A Dictionary of New Thought Terms

as used by Ernest Holmes

F

faith A certain knowledge, founded only on a firm belief, that a thing is true. A recognition of, and a belief in, certain principles. Belief in the impossible from an objective viewpoint. Unconditioned acceptance that there is an invisible Intelligence which guides and an invisible Law which controls and the complete belief that It is now doing so in one's life.

faith --- "According to your faith" The answer to prayer of the demonstration following treatment is an objective representation of an inner mental and spiritual embodiment.

faith, active Consciously applying faith for definite purposes.

faith and understanding As applied to spiritual law we either have faith that there is some power that will produce the desired result, or we have an understanding that the law we use must produce such a result.

faith --- approaching the Spirit as a child With complete and implicit trust; with unqualified acceptance; simply, directly, spontaneously and, above all, without effort.

faith as a mustard seed Refers to the power of one single positive thought.

faith, asking in Asking with unqualified acceptance. An unqualified acceptance of our own prayers as being answered.

faith based on understanding Does not deny the power of faith but, affirming the unity of all life and the perfection of all causation, strengthens our faith through knowledge.

faith by logic and reason Conviction arrived at through analysis. Scientific certainty of demonstrable law arrived at through understanding.

faith cure See metaphysical healing. faith, field of See field.

faith in God through intuition An unreasoned but not necessarily unreasonable conviction that there is a Supreme Intelligence responding to us; an unquestioning reliance upon good. The deep conviction that there is a Power and a Presence which not only can, but will, respond to us.

faith in one's fellowman A conviction that the average person is trustworthy, reliable, and friendly.

faith in oneself A complete conviction that one is able to meet any situation that may arise; perfect self-confidence.

faith is a thing of thought It is self-evident that faith is the movement of consciousness and perception, of expectance and interior awareness, hence it can be consciously generated.

faith is complete when the subconscious no longer denies our affirmation This means that our faith is complete when subjective thought patterns no longer deny it; when nothing in the memory or belief denies it. So long as there is anything within us which denies our word, the word could become effective only as a mental suggestion; but when the interior and unconscious processes of thought are straightened out, then the word of faith becomes power.

Faith, Law of See Law of Faith.

faith must be in something Faith itself is an abstract conviction; a generalized belief or a complete acceptance of good, truth, beauty, etc. If this faith is to demonstrate some particular good, it can do so only by applying itself to that good --- that is, through conscious acceptance of such good.

faith must be subjective to be effective While there is anything in us that denies what we affirm, we shall neutralize our own word.

faith --- not necessary to deny a fact in order to have faith All facts are included in the One Mind; we need not deny sickness or human suffering in order to alleviate them, but, disregarding the fact, we must affirm its opposite.

faith overcomes fear Having resolved things into thoughts, the spiritual mind practitioner knows that his faith in good completely erases the fear of evil.

faith, passive General acceptance of good without conscious application.

faith, prayer of See prayer of faith, shield of See shield.

faith --- Substance takes form through faith As Mind must be Mind to something, we must not only have faith, we must have faith in something. Prayer, to be effective, is specialized as well as generalized.

faith --- we walk by faith not by sight All causes are invisible; because of their effects we have faith in the causes even though we do not see them. (See also "we walk.")

faithful in thought Persistent in holding steadfastly to healing currents of Love, Joy, and Prosperity thoughts.

false appearance Any manifestation which is not in harmony with spiritual truth; which denies the fundamental unity and perfection of Being. Any objective fact which denies the fundamental premise of the unity of Good.

false argument, recognition of Understanding the thought patterns we wish to change.

false belief Used in the sense of believing that there is some power opposed to good, some law other than Divine. (See also right ideas destroy.)

false belief about body Any belief that the body is separated from Mind or Spirit, or is anything other than the body of spiritual ideas.

false belief uncovered Mentally sensing that which denies the supremacy of Good, and mentally affirming its opposite.

false growth Any false appearance in the physical body. (See also false appearance; growth, false.)

false humility As there is but One God, there is but One Man; each one is a member of this Christ Principle, and no one should deny his sonship.

false revelations See revelations, false.

false sense Any belief which denies the Divine Presence, the Divine Perfection, and Perfect Love.

false (the) --- translating the false into the true See translating.

fasting from poverty The mind should definitely turn from the contemplation of anything that limits; thus it abstains from continuing to create limited circumstances. (See also "This kind.")

fate A belief in some power outside the self controlling the self.

