God’s Mind

There is a Cosmic Intelligence which is in all things and through all things. This is the one real substance. From it all things proceed. It is Intelligent Substance or Mind Stuff. It is God. Where there is no substance there can be no intelligence; for where there is no substance there is nothing. Where there is thought there must be a substance which thinks. Thought cannot be function, for function is motion, and it is inconceivable that mere motion should think. Thought cannot be vibration, for vibration is motion, and that motion should be intelligent is not thinkable. Motion is nothing but the moving of substance; if there be intelligence shown it must be in the substance and not in the motion. Thought cannot be the result of motions in the brain; if thought is in the brain it must be in the brain’s substance and not in the motions which brain substance makes.

There is a Cosmic Intelligence in all things and throughout all things. This intelligence is the one real substance. All things come from it. It is Intelligent Substance or Mind Stuff. It is God. Where there is no substance, there can be no intelligence, because without substance there is nothing. Where there is thought, there must be a substance that thinks. Thought cannot be a function, because a function is motion, and it is inconceivable that mere motion could think. Thought cannot be vibration, because vibration is motion, and it is impossible to imagine motion being intelligent. Motion is nothing but substance moving. If intelligence is shown, the intelligence must be in the substance, not in the motion. Thought cannot result from movements in the brain. If thought is in the brain, thought must be in the brain’s substance, not in the movements of that substance.

But thought is not in the brain substance, for brain substance, without life, is quite unintelligent and dead. Thought is in the life-principle which animates the brain; in the spirit substance, which is the real man. The brain does not think, the man thinks and expresses his thought through the brain.

But thought is not in the brain’s physical substance, because without life, that substance is dead and has no intelligence. Thought is in the life-principle that brings the brain to life. It is in the spirit substance that is the real person. The brain does not think. The person thinks and expresses thought through the brain.

There is a spirit substance which thinks. Just as the spirit substance of man permeates his body, and thinks and knows in the body, so the Original Spirit Substance, God, permeates all nature and thinks and knows in nature. Nature is as intelligent as man, and knows more than man; nature knows all things. The All-Mind has been in touch with all things from the beginning; and it contains all knowledge. Man’s experience covers a few things, and these things man knows; but God’s experience covers all the things that have happened since the creation, from the wreck of a planet or the passing of a comet to the fall of a sparrow. All that is and all that has been are present in the Intelligence which is wrapped about us and enfolds us and presses upon us from every side.

There is a spirit substance that thinks. Just as a person's spirit substance fills their body and thinks and knows within it, so God fills all nature. God is the Original Spirit Substance, and he thinks and knows within nature. Nature is as intelligent as humans and knows more than humans. Nature knows all things. The All-Mind has been in touch with all things from the beginning and holds all knowledge. Human experience covers only a few things, and people know those things. But God's experience covers everything that has happened since creation, from a planet's destruction or a comet's passing to a sparrow's fall. Everything that is and everything that has been is present in the Intelligence that surrounds us. This Intelligence enfolds us and presses upon us from every side.

All the encyclopedias men have written are but trivial affairs compared to the vast knowledge held by the mind in which men live, move, and have their being.

All the encyclopedias people have written are trivial compared to the vast knowledge within the mind. People live, move, and exist within that mind.

The truths men perceive by inspiration are thoughts held in this mind. If they were not thoughts men could not perceive them, for they would have no existence; and they could not exist as thoughts unless there is a mind for them to exist in; and a mind can be nothing else than a substance which thinks.

The truths people perceive through inspiration are thoughts held in this mind. If these truths were not thoughts, people could not perceive them, because the truths would not exist. And these truths could not exist as thoughts unless there were a mind for them to exist in. And a mind can only be a substance that thinks.

Man is thinking substance, a portion of the Cosmic Substance; but man is limited, while the Cosmic Intelligence from which he sprang, which Jesus calls the Father, is unlimited. All intelligence, power, and force come from the Father. Jesus recognized this and stated it very plainly. Over and over again he ascribed all his wisdom and power to his unity with the Father, and to his perceiving the thoughts of God. “My Father and I are one.” This was the foundation of his knowledge and power. He showed the people the necessity of becoming spiritually awakened; of hearing his voice and becoming like him. He compared the unthinking man who is the prey and sport of circumstances to the dead man in a tomb, and besought him to hear and come forth. “God is spirit,” he said; “be born again, become spiritually awake, and you may see his kingdom. Hear my voice; see what I am and what I do, and come forth and live. The words I speak are spirit and life; accept them and they will cause a well of water to spring up within you. Then you will have life within yourself.”

A human being is thinking substance, a part of the Cosmic Substance. But humans are limited, while the Cosmic Intelligence they came from is unlimited. Jesus calls this intelligence the Father. All intelligence, power, and force come from the Father. Jesus recognized this truth and stated it very clearly. Again and again, he credited all his wisdom and power to his unity with the Father and his awareness of God’s thoughts. “My Father and I are one.” This unity was the foundation of his knowledge and power. He showed people that they needed to awaken spiritually, hear his voice, and become like him. He compared an unthinking person, helpless and at the mercy of circumstances, to a dead man in a tomb. He urged that person to hear and come out. “God is spirit,” he said. “Be born again, become spiritually awake, and you may see his kingdom. Hear my voice. See what I am and what I do, and come out and live. The words I speak are spirit and life. Accept them, and they will cause a well of water to spring up within you. Then you will have life within yourself.”

“I do what I see the Father do,” he said, meaning that he read the thoughts of God. “The Father showeth all things to the son.” “If any man has the will to do the will of God, he shall know truth.” “My teaching is not my own, but his that sent me.” “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” “The spirit shall guide you into all truth.”

“I do what I see the Father do,” he said, meaning that he read God’s thoughts. “The Father shows all things to the son.” “If anyone is willing to do God’s will, they will know the truth.” “My teaching is not my own, but comes from the one who sent me.” “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “The spirit will guide you into all truth.”

We are immersed in mind and that mind contains all knowledge and all truth. It is seeking to give us this knowledge, for our Father delights to give good gifts to his children. The prophets and seers and great men and women, past and present, were made great by what they received from God, not by what they were taught by men. This limitless reservoir of wisdom and power is open to you; you can draw upon it as you will, according to your needs. You can make yourself what you desire to be; you can do what you wish to do; you can have what you want. To accomplish this you must learn to become one with the Father so that you may perceive truth; so that you may have wisdom and know the right ends to seek and the right means to use to attain those ends, and so that you may secure power and ability to use the means. In closing this chapter resolve that you will now lay aside all else and concentrate upon the attainment of conscious unity with God.

We are surrounded by mind, and that mind contains all knowledge and all truth. It seeks to give us this knowledge because our Father delights in giving good gifts to his children. The prophets, seers, and great men and women of the past and present became great through what they received from God. Their greatness did not come from what people taught them. This limitless source of wisdom and power is open to you. You can draw on it as you choose, according to your needs. You can make yourself what you want to be. You can do what you wish to do. You can have what you want. To achieve these things, you must learn to become one with the Father so that you can recognize truth. This unity will give you wisdom to know the right goals and the right ways to reach them. It will also give you the power and ability to use those means. As this chapter ends, resolve to set everything else aside now and focus on becoming consciously united with God.