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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10361 ***
+
+THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL
+
+BY T. TROWARD
+
+1915
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+In the present volume I have endeavored to set before the reader the
+conception of a sequence of creative action commencing with the formation
+of the globe and culminating in a vista of infinite possibilities
+attainable by every one who follows up the right line for their unfoldment.
+
+I have endeavored to show that, starting with certain incontrovertible
+scientific facts, all these things logically follow, and that therefore,
+however far these speculations may carry us beyond our past experience,
+they nowhere break the thread of an intelligible connection of cause and
+effect.
+
+I do not, however, offer the suggestions here put forward in any other
+light than that of purely speculative reasoning; nevertheless, no advance
+in any direction can be made except by speculative reasoning going back to
+the first principles of things which we do know and thence deducing the
+conditions under which the same principles might be carried further and
+made to produce results hitherto unknown. It is to this method of thought
+that we owe all the advantages of civilization from matches and
+post-offices to motor-cars and aeroplanes, and we may therefore be
+encouraged to hope such speculations as the present may not be without
+their ultimate value. Relying on the maxim that Principle is not bound by
+Precedent we should not limit our expectations of the future; and if our
+speculations lead us to the conclusion that we have reached a point where
+we are not only able, but also _required_, by the law of our own being, to
+take a more active part in our personal evolution than heretofore, this
+discovery will afford us a new outlook upon life and widen our horizon with
+fresh interests and brightening hopes.
+
+If the thoughts here suggested should help any reader to clear some mental
+obstacles from his path the writer will feel that he has not written to no
+purpose. Only each reader must think out these suggestions for himself. No
+writer or lecturer can convey an idea _into_ the minds of his audience. He
+can only put it before them, and what they will make of it depends entirely
+upon themselves--assimilation is a process which no one can carry out for
+us.
+
+To the kindness of my readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in
+Australia and New Zealand, I commend this little volume, not, indeed,
+without a deep sense of its many shortcomings, but at the same time
+encouraged by the generous indulgence extended to my previous books.
+
+T.T.
+
+June, 1910.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+       I THE STARTING-POINT
+      II THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+     III THE DIVINE IDEAL
+      IV THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+       V THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+      VI THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+     VII RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+    VIII THE DÉNOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+      IX CONCLUSION
+       X THE DIVINE OFFERING
+      XI OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+
+
+
+      I say no man has ever yet been half devout enough,
+      None has ever yet adored or worship'd half enough,
+      None has begun to think how divine he himself is, and
+    how certain the future is.
+      I say that the real and permanent grandeur of these States
+    must be their religion,
+      Otherwise there is no real and permanent grandeur.
+    --WALT WHITMAN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE STARTING-POINT
+
+
+It is an old saying that "Order is Heaven's First Law," and like many other
+old sayings it contains a much deeper philosophy than appears immediately
+on the surface. Getting things into a better order is the great secret of
+progress, and we are now able to fly through the air, not because the laws
+of Nature have altered, but because we have learnt to arrange things in the
+right order to produce this result--the things themselves had existed from
+the beginning of the world, but what was wanting was the introduction of a
+Personal Factor which, by an intelligent perception of the possibilities
+contained in the laws of Nature, should be able to bring into working
+reality ideas which previous generations would have laughed at as the
+absurd fancies of an unbalanced mind. The lesson to be learnt from the
+practical aviation of the present day is that of the triumph of principle
+over precedent, of the working out of an _idea_ to its logical conclusions
+in spite of the accumulated testimony of all past experience to the
+contrary; and with such a notable example before us can we say that it is
+futile to enquire whether by the same method we may not unlock still more
+important secrets and gain some knowledge of the unseen causes which are at
+the back of external and visible conditions, and then by bringing these
+unseen causes into a better order make practical working realities of
+possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams? It is at least
+worth while taking a preliminary canter over the course, and this is all
+that this little volume professes to attempt; yet this may be sufficient to
+show the lay of the ground.
+
+Now the first thing in any investigation is to have some idea of what you
+are looking for--to have at least some notion of the general direction in
+which to go--just as you would not go up a tree to find fish though you
+would for birds' eggs. Well, the general direction in which we all want to
+go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it--we
+want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved
+conditions in our environment. However happily any of us may be
+circumstanced we can all conceive something still better, or at any rate we
+should like to make our present good permanent; and since we shall find as
+our studies advance that the prospect of increasing possibilities keeps
+opening out more and more widely before us, we may say that what we are in
+search of is the secret of getting more out of Life in a continually
+progressive degree. This means that what we are looking for is something
+personal, and that it is to be obtained by producing conditions which do
+not yet exist; in other words it is nothing less than the exercise of a
+certain creative power in the sphere of our own particular world. So, then,
+what we want is to introduce our own Personal Factor into the realm of
+unseen causes. This is a big thing, and if it is possible at all it must be
+by some sequence of cause and effect, and this sequence it is our object to
+discover. The law of Cause and Effect is one we can never get away from,
+but by carefully following it up we may find that it will lead us further
+than we had anticipated.
+
+Now, the first thing to observe is that if _we_ can succeed in finding out
+such a sequence of cause and effect as the one we are in search of,
+somebody else may find out the same creative secret also; and then, by the
+hypothesis of the case, we should both be armed with an infallible power,
+and if we wanted to employ this power against each other we should be
+landed in the "impasse" of a conflict between two powers each of which was
+irresistible. Consequently it follows that the first principle of this
+power must be Harmony. It cannot be antagonizing itself from different
+centers--in other words its operation in a simultaneous order at every
+point is the first necessity of its being. What we are in search of, then,
+is a sequence of cause and effect so universal in its nature as to include
+harmoniously all possible variations of individual expression. This primary
+necessity of the Law for which we are seeking should be carefully borne in
+mind, for it is obvious that any sequence which transgresses this primary
+essential must be contrary to the very nature of the Law itself, and
+consequently cannot be conducting us to the exercise of true creative
+power.
+
+What we are seeking, therefore, is to discover how to arrange things in
+such an order as to set in motion a train of causation that will harmonize
+our own conditions without antagonizing the exercise of a like power by
+others. This therefore means that all individual exercise of this power is
+the particular application of a universal power which itself operates
+creatively on its own account independently of these individual
+applications; and the harmony between the various individual applications
+is brought about by all the individuals bringing their own particular
+action into line with this independent creative action of the original
+power. It is in fact another application of Euclid's axiom that things
+which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another; so that though
+I may not know for what purpose some one may be using this creative power
+in Pekin, I do know that if he and I both realize its true nature, we
+cannot by any possibility be working in opposition to one another. For
+these reasons, having now some general idea of what it is we are in search
+of, we may commence our investigation by considering this common factor
+which must be at the back of all individual exercise of creative power,
+that is to say, the Generic working of the Universal Creative Principle.
+
+That such a Universal Creative Principle is at work we at once realize from
+the existence of the world around us with all its inhabitants, and the
+inter-relation of all parts of the cosmic system shows its underlying
+Unity--thus the animal kingdom depends on the vegetable, the vegetable
+kingdom on the mineral, the mineral or globe of the earth on its relation
+to the rest of the solar system, and possibly our solar system is related
+by a similar law to the distribution of other suns with their attendant
+planets throughout space. Our first glance therefore shows us that the
+All-originating Power must be in essence Unity and in manifestation
+Multiplicity, and that it manifests as Life and Beauty through the unerring
+adaptation of means to ends--that is so far as its cosmic manifestation of
+ends goes: what we want to do is to carry this manifestation still further
+by operation from an individual standpoint. To do this is precisely our
+place in the Order of Creation, but we must defer the question why we hold
+this place till later on.
+
+One of the earliest discoveries we all make is the existence of Matter. The
+bruised shins of our childhood convince us of its solidity, so now comes
+the question, Why does Matter exist? The answer is that if the form were
+not expressed in solid substance, things would be perpetually flowing into
+each other so that no identity could be maintained for a single moment. To
+this it might be replied that a condition of matter is conceivable in
+which, though in itself a plastic substance, in a fluent state, it might
+yet by the operation of will be held in any particular forms desired. The
+idea of such a condition of matter is no doubt conceivable, and when the
+fluent matter was thus held in particular forms you would have concrete
+matter just as we know it now, only with this difference, that it would
+return to its fluent state as soon as the supporting will was withdrawn.
+Now, as we shall see later on, this is precisely what matter really is,
+only the will which holds it together in concrete form is not individual
+but cosmic.
+
+In itself the Essence of Matter is precisely the fluent substance we have
+imagined, and as we shall see later on the knowledge of this fact, when
+realized in its proper order, is the basis of the legitimate control of
+mind over matter. But a world in which every individual possessed the power
+of concreting or fluxing matter at his own sweet will irrespective of any
+universal coordinating principle is altogether inconceivable--the conflict
+of wills would prevent such a world remaining in existence. On the other
+hand, if we conceive of a number of individuals each possessing this power
+and all employing it on the lines of a common cosmic unity, then the result
+would be precisely the same stable condition of matter with which we are
+familiar--this would be a necessity of fact for the masses who did not
+possess this power, and a necessity of principle for the few who did. So
+under these circumstances the same stable conditions of Nature would
+prevail as at present, varied only when the initiated ones perceived that
+the order of evolution would be furthered, and not hindered, by calling
+into action the higher laws. Such occasions would be of rare occurrence,
+and then the departure from the ordinary law would be regarded by the
+multitude as a miracle. Also we may be quite sure that no one who had
+attained this knowledge in the legitimate order would ever perform a
+"miracle" for his own personal aggrandizement or for the purpose of merely
+astonishing the beholders--to do so would be contrary to the first
+principle of the higher teaching which is that of profound reverence for
+the Unity of the All-originating Principle. The conception, therefore, of
+such a power over matter being possessed by certain individuals is in no
+way opposed to our ordinary recognition of concrete matter, and so we need
+not at present trouble ourselves to consider these exceptions.
+
+Another theory is that matter has no existence at all but is merely an
+illusion projected by our own minds. If so, then how is it that we all
+project identically similar images? On the supposition that each mind is
+independently projecting its own conception of matter a lady who goes to be
+fitted might be seen by her dressmaker as a cow. Generations of people have
+seen the Great Pyramid on the same spot; but on the supposition that each
+individual is projecting his own material world in entire independence of
+all other individuals there is no reason why any two persons should ever
+see the same thing in the same place. On the supposition of such an
+independent action by each separate mind, without any common factor binding
+them all to one particular mode of recognition, no intercourse between
+individuals would be possible--then, without the consciousness of relation
+to other individuals the consciousness of our own individuality would be
+lost, and so we should cease to have any conscious existence at all. If on
+the other hand we grant that there is, above the individual minds, a great
+Cosmic Mind which imposes upon them the necessity of all seeing the same
+image of Matter, then that image is not a projection of the individual
+minds but of the Cosmic Mind; and since the individual minds are themselves
+similar projections of the Cosmic Mind, matter is for them just as much a
+reality as their own existence. I doubt not that material substance is thus
+projected by the all-embracing Divine Mind; but so also are our own minds
+projected by it, and therefore the relation between them and matter is a
+real relation and not a merely fictitious one.
+
+I particularly wish the student to be clear on this point, that where two
+factors are projected from a common source their relation to each other
+becomes an absolute fact in respect of the factors themselves,
+notwithstanding that the power of changing that relation by substituting a
+different projection must necessarily always continue to reside in the
+originating source. To take a simple arithmetical example--by my power of
+mental projection working through my eyes and fingers I write 4 X 2. Here I
+have established a certain numerical relation which can only produce eight
+as its result. Again, I have power to change the factors and write 4 X 3,
+in which case 12 is the only possible result, and so on. Working in this
+way calculation becomes possible. But if every time I wrote 4 that figure
+possessed an independent power of setting down a different number by which
+to multiply itself, what would be the result? The first 4 I wrote might set
+down 3 as its multiplier, and the next might set down 7, and so on. Or if I
+want to make a box of a certain size and cut lengths of plank accordingly,
+if each length could capriciously change its width at a moment's notice,
+how could I ever make the box? I myself may change the shape and size of my
+box by establishing new relations between the bits of wood, but for the
+pieces of wood themselves the proportions determined by my mind must remain
+fixed quantities, otherwise no construction could take place.
+
+This is a very rough analogy, but it may be sufficient to show that for a
+cosmos to exist at all it is absolutely necessary that there should be a
+Cosmic Mind binding all individual minds to certain _generic_ unities of
+action, and so producing all things as realities and nothing as illusion.
+The importance of this conclusion will become more apparent as we advance
+in our studies.
+
+We have now got at some reason why concrete material form is a necessity of
+the Creative Process. Without it the perfect Self-recognition of Spirit
+from the Individual standpoint, which we shall presently find is the means
+by which the Creative Process is to be carried forward, would be
+impossible; and therefore, so far from matter being an illusion, it is the
+necessary channel for the self-differentiation of Spirit and its Expression
+in multitudinous life and beauty. Matter is thus the necessary Polar
+Opposite to Spirit, and when we thus recognize it in its right order we
+shall find that there is no antagonism between the two, but that together
+they constitute one harmonious whole.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+
+
+If we ask how the cosmos came into existence we shall find that ultimately
+we can only attribute it to the Self-Contemplation of Spirit. Let us start
+with the facts now known to modern physical science. All material things,
+including our own bodies, are composed of combinations of different
+chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, &c. Chemistry
+recognizes in all about seventy of these elements each with its peculiar
+affinities; but the more advanced physical science of the present day finds
+that they are all composed of one and the same ultimate substance to which
+the name of Ether has been given, and that the difference between an atom
+of iron and an atom of oxygen results only from the difference in the
+number of etheric particles of which each is composed and the rate of their
+motion within the sphere of the atom, thus curiously coming back to the
+dictum of Pythagoras that the universe has its origin in Number and Motion.
+We may therefore say that our entire solar system together with every sort
+of material substance which it contains is made up of nothing but this one
+primary substance in various degrees of condensation.
+
+Now the next step is to realize that this ether is everywhere. This is
+shown by the undulatory theory of light. Light is not a substance but is
+the effect produced on the eye by the impinging of the ripples of the ether
+upon the retina. These waves are excessively minute, ranging in length from
+1-39,000th of an inch at the red end of the spectrum to 1-57,000th at the
+violet end. Next remember that these waves are not composed of advancing
+particles of the medium but pass onwards by the push which each particle in
+the line of motion gives to the particle next to it, and then you will see
+that if there were a break of one fifty-thousandth part of an inch in the
+connecting ether between our eye and any source of light we could not
+receive light from that source, for there would be nothing to continue the
+wave-motion across the gap. Consequently as soon as we see light from any
+source however distant, we know that there must be a continuous body of
+ether between us and it. Now astronomy shows us that we receive light from
+heavenly bodies so distant that, though it travels with the incredible
+speed of 186,000 miles per second, it takes more than two thousand years to
+reach us from some of them; and as such stars are in all quarters of the
+heavens we can only come to the conclusion that the primary substance or
+ether must be universally present.
+
+This means that the raw material for the formation of solar systems is
+universally distributed throughout space; yet though we find that millions
+of suns stud the heavens, we also find vast interstellar spaces which show
+no sign of cosmic activity. Then something has been at work to start cosmic
+activity in certain areas while passing over others in which the raw
+material is equally available. What is this something? At first we might be
+inclined to attribute the development of cosmic energy to the etheric
+particles themselves, but a little consideration will show us that this is
+mathematically impossible in a medium which is equally distributed
+throughout space, for all its particles are in equilibrium and so no one
+particle possesses _per se_ a greater power of originating motion than any
+other. Consequently the initial movement must be started by something
+which, though it works on and through the particles of the primary
+substance, is not those particles themselves. It is this "Something" which
+we mean when we speak of "Spirit."
+
+Then since Spirit starts the condensation of the primary substance into
+concrete aggregation, and also does this in certain areas to the exclusion
+of others, we cannot avoid attributing to Spirit the power of Selection and
+of taking an Initiative on its own account.
+
+Here, then, we find the _initial_ Polarity of Universal Spirit and
+Universal Substance, each being the complementary of the other, and out of
+this relation all subsequent evolution proceeds. Being complementary means
+that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together
+thus make complete wholeness. Now this is just the case here. Spirit
+supplies Selection and Motion. Substance supplies something from which
+selection can be made and to which Motion can be imparted; so that it is a
+_sine qua non_ for the Expression of Spirit.
+
+Then comes the question, How did the Universal Substance get there? It
+cannot have made itself, for its only quality is inertia, therefore it must
+have come from some source having power to project it by some mode of
+action not of a material nature. Now the only mode of action not of a
+material nature is Thought, and therefore to Thought we must look for the
+origin of Substance. This places us at a point antecedent to the existence
+even of primary substance, and consequently the initial action must be that
+of the Originating Mind upon Itself, in other words, Self-contemplation.
+
+At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for both
+imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement of
+Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute
+Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension
+either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and
+space from our conception of Spirit's _initial_ Self-contemplation.
+
+This being so, Spirit's primary contemplation of itself as simply Being
+necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently,
+paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it
+present throughout all Time and Space. It is the old esoteric maxim that
+the point expands to infinitude and that infinitude is concentrated in the
+point. We start, then, with Spirit contemplating itself simply as Being.
+But to realize your being you must have consciousness, and consciousness
+can only come by the recognition of your relation to something else. The
+something else may be an external fact or a mental image; but even in the
+latter case to conceive the image at all you must mentally stand back from
+it and look at it--something like the man who was run in by the police at
+Gravesend for walking behind himself to see how his new coat fitted. It
+stands thus: if you are not conscious of something you are conscious of
+nothing, and if you are conscious of nothing, then you are unconscious, so
+that to be conscious at all you must have something to be conscious of.
+
+This may seem like an extract from "Paddy's Philosophy," but it makes it
+clear that consciousness can only be attained by the recognition of
+something which is not the recognizing _ego_ itself--in other words
+consciousness is the realization of some particular sort of _relation_
+between the cognizing subject and the cognized object; but I want to get
+away from academical terms into the speech of human beings, so let us take
+the illustration of a broom and its handle--the two together make a broom;
+that is one sort of relation; but take the same stick and put a rake-iron
+at the end of it and you have an altogether different implement. The stick
+remains the same, but the difference of what is put at the end of it makes
+the whole thing a broom or a rake. Now the thinking and feeling power is
+the stick, and the conception which it forms is the thing at the end of the
+stick, so that the quality of its consciousness will be determined by the
+ideas which it projects; but to be conscious at all it must project ideas
+of some sort.
+
+Now of one thing we may be quite sure, that the Spirit of Life must _feel
+alive_. Then to feel alive it must be conscious, and to be conscious it
+must have something to be conscious of; therefore the contemplation of
+itself as standing related to something which is not its own originating
+self _in propria persona_ is a necessity of the case; and consequently the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit can only proceed by its viewing itself as
+related to something standing out from itself, just as we must stand at a
+proper distance to see a picture--in fact the very word "existence" means
+"standing out." Thus things are called into existence or "outstandingness"
+by a power which itself does not stand out, and whose presence is therefore
+indicated by the word "subsistence."
+
+The next thing is that since in the beginning there is nothing except
+Spirit, its primary feeling of aliveness must be that of being alive _all
+over_; and to establish such a consciousness of its own universal
+livingness there must be the recognition of a corresponding _relation_
+equally extensive in character; and the only possible correspondence to
+fulfil this condition is therefore that of a universally distributed and
+plastic medium whose particles are all in perfect equilibrium, which is
+exactly the description of the Primary Substance or ether. We are thus
+philosophically led to the conclusion that Universal Substance must be
+projected by Universal Spirit as a necessary consequence of Spirit's own
+inherent feeling of Aliveness; and in this way we find that the great
+Primary Polarity of Being becomes established.
+
+From this point onward we shall find the principle of Polarity in universal
+activity. It is that relation between opposites without which no external
+Motion would be possible, because there would be nowhere to move from, and
+nowhere to move to; and without which external Form would be impossible
+because there would be nothing to limit the diffusion of substance and
+bring it into shape. Polarity, or the interaction of Active and Passive, is
+therefore the basis of all _Evolution_.
+
+This is a great fundamental truth when we get it in its right order; but
+all through the ages it has been a prolific source of error by getting it
+in its wrong order. And the wrong order consists in making Polarity the
+originating point of the Creative Process. What this misconception leads to
+we shall see later on; but since it is very widely accepted under various
+guises even at the present day it is well to be on our guard against it.
+Therefore I wish the student to see clearly that there is something which
+comes before that Polarity which gives rise to Evolution, and that this
+something is the original movement of Spirit _within itself_, of which we
+can best get an idea by calling it Self-contemplation.
+
+Now this may seem an extremely abstract conception and one with which we
+have no practical concern. I fancy I can hear the reader saying "The Lord
+only knows how the world started, and it is His business and not mine,"
+which would be perfectly true if this originating faculty were confined to
+the Cosmic Mind. But it is not, and the same action takes place in our own
+minds also, only with the difference that it is ultimately subject to that
+principle of Cosmic Unity of which I have already spoken. But, subject to
+that unifying principle, this same power of origination is in ourselves
+also, and our personal advance in evolution depends on our right use of it;
+and our use of it depends on our recognition that we ourselves give rise to
+the particular polarities which express themselves in our whole world of
+consciousness, whether within or without. For these reasons it is very
+important to realize that Evolution is not the same as Creation. It is the
+unfolding of potentialities involved in things already created, but not the
+calling into existence of what does not yet exist--_that_ is Creation.
+
+The order, therefore, which I wish the student to observe is, first the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit producing Polarity, and next Polarity
+producing Manifestation in Form--and also to realize that it is in this
+order his own mind operates as a subordinate center of creative energy.
+When the true place of Polarity is thus recognized, we shall find in it the
+explanation of all those relations of things which give rise to the whole
+world of phenomena; from which we may draw the practical inference that if
+we want to change the manifestation we must change the polarity, and to
+change the polarity we must get back to the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+But in its proper place as the root-principle of all _secondary_ causation,
+Polarity is one of those fundamental facts of which we must never lose
+sight. The term "Polarity" is adopted from electrical science. In the
+electric battery it is the connecting together of the opposite poles of
+zinc and copper that causes a current to flow from one to the other and so
+provides the energy that rings the bell. If the connection is broken there
+is no action. When you press the button you make the connection. The same
+process is repeated in respect of every sort of polarity throughout the
+universe. Circulation depends on polarity, and circulation is the
+_manifestation_ of Life, which we may therefore say depends on the
+principle of polarity. In relation to ourselves we are concerned with two
+great polarities, the polarity of Soul and Body and the polarity of Soul
+and Spirit; and it is in order that he may more clearly realize their
+working that I want the student to have some preliminary idea of Polarity
+as a general principle.
+
+The conception of the Creative Order may therefore be generalized as
+follows. The Spirit wants to enjoy the reality of its own Life--not merely
+to vegetate, but to enjoy giving--and therefore by Self-contemplation it
+projects a polar opposite, or complementary, calculated to give rise to the
+particular sort of _relation_ out of which the enjoyment of a certain mode
+of self-consciousness will necessarily spring. Let this sentence be well
+pondered over until the full extent of its significance is grasped, for it
+is the key to the whole matter Very well, then: Spirit wants to Enjoy Life,
+and so, by thinking of itself as _having_ the enjoyment which it wishes, it
+produces the conditions which, by their re-action upon itself, give rise to
+the reality of the sort of enjoyment contemplated. In more scientific
+language an opposite polarity is induced, giving rise to a current which
+stimulates a particular mode of sensation, which sensation in turn becomes
+a fresh starting-point for still further action; and in this way each
+successive stage becomes the stepping-stone to a still higher degree of
+sensation--that is, to a Fuller Enjoyment of Life.
+
+Such a conception as this presents us with a Progressive Series to which it
+is impossible to assign any limit. That the progression must be limitless
+is clear from the fact that there is never any change in the method. At
+each successive stage the Creating Power is the Self-consciousness of the
+Spirit, as realized at that stage, still reaching forward for yet further
+Enjoyment of Life, and so always keeping on repeating the _one_ Creative
+Process at an ever-rising level; and since these are the sole working
+conditions, the progress is one which logically admits of no finality. And
+this is where the importance of realizing the Singleness of the Originating
+Power comes in, for with a Duality each member would limit the other; in
+fact, Duality as the Originating Power is inconceivable, for, once more to
+quote "Paddy's Philosophy," "finality would be reached before anything was
+begun."
+
+This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,
+while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by
+stage, each stage being necessary as a preparation for the one that is to
+follow. Let us then briefly sketch the stages by which things in our world
+have got as far as they have. The interest of the enquiry lies in the fact
+that if we can once get at the principle which is producing these results,
+we may discover some way of giving it personal application.
+
+On the hypothesis of the Self-contemplation of Spirit being the originating
+power, we have found that a primary ether, or universal substance, is the
+necessary correspondence to Spirit's simple awareness of its own being. But
+though awareness of being is the necessary foundation for any further
+possibilities it is, so to say, not much to talk about. The foundation
+fact, of course, is to know that I Am; but immediately on this
+consciousness there follows the desire for Activity--I want to enjoy my I
+Am-ness by doing something with it. Translating these words into a state of
+consciousness in the Cosmic Mind they become a Law of Tendency leading to
+_localised_ activity, and, looking only at our own world, this would mean
+the condensation of the universal etheric substance into the primary nebula
+which later on becomes our solar system, this being the correspondence to
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit as passing into specific activity instead
+of remaining absorbed in simple awareness of Being. Then this
+self-recognition would lead to the conception of still more specific
+activity having its appropriate polar opposite, or material correspondence,
+in the condensation of the nebula into a solar system.
+
+Now at this stage Spirit's conception of itself is that of Activity, and
+consequently the material correspondence is Motion, as distinguished from
+the simple diffused ether which is the correspondence of mere awareness of
+Being, But what sort of motion? Is the material movement evolved at this
+stage bound to take any particular form? A little consideration will show
+us that it is. At this initial stage, the first awakening, so to say, of
+Spirit into activity, its consciousness can only be that of activity
+_absolute_; that is, not as related to any other mode of activity because
+as yet there is none, but only as related to an all-embracing Being; so
+that the only possible conception of Activity at this stage is that of
+_Self-sustained_ activity, not depending on any preceding mode of activity
+because there is none. The law of reciprocity therefore demands a similar
+self-sustained motion in the material correspondence, and mathematical
+considerations show that the only sort of motion which can sustain a
+self-supporting body moving _in vacuo_ is a rotary motion bringing the body
+itself into a spherical form. Now this is exactly what we find at both
+extremes of the material world. At the big end the spheres of the planets
+rotating on their axes and revolving round the sun; and at the little end
+the spheres of the atoms consisting of particles which, modern science
+tells us, in like manner rotate round a common center at distances which
+are astronomical as compared with their own mass. Thus the two ultimate
+units of physical manifestation, the atom and the planet, both follow the
+same law of self-sustained motion which we have found that, on _a priori_
+grounds, they ought in order to express the primary activity of Spirit. And
+we may note in passing that this rotary, or _absolute_, motion is the
+combination of the only two possible _relative_ modes of motion, namely,
+motion from a point and motion to it, that is to say centrifugal and
+centripetal motion; so that in rotary, or absolute, motion we find that
+both the polarities of motion are included, thus repeating on the purely
+mechanical side the primordial principle of the Unity including the Duality
+in itself.
+
+But the Spirit wants something more than mechanical motion, something more
+alive than the preliminary Rota, and so the first step toward
+individualized consciousness meets us in plant life. Then on the principle
+that each successive stage affords the platform for a further outlook,
+plant life is followed by animal life, and this by the Human order in which
+the liberty of selecting its own conditions is immensely extended. In this
+way the Spirit's expression of itself has now reached the point where its
+polar complementary, or Reciprocal, manifests as Intellectual Man--thus
+constituting the Fourth great stage of Spirit's Self-recognition. But the
+Creative Process cannot stop here, for, as we have seen, its root in the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit renders it of necessity an Infinite
+Progression. So it is no use asking what is its ultimate, for it has no
+ultimate--its word is "Excelsior"--ever Life and "Life more Abundant."
+Therefore the question is not as to finality where there is none, but as to
+the next step in the progression. Four kingdoms we know: what is to be the
+Fifth? All along the line the progress has been in one direction, namely,
+toward the development of more perfect Individuality, and therefore on the
+principle of continuity we may reasonably infer that the next stage will
+take us still further in the same direction. We want something more perfect
+than we have yet reached, but our ideas as to what it should be are very
+various, not to say discordant, for one person's idea of better is another
+person's idea of worse. Therefore what we want to get at is some broad
+generalization of principle which will be in advance of our past
+experiences. This means that we must look for this principle in something
+that we have not yet experienced, and the only place where we can possibly
+find principles which have not yet manifested themselves is _in gremio
+Dei_--that is, in the innermost of the Originating Spirit, or as St. John
+calls it, "in the bosom of the Father." So we are logically brought to
+personal participation in the Divine Ideal as the only principle by which
+the advance into the next stage can possibly be made. Therefore we arrive
+at the question, What is the Divine Ideal like?
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE DIVINE IDEAL
+
+
+What is the Divine Ideal? At first it might appear hopeless to attempt to
+answer such a question, but by adhering to a definite principle we shall
+find that it will open out, and lead us on, and show us things which we
+could not otherwise have seen--this is the nature of principle, and is what
+distinguishes it from mere rules which are only the application of
+principle under some particular set of conditions. We found two principles
+as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely its power
+of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as
+its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the LIVING for ever
+increasing Enjoyment of Life. Now with these three principles as the very
+essence of the All-originating Spirit to guide us, we shall, I think, be
+able to form some conception of that Divine Ideal which gives rise to the
+Fifth Stage of Manifestation of Spirit, upon which we should now be
+preparing to enter.
+
+We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a
+_reciprocal_--it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to answer
+to it; otherwise by the inherent law of mind no consciousness, and
+consequently no enjoyment, could accrue; and therefore by the law of
+continuous progression the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being
+awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes
+into existence.
+
+Such an awakening cannot proceed from a comparison of one set of existing
+conditions with another, but only from the recognition of a Power which is
+independent of all conditions, that is to say, the absolute Self-dependence
+of the Spirit. A being thus awakened would be the proper correspondence of
+the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life at a stage not only above mechanical motion
+or physical vitality, but even above intellectual perception of existing
+phenomena, that is to say at the stage where the Spirit's Enjoyment
+consists in recognizing itself as the Source of all things. The position in
+the Absolute would be, so to speak, the awakening of Spirit to the
+recognition of its own Artistic Ability. I use the word "Artistic" as more
+nearly expressing an almost unstatable idea than any other I can think of,
+for the work of the artist approaches more closely to creation _ex nihilo_
+than any other form of human activity. The work of the artist is the
+expression of the self that the artist is, while that of the scientist is
+the comparison of facts which exist independently of his own personality.
+It is true that the realm of Art is not without its methods of analysis,
+but the analysis is that of the artist's own feeling and of the causes
+which give rise to it. These are found to contain in themselves certain
+principles which are fundamental to all Art, but these principles are the
+laws of the creative action of mind rather than those of the limitations of
+matter. Now if we may transfer this familiar analogy to our conception of
+the working of the All-Originating Mind we may picture it as the Great
+Artist giving visible expression to His feeling by a process which, though
+subject to no restriction from antecedent conditions, yet works by a Law
+which is inseparable from the Feeling itself--in fact the Law _is_ the
+Feeling, and the Feeling _is_ the Law, the Law of Perfect Creativeness.
+
+Some such Self-contemplation as this is the only way in which we can
+conceive the next, or Fifth, stage of Spirit's Self-recognition as taking
+place. Having got as far as it has in the four previous stages, that is to
+the production of intellectual man as its correspondence, the next step in
+advance must be on the lines I have indicated--unless, indeed, there were a
+sudden and arbitrary breaking of the Law of Continuity, a supposition which
+the whole Creative Process up to now forbids us to entertain. Therefore we
+may picture the Fifth stage of the Self-contemplation of Spirit as its
+awakening to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability, its own absolute
+freedom of action and creative power--just as in studio parlance we say
+that an artist becomes "free of his palette." But by the always present Law
+of Reciprocity, through which alone self-consciousness can be attained,
+this Self-recognition of Spirit in the Absolute implies a corresponding
+objective fact in the world of the Relative; that is to say, the coming
+into manifestation of a being capable of realizing the Free Creative
+Artistry of the Spirit, and of recognizing the same principle in himself,
+while at the same time realizing also the _relation_ between the Universal
+Manifesting Principle and its Individual Manifestation.
+
+Such, it appears to me, must be the conception of the Divine Ideal embodied
+in the Fifth Stage of the progress of manifestation. But I would draw
+particular attention to the concluding words of the last paragraph, for if
+we miss the _relation_ between the Universal Manifesting Principle and its
+Individual Manifestation, we have failed to realize the Principle
+altogether, whether in the Universal or in the Individual--it is just their
+interaction that makes each become what it does become--and in this further
+becoming consists the progression. This relation proceeds from the
+principle I pointed out in the opening chapter which makes it necessary for
+the Universal Spirit to be always harmonious with itself; and if this Unity
+is not recognized by the individual he cannot hold that position of
+Reciprocity to the Originating Spirit which will enable it to recognize
+itself as in the Enjoyment of Life at the higher level we are now
+contemplating--rather the feeling conveyed would be that of something
+antagonistic, producing the reverse of enjoyment, thus philosophically
+bringing out the point of the Scriptural injunction, "Grieve not the
+Spirit." Also the re-action upon the individual must necessarily give rise
+to a corresponding state of inharmony, though he may not be able to define
+his feeling of unrest or to account for it. But on the other hand if the
+grand harmony of the Originating Spirit within itself is duly regarded,
+then the individual mind affords a fresh center from which the Spirit
+contemplates itself in what I have ventured to call its Artistic
+Originality--a boundless potential of Creativeness, yet always regulated by
+its own inherent Law of Unity.
+
+And this Law of the Spirit's Original Unity is a very simple one. It is the
+Spirit's necessary and basic conception of itself. A lie is a statement
+that something is, which is not. Then, since the Spirit's statement or
+conception of anything necessarily makes that thing exist, it is logically
+impossible for it to conceive a lie. Therefore the Spirit is Truth.
+Similarly disease and death are the negative of Life, and therefore the
+Spirit, as the Principle of Life, cannot embody disease or death in its
+Self-contemplation. In like manner also, since it is free to produce what
+it will, the Spirit cannot desire the presence of repugnant forms, and so
+one of its inherent Laws must be Beauty. In this threefold Law of Truth,
+Life, and Beauty, we find the whole underlying nature of the Spirit, and no
+action on the part of the individual can be at variance with the
+Originating Unity which does not contravert these fundamental principles.
+
+This it will be seen leaves the individual absolutely unfettered except in
+the direction of breaking up the fundamental harmony on which he himself,
+as included in the general creation, is dependent. This certainly cannot be
+called limitation, and we are all free to follow the lines of our own
+individuality in every other direction; so that, although the recognition
+of our relation to the Originating Spirit safeguards us from injuring
+ourselves or others, it in no way restricts our liberty of action or
+narrows our field of development. Am I, then, trying to base my action upon
+a fundamental desire for the opening out of Truth, for the increasing of
+Livingness, and for the creating of Beauty? Have I got this as an ever
+present Law of Tendency at the back of my thought? If so, then this law
+will occupy precisely the same place in My Microcosm, or personal world,
+that it does in the Macrocosm, or great world, as a power which is in
+itself formless, but which by reason of its presence necessarily impresses
+its character upon all that the creative energy forms. On this basis the
+creative energy of the Universal Mind may be safely trusted to work through
+the specializing influence of our own thought[1] and we may adopt the maxim
+"trust your desires" because we know that they are the movement of the
+Universal in ourselves, and that being based upon our fundamental
+recognition of the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is, their
+unfoldments must carry these initial qualities with them all down the line,
+and thus, in however small a degree, becomes a portion of the working of
+the Spirit in its inherent creativeness.
+
+This perpetual Creativeness of the Spirit is what we must never lose sight
+of, and that is why I want the student to grasp clearly the idea of the
+Spirit's Self-contemplation as the only possible root of the Creative
+Process. Not only at the first creation of the world, but at all times the
+plane of the innermost is that of Pure Spirit,[2] and therefore at this,
+the originating point, there is nothing else for Spirit to contemplate
+excepting itself; then this Self-contemplation produces corresponding
+manifestation, and since Self-contemplation or recognition of its own
+existence must necessarily go on continually, the corresponding
+creativeness must always be at work. If this fundamental idea be clearly
+grasped we shall see that incessant and progressive creativeness is the
+very essence and being of Spirit. This is what is meant by the
+Affirmativeness of the Spirit. It cannot _per se_ act negatively, that is
+to say uncreatively, for by the very nature of its Self-recognition such a
+negative action would be impossible. Of course if _we_ act negatively then,
+since the Spirit is always acting affirmatively, we are moving in the
+opposite direction to it; and consequently so long as we regard our own
+negative action as being affirmative, the Spirit's action must appear to us
+negative, and thus it is that all the negative conditions of the world have
+their root in negative or inverted thought: but the more we bring our
+thought into harmony with the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is,
+the less these inverted conditions will obtain, until at last they will be
+eliminated altogether. To accomplish this is our great object; for though
+the progress may be slow it will be steady if we proceed on a definite
+principle; and to lay hold of the true principle is the purpose of our
+studies. And the principle to lay hold of is the Ceaseless Creativeness of
+Spirit. This is what we mean when we speak of it as The Spirit of the
+Affirmative, and I would ask my readers to impress this term upon their
+minds. Once grant that the All-originating Spirit is thus the Spirit of the
+Pure Affirmative, and we shall find that this will lead us logically to
+results of the highest value.
+
+If, then, we keep this Perpetual and Progressive Creativeness of the Spirit
+continually in mind we may rely upon its working as surely in ourselves as
+in that great cosmic forward movement which we speak of as Evolution. It is
+the same power of Evolution working within ourselves, only with this
+difference, that in proportion as we come to realize its nature we find
+ourselves able to facilitate its progress by offering more and more
+favorable conditions for its working. We do not add to the force of the
+Power, for we are products of it and so cannot generate what generates
+_us_; but by providing suitable conditions we can more and more highly
+specialize it. This is the method of all the advance that has ever been
+made. We never create any force (_e.g._ electricity) but we provide special
+conditions under which the force manifests _itself_ in a variety of useful
+and beautiful ways, unsuspected possibilities which lay hidden in the power
+until brought to light by the cooperation of the Personal Factor.
+
+Now it is precisely the introduction[3] of this Personal Factor that
+concerns us, because to all eternity we can only recognize things from our
+own center of consciousness, whether in this world or in any other;
+therefore the practical question is how to specialize in our own case the
+_generic_ Originating Life which, when we give it a name, we call "the
+Spirit." The method of doing this is perfectly logical when we once see
+that the principle involved is that of the Self-recognition of Spirit. We
+have traced the _modus operandi_ of the Creative Process sufficiently far
+to see that the existence of the cosmos is the result of the Spirit's
+seeing itself _in_ the cosmos, and if this be the law of the whole it must
+also be the law of the part. But there is this difference, that so long as
+the normal average relation of particles is maintained the whole continues
+to subsist, no matter what position any particular particle may go into,
+just as a fountain continues to exist no matter whether any particular drop
+of water is down in the basin or at the top of the jet. This is the
+_generic_ action which keeps the race going as a whole. But the question
+is, What is going to become of ourselves? Then because the law of the whole
+is also the law of the part we may at once say that what is wanted is for
+the Spirit _to see itself in us_--in other words, to find in us the
+Reciprocal which, as we have seen, is necessary to its Enjoyment of a
+certain Quality of Consciousness. Now, the fundamental consciousness of the
+Spirit must be that of Self-sustaining Life, and for the full enjoyment of
+this consciousness there must be a corresponding _individual_ consciousness
+reciprocating it; and on the part of the individual such a consciousness
+can only arise from the recognition that his own life is identical with
+that of the Spirit--not something sent forth to wander away by itself, but
+something included in and forming part of the Greater Life. Then by the
+very conditions of the case, such a contemplation on the part of the
+individual is nothing else than the Spirit contemplating itself from the
+standpoint of the individual consciousness, and thus fulfilling the Law of
+the Creative Process under such specialized conditions as must logically
+result in the perpetuation of the individual life. It is the Law of the
+Cosmic Creative Process transferred to the individual.
+
+This, it seems to me, is the Divine Ideal: that of an Individuality which
+recognizes its Source, and recognizes also the method by which it springs
+from that Source, and which is therefore able to open up in itself a
+channel by which that Source can flow in uninterruptedly; with the result
+that from the moment of this recognition the individual lives directly from
+the Originating Life, as being himself _a special direct creation_, and not
+merely as being a member of a generic race. The individual who has reached
+this stage of recognition thus finds a principle of enduring life _within
+himself_; so then the next question is in what way this principle is likely
+to manifest itself.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+
+
+We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or
+universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a
+principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth
+proceeding _from_ the principle, that is to say, some Form in which the
+principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that, though a
+form is necessary for manifestation, _the_ form is not essential, for the
+same principle may manifest through various forms, just as electricity may
+work either through a lamp or a tram-car without in any way changing its
+inherent nature. In this way we are brought to the conclusion that the
+Life-principle must always provide itself with a body in which to function,
+though it does not follow that this body must always be of the same
+chemical constitution as the one we now possess. We might well imagine some
+distant planet where the chemical combinations with which we are familiar
+on earth did not obtain; but if the essential life-principle of any
+individual were transported thither, then by the Law of the Creative
+Process it would proceed to clothe itself with a material body drawn from
+the atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the personality thus
+produced would be quite at home there, for all his surroundings would be
+perfectly natural to him, however different the laws of Nature might be
+there from what we know here.
+
+In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two leading
+principles to which I have drawn attention--first, the power of the Spirit
+to create _ex nihilo_, and secondly, the individual's recognition of the
+basic principle of Unity giving permanence and solidity to the frame of
+Nature. By the former the self-recognizing life-principle could produce any
+sort of body it chose; and by the latter it would be led to project one in
+harmony with the natural order of the particular planet, thus making all
+the facts of that order solid realities to the individual, and himself a
+solid and natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this
+would not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and
+so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal
+Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of his
+own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded with the
+conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded just as
+harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function on any number
+of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of them. He would in all
+respects resemble the other inhabitants with one all-important exception,
+that since he had attained to unity with his Creative Principle he would
+not be tied by the laws of matter as they were.
+
+Any one who should attain to such a power could only do so by his
+realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being the
+Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own extended
+powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic principle by
+employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the natural course of
+evolution in the world where he was. He might use them to help forward the
+evolution of others in that world, but certainly never to disturb it, for
+he would always act on the maxim that "Order is Heaven's First Law."
+
+Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets but to
+get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best out of this one
+until we realize that the power which will enable us to do so is so
+absolutely universal and fundamental that its application in this world is
+precisely the same as in any other, and that is why I have stated it as a
+general proposition applicable to all worlds.
+
+The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should
+postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and the
+best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point is not in
+time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we realize that this
+Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce something out of nothing,
+and that it does this in accordance with the natural order of substance of
+the particular world in which it is working, then the spiritual ego in
+ourselves, as proceeding direct from the Universal Spirit, should be able
+first, to so harmoniously combine the working of spiritual and physical
+laws in its own body as to keep it in perfect health, secondly to carry
+this process further and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of
+old age, and thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this
+renewed body as long as the individual might desire.
+
+If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has never
+given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly exclaim
+"Tommy rot!" even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He will at once
+appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his argument being that what
+has not been in the past cannot be in the future; yet he does not apply the
+same argument to aeronautics and is quite oblivious of the fact that the
+Sacred Volume which he reverences contains promises of these very things.
+The really earnest student must never forget the maxim that "Principle is
+not bound by Precedent"--if it were we should still be primitive savages.
+
+To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that is to
+say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start with Pure
+Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to be found _in
+ourselves_, for this is what distinguishes the individual Creative Process
+from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of realizing only ONE
+Originating Power instead of two interacting powers comes in, for it means
+that we do not derive our power from any existing polarity, but that we are
+going to establish polarities which will start secondary causation on the
+lines which we thus determine. This also is where the importance comes in
+of recognizing that the only possible originating movement of spirit must
+be Self-contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to contemplate
+existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this contemplation of
+the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit from the
+standpoint of Human Individuality.
+
+Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we not
+demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is obviously
+correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only inference is
+that somewhere or other we have introduced something antagonistic to the
+fundamental principle, something not inherent in the principle itself and
+which therefore owes its presence to some action of our own. Now the error
+consists in the belief that the Creative Power is limited by the material
+in which it works. If this be assumed, then you have to calculate the
+resistances offered by the material; and since by the terms of the Creative
+Process these resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of
+calculation at all--in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and
+everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to remember that
+the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power, and that the
+interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a later stage, and is
+not creative, but only distributive--that is to say, it localizes the
+Energy already proceeding from the Single Power. This is a fundamental
+truth which should never be lost sight of. So long, however, as we fail to
+see this truth we necessarily limit the Creative Power by the material it
+works in, and in practise we do this by referring to past experience as the
+only standard of judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the
+standard of the Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a
+being of the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which
+obtain in the First or Mineral Kingdom--to use Scriptural language we are
+seeking the Living among the dead.
+
+And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is beginning to
+open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the cure of disease by
+the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily increasing in number. The
+facts are now too patent to be denied--what we want is a better knowledge
+of the power which accounts for them. And if this beginning is now with us,
+by what reason can we limit it? The difference between the healing of
+disease and the renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life
+is only a difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual
+experience of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which
+we can logically set no limits.
+
+If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we shall
+see why we have hitherto had such small results.
+
+    Spirit creates by Self-contemplation;
+    Therefore, What it contemplates itself
+      as being, that it becomes.
+    You are individualized Spirit;
+    Therefore, What you contemplate as
+    the Law of your being becomes the
+    Law of your being.
+
+Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the Material
+reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it, and you impress
+this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in yourself. Of course you cannot
+alter its inherent nature, but you cause it to work under negative
+conditions and thus make it produce negative results so far as you yourself
+are concerned.
+
+But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in the
+very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in yourself;
+and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically non-existent in
+the Creative Process, because they are products of it and not causes--look
+at things in this way and you will impress a corresponding conception upon
+the Spirit which, by the Law of Reciprocity, thus enters into
+Self-contemplation on _these_ lines from the standpoint of your own
+individuality; and then by the nature of the Creative Process a
+corresponding externalization is bound to take place. Thus our initial
+question, How did anything come into existence at all, brings us to the
+recognition of a Law of Life which we may each specialize for ourselves;
+and in the degree to which we specialize it we shall find the Creative
+Principle at work within us building up a healthier and happier personality
+in mind, body, and circumstances.
+
+Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit
+itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What distinguishes
+the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The Spirit is the
+Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form in which this
+principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by the Spirit of
+substance coordinate with the natural order of the plane on which the
+vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be built up comformably to
+that order. This building up is what we speak of as Growth; and since the
+principle which causes the growth is the individualized Spirit, the rate at
+which the growth will go on will depend on the amount of vitalizing energy
+the Spirit puts into it, and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on
+the degree in which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own
+livingness, and finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the
+quality of the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit
+as reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It nothing
+else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit proceeding from an
+individual and personal center. We must therefore not omit the Law of
+Growth in the vehicle from our conception of the working of the Spirit. As
+a matter of fact the vehicle has nothing to say in the matter for it is
+simply a projection from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation
+will be slow or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's
+vitalizing conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception
+that would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present
+we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power--not as thinking it
+by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but as being far slower
+in operation now than we hope to see it in the future--and so we must not
+allow ourselves to be discouraged, but must hold our thought knowing that
+it is doing its creative work, and that the corresponding growth is slowly
+but surely taking place--thus following the Divine precept that men ought
+always to pray and not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these
+new lines our confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we
+shall be less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus
+the hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and
+more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.
+
+If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we should
+remember its threefold nature:--First the General Life-Principle, secondly
+the Localization of this principle in the Individual, and thirdly the
+Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected by the individualized spirit with
+more or less energy. It is a sequence of progressive condensation from the
+Undifferentiated Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost vehicle--a
+truth enshrined in the esoteric maxim that "Matter is Spirit at its lowest
+level."
+
+The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of Nature
+on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore perfectly
+different from forms temporarily consolidated out of material drawn from
+other living organisms. These latter phantasmal bodies are held together
+only by an act of concentrated volition, and can therefore only be
+maintained for a short time and with effort; while the body which the
+individualized spirit, or ego, builds for itself is produced by a perfectly
+natural process and does not require any effort to sustain it, since it is
+kept in touch with the whole system of the planet by the continuous and
+effortless action of the individual's sub-conscious mind.
+
+This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the body
+comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the aggregate of
+suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and if this suggestion
+is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws of the planet then a
+corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind will take place, a process
+which, so far from implying any effort, consists rather in a restful sense
+of unity with Nature.[4]
+
+And if to this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal
+Sub-conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the
+sub-conscious mind does in ourselves--if to this there be superadded a
+sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the Soul of Nature
+flows, then through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such
+specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our past
+experiences without in any way violating the order of the universe. The Old
+Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life working under
+constricted conditions: the New Law is the manifestation of the same
+Principle working under expanding conditions. Thus it is that though God
+never changes we are said to "increase with the increase of God."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+
+
+I have already pointed out that the presence of a single all-embracing
+Cosmic Mind is an absolute necessity for the existence of any creation
+whatever, for the reason that if each individual mind were an entirely
+separate center of perception, not linked to all other minds by a common
+ground of underlying mentality independent of all individual action, then
+no two persons would see the same thing at the same time, in fact no two
+individuals would be conscious of living in the same world. If this were
+the case there would be no common standard to which to refer our
+sensations; and, indeed, coming into existence with no consciousness of
+environment except such as we could form by our own unaided thought, and
+having by the hypothesis no standard by which to form our thoughts, we
+could not form the conception of any environment at all, and consequently
+could have no recognition of our own existence. The confusion of thought
+involved even in the attempt to state such a condition shows it to be
+perfectly inconceivable, for the simple reason that it is
+self-contradictory and self-destructive. On this account it is clear that
+our own existence and that of the world around us necessarily implies the
+presence of a Universal Mind acting on certain _fixed lines of its own_
+which establish the basis for the working of all individual minds. This
+paramount action of the Universal Mind thus sets an unchangeable standard
+by which all individual mental action must eventually be measured, and
+therefore our first concern is to ascertain what this standard is and to
+make it the basis of our own action.
+
+But if the independent existence of a common standard of reference is
+necessary for our self-recognition simply as inhabitants of the world we
+live in, then _a fortiori_ a common standard of reference is necessary for
+our recognition of the unique place we hold in the Creative Order, which is
+that of introducing the Personal Factor without which the possibilities
+contained in the great Cosmic Laws would remain undeveloped, and the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit could never reach those infinite unfoldments
+of which it is logically capable.
+
+The evolution of the Personal Factor is therefore the point with which we
+are most concerned. As a matter of fact, whatever theories we may hold to
+the contrary, we do all realize the same cosmic environment in the same
+way; that is to say, our minds all act according to certain generic laws
+which underlie all our individual diversities of thought and feeling. This
+is so because we are made that way and cannot help it. But with the
+Personal Factor the case is different. A standard is no less necessary, but
+we are not so made as to conform to it automatically. The very conception
+of automatic conformity to a _personal_ standard is self-contradictory, for
+it does away with the very thing that constitutes personality, namely
+freedom of volition, the use of the powers of Initiative and Selection. For
+this reason conformity to the Standard of Personality must be a matter of
+choice, which amounts to the same thing as saying that it rests with each
+individual to form his own conception of a standard of Personality; but
+which liberty, however, carries with it the inevitable result that we shall
+bring into manifestation the _conditions_ corresponding to the sort of
+personality we accept as our normal standard.
+
+I would draw attention to the words "Normal Standard." What we shall
+eventually attain is, not what we merely wish, but what we regard as
+normal. The reason is that since we sub-consciously know ourselves to be
+based upon the inherent Law of the Universal Mind we feel, whether we can
+reason it out or not, that we cannot force the All-producing Mind to work
+contrary to its own inherent qualities, and therefore we intuitively
+recognize that we cannot transcend the sort of personality which is normal
+according to the Law of Universal Mind. This thought is always at the back
+of our mind and we cannot get away from it for the simple reason that it is
+inherent in our mental constitution, because our mind is itself a product
+of the Creative Process; and to suppose ourselves transcending the
+possibilities contained in the Originating Mind would involve the absurdity
+of supposing that we can get the greater out of the less.
+
+Nevertheless there are some who try to do so, and their position is as
+follows. They say in effect, I want to transcend the standard of humanity
+as I see it around me. But this is the normal standard according to the Law
+of the Universe, therefore I have to get above the Law of the Universe.
+Consequently I cannot draw the necessary power from that Law, and so there
+is nowhere else to get it except from myself. Thus the aspirant is thrown
+back upon his own individual will as the ultimate power, with the result
+that the onus lies on him of concentrating a force sufficient to overcome
+the Law of the Universe. There is thus continually present to him a
+suggestion of struggle against a tremendous opposing force, and as a
+consequence he is continually subjecting himself to a strain which grows
+more and more intense as he realizes the magnitude of the force against
+which he is contending. Then as he begins to realize the inequality of the
+struggle he seeks for extraneous aid, and so he falls back on various
+expedients, all of which have this in common that they ultimately amount to
+invoking the assistance of other individualities, not seeing that this
+involves the same fallacy which has brought him to his present straits, the
+fallacy, namely, of supposing that any individuality can develop a power
+greater than that of the source from which itself proceeds. The fallacy is
+a radical one; and therefore all efforts based upon it are fore-doomed to
+ultimate failure, whether they take the form of reliance on personal force
+of will, or magical rites, or austerity practised against the body, or
+attempts by abnormal concentration to absorb the individual in the
+universal, or the invocation of spirits, or any other method--the same
+fallacy is involved in them all, that the less is larger than the greater.
+
+Now the point to be noted is that the idea of transcending the present
+conditions of humanity does not necessarily imply the idea of transcending
+the normal law of humanity. The mistake we have hitherto made has been in
+fixing the Standard of Personality too low and in taking our past
+experiences as measuring the ultimate possibilities of the race. Our
+liberty consists in our ability to form our own conception of the Normal
+Standard of Personality, only subject to the conditions arising out of the
+inherent Law of the underlying Universal Mind; and so the whole thing
+resolves itself into the question, What are those fundamental conditions?
+The Law is that we cannot transcend the Normal; therefore comes the
+question, What is the Normal?
+
+I have endeavored to answer this question in the chapter on the Divine
+Ideal, but since this is the crucial point of the whole subject we may
+devote a little further attention to it. The Normal Standard of Personality
+must necessarily be the reproduction in Individuality of what the Universal
+Mind is in itself, because, by the nature of the Creative Process, this
+standard results from Spirit's Self-contemplation at the stage where its
+recognition is turned toward its own power of Initiative and Selection. At
+this stage Spirit's Self-recognition has passed beyond that of
+Self-expression through a mere Law of Averages into the recognition of what
+I have ventured to call its Artistic Ability; and as we have seen that
+Self-recognition at any stage can only be attained by the realization of a
+_relation_ stimulating that particular sort of consciousness, it follows
+that for the purpose of this further advance expression through individuals
+of a corresponding type is a necessity. Then by the Law of Reciprocity such
+beings must possess powers similar to those contemplated in itself by the
+Originating Spirit, in other words they must be in their own sphere the
+image and likeness of the Spirit as it sees itself.
+
+Now we have seen that the Creating Spirit necessarily possesses the powers
+of Initiative and Selection. These we may call its _active_ properties--the
+summing up of what it _does_. But what any power does depends on what it
+_is_, for the simple reason that it cannot give out what it does not
+contain; therefore at the back of the initiative and selective power of the
+Spirit we must find what the Spirit _is_, namely, what are its
+_substantive_ properties. To begin with it must be Life. Then because it is
+Life it must be Love, because as the undifferentiated Principle of Life it
+cannot do otherwise than tend to the fuller development of life in each
+individual, and the pure motive of giving greater enjoyment of life is
+Love. Then because it is Life guided by Love it must also be Light, that is
+to say, the primary all-inclusive perception of boundless manifestations
+yet to be. Then from this proceeds Power, because there is no opposing
+force at the level of Pure Spirit; and therefore Life urged forward by Love
+or the desire for recognition, and by Light or the pure perception of the
+Law of Infinite Possibility, must necessarily produce Power, for the simple
+reason that under these conditions it could not stop short of action, for
+that would be the denial of the Life, Love, and Light which it is. Then
+because the Spirit is Life, Love, Light, and Power, it is also Peace, again
+for a very simple reason, that being the Spirit of the Whole it cannot set
+one part in antagonism against another, for that would be to destroy the
+wholeness. Next the Spirit must be Beauty, because on the same principle of
+Wholeness it must duly proportion every part to every other part, and the
+due proportioning of all parts is beauty. And lastly the Spirit must be
+Joy, because, working on these lines, it cannot do otherwise than find
+pleasure in the Self-expression which its works afford it, and in the
+contemplation of the limitlessness of the Creative Process by which each
+realized stage of evolution, however excellent, is still the stepping-stone
+to something yet more excellent, and so on in everlasting progression.
+
+For these reasons we may sum up the Substantive Being of the
+All-originating Spirit as Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy;
+and its Active Power as that of Initiative and Selection. These, therefore,
+constitute the basic laws of the underlying universal mentality which sets
+the Standard of Normal Personality--a standard which, when seen in this
+light, transcends the utmost scope of our thought, for it is nothing else
+than the Spirit of the Infinite Affirmative conceived in Human Personality.
+This standard is therefore that of the Universal Spirit itself reproduced
+in Human Individuality by the same Law of Reciprocity which we have found
+to be the fundamental law of the Creative Process--only now we are tracing
+the action of this Law in the Fifth Kingdom instead of in the Fourth.
+
+This Standard, then, we may call the Universal Principle of Humanity, and
+having now traced the successive steps by which it is reached from the
+first cosmic movement of the Spirit in the formation of the primary nebula,
+we need not go over the old ground again, and may henceforward take this
+Divine Principle of Humanity as our Normal Standard and make it the
+starting point for our further evolution. But how are we to do this? Simply
+by using the one method of Creative Process, that is, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. We now know ourselves to be Reciprocals of
+the Divine Spirit, centers in which It finds a fresh standpoint for
+Self-contemplation; and so the way to rise to the heights of this Great
+Pattern is by contemplating it as the Normal Standard of our own
+Personality.
+
+And be it noted that the Pattern thus set before us is Universal. It is the
+embodiment of all the great principles of the Affirmative, and so in no way
+interferes with our own particular individuality--_that_ is something built
+up upon this foundation, something additional affording the differentiating
+medium through which this unifying Principle finds variety of expression,
+therefore we need be under no apprehension lest by resting upon this
+Pattern we should become less ourselves. On the contrary the recognition of
+it sets us at liberty to become more fully ourselves because we know that
+we are basing our development, not upon the strength of our own unaided
+will, nor yet upon any sort of extraneous help, but upon the Universal Law
+itself, manifesting through us in the proper sequence of the Creative
+Order; so that we are still dealing with Universal principles, only the
+principle by which we are now working is the Universal Principle of
+Personality.
+
+I wish the student to get this idea very clearly because this is really the
+crux of the passage from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. The great
+problem of the future of evolution is the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. The reason why this is so is very simple when we see it. To take a
+thought from my own "Doré Lectures" we may put it in this way. In former
+days no one thought of building ships of iron because iron does not float;
+yet now ships are seldom built of anything else, though the relative
+specific gravities of iron and water remain unchanged. What has changed is
+the Personal Factor. It has expanded to a more intelligent perception of
+the law of flotation, and we now see that wood floats and iron sinks, both
+of them by the same principle working under opposite conditions, the law,
+namely, that anything will float which bulk for bulk is lighter than the
+volume of water displaced by it, so that by including in our calculations
+the displacement of the vessel as well as the specific gravity of the
+material, we now make iron float by the very same law by which it sinks.
+This example shows that the function of the Personal Factor is to analyze
+the manifestations of Law which are spontaneously afforded by Nature and to
+discover the Universal Affirmative Principle which lies hidden within them,
+and then by the exercise of our powers of Initiative and Selection to
+provide such specialized conditions as will enable the Universal Principle
+to work in perfectly new ways transcending anything in our past experience.
+This is how all progress has been achieved up to the present; and is the
+way in which all progress must be achieved in the future, only for the
+purpose of evolution, or growth from within, we must transfer the method to
+the spiritual plane.
+
+The function, then, of the Personal Factor in the Creative Order is to
+provide specialized conditions by the use of the powers of Selection and
+Initiative, a truth indicated by the maxim "Nature unaided fails"; but the
+difficulty is that if enhanced powers were attained by the whole population
+of the world without any common basis for their use, their promiscuous
+exercise could only result in chaotic confusion and the destruction of the
+entire race. To introduce the creative power of the Individual and at the
+same time avoid converting it into a devastating flood is the great problem
+of the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. For this purpose
+it becomes necessary to have a Standard of the Personal Factor independent
+of any individual conceptions, just as we found that in order for us to
+attain self-consciousness at all it was a necessity that there should be a
+Universal Mind as the _generic_ basis of all individual mentality; only in
+regard to the generic build of mind the conformity is necessarily
+automatic, while in regard to the specializing process the fact that the
+essence of that process is Selection and Initiative renders it impossible
+for the conformity to the Standard of Personality to be automatic--the very
+nature of the thing makes it a matter of individual choice.
+
+Now a Standard of Personality independent of individual conceptions must be
+the _essence_ of Personality as distinguished from individual
+idiosyncrasies, and can therefore be nothing else than the Creative Life,
+Love, Beauty, etc., viewed as a Divine Individuality, by identifying
+ourselves with which we eliminate all possibility of conflict with other
+personalities based on the same fundamental recognition; and the very
+universality of this Standard allows free play to all our particular
+idiosyncrasies while at the same time preventing them from antagonizing the
+fundamental principles to which we have found that the Self-contemplation
+of the Originating Spirit must necessarily give rise. In this way we attain
+a Standard of Measurement for our own powers. If we recognize no such
+Standard our development of spiritual powers, our discovery of the immense
+possibilities hidden in the inner laws of Nature and of our own being, can
+only become a scourge to ourselves and others, and it is for this reason
+that these secrets are so jealously guarded by those who know them, and
+that over the entrance to the temple are written the words "Eskato
+Bebeloi"--"Hence ye Profane."
