THE SEAMLESS ROBE Lillian DeWaters
It is never too late! To paraphrase Whittier’s words: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest of these: It might have been!” Let us say: “For of all glad words of tongue or pen, The gladdest of these: It never has been!” Separation, affliction, limitation never have been! Evil of any kind never has been and never shall be in My Kingdom, for in Me is perpetual Harmony and the experience of changeless love, understanding, and glory. Concern yourselves therefore wholly with Me; with My ideas; and with My universe.
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HO, every one that thirsteth for peace, and yearneth for understanding. Come ye to the feast; yea, come, eat and drink without money and without price. The banquet is prepared; the hour is at hand. We need look neither in the past nor to the future for we live in perpetual Good now, and we can experience it now. “The Seamless Robe,” symbolizing wholeness and perfection of Being, contains within itself infinite blessings which are ours to know and ours to experience in earth as in Heaven. The Truth is our own Being, and its immortal Good may be brought right into our daily living. We need not suffer any sort of limitation. Freedom, peace and certainty are the natural qualities of Being, awaiting our recognition and acceptance. Could the Kingdom of Heaven be within us, as Jesus said, yet a mist or a wall hide it from us? Could this world be for us nothing but a course of instruction, teaching us the good and true only through tests and trials? Must we have been limited and bound by sickness and the fear of death, by sin and its penalties, in order to understand the nature and quality of our Being? Is there an Understanding which will make darkness light before us? Let each face and answer these questions. “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” These “glad tidings” are that we can experience freedom and harmony NOW, that we can enjoy health and happiness THIS INSTANT. There is no suffering body to be healed nor any person or circumstance to improve in our favour. We need not delay in accepting the life of perpetual peace and certainty now, ready and finished in earth as in Heaven.
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Life and its perfect experience are one and identical, now and here available. Not only shall we understand that our true Being includes our ever-present and eternal Health, Harmony and Happiness, but we shall also understand how to express this Fact in our present existence. The hour is come for us to understand perfect Life and what it includes. The belief that our well-being depends upon certain conditions, persons or things may be relinquished, for were this true then living would be at the mercy of circumstances. Health, Wealth, Harmony and Happiness are ours not by thoughts or works: they inhere in our Being and are our very Nature. We need only know and accept this to be so and conform with our Being to experience this Reality now and here. Take health out of thing and thought; out of the power of person, circumstance, object and thing. Let your confidence in all these be surrendered to the one all-transcendent Being. Ever speaks the living Truth: “I am the one and only Reality, without dreams or delusions. Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. I know all; I am all. Here in My ever-present world I act without need of any way, or method, of deliverance. For in My world there is no evil to be delivered from, inasmuch as the darkness and the light are both alike to Me. There is no false world in which I could express Myself. My world is as real and as perfect as I am. There can be no denial of the perpetual harmony of My Being. Verily, verily, thou mayest know the Real and express the fruit of the Spirit in earth as in Heaven.”
WHEN one supposes that sickness or limitation has gotten a hold upon either his body or his affairs, he can stand still, awake and aware in the one Presence, knowing, “Naught can disturb; God is my peace.” For peace and the certainty of the Good now and here is our normal consciousness. 3
One keeps himself awake by learning what Truth is, by practicing it, and being it; by accepting no false gods or untrue beliefs. The epistle of James states clearly: “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” We have nothing to do but to understand that all is harmony and perfection always. Life is not limited to person, place, or thing, for Life includes all, and is Self-existent Spirit. The nature of Life is to live, consequently there is nothing in it to die, inasmuch as Life is God everlasting. Moreover, Life cannot be sick, or injured, or rendered inactive or over-active, for there is no quality in Life to produce such phenomena; nor is there any other power which could change, harm, or interfere with Life’s action, since it is the action of God and therefore immutable because it changes not, and inviolable for the reason that there is nothing to challenge it. So Life is never at the mercy of personal beliefs, fears, doubts, fancies of any kind, inasmuch as Life is supreme, all-transcendent Reality. Many times we have heard it said that fear and discord &ring suffering into our lives. Let us lovingly and gladly accept the larger perception that suffering should not be accepted as a penalty for fear, for wrong thought, or for mistakes of any kind. Since there is no consciousness of imperfection in Perfection there could be no condemnation for man, whether for his fears, his ignorance, sins, or any erring belief. There is no censure in divine Wisdom nor penalty in divine Love which might be brought to bear upon him. The sayings that “The wages of sin is death,” and “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” are transcended when a higher understanding of Life is revealed. Saith the Truth of Being: “Though your sins be as scarlet (in your eyes), they shall be as white as snow (in Mine).” 4
Divine Intelligence does not include the recognition of “suffering” of any kind, therefore it is time that we refuse to be held or bound ‘by any such outgrown theories, and come to know our perfect Life and its experience as possible now and here. Do you hesitate to accept this insight fearing that thereby appearances of evil might increase, or that one might become too complacent in self-righteousness? He who hath ears to hear will hear; he who is thirsty for the higher righteousness will drink from this living Fountain, and “it shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting Life.” Verily the time is here to set aside the supposition that spiritual growth means the way of the cross, for suffering need not be the only means of bringing us into higher understanding. We may “grow in grace” as the lilies grow. Old theology taught that through trials and afflictions we enter the Kingdom: but let us be willing to rise above theology and accept the clearer illumination that we live in Heaven now, and Good comes to us because it is the nature of our Being. God’s incessant activity is peace, harmony, joy and blessedness, which is ever full, ever complete, perfect and present. Man is unfallen, therefore we can transcend beliefs in his regeneration, restitution and salvation, and bring about the vision and experience of perfect Being here and now.
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THERE will be a great world awakening when it is seen and felt that “suffering” is not evil in itself, ‘but a signal: a signal for that individual to stand still and obey the precept “Know thyself,” — become better acquainted with the meaning of Life and its natural, peaceful activity. There is no evil in God; there is no sin, suffering or death in the sight of God. It is inevitable that Life, or Being, shall be true to Itself, shall eternally know and experience Itself: so to “know thyself” means to understand one’s true Self and to LIVE and EXPRESS it, — for “knowing” includes living. Life is Self-governed and Self-expressed. Thus if we seem to be arrested in our progress and placed in prisons of various kinds, they are not to be thought of as evils but as signals that we shall pause and come face to face with what Life requires of us, and then fulfil it. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” — Isaiah Today there is a crying out to be delivered from discords, afflictions and limitations, and as never before a great effort is being made to rid existence of these. If attention should be taken from these conditions and given over wholly to the understanding of Life and to the knowledge of what It includes, then “all these (good) things shall be added unto you. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” — Micah You see, there is no real affliction or limitation to be healed, or remedied, or prayed over, or treated, but there is your Life and Being which is to be known, understood and expressed.”
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Haven’t we been trying too long to overcome sickness, sorrow and suffering by various modes of treatment, instead of letting them go and giving our whole attention to discovering the Truth of Life and what it requires of us? Truly, we live only to accept and express our perfect Being. We should know then that whatever does not conform to Peace, Love and Harmony must be given up. Paul had a clear vision of this when he said: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” People who seem sick wish material or mental help so as to be well, whereas the point to consider is neither one of mental nor physical harmony but of spiritual Wholeness, which includes both mind and body. At one time when Daniel was troubled with fear he was comforted by an angel which said to him: “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard.” “Greater WORKS than these shall he do,” need not mean only greater healing works, nor a larger proportion of deliverances from limitations, afflictions and sorrows, but transcending this a wider and deeper understanding of Life and what it includes, — and particularly what it requires of us.” The reference to “greater works” has really not so much to do with healing, or with the removal of discords from experience, as with the opening of the perception to the fuller recognition that one is to conform in his daily living to the Reality of his Being. Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not a genuine understanding of Life, so that I LIVE and EXPRESS my true Being, it availeth me nothing! 7
Our daily experience is in Heaven. Our health, wealth, happiness and harmony ever abide in our own Being, and are to be realized and expressed in EVERYDAY LIVING. And truly there is no evil in all-inclusive Reality, for “The darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.” “They all shall know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of. them, saith the Lord.” This is not a theory but a fact. Often what is called “suffering” and seems an unnecessary experience is only considered so because of surface judgement; for it may be right at this point that one is to become better acquainted with his true Self, and be more willing and ready to LIVE in harmony with it. The place whereon thou standest is where thou shalt know thyself, — for God, thy eternal Good, is omnipresent. “If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, 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, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me, Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.” — David When “suffering” brings one into a more sympathetic understanding of Life, and so enables him to express Love more tenderly and truly, then the “tribulation” is not to be remembered as evil, but as “angels entertained unawares.” Losses, diseases, limitations, are but names given to certain times in one’s experience when his own Being has called a “halt;” where, knowing nothing outside Itself, it requires a more perfect view of Reality and footsteps following more closely the One who said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto Life.” 8
Let us therefore look away from appearances called “evil,” and let us examine OURSELVES and see how closely our daily living is measuring up to the standard of our perfect Selfhood. Let us see that there is really no sin, sickness or suffering to be considered, healed, prayed for, or treated: but Life as it really is, is to be known and experienced, naturally, simply, trustingly, in God’s eternal Now. “WHEREFORE henceforth know we no man after the flesh,” admonishes the apostle Paul. Let us cease to think of man as a creature of flesh and let us know him as spiritual Being. How foolish it is to believe in the appearances of sinful man, sick man, ignorant man, poor man, when in Spirit he is not that way at all! What about the pictures flashed on the screen of the drama of “material existence?” Many of them depict depression, fear, loss, lack. What are we to do about them? Weep and wring our hands, force our way up to the screen and attempt to stop or change the pictures, — directing our attention wholly to them? Indeed, No. “But,” you say, “there is my brother in sickness, in sin, in lack, what shall I do to save him?” You cannot help anyone permanently by seeing him “after the flesh.” Save yourself the reactions of painful sympathy by turning from the picture. Take care that you do not just take another seat in the house where you can still peek around the corner, (so to speak), but leave that state of consciousness entirely, and face in the right direction. Turn to God, — perfect Life and its expression. Here you see that there is no one to be carried off to prison, to be deprived of friends, or aid, as it appears; none who are sick or sinful, for Being includes all individuality, and outlines perpetual and universal happiness and harmony.
