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Ernest Holmes Science of Mind
1. We believe in
God, the
Living Spirit Almighty;
one, indestructible, absolute, and self-existent Cause.
2. This
One manifests itself
in and through all creation but is not absorbed by its creation.
3. The manifest universe is the body of God; it is the logical and necessary
outcome of the infinite
self-knowingness of God.
4. We believe in the
incarnation of Spirit
in every person and that all people are incarnations of this
One
Spirit.
5. We believe in the
eternality, the immortality,
and the continuity of the individual soul,
forever and ever expanding.
6. We believe that
Heaven is within us
and that we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it.
7. We believe the ultimate goal of life to be a
complete emancipation from
all discord of every nature,
and that. this goal is sure to be attained by all.
8. We believe in the unity of all life, and that the highest God and the
innermost God is
one God.
9. We believe that
God is personal
to all who feel this
Indwelling Presence.
10. We believe in the
direct revelation of Truth
through the intuitive and spiritual nature of the individual, and that any
person may become a revealer of Truth who lives in close contact with the
indwelling God.
11. We believe that the
Universal Spirit, which is
God, operates through a Universal Mind, which is the Law of God;
and that we are surrounded by this Creative Mind, which receives the direct
impress of our thought and acts upon it.
12. We believe in the
healing of the sick through
the power of this Mind.
13. We believe in the
control of conditions
through the power of this Mind.
14. We believe in the eternal
Goodness,
the eternal
Loving-kindness,
and the eternal
Givingness
of Life to all.
15. We believe in our own soul, our own spirit, and our own destiny; for we
understand that
the life of all is God.
—Written by Ernest Holmes
The Science of Mind that is taught in these lessons is an outgrowth of the spiritual faith which people have had throughout the ages. Before science was conceived the Presence of God was felt. Before ever mental actions or reactions were analyzed history was filled with instances of men and women who had experienced God.
The Science of Mind is comparatively new, but the mental experience of the invisible universe is as old as the history of man. It is new in that for the first time in history we have put together all findings which contribute to the establishment of man's relationship with the universe, to the end that he may be able to apply his spiritual understanding to the everyday problems of human life.
This science necessarily starts with the proposition that we are living in a spiritual universe whose sole government is one of harmony, and that the use of right ideas is the enforcement of its law.
The Science of Mind is built on the theory that there is One Infinite Mind which of necessity includes all that is, whether it be the intelligence in man, the life in the animal, or the invisible Presence which is God. In it we learn to have a spiritual sense of things. This spiritual sense of things is what is meant by the Consciousness of Christ. To be able to discern the spiritual idea back of its physical symbol is to use the mind that Jesus used.
The Science of Mind is intensely practical because it teaches us how to use the Mind Principle for definite purposes, such as helping those who are sick, impoverished, or unhappy. Each one of us should learn to become a practitioner of this science, a demonstrator of its Principle, a conscious user of its Power. Power already exists, but the existence of Power is of no particular value to us until we use it. We must not only be conscious of Power, but we must be actively conscious of it. This is one of the first lessons we learn in the Science of Mind.
This science is more than mental; it is also spiritual, since we live in a spiritual universe. The Science of Mind declares the Truth about this spiritual universe and it also declares the Truth about false belief, considering everything which is opposed to good as an accumulation of human thought, the collective negative suggestion of the race.
Wrong conditions are resolved into false beliefs, and through the use of right ideas a transformation of thought takes place. We learn to build our ideas upon an affirmative rather than a negative factor. To state the Truth and deny or disregard that which in belief is opposed to it, is to prove that the Principle of the Science of Mind is actual.
The ever increasing thousands of persons who are daily proving this Principle add to our conviction that we are dealing with the most intense reality the human mind has ever conceived. As you will learn later, the practice of this science is the application of a definite technique, the law of right thought, of true spiritual understanding.
