There are four common error thoughts that most people grant power to.  People who have grown out of trouble and sickness through daily practice have found it useful to deny these thoughts in order to cleanse themselves of the distressing effects of having believed in them.  They can be denied like this:

1) There is no evil.
2) There is no absence of life, substance, or intelligence, anywhere.
3) Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death are illusions and cannot master me.
4) There is nothing in all the universe for me to fear, for greater is the One in me than anyone in the world.

There is no evil.  There is one and only one power in the universe, and that is God: good.  God is good and God is omnipresent.  Apparent evils are not entities or things of themselves.  They are simply apparent absence of the good, just as darkness is an absence of light.  But God, all good, is omnipresent, so the apparent absence of good must be unreal.  It is only an illusion, like the moving sun.

There is no absence of life, substance, or intelligence anywhere.  We have seen that the true reality is spiritual.  “The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Cor. 4:18).  By using this denial you’ll soon break your bonds to matter and material conditions.*  You will know that you are free.

Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death are illusions and cannot master me. God is all life, eternal. God is all substance, everywhere present.  God lives in and through you and is the truth of you.  The “I” of you, therefore, experiences eternal wellbeing and can never be touched by these material illusions.

There is nothing in all the universe for me to fear, for greater is the One in me than anyone in the world. The “I” of you is the infinite omnipotence of all that is!

You need not wait to discuss this matter of evil, or of illusion, or even to understand fully why you deny them.  Simply begin to practice the denials in an unprejudiced way and see how wonderfully they will, after a while, deliver you from some of the so-called evils of your daily life. Repeat these four denials silently several times a day, not with effort or anxiety, but calmly realizing the meaning of the words spoken:

1) There is no evil.
2) There is no absence of life, substance, or intelligence, anywhere.
3) Pain, sickness, poverty, old age, and death are illusions and cannot master me.
4) There is nothing in all the universe for me to fear, for greater is the One in me than anyone in the world.

Denying Negative Experience

Denial of negative experiences brings freedom from bondage to the world around us, and happiness comes when we can effectively deny the power of anything to touch or trouble us.

Almost hourly, little issues and fears come up in your life.  Meet each one with a denial.  Calmly and coolly say to yourself: “that’s nothing at all; it can’t hurt me or make me unhappy.” Don’t fight it. Let your denial be the denial of any possible superiority over you, just as you would deny the power of ants in their hill disturbing you where you stand across the road.
If you feel anger, stand still and silently deny its power.  Say that you are not subject to anger; you are Spirit, love made manifest, and cannot be made angry, and the anger will leave you.

If someone is mean or tries to hurt you, remember that the One in you is greater than anyone outside of you and silently deny anyone’s power to hurt you or make you unhappy.

If you feel jealousy or envy, deny their power over you. Declare that you are really Spirit, love made manifest, and that negative feelings have no power over you. There is, after all, really no reason for jealousy or envy, for all people are one and the same Spirit. Shall the foot be jealous of the hand, or the ear envy the eye? Remember that in reality, you, however insignificant you may appear, are absolutely necessary for God to make the perfect whole.

If you find yourself dreading to meet someone or afraid to step out and do what you want or have promised to do, immediately begin to deny the power of fear.  Say “It’s not true. I am Spirit, and no one¾nothing¾in all the universe can hurt me; I have nothing to fear.”  Soon you’ll find that all the fear has disappeared; all the anxiety is gone

Creating Our Circumstances

Chances are, you’ve been living in negative thinking for years, denying your ability to succeed, denying your health, denying your Godhood, denying your power to accomplish anything. That pattern of denial has paralyzed you and weakened your power. When, in the next lesson, you learn the use of affirmations, the opposite of denial, you’ll discover how to lift yourself out of the realm of distress into the realm of success.

For now, remember: no person or thing in the universe, no chain of circumstances, can in any way come between you and all joy, all good.  You may think something stands between you and your heart’s desire, and so live with that desire unfulfilled, but it’s simply not true.  This “think” is the bugaboo under the bed that has no reality.  Deny it. Deny it and you will realize that this appearance was false.  Deny it and you will find yourself free.  Then you will see the good flowing toward you and into you, and you will understand clearly that nothing can come between you and your own.

Denials are for us alone.  Speak them silently or aloud, but not in a way to create antagonism or invite discussion.  This is your work, and its results will be felt around you when you have fully realized the truth of the words you speak.

To some, this sort of mechanical approach may seem a strange way into a more spiritual life.  But our thoughts determine our experience and changing our thoughts is an essential first step toward experiencing Spirit in and around us, every moment of every day.  Practicing these steps wholeheartedly, without prejudice, is the very best thing we can do for growth in divine knowledge and fullness of joy in everything we undertake.

Have you been using your denials? If so, what’s happened in your life? Let us know in the comment box.

Terrie