+
+But if we recognize and accept this Standard of Measurement then we need
+never fear our discovery of hidden powers either in ourselves or in Nature,
+for on this basis it becomes impossible for us to misuse them. Therefore it
+is that all systematic teaching on these subjects begins with instruction
+regarding the Creative Order of the Cosmos, and then proceeds to exhibit
+the same Order as reproduced on the plane of Personality and so affording a
+fresh starting point for the Creative Process by the introduction of
+Individual Initiative and Selection. This is the doctrine of the Macrocosm
+and the Microcosm; and the transition from the generic working of the
+Creative Spirit in the Cosmos to its specific working in the Individual is
+what is meant by the doctrine of the Octave.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+
+
+We have now got some general idea as to the place of the personal factor in
+the Creative Order, and so the next question is, How does this affect
+ourselves? The answer is that if we have grasped the fundamental fact that
+the moving power in the Creative Process is the self-contemplation of
+Spirit, and if we also see that, because we are miniature reproductions of
+the Original Spirit, our contemplation of It becomes Its contemplation of
+Itself from the standpoint of our own individuality--if we have grasped
+these fundamental conceptions, then it follows that our process for
+developing power is to contemplate the Originating Spirit as the source of
+the power we want to develop. And here we must guard against a mistake
+which people often make when looking to the Spirit as the source of power.
+We are apt to regard it as sometimes giving and sometimes withholding
+power, and consequently are never sure which way it will act. But by so
+doing we make Spirit contemplate itself as having no definite action at
+all, as a plus and minus which mutually cancel each other, and therefore by
+the Law of the Creative Process no result is to be expected. The mistake
+consists in regarding the power as something separate from the Spirit;
+whereas by the analysis of the Creative Process which we have now made we
+see that the Spirit itself _is_ the power, because the power comes into
+existence only through Spirit's self-contemplation. Then the logical
+inference from this is that by contemplating the Spirit _as_ the power, and
+_vice versa_ by contemplating the power _as_ the Spirit, a similar power is
+being generated in ourselves.
+
+Again an important conclusion follows from this, which is that to generate
+any _particular sort_ of power we should contemplate it in the abstract
+rather than as applied to the particular set of circumstances we have in
+hand. The circumstances indicate the sort of power we want but they do not
+help us to generate it; rather they impress us with a sense of something
+contrary to the power, something which has to be overcome by it, and
+therefore we should endeavor to dwell on the power _in itself_, and so come
+into touch with it in its limitless infinitude.
+
+It is here that we begin to find the benefit of a Divine Standard of Human
+Individuality. That also is an Infinite Principle, and by identifying
+ourselves with it we bring to bear upon the abstract conception of infinite
+Impersonal Power a corresponding conception of Infinite Personality, so
+that we thus import the Personal Factor which is able _to use_ the Power
+without imposing any strain upon ourselves. We know that by the very nature
+of the Creative Process we are one with the Originating Spirit and
+therefore one with all the principles of its Being, and consequently one
+with its Infinite Personality, and therefore our contemplation of it as the
+Power which we want gives us the power to use that Power.
+
+This is the Self-contemplation of Spirit employed from the individual
+standpoint for the generating of power. Then comes the application of the
+power thus generated. But there is only one Creative Process, that of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit, and therefore the way to use this process for
+the application of the power is to contemplate ourselves as surrounded by
+the conditions which we want to produce. This does not mean that we are to
+lay down a hard and fast pattern of the conditions and strenuously endeavor
+to compel the Power to conform its working to every detail of our mental
+picture--to do so would be to hinder its working and to exhaust ourselves.
+What we are to dwell upon is the idea of an Infinite Power producing the
+happiness we desire, and because this Power is also the Forming Power of
+the universe trusting it to give that form to the conditions which will
+most perfectly react upon us to produce the particular state of
+consciousness desired.
+
+Thus neither on the side of in-drawing nor of out-giving is there any
+constraining of the Power, while in both cases there is an initiative and
+selective action on the part of the individual--for the generating of
+power he takes the initiative of invoking it by contemplation, and he makes
+selection of the sort of power to invoke; while on the giving-out side he
+makes selection of the purpose for which the Power is to be employed, and
+takes the initiative by his thought of directing the Power to that purpose.
+He thus fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Creative Process by
+exercising Spirit's inherent faculties of initiative and selection by means
+of its inherent method, namely by Self-contemplation. The whole action is
+identical in kind with that which produces the cosmos, and it is now
+repeated in miniature for the particular world of the individual; only we
+must remember that this miniature reproduction of the Creative Process is
+based upon the great fundamental principles inherent in the Universal Mind,
+and cannot be dissociated from them without involving a conception of the
+individual which will ultimately be found self-destructive because it cuts
+away the foundation on which his individuality rests.
+
+It will therefore be seen that any individuality based upon the fundamental
+Standard of Personality thus involved in the Universal Mind has reached the
+basic principle of union with the Originating Spirit itself, and we are
+therefore correct in saying that union is attained through, or by means of,
+this Standard Personality. This is a great truth which in all ages has been
+set forth under a variety of symbolic statements; often misunderstood, and
+still continuing to be so, though owing to the inherent vitality of the
+idea itself even a partial apprehension of it produces a corresponding
+measure of good results. This falling short has been occasioned by the
+failure to recognize an Eternal Principle at the back of the particular
+statements--in a word the failure to see what they were talking about. All
+_principles_ are eternal in themselves, and this is what distinguishes them
+from their particular manifestations as laws determined by temporary and
+local conditions.
+
+If then, we would reach the root of the matter we must penetrate through
+all verbal statements to an Eternal Principle which is as active now as
+ever in the past, and which is as available to ourselves as to any who have
+gone before us. Therefore it is that when we discern an Eternal and
+Universal Principle of Human Personality as necessarily involved in the
+Essential Being of the Originating Universal Spirit--_Filius in gremio
+Patris_--we have discovered the true Normal Standard of Personality. Then
+because this standard is nothing else than the principle of Personality
+expanded to infinitude, there is no limit to the expansion which we
+ourselves may attain by the operation in us of this principle; and so we
+are never placed in a position of antagonism to the true law of our being,
+but on the contrary the larger and more fundamental our conception of
+personal development the greater will be the fulfilment which we give to
+the Law. The Normal Standard of Personality is found to be itself the Law
+of the Creative Process working at the personal level; and it cannot be
+subject to limitation for the simple reason that the process being that of
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit, no limits can possibly be assigned to
+this contemplation.
+
+We need, therefore, never be afraid of forming too high an idea of human
+possibilities provided always that we take this standard as the foundation
+on which to build up the edifice of our personality. And we see that this
+standard is no arbitrary one but simply the Expression in Personality of
+the ONE all-embracing Spirit of the Affirmative; and therefore the only
+limitation implied by conformity to it is that of being prevented from
+running on lines the opposite of those of the Creative Process, that is to
+say, from calling into action causes of disintegration and destruction. In
+the truly Constructive Order, therefore, the Divine Standard of Personality
+is as really the basis of the development of specific personality as the
+Universal Mind is the necessary basis of generic mentality; and just as
+without this generic ultimate of Mind we should none of us see the same
+world at the same time, and in fact have no consciousness of existence, so
+apart from this Divine Standard of Personality it is equally impossible for
+us to specialize the generic law of our being so as to develop all the
+glorious possibilities that are latent in it.
+
+Only we must never forget the difference between these two statements of
+the Universal Law--the one is cosmic and generic, common to the whole race,
+whether they know it or not, a Standard to which we all conform
+automatically by the mere fact of being human beings; while the other is a
+personal and individual Standard, automatic conformity to which is
+impossible because that would imply the loss of those powers of Initiative
+and Selection which are the very essence of Personality; so that this
+Standard necessarily implies a personal selection of it in preference to
+other conceptions of an antagonistic nature.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+
+
+The steady following up of the successive stages of the Creative Process
+has led us to the recognition of an Individuality in the All-creating
+Spirit itself, but an Individuality which is by its very nature Universal,
+and so cannot be departed from without violating the essential principles
+on which the further expansion of our own individuality depends. At the
+same time it is strictly _individual_, for it is the Spirit of
+Individuality, and is thus to be distinguished from that merely _generic_
+race-personality which makes us human beings at all. Race-personality is of
+course the necessary _basis_ for the development of this Individuality; but
+if we do not see that it is only the preliminary to further evolution, any
+other conception of our personality as members of the race will prevent our
+advance toward our proper position in the Creative Order, which is that of
+introducing the Personal Factor by the exercise of our individual power of
+initiative and selection.
+
+It is on this account that Race-thought, simply as such, is opposed to the
+attempt of the individual to pass into a higher order of life. It limits
+him by strong currents of negative suggestion based on the fallacy that the
+perpetuation of the race requires the death of the individual;[5] and it is
+only when the individual sees that this is not true, and that his race-
+nature constitutes the ground out of which his new Individuality is to be
+formed, that he becomes able to oppose the negative power of race-thought.
+He does this by destroying it with its own weapon, that is, by finding in
+the race-nature itself the very material to be used by the Spirit for
+building-up the New Man. This is a discovery on the spiritual plane
+equivalent to the discovery on the physical plane that we can make iron
+float by the same law by which it sinks. It is the discovery that what we
+call the mortal part of us is capable of being brought under a higher
+application of the Universal Law of Life, which will transmute it into an
+immortal principle. When we see what we call the mortal part of us in this
+light we can employ the very principle on which the negative race-thought
+is founded as a weapon for the destruction of that thought in our own
+minds.
+
+The basis of the negative race-thought is the idea that physical death is
+an essential part of the Normal Standard of Personality, and that the body
+is composed of so much neutral material with which death can do what it
+likes. But it is precisely this neutrality of matter that makes it just as
+amenable to the Law of Life as to the Law of Death--it is simply neutral
+and not an originating power on either side; so then when we realize that
+our Normal Standard of Personality is not subject to death, but is the
+Eternal Essence and Being of Life itself, then we see that this neutrality
+of matter--its inability to make selection or take initiative on its own
+account--is just what makes it the plastic medium for the expression of
+Spirit in ourselves.
+
+In this way the generic or race-mind in the individual becomes the
+instrument through which the specializing power of the Spirit works toward
+the building up of a personality based upon the truly Normal Standard of
+Individuality which we have found to be inherent in the All-originating
+Spirit itself: and since the whole question is that of the introduction of
+the factor of personal individuality into the creative order of causation,
+this cannot be done by depriving the individual of what makes him a person
+instead of a thing, namely, the power of conscious initiative and
+selection.
+
+For this reason the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth
+cannot be forced upon the race either by a Divine fiat or by the generic
+action of cosmic law, for it is a _specialising_ of the cosmic law which
+can only be effected by _personal_ initiative and selection, just as iron
+can only be made to float under certain specialized conditions; and
+consequently the passage from the Fourth into the Fifth Kingdom is a
+strictly individual process which can only be brought about by a personal
+perception of what the normal standard of the New Individuality really is.
+This can only be done by the active laying aside of the old race-standard
+and the conscious adoption of the new one. The student will do well to
+consider this carefully, for it explains why the race cannot receive the
+further evolution simply as a race; and also it shows that our further
+evolution is not into a state of less activity but of greater, not into
+being less alive but more alive, not into being less ourselves but more
+ourselves; thus being just the opposite of those systems which present the
+goal of existence as re-absorption into the undifferentiated Divine
+essence. On the contrary our further evolution is into greater degrees of
+conscious activity than we have ever yet known, because it implies our
+development of greater powers as the consequence of our clearer perception
+of our true relation to the All-originating Spirit. It is the recognition
+that we may, and should, measure ourselves by this New Standard instead of
+by the old race-standard that constitutes the real New Thought. The New
+Thought which gives New Life to the individual will never be realized so
+long as we think that it is merely the name of a particular sect, or that
+it is to be found in the mechanical observance of a set of rules laid down
+for us by some particular teacher. It is a New Fact in the experience of
+the individual, the _reason_ for which is indeed made clear to him through
+intellectual perception of the real nature of the Creative Process, but
+which can become an actual experience only by habitual personal intercourse
+with that Divine Spirit which is the Life, Love and Beauty that are at the
+back of the Creative Process and find expression through it.
+
+From this intercourse new thoughts will continually flow in, all of them
+bearing that vivifying element which is inherent in their source, and the
+individual will then proceed to work out these new ideas with the knowledge
+that they have their origin in the selection and initiative power of the
+All-creating Spirit itself, and in this way by combined meditation and
+action he will find himself advancing into increasing light, liberty and
+usefulness. The advance may be almost imperceptible from one day to
+another, but it will be perceptible at longer intervals, and the one who is
+thus moving forward with the Spirit of God will on looking back at any time
+always find that he is getting more livingness out of life than he was a
+year previously. And this without strenuous effort, for he is not having to
+manufacture the power from his own resources but only to _receive_ it--and
+as for _using_ it, that is only the exercise of the power itself. So
+following on these lines you will find that Rest and Power are identical;
+and so you get the real New Thought which grows in Newness every day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE DÉNOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+
+
+Then comes the question, What should logically be the dénouement of the
+progression we have been considering? Let us briefly recapitulate the steps
+of the series. Universal Spirit by Self-contemplation evolves Universal
+Substance. From this it produces cosmic creation as the expression of
+itself as functioning in Space and Time. Then from this initial movement it
+proceeds to more highly specialized modes of Self-contemplation in a
+continually ascending scale, for the simple reason that self-contemplation
+admits of no limits and therefore each stage of self-recognition cannot be
+other than the starting-point for a still more advanced mode of
+self-contemplation, and so on _ad infinitum_. Thus there is a continuous
+progress toward more and more highly specialized forms of life, implying
+greater liberty and wider scope for enjoyment as the capacity of the
+individual life corresponds to a higher degree of the contemplation of
+Spirit; and in this way evolution proceeds till it reaches a level where it
+becomes impossible to go any further except by the exercise of conscious
+selection and initiative on the part of the individual, while at the same
+time conforming to the universal principles of which evolution is the
+expression.
+
+Now ask yourself in what way individual selection and initiative would be
+likely to act as expressing the Originating Spirit itself? Given the
+knowledge on the part of the individual that he is able by his power of
+initiative and selection to draw directly upon the All-originating Spirit
+of Life, what motive could he have for not doing so? Therefore, granted
+such a perfect recognition, we should find the individual holding precisely
+the same place in regard to his own individual world that the
+All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos; subject only to the same Law of
+Love, Beauty, &c., which we found to be necessarily inherent in the
+Creative Spirit--a similarity which would entirely prevent the individual
+from exercising his otherwise limitless powers in any sort of antagonism to
+the Spirit of the Great Whole.
+
+At the same time the individual would be quite aware that he was not the
+Universal Spirit _in propria persona_, but that he was affording expression
+to it through his individuality. Now Expression is impossible except
+through Form, and therefore form of some sort is a necessity of
+individuality. It is just here, then, that we find the importance of that
+principle of Harmony with Environment of which I spoke earlier, the
+principle in accordance with which a person who had obtained complete
+control of matter, if he wished to transport himself to some other planet,
+would appear there in perfect conformity with all the laws of matter that
+obtained in that world; though, of course, not subject to any limitation of
+the Life Principle in himself. He would exhibit the laws of matter as
+rendered perfect by the Law of Originating Life. But if any one now living
+on this earth were thus perfectly to realize the Law of Life he would be in
+precisely the same position _here_ as our imaginary visitor to another
+planet--in other words the dénouement of the Law of Life is not the putting
+off of the body, but its inclusion as part of the conscious life of the
+Spirit.
+
+This does not imply any difference in the molecular structure of the body
+from that of other men, for by the principle of Harmony of which I have
+just spoken, it would be formed in strict accordance with the laws of
+matter on the particular planet; though it would not be subject to the
+limitations resulting from the average man's non-recognition of the power
+of the Spirit. The man who had thus fully entered into the Fifth Kingdom
+would recognize that, in its relation to the denser modes of matter his
+body was of a similar dense mode. That would be its relation to external
+environment as seen by others. But since the man now knew _himself_ as not
+belonging to these denser modes of manifestation, but as an
+individualization of Primary Spirit, he would see that relatively to
+himself all matter was Primary Substance, and that from this point of view
+any condensations of that substance into atoms, molecules, tissues, and the
+like counted for nothing--for him the body would be simply Primary
+Substance entirely responsive to his will. Yet his reverence for the Law of
+Harmony would prevent any disposition to play psychic pranks with it, and
+he would use his power over the body only to meet actual requirements.
+
+In this way, then, we are led to the conclusion that eternal life in an
+immortal physical body is the logical dénouement of our evolution; and if
+we reflect that, by the conditions of the case, the owners of such bodies
+could at will either transport themselves to other worlds or put off the
+physical body altogether and remain in the purely subjective life while
+still retaining the power to reclothe themselves in flesh whenever they
+chose, we shall see that this dénouement of evolution answers all possible
+questions as to the increase of the race, the final destruction of the
+planet, and the like.
+
+This, then, is the ultimate which we should keep in view; but the fact
+remains that, though there may be hidden ones who have thus attained, the
+bulk of mankind have not, and that the common lot of humanity is to go
+through the change which we call death. In broad philosophical terms death
+may be described as the withdrawal of the life into the subjective
+consciousness to the total exclusion of the objective consciousness. Then
+by the general law of the relation between subjective and objective mind,
+the subjective mind severed from its corresponding objective mentality has
+no means of acquiring fresh impressions _on its own account_, and therefore
+can only ring the changes on those impressions which it has brought with it
+from its past life. But these may be of very various sorts, ranging from
+the lowest to the highest, from those most opposed to that ultimate destiny
+of man which we have just been considering, to those which recognize his
+possibilities in a very large measure, needing little more to bring about
+the full fruition of perfected life. But however various may be their
+experiences, all who have passed through death must have this in common
+that they have lost their physical instrument of objective perception and
+so have their mode of consciousness determined entirely by the dominant
+mode of suggestion which they have brought over with them from the
+objective side of life.[6] Of course if the objective mentality were also
+brought over this would give the individual the same power of initiative
+and selection that he possesses while in the body, and, as we shall see
+later on, there are exceptional persons with whom this is the case; but for
+the great majority the physical brain is a necessity for the working of the
+objective mentality, and so when they are deprived of this instrument their
+life becomes purely subjective and is a sort of dream-life, only with a
+vast difference between two classes of dreamers--those who dream as they
+must and those who dream as they will. The former are those who have
+enslaved themselves in various ways to their lower mentality--some by
+bringing with them the memory of crimes unpardoned, some by bringing with
+them the idea of a merely animal life, others less degraded, but still in
+bondage to limited thought, bringing with them only the suggestion of a
+frivolous worldly life--in this way, by the natural operation of the Law of
+Suggestion, these different classes, either through remorse, or unsatisfied
+desires, or sheer incapacity to grasp higher principles, all remain
+earth-bound, suffering in exact correspondence with the nature of the
+suggestion they have brought along with them. The unchangeable Law is that
+the suggestion becomes the life; and this is equally true of suggestions of
+a happier sort. Those who have brought over with them the great truth that
+conditions are the creations of thought, and who have accustomed themselves
+while in objective life to dwell on good and beautiful ideas, are still
+able, by reason of being imbued with this suggestion, to mold the
+conditions of their consciousness in the subjective world in accordance
+with the sort of ideas which have become a second nature to them. Within
+the limits of these ideas the dominant suggestion to these entities is that
+of a Law which confers Liberty, so by using this Law of the constructive
+power of thought they can determine the conditions of their own
+consciousness; and thus instead of being compelled to suffer the nightmare
+dreams of the other class, they can mold their dream according to their
+will. We cannot conceive of such a life as theirs in the unseen as
+otherwise than happy, nevertheless its range is limited by the range of the
+conceptions they have brought with them. These may be exceedingly beautiful
+and thoroughly true and logical _as far as they go_; but they do not go the
+whole way, otherwise these spirits would not be in the category which we
+are considering but would belong to that still higher class who fully
+realize the ultimate possibilities which the Law of the Expression of
+Spirit provides.
+
+The otherwise happy subjective life of these more enlightened souls has
+this radical defect that they have failed to bring over with them that
+power of original selection and initiative without which further progress
+is impossible. I wish the student to grasp this point very clearly, for it
+is of the utmost importance. Of course the basis of our further evolution
+is conformity to the harmonious nature of the Originating Spirit; but upon
+this foundation we each have to build up the superstructure of our own
+individuality, and every step of advance depends on our personal
+development of power to take that step. This is what is meant by taking an
+initiative. It is making a New Departure, not merely recombining the old
+things into fresh groupings still subject to the old laws, but introducing
+an entirely new element which will bring its own New Law along with it.
+
+Now if this is the true meaning of "initiative" then that is just the
+power which these otherwise happy souls do not possess. For by the very
+conditions of the case they are living only in their subjective
+consciousness, and consequently are living by the law of subjective mind;
+and one of the chief characteristics of subjective mind is its incapacity
+to reason inductively, and therefore its inability to make the selection
+and take the initiative necessary to inaugurate a New Departure. The well
+established facts of mental law show conclusively that subjective mind
+argues only deductively. It argues quite correctly from any given premises,
+but it cannot take the initiative in selecting the premises--that is the
+province of inductive reasoning which is essentially the function of the
+objective mind. But by the law of Auto-suggestion this discarnate
+individual has brought over his premises with him, which premises are the
+sum-total of his inductions made during objective life, the conception of
+things which he held at the time he passed over, for this constituted his
+idea of Truth. Now he cannot add to these inductions, for he has parted
+with his instrument for inductive reasoning, and therefore his deductive
+reasoning in the purely subjective state which he has now entered is
+necessarily limited to the consequences which may be deducted from the
+premises which he has brought along with him.
+
+In the case of the highly-developed individualities we are now considering
+the premises thus brought over are of a very far-reaching and beautiful
+character, and consequently the range of their subjective life is
+correspondingly wide and beautiful; but, nevertheless, it is subject to the
+radical defect that it is debarred from further progress for the simple
+reason that the individual has not brought over with him the mental faculty
+which can impress his subjective entity with the requisite forward movement
+for making a new departure into a New Order. And moreover, the higher the
+subjective development with which the individual passed over the more
+likely he will be to realize this defect. If during earth-life he had
+gained sufficient knowledge of these things he will carry with him the
+knowledge that his discarnate existence is purely subjective; and therefore
+he will realize that, however he may be able to order the pictures of his
+dream, yet it is still but a dream, and in common with all other dreams
+lacks the basis of solidity from which to take _really creative action_.
+
+He knows also that the condition of other discarnate individualities is
+similar to his own, and that consequently each one must necessarily live in
+a world apart--a world of his own creation, because none of them possess
+the objective mentality by which to direct their subjective currents so as
+to make them penetrate into the sphere of another subjective entity, which
+is the _modus operandi_ of telepathy. Thus he is conscious of his own
+inability to hold intercourse with other personalities; for though he may
+for his own pleasure create the semblance of them in his dream-life, yet he
+knows that these are creations of his own mind, and that while he appears
+to be conversing with a friend amid the most lovely surroundings the friend
+himself may be having experiences of a very different description. I am, of
+course, speaking now of persons who have passed over in a very high state
+of development and with a very considerable, though still imperfect,
+knowledge of the Law of their own being. Probably the majority take their
+dream-life for an external reality; and, in any case, all who have passed
+over without carrying their objective mentality along with them must be
+shut up in their individual subjective spheres and cease to function as
+centers of creative power so long as they do not emerge from that state.
+
+But the highly advanced individuals of whom I am now speaking have passed
+over with a true knowledge of the Law of the relation between subjective
+and objective mind and have therefore brought with them a _subjective_
+knowledge of this truth; and therefore, however otherwise in a certain
+sense happy, they must still be conscious of a fundamental limitation which
+prevents their further advance. And this consciousness can produce only one
+result, an ever-growing longing for the removal of this limitation--and
+this represents the intense desire of the Spirit, as individualized in
+these souls, to attain to the conditions under which it can freely exercise
+its creative power. Sub-consciously this is the desire of _all_ souls, for
+it is that continual pressing forward of the Spirit for manifestation out
+of which the whole Creative Process arises; and so it is that the great cry
+perpetually ascends to God from all as yet undelivered souls, whether in or
+out of the body, for the deliverance which they knowingly or unknowingly
+desire.
+
+All this comes out of the well-ascertained facts of the law of relation
+between subjective and objective mind. Then comes the question, Is there no
+way of getting out of this law? The answer is that we can never get away
+from universal principles--_but we can specialise them_. We may take it as
+an axiom that any law which appears to limit us contains in itself the
+principle by which that limitation can be overcome, just as in the case of
+the flotation of iron. In this axiom, then, we shall find the clue which
+will bring us out of the labyrinth. The same law which places various
+degrees of limitation upon the souls that have passed into the invisible
+can be so applied as to set them free. We have seen that everything turns
+on the obligation of our subjective part to act within the limits of the
+suggestion which has been most deeply impressed upon it. Then why not
+impress upon it the suggestion that in passing over to the other side it
+has brought its objective mentality along with it?
+
+If such a suggestion were effectively impressed upon our subjective mind,
+then by the fundamental law of our nature our subjective mind would act in
+strict accordance with this suggestion, with the result that the objective
+mind would no longer be separated from it, and that we should carry with us
+into the unseen our _whole_ mentality, both subjective and objective, and
+so be able to exercise our inductive powers of selection and initiative as
+well there as here.
+
+Why not? The answer is that we cannot accept any suggestion unless we
+believe it to be true, and to believe it to be true we must feel that we
+have a solid foundation for our belief. If, then, we can find a sufficient
+foundation for adequately impressing this suggestion upon ourselves, then
+the principles of mental law assure us that we shall carry our objective
+faculty of initiative and selection into the unseen. Therefore our quest is
+to find this Foundation. Then, since we cannot accept as true what we
+believe to be contrary to the ultimate law of the universe, if we are to
+find such a foundation at all it must be within that Law; and it is for
+this reason that I have laid so much stress upon the Normal Standard of
+Human Individuality. When we are convinced that this ideal completeness is
+quite normal, and is a spiritual fact, not dependent upon the body, but
+able to control the body, then we have got the solid basis on which to
+carry our objective personality along with us into the unseen, and the
+well-established laws of our mental constitution justify the belief that we
+can do so.
+
+From these considerations it is obvious that those who thus pass over in
+possession of their complete mentality must be in a very different position
+from those who pass into a condition of merely subjective life, for they
+have brought their powers of selection and initiative with them, and can
+therefore employ their experiences in the unseen as a starting-point for
+still further development. So, then, the question arises, What lines will
+this further development be likely to follow?
+
+We are now considering the case of persons who have reached a very high
+degree of development; who have succeeded in so completely uniting the
+subjective and objective portions of their spiritual being into a perfect
+whole that they can never again be severed; and who are therefore able to
+function with their whole consciousness on the spiritual plane. Such
+persons will doubtless be well aware that they have attained this degree of
+development by the Law of the Creative Process working in terms of their
+own individuality, and so they would naturally always refer to the original
+Cosmic Creation as the demonstration of the principle which they have to
+specialize for their own further evolution. Then they would find that the
+principle involved is that of the manifestation of Spirit in Form; and they
+would further see that this manifestation is not an illusion but a reality,
+for the simple reason that both mind and matter are equally projections
+from the Great Originating Spirit. Both alike are thoughts of the Divine
+Mind, and it is impossible to conceive any greater reality than the Divine
+Thought, or to get at any more substantial source of reality than that.
+Even if we were to picture the Divine Mind as laughing at its productions
+as being mere illusions _relatively to itself_ (which I certainly do not),
+still the relation between the individual mind and material existence would
+be a reality for the individual, on the simple mathematical ground that
+like signs multiplied together invariably produce a positive result, even
+though the signs themselves be negative; so that, for us, at every stage of
+our existence substance must always be as much a reality as mind. Therefore
+the manifestation of Spirit in Form is the eternal principle of the
+Creative Process whether in the evolution of a world-system or in that of
+an individual.
+
+But when we realize that by the nature of the Creative Process substance
+must be an eternal verity we must not suppose that this is true also of
+_particular forms_ or of _particular modes_ of matter. Substance is a
+necessity for the expression of Spirit, but it does not follow that Spirit
+is tied down to any particular mode of expression. If you fold a piece of
+paper into the form of a dart it will fly through the air by the law of the
+form which you have given it. Again, if you take the same bit of paper and
+fold it into the shape of a boat it will float on water by the law of the
+new form that you have given it. The thing formed will act in accordance
+with the form given it, and the same paper can be folded into different
+forms; but if there were no paper you could put it into any shape at all.
+The dart and the boat are both real so long as you retain the paper in
+either of those shapes; but this does not alter the fact that you can
+change the shapes, though your power to do so depends on the existence of
+the paper. This is a rough analogy of the relation between ultimate
+substance and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor
+shape is an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit,
+only by the nature of the Creative Process the Spirit has power to
+determine what shape substance shall take at any particular time.
+
+Accordingly we find the great Law that, as Spirit is the Alpha of the
+Creative Process, so solid material Form is its Omega; in other words the
+Creative Series is incomplete until solid material form is reached.
+Anything short of this is a condition of incompleteness, and therefore the
+enlightened souls who have passed over in possession of both sides of their
+mentality will realize that their condition, however beatific, is still one
+of incompleteness; and that what is wanted for completion is expression
+through a material body. This, then, is the direction in which such souls
+would use their powers of initiative and selection as being the true line
+of evolution--in a word they would realize that the principle of Creative
+Progression, when it reaches the level of fully developed mental man,
+necessarily implies the Resurrection of the Body, and that anything short
+of this would be retrogression and not progress.
+
+At the same time persons who had passed over with this knowledge would
+never suppose that Resurrection meant merely the resuscitation of the old
+body under the old conditions; for they would see that the same inherent
+law which makes expression in concrete substance the ultimate of the
+creative series also makes this ultimate form depend on the originating
+movement of the spirit which produces it, and therefore that, although
+_some_ concrete form is essential for complete manifestation, and is a
+substantial reality so long as it is maintained, yet the maintaining of the
+particular form is entirely dependent on the action of the spirit of which
+the form is the external clothing. This resurrection body would therefore
+be no mere illusory spirit-shape, yet it would not be subject to the
+limitations of matter as we now know it: it would be physical matter still,
+but entirely subject to the will of the indwelling spirit, which would not
+regard the denser atomic relations of the body but only its absolute and
+essential nature as Primary Substance. I want the student to grasp the idea
+that the same thing may be very different when looked at, so to say, from
+opposite ends of the stick. What is solid molecular matter when viewed from
+the outside is plastic primary substance when viewed from the inside. The
+relations of this new body to any stimulus proceeding from outside would be
+those of the external laws of Nature; but its relation to the spiritual ego
+working from within would be that of a plastic substance to be molded at
+will. The employment of such power would, however, at all times be based
+upon the reverent worship of the All-creating Spirit; and it would
+therefore never be exercised otherwise than in accordance with the
+harmonious progress of the Creative Process. Proceeding on these lines the
+spirit in the individual would stand in precisely the same relation to his
+body that the All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos.
+
+This, then, is the sort of body which the instructed would contemplate as
+that in which he was to attain resurrection. He would regard it, not as an
+illusion, but as a great reality; while at the same time he would not need
+to trouble himself about its particular form, for he would know that it
+would be the perfect expression of his own conception of himself. He would
+know this because it is in accordance with the fundamental principle that
+external creation has its root in the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+
+Those passing over with this knowledge would obviously be in a very
+different position from those who passed over with only a subjective
+consciousness. They would bring with them powers of selection and
+initiative by which they could continue to impress fresh and expanding
+conceptions upon their subjective mind, and so cause it to carry on its
+work as the seed-ground of the whole individuality, instead of being shut
+up in itself as a mere circulus for the repetition of previously received
+ideas; and so in their recognition of the _principle_ of physical
+resurrection they would have a clear and definite line of auto-suggestion.
+And because this suggestion is derived from the undeniable facts of the
+whole cosmic creation, it is one which both subjective and objective mind
+can accept as an established fact, and so the suggestion becomes effective.
+This suggestion, then, becomes the self-contemplation of the individual
+spirit; and because it is in strict conformity with the generic principle
+of the Original Creative Activity, of which the individual mind is itself a
+product, this becomes also the Self-contemplation of the Originating Spirit
+as seeing itself reflected in the individual spirit; so that, by the basic
+law of the Creative Process, this suggestion is bound sooner or later to
+work out into its corresponding fact, namely, the production of a material
+body free from the power of death and from all those limitations which we
+now associate with our physical organism.
+
+This, then, is the hope of those who pass over in recognition of the great
+truth. But how about those who have passed over without that recognition?
+We have seen that their purely subjective condition precludes them from
+taking any initiative on their own account, for that requires the presence
+of objective mind. Their subjective mind, however, still retains its
+essential nature; that is, it is still susceptible to suggestion, and still
+possesses its inherent creativeness in working out any suggestion that is
+sufficiently deeply implanted in it. Here, then, opens up a vast field of
+activity for that other class who have passed over in possession of both
+sides of their mentality. By means of their powers of initiative and
+selection they can on the principle of telepathy cause their own subjective
+mind to penetrate the subjective spheres of those who do not possess those
+powers, and they can thus endeavor to impress upon them the great truth of
+the physical ultimate of the Creative Process--the truth that any series
+which stops short of that ultimate is incomplete, and, if insisted upon as
+being ultimate, must become self-destructive because in opposition to the
+inherent working of the Universal Creative Spirit. Then, as the perception
+of the true nature of the Creative Process dawned upon any subjective
+entity, it would by reason of accepting this suggestion begin to develop an
+objective mentality, and so would gradually attain to the same status as
+those who had passed over in full possession of all their mental powers.
+
+But the more the objective mentality became developed in these discarnate
+personalities the more the need of a corresponding physical instrument
+would assert itself, both from their intellectual perception of the
+original cosmic process, and also from the inherent energy of the Spirit as
+centered in the ultimate ego of the individual. Not to seek material
+manifestation would be the contrary of all we have traced out regarding the
+nature of the Creative Process; and hence the law of tendency resulting
+from the conscious union of subjective and objective mind in the individual
+must necessarily be toward the production of a physical form. Only we must
+recollect, as I have already pointed out, that this concentration of these
+minds would be upon a principle and not upon a particular bodily shape. The
+particular form they would be content to leave to the inherent
+self-expressiveness of the Universal Spirit working through the particular
+ego, with the result that their expectation would be fixed upon a _general
+principle_ of physical Resurrection which would provide a form suited to be
+the material instrument of the highest ideal of man as a spiritual and
+mental being. Then, since the subjective mind is the automatic builder of
+the body, the result of the individual's acceptance of the Resurrection
+principle must be that this mental conception will eventually work out as a
+corresponding fact. Whether on this planet or on some other, matters not,
+for, as we have already seen, the physical body evolved by a soul that is
+conscious of its unity with the Universal Spirit is bound to be in
+conformity with the physical laws of _any_ planet, though from the
+standpoint of the conscious ego not limited by them.
+
+In this way we may conceive that those who have passed over in possession
+of both sides of their spiritual nature would find a glorious field of
+usefulness in the unseen in helping to emancipate those who had passed over
+in possession of their subjective side only. But from our present analysis
+it will be seen that this can only be effected on the basis of a
+recognition of the principle of the Resurrection of the Body. Apart from
+the recognition of this principle the only possible conception which the
+discarnate individual could form of himself would be that of a purely
+subjective being; and this carries with it all the limitations of a
+subjective life unbalanced by an objective one; and so long as the
+principle of physical resurrection is denied, so long the life must
+continue to be merely subjective and consequently unprogressive.[7]
+
+But it may be asked why those who have realized this great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen state are
+liable to the change which we call death. The answer is that though they
+have realized _the general principle_ they have not yet divested themselves
+of certain conceptions by which they limit it, and consequently by the law
+of subjective mind they carry those limitations into the working of the
+Resurrection principle itself.
+
+They are limited by the race-belief that physical death is under all
+conditions a necessary law of Nature, or by the theological belief that
+death is the will of God; so then the question is whether these beliefs are
+well founded. Of course appeal is made to universal experience, but it does
+not follow that the universal experience of the past is bound to be the
+universal experience of the future--the universal experience of the past
+was that no man had ever flown across the English Channel, yet now it has
+been done. What we have to do, therefore, is not to bother about past
+experience, but to examine the inherent nature of the Law of Life and see
+whether it does not contain possibilities of further development. And the
+first step in this direction is to see whether what we have hitherto
+considered limitations of the law are really integral parts of the law
+itself. The very statement of this question shows the correct answer; for
+how can a force acting in one direction be an integral part of a force
+acting in the opposite direction? How can the force which pulls a thing
+down be an integral part of the force which builds it up? To suppose,
+therefore, that the limitations of the law are an integral portion of the
+law itself is a _reductio ad absurdum_.
+
+For these reasons the argument from the past experience of the race counts
+for nothing; and when we examine the theological argument we shall find
+that it is only the old argument from past experience in another dress. It
+is alleged that death is the will of God. How do we know that it is the
+will of God? Because the facts prove it so, is the ultimate answer of all
+religious systems with one exception; so here we are back again at the old
+race-experience as the criterion of truth. Therefore the theological
+argument is nothing but the materialistic argument disguised. It is in our
+more or less _conscious_ acceptance of the materialistic argument, under
+any of its many disguises, that the limitation of life is to be found--not
+in the Law of Life itself; and if we are to bring into manifestation the
+infinite possibilities latent in that Law it can only be by looking
+steadily into the _principle_ of the Law and resolutely denying everything
+that opposes it. The Principle of Life must of necessity be Affirmative,
+and affirmative throughout, without any negative anywhere--if we once
+realize this we shall be able to unmask the enemy and silence his guns.
+
+Now to do this is precisely the one object of the Bible; and it does it in
+a thoroughly logical manner, always leading on to the ultimate result by
+successive links of cause and effect. People will tell you that the Bible
+is their authority for saying that Death is the will of God; but these are
+people who read it carelessly; and ultimately the only reason they can give
+you for their manner of interpreting the Bible is that the facts prove
+their interpretation to be correct; so that in the last resort you will
+always find you have got back to the old materialistic argument from past
+race-experience, which logically proves nothing. These are good
+well-meaning people with a limited idea which they read into the Bible, and
+so limit its promises by making physical death an essential preliminary to
+Resurrection. They grasp, of course, the great central idea that Perfected
+Man possesses a joyous immortal Life permeating spirit, soul and body; but
+they relegate it to some dim and distant future, entirely disconnected from
+the present law of our being, not seeing that if we are to have eternal
+life it must necessarily be involved in some principle which is eternal,
+and therefore existing, at any rate latently, at the present moment. Hence,
+though their fundamental principle is true, they are all the time mentally
+limiting it, with the result that they themselves create the conditions
+they impose upon it, and consequently the principle will work (as
+principles always do) in accordance with the conditions provided for its
+action.
+
+Unless, therefore, this limiting belief is entirely eradicated, the
+individual, though realizing the fundamental principle of Life, is bound to
+pass out of physical existence; but on the other hand, since he does take
+the recognition of this fundamental principle with him, it is bound to bear
+fruit sooner or later in a joyous Resurrection, while the intermediate
+state can only be a peaceful anticipation of that supreme event. This is
+the answer to the question why those who have realized the great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen world are
+still liable to physical death; and in the last analysis it will be found
+to resolve itself into the remains of race belief based upon past
+experience. These are they who pass over in sure and certain hope of a
+glorious Resurrection--sure and certain because founded upon the very Being
+of God Himself, that inherent Life of the All-creating Divine Spirit which
+is the perpetual interaction of the Eternal Love and Beauty. They have
+grasped the Life-giving Truth, only they have postponed its operation,
+because they have the fixed idea that its present fruition is an absolute
+impossibility.
+
+But if we ask the reason for this idea it always comes back to the old
+materialistic argument from the experience of past conditions, while the
+whole nature of advance is in the opening up of new conditions. And in this
+advance the Bible is the pioneer book. Its whole purport is to tell us most
+emphatically that death is _not_ the will of God. In the story of Eden God
+is represented as warning man of the poisonous nature of the forbidden
+fruit, which is incompatible with the idea of death as an essential feature
+of man's nature. Then from the point where man has taken the poison all the
+rest of the Bible is devoted to telling us how to get rid of it. Christ, it
+tells us, was manifested to bring Life and Immortality to light--to abolish
+death--to destroy the works of the devil, that is the death-dealing power,
+for "he that hath the power of death is the devil." It is impossible to
+reconcile this life-giving conception of the Bible with the idea that death
+at any stage or in any degree is the desire of God. Let us, therefore,
+start with the recognition that this negative force, whether in its minor
+degrees as disease or in its culmination as death, is that which it is the
+will of God to abolish. This also is logical; for if God be the Universal
+Spirit of Life finding manifestation in individual lives, how can the
+desire of this Spirit be to act in opposition to its own manifestation?
+Therefore Scripture and common-sense alike assure us that the will of God
+toward us is Life and not death.[8]
+
+We may therefore start on our quest for Life with the happy certainty that
+God is on our side. But people will meet us with the objection that though
+God wills Life to us, He does not will it just yet, but only in some dim
+far-off future. How do we know this? Certainly not from the Bible. In the
+Bible Jesus speaks of two classes of persons who believe on Him as the
+Manifestation or Individualisation of the Spirit of Life. He speaks of
+those who, having passed through death, still believe on Him, and says that
+these _shall_ live--a future event. And at the same time He speaks of those
+who are living and believe on Him, and says that they shall never die--thus
+contemplating the entire elimination of the contingency of death (John xi.
+25).
+
+Again St. Paul expresses his wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed
+upon, which he certainly would not have done had he considered the latter
+alternative a nonsensical fancy. And in another place he expressly states
+that we shall not all die, but that some shall be transmuted into the
+Resurrection body without passing through physical death. And if we turn to
+the Old Testament we find two instances in which this is said to have
+actually occurred, those of Enoch and Elijah. And we may note in passing
+that the Bible draws our attention to certain facts about these two
+personages which are important as striking at the root of the notion that
+austerities of some sort are necessary for the great attainment. Of Enoch
+we are expressly told that he was the father of a large family, and of
+Elijah that he was a man of like nature with ourselves--thus showing us
+what is wanted is not a shutting of ourselves off from ordinary human life
+but such a clear realization of the Universal Principle, of which our
+personal life is the more or less conscious manifestation, that our
+commonest actions will be hallowed by the Divine Presence; and so the grand
+dénouement will be only the natural result of our daily habit of walking
+with God. From the stand-point of the Bible, therefore, the attainment of
+physical regeneration without passing through death is not an
+impossibility, nor is it necessarily relegated to some far off future.
+Whatever any one else may say to the contrary, the Bible contemplates such
+a dénouement of human evolution as a present possibility.
+
+Then if we argue from the philosophical stand-point we arrive at precisely
+the same result. Past experience proves nothing, and we must therefore make
+a fresh start by going back to the Original Creative action of the Spirit
+of Life itself. Then, if we take this as our starting point, remembering
+that at the stage of this _original_ movement there can be no intervention
+by a second power, because there is none, why should we mentally impose any
+restriction upon the action of the Creative Power? Certainly not by its own
+Law of Tendency, for that must always be toward fuller self-expression; and
+since this can only take place through the individual, the desire of the
+Spirit must always be toward the increasing of the individual life. Nor yet
+from anything in the created substance, for that would either be to suppose
+the Spirit creating something in limitation of its own Self-expression, or
+else to suppose that the limiting substance was created by some other power
+working against the Spirit; and as this would mean a Duality of powers we
+should not have reached the Originating Power at all, and so we might put
+Spirit and Substance equally out of court as both being merely modes of
+secondary causation. But if we see that the Universal Substance must be
+created by emanation from the Universal Spirit, then we see that no
+limitation of Spirit by substance is possible. We may therefore feel
+assured that no limitation proceeds either from the will of the Spirit or
+from the nature of Substance.
+
+Where, then, does limitation come from? Limiting conditions are created by
+the same power which creates everything else, namely, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. This is why it is so important to realize
+that the individual mind forms a center from which the self-contemplating
+action of Spirit is specialized in terms of the individual's own mode of
+thinking, and therefore so long as the individual contemplates negative
+conditions as being _of the essence_ of his own personality, he is in
+effect employing the Creative Power of the Self-contemplation of Spirit
+invertedly, destructively instead of constructively. The Law of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
+microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
+himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
+law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
+rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
+necessarily produce the opposite results.
+
+Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can see
+no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our own
+difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
+embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
+basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
+that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
+of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
+make clear to us the _infinitude_ of the truly Normal Standard of Humanity
+is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this Standard
+is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who is at
+once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you will,
+to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule. In
+proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our own
+life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further development
+depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find that we also
+are children of God.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+We are now in a position to see the place occupied by the individual in the
+Creative Order. We have found that the originating and maintaining force of
+the whole Creative Process is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit, and
+that this necessarily produces a Reciprocal corresponding to the idea
+embodied in the contemplation, and thus manifesting that idea in a
+correlative Form. We have found that in this way the externalization of the
+idea progresses from the condensation of the primary nebula to the
+production of human beings as a race, and that at this point the simple
+_generic_ reproduction of the idea terminates. This means that up to, and
+including, _genus homo_, the individual, whether plant, animal, or man, is
+what it is simply by reason of race conditions and not by exercise of
+deliberate choice. Then we have seen that the next step in advance must
+necessarily be by the individual becoming aware that he has power to mold
+the conditions of his own consciousness and environment by the creative
+power of his thought; thus not only enabling him to take a conscious part
+in his own further evolution but precluding him from evolving any further
+except by the right exercise of this power; and we have found that the crux
+of the passage from the Fourth to the Fifth Kingdom is to get people so to
+understand the nature of their creative power as not to use it
+destructively. Now what we require to see is that the Creative Process has
+always only one way of working, and that is by Reciprocity or Reflection,
+or, as we might say, by the law of Action and Re-action, the re-action
+being always equivalent and correspondent to the action which generated it.
+If this Law of Reciprocity be grasped then we see how the progress of the
+Creative Process must at length result in producing a being who himself
+possesses the power of independent spiritual initiative and is thus able to
+carry on the creative work from the stand-point of his own individuality.
+
+Now the great crux is first to get people to see that they possess this
+power at all, and then to get them to use it in the right direction. When
+our eyes begin to open to the truth that we do possess this power the
+temptation is to ignore the fact that our power of initiative is itself a
+product of the similar power subsisting in the All-originating Spirit. If
+this origin of our own creative faculty is left out of sight we shall fail
+to recognize the Livingness of the Greater Life within which we live. We
+shall never get nearer to it than what we may call its _generic_ level, the
+stage at which the Creative Power is careful of the type or race but is
+careless of the individual; and so at this level we shall never pass into
+the Fifth Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Individuality--we have missed the
+whole point of the transition to the more advanced mode of being, in which
+the individual consciously functions as a creative center, because we have
+no conception of a Universal Power that works at any higher level than the
+generic, and consequently to reach a specific personal exercise of creative
+power we should have to conceive of ourselves as transcending the Universal
+Law. But if we realize that our own power of creative initiative has its
+origin in the similar faculty of the All-Originating Mind then we see that
+the way to maintain the Life-giving energy in ourselves is to use our power
+of spiritual initiative so as to impress upon the Spirit the conception of
+ourselves as standing related to It in a specific, individual, and personal
+way that takes us out of the mere category of _genus homo_ and gives us a
+specific spiritual individuality of our own. Thus our mental action
+produces a corresponding re-action in the mind of the Spirit, which in its
+turn reproduces itself as a special manifestation of the Life of the Spirit
+in us; and so long as this circulation between the individual spirit and
+the Great Spirit is kept up, the individual life will be maintained, and
+will also strengthen as the circulation continues, for the reason that the
+Spirit, as the Original Creative Power, is a Multiplying Force, and the
+current sent into it is returned multiplied, just as in telegraphy the
+feeble current received from a distance at the end of a long line operates
+to start a powerful battery in the receiving office, which so multiplies
+the force as to give out a clear message, which but for the multiplication
+of the original movement could not have been done. Something like this we
+may picture the multiplying tendency of the Originating Mind, and
+consequently the longer the circulation between it and the individual mind
+goes on the stronger the latter becomes; and this process growing habitual
+becomes at last automatic, thus producing an endless flow of Life
+continually expanding in intelligence, love, power and joy.
+
+But we must note carefully that all this can only proceed from the
+individual's recognition that his own powers are a derivative from the
+All-originating Spirit, and that they can continue to be used
+constructively only so long as they are employed in harmony with the
+inherent Forward Movement of the Spirit. Therefore to insure this eternally
+flowing stream of Life from the Universal Spirit into the individual there
+must be _no inversion_ in the individual's presentation of himself to the
+Originating Power: for through the very same Law by which we seek Life--the
+Life namely, of reciprocal action and re-action--every inversion we bring
+with us in presenting ourselves to the Spirit is bound to be faithfully
+reproduced in a corresponding re-action, thus adulterating the stream of
+Pure Life, and rendering it less life-giving in proportion to the extent to
+which we invert the action of the Life-principle; so that in extreme cases
+the stream flowing through and from the individual may be rendered
+absolutely poisonous and deadly, and the more so the greater his
+recognition of his own personal power to employ spiritual forces.
+
+The existence of these negative possibilities in the spiritual world should
+never be overlooked, and therefore the essential condition for receiving
+the Perfect Fulness of Life is that we should present ourselves before the
+Eternal Spirit free from every trace of inversion. To do this means to
+present ourselves in the likeness of the Divine Ideal; and in this
+self-presentation the initiative, so far as the individual is consciously
+concerned, must necessarily be taken by himself. He is to project into the
+Eternal Mind the conception of himself as identical with its Eternal Ideal;
+and if he can do this, then by the Law of the Creative Process a return
+current will flow from the Eternal Mind reproducing this image in the
+individual with a continually growing power. Then the question is, How are
+we to do this?
+
+The answer is that to take the initiative for inducing this flow of Life
+individually it is a _sine qua non_ that the conditions enabling us to do
+so should first be presented to us universally. This is in accordance with
+the general principle that we can never create a force but can only
+specialize it. Only here the power we are wanting to specialize is the very
+Power of Specialization itself; and therefore, paradoxical as it may seem,
+what we require to have shown us is the Universality of Specialization.
+
+Now this is what the Bible puts before us in its central figure. Taking the
+Bible statements simply and literally they show us this unique Personality
+as the Principle of Humanity, alike in its spiritual origin and its
+material manifestation, carried to the logical extreme of specialization;
+while at the same time, as the embodiment of the original polarity of
+Spirit and Substance, this Personality, however unique, is absolutely
+universal; so that the Bible sets Jesus Christ before us as the answer to
+the philosophic problem of how to specialize the universal, while at the
+same time preserving its universality.
+
+If, then, we fix our thought upon this unique Personality as the embodiment
+of _universal_ principles, it follows that those principles must exist in
+ourselves also, and that His actual specialization of them is the earnest
+of our potential specialization of them. Then if we fix our thought on this
+potential in ourselves as being identical with its manifestation in Him, we
+can logically claim our identity with Him, so that what He has done we have
+done, what He is, we are, and thus recognizing ourselves in Him we present
+_this_ image of ourselves to the Eternal Mind, with the result that we
+bring with us no inversion, and so import no negative current into our
+stream of Life.
+
+Thus it is that we reach "the Father" through "the Son," and that He is
+able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
+presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The Gospel of
+"the Word made flesh" is not the meaningless cant of some petty sect nor
+yet the cunning device of priestcraft, though it has been distorted in both
+these directions; but it can give a reason for itself, and is founded upon
+the deepest laws of the threefold constitution of man, embracing the
+_whole_ man, body, soul and spirit. It is not opposed to Science but is the
+culmination of all science whether physical or mental. It is philosophical
+and logical throughout if you start the Creative Process where alone it can
+start, in the Self-contemplation of the Spirit. The more carefully we
+examine into the claims of the Gospel of Christ the more we shall find all
+the current objections to it melt away and disclose their own
+superficialness. We shall find that Christ is indeed the Mediator between
+God and Man, not by the arbitrary fiat of a capricious Deity, but by a
+logical law of sequence which solves the problem of making extremes meet,
+so that the Son of Man is also the Son of God; and when we see the reason
+why this is so we thereby receive power to become ourselves sons of God,
+which is the dénouement of the Creative Process in the Individual.
+
+These closing lines are not the place to enter upon so great a subject, but
+I hope to follow it up in another volume and to show in detail the logic of
+the Bible teaching, what it saves us from and what it leads us to; to show
+while giving due weight to the value of other systems how it differs from
+them and transcends them; to glance, perhaps, for a moment at the
+indications of the future and to touch upon some of the dangers of the
+present and the way to escape from them. Nor would I pass over in silence
+another and important aspect of the Gospel contained in Christ's commission
+to His followers to heal the sick. This also follows logically from the Law
+of the Creative Process if we trace carefully the sequence of connections
+from the indwelling Ego to the outermost of its vehicles; while the effect
+of the recognition of these great truths upon the individuality that has
+for a time put off its robe of flesh, opens out a subject of paramount
+interest. Thus it is that on every plane Christ is the Fulfilling of the
+Law, and that "Salvation" is not a silly shiboleth but the logical and
+vital process of our advance into the unfoldment of the next stage of the
+limitless capacities of our being. Of these things I hope to write in
+another volume, should it be permitted to me, and in the meanwhile I would
+commend the present abstract statement of principles to the reader's
+attention in the hope that it may throw some light on the fundamental
+nature of these momentous questions. The great thing to bear in mind is
+that if a thing is true at all there must be a reason why it is true, and
+when we come to see this reason we know the truth at first hand for
+ourselves and not from some one else's report--then it becomes really our
+own and we begin to learn how to use it. This is the secret of the
+individual's progress in any art, science, or business, and the same method
+will serve equally well in our search after Life itself, and as we thus
+follow up the great quest we shall find that on every plane the Way, the
+Truth, and the Life are ONE.
+
+"A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in
+philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."--_Bacon. Essay xvi_.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+I take the present opportunity of a new edition to add a few pages on
+certain points which appear to me of vital importance, and the connection
+of which with the preceding chapters will, I hope, become evident as the
+reader proceeds. Assuming the existence in each individual of a creative
+power of thought which, in relation to himself, reflects the same power
+existing in the Universal Mind, our right employment of this power becomes
+a matter of extreme moment to ourselves. Its inverted use necessarily holds
+us fast in the bondage from which we are seeking to escape, and equally
+necessarily its right use brings us into Liberty; and therefore if any
+Divine revelation exists at all its purpose must be to lead us away from
+the inverted use of our creative faculty and into such a higher
+specializing of it as will produce the desired result. Now the purpose of
+the Bible is to do this, and it seeks to effect this work by a dual
+operation. It places before us that Divine Ideal of which I have already
+spoken, and at the same time bases this ideal upon the recognition of a
+Divine Sacrifice. These two conceptions are so intimately interwoven in
+Scripture that they cannot be separated, but at the present day there _is_
+a growing tendency to attempt to make this separation and to discard the
+conception of a Divine Sacrifice as unphilosophical, that is as having no
+nexus of cause and effect. What I want, therefore, to point out in these
+additional pages is that there is such a nexus, and that so far from being
+without a sequence of cause and effect it has its root in the innermost
+principles of our own being. It is not contrary to Law but proceeds from
+the very nature of the Law itself.
+
+The current objection to the Bible teaching on this subject is that no such
+sacrifice could have been required by God, either because the Originating
+Energy can have no consciousness of Personality and is only a blind force,
+or because, if "God is Love," He could not demand such a sacrifice. On the
+former hypothesis we are of course away from the Bible teaching altogether
+and have nothing to do with it; but, as I have said elsewhere, the fact of
+our own consciousness of personality can only be accounted for by the
+existence, however hidden, of a corresponding quality in the Originating
+Spirit. Therefore I will confine my remarks to the question how Love, as
+the originating impulse of all creation, can demand such a sacrifice. And
+to my mind the answer is that God does not demand it. It is Man who demands
+it. It is the instinctive craving of the human soul for _certainty_ that
+requires a demonstration so convincing as to leave no room for doubt of our
+perfectly happy relation to the Supreme Spirit, and consequently to all
+that flows from it, whether on the side of the visible or of the invisible.
+When we grasp the fact that such a standpoint of certainty is the necessary
+foundation for the building up in ourselves of the Divine Ideal then it
+becomes clear that to afford us this firm basis is the greatest work that
+the Spirit, in its relation to human personality, could do.
+
+We are often told that the offering of sacrifices had its origin in
+primitive man's conception of his gods as beings which required to be
+propitiated so as to induce them to do good or abstain from doing harm; and
+very likely this was the case. The truth at the back of this conception is
+the feeling that there is a higher power upon which man is dependent; and
+the error is in supposing that this power is limited by an individuality
+which can be enriched by selling its good offices, or which blackmails you
+by threats. In either case it wants to get something out of you, and from
+this it follows that its own power of supplying its own wants must be
+limited, otherwise it would not require to be kept in good temper by gifts.
+In very undeveloped minds such a conception results in the idea of numerous
+gods, each having, so to say, his own particular line of business; and the
+furthest advance this mode of thought is capable of is the reduction of
+these various deities to two antagonistic powers of Good and of Evil. But
+the result in either case is the same, so long as we start with the
+hypothesis that the Good will do us more good and the Evil do us less harm
+by reason of our sacrifices, for then it logically follows that the more
+valuable your sacrifices and the oftener they are presented the better
+chance you have of good luck. Doubtless some such conception as this was
+held by the mass of the Hebrew people under the sacrificial system of the
+Levitical Law, and perhaps this was one reason why they were so prone to
+fall into idolatry--for in this view their fundamental notion was
+practically identical in its nature with that of the heathen around them.
+Of course this was not the fundamental idea embodied in the Levitical
+system itself. The root of that system was the symbolizing of a supreme
+ideal of reconciliation hereafter to be manifested in action. Now a symbol
+is not the thing symbolized. The purpose of a symbol is twofold, to put us
+upon enquiry as to the reality which it indicates, and to bring that
+reality to our minds by suggestion when we look at the symbol; but if it
+does not do this, and we rest only in the symbol, nothing will come of it,
+and we are left just where we were. That the symbolic nature of the
+Levitical sacrifice was clearly perceived by the deeper thinkers among the
+Hebrews is attested by many passages in the Bible--"Sacrifice and burnt
+offering thou wouldest not" (Psalms xl: 6, and li: 16) and other similar
+utterances; and the distinction between these symbols and that which they
+symbolized is brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the argument
+that if those sacrifices had afforded a sufficient standpoint for the
+effectual realization of cleansing then the worshiper would not need to
+have repeated them because he would have no more consciousness of sin
+(Hebrews x: 2).
+
+This brings us to the essential point of the whole matter. What we want is
+the certainty that there is no longer any separation between us and the
+Divine Spirit by reason of sin, either as overt acts of wrong doing or as
+error of principle; and the whole purpose of the Bible is to lead us to
+this assurance. Now such an assurance cannot be based on any sort of
+sacrifices that require repetition, for then we could never know whether we
+had given enough either in quality or quantity. It must be a once-for-all
+business or it is no use at all; and so the Bible makes the
+once-for-allness of the offering the essential point of its teaching. "He
+that has been bathed does not need to be bathed again" (John xiii: 10).
+"There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans
+viii: i).
+
+Various intellectual difficulties, however, hinder many people from seeing
+the working of the law of cause and effect in this presentment. One is the
+question, How can moral guilt be transferred from one person to another?
+What is called the "forensic" argument (i.e., the court of law argument)
+that Christ undertook to suffer in our stead as our _surety_ is undoubtedly
+open to this objection. Suretyship must by its very nature be confined to
+civil obligations and cannot be extended to criminal liability, and so the
+"forensic" argument may be set aside as very much a legal fiction. But if
+we realize the Bible teaching that Christ is the Son of God, that is, the
+Divine Principle of Humanity out of which we originated and subsisting in
+us all, however unconsciously to ourselves, then we see that sinners as
+well as saints are included in this Principle; and consequently that the
+Self-offering of Christ must actually include the self-offering of every
+human being in the acknowledgment (however unknown to his _objective_
+mentality) of his sin. If we can grasp this somewhat abstract point of view
+it follows that in the Person of Christ every human being, past, present,
+and to come, was self-offered for the condemnation of his sin--a _self_-
+condemnation and a _self_-offering, and hence a cleansing, for the simple
+reason that if you can get a man to realize his past error, really see his
+mistake, he won't do it again; and it is the perpetuation of sin and error
+that has to be got rid of--to do this universally would be to regain
+Paradise. Seen therefore in this light there is no question of transference
+of moral guilt, and I take it this is St. Paul's meaning when he speaks of
+our being partakers in Christ's death.
+
+Then there is the objection, How can past sins be done away with? If we
+accept the philosophical conclusion that Time has no substantive existence
+then all that remains is states of consciousness. As I have said in the
+earlier part of this book, the Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the cause of
+all our perception of existence and environment; and consequently if the
+Self-Contemplation of the Spirit from any center of individualization is
+that of entire harmony and the absence of anything that would cause any
+consciousness of separation, then past sins cease to have any part in this
+self-recognition, and consequently cease to have any place in the world of
+existence. The foundation of the whole creative process is the calling into
+Light out of Darkness--"that which makes manifest is light"--and
+consequently the converse action is that of sending out of Light into
+Darkness, that is, into Notbeing. Now this is exactly what the Spirit says
+in the Bible--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions"
+(Isaiah xliii: 25). Blotting out is the sending out of manifestation into
+the darkness of non-manifestation, out of Being into Not-being; and in this
+way the past error ceases to have any existence and so ceases to have any
+further effect upon us. It is "blotted out," and from this new standpoint
+has never been at all; so that to continue to contemplate it is to give a
+false sense of existence to that which in effect has no existence. It is
+that Affirmation of Negation which is the root of all evil. It is the
+inversion of our God-given creative power of thought, calling into
+existence that which in the Perfect Life of the Spirit never had or could
+have any existence, and therefore it creates the sense of inharmony,
+opposition, and separation. Of course this is only relatively to ourselves,
+for we cannot create eternal principles. They are the Being of God; and as
+I have already shown these great Principles of the Affirmative may be
+summed up in the two words Love and Beauty--Love in essence and Beauty in
+manifestation; but since we can only live from the standpoint of our own
+consciousness we can make a false creation built upon the idea of opposites
+to the all-creating Love and Beauty, which false creation with all its
+accompaniments of limitation, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death, must
+necessarily be real to us until we perceive that these things were not
+created by God, the Spirit of the Affirmative, but by our own inversion of
+our true relation to the All-creating Being.
+
+When, then, we view the matter in this light the Offering once for all of
+the Divine Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world is seen not to be a
+mere ecclesiastical dogma having no relation of cause and effect, but to be
+the highest application of the same principle of cause and effect by which
+the whole creation, ourselves included, has been brought into existence--
+the Self-Contemplation of Spirit producing corresponding manifestation,
+only now working on the level of Individual Personality.
