Act As If

©2006 Tina Montalto

For many practitioners of New Thought, spiritual healing, and Religious Science, I am sure you have heard the saying: "Treat and Move Your Feet."

When you are treating for yourself ("affirmative praying" for those who have not heard the term Treatment before), treating and moving our feet is exactly what you have to do.

Does that mean you have to make it all happen?

What does "Treat and move your feet" really mean? It absolutely does NOT mean that after you do your treatment, you set about making your demonstration happen. That is sheer human will power. That is not treatment and that is not how the Creative Process works.

Will power does work. But it will take you just so far. And when you get tired, the will power stops and the demonstrating stops.

Treatment evokes the Creative Process. It evokes a Power greater that you or me as humans. It evokes a Power that never tires, never runs out, never ceases, and is never destructive.

With Treatment, you let the Law do the work. So what is moving my feet, then?

Treatment has been somewhat misconstrued by practitioners that all you have to do is treat and then sit back and do absolutely nothing. That is not entirely how it works. As Ernest Holmes said in "The Science of Mind", "Treatment is an active thing." What is our action, our moving of our feet, is to provide the mental mold for our desires. The Law will take care of providing the perfect substance to fill that mold. This is where practitioners miss the mark and become passive in their treatment work. The Law does the filling of the mold, which is the action of Spirit, but our responsibility is to create the shape of that mold.

And one of the best ways to create that mold and to move our feet is to "ACT AS IF". That means think, believe, feel and behave as if your demonstration is your current experience. Act as if you have a steady stream of income. Act as if you have the love of your life. Act as if you are in perfect health. Act as if you cannot fail. When you act as if, you are getting your whole mind, both conscious and subconscious, involved in the creative process. A demonstration will not occur until you have embodied the desire subconsciously. When you act as if, your subconscious accepts your behavior, your thoughts, and your feelings as natural and normal for you. This set the "Law of Normal Standard" in motion. The Law of Normal Standard, set forth by Thomas Troward, says that it is the activity of Mind by which man draws into his life ONLY that which he considers NORMAL FOR HIM, rather than that which he vaguely hopes or wishes. When you act as if, you subjectify a new "normal" for yourself.

Acting as if will make you do things you would not normally do. It creates a new normal standard. Acting as if you cannot fail will cause you to expand and experience things you would not have otherwise. Life will open up for you in so many new ways.

Acting as if keeps you focused on your desire. It keeps you confident in its demonstration. It diminishes doubt. It strengthes belief and faith. You might say it even fools your subconscious into accepting without question what you want to happen. Acting as if will have you living in your demonstration in the physical world. Just as you live your demonstration in your mind in the sixth step of the Seven-Step Spiritual Mind Treatment, acting as if is the physical equivalent of the Sixth Step.

Jesus said to the crippled man, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." Jesus did not pick up the bed for him. Jesus did not carry him. The man had to act as if he had the strength and ability to do what Jesus told him to do. He had to have the faith that his legs would hold him up. He had to act as if standing and walking was a natural and normal thing for him. And we know what happened next -- the man got up and walked.

Remember, too, that when you do a treatment, you set the Law in motion. The Law works on everything, including yourself. You are not immune from being influenced and moved upon by the Law. This means that after doing a treatment, you may be compelled to DO something. Don't resist it by thinking this is just human will power talking, and you shouldn't have to do anything after you do a treatment. This is really the Law at work. Recognize it as such. You may suddenly have an idea of going back to school or taking a course. You may suddenly be compelled to make a phone call to an old business associate. You may run across an advertisement that leads you to take a certain action. This is the Law doing its perfect work. This is the Law filling the mold.

Acting as if is being in the consciousness of what you have treated for. It is the act of being what you need to be for your demonstration to take place.