Begin now to actively, constantly, use your imagination; for as you prove its creative power on this level, you are awakening to a higher level and birth into the spirit world where you know yourself to be God. Prove to yourself that you are God by feeling your desire is now an accomplished fact. Listen to your friends talk about you. Are they rejoicing because of your good fortune, or are they expressing envy? Imagine their words are true. Persist in imagining they are true. Continue to imagine your desire is already an accomplished fact; and when it is objectively realized, proof will be yours.
Think of something lovely you would like to give another. Then ask yourself if you gave it to him and he wouldn’t accept it, would you want to keep it for yourself? If, for instance, you gave a friend a million dollars and he would not accept it, would you be willing to keep it? I’m sure you would. Then imagine giving the money to him, then give to others in the same way. You may not even have a bank account; but you can still give, because there is no one to give to but yourself! There is only God whose name is I AM!
Reality is controlled by feeling, as told us in the 27th chapter of Genesis. The central character in this chapter is the state called Isaac, who has two sons . . Esau and Jacob. Esau is clothed in objective reality, while Jacob wears subjective reality as longings, wishes, and desires. When Jacob disguised himself as an objective fact, Isaac said: “Come near that I may feel you to determine whether you are Esau or not.” And when he asked: “Are you really Esau?” Jacob answered, “I AM.”
Put yourself into a subjective state. Then feel the objectivity of the state by giving it sensory vividness and tones of reality. Then deceive yourself into believing that the image into which you have entered is now objectively real. Do that, and you have entered the state called Isaac. And we are told that when Isaac once more saw his objective world, Esau returned and Jacob disappeared. Then he realized that he had been self-deceived, but could not take back the blessing given to the subjective state. Although your objective world denies the reality of what you have done in your imagination, that which you have subjectively assumed is on its way to supplant your objective world and become your Esau.
Man is created and left to discover himself, and on the road to this self-discovery he experiences the creations of his own imaginations which ultimately show him the Truth and lead to real freedom. There is an interesting myth in regard to the creating of man which may serve to point out this fact. It is said that when the gods decided to make man, and make him a Divine Being, they held a long discussion as to where would be the best place to hide his Divinity. Some of the gods suggested that it be hidden in the earth, but others argued that someday man would penetrate the earth and so discover himself; it was then suggested that it be hidden in the depths of the sea, but this idea was rejected, for man would go under the sea and there discover his true nature; it was next suggested that his real nature should be deposited somewhere in the air, but this also was rejected, for he would surely fly through the air and find himself. After a long discussion it was finally agreed that the best place to hide man’s Divinity would be IN THE INNERMOST NATURE OF MAN HIMSELF . . this being the last place he would look to find it! This discovery would not be made until he had had all the experience necessary to complete a well-rounded life. “The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” Of course, this is a fable, but how clearly it sets forth the reality of the case! The word is really in our own mouths, and every time we say “I AM” we are repeating it; for “I AM” is the secret of nature and the emblem of Eternity.
The laws of matter are responsive to the superior laws of mind, and “miracles”, so-called, do not set aside natural laws but merely show that natural laws are subservient to the superior forces of the Universal Mind. There are no miracles in the sense of the violation of natural laws.
“All things are possible” to the human mind when it learns to exercise and direct the powers of the soul as did the prophets and the mystics of the ages. Then natural laws prove obedient to the superior law, of which they are but effects.
We can overcome many of the limitations of the material body by developing in our flesh a more positive degree of vitality. Affirm again and again: I AM VITALITY. Think vitality, breathe vitality, eat vitality, and know that you are the unlimited vitality of the Creator: thus, you will become a magnet for Almighty Vitality. Think toward each organ of your body: YOU ARE VITALITY. You are so filled and thrilled with vitality that there is no place for disease or decay in you. ALL IS VITALITY. Keep this up unceasingly and it will make you so positively vital that health and happiness will reign throughout your whole being.
We have all wondered why we do not understand more truth than we do or why it is necessary to understand at all, since God is all-wise and all-present. Understanding is one of the essential parts of your I AM identity. Man is a focal point in God consciousness and expresses God. Therefore he must understand the processes that bring about that expression. Infinite Mind is here with all its ideas as a resource for man, and what we are or become is the result of our efforts to accumulate in our own consciousness all the attributes of infinite Mind. We have learned that we can accumulate ideas of power, strength, life, love, and plenty. How should we use these ideas or bring them into outer expression without understanding? Where shall we get this understanding save from the source of all ideas, the one Mind? “But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Giving our attention to anything negative is idolatry or the worship of false gods. In prayer we must separate our thoughts and give our attention to God (I AM) and His Omnipotence and give power to nothing else. To give power to conditions, circumstances, and external causes is to practice idolatry. We must use disciplined imagination or our capacity to imagine the end and feel its reality and our prayer will be answered.
