{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_7224/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_7224","id":"gutenberg_7224","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7224","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","New Thought"],"text":"Produced by Wendy Crockett\n\n\n\n\nWithin You is the Power.\n\nby\n\nHENRY THOMAS HAMBLIN\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n PREFACE\n CHAPTER I.--Infinite Life and Power\n CHAPTER II.--The Overcoming of Life's Difficulties\n CHAPTER III.--Fate or Free-Will?\n CHAPTER IV.--Cause and Effect\n CHAPTER V.--Success\n CHAPTER VI.--Health\n CHAPTER VII.--The Secret of Abundant Supply\n CHAPTER VIII.--The Power and Limitations of the Sub-conscious Mind\n CHAPTER IX.--The Use of the Spiritual or Super-conscious Mind\n CHAPTER X.--Character Building and the Overcoming of Habit\n CHAPTER XI.--Happiness and Joy\n CHAPTER XII.--The Use and Mis-Use of Mental and Spiritual Powers\n CHAPTER XIII.--Overcoming Limitations and Awakening Inward Powers\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThere is a power lying hidden in man, by the use of which he can rise\nto higher and better things.\n\nThere is in man a greater Self, that transcends the finite self of\nthe sense-man, even as the mountain towers above the plain.\n\nThe object of this little book is to help men and women to bring their\ninward powers of mind and spirit into expression, wisely and in\nharmony with universal law; to build up character, and to find within\nthemselves that wondrous Self, which is their real self, and which,\nwhen found, reveals to them that they are literally and truly sons\nof God and daughters of the Most High.\n\nThere is no way whereby the discipline of life can be avoided. There\nis no means by which fate can be \"tricked,\" nor cunning device by\nwhich the great cosmic plan can be evaded. Each life must meet its\nown troubles and difficulties: each soul must pass through its deep\nwaters, every heart must encounter sorrow and grief. But none need\nbe overwhelmed in the great conflicts of life, for one who has learned\nthe great secret of his identity with the Universal life and Power,\ndwells in an impregnable city, built upon and into the Rock of Truth,\nagainst which the storms of life beat in vain.\n\nWhile this little work does not offer any vain promises of an easy\nlife--for, if this were possible, it would be the greatest of all\ndisasters--but rather endeavours to show how to become so strong that\nlife looks almost easy by comparison (the life or fate does not change\nor become easier, but the individual alters and becomes stronger),\nyet, it does show the reader how to avoid making his life more\ndifficult than it need be. Most people's lives would be less filled\nwith trouble and suffering if they took life in the right spirit and\nacted in harmony with Universal Law.\n\nIt is hoped that this little book may help many to come into harmony\nwith life's law and purpose and thus avoid much needless suffering:\nto find the Greater Self within, which discovery brings with it a\nrealization of absolute security: to bring into expression and wisely\nuse their inner spiritual and mental forces and thus enter a life\nof overcoming and almost boundless power.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nINFINITE LIFE AND POWER.\n\n\nMan possesses, did he but know it, illimitable Power. [1] This Power\nis of the Spirit, therefore, it is unconquerable. It is not the power\nof the ordinary life, or finite will, or human mind. It transcends\nthese, because, being spiritual, it is of a higher order than either\nphysical or even mental. This Power lies dormant, and is hidden within\nman until he is sufficiently evolved and unfolded to be entrusted\nwith its use.\n\n  [1] The powers of the sub-conscious mind are dealt with in other\n      chapters. The Powers of the Spirit are far greater and finer\n      than those of the sub-conscious mind.\n\nThought is a spiritual power of tremendous potency, but this is not\nthe power of which we speak. By thought, man can either raise himself\nup and connect himself with the \"Power House\" of the Universe, or\ncut himself off entirely from the Divine Inflow. His thought is his\ngreatest weapon, because, by it he can either draw on the Infinite\nor sever himself (in consciousness, but not in reality) from his\nDivine Source.\n\nThrough the Divine Spark within him, which is really his real Self,\nman is connected with the Infinite. Divine Life and Power are his,\nif he _realizes_ that they are his. So long as he is ignorant of his\noneness with the Divine Source of all life, he is incapable of\nappropriating the power that is really his. If, however, he enters\ninto this inner knowledge, he finds himself the possessor of infinite\npower and unlimited resources.\n\nThis Power, then, is God's, yet it is also man's, but it is not\nrevealed to him until he is fit to be entrusted with it. It is only\nwhen man realizes his oneness with his Divine Source that he becomes\nfilled with Its power. Many teachers and initiates lament the fact\nthat certain secrets are being spread broadcast to-day; secrets that,\nin the past, were kept closely guarded. They fear that unillumined\nand un-evolved people may make destructive use of spiritual power.\nThis, to the writer, appears to be improbable. It is true that strong\npersonalities, who have a great belief in their own power to achieve\nand succeed, draw unconsciously on hidden powers, and thus are able\nto raise themselves high above their fellows. The use, however, that\nthey can make of spiritual power for base purposes is limited, and\nis not to be feared. There are others, of course, who are misusing\ntheir powers. These are black magicians, and while they may do a\ncertain amount of harm, they become reduced, ultimately, to beggary\nand impotence. There are also others who spend the whole of their\nspare time searching for knowledge of this very subject. They read\nevery occult book they can lay hands on, but they never find that\nfor which they seek. There are spiritual powers and influences that\nwithhold the eyes of the seekers from seeing, until they are ready\nfor the revelation. When man, in his search for Truth, has given up\nall selfish striving after unworthy things, and has ceased to use\nhis self-will in conflict with the greater Will of the Whole, he is\nready for the revelation of his oneness with the Infinite. Yielding\nimplicitly to the Will of the Whole may seem, to the unillumined,\nan act of weakness, yet it is the entrance to a life of almost\nboundless power.\n\nMan is not separate from his Divine Source and never has been. He\nis, in reality, one with the Infinite. The separation which he feels\nand experiences is mental, and is due to his blindness and unbelief.\nMan can never be separated from Spirit, for he himself is Spirit.\nHe is an integral part of one complete whole. He lives and moves and\nhas his being in God (Universal, Omnipresent Spirit), and God (Spirit)\ndwells in him. The majority of people are unaware of this intimate\nrelationship with the Divine, and, because they are unaware, or\nbecause they refuse to believe it, they are, in one sense, separated\nfrom the inner life of God. Yet this separation is only in their\nthoughts and beliefs, and not in reality. Man is not separated and\nnever can be, yet so long as he believes that he is separate and\nalone, he will be as weak and helpless as though he actually were.\nAs soon as man realizes the truth of his relationship to the Infinite,\nhe passes from weakness to power, from death unto life. One moment\nhe is in the desert, afar off, weak, separate, and alone; the next,\nhe realizes that he is nothing less than a son of God, with all a\nson's privileges and powers. He realizes, in a flash, that he is one\nwith his Divine Source, and that he can never be separated. He awakens\nalso to the fact that all the Power of the Infinite is his to draw\nupon; that he can never really fail, that he is marching on to\nvictory.\n\nIt will thus be seen how great is the power of man's thought. While\nthought is not the power of the Spirit, it is the power by which man\neither connects himself up with the Infinite Power, opening himself\nto the Divine Inflow, or cuts himself off and separates himself from\nhis Spiritual Source. Thus, in a sense, man is what he thinks he is.\nIf he thinks he is separate from God and cut off from His Power, then\nit is as though this were really the case, and he is just as impotent\nand miserable as though he actually existed apart from God. On the\nother hand, if he thinks and believes that he is one with the\nInfinite, he finds that it is gloriously true, and that he is really\na son of God. If he believes and thinks that he is a mere material\nbeing, then he lives the limited life of a material being, and is\nnever able to rise above it. But if, on the contrary, he thinks and\nbelieves that he is a spiritual being, then he finds that he possesses\nall the powers of a spiritual being.\n\nAgain, if he thinks that his work is difficult and that he is not\nequal to his tasks, he finds that really his tasks are difficult and\nbeyond his powers. Yet on the other hand, if he believes his work\nis easy, or, at any rate, within his powers, he finds that such is\nthe case, and that he can do his work with ease.\n\nThe power within is infinite, for, by faith in it, man is directly\n\"coupled up\" with the Spiritual Power of the Universe. The Divine\nSpark within him connects him to the Sacred Flame, thus making him\npotentially a god in the making.\n\nA change then, must take place within man before he can enter into\nhis Divine inheritance. He must learn to think after the Spirit,\n_i.e._, as a spiritual being, instead of after the flesh, _i.e._,\nas a material creature. Like the prodigal son he must \"come to\nhimself,\" and leave the husks and the swine in the far country,\nreturning to his Father's house, where there is bread (of life)\nenough and to spare.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE OVERCOMING OF LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES.\n\n\nThe true object of life is that man may attain wisdom through\nexperience. This cannot be accomplished by giving in to the\ndifficulties of life, but only by overcoming them. The promises of\nGod are not made to those who fail in life's battle, but to those\nwho _overcome_. Neither are there any promises that man shall have\nan easy time and be happy ever afterwards. Yet, it is after this that\nthe majority of people are for ever seeking--an easy life, a good\ntime, freedom from suffering and care. But, in spite of all their\nseeking, they can never find that which they desire. There is always\na fly in the ointment of their pleasure, something that robs them\nof true happiness; or, possibly, combinations of circumstances\nconspire to upset all their plans.\n\nLife is a paradox; the true object of life is not the attainment\nof happiness, yet if we attain the true object of life we find\nhappiness. Those who are ignorant of life's true purpose and who\nseek happiness high and low, year after year, fail to find it. Like\na will-o'-the-wisp, it for ever eludes them. On the other hand, those\nwho recognize the true object of life, and follow it, attain happiness\nwithout seeking for it.\n\nIn times past, people have made God a convenience. They have thought\nthey could drift through life, learning none of its discipline and\nthen, when in trouble, or things were not to their liking, they could\npray to God and have the unpleasant circumstances taken away. The\nsame idea is prevalent to-day. People have left the old orthodoxy\nand look to various \"cults\" and \"isms\" to get them out of their\ndifficulties. They do not believe now that they can curry special\nfavour with God by prayer, but they firmly believe that they can get\nwhat they want from the Invisible by demanding it. They think that\nby this means they can have their own way after all. By this they\nmean having a good time, with no unpleasant experiences, trials,\ndifficulties, adversities. They are, however, merely chasing rainbows.\nThe easy life they seek constantly eludes them, simply because there\nis no such thing. The only life that is easy is the life of the strong\nsoul who has overcome. His life is not easy in reality, but appears\nrelatively so because of his strength.\n\nIt is impossible to have an easy life, and, if it were possible, then\nlife would be not worth living, for the sole object of life is the\nbuilding of character and the attainment of wisdom through experience.\nLife to all of us must always be full of difficulty, and it is to\nhelp those, who, hitherto, have found life rather too much for them\nthat this book is being written. What the majority are seeking for\nis an easy life (which they will never find, but precisely the\nreverse) and for them I have no message. But to those wise and\nawakened souls who are seeking for Truth, no matter from whence it\nmay come, and who desire to overcome life and its difficulties,\ninstead of weakly giving in to them, this book, it is hoped, will\nbring a message.\n\nAt this stage we cannot go into the subject of why we should meet\nwith disasters and adversity in this life, nor why some people should\nhave, apparently, a smoother life than others. [2] We must therefore\nbe satisfied to know that we have to meet trouble and overcome\ndifficulty, and that it is only by so doing that we can attain wisdom\nand build up character. The question, then, is not _whether_ we shall\nmeet the trouble and adversity or not, but rather, _how_ we shall\nmeet them. Shall we be victorious or shall we be submerged? Shall\nwe overcome life's difficulties or shall we give in to them?\n\n  [2] This subject is dealt with in \"The Path of Victory\" by the\n      same author, and published by The Science of Thought Press.\n\nThe majority of people are drifters on the sea of life. They are\nwafted here and blown there: they are also carried hither and thither\nby every current. It is only the few who realize that they have the\nPower of the Infinite within them by which they can rise superior\nto all their difficulties, overcome their own weaknesses, and, through\nvictorious experience, attain wisdom.\n\nAt this point some practical reader may say that attaining wisdom\nis all very well, but what he wants is practical help. He is perhaps\nout of work, has sickness in his house and is in debt. Or, he may\nbe well-to-do, and yet in the deepest distress and misery. To all\nsuch I would say that they possess the Power by which they can\novercome all their difficulties, and, through overcoming, attain\nwisdom. A man's success depends, more than anything, upon his\nfaith--his faith in the good purpose of life: his faith in the Power\nof the Infinite within him and his ability to overcome every obstacle\nin his path.\n\nThe extent of the Power that man can bring into his life is the\nmeasure of his faith in that Power. If his faith in It is small, then\nhis life will be feeble and lacking in achievement. If his faith in\nthe Power within him is large, then great will be the power\nmanifesting in his life. The Power of the Infinite is illimitable\nand inexhaustible: all that is required is an unquenchable belief\nand trust in it. The weakest and most timid can make use of this\nPower. There is the same Power in the timid and weak as in the brave\nand strong. The weakness of the former is due to a lack of faith and\nbelief in the Infinite Power within them.\n\nDifficulties and troubles there will be in every life, and sometimes\ndisaster and heartbreak, when the very earth slides from under the\nfeet, yet, by calling upon the Power within, it is possible to rise\nfrom the ruins of cherished hopes stronger and \"greater\" through\nexperience. Happiness and true success depend upon how the troubles\nand difficulties of life are met. Adversity comes to all, but if it\nis met in the right manner even failure can be made the stepping-stone\nto success. Trouble comes to all, but, while it makes some people\nstronger and better in every way, it submerges others so that they\nnever rise again. The trouble is the same, it is how it is met that\nmakes the difference. Those who meet difficulty and adversity in\nthe feeble strength of their finite minds and false personality are\nspeedily overwhelmed and broken by the storms of life. But those who\nrely upon, and have faith in the Power within them, can never be\noverwhelmed, neither can they ever be defeated. The Power, being\ninfinite, is always sufficient, no matter how great the need may be.