OUTRAGEOUS TRUTH: A MYSTICAL PARADIGM (OT/MP)
If you have found this page from a search engine:
GO TO SOURCE PAGE
which links to this page

All books by Charles Fillmore are published by
The Unity School of Christianity.
Go to OT/MP bibliography for other Fillmore references.

Go to Unity School of Christianity Home Page.

---

---

The Revealing Word
A DICTIONARY OF METAPHYSICAL TERMS
by
Charles Fillmore
[Copyright 1959-1990, Unity School of Christianity]

The Revealing Word offers Truth students the metaphysical meanings and uses of words and phrases that frequently appear in Unity publications, and many that appear in the Bible. Whereas Unity's Metaphysical Bible Dictionary explains the esoteric meanings of scriptural proper names, The Revealing Word is devoted mostly to common names. In addition to words that have religious significance, hundreds of words that are in everyday use appear in this book. Thus the reader is given inner meanings that he or she can apply to daily living. All things in life are expressed in words. Equipped with the inner meanings of words, a person can control all the issues of his or her life, from the insignificant to the great. (Bible quotations in this book are from the American Standard Version.)

abate--To lessen; to moderate. In making a demonstration, when we reach the point where the mind changes from the negative to the positive state the troubled thoughts begin to abate. A certain set of negative ideas has run its course, and the restorative thought forces are in evidence.

Abba--A word of endearment signifying father. It is only as we come to know our sonship, our true relation to God, that we enter into the consciousness of love and tender affiliation with Spirit, signified by the word Abba. (see Mark 14:36)

abdicate--To let go; to relinquish; to renounce. The ability to abdicate is twofold in action: it eliminates the error, and it expands the good. When the ego consciously lets go and willingly gives up its personal ideas and loves, it has fulfilled the law of denial and is restored to the Father's house.

abide--To continue in a fixed thought of God, the All-Good; to dwell in the Christ consciousness. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

abiding--A conscious centering of the mind in divine Principle within us by means of repeated affirmations of our faith and trust in Principle.

abiding Presence--Christ, the presence of light, peace, joy, love, life, and substance that is ever within, about, before, and beside man. (see presence of God)

Absolute, the--Divine Mind; unlimited Principle; the almighty One; the all-pervading Spirit; the Infinite; the Eternal; the Supreme Being. The one ultimate creative Mind; the Source of all things. That which is unconditioned, unlimited, unrestricted, and free from all limitations. The self-existent God.

Absolute, to place judgment in the--The metaphysician

//page 8

finds it necessary to place his judgment in the Absolute in order to demonstrate His supreme power. This is accomplished by first declaring that one's judgment is spiritual and not material, that its origin is in God, that all its conclusions are based on Truth, and that they are absolutely free from prejudice, false sympathy, or personal ignorance.

Absolute, treating in the--Treating in the consciousness of the Spirit of God; affirming the absolute Truth of Being for man.

Absolute, unification of man with the--Man unifies himself with the Absolute through recognition that he is the son and heir of the Father, in whose image and likeness he was created. By realizing the Mind of Christ, he becomes one with the Absolute.

abstract, the--The realm of pure ideas such as goodness, purity, wisdom, and love.

abundance, spiritual--Ideas in consciousness of the omnipresent supply and support of the one Mind; invisible substance, with infinite capacity of expansion when held in mind, affirmed, and praised. "All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine" (John 16:15).

abundance, steps in demonstrating--First, we must recognize abundance as an idea that is real and has the power to expand. Then, we must talk abundance--choose words representing abundance--and thus build up an invisible world of substance. In this way, we build or form in our mind that which draws to us an abundance of every good thing. "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given" (Luke 8:18).

accident--An unfortunate event that takes place without our conscious foreknowledge.

accidents, cause and cure of--The cause of all accidents lies in sense consciousness. To be free from all accidents, we must raise our consciousness, so that it is spiritually positive and Christlike. Then we shall attract only good.

accuser--Opposer; hater; an enemy. (see Devil and Satan) The accuser is overcome by casting him down in the name of Jesus Christ.

achievement, universal desire for--The craving for accomplishment, innate in every man. The universal desire for worth-while achievement, giving a mighty impulse to all things, is divinely good.

acquisitiveness--The desire to acquire. It is a legitimate faculty of mind, but covetousness is the Judas trait. When a man seeks to acquire from God only, acquisitiveness builds up his consciousness, but when he oversteps the law and seeks that which belongs to another his acquisitiveness becomes a destroyer. (see covetousness)

activity, spiritual--Thoughts in relation to spiritual Principle. Mind movement in accordance with the activity of Divine Mind.

Adam--Red; reddish. The first movement of mind in its contact with life and substance. Adam was created from the "dust of the ground" (Gen. 2:7). Dust represents the radiant earth or substance. When spiritual man (I AM) enters into this substance and makes use of the God ideas inherent in him, he brings forth the ideal body in its elemental perfection. Adam was first perfect as an idea in elemental divinity.

Adam man--Unregenerate sense man; antichrist: the man who has fallen away from spirituality. Originally Adam was the spiritually illumined man of God. The Adam man was primitively identified with an infinite capacity for expansion. When he recognizes his identity as spiritual he expands in divine order and brings forth only good.

Adam man, ills of--The many ills of the Adam man grew out of his belief that he could satisfy and nourish himself with material food and drink alone. To feed the

//page 10

body is not enough. The spiritual man hungers for the bread of life and thirsts for living water, even the Word of God.
..
Adam man, transformation of--We are not to erase Adam, but we are to transform him by the renewing of our mind. "And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2).

adjustment--The rearrangement of thoughts according to the divine order of the Christ Mind; a bringing of man's consciousness into exact correspondence with God's perfect harmony, or heaven. "And the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways smooth" (Luke 3:5).

adultery--Mixed thoughts, errors that have their existence in the unregenerated feelings; thoughts that have not come under the dominion of the I AM.

Adversary, the--The vain imagination that there could, in reality, be anything opposed to Divine Mind, or could be any separation of man from it, led to the forming of a state of mind that is described in the Bible as the "adversary." We find that the various names--Satan; Devil; Adversary; accuser; carnal mind; old man; man of sin; and personality--all refer to the consciousness that man has built up in his ignorance of his true estate.

affirm--To hold steadfast in mind or to speak aloud a statement of Truth.

affirm the salvation of the Lord--To realize silently and to declare audibly that the Christ within us is taking charge of all our affairs.

affirmation--A positive statement of Truth. By the use of affirmations we claim and appropriate that which is ours in Truth. (see denial)

affirmation, act of--The "yes" action of the mind; the act of affirming; the declaring of Truth; the mental movement that asserts confidently and persistently the

//page 11

Truth of Being in the face of all appearances to the contrary.

affirmation and denial--Two movements of the mind that express power to accept or to reject, to lay hold of or to let go. (see denial)

affirmation, how made--Affirmations do not have to be made only in set terms such as, "I affirm my body to be spiritual." The sum total of thought in all its positive aspects composes the affirmations that bring ideas into form.

affirmation, purpose of--To establish in consciousness a broad understanding of the divine principles on which all life and existence depend. By affirming Truth we are lifted out of false thinking into the consciousness of Spirit.

affirmation, remedial effects of--All unrighteous conditions may be adjusted through affirming the power of the great universal Spirit of justice. Affirm: "The infinite Spirit of love and justice is now operating in all my affairs, and all is well."

age--A cycle or a dispensation. Jesus was acquainted with cycles or ages of spiritual development of which the natural man knew nothing. Jesus came at the end of an age. Age to mortal man is the measurement of the life or existence of a person or thing. It is based on the false concept of time as reality. "What is the signal of Your presence, and the completion of this age?" (Matt. 24:3, Fenton.)

air--The deific breath of God. It symbolizes a purifying, vitalizing power that revives and makes alive.

alchemy, divine--Transmutation; changing in action and in character from the mortal into the spiritual. It has been said that the mind is the crucible in which the ideal is transmuted into the real.

alcoholism--A diseased condition brought about by one who, thirsting for the true stimulation of Spirit, resorts to the excessive use of false stimulants, such as

//page 12

alcoholic beverages. The way to demonstrate over this condition is to turn wholeheartedly to Spirit and to realize and to affirm that the desire for false stimulants is dissolved and dissipated and that the pure spiritual life of Christ satisfies and uplifts.

allegiance to the Father--The consciousness that divine wisdom is guiding the universe and man, which gives man a feeling of security. Allegiance to the Father signifies a constant devotion to and trust in the Father.

allegory--A symbolical representation of Truth. "Which things contain an allegory" (Gal. 4:24).

All-Good--Divine Mind; God; the principle of divine benevolence that permeates the universe.

almighty--All-powerful; having all power or force to accomplish anything. All things are possible with God, because He is infinitely all-mighty. All the power, all the force, all the might of the universe are God's; He is, in truth, almighty God. "Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty" (Gen. 17:1).

Alpha and Omega--The beginning and the end; the Son of God; all in all. "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (Rev. 22:13).

altar--Stabilized place of worship. A fixed, definite center in consciousness; the place in consciousness where we meet the Lord and are willing to give up our sins, to give up the lower for the higher, the personal for the impersonal.

The altar mentioned in Rev. 11:1 symbolizes the consciousness of full consecration that takes place first in the temple of worship within: "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service" (Rom. 12:1).

altar, brazen, of temple worship--Represents the generative life.

altar, golden, of incense--Symbolizes the establishing of permanent resolutions of purity and covenants with the

//page 13

higher law of obedience, although it may entail daily sacrifice. (This applies to the altar of the burnt offerings also.)

altar, to an unknown God--A yearning to know the unrevealed Spirit and a reaching out for a fuller realization of its source.

alternate between good and evil--To swing the mind from good to evil and vice versa, with consequent variation in the application of Truth principles. Alternation is fatal to realization. "For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways" (James 1:7,8).

ambition--A subtle mental force that drives men toward their goals. If it is dedicated wholly to Spirit and acts from Principle, it will work for good. If its motto is, "The end justifies the means," it is a menace.

ancestors--Forefathers. Those who think of themselves as descended from human ancestors are in bondage to all the limitations of those ancestors, regardless of their claims to the contrary. It is a falling short of the full stature of man to regard himself as descending from the human family. This is the sin that keeps the majority of men in bondage to sense consciousness.

angel--A messenger of God; the projection into consciousness of a spiritual idea direct from the Fountainhead, Jehovah. "And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar" (Luke 1:11). The word of Truth, in which is centered the power of God to overcome all limited beliefs and conditions.

angel, of Jehovah--The quickening thought of God appearing in the form of light or divine intelligence, intuition, and understanding.

angels, ascending and descending--The imaging power of the mind receiving divine ideas and reflecting them into the consciousness.

//page 14

angels, office of--To guard, to direct, and to redeem the natural forces of the body and mind, which have in them the future of the whole man.

anointed of God, the--One who is conscious of the real spiritual outpouring from the source of his being; a consecrated person, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me" (Luke 4:18).

anointing--A symbolical expression of the pouring out of the spirit of love on one who has faith in God. Rubbing with oil; consecrating the body with the living Spirit of Christ. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face" (Matt. 6:17).

antichrist--That which denies or opposes the idea that the Christ dwells in and is the true self of each individual. The active effort in the world to exalt death and to delude men into believing that death is the way to eternal life is an instance of work that is antichrist. Such a thought is opposed to Christ. Jesus came to deliver the human race from death and to fulfill in man God's perfect will, abundant life. The antichrist thoughts must be persistently denied. The perfect will of God for all men is abundant life, not death.

anxiety--A form of fear; a negative mental attitude that keeps God's good from man.

apostles--Those sent forth; messengers; ambassadors; active spiritual thoughts. Jesus conferred this title on the Twelve whom He sent forth to teach and to heal.