Father See Heavenly Father; "Who."

Father (the) and the son The Divine Creative Spirit, the Parent Mind, is the Father; the individualization of this Parent Mind in us is the son. The Eternal "I Am" is One wherever we find It; the difference is not in essence but in degree.

"Father (the) is greater than I" Although Jesus affirmed "The Father and I are one," he, of course, also pointed out that no individual manifests the whole of the Godhead.

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost The Infinite Spirit as Self-Knowingness, the Creative Principle of Mind as Law, and manifestation as effect.

"Father (the) Who seeth in secret" The invisible Intelligence at the center of our own being and of all being.

Father's house --- "In my Father's house are many mansions" Refers to ascending planes of consciousness; the eternal expansion, progressive evolution; the future state as one of development; etc.

fatted calf Symbol of Fruits of the Spirit brought by love and wisdom and presented to our conscious reunion with good.

fear Faith negatively applied. (See also faith overcomes; neutralize fear.)

feminine principle The Universal Soul or medium of thought action.

feminine principle in nature Refers to the universal creative Principle of Mind.

field of faith A subjective mental atmosphere existing among any group of persons who have been exercising faith, belief, expectancy, and acceptance. A dynamic acceptance created by a group of people which tends to benefit anyone who enters it. A creative atmosphere of conviction.

"fiery darts of the wicked" The negative impulses which rise out of the race consciousness; our own fear and doubt; accusations of others which we accept; etc.

finding one's center Mentally to acknowledge, to seek, to accept, and to understand that the Supreme Spirit is at the center of one's life.

finite (the), we can expand See we cannot contract.

fire Symbolic in its higher aspect of the Spirit, and of Wisdom, Divine Love, and Divine Life. In its lower aspect, signifies desire; sometimes the lower emotion. Fire as purification signifies that which consumes error, purifies experience, and regenerates consciousness; the purifying of the lower nature by love and truth.

"first cast out the beam out of thine own eye" We cannot give others what we ourselves do not possess.

First Cause God --- Spirit --- That from which all things come.

First Principle Universal Mind, or Spirit. The God Principle. Everything manifest has sprung from this Principle, as Divine Idea.

food A symbol of Reality and of Truth. The Reality which is to become assimilated.

food for thought A symbol of Wisdom, Truth, and Love, sustaining the soul.

"For as the Father hath life in himself so hath he given it to the Son to have life in himself" Man's life is the Life of God; there is but One Mind or Spirit from which man can derive life, intelligence, or power.

"For the invisible things . . . are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" This means that we go from the known to the unknown, that there are parallel laws, that every objective and visible fact has a subjective and invisible cause. If we study the fact, we shall understand the nature of its cause.

force In metaphysical parlance, force means the power or energy which man uses, or distributes. The term is used to designate the vibratory action of certain abstract principles, such as the Love Force, the Dark Forces, the Forces of Light, etc.

"Forgive and you shall be forgiven" The consciousness of sin in another is the consciousness of sin in one's own being. We are free from condemnation only as we no longer condemn.

"forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" The Law of Cause and Effect can only forgive as we ourselves first have forgiven. (See also "when ye.")

forgiveness See Divine Forgiveness; "Thy sins."

form The world of form is the physical world about us. Anything that has definite shape, size, etc., has form. The specific qualities that make a thing what it is lend shape to its form. It is that distinctive quality that makes one thing appear as separate from another. It is a law that two forms of the same rate of vibration and manifesting on the same plane cannot occupy the same space at the same time. (See also Spirit is the realm.)

Fountain of Life The Great Current of Life that forever flows through man which is the Eternal Spirit of God in him, a part of the Divine Circuit of Being. It is like a fountain at the center of man's being, forever flowing, which supplies his every need. To contact it he must center his attention within himself, attuning his thought to the Divine Source of his Life. As he does this, this Fountain of Power radiates Its Harmony and Strength all about him, as the Life within him and around him.

freedom The necessary prerogative of self-choice acting as a law of cause and effect, carrying with it the liabilities of its selectivity. (See also limitation and freedom; personal choice.)

freedom under law There is nothing chaotic about the Law of Mind and Spirit; it is freedom through law, not from law.

freedom --- "Within Thy Law is freedom" Since the Law of the Lord must be perfect and limitless, it must be freedom.

functions as spiritual ideas See organs.