How to Begin these Studies
It is necessary to start these studies with the complete conviction that there is such a Principle and that you understand the scientific use and application of it. Conscious knowledge alone gives you the conscious control of the laws of nature. The advance in any science always corresponds to the conscious use made of the laws of nature. There could be no advance in science without such conscious use of nature's laws.
It would be unwise to approach a study of the Science of Mind with superstition. You must approach it with understanding. Above all, you must approach it with the definite intention in mind of making conscious use of its Principle. You must come to realize at the very start of your inquiry that Mind exists as a Principle in the universe, just as electricity exists as a principle.
Once you understand this it will not be difficult to see that thought is the tool of Mind, that right ideas enforce the Law of Mind; nor will it be difficult to see that physical objects are fundamentally spiritual in their nature, that an objective fact is but a symbol of a subjective or an invisible cause. It certainly follows that if you are to make practical use of the Science of Mind you must be able to convert things into thoughts, and by changing the stream of consciousness produce a corresponding change in an objective situation, whether this be used for helping those who are sick, or to meet any other need.
The question naturally arises whether or not man has a right to use his thought for whatever purpose he wills. The more sincere one is the more likely he is to ask this question. Strangely enough, he would not ask this relative to any other science but would feel that all laws exist to be used, and any sane person would naturally desire to benefit himself and others through the use of nature's laws. Why should any exception be made to the greatest of all laws - the Law of Mind in action, and the enforcement of this Law through right ideas?
One of our fundamental propositions is that God is all there is. When you say God is all there is, that includes everything, all possibility and all action, for Spirit is the invisible essence and substance of all form. It is impossible to separate the highest use of this science from the most exalted conception of an immanent Spirit, a transcendent Spirit, an available Spirit.
Perhaps one might at first have an aversion to the idea of using spiritual power for material purposes, but in the Science of Mind we discover that there are no final material purposes; that whether life exists in an objective or a subjective state, whether it is visible or invisible, all is Spirit; that Spirit or Intelligence, plus what It does, constitutes the entire universe, including man.
What the Science of Mind Reveals
The Science of Mind reveals that every man is a potential Christ. Every man has inherent God-power within him. And how could this God-power be used other than through his thought? Since it would be impossible for a man to act as an intelligent being unless he could first think, the very idea of man supposes a center of consciousness, a center of thought activity. The Science of Mind reveals that this center of God activity within each one is a complete and a unique manifestation of the Parent Mind; that the Power of God does actually exist in man.
It is a basic proposition in our philosophy that we live in a mental or spiritual universe and that things can be resolved into thoughts. This is the foundation upon which all scientific practice must be established, and when you are able to establish this premise in your own thought, you at once find yourself equipped with an instrument through which you can change your environment.
The Science of Mind does not deny the physical universe. The objective universe is the Body of God. That body includes our physical being. In reality every idea of our physical being is a Divine idea.
The misconception of the spiritual universe causes our universe to appear separated from good, and in fact we experience this separation. But that which is a fact in experience is not necessarily true in principle. Bondage cannot be conceived by the Divine, and yet we all know that bondage is a part of man's experience.
In trying to seek a solution for this enigma we must either conclude that there is an ultimate good and an ultimate evil in the universe, or we must conclude that there is but one Ultimate, which is good, and that this Ultimate by Its very nature and by our very nature is compelled to appear to each one of us in the form of our belief. If you can accept this proposition it will be easy enough for you to see how it is that false belief binds humanity.
If that which binds is false belief and not the Truth, then you will see why Jesus told us that a knowledge of the Truth would produce freedom. He did not mean that knowledge of the Truth creates freedom, but that knowledge of the Truth makes us free by aligning us with that which was never bound.
Accepting the foregoing conclusions as true it follows that the Divine Creative Principle is already perfect, having neither confusion nor chaos within It. It was, is, and will remain exactly perfect. Our individual universe shall be redeemed from its bondage in such degree as we become actively conscious of the Truth of our being. We must use the Law as a Law of Liberty, else we shall be using It as a law of bondage.
