WHEN WE BEGIN the study of Truth, we are taught to claim that the good we desire is ours now and to give thanks that we have it, even though it appears to be very far away from us. This good does not mean any one particular thing or condition that we might desire; the method covers everything, health, happiness, abundance, success. Most of us find this claiming a very difficult thing to do under these conditions, for we seem to be speaking a falsehood; and we utter the words to ourselves in a low, apologetic tone, in-stead of speaking them boldly into the ether. There is really a deep principle involved in making such a claim. If we fully understand this, we shall not feel that we are speaking an untruth when we make the affirmation of the presence of good, and we shall put strength into our words.
When I make the statement that I have all things, don’t think for a moment that I am referring to the little, personal me that is visible to human eyes. You are too apt to take this point of view and to condemn my stand as false. I must tell you that you are drawing a wrong conclusion when you do this; for while there are many things that I do not seem, on the surface, to have, they are really mine. If I know the difference between the consciousness of I and the consciousness of me, I shall persist in repeating, “All things are mine,” for I know that it is true.
Man is not what he appears to be, a weak creature, the victim of every untoward circumstance and condition. Metaphysics and religious teachings lead to the conclusion that man is in reality something far higher and greater than the personality through which he is manifesting himself. This latter, the me, is only a visible overcoat, as we might term it, beneath which is the true individual, the invisible being, a perfect idea of God, the I AM which has always been. The basic meaning of the word individual is the undivided or unseparated. So the true individual in man is always one with the Father, and can never be apart from Him. But the personal me believes in separation from good, which belief is the cause of all our troubles. Let us get away from this false idea at once.
I, the true I within, am always one with the Father. God, the source of all good, has all things; so when I rise to the impersonal and say that I, the son of God, have everything, I am speaking the absolute truth of my real self. When I can persuade myself, the little, egotistical, personal me, that this is so, and when I can begin to look to All-Good as my supply, I shall discover that all things are mine literally. This may take what we call time, but if I have grasped the truth of my being, I shall not be discouraged in claiming the truth. You may say that, while I am right, this is only true metaphysically speaking. We are not dealing in hyperbole or with dreams in the metaphysical; we are dealing with absolute, living Truth, because it is only in the absolute that we can find real, vital facts. Until we seek them there we shall miss them entirely. And if a thing is true metaphysically, it is always true.
What the man in the street calls cold facts that he must face are only relative appearances of the absolute, colored by fear, and by his personal opinions. These are entirely misleading, and should be ignored. If I persist in looking at a lighted tungsten lamp through tinted glasses it will appear colored to my eyes. But if I remove the spectacles I shall see the light as it is, clear and white. The man in the street looks at his facts through the lenses of prejudice and mistaken ideas, the worst of which is the belief in duality and separation, thus getting a wrong understanding, which develops into fear of loss. I prefer the absolute view of the impersonal.
When I say that I have everything, and the banker assures me that I am wrong that there is a million dollars on his counter; what is the difference? Sim-ply that he sees his million with mortal eyes and refuses to believe me, because, not having spiritual vision, he cannot see my billion. I do see it, but with different sight. As I see it more and more clearly it will come forth until he too will see it from his own point of view. It will have become a material reality, and it is only with such things that he deals. Then if he belongs to certain interests, he will try to take it from me, thinking that he will have me broke and subject to him. But he does not know that if I have realized my unity with God, I can produce wealth in the visible form faster than he can get it from me. He thinks that there is a limit to riches; I know that the abundance of God is inexhaustible. Therefore, “All that I can use” should be my demand upon my higher self.
We should have the vision of the farmer. Look at a field which has just been planted with wheat. To ordinary sight it will appear to be just barren ground; but the farmer mentally sees it covered with waving grain. Yes, he sees, piled somewhere in that field, bags of threshed grain awaiting shipment, or he sees those bags loaded into cars that carry them to market, and he sees the money coming in to pay for them. ‘When we make a start at anything, we should use this same vision; we should see it completed, knowing that it is God who gives all things, and that God’s work is done now. We should also know that we only need to start some-thing and to do the necessary work. We cannot bring it to fruition. The farmer cultivates the ground and plants the seed; he cannot make it grow. It is always God who gives the increase.
Change your point of view. All that the Father has is yours not to keep, but to use. You are His son and heir, entitled to the best He has. If you think I am talking against Scripture, turn to the First Epistle of John, where you will read, “Beloved, now are we children of God.” Then read the teachings of Jesus concerning the Fatherhood of God. We are sons of God in Truth; but have you dared to claim your sonship? If you have not done this as yet, claim it boldly. At once everything that the Father has is yours, now, not in some dim and distant future state. Therefore claim, “All that I can use is mine now.” Don’t be afraid that you will rob somebody; there is enough for all and more, for His supply can never be exhausted. So draw and use to the limit of your ability. But first you must understand that it is rightfully yours in the absolute now, the only time there really is.
In an old melodrama (was it “Monte Cristo”?), the hero had been kept by his enemies in a dark dungeon for a very long time. After many attempts he succeeded in making his escape. When he beheld the clear water of the lake, reflecting the blue sky, and the mountains around it, he exclaimed boldly, “The world is mine!” Your enemies are legion. They are doubts, fears, sense limitations, condemnations, and other negative thoughts. These are your only foes, for “a man’s enemies are the men of his own house,” of his consciousness. Through ignorance of your own power you have allowed them to keep you in bondage for many years. They have buried you in the dungeon of lack, of sickness, and of that feeling of inability to do things which comes when you give in to such foes.
