TEMPLE TALKS

BY CHARLES FILLMORE

REST

OF MIND AND BODY

(Extracts from Talks in Unity Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo., by Charles Fillmore.)

Silent Word: "My mind now rests from all material thoughts. I am at peace in the Strength-giving life of Spirit."

It is recorded in Genesis that God created the Heaven and the Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. This has a spiritual meaning, and from it, we may get some points that will be of benefit to us. We all need to know how to rest as God rests.

A little analysis of the six days work will give us understanding of how we may enter into the rest prepared for the people of God. All of man's mental bringing forth should be according to the Law and Order manifest in Divine Mind, and by studying the steps in the creative process as they are outlined in Genesis, we bring our thoughts into Divine Order, and create our world in righteousness and harmony.

The first day is the day of illumination. The Word is, "Let there be light." No steps should be taken in the dark. Light should be declared at the very beginning of our every work. Light is spiritual understanding.

ness.

On the second day, faith is established in consciousThis is the "firmament," a firm place in mind. Statements of Truth should be held in mind until they become assurance, substance. In the first day, the things which we see by the Light seem unattainable to us, but in the second day they become not only a deepconviction, but substance or faith.

The third day calls into action, Imagination. This is the forming power of the mind. "Let the dry land appear." The mind now takes of the Substance which was established on the second day and gives it form and shape.

The fourth movement of mind, as described on the fourth day's creation, is expression through will, founded upon Divine understanding. The "greater light" is the understanding. The "lesser" ruling power is the will.

The fifth day or fifth step is to remove all false conclusions, and establish poise and balance in Divine Justice.

On the sixth day, every thought is to be tested by Divine Love. We cannot rest until we fulfill the law of love.

"Love suffereth long and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not provoked, thinketh no evil.”

If we want rest we must get to the place where we are not irritable at what anybody thinks, or says or does. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the Truth; beareth all things, believe all things, endureth all things. "Love never faileth."

This is the foundation of true rest.

"On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it."

This blessing and hallowing of the seventh day is of vital import in the work of man's creation, for man brings forth his character as God brings forth the Uni

verse.

Involution is complete, but evolution, the expression of that which is, is now in process. There are two currents of thought, one ascending, the other descending, and these are manifest both in body and mind. Jesus

Christ declared himself to be from above, but to those not in spiritual understanding he said, "Ye are from beneath." He had a consciousness of involution, as we all may have.

The process of evolution seems to be evil only when man resists the goodness of the Spirit, and does not get into right relation with his environment. He will never find harmony by seeking it in any external way, but by adjusting himself to the Principle back of the Universe. This he can do only by following the steps of unfoldment described in God's creative work. There is something in everyone of us, which, if allowed to think itself into expression would handle the current from below, which seems to be an enemy, and bring it under Divine Law.

When God finished his work he pronounced it good, very good. The question is, Are we putting the stamp of goodness, of blessing upon all our work? Are we saying, "I failed in this" and "That was unsuccessful?" That is not the way to sum up the acts of an hour, a day, a year. It is not the way God works. We should take the same stand that God took; that will give us the starting point for another year's work. The light of Spirit will express itself through us better if we do this, than under the old thought of condemnation and picking of flaws.

It is good to discern good from evil, especially before we do a thing, but after it is done, do not cry over spilt milk. We misconstrue our own acts often, because of seeing from the standpoint of the material world. Spirit will always give us the true solution of our problems if we ask, "Let there be light," and then trust that light.

"Thou shalt rest from all thine enemies." Are you resting from all enmity? The sixth attitude of mind is the consciousness that the love of God so fills you that you have forgiven all. If you feel enmity it is time to rest by forgiving and casting out all thought of enemies.

Jesus Christ knew just how to handle every proposition. He said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls." By following him in the meekness and lowliness of that Divine Love which envies not, is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, the mind rests from its burdens, and when the mind rests the body must necessarily be at rest.

People think when they go to bed they rest, but there is no rest unless there is a change of mind.

If you sit down to rest and your mind is on a thousand things to do, there is more depletion than there would be if you had gone on with the physical labor. If you want to rest, take up some spiritual thought and rest in Spirit. Rest in the consciousness that the work is done. "It is finished" is a good word of realization.

Then do not believe in the reality of evil. The creative law is good, and if you are daily seeking to follow it in all you do, all things are working together for your good. Rest in this consciousness.

The idea of work that is never finished is not true in Principle.

"It is finished." The mind grows weary with the burden of uncompleted tasks. Say, "I rest in the consciousness that I have completed my task."

It is not enough to rest the body alone, the mind. must also realize that the work is done.

Say, "My mind now rests from all material activity. I am at peace in the strength-giving life of the Spirit."

"Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest.'

"The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

"Thou shalt rest from all thine enemies."

Say, "I relax and let go all thought of enmity, antagonism or opposition, within or without, and rest in the peace of God."

"I am no longer anxious or impatient; I rest in the now fulfillment of all things."

"Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way.

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him." "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Take my yoke upon you and learn of me;

For I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

RETROSPECTION

If there is one thing above another that religion teaches, it is that we should live in the present and forget the past. Jesus Christ laid special emphasis upon this, and Paul expressed his intention of "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before," that he might "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." "Reaching forth unto those things which are before" is not an exact interpretation of the text. It means looking to the ideal, the spiritual consciousness. The ideal is realized by keeping the eye steadily fixed upon it.

The teaching that man should live neither in the past nor the future is based on Divine Law, and we can understand this law; then we shall see why it is that the Scriptures so persistently teach that today is the day of salvation. The law is that through the power of his thought man makes all his conditions. By his thought he is attaching himself to, or detaching himself from his environment.