This Thing called You, Chapter 15

This Thing called You, Chapter 15

The wisest man who ever lived said there is a truth which can set you free from fear, want, unhappiness and finally death itself. He said that this truth is already within you. Nothing could be more wonderful than this. It is what you have been looking for but hardly dared believe. Suppose you accept this spiritual wisdom, since the one who gave it was able to prove his claims. Don’t you think that this great and glorious person was telling you that the kingdom of your good is here today?

No matter what the negations of yesterday may have been, your affirmations of today may rise triumphant over them. This is the highest hope ever placed before the vision of man’s search for something that can make him whole. The evil of all your yesterdays can vanish into nothingness. If you can see beauty instead of ugliness, beauty will appear. Cease weeping over the mistakes of yesterday and steadfastly beholding the face of the great and divine Reality, walk in that Light wherein there is no darkness. Say:

I know that every negative condition of the past is swept aside.

I refuse to see it or to think about it.

Yesterday is no longer here, tomorrow has not yet arrived.

Today is God’s day.

God’s day is my day.

Today, bright with hope and filled with promise, is mine.

Today my heart is without fear.

I have implicit confidence in the good, the enduring and the true.

Today I shall guard my thought and speech; I shall keep my consciousness steadfast with the realization that there is a spiritual Power upon which I may rely.

I shall turn resolutely to that Divine Source which knows no confusion, to that spiritual Center which knows no fear.

The Spirit is not afraid of anything; the Divine has no enemies; the Spirit knows no opposites.

Consciously, I draw close to my Divine Center, the Source of all that is; I feel the warmth of Its presence.

I enter into a faith made perfect through love and confidence, an assurance made complete by the abandonment of myself to good.

Acknowledging good in all my ways, desiring only the good for others, I rest in calm assurance.

I open my consciousness to the realization that all the Power and Presence there is clothes me in Its eternal embrace; that the Spirit forever imparts Its life to me.

I believe in myself because I believe in God.

I believe in my destiny because I know that the Law of Good is operating through me.

I have confidence in the future and enthusiastic expectation of good things to come.

Therefore, I accept the fullness of life this moment.

“Ask and ye shall receive.” This is one of the most wonderful statements ever uttered. It implies that there is a Power which can and will honor your request. At the same time Jesus said that you should not ask amiss. However, these two sayings of Jesus are not contradictory. They merely mean that you should ask in the nature of the Divine Life which is love, truth, beauty, power, wisdom, goodness and peace.

Anything you ask in this nature you have a right to expect to receive. But it is only as you let go of the lesser that you can take hold of the greater, only as you drop confusion that you can entertain peace, only as you transcend doubt and fear that you can be lifted up to the hill tops of the inner Life. In asking, you must identify yourself with the greatness of the Spirit. This is the only way you can breathe this Almighty Power. Permit your consciousness, through faith, to rise to a greater and broader realization of that Divine Presence which is always delivering Itself to you.

Believing that the Divine Mind is ever present, that Divine Intelligence is ever available, open your consciousness to Its guidance. Keep your mind steadfast and loyal to the thought that you are governed by this Divine Intelligence. Feel that you are impelled to make right decisions, that you are compelled to act upon these decisions intelligently, and know that the Power that is with you cannot desert you. Say:

My knowledge that the great I Am is ever available gives me an increasing capacity to draw upon It and to become inwardly aware of the presence of Spirit.

Through the quiet contemplation of the omni-action of Spirit, I learn to look quietly and calmly upon every false condition, seeing through it to the other side of the invisible Reality which molds conditions and recreates all of my affairs after a more nearly Divine pattern.

With a penetrating spiritual vision I can dissipate the obstruction, remove the obstacle, dissolve the wrong condition.

Standing still, I can watch the sure salvation of the Law.

I now claim health instead of sickness, wealth instead of poverty, happiness instead of misery.

Every thought of fear or limitation is removed from my consciousness.

I know that my word transmutes every energy into constructive action, producing health, harmony, happiness and success.

I know there is something at the center of my being which is absolutely certain of itself.

It has complete assurance and it gives me complete assurance that all is well.

I maintain my position as a Divine Being here and now.

I know that in this consciousness of Reality is the supply for my every need—physical, mental or spiritual—and I accept that supply in deepest gratitude.

I am thankful that this is the way Life fulfills my needs, through the doorway of my inner self, and I am thankful that I know how to use this perfect Law.

I come to this great Fountain of Supply, in the very center of my being, to absorb that for which I have need, mentally and physically, and I am filled with the sense of the Reality of that which I desire.

As I am filled with Reality I permit It to flow into my world of thought and action, knowing that It brings peace, harmony and order all around me.

There arises within me limitless faith in the unconquerable Presence, the perfect Law, and Divine Action.

Good is at the root of everything, regardless of its seeming absence. But this good must be recognized. Since there is but one Spirit and this Spirit is in you and in everything, then everywhere you go you will meet this Spirit. You meet this Spirit in people, in places and in things. There is a Divine Essence permeating everything, flowing through everything, becoming all things. This one Spirit, which manifests Itself in and through all, including yourself, automatically adjusts parts to the whole. Therefore, you may accept with positive certainty that the Spirit within you does go before you and prepares your way.

This is no idle conclusion, no empty dream, no forlorn hope. Your faith is placed in something positive, certain as the laws of life, exact as the principle of mathematics, ever present, like the ethers of space, ever operating like the laws of nature. Say:

I know that the Spirit within me goes before me, making perfect, plain, straight, easy and happy the pathway of my experience.

There is nothing in me that can obstruct the divine circuits of Life, of Love, of Beauty and Truth.

My word dissolves every negative thought or impulse that would throw a shadow of unbelief across the threshold of my expectation.

Today I have faith that my word shall not return unto me void.

I surrender myself completely to this faith.

My prayer, then, is one of affirmation and acceptance.

I lift my cup of acceptance, knowing that the Divine outpouring will fill it to the brim.

Today I consciously identify myself with everything that belongs to goodness, truth and beauty.

I identify myself with abundance and success.

I identify myself with the Living Spirit—with all the power, all the presence and all the life there is.

Realizing that all action starts in and is a result of consciousness, prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer. Become increasingly aware of the one Presence, the one Life and the one Spirit, which is God. Try to drop all sense of lack or limitation from your thought.

