Category: Daily Prayer

JANUARY 14   

TODAY, I AM RESOLVED TO SEE ONLY THE GOOD

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.  Psalm 107:14

“Sin is an obstruction in the heart; an inability to feel and comprehend all that is noble, true and great, and to take part in the good.”  If man is to be free from sin, his mind and heart must be opened to the influence of enlightenment.  The Talmud

In the world there is nothing absolutely bad; Know, moreover, evil is only relative.  The Masnavi I Ma’Navi

We all wish to be brought out of darkness into the light.  To be free from the bondage of fear, superstition and want, the mind must be riveted on freedom.  The thought must rise transcendent over bondage.  If we do this, we are brought from the shadow of darkness into the light of the glorious freedom of the sons of God.  The Talmud tells us that if we would be free from sin (mistake) the mind and heart must be open to enlightenment.  Ignorance of the truth is the great sin or mistake from which spiritual enlightenment alone can give freedom.  But what is spiritual enlightenment other than an increasing capacity consciously to become aware of the Divine Presence as peace, joy and harmony.  Our lesson tells us that “… evil is only relative.”  This is a blessed assurance that no matter what the so-called evil of limitation may look like, it is an effect, blown across the pathway of our experience by ignorance.  If we are to know the truth that makes us free, we must first recognize the essential non-reality of evil as being a thing within itself; we must equally know the essential absolute reality of good, not only as the Supreme Beneficence, but as the Absolute Power.

Therefore, today I am resolved to see only the good; and whenever evil, in the form of lack, fear, pain or uncertainty presents itself; I shall endeavor instantly to recognize its native nothingness; to know that it is entirely relative.  I shall make every effort to see through this limitation to That which is boundless and free.  I shall proclaim the glad tidings of the freedom of the kingdom of God in my experience, and in the experience of everyone I contact.   

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 13   

TODAY I RECOGNIZE THAT I AM A PERFECT BEING, LIVING UNDER PERFECT CONDITIONS   

All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.  John 1:3

His being is conceiving of all things and making (them)… He even makes all things, in heaven, in air, in earth, in deep, in all of cosmos, in every part that is and that is not of everything.  For there is naught in all the world that is not He.  Thrice-Greatest Hermes

There is naught whatsoever higher than I … All this is threaded on Me, as rows of pearls on a string.  The Bhagavad-Gita

All things are threaded on the Divine, “like rows of pearls on a string.”  Spiritual intuition tells us that beauty is at the root of everything.  Ugliness is its suppositional opposite.  We must sense not the opposite but the Reality. “For there is naught in all the world that is not He.”  This means that God is in and through everything.  It is this Divine Presence which we are to recognize.  For every apparent opposite we are to supply a spiritual sense that is transcendent of the form which the material sense has created.  In this way one can look at, in and through a difficulty or a difficult situation, until he perceives the truth at the very center of its being.  Thus the devil, that is, evil or false appearance, is transmuted into an angel of light, for there is naught beside Him.  If everything enduring and true comes from God, the Creator, then we may be certain that no matter what the appearance is, the reality is always perfect.  This is why Jesus tells us to judge not according to appearances, but to judge righteously.  We shall always judge righteously when our knowledge is based upon the certainty of the Divine Presence, perfect at the center of everything.

Today I recognize that I am a perfect being, living under perfect conditions, knowing that the good alone is real.  I shall also know that good alone is the only thing that has any power either to act or to react.  Everything that I do, say or think today, shall be done, said or thought from the spiritual viewpoint of God in everything.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 12   

I KNOW THAT THE TRUTH IS IN ME, PERFECT AND COMPLETE  

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.  I John 2:21

This is God your Lord; All power is His: But the gods ye call on beside Him have no power over the husk of a date stone!  The Koran

However anxious you may be, you will not save (yourself).  The perfect men of old first had (what they wanted to do) in themselves, and afterwards they found (the response to it) in others.  The Texts of Taoism