In order to command our powers and to bring them into unity of action, we must know what they are and their respective places on the staff of Being. The Grand Man, Christ, has twelve powers of fundamental ideas, represented in the history of Jesus by the Twelve Apostles. So each of us has twelve faculties or fundamental ideas to make manifest, to bring out, and to use in the attainment of his ideals. There are innumerable other ideas, but each one stems from some one of these fundamental ideas.

//page 15

...
Twelve Powers: Jesus' twelve apostles were: Peter (faith); Andrew (strength); James, son of Zebedee (wisdom or judgment); John (love); Philip (power); Bartholomew (imagination); Thomas (understanding); Matthew (will); James (order); Simon the Cananaean (zeal); Thaddaeus (renunciation or elimination); and Judas (life conserver). (see disciple, calling of)

appetite--Either the craving of the sense man for fulfillment of his fleshly desires or the hunger and thirst of the spirit for its divine inheritance. "But he awaketh . . . and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite" (Isa. 29:8).

appetite, carnal or sensual--A hunger and thirst for sensual pleasures; misdirected effort to obtain satisfaction through feeding the insatiable sense man. All indulgence of such appetite must be denied out of man's consciousness before Christ can be manifested.

appreciation--The act of appreciating; esteeming. Spiritually, man's mind esteems to a great measure the loveliness and power of omnipresent God, All-Good. "I will give thee thanks with my whole heart" (Psalms 138:1).

appropriation--The act of taking possession of something. To appropriate the word of Truth is to take the substance of the word into one's mind and heart.

ark--A holy place; a sanctuary; a tabernacle; the Christ center within wherein man is one with pure Being.

ark, Noah's--Symbolizes the spiritual part of oneself, built in the midst of the flood of error. One builds one's ark on the scientific understanding of the wisdom, presence, and power of God and on the affirmations of what one is in Spirit.

The only refuge from the Flood (see Gen. 6:18) was the ark of Jehovah. The ark represents a positive, saving state of consciousness, which agrees with or forms a covenant with the principle of Being, with subconscious

//page 16

inspiration, with Christ. This ark is the product of "rest" (Noah) in the spiritual part of us, right in the midst of the flood of error.

Ark of the Covenant--Represents the original spark of divinity in man's being, which is a sacred and holy thing. On its development depends man's immortality. The original spark (Ark of the Covenant) occupies the most holy place in the body temple and must be cared for with great devotion; otherwise, the spiritual forces are scattered.

No human hand is allowed to touch this ark of the covenant. No human thought can enter the sacred precincts, which are kept veiled from all eyes.

armor of God--The robe of righteousness. Error cannot enter the consciousness that is strongly fortified with the light, life, power, and substance of Spirit.

ascension--The ascending or progressive unfoldment of man from the animal to the spiritual. It is measured by three degrees or states of consciousness: first, the animal; second, the mental or psychical; and third, the spiritual. Jesus first manifested Himself as the man on the physical plane, from which He was resurrected to the mental or psychical; from thence He ascended to the spiritual.

asceticism--The practice of severe self-denial; the attempt to deny the body itself as an evil thing instead of beholding it as the sacred temple of the living God to be revered, respected, and loved.

aspirations--The deep longing of man for union with his source, with his Father-Mother, God.

//quote

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks,

So panteth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God"

(Psalms 42:1, 2).

//text

ass--In Oriental countries in Bible times kings and rulers rode the ass, and it was the accepted bearer of

//page 17

royalty. The animal part of the human consciousness is typified by the ass, and the purpose of Jesus' riding an ass into Jerusalem was to portray the mastery by the I AM of the animal nature and its manifestation (colt). Jerusalem is the city of peace or spiritual consciousness. The characteristics of the ass are stubbornness, persistency, and endurance. To ride these is to make them obedient to one's will.

association, spiritual--Living in an uninterrupted relationship with ideas that come into consciousness from God.

astrology--"The pseudo science which treats of the influence of the stars upon human affairs, and of foretelling terrestrial events by their position and aspects" (Webster). Astrology represents the belief in man that his good depends wholly on something outside himself--his ruling star, fate, providence--instead of depending on the power of his own thoughts to establish within himself and his world what he wills.

It is true that we are in sympathy with all nature, which includes the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars. These are all ensouled, and their actions can affect us when we do not believe in a higher power. But there is a higher power in everyone: Spirit. In Genesis it is stated that spiritual man, the image-and-likeness man, was given dominion over all creation.

astronomy--"The science which treats of the celestial bodies, their magnitudes, motions, constitution, etcetera" (Webster).

The material universe is only the outpicturing of the spiritual universe. The pulsations of the spiritual forces impinge on and sway men, nations, and planets according to laws whose sweep in space and time is so stupendous as to be beyond the ken or comprehension of astronomy. But the fact should not be overlooked that higher astronomy had its votaries in the past. The Magi and the illumined

//page 18

sages of Chaldea and Egypt had astronomical knowledge of universal scope.

There is evidence that proves that the sages of the distant past knew a higher astronomy than do we of this age and that they predicted the future of this planet through cycles and aeons--its nights of mental darkness and the dawn of its spiritual day--with the same accuracy that our astronomers do its present-day planetary revolutions.

Jesus evidently understood this higher astronomy, and He knew that His work as a teacher and demonstrator of spiritual law was related to it, yet not controlled by it. He co-operated with the "law . . . and the prophets," as far as they went, but He knew the higher law of the Christ man and affirmed His supremacy in the words, "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).

atmosphere--Individually, an extension of consciousness; collectively, the pervading influence of the predominating thoughts.

atom--"One of the small parts out of which any physical quantity is built up" (Webster). A particle charged with tremendous energy that may be released and made to give to man powers beyond expression. Jesus used the dynamic power of thought to break the bonds of the atoms composing the few loaves and fishes of the boy's lunch--and five thousand persons were fed. Material science says that each atom of matter has force and intelligence and a certain individuality; hence, it is a form of mind.

atonement--Reconciliation between God and man through Christ; the uniting of our consciousness with the higher consciousness. Jesus became the way by which all who accept Him may "pass over" to the higher consciousness. We have atonement through Him.

attainment, intellectual--Intellectual attainments are

//page 19

not in themselves of use in matters spiritual. They have their end in teaching the student how to command his faculties and to bring them into subjection. We must drop them out of our mind as quickly as we can and be willing to commence anew in the school of the higher life. Let us affirm often: "I am meek and lowly of heart. I am led of the Spirit."

attainment, spiritual--A laying hold of the high and lofty ideas of the Christ Mind; the bringing of spiritual ideas into manifestation in one's mind, body, and affairs.

attention--(see concentration)

attitude--The state of mind in relation to some matter or situation; a mental position. Attitude of mind toward environment determines the nature of man's environment. A positive attitude draws the good; a negative attitude brings its train of sin, sickness, poverty, and death. "For as he thinketh within himself, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).

attributes of Being--That which is inherent in the twelve powers of faculties.

augury--The blind following of the commands of some omen or voice, not of Spirit.

aura--The thought emanation that surrounds every person. As to whether it is an illumined aura, or medium, or dark and cloudy depends on the dominant thought force of each person. The aura around the bodies of sincere, honest persons is usually bright blue or some modification of blue. The aura is not visible to all persons, but only to those who have their psychical nature quickened on the spiritual plane.

There are in the world today men and women who have followed the teaching of Jesus and developed in their bodies a superenergy or life that not only permeates the physical structure but envelops it in a luminous aura that can be and is felt by both themselves and others. Spirit reveals that spiritual thinking breaks open the physical cells and atoms and releases their imprisoned

//page 20

life, which originally came from Divine Mind. Jesus carried this process so far that His whole body was transformed and became a conscious part of the Father's life and intelligence. (see halo)

aura, how created--Prayer liberates the energies pent up in the mind and body. Those who pray much create a spiritual aura that eventually envelops the whole body. The bands of light painted by artists around the heads of saints are not imaginary; they actually exist and are visible to the sharp eye of the painter. Luke testifies (9:29) that when Jesus was praying "his countenance was altered, and his raiment became white and dazzling." After Moses had been praying on the mountain his face shone so brightly that the people could not look at it, and he had to wear a veil.

authority--Rightful power; mastery; or dominion. "For he taught them as having authority" (Mark 1:22).

authority, having--Inspired by Spirit within. The Spirit of truth is the one and only authority in the study of Truth. (see John 16:13)

authority, parental--Human parental authority is a thought of bondage or slavery in mortal consciousness based on desire of parents to domineer and to wield power. Divine parental authority is child guidance based on love and understanding. It includes willingness to grant freedom to the child by helping him to know and to live Truth.

autosuggestion--The conscious impression of selected thoughts on the subconscious mind by oneself.

avarice--Inordinate greed for material riches. (Symbolized by "the money-changers.") The avaricious suffer most in body and are the most difficult to heal, because of the mental bias that prompts them to get all things as cheaply as possible, including the kingdom of heaven.

avarice, how to be free from--Establish in consciousness the idea of giving generously and freely, not from

//page 21

compulsion or for the sake of reward but from the pure love of giving.

awakening, spiritual--Becoming conscious of the things of Spirit, or God.

//section B

//text

Baal worship--Putting nature before God in earth, air, and water; giving the substance of mind and body to the things of sense. It is a form of idolatry. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exod. 20:3).

babe--Metaphysically, a new state of consciousness; innocent and childlike.

babe in Christ--One whose face is turned toward the light, but who has not yet come into a deep understanding of Truth.

baptism--The spiritual cleansing of the mind. Typifies the cleansing power and work of Spirit that redeems men from sin. It is the first step in the realization of Truth. When the baptizing power of the word is poured on a center in consciousness, it dissolves all material thought, and through this cleansing, purifying process, the individual is prepared to see and to discern spiritually.

The two baptisms, those of John and Jesus, represent the two common steps in spiritual development, denial and affirmation, or the dropping of the old and laying hold of the new. In the first baptism, that of John, through the power of the word, the sense man is erased from consciousness, and the mind is purged and made ready for the second baptism, that of Jesus. In the second baptism, the creative law of divine affirmation, set into action by supreme Mind, lights its fires at the center of man's being, and when thus kindled raises soul and body to a high degree of purity. This process is known as regeneration.

baptism, Pentecostal--The great initial outpouring of

//page 22

Spirit that took place more than nineteen centuries ago. The primal baptism of the Holy Spirit. (see Acts 2:1-4)

baptism, the Holy Spirit--A quickening of the spiritual nature that is reflected in mind and body. Spiritual baptism has power; it is affirmative; it is positive. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the second baptism. Christ represents this phase of baptism. It is the most precious gift of God and comes to those who steadfastly seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. "He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 3:11).

beatitudes, Jesus'--Jesus in exaltation is blessing spiritual man with the attributes of God and also blessing the natural man with the attributes of the spiritual man. (see Matt. 5:3-11)

beauty, spiritual--The loveliness of God beheld in His creations by the eye of man. Spiritual man beholds this divine loveliness everywhere. "He hath made everything beautiful in its time" (Eccles. 3:11).

beholding--We are transformed by beholding. Whatever we persistently behold we manifest. Our looking into the perfect pattern, the indwelling Christ, and beholding His perfection transforms us into His likeness.

Being--God; the Mind of the universe composed of archetype ideas: life, love, wisdom, substance, Truth, power, peace, and so forth. Being is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient; it is the fullness of God, the All-Good.

Being, personal and impersonal nature of--Being is not only impersonal Principle as far as its inherent and undeviating laws are concerned, but also personal as far as its relation to each of us is concerned. We as individuals do actually become a focus of universal Spirit.