All things are what I AM. Creation, ideas, things, forms . . are not separate from Me, rather they are “Me” . . embodied. I create, form, bring into existence, give body to . . the ideas that are ever-present in the Mind I AM. Creation is brought into expressed images from the Source or Origin I AM. All “things/forms . . the embodiment of ideas” are brought forth into visible expression because this is what the Omni-active does. This is the activity of the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient One I AM.
Now, in order to prove that the law works, you must try it. Have a goal. Your goal may be peace of mind, health or marriage. You name it. Knowing your own wonderful human imagination is the one and only cause of your life, conceive a scene which, if true, would imply the fulfillment of your goal. Do not allow yourself to observe the action, but put yourself in the center of the scene and allow your friends to congratulate you on your good fortune. Accept their congratulations without embarrassment. Enter into the spirit of the scene and remain there until it feels real, then drop it in confidence that the imaginal act was performed by God. How do I know this? Because God’s name forever and ever is I AM.
Here is the “outer man” called Neville who came into the world first. This is the “Esau” of Scripture. And then after that, comes another one, . . my own wonderful human imagination; and that’s the “Jacob.” This is the “twin” that comes into the world. They aren’t two separate little boys. This is the story; this is an adumbration of that which comes later into the New Testament; that the one who could say, “I AM from above and you are from below; you are of this world; I am not of this world.” So the Being that is speaking is your own wonderful human imagination that in Scripture is called “Jesus Christ.”
And the “thing below” is the body that you are “wearing,” and that is “of this world.” You see, we are dealing with the most fantastic mystery in the world, the mystery of imagining. That’s what Fawcett said: “The secret of imagining is the greatest of all problems, to the solution of which every man should aspire, for supreme power, supreme wisdom, supreme delight lie in the far-off solution of this mystery,” . . because you are actually solving the problem of God. If you can solve the problem of imagining, you are solving the problem of God!
Among the seven sacred names given to Jehovah by the Hebrew priesthood is “Jehovah-shammah,” meaning “Jehovah is there.” Jehovah is the name of the ever-living I AM. When the mystic desired to commune with the omnipresent life he did not speak the name aloud but silently intoned, “Jehovah-shammah!” This pervasion of his I AM with the ever-living I AM harmonized the spiritual man with his source, and the individual was merged with the universal. A certain mystery has always accompanied the use of the sacred name, and the priesthood gained their ascendancy over the people by performing marvelous works through the silent and audible intoning of words charged with thoughts of spiritual power.
I urge you to shape your world from within and no longer from without. Describe yourself as you would like to be seen by others and believe your words. Walk in the assumption they are true and . . because no power can thwart God . . what He is imagining, you will experience. You are not someone apart from God, for I AM cannot be divided. The Lord, our God, is one I AM, not two! If God’s I AM and your I AM is the same I AM, define what you would like to be. Then believe you are the Lord! Be like the lady who transformed a streetcar into a cruise. Lose yourself in your new state, while your world on the outside remains, momentarily, the same.
From this platform I teach that I and my Father are one. Being one, my Father can never be so far off as even to be near, for nearness implies separation. What is there in you that can’t even be near? Imagination! You cannot separate yourself from imagination. You can’t claim: “I AM” and point to it as something on the outside. It is impossible to separate yourself from the sense of being, so in the sense of I AMness, you are imagining. If this sense of oneness is your Father, do you really believe in him? If so, to what extent does your confession in words conform to your deep, deep conviction?
The Ever-Present Great Spirit is waiting to give you all the power that you can use. The Creator’s love desires to satisfy the hunger of your immortal nature. The I AM has already given you eternal life, but that does not necessarily mean that you have awakened to that fact. The Infinite Presence will aid you to outgrow all your physical and spiritual limitations to the degree that you fulfill the laws of your being and exert your own will to demand your rightful inheritance as a son or daughter of the Creator while making wise use of the powers that you receive. Spiritual science shows you the way.
All Quotes from David Allen’s The Power of I AM Volume 3 Are Attributed to…
Benjamin Johnson, Charles Fillmore, Charles Haanel, Christian Larson, Edna Lister, Emmet Fox, Ernest Holmes, Eugene Del Mar, Fenwicke L. Holmes, Florence Gloria Crawford. Frances Larimer Warner, Franklin Fillmore Farrington, H. Emilie Cady, Helen Wilmans, Henry Harrison Brown, Jane Woodard, Joseph Murphy, Nancy McKay Gordon, Neville Goddard, Orison Swett Marden, Robert A. Russell, Walter C Lanyon, William Walker Atkinson / Yogi Ramacharaka