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The Revealing Word, by Charles Fillmore, [1959], at sacred-texts.com
I AM--Spiritual identity; the real or Christ Mind, of each individual. The I AM Being. God is I AM, and man, His offspring, is also I AM. I AM is the indwelling Lord of life, love, wisdom, and all the ideas eternally in Divine Mind.
The I AM is the metaphysical name of the spiritual self, as distinguished from the human self. One is governed by Spirit, the other by personal will. Christ and Jehovah are the scriptural names for spiritual I AM. Jesus called it the Father. I AM is eternal, without beginning or ending:
the true spiritual man whom God made in His image and likeness.
The I AM has its being in heaven; its home is in the realm of God ideals. It is the center around which all the thoughts of man revolve. The narrow concept of the personal I AM should be led out into the consciousness of the great and only I AM. Man identifies himself with that to which he attaches his I AM, and whatever he identifies himself with, that he manifests. Hitch your I AM to the star of Christ, and infinite joy will follow as night the day.
I AM identity--As the will of God, man represents I AM identity. Individual consciousness is like an eddy in the ocean--all the elements that are found in the ocean are also found in the eddy, and every eddy may, in due course, receive and give forth all that is in the ocean. This is individual consciousness, freedom to act without dictation of any kind, selfhood without consciousness of cause, the power to make or break without limitation.
I AM, used adversely--Man seeking happiness through sense pleasure. This is sin (missing the mark), and the wages are pain, sickness, poverty, and death. Think I AM in harmony with God-Mind, and health, wealth, and harmony will be yours.
"I am the light of the world"--(John 8:12). Refers to Christ as the expresser of Truth in all its aspects.
idea--Original, primary, or unlimited thought of Being; in God-Mind the eternal Word or Logos.
The first-born of everything in the universe is an idea in Divine Mind. The divine idea of the universal creation is called in Scripture Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation" (Col. 1:15). Everything is first an idea in mind, and this law holds good, not only in the creations of God, but in the forms made by man as well. The table upon which you write was first an idea in the mind of the maker. All creation is summed up or concentrated in man. Everything found in
the universe is found in his constitution. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).
idea, Christ--The one complete idea of perfect man in Divine Mind. Jesus is the name that represents an individual expression of the Christ idea. Jesus Christ is the name often applied to the man of Galilee who demonstrated perfection. Christ Jesus is the idea that is being expressed by men as a result of their faith in and understanding of Truth. In this idea are involved all the potentialities of that which is to be evolved through man. The idea itself becomes the evolving power through which it makes its inherencies manifest.
Christ ideas are the most heavily charged with Spirit. Every expressed idea of the Christ Mind is powerful in raising consciousness. Jesus could well say, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself" (John 12:32).
ideas are catching--We are all heavily charged with ideas, and when these ideas are released they spring forth and pass from mind to mind, being "recorded" as they fly; when they are expressed the whole race is lifted up--if the idea is charged with the uplifting Spirit.
ideas, relation of, to the mind--As the son is to the father, so is the idea to the mind. Mind is one with its ideas, so the Father (God-Mind) is one with its offspring, the idea, the Son. Mind is coexistent with its ideas, and there is continual interaction and communion.
ideal--A mental pattern of perfection.
ideal, divine--The Christ man; the divine idea of man.
ideal of Spirit--The ideals in the Mind of Being that produce the perfect creation.
ideal unfoldment--When the illumined intellect wholly co-operates with Spirit there is a merging and blending of these powers until the intellect ceases to be mere intellect and is lost in Spirit.
idealism, divine--God's standard of perfection.
idol--In scriptural language, a false god. Even as Jesus was tempted by Satan, we are often tempted to worship the false gods of greed, covetousness, jealousy, retaliation, and other forms of negation.
ignorance, how dissolved--Ignorance (lack of knowledge) that results from association with ignorant minds can be dissolved by using the Word.
ills, cause of--Anger, jealousy, fear, hate, lust often cause ills of the body. These result from our failure to adjust our mind to Divine Mind. When the sinning state of mind is forgiven and the heavenly state of mind established, man is restored to his primal and natural wholeness. "The Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins" (Luke 5:24). This is wholly a mind process. All wrong and right conditions of man result from his thinking. "As he thinketh within himself, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).
