How I Used Truth - Lesson 7 - Annotation 5
How would you "heal" the suffering of poverty?
5. One who would "heal" the suffering of poverty for himself or others needs to pray for enlightenment concerning not only supply, but also concerning God as the omnipresent source of abundance, and every man as heir to this good.
Webster's dictionary takes the word heal back to the Anglo-Saxon meaning of "hale, sound, whole." At first reading this might seem to apply only to physical healing, but the word can be used in an expanded meaning including the restoration of any state of consciousness as well as any condition of affairs. Besides restoration of the body to health, the word heal also means, "to restore to original purity or integrity ... to return to a sound state." One has to know what the "original purity" and the "sound state" refer to before there can be any action toward return or restoration. It is thus that prayer becomes the open doorway to understanding of the truth that God's abundance, the "original purity" or "sound state" of our affairs, is everywhere present; and that this supply is available for all.
There are certain conditions, within and without, that must be met before prosperity can manifest in our life. Prayer reveals the Truth to us consciously, and through it we are guided in fulfilling the conditions. Knowing ourselves as heirs to the good of God, we see why we must deny, and thus eliminate from our consciousness, all beliefs in poverty and lack as being realities, or as being our lot in life. Knowing that our inheritance is primarily in the form of ideas, we perceive the need to affirm (silently or audibly) the particular ideas that represent prosperity at any given time.
The "healing" of the suffering of poverty is not always an overnight activity. It requires persistent and constant prayer to change a consciousness of poverty to a consciousness of plenty. Many times one who feels a lack in possessions or finances has also felt an inner lack, indefinable but seemingly very real to him. On the other hand, one who has plenty of this world's goods may also fear poverty. He, too, needs healing to find the spiritual foundation upon which his outer good rests. There are those who have never felt poor, even though for some reason or other they may have lost outer forms of good. They have not lost the inner consciousness of God's abundance. They hold in their own consciousness the "seeds" that can produce more manifest good as possessions, homes, money. This is what Dr. Ernest C. Wilson refers to as "invisible means of support." In his book Soul Power (page 57), Doctor Wilson writes:
"Do you have a financial problem? What is the truth about it? Let's say you are considering a problem of lack. The answer to the problem of lack is its opposite, abundance. Identify yourself with abundance."
Forgiveness plays an important part in the healing of the body. We find that forgiveness, of ourselves and others, is just as vital to the "healing" of poverty. We need to forgive ourselves for thinking that other persons are responsible for the limited circumstances in which we find ourselves. We need to forgive others for any acts that have reacted in our life as lack. We have reached a high point in consciousness when we can say in the words of Jesus,
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
A fine affirmative prayer is suggested on the same page as the aforementioned quotation from Soul Power:
"God is my instant, constant, and abundant supply of all good. ... I make of myself an open channel for the swift, harmonious fulfillment of my needs, through the thoughts I think, the emotions I feel, the words I speak, the services I render."
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Preceding Entry: How would you help a dear one who appears to be "going wrong" (text, page 75) and expresses unkindness?
Following Entry: Explain how the condition of evil is a "delusion of the senses" (text, pages 76-77).