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Eternity is now and here. This very instant is filled with heavenly Reality. Happy indeed are we when we apprehend and express this glorious present actuality! Neither dreams nor thoughts, nor powers, nor plays, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the Reality in which we now “live and move and have our being.” Perfection is “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” The more we see Perfection expressed everywhere, — in every blade of grass, in every beast of field, in every thing of earth — the more will we be assured of happy experiences. Did Daniel ask to be delivered from the lions’ den? Did he upbraid the counsellors and governors for their drastic actions toward him? Did he plead with the king to save him from such a cruel fate? Nay, but “he went into his house, (Understanding), and his windows being wide open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, (his soul ready and willing to stand still in Being), he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before time.” Nevertheless Daniel was cast into the den of lions, a great stone was laid upon the mouth of the den, and he was left with his own Being. The king, worried over the safety of Daniel, came hastily the next morning to see if haply he might have been delivered from death. And Daniel, entirely unharmed, answered him saying: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me.” And hearken closely to his further reply: “Forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” How shall WE fulfil this essential and seemingly difficult requirement of “innocency?” it may be asked. Let us “know no man after the flesh.” Know no self, no man, no thing, no law, no world after appearances, but “Present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Present every blade of grass, every star of heaven, every one of earth perfect, as his Being is perfect. 10
How should we expect to understand the Christ-Truth unless we open our vision to receive it, our hearing to hear it, and our hearts to love it? “Verily,” saith the Spirit, “all loving to be real at all must be My loving, and all living and acting to be real at all must be My living and My acting. The form may be named a bird, but there am I as life, as joy, as beauty. The form may be named man, but there am I ever aware of the greatness and grandeur of Myself as Life, Love, Power, Truth and Glory. The form called “man” expresses the fullness of Myself, the infinity of Being, the immortality of Life, Truth and Love. Verily I am Life and I am the experience of living! I am Love and I am the experience of loving! I am Intelligence and I am the experience of knowing! Verily Being and experience are one, not two! The exalted concept of Heaven as Now and HERE IS irresistible. It lifts us as with wings to the state of joy and peace. What darkness can withstand the light? What dream can persist after our awakening? What lack can continue when we contact the Wealth of the one Being? Since divine Truth is omnipresent, then divine Truth is here and now. Since divine Love is omnipotent, then divine Love is here and now. Since divine Life is omniscience, then divine Life is here and now. Neither time, nor place, nor person, nor thing, shall be able to separate us from this Truth, this Love, this Life manifesting in experience as perfect thinking, hearing, seeing, feeling, understanding, which Christ Jesus declared “is at hand,” and “within us,” — for you, for me, for all alike. Then let us drink from the River of Life. Let us walk in green pastures, rest beside still waters, and dwell in the house, (Understanding), of all-blessedness forever. What if the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon us? That cannot fall, or fail, which is Life, Truth and Love.
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“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect,” instructed Jesus. We should therefore give up all sense of Self as person, body, mind, and abide in the consciousness of Self as infinite impersonal Being. HAVE we accepted the belief that we govern ourselves individually through our personal thoughts and feelings? Then let us recognize and receive the higher vision, — that of changeless Harmony and Perfection, wherein all individuality is the one Life, the one Now, the one Being. The individual is better governed when he gives up all belief in separate personal thoughts and feelings, and abides wholly in the consciousness of one universal Intelligence, Activity and Power. We may indeed rejoice to give up personal responsibility when remembering Jesus’ words: “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom ... Come unto Me, and I will give you rest ... Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Being is ceaselessly operating, — all-harmoniously it embodies and includes all action, from the perfect opening of a rosebud to the perfect thinking, hearing, seeing, feeling and knowing of individual man. Its mode of operation is Love, Harmony, Peace and Glory. There could not enter into Being any thought of lack, or loss, or doubt, or fear, or ignorance. Life could not die, be put to sleep, or made to dream falsities; Truth could not be deceived or confused; Love could not be converted, regenerated or redeemed. How then should one look upon discord? Whatever enables one to understand and to experience his Perfection more fully is not evil, although on the surface it may appear so. Said Jesus, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” 12
That discord is inevitable and universal, as it seems to be today, is not the correct viewpoint, or proper attitude of thought. It is impossible that both Good and non-good could be universal. There is nothing true but the Truth. Therefore Truth and Heaven are UNIVERSAL and INFINITE, to be experienced by us all. Let the word “Now,” capitalized, transcend all suggestion of time, and denote the changeless Reality. When we say or hear the word ordinarily, we think of the moment correlated with the clock; but when we think of it as the Now, we feel a new quality, like an all-pervading Presence. In this Now no “healing” is necessary or possible for the Now is already perfect and complete. It INCLUDES an activity which is perpetual harmony, — a natural and involuntary wholeness and goodness. The Now is what is really so, besides which nothing else does or can exist. All the natural functions of existence here on earth when more fully revealed will be understood as the functions of Life, itself, — Life which is indivisible, supreme, eternal. Our existence in this living Now may be an experience filled with tenderness, peace, perfect health and happiness. Nor could we see and experience our eternal Good without being it. The Now of Eternity is neither time nor space, yet it includes all time and fills all space. Eternity is indivisible time and boundless space, including and comprising the experience of uninterrupted joy and harmony.
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SPIRIT is the ever-present and infinite Substance from which all true form-creation is produced. “Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all; and in Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all ... With God all things are possible,” is the inspired Word. Therefore we should never try to fill our experience with satisfaction by appealing to visible form-creation for it, but obtain all good directly from invisible Mind, or Spirit. To obtain our abiding good from invisible Spirit is the only possible way. How should we hope to experience joy, satisfaction, and the abundance of all-good without turning and looking to the Substance of it? If we wish the sunlight, we place ourselves in contact with the sun. Similarly if we wish to enjoy the fruits of the Spirit, we must come in contact with Spirit. Realizing that eternal Life is not one experience and our daily existence another, Spirit of one Nature and its expression another, we see and feel our existence to be one with all living, and our living to he one with Being, and this Being and its experience to be ours NOW. So we find our joy continuous and uninterrupted, not dependent upon yesterday or tomorrow; but an experience which depends wholly upon ourselves. Since the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, as Jesus affirmed, it is surely always possible for us to experience its harmonies and blessings. Theories about God and man will never hold our attention and devotion for any length of time. We are so constituted that nothing but the Seamless Robe, or the Truth of Being, will completely satisfy. All things, thoughts, times and persons representing the one Presence are INCLUDED in the one infinite divine Being. How else could God be All-in-all?
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Of what value is a Heaven to us apart from where we are now living? Or Wholeness which we cannot experience this very instant? Or Peace and Happiness which could at any moment be impaired or terminated? We must be willing to concede that Heaven Perfection, to be at all must be NOW and HERE. Let us look past the report of discord, destruction and limitation, and grasp the importance of standing firmly with the Soul-insight which comprehends only Perfection. Should ears report discord, the eyes unloveliness, the feeling disturbance, it is possible to transcend such reports and experience Soul-perception instead. This will always report truly. Sight, hearing, thinking, feeling, are really not personal possessions any more than are the multiplication table, the air, or the sunlight. As personalities we possess nothing. As one Being we are all. The one All includes all. This is why we can never lose sight, hearing, feeling or knowing. They are eternally inherent, active and imperishable in one unchangeable Being. Safe, certain, sure; omnipresent, incorporeal. The things we see and handle are not structural as they seem to be. The chair in your room, the book you are holding, the house in which you dwell, the tree outside your window, when viewed correctly are all ideas of Mind. Infinite Mind includes all natural formations and such are IDEAS manifested in outline and colour, — real and tangible. Solidity is not added to the weightless idea, nor could there be mortality in Spirit. The universe in which we live is a universe of spiritual Ideas which are substantial, immortal and practical, — apprehended and utilized according to the degree of one’s illumination. To one the vision is spiritual, while to another the vision is “material.” As we come to know that in the one Presence all is Mind and Its ideas, former views will pass away and the Kingdom of Reality will become more clearly visible to us. 15
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” “And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Our sleeping dream illustrates, to some extent, how Being, Mind, and its phenomena may be understood. In our dream we see, hear, feel and act but without corporeality. In our waking experience we say we hear with ears, see with eyes, and walk with feet; but all the while it is Mind which so functions, — for Mind includes all natural action, volition and formation.