+
+As I have shown at the beginning of this book the cosmic manifestation of
+principles is not sufficient to bring out all that there is in them. To do
+this their action must be specialized by the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. They are represented by the Pillar Jachin, but it must be
+equilibriated by the Pillar Boaz, Law and Personality the two Pillars of
+the Universe; and in the One Offering we have the supreme combination of
+these two principles, the highest specialization of Law by the highest
+power of Personality. These are eternal principles, and therefore we are
+told that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world; and because
+"thoughts are things" this supreme manifestation of the creative
+interaction of Law and Personality was bound eventually to be manifested in
+concrete action in the world conditioned by time and space; and so it was
+that the supreme manifestation of the Love of God to meet the supreme need
+of Man took place. The history of the Jewish nation is the history of the
+working of the law of cause and effect, under the guidance of the Divine
+Wisdom, so as to provide the necessary conditions for the greatest event in
+the world's history; for if Christ was to appear it must be in _some_
+nation, in _some_ place, and at _some_ time: but to trace the steps by
+which, through an intelligible sequence of causes, these necessary
+conditions were provided belongs rather to an investigation of Bible
+history than to our present purpose, so I will not enter into these details
+here. But what I hope I have in some measure made clear is that there is a
+reason why Christ should be manifested, and should suffer, and rise again,
+and that so far from being a baseless superstition the Reconciling of the
+world to God through the One Offering once-for-all offered for the sin of
+the whole world, lays the immovable foundation upon which we may build
+securely for all the illimitable future.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+If we have grasped the principle I have endeavored to state in the last
+chapter we shall find that with this new standpoint a new life and a new
+world begin to open out to us. This is because we are now living from a new
+recognition of ourselves and of God. Eternal Truth, that which is the
+essential reality of Being, is _always_ the same; it has never altered, for
+whatever is capable of passing away and giving place to something else is
+not eternal, and therefore the real essence of our being, as proceeding
+from God and subsisting in Him has always been the same. But this is the
+very fact which we have hitherto lost sight of; and since our perception of
+life is the measure of our individual consciousness of it, we have imposed
+upon ourselves a world of limitation, a world filled with the power of the
+negative, because we have viewed things from that standpoint. What takes
+place, therefore, when we realize the truth of our Redemption is not a
+change in our essential relation to the Parent Spirit, the Eternal Father,
+but an awakening to the perception of this eternal and absolutely perfect
+relation. We see that in reality it has never been otherwise for the simple
+reason that in the very nature of Being it _could_ not be otherwise; and
+when we see this we see also that what has hitherto been wrong has not been
+the working of "the Father" but our conception of the existence of some
+other power, a power of negation, limitation, and destructiveness, the very
+opposite to all that the Creative Spirit, by the very fact of Its
+Creativeness, must be. That wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son shows us
+that he never ceased to be a son. It was not his Father who sent him away
+from home but his notion that he could do better "on his own," and we all
+know what came of it. But when he returned to the Father he found that from
+the Father's point of view he had never been otherwise than a son, and that
+all the trouble he had gone through was not "of the Father" but was the
+result of his own failure to realize what the Father and the Home really
+were.[9]
+
+Now this is exactly the case with ourselves. When we wake up to the truth
+we find that, so far as the Father is concerned, we have always been in Him
+and in His home, for we are made in His image and likeness and are
+reflections of His own Being. He says to us "Son, thou art ever with me and
+all that I have is thine." The Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the Creative
+Power creating an environment corresponding to the mode of consciousness
+contemplated, and therefore in proportion as we contemplate ourselves as
+centers of individualization for the Divine Spirit we find ourselves
+surrounded by a new environment reflecting the harmonious conditions which
+preexist in the Thought of the Spirit.
+
+This, then, is the sequence of Cause and Effect involved in the teaching of
+the Bible. Man is _in essence_ a spiritual being, the reflection on the
+plane of individual personality of that which the All-Originating Spirit is
+in Itself, and is thus in that reciprocal relation to the Spirit which is
+Love. This is the first statement of his creation in Genesis--God saw all
+that He had made and behold it was very good, Man included. Then the Fall
+is the failure of the lower mentality to realize that God IS Love, in a
+word that Love is the only ultimate Motive Power it is possible to
+conceive, and that the creations of Love cannot be otherwise than good and
+beautiful. The lower mentality conceives an opposite quality of Evil and
+thus produces a motive power the opposite of Love, which is Fear; and so
+Fear is born into the world giving rise to the whole brood of evil, anger,
+hatred, envy, lies, violence, and the like, and on the external plane
+giving rise to discordant vibrations which are the root of physical ill. If
+we analyze our motives we shall find that they are always some mode either
+of Love or Fear; and fear has its root in the recognition of some power
+other than Perfect Love, which is God the ONE all-embracing Good. Fear has
+a creative force which invertedly mimics that of Love; but the difference
+between them is that Love is eternal and Fear is not. Love as the Original
+Creative Motive is the only logical conclusion we can come to as to why we
+ourselves or any other creation exists. Fear is illogical because to regard
+it as having any place in the Original Creative Motive involves a
+contradiction in terms.
+
+By accepting the notion of a dual power, that of Good _and_ Evil, the
+inverted creative working of Fear is introduced with all its attendant
+train of evil things. This is the eating of the deadly tree which occasions
+the Fall, and therefore the Redemption which requires to be accomplished is
+a redemption from Fear--not merely from this or that particular fear but
+from the very Root of Fear, which root is unbelief in the Love of God, the
+refusal to believe that Love alone is the Creating Power in all things,
+whether small beyond our recognition or great beyond our conception.
+Therefore to bring about this Redemption there must be such a manifestation
+of the Divine Love to Man as, when rightly apprehended, will leave no
+ground for fear; and when we see that the Sacrifice of the Cross was the
+Self-Offering of Love made in order to provide this manifestation, then we
+see that all the links in the chain of Cause and Effect are complete, and
+that Fear never had any place in the Creative Principle, whether as acting
+in the creation of a world or of a man. The root, therefore, of all the
+trouble of the world consists in the Affirmation of Negation, in using our
+creative power of thought invertedly, and thus giving substance to that
+which _as principle_ has no existence. So long as this negative action of
+thought continues so long will it produce its natural effect; whether in
+the individual or in the mass. The experience is perfectly real while it
+lasts. Its unreality consists in the fact that there was never any real
+need for it; and the more we grasp the truth of the all-embracingness of
+the ONE Good, both as Cause and as Effect, on all planes, the more the
+experience of its opposite will cease to have any place in our lives.
+
+This truly New Thought puts us in an entirely new relation to the whole of
+our environment, opening out possibilities hitherto undreamt of, and this
+by an orderly sequence of law which is naturally involved in our new mental
+attitude; but before considering the prospect thus offered it is well to be
+quite clear as to what this new mental attitude really is; for it is our
+adoption of this attitude that is the Key to the whole position. Put
+briefly it is ceasing to include the idea of limitations in our conception
+of the working of the All-Creating Spirit. Here are some specimens of the
+way in which we limit the creative working of the Spirit. We say, I am too
+old now to start this or that new sort of work. This is to deny the power
+of the Spirit to vivify our physical or mental faculties, which is
+illogical if we consider that it is the same Spirit that brought us into
+any existence at all. It is like saying that when a lamp is beginning to
+burn low the same person who first filled it with oil cannot replenish it
+and make it burn brightly again. Or we say, I cannot do so and so because I
+have not the means. When you were fourteen did you know where all the means
+were coming from which were going to support you till now when you are
+perhaps forty or fifty? So you should argue that the same power that has
+worked in the past can continue to work in the future. If you say the means
+came in the past quite naturally through ordinary channels, that is no
+objection; on the contrary the more reason for saying that suitable
+channels will open in the future. Do you expect God to put cash into your
+desk by a conjuring trick? Means come through recognizable channels, that
+is to say we recognize the channels by the fact of the stream flowing
+through them; and one of our most common mistakes is in thinking that we
+ourselves have to fix the particular channel beforehand. We say in effect
+that the Spirit cannot open other channels, and so we stop them up. Or we
+say, our past experience speaks to the contrary, thus assuming that our
+past experiences have included all possibilities and have exhausted the
+laws of the universe, an assumption which is negatived by every fresh
+discovery even in physical science. And so we go on limiting the power of
+the Spirit in a hundred different ways.
+
+But careful consideration will show that, though the modes in which we
+limit it are as numerous as the circumstances with which we have to deal,
+the thing with which we limit it is always the same--it is by the
+introduction of our own personality. This may appear at first a direct
+contradiction of all that I have said about the necessity for the Personal
+Factor, but it is not. Here is a paradox.
+
+To open out into manifestation the wonderful possibilities hidden in the
+Creative Power of the Universe we require to do two things--to see that we
+ourselves are necessary as centers for focussing that power, and at the
+same time to withdraw the thought of ourselves as contributing anything to
+its efficiency. It is not I that work but the Power; yet the Power needs me
+because it cannot specialize itself without me--in a word each is the
+complementary of the other: and the higher the degree of specialization is
+to be the more necessary is the intelligent and willing co-operation of the
+individual.
+
+This is the Scriptural paradox that "the son can do nothing of himself,"
+and yet we are told to be "fellow-workers with God." It ceases to be a
+paradox, however, when we realize the relation between the two factors
+concerned, God and Man. Our mistake is in not discriminating between their
+respective functions, and putting Man in the place of God. In our everyday
+life we do this by measuring the power of God by our past experiences and
+the deductions we draw from them; but there is another way of putting Man
+in the place of God, and that is by the misconception that the
+All-Originating Spirit is merely a cosmic force without intelligence, and
+that Man has to originate the intelligence without which no specific
+purpose can be conceived. This latter is the error of much of the present
+day philosophy and has to be specially guarded against. This was perceived
+by some of the medieval students of these things, and they accordingly
+distinguished between what they called Animus Dei and Anima Mundi, the
+Divine Spirit and the Soul of the Universe. Now the distinction is this,
+that the essential quality of Animus Dei is Personality--not A Person, but
+the very Principle of Personality itself--while the essential quality of
+Anima Mundi is Impersonality. Then right here comes in that importance of
+the Personal Factor of which I have already spoken. The powers latent in
+the Impersonal are brought out to their fullest development by the
+operation of the Personal. This of course does not consist in changing the
+nature of those powers, for that is impossible, but in making such
+combinations of them by Personal Selection as to produce results which
+could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, for example, Number is in itself
+impersonal and no one can alter the laws which are inherent in it; but what
+we can do is to select particular numbers and the sort of relation, such as
+subtraction, multiplication, etc., which we will establish between them;
+and then by the inherent Law of Number a certain result is bound to work
+out. Now our own essential quality is the consciousness of Personality; and
+as we grow into the recognition of the fact that the Impersonal is, as it
+were, crying out for the operation upon it of the Personal in order to
+bring its latent powers into working, we shall see how limitless is the
+field that thus opens before us.
+
+The prospect is wonderful beyond our present conception, and full of
+increasing glory if we realize the true foundation on which it rests. But
+herein lies the danger. It consists in not realizing that the Infinite of
+the Impersonal _is_ and also that the Infinite of the Personal _is_. Both
+are Infinite and so require differentiation through our own personality,
+but in their essential quality each is the exact balance of the other--not
+in contradiction to each other, but as complementary to one another, each
+supplying what the other needs for its full expression, so that the two
+together make a perfect whole. If, however, we see this relation and our
+own position as the connecting link between them, we shall see only
+ourselves as the Personal Factor; but the more we realize, both by theory
+and experience, the power of human personality brought into contact with
+the Impersonal Soul of Nature, and employed with a Knowledge of its power
+and a corresponding exercise of the will, the less we shall be inclined to
+regard ourselves as the supreme factor in the chain of cause and effect
+Consideration of this argument points to the danger of much of the present
+day teaching regarding the exercise of Thought Power as a creative agency.
+The principle on which this teaching is based is sound and legitimate for
+it is inherent in the nature of things; but the error is in supposing that
+we ourselves are the ultimate source of Personality instead of merely the
+distributors and specializers of it. The logical result of such a mental
+attitude is that putting ourselves in the place of all that is worshiped as
+God which is spoken of in the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the
+Thessalonians and other parts of Scripture. By the very hypothesis of the
+case we then know no higher will than our own, and so are without any
+Unifying Principle to prevent the conflict of wills which must then
+arise--a conflict which must become more and more destructive the greater
+the power possessed by the contending parties, and which, if there were no
+counterbalancing power, must result in the ultimate destruction of the
+existing race of men.
+
+But there is a counterbalancing power. It is the very same power used
+affirmatively instead of negatively. It is the power of the Personal with
+the Impersonal when used under the guidance of that Unifying Principle
+which the recognition of the ONE-ness of the Personal Quality in the Divine
+Spirit supplies. Those who are using the creative power of thought only
+from the standpoint of individual personality, have obviously less power
+than those who are using it from the standpoint of the Personality inherent
+in the Living Spirit which is the Source and Fountain of all energy and
+substance, and therefore in the end the victory must remain with these
+latter. And because the power by which they conquer is that of the Unifying
+Personality itself their victory must result in the establishment of Peace
+and Happiness throughout the world, and is not a power of domination but of
+helpfulness and enlightenment. The choice is between these two mottoes:--
+"Each for himself and Devil take the hindmost," or "God for us all." In
+proportion, therefore, as we realize the immense forces dormant in the
+Impersonal Soul of Nature, only awaiting the introduction of the Personal
+Factor to wake them up into activity and direct them to specific purposes,
+the wider we shall find the scope of the powers within the reach of man;
+and the more clearly we perceive the Impersonalness of the very Principle
+of Personality itself, the clearer our own proper position as affording the
+Differentiating Medium between these two Infinitudes will become to us.
+
+The Impersonalness of the Principle of Personality looks like a
+contradiction in terms, but it is not. I combine these two seemingly
+contradictory terms as the best way to convey to the reader the idea of the
+essential Quality of Personality not yet differentiated into individual
+centers of consciousness for the doing of particular work. Looked at in
+this way the Infinite of Personality must have Unity of Purpose for its
+foundation, for otherwise it would consist of conflicting personalities, in
+which case we have not yet reached the ONE all-originating cause. Or to put
+it in another way, an Infinite Personality divided against itself would be
+an Infinite Insanity, a creator of a cosmic Bedlam which, as a scientific
+fact, would be impossible of existence. Therefore the conception of an
+Infinite of Personality necessarily implies a perpetual Unity of Purpose;
+and for the same reason this Purpose can only be the fuller and fuller
+expression of an Infinite Unity of Consciousness; and Unity of
+Consciousness necessarily implies the entire absence of all that would
+impair it, and therefore its expression can only be as Universal Harmony.
+If, then, the individual realizes this true nature of the source from which
+his own consciousness of personality is derived his ideas and work will be
+based upon this foundation, with the result that as between ourselves peace
+and good will towards men must accompany this mode of thought, and as
+between us and the strictly Impersonal Soul of Nature our increasing
+knowledge in that direction would mean increasing power for carrying out
+our principle of peace and good will. As this perception of our relation to
+the Spirit of God and the Soul of Nature spreads from individual to
+individual so the Kingdom of God will grow, and its universal recognition
+would be the establishing of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
+
+Perhaps the reader will ask why I say the Soul of Nature instead of saying
+the material universe. The reason is that in using our creative power of
+Thought we do not operate directly upon material elements--to do that is
+the work of construction from without and not of creation from within. The
+whole tendency of modern physical science is to reduce all matter in the
+final analysis to energy working in a primary ether. Whence this energy and
+this ether proceed is not the subject of physical analysis. That is a
+question which cannot be answered by means of the vacuum tube or the
+spectroscope. Physical science is doing its legitimate work in pushing
+further and further back the unanalyzable residuum of Nature, but, however
+far back, an ultimate unanalyzable residuum there must always be; and when
+physical science brings us to this point it hands us over to the guidance
+of psychological investigation just as in the Divina Commedia Virgil
+transfers Dante to the guidance of Beatrice for the study of the higher
+realms. Various rates of rapidity of motion in this primary ether,
+producing various numerical combinations of positively and negatively
+electrified particles, result in the formation of what we know as the
+different chemical elements, and thus explains the phenomena of their
+combining quantities, the law by which they join together to form new
+substances only in certain exact numerical ratios. From the first movement
+in the primary ether to solid substances, such as wood or iron or our own
+flesh, is thus a series of vibrations in a succession of mediums, each
+denser than the preceding one out of which it was concreted and from which
+it receives the vibratory impulse. This is in effect what physical science
+has to tell us. But to get further back we must look into the world of the
+invisible, and it is here that psychological study comes to our aid. We
+cannot, however, study the invisible side of Nature by working from the
+outside and so at this point of our studies we find the use of the
+time-honored teaching regarding the parallelism between the Macrocosm and
+the Microcosm. If the Microcosm is the reproduction in ourselves of the
+same principles as exist in the Macrocosm or universe in which we have our
+being, then by investigating ourselves we shall learn the nature of the
+corresponding invisible principles in our environment. Here, then, is the
+application of the dictum of the ancient philosophy, "Know Thyself." It
+means that the only place where we can study the principles of the
+invisible side of Nature is in ourselves; and when we know them there we
+can transfer them to the larger world around us.
+
+In the concluding chapters of my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science" I
+have outlined the way in which the soul or mind operates upon the physical
+instrument of its expression, and it resolves itself into this--that the
+mental action inaugurates a series of vibrations in the etheric body which,
+in their turn, induce corresponding grosser vibrations in the molecular
+substance until finally mechanical action is produced on the outside. Now
+transferring this idea to Nature as a whole we shall see that if our mental
+action is to affect it in any way it can only be by the response of
+something at the back of material substance analogous to mind in ourselves;
+and that there is such a "something" interior to the merely material side
+of Nature is proved by what we may call the Law of Tendency, not only in
+animals and plants, but even in inorganic substances, as shown for instance
+in Professor Bose's work on the Response of Metals. The universal presence
+of this Law of Tendency therefore indicates the working of some
+non-material and, so to say, semi-intelligent power in the material world,
+a power which works perfectly accurately on its own lines so far as it
+goes, that is to say in a generic manner, but which does not possess that
+Personal power of _individual selection_ which is necessary to bring out
+the infinite possibilities hidden in it. This is what is meant by the Soul
+of Nature, and it is for this reason I employ that term instead of saying
+the material universe. Which term to employ all depends on the mode of
+action we are contemplating. If it is construction from without, then we
+are dealing with the purely material universe. If we are seeking to bring
+about results by the exercise of our mental power from within, then we are
+dealing with the Soul of Nature. It is that control of the lower degree of
+intelligence by the higher of which I have spoken in my Edinburgh Lectures.
+
+If we realize what I have endeavored to make clear in the earlier portion
+of this book, that the whole creation is produced by the operation of the
+Divine Will upon the Soul of Nature, it will be evident that we can set no
+limits to the potencies hidden in the latter and capable of being brought
+out by the operation of the Personal Factor upon it; therefore, granted a
+sufficiently powerful concentration of will, whether by an individual or a
+group of individuals, we can well imagine the production of stupendous
+effects by this agency, and in this way I would explain the statements made
+in Scripture regarding the marvelous powers to be exercised by the
+Anti-Christ, whether personal or collective. They are psychic powers, the
+power of the Soul of Man over the Soul of Nature. But the Soul of Nature is
+quite impersonal and therefore the moral quality of this action depends
+entirely on the human operator. This is the point of the Master's teaching
+regarding the destruction of the fig tree, and it is on this account He
+adds the warning as to the necessity for clearing our heart of any
+injurious feeling against others whenever we attempt to make use of this
+power (Mark xi: 20-26).
+
+According to His teaching, then, this power of controlling the Soul of
+Nature by the addition of our own Personal Factor, however little we may be
+able to recognize it as yet, actually exists; its employment depends on our
+perception of the inner principles common to both, and it is for this
+reason the ancient wisdom was summed up in the aphorism "Know thyself." No
+doubt it is a wonderful Knowledge, but on analysis it will be found to be
+perfectly natural. It is the Knowledge of the cryptic forces of Nature. Now
+it is remarkable that this ancient maxim inscribed over the portals of the
+Temple of Delphi is not to be found in the Bible. The Bible maxim is not
+"Know thyself" but "Know the Lord." The great subject of Knowledge is not
+ourself but "the Lord"; and herein is the great difference between the two
+teachings. The one is limited by human personality, the other is based on
+the Infinitude of the Divine Personality; and because of this it includes
+human personality with all its powers over the Soul of Nature. It is a case
+of the greater including the less; and so the whole teaching of Scripture
+is directed to bringing us into the recognition of that Divine Personality
+which is the Great Original in whose image and likeness we are made. In
+proportion as we grow into the recognition of _this_ our own personality
+will explain, and the creative power of our thought will cease to work
+invertedly until at last it will work only on the same principles of Life,
+Love and Liberty as the Divine Mind, and so all evil will disappear from
+our world. We shall not, as some systems teach, be absorbed into Deity to
+the extinction of our individual consciousness, but on the contrary our
+individual consciousness will continually expand, which is what St. Paul
+means when he speaks of our "increasing with the increase of God"--the
+continual expanding of the Divine element within us. But this can only take
+place by our recognition of ourselves as _receivers_ of this Divine
+element. It is receiving into ourselves of the Divine Personality, a result
+not to be reached through human reasoning. We reason from premises which we
+have assumed, and the conclusion is already involved in the premises and
+can never extend beyond them. But we can only select our premises from
+among things that we know by experience, whether mental or physical, and
+accordingly our reasoning is always merely a new placing of the old things.
+But the receiving of the Divine Personality into ourselves is an entirely
+New Thing, and so cannot be reached by reasoning from old things. Hence if
+this Divine ultimate of the Creative Process is to be attained it must be
+by the Revelation of a New Thing which will afford a new starting-point for
+our thought, and this New Starting-point is given in the Promise of "the
+Seed of the Woman" with which the Bible opens. Thenceforward this Promise
+became the central germinating thought of those who based themselves upon
+it, thus constituting them a special race, until at last when the necessary
+conditions had matured the Promised Seed appeared in Him of whom it is
+written that He is the express image of God's Person (Heb. I: 3)--that is,
+the Expression of that Infinite Divine Personality of which I have spoken.
+"No man hath seen God at any time or can see Him," for the simple reason
+that Infinitude cannot be the subject of vision. To become visible there
+must be Individualization, and therefore when Philip said "Show us the
+Father," Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." The
+Word must become flesh before St. John could say, "That which was from the
+beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
+have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life." This is
+the New Starting-point for the true New Thought--the New Adam of the New
+Race, each of whom is a new center for the working of the Divine Spirit.
+This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Except ye eat the flesh and drink
+the blood of the Son of Man ye have no life in you. My flesh is meat
+indeed, and my blood is drink indeed--" such a contemplation of the Divine
+Personality in Him as will cause a like receiving of the Divine Personality
+into individualization in ourselves--this is the great purpose of the
+Creative Process in the individual. It terminates the old series which
+began with birth after the flesh and inaugurates a New Series by birth
+after the Spirit, a New Life of infinite unfoldment with glorious
+possibilities beyond our highest conception.
+
+But all this is logically based upon our recognition of the Personalness of
+God and of the relation of our individual personality to this Eternal and
+Infinite Personality, and the result of this is Worship--not an attempt to
+"butter up" the Almighty and get Him into good temper, but the reverent
+contemplation of what this Personality must be in Itself; and when we see
+it to be that Life, Love, Beauty, etc., of which I spoke at the beginning
+of this book we shall learn to love Him for what He IS, and our prayer will
+be "Give me more of Thyself." If we realize the great truth that the
+Kingdom of Heaven is _within_ us, that it is the Kingdom of the innermost
+of our own being and of all creation, and if we realize that this innermost
+is the place of the Originating Power where Time and Space do not exist and
+therefore antecedent to all conditions, then we shall see the true meaning
+of Worship. It is the perception of the Innermost Spirit as eternally
+subsisting independently of all conditioned manifestation, so that in the
+true worship our consciousness is removed from the outer sphere of
+existence to the innermost center of unconditioned being. There we find the
+Eternal Being of God pure and simple, and we stand reverently in this
+Supreme Presence knowing that it is the Source of our own being, and wrapt
+in the contemplation of This, the conditioned is seen to flow out from It.
+Perceiving this the conditioned passes out of our consideration, for it is
+seen not to be the Eternal Reality--we have reached that level of
+consciousness where Time and Space remain no longer. Yet the reverence
+which the vision of this Supreme Center of all Being cannot fail to inspire
+is coupled with a sense of feeling quite at home with It. This is because
+as the Center of _all_ Being it is the center of our own being also. It is
+one-with-ourselves. It is recognizing Itself from our own center of
+consciousness; so that here we have got back to that Self-contemplation of
+Spirit which is the first movement of the Creating Power, only now this
+Self-contemplation is the action of the All-Originating Spirit upon Itself
+from the center of our own consciousness. So this worship in the Temple of
+the Innermost is at once reverent adoration and familiar intercourse--not
+the familiarity that breeds contempt, but a familiarity producing Love,
+because as it increases we see more clearly the true Life of the Spirit as
+the continual interaction of Love and Beauty, and the Spirit's recognition
+of ourselves as an integral portion of Its own Life. This is not an
+unpractical dreamy speculation but has a very practical bearing. Death will
+some day cease to be, for the simple reason that Life alone can be the
+enduring principle; but we have not yet reached this point in our
+evolution. Whether any in this generation will reach it I cannot say; but
+for the rank and file of us the death of the body seems to be by far the
+more probable event. Now what must this passing out of the body mean to us?
+It must mean that we find ourselves without the physical vehicle which is
+the instrument through which our consciousness comes in touch with the
+external world and all the interests of our present daily life. But the
+mere putting off of the body does not of itself change the mental attitude;
+and so if our mind is entirely centered upon these passing interests and
+external conditions the loss of the instrument by which we held touch with
+them must involve a consciousness of desire for the only sort of life we
+have known coupled with a consciousness of our inability to participate in
+it, which can only result in a consciousness of distress and confusion such
+as in our present state we cannot imagine.
+
+On the other hand if we have in this world realized the true principle of
+the Worship of the Eternal Source from which all conditioned life flows
+out--an inner communing with the Great Reality--we have already passed
+beyond that consciousness of life which is limited by Time and Space; and
+so when we put off this mortal body we shall find ourselves upon familiar
+ground, and therefore not wandering in confusion but quite at home,
+dwelling in the same light of the Eternal in which we have been accustomed
+to dwell as an atmosphere enveloping the conditioned life of to-day. Then
+finding ourselves thus at home on a plane where Time and Space do not exist
+there will be no question with us of duration. The consciousness will be
+simply that of peaceful, happy being. That a return to more active personal
+operation will eventually take place is evidenced by the fact that the
+basis of all further evolution is the differentiating of the
+Undifferentiated Life of the Spirit into specific channels of work, through
+the intermediary of individual personality without which the infinite
+potentialities of the Creative Law cannot be brought to light. Therefore,
+however various our opinions as to its precise form, Resurrection as a
+principle is a necessity of the creative process. But such a return to more
+active life will not mean a return to limitations, but the opening of a new
+life in which we shall transcend them all, because we have passed beyond
+the misconception that Time and Space are of the Essence of Life. When the
+misconception regarding Time and Space is entirely eradicated all other
+limitations must disappear because they have their root in this primary
+one--they are only particular forms of the general proposition. Therefore
+though Form with its accompanying relations of Time and Space is necessary
+for manifestation, these things will be found not to have any force in
+themselves thus creating limitation, but to be the reflection of the mode
+of thought which projects them as the expression of itself.
+
+Nor is there any inherent reason why this process should be delayed till
+some far-off future. There is no reason why we should not commence at once.
+No doubt our inherited and personally engendered modes of thought make this
+difficult, and by the nature of the process it will be only when _all_ our
+thoughts are conformed to this principle that the complete victory will be
+won. But there must be a commencement to everything, and the more we
+habituate ourselves to live in that Center of the Innermost where
+conditions do not exist, the more we shall find ourselves gaining control
+over outward conditions, because the stream of conditioned life flows out
+from the Center of Unconditioned Life, and therefore this intrinsic
+principle of Worship has in it the promise both of the life that now is and
+of that which is to come. Only we must remember that the really availing
+worship is that of the Undifferentiated Source _because It is the Source,_
+and not as a backhanded way of diverting the stream into some petty channel
+of conditions, for that would only be to get back to the old circle of
+limitation from which we are seeking to escape.
+
+But if we realize these things we have already laid hold of the Principle
+of Resurrection, and in point of principle we are already living the
+resurrection life. What progress we may make in it depends on our practical
+application of the principle; but simply as principle there is nothing in
+the principle itself to prevent its complete working at any moment. This is
+why Jesus did not refer resurrection to some remote point of time but said,
+"I am the resurrection and the life." No principle can carry in itself an
+opposite and limiting principle contradictory of its own nature, and this
+is as true of the Principle of Life as of any other principle. It is we who
+by our thought introduce an opposite and limiting principle and so hinder
+the working of the principle we are seeking to bring into operation; but so
+far as the Principle of Life itself is concerned there is _in it_ no reason
+why it should not come into perfect manifestation here and now.
+
+This, then, is the true purpose of worship. It is to bring us into
+conscious and loving intercourse with the Supreme Source of our own being,
+and seeing this we shall not neglect the outward forms of worship. From
+what we now know they should mean more to us than to others and not less;
+and in especial if we realize the manifestation of the Divine Personality
+in Jesus Christ and its reproduction in Man, we shall not neglect His last
+command to partake of that sacred memorial to His flesh and blood which He
+bequeathed to His followers with the words "This do in remembrance of Me."
+
+This holy rite is no superstitious human invention. There are many theories
+about it, and I do not wish to combat any of them, for in the end they all
+seem to me to bring us to the same point, that being cleansed from sin by
+the Divine Love we are now no longer separate from God but become
+"partakers of the Divine-Nature" (II Peter I: 4). This partaking of the
+Divine Nature could not be more accurately represented than by our
+partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Divine Substance and the
+Divine Life, thus made emblematic of the whole Creative Process from its
+beginning in the Divine Thought to its completion in the manifestation of
+that Thought as Perfected Man; and so it brings vividly before us the
+remembrance of the Personality of God taking form as the Son of Man. We are
+all familiar with the saying that thoughts become things; and if we affirm
+the creative power of our own thought as reproducing itself in outward
+form, how much more must we affirm the same of that Divine Thought which
+brings the whole universe into existence; so that in accordance with our
+own principles the Divine Idea of Man was logically bound to show itself in
+the world of time and space as the Son of God and the Son of man, not two
+differing natures but one complete whole, thus summing up the foundation
+principle of all creation in one Undivided Consciousness of Personality.
+Thus "the Word" or Divine Thought of Man "became flesh," and our partaking
+of the symbolic elements keeps in our remembrance the supreme truth that
+this same "Word" or Thought of God in like manner takes form in ourselves
+as we open our own thought to receive it. And further, if we realize that
+throughout the universe there is only ONE Originating Life, sending forth
+only ONE Original Substance as the vehicle for its expression, then it
+logically follows that _in essence_ the bread is a portion of the eternal
+Substance of God, and the wine a portion of the eternal Life of God. For
+though the wine is of course also a part of the Universal Substance, we
+must remember that the Universal Substance is itself a manifestation of the
+Life of the All-Creating Spirit, and therefore this fluid form of the
+primary substance has been selected as representing the eternal flowing of
+the Life of the Spirit into all creation, culminating in its supreme
+expression in the consciousness of those who, in the recognition of these
+truths, seek to bring their heart into union with the Divine Spirit. From
+such considerations as these it will be seen how vast a field of thought is
+covered by Christ's words "Do this in remembrance of Me."
+
+In conclusion, therefore, do not let yourselves be led astray by any
+philosophy that denies the Personality of God. In the end it will be found
+to be a foolish philosophy. No other starting-point of creation is
+conceivable than the Self-Contemplation of the Divine Spirit, and the
+logical sequence from this brings us to the ultimate result of the Creative
+Process in the statement that "if any man be in Christ he is a New
+creature," or as the margin has it "a new creation" (II Cor. v: 17). Such
+vain philosophies have only one logical result which is to put _yourself_
+in the place of God, and then what have you to lean upon in the hour of
+trial? It is like trying to climb up a ladder that is resting against
+nothing. Therefore, says the Apostle Paul, "Beware lest any man spoil you
+through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man, after the
+rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. II: 8.) The teaching
+of the Bible is sound philosophy, sound reasoning, and sound science
+because it starts with the sound premises that all Creation proceeds out of
+God, and that Man is made in the image and likeness of his Creator. It
+nowhere departs from the Law of Cause and Effect, and by the orderly
+sequence of this law it brings us at last to the New Creation both in
+ourselves and in our environment, so that we find the completion of the
+Creative Process in the declaration "the tabernacle of God is with men"
+(Rev. xxi: 3), and in the promise "This is the Covenant that I will make
+with them after those days (i.e., the days of our imperfect apprehension of
+these things) saith the Lord, I will dwell _in them_, and walk _in them_,
+and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will put my
+laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their
+sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. x: 16. II Cor. vi:
+16. Jeremiah xxxi: 33).
+
+Truly does Bacon say, "A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."
+--Bacon, Essay, xvi.
+
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+
+Footnote 1:   See my Doré Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 2:   See my Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science.
+
+Footnote 3:   See my Doré Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 4:   For the relation between conscious and sub-conscious mind see
+my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 5:   See "Self-Synthesis" by Dr. Cornwall Round.
+
+Footnote 6:   For the relation between subjective and objective mind see my
+"Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 7:   This view, it may be remarked, is not necessarily
+incompatible with the conception of reincarnation, on which theory the
+final resurrection or transmutation of the body would terminate the series
+of successive lives and deaths, thus bringing the individual out of the
+circle of generation, which is the circle of Karma. I may, perhaps, have
+the opportunity of considering this subject on some future occasion.
+
+Footnote 8:   See my "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning."
+
+Footnote 9:   See "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning" by the present author.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10361 ***
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10361 ***</div>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook,<br />
+    The Creative Process in the Individual,<br />
+    by Thomas Troward</h1>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<h1>THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL</h1>
+
+<h2>BY</h2> <h2>T. TROWARD</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>1915</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h1>FOREWORD</h1>
+
+<p>In the present volume I have endeavored to set before the reader the
+conception of a sequence of creative action commencing with the formation
+of the globe and culminating in a vista of infinite possibilities
+attainable by every one who follows up the right line for their
+unfoldment.</p>
+
+<p>I have endeavored to show that, starting with certain incontrovertible
+scientific facts, all these things logically follow, and that therefore,
+however far these speculations may carry us beyond our past experience,
+they nowhere break the thread of an intelligible connection of cause and
+effect.</p>
+
+<p>I do not, however, offer the suggestions here put forward in any other
+light than that of purely speculative reasoning; nevertheless, no advance
+in any direction can be made except by speculative reasoning going back to
+the first principles of things which we do know and thence deducing the
+conditions under which the same principles might be carried further and
+made to produce results hitherto unknown. It is to this method of thought
+that we owe all the advantages of civilization from matches and
+post-offices to motor-cars and aeroplanes, and we may therefore be
+encouraged to hope such speculations as the present may not be without
+their ultimate value. Relying on the maxim that Principle is not bound by
+Precedent we should not limit our expectations of the future; and if our
+speculations lead us to the conclusion that we have reached a point where
+we are not only able, but also <i>required</i>, by the law of our own
+being, to take a more active part in our personal evolution than
+heretofore, this discovery will afford us a new outlook upon life and widen
+our horizon with fresh interests and brightening hopes.</p>
+
+<p>If the thoughts here suggested should help any reader to clear some
+mental obstacles from his path the writer will feel that he has not written
+to no purpose. Only each reader must think out these suggestions for
+himself. No writer or lecturer can convey an idea <i>into</i> the minds of
+his audience. He can only put it before them, and what they will make of it
+depends entirely upon themselves--assimilation is a process which no one
+can carry out for us.</p>
+
+<p>To the kindness of my readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in
+Australia and New Zealand, I commend this little volume, not, indeed,
+without a deep sense of its many shortcomings, but at the same time
+encouraged by the generous indulgence extended to my previous books.</p>
+
+<p>T.T.</p>
+
+<p><i>June</i>, 1910.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1>CONTENTS</h1>
+
+
+<table>
+<tr><td align="right">I.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap1" >THE STARTING-POINT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">II.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap2" >THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">III.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>   <td><a href="#chap3" >THE DIVINE IDEAL</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap4" >THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">V.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap5" >THE PERSONAL FACTOR</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap6" >THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>   <td><a href="#chap7" >RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>  <td><a href="#chap8" >THE D&Eacute;NOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap9" >CONCLUSION</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">X.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap10">THE DIVINE OFFERING</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap11">OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+
+<h1>THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL</h1>
+
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I say no man has ever yet been half devout
+enough,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;None has ever yet adored or worship'd half
+enough,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;None has begun to think how divine he himself is,
+and<br />
+how certain the future is.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I say that the real and permanent grandeur of these
+States<br />
+must be their religion,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Otherwise there is no real and permanent
+grandeur.<br />
+--WALT WHITMAN.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap1">CHAPTER I</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE STARTING-POINT</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is an old saying that "Order is Heaven's First Law," and like many
+other old sayings it contains a much deeper philosophy than appears
+immediately on the surface. Getting things into a better order is the great
+secret of progress, and we are now able to fly through the air, not because
+the laws of Nature have altered, but because we have learnt to arrange
+things in the right order to produce this result--the things themselves had
+existed from the beginning of the world, but what was wanting was the
+introduction of a Personal Factor which, by an intelligent perception of
+the possibilities contained in the laws of Nature, should be able to bring
+into working reality ideas which previous generations would have laughed at
+as the absurd fancies of an unbalanced mind. The lesson to be learnt from
+the practical aviation of the present day is that of the triumph of
+principle over precedent, of the working out of an <i>idea</i> to its
+logical conclusions in spite of the accumulated testimony of all past
+experience to the contrary; and with such a notable example before us can
+we say that it is futile to enquire whether by the same method we may not
+unlock still more important secrets and gain some knowledge of the unseen
+causes which are at the back of external and visible conditions, and then
+by bringing these unseen causes into a better order make practical working
+realities of possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams? It
+is at least worth while taking a preliminary canter over the course, and
+this is all that this little volume professes to attempt; yet this may be
+sufficient to show the lay of the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Now the first thing in any investigation is to have some idea of what
+you are looking for--to have at least some notion of the general direction
+in which to go--just as you would not go up a tree to find fish though you
+would for birds' eggs. Well, the general direction in which we all want to
+go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it--we
+want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved
+conditions in our environment. However happily any of us may be
+circumstanced we can all conceive something still better, or at any rate we
+should like to make our present good permanent; and since we shall find as
+our studies advance that the prospect of increasing possibilities keeps
+opening out more and more widely before us, we may say that what we are in
+search of is the secret of getting more out of Life in a continually
+progressive degree. This means that what we are looking for is something
+personal, and that it is to be obtained by producing conditions which do
+not yet exist; in other words it is nothing less than the exercise of a
+certain creative power in the sphere of our own particular world. So, then,
+what we want is to introduce our own Personal Factor into the realm of
+unseen causes. This is a big thing, and if it is possible at all it must be
+by some sequence of cause and effect, and this sequence it is our object to
+discover. The law of Cause and Effect is one we can never get away from,
+but by carefully following it up we may find that it will lead us further
+than we had anticipated.</p>
+
+<p>Now, the first thing to observe is that if <i>we</i> can succeed in
+finding out such a sequence of cause and effect as the one we are in search
+of, somebody else may find out the same creative secret also; and then, by
+the hypothesis of the case, we should both be armed with an infallible
+power, and if we wanted to employ this power against each other we should
+be landed in the "impasse" of a conflict between two powers each of which
+was irresistible. Consequently it follows that the first principle of this
+power must be Harmony. It cannot be antagonizing itself from different
+centers--in other words its operation in a simultaneous order at every
+point is the first necessity of its being. What we are in search of, then,
+is a sequence of cause and effect so universal in its nature as to include
+harmoniously all possible variations of individual expression. This primary
+necessity of the Law for which we are seeking should be carefully borne in
+mind, for it is obvious that any sequence which transgresses this primary
+essential must be contrary to the very nature of the Law itself, and
+consequently cannot be conducting us to the exercise of true creative
+power.</p>
+
+<p>What we are seeking, therefore, is to discover how to arrange things in
+such an order as to set in motion a train of causation that will harmonize
+our own conditions without antagonizing the exercise of a like power by
+others. This therefore means that all individual exercise of this power is
+the particular application of a universal power which itself operates
+creatively on its own account independently of these individual
+applications; and the harmony between the various individual applications
+is brought about by all the individuals bringing their own particular
+action into line with this independent creative action of the original
+power. It is in fact another application of Euclid's axiom that things
+which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another; so that though
+I may not know for what purpose some one may be using this creative power
+in Pekin, I do know that if he and I both realize its true nature, we
+cannot by any possibility be working in opposition to one another. For
+these reasons, having now some general idea of what it is we are in search
+of, we may commence our investigation by considering this common factor
+which must be at the back of all individual exercise of creative power,
+that is to say, the Generic working of the Universal Creative
+Principle.</p>
+
+<p>That such a Universal Creative Principle is at work we at once realize
+from the existence of the world around us with all its inhabitants, and the
+inter-relation of all parts of the cosmic system shows its underlying
+Unity--thus the animal kingdom depends on the vegetable, the vegetable
+kingdom on the mineral, the mineral or globe of the earth on its relation
+to the rest of the solar system, and possibly our solar system is related
+by a similar law to the distribution of other suns with their attendant
+planets throughout space. Our first glance therefore shows us that the
+All-originating Power must be in essence Unity and in manifestation
+Multiplicity, and that it manifests as Life and Beauty through the unerring
+adaptation of means to ends--that is so far as its cosmic manifestation of
+ends goes: what we want to do is to carry this manifestation still further
+by operation from an individual standpoint. To do this is precisely our
+place in the Order of Creation, but we must defer the question why we hold
+this place till later on.</p>
+
+<p>One of the earliest discoveries we all make is the existence of Matter.
+The bruised shins of our childhood convince us of its solidity, so now
+comes the question, Why does Matter exist? The answer is that if the form
+were not expressed in solid substance, things would be perpetually flowing
+into each other so that no identity could be maintained for a single
+moment. To this it might be replied that a condition of matter is
+conceivable in which, though in itself a plastic substance, in a fluent
+state, it might yet by the operation of will be held in any particular
+forms desired. The idea of such a condition of matter is no doubt
+conceivable, and when the fluent matter was thus held in particular forms
+you would have concrete matter just as we know it now, only with this
+difference, that it would return to its fluent state as soon as the
+supporting will was withdrawn. Now, as we shall see later on, this is
+precisely what matter really is, only the will which holds it together in
+concrete form is not individual but cosmic.</p>
+
+<p>In itself the Essence of Matter is precisely the fluent substance we
+have imagined, and as we shall see later on the knowledge of this fact,
+when realized in its proper order, is the basis of the legitimate control
+of mind over matter. But a world in which every individual possessed the
+power of concreting or fluxing matter at his own sweet will irrespective of
+any universal coordinating principle is altogether inconceivable--the
+conflict of wills would prevent such a world remaining in existence. On the
+other hand, if we conceive of a number of individuals each possessing this
+power and all employing it on the lines of a common cosmic unity, then the
+result would be precisely the same stable condition of matter with which we
+are familiar--this would be a necessity of fact for the masses who did not
+possess this power, and a necessity of principle for the few who did. So
+under these circumstances the same stable conditions of Nature would
+prevail as at present, varied only when the initiated ones perceived that
+the order of evolution would be furthered, and not hindered, by calling
+into action the higher laws. Such occasions would be of rare occurrence,
+and then the departure from the ordinary law would be regarded by the
+multitude as a miracle. Also we may be quite sure that no one who had
+attained this knowledge in the legitimate order would ever perform a
+"miracle" for his own personal aggrandizement or for the purpose of merely
+astonishing the beholders--to do so would be contrary to the first
+principle of the higher teaching which is that of profound reverence for
+the Unity of the All-originating Principle. The conception, therefore, of
+such a power over matter being possessed by certain individuals is in no
+way opposed to our ordinary recognition of concrete matter, and so we need
+not at present trouble ourselves to consider these exceptions.</p>
+
+<p>Another theory is that matter has no existence at all but is merely an
+illusion projected by our own minds. If so, then how is it that we all
+project identically similar images? On the supposition that each mind is
+independently projecting its own conception of matter a lady who goes to be
+fitted might be seen by her dressmaker as a cow. Generations of people have
+seen the Great Pyramid on the same spot; but on the supposition that each
+individual is projecting his own material world in entire independence of
+all other individuals there is no reason why any two persons should ever
+see the same thing in the same place. On the supposition of such an
+independent action by each separate mind, without any common factor binding
+them all to one particular mode of recognition, no intercourse between
+individuals would be possible--then, without the consciousness of relation
+to other individuals the consciousness of our own individuality would be
+lost, and so we should cease to have any conscious existence at all. If on
+the other hand we grant that there is, above the individual minds, a great
+Cosmic Mind which imposes upon them the necessity of all seeing the same
+image of Matter, then that image is not a projection of the individual
+minds but of the Cosmic Mind; and since the individual minds are themselves
+similar projections of the Cosmic Mind, matter is for them just as much a
+reality as their own existence. I doubt not that material substance is thus
+projected by the all-embracing Divine Mind; but so also are our own minds
+projected by it, and therefore the relation between them and matter is a
+real relation and not a merely fictitious one.</p>
+
+<p>I particularly wish the student to be clear on this point, that where
+two factors are projected from a common source their relation to each other
+becomes an absolute fact in respect of the factors themselves,
+notwithstanding that the power of changing that relation by substituting a
+different projection must necessarily always continue to reside in the
+originating source. To take a simple arithmetical example--by  my power of
+mental projection working through my eyes and fingers I write 4 X 2. Here I
+have established a certain numerical relation which can only produce eight
+as its result. Again, I have power to change the factors and write 4 X 3,
+in which case 12 is the only possible result, and so on. Working in this
+way calculation becomes possible. But if every time I wrote 4 that figure
+possessed an independent power of setting down a different number by which
+to multiply itself, what would be the result? The first 4 I wrote might set
+down 3 as its multiplier, and the next might set down 7, and so on. Or if I
+want to make a box of a certain size and cut lengths of plank accordingly,
+if each length could capriciously change its width at a moment's notice,
+how could I ever make the box? I myself may change the shape and size of my
+box by establishing new relations between the bits of wood, but for the
+pieces of wood themselves the proportions determined by my mind must remain
+fixed quantities, otherwise no construction could take place.</p>
+
+<p>This is a very rough analogy, but it may be sufficient to show that for
+a cosmos to exist at all it is absolutely necessary that there should be a
+Cosmic Mind binding all individual minds to certain <i>generic</i> unities
+of action, and so producing all things as realities and nothing as
+illusion. The importance of this conclusion will become more apparent as we
+advance in our studies.</p>
+
+<p>We have now got at some reason why concrete material form is a necessity
+of the Creative Process. Without it the perfect Self-recognition of Spirit
+from the Individual standpoint, which we shall presently find is the means
+by which the Creative Process is to be carried forward, would be
+impossible; and therefore, so far from matter being an illusion, it is the
+necessary channel for the self-differentiation of Spirit and its Expression
+in multitudinous life and beauty. Matter is thus the necessary Polar
+Opposite to Spirit, and when we thus recognize it in its right order we
+shall find that there is no antagonism between the two, but that together
+they constitute one harmonious whole.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap2">CHAPTER II</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we ask how the cosmos came into existence we shall find that
+ultimately we can only attribute it to the Self-Contemplation of Spirit.
+Let us start with the facts now known to modern physical science. All
+material things, including our own bodies, are composed of combinations of
+different chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, &amp;c.
+Chemistry recognizes in all about seventy of these elements each with its
+peculiar affinities; but the more advanced physical science of the present
+day finds that they are all composed of one and the same ultimate substance
+to which the name of Ether has been given, and that the difference between
+an atom of iron and an atom of oxygen results only from the difference in
+the number of etheric particles of which each is composed and the rate of
+their motion within the sphere of the atom, thus curiously coming back to
+the dictum of Pythagoras that the universe has its origin in Number and
+Motion. We may therefore say that our entire solar system together with
+every sort of material substance which it contains is made up of nothing
+but this one primary substance in various degrees of condensation.</p>
+
+<p>Now the next step is to realize that this ether is everywhere. This is
+shown by the undulatory theory of light. Light is not a substance but is
+the effect produced on the eye by the impinging of the ripples of the ether
+upon the retina. These waves are excessively minute, ranging in length from
+1-39,000th of an inch at the red end of the spectrum to 1-57,000th at the
+violet end. Next remember that these waves are not composed of advancing
+particles of the medium but pass onwards by the push which each particle in
+the line of motion gives to the particle next to it, and then you will see
+that if there were a break of one fifty-thousandth part of an inch in the
+connecting ether between our eye and any source of light we could not
+receive light from that source, for there would be nothing to continue the
+wave-motion across the gap. Consequently as soon as we see light from any
+source however distant, we know that there must be a continuous body of
+ether between us and it. Now astronomy shows us that we receive light from
+heavenly bodies so distant that, though it travels with the incredible
+speed of 186,000 miles per second, it takes more than two thousand years to
+reach us from some of them; and as such stars are in all quarters of the
+heavens we can only come to the conclusion that the primary substance or
+ether must be universally present.</p>
+
+<p>This means that the raw material for the formation of solar systems is
+universally distributed throughout space; yet though we find that millions
+of suns stud the heavens, we also find vast interstellar spaces which show
+no sign of cosmic activity. Then something has been at work to start cosmic
+activity in certain areas while passing over others in which the raw
+material is equally available. What is this something? At first we might be
+inclined to attribute the development of cosmic energy to the etheric
+particles themselves, but a little consideration will show us that this is
+mathematically impossible in a medium which is equally distributed
+throughout space, for all its particles are in equilibrium and so no one
+particle possesses <i>per se</i> a greater power of originating motion than
+any other. Consequently the initial movement must be started by something
+which, though it works on and through the particles of the primary
+substance, is not those particles themselves. It is this "Something" which
+we mean when we speak of "Spirit."</p>
+
+<p>Then since Spirit starts the condensation of the primary substance into
+concrete aggregation, and also does this in certain areas to the exclusion
+of others, we cannot avoid attributing to Spirit the power of Selection and
+of taking an Initiative on its own account.</p>
+
+<p>Here, then, we find the <i>initial</i> Polarity of Universal Spirit and
+Universal Substance, each being the complementary of the other, and out of
+this relation all subsequent evolution proceeds. Being complementary means
+that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together
+thus make complete wholeness. Now this is just the case here. Spirit
+supplies Selection and Motion. Substance supplies something from which
+selection can be made and to which Motion can be imparted; so that it is a
+<i>sine qua non</i> for the Expression of Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Then comes the question, How did the Universal Substance get there? It
+cannot have made itself, for its only quality is inertia, therefore it must
+have come from some source having power to project it by some mode of
+action not of a material nature. Now the only mode of action not of a
+material nature is Thought, and therefore to Thought we must look for the
+origin of Substance. This places us at a point antecedent to the existence
+even of primary substance, and consequently the initial action must be that
+of the Originating Mind upon Itself, in other words,
+Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for
+both imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement
+of Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute
+Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension
+either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and
+space from our conception of Spirit's <i>initial</i>
+Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>This being so, Spirit's primary contemplation of itself as simply Being
+necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently,
+paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it
+present throughout all Time and Space. It is the old esoteric maxim that
+the point expands to infinitude and that infinitude is concentrated in the
+point. We start, then, with Spirit contemplating itself simply as Being.
+But to realize your being you must have consciousness, and consciousness
+can only come by the recognition of your relation to something else. The
+something else may be an external fact or a mental image; but even in the
+latter case to conceive the image at all you must mentally stand back from
+it and look at it--something like the man who was run in by the police at
+Gravesend for walking behind himself to see how his new coat fitted. It
+stands thus: if you are not conscious of something you are conscious of
+nothing, and if you are conscious of nothing, then you are unconscious, so
+that to be conscious at all you must have something  to be conscious
+of.</p>
+
+<p>This may seem like an extract from "Paddy's Philosophy," but it makes it
+clear that consciousness can only be attained by the recognition of
+something which is not the recognizing <i>ego</i> itself--in other words
+consciousness is the realization of some particular sort of <i>relation</i>
+between the cognizing subject and the cognized object; but I want to get
+away from academical terms into the speech of human beings, so let us take
+the illustration of a broom and its handle--the two together make a broom;
+that is one sort of relation; but take the same stick and put a rake-iron
+at the end of it and you have an altogether different implement. The stick
+remains the same, but the difference of what is put at the end of it makes
+the whole thing a broom or a rake. Now the thinking and feeling power is
+the stick, and the conception which it forms is the thing at the end of the
+stick, so that the quality of its consciousness will be determined by the
+ideas which it projects; but to be conscious at all it must project ideas
+of some sort.</p>
+
+<p>Now of one thing we may be quite sure, that the Spirit of Life must
+<i>feel alive</i>. Then to feel alive it must be conscious, and to be
+conscious it must have something to be conscious of; therefore the
+contemplation of itself as standing related to something which is not its
+own originating self <i>in propria persona</i> is a necessity of the case;
+and consequently the Self-contemplation of Spirit can only proceed by its
+viewing itself as related to something standing out from itself, just as we
+must stand at a proper distance to see a picture--in fact the very word
+"existence" means "standing out." Thus things are called into existence or
+"outstandingness" by a power which itself does not stand out, and whose
+presence is therefore indicated by the word "subsistence."</p>
+
+<p>The next thing is that since in the beginning there is nothing except
+Spirit, its primary feeling of aliveness must be that of being alive <i>all
+over</i>; and to establish such a consciousness of its own universal
+livingness there must be the recognition of a corresponding <i>relation</i>
+equally extensive in character; and the only possible correspondence to
+fulfil this condition is therefore that of a universally distributed and
+plastic medium whose particles are all in perfect equilibrium, which is
+exactly the description of the Primary Substance or ether. We are thus
+philosophically led to the conclusion that Universal Substance must be
+projected by Universal Spirit as a necessary consequence of Spirit's own
+inherent feeling of Aliveness; and in this way we find that the great
+Primary Polarity of Being becomes established.</p>
+
+<p>From this point onward we shall find the principle of Polarity in
+universal activity. It is that relation between opposites without which no
+external Motion would be possible, because there would be nowhere to move
+from, and nowhere to move to; and without which external Form would be
+impossible because there would be nothing to limit the diffusion of
+substance and bring it into shape. Polarity, or the interaction of Active
+and Passive, is therefore the basis of all <i>Evolution</i>.</p>
+
+<p>This is a great fundamental truth when we get it in its right order; but
+all through the ages it has been a prolific source of error by getting it
+in its wrong order. And the wrong order consists in making Polarity the
+originating point of the Creative Process. What this misconception leads to
+we shall see later on; but since it is very widely accepted under various
+guises even at the present day it is well to be on our guard against it.
+Therefore I wish the student to see clearly that there is something which
+comes before that Polarity which gives rise to Evolution, and that this
+something is the original movement of Spirit <i>within itself</i>, of which
+we can best get an idea by calling it Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>Now this may seem an extremely abstract conception and one with which we
+have no practical concern. I fancy I can hear the reader saying "The Lord
+only knows how the world started, and it is His business and not mine,"
+which would be perfectly true if this originating faculty were confined to
+the Cosmic Mind. But it is not, and the same action takes place in our own
+minds also, only with the difference that it is ultimately subject to that
+principle of Cosmic Unity of which I have already spoken. But, subject to
+that unifying principle, this same power of origination is in ourselves
+also, and our personal advance in evolution depends on our right use of it;
+and our use of it depends on our recognition that we ourselves give rise to
+the particular polarities which express themselves in our whole world of
+consciousness, whether within or without. For these reasons it is very
+important to realize that Evolution is not the same as Creation. It is the
+unfolding of potentialities involved in things already created, but not the
+calling into existence of what does not yet exist--<i>that</i> is
+Creation.</p>
+
+<p>The order, therefore, which I wish the student to observe is, first the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit producing Polarity, and next Polarity
+producing Manifestation in Form--and  also to realize that it is in this
+order his own mind operates as a subordinate center of creative energy.
+When the true place of Polarity is thus recognized, we shall find in it the
+explanation of all those relations of things which give rise to the whole
+world of phenomena;  from which we may draw the practical inference that if
+we want to change the manifestation we must change the polarity, and to
+change the polarity we must get back to the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+But in its proper place as the root-principle of all <i>secondary</i>
+causation, Polarity is one of those fundamental facts of which we must
+never lose sight. The term "Polarity" is adopted from electrical science.
+In the electric battery it is the connecting together of the opposite poles
+of zinc and copper that causes a current to flow from one to the other and
+so provides the energy that rings the bell. If the connection is broken
+there is no action. When you press the button you make the connection. The
+same process is repeated in respect of every sort of polarity throughout
+the universe. Circulation depends on polarity, and circulation is the
+<i>manifestation</i> of Life, which we may therefore say depends on the
+principle of polarity. In relation to ourselves we are concerned with two
+great polarities, the polarity of Soul and Body and the polarity of Soul
+and Spirit; and it is in order that he may more clearly realize their
+working that I want the student to have some preliminary idea of Polarity
+as a general principle.</p>
+
+<p>The conception of the Creative Order may therefore be generalized as
+follows. The Spirit wants to enjoy the reality of its own Life--not merely
+to vegetate, but to enjoy giving--and therefore by Self-contemplation it
+projects a polar opposite, or complementary, calculated to give rise to the
+particular sort of <i>relation</i> out of which the enjoyment of a certain
+mode of self-consciousness will necessarily spring. Let this sentence be
+well pondered over until the full extent of its significance is grasped,
+for it is the key to the whole matter Very well, then: Spirit wants to
+Enjoy Life, and so, by thinking of itself as <i>having</i> the enjoyment
+which it wishes, it produces the conditions which, by their re-action upon
+itself, give rise to the reality of the sort of enjoyment contemplated. In
+more scientific language an opposite polarity is induced, giving rise to a
+current which stimulates a particular mode of sensation, which sensation in
+turn becomes a fresh starting-point for still further action; and in this
+way each successive stage becomes the stepping-stone to a still higher
+degree of sensation--that  is, to a Fuller Enjoyment of Life.</p>
+
+<p>Such a conception as this presents us with a Progressive Series to which
+it is impossible to assign any limit. That the progression must be
+limitless is clear from the fact that there is never any change in the
+method. At each successive stage the Creating Power is the
+Self-consciousness of the Spirit, as realized at that stage, still reaching
+forward for yet further Enjoyment of Life, and so always keeping on
+repeating the <i>one</i> Creative Process at an ever-rising level; and
+since these are the sole working conditions, the progress is one which
+logically admits of no finality. And this is where the importance of
+realizing the Singleness of the Originating Power comes in, for with a
+Duality each member would limit the other; in fact, Duality as the
+Originating Power is inconceivable, for, once more to quote "Paddy's
+Philosophy," "finality would be reached before anything was begun."</p>
+
+<p>This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,
+while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by
+stage, each stage being necessary as a preparation for the one that is to
+follow. Let us then briefly sketch the stages by which things in our world
+have got as far as they have. The interest of the enquiry lies in the fact
+that if we can once get at the principle which is producing these results,
+we may discover some way of giving it personal application.</p>
+
+<p>On the hypothesis of the Self-contemplation of Spirit being the
+originating power, we have found that a primary ether, or universal
+substance, is the necessary correspondence to Spirit's simple awareness of
+its own being. But though awareness of being is the necessary foundation
+for any further possibilities it is, so to say, not much to talk about. The
+foundation fact, of course, is to know that I Am; but immediately on this
+consciousness there follows the desire for Activity--I want to enjoy my I
+Am-ness by doing something with it. Translating these words into a state of
+consciousness in the Cosmic Mind they become a Law of Tendency leading to
+<i>localised</i> activity, and, looking only at our own world, this would
+mean the condensation of the universal etheric substance into the primary
+nebula which later on becomes our solar system, this being the
+correspondence to the Self-contemplation of Spirit as passing into specific
+activity instead of remaining absorbed in simple awareness of Being. Then
+this self-recognition would lead to the conception of still more specific
+activity having its appropriate polar opposite, or material correspondence,
+in the condensation of the nebula into a solar system.</p>
+
+<p>Now at this stage Spirit's conception of itself is that of Activity, and
+consequently the material correspondence is Motion, as distinguished from
+the simple diffused ether which is the correspondence of mere awareness of
+Being, But what sort of motion? Is the material movement evolved at this
+stage bound to take any particular form? A little consideration will show
+us that it is. At this initial stage, the first awakening, so to say, of
+Spirit into activity, its consciousness can only be that of activity
+<i>absolute</i>; that is, not as related to any other mode of activity
+because as yet there is none, but only as related to an all-embracing
+Being; so that the only possible conception of Activity at this stage is
+that of <i>Self-sustained</i> activity, not depending on any preceding mode
+of activity because there is none. The law of reciprocity therefore demands
+a similar self-sustained motion in the material correspondence, and
+mathematical considerations show that the only sort of motion which can
+sustain a self-supporting body moving <i>in vacuo</i> is a rotary motion
+bringing the body itself into a spherical form. Now this is exactly what we
+find at both extremes of the material world. At the big end the spheres of
+the planets rotating on their axes and revolving round the sun; and at the
+little end the spheres of the atoms consisting of particles which, modern
+science tells us, in like manner rotate round a common center at distances
+which are astronomical as compared with their own mass. Thus the two
+ultimate units of physical manifestation, the atom and the planet, both
+follow the same law of self-sustained motion which we have found that, on
+<i>a priori</i> grounds, they ought in order to express the primary
+activity of Spirit. And we may note in passing that this rotary, or
+<i>absolute</i>, motion is the combination of the only two possible
+<i>relative</i> modes of motion, namely, motion from a point and motion to
+it, that is to say centrifugal and centripetal motion; so that in rotary,
+or absolute, motion we find that both the polarities of motion are
+included, thus repeating on the purely mechanical side the primordial
+principle of the Unity including the Duality in itself.</p>
+
+<p>But the Spirit wants something more than mechanical motion, something
+more alive than the preliminary Rota, and so the first step toward
+individualized consciousness meets us in plant life. Then on the principle
+that each successive stage affords the platform for a further outlook,
+plant life is followed by animal life, and this by the Human order in which
+the liberty of selecting its own conditions is immensely extended. In this
+way the Spirit's expression of itself has now reached the point where its
+polar complementary, or Reciprocal, manifests as Intellectual Man--thus
+constituting the Fourth great stage of Spirit's Self-recognition. But the
+Creative Process cannot stop here, for, as we have seen, its root in the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit renders it of necessity an Infinite
+Progression. So it is no use asking what is its ultimate, for it has no
+ultimate--its word is "Excelsior"--ever Life and "Life more Abundant."
