A Dictionary of New Thought Terms

as used by Ernest Holmes

P

pain, treatment for A realization of its opposite, which is peace, calmness, joy, and perfect circulation.

pairs of opposites A belief in good and evil; truth and error; heaven and hell; love and hate; etc. (See also opposites.)

parable A symbolic presentation illustrating the relationship between the visible and the invisible; between the laws of nature and the laws of Spirit.

parable of the sower Represents ideas which fall into the parent or productive mental soil.

parallel between physical and spiritual laws Emersonian concept that spiritual, physical, and mental laws are identical; that the spiritual universe is reproduced by an objective one and that we may interpret the spiritual by rightly understanding the physical.

particular, the As the Universal Spirit of Life manifests on the physical plane, It manifests in different modes of existence as the Particular. It can only manifest in form as form, the Particular.

Passover, symbol of Passage from the lower to the higher nature; from mental to spiritual planes.

past, not bound by the Since the Creative Principle is forever free from any condition, It is never bound by anything that has happened. However, our belief that what happened yesterday must create our experience today does bind us. We must become free from this belief.

path The Journey of Life that leads through experience to union with the Source of Being.

patient One suffering physically, mentally, emotionally; one limited in personal relationships to life; one lacking friendship, opportunity for self-expression; one who is impoverished. Many metaphysical teachers and practitioners refer to such a one as a student rather than as a patient. Patient suggests negation while student suggests one who needs to become instructed, or who needs to be led, into the affirmative side of life.

patterns of thought Subjective thought atmospheres pertaining to any condition, situation, etc.; habitual and largely unconscious mental attitudes tending to perpetuate themselves.

peace Perfect harmony, well-being. Peace is not an absence of activity, but a very vital, vibrant quality of joyous serenity, where everything is in harmonious relationship.

peace is at the center of everything The eternal equilibrium of the universe is never even temporarily disturbed; there is a place within us which is this equilibrium.

Pearl of great price Symbolizes the Kingdom of Heaven enfolded within the Higher Self.

Perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect The indwelling Spirit within us is God. As consciousness becomes aware of this, all conditions and situations, including the physical body, are lifted up, regenerated, born again.

perfect body A spiritual understanding does not mean a denial of the physical body, but an affirmation that it is a body of spiritual ideas forever perfect, forever harmonious, and forever one with the Eternal Principle of its being, which is God.

perfect universe Since Perfect Cause must produce perfect effect, and since Causation must be perfect in order not to be self-destructive, it follows that there is a perfect universe, even though we may imperfectly perceive it.

perfection See Spirit ordains.

Perfection of God is the perfection of man God means the Creative Principle of which man is a projection, an emanation, a reflection, an impartation, or an incarnation, whichever expression one desires to use. The effect must be like its Cause. Since there is but One Ultimate Mind which we use and One Ultimate Spirit in which we live, and since this Reality is perfect and is our life, then this perfection is our perfection whether we are conscious of the fact or not.

persistence in prayer To continue treating, praying, meditating, until consciousness is changed, from which change there inevitably follows a demonstration.

Person See Infinite Person.

personal choice is Divine Freedom Without choice there would be no spontaneous volition, and without the possibility of more than one experience to choose, there would be no choice; hence Divine Freedom implies the possibility not of real limitation, but of experiencing apparent limitation until, through experience, consciousness increases.

personal responsibility and obligation in treatment It is our obligation to give a treatment if we have contracted to do so; the responsibility of its fulfillment is in the Law of Cause and Effect. (See also healing, no responsibility.)

personality The objective manifestation of individuality. The use made of individuality. Personality may become acquired or remolded; individuality is always a unique manifestation of the Infinite and cannot be changed. Sum total of all experiences as they manifest in our actions. Popularly, the physical and mental qualities of the individual as they impress others. Metaphysically, personality is the use we make of individuality.

personality is neither evil nor an illusion We do not deny personality, we merely affirm its union with the Infinite. Man is a center of God consciousness in Infinite Mind. He is the personality of God.

