(A twelve week course f o r Unity Centers)

Y )U ~ ~

IESSON I i

Text R eference! Chapters 1, 2, and 3 - DISCOVER THE POTER WITHIN YOU

Supplementary Reading:
HOT I USED TRUTH (Cady), Chapter 1
POSTER THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE THINKING (Ernat Fox); p* 150
n it n «- n M p, 1
JESUS CHRIST HEALS (Fillm ore), Chapter 1 ' '
SELECTED STUDIES (Shanklih), Chapter 3
‘ ' ...... TALKS.CN TRUTH (Fillmore), p. 75

S ig n ific a n t concepts to be covered:

1* Emphasize that Josus was n ot very God, but that He made the grea t
d isco v ery o f the D iv in ity o f Man, the grea t breakthrough in to the
world'w ith in . Linger on t h is idea Of the breakthrough, how i t hajv
pened, 1what* i t im plies in man today, etc*
v
2* The th rust o f th is book'depends on'the concept that Jesus was a man,
h ig h ly evolved to be sure, but a man, “tempted in a l l p oin ts such a s w e,"
Thus He had a p e r fe c t ly normal childhood, during which the great
changes took p la ce and the C h rist powers evolved*
Charles F illm ore: "Jesus ev id en tly did not know in the beginning
o f His l i f e that He was t o make t h is grea t demonstration* He was
a carpenter and worked w ith Joseph, but f o r th ir ty years He must
have been growing in s p ir it u a l power. In m editation He d ou b tless
caught glim pses o f the great Truth, and i t dawned on Him that He
was the man who had been se le c te d , or that through His cwn demon-
stration'H e had attain ed the a b ilit y , t o overcome the negative '
thoughts, the sin s that were te a rin g down the b od ies o f the race, and
th at He had the power t o gain complete mastery o f the human weakness
c a lle d death." (ASP, p. 143)

3*' The b a sic p r in c ip le o f C h r istia n ity i s the DIVINITY OF MAN., Without

t h is p r in c ip le , the C h ristian church i s a monument to a man* Jesus
d iscov ered His own d iv in ity , and He knew that what God has done God can
do, th at what was tru e o f Him must be p o t e n t ia lly true o f a l l men.

4* Get the p ictu re in mind of- the window in the w a ll - and o f Jesus
s i t t i n g b efore the window. This i s a sim ple key that w i l l giv e th6 r ig h t
p ersp ectiv e to much o f Jesus' teaching t o come la t e r in the course, TKs
emphasis on the I AM,

5* Be c le a r about the C h ristian fundamental: "God so loved the w orld th at

he gave h is on ly begotten s o n ...." M eister Eckhart's statement i s an
e x c e lle n t key. Be sure the students understand t h is p oin t.

6, Making a "d e c isio n f o r C h rist". What i s meant? Be ce rta in that we

do not think o f Jesus here. C h rist in you i s you at the p oin t o f God*
 7. The new birth , being born again, to repent, being converted, t o be
transformed — a l l mean ach ievin g a higher le v e l o f experience where
we l iv e "with the lic e n s e o f a higher order o f b ein gs." (Thoreau)

8. S tress the poin t that the Truth o f Jesus Christ i s not reserved fo r
"Christians'1 only. To make the " d e cisio n fo r C h rist", means to de
termine to a ct from the h igh est in you, the God s e l f o f you. One can
la y hold o f the C h ristian dynamic even i f He doesn't b e lie v e Jesus
ever liv e d . We don't have t o accept Jesus, but we must accept C h rist.
There are probably many C h ristian s who have never r e a lly caught the
C h rist dynamic, and many non-Christians who have. Thus, in sig h t in to
the Truth o f Jesus C h rist re v e a ls a tr u ly u n iv ersa l r e lig io n .

Added Commentary relevant t o Chapters 1, 2t and 3:

Thomas Troward: "He (Jesus) came, not t o proclaim Him self, but Manj
not t o t e l l us of His Own D iv in ity separatin g Him fran the race and
making Him the Great Exception, but t o t e l l us o f our D iv in ity and to
show in Him self the Great Example o f the I AM reaching i t s ' f u l l p e r
son al expression in Man." (Bible Mystery and B ib le Meaning, p. 92)

Re: The V irgin B irth: I t may u ltim a tely be proven that a v ir g in b irth
i s s c i e n t i f i c a l l y p o s s ib le . And We may fin d that in the development and
re-b irth o f a h igh ly evolved soul^ such as Jesus unquestionably was, the
b irg in b irth i s not only p o s s ib le , but n ecessary and an evitable. But
the "d octrin e" has been s e t fo r th f o r the wrong reasons - and thus, i t
weakens rath er than strengthens the C h ristian case.
I f Jesus entered l i f e in absolu te p u rity and p e rfe ctio n , i f He was
God taking the form o f man f o r awhile — then the whole G ospel becomes
a one way, dead-end s tr e e t. We sim ply b e lie v e and that i s the end o f it .
But th ere i s more in volved than sim ply a church to jo in and a creed t o
accept. Jesus said, "Be ye p e r fe c t as your Father in Heaven i s p e r fe c t . "
We can't achieve that go a l by a ccep tin g a creed and s i t t i n g on our la u r e ls.
Paul ta lk s about t h is with a mixture o f d espair and determination, "Not
as though I had already attained, e it h e r were already p e r fe c t: but I fo llo w
a f t e r . ••.fo r g e ttin g those th in gs which are behind, and reaching fo r th unto
th ose things which are before, I p ress toward the mark f o r the p r iz e o f
the high c a llin g o f God in C h rist'J esu s."
Jesus was not God becoming man, but man becoming God. He was a h igh ly
evolved so u l p re ssin g on beyond any known le v e l o f achievement b efore or
sin ce — to that "high c a llin g " o f the p e r fe c t ex p ression o f the God-pOten-
t i a l in man. And He c le a r ly taught that t h is same becoming, t h is same
achievement i s the o b je c t o f your l i f e and mine.
This turns the s p o tlig h t from the beginning of Jesus' l i f e t o i t s
seeming end. I f H is ' lif e was the f in a l stage o f the p e r fe c tin g o f th e God-
p o te n tia l w ith in Him, then we can see that the ultim ate overcaning 6f
death, and^the resu rre ctio n and ascen sion at the end o f Jesus' l i f e , i s
a v i t a l l y important fundamental o f His gosp el. But i f Jesus came in to
l i f e under some s p e c ia l dispen sation , then His l i f e sto ry becomes an in
te r e s tin g drama that has l i t t l e t o do w ith your l i f e and mine.

Charles F illm ore: "When we sin g, ' I ' l l go w ith Him a l l the way,' we do
not always r e a liz e the mighty import o f our words. Jesus went a l l the
way from the huinan to the divin e. He went a l l the way t o im m ortality.
 "He ra ise d not on ly His own con sciou sn ess from d espair and h op elessn ess t o
assurance and con fiden ce in the presence and continued help o f a lov in g
Father-God, but He opened the way f o r the whole race to do likew ise,. When
we determine to fo llow Him a l l the way we undertake theemighty work o f the
ages, a rev olu tion o f character'before which the famous tasks o f Hercules
pale in to in s ig n ific a n c e , " (KL, p, 127)

Archdeavon l i l b e r f o r c e , "The s e c r e t o f optimism i s the mental e f f o r t to

abide in con sciou s oneness w ith the Supreme Power, the In fin it e Immanent
Mind evolvin g a p e r fe c t p u r p o s e , . O u r slow-moving minds may be lon g in
reco g n izin g it , and our u n sp ir itu a l liv e s may seem t o con tra d ict i t j but
deep in the centre o f the bein g o f every man there i s a divin e s e l f t o be
awakened, a ray o f God's l i f e which Paul c a l ls 'Christ in you,' Jesus i s
the embodiment o f the Universal p r in c ip le o f the immanence o f God in man,,,
Jesus has shown us what the id e a l i s t o which t h is p r in c ip le w i l l lea d .,* "

Ira P rog off (July 1961 issu e o f ATLANTIC) — "Freud's o r ig in a l theory was
that the unconscious was composed p rim arily o f wishes or memories which were
so p a in fu l or u ndesirable that they were rep ressed from con sciou sn ess,' The
e f f e c t o f such a con ception was n e c e s s a r ily ' t o emphasize the hegative fao-
to r s in p e rso n a lity '— wh&t man'cannot bear, what he cannot fa ce. But the
experience o f Adler, Jung, Rank, and oth ers in d ica ted th at n eu rosis occurs
in the modem w orld not because o f rep ressed fe a rs but because something
crea tiv e and meaningful i s seeking u n su cce ssfu lly to express i t s e l f in the
l i f e o f the in d iv id u a l. The fr u s tr a tio n o f p o t e n t ia lit y i s the r o o t o f
n eu rosis. The im p lica tion s o f th is view Are la rge, Man is not a bundle o f
rep ressio n s but a bundle o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s , and the key t o therapfcr l i e s in
re a ctiv a tin g the p ro cess o f growth,"

I t has been s a id th at the whole course o f c iv il iz a t io n has'been changed, f o r

b ette r or fo r worse, by what happened at Alamogordo, N* Li,, on July 16,
1945, That was the day when the f i r s t mushroan clou d o f an Atomic baub ex
p lo s io n was w itn essed by man. I t was an awesome si$ it..*an d , a t th at mo
ment, we en tered the Atomic Age, A ctually, the f i r s t s p l i t t i n g o f the atom
had taken place a t the U n iversity o f Chicago on December 2, 1942, But i t
was not u n t il Alamogordo thqt we had a chance t o dram atically catch the
f u l l im p lica tion s o f nuclear f is s io n , "The Bomb" exploded, unleashing un
imaginable power h ith erto locked w ithin the b a sic b u ild in g block s o f the
Universe. . . forebodin g a wonderful w orld o f opulence t o men o f fa it h and
v isio n ,,,.a n d a sure s te p t o Armageddon t o men o f doubt and fear.
There are those who say th at the " s p lit t i n g o f th e atom" was the grea t
e s t d iscov ery o f a l l h istory . There i s l i t t l e doubt but that i t was the '
great breakthrough in man's knowledge o f the Universe around him. However,
the Universe only e x is t s fo r man as i t e x is t s in h is knowledge about i t .
A ll d iscov ery i s se lf- d is c o v e r y , and a l l knowledge is self-know ledge. Thus
i t may w ell'b e that the g r ea te st d isco v ery o f h isto r y was not the s p lit t i n g
o f the atom, but the s p l i t t i n g o f the Adam. Unfortunately, we have no dates
or p ic tu re s o f th is great moment. I t happened about one hundred generations
ago in fa r - o ff P alestin e, There was no mushroom cloud, no earth-shaking ex
p lo sio n . No one ever r e a lly se e s an atom, l e t alone i t s break-up. A ll we
see i s the chain rea ctio n o f the i n i t i a l fis s io n . The s p l i t t i n g o f the Adam
happened in a young lad, the son o f a sim ple carpenter. I t was not a detona
tion , but a r e v e la tio n o f great in sig h t. No one a c tu a lly saw i t happen,
but the chain re a ctio n i s s t i l l to in g f e l t a fte r 2,000 years.
IESSON 2

Text R eference: Chapter U

Supplementary Reading;
IESSONS IN TRUTH (Cady) Chapter 2
JESUS CHRIST HEALS (Fillmore) Chapter 2
KNOPF THYSELF (Lynch) Chapter 2
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING (Fillmore) 'Chapter 2
HONEST TO GOD (Bishop Robinson), Chapter 3
MEISTER ECKHART (Raymond Blakney Translation), paperback. Harper Torohbook

S ig n ific a n t concepts to be cov ered ;

1. The need t o get a la r g e r thought o f God, t o know that one doesn’t neces
s a r ily get the con sciou sn ess o f God by saying he i s a b e lie v e r . D iscu ss the
"God i s Dead" idea in a com pletely p o s it iv e manner. The God concept that
p rev a iled through ages past, had to d ie, so that we cou ld fin d ou rselves
in the Presence. Emerson says, "When we have broken w ith the God o f
tr a d itio n and ceased to w orship the God o f our in t e lle c t , then God ifiires
us w ith His p resen ce."

2. I t i s w e l l t o c o n sid e r the ev olu tion o f the God concept through the Old
Testament, and to p oin t out th at much o f our C h ristian t r a d itio n has been '
in flu en ced by the Old Testament God who loved and hated, b le sse d and cursed,
created and destroyed.

3. On the matter 6f the'form u lation o f the "great h is t o r ic creed s", such as

the Holy T rin ity , e tc ., don’t make an issu e o f these w ith the view o f
in v a lid a tin g them — f o r they can have and have in Unity been given in te r
e s t in g m etaphysical meanings. But tr y t o ge t and presen t an o b je c tiv e
thought about the development o f C h ristian th eology. ' I f you have a ccess to
a copy - read Ralph Waldo T rine's, "THE MAN WHO KNEW", chapter 21. See t h is
as the cornerstone o f the form al r e lig io n that evolved about Jesus*

4-. Give serio u s thought to par. 2 on p. 32 — the idea o f God a s S p ir it —

which was not a d e fin itio n but a guide t o d ir e c t our thoughts away from
try in g t o d efin e or d escrib e or lo c a l iz e God. This i s a b so lu te ly im perative*
F illm ore's JESUS CHRIST HEALS (Chapter 2) deals w ith th is admirably. "God
does not love anybody or anything. God i s the love in everybody and every
th in g." This i s a su b tle but s ig n ific a n t p oin t in g e ttin g Jesus' concept
o f God.

5. "God i s not in you in the sane sense that a r a is in i s in a bun. God i s in

you as the ocean i s in a wave. The wave i s nothing more nor l e s s than the
ocean exp ressin g as a wave." D iscuss t h is as length. This leads t o the
u n ity concept. Unity moans one, not two* As long-as we are d ea lin g w ith
man and God, we have a dualism i Note how we refd r, out o f h a b it, ' to —
God speaks to me, God h elps me, God works fo r me, God l i v e s in me, etc.
A ll th is i s a great evidence o f a sin cere fa ith , but i t u su a lly i s a carry
over of'an old anthropomorphic God or an outside fo rce . God doesn't a ct
upon us, God i s the a ctio n p r in c ip le in us. And that p r in c ip le i s a more
r e a l part o f us than the s e l f that i s acted upon. The s e lf- liv in g n e s s o f
God, the in d iv id u a liz a tio n o f God, the exp ression o f God — a l l these are
 terms that should be understood and used - to b u ild the con sciou sn ess o f God,
not as person or even power ou tside o f us, but o f the grea ter dimension o f us.

6. Gf course the r ig h t understanding o f God must be c o rr e la te d w ith a new

a ttitu d e o f prayer. This i s d e a lt w ith in a la te r lesson , but i t i s appropos
at th is time. Prayer i s not f o r God, but f o r you. Deal with th is at length.

7. God and the war, God and human c o n f li c t s — Why doesn’t God intervene?
These are tim ely and relevan t qu estion s. Remember t o hold in mind through
a l l o f t h is - the D iv in ity o f Man. God i s the l e v e l o f In fin it e p o te n tia l
in a l l men. War comes out o f the fa ilu r e o f men t o l e t th e ir lig h t shine.
But God remains in them t h e ir p o te n tia l fo r good, f o r peace. Remember in
the Parable o f th e P rodigal Son - the Father (or God-self) did'not go out
and prevent the son from "knowing want". In a very r e a l sense, he'cannot.
For he can only do f o r us what he can do through us. F ir s t o f a ll, man
must come to h im self. War i s the "fa r country" experience o f modern times.
Man must come to'h im self. But the Father Presence i s the p o te n tia l f o r
peace, fo r teason, fo r- lo v e in a l l disputants, on both s id e s of b a ttle lin e s
and co n feren ce'ta b les, and in a l l p eop les. God can stop wars in the hearts
o f in d iv id u a ls, when they cofte t o themselves and " le t God be God in you"
(Eckhart). Then in d iv id u a ls, a c tin g from the h igh est w ith in them, w i l l stop
the wars amofig men and nations. To pray f o r v ic t o r y in war i s never rig h t
or ju s t if ie d , no matter how worthy the cause - fo r i t i s s t i l l an attempt
to gain divin e support f o r v ic t o r y over people. The divine o f each in d iv i
dual i s the power t o gain v ic to r y o f h is own human s e l f — prayer f o r tfiiis
v ic t o r y i s the on ly kind ju s t if ie d .

8. The cosmic idea o f unity ou tlin ed on p. 36 and 37 i s v it a l to the under

standing o f the D iv in ity o f Man. This i s the key t o w orld peace, the aware
ness o f u n ity with God and u n ity w ith fe llo w man. Do some reading in
Whitman’s "leaves o f Grass" to get the con sciou sn ess o f the cosm ic view.
You w i l l fin d much o f th is in M eister Eckhart too.

9. The Grace of God. On p. 3§ and 39, we have an extrem ely simple a rticu la
tio n o f the idea. See grace, not as a s p e c ia l d ispen sation in God, but as
an explanation o f the higher working o f divin e law. I f we are not ca re fu l
on th is point, grace can lead us very su b tly in to a d u a lis t ic concept where
i t becomes a kind o f d ivin e favor sought and granted by the God "out th ere."