illumination--The light of Christ; spiritual understanding; intuitive knowing. Spiritual illumination is a state of consciousness resulting from Holy Spirit baptism. It is good to affirm: "Christ radiance lights my mind, and my whole being is illumined with Truth."
illumined consciousness--A mind purified by the light of Truth.
illumined thoughts--Thoughts quickened through their conscious relationship to Spirit.
illusion--(see ghosts)
image--"A mental representation of anything not actually present to the senses" (Webster). Everything that is manifested was first a mental picture and was brought into expression by the forming power of the imagination. Man accumulates a mass of ideas about substance and life, and with his imagination he molds them into shape. Each one of us must not only see the image of our desires as a theory, but we must also form it into a living, breathing thing through every motive and act.
Man gets the ideal images necessary to express his perfect organism from the one perfect Mind. The perfect body will be demonstrated through his beholding the perfect, eternal, living, glorified Christ body.
image, graven--(Exod. 20:4). Graven images of God are made by mental pictures. The thought of God as a great king in a place called heaven makes just such a material image in our thought realm, and we grow to believe in and worship such an imaginary being, instead of the true God, who is Spirit.
imagination--The faculty of mind that images and forms; the power to shape and form thought. The imaging faculty presides at the nerve center between the eyes. Through this faculty the formless takes form.
With our imagination we lay hold of ideas and clothe them with substance. The body is the product of the mind. What man pictures or imagines in his mind will eventually appear in his body. In the communication of God with man, the imaging power of the mind plays an important part. It receives divine ideas and reflects their character to the consciousness. According to Scripture this is the opening of the heavens and the seeing the "angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51).
immaculate conception--(Luke 1:26-35). The coming into activity of the Christ in us is the result of an exalted idea sown in the mind. Therefore Mary, the soul, becomes devout and expectant and believes in the so-called miraculous as a possibility. Mary expected the birth of the Messiah as the Holy Spirit had promised. She was overshadowed by that high idea, and it formed in her mind the seed that quickened into the cell. In due season there were aggregations of cells strong enough in their activity, and what is called the birth of Jesus took place.
Metaphysically interpreted, Mary, the virgin mother, represents a pure state of mind that ponders spiritual
things and believes in revelations from angels and messengers from God.
Mary was "found with child of the Holy Spirit," which refers to the miraculous conception by which the Virgin Mary is held to have conceived without original sin. Joseph, not fully understanding the prophecy, "was minded to put her away privily," which refers to the fact that in the first stages of the birth of Christ in us we do not understand the process, and sometimes are moved to put it away from us.
immanent--Indwelling, abiding in, remaining or operating within. God is immanent in all creation including man. "One God and father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all" (Eph. 4:6).
Immanuel (or Emmanuel)--A Hebrew word meaning "God with us." The consciousness that God is with us and we are one with Him. The understanding of how "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14).
immortal--Not subject to death; that which has everlasting existence; incorruptible.
impulse--Metaphysically, a movement of mind that urges man on to spiritual achievement. That which urges man to go forward. Thought activity that arises in the inner, or spiritual mind.
impurity, how eliminated--The consciousness of personal impurity is taken away through the realization of divine purity in thoughts and words.
incarnate Word of God--The word of God made flesh. Spiritual man, Christ, is the incarnate Word of God.
incense--A symbol of prayer. There must be a constant going forth of the word of the Spirit, proclaiming Truth. This spiritual essence should radiate from center to circumference, and permeate the whole consciousness.
The symbology of the burning of incense (Luke 1:9) is transmutation. The finer essences of the body are transmuted to what may be termed the fourth or radiant dimension,
and a firm foundation laid for an organism of permanent character. Paul calls it the "celestial" body (I Cor. 15:40). This process of transmutation takes place whenever the I AM makes union in the body with the Lord, or higher self.
incorporate--To unite with or introduce into a body. We incorporate spiritual substance into our body through prayer.
individuality--The true self; that which is undivided from God; our spiritual identity; the God part of us. That which characterizes one as a distinct entity or particular manifestation of divine Principle. Individuality is eternal; it can never be destroyed. (see personality)
infinite--That which embraces all. The totality of Being including all knowledge, all space, all life; the complete all. That which was from the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Without end or limitation. It is that which is boundless, immeasurable, inexhaustible. God is infinite and eternal.
