The Power of Oneself. Charles Fillmore

is the original "I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE." In mind, both Jehovah and Jesus mean I AM. I AM is man's self-identity. I AM is the center around which man's system revolves. When the I AM is established in a certain understanding of its Principle, it is divinely guided in its acts, and they are in harmony with divine law. This is the union of will and understanding. In the Scripture these two are designated as Ephraim and Manasseh, sons of Joseph. Their allotments in the Promised Land were joined, indicating that these faculties work in the body from a single brain center. The center is in the forehead.

      6. The will should never be retarded in its development, but should be strengthened along all lines. The idea of breaking the will of children is wholly erroneous. The perfect man is produced by rounding out the will and joining it to the understanding. The idea of giving up the will to God's will should not include the thought of weakening it, or causing it to become in any way less; it properly means that the will is being instructed how to act for the best. Do not act until you know how to act. "Look before you leap." This does not imply that one should be inactive and indefinite, waiting for understanding, as do many persons who are afraid to act because they may possibly do the wrong thing; it means that understanding will be quickened and the will strengthened by the confidence that comes as a result of knowledge.

      7. To strengthen the will, and at the same time to discipline it along right lines, requires an understanding nothing less than divine. But man can balance his will and his understanding; when he does this he will always do the right thing at the right time. Nearly every mistake is the result of will's acting without the cooperation of its brother, understanding. When the will is permitted to act on its own account, man becomes emotional and willful. These states of consciousness lead to all kinds of bodily discord. Willfullness makes tenseness, and a tense mind ties knots in the nerves, muscles, and tendons of the whole organism. The metaphysician, observing these conditions, treats for relaxation of will and for a general letting go of the whole system. The universal treatment for this condition given by Jesus is, "Not my will, but thine, be done." This surrender causes personal will to "let go," and a unification of man's will with God's will takes place. When this is accomplished, all goes well.

      8. Willful persons often complain of a feeling like that produced by a tight band around the head. This feeling results from the pressure of thought substance, which the will has laid hold of and is clinging to with centripetal force. In all such cases, and, in fact, in every sense of pressure, treat against personal willfullness and affirm the divine freedom.

      9. Every organ of the body is affected by the action of the will, and when this faculty becomes fixed in a certain attitude, it holds the whole body to its central affirmation. The determination to have one's own way, regardless of the rights of others, tends to stop the free action of the heart; the stomach is then sympathetically affected. Persons affected in these ways seldom realize that they have a set determination as to how things shall be done in their lives, and they are sometimes slow in accepting the higher understanding that is necessary to the untangling of mistakes made by the ignorant will. Contrariness is another name for perverted will. An exaggerated idea of self and its needs takes possession of the mind, and the will is used to carry out this shortsighted policy. The result is a belittling of the whole man. Persons who are contentious for their personal rights place themselves in bondage to material conditions and stop spiritual growth.

      10. How shall we bring the divine will to bear? By understanding; by appropriating universal wisdom; by affirming: Not my will, but thine, be done. God is potential, unformed will; man is manifest God will, or goodwill. When man links his will with the principle of divine force he has superior executive capacity. He swiftly brings forth faculties that, under the slow action of human personality, would take ages to develop.

      11. There is a knowing quality in Divine Mind. God is supreme knowing. That in man which comprehends is understanding; it knows and compares in wisdom. Its comparisons are not made in the realm of form, but in the realm of ideas. It knows how to accomplish things. We may know without experience. The human family has learned by hard knocks that experience is a severe schoolmaster. In the allegory of Adam and Eve, we see a picture of man's falling under the sway of sensation (serpent) and having to learn by experience. One of the esoteric meanings of serpent is "experience." All the bitter lessons that come through blundering ignorance can be evaded when men declare their divine understanding and in it follow the divine guidance.

      12. For all willfullness, the healing treatment should be affirmations of spiritual understanding. The will is not to be broken, but disciplined. The absolute freedom of the individual must be maintained at all hazards. God is the one principle; we are all as free to use God as we are free to use the principles of mathematics or of music. The principle never interferes, but if it is to be rightly applied we must develop understanding. Freedom leads to many errors, but, since it is a part of Being, man must learn to use it properly; he must learn that the freedom of the law means control and conservation, not lust and license.

      13. We should be careful not to enter into any healing system that interferes with freedom. Hypnotism is not real healing. Any system that suppresses the will is radically wrong. It is the work of the true healer to instruct the patient, to show cause and remedy from the viewpoint of spiritual understanding. All other methods are temporary. The old states of mind will come again into action unless the causing thought is uncovered and removed. A man may have a paralyzed arm through selfish desire for money, and though he may find temporary relief in mere mental suggestions of health, or hypnotism, he will never get permanent healing until he understands the divine law governing possessions, and conforms thereto.

      14. There are people who claim that they are being spiritually developed through mediumship. This is error. If you believe that you are under the control of another's will, if you give up to another will, your own will is gradually weakened. If you continue to submit to the domination of another, you will finally lose control of your own life. The will must be strengthened by being constantly used in divine understanding. Mesmerism weakens the will. Spiritual understanding quickens and makes alive. God never puts anyone to sleep. "Awake, thou that sleepest . . . and Christ shall shine upon thee."

      15. Never say, "I don't know," "I don't understand." Claim your Christ understanding at all times, and declare: I am not under any spell of human ignorance. I am one with infinite understanding. The accumulation of ignorance gathered through association with ignorant minds can be dissolved by using the word. You may know by simply holding the thought that you know. This is not egotism, but spiritual knowing. When you declare divine understanding, you sometimes meet your old line of thought and are disappointed. Right then continue to hold to your declaration for knowing. Judge not by appearances. Do not act until you get the assurance; if you keep close to Spirit by affirmation, the assurance will come. Will it come by voice? No! You will know through the faculty of intuition. Divine knowing is direct fusion of mind of God with mind of man. Sometimes we are taught by symbols, visions, and the like, but this is only one of the ways that Divine Mind has of expressing itself. When the mind deals with God ideals it asks for no symbols, visible or invisible, but rests on pure knowing. It was in this consciousness that Jesus said: "Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. And I knew that thou hearest me always."

      16. A very practical application of the truth about the will can be made in the matter of self-control. Those who try to get control through suppressing the personal will fall short. We should be free to express all that we are. If you are afraid of any force within you, your fear leads to suppression. In the true self-control, the will and the understanding both play a part. The feelings and appetites and passions must be disciplined. They are not merely to be held in check by the will, but they are to be lifted up and developed through the Christ Mind.

      17. The problem of self-control is never settled until all that man is comes into touch with the divine will and understanding. You must understand all your forces before you can establish them in harmony. This overcoming is easy if you go about it in the right way. But if you try to take dominion through will, force, and suppression, you will find it hard and will never accomplish any permanent results. Get your I AM centered in God, and from that place of Truth speak true words. In this way you will gain real spiritual mastery and raise your will consciousness from the human to the divine.

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