Chapter 10
THE
AFFIRMATIVE WORD
Charles Fillmore
Keep a
True Lent
CHRISTIAN metaphysicians
have discovered that man can greatly
accelerate the formation of the Christ
Mind in himself by using affirmations
that identify him with the Christ.
These affirmations often are so far
beyond the present attainment of the
novice as to seem ridiculous, but when
it is understood that the statements
are grouped about an ideal to be
attained, they seem fair and
reasonable.
When one understands the
power of words spoken in spiritual
consciousness the results are in
fulfillment of divine law.
The affirmation of any
good statement of Truth puts us in
conscious contact with the Christ Mind
and quickens and releases the light and
energy stored up in the subconscious
mind; then the process of redemption
begins.
Should we pray in words
that imply faith in a sure answer to
our prayer, or should we ask meekly,
leaving the answer to the will of God?
This proposition confronts most of us
at various times. Our mind wavers
between the two attitudes, and the
answer is always weakened by the
wavering whether we realize it or
not.
Whichever way we decide
to pray, we quote Scripture to fortify
our position and usually find enough to
satisfy us that we are right. The
majority of the prayers of Jesus are
affirmations, according to English
translations, which are not always in
harmony with the original text. For
example, the great Lord's Prayer, which
we so universally use, in the original
is a series of affirmations. The
translators had no conception of the
majesty of the Son of God, and they
twisted His prayers of decrees into a
supplication for help. When we realize
that we are the outlet of a mind that
seeks an adequate expression, we shall
cease our begging prayers and elevate
our thoughts and words to the high
standard set by the Master.
God created man to
express Him in the manifest world, and
we fall short in our mission when we
fail to measure up to our divine
authority. Jesus, the Son, affirmed,
"All authority hath been given unto me
in heaven and on earth." When He prayed
things happened, and He expected His
followers to do likewise. We are asked
why our prayers do not always bring
things to pass, as His did. The usual
answer is that we have not developed
faith or assurance equal to that of
Jesus. But how shall we go about
developing this Christ faith? We have
asked for the faith of Jesus and even
declared it in His name, yet it does
not abide with us continually.
Why?
The answer is that we
have not realized and appropriated our
princely heritage. We have not trained
our mind away from the negative race
beliefs but have allowed it to fall
into the popular channels of thought,
thereby attaching ourselves even more
firmly to human impotency. Here is a
point of which every Christ initiate
should be made aware, namely that the
Christ baptism gives us a very decided
mind expansion and infuses into our
thoughts and words a power that we did
not before possess: "His word was with
authority."
Jesus taught His
followers to assert the affirmative in
thought and word. We do not know the
exact words He used in His statements,
but judging by the English into which
they have been translated from the
Greek, Jesus was very positive in His
assertion of the power of spiritual
man, and especially of those who follow
His teaching. He taught and
demonstrated that the word can be used
to build or to destroy. The destructive
power was illustrated in the fruitless
fig tree. It was in this connection
that He laid down the laws through
which we can bring forth whatever we
desire. What could be stronger in this
respect than the following statement?
"All things whatsoever ye pray and ask
for, believe that ye receive them, and
ye shall have them."
The universal life
current is subject to the word of man.
This current flows into and through
man's body from above as Spirit through
the sympathetic nerves and from below
through the motor nerves as life
energy. In Genesis the flow of this
current is symbolically described as
"the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil" and "the tree of
life."
Jesus said, "Ye are from
beneath; I am from above." In our
present race consciousness we affirm
and identify ourselves with the
objective consciousness or tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. By
acquiring the ability consciously to go
within and affirm our unity and power
in Spirit we can gain control of the
tree of life current and live forever.
Certain occult schools teach the power
of the will to lay hold of the tree of
life current and increase its flow to
hundreds of years. But if the objective
consciousness is not redeemed from its
thoughts of evil, no permanent good
will be attained. Adam was put out of
the Garden of Eden because of the
possibility that he might eat of the
tree of life and live forever in his
ignorance and sin. The regeneration
taught by Jesus and carried out in each
soul by the Spirit of truth is the only
safe and sure way to eternal
life.
The greatest need of the
human family is thought control. Here
is a great truth. However, thought
control is weak if the mastery of the
two currents that animate the body is
ignored. Jesus' words were filled with
power because He had mastery of the
lower life current through His
realization of the Spirit from above.
He said, "The words that I have spoken
unto you are spirit, and are life." He
gripped the current from above and
united it with the one from below,
producing a supermind voltage. The most
potent point of contact of these two
currents in the body is in the larynx,
the music box of the mind. The voice
can be made strong and vibrant by one's
centering the attention at the nerve
complex in the larynx and affirming,
"All power is given unto me! All power
is given unto me!" This not only gives
power to the voice but also changes the
negative waters of life into positive
elements of energy. This process was
illustrated when Jesus turned the water
into wine at Cana in Galilee. This
early miracle in His experience took
place in His body, forming part of the
regeneration. The name Cana means
"place of reeds" and Galilee means
"rolling energy" or momentum,
indicating what takes place in the
larynx when words are spoken. When the
words are spoken with spirit, not only
conditions without are changed but the
watery cells of the body are
transformed from sluggish action to
"wine" or a state of high positive
activity. If thoughts of a destructive
character dominate, the body suffers
and eventually disintegrates. Thus we
are judged by our words.
We who have studied the
mind know from our experience that the
ills of humanity all have their root in
thought and the failure of man to
express his thoughts in harmony with
Principle.
Thought control is
imperative, and there is urgent need of
teachers on both the mental and
spiritual plane of consciousness if the
race is to go forward in development.
To this end there needs to be more
co-operation between the two planes of
consciousness, because they complement
each other. Religion becomes practical
and effective in everyday life when it
incorporates psychology as part of its
litany. Without religion psychology is
weak in its fundamentals, and without
psychology religion fails to give
proper attention to the outlet of its
ideals. The fact is that religion,
comprehended in its fullness, includes
psychology. Jesus was a profound
psychologist.
The fact is that
religion cannot be effectively taught
in its scientific aspect without
application of the higher attributes of
the mind. Paul teaches this most
effectively, and none other comes
anywhere near him in this respect. He
says, "Have this mind in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus." He refers
repeatedly to the Mind of Christ as the
model for all Christians. In Hebrews we
are told, "I will put my laws into
their mind."
Comparing our mind with
that of Jesus, we find many points in
which we can improve ourselves in
thought and word. We may assert that we
believe, but do we prove it in our
mental deportment? Every Unity reader
may become a disciple and reap the
benefits promised by Jesus if he will
assume the mental attitude of a
Christian and practice the power of
words.