Added Commentary Relevant t o Chapter A:

"To guage the sou l we must guage i t w ith God, f o r the Ground o f God, and the
Ground o f the s o u l are one and the same." (Eckhart)

"The knower and the knovm are one. Simple people imagine that they Should see
God, as i f He stood there and they here. This i s not so. God and I, we are
one in knowledge." (Eckhart)

Chce a l i t t l e g i r l was observed s i t t i n g on the f l o o r fu r io u s ly drawing a pio-1

ture w ith colored crayons on a b ig sh e e t'o f cardboard. Her mother asked her,
’What are you doing?" The girl'answ ered, " I am drawing a p ictu re o f God."
The shocked mother remonstrated, "But nobody knows what God look s lik e . " The
l i t t l e g ir l' w e t her crayon in her mouth and dashed i t again at the paper as
she r e p lie d , "They w i l l when I g e t through."
"Great throngs o f people stream in to churches, temples and synogogues because
th is i s the way to get c lo s e t o God, I t would u su a lly be con sidered s e lf -
evident that God i s presen t in a church but not in a theater, that He works
through'the holy'man, but not through the sinner, Fhcm the standpoint o f
scien ce, however, i f God i s lim ite d in m anifestation, i t must fo llo w that He
is lim ite d in p o te n tia lity , in power,
"The Old Testament ta lk s o f God as having human form, human q u a litie s ,
human lim ita tio n s. I t speaks o f God's arm. His mouth. His l i f e . His eyes, He '
i s s a id to move, to w restle, t o repent o f an action , t o be je a lo u s and graciou s,
to love and hate. The ca re fu l student w i l l see the p ro gressiv e r e a liz a t io n o f
a la r g e r thought o f God through the R itriarxhs, the Judges and the Prophets
o f the Old Testament, This u n foldin g id e a l cultim ates in the "Father abiding
in me" o f Jesus idealism , the God in whom "we liv e and move and have our b ein g,"
But such statements have been ra re," (cut out o f o r ig in a l manuscript o f
DISCOVER THE PWER YfITHIN YOU")
LESSON 3?

Text R eference; Chapter 5

Supplementary Reading;
DINAMICS FOR LIVING (Fillm ore), p.'43
KEEP A TRUE LENT (Fillmore), p. 54, p. 110
WHAT ARE YOU? (Shanklin), p. 5

S ig n ific a n t Concepts to bo covered ;

1. Give some thought to the "m iserable sin n er" concept o f tr a d itio n a l
C h ristia n ity , how i t came about and why. The orthodox teachin g has been
that man's goodness was p r e tty much lim ite d t o h is a b il it y t o accept
Jesus and thus to earn a p lace in Paradise in the fu tu re. In the
DIVINITY OF KAN, every person is good in the wholeness o f the true man
he is , though he expresses th is goodness in various degrees. P erfection
i s the beginning and the end o f man - "Ye th erefore s h a ll be p e rfe ct,
as your heavenly Father i s p e r fe c t . " This says that you must u ltim a tely
evolve that which i s involved. You are created as a p e r fe c t idea in
God Mind and you must u ltim a tely u n fold that idea. Jesus d iscovered
th is divine dimension in nan and demonstrated i t in His own l i f e . And...
Be b eliev ed in a "repeatable" C h rist. This i s a good word - use it .

2. Man, made in th e _image lik e n e ss o f God — th is i s a fundamental Truth

that should u n d erlie our Truth Study, And th is i s what Jesus was
teaching - not His own d iv in ity , but the D iv in ity o f Man.

3. Dwell much on the words, "C h rist" and "Jesus" — and do not leave the
su b je ct u n t il everyone has caught the d is t in c t io n between them. I t i s
on th is concept that the whole C h ristian teaching hangs.

4. Through the D iv in ity o f Man, through the C h rist dimension o f him, he

can overcome, be healed, and achieve su ccess and fu lfillm e n t . Jesus
saw the D iv in ity in people and helped and healed them. When we see the
D ivin ity in ou rselves or others we can achieve in the same manner.

5. Jesus wasn't a magic worker, He'was not going around working m iracles.
He was saying, "Y6u can be healed, you can be helped, not because I am
something s p e c ia l, but because you are something s p e c ia l — because you
are a c h ild o f God." You can e la b o ra te on the illu s t r a t io n o f the lig h t
bulb and i t s p o te n tia l t o become a lig h t .

6. The in cid en t where Jesus asks, 'Who do you say that I &n" and Peter
answers, "Thou a rt the C h rist, the son o f the liv in g God," i s important
in that i t has been the b a sis o f p roof that Jesus was God cone down from
"out th ere." I t rev eals the technique fo r p ro p erly evalu atin g any
person not by " fle s h and b lood " but by "my Father who i s in heaven" —
not by sig h t but by in sig h t.

7. "Upon th is rock w i l l I b u ild my church" has been the b a sis f o r the

development o f the C h ristian E c c le s ia s t ic a l establishm ent. Sedn in the
context o f the D iv in ity o f Man being revealed in th is in ciden t, there
i s se r io u s qu estion whether Jesus authorized the e sta b lis h iilg o f any
church a t th is time or a t any other tim e.
 8« Ponder the il l u s t r a t io n o f the dandelion as a "performance." In th is
" simple example i s a key to understanding nan. Man grows and changes, but
there i s a conductor and a score in the form o f an electro-m agn etic non
m a teria l pattern which i s the whole even w hile the growing thing i s ex
p re ssin g only a part o f the whole. This i s a key to healing,

9* Note the problem o f the "black and w h ite" theory o f l i f e — -the "good
people and the bad p eop le." So often p eople f e e l that i f we can ju s t round
up a l l the bad people and d estroy then, the w orld would have peace. This
i s a dangerous a ttitu d e that must be cbrrected. The only a ltern a tiv e i s t o
r e a liz e that a l l men are in n ately good, and that the goodness must be '
a ctiv a ted and expressed. Criminology, stu d ies on ju v en ile delinquency, and'
the whole f i e l d o f education must fin d ways to "relea se the inner splendor",
and they w i l l — when they begin t o work on the premise that i t i s there.

10. Goethe’s concept i s worth con sid erable time in d iscu ssio n : " I f we take
a person as he i s j we make him worse; but i f we tqke him as i f he were
what he should be, we advance him t o what he can b e." I t i s a mighty im
portant guide t o working with and try in g to help other people,

11. Consider the Parable o f the P rodigal Son — and get i t c le a r th at the
son and the fath er in the sto r y are not two people or e n t it ie s , but one —
represen tin g the wholeness o f you and the human o f you.

12. You might ch allen ge the c la ss to use the Hindustani word of greetin g,
NAMASKAR (pronounced numnusKAR). I t l i t e r a l l y means, " I sa lu te the
d iv in ity in you."

Added Commentary Relevant to Chapter 5t

The purpose of l i f e i s to grow and u n fold our innate p o te n tia l, and thus every
experience in l i f e can be a ch allen ge t o h elp us in t h is process. Even the
d i f f i c u l t y can motivate us to d ig a l i t t l e deeper. Man i s God’s great p o s s i
b ili t y , so we see Jacob was ta k in g a m etaphysical stand when he w re stled w ith
the a n g el and declared, "I w i l l not l e t thee go u n t il thou b le s s me." Ho know
that l i f e is growth and unfoldraent and he wanted t o g e t something o f growth
from the experience.

Lloyd' C. Douglas was ob viou sly speaking in a m etaphysical vein when; in h is

novel, "The Green Light", speaking through kindly old DeAn Harcourt' he says:'
"Whatever I have been able t o achieve, in person al p o ise , s t a b ilit y , adequacy,
has come t o me by way o f the o b sta cle s I have met. This has always been true
o f men, sin ce the dawn. Emergencies have always been n ecessary to man’s evo
lu tion . I t was darkness that produced the lamp. I t was £ og that produced the
compass. I t was w in ter that cloth ed us, and hunger that drove us to'e x p lo ra tio n .
The av ia tor can ta x i a l l day on the ground w ith the wind a t h is back, but i f he
hopes to r is e , he must drive in to the fa ce o f i t . "
'Then he goes on t o say: "In s p ite o f a l l the p a in fu l circum stances I have
met, my course i s upward. I know that th e ' Universe i s on my sid e. I t w i l l not
l e t me idown. I have been detained a t tim es, but even tu ally i go on'through,
I knotfr that I am d estin y 's darling. In s p it e o f l i t t l e detainments, d isappoin t
ments, I get the s ig n a l t o go forward. At length I g e t the Green L ight."
Man i s a c h ild of'God, but note than th is, every nan i s a cen ter in the con
sciou sn ess o f God, a crea tiv e , dynamic center. Every nan in h is e s s e n t ia l
r e a l it y i s BEIM3 BEING, or God expressin g as that nan. Now ob viou sly there i s
a great d is p a r ity between the id e a l nan th at God created and the m anifest nan
that we now are. Thus the aim o f ev olu tion i s t o produce a nan who co n p le te ly
m anifests the inner l i f e o f the S p ir it. .

Jesus urged non to turn away from the w orld-centered l i f e and t o seek the
C h rist-cen tered pathway o f growth and unfoldment* And He proved the e f f e c t iv e
ness o f such a l i f e . Ho said, " I do nothing o f m yselfj but as my Father hath
taught me, I speq.k these th in gs. . ." This i s the p o s s i b i l i t y and p r iv ile g e
of a l l nen. Man nust con tin u a lly l i s t e n to the movement o f Mind in him, so
that he nay be guided in his unfoldment. ' One teacher says; "Say what you are
lis t e n in g to .i..n e v e r l is t e n t o what you are sayin g." I f we l is t e n to what
we are saying, we c o n fo m our liv e s to human standards. We nust l e t the
s p i r i t in us rev ea l i t s e l f t o us and as_ u s. God has something p a rticu la r
to say to the world through you — and what He i s try in g to say i s you..

Charles F illm ore, in one o f the g r e a te st concepts o f nan ev er expressed,

says,''Man can never d iscern more than a segment o f the c i r c l e in which he
moves, although h is powers and c a p a c itie s are su sc e p tib le of in f in it e expan
sion . He d isco v ers a fa c u lty in him self, and c u ltiv a te s i t u n t il i t opens out
in to a universe 6f correla te d fa c u lt ie s . The fa rth er he goes in to mind, the
w ider i t s horizon, u n til'h e i s forced to acknowledge that he i s not the p erson al
lim ite d th in g he appears, but the focu s o f an in f in it e idea. That idea con
ta in s w ithin i t s e l f in exh au stible p o s s i b i l i t i e s . These p o s s i b i l i t i e s are
p r o je c te d in to man's con sciou sn ess as an image i s r e f le c t e d in a m irror. Thus
man i s the most important fa c t o r in creation . He i s the w i l l o f God in d i
v id u a lized . "

And what i s the w i l l o f God? The w i l l of God as fa r as you are concerned

i s you as God sees you. I t i s the divine pattern^ the divin e idea seeking
to express and f u l f i l l i t s e l f in you, through you, and as you,
'Wo are fo r e v e r in h ib itin g and p erv ertin g the true essen ce of our s p ir it u a l
s e lf , lim itin g and r e s t r ic t in g the divine action . Paul was concerned w ith
th is when he said , "And be nbt conformed t o th is world, but be ye'transform ed
by the renewing o f your mind, that ye may prove what i s that good, and accept
able, and p e r fe c t w i l l o f God."
le sso n 4

Text R eferen ce: Chapter 6

Supplementary Reading?
SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Fox), p. 18
YCUR HOFE CF GLORY (Turner), 'p. 91-94-
THE NET IiAN (Maurice N icoll), p. 97-101

S ig n ific a n t Concepts to be Covered:

1. Emphasize the d is t in c t io n which i s made between the "old th e o lo g y ” which
t o ld men what to do, and Jesus example o f what to be and how t o think*
Jesus did not ou tlin e r e lig io u s p r a c tic e s to'b e conformed to. He speaks not '
o f conforming but o f transforming, a la Paul, "Be not conformed t o th is world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing o f your mind.” Thus the BEattitudos
d eal w ith a ttitu d e s o f being*

2. The poor in pride - those who have emptied them selves o f personal w i l l and
s e l f “aggrandizement. The Beatitude says, " I f you a r e w i l l i n g to change the
focu s o f your consciou sness from human s a t is f a c t io n and in t e lle c t u a l fu l
fillm en t - and to l e t go of your lim ite d concepts o f s e l f and l i f e — then
yours i s the Kingdom o f Heaven - or the fu lfillm e n t o f your divine p oten tia l*

3. Comfort f o r they that mourn — This doesn’t mean that mourning or the
c r i s i s that produce i t i s good or blessed . I t means that many people are
"driven to t h e ir knees" because they are not "poor in p rid e". In th is in
stance the s orrow may be a good thing, fo r a b le s s in g may w e ll sp rin g from
i t . Give emphasis to the two ways by which we may come in to a knowledge
of Truth.

4. The meek in h e rit the earth. This does not r e f e r to an a ttitu d e toward
people, but an a ttitu d e toward God. Note e s p e c ia lly the word "tamed" and
the illu s t r a t io n o f taming or harnessing the Niagara River, and the meekness
o f the F a lls has in h erited the earth. The man who "fig h ts f o r h is r ig h ts "
i s working in the wrong way. The only way t o be sure t o g e t our "r ig h ts"
in l i f e i s to "plug in " and l e t the divin e a c t iv it y exp ress through us.

5. T h irst fo r righ teou sn ess. One must want to be helped and healed enough to
change h is thought. To got out o f the gu tter man must begin thinking "out-
of-th e-gu tter" thoughts. Help and h ealin g are not dependent upon some
s p e c ia l a ct or w i l l o f God. They are a matter only o f man’s fa ith and Yision,
h is "hunger and t h ir s t a ft e r righ teou sn ess." I f men f u l f i l l th e ir part, the
promise i s "they s h a ll be f i l l e d . "

6. The m ercifu l obtain mercy. This i s the lav/ o f con sciou sn ess. Touch on
i t l ig h t ly here, f o r we d eal with i t at length la t e r in the book.

7. The pure in heart s h a ll see God. We see things not as they are but as we
arc. So when we get the con sciou sn ess o f God, we see God everywhere. Give
a tten tion t o the concept that when we are in God consciou sness, seein g bo“
comes an in sig h t that in flu en ces the outlook. Seeing then becomes an
actu al p r o je c tio n o f God-power, a power o f b le ssin g .
 8. C a llin g peacemakers sons o f God. This means you must c a l l y o u r se lf a
ch ild o f God — a ffirm that you are d ivin e in p o te n tia l. As you do, you
become a peacemaker, a lig h t unto the world,.

9* In ertia i s the key idea in th is beatitude* The mental in e r t ia that r e s is t s

change* The e f f o r t to improve your l i f e w i l l n e c e ssita te coming t o grip s
w ith the s ta te s o f mind that have d ire cte d the kind of l i f e you are now
experiencin g. Temptation i s but the in e r t ia l p u ll of lim ite d s ta te s o f con
sciou sn ess r e s is t in g the upward reach of your higher a sp ira tio n s. Jesus
i s saying, "there i s nothing wrong w ith being tempted w ith in y o u rse lf. This
i s a sign that you are growing, you are reaching fo r grea ter th in gs even i f
the human man i s p u llin g to keep you in lower things. The negative person
i s not tempted. Thus w h orjvcrw o have tem ptation,' there must be a sp ira tio n .
Wherever th or; i s a conscience over human weakness, there i s an evidence
o f an awakening d iv in ity .

Added Commentary relevant to Chapter 6:

THE BEATITUEES - from th e w ritin gs of Charles F illm ore (quoted here in f u ll)

Jesus i s u n iv er sa lly admitted t o have been the g r e a te st teacher o f morals