+Therefore the question is not as to finality where there is none, but as to
+the next step in the progression. Four kingdoms we know: what is to be the
+Fifth? All along the line the progress has been in one direction, namely,
+toward the development of more perfect Individuality, and therefore on the
+principle of continuity we may reasonably infer that the next stage will
+take us still further in the same direction. We want something more perfect
+than we have yet reached, but our ideas as to what it should be are very
+various, not to say discordant, for one person's idea of better is another
+person's idea of worse. Therefore what we want to get at is some broad
+generalization of principle which will be in advance of our past
+experiences. This means that we must look for this principle in something
+that we have not yet experienced, and the only place where we can possibly
+find principles which have not yet manifested themselves is <i>in gremio
+Dei</i>--that is, in the innermost of the Originating Spirit, or as St.
+John calls it, "in the bosom of the Father." So we are logically brought to
+personal participation in the Divine Ideal as the only principle by which
+the advance into the next stage can possibly be made. Therefore we arrive
+at the question, What is the Divine Ideal like?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap3">CHAPTER III</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE DIVINE IDEAL</h2>
+
+
+<p>What is the Divine Ideal? At first it might appear hopeless to attempt
+to answer such a question, but by adhering to a definite principle we shall
+find that it will open out, and lead us on, and show us things which we
+could not otherwise have seen--this is the nature of principle, and is what
+distinguishes it from mere rules which are only the application of
+principle under some particular set of conditions. We found two principles
+as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely its power
+of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as
+its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the LIVING for ever
+increasing Enjoyment of Life. Now with these three principles as the very
+essence of the All-originating Spirit to guide us, we shall, I think, be
+able to form some conception of that Divine Ideal which gives rise to the
+Fifth Stage of Manifestation of Spirit, upon which we should now be
+preparing to enter.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a
+<i>reciprocal</i>--it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to
+answer to it; otherwise by the inherent law of mind no consciousness, and
+consequently no enjoyment, could accrue; and therefore by the law of
+continuous progression the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being
+awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes
+into existence.</p>
+
+<p>Such an awakening cannot proceed from a comparison of one set of
+existing conditions with another, but only from the recognition of a Power
+which is independent of all conditions, that is to say, the absolute
+Self-dependence of the Spirit. A being thus awakened would be the proper
+correspondence of the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life at a stage not only above
+mechanical motion or physical vitality, but even above intellectual
+perception of existing phenomena, that is to say at the stage where the
+Spirit's Enjoyment consists in recognizing itself as the Source of all
+things. The position in the Absolute would be, so to speak, the awakening
+of Spirit to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability. I use the word
+"Artistic" as more nearly expressing an almost unstatable idea than any
+other I can think of, for the work of the artist approaches more closely to
+creation <i>ex nihilo</i> than any other form of human activity. The work
+of the artist is the expression of the self that the artist is, while that
+of the scientist is the comparison of facts which exist independently of
+his own personality. It is true that the realm of Art is not without its
+methods of analysis, but the analysis is that of the artist's own feeling
+and of the causes which give rise to it. These are found to contain in
+themselves certain principles which are fundamental to all Art, but these
+principles are the laws of the creative action of mind rather than those of
+the limitations of matter. Now if we may transfer this familiar analogy to
+our conception of the working of the All-Originating Mind we may picture it
+as the Great Artist giving visible expression to His feeling by a process
+which, though subject to no restriction from antecedent conditions, yet
+works by a Law which is inseparable from the Feeling itself--in fact the
+Law <i>is</i> the Feeling, and the Feeling <i>is</i> the Law, the Law of
+Perfect Creativeness.</p>
+
+<p>Some such Self-contemplation as this is the only way in which we can
+conceive the next, or Fifth, stage of Spirit's Self-recognition as taking
+place. Having got as far as it has in the four previous stages, that is to
+the production of intellectual man as its correspondence, the next step in
+advance must be on the lines I have indicated--unless, indeed, there were a
+sudden and arbitrary breaking of the Law of Continuity, a supposition which
+the whole Creative Process up to now forbids us to entertain. Therefore we
+may picture the Fifth stage of the Self-contemplation of Spirit as its
+awakening to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability, its own absolute
+freedom of action and creative power--just as in studio parlance we say
+that an artist becomes "free of his palette." But by the always present Law
+of Reciprocity, through which alone self-consciousness can be attained,
+this Self-recognition of Spirit in the Absolute implies a corresponding
+objective fact in the world of the Relative; that is to say, the coming
+into manifestation of a being capable of realizing the Free Creative
+Artistry of the Spirit, and of recognizing the same principle in himself,
+while at the same time realizing also the <i>relation</i> between the
+Universal Manifesting Principle and its Individual Manifestation.</p>
+
+<p>Such, it appears to me, must be the conception of the Divine Ideal
+embodied in the Fifth Stage of the progress of manifestation. But I would
+draw particular attention to the concluding words of the last paragraph,
+for if we miss the <i>relation</i> between the Universal Manifesting
+Principle and its Individual Manifestation, we have failed to realize the
+Principle altogether, whether in the Universal or in the Individual--it is
+just their interaction that makes each become what it does become--and in
+this further becoming consists the progression. This relation proceeds from
+the principle I pointed out in the opening chapter which makes it necessary
+for the Universal Spirit to be always harmonious with itself; and if this
+Unity is not recognized by the individual he cannot hold that position of
+Reciprocity to the Originating Spirit which will enable it to recognize
+itself as in the Enjoyment of Life at the higher level we are now
+contemplating--rather  the feeling conveyed would be that of something
+antagonistic, producing the reverse of enjoyment, thus philosophically
+bringing out the point of the Scriptural injunction, "Grieve not the
+Spirit." Also the re-action upon the individual must necessarily give rise
+to a corresponding state of inharmony, though he may not be able to define
+his feeling of unrest or to account for it. But on the other hand if the
+grand harmony of the Originating Spirit within itself is duly regarded,
+then the individual mind affords a fresh center from which the Spirit
+contemplates itself in what I have ventured to call its Artistic
+Originality--a boundless potential of Creativeness, yet always regulated by
+its own inherent Law of Unity.</p>
+
+<p>And this Law of the Spirit's Original Unity is a very simple one. It is
+the Spirit's necessary and basic conception of itself. A lie is a statement
+that something is, which is not. Then, since the Spirit's statement or
+conception of anything necessarily makes that thing exist, it is logically
+impossible for it to conceive a lie. Therefore the Spirit is Truth.
+Similarly disease and death are the negative of Life, and therefore the
+Spirit, as the Principle of Life, cannot embody disease or death in its
+Self-contemplation. In like manner also, since it is free to produce what
+it will, the Spirit cannot desire the presence of repugnant forms, and so
+one of its inherent Laws must be Beauty. In this threefold Law of Truth,
+Life, and Beauty, we find the whole underlying nature of the Spirit, and no
+action on the part of the individual can be at variance with the
+Originating Unity which does not contravert these fundamental
+principles.</p>
+
+<p>This it will be seen leaves the individual absolutely unfettered except
+in the direction of breaking up the fundamental harmony on which he
+himself, as included in the general creation, is dependent. This certainly
+cannot be called limitation, and we are all free to follow the lines of our
+own individuality in every other direction; so that, although the
+recognition of our relation to the Originating Spirit safeguards us from
+injuring ourselves or others, it in no way restricts our liberty of action
+or narrows our field of development. Am I, then, trying to base my action
+upon a fundamental desire for the opening out of Truth, for the increasing
+of Livingness, and for the creating of Beauty? Have I got this as an ever
+present Law of Tendency at the back of my thought? If so, then this law
+will occupy precisely the same place in My Microcosm, or personal world,
+that it does in the Macrocosm, or great world, as a power which is in
+itself formless, but which by reason of its presence necessarily impresses
+its character upon all that the creative energy forms. On this basis the
+creative energy of the Universal Mind may be safely trusted to work through
+the specializing influence of our own thought<sup><a href="#fn1"
+name="rfn1">[1]</a></sup> and we may adopt the maxim "trust your desires"
+because we know that they are the movement of the Universal in ourselves,
+and that being based upon our fundamental recognition of the Life, Love,
+and Beauty which the Spirit is, their unfoldments must carry these initial
+qualities with them all down the line, and thus, in however small a degree,
+becomes a portion of the working of the Spirit in its inherent
+creativeness.</p>
+
+<p>This perpetual Creativeness of the Spirit is what we must never lose
+sight of, and that is why I want the student to grasp clearly the idea of
+the Spirit's Self-contemplation as the only possible root of the Creative
+Process. Not only at the first creation of the world, but at all times the
+plane of the innermost is that of Pure Spirit,<sup><a href="#fn2"
+name="rfn2">[2]</a></sup> and therefore at this, the originating point,
+there is nothing else for Spirit to contemplate excepting itself; then this
+Self-contemplation produces corresponding manifestation, and since
+Self-contemplation or recognition of its own existence must necessarily go
+on continually, the corresponding creativeness must always be at work. If
+this fundamental idea be clearly grasped we shall see that incessant and
+progressive creativeness is the very essence and being of Spirit. This is
+what is meant by the Affirmativeness of the Spirit. It cannot <i>per se</i>
+act negatively, that is to say uncreatively, for by the very nature of its
+Self-recognition such a negative action would be impossible. Of course if
+<i>we</i> act negatively then, since the Spirit is always acting
+affirmatively, we are moving in the opposite direction to it; and
+consequently so long as we regard our own negative action as being
+affirmative, the Spirit's action must appear to us negative, and thus it is
+that all the negative conditions of the world have their root in negative
+or inverted thought: but the more we bring our thought into harmony with
+the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is, the less these inverted
+conditions will obtain, until at last they will be eliminated altogether.
+To accomplish this is our great object; for though the progress may be slow
+it will be steady if we proceed on a definite principle; and to lay hold of
+the true principle is the purpose of our studies. And the principle to lay
+hold of is the Ceaseless Creativeness of Spirit. This is what we mean when
+we speak of it as The Spirit of the Affirmative, and I would ask my readers
+to impress this term upon their minds. Once grant that the All-originating
+Spirit is thus the Spirit of the Pure Affirmative, and we shall find that
+this will lead us logically to results of the highest value.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, we keep this Perpetual and Progressive Creativeness of the
+Spirit continually in mind we may rely upon its working as surely in
+ourselves as in that great cosmic forward movement which we speak of as
+Evolution. It is the same power of Evolution working within ourselves, only
+with this difference, that in proportion as we come to realize its nature
+we find ourselves able to facilitate its progress by offering more and more
+favorable conditions for its working. We do not add to the force of the
+Power, for we are products of it and so cannot generate what generates
+<i>us</i>; but by providing suitable conditions we can more and more highly
+specialize it. This is the method of all the advance that has ever been
+made. We never create any force (<i>e.g.</i> electricity) but we provide
+special conditions under which the force manifests <i>itself</i> in a
+variety of useful and beautiful ways, unsuspected possibilities which lay
+hidden in the power until brought to light by the cooperation of the
+Personal Factor.</p>
+
+<p>Now it is precisely the introduction<sup><a href="#fn3"
+name="rfn3">[3]</a></sup> of this Personal Factor that concerns us, because
+to all eternity we can only recognize things from our own center of
+consciousness, whether in this world or in any other; therefore the
+practical question is how to specialize in our own case the <i>generic</i>
+Originating Life which, when we give it a name, we call "the Spirit." The
+method of doing this is perfectly logical when we once see that the
+principle involved is that of the Self-recognition of Spirit. We have
+traced the <i>modus operandi</i> of the Creative Process sufficiently far
+to see that the existence of the cosmos is the result of the Spirit's
+seeing itself <i>in</i> the cosmos, and if this be the law of the whole it
+must also be the law of the part. But there is this difference, that so
+long as the normal average relation of particles is maintained the whole
+continues to subsist, no matter what position any particular particle may
+go into, just as a fountain continues to exist no matter whether any
+particular drop of water is down in the basin or at the top of the jet.
+This is the <i>generic</i> action which keeps the race going as a whole.
+But the question is, What is going to become of ourselves? Then because the
+law of the whole is also the law of the part we may at once say that what
+is wanted is for the Spirit <i>to see itself in us</i>--in other words, to
+find in us the Reciprocal which, as we have seen, is necessary to its
+Enjoyment of a certain Quality of Consciousness. Now, the fundamental
+consciousness of the Spirit must be that of Self-sustaining Life, and for
+the full enjoyment of this consciousness there must be a corresponding
+<i>individual</i> consciousness reciprocating it; and on the part of the
+individual such a consciousness can only arise from the recognition that
+his own life is identical with that of the Spirit--not something sent forth
+to wander away by itself, but something included in and forming part of the
+Greater Life. Then by the very conditions of the case, such a contemplation
+on the part of the individual is nothing else than the Spirit contemplating
+itself from the standpoint of the individual consciousness, and thus
+fulfilling the Law of the Creative Process under such specialized
+conditions as must logically result in the perpetuation of the individual
+life. It is the Law of the Cosmic Creative Process transferred to the
+individual.</p>
+
+<p>This, it seems to me, is the Divine Ideal: that of an Individuality
+which recognizes its Source, and recognizes also the method by which it
+springs from that Source, and which is therefore able to open up in itself
+a channel by which that Source can flow in uninterruptedly; with the result
+that from the moment of this recognition the individual lives directly from
+the Originating Life, as being himself <i>a special direct creation</i>,
+and not merely as being a member of a generic race. The individual who has
+reached this stage of recognition thus finds a principle of enduring life
+<i>within himself</i>; so then the next question is in what way this
+principle is likely to manifest itself.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap4">CHAPTER IV</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE</h2>
+
+
+<p>We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or
+universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a
+principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth
+proceeding <i>from</i> the principle, that is to say, some Form in which
+the principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that,
+though a form is necessary for manifestation, <i>the</i> form is not
+essential, for the same principle may manifest through various forms, just
+as electricity may work either through a lamp or a tram-car without in any
+way changing its inherent nature. In this way we are brought to the
+conclusion that the Life-principle must always provide itself with a body
+in which to function, though it does not follow that this body must always
+be of the same chemical constitution as the one we now possess. We might
+well imagine some distant planet where the chemical combinations with which
+we are familiar on earth did not obtain; but if the essential
+life-principle of any individual were transported thither, then by the Law
+of the Creative Process it would proceed to clothe itself with a material
+body drawn from the atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the
+personality thus produced would be quite at home there, for all his
+surroundings would be perfectly natural to him, however different the laws
+of Nature might be there from what we know here.</p>
+
+<p>In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two leading
+principles to which I have drawn attention--first, the power of the Spirit
+to create <i>ex nihilo</i>, and secondly, the individual's recognition of
+the basic principle of Unity giving permanence and solidity to the frame of
+Nature. By the former the self-recognizing life-principle could produce any
+sort of body it chose; and by the latter it would be led to project one in
+harmony with the natural order of the particular planet, thus making all
+the facts of that order solid realities to the individual, and himself a
+solid and natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this
+would not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and
+so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal
+Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of his
+own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded with the
+conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded just as
+harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function on any number
+of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of them. He would in all
+respects resemble the other inhabitants with one all-important exception,
+that since he had attained to unity with his Creative Principle he would
+not be tied by the laws of matter as they were.</p>
+
+<p>Any one who should attain to such a power could only do so by his
+realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being the
+Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own extended
+powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic principle by
+employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the natural course of
+evolution in the world where he was. He might use them to help forward the
+evolution of others in that world, but certainly never to disturb it, for
+he would always act on the maxim that "Order is Heaven's First Law."</p>
+
+<p>Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets but
+to get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best out of this
+one until we realize that the power which will enable us to do so is so
+absolutely universal and fundamental that its application in this world is
+precisely the same as in any other, and that is why I have stated it as a
+general proposition applicable to all worlds.</p>
+
+<p>The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should
+postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and the
+best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point is not in
+time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we realize that this
+Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce something out of nothing,
+and that it does this in accordance with the natural order of substance of
+the particular world in which it is working, then the spiritual ego in
+ourselves, as proceeding direct from the Universal Spirit, should be able
+first, to so harmoniously combine the working of spiritual and physical
+laws in its own body as to keep it in perfect health, secondly to carry
+this process further and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of
+old age, and thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this
+renewed body as long as the individual might desire.</p>
+
+<p>If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has
+never given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly
+exclaim "Tommy rot!" even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He will
+at once appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his argument being
+that what has not been in the past cannot be in the future; yet he does not
+apply the same argument to aeronautics and is quite oblivious of the fact
+that the Sacred Volume which he reverences contains promises of these very
+things. The really earnest student must never forget the maxim that
+"Principle is not bound by Precedent"--if  it were we should still be
+primitive savages.</p>
+
+<p>To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that is
+to say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start with Pure
+Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to be found <i>in
+ourselves</i>, for this is what distinguishes the individual Creative
+Process from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of realizing only
+ONE Originating Power instead of two interacting powers comes in, for it
+means that we do not derive our power from any existing polarity, but that
+we are going to establish polarities which will start secondary causation
+on the lines which we thus determine. This also is where the importance
+comes in of recognizing that the only possible originating movement of
+spirit must be Self-contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to
+contemplate existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this
+contemplation of the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the
+Spirit from the standpoint of Human Individuality.</p>
+
+<p>Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we not
+demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is obviously
+correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only inference is
+that somewhere or other we have introduced something antagonistic to the
+fundamental principle, something not inherent in the principle itself and
+which therefore owes its presence to some action of our own. Now the error
+consists in the belief that the Creative Power is limited by the material
+in which it works. If this be assumed, then you have to calculate the
+resistances offered by the material; and since by the terms of the Creative
+Process these resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of
+calculation at all--in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and
+everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to remember that
+the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power, and that the
+interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a later stage, and is
+not creative, but only distributive--that  is to say, it localizes the
+Energy already proceeding from the Single Power. This is a fundamental
+truth which should never be lost sight of. So long, however, as we fail to
+see this truth we necessarily limit the Creative Power by the material it
+works in, and in practise we do this by referring to past experience as the
+only standard of judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the
+standard of the Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a
+being of the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which
+obtain in the First or Mineral Kingdom--to use Scriptural language we are
+seeking the Living among the dead.</p>
+
+<p>And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is beginning
+to open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the cure of disease
+by the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily increasing in number. The
+facts are now too patent to be denied--what we want is a better knowledge
+of the power which accounts for them. And if this beginning is now with us,
+by what reason can we limit it? The difference between the healing of
+disease and the renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life
+is only a difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual
+experience of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which
+we can logically set no limits.</p>
+
+<p>If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we
+shall see why we have hitherto had such small results.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+Spirit creates by Self-contemplation;<br />
+Therefore, What it contemplates itself<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;as being, that it becomes.<br />
+You are individualized Spirit;<br />
+Therefore, What you contemplate as<br />
+the Law of your being becomes the<br />
+Law of your being.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the
+Material reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it, and
+you impress this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in yourself. Of
+course you cannot alter its inherent nature, but you cause it to work under
+negative conditions and thus make it produce negative results so far as you
+yourself are concerned.</p>
+
+<p>But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in
+the very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in
+yourself; and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically
+non-existent in the Creative Process, because they are products of it and
+not causes--look at things in this way and you will impress a corresponding
+conception upon the Spirit which, by the Law of Reciprocity, thus enters
+into Self-contemplation on <i>these</i> lines from the standpoint of your
+own individuality; and then by the nature of the Creative Process a
+corresponding externalization is bound to take place. Thus our initial
+question, How did anything come into existence at all, brings us to the
+recognition of a Law of Life which we may each specialize for ourselves;
+and in the degree to which we specialize it we shall find the Creative
+Principle at work within us building up a healthier and happier personality
+in mind, body, and circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit
+itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What distinguishes
+the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The Spirit is the
+Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form in which this
+principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by the Spirit of
+substance coordinate with the natural order of the plane on which the
+vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be built up comformably to
+that order. This building up is what we speak of as Growth; and since the
+principle which causes the growth is the individualized Spirit, the rate at
+which the growth will go on will depend on the amount of vitalizing energy
+the Spirit puts into it, and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on
+the degree in which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own
+livingness, and finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the
+quality of the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit
+as reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It nothing
+else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit proceeding from an
+individual and personal center. We must therefore not omit the Law of
+Growth in the vehicle from our conception of the working of the Spirit. As
+a matter of fact the vehicle has nothing to say in the matter for it is
+simply a projection from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation
+will be slow or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's
+vitalizing conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception
+that would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present
+we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power--not  as thinking it
+by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but as being far slower
+in operation now than we hope to see it in the future--and so we must not
+allow ourselves to be discouraged, but must hold our thought knowing that
+it is doing its creative work, and that the corresponding growth is slowly
+but surely taking place--thus following the Divine precept that men ought
+always to pray and not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these
+new lines our confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we
+shall be less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus
+the hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and
+more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we
+should remember its threefold nature:--First the General Life-Principle,
+secondly the Localization of this principle in the Individual, and thirdly
+the Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected by the individualized spirit
+with more or less energy. It is a sequence of progressive condensation from
+the Undifferentiated Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost
+vehicle--a truth enshrined in the esoteric maxim that "Matter is Spirit at
+its lowest level."</p>
+
+<p>The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of
+Nature on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore
+perfectly different from forms temporarily consolidated out of material
+drawn from other living organisms. These latter phantasmal bodies are held
+together only by an act of concentrated volition, and can therefore only be
+maintained for a short time and with effort; while the body which the
+individualized spirit, or ego, builds for itself is produced by a perfectly
+natural process and does not require any effort to sustain it, since it is
+kept in touch with the whole system of the planet by the continuous and
+effortless action of the individual's sub-conscious mind.</p>
+
+<p>This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the
+body comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the aggregate of
+suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and if this suggestion
+is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws of the planet then a
+corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind will take place, a process
+which, so far from implying any effort, consists rather in a restful sense
+of unity with Nature.<sup><a href="#fn4" name="rfn4">[4]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>And if to this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal
+Sub-conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the
+sub-conscious mind does in ourselves--if to this there be superadded a
+sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the Soul of Nature
+flows, then through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such
+specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our past
+experiences without in any way violating the order of the universe. The Old
+Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life working under
+constricted conditions: the New Law is the manifestation of the same
+Principle working under expanding conditions. Thus it is that though God
+never changes we are said to "increase with the increase of God."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap5">CHAPTER V</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE PERSONAL FACTOR</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have already pointed out that the presence of a single all-embracing
+Cosmic Mind is an absolute necessity for the existence of any creation
+whatever, for the reason that if each individual mind were an entirely
+separate center of perception, not linked to all other minds by a common
+ground of underlying mentality independent of all individual action, then
+no two persons would see the same thing at the same time, in fact no two
+individuals would be conscious of living in the same world. If this were
+the case there would be no common standard to which to refer our
+sensations; and, indeed, coming into existence with no consciousness of
+environment except such as we could form by our own unaided thought, and
+having by the hypothesis no standard by which to form our thoughts, we
+could not form the conception of any environment at all, and consequently
+could have no recognition of our own existence. The confusion of thought
+involved even in the attempt to state such a condition shows it to be
+perfectly inconceivable, for the simple reason that it is
+self-contradictory and self-destructive. On this account it is clear that
+our own existence and that of the world around us necessarily implies the
+presence of a Universal Mind acting on certain <i>fixed lines of its
+own</i> which establish the basis for the working of all individual minds.
+This paramount action of the Universal Mind thus sets an unchangeable
+standard by which all individual mental action must eventually be measured,
+and therefore our first concern is to ascertain what this standard is and
+to make it the basis of our own action.</p>
+
+<p>But if the independent existence of a common standard of reference is
+necessary for our self-recognition simply as inhabitants of the world we
+live in, then <i>a fortiori</i> a common standard of reference is necessary
+for our recognition of the unique place we hold in the Creative Order,
+which is that of introducing the Personal Factor without which the
+possibilities contained in the great Cosmic Laws would remain undeveloped,
+and the Self-contemplation of Spirit could never reach those infinite
+unfoldments of which it is logically capable.</p>
+
+<p>The evolution of the Personal Factor is therefore the point with which
+we are most concerned. As a matter of fact, whatever theories we may hold
+to the contrary, we do all realize the same cosmic environment in the same
+way; that is to say, our minds all act according to certain generic laws
+which underlie all our individual diversities of thought and feeling. This
+is so because we are made that way and cannot help it. But with the
+Personal Factor the case is different. A standard is no less necessary, but
+we are not so made as to conform to it automatically. The very conception
+of automatic conformity to a <i>personal</i> standard is
+self-contradictory, for it does away with the very thing that constitutes
+personality, namely freedom of volition, the use of the powers of
+Initiative and Selection. For this reason conformity to the Standard of
+Personality must be a matter of choice, which amounts to the same thing as
+saying that it rests with each individual to form his own conception of a
+standard of Personality; but which liberty, however, carries with it the
+inevitable result that we shall bring into manifestation the
+<i>conditions</i> corresponding to the sort of personality we accept as our
+normal standard.</p>
+
+<p>I would draw attention to the words "Normal Standard." What we shall
+eventually attain is, not what we merely wish, but what we regard as
+normal. The reason is that since we sub-consciously know ourselves to be
+based upon the inherent Law of the Universal Mind we feel, whether we can
+reason it out or not, that we cannot force the All-producing Mind to work
+contrary to its own inherent qualities, and therefore we intuitively
+recognize that we cannot transcend the sort of personality which is normal
+according to the Law of Universal Mind. This thought is always at the back
+of our mind and we cannot get away from it for the simple reason that it is
+inherent in our mental constitution, because our mind is itself a product
+of the Creative Process; and to suppose ourselves transcending the
+possibilities contained in the Originating Mind would involve the absurdity
+of supposing that we can get the greater out of the less.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless there are some who try to do so, and their position is as
+follows. They say in effect, I want to transcend the standard of humanity
+as I see it around me. But this is the normal standard according to the Law
+of the Universe, therefore I have to get above the Law of the Universe.
+Consequently I cannot draw the necessary power from that Law, and so there
+is nowhere else to get it except from myself. Thus the aspirant is thrown
+back upon his own individual will as the ultimate power, with the result
+that the onus lies on him of concentrating a force sufficient to overcome
+the Law of the Universe. There is thus continually present to him a
+suggestion of struggle against a tremendous opposing force, and as a
+consequence he is continually subjecting himself to a strain which grows
+more and more intense as he realizes the magnitude of the force against
+which he is contending. Then as he begins to realize the inequality of the
+struggle he seeks for extraneous aid, and so he falls back on various
+expedients, all of which have this in common that they ultimately amount to
+invoking the assistance of other individualities, not seeing that this
+involves the same fallacy which has brought him to his present straits, the
+fallacy, namely, of supposing that any individuality can develop a power
+greater than that of the source from which itself proceeds. The fallacy is
+a radical one; and therefore all efforts based upon it are fore-doomed to
+ultimate failure, whether they take the form of reliance on personal force
+of will, or magical rites, or austerity practised against the body, or
+attempts by abnormal concentration to absorb the individual in the
+universal, or the invocation of spirits, or any other method--the same
+fallacy is involved in them all, that the less is larger than the
+greater.</p>
+
+<p>Now the point to be noted is that the idea of transcending the present
+conditions of humanity does not necessarily imply the idea of transcending
+the normal law of humanity. The mistake we have hitherto made has been in
+fixing the Standard of Personality too low and in taking our past
+experiences as measuring the ultimate possibilities of the race. Our
+liberty consists in our ability to form our own conception of the Normal
+Standard of Personality, only subject to the conditions arising out of the
+inherent Law of the underlying Universal Mind; and so the whole thing
+resolves itself into the question, What are those fundamental conditions?
+The Law is that we cannot transcend the Normal; therefore comes the
+question, What is the Normal?</p>
+
+<p>I have endeavored to answer this question in the chapter on the Divine
+Ideal, but since this is the crucial point of the whole subject we may
+devote a little further attention to it. The Normal Standard of Personality
+must necessarily be the reproduction in Individuality of what the Universal
+Mind is in itself, because, by the nature of the Creative Process, this
+standard results from Spirit's Self-contemplation at the stage where its
+recognition is turned toward its own power of Initiative and Selection. At
+this stage Spirit's Self-recognition has passed beyond that of
+Self-expression through a mere Law of Averages into the recognition of what
+I have ventured to call its Artistic Ability; and as we have seen that
+Self-recognition at any stage can only be attained by the realization of a
+<i>relation</i> stimulating that particular sort of consciousness, it
+follows that for the purpose of this further advance expression through
+individuals of a corresponding type is a necessity. Then by the Law of
+Reciprocity such beings must possess powers similar to those contemplated
+in itself by the Originating Spirit, in other words they must be in their
+own sphere the image and likeness of the Spirit as it sees itself.</p>
+
+<p>Now we have seen that the Creating Spirit necessarily possesses the
+powers of Initiative and Selection. These we may call its <i>active</i>
+properties--the summing up of what it <i>does</i>. But what any power does
+depends on what it <i>is</i>, for the simple reason that it cannot give out
+what it does not contain; therefore at the back of the initiative and
+selective power of the Spirit we must find what the Spirit <i>is</i>,
+namely, what are its <i>substantive</i> properties. To begin with it must
+be Life. Then because it is Life it must be Love, because as the
+undifferentiated Principle of Life it cannot do otherwise than tend to the
+fuller development of life in each individual, and the pure motive of
+giving greater enjoyment of life is Love. Then because it is Life guided by
+Love it must also be Light, that is to say, the primary all-inclusive
+perception of boundless manifestations yet to be. Then from this proceeds
+Power, because there is no opposing force at the level of Pure Spirit; and
+therefore Life urged forward by Love or the desire for recognition, and by
+Light or the pure perception of the Law of Infinite Possibility, must
+necessarily produce Power, for the simple reason that under these
+conditions it could not stop short of action, for that would be the denial
+of the Life, Love, and Light which it is. Then because the Spirit is Life,
+Love, Light, and Power, it is also Peace, again for a very simple reason,
+that being the Spirit of the Whole it cannot set one part in antagonism
+against another, for that would be to destroy the wholeness. Next the
+Spirit must be Beauty, because on the same principle of Wholeness it must
+duly proportion every part to every other part, and the due proportioning
+of all parts is beauty. And lastly the Spirit must be Joy, because, working
+on these lines, it cannot do otherwise than find pleasure in the
+Self-expression which its works afford it, and in the contemplation of the
+limitlessness of the Creative Process by which each realized stage of
+evolution, however excellent, is still the stepping-stone to something yet
+more excellent, and so on in everlasting progression.</p>
+
+<p>For these reasons we may sum up the Substantive Being of the
+All-originating Spirit as Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy;
+and its Active Power as that of Initiative and Selection. These, therefore,
+constitute the basic laws of the underlying universal mentality which sets
+the Standard of Normal Personality--a standard which, when seen in this
+light, transcends the utmost scope of our thought, for it is nothing else
+than the Spirit of the Infinite Affirmative conceived in Human Personality.
+This standard is therefore that of the Universal Spirit itself reproduced
+in Human Individuality by the same Law of Reciprocity which we have found
+to be the fundamental law of the Creative Process--only now we are tracing
+the action of this Law in the Fifth Kingdom instead of in the Fourth.</p>
+
+<p>This Standard, then, we may call the Universal Principle of Humanity,
+and having now traced the successive steps by which it is reached from the
+first cosmic movement of the Spirit in the formation of the primary nebula,
+we need not go over the old ground again, and may henceforward take this
+Divine Principle of Humanity as our Normal Standard and make it the
+starting point for our further evolution. But how are we to do this? Simply
+by using the one method of Creative Process, that is, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. We now know ourselves to be Reciprocals of
+the Divine Spirit, centers in which It finds a fresh standpoint for
+Self-contemplation; and so the way to rise to the heights of this Great
+Pattern is by contemplating it as the Normal Standard of our own
+Personality.</p>
+
+<p>And be it noted that the Pattern thus set before us is Universal. It is
+the embodiment of all the great principles of the Affirmative, and so in no
+way interferes with our own particular individuality--<i>that</i> is
+something built up upon this foundation, something additional affording the
+differentiating medium through which this unifying Principle finds variety
+of expression, therefore we need be under no apprehension lest by resting
+upon this Pattern we should become less ourselves. On the contrary the
+recognition of it sets us at liberty to become more fully ourselves because
+we know that we are basing our development, not upon the strength of our
+own unaided will, nor yet upon any sort of extraneous help, but upon the
+Universal Law itself, manifesting through us in the proper sequence of the
+Creative Order; so that we are still dealing with Universal principles,
+only the principle by which we are now working is the Universal Principle
+of Personality.</p>
+
+<p>I wish the student to get this idea very clearly because this is really
+the crux of the passage from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. The great
+problem of the future of evolution is the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. The reason why this is so is very simple when we see it. To take a
+thought from my own "Dor&eacute; Lectures" we may put it in this way. In
+former days no one thought of building ships of iron because iron does not
+float; yet now ships are seldom built of anything else, though the relative
+specific gravities of iron and water remain unchanged. What has changed is
+the Personal Factor. It has expanded to a more intelligent perception of
+the law of flotation, and we now see that wood floats and iron sinks, both
+of them by the same principle working under opposite conditions, the law,
+namely, that anything will float which bulk for bulk is lighter than the
+volume of water displaced by it, so that by including in our calculations
+the displacement of the vessel as well as the specific gravity of the
+material, we now make iron float by the very same law by which it sinks.
+This example shows that the function of the Personal Factor is to analyze
+the manifestations of Law which are spontaneously afforded by Nature and to
+discover the Universal Affirmative Principle which lies hidden within them,
+and then by the exercise of our powers of Initiative and Selection to
+provide such specialized conditions as will enable the Universal Principle
+to work in perfectly new ways transcending anything in our past experience.
+This is how all progress has been achieved up to the present; and is the
+way in which all progress must be achieved in the future, only for the
+purpose of evolution, or growth from within, we must transfer the method to
+the spiritual plane.</p>
+
+<p>The function, then, of the Personal Factor in the Creative Order is to
+provide specialized conditions by the use of the powers of Selection and
+Initiative, a truth indicated by the maxim "Nature unaided fails"; but the
+difficulty is that if enhanced powers were attained by the whole population
+of the world without any common basis for their use, their promiscuous
+exercise could only result in chaotic confusion and the destruction of the
+entire race. To introduce the creative power of the Individual and at the
+same time avoid converting it into a devastating flood is the great problem
+of the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. For this purpose
+it becomes necessary to have a Standard of the Personal Factor independent
+of any individual conceptions, just as we found that in order for us to
+attain self-consciousness at all it was a necessity that there should be a
+Universal Mind as the <i>generic</i> basis of all individual mentality;
+only in regard to the generic build of mind the conformity is necessarily
+automatic, while in regard to the specializing process the fact that the
+essence of that process is Selection and Initiative renders it impossible
+for the conformity to the Standard of Personality to be automatic--the very
+nature of the thing makes it a matter of individual choice.</p>
+
+<p>Now a Standard of Personality independent of individual conceptions must
+be the <i>essence</i> of Personality as distinguished from individual
+idiosyncrasies, and can therefore be nothing else than the Creative Life,
+Love, Beauty, etc., viewed as a Divine Individuality, by identifying
+ourselves with which we eliminate all possibility of conflict with other
+personalities based on the same fundamental recognition; and the very
+universality of this Standard allows free play to all our particular
+idiosyncrasies while at the same time preventing them from antagonizing the
+fundamental principles to which we have found that the Self-contemplation
+of the Originating Spirit must necessarily give rise. In this way we attain
+a Standard of Measurement for our own powers. If we recognize no such
+Standard our development of spiritual powers, our discovery of the immense
+possibilities hidden in the inner laws of Nature and of our own being, can
+only become a scourge to ourselves and others, and it is for this reason
+that these secrets are so jealously guarded by those who know them, and
+that over the entrance to the temple are written the words "Eskato
+Bebeloi"--"Hence ye Profane."</p>
+
+<p>But if we recognize and accept this Standard of Measurement then we need
+never fear our discovery of hidden powers either in ourselves or in Nature,
+for on this basis it becomes impossible for us to misuse them. Therefore it
+is that all systematic teaching on these subjects begins with instruction
+regarding the Creative Order of the Cosmos, and then proceeds to exhibit
+the same Order as reproduced on the plane of Personality and so affording a
+fresh starting point for the Creative Process by the introduction of
+Individual Initiative and Selection. This is the doctrine of the Macrocosm
+and the Microcosm; and the transition from the generic working of the
+Creative Spirit in the Cosmos to its specific working in the Individual is
+what is meant by the doctrine of the Octave.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap6">CHAPTER VI</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY</h2>
+
+
+<p>We have now got some general idea as to the place of the personal factor
+in the Creative Order, and so the next question is, How does this affect
+ourselves? The answer is that if we have grasped the fundamental fact that
+the moving power in the Creative Process is the self-contemplation of
+Spirit, and if we also see that, because we are miniature reproductions of
+the Original Spirit, our contemplation of It becomes Its contemplation of
+Itself from the standpoint of our own individuality--if we have grasped
+these fundamental conceptions, then it follows that our process for
+developing power is to contemplate the Originating Spirit as the source of
+the power we want to develop. And here we must guard against a mistake
+which people often make when looking to the Spirit as the source of power.
+We are apt to regard it as sometimes giving and sometimes withholding
+power, and consequently are never sure which way it will act. But by so
+doing we make Spirit contemplate itself as having no definite action at
+all, as a plus and minus which mutually cancel each other, and therefore by
+the Law of the Creative Process no result is to be expected. The mistake
+consists in regarding the power as something separate from the Spirit;
+whereas by the analysis of the Creative Process which we have now made we
+see that the Spirit itself <i>is</i> the power, because the power comes
+into existence only through Spirit's self-contemplation. Then the logical
+inference from this is that by contemplating the Spirit <i>as</i> the
+power, and <i>vice versa</i> by contemplating the power <i>as</i> the
+Spirit, a similar power is being generated in ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>Again an important conclusion follows from this, which is that to
+generate any <i>particular sort</i> of power we should contemplate it in
+the abstract rather than as applied to the particular set of circumstances
+we have in hand. The circumstances indicate the sort of power we want but
+they do not help us to generate it; rather they impress us with a sense of
+something contrary to the power, something which has to be overcome by it,
+and therefore we should endeavor to dwell on the power <i>in itself</i>,
+and so come into touch with it in its limitless infinitude.</p>
+
+<p>It is here that we begin to find the benefit of a Divine Standard of
+Human Individuality. That also is an Infinite Principle, and by identifying
+ourselves with it we bring to bear upon the abstract conception of infinite
+Impersonal Power a corresponding conception of Infinite Personality, so
+that we thus import the Personal Factor which is able <i>to use</i> the
+Power without imposing any strain upon ourselves. We know that by the very
+nature of the Creative Process we are one with the Originating Spirit and
+therefore one with all the principles of its Being, and consequently one
+with its Infinite Personality, and therefore our contemplation of it as the
+Power which we want gives us the power to use that Power.</p>
+
+<p>This is the Self-contemplation of Spirit employed from the individual
+standpoint for the generating of power. Then comes the application of the
+power thus generated. But there is only one Creative Process, that of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit, and therefore the way to use this process for
+the application of the power is to contemplate ourselves as surrounded by
+the conditions which we want to produce. This does not mean that we are to
+lay down a hard and fast pattern of the conditions and strenuously endeavor
+to compel the Power to conform its working to every detail of our mental
+picture--to do so would be to hinder its working and to exhaust ourselves.
+What we are to dwell upon is the idea of an Infinite Power producing the
+happiness we desire, and because this Power is also the Forming Power of
+the universe trusting it to give that form to the conditions which will
+most perfectly react upon us to produce the particular state of
+consciousness desired.</p>
+
+<p>Thus neither on the side of in-drawing nor of out-giving is there any
+constraining of the Power, while in both cases there is an initiative and
+selective action on the part of the individual--for  the generating of
+power he takes the initiative of invoking it by contemplation, and he makes
+selection of the sort of power to invoke; while on the giving-out side he
+makes selection of the purpose for which the Power is to be employed, and
+takes the initiative by his thought of directing the Power to that purpose.
+He thus fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Creative Process by
+exercising Spirit's inherent faculties of initiative and selection by means
+of its inherent method, namely by Self-contemplation. The whole action is
+identical in kind with that which produces the cosmos, and it is now
+repeated in miniature for the particular world of the individual; only we
+must remember that this miniature reproduction of the Creative Process is
+based upon the great fundamental principles inherent in the Universal Mind,
+and cannot be dissociated from them without involving a conception of the
+individual which will ultimately be found self-destructive because it cuts
+away the foundation on which his individuality rests.</p>
+
+<p>It will therefore be seen that any individuality based upon the
+fundamental Standard of Personality thus involved in the Universal Mind has
+reached the basic principle of union with the Originating Spirit itself,
+and we are therefore correct in saying that union is attained through, or
+by means of, this Standard Personality. This is a great truth which in all
+ages has been set forth under a variety of symbolic statements; often
+misunderstood, and still continuing to be so, though owing to the inherent
+vitality of the idea itself even a partial apprehension of it produces a
+corresponding measure of good results. This falling short has been
+occasioned by the failure to recognize an Eternal Principle at the back of
+the particular statements--in a word the failure to see what they were
+talking about. All <i>principles</i> are eternal in themselves, and this is
+what distinguishes them from their particular manifestations as laws
+determined by temporary and local conditions.</p>
+
+<p>If then, we would reach the root of the matter we must penetrate through
+all verbal statements to an Eternal Principle which is as active now as
+ever in the past, and which is as available to ourselves as to any who have
+gone before us. Therefore it is that when we discern an Eternal and
+Universal Principle of Human Personality as necessarily involved in the
+Essential Being of the Originating Universal Spirit--<i>Filius in gremio
+Patris</i>--we have discovered the true Normal Standard of Personality.
+Then because this standard is nothing else than the principle of
+Personality expanded to infinitude, there is no limit to the expansion
+which we ourselves may attain by the operation in us of this principle; and
+so we are never placed in a position of antagonism to the true law of our
+being, but on the contrary the larger and more fundamental our conception
+of personal development the greater will be the fulfilment which we give to
+the Law. The Normal Standard of Personality is found to be itself the Law
+of the Creative Process working at the personal level; and it cannot be
+subject to limitation for the simple reason that the process being that of
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit, no limits can possibly be assigned to
+this contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>We need, therefore, never be afraid of forming too high an idea of human
+possibilities provided always that we take this standard as the foundation
+on which to build up the edifice of our personality. And we see that this
+standard is no arbitrary one but simply the Expression in Personality of
+the ONE all-embracing Spirit of the Affirmative; and therefore the only
+limitation implied by conformity to it is that of being prevented from
+running on lines the opposite of those of the Creative Process, that is to
+say, from calling into action causes of disintegration and destruction. In
+the truly Constructive Order, therefore, the Divine Standard of Personality
+is as really the basis of the development of specific personality as the
+Universal Mind is the necessary basis of generic mentality; and just as
+without this generic ultimate of Mind we should none of us see the same
+world at the same time, and in fact have no consciousness of existence, so
+apart from this Divine Standard of Personality it is equally impossible for
+us to specialize the generic law of our being so as to develop all the
+glorious possibilities that are latent in it.</p>
+
+<p>Only we must never forget the difference between these two statements of
+the Universal Law--the one is cosmic and generic, common to the whole race,
+whether they know it or not, a Standard to which we all conform
+automatically by the mere fact of being human beings; while the other is a
+personal and individual Standard, automatic conformity to which is
+impossible because that would imply the loss of those powers of Initiative
+and Selection which are the very essence of Personality; so that this
+Standard necessarily implies a personal selection of it in preference to
+other conceptions of an antagonistic nature.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap7">CHAPTER VII</a></h1>
+
+<h2>RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT</h2>
+
+
+<p>The steady following up of the successive stages of the Creative Process
+has led us to the recognition of an Individuality in the All-creating
+Spirit itself, but an Individuality which is by its very nature Universal,
+and so cannot be departed from without violating the essential principles
+on which the further expansion of our own individuality depends. At the
+same time it is strictly <i>individual</i>, for it is the Spirit of
+Individuality, and is thus to be distinguished from that merely
+<i>generic</i> race-personality which makes us human beings at all.
+Race-personality is of course the necessary <i>basis</i> for the
+development of this Individuality; but if we do not see that it is only the
+preliminary to further evolution, any other conception of our personality
+as members of the race will prevent our advance toward our proper position
+in the Creative Order, which is that of introducing the Personal Factor by
+the exercise of our individual power of initiative and selection.</p>
+
+<p>It is on this account that Race-thought, simply as such, is opposed to
+the attempt of the individual to pass into a higher order of life. It
+limits him by strong currents of negative suggestion based on the fallacy
+that the perpetuation of the race requires the death of the
+individual;<sup><a href="#fn5" name="rfn5">[5]</a></sup> and it is only
+when the individual sees that this is not true, and that his race-nature
+constitutes the ground out of which his new Individuality is to be formed,
+that he becomes able to oppose the negative power of race-thought. He does
+this by destroying it with its own weapon, that is, by finding in the
+race-nature itself the very material to be used by the Spirit for
+building-up the New Man. This is a discovery on the spiritual plane
+equivalent to the discovery on the physical plane that we can make iron
+float by the same law by which it sinks. It is the discovery that what we
+call the mortal part of us is capable of being brought under a higher
+application of the Universal Law of Life, which will transmute it into an
+immortal principle. When we see what we call the mortal part of us in this
+light we can employ the very principle on which the negative race-thought
+is founded as a weapon for the destruction of that thought in our own
+minds.</p>
+
+<p>The basis of the negative race-thought is the idea that physical death
+is an essential part of the Normal Standard of Personality, and that the
+body is composed of so much neutral material with which death can do what
+it likes. But it is precisely this neutrality of matter that makes it just
+as amenable to the Law of Life as to the Law of Death--it is simply neutral
+and not an originating power on either side; so then when we realize that
+our Normal Standard of Personality is not subject to death, but is the
+Eternal Essence and Being of Life itself, then we see that this neutrality
+of matter--its inability to make selection or take initiative on its own
+account--is just what makes it the plastic medium for the expression of
+Spirit in ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the generic or race-mind in the individual becomes the
+instrument through which the specializing power of the Spirit works toward
+the building up of a personality based upon the truly Normal Standard of
+Individuality which we have found to be inherent in the All-originating
+Spirit itself: and since the whole question is that of the introduction of
+the factor of personal individuality into the creative order of causation,
+this cannot be done by depriving the individual of what makes him a person
+instead of a thing, namely, the power of conscious initiative and
+selection.</p>
+
+<p>For this reason the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth
+cannot be forced upon the race either by a Divine fiat or by the generic
+action of cosmic law, for it is a <i>specialising</i> of the cosmic law
+which can only be effected by <i>personal</i> initiative and selection,
+just as iron can only be made to float under certain specialized
+conditions; and consequently the passage from the Fourth into the Fifth
+Kingdom is a strictly individual process which can only be brought about by
+a personal perception of what the normal standard of the New Individuality
+really is. This can only be done by the active laying aside of the old
+race-standard and the conscious adoption of the new one. The student will
+do well to consider this carefully, for it explains why the race cannot
+receive the further evolution simply as a race; and also it shows that our
+further evolution is not into a state of less activity but of greater, not
+into being less alive but more alive, not into being less ourselves but
+more ourselves; thus being just the opposite of those systems which present
+the goal of existence as re-absorption into the undifferentiated Divine
+essence. On the contrary our further evolution is into greater degrees of
+conscious activity than we have ever yet known, because it implies our
+development of greater powers as the consequence of our clearer perception
+of our true relation to the All-originating Spirit. It is the recognition
+that we may, and should, measure ourselves by this New Standard instead of
+by the old race-standard that constitutes the real New Thought. The New
+Thought which gives New Life to the individual will never be realized so
+long as we think that it is merely the name of a particular sect, or that
+it is to be found in the mechanical observance of a set of rules laid down
+for us by some particular teacher. It is a New Fact in the experience of
+the individual, the <i>reason</i> for which is indeed made clear to him
+through intellectual perception of the real nature of the Creative Process,
+but which can become an actual experience only by habitual personal
+intercourse with that Divine Spirit which is the Life, Love and Beauty that
+are at the back of the Creative Process and find expression through it.</p>
+
+<p>From this intercourse new thoughts will continually flow in, all of them
+bearing that vivifying element which is inherent in their source, and the
+individual will then proceed to work out these new ideas with the knowledge
+that they have their origin in the selection and initiative power of the
+All-creating Spirit itself, and in this way by combined meditation and
+action he will find himself advancing into increasing light, liberty and
+usefulness. The advance may be almost imperceptible from one day to
+another, but it will be perceptible at longer intervals, and the one who is
+thus moving forward with the Spirit of God will on looking back at any time
+always find that he is getting more livingness out of life than he was a
+year previously. And this without strenuous effort, for he is not having to
+manufacture the power from his own resources but only to <i>receive</i>
+it--and as for <i>using</i> it, that is only the exercise of the power
+itself. So following on these lines you will find that Rest and Power are
+identical; and so you get the real New Thought which grows in Newness every
+day.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap8">CHAPTER VIII</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE D&Eacute;NOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS</h2>
+
+
+<p>Then comes the question, What should logically be the d&eacute;nouement
+of the progression we have been considering? Let us briefly recapitulate
+the steps of the series. Universal Spirit by Self-contemplation evolves
+Universal Substance. From this it produces cosmic creation as the
+expression of itself as functioning in Space and Time. Then from this
+initial movement it proceeds to more highly specialized modes of
+Self-contemplation in a continually ascending scale, for the simple reason
+that self-contemplation admits of no limits and therefore each stage of
+self-recognition cannot be other than the starting-point for a still more
+advanced mode of self-contemplation, and so on <i>ad infinitum</i>. Thus
+there is a continuous progress toward more and more highly specialized
+forms of life, implying greater liberty and wider scope for enjoyment as
+the capacity of the individual life corresponds to a higher degree of the
+contemplation of Spirit; and in this way evolution proceeds till it reaches
+a level where it becomes impossible to go any further except by the
+exercise of conscious selection and initiative on the part of the
+individual, while at the same time conforming to the universal principles
+of which evolution is the expression.</p>
+
+<p>Now ask yourself in what way individual selection and initiative would
+be likely to act as expressing the Originating Spirit itself? Given the
+knowledge on the part of the individual that he is able by his power of
+initiative and selection to draw directly upon the All-originating Spirit
+of Life, what motive could he have for not doing so? Therefore, granted
+such a perfect recognition, we should find the individual holding precisely
+the same place in regard to his own individual world that the
+All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos; subject only to the same Law of
+Love, Beauty, &amp;c., which we found to be necessarily inherent in the
+Creative Spirit--a similarity which would entirely prevent the individual
+from exercising his otherwise limitless powers in any sort of antagonism to
+the Spirit of the Great Whole.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the individual would be quite aware that he was not the
+Universal Spirit <i>in propria persona</i>, but that he was affording
+expression to it through his individuality. Now Expression is impossible
+except through Form, and therefore form of some sort is a necessity of
+individuality. It is just here, then, that we find the importance of that
+principle of Harmony with Environment of which I spoke earlier, the
+principle in accordance with which a person who had obtained complete
+control of matter, if he wished to transport himself to some other planet,
+would appear there in perfect conformity with all the laws of matter that
+obtained in that world; though, of course, not subject to any limitation of
+the Life Principle in himself. He would exhibit the laws of matter as
+rendered perfect by the Law of Originating Life. But if any one now living
+on this earth were thus perfectly to realize the Law of Life he would be in
+precisely the same position <i>here</i> as our imaginary visitor to another
+planet--in other words the d&eacute;nouement of the Law of Life is not the
+putting off of the body, but its inclusion as part of the conscious life of
+the Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>This does not imply any difference in the molecular structure of the
+body from that of other men, for by the principle of Harmony of which I
+have just spoken, it would be formed in strict accordance with the laws of
+matter on the particular planet; though it would not be subject to the
+limitations resulting from the average man's non-recognition of the power
+of the Spirit. The man who had thus fully entered into the Fifth Kingdom
+would recognize that, in its relation to the denser modes of matter his
+body was of a similar dense mode. That would be its relation to external
+environment as seen by others. But since the man now knew <i>himself</i> as
+not belonging to these denser modes of manifestation, but as an
+individualization of Primary Spirit, he would see that relatively to
+himself all matter was Primary Substance, and that from this point of view
+any condensations of that substance into atoms, molecules, tissues, and the
+like counted for nothing--for him the body would be simply Primary
+Substance entirely responsive to his will. Yet his reverence for the Law of
+Harmony would prevent any disposition to play psychic pranks with it, and
+he would use his power over the body only to meet actual requirements.</p>
+
+<p>In this way, then, we are led to the conclusion that eternal life in an
+immortal physical body is the logical d&eacute;nouement of our evolution;
+and if we reflect that, by the conditions of the case, the owners of such
+bodies could at will either transport themselves to other worlds or put off
+the physical body altogether and remain in the purely subjective life while
+still retaining the power to reclothe themselves in flesh whenever they
+chose, we shall see that this d&eacute;nouement of evolution answers all
+possible questions as to the increase of the race, the final destruction of
+the planet, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the ultimate which we should keep in view; but the fact
+remains that, though there may be hidden ones who have thus attained, the
+bulk of mankind have not, and that the common lot of humanity is to go
+through the change which we call death. In broad philosophical terms death
+may be described as the withdrawal of the life into the subjective
+consciousness to the total exclusion of the objective consciousness. Then
+by the general law of the relation between subjective and objective mind,
+the subjective mind severed from its corresponding objective mentality has
+no means of acquiring fresh impressions <i>on its own account</i>, and
+therefore can only ring the changes on those impressions which it has
+brought with it from its past life. But these may be of very various sorts,
+ranging from the lowest to the highest, from those most opposed to that
+ultimate destiny of man which we have just been considering, to those which
+recognize his possibilities in a very large measure, needing little more to
+bring about the full fruition of perfected life. But however various may be
+their experiences, all who have passed through death must have this in
+common that they have lost their physical instrument of objective
+perception and so have their mode of consciousness determined entirely by
+the dominant mode of suggestion which they have brought over with them from
+the objective side of life.<sup><a href="#fn6" name="rfn6">[6]</a></sup> Of
+course if the objective mentality were also brought over this would give
+the individual the same power of initiative and selection that he possesses
+while in the body, and, as we shall see later on, there are exceptional
+persons with whom this is the case; but for the great majority the physical
+brain is a necessity for the working of the objective mentality, and so
+when they are deprived of this instrument their life becomes purely
+subjective and is a sort of dream-life, only with a vast difference between
+two classes of dreamers--those who dream as they must and those who dream
+as they will. The former are those who have enslaved themselves in various
+ways to their lower mentality--some  by bringing with them the memory of
+crimes unpardoned, some by bringing with them the idea of a merely animal
+life, others less degraded, but still in bondage to limited thought,
+bringing with them only the suggestion of a frivolous worldly life--in this
+way, by the natural operation of the Law of Suggestion, these different
+classes, either through remorse, or unsatisfied desires, or sheer
+incapacity to grasp higher principles, all remain earth-bound, suffering in
+exact correspondence with the nature of the suggestion they have brought
+along with them. The unchangeable Law is that the suggestion becomes the
+life; and this is equally true of suggestions of a happier sort. Those who
+have brought over with them the great truth that conditions are the
+creations of thought, and who have accustomed themselves while in objective
+life to dwell on good and beautiful ideas, are still able, by reason of
+being imbued with this suggestion, to mold the conditions of their
+consciousness in the subjective world in accordance with the sort of ideas
+which have become a second nature to them. Within the limits of these ideas
+the dominant suggestion to these entities is that of a Law which confers
+Liberty, so by using this Law of the constructive power of thought they can
+determine the conditions of their own consciousness; and thus instead of
+being compelled to suffer the nightmare dreams of the other class, they can
+mold their dream according to their will. We cannot conceive of such a life
+as theirs in the unseen as otherwise than happy, nevertheless its range is
+limited by the range of the conceptions they have brought with them. These
+may be exceedingly beautiful and thoroughly true and logical <i>as far as
+they go</i>; but they do not go the whole way, otherwise these spirits
+would not be in the category which we are considering but would belong to
+that still higher class who fully realize the ultimate possibilities which
+the Law of the Expression of Spirit provides.</p>
+
+<p>The otherwise happy subjective life of these more enlightened souls has
+this radical defect that they have failed to bring over with them that
+power of original selection and initiative without which further progress
+is impossible. I wish the student to grasp this point very clearly, for it
+is of the utmost importance. Of course the basis of our further evolution
+is conformity to the harmonious nature of the Originating Spirit; but upon
+this foundation we each have to build up the superstructure of our own
+individuality, and every step of advance depends on our personal
+development of power to take that step. This is what is meant by taking an
+initiative. It is making a New Departure, not merely recombining the old
+things into fresh groupings still subject to the old laws, but introducing
+an entirely new element which will bring its own New Law along with it.</p>
+
+<p>Now if this is the true meaning of "initiative"  then that is just the
+power which these otherwise happy souls do not possess. For by the very
+conditions of the case they are living only in their subjective
+consciousness, and consequently are living by the law of subjective mind;
+and one of the chief characteristics of subjective mind is its incapacity
+to reason inductively, and therefore its inability to make the selection
+and take the initiative necessary to inaugurate a New Departure. The well
+established facts of mental law show conclusively that subjective mind
+argues only deductively. It argues quite correctly from any given premises,
+but it cannot take the initiative in selecting the premises--that is the
+province of inductive reasoning which is essentially the function of the
+objective mind. But by the law of Auto-suggestion this discarnate
+individual has brought over his premises with him, which premises are the
+sum-total of his inductions made during objective life, the conception of
+things which he held at the time he passed over, for this constituted his
+idea of Truth. Now he cannot add to these inductions, for he has parted
+with his instrument for inductive reasoning, and therefore his deductive
+reasoning in the purely subjective state which he has now entered is
+necessarily limited to the consequences which may be deducted from the
+premises which he has brought along with him.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of the highly-developed individualities we are now
+considering the premises thus brought over are of a very far-reaching and
+beautiful character, and consequently the range of their subjective life is
+correspondingly wide and beautiful; but, nevertheless, it is subject to the
+radical defect that it is debarred from further progress for the simple
+reason that the individual has not brought over with him the mental faculty
+which can impress his subjective entity with the requisite forward movement
+for making a new departure into a New Order. And moreover, the higher the
+subjective development with which the individual passed over the more
+likely he will be to realize this defect. If during earth-life he had
+gained sufficient knowledge of these things he will carry with him the
+knowledge that his discarnate existence is purely subjective; and therefore
+he will realize that, however he may be able to order the pictures of his
+dream, yet it is still but a dream, and in common with all other dreams
+lacks the basis of solidity from which to take <i>really creative
+action</i>.</p>
+
+<p>He knows also that the condition of other discarnate individualities is
+similar to his own, and that consequently each one must necessarily live in
+a world apart--a world of his own creation, because none of them possess
+the objective mentality by which to direct their subjective currents so as
+to make them penetrate into the sphere of another subjective entity, which
+is the <i>modus operandi</i> of telepathy. Thus he is conscious of his own
+inability to hold intercourse with other personalities;  for though he may
+for his own pleasure create the semblance of them in his dream-life, yet he
+knows that these are creations of his own mind, and that while he appears
+to be conversing with a friend amid the most lovely surroundings the friend
+himself may be having experiences of a very different description. I am, of
+course, speaking now of persons who have passed over in a very high state
+of development and with a very considerable, though still imperfect,
+knowledge of the Law of their own being. Probably the majority take their
+dream-life for an external reality; and, in any case, all who have passed
+over without carrying their objective mentality along with them must be
+shut up in their individual subjective spheres and cease to function as
+centers of creative power so long as they do not emerge from that
+state.</p>
+
+<p>But the highly advanced individuals of whom I am now speaking have
+passed over with a true knowledge of the Law of the relation between
+subjective and objective mind and have therefore brought with them a
+<i>subjective</i> knowledge of this truth; and therefore, however otherwise
+in a certain sense happy, they must still be conscious of a fundamental
+limitation which prevents their further advance. And this consciousness can
+produce only one result, an ever-growing longing for the removal of this
+limitation--and this represents the intense desire of the Spirit, as
+individualized in these souls, to attain to the conditions under which it
+can freely exercise its creative power. Sub-consciously this is the desire
+of <i>all</i> souls, for it is that continual pressing forward of the
+Spirit for manifestation out of which the whole Creative Process arises;
+and so it is that the great cry perpetually ascends to God from all as yet
+undelivered souls, whether in or out of the body, for the deliverance which
+they knowingly or unknowingly desire.</p>
+
+<p>All this comes out of the well-ascertained facts of the law of relation
+between subjective and objective mind. Then comes the question, Is there no
+way of getting out of this law? The answer is that we can never get away
+from universal principles--<i>but we can specialise them</i>. We may take
+it as an axiom that any law which appears to limit us contains in itself
+the principle by which that limitation can be overcome, just as in the case
+of the flotation of iron. In this axiom, then, we shall find the clue which
+will bring us out of the labyrinth. The same law which places various
+degrees of limitation upon the souls that have passed into the invisible
+can be so applied as to set them free. We have seen that everything turns
+on the obligation of our subjective part to act within the limits of the
+suggestion which has been most deeply impressed upon it. Then why not
+impress upon it the suggestion that in passing over to the other side it
+has brought its objective mentality along with it?</p>
+
+<p>If such a suggestion were effectively impressed upon our subjective
+mind, then by the fundamental law of our nature our subjective mind would
+act in strict accordance with this suggestion, with the result that the
+objective mind would no longer be separated from it, and that we should
+carry with us into the unseen our <i>whole</i> mentality, both subjective
+and objective, and so be able to exercise our inductive powers of selection
+and initiative as well there as here.</p>
+
+<p>Why not? The answer is that we cannot accept any suggestion unless we
+believe it to be true, and to believe it to be true we must feel that we
+have a solid foundation for our belief. If, then, we can find a sufficient
+foundation for adequately impressing this suggestion upon ourselves, then
+the principles of mental law assure us that we shall carry our objective
+faculty of initiative and selection into the unseen. Therefore our quest is
+to find this Foundation. Then, since we cannot accept as true what we
+believe to be contrary to the ultimate law of the universe, if we are to
+find such a foundation at all it must be within that Law; and it is for
+this reason that I have laid so much stress upon the Normal Standard of
+Human Individuality. When we are convinced that this ideal completeness is
+quite normal, and is a spiritual fact, not dependent upon the body, but
+able to control the body, then we have got the solid basis on which to
+carry our objective personality along with us into the unseen, and the
+well-established laws of our mental constitution justify the belief that we
+can do so.</p>
+
+<p>From these considerations it is obvious that those who thus pass over in
+possession of their complete mentality must be in a very different position
+from those who pass into a condition of merely subjective life, for they
+have brought their powers of selection and initiative with them, and can
+therefore employ their experiences in the unseen as a starting-point for
+still further development. So, then, the question arises, What lines will
+this further development be likely to follow?</p>
+
+<p>We are now considering the case of persons who have reached a very high
+degree of development; who have succeeded in so completely uniting the
+subjective and objective portions of their spiritual being into a perfect
+whole that they can never again be severed; and who are therefore able to
+function with their whole consciousness on the spiritual plane. Such
+persons will doubtless be well aware that they have attained this degree of
+development by the Law of the Creative Process working in terms of their
+own individuality, and so they would naturally always refer to the original
+Cosmic Creation as the demonstration of the principle which they have to
+specialize for their own further evolution. Then they would find that the
+principle involved is that of the manifestation of Spirit in Form; and they
+would further see that this manifestation is not an illusion but a reality,
+for the simple reason that both mind and matter are equally projections
+from the Great Originating Spirit. Both alike are thoughts of the Divine
+Mind, and it is impossible to conceive any greater reality than the Divine
+Thought, or to get at any more substantial source of reality than that.