Now the light of Truth has come to you. If you have been studying and meditating, you should know that you are a free soul that nothing can conquer. But have you claimed this freedom? It will never be yours until you do assert it positively, right in the face of all the forces these enemies can muster. The way is always open; make your claim of freedom now. These foes have no real existence. They are absolutely false, but they have persuaded you that they can rule you. Do some-thing. Do you remember the school bully, how he lorded it over the other boys until a kid half his size took the starch out of him? And do you remember the blissful atmosphere of peace that immediately pervaded that schoolyard? Well, treat these mental bullies in the same manner. Declare that they can have no power over you, and see them vanish before your new strength. Claim freedom and it is yours.
When you do break forth from bondage, you too can say, “The world is mine!” This is true. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” God said this through the Psalmist a long time ago, and He still says it through any who grasp the truth. Listen to the prophet Haggai: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts.” Everything belongs to God, for it is all a manifestation of Him for our benefit. It is not a far-distant deity who says this; it is your own Lord with whom you are one. You, His child, can say it too, with full meaning, when you understand your relationship. The world is yours to use; it was prepared for you and stocked with good things before you appeared upon it. But it is not yours to exploit, only to develop and use. It was for the purpose of development that you were put here. Exploitation is always wrong, for it is selfish. Constructive use of what God has provided is always right; it is carrying out the divine will and always helps others. When a person helps another he invariably helps himself.
“Whatever you pray for and ask, believe you have got it and you shall have it.” Believe that you have your desire now, no matter what the appearance. Jesus gave us this application of the principle of claiming our good in the face of seeming lack. Surely He knew, for He demonstrated His knowledge. Some tell us that to do this we must visualize ourselves as having the things we desire. Here is a little point. Forced visualization never does any good. It seems to stir up a feeling of resistance, and the adverse thoughts buried in the subconscious come crowding up to face you, and to exert their power over you. But when you get the consciousness of your unity with God, and that all things are yours, you only need to express a wish, and the visioning starts automatically. This is a sign that the power is working. Then you can take hold and mold your image as you would have it, thus perfecting the plan for the work, and it will go on to completion.
Giving thanks that the things you desire are yours now is a full expression of faith that the prayer is answered. Remember that Jesus gave thanks before He broke the bread to feed the multitude, and before He spoke the word that brought Lazarus from the tomb. He knew that the answer was sure, so He thanked the Father before it was made visible. If you know that everything is yours in the absolute, giving thanks that it is so sets in motion the power that brings it into the material form. It is in fact one method, and a powerful one, of speaking the word.
In all demonstrating, the first step is knowing that you are one with God and that consequently everything is yours. Yes, everything: health, happiness, abundance more than you can think of asking. There is nothing but God; you, one with Him, possess Him. He gives Himself to you freely, and He is everything; therefore all things are yours. But you must claim this definitely and not as the little personal you, but as the great impersonal being that you are in Truth. Ascend to this consciousness and all things are possible to you. Remain in the lower state and you can do nothing, for in that condition you are beset by the limitations of the relative world. That is the difference, and it shows the necessity of attaining the I AM consciousness if you wish to have your desires fulfilled. On this ac-count it is well to begin every claim with the words “I AM” strongly accented.
You are one with God. God is All-Good. Consequently you are right now one with All-Good; therefore everything you desire is yours now. But in order to make this a material reality, you must get this consciousness of the truth of your real self. Then you must lift the little personal self out of the rut in which it has been traveling for so long a time, and raise it until the true understanding involves the whole being and you become just one.
Then the mere expression of a wish will draw to you the things desired.
There is some work for you in all this. It is not done instantly. There is just one job to do, and when you have accomplished that you have accomplished all. This is the conquest of the personal self. Through ages of wrong training and wrong thinking, this little me has exalted itself as all there is of you. There is something more powerful within you. It is the Christ, the I AM, the true child of God. Exalt this and it will draw all things to it, even the personal self, until you will express one complete being. Then you will know the truth of the statement “All things whatsoever the Father hath are mine.” You will see the abundance of health, happiness, success, and continuous supply everywhere, and it will all come to you as on wings. Claim your good now, and keep at it until you have all good in abundance. Be bold in making your claims as a son of God should be. Nothing is to be gained by expressing weakness; everything can be won by claiming with strength.
When you start on this road, the first indication of progress that you may notice will be that the fear of lack and all anxiety about the future will leave you. You may wonder why you no longer worry over trifles. If it is health you are seeking, you will cease to be troubled about little symptoms. In fact you will pay no attention to them. It is because Truth is taking a vital hold upon you. You are accepting it fully as a fact, and you are beginning to look to the one source for your supply. This is the time to give thanks that what you desire is yours, and to watch it come. Be prepared for surprises; for “with God all things are possible.” He will use any channel to bring your good to you. No matter if your supply comes through human hands, it is God who is furnishing it, for there is nothing but God in the whole universe. That is why you should look only to Him, and give Him the praise.
The world is mine! The universe is mine, for I am the child of God, free from all bondage. I am free! I am one with all good and everything is mine to use. I claim my highest good now and nothing can keep it from me.”