and s p ir it u a l a ttrib u te s the world has ever known, but th at He taught finances
or p h y siology even His most devout fo llo w ers do not lou d ly proclaim . The
reason fo r th is seeming delinquency i s our in a b ilit y to r is e t o His plane o f
con sciou sn ess when we in terp re t His teaching. I t i s sta ted that when He gave
the Beatitudes Ho "went up in to the mountain: and when Jie had sa t down, h is
d is c ip le s came unto him." Here i s in d ica ted the high sta te o f con sciou sn ess
in which the teacher " r e s t s " w ith a l l h is fa c u lt ie s g iv in g a tten tion . When
the lis t e n e r s are eq u a lly l i f t e d up the teqehing and i t s in terp re ta tio n w i l l
be found to f i t every phase o f l i f e .
The ro ot meaning o f the verb b le s s i s "to bestow good th in g s." Good th in gs
are the outer represen tation o f good ideas. With ideas as the key we s h a ll
a rrive at an in terp reta tio n t in t w i l l cover the whole f i e l d o f the s p ir it u a l
and p h y sica l a c t iv it i e s o f nan.
"B lessed a re the poor in S p ir it? f o r t h e ir s i s the kingdom o f heaven";
that is , happy are the poor in s p i r i t - not n e c e s s a r ily the poor in th is w orld ’s
goods but persons not weighed down w ith p o s s e s s io n s o f any kind. I t i s true
Jesus did say that i t was harder fo r a camel t o go through a needles eye than
f o r a r ic h man to g e t in to heaven; but may not a rich man a ls o have th at r ic h
con sciou sn ess which c o n s titu te s heaven? That depends on the importance p la ced
upon rich es by the p ossessor. I f the p o s s e s s io n of mondy, houses, lands, or
stock s and bonds has separated him from the love o f God, then extern al p o sse ssio n s
w il l bo a bar to the kingdom.
The r ic h young man vfho had kept a l l the commandments cou ld not en ter the
kingdom, because he would not give up h is love o f "great p o s s e s s io n s . " Those
who have large p o ssessio n s u su a lly tru st in them fo r th e ir se c u r ity and'happi-
ness. They fea r l o s s and lack. I f any p o sse ssio n tends to unhappiness, i t
keeps the p o sse sso r from the s p ir it u a l jo y that follow s a con sciou sn ess o f God’s
presence and His kingdom. So even a mind in p o sse ssio n o f a rich knowledge
o f the temporal a rts or scien ce s, i f these f a i l ' t o b rin g jo y and s a t is fa c t io n ,
i s an ob sta cle to the inflow o f the true rich es, "treasu res in heaven."
"B lessed are they th at mourn; fo r they s h a ll be com forted." The comfort
that God has given to those who mourn depends upon the importance they give t o '
the cause o f t h e ir mourning. H ost mourhing i s over the l o s s o f temporal things,
things that can ag&in be had with p h y sica l e ffo r t , Mourning o f t h is kind i s
u s e le s s and f u t ile , because i t wastes the energy that might be used to r e tr ie v e
the p o ssessio n s that are ju s t around the com er.
Then there i s the lo s s o f frien d s that seem beyond a l l replacement. Here
we must l i f t our consciou sness to th at o f God-Hind and r e a liz e that our n earest
and d ea fest are those who are one w ith us in S p ir it and thereby broth ers and
s is t e r s , sons and daughters, fath ers and mothers. As Jesus said, 'Who i s my
mother? and who are my breth ren ?... .whosoever s h a ll do the w i l l o f my Father who
i s in heaven, he is my brother, and s is t e r , and mother."
The fa c t i s that we cannot-in S p ir it be separated from those we love.
They may be put out o f the body, but t h e ir s p i r i t s continue t o fu nction and
fo llo w the d e sire o f th e ir h earts. Thousands are being Comforted by the sim ple
affirm ation, "There i s no separation in S p ir it . "
"B lessed are the meek: fo r they s h a ll in h e r it the earth ." Considered from
a m aterial standpoint th is statement or promise i s rid ic u lo u s. I t i s the ag
g r e ssiv e and not the meek who in h e rit and p ossess the earth. As a promise o f
something that w i l l e x is t under future earth ly con d ition s i t is o f no p r a c t ic a l
value. Jesus promised that those things should come t o pass on earth and' in
His time or generation. Jesus was prim arily con sid erin g s p ir it u a l tilings, and
wo a l l know that meekness m entally opens the door to the in flow o f id eqs o f a l l
kinds. For instance, the inventor knows that ho must make h is mind recep tiv e
to now ideas, which he docs by assuming a sta te o f mental meekness. The "earth"
hare referred t o by Jesus i s the radiant ether, o f which the s o i l i s a sediment
or coarse p r e c ip ita te . Prof. A lbert E in stein says i t i s h is experience that
great ideas come a fte r he has relaxed and ceased from strenuous search f o r
h is o b je c tiv e . I t i s th is meek or re ce p tiv e mind that in v ite s God id eas that
man can use and that makes him p o sse sso r o f the "earth " or r e a l substance.
"B lessed a rc they that hunger and t h ir s t a ft e r righ teou sn ess: f o r they
s h a ll be f i l l e d . " This promise i s the sequence to "Seek, and ye s h a ll fin d;
knock, and i t s h a ll be opened unto you." Every sin ce re d esire to know God and
His Truth i s s a t is f ie d . Wo arc as a ru le too e a s ily s a t is f ie d . The r e lig io u s
w orld i s f u l l o f persons who have sought and receiv ed the mere clen ch ts o f
s p ir it u a l Truth and then re ste d in the thought that they have i t a ll, and who
are sure that the rev ela tio n s they have receiv ed w i l l s e t them a t the r ig h t
hand o f God with Jesus in a heaven o f b lis s . However Truth i s p ro gressiv e, and
the seeker should ever be on the a le r t f o r new re v e la tio n s. The hunger and
t h ir s t o f the so u l fo r more o f the good th in gs o f the S p ir it i s p a r a lle le d by
p h y sica l hunger and t h ir s t . The Truth receiv ed today meets tod a y ’s needs, but
future needs w i l l a r ise and the hunger and t h ir s t f o r s p ir it u a l food t o moot
these needs should be kept a ctiv e . So do not become so f i l l e d w ith the Truth
you have that there i s no room in the "inn" of your mind fo r more, but open
your mind t o the " lig h t o f the w orld."
"B lessed a rc the m erciful? fo r they s h a ll obtain mercy." Mercy i s a
combination o f forgiv en ess, forbearance, and eq u a lity . Vlc~ forgive our enemies
because we know that i f they understood a l l the fa c to r s that en ter in they would
not do as they have done. "Father, fo r g iv e thorn; f o r they know not what they
do," s a id the sadly m isunderstood Man o f G a lilee who was k il le d by the ignorant
mob.
Then again we forbear to condemn or persecu te because o f our race unity,
the u n ity o f a l l men and women expressed in the jin g le "The C o lo n e l’s lady an’
Judy 0’Grady a r e ' s is t e r s under th e ir sk in s." We are lia b le t o the same sh ort
comings and sin s, and liv in g ou rselves in g la ss houses,'we should be ca re fu l
how we throw ston es. "He that i s w ithout sin among you, l e t him f i r s t ca st
a stone a t h er," warned the w ise Jesus.
 ’'B lessed are the pure in heart; f o r they s h a ll see God. " The heart i s the
seat o f the id e a l realm in i t s f i r s t m anifestation. This i s where an under
standing o f metaphysics i s n ecessary to the study o f Truth as taught by Jesu s*
R eligio n without metaphysics i s a ta le h a lf told . Jesus talk ed a great deal
about knowing the Truth and i t s consequences. How can one know anything w ithout
the use o f the mind? So v;e must know the nature o f the mind and how i t works
before we can tr u ly in terp re t the sayings of Jesus. Thus'the on ly source o f
our mind i s God-IIind* God-LIind is composed of pure ideas, which ideas are in
corporated in to our con sciou sn ess in and under divine law. When our con sciou s
ness i s charged with pure ideas the kingdom o f heaven i s e sta b lish e d in us and
w i l l be organized in the earth. In t h is way, heaven i s made m anifest in the
earth. I t was in th is pure s ta te that Hob was moved to proclaim , ”Yot in my
f le s h s h a ll I see God."
"B lessed are the peacemakers; fo r they s h a ll be c a lle d sons o f God."
C h ristian metaphysicians have found, by experim entation that they can d is so lv e
antagonism and disunion in th e ir church or s o c ia l group by g e ttin g togeth er and
h old in g thoughts o f peace and harmony and denying the power of thoughts o f anger,
ambition, and greed. Deep-seated turm oil req u ires that the words o f peace be
affirm ed s i l e n t l y in the group and then proclaim ed audibly w ith s p ir it u a l author
ity , in the name and through the power o f Jesus C h rist. This i s in ' fu lfillm e n t
o f the promise "Where two or three are gathered togeth er in my name, there am
I in the midst o f them." " I f ye s h a ll ask anything in my name, that w i l l I do,"
Jesus had the Son o f God re a liz a tio n , and wo can have i t through Him.
When enough o f earth 's inhabitants have e sta b lish e d th is r e a liz a t io n wo s h a ll
develop s p ir it u a l power s u f f ic ie n t to stop a l l wars and make peace permanent
in a l l the earth. This i s one o f the grea t works ahead o f God's people, "He
that b eliev eth on me, the works that I do s h a ll he do a lso ; and grea ter works
than those s h a ll he d o."
"B lessed are they that have been persecu ted fo r righ teousness sake; f o r
th e ir s i s the kingdom of heaven." Every r e lig io n has met with op p o sitio n and
p ersecu tion in the beginning, and C h ristia n ity i s no exception .' But the race
has evolved out o f i t s p h y sica l consciou sness in to a mental one, and the c ru ci
fix io n s and stake-burnings perpetuated try fa n a tics have about ceased. Now per
secu tion takes the form of an assumption o f s u p e r io r ity by m a jo r itie s and
arrogance on the part o f e c c l e s i a s t i c a l a u th o rities. We are f a s t outgrowing
th is man-made r e lig io n , and the time i s at hand when every claimant to r e lig io u s
au th ority w i l l have t o prove i t s claim s by i t s works. The master gave these
sign s as accompanying His rep re se n ta tiv e s: "And these sig n s s h a ll accompany them
that b elieve* in my name s h a ll they ca st out demons; they s h a ll speak w itji now
tongues; they s h a ll take up serpents, and i f they drink any deadly thing, i t
s h a ll in no w ise hurt them; they s h a ll la y hands on the sick , and thejr s h a ll
r e c o v e r ."
LESSON 5

Text R eferen ce: Chapter 7

Supplementary Reading;
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING (Fillmore), p. 63
WHAT ARE YCU? (Shanklin),-p. 22
SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Fox), p. 50

S ig n ific a n t Concepts To be Covered;

1. D iscov eries in the world around us are r e a lly s e lf- d is c o v e r ie s , Man
does not create the growing body o f knowledge, Man i s gradu ally unfold
ing from the superconscious mind w ith in him the answers t o the m ysteries
o f the ages. Mind i s the bridge between nan and the In fin ite , and the
important clem ent in r e lig io n i s n ot sim ply ferven cy and fe e lin g , but
man's thoughts and a ttitu d es.

2. The s a lt o f Truth can change the world, but s a lt that has l o s t i t s

savor (Truth accumulated as an in t e lle c t u a l p ossession ) i s good fo r
nothing. The "overread and underdone" statement comes from Ernest
W ilson. I t i s an important p oin t to be con sidered here. When you are
seasoned with the s a l t o f Truth, your body o f knowledge suddenly
rev ea ls a new dimension,

3. Edgar Guest once wrote a poem e n title d , "I would rather see a sermon
than hoar one any day." This i s the s ig n ific a n t p oin t here. The lig h t
you arc t o shine does not mean the Truth id.eqs you espouse. The emphasis
i s upon converting concepts that in t e lle c t u a lly e x c it e you in to en ergies
that animate you. Then what"you are v a il transcend what you tr y t o say,
and oven make i t unnecessary, and at tin es, in advisable.

h. Jesus did not d estroy law, but He f u l f i l l e d i t on a higher l e v e l o f

con sciou sn ess. The m iracles that follow ed wore m iracles on ly to the
"m y stified ." Jesus knew that the S p ir it in man i s a miracle-working
power. We do not experience th is power because we fru stra te our p o te n tia l
through our a ttitu d es.

5. Get the idea o f Jesus breaking the commandments and teaching others
to do so — breaking -’down the c r y s t a lliz e d creeds to know the Truth
w ith in them. Anyone who makes the break-through" from dogmaIto con sciou s
ness may not have achieved a l l h is goals in l i f e , but he i s "at le a s t "
on the rig h t path.

6. The important concept hero i s in the illu s t r a t io n o f the t r e l l i s .

A t r e l l i s i s intended t o support the growth o f a plan t. A r e lig io u s
p ra c tic e (righteousness) i s a d is c ip lin e f o r growth. But i f we do not
plan t and nurture the rose, the t r e l l i s i s in con sequ en tial. Jesus used
the word righ teou sn ess t o imply righ t-u se-n ess o f s p ir it u a l law.
A ffirm ations o f Truth can be a d is c ip lin e to keep the mind stayed on
God, but i f p arrotted constantly, they become an o b je c t rath er than a
means o f worship.

7. In h is comments about the commandment, "Thou sh a lt not k i l l " - Jesus

giv e s one o f h is most important le sso n s - that murder or s t e a lin g or
 even a d u ltery are a c t s of thought. We break the mental law, or break our
s e lv e s upon it , every tin e we think in negative ways. Your th ou gh t'is your
l i f e . Someone nay be annoying, but when he becomes annoying t o you, i t i s
your thought about him that i s the problem. Change t h is thought and you
can change the whole experience.

8* Agree w ith thine adversary. In every experience there i s always a tin e

when ultim ate problems e x is t merely as seed p o s s i b i l i t i e s . Jesus'says, don!t
p rocra stin a te. Whenever you begin t o experience adverse fe e lin g s , deal with
the fe e lin g s immediately. I f you don’t the f i r e w i l l spread. Agree q u ick ly “*
ge t in to a sta te o f love and non-resistance. Dispose o f the adverse thought
and agree w ith God, w ith Truth. We can ’t always co n tr o l what happens to us.
But wo can co n tr o l what we think about what happens — and what we are thinking
i s our l i f e at any p a rticu la r moment.

Added Commentary Relevant to Chapter 7:

W. H. Bragg says, "We have cane in to p o sse ssio n o f a wonderful p r in c ip le , which
u n ites a l l forms o f ra d ia tion and a l l forms of n atter. We may r ig h t ly speak
o f lig h t as c o n stitu tin g the U niverse." ("The Universe o f Light") At t h is
point, the s c i e n t i s t and the Truth seeker come very c lo s e together. The outer
lig h t and the inner l ig h t may w e ll be d iffe r e n t asp ects o f the same thing. We
c it e J e su s ’ amazing experience, as w itn essed by Peter, James, and John, when
Ho was praying on the mountain. The d is c ip le s reported that Jesus was trans
fig u red b efore then and that "His fa ce d id shine as the sun, and His raiment
was white as lig h t . "
Wc do not know much about lig h t , but there i s a l o t o f stored-up su n ligh t
in the earth, and there i s a l o t o f s p ir it u a l lig h t sto re d up in nan, in you.
Go up in to the mountain o f high yearning and in tro sp e ctio n and "open out a way
whence the imprisoned splendor may escap e." "Ye arc the l ig h t o f the world.,'.
Let your lig h t sh in e."

Someone nay give you a good opportunity t o be angry, but he does not and cannot
cause your anger. I f you rea ct in anger, i t i s because th is i s the way you have
chosen to meet the experience. When you are in tunc w ith the In fin it e Source
o f love and pdace, nothing can distu rb the c a l l peace o f your sou l. I f you do
become ^disturbed, i t i s a sig n that there i s a break in yoPr inner atunenent.
The u n ju st a ct i s the problem o f the person who commits it , but your re a ctio n
i s your problem, t h e ' r e fle c tio n o f your sta te o f mind. Never fo r g e t : "The
in cid en t i s external, the re a ctio n i s your own."

In ta lk in g about d ealin g with the adverse thought in the mind. Emmet Fox uses
the illu s t r a t io n o f the hot cin d er that f a l l s on your sle e v e . Brush i t away
and the experience i s over. Leave i t on com plainingly, and you w i l l g e t burned.
But in the end you must remember that you were burned only by your n egligen ce
in not taking a ctio n immediately.

Bnmet Fox: "You think, and your thoughts m a te ria lize as experience; and thus
i t is , a l l unknown to y o u r s e lf as a ru le,'th a t you are a c tu a lly weaving the
pattern o f yotir own destiny, hero and now, by the way in which you allow your
s e l f to think, day by day and a l l day long. I t i s a ltog eth er in your own hands.
Nobody but y o u r s e lf can keep you downi Nobody e ls e can involve you in d i f f i — '
c u lty or lim ita tio n . Neither parents, nob w ives, nor husbands, nor employers,
nor neighbors; nor poverty, nor ignorance, nor any power whateever can keep you
out o f your own when you have once learned how t o think.
E lla Wheeler Wile ox:
"You never can t o l l what your thoughts w i l l do,
In b rin gin g you hate or'lov e;
For thoughts aro th in gs, and t h e ir a iry wings
Are s w ifte r than c a r r ie r doves*
They fo llow the lav o f the universe -
Each thing ou st create i t s kind.
And they speed o ’e r the track to bring you back
Whatever wont out from your n in d ."

Sydney H arris: "A se r e n ity o f s p i r i t cannot be achieved u n t il we become the

masters o f our own a ctio n s and a ttitu d e s. To let'a n oth er determine whether
we s h a ll be rude or graciou s, e la te d or depressed, i s t o re lin q u ish c o n tr o l
over our own p e r s o n a litie s, which i s u ltim a tely a l l we p ossess* The only
true p o sse ssio n i s s e lf- p o s s e s s io n . "

George Santayana: "t'iracles are so c a lle d because they e x c ite wonder* In

u n p h ilosop h ica l minds any rare or unexpected thing e x c it e s wonder, w hile in
p h ilo so p h ic a l minds the fa m ilia r e x c it e s wonder also* Each morning the sun rise
e x c it e s wonder in the poet, and the order o f the s o la r system e x c it e s i t every
n igh t in the astronomer* Astronomy explain s the sun rise; but what s h a ll explain
the s o la r System? The universe, which would, explain everything, i s the gre a te st
o f wonders, and a perpetu al m iracle^" ("The Idea o f C h rist in the G ospels")

" I t i s not our heavy thinking that shapes our characters, but the q u ie t atten
t io n of the mind to the surrounding w orld day a fte r day throughout our liv e s ,
lien are in flu en ced more by tj$reir common, everyday thinking than by any rare in
t e lle c t u a l fe a t such as w r itin g a great'poem or pain tin g a famous p ictu re.
Feats of thinking may crea te reputation, but h a b its of thinking create
character." (E d itoria l, "A lliance W itness")
 LESSON 6

Text R eferen ce; Chapter 8

Supplenentary Reading;
WHAT ARE YCU (Shanklin), p. 142
SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Fox), p. 70
KEEP A TRUE LENT (Fillmore), p. 30

S ig n ific a n t Concepts To Be Covered:

1. "The thorn in the s id e " that wo r e s i s t so stren u ou sly may be more im~
portant than we know in the accomplishments we make or the su cce ss we
achieve. Lincoln's s to r y o f brushing o f f the f l y i s a great lesson .

2. You may f e e l a t tim es that you have a r ig h t t o be u p set and angry, but
why pay the p ric e ? "Cut o f f your hand." In other words "cut i t out" b efore
you are le d "to stumble" .

3* The tendency to run away from problems i s sym bolized by marriage and the
neasy° way o f d ivorce. Experiences in l i f e are op p ortu n ities t o grow. When
we know t h is we say w ith Jacob to the angel, " I w i l l not l e t thee go u n t il
thou b le s s me." We in s i s t on growing through, in stead o f fin d in g the e a s ie s t
way to go through the experien ces.

4. Note how many times we "mortgage our fu tu re" by making some.kind o f vow
or oath, u su a lly in a f i t o f emotion. Keep the mind open. B e.receptive to
the continuous unfoldment o f the Truth in and through you. Give seme
thought to the "marriage vow", and con sid er ways t o upgrade marriage by a
new id e a l o f con secration in stead o f l e g a l r e s tr a in ts.

5. Consider at length the idoa that the only way t o got even w ith someone who
has wronged you i s to love him. You turn from the con sciou sn ess that i s
perturbable to the D iv in ity o f you that i s imperturbable - thus you "turn
the other cheek."

