A Dictionary of New Thought Terms

as used by Ernest Holmes

C

case history Refers to the previous experience of the individual one is treating.

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord" Means to depend upon the Law.

"Cast your net on the right side" In this parable Jesus shows that abundance of supply appears when we entertain a consciousness of abundance.

casting out devils Dispelling illusions. Healing the thought of a belief in any form of obsession.

caught in the picture Accepting negative environmental conditions as being laws of restriction, limitation, etc. Refers to the idea of one's becoming so enmeshed in objective circumstances and in thought patterns that he has a complete fixation and is bound by the very Principle which could free him.

Causation, Absolute: not in relation to anything other than Itself Since everything flows from the Absolute, and since the Absolute Itself is the cause of everything that is relative, it follows that the Absolute is not conditioned, limited, or circumscribed by anything that is relative, hence nothing hinders the manifestation of Its thought.

causation, the higher realm of Assumes that all true causation is spiritual and perfect; contradicts anything in mind which denies this and affirms the supremacy of any thought which acclaims the Allness of Good. (See also Spirit is the realm.)

Cause and Effect All causes are invisible. All effects are results of the invisible taking temporary form. From the standpoint of a mental treatment, Cause and Effect means the idea involved in treatment operating through the Creative Principle to produce a logical manifestation.

Cause and Effect, impersonal Law of The laws of nature have neither feeling, sentiment, nor emotion. The Laws of Mind, like other laws in nature, are always impersonal.

Cause and Effect in the mental world Intelligence, operating through the act of interior awareness, sets a sequence in motion which is called Cause and Effect. Cause and Effect, therefore, are but two ends of a sequence set in motion by the act of self-awareness. Hence, Intelligence, which is the starting point, acting through self-awareness creates any particular sequence of Cause and Effect, but of itself is subject to no law of Cause and Effect. This will explain that the Karmic law binds the ignorant and frees the wise.

Cause and Effect, Law of See Law of Cause and Effect; Cause and Effect, impersonal Law of.

Cause and Effect, sequence of We start with pure Intelligence which conceives an idea. This idea which is Mind in action, acting as Law, produces form. Hence the sequence is: Intelligence, idea, law, arid form. (See also mental law is; sequence of causation.)

Cause and Effect, Spirit is both See Spirit is both. Cause and Effect, Truth is both See Truth is both.

Cause and Effect --- two ends of the same thing Since effect flows out of cause, it is already involved within it. That is, any given cause is certain to produce its logical result unless intercepted.

Cause, First See First Cause.

cause, in treatment not necessary to know the specific See treatment --- in.

Cause, Medium, and effect Spirit --- Law --- manifestation.

cause must have an effect If there were no effect there could be no cause. Since there is Causation, there must be effect, else Causation would not fulfill Its own nature. Cause and effect must be one.

Cause, Relative First That principle in man by means of which he uses the creative Power to initiate a new series of events in order to bring about a desired condition. It is First Cause, in that it is the creative Power, and relative because it is man's individual use of it.

cause, secondary This is the region of reflections, illusion, the changing, the form side of life. When a new idea is initiated, it creates conditions, which, in turn, produce further conditions. These conditions, which become causes of other conditions, are referred to as Secondary Causation.

Cause, unconditioned The Principle of Mind as Absolute Causation is unconditioned by any existing circumstances; It knows only Its own ability to do, and it is impossible for It to realize any destruction, limitation, or opposition.

Causeless Cause That which, having no cause before It, Itself is the Cause of everything created. Same as First Cause.

causes and conditions Conditions flow out of causes and are created by them. There can be no condition without a cause. Nothing in the visible world is self-caused. From the standpoint of mental treatment, the treatment is the cause, the demonstration is the effect. It is a mathematical necessity.

Celestial World That which is looked upon as a perfect state of being. Heavenly.

Center and the Source The Spirit is centered within us and is the Source of all good.

center, finding one's See finding.

center of God-Consciousness Refers to the individualized mind as a manifestation of God. (See also man as a center.)