Science of Mind's Technique
The Science of Mind provides us with a definite technique for the use of this Law and teaches how each one can use It in freeing himself and demonstrating to his complete satisfaction that right ideas, correctly used, can and must produce right conditions.
So far, neither science, revelation, nor philosophy has arrived at any conclusion which could disturb this proposition, and every day the physical sciences are more completely proving that the physical universe in which we live is more like a gigantic thought than anything else. Now if the physical universe, or the cosmos as a whole, is more like a gigantic thought than anything else, it follows that our immediate world is a part of this thought.
How amazed we all should be if we awoke some fine morning, not only with the absolute conviction that this is so, but also with the inner insight which would enable us to see exactly what it means. Then we too should be able to say to the paralyzed man, "stretch forth thine hand!" But before we can do this we must see the principle of freedom instead of the belief in a paralysis of this principle.
The Science of Mind is a reinterpretation of the universe by a process of thought which Jesus used. We learn that there is one body, the body of right ideas. Jesus sensed this Body of God, which includes man's body, as a perfect, harmonious unit, and he realized that the evil which binds man is not a principle within itself nor a thing of itself, and most certainly not a person, but merely a false system of thought. He understood that his knowledge of good annihilated that which denied good. This fundamental fact he clearly brought out in his teaching; the Truth known is followed by the Truth demonstrated.
The Science of Mind does not necessarily create a new religion or sect, for it may be added to any spiritual system of thought since it is a complement to all. The person who already has the greatest spiritual faith will make the most active demonstrator of Truth. The person who naturally has a spiritual insight or who has already trained himself to have spiritual insight, will more quickly sense the truths which the Science of Mind portrays. He will more quickly lay hold of its technique and more perfectly demonstrate for himself and others that the invisible is the cause of the visible.
Proving the Science of Mind
For every science there must be a technique or a way of proving its truth. Science of itself is a knowledge of laws and principles arid systematic arrangement. And the technique of any science is the way in which we use this knowledge of laws and principles.
Applying this rule, (which is common to all sciences) to the Science of Mind, it naturally follows that if there is such a principle as Universal Mind, and if it does work according to the Law of Cause and effect, and if thought, self-contemplation, or self-knowingness is that which stimulates Its action, then correct thinking can and must produce objective or visible results.
We must lay even more stress on the use of the Science of Mind than we do on seeking to establish its Principle. As a matter of fact its Principle is self-evident; its use is exactly what we make it. And the first thing that any student of this science should do is determine to make daily use of it. In this, as in all other things, we should be practical. Too much study of any principle without making conscious use of it will lead to mere theorizing, and I am sure we all wish practical results.
You are ready to use the Principle governing the Science of Mind the very moment you accept the fact that there is such a principle and that it does operate through your thought. But this seems to be the place where many fall down. They talk so much about the Principle and use It so little. They permit themselves to become confused by the introduction of contradictory ideas. They spend too much time in merely philosophizing, theorizing, speculating, until finally they live in a world of wistful wishing, of day dreams.
You must come to see that the Science of Mind is an actual Principle to be
definitely used; that no matter how much good may exist in the universe, only as
much good can come to you as you can conceive. Above all things, determine now
to use this science. Do not say, "Well, this is but the first lesson and I
expect to have understanding enough within a year to use it." Seize upon
whatever facts present themselves to your mind today, begin to use such truth as
you grasp out of your first lesson, and before the year is over you will have
become an effective practitioner.