+Even if we were to picture the Divine Mind as laughing at its productions
+as being mere illusions <i>relatively to itself</i> (which I certainly do
+not), still the relation between the individual mind and material existence
+would be a reality for the individual, on the simple mathematical ground
+that like signs multiplied together invariably produce a positive result,
+even though the signs themselves be negative; so that, for us, at every
+stage of our existence substance must always be as much a reality as mind.
+Therefore the manifestation of Spirit in Form is the eternal principle of
+the Creative Process whether in the evolution of a world-system or in that
+of an individual.</p>
+
+<p>But when we realize that by the nature of the Creative Process substance
+must be an eternal verity we must not suppose that this is true also of
+<i>particular forms</i> or of <i>particular modes</i> of matter. Substance
+is a necessity for the expression of Spirit, but it does not follow that
+Spirit is tied down to any particular mode of expression. If you fold a
+piece of paper into the form of a dart it will fly through the air by the
+law of the form which you have given it. Again, if you take the same bit of
+paper and fold it into the shape of a boat it will float on water by the
+law of the new form that you have given it. The thing formed will act in
+accordance with the form given it, and the same paper can be folded into
+different forms; but if there were no paper you could put it into any shape
+at all. The dart and the boat are both real so long as you retain the paper
+in either of those shapes; but this does not alter the fact that you can
+change the shapes, though your power to do so depends on the existence of
+the paper. This is a rough analogy of the relation between ultimate
+substance and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor
+shape is an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit,
+only by the nature of the Creative Process the Spirit has power to
+determine what shape substance shall take at any particular time.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly we find the great Law that, as Spirit is the Alpha of the
+Creative Process, so solid material Form is its Omega; in other words the
+Creative Series is incomplete until solid material form is reached.
+Anything short of this is a condition of incompleteness, and therefore the
+enlightened souls who have passed over in possession of both sides of their
+mentality will realize that their condition, however beatific, is still one
+of incompleteness; and that what is wanted for completion is expression
+through a material body. This, then, is the direction in which such souls
+would use their powers of initiative and selection as being the true line
+of evolution--in a word they would realize that the principle of Creative
+Progression, when it reaches the level of fully developed mental man,
+necessarily implies the Resurrection of the Body, and that anything short
+of this would be retrogression and not progress.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time persons who had passed over with this knowledge would
+never suppose that Resurrection meant merely the resuscitation of the old
+body under the old conditions; for they would see that the same inherent
+law which makes expression in concrete substance the ultimate of the
+creative series also makes this ultimate form depend on the originating
+movement of the spirit which produces it, and therefore that, although
+<i>some</i> concrete form is essential for complete manifestation, and is a
+substantial reality so long as it is maintained, yet the maintaining of the
+particular form is entirely dependent on the action of the spirit of which
+the form is the external clothing. This resurrection body would therefore
+be no mere illusory spirit-shape, yet it would not be subject to the
+limitations of matter as we now know it: it would be physical matter still,
+but entirely subject to the will of the indwelling spirit, which would not
+regard the denser atomic relations of the body but only its absolute and
+essential nature as Primary Substance. I want the student to grasp the idea
+that the same thing may be very different when looked at, so to say, from
+opposite ends of the stick. What is solid molecular matter when viewed from
+the outside is plastic primary substance when viewed from the inside. The
+relations of this new body to any stimulus proceeding from outside would be
+those of the external laws of Nature; but its relation to the spiritual ego
+working from within would be that of a plastic substance to be molded at
+will. The employment of such power would, however, at all times be based
+upon the reverent worship of the All-creating Spirit; and it would
+therefore never be exercised otherwise than in accordance with the
+harmonious progress of the Creative Process. Proceeding on these lines the
+spirit in the individual would stand in precisely the same relation to his
+body that the All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the sort of body which the instructed would contemplate
+as that in which he was to attain resurrection. He would regard it, not as
+an illusion, but as a great reality;  while at the same time he would not
+need to trouble himself about its particular form, for he would know that
+it would be the perfect expression of his own conception of himself. He
+would know this because it is in accordance with the fundamental principle
+that external creation has its root in the Self-contemplation of
+Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Those passing over with this knowledge would obviously be in a very
+different position from those who passed over with only a subjective
+consciousness. They would bring with them powers of selection and
+initiative by which they could continue to impress fresh and expanding
+conceptions upon their subjective mind, and so cause it to carry on its
+work as the seed-ground of the whole individuality, instead of being shut
+up in itself as a mere circulus for the repetition of previously received
+ideas; and so in their recognition of the <i>principle</i> of physical
+resurrection they would have a clear and definite line of auto-suggestion.
+And because this suggestion is derived from the undeniable facts of the
+whole cosmic creation, it is one which both subjective and objective mind
+can accept as an established fact, and so the suggestion becomes effective.
+This suggestion, then, becomes the self-contemplation of the individual
+spirit; and because it is in strict conformity with the generic principle
+of the Original Creative Activity, of which the individual mind is itself a
+product, this becomes also the Self-contemplation of the Originating Spirit
+as seeing itself reflected in the individual spirit; so that, by the basic
+law of the Creative Process, this suggestion is bound sooner or later to
+work out into its corresponding fact, namely, the production of a material
+body free from the power of death and from all those limitations which we
+now associate with our physical organism.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the hope of those who pass over in recognition of the
+great truth. But how about those who have passed over without that
+recognition? We have seen that their purely subjective condition precludes
+them from taking any initiative on their own account, for that requires the
+presence of objective mind. Their subjective mind, however, still retains
+its essential nature; that is, it is still susceptible to suggestion, and
+still possesses its inherent creativeness in working out any suggestion
+that is sufficiently deeply implanted in it. Here, then, opens up a vast
+field of activity for that other class who have passed over in possession
+of both sides of their mentality. By means of their powers of initiative
+and selection they can on the principle of telepathy cause their own
+subjective mind to penetrate the subjective spheres of those who do not
+possess those powers, and they can thus endeavor to impress upon them the
+great truth of the physical ultimate of the Creative Process--the  truth
+that any series which stops short of that ultimate is incomplete, and, if
+insisted upon as being ultimate, must become self-destructive because in
+opposition to the inherent working of the Universal Creative Spirit. Then,
+as the perception of the true nature of the Creative Process dawned upon
+any subjective entity, it would by reason of accepting this suggestion
+begin to develop an objective mentality, and so would gradually attain to
+the same status as those who had passed over in full possession of all
+their mental powers.</p>
+
+<p>But the more the objective mentality became developed in these
+discarnate personalities the more the need of a corresponding physical
+instrument would assert itself, both from their intellectual perception of
+the original cosmic process, and also from the inherent energy of the
+Spirit as centered in the ultimate ego of the individual. Not to seek
+material manifestation would be the contrary of all we have traced out
+regarding the nature of the Creative Process; and hence the law of tendency
+resulting from the conscious union of subjective and objective mind in the
+individual must necessarily be toward the production of a physical form.
+Only we must recollect, as I have already pointed out, that this
+concentration of these minds would be upon a principle and not upon a
+particular bodily shape. The particular form they would be content to leave
+to the inherent self-expressiveness of the Universal Spirit working through
+the particular ego, with the result that their expectation would be fixed
+upon a <i>general principle</i> of physical Resurrection which would
+provide a form suited to be the material instrument of the highest ideal of
+man as a spiritual and mental being. Then, since the subjective mind is the
+automatic builder of the body, the result of the individual's acceptance of
+the Resurrection principle must be that this mental conception will
+eventually work out as a corresponding fact. Whether on this planet or on
+some other, matters not, for, as we have already seen, the physical body
+evolved by a soul that is conscious of its unity with the Universal Spirit
+is bound to be in conformity with the physical laws of <i>any</i> planet,
+though from the standpoint of the conscious ego not limited by them.</p>
+
+<p>In this way we may conceive that those who have passed over in
+possession of both sides of their spiritual nature would find a glorious
+field of usefulness in the unseen in helping to emancipate those who had
+passed over in possession of their subjective side only. But from our
+present analysis it will be seen that this can only be effected on the
+basis of a recognition of the principle of the Resurrection of the Body.
+Apart from the recognition of this principle the only possible conception
+which the discarnate individual could form of himself would be that of a
+purely subjective being; and this carries with it all the limitations of a
+subjective life unbalanced by an objective one; and so long as the
+principle of physical resurrection is denied, so long the life must
+continue to be merely subjective and consequently unprogressive.<sup><a
+href="#fn7" name="rfn7">[7]</a></sup></p>
+
+
+<p>But it may be asked why those who have realized this great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen state are
+liable to the change which we call death. The answer is that though they
+have realized <i>the general principle</i> they have not yet divested
+themselves of certain conceptions by which they limit it, and consequently
+by the law of subjective mind they carry those limitations into the working
+of the Resurrection principle itself.</p>
+
+<p>They are limited by the race-belief that physical death is under all
+conditions a necessary law of Nature, or by the theological belief that
+death is the will of God; so then the question is whether these beliefs are
+well founded. Of course appeal is made to universal experience, but it does
+not follow that the universal experience of the past is bound to be the
+universal experience of the future--the universal experience of the past
+was that no man had ever flown across the English Channel, yet now it has
+been done. What we have to do, therefore, is not to bother about past
+experience, but to examine the inherent nature of the Law of Life and see
+whether it does not contain possibilities of further development. And the
+first step in this direction is to see whether what we have hitherto
+considered limitations of the law are really integral parts of the law
+itself. The very statement of this question shows the correct answer; for
+how can a force acting in one direction be an integral part of a force
+acting in the opposite direction? How can the force which pulls a thing
+down be an integral part of the force which builds it up? To suppose,
+therefore, that the limitations of the law are an integral portion of the
+law itself is a <i>reductio ad absurdum</i>.</p>
+
+<p>For these reasons the argument from the past experience of the race
+counts for nothing; and when we examine the theological argument we shall
+find that it is only the old argument from past experience in another
+dress. It is alleged that death is the will of God. How do we know that it
+is the will of God? Because the facts prove it so, is the ultimate answer
+of all religious systems with one exception; so here we are back again at
+the old race-experience as the criterion of truth. Therefore the
+theological argument is nothing but the materialistic argument disguised.
+It is in our more or less <i>conscious</i> acceptance of the materialistic
+argument, under any of its many disguises, that the limitation of life is
+to be found--not in the Law of Life itself; and if we are to bring into
+manifestation the infinite possibilities latent in that Law it can only be
+by looking steadily into the <i>principle</i> of the Law and resolutely
+denying everything that opposes it. The Principle of Life must of necessity
+be Affirmative, and affirmative throughout, without any negative
+anywhere--if we once realize this we shall be able to unmask the enemy and
+silence his guns.</p>
+
+<p>Now to do this is precisely the one object of the Bible; and it does it
+in a thoroughly logical manner, always leading on to the ultimate result by
+successive links of cause and effect. People will tell you that the Bible
+is their authority for saying that Death is the will of God; but these are
+people who read it carelessly; and ultimately the only reason they can give
+you for their manner of interpreting the Bible is that the facts prove
+their interpretation to be correct; so that in the last resort you will
+always find you have got back to the old materialistic argument from past
+race-experience, which logically proves nothing. These are good
+well-meaning people with a limited idea which they read into the Bible, and
+so limit its promises by making physical death an essential preliminary to
+Resurrection. They grasp, of course, the great central idea that Perfected
+Man possesses a joyous immortal Life permeating spirit, soul and body; but
+they relegate it to some dim and distant future, entirely disconnected from
+the present law of our being, not seeing that if we are to have eternal
+life it must necessarily be involved in some principle which is eternal,
+and therefore existing, at any rate latently, at the present moment. Hence,
+though their fundamental principle is true, they are all the time mentally
+limiting it, with the result that they themselves create the conditions
+they impose upon it, and consequently the principle will work (as
+principles always do) in accordance with the conditions provided for its
+action.</p>
+
+<p>Unless, therefore, this limiting belief is entirely eradicated, the
+individual, though realizing the fundamental principle of Life, is bound to
+pass out of physical existence; but on the other hand, since he does take
+the recognition of this fundamental principle with him, it is bound to bear
+fruit sooner or later in a joyous Resurrection, while the intermediate
+state can only be a peaceful anticipation of that supreme event. This is
+the answer to the question why those who have realized the great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen world are
+still liable to physical death; and in the last analysis it will be found
+to resolve itself into the remains of race belief based upon past
+experience. These are they who pass over in sure and certain hope of a
+glorious Resurrection--sure and certain because founded upon the very Being
+of God Himself, that inherent Life of the All-creating Divine Spirit which
+is the perpetual interaction of the Eternal Love and Beauty. They have
+grasped the Life-giving Truth, only they have postponed its operation,
+because they have the fixed idea that its present fruition is an absolute
+impossibility.</p>
+
+<p>But if we ask the reason for this idea it always comes back to the old
+materialistic argument from the experience of past conditions, while the
+whole nature of advance is in the opening up of new conditions. And in this
+advance the Bible is the pioneer book. Its whole purport is to tell us most
+emphatically that death is <i>not</i> the will of God. In the story of Eden
+God is represented as warning man of the poisonous nature of the forbidden
+fruit, which is incompatible with the idea of death as an essential feature
+of man's nature. Then from the point where man has taken the poison all the
+rest of the Bible is devoted to telling us how to get rid of it. Christ, it
+tells us, was manifested to bring Life and Immortality to light--to abolish
+death--to destroy the works of the devil, that is the death-dealing power,
+for "he that hath the power of death is the devil." It is impossible to
+reconcile this life-giving conception of the Bible with the idea that death
+at any stage or in any degree is the desire of God. Let us, therefore,
+start with the recognition that this negative force, whether in its minor
+degrees as disease or in its culmination as death, is that which it is the
+will of God to abolish. This also is logical; for if God be the Universal
+Spirit of Life finding manifestation in individual lives, how can the
+desire of this Spirit be to act in opposition to its own manifestation?
+Therefore Scripture and common-sense alike assure us that the will of God
+toward us is Life and not death.<sup><a href="#fn8"
+name="rfn8">[8]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>We may therefore start on our quest for Life with the happy certainty
+that God is on our side. But people will meet us with the objection that
+though God wills Life to us, He does not will it just yet, but only in some
+dim far-off future. How do we know this? Certainly not from the Bible. In
+the Bible Jesus speaks of two classes of persons who believe on Him as the
+Manifestation or Individualisation of the Spirit of Life. He speaks of
+those who, having passed through death, still believe on Him, and says that
+these <i>shall</i> live--a future event. And at the same time He speaks of
+those who are living and believe on Him, and says that they shall never
+die--thus contemplating the entire elimination of the contingency of death
+(John xi. 25).</p>
+
+<p>Again St. Paul expresses his wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed
+upon, which he certainly would not have done had he considered the latter
+alternative a nonsensical fancy. And in another place he expressly states
+that we shall not all die, but that some shall be transmuted into the
+Resurrection body without passing through physical death. And if we turn to
+the Old Testament we find two instances in which this is said to have
+actually occurred, those of Enoch and Elijah. And we may note in passing
+that the Bible draws our attention to certain facts about these two
+personages which are important as striking at the root of the notion that
+austerities of some sort are necessary for the great attainment. Of Enoch
+we are expressly told that he was the father of a large family, and of
+Elijah that he was a man of like nature with ourselves--thus showing us
+what is wanted is not a shutting of ourselves off from ordinary human life
+but such a clear realization of the Universal Principle, of which our
+personal life is the more or less conscious manifestation, that our
+commonest actions will be hallowed by the Divine Presence; and so the grand
+d&eacute;nouement will be only the natural result of our daily habit of
+walking with God. From the stand-point of the Bible, therefore, the
+attainment of physical regeneration without passing through death is not an
+impossibility, nor is it necessarily relegated to some far off future.
+Whatever any one else may say to the contrary, the Bible contemplates such
+a d&eacute;nouement of human evolution as a present possibility.</p>
+
+<p>Then if we argue from the philosophical stand-point we arrive at
+precisely the same result. Past experience proves nothing, and we must
+therefore make a fresh start by going back to the Original Creative action
+of the Spirit of Life itself. Then, if we take this as our starting point,
+remembering that at the stage of this <i>original</i> movement there can be
+no intervention by a second power, because there is none, why should we
+mentally impose any restriction upon the action of the Creative Power?
+Certainly not by its own Law of Tendency, for that must always be toward
+fuller self-expression; and since this can only take place through the
+individual, the desire of the Spirit must always be toward the increasing
+of the individual life. Nor yet from anything in the created substance, for
+that would either be to suppose the Spirit creating something in limitation
+of its own Self-expression, or else to suppose that the limiting substance
+was created by some other power working against the Spirit; and as this
+would mean a Duality of powers we should not have reached the Originating
+Power at all, and so we might put Spirit and Substance equally out of court
+as both being merely modes of secondary causation. But if we see that the
+Universal Substance must be created by emanation from the Universal Spirit,
+then we see that no limitation of Spirit by substance is possible. We may
+therefore feel assured that no limitation proceeds either from the will of
+the Spirit or from the nature of Substance.</p>
+
+<p>Where, then, does limitation come from? Limiting conditions are created
+by the same power which creates everything else, namely, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. This is why it is so important to realize
+that the individual mind forms a center from which the self-contemplating
+action of Spirit is specialized in terms of the individual's own mode of
+thinking, and therefore so long as the individual contemplates negative
+conditions as being <i>of the essence</i> of his own personality, he is in
+effect employing the Creative Power of the Self-contemplation of Spirit
+invertedly, destructively instead of constructively. The Law of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
+microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
+himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
+law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
+rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
+necessarily produce the opposite results.</p>
+
+<p>Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can
+see no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our
+own difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
+embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
+basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
+that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
+of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
+make clear to us the <i>infinitude</i> of the truly Normal Standard of
+Humanity is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this
+Standard is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who
+is at once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you
+will, to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule.
+In proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our
+own life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further
+development depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find
+that we also are children of God.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap9">CHAPTER IX</a></h1>
+
+<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>
+
+
+<p>We are now in a position to see the place occupied by the individual in
+the Creative Order. We have found that the originating and maintaining
+force of the whole Creative Process is the Self-contemplation of the
+Spirit, and that this necessarily produces a Reciprocal corresponding to
+the idea embodied in the contemplation, and thus manifesting that idea in a
+correlative Form. We have found that in this way the externalization of the
+idea progresses from the condensation of the primary nebula to the
+production of human beings as a race, and that at this point the simple
+<i>generic</i> reproduction of the idea terminates. This means that up to,
+and including, <i>genus homo</i>, the individual, whether plant, animal, or
+man, is what it is simply by reason of race conditions and not by exercise
+of deliberate choice. Then we have seen that the next step in advance must
+necessarily be by the individual becoming aware that he has power to mold
+the conditions of his own consciousness and environment by the creative
+power of his thought; thus not only enabling him to take a conscious part
+in his own further evolution but precluding him from evolving any further
+except by the right exercise of this power; and we have found that the crux
+of the passage from the Fourth to the Fifth Kingdom is to get people so to
+understand the nature of their creative power as not to use it
+destructively. Now what we require to see is that the Creative Process has
+always only one way of working, and that is by Reciprocity or Reflection,
+or, as we might say, by the law of Action and Re-action, the re-action
+being always equivalent and correspondent to the action which generated it.
+If this Law of Reciprocity be grasped then we see how the progress of the
+Creative Process must at length result in producing a being who himself
+possesses the power of independent spiritual initiative and is thus able to
+carry on the creative work from the stand-point of his own
+individuality.</p>
+
+<p>Now the great crux is first to get people to see that they possess this
+power at all, and then to get them to use it in the right direction. When
+our eyes begin to open to the truth that we do possess this power the
+temptation is to ignore the fact that our power of initiative is itself a
+product of the similar power subsisting in the All-originating Spirit. If
+this origin of our own creative faculty is left out of sight we shall fail
+to recognize the Livingness of the Greater Life within which we live. We
+shall never get nearer to it than what we may call its <i>generic</i>
+level, the stage at which the Creative Power is careful of the type or race
+but is careless of the individual; and so at this level we shall never pass
+into the Fifth Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Individuality--we have
+missed the whole point of the transition to the more advanced mode of
+being, in which the individual consciously functions as a creative center,
+because we have no conception of a Universal Power that works at any higher
+level than the generic, and consequently to reach a specific personal
+exercise of creative power we should have to conceive of ourselves as
+transcending the Universal Law. But if we realize that our own power of
+creative initiative has its origin in the similar faculty of the
+All-Originating Mind then we see that the way to maintain the Life-giving
+energy in ourselves is to use our power of spiritual initiative so as to
+impress upon the Spirit the conception of ourselves as standing related to
+It in a specific, individual, and personal way that takes us out of the
+mere category of <i>genus homo</i> and gives us a specific spiritual
+individuality of our own. Thus our mental action produces a corresponding
+re-action in the mind of the Spirit, which in its turn reproduces itself as
+a special manifestation of the Life of the Spirit in us; and so long as
+this circulation between the individual spirit and the Great Spirit is kept
+up, the individual life will be maintained, and will also strengthen as the
+circulation continues, for the reason that the Spirit, as the Original
+Creative Power, is a Multiplying Force, and the current sent into it is
+returned multiplied, just as in telegraphy the feeble current received from
+a distance at the end of a long line operates to start a powerful battery
+in the receiving office, which so multiplies the force as to give out a
+clear message, which but for the multiplication of the original movement
+could not have been done. Something like this we may picture the
+multiplying tendency of the Originating Mind, and consequently the longer
+the circulation between it and the individual mind goes on the stronger the
+latter becomes; and this process growing habitual becomes at last
+automatic, thus producing an endless flow of Life continually expanding in
+intelligence, love, power and joy.</p>
+
+<p>But we must note carefully that all this can only proceed from the
+individual's recognition that his own powers are a derivative from the
+All-originating Spirit, and that they can continue to be used
+constructively only so long as they are employed in harmony with the
+inherent Forward Movement of the Spirit. Therefore to insure this eternally
+flowing stream of Life from the Universal Spirit into the individual there
+must be <i>no inversion</i> in the individual's presentation of himself to
+the Originating Power: for through the very same Law by which we seek
+Life--the Life namely, of reciprocal action and re-action--every  inversion
+we bring with us in presenting ourselves to the Spirit is bound to be
+faithfully reproduced in a corresponding re-action, thus adulterating the
+stream of Pure Life, and rendering it less life-giving in proportion to the
+extent to which we invert the action of the Life-principle; so that in
+extreme cases the stream  flowing through and from the individual may be
+rendered absolutely poisonous and deadly, and the more so the greater his
+recognition of his own personal power to employ spiritual forces.</p>
+
+<p>The existence of these negative possibilities in the spiritual world
+should never be overlooked, and therefore the essential condition for
+receiving the Perfect Fulness of Life is that we should present ourselves
+before the Eternal Spirit free from every trace of inversion. To do this
+means to present ourselves in the likeness of the Divine Ideal; and in this
+self-presentation the initiative, so far as the individual is consciously
+concerned, must necessarily be taken by himself. He is to project into the
+Eternal Mind the conception of himself as identical with its Eternal Ideal;
+and if he can do this, then by the Law of the Creative Process a return
+current will flow from the Eternal Mind reproducing this image in the
+individual with a continually growing power. Then the question is, How are
+we to do this?</p>
+
+<p>The answer is that to take the initiative for inducing this flow of Life
+individually it is a <i>sine qua non</i> that the conditions enabling us to
+do so should first be presented to us universally. This is in accordance
+with the general principle that we can never create a force but can only
+specialize it. Only here the power we are wanting to specialize is the very
+Power of Specialization itself; and therefore, paradoxical as it may seem,
+what we require to have shown us is the Universality of Specialization.</p>
+
+<p>Now this is what the Bible puts before us in its central figure. Taking
+the Bible statements simply and literally they show us this unique
+Personality as the Principle of Humanity, alike in its spiritual origin and
+its material manifestation, carried to the logical extreme of
+specialization; while at the same time, as the embodiment of the original
+polarity of Spirit and Substance, this Personality, however unique, is
+absolutely universal; so that the Bible sets Jesus Christ before us as the
+answer to the philosophic problem of how to specialize the universal, while
+at the same time preserving its universality.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, we fix our thought upon this unique Personality as the
+embodiment of <i>universal</i> principles, it follows that those principles
+must exist in ourselves also, and that His actual specialization of them is
+the earnest of our potential specialization of them. Then if we fix our
+thought on this potential in ourselves as being identical with its
+manifestation in Him, we can logically claim our identity with Him, so that
+what He has done we have done, what He is, we are, and thus recognizing
+ourselves in Him we present <i>this</i> image of ourselves to the Eternal
+Mind, with the result that we bring with us no inversion, and so import no
+negative current into our stream of Life.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is that we reach "the Father" through "the Son," and that He is
+able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
+presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The Gospel of
+"the Word made flesh" is not the meaningless cant of some petty sect nor
+yet the cunning device of priestcraft, though it has been distorted in both
+these directions; but it can give a reason for itself, and is founded upon
+the deepest laws of the threefold constitution of man, embracing the
+<i>whole</i> man, body, soul and spirit. It is not opposed to Science but
+is the culmination of all science whether physical or mental. It is
+philosophical and logical throughout if you start the Creative Process
+where alone it can start, in the Self-contemplation of the Spirit. The more
+carefully we examine into the claims of the Gospel of Christ the more we
+shall find all the current objections to it melt away and disclose their
+own superficialness. We shall find that Christ is indeed the Mediator
+between God and Man, not by the arbitrary fiat of a capricious Deity, but
+by a logical law of sequence which solves the problem of making extremes
+meet, so that the Son of Man is also the Son of God; and when we see the
+reason why this is so we thereby receive power to become ourselves sons of
+God, which is the d&eacute;nouement of the Creative Process in the
+Individual.</p>
+
+<p>These closing lines are not the place to enter upon so great a subject,
+but I hope to follow it up in another volume and to show in detail the
+logic of the Bible teaching, what it saves us from and what it leads us to;
+to show while giving due weight to the value of other systems how it
+differs from them and transcends them; to glance, perhaps, for a moment at
+the indications of the future and to touch upon some of the dangers of the
+present and the way to escape from them. Nor would I pass over in silence
+another and important aspect of the Gospel contained in Christ's commission
+to His followers to heal the sick. This also follows logically from the Law
+of the Creative Process if we trace carefully the sequence of connections
+from the indwelling Ego to the outermost of its vehicles; while the effect
+of the recognition of these great truths upon the individuality that has
+for a time put off its robe of flesh, opens out a subject of paramount
+interest. Thus it is that on every plane Christ is the Fulfilling of the
+Law, and that "Salvation"  is not a silly shiboleth but the logical and
+vital process of our advance into the unfoldment of the next stage of the
+limitless capacities of our being. Of these things I hope to write in
+another volume, should it be permitted to me, and in the meanwhile I would
+commend the present abstract statement of principles to the reader's
+attention in the hope that it may throw some light on the fundamental
+nature of these momentous questions. The great thing to bear in mind is
+that if a thing is true at all there must be a reason why it is true, and
+when we come to see this reason we know the truth at first hand for
+ourselves and not from some one else's report--then it becomes really our
+own and we begin to learn how to use it. This is the secret of the
+individual's progress in any art, science, or business, and the same method
+will serve equally well in our search after Life itself, and as we thus
+follow up the great quest we shall find that on every plane the Way, the
+Truth, and the Life are ONE.</p>
+
+<p>"A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in
+philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."--<i>Bacon. Essay
+xvi</i>.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap10">CHAPTER X</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE DIVINE OFFERING</h2>
+
+
+<p>I take the present opportunity of a new edition to add a few pages on
+certain points which appear to me of vital importance, and the connection
+of which with the preceding chapters will, I hope, become evident as the
+reader proceeds. Assuming the existence in each individual of a creative
+power of thought which, in relation to himself, reflects the same power
+existing in the Universal Mind, our right employment of this power becomes
+a matter of extreme moment to ourselves. Its inverted use necessarily holds
+us fast in the bondage from which we are seeking to escape, and equally
+necessarily its right use brings us into Liberty; and therefore if any
+Divine revelation exists at all its purpose must be to lead us away from
+the inverted use of our creative faculty and into such a higher
+specializing of it as will produce the desired result. Now the purpose of
+the Bible is to do this, and it seeks to effect this work by a dual
+operation. It places before us that Divine Ideal of which I have already
+spoken, and at the same time bases this ideal upon the recognition of a
+Divine Sacrifice. These two conceptions are so intimately interwoven in
+Scripture that they cannot be separated, but at the present day there
+<i>is</i> a growing tendency to attempt to make this separation and to
+discard the conception of a Divine Sacrifice as unphilosophical, that is as
+having no nexus of cause and effect. What I want, therefore, to point out
+in these additional pages is that there is such a nexus, and that so far
+from being without a sequence of cause and effect it has its root in the
+innermost principles of our own being. It is not contrary to Law but
+proceeds from the very nature of the Law itself.</p>
+
+<p>The current objection to the Bible teaching on this subject is that no
+such sacrifice could have been required by God, either because the
+Originating Energy can have no consciousness of Personality and is only a
+blind force, or because, if "God is Love," He could not demand such a
+sacrifice. On the former hypothesis we are of course away from the Bible
+teaching altogether and have nothing to do with it; but, as I have said
+elsewhere, the fact of our own consciousness of personality can only be
+accounted for by the existence, however hidden, of a corresponding quality
+in the Originating Spirit. Therefore I will confine my remarks to the
+question how Love, as the originating impulse of all creation, can demand
+such a sacrifice. And to my mind the answer is that God does not demand it.
+It is Man who demands it. It is the instinctive craving of the human soul
+for <i>certainty</i> that requires a demonstration so convincing as to
+leave no room for doubt of our perfectly happy relation to the Supreme
+Spirit, and consequently to all that flows from it, whether on the side of
+the visible or of the invisible. When we grasp the fact that such a
+standpoint of certainty is the necessary foundation for the building up in
+ourselves of the Divine Ideal then it becomes clear that to afford us this
+firm basis is the greatest work that the Spirit, in its relation to human
+personality, could do.</p>
+
+<p>We are often told that the offering of sacrifices had its origin in
+primitive man's conception of his gods as beings which required to be
+propitiated so as to induce them to do good or abstain from doing harm; and
+very likely this was the case. The truth at the back of this conception is
+the feeling that there is a higher power upon which man is dependent; and
+the error is in supposing that this power is limited by an individuality
+which can be enriched by selling its good offices, or which blackmails you
+by threats. In either case it wants to get something out of you, and from
+this it follows that its own power of supplying its own wants must be
+limited, otherwise it would not require to be kept in good temper by gifts.
+In very undeveloped minds such a conception results in the idea of numerous
+gods, each having, so to say, his own particular line of business; and the
+furthest advance this mode of thought is capable of is the reduction of
+these various deities to two antagonistic powers of Good and of Evil. But
+the result in either case is the same, so long as we start with the
+hypothesis that the Good will do us more good and the Evil do us less harm
+by reason of our sacrifices, for then it logically follows that the more
+valuable your sacrifices and the oftener they are presented the better
+chance you have of good luck. Doubtless some such conception as this was
+held by the mass of the Hebrew people under the sacrificial system of the
+Levitical Law, and perhaps this was one reason why they were so prone to
+fall into idolatry--for in this view their fundamental notion was
+practically identical in its nature with that of the heathen around them.
+Of course this was not the fundamental idea embodied in the Levitical
+system itself. The root of that system was the symbolizing of a supreme
+ideal of reconciliation hereafter to be manifested in action. Now a symbol
+is not the thing symbolized. The purpose of a symbol is twofold, to put us
+upon enquiry as to the reality which it indicates, and to bring that
+reality to our minds by suggestion when we look at the symbol; but if it
+does not do this, and we rest only in the symbol, nothing will come of it,
+and we are left just where we were. That the symbolic nature of the
+Levitical sacrifice was clearly perceived by the deeper thinkers among the
+Hebrews is attested by many passages in the Bible--"Sacrifice and burnt
+offering thou wouldest not" (Psalms xl: 6, and li: 16) and other similar
+utterances; and the distinction between these symbols and that which they
+symbolized is brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the argument
+that if those sacrifices had afforded a sufficient standpoint for the
+effectual realization of cleansing then the worshiper would not need to
+have repeated them because he would have no more consciousness of sin
+(Hebrews x: 2).</p>
+
+<p>This brings us to the essential point of the whole matter. What we want
+is the certainty that there is no longer any separation between us and the
+Divine Spirit by reason of sin, either as overt acts of wrong doing or as
+error of principle; and the whole purpose of the Bible is to lead us to
+this assurance. Now such an assurance cannot be based on any sort of
+sacrifices that require repetition, for then we could never know whether we
+had given enough either in quality or quantity. It must be a once-for-all
+business or it is no use at all; and so the Bible makes the
+once-for-allness of the offering the essential point of its teaching. "He
+that has been bathed does not need to be bathed again" (John xiii: 10).
+"There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans
+viii: i).</p>
+
+<p>Various intellectual difficulties, however, hinder many people from
+seeing the working of the law of cause and effect in this presentment. One
+is the question, How can moral guilt be transferred from one person to
+another? What is called the "forensic" argument (i.e., the court of law
+argument) that Christ undertook to suffer in our stead as our <i>surety</i>
+is undoubtedly open to this objection. Suretyship must by its very nature
+be confined to civil obligations and cannot be extended to criminal
+liability, and so the "forensic" argument may be set aside as very much a
+legal fiction. But if we realize the Bible teaching that Christ is the Son
+of God, that is, the Divine Principle of Humanity out of which we
+originated and subsisting in us all, however unconsciously to ourselves,
+then we see that sinners as well as saints are included in this Principle;
+and consequently that the Self-offering of Christ must actually include the
+self-offering of every human being in the acknowledgment (however unknown
+to his <i>objective</i> mentality) of his sin. If we can grasp this
+somewhat abstract point of view it follows that in the Person of Christ
+every human being, past, present, and to come, was self-offered for the
+condemnation of his sin--a <i>self</i>-condemnation and a
+<i>self</i>-offering, and hence a cleansing, for the simple reason that if
+you can get a man to realize his past error, really see his mistake, he
+won't do it again; and it is the perpetuation of sin and error that has to
+be got rid of--to do this universally would be to regain Paradise. Seen
+therefore in this light there is no question of transference of moral
+guilt, and I take it this is St. Paul's meaning when he speaks of our being
+partakers in Christ's death.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is the objection, How can past sins be done away with? If we
+accept the philosophical conclusion that Time has no substantive existence
+then all that remains is states of consciousness. As I have said in the
+earlier part of this book, the Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the cause of
+all our perception of existence and environment; and consequently if the
+Self-Contemplation of the Spirit from any center of individualization is
+that of entire harmony and the absence of anything that would cause any
+consciousness of separation, then past sins cease to have any part in this
+self-recognition, and consequently cease to have any place in the world of
+existence. The foundation of the whole creative process is the calling into
+Light out of Darkness--"that which makes manifest is light"--and
+consequently the converse action is that of sending out of Light into
+Darkness, that is, into Notbeing. Now this is exactly what the Spirit says
+in the Bible--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions"
+(Isaiah xliii: 25). Blotting out is the sending out of manifestation into
+the darkness of non-manifestation, out of Being into Not-being; and in this
+way the past error ceases to have any existence and so ceases to have any
+further effect upon us. It is "blotted out," and from this new standpoint
+has never been at all; so that to continue to contemplate it is to give a
+false sense of existence to that which in effect has no existence. It is
+that Affirmation of Negation which is the root of all evil. It is the
+inversion of our God-given creative power of thought, calling into
+existence that which in the Perfect Life of the Spirit never had or could
+have any existence, and therefore it creates the sense of inharmony,
+opposition, and separation. Of course this is only relatively to ourselves,
+for we cannot create eternal principles. They are the Being of God; and as
+I have already shown these great Principles of the Affirmative may be
+summed up in the two words Love and Beauty--Love in essence and Beauty in
+manifestation; but since we can only live from the standpoint of our own
+consciousness we can make a false creation built upon the idea of opposites
+to the all-creating Love and Beauty, which false creation with all its
+accompaniments of limitation, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death, must
+necessarily be real to us until we perceive that these things were not
+created by God, the Spirit of the Affirmative, but by our own inversion of
+our true relation to the All-creating Being.</p>
+
+<p>When, then, we view the matter in this light the Offering once for all
+of the Divine Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world is seen not to be a
+mere ecclesiastical dogma having no relation of cause and effect, but to be
+the highest application of the same principle of cause and effect by which
+the whole creation, ourselves included, has been brought into
+existence--the  Self-Contemplation of Spirit producing corresponding
+manifestation, only now working on the level of Individual Personality.</p>
+
+<p>As I have shown at the beginning of this book the cosmic manifestation
+of principles is not sufficient to bring out all that there is in them. To
+do this their action must be specialized by the introduction of the
+Personal Factor. They are represented by the Pillar Jachin, but it must be
+equilibriated by the Pillar Boaz, Law and Personality the two Pillars of
+the Universe; and in the One Offering we have the supreme combination of
+these two principles, the highest specialization of Law by the highest
+power of Personality. These are eternal principles, and therefore we are
+told that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world; and because
+"thoughts are things" this supreme manifestation of the creative
+interaction of Law and Personality was bound eventually to be manifested in
+concrete action in the world conditioned by time and space; and so it was
+that the supreme manifestation of the Love of God to meet the supreme need
+of Man took place. The history of the Jewish nation is the history of the
+working of the law of cause and effect, under the guidance of the Divine
+Wisdom, so as to provide the necessary conditions for the greatest event in
+the world's history; for if Christ was to appear it must be in <i>some</i>
+nation, in <i>some</i> place, and at <i>some</i> time: but to trace the
+steps by which, through an intelligible sequence of causes, these necessary
+conditions were provided belongs rather to an investigation of Bible
+history than to our present purpose, so I will not enter into these details
+here. But what I hope I have in some measure made clear is that there is a
+reason why Christ should be manifested, and should suffer, and rise again,
+and that so far from being a baseless superstition the Reconciling of the
+world to God through the One Offering once-for-all offered for the sin of
+the whole world, lays the immovable foundation upon which we may build
+securely for all the illimitable future.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap11">CHAPTER XI</a></h1>
+
+<h2>OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we have grasped the principle I have endeavored to state in the last
+chapter we shall find that with this new standpoint a new life and a new
+world begin to open out to us. This is because we are now living from a new
+recognition of ourselves and of God. Eternal Truth, that which is the
+essential reality of Being, is <i>always</i> the same; it has never
+altered, for whatever is capable of passing away and giving place to
+something else is not eternal, and therefore the real essence of our being,
+as proceeding from God and subsisting in Him has always been the same. But
+this is the very fact which we have hitherto lost sight of; and since our
+perception of life is the measure of our individual consciousness of it, we
+have imposed upon ourselves a world of limitation, a world filled with the
+power of the negative, because we have viewed things from that standpoint.
+What takes place, therefore, when we realize the truth of our Redemption is
+not a change in our essential relation to the Parent Spirit, the Eternal
+Father, but an awakening to the perception of this eternal and absolutely
+perfect relation. We see that in reality it has never been otherwise for
+the simple reason that in the very nature of Being it <i>could</i> not be
+otherwise; and when we see this we see also that what has hitherto been
+wrong has not been the working of "the Father" but our conception of the
+existence of some other power, a power of negation, limitation, and
+destructiveness, the very opposite to all that the Creative Spirit, by the
+very fact of Its Creativeness, must be. That wonderful parable of the
+Prodigal Son shows us that he never ceased to be a son. It was not his
+Father who sent him away from home but his notion that he could do better
+"on his own," and we all know what came of it. But when he returned to the
+Father he found that from the Father's point of view he had never been
+otherwise than a son, and that all the trouble he had gone through was not
+"of the Father" but was the result of his own failure to realize what the
+Father and the Home really were.<sup><a href="#fn9"
+name="rfn9">[9]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Now this is exactly the case with ourselves. When we wake up to the
+truth we find that, so far as the Father is concerned, we have always been
+in Him and in His home, for we are made in His image and likeness and are
+reflections of His own Being. He says to us "Son, thou art ever with me and
+all that I have is thine." The Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the Creative
+Power creating an environment corresponding to the mode of consciousness
+contemplated, and therefore in proportion as we contemplate ourselves as
+centers of individualization for the Divine Spirit we find ourselves
+surrounded by a new environment reflecting the harmonious conditions which
+preexist in the Thought of the Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the sequence of Cause and Effect involved in the teaching
+of the Bible. Man is <i>in essence</i> a spiritual being, the reflection on
+the plane of individual personality of that which the All-Originating
+Spirit is in Itself, and is thus in that reciprocal relation to the Spirit
+which is Love. This is the first statement of his creation in Genesis--God
+saw all that He had made and behold it was very good, Man included. Then
+the Fall is the failure of the lower mentality to realize that God IS Love,
+in a word that Love is the only ultimate Motive Power it is possible to
+conceive, and that the creations of Love cannot be otherwise than good and
+beautiful. The lower mentality conceives an opposite quality of Evil and
+thus produces a motive power the opposite of Love, which is Fear; and so
+Fear is born into the world giving rise to the whole brood of evil, anger,
+hatred, envy, lies, violence, and the like, and on the external plane
+giving rise to discordant vibrations which are the root of physical ill. If
+we analyze our motives we shall find that they are always some mode either
+of Love or Fear; and fear has its root in the recognition of some power
+other than Perfect Love, which is God the ONE all-embracing Good. Fear has
+a creative force which invertedly mimics that of Love; but the difference
+between them is that Love is eternal and Fear is not. Love as the Original
+Creative Motive is the only logical conclusion we can come to as to why we
+ourselves or any other creation exists. Fear is illogical because to regard
+it as having any place in the Original Creative Motive involves a
+contradiction in terms.</p>
+
+<p>By accepting the notion of a dual power, that of Good <i>and</i> Evil,
+the inverted creative working of Fear is introduced with all its attendant
+train of evil things. This is the eating of the deadly tree which occasions
+the Fall, and therefore the Redemption which requires to be accomplished is
+a redemption from Fear--not merely from this or that particular fear but
+from the very Root of Fear, which root is unbelief in the Love of God, the
+refusal to believe that Love alone is the Creating Power in all things,
+whether small beyond our recognition or great beyond our conception.
+Therefore to bring about this Redemption there must be such a manifestation
+of the Divine Love to Man as, when rightly apprehended, will leave no
+ground for fear; and when we see that the Sacrifice of the Cross was the
+Self-Offering of Love made in order to provide this manifestation, then we
+see that all the links in the chain of Cause and Effect are complete, and
+that Fear never had any place in the Creative Principle, whether as acting
+in the creation of a world or of a man. The root, therefore, of all the
+trouble of the world consists in the Affirmation of Negation, in using our
+creative power of thought invertedly, and thus giving substance to that
+which <i>as principle</i> has no existence. So long as this negative action
+of thought continues so long will it produce its natural effect; whether in
+the individual or in the mass. The experience is perfectly real while it
+lasts. Its unreality consists in the fact that there was never any real
+need for it; and the more we grasp the truth of the all-embracingness of
+the ONE Good, both as Cause and as Effect, on all planes, the more the
+experience of its opposite will cease to have any place in our lives.</p>
+
+<p>This truly New Thought puts us in an entirely new relation to the whole
+of our environment, opening out possibilities hitherto undreamt of, and
+this by an orderly sequence of law which is naturally involved in our new
+mental attitude; but before considering the prospect thus offered it is
+well to be quite clear as to what this new mental attitude really is; for
+it is our adoption of this attitude that is the Key to the whole position.
+Put briefly it is ceasing to include the idea of limitations in our
+conception of the working of the All-Creating Spirit. Here are some
+specimens of the way in which we limit the creative working of the Spirit.
+We say, I am too old now to start this or that new sort of work. This is to
+deny the power of the Spirit to vivify our physical or mental faculties,
+which is illogical if we consider that it is the same Spirit that brought
+us into any existence at all. It is like saying that when a lamp is
+beginning to burn low the same person who first filled it with oil cannot
+replenish it and make it burn brightly again. Or we say, I cannot do so and
+so because I have not the means. When you were fourteen did you know where
+all the means were coming from which were going to support you till now
+when you are perhaps forty or fifty? So you should argue that the same
+power that has worked in the past can continue to work in the future. If
+you say the means came in the past quite naturally through ordinary
+channels, that is no objection; on the contrary the more reason for saying
+that suitable channels will open in the future. Do you expect God to put
+cash into your desk by a conjuring trick? Means come through recognizable
+channels, that is to say we recognize the channels by the fact of the
+stream flowing through them; and one of our most common mistakes is in
+thinking that we ourselves have to fix the particular channel beforehand.
+We say in effect that the Spirit cannot open other channels, and so we stop
+them up. Or we say, our past experience speaks to the contrary, thus
+assuming that our past experiences have included all possibilities and have
+exhausted the laws of the universe, an assumption which is negatived by
+every fresh discovery even in physical science. And so we go on limiting
+the power of the Spirit in a hundred different ways.</p>
+
+<p>But careful consideration will show that, though the modes in which we
+limit it are as numerous as the circumstances with which we have to deal,
+the thing with which we limit it is always the same--it is by the
+introduction of our own personality. This may appear at first a direct
+contradiction of all that I have said about the necessity for the Personal
+Factor, but it is not. Here is a paradox.</p>
+
+<p>To open out into manifestation the wonderful possibilities hidden in the
+Creative Power of the Universe we require to do two things--to  see that we
+ourselves are necessary as centers for focussing that power, and at the
+same time to withdraw the thought of ourselves as contributing anything to
+its efficiency. It is not I that work but the Power; yet the Power needs me
+because it cannot specialize itself without me--in a word each is the
+complementary of the other: and the higher the degree of specialization is
+to be the more necessary is the intelligent and willing co-operation of the
+individual.</p>
+
+<p>This is the Scriptural paradox that "the son can do nothing of himself,"
+and yet we are told to be "fellow-workers with God." It ceases to be a
+paradox, however, when we realize the relation between the two factors
+concerned, God and Man. Our mistake is in not discriminating between their
+respective functions, and putting Man in the place of God. In our everyday
+life we do this by measuring the power of God by our past experiences and
+the deductions we draw from them; but there is another way of putting Man
+in the place of God, and that is by the misconception that the
+All-Originating Spirit is merely a cosmic force without intelligence, and
+that Man has to originate the intelligence without which no specific
+purpose can be conceived. This latter is the error of much of the present
+day philosophy and has to be specially guarded against. This was perceived
+by some of the medieval students of these things, and they accordingly
+distinguished between what they called Animus Dei and Anima Mundi, the
+Divine Spirit and the Soul of the Universe. Now the distinction is this,
+that the essential quality of Animus Dei is Personality--not A Person, but
+the very Principle of Personality itself--while the essential quality of
+Anima Mundi is Impersonality. Then right here comes in that importance of
+the Personal Factor of which I have already spoken. The powers latent in
+the Impersonal are brought out to their fullest development by the
+operation of the Personal. This of course does not consist in changing the
+nature of those powers, for that is impossible, but in making such
+combinations of them by Personal Selection as to produce results which
+could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, for example, Number is in itself
+impersonal and no one can alter the laws which are inherent in it; but what
+we can do is to select particular numbers and the sort of relation, such as
+subtraction, multiplication, etc., which we will establish between them;
+and then by the inherent Law of Number a certain result is bound to work
+out. Now our own essential quality is the consciousness of Personality; and
+as we grow into the recognition of the fact that the Impersonal is, as it
+were, crying out for the operation upon it of the Personal in order to
+bring its latent powers into working, we shall see how limitless is the
+field that thus opens before us.</p>
+
+<p>The prospect is wonderful beyond our present conception, and full of
+increasing glory if we realize the true foundation on which it rests. But
+herein lies the danger. It consists in not realizing that the Infinite of
+the Impersonal <i>is</i> and also that the Infinite of the Personal
+<i>is</i>. Both are Infinite and so require differentiation through our own
+personality, but in their essential quality each is the exact balance of
+the other--not in contradiction to each other, but as complementary to one
+another, each supplying what the other needs for its full expression, so
+that the two together make a perfect whole. If, however, we see this
+relation and our own position as the connecting link between them, we shall
+see only ourselves as the Personal Factor; but the more we realize, both by
+theory and experience, the power of human personality brought into contact
+with the Impersonal Soul of Nature, and employed with a Knowledge of its
+power and a corresponding exercise of the will, the less we shall be
+inclined to regard ourselves as the supreme factor in the chain of cause
+and effect Consideration of this argument points to the danger of much of
+the present day teaching regarding the exercise of Thought Power as a
+creative agency. The principle on which this teaching is based is sound and
+legitimate for it is inherent in the nature of things; but the error is in
+supposing that we ourselves are the ultimate source of Personality instead
+of merely the distributors and specializers of it. The logical result of
+such a mental attitude is that putting ourselves in the place of all that
+is worshiped as God which is spoken of in the second chapter of the Second
+Epistle to the Thessalonians and other parts of Scripture. By the very
+hypothesis of the case we then know no higher will than our own, and so are
+without any Unifying Principle to prevent the conflict of wills which must
+then arise--a  conflict which must become more and more destructive the
+greater the power possessed by the contending parties, and which, if there
+were no counterbalancing power, must result in the ultimate destruction of
+the existing race of men.</p>
+
+<p>But there is a counterbalancing power. It is the very same power used
+affirmatively instead of negatively. It is the power of the Personal with
+the Impersonal when used under the guidance of that Unifying Principle
+which the recognition of the ONE-ness of the Personal Quality in the Divine
+Spirit supplies. Those who are using the creative power of thought only
+from the standpoint of individual personality, have obviously less power
+than those who are using it from the standpoint of the Personality inherent
+in the Living Spirit which is the Source and Fountain of all energy and
+substance, and therefore in the end the victory must remain with these
+latter. And because the power by which they conquer is that of the Unifying
+Personality itself their victory must result in the establishment of Peace
+and Happiness throughout the world, and is not a power of domination but of
+helpfulness and enlightenment. The choice is between these two
+mottoes:--"Each for himself and Devil take the hindmost," or "God for us
+all." In proportion, therefore, as we realize the immense forces dormant in
+the Impersonal Soul of Nature, only awaiting the introduction of the
+Personal Factor to wake them up into activity and direct them to specific
+purposes, the wider we shall find the scope of the powers within the reach
+of man; and the more clearly we perceive the Impersonalness of the very
+Principle of Personality itself, the clearer our own proper position as
+affording the Differentiating Medium between these two Infinitudes will
+become to us.</p>
+
+<p>The Impersonalness of the Principle of Personality looks like a
+contradiction in terms, but it is not. I combine these two seemingly
+contradictory terms as the best way to convey to the reader the idea of the
+essential Quality of Personality not yet differentiated into individual
+centers of consciousness for the doing of particular work. Looked at in
+this way the Infinite of Personality must have Unity of Purpose for its
+foundation, for otherwise it would consist of conflicting personalities, in
+which case we have not yet reached the ONE all-originating cause. Or to put
+it in another way, an Infinite Personality divided against itself would be
+an Infinite Insanity, a creator of a cosmic Bedlam which, as a scientific
+fact, would be impossible of existence. Therefore the conception of an
+Infinite of Personality necessarily implies a perpetual Unity of Purpose;
+and for the same reason this Purpose can only be the fuller and fuller
+expression of an Infinite Unity of Consciousness; and Unity of
+Consciousness necessarily implies the entire absence of all that would
+impair it, and therefore its expression can only be as Universal Harmony.
+If, then, the individual realizes this true nature of the source from which
+his own consciousness of personality is derived his ideas and work will be
+based upon this foundation, with the result that as between ourselves peace
+and good will towards men must accompany this mode of thought, and as
+between us and the strictly Impersonal Soul of Nature our increasing
+knowledge in that direction would mean increasing power for carrying out
+our principle of peace and good will. As this perception of our relation to
+the Spirit of God and the Soul of Nature spreads from individual to
+individual so the Kingdom of God will grow, and its universal recognition
+would be the establishing of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the reader will ask why I say the Soul of Nature instead of
+saying the material universe. The reason is that in using our creative
+power of Thought we do not operate directly upon material elements--to do
+that is the work of construction from without and not of creation from
+within. The whole tendency of modern physical science is to reduce all
+matter in the final analysis to energy working in a primary ether. Whence
+this energy and this ether proceed is not the subject of physical analysis.
+That is a question which cannot be answered by means of the vacuum tube or
+the spectroscope. Physical science is doing its legitimate work in pushing
+further and further back the unanalyzable residuum of Nature, but, however
+far back, an ultimate unanalyzable residuum there must always be; and when
+physical science brings us to this point it hands us over to the guidance
+of psychological investigation just as in the Divina Commedia Virgil
+transfers Dante to the guidance of Beatrice for the study of the higher
+realms. Various rates of rapidity of motion in this primary ether,
+producing various numerical combinations of positively and negatively
+electrified particles, result in the formation of what we know as the
+different chemical elements, and thus explains the phenomena of their
+combining quantities, the law by which they join together to form new
+substances only in certain exact numerical ratios. From the first movement
+in the primary ether to solid substances, such as wood or iron or our own
+flesh, is thus a series of vibrations in a succession of mediums, each
+denser than the preceding one out of which it was concreted and from which
+it receives the vibratory impulse. This is in effect what physical science
+has to tell us. But to get further back we must look into the world of the
+invisible, and it is here that psychological study comes to our aid. We
+cannot, however, study the invisible side of Nature by working from the
+outside and so at this point of our studies we find the use of the
+time-honored teaching regarding the parallelism between the Macrocosm and
+the Microcosm. If the Microcosm is the reproduction in ourselves of the
+same principles as exist in the Macrocosm or universe in which we have our
+being, then by investigating ourselves we shall learn the nature of the
+corresponding invisible principles in our environment. Here, then, is the
+application of the dictum of the ancient philosophy, "Know Thyself." It
+means that the only place where we can study the principles of the
+invisible side of Nature is in ourselves; and when we know them there we
+can transfer them to the larger world around us.</p>
+
+<p>In the concluding chapters of my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science"
+I have outlined the way in which the soul or mind operates upon the
+physical instrument of its expression, and it resolves itself into
+this--that the mental action inaugurates a series of vibrations in the
+etheric body which, in their turn, induce corresponding grosser vibrations
+in the molecular substance until finally mechanical action is produced on
+the outside. Now transferring this idea to Nature as a whole we shall see
+that if our mental action is to affect it in any way it can only be by the
+response of something at the back of material substance analogous to mind
+in ourselves; and that there is such a "something" interior to the merely
+material side of Nature is proved by what we may call the Law of Tendency,
+not only in animals and plants, but even in inorganic substances, as shown
+for instance in Professor Bose's work on the Response of Metals. The
+universal presence of this Law of Tendency therefore indicates the working
+of some non-material and, so to say, semi-intelligent power in the material
+world, a power which works perfectly accurately on its own lines so far as
+it goes, that is to say in a generic manner, but which does not possess
+that Personal power of <i>individual selection</i> which is necessary to
+bring out the infinite possibilities hidden in it. This is what is meant by
+the Soul of Nature, and it is for this reason I employ that term instead of
+saying the material universe. Which term to employ all depends on the mode
+of action we are contemplating. If it is construction from without, then we
+are dealing with the purely material universe. If we are seeking to bring
+about results by the exercise of our mental power from within, then we are
+dealing with the Soul of Nature. It is that control of the lower degree of
+intelligence by the higher of which I have spoken in my Edinburgh
+Lectures.</p>
+
+<p>If we realize what I have endeavored to make clear in the earlier
+portion of this book, that the whole creation is produced by the operation
+of the Divine Will upon the Soul of Nature, it will be evident that we can
+set no limits to the potencies hidden in the latter and capable of being
+brought out by the operation of the Personal Factor upon it; therefore,
+granted a sufficiently powerful concentration of will, whether by an
+individual or a group of individuals, we can well imagine the production of
+stupendous effects by this agency, and in this way I would explain the
+statements made in Scripture regarding the marvelous powers to be exercised
+by the Anti-Christ, whether personal or collective. They are psychic
+powers, the power of the Soul of Man over the Soul of Nature. But the Soul
+of Nature is quite impersonal and therefore the moral quality of this
+action depends entirely on the human operator. This is the point of the
+Master's teaching regarding the destruction of the fig tree, and it is on
+this account He adds the warning as to the necessity for clearing our heart
+of any injurious feeling against others whenever we attempt to make use of
+this power (Mark xi: 20-26).</p>
+
+<p>According to His teaching, then, this power of controlling the Soul of
+Nature by the addition of our own Personal Factor, however little we may be
+able to recognize it as yet, actually exists; its employment depends on our
+perception of the inner principles common to both, and it is for this
+reason the ancient wisdom was summed up in the aphorism "Know thyself." No
+doubt it is a wonderful Knowledge, but on analysis it will be found to be
+perfectly natural. It is the Knowledge of the cryptic forces of Nature. Now
+it is remarkable that this ancient maxim inscribed over the portals of the
+Temple of Delphi is not to be found in the Bible. The Bible maxim is not
+"Know thyself" but "Know the Lord." The great subject of Knowledge is not
+ourself but "the Lord"; and herein is the great difference between the two
+teachings. The one is limited by human personality, the other is based on
+the Infinitude of the Divine Personality; and because of this it includes
+human personality with all its powers over the Soul of Nature. It is a case
+of the greater including the less; and so the whole teaching of Scripture
+is directed to bringing us into the recognition of that Divine Personality
+which is the Great Original in whose image and likeness we are made. In
+proportion as we grow into the recognition of <i>this</i> our own
+personality will explain, and the creative power of our thought will cease
+to work invertedly until at last it will work only on the same principles
+of Life, Love and Liberty as the Divine Mind, and so all evil will
+disappear from our world. We shall not, as some systems teach, be absorbed
+into Deity to the extinction of our individual consciousness, but on the
+contrary our individual consciousness will continually expand, which is
+what St. Paul means when he speaks of our "increasing with the increase of
+God"--the continual expanding of the Divine element within us. But this can
+only take place by our recognition of ourselves as <i>receivers</i> of this
+Divine element. It is receiving into ourselves of the Divine Personality, a
+result not to be reached through human reasoning. We reason from premises
+which we have assumed, and the conclusion is already involved in the
+premises and can never extend beyond them. But we can only select our
+premises from among things that we know by experience, whether mental or
+physical, and accordingly our reasoning is always merely a new placing of
+the old things. But the receiving of the Divine Personality into ourselves
+is an entirely New Thing, and so cannot be reached by reasoning from old
+things. Hence if this Divine ultimate of the Creative Process is to be
+attained it must be by the Revelation of a New Thing which will afford a
+new starting-point for our thought, and this New Starting-point is given in
+the Promise of "the Seed of the Woman" with which the Bible opens.
+Thenceforward this Promise became the central germinating thought of those
+who based themselves upon it, thus constituting them a special race, until
+at last when the necessary conditions had matured the Promised Seed
+appeared in Him of whom it is written that He is the express image of God's
+Person (Heb. I: 3)--that is, the Expression of that Infinite Divine
+Personality of which I have spoken. "No man hath seen God at any time or
+can see Him," for the simple reason that Infinitude cannot be the subject
+of vision. To become visible there must be Individualization, and therefore
+when Philip said "Show us the Father," Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me
+hath seen the Father." The Word must become flesh before St. John could
+say, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
+seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
+of the Word of Life." This is the New Starting-point for the true New
+Thought--the New Adam of the New Race, each of whom is a new center for the
+working of the Divine Spirit. This is what Jesus meant when he said,
+"Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man ye have no
+life in you. My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed--" such
+a contemplation of the Divine Personality in Him as will cause a like
+receiving of the Divine Personality into individualization in
+ourselves--this  is the great purpose of the Creative Process in the
+individual. It terminates the old series which began with birth after the
+flesh and inaugurates a New Series by birth after the Spirit, a New Life of
+infinite unfoldment with glorious possibilities beyond our highest
+conception.</p>
+
+<p>But all this is logically based upon our recognition of the Personalness
+of God and of the relation of our individual personality to this Eternal
+and Infinite Personality, and the result of this is Worship--not an attempt
+to "butter up" the Almighty and get Him into good temper, but the reverent
+contemplation of what this Personality must be in Itself; and when we see
+it to be that Life, Love, Beauty, etc., of which I spoke at the beginning
+of this book we shall learn to love Him for what He IS, and our prayer will
+be "Give me more of Thyself." If we realize the great truth that the
+Kingdom of Heaven is <i>within</i> us, that it is the Kingdom of the
+innermost of our own being and of all creation, and if we realize that this
+innermost is the place of the Originating Power where Time and Space do not
+exist and therefore antecedent to all conditions, then we shall see the
+true meaning of Worship. It is the perception of the Innermost Spirit as
+eternally subsisting independently of all conditioned manifestation, so
+that in the true worship our consciousness is removed from the outer sphere
+of existence to the innermost center of unconditioned being. There we find
+the Eternal Being of God pure and simple, and we stand reverently in this
+Supreme Presence knowing that it is the Source of our own being, and wrapt
+in the contemplation of This, the conditioned is seen to flow out from It.
+Perceiving this the conditioned passes out of our consideration, for it is
+seen not to be the Eternal Reality--we  have reached that level of
+consciousness where Time and Space remain no longer. Yet the reverence
+which the vision of this Supreme Center of all Being cannot fail to inspire
+is coupled with a sense of feeling quite at home with It. This is because
+as the Center of <i>all</i> Being it is the center of our own being also.
