"Then they must not have understood the spiritual import of these words of Jesus to 'deny himself.' Deny means, according to Webster, 'to contradict; to declare not to be true; to disclaim connection with; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown.' Jesus meant deny the mortal thought, the false self; refuse to acknowledge it as having any authority; and it is only as the Christ follower proves this to be the true mode of denying self, that he can speak with authority as to the scientific method of dealing with all the errors to which mortal thought gives birth. "No other way has brought the desired result; hence we confidently assert that all these mistakes agreed to and participated in by mankind must be emphatically, persistently, scientifically denied. "Systematically and repeatedly we say: "1. There is no life, substance or intelligence in matter. "2. There is no sensation or causation in matter. "3. There is no reality in matter. "4. There is no reality in sin, sickness or death. "5. There is no reality in evil. "6. There is no reality in mortal thought. "This is denying the self recognized by the world. This is the life that must be laid down, that must be sacrificed, lost. "Humanity has proven its subjection to these errors. Now, by its faithful rejection of them, let it prove them lies, for the force of a lie is always annulled by rejection. This proves the law referred to by Jesus when he made a denial of self the first duty of his disciples. "In denying, it is necessary to say the words over and over again; it may be mechanically at first, but say them over, several hours at a time, if possible. "More is accomplished by concentration than anybody is aware, and the repetition of the words helps to concentrate the thought. First repeat the whole list of denials, then select one on which to spend most of the time for several days. The denial of matter, for instance, makes us more spiritually minded. "When denying, try to realize there is no space, but that anywhere you send your thought it will go, and as you think or say the words, you will be denying error for the world as well as for yourself, as every thought is world-wide in its influence, and helps to free or bind humanity, even as it is truth or error. "To deny is to put out of mind, to erase, as it were, the false beliefs. Be earnest, be faithful, and you will have an abundant reward. "This, dear John, is the substance of the lecture as nearly as I can give it. After Mrs. Pearl had finished the lesson, she requested the class to sit in silence a few moments and together hold the thought, 'There is no reality in matter;' after which we were dismissed with this benediction: 'May we realize that God _is_, that spirit is the only reality.' "The lessons are always opened by silent prayer, which I have forgotten to mention before.