Lesson 1
THE TRUE CHARACTER OF BEING
Charles Fillmore
Christian Healing
1. "There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty giveth them
understanding." The science that is here set forth is founded upon Spirit. It
does not always conform to intellectual standards, but it is, nevertheless,
scientific. The facts of Spirit are of a spiritual character and, when
understood in their right relation, they are orderly. Orderliness is law, and is
the test of true science.
2. The lawful truths of Spirit are more scientific than the constantly
shifting opinions based on intellectual standards. The only real science is the
science of Spirit. It never changes. It is universally accepted by all who are
in Spirit, but one must be "in the Spirit" before one can understand this
science of Spirit. The mind of Spirit must become active in those who would
grasp the orderly science of Being that these lessons proclaim.
3. It is not absolutely necessary that the spiritual part of man's nature be
active at the beginning of his study of this science. The primal object of the
lessons is to quicken the spiritual realm of consciousness and to bring about
the "breath of the Almighty" that gives understanding.
4. So let it be understood that we are teaching the science of Spirit, and
that those who are receptive to the teaching will be inspired to spiritual
consciousness. It is not difficult to accomplish, this receiving the "breath" or
inspiration of Spirit. We all are inspired by Spirit, in certain states of
consciousness. Understanding of the laws governing the realm of Spirit will make
it possible to attain this consciousness and to receive this inspiration
whenever requirements are met.
5. The starting point in spiritual realization is a right understanding of
that One designated as the Almighty. It is strictly logical and scientific to
assume that man comes forth from this One, who is named variously, but who, all
agree, is the origin of everything. Since man is the offspring of the Almighty,
he must have the character of his Parent. If the earthly child resembles his
parents, how much more should the heavenly child resemble his Parent. The truth
that God is the Father of man does away with the oft proclaimed presumption that
it is impossible for the finite to understand the Infinite. God must be in His
universe as everywhere intelligent power; otherwise, it would fall to pieces.
God is in the universe as its constant "breath" or inspiration; hence it is only
necessary to find the point of contact in order to understand the One in whom we
all "live, and move, and have our being."
6. A sense of logic is a fundamental constituent of man's being, and all
minds acquiesce in statements of logical sequence. We all see the relation and
unity of cause and effect, mentally stated, but, because the realm of forms does
not always carry out our premise, we fall away from the true standard and try to
convince ourselves that our logic is, somehow, defective. The one important
thing that the student of spiritual science must learn is to trust the logic of
mind. If appearances are out of harmony with your mental premise, do not let
them unseat your logic. "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous
judgment." You would not take the mixed figures of a child working a problem in
mathematics as an example of the trueness of the principle; nor could you detect
an error in the problem unless you were somewhat familiar with the rules of
mathematics. Mental propositions are the standards and governing principles in
all sciences developed by man. In the science of creation the same rule holds
good. You may rest in the assurance that the principles that you mentally
perceive as true of God are inviolate, and that, if there seems to be error in
their outworking, it is because of some misapplication on the part of the
demonstrator. By holding to the principle and insisting upon its accuracy, you
open the way to a fuller understanding of it; you will also be shown the cause
of the errors in the demonstration.
7. Then, if you have been in confusion mentally through contemplation of a
world both good and evil, and have, in consequence, got into skeptical ways, the
only true remedy is to stand by the pure reason of your spiritual perception and
let it clear up the proposition for you. Dismiss all prejudices based upon the
mixed perception; make your mind receptive to the clearer understanding that
will surely appear when you have taken sides with Spirit, when you look to
Spirit alone for the outworking of the problem.
8. This is not blind belief; it is, in the superconsciousness, an
acquiescence in the logic of Being. The superconsciousness is man's only sure
guide in the mazes of the creative process. By trusting to the infallibility of
this guide, man opens himself to the inspiration of the Almighty. Spirituality
may be cultivated by, and the deep things of God may be revealed to, anyone who
will mentally proclaim and affirm the logical perception of the goodness and the
Truth of Being.
9. The central proposition in the inspiration of Spirit is that God, or
primal Cause, is good. It does not make any great difference what you name this
primal Cause; the important consideration is a right concept of its character.