6. The m iracle o f the second m ilo. On the f i r s t m ile you do a l l that you
are required to do, but you are enslaved in servitu d e. On the second m ilo
you do what you want t o do beyond what you must do, you express love and
kindness, you get enthused about what you are doing and give added thought
and e ffo r t , and f o r the f i r s t time you are r e a lly fre e ,

7. In the commentary on Jesus words, "Give to him that asketh thee, and from
him that would borrow o f thee turn not thou away" - there i s .an important
concept r e la tiv e to today's s o c i a l problem o f poverty. Maybe we have been
f a i lih g our needy by " f lic k in g o f f the f l y . "

8. Take time to con sid er in depth the idea t a t lov e i s a d ivin e energy that
b egin s in God and has no end. Love your enemy - not because he deserved your
lov e, but because when he causes you re sista n ce, you are not a c tin g the part
o f your d iv in ity . And the power that goes with your d iv in it y i s only yours
when you act the part.

9. Give seridu s thought to the idea o f love as a p ro te ctin g power. When there
i s c o n f lic t , danger, harassment - in steq d o f turning o f f love and rea ctin g in
fe a r and h o s t i l i t y - turn on more lov e. "Let your lig h t (of love) sh in e."
Added Commentary Relevant to Chapter 8?

A k ite was soarin g g r a c e fu lly in the sk ie s, but i t was vory'unhappy. " I f I ju s t

d id n ’t have th is heavy t a i l p u llin g against me a l l the time, I ju s t know I could
r is e high'up in to the sky. 0, I hope someday I can shake the t a i l lo o s e . " But tr y
as i t may, i t could not got fr e e from the t a i l . So i t continued t o fly ...a n d to
complain. However, one day the t a i l f e l l o ff. Tihat a wonderful se n sa tio n ^ . Free
at l a s t j The k ite soared fo r a few Elements to a great height. And th e n . . . . it
plunged downward and crashed in to the ground. Poor kite! I t d id not know that
w ithout the combination of the upward p u ll o f the wind in the s a il s and the down
ward pressure o f th e t a il, i t could not f l y at a ll.
Remember th is parable when next you are tempted t o cry out, "0 why do I have
to have th is burden con stan tly harassing me? Why can I not be fr e e ? " This burden
may bo more o f a b le s s in g than a curse. Stop r e s is t in g i t . B less i t and give
thanks that "in a l l these things we are more than conquerors through him who lov es
U Si"

Jesus teaching o f non-resistance i s a phase o f C h ristia n ity th at i s n ot heard much

in these days, A generation ago a new trend of lib e r a lism swept through much o f the
C h ristian movement. I t was touched o f f by in t e lle c t u a ls who wanted t h e ir r e lig io n
to conform more to the r e a l i s t i c needs o f th e ir liv e s . They could not understand
such things as "non-resistan ce," which they f e l t to be f i t only f o r the u n fit, a
p ra c tic e su ited only f o r those who are Incapable o f self- d e fe n se . This trend le d
away from involvement w ith r e lig io u s p r in c ip le s to preoccu pation w ith p o l i t i c s and
s o c i a l action . During th is age, Christian m in isters often were the most a r tic u la te
v o ic e s in the land; but r a r e ly were they v o ic in g C h ristian id e a ls, and almost never
d id they espouse the si& ple teachings o f Jesus. Today there i s a return to funda— •
mentals in C h ristia n ity , along w ith a sweeping re-evaluation o f the whole in s titu - -
tio n o f the C h ristian church/ How important i t i s a t th is time that we turn t o the
r e l ig i o n o f Jesus, and pay heed to what He r e a lly taught. Jesus had a message fo r
our time. A tim ele ss message that could solve the problems o f the w orld today.

A l i t t l e boy once b lu rted out to h is fath er who was haranguing him t o do something,
"Daddy, don’t say must to mo. I t makes me f e e l won11 a l l over.".

J e s s ie B. R ittenhouse:
" I walked a m ile along l i f e ’s way
With someone I knew, the other day..
The path was drealy and rough and steep;
Thoms by the way, c re v ic e s ddep.
For I walked w ith him a ga in st my w ill.
And grudged the time I cou ld spare s o i l l .
(For I had other p la ces to go,
I had other th in gs to do;
I had books t o read, a garden t o weed,
A thousand th in gs which c r ie d a need;
I was busy and hurried too.)
Then— I went'another m ile, f&r he,
I somehow f e l t , had need o f me.
And the path grew smoother, l e s s ste e p the h i l l
For now I'walked o f ray own fre e w illi.
Thank God, I w aited that second m ile.
For I learned t o love my frie n d the w h ile ."
Dr. P itirim Sorokin o f Harvard U niversity: "The u n forgetta b le le sso n given by the -
catastroph ic^ o f th is century con v in cin gly shows that without' in creased production,
accumulation,, and c ir c u la tio n o f the energy o f u n s e lfish lov e, none o f the other
means can prevent future s u ic id a l wars. The m ysterious fo r c e s of h is t o r y seem
to have given man an ultimatum; p e rish by your own hands or r is e to a higher
moral l e v e l through the grace o f cre a tiv e lo v e ."

Dane Rudhyar, in a pamphlet e n t it le d , "The T est o f L'utuality" - in commenting

upon Jesus continued emphasis on the id e a l "love one another" -"Jesus o ffe re d
t o humanity as a g i f t the a n tid ote t o the sickn ess o f is o la t io n in s e l f :
m utuality - which means interchange, r e c ip r o c ity , the ’one another’ in a l l
deeds. 'The f i r s t great t o s t o f th e s p ir it u a l l i f e i s is o la t io n . Birth i s i s o
la tio n . A ll great th in gs begin in is o la t io n . But they can-only nature through
m utuality. Selfh ood i s sin g le n e ss; love i s coop erative sh arin g.. ..That which
begins in s e l f must understand and r e a liz e i t s e l f in m utuality and in lo v e ,"

Heniy Drummond: "L ife i s f u l l o f op p ortu n ities f o r learn in g lov e. The world i s
not a play-ground, i t i s a schoolroom. L ife i s not a h olid a y but an education,
and the one e te rn a l le sso n f o r a l l o f us i s how b e tte r to lo v e ."

Erich From, "The Art o f Loving" -- "Love i s not p rim arily a re la tio n sh ip t o a
s p e c i f i c person; i t i s an a ttitu d e , an orie n ta tio n o f character which determines
the rela ted n ess o f a person to the w orld as a whole, not ibaward one ’o b je c t ’ o f
love. I f a person loves only one other person and i s in d iffe r e n t to the r e s t o f
his fe llo w men, h is love i s not love but a sym biotic attachment, or an enlarged
egotism . Yet most people b e lie v e th at love i s c o n stitu te d by the o b je c t and not
by the fa cu lty . Because one does not see that love i s an a c t iv it y , a power o f "the
sou l, one b e lie v e s that a l l that i s necessary to fin d i s the rig h t o b je c t — • and
that everything goes by i t s e l f afterw ard.. . .This a ttitu d e can be compared t o that
o f a man who wants to paint, but w ho,'instead of learn in g the artj,, claim s th at he
has ju s t to w ait ror the rig h t object^ and tha.t ho w i l l paint b e a u tifu lly when he
fin d s i t . I f I tr u ly love one person, I love a l l persons, I love the w orld, I love
l i f e . I f I can Say to somebody e lse , ’I love y ou 1, I must be a b le t o say, ’I Love
you in everybody, I love through you the w orld, I love in you a l s o m y se lf.’"
IESSON 7 Y te lflk /.

Text R eferen ce: Chapter 9

Supplementary Reading:
DINAHICS FOR LIVING (Fillmore), p. 89
PQfER THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE THINKING (Emmet Fox), p. 13
SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Unmet Fox), p. 92

S ig n ific a n t Concepts To Be Covered:

1. I t i s suggested that you r e f e r back to Lesson 2 (Chapter 4) as a background
fo r th is le sso n on prayer. Jesus taught a scien ce o f prayer th a t d id not
d eal a t a l l w ith a ca p ricio u s God who had t o be su p p lica te d and who may or
may n ot want t o answer.

,2. The qyotation from "Honest t o God" by Bishop Robinson whould provide some
in te r e stin g m aterial f o r d iscu ssio n - in d ica tin g the problems people have
in approaching the su b je ct o f prayer.

3. "The Father who seeth in s e c r e t . . . " Get th is con cep t'of the " s e c r e t"
a c t iv it y o f a l l th in gs. I t i s not m ysterious or m agical, but d eals only
w ith the s e c r e t region o f causation that u n d erlies a l l th in gs.

4. There are many sim ple concepts, each o f which i s important, that are
ou tlin ed on pages 108-115. They are a l l b u ild in g toward the id ea that
prayer i s sim ply opening our liv e s t o receiv e what God has always been
try in g to bestow. Follow th is sequence so that the in d iv id u a l i s challenged
t o a new in sig h t in to prayer.

5. One poin t that needs some s p e c ia l a tte n tio n ' is the word "ask ." A fter
con sid erin g the id ea s ou tlin ed in the chapter, you might ch allen ge the
student w ith the statement, " I t would be b e tte r t o elim in ate the word
"ask" from your prayer Vocabulary. I t cou ld w e ll be a 'hang-up* that w i l l
keep you from the new prayer consciousness'."

6. Emphasize that the Lord's Prayer was not intended to be a prayer to end
a l l prayers — but rather a s e r ie s o f dynamic Truths to illu s t r a t e the
con sciou sn ess in which t o pray.

7. You w i l l fin d enough m aterial in th is le ss o n fo r a whole s e r ie s o f le sso n s,

but i t is su ggested th at you attempt t o cover i t a l l as a survey — from
which the student w i l l bo challenged t o give fu rth er study and contemplation-,

8. Give an assignment in the form o f a d a ily use o f the "new v e rsio n " o f
the Lord's Prayer as ou tlin ed at the end o f the cha pter.

Added Commentary Relevant to Chapter 9?

The m issin g lin k in tr a d it io n a l r e l ig i o n has been inner prayer. Han has b u ilt
great sh rin es or tem ples, la v ish and ornate ceremonies o f prayer and worship.
But h is w orship has only f u l f i l l e d h is lon gin g fo r pageantry, and h is prayer
has s a t is f ie d a sense o f duty to pray. But h is prayer has seemed l i f e l e s s
and in e f fe c t iv e in h ealin g l i f e ' s problems.
 I'an liv e s so much o f h is l i f e a t the circumfonenco o f h is being. He has a need
which i s tometimes desperate, to get apart, t o experience a time o f renewal
and refreshment. The need i s so urgent that wo often take the rou te o f
d iv ersion . For many r e lig io n i s an escape rather than a technique f o r f u l f i l l
ment. I f we p r a c tic e a r e l i g i o n o f performance at the circum ference, then
God i s lit t le m o r than a word, and prayer l i t t l e more than a v erb al performance
And r e lig io n becomes sim ply a temporary d iv ersion .

As long as r e lig io n i s an in t e lle c t u a l teach in g dealin g w ith an ou tside power

and a con tact w ith God in some ou tside p la ce and em otional experience, i t can
never become a v i t a l power f o r health or guidance. R eligio n i s not a program
that deals with another w orld and a s e t o f observances that have l i t t l e r e l e
vance to th is one. I t i s intended to h elp nan to know h is inner'powers and
t o learn to use them. Prayer must be an e f f o r t to harness the depth poten
t i a l in man in meeting l i f e ' s experiences at the circum ference.

Prayer i s not simply a formal act that req u ires a r e lig io u s place or s p e c ia l
sacrament. How fr e e i s nan when he r e a liz e s th is — that a t any time ho can
got s t i l l and fin d an inner p lace of s t i l l n e s s . Charles Fillm ore says? "There
i s a p lace w ith in us where there i s a church se r v ice going on a l l the tim e...
We need but enter in and l is t e n , " In th is place there i s no need fo r pleading
and importuning, God i s always and everywhere fu n ction in g in the same way,
working His good work o f p e r fe c tio n in a l l th in gs. In th is inner meeting place
with God v/e sim ply p lace ou rselves in con tact w ith His super power so that His
p e r fe c tio n may beccme m anifest in us and in our a ffa ir s .

We must tr y t o g e t away from b e l i e f in praver as being something m agical or

m ystical — a l a s t - d it ch e f f o r t +^ pro b lem s. Prayer do.es not
deal. in m ira cles, but with the f i l l m erit h f ,s p i r i t u a l nr natural l aw.
R esults o f prayer may be humanly astounding, but they me r e ly demonstrate that
which i s d iv in e ly natural.

Man must begin t o r e a liz e that S p ir it u a lit y i s not something to be acquired

by outer search or worship, but something to be re le a se d by q u iet m editation
and s o u l r e fle c t io n .

Often prayer i s couched in words th at in d ica te an e f f o r t on man1s part to

in flu en ce God. Wo do not have t o t e l l e l e c t r i c i t y t o be energy. Must we t e l l
' g ra v ity to h old things in t h e ir p la ces? Wo sim ply use the energy and change
out p o s itio n in r e la tio n to i t . Neither can we t e l l God anything. W hittier
sa id : "The Lord i s God and needeth not the poor devise o f man." Where does God
come in then? asks someone. Gcd does not come in. God nevor'went out. Every
word we speak i s God, everyth in g we see i s God: the buttercup, tjio sunset, the
morning dew n e stlin g in the p e ta l o f the rose - th at i s God — and love and
laughter are God. God i s in th e th in g we seek Snd in the inner urge by which
we seek it . " God i s in the music th at i s played, and in the mind of him who
composed it , the s k i l l o f him who plays i t , and the a p p recia tion o f him who
lis t e n s to it .

Prayer i s not an attempt to fin d God - f o r God i s not lo s t . I t i s an e f f o r t

to fin d ou rselves co n scio u sly in a s p ir it u a l unity w ith God th at can never
r e a lly be severed - f o r v/e can have no ex isten ce ou tsid e o f God.
LESSON 8

Text Reference: Chapters 10 and 14.

Supplementary Reading?
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING (Fillmore) , p* 185
HIOSPERITY (Fillmore) - the whole book
WHAT ARE YOU? (Shanklin), p. 123
LIFE IS FOR LIVING (Butterworth), p. 96

S ig n ific a n t Concepts to be Covered;

1* I t i s v i t a l that the student g e t a r ig h t a ttitu d e toward money and
secu rity . This i s the "hang-up" o f many p eople today. An important
p reface to any stu dy o f p ro sp e rity i s given in the comments r e la t iv e
to Jesus* "treasure in heaven" idea.

2. "The s in g le eye" concept i s v i t a l in Jesus* teachings, and i t i s

h igh ly important t o the D iv in ity o f Man p r in c ip le . Be ce rta in that
the student understands what i t means t o be "sin gle- ey ed " t o Truth.

3. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. What you acknowledge t o bo your

master, t o th at you are a servant. This i s why the rich young man
turned sorrow fu lly away. I t says "he had grea t p o sse ssio n s", but
a ctu a lly - great p o sse ssio n s had him. The t e s t o f whether we r e a lly
b elie v e th at God i s our supply - i s w hen we are fa cin g a fin a n c ia l
c r i s i s . As one nan said, 'Many tim es I have been broke but I have never
been poor.." In other words, " I b elio v e even when my pocket i s empty —
e s p e c ia lly then."

4* Seek f i r s t the Kingdom....and a l l th ese things s h a ll be added* This

i s an important fundamental in Truth — seek f i r s t to be and you w i l l have.
Man must never lo s e e ig h t o f the f a c t th at he i s a s p ir it u a l being, w ith
a ch an geless re la tio n sh ip with the In fin it e . No matter what happens in
the outer, i f he s t i r s up h is fa it h in the inner man - outer th in gs w i l l
respond t o something transcendent. Within him, man has the whole Universe
on h is s id e - he i s "destin y*s d a rlin g ."

5. The feed in g o f the fiv e thousand contains some v i t a l concepts to tho

Truth student. Man i s an in t e g r a l part o f an opulent Universe. From the
la r g e r view i t can supply abundance as e a s ily as i t can su stain a l i t t l e *
Thus wo see that the m iracle begins in the r e c e p t iv it y o f the mind, the
fa ith t o b eliev e and a c t on ih a t b e lie f . P. 96 o f LIFE IS FOR LIVING
w i l l throw added lig h t on the m iracle o f the 5,000.

6. "God s u p p lie s every need" - but God cannot supply la ck j Lack i s not a
con d ition but an attitu d e o f mind. An empty cup i s a need i f i t i s h eld
under the fau cet to g e t water. I t i s la ck i f i t i s hoarded empty in s e lf-
p ity , or even i f i t i s held under the fa u cet - upside down. S olv in g the
poverty problem, thus; in v olv es h ea lin g the -thought o f poverty, tho s e lf -
p ity , the resign a tion , the fe e lin g o f unworthiness, e t c ,

7. The P rosp erity Consciousness - i s the kOy to Jesus' teach in g o f abundance.-

Be sure the student knows what t h is means, and how t o achieve it,-
 8. I t would bo tim ely to give some thought t o tho s p ir it u a l id e a l r e la t iv e
to th e "war on poverty". Is i t p o s s ib le f o r everyone t o en joy p r o sp e rity
or i s there a lim it to the p ro d u c tiv ity o f the w orld and the substance
o f the Universe* Charles F illm ore's concept seems h igh ly p ertin en t here.

Added Commentary Relevant t o Chapters 10 and 14

The th in g -that Jesus and Paul emphasize i s th a t money i s a symbol; and when
you make a symbol an o b je c t in stead o f a means, then i t becomes a kind o f in flu c e
i t was never intended to have. A good example i s the C h ristian c ro ss. I t
sta rted out as a symbol o f the dynamic C h ristian way, a reminder o f the tr e
mendous overcoming power- in man. I t was a sign p ost that pointed to the g o a l
o f in d iv id u a l overcoming, and i t was a mark o f fello w sh ip f o r those who were
on the path togeth er. However, in time the symbol became an o b je c t o f worship,
lien adore and worship the cro ss. The r e s u lt : that which sta rted out as a guide-
p o st p oin tin g to the go a l o f the overcoming power o f the indw elling C h rist
has become a d is t o r t io n o f tho whole C h ristian id e a l. So i t i s w ith money.
That \vhich i s intended t o be sim ply a medium o f exchange, becomes the s o le
o b je c t o f l i f e fo r many people.

