Creative Mind - Ernest Holmes [1]
And as I read, I contemplated what changes might have occurred in my thinking during these thirty-eight years, what revisions I might make in the manuscript if I were writing it today.
They were few—for Truth is ageless, timeless, changeless. We may have modified our techniques slightly, for we certainly should make improvements in nearly four decades of experience with the Law of Mind in Action. For example, we no longer “hold thoughts.” We think positive thoughts—and then release them, charged with the spiritual energy of Faith, into the Universal Mind which is common to all men.
Neither do we use the “power of will” to set the Law in motion. We use our God-given power of choice—either to use the Law constructively or destructively.
This much I know—that if I were writing this book today, it would be penned with far greater conviction than in 1919, for during these intervening years I have witnessed proof in hundreds of cases that “all is Love, yet all is Law” in the realm of Mind.
At that time I wrote: “Already thousands are using this great Power, and thousands are eagerly watching and waiting for the new day.”
It is gratifying to note that during these thirty-eight years, many more thousands have learned the Truth that sets men free—free from the man-made dogmas and superstitions that have fettered man’s thinking down through the centuries.
I am more convinced than ever that the Science of Mind, as expounded in our text-book under that name, based upon the teachings of Jesus and co-ordinated with the philosophy of other great thinkers of the ages, is destined to become the new religion for the new day.
It is a self-evident truth that if man is made in the spiritual image and likeness of God, man’s mind must be made out of God’s Mind; also that man has the same power in his individual life that God has in the Universal. If it is true that, as Jesus said, “it is the Father within, He doeth the works”—then man’s inner life is one with the Father.
Since all causation is mental, it follows that if all things are created by the Mind of God and man’s mind is part of God’s Mind, man is able, by thinking, to set in motion a Power that creates. Of course, man does not create that Power, neither does he coerce it. It is his to use either rightly or wrongly. It is always with him. It never deserts him. It operates every moment of his life.
We need, therefore, only to clear our minds of unbelief, and know that “it is done unto us as we believe.” In this spirit, we can think thoughts of success and success will follow as surely as day follows night, for our thought will not return unto us void. “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.” We need only accept it.
Even when we fail, we are proving that the Law works—according to our belief that it will not work. Of course, we do not wish to fail, but if our mental attitude is one of doubt, then the result will be the out-picturing of our negative thoughts. We can change the effect only by changing the cause . . . by reversing our thoughts and believing that the good we desire is already ours.
Knowing this, we can no longer blame others for our troubles. We recognize that within ourselves is the Power to produce success or failure.
Fear brings failure; faith brings success. It’s just that simple.
If you keep that in mind as you read the contents of this little book, you will find it a delightful spiritual adventure.
ERNEST HOLMES
January 1957
PART ONE
Instruction
AN INQUIRY INTO THE TRUTH
An inquiry into Truth is an inquiry into the cause of things as the human race sees and experiences them. The starting point of our thought must always begin with our experiences. We all know that life is, else we could not even think that we are. Since we can think, say and feel, we must be. We live, we are conscious of life; therefore we must be and life must be. If we are life and consciousness (self-knowing) then it