\n\nOne who realizes his own real spiritual identity, knows that he can\nnever die, that he can never be defeated, that he can never really\nfail. He may lose his body through the change that is called death;\nbut he, the true man, can never die. Neither can he fail, though he\nbe defeated a thousand times--he _must_ rise again.\n\nOnly have faith in the Spiritual Power within you and you can know\nall the joys of overcoming and achievement. All things will become\nyours. Seek first the Kingdom within you (your spiritual union with\nthe Infinite, and harmony with the Divine Will and Purpose) and all\nthese things shall be added unto you. You will have no need to fear\nthe morrow, for you will know that all provision has already been\nmade. There will be no need to hoard up wealth, for there will be\nthe necessary daily supplies always available. There will be no need\nto live near a doctor, for God, the Infinite Life, shall be your\nhealth. There will be no need for regret or lamentation, for you shall\nknow that all is well. There will be no fear of future happenings,\nfor you shall realize that the Infinite One makes no mistakes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nFATE OR FREE-WILL?\n\n\nGreat has been the controversy in the past, over the vexed subject\nof fate versus free-will. On the one hand, fatalists claim that man\nis so closely bound to the wheel of fate it is impossible for him\nto live his life in any different way than that which is mapped out\nfor him. He can bring a quantity of first-class evidence in support\nof his claim and believes in his theory with all his heart. On the\nother hand, the advocate of free-will believes just as whole-heartedly\nthat man is not bound at all, being as free as air. He, too, can bring\nplenty of evidence in support of his theory, which confirms him in\nhis belief. Each one of them thinks that the other is wrong, yet they\ncannot both be wrong! Let us therefore examine the subject for\nourselves, for it is an important one, being intimately connected\nwith the subject which this book discusses.\n\nFirst of all, let it be said, they are both wrong, in part, and right,\nin part. Man is bound to the wheel, yet, at the same time, he has\nfree-will. Let us, therefore, explain this seeming paradox.\n\nIt is an ancient truth of the inner teaching that man, when he is\nunevolved and before he is \"unfolded,\" is bound to the wheel of fate\nvery closely. The unevolved man follows his desires, thus creating\nfor himself a future from which he cannot escape. When however, he\nbecomes more evolved and emancipated, he begins to resist following\nhis desires and strives, instead, to follow higher things. This\ncreates for him a better future and thus he becomes free in comparison\nwith his former slave state. Man is a slave to fate as long as he\nis a slave to the desires of the earth plane. He is, however, free\nto overcome lower things and thus rise to higher. When he does this\nhe ceases to create a painful future for himself and thus becomes\nfree.\n\nThere is, therefore, fate which is self created. It is necessary to\nacknowledge this before we can proceed further. One who has not had\nmuch experience of life or who has not been a close observer, may\ndeny that there is such a thing, but one who has had great changes\nin his life, against which he has fought and struggled in vain, knows\nthat there is a purpose working behind the events of life, against\nwhich even kings and mighty men are powerless. There come times in\nman's life when he moves heaven and earth, figuratively speaking:\nprays until he can pray no more: sacrifices, it may be, his money,\nhis health, his prospects, and does everything that is in the power\nof a human being in a vain attempt to stave off a threatened disaster.\nBut, in spite of all his efforts, in spite of his cries to a pitiless\nheaven, the relentless march of fate cannot be stayed. It moves\nforward like a huge juggernaut and crushes his hopes, his dearest\nidol, his very life itself or all that then makes his life worth\nliving--and leaves him desolate.\n\n\"If then,\" you may ask, \"fate is so pitiless and so powerful, what\ncan be done with it and where does free-will enter into the matter?\"\nIn reply it must be admitted at once that it is no use fighting fate.\nThe more man fights it, the more completely he gets broken. There\nare certain main events in each life which must come to pass. These\nevents and changes are inevitable and it is hopeless to fight against\nthem. While these things, which constitute what we call fate, are\ninevitable and therefore cannot be avoided, it rests with ourselves\nhow we meet these adversities and disasters. If we meet them in the\nwrong way they break us. If, however, we meet them in the right way\nwe become stronger through discipline and experience, thus becoming\nbetter fitted to bear life's responsibilities and to overcome its\ndifficulties and temptations. One who meets the setbacks, griefs,\nbereavements and disasters of life in the right spirit becomes a\nstrong and rich character. He becomes mellowed through experience,\nstrong, stable, a helpful influence to all who meet him.\n\nWhen things go smoothly and life is a merry round, no philosophy or\nreligion seems necessary, and \"as for an inward power, what of it,\nwe can do very well without it.\" So say the thoughtless and\ninexperienced, but there come times in every life, when, not only\nis a philosophy, and that a very sound one, necessary, but also a\npower, of which the finite self knows nothing, is needed in order\nto raise the soul out of the dust and ashes of its despair. It is\none thing to try and meet trouble and adversity in the right spirit\nand quite another thing to have the power to do so. One who thinks\nthat he has no power within him but that all the power is in\ncircumstances, can never rise victorious over his troubles and become\na conqueror over life's difficulties; but one who realizes that he\npossesses a wonderful power that can raise him up, no matter how\ncrushed he may be, can never be a failure in life. No matter what\nmay happen to him he will play the man and act a noble part. He will\nrise from the ruins of his life and build it anew in greater beauty\nand splendour.\n\nAt this stage it is necessary to point out that there is a difference\nbetween \"big fate\" and the circumstances of life. \"Big fate\" as it\nsometimes is called antedates this present life and its cause does\nnot come within the scope of this little book. [3] Sufficient if we\nsay here that, through the ages, we reap as we sow, therefore our\nfuture depends upon how we meet life and its difficulties _now_. Big\nfate, then, cannot be successfully fought, simply because it is the\nworking of Omnipotent Law, but our life generally and its\ncircumstances depend upon how we meet \"big fate,\" and how we recover\nfrom it. No matter how seemingly unkind \"fate\" may be, it is possible\nfor us to make our life a beautiful thing. Inspired and energized\nby the Power within, we can rise from the ashes of our dead hopes\nto build anew our life in greater beauty and more in harmony with\nthe Divine Ideal.\n\n  [3] In addition to the \"fate\" or \"future\" which every thought and\n      action builds, there is, behind all evolution, a gigantic plan.\n      This wonderful plan that embraces all, from the stupendous\n      conception of a limitless universe down to the smallest\n      electron, is being worked out through the ages with absolute\n      precision. Nothing can prevent this plan from being brought\n      into manifestation. It gathers up our past and weaves it into\n      our present life, just in the same way that it is busily\n      gathering up our present life and weaving it into future fate.\n      It works it all into the big plan, somehow, and with infinite\n      skill. The plan is bound to be followed (this, too, is fate)\n      but HOW we follow it, either with willingness and happiness,\n      or opposition or woe, rests with us (this is free will).\n\nThose who have studied the Occult sciences may say \"what about\nplanetary influences?\" They will point out that, according to the\nancient science of astrology, a man's life is determined by the \"star\"\nunder which he is born. This is true, if he gives in to the influences\naround his path. At different times in his life man meets with\ninfluences that are sometimes \"favourable\" and at other times,\nadverse. These influences are, however, only influences after all,\nand one who will stand firm during periods of adversity and refuse\nto give in, relying upon the great Power within to carry him through,\nwill find that he can weather all storms of life and come out of his\ntrials greatly strengthened. He cannot prevent these influences from\ncoming around his path of life, but he can rise superior to them.\nHe will meet with failures and set-backs but he will make of these,\nstepping-stones to success. He will experience griefs and\nbereavements, but out of these he will build a finer character and\nrise to higher things. One, however, who gives in to these things,\nrefusing to rise again and reconstruct his life, condemns himself\nto further suffering, thus making utter shipwreck of his life.\n\nLet the despairing take heart again. Believe in the Power within you\nand you will rise to heights before undreamed of. With this Power\nto help you, you can accomplish the apparently impossible.\n\n\n  APPENDIX TO CHAPTER III.\n\n\nOur life here is not governed by a capricious Being who blows first\nhot and then cold or who favours one person and tortures another.\nThe Supreme Being works through laws that are absolutely just and\nunchanging. Therefore all disaster and trouble in the life is the\neffect of certain causes. These causes are our own wrong doing in\nthe past, which set in motion forces, against which the power and\nwit and wisdom of man are powerless. [4] However, because the\nfundamental law of the Universe is love, it follows that the working\nof the law of cause and effect is not vindictive. Its object is our\nhighest good, viz., to bring us into union with the Divine or in tune\nwith the Infinite. Therefore, by rising up to a higher plane and\ncoming more into harmony and union with the Divine, we rob even big\nfate of something of its power. We cannot oppose it, for by so doing\nwe fight against Omnipotence, but we can _forestall_ it by doing\nwillingly, and of our own accord, that very thing which experience\ncomes to teach us.\n\n  [4] Another cause is that the soul has failed to learn certain\n      lessons, therefore, in this life, many painful experiences are\n      brought to bear, in such a way, as to teach the necessary\n      lessons. The lessons are, however, learnt only if painful or\n      unpleasant experiences are met in the right way. So long as\n      man believes that he is unjustly treated by fate and that he\n      does not \"deserve\" what life metes out to him, he intensifies\n      his troubles, both now and hereafter, through not learning the\n      lessons that life desires to teach. When, however man realizes\n      and admits that life is just and that the cause of all his\n      troubles is within himself, he, like the prodigal son comes\n      to himself and, soon afterwards, begins his homeward journey.\n      Yet another cause is that the soul is deficient in character.\n      Strength and stability of character can be built up through\n      the soul meeting trouble and difficulty. Again it must be\n      pointed out that they must be met in the right spirit.\n\nIt will be seen then, that our future depends entirely upon the way\nwe think and act in this life. Our future lies in our own hands. If\nwe violate the law of love in this life, we create disaster and\nsuffering for the future, which will have to be met, in the form of\n\"big fate\" of a painful character, some day. Therefore, by right\nthinking and right doing now, we not only ameliorate conditions in\nthis life, but we also create a future that will be more harmonious\nand freer than anything we have experienced hitherto.\n\nIt is also necessary to point out that, even in this life, some of\nits big disasters are the result of thoughts and actions committed\nduring this present existence. A youth or young man may commit a\nfolly that brings, in after life, a terrible retribution. Or he may\ndo another man a grievous wrong and years afterwards someone else\ndoes the same wrong to him. It is always an eye for an eye and a\ntooth for a tooth on this plane of cause and effect, but the Great\nWay Shower, by His teaching of the power of love, enables us to rise\nabove these lower things and live a life of harmony and peace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nCAUSE AND EFFECT.\n\n\nMan is the cause of the disasters in his life. He reaps through the\nages exactly as he sows. Life is perfectly just and rewards every\nman according to his works. The fate of the present is the reaping\nof his sowing in, it may be, a distant past. Therefore, the disasters\nand sufferings of this life, must not be attributed to the\ninterference of a capricious and unreasonable God, for the truth is,\nthey are due to the exact working of a perfectly just law. Fate, once\ncreated, is irrevocable. It can neither be fought nor evaded. By\nfighting against fate, man merely smashes himself to pieces. To do\nso, is equivalent to running his head against a stone cliff: the\nharder he charges, the greater the damage to his head--but the cliff\nis unaffected. Fate, although largely self-created, is really the\nDivine purpose of life: therefore, to resist it is to fight against\nGod. Fate, again is not punishment, in any vindictive sense, it is\nthe drawing together of certain remedial experiences, through which\nthe soul can learn the lessons it has failed to learn in past ages\nand thus attain wisdom. The object of fate is the highest good of\nthe individual, although it may entail suffering and painful\nexperiences.\n\nBecause the disasters in man's life are due to past wrong doing, it\nnaturally follows that his future depends upon the kind of life that\nhe lives to-day. If, in the past, he has created for himself a\nsequence of events and experiences, from which it is impossible for\nhim to escape, it is obvious that his future lives depend entirely\nupon how he lives the present one. It will be seen that if man can\nlearn the lessons of the present life, and live in such a way as to\ncease creating trouble for the future, he is beginning to climb the\nPath of Liberation, which is the road all advanced souls have to\nfollow, or, rather, have the privilege of following. By following\nthis path, man ceases to be bound to the wheel of fate.\n\nThis little work does not teach reincarnation, but its teaching is\nbased on a belief that man, in reality, is a spiritual being, a Divine\nSpark from the Sacred Fire. Spirit being immortal has no beginning\nor end therefore always lives. This present life is one of countless\nexperiences, each one of which helps to build up character. There\nis no death, but only changes from one vehicle to another. There is\nno beginning, or end, or time in reality, these are mere limitations\nof the human mind. It is impossible for man to die: he can only leave\nhis body. He cannot kill himself, try how he will: he can only force\nhimself out of his body. Man must always go on, whether he likes it\nor not: he proceeds through the ages, _reaping exactly as he sows_.