be joined unto me." In this case the emphasis is upon the word joined. Levi means "unity," which in body is feeling; in soul, sympathy; and in Spirit, love. So each of the twelve faculties in the complete man functions in this threefold degree.
5. What is here described as the birth of the twelve sons of Jacob is the first, or natural, bringing forth of the faculties. A higher expression of the faculties is symbolized in the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Simon Peter is hearing and faith united. John is feeling and love joined. When we believe what we hear, there is formed in us the substance of the word, which is Peter, a rock, a sure foundation. "Belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
6. The Bible is a very wonderful book; as man develops in spiritual understanding it reveals itself to him, and he sees why it has been reverenced and called holy by the people. It is a deep exposition of mental laws, and it is also a treatise on the true physiological estate of the body. It shows that the human organism is mind in action, rather than an aggregation of purely material functions. But above all, the Bible explains the spiritual character of man and the laws governing his relation to God. These are symbolically set forth as states of consciousness, illustrated by parables and allegories. Paul says, referring to the history of Sarah and Abraham, "Which things contain an allegory." It is written of Jesus, "And without a parable spake he nothing unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world." Jesus was Himself a parable. His life was an allegory of the experiences that man passes through in developing from natural to spiritual consciousness; hence the Bible and the prophets can be understood only by those who arrive at that place in consciousness where the writers were when they gave forth their messages. It requires the same inspiration to read the Scriptures with understanding that it required originally to receive and write them.
7. In the 29th chapter of Genesis we read of Jacob's wife, Leah: "And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, This time will I praise Jehovah: therefore she called his name Judah." The Hebrew meaning of the word Judah is "praise." In Spirit praise, or prayer, the Judah faculty, accumulates ideas. In sense consciousness this faculty is called acquisitiveness; it accumulates material things and when self is dominant, "hath a devil." This is Judas.
8. Each of the twelve faculties has a center and a definite place of expression in the body. Physiology has designated these faculty locations as brain and nerve centers. Spiritual perception reveals them to be aggregations of ideas, thoughts, and words. Thoughts make cells, and thoughts of like character are drawn together in the body by the same law that draws people of kindred ideas into assemblies and communities. The intellectual man centers in the head; the affectional man lives in the heart; the sensual man expresses through the abdomen. The activities of these indicated regions are subdivided into a multitude of functions, all of which are necessary to the building up of manifest man as he is idealized in Divine Mind.
9. At the very apex of the brain is a ganglionic center, which we may term the throne of reverence or spirituality. It is here that man holds converse with the knowledge in Divine Mind. This center is the place or "upper room" of spiritual consciousness, and is designated in Scripture as Judah. Its office is to pray and praise. The Judah faculty opens the portal of that mysterious realm called the superconsciousness where thought is impregnated with an uplifting, transcendent quality. Every lofty ideal, all the inspiration that elevates and idealizes in religion, poetry, and art, originates here. It is the kingdom of the true and real in all things.
10. The importance of Judah is indicated by his place in the family of Jacob and Leah. Jacob (supplanter) was betrothed to Rachel (ewe). At the time of the espousal the father of Rachel substituted his elder daughter Leah for the covenanted bride. Leah means "weary." The first son of Leah was "sight"; weariness saw the light of Spirit. The second son was "hearing"; she was able to receive the word. The third son was "union"; she merged with the limitless. The fourth son was "praise." After the birth of Judah, Leah "left off bearing." Praise is the complement of sight, hearing, and unity. It is the redemption of weariness, and from it issues Messiah, the anointed One, Savior of the world. Instead of a supplication, prayer should be a jubilant thanksgiving. This method of prayer quickens the mind miraculously, and, like a mighty magnet, draws out the spiritual qualities that transform the whole man when they are given expression in mind, body, and affairs.
11. Spirituality is one of the foundation faculties of the mind. It is the consciousness that relates man directly to the Father-Mind. It is quickened and enlarged through prayer and through other forms of religious thought and worship. When we pray we look up from within, not because God is off in the sky, but because this spiritual center in the top of the head becomes active and our attention is naturally drawn to it.
12. Prayer is natural to man, and it should be cultivated in order to round out his character. Prayer is the language of spirituality; when developed, it makes man master in the realm of creative ideas. In order to get results from the use of this faculty, right thinking should be observed here as well as elsewhere. To pray, believing that the prayer may or may not be answered at the will of God, is to miss the mark. It is a law of mind that every idea is fulfilled as soon as conceived. This law holds true in the spiritual realm. "All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." In the light of our knowledge of mind action, the law expressed in these words is clear. Moreover, the faith implied is absolutely necessary to the unfailing answer to prayer. If we pray asking for future fulfillment, we form that kind of thought structure in consciousness, and our prayers are always waiting for that future fulfillment which we have idealized. If we pray thinking that we do not deserve the things for which we ask, these untrue and indefinite thoughts carry themselves out, and we grow to look upon prayer with doubt and suspicion. This is called the prayer of blind faith, but it is not the kind that Jesus used, because His prayers were answered.
13. It should not be inferred that the will of Divine Mind is to be set aside in prayer; we are to pray that the will of God enter into us and become a moving factor in our life. "Not my will, but thine, be done," prayed Jesus. The Father does not take our will from us; rather, He gives us the utmost freedom in the exercise of the will faculty, and He also imparts an understanding of the law, through the operation of which we can make any condition that we desire. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do," becomes our assurance.
14. One of the offices of spirituality is to aggregate divine ideas. Through this action man draws absolutely true ideas from the universal Mind. Thus prayer is cumulative. It accumulates spiritual substance, life, intelligence; it accumulates everything necessary to man's highest expression. When we pray in spiritual understanding, this highest realm of man's mind contacts universal, impersonal Mind; the very mind of God is joined to the mind of man. God answers our prayers in ideas, thoughts, words; these are translated into the outer realms, in time and condition. It is therefore important that we pray with understanding of the law, important that we always give thanks that our prayers have been answered and fulfilled, regardless of appearances. When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, He prayed, blessed, and gave thanks. With understanding and realization of the relation between the idea and the fulfillment of the idea, He quickened the slow processes of nature, and the loaves and fishes were increased quickly. We may not be able to attain at once such speedy operation of the law, but we shall approximate it, and we shall accelerate natural processes as we hold our ideas nearer to the perfection of the realm of divine ideas.
15. Praise is closely related to prayer; it is one of the avenues through which spirituality expresses itself. Through an inherent law of mind, we increase whatever we praise. The whole creation responds to praise, and is glad. Animal trainers pet and reward their charges with delicacies for acts of obedience; children glow with joy and gladness when they are praised. Even vegetation grows best for those who praise it. We can praise our own abilities, and our very brain cells will expand and increase in capacity and intelligence when we speak words of encouragement and appreciation to them.