I f our whole a tten tion i s centered upon m aterial things, stock s and bonds, job s,
clo th es, houses, jew els, and cars — and i f i t appears th at w ith them we have
se c u r ity and w ithout them we are insecure— then we have trapped ou rselves in
a mighty precariou s ex isten ce. We are dangling at the end o f a s tr in g lik e a
"yo-yo" that i s bobbing up and down, ever-threaten ing t o run out o f spinning
power or perhaps to f a l l o f f com pletely. From day t o day, our a tten tio n i s
glued t o the stock marke t rep o rts, our peace o f mind depends on whether our
employers appreciate us and are contem plating g iv in g us a ra ise in salary.

There i s an in te r e s tin g thing about money — the paper money in your purse
or w a lle t i s supposed t o represen t so much gold and s ilv e r . Actually, there i s
many tim es as much currency prin ted as there i s gold or s ilv e r to back i t up.
This causes some econom ists to crin ge — but wealth i s in ideas, not in money
or property. And you can c o n t r o l these ideas through the mind.

Think f o r a moment about numbers. Suppose a l l numbers were made out o f metal
and th at i t was a ga in st the law t o w rite numbers fo r y o u rse lf. Every time you -
wanted to do a sum in arithm etic, jrou would have t o provide a supply o f numbers,
arrange them in t h e ir proper order, work out your problem w ith them. I f your
problems were com plicated, you might w e ll run cut o f numbers. You would have t o
borrow them from your fieighbor or from a "number bank".
Sounds rid icu lo u s, doesn't i t ? — because numbers are not things, they are
mere ideas, and we can add them or d iv id e them or m u ltip ly them or subtract them
as often as we l ik e . Anyone can have a l l the numbers he wants. I can work out
problems in my head w ithout even w ritin g the numbers on paper, because the numbers
don’t have to be w ritten or formed and shaped to work. Numbers are a ls o cn-
n ablin g fa c to r s.
See the p a r a lle l w ith money: money i s a symbol, but it' sym bolizes something
that i s without lim it. Where wo aro in tho thought o f lack, wo run t o our
neighbor or t o the bank. But Jesus went fo r th "without s c r ip t or p u rse." He
could wbrk th e " fig u r e s " in His head. When we have a need in some legitim a te
p r o je c t, wo should give thanks that 'lly God s h a ll f i l l every need o f yours
accordin g to His r ic h e s . "
Lesson $, co n t’d

On the n a tter o f "turning around" — Often a student o f metaphysics w i l l make a

f i n t r e s o lu tio n to make a clean break from dealing with n ataria medica. He w i l l
say^ "I am going a l l the way with God. I am goin g t o b e lie v e that my health
i s in God and not in p i l l s . " So he w i l l clean out h is medicine case o f a l l p i l l s
and p re s c r ip tio n s and remedies. Out they go in to the ash can...every la s t
b o ttleJ W ell....n ea rly every one. "This b o t t le of p i l l s has been mighty h e lp fu l
in em ergencies. I w i l l ' j u s t se cre te t h is one way back in the cupboard. No one
w i l l ever knowv Anyway, you never can t e l l i " S o . . . . a fte r h is determined reso
lu tio n to go a l l the way — he has turned around. Chances are i t w i l l be on ly a
few days u n t il he i s mighty happy that the p i l l s are a v a ila b le. He might oven
congratulate h im self on h is good judgment. He w i l l probably never admit to
h im self th at h is grand opportunity fo r cou plete h ealin g went glimmering in the
moment o f t e s tin g — when he turned around. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

On the " s u f f ic ie n t unto today" themes

" lis t e n to th e Exhortation of th e DawnJ
Look t o t h is Dayi
For i t i s L ife, the very L ife o f l i f e .
In i t s b r ie f course l i e a l l the V e r itie s
and R e a litie s o f yohr E xisten ce:
The B lis s o f Growth^
The Glory o f Action,
The Splendor o f Beauty.
For Yesterday i s but a Dream,
And tomorrow i s on ly a Vision;
But today w e ll- liv e d makes every '
Yesterday a Dream o f Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a V ision o f Hope.
Look w e ll th erefore t o t h is Dayi
Such i s the S alu tation o f the Dawn.
Text R efere n ce : C h a p t e r s 11 and 12

S u p p lem en ta ry R e a d in g ;
KNOW THYSELF (Lynch), p . 123
SERiiOil on THE MOUNT (Er.inet F o x ) , p . 117
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING ( F i l l m o r e ) , p . 245
SELECTED STUDIES ( S h a n k lin ) , p . 114
GOD A PRESENT KELP (Cady), p . 79

S ig n if ic a n t C oncepts t o be C ov ered :
1. One o f t h e f o u n d a t i o n s t o n e s o f J e s u s ’ t e a c h i n g i s t h e GREAT LAW.
You c a n n o t g e t s o m e t h i n g f o r n o t h i n g . There i s a r e a c t i o n f o r
e v e r y a c t i o n , p u n is h m e n t f o r e v e r y s i n , a n d r e w a r d f o r e v e r y v i r t u e .
S t r e s s t h e l i k e n e s s e s a n d t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e Law o f Com
p e n s a t i o n a n d t h e i d e a o f Karma.

2. In o u r c o n c e r n s f o r t h e e v i l s o f t h e w o r l d , i t i s g o o d t o rem ember
th a t th e s i n i s i n th e e y e o f the b e h o ld e r . S in c e everyone i s a
s p e c t r u m o f many l e v e l s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s f r o m t h e v e r y g o o d t o t h e
v e r y b a d , w hat we r i n d i n a n o t h e r i s m ore a ju d g m e n t o f t h e b e h o l d e r a
Thus, i f we w o u l d s a v e th e w o r l d , we m u st f i r s t o f a l l " s a v e " o u r
selv e s.

3. E v ery on e has th e u rge t o s h a r e h i s k n ow led ge o f T ru th w it h o t h e r s ,

b u t J e s u s w arn s a g a i n s t w a s t i n g t i m e t r y i n g t o c o n v i n c e t h e c y n i c .
Ask y o u r s e l f , r a t h e r , "Why aia I s o o b s e s s e d w it h t h e n e e d t o g i v e
him t h e l i g h t o f T r u t h ? " I t c o u l d w e l l be an e s c a p e from th e n e e d
t o d e a l r e a l i s t i c a l l y w i t h y o u r own p r o b l e m s .

4. P. 142-144 d e a l s w i t h t h e i d e a o f " G o d ’s w i l l " . In the c o n c e p t

o f t h e D i v i n i t y o f Han i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o b e c l e a r on t h i s .

5. J e s u s c l o s e s t h e serm on (p. 145) w i t h t h e s t e r n r e m in d e r t h a t

T ru th p r i n c i p l e s a v a i l l i t t l e i f th ey a r e n o t a p p l i e d . In a s e n s e
He i s c h a l l e n g i n g y o u t o a s k y o u r s e l f , "Am I d e a l i n g w i t h a t t i t u d e s
or p la titu d e s "?

6. The c e n t r a l f a c t o r o f r e l i g i o n h a s a lw a y s b e e n f o r g i v e n e s s o f
s i n - and th e p r o b l e m o f e v i l . G e t t h e i d e a a c r o s s the.t s i n i s
s i m p l y t h e f r u s t r a t i o n o f p o t e n t i a l i t y , and e v i l i s t h e c o n c e a l m e n t
o f good. G in i s i t s own p u n is h m e n t a n d r i g h t e o u s n e s s i t s own r e w a r d .

7. God d o e s n o t know s i n , s o a c t u a l l y God d o e s n o t f o r g i v e s i n .

T h is i s a s t a r t l i n g c o n c e p t . T3. 150, 151

8. God ca n d o n o m ore f o r y o u than he ca n d o t h r o u g h y o u . T h is i s

th e b a s i s f o r J e s u s ' id e a o f " f o r g i v e and you w i l l b e f o r g i v e n . "
The w h o l e p r o c e s s o f f o r g i v e n e s s , e v e n what we h a v e c a l l e d "G o d ’s
f o r g i v e n e s s " , c e n t e r s around th e change in u s, G o d ’s c h a n g e l e s s
l o v e , w h ic h s e e m s t o f o r g i v e a s l i g h t s t r e a m i n g i n an o p e n w in d ow
s e e m s t o e r a s e t h e d a r k n e s s , i s o u r s when we r a i s e o u r c o n s c i o u s n e s s
t o a c c e p t i t . P. 153
 9. An i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r i n J e s u s ’ t e a c h i n g i s t h a t t h e P r o d i g a l who s i n ^
a n d " c o m e s t o h i m s e l f " i s r e a l l y b e t t e r o f f than t h e o l d e r b r o t h e r
who had n e v e r f a c e d h i s i n n e r c o n f l i c t s , , "My s t r e n g t h i s made p e r f e c t
in w eak n ess." T h is can b e h e l p f u l in w ork in g w ith th e r e h a b i l i t a t e d
c r i m i n a l , a l c o h o l i c , wayward y o u t h , e t c .

10. One o f t h e p r o b l e m s o f t o t a l r e h a o i l i t a t i o n f o r t h e e x - c o n v i c t i s
t h e a t t i t u d e s o f t h e com m u n ity t o w h ich h e r e t u r n s . D i s c u s s ways
o f prom otin g the r i g h t a t t it u d e s .

A d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l t h a t may b e h e l p f u l :

T o u n d e r s t a n d t h e la w o f c o m p e n s a t i o n , we m ust b e w i l l i n g t o a d m it t h a t
no e x p e r ie n c e in our l i f e i s e v e r c o m p le t e ly u n r e la t e d t o ou r c o n s c i o u s
ness. T hus, t h e f i r s t s t e p i n t r y i n g t o c o r r e c t c o n d i t i o n s s h o u l d a lw a y s
b e t o " b e tr a n s fo r m e d by t h e r e n e w i n g o f o u r m in d . " Y e t how v e r y human
i t i s t o l o o k f o r th e c a u s e s in the m o t i v a t i o n s o f o t h e r p e o p l e .

/n e x c e l l e n t t e s t o f th el e v e l o f o n e 's c o n s c io u s n e s s in t h e f a c e o f any
p ro o le n o f l i f e is th is: f s k y o u r s e l f t h e q u e s t i o n , "Why has t h i s e x p e
r i e n c e com e t o m e?" Hake a l i s t o f a l l t h e a n s w e r s y o u can t h i n k o f .
P r e s s y o u r s e l f t o make a l o n g l i s t o f a l l t h e p o s s i b l e c a u s e s . You
w i l l f i n d som e th in g e x tr e m e ly i n t e r e s t i n g . M o st, i f n o t a l l , o f y o u r
r e a s o n s w i l l be in t h e form o f a l i b i s . "Why was I s u m m a r ily f i r e d fr o m
my J o b ? " /nsw ers: "My b o s s had i t i n f o r me f r o m t h e s t a r t . " " O f f i c e
p o litic s." "My c o - w o r k e r s r e s e n t e d my a o i l i t y . " "A t a y a g e t h e y d i s
m i s s e d me s o t h e y w o u l d n o t h a ve t o g i v e me a p e n s i o n l a t e r . " " I do
n o t h a v e t h e r i g h t e d u c a t i o n b e c a u s e my p a r e n t s c o u l d n ' t a f f o r d i t . "
Cn a n d o n we g o , and a l l a r e a l i b i s . Jesu s i s sa y in g , "D on't tr y t o
j u s t i f y y o u r p r o b l e m i n l i f e b y t r y i n g t o p i n t h e b la m e on o t h e r p e o p l e .
R a t h e r , w ork t o rem ov e t h e beam o f l i m i t i n g t h o u g h t s f r o m y o u r own m in d . "

The m i n i s t e r who p r e a c h e s on t h e e v i l s o f d a n c i n g , d e s c r i b i n g i n g r e a t
d e t a i l a l l t h e l u r i d t h i n g s t h a t g o o n i n t h e m inds o f t h e p e o p l e e n
g a g e d in t h i s rh y th m ic e x e r c i s e , i s r e v e a l i n g t h e e v i l n a tu re o f h i s
own m ind. P a u l o b v i o u s l y had t h i s i n m ind when he s a y s , " F o r w h e r e i n
thou j u d g e s t a n oth er, th ou condem nest t h y s e l f ; f o r th ou th a t ju d g e s t
d o e s t t h e same t h i n g . "

F. ;. M a u r ic e o n c e r e f e r r e d t o " L o o k i n g i n o t h e r p e o p l e f o r t h e f a u l t s
w h ic h I had a s e c r e t c o n s c i o u s n e s s w e re i n m y s e l f . . . .h a s more h i n d e r e d
my p r o g r e s s i n l o v e and g e n t l e n e s s . . . . t h a n a l l t h i n g s e l s e . "

/ n o t h e r f a c e t o f t h e law o f c o m p e n s a t i o n : S e e i n g , i t s e l f , i s a c r e a t i v e
a c t w h ic h o f t e n b e c o m e s t h e s e q u e n c e t h a t l e a d s t o t h e c o n s e q u e n c e .
S e e i n g i s a c t u a l l y a f o r m o f g i v i n g , and a s y o u g i v e s o d o y o u r e c e i v e .
T hat w h ic h y o u s e e b e c o m e s a f o r c e i n y o u r l i f e . I f you s e e e v i l e v e r y
w here, e v i l b ecom es an ev ery w h ere p r e s e n t f o r c e . I f y o u s e e p e o p l e fr o m
t h e s u s p i c i o n t h a t " y o u c a n ' t t r u s t p e o p l e a n y m o r e ", y o u w i l l e x p e r i e n c e
a c o n sta n t stream o f t h e f t s , d is a p p o in tm e n ts, and i n j u s t i c e s ,
J esu s a d v i s e s us t o b e g in from th e s t a n d p o in t o f o u r in n a te d i v i n i t y ,
We s a y s , " B l e s s e d a r e t h e p u r e i n h e a r t , f o r t h e y s h a l l s e e G o d . " Es
t a b l i s h y o u r s e l f i n th e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f th e g o o d and y ou w i l l s e e g o o d
everyw here. You w i l l " s e e C o d " , w h ic h means y o u w i l l s e e f r o m G o d c o n
scio u sn ess. You w i l l s a l u t e t h e d i v i n i t y i n p e o p l e , y o u w i l l a c t u a l l y
p r o j e c t a h e a l i n g b l e s s i n g t h a t w i l l l i f t p e o p l e t o t h e b e s t i n them.
The r e a l i z a t i o n o f t h e D i v i n i t y o f Man g i v e s r i s e t o t h e a s s u r a n c e t h a t
t h e P r e s e n c e o f God i n u s i s a c t u a l l y a h i g h e r d i m e n s i o n o f u s . The
r e s o u r c e s o f t h e Kingdom o f G od i n us a r e r e a l l y t h e d e p t h p o t e n t i a l o f
us. S e lf - r e a liz a t io n lea d s t o s e l f - c o n t r o l . And s e l f - c o n t r o l l e a d s t o
the c o n t r o l o f a l l th e f o r c e s o f our g r e a t e r s e l f . I f we want m ore p o w e r ,
we c o u l d n ' t want i t i f i t w e r e n o t a l r e a d y a p o s s i b i l i t y w i t h i n u s . Thus
I s a i a h c o n f i r m s what t h e P r e s e n c e o f God i n y o u , w h ich i s G od e x p r e s s i n g
a s y o u , i s s a y i n g t o y o u , " C o n c e r n i n g t h e w ork o f my h a n d s , command y e
m e." C la im y o u r g o o d a n d p r e s s y c u r c l a i n . You a r e a c h i l d o f G od, now
s t a r t a c t i n g l i k e on e.

A Su n da y s c h o o l t e a c h e r o n c e a s k e d h e r c l a s s , "What m u st we d o b e f o r e we
can e x p e c t G od's f o r g i v e n e s s o f s i n ? " One l i t t l e t y k e was up t o t h e
q u estio n . He r e p l i e d , t a r t l y , "We m ust s i n . " I t m ig h t a l s o b e a s k e d ,
"What m ust we d o b e f o r e we c a n s p e a k a u t h o r i t a t i v e l y on t h e s u b j e c t o f
sin ? " Though p r e a c h e r s m ig h t r e s e n t i t , I w o u ld s a y a g a i n , "we m ust
h a ve s i n n e d . " Maybe t h i s i s why P a u l was t h e g r e a t e s t o f a l l p r e a c h e r s
i n t h e C h r i s t i a n " w a y " , b e c a u s e he ha d s o much t o o v e r c o m e , t o l i v e down.

In a s m a l l r u r a l c h u r c h o n e S unday m o r n in g , a y o u n g m i n i s t e r , f r e s h f r o m
t h e s e m i n a r y , was d e l i v e r i n g h i s f i r s t s e r m o n . H i s s u b j e c t was " S i n . "
He r a n g e d f a r and w i d e i n a f i e r y se r m o n t h a t e m p h a s i z e d t h e w i c k n e d n e s s
o f m ankind i n g e n e r a l and th e v a r i e t y o f s i n s o f men i n p a r t i c u l a r . Fol
l o w i n g t h e s e r v i c e t h e y o u n g p a s t o r was a c c o s t e d b y a n e l d e r l y woman a t
the door. "Y ou man," s h e d e c l a r e d , " y o u h a v e n ' t l i v e d l o n g e n o u g h t o
h a ve s i n n e d o f t e n e n o u g h t o have r e p e n t e d d e e p l y e n o u g h t o b e a b l e t o
p r e a c h t h a t k in d o f a serm on on s i n . "

F o r g i v e n e s s d o e s n o t com e f r o m God, f o r God d o e s n o t r e c e i v e o f f e n s e .

J e s u s t a u g h t t h a t ju d g m e n t d o e s n o t com e f r o m G od, f u t f r o m man. C od
c a n n o t know o f f e n s e , t h e r e f o r e , He c a n n o t j u d g e . Man know s o f f e n s e ,
and man j u d g e s . R e c e iv in g o f f e n s e and fo rm in g ju d gm en ts, t o g e t h e r c o n
s t it u t e s tra n sg ressio n . They c a r r y t h e s o u l a c r o s s t h e d i r e c t r a d i a t i o n s
o f God i n t o th e w o r l d o f f i n i t e and c h a n g e a b l e s t a t e s . B e c a u s e man
kn ow s o f f e n s e , he m ust f o r g i v e ; a n d h i s f o r g i v e n e s s c a n n e v e r have e f f e c t
a n y w h ere s a v e i n h i s own c o n s c i o u s n e s s .

