You are constantly drawing to yourself that which you are conscious of being. Change your conception of yourself from that of the slave to that of Christ. Don’t be embarrassed to make this claim; only as you claim, “I AM Christ”, will you do the works of Christ.
My consciousness is the Father who draws the manifestation of life to me. The nature of the manifestation is determined by the state of consciousness in which I dwell. I AM always drawing into my world that which I AM conscious of being.
To accomplish this seemingly impossible feat, you take your attention away from your problem and place it upon just being. You say silently but feelingly, “I AM”. Do not condition this awareness but continue declaring quietly, “I AM . . I AM”. Simply feel that you are faceless and formless and continue doing so until you feel yourself floating. “Floating” is a psychological state which completely denies the physical.
Through practice in relaxation and willfully refusing to react to sensory impressions, it is possible to develop a state of consciousness of pure receptivity. It is a surprisingly easy accomplishment. In this state of complete detachment, a definite singleness of purposeful thought can be indelibly engraved upon your unmodified consciousness. This state of consciousness is necessary for true meditation. This wonderful experience of rising and floating is the signal that you are absent from the body or problem and are now present with the Lord; in this expanded state you are not conscious of being anything but I AM . . I AM; you are only conscious of being.
When this expansion of consciousness is attained, within this formless deep of yourself, give form to the new conception by claiming and feeling yourself to be that which you, before you entered into this state, desired to be. You will find that within this formless deep of yourself all things appear to be divinely possible. Anything that you sincerely feel yourself to be while in this expanded state becomes, in time, your natural expression. And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters”. Yes, let there be a firmness or conviction in the midst of this expanded consciousness by knowing and feeling I AM That, the thing desired.
The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
These words are constantly quoted on all sorts of occasions, but the context in which they are used seldom gives evidence of any spiritual understanding of their true import. At worst, I have seen them used as an attempt at consolation in the face of death or of great financial misfortune. The implication seems to be that as everything belongs to God, He is entitled to destroy whatever He pleases without consulting the feelings of mankind. At best, they are taken in the sense of pious, but rather vague, recognition of God as the general source of our supply. Of course, even the vaguest recognition of this primary fact is better than no recognition at all; but unless we get a definite, scientific understanding of the meaning underlying the words, we shall derive no real profit from them.
To suppose that God, the Great Source, Substance Itself, could cause, or even endorse death or misfortune, is the deadly error that lies at the root of all our troubles; and it is characteristic of the carnal mind thus to pervert a text which, above most others in the Bible, explains the real Law of Life and Prosperity. This carnal mind, as St. Paul calls it, is, of course, nothing but our own restricted and ignorant manner of thinking. To be ignorant of the laws of life, or to misunderstand them, cannot, it is true, change those laws; but it can and does cause us suffering and deprivation of every kind . . even to the death belief itself . . until such habits of thought are corrected.
The key to the true meaning of this first stanza is found in the two pivotal words, “Lord” and “earth,” and here at the very beginning we must pause and ask ourselves what we mean by the Lord. “God, of course,” we will say, and that is true; but in the Bible the word “Lord,” as a rule, means God in the special sense of our own Indwelling Christ; our own true identity, the Divine Spark . . the I AM. So this verse states, once and for all, that the “earth” which, as we know, is a general term covering all our expression or manifestation, is under the jurisdiction of the I AM. Now all trouble of every kind really arises from the belief that the “earth” is subject to the dominion of some outer power or law which is able to govern it independently of the I AM, or to destroy it altogether. But the Law of Being is, that man is the image and likeness of God, and has full dominion over all his conditions . . all of them . . and our Psalm emphasizes this wonderful fact by adding the world and they that dwell therein. Our earth, which is our world, down to every detail of our lives, is really under our own dominion, and is made and unmade by our word.
(6) Jesus saith unto him, I AM the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the father but by me.
Verse six does not refer to a man. It means man’s inner consciousness is the way to health, freedom, and peace of mind. Your I AMness is the door to all manifestations and expressions. You become what you contemplate. Your consciousness or awareness is the truth because whatever you feel as true will come to pass. The realization of your desire would free you this moment if you were sick or in prison. This would be the truth that would set you free.
You can make a test for yourself. Begin to believe that life is harmonious and friendly and people are wonderful. You will find life will take on a new meaning because of your new attitude. It is done unto you as you believe. You are operating a law of your own mind. You have discovered a truth which sets you free from despondency, gloom, and loneliness. When you believe the world is good, you discover life corresponds to your attitude and your world becomes good. To know that your thoughts and feelings direct your destiny enables you to soar aloft above the problems of the world and dwell on the solution in the realm of spirit and mind. You know that wherever your consciousness is, there will your body be also. Your feet and hands will go where your consciousness is. If you say, “I AM poor,” and feel the poverty state, your consciousness attracts poverty so the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
When you try to will something into being by mental coercion or will power, you are using the law of reverse action, because it is as though you are saying, “I will be well, I will be strong, I will be wealthy,” when actually what you are saying is, “I AM sick, I AM weak, I AM poor.” . . Let the weak say, I AM strong.
Your subconscious is like a recording machine, and it records what you decree. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Your friend is that which befriends you; therefore, you give up the old state and focus your attention on your ideal, thereby giving life to it. By getting into the mood and tonal quality and living in the reality of it, you will die to the old state and live to the new.
You must realize that the idea you have in your mind is real. It is a psychological fact. But to make it concrete or tangible, or make it appear in my world, I must sense it or get into the mood which is creative, and then walk in the light and realization that it will come to pass.
If your attitude of mind is: “Well, I might get it. I’ll try, but I know it is impossible. Maybe some future time,” these are moods or feelings and they will be expressed inevitably as disappointments, frustration and unrealized hopes. . This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Remember, all of us are between two thieves . . the past and the future. Nothing is accomplished by looking at either one. Many dwell on old hurts, peeves, grudges and losses of years ago. Others are full of fear regarding the future. They are afraid of old age, sickness, insecurity and death. All the good you seek is now, for God is the Eternal Now! All the attributes, qualities and potencies of God are instantly available to you. The Spirit within you is timeless, spaceless and ageless.
All the quotes in The Power of I AM are credited
to the following authors.
Neville Goddard, Joseph Murphy, Walter C. Lanyon, Walter Devoe, Lillian DeWaters, Emmet Fox, Ella Wheeler, Christian D Larson, Edna Lister, Thomas Troward