+It is one-with-ourselves. It is recognizing Itself from our own center of
+consciousness; so that here we have got back to that Self-contemplation of
+Spirit which is the first movement of the Creating Power, only now this
+Self-contemplation is the action of the All-Originating Spirit upon Itself
+from the center of our own consciousness. So this worship in the Temple of
+the Innermost is at once reverent adoration and familiar intercourse--not
+the familiarity that breeds contempt, but a familiarity producing Love,
+because as it increases we see more clearly the true Life of the Spirit as
+the continual interaction of Love and Beauty, and the Spirit's recognition
+of ourselves as an integral portion of Its own Life. This is not an
+unpractical dreamy speculation but has a very practical bearing. Death will
+some day cease to be, for the simple reason that Life alone can be the
+enduring principle; but we have not yet reached this point in our
+evolution. Whether any in this generation will reach it I cannot say; but
+for the rank and file of us the death of the body seems to be by far the
+more probable event. Now what must this passing out of the body mean to us?
+It must mean that we find ourselves without the physical vehicle which is
+the instrument through which our consciousness comes in touch with the
+external world and all the interests of our present daily life. But the
+mere putting off of the body does not of itself change the mental attitude;
+and so if our mind is entirely centered upon these passing interests and
+external conditions the loss of the instrument by which we held touch with
+them must involve a consciousness of desire for the only sort of life we
+have known coupled with a consciousness of our inability to participate in
+it, which can only result in a consciousness of distress and confusion such
+as in our present state we cannot imagine.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand if we have in this world realized the true principle
+of the Worship of the Eternal Source from which all conditioned life flows
+out--an inner communing with the Great Reality--we have already passed
+beyond that consciousness of life which is limited by Time and Space; and
+so when we put off this mortal body we shall find ourselves upon familiar
+ground, and therefore not wandering in confusion but quite at home,
+dwelling in the same light of the Eternal in which we have been accustomed
+to dwell as an atmosphere enveloping the conditioned life of to-day. Then
+finding ourselves thus at home on a plane where Time and Space do not exist
+there will be no question with us of duration. The consciousness will be
+simply that of peaceful, happy being. That a return to more active personal
+operation will eventually take place is evidenced by the fact that the
+basis of all further evolution is the differentiating of the
+Undifferentiated Life of the Spirit into specific channels of work, through
+the intermediary of individual personality without which the infinite
+potentialities of the Creative Law cannot be brought to light. Therefore,
+however various our opinions as to its precise form, Resurrection as a
+principle is a necessity of the creative process. But such a return to more
+active life will not mean a return to limitations, but the opening of a new
+life in which we shall transcend them all, because we have passed beyond
+the misconception that Time and Space are of the Essence of Life. When the
+misconception regarding Time and Space is entirely eradicated all other
+limitations must disappear because they have their root in this primary
+one--they are only particular forms of the general proposition. Therefore
+though Form with its accompanying relations of Time and Space is necessary
+for manifestation, these things will be found not to have any force in
+themselves thus creating limitation, but to be the reflection of the mode
+of thought which projects them as the expression of itself.</p>
+
+<p>Nor is there any inherent reason why this process should be delayed till
+some far-off future. There is no reason why we should not commence at once.
+No doubt our inherited and personally engendered modes of thought make this
+difficult, and by the nature of the process it will be only when <i>all</i>
+our thoughts are conformed to this principle that the complete victory will
+be won. But there must be a commencement to everything, and the more we
+habituate ourselves to live in that Center of the Innermost where
+conditions do not exist, the more we shall find ourselves gaining control
+over outward conditions, because the stream of conditioned life flows out
+from the Center of Unconditioned Life, and therefore this intrinsic
+principle of Worship has in it the promise both of the life that now is and
+of that which is to come. Only we must remember that the really availing
+worship is that of the Undifferentiated Source <i>because It is the
+Source,</i> and not as a backhanded way of diverting the stream into some
+petty channel of conditions, for that would only be to get back to the old
+circle of limitation from which we are seeking to escape.</p>
+
+<p>But if we realize these things we have already laid hold of the
+Principle of Resurrection, and in point of principle we are already living
+the resurrection life. What progress we may make in it depends on our
+practical application of the principle; but simply as principle there is
+nothing in the principle itself to prevent its complete working at any
+moment. This is why Jesus did not refer resurrection to some remote point
+of time but said, "I am the resurrection and the life." No principle can
+carry in itself an opposite and limiting principle contradictory of its own
+nature, and this is as true of the Principle of Life as of any other
+principle. It is we who by our thought introduce an opposite and limiting
+principle and so hinder the working of the principle we are seeking to
+bring into operation; but so far as the Principle of Life itself is
+concerned there is <i>in it</i> no reason why it should not come into
+perfect manifestation here and now.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the true purpose of worship. It is to bring us into
+conscious and loving intercourse with the Supreme Source of our own being,
+and seeing this we shall not neglect the outward forms of worship. From
+what we now know they should mean more to us than to others and not less;
+and in especial if we realize the manifestation of the Divine Personality
+in Jesus Christ and its reproduction in Man, we shall not neglect His last
+command to partake of that sacred memorial to His flesh and blood which He
+bequeathed to His followers with the words "This do in remembrance of
+Me."</p>
+
+<p>This holy rite is no superstitious human invention. There are many
+theories about it, and I do not wish to combat any of them, for in the end
+they all seem to me to bring us to the same point, that being cleansed from
+sin by the Divine Love we are now no longer separate from God but become
+"partakers of the Divine-Nature" (II Peter I: 4). This partaking of the
+Divine Nature could not be more accurately represented than by our
+partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Divine Substance and the
+Divine Life, thus made emblematic of the whole Creative Process from its
+beginning in the Divine Thought to its completion in the manifestation of
+that Thought as Perfected Man; and so it brings vividly before us the
+remembrance of the Personality of God taking form as the Son of Man. We are
+all familiar with the saying that thoughts become things; and if we affirm
+the creative power of our own thought as reproducing itself in outward
+form, how much more must we affirm the same of that Divine Thought which
+brings the whole universe into existence; so that in accordance with our
+own principles the Divine Idea of Man was logically bound to show itself in
+the world of time and space as the Son of God and the Son of man, not two
+differing natures but one complete whole, thus summing up the foundation
+principle of all creation in one Undivided Consciousness of Personality.
+Thus "the Word" or Divine Thought of Man "became flesh," and our partaking
+of the symbolic elements keeps in our remembrance the supreme truth that
+this same "Word" or Thought of God in like manner takes form in ourselves
+as we open our own thought to receive it. And further, if we realize that
+throughout the universe there is only ONE Originating Life, sending forth
+only ONE Original Substance as the vehicle for its expression, then it
+logically follows that <i>in essence</i> the bread is a portion of the
+eternal Substance of God, and the wine a portion of the eternal Life of
+God. For though the wine is of course also a part of the Universal
+Substance, we must remember that the Universal Substance is itself a
+manifestation of the Life of the All-Creating Spirit, and therefore this
+fluid form of the primary substance has been selected as representing the
+eternal flowing of the Life of the Spirit into all creation, culminating in
+its supreme expression in the consciousness of those who, in the
+recognition of these truths, seek to bring their heart into union with the
+Divine Spirit. From such considerations as these it will be seen how vast a
+field of thought is covered by Christ's words "Do this in remembrance of
+Me."</p>
+
+<p>In conclusion, therefore, do not let yourselves be led astray by any
+philosophy that denies the Personality of God. In the end it will be found
+to be a foolish philosophy. No other starting-point of creation is
+conceivable than the Self-Contemplation of the Divine Spirit, and the
+logical sequence from this brings us to the ultimate result of the Creative
+Process in the statement that "if any man be in Christ he is a New
+creature," or as the margin has it "a new creation" (II Cor. v: 17). Such
+vain philosophies have only one logical result which is to put
+<i>yourself</i> in the place of God, and then what have you to lean upon in
+the hour of trial? It is like trying to climb up a ladder that is resting
+against nothing. Therefore, says the Apostle Paul, "Beware lest any man
+spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man,
+after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. II: 8.) The
+teaching of the Bible is sound philosophy, sound reasoning, and sound
+science because it starts with the sound premises that all Creation
+proceeds out of God, and that Man is made in the image and likeness of his
+Creator. It nowhere departs from the Law of Cause and Effect, and by the
+orderly sequence of this law it brings us at last to the New Creation both
+in ourselves and in our environment, so that we find the completion of the
+Creative Process in the declaration "the tabernacle of God is with men"
+(Rev. xxi: 3), and in the promise "This is the Covenant that I will make
+with them after those days (i.e., the days of our imperfect apprehension of
+these things) saith the Lord, I will dwell <i>in them</i>, and walk <i>in
+them</i>, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will
+put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and
+their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. x: 16. II
+Cor. vi: 16. Jeremiah xxxi: 33).</p>
+
+<p>Truly does Bacon say, "A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to
+religion."--Bacon, Essay, xvi.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1>FOOTNOTES</h1>
+
+
+
+<p><a href="#rfn1" name="fn1">1.</a>   See my Dor&eacute; Lectures,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn2" name="fn2">2.</a>   See my Edinburgh Lectures on Mental
+Science.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn3" name="fn3">3.</a>   See my Dor&eacute; Lectures,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn4" name="fn4">4.</a>   For the relation between conscious
+and sub-conscious mind see my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn5" name="fn5">5.</a>   See "Self-Synthesis" by Dr. Cornwall
+Round.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn6" name="fn6">6.</a>   For the relation between subjective
+and objective mind see my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn7" name="fn7">7.</a>   This view, it may be remarked, is
+not necessarily incompatible with the conception of reincarnation, on which
+theory the final resurrection or transmutation of the body would terminate
+the series of successive lives and deaths, thus bringing the individual out
+of the circle of generation, which is the circle of Karma. I may, perhaps,
+have the opportunity of considering this subject on some future
+occasion.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn8" name="fn8">8.</a>   See my "Bible Mystery and Bible
+Meaning."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn9" name="fn9">9.</a>   See "Bible Mystery and Bible
+Meaning" by the present author.</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10361 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #10361 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10361)
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Creative Process in the Individual, by
+Thomas Troward
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Creative Process in the Individual
+
+Author: Thomas Troward
+
+Release Date: December 1, 2003  [eBook #10361]
+
+Language: English
+
+Chatacter set encoding: iso-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE
+INDIVIDUAL***
+
+
+E-text prepared by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy, and Project Gutenberg
+Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL
+
+BY T. TROWARD
+
+1915
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+In the present volume I have endeavored to set before the reader the
+conception of a sequence of creative action commencing with the formation
+of the globe and culminating in a vista of infinite possibilities
+attainable by every one who follows up the right line for their unfoldment.
+
+I have endeavored to show that, starting with certain incontrovertible
+scientific facts, all these things logically follow, and that therefore,
+however far these speculations may carry us beyond our past experience,
+they nowhere break the thread of an intelligible connection of cause and
+effect.
+
+I do not, however, offer the suggestions here put forward in any other
+light than that of purely speculative reasoning; nevertheless, no advance
+in any direction can be made except by speculative reasoning going back to
+the first principles of things which we do know and thence deducing the
+conditions under which the same principles might be carried further and
+made to produce results hitherto unknown. It is to this method of thought
+that we owe all the advantages of civilization from matches and
+post-offices to motor-cars and aeroplanes, and we may therefore be
+encouraged to hope such speculations as the present may not be without
+their ultimate value. Relying on the maxim that Principle is not bound by
+Precedent we should not limit our expectations of the future; and if our
+speculations lead us to the conclusion that we have reached a point where
+we are not only able, but also _required_, by the law of our own being, to
+take a more active part in our personal evolution than heretofore, this
+discovery will afford us a new outlook upon life and widen our horizon with
+fresh interests and brightening hopes.
+
+If the thoughts here suggested should help any reader to clear some mental
+obstacles from his path the writer will feel that he has not written to no
+purpose. Only each reader must think out these suggestions for himself. No
+writer or lecturer can convey an idea _into_ the minds of his audience. He
+can only put it before them, and what they will make of it depends entirely
+upon themselves--assimilation is a process which no one can carry out for
+us.
+
+To the kindness of my readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in
+Australia and New Zealand, I commend this little volume, not, indeed,
+without a deep sense of its many shortcomings, but at the same time
+encouraged by the generous indulgence extended to my previous books.
+
+T.T.
+
+June, 1910.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+       I THE STARTING-POINT
+      II THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+     III THE DIVINE IDEAL
+      IV THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+       V THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+      VI THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+     VII RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+    VIII THE DÉNOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+      IX CONCLUSION
+       X THE DIVINE OFFERING
+      XI OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+
+
+
+      I say no man has ever yet been half devout enough,
+      None has ever yet adored or worship'd half enough,
+      None has begun to think how divine he himself is, and
+    how certain the future is.
+      I say that the real and permanent grandeur of these States
+    must be their religion,
+      Otherwise there is no real and permanent grandeur.
+    --WALT WHITMAN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE STARTING-POINT
+
+
+It is an old saying that "Order is Heaven's First Law," and like many other
+old sayings it contains a much deeper philosophy than appears immediately
+on the surface. Getting things into a better order is the great secret of
+progress, and we are now able to fly through the air, not because the laws
+of Nature have altered, but because we have learnt to arrange things in the
+right order to produce this result--the things themselves had existed from
+the beginning of the world, but what was wanting was the introduction of a
+Personal Factor which, by an intelligent perception of the possibilities
+contained in the laws of Nature, should be able to bring into working
+reality ideas which previous generations would have laughed at as the
+absurd fancies of an unbalanced mind. The lesson to be learnt from the
+practical aviation of the present day is that of the triumph of principle
+over precedent, of the working out of an _idea_ to its logical conclusions
+in spite of the accumulated testimony of all past experience to the
+contrary; and with such a notable example before us can we say that it is
+futile to enquire whether by the same method we may not unlock still more
+important secrets and gain some knowledge of the unseen causes which are at
+the back of external and visible conditions, and then by bringing these
+unseen causes into a better order make practical working realities of
+possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams? It is at least
+worth while taking a preliminary canter over the course, and this is all
+that this little volume professes to attempt; yet this may be sufficient to
+show the lay of the ground.
+
+Now the first thing in any investigation is to have some idea of what you
+are looking for--to have at least some notion of the general direction in
+which to go--just as you would not go up a tree to find fish though you
+would for birds' eggs. Well, the general direction in which we all want to
+go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it--we
+want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved
+conditions in our environment. However happily any of us may be
+circumstanced we can all conceive something still better, or at any rate we
+should like to make our present good permanent; and since we shall find as
+our studies advance that the prospect of increasing possibilities keeps
+opening out more and more widely before us, we may say that what we are in
+search of is the secret of getting more out of Life in a continually
+progressive degree. This means that what we are looking for is something
+personal, and that it is to be obtained by producing conditions which do
+not yet exist; in other words it is nothing less than the exercise of a
+certain creative power in the sphere of our own particular world. So, then,
+what we want is to introduce our own Personal Factor into the realm of
+unseen causes. This is a big thing, and if it is possible at all it must be
+by some sequence of cause and effect, and this sequence it is our object to
+discover. The law of Cause and Effect is one we can never get away from,
+but by carefully following it up we may find that it will lead us further
+than we had anticipated.
+
+Now, the first thing to observe is that if _we_ can succeed in finding out
+such a sequence of cause and effect as the one we are in search of,
+somebody else may find out the same creative secret also; and then, by the
+hypothesis of the case, we should both be armed with an infallible power,
+and if we wanted to employ this power against each other we should be
+landed in the "impasse" of a conflict between two powers each of which was
+irresistible. Consequently it follows that the first principle of this
+power must be Harmony. It cannot be antagonizing itself from different
+centers--in other words its operation in a simultaneous order at every
+point is the first necessity of its being. What we are in search of, then,
+is a sequence of cause and effect so universal in its nature as to include
+harmoniously all possible variations of individual expression. This primary
+necessity of the Law for which we are seeking should be carefully borne in
+mind, for it is obvious that any sequence which transgresses this primary
+essential must be contrary to the very nature of the Law itself, and
+consequently cannot be conducting us to the exercise of true creative
+power.
+
+What we are seeking, therefore, is to discover how to arrange things in
+such an order as to set in motion a train of causation that will harmonize
+our own conditions without antagonizing the exercise of a like power by
+others. This therefore means that all individual exercise of this power is
+the particular application of a universal power which itself operates
+creatively on its own account independently of these individual
+applications; and the harmony between the various individual applications
+is brought about by all the individuals bringing their own particular
+action into line with this independent creative action of the original
+power. It is in fact another application of Euclid's axiom that things
+which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another; so that though
+I may not know for what purpose some one may be using this creative power
+in Pekin, I do know that if he and I both realize its true nature, we
+cannot by any possibility be working in opposition to one another. For
+these reasons, having now some general idea of what it is we are in search
+of, we may commence our investigation by considering this common factor
+which must be at the back of all individual exercise of creative power,
+that is to say, the Generic working of the Universal Creative Principle.
+
+That such a Universal Creative Principle is at work we at once realize from
+the existence of the world around us with all its inhabitants, and the
+inter-relation of all parts of the cosmic system shows its underlying
+Unity--thus the animal kingdom depends on the vegetable, the vegetable
+kingdom on the mineral, the mineral or globe of the earth on its relation
+to the rest of the solar system, and possibly our solar system is related
+by a similar law to the distribution of other suns with their attendant
+planets throughout space. Our first glance therefore shows us that the
+All-originating Power must be in essence Unity and in manifestation
+Multiplicity, and that it manifests as Life and Beauty through the unerring
+adaptation of means to ends--that is so far as its cosmic manifestation of
+ends goes: what we want to do is to carry this manifestation still further
+by operation from an individual standpoint. To do this is precisely our
+place in the Order of Creation, but we must defer the question why we hold
+this place till later on.
+
+One of the earliest discoveries we all make is the existence of Matter. The
+bruised shins of our childhood convince us of its solidity, so now comes
+the question, Why does Matter exist? The answer is that if the form were
+not expressed in solid substance, things would be perpetually flowing into
+each other so that no identity could be maintained for a single moment. To
+this it might be replied that a condition of matter is conceivable in
+which, though in itself a plastic substance, in a fluent state, it might
+yet by the operation of will be held in any particular forms desired. The
+idea of such a condition of matter is no doubt conceivable, and when the
+fluent matter was thus held in particular forms you would have concrete
+matter just as we know it now, only with this difference, that it would
+return to its fluent state as soon as the supporting will was withdrawn.
+Now, as we shall see later on, this is precisely what matter really is,
+only the will which holds it together in concrete form is not individual
+but cosmic.
+
+In itself the Essence of Matter is precisely the fluent substance we have
+imagined, and as we shall see later on the knowledge of this fact, when
+realized in its proper order, is the basis of the legitimate control of
+mind over matter. But a world in which every individual possessed the power
+of concreting or fluxing matter at his own sweet will irrespective of any
+universal coordinating principle is altogether inconceivable--the conflict
+of wills would prevent such a world remaining in existence. On the other
+hand, if we conceive of a number of individuals each possessing this power
+and all employing it on the lines of a common cosmic unity, then the result
+would be precisely the same stable condition of matter with which we are
+familiar--this would be a necessity of fact for the masses who did not
+possess this power, and a necessity of principle for the few who did. So
+under these circumstances the same stable conditions of Nature would
+prevail as at present, varied only when the initiated ones perceived that
+the order of evolution would be furthered, and not hindered, by calling
+into action the higher laws. Such occasions would be of rare occurrence,
+and then the departure from the ordinary law would be regarded by the
+multitude as a miracle. Also we may be quite sure that no one who had
+attained this knowledge in the legitimate order would ever perform a
+"miracle" for his own personal aggrandizement or for the purpose of merely
+astonishing the beholders--to do so would be contrary to the first
+principle of the higher teaching which is that of profound reverence for
+the Unity of the All-originating Principle. The conception, therefore, of
+such a power over matter being possessed by certain individuals is in no
+way opposed to our ordinary recognition of concrete matter, and so we need
+not at present trouble ourselves to consider these exceptions.
+
+Another theory is that matter has no existence at all but is merely an
+illusion projected by our own minds. If so, then how is it that we all
+project identically similar images? On the supposition that each mind is
+independently projecting its own conception of matter a lady who goes to be
+fitted might be seen by her dressmaker as a cow. Generations of people have
+seen the Great Pyramid on the same spot; but on the supposition that each
+individual is projecting his own material world in entire independence of
+all other individuals there is no reason why any two persons should ever
+see the same thing in the same place. On the supposition of such an
+independent action by each separate mind, without any common factor binding
+them all to one particular mode of recognition, no intercourse between
+individuals would be possible--then, without the consciousness of relation
+to other individuals the consciousness of our own individuality would be
+lost, and so we should cease to have any conscious existence at all. If on
+the other hand we grant that there is, above the individual minds, a great
+Cosmic Mind which imposes upon them the necessity of all seeing the same
+image of Matter, then that image is not a projection of the individual
+minds but of the Cosmic Mind; and since the individual minds are themselves
+similar projections of the Cosmic Mind, matter is for them just as much a
+reality as their own existence. I doubt not that material substance is thus
+projected by the all-embracing Divine Mind; but so also are our own minds
+projected by it, and therefore the relation between them and matter is a
+real relation and not a merely fictitious one.
+
+I particularly wish the student to be clear on this point, that where two
+factors are projected from a common source their relation to each other
+becomes an absolute fact in respect of the factors themselves,
+notwithstanding that the power of changing that relation by substituting a
+different projection must necessarily always continue to reside in the
+originating source. To take a simple arithmetical example--by my power of
+mental projection working through my eyes and fingers I write 4 X 2. Here I
+have established a certain numerical relation which can only produce eight
+as its result. Again, I have power to change the factors and write 4 X 3,
+in which case 12 is the only possible result, and so on. Working in this
+way calculation becomes possible. But if every time I wrote 4 that figure
+possessed an independent power of setting down a different number by which
+to multiply itself, what would be the result? The first 4 I wrote might set
+down 3 as its multiplier, and the next might set down 7, and so on. Or if I
+want to make a box of a certain size and cut lengths of plank accordingly,
+if each length could capriciously change its width at a moment's notice,
+how could I ever make the box? I myself may change the shape and size of my
+box by establishing new relations between the bits of wood, but for the
+pieces of wood themselves the proportions determined by my mind must remain
+fixed quantities, otherwise no construction could take place.
+
+This is a very rough analogy, but it may be sufficient to show that for a
+cosmos to exist at all it is absolutely necessary that there should be a
+Cosmic Mind binding all individual minds to certain _generic_ unities of
+action, and so producing all things as realities and nothing as illusion.
+The importance of this conclusion will become more apparent as we advance
+in our studies.
+
+We have now got at some reason why concrete material form is a necessity of
+the Creative Process. Without it the perfect Self-recognition of Spirit
+from the Individual standpoint, which we shall presently find is the means
+by which the Creative Process is to be carried forward, would be
+impossible; and therefore, so far from matter being an illusion, it is the
+necessary channel for the self-differentiation of Spirit and its Expression
+in multitudinous life and beauty. Matter is thus the necessary Polar
+Opposite to Spirit, and when we thus recognize it in its right order we
+shall find that there is no antagonism between the two, but that together
+they constitute one harmonious whole.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+
+
+If we ask how the cosmos came into existence we shall find that ultimately
+we can only attribute it to the Self-Contemplation of Spirit. Let us start
+with the facts now known to modern physical science. All material things,
+including our own bodies, are composed of combinations of different
+chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, &c. Chemistry
+recognizes in all about seventy of these elements each with its peculiar
+affinities; but the more advanced physical science of the present day finds
+that they are all composed of one and the same ultimate substance to which
+the name of Ether has been given, and that the difference between an atom
+of iron and an atom of oxygen results only from the difference in the
+number of etheric particles of which each is composed and the rate of their
+motion within the sphere of the atom, thus curiously coming back to the
+dictum of Pythagoras that the universe has its origin in Number and Motion.
+We may therefore say that our entire solar system together with every sort
+of material substance which it contains is made up of nothing but this one
+primary substance in various degrees of condensation.
+
+Now the next step is to realize that this ether is everywhere. This is
+shown by the undulatory theory of light. Light is not a substance but is
+the effect produced on the eye by the impinging of the ripples of the ether
+upon the retina. These waves are excessively minute, ranging in length from
+1-39,000th of an inch at the red end of the spectrum to 1-57,000th at the
+violet end. Next remember that these waves are not composed of advancing
+particles of the medium but pass onwards by the push which each particle in
+the line of motion gives to the particle next to it, and then you will see
+that if there were a break of one fifty-thousandth part of an inch in the
+connecting ether between our eye and any source of light we could not
+receive light from that source, for there would be nothing to continue the
+wave-motion across the gap. Consequently as soon as we see light from any
+source however distant, we know that there must be a continuous body of
+ether between us and it. Now astronomy shows us that we receive light from
+heavenly bodies so distant that, though it travels with the incredible
+speed of 186,000 miles per second, it takes more than two thousand years to
+reach us from some of them; and as such stars are in all quarters of the
+heavens we can only come to the conclusion that the primary substance or
+ether must be universally present.
+
+This means that the raw material for the formation of solar systems is
+universally distributed throughout space; yet though we find that millions
+of suns stud the heavens, we also find vast interstellar spaces which show
+no sign of cosmic activity. Then something has been at work to start cosmic
+activity in certain areas while passing over others in which the raw
+material is equally available. What is this something? At first we might be
+inclined to attribute the development of cosmic energy to the etheric
+particles themselves, but a little consideration will show us that this is
+mathematically impossible in a medium which is equally distributed
+throughout space, for all its particles are in equilibrium and so no one
+particle possesses _per se_ a greater power of originating motion than any
+other. Consequently the initial movement must be started by something
+which, though it works on and through the particles of the primary
+substance, is not those particles themselves. It is this "Something" which
+we mean when we speak of "Spirit."
+
+Then since Spirit starts the condensation of the primary substance into
+concrete aggregation, and also does this in certain areas to the exclusion
+of others, we cannot avoid attributing to Spirit the power of Selection and
+of taking an Initiative on its own account.
+
+Here, then, we find the _initial_ Polarity of Universal Spirit and
+Universal Substance, each being the complementary of the other, and out of
+this relation all subsequent evolution proceeds. Being complementary means
+that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together
+thus make complete wholeness. Now this is just the case here. Spirit
+supplies Selection and Motion. Substance supplies something from which
+selection can be made and to which Motion can be imparted; so that it is a
+_sine qua non_ for the Expression of Spirit.
+
+Then comes the question, How did the Universal Substance get there? It
+cannot have made itself, for its only quality is inertia, therefore it must
+have come from some source having power to project it by some mode of
+action not of a material nature. Now the only mode of action not of a
+material nature is Thought, and therefore to Thought we must look for the
+origin of Substance. This places us at a point antecedent to the existence
+even of primary substance, and consequently the initial action must be that
+of the Originating Mind upon Itself, in other words, Self-contemplation.
+
+At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for both
+imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement of
+Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute
+Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension
+either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and
+space from our conception of Spirit's _initial_ Self-contemplation.
+
+This being so, Spirit's primary contemplation of itself as simply Being
+necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently,
+paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it
+present throughout all Time and Space. It is the old esoteric maxim that
+the point expands to infinitude and that infinitude is concentrated in the
+point. We start, then, with Spirit contemplating itself simply as Being.
+But to realize your being you must have consciousness, and consciousness
+can only come by the recognition of your relation to something else. The
+something else may be an external fact or a mental image; but even in the
+latter case to conceive the image at all you must mentally stand back from
+it and look at it--something like the man who was run in by the police at
+Gravesend for walking behind himself to see how his new coat fitted. It
+stands thus: if you are not conscious of something you are conscious of
+nothing, and if you are conscious of nothing, then you are unconscious, so
+that to be conscious at all you must have something to be conscious of.
+
+This may seem like an extract from "Paddy's Philosophy," but it makes it
+clear that consciousness can only be attained by the recognition of
+something which is not the recognizing _ego_ itself--in other words
+consciousness is the realization of some particular sort of _relation_
+between the cognizing subject and the cognized object; but I want to get
+away from academical terms into the speech of human beings, so let us take
+the illustration of a broom and its handle--the two together make a broom;
+that is one sort of relation; but take the same stick and put a rake-iron
+at the end of it and you have an altogether different implement. The stick
+remains the same, but the difference of what is put at the end of it makes
+the whole thing a broom or a rake. Now the thinking and feeling power is
+the stick, and the conception which it forms is the thing at the end of the
+stick, so that the quality of its consciousness will be determined by the
+ideas which it projects; but to be conscious at all it must project ideas
+of some sort.
+
+Now of one thing we may be quite sure, that the Spirit of Life must _feel
+alive_. Then to feel alive it must be conscious, and to be conscious it
+must have something to be conscious of; therefore the contemplation of
+itself as standing related to something which is not its own originating
+self _in propria persona_ is a necessity of the case; and consequently the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit can only proceed by its viewing itself as
+related to something standing out from itself, just as we must stand at a
+proper distance to see a picture--in fact the very word "existence" means
+"standing out." Thus things are called into existence or "outstandingness"
+by a power which itself does not stand out, and whose presence is therefore
+indicated by the word "subsistence."
+
+The next thing is that since in the beginning there is nothing except
+Spirit, its primary feeling of aliveness must be that of being alive _all
+over_; and to establish such a consciousness of its own universal
+livingness there must be the recognition of a corresponding _relation_
+equally extensive in character; and the only possible correspondence to
+fulfil this condition is therefore that of a universally distributed and
+plastic medium whose particles are all in perfect equilibrium, which is
+exactly the description of the Primary Substance or ether. We are thus
+philosophically led to the conclusion that Universal Substance must be
+projected by Universal Spirit as a necessary consequence of Spirit's own
+inherent feeling of Aliveness; and in this way we find that the great
+Primary Polarity of Being becomes established.
+
+From this point onward we shall find the principle of Polarity in universal
+activity. It is that relation between opposites without which no external
+Motion would be possible, because there would be nowhere to move from, and
+nowhere to move to; and without which external Form would be impossible
+because there would be nothing to limit the diffusion of substance and
+bring it into shape. Polarity, or the interaction of Active and Passive, is
+therefore the basis of all _Evolution_.
+
+This is a great fundamental truth when we get it in its right order; but
+all through the ages it has been a prolific source of error by getting it
+in its wrong order. And the wrong order consists in making Polarity the
+originating point of the Creative Process. What this misconception leads to
+we shall see later on; but since it is very widely accepted under various
+guises even at the present day it is well to be on our guard against it.
+Therefore I wish the student to see clearly that there is something which
+comes before that Polarity which gives rise to Evolution, and that this
+something is the original movement of Spirit _within itself_, of which we
+can best get an idea by calling it Self-contemplation.
+
+Now this may seem an extremely abstract conception and one with which we
+have no practical concern. I fancy I can hear the reader saying "The Lord
+only knows how the world started, and it is His business and not mine,"
+which would be perfectly true if this originating faculty were confined to
+the Cosmic Mind. But it is not, and the same action takes place in our own
+minds also, only with the difference that it is ultimately subject to that
+principle of Cosmic Unity of which I have already spoken. But, subject to
+that unifying principle, this same power of origination is in ourselves
+also, and our personal advance in evolution depends on our right use of it;
+and our use of it depends on our recognition that we ourselves give rise to
+the particular polarities which express themselves in our whole world of
+consciousness, whether within or without. For these reasons it is very
+important to realize that Evolution is not the same as Creation. It is the
+unfolding of potentialities involved in things already created, but not the
+calling into existence of what does not yet exist--_that_ is Creation.
+
+The order, therefore, which I wish the student to observe is, first the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit producing Polarity, and next Polarity
+producing Manifestation in Form--and also to realize that it is in this
+order his own mind operates as a subordinate center of creative energy.
+When the true place of Polarity is thus recognized, we shall find in it the
+explanation of all those relations of things which give rise to the whole
+world of phenomena; from which we may draw the practical inference that if
+we want to change the manifestation we must change the polarity, and to
+change the polarity we must get back to the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+But in its proper place as the root-principle of all _secondary_ causation,
+Polarity is one of those fundamental facts of which we must never lose
+sight. The term "Polarity" is adopted from electrical science. In the
+electric battery it is the connecting together of the opposite poles of
+zinc and copper that causes a current to flow from one to the other and so
+provides the energy that rings the bell. If the connection is broken there
+is no action. When you press the button you make the connection. The same
+process is repeated in respect of every sort of polarity throughout the
+universe. Circulation depends on polarity, and circulation is the
+_manifestation_ of Life, which we may therefore say depends on the
+principle of polarity. In relation to ourselves we are concerned with two
+great polarities, the polarity of Soul and Body and the polarity of Soul
+and Spirit; and it is in order that he may more clearly realize their
+working that I want the student to have some preliminary idea of Polarity
+as a general principle.
+
+The conception of the Creative Order may therefore be generalized as
+follows. The Spirit wants to enjoy the reality of its own Life--not merely
+to vegetate, but to enjoy giving--and therefore by Self-contemplation it
+projects a polar opposite, or complementary, calculated to give rise to the
+particular sort of _relation_ out of which the enjoyment of a certain mode
+of self-consciousness will necessarily spring. Let this sentence be well
+pondered over until the full extent of its significance is grasped, for it
+is the key to the whole matter Very well, then: Spirit wants to Enjoy Life,
+and so, by thinking of itself as _having_ the enjoyment which it wishes, it
+produces the conditions which, by their re-action upon itself, give rise to
+the reality of the sort of enjoyment contemplated. In more scientific
+language an opposite polarity is induced, giving rise to a current which
+stimulates a particular mode of sensation, which sensation in turn becomes
+a fresh starting-point for still further action; and in this way each
+successive stage becomes the stepping-stone to a still higher degree of
+sensation--that is, to a Fuller Enjoyment of Life.
+
+Such a conception as this presents us with a Progressive Series to which it
+is impossible to assign any limit. That the progression must be limitless
+is clear from the fact that there is never any change in the method. At
+each successive stage the Creating Power is the Self-consciousness of the
+Spirit, as realized at that stage, still reaching forward for yet further
+Enjoyment of Life, and so always keeping on repeating the _one_ Creative
+Process at an ever-rising level; and since these are the sole working
+conditions, the progress is one which logically admits of no finality. And
+this is where the importance of realizing the Singleness of the Originating
+Power comes in, for with a Duality each member would limit the other; in
+fact, Duality as the Originating Power is inconceivable, for, once more to
+quote "Paddy's Philosophy," "finality would be reached before anything was
+begun."
+
+This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,
+while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by
+stage, each stage being necessary as a preparation for the one that is to
+follow. Let us then briefly sketch the stages by which things in our world
+have got as far as they have. The interest of the enquiry lies in the fact
+that if we can once get at the principle which is producing these results,
+we may discover some way of giving it personal application.
+
+On the hypothesis of the Self-contemplation of Spirit being the originating
+power, we have found that a primary ether, or universal substance, is the
+necessary correspondence to Spirit's simple awareness of its own being. But
+though awareness of being is the necessary foundation for any further
+possibilities it is, so to say, not much to talk about. The foundation
+fact, of course, is to know that I Am; but immediately on this
+consciousness there follows the desire for Activity--I want to enjoy my I
+Am-ness by doing something with it. Translating these words into a state of
+consciousness in the Cosmic Mind they become a Law of Tendency leading to
+_localised_ activity, and, looking only at our own world, this would mean
+the condensation of the universal etheric substance into the primary nebula
+which later on becomes our solar system, this being the correspondence to
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit as passing into specific activity instead
+of remaining absorbed in simple awareness of Being. Then this
+self-recognition would lead to the conception of still more specific
+activity having its appropriate polar opposite, or material correspondence,
+in the condensation of the nebula into a solar system.
+
+Now at this stage Spirit's conception of itself is that of Activity, and
+consequently the material correspondence is Motion, as distinguished from
+the simple diffused ether which is the correspondence of mere awareness of
+Being, But what sort of motion? Is the material movement evolved at this
+stage bound to take any particular form? A little consideration will show
+us that it is. At this initial stage, the first awakening, so to say, of
+Spirit into activity, its consciousness can only be that of activity
+_absolute_; that is, not as related to any other mode of activity because
+as yet there is none, but only as related to an all-embracing Being; so
+that the only possible conception of Activity at this stage is that of
+_Self-sustained_ activity, not depending on any preceding mode of activity
+because there is none. The law of reciprocity therefore demands a similar
+self-sustained motion in the material correspondence, and mathematical
+considerations show that the only sort of motion which can sustain a
+self-supporting body moving _in vacuo_ is a rotary motion bringing the body
+itself into a spherical form. Now this is exactly what we find at both
+extremes of the material world. At the big end the spheres of the planets
+rotating on their axes and revolving round the sun; and at the little end
+the spheres of the atoms consisting of particles which, modern science
+tells us, in like manner rotate round a common center at distances which
+are astronomical as compared with their own mass. Thus the two ultimate
+units of physical manifestation, the atom and the planet, both follow the
+same law of self-sustained motion which we have found that, on _a priori_
+grounds, they ought in order to express the primary activity of Spirit. And
+we may note in passing that this rotary, or _absolute_, motion is the
+combination of the only two possible _relative_ modes of motion, namely,
+motion from a point and motion to it, that is to say centrifugal and
+centripetal motion; so that in rotary, or absolute, motion we find that
+both the polarities of motion are included, thus repeating on the purely
+mechanical side the primordial principle of the Unity including the Duality
+in itself.
+
+But the Spirit wants something more than mechanical motion, something more
+alive than the preliminary Rota, and so the first step toward
+individualized consciousness meets us in plant life. Then on the principle
+that each successive stage affords the platform for a further outlook,
+plant life is followed by animal life, and this by the Human order in which
+the liberty of selecting its own conditions is immensely extended. In this
+way the Spirit's expression of itself has now reached the point where its
+polar complementary, or Reciprocal, manifests as Intellectual Man--thus
+constituting the Fourth great stage of Spirit's Self-recognition. But the
+Creative Process cannot stop here, for, as we have seen, its root in the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit renders it of necessity an Infinite
+Progression. So it is no use asking what is its ultimate, for it has no
+ultimate--its word is "Excelsior"--ever Life and "Life more Abundant."
+Therefore the question is not as to finality where there is none, but as to
+the next step in the progression. Four kingdoms we know: what is to be the
+Fifth? All along the line the progress has been in one direction, namely,
+toward the development of more perfect Individuality, and therefore on the
+principle of continuity we may reasonably infer that the next stage will
+take us still further in the same direction. We want something more perfect
+than we have yet reached, but our ideas as to what it should be are very
+various, not to say discordant, for one person's idea of better is another
+person's idea of worse. Therefore what we want to get at is some broad
+generalization of principle which will be in advance of our past
+experiences. This means that we must look for this principle in something
+that we have not yet experienced, and the only place where we can possibly
+find principles which have not yet manifested themselves is _in gremio
+Dei_--that is, in the innermost of the Originating Spirit, or as St. John
+calls it, "in the bosom of the Father." So we are logically brought to
+personal participation in the Divine Ideal as the only principle by which
+the advance into the next stage can possibly be made. Therefore we arrive
+at the question, What is the Divine Ideal like?
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE DIVINE IDEAL
+
+
+What is the Divine Ideal? At first it might appear hopeless to attempt to
+answer such a question, but by adhering to a definite principle we shall
+find that it will open out, and lead us on, and show us things which we
+could not otherwise have seen--this is the nature of principle, and is what
+distinguishes it from mere rules which are only the application of
+principle under some particular set of conditions. We found two principles
+as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely its power
+of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as
+its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the LIVING for ever
+increasing Enjoyment of Life. Now with these three principles as the very
+essence of the All-originating Spirit to guide us, we shall, I think, be
+able to form some conception of that Divine Ideal which gives rise to the
+Fifth Stage of Manifestation of Spirit, upon which we should now be
+preparing to enter.
+
+We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a
+_reciprocal_--it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to answer
+to it; otherwise by the inherent law of mind no consciousness, and
+consequently no enjoyment, could accrue; and therefore by the law of
+continuous progression the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being
+awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes
+into existence.
+
+Such an awakening cannot proceed from a comparison of one set of existing
+conditions with another, but only from the recognition of a Power which is
+independent of all conditions, that is to say, the absolute Self-dependence
+of the Spirit. A being thus awakened would be the proper correspondence of
+the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life at a stage not only above mechanical motion
+or physical vitality, but even above intellectual perception of existing
+phenomena, that is to say at the stage where the Spirit's Enjoyment
+consists in recognizing itself as the Source of all things. The position in
+the Absolute would be, so to speak, the awakening of Spirit to the
+recognition of its own Artistic Ability. I use the word "Artistic" as more
+nearly expressing an almost unstatable idea than any other I can think of,
+for the work of the artist approaches more closely to creation _ex nihilo_
+than any other form of human activity. The work of the artist is the
+expression of the self that the artist is, while that of the scientist is
+the comparison of facts which exist independently of his own personality.
+It is true that the realm of Art is not without its methods of analysis,
+but the analysis is that of the artist's own feeling and of the causes
+which give rise to it. These are found to contain in themselves certain
+principles which are fundamental to all Art, but these principles are the
+laws of the creative action of mind rather than those of the limitations of
+matter. Now if we may transfer this familiar analogy to our conception of
+the working of the All-Originating Mind we may picture it as the Great
+Artist giving visible expression to His feeling by a process which, though
+subject to no restriction from antecedent conditions, yet works by a Law
+which is inseparable from the Feeling itself--in fact the Law _is_ the
+Feeling, and the Feeling _is_ the Law, the Law of Perfect Creativeness.
+
+Some such Self-contemplation as this is the only way in which we can
+conceive the next, or Fifth, stage of Spirit's Self-recognition as taking
+place. Having got as far as it has in the four previous stages, that is to
+the production of intellectual man as its correspondence, the next step in
+advance must be on the lines I have indicated--unless, indeed, there were a
+sudden and arbitrary breaking of the Law of Continuity, a supposition which
+the whole Creative Process up to now forbids us to entertain. Therefore we
+may picture the Fifth stage of the Self-contemplation of Spirit as its
+awakening to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability, its own absolute
+freedom of action and creative power--just as in studio parlance we say
+that an artist becomes "free of his palette." But by the always present Law
+of Reciprocity, through which alone self-consciousness can be attained,
+this Self-recognition of Spirit in the Absolute implies a corresponding
+objective fact in the world of the Relative; that is to say, the coming
+into manifestation of a being capable of realizing the Free Creative
+Artistry of the Spirit, and of recognizing the same principle in himself,
+while at the same time realizing also the _relation_ between the Universal
+Manifesting Principle and its Individual Manifestation.
+
+Such, it appears to me, must be the conception of the Divine Ideal embodied
+in the Fifth Stage of the progress of manifestation. But I would draw
+particular attention to the concluding words of the last paragraph, for if
+we miss the _relation_ between the Universal Manifesting Principle and its
+Individual Manifestation, we have failed to realize the Principle
+altogether, whether in the Universal or in the Individual--it is just their
+interaction that makes each become what it does become--and in this further
+becoming consists the progression. This relation proceeds from the
+principle I pointed out in the opening chapter which makes it necessary for
+the Universal Spirit to be always harmonious with itself; and if this Unity
+is not recognized by the individual he cannot hold that position of
+Reciprocity to the Originating Spirit which will enable it to recognize
+itself as in the Enjoyment of Life at the higher level we are now
+contemplating--rather the feeling conveyed would be that of something
+antagonistic, producing the reverse of enjoyment, thus philosophically
+bringing out the point of the Scriptural injunction, "Grieve not the
+Spirit." Also the re-action upon the individual must necessarily give rise
+to a corresponding state of inharmony, though he may not be able to define
+his feeling of unrest or to account for it. But on the other hand if the
+grand harmony of the Originating Spirit within itself is duly regarded,
+then the individual mind affords a fresh center from which the Spirit
+contemplates itself in what I have ventured to call its Artistic
+Originality--a boundless potential of Creativeness, yet always regulated by
+its own inherent Law of Unity.
+
+And this Law of the Spirit's Original Unity is a very simple one. It is the
+Spirit's necessary and basic conception of itself. A lie is a statement
+that something is, which is not. Then, since the Spirit's statement or
+conception of anything necessarily makes that thing exist, it is logically
+impossible for it to conceive a lie. Therefore the Spirit is Truth.
+Similarly disease and death are the negative of Life, and therefore the
+Spirit, as the Principle of Life, cannot embody disease or death in its
+Self-contemplation. In like manner also, since it is free to produce what
+it will, the Spirit cannot desire the presence of repugnant forms, and so
+one of its inherent Laws must be Beauty. In this threefold Law of Truth,
+Life, and Beauty, we find the whole underlying nature of the Spirit, and no
+action on the part of the individual can be at variance with the
+Originating Unity which does not contravert these fundamental principles.
+
+This it will be seen leaves the individual absolutely unfettered except in
+the direction of breaking up the fundamental harmony on which he himself,
+as included in the general creation, is dependent. This certainly cannot be
+called limitation, and we are all free to follow the lines of our own
+individuality in every other direction; so that, although the recognition
+of our relation to the Originating Spirit safeguards us from injuring
+ourselves or others, it in no way restricts our liberty of action or
+narrows our field of development. Am I, then, trying to base my action upon
+a fundamental desire for the opening out of Truth, for the increasing of
+Livingness, and for the creating of Beauty? Have I got this as an ever
+present Law of Tendency at the back of my thought? If so, then this law
+will occupy precisely the same place in My Microcosm, or personal world,
+that it does in the Macrocosm, or great world, as a power which is in
+itself formless, but which by reason of its presence necessarily impresses
+its character upon all that the creative energy forms. On this basis the
+creative energy of the Universal Mind may be safely trusted to work through
+the specializing influence of our own thought[1] and we may adopt the maxim
+"trust your desires" because we know that they are the movement of the
+Universal in ourselves, and that being based upon our fundamental
+recognition of the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is, their
+unfoldments must carry these initial qualities with them all down the line,
+and thus, in however small a degree, becomes a portion of the working of
+the Spirit in its inherent creativeness.
+
+This perpetual Creativeness of the Spirit is what we must never lose sight
+of, and that is why I want the student to grasp clearly the idea of the
+Spirit's Self-contemplation as the only possible root of the Creative
+Process. Not only at the first creation of the world, but at all times the
+plane of the innermost is that of Pure Spirit,[2] and therefore at this,
+the originating point, there is nothing else for Spirit to contemplate
+excepting itself; then this Self-contemplation produces corresponding
+manifestation, and since Self-contemplation or recognition of its own
+existence must necessarily go on continually, the corresponding
+creativeness must always be at work. If this fundamental idea be clearly
+grasped we shall see that incessant and progressive creativeness is the
+very essence and being of Spirit. This is what is meant by the
+Affirmativeness of the Spirit. It cannot _per se_ act negatively, that is
+to say uncreatively, for by the very nature of its Self-recognition such a
+negative action would be impossible. Of course if _we_ act negatively then,
+since the Spirit is always acting affirmatively, we are moving in the
+opposite direction to it; and consequently so long as we regard our own
+negative action as being affirmative, the Spirit's action must appear to us
+negative, and thus it is that all the negative conditions of the world have
+their root in negative or inverted thought: but the more we bring our
+thought into harmony with the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is,
+the less these inverted conditions will obtain, until at last they will be
+eliminated altogether. To accomplish this is our great object; for though
+the progress may be slow it will be steady if we proceed on a definite
+principle; and to lay hold of the true principle is the purpose of our
+studies. And the principle to lay hold of is the Ceaseless Creativeness of
+Spirit. This is what we mean when we speak of it as The Spirit of the
+Affirmative, and I would ask my readers to impress this term upon their
+minds. Once grant that the All-originating Spirit is thus the Spirit of the
+Pure Affirmative, and we shall find that this will lead us logically to
+results of the highest value.
+
+If, then, we keep this Perpetual and Progressive Creativeness of the Spirit
+continually in mind we may rely upon its working as surely in ourselves as
+in that great cosmic forward movement which we speak of as Evolution. It is
+the same power of Evolution working within ourselves, only with this
+difference, that in proportion as we come to realize its nature we find
+ourselves able to facilitate its progress by offering more and more
+favorable conditions for its working. We do not add to the force of the
+Power, for we are products of it and so cannot generate what generates
+_us_; but by providing suitable conditions we can more and more highly
+specialize it. This is the method of all the advance that has ever been
+made. We never create any force (_e.g._ electricity) but we provide special
+conditions under which the force manifests _itself_ in a variety of useful
+and beautiful ways, unsuspected possibilities which lay hidden in the power
+until brought to light by the cooperation of the Personal Factor.
+
+Now it is precisely the introduction[3] of this Personal Factor that
+concerns us, because to all eternity we can only recognize things from our
+own center of consciousness, whether in this world or in any other;
+therefore the practical question is how to specialize in our own case the
+_generic_ Originating Life which, when we give it a name, we call "the
+Spirit." The method of doing this is perfectly logical when we once see
+that the principle involved is that of the Self-recognition of Spirit. We
+have traced the _modus operandi_ of the Creative Process sufficiently far
+to see that the existence of the cosmos is the result of the Spirit's
+seeing itself _in_ the cosmos, and if this be the law of the whole it must
+also be the law of the part. But there is this difference, that so long as
+the normal average relation of particles is maintained the whole continues
+to subsist, no matter what position any particular particle may go into,
+just as a fountain continues to exist no matter whether any particular drop
+of water is down in the basin or at the top of the jet. This is the
+_generic_ action which keeps the race going as a whole. But the question
+is, What is going to become of ourselves? Then because the law of the whole
+is also the law of the part we may at once say that what is wanted is for
+the Spirit _to see itself in us_--in other words, to find in us the
+Reciprocal which, as we have seen, is necessary to its Enjoyment of a
+certain Quality of Consciousness. Now, the fundamental consciousness of the
+Spirit must be that of Self-sustaining Life, and for the full enjoyment of
+this consciousness there must be a corresponding _individual_ consciousness
+reciprocating it; and on the part of the individual such a consciousness
+can only arise from the recognition that his own life is identical with
+that of the Spirit--not something sent forth to wander away by itself, but
+something included in and forming part of the Greater Life. Then by the
+very conditions of the case, such a contemplation on the part of the
+individual is nothing else than the Spirit contemplating itself from the
+standpoint of the individual consciousness, and thus fulfilling the Law of
+the Creative Process under such specialized conditions as must logically
+result in the perpetuation of the individual life. It is the Law of the
+Cosmic Creative Process transferred to the individual.
+
+This, it seems to me, is the Divine Ideal: that of an Individuality which
+recognizes its Source, and recognizes also the method by which it springs
+from that Source, and which is therefore able to open up in itself a
+channel by which that Source can flow in uninterruptedly; with the result
+that from the moment of this recognition the individual lives directly from
+the Originating Life, as being himself _a special direct creation_, and not
+merely as being a member of a generic race. The individual who has reached
+this stage of recognition thus finds a principle of enduring life _within
+himself_; so then the next question is in what way this principle is likely
+to manifest itself.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+
+
+We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or
+universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a
+principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth
+proceeding _from_ the principle, that is to say, some Form in which the
+principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that, though a
+form is necessary for manifestation, _the_ form is not essential, for the
+same principle may manifest through various forms, just as electricity may
+work either through a lamp or a tram-car without in any way changing its
+inherent nature. In this way we are brought to the conclusion that the
+Life-principle must always provide itself with a body in which to function,
+though it does not follow that this body must always be of the same
+chemical constitution as the one we now possess. We might well imagine some
+distant planet where the chemical combinations with which we are familiar
+on earth did not obtain; but if the essential life-principle of any
+individual were transported thither, then by the Law of the Creative
+Process it would proceed to clothe itself with a material body drawn from
+the atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the personality thus
+produced would be quite at home there, for all his surroundings would be
+perfectly natural to him, however different the laws of Nature might be
+there from what we know here.
+
+In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two leading
+principles to which I have drawn attention--first, the power of the Spirit
+to create _ex nihilo_, and secondly, the individual's recognition of the
+basic principle of Unity giving permanence and solidity to the frame of
+Nature. By the former the self-recognizing life-principle could produce any
+sort of body it chose; and by the latter it would be led to project one in
+harmony with the natural order of the particular planet, thus making all
+the facts of that order solid realities to the individual, and himself a
+solid and natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this
+would not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and
+so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal
+Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of his
+own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded with the
+conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded just as
+harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function on any number
+of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of them. He would in all
+respects resemble the other inhabitants with one all-important exception,
+that since he had attained to unity with his Creative Principle he would
+not be tied by the laws of matter as they were.
+
+Any one who should attain to such a power could only do so by his
+realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being the
+Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own extended
+powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic principle by
+employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the natural course of
+evolution in the world where he was. He might use them to help forward the
+evolution of others in that world, but certainly never to disturb it, for
+he would always act on the maxim that "Order is Heaven's First Law."
+
+Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets but to
+get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best out of this one
+until we realize that the power which will enable us to do so is so
+absolutely universal and fundamental that its application in this world is
+precisely the same as in any other, and that is why I have stated it as a
+general proposition applicable to all worlds.
+
+The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should
+postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and the
+best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point is not in
+time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we realize that this
+Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce something out of nothing,
+and that it does this in accordance with the natural order of substance of
+the particular world in which it is working, then the spiritual ego in
+ourselves, as proceeding direct from the Universal Spirit, should be able
+first, to so harmoniously combine the working of spiritual and physical
+laws in its own body as to keep it in perfect health, secondly to carry
+this process further and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of
+old age, and thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this
+renewed body as long as the individual might desire.
+
+If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has never
+given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly exclaim
+"Tommy rot!" even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He will at once
+appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his argument being that what
+has not been in the past cannot be in the future; yet he does not apply the
+same argument to aeronautics and is quite oblivious of the fact that the
+Sacred Volume which he reverences contains promises of these very things.
+The really earnest student must never forget the maxim that "Principle is
+not bound by Precedent"--if it were we should still be primitive savages.
+
+To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that is to
+say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start with Pure
+Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to be found _in
+ourselves_, for this is what distinguishes the individual Creative Process
+from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of realizing only ONE
+Originating Power instead of two interacting powers comes in, for it means
+that we do not derive our power from any existing polarity, but that we are
+going to establish polarities which will start secondary causation on the
+lines which we thus determine. This also is where the importance comes in
+of recognizing that the only possible originating movement of spirit must
+be Self-contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to contemplate
+existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this contemplation of
+the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit from the
+standpoint of Human Individuality.
+
+Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we not
+demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is obviously
+correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only inference is
+that somewhere or other we have introduced something antagonistic to the
+fundamental principle, something not inherent in the principle itself and
+which therefore owes its presence to some action of our own. Now the error
+consists in the belief that the Creative Power is limited by the material
+in which it works. If this be assumed, then you have to calculate the
+resistances offered by the material; and since by the terms of the Creative
+Process these resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of
+calculation at all--in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and
+everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to remember that
+the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power, and that the
+interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a later stage, and is
+not creative, but only distributive--that is to say, it localizes the
+Energy already proceeding from the Single Power. This is a fundamental
+truth which should never be lost sight of. So long, however, as we fail to
+see this truth we necessarily limit the Creative Power by the material it
+works in, and in practise we do this by referring to past experience as the
+only standard of judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the
+standard of the Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a
+being of the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which
+obtain in the First or Mineral Kingdom--to use Scriptural language we are
+seeking the Living among the dead.
+
+And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is beginning to
+open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the cure of disease by
+the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily increasing in number. The
+facts are now too patent to be denied--what we want is a better knowledge
+of the power which accounts for them. And if this beginning is now with us,
+by what reason can we limit it? The difference between the healing of
+disease and the renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life
+is only a difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual
+experience of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which
+we can logically set no limits.
+
+If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we shall
+see why we have hitherto had such small results.
+
+    Spirit creates by Self-contemplation;
+    Therefore, What it contemplates itself
+      as being, that it becomes.
+    You are individualized Spirit;
+    Therefore, What you contemplate as
+    the Law of your being becomes the
+    Law of your being.
+
+Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the Material
+reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it, and you impress
+this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in yourself. Of course you cannot
+alter its inherent nature, but you cause it to work under negative
+conditions and thus make it produce negative results so far as you yourself
+are concerned.
+
+But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in the
+very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in yourself;
+and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically non-existent in
+the Creative Process, because they are products of it and not causes--look
+at things in this way and you will impress a corresponding conception upon
+the Spirit which, by the Law of Reciprocity, thus enters into
+Self-contemplation on _these_ lines from the standpoint of your own
+individuality; and then by the nature of the Creative Process a
+corresponding externalization is bound to take place. Thus our initial
+question, How did anything come into existence at all, brings us to the
+recognition of a Law of Life which we may each specialize for ourselves;
+and in the degree to which we specialize it we shall find the Creative
+Principle at work within us building up a healthier and happier personality
+in mind, body, and circumstances.
+
+Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit
+itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What distinguishes
+the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The Spirit is the
+Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form in which this
+principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by the Spirit of
+substance coordinate with the natural order of the plane on which the
+vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be built up comformably to
+that order. This building up is what we speak of as Growth; and since the
+principle which causes the growth is the individualized Spirit, the rate at
+which the growth will go on will depend on the amount of vitalizing energy
+the Spirit puts into it, and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on
+the degree in which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own
+livingness, and finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the
+quality of the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit
+as reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It nothing
+else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit proceeding from an
+individual and personal center. We must therefore not omit the Law of
+Growth in the vehicle from our conception of the working of the Spirit. As
+a matter of fact the vehicle has nothing to say in the matter for it is
+simply a projection from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation
+will be slow or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's
+vitalizing conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception
+that would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present
+we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power--not as thinking it
+by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but as being far slower
+in operation now than we hope to see it in the future--and so we must not
+allow ourselves to be discouraged, but must hold our thought knowing that
+it is doing its creative work, and that the corresponding growth is slowly
+but surely taking place--thus following the Divine precept that men ought
+always to pray and not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these
+new lines our confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we
+shall be less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus
+the hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and
+more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.
+
+If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we should
+remember its threefold nature:--First the General Life-Principle, secondly
+the Localization of this principle in the Individual, and thirdly the
+Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected by the individualized spirit with
+more or less energy. It is a sequence of progressive condensation from the
+Undifferentiated Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost vehicle--a
+truth enshrined in the esoteric maxim that "Matter is Spirit at its lowest
+level."
+
+The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of Nature
+on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore perfectly
+different from forms temporarily consolidated out of material drawn from
+other living organisms. These latter phantasmal bodies are held together
+only by an act of concentrated volition, and can therefore only be
+maintained for a short time and with effort; while the body which the
+individualized spirit, or ego, builds for itself is produced by a perfectly
+natural process and does not require any effort to sustain it, since it is
+kept in touch with the whole system of the planet by the continuous and
+effortless action of the individual's sub-conscious mind.
+
+This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the body
+comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the aggregate of
+suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and if this suggestion
+is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws of the planet then a
+corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind will take place, a process
+which, so far from implying any effort, consists rather in a restful sense
+of unity with Nature.[4]
+
+And if to this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal
+Sub-conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the
+sub-conscious mind does in ourselves--if to this there be superadded a
+sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the Soul of Nature
+flows, then through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such
+specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our past
+experiences without in any way violating the order of the universe. The Old
+Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life working under
+constricted conditions: the New Law is the manifestation of the same
+Principle working under expanding conditions. Thus it is that though God
+never changes we are said to "increase with the increase of God."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+
+
+I have already pointed out that the presence of a single all-embracing
+Cosmic Mind is an absolute necessity for the existence of any creation
+whatever, for the reason that if each individual mind were an entirely
+separate center of perception, not linked to all other minds by a common
+ground of underlying mentality independent of all individual action, then
+no two persons would see the same thing at the same time, in fact no two
+individuals would be conscious of living in the same world. If this were
+the case there would be no common standard to which to refer our
+sensations; and, indeed, coming into existence with no consciousness of
+environment except such as we could form by our own unaided thought, and
+having by the hypothesis no standard by which to form our thoughts, we
+could not form the conception of any environment at all, and consequently
+could have no recognition of our own existence. The confusion of thought
+involved even in the attempt to state such a condition shows it to be
+perfectly inconceivable, for the simple reason that it is
+self-contradictory and self-destructive. On this account it is clear that
+our own existence and that of the world around us necessarily implies the
+presence of a Universal Mind acting on certain _fixed lines of its own_
+which establish the basis for the working of all individual minds. This
+paramount action of the Universal Mind thus sets an unchangeable standard
+by which all individual mental action must eventually be measured, and
+therefore our first concern is to ascertain what this standard is and to
+make it the basis of our own action.
+
+But if the independent existence of a common standard of reference is
+necessary for our self-recognition simply as inhabitants of the world we
+live in, then _a fortiori_ a common standard of reference is necessary for
+our recognition of the unique place we hold in the Creative Order, which is
+that of introducing the Personal Factor without which the possibilities
+contained in the great Cosmic Laws would remain undeveloped, and the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit could never reach those infinite unfoldments
+of which it is logically capable.
+
+The evolution of the Personal Factor is therefore the point with which we
+are most concerned. As a matter of fact, whatever theories we may hold to
+the contrary, we do all realize the same cosmic environment in the same
+way; that is to say, our minds all act according to certain generic laws
+which underlie all our individual diversities of thought and feeling. This
+is so because we are made that way and cannot help it. But with the
+Personal Factor the case is different. A standard is no less necessary, but
+we are not so made as to conform to it automatically. The very conception
+of automatic conformity to a _personal_ standard is self-contradictory, for
+it does away with the very thing that constitutes personality, namely
+freedom of volition, the use of the powers of Initiative and Selection. For
+this reason conformity to the Standard of Personality must be a matter of
+choice, which amounts to the same thing as saying that it rests with each
+individual to form his own conception of a standard of Personality; but
+which liberty, however, carries with it the inevitable result that we shall
+bring into manifestation the _conditions_ corresponding to the sort of
+personality we accept as our normal standard.
+
+I would draw attention to the words "Normal Standard." What we shall
+eventually attain is, not what we merely wish, but what we regard as
+normal. The reason is that since we sub-consciously know ourselves to be
+based upon the inherent Law of the Universal Mind we feel, whether we can
+reason it out or not, that we cannot force the All-producing Mind to work
+contrary to its own inherent qualities, and therefore we intuitively
+recognize that we cannot transcend the sort of personality which is normal
+according to the Law of Universal Mind. This thought is always at the back
+of our mind and we cannot get away from it for the simple reason that it is
+inherent in our mental constitution, because our mind is itself a product
+of the Creative Process; and to suppose ourselves transcending the
+possibilities contained in the Originating Mind would involve the absurdity
+of supposing that we can get the greater out of the less.