Jesus sa id , " I g o t o p repa re a p la c e f o r you." T h is i s the l e v e l o f c o n

s c i o u s n e s s t h a t i s r e p r e s e n t e d by th e F a th er in t h e s t o r y o f th e P r o d i g a l
S on . When we j u d g e o t h e r s o r c r i t i c i z e t h e i r a c t i o n s , we f o r s a k e t h e
p e a c e and p o i s e a n d p o w e r t h a t a r e o u r s b y r i g h t o f o u r d i v i n i t y . We may
f e e l t h a t s o m e o n e has t r a n s g r e s s e d a g a i n s t u s , b u t o u r s i s t h e t r a n s
g r e s s i o n , f o r we have f o r s a k e n t h a t p l a c e i n c o n s c i o u s n e s s . Im e ld a
S h a n k l i n s a y s : " F a t h e r f o r t i v e me f o r e x p e c t i n g i n th e human t h a t w h ic h
i s fo u n d o n l y in the d i v i n e . " In o t h e r w o r d s , I have t r a n s g r e s s e d when
I s t o p p e d r e l a t i n g t o the d i v i n i t y in the o t h e r p e r s o n . F o rg iv en ess i s
n e e d e d , Dut I n e e d i t f o r t h e m i s t a k e o f c r o s s i n g o v e r i n t o t h e " f a r
country' o f o f f e n s e . The w o n d e r f u l p a r t o f a l l t l j i s i s t h a t when we t u r n
t o f o r g i v e , t o l e t t h e m e r c i f u l l o v e o f God f l o w t h r o u g h u s , t h e S p i r i t
s w e e p s us up i n t o a v e r i t a b l e r i v e r c f d i v i n e p o w e r . We a r e f o r g i v e n ,
a n d we a r e s e t f r e e f r o m u n f o r g i v e n e s s . F o r g i v e n e s s r e a l l y means t o
" c r o s s o v e r " , t o g e t ou t o f the " f a r co u n try ", t o g i v e f o r . F o r g iv e n e ss
i s a c t u a l l y g i v i n g up s o m e t h i n g l e s s e r f o r s o m e t h i n g g r e a t e r . You g i v e
up t h e " w a n t " o f t h e f a r c o u n t r y , f o r t h e o p e n arm s o f t h e F a t h e r . You
g i v e up y o u r h u r t o f t h e o f f e n s e , f o r t h e f r e e i n g l o v e o f God.
LESSON 10 /

Text R e fe r e n ce : C h a p t e r 13

S u p p lem en ta ry R e a d in g :
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING ( F i l l m o r e ) , p . 135
LIFE IS FOR LIVING ( B u t t e r w o r t h ) , p . 126

S ig n i f ic a n t C oncepts t o be C o v e r e d :

1. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o e x p l a i n why s p i r i t u a l h e a l i n g h a s n o t b e e n a
f u n d a m e n t a l o f t h e C h r i s t i a n C h u rch - when J e s u s d e v o t e d s o much
o f h is a t t e n t io n t o h e a lin g . I f Jesus* m ir a c le s o f h e a lin g co u ld
b e d u p l i c a t e d , t h i s w o u l d weaken t h e d i v i n i t y o f J e s u s c o n c e p t ,
P. 160.

2. E m p h a s iz e t h e f a l l a c y o f t h e " c e r t a i n t y o f d e a t h . " J esu s taugh t

a n d p r a c t i c e d and l i v e d t h e " l i f e p r i n c i p l e " : " I know t h a t h i s
commandment i s l i f e e t e r n a l . " You w i l l f i n d much s c i e n t i f i c c o r o -
b e r a t i c n on t h i s , l e a d i n g t o a new c o n c e p t o f a g e l e s s n e s s a n d l i f e
e t e r n a l in the f l e s h .

3. Jesus d id n ot o r ig in a t e s p i r i c u a l h e a lin g . H ea lin g i s p o s s i b l e

t h r o u g h s p i r i t u a l means s i m p l y b e c a u s e man i s a s p i r i t u a l b e i n g .
Man ca n b e h e a l e d , o e c a u s e i n n a t e l y he i£ w h o le .

4. Some i n t e r e s t i n g d i s c u s s i o n ca n cciae fr o m r e l a t i n g t h e h e a l i n g
i d e a t o t h e c o n c e p t s o f " t h e L o r d ' s o o d y " , t h e w h o le man, t h e '‘e l e c
tro- d y n a m ic D od y ", e t c . Even t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e " a s t r a l b o d y " s e e m s
t o f i t i n h e r e - t h e p e r f e c t man i n God Mind a n d i t s h e a l i n g a c t i v i t y
r i g h t where you a r e .

5. G o d ' s w i l l i n h e a l i n g -- t h e b u i l t - i n c a p a c i t y f o r h e a l t h and w h o le
ness. L i f e i s a lw a y s b i a s e d on t h e s i d e o f h e a l t h and r e n e w a l . H eal
i n g i s an e v o l u t i o n o f t h a t w h ic h i s i n v o l v e d . P. 169, 170

6. The p l a c e o f w i l l i n h e a l i h g . Mo y o u w ant t o b e h e a l e d b a d l y
e n o u g h t o g i v e up s e l f - p i t y and t h e h a b i t o f d w e l l i n g on w e a k n e s s e s ?
VJheh y o u a r e s i c k o f b e i n g s i d e y o u w i l l g e t w e l l .

7. R o le o f f a i t h in h e a lin g . F a i t h i s t h e k e y t o t h e 4 th d i m e n s i o n o f
l i v i n g , t h e b r i d g e t o t h e w o r l d o f t h e w h o le man. F a i t h i s n o t j u s t
th e b e l i e f th a t h e a lth i s p o s s i b l e . I t i s an a c t u a l p e r c e p t i o n o f
w h o l e n e s s , t h e i n t u i t i v e s e n s e o f b e i n g w h o le e v e n i n t h e m i d s t o f
sick n e ss.

8. S t r e t c h f o r t h y o u r hand — f e l l o w t h e le a d in g o f the S p i r i t a s t o
th e n ex t l o g i c a l s t e p f o r you t o ta k e. The h e a l i n g p r i n c i p l e w i l l
g u i d e y o u i n what y o u s h o u l d d o t o make the i d e a l o f h e a l i n g r e a l
f o r you. / s t h e Q u a k e rs s a y , "When y o u p r a y , m ove y o u r f e e t . "

A d d i t i o n a l M a t e r i a l t h a t may b e h e l p f u l :
P la to : "S o n e it h e r ou gh t you t o a tte m p t t o cu r e the body w ith ou t
th e s o u l. And t h i s i s t lie r e a s o n why t h e c u r e o f many d i s e a s e s i s
unknown t o t h e p h y s i c i a n s o f H e l l a s , b e c a u s e t h e y a r e i g n o r a n t o f
 " t h e w h o le , w h ic h o u g h t a l s o t o b e s t u d i e d . For t h i s i s the g r e a t e r r o r
o f o u r d a y i n t h e t r e a t m e n t o f human b o d i e s t h a t t h e p h y s i c i a n s e p a r a t e s
th e s o u l from th e b o d y ."

I t i s l i k e a b r e a t h o f f r e s h a i r in a sm o g - la ee n a tm osph ere t o hear w ords

l i k e t h o s e s p o k e n by Dr. R i c h a r d G. C a b o t , f o r many y e a r s d e a n o f H a r v a rd
IS ed ica l S c h o o l. He u s e d t o t e l l h i s s t u d e n t s : "What i s t h i s p o w e r f u l
f o r c e i n man? I t i s God — t h e h e a l i n g p o w e r on w h i c h a l l o f u s d e p e n d
in o r d e r t o be h ere today. I e a r n e s t l y recom m end t o t h e m e d i c a l p r o
f e s s i o n t o l e t t h e p a t i e n t know o f t h i s G r e a t F o r c e t h a t i s w o r k i n g
w i t h i n him, w o r k i n g o n t h e p a t i e n t ' s s i d e , on t h e d o c t o r ' s s i d e . . . I t
d o e s t h e m e d i c a l p r o f e s s i o n n o g o o d t o a v o i d t h e w ord , ’G o d '. Why n o t
t e a c h th e p e o p l e th e T ru th ?"

"Be o f g o o d c h e e r ; th y s i n s b e f o r g i v e n t h e e . " T h is i s J e su s' h e a lin g

w ord t o a p a r a l y t i c . (Matt. 9: 2-8) J e s u s , thus, c l e a r l y e m p h a size s s i n
a s t h e c a u s e o f d i s e a s e and t h e o v e r c o m i n g o f s i n t h r o u g h s a l v a t i o n o f
t h e s o u l a s t h e means o f p h y s i c a l r e d e m p t i o n . U n fo r tu n a te ly , " s i n " and
" s a l v a t i o n " have b e c o m e s h e l t e r e d t h e o l o g i c a l t e r m s f a r r e m o v e d fr o m
the id e a o f s p i r i t u a l h e a lin g . J e s u s i n d i c a t e d t h a t f o r g i v e n e s s was t h e
f o u n d a t i o n o f H i s h e a l i n g w o r k : "Thy s i n s a r e f o r g i v e n " . . . " A r i s e ,
a n d w a lk " . . . " g o . . . s i n n o m o r e . "
The A n g l o - S a x o n r o o t o f o u r w ord s i n i s " s y n e " ( p r o n o u n c e d t h e sam e).
I t i s a term b o r r o w e d f r o m a r c h e r y p r a c t i c e . When t h e a r c h e r m i s s e d
t h e t a r g e t c o m p l e t e l y w i t h h i s a r r o w i t was a " s y n e " . Thus, t h e t r u e
m e a n in g o f s i n i s " m i s s i n g t h e m a r k , " t h e mark o f p e r f e c t i o n .
S i n i s t h e m e n t a l p r o c e s s by w h ich man c o n e s t o a s e p a r a t i o n i n c o n
s c i o u s n e s s f r o m G od, fr o m h i s own d i v i n i t y — t h u s co m in g t o l i v e a t
th e c i r c u m f e r e n c e o f h i s l i f e . T h i s s e p a r a t i o n , w h ic h i s o n l y i n h i s
t h i n k i n g , c a u s e s d e c a y , d i s e a s e , in h a rm o n y, a n d d e a t h . I t has b een s a i d ,
"N o th in g s e p a r a t e d from i t s s o u r c e , w hether i t b e f r u i t o r v e g e t a b l e or
nan - i s s o u n d . " I f we a r e s i c k o r w eak, we ca n d o s u r e t h a t we h a ve i n
som e way drawn away f r o m t h e S p i r i t , f r o m t h e s e n s e o f w h o l e n e s s , fr o m
the s o u r c e o f l i f e .
P a u l s a y s , " H o t d i s c e r n i n g t h e L o r d ' s o o d y , many among y o u a r e weak
and s i c k l y . " In o t h e r w ords, "B e ca u se you do n o t u n d ersta n d y ou r w h o le
n e s s , b e c a u s e y o u a r e n o t c o n s c i o u s o f y o u r d i v i n i t y , y ou a r e n o t l e t t i n g
the pow er th a t i n d w e l l s you f l o w f r e e l y th rou gh y o u , " B e ca u s e t h i s i s
a l l a m a t t e r o f w ron g t h i n k i n g , s a l v a t i o n co m e s a o o u t b y " r e p e n t a n c e , "
o r b y t u r n i n g away fr o m t h e h a r m f u l n e g a t i v e s t a t e s o f mind. "B e y e
t r a n s f o r m e d b y t h e r e n e w i n g o f y o u r m in d . "
In t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r we e m p h a s i z e d t h a t t h e r e i s " i n s t a n t f o r g i v e
n e s s " f o r s i n , s i m p l y b e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o u n f o r g i v e n e s s i n G od . The
moment we s t e p up o u t o f t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f l i m i t a t i o n , we s t e p i n t o
the l i g h t o f w h o le n e ss. T h i s may n o t b e a l l t h a t e a s y t o a c c e p t b y som e
who a r e l a b o r i n g u n d er f e e l i n g s o f g u i l t .
O fte n som eone w i l l sa y , " I f o n ly I w ere w orth y o f th e h e a l i n g I
d esire." W o r t h i n e s s i s n o t s o m e t h i n g y o u have t o e a r n - i t i s s o m e t h i n g
y o u m ust a c c e p t . Remember God s e e s n o t h i n g t o f o r g i v e . You a r e a l w a y s
G od's g r e a t p o s s i b i l i t y . But y o u m ust a c c e p t H i s l o v e w h ich i s c e a s e l e s s .
You a r e w o r t h y o f a l l o f t h e I n f i n i t e t h a t y o u ca n e m b r a c e .
T h in k o f a l i g h t i n g c i r c u i t t h a t i s e q u i p p e d w i t h a r h e o s t a t f o r i n
c r e a s i n g and d e c r e a s i n g th e b r i l l i a n c e o f th e l i g h t . Suppose th e l i g h t
i s t u r n e d down l o w . What i f t h e i n d i v i d u a l b u l b w e r e t o c r y o u t , "Oh,
i f o n l y I w e re w o r t h y o f m ore l i g h t ! " A c t u a l l y , t h e b u lb i s w orth y o f
a l l th e l i g h t t h a t i t w i l l a c c e p t in th e form o f e l e c t r i c a l e n ergy .
 J e s u s s a i d , "G od i s S p i r i t a n d t h e y t h a t w o r s h i p Him m ust w o r s h i p in
S p i r i t and i n T r u t h . " G oa i s S p i r i t - b r e a t h , e s s e n c e , w h o l e n e s s , t h e
the l i f e p r i n c i p l e . To w o r s h i p God. d o e s n o t mean t o bow down o r in v o k e
or p lea d . The w ord " w o r s h i p " c o m e s f r o m t h e r o o t w o r d " w o r t h . " "VJor-
s h i p " i s " w o r t h s h ip " , r e c o g n i t i o n o f y o u r w orth , a w a re n e ss o f you r
d i v i n i t y , o f th e u n it y o f th e w h o le. To w o r s h i p G od means t o know t h e
T r u th and t o a c c e p t H i s e s s e n c e o r w h o l e n e s s .
I f o r s h i p i s a d e c l a r a t i o n o f y o u r u n i t y w i t h God. I t i s an a t t e m p t
t o h e a l t h e b r e a k o r s e p a r a t i o n i n c o n s c i o u s n e s s , t o know y o u r u n i t y
w i t h God. I t i s t h e P r o d i g a l .‘'on s a y i n g , " I w i l l a r i s e a n d g o u n t o t h e
F ather." The w ord " p r a y e r " coa.es fr o m aS a n s k r i t w ord w h ic h l i t e r a l l y
t r a n s l a t e s , " j u d g i n g o n e s e l f t o b e w o n d r o u s l y m a d e ." Prayer and w orsh ip
a r e t h e same — t h e p r o c e s s o f l i f t i n g y o u r t h o u g h t s t o r e a l i z e how
w o n d e rfu l you a r e in s p i r i t . S e e i n g t h e w h o le o f y o u and r e j o i c i n g i n
it. Thus the m ore y o u "w o r s. i p G od i n S p i r i t a n d i n T r u t h , " t h e more
y o u f e e l w o r th y o f H i s h e a l i n g , t h e m ore y o u a r e f r e e d fr o m any s e n s e
o f s i n o r g u i l t , and t h e m ore y o u e x p e r i e n c e h e a l i n g o r w h o l e n e s s .
We c a n s e e how f a r we have s t r a y e d f r c m J e s u s ’ c o n c e p t when we p r a y
"H ave m e r cy up on us p o o r s i n n e r s . " P ra y in g in the c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f
g u i l t and s i n i s c o m p le t e ly s e l f - d e f e a t i n g . It is l i k e b e g g in g f o r
l i g h t w h i l e i n s i s t i n g on k e e p i n g t h e s h a d e s drawn o r t h e s w i t c h t u r n e d
off. P r a y e r m ust b e man's a t t e m p t t o s t e p o u t o f t h e sh a d o w s i n t o t h e
lig h t. G od l o v e s y o u w i t h an e v e r l a s t i n g l o v e and i t i s H i s " g o o d
p l e a s u r e t c g i v e y o u t h e K in g d o m . " "Come y e b l e s s e d i n h e r i t t h e k in gd om
p r e p a r e d f o r you from th e fo u n d a t io n o f th e w o rld ." f n d y o u a r e w o r th y
o f t h i s " k i n g d o m " i f y ou ca n b r i n g y o u r s e l f t o a c c e p t i t . Jesus a ssu res
u s , "Y ou r s i n s a r e a l r e a d y f o r g i v e n a n d y o u a r e f r e e , i f y o u w i l l j u s t
a c c e p t i t and g e t mack i n t o t h e l i g h t a n d s t a y t h e r e . "
Je a r e t o l d "T h ou w i l t k e e p him i n p e r f e c t p e a c e , w h o se m ind i s
s t a y e d on t h e e . " T h i s i s t h e g r e a t e s t h e a l i n g t r e a t m e n t known t o nan.
You w i l l have p e r f e c t b a l a n c e o f a l l t h e n a t u r a l h e a l i n g f u n c t i o n s o f
y o u r b o d y i f y o u r m ind i s s t a y e d on God i n a c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f l o v e a n d
f a i t h and p e a c e . dhen y ou w o r r y o r b e c o m e t e n s e , a n x i o u s , b i t t e r ,
j e a l o u s , o r a n g r y , y o u s i n ; y o u m i s s t h e mark o f k e e p i n g y o u r m ind s t a y e d
on God. The r e s u l t i s an e m o t i o n a l d i s t u r b a n c e t h a t i s q u i c k l y r e f l e c t e d
i n e v e r y v i t a l f u n c t i o n o f y o u r b od y . R e s t o r e t h e b r e a k , f o r g i v e th e
s i n , g e t t h e m ind s t a y e d on G od, a n d " a r i s e a n d w a l k " .