personalizing belief in evil The sum total of human thought about evil, devil, Satan, etc., creates an image of belief which operates through all people and which has even apparently been seen by certain persons while in a psychic state. For example, Martin Luther was supposed to have actually seen the devil, and yet there is no real devil. Therefore he must have mentally seen a personification of a belief in evil.

personalness of God The Spirit is personal to each one of us, since It is personified through us.

phantoms of the dead Subjectively seeing people who have passed on; apparitions of those who have left this world.

phantoms of the living Subjectively seeing people who are alive; the apparitions of living persons.

philosophic dualism Any belief in more than one ultimate power, such as good and evil; any belief that there is a material universe separated from a spiritual universe, etc. (See also duality)

philosophy Any man's opinion about anything.

physical body is never denied In spiritual mind healing we do not deny the physical body; we affirm it to be a body of spiritual ideas.

physical brain Represents the capacity of the mind to think, know, understand, etc.

physical organs as ideas of mind rather than forms of matter We do not deny arms, legs, lungs, etc.; we affirm that they are perfect ideas of mind reflecting the Divine.

physical science deals only with the physical Physical science, as such, ignores the mental and spiritual, hence it often denies the Reality of that Intelligence which makes it possible for the physicist to build, equip, or run a laboratory.

"Physician heal thyself" Before we can heal others, we must first heal ourselves.

physician to the soul One who heals the mind.

play of Life upon itself All creation is a result of the Creative Spirit operating upon Itself and fulfilling Its desires out of the Law of Its own being.

pleasing in the sight of God Cannot refer to a God who is either pleased or displeased as human beings are, but refers to that which cooperates with the Divine Reality --- thus, partaking of its nature, partaking too of Its power.

Polarity, Law of The necessity that every definite idea held in mind shall produce an exact correspondent; the Law responds by corresponding. The result of a mental treatment is a reflected condition which exactly corresponds with the image of thought held before the mirror of mind.

positive Opposite to negative. That which is definite, affirmative, constructive, certain, direct, outgoing.

positive thinking Thinking without reference to opposites.

poverty Belief in lack, or lack of the manifestation of abundance. (See also fasting from poverty.)

poverty thought An impoverished thought; a denial of good; a limited sense of life. (See also fasting from poverty.)

power --- belief is not the power but the avenue through which it flows Just as in electricity the generator, the dynamo, and the distributor are not the electrical power, but the mechanical instruments through which it flows for specific uses, so faith and belief are mechanical, mental avenues through which a power, already existing, flows into definite use.

Power is not created by us --- we use It We never create life nor the forces of nature. Because we live and because these forces exist, we use them. They are all self-executing. The Law of Mind is a natural law.

Power is not injected into mind We take power out of Mind, we do not put it in. The Principle of Power exists and we use It. This is true of every law of nature. All the laws of nature are self-executing. This is also true of Mind, which makes things out of Itself by Itself becoming the thing It makes. Man is not a creator; he is a user of that which already exists. In a certain sense, he breaks it down into different combinations.

Power is; we use It The creative energy of Mind already exists; we merely use it in definite ways. (See also invoking.)

Power, Mind See Mind Power.

power of a mental treatment The spiritual conviction which is arrived at.

power of right ideas See right ideas, power of

power, spiritual --- released through right thinking See spiritual power.

power, tuning into See tuning into power.

power (the) we seek we already possess Power is; we use it. It already exists at the center of our being. We should learn to use It consciously and constructively.

powers --- two ultimate powers impossible See two.

practical Christianity Applying the principles which Jesus taught to everyday problems.

practice --- in practice you convince yourself A spiritual mind treatment takes place entirely in the thought of the one giving it. The practitioner never seeks to convince anyone but himself no matter whom he is treating or for what purpose.

practice is not something we do but something we know The application of spiritual mind practice rests entirely on the theory that spiritual truth known is demonstrated. There is nothing we can do to the Creative Principle other than to recognize It as operating.

practice, teaching without See teaching.

practicing spiritual science The process of realizing and affirming Truth.

practicing the Presence of God A conscious and continuous attempt to feel the Divine Presence in and through everything. Consciously sustaining an interior awareness of God.

practicing the Truth A conscious application of the spiritual Principle to the alleviation of human needs.

practitioner See separate; spiritual healer; suggestion; treat; treating; treatment; words.

practitioner clothes his patient with love All spiritual practice must cast out fear and recognize the presence of love, peace, and joy.

practitioner heals himself of any belief in the necessity of the condition from which his patient suffers Since all mental practice is in the medium of the One Mind, and since we neither hold thought, send out thoughts, nor seek to concentrate anything, it is self-evident that all a practitioner could do would be to straighten up his own thought about his patient.

practitioner is the first one to be healed Since all mental practice is something the practitioner does to himself, it follows that he must heal himself of any belief in the necessity of the wrong he wishes to heal in another.

practitioner must have confidence Words without sincere conviction, deep meaning, and complete acceptance in the mind of the practitioner cannot be effective.

practitioner must rise above both mistake and its consequence Since mistake, which is the sin or the wrongdoing, is an error in judgment, and since the consequence is the result of this error, and since it is the practitioner's business to heal both the mistake in judgment and its consequence, it follows that the practitioner must rise in consciousness to the realization where there is neither mistake nor consequence.

practitioner must rise above both wrong physical reactions and wrong mental reactions To the practitioner both the mental state which produces a wrong condition and the wrong condition produced are one and the same thing, since one is the cause of the other. The practitioner must not believe in the spiritual reality of either.

practitioner never condemns patients It is the office of a practitioner to correct mistakes, never to condemn them. He cannot do good work if he sits in judgment on anyone. This is also recognized to be true in the science of psychology.

practitioner or healer A practitioner is one who consciously practices spiritual awareness for himself and others. The Life Principle Itself is the Healer.

practitioner, scientific attitude for See scientific attitude.

practitioner, spiritual: never enters into a psychic state Spiritual practice is always consciously directed. A treatment is always conscious, self-assertive, and directive.

praise and thanksgiving A joyful recognition of the Divine Presence combined with a sense of gratitude. A joyous and enthusiastic acceptance.

pray with thanksgiving To be so certain that the demonstration is made, or the prayer answered, that we actually acknowledge it by giving thanks. Joyful acceptance; enthusiastic belief.

pray without ceasing Never stop thinking affirmatively.

prayer Silent contemplation of the Divine Presence ever stimulating the thought, and the universal Law of Mind ever acting. The act of becoming still and knowing that God, the Creative Wisdom and Power, is moving in, upon, and through our affairs. (See also scientific prayer; "This kind"; "When thou.")

prayer as a unifying process True prayer elevates the consciousness to a recognition of the unity of all life. It is neither petition, supplication, nor despair; rather it is recognition, unification, and communion.

prayer as communion and prayer as petition For prayer as communion, see immediately above. Prayer as petition means adding to communion the conscious recognition that some definite need is met or some specific good is attained.

prayer, highest form of Seeking conscious union with God.

prayer is its own answer The answer to prayer, in accord with cause and effect, is made possible through the belief, acceptance, faith, expectancy of the one praying.

prayer, Mind answers See Mind receives.

prayer of faith Quiet contemplation of the Allness of Spirit, coupled with definite realization that some particular good is taking place. (See also Truth is that.)

prayer, persistence in See persistence.

prayer, spiritual communion as See spiritual communion as prayer.

prayer, treatment and See treatment and.

prayers --- some prayers are more effective than others Every prayer is effective in such measure as it creates faith and acceptance. Since one's faith and acceptance more or less vary, it is self-evident that some prayers would be more effective than others.

"precept upon precept, line upon line" Refers to evolution of consciousness.

preconscious Loosely speaking, that part of the memory which is quickly brought to the surface.

premonition Revelation of some future event.