There is no power, presence or person outside the Divine.  God not only is, He is also One.  Our lesson from the Koran says that a belief in any opposite to the One has no power, even as darkness has no power over light.  God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness. To believe in the Light is to dispel the darkness.  A knowledge of good overcomes evil.  The consciousness of abundance dispels want and pours the contents of the Horn of Plenty into our uplifted bowl of acceptance. John tells us that there is no lie in the truth.  The truth never contradicts itself; it never denies us our good; it evermore proclaims the Divine Presence in everything, through everything and around everything.  If God is Allness, then there is no otherness.  Kwang-Tze tells us that anxiety will not save us, because anxiety is unbelief.  Jesus also tells us to take no anxious thought for tomorrow.  The Chinese sage said that perfected men find that they already have everything within themselves, after which they discover the same in others.  This corresponds to the teaching of Jesus that the blind cannot lead the blind.  We must know the truth about ourselves before we can know it about others.  This is the lesson.

I know that the truth is in me, perfect and complete.  I know that I manifest the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  I know that the truth makes me free.  Today it frees me from the burden of care and anxiety.  Every form of fear, every sense of burden is dropped from my consciousness and I walk the way of truth lightly, joyously.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 11        

TODAY I SPEAK MY WORD, KNOWING THAT IT WILL NOT RETURN UNTO ME VOID   

He is in one mind and who can turn him?  Job 23:13

Mind is Brahma; for from mind even are verily born these beings by – mind, when born, they live; – mind they approach, (mind) they enter.  Taittariya Upanishad

The Mind, then, is not separated off from God’s essentiality, but is united unto it, as light to sun.  Thrice-Greatest Hermes

Job tells us that God is of one mind, and Jesus clearly taught that this one Mind includes our own thinking.  Emerson also tells us that “there is one mind common to all individual men.”  It is this eternal and perfect Mind which we use.  “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  The Mind of God must be peace, joy and perfection.  We enter into this divine state of Being in such degree as our own thoughts are peaceful, joyous and perfect.  To practice Presence of God is to practice the presence of Perfection, of Wholeness.  This Perfection and this Wholeness include joy, peace and the fulfillment of every legitimate desire.  Hermes said that our mind is united to God’s Essence as light is united to the sun, that is, we are individualized rays of the universal Light.  And the Upanishad says that everything is born from Mind, lives in It and by It.  “In Him we live, and move and have our being.”  We live in Mind and our thoughts go out into Mind to be fulfilled.  This is the principle of spiritual mind healing and demonstration.  Each one individualizes this Universal Mind in a peculiar, unique and personal way.  This is our divine inheritance.  But we have drawn too lightly upon it, not fully realizing as Jesus did, the limitless significance of our relationship with the Infinite.  We should learn more fully to enter our divine companionship.

Today I make a greater claim upon good.  Today I speak my word, knowing that it will not return unto me void.  It must accomplish and prosper, not because of the power of my will, but because I am willing to let, to permit, to accept, guidance, power and peace.     

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 10   

I HAVE A SPIRITUAL VISION WITHIN ME WHICH BEHOLDS A PERFECT UNIVERSE   

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.  Revelation 1:8

But verily thou art not able to behold Me with these thine eyes; the divine eye I give unto thee.  The Bhagavad-Gita

There is but one Brahma which is Truth’s Self.  It is from ignorance of that One that the god-heads have been conceived to be diverse.  Mahabharata 

Spirit as Absolute Cause is the beginning and end of everything.  If we place complete reliance upon this Spirit as being the adequate Cause, then we may as certainly place complete reliance upon It as producing the desired effect.  When we give a spiritual mind treatment we are using this Absolute Cause, which is the Alpha.  From it automatically proceeds the effect, which is the Omega.  Thus the treatment contains the potential possibility of its own answer.  Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  He knew that because he consciously dealt with first Cause, there would be no question about the effect.  Our lesson says that a lack of the realization that there is but one final Power, has given rise to the belief in many gods.  Some of these gods we call evil, lack, want, limitation, pain, death.  These false gods must be deserted for there is but One, which is Truth’s Self.  We are told that while we cannot behold the invisible Presence with these physical eyes, “The divine eye I give unto thee.”  This has an identical meaning with the saying of Jesus, that spiritual things must be spiritually discerned.

