physical bodies, our mental bodies, and our soul bodies are but shadows of the Triune. The body-physical is as human. The body-mental is as the savior of humanity, for it is through the application of the mental influences that we would control and build that which finds expression in the physical and in the soul. The body-soul is made in the image of the Creator, and made to be a companion in spirit. The physical body is the house, the home of the soul, during a sojourn in the material world. What we do with the opportunities that are presented in our various experiences gives expression to those powers that are lent to our souls and our bodies in their passage through the earth.
As the knowledge of the awakening of our soul forces is applied in our relationship to our fellow human beings, we come to realize our relationship to our Maker, for “As ye do it unto one of the least of these, ye do it unto Me.”12
For us to be aware of our physical desires and appetites is physical awakening. To satisfy them selfishly is sin. This is illustrated in the experience of our first parents. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”13
When we become aware that the mind can control the physical desires, then we have a mental awakening. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with…the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.”14 This is an illustration of one who stood firm in the light of a mental awakening, even though it was seemingly a sacrifice of life itself.
When we are conscious that we can reconcile the spirit within with the spirit without and know that they are one and are from the same source, God, then we have a spiritual awakening. This was manifested perfectly in Jesus, the Master, in His daily life among people.
An awakening is the natural thing, when we attune ourselves to the Source of all good, allowing His Spirit to bear witness with our spirit. We are awakened then to the knowledge that we are, indeed, children of God. We show forth our spiritual awakening by our patience, tolerance, long-suffering, and forbearance, not being willing that any should suffer, but that all should come to the knowledge of the Truth. When we practice these virtues in our daily lives we become masters among others.
Conclusion
Let us realize that we should so live in body and in mind that we may be channels through which the Creative Forces may flow. Let us give more attention to our thoughts, for thoughts are deeds and are children of the union of the mind and the soul. What we think continually we become. What we cherish in our minds is built into our own physical bodies, becoming not only food for our souls, but also the soul's heritage in realms of other experiences.
Will is an attribute of the soul. We must recognize by exercising it that we either make ourselves one with our Maker, or separate ourselves from Him. With the will we can either adhere to or contradict those immutable laws set between the Creator and the created.
Let us determine within ourselves that a constructive program will be followed. The conditions of this program, then, require that a definite stand be taken by each of us. We are determined that we will adhere to it, no matter what we may suffer mentally or physically. We will trust in the divine Force within for the strength to endure and for the ability to say no when we should. We will consider the needs of others before our own.
May we study to show ourselves approved unto God in body, mind, and soul. May we become less and less aware of the desires to gratify the carnal forces of the body. Is our purpose in life to gain power, position, wealth, and to satisfy the longings of the flesh? Are we to lose our own souls by so doing? It is for us to choose. The Christ stands ready to help. Shall we bar the door of our own consciousness?
Father, as we seek to see and know Thy face, may we each, as individuals and as a group, come to know ourselves, even as we are known, that we—as lights in Thee—may give the better concept of Thy Spirit in this world.
262-5
1John 14:2
2Matt. 15:11
3Matt. 23:27, 28
4Eccles. 11:3
5John
6Luke 10:27
7P.R. See Romans 14:7
8Matt. 12:49-50
9P.E.
10P.R. See Matt. 5:6
11Exodus 3:14
12P.R. See Matt. 25:40
13Genesis 3:6
14Daniel 1:8
Lesson III
WHAT IS MY IDEAL?
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 2:5
Affirmation
God, be merciful to me! Help Thou my unbelief! Let me see in Him that Thou would have me see in my fellow man. Let me see in my brother that I see in Him whom I worship.
262-11
III
WHAT IS MY IDEAL?
[Based on Edgar Cayce readings 262-11 through 262-14]
Introduction
What is an ideal? We are told that a mental concept or that conceived as a standard of perfection is an ideal. Mind is the builder. We are ever striving toward something to worship or something to love, be it physical, mental, or spiritual. From our experiences we form ideas; then through the action of imagination we sometimes confuse these ideas with ideals. An ideal is something beyond and above us toward which we build. To bind ourselves by calling our ideas ideals means the beginning of decay in the soul structure which we have builded. Our ideals are ever present; they are either consciously or unconsciously the bases for the motivating forces in our lives.
Ideals Grow with Development
In childhood the height which we hoped to reach was lower, by far, than the one that we placed as a goal in youth. We recall that the God we worshiped in our childhood has grown to the Spirit we now call “Abba, Father.”1 So, as we build onward and upward, our ideals enlarge until they reach the height of perfection, the Source of all Good, the Creative Energy of which we are manifestations.
From the physical, mental, and spiritual viewpoints our ideals are patterns by which we endeavor to shape our lives. We must understand the meaning of “The Oneness” and merge our physical and mental ideals with the spiritual ideal of the soul. Our spiritual pattern should not be trimmed to fit us, but we should grow to fit the pattern,