Frequent Asked Questions
2. What Does Your "V" Symbol Mean?
8. Do You Believe in the Devil?
9. What About Heaven and Hell?
11. Do You Believe in Reincarnation?
12. Do You Believe in Miracles?
13. Do You Believe in Jesus Christ?
15. Is This New Age?
16. Is This Related to Scientology?
17. Is This a Cult?
18. Is This Christian Science?
20. Why is This Called Religious Science?
21. Are Religious Science and Science of Mind the Same?
Religious Science is a spiritual philosophy for the modern man and woman. It is based on the Truth which arises in every culture in the form of science, philosophy, and religion. Religious Science views religion as a source of wisdom for revealing the Truth about the seemingly unknown forces that shape our universe. This enables us to participate in our own life as a co-creator with the Divine. Religious Science was founded by Dr. Ernest Holmes, a self-taught philosopher who rigorously studied all of the world's Spiritual paths for most of his life. In 1927, he wrote The Science of Mind, which synthesized the truths that he discerned were present throughout all of the world's faiths. That book is the foundation of the principles of Religious Science. He never intended to begin a new faith, but was persuaded to allow a church to be created to assure that the principles he synthesized would outlive him.
The V symbol of Religious Science can be interpreted on many different levels. On a Universal level, the top of the V shows the Universal Spirit (God), then the universal subjectivity, which is the medium of all thought, power, and action, then, at the bottom, at particularization of our manifestation of Spirit.
The point drawn through the center symbolizes the descent of Spirit into matter, or form. It is necessary that Spirit be manifested in order to express Itself. The descending line shows that all comes from the One (God)). Humanity reenacts the whole Universal Life, and the nature of humanity is identical with Spirit. What is true of the Whole is true of any of its individual undivided parts. Humanity comes to a point of individualization in the Whole and is subject to the Law of the Whole. (Paraphrased from The Science of Mind by Dr. Ernest Holmes, p. 569.)
Meditation is the time honored technique for taming, training and transforming the mind. Religious Science endorses all forms of meditation, from creative visualization to the more traditional mind stilling techniques. It is through meditation that we come into a state of God communion and thereby experience a greater sense of unity of all life.
Religious Science honors and endorses all forms of sincere prayer. In addition, it teaches a unique and scientific form of prayer called Spiritual Mind Treatment. This is a powerful, affirmative method of prayer that was developed by Dr. Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science. It involves a five step process that embodies all of the elements of the creative process of Life itself.
What is An Affirmation?
The term affirmation is normally associated with a verbal statement that is made about some goal that we are trying to achieve, or some experience we desire to have. However, the act of affirmation is really much more than that. It is an act of faith. It is the ability to put aside your doubt and fear in order to act as if your desired goal were already a reality. In this sense, an affirmation can be any statement, act, or symbolic gesture that affirms the reality of your intentions. Through the process of affirmation we "act as if" our highest aspirations were already a reality.
The original meaning of sin was simply to fall short of or "miss the mark" of spiritual perfection. A sin is not a thing, it is merely an activity that produces an undesirable effect in out lives. In other words, we are punished by our sins, not for them.
Religious Science does not deny the appearance of evil. However, it teaches that evil does not exist as a force or power in the world. That which is called evil is merely the obstruction, or inversion, of the only power acting, which is Spirit. The obstruction of Spirit's expression always occurs in the mind through the holding of false beliefs. According to Religious Science, the only presence acting in the universe is God, which is always Good. Evil is merely the way that we withhold our expression and experience of that good by accepting false beliefs into our minds.
Religious Science believes that, since the only power acting anywhere is God, the devil simply cannot exist as a force acting in opposition to God's expression through Spirit. Therefore, there really is no devil. There is only the manifestation of falsely held beliefs within our minds, which produces that appearance of some sinister invisible force, or being, acting in our lives. To blame unpleasant conditions and circumstances on the devil, or anyone else, is a way of avoiding responsibility for our own experience of life.
Religious Science believes that heaven and hell are states of mind. We experience heaven when we are in harmony with the Life that surrounds us.
Hell is a state of mind that we experience when we don't understand why something unpleasant is happening to us. We can choose to create our own heaven or hell on Earth, and take our beliefs with us when we go through the transition the world calls death to the next plane of existence.