I have a spiritual vision within me which beholds a perfect universe.  Daily this vision guides me to success, happiness, prosperity, physical and mental well-being.  My spiritual vision is open – I am awake to the greater possibility.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 9 

TODAY I FEEL THAT I MERGE WITH THE INFINITE   

Canst thou by searching find out God?  Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?  It is high as heaven… The measure thereof is larger than the earth, and broader than the sea.  Job 11: 7-9

The Tao cannot be heard; what can be heard is not It.  The Tao cannot be seen; what can be seen is not It.  The Tao cannot be expressed in words; what can be expressed in words is not It.  Do we know the Formless which gives form to form?  In the same way the Tao does not admit of being.  Kwang-Tze

Realize that thou art “that” – Brahm, which is the cessation of all differentiation, which never changes its nature and is as unmoved as a waveless ocean, eternally unconditioned and undivided.  Raja Yoga

Job asks us if we can find God by searching.  He means that since God is everywhere, and since the subtle essence of the Infinite is invisible, we do not have to search out the Divine Spirit, but, rather, we should recognize It as the center of all life. That which we see is merely a reflection of this invisible Presence.  The Spirit Itself cannot be seen, but It is felt.  Just as we do not see the essence of beauty, but do feel its presence, so we do not see God but we do feel the Divine in everything.  The Creator is revealed in His creation.  The Formless gives rise to the formed.  We should consciously unite ourselves with this invisible Essence which pervades everything, that which our lesson says is eternally unconditioned and undivided.  To do this is to find wholeness.

Today I feel that I merge with the Infinite.  While there seems to be a beginning and an end to each particular experience, there is neither beginning nor end to myself.  My real spirit is omnipresent in God, secure in Good, and perfect in Divine Being.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 8   

THE CHANGELESS ABIDES WITH ME.  I AM CALM AND PEACEFUL IN THE MIDST OF CONFUSION   

I am the Lord, I change not.  Malachi 3:6

The Tao, considered as unchanging has no name.  Texts of Taoism

Immovable (is) God alone, and rightly (He) alone; for He Himself is in Himself, and by Himself, and round Himself, completely full and perfect.  Thrice-Greatest Hermes  

We should realize that all the great scriptures have taught one identical message – the unity of good. All the sacred books have been inspired by the one Mind.  Each in its own tongue has told the story of Reality.  “I am the Lord, I change not,” was revealed to the Hebrew mystic.  To the great Chinese sage came the same message, “The Tao cannot change, it has no name,” and to Hermes, God is in Himself, by Himself, full and perfect.  If we can add to this glorified conception the realization that this Divine Being is the breath of our breath, omnipresent, forever within us, then we shall realize that we live in one eternal and perfect Mind.  An excerpt from the sacred books on the attributes of God says, “There is no variableness in God since He is eternal, immortal and infinite.  Never-the-less He is that from which every transformation arises.”  This means that, while we live in the Eternal which does not change, we are forever drawing from It, or from Him, the possibility of the manifold expressions which give variety to existence and which make living interesting.

I know that the Changeless abides with me.  I am calm and peaceful in the midst of confusion.  I know that nothing moves the soul.  Peace, infinite peace, is at the center of my being.  I love, move and have my being in That which is perfect, complete within Itself.  That Self is my self.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 7   

TODAY I STAND ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP OF MY SOUL AND CAUSE MY SPIRITUAL VISION TO ENCOMPASS MORE 

For as he thinketh in his heart so is he.  Proverbs 23:7

As far as mind extends, so far extends Heaven.  Upanishad

My soul hath built for me a habitation.  Book of the Dead

Note that Proverbs does not say that a man is as he thinks he is – quite the contrary.  It says he is as he thinks.  Here is a vast difference.  A person might imagine himself to be a very clever while remaining quite dull, but if his thoughts are brilliant the man also will be brilliant.  “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”  The heart stands for the center of consciousness, the point from which circulates everything that we are.  It is said that Moses was led by the Divine Spirit into a high mountain and told that all the land that his vision could encompass his feet could tread upon.  This high mountain stands for an exalted place in consciousness.  As consciousness extends its vision it extends the possibility of its objective experience.  This means that objectively we possess that which subjectively we encompass. Our soul is always building a habitation for us, because consciousness is forever dealing with First Cause, with the Causeless Cause, with That which plays with cause and effect as children play ball.  Emerson tells us to stay at home with the cause, to build a habitation and therein to dwell.  It is wonderful to realize that our true home is not made with hands but is eternal in the heavens.