\n\nWe have already seen that man cannot avoid or fight successfully\nagainst fate, but that he can become free from the wheel of fate by\nliving a life in harmony with Divine Law. [5] At this point it is\nnecessary to point out that most of man's troubles are not caused\nby fate at all, but are due to his fighting against or trying to\nresist the great plan. If the experiences of life are resisted, or\nan attempt is made to evade its discipline, troubles and difficulties\nwill repeat, becoming more painful and insistent until their lesson\nis learnt and the life changed accordingly. Therefore man has it in\nhis power greatly to improve his present life, as well as to create\na far better future, simply by living his life to-day in harmony with\nDivine Law. Further, it is necessary to point out that all thought\nand action have an _immediate_ as well as a far reaching effect. It\nis true that the full effect of life here is not reaped until after\nour little course on this plane has been run, but great differences\nare effected in the present life nevertheless. The way a youth makes\nuse of, or throws away his opportunities, either makes or mars, to\na very large extent, his adult career. Opportunities, once allowed\nto pass, can never be recalled. Sins committed and wrongs done to\nour fellow men have an unpleasant habit of repeating themselves in\na reversed way later in life. For instance, a man may get on in life,\nand, in his selfish climb, may trample on one weaker than himself,\nruining him and driving him to despair. Years afterwards, he will\nprobably be treated in exactly the same way by someone stronger and\nmore favourably situated than himself. Therefore, there is an\nimmediate sowing and reaping that finds fruition in this life. By\n\"immediate\" is meant, within the compass of this life. The reaping\nmay be delayed ten or twenty years, but in the writer's experience,\nit not infrequently comes. \"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he\nalso reap.\" Those, therefore, who think that life is not just, and\nwho whine and complain about the way they are treated, are simply\nincreasing their own troubles. Until man realizes that the cause of\nall his troubles is within himself he can never do anything to remedy\nmatters, because, obviously, the only thing that is required is for\nhim to change within. Man has to become changed within before his\nlife can be altered. His thoughts, his ideals, his attitude towards\nlife must all become transformed. When this change has been effected,\nhe not only begins to repair his present life, but he creates a fairer\nand nobler life for the future.\n\n  [5] This is the inner secret of all esoteric teaching. The new\n      birth, or regeneration, means the awakening of the soul to\n      conscious immortality. The old self, that was bound to the\n      wheel of fate and the plane of cause and effect from which it\n      could never free itself, owing to the fact that it was\n      continually binding itself to the wheel afresh, through\n      following selfish desires, dies, and a new self is born. In\n      other words, the consciousness is raised from the plane of sin\n      and death, of sensuality and desire, of restriction and\n      captivity, to the higher plane of Spirit, where man realizes\n      that he is a son of God. He discovers that the Divine Spark\n      within is his true self. He realizes also that he has always\n      lived--in his real Spiritual Self. Beginning and end, like\n      change and decay, belong purely to the material plane and have\n      no place in Reality. They form part of this present three\n      dimensional existence but have no reality. Endless being is\n      the reality. Anything short of this is mere illusion. It is\n      not necessary, therefore, to believe in the theory of\n      reincarnation or that all our experiences must of necessity\n      take place on this plane. Sufficient to know that we can never\n      die, that we cannot escape from ourselves, and that to neglect\n      seeking with all our heart for union once again with our Divine\n      Source, is merely to prolong our sufferings.\n\nMan, then, has to change. His desires and aspirations, instead of\nbeing directed towards hate and evil must be transformed to love and\ngood. Instead of wallowing in lust and selfishness he must lift\nhimself to higher and better things. How can this be done? It cannot\nbe accomplished by the finite man at all, but it can be achieved by\nthe Infinite Power within. It is only when man realizes his oneness\nwith the Infinite and _believes_ that Omnipotent Power is at his\ndisposal, that the Spiritual Power within becomes available. So long\nas man has doubts and fears or disbeliefs, this special power is not\navailable. It is his, but his state of heart and mind prevents him\nfrom either realizing the presence of the Power or making use of it.\nBefore the machinery of a workshop can run it must be connected up\nwith the engine room. In the same way, man, before he can live the\nnew life, must become one with the Infinite Life and Power.\n\nEntering this new life of power, does not take away life's\nexperiences, its trials, troubles and adversities, but the change\nwithin does prevent the creation of unnecessary troubles and\nsuffering. Also even a so-called unkind fate loses much of its power\nto wound, for the higher man rises into union with God and Infinite\nLove, the less power it has in his life. It still operates, but it\nfails to wound so deeply, for man, seeing with illumined eyes, knows\nthat it is good that has come to bless; and not evil that has come\nto slay. Painful fate loses its power to hurt when man ceases to\nresist it and meets it with open arms, seeking to learn the lessons\nthat it has to teach.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nSUCCESS.\n\n\nWhat is meant here by success is the achievement of something worth\nwhile, that shall make the world better and richer, and add something\nto the common good. Our sphere in life may be very humble, but if\nwe overcome our own weaknesses, help others along life's pathway,\nand do our daily work better than we need, our life cannot be other\nthan successful. If, at the end of our life, we can be thankful for\nit, realizing that we have made the best possible use of it, we have\nachieved real success.\n\nSuccess, to the unillumined, may mean the accumulation of wealth and\nthe winning of fame. Yet those who give up their lives to the\nacquirement of these things are the greatest failures in life. They\ngain wealth, it is true, but they find that their money can buy only\nthose things that bring no satisfaction: that it cannot purchase for\nthem any of the things which are really worth having. Success of this\nhollow kind, can be won, but at too great a price. The greatest\nTeacher of all once said: \"For what shall it profit man, if he shall\ngain the whole world and lose his own soul?\" What _does_ it profit\na man if he \"gets on\" at the cost of happiness, health, joy of living,\ndomestic life, and the ability to appreciate Nature's beauties and\nsimple pleasures?\n\nYet man must be a striver. He must be for ever seeking better things\nand to express himself more perfectly. One who drifts through life,\nmaking no effort to rise to better things, is not worthy of the name\nof citizen. Man, if he is to be worthy of the name, must be for ever\nstriving, overcoming, rising. Failure in life is always due to\nweakness of character. It is only strong characters who can resist\nthe buffetings of life and overcome its difficulties. The man who\nwould make his life worthy of respect and who would rise to high\nachievement and service, will be confronted by difficulty at every\nturn. This is as it should be, for it weeds out the weaklings and\nunworthy aspirants, and awards the spoils to those who exhibit faith,\ncourage, steadfastness, patience, perseverance, persistence,\ncheerfulness, and strength of character, generally. Success,\nespecially material success, is not, in itself, of much benefit to\nthe one who wins it. It does not satisfy for long, but it is valuable\nin other ways. For instance, success, based on service, is a benefit\nto the community. If, it were not for successful people of this type\nthe ordinary man in the rut would have a bad time. Also, the winning\nof success builds up character. One who would be successful in the\nbattle of life, must be prepared to be tested and tried in every\npossible way. One who survives them all is built up in character in\nalmost every direction. Even in his success, however, he will be\ntempted and tried. One who is engaged in the harsh struggle of\nbusiness, or who takes part in public life, may, if he does not watch\nhimself very carefully, become hard and callous. Of all failures this\nis probably the worst. One who succeeds in other directions and\nbecomes a \"hard man,\" is, after all, a sorry failure.\n\nAgain, people of the successful, striving, climbing type, are tempted\nfar more than those who are afraid to venture and who remain in the\nvalley of mediocrity. This is true, not only of those who seek to\nclimb the steep path of spiritual attainment, but also of those who\nare successful in mundane affairs. In each case, they have placed\nin their keeping great powers and influence such as the ordinary man\nlittle dreams of. This is a grave responsibility, for if these powers\nare used for self-aggrandisement the results are disastrous. Thus,\nthose who climb, are beset on all sides by temptations of a very\nsubtle kind, which, if yielded to, will ruin the life and do grave\ninjury to the soul.\n\nLife is a continual battle. To the ordinary person it is generally\na fight with circumstances and the ordinary difficulties of life\nwhich are very important in his eyes. The more advanced soul is not\ntroubled much by these things--he rises above them--but he is tempted\nand tried to a much greater degree, and in a far more subtle manner.\nThose who think that by following a certain \"cult\" or \"ism,\" they\nwill be able to have an uneventful walk through life are merely\ndeluding themselves. As he learns to overcome the difficulties of\nlife which baffle the ordinary individual, he will be tempted and\ntried in other and more subtle ways. This is because life is not for\nmere passing pleasure, but is for the building up of character,\nthrough experience. Therefore, one who would succeed must be strong,\nand wise and patient. Those who aspire to make their lives really\nworth while: who desire to serve their fellows more perfectly: who\nwant to build up character through experience and overcome all their\nweaknesses, inherited or otherwise, must look within for power and\nwisdom.\n\nIt must be pointed out, however, that man must not use his spiritual\npowers for selfish purposes and self-aggrandisement. There is an\nimmutable law, which has been known to the inner teaching all through\nthe ages, that forbids the use of spiritual powers for the creation\nof wealth or even of daily bread. Jesus was subject to the same\nspiritual law, and was tempted exactly in the same way as we. The\ntempter said: \"Command this stone that it be made bread.\" If Christ\nhad turned the stone into bread, He would have failed in His great\nmission, but He knew the law. There are thousands of people to-day\nwho are trying, not only to turn, by the mis-use of their spiritual\npowers, stones into bread, but also into motor cars, fat bank balances\nand lands and houses. Such are heading to disaster, for they are\nworking _against_ the combined Spiritual Power of the Universe. The\nEnemy of Souls offers those who have learned to tap the inexhaustible\nPower of the Universe, and who have discovered that they are sons\nof God, wealth, power, pomp, the applause of men--the glittering\nthings that perish--if only they will mis-use their God-given power.\nLike Jesus, they must refuse. They must put service before self, and\ngive instead of grasping.\n\nThousands are being taught to-day to force their human will upon life\nand to use occult powers for the acquisition of wealth and power.\nThey are taught to enter the Silence and demand \"what they want.\"\n\"How to get what you want\" is the slogan of these modern teachers.\nNot merit, not service, not giving, but demanding, compelling by human\nwill-power and by the use of occult forces. This is another device\nof the Enemy of Souls, and it is taking tens of thousands of seekers\nfor Truth out of the Path. This subject is dealt with more fully in\na separate chapter.\n\nIf, however, man's ambition is to serve and to give, instead of to\ngrasp and to grab: if, also, he seeks success through merit and not\nthrough the mis-use of his spiritual powers, he can go forward and\nthe Power will go with him and will help him. When once the Power\nhas been aroused, man must cease all purely selfish striving,\nalthough, of course, there will still be much selfishness in his\nmotive. He must seek his success through service and through following\nnoble aims: through merit and a fair exchange, instead of trying to\nwring success from life, no matter who may suffer thereby.\n\nFurther, when this Power has been brought into expression it must\nonly be used in love, for if it used otherwise it will destroy the\nuser. Again, the Power must not be used by the finite human will,\nbut an endeavour must be made to find what the Will of the Whole is,\nand to work in harmony with it.\n\nBehind each life is the Divine Will and Purpose. Each life is perfect\nas it is imaged in the Universal Mind. The highest success, indeed,\nthe only true success, is to live the life according to the great\nCosmic Purpose, or, in other words, as it is imaged in the One Mind.\n\nDo not imagine, however, that it is the Will of the Universal Mind\nthat man should be a failure or lacking in achievement. Far from it,\nfor we have only to contemplate the Universe to see that the Infinite\nMind is for ever achieving and that it never fails. Man, too, must\nsucceed, but let him mix wisdom with his ambition, and work for the\nbenefit of the Whole, rather than for any purely selfish purpose.\n\nIt is natural for man to \"get on\" in life, to a moderate extent. [6]\nIn order to \"get on\" he must become more efficient, and thus serve\nlife and his fellows better. Therefore, there is no harm in success\nof this kind. It is natural and laudable also for one in poor and\nunlovely surroundings to have an ambition to raise himself to better\ncircumstances. It is only right that he should desire to make life\nbrighter and better for his wife and family. So long as he indulges\nin ambition wisely, and if he seeks success through _better service_\nto his fellows, his is a laudable purpose. If, however, he does not\ncurb and control his ambition but allows it to \"run away\" with him,\nhe will lose all real joy in life, and, at the last, when it is too\nlate, learn, to his sorrow, that his life, through too much \"success,\"\nhas been a failure.\n\n  [6] It must not be deduced from this that the author deprecates\n      large achievement. There must always be the few who have to\n      bear huge responsibilities. The real success of the lives of\n      these great ones depends entirely upon their MOTIVE. If they\n      seek merely power, fame and self-aggrandisement, then their\n      life, no matter how it may APPEAR otherwise, can be only a\n      failure. If, however, their motive is SERVICE, then their life\n      is truly successful, no matter how it may appear to be\n      otherwise.\n\nThe writer's experience has been that it is necessary that we should\nalways be progressing, achieving, overcoming and endeavouring to\nsucceed. One of the greatest laws of the Universe is progress,\ntherefore it is fatal to stand still. We must go forward, we must\nachieve, we must accomplish things. If we do so, we may find that\nmany things which cost us much effort, and hard work are not worth\nthe having, yet all the time we are learning, through experience,\nand are being strengthened and prepared for greater things. Through\nrepeated failure to find true satisfaction we arrive finally at true\nknowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are wise then, if, with the\nworld at our feet, we can be satisfied with a very moderate material\nsuccess, and turn our attention and aspirations to higher and better\nthings.\n\nIn concluding this chapter let it be pointed out that success and\nachievement will not drop ready made from heaven into your lap. All\nwho succeed are gluttons for work, toiling whilst others play and\nsleep. All teaching to the contrary is erroneous. To think that\nsuccess is going to come to you when it is unmerited, simply because\nyou make use of \"affirmations\" or employ mental \"treatments,\" is folly\nof the first water. On the other hand, to use the inner forces in\nan occult way, so as to compel material things or \"success,\"\nso-called, in any shape or form, to come to you, is black magic. One\nwho stoops to such practices becomes a black magician, earning for\nhimself a terrible retribution. There is only one way to succeed in\nthe affairs of life, and that is by raising oneself to greater\nusefulness and service. By doing things better than they have been\ndone before, by bearing greater responsibility, you serve humanity\nbetter, and therefore merit success. \"It is more blessed to give than\nto receive,\" said the Master, and this is true even in the practical\nand material affairs of life. First, you must give better and more\nvaluable service: in other words, deserve and merit before you expect\nto see it materialize. You must sow before you can reap: you must\nbecome too big for your present position before you are capable of\noccupying a larger one. You must grow and expand in every possible\nway, and as you grow so will your success increase. Outward success\nis only a reflection, so to speak, of what you really are, and a\nresult of greater and more valuable service to humanity. It requires\ngreat effort and determination to get out of the rut, but so long\nas your ambition is not ignoble or selfish, there will be found within\nyou power sufficient for all your needs.\n\nTo win success, either in the hurly-burly of life, or the more\ndifficult path of spiritual progress, demands imagination, vision,\ncourage, faith, determination, persistence, perseverance, hope,\ncheerfulness and other qualities. These are all to be found within.\nAll these qualities lie more or less dormant within, and can be called\ninto expression if we believe that Infinite Power is ours.\n\nAgain, however, must the warning be repeated that this Power must\nnot be used for selfish self-aggrandisement, still less may it be\nused, or, rather, mis-used, either to influence or dominate others.\nIf this Power is mis-used the results are terrible and disastrous.\nTherefore, use the Power only for the achievement of good and noble\naims and in service which shall enrich the life of your fellows,\nadding to the common good. Having arrived at this stage you must go\nforward. There can be no holding back. Ever onward, the Divine Urge\nis sending you, to greater achievement and accomplishment. Just as\nsurely as the planets must revolve round the sun and fulfil their\ndestiny, so also must you go forward. See to it, then, that your aims\nand ambitions are based upon eternal wisdom, for upon this does your\nwhole future depend.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nHEALTH.\n\n\nIt is impossible, in a little work of this description to explain\nwhy it is that one person inherits a weak and ailing body and another\nenjoys a strong and robust constitution. Sufficient for us here to\nnotice that the days of rude, rugged health are passing, and that\nman is becoming more highly strung, nervous and psychic in his\nmake-up. The old type of rude, unconscious health was due to the\nanimal-like nature of man, which caused his body to be governed more\ncompletely by the instinctive mind. Less evolved humans are not\naffected, apparently, by the mental storms, psychic changes, and\nspiritual disharmonies that disturb the health of the more evolved\ntypes. We have an illustration of this in the case of some forms of\ninsanity. The patient \"goes out of his mind,\" with the result that\nhis bodily health becomes wonderfully good. The instinctive mind takes\ncontrol of things, and rude, robust animal health is the result. When\nthe patient was sane and his mind filled with worry, ambitions, plans,\ncares, lusts, hates and griefs, he was probably very far from well.\nThis would be due to the disturbing effects of his thoughts and\nuncontrolled emotions. When, therefore, his conscious mind gave way\nand he became happy in an imbecile way, he ceased to think of these\ndisturbing things, with the result that the instinctive, animal mind\nwas able to work undisturbed.\n\nIt is of no use sighing for \"the good old times,\" when people were\nrugged and strong in the way that savages are rugged and strong, for\nevolution has decreed that man shall change into a higher and more\nnervous and sensitive type. In this sensitive type wrong thoughts\nand emotions quickly produce pain and suffering. The majority of\npeople do not know what good health is. Not only do they suffer from\nminor ailments, such as headaches, indigestion, rheumatism, neuritis,\nbut they also never feel hearty or completely well. They are strangers\nto the joy of living. Life does not thrill them: nothing quickens\ntheir blood: they have no moments of vivid ecstasy--in other words,\nthey do not live, they merely exist at a poor dying rate.\n\nAgain, the majority of people are susceptible to infectious diseases\nand epidemics, yet, if they were really well, they would be immune.\nInstead, however, of seeking immunity through health, they are seeking\nit through the use of vaccines and serums, thus adding to the burdens\nwhich the body has to bear. All attempts in this direction are bound\nto end in failure, for, as fast as one disease is suppressed another\none will appear.\n\nMany people look upon disease and sickness as inevitable, yet the\ntruth is that health is the normal state and ill-health an\nabnormality. In tracing back ill-health to its source, we find, first\nof all, that it is due to disobedience of natural law. Large numbers\nof people break nearly every known natural law of health, and are\nsurprised that they become ill. Yet the wonder is that they are as\nwell as they are. Yet, while obedience to nature's laws and the use\nof nature-cure methods will carry us a certain part of the way, we\nfind that there must be causes even deeper than those which are\nphysical. We are confronted by the fact that there are many people\nwho obey every known physical law of health, who bathe, exercise,\nbreathe, eat and drink scientifically, who adopt nature-cure methods\ninstead of drugs and serums, who yet cannot find health. Therefore\nwe must search deeper and go to the mind in order to discover the\ncause of ill-health.\n\nWhen we look to the mind we find a prolific cause of sickness. Man\nthinks himself into ill-health and disease. It is well known that\nthinking about disease and sickness produces them in the body. People\nwho are for ever thinking about disease, illness, operations and other\nmorbid subjects, become a prey to these things. Those who believe\nthat sickness is inevitable, manifest it in their life. Morbid\nthinking produces a morbid state of the body, causing it either to\nfall an easy prey to infection or to break down into chronic\nill-health, or even disease. Allowing the thoughts to dwell upon\nmorbid things is a sure way to sickness and invalidism.\n\nMan is not only made ill by his own negative thoughts and emotions,\nhe is also under the hypnotic spell of the race mind. \"The God of\nthis world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.\" We are\nall under the spell, more or less, of a huge illusion. The evil,\ndisease, sickness and other imperfections that we see and experience,\nhave no reality, _in reality_, but have an _existence_ in _unreality_.\n[7] Although they are not real in a real sense, yet they are terribly\nreal to this present limited consciousness. By realizing the truth,\nand by thinking and living in its light and power, the hypnotic spell\nbecomes broken, not completely, else we should not grow old, but to\nsuch an extent that a state of greatly improved health can be enjoyed.\n\n  [7] For a fuller explanation of this metaphysical statement see\n      Science of Thought Text Books, Nos. I. and II.\n\nWe are also hypnotically affected by suggestion, which reaches us\nfrom a thousand different sources. The conversations of friends and\nacquaintances, affect us adversely. Their belief in disease and\nsickness as realities, and in its inevitableness, colours all their\nconversation, and, unless we guard against it, this unconsciously\naffects us. Newspapers, magazines, books, all steeped in the same\nerror, also influence us unless we have become too positive to be\naffected. From innumerable sources it is subtly suggested to us that\ndisease, sickness, infection are realities that cannot be evaded,\nand to which we are prone. The effect of all this, putting it in\nsimple and elementary language, is to divert the life power into\nwrong channels, thus producing disease and ill-health in place of\nperfection. The normal state of health has to give place to an\nabnormal state of disease or sickness. The normal health-state is,\nhowever, restored when Truth is realized, and the life lived in Its\nlight and power. Absolute Truth and Perfection stand behind all the\nillusion and imperfection of the sense life. It is by realizing the\nTruth and the perfection of the Reality, and by establishing the\nthought-life in Truth, so that our thoughts cease to be negative and\nbased on error and illusion, that health is to be found.\n\nIt is often said that ill-health is the result of sin. It is, for\nthinking about disease, sickness and ill-health, believing them to\nbe inevitable, is one of the greatest of sins. The way of life is\nto walk (think and act) after the Spirit (which is perfect, whole,\nimmortal and incorruptible) and not after the flesh (corruption,\ndisease, sickness, death). By thinking \"after the flesh\" we dishonour\nGod who is absolute Wholeness and Perfection, and cut ourselves off\nfrom the Divine Life and Power.\n\nBut there are other ways by which wrong thinking destroys the health.\nThinking thoughts of lust is a prolific cause of unhappiness, sickness\nand nervous disease. The divine forces of life are directed into a\nwrong channel, resulting either in indulgence and inevitable weakening\nof body, brain and will, or in repression and its consequent nervous\ndiseases. If the thoughts are allowed to dwell upon impurity, evil\nresults must follow in some form, either in action or ill-health,\nor both. Thought must be controlled and reversed continually. Not\nrepressed, but reversed, be it noted, for there is a tremendous\ndifference between the two. Repression creates nervous trouble, but\nby reversing or transmuting the thoughts the life becomes transformed,\nand the bodily health greatly improved.\n\nFurther, indulging in thoughts of hate, resentment, ill-will, fear,\nworry, care, grief, and anxiety, produces ill-health, and, by lowering\nthe tone of the body, lays it open to infection and disease. We\ntherefore see that the state of the mind and the character of the\nthoughts are important factors which cannot be ignored. It is useless\nto treat either ill-health or disease if they are merely the external\n_effects_ of hidden causes of the mind. In order to effect a cure\nwe have to get back to the cause of the trouble.\n\nThought control [8] is a great assistance. Substituting a right or\npositive thought for a wrong one, will, in course of time, work\nwonders in the life. In the sub-conscious we have an illimitable power\nof extraordinary intelligence. According to our thoughts this\nwonderful power either builds up health, harmony and beauty in our\nlife and body, or just the reverse. The power is good, the\nintelligence is apparently infinite, but it goes where-ever our\nthoughts direct it. By our thinking, therefore, we either create or\ndestroy, produce either good or evil. If, therefore, all our thoughts\nare good, positive and constructive, it follows that both our body\nand our life must become built up in harmony and perfection. The\nquestion is, can this be done? It can be done if we have the desire,\nand are willing to discipline ourselves and persevere in the face,\noften, of seeming failure. Some readers may say, at this point, that\nthey have no desire to be so frightfully good, that they are not\nprepared to give up lust, impurity, hate, anger, malice and thoughts\nand emotions of this kind. Very well, if this is so, they must go\non and learn, through suffering, the lesson which they refuse to learn\nwillingly. Others may say: \"Yes, I want to control my thoughts, but\nhow can I cease to worry when I have so much about which to worry,\nand how can I cease to hate when I have been so deeply wronged?\" This\nbrings us to an even deeper cause of ill-health than that of mind,\nviz., the attitude of the heart. Our scriptures tell us that \"as a\nman thinketh in his _heart_ so is he.\" By \"heart\" is meant the soul\nor feeling, desiring part of man. It is here where the conflict\nbetween the self-will and the Divine Will, between the desires of\nthe flesh and the longings of the Spirit take place. The real root\ncause of all unhappiness, disharmony and ill-health is spiritual,\nand not merely mental or physical. The latter are contributory causes,\nbut the former is the fundamental cause. Spiritual disharmony is,\nin reality, the cause of all ill-health and disease. Until spiritual\nharmony is restored, man is a kingdom divided against itself, which,\nas our Lord said, cannot stand. Healing, then, must be of a spiritual\ncharacter. Until this harmony exists there can be no overcoming of\nhate thoughts, fear thoughts or worry thoughts, and until these are\novercome there can be no true healing. Our Lord's healing was a\ngracious healing of the Spirit. It restored inward harmony by\nforgiving sin, by changing the heart's desires, by bringing the will\nof the subject into harmony with the Divine Will of the Whole. Our\nLord's healing was not accomplished by means of suggestion, neither\nwas it achieved by human will power; it was done by a bringing into\nharmony of the heart and desires and will with the Divine Will. At\nthe same time there must have been a revelation of the truth that\nthe Will of God is love, wholeness, joy and perfection, and not\ndisease, sickness and misery.\n\n  [8] See also \"The Power of Thought\" by the same author, published\n      by The Science of Thought Press, Chichester.\n\nMental healing does not become possible until we have made our peace\nwith God. Until we have surrendered entirely to the love principle,\nwe cannot overcome our hate thoughts and malice thoughts or resentment\nthoughts, by transmuting them into thoughts of love. Until we\nsurrender to the Divine Will and leave all our problems to the\nInfinite Mind, we cannot cease to worry and fear. Mental discipline\nand thought-control are necessary after this inward change has taken\nplace, for we all have to work out our own salvation, but the\nessential thing is the inward heart surrender in love and trust. So\nlong as we hate our brother, or fear what the morrow may bring forth,\nor worry about the things of this life, we can never be well. When,\nhowever, we have become attuned to the Divine Harmony, and have learnt\nto control our thoughts and emotions and to transmute fleshly and\nmaterial desires into loving service, a state of wholeness is the\ninevitable result. Old, deeply-seated disorders die away, and a steady\nimprovement in the state of health takes its place.\n\nIn order to regain health it is necessary to raise oneself up\ncontinually to the Divine Ideal of health, harmony and perfection.\nBut this is useless if there still remains a clashing of the personal\nwill with the Divine Will, or if there is any hate, malice, envy,\nor fear in the heart. The will must be surrendered to the greater\nWill (this, in reality, is our highest good, for the fulfilment of\nthe Divine Will is the happy destiny of man): the heart must forgive\nand be filled with love; fear must be cast out, and replaced by\nconfidence and complete trust, before we can enter into that happy,\ncare-free, restful state which is necessary for healing. Health is\nharmony--a delicate balance and adjustment between spirit, soul, mind\nand body. This harmony is dependent entirely upon the greater harmony\nbetween ourselves and God. So long as there is a conflict of will,\nso long as there is hate or resentment, so long as there is\nselfishness or while there is fear, this harmony cannot exist.