Knowing that your word of truth is the Law of God in you, and believing that this Law is perfect, you must become consciously aware that It is operating in your affairs. The Spirit works for you through your belief. All things are possible to this Spirit, therefore, everything is possible to you in such degree as you can believe in and accept the operation of Spirit in your life.

There is something within you which is completely aware of its oneness with power, of its unity with life. Loose all thoughts of discord and fear, and permit the true pattern to come to the surface. Remember that thought patterns are acquired, therefore, the mind that accepted them can reject them.

No doubt most of these patterns are unconsciously taken into the mind. This makes no difference at all. What is there you can consciously loose, drop it out of your thought, refuse to think about it, refuse to feed it with the fire of imagination and feeling. Having nothing to live on, it will shrivel up and disappear. It is only the thought that is nourished that grows. The weeds are no longer there when they are pulled up, and the place where they were forgets that they ever have been. Say:

I allow the Divine Wholeness to flow through me in ever-widening circles of activity.

Every good I have experienced is now increased.

Every joy that has come into my life is now multiplied.

There is a new influx of inspiration into my thought.

I see more clearly than ever before that my divine birthright is freedom, joy and eternal goodness.

I realize that this same birthright is bequeathed to all people.

I rejoice that everyone has this common good.

The Divine Presence interprets Itself to me through love and friendship, through peace and harmony.

Knowing that life gives according to my faith, I lift my mind, I elevate my faith, I listen deeply to the song of my being.

You have been told that all things are possible to him who believes. Accepting this as a principle of your being and analyzing it to its logical conclusion, you have come to understand that faith is not a nebulous something, it is an actual idea, a definite mental attitude, a positive acceptance—not positive from the standpoint of will power or compelling things to happen, not positive from the standpoint of influencing people or things, not positive from the standpoint of holding thoughts with ever tightening grip. Your faith is positive when that which your intellect announces is no longer denied by the accumulated patterns of thought held in the subconscious part of your mind.

Faith is most certainly a mental attitude. When a certain man came to Jesus and said, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief,” he was but showing how human we all are, how human you are, how human everyone is. From the inspiration of his hope and the enthusiasm of the occasion, standing in the light of one whose wick of life was ever kept trimmed and burning, feeling the warmth and color of its eternal glow, he exclaimed, “I believe!” This was a simple, sincere and enthusiastic response to the consciousness of one who had faith. But no sooner had he exclaimed, “I believe!” out of the enthusiasm of his will to believe, than old thought patterns arose to block his faith and he said, “Help thou mine unbelief.”

Now, this man was not a weak character. He was just a human being on the same quest in which all humanity is engaged. He was but showing that faith is more than an objective statement, that perfect faith cannot exist while there are subjective contradictions that deny the affirmation of the lips.

It is only when the intellect is no longer obstructed by negative emotional reactions, arising out of the experiences of doubt and fear, that the word of the mouth can immediately bear fruit. There is nothing in this thought to be discouraged about, for the very fact that thoughts are things also carries with it this divine connotation that the thinker can change his thoughts, that he really is the master of his fate.

You are the thinker. You are the creator of thought patterns. You are the master of your fate. But you must exercise this mastership. Say:

I believe with a deep, inward calm that my word of faith is the execution of spiritual Law in my life.

I know that my word penetrates any and every unbelief in my thought; it casts out fear, removes doubts, and permits that which is enduring, perfect and true to enter into my consciousness.

I have complete conviction that my thoughts are not only true, but that they will be carried out in my experience with mathematical certainty.

I have absolute reliance upon the Law of Good.

I know that the Spirit, which is Life, is present everywhere.

Like the air I breathe, It presses against me; on the mountain top, in the valley, the desert and on the ocean, It is ever present.

I accept this Presence with complete confidence.

I believe that the Law of Good will bring everything desirable into my experience.

Today I proclaim my divine inheritance.

I am rich with the richness of God.

I am strong with the power of God.

I am guided by the wisdom of God.

I am held in the goodness of God, today.

The Spirit of God is an undivided and indivisible Wholeness. It fills all time with Its presence and peoples space with the activity of Its thought. It is, of course, difficult for the human mind to understand the meaning of such an all-encompassing Presence. However, perhaps the greatest difficulty is that we try to make it too abstract.

You already know that you live. You know that your life is peopled with events, persons coming and going, happenings that take place in your everyday experience, the thoughts in your own mind, the activities of your own affairs, the circulation of blood in your body. Don’t you think this is the place to begin? You already understand the presence of life. It is not difficult, after all.

Your endeavor, then, is not so much to find God as it is to realize His Presence and to understand that this Presence is always with you. Nothing can be nearer to you than that which is the very essence of your being. Your outward search for God culminates in the greatest of all possible discoveries—the finding of Him at the center of your own being. Life flows up from within you. Say:

I know that my search is over.

I am consciously aware of the Presence of the Spirit.

I have discovered the great Reality.

I am awake to the realization of this Presence.

There is but one Life.

Today I see It reflected in every form, back of every countenance, moving through every act.

Knowing that the Divine Presence is in everyone I meet, the Spirit in all people, I salute the good in everything.

I recognize the God Life responding to me from every person I meet, in every event that transpires, in every circumstance in my experience.

I feel the warmth and color of this Divine Presence forevermore pressing against me, forevermore welling up from within me—the well-spring of eternal being present yesterday, today, tomorrow, and always.

Did you ever stop to realize that peace must actually exist at the center of everything? And if you ask yourself, Why? answer your own question, because in the long run you will have to do this anyway. No one can answer your questions for you but yourself. Your very nature has willed it so. Peace must exist at the center of everything or the universe itself would be a chaos. You already know this and believe it, now you are going to act upon it.

You are not only going to believe in it, you are going to act as though it were true, because it is true. There is peace at the center of your being—a peace that can be felt throughout the day and in the cool of the evening when you have turned from your labor and the first star shines in the soft light of the sky. It broods over the earth quietly, tenderly, as a mother watches over her child. Say:

In this peace that holds me so gently I find strength and protection from all fear or anxiety.

It is the peace of God in which I feel the love of a Holy Presence.

I am so conscious of this love, this protection, that every sense of fear slips away from me as mist fades in the morning light.

