Substance

Substance is in a general sense, being; something existing by itself; that which really is or exists; equally applicable to matter or spirit. Thus the soul of man is called an immaterial substance, a cogitative substance, a substance endued with thought. We say, a stone is a hard substance tallow is a soft substance. That which subsists by itself is called substance; that which subsists in and by another, is called a mode or manner of being. The essential part; the main or material part. Something real, not imaginary; something solid, not empty. Body; corporeal nature or matter. Goods; estate; means of living.—Webster’s American Dictionary

“All substance is Light, which originates as God’s divine essence.”—Edna Lister

In your study of substance, you must also study Light, for all substance is Light, which originates as God’s divine essence. Substance is an absolute and an abstract principle, rooted in the Love Emanation. As an absolute abstract principle, Substance is metaphysical Light made manifest as an ultimate particle that we call the life spark. The photon of physical light is the smallest particle of measurable substance known to physics and science, and it acts as both a particle and a wave. Substance is both visible and invisible.

God is omnipresent as substance; thus, substance is an expression of the divine Love of God for all Creation. All ensouled beings are the divine Substance in individualized form, which we call "soul substance." When you choose to express God as Love and Substance, you do so by loving and by faith in Him: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."—Hebrews 11:1. Thus, we could preface this verse with the statement "God is the essence of your faith."

As a law of being, God numbers and names universal substance with near infinite particular rates of vibration that become the soul substance identities of living souls.

"Love is the fulfilling of the law."—Romans 13:10. Always take your mind off the world of appearances before offering prayer or healing treatments. Release love all the time, and know that you are living in the inner kingdom. When you have released enough love, which is divine Substance, you shall have everything. Praise condenses Substance and brings it into visibility.—Edna Lister, Your Magnetic Powers, January 13, 1933.

You are your own creator and build your own environment with every thought, word and deed. Love goes forth as creative substance, yet returns to you in different form, because its vibration has traveled around the earth several times since it left you. Love returns in a more condensed state of substance, at a lower rate of vibration. Yet it is still radiant Light, for Light, as the life sparks, is the invisible atomic substance of the universe. Light is the carrier wave over which love travels faster than the speed of light.—Edna Lister, Your Royal Birth, January 24, 1933.

God is the fullness of spiritual substance that fills all.—Edna Lister, Eternal Youth versus Old Age, November 28, 1933.

You are each part of God as the One Power, One Mind, and One Substance. Everything is composed of it now: butter, eggs, flour, countless millions of things, good or bad, it is all the same Substance.—Edna Lister, Get Wisdom and Get Understanding, February 15, 1934.

Conscious union is knowing that you know. At the center of Being is the One God, which is the One Light, One Mind, One Substance and One Power.—Edna Lister, Regeneration, February 9, 1935.

Life is God as all Mind, Power, and Substance as Light. Light fills the universe with Light. The life sparks of Light are in all, through all, and as all. Form encases and enfolds Light.—Edna Lister, The Sacredness of All Life, April 12, 1935.

The first category of Being, embracing all that we know or may know concerning life or substance, spiritual or material, includes the principle, life, Mind, Spirit or Substance from which all manifestation comes forth in the process of Creation, which is God becoming all that is, visible and invisible. Being is first "that which is," and second, "that which appears." Creation proceeds from the invisible to the visible, from the unseen to the seen.—Edna Lister, Theory of Being, November 25, 1935.

Reality is both absolute and relative. Spiritual substance is absolute. Material substance is relative.—Edna Lister, Theory of Being, November 25, 1935.

The fifth category of Being is the relation of Substance and its attributes: Relativity or relation, deals with the inherent qualities or attributes of substance and their active relationship with one another. The law of cause and effect is subordinate to relation. Cause is the original action and effect depends on or is the result of action, the reaction. Relation also encompasses the law of reciprocity expressed in the axiom, "As above, so below."—Edna Lister, Theory of Being, November 25, 1935.

Being has three forms: Thing, soul and God, which include the relationship among substance, Spirit and the material world.—Edna Lister, Philosophy, January 27, 1936.