" F e a r nftt; o n l y b e l i e v e " J a i r u s came t o J e s u s w it h t h e u r g e n t p l e a t c h e l p

in the c a s e o f h is d e s p e r a t e ly i l l d au gh ter. J e s u s s p o k e t h i s w ord o f
assuran ce. I t was t h e a f f i r m a t i o n o f f e a r l e s s n e s s . T oday we a r e f i n d i n g
th a t i n the m a j o r i t y o f s u p p o s e d i l l n e s s e s , the g r e a t c a u s e i s f e a r —
ana t h e e f f e c t i s a s y m p t o m a t i c d i s t u r b a n c e , an " e m o t i o n a l l y - i n d u c e d
i l l n e s s ( E li) . h e a r much a b o u t t h e c o n t a g i o n o f d i s e a s e . >hat we
d o n o t a lw a y s r e a l i z e i s t h a t c o n t a g i o n i s b a s i c a l l y o f ttie m ind. Fear
i s th e p rob lem . D r. H e e r l o o t a l k s a b o u t " m e n t a l e p i d e m i c s " a s t h e g r e a t
e s t p r o b le m o f P u b l ic H ea lth .
In a l e g e n d o f t h e M i d d le E a s t t h e 3 l a c k Plat ue i s j o u r n e y i n g t o
fra b ia . He i s a s k e d w h ere h e i s g o i n g . " I am on my way t o A r a b i a t o
k i l l 5,000 p e o p l e . " A fe w d a y s l a t e r on h i s r e t u r n he i s a s k e d , "You
s a i d y o u w o u ld o n l y k i l l 5,000 o e o p l e . Hew i s i t t h a t y o u k i l l e d 50,000?"
The P lacju e r e p l i e d , " I k i l l e d o n l y 5,000. The r e s t w e r e k i l l e d b y f e a r , "
S om eon e has p o i n t e d c u t t h a t t h ^ l e t t e r s F E A R c o u l d v e r y w e l l
s y m b o liz e " F a ls e E v id e n c e s A ppea rin g R e a l". I t i s c e r t a in ly tru e that
f e a r i s t h e human q u a l i t y t *a t g o e s m o u n t a in d i m m i n g o v e r t h e m o l e h i l l s
o f appearances. The n e e d i s t o r i s e t o t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f f a i t h t h a t
i t i s the "e v id e n c e o f th in g s n ot se e n ."
A b ov e t h e m a n t e l o f t h e a n c i e n t H in d ’s Head In n a t B ra y , E n g l a n d , i s
t h is le g e n d : "F ear knocked a t th e d o o r. F a i t h a n s w e r e d . Ho on e was
th ere."
L e s s o n 11

Text R eferen ce: C h a p t e r s 15 a n d 16

S u p p lem en ta ry R e a d in g :
SELECTED STUDIES ( S h a n k lin ) ,m . 104
ATOM SMASHING POWER OF MIND ( F i l l m o r e ) , C h a p t. 4, 17
CHRISTIAN HEALING ( F i l l m o r e ), p . 58, 59
TWELVE POWERS CP IAN ( F i l l m o r e ) , P. 22, 23, 161-174

S ig n i f ic a n t C oncepts to be C o v e re d :

1. The c r o s s i s a s t o r y h a l f - t o l d . As a s y m b o l o f C h r i s t i a n i t y , t h e
c r o s s d e n i e s t h e c e n t r a l t e a c h i n g o f J e s u s - t h e D i v i n i t y o f Man.
I f we k e e p t h e c r o s s t h r o u g h a m e t a p h y s i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n , l e t u s b e
m i g h t y s u r e t h a t we d o n o t t r a p o u r s e l v e s i n t h e o l d i d e a .

2. Why d e f e n d J u d a s ? B e c a u s e t r a d i t i o n h a s o b s c u r e d J e s u s ' demon

s t r a t i o n e f f o r t by b l a m i n g i t a l l on t h e e v i l m o t i v a t i o n s o f J u d a s .
We xaust s e e J u d a s , n o t a s t h e w e a k e s t d i s c i p l e b u t t h e s t r o n g e s t ,
t h e man w i t h t h e n e r v e t o p l a y t h e r o l e . Thus he was ‘c h o s e n " by
Jesus.

3. J u d a s , and a l l t h e d i s c i p l e s , was p a r t o f t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f
Jesus. T h e r e was t n a t i n J e s u s , t h e human s e l f , t h e e g o , t h e m a t e r i a l
c e n t e r e d t h a t had t o b e c r o s s e d o u t . He had t o g o t o t h e c r o s s t o
p r o v e H i s f r e e d o m fr o m th e s e n s e n a n ; am J u d a s , t h e e g o , had t o
d e s t r o y h im s e lf th a t the f u l l d e m o n str a tio n o f e t e r n a l l i f e c o u ld
m a n ife st.

4. The E a s t e r m y s t e r y l i e s i n a n o t h e r d i m e n s i o n . How c a n we b e
e x p e c t e d t o u n d e r s t a n d when m ost o f us a r e s t i l l s t r u g g l i n g t o
u n dersta n d l i f e in a t h r e e d im e n sio n a l w o rld . T h e r e a r e many
l e v e l s o f m y s t e r y , and t h e s t o r y h a s l e a n i n g f o r us on w h a t e v e r
l e v e l we n ay a p p r o a c h i t upon.

5. J e s u s made t h e g r e a t o v e r c o m i n g n o t b e c a u s e He c o u l d n o t s i n , b u t
b e c a u s e He w o u ld n o t . He was n o o r d i n a r y n a n , b u t He w a s a nan. He
was c a l l e d M a s t e r , n e t b e c a u s e o f t h e manner o f H i s b i r t h , b u t b e
c a u s e o f th e v i c t o r i o u s o v e rcom in g th rou gh H is l i f e . A ll a lo n g th e
way, e v e n w h i l e t e a c h i n g and h e a l i n g . He was e n g a g e d i n H i s own w ork
o f self- m a stery . Thus E a s t e r was a commencement Day f o r J e s u s .

6. B u t E a s t e r n o t o n l y was a d e m o n s t r a t i o n f o r J e s u s - i t was t h a t .
I t was a l s o a d i s c o v e r y o f a lav/ - s c t h a t i t p r o v e d t h e e t e r n i t y
d i m e n s i o n o f man. ,te m ust n e t f o r g e t t h e r e p e a t a b i l i t y o f t h e
G rea t D em on stra tion .

7. L i k e t h e P r o d i g a l S o n , y o u may h a ve b e e n l i v i n g i n t h e f a r c o u n t r y
o f s e l f - l i m i t a t i o n ; o u t y o u a r e u i v i n e , and when y o u com e t o y o u r s e l f
y o u c a n d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t o f y ou t h a t i s e t e r n a l , a g e l e s s , d e a t h l e s s ,
w h o le a n d c o m p l e t e . The G r e a t >enons t r a t i o n o f r e s u r r e c t i o n i s n o t
o n l y a w a k e n in g o u t o f a d e a t h s l e e p -- i t i s a l s o w a k in g up fr o m a
s le e p o f m ortal c o n sc io u sn e ss in to a f u l l e r e x p erie n ce o f l i f e .
 8. You do n o t have t o d i e t o b e im m o r t a l. You a r e im m o r t a l now.
I m m o r t a l i t y has n o t h i n g t o c o w i t h t i m e . The D i v i n e o f y o u i s immor-
ta l. T h i s means m ore than t h a t y o u w i l l l i v e f o r e v e r - i t d o e s
mean t h a t . But i t a l s o means t h a t y o u l i v e i n t h e d e e p f o r e v e r n e s s
o f t h e now. I t d e a l s n o t w ith th e h o r i z o n t a l o f l e n g t h o f l i f e ,
b u t o f t h e v e r t i c a l o f t h e d e p t h p o t e n t i a l o f man h i m s e l f .

9. Jhen we t h i n k o f l i f e i n t e r m s o f t i m e , we l o s t h e T r u th o f th e
greatn ess o f lif e . L i f e i s n e t f o r d y in g - l i f e i s f o r l i v i n g , g o r
g r o w i n g , f o r u n f o l d i n g , f o r e v o l v i n g t h a t w h ic h i s i n v o l v e d . Any
th in g you w i l l e v e r b e , you a lr e a d y a re. The g r e a t n e s s o f t h e
I n f i n i t e i s a lr e a d y in v o lv e d in you. R e s u r r e c t i o n i s a w a k in g up,
a new i n s i g h t i n t o s e l f .

10. T h ere i s an u r g e n c y t o th e G r e a t D e m o n s t r a t i o n . The w o r l d n e e d s

t h i s T r u th t o d a y , n e e d s t o r e d u c e t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f T r u t h t o t h e
l e a s t common d e n o m i n a t o r and t h e n p u t them t o work. E aster d e a ls
w i t h t h e D i v i n i t y o f Han, o f y ou and p e o p l e e v e r y w h e r e .

A d d i t i o n a l r a t e r i a l t h a t may be H e l p f u l ;

In th e R e v i s e d V e r s i o n o f t h e B i b l e (Watt. 28: 1) we r e a d , "How a f t e r

t h e s a b b a t h , t o w a r d t h e dawn o f t h e f i r s t day o f t h e w e e k . . . . - ' T ow ard
t h e dawnj T h i s i s t h e s y m b o l o f h op e and f a i t h . L ook t o w a r d t h e E a s t i
In a l l t i m e s o f c r i s e s , c u r i n g g r i m a n d h a r r o w i n g e x p e r i e n c e s , men
t e n d t o l o o k t o w a r d t h e w e s t , t o i n d u l g e i n r e g r e t s and g r i e f f o r t h a t
w h ic h i s f a d i n g and p a s s i n g f r o m s i g h t . The d i s c i p l e s w e r e l o o k i n g
t o w a r d t h e W est. J e s u s had f i r e d them w it h e n t h u s i a s m a n d h o p e . But
i t was a l l o v e r now. H a d n ' t t h e y s e e n Him d i e ?
S i g n i f i c a n t l y , Urtie w ord " E a s t e r " c o n t a i n s t h e w o r d " e a s t " . T h is i s
t h e d i r e c t i o n t h e W is e Hen l o o k e d f o r t h e S t a r t h a t e n a b l e d them t o s e t
th e c o u r s e th a t l e d to the b i r t h p l a c e o f J e su s. In O r i e n t a l l o r e " e a s t "
i s a s y m b o l o f l i g h t , o f h o p e , o f t h e w i t h i n , o f Cod. L ook in g t o the
e a s t , means l o o k i n g away fr o m t h e a p p e a r a n c e , l o o k i n g t o God. E aster
s h o u l d b e a tixae o f i l l u m i n a t i o n , a " s u n r i s e s e r v i c e " , when t h e l i g h t
o f a new day r e v e a l s new h o p e , new p r o m i s e and new and w o n d e r f u l p o t e n
tia litie s.
In t h e Upa.nishads we r e a d , " L e a d me t o th e e t h e r s i d e o f d a r k n e s s . "
T h i s i s t h e g r e a t n e e d o f man t o d a y . We h a v e b e e n l i v i n g i n t h e c o n s c i o u s
n e s s o f t h e human, t h e m a t e r i a l , t h e a p p e a r a n c e . We h a v e b e co m e t o o
"w e ste rn ize d " . We h a ve d o n e g r e a t t h i n g s w i t h t h e i n t e l l e c t b u t we a r e
f i n d i n g t h a t w i t h o u t u n d e r s t a n d i n g , we b e co m e p o s s e s s e d b y o u r p o s s e s s i o n s
and s l a v e s t o our c r e a t i o n s . I t was s a i d o f o l d , " T h e r e i s a S p i r i t i n
man and t h e i n s p i r a t i o n o f t h e A l m ig h t y g i v e t h him u n d e r s t a n d i n g . " We
m u st l o o k t o t h e E a s t . Je must l o o k w i t h i n .
fe have b e e n l i v i n g i n t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f c o m in g t o t h e c l o s e o f
th e day. We t h i n k o f l i f e a s ebbinc, away, o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s m i s s e d , o f
s u b s t a n c e and s u p p ly a s b e i n g d e p l e t e d . B e c a u s e we a r e l o o k i n g i n t o t h e
p a s t and i n t o th e d a r k n e ss o f g r i e f and s a d n e s s and b e c a u s e l i f e g o e s
on , we f i n d o u r s e l v e s v e r i t a b l y b a c k i n g t h r o u g h l i f e . T h e r e i s much
t a l k a b o u t a " f i n a l w o r ld w a r," th e h o r r o r s o f a to m ic e x t i n c t i o n , and
th e end o f th e w orld . We have b e c o m e a l m o s t m e s m e r i z e d b y t h e w e s t w a r d
lo o k in g appearances. The E t e r n a l m e s s a g e o f E a s t e r p r o c l a i m s t o d a y , "L o o k
t o w a r d t h e dawn. L e t E a s t e r h a p p en t o y o u . Turn a b o u t a n d f a c e t h e s u n
r i s e , t o w a r d t h e l i g h t o f a new day. Let the r e s u r r e c t i o n p r i n c i p l e r i s e
up i n y o u t h a t y o u m ig h t r i s e t r iu m p h a n t o v e r e v e r y t r i a l .
One o f t h e g r e a t s t o r i e s o f human a c c o m p l i s h m e n t i s t h a t o f M a r ie C u r i e ,
who p i o n e e r e d and c o n q u e r e d i n t h e f i e l d o f c h e m i s t r y . In her q u e s t f o r
ra d iu m , s h e o v e r c a m e o b s t a c l e s w h ic h hr' h a l t e d o t h e r s c i e n t i s t s and
l e f t t h e n b a f f l e d a n d d is m a y e d o r s k e p t i c a l and u n b e l i e v i n g . Who w o u ld
have o e l i e v e d t h a t o u t o f t h e r e f u s e c f a Bohemian c l a s s f a c t o r y an
i n t r e p i d woman c o u l d e x t r a c t t h e g l o w i n g e l e m e n t o f p o w e r c a l l e d ra d iu m .
She r e d u c e d , b o i l e d down, t o n s and t o n s o f i t b e f o r e a t l a f j t s h e c a p t u r e d
the e l u s i v e th in g . M a rie C a r i o c o n c e i v e d t h e t h e o r y , w hich h e r e x p e r i
m en ts p r o v e d t r u e , t h a t t h e v i t a l s o m e t h i n g sh e was s e e k i n g was n o t d e
s t r o y e d by g o in g th r o u g h th e f u r n a c e s o f the f a c t o r y . The f i r e s had no
e f f e c t w h a t e v e r u p on t h e ra d iu m . They n e i t h e r d e s t r o y e d n o r d i m i n i s h e d
th e v i t a l th in e. I t was t h e r e i n t h e same q u a n t i t y and t h e sam e s t a t e a s
i n v i r g i n p i t c h b l e n d fr o m t h e m in e s .
How l i k e t h e i m p e r i s h a b l e s o m e t h i n g w i t h i n t h e s o u l o f man! A ll
t h e f u r n a c e f i r e s o f human d i s c i p l i n e , e v e n d e a t h i t s e l f , c a n n o t o b l i t
e r a t e t h e C h r i s t G p i r i t , t h e J i v i n i t y o f Man, t h e s e e d o f r e s u r r e c t i o n
w ith in .

Y e a r s a g o , b e f o r e t h e a d v e n t o f t e l e v i s i o n , t h e r e was a s t o r y on r a d i o
t h a t was c a l l e d , " A n g e l s w i t h il m n e s i a . " I t was an i n t e r e s t i n g s t o r y o f
an a n g e l who was o n a m i s s i o n o n t h e e a r t h . He was a c c i d e n t a l l y s t r u c k
on t h e h e a d a n d was t h e v i c t i m o f a m n e s ia . He c o u l d n ’t rem ember who he
w as. T h e r e u n f o l d e d an i n t r i g u i n g s t o r y s i t u a t i o n b e c a u s e o b v i o u s l y , i f
he d i d n ’t know he was an a n g e l , he had a l l t h e i n v o l v e m e n t s a n d d i f f i
c u l t i e s a n d t e m p t a t i o n s o f o r d i n a r y m o r t a l men. In t h e e n d he a w aken ed
and r e a l i z e d h i s a n g e l i c n a t u r e -- j u s t i n t i m e t o p r e v e n t him fr o m
e n t e r i n g i n t o a v e r y human " a f f a i r . " I n a way, J e s u s i m p l i e s t h a t e v e r y
o n e i s an a n g e l w i t h a m n e s ia . Everyone i s d iv in e . We a r e n o t a w a re o f
o u r d i v i n i t y , o u r God p o t e n t i a l . l-Je a r e a s l e e p t o o u r d e e p e r s e l v e s .
We n e e d t o wake up.