+
+Nevertheless there are some who try to do so, and their position is as
+follows. They say in effect, I want to transcend the standard of humanity
+as I see it around me. But this is the normal standard according to the Law
+of the Universe, therefore I have to get above the Law of the Universe.
+Consequently I cannot draw the necessary power from that Law, and so there
+is nowhere else to get it except from myself. Thus the aspirant is thrown
+back upon his own individual will as the ultimate power, with the result
+that the onus lies on him of concentrating a force sufficient to overcome
+the Law of the Universe. There is thus continually present to him a
+suggestion of struggle against a tremendous opposing force, and as a
+consequence he is continually subjecting himself to a strain which grows
+more and more intense as he realizes the magnitude of the force against
+which he is contending. Then as he begins to realize the inequality of the
+struggle he seeks for extraneous aid, and so he falls back on various
+expedients, all of which have this in common that they ultimately amount to
+invoking the assistance of other individualities, not seeing that this
+involves the same fallacy which has brought him to his present straits, the
+fallacy, namely, of supposing that any individuality can develop a power
+greater than that of the source from which itself proceeds. The fallacy is
+a radical one; and therefore all efforts based upon it are fore-doomed to
+ultimate failure, whether they take the form of reliance on personal force
+of will, or magical rites, or austerity practised against the body, or
+attempts by abnormal concentration to absorb the individual in the
+universal, or the invocation of spirits, or any other method--the same
+fallacy is involved in them all, that the less is larger than the greater.
+
+Now the point to be noted is that the idea of transcending the present
+conditions of humanity does not necessarily imply the idea of transcending
+the normal law of humanity. The mistake we have hitherto made has been in
+fixing the Standard of Personality too low and in taking our past
+experiences as measuring the ultimate possibilities of the race. Our
+liberty consists in our ability to form our own conception of the Normal
+Standard of Personality, only subject to the conditions arising out of the
+inherent Law of the underlying Universal Mind; and so the whole thing
+resolves itself into the question, What are those fundamental conditions?
+The Law is that we cannot transcend the Normal; therefore comes the
+question, What is the Normal?
+
+I have endeavored to answer this question in the chapter on the Divine
+Ideal, but since this is the crucial point of the whole subject we may
+devote a little further attention to it. The Normal Standard of Personality
+must necessarily be the reproduction in Individuality of what the Universal
+Mind is in itself, because, by the nature of the Creative Process, this
+standard results from Spirit's Self-contemplation at the stage where its
+recognition is turned toward its own power of Initiative and Selection. At
+this stage Spirit's Self-recognition has passed beyond that of
+Self-expression through a mere Law of Averages into the recognition of what
+I have ventured to call its Artistic Ability; and as we have seen that
+Self-recognition at any stage can only be attained by the realization of a
+_relation_ stimulating that particular sort of consciousness, it follows
+that for the purpose of this further advance expression through individuals
+of a corresponding type is a necessity. Then by the Law of Reciprocity such
+beings must possess powers similar to those contemplated in itself by the
+Originating Spirit, in other words they must be in their own sphere the
+image and likeness of the Spirit as it sees itself.
+
+Now we have seen that the Creating Spirit necessarily possesses the powers
+of Initiative and Selection. These we may call its _active_ properties--the
+summing up of what it _does_. But what any power does depends on what it
+_is_, for the simple reason that it cannot give out what it does not
+contain; therefore at the back of the initiative and selective power of the
+Spirit we must find what the Spirit _is_, namely, what are its
+_substantive_ properties. To begin with it must be Life. Then because it is
+Life it must be Love, because as the undifferentiated Principle of Life it
+cannot do otherwise than tend to the fuller development of life in each
+individual, and the pure motive of giving greater enjoyment of life is
+Love. Then because it is Life guided by Love it must also be Light, that is
+to say, the primary all-inclusive perception of boundless manifestations
+yet to be. Then from this proceeds Power, because there is no opposing
+force at the level of Pure Spirit; and therefore Life urged forward by Love
+or the desire for recognition, and by Light or the pure perception of the
+Law of Infinite Possibility, must necessarily produce Power, for the simple
+reason that under these conditions it could not stop short of action, for
+that would be the denial of the Life, Love, and Light which it is. Then
+because the Spirit is Life, Love, Light, and Power, it is also Peace, again
+for a very simple reason, that being the Spirit of the Whole it cannot set
+one part in antagonism against another, for that would be to destroy the
+wholeness. Next the Spirit must be Beauty, because on the same principle of
+Wholeness it must duly proportion every part to every other part, and the
+due proportioning of all parts is beauty. And lastly the Spirit must be
+Joy, because, working on these lines, it cannot do otherwise than find
+pleasure in the Self-expression which its works afford it, and in the
+contemplation of the limitlessness of the Creative Process by which each
+realized stage of evolution, however excellent, is still the stepping-stone
+to something yet more excellent, and so on in everlasting progression.
+
+For these reasons we may sum up the Substantive Being of the
+All-originating Spirit as Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy;
+and its Active Power as that of Initiative and Selection. These, therefore,
+constitute the basic laws of the underlying universal mentality which sets
+the Standard of Normal Personality--a standard which, when seen in this
+light, transcends the utmost scope of our thought, for it is nothing else
+than the Spirit of the Infinite Affirmative conceived in Human Personality.
+This standard is therefore that of the Universal Spirit itself reproduced
+in Human Individuality by the same Law of Reciprocity which we have found
+to be the fundamental law of the Creative Process--only now we are tracing
+the action of this Law in the Fifth Kingdom instead of in the Fourth.
+
+This Standard, then, we may call the Universal Principle of Humanity, and
+having now traced the successive steps by which it is reached from the
+first cosmic movement of the Spirit in the formation of the primary nebula,
+we need not go over the old ground again, and may henceforward take this
+Divine Principle of Humanity as our Normal Standard and make it the
+starting point for our further evolution. But how are we to do this? Simply
+by using the one method of Creative Process, that is, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. We now know ourselves to be Reciprocals of
+the Divine Spirit, centers in which It finds a fresh standpoint for
+Self-contemplation; and so the way to rise to the heights of this Great
+Pattern is by contemplating it as the Normal Standard of our own
+Personality.
+
+And be it noted that the Pattern thus set before us is Universal. It is the
+embodiment of all the great principles of the Affirmative, and so in no way
+interferes with our own particular individuality--_that_ is something built
+up upon this foundation, something additional affording the differentiating
+medium through which this unifying Principle finds variety of expression,
+therefore we need be under no apprehension lest by resting upon this
+Pattern we should become less ourselves. On the contrary the recognition of
+it sets us at liberty to become more fully ourselves because we know that
+we are basing our development, not upon the strength of our own unaided
+will, nor yet upon any sort of extraneous help, but upon the Universal Law
+itself, manifesting through us in the proper sequence of the Creative
+Order; so that we are still dealing with Universal principles, only the
+principle by which we are now working is the Universal Principle of
+Personality.
+
+I wish the student to get this idea very clearly because this is really the
+crux of the passage from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. The great
+problem of the future of evolution is the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. The reason why this is so is very simple when we see it. To take a
+thought from my own "Doré Lectures" we may put it in this way. In former
+days no one thought of building ships of iron because iron does not float;
+yet now ships are seldom built of anything else, though the relative
+specific gravities of iron and water remain unchanged. What has changed is
+the Personal Factor. It has expanded to a more intelligent perception of
+the law of flotation, and we now see that wood floats and iron sinks, both
+of them by the same principle working under opposite conditions, the law,
+namely, that anything will float which bulk for bulk is lighter than the
+volume of water displaced by it, so that by including in our calculations
+the displacement of the vessel as well as the specific gravity of the
+material, we now make iron float by the very same law by which it sinks.
+This example shows that the function of the Personal Factor is to analyze
+the manifestations of Law which are spontaneously afforded by Nature and to
+discover the Universal Affirmative Principle which lies hidden within them,
+and then by the exercise of our powers of Initiative and Selection to
+provide such specialized conditions as will enable the Universal Principle
+to work in perfectly new ways transcending anything in our past experience.
+This is how all progress has been achieved up to the present; and is the
+way in which all progress must be achieved in the future, only for the
+purpose of evolution, or growth from within, we must transfer the method to
+the spiritual plane.
+
+The function, then, of the Personal Factor in the Creative Order is to
+provide specialized conditions by the use of the powers of Selection and
+Initiative, a truth indicated by the maxim "Nature unaided fails"; but the
+difficulty is that if enhanced powers were attained by the whole population
+of the world without any common basis for their use, their promiscuous
+exercise could only result in chaotic confusion and the destruction of the
+entire race. To introduce the creative power of the Individual and at the
+same time avoid converting it into a devastating flood is the great problem
+of the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. For this purpose
+it becomes necessary to have a Standard of the Personal Factor independent
+of any individual conceptions, just as we found that in order for us to
+attain self-consciousness at all it was a necessity that there should be a
+Universal Mind as the _generic_ basis of all individual mentality; only in
+regard to the generic build of mind the conformity is necessarily
+automatic, while in regard to the specializing process the fact that the
+essence of that process is Selection and Initiative renders it impossible
+for the conformity to the Standard of Personality to be automatic--the very
+nature of the thing makes it a matter of individual choice.
+
+Now a Standard of Personality independent of individual conceptions must be
+the _essence_ of Personality as distinguished from individual
+idiosyncrasies, and can therefore be nothing else than the Creative Life,
+Love, Beauty, etc., viewed as a Divine Individuality, by identifying
+ourselves with which we eliminate all possibility of conflict with other
+personalities based on the same fundamental recognition; and the very
+universality of this Standard allows free play to all our particular
+idiosyncrasies while at the same time preventing them from antagonizing the
+fundamental principles to which we have found that the Self-contemplation
+of the Originating Spirit must necessarily give rise. In this way we attain
+a Standard of Measurement for our own powers. If we recognize no such
+Standard our development of spiritual powers, our discovery of the immense
+possibilities hidden in the inner laws of Nature and of our own being, can
+only become a scourge to ourselves and others, and it is for this reason
+that these secrets are so jealously guarded by those who know them, and
+that over the entrance to the temple are written the words "Eskato
+Bebeloi"--"Hence ye Profane."
+
+But if we recognize and accept this Standard of Measurement then we need
+never fear our discovery of hidden powers either in ourselves or in Nature,
+for on this basis it becomes impossible for us to misuse them. Therefore it
+is that all systematic teaching on these subjects begins with instruction
+regarding the Creative Order of the Cosmos, and then proceeds to exhibit
+the same Order as reproduced on the plane of Personality and so affording a
+fresh starting point for the Creative Process by the introduction of
+Individual Initiative and Selection. This is the doctrine of the Macrocosm
+and the Microcosm; and the transition from the generic working of the
+Creative Spirit in the Cosmos to its specific working in the Individual is
+what is meant by the doctrine of the Octave.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+
+
+We have now got some general idea as to the place of the personal factor in
+the Creative Order, and so the next question is, How does this affect
+ourselves? The answer is that if we have grasped the fundamental fact that
+the moving power in the Creative Process is the self-contemplation of
+Spirit, and if we also see that, because we are miniature reproductions of
+the Original Spirit, our contemplation of It becomes Its contemplation of
+Itself from the standpoint of our own individuality--if we have grasped
+these fundamental conceptions, then it follows that our process for
+developing power is to contemplate the Originating Spirit as the source of
+the power we want to develop. And here we must guard against a mistake
+which people often make when looking to the Spirit as the source of power.
+We are apt to regard it as sometimes giving and sometimes withholding
+power, and consequently are never sure which way it will act. But by so
+doing we make Spirit contemplate itself as having no definite action at
+all, as a plus and minus which mutually cancel each other, and therefore by
+the Law of the Creative Process no result is to be expected. The mistake
+consists in regarding the power as something separate from the Spirit;
+whereas by the analysis of the Creative Process which we have now made we
+see that the Spirit itself _is_ the power, because the power comes into
+existence only through Spirit's self-contemplation. Then the logical
+inference from this is that by contemplating the Spirit _as_ the power, and
+_vice versa_ by contemplating the power _as_ the Spirit, a similar power is
+being generated in ourselves.
+
+Again an important conclusion follows from this, which is that to generate
+any _particular sort_ of power we should contemplate it in the abstract
+rather than as applied to the particular set of circumstances we have in
+hand. The circumstances indicate the sort of power we want but they do not
+help us to generate it; rather they impress us with a sense of something
+contrary to the power, something which has to be overcome by it, and
+therefore we should endeavor to dwell on the power _in itself_, and so come
+into touch with it in its limitless infinitude.
+
+It is here that we begin to find the benefit of a Divine Standard of Human
+Individuality. That also is an Infinite Principle, and by identifying
+ourselves with it we bring to bear upon the abstract conception of infinite
+Impersonal Power a corresponding conception of Infinite Personality, so
+that we thus import the Personal Factor which is able _to use_ the Power
+without imposing any strain upon ourselves. We know that by the very nature
+of the Creative Process we are one with the Originating Spirit and
+therefore one with all the principles of its Being, and consequently one
+with its Infinite Personality, and therefore our contemplation of it as the
+Power which we want gives us the power to use that Power.
+
+This is the Self-contemplation of Spirit employed from the individual
+standpoint for the generating of power. Then comes the application of the
+power thus generated. But there is only one Creative Process, that of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit, and therefore the way to use this process for
+the application of the power is to contemplate ourselves as surrounded by
+the conditions which we want to produce. This does not mean that we are to
+lay down a hard and fast pattern of the conditions and strenuously endeavor
+to compel the Power to conform its working to every detail of our mental
+picture--to do so would be to hinder its working and to exhaust ourselves.
+What we are to dwell upon is the idea of an Infinite Power producing the
+happiness we desire, and because this Power is also the Forming Power of
+the universe trusting it to give that form to the conditions which will
+most perfectly react upon us to produce the particular state of
+consciousness desired.
+
+Thus neither on the side of in-drawing nor of out-giving is there any
+constraining of the Power, while in both cases there is an initiative and
+selective action on the part of the individual--for the generating of
+power he takes the initiative of invoking it by contemplation, and he makes
+selection of the sort of power to invoke; while on the giving-out side he
+makes selection of the purpose for which the Power is to be employed, and
+takes the initiative by his thought of directing the Power to that purpose.
+He thus fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Creative Process by
+exercising Spirit's inherent faculties of initiative and selection by means
+of its inherent method, namely by Self-contemplation. The whole action is
+identical in kind with that which produces the cosmos, and it is now
+repeated in miniature for the particular world of the individual; only we
+must remember that this miniature reproduction of the Creative Process is
+based upon the great fundamental principles inherent in the Universal Mind,
+and cannot be dissociated from them without involving a conception of the
+individual which will ultimately be found self-destructive because it cuts
+away the foundation on which his individuality rests.
+
+It will therefore be seen that any individuality based upon the fundamental
+Standard of Personality thus involved in the Universal Mind has reached the
+basic principle of union with the Originating Spirit itself, and we are
+therefore correct in saying that union is attained through, or by means of,
+this Standard Personality. This is a great truth which in all ages has been
+set forth under a variety of symbolic statements; often misunderstood, and
+still continuing to be so, though owing to the inherent vitality of the
+idea itself even a partial apprehension of it produces a corresponding
+measure of good results. This falling short has been occasioned by the
+failure to recognize an Eternal Principle at the back of the particular
+statements--in a word the failure to see what they were talking about. All
+_principles_ are eternal in themselves, and this is what distinguishes them
+from their particular manifestations as laws determined by temporary and
+local conditions.
+
+If then, we would reach the root of the matter we must penetrate through
+all verbal statements to an Eternal Principle which is as active now as
+ever in the past, and which is as available to ourselves as to any who have
+gone before us. Therefore it is that when we discern an Eternal and
+Universal Principle of Human Personality as necessarily involved in the
+Essential Being of the Originating Universal Spirit--_Filius in gremio
+Patris_--we have discovered the true Normal Standard of Personality. Then
+because this standard is nothing else than the principle of Personality
+expanded to infinitude, there is no limit to the expansion which we
+ourselves may attain by the operation in us of this principle; and so we
+are never placed in a position of antagonism to the true law of our being,
+but on the contrary the larger and more fundamental our conception of
+personal development the greater will be the fulfilment which we give to
+the Law. The Normal Standard of Personality is found to be itself the Law
+of the Creative Process working at the personal level; and it cannot be
+subject to limitation for the simple reason that the process being that of
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit, no limits can possibly be assigned to
+this contemplation.
+
+We need, therefore, never be afraid of forming too high an idea of human
+possibilities provided always that we take this standard as the foundation
+on which to build up the edifice of our personality. And we see that this
+standard is no arbitrary one but simply the Expression in Personality of
+the ONE all-embracing Spirit of the Affirmative; and therefore the only
+limitation implied by conformity to it is that of being prevented from
+running on lines the opposite of those of the Creative Process, that is to
+say, from calling into action causes of disintegration and destruction. In
+the truly Constructive Order, therefore, the Divine Standard of Personality
+is as really the basis of the development of specific personality as the
+Universal Mind is the necessary basis of generic mentality; and just as
+without this generic ultimate of Mind we should none of us see the same
+world at the same time, and in fact have no consciousness of existence, so
+apart from this Divine Standard of Personality it is equally impossible for
+us to specialize the generic law of our being so as to develop all the
+glorious possibilities that are latent in it.
+
+Only we must never forget the difference between these two statements of
+the Universal Law--the one is cosmic and generic, common to the whole race,
+whether they know it or not, a Standard to which we all conform
+automatically by the mere fact of being human beings; while the other is a
+personal and individual Standard, automatic conformity to which is
+impossible because that would imply the loss of those powers of Initiative
+and Selection which are the very essence of Personality; so that this
+Standard necessarily implies a personal selection of it in preference to
+other conceptions of an antagonistic nature.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+
+
+The steady following up of the successive stages of the Creative Process
+has led us to the recognition of an Individuality in the All-creating
+Spirit itself, but an Individuality which is by its very nature Universal,
+and so cannot be departed from without violating the essential principles
+on which the further expansion of our own individuality depends. At the
+same time it is strictly _individual_, for it is the Spirit of
+Individuality, and is thus to be distinguished from that merely _generic_
+race-personality which makes us human beings at all. Race-personality is of
+course the necessary _basis_ for the development of this Individuality; but
+if we do not see that it is only the preliminary to further evolution, any
+other conception of our personality as members of the race will prevent our
+advance toward our proper position in the Creative Order, which is that of
+introducing the Personal Factor by the exercise of our individual power of
+initiative and selection.
+
+It is on this account that Race-thought, simply as such, is opposed to the
+attempt of the individual to pass into a higher order of life. It limits
+him by strong currents of negative suggestion based on the fallacy that the
+perpetuation of the race requires the death of the individual;[5] and it is
+only when the individual sees that this is not true, and that his race-
+nature constitutes the ground out of which his new Individuality is to be
+formed, that he becomes able to oppose the negative power of race-thought.
+He does this by destroying it with its own weapon, that is, by finding in
+the race-nature itself the very material to be used by the Spirit for
+building-up the New Man. This is a discovery on the spiritual plane
+equivalent to the discovery on the physical plane that we can make iron
+float by the same law by which it sinks. It is the discovery that what we
+call the mortal part of us is capable of being brought under a higher
+application of the Universal Law of Life, which will transmute it into an
+immortal principle. When we see what we call the mortal part of us in this
+light we can employ the very principle on which the negative race-thought
+is founded as a weapon for the destruction of that thought in our own
+minds.
+
+The basis of the negative race-thought is the idea that physical death is
+an essential part of the Normal Standard of Personality, and that the body
+is composed of so much neutral material with which death can do what it
+likes. But it is precisely this neutrality of matter that makes it just as
+amenable to the Law of Life as to the Law of Death--it is simply neutral
+and not an originating power on either side; so then when we realize that
+our Normal Standard of Personality is not subject to death, but is the
+Eternal Essence and Being of Life itself, then we see that this neutrality
+of matter--its inability to make selection or take initiative on its own
+account--is just what makes it the plastic medium for the expression of
+Spirit in ourselves.
+
+In this way the generic or race-mind in the individual becomes the
+instrument through which the specializing power of the Spirit works toward
+the building up of a personality based upon the truly Normal Standard of
+Individuality which we have found to be inherent in the All-originating
+Spirit itself: and since the whole question is that of the introduction of
+the factor of personal individuality into the creative order of causation,
+this cannot be done by depriving the individual of what makes him a person
+instead of a thing, namely, the power of conscious initiative and
+selection.
+
+For this reason the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth
+cannot be forced upon the race either by a Divine fiat or by the generic
+action of cosmic law, for it is a _specialising_ of the cosmic law which
+can only be effected by _personal_ initiative and selection, just as iron
+can only be made to float under certain specialized conditions; and
+consequently the passage from the Fourth into the Fifth Kingdom is a
+strictly individual process which can only be brought about by a personal
+perception of what the normal standard of the New Individuality really is.
+This can only be done by the active laying aside of the old race-standard
+and the conscious adoption of the new one. The student will do well to
+consider this carefully, for it explains why the race cannot receive the
+further evolution simply as a race; and also it shows that our further
+evolution is not into a state of less activity but of greater, not into
+being less alive but more alive, not into being less ourselves but more
+ourselves; thus being just the opposite of those systems which present the
+goal of existence as re-absorption into the undifferentiated Divine
+essence. On the contrary our further evolution is into greater degrees of
+conscious activity than we have ever yet known, because it implies our
+development of greater powers as the consequence of our clearer perception
+of our true relation to the All-originating Spirit. It is the recognition
+that we may, and should, measure ourselves by this New Standard instead of
+by the old race-standard that constitutes the real New Thought. The New
+Thought which gives New Life to the individual will never be realized so
+long as we think that it is merely the name of a particular sect, or that
+it is to be found in the mechanical observance of a set of rules laid down
+for us by some particular teacher. It is a New Fact in the experience of
+the individual, the _reason_ for which is indeed made clear to him through
+intellectual perception of the real nature of the Creative Process, but
+which can become an actual experience only by habitual personal intercourse
+with that Divine Spirit which is the Life, Love and Beauty that are at the
+back of the Creative Process and find expression through it.
+
+From this intercourse new thoughts will continually flow in, all of them
+bearing that vivifying element which is inherent in their source, and the
+individual will then proceed to work out these new ideas with the knowledge
+that they have their origin in the selection and initiative power of the
+All-creating Spirit itself, and in this way by combined meditation and
+action he will find himself advancing into increasing light, liberty and
+usefulness. The advance may be almost imperceptible from one day to
+another, but it will be perceptible at longer intervals, and the one who is
+thus moving forward with the Spirit of God will on looking back at any time
+always find that he is getting more livingness out of life than he was a
+year previously. And this without strenuous effort, for he is not having to
+manufacture the power from his own resources but only to _receive_ it--and
+as for _using_ it, that is only the exercise of the power itself. So
+following on these lines you will find that Rest and Power are identical;
+and so you get the real New Thought which grows in Newness every day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE DÉNOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+
+
+Then comes the question, What should logically be the dénouement of the
+progression we have been considering? Let us briefly recapitulate the steps
+of the series. Universal Spirit by Self-contemplation evolves Universal
+Substance. From this it produces cosmic creation as the expression of
+itself as functioning in Space and Time. Then from this initial movement it
+proceeds to more highly specialized modes of Self-contemplation in a
+continually ascending scale, for the simple reason that self-contemplation
+admits of no limits and therefore each stage of self-recognition cannot be
+other than the starting-point for a still more advanced mode of
+self-contemplation, and so on _ad infinitum_. Thus there is a continuous
+progress toward more and more highly specialized forms of life, implying
+greater liberty and wider scope for enjoyment as the capacity of the
+individual life corresponds to a higher degree of the contemplation of
+Spirit; and in this way evolution proceeds till it reaches a level where it
+becomes impossible to go any further except by the exercise of conscious
+selection and initiative on the part of the individual, while at the same
+time conforming to the universal principles of which evolution is the
+expression.
+
+Now ask yourself in what way individual selection and initiative would be
+likely to act as expressing the Originating Spirit itself? Given the
+knowledge on the part of the individual that he is able by his power of
+initiative and selection to draw directly upon the All-originating Spirit
+of Life, what motive could he have for not doing so? Therefore, granted
+such a perfect recognition, we should find the individual holding precisely
+the same place in regard to his own individual world that the
+All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos; subject only to the same Law of
+Love, Beauty, &c., which we found to be necessarily inherent in the
+Creative Spirit--a similarity which would entirely prevent the individual
+from exercising his otherwise limitless powers in any sort of antagonism to
+the Spirit of the Great Whole.
+
+At the same time the individual would be quite aware that he was not the
+Universal Spirit _in propria persona_, but that he was affording expression
+to it through his individuality. Now Expression is impossible except
+through Form, and therefore form of some sort is a necessity of
+individuality. It is just here, then, that we find the importance of that
+principle of Harmony with Environment of which I spoke earlier, the
+principle in accordance with which a person who had obtained complete
+control of matter, if he wished to transport himself to some other planet,
+would appear there in perfect conformity with all the laws of matter that
+obtained in that world; though, of course, not subject to any limitation of
+the Life Principle in himself. He would exhibit the laws of matter as
+rendered perfect by the Law of Originating Life. But if any one now living
+on this earth were thus perfectly to realize the Law of Life he would be in
+precisely the same position _here_ as our imaginary visitor to another
+planet--in other words the dénouement of the Law of Life is not the putting
+off of the body, but its inclusion as part of the conscious life of the
+Spirit.
+
+This does not imply any difference in the molecular structure of the body
+from that of other men, for by the principle of Harmony of which I have
+just spoken, it would be formed in strict accordance with the laws of
+matter on the particular planet; though it would not be subject to the
+limitations resulting from the average man's non-recognition of the power
+of the Spirit. The man who had thus fully entered into the Fifth Kingdom
+would recognize that, in its relation to the denser modes of matter his
+body was of a similar dense mode. That would be its relation to external
+environment as seen by others. But since the man now knew _himself_ as not
+belonging to these denser modes of manifestation, but as an
+individualization of Primary Spirit, he would see that relatively to
+himself all matter was Primary Substance, and that from this point of view
+any condensations of that substance into atoms, molecules, tissues, and the
+like counted for nothing--for him the body would be simply Primary
+Substance entirely responsive to his will. Yet his reverence for the Law of
+Harmony would prevent any disposition to play psychic pranks with it, and
+he would use his power over the body only to meet actual requirements.
+
+In this way, then, we are led to the conclusion that eternal life in an
+immortal physical body is the logical dénouement of our evolution; and if
+we reflect that, by the conditions of the case, the owners of such bodies
+could at will either transport themselves to other worlds or put off the
+physical body altogether and remain in the purely subjective life while
+still retaining the power to reclothe themselves in flesh whenever they
+chose, we shall see that this dénouement of evolution answers all possible
+questions as to the increase of the race, the final destruction of the
+planet, and the like.
+
+This, then, is the ultimate which we should keep in view; but the fact
+remains that, though there may be hidden ones who have thus attained, the
+bulk of mankind have not, and that the common lot of humanity is to go
+through the change which we call death. In broad philosophical terms death
+may be described as the withdrawal of the life into the subjective
+consciousness to the total exclusion of the objective consciousness. Then
+by the general law of the relation between subjective and objective mind,
+the subjective mind severed from its corresponding objective mentality has
+no means of acquiring fresh impressions _on its own account_, and therefore
+can only ring the changes on those impressions which it has brought with it
+from its past life. But these may be of very various sorts, ranging from
+the lowest to the highest, from those most opposed to that ultimate destiny
+of man which we have just been considering, to those which recognize his
+possibilities in a very large measure, needing little more to bring about
+the full fruition of perfected life. But however various may be their
+experiences, all who have passed through death must have this in common
+that they have lost their physical instrument of objective perception and
+so have their mode of consciousness determined entirely by the dominant
+mode of suggestion which they have brought over with them from the
+objective side of life.[6] Of course if the objective mentality were also
+brought over this would give the individual the same power of initiative
+and selection that he possesses while in the body, and, as we shall see
+later on, there are exceptional persons with whom this is the case; but for
+the great majority the physical brain is a necessity for the working of the
+objective mentality, and so when they are deprived of this instrument their
+life becomes purely subjective and is a sort of dream-life, only with a
+vast difference between two classes of dreamers--those who dream as they
+must and those who dream as they will. The former are those who have
+enslaved themselves in various ways to their lower mentality--some by
+bringing with them the memory of crimes unpardoned, some by bringing with
+them the idea of a merely animal life, others less degraded, but still in
+bondage to limited thought, bringing with them only the suggestion of a
+frivolous worldly life--in this way, by the natural operation of the Law of
+Suggestion, these different classes, either through remorse, or unsatisfied
+desires, or sheer incapacity to grasp higher principles, all remain
+earth-bound, suffering in exact correspondence with the nature of the
+suggestion they have brought along with them. The unchangeable Law is that
+the suggestion becomes the life; and this is equally true of suggestions of
+a happier sort. Those who have brought over with them the great truth that
+conditions are the creations of thought, and who have accustomed themselves
+while in objective life to dwell on good and beautiful ideas, are still
+able, by reason of being imbued with this suggestion, to mold the
+conditions of their consciousness in the subjective world in accordance
+with the sort of ideas which have become a second nature to them. Within
+the limits of these ideas the dominant suggestion to these entities is that
+of a Law which confers Liberty, so by using this Law of the constructive
+power of thought they can determine the conditions of their own
+consciousness; and thus instead of being compelled to suffer the nightmare
+dreams of the other class, they can mold their dream according to their
+will. We cannot conceive of such a life as theirs in the unseen as
+otherwise than happy, nevertheless its range is limited by the range of the
+conceptions they have brought with them. These may be exceedingly beautiful
+and thoroughly true and logical _as far as they go_; but they do not go the
+whole way, otherwise these spirits would not be in the category which we
+are considering but would belong to that still higher class who fully
+realize the ultimate possibilities which the Law of the Expression of
+Spirit provides.
+
+The otherwise happy subjective life of these more enlightened souls has
+this radical defect that they have failed to bring over with them that
+power of original selection and initiative without which further progress
+is impossible. I wish the student to grasp this point very clearly, for it
+is of the utmost importance. Of course the basis of our further evolution
+is conformity to the harmonious nature of the Originating Spirit; but upon
+this foundation we each have to build up the superstructure of our own
+individuality, and every step of advance depends on our personal
+development of power to take that step. This is what is meant by taking an
+initiative. It is making a New Departure, not merely recombining the old
+things into fresh groupings still subject to the old laws, but introducing
+an entirely new element which will bring its own New Law along with it.
+
+Now if this is the true meaning of "initiative" then that is just the
+power which these otherwise happy souls do not possess. For by the very
+conditions of the case they are living only in their subjective
+consciousness, and consequently are living by the law of subjective mind;
+and one of the chief characteristics of subjective mind is its incapacity
+to reason inductively, and therefore its inability to make the selection
+and take the initiative necessary to inaugurate a New Departure. The well
+established facts of mental law show conclusively that subjective mind
+argues only deductively. It argues quite correctly from any given premises,
+but it cannot take the initiative in selecting the premises--that is the
+province of inductive reasoning which is essentially the function of the
+objective mind. But by the law of Auto-suggestion this discarnate
+individual has brought over his premises with him, which premises are the
+sum-total of his inductions made during objective life, the conception of
+things which he held at the time he passed over, for this constituted his
+idea of Truth. Now he cannot add to these inductions, for he has parted
+with his instrument for inductive reasoning, and therefore his deductive
+reasoning in the purely subjective state which he has now entered is
+necessarily limited to the consequences which may be deducted from the
+premises which he has brought along with him.
+
+In the case of the highly-developed individualities we are now considering
+the premises thus brought over are of a very far-reaching and beautiful
+character, and consequently the range of their subjective life is
+correspondingly wide and beautiful; but, nevertheless, it is subject to the
+radical defect that it is debarred from further progress for the simple
+reason that the individual has not brought over with him the mental faculty
+which can impress his subjective entity with the requisite forward movement
+for making a new departure into a New Order. And moreover, the higher the
+subjective development with which the individual passed over the more
+likely he will be to realize this defect. If during earth-life he had
+gained sufficient knowledge of these things he will carry with him the
+knowledge that his discarnate existence is purely subjective; and therefore
+he will realize that, however he may be able to order the pictures of his
+dream, yet it is still but a dream, and in common with all other dreams
+lacks the basis of solidity from which to take _really creative action_.
+
+He knows also that the condition of other discarnate individualities is
+similar to his own, and that consequently each one must necessarily live in
+a world apart--a world of his own creation, because none of them possess
+the objective mentality by which to direct their subjective currents so as
+to make them penetrate into the sphere of another subjective entity, which
+is the _modus operandi_ of telepathy. Thus he is conscious of his own
+inability to hold intercourse with other personalities; for though he may
+for his own pleasure create the semblance of them in his dream-life, yet he
+knows that these are creations of his own mind, and that while he appears
+to be conversing with a friend amid the most lovely surroundings the friend
+himself may be having experiences of a very different description. I am, of
+course, speaking now of persons who have passed over in a very high state
+of development and with a very considerable, though still imperfect,
+knowledge of the Law of their own being. Probably the majority take their
+dream-life for an external reality; and, in any case, all who have passed
+over without carrying their objective mentality along with them must be
+shut up in their individual subjective spheres and cease to function as
+centers of creative power so long as they do not emerge from that state.
+
+But the highly advanced individuals of whom I am now speaking have passed
+over with a true knowledge of the Law of the relation between subjective
+and objective mind and have therefore brought with them a _subjective_
+knowledge of this truth; and therefore, however otherwise in a certain
+sense happy, they must still be conscious of a fundamental limitation which
+prevents their further advance. And this consciousness can produce only one
+result, an ever-growing longing for the removal of this limitation--and
+this represents the intense desire of the Spirit, as individualized in
+these souls, to attain to the conditions under which it can freely exercise
+its creative power. Sub-consciously this is the desire of _all_ souls, for
+it is that continual pressing forward of the Spirit for manifestation out
+of which the whole Creative Process arises; and so it is that the great cry
+perpetually ascends to God from all as yet undelivered souls, whether in or
+out of the body, for the deliverance which they knowingly or unknowingly
+desire.
+
+All this comes out of the well-ascertained facts of the law of relation
+between subjective and objective mind. Then comes the question, Is there no
+way of getting out of this law? The answer is that we can never get away
+from universal principles--_but we can specialise them_. We may take it as
+an axiom that any law which appears to limit us contains in itself the
+principle by which that limitation can be overcome, just as in the case of
+the flotation of iron. In this axiom, then, we shall find the clue which
+will bring us out of the labyrinth. The same law which places various
+degrees of limitation upon the souls that have passed into the invisible
+can be so applied as to set them free. We have seen that everything turns
+on the obligation of our subjective part to act within the limits of the
+suggestion which has been most deeply impressed upon it. Then why not
+impress upon it the suggestion that in passing over to the other side it
+has brought its objective mentality along with it?
+
+If such a suggestion were effectively impressed upon our subjective mind,
+then by the fundamental law of our nature our subjective mind would act in
+strict accordance with this suggestion, with the result that the objective
+mind would no longer be separated from it, and that we should carry with us
+into the unseen our _whole_ mentality, both subjective and objective, and
+so be able to exercise our inductive powers of selection and initiative as
+well there as here.
+
+Why not? The answer is that we cannot accept any suggestion unless we
+believe it to be true, and to believe it to be true we must feel that we
+have a solid foundation for our belief. If, then, we can find a sufficient
+foundation for adequately impressing this suggestion upon ourselves, then
+the principles of mental law assure us that we shall carry our objective
+faculty of initiative and selection into the unseen. Therefore our quest is
+to find this Foundation. Then, since we cannot accept as true what we
+believe to be contrary to the ultimate law of the universe, if we are to
+find such a foundation at all it must be within that Law; and it is for
+this reason that I have laid so much stress upon the Normal Standard of
+Human Individuality. When we are convinced that this ideal completeness is
+quite normal, and is a spiritual fact, not dependent upon the body, but
+able to control the body, then we have got the solid basis on which to
+carry our objective personality along with us into the unseen, and the
+well-established laws of our mental constitution justify the belief that we
+can do so.
+
+From these considerations it is obvious that those who thus pass over in
+possession of their complete mentality must be in a very different position
+from those who pass into a condition of merely subjective life, for they
+have brought their powers of selection and initiative with them, and can
+therefore employ their experiences in the unseen as a starting-point for
+still further development. So, then, the question arises, What lines will
+this further development be likely to follow?
+
+We are now considering the case of persons who have reached a very high
+degree of development; who have succeeded in so completely uniting the
+subjective and objective portions of their spiritual being into a perfect
+whole that they can never again be severed; and who are therefore able to
+function with their whole consciousness on the spiritual plane. Such
+persons will doubtless be well aware that they have attained this degree of
+development by the Law of the Creative Process working in terms of their
+own individuality, and so they would naturally always refer to the original
+Cosmic Creation as the demonstration of the principle which they have to
+specialize for their own further evolution. Then they would find that the
+principle involved is that of the manifestation of Spirit in Form; and they
+would further see that this manifestation is not an illusion but a reality,
+for the simple reason that both mind and matter are equally projections
+from the Great Originating Spirit. Both alike are thoughts of the Divine
+Mind, and it is impossible to conceive any greater reality than the Divine
+Thought, or to get at any more substantial source of reality than that.
+Even if we were to picture the Divine Mind as laughing at its productions
+as being mere illusions _relatively to itself_ (which I certainly do not),
+still the relation between the individual mind and material existence would
+be a reality for the individual, on the simple mathematical ground that
+like signs multiplied together invariably produce a positive result, even
+though the signs themselves be negative; so that, for us, at every stage of
+our existence substance must always be as much a reality as mind. Therefore
+the manifestation of Spirit in Form is the eternal principle of the
+Creative Process whether in the evolution of a world-system or in that of
+an individual.
+
+But when we realize that by the nature of the Creative Process substance
+must be an eternal verity we must not suppose that this is true also of
+_particular forms_ or of _particular modes_ of matter. Substance is a
+necessity for the expression of Spirit, but it does not follow that Spirit
+is tied down to any particular mode of expression. If you fold a piece of
+paper into the form of a dart it will fly through the air by the law of the
+form which you have given it. Again, if you take the same bit of paper and
+fold it into the shape of a boat it will float on water by the law of the
+new form that you have given it. The thing formed will act in accordance
+with the form given it, and the same paper can be folded into different
+forms; but if there were no paper you could put it into any shape at all.
+The dart and the boat are both real so long as you retain the paper in
+either of those shapes; but this does not alter the fact that you can
+change the shapes, though your power to do so depends on the existence of
+the paper. This is a rough analogy of the relation between ultimate
+substance and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor
+shape is an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit,
+only by the nature of the Creative Process the Spirit has power to
+determine what shape substance shall take at any particular time.
+
+Accordingly we find the great Law that, as Spirit is the Alpha of the
+Creative Process, so solid material Form is its Omega; in other words the
+Creative Series is incomplete until solid material form is reached.
+Anything short of this is a condition of incompleteness, and therefore the
+enlightened souls who have passed over in possession of both sides of their
+mentality will realize that their condition, however beatific, is still one
+of incompleteness; and that what is wanted for completion is expression
+through a material body. This, then, is the direction in which such souls
+would use their powers of initiative and selection as being the true line
+of evolution--in a word they would realize that the principle of Creative
+Progression, when it reaches the level of fully developed mental man,
+necessarily implies the Resurrection of the Body, and that anything short
+of this would be retrogression and not progress.
+
+At the same time persons who had passed over with this knowledge would
+never suppose that Resurrection meant merely the resuscitation of the old
+body under the old conditions; for they would see that the same inherent
+law which makes expression in concrete substance the ultimate of the
+creative series also makes this ultimate form depend on the originating
+movement of the spirit which produces it, and therefore that, although
+_some_ concrete form is essential for complete manifestation, and is a
+substantial reality so long as it is maintained, yet the maintaining of the
+particular form is entirely dependent on the action of the spirit of which
+the form is the external clothing. This resurrection body would therefore
+be no mere illusory spirit-shape, yet it would not be subject to the
+limitations of matter as we now know it: it would be physical matter still,
+but entirely subject to the will of the indwelling spirit, which would not
+regard the denser atomic relations of the body but only its absolute and
+essential nature as Primary Substance. I want the student to grasp the idea
+that the same thing may be very different when looked at, so to say, from
+opposite ends of the stick. What is solid molecular matter when viewed from
+the outside is plastic primary substance when viewed from the inside. The
+relations of this new body to any stimulus proceeding from outside would be
+those of the external laws of Nature; but its relation to the spiritual ego
+working from within would be that of a plastic substance to be molded at
+will. The employment of such power would, however, at all times be based
+upon the reverent worship of the All-creating Spirit; and it would
+therefore never be exercised otherwise than in accordance with the
+harmonious progress of the Creative Process. Proceeding on these lines the
+spirit in the individual would stand in precisely the same relation to his
+body that the All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos.
+
+This, then, is the sort of body which the instructed would contemplate as
+that in which he was to attain resurrection. He would regard it, not as an
+illusion, but as a great reality; while at the same time he would not need
+to trouble himself about its particular form, for he would know that it
+would be the perfect expression of his own conception of himself. He would
+know this because it is in accordance with the fundamental principle that
+external creation has its root in the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+
+Those passing over with this knowledge would obviously be in a very
+different position from those who passed over with only a subjective
+consciousness. They would bring with them powers of selection and
+initiative by which they could continue to impress fresh and expanding
+conceptions upon their subjective mind, and so cause it to carry on its
+work as the seed-ground of the whole individuality, instead of being shut
+up in itself as a mere circulus for the repetition of previously received
+ideas; and so in their recognition of the _principle_ of physical
+resurrection they would have a clear and definite line of auto-suggestion.
+And because this suggestion is derived from the undeniable facts of the
+whole cosmic creation, it is one which both subjective and objective mind
+can accept as an established fact, and so the suggestion becomes effective.
+This suggestion, then, becomes the self-contemplation of the individual
+spirit; and because it is in strict conformity with the generic principle
+of the Original Creative Activity, of which the individual mind is itself a
+product, this becomes also the Self-contemplation of the Originating Spirit
+as seeing itself reflected in the individual spirit; so that, by the basic
+law of the Creative Process, this suggestion is bound sooner or later to
+work out into its corresponding fact, namely, the production of a material
+body free from the power of death and from all those limitations which we
+now associate with our physical organism.
+
+This, then, is the hope of those who pass over in recognition of the great
+truth. But how about those who have passed over without that recognition?
+We have seen that their purely subjective condition precludes them from
+taking any initiative on their own account, for that requires the presence
+of objective mind. Their subjective mind, however, still retains its
+essential nature; that is, it is still susceptible to suggestion, and still
+possesses its inherent creativeness in working out any suggestion that is
+sufficiently deeply implanted in it. Here, then, opens up a vast field of
+activity for that other class who have passed over in possession of both
+sides of their mentality. By means of their powers of initiative and
+selection they can on the principle of telepathy cause their own subjective
+mind to penetrate the subjective spheres of those who do not possess those
+powers, and they can thus endeavor to impress upon them the great truth of
+the physical ultimate of the Creative Process--the truth that any series
+which stops short of that ultimate is incomplete, and, if insisted upon as
+being ultimate, must become self-destructive because in opposition to the
+inherent working of the Universal Creative Spirit. Then, as the perception
+of the true nature of the Creative Process dawned upon any subjective
+entity, it would by reason of accepting this suggestion begin to develop an
+objective mentality, and so would gradually attain to the same status as
+those who had passed over in full possession of all their mental powers.
+
+But the more the objective mentality became developed in these discarnate
+personalities the more the need of a corresponding physical instrument
+would assert itself, both from their intellectual perception of the
+original cosmic process, and also from the inherent energy of the Spirit as
+centered in the ultimate ego of the individual. Not to seek material
+manifestation would be the contrary of all we have traced out regarding the
+nature of the Creative Process; and hence the law of tendency resulting
+from the conscious union of subjective and objective mind in the individual
+must necessarily be toward the production of a physical form. Only we must
+recollect, as I have already pointed out, that this concentration of these
+minds would be upon a principle and not upon a particular bodily shape. The
+particular form they would be content to leave to the inherent
+self-expressiveness of the Universal Spirit working through the particular
+ego, with the result that their expectation would be fixed upon a _general
+principle_ of physical Resurrection which would provide a form suited to be
+the material instrument of the highest ideal of man as a spiritual and
+mental being. Then, since the subjective mind is the automatic builder of
+the body, the result of the individual's acceptance of the Resurrection
+principle must be that this mental conception will eventually work out as a
+corresponding fact. Whether on this planet or on some other, matters not,
+for, as we have already seen, the physical body evolved by a soul that is
+conscious of its unity with the Universal Spirit is bound to be in
+conformity with the physical laws of _any_ planet, though from the
+standpoint of the conscious ego not limited by them.
+
+In this way we may conceive that those who have passed over in possession
+of both sides of their spiritual nature would find a glorious field of
+usefulness in the unseen in helping to emancipate those who had passed over
+in possession of their subjective side only. But from our present analysis
+it will be seen that this can only be effected on the basis of a
+recognition of the principle of the Resurrection of the Body. Apart from
+the recognition of this principle the only possible conception which the
+discarnate individual could form of himself would be that of a purely
+subjective being; and this carries with it all the limitations of a
+subjective life unbalanced by an objective one; and so long as the
+principle of physical resurrection is denied, so long the life must
+continue to be merely subjective and consequently unprogressive.[7]
+
+But it may be asked why those who have realized this great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen state are
+liable to the change which we call death. The answer is that though they
+have realized _the general principle_ they have not yet divested themselves
+of certain conceptions by which they limit it, and consequently by the law
+of subjective mind they carry those limitations into the working of the
+Resurrection principle itself.
+
+They are limited by the race-belief that physical death is under all
+conditions a necessary law of Nature, or by the theological belief that
+death is the will of God; so then the question is whether these beliefs are
+well founded. Of course appeal is made to universal experience, but it does
+not follow that the universal experience of the past is bound to be the
+universal experience of the future--the universal experience of the past
+was that no man had ever flown across the English Channel, yet now it has
+been done. What we have to do, therefore, is not to bother about past
+experience, but to examine the inherent nature of the Law of Life and see
+whether it does not contain possibilities of further development. And the
+first step in this direction is to see whether what we have hitherto
+considered limitations of the law are really integral parts of the law
+itself. The very statement of this question shows the correct answer; for
+how can a force acting in one direction be an integral part of a force
+acting in the opposite direction? How can the force which pulls a thing
+down be an integral part of the force which builds it up? To suppose,
+therefore, that the limitations of the law are an integral portion of the
+law itself is a _reductio ad absurdum_.
+
+For these reasons the argument from the past experience of the race counts
+for nothing; and when we examine the theological argument we shall find
+that it is only the old argument from past experience in another dress. It
+is alleged that death is the will of God. How do we know that it is the
+will of God? Because the facts prove it so, is the ultimate answer of all
+religious systems with one exception; so here we are back again at the old
+race-experience as the criterion of truth. Therefore the theological
+argument is nothing but the materialistic argument disguised. It is in our
+more or less _conscious_ acceptance of the materialistic argument, under
+any of its many disguises, that the limitation of life is to be found--not
+in the Law of Life itself; and if we are to bring into manifestation the
+infinite possibilities latent in that Law it can only be by looking
+steadily into the _principle_ of the Law and resolutely denying everything
+that opposes it. The Principle of Life must of necessity be Affirmative,
+and affirmative throughout, without any negative anywhere--if we once
+realize this we shall be able to unmask the enemy and silence his guns.
+
+Now to do this is precisely the one object of the Bible; and it does it in
+a thoroughly logical manner, always leading on to the ultimate result by
+successive links of cause and effect. People will tell you that the Bible
+is their authority for saying that Death is the will of God; but these are
+people who read it carelessly; and ultimately the only reason they can give
+you for their manner of interpreting the Bible is that the facts prove
+their interpretation to be correct; so that in the last resort you will
+always find you have got back to the old materialistic argument from past
+race-experience, which logically proves nothing. These are good
+well-meaning people with a limited idea which they read into the Bible, and
+so limit its promises by making physical death an essential preliminary to
+Resurrection. They grasp, of course, the great central idea that Perfected
+Man possesses a joyous immortal Life permeating spirit, soul and body; but
+they relegate it to some dim and distant future, entirely disconnected from
+the present law of our being, not seeing that if we are to have eternal
+life it must necessarily be involved in some principle which is eternal,
+and therefore existing, at any rate latently, at the present moment. Hence,
+though their fundamental principle is true, they are all the time mentally
+limiting it, with the result that they themselves create the conditions
+they impose upon it, and consequently the principle will work (as
+principles always do) in accordance with the conditions provided for its
+action.
+
+Unless, therefore, this limiting belief is entirely eradicated, the
+individual, though realizing the fundamental principle of Life, is bound to
+pass out of physical existence; but on the other hand, since he does take
+the recognition of this fundamental principle with him, it is bound to bear
+fruit sooner or later in a joyous Resurrection, while the intermediate
+state can only be a peaceful anticipation of that supreme event. This is
+the answer to the question why those who have realized the great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen world are
+still liable to physical death; and in the last analysis it will be found
+to resolve itself into the remains of race belief based upon past
+experience. These are they who pass over in sure and certain hope of a
+glorious Resurrection--sure and certain because founded upon the very Being
+of God Himself, that inherent Life of the All-creating Divine Spirit which
+is the perpetual interaction of the Eternal Love and Beauty. They have
+grasped the Life-giving Truth, only they have postponed its operation,
+because they have the fixed idea that its present fruition is an absolute
+impossibility.
+
+But if we ask the reason for this idea it always comes back to the old
+materialistic argument from the experience of past conditions, while the
+whole nature of advance is in the opening up of new conditions. And in this
+advance the Bible is the pioneer book. Its whole purport is to tell us most
+emphatically that death is _not_ the will of God. In the story of Eden God
+is represented as warning man of the poisonous nature of the forbidden
+fruit, which is incompatible with the idea of death as an essential feature
+of man's nature. Then from the point where man has taken the poison all the
+rest of the Bible is devoted to telling us how to get rid of it. Christ, it
+tells us, was manifested to bring Life and Immortality to light--to abolish
+death--to destroy the works of the devil, that is the death-dealing power,
+for "he that hath the power of death is the devil." It is impossible to
+reconcile this life-giving conception of the Bible with the idea that death
+at any stage or in any degree is the desire of God. Let us, therefore,
+start with the recognition that this negative force, whether in its minor
+degrees as disease or in its culmination as death, is that which it is the
+will of God to abolish. This also is logical; for if God be the Universal
+Spirit of Life finding manifestation in individual lives, how can the
+desire of this Spirit be to act in opposition to its own manifestation?
+Therefore Scripture and common-sense alike assure us that the will of God
+toward us is Life and not death.[8]
+
+We may therefore start on our quest for Life with the happy certainty that
+God is on our side. But people will meet us with the objection that though
+God wills Life to us, He does not will it just yet, but only in some dim
+far-off future. How do we know this? Certainly not from the Bible. In the
+Bible Jesus speaks of two classes of persons who believe on Him as the
+Manifestation or Individualisation of the Spirit of Life. He speaks of
+those who, having passed through death, still believe on Him, and says that
+these _shall_ live--a future event. And at the same time He speaks of those
+who are living and believe on Him, and says that they shall never die--thus
+contemplating the entire elimination of the contingency of death (John xi.
+25).
+
+Again St. Paul expresses his wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed
+upon, which he certainly would not have done had he considered the latter
+alternative a nonsensical fancy. And in another place he expressly states
+that we shall not all die, but that some shall be transmuted into the
+Resurrection body without passing through physical death. And if we turn to
+the Old Testament we find two instances in which this is said to have
+actually occurred, those of Enoch and Elijah. And we may note in passing
+that the Bible draws our attention to certain facts about these two
+personages which are important as striking at the root of the notion that
+austerities of some sort are necessary for the great attainment. Of Enoch
+we are expressly told that he was the father of a large family, and of
+Elijah that he was a man of like nature with ourselves--thus showing us
+what is wanted is not a shutting of ourselves off from ordinary human life
+but such a clear realization of the Universal Principle, of which our
+personal life is the more or less conscious manifestation, that our
+commonest actions will be hallowed by the Divine Presence; and so the grand
+dénouement will be only the natural result of our daily habit of walking
+with God. From the stand-point of the Bible, therefore, the attainment of
+physical regeneration without passing through death is not an
+impossibility, nor is it necessarily relegated to some far off future.
+Whatever any one else may say to the contrary, the Bible contemplates such
+a dénouement of human evolution as a present possibility.
+
+Then if we argue from the philosophical stand-point we arrive at precisely
+the same result. Past experience proves nothing, and we must therefore make
+a fresh start by going back to the Original Creative action of the Spirit
+of Life itself. Then, if we take this as our starting point, remembering
+that at the stage of this _original_ movement there can be no intervention
+by a second power, because there is none, why should we mentally impose any
+restriction upon the action of the Creative Power? Certainly not by its own
+Law of Tendency, for that must always be toward fuller self-expression; and
+since this can only take place through the individual, the desire of the
+Spirit must always be toward the increasing of the individual life. Nor yet
+from anything in the created substance, for that would either be to suppose
+the Spirit creating something in limitation of its own Self-expression, or
+else to suppose that the limiting substance was created by some other power
+working against the Spirit; and as this would mean a Duality of powers we
+should not have reached the Originating Power at all, and so we might put
+Spirit and Substance equally out of court as both being merely modes of
+secondary causation. But if we see that the Universal Substance must be
+created by emanation from the Universal Spirit, then we see that no
+limitation of Spirit by substance is possible. We may therefore feel
+assured that no limitation proceeds either from the will of the Spirit or
+from the nature of Substance.
+
+Where, then, does limitation come from? Limiting conditions are created by
+the same power which creates everything else, namely, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. This is why it is so important to realize
+that the individual mind forms a center from which the self-contemplating
+action of Spirit is specialized in terms of the individual's own mode of
+thinking, and therefore so long as the individual contemplates negative
+conditions as being _of the essence_ of his own personality, he is in
+effect employing the Creative Power of the Self-contemplation of Spirit
+invertedly, destructively instead of constructively. The Law of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
+microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
+himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
+law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
+rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
+necessarily produce the opposite results.
+
+Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can see
+no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our own
+difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
+embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
+basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
+that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
+of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
+make clear to us the _infinitude_ of the truly Normal Standard of Humanity
+is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this Standard
+is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who is at
+once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you will,
+to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule. In
+proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our own
+life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further development
+depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find that we also
+are children of God.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+We are now in a position to see the place occupied by the individual in the
+Creative Order. We have found that the originating and maintaining force of
+the whole Creative Process is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit, and
+that this necessarily produces a Reciprocal corresponding to the idea
+embodied in the contemplation, and thus manifesting that idea in a
+correlative Form. We have found that in this way the externalization of the
+idea progresses from the condensation of the primary nebula to the
+production of human beings as a race, and that at this point the simple
+_generic_ reproduction of the idea terminates. This means that up to, and
+including, _genus homo_, the individual, whether plant, animal, or man, is
+what it is simply by reason of race conditions and not by exercise of
+deliberate choice. Then we have seen that the next step in advance must
+necessarily be by the individual becoming aware that he has power to mold
+the conditions of his own consciousness and environment by the creative
+power of his thought; thus not only enabling him to take a conscious part
+in his own further evolution but precluding him from evolving any further
+except by the right exercise of this power; and we have found that the crux
+of the passage from the Fourth to the Fifth Kingdom is to get people so to
+understand the nature of their creative power as not to use it
+destructively. Now what we require to see is that the Creative Process has
+always only one way of working, and that is by Reciprocity or Reflection,
+or, as we might say, by the law of Action and Re-action, the re-action
+being always equivalent and correspondent to the action which generated it.
+If this Law of Reciprocity be grasped then we see how the progress of the
+Creative Process must at length result in producing a being who himself
+possesses the power of independent spiritual initiative and is thus able to
+carry on the creative work from the stand-point of his own individuality.
+
+Now the great crux is first to get people to see that they possess this
+power at all, and then to get them to use it in the right direction. When
+our eyes begin to open to the truth that we do possess this power the
+temptation is to ignore the fact that our power of initiative is itself a
+product of the similar power subsisting in the All-originating Spirit. If
+this origin of our own creative faculty is left out of sight we shall fail
+to recognize the Livingness of the Greater Life within which we live. We
+shall never get nearer to it than what we may call its _generic_ level, the
+stage at which the Creative Power is careful of the type or race but is
+careless of the individual; and so at this level we shall never pass into
+the Fifth Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Individuality--we have missed the
+whole point of the transition to the more advanced mode of being, in which
+the individual consciously functions as a creative center, because we have
+no conception of a Universal Power that works at any higher level than the
+generic, and consequently to reach a specific personal exercise of creative
+power we should have to conceive of ourselves as transcending the Universal
+Law. But if we realize that our own power of creative initiative has its
+origin in the similar faculty of the All-Originating Mind then we see that
+the way to maintain the Life-giving energy in ourselves is to use our power
+of spiritual initiative so as to impress upon the Spirit the conception of
+ourselves as standing related to It in a specific, individual, and personal
+way that takes us out of the mere category of _genus homo_ and gives us a
+specific spiritual individuality of our own. Thus our mental action
+produces a corresponding re-action in the mind of the Spirit, which in its
+turn reproduces itself as a special manifestation of the Life of the Spirit
+in us; and so long as this circulation between the individual spirit and
+the Great Spirit is kept up, the individual life will be maintained, and
+will also strengthen as the circulation continues, for the reason that the
+Spirit, as the Original Creative Power, is a Multiplying Force, and the
+current sent into it is returned multiplied, just as in telegraphy the
+feeble current received from a distance at the end of a long line operates
+to start a powerful battery in the receiving office, which so multiplies
+the force as to give out a clear message, which but for the multiplication
+of the original movement could not have been done. Something like this we
+may picture the multiplying tendency of the Originating Mind, and
+consequently the longer the circulation between it and the individual mind
+goes on the stronger the latter becomes; and this process growing habitual
+becomes at last automatic, thus producing an endless flow of Life
+continually expanding in intelligence, love, power and joy.
+
+But we must note carefully that all this can only proceed from the
+individual's recognition that his own powers are a derivative from the
+All-originating Spirit, and that they can continue to be used
+constructively only so long as they are employed in harmony with the
+inherent Forward Movement of the Spirit. Therefore to insure this eternally
+flowing stream of Life from the Universal Spirit into the individual there
+must be _no inversion_ in the individual's presentation of himself to the
+Originating Power: for through the very same Law by which we seek Life--the
+Life namely, of reciprocal action and re-action--every inversion we bring
+with us in presenting ourselves to the Spirit is bound to be faithfully
+reproduced in a corresponding re-action, thus adulterating the stream of
+Pure Life, and rendering it less life-giving in proportion to the extent to
+which we invert the action of the Life-principle; so that in extreme cases
+the stream flowing through and from the individual may be rendered
+absolutely poisonous and deadly, and the more so the greater his
+recognition of his own personal power to employ spiritual forces.
+
+The existence of these negative possibilities in the spiritual world should
+never be overlooked, and therefore the essential condition for receiving
+the Perfect Fulness of Life is that we should present ourselves before the
+Eternal Spirit free from every trace of inversion. To do this means to
+present ourselves in the likeness of the Divine Ideal; and in this
+self-presentation the initiative, so far as the individual is consciously
+concerned, must necessarily be taken by himself. He is to project into the
+Eternal Mind the conception of himself as identical with its Eternal Ideal;
+and if he can do this, then by the Law of the Creative Process a return
+current will flow from the Eternal Mind reproducing this image in the
+individual with a continually growing power. Then the question is, How are
+we to do this?
+
+The answer is that to take the initiative for inducing this flow of Life
+individually it is a _sine qua non_ that the conditions enabling us to do
+so should first be presented to us universally. This is in accordance with
+the general principle that we can never create a force but can only
+specialize it. Only here the power we are wanting to specialize is the very
+Power of Specialization itself; and therefore, paradoxical as it may seem,
+what we require to have shown us is the Universality of Specialization.
+
+Now this is what the Bible puts before us in its central figure. Taking the
+Bible statements simply and literally they show us this unique Personality
+as the Principle of Humanity, alike in its spiritual origin and its
+material manifestation, carried to the logical extreme of specialization;
+while at the same time, as the embodiment of the original polarity of
+Spirit and Substance, this Personality, however unique, is absolutely
+universal; so that the Bible sets Jesus Christ before us as the answer to
+the philosophic problem of how to specialize the universal, while at the
+same time preserving its universality.
+
+If, then, we fix our thought upon this unique Personality as the embodiment
+of _universal_ principles, it follows that those principles must exist in
+ourselves also, and that His actual specialization of them is the earnest
+of our potential specialization of them. Then if we fix our thought on this
+potential in ourselves as being identical with its manifestation in Him, we
+can logically claim our identity with Him, so that what He has done we have
+done, what He is, we are, and thus recognizing ourselves in Him we present
+_this_ image of ourselves to the Eternal Mind, with the result that we
+bring with us no inversion, and so import no negative current into our
+stream of Life.
+
+Thus it is that we reach "the Father" through "the Son," and that He is
+able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
+presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The Gospel of
+"the Word made flesh" is not the meaningless cant of some petty sect nor
+yet the cunning device of priestcraft, though it has been distorted in both
+these directions; but it can give a reason for itself, and is founded upon
+the deepest laws of the threefold constitution of man, embracing the
+_whole_ man, body, soul and spirit. It is not opposed to Science but is the
+culmination of all science whether physical or mental. It is philosophical
+and logical throughout if you start the Creative Process where alone it can
+start, in the Self-contemplation of the Spirit. The more carefully we
+examine into the claims of the Gospel of Christ the more we shall find all
+the current objections to it melt away and disclose their own
+superficialness. We shall find that Christ is indeed the Mediator between
+God and Man, not by the arbitrary fiat of a capricious Deity, but by a
+logical law of sequence which solves the problem of making extremes meet,
+so that the Son of Man is also the Son of God; and when we see the reason
+why this is so we thereby receive power to become ourselves sons of God,
+which is the dénouement of the Creative Process in the Individual.