REJOICE that the time is here to look away from laws “of matter and thought” unto heavenly Grace. The word “Grace” means unmerited good; free gift. Such grace declares: “To him that worketh not, his faith is counted for righteousness … Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” Grace announces: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea ... Now is the day of salvation … Neither do I condemn thee ... In an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” When Jesus tabernacled with men he did not teach bondage but freedom. He did not teach limitation but abundance. He produced bread without seedling and harvest, without grinding and baking. He produced fish, without bait or hook, without water or net. He produced money, without mine or mint, without labour or press. He produced raiment, without hands or machinery. Ever we can hear Being say, “The place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
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Then why should we wait longer? and for what? Have we not been under the “law” or “schoolmaster” long enough, and is it not high time “that we might be justified by faith?” And further: “Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the Truth?” The book of Genesis informs us of light preceding the sun, of grass preceding the seed. Jesus tells of “water” from which if one drinks he “shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus also mentions “meat”, nourishing and satisfying, but which unbelief and misconception “know not of.” We read of a burning fiery furnace, of a den of lions, of a great storm of wind powerless to harm, for Man has dominion over all, — yea he is Lord of Heaven and earth. “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.”
VERILY it requires courage, faith and purity to be willing to exchange our confidence in laborious study for the free and natural expression of revealed Being. But when we let go the feverish yearning for spiritual advancement, give up the mental effort directed toward persons, places and things, and standing still allow our real Being to prevail for us, we are blessed with heavenly experience now and here. Saith this Being: “There is no God beside Me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me; That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, That there is none beside Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.”
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As one begins to feel the involuntary exaltation and freedom of Spirit he rejoices in true peace and certainty, — the natural joy and blessedness of Being. To try to add goodness to oneself, or to assume virtues, is not the same as to radiate the natural goodness which springs spontaneously from Being. And trying to remove discords and limitations from experience is not the same as involuntarily losing them in the glad moment of Self-consciousness. Over-arching and suffusing all labour and achievement is Reality, which is “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Here Being and experience are identical. How luminous and exalting to understand that our Being is Self-sustained and Self-governed! Often, despite our deep earnestness and eagerness to hold to the Truth, we feel a separation. O, the peace and rest when we lay down the burden and responsibility, realizing that “I of mine own (personal) self can do nothing!” Then, indeed, it is that the Wisdom, Love and Power of our real Being becomes ALL to us. Then it is that we walk in green pastures and rest besides still waters. Ever speaks the Christ: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light ... Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” This purity is the natural quality of Being. Verily as “death is swallowed up in victory” so mental effort is swallowed up in natural, spontaneous illumination, and the notion of separate personality in the one Self-existent Being. This revelation is at-one-ment with the Truth of our Being. Our own Being impels us to turn naturally to it for help, for strength, for understanding. And as we do this, — as we turn from confusion and disturbance to face Truth in ourselves, lo, the darkness is light before us, and our world is Heaven. 18
One should advance naturally from the “taking thought” position to the calm and certainty of Life and Being. Many of us at times find ourselves crying with David: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Why art Thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” As we release ourselves from the struggle with thought and personality, and from over-anxiety for spiritual understanding, and in stillness know, Naught can disturb, God is my peace, we find ourselves free from fear and turmoil, and altogether sure and calm. Such certainty makes the moment not time but Eternity, not place but Heaven, not personality but identity in the one Being. Such understanding solves the seeming problem and we find our freedom and wholeness uninterrupted and at hand. Then with David we exclaim, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. I will dwell in the house (Understanding) of the Lord forever.” “The Seamless Robe” is a verbal expression denoting the indivisible glorious Infinite. “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing which defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.” What can prevent us from beholding this Reality, from experiencing it, from being it? Nothing, when we see our Peace, our Goodness, our Completeness as our natural eternal Being.
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EVERYTHING at every moment is exactly the same as Being conceived it, — “very good.” Have we not had moments when we were completely filled with joy, rest and exaltation? Right in the midst of the perplexing problems we can eat from the “table” which forever stands spread for us in an ever-present, eternal Now. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” No matter how we may try to describe, or analyze, the Infinite, we know that God is more than anything that has ever been thought or said, for when we have said that God is our peace, our happiness, our knowing, our abundance of all-good, still God is more than all this. How can the Infinite be explained, or be encompassed by thoughts or words? It cannot. Infinity must be LIVED. Almost all the teachers of other times were influenced more or less by their belief in the law of “an eye for an eye.” We find this belief running all through the Old Testament. This is what makes Jesus so much more lovely to us. He taught humility, grace and love, saying, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.” So we should all forget our former trespasses, and keep forgetting them until they are entirely blotted from memory. Isaiah tells of such revelation, or Christ-Truth, coming to him as follows: “Remember ye not the former things, Neither consider the things of old. I, even I, am He that blotteth out Thy transgressions for Mine own sake, And will not remember thy sins. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the Lord Is risen upon thee.”
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Nor should we remember the mistakes of others. When we are still and quiet in the presence of the one Reality, we can remember perfect Life and its expression, and forget everything else but this Good and this Perfection. The always-present Christ assures us all, “If we know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” DID it ever occur to you that all good belongs to us because it is our very Being? We have been taught to call homes, lands, moneys, material things but they are not. SPIRIT is the substance of all and SPIRIT includes all. While the ordinary meaning of the word “thing” is An object of structure, such as that which has weight and occupies space, a better definition of it is, An object of thought, a distinct idea in Mind. When we have this true concept, then we can understand a “thing” correctly. We can realize that Creation includes no structural thing but consists of EXPRESSED IDEAS. For instance, when we feel that we need money, or anything natural to our daily living, our first thought may be of the cost, or of the time it takes to procure, or that we must deal with certain people and circumstances in order to obtain it. But we really need to deal with no one except ourselves. There is no “outside” to Being. Being is our all, so we do not need to depend upon persons, places, times, or circumstances for our help. “He hangeth the earth on nothing,” visioned Job. Our world depends upon nothing outside of ourselves. We should learn how to promote experiences of plenty and satisfaction from Heaven within rather than attempt to obtain them from circumstances without. And our first perception should be that as Spirit is not structural or material neither can its expression be structural or material. All Natural things are, primarily, ideas, without cost and without price; not dependent upon persons, places or times for their existence but coexisting with Being. 21
Sooner or later we are bound to find out that our own Being is our Source of all supply. We are brought to realize that ever-present abundance of all Blessedness is forever ours to understand and ours to experience in the Here and Now. This is the fact. No doubt at times it may seem to us that such could not be, that people, circumstances and conditions must certainly govern or control our lives and bring either harmony or discord. This is not true. Why should we limit ourselves to the notion that we have not sufficient understanding to think the right and enjoy the right in our daily experience? Are we not that Spirit which is all-Intelligence? Perhaps the problem does seem difficult and overpowering at times, but there is that in us which can transcend all difficulties and walk safely over and through all obstacles. Could there be any condition apart from the one all-inclusive God, Good? Is not this infinite Spirit Self-sustaining, Self-understanding, Self-supporting? There is no problem too small or too great to be understood in its right light and transmuted into Harmony. There is no reason why any of us should think he cannot find complete satisfaction in the ever-revealing Now. The discerning Paul saw this when he wrote to the Corinthians: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” The fact is that Spirit being infinite, this precludes the possibility of any “thing” unlike Perfection, Harmony, Peace and Abundance. No matter what seems to be contrary, this is the FACT, otherwise God, Good, would not be ALL.
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When rightly viewed all natural formations from the sand of the sea to the stars in the heavens are formations of Mind, or Consciousness. So likewise are all natural formations from a pencil to a palace. We should not think of creation as separated into two groups, — one “spiritual” and the other “material”. All right useful things representing spiritual Ideas are ever present and directly at hand. ALL things are yours” is an inspired statement. Verily all things are ours because such “things” are not material or structural, (as believed), but are thought-form, or the form of pure Consciousness. All (natural) things are Ideas manifested. Ideas are not material but spiritual, or the true mental, so likewise is their expression. Spirit, Mind, is the only Creator. There is none other; and Creator and creation are one. Isaiah’s prophesy is for today, and for Eternity. “Thy people shall all be righteous: They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, the work of My hands, That I may be glorified. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, And the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord.”
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This blessed state of the new Jerusalem, this wealth, joy, happiness and harmony of the perfect Land, is to be found in one’s own Soul and is to be experienced in the Here and Now. Indeed, Jesus’ life shows that spiritual Reality is to be seen and utilized right in the midst of human experience. He says: “Your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things ... All that I have is thine.” And how could this be? Only by seeing in the temporal the substance of the Eternal, the material flooded with the light of the Spiritual. Spirit — Soul rejoices in its inherent and intrinsic righteousness, peace, beauty and blessedness which forever continue to appear from their boundless and inexhaustible Source. The disclosure and revealment of infinite Mind in ideas and forms is constant and perpetual. Such revelation is what has been termed “states and stages of consciousness.” Jesus’ concept is, “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” Well, as this Kingdom comes to our perception and view then earth will be Heaven, will it not? For as long as we have two kingdoms, — one of Heaven and one of earth, we are proposing two powers and two creations. If we are to have ONE Creator and ONE creation, — the seamless Robe — then it is imperative that we let go beliefs of divisions, boundaries, separations and limitations, and accept one Universe, — Heaven here and now. Thus as we see Heaven expressed in earth, our only experience is Heaven. As we harmonize spiritual Ideas with the natural earthly things, our vision is one of unity, oneness. As we realize that the Eternal is all that is right and natural, our experience is that of Reality. Truly our identity is one with infinite Being, which cannot be separated or divided, but can efficiently supply us with all good.
