THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

2. Divine Wisdom

God is wisdom. Because we have accepted the truth that God is Mind, Spirit, Living Intelligence, we can more readily comprehend the attribute of Wisdom.

Wisdom is the idea of absolute knowing in Divine Mind. God is all. Therefore God is Wisdom. Wisdom is the movement of Divine Mind, the light of creative Mind activity. This is knowing in the absolute.

Since man stems forth from God as the individualisation of the perfect Idea-Man, Wisdom is available to man. As man become receptive, so is he quickened by the movement of Mind. The light of Divine Wisdom quickens, inspires and uplifts him.

Divine Wisdom is the absolute aspect of knowing. Intellect is the human or relative aspect.

Since the creation is in Mind, the movement of Mind gives us a basis for our power to think. The One Mind “sees” its own image. The Christ Mind has within it the original principles of the Creator and the creation. Man partakes of the qualities of the universal Christ Mind when he turns consciously within.

The intellect is mind embodied. It is the human use of mind. It is not perfect. It has accepted experience as real. The intellect can turn within to Truth, or without to the evidence of senses. In the intellect is the power of choice. So man can choose the type of thought, feeling and action that he shall follow.

Since the intellect is finite, it has not the power of the original Mind. But man can lift his intellect to the One Mind, by becoming receptive to the invisible action of the Superconscious Mind, or the Christ Mind. The act of choice sets into motion the perfect laws of Divine Mind. When man gives his attention to spiritual ideas, there is set into motion a stream of pure spiritual ideas that take root in human consciousness.

As man continues to lift the intellect to the heights of the Christ Mind, the action of Divine Wisdom establishes an expression of spirituality. Expression is the inner working of man’s mentality. When expression is rooted in spiritual ideas of Truth, the whole being is raised and unfolds. Then manifestations of good follow. This is the reason for our effort to raise our thinking and our feeling nature. Our manifest lives and our soul’s growth go hand in hand.

This is a gradual process. Don not try to storm the gates of heaven. Try to watch the nature of your thought and your feeling. By establishing spiritual understanding in consciousness, we rise above petty resentments, hurts and foolish evaluations of people and events. By opening the mind to Divine Wisdom we learn to judge truly, to pierce through outer appearances to the real. We judge according to the divine plan. We judge righteous judgement. This does not mean that we accept all actions or situations; but we do not give them power. We turn to Divine Wisdom for guidance.

Knowledge and spiritual understanding are not identical. The intellect is man’s thinking faculty. Man acquires knowledge and a quantity of facts through the development of his powers of reasoning. However, the limitations of the human keep him from receiving the fullness of divine inspiration.

When man makes a practice of being quietly receptive to the action of Divine Wisdom, he finds that his thoughts and his acts are wonderfully guided.

Faith in the invisible movement of Wisdom brings forth miracles. We must be sure that we have been letting go of mere intellect thoughts about Truth and that we are truly open to the beauty and the power of Spirit.

It is important to distinguish between basic divine ideas and thoughts. Let us remember that God creates. Man makes his world. Divine ideas are basic. They have within them the activity that sets into motion varying aspects of the original. Thoughts are the action of human intellectualizing. Thoughts do influence the quality of our inner expression. But they are not basic. It is necessary to lift them into union with divine ideas in order to achieve real results.

For instance, in order to receive justice in a situation, it is important to hold to the idea of divine harmony, wisdom, true judgement and power, rather than to hold thoughts of what this one or that one said, or should say or do. When we stay with human thoughts of the human intellect, we are limited by the human. When we unify with the basic, creative divine ideas, the activity inherent in those ideas works for us, and takes the form needed.

Spirit knows; intellect thinks. The pure knowing of Divine Mind is the attribute of Wisdom. It is above human reasoning, and man can partake of its activity through faith.

It is important to direct our thinking toward the perfect divine ideals. Our thoughts are the immediate agencies that affect our lives. But the goal should be to so accept the basic ideal that even our thoughts will be lifted. Then we draw to ourselves harmonious situations, and all good. Do not try to think conditions or situations into your life. Do not try to manipulate the lives of others. Place your whole being under Divine Wisdom. People and events will fall into their right places. Answered prayer is the result of unification with God. The steps to this end lie in the comprehension and the acceptance of Truth principles.


To be continued………

Source: Faith and Works by Helen Zagat

THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

Since we are trying to increase the quality of spiritual understanding in ourselves, we must establish a basis that is clear. To this end let us examine the nature of the divine attributes.

We realise from our study of Divine Science that God is Divine Mind or Living Intelligence, creating through infinite ideas. These perfect creative ideas are the basis and foundation from which the creation stems forth. The more alive and vivid that these attributes become to us, the greater is our growth and progress.

