PPS Year 1 Term 2 Study Questions

Question 1

According to Ernest Holmes, what realization comes of knowing that all things in the visible world are effects? 11-1

Answer 1

SOM, pg. 131.1 That back of all effects are ideas which are the real cause of these effects.

Question 2

In Living the Science of Mind, what does Ernest Holmes say is “The starting point for creating a better future…?” 11-2

Answer 2

SOM, pg 194.6-195.1 Starting point is at the center of our own being. Leads to the discovery of the Presence in all people, events and nature.

Question 3

In Living the Science of Mind, when and where does Holmes say we are to make changes? 11-3

Answer 3

SOM, pg. 190.5 “Since today is the only day in which we live…the change that we need to make within ourselves must be made today.”

Question 4

Our choices are always limited by socially accepted morés and morals. True or False? Why? 11-4

Answer 4

False. We are only limited by our own thinking and beliefs.

Question 5

What is one of the first steps to a more positive future? 11-5

Answer 5

Student Resource Material, page 11-8.2

Stop dwelling on thoughts of a negative past.

Question 6

1. Place these words within the SOMAS teaching symbol (attached): Spirit, Body, Effect, Creative Medium, Conscious Mind, Form, Relationships, First Cause, Soul, Manifestation, Unformed Substance, Love, Masculine, Feminine, Volition, Vocation, Servant. 12-1

Answer 6

See chart on page 12-6.

Question 7

Explain Core Concept 2 without the use of jargon. 12-2

Answer 7

See Core Concepts Appendix A. God is a Trinity. The nature of God or the Universe is First Cause, (God the Father) the vehicle of creation, (God as Holy Spirit) and Effect is the physical world (God as individualized expression). The invisible moves, automatically, to manifest according to our beliefs.

Question 8

Discuss your understanding of the difference between blame and personal responsibility. 12-3

Answer 8

See Teacher’s Perspective. Answers should reflect on awareness that “blame” causes negative conditions while personal responsibility creates the avenue for change.

Question 9

In the Science of Mind and Spirit, do we deny a circumstance to know the Truth? 12-4

Answer 9

Living the Science of Mind, p. 252.1. No. We try to discover what is wrong and why, or through treatment, we know the Spiritual Truth of the situation.

Question 10

If God is all there is, and God is all cause and all effect, is God Cancer? Child abuse? Disease? 12-5

Answer 10

Everything is an effect of the Law manifesting. Always go back to the premise. If we say that these things are not God then we are saying that there is something other than God, that God is not all there is. Is there something other than God? No, this cannot be. But we can experience more “good” (by our own values) by choosing the aspects of God that more support our concept of wholeness, which is “The Good Life.”

Question 11

What Spiritual Principles would you use with a client to bring resolution to the following human conditions:
a. fear of death
13-1a

Answer 11

God is Everlasting Life. We are one with God. The Truth of our being is Spirit which is eternal.

Question 12

What Spiritual Principles would you use with a client to bring resolution to the following human conditions:
b. always in debt
13-1b

Answer 12

always in debt

Absolute abundance and prosperity. Wholeness. (Debt is personal lack) God is Source.

Question 13

What Spiritual Principles would you use with a client to bring resolution to the following human conditions:
c. drug addiction
13-1c

Answer 13

Self Realization. One with God, whole, complete within ourselves. No substance is greater than God.

Question 14

Relative to Love and Law, how do you understand your Oneness with God and the Universe? 13-2

Answer 14

It is all God. God as Love points the way and God as Law makes the way possible. I am a place where God expresses through this process.

Question 15

According to Ernest Holmes how does one neutralize the thinking behind an undesirable condition? 13-3

Answer 15

One meets the appearance with Spiritual Truth.

Question 16

Explain Core Concept Three without the use of jargon.