\nTherefore, the bed-rock cause of health is spiritual harmony, all\nhealing being a restoration of harmony between man and his Divine\nSource. When this harmony is restored, man is no longer a kingdom\ndivided against itself, for he becomes established in _unity_: he\nworks with the Universe and the Divine Laws of his being, instead\nof against them. The Divine Life and Power flow through him unimpeded,\npromoting perfect sub-conscious functioning. His thoughts become\ncleansed at their source (\"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and\nrenew a right spirit within me,\" \"Cleanse Thou me from _secret_\nfaults\"). He becomes free from the hypnotic spell of the race mind:\nhis eyes, through the influence of the Divine Spirit, become opened\nto the Truth; therefore he is no longer blinded by the Prince of this\nworld. In the Divine Union he becomes free. (In Christ all are made\nalive).\n\nThe subject of grief and its effect upon health has purposely been\nleft to the last. No amount of right thinking will prevent\nbereavements in this life. These form part of the necessary discipline\nof life, and it depends entirely upon how we meet our trials whether\nthey shall be hurtful or the greatest possible blessing. By rebelling\nagainst life's discipline, griefs become hurtful, but the hurt is\nnot in the bereavement itself, but in the attitude of the mind and\nheart. Until the soul is able to drink the cup of sorrow willingly,\nand say \"Thy Will be done,\" bereavement is hurtful, destroying both\nhealth and happiness. The cause of the hurt is, however, in the\nhardness of heart, and not in the bereavement itself. There must,\ntherefore, be submission and an acknowledgment that the discipline\nis necessary. This does not imply, however, a weak giving-in to grief\nand mourning. One who has been bereaved can never, it is true, be\nthe same again, for he or she becomes more chastened, more loving,\nmore sympathetic, richer and more mellow in character. The loved one\ncan never be forgotten, but that is no reason why the heart should\nbe bowed down by grief and the life made desolate by sorrow. In such\ncases true religion, not religiousness, is the only thing that can\nsatisfy the soul, harmonize the mind, and heal the body. To be\nestablished in Truth, knowing that all is well: that God makes no\nmistakes and that there is, in reality, no death but only change,\nis the only way by which bereavement can be made to be a blessing\nin disguise. When this stage is reached, grief is overcome, death\nbeing swallowed up in victory. The only panacea for all life's\ntroubles is conscious harmony with our Divine Source and the Divine\nWill and Purpose which desire only our highest good.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nTHE SECRET OF ABUNDANT SUPPLY.\n\n\nIt is a metaphysical truth that the outward life is a reflection of\nthe thought life. Our life is affected by our habit of thinking and\nattitude of mind, in two ways: first, all our actions are\nunconsciously influenced by our thoughts, thus helping to bring into\nmanifestation, or attracting to us, an environment that corresponds\nto our thoughts. [9] Secondly, we discharge or emit an influence,\nsilent and invisible, that no doubt affects other people. They are\nprobably not aware of it, but they are either repelled or attracted\nby this silent influence. Thus, if our thoughts and mental attitude\nare of the wrong type, not only are our actions affected thereby,\nbut also we exert a silent influence that assists in driving the right\ntype of friends, opportunity, success and every possible good away\nfrom us. The reverse also is equally true. By right thoughts and a\ncorrect mental attitude we naturally attract to us all the good of\nwhich our present life is capable.\n\n  [9] This may seem, at first sight, to be a sweeping statement, but\n      two homely illustrations will prove its reasonableness. First\n      we will take the case of a man committed to prison for\n      law-breaking. His environment is obviously due to his wrong\n      actions, the latter being the offspring of his thoughts, for\n      all actions spring from thoughts. Next let us take the case\n      of a man who is the trusted head of an efficient business.\n      Obviously his position is the result of his actions, for he\n      has climbed to it by hard work and faithful service, all due\n      in the first place to constructive thinking and a right attitude\n      of mind.\n\nThe Bible tells us that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. It\nis equally true to say that as a man _is_, so does he _think_, and,\nthat as he thinks, so do his outer life and circumstances become.\nTherefore, as a man _is_, so is his environment. This may sound rather\nmetaphysical, but it is really quite simple, and proof meets us at\nevery turn. Take a man from slumdom and put him in nice surroundings,\nand note what happens. Very soon he either drifts back to a slum or\nturns his new house into a slum dwelling. Take a man of a higher type,\nand put him in a slum, and soon he will either leave the slum or\nchange his slum dwelling into a more decent habitation. Put a slut\nin a mansion, and she will turn it into a pig-sty, but put a woman\nof a higher type in a hovel and she will make it clean enough to\nentertain royalty. Therefore, before you can change a person's\nenvironment it is necessary to change inwardly the person himself.\nWhen a man becomes inwardly changed and filled with new ambitions,\nideals and hopes, he, in course of time, rises above his sordid\nsurroundings and _attracts to himself an environment that corresponds\nto his new state of mind_. It would be useless to tidy up the house\nof a slut for her, for she would soon make it like a pig-sty again,\nbut if you could get a new ideal of neatness, cleanliness, order and\nspotlessness into her mind, she would not rest satisfied until her\nimmediate environment corresponded, in some measure at least, to her\nmental ideal or image.\n\nVery often, the failures of a man's life, and its disharmonies and\npoverty, either comparative or real, are outward symbols of his\nweakness of character. He may have ability in plenty, but he may lack\napplication or steadfastness, and thus he fails in all his\nundertakings, and has to be kept by his wife and daughters. He will\nassure you that his circumstances are due to ill-fortune, but the\nactual cause of his failure is in his character, or, rather, lack\nof character.\n\nIf, therefore, a man's poverty and lack, or financial difficulties\nare due to weakness of character which manifest in his work and\ndealings with others, in the form of inefficiency, poor service and\nbad judgment, it follows that he, himself, must change before his\ncircumstances can be permanently altered for the better. The\ndifficulty in dealing with unsuccessful people is in getting them\nto realize that they, themselves, are the cause of all their troubles.\n[10] Until, however, they do realize this, their case is hopeless,\nand it is impossible to help them, but when they acknowledge that\nthe fault is theirs, they can be shown that there is a remedy for\ntheir ills and a way out of their difficulties, by means of\nself-improvement. Let them then search for hidden weaknesses, and\nbuild up those weak places in their character, such as lack of grit,\ndetermination, steadfastness, persistence, patience, probity,\ndecision, which are the cause of their troubles, and they will find\nthat their circumstances will gradually change for the better.\nEverything comes from within--first within, then out, this is the\nlaw--therefore the change must always take place within.\n\n [10] See also \"The Fundamentals of True Success,\" by the same author\n      and published by The Science of Thought Press, Chichester.\n\nGoing more deeply into the subject and becoming more metaphysical,\nit is necessary to point out that the cause of all manifestation is\nMind. We have already seen that a man's mind and character are\nreflected in his circumstances; now let us think, for a moment, about\nthe Mind that is Infinite. The whole universe, which is, of course,\ninfinite in extent, has its origin in the Divine Mind, and _is\ncontained within this Infinite Mind_, just in the same way that you\ncan hold a mental picture in your own mind. God's Universe, _as it\nis imaged in the Divine Mind_, is perfect. We see it as imperfect,\nbecause we only receive a finite sense-perception of that which is\nperfect and infinite, from this forming, in our minds, an image that\nis necessarily imperfect and finite, which we project outwards, and,\nnot knowing any better, think is real. But the universe, _as imaged\nin the Divine Mind_, and as it actually is in reality, is both\ninfinite and perfect: it is also infinitely perfect. There is no\npoverty or lack in a universe that is infinitely perfect, whole and\ncomplete in the Divine Mind. Poverty and lack have their origin in\nthe mind of man: they have no place in the Mind of God.\n\nWe cannot, in a little elementary work of this kind, go more deeply\ninto this extremely fascinating subject. Sufficient if we say here\nthat the only Reality is infinite perfection and wholeness, therefore\nthere cannot be any lack at all (in reality). The obvious lack and\npoverty that we see around us are the product of the human mind. Those\nwho live in a consciousness of poverty and lack, go through life\nclosely fettered by limitation. They can never escape from poverty,\nit dogs their footsteps like their shadow. In fact, it is a shadow\nor reflection, in the outer life, of their state of mind and mental\nattitude.\n\nOn the other hand, those who live in a consciousness of sufficiency,\nare not troubled about supply. Their circumstances reflect their type\nof mind and mental attitude. It does not follow that they will be\nrich, for many of them prefer to live from hand to mouth, and quite\nlarge numbers of people have no desire whatever to possess wealth\nof any kind, but they have no worry about supply, for their needs\nare always met by sufficiency.\n\nMany of our readers look upon the possession of wealth as an iniquity.\nPersonally, I do not see how, at this stage, it can be altogether\navoided. Capital is necessary for the conducting of business and for\nthe carrying out of enterprises, but, as far as the hoarding of wealth\nis concerned, I certainly think that it is both unwise and\nunnecessary. There is nothing more deadening to the spiritual life\nthan riches. There is always hope for the drunkard and the harlot,\nbut it is most difficult although, of course, not impossible, for\none who is burdened by wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven. Some\nare able to do so, but they are allowed to enter simply because they\nhold their wealth as of no importance, merely as something of which\nthey are stewards for a season.\n\nThe hoarding of wealth is just as unnecessary as poverty. They are\nboth based upon a fundamental error. This error is in thinking that\nall supply, being material, must necessarily have a material source:\nthat it is limited in quantity, and therefore must be grabbed at and\nfought over. The truth is, of course, that the source of supply is\nSpiritual, and therefore without limit; consequently, one who realizes\nthe truth has no thoughts of poverty or lack, and ceases to fear it.\nOn the other hand, he has no incentive to hoard or to grab wealth,\nfor of what use are riches to one whose supply is for ever assured?\n\nAll who enter into this truth regarding supply, either despise riches\nor hold them very lightly indeed. They cease to have any desire for\nwealth. Why should they have any such desire? People hanker after\nwealth because they fear poverty with a deadly fear, and long for\nwealth because they think that its possession would release them from\ntheir fears. When, however, they know the truth, they also KNOW that\ntheir wants will always be supplied, therefore they no longer desire\nwealth and its cares and responsibilities.\n\nWealth is just as abnormal as poverty. Our Lord showed this to be\nthe case by choosing to be poor (but not in poverty) and by His\nteaching in the Sermon on the Mount. What Jesus promised was adequate\nsupply, but not wealth or riches, to those who had sufficient faith\nin their \"Heavenly Father.\" Many people live this planless life of\nutter dependence upon their Spiritual Source. They never become rich,\nbut all their needs are supplied. Something always arrives in time\nto meet their requirements. Such a life requires a very live and\nactive faith, but its results are as certain as the rising of the\nsun.\n\nAn understanding of the truth regarding supply is a necessary\nfoundation for the faith without which the planless life is\nimpossible. It is necessary to _know_ the utter falseness and\nunreality of poverty and lack before we can trust in Divine Providence\nor the working of Spiritual (at the same time, mental) law. It is\nnecessary to know that the universe is Spiritual: that God is Spirit,\nin whom we live and move and have our being, and that because we are\na part, very small, but yet a part, of the Whole, all our wants, all\nthrough the ages, must be supplied. Supply, sufficient for all our\nneeds, is the reality. Poverty and lack, the product of lack of faith,\nof fear, of ignorance, of weakness of character, have their origin\nin the human mind, and are the unreality--the negative which has no\npermanence or reality.\n\nWhen we have learnt the truth, it is necessary to live in the\nConsciousness of it, and to think and act and praise God as though\nsufficiency were already ours. Not to spend money that we cannot\nafford to spend, nor to incur debt, but to live mentally in an\natmosphere of abundant supply. We have to remember that the change\nin consciousness must take place first and become well-established,\nbefore its effects can be seen to manifest in the outer life.\n\nThe entering of this higher consciousness where we know and realize\nthe truth, viz., that the Source of all our supply is Spirit, and\nthat the Divine Source is limitless, is not easy, although it is less\ndifficult to some than to others. It demands constant mental activity\nand watchfulness: it requires persistence and perseverance in right\nthinking, yet it is possible to those who are in earnest. By living\nin the consciousness of God's Supply and exercising a lively faith,\nthe life becomes affected, principally due to both conscious and\nunconscious change of action.\n\nHaving dealt with the esoteric or inner side of the subject of supply,\nI will now treat it more from the outer or practical side, the latter\nbeing, of course, just as important as the former.\n\nThe teaching of this chapter does not discourage industry and thrift,\nfar from it. After the Lord Christ had fed the five thousand, all\nthe leavings were carefully collected so that nothing should be\nwasted. This is in accord with Universal law. There is a law of\neconomy both in the natural and spiritual worlds. Nature appears,\non the surface, to be very wasteful and prodigal, but, actually, she\nnever wastes anything, if it can be avoided. Therefore, the action\nof the disciples was in accord with universal law. What a lesson for\nus! To be careful and saving is a mark of superiority both in mind\nand character. The wastefulness of the helpless poor is notorious.\nThose who are \"well to do\" are far more careful and conserving than\nthe very poor. There are exceptions, it is true, but the rule is that\na man who cannot save money has not it in him to command success in\nlife. Inability to deny himself certain things shows a weakness of\ncharacter and lack of purpose which make success impossible. Two men\nthat I knew very well built fortunes upon P5, which they saved out\nof meagre earnings. It is always the start that is difficult: if you\ncannot overcome the preliminary difficulties you have not the\nsteadfast purpose to hold your own in the battle of life. On the other\nhand, once the initial difficulties have been overcome, it is not\ndifficult to get your barque into the currents of prosperity. When\nonce you realize that there is unlimited abundance in which you can\nshare: when once you learn to live in the consciousness of this\nabundance, at the same time living within your present income and\ndoing your present work as well as it is possible for it to be done,\nyou have set out on the path to affluence. One who realizes and really\nbelieves that there is abundance and plenty for _him_, puts into\noperation a powerful law which will surely bring opportunity to him,\nsooner or later. Many, however, ruin their hopes by not knowing that\nfor a time they must live a kind of double life. They must be opulent\nin consciousness, but careful and thrifty in actual practice. The\ntime will come when their means will largely increase, then, if they\nare wise, they will live on part of their income, instead of living\nup to it. This will give them a wide margin for charitable purposes,\nfor the taking up of further opportunities and for extensions. Many\nbusiness men have to let golden opportunities pass, simply because\nthey have saved little or nothing, owing to lavish private\nexpenditure, or they have to let other people in to share their\nschemes who, in addition to taking a large share of the profits may\nprove a serious handicap and hindrance in other ways.