Chapter Nine
INNER WORK
USEFULNESS
“The fundamental thing you have to remember is that this is a spiritual process of making yourself fully receptive;”
The Basic Ideas of Science of Mind, pg. 67-68
On pages 66 - 67 Holmes draws upon the parable of The Talents for imagery we might use in creating the mental equivalent of the factual experience we desire. The lesson of the parable is that all we have to do, all we must do, all we are required to do to have a greater experience of Life is to use what we've been entrusted with. Use It. Work with It. Apply It. If you make yourself useful you will have and find value in life. In the moment of prayer, or meditation and contemplation, we have an idea, a mental image, a desire. This is what we must start with. It is a given, a starting point for working with the creative power of Life. Our work is to transform an idea (a hope, a dream, a
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In the parable of the Talents, one servant couldn't imagine himself prospering by using the wealth that had been entrusted to him; so instead of using it, he buried it. Our thought in prayer has great value, and we may prosper from the use of it; but it does no good to bury it in the recesses of memory. The only way to use a thought is to express it, and thereby experience the essence of it. Whether you speak it aloud or in silence, make a full and complete declaration of the great value and worth you have been entrusted with. Affirm it, and firm up your acceptance of the truth of the words you speak about yourself. This is an act of self-expression as much as any other act or step you can take. It may be the first step, or the only step you can take at this time, but it is essential that you take it. “The declaration is the step in the process that unifies Faith with Works. … The fundamental thing