Mind and Manifestation

One of the primary tenets of the New Thought movement is that mind creates our reality. While the progenitors of the movement did not have the scientific knowledge or vocabulary for much of what they were teaching, they had a knowing of this Truth. Not only did they know it; they demonstrated it. Unity cofounders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore both experienced physical manifestations of Truth as their bodies healed from what many asserted were a fatal disease and a permanent disability. There are many other cases of physical manifestations of Truth documented in the writings of other leaders and teachers in the movement.

In much of the early New Thought literature, the discussion of mind is primarily limited to thought. At the time they were writing and teaching, these pioneers, including Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, talked mainly about the power of changing our thoughts. They were not aware, or at least did not talk about, the correlation between thoughts, feelings, and physiology, and how all these elements work in tandem to form what we now refer to as mind.

We now know that the mind affecting our reality and our experience of reality is more than our thoughts. While everything begins with thought, the quality of our thinking affects our emotions, informs our words, regulates our body chemistry, and helps determine our physiology, all of which influences our actions and experience, which in turn impacts our thoughts. And, the cycle continues.

We can, and frequently do, get caught in a continuous loop of thoughts-feelings-words-chemistry-physiology-actions-manifestation-thoughts. When we do, we continue to re-create the same experiences, because our experience is now informing our thoughts. This not only applies to our physical body conditions, but also to our relationships, finances, careers, and creative endeavors. Because mind is an energy field to which the creative medium of universal substance responds, it affects every aspect of our lives.

Using the language of author, lecturer and researcher, Dr. Joe Dispenza, we get caught in the “habit of being ourselves.” Speaking primarily about physical conditions, he states that in the previously delineated loop, the body becomes the mind. He means, if I understand correctly, that the body condition continues to feed information to the brain which the brain receives and continues to reproduce in thought and manifestation. If we want to experience something different, we must learn to break the cycle. It all begins with our thoughts, just as our early New Thought ancestors knew.

This is echoed in the teaching of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans,

“Do not be conformed to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good, and acceptable, and perfect.” -  Romans 12:2

Since its inception, Unity has taught denials and affirmations as a method of mind renewal. Denial is a process by which we negate the power we may have given a limiting thought. For example, “The thought that I am not enough is not true. I take back any power I may have given that thought. It no longer has any sway in my life.” Affirmations are empowering statements of Truth. For example, “I am a unique and wondrous expression of God, worthy of all the good that I am able and willing to receive.” Using denials and affirmations is helpful in the process of renewing our minds.

Likewise, prayer, a foundational spiritual practice taught by Unity, is a way of renewing our minds. As taught in Unity, prayer is conditioning our minds with Divine Ideas emanating from the One Mind. Prayer is not asking or beseeching God or conditioning the One Mind with our desires. It is, instead, opening our minds to the influx of inspired ideas and possibilities. In other words, prayer is opening our minds to the thoughts of God.

In addition, Unity teaches meditation as a mind-renewing practice. Much like prayer, in Unity, meditation is a practice that leads one to an experience of the “Silence.” The “Silence” is described as a state of consciousness in which one communes with God. It is the space in consciousness where the mind of man meets the Mind of God.

Using these and other practices, we open ourselves up to a greater understanding and acceptance of who and what we are in Truth. In doing so, our minds are renewed, refreshed and restored to the conscious awareness of our Unity in God and our perfection as the Life of God incarnate. To know ourselves as we are in Truth, I assert, is the will of God for each of us. In this state of consciousness, we are aligned to what Paul refers to as all that is “good, and acceptable, and perfect.”

In this state of aligned consciousness, our thoughts resonate with Truth. As our thoughts resonate, our feelings harmonize. The body chemistry responds to our harmonized thoughts and feelings, and our physiology begins to adjust. The body begins to manifest in attunement with our renewed mind. In this way, we are no longer “conformed to the pattern of the world,” as Paul said. In other words, our manifestations are no longer being informed by what has been. Because we know ourselves as the Divine expressing, we begin to manifest, in every aspect of our lives, all that reflects the attributes of the Divine that we are. We have begun to “break the habit of being ourselves.”

I encourage us to begin today by actively engaging in denials, affirmation, prayer and/or meditation practices. If you find it challenging to meditate on your own, I suggest listening to any of the free guided meditations available on YouTube. The following are links to some that I recommend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVmTkKygAkE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeB8MYU__lg

I highly recommend Dr. Dispenza’s books, among them Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and his latest release, Becoming Supernatural. You may also be interested in Rewired, a series he hosts and teaches now available on gaia.com.

Are you ready to have your life transformed by the renewing of your mind? If so, you can begin today. Start by becoming the observer of your thoughts. Begin by noticing the thoughts you think and the beliefs you hold about yourself. Who do you think you are? Transforming your thoughts about yourself is a powerful first step toward aligning your consciousness with what is good, and acceptable and perfect. I encourage you to begin right here, right now.