\n\nWhile in its essence, the Source of Supply is spiritual, it comes\nto us through material channels, and, in order to have a share in\nit, it is necessary to earn it. We have to give something in exchange\nfor what we draw from life in the way of supply. We must give in order\nto receive, and what we give must be something that the world wants\nor needs.\n\nThe secret of supply is, then, to realize that there is unlimited\nabundance and to live in the consciousness of it, as completely as\nthough no material channels existed, and, at the same time, to work\nas zealously and be as careful as though there were no such thing\nas spiritual supply. At the same time we must give the world something\nthat it wants, or otherwise serve in some useful capacity, exercising\nhonesty, probity and justice in all our affairs. It is folly to expect\nabundance to drop ready-made in our lap; it must be earned by\nintelligent and faithful service. [11]\n\n [11] This subject is treated fully in \"The Fundamentals of True\n      Success,\" by the same author. Published by The Science of\n      Thought Press, Chichester.\n\nBeing a retired business man who started life with nothing, not even\ngood health, I have looked at this subject from a business man's point\nof view. The principle applies, however, to every walk in life, and\neach reader can adapt the teaching of this lesson to his or her\nparticular needs.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND.\n\n\nThe sub-conscious mind is the mind of Nature. It possesses\nextraordinary powers and intelligence, but no inspiration. It is\ninstinctive: it is animal: it is natural: but there is nothing\ngod-like about it--it is of the earth and the physical plane. It can\nbe described as the inner forces of Nature resident within our body.\nHaving said this we have said nearly all there is to be said about\nthe sub-conscious, yet this is the mind of which some people have\nmade a veritable god.\n\nThe sub-conscious mind, if led aright, is a very good friend, reducing\nall repeated thoughts and actions into habit, which, in time, become\nsettled and part of the very life itself. Thus, by conscious right\nthinking and conscious right action, a good habit is formed, which\nbecomes, in course of time, practically automatic. This, of course,\nbuilds up the character, which, in turn, affects the life. It will\nbe seen then, how important is the right use of this willing and\nfaithful servant. It is no god, it has no inspiration, but it is a\nvery useful servant, as we shall see.\n\nMost of our actions or movements are done or made sub-consciously.\nThe reason that \"practice makes perfect\" is that the sub-conscious\nmind learns to do the task, and, by so doing, takes it off our hands.\nHow difficult it is to learn to drive a motor-car. How carefully,\nat first, we have to double de-clutch and obtain the right engine\nspeed for a noiseless \"change,\" yet, after a time, the whole action\nis performed sub-consciously. It is the same with pianoforte playing.\nMany players, some better than others, can play the most difficult\nclassical music without _consciously_ recalling it to mind. As soon\nas they _try to remember_ the whole \"piece\" leaves them, but as long\nas they leave the whole matter to the sub-conscious (which never\nforgets) they can keep on playing. I and my conscious mind are not\ndoing much of the actual writing of this book. We think the thoughts\nand have something to do with the formation of the sentences, but\nthe sub-conscious mind writes them down. If I had to think of each\nword and letter, my task would be hopeless, and I should become half\ndead with fatigue.\n\nThe sub-conscious mind, however, is even more helpful, for it does\nthe bulk of our thinking, and can be taught to do a great deal more.\nIf we had to think everything out laboriously, according to the laws\nof logic, life would be unbearable. Instead of this our sub-conscious\nmind does the bulk or our thinking, and, if we give it a chance, will\ndo it in an extremely accurate manner, strictly according to the laws\nof logic and _without the slightest fatigue_. The more that we train\nthe sub-conscious to do our ordinary thinking for us, the less we\nsuffer from fatigue. Fatigue is unknown to the sub-conscious mind,\ntherefore we can never tire it or overwork it.\n\nThe sub-conscious mind can be made to do more and more work for us\nif we will delegate definite work for it to deal with. One who has\nlearnt thought control, who can take up a matter, consider it in all\nits bearings, and then dismiss the subject from his conscious thought,\nis able to increase his efficiency a hundred per cent., and reduce\nhis mental fatigue almost to vanishing point. Instead of laboriously\nworking out his problems and worrying and scheming over them, he\nsimply dismisses them to his sub-conscious mind to be dealt with by\na master mind which works unceasingly, with great rapidity, extreme\naccuracy and entirely without effort. It is necessary, however, to\ngive the sub-conscious every available information, for it possesses\nno inspiration or super-human wisdom, but works out logically,\naccording to the facts supplied to it.\n\nThis great, natural, untiring \"mind downstairs,\" as it has been\ncalled, is also capable of doing even more useful work still. A writer\nor speaker, or preacher can collect notes and ideas for his article,\nbook, speech or sermon, and pass them down to his sub-conscious mind\nwith orders that they be arranged in suitable order, division,\nsub-division and so on. When he comes either to write or prepare the\nnotes of his speech or sermon, he will find all the work done for\nhim, and all that he has to do is to write it down, entirely without\neffort or fatigue.\n\nAgain, a business man who has learnt to make use of his sub-conscious\nmind in this way, need not juggle or worry or fatigue himself by\nplanning and scheming for the future. All that he need do is to submit\nthe facts to the \"greater mind downstairs,\" and all the planning will\nbe done for him, entirely without effort, and far more efficiently\nthan he would have done it through laborious conscious thinking.\n\nThe following, which has just been brought to my notice, is a striking\nconfirmation of the teaching of this chapter.\n\nIn a recent issue of _Collier's Magazine_, an interview with Henry\nFord appeared. He spoke of the way with which big business men deal\nwith problems, and pointed out that they did not spend a lot of time\npondering and puzzling over plans or ideas. He said: \"An idea comes\nto us: we think of it for a little while, and then _we put it in the\npot to boil_. We let it simmer for a time, and then take it out.\"\nWhat Henry Ford means, of course, is precisely what we have been\nsaying, viz., that the idea or problem is dismissed to the\nsub-conscious mind, which works it out, and presents it to the\nconscious mind for judgment.\n\nYet again, an inventor or one who is constructing something\nmechanical, can make use of the sub-conscious mind in precisely the\nsame way. Let him sum up the whole problem, arrange all his facts\nand available information, and pass them all to his sub-conscious\nmind, when, if a successful result is within the range of possibility,\nan answer or idea will be forthcoming. All this being done, mark you,\nwithout any effort whatever.\n\nAll this may seem, especially to some readers, rather wonderful and\nfar-fetched, yet there is nothing occult or mysterious about it. I\nam perfectly sure that there is no great writer, politician or\nbusiness man who does not make use of his sub-conscious mind in this\nway. He probably does so unconsciously, but his procedure is the same.\nSome employ the whole of their mind naturally. These become men of\nachievement, who occupy responsible positions, and who bear immense\nburdens without strain, worry or care. Responsibility sits lightly\nupon them, and they are serene and untroubled when in positions, and\nwhen confronted by tasks and difficulties, such as would drive an\nordinary individual out of his mind. Such men develop their powers\nof attention and concentration (anyone who is in earnest can do this)\nto a very high degree. They are at great pains to get to the root\nof a problem, and obtain all the available data possible, but, after\nthat, it is their sub-conscious mind that does all the work, and which\narrives at a decision.\n\nWhile it comes natural to a few to use their sub-conscious mind in\nthe correct way, the majority of people find themselves unable to\ndo so. Such, however, can acquire the art by training. First, it is\nnecessary to learn thought-control, so as to be able to take up a\nproblem or dismiss it entirely from the mind _at will_. When a problem\nis passed on to the sub-conscious to be worked out, the subject must\nbe dismissed entirely from the conscious mind. The problem must not\nbe worried over, nor the thoughts allowed to dwell upon it; it must\nbe left entirely to the sub-conscious. Second, every possible detail\nand information connected with the problem must be grasped by the\nconscious mind, and the whole matter, pro and con, visualized before\nbeing passed to the sub-conscious. It will be seen, then, that\nthought-control of a high order is necessary, also powers of attention\nand concentration. These can all be developed by anyone who is really\nin earnest.\n\nA good way of starting the use of the sub-conscious mind is to hold\nthe problem in the mind just as one is going to sleep. There must\nnot, upon any account, be any attempt made to solve the problem or\nto worry over it. Instead, the main facts of the case, on both sides,\nmust be marshalled, and the case presented to the sub-conscious mind\nin much the same way as you would place it before your lawyer. Having\ndone this, dismiss the whole matter to your sub-conscious mind, and\nin most cases you will find in the morning that a solution has been\narrived at without any effort or fatigue on your part.\n\nThis, of course, is only one of the many ways in which the\nsub-conscious mind can, and does, serve its master, or the one who\nshould be master. This great invisible force of Nature is for ever\nworking. Whatever ideal is held in the mind becomes woven into the\nlife through the tireless working of the sub-conscious mind. Only\nset your attention upon high and lofty achievement, and you will focus\nall the invisible inward forces of Nature upon its accomplishment.\nIn course of time you will reap as you sow. If you will direct your\nattention into the right channel, backing it up with energetic,\nconscious action, your sub-conscious will help you day and night,\nthus making success and achievement possible.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE USE OF THE SPIRITUAL OR SUPER-CONSCIOUS MIND.\n\n\nWe have already seen that the sub-conscious mind, wonderful though\nit be, is instinctive merely, lacking inspiration and what we call\noriginality.\n\nAll inspiration comes from the Universal Mind, via the super-conscious.\nAll poets and inspired writers get their inspiration in this way.\nThis higher mind is not recognized by Psychologists, but it has long\nbeen known to searchers for spiritual truth.\n\nWhat we get from the sub-conscious is the outcome of facts and\nknowledge supplied to it. What we get from the super-conscious is\ndirect inspiration from higher planes. This higher mind might also\nbe called the Mind of Illumination, for those who can enter into it\nbecome illumined, being able to know the Truth and to see things as\nthey really are, and not as they falsely appear to the senses.\n\nThis limited consciousness in which we live is bounded by our five\nsenses. The universe that we see around us is partly real and partly\nan illusion. The real universe is Spiritual and infinite: what we\nsense is a limited, partial conception of a fragment of it. Our\nlimited, finite conception of the universe is entirely misleading\nand erroneous, and so long as we rely on sense evidence and the human\nmind, we remain in darkness and uncertainty. When, however, we can\nrise into the super-conscious realm, our consciousness expands,\ntranscending the senses and the limitations of the physical plane.\n\nThe Spiritual mind is, of course, only accessible to those who are\nmore delicately attuned to its finer vibrations. Nothing that is worth\nhaving can be had without effort, and it is only after much\nself-discipline that it becomes possible for the student to raise\nhis consciousness to this higher realm and understand life from the\nstandpoint of the Universal Mind.\n\nThere is nothing, either mystical or psychical, about the use of this\nhigher mind. One who makes use of it becomes spiritually-minded, that\nis all. He does not go into trances, nor need he become clairvoyant:\nhe simply remains a sane, normal individual, with this difference\nonly--he makes use of more of his mind than does the ordinary\nindividual.\n\nOne who is able to use this higher mind develops that which has been\ntermed \"the divine quality of originality.\" If ever a person is to\nrise above the dead level of mediocrity it must be through direct\ninspiration from higher planes, through his super-conscious mind.\nIf ever a person is to bring forth a new idea which shall enrich\nhumanity and add to the common good, it must come through the higher\nmind.\n\nOne who is properly attuned, becomes, through the super-conscious\nmind, a recipient of knowledge that is above human, and wisdom that\nis divine. He knows by direct knowing: he becomes wise through an\ninflux of Divine Wisdom. He is able to distinguish between the real\nand the sham, between the gold and the dross: he is also able to see\nand recognize the right path in life--a thing utterly impossible to\nthe mind of the senses--and to tread it, thus being led into the only\ntrue success and real good of which his life is capable.\n\nLet it be said here that all Wisdom must come from within. While\nbooks and the written word may be helpful, it is the Spirit within\nthe reader that illumines the word, and makes it real and true to\nthe seeker after Wisdom. One who realizes that he is illumined within\nby the Divine Spirit, and that this alone can bring him into real\nknowledge is well advanced on the path that leads to realization.\n\nThe wisdom of the human mind always leads to disappointment. It is\nbased on the evidence of the senses, which is erroneous, therefore\nits findings must always be lacking in _real_ wisdom. One who relies\nupon the inspiration of Divine Wisdom has often to decide to take\na course of action which, apparently, is opposed to his best\ninterests. Yet, if he follows the inward Wisdom, he finds that he\nis always guided aright, and, later, has cause to be devoutly thankful\nthat he followed the gleam.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nCHARACTER BUILDING AND THE OVERCOMING OF HABIT.\n\n\nCharacter building is the greatest object in life. It has been said\nthat character is the only thing we can take with us when we depart\nthis life. This is perfectly true, therefore the object of all\nreligion (not religiousness), mental training and development should\nbe the building of character. A religion that does not build up\ncharacter is worthless. Those who think that they can \"flop\" through\nlife, avoid, as far as possible, its discipline, make no effort to\nimprove their character, and through believing in a certain creed\ncan miraculously become perfect, simply by dying, are deceiving\nthemselves. We do not become \"perfect,\" _i.e._, of a strong and\nperfect character, either by believing in a creed or through dying,\nbut by attainment. God helps those who help themselves, and those\npeople who will not strive after better things cut themselves off\nfrom all the glorious and wonderful possibilities of attainment.