Faith is the line over which spiritual substance travels.—Edna Lister, Joy, March 19, 1937.

God composes the whole manifest universe of one Substance, called life sparks, which are infinitely variable in their combinations. These combinations determine the different forms that Substance takes in this material world of form.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

If you believed, consciously or unconsciously, when you asked God to heal you, then you could not still remember you had the darkness. So what you really need to cure is the idea. The substance involved, no matter its present form, will instantly snap back to unalterable perfection, no matter how un-Godlike it appears. Substance is perfect now, even when you do not like its present form, because the One Substance can never become imperfect. You can only send substance into an imperfect mold built from your own dark, negative thoughts, pictures and desires, your doubts and fears.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

Healing is "letting" the Mind of God operate as your thinking and planning. Healing is "letting" the Power of God quicken you into a divine desire for activity. Healing is "letting" the Substance of the Spirit vitalize the very cells into the ability to change. Letting is the cleansing, purifying process of Spirit.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

Substance operates as the Love of God and as desire in man.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

The identity of substance is one reason that world-thinking identifies soul with the physical body, forgetting that a body can never be anything but a living soul’s vehicle.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

If you do not draw atomic substance from above, your lotus centers withdraw it from every atom, and begin to deflate and collapse.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

Light is the first substance you see with physical eyes.—Edna Lister, A Design for Ascension, 1941.

Substance has only the power of becoming. The soul, conscious or unconscious, has the power of conscious direction and control. You are held in bondage by your unconscious mental jumble, which passes for thinking. Until you lift the appetitive soul completely, you cannot know complete soul o’ershadowing in the Light. You cannot fully awaken brain neurons while darkness from the past remains. Breathe deeply to lift this. The Holy Breath is the great Source of creative substance for all creations, and it descends from above to permeate everything. Thus, everything is good, after its own degree and kind.—Edna Lister, April 24, 1945.

"Let there be Light" brought forth all original substance of Light, which gave rise to everything, all the original cells of Light, expressed through the Trinities, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the Father, Mother and Son.—Edna Lister, The Glory of the Holy Ghost, July 7, 1946.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."—Hebrews 11:1. Faith is the Substance of Light.—Edna Lister, To Seek the Light, June 10, 1951.

You can do only two things with substance, expand or condense it. You can freeze water into ice or boil it into steam, but you cannot have ice and steam together. Substance condenses and contracts to a pinpoint of nothingness through criticism, judgments and negative qualities. Substance expands through praise, love and joy.—Edna Lister, To Seek the Light, June 10, 1951.

God breathed from the macrocosm and sent forth a creative Substance as the Father-Mother-Son Substance of the Holy Ghost. Thus, the microcosm inhales the pure essence of God.—Edna Lister, The Concealed Mother, July 22, 1951.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."—Hebrews 11:1. Everything earthly is made of the one Substance of God. The difference between material and spiritual substance to humanity is the degree of faith unconscious to conscious.—Edna Lister, The Flaming Sword, July 6, 1952.

When God said, "Let there be Light," the Word condensed itself into Substance.—Edna Lister, Number and Fate, November 24, 1953.

Faith is the name of the "void," an invisible whirling of life sparks, potential energy without active vibration. Then came three Emanations, which opened the vibration of this primordial substance of the void. So, the faith of God is first because faith is Substance void of expression, just being. It has only the power of becoming once God has given the soul conscious direction and control over it.—Edna Lister, Your Life’s Plan, May 16, 1954.

Faith, Love and Wisdom are all Substance. You cannot understand faith as substance without studying the miracles recorded in the Bible. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth, who conceived in "old age," symbolize that the creative powers never cease. When you have experienced a marriage of the Lamb, when your desire and will, Love and Wisdom become Oversoul I AM, your unconquerable faith creates all form.—Edna Lister, Heavenly Manna, August 14, 1955.

The state of consciousness of the one who is praying determines how much Light goes forth as Substance.—Edna Lister, October 16, 1956.

God’s Substance is always good. It is God’s good Substance, even the darkest expression.—Edna Lister, March 7, 1957.