The Hindu calls it Brahma, a being of such stupendous proportions that man
shrinks into nothingness in contemplating it. Although this greatness of
absolute Being is true, there is also another point of view--the smallness of
that same Being as evidenced in the presence of its life in the most
insignificant creations. So, in order to get at the very heart of Being, it is
necessary to realize that it is manifesting in the least as well as in the
greatest, and that, in the bringing forth of a universe, not one idea could be
taken away without unbalancing the whole. This brings us to a fuller realization
of our importance in the universe and to the necessity of finding our right
place. It also puts us into very close touch with the Father of all, the one
omnipresent Intelligence pervading everything.
10. The Father within you, so lovingly and familiarly revealed by Jesus, is
not a distance, far away in a place called "heaven." His abode is in the
spiritual realms that underlie all creative forces. As Jesus realized and
taught, "the kingdom of God is within you." Spirit is the seat of power; its
abode is on the invisible side of man's nature.
11. This revelation of God immanent in the universe was clearly set forth by
Paul: "over all, and through all, and in all." The inspired ministers of all
times have proclaimed the same.
12. The Power that creates and sustains the universe includes in its activity
the creating and the sustaining of man. The desire for a fuller understanding of
this Power has awakened a great inquiry into the character of the all-pervading
One. On every hand men are earnestly seeking to know about God, seeking to come
into harmonious relation with Him. Some are succeeding, while others seem to
make but little progress. The diversity of results obtained is caused by the
variety of ways of approaching the one Mind--for such God is. In mind is the key
to the whole situation, and when man clearly discerns the science of mind, he
will solve easily all the mysteries of creation.
13. The dictionary definitions of mind and spirit are nearly identical; with
this analogy realized, we much more easily get in touch with God. If spirit and
mind are synonymous, we readily perceive that there is no great mystery about
spiritual things, that they are not far removed from our daily thoughts and
experiences. "Ye are a temple of God, and . . . the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you," simply means that God dwells in us as our mind dwells in our body. Thus we
see that God creates and moves creation through the power of mind. The vehicles
of mind are thoughts, and it is through our mind in thought action that we shall
find God and do His will.
14. There are mental laws that investigators are discovering, observing, and
tabulating as never before in the world's history. Man has the ability to
discern and understand the various factors entering into the creative processes
of mind, and he is, through the study of mental laws, perceiving and accepting
the science of ideas, thoughts, and words. But those who investigate nature and
her laws from the intellectual and physical viewpoint fall short of complete
understanding, because they fail to trace back to the causing Mind the
multitudinous symbols that make up the visible universe. The material forms that
we see about us are the chalk marks of a mighty problem being outworked by the
one Mind. To comprehend that problem and to catch a slight glimpse of its
meaning, we must grasp the ideas that the chalk marks represent; this is what we
mean by studying Mind back of nature. Man is mind and he is capable of
comprehending the plan and the detailed ideas of the supreme Mind.
15. Divine ideas are man's inheritance; they are pregnant with all
possibility, because ideas are the foundation and cause of all that man desires.
With this understanding as a foundation, we easily perceive how "all . . . mine
are thine." All the ideas contained in the one Father-Mind are at the mental
command of its offspring. Get behind a thing into the mental realm where it
exists as an inexhaustible idea, and you can draw upon it perpetually and never
deplete the source.
16. With this understanding of the potentiality of primal Cause, we find it a
simple matter to work the problem of life--the key to the situation being ideas.
Thus life in expression is activity; in Being it is an idea of activity. To make
life appear on the visible plane, we have but to open our mind and our thoughts
to the divine idea of life and activity, and lo, all visibility is obedient to
us. It is through this understanding, and its cultivation in various degrees,
that men have acquired the ability to raise dead bodies. Jesus understood this
realm of supreme ideas, or, as He termed it, "the kingdom of God . . . within
you." When He raised Lazarus He invoked this power. When Martha talked about a
future resurrection, He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live." One who identifies his whole
mind with omnipresent Mind becomes so much at one with it that he can overcome
death.
