Mind And Supermind

Eric Butterworth Speaks: Essays on Abundant Living #143

Delivered by Eric Butterworth on January 18, 1976

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In the principle of wholeness that is basic to the new Insight into Truth, the whole of Divine Mind is present in the mind of man at all times and in all situations. We refer often to “changing the mind” or “disciplining the thoughts.” There is a subtle tendency to see our mind out of the context of wholeness, thinking of our mind and God-mind as two separate things. The reference to “my mind” may be confusing. There is only One Mind in which we live and move and have our being as a state of consciousness.

You may observe a wave in the ocean. What is a wave? A body of water? No! A wave is simply the ocean formed into a wave. It cannot be removed from the ocean, though it has identity within it. One’s mind has no being outside of the whole of God-mind... and no power. “I of myself can do nothing...” as Jesus said. The problems of man stem basically from the attempt to function out of the context of the Whole of Mind.

In the study of metaphysics there is often a great emphasis on the sub-conscious mind, the workshop of the mind that stores information, digests attitudes and feelings, and forms patterns out of which our lives are regulated. Of course some of the patterns are formed of negative poisons that reproduce negative conditions. But by the nature of the subconscious mind, patterns can be changed. Through knowledge of mind one can by “transformed by the renewing of the mind.”

All this has given rise to systematized techniques of mind-programming in which the subconscious mind is worked with as a giant computer, a “servo-mechanism.” Man is considered, almost humanistically, as a mind and a body. But lacking may be any effort to relate to the supermind dimension. It is often taught that man is the sum total of what he has had impressed on the subconscious mind. Thus, there is a concerted effort, certainly sincere, of feeding the mind with positive influences. The theory is that sufficient positive “input” will lead to a healthy and prosperous life. However, one is more than a conscious being with a subconscious accumulation. One is also, and more importantly, a superconscious identity in Infinite Mind. As Emerson says, “Man is an inlet and may become as outlet to all there is in God.”

This is not to discredit the work of the mind-programming. It is a valid approach, but it often deals with only part of the mind. “Building a new self-image” is an oft-stated goal...and a good one. But where do you look to find that good image for yourself? You may want to be like him or her. Paul says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mold, but let God remold your mind from within.” The true image is not to be found, but to be awakened and released. “The way out is in.”

Picture a small circle surrounded by a larger circle in a limitless field of space. The area in the small circle may represent the conscious mind, and the area between the lines of the circles may represent the subconscious mind. Note the tendency to lose sight of the surrounding space as part of the diagram! This symbolizes the Allness of Infinite Mind. The sketch is within and is a part of the whole. Note that the subconscious band is a connecting link between the conscious mind and the Allness of Mind that surrounds it. The point around the circle where the wholeness of God-mind touches the subconscious mind is what we call the superconscious mind. It is God-mind expressing at the point of your mind. It is that of Mind which Jesus called “Father,” who knows your needs before you ask, and whose pleasure it is to give you the Kingdom. At this point within you, there is the true image of you as God’s child, created in His image-likeness. Thus, the new self-image is not something to condition the mind with out of conscious desire and repetition, but what Sinnot calls “the natural configuration of the whole” to discover and release from within. Thus, “the way out is in.”

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Be still and listen to that Father Presense which says, in effect, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” You may glut the mind with mind-conditioning treatments, but if you have not felt that “well done” from within, the resulting smiling personality may be only a plastic cover that obscures an inner confusion. Thus, you may not have solved the basic difficulty, but only buried it.

An important principle in spiritual treatment is “Say what you are listening to instead of just listening to what you are saying.” This implies listening and then affirming, actually letting the affirmation come out of your intuitive flow.

Then the statement will not require “vain repetition.” There need be no attempt to condition the mind to believe something that will be true for you because you believe it. You need only quietly whisper, “Yes,” to that which you have intuitionally realized as the real Truth. It is still mind-conditioning—but from within.

“There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding.” However, unless we know this, “deep thinking” may consist of “racking the brain.” The only substance to work with is information stored up in the subconscious mind, or gleaned from libraries or from consultation with others.

The more we think about a problem the more complex it becomes, unless and until light comes. Where did the light come from? This is not to deny facts available, but only to reject their limitation. The fact defines the situation as it now is, but “there is a whole in the part.” In the superconscious mind there is an answer to every need. And you are never farther from the answer to the most complicated challenge that the flow of one good idea. Snap your fingers lightheartedly, and get the thought that just that quickly the answer can be revealed. For it is known in you, in your subconscious mind. “The way out is in.”

More than this...while the subconscious mind is a memory bank that can come up with solutions out of the experience of your past, the superconscious mind has the capacity to remember that which you have never known. Here you have access to all the wisdom of the ages. Such is the miracle of Mind. When all doors are closed, there is an open door that no man may ever shut...in the Allness of Mind within.

If you have been trying, diligently, to program the mind with success motivation, relax for awhile and remember that the Whole of Mind is always in you. If an affirmation is the Truth, then you do not give it power or potential by repeating it. If you can see it as the Truth, then you are the power. Just whisper “Yes” and in that commitment, you are in the flow of the divine action.