13-4

Answer 16

The process of creation is that all begins and ends in God. A thought, or word, automatically makes an impression on the “stuff” of creation, and that “stuff” takes form as the effect of thought. (Seed, soil, plant, is a good example)

Question 17

In The Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes said, “Man must become more if he wishes to draw a greater good into his life.” What is meant by this statement and how does this work? 13-5

Answer 17

As we increase our understanding and conscious use of the Creative Process, we experience more of our “wholeness.” The more we are conscious of our innate power, the more good we will attract.

Question 18

What does it mean to know and accept the Law of Mind? 14-1

Answer 18

To know that we are each one with God and the creation process and only the individual can his own success.

Question 19

According to responses to “Where Are You,” which step (or steps) to Happy and Successful Living was the most challenging to you? What do you intend to do about it?
14-2

Answer 19

Your answers will be personal; focus on intentions for action.

Question 20

What do prayer and meditation accomplish? Why is it important? 14-3

Answer 20

They assist in changing our minds by keeping the spiritual channel open. This is part of the process of connecting to the God within, through which our manifest universe is created.

Question 21

Does absolutely every thought you have manifest? If not, why not? Which ones do? 14-4

Answer 21

No. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so it is.” The feelings attached to, and behind, the thought are what move it into reality. The degree of feeling behind the thought is the degree to which that thought will manifest in our lives. [I would add, the frequency of the thought is also a factor.]

Question 22

What do release and forgiveness have to do with happiness or manifesting good in your life? 14-5

Answer 22

If you feel ill toward yourself or someone else, you cannot be completely happy. You cannot feel true love if you are withholding it from someone else or yourself.

Question 23

What is a value? 15-1

Answer 23

That which we hold to be true and of highest “value.” It measures the relative worth of “goods.” It is good to tell the truth, unless a greater good outweighs the value of that.

Question 24

What are good and evil? 15-2

Answer 24

From a human perspective, good and evil are based on the individual’s values of right and wrong; good and bad. From a universal perspective, Science of Mind and Spirit teaches that God is all there is and that God is Good, therefore, all is good and that good encompasses the individual’s human judgment of good and evil

Question 25

How do your intentions make a difference in your life? 15-3

Answer 25

Our intentions set the direction of our lives.

Question 26

What values do you hold now that do not serve you in creating what you want for your life? What values do you choose to replace them with? How would you go about doing this? 15-4

Answer 26

[Please give it some thought.]

Question 27

What value, if any, does perceived evil have in our lives? 15-5

Answer 27

Many people have learned great lessons from it. [Please give me something deeper than this.]

Question 28

Is there a difference between “prayer” and “treatment?” Explain. 16-1

Answer 28

Yes and No. Treatment is affirmative prayer. “If…prayer is a recognition of Spirit’s Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence, and a realization of man’s unity with Spirit, then…prayer is a spiritual treatment.
“If, on the other hand, one is holding to the viewpoint that God is some far off Being, Whom he would approach with doubt in his thought; wondering if by some good luck he may be able to placate God or persuade of the wisdom of one’s request—then, there is but little similarity between prayer and treatment.” ~Ernest Holmes.

Question 29

When we “speak our word” in affirmative prayer, who are we talking to? 16-2

Answer 29

To that God Presence within each of us, into the Law.

Question 30

For what purposes do we use prayer or treatment? 16-3

Answer 30

To change a condition by allowing the God within to reveal Itself in another manner.

Question 31

What would be the purpose of cultivating a prayerful and meditative life? 16-4

Answer 31

Increase our own awareness of the God within and align with that Infinite possibility.

Question 32

What is the benefit of verbal prayer? 16-5

Answer 32

Enhanced focus. By doing treatment verbally one focuses more intently on the subject at hand. Sometimes, in the silence, our minds tend to wander and we begin to lose focus. When we treat verbally we stay centered and “hear” the treatment on another level.

Question 33

What is the difference between faith “in” God and faith “of” God? YOU MUST KNOW THIS – SEE IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND AND REPRODUCE IT, NOT JUST MEMORIZE IT. 17-1

Answer 33

Faith “in” God is a faith placed outside of ourselves without conviction or spiritual understanding. Faith “of” God—one is convinced that under Divine Law all things are possible. It is a deep spiritual understanding, knowing and belief that there are no limitations, that God is all there is and everything that implies.
[Colette: it is faith OF God because God is alive IN you, so it’s “yours.”]