Being, the law of growth and--Being exists under two phases: invisible and visible, abstract and concrete. The visible comes forth from the invisible, and this coming forth is always according to a universal method of growth from minute generative centers. From center to

//page 23

circumference is the plan of procedure throughout the universe. To study form alone and to expect to learn from it and its evolutions the secret of existence does not enable one to catch sight of Spirit moving upon every generating center.

belief--An inner acceptance of an idea as true. Belief is closely related to faith. Belief functions both consciously and subconsciously. Many false individual and race beliefs are very active below the conscious level. To erase these hidden error beliefs, a comprehensive program of denial is necessary.

belief in separateness, results of--The belief in separateness from God Mind leads to ignorance and death. All intelligence and life are derived from the one Mind. When man thinks of himself as being alone, he cuts himself off in consciousness from the fount of inspiration. "For apart from me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

believe on the Son--We must come to His terms of expression. We do not believe that there are other sons wiser than He and that from them we can get wisdom, guidance, and understanding. We believe that He is, as far as we are concerned, the only begotten Son of the Father.

Bethesda, Pool of--"House of mercy; house of healing." Represents the realization in consciousness that our life is being constantly purified, healed, and made new by the activity of mind. Physically, this is expressed in the purification and upbuilding of the blood by its coming in contact with the oxygen of the air in the lungs.

Bible--The sacred and inspired Scriptures of the Christian religion. It is a divine "book of life" rather than merely a history of people, and it bears "witness unto the word" of God (Acts 14:3).

Bible characters--The characters of the Bible represent ideas in one's own mind. When this symbolism is

//page 24

understood one can follow the characters in their various movements and thus find the way to solve all one's life's problems.

Bible, place in Truth study--The Bible is a recital of what has taken place in the consciousness of man, of the results of his working, either intelligently with the law or unintelligently against it, in seeking his own salvation. It gives an explanation of spiritual law as applied to man and tells him how to find the kingdom of heaven within.

Bible, spiritual interpretation of the--A spiritual interpretation of the Bible demands that the meaning of every figure, type, parable, and symbol must be in harmony with the fundamental principles of Being.

birth, new--The awakening of man to a consciousness of his unity with the one universal Spirit; the change from mortal to spiritual consciousness through the begetting and quickening power of the word of Truth. It is the change that comes here and now. Jesus made no mention of resurrection after death as having any part in the new birth. "Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

birth, new, change following--When man is begotten and born of the Word he is no longer "flesh . . . as grass" (I Pet. 1:24) but is eternal and abiding, not subject to death and corruption.

birth, new, effect of--Begetting and quickening take place in man's inner consciousness, but the process of being "born anew" (John 3:3) includes the whole man, spirit, soul, and body. To be born again is to be made "a new creature" (II Cor. 5:17) having "this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5) and a body like unto His glorious body.

black magic--Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven had been taken by violence and force. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of

//page 25

heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force" (Matt. 11:12). It is possible to use the life, substance, and power that form the basis of the kingdom of heaven in selfish ways. This is black magic and is the work of the selfish personality that Jesus refers to in Matt. 10:28, "Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

blasphemy--Impious or irreverent thoughts toward God, such as sickness, poverty, death. "But the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven" (Matt. 12:31).

bless--To invoke good upon; to call forth the action of God; to confer God's good on something or someone.

blessedness of God--The joy that comes from God to those whose thoughts are stayed on Him. "Everlasting joy shall be unto them" (Isa. 61:7).

blessing, power of--Blessing imparts the quickening spiritual power that produces growth and increase. It is the power of multiplication.

blood--Expresses a spiritual principle that has been introduced into the race mind through the purified Jesus. It is a spiritual principle in that it rests on pure ideals; yet it is manifested in mind and body in concrete form when rightly appropriated. That it can be appropriated and used to the purification of the mind and the healing of the body, thousands are proving in this day.

Through His experience on the Cross, where His precious blood was spilled, through His suffering there, Jesus lowered His consciousness to the consciousness of the race, thereby administering to the whole race a blood transfusion, imparting to man the properties of Being that will restore him to his divine estate. Such a transfusion not only revives us in temporal ills, but begins in the body a purifying and energizing process that will finally save us from death.

blood of Christ--The life contained in God's Word. Therefore, it is spiritual energy that purifies and redeems

//page 26

man by pouring into his life currents a new and purer stream. This divine energy cleanses the consciousness of dead works to enable man to serve the living God.

blood of Jesus--That which represents the principle of eternal life. Jesus raised the life activity of His blood and revealed its spiritual potency. In this respect it became part of the spiritual life of the race and is thus accessible to all persons. It is after this manner that we drink His blood. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves" (John 6:53).

blood of the Lamb--The innocent, undefiled life, or the primal life of Being, which Jesus made accessible to all those who believe in Him as the revealer of the pure life of God the Father. "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14).

blood, spilling of--(see meat eating)

boat--Symbolizes a positive, sustaining state of consciousness that prevents one from sinking into a negative condition (water) and bears up the faculties of the mind.

body--The outer expression of consciousness; the precipitation of the thinking part of man. God created the idea of the body of man as a self-perpetuating, self-renewing organism, which man reconstructs into his personal body. God creates the body idea, or divine idea, and man, by his thinking, makes it manifest. As God created man in His image and likeness by the power of His word, so man, as God's image and likeness, projects his body by the same power.

All thoughts and ideas embody themselves according to their character. Material thoughts make a material body. Spiritual thoughts make a spiritual body.

body, disintegration of the, cause and remedy--The body disintegrates because generation after generation

//page 27

men have tried to bring forth after the wisdom of Satan instead of the wisdom of God. Jesus made the unity between the superconsciousness in the top brain and the life center, and by following His methods and identifying ourselves with His spiritual consciousness we may get back into our former spiritual estate in the Garden of Eden. "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Cor. 15:22).

body, effects of sin and righteousness on the--The body is destroyed, made sick unto death by sin and ignorance; the body is made alive in Christ through understanding and righteousness. "The wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 6:23).

body, given benefit of salvation--The body receives the benefit of salvation through prayer and spiritual meditation. In this way the substance of Spirit is carried by living words of Truth into every part of the body, and its quickening power makes alive the whole organism.

body, how to make perfect--Man may have a perfect body and a perfect world when he understands and uses the perfect word, the complete word, the word that contains all the attributes of God. When the words of man are charged with a full understanding of Divine Mind and its inhering ideas and he consciously applies this knowledge in all his feeling, thinking, speaking, and living, he will be able to show forth a perfect body and a perfect world.

body, how transformed--The body is transformed by the renewing of the mind. By affirmation the mind lays hold of living words of Truth and builds them into mind and body. When we enter into and abide in the Son of God consciousness we have eternal life, and the body is transformed into pure flesh manifesting the perfection of Spirit.

body, natural forces of the--The natural forces of the body are eager to co-operate with man in manifesting a

//page 28

perfect body. Man must co-operate with them by obeying divine law.

body, redemption of the--The body is made and sustained by thought. Its character is like the thought that made it. Every thought has in it an idea of substance and life. When the mind of man is in conscious union with Divine Mind his body manifests perfection.

The body can be redeemed only by man's taking it beyond the three dimensions of the earthly realm and raising it to the fourth dimension. The earthly body is substance in its gross form and as such is still subject to the physical laws that operate in gross substance. But when perfect ideas of life and substance are attained in consciousness, the three dimensions of mind, idea, and expression will be embraced in the fourth dimension of realization or Divine Mind. Then the same spiritual conditions will be found in manifestation as are in Spirit or God-Mind.

body, spiritual--The perfect manifestation of a divine idea. It is composed of spiritual substance so pure that no disintegrating force can be found in it. This body of pure Spirit is the very temple of the living God; a radiant, beautiful body illumined with the eternal light of Spirit. "That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me" (John 17:24).

body of Christ--The body that is the result of spiritual thought. It maintains its unity with Spirit, even in manifestation. This is first individual, and then universal, including all men.

body of Christ, members of the--All those who forsake everything pertaining to the personal, limited self and measure up to the Christ standard in thoughts and acts, thus bringing forth the unlimited fruits of Spirit, are members of the one body: the body of Christ.

body of light--Jesus, dwelling continually in the consciousness of Being, the very substance and life of God,

//page 29

had conscious realization of His actual oneness with Spirit. His body became a "body . . . of light" (Luke 11:34) spiritual substance, the very essence of Being. "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).

bondage--Undue attachment to thoughts in personal consciousness, such as race, class, sex, age, or personality. "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).

bosom, Abraham's--The peace and contentment that come to those who trust God.

bounty, the Lord's--The generosity of God.

bread--Representative of universal substance. The substance of the omnipresent Christ body. Our daily bread is the sustenance for spirit, mind, and body. Some of this daily bread is appropriated in the form of food. There is substance in words of Truth, and this substance is appropriated by prayer and meditation on Truth.

bread, breaking of--Stirring into action, in consciousness, of the inner substance of Spirit (bread) and the concentrating of mind on it as the real possession. "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).

bread from heaven--Descent into man's consciousness of ideas that are manifested as manna, which feeds and refreshes. "I have meat to eat that ye know not" (John 4:32).

bread of life--The word of Truth that imparts new vitality to mind and body. "Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually" (II Sam. 9:7).

breastplate--The breastplate of the high priest of Israel had on it twelve precious stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This means that the twelve faculties of the mind must be massed at the great brain center called the solar plexus.

//page 30

breath--The inner life flow that pulsates through the whole being. The breathing of the manifest man corresponds to the inspiration of the spiritual man. When any man is inspired with high ideas he breathes "into his nostrils the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7).

breath of the Almighty--The inspiration of Spirit; the silent movement of God within our being.

//quote

"There is a spirit in man,

And the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding"

(Job 32:8).

//text

The breath of God, which became the soul of the man manifestation, includes all emotions and energies that move in and through the organism, and it is always designated as feminine. Psyche is the name of that subtle essence that flows in and out of the great heart center called in physiology the cardiac plexus. The name Psyche, which figures in Greek mythology, means breath, life. Psyche is represented as one of the three daughters of a king. These three "daughters" are spirit, soul, and body. Psyche is the soul in its many earthly experiences, in its failures and its successes.

breathing--The symbol of inspiration. Jesus breathed on His apostles and said to them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).

brotherhood--An established thought in high spiritual consciousness. This thought springs from the understanding that God is the one Father and that all men are brothers.

burdens--Beliefs in ill-health, lack, personal responsibility, prejudice, fear, condemnation, and all other negative things. Truth will make us free from each one of these burdens.

burning bush--When we arrive at a four-sided or balanced state of mind, the light of intuition or flame of fire burns in our heart, yet it is not consumed; there is no

//page 31

loss of substance. In thinking there is a vibratory process in the brain that uses up nerve tissue, but in the wisdom that comes from the heart the "bush" or tissue is not consumed. This thinking in wisdom is "holy ground," or substance in its spiritual wholeness; that is, the idea of substance in Divine Mind.

by night--In the darkness of intellectual consciousness. Nicodemus visited with Jesus "by night" (John 3:2).

//section C

//text

calf of gold--Represents the tendency of man to form images after the pattern that he sees with the eye rather than from the ideals that rise in the silent meditations of the mind.

Calvary--(see Golgotha)

camel--In individual consciousness the camel is a symbol of power, endurance, strength, and patient perseverance.

candlestick--The candlestick of the Temple represents the intelligence in man. The "seven golden candlesticks" of Rev. 1:12 are receptacles of spiritual light.

capacity, spiritual--Transcending intellectual knowledge. Nearly everyone has at some time touched this hidden wisdom and been more or less astonished at its revelations.

cause and effect--The law of sequence; the balance wheel of the universe. This law, like all other divine laws, inheres in Being and is good. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Man lives in two worlds, the world of cause (the within) and the world of effect (the without).

causes, primal--Primal causes are complete, finished, absolute. All that man manifests has its origin in a cause that we name Divine Mind. The one Mind is absolute, and

//page 32

all its manifestations or effects are in essence like itself. This being true in logic, it is not a difficult matter to arrive at the conclusion that the effect proves the character of the cause.

cells of the body--Structural and functional units of organism made up of atoms composed of electrons and protons, which, in reality, have their origin in the supermind.

