🎥 Helpful Resources

If you want to see these ideas in action, check out:

• Mastering the Tarot Tableau – Revisiting Predictive Accuracy by Toni Savory
• Reading Tarot de Marseille in a 3x3 tableau using the Claude Burdel 1751 deck

Dynamic Hexagram Tarot Spread

Dynamic Hexagram Tarot Spread

The Dynamic Hexagram Tarot Spread is a six-card layout designed to facilitate an open and actively dynamic interaction between the cards, drawing inspiration from the 'dynamic' aspect of the I-Ching's hexagrams, though it is not directly related to the I-Ching's method of 'moving' lines. 

The cards are laid out in a line from left to right, and the reading proceeds as follows: the first card represents the underlying impulse present in the situation, which may also indicate the true subject of the reading. Cards 2 and 3 serve as clarification cards for the first card, while cards 2, 3, and 4 together describe the current situation (ABC). 

The situation is seen as constantly transforming, and cards 3, 4, and 5 show this new state (DEF), illustrating the transformation from ABC to DEF. The sixth card, the closing card, indicates how the future will pull the situation forward, with cards 4 and 5 acting as clarification cards for this final card. 

This spread allows for multiple interpretations, including viewing the sequence as an opening, a convergence of past and future impulses, the transformation of the situation, and the interplay of forces from the opening and closing cards. The spread is intended to be flexible and influenced by the specific cards drawn, rather than adhering to strict positional meanings.

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The Dynamic Hexagram Tarot Spread is a six-card layout inspired by the structure and interpretive style of the I Ching hexagram, but adapted for tarot. It emphasizes transformation and fluidity in the reading, making it ideal for exploring situations in flux or with multiple layers of meaning.

🧿 Structure of the Spread

The cards are laid out in a straight line from left to right:

1 2 3 4 5 6

Each position has a specific role:

• Card 1 – Opening Card: Represents the underlying impulse or theme of the situation. It may reveal what the reading is truly about, especially if the question is vague or the reading veers off the expected path.
• Cards 2 & 3 – Clarifiers: These help illuminate the meaning of Card 1 and begin to describe the current state.
• Cards 2, 3, 4 – ABC Sequence: This trio forms a mini-reading that shows the situation as it currently manifests—emotionally, materially, psychologically, etc.
• Cards 3, 4, 5 – DEF Sequence: This trio represents the transformation or evolution of the situation. It shows how things are shifting or developing.
• Card 6 – Closing Card: Indicates the direction the situation is heading or how the future is influencing the present. Cards 4 and 5 can also clarify this outcome.

🔄 Dynamic Interpretation

The spread is “dynamic” because it encourages reading the cards in overlapping sequences (ABC and DEF), rather than in isolation. This mirrors the I Ching’s concept of changing lines and evolving trigrams, though it doesn’t use literal lines or traditional hexagram structures.

🌀 Why Use It?

• Great for complex or evolving situations
• Encourages fluid interpretation rather than rigid positions
• Offers both present insight and future trajectory

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