Thomas Troward's The Dore Lectures on Mental Science, Chapter One...Entering into the Spirit of it

Thomas Troward's The Dore Lectures on Mental Science,

Chapter One...Entering into the Spirit of it

Chapter 1 of Thomas Troward's The Dore Lectures on Mental Science, titled 'Entering into the Spirit of it,' establishes the fundamental principle of the entire course: that to benefit from any creation, one must understand and participate in the creative idea behind it.

The synopsis of the chapter is as follows:

1. The Meaning of "The Spirit"

Troward defines the "Spirit" of a thing as the idea, creative impulse, or living principle that gives it life, movement, and existence. Just as one must appreciate the thought of the author or the feeling of the musician to fully enjoy their work, one must also "enter into the Spirit" of the universe to understand and utilize its laws. If you cannot enter into the spirit of a thing, it remains "dead" to you.

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2. The Nature of the Primal Power

The chapter focuses on identifying the nature of the primal moving power that is the source of all life. Troward argues that physical science, by reducing all material things to a universally distributed ether in absolute equilibrium, logically compels the deduction of an immaterial power—the Spirit—that must have initiated the first movement of creation.

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3. The Creative Mind Analogy

Troward draws an analogy between an artist's original creation (a work of art, literature, or music) and the creation of the universe by the "Greater Creative Mind" (the Parent Mind/First Cause).

• The artist's work is driven by an inner "motif" or feeling—a reaching out for self-realization.

• Similarly, the initial movement of creation by the Parent Mind must have been purely a matter of inner feeling because, being the First Cause, no existing conditions could have externally compelled its action.

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4. The Conclusion: Entering into the Feeling

The core lesson is that since the creative process originates in the feeling or motive of the Universal Mind, to cooperate with the creative power, the student must learn to partake of this feeling. By entering into the original creative feeling of Life, one accesses the "fons et origo" (source and origin) of the entire chain of causation, allowing the individual to reproduce that livingness and creative power in their own lives.

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