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MANY of us seem slow to reach a satisfactory solution of our daily problems because we still believe that we are in a “material” world, subject to “material” laws governing time, money, weight, place, et cetera. Let us always bear in mind that all natural things are really true mental forms, or forms of true thought, occupying no space, having no weight, coming from Mind, or Spirit. Spiritual ideas and their corresponding forms are continually being more fully revealed to us from our own Nature. The true Creation is free, “without money and without price,” and is available now to meet whatever our need may require. The “Father,” — our own Selfhood — not only “knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask,” but “rewards us openly;” that is, manifests the desired thing in the FORM meeting the HUMAN need. “I will work, and who shall let it?” Can any one or any thing stop the Truth from being the Truth, — from operating intelligently and understandingly always? “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things.” “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?
ABOUT a half-century ago, Mary Baker Eddy, a teacher of great spiritual insight, when pondering this momentous subject, wrote in her text-book Science and Health as follows:
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“All must give place to the spiritual fact by the translation of man and the universe back into Spirit. In proportion as this is done, man and the universe will be found harmonious and eternal. Thought will finally be understood and seen in all form, substance, and colour, but without material accompaniments.” — Pages 209, 310. “Science, understood, translates matter into Mind.” — Misc. page 25. Indeed this is the voice of Truth. Matter must be translated into Mind, for actually there is no matter: all is Mind. Paul wrote understandingly: “We understood that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” How shall we translate “man and the universe back into Spirit”? By feeling and knowing that Spirit, Mind, is all. All! By letting our hearts melt into an infinite tenderness toward the ideas and thoughts which are the “things of Spirit” now and here before us. For how could we ever hope to behold the Creation of Spirit at hand while we fail to recognize it, and instead call it “materiality,” or “illusion?” The natural things about us, belonging to our natural living, are not finite, or material, as supposed, but are of Mind, Spirit, cognizable according to our comprehension and understanding of Being. Calling things by their rightful names will aid us in viewing them in their rightful light. “But,” one asks, “will they not age, deteriorate and appear to die just the same?” Does it trouble us what seems to be taking place about us when we KNOW that it isn’t so in Truth? And shall we not now and here begin to know the Truth about “things?”
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“FOR they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” visioned the prophet Jeremiah. As we hold in our hearts the spiritual realities of Being, we are bound to see them expressed everywhere. The FORMS of Spirit such as rocks, trees, grass, sky, animals, man, are not “matter,” but Mind expressed. “The living God made heaven and earth and the sea, and all things that are therein.” Like reflects like. Spirit reflects Spirit. These spiritual forms are both tangible and substantial to Spirit. Let us be ready and willing to see them this way. “The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree. The sun shall be no more thy light by day: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting Light, and thy God thy glory.” Such is Self-creating, Self-sustaining, Self-governing and Infinite Being! We see that there is no distinction between Spirit and Nature. And this teaching is not pantheism as there is no “in” or “out,” and no “finity” to Spirit which is ALL. Spirit cannot be deranged, impaired, or discordant, for Spirit is the infallible and immutable Infinite. Spirit expresses itself in sight, hearing, feeling, knowing, and likewise in all forms, colours, beauty and loveliness. Moreover, Spirit includes infinite individuality: yet Spirit is one Whole, one Unit, one Mind, one Being, one Experience. The teaching of Jesus forever admonishes us: Come forth from misconceptions. Stand upright on the Truth of Being. Arise! Open your eyes and ears and learn that you are free Spirit, — flawless, triumphant Being. “And the glory which Thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” 27
All natural activity, such as hearing, seeing, thinking, feeling, resting, eating, walking, is of the one Spirit, God. All natural beauty, glory, grandeur, is of the one Spirit, God. All natural joy, peace, love, gladness, is of the one Spirit, God. How could any other statement be true when Spirit, God, is infinite, universal and all-inclusive? “In my Father’s house, (infinite Being), are many mansions, (continuous revelations of Perfection). There could be no beginning or end to that which is one all. There could be no within or without, no division into times, places, persons or things, to that which is a Unit, a Whole. Verily, verily, Life and Life’s expression are the same One.
YOU may ask: Is there such a thing as spiritual form? Most certainly. Why should it seem impossible for you to consider the natural world and the things belonging to your normal consciousness as in and of Spirit, therefore forms of Spirit? The one Mind, or Spirit, is infinite and so includes all in one. The things pertaining to, and essential to your normal state of living, are not structural or solid as they seem to be, for rightly viewed there is no matter, — ALL IS MIND! There can be nothing outside of the all-inclusive One. This is our platform of Truth. What is termed solidity, or what is called a material object, merely denotes a state of consciousness, for in our present state of spiritual comprehension we may be seeing, “as through a glass darkly.” It might be said that in our present “mansion,” or state of spiritual revelation, we are not viewing “things” and “forms” as we will view them when we open our perception wider and LIVE Reality more abundantly. Jesus speaks plainly: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
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Spiritual objects are forms of spiritual thought and they will “finally be understood and seen in all form, substance and colour, but without material accompaniments.” As we experience perfect Life “more abundantly,” we begin to view everything about us in a more perfect way, and the “material accompaniments,” such as weight, solidity, impermanence, time and place, vanish from our consciousness.
NOT a single blade of grass, a leaf, or a flower is “material,” but of Spirit and therefore SPIRITUAL. It is Mind which conceives, outlines and forms Ideas which “multiply and replenish the earth.” Jesus’ declaration that “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things,” unquestionably assures us that whatever we need in wholesome, normal experience, our very Being can and will supply. Let us forever remember that God-Being is supreme. There is none else. Let us always be glad to let go of partial childish thoughts for the fuller Insight. All that we declare to be the expression of God must be INCLUDED in God-Being. The Unexpressed and the Expressed, — visible Creation and in-visible Spirit — all is one Presence, one Eternity, one Infinity, one All.
CERTAINLY we can be freed from limitations and discords as we comprehend more clearly Life and its meaning, — remembering that nothing has power or presence but the one infinite Being and its one ever-harmonious expression. Does any of us seem to be placing power in time, person or condition? In that hour when we turn from such speculations and understand where Power is, and understand where Substance is, and understand where Activity is — right in one’s perfect Being — then shall we know that it is possible to experience in our daily living the joy, happiness and harmony of Heaven. 29
The events which are called separation, loss, lack and inharmony are not so considered by divine Intelligence. The Truth says, Do not I fill Heaven and earth? Am I not then expressed in earth as in Heaven? Is not visible Mind-expression and invisible creative Power one and the same? We do believe in a Presence, a Power, which is All-in-all and besides which there is none else. We do accept this God-Presence, this God-Power to be perfect and complete now and here. Then how could there really be a world of rulers and subjects, judges and criminals, healers and patients as it appears? A world of sins, punishments, deaths? Face these questions squarely. Is there, or is there not, any other Power or Presence than one universal Being and its one universal expression? One perfect finished Kingdom at hand now and here, ready this very instant to be seen, felt and appropriated? Verily, verily, universal Being is immaculate Life which cannot vary, or alter, or misunderstand. That Life which is seen in bird, beast, man, is not a separate, personal life but is divine Life, seen in the eternal continuity in Nature. So mighty, pure, radiant, irresistible, spontaneous, ideal, nothing can interfere with it or mar it, for it is infinite Being, without beginning or end. Says the inspired Word: “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the Heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. The heavens are Thine, and the earth also is Thine; as for the world and the fullness thereof, Thou hast founded them.
