Chapter IX - Creation
Thoughts are things
261:1
we find its opposite, matter. Now reverse this action.
we find its opposite, matter. Now reverse this action.
Look away from the body into Truth and Love,
the Principle of all happiness, harmony, and
immortality. Hold thought steadfastly to the endur-
ing, the good, and the true, and you will bring these
into your experience proportionably to their occupancy
of your thoughts.
Unreality of pain
261:8
The effect of mortal mind on health and happiness is
The effect of mortal mind on health and happiness is
seen in this: If one turns away from the body with such
absorbed interest as to forget it, the body
experiences no pain. Under the strong im-
pulse of a desire to perform his part, a noted actor was
accustomed night after night to go upon the stage and
sustain his appointed task, walking about as actively
as the youngest member of the company. This old man
was so lame that he hobbled every day to the theatre, and
sat aching in his chair till his cue was spoken, – a signal
which made him as oblivious of physical infirmity as if
he had inhaled chloroform, though he was in the full pos-
session of his so-called senses.
Immutable identity of man
261:21
Detach sense from the body, or matter, which is only
Detach sense from the body, or matter, which is only
a form of human belief, and you may learn the meaning
of God, or good, and the nature of the immu-
table and immortal. Breaking away from the
mutations of time and sense, you will neither
lose the solid objects and ends of life nor your own iden-
tity. Fixing your gaze on the realities supernal, you will
rise to the spiritual consciousness of being, even as the bird
which has burst from the egg and preens its wings for a
skyward flight.
Forgetfulness of self
261:31
We should forget our bodies in remembering good and
We should forget our bodies in remembering good and
the human race. Good demands of man every hour, in
262:1
which to work out the problem of being. Consecration
which to work out the problem of being. Consecration
to good does not lessen man's dependence on God, but
heightens it. Neither does consecration di-
minish man's obligations to God, but shows
the paramount necessity of meeting them. Christian
Science takes naught from the perfection of God, but it
ascribes to Him the entire glory. By putting "off the old
man with his deeds," mortals "put on immortality."
262:9
We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God's
We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God's
creation by diving into the shallows of mortal belief. We
must reverse our feeble flutterings – our efforts to find
life and truth in matter – and rise above the testimony
of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal
idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the God‑
like man to reach the absolute centre and circumference
of his being.
The true sense
262:17
Job said: "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the
Job said: "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the
ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee." Mortals will echo
Job's thought, when the supposed pain and
pleasure of matter cease to predominate. They
will then drop the false estimate of life and happiness, of
joy and sorrow, and attain the bliss of loving unselfishly,
working patiently, and conquering all that is unlike God.
Starting from a higher standpoint, one rises spontane-
ously, even as light emits light without effort; for "where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Mind the only cause
262:27
The foundation of mortal discord is a false sense of
The foundation of mortal discord is a false sense of
man's origin. To begin rightly is to end rightly. Every
concept which seems to begin with the brain
begins falsely. Divine Mind is the only cause
or Principle of existence. Cause does not exist in matter,
in mortal mind, or in physical forms.