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"The
Kingdom of Heaven is within us and we experience this Kingdom to the
degree that we become conscious of it. ... Dare to say, "Great
people have come and gone, and behold, a greater now stands here where I
stand, and I am that one." The world will laugh and perhaps scorn.
The Christian world will hold up its hands in holy horror, lest you
blaspheme; the unchristian world will smile knowingly. Neither the one
nor the other will understand, but the understanding of either counts
for nothing. You are now free, and your freedom will yet save the world
from itself. The great soul finds within itself the divine companionship
that we need. We find within ourselves the "Peace which passeth all
understanding" and the power to do all things. All Power! We speak,
our word is Law, and it is done unto us by all the power there is. Our
word knows itself to be the law of life unto all for whom it is spoken
and who receive it. ... There is only one Power, but we use it in two
ways, either to destroy or to save. The blessing and the curse are one
and the same thing; the power of mind used either affirmatively or
negatively, the word used in fear and doubt or in faith and
assurance." - Dr. Ernest Holmes,
"Authority of the Soul"
Heaven has always been one of the concepts of
traditional religion that I have always struggled to understand.
Traditional religions teach that God created the world and gave man
(generic) authority and dominion over it. Yet, throughout history
people of traditional religion continue to believe there is a heaven ...
somewhere, out there beyond the clouds ... that is more magnificent than
this beautiful world that God has created. As I studied the Bible,
I found that Jesus and all the mystics before him, believed in the
Presence of God right where we are ... and in the power of the mind to
make heaven available right where we are as well. "The
kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo
here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you,"
declared the Master Mind Jesus ... and there has
not been one mystic since who contradicted this statement. Not
only does traditional religion teach a heaven and a hell ... although
they really can't prove either exists ... they believe that their dogma
holds the keys to both. So, in the reality of fundamentalist
religion ... both heaven and hell are gated communities. Now this
truly stretches the imagination!
For this lesson, let's let go of the fairytales and
look to the mysticism of Jesus and the great mystics who came both
before and after him, and realize that what the Radical Rabbi was
teaching was the Law of Mind ... and few can argue that it is not a
Higher Teaching than religious dogma. Why? Because it brings
us into the realm of the Universal ... that which applies to everyone,
everywhere ... both the religious and the non-religious ... the saints
and the sinners. We are all in Mind and Mind is God ... and if we
think, we are using the Mind of God ... and when we think ... we are
using the Law of this Mind ... always. Everything is available to
us in Mind as long as it does not take away anyone else's freedom or
liberty. We cannot use the Law of Mind to coerce or manipulate
another person ... these things only create a negative energy in our own
consciousness and provide a consequence for us to experience that
usually is not something we desire.
As we examine our lives in light of the Truth that
"the Kingdom of heaven is within," we can begin to make
practical use of this realization. We begin by thinking about all
the things that we have been blessed with ... and then think about what
we would like to expand. Mind is infinite and as our thinking
becomes more "expansive" we can begin to create within our
mind, the "heaven" that we desire to experience. I
suggest that we write down the things that are important to us; health,
relationships, career, home, money ... whatever it is that comes to
mind. If we are without any of these but desire them, let's write
them down ... remember, we have to begin right where we are ... and we
always begin everything in Mind.
Let's take money as an example and learn how to
make it more expansive and to realize its effect on our lives. In
order to expand our financial condition, we must first think about what
we want to "use' money for and how it relates to the things that
are important to us. If we are in a job that
does not compensate us to the level where we can
live the way in which we desire to live
... then money is an issue with our career. If we are in a
relationship where lack of money or
is an issue for either us
or our spouse or partner
... then money is an issue with our relationship. If we are living
in a home that requires repair or just does not meet our needs, then
money is an issue in respect to our home. If we have health issues
that require medical attention but we are without health insurance or
the money to meet the need ... then money is an issue in regards to our
health.
As we can see, money can be an issue in some of
the most important areas of our life ... so we must master money ... and
not allow lack of money to master us. We begin by knowing that
there is plenty of money for everything that we can "use" it
for. But, instead of thinking about where the money is going to
come from or how we can get more money, instead, let's think that
"we have" the money and "we have" the things that we
want to use it for. As we establish this in our consciousness, the
money will show up. We may have to work for it ... we may even
find ourselves doing things that we never imagined we would. Or,
we may even receive it from sources that we would never have imagined
possible. Establishing the consciousness of "having"
will make us a "money magnet" ... as long as we remain in this
consciousness and do not shift back to the "don't have" state
of mind. This is an immutable and eternal Law of God-Mind ...
let's not lose sight of this.
Remember ... whenever we
"think" we activate the Law of Mind ... either to create our
heaven or to create our hell. No one can "think" for us
... and no one's thoughts have power against us ... "the Kingdom of
heaven is within" ... and we don't have to go anywhere to receive
it ... or need anyone's permission to live in It!
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Dr. Henry Lee Bates
Visit Rev. Bates BLOG: Living
the Science of Mind
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