Today I stand on the mountain top of my soul and cause my spiritual vision to encompass more.  I shall push out the horizons of my previous experiences in order that I may have more room.  My soul shall look out and see that all is well.  I am filled with peace, with joy and with contentment.

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 6        

TODAY I CONSCIOUSLY LIVE IN THE ETERNAL PRESENCE 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:33

Then, in this way know God; as having all things in Himself as thoughts, the whole Cosmos itself.  Thrice-Greatness Hermes

Jesus saith: “… and the Kingdom of Heaven is within you; and whosoever shall know himself shall find it.  Strive therefore to know yourselves, and ye shall be aware that ye are the sons of the … Father; and ye shall know ye are in the City of God, and ye are that City.  Fragments of a Faith Forgotten

Since the kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness and since it is a kingdom which contains everything, then it becomes of prime importance to seek this kingdom, which Jesus so plainly stated is to be found within the self.  Of course he was not referring to the lesser, but to the greater Self; that Self upon which is set the stamp of the Eternal – the God Self.  The real Self is inseparable from God, thus in discovering the self, we also discover God, the Cause of the self.  Naturally, everything is included within the Divine, and since we are in It and It is in us, true self-discovery is the key to the mysteries of life.  Hermes tells us that God has everything within Himself as thought; that the whole cosmos itself is a thing of consciousness.  This is the true City of God – the city of right thoughts and right actions; the city which is four square, the length and breadth and thickness of which are equal.  This is the city which Saint Augustine so beautifully depicts in his great essay on the relationship of the individual soul to the Universal Spirit.  All the sages and seers have plainly told us that we already walk the streets of this city, but like the slaves of Plato, blindfolded, our vision is blurred by shadows cast on the wall of human experience.  Evil deals with shadows, truth deals with light, which dispels the shadows.  We are of the Truth.  Evil is neither person, place nor thing.

Today I consciously live in the Eternal Presence.  The Kingdom of heaven is within me and I live in the City of God.  I am one with all other citizens who inhabit this celestial metropolis.  Here, in a true communion of Spirit, I find unity, peace and joy.   

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker

JANUARY 05

THE UNERRING JUDGMENT OF DIVINE INTELLIGENCE DIRECTS MY FAITH AND MAKES PLAIN AND PERFECT THE WAY BEFORE ME 

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: I Corinthians 2: 7-8

The skillful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men’s knowledge.  The Texts of Taoism

He who is happy within, who rejoiceth within, who is illuminated within, that Yogi, becoming the ETERNAL, goeth to the Peace of the ETERNAL.  The Bhagavad-Gita 

The hidden wisdom of God is the knowledge that we are one with the Divine Being.  This wisdom which is hidden from us until we perceive our fundamental unity with Reality, is clearly revealed when we seek the Eternal in everything.  “The skillful masters” who have penetrated the mystery of life which so often eludes the intellect, are those who with utmost simplicity have found direct approach to the Supreme Reality at the center of their own soul.  The Gita tells us that we must become the Eternal if we wish to enter into the peace of the Eternal.  This has an identical meaning with the saying of Jesus that we must be perfect even as God in us is perfect.  This calls for the recognition of the Spirit as an indwelling Presence, as well as an overshadowing Power.  The road to self-discovery often calls for the  clearing  away of the underbrush of ignorance, fear, superstition, and a sense of isolation which has made us feel that we were unworthy, unheld and lost.  In the divine providence of good, salvation is unnecessary but self-discovery is essential.  We do not save that which is lost; we merely discover that which needs to be found.

I know that God is within me and I know that this Divine Spirit is perfect.  I enter into Its peace and am secure in a sense of Its protection.  Love will guide, and Intelligence will direct me.  The power of the Infinite will sustain and uphold, as well as direct.  The unerring judgment of Divine Intelligence directs my faith and makes perfect and plain the way before me. 

Taken from “ 365 Days of Richer Living ” by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker