Three Phases of mind

In my lesson this past Sunday at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, which you may listen to here, I said that the only power our minds have is the power to align us with the Spirit of God – the One Power that truly exists. I encouraged that we not get too caught up in the idea that we have the power to affect change in our lives through the power of mind. Instead, I stressed the need to turn all our cares and concerns over to the indwelling Power and Presence of God and allow It to do Its perfect work in us and through us.

Following the service, a friend and congregant came to me and asked for more clarity in reference to some things I said. If I interpreted correctly, his questions were, in effect, “How do we use our minds in conjunction with the Power and Presence of God? What about free will? He commented that what I said seemed to go against Unity's foundational teaching.

While I can understand that what I said may seem to contradict one of Unity’s primary tenets which states: We create our experience through our way of thinking. However, when we look more closely I believe we will see that what I said is in alignment with that principle. I was attempting to bring more clarity to it when I said that the power of mind is in aligning with God indwelling as our consciousness.

I am always grateful when someone questions what I say because it invites me to enter more deeply into the question and listen for the voice of wisdom within. As I asked and listened, I recalled one of my favorite lessons from Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore. In the book, Keep a True Lent, he expounds on the three phases of mind – conscious, subconscious and superconscious. He explains the importance and true function of each and how they all work together.

It is helpful to me in understanding the real “power of mind.” I hope it is helpful for you, as well. Quotes from Mr. Fillmore are in italics.

We are all well acquainted with the conscious mind. Through its use we establish our relations with the outer realm and recognize our individual entities.

This is the phase of mind we typically refer to when we speak of the power of mind.

The subconscious mind is the vast, silent realm that lies back of the conscious mind and between it and the superconscious.

I’m not sure that phases of mind have locations, but I guess the visual image can be helpful to understanding.

To one who does not understand its nature and its office, it is the "great gulf fixed" between his present state and the attainment of his highest desire, his good.

This is an important piece of wisdom. Reading further, we see that only when the subconscious is regenerated by the superconscious are we able to live our highest desires.

The subconscious may be called the sensitive plate of mind. Its true office is to receive impressions from the superconscious [A state of consciousness based on true ideas, on an understanding and realization of spiritual Truth ¹] and to reproduce them upon the canvas of the conscious mind.

Man, however, having lost the consciousness of the indwelling Father as an ever present reality, has reversed the process and impresses the subconscious from the conscious mind. In this way the [subconscious] is made to register impressions of both good and evil, according to the thought held in conscious mind at the time the impression is made.

And since it is the purpose and the nature of the subconscious mind to reproduce, or to throw upon the screen of the conscious, the exact impression that it has received, the conscious mind is thus made to express two sets of opposing ideas. No enduring structure can be built by one who is "a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Please listen to my lesson, specifically the part about FEAR. It can be used as an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. As humans, we look at the effect, the world of form, and use it as evidence to support a false belief. Or, we develop B.S. (belief systems) based upon our misperception of the world we observe. These are then impressed upon the subconscious, which receives them, and reproduces them upon the conscious mind. The conscious mind then projects them onto the world and the cycle continues, unless we make a conscious decision to intervene.

Man must go back to his Source and let its clear light flood his whole being with Truth. He must lay aside forever the idea of serving two masters and must look to the one Master, even Christ, the spiritual consciousness within.

The superconscious mind is ever ready to pour forth the divine blessing, quick to respond to the call of the conscious, which it meets on the middle ground of the subconscious.

The superconscious mind lifts up, or regenerates, both the subconscious and the conscious, transforming them into the true image and likeness of God. The conscious mind must be faithful during this transformation. It must look ever to the superconscious for all direction and instruction. It can of itself do nothing with assurance, because the Spirit of wisdom rests in the superconscious.

This is the crux of my lesson from Sunday. If we are to live our highest potential, it is imperative that we allow the Christ Mind – Superconsciousness – to be the focus of our conscious mind. When we allow the Christ Mind to source our thinking, we surrender to the Power of God that is living as us. It is the only power that is REAL. It is Radiant Eternal Abundant Life (again, please listen to my lesson).

The Superconsciousness reaches to the depths of the subconscious and sets free the energies bound in error thought; that having been done, man can easily reach and mold the subconscious, in harmony with divine ideas. The regeneration of the subconscious is not the work of the conscious, but of the superconscious mind acting in harmony with the conscious.

When we seek the Superconsciousness and make conscious connection with it we harmonize all the forces of mind and body; we lift up the subconscious until a complete, conscious unification of the three phases of mind is affected and we become established "in singleness of . . . heart." We fear nothing, for we know that we draw on the divine ideas in God Mind and that they all are good.

As Mr. Fillmore states, and as I said on Sunday, it is not the conscious mind that does the work. The master teacher, Jesus, said, “It is not I, but the Father within that does the work.” It is the same principle for you and me. However, that does not negate the power of our free will in making a conscious decision to connect with Superconsciousness and allow It to do the work of regenerating the subconscious and restoring us to the consciousness of unity in the One Power and Presence that does the work in us, as us.

The power of the conscious mind is the power to consciously connect with the One Mind – Superconsciousness – and to be diligent in staying focus on the Divine Ideas available in that connection.

We make those conscious choices and connect with Superconsciousness through prayer, meditation, contemplation, or any activity that opens us to the experience of Higher Consciousness.

I invite you to join me for an hour of conscious connection. I offer two weekly sessions of guided meditation, visualization and intuitive insights. These sessions are offered via teleconference and video conference on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. MST and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. MST. If you would like more information on how to participate, please email me at david@davidhoward.com.

As always, I invite you to join us for our service on Sunday at 10:00 as we welcome special guest speaker Rev. Aliza Bloom Robinson. Rev. Aliza will present a lesson entitled Learning the Dance of Ease. She will also facilitate a workshop from 12:00 to 2:30 based on her best-selling book, Falling Into Ease. Learn more about Aliza by visiting her website – DivineAwakening.org. Register for the workshop – HERE.

¹ The Revealing Word