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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Who created Heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things that are therein. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” Eternally saith the one Presence: I am that Life which expresses Itself in all forms of Nature which are beautiful, radiant, true. My Life is My Love in all, over all and All. I recognize no personal body, no personal virtues or ambitions. There is none but Me, — Self-existent Being! Therefore what can disturb? This understanding is everlasting health, sweet interchange of confidence and love, and perpetual wealth of all good in earth. LET those who “sleep,” awaken and look up, and let those who feel chained by false beliefs, break loose. “Return every man to his house (perfect Understanding).” Our only Being is Spirit, our only home is the Realm of divine peace, everlasting love, and the abundance of perfect good “at hand.” In the effulgence of this realization we cannot conceive of “treatments,” or prayers, as being necessary; we cannot remember sickness, separation, loss or depression. Here is this Kingdom of supernal loveliness and well-being we have no memory of, or belief in, limitation, finity, or impermanence of any kind. “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
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Our “treatment” is the understanding that nothing is to be changed, nothing is to be added nor subtracted. We speak Truth for the glory of God, — it is our very Nature expressing itself. We speak Truth not because we lack but because we HAVE; not because we expect but because we HAVE RECEIVED. We do not speak to heal the sick nor to enlighten the ignorant, but that immortals may drink of the living water, — the River of the water of Life! With derision the Jews said of Jesus, “He maketh himself as God.” But Jesus, understanding the “I” and the “Father” as One, could truly say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” In proportion as we, too, understand that the “Father” is our own Being, and so let the individual “I” be one with it, are we aware of our own true Self-hood. Then indeed have we let the “I” go unto the Father. We forget short-comings and misunderstandings when we turn from them to real Being. The man on the bed, asleep, need do nothing in order to lose the dream than awake. This will automatically take care of all the dream situations, no matter how difficult or how distressing they seem. He has not actually departed from his daily living and well-being for he is in his room safe, well and happy. Similarly, our misunderstandings of Life and their consequent discords and limitations will disappear as we are wakeful and mindful of Perfection and live in accord with it. “Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Then do we need to worry over past, present or future conditions? Can anything stop or change Life in its perpetual and ever-intelligent government? Do we need to concern ourselves with laws dealing with sin and punishment, ignorance and penalties? Not if our hearts are aflame with the gracious word of Jesus Christ: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” 32
Before his reconciliation with Esau, Jacob turned his attention within, and here it was revealed to him by his own Being that the power of divine Love transcends all sense of resentment and misunderstanding, and reigns supreme in earth as in Heaven. It was then that he looked, and, behold, he saw his brother’s face as though he had seen the face of God. “I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me,” were his gracious words to Esau. “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” asks Isaiah. To them who are ready and willing to accept the revelation that Good cannot be evil. That Life cannot be death. That Spirit cannot be matter. That Love cannot be hate. That Intelligence cannot be ignorance. That Perfection cannot be imperfection. Yea, that one infinite Life, Spirit, Love, Intelligence, Perfection, is immutable, Unchangeable NOW AND ALWAYS. “GOD is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” We are all to discover, even as Jesus exemplified, that we need take no anxious thought for our health, wealth, happiness or pleasure, for we are now in the finished Kingdom where all such blessings are the natural and simple expressions of living. “How then,” it is asked, “shall I gain the understanding equal to the transcending of my problems?” By lifting attention from them to that “secret place of the most High” where an understanding of yourself and of your problems will ‘be revealed to you. It is a fact that your being is whole and complete NOW; you need not continually affirm wholeness, deny self, nor contradict unpleasant conditions, but you can catch a clearer glimpse of Reality and understand and embody the spiritual qualities your real Being includes. This illumination is your AWAKENING to that Truth which “shall make (and keep) you free.”
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For instance, have you allowed your heart to become as adamant? O, be willing to welcome a change of heart. “And a new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” God alone is your ability to know what is real and right and true always, and God is the ineffable tenderness of irresistible divine Love over-brooding all. Said Paul, “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Turn from the selfish, hardened sense and enter your inner sanctuary, rejoicing to allow the ever-presence of the Kingdom of heavenly Love to shine in your heart now and here. For listen further to Paul’s astonishing words: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.” What kind of a God are you accepting? A God who sends or sanctions sorrow, separation and disease? A God who can not, or will not, deliver you now and here from misunderstanding, fear and despair? A God who permits corruptions, tribulations and afflictions? Listen to the Psalmist: “In Thy Presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” And Job discerned: “If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”
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Why should any one ask God to help him bear burdens so terrible as grief, pain, worry or fear? How could any one ever persuade himself to believe in a God who requires man to suffer that he may be strong, to pray that he may be redeemed, or to die that he may enter Heaven? Beloved, now is the accepted time. Now is the instant to understand your own Being and gain a wholesome perception of its requirements. Acquaint now yourself with your real Being and you will find peace. Understand that the natural and intrinsic qualities of the Self are love, faith, purity, goodness, kindness, understanding, trust and tenderness. When we are holding to bitterness, hardness of heart, fear, sorrow and despair, we are ‘turning from our Perfection and holding to a “sleep” from which we can awaken. As Paul continues: “Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” Now is the instant to take your thought away from your problem, as such, and face God in yourself. Now is the instant to know perfection, harmony, holiness, — your true God-being, and all that it includes. The Christ-Truth is ever saying, Come into the understanding of your Nature, your real Selfhood which is spotless, boundless, free. Your real Selfhood is Understanding, Power, Love, Goodness, yea, all that “I AM” includes. When will error be dissolved and entirely fade from sight? it is asked. When we cease to recognize two powers, two creations. When we see our being as the Divine, Heaven in earth, and this moment as the eternal Now. “I am the Way”, said Jesus. Is our Nature different from that of Jesus Christ? Not at all.
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“I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness,” was the vision of David. To “awake” with His likeness is to UNDERSTAND and EMBODY our true state of Being, our true Self which knows only peace, bliss and harmony. And this native estate is already prepared to be experienced every moment. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.” This way is the “awakening,” the coming face to face with our Reality which ever strengthens,. guides and directs us in paths of joy, peace and glory. Let us eat from the Table which is prepared for us in the very presence of our problems. This Table is the ever-presence of the Heaven of true spiritual Ideas which, as we assimilate, deliver us from all evil. What are some of these spiritual Ideas? That Perfection is boundless, limitless, ever-available, and at hand. That the all-Good is changeless love, perfect understanding, complete joy, power, peace and harmony for each and all.
LET us take an inventory of our Self and discover just what is our intrinsic Nature, — what are our God-given qualities and abilities. It has been quite generally accepted that the body follows the mind, or that thought governs and controls the body. But suppose the thoughts are unruly when we want calm, fearful when we want confidence, ignorant when we want understanding, are we not then limited and condemned by our own thinking? And if we could not control our thoughts we would seem in a helpless state, would we not? There is something, however, which over-arches and transcends thought. It is Being, — our own transcendent Being. So as we place our faith and vision here, and are willing and receptive to the Truth of our Being, our thoughts are good naturally, and our bodies are healthy naturally. 36
“If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” When a discordant condition, which we have been educated to call by some particular name, seems to be present, we can practice introspection. Certainly nothing is out of order in the Kingdom of Heaven within, and so a contradiction could not be present before us. Our struggle ceases as the temporal and the Eternal become ONE to us, and as we conform our living with our Being. Our realization of the eternal Now, and so of changeless and universal Love, Kindness, Purity and Goodness, constitutes our Light ‘and Door, our Way and Resurrection. “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill Heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” — Jeremiah “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been.” — Solomon The experience of the enlightened is harmony, peace, rest and understanding. Each and all of us has the “quickening Spirit,” the “Mind which was also in Jesus Christ.” This Christ-Mind is the real Self which never sleeps nor dreams, which never fears nor worries, but is all-hearing, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-acting, all-wise, — all-sufficient always, with no labour or effort of any kind; with no striving or yearning, with no doubt or uncertainty. “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you.” He who would SEE should be willing to look with honesty, tenderness and understanding Love. He who would HEAR should quietly listen to the call of his own Being. He who would KNOW should have his soul attuned to the eternal Now.
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“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another. For our conversation is in Heaven. Let your speech be always with grace. That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”— Paul “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand,” confided the Psalmist. When we let our problems serve as stepping stones instead of obstacles, we sooner transcend them and realize “a day in Thy courts.” We may see a chaotic appearance of discord and misfortune instead of the true happiness and harmony of Life, but by letting go the responsibility for both misfortune and happiness we are bound to perceive that the natural good of Being is expressed everywhere, and is always at hand to be appropriated. A “day” means a state of consciousness, the illumination of spiritual understanding. There are no measurements of Eternity. There is no past nor future; everything is Now. All takes place in an indivisible, continuous revelation and activity of Life. Thus the more we close our minds to thoughts of trouble, and open them to the perception of “Heaven at hand,” and “Christ in you,” the sooner are we lifted over the hard places of the problem into the bliss of Reality. Since we are in God’s perfect world and are entitled to joy, sweet companionship and all delights, let us understand such blessedness as our ever-available and eternal birthright, including dominion (through enlightenment) over all which would seem to contradict it. Teachers may come and go, theories rise and fall, but the great truth that Spirit is all, and that all is Spirit will be increasingly Understood, until the beliefs of “matter,” and of “mental cause and effect,” are forgotten, and the heavenly Kingdom of Mind and Spirit is felt to be ALL. 38
WHAT is “repentance” but the surrender of the personal ego, — personal will, responsibility, fear, pride, labour and strife? True humility is not weakness but is spiritual recognition of the Immortal, the Eternal, the Incorruptible in earth as in Heaven. Self-harmony is true humility. It is confidence, rest, quietness. Self-harmony does not reap its peace from the without but from the within. It is to be naturally honest, fearless, joyous, generous, considerate, loving and kind. Self-harmony is a calmness of thought and action based upon spiritual conviction that there is no one or no thing to come or go in the Substance which is forever complete, perfect, finished and at hand. “When this (im)mortal shall have put on, (accepted), immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” Why need one be continually adjusting, transposing and equipping his thoughts, body and affairs? Why should he not accept the finished Kingdom now, walk by still waters, and rest in green pastures? Moreover, how could one expect to experience habitual harmony of mind and body if he speaks one language and lives another? For these must be harmonized, must be brought into unity which is the only true atonement. To speak words of Truth, no matter how glowing, is not equivalent to a life of pure thinking and right acting. One may speak of Truth fluently and glowingly yet live as though unacquainted with it: but to LIVE Truth truly requires that complete surrender of the “personal” which automatically discloses the divine Nature, — infinite tenderness, thoughtfulness, goodness, love and mercy toward everything and everyone.