I see good in everything, God personified in all people, Life manifest in every event.

Today you are to identify yourself with the more abundant life, to think on those things which make for peace, to dwell on the unity which underlies everything. As you consciously poise yourself in the realization that you live in pure Spirit, new power will be born within you. You will find yourself renewed by the Divine Life, led by Divine Intelligence and guarded by Divine Love. Focus your inward vision on this indwelling harmony, knowing that as you contemplate its perfection you will see it manifest in everything you do. Say:

Realizing that the Spirit within me is God, the Living Spirit Almighty, being fully conscious of this Divine Presence as the sustaining Principle of my life, I open my thought to Its influx.

I open my consciousness to Its outpouring.

I let that Mind be in me which was also in Christ Jesus.

This is the Mind of Truth, the Mind of God, carrying with It all the power of the Infinite.

I know and understand that Good alone is real.

I know that silently I am drawing into my experience today, and every day, an ever-increasing measure of truth and beauty, of goodness and harmony.

Everything I do, say and think is quickened into right action, into productive action, into increased action.

My invisible good already exists.

My faith, drawing upon this invisible good, causes that which was unseen, to become visible. All there is, is mine NOW; all there ever was or ever can be, is mine NOW.

This Thing called You, Chapter 15,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing called You, Chapter 14

This Thing called You, Chapter 14

Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” Your kingdom of God is at hand. You have already inherited everything that belongs to this kingdom. The riches, power, glory and might of this kingdom are yours today. You do not rob others by entering into the fullness of your kingdom of joy, your kingdom of abundance. You recognize that all people belong to the same kingdom. You are merely claiming for yourself what you would that the law of good should do unto all.

There is no law of human heredity imposed upon you. Evil has no history. Limitation has no past. That which is opposed to good has no future. The eternal now is forever filled with the presence of perfect life. You always have been, and forever will remain, a complete and perfect expression of the Eternal Mind, which is God, the living Spirit Almighty. Say:

Today I enter into the limitless variations of self-expression which the Divine Spirit projects into my experience.

Knowing that all experience is a play of Life upon Itself, the blossoming of love into self-expression, the coming forth of good into the joy of its own being, I enter into the game of living with joyful anticipation, with enthusiasm.

I play the game of life well and I enjoy it.

Today I enter into my Divine inheritance, shaking my thought clear from the belief that external conditions are imposed upon me.

I declare the freedom of my Divine sonship. I possess the Kingdom of God in all its fullness.

I look long, sincerely and simply, upon every object, every person.

I wait at the doorway of my expectation until my acceptance grants me the privilege of beholding His face forever more.

I shall not wait long, for today I expect to see His shining presence, I expect to don the “seamless robe” of Divine union.

Today is my day.

I let it live itself through me.

The disciple John tells us that God is Spirit and Job said that there is a spirit in man and an inspiration, the understanding of which gives him freedom. Jesus, in utmost simplicity, proclaimed in the ecstasy of his illumination, “I and the Father are one.” What do you suppose would happen if you believed this, not as a mere intellectual concept, but with deep inward feeling and an expanding sense of its meaning? Would you not sell all that you possess for this single pearl of utmost worth, this drop of water taken from the ocean of being, this mountain top of revelation? If the wisest man who ever lived proclaimed this truth, should not you accept it, simply, directly, sincerely?

Perhaps this seems too good to be true, and yet, all nature is a living example, a continuous reminder, that there is a Spirit animating everything, a Presence defused, a Law governing, a Unity sustaining, a coordinating Will binding all together, a unifying Principle holding everything in place. Say:

I cleanse the windows of my mind, that it may become a mirror reflecting inspiration from the most High.

I do this, not with strenuous effort, but through quiet contemplation, through gently reaching and affirming an inward recognition.

Today I walk in the pathway of inspiration. I know exactly what to do in every situation. There is an inspiration within me which governs every act, every thought, with certainty, with conviction and in peace.

The key that unlocks the treasures of the kingdom of good is in my hand.

I unlock the doorway of my consciousness and gently open it that the Divine Presence may flood my whole being with light, illumine my being with Its radiant glow, and direct my footsteps into the pathway of peace and joy.

Every part of your body is made of pure substance. There is a spiritual body which cannot deteriorate. This spiritual body is already within you. As much of it appears as is recognized. It is the mind that makes this recognition. It is the mind that blocks or permits the emanation of this spiritual body through the physical form. Jesus said: Destroy this body and I will build up another like unto it. He knew that the spiritual body is indestructible, eternal and perfect. Seeing this perfect body instead of a diseased form, he was able instantly to heal every manner of illness.

Spiritual perfection always responds to man’s consciousness but it can respond only in such degree as he becomes aware. This awareness is an inward feeling of conviction, and, in a sense, a mental digestion of its meaning. Your mind digests ideas just as your body digests food. Spiritual, mental and physical laws are identical. Each produces a similar action and reaction on its own plane of being.

You already have a spiritual body, but your mind is not aware of this. Therefore, the mind automatically becomes a mirror reflecting either the inward perfection or the outward, apparent imperfection. It is because this inward perfection is so insistent that you maintain a physical body, but because you are an individual with volition, you can, as it were, hang a curtain between your physical life and its spiritual cause.

Spiritual realization helps to withdraw this curtain. Every statement you make about your body, or belief you hold about it, with deep feeling which causes the mind to accept Spirit as the substance of the body, tends to heal. Say:

I realize that there is a Divine Presence at the center of my being.

I let this recognition flow through my entire consciousness.

I let it reach down into the very depths of my being.

I rejoice in this realization.

The perfect Life of God is in and through me, in every part of my being.

As the sun dissolves the mist, so my acceptance of Life dissolves all pain and discord.

I am free because the Spirit of Life in me is perfect.

It remolds and recreates my body after the likeness of the Divine pattern of body which exists in the Mind of God.

Even now the living Spirit is flowing through me.

I open wide the doorway of my consciousness to Its influx.

I permit this physical body to receive the living Spirit in every action, function, cell and organ.

I know that my whole being manifests the life, love, peace, harmony, strength and joy of the Spirit which indwells me, which is incarnated in me, which is my entire being.

I am now made vigorous and whole.

I possess the vitality of the Infinite.

I am strong and well.

