In entering upon this course of instruction, each of you should, so far as possible, lay aside, for the time being, all previous theories and beliefs. By so doing you will be saved the trouble of trying, all the way through the course, to put "new wine into old wineskins" (Lk. 5:37). If there is anything, as we proceed, which you do not understand or agree with, just let it lie passively in your mind until you have read the entire book, for many statements that would at first arouse antagonism and discussion will be clear and easily accepted a little farther on. After the course is completed, if you wish to return to your old beliefs and ways of living, you are at perfect liberty to do so. But, for the time being, be willing to become as a little child; for, said the Master, in spiritual things, "Except ye . . . become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:3). If at times there seems to be repetition, please remember that these are lessons, not lectures. ~ Lesson One ~ “Lessons in Truth”, by H. Emilie Cady, [1894]
Do not worry because you cannot follow the course exactly to the letter. Do what you can of it, adapt it to your life, and do the best you can in present circumstances.
The principal thing is to get twice daily into what is called the Silence, to quieten the senses, and get in touch with the Unseen, i.e., God, Divine Mind, the Infinite, Principle of Good, First Cause, the Absolute, the name does not matter, they all mean the same.
Another vital thing is to use affirmations and denials, these will be explained more fully later.
Yet another is meditation, for you gradually grow into the likeness of that upon which you meditate.
Still another is visualizing. Always visualize the good, the beautiful, and true, and your life will reflect these things. Incidentally, the practice of visualization greatly increases one's powers of concentration.
DYNAMIC THOUGHT BY Henry Thomas Hamblin
Harmony, Health, Success, Achievement, Self-Mastery, Optimism, Prosperity, Peace of Mind, Through the Power of Right Thinking [1923]
“Heaven is here. There is nowhere else. Heaven is now. There is no other time. No teaching that does not lead to this is of concern to God's teachers. All beliefs will point to this if properly interpreted. In this sense, it can be said that their truth lies in their usefulness. All beliefs that lead to progress should be honored.” ~ ACIM ~ M(24,6:4-11)
“Heaven” is not a place way-off somewhere, rather heaven - or “harmony” - is HERE NOW, “at hand” as Jesus said. It becomes apparent to us as our True State-of-Mind, or True State-of-Being, when we are willing to accept that there is something greater than what we “think”. It is readily available to us, as we are always standing right in the midst of It, without seeing-knowing It.
We have never truly left heaven - except in our thinking that we have, because HEAVEN, which is GOD, is OMNIPRESENT, everywhere, always, non-stop- God unlimited. Our insatiable hunger for Truth can only be satisfied in the dawning of a new day when the Light begins to shine for us, in us, through us, AS us. We emerge from the cocoon of confusion, stretch our wings and take flight. We have been unable to fly, all wrapped up in the gross darkness of “belief in a personal mind occupying a material body”. But now, in Truth, we are set free.
All belief in and about “this world” is a dream-state of mind from which eventually all will be awakened. Waking up to Truth brings the realization that “I” have never left heaven (harmony) and can never leave. I can only “think” I do in the moment I accept the cocoon as my reality. “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment”, means simply: do not be fooled by what you “see”, but rather square everything by TRUTH.
HEAVEN - HERE – NOW
Jane Woodward
All the teachings of Jesus were for the purpose of leading men into this consciousness of their oneness with the Father. He had to begin at the external man--because people then as now were living mostly in external things--and teach him to love his enemies, to do good to others, and so forth. These were external steps for them to take--a sort of lopping off of the ends of the branches; but they were steps that led on up to the place of desire and attainment where finally the Master said, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now" (Jn. 16:12).
He told them of the Comforter that should be in them, and which should teach them all things, revealing the "deep things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10) to them, showing them things to come. In other words, He told them how they might find the kingdom of heaven within themselves--the kingdom of love, of power, of life.
The coming of the Comforter to their hearts and lives, giving them power over every form of sin, sickness, sorrow, and over even death itself, is exactly what we mean by understanding or realization. The power that this consciousness of the indwelling Father gives is for us today as much as it was for those to whom the Nazarene spoke. Aye, more; for did He not say, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (Jn. 14:12)?
All the foregoing lessons have been stepping-stones leading up to the point where man may realize that ever-abiding inner presence of the Most High, God. "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you?" (1 Cor. 6:19).
I cannot reveal God to you. You cannot reveal God to another. If I have learned, I may tell you, and you may tell another, how to seek and find God, each within himself. But the new birth into the consciousness of our spiritual faculties and possibilities is indeed like the wind that "bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the Spirit" (Jn. 3:8). The new birth takes place in the silence, in the invisible. ~ Lesson Eight ~ “Lessons in Truth”, by H. Emilie Cady, [1894]
You may say to yourself, or another may say silently to you, over and over again, that you are well and wise and happy. On the mental plane a certain "cure" is effect, and for a time you will feel well and wise and happy. This is simply a form of hypnotism, or mind cure. But until, down in the depths of your being, you are conscious of your oneness with the Father, until you know within yourself that the spring of all wisdom and health and joy is within your own being, ready at any moment to leap forth at the call of your need, you will not have spiritual understanding. ~ Lesson Eight ~ “Lessons in Truth”, by H. Emilie Cady, [1894]
If God created you perfect, you are perfect. If you believe you can be sick, you have placed other gods before Him. ~ ACIM ~ T(10,IV,1:4-5)
Magic is the mindless or the miscreative use of mind. Physical medications are forms of "spells," but if you are afraid to use the mind to heal, you should not attempt to do so. The very fact that you are afraid makes your mind vulnerable to miscreation. You are therefore likely to misunderstand any healing that might occur, and because egocentricity and fear usually occur together, you may be unable to accept the real Source of the healing. Under these conditions, it is safer for you to rely temporarily on physical healing devices, because you cannot misperceive them as your own creations. As long as your sense of vulnerability persists, you should, not attempt to perform miracles. ~ ACIM~T(2,V,2)
Healing by mental and spiritual treatment can only intensify, strengthen and help the healing forces of Nature. Nature is always trying to heal, and by "treatment," or constructive prayer, these efforts are helped and given a greater incentive. That is why materialists and doctors say at once, that it is a natural recovery. "Treatment" cannot make a new limb grow where one has been lost, it will not grow a new eye where one has been put out, or where the optic nerve has atrophied. It will not set a broken limb, but it will make it heal quickly and cleanly after it has been set by physical means. Mental Treatment and Divine Healing are wonderful, but they have their limitations, and if certain sects would remember this, they would be saved from much foolishness. Such being the case, it will be seen how much better it is to prevent disease than it is to cure it, also how necessary it is to "treat" spiritually, as early in the case as possible. The usual plan of trying every possible material "treatment" first, and then when given up to die, to call in a mental or spiritual healer, is not fair either to patient or practitioner.
DYNAMIC THOUGHT BY Henry Thomas Hamblin
Harmony, Health, Success, Achievement, Self-Mastery, Optimism, Prosperity, Peace of Mind, Through the Power of Right Thinking [1923]
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