\n\nBefore, however, thinking about such lofty things as entering the\nPath of Attainment, and becoming changed into, and modelled after\nthe Divine Image, the average person may wish to know how to overcome\nbad habits and weaknesses of character which are keeping him down\nin life, and, possibly, undermining his health. Most people are\nconscious of some wrong habits that ought to be overcome, and\nweaknesses of character which should be eradicated. Possibly they\nhave fought against their habits or weaknesses for years, prayed until\nthey are tired of praying, made innumerable attempts at turning over\na new leaf, yet all in vain, for they are as firmly in the toils as\never. Many people give up the struggle and endeavour to lead a sort\nof Jekyll and Hyde existence, being outwardly a Christian or righteous\nperson, but inwardly something quite different. Yet they find no\nsatisfaction in this dual life, for they know that they are drifting\ntowards an abyss.\n\nYet there is a way of escape that is open to all. The Infinite One\nhas provided man with powers that are apparently unlimited: powers\nwhich can be used either to build up the life and character or to\ndestroy them. These powers are those of the sub-conscious mind. This\nmind is a reservoir of unlimited, tireless forces, and becomes, if\nwe use it aright, our best friend, or, if we mis-use it, our worst\nenemy.\n\nEvery time a bad action is indulged in, wonderful changes take place\nin the nervous system, and energy becomes stored up in certain cells,\nso as to make it easier to do the wrong act on a future occasion.\nIt is equally true that every time a good action is done, similar\nchanges, but in a reverse direction, take place, that make the doing\nof the same action easier in the future. This explains the tremendous\npower of habit. Our body, brain and nervous system become changed,\neither for the worse or the better, according to the type of action\nindulged in.\n\nWe do not yet fully realize what a wonderful adventure life is. We\nare entrusted with tremendous powers, and by their use or mis-use\nwe can either destroy ourselves or build up our character in every\npossible direction. What a responsibility, yet what a glorious\nopportunity!\n\nIn order, however, to find a way of escape from evil habit and\nweaknesses of character, we must go deeper than actual deeds, for\nactions are effects of hidden causes. The cause of all action is\nthought. A thought, someone has said, is an action in the process\nof being born. It is true that we possess primitive desires and\nimpulses, but these can be transmuted into noble actions and high\nachievement simply by directing the thoughts and attention to higher\nand better things. For instance, the powers of sex become transmuted\ninto brain power if the thoughts and attention are completely\ntransferred from sex to intellectual pursuits. If, however, the\nthoughts are allowed to dwell upon sex or passion, then the kingdom\nbecomes divided against itself, and man begins to drift towards the\nabyss. The strain of modern life is filling our asylums, yet there\nare those who can work fifteen or even eighteen hours a day and thrive\non it, although engaged in severely-trying brain work. These have\nlearnt to transmute their lower powers into higher. This is not done\nby means of esoteric or occult practices, but by obeying the Divine\nInjunction to set our affections on things above. In other words,\nto keep our thoughts and attention fixed upon higher and better aims,\nambitions and pursuits.\n\nIt is impossible to overcome bad habits by fighting them, for the\nmore we fight them the stronger they become. The injunction to \"resist\nnot evil\" is very applicable to habit. The way of escape is not by\nfighting evil or wrong habit, no matter what its character may be,\nbut by concentrating upon building a good habit that shall cut the\nground from under the feet of the bad one, or by turning the attention\nto higher and better things.\n\nWhatever we fix our attention upon, or whatever it is that we\nidealize, our sub-conscious mind endeavours to actualize and make\nreal in our life. By fighting a habit we direct sub-conscious\nattention to it, and this is fatal. If, however, we turn our whole\nattention to something entirely different and which is higher and\nbetter, all the powers of the sub-conscious are directed towards the\nproduction, in the life and body, of the new object of attention.\n\nWe see, therefore, that we do not have to overcome habit. If we did\nour task would be hopeless, for the human will is helpless before\nthe power of the sub-conscious mind. The sub-conscious powers can\nbe led by the imagination, but they cannot be coerced by the will.\nThe will must be used not to fight the habit, but in raising and\ndirecting the attention to something higher and better. By this means\na new habit is formed. The attention of the sub-conscious mind is\ntaken away from the bad habit, and all its powers directed towards\nthe creation of a new and better one. The sub-conscious does not care\nwhat the habit is. It is indifferent as to whether it is good or bad.\nIt is just as willing to produce a good habit as a bad one. We, each\nof us, therefore, hold our fate in our own hands. We can, by\ncontrolling our thoughts and imagination and by directing our\nattention to better things, focus all the powers of the sub-conscious\non the building up of good habits, or, on the other hand, we can,\nby allowing our thoughts and mental pictures to dwell upon undesirable\nthings and our attention to be directed to low or weak ideals, fall\ninto undesirable habits. The power that produces the habits is the\nsame in each case; it is the way in which this power is directed that\nis the vital and essential thing.\n\nIt is very necessary to point out that right thinking and correct\nuse of the imagination must be accompanied by corresponding right\naction. Many people make use of auto-suggestion and expect it to\ndestroy their bad habits and build up better ones, but it never will,\nor can do so, unaided. Auto-suggestion is useless if it is not\nfollowed by constructive action. Young people should expend their\nenergies in physical culture and games. Older people should interest\nthemselves in hobbies and intellectual pursuits. It is only advanced\nstudents who can control their thoughts so that they can govern their\nlife forces by mental means. Those less advanced, when attacked by\nevil or weak thoughts, must get up and _do_ something quite different,\nand thus get their minds off the forbidden subject and interested\nin the new object of attention. It is a case of directing the desires\nand life forces into different channels, by controlling the thoughts\nand attention. Here is seen the value of true religion, for it brings\nfresh ideals into the life and directs the attention to higher and\nbetter things. The writer realizes that a change must take place in\nthe heart of the individual before he can desire these better things.\nWhen, however, this change has taken place, the battle has only just\nbegun, for each one has to work out his own salvation.\n\nAt first, then, most people will find it necessary to do something\nin order to attract their attention and guide their thoughts to\nsomething quite different from the forbidden subject. Later on,\nhowever, when they become more advanced in the science of right\nthinking, they will be able to direct their thoughts into any desired\ndirection. This necessitates constant vigilance. Each thought has\nto be carefully scrutinized before being allowed to pass the threshold\nof the mind. By reversing every negative or unworthy or ignoble\nthought into its opposite, a change is wrought in the brain and\nnervous system. The cells formerly used for wrong thinking and for\nthe production of wrong action go out of use as new cells are brought\ninto use for the production of right action.\n\nThis stage leads to one higher still, when it becomes a settled habit\nto reverse bad thoughts into good ones and perform right actions\ninstead of bad or weak ones. The power of the sub-conscious mind,\nwhich at one time seemed so evil, produces right action more or less\nautomatically. When once the habit of cleaning the teeth is\nestablished there is experienced an uncomfortable feeling until they\nhave been attended to. When once a dirty person has learnt to wash\nhimself thoroughly and keep himself decent, he will feel uncomfortable\nif he gets dirty. The same rule applies in the more important things\nand habits of life. If those who are in the bondage of habit will\nonly direct their thoughts and attention to the building up of good\nhabits, their old weaknesses will die a natural death.\n\nIt must not be thought that the victory over life-long habits is easy.\nIt may seem so at first, but sooner or later temptation will come\nwith added force, which may result in a sad fall. If this should\nhappen it is most important that too much attention should not be\npaid to the incident. Instead, the beginner should pick himself up,\nand, making a mental note of the immediate cause of his downfall,\nthus benefiting by the experience, press on again towards freedom.\nIt is most helpful to realize that not only is the sub-conscious mind\nwilling to be guided aright, if we will only persevere long enough\n(until persevering itself becomes a habit), but that we also have\nbehind us all the Spiritual powers of God. The Infinite One sees to\nit that the odds are not overwhelmingly against us. Our difficulties\nare not insuperable, although they may appear to be so. We can always\nwin through if we faint not. Heaven looks on with sympathetic interest\nand rejoices with the struggler when he succeeds, and mourns with\nhim when he fails. The struggle is a stiff one, for it is only by\nthis that the seeker after God can become strong in character, but\nthe victory can always be won. When the situation appears hopeless,\nlet the struggling one remember that there is a way of escape\nsomewhere, and that God, who is his freedom and deliverer, will reveal\nit to him if he faints not. If all who seek deliverance will realize\nthat the Power of the Infinite is on their side, and that they are\nbound to become victors if they will only keep on, they must succeed.\nAnd what a joy is theirs! There is no happiness quite like that which\ncomes to one who has fought the good fight and overcome habit and\nweaknesses of character.\n\nMay every reader experience this supreme joy of overcoming.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nHAPPINESS AND JOY.\n\n\nDeep down in every heart is an unquenchable desire for happiness. The\nadvanced soul desires happiness just as much as the pleasure-seeking\nworldling, the difference between them is simply that the former,\nthrough knowledge and experience, does not search for happiness,\nknowing that it can never be found by direct seeking, but finds it\nthrough service and love to others and in victory over self; while\nthe latter seeks happiness, like a will-o'-the-wisp, in every form\nof pleasure, and finds it not.\n\nMan is never satisfied with his life: he is for ever seeking something\nthat is better. Until he learns wisdom, he looks for it in pleasure,\nin sense gratification of various kinds, in wealth, luxury and\npossession. The less evolved a man is the more convinced he is that\nhappiness can be gained in these ways, and the lower are his desires.\nFor instance, those who form what is called the underworld of our\ncities, seek happiness in vice and debauchery. Those who are more\nevolved seek pleasure in more refined things, hoping to find happiness\nin intellectual pursuits, friendships, and in pure human loves. These\nmore evolved types get much more pleasure through the senses than\ndo those who are more elemental, but they are capable also of greater\nand more acute suffering. They can derive great pleasure from a\npicture gallery, whereas a savage would see nothing interesting at\nall: they can also suffer from things which a savage would not be\ncapable of feeling. Yet, in spite of this developed refinement and\nability to derive pleasure from art, science, literature, etc.,\nhappiness is still as far off as ever. All attempts at finding\nhappiness lead finally to \"emptiness.\" There is no satisfaction,\neither in wealth and all that it can command, getting on in life,\nor in fame and power. They allure at first and promise happiness,\nbut they fail us, and finally are seen to be but vanity and vexation\nof spirit.\n\nThis desire for happiness is good, for it leads us through innumerable\nexperiences so that the soul can realize, by practical experience,\nthe emptiness of all self-seeking, and thus learn wisdom. After\nrunning the whole gamut of experience the soul learns at last that\nhappiness is not something that can be found by seeking it, but is\nan inward mental state.\n\nAlthough work, well done, brings a quiet sense of satisfaction, and\nsuccess in one's career may also be a source of gratification for\na short time, yet even these cannot satisfy the deep longing of the\nsoul.\n\nHappiness, however, is to be found in service. Not if we seek\nhappiness in service, and serve in order to be happy, but if we serve\nothers for the sake of serving we find the only happiness that will\nendure and satisfy.\n\nOne has only to observe the lives of those who are always selfishly\nseeking and grabbing, who are hard in their dealings, and always\n\"looking after number one,\" in order to see how impossible it is for\nself-seekers to be happy. It does not matter whether they acquire\nriches or remain poor--they are equally unhappy. In contrast to this,\nyou have only to go out of your way to do a kind and perfectly\ndisinterested action and experience the glow of sheer happiness that\nit brings, in order to realize that you are dealing with a law of\nlife that is as sure and unalterable as the law of gravitation.\n\nThere must be a purpose in life, and this must have for its object\nthe betterment of the lives of others, either few or many. The law\nof service must be obeyed, otherwise there can be no happiness. This\nmay fill some readers with dismay, for they may be employed in an\noccupation that apparently does no good to anybody. They may feel\nthat if they were engaged in some noble enterprise for the uplift\nof humanity, then they could truly serve, but in their present\noccupation this is impossible. To think thus is very natural, yet\nthe truth is we can all obey the law of service, and can begin now,\nin our present occupation, no matter what it may be. We have only\nto do our daily work, not as a task which must be \"got through,\" in\norder to bring us a living, or because it is expected of us that we\nshould work, but as an offering of love to life and the world, in\norder to come into harmony with the great law of service. Our ideas\nof values with regard to occupations are altogether erroneous, from\nthe \"inner wisdom\" point of view. The scrubbing of a doorstep, if\nfaithfully done in a true spirit of service, is of as much value and\nreal importance as the writing of a deathless poem, or dying for one's\ncountry. We can never truthfully say that one act of service is of\ngreater value, or is more important than another. All that the higher\nlaw looks at is the _motive_. Therefore, if your motive is right,\nyou can be engaged in the humblest and, apparently, most useless\noccupation, and yet be happy because you satisfy the law of service.\n\nAnother road to happiness is the conquest of the lower nature, the\novercoming of weaknesses, the climbing to higher and better things.\nThere is intense happiness in realizing daily that old habits are\nbeing overthrown, weak points in the character built up, and an\never-increasing state of liberty and freedom entered into. Thank God,\nwe do not have to remain as we once were, but can progress upwards,\nindefinitely, for there is no limit to our upward climb.