Presence See God as a Living; God's Presence; One Presence; practicing the Presence; Universal Presence.

primordial Refers to the First Principle --- the Originating Power.

Principle See over all.

principle, active and passive See Universe as a dual.

Principle always responsive to thought Since Principle is Mind, and thought, or idea, is the only activity of Mind, then the only activity of Principle is the activity of thought, which constitutes the Law of Mind in action. Mind cannot fail to respond to thought.

Principle, Divine See Divine Principle. principle, feminine See feminine principle. Principle, First See First Principle.

Principle in action From the standpoint of mental treatment, this means that the treatment sets the Creative Law in motion, which produces a mathematical result.

Principle of Unfoldment The Universal Spirit of Life Itself is the Principle of Unfoldment, for Life is forever evolving, or unfolding higher and higher forms. This Principle is a part of the forward movement of Life, the Nature of Being.

Principle, scientific use of See scientific use. Principle, Self-Knowing See Self-Knowing Principle.

Principle --- the more it is generalized, the more it can be specialized The more we understand about any law of nature in its universal action, the more definitely we can use it for personal purposes.

principles are universal Two and two are four here or on the planet Mars. What is true on one plane is true on all. All laws are universal.

problems, working out Instead of dwelling on the problem, we should recognize its answer, sensing that since the Spirit has no problems, that which appears as a human problem is dissolved and in its place is the right answer.

prophecy Foreknowing future events.

prophecy, the spirit of The ability to foreknow what is going to happen; this is not an idea of fate but consists in subconsciously following out a sequence of cause and effect.

prosperity, agency of See spiritual communion as an. protection, treatment for See treatment for.

prototype The pattern, or original idea, from which a form is built. An archetype. Spiritual prototypes are the roots of every existing thing.

Providence, no special dispensation of Neither God nor the Law chose Moses to become a law-giver, or Edison a lightbearer; rather these men chose to specialize the Law. Hence, according to the very law specialized it appears as though a Divine Providence had particularly chosen them. This is in line with the Hermetic saying that nature obeys us as we first obey it, illustrated by Jesus in the washing of the disciples' feet.

psyche The mental life.

psyche, reeducation of Reeducation of the whole mental life on a sound foundation of the Unity of God and man.

psychic One who is able more or less clearly to bring subjective impressions to the surface. Subjective.

psychic body Psyche, from the Greek, means "soul." Thus the psychic body is the vehicle of man, through which he contacts the Soul of the Universe, or the Great Subjective side of Life.

psychic development not necessary for spiritual healing Since spiritual mind healing is a result of definitely knowing the truth and of making definite statements in Mind, and since psychic development depends largely upon receiving impressions already accepted by oneself or others, it follows that they are two different fields.

psychic life is infused with our own opinions Since the psychic life is largely subjective and also largely partakes of the race consciousness, it is filled with thoughts and opinions of ourselves, of others, and of the race.

psychic revelations Uncovering the subjective life of oneself or others, or of the race consciousness, revealing human, rather than Divine, truths.

psychogenesis Origin and development of the mind. Science of mental development.

psychological adjustments, four great Adjustment to the self, to the family life, to society, and to the Universe.

psychological complex See complex.

psychologize Spirit, we don't See spiritualizing; we neither.

psychology, relationship to metaphysics Psychology is a study of mental actions and reactions. The Science of Mind, while including individual mental actions and reactions, also assumes a Universal Mind acting and reacting, in and through the individual life.

psychophysics Study of the relationship between body and mind.

psychotherapy From our viewpoint, mental healing.

punishment The inevitable reaction of the Law of Cause and Effect. The destructive use of the law always reacts on the one who uses it.

purify To remove every trace of extraneous matter.

purpose of statements used in mental treatment To convince one's own mind.

purposive accidents Occurrences by which the body suffers injury as a result of circumstances which appear to be fortuitous, but which, in instances, show by their nature that they specifically fulfill unconscious tendencies.