The Revealing Word: A Dictionary of Metaphysical Terms. Charles Fillmore

condition. The sum total of all ideas accumulated in and affecting man's present being. The composite of ideas, thoughts, emotions, sensation, and knowledge that makes up the conscious, subconscious, and superconscious phases of mind. It includes all that man is aware of--spirit, soul, and body.

      It is very important to understand the importance of our consciousness in spiritual growth. Divine ideas must be incorporated into our consciousness before they can mean anything to us. An intellectual concept does not suffice. To be satisfied with an intellectual understanding leaves us subject to sin, sickness, poverty, and death. To assure continuity of spirit, soul, and body as a whole, we must ever seek to incorporate divine ideas into our mind. A consciousness of eternal life places one in the stream of life that never fails.

      consciousness, ascend in--Rise to the spiritual realms of mind.

      consciousness, body--The subconscious mind in its work in the body--repairing, renewing, and conducting the functions of the body in harmony and health if right ideas are given to it, or disintegrating the organism and producing inharmonious action of the functions if untrue thoughts are sown in the mind.

      consciousness, centers of--The subconscious realm in man has twelve great centers of action. Each of these twelve centers has control of a certain function in mind and body. The twelve centers are: faith, strength, judgment, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal, renunciation (or elimination), and life.

      consciousness, Christ--Consciousness built in accordance with the Christ ideal, or in absolute relationship to the Father. The perfect mind that was in Christ Jesus.

      consciousness, illumined--A mind purified by the light of Truth.

      consciousness, inner--The realm of the supermind as contrasted with the outer or conscious mind.

      consciousness, material--A state of mind based on belief in the reality of materiality, or things as they appear. It is carnal mind expressing its unbelief in the omnipresence of God.

      consciousness, negative--A mind filled with un-God-like thoughts, such as fear, hate, greed, lust, resentments, discouragement, sickness, and poverty.

      consciousness, positive--A mind filled with God's thoughts, such as power, strength, generosity, purity, and optimism.

      consciousness, sense--A mental state that believes in and acts through the senses. To rise out of sense consciousness, we determine to return to conscious oneness with God. "I will arise and go to my Father" (Luke 15:18).

      consciousness, Son of God--A state of mind that is conscious of God's ideal man.

      consciousness, spiritual--- (see Christ consciousness)

      consciousness, total--Conscious, subconscious, and superconscious phases of mind working as a whole, as a unit.

      consecration--The dedication of one's everyday thought to God; a complete surrender of oneself to God. The entire mind is brought under the control of the Christ consciousness with whole-souled devotion to spiritual ideas. It is the one way to perfect peace of mind. Consecration also means the application of all one's tact, skill, and inspiration to bringing other men into the Christ light. Thus, the whole world is to be brought into the Christ fold and transformed by Truth. "Who then offereth willingly to consecrate himself this day unto Jehovah" (I Chron. 29:5).

      contemplation--A form of meditation; a thought of becoming a child of God.

      convalescence--That period during which pure life from on high is cleansing the consciousness, and the waters of negation are receding. The body does not always at a single bound regain its natural condition, but there is a gradual recovery.

      conversion--"The experience associated with and involving a definite and decisive adoption of religion, especially a Christian religion" (Webster). Conversion is a change of heart and is a real experience, but it is merely introductory to the new life in Christ. When a person arrives at a certain exalted consciousness through the exercise of his mind in thinking about God and His laws, he is lifted above the thoughts of the world into a heavenly realm. This is the beginning of his entry into the kingdom of heaven. When man attains this high place in consciousness he is baptized by the Spirit; that is, his mind and even his body are suffused with spiritual essences, and he begins the process of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus.

      conviction--The state of being convinced. Metaphysically, it is the divine assurance that comes to one when he is fully satisfied of the worth of Truth. Conviction refuses to be influenced by the senses because it is founded in spiritual thought.

      cords, scourge of--The specific statement of denial. General denial cleanses the consciousness, but secret sins may yet lurk in the inner parts. Small definite statements that cut into them like whipcords will erase these specific transgressions. "And he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen" (John 2:15).

      corruptible--The corruptible body is that which is subject to decay. When it is transformed into the spiritual body, it becomes incorruptible and is forever enduring. "This corruptible must put on incorruption" (I Cor. 15: 53).

      cosmos--Order; system; harmony; the opposite of chaos. The universe is a cosmos because it expresses Divine Mind, the essence of all harmony and order.

      country, far--A state of consciousness in which man has separated himself from an intimate spiritual association with the Father and thereby does not have the benefit of divine wisdom in his affairs.

      courage--A spiritual quality that enables one to remain poised and centered in God amidst great difficulties and danger. The realization that the almighty God of the universe is a spiritual presence which is constantly striving to express in and through us fills us with new courage and a fearlessness that is beyond description. "Be strong, and let your heart take courage" (Psalms 31:24).

      covenant--A solemn agreement or compact between two or more parties. "My covenant shall stand fast with him" (Psalms 89:28).

      covenant, new--Jesus established a new and higher consciousness for man and taught and practiced the truth of the inner kingdom. This teaching is known as the "new covenant" (Heb. 12:24). The new covenant is to be written in the heart of each person.

      Covenant, Ark of the--(see Ark of the Covenant)

      covetousness--Insatiable desire to possess that which belongs to another. Covetousness has no wisdom. When a man gives up to its demands he does foolish things to gain possession of the coveted object. "Thou shalt not covet" (Exod. 20:17). (see acquisitiveness)

      creation--The original plan of an idea in Spirit. Back of the visible universe are both the original creative ideas and those that are brought forth as earthly things. In the creative process Divine Mind first ideates itself. In the Scriptures this idea is named Jehovah, meaning I AM the ever living--He who is eternal. The creation is carried forward through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

      The order of creation is from the formless to the formed, from the invisible to the visible. This goes on perpetually, and there is never a beginning or an ending to the process. The ideal is continually pouring itself into its creation and lifting it higher and yet higher. Apart from mind nothing can be done. Man, in his forming and bringing things into manifestation, uses the same creative process in mind that God uses. First is mind; then the idea in mind; then the materialization of the idea.

      creation, described in Genesis--The 1st chapter of Genesis describes the creative action of universal Mind in the realm of ideas and does not pertain to the manifest world. This truth is substantiated in the 2d chapter, where it is stated that there was not a man to till the soil. This proves conclusively that the first creation described is in the realm of ideas.

      (The account of creation rendered by Ferrar Fenton gives an enlightening translation from the Hebrew: "By periods God created that which produced the Suns; then that which produced the Earth" [Gen. 1:1]. This is in line with Truth.)

      creative force in man--Spirit-mind is the creative force constantly working in man and all other creation. Those who fail to recognize Spirit-mind shining within them dwell in a continuous state of darkness and ignorance. To them the almighty Christ is nonexistent. "And the light