The Substance of the Source must descend on the words, "Let there be Light," yet this doesn’t work until someone transforms it with soul fire, not long, empty prayers. It may take months, but no matter how long it takes, transubstantiation works.—Edna Lister, April 7, 1957.

Space is absolute universal substance, the absolute substrate upon which relative times moves.—Edna Lister, Conquering Time, October 22, 1957.

All cells of the physical structure and the bodily fluids are light, which is pure spiritual substance. God begat or created you in a form, and you maintain the form He originally gave you in the finest, highest state throughout all levels down to the coarsest, lowest state in which you exist. Substance is the difference from realm to realm. You are seen and identified in the form your choices and actions have created as modifications to the original. The physical body is the outer cellular shell, which is only a fraction of the real you. Ascension is to become Light.—Edna Lister, December 18, 1957.

Jesus created a vacuum that drew invisible universal Substance down into the form of loaves and fishes.—Edna Lister, May 6, 1958.

Constantly feed your prayer molds with the substance of love and faith if they are ever to be filled and so become visible.—Edna Lister, "A Formula for Daily Living," The Prayer Circle Newsletter, April 1961.

If you obey law, the Substance of God becomes your treasure. God’s Substance makes universes, our bodies, business and money.—Edna Lister, Before the Beginning, I Am, November 3, 1963.

Only truth is self-sustaining. Darkness must steal substance to sustain itself. Love and Wisdom, February 7, 1965.

The Light of your Oversoul Star is Substance from the Source, condensed and ready to draw upon for your prayer molds and declarations, to become the form of anything you wish to manifest here on the outer.—Edna Lister, Seven Life Ages of Man, from Birth to the Star’s Descent, November 22, 1966.

Divine Mind directs and controls through the fundamental principles of Light, color, tone, number and form, by which it lowers the vibration of Light, condensing it into Substance in successively denser stages until it reaches the point at which we may recognize it as form.—Edna Lister, The Relationship Between Color and Number, February 19, 1970.

Light is all there is, the complete basic life sparks of the universes that must be condensed to be used as creative substance. Spirit is that portion of substance that comes through you. It is still Light but is balanced, and Mind has not taken over rulership. It moves through you as life, but is all that is and the first degree of substance under the Light.—Edna Lister, Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of the Tree, November 24, 1970.

To stand as faith, you must know that God is everywhere evenly present and available as the principles of Light, color, tone, number and form. Nothing can be left out since God has created everything from the one Substance.—Edna Lister, Stand, Endure and Hold, Three Magic Words, November 30, 1970.

Edna Lister on Soul Substance

Individual soul substance is that universal substance of life sparks that God named and numbered with your personal identity as He breathed the Breath of Life into you. A physical cell contains physical substance and the substance of electronic life sparks. The rate of vibration of the name carries the number of the soul substance.

When an individual sinks into darkness, and uses all his soul substance, he may become an entity and possess a similar creature.—Edna Lister, July 3, 1941.

When even a tiny part of an embodied soul calls for repentance, his individual mind still holds, is not discarded but turns to God in sorrow or disease. Such a soul is in regression, but cannot be cut off. When a soul is doing harm, but has not come to the end of its incarnation cycle, it will return again after death of the physical. When a soul reaches the end of all its time, it fades. Yet this may not happen until the soul draws in and consumes all its soul substance, including the Oversoul, in wrong deeds and demands. The Oversoul withdraws upward when the embodied soul misuses, yet even God cannot withhold the Oversoul when a soul demands it, just as He cannot deny a soul’s plea for mercy under sacrifice and repentance. The plea is the Oversoul rescinding the lesser soul’s demands.—Edna Lister, December 4, 1941.

Speak of the past to lift it in prayer only, for a cleansing of soul substance, not for gossip and vain repetitions.—Edna Lister, September 11, 1941.

You find peace by drawing in your scattered soul substance to become whole again. All illness is caused by the soul scattering Substance, Mind and Power. Redeeming it is your need for wholeness.—Edna Lister, January 31, 1945.

When you say, "I-I-I," you use your own soul substance, not God’s divine Substance.—Edna Lister, April 18, 1945.