These cells are adjusted one to the other through associated ideas. When divine love enters into man's thought process every cell is poised and balanced in right order. Law and order rule in the cells of the body with the exactness that characterizes their action in the worlds of a planetary system.

center in consciousness--A faculty through which a mind quality is expressed. When a center loses its power it should be baptized by the word of Spirit. This cleanses all material thought; impotence is vitalized with new life, and the whole subconsciousness is awakened and quickened.

chaos--Disorder; confusion; discord. Chaos in body and affairs results from chaos in mind, a product of the sense man.

character, spiritual--The true estimate of man's qualities. Character building is ever from within outward. Spiritual discernment of the reality of man's origin and being in God is the only enduring foundation of character.

cheerfulness--A steady, quiet, beautiful expression of the joy of God. It is conducive to good health because it frees one from tension.

chemicalization--A condition in the mind that is brought about by the conflict that takes place when a high spiritual realization contacts an old error state of consciousness.

The mind of man is constantly at work, and this work results in the production of thought forms. These thought

//page 33

forms assume individual definiteness; they take on personality, which works out into the body. Whenever a new spiritual idea is introduced into the mind, some negative belief is disturbed. It resists. With this resistance comes more or less commotion in the consciousness. This is called chemicalization. This can be greatly modified or eliminated by putting the mind in divine order through denial.

If the cleansing baptism of denial does not precede the Holy Spirit's descent, there is conflict in the consciousness--the old error thoughts contend for their place, refuse to go out, and a veritable war is the result. When the conscious mind has been put in order, the Holy Spirit descends with peace like a dove.

cherubim--Protection; sacred life. The inner, spiritual life is protected from the outer, coarser consciousness. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the Ark and covered it. Also in the Scriptures cherubim are symbolic figures representing the attributes and majesty of God.

childlike--(see meek)

Children of Israel--The thoughts of reality or the true ideas about Being that have to be brought out in every part of man's consciousness. These thoughts are brought down from the land of Canaan into Egypt (the flesh consciousness) and, for a season, are submerged in the fleshly realm, or thoughts in form.

Heaven, according to Jesus, is within man; and with this understanding we see that the escape of the Israelites from Egypt is paralleled by the escape of man from ignorance and materiality.

chosen of God--God has chosen each of us as a medium for the expression of Himself as love, life, wisdom, abundance, health, and so forth. "Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit" (John 15:16).

//page 34

chosen people--The "royal priesthood" making up the Christ body; by overcoming, they have incorporated into their consciousness the attributes of God. They are the living expression of His righteousness and glory.

Christ--The incarnating principle of the God-man; the perfect Word or idea of God, which unfolds into the true man and is blessed with eternal life by measuring up to the divine standard, thus fulfilling the law of righteousness. "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).

Christ is the divine man. Jesus is the name that represents an individual expression of the Christ idea. Christ existed long before Jesus. It was the Christ Mind in Jesus that exclaimed, "And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5).

Christ abides in each person as his potential perfection. Jesus Christ, the embodiment of all divine ideas, exists eternally in the Mind of Being as the only begotten Son of God, the "Messiah" or "anointed one," and is the living Principle working in man.

Christ and Jehovah--Jehovah of the Old Testament is the I AM, or Christ of God invisible; the Messiah is the promise of the visible manifestation of that I AM, or Christ, and Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in man of that original spiritual I AM, or Jehovah.

Christ, abide in--To dwell continually in the consciousness of Christ to the point of realization of unity with the Father and Son. To abide in Christ is to live in the perfection of God-Mind, the thought of God, the living Christ.

Christ, birth of--Man is the bringing forth (the birth) of God's idea of man, the Christ of God. This is done through the quickening power of the word of Truth. The birth of Christ is the beginning in the inner realms of consciousness of a higher set of faculties, which, when

//page 35

grown to full stature, will save the whole man from ignorance, sickness, and death.

Christ, first coming of--The dawning in mind that spiritual man is the real Son of God.

Christ, formation of--When man appropriates words of Truth he partakes of that which forms the spiritual soul, substance, and life of Spirit and which manifests as Christ in the perfect body. Every student of Truth is letting "Christ be formed" (Gal. 4:19) in him when he constantly abides in the Christ Mind through daily meditating on words of Truth.

Christ, indwelling--The Son of God or spiritual nucleus within each person. All our thoughts must harmonize with this spiritual center before we can bring into expression the divine consciousness. Each man has within himself the Christ idea, just as Jesus had. Man must look to the indwelling Christ in order to recognize his sonship, his divine origin and birth, even as did the Saviour. This real self is "closer . . . than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." It is the kingdom of God in each person. "Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).

Christ in you--The true light, which guides every man coming into the world, is, and ever has been, in man. Even the outer man was formed and came into existence through it. This is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27).

Christ, joint heirs with--We are joint heirs with Christ to all that the Father has. This truth alone--the belief that in the regenerate state we are to be like Jesus, who became Christ manifested--leads us to a desire and an effort to attain our inheritance of eternal life here and now, because we know that there is no other thing in the universe worth striving for.

//page 36

Christ, second coming of--The awakening and the regeneration of the subconscious mind through the superconscious or Christ Mind.

Christ body, work of the--The work of the Christ body is the "restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old" (Acts 3:21). (see body of Christ)

Christian conversion--A letting go of sin; a moral cleansing. This type of conversion is good as far as it goes, but it is far from complete. (see conversion)

Christianity--The science of eternal life. It is governed by scientific principles of mind action, which are really the foundation of all the various sciences.

Christianity began with Jesus and was carried on by His apostles. He commanded them to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to make the blind to see, even to raise the dead. Whenever Truth is declared in the name of Jesus Christ, the demons of fear and disease are cast out.

Christianity, esoteric--Christianity that deals with the deep metaphysical truths that Jesus taught. "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (II Cor. 3:6).

Christianity, exoteric--Christianity that deals with the letter or surface meaning of the teachings of Jesus.

Christianity, practical--The teachings of Jesus practically applied to the everyday life of man. Practical Christianity is not a term applied to an arbitrary theory of human origin; neither is it a revelation to humanity from some prophet whose word alone must be taken unquestionably as authority. It is, in this respect, different from most religious systems of the world. Its students are not asked to believe anything that they cannot logically demonstrate to be true. Thus, it is the only system of religion before the people today that, because of its universal appeal to the pure reason in man, can be accepted and applied by every nation under the sun.

Christian, or Gentile--In the New Testament symbology

//page 37

Christian typifies the spiritual and Gentile the material.

church--The word church is derived from a Greek word meaning "the Lord's house." The individual's consciousness is his "Lord's house," and assembled within it are groups or aggregations of ideas (thought centers). The spiritualized will carries to the different "churches" (thought centers) the word of Truth and builds them up into a knowledge of their perfection and divinity by training them in spiritual thinking.

church of Christ--Spiritual consciousness, first individual, then collective. In the general usage the word church applies to persons who have been "born anew" (John 3:3) through the quickening power of the word, gathered together in one body, their union being typified by the human body.

Jesus never organized a church on earth; neither did He authorize anyone else to do so. He said to Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18). He did not tell Peter that he was to be the head of the church, with a line of popes to follow. He said, "I will build my church" (ecclesia, assembly, or called-out ones). Jesus is still the head of His "assembly," and its only organization is in Spirit. He gave but one guide, one source from which His followers should receive their inspiration: "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you" (John 14:26).

circulation, spiritual--The inner stream of life, substance, and intelligence flowing freely through the entire being.

circumcision--Symbolical of the cutting off of mortal tendencies; indicative of purification and cleanliness under divine law. Circumcision is fulfilled in its spiritual meaning by the freeing of the individual from the law of sin and

//page 38

death. "Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter" (Rom. 2:29).

clairvoyance--"The power of discerning objects not present to the senses but regarded as having objective reality" (Webster). Intuitive perception; clear vision. Everything that takes place in the world of manifestation first takes place in the realm of thought. If one is spiritually quickened to the measure that he can discern the thought movements, he can gain a foreknowledge of what is about to occur.

coats of skins--The body of flesh. Man was connected originally with the spiritual-body idea, but when he took on personal consciousness he was given "coats of skins," which, under divine law, corresponded with the quality of his thought world. When spiritual thought becomes supreme in consciousness, the coats of skins will give way to the manifestation of the spiritual body, which is the immortal body that was spoken of by Paul.

coat without seam--The "coat . . . without seam," which the soldiers did not separate, represents the great unified doctrine of Truth that Jesus left (John 19:23).

cocreator, man with God--"My Father worketh even until now, and I work" (John 5:17). God creates in the ideal, and man carries out in the manifest world what God has idealized. Jesus treats this relation between the Father and the Son in the 5th chapter of The Gospel According to John: "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, the Son also doeth in like manner" (John 5:19).

Comforter, the--The Holy Spirit, the only authorized interpreter of the gospel of Jesus; He who gives comfort and cheer and reveals the Truth of God to us.

commandments--Having to do with the law or the orderly working out of divine principles. Moses represents the "Thou shalt not" phase of law; Jesus represents the "Thou shalt" phase of law.

//page 39

commandments, to keep His--This is to command, to control, and to direct every thought according to the harmonious law of love one to another.

communion--Sharing the deep aspirations of our heart with the indwelling Father and hearing His "still small voice" (I Kings 19:12).

communion, kept secret--There are times when it is to our own spiritual benefit and to God's glory to keep things concealed and, like Mary, to ponder them in our heart until due time for expression. There are joys of the Spirit that are secret between a man and his Lord. One feels a sense of condemnation and depletion if he talks too freely about his communion with the Lord.

companionship--Association of those who are in divine harmony. This perfect fellowship is best found by those who practice quiet communion with God.

compass, points of the--In scriptural symbology east means the within, which is spiritual; west, the without, which is expression; north, the above, or intellect; south, the below, or physical.

compassion, divine--In the heart of God exists an eternal tenderness and mercy for His children. "Jehovah is gracious, and merciful" (Psalms 145:8).

compassion, human--A characteristic of love and mercy prompted by an understanding heart. A compassionate mind sees the error, but does not condemn. "Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more" (John 8:11).

compensation, law of--The order under which one receives just remuneration. The law of compensation is universal and not subject to personal demands. If the mind is turned toward man as one's recompense, it is turned away from divine law.

concentration--A thought center; a nucleus of faith or spiritual confidence. The centering of the attention on a particular idea. Concentration forms a mental loadstone in

//page 40

the mind to which thought substance rushes like iron filings to a magnet, bringing the forces, whether mental or physical, to a common purpose.

conception--Power of forming ideas in substance; the embodiment of an idea.

condemnation, dangerous--According to Webster, condemn means "to pronounce to be wrong." There is always a cause for every mental tangent, and that which would kill the sense man, root and branch, has its point of departure from the line of harmony in the thought of condemnation. In John the Baptist it seemed a virtue, in that he condemned his own errors, but this led to his condemnation of Herod, through which action he lost his life. We are to learn from this that condemnation is a dangerous practice.

conditions, evil--In Divine Mind there is no recognition of evil conditions. Such conditions have no basis of reality. To rid ourselves of any appearance of evil, let us change our thought at once and begin to build a consciousness that knows nothing but good. Let us affirm: "I am a child of the Absolute. God is good, and I am His perfect child. Everything that comes into my life is good."

conqueror--Metaphysically, one who attains mastery over sense consciousness. "We are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37).

conscience--There is a divine goodness at the root of all existence. It is not necessary to give in detail the place of abode of each sentient part of this central goodness, for it is there, wherever you look, and whenever you look. No man is so lowly but that at the touch of its secret spring this divine goodness may be brought to light in him. This goodness sleeps in the recesses of every mind and comes forth when least expected. Many stifle it for years, maybe for ages, but eventually its day comes, and there is a day of reckoning. This is the law of universal

//page 41

balance--the equilibrium of Being. It cannot be put aside with transcendental philosophies or metaphysical denials any more than it can be smothered in the forces of the blind passions.

