Unity Metaphysics: 10 The Silent Unity Method

10A PEACE:

"The first step in prayer for health is to get still. 'Be still and know that I am God.' To get still the body must be relaxed and the mind quieted. Center the attention within. There is a quiet place within us all, and by silently saying over and over, 'Peace, be still,' we shall enter that quiet place and a great stillness will pervade our whole being."(Jesus Christ Heals 80)

"Jesus gave us the consciousness of peace. 'My peace I give unto you.’ The mind of peace precedes bodily healing. Cast out enmity and anger and affirm the peace of Jesus Christ, and your healing will be swift and sure." (Jesus Christ Heals 21)

These two paragraphs contain two very significant keys in regard to healing. They are: (1) "The first step in prayer for health is TO GET STILL." (2) "The mind of peace precedes bodily healing." "To get still" is essential, for stillness is pure strength at its source. "The mind of peace" is also essential, for true peace is silence, and silence is pure power at its source. When we are established in stillness and silence we are connected to the inner source of pure strength and pure power. If we then use our faith in affirming the Truth of the divine idea of health, we will have the experience Mr. Fillmore describes in this second paragraph: "Your healing will be swift and sure."

10B RECEPTIVITY:

"The reason that prayers and treatments for healing are not more successful is that the mind has not been put in a receptive state by affirmations of peace. The Mind of Spirit is harmonious and peaceful, and it must have a like manner of expression in man's consciousness. When a body of water is choppy with fitful currents of air it cannot reflect objects clearly. Neither can man reflect the steady strong glow of Omnipotence when his mind is disturbed by anxious thoughts, fearful thoughts, or angry thoughts." (Jesus Christ Heals 176)

Divine ideas require proper channels in order to express themselves, and the most important channel for purposes of healing is the mind. If a person's mind is in a turbulent, negative, violent state, then it is not a proper channel of expression for the divine idea of health. Through our sense of I Am, we can control our own states of mind. It takes practice, but it can be done. Denial and affirmation are good methods, as are any forms of meditation and prayer which help one realize oneness with God.

10C REALIZATION:

"A spiritual realization is a realization of Truth. A spiritual realization of health is the result of holding in consciousness a statement of health until the logic of the mind is satisfied and man receives the assurance that the fulfillment in the physical must follow. In other words, by realizing a healing prayer man lays hold of the principle of health itself and the whole consciousness is illumined; he perceives principle working out his health problems for him." (Jesus Christ Heals 39)

"There is a partial unity with Spirit and there is a complete unity with Spirit. Whenever we wholly merge our mind with creative Mind we meet Christ in our consciousness, and it is when we are in this consciousness that our prayers are fulfilled." (Teach Us to Pray 20)

In spiritual healing, the all-important realization occurs when the person really feels his oneness with principle. Such a realization does not perceive principle as a cold abstract formula or statistic, but as a living intelligent Presence, which is what spiritual principle really is. When a person has this realization, as Charles Fillmore says, "He perceives principle WORKING OUT HIS HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR HIM."

10D IDEA-THOUGHT-WORD:

"Ability to pick up the life current and through it perpetually to vitalize the body is based on the right relation of ideas, thoughts, and words. These mental impulses start currents of energy that form and also stimulate molecules and cells already formed, producing life, strength, and animation where inertia and impotence was the dominant appearance. This was and is the healing method of Jesus." (Jesus Christ Heals 4)

"It is a metaphysical law that there are three steps in every demonstration; the recognition of Truth as it is in principle; holding the idea; and acknowledging fulfillment. Pray believing that you have received, and you shall receive." (Jesus Christ Heals 109)

The metaphysical sequence of IDEA-THOUGHT-WORD is the law of the Trinity in its most personal aspect where we are concerned. This has always been one aspect of the Silent Unity method of prayer. As Mr. Fillmore often points out, we can involve ourselves directly in the Trinity and experience remarkable, even miraculous results. This formula is clear and easy to remember: Idea (the DIVINE IDEA), thought (our thought), word (affirmation).

10E NO EFFORT WASTED:

"The law of spiritual healing involves full receptivity on the part of the one under treatment. God does not do things in us against our will, as will acts both in the conscious and subconscious realms of mind. However much it may appear that the word is thwarted in its original intent, this is never true; it goes on, and it enters where reception is given it. In this way men are quickened, and whether we see the result with our physical vision or not, the process is as sure as God Himself." (Jesus Christ Heals 112)

What happens to the energy of prayer help when the one for whom it was intended is not willing to receive it? Was that effort wasted? Is the energy of prayer help nullified? Mr. Fillmore says no: "However much it may appear that the word (prayer help) is thwarted IN ITS ORIGINAL INTENT, this is never true; it goes on, AND IT ENTERS WHERE RECEPTION IS GIVEN IT." In the divine economy no spiritual effort is ever wasted.

10F TRUE SPIRITUAL HEALING:

"Just here, in connection with the Holy Spirit is an important point for a good Christian healer to consider. Do not regard the Holy Spirit altogether as a restorative principle without feeling, sympathy, or love. This reduces your healing method to intellectual logic and the slow process of mental science. Under this method the patient must always be educated in Truth principles before he can be healed. No instantaneous healing ever takes place under this method. The Holy Spirit is sympathetic, comforting, loving, forgiving, and instantly healing." (Jesus Christ Heals 183)

“It is found by those who have faith in the power of God that prayer for health is the most quickly answered. The reason for this is that the natural laws that create and sustain the body are really divine laws, and when man silently asks for the intervention of God in restoring health, he is calling into action the natural forces of his being." (Jesus Christ Heals 80)

In our efforts to understand the principles of spiritual healing it is good to remember that there is also such a thing as instantaneous healing through the grace of God. This can be a comforting thought for those beginning Truth students who have an immediate healing need. It is not always necessary to understand completely the principles of the healing process in order to be healed.

10G SEEING PERFECTION:

"Some of the most miraculous cures ever made have been where the healer simply saw perfection in the patient. He saw with the eye of Spirit that which really exists, and the shadow conformed to his seeing just to the extent of his realization of that spiritual reality." (Talks on Truth 93)

"It is wonderful how quickly our body responds to a thought of life and health, how we can feel a flow of health instantly if we hold the right thought. Just closing our mind to outer things and holding the thought that we are the perfect manifestation of Divine Mind will often heal our body of its illnesses. Disease is not natural. We must let go of it, relax, and let Spirit carry on its perfect work in us; and all at once evil or sick conditions disappear, and we are whole. Those who have had divine healings tell us that their best work was done by simply letting go and realizing that there is but one universal Mind and that this Mind makes a perfect body for every man." (Keep a True Lent 22)

There is quite often misunderstanding about Unity's teachings on "seeing perfection," or "seeing the good," or "beholding the Christ" in others. Unity uses the word "see" in a very special sense in these teachings. We do not mean to pretend or to hallucinate. We really do not even mean "to see" in the literal sense. We are speaking rather of inner acknowledgment regardless of whether or not the outer appearance matches the acknowledgment at the moment. This is also sometimes called "holding the thought" or "laying hold of the Truth."

Transcribed by Phyllis Banhan on June 23, 2016.