ONE MIND
Excerpt from Joseph S. Benner - Sun Paper 39 - March 1932
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The One Mind is everywhere.
If you can but know it, It is not only in the air, pressing up against your face, your arms, your body, but It is the intelligence holding the atoms of your body together.
It is also the consciousness of the cells of your body that knows just what to do to make every organ, nerve or muscle, of which they are a part, function perfectly — if let alone; It knows just what to take from the blood what is needed to build bone, flesh, fat, nerves, tissue, hair, nails, etc.
It is likewise the intelligence directing the birth, growth, decay and death of all mineral, vegetable and animal life expression; directing also the actual existence of all inanimate objects, such as a chair, a house or an automobile, — for did not the minds of men first conceive the ideas to build these objects, and did they not receive these ideas from the One Mind?
Think! This One Mind is not only in all men and all things, but contains all men and all things within Itself, explaining the meaning of Paul’s statement that “In him we live, move and have our being,” or that in God’s Mind we and all things live, move and have our being.
You can easily understand this when you realize that in your mind your whole world and everything in it have their being — for your world is in fact composed only of your concepts, ideas or thought pictures of what you think are outside of you in the so-called physical world.
When in reality there is no actual physical world — that is only your mind’s interpretation of the sources of the vibrations continually reported to you by your five senses. The real things you see, hear, feel, etc., are the concepts, ideas and pictures you have formed in your mind of what you think exist outside of your particular centre of consciousness and which live, move and have their being only in the world of your mind; even as we and all things in the reality of our perfect being exist in God’s Mind.
We recite all this in order to show you that all is Mind, that everything is operating in Mind, and in Mind only. And therefore Mind being everywhere and of course knowing all things and hence being all powerful, because of its vast knowledge naturally it must operate in perfect and continuous harmony. It could not be otherwise in such an all-wise and all perfect Mind.
Go over the above carefully and ponder on each sentence until its full meaning becomes clear in your mind, and it thus gets in harmony with the One Mind.
Do not try too hard at first to grasp the truth of the statement that in reality there is no actual physical world, for that will come to you later without effort — when the other truths are fully realized. But try to see how everything takes place first in mind— that it is always first an idea in some man’s mind, coming forth into it from the One Mind, before it seemingly out manifests in the so-called physical world.
Then if you will turn back to our first two statements and grasp the fact that the One Mind is also in the air pressing up against your body and against all bodies, as well as is in all bodies, you can easily see that what we call out manifesting in the physical world is but a further coming forth of ideas out of man’s mind into the outermost strata of mind, or into the visibility of material form; in the same way that they first come forth from the innermost of the One Mind into man’s mind, and finally push through into the physical realm of being.
But man’s mind being between the innermost and the outermost can easily, or should be able easily, to connect itself with either, by knowing its oneness with both through the realization that there is in actuality only ONE mind.
Through a perfect realization of this truth, it instantly becomes attuned to the One Mind, and is able perfectly to control the manifestation of its ideas in the outermost as well as to receive whatever ideas it needs from the innermost.
On the other hand, when man’s mind forgets or through ignorance does not know its part in the One Mind, it soon gets involved in its ideas in the outermost which become crystalized there; and man is thus bound and held by those ideas and it is impossible to free himself (his consciousness) from them until the light from the One Mind again is able to penetrate through into man’s mind, showing him what has befallen him.
Now try to see that everything including man is an avenue of expression of the One Mind, — no, is not an expression of that Mind, for the innermost can only express in the outermost through man’s mind. Therefore what seemingly is expressing in the outermost is man’s ideas of what are expressing to him from the innermost, but always coloured and shaped by man’s consciousness of separation from or his identity with the One Mind.
When man’s mind is perfectly attuned to the consciousness of the One Mind, the full light or knowing of that Mind can then shine through from the innermost to the outermost, and thereby will man shape his ideas in the outer according to the perfection of the inner that he sees there.
Our chief desire is to have you realize that the One Mind is ever seeking your complete realization of the goodness and perfection of Its ideas, and that especially at this time is pouring Its light with great power into the minds of men, so that all who are in any way attuned to Its consciousness are receiving a rich abundance of Its ideas as never before in the history of the world.
Likewise is the sense of separation, the veil that prevents the light of perfect knowing from shining through in its fullness, getting so thin and transparent that many minds are becoming aware of the inner world of the Kingdom, are seeing the beauty, goodness and perfection of everything and everyone there, and are more or less living in Its consciousness.
Can you feel that Mind everywhere about you, as the Mind that is in you and in everybody, is all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful; that It therefore knows your every need, loves you with an all-encompassing love, and ever wishes to express in and through you the fullness of Its nature and all the goodness and riches of Its knowing and being?
Think of that Mind as ever pressing from within against your mind seeking to include and unite your consciousness with Its consciousness, so that you not only may receive of the fullness of Its Spiritual blessings, but that you may become a perfect channel of expression so that these blessings can come forth into manifestation in your outer life and affairs.
Remember these blessings are everywhere about you, but are invisible to your human mind only because you think your mind is separate and not a part of the One Mind, where all good and perfect things are eternally present and ever visible. When how could they be separate when that Mind is actually your mind?
Ah, dear one, if we could only get you to realize fully this great truth — that that Mind, the only Mind, is indeed your mind, that It knows everything, possesses within itself every desirable thing, always loves you, and always wants you to have the best of everything — to have and be all that It has and is; and that the only thing that is hindering is your mind — its beliefs, its sense of lack and limitation and of being separate!
Seeing this, cannot you then LET GO with your mind — give up that foolish belief, and let the One Mind have Its way entirely with you? To let go is to desire nothing anymore and to resist nothing, to give your consciousness over wholly to It, to care for nothing only that you are no longer hindering Its expression in and through you.
That is all you need do. You must try to do nothing of yourself — only what It presses you to do or say. It will do this always out of a great love, so that you may know Its will for you.
No more must you rebel against anything, nor refuse whatever is placed before you to do. But instead you must let go, turn within and let the Loving Mind there show you what to do and how to do it.
Ever seek to keep strong hold on those old impulses of your mind that would from habit start to say or do something out of the old sense of self, of lack and limitation and of separation. It is from such impulses that all trouble and inharmony spring. When the mind ever seeks to be united with its Source, to be directed and used by It, can you not see from what is shown above that only goodness, harmony, peace and happiness must result?
When there is only one mind the beauty, goodness and perfection of the within must come into the without, for they are always pressing against man’s mind seeking to express through it — their only medium of expression — so that the without may be united with the within and the Kingdom of Heaven may actually manifest upon Earth.
Let us sum up the practical application of the above. If it is a matter of healing, remember that as the One Mind sees and knows you, you (or your patient) are perfect now and always have been. It is your mind that must stop thinking differently; it must also stop forcefully trying to see perfection, and instead you need only to direct the mind’s attention within to the One Mind, Life, God — whichever is easier for you, and then let go. This releases your mind from the influence of the impressions from outer physical sensations and their mental pictures, and leaves the One Mind free to reveal the purity and perfection of your true nature, to come forth and possess your consciousness and express forth and be your True Self. When the mind is perfectly still and is turned within expectant, the channel is open and the One Life can then come forth freely through your consciousness unto perfect manifestation.
You can see that will apply in a similar way to where there is a consciousness of lack or limitation of finances. As all things come from the One Mind and that Mind is in everyone, wherever there is a need it is felt by that Mind and when your channel is open, unimpeded by fear, doubts or worry, it will surely fulfil that need.
When you know the truth, the truth will make you free — when you always act in that truth.