Creative Mind, by Ernest Shurtleff Holmes [1923], at sacred-texts.com
What is the Truth?
The Truth is that which is. It is all that is. As there cannot be something and nothing, so the Truth, being that which is. must at the same time be all that there is.
Where is the Truth?.
If the Truth is All, it must be everywhere; being all, there is no other substance to divide it with; being undivided, it is everywhere present. All Truth, which means all power, must be present at all points, or at any given point, at any and at all times.
Has the Truth changed?
A substance cannot change unless there is something for it to change into. Since the Truth is all, it cannot change, for there is no other thing for it to change into; whatever is the Truth, then, has never changed.
Is the Truth, or that which is, one or many?
It must be one, since it is all.
Is the Truth conscious?
Yes, man is conscious. He could not be so unless Truth or Life were conscious. Man's self-consciousness proves the self-consciousness of Life or Truth or Spirit. Like produces like.
What comes out of life?
Everything that is comes out of life. If life is all then it follows that all that is is some form of life.
How does Life make things?
Being all, it must make things out of itself. It must operate upon itself, through itself, and out of itself must make all that is made. Being conscious, it must know that it is doing this.
What would we call this inner movement of Life?
The inner movement of Life or consciousness we would call thought or the self-knowing of Life or Spirit.
Then the universe and all that is a part of it comes from thought?
Yes, everything comes from thought.
Do we not see a visible world that seems to change, and if we do, how is it that it could come from something that never changes?
Yes, we do see a changing world, but back of it is a changeless substance. The thing that changes is the thought or form; the substance from which this form comes never changes. It is one and undivided, and takes form through thought in all things. We prove this when we resolve all things into one source. All material things, so called, can be reduced into formless 'substance, the sole activity of which must be thought or the movement of intelligence upon itself.
What causes form to change?
The intelligence behind it.
Is there nothing in the universe, then, but Life, thought and form?
These are all.
If this is true, what is physical law?
Physical law is simply the result of the inner movement of Life.
If things and laws are the result of the inner movement of Life, then does it not follow that thoughts are things?
Yes, all things are simply thought forms.
How long does thought last as form?
As long as the thought is held in Life or Mind.
Does the thought of Life, Mind or Good ever change?
From all that we can know the thought of God seems to change. That is, planets change, take form and again become formless. When we realize that all this can take place without ever changing the substance behind it, we see no reason why God's thought could not change and ever build up a higher form. Indeed, this is one of the teachings of Ancient Wisdom, that while reality never changes, the form that it takes is ever changing.
What is man's place in the creative order?
Man is a thinking center in Mind, reproducing in a smaller scale all there is in the Universe.
Does this not make man's thought creative?
In a certain sense it does. What we call creation is not making something out of nothing, but it is thought taking form. And as man thinks, and as thought must take form, then it must follow that man's thought must take form in mind and so become creative.
What is man's thought?
It is the activity of that something within that can say, "'I Am."
What is the difference between God and man?
The very fact that man can say, "I Am," proves that he is. Since he is he must be made out of life and must be some part of all that there is. This being so, man must be a part of God's consciousness. The difference would be in degree only. He must be as much of Life as he recognizes himself to be.
Is all of man's thought creative?
Yes, all or none. If one thought produces, then all must.
If this be true, how is it that man seems to be so limited?
Because he has thought limitation, and thoughts are things and will always make the thing thought of. In reality the very fact that man's thought can limit him also proves that it could free him from all limitation by simply changing his thought.
But why is man so made that he can think two ways?
This is a question that can be answered only in one way. Unless a man can think as he wants to think he would not be a man at all but simply a piece of mechanism. Man is an individual and that means self choice, backed by a power that will produce the thing chosen. In discovering himself man chooses many things, uses them and passes to a higher choice, ever ascending in the scale of being. As fast as he chooses, he experiences that thing which he thinks about.
What is evil?
Evil is the result of a lack of clear seeing, based upon a belief in two powers, and limitation and what we call sin is the result of man's struggle to find himself.
If this be true, why could we not at once begin to change our whole life by first changing our thought?
We could. We would not be changing real substance, but we would be changing the form that it takes through our thought. All that we can change is the form of thought through which experiences come to us.
What is the limit of man's creative use of Mind?
Man is limited by nothing but his own thinking, by his mental ability to conceive.
What is meant by mental conception?
All things are produced by thought. The thing produced from mind is first formed in thought; thought molds mind into form.
But do we not have to act?
We cannot think without acting; an inactive body is the result of an inactive mind.
In using our creative powers, how far do we have to consider the conditions under which we live?
We do not have to consider them at all. Conditions are the result, the effect and not the cause; we create them as fast as we think.
How would a person start to change conditions?
By first changing thought and by realizing that we are not dealing with an illusion, but with the great reality. Then by acting as though we already have what we think.
How long would it take to do this?
As long as it would take to let go of all negative thought and embody all positive thought. This would depend entirely upon the individual and his mental ability to control thought.
What would hinder us the most?
Ourselves; no one gives to us but ourselves and no one takes from us but ourselves.
Can no one else help us?
Only to a limited degree. While we may be helped by those who understand the law, for a time, yet sooner or later we must ourselves take the creative responsibility of our own lives. Others may think for us for a few moments a day, but we think for ourselves all the time.
But does not God help us?
Yes, God helps all, but must do it through law. "All's love yet all's law."
How should we pray?
By giving thanks that we already have that thing that we pray for; by completely believing and by never doubting. "When ye pray believe that ye have received and ye shall receive." We must be sure that in no way shall we think, act or talk or read about limitation. We must all be a law unto ourselves.