The life of the Spirit is my life.

All of Its strength is my strength.

Its power is my power.

Its body is my body.

Every breath I draw is a breath of perfection, vitalizing, upbuilding and renewing every cell of my body.

I am born of the Spirit.

I am in the Spirit.

I am the Spirit made manifest.

Life fills all space and Spirit animates every form. It is this Spirit in you, as you, which is the true actor in everything you do, but since you are an individual, even the Spirit cannot make the gift of Life unless you accept it. Life may have given everything to you but only that which you accept is yours to use. Life makes things out of Itself through the simple and direct process of Itself becoming that which It makes. This is why it is written that the word of power, of life and action is in your own mouth—that is, in your thought.

Turning from every objective fact to the Divine which is within you, is turning from conditions to causes, to that realm of Absolute Being which, through self-knowingness, creates the forms which It projects and enters into the experience which It creates. Thus the Spirit comes to self-fulfillment in everything. Everything is alive with God, saturated with Divinity.

There are many who will doubt this. Only to those who have believed has the proof come. The highest hope and aspiration of humanity have been built around the lives of those few who have believed. You are one of these. You do believe. Nothing can dim your faith. Nothing can dampen your ardor. Nothing can cause you to doubt.

Through the manifestation of the power that is within you, you can project any objective experience which you may legitimately desire. Be certain that you are accepting this, that you are living in joyous expectation of good, that you are accepting abundance. Be sure that you are animating your experience with the thought of plenty, that you are affirming that Divine Substance is forever flowing to you as supply. Did not the wise one say, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”? Say:

Today I recognize the abundance of life.

I animate everything in my experience with this idea.

I remember only the good.

I accept only the good.

I expect only the good.

This is all I experience.

I give thanks that this good is flowing in ever-increasing volume.

I say to my mind, there is good enough to go around.

I do not withhold that good from myself or others, but proclaim that spiritual substance is forever flowing to each and to all as daily supply.

You should become accustomed to the thought that you are a divine being. Everything is a part of one great Whole. Everything in nature is an individualization of one co-ordinating Life, one Law of being, and one Presence. The mind has become so filled with that which contradicts this that even the Truth has to await our recognition. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” When you open this doorway, the Divine Guest will enter and sup with you.

You must learn to become consciously aware of the Divine Presence and the Divine Power, the wholeness of Truth, of Love, of Reason and of a sound mind. Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts, cause your mind to dwell on peace and joy. Know that the power of the invisible Spirit is working in and through you now, at this very moment. Lay hold of this realization with complete certainty. Say:

I know that I am a perfect being now, living under perfect conditions today.

Knowing that good alone is real, I know that there is one Power which acts and reacts in my experience, in my body and in my thought.

I know that good alone has power either to act or react.

Everything that I do, say or think today shall be done, said or thought from this spiritual viewpoint—that God, Who is Life, is in everything.

I know that this recognition establishes the law of harmony in my experience, the law of prosperity, a sense of happiness, peace, health and joy.

Today I hold communion with this invisible Presence which peoples the world with the manifestations of Its life, Its light and Its love.

I withdraw the veil which hides my real self, and draw close to the Spirit in everything and in everyone.

I accept everything that belongs to this Spirit.

I claim everything that partakes of Its nature.

It has been written that Christ is your redeemer; also, that Christ is in you. You have been told that your redemption is at hand. You have been told to awake that Christ may give you light—Christ in you, the hope of your glory. You have been told to renew your mind by putting off the old man and by putting on the new, the truth which is Christ in you. All of these mystical statements refer to your spiritual nature. They were written by people who had experienced the illumination of conscious sonship with the Infinite.

Of course, all people are sons of God, but only a few have completely recognized this. Only a few have prepared their minds to receive this truth with all its meaning; with all its power, majesty and might. Now you are one of these. You have decided to live as though this were true. A deep and abiding faith has come to you. Therefore, you are fortunate among men. Not that God has favored you above others; rather, you have chosen this path and you are going to walk in it.

Realizing that you may, in your ignorance, have been using the power of your mind negatively (not because you were evil but because of human ignorance, superstition and fear, which, to a certain degree, permeates every man’s thought) you are not going to condemn yourself nor anyone else because of this. If the light has come the thing to do is to use it, forgetting the darkness. When the day of enlightenment dawns the night of darkness disappears. The light did not contend against this darkness and the darkness could not contend against the light. “The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.” How can darkness have power over light? Say:

Today I realize that my good is at hand.

Today I know that my Redeemer liveth in me.

He is not outside that I need go in search of Him.

He is not in the mountain, nor even in the temple, holy as it may be.

He is within me, now, today, this very moment, in this breath I draw, in the eternal now and the everlasting here.

The Spirit within me refreshes me.

I am saturated with the essence of Life.

My body is a vehicle for Its expression, my mind an instrument for Its thought.

Today I shall consciously commune with this Spirit, which is my Spirit; with this Life, which is my Life;

with this Christ, which is my Christ.

I shall endeavor to feel this Presence as a living reality in my life.

I shall try to sense the same Spirit in everyone.

I shall see Him everywhere.

This Thing called You, Chapter 14,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 13

This Thing Called You, Chapter 13

You know that Life cannot withhold Itself from you. All that Life is and has is fully given to you to enjoy. The Life of God is perfect and eternal. It is the essence of everything that is. Life is God’s gift to you. It is always ready to manifest Itself through you in Its entire fullness.

You are a self-choosing mind in a Divinity which permeates everything. You are always in the midst of Life, a Life that lives eternally and lives through you now. Therefore, you need not be disturbed by the passage of time, the movement around you, nor the variations of experience through which you go. There is something within you that remains unmovable, that always speaks directly to you, saying, “Be still and know that I am God.” Say:

Consciously, I draw upon the Life that is mine.

I know that the fullness of Life, which is Divine in Its origin, eternal in Its presence, and forever available, is mine.

The Life of the eternal Spirit is my life.

The infinite riches of Its being are mine to enjoy.

The vitality, the wisdom and the peace of God are mine.

I accept them in fullness, in joy and in peace.

You are part of the Universal Mind, one with the Universal Substance. You live, move and have your being in pure Spirit. All the wealth, the power and the goodness of this Spirit exist at the center of your being. You experience this good in such degree as you accept, believe in and feel it.

Since the only life you can have is the Life of the Spirit within you, you need but permit Its radiance to flow through your thought into self-expression. You are surrounded by a dynamic force, a great surge of living power. You are immersed in and saturated with the vital essence of Life. Its presence permeates everything, binding all together in one complete whole.

As you enter into life, feeling the Divine Presence in everything, more and more you will hear a Song of Joy singing at the center of your being. You have only to be still and listen to this Song of Life, for it is always there. Say:

Knowing that the loving Presence is always closer to me than my very breath, I have nothing to fear.

I feel this loving protection around me.

I know that the Song of Joy, of Love and of Peace, is forever chanting its hymn of praise and beauty at the center of my being, therefore, I tune out of my mind all unhappy and negative ideas.

I turn the dial of my thought into the sunshine of life, into brightness and laughter, into the joyous presence of radiant Spirit.

I lay aside all anxiety, all striving, and let the law of Divine Love operate through me into my affairs.

Joyfully I anticipate greater abundance, more success and a deeper peace.

Joy wells up within my mind and Life sings Its song of ecstasy in my heart.

The Chinese sage said that Tao (meaning Spirit) “produces everything, nourishes everything, and maintains everything.” It flows through and is in all things, being all that is. There is nothing outside It. There is a spiritual Presence pervading the universe, welling up in your consciousness, always proclaiming Itself to be the source of your being. The enlightened ones of the ages have told you that your recognition of Life is God within you recognizing Himself in everything you do.

There is but one Presence in the universe. Since It is in and through everything, It must be in and through you. This Presence manifests Itself in and through all forms, all people, all conditions. This Presence is Life Itself. Its nature is love and givingness.

Negation may be an experience and a fact, it can never be an ultimate truth. Life cannot operate against itself. Always the negative is overcome by the positive. Good cannot fail to overcome evil. The meek alone shall inherit the earth. Finally, it will obliterate everything unlike itself, even as the sun dissolves the mist. Say:

I refuse to contemplate evil as a power.

I know that it will flee from me; it dissolves and disappears in the light of love.

I know that hate cannot exist where love is recognized.

I turn the searchlight of Truth upon every apparent evil in my experience.

This light dissolves every image of evil.

The manifestation of good is complete.

Love makes the way clear before me.

I am guided into an ever-widening experience of living.

My every thought and act is an expression of the goodness which flows from Life.

The Divine circulates through me automatically, freely.

Every atom of my being is animated by Its action.

I know that at all times I have a silent, invisible Partner walking with me, talking with me, operating through me.

Continuously, I keep my mind open to Its guidance, to Its inspiration and illumination.

You are either attracting or repelling according to your mental attitudes. You are either identifying yourself with lack or with abundance, with love and friendship or with indifference. You cannot keep from attracting into your experience that which corresponds to the sum total of your states of consciousness. This law of attraction and repulsion works automatically. It is like the law of reflection—the reflection corresponds to the image held before a mirror. Life is a mirror peopled with the forms of your own acceptance.

How careful, then, you should be to guard your thoughts, not only seeing to it that you keep them free from doubt and fear—accepting only the good—but, equally, you should consciously repel every thought which denies that good.

Knowing that the Law of Mind works automatically upon your thought, or that your thought works upon It, you may free yourself from the sense of personal responsibility, while, at the same time, remaining aware that even spiritual laws must be definitely used if they are to produce tangible results in your experience. Say:

I believe, with absolute conviction, that my word will not return unto me void.

I know that spiritual laws execute themselves just as do all other laws of nature.

I know that my word penetrates any unbelief in my mind, casts out fear, removes doubt, clears away obstacles, permitting that which is enduring, perfect and true to be realized.

I have complete faith and acceptance that all the statements I make will be carried out as I have believed.

I do everything with a sense of reliance upon the Law of Good, therefore, I know that my word shall not return unto me void.

I accept this word and rejoice in it.

I expect complete and perfect results from it.

I relax and let a Power greater than myself work for me, in me and through me.

There is a God Power at the center of every man’s being, a Presence that knows neither lack, limitation nor fear, sickness, disquiet nor imperfection. This Presence and Power is at the center of all people and all things. But because everyone is an individual, he can build a wall of negative thought between himself and this perfection. This makes it difficult for the true center to come to the surface.

When this happens the mind becomes impressed only by its external environment, which declares that impoverishment and pain must necessarily accompany every man in his experience through life. This whole process is an activity of thought, either consciously or unconsciously entertained. The wall which keeps you from the greater good is built of mental blocks, cemented together by fear and unbelief, mixed in the mortar of negative experience.

Now you are to tear down this wall, to completely destroy it. The view which this wall obstructed is now seen in all its grandeur. The sun never really stopped shining and the River of Life forever flows. Having destroyed the barrier, you may sit on the banks of this river contemplating the beauty of nature, or you may bathe in its refreshing coolness.

Every man’s experience is an attempt to merge his own being with this eternal river, not to the loss of his identity, but to the discovery of that self which has never wholly left its heaven. Like an echo from some unknown shore there is a voice seeking to be heard. Like clouds which obscure the mountain tops of vision, thoughts of fear and doubt obstruct the greater view. Say:

I know that there is a Presence and a perfect Law irresistibly drawing into my experience everything which makes life happy and worth while.

I know that friendship, love and happiness belong to me.

Nothing but good can go forth from me.

The good that I receive is but the completion of a circle, the fulfillment of my desire for all.

I no longer judge according to appearances, be they mental or physical.

I have placed my reliance in the Power, the Presence and the Perfection of God.

Therefore, I have dominion over all apparent evil.

I repudiate all its claims, cast out every fear of or belief in that which is not good, and exercise the dominion which by divine right belongs to me.

I know that freedom and joy are mine today. This freedom and joy spontaneously express themselves in my experience.

There is nothing in me that can obstruct their passage.

I permit them to flow through me in all their wonder and might.

I am conscious of an Infinite Wisdom directing me. Whatever I ought to know I shall know.

Whatever I ought to do I shall do.

Whatever belongs to me will come to me.

I am compelled to recognize my good, to understand and accept it, and to act upon it.

Therefore, I declare that every step of my way is guided and guarded.

With joy I enter into the fulfillment of life.