"certain (a) man had two sons" Refers to the possibility of dual experience inherent in all people.

chance See Law of Chance; mental treatment not.

Changeless Reality Refers to the essence of Being, in which all change takes place; that which of Itself cannot change.

changing our position in the Law No matter what use we have been making of the Law of Cause and Effect, either consciously or unconsciously, in ignorance or through wisdom, we can always start a new sequence and thereby reverse the old causation. (See also deliberately changing our position.)

changing the belief To reverse fear with faith, the idea of hell with the idea of heaven, etc.

channel for the Divine Faith, expectation, and acceptance automatically demonstrate good.

channel or instrument of God The mind of man measures out the Divine Gifts at the level of man's understanding and of his embodiment of the Divine Nature.

chemicalization Subjective thought disturbance which sometimes takes place as old thought patterns rise to the surface to be replaced by new ones.

child-like mind A mental attitude of unquestioned faith; simple, direct, and joyously expectant.

choice See personal choice.

Christ Divine Sonship. The Spiritual Principle in man. The presence of God in man as man. The true man, the Real man, the eternal man. The consciousness of God with us and in us. (See also "I can do.")

Christ, Blood of Symbolic of the Divine Life individualized and flowing through all people.

Christ, Body of See Body of Christ.

Christ-Consciousness The consciousness of God which we feel Jesus must have had.

Christ Mind The action of thought from the highest motive.

Christ Principle inherent in us Christ, or the Universal Son-ship, is the Reality of every person. We neither create nor sustain this Reality; it may only become revealed. Christ means the manifestation of God in us as us, the Universal Sonship; hence this Christ is right within us and needs but to be recognized and unified with.

Christ salvation A new and higher experience which comes from the recognition of the Indwelling Christ.

Christ the Incarnation of God Every man is an incarnation of God; anyone who recognizes this and lives in conscious and harmonious union with Spirit automatically becomes Christ.

Christian, scientific See scientific Christian.

Christ's second coming The dawning in the individual consciousness of the meaning of the teachings of Jesus. (See also coming, second.)

circle From the standpoint of mental treatment it means that everything moves in circles; all thoughts complete themselves. Symbolic of the All-Embracing Principle without beginning or end.

Circle of Life The circle is a symbol, representing the Infinite, the First Great Cause before It moves into manifest form. The Circle of Life represents, in its downward arc, the coming of Spirit into matter, and, in its upward sweep, man's journey from gross materiality into pure Spirit, his perfected state.

circulation, spiritual equivalent of Realization of the Life Principle flowing through one with perfect freedom.

circulation, spiritual sense of Inner awareness that pure Spirit flows through one's entire being. This is the symbolic blood represented by "Emmanuel's veins." Emmanuel means "God with us." Spiritual circulation, then, is the recognition of God with us flowing through us.

circumstances, treatment must be independent of See treatment must be.

Co-Eternal The uncreated and always existing Truth. Co-Existent That which exists with.

collective negative suggestions The entire thought of the race acting through any avenue of unbelief.

collective psychology Deals with the activities of groups or units.

Comforter --- "It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you" This refers to the necessity of every man awakening within himself to Himself. The only final Saviour or Comforter is the Truth.

coming, second A teaching in the Christian Bible, referring to the Second Coming of Christ (Acts 1:11). We understand this to mean the development of the Christ Principle in man, which is the Principle of Divine Love-Wisdom, illumination, rather than the rebirth in form of the man Jesus.

communion See prayer as a unifying,. realization of,- spiritual communion.

communion with illusion Thinking only in reference to appearances viewed as separate from Cause. This is hypnotic and produces limitation.

communion with Reality Thinking in reference to the Truth as Wholeness, Beauty, Power, etc. This produces freedom.