influence--"Emanation or effusion, especially of a spiritual or moral force" (Webster). One's mental attitude, thoughts, and words are the creative or destructive influences in one's world. Do not say: "I am sick," "I am poor," "I am unhappy." Say: "I am well," "I am at peace," "I am wealthy."
inheritance--"A possession or blessing" (Webster). Man's inheritance from God is divine ideas. These ideas find expression, and the expression forms what man calls his good. Back of the expression is the idea.
iniquities--The mental habits that shut God out of the consciousness.
injustice--"Violation of another's rights; wrong" (Webster). The belief in injustice may be overcome by understanding the divine law of justice and fixing faith firmly in it. The remedy for all that appears unjust is denial of condemnation of others or self. Thus the healing
and forgiving law of Christ is allowed to function. Say: "I deny all condemnation, judgment, and criticism of myself and all others."
inn--(Luke 10:34). One's pure thought; the price of the care received there is paid through overcoming.
inner chamber--(Matt. 6:6). The place within where we consciously meet God. It is also called the "secret place of the Most High" (Psalms 91:1), and the "Holy of holies" (Heb. 9:3). Jesus names it "the Father in me" (John 14:11), and "the kingdom of God . . . within you" (Luke 17:21).
insanity--An unbalanced condition of the faculties of mind. The remedy is to know and realize that the unclouded Christ Mind dominates all one's thinking, and that there is perfect balance and control in both mind and body.
inspiration--Inbreathing of Spirit. The breath of God infused into man, endowing him with super light and life. "He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).
inspiration, original--The writings of the Hebrew prophets are good examples of original inspiration, which is divine wisdom.
inspiration, spiritual--An inflow of divine ideas; activity of a spiritual character; understanding that comes from God.
instinct--"The native or hereditary factor in behavior" (Webster). It is akin to intuition. Man instinctively trusts in a higher power.
integration--When all the desire of the mind and heart is to express God, man is made whole, unified, integrated. "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear" (Matt. 13:16). Man is spiritually integrated when he experiences unity of mind and body through the Christ consciousness.
integrity, spiritual--That quality of the consciousness
which makes one unswerving in his conformity to the divine standard.
intellect--"The power or faculty of knowing" (Webster). Intellect is not wise. Wisdom is not its office. Intellect is the executive officer of wisdom, and can do right only when faithfully carrying out the instruction of its principal. Intellect follows the letter of the law.
It is hard for the intellect to realize the spiritual "I AM THAT I AM" (Exod. 3:14). The intellect always argues back and forth, endeavoring to prove that it is the highest authority. Jesus condemned the sins of the intellect, of which self-righteousness is the greatest, as worse than moral sins. People who live wholly in the intellect deny that man can know anything about God, because they do not have quickened faith.
intellectualism--Knowledge as independent of feeling. Literal knowledge without consideration of the Spirit. The devotee of intellectualism is often impractical and unsuccessful; he has accumulated more knowledge than he has wisdom and power to apply.
intelligence--The expression of man's powers and capacities through the avenue of the limited mental attitude termed the intellect. When the same avenue loses its boundaries and catches sight of the great sea of infinite understanding, which is always open to it, it takes on that phase of knowing more properly termed wisdom.
intelligence, divine--Intelligence that accords with or comes from Divine Mind. The next great proclamation of scientific minds will be that one directive intelligence is an essential cause of the harmonious universe.
intemperance--"Immoderate indulgence of appetites or passions" (Webster). Men need and desire the stimulant of Spirit, but not being in spiritual understanding they do not know what it is they crave and they seek satisfaction in material things.
intuition--The natural knowing capacity. Inner knowing;
the immediate apprehension of spiritual Truth without resort to intellectual means. The wisdom of the heart. It is very much surer in guidance than the head. When one trusts Spirit and looks to it for understanding, a certain confidence in the invisible good develops. This faith awakens the so-called sixth sense, intuition, or divine knowing. Through the power of intuition, man has direct access to all knowledge and the wisdom of God.
invisible, the--Reality that cannot be seen, touched, or comprehended by any of the outer senses. In this realm a great and mighty work is being accomplished.
invocation--The calling forth of the presence of Spirit through the power of the Word.
involution (and evolution)--Involution (infolding) always precedes evolution (unfolding). That which is involved in mind evolves through matter. (see evolution)