Whoever has felt the prick of conscience has been spoken to by the Holy Spirit. Whoever has sat at the feet of his own inner convictions has been aware of God's presence.

conscience, accusing--A state of mind that refuses to remit past sins and keeps one in a state of self-condemnation and remorse.

conscious mind--The mind that makes one know of one's mental operations and states of consciousness; that phase of mind in which one is actively aware of one's thoughts. The mind through which man establishes his identity.

consciousness--The sense of awareness, of knowing. The knowledge or realization of any idea, object, or condition. The sum total of all ideas accumulated in and affecting man's present being. The composite of ideas, thoughts, emotions, sensation, and knowledge that makes up the conscious, subconscious, and superconscious phases of mind. It includes all that man is aware of--spirit, soul, and body.

It is very important to understand the importance of our consciousness in spiritual growth. Divine ideas must be incorporated into our consciousness before they can mean anything to us. An intellectual concept does not suffice. To be satisfied with an intellectual understanding leaves us subject to sin, sickness, poverty, and death. To assure continuity of spirit, soul, and body as a whole, we must ever seek to incorporate divine ideas into our mind. A consciousness of eternal life places one in the stream of life that never fails.

consciousness, ascend in--Rise to the spiritual realms of mind.

//page 42

consciousness, body--The subconscious mind in its work in the body--repairing, renewing, and conducting the functions of the body in harmony and health if right ideas are given to it, or disintegrating the organism and producing inharmonious action of the functions if untrue thoughts are sown in the mind.

consciousness, centers of--The subconscious realm in man has twelve great centers of action. Each of these twelve centers has control of a certain function in mind and body. The twelve centers are: faith, strength, judgment, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal, renunciation (or elimination), and life.

consciousness, Christ--Consciousness built in accordance with the Christ ideal, or in absolute relationship to the Father. The perfect mind that was in Christ Jesus.

consciousness, illumined--A mind purified by the light of Truth.

consciousness, inner--The realm of the supermind as contrasted with the outer or conscious mind.

consciousness, material--A state of mind based on belief in the reality of materiality, or things as they appear. It is carnal mind expressing its unbelief in the omnipresence of God.

consciousness, negative--A mind filled with un-God-like thoughts, such as fear, hate, greed, lust, resentments, discouragement, sickness, and poverty.

consciousness, positive--A mind filled with God's thoughts, such as power, strength, generosity, purity, and optimism.

consciousness, sense--A mental state that believes in and acts through the senses. To rise out of sense consciousness, we determine to return to conscious oneness with God. "I will arise and go to my Father" (Luke 15:18).

consciousness, Son of God--A state of mind that is conscious of God's ideal man.

//page 43

consciousness, spiritual--(see Christ consciousness)

consciousness, total--Conscious, subconscious, and superconscious phases of mind working as a whole, as a unit.

consecration--The dedication of one's everyday thought to God; a complete surrender of oneself to God. The entire mind is brought under the control of the Christ consciousness with whole-souled devotion to spiritual ideas. It is the one way to perfect peace of mind. Consecration also means the application of all one's tact, skill, and inspiration to bringing other men into the Christ light. Thus, the whole world is to be brought into the Christ fold and transformed by Truth. "Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah" (I Chron. 29:5).

contemplation--A form of meditation; a thought of becoming a child of God.

convalescence--That period during which pure life from on high is cleansing the consciousness, and the waters of negation are receding. The body does not always at a single bound regain its natural condition, but there is a gradual recovery.

conversion--"The experience associated with and involving a definite and decisive adoption of religion, especially a Christian religion" (Webster). Conversion is a change of heart and is a real experience, but it is merely introductory to the new life in Christ. When a person arrives at a certain exalted consciousness through the exercise of his mind in thinking about God and His laws, he is lifted above the thoughts of the world into a heavenly realm. This is the beginning of his entry into the kingdom of heaven. When man attains this high place in consciousness he is baptized by the Spirit; that is, his mind and even his body are suffused with spiritual essences, and he begins the process of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus.

//page 44

conviction--The state of being convinced. Metaphysically, it is the divine assurance that comes to one when he is fully satisfied of the worth of Truth. Conviction refuses to be influenced by the senses because it is founded in spiritual thought.

cords, scourge of--The specific statement of denial. General denial cleanses the consciousness, but secret sins may yet lurk in the inner parts. Small definite statements that cut into them like whipcords will erase these specific transgressions. "And he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen" (John 2:15).

corruptible--The corruptible body is that which is subject to decay. When it is transformed into the spiritual body, it becomes incorruptible and is forever enduring. "This corruptible must put on incorruption" (I Cor. 15: 53).

cosmos--Order; system; harmony; the opposite of chaos. The universe is a cosmos because it expresses Divine Mind, the essence of all harmony and order.

country, far--A state of consciousness in which man has separated himself from an intimate spiritual association with the Father and thereby does not have the benefit of divine wisdom in his affairs.

courage--A spiritual quality that enables one to remain poised and centered in God amidst great difficulties and danger. The realization that the almighty God of the universe is a spiritual presence which is constantly striving to express in and through us fills us with new courage and a fearlessness that is beyond description. "Be strong, and let your heart take courage" (Psalms 31:24).

covenant--A solemn agreement or compact between two or more parties. "My covenant shall stand fast with him" (Psalms 89:28).

covenant, new--Jesus established a new and higher

//page 45

consciousness for man and taught and practiced the truth of the inner kingdom. This teaching is known as the "new covenant" (Heb. 12:24). The new covenant is to be written in the heart of each person.

Covenant, Ark of the--(see Ark of the Covenant)

covetousness--Insatiable desire to possess that which belongs to another. Covetousness has no wisdom. When a man gives up to its demands he does foolish things to gain possession of the coveted object. "Thou shalt not covet" (Exod. 20:17). (see acquisitiveness)

creation--The original plan of an idea in Spirit. Back of the visible universe are both the original creative ideas and those that are brought forth as earthly things. In the creative process Divine Mind first ideates itself. In the Scriptures this idea is named Jehovah, meaning I AM the ever living--He who is eternal. The creation is carried forward through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

The order of creation is from the formless to the formed, from the invisible to the visible. This goes on perpetually, and there is never a beginning or an ending to the process. The ideal is continually pouring itself into its creation and lifting it higher and yet higher. Apart from mind nothing can be done. Man, in his forming and bringing things into manifestation, uses the same creative process in mind that God uses. First is mind; then the idea in mind; then the materialization of the idea.

creation, described in Genesis--The 1st chapter of Genesis describes the creative action of universal Mind in the realm of ideas and does not pertain to the manifest world. This truth is substantiated in the 2d chapter, where it is stated that there was not a man to till the soil. This proves conclusively that the first creation described is in the realm of ideas.

(The account of creation rendered by Ferrar Fenton gives an enlightening translation from the Hebrew: "By periods God created that which produced the Suns; then

//page 46

that which produced the Earth" [Gen. 1:1]. This is in line with Truth.)

creative force in man--Spirit-mind is the creative force constantly working in man and all other creation. Those who fail to recognize Spirit-mind shining within them dwell in a continuous state of darkness and ignorance. To them the almighty Christ is nonexistent. "And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not" (John 1:5).

creative intelligence--Mind of God forever upbuilding His universe.

creative Principle--God as the cause and moving force in and through all creation.

Cross--The Cross represents that state of consciousness termed "mortal mind." This is the "carnal mind" of Paul also, and it burdens the body with its various erroneous beliefs. "He went out, bearing the cross for himself" (John 19:17). The center of action of this "carnal mind" is in the brain, and it is here that it has to be met in the final overcoming that the I AM undertakes. "The place called The place of a skull" (John 19:17).

The Cross is not a burden as commonly understood, but a symbol of the forces in man adjusted in their right relation.

crown--That which imparts honor or splendor. Highest state or quality. The crown of eternal life is the prize to all who overcome carnal mind.

crucifixion--The crossing out in consciousness of errors that have become fixed states of mind; the surrender or death of the whole personality in order that the Christ Mind may be expressed in all its fullness.

The crucifixion of Jesus represents the wiping of personality out of consciousness. We deny the human self so that we may unite with the selfless. We give up the mortal so that we may attain the immortal. We dissolve the

//page 47

thought of the physical body so that we may realize the spiritual body.

cup--The consciousness of eternal life. This must be attained by an utter crossing out of the personal self. This is "the cup which the Father hath given me" (John 18:11).

curse--To affirm evil for or on something or someone. Cursing has a variety of meanings as used in the Scriptures. The whole human family is pictured as under the curse of God for not bringing forth spiritual good, because of disobedience and failure to observe divine law. "If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart" (Mal. 2:2).

God is love, and God's law of love cannot be broken. Man brings evil on himself by not obeying the law. Jesus redeemed mankind from the ancient curse of Jehovah, but men are themselves responsible for avoiding transgression of the law. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13).

//page 48

//section D

//text

dainties, king's--That which pertains to sensual gratification.

dark sayings--Refers to the darkened consciousness that cannot yet see the true light. Jesus knew that the apostles would soon reach the point where they would be able to go direct to the Father for light and guidance. Then He would not have to speak to them in "dark sayings" that they could not understand, but could speak to them "plainly of the Father" (John 16:25).

darkness--The ignorance of the sense man; the absence of Truth (light) in consciousness. Darkness represents undeveloped capacity. It is caused by lack of love. "He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness" (I John 2:9).

dawn--Spiritual perception as a dawning light in consciousness, increasing as one turns steadily toward Truth.

day--Represents the state of mind in which intelligence dominates. The idea back of day is light, or the dispensation of intelligence. In the Scriptures day and night are symbols for degrees of unfoldment, day being understanding; night, ignorance. (see night)

day, last--All shall attain who believe or have faith in the spiritual source of life. Whoever enters into the Mind of Spirit will have poured out to him its life essence and be wholly raised up from material conditions when arriving at the "last day"--the last degree of understanding.

day of judgment--Any day in which we get the result in body and affairs of some thought or word that we have expressed.

day of rest--The true day of rest is the consciousness of universal peace that constitutes the kingdom of

//page 49

heaven. This peace is eternal, and when man becomes conscious of it his "day of rest" has begun to dawn. This rest comes from the understanding that now in Christ all things are complete.

days, three--The three days that Jesus was in the tomb represent the three steps in overcoming error. First, nonresistance and humility; second, the taking on of divine activity, or accepting the will of God; third, the assimilation and fulfillment of divine will.

daydreamer--One having ideas brilliant beyond description, but which are not clothed in the habiliments of action. He perceives an idea, but does not give it form by infusing into it the substance of living faith. He falls short by failing to realize that there are two sides to every proposition, the image and the expression.

death--Physical dissolution of the body; the outer symbol of mental negation or spiritual inertia. As commonly interpreted, death is the absence of life in the body. Death is caused by man's failure to comply fully with God's law. It is the result of sin and has no uplifting power. A falling short of the law of life is sin. Sin causes discord in mind, which produces a separation between spirit and body. Through believing in error and dissipating the life substance, the mind loses hold of its consciousness of life and enters into negation, and dissolution takes place. The result is death of the body temple. "The wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life" (Rom. 6:23).