\n\nBut there is a state that is far higher than happiness, and this is\nJOY. Happiness comes through service and overcoming, but joy comes\nonly to one who realizes his oneness with his Divine Source. The\n_reality_ is ineffable joy. Behind this world of shadows is the real,\nspiritual world of splendour and delight. When the soul, after its\nimmense journey through matter, time and space, at last finds its\nway back to its Divine Source, it becomes aware of this intense joy,\ntoo great to be described in words. It not only realizes that the\n_reality_ is joy, and the universe filled, not with groans or sighing,\nbut with the sweet, quiet laughter of freed souls! it also is filled\nitself with this ineffable joy.\n\nWhat has all this got to do with practical, everyday life, it may\nbe asked? Everything, for the one who possesses this quiet joy can\nnever be defeated in life's battles. He has something within him that\ncan never be quenched and which will lead him from victory to victory.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nTHE USE AND MIS-USE OF MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.\n\n\nThe average individual knows nothing of mental forces, and, although\nhe may suffer from the effects of unconscious wrong thinking, yet\nhe is in no danger of making deliberate mis-use of the inner powers.\nOne, however, who has learnt how to use these interior forces must\nbe very careful to use them aright or he will find that the invisible\npowers of mind and spirit are far more powerful and destructive than\ndynamite. It is not meant by this that he can blow himself up thereby,\nbut it does mean that he can injure himself, not only in this life,\nbut for ages to come, and, in addition, seriously retard his spiritual\nevolution.\n\nAll use of the mind to coerce other people or to influence them by\nmeans of suggestion, not for their benefit, but for your advantage,\nis highly destructive, not to them actually, _but to you_. On the\nface of it, it looks an easy road to success and prosperity, but,\nactually, it leads to failure and poverty. The mis-use of the mental\npowers in this way is really a form of black magic, and the fate of\nall black magicians is very terrible. Even the use of the mind to\ncoerce other people _for their good_ is not desirable. It never does\nany real good, although it may seem beneficial for a time, and its\nuse, therefore, is to be deprecated. Healing, so-called, by\nhetero-suggestion, is not permanent, for as soon as the healer ceases\nto \"pump\" suggestion into the patient the latter begins to relapse\ninto his former state. Far better results accrue if the patient is\ntaught to use auto or self-suggestion for himself. It is seen, then,\nthat the use of the mind to influence others is distinctly harmful\nif it is used selfishly, and of no real use if used unselfishly.\nHypnotism is harmful, no matter which way it is used, and is also\ndetrimental to the patient. Because of this some of our more\nthoughtful neurologists have given up its use.\n\nWe have no right to endeavour to influence other people by the use\nof our inner forces, even if our object is their good. Each soul has\nthe right to live its life in its own way, and choose for itself\neither good or evil. That is the object of life, so that each evolving\nsoul should learn wisdom through the lessons learnt as a result of\nits own mistakes. Far worse is it if others are coerced, not in order\nto help them, but to defraud them or to make them buy goods they do\nnot require, or sign agreements they would not otherwise put their\nname to.\n\nOne who mis-uses his mental and spiritual powers literally smashes\nhis life up. He works against the laws of life and the universe, and\nencompasses his own ruin.\n\nThere is, however, a far more subtle way of mis-using the mental\nand spiritual forces than by coercion, mind domination and\nhetero-suggestion. This method is equally destructive, and if\npersisted in builds up a painful future. With this method other people\nare not influenced or dominated, but the finer forces of Nature are\ncoerced by the human will. Mental demands are made on the invisible\nsubstance from which, we are told, all things are made, and wealth\nis compelled to appear. In addition to this, sickness, so it is\nclaimed, is banished, and the invisible forces of life are compelled\nto operate in such a way as to make life's pathway a bed of roses,\nwithout thorns, so that life becomes shorn of all its discipline and\nexperience.\n\nIts devotees \"enter the Silence,\" and there visualize exactly what\nthey think they want, and compel it to appear, in material form, by\nthe strength of their desire or through the exercise of their will.\n\nSome followers of this cult may be able to make an apparent success\nof it, but I have never yet met any. If they do, however, they will\nlive to regret it, for they are merely practitioners of black magic.\nTheir efforts are of the same nature as sorcery. All such methods\nbuild up a heavy debt of future suffering, and seriously hinder the\nsoul in its evolutionary journey.\n\nEntering the Silence is a good thing: it is really entering the inner\nsilence of the soul, the inner sanctuary where the Divine Spirit\nabides in fulness. To mis-use this inward power for selfish and\nmaterial ends, and for forcing our human will upon life, so as to\nmake it conform to what _we_ think it ought to be is a crime of the\nfirst magnitude, which can result only in ultimate failure and\ndisaster.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nOVERCOMING LIMITATIONS AND AWAKENING INWARD POWERS.\n\n\nLimitations can be overcome through a realization of Truth. When we\nsay this it is taken for granted that every effort will be made on\nthe physical plane. It is necessary to bathe, exercise and breathe\nfresh air in order to be well: it is equally necessary to work hard,\nand to give the best of which we are capable, in service, in exchange\nfor that which we receive in the way of supply, if we are to be\nsuccessful. If you keep a gardener, you must pay him. The money that\nyou pay him is part of what you have earned by the sweat of your\nbrain. Therefore you exchange the work of your brain for the labour\nof his hands, and you are mutually helped and helpful to one another,\nboth giving and receiving, and each one serving life according to\nhis ability. Taking all this for granted, we will pass on to the\nmetaphysical side of our subject. This, by the way, is vastly the\nmore important, but the outer, practical work is indispensable\nnevertheless.\n\nIn order to overcome limitations it is necessary to know the Truth\nand to live in the consciousness of It. For instance, if ill-health\nis our limitation, then, in order to become free it is necessary that\nwe live in the consciousness of the Wholeness of God and His Divine\nIdea. If our limitation be restricted means, it is necessary that\nwe live in the consciousness of the inexhaustible and unlimited nature\nof the Substance from which the Creator brings everything into\nmanifestation. If our limitation is disharmony and unhappiness, then\nwe must become attuned to the Divine harmony in such a way and to\nsuch an extent as to cause it to be reflected into the outward life.\nNo matter what our limitation may be, we can find liberation and\ndeliverance by looking to our Divine Source, realizing that in the\nPerfect Reality all our wants are supplied, and then living in the\nconsciousness of this truth.\n\nIll-health is, apart from physical causes, an outward sign of an\ninward warfare or disharmony, caused by wrong thoughts, emotions,\nbeliefs and attitude of mind and soul towards life and God. In other\nwords, the life is lived in an \"error\" consciousness of disease and\nsickness. First, the inward life has to be adjusted in such a way\nas to harmonize with the laws of our own being and the Divine purpose\nof life. There must be an inward surrender to the love principle,\nafter which the thoughts must be brought under control so that\nhealth-destroying emotions may no longer impair the health. Further,\nthe whole consciousness must, as often as possible, be raised to a\nrealization of the perfect Wholeness which is the reality. If this\ncourse is persevered with, a consciousness of health and wholeness\nbecomes a permanent mental state, with the result that health becomes\nmanifested in the life. The outward life is always a reflection or\nexternal manifestation of what we are within, or our state of\nconsciousness. Therefore everything depends upon which kind of\nconsciousness it is in which we live.\n\nOne who lives in the mental atmosphere of Divine Wholeness, health\nand harmony, unconsciously directs all the inner forces of nature\ninto health channels. On the other hand, one who lives in a mental\natmosphere of ill-health, as sick and unhealthy people very often\ndo, unconsciously directs all his sub-conscious activities in such\na way as to produce sickness and disease.\n\nAgain, with regard to lack of means, this state also can be overcome,\nspiritually, only by living in a higher consciousness of abundance\nand sufficiency. This affects, unconsciously, every action in such\na way as to bring about a better state of affairs. On the other hand,\none who lives in a mental atmosphere of limitation and lack,\nunconsciously directs all his actions towards the production, in his\nlife, of penury and restricted means.\n\nThe same rule applies, no matter what the limitations of one's life\nmay be. Freedom can be gained only by realizing the truth about life\nand being. When we realize the truth, live in the consciousness of\nit, and become obedient to the laws of life and being, the life\nbecomes increasingly free. This does not mean that if we are plain\nof feature, and of a stumpy figure, that we shall become beautiful\nand graceful; but it does mean that these so-called drawbacks will\nno longer fetter us, and that others will see in us something far\nbetter than mere regularity of feature and beauty of form. When the\nsoul is _alive_ and the life filled with love, the homeliest face\nbecomes attractive. Neither does it mean that we shall not suffer\nbereavements and sorrows, difficulties and adversities, but it does\nmean that we shall cease intensifying these things and creating\nfurther troubles by taking life's discipline in the wrong spirit.\nIt also means that we shall be able to overcome all life's\ndifficulties and trials, become a conqueror in the strife, and, in\nso doing, build up character. Thus the storms of life, instead of\ndestroying us, can succeed only in _making us stronger_. Thus our\nfate depends not on the storms of life, but upon how we meet them.\nIf we give in to them, or, thinking that they are evil and not a\nnecessary discipline, rebel against them and resist them, then we\nbecome shipwrecked on a desolate shore. If, however, we are armed\nwith the knowledge of truth we can set our sails in such a way as\nto compel the storms of life actually to help us towards the desired\nhaven.\n\nThe first step in the direction of knowledge of the truth is right\nthinking. Every negative thought must be transmuted into its positive\nopposite, [12] for instance, hate and dislike into love and goodwill,\nfear into confident trust, poverty into abundance, evil into absolute\ngood, and so on. This will be found to be not easy, but it is\npossible, and the power to control one's thoughts increases if one\nperseveres continually, with the passing of the years. A beginner\ncannot, naturally, expect to be able to exercise the same control\nas one who has been perseveringly seeking self-mastery for years,\nbut he can make substantial progress and learn from day to day.\n\n [12] See also \"The Power of Thought\" and \"The Way of Escape,\" by\n      the same author and publisher.\n\nThe result of thinking in this way is surprising. The reversal of\nthought may appear at first to be simplicity itself, and to lead\nnowhere in particular, but after a time the vastness of the subject\nbecomes almost appalling. The cultivation and practice of right\nthinking gradually lead to a knowledge of the Truth. Not an\nintellectual knowledge of truth, but a realization, by the soul, of\n_the_ Truth. This is the knowing of the Truth which sets men free.\nWe can then look through all the ages and know that all is well. The\nheavy burden which has oppressed us so long, rolls from our shoulders,\nand we become free.\n\n\n  AROUSING INWARD POWERS.\n\n\nMan is heir to wonderful and illimitable powers, but until he becomes\naware of them and consciously identifies himself with them, they lie\ndormant and unexpressed, and might just as well not exist at all as\nfar as their use to man, in his unawakened state, is concerned. When,\nhowever, man becomes awakened to the great truth that he is a\nspiritual being: when he learns that the little petty self and finite\npersonality are not his real self at all, but merely a mask to the\nreal man: when he realizes that the Spiritual Ego, a true Divine Spark\nof, or branch or twig of the Eternal Logos, [13] is _his real Self_:\nwhen he understands that his body is not himself, that his mind is\nnot himself, that even his soul is not himself, being but vehicles\nthrough which he seeks expression, but that he is spirit, deathless,\ndiseaseless, eternal, forming an integral part of the One Spirit and\nbeing identical with It, he enters a new life of almost boundless\npower.\n\n [13] \"I am the Vine, ye are the branches.\"--Jesus.\n\nIt is unwise to engage in any mystical practices in an attempt to\n\"force\" development and unfoldment. Mystic trances are highly\ndangerous and are also unnecessary. Psychic experiences and the\nawakening of psychic centres are also dangerous and lead away from\nour goal. Breathing exercises, whose object is to awaken inward\npowers, are _highly dangerous_ and are to be condemned in consequence.\nThe cultivation of negative passivity such as inhibiting all thought\nand making oneself quite passive and open to any influence, is also\nhighly dangerous and should be strictly avoided.\n\nIn place of all these unwise practices a short time should be set\naside each night and also morning, if possible, for getting into touch\nwith Reality. You should then endeavour to realize that the body,\nmind and soul are but vehicles of expression, mere servants of the\ntrue Self or Ego. This will bring about in time, a consciousness of\nidentity with the One Eternal Spirit. What Jesus called \"our Father\nin Heaven.\"\n\nOne might proceed after this fashion:--\n\n\"My body is not myself, but is merely something that enables me to\nlive this material life and gain experience.\n\n\"My mind is not myself, but merely an instrument which I use and which\nobeys my will.\n\n\"My soul is not myself, but merely a garment of my spirit.\n\n\"My will is not myself, but is something of which I, the true Self,\nmake use.\"\n\nAnd so on. By this means you gradually approach the great truth which\ncannot be put into words and which can only become yours through\nrealization or inward spiritual understanding.\n\nIn addition one can use a positive statement of Truth, reverently,\nbut with full confidence, such as: \"I am a branch in the True Vine.\"\n\nIn course of time you will become possessed of a feeling of tremendous\nand unlimited power and security. This is a great responsibility for\nthis power must be used only in service and not for selfish purposes.\nIf it is used for the acquisition of wealth and the gaining of\ntemporal power, great disaster will be the inevitable result. Yet,\nif used aright, it is bound to have a great, though unconscious,\ninfluence for good on the life, and for this you are not responsible.\nConstantly endeavour to serve and bless others, then, because you\ndo not seek them, crowds of blessings will come into your life\nunbidden, great happiness being one of the chief. Having found the\nkingdom of heaven it will be your experience that all needed good\nwill be added unto you.\n\nThis power may also be used to strengthen character, to overcome in\nthe conflicts of the soul, and to build up the spiritual body which\nwill be our vehicle of expression in higher realms.\n\n\n  THE END.","title":"Within You is the Power","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":22615}