"And l o o k i n g up, t h e y saw t h a t t h e s t o n e was r o l l e d b a c k . " T h is i s a

c l u e s o i m p o r t a n t t h a t w i t h o u t i d e n t i f y i n g i t , t h e r e i s n o way t o u n d e r
s ta n d th e " m i r a c l e " works o f J e s u s . When He f e d t h e f i v e t h o u s a n d h u n g r y
p e o p l e , " . . . h e t o o k t h e f i v e l o a v e s and t h e two f i s h e s , a n d l o o k i n g up t o
h e a v e n , he b l e s s e d and b r a k e and ga ve t h e l o a v e s t o t h e d i s c i p l e s . . . .and
they a l l a t e , and w ere f i l l e d . " When He s t o o d b e f o r e t h e tomb o f H is
b e l o v e d f r i e n d , L a z a r u s , He " l i f t e d up h i s e y e s , and s a i d . . . . L a z a r u s ,
com e f o r t h . " And on a n o t h e r i n s t a n c e , J e s u s s a i d , " S a y n o t y e , t h e r e a r e
y e t f o u r m on th s, and t h e n c o m e t h t h e h a r v e s t ? B e h o l d , I s a y u n t o y o u ,
l i f t up y o u r e y e s , and l o o k o n t h e f i e l d s , t h a t t h e y a r e w h i t e a l r e a d y
un to h a r v e s t . "
J esu s s a id , "Ju dge n ot a c c o r d in g t o a p p e a ra n ce s, b u t ju d g e r ig h t e o u s
ju d gm en t." Man i s a w h o l e c r e a t u r e l i v i n g i n a w h o le u n i v e r s e . H ow ever,
the p h y s i c a l s i g h t r e v e a ls o n ly p a r t o f th e p i c t u r e . J e s u s knew t h a t He
had t o be " b o r n anew" i f He w a n te d t o s e e t h e Kingdom , t o s e e t h e a n sw e r
t o l i f e ' s p rob lem s. S o he " l o o k e d u p" f r o m t h e human t o the d i v i n e , f r o m
the a p p e a r a n c e s t o I n f i n i t e R e a l i t y . He knew t h a t He d i d n o t n e e d t o
s e t t h i n g s r i g h t -- o n l y t o s e e them r i g h t l y . T h is i s a v i t a l a s p e c t o f
p r a y e r th a t i s em p h a sized in E m erson's c l a s s i c d e f i n i t i o n o f p r a y e r a s
" t h e c o n te m p la t io n o f th e f a c t s o f l i f e from th e h i g h e s t p o in t o f v iew ."
LES3Q1 12

Text R e fe r e n c e s: C h a p t e r 17 a n d 18

S u p p le m e n t a r y R e a d i n g :
DYNAMICS FOR LIVING ( F i l l m o r e ) , p . 339
LIFE I S FOR LIVING ( B u t t e r w c r t h ), P. 155
ATOM-SMASHING PCWBR OF MIND ( F i l l m o r e ) , p 56, 160

S ig n i f ic a n t C oncepts t c be C o v e re d :
1. R e in c a r n a t io n i s n o t an a b s o l u t e . I t i s a n a n s w e r t o som e p u z z l i n g
q u e s t i o n s a o o u t l i f e and d e a t h . I t i s the o t h e r s i d e o f the c o i n
th a t sa y s, "T here i s no j u s t i c e . " We s t u d y i t n o t a s u n e q u i v o c a l
p r in c ip le , but as p la u s ib le co n je c tu re .

2. D iscu ss a t len gth J e su s' in d ir e c t r e f e r e n c e s to the r e i n c a r n a t io n

process. You may a d d many more i n s t a n c e s .

3. The l o s s o f t h e i d e a o f R e i n c a r n a t i o n and i t s r e l a t e d la w o f
c a u s e a n d e f f e c t nay b e t h e g r e a t e s t s i n g l e r e a s o n f o r t h e r i s e o f
what i s c a l l e d "V7estern M a t e r i a l i s m . " (p. 217)

4. J e s u s t a u g h t t h e D i v i n i t y o f Man, t h a t man m ust u l t i m a t e l y u n f o l d

h is p o te n tia l. R e i n c a r n a t i o n w o u l d see m t o i n d i c a t e a way i n w h ic h
t h i s ca n b e d o n e .

5. A g o o d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e K ingdom o f C o d i s i m p e r a t i v e t o t h e
s t u d e n t o f T r u th . I t i s n o t a p l a c e t o w h ich we g o o r an e x p e r i e n c e
in tim e. I t i s n o t so m e w h e r e t c g o , b u t s o m e t h i n g t o b e . It is
th e upper l e v e l o f nan's t o t a l c o n s c io u s n e s s .

6. L i f e i s l i v e d fr o m w i t h i n c u t . We f r u s t r a t e o u r p o t e n t i a l when
we l e t o u r l e v e l o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s b e d e t e r m i n e d by what p e o p l e s a y ,
w hat c o n d i t i o n s a p p e a r t c b e , what we r e a d i n t h e p a p e r s , e t c . What
happens a ro u n d you i s n o t im p o r ta n t. What c o u n t s i s what h a p p e n s
i n you.

7. C o n s i d e r t h e t r u e m e a n in g o f t h e w o r d r e l i g i o n — t h e a w a r e n e s s o f
m an's u n i t y w i t h God. C o n s i d e r how t h e c o n c e p t o f u n i t y w i t h God
in e c c l e s i a s t i c i s m d e t e r i o r a t e d i n t o u n it y w ith the i n s t i t u t i o n .
T h i s l e d t o t h e c o n c e p t t h a t man f o u n d u n i t y w i t h God o n l y w i t h and
th rou gh th e ch u rch and i t s c l e r g y . T h i s i s why p e o p l e l i k e E m erson
have c a l l e d f o r a " f i r s t - h a n d a n d im m e d ia t e e x p e r i e n c e o f G o d . "

8. E l a b o r a t e on t h e new i d e a l o f t h e c h u r c h -- t h e p l a c e t o l e a r n
t h e T r u th o r u n i t y w i t h Ooci• L^iloe c*ny p i c e o r l e a r n i n g , i t m u st
make i t s e l f p r o g r e s s i v e l y u n n e c e s s a r y - h e l p p e o p l e t o b e c o m e
w ith in - d ep en d en t.

9. "Am I my b r o t h e r ' s k e e p e r ? " We s a y , NoJ I m ust b e my b r o t h e r ' s

b roth er. Or e v e n m o re , " I am ny b r o t h e r a n d my b r o t h e r i s m e . "
I m p l ic a t io n s o f t h i s a r e l a r g e r e l a t i v e t o con tem porary s o c i a l p r o b le m s.
*•. *-*• a, - 2-

L e s s o n 12, c o n t ' d

10. "You d o n o t h a ve t o g r o a n o v e r what t h e w o r l d l a c k s ; y o u a r e t h e r e

t o b r i n g i t what i t n e e d s . . . . f l a m e up and s h i n e , " T h i s i s an a n sw e r
t o t h o s e who a r e t r o u b l e d o v e r t h e s t a t e o f th e w o r l d . The Kingdom
o f God i s w i t h i n y o u -- i t may b e g i n i t s u n f olclm en t i n t o t h e w o r l d
r i g h t now, and i t may f i n d i n y o u i t s s t a r t i n g p o i n t .

A d d i t i o n a l M a t e r i a l t h a t may b e H e l p f u l ;

T a lk in g w ith a young m in i s t e r o f a t r a d i t i o n a l ch u rch . He was d e

b a t in g th e m eta p h y sica l co n ce p t w ith in C h r is t ia n i t y . When h e was
c o n f r o n t e d w i t h J e s u s s t a t e m e n t , " A l l t h a t I d o y o u c a n d o and m o re , i f
y o u h a ve f a i t h , " He s h o o k h i s hea d s a d l y , and s a i d , " I j u s t w i s h
J e s u s had n e v e r s a i d t h a t . " u t He d i d s a y i t , and t h e r e i s n o
g e t t i n g around i t .

I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t J e s u s l i v e d i n a t i m e when a p r o m i n e n t s e c t
o f J u d a is m , t h e E s s e n e s , d i r e c t l y t a u g h t t h e i d e a o f r e i n c a r n a t i o n .
I t i s h a r d l y l i k e l y t h a t J e s u s w o u l d have h a d n o c o n t a c t w i t h t h e s e
p e o p le or th e ir v iew s. You may have r e a d much a b o u t t h e "D ea d S ea
S c r o l l s " w h ich w ere fc u n d i n r e c e n t y e a r s . T h e se w e r e t h e w r i t i n g s
o f an S s s e n e S e c t t h a t w e r e f o u n d i n t h e r u i n s o f an E s s e n e m o n a s t e r y .
The c o n c e p t o f r e i n c a r n a t i o n was c l e a r l y i n v o l v e d i n t h e s e w r i t i n g s .
Now we have n o p r o o f t h a t J e s u s had any r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e
E ssen es. H ow ever, we f i n d s t r i k i n g s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e e n s em e o f H i s
i d e a l s and t h o s e e s p o u s e d b y t h e E s s e n e s . And, t h e A p o c r y p h a l b o o k
o f E n o ch , w h ich was o n e o f t h e more i m p o r t a n t s c r i p t u r a l t e x t s o f
t h e E s s e n e s , c o n t a i n s som e B e a t i t u d e f o r m s t h a t s t r a n g e l y p a r a l l e l
J e s u s ’ B e a t i t u d e s o f t h e Serm on on t h e Mount. When J e s u s ’ c o n c e p t s
a p p e a r t o b e s o r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t fr o m t h e t r a d i t i o n a l v i e w s o f H is
la n d , and now we f i n d them t o b e s o c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h i s s e c t o f H i s
t im e , d o e s n ' t i t s e e m t o f o l l o w t h a t He m u st h a ve b e e n a w a re o f th e
E s s e n e s a n d t h a t He c o u l d have b e e n i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e i r d o c t r i n e s —
o f w h ic h r e i n c a r n a t i o n was f u n d a m e n t a l .

E u ge n e O ’N e i l l w r o t e a d e l i g h t f u l p l a y t h a t was p r o d u c e d on B roadw ay
many y e a r s a g o , e n t i t l e d , " L a z a r u s L a u g h e d . " I t i s b a s e d o n th e B i b l i c a l
s t o r y o f L a z a r u s , who d i e d and. was r a i s e d fr o m t h e d e a d b y J e s u s a f t e r
t h r e e d a y s i n th e tom b. A f t e r m o v in g o u t o f t h e l i m i t e d f r m e w o r k o f
l i f e t h a t i s c c m p r e s s o d by t im e b e t w e e n t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f b i r t h and
t h e " u l t i m a t e " o f d e q t h , L a z a r u s com es t o know t h e g r e a t n e s s a n d f u l l
ness o f l i f e . H i s m ind i s f r e e d fr o m t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f human ju d g m e n t .
He s e e s w i t h an i n f i n i t e p e r s p e c t i v e . When he r e t u r n s f r o m t h e d e a d
and i s f a c e d w i t h th e s t r a n g e p a r a d o x o f s e e i n g m an's puny a f f a i r s
w i t h a c o s m i c i n s i g h t , i t i s a l l s o fu n n y t h a t he l a u g h s . Though he
a p p e a r s u n f e e l i n g a n d c o l d , he c a n n o t c o n t a i n h i m s e l f fr o m l a u g h t e r
a t t h e way men w o r r y a n d s t r u g g l e and c h a s e s h a d o w s i n l i f e .
S o l i l o q u i z i n g , Lazarus s a y s : "Why a r e y o u r e y e s a lw a y s f i x e d
on t h e g r o u n d i n w e a r i n e s s o f t h o u g h t , o r w a t c h i n g o n e a n o t h e r w i t h
su sp icio n ? Throw y o u r g a z e upward t o e t e r n a l l i f e ! To t h e f e a r l e s s
and d e a t h l e s s ! The e v e r l a s t i n g ! To t h e s t a r s . . . . O b r o t h e r s i n God,
w e a v in g d a n c e rh y th m s o f e t e r n a l p e a c e t o t h e l o n e l y drum o f t i m e ,
lau gh t h in e e v e r l a s t i n g la u g h te r ! L e t i t d e s c e n d on man’s s e a r e d
l i p s . . . . O b r o t h e r s , son s o f e t e r n a l l i f e , c e le b r a n t s o f i t s fla m in g
r e v e l a l o n g t h e m o u n t a in r i d g e s o f i n f i n i t y , l e t man f e e l t h y e c s t a s y
t h a t he may e v o k e h i s own h i g h f r e e d o m . "
 J o s u s had a t e c h n i q u e f o r d e v e l o p i n g s p i r i t u a l - m i n d e d n e s s . I t was
a m a zin gly s im p le . He a c k n o w l e d g e d H i m s e l f t o b e t h e s o n o f God. The
r e a s o n we have n o t s e e n t h i s a s a t e c h n i q u e i s t h a t we have e x p l a i n e d
i t a s a j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e o l d c o n c e p t t h a t J e s u s was " v e r y G o d . " He
was s p e c i a l , G od m a n i f e s t i n g I-Iim self i n t h e f o r m o f man f o r a w h i l e t o
t e a c h us a l e s s o n . G ut t h a t w a s n ’t what He had i n m ind. J e s u s d i d n ’t
s e e H i m s e l f a s d i f f e r e n t f r o m us - e x c e p t t h a t He was l i v i n g more i n
t h e u p p e r r oms o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s . He saw H i m s e l f a s o n e w h o had made
t h e g r e a t d i s c o v e r y a b o u t H i m s e l f and a.ocu t l i f e -- w h ic h c a n b e y o u r
d i s c o v e r y i f y o u f o l l o w Him.
Thus, when J e s u s c a l l e d H i m s e l f t h e s o n o f G od -- t h i s was H is
tech n iq u e. Je m ust c a l l o u r s e l v e s t h e s o n o f God. The a t t a i n m e n t o f
t h e C h r i s t C o n s c i o u s n e s s , the a w a k e n in g o f t h e d e p t h w i t h i n u s , c a l l s
f o r n o t h i n g l e s s on o u r p a r t t h a n a d e f i n i t e r e c o g n i t i o n o f o u r s e l v e s
a s s o n s o f God r i g h t h e r e and now. H ot w i l l o e , n o t I c a n b e , not
maybe so m e d a y , b u t r i g h t now I am a s o n o f G o d . Or, i f y o u w ant t o
make i t m ore e m p h a t i c , I am t h e s o n o f G od, f o r I am t h e a c t i v i t y o f
God t h a t i s m a n i f e s t i n g i t s e l f a t t h i s p o i n t i n t i m e a£ me. I an t h e
i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n o f G od. I t i s n o t enough t o g i v e i n t e l l e c t u a l a s s e n t
t o the id e a . C l a i m y o u r g o o d and p r e s s y o u r c l a i m . A ffirm : " I am
a p e r f e c t c h i l d o f Go<>."
When I was a s m a l l c h i l i - , my m o th e r i m p r e s s e d u p on my m ind t h e
c o n c e p t t h a t " w i t h God a l l t h i n g s a r e p o s s i b l e . " I w as t a u g h t t o s a y
i n t h e f a c e o f p r o b l e m s o f a r y k i n d , "G od i s my h e l p i n e v e r y n e e d . "
In t h o s e d a y s I d i d n ' t know a o o u t g e r m s and c o m p l e x e s a n d h e r e d i t y .
My f a i t h was u n c o m p l i c a t e d . . .a n d i t w o r k e d . P e r h a p s y o u t o o c a n rem ember
y o u n g e r da.ys o f c h i l d l i k e f a i t h . J e s u s s a i d , " E x c e p t y e t u r n and b e co m e
a s l i t t l e c h i l d r e n , y e s h a l l i n n o w i s e e n t e r i n t o t h e Kingdom o f H e a v e n . "
We s h o u l d n e v e r b e c o m e t o o s o p h i s t i c a t e d t o make t h i s " t u r n " , t o p a u s e
a n d r e f l e c t upon t h e g r e a t n e s s o f God in c h i l d l i k e f a i t h . Sven i f a
m i r a c l e i s r e q u i r e d , l e t us r e c a l l : "E ye h a t h n o t s e e n , n o r e a r h e a r d ,
n e i t h e r h a ve e n t e r e d i n t o t h e h e a r t o f man, t h e t h i n g s w h i c h God h a t h
p r e p a r e d f o r them t h a t l o v e h im ."
Ho m a t t e r what t h e human p r o b l e m may b e , t h e r e i s a lw a y s t h a t w i t h i n
y o u t h r o u g h w h ich i t c a n b e m et and o v e r c o m e . "He t h a t i s w i t h i n y ou i s
g r e a t e r t h a n he t h a t i s i n y o u r w o r l d . " J e s u s s a i d , " I n t h e w o r l d y e have
t r i b u l a t i o n , b u t I h a ve o v e r c o m e t h e w o r l d . " A g a in , t h i s was n o t an e v i
d e n c e o f s p e c i a l p o w e r s , b u t t h e r e v e a l i n g o f H is t e c h n i q u e . The p r o b
lem f u n d a m e n t a l l y i s i n o u r f a u l t y v i e w o f l i f e . Uhen we s e e f r o m t h e
b a s e m e n t , a l l o b s t a c l e s a r e m o u n t a in o u s . Jhen we g o u p s t a i r s , " a l l t h i n g s
are p o s s ib le . "
J e s u s i s s a y i n g , "As l o n g a s y o u l i v e i n t h e w o r l d o f c h a n g e t h e r e w i l l
be ch a llen g e s. Hut c h a l l e n g e s a r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r g r o w t h . " The w ord
t r i b u l a t i o n c o m e s fr o m t h e L a t i n " t r i b u l u n " , w h ich r e f e r s t o a t h r e s h i n g
g lo o r. T h r e s h i n g i s an i m p o r t a n t p r o c e s s o f s e p a r a t i n g t h e w h e a t fr o m
the c h a ff. Many t i m e s we a r e t h r e s h e d a b o u t i n human e x p e r i e n c e b e c a u s e
o f n eg a tiv e b e l i e f s . Gut when we o v e r c o m e o r "co m e o v e r " t h e f a u l t y
m e n t a l a t t i t u d e , t h e p r o b l e m b e c o m e s a o l e s s i n g , t h e e n d b e c o m e s a new
b e g in n in g .
Jhen a p e r s o n r i s e s a b o v e t h e c o n f l i c t s o f human e x p e r i e n c e and r e a
l i z e s t h a t t h e Kingdom o f God i s w i t h i n him, t h e r e i s a l w a y s an a n s w e r
w i t h i n him. He h a s b u t t o s t a n d s t i l l a n d know i t . . . a n d l e t i t e x p r e s s .
D a r e t o b e l i e v e t h a t t h r o u g h t h e G od s e l f o f y o u , you c a n m e e t, r i s e
a b o v e , and e v e n b e b l e s s e d by any c h a l l e n g e o f l i f e .
The w o n d e r f u l t h i n g a b o u t t h i s c o n c e p t o f h e a v e n i s -- I t i s w h e r e y o u
a r e . T h e r e i s a lw a y s an u p s t a i r s . T h e r e i s a lw a y s a way. A n d . . . The
way o u t i s i n . The Kingdom o f God i s w i t h i n y o u .