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How beautiful and satisfying is the charm and radiance of a life that is lived and expressed naturally! And this experience may be for each of us as we give up the responsibility of trying to do the work for ourselves, or for others, which is already perfect, and has been completely finished since the day “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Indeed, this glory should shine from us as naturally as fragrance exhales from the rose. It is sad that we have not always known this, but have so long believed that we should assume a personal responsibility for our virtues, or that we should study ourselves into the Kingdom of Heaven, devoting some of our time to spiritual things held distinct and separate from the pleasures and duties of daily home-and-family living. “Verily the time cometh, AND NOW IS, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.” We should express the real Self right in our daily living and not wait for certain times, places, persons or things. What freedom, what liberation, to see that our Being requires nothing from us except that it may be all! The enslavement of man, whether to appetites of the so-called material senses, or of the so-called higher sense, may be renounced as the maturing child relinquishes first his rattle and later on his electric train. Human responsibility has no place in the already finished creation of Being. The incessant and intense desires to get spiritual understanding is quite as intoxicating and enslaving as are the more fleshly appetites. Isaiah perceived: “They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.” Many have brought division into their homes, and sad experiences into their lives through harbouring this false responsibility. Here is the song of Moses: “My speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” Such is the natural loveliness of Being. 40
The divine life is expressed in home, person, thing, — all human existence, even as the Master said, — “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” The home of sweet companionships and unselfish delights, the circle of wise tenderness and holy loveliness is the tabernacle of God. It could not be otherwise. Let us rejoice to know that Heaven reveals Itself to us quite as much in the warmth and glow of happy family communion, in the touch of friendly hands, and in the pure pleasures of daily living, as in the solitude of the retreat, or the shrine. We need not divorce ourselves from the natural joy of living in order to have His name written in our foreheads. Intense thinking and studying, as well as laborious striving for spiritual understanding, are really unnecessary, pitifully unnecessary. Thousands of years ago Solomon wisely said: “Of making books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” As we stand STILL in Being we find peace; we find rest; we find health and happiness. These are ours wholly apart from anything we might think, or say, or do. We have only to lay claim to them. Every true thought, word and act expresses our divine Being. STANDING still” might be said to be the receiving of Spirit, because Spirit seems to come to us. Yet again, it might be said to be the welling up of the fountain of Spirit, because it is happening within oneSelf. Such experience is of course not distinct from oneself but in fact is one’s very Self. Standing still does not signify inactivity.
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It is difficult to explain in words how God may be seen in perpetual action and yet be known as stillness, for this understanding must be spiritually discerned. Intellect reads, studies, describes and explains; but Intelligence stands still in understanding, simply Being. Even in the midst of fear and trembling the loving receptive heart may find this resting place, knowing that God is always to be heard and felt, for God is EVER present. This Self-existent Life, this knowing one’s Self, does not imply inertia, but is Peace and Certainty in action. It is Fullness, Perfection, Blessedness at hand, Infallible Self-existent Life means, “I AM THAT I AM,” — “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” “Which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.”
WE see Jesus expressing his view of Perfection as STILLNESS, COMMAND, FAITH, and THE LAYING ON OF HANDS. St. Matthew reports: “And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And Jesus stood still and called unto them, and had compassion on them, and touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.” St. Luke reports: “Now when the sun was set, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And they were amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
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We also find Jesus tenderly wooing their FAITH in him, in God, and in themselves, — for he understood the oneness of Being. “And when he was come, into the house, the blind men came unto him, and he saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” And to the “woman which was a sinner,” he said: “Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Jesus sometimes expressed a REBUKE to the erring belief: “And he rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.”... “And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever. And he (Jesus) stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her; and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.” At one time Jesus WITHDREW himself bodily from those who sought to kill him: “And they took up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” It is clearly seen that whether Jesus rebuked, commanded, stood still, requested faith, or expressed any other ways of healing, nevertheless to the discerning eye it is all the SAME way. Jesus was the way unto himself. He was true to himself, — Self-knowing, Self-acting Being. What did it matter whether he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle and anointed the eyes of the blind, or whether he cried, Be open! or whether he stood still in the midst of them, or what the mode his inspiration took? He was the way, he was the Harmony, he was the understanding, he was the Kingdom in earth as in Heaven.
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Wholeness, Harmony, Peace and Perfection were brought to sight and sense not because of Jesus’ mode of speech, or his mode of action, but because he acted spontaneously and in harmony with Self-knowledge. He acted in illumination, and whatever he saith came to pass because of himself, — his pure, perfect Being. Jesus understood the Now, he knew heavenly wholeness, abundance, peace and joy to be within each and all alike. Jesus knew BEING to be true, perfect, whole always, and he accepted no lesser vision. Jesus LIVED and EXPRESSED the Truth and Perfection which was his very Being. And to us all he says: “At that day (of your illumination) ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you … I and my Father are one ... I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” We may repeat Jesus’ words and actions and still reap no “healing” results; but let us understand Jesus in Spirit and in Truth and we shall come face to face with wholeness, harmony and abundance. Healing is not a question of statements, of what to think, or how to do, but is a state of Being. Being is its own Way, and whatsoever Being includes will express Itself, and its finished perfection. Many of us have discovered that our words and acts of “healing” will not bear repetition. That is, we may think a certain way today, or speak certain words today, and lo, we experience the Answer. To-morrow we may wish to see harmony expressed in other situations and we use again the thoughts and words of yesterday only to find there is no response. Why is this? To show us that we should not depend upon ways, or methods, or thoughts, or actions, but know ourSelf to be perfect and eternal always.
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We always have ourSelf at hand, and our-Self INCLUDES right thinking, right knowing and right acting. Thoughts, words, books, teachers may all fail us, but as we know “I AM THE WAY” and just naturally express this Truth of Being, we lose sight of person, of thinking, of studying and learning, and come naturally into the understanding of harmonious Being which automatically expresses itself. Understanding and expression is one and the same. Spiritual consciousness is conscious only of Perfection.
PROBABLY we all labour with things and thoughts until we accept true Being and its expression to be one, and to be present at the very place where we stand: then “separation” is swallowed up in Unity; we see that there were never “two;” there has been, and is, ONE only “God, (the one only Being), is Light, and in Him (in Being) is no darkness at all.” In giving up the personal sense, in finding all to be each and each to be all, we do not lose ourselves, for we are the One and the One is us. It is not a question of getting, or of taking, but it is a state of being and expressing. We are told by Jesus that a house, (consciousness), divided against itself, (double-minded), cannot stand. We have all felt two-natured at times, as though we were living first with one side and then with the other, and these natures have seemed contradictory. However with divine Insight and Revelation “earth” is converted into Heaven, “Time” into Eternity, “place” into Infinity, and the “mortal” into Immortal Being. St. John writes: “The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”
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Too many times we hold fast to that which we should relinquish. When we are willing to say and to live “Thy will be done,” and just remain quiet and receptive, our own Being reveals to us the necessary understanding. Instead of “attaining perfection” or “stopping the action of the human mind,” we are to let the Spirit bear witness, — by the positive recognition and realization of eternal Perfection now, and of no reality but ever-present good. Job, in a moment of such illumination said: “I have heard of Thee with the hearing of mine ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee.” This “eye” sees only ineffable tenderness present everywhere, and an all-pervading Love, mindful of all. They who have been quickened by the Spirit realize that only from the “heart” or Soul, proceed the natural and involuntary warmth, tenderness and illumination, — the innocence and purity of Being — for without this quickening there seems labour, strife, and struggle. Yes, the daily experience is in Eternity. All our health, wealth, happiness and harmony abide, forever finished and perfect, in our Being, and can be brought right into our daily living. When we see that we are really living in the great Now, and in the present Eternity, then we are recognizing the reign of universal Harmony. The seamless Robe is this finished Perfection. This “robe of righteousness,” (which Isaiah mentions), typifies THE TRUTH OF BEING which Jesus presents as immaculate, perfect, one. The Truth of Being, — “I and my Father are one” — is not like putting a piece of new cloth to an old garment, for it transcends “healing” by lifting the consciousness into a fuller comprehension of the oneness and allness of perfect Life and its expression. The Truth of Being is divine Nature, — a completely perfect Whole without spot of blemish. The seamless coat which Jesus wore typifies his understanding and teaching to be whole, perfect, and indivisible, — “Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.”
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In divine Nature every thing is known as it is; that is, — harmonious, complete, perfect and good. To see this, even in a degree, helps one to experience natural Being, for no separation of life, or love, has ever taken place in Spirit; no cessation of peace, harmony or happiness could ever come to pass in the one universal Presence. Being is perpetually expressing its own glorious quality from its own glorious Nature. Being is “the seed within itself,” — the ever-flowing Fountain of eternal Life, Truth and Love. It is neither Lo here! or, lo there! but is the Kingdom of Heaven within us. When one realizes this Kingdom, he understands that Self-revelation is natural and is “the bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.” For him the eternal Promise is fulfilled, — “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”
INDEED it is wonderful and glorious to study the life of Jesus and also to read such books as are helpful and enlightening to us in our daily experience, but nothing can supplant the eternal fact that “I AM THE WAY.” Each individual discovers for himself that whatever Truth he has found in books he finds in his own Being. Truth eternally embodies Itself in individual thinking, knowing, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling and acting, for Truth is individually all and universally one. Truth is final in the sense that it is all, but how could the final word of Truth ever be spoken when Truth is infinite and is forever Self-revealing? This does not mean that we should discontinue reading the printed page, but that we read with newness and freshness of vision, — for joy and delight in greeting that which already we have discovered for ourselves, and in our own Being. 47
When we vision Jesus’ life on earth bow incomparable, exalted and consistent it was! And he said, “My peace I give unto you.” How can this peace of Life, Truth and Love, be given unto us? It cannot, unless we desire, recognize and willingly accept it. The Christ transcends the laws applying to “fallen” man, and presents Man as immaculate Innocence, spotless Purity, and natural Good without addition or subtraction of thing or thought. The Christ says, “The Kingdom of God is within you … Thou art whole ... Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” How many of us are accepting the presence of Jesus Christ only in our midst? “And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no man, save Jesus only.” The Christ transcends the shalt not’s of Moses, and the shalt be’s of Isaiah and speaks to us of Reality in the PRESENT tense, — of Immortality, Purity, Goodness here and now. Such at-one-ment is pristine glory, — “I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be perfect in one.” Spiritual at-one-ment means nothing less than God and man as one Being, one Nature, one Life, one Truth, one Love, one Expression. Jesus Christ is the immaculate conception of Reality, Self-knowledge, — “I am the Way, the Light, the Resurrection.” Truth can express only Truth. There is no difference between Truth and its expression. They are one. The idea, or expression, of Truth is Truth. Expression does not mean a lifeless activity, but means God-Life in action, — as loving, living, seeing, hearing, knowing, feeling. Expression means Spirit, Life, a tangible, visible, active Reality and Presence.
