Frequently Asked Questions


Theocentric Thinking:
Q&A Based on Dr. Master’s Curriculum

Part Two of Four

As prospective students peruse Dr. Paul Leon Masters’ curriculum samples (Doctoral Program Curriculum Excerpts, Theocentric Psychology Curriculum Excerpts) and current students begin their mystical journey with the University, questions of a deeper spiritual nature arise. We received the following question from one such student and felt the answers were worth sharing with students, graduates, and others, who seek a richer perspective of Dr. Master’s teachings. Note: If you haven’t already read Part One of Four, you may do so by clicking on this link: Part One.

Questions and Answers

What are Dr. Masters’ teaching on consciousness evolution and how the process happens? Is it merely human will? Do we alone decide that we need to connect to the God-Mind? Is the only path to the God-Mind meditation?

The short answer here is that no amount of human will alone can create a conscious connection to the God-Mind unless the individual is spiritually ready for such an occasion. Here is the detailed version of this answer.

To answer this question, let us first look at what Dr. Masters says about free will and will power:

“When we believe we are not an integral part of a total picture or Universal Life Process, we are, in our own minds, left to fend for ourselves in this life. If our outlook revolves around such an illusion of cosmic separateness, then we similarly choose to believe that we must use personal willpower to move ourselves through life. Personal willpower is a child of the parent of separateness from the Universal Process, i.e., life as a Universal Reality. . . . Personal will identifies with what is temporary at best, while the will of God is one with all things that are Universal” (Masters, Theocentric Psychology 1: :136-137).

This tells us any attempt to will ourselves to evolve on our own would be futile, because the evolution of the soul requires us to release the illusion of separateness in order to embrace God’s Will, or what Source wants for us. The more we identify with the personal egoic mind, the less evolution we will experience. Therefore consciousness evolution is not “merely human will.”

“Simply put, free will exists within the measure of a soul’s evolvement and life’s purpose. Each lifetime that a soul manifests must bring about certain changes for growth, evolution, awareness, etc. The soul is free to choose within certain limits. The limits are not imposed by God on any one individual soul, but rather are part of the laws and principles of growth established for all souls” (Masters, Theocentric Psychology, 1: 20).

Here again, we are told that we have the free will to evolve, but how much we can accomplish with this free will depends on our degree of evolution. We are “free to choose within certain limits,” and cannot simply choose evolution in order to evolve. If we want to evolve, we must choose God’s Will, which is the act of allowing the loving God that is ever with us to lead us toward our greater good—an evolved consciousness.

Next, let’s look at what Dr. Masters has to say about vibration and attraction.

“In studying the psychic function of the mind, we might say that ‘Like attracts like, FIRST ON A PSYCHIC LEVEL,’ which in turn results in a conscious attraction to certain individuals [or outcomes] throughout one’s life” (Master’s Degree Modules 1:20). Far beyond the obvious psychological advantage of maintaining a positive attitude, there is the spiritual or mystical [advantage]. The reason for this is that original and follow-through guidance ideas originating in the God-Part of your mind are Positive Vibrational energies, and to be most thoroughly comprehended by the surface mind, they should have a conscious-mind level of positive vibrational energies with which to work. A person whose attitude is basically negative (negative vibrational energies) will block or repress the positive vibrational energies attempting to surface from the God-Part of their mind. Conversely, the more positive the surface level of a person’s mind, the more the individual has created a place for God’s thought guidance energies to be received” (Masters, Theocentric Psychology 1: 63).

From this passage, we learn that we must have a vibrational level that is on par with that which we wish to attract into our lives. Therefore, we must have a vibrational level on par with our next evolutionary stage in order for us to realize that state of evolvement. Spiritual evolvement happens through ever-increasing positive vibrational energy––not force of will. A positive mind is like an open door to the God Mind. Conversely, negative mind creates negative energy, which slams the door shut.

“Trying always to do the right thing, according to your understanding, also sets up the right vibrational atmosphere for your Higher Mind to more readily influence you” (Masters, Minister’s/Bachelor’s Modules 1: 49). Did you notice how Dr. Masters says “for your Higher Mind to more readily influence you?” This is evolution in a nutshell! An evolved spirit thinks and acts from the Higher Mind; therefore, one cannot will the Higher Mind, one must surrender to it in order to evolve!

This is where meditation comes into play. You asked if meditation is the only path to the God- Mind. The answer depends on how you look at meditation. According to Dr. Masters, “Meditation is accomplished by using one or more techniques to withdraw the five senses and the mind from their attention to the world outside oneself and to make contact with the inner mental world of one’s own mind [the God-Mind]” (Minister’s/Bachelor’s Modules 2: 18).

Throughout all his coursework, Dr. Masters offers a multitude of ways to meditate. You cannot connect with the God Mind unless you withdraw from your five senses and the outside world. This very act in and of itself is “meditation.” You actually do this when you day-dream and sleep, too. A highly spiritually evolved individual can withdraw to connect with the God-Mind in a matter of seconds. The idea of any form of meditation is to create space for contact with the God-Mind, and in order to do this, you must free your mind of thinking and train it to listen only to the “still small voice within,” which involves “non-thinking,” something that is very difficult for the average person unless they make a concerted effort to do so on a daily basis.

Finally, Dr. Master’s definition of soul evolution is: “Evolving to the point where one’s life is a greater manifestation of the love of God, and sharing that love with others on levels which they can relate to, each in their own way, according to their evolvement” (Theocentric Psychology, 1:23). To think of spiritual evolution in any other way is egoic thinking. Love simply put is selflessness.

Tying it all together is this passage from Dr. Masters’ Theocentric Psychology Course:

“God should become the center stage of attraction in one’s mind, as emphasis is placed upon Christ’s concept of, ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all else will be added unto you.’ This is no way suggests becoming a religious zealot… It does mean, however, coming to a calm realization that pursuing the Presence of God within oneself should take foremost priority, since if this is done, then whatever one needs will be met due to the relationship to the Presence of God within oneself. Such an attitude, coupled with the spiritual self-revealing occurring in mediation [as defined above], should act as an impetus for realizing that while our immediate personal needs may have been the initial attraction or motivation, they were only the most surface of issues. The real reason we are attracted or come into contact with any genuine form of Success Metaphysics is to begin a process of self-growth, to outgrow our present personal ego, and to form a more lasting relationship of a mystically intimate nature with the God-Presence of Universal Mind and Spirit within” (2: 96).

In other words, you can’t “will” contact with the God-Mind, but you can use your personal will to open the door and let God in.