Pray that "vampires," those who unlawfully feed on the soul substance of their companions, may take only their own soul substance.—Edna Lister, May 3, 1945.

Soul substance must have conscious intelligence to have conscious control, to solidify into the myriads of physical forms.—Edna Lister, July 12, 1945.

When you are negative and release no Power, you use your own soul substance until finally there is no more and disintegration occurs.—Edna Lister, August 18, 1945.

You are no good to God in a poor physical body, which is the result of misusing soul substance. The body is the sum of your thoughts today.—Edna Lister, Eternal Youth, the Seven Breaths, November 6, 1946.

Life sparks are the same in carrots and meat as in you, therefore, meat-eating is as beneficial as vegetarianism. At this stage of physical development, meat is still a necessity. For example, lamb chops are important, and lamb corrects an acid condition. When you buy a fur coat and love it, you lift each animal that sacrificed its life for the coat. Keep your consciousness high, lift resentments and negativity into the Light.—Edna Lister, May 15, 1947.

An oyster builds a pearl with its own substance. When you are hurt, surround it with the love of God and the Masters will ascend your soul substance pearls. Dreaming of pearls symbolizes soul substance wrapped around grief, resentment, etc. Light makes it into a beautiful pearl.—Edna Lister, May 18, 1947.

You cannot ascend without redeeming all your soul substance. You blunder because you have given away your soul substance, invested it in blame, then closed the brain cells. You lose soul substance on every critical word you speak. To blame or criticize, to be prideful or intolerant is to give away soul substance. Lift your entire past. Do not lift but once, lift always the roots of intolerance and pride. Go into the past each day to lift the day’s substance.—Edna Lister, July 2, 1947.

You are supposed to draw upon above for your soul substance, not draw upon another.—Edna Lister, July 2, 1947.

No soul can go on "all in one" upon his true Path of Destiny unless he recalls all misused soul substance.—Edna Lister, January 8, 1948.

To use all your available soul substance to further your own interests is the way of self.—Edna Lister, February 10, 1948.

Those who suffer from inflicted sadism have lost soul substance. Ask the Father to use you to lift and return their substance to the altars to be purified and restored. Use your hands to scoop and lift it. Do the same for those in hospitals, mental wards, all mental cases, and fill them with Light while they sleep.—Edna Lister, December 12, 1949.

The "dweller on the threshold of consciousness" is a cloud-like entity formed of the Holy Breath and auric soul substance a soul has misused. Some partially repent, then misuse again until even their Oversoul substance is gone.—Edna Lister, June 19, 1951.

The Elect assume responsibility for lifting spiritual debts. Do not use your own soul substance but the Light of God, which illumines your aura as it heals another.—Edna Lister, June 19, 1951.

Those who hide things from themselves build a grey or blackish body of their own soul substance. Lift the "dweller on the threshold of consciousness," a compound of darkened soul substance that becomes an entity. Those who have lost substance by practicing evil, acting as vampires, and through possession, must have that substance cleansed. We must cleanse this.—Edna Lister, August 5, 1955.

Soul pirates steal soul substance from another.—Edna Lister, June 6, 1957.

You may not damn people into guilt for sinning and escape the law. We misuse our own soul substance when we force or curse.—Edna Lister, August 16, 1962.

Investing your soul substance in another is selfish possession. When you possess one from earth, you use your soul substance to establish an inverted and sagging earthly umbilical cord that trips you. You can even lose our body over this. Withdraw all possessive lines, which cause a lack of energy and abundance in your material affairs.—Edna Lister, June 27, 1963.

Never recreate the past by going over and over it. Some people have partners in this, friends who give pessimistic reinforcement. You permit this in your family by not staying up in consciousness. You invest your soul substance when you hold onto the past and what people have said.—Edna Lister, October 1, 1964.

When you possessively invest your soul substance in others, you tie them to you with bands of steel. Free others of you, not yourself of them. Demanding of others has put the world in bondage. Love does not do this. Instead, surrender to be possessed of Light, lift all life sparks, and declare, "I lift all my life sparks invested in others. Let them be free of me."—Edna Lister, October 6, 1964.