Compensation, Law of That Principle through which one receives the equivalent for that which one has expended. The Law of Cause and Effect operates through this Law of Compensation to supply the equal of that which has been given. It is a vehicle for the Divine Circuit of Life and is linked up with the law of giving and receiving. As we give full expression to Life, in the giving of ourselves, so Life returns to us in pouring forth Its gifts to us through various channels. Those who give grudgingly receive in small measure, and those who give generously receive richly.

complex A group of emotionally charged ideas around a central idea, partly or wholly buried in the subconscious, which exert an unconscious influence on one's behavior --- that is, on one's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

concentration To focalize the attention on a single point. To keep the thought fixed, or centralized, by an act of will, on a certain idea. Having nothing whatever to do with any attempt to concentrate force, energy, power, mind, God, law, or anything else; having nothing whatsoever to do with influencing persons, places, or things; having no relationship to coercion, personal influence, hypnotism, mesmerism, or mental suggestion. From our viewpoint, concentration merely means engaged in thinking upon a certain idea.

conception The power in man of forming abstract ideas. The image or idea of anything formed in mind.

condition Any objective fact.

condition, transcend the See transcend.

condition, transpose the physical See transpose. conditions See mental treatment which; outward.

conditions are reactions and not causes All causation is in the invisible realm of Mind; all conditions are effects reflected from these causes.

conditions --- attracting those which are not in our conscious thought We always tend to attract that which is subjectively believed in whether or not we are conscious of it. In this way we are more or less controlled by race belief.

conditions, causes and See causes. conditions, discordant See separate.

conscious intelligence Intelligence operating at the level of reflective or self-knowing consciousness.

conscious, treatment is See treatment is conscious.

consciousness The perception of existence. (See also Divine Consciousness.)

consciousness and God are identical Consciousness means awareness; God is infinite awareness everywhere present in His entirety.

consciousness and intelligence manifest as created form Consciousness refers to awareness, and intelligence to the ability of awareness to make itself manifest. Form or creation is the manifestation.

consciousness changes the body with the change of thought Refers to the forming of new thought patterns, which automatically seek objective manifestation.

consciousness, changing the Refers particularly to rearranging subjective thought patterns. These subjective thought patterns automatically attract or repel whether we are asleep or awake.

consciousness, closet of That place in one's own mind where he works alone within himself and with Reality.

consciousness, disciplining See disciplining consciousness.

consciousness externalizes at its own level as water reaches its own level Just as water reaches its own level by its own weight, so our interior awareness, by the very act of being aware, objectifies itself or demonstrates conditions which are identical with such interior awareness or mental embodiment.

consciousness (my) is God See my consciousness. Consciousness, Law of See Law of Consciousness.

consciousness, lifting up the Elevating the interior aware- ness to the perception of God, Good, Power, etc.

consciousness --- movement of consciousness upon itself The inner action of intelligence can only be upon itself. This is the Law of Mind in action. (See also movement of consciousness; movement of Spirit.)

consciousness must be conscious of something It is impossible to conceive of consciousness independent of an act of being conscious. It is impossible to be conscious without being conscious of something. In applying this principle to mental treatment, it means that treatment is always definite, conscious, and specific.

consciousness of Reality Both intellectual and inner awareness that the Divine Creative Spirit is within as well as without; Its immediate accessibility and usability.

consciousness, stream(s) of See stream(s). consciousness, subliminal See subliminal consciousness.

consciousness, to enlarge the Deliberately and definitely to develop a greater expectancy of good and a deeper realization of life; to increase the spiritual imagination; to enlarge the acceptance of life; etc.

consciousness, understanding God at our level of See understanding God.

"Consider the lilies" The reference which Jesus made to nature, and his claim that the mental and spiritual world reproduces the physical on a higher level. That is, that all physical laws have corresponding mental and spiritual laws.

constant communion That which we continuously think, consciously or unconsciously, constitutes our communion with the universe.

contagion of thought Mob psychology; propaganda psychology; the tendency to believe what others believe, whether or not it be correct.

contemplation Entering into and becoming an embodiment of an idea realized through meditation

contemplation, Spirit creates through Contemplation means inner awareness. Spirit creates by thinking within Itself, since, being All, It could not think outside Itself. This same Spirit within us creates through our contemplation; thus we reproduce the Universal on the scale of the individual.

continue in faith To meditate, pray, or treat, seeking continually a realization of faith, belief, acceptance, until the entire consciousness responds, following which demonstration takes place.

conviction, combine with definite intention Conviction alone is not enough; we are already convinced that God is good. Now we must have a definite intention running through our conviction, thus specializing the Law for particular purposes. We must say, "Because God is good, good is in this particular experience which I have right now."