If, through the power of our thought and word, we affirm the opposite of life and talk about the absence of life, we rob the body cells of their natural element. This treatment will eventually bring death to the organism. Let us not say, "I am tired"; "I am weak"; "I am sick." Rather, let us say, "I am strong"; "I am well"; "I am alive with the life of God now and forevermore."

death, an enemy of man--Death is not a friend but an enemy and must be overcome. Death does not change man and bring him into the resurrection and eternal life. Death has no place in the Absolute.
 

//page 50
 

In the world today there is an active effort to exalt death and to delude men into believing that death is the way to eternal life in heaven. Such a thought is opposed to the teachings of Jesus, because Jesus came to deliver the human race from death and to fulfill in man God's perfect will: abundant life. Jesus made no mention of resurrection after death as having any part in the new birth. The new birth is a change that comes here and now. It has to do with the present man, that he may become conscious of Christ within himself. Those who are guided by the Spirit of truth understand the life teaching and are not led astray by any philosophy that makes death and the grave necessary factors in spiritual growth.

death, a sleep--Death is but a prolonged sleep, the result of thought inharmony so great that the body cannot stand the strain and collapses. Then, instead of being in a body when he awakes, man finds that he is in the realm of thought without a vehicle adequate to his full expression, and he is forced by divine law again to build an organism.

death, first and second--The first death is the death of the light and life of Spirit in man's consciousness. The second death is a cessation of vital force and action in the body. It occurs when the mind completely loses control of the body. The functional activities cease, and the physical organism dissolves.

death, how to overcome--The Christ man goes through the various centers of the body and rebuilds them with his word. The abiding consciousness of life fills every cell of the body with its quickening energy, and the body becomes immortal.

debt--A contradiction of the universal equilibrium. There is no such thing as lack of equilibrium in all the

//page 51

universe; therefore, in Spirit and in Truth there is no debt.

Debts are produced by thoughts of lack, impatient desire, and covetousness. A thought of debt will produce debt. As long as we believe in debt, we shall go into debt and accumulate the burdens that follow this thought. When such thoughts are erased from consciousness, our debts are overcome and paid in full.

debt, how to overcome--Thoughts of abundance will more quickly and surely bring what is ours to us than any thoughts we can hold about debtors discharging their obligations to us. We are to see abundance everywhere and to affirm it, not only for ourselves but for everyone else. We shall fill our mind with thoughts of divine love, justice, peace, and forgiveness. This will pay our debts of love, which will bring to us abundance to meet every obligation.

decree--To command; to ordain. To decree with assurance is to establish and to fix an ideal in substance. The force behind the decree is invisible, like a promise to be fulfilled at a future time; but it binds with its invisible chains the one who makes it. We have only a slight conception of the strength of the intangible. We compare and measure strength by some strong element in nature. We say that something is as "strong as steel." But a little thought will convince us that mental affirmations are far stronger than the strongest visible thing in the world. The reason for this is that visible things lack livingness. They are not linked with energy and intelligence as are words. Words charged with power and intelligence increase with use, while material things decrease.

Deity, the--The Supreme Being; God.

delusion--False perception. Delusion occurs only in that realm which is not established by the divine Logos, God's creative Word.

demon--This word is used in Matt. 8:28-34, when

//page 52

the demons ask to be sent into the swine. The demons of the parable represent error states of mind that have been quickened by Truth and are repentant. When one knows the work of Jesus in regenerating or reconstructing the mind and body and that this work is typical of what all have to do, one sees that negative thoughts have to be dealt with. One also understands that the demons or devils are error states of mind that have to be lifted up by the quickening power of Spirit. (see Christianity and Devil)

demonstrate--"To prove by reasoning, as by deduction; to establish as true" (Webster). To demonstrate Truth is to effect a change of consciousness. This includes the elimination of error and the establishment of Truth.

demonstration--The proving of a Truth principle in one's body or affairs. The manifestation of an ideal when its accomplishment has been brought about by one's conformity in thought, word, and act to the creative Principle of God.

It is a metaphysical law that there are three steps in every demonstration: the recognition of Truth as it is in Principle; holding an idea; and acknowledging fulfillment. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22).

demonstration, complete--God expressed in all fullness; the putting on of Christhood, which Jesus accomplished.

demonstration, spiritual--A spiritual realization followed by the manifestation in the outer of the Truth that has been realized within.

demonstration, the great--That which crowns all others and includes all others--the demonstration of eternal life; the truth that life is omnipresent and eternal and that it is ours just to the measure that we appropriate it.

demonstrator--One who understands and conforms to any point of divine law. He may demonstrate much or

//page 53

little; he may deal with his whole consciousness or merely with his outer mentality. (see overcomer)

denial--The mental process of erasing from consciousness the false beliefs of the sense mind. Denial clears away belief in evil as reality and thus makes room for the establishing of Truth.

Carnal consciousness is made up of a multitude of false individual and race beliefs. Through denial we get rid of these shadows of reality. We cleanse the temple of the mind of these thieves and robbers of our good. In so doing, we make way for the planting of the seeds of Truth that will bring to us an ever-increasing supply of good. (see affirmation)

denials, as related to affirmations--A denial is a relinquishment, and it should not be made with too much vehemence. Let us make our denials as though we were gently sweeping away cobwebs, and our affirmations in a strong, bold, positive attitude of mind. When we poise ourselves in Divine Mind our affirmations and denials will be made in right relation. We will know just when to let go of a thought and when to lay hold of another.

deny himself--When a man denies himself he denies personality; he denies that the world of appearance is real. "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself . . . and follow me" (Mark 8:34).

desert place--A desert place in the consciousness of man is a seeming lack of substance and life. In Truth desert places do not really exist. From the viewpoint of Spirit there is no lack. Where God is, there are His inexhaustible resources; God is everywhere present.

desire--An expression of the inmost being of man; the onward impulse of an ever-evolving man. It springs from deep within Being and it has enduring power. Deep desire is essential to spiritual growth. It is desire--earnest, intense desire--that draws the whole being up out of

//page 54

mortality and its transient joys into the power to appreciate and to receive real spiritual blessings.

desire, repressed--Desire that is forced out of consciousness into the subconscious mind without transmutation according to spiritual law.

desire to excel--The inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which ever urges us to forsake earthly things and to desire that which is of heaven. Desire to excel should be encouraged and cultivated in the right direction. It is in all men.

destiny--The goal toward which man's own thoughts are leading him. In the beginning he was destined to bring forth God's perfect pattern and he must eventually reach this supreme goal. Man's destiny is to go from glory to glory.

development--Increase in conception and expression of the qualities that belong to Divine Mind. The development or correction of all present ideas underlying one's manifestation, and the training of them to conform to the divine idea of man.

Devil--The mass of thoughts that has been built up in race consciousness through many generations of earthly experiences and crystallized into what may be termed human personality, or carnal mind, which opposes and rejects God.

The "devil" is a state of consciousness adverse to the divine good. Other names for this state of consciousness are the Adversary, carnal mind, the accuser, and the old man. There is no personal devil. God is the one omnipresent Principle of the universe, and there is no room for any principle of evil, personified or otherwise.

Devil, how to overcome the--The Devil is overcome by denying his existence and by affirming universal Christ love for God and all men. The devils that we encounter are fear, anger, jealousy, and other similar negative traits,

//page 55

and they are in ourselves. Christ gives us the power to cast out these devils, thereby cleansing our consciousness.

digestion, spiritual--Absorbing Truth into the consciousness through meditation.

discern--"To lay hold of with the understanding, especially that which is hidden or obscure; to divine" (Webster). To apprehend the Truth of Being; to look through appearances and to behold the reality of omnipresence.

discerning the Lord's body--(see I Cor. 11:29) To discern the Lord's body is to recognize that it is substance and life, and it is formed within man, and that it is, in the larger sense, made up of members in whom the Christ body has been individually formed.

discernment, spiritual--That inner spiritual faculty by which man may receive the revelations of God-Mind. The faculty by which we inwardly know that which is spiritual. It indicates the ready insight into divine law that was the glory of the Master.

disciple--"One who receives instruction from another" (Webster). (see apostles)

disciple, calling of--To call a disciple (or apostle) is mentally to recognize that disciple; it is to identify oneself with the intelligence working at a center: for example, judgment at the solar plexus. To make this identification, one must realize one's unity with God through Christ, Christ being the Son-of-God idea always existing in man's consciousness.

disciples in the upper room--The gathering of the disciples (or apostles) in the upper room symbolizes the concentration of the faculties at the center of spirituality in communion with the Father.

discrimination--The ability to distinguish qualities or values, enabling one intelligently to choose the desirable.

disease--An inharmonious condition in mind and body brought about by error thinking. Ignorance causes all disease.

//page 56

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Organic disease has its origin in mind as truly as any other manifestation. It has become subconscious and needs the power of the Christ Mind to reach and to dissolve the error thoughts that are causing the disease.

dispensation, new--The great outpouring of power, love, and spiritual life that is now taking place in all who acknowledge the I AM presence.

dispensation, old--The Mosaic dispensation.

divine--Godlike; godly; of the nature of God.

divine ideal--The Christ man; the divine idea of man.

divine law--The logical process by which Principle or God manifests.

Divine Mind--God-Mind; ever-present, all-knowing Mind; the Absolute, the unlimited. Omnipresent, all-wise, all-loving, all-powerful Spirit.

There is but one Mind, and that Mind cannot be separated or divided, because, like the principle of mathematics, it is indivisible. All that we can say of the one Mind is that it is absolute and that all its manifestations are in essence like itself.

Divine Mind, creative power of--The functioning of the principles of Being; Spirit in action. Mind is not a thing; Mind is. It is that which, through orderly processes, produces things. Divine Mind first conceives the idea, then images its fulfillment. Man, acting in co-operation with Divine Mind, places himself under this same creative law and thus brings his ideas into manifestation.

divine motherhood--The brooding, nourishing element of Divine Mind, in which spiritual ideas are brought to fruition.

divine order--Order is the first law of the universe. Indeed, there could be no universe unless its various parts were kept in perfect order. The facts of Spirit are of spiritual character and, when understood in their right

//page 57

relation, they are orderly. Orderliness is law and is the test of true science.

divinity within us--The true spiritual man, the Christ that is the real of every man.

doctrine of church--A teaching peculiar to a church or to churches in general.

doctrine of Unity, value of the--Unity doctrine is of practical, everyday value to everyone who follows its instructions because it shows man that he is his own minister, lawyer, and doctor and that he has within himself the storehouse from which he can supply every need. It is the doctrine that Jesus proclaimed with original simplicity. It asks man to return again to the estate of simplicity in which he was as a little child, believing implicitly what the Father tells him from the inner recesses of his own being. It has been found to be a good doctrine because it has opened to man a new world, and he sees how, through it, shall be brought about the fulfillment of the promise: "And he [God] shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, anymore: the first things are passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

domination--"Exercise of power in ruling; often, arbitrary or insolent sway" (Webster). One person should never dominate another because it weakens the will of the one dominated and makes the will of the one who dominates hard and unyielding.

dominion--"Supreme authority, sovereignty" (Webster). As a perfect child of God, man is born to complete dominion over all creation. Dominion is an inner consciousness obtained only through mind discipline. This supreme authority comes as man realizes his oneness with the Father.

dominion, urge to exercise--The power and right of dominion and authority are innate within man, having been implanted there by Divine Mind at man's creation.