Question 34

What is meant by the quote, “…Faith without works is dead…”? (James 2:17) 17-2

Answer 34

Faith powers us to act, to transform and to create. To the degree that we join our action with our beliefs will we manifest our desires and in doing so build upon our faith. Faith, without the ensuing action, is no faith at all.

Question 35

What is faith? 17-3

Answer 35

Pure Faith is Spiritual Conviction…the embodiment of an idea, the acceptance of a concept.

Question 36

Can faith be misused/misguided? Explain. 17-4

Answer 36

Yes. Faith misguided is fear. Fear is the negative use of faith.

Question 37

How can you expand your use of faith? 17-5

Answer 37

By understanding, knowing, and accepting that God is all there is—by embodying the Idea or ideas present in any and all Spiritual Truths as you become aware of them.

Question 38

How does the power of Love contribute to Living a Life of Choice? Give your answer in 50 words or less. 18-1

Answer 38

In Love is found harmony with the essence of God; this opens us up and allows that essence to flow through us and renew us. When we are in this harmony, our choices are clear and feed us. It is only when there is a block and the flow of love seems cut off that we muddy our choices.

Question 39

How has the act of forgiveness opened the way for you living a life of choice?
18-2

Answer 39

Forgiveness removes blocks to love and our sense of connection to our essence. It then brings us into the harmony from which we make clear choices.

Question 40

Describe what Love is in 50 words or less. 18-3

Answer 40

Love is energy. An inner knowing of the heart that can be expressed in the physical world by our actions: kindness, giving, mercy, compassion, peace, joy, acceptance, empowerment, community, and intimacy; and/or “Love is the Self-givingness of the Spirit through the desire of Life to express Itself in terms of creation….Love is a synonym for God….Love is free from condemnation, even as it is free from fear. Love is a cosmic force whose sweep is irresistible.” The Science of Mind glossary

Question 41

If there is an area of your life where love seems limited, how can that be changed?
18-4

Answer 41

Look at what is feared, what is unforgiven. There is no fear that love cannot resolve and there is no negativity that forgiveness cannot transform. When this is done we are once again in harmony and change occurs.

Question 42

What is the difference between Love as we speak of it in a Universal sense and love as an individual feeling or emotion? 18-5

Answer 42

Universal Love is that essence within that is not a feeling or an emotion but a state of being. Individual love is that which is based in feeling and emotion.

Question 43

Looking inward, in the laboratory of your life, what spiritual Truths have emerged awakening you to your divine diversity? 19-1

Answer 43

Your answers?

Question 44

As a result of Spiritual Mind Treatment, what healing experiences have you had this term?

Answer 44

Your answers?

Question 45

Write an explanation of a Practitioner.

19-3

Answer 45

A Practitioner is a living example of what we know, and of our faith; A revealer of Truth, in whose consciousness the healing occurs. A living example of the successful application of the Science of Mind and Spirit.

Question 46

Mark the following statements True or False.
If the statement is False, explain why.
“The soul of humankind is self-knowing and self-willing.” 19-4a

Answer 46

False.
The soul of humankind is a direct aspect of the Universal Soul, Creative Medium, which has no will of its own but only responds to that which we input.

Question 47

Mark the following statements True or False.
If the statement is False, explain why.
“A human being re-enacts the universal creative process.” 19-4b

Answer 47

True.

Question 48

Mark the following statements True or False.
If the statement is False, explain why.
“There can be permanent healing of the body with or without a corresponding poise in the mental and emotional life.” 19-4c

Answer 48

False
There can be no permanent healing without a mental equivalent. If the underlying belief does not change, the same manifestation will continue in one form or another.

Question 49

List five qualities of God that you wish to embody for yourself

Answer 49

Provide your personal answers.