Correspondence, Law of "As above, so below." Whatever the cause that sets the Law in motion, the result will have a corresponding relationship. It will be "tuned" to the same rate of vibration, so to speak. The thought that is in harmony with the Law of Good will reflect in harmonious relationships in the environment, or vice versa.

correspondent(s) See Law of Correspondents; Polarity.

cosmic conception Refers to the theory that the universal creative Spirit, operating through Its own Mind, gives birth to form.

cosmic consciousness Consciousness of one's union with the Whole.

Cosmic Mind The Universal Mind manifesting Itself as the cosmos.

cosmic purpose Refers to the Divine Nature executing Its inevitable tendencies toward goodness, love, beauty, etc.

Cosmos The entire manifestation of Spirit.

"could not enter in because of unbelief" Nothing exists for the individual external to his consciousness of it; as faith brings about a constructive experience, so fear blocks our path.

creation To bring into being by an act of thought. The ability to conceive of a thing is the creative power that brings it into manifestation. Creation is the movement of Mind upon Itself. (See also reality back of all.)

creation the play of Life upon Itself The Creative Principle makes things out of Itself by Itself becoming the thing that It makes. This is the action of a limitless Imagination upon an Infinite Law.

creative factor within us Refers to the subjective law of our being.

Creative Law is always available Since the Creative Law is not only around us but also at the very center of our being, It is, of a necessity, at the very center of our thought processes.

Creative Law is always neutral The Law of Itself knows neither good, bad, big, little, right, wrong, etc. It is always neutral. (We must never confuse the Law of Cause and Effect with the Spirit.)

Creative Medium Refers to the Law of Mind; the World Soul.

Creative Medium of Mind The universal Law of Cause and Effect. The subjective field which operates upon thought or upon which thought operates to produce conditions. The automatic, mental principle underlying the power of thought.

Creative Power is always receptive The very essence of the subjective life is its receptivity. The very fact that it is subjective compels it to receive images of thought.

creative process The creative process is an action of Mind upon Itself, whether it be the great Universal Mind, as God, creating a universe, or the action of Mind in man in his individual use of It. True creation is the unfoldment of an idea, the very urge of the Life Principle, as an Idea, to create something new out of apparently nothing. This may be illustrated by a musician working out a musical composition, an artist painting a picture, or an inventor conceiving of a new object for the use of mankind, etc. The original impulse is in feeling, which develops into action through ideation. As the idea unfolds in Mind, everything necessary to its perfect fulfillment is created with it, or is a part of its unfoldment.

creative series --- the end of one is the beginning of another Esoteric term signifying perpetual evolution and expansion.

Creator and created are one Creation is the passing of Being into becoming; the flowing of the Invisible into the visible. The Invisible does not change Its nature because It takes on form. The effect is Spirit, the Cause, taking the form of any particular effect.

creators with God There is One Mind and we all use It, hence thought is creative.

"crooked (the) shall be made straight and the rough places plain" A spiritual treatment has the power to straighten out any condition.

cross A universal sacred symbol that has been used the world over, throughout the ages, from as far back as the human mind has been able to penetrate. Its four arms point to the four cardinal points, and the central point represents Deity, which flows out into humanity AS humanity. The perpendicular line may represent the positive, male Ray, or Spirit; the horizontal line, matter, the female principle, or soul. The cross is not a purely Christian symbol, for it has been used in various forms in ancient Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, India (by the Brahmans and Buddhists), and in Judea by the Jews long before Jesus appeared on earth. Man is the very cross itself, as he stands with outstretched arms --- Spirit "crucified" in matter, or caught up in form. Man descends from the Cross when he comes into true liberation through his understanding of his real Be-ing.