//page 58

door--The door of our mind is the I AM. "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7). The "sheep" are our thoughts. There is but one life-giver, one Saviour, the Christ; and the only door through which the divine essence can come to us is through our own I AM.

door of the temple--The "door of the temple which is called Beautiful" (Acts 3:2) is the way that opens to spiritual illumination, to an understanding of how to lay hold of and to apply spiritual law.

double-mindedness--Contemplation of a world both good and evil; mental acceptance of a principle of evil as well as of good. This constitutes a denial of God as omnipresent good.

doubt--"Unsettled state of opinion concerning the reality of the truth of something" (Webster). Doubt is the Satan of every man. Doubt is the root of weakness, mental and physical. If men had faith in themselves, in the ability of Spirit within them, they would become giants, where they are but pygmies.

dove--Symbolizes peace of mind and confidence in divine law. The dove is nonresistant. In this state of consciousness we rest in Spirit.

drink of the cup--To drink of the cup from which Jesus drank is to rise above all sensuality, to gain mastery over every impulse of mind and body, and to devote one's whole life to Spirit.

drunkard--"One who habitually drinks strong liquors immoderately" (Webster). The first step in healing the drunkard in ourselves or another is to withdraw all condemnation and censure and to affirm the law of love. There is a very close connection in Being between love and life.

A man once testified that he healed himself of drunkenness by saying, whenever the desire for liquor came to him, "I do not love whisky; I love God."

duality--(see double-mindedness)

//page 59

dust, shake off the--To deny all seeming materiality. "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet" (Matt. 10:14).

dying--The state of negation in man's consciousness wherein he is failing to retain possession of his body.

dying to self--Signifies man's willingness to die to the little personal self, so that he may be absorbed into Divine Mind. To lay down the mortal thought of life and to take up the spiritual idea of life opens the door to the realization that the I AM has creative power and can express the life manifestation in divine order.

//section E

//text

ears--Represent the obedience and receptivity of the mind.

earth--Metaphysically speaking, the earth represents the consciousness of the physical body.

east--The within. As used in Matt. 2:1, the word in the original is plural; thus, from the regions of interior wisdom come thoughts of reverence and rich gifts of substance, understanding, and every spiritual help for the Christ child, whose growth in consciousness has begun.

Easter--The awakening and raising to spiritual consciousness of the I AM in man, which has been dead in trespasses and sins and buried in the tomb of materiality.

eat and drink--To appropriate; to become conscious of the food that "abideth unto eternal life," and to use it.

eat of the tree of life--The eternal life of God is within every man. When we consciously realize the presence of this life in every part of our organism we are eating of the tree of life.

eating--Eating is symbolical of mental appropriation of thoughts of substance. "Thy words were found, and I

//page 60

did eat them; and thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart" (Jer. 15:16).

Supplying the physical needs does not solve the whole problem of hunger for man, for his hungers are as varied as his interests and desires. They include his thoughts and feelings as well as his physical needs. When Jesus said, "He that eateth me, he also shall live because of me" (John 6:57), He referred to the appropriation of spiritual substance by man, and not to his eating of material food. We "eat" spiritual things when we affirm that we are strengthened and sustained by spiritual substance.

When in the holy silence you nourish your consciousness on God's word, you are eating of the "hidden manna" (Rev. 2:17), the bread that gives everlasting life. The Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:26-31) is a mental feast.

eating of the tree of good and evil--Appropriating the consciousness of both good and evil.

To "eat" is to appropriate the substance of ideas through thinking about them. "Evil" represents error-thought combinations; that part of consciousness which has lost sight of true principles and through sensation becomes enamored of the thing formed. Form has its place in creation, but it is subject to the creative idea that begets it. The activity of an idea in man's mind produces sensation. To become involved in the sensation of an idea to the exclusion of control is to eat of the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" and to die to all consciousness of the original idea.

ecclesia--The church of Jesus Christ: the called-out ones.

Eden, Garden of--Represents a region of Being in which are provided all primal ideas for the production of the beautiful. As described in Genesis, it represents, allegorically, the elemental life and intelligence placed at the disposal of man and through which he is to evolve both mind and body.

//page 61

The human body with its psychical and spiritual attributes comprises a miniature Garden of Eden. When man develops spiritual insight and in thought, word, and act voluntarily operates in accord with divine law, then rulership, authority, and dominion become his in both mind and body. "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). (see Garden of Eden)

education, spiritual--To draw forth from within, through meditation and prayer, the deep truths of God.

ego--The I. The ego is man, and by reason of his divinity he makes and remakes as he wills. In this lie his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. The ego of itself is possessed of nothing. It is a mere ignorant child of innocence floating in the Mind of Being, but through the door of its consciousness must pass all the treasures of God.

ego, adverse--When the ego attaches itself to sense consciousness, it builds the antichrist man, who has no basis in reality. This is known as the adverse ego. It is the adverse ego that causes all the trouble in the world. Its selfishness and greed make men grovel in the mire of materiality, when they might soar in the heavens of spirituality.

ego, spiritual--The true self; an individualized center of God consciousness; I AM; conscious identity.

egotism--A state of consciousness built up by the will functioning in the sense world. In this false expression it looks upon itself as great, honorable, mighty. Supreme egotism stops the flow of spiritual life in the organism, and body atrophy sets in.

Egypt--Mental bondage to sense thoughts; material consciousness. It pertains to the physical sense of life, the corporeal organism.

elimination--(see renunciation)

Elohim God--The original Mind in creative action. El means "the strong and ever-sustaining one," and Alah,

//page 62

"to swear or formulate by the power of the Word." Elohim thus represents the universal Principle of Being that designed all creation.

El Shaddai--(see almighty)

emanate--"To issue forth from a source" (Webster). In metaphysics, emanation usually refers to the silent influence of Mind of Spirit.

emotion--Undisciplined or uncontrolled forces. Subnormal or supernormal activity of mental or physical forces. Excitement of the feelings.

It is found that for each bad emotion there is a corresponding chemical change in the tissues of the body that is life-depressing and poisonous. Contrariwise, every good emotion makes a life-promoting change. Thus, it follows that it pays to think good thoughts and to do good acts for one's own sake.

"end of the world"--Literally, "the completion of this eon." This does not refer to the physical world, but to the present era or age; or individually, to the end of a certain state of consciousness.

The "end of the world" is the separation of the true from the false in consciousness, when the wisdom and understanding of Spirit are so developed in us that we, of our own accord, choose whom we will serve and select that which is right in the sight of God. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (I John 2:17).

"The end of the world" is sometimes translated "the End of the Age" ("Emphatic Diaglott"), thus giving a clearer meaning to the text. The world, the age, the old order of things shall come to an end and pass away; and the new world, the new age, "wherein dwelleth righteousness," will be established.

energy--The power of God within us to accomplish. Strength or vigor of expression. Internal or inherent power, as of the mind; capacity of acting, or producing an effect.

//page 63

Power forcibly exerted; force or action. Zeal in motion, the forerunner of every effect.

enthusiasm--"Ardent zeal or interest; fervor. Divine inspiration or possession" (Webster). It is a powerful expression of a living interest; it is active and vital. Enthusiasm is another word for zeal, and zeal is a great stimulator of man. You cannot think of or repeat the word zeal without evoking a certain mental thrill that spurs you to action in some direction.

entity--"A thing which has reality and distinctness of being either in fact or for thought" (Webster).

entities, protective--The shepherds who were watching their flocks by night at the time of Jesus' birth symbolize protective entities of God that have kept watch over the soul in its sleep between incarnations.

environment--Surroundings. Our consciousness is our real environment. The outer environment is always in correspondence to the thoughts making up our consciousness.

//quote

"Thou hast made the Most High thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee"

(Psalms 91:9, 10).

//text

equivalent--"Equal in force or authority" (Webster). Our demonstrations are equivalent to the power and illumination contained in our realizations. We receive according to our capacity to receive.

error--That which is untrue. Error thoughts represent belief in thoughts and beliefs not of God. Error thoughts have no foundation in Truth. They originate in the intellect. They are eliminated by one's denying their reality and power, and affirming the Truth of Being.

essence, spiritual--The substance in which all things exist and out of which all things are made.

eternal--Without beginning or end; timeless; everlasting in duration. "The eternal God is thy dwelling-place" (Deut. 33:27).

ether--The spiritual substance in which we live, move,

//page 64

and have our being and out of which can be made whatever we desire. Some scientists teach that space is heavily charged with energies that would transform the earth if they could be controlled. Arthur Eddington says that about half the leading physicists assert that the ether exists and the other half deny its existence; but, in his words, "Both parties mean exactly the same thing, and are divided only by words."

One with spiritual understanding knows that the ether exists as an emanation of Mind and should not be confused in its limitations with matter. Its being is governed and sustained by ideas, and ideas have no physical dimensions.

...
evil--That which is not of God; unreality; error thought; a product of the fallen human consciousness; negation.

Evil is a parasite. It has no permanent life of itself; its whole existence depends on the life it borrows from its parent, and when its connection with the parent is severed nothing remains. In Divine Mind there is no recognition of evil conditions. Such conditions have no basis of reality. They are conjurations of a false consciousness. Apparent evil is the result of ignorance, and when Truth is presented the error disappears.

There is but one presence and one power, God omnipotent. But man has the privilege and freedom of using this power as he will. When he misuses it he brings about inharmonious conditions. These are called evil. Evil appears in the world because man is not in spiritual understanding. He has not learned that all is Mind; neither has he conformed to the law of Mind, with the result that inharmony appears in his body and affairs. He can do away with evil by learning rightly to use the one Power. If there were a power of evil, it could not be changed.

evil, overcoming--Evil must be overcome with good. We must dwell in the good so wholly that all the substance of our thoughts and our being is given over to the

//page 65

promotion of the good. This is a mental process in which all negation (evil) is denied, and creative, fearless affirmation of God's perfect good is steadfastly adhered to. [emphasis added]

evolution--The development achieved by man working under spiritual law. It is the result of the development of ideas in mind. What we are is the result of the evolution of our consciousness, and this consciousness is the result of seed ideas sown in the mind. In the beginning, God implanted His perfect word--involved this seed word into each man. Evolution is the unfolding in consciousness of that which God involved in man in the beginning. (see involution)

evolution, spiritual--The unfolding of the Spirit of God into expression. The Christ or Son of God evolution in man is plainly taught in the New Testament as the supreme attainment of every man. "For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19).

exaltation--A lifting up; a raising up of the consciousness in man from a physical and mental basis to the spiritual. Affirm: "I hear the voice of God within me and I am exalted."

exercise--The act of training the mind to think of God's attributes as forces that are being incorporated into the mind as one incorporates strength into the body. "Exercise thyself unto godliness" (I Tim. 4:7).

exercises, spiritual--Prayer, meditation, worship, and fasting from erroneous ideas.

existence--"State or fact of having being" (Webster); manifestation. The object of man's existence is to bring forth in the race that which exists in God.

exorcist--One who uses a holy name to cast out evil spirits; an imitator of Truth who is not in the understanding of the change of heart and thought that must accompany all true healing. (see Acts 19:13-16)

expectation--Anticipation of divine good. Looking

//page 66

about for the wondrous benefits God has prepared for us.

In every person is that which causes him always to hope for and to expect that which is good and true. This very expectation helps the good to become active.

experimentation--Man is a free agent. He can open his mind to divine wisdom and know creative law, or he can work out his unfoldment through experimentation. Our race is in the experimental stage. In our ignorance we transgress the law to the very limit, and then a great reaction sets in, a general condition that is negative to the point of dissolution. Then, that in us which always looks obediently to God in an extremity is awakened, and we seek divine guidance.

external forms of religion, worship of--Undue attention to ritual and ceremony. Concern with the letter and not the spirit of religion.

eye, inner--Spiritual vision; intuitive seeing with the eye of Truth.

eye, single--Searching quality of mind with keen observation that selects only that which is good. The single eye is open and receptive only to the guiding light of Spirit.

eyes, blind--A darkened consciousness. When we are exalted and illumined through Truth darkness disappears. "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness" (Isa. 29:18).