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“God is not man that he should lie,” — that His expression should be other than Perfection. Here again we merge in consciousness symbols with Reality, — eating, drinking, acting, resting in earth with eating, drinking, acting, resting in Heaven. We see one true Being always and only, inclusive of true experience. Here is the inspired Word: “Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God. And Jesus said unto them, and I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. “This is the way, walk ye in it. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk ‘and not faint. And My people shall dwell in peaceable habitations, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Ho, everyone! Life is individually all and universally one. The one God, the one Being, imparts perfection, and in this God-Being the entire universe is permanent, harmonious and eternal. “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Behold, there is no labour, neither adjusting nor changing in Perfection, for God — Perfection — is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
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Let us have faith in God, faith in Perfection, faith in the permanent, never-changing Truth of our Being. Let us also have faith in the Fact that Being includes action, includes expression. Truly Life and its expression is ONE, — indivisible and inseparable. How could perfect Life express imperfect action? It could not and does not. We cannot be content with just right statements of Truth, nor even with right vision. Nothing but the EXPERIENCE of Perfection will completely satisfy us.
HOW beautifully Jesus speaks of the experience of peace when he says: “They shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God.” Individually we come. For where else is our happiness found except in the Kingdom of God within us, — in our consciousness of Reality as present, complete, all-inclusive here and now? This is where we can be sure of finding peace, rest, and all-sufficiency; for when we look outside — to any person, place or thing, what awaits us but pain and disappointment? Lo, all that we desire, — joy, happiness, companionship, wealth and all good, we find as we “sit down,” or willingly accept, the all-supplying, Self-existent Being. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” it is commanded. Who is this “Me” if not the one perfect Being? Thou shalt not place thy happiness in the power of any person, place or thing, but in Me, Spirit. I am all. I include all. This Me is the I AM of every individual. This command does not mean that we shall separate ourselves from persons or things but that we shall have the correct view of them. As we have this correct view, that is, as we see all within the One and the One in all, we find that we have never been separated from Good. God, Good, and its expression is one.
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FROM the great Within, the Kingdom of all-Good, we pour out, or express, love which is more than emotion or sentiment: it is that “Charity,” which Paul says is a living experience, without which, we are “as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” This loving is an expression of our true Nature, an outpouring of the qualities of our real Being, such as: kindness, gentleness, consideration, patience, understanding, thoughtfulness, graciousness, affection, faithfulness and truth. Our expressions and actions should be one with our vision and profession. Think how gentle and understanding were Jesus’ actions, and how loving and tender were his words as he imparted Knowledge to his listeners. “And they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.” At that moment when we discover Reality within us we have no longer any consciousness of “two.” To us there is now but one, and this, — Being, Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence! Such consciousness is incomparable, marvellous. To anyone who feels that he has not yet reached this state of consciousness, yet desires it, — he may press on. It is natural to express your Being, is it not? Always, the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. To anyone who feels he has had some experience of Perfection, yet somehow it has ceased to be, or has become only a memory, — we say, Look up! Turn more completely from appearances to Reality, and “sit down in the Kingdom of God.” Be ever of good cheer. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Now is the day to find access to the Real, — the true and the changeless harmonies of our Being. As we reach peace and stillness within, this Reality becomes accessible. Then we see and know the true Self and manifest the true Nature, having the perfect experience of Heaven.
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GOD has prepared for us a “Table”, laden with genuine Substance, even in the “wilderness,” or seeming dark places; for every spot is the same holy ground, — the same place of completeness in Infinite Wisdom and Love. So that we can all say when confronted by a “wilderness,” Now is the time, Here is the place, and I am the one to know that Perfection, Peace, Health and Harmony are always omnipresent, always in earth as in Heaven. Jesus was in himself the great “reconciliation” between Eternity and time, Heaven and earth, spiritual Reality and person, place or thing. He said plainly, “The works that I do, (through the consciousness that I am) shall ye do, also, (for we are all the same Being).” “Behold,” says this Truth, “I make all things new.” We begin to view all persons, places, things, in a new light. We begin to see them in the natural, right way. No one, nor any thing, really needs to be changed. Nothing is new to Spirit, but new only to the ascending consciousness. “He hath sent His angel, and shut the lions’ mouths,” was Daniel’s vision. Looking out, it may appear that the lions’ mouths are open all about us, that is, conditions which seem frightening and bewildering may appear before us, but Lo, an angel, — a pure thought, or idea, straight from our own Being — “shuts the lions’ mouths.” As we turn to the Self, sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven and eat from the table of everlasting Substance, we find all fears dispelled, for the darkness has become light before us.
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On his lonely journey, his head pillowed on a stone, Jacob was brought to recognize the oneness of Heaven and earth. “He dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. The “ladder” bridges the imaginary distance between Heaven and earth, and they are discovered to be one and the same. The narrative mentions first the angels ascending on this “ladder.” As this spiritual concept of oneness, symbolized by the “ladder,” is formed in Consciousness these spiritual thoughts and feelings of our true Being ascend, or are expressed from us, to bless the world about us. These lovely, tender and true thoughts ascend and descend in the boundless, immeasurable nature of Self-existent Being.
TODAY we see the vast throngs of humanity rushing hither and yon in search of ‘that which will supply their insatiable hunger for peace, rest and satisfaction. They indulge in all sorts of diversions and escapes through the pleasures of sense, travel and occupations of mind and body, but the hunger persists. There are others who bring their cravings to the various schools of thought, to the churches and seminaries, but, alas, they do not find their hunger thus appeased for it is still present with ‘them; their desires are even more persistent. They should be still and look within. “The hour cometh and now is” when we find the Kingdom of heavenly joy and peace, and we find it where the master said — “within you.” “This is that bread which came down from Heaven: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.” This luminous Understanding and its consequent experience quenches all restless desire. We no longer hunger and thirst for person, place or thing, for we have all in pristine glory within us. 53
Our identity in the one Being is our Kingdom of Glory. This identity is the object of our search, — is our Way, our Truth and our Life; our Resurrection and the Light of our world. Many who are praying, seeking and striving for light and understanding would find their earth converted into Heaven if they would but cease for a while from their restless effort, and have the courage and conviction to stand still in what they claim to know is the Truth. “Be still, and know that I am God.” “Ye are all children of light and the children of the day. We are not the children of the night, nor of darkness.” Jesus gives us the perfect vision, as St. Luke reports: “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Let us pause and see clearly that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a question of time or labour; of learning or practicing. LET US SEE THAT HEAVEN IS ONE PERFECTION, ONE WHOLE, ONE Now, ONE GOD, ONE EXPERIENCE. Listen more closely now to Jesus’ parable of Heaven and ‘the labourers in the vineyard: “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. He saith unto them, Go ye into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
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And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. So the last shall be first, and the first last.”
SHOULD we each assume the responsibility of overcoming the universal belief in evil? it is asked. The answer is: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents.” “Besides Me there is none else.” It really is not a question of overcoming evil, as it would seem, but rather of understanding perfect Being and what it includes. “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” “I will make darkness light before them and crooked things straight. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned: Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Yea, before the day was, I am He; And there is none that can deliver out of My hand.” Are we afraid to accept God as all, — all? Are we afraid to renounce the age-long belief in redemption, restitution, mental responsibility, labour and overcoming? Are we afraid to accept man in the very likeness of God, verily Life, Truth and Love here and now? Are we afraid to ignore a world of personality, time, place, sin, sorrow, limitation, and death, and turn our attention wholly to understanding Jesus’ assertion that God’s universal Heaven is at hand today? “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit time Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” This invitation is forever active, forever operative, forever standing one with our Being.
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DO we speak words of Truth with a motive and for a purpose? Or, do we accept the divine invitation and think and speak the good and the true as freely and naturally as a bird sings, or a flower blooms? Why should we need to consider our thinking any more than we do our walking, or breathing? It is Life, or Mind, which moves, sees and hears, likewise it is Life, or Mind, which thinks, or is conscious of Being. Such thinking is not primarily a mental process, as it would seem, but is a natural function of Mind, a natural knowing. Therefore, we can be assured of a natural thinking, — a thinking which causes us no concern at all. To be continually directing one’s thoughts is unnecessary. Thoughts will be harmonious without effort as one leaves them quite alone, and inundates himself in the all-pervading element of his true Being. It is like swimming in salt water. One is invigorated and refreshed without taking any thought of it whatsoever. It is natural. So as we abide in our God-convictions, resting quietly in the knowledge of eternal Oneness and Perfection Here and Now, we are well, we are strong and happy naturally, with no need of any change in our state, in our Self-existent, Self-sustained Being. “And he saith unto me Write; for these words are true and faithful: Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, And He will dwell with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, Neither shall there be any more pain; For the former things are passed away.”
