Series 2 - Lesson 9 - Annotation 1
What steps are taken In the process of thinking?
1. The steps that are taken in the process of thinking are similar to and correspond to the "steps" (movements) taken by God in the process of creation, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, when Divine Mind ideated the universe, including man.
All the ideas about which man can think inhere in Divine Mind, and man has access to these ideas. God, in His love and wisdom, has also given to man the faculty with which to think — his intellect.
We have learned that all life is movement toward consciousness. The first step in thinking is the conscious use of intelligence. No thinking can be done without self-consciousness exercising to a degree the thinking faculty in intelligent movement of mind (cerebration) upon ideas.
"Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). Light represents intelligence. When an individual thinks, light or intelligence "shines" in the mind. An idea enters the consciousness through inspiration, and the individual begins to think about the idea. It becomes a nucleus (seed) around which a state of mind or consciousness is built, and a productive principle is thus expressed.
The second step in the process of thinking is faith, or the development of faith, represented by the "firmament." "Let there be a firmament" (Gen. 1:6). Because faith is the perceiving power, we must have faith in God (perceive that He is the source of all good) and in the idea we are contemplating, as a starting point. There must be the recognized possibility in the idea, and faith in its being worked out; that is, expressed and made manifest. Faith establishes a "firm" starting point or foundation in consciousness.
The third step in the process of thinking is the action of the imagination, imaging or picturing the idea as it will appear when expressed and made manifest. The imagination is the picture-forming power or faculty of the mind. It forms the vision of the idea, changing it from the unformed into the form or shape, in thought.
"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so" (Gen. 1:9).
"Waters" here represent unexpressed capacities, the unestablished elements of the mind out of which all is produced.
"The formative power of mind is the imagination, whose work is here represented by the dry land" (Mysteries of Genesis 18).
Faith and imagination divide the certainty from the undesired instability and thus prepare the mind for a decision to be made.
The fourth step in the process of thinking is the action of choice based on understanding, will, and the perceptive faculties.
"The fourth step in creation is the development of the 'two great lights,' the will and the understanding, or the sun (the spiritual I AM) and the moon (the intellect). These are but reflectors of the true light; for God had said, 'Let there be light: and there was light' — before the sun and the moon were created. ...
"The 'stars' represent man's perceptive faculties including his ability to perceive weight, size, color, sound, and the like" (Mysteries of Genesis 19, 20).
The fifth step in the process of thinking is the action or movement of the faculties of discrimination, discernment, and judgment. We must judge the contemplated idea in its right relation to other ideas. We need to clothe the idea with the right kind of "thought stuff" — thoughts that correspond in nature and character. This movement of thought upon the idea results in an agreement between mind and heart necessary to bring it into form.
The sixth step in the process of thinking is the intelligent action of life and substance. They enliven ideas and bring them forth "after their kind" (Gen. 1:11). In other words, in this "step" ideas are fulfilling the purpose for which they were created.
The seventh step in the process of thinking is the realization that the law has been fulfilled. It is "resting" in the assurance that the thought process has been completed in logical, sequential steps, thus, in divine order. The seventh step in thinking appears to be of less activity than the first six, but there is no evidence to prove that the mental process is any less active during the seventh step than in the preceding six steps.
Making use of these "steps" in the process of thinking, assures man that his thinking will be on a high level. Following this pattern of thought, the expression and manifestation of ideas will be complete and satisfying.
________________________
Preceding Entry: Why should we have faith in all men?
Following Entry: Define "imagination."