Since we understand that God is everywhere present as Mind Essence, and that God is all, there can be nothing outside of God. Therefore, we cannot consider these attributes as external gifts from a distant Being. Each attribute is God in another aspect. The One Mind, contemplating itself generates spiritual activity. The divine attributes are basic. They are God in creative activity.

For instance, when we understand Truth principles, we do no think that God gives life. We know that God is life, since are always connected with the Source through the “breath of life,” or Mind Essence, we partake of that perfect life.

The basic attributes are these. God is Life, Wisdom, Love, Substance, and Power. Since God is all, God Omnipresence, Omnipresence, Omnipotence.

Man has the power of choice since he is made in God’s image - that is, with the power to think and the power of volition. Man can choose to turn within, or to turn without; to turn in thought and feelings to the inner reality, or to turn to the changing appearance of the outer world. The inner is stable, perfect, eternal.

Let us examine the true nature of the divine attributes. Let us try to find the key that opens the way to our making them consciously ours. In this way shall we find the path to peace, safety, joy, health, prosperity and glorious unfoldment. This way leads us to unshakable faith in God.

1. God Is Life

God is Life. There is only one life, God-Life. Life is an attribute in Divine Mind. Life is the animating principle in the creation. It is the creative propelling force. It is the vital, lively essence that animates the whole creation.

All movement and animation are expressions of the idea of life in Divine Mind. This Life idea inheres in the omnipresent spiritual Substance, ever ready to come into manifestation according to the thought patterns of man.

God as the principle of orderly good is the life or vitality and activity within the creation.

Divine Life is the vital action of Divine Mind. It is the workable principle; creative activity; the full propelling force. Without life there would be no expression.

All manifest life has its first cause as an idea of life in Divine Mind. The cause is perfect. Any imperfect or evil effects are due to man’s mistaken use of the power to think. The character of the manifestation is dependent on the character of the thought and feeling patterns of man. Therefore it behoves us to make a consistent effort to change our thinking, to change our acceptance of unstable appearances to realisation of invisible Truth.

Through the ages, man has accepted appearances around him as cause. Ignorance, fears, lack or reasoning have caused man to build up a mountain of false beliefs that come into form as unhappy formations.

So, we must learn to clear out the false and to build into consciousness acceptance of the divine ideals. Then these ideals will come into form without a struggle, increasing in power as we become established in faith. Spirit fulfils.

Do not think that the only time to use the idea of Life is when one has an appearance of imperfect health. Quite the contrary, by accepting the divine attribute consciously we establish ourselves in its character, and so we do not attract the appearances of illness. The attribute of divine life, when we accept it, is the activity in our affairs as well. Thus we can see a career, a business or a profession that may seem to be stagnant, slow or failing, awakened to splendind activity. It is through divine life activity that achievement comes forth.

If we are truly desirous of finding heaven on earth, we must be willing to watch the subtle undercurrent of our thought and or our feeling, for old habits in consciousness persists. As the within so the without, is the way of manifestation.

If we wish to manifest health as we continue on our pathway of life rather than to accept the race belief of going downhill as the years of time pass, we must avoid the acceptance of thoughts that are heavy and that cramp the growth of consciousness. For instance, do not accept symptoms of illness in yourself on in others as being real. Do not give power to materiality as the cause of imperfect appearances. Substitute the idea of life, pure and perfect. Do not stay with a feeling of weariness or weakness. Immediately relax and declare: - God is Life, perfect, vital, pure. I am one with God. I am one with Divine Life. Spirit renews me.

Realise this Truth. Accept it. Practice until the truth in the statement becomes completely yours. Thus you are building into your consciousness and into your body the perfect Life attribute.

Knowing our oneness with God brings forth the divine attributes. Oneness really means likeness, sameness or identical nature. This full acceptance of oneness carries us forward on our pathway, to glorious heights of understanding and of growth.

Since God is all, there is nothing outside God. Since God is Life, there is nothing outside Life. Therefore, there is no death in reality. There are only varying aspects of life. And so, when a soul slips off the garment of this visible, manifest life, it has moved to the other side of Divine Life. To establish this understanding in our consciousness helps to release the accepted burdens of old age, weakness, sickness, death and sorrow; and to build in the qualities of life showing forth as health, vitality, strength, joy, purpose.

We learn to think of the universal oneness of the Creator and the creation. We know that there is no separation, in truth, when a loved one has gone to the other side of life. We do not mourn but we try to realise that that one is continuing on a pathway of life, ever evolving. There is no real separation, for we are all one in Spirit.

Jesus taught: - In my Father’s house are many mansions. This indicates to us the many aspects of Life.


To be continued………

Source: Faith and Works by Helen Zagat