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“THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” “The Lord on High is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” The positive and active sense of Being dissipates dis-order and dis-ease. As thought is aflame with this true KNOWING and FEELING — the male and female qualities of Being — one expresses power and dominion naturally. To be imbued with the perfect sense of Truth and Love dispels all fear. “I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” “The tree of Life” ever blossoms into “life more abundantly;” and “the leaves of the tree, (the spiritual revelations of Being), were for the healing of the nations.” By virtue of the Fact that God, Good, is ALL, we understand discordant sense and condition to be nothing, or unreal. God being INFINITE and UNIVERSAL there is no room for finity, impermanence or imperfection. So, to let go thoughts which are disturbing our peace and harmony of Mind is to transcend the discordant sense and feeling.
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“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today.” Look through and beyond circumstances and conditions. Spiritually discern that universal good is already manifested in the sight of God. Understand that “None of these (seeming) things move Me.” Illumined understanding furnishes the key to the Kingdom. Ask yourself: “How am I using this key to contact the treasures within? How am I utilizing the supreme knowledge that all is Consciousness and that I, Mind, cannot be separated from My ideas and their corresponding identities?” Recognize Self as the first and the last always. Let heart be aflame with inspiration, love, light. Let action express conviction, poise, faith. Look deeply to see if you are accepting the true Self as the only Me. Ever calls the God-Self, — Behold Me, Behold Me. In First Samuel, eighth chapter, seventh verse, we read these astounding words: “And the Lord said unto Samuel: Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Such language is plain enough for us all to comprehend, and surely we must admit that if we are remembering separations, discords and sufferings, we are dealing with persons, times and conditions as outside the Self, and are therefore rejecting Me, — the I AM. But it is never too late! To paraphrase Whittier’s words, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest of these: It might have been!” Let us say, “For of all glad words of tongue or pen, The gladdest of these: It never has been!” Separation, affliction, limitation never have been! Evil of any kind never has been and never shall be in My Kingdom, for in Me is perpetual Harmony and the experience of changeless love, understanding, and glory. Concern yourselves therefore wholly with Me; with My ideas; and with My universe. 58
Listen again to the word as written by St. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians, fourth chapter, eighth verse: “He therefore that rejecteth, rejecteth not man, but God.” If anyone sees man or world as imperfect he is not rejecting man or world but GOD. If anyone accepts sin, sickness or death as realities, he is not rejecting man, but JESUS CHRIST, — the Saviour of the world, the perfect expression of Me. Do not separate, but behold and accept Father and Son, God and man, Heaven and earth one — ONE AND THE SAME. Learn of Me and ye shall find rest unto your souls. The real splendour of My Glory is in My true and natural state of Being. Therefore cease pondering over any one or any thing. Universal Harmony is found in Me, — in Life ever-lasting, in Love ever-expressing, in Understanding ever-knowing Reality and Perfection to be infinite and omnipresent. Whosoever or whatsoever contacts Me automatically partakes of good, of health, of joy, peace, inspiration and understanding, for these are included in Me and are the natural qualities of My Being. Therefore do not enthrone person but Principle as the only Power in Heaven and in earth. Hold vision steadfastly to the illumined Word: “Fear God, and give glory to Him. Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not? I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God. Without Me ye can do nothing. He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
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How can we practice Truth except to believe Truth, live Truth, be Truth? Therefore, Be perfect. Be healed of being “you” and be Me! Look to Principle instead of person; look for quality of the Word instead of quantity. And above all, let us all feel that Jesus’ precious Message — THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WITHIN YOU — is the most marvellous and glorious word we have ever known. With sweet innocence of Mind let us bask in confidence and assurance that God hath commandeth our light to shine, and therefore nothing can stop its action in the free, almighty Now. “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory, majesty and power, Both now and ever. Amen.” “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Rest and Peace are one with Understanding. Be assured that “all is well,” — perfect unchangeable Good. Perfection cannot be altered. Perfection takes no concern as to our thought, uses no prayer and no treatment for our well-being, but simply is. Resting and abiding in God, — the perfection and permanence of Strength, Well-Being and Harmony — we experience the eternal Now, the prepared Sabbath day of rest, — a present possibility here on earth. “And my people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,” saith the Lord. This quietness and peace is the “ladder,” or understanding, unifying Heaven and earth. Here angels ascend and descend upon us, expressing assurance and certainty, serenity, confidence and calm. It is this state of Being which St. John viewed as “a new heaven and a new earth,” — our divine Nature, our seamless Robe. 60
In this eternal Now and Here, naught can disturb. This is the “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” We are now living in this “city” in which there is no separation from Good, no departure from Reality, no interval, no contingency, no lapse from the eternal Sabbath-day of rest. Right in our daily living and its affairs we experience this one eternal Reality, this one Now and Here. We willingly let every day be a Sabbath-day of Peace and Certainty to us. SAID Christ Jesus, “It is I; be not afraid.” The “I” of every individual is Truth. This “I” ascends unto the Father, for it ‘is already one with the Father. Being and its infinite individuality is one. The “I” is the Father-Life and Mother-Love, expressing conscious understanding and loving tenderness, always and ever, throughout Eternity, — the one God whom to know aright is life eternal. After we have studied as faithfully as we know how, and have thought as deeply as we can penetrate, we may stand still with the one word “God.” It is God that is our Life and our living, our Mind and our knowing, our Power and our expressing. God is always perfect, always complete, always ready, always active, always here, always now. God is one, is all, is in Heaven, is in earth. God fills all space, is the Father, is the Son, is the Holy Ghost. God smiles in the flower, shines in the star, paints the sky blue and the verdure green. God is the seamless Robe, the Kingdom at hand, the Christ within. God whispers in every living heart, Be still. Be strong. Peace. I AM.
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God is our UNDERSTANDING: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go.” God is our PERFECTION: “The Kingdom of God is within you.” God is our WEALTH: “I will cause those that love (understand) me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” God is our HEALTH “I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” God is our SUFFICIENCY: “They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” God is our very BEING: “I and my Father are one. In God we live, and move and have our being.” “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” “And there shall be one fold and one Shepherd. All shall know Me from the least to the greatest. Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. Be ye glad and rejoice forever.”
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There is but one MIND. This Mind is God Almighty. This Mind does not and cannot think evil, lack, imperfection, disease or limitation. This Mind thinks and knows WHOLENESS, HARMONY, PERFECTION, PEACE, JOY always and continually. This Mind never varies, never slumbers, never fears. This Mind is unchangeable, — the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. There is but one LIFE. This Life is always living, always acting, always expressing Itself more abundantly. Nothing can stop or change Life; nothing can interfere or interrupt its all-harmonious action. Life cannot die, become dormant, sick or impaired. Life is God Almighty, the same yesterday and today, and for ever. There is no other Life but this Life, — PERFECT, FREE, CHANGELESS GOD-LIFE, HERE AND NOW. There is but one LOVE. This Love is always ALIVE, always ACTIVE, always the SAME, — constant, changeless, tender, indestructible. This Love is God Almighty, and there is no other Love at all. There is but one MANIFESTATION. This is the manifestation of God, or God in action. What is there to be manifested but God since God is ALL? Can there be more than ALL? Can anything but the one Mind, the one Life, the one Love be expressed in the heavenly Kingdom at hand? Here, everything that is manifested is good, is pure, is perfect, is lovely, for, “Besides Me there is none else.” All manifestation therefore is of the ONE Mind, the ONE Life, the ONE Love, and there is no other manifestation at all.
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There is but the one BEING, and this one Being includes its manifestation. There is none to see, or hear, or speak, or move, or be, but this one God-Being. “BESIDES ME THERE IS NONE ELSE.” Truly, there is none to feel imperfection, or see it, or hear it, or think it, or believe it, or fear it, for the One is all and all is the One. This one Being knows Perfection always. There is always faith, understanding, perception and activity in this one Mind-Life-Love-Being. There is none to think evil or to believe in lack or loss, for every one is seeing and thinking and feeling Perfection inasmuch as God is all-inclusive. God is universally one and individually all. God thinks no evil, feels no evil, hears no evil, fears no evil. “Besides Me there is none else!” God knows only God! “And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” When, if not now? Let us cease to view this blessedness as a future state and let us perceive that Now is Truth’s eternal Day, — Now is the instant for us to stand on the mount of transfiguration and let “the former things” pass away. “Come up hither,” ever calls our true Being. This fuller insight into Reality does not imply that we cease to help one another, but on the contrary we are better able to help ourselves and others. Freedom from labour to become holy, (whole), is yours and mine. As we accept Wholeness for ourselves, and likewise for others, and rest in the everlasting Arms, — the ever-present Realm of finished Perfection — we find peace. “Brethren, Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”
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This is the natural goodness, the natural experience of Perfection which is not to be had either through a putting-on or a putting-off process of thought or action, but is Purity and Innocence, — one’s real Nature; one’s seamless Robe.
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