Metaphysical · branch
New Thought
An impersonal Divine Mind that everything participates in, and a claim that thought shapes circumstance. There is nothing wrong with you that correct understanding will not fix — the highest C3 value in the matrix.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- B3 Institutional authorityindividual conscience decidesFurther toward "individual conscience decides" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E1 Exclusivitymany valid pathsFurther toward "many valid paths" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B1 Source of truthreason and direct experienceFurther toward "reason and direct experience" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E3 Locus of belongingan individual choiceFurther toward "an individual choice" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.85 | 0.12 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | leaning impersonal principle or orderHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.32 | 0.18 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | strictly oneHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.10 | 0.08 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | fully present within itHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.95 | 0.04 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | reason and direct experienceHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.88 | 0.08 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | metaphorical, or no text at allHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.88 | 0.08 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | individual conscience decidesHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.88 | 0.08 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.88 | 0.10 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | between one life, then judgment and cyclical returnHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.45 | 0.22 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | ignorant but fundamentally soundHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.95 | 0.04 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | achieved by effort or insightHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.88 | 0.08 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | leaning optional or absentHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.68 | 0.15 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be celebratedHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.78 | 0.12 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | many valid pathsHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.92 | 0.06 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | leaning an intentional actHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.25 | 0.18 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | an individual choiceHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.90 | 0.06 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | leaning animate and itself sacredHolmes, The Science of Mind (1926) and Unity’s statements of belief | 0.68 | 0.14 |
Further reading
- Holmes, The Science of Mind — The systematic statement; A2 and C3 both come from it.
- Albanese, A Republic of Mind and Spirit — The American metaphysical lineage this sits inside.
Compared with
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.