//page 67

//section F

//text

faculty, spiritual--An individualized center of God consciousness. The twelve faculties or ideas in Divine Mind are: faith, strength, wisdom or judgment, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order or law, zeal, renunciation, and life. Man takes control of his faculties through exercising the will.

There are two ways to develop the spiritual faculties: through the evolutionary law of experience and trial (the school of the twelve sons of Jacob); or by the direct power of the Word, or the I AM (the purifying of the twelve apostles of Jesus). The law of Moses and the experiences of the Children of Israel under the old dispensation represent the first; and the transforming power of the true Word, or gospel of Jesus Christ, as set forth in the New Testament, is the second. When Divine Mind is looked to as the one and only guide, the faculties of man are developed in an orderly manner through the power of the Word. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14).

faculties, awakened--Faculties of mind that have been expanded until they function in harmony with Divine Mind.

failure--Inability, through a lack of power, to make a demonstration. Seeming failure is often a steppingstone to something higher.

faintheartedness--Uncourageous thoughts, lacking ability and efficiency.

faith--The perceiving power of the mind linked with the power to shape substance. Spiritual assurance; the power to do the seemingly impossible. It is a magnetic power that draws unto us our heart's desire from the invisible spiritual substance. Faith is a deep inner knowing that that which is sought is already ours for the taking.
"Now faith is assurance of things hoped for" (Heb. 11:1).A close analysis shows that faith is the foundation of all that man does. Jesus spoke of a new condition for the upliftment of the race. He called it the "kingdom of the heavens." He said it must be built upon the foundation typified by Peter (rock), who represents faith. This is proof that faith is closely related to the enduring, firm. unyielding forms of substance. The development of the faith faculty is a key to spiritual realization. "According to your faith be it done unto you" (Matt. 9:29).

//page 68
Faith in God is the substance of existence. To have faith in God is to have the faith of God. We must have faith in God as our Father and source of all the good we desire.

Faith is more than mere belief. It is the very substance of that which is believed. It works by love. Thoughts of condemnation, enmity, and resistance must be released and divine love declared; then faith will work unhindered.

Faith working in spiritual substance accomplishes all things. This is the faith that co-operates with creative law. When faith is exercised deep in spiritual consciousness, it finds its abode; and under divine law, without variation or disappointment, it brings results that are seemingly miraculous.

faith, blind--An instinctive trust in a power higher than ourselves. Because blind faith does not understand the principles of Being, it is liable to discouragement and disappointment.

faith, center of--The pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain, is the center of faith in the body of man. Concentration of thought on this center opens the mind of man to spiritual faith.

faith compared with trust--Trust is a weaker brand of faith, but better than mistrust. As a rule, persons who merely trust the Lord do not understand divine law. If they had understanding, they would affirm the presence and power of God until the very substance of Spirit would appear in manifestation.

//page 69

faith cure--Another name for spiritual healing.

faith, how cultivated--By studying the experiences of Peter (the apostle representing faith), we obtain suggestions on the development of this faculty. The vacillating allegiance of Peter to Jesus illustrates the growth of faith in one who has not developed this faculty. Faith is built up through denial of all doubt and fear and continuous affirmations of loyalty to the divine idea, the higher self. One must have faith in one's spiritual capacity and depend on it in the face of adverse appearances.

faith in oneself--The ground for man's faith in himself is the truth that he is a son of God and, as such, he inherits the divine nature. Man should have faith in himself because he cannot be successful in any line without such faith.

faith, intellectual--The faith that has its seat of action in the intellect only. Intellectual man has faith in his art, in his science, or in his philosophy, which answers his purpose for the time being.

faith of Jesus--Jesus did not claim an exclusive supernatural power, which we usually accredit to Him. He had explored the ether energy, which He called the "kingdom of the heavens"; His understanding was beyond that of the average man. However, He knew and said that other men could do what He did if they would only have faith. He encouraged His followers to take Him as a pattern for faith and to use the power of thought and word. Divine healing is due to the application of the same law that Jesus used. In most instances, He demanded faith on the part of those He healed; and with this faith as a point of mental and spiritual contact, He released the latent energy in the atomic structure of the ones in need of healing, and they were restored to life and health. "He that believeth

//page 70

on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12).

faith, prayer of--The act of mentally taking that which is desired. Jesus said, "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24).

faith thinking--The most important power of man is the original faith-thinking faculty. All of us have the thinking faculty located in the head, from which we send forth good, bad, and indifferent thoughts. If we are educated and molded after the average pattern of the human family, we may live a lifetime and never have an original thought. The thinking faculty is supplied with the second-hand ideas of our ancestors, the dominant beliefs of the race, or the threadbare stock of the ordinary social swim. This is not faith thinking. Faith thinking is done only by one who has caught sight of the Truth of Being and who feeds his thinking faculty on images generated in the faith center. Faith thinking is not merely an intellectual process based on reasoning. The faith thinker does not compare, analyze, or draw conclusions from known premises. He does not take appearances into consideration; he is not biased by precedent. His thinking gives form, without cavil or question, to ideas that come straight from the eternal fount of wisdom. His perception impinges on the spiritual, and he knows.

faith, understanding--Faith that functions from Principle. It is based on knowledge of Truth. It understands the law of mind action; therefore, it has great strength. To know that certain causes produce certain results gives a bedrock foundation for faith.

faithless generation--A generation that lacks the spiritual faith and power to do the works Jesus would have it do, such as healing the sick and making the blind to see.

fall--A retrogression in consciousness from the pristine Christ Mind to the personal and sense mind of the Adam man.
 

//page 71
 

false claims--Those who make the indwelling Spirit of truth their guide and authority will not be deceived by false claims made either by other persons or by institutions. The safe way is to trust the Spirit of truth continually for protection from false beliefs.

family, the Christ--Jesus said: "Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Mark 3:33-35).

family, the universal--If God is the Father of all, then all men and women are brothers and sisters in a universal family. In the Christ consciousness we are all one.

famine--Lack of faith in God's power to prosper.

fasting--Denial; abstinence from error thoughts, to the end that we may meditate on Truth and incorporate it into our consciousness of oneness with the Father.

fate--"That which is destined or decreed; appointed lot. Fate suggests inevitability and immutability in strict use, but usually carries no clear implication of whether it is good or evil" (Webster). Man, through his thought, is working out his own salvation; he is created in the image and likeness of God and is finally to reach "the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).

Father--God through His Holy Spirit is the Father.

Father and Son--The Father-Mind is the living Principle, the Absolute, the Great Unlimited. The Son is the living Word.
Father and Son, result of knowing both--When we are quickened in spiritual understanding, we experience a renewal of mind and a transformation of body. The
mortal becomes immortal, the corruptible becomes incorruptible. It is the resurrection into eternal life.

//page 72

Father of lights--Source of profound understanding, illumination, wisdom. Through our realization of and meditation on spiritual illumination, we open the way for these spiritual gifts to be showered upon us.

Father-Principle--The exact and immutable Principle of Being, lying back of all existence as cause, and approachable only along lines of perfect law. It is omnipresent and is not subject to change or open to argument.

Father's house, the--The Christ consciousness. It is the center of man's consciousness and is made manifest to him by mind processes alone.

favor of God--Good realized through faithful obedience; the orderly unfoldment in mind and body that results from meditation and prayer; a blessing that comes to us through obedience to Spirit. The bringing about of an inner spiritual strength, resulting in the development of all parts of mind and body.

fear--"Painful emotion marked by alarm; dread; disquiet" (Webster). Fear is one of the most subtle and destructive errors that the carnal mind in man experiences. Fear is a paralyzer of mental action; it weakens both mind and body. Fear throws dust in our eyes and hides the mighty spiritual forces that are always with us. Blessed are those who deny ignorance and fear and affirm the presence and power of Spirit.

fear, how to overcome--Fear is cast out by perfect love. To know divine love is to be selfless, and to be selfless is to be without fear. The God-conscious person is filled with quietness and confidence.

fear of God--"Only fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth with all your heart" (I Sam. 12:24). In this scriptural passage the word fear is used with Webster's meaning: "Awe; profound reverence, especially for the Supreme Being."

//page 73

fearfulness--State of mind that is full of fear. Fearfulness is a parasite; it drives away divine guidance and produces weakness of the heart.

feast--Appropriation in a large measure; that is, laying hold of divine potentialities.

feast in Jerusalem--A receptive state of mind toward all spiritual good. It is the realization of the unfailing substance of Divine Mind. A great peace is there--"the peace of God, which passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7)--and a welling up of an indescribable substance that fills the whole being with satisfaction.

feast, marriage--Conscious union between spirit or mind and body in the silent influx of substance; the union of man with Spirit. A thirsting for things of Spirit is necessary before one can come to the spiritual marriage feast. Great desire for the light and purity of Spirit is the power that prepares man for this greatest of feasts. (see Matt. 22:1-15)

feast, Sabbath--The inflow of spiritual substance that we realize when we enter the silence.

feeding the five thousand--In the universal Mind is a substance that Jesus called the "Father," which is also the seed of all visible substance. It is the only real substance because it is unchangeable, while visible substance is in constant transition.

An idea is purely spiritual and can be apprehended only by the mind. It is never visible to the eye but can be sensed by man through any of his spiritual functions. When the attention has been centered on the idea of substance long enough and strongly enough, a consciousness of substance is generated; and, by the powers of the various faculties of the mind in right relation, visible substance is formed. In this way, Jesus brought into visibility the loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand.

feeling--Feeling is external to thought; behind every feeling or emotion there lies thought, which is its direct

//page 74

cause. To erase a feeling, a change of thought is required.

feet--Represent the phase of the understanding that connects us with the outer or manifest world and reveals the right relationship toward worldly conditions in general. We can take possession of all substance that we comprehend and understand, in the name of I AM. This is the meaning of Josh. 1:3: "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spake unto Moses."

feet, washing of--The denial of materiality is illustrated in Jesus' washing of the apostles' feet (John 13:5-10). Even Peter (who represents faith) must be cleansed from belief in the reality of material conditions. To wash another's feet seems a menial thing, but in this humble way Jesus taught and exemplified the willingness of divine love to serve, so that man may be redeemed from the pride of the flesh.

feminine--The divine feminine in man is the mother phase of Being. God, through His Holy Spirit, is the Father.

field--Outside the house of God. "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world" (Matt. 13:37-38).

fiery furnace--A state of mind in which one goes through a purifying process, and evil and error are destroyed.

fire--Symbolizes cleansing and purification, but it is more than a symbol. Material fire is the symbol, and the fire of Spirit is the reality. The whole universe is alive with a divine, living, spiritual energy that consumes all the dross of sense and materiality. It is a fire that burns eternally. Because this is true, some have assumed that disobedient, sinful persons are to live forever in everlasting torment. But if the fire is eternal, the dross is not, and when the error is consumed the burning stops. The fire consumes only when it meets anything unlike

//page 75

itself. In purified man it is manifested as his eternal life.

fire of God--The Word of God in action. It burns out the dross of negative consciousness and reveals the Christ.

fire, tongues of--Illumination of thought, in demonstration of Spirit's presence and power.

firmament--Faith in mind power, a firm, unwavering place in consciousness. The firmament in the midst of the waters is an idea of confidence or faith in the invisible.

first-born--The "first-born" of every state of consciousness is the personal I. When the flood of light from the universal is let in through our declaration of the one wisdom and one love, this I of every mortal state of consciousness is slain, and there is a "great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead" (Exod. 12:30).

fish--Represent ideas of multiplication and fecundity. Accounts in which Jesus figures as a party to fish eating are symbolical of the mental side of eating, which is the appropriation of ideas.

The reason Jesus so often used fish to illustrate His teaching is that He was a living demonstration of ideas, and all that He did was in the realm of ideas