Religious Science teaches the eternality of life. It accepts that our physical bodies operate within a natural cycle of birth and death. However, even though we may have a body, we are not just our body. What we really are is the Life that animates our body, and that Life is infinite and immortal. As we become increasing identified with our divine and eternal nature, our underlying fear of death begins to dissolve and our experience of life become more joyous.
Religious Science neither endorses nor rejects any particular theory or concept of reincarnation. Since life is eternal, there are an unlimited number of possibilities for its evolvement after the experience of physical death. In Religious Science, we accept the on-goingness of life and we deal with what is before us in the present moment.
Everything that occurs in our lives is simply the out-picturing of our consciousness operating through the Law of Mind. Therefore, those events that seem to be miraculous in nature are actually the Law acting at a level beyond our awareness. As we evolve our consciousness, what previously seemed miraculous becomes a natural, normal and understandable way of life. In actuality, there is only one miracle, this is Life itself.Top of Page
In Religious Science, Christ is viewed as a universal principle rather than a person. It is the principle of God expressing through humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was a human personality through which the Christ Principle, or Divine Personality, expressed itself on Earth. The principle of Jesus Christ represents the mystical marriage of our inner spirit with our outer personality. This union produces an expression of Life that includes both, yet is greater than either. The potential for this expression lies within each one of us. Therefore, Jesus is viewed as a great example for humanity, rather than the great exception. Ernest Holmes, founder of the philosophy of Religious Science, says:
"Religious Science does not deny the divinity of Jesus; but it does affirm the divinity of all people. It does not deny that Jesus was the son of God; but affirms that all beings are children of God. It does not deny that the Kingdom of God was revealed through Jesus; but affirms that the Kingdom of God is also revealed through you and me."
Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science, came out of a Christian tradition. He studied all of the world's religions, and synthesized what he saw to be the truths running through them all, free of any particular dogma. He began the philosophy with the intention that all churches, especially Christian ones, would embrace the philosophy and incorporate those teachings into their own. When that did not happen on a large-scale basis, he allowed the people around him to talk him into starting a church to make sure that the teachings would endure. His original intention was not to start a new religion. Religious Science comes out of the Christian tradition in the sense that we believe in the teachings of Jesus and use them to create a "Heaven on Earth".
Religious Science is a New Thought philosophy. Although many people with New Age leanings are attracted to Religious Science and some of the practices of Religious Science such as meditation are also practiced by those who consider themselves New Age, Religious Science does not consider itself a New Age Religion. Religious Science honors all paths that lead to God, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age, or any other spiritual paths.
No. Religious Science should never be confused with Scientology.
No. Religious Science teaches that each individual has the power over and the responsibility for his or her own life. Religious Science highly discourages the following of or dependence upon any one person, including founder Ernest Holmes or any present ministers or teachers. Religious Science challenges people to think for themselves and only believe what rings true for them. One must look into one's own heart for truth.
No. Ernest Holmes studied with many of the spiritual leaders of his time, including Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Religious Science attracts many from the Christian Science tradition.
Yes. Religious Scientists believe that all is God, and that God is expressed through doctors and medicine just as God is expressed through all of the physical universe. Religious Science believes in spiritual as well as physical healing, and Religious Science Practitioners often work in conjunction with doctors and other physical and mental health practitioners to facilitate healing.
Ernest Holmes used the terms "Science of Mind", which he called the book that describes his synthesis of the truths running through all of the religions of the world, and "Religious Science" interchangeably. He believed that religion and science were truly complementary, and named his organization the Church of Religious Science to show that. He believed that, eventually, science would prove what the mystics have been saying for thousands of years about the nature of God, human beings, and the Universe. His beliefs have been borne out by many modern scientists, who have found that the universe is truly made up of energy. Religious Science, along with all of the mystics of the ages, knows that that energy is God.
Yes.