This Thing called You, Chapter 13,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 12

This Thing Called You, Chapter 12

God within you knows by pure intuition; that is, without process of reasoning with reference to external facts or existing conditions. If God were to know in any other way He would be finite. This is why it is said that God is omniscient or all-knowing. Such omniscience or all-knowingness exists at the very center of your being. Therefore, Divine Guidance exists at the center of your being, acting as a principle in nature.

If you are living in an Intelligence which instantly knows the answer to any problem, then you are living in an Intelligence which has no problem. You are, therefore, bringing your problem to a Principle which has no problem, just as electricity, or mathematics, or the law of gravitation has no problem. Hold up an object heavier than the air and let go of it and the law of gravitation will bring it to the earth. It would be a problem if you had to force this object to the earth. It is no problem to the law which works automatically. You let go of the object and the rest is automatic. So it is with the use of other principles in nature. So it is with Divine Guidance.

Common sense will tell you that Divine Guidance cannot exist for a few persons. It cannot exist because of any particular religious belief or because of a dogmatic acceptance of any creed. Divine Guidance must exist for you and for everyone, or not at all—just as electricity exists for everyone.

Divine Guidance, like the Presence of God, is where you are, at the center of your being. When you turn to the Spirit for the solution of your problem, Spirit answers by intuitively knowing, not the problem, but its answer. If you have a problem of confusion and wish to gain peace, this could not be done by asking God to be peace, for God is peace. Your answer would come as you turn from the confusion to the contemplation of peace. You cannot join confusion with peace. You must forget the one if you would unify with the other. Say:

Knowing that the Law of God is perfect, I lay aside all fear, uncertainty or doubt.

There is no burden whatsoever in my consciousness.

I live in the Kingdom of Heaven now.

I rejoice in the Divine Presence.

I bathe in the sunlight of eternal Truth.

I consciously enter into the benediction of Peace.

As your consciousness lifts itself above the problem into a spiritual atmosphere of affirmation, the problem, as such, disappears and the answer takes its place. Every problem contains its own answer if you think of the problem merely as a question, an inquiry, and not as an obstruction. Thinking of it this way, keep your mind not on the repetition of thoughts about the problem, but on the receipt of a definite answer.

Work with your consciousness until it ceases to function on the level of problem and begins to function on the level of answer. It is mathematically certain that your problem will be solved if you do this. You may not find this the easiest thing in the world to do, but even though it may be difficult at times, you must never permit yourself to become discouraged. The reward is certain.

Remember, you are not presenting God with the problem. God has no problem. Principles have no problems. God knows intuitively and the principle of Divine Guidance works automatically on your acceptance. Therefore, when you bring your hopes and aspirations to the Divine Center within you, lay them on the altar of your faith in complete confidence. Say:

The Spirit within me knows the answer to any problem which confronts me.

I now turn from the problem to the Spirit, accepting the answer.

I turn from any thought of confusion to a consciousness of peace.

I know that the Spirit of God is within me and the Law of God is around me.

I know that the answer [think of the problem, not as a problem, but merely as a question] is here and now.

It is within my own mind, because God is right where I am.

In calm confidence, in perfect trust, in abiding faith and with complete peace, I let go of the problem as a problem.

I receive the answer as fulfillment.

This is the secret of the answer to prayer. For, no matter what particular religious conviction the one praying may have, in the act of effective prayer he opens his consciousness to a Divine influx. That which is forever pressing against him flows through him, instructs his intellect, deepens his will, and executes its law through his act.

Through Divine intuition consciously enter the upper field of your mind where peace and joy forever exist. Do this humbly, but with a sense of triumph; meekly, but with a consciousness of worthiness—not timidly, as one knocking at a door which may refuse to open, but boldly, as one who knows in Whom he has believed.

You are working with an immutable Law, an unfailing Principle, an ever-available Power. It is as simple as this. The mind that is in you is the Mind of God. It knows nothing about big or little, hard or easy, but what It does for you It must do through you. Hence, you must believe before It can operate for your benefit. Say:

Realizing that the Divine Spirit can give me only what I receive, knowing that what the Spirit does for me It must do through me, I now accept the gift of Life.

I permit Infinite Life to flow through me.

I permit Divine Intelligence to act through me, knowing that all the power there is, all the presence there is, and all the life there is, is God, the Living Spirit Almighty.

Identify yourself with the object of your desire. Think of beauty and peace and you will attract peace and beauty. Watch yourself and see if you are believing that any condition or situation, past, present or future, can limit your use of this Divine Law. If you do, you are automatically causing the Law to work through that limiting condition. You are conditioning the Law to your own acceptance. This does not mean that you are limiting the Law. You are merely saying: This is what I except of life. In other words, you are believing that the possibility of your personal experience is already set by your environment. Say:

The Law of good is flowing through me.

I am one with the rhythm of Life.

There is nothing to be afraid of.

There is nothing to be uncertain about.

God is over all, in all and through all.

God is right where I am.

I am at peace with myself.

I am at peace with everyone around me.

I am at peace with the world in which I live.

I am at home with the Divine Spirit in which I am immersed.

Let us think about happiness. Everyone desires to be happy. Everyone strives toward happiness. Too few obtain it. Happiness is not a mental debauch. If one must become intellectually or emotionally intoxicated to be happy, then, like one who has imbibed too much alcohol, he is bound sooner or later to sober up and must again plunge himself into an unnatural state to revive his happiness. Happiness must come from a deeper wellspring of being.

Permanent happiness comes from a quiet contentment and an inner sense of certainty which cannot be shaken by outside conditions, whether good or ill. The mind must reach a place where it no longer remembers the past with anxiety, or looks into the future with uncertainty. If you believe in Divine Goodness, the loving-kindness and givingness of God, if you believe in your own soul as immortal, forever expanding, then no matter what situation confronts you, you can be happy. Say:

I have a calm, inward conviction of my union with good, my oneness with God.

I have a deep realization that I am surrounded by an infinite Law which receives the impress of my thought and acts creatively upon it.

I am conscious of my ability to use this Law, to direct it for specific purposes, for myself and others.

There is nothing in me that can deny, limit, obstruct, divert or in any way hinder my use of this Law. There is no argument, no belief, no superstition, no doubt that can cast any shadow of unbelief across my mind.