Domination of another is the worst destroyer of soul substance.—Edna Lister, March 3, 1965.

Each time you conquer, more Oversoul substance as Light is added to your aura to replace each bit of self you lift. Light is transforming you into your original image and likeness of God, and is transfiguring you because this living soul substance is all-knowing, all-comprehending compassion and joy. This is God’s endowment for you.—Edna Lister, October 20, 1966.

Every grade of substance is "solid" after its degree and kind.—Edna Lister, November 1, 1966.

Much of the grief you witness is really selfishness. Most people grieve for their loss, not for the loved one. When you grieve this way, you use your own soul substance.—Edna Lister, January 11, 1968.

You use your soul substance to form the mold when you condemn another, and can drag him from his ascension path.—Edna Lister, March 16, 1968.

God gave you a full investiture of soul substance when you came to earth; your task is to redeem every life spark of your soul substance and return it to Him when you go Home. If you have misused or wrongly invested your soul substance, you pay through the body.—Edna Lister, May 20, 1971.

Treatments for Lifting Soul Substance

Pray that "vampires," those who unlawfully feed on the soul substance of their companions, may take only their own soul substance.—Edna Lister, May 3, 1945.

Each has free will to use his own soul substance as he chooses. "Father, I reach out with arms of Light and gather up all scattered soul substance of thoughts, words, deed and actions, resentments, criticisms, etc., and put it all up on a cloud altar. Let it be covered with a pillar of fire, and as it is consumed, let it draw in all the taints. Let it then be purified, refashioned, made into Light and into new creative soul substance for this, Thy son/daughter."—Edna Lister, June 9, 1949.

Those who suffer from inflicted sadism have lost soul substance. Ask the Father to use you to lift and return their substance to the altars to be purified and restored. Use your hands to scoop and lift it. Do the same for those in hospitals, mental wards, all mental cases, and fill them with Light while they sleep.—Edna Lister, December 12, 1949.

When you possessively invest your soul substance in others, you tie them to you with bands of steel. Free others of you, not yourself of them. Demanding of others has put the world in bondage. Love does not do this. Instead, surrender to be possessed of Light, lift all life sparks, and declare, "I lift all my life sparks invested in others. Let them be free of me."—Edna Lister, October 6, 1964.

For someone who has passed over, declare, "Let the high healing lights of heaven flow over Name, and through his/her body, vitalizing and quickening and restoring his/her soul substance that he/she may be consciously healed."—Edna Lister, October 3, 1950.

Wherever you have criticized or condemned, you must exorcize for yourself impersonally. Where you have invested your soul substance in others, which becomes an anchor holding you both on earth, exorcize and speak of yourself thus, "Father, send forth Thy clouds of glory and banners of Light to draw in all life sparks I have ever sent out by word, deed, thought or picture of imagination. Let all unwisely invested soul substance of this, Thy servant, be lifted from these Thy children. Let it be ascended to high altars, cleansed and refashioned by Thee into new soul substance to be returned to thy servant."—Edna Lister, July 2, 1956.

"Let all unwisely invested soul substance be lifted from these Thy children (naming the names), taken to high altars, cleansed and purified and returned to Thy servant. And may this soul substance fill the auras from whence this has been withdrawn, washing the pages white as snow."—Edna Lister, September 23, 1958.

Every word creates something. Before going to bed, reach out your arms of light in a sweeping gesture to bring back all idle words of the day. Declare the misused soul substance to be consumed by the fire and made pure for the coming morning.—Edna Lister, April 1, 1960.

"I reach up with arms of Light and gather up all scattered soul substance of thought, word, deed, action, resentments, criticisms, idle words. I lift it up on a cloud altar. Please let it be consumed in a pillar of fire by the angel with the censer. As it is consumed, let it draw in all the taints to be purified, refashioned, made into Light, and returned as new creative soul substance for Thy son/daughter, Name."—Edna Lister, June 26, 1969.

A Story That Illustrates Soul Substance

The Prodigal Son: A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.—Luke 15:11-24.

New Testament on Substance

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.—Hebrews 11:1.

Old Testament on Substance

I am become rich. I have found me out substance.—Hosea 12:8.