Recently, I have been reading The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science by Thomas Troward. It is quite an old book, originally published in 1904, but is very pragmatic in its explanation of the workings of mental science. One particular section jumped out at me, which inspired me to write this article. It goes as follows:
“The spiritual kingdom is within us, and as we realise it there, so it becomes to us a reality. It is the unvarying law of the subjective life that ‘as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he’, that is to say, his inward subjective states are the only true reality, and what we call external realities are only their objective correspondences.
If we thoroughly realise the truth that the Universal Mind must be to us exactly according to our conception of it, and that this relation is not merely imaginary but by the law of the subjective mind must be to us an actual fact and the foundation of all other facts, then it is impossible to over-estimate the importance of the conception of the Universal Mind which we adopt.”
~ T.T.
In many ways, what it is saying is that whatever our own perception of Universal Mind (Infinite Spirit, God…) is, in itself determines our relationship and experience with this creative force. If one person views Universal Mind as abundant, limitless, generous, and kind, they are likely to find these things to be true when they work alongside it. Whereas, if another person was to view Universal Mind to be limited, selfish, or difficult to work with, they are likely to find these things to be also true within their own life and personal experience of working with the law.
Therefore, figuring out what our perspective and beliefs surrounding Universal Mind are, is an important start to our mental science and manifestation journey. We want to ensure that we see the Universal Mind in a good light. Here to serve us and here as a power to create only good, not bad. Without ensuring that our beliefs are focussed towards more positive and constructive ends, we could end up making the whole manifestation process unnecessarily harder for ourselves.
However, this concept doesn’t only relate to our relationship with Universal Mind, but also our beliefs in connection to many aspects of our life. What we believe in regards to our self-concept, the opportunities open to us, the obstacles blocking us, our relationships with other people, our perception of the world and planet as a whole… Everything that we perceive and accept to be true about these things hardens into fact and become real within our lives, until we change our point of view and trigger a transformation in the world around us.
In other words, within our own world, what we believe or perceive to be true, is true in relation to our personal experience, even if it isn’t true for someone else. That is the power of belief. That is why people can have the same experience, see the same show, or do the same activity, and yet come away with a completely different response to it, and understanding of it. Essentially, it all starts in the mind, therefore, dealing with this notion is less about trying to convince people to believe our truth, but more about trying to understand it ourselves and why we feel a certain way about a certain thing.
Through applying this knowledge, we can make great changes to the trajectory of our lives. We can choose to shift our beliefs about ourselves, other people, society, and the world, to be much more positive, leading our external realities to also shift and begin to reflect our desirable inner state.
It all starts with us, we just have to make that choice.