I realize that this Law exists and I am conscious that I know how to use It.

It is certain that you will have to love your fellow man if you wish to be happy. Your union with God implies your union with everything that lives. Do not be afraid of this. Do not shun the thought of it. Divine union means union with everything. This does not mean that you love those who are closest to you any less, you merely love all humanity more.

Think for a moment about the few upon whom you have lavished particular affection. Now permit your imagination to include more. Say to yourself: “What would it be like if these few whom I love so much were multiplied so that finally everyone I meet should arouse in me the same deep affection?” Dare to lose your small affection and you will find it increased and multiplied a million times through greater union.

Learn to be at home in the universe. No more loneliness. No more sense of isolation. See God in everyone—the same God with a different face, the same animating Principle with a different form, the same Divine Presence clothed in individual expression. There is a fountain of life, from which, if a man drink, he shall never thirst again. Your search is after this fountain that you may be immersed in it. You cannot plunge into the waters of real Life unless you take everyone else in with you. The universe is one system.

You cannot be happy unless you believe in immortality. You not only have the joy of living today, but an equal joy of knowing that you will live forever. Always your horizons will be expanding, forever filling your life with new hope, new vigor and new assurance.

You are an eternal being now on the pathway of endless unfoldment, never less but always more yourself. Life is not static. It is forever dynamic, forever creating—not something done and finished, but something alive, awake and aware. There is something within you that sings the song of eternity. Listen to it. There is an eternal springtime of your soul. Always rising but never setting is the sun of your destiny.

Commune with the invisible Presence within you until there comes a certainty which is beyond hope, something which enables you to see clear-eyed the future as you see the past. God grant that you shall enter into this freedom today. Say:

I refuse to worry about anything.

I have complete confidence that the God Who is always with me is able and willing to direct everything I do, to control my affairs, to lead me into the pathway of peace and happiness.

I free myself from every sense of condemnation, either against myself or others.

I loose every sense of animosity.

I now understand that there is a Principle and a Presence in every person gradually drawing him into the Kingdom of Good.

I know that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and I am resolved to enter into this Kingdom, to possess it, and to let it possess me.

You have a silent partner within you whose energy is inexhaustible and whose intelligence is without limit. Your silent partner is more than a subjective or unconscious reaction to life, it is Life Itself.

You must find and maintain a close communion with your true Center. Your creative power is not an act of the will. It is, rather, an act of your willingness to believe. And you are believing in something greater than your objective self, something deeper than your subconscious self, something beyond the collective thought of the world. Your creative power comes from the originating Spirit Itself, which knows no limit, is conditioned by no circumstance and governed by no law outside Itself.

Throw yourself with complete abandon into the all-consuming fire of inward conviction. Say:

I know that the Divine Spirit is operating through me now.

I know that I am not limited by anything that has happened, or by anything that is now happening.

I am entering into an entirely new set of conditions and circumstances.

That which has no limit is flowing through my consciousness into action.

I am guided by the same Intelligence and inspired by the same Imagination which scatters the moonbeams across the waves, and holds the forces of nature in Its grasp.

Try to feel such a close union with this invisible Presence that It becomes to you as an infinite Person—not a person separated from you, but the Person operating through you.

Unity does not mean uniformity. Therefore, you know that God is always acting in you in a unique way, in an original manner. Try to feel that every day something new and wonderful is going to happen to you. Say:

I am conscious that the Divine Spirit is acting through me.

I am aware that the Truth is making me free from any belief in want, lack or limitation.

There is no doubt or uncertainty in my mind.

I have a feeling of security and of ability to do anything that I should do.

I am not afraid of life or death, for I know that death is swallowed up in life.

I know that every living soul will find complete emancipation sooner or later.

Therefore, I stand “amidst the eternal ways” and let the winds of God blow full and free around me.

You have just as much evidence of the existence of your soul as you do of the existence of an atom. While it is true that no one has ever seen this soul, it is also true that no one has ever seen love, beauty or intelligence. You have an invisible body right now. You are as immortal now as you ever will become, and you should begin to live like an immortal being.

The soul is the one triumphant, indestructible and unconquerable thing you possess. Shot from the Invisible into this experience, it constitutes your great reality. But why wait for physical death to enjoy and experience your immortal being? Do not prepare to die. Prepare to live, whether you are ten years old or one hundred. There is no death. It is impossible for you to die. Stop trying to die and learn to live.

Each autumn brings its harvest, yet it never leaves you with a thought of finality. There will always be a new planting, new blossoms and new fruits, new seed times and new harvests. It makes no difference what your harvest may have been last year, today you can create a new future if you have the faith to believe that you can. Plant, then, new hopes and aspirations. The Lord of the harvest will permit you to reap what you have sown.

This Thing called You, Chapter 12,

Ernest Holmes

This Thing Called You, Chapter 11

This Thing Called You, Chapter 11

You use the same power to drive your automobile forward, or, in reverse, to move it backward. The energy is not good when it moves you forward nor evil when it moves you backward. You must eliminate the idea of good and evil as entities opposing each other and realize that there is but one Life Principle. There is but one electric energy wherever it may be used, but one creative Spirit wherever It is perceived, but one spiritual Power wherever It is understood.

Like the ethers of space, the creative Principle of Life is ever present. Being everywhere present, It must be present in you. Hence, It must be available at the center of your being.

That which defeats you when you use It in a limited way, gives you victory when you change your attitude toward It, permitting It to flow through you in a more extensive manner. Always It responds by corresponding to your mental attitudes. 

You are never limited by the Principle of your being. Limitation is a result of a limited use of this Principle. You can come to but one conclusion: there is something which honors your belief, not in a big way in one place and in a little way in another; rather, it honors your belief as you believe it.

This Principle must be without limit. Your thought and acceptance can put brakes on it. In this way, paradoxical as it sounds, you limit the Limitless. Of course, you really do not limit It, but you do limit Its flow in your own experience.

Why is it that you do not instantly heal if the Principle with which you deal is limitless, unless it is that your use of this Principle is limited? Surely, it is within the province of the Divine easily to dissolve a cancer or a state of poverty. Surely, the miracle of faith can take place in your experience. Do you really expect the signs following your belief? You seem to when you pray, you feel you are using the right words, but are you sure that your prayers or affirmations are made with complete acceptance? It is not the form of the treatment which you give, or the prayer which you make, that gives it power. Rather, it is your faith. 