17. The real of the universe is held in the mind of Being as ideas of life,
love, substance, intelligence, Truth, and so forth. These ideas may be combined
in a multitude of ways, producing infinite variety in the realm of forms. There
is a right combination, which constitutes the divine order, the kingdom of
heaven on earth. This right relation of ideas and the science of right thought
is practical Christianity.
18. The student in the science of Being should start all his investigations
and mental activities from the one-Mind foundation. If you are skeptical about
the existence of God, or if you are an abstract believer in God without having
had any experience or conscious mental awakening that has given you proof, you
should be very industrious in prayer, affirmation, and invocation. Remember, God
is not a king who can force his presence upon you whether you will or not, but
an omnipresent Mind enfolding and interpenetrating all things.
19. There are goodness everlasting and joy beyond expression in a perfect
union between your mind and this perfect Mind. The point of contact is a
willingness and a seeking on your part. "Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you."
20. This question naturally presents itself: If we are offspring of Divine
Mind, why are we not naturally conscious of its presence? The answer to this is:
In using the privilege of our inheritance--the power to make ideas visible as
things--we have created a realm that separates us in consciousness from the
Father-Mind. This is the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son.
When we are weary of the sense consciousness, we have only to turn our face
(intelligence) toward our Father's house; there we shall meet a loving welcome.
21. The understanding that God is not in a distant heaven, nor located in any
way geographically, gives us a feeling of nearness to and unity with the parent
Mind. This intercommunion of the man consciousness with the omnipresent
spiritual force of the universe was beautifully exemplified by Jesus. God was
closer to Him than hands or feet. He referred all things to this loving Father,
who was in constant communion and cooperation with the Son; yet there was, even
in His case, the independent personal consciousness that beset Him when He
sought to be free from mortal limitations. So we should not be discouraged or
cast down if we do not quickly find the kingdom of God within us. Jesus spent
whole nights in prayer; we should not be weary with a few moments each day. A
daily half hour of meditation will open up the mind to a consciousness of the
inner One and will reveal many things that are hidden from the natural man.
22. The fact is, Truth cannot be imparted--it must be individually
experienced. The presence of Divine Mind in the soul cannot be told in words; it
can be hinted at and referred to in parable and likened to this or to that, but
it can never be described as it is. The ability of the individual mind to
combine the ideas of Divine Mind in a consciousness of its own makes each of us
the "only begotten Son," a particular and special creation. No two individuals
in all the universe are exactly alike, because there is always diversity in the
ideas appropriated by each individual from Divine Mind.
23. The truth is, then: That God is Principle, Law, Being, Mind, Spirit,
All-Good, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, unchangeable, Creator, Father,
Cause, and source of all that is;
That God is individually formed in consciousness in each of us, and is known
to us as "Father" when we recognize Him within us as our Creator, as our mind,
as our life, as our very being;
That mind has ideas and that ideas have expression; that all manifestation in
our world is the result of the ideas that we are holding in mind and are
expressing;
That to bring forth or to manifest the harmony of Divine Mind, or the
"kingdom of heaven," all our ideas must be one with divine ideas, and must be
expressed in the divine order of Divine Mind.
Lesson One
Statements For The Realization Of Divine
Mind
(To be used in connection with Lesson One)
1. There is one Presence, one Intelligence, one Substance, one Life: the good
omnipotent.
2. God is the name of the everywhere-present Principle, in whom I live, move,
and have my being.
3. God is the name of my good.
4. God almighty, "Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in
all."
5. Thy name is Spirit. I know Thee as the one, the all-seeing, Mind.
6. "Our Father who art in heaven [the everywhere-present inner harmony],
Hallowed be thy name [wholeness manifests Thy character]."
7. Thou art always with me as indwelling wisdom and love.
8. Thy law is now the standard of my life, and I am at peace.
9. "I in thee . . . and thou in me."
10. Thou art never absent from me--I now see Thee face to face.
11. I think Thy thoughts after Thee.
12. I dwell in Thee and share Thine omnipotence.
13. In Thee is my perfection.
