The Creative Mind and Success
Part 2 - Practial Applications
Page 22, Treatments
by Ernest Holmes
The way to give a treatment is first of all to absolutely believe that you can; believe that your word goes forth into a real creative power, which at once takes it up, and begins to operate upon it; feel that to this power all things are possible. It knows nothing but its own power to do that which it wishes to do. It receives the impress of your thought and acts upon it.
It is never safe to treat for anything that you do not wish to happen. This means that what you would want for another, you must be at first willing to receive it yourself.
Believe that your word is to be acted upon by an Almighty Power; feel its great reality, in and through all things you speak into it; and declare just what you wish it to do for you, never doubting in your own mind but that it will do just as you have directed.
All that a practitioner has to do is to convince himself, to know, to believe, and that thing will happen to him which he states. One of the first things, then, is to be definite; to have a mental likeness of the thing that you desire; to know exactly what you want. This mental likeness, this absolute acceptance of the fact that it now is, must never be overlooked; without it you will not accomplish.
We sit down of our own souls, at peace with the world, at peace with ourselves; we realize that we are dealing with something that is a reality, something that cannot fail. We try to get a clear concept of the thing; we rest in that realization, while the Universal Creative Power takes it up and acts upon it.
We have stated just what we wanted done unto us; we have believed; we have believed that we have received; never again will we contradict the fact that we have stated. The person who can do this is sure of getting results.
UNDERSTANDING AND GUIDANCE
The inner man is always in immediate connection with the Infinite of understanding. We are immersed in a living intelligence; we are surrounded by a Power that knows, for "In Him we live and move and have our being."
If our outer thought were never confused, we should at all times draw from this Infinite source of knowledge; we should be guided by It and never make mistakes; our minds would be like the smooth surface of a lake, unruffled by wind and storm.
But with most of us this is not the case; we become confused in the outer so that the surface of the mind is in turmoil, no longer clear and transparent, and we cannot get the clear vision, the real guidance, and we get things wrong because we do not see clearly.
The development of the understanding is learning to draw from the Infinite understanding; we can never do this while we are confused in our thinking.
The first thing to do when we wish a greater understanding is to be still and listen to the inner voice, to withdraw for a few moments into the silence of the soul taking here what we already know, and realizing that a greater intelligence is enlarging it.
Here we indefinitely take the pattern of our thought, the thing that we are working on, and ask for, and receive, new light; we hold this up in the Divine Light and try to believe that we are being guided; we state that Supreme Intelligence and Absolute Power are acting upon our thought and bringing it to pass; it is now guiding us and we shall make no mistake; we hold ourselves in the Secret Place of the Most High, and abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
HOW TO KNOW JUST WHAT TO DO
Often, we find ourselves confronted by the problem of how to begin. We are not sure what we want to do; we see no way to begin anything; see nothing to begin on; when we find ourselves in this position, humanly speaking, not knowing where to turn, then of all times we must be quiet and listen; then of all times we must truth that the same power that started all things will also start us in the right road, for without some superior power we shall surely fail.
How often do people in the business world find themselves in this position. They realize that something must be done, but what? How to get the idea to work out.
Here we must wait and know that the same power that first thought a universe into being can also think our world and work into being. It knows all things, it knows how to begin and it cannot fail; we wish in some way to connect with this power that will never fail us, so that we may draw from it some idea to begin with.
We must realize that there is something that to respond, to make manifest and in this realization, wait for the idea; it may not come at first, but we must be patient, never doubting, and waiting thus in faith, it will come.
I once knew a business man who was connected with a firm that had always been very successful, but at that time something had occurred that was causing to them to lose out. This had gone on for a year and things were going from bad to worse. Failure seemed inevitable. He became interested in New Thought. He was told he could draw an idea from the Infinite and work it out on the plane of the visible. He told his partners that he wished to go home for a few days and that when he came back he would have worked out an idea which would put the business on a successful basis. They laughed at him, as people generally laugh at something they do not understand, but having no other plan they gave their consent. He went home and for three days sat in deep thought, claiming Supreme guidance and absolute leading of the Spirit. During this time a complete plan formulated in his mind as to the exact method to pursue in the business. He returned and told his plan to his partners. Again they laughed, saying it could not be done in business; could not be done any way; it would not work. But again they consented, knowing it was this or failure.
He then went to work carrying out all the details of his thought, following each leading that had come to him during those three days, and within a year he brought the failing business to a standard that transcended anything they had ever experienced. He proved the law and became such an expert, that he gave up his business and devoted his entire time to helping other people to do the same for themselves as he had done.
What this man did anyone can do if he will follow the same course and refuse to become discouraged. There is a power that simply awaits our recognition of it, to spring into our thought as an unfailing leading, an unerring guidance. To those who lean on the ever outstretched arm of the Infinite, life is big with limitless possibilities.
We must wait and listen, then go about our outer business with an inner conviction that we are being led into a more perfect expression of life. Ankyone can do this.