Suppose you wish to help a lonely person. Explain to him that God is present in everyone, that there is but One Person in Whom he lives, moves and has his being. Tell him that all people are in this One Person, that each is an individualized center of Spirit. He is already one with everyone else through the Spirit of all. Teach him how to see this One in all.

You can follow a very simple practice for him. This takes place in your own consciousness. Since it is difficult for him to identify himself with good, because he is immersed in a sense of isolation, spiritually you are going to take him by the hand until he learns to walk by himself.

Remember, a spiritual mind treatment is a series of statements for yourself or for someone you wish to help. You begin your treatment by realizing the Divine Presence which includes everything and everyone; by knowing that since God is over all, in all and through all, God is in this person.

He thinks he is alone in the world. You know that he is one with all people. This unity of life is forever established. There is no real isolation, no real disunion, only an apparent one. His thought of loneliness and isolation holds people away from him. Clear this thought and the One in all people rushes out, in a sense, to meet Itself. You are working with an immutable Principle and when the thought is changed, the demonstration will be made. He will find himself surrounded with friendship, love and appreciation.

That which is definite and clear in your own consciousness becomes a part of his consciousness and begins to work automatically for him. In the long run, he must learn to think for himself. You are merely helping him over a rough spot. You are doing this gladly, lovingly. He hopes that what you are thinking is true. He hopes for results. You expect them. He would like to believe. You must know. What he waits for, you accept. What he thinks may happen in the future, you know is happening right now. Your statements are always affirmations of the present, not the future.

Cultivating your own thought, living in continuous expectancy and affirmation, knowing the truth in season and out of season, you are doing your part. The Law will never fail you. Your problem is to convert your own thinking. You do this through words, audibly or inaudibly expressed; through thoughts, ideas, beliefs, prayer (which is silent communion with the Invisible), realization, meditation, whatever you choose to call the process.

Words are molds into which the creative substance of your consciousness flows. Words without meaning, while they may have some effect through constant repetition, cannot have the same effect that words with meaning have. Your words will have meaning in such degree as you actually feel that they are the activity of the Spirit within you.

Jesus told a paralyzed man to get up and walk. His words were simple enough. You, too, can say, “Arise! Take up thy bed and walk.” But what would happen if you were to say these words? Would your inner consciousness rise in complete conviction? Or would there be some reservation in your thought, some belief that perhaps the man would not actually pick up his bed and carry it home?

Here is a fine point in using the Power within you. You must develop a spiritual awareness which is transcendent, which knows that it is as easy for the Truth to say, “Get up and walk,” as it is for a tired man to say, “Lie down and rest.”

This calls for faith and understanding—a complete conviction that God is right where you are, that Life is speaking through you, and that the Law of Life is obeying your will. Words without this awareness have no power. Spiritual awareness is the healing agency loosed through your word. While it is true that thoughts are things, they are things in your experience only in such degree as your inward consciousness pours the fire of conviction into the form of your intellectual affirmation.

The authority for your words is in your works. The only authority you have for your belief is the authority of what that belief accomplishes. Jesus would have left no lasting mark on history if he had not proved what he believed. When he said, “Peace,” there was peace. When he said to the wind and the wave, “Be still!” the wind and the wave were stilled. When he told the paralyzed man to get up and walk, the man got up and walked.

Naturally, you may exclaim, “Well, I am not Jesus!” Fortunately, you are not. You are yourself. This is the most wonderful thing about you. You are someone in your own right. You have access to the same Power he used. The God who is ever with you is the same Spirit with Whom he communed. There are not two spirits or two powers, there are not two divine presences or two universal laws of mind. There are not two laws of gravitation or two principles of mathematics. Nothing has happened to Reality since Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and ministered to the multitudes who so eagerly followed him. The Kingdom of Heaven which Jesus was always talking about is also your kingdom. The Spirit which was within him is in everyone, equally available, giving of Itself alike to every age.

It is neither the Power, the Presence, nor the Law that you lack, if you do lack anything. It is a consciousness, an inner spiritual awareness. This consciousness is a thing of thought and conviction. It is a thing of faith and understanding. No one can give this to you but yourself, and if you have it no one can take it away from you.

Analyze what must have happened in the consciousness of Jesus when he healed the man blind from birth. The people around him said that either this man must have sinned in some previous incarnation or he must be suffering from the sins of his forefathers. So they asked Jesus if this man did sin, or his forefathers, that he was born blind. Jesus was confronted with this proposition: if reincarnation were true, this man was suffering from past mistakes; if the Mosaic law were true, the sins of his parents were visited on him.

You can imagine how the mind of Jesus must have worked. He knew that the Truth could set this man free. He knew that God already was incarnated in him and did not need to reincarnate. He knew that the Spirit of this man had never been born and could never die. Jesus wiped out the belief in all previous sins or mistakes through his awareness of the God Who is ever present, Whose vision never fails, and Whose all-seeing eye has never dimmed.

The anguish of condemnation, the dogma of false beliefs were entirely dissolved. He knew that this man was one with the Eternal Mind. Therefore, he knew that as this man turned from his consciousness of sin and mistake he was made free. All previous liabilities were wiped out. Every wrong act was corrected.

This same understanding is available to you. This same compassion is yours today. This same divine realization waits your recognition of its beneficent action for you. You are one with the God Who is right where you are.

When you give a spiritual mind treatment you are focusing a power and giving conscious direction to something which has accumulated within you through continual recognition. The peace your intellect affirms must be backed by a consciousness generated through perhaps repeated and laborious effort. The reward is worthy of the endeavor. If at all times you are seeking inwardly to be aware of the Divine Presence, you will find it easier and easier to direct the Law of Life for definite purposes. Say:

I know there is an inner Presence in everything.

I know that this Presence responds to me.

I know that everyone is an incarnation of God, that the living Spirit breathes through all.

I recognize this Spirit and It responds to me. I realize that everything is alive, awake and aware with Spirit.

I commune with this Divine Presence.

The Spirit within me reaches out and communes with the Spirit in everything and everyone I contact.

It is the same Spirit in all, over all, and through all.

This Thing called You, Chapter 11,

Ernest Holmes