Too often our tendency is to look to the rational, analytical mind when we must decide whether or not we have faith in something. Frequently, the many reasons offered by the intellect lead us to either (1) a rational paradox, or (2) all the right reasons why we should have faith, yet still a feeling of emptiness or doubt. Faith is more an experience of the heart than of the head (notice that the affirmation for the Search for God chapter on Faith has two references to the heart).
All of this is not to say that the rational mind has no constructive function. However, we must understand that this activity of the mind has distinct limitations and serves to focus our attention on the dimensions of time and space. That which is beyond time and space is reached more effectively through the intuitive aspect of the mind. Whereas the intellect divides, categorizes and depends largely upon information from the five senses, the intuitive mind integrates the experiencer and the focus of his attention. With the rational mind we can determine a definition of faith and many reasons why it is advisable for us to have faith; with the intuitive mind we can experience the inner meaning of faith.
The more and more each is impelled by that which is intuitive, or the relying upon the soul force within, the greater, the farther, the deeper, the broader, the more constructive may be the result.
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Also in the mental, keep the faith. Hold fast to that; and know it is a growing thing. Then in the changes that come in the environments, in associations, let that faith in the divine in self ever respond to that known innately within self.
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Experiment: Choose one thing in which you wish to experience greater faith (e.g., faith in God, faith in your own divine nature, faith in another specific person). First consider where your rational, intellectual mind has taken you in this desire. Perhaps you will find that this part of the mind has led you to a paradox or confusion; perhaps you will find that it has provided all the right answers and yet an inner experience of faith is missing. Write down whatever it is your intellect tells you about this concern. Now allow yourself to move beyond just the intellect. Each day for a week be open for an experience of faith in this part of your life. Pray that you will be given whatever experience is best for you at this time. Listen to the promptings of your intuitive mind through your meditations, through your dreams, and by listening to and feeling your intuitive self in your daily activities. Record any of your experiences that may give you a deeper sense of what it means to live your faith in this specific area of your life.
“Faith knows that it has already received and acts accordingly doubting nothing.”
One of the most challenging teachings of Jesus is found in the fourteenth chapter of John:
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
It challenges us because it requires that we decide what it means to “ask in My name.” We might assume that it is more than just literally saying the word “Jesus,” although that may well be very important. One focus of His teachings is that God is spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. And so, to ask in His name probably requires that the spirit of our prayer be in accord with the spirit He came to manifest. Certainly, important qualities of that spirit are faith in God and faith in our own divine nature.
There is a simplistic answer to why our asking means we have already received: the creative capacity of the mind. However, simply asserting that “mind is the builder” does not mean we will have faith. The intellectual mind which has studied spiritual law is quick to point out that thoughts are things. This aspect of the mind reasons that (1) our asking and desiring actually creates, and (2) it is only a matter of waiting for it to manifest. Yet, such reasoning does not insure that we will be patient. Patience is more than just waiting. Just as faith, patience is knowing and experiencing. Faith knows that it has already received because it is truly patient and experiences that all time is one time. Our faith is stymied when we believe that we, like our physical bodies, are mortal. As souls we are timeless beings. It is in experiencing this awareness (not in rationalizing that the mind is the builder) that faith knows that it has already received and is able to act accordingly. It is in this spirit that we ask “in His name.”
Experiment: As a step towards a deeper awareness of faith, try to awaken the consciousness that you are a timeless being—that all which you desire in spiritual unfoldment and fulfillment will come to you. If you have asked for something in His name and then find yourself doubting or impatient, use this affirmation in your daily life to re-orient your mind to faith: “As a spiritual being, I am forever. All I have asked in His name will be fulfilled.” Record the situations in which you are able to use this affirmation in a helpful way.
“Let us examine ourselves and see whether we are holding to faith or confidence.”
One of the most popular forms of therapy today is assertiveness training. This work undoubtedly has been of great help to many people, giving them new insights and new capacities to express a sense of confidence in themselves. And yet we must be careful not to equate confidence with faith. Confidence rests upon things that exist in time and space—it points either to the physical self or to the material world. Faith rests upon an awareness of that which is beyond time and space—to the qualities of the soul. To illustrate this in a diagram:
We are encouraged to cultivate faith, and so we must consider what to do with our tendencies to feel confidence instead of faith. Are they opposites? No more than the spirit is the opposite of the body; and the teaching in the readings is the oneness of body, mind and spirit.
We can use an experience that gives us confidence (e.g., an specially good achievement, a substantial source of material supply) as a stepping-stone to a deeper sense of faith, if we remember that the material world and the physical, conscious self are rooted in the unseen spiritual world. This is what Jesus points out to Pilate who asserted confidence in his powerful position of authority.
“Pilate therefore said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.’” (John 19:10-11)
We must see that the situations and conditions that give us confidence are only symbols. God is the source of all that is good. As we remember to recognize this and give thanks, we use those moments of feeling confidence in ourselves or the world as a tool to feel greater faith.
Experiment: Be aware of instances each day in which you feel a sense of confidence (either in some quality of your own, in some condition in the material world, or in some other person). Don’t deny the good feeling that may come with such a sense of confidence; instead, build upon it by affirming the source of this which is good in you or your life. Record each day those situations in which you are able to make this recognition.
“Let us have more faith in our fellow man. We may not agree with him, but who knows whether he is not more in line with the divine plan than if he were following our lead?”
One of the most difficult steps in achieving maturity is to realize that other people don’t always think the way we do. A large degree of our frustration and irritation with others comes from the fact that they are not operating from our consciousness or from our assumptions about what is best. Intellectually we may know that every personality is different, yet our feelings and emotions are not convinced so easily. A person who is working hard to understand and apply spiritual laws is often especially vulnerable to such frustrations with others simply because he is trying to discover the absolute truths of right living.
These individual