This passage in S&H (9. 151:23-30) stood out to me because it illustrates for me a huge lesson I learned here at Plainfield:
“The divine Mind that made man maintains His own image and likeness. The human mind is opposed to God and must be put off, as St. Paul declares. All that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire being is found harmonious and eternal. The straight and narrow way is to see and acknowledge this fact, yield to this power, and follow the leadings of truth.”
Before coming to Plainfield, I read this passage countless times, but did not discern the true meaning. My “before” thinking glossed over this passage, and may have been something like this: “Oh yes, God maintains me…not sure how to put off the human mind, but I’m sure it’ll come to me when I study up…yup, only the divine Mind is real and its idea, not too sure what that means exactly…and yes I’ve been taught all is harmony: how many times I have heard “All is well!” Hmmm… straight and narrow, not sure I want to be on that path… maybe later… yield? well on my terms…follow? maybe one day.”
One of the greatest lessons I grasped at Plainfield (finally!) is the importance of knowing whether one is in the human mind or the divine Mind. Now it’s quite easy to discern! The human mind thinking is uneasy, frustrating, negative, unloving, overly intellectual, or light-headed, dreamy. The divine Mind is uplifting! And on the mark, steady, clear, loving. When feeling I’m in the human mind, I can now turn on a dime, seek the Truth, feel the uplift, and wipe out any negativity with the wonderful and powerful Truth that all is God, good. God made me and everyone perfect, and all that He made is good! There is no room for anything unlike Good, and God has all power.
So now, I can read that same passage and say “YES! Mind maintains me, I want nothing of the human mind, I am a spiritual idea of Mind–we are all children of God, entirely perfect and eternal! Straight and narrow way? YES! Bring it on! it’s my favorite way, let me see the true facts of being, yield to God and follow Jesus’ teachings the best I know how.”
“Perfect God, perfect man, perfect universe” is something I would hear and I would wonder about that. It sounded hollow–and I grew up in the mainstream C.S church! Now, Plainfield has given me a backbone and that has made me stand for something and sweep away all the dilly-dallying B.S. that clouded my thinking. “Perfect God, perfect man, perfect universe” is now something I declare with strength and clarity. It is daily work and daily learning, but now I know where to begin. Thank you Plainfield!