+
+These closing lines are not the place to enter upon so great a subject, but
+I hope to follow it up in another volume and to show in detail the logic of
+the Bible teaching, what it saves us from and what it leads us to; to show
+while giving due weight to the value of other systems how it differs from
+them and transcends them; to glance, perhaps, for a moment at the
+indications of the future and to touch upon some of the dangers of the
+present and the way to escape from them. Nor would I pass over in silence
+another and important aspect of the Gospel contained in Christ's commission
+to His followers to heal the sick. This also follows logically from the Law
+of the Creative Process if we trace carefully the sequence of connections
+from the indwelling Ego to the outermost of its vehicles; while the effect
+of the recognition of these great truths upon the individuality that has
+for a time put off its robe of flesh, opens out a subject of paramount
+interest. Thus it is that on every plane Christ is the Fulfilling of the
+Law, and that "Salvation" is not a silly shiboleth but the logical and
+vital process of our advance into the unfoldment of the next stage of the
+limitless capacities of our being. Of these things I hope to write in
+another volume, should it be permitted to me, and in the meanwhile I would
+commend the present abstract statement of principles to the reader's
+attention in the hope that it may throw some light on the fundamental
+nature of these momentous questions. The great thing to bear in mind is
+that if a thing is true at all there must be a reason why it is true, and
+when we come to see this reason we know the truth at first hand for
+ourselves and not from some one else's report--then it becomes really our
+own and we begin to learn how to use it. This is the secret of the
+individual's progress in any art, science, or business, and the same method
+will serve equally well in our search after Life itself, and as we thus
+follow up the great quest we shall find that on every plane the Way, the
+Truth, and the Life are ONE.
+
+"A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in
+philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."--_Bacon. Essay xvi_.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+I take the present opportunity of a new edition to add a few pages on
+certain points which appear to me of vital importance, and the connection
+of which with the preceding chapters will, I hope, become evident as the
+reader proceeds. Assuming the existence in each individual of a creative
+power of thought which, in relation to himself, reflects the same power
+existing in the Universal Mind, our right employment of this power becomes
+a matter of extreme moment to ourselves. Its inverted use necessarily holds
+us fast in the bondage from which we are seeking to escape, and equally
+necessarily its right use brings us into Liberty; and therefore if any
+Divine revelation exists at all its purpose must be to lead us away from
+the inverted use of our creative faculty and into such a higher
+specializing of it as will produce the desired result. Now the purpose of
+the Bible is to do this, and it seeks to effect this work by a dual
+operation. It places before us that Divine Ideal of which I have already
+spoken, and at the same time bases this ideal upon the recognition of a
+Divine Sacrifice. These two conceptions are so intimately interwoven in
+Scripture that they cannot be separated, but at the present day there _is_
+a growing tendency to attempt to make this separation and to discard the
+conception of a Divine Sacrifice as unphilosophical, that is as having no
+nexus of cause and effect. What I want, therefore, to point out in these
+additional pages is that there is such a nexus, and that so far from being
+without a sequence of cause and effect it has its root in the innermost
+principles of our own being. It is not contrary to Law but proceeds from
+the very nature of the Law itself.
+
+The current objection to the Bible teaching on this subject is that no such
+sacrifice could have been required by God, either because the Originating
+Energy can have no consciousness of Personality and is only a blind force,
+or because, if "God is Love," He could not demand such a sacrifice. On the
+former hypothesis we are of course away from the Bible teaching altogether
+and have nothing to do with it; but, as I have said elsewhere, the fact of
+our own consciousness of personality can only be accounted for by the
+existence, however hidden, of a corresponding quality in the Originating
+Spirit. Therefore I will confine my remarks to the question how Love, as
+the originating impulse of all creation, can demand such a sacrifice. And
+to my mind the answer is that God does not demand it. It is Man who demands
+it. It is the instinctive craving of the human soul for _certainty_ that
+requires a demonstration so convincing as to leave no room for doubt of our
+perfectly happy relation to the Supreme Spirit, and consequently to all
+that flows from it, whether on the side of the visible or of the invisible.
+When we grasp the fact that such a standpoint of certainty is the necessary
+foundation for the building up in ourselves of the Divine Ideal then it
+becomes clear that to afford us this firm basis is the greatest work that
+the Spirit, in its relation to human personality, could do.
+
+We are often told that the offering of sacrifices had its origin in
+primitive man's conception of his gods as beings which required to be
+propitiated so as to induce them to do good or abstain from doing harm; and
+very likely this was the case. The truth at the back of this conception is
+the feeling that there is a higher power upon which man is dependent; and
+the error is in supposing that this power is limited by an individuality
+which can be enriched by selling its good offices, or which blackmails you
+by threats. In either case it wants to get something out of you, and from
+this it follows that its own power of supplying its own wants must be
+limited, otherwise it would not require to be kept in good temper by gifts.
+In very undeveloped minds such a conception results in the idea of numerous
+gods, each having, so to say, his own particular line of business; and the
+furthest advance this mode of thought is capable of is the reduction of
+these various deities to two antagonistic powers of Good and of Evil. But
+the result in either case is the same, so long as we start with the
+hypothesis that the Good will do us more good and the Evil do us less harm
+by reason of our sacrifices, for then it logically follows that the more
+valuable your sacrifices and the oftener they are presented the better
+chance you have of good luck. Doubtless some such conception as this was
+held by the mass of the Hebrew people under the sacrificial system of the
+Levitical Law, and perhaps this was one reason why they were so prone to
+fall into idolatry--for in this view their fundamental notion was
+practically identical in its nature with that of the heathen around them.
+Of course this was not the fundamental idea embodied in the Levitical
+system itself. The root of that system was the symbolizing of a supreme
+ideal of reconciliation hereafter to be manifested in action. Now a symbol
+is not the thing symbolized. The purpose of a symbol is twofold, to put us
+upon enquiry as to the reality which it indicates, and to bring that
+reality to our minds by suggestion when we look at the symbol; but if it
+does not do this, and we rest only in the symbol, nothing will come of it,
+and we are left just where we were. That the symbolic nature of the
+Levitical sacrifice was clearly perceived by the deeper thinkers among the
+Hebrews is attested by many passages in the Bible--"Sacrifice and burnt
+offering thou wouldest not" (Psalms xl: 6, and li: 16) and other similar
+utterances; and the distinction between these symbols and that which they
+symbolized is brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the argument
+that if those sacrifices had afforded a sufficient standpoint for the
+effectual realization of cleansing then the worshiper would not need to
+have repeated them because he would have no more consciousness of sin
+(Hebrews x: 2).
+
+This brings us to the essential point of the whole matter. What we want is
+the certainty that there is no longer any separation between us and the
+Divine Spirit by reason of sin, either as overt acts of wrong doing or as
+error of principle; and the whole purpose of the Bible is to lead us to
+this assurance. Now such an assurance cannot be based on any sort of
+sacrifices that require repetition, for then we could never know whether we
+had given enough either in quality or quantity. It must be a once-for-all
+business or it is no use at all; and so the Bible makes the
+once-for-allness of the offering the essential point of its teaching. "He
+that has been bathed does not need to be bathed again" (John xiii: 10).
+"There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans
+viii: i).
+
+Various intellectual difficulties, however, hinder many people from seeing
+the working of the law of cause and effect in this presentment. One is the
+question, How can moral guilt be transferred from one person to another?
+What is called the "forensic" argument (i.e., the court of law argument)
+that Christ undertook to suffer in our stead as our _surety_ is undoubtedly
+open to this objection. Suretyship must by its very nature be confined to
+civil obligations and cannot be extended to criminal liability, and so the
+"forensic" argument may be set aside as very much a legal fiction. But if
+we realize the Bible teaching that Christ is the Son of God, that is, the
+Divine Principle of Humanity out of which we originated and subsisting in
+us all, however unconsciously to ourselves, then we see that sinners as
+well as saints are included in this Principle; and consequently that the
+Self-offering of Christ must actually include the self-offering of every
+human being in the acknowledgment (however unknown to his _objective_
+mentality) of his sin. If we can grasp this somewhat abstract point of view
+it follows that in the Person of Christ every human being, past, present,
+and to come, was self-offered for the condemnation of his sin--a _self_-
+condemnation and a _self_-offering, and hence a cleansing, for the simple
+reason that if you can get a man to realize his past error, really see his
+mistake, he won't do it again; and it is the perpetuation of sin and error
+that has to be got rid of--to do this universally would be to regain
+Paradise. Seen therefore in this light there is no question of transference
+of moral guilt, and I take it this is St. Paul's meaning when he speaks of
+our being partakers in Christ's death.
+
+Then there is the objection, How can past sins be done away with? If we
+accept the philosophical conclusion that Time has no substantive existence
+then all that remains is states of consciousness. As I have said in the
+earlier part of this book, the Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the cause of
+all our perception of existence and environment; and consequently if the
+Self-Contemplation of the Spirit from any center of individualization is
+that of entire harmony and the absence of anything that would cause any
+consciousness of separation, then past sins cease to have any part in this
+self-recognition, and consequently cease to have any place in the world of
+existence. The foundation of the whole creative process is the calling into
+Light out of Darkness--"that which makes manifest is light"--and
+consequently the converse action is that of sending out of Light into
+Darkness, that is, into Notbeing. Now this is exactly what the Spirit says
+in the Bible--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions"
+(Isaiah xliii: 25). Blotting out is the sending out of manifestation into
+the darkness of non-manifestation, out of Being into Not-being; and in this
+way the past error ceases to have any existence and so ceases to have any
+further effect upon us. It is "blotted out," and from this new standpoint
+has never been at all; so that to continue to contemplate it is to give a
+false sense of existence to that which in effect has no existence. It is
+that Affirmation of Negation which is the root of all evil. It is the
+inversion of our God-given creative power of thought, calling into
+existence that which in the Perfect Life of the Spirit never had or could
+have any existence, and therefore it creates the sense of inharmony,
+opposition, and separation. Of course this is only relatively to ourselves,
+for we cannot create eternal principles. They are the Being of God; and as
+I have already shown these great Principles of the Affirmative may be
+summed up in the two words Love and Beauty--Love in essence and Beauty in
+manifestation; but since we can only live from the standpoint of our own
+consciousness we can make a false creation built upon the idea of opposites
+to the all-creating Love and Beauty, which false creation with all its
+accompaniments of limitation, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death, must
+necessarily be real to us until we perceive that these things were not
+created by God, the Spirit of the Affirmative, but by our own inversion of
+our true relation to the All-creating Being.
+
+When, then, we view the matter in this light the Offering once for all of
+the Divine Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world is seen not to be a
+mere ecclesiastical dogma having no relation of cause and effect, but to be
+the highest application of the same principle of cause and effect by which
+the whole creation, ourselves included, has been brought into existence--
+the Self-Contemplation of Spirit producing corresponding manifestation,
+only now working on the level of Individual Personality.
+
+As I have shown at the beginning of this book the cosmic manifestation of
+principles is not sufficient to bring out all that there is in them. To do
+this their action must be specialized by the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. They are represented by the Pillar Jachin, but it must be
+equilibriated by the Pillar Boaz, Law and Personality the two Pillars of
+the Universe; and in the One Offering we have the supreme combination of
+these two principles, the highest specialization of Law by the highest
+power of Personality. These are eternal principles, and therefore we are
+told that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world; and because
+"thoughts are things" this supreme manifestation of the creative
+interaction of Law and Personality was bound eventually to be manifested in
+concrete action in the world conditioned by time and space; and so it was
+that the supreme manifestation of the Love of God to meet the supreme need
+of Man took place. The history of the Jewish nation is the history of the
+working of the law of cause and effect, under the guidance of the Divine
+Wisdom, so as to provide the necessary conditions for the greatest event in
+the world's history; for if Christ was to appear it must be in _some_
+nation, in _some_ place, and at _some_ time: but to trace the steps by
+which, through an intelligible sequence of causes, these necessary
+conditions were provided belongs rather to an investigation of Bible
+history than to our present purpose, so I will not enter into these details
+here. But what I hope I have in some measure made clear is that there is a
+reason why Christ should be manifested, and should suffer, and rise again,
+and that so far from being a baseless superstition the Reconciling of the
+world to God through the One Offering once-for-all offered for the sin of
+the whole world, lays the immovable foundation upon which we may build
+securely for all the illimitable future.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+If we have grasped the principle I have endeavored to state in the last
+chapter we shall find that with this new standpoint a new life and a new
+world begin to open out to us. This is because we are now living from a new
+recognition of ourselves and of God. Eternal Truth, that which is the
+essential reality of Being, is _always_ the same; it has never altered, for
+whatever is capable of passing away and giving place to something else is
+not eternal, and therefore the real essence of our being, as proceeding
+from God and subsisting in Him has always been the same. But this is the
+very fact which we have hitherto lost sight of; and since our perception of
+life is the measure of our individual consciousness of it, we have imposed
+upon ourselves a world of limitation, a world filled with the power of the
+negative, because we have viewed things from that standpoint. What takes
+place, therefore, when we realize the truth of our Redemption is not a
+change in our essential relation to the Parent Spirit, the Eternal Father,
+but an awakening to the perception of this eternal and absolutely perfect
+relation. We see that in reality it has never been otherwise for the simple
+reason that in the very nature of Being it _could_ not be otherwise; and
+when we see this we see also that what has hitherto been wrong has not been
+the working of "the Father" but our conception of the existence of some
+other power, a power of negation, limitation, and destructiveness, the very
+opposite to all that the Creative Spirit, by the very fact of Its
+Creativeness, must be. That wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son shows us
+that he never ceased to be a son. It was not his Father who sent him away
+from home but his notion that he could do better "on his own," and we all
+know what came of it. But when he returned to the Father he found that from
+the Father's point of view he had never been otherwise than a son, and that
+all the trouble he had gone through was not "of the Father" but was the
+result of his own failure to realize what the Father and the Home really
+were.[9]
+
+Now this is exactly the case with ourselves. When we wake up to the truth
+we find that, so far as the Father is concerned, we have always been in Him
+and in His home, for we are made in His image and likeness and are
+reflections of His own Being. He says to us "Son, thou art ever with me and
+all that I have is thine." The Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the Creative
+Power creating an environment corresponding to the mode of consciousness
+contemplated, and therefore in proportion as we contemplate ourselves as
+centers of individualization for the Divine Spirit we find ourselves
+surrounded by a new environment reflecting the harmonious conditions which
+preexist in the Thought of the Spirit.
+
+This, then, is the sequence of Cause and Effect involved in the teaching of
+the Bible. Man is _in essence_ a spiritual being, the reflection on the
+plane of individual personality of that which the All-Originating Spirit is
+in Itself, and is thus in that reciprocal relation to the Spirit which is
+Love. This is the first statement of his creation in Genesis--God saw all
+that He had made and behold it was very good, Man included. Then the Fall
+is the failure of the lower mentality to realize that God IS Love, in a
+word that Love is the only ultimate Motive Power it is possible to
+conceive, and that the creations of Love cannot be otherwise than good and
+beautiful. The lower mentality conceives an opposite quality of Evil and
+thus produces a motive power the opposite of Love, which is Fear; and so
+Fear is born into the world giving rise to the whole brood of evil, anger,
+hatred, envy, lies, violence, and the like, and on the external plane
+giving rise to discordant vibrations which are the root of physical ill. If
+we analyze our motives we shall find that they are always some mode either
+of Love or Fear; and fear has its root in the recognition of some power
+other than Perfect Love, which is God the ONE all-embracing Good. Fear has
+a creative force which invertedly mimics that of Love; but the difference
+between them is that Love is eternal and Fear is not. Love as the Original
+Creative Motive is the only logical conclusion we can come to as to why we
+ourselves or any other creation exists. Fear is illogical because to regard
+it as having any place in the Original Creative Motive involves a
+contradiction in terms.
+
+By accepting the notion of a dual power, that of Good _and_ Evil, the
+inverted creative working of Fear is introduced with all its attendant
+train of evil things. This is the eating of the deadly tree which occasions
+the Fall, and therefore the Redemption which requires to be accomplished is
+a redemption from Fear--not merely from this or that particular fear but
+from the very Root of Fear, which root is unbelief in the Love of God, the
+refusal to believe that Love alone is the Creating Power in all things,
+whether small beyond our recognition or great beyond our conception.
+Therefore to bring about this Redemption there must be such a manifestation
+of the Divine Love to Man as, when rightly apprehended, will leave no
+ground for fear; and when we see that the Sacrifice of the Cross was the
+Self-Offering of Love made in order to provide this manifestation, then we
+see that all the links in the chain of Cause and Effect are complete, and
+that Fear never had any place in the Creative Principle, whether as acting
+in the creation of a world or of a man. The root, therefore, of all the
+trouble of the world consists in the Affirmation of Negation, in using our
+creative power of thought invertedly, and thus giving substance to that
+which _as principle_ has no existence. So long as this negative action of
+thought continues so long will it produce its natural effect; whether in
+the individual or in the mass. The experience is perfectly real while it
+lasts. Its unreality consists in the fact that there was never any real
+need for it; and the more we grasp the truth of the all-embracingness of
+the ONE Good, both as Cause and as Effect, on all planes, the more the
+experience of its opposite will cease to have any place in our lives.
+
+This truly New Thought puts us in an entirely new relation to the whole of
+our environment, opening out possibilities hitherto undreamt of, and this
+by an orderly sequence of law which is naturally involved in our new mental
+attitude; but before considering the prospect thus offered it is well to be
+quite clear as to what this new mental attitude really is; for it is our
+adoption of this attitude that is the Key to the whole position. Put
+briefly it is ceasing to include the idea of limitations in our conception
+of the working of the All-Creating Spirit. Here are some specimens of the
+way in which we limit the creative working of the Spirit. We say, I am too
+old now to start this or that new sort of work. This is to deny the power
+of the Spirit to vivify our physical or mental faculties, which is
+illogical if we consider that it is the same Spirit that brought us into
+any existence at all. It is like saying that when a lamp is beginning to
+burn low the same person who first filled it with oil cannot replenish it
+and make it burn brightly again. Or we say, I cannot do so and so because I
+have not the means. When you were fourteen did you know where all the means
+were coming from which were going to support you till now when you are
+perhaps forty or fifty? So you should argue that the same power that has
+worked in the past can continue to work in the future. If you say the means
+came in the past quite naturally through ordinary channels, that is no
+objection; on the contrary the more reason for saying that suitable
+channels will open in the future. Do you expect God to put cash into your
+desk by a conjuring trick? Means come through recognizable channels, that
+is to say we recognize the channels by the fact of the stream flowing
+through them; and one of our most common mistakes is in thinking that we
+ourselves have to fix the particular channel beforehand. We say in effect
+that the Spirit cannot open other channels, and so we stop them up. Or we
+say, our past experience speaks to the contrary, thus assuming that our
+past experiences have included all possibilities and have exhausted the
+laws of the universe, an assumption which is negatived by every fresh
+discovery even in physical science. And so we go on limiting the power of
+the Spirit in a hundred different ways.
+
+But careful consideration will show that, though the modes in which we
+limit it are as numerous as the circumstances with which we have to deal,
+the thing with which we limit it is always the same--it is by the
+introduction of our own personality. This may appear at first a direct
+contradiction of all that I have said about the necessity for the Personal
+Factor, but it is not. Here is a paradox.
+
+To open out into manifestation the wonderful possibilities hidden in the
+Creative Power of the Universe we require to do two things--to see that we
+ourselves are necessary as centers for focussing that power, and at the
+same time to withdraw the thought of ourselves as contributing anything to
+its efficiency. It is not I that work but the Power; yet the Power needs me
+because it cannot specialize itself without me--in a word each is the
+complementary of the other: and the higher the degree of specialization is
+to be the more necessary is the intelligent and willing co-operation of the
+individual.
+
+This is the Scriptural paradox that "the son can do nothing of himself,"
+and yet we are told to be "fellow-workers with God." It ceases to be a
+paradox, however, when we realize the relation between the two factors
+concerned, God and Man. Our mistake is in not discriminating between their
+respective functions, and putting Man in the place of God. In our everyday
+life we do this by measuring the power of God by our past experiences and
+the deductions we draw from them; but there is another way of putting Man
+in the place of God, and that is by the misconception that the
+All-Originating Spirit is merely a cosmic force without intelligence, and
+that Man has to originate the intelligence without which no specific
+purpose can be conceived. This latter is the error of much of the present
+day philosophy and has to be specially guarded against. This was perceived
+by some of the medieval students of these things, and they accordingly
+distinguished between what they called Animus Dei and Anima Mundi, the
+Divine Spirit and the Soul of the Universe. Now the distinction is this,
+that the essential quality of Animus Dei is Personality--not A Person, but
+the very Principle of Personality itself--while the essential quality of
+Anima Mundi is Impersonality. Then right here comes in that importance of
+the Personal Factor of which I have already spoken. The powers latent in
+the Impersonal are brought out to their fullest development by the
+operation of the Personal. This of course does not consist in changing the
+nature of those powers, for that is impossible, but in making such
+combinations of them by Personal Selection as to produce results which
+could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, for example, Number is in itself
+impersonal and no one can alter the laws which are inherent in it; but what
+we can do is to select particular numbers and the sort of relation, such as
+subtraction, multiplication, etc., which we will establish between them;
+and then by the inherent Law of Number a certain result is bound to work
+out. Now our own essential quality is the consciousness of Personality; and
+as we grow into the recognition of the fact that the Impersonal is, as it
+were, crying out for the operation upon it of the Personal in order to
+bring its latent powers into working, we shall see how limitless is the
+field that thus opens before us.
+
+The prospect is wonderful beyond our present conception, and full of
+increasing glory if we realize the true foundation on which it rests. But
+herein lies the danger. It consists in not realizing that the Infinite of
+the Impersonal _is_ and also that the Infinite of the Personal _is_. Both
+are Infinite and so require differentiation through our own personality,
+but in their essential quality each is the exact balance of the other--not
+in contradiction to each other, but as complementary to one another, each
+supplying what the other needs for its full expression, so that the two
+together make a perfect whole. If, however, we see this relation and our
+own position as the connecting link between them, we shall see only
+ourselves as the Personal Factor; but the more we realize, both by theory
+and experience, the power of human personality brought into contact with
+the Impersonal Soul of Nature, and employed with a Knowledge of its power
+and a corresponding exercise of the will, the less we shall be inclined to
+regard ourselves as the supreme factor in the chain of cause and effect
+Consideration of this argument points to the danger of much of the present
+day teaching regarding the exercise of Thought Power as a creative agency.
+The principle on which this teaching is based is sound and legitimate for
+it is inherent in the nature of things; but the error is in supposing that
+we ourselves are the ultimate source of Personality instead of merely the
+distributors and specializers of it. The logical result of such a mental
+attitude is that putting ourselves in the place of all that is worshiped as
+God which is spoken of in the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the
+Thessalonians and other parts of Scripture. By the very hypothesis of the
+case we then know no higher will than our own, and so are without any
+Unifying Principle to prevent the conflict of wills which must then
+arise--a conflict which must become more and more destructive the greater
+the power possessed by the contending parties, and which, if there were no
+counterbalancing power, must result in the ultimate destruction of the
+existing race of men.
+
+But there is a counterbalancing power. It is the very same power used
+affirmatively instead of negatively. It is the power of the Personal with
+the Impersonal when used under the guidance of that Unifying Principle
+which the recognition of the ONE-ness of the Personal Quality in the Divine
+Spirit supplies. Those who are using the creative power of thought only
+from the standpoint of individual personality, have obviously less power
+than those who are using it from the standpoint of the Personality inherent
+in the Living Spirit which is the Source and Fountain of all energy and
+substance, and therefore in the end the victory must remain with these
+latter. And because the power by which they conquer is that of the Unifying
+Personality itself their victory must result in the establishment of Peace
+and Happiness throughout the world, and is not a power of domination but of
+helpfulness and enlightenment. The choice is between these two mottoes:--
+"Each for himself and Devil take the hindmost," or "God for us all." In
+proportion, therefore, as we realize the immense forces dormant in the
+Impersonal Soul of Nature, only awaiting the introduction of the Personal
+Factor to wake them up into activity and direct them to specific purposes,
+the wider we shall find the scope of the powers within the reach of man;
+and the more clearly we perceive the Impersonalness of the very Principle
+of Personality itself, the clearer our own proper position as affording the
+Differentiating Medium between these two Infinitudes will become to us.
+
+The Impersonalness of the Principle of Personality looks like a
+contradiction in terms, but it is not. I combine these two seemingly
+contradictory terms as the best way to convey to the reader the idea of the
+essential Quality of Personality not yet differentiated into individual
+centers of consciousness for the doing of particular work. Looked at in
+this way the Infinite of Personality must have Unity of Purpose for its
+foundation, for otherwise it would consist of conflicting personalities, in
+which case we have not yet reached the ONE all-originating cause. Or to put
+it in another way, an Infinite Personality divided against itself would be
+an Infinite Insanity, a creator of a cosmic Bedlam which, as a scientific
+fact, would be impossible of existence. Therefore the conception of an
+Infinite of Personality necessarily implies a perpetual Unity of Purpose;
+and for the same reason this Purpose can only be the fuller and fuller
+expression of an Infinite Unity of Consciousness; and Unity of
+Consciousness necessarily implies the entire absence of all that would
+impair it, and therefore its expression can only be as Universal Harmony.
+If, then, the individual realizes this true nature of the source from which
+his own consciousness of personality is derived his ideas and work will be
+based upon this foundation, with the result that as between ourselves peace
+and good will towards men must accompany this mode of thought, and as
+between us and the strictly Impersonal Soul of Nature our increasing
+knowledge in that direction would mean increasing power for carrying out
+our principle of peace and good will. As this perception of our relation to
+the Spirit of God and the Soul of Nature spreads from individual to
+individual so the Kingdom of God will grow, and its universal recognition
+would be the establishing of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
+
+Perhaps the reader will ask why I say the Soul of Nature instead of saying
+the material universe. The reason is that in using our creative power of
+Thought we do not operate directly upon material elements--to do that is
+the work of construction from without and not of creation from within. The
+whole tendency of modern physical science is to reduce all matter in the
+final analysis to energy working in a primary ether. Whence this energy and
+this ether proceed is not the subject of physical analysis. That is a
+question which cannot be answered by means of the vacuum tube or the
+spectroscope. Physical science is doing its legitimate work in pushing
+further and further back the unanalyzable residuum of Nature, but, however
+far back, an ultimate unanalyzable residuum there must always be; and when
+physical science brings us to this point it hands us over to the guidance
+of psychological investigation just as in the Divina Commedia Virgil
+transfers Dante to the guidance of Beatrice for the study of the higher
+realms. Various rates of rapidity of motion in this primary ether,
+producing various numerical combinations of positively and negatively
+electrified particles, result in the formation of what we know as the
+different chemical elements, and thus explains the phenomena of their
+combining quantities, the law by which they join together to form new
+substances only in certain exact numerical ratios. From the first movement
+in the primary ether to solid substances, such as wood or iron or our own
+flesh, is thus a series of vibrations in a succession of mediums, each
+denser than the preceding one out of which it was concreted and from which
+it receives the vibratory impulse. This is in effect what physical science
+has to tell us. But to get further back we must look into the world of the
+invisible, and it is here that psychological study comes to our aid. We
+cannot, however, study the invisible side of Nature by working from the
+outside and so at this point of our studies we find the use of the
+time-honored teaching regarding the parallelism between the Macrocosm and
+the Microcosm. If the Microcosm is the reproduction in ourselves of the
+same principles as exist in the Macrocosm or universe in which we have our
+being, then by investigating ourselves we shall learn the nature of the
+corresponding invisible principles in our environment. Here, then, is the
+application of the dictum of the ancient philosophy, "Know Thyself." It
+means that the only place where we can study the principles of the
+invisible side of Nature is in ourselves; and when we know them there we
+can transfer them to the larger world around us.
+
+In the concluding chapters of my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science" I
+have outlined the way in which the soul or mind operates upon the physical
+instrument of its expression, and it resolves itself into this--that the
+mental action inaugurates a series of vibrations in the etheric body which,
+in their turn, induce corresponding grosser vibrations in the molecular
+substance until finally mechanical action is produced on the outside. Now
+transferring this idea to Nature as a whole we shall see that if our mental
+action is to affect it in any way it can only be by the response of
+something at the back of material substance analogous to mind in ourselves;
+and that there is such a "something" interior to the merely material side
+of Nature is proved by what we may call the Law of Tendency, not only in
+animals and plants, but even in inorganic substances, as shown for instance
+in Professor Bose's work on the Response of Metals. The universal presence
+of this Law of Tendency therefore indicates the working of some
+non-material and, so to say, semi-intelligent power in the material world,
+a power which works perfectly accurately on its own lines so far as it
+goes, that is to say in a generic manner, but which does not possess that
+Personal power of _individual selection_ which is necessary to bring out
+the infinite possibilities hidden in it. This is what is meant by the Soul
+of Nature, and it is for this reason I employ that term instead of saying
+the material universe. Which term to employ all depends on the mode of
+action we are contemplating. If it is construction from without, then we
+are dealing with the purely material universe. If we are seeking to bring
+about results by the exercise of our mental power from within, then we are
+dealing with the Soul of Nature. It is that control of the lower degree of
+intelligence by the higher of which I have spoken in my Edinburgh Lectures.
+
+If we realize what I have endeavored to make clear in the earlier portion
+of this book, that the whole creation is produced by the operation of the
+Divine Will upon the Soul of Nature, it will be evident that we can set no
+limits to the potencies hidden in the latter and capable of being brought
+out by the operation of the Personal Factor upon it; therefore, granted a
+sufficiently powerful concentration of will, whether by an individual or a
+group of individuals, we can well imagine the production of stupendous
+effects by this agency, and in this way I would explain the statements made
+in Scripture regarding the marvelous powers to be exercised by the
+Anti-Christ, whether personal or collective. They are psychic powers, the
+power of the Soul of Man over the Soul of Nature. But the Soul of Nature is
+quite impersonal and therefore the moral quality of this action depends
+entirely on the human operator. This is the point of the Master's teaching
+regarding the destruction of the fig tree, and it is on this account He
+adds the warning as to the necessity for clearing our heart of any
+injurious feeling against others whenever we attempt to make use of this
+power (Mark xi: 20-26).
+
+According to His teaching, then, this power of controlling the Soul of
+Nature by the addition of our own Personal Factor, however little we may be
+able to recognize it as yet, actually exists; its employment depends on our
+perception of the inner principles common to both, and it is for this
+reason the ancient wisdom was summed up in the aphorism "Know thyself." No
+doubt it is a wonderful Knowledge, but on analysis it will be found to be
+perfectly natural. It is the Knowledge of the cryptic forces of Nature. Now
+it is remarkable that this ancient maxim inscribed over the portals of the
+Temple of Delphi is not to be found in the Bible. The Bible maxim is not
+"Know thyself" but "Know the Lord." The great subject of Knowledge is not
+ourself but "the Lord"; and herein is the great difference between the two
+teachings. The one is limited by human personality, the other is based on
+the Infinitude of the Divine Personality; and because of this it includes
+human personality with all its powers over the Soul of Nature. It is a case
+of the greater including the less; and so the whole teaching of Scripture
+is directed to bringing us into the recognition of that Divine Personality
+which is the Great Original in whose image and likeness we are made. In
+proportion as we grow into the recognition of _this_ our own personality
+will explain, and the creative power of our thought will cease to work
+invertedly until at last it will work only on the same principles of Life,
+Love and Liberty as the Divine Mind, and so all evil will disappear from
+our world. We shall not, as some systems teach, be absorbed into Deity to
+the extinction of our individual consciousness, but on the contrary our
+individual consciousness will continually expand, which is what St. Paul
+means when he speaks of our "increasing with the increase of God"--the
+continual expanding of the Divine element within us. But this can only take
+place by our recognition of ourselves as _receivers_ of this Divine
+element. It is receiving into ourselves of the Divine Personality, a result
+not to be reached through human reasoning. We reason from premises which we
+have assumed, and the conclusion is already involved in the premises and
+can never extend beyond them. But we can only select our premises from
+among things that we know by experience, whether mental or physical, and
+accordingly our reasoning is always merely a new placing of the old things.
+But the receiving of the Divine Personality into ourselves is an entirely
+New Thing, and so cannot be reached by reasoning from old things. Hence if
+this Divine ultimate of the Creative Process is to be attained it must be
+by the Revelation of a New Thing which will afford a new starting-point for
+our thought, and this New Starting-point is given in the Promise of "the
+Seed of the Woman" with which the Bible opens. Thenceforward this Promise
+became the central germinating thought of those who based themselves upon
+it, thus constituting them a special race, until at last when the necessary
+conditions had matured the Promised Seed appeared in Him of whom it is
+written that He is the express image of God's Person (Heb. I: 3)--that is,
+the Expression of that Infinite Divine Personality of which I have spoken.
+"No man hath seen God at any time or can see Him," for the simple reason
+that Infinitude cannot be the subject of vision. To become visible there
+must be Individualization, and therefore when Philip said "Show us the
+Father," Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." The
+Word must become flesh before St. John could say, "That which was from the
+beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
+have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life." This is
+the New Starting-point for the true New Thought--the New Adam of the New
+Race, each of whom is a new center for the working of the Divine Spirit.
+This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Except ye eat the flesh and drink
+the blood of the Son of Man ye have no life in you. My flesh is meat
+indeed, and my blood is drink indeed--" such a contemplation of the Divine
+Personality in Him as will cause a like receiving of the Divine Personality
+into individualization in ourselves--this is the great purpose of the
+Creative Process in the individual. It terminates the old series which
+began with birth after the flesh and inaugurates a New Series by birth
+after the Spirit, a New Life of infinite unfoldment with glorious
+possibilities beyond our highest conception.
+
+But all this is logically based upon our recognition of the Personalness of
+God and of the relation of our individual personality to this Eternal and
+Infinite Personality, and the result of this is Worship--not an attempt to
+"butter up" the Almighty and get Him into good temper, but the reverent
+contemplation of what this Personality must be in Itself; and when we see
+it to be that Life, Love, Beauty, etc., of which I spoke at the beginning
+of this book we shall learn to love Him for what He IS, and our prayer will
+be "Give me more of Thyself." If we realize the great truth that the
+Kingdom of Heaven is _within_ us, that it is the Kingdom of the innermost
+of our own being and of all creation, and if we realize that this innermost
+is the place of the Originating Power where Time and Space do not exist and
+therefore antecedent to all conditions, then we shall see the true meaning
+of Worship. It is the perception of the Innermost Spirit as eternally
+subsisting independently of all conditioned manifestation, so that in the
+true worship our consciousness is removed from the outer sphere of
+existence to the innermost center of unconditioned being. There we find the
+Eternal Being of God pure and simple, and we stand reverently in this
+Supreme Presence knowing that it is the Source of our own being, and wrapt
+in the contemplation of This, the conditioned is seen to flow out from It.
+Perceiving this the conditioned passes out of our consideration, for it is
+seen not to be the Eternal Reality--we have reached that level of
+consciousness where Time and Space remain no longer. Yet the reverence
+which the vision of this Supreme Center of all Being cannot fail to inspire
+is coupled with a sense of feeling quite at home with It. This is because
+as the Center of _all_ Being it is the center of our own being also. It is
+one-with-ourselves. It is recognizing Itself from our own center of
+consciousness; so that here we have got back to that Self-contemplation of
+Spirit which is the first movement of the Creating Power, only now this
+Self-contemplation is the action of the All-Originating Spirit upon Itself
+from the center of our own consciousness. So this worship in the Temple of
+the Innermost is at once reverent adoration and familiar intercourse--not
+the familiarity that breeds contempt, but a familiarity producing Love,
+because as it increases we see more clearly the true Life of the Spirit as
+the continual interaction of Love and Beauty, and the Spirit's recognition
+of ourselves as an integral portion of Its own Life. This is not an
+unpractical dreamy speculation but has a very practical bearing. Death will
+some day cease to be, for the simple reason that Life alone can be the
+enduring principle; but we have not yet reached this point in our
+evolution. Whether any in this generation will reach it I cannot say; but
+for the rank and file of us the death of the body seems to be by far the
+more probable event. Now what must this passing out of the body mean to us?
+It must mean that we find ourselves without the physical vehicle which is
+the instrument through which our consciousness comes in touch with the
+external world and all the interests of our present daily life. But the
+mere putting off of the body does not of itself change the mental attitude;
+and so if our mind is entirely centered upon these passing interests and
+external conditions the loss of the instrument by which we held touch with
+them must involve a consciousness of desire for the only sort of life we
+have known coupled with a consciousness of our inability to participate in
+it, which can only result in a consciousness of distress and confusion such
+as in our present state we cannot imagine.
+
+On the other hand if we have in this world realized the true principle of
+the Worship of the Eternal Source from which all conditioned life flows
+out--an inner communing with the Great Reality--we have already passed
+beyond that consciousness of life which is limited by Time and Space; and
+so when we put off this mortal body we shall find ourselves upon familiar
+ground, and therefore not wandering in confusion but quite at home,
+dwelling in the same light of the Eternal in which we have been accustomed
+to dwell as an atmosphere enveloping the conditioned life of to-day. Then
+finding ourselves thus at home on a plane where Time and Space do not exist
+there will be no question with us of duration. The consciousness will be
+simply that of peaceful, happy being. That a return to more active personal
+operation will eventually take place is evidenced by the fact that the
+basis of all further evolution is the differentiating of the
+Undifferentiated Life of the Spirit into specific channels of work, through
+the intermediary of individual personality without which the infinite
+potentialities of the Creative Law cannot be brought to light. Therefore,
+however various our opinions as to its precise form, Resurrection as a
+principle is a necessity of the creative process. But such a return to more
+active life will not mean a return to limitations, but the opening of a new
+life in which we shall transcend them all, because we have passed beyond
+the misconception that Time and Space are of the Essence of Life. When the
+misconception regarding Time and Space is entirely eradicated all other
+limitations must disappear because they have their root in this primary
+one--they are only particular forms of the general proposition. Therefore
+though Form with its accompanying relations of Time and Space is necessary
+for manifestation, these things will be found not to have any force in
+themselves thus creating limitation, but to be the reflection of the mode
+of thought which projects them as the expression of itself.
+
+Nor is there any inherent reason why this process should be delayed till
+some far-off future. There is no reason why we should not commence at once.
+No doubt our inherited and personally engendered modes of thought make this
+difficult, and by the nature of the process it will be only when _all_ our
+thoughts are conformed to this principle that the complete victory will be
+won. But there must be a commencement to everything, and the more we
+habituate ourselves to live in that Center of the Innermost where
+conditions do not exist, the more we shall find ourselves gaining control
+over outward conditions, because the stream of conditioned life flows out
+from the Center of Unconditioned Life, and therefore this intrinsic
+principle of Worship has in it the promise both of the life that now is and
+of that which is to come. Only we must remember that the really availing
+worship is that of the Undifferentiated Source _because It is the Source,_
+and not as a backhanded way of diverting the stream into some petty channel
+of conditions, for that would only be to get back to the old circle of
+limitation from which we are seeking to escape.
+
+But if we realize these things we have already laid hold of the Principle
+of Resurrection, and in point of principle we are already living the
+resurrection life. What progress we may make in it depends on our practical
+application of the principle; but simply as principle there is nothing in
+the principle itself to prevent its complete working at any moment. This is
+why Jesus did not refer resurrection to some remote point of time but said,
+"I am the resurrection and the life." No principle can carry in itself an
+opposite and limiting principle contradictory of its own nature, and this
+is as true of the Principle of Life as of any other principle. It is we who
+by our thought introduce an opposite and limiting principle and so hinder
+the working of the principle we are seeking to bring into operation; but so
+far as the Principle of Life itself is concerned there is _in it_ no reason
+why it should not come into perfect manifestation here and now.
+
+This, then, is the true purpose of worship. It is to bring us into
+conscious and loving intercourse with the Supreme Source of our own being,
+and seeing this we shall not neglect the outward forms of worship. From
+what we now know they should mean more to us than to others and not less;
+and in especial if we realize the manifestation of the Divine Personality
+in Jesus Christ and its reproduction in Man, we shall not neglect His last
+command to partake of that sacred memorial to His flesh and blood which He
+bequeathed to His followers with the words "This do in remembrance of Me."
+
+This holy rite is no superstitious human invention. There are many theories
+about it, and I do not wish to combat any of them, for in the end they all
+seem to me to bring us to the same point, that being cleansed from sin by
+the Divine Love we are now no longer separate from God but become
+"partakers of the Divine-Nature" (II Peter I: 4). This partaking of the
+Divine Nature could not be more accurately represented than by our
+partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Divine Substance and the
+Divine Life, thus made emblematic of the whole Creative Process from its
+beginning in the Divine Thought to its completion in the manifestation of
+that Thought as Perfected Man; and so it brings vividly before us the
+remembrance of the Personality of God taking form as the Son of Man. We are
+all familiar with the saying that thoughts become things; and if we affirm
+the creative power of our own thought as reproducing itself in outward
+form, how much more must we affirm the same of that Divine Thought which
+brings the whole universe into existence; so that in accordance with our
+own principles the Divine Idea of Man was logically bound to show itself in
+the world of time and space as the Son of God and the Son of man, not two
+differing natures but one complete whole, thus summing up the foundation
+principle of all creation in one Undivided Consciousness of Personality.
+Thus "the Word" or Divine Thought of Man "became flesh," and our partaking
+of the symbolic elements keeps in our remembrance the supreme truth that
+this same "Word" or Thought of God in like manner takes form in ourselves
+as we open our own thought to receive it. And further, if we realize that
+throughout the universe there is only ONE Originating Life, sending forth
+only ONE Original Substance as the vehicle for its expression, then it
+logically follows that _in essence_ the bread is a portion of the eternal
+Substance of God, and the wine a portion of the eternal Life of God. For
+though the wine is of course also a part of the Universal Substance, we
+must remember that the Universal Substance is itself a manifestation of the
+Life of the All-Creating Spirit, and therefore this fluid form of the
+primary substance has been selected as representing the eternal flowing of
+the Life of the Spirit into all creation, culminating in its supreme
+expression in the consciousness of those who, in the recognition of these
+truths, seek to bring their heart into union with the Divine Spirit. From
+such considerations as these it will be seen how vast a field of thought is
+covered by Christ's words "Do this in remembrance of Me."
+
+In conclusion, therefore, do not let yourselves be led astray by any
+philosophy that denies the Personality of God. In the end it will be found
+to be a foolish philosophy. No other starting-point of creation is
+conceivable than the Self-Contemplation of the Divine Spirit, and the
+logical sequence from this brings us to the ultimate result of the Creative
+Process in the statement that "if any man be in Christ he is a New
+creature," or as the margin has it "a new creation" (II Cor. v: 17). Such
+vain philosophies have only one logical result which is to put _yourself_
+in the place of God, and then what have you to lean upon in the hour of
+trial? It is like trying to climb up a ladder that is resting against
+nothing. Therefore, says the Apostle Paul, "Beware lest any man spoil you
+through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man, after the
+rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. II: 8.) The teaching
+of the Bible is sound philosophy, sound reasoning, and sound science
+because it starts with the sound premises that all Creation proceeds out of
+God, and that Man is made in the image and likeness of his Creator. It
+nowhere departs from the Law of Cause and Effect, and by the orderly
+sequence of this law it brings us at last to the New Creation both in
+ourselves and in our environment, so that we find the completion of the
+Creative Process in the declaration "the tabernacle of God is with men"
+(Rev. xxi: 3), and in the promise "This is the Covenant that I will make
+with them after those days (i.e., the days of our imperfect apprehension of
+these things) saith the Lord, I will dwell _in them_, and walk _in them_,
+and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will put my
+laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their
+sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. x: 16. II Cor. vi:
+16. Jeremiah xxxi: 33).
+
+Truly does Bacon say, "A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."
+--Bacon, Essay, xvi.
+
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+
+Footnote 1:   See my Doré Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 2:   See my Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science.
+
+Footnote 3:   See my Doré Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 4:   For the relation between conscious and sub-conscious mind see
+my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 5:   See "Self-Synthesis" by Dr. Cornwall Round.
+
+Footnote 6:   For the relation between subjective and objective mind see my
+"Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 7:   This view, it may be remarked, is not necessarily
+incompatible with the conception of reincarnation, on which theory the
+final resurrection or transmutation of the body would terminate the series
+of successive lives and deaths, thus bringing the individual out of the
+circle of generation, which is the circle of Karma. I may, perhaps, have
+the opportunity of considering this subject on some future occasion.
+
+Footnote 8:   See my "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning."
+
+Footnote 9:   See "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning" by the present author.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook,<br />
+    The Creative Process in the Individual,<br />
+    by Thomas Troward</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: The Creative Process in the Individual</p>
+<p>Author: Thomas Troward</p>
+<p>Release Date: December 1, 2003  [eBook #10361]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Chatacter set encoding: iso-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL***</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<center><h3>E-text prepared by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy, and Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders</h3></center>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<h1>THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL</h1>
+
+<h2>BY</h2> <h2>T. TROWARD</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>1915</h3>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h1>FOREWORD</h1>
+
+<p>In the present volume I have endeavored to set before the reader the
+conception of a sequence of creative action commencing with the formation
+of the globe and culminating in a vista of infinite possibilities
+attainable by every one who follows up the right line for their
+unfoldment.</p>
+
+<p>I have endeavored to show that, starting with certain incontrovertible
+scientific facts, all these things logically follow, and that therefore,
+however far these speculations may carry us beyond our past experience,
+they nowhere break the thread of an intelligible connection of cause and
+effect.</p>
+
+<p>I do not, however, offer the suggestions here put forward in any other
+light than that of purely speculative reasoning; nevertheless, no advance
+in any direction can be made except by speculative reasoning going back to
+the first principles of things which we do know and thence deducing the
+conditions under which the same principles might be carried further and
+made to produce results hitherto unknown. It is to this method of thought
+that we owe all the advantages of civilization from matches and
+post-offices to motor-cars and aeroplanes, and we may therefore be
+encouraged to hope such speculations as the present may not be without
+their ultimate value. Relying on the maxim that Principle is not bound by
+Precedent we should not limit our expectations of the future; and if our
+speculations lead us to the conclusion that we have reached a point where
+we are not only able, but also <i>required</i>, by the law of our own
+being, to take a more active part in our personal evolution than
+heretofore, this discovery will afford us a new outlook upon life and widen
+our horizon with fresh interests and brightening hopes.</p>
+
+<p>If the thoughts here suggested should help any reader to clear some
+mental obstacles from his path the writer will feel that he has not written
+to no purpose. Only each reader must think out these suggestions for
+himself. No writer or lecturer can convey an idea <i>into</i> the minds of
+his audience. He can only put it before them, and what they will make of it
+depends entirely upon themselves--assimilation is a process which no one
+can carry out for us.</p>
+
+<p>To the kindness of my readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in
+Australia and New Zealand, I commend this little volume, not, indeed,
+without a deep sense of its many shortcomings, but at the same time
+encouraged by the generous indulgence extended to my previous books.</p>
+
+<p>T.T.</p>
+
+<p><i>June</i>, 1910.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1>CONTENTS</h1>
+
+
+<table>
+<tr><td align="right">I.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap1" >THE STARTING-POINT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">II.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap2" >THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">III.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>   <td><a href="#chap3" >THE DIVINE IDEAL</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap4" >THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">V.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap5" >THE PERSONAL FACTOR</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap6" >THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>   <td><a href="#chap7" >RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>  <td><a href="#chap8" >THE D&Eacute;NOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap9" >CONCLUSION</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">X.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>     <td><a href="#chap10">THE DIVINE OFFERING</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>    <td><a href="#chap11">OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+
+<h1>THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL</h1>
+
+<blockquote>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I say no man has ever yet been half devout
+enough,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;None has ever yet adored or worship'd half
+enough,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;None has begun to think how divine he himself is,
+and<br />
+how certain the future is.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I say that the real and permanent grandeur of these
+States<br />
+must be their religion,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Otherwise there is no real and permanent
+grandeur.<br />
+--WALT WHITMAN.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap1">CHAPTER I</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE STARTING-POINT</h2>
+
+
+<p>It is an old saying that "Order is Heaven's First Law," and like many
+other old sayings it contains a much deeper philosophy than appears
+immediately on the surface. Getting things into a better order is the great
+secret of progress, and we are now able to fly through the air, not because
+the laws of Nature have altered, but because we have learnt to arrange
+things in the right order to produce this result--the things themselves had
+existed from the beginning of the world, but what was wanting was the
+introduction of a Personal Factor which, by an intelligent perception of
+the possibilities contained in the laws of Nature, should be able to bring
+into working reality ideas which previous generations would have laughed at
+as the absurd fancies of an unbalanced mind. The lesson to be learnt from
+the practical aviation of the present day is that of the triumph of
+principle over precedent, of the working out of an <i>idea</i> to its
+logical conclusions in spite of the accumulated testimony of all past
+experience to the contrary; and with such a notable example before us can
+we say that it is futile to enquire whether by the same method we may not
+unlock still more important secrets and gain some knowledge of the unseen
+causes which are at the back of external and visible conditions, and then
+by bringing these unseen causes into a better order make practical working
+realities of possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams? It
+is at least worth while taking a preliminary canter over the course, and
+this is all that this little volume professes to attempt; yet this may be
+sufficient to show the lay of the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Now the first thing in any investigation is to have some idea of what
+you are looking for--to have at least some notion of the general direction
+in which to go--just as you would not go up a tree to find fish though you
+would for birds' eggs. Well, the general direction in which we all want to
+go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it--we
+want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved
+conditions in our environment. However happily any of us may be
+circumstanced we can all conceive something still better, or at any rate we
+should like to make our present good permanent; and since we shall find as
+our studies advance that the prospect of increasing possibilities keeps
+opening out more and more widely before us, we may say that what we are in
+search of is the secret of getting more out of Life in a continually
+progressive degree. This means that what we are looking for is something
+personal, and that it is to be obtained by producing conditions which do
+not yet exist; in other words it is nothing less than the exercise of a
+certain creative power in the sphere of our own particular world. So, then,
+what we want is to introduce our own Personal Factor into the realm of
+unseen causes. This is a big thing, and if it is possible at all it must be
+by some sequence of cause and effect, and this sequence it is our object to
+discover. The law of Cause and Effect is one we can never get away from,
+but by carefully following it up we may find that it will lead us further
+than we had anticipated.</p>
+
+<p>Now, the first thing to observe is that if <i>we</i> can succeed in
+finding out such a sequence of cause and effect as the one we are in search
+of, somebody else may find out the same creative secret also; and then, by
+the hypothesis of the case, we should both be armed with an infallible
+power, and if we wanted to employ this power against each other we should
+be landed in the "impasse" of a conflict between two powers each of which
+was irresistible. Consequently it follows that the first principle of this
+power must be Harmony. It cannot be antagonizing itself from different
+centers--in other words its operation in a simultaneous order at every
+point is the first necessity of its being. What we are in search of, then,
+is a sequence of cause and effect so universal in its nature as to include
+harmoniously all possible variations of individual expression. This primary
+necessity of the Law for which we are seeking should be carefully borne in
+mind, for it is obvious that any sequence which transgresses this primary
+essential must be contrary to the very nature of the Law itself, and
+consequently cannot be conducting us to the exercise of true creative
+power.</p>
+
+<p>What we are seeking, therefore, is to discover how to arrange things in
+such an order as to set in motion a train of causation that will harmonize
+our own conditions without antagonizing the exercise of a like power by
+others. This therefore means that all individual exercise of this power is
+the particular application of a universal power which itself operates
+creatively on its own account independently of these individual
+applications; and the harmony between the various individual applications
+is brought about by all the individuals bringing their own particular
+action into line with this independent creative action of the original
+power. It is in fact another application of Euclid's axiom that things
+which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another; so that though
+I may not know for what purpose some one may be using this creative power
+in Pekin, I do know that if he and I both realize its true nature, we
+cannot by any possibility be working in opposition to one another. For
+these reasons, having now some general idea of what it is we are in search
+of, we may commence our investigation by considering this common factor
+which must be at the back of all individual exercise of creative power,
+that is to say, the Generic working of the Universal Creative
+Principle.</p>
+
+<p>That such a Universal Creative Principle is at work we at once realize
+from the existence of the world around us with all its inhabitants, and the
+inter-relation of all parts of the cosmic system shows its underlying
+Unity--thus the animal kingdom depends on the vegetable, the vegetable
+kingdom on the mineral, the mineral or globe of the earth on its relation
+to the rest of the solar system, and possibly our solar system is related
+by a similar law to the distribution of other suns with their attendant
+planets throughout space. Our first glance therefore shows us that the
+All-originating Power must be in essence Unity and in manifestation
+Multiplicity, and that it manifests as Life and Beauty through the unerring
+adaptation of means to ends--that is so far as its cosmic manifestation of
+ends goes: what we want to do is to carry this manifestation still further
+by operation from an individual standpoint. To do this is precisely our
+place in the Order of Creation, but we must defer the question why we hold
+this place till later on.</p>
+
+<p>One of the earliest discoveries we all make is the existence of Matter.
+The bruised shins of our childhood convince us of its solidity, so now
+comes the question, Why does Matter exist? The answer is that if the form
+were not expressed in solid substance, things would be perpetually flowing
+into each other so that no identity could be maintained for a single
+moment. To this it might be replied that a condition of matter is
+conceivable in which, though in itself a plastic substance, in a fluent
+state, it might yet by the operation of will be held in any particular
+forms desired. The idea of such a condition of matter is no doubt
+conceivable, and when the fluent matter was thus held in particular forms
+you would have concrete matter just as we know it now, only with this
+difference, that it would return to its fluent state as soon as the
+supporting will was withdrawn. Now, as we shall see later on, this is
+precisely what matter really is, only the will which holds it together in
+concrete form is not individual but cosmic.</p>
+
+<p>In itself the Essence of Matter is precisely the fluent substance we
+have imagined, and as we shall see later on the knowledge of this fact,
+when realized in its proper order, is the basis of the legitimate control
+of mind over matter. But a world in which every individual possessed the
+power of concreting or fluxing matter at his own sweet will irrespective of
+any universal coordinating principle is altogether inconceivable--the
+conflict of wills would prevent such a world remaining in existence. On the
+other hand, if we conceive of a number of individuals each possessing this
+power and all employing it on the lines of a common cosmic unity, then the
+result would be precisely the same stable condition of matter with which we
+are familiar--this would be a necessity of fact for the masses who did not
+possess this power, and a necessity of principle for the few who did. So
+under these circumstances the same stable conditions of Nature would
+prevail as at present, varied only when the initiated ones perceived that
+the order of evolution would be furthered, and not hindered, by calling
+into action the higher laws. Such occasions would be of rare occurrence,
+and then the departure from the ordinary law would be regarded by the
+multitude as a miracle. Also we may be quite sure that no one who had
+attained this knowledge in the legitimate order would ever perform a
+"miracle" for his own personal aggrandizement or for the purpose of merely
+astonishing the beholders--to do so would be contrary to the first
+principle of the higher teaching which is that of profound reverence for
+the Unity of the All-originating Principle. The conception, therefore, of
+such a power over matter being possessed by certain individuals is in no
+way opposed to our ordinary recognition of concrete matter, and so we need
+not at present trouble ourselves to consider these exceptions.</p>
+
+<p>Another theory is that matter has no existence at all but is merely an
+illusion projected by our own minds. If so, then how is it that we all
+project identically similar images? On the supposition that each mind is
+independently projecting its own conception of matter a lady who goes to be
+fitted might be seen by her dressmaker as a cow. Generations of people have
+seen the Great Pyramid on the same spot; but on the supposition that each
+individual is projecting his own material world in entire independence of
+all other individuals there is no reason why any two persons should ever
+see the same thing in the same place. On the supposition of such an
+independent action by each separate mind, without any common factor binding
+them all to one particular mode of recognition, no intercourse between
+individuals would be possible--then, without the consciousness of relation
+to other individuals the consciousness of our own individuality would be
+lost, and so we should cease to have any conscious existence at all. If on
+the other hand we grant that there is, above the individual minds, a great
+Cosmic Mind which imposes upon them the necessity of all seeing the same
+image of Matter, then that image is not a projection of the individual
+minds but of the Cosmic Mind; and since the individual minds are themselves
+similar projections of the Cosmic Mind, matter is for them just as much a
+reality as their own existence. I doubt not that material substance is thus
+projected by the all-embracing Divine Mind; but so also are our own minds
+projected by it, and therefore the relation between them and matter is a
+real relation and not a merely fictitious one.</p>
+
+<p>I particularly wish the student to be clear on this point, that where
+two factors are projected from a common source their relation to each other
+becomes an absolute fact in respect of the factors themselves,
+notwithstanding that the power of changing that relation by substituting a
+different projection must necessarily always continue to reside in the
+originating source. To take a simple arithmetical example--by  my power of
+mental projection working through my eyes and fingers I write 4 X 2. Here I
+have established a certain numerical relation which can only produce eight
+as its result. Again, I have power to change the factors and write 4 X 3,
+in which case 12 is the only possible result, and so on. Working in this
+way calculation becomes possible. But if every time I wrote 4 that figure
+possessed an independent power of setting down a different number by which
+to multiply itself, what would be the result? The first 4 I wrote might set
+down 3 as its multiplier, and the next might set down 7, and so on. Or if I
+want to make a box of a certain size and cut lengths of plank accordingly,
+if each length could capriciously change its width at a moment's notice,
+how could I ever make the box? I myself may change the shape and size of my
+box by establishing new relations between the bits of wood, but for the
+pieces of wood themselves the proportions determined by my mind must remain
+fixed quantities, otherwise no construction could take place.</p>
+
+<p>This is a very rough analogy, but it may be sufficient to show that for
+a cosmos to exist at all it is absolutely necessary that there should be a
+Cosmic Mind binding all individual minds to certain <i>generic</i> unities
+of action, and so producing all things as realities and nothing as
+illusion. The importance of this conclusion will become more apparent as we
+advance in our studies.</p>
+
+<p>We have now got at some reason why concrete material form is a necessity
+of the Creative Process. Without it the perfect Self-recognition of Spirit
+from the Individual standpoint, which we shall presently find is the means
+by which the Creative Process is to be carried forward, would be
+impossible; and therefore, so far from matter being an illusion, it is the
+necessary channel for the self-differentiation of Spirit and its Expression
+in multitudinous life and beauty. Matter is thus the necessary Polar
+Opposite to Spirit, and when we thus recognize it in its right order we
+shall find that there is no antagonism between the two, but that together
+they constitute one harmonious whole.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap2">CHAPTER II</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we ask how the cosmos came into existence we shall find that
+ultimately we can only attribute it to the Self-Contemplation of Spirit.
+Let us start with the facts now known to modern physical science. All
+material things, including our own bodies, are composed of combinations of
+different chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, &amp;c.
+Chemistry recognizes in all about seventy of these elements each with its
+peculiar affinities; but the more advanced physical science of the present
+day finds that they are all composed of one and the same ultimate substance
+to which the name of Ether has been given, and that the difference between
+an atom of iron and an atom of oxygen results only from the difference in
+the number of etheric particles of which each is composed and the rate of
+their motion within the sphere of the atom, thus curiously coming back to
+the dictum of Pythagoras that the universe has its origin in Number and
+Motion. We may therefore say that our entire solar system together with
+every sort of material substance which it contains is made up of nothing
+but this one primary substance in various degrees of condensation.</p>
+
+<p>Now the next step is to realize that this ether is everywhere. This is
+shown by the undulatory theory of light. Light is not a substance but is
+the effect produced on the eye by the impinging of the ripples of the ether
+upon the retina. These waves are excessively minute, ranging in length from
+1-39,000th of an inch at the red end of the spectrum to 1-57,000th at the
+violet end. Next remember that these waves are not composed of advancing
+particles of the medium but pass onwards by the push which each particle in
+the line of motion gives to the particle next to it, and then you will see
+that if there were a break of one fifty-thousandth part of an inch in the
+connecting ether between our eye and any source of light we could not
+receive light from that source, for there would be nothing to continue the
+wave-motion across the gap. Consequently as soon as we see light from any
+source however distant, we know that there must be a continuous body of
+ether between us and it. Now astronomy shows us that we receive light from
+heavenly bodies so distant that, though it travels with the incredible
+speed of 186,000 miles per second, it takes more than two thousand years to
+reach us from some of them; and as such stars are in all quarters of the
+heavens we can only come to the conclusion that the primary substance or
+ether must be universally present.</p>
+
+<p>This means that the raw material for the formation of solar systems is
+universally distributed throughout space; yet though we find that millions
+of suns stud the heavens, we also find vast interstellar spaces which show
+no sign of cosmic activity. Then something has been at work to start cosmic
+activity in certain areas while passing over others in which the raw
+material is equally available. What is this something? At first we might be
+inclined to attribute the development of cosmic energy to the etheric
+particles themselves, but a little consideration will show us that this is
+mathematically impossible in a medium which is equally distributed
+throughout space, for all its particles are in equilibrium and so no one
+particle possesses <i>per se</i> a greater power of originating motion than
+any other. Consequently the initial movement must be started by something
+which, though it works on and through the particles of the primary
+substance, is not those particles themselves. It is this "Something" which
+we mean when we speak of "Spirit."</p>
+
+<p>Then since Spirit starts the condensation of the primary substance into
+concrete aggregation, and also does this in certain areas to the exclusion
+of others, we cannot avoid attributing to Spirit the power of Selection and
+of taking an Initiative on its own account.</p>
+
+<p>Here, then, we find the <i>initial</i> Polarity of Universal Spirit and
+Universal Substance, each being the complementary of the other, and out of
+this relation all subsequent evolution proceeds. Being complementary means
+that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together
+thus make complete wholeness. Now this is just the case here. Spirit
+supplies Selection and Motion. Substance supplies something from which
+selection can be made and to which Motion can be imparted; so that it is a
+<i>sine qua non</i> for the Expression of Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Then comes the question, How did the Universal Substance get there? It
+cannot have made itself, for its only quality is inertia, therefore it must
+have come from some source having power to project it by some mode of
+action not of a material nature. Now the only mode of action not of a
+material nature is Thought, and therefore to Thought we must look for the
+origin of Substance. This places us at a point antecedent to the existence
+even of primary substance, and consequently the initial action must be that
+of the Originating Mind upon Itself, in other words,
+Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for
+both imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement
+of Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute
+Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension
+either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and
+space from our conception of Spirit's <i>initial</i>
+Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>This being so, Spirit's primary contemplation of itself as simply Being
+necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently,
+paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it
+present throughout all Time and Space. It is the old esoteric maxim that
+the point expands to infinitude and that infinitude is concentrated in the
+point. We start, then, with Spirit contemplating itself simply as Being.
+But to realize your being you must have consciousness, and consciousness
+can only come by the recognition of your relation to something else. The
+something else may be an external fact or a mental image; but even in the
+latter case to conceive the image at all you must mentally stand back from
+it and look at it--something like the man who was run in by the police at
+Gravesend for walking behind himself to see how his new coat fitted. It
+stands thus: if you are not conscious of something you are conscious of
+nothing, and if you are conscious of nothing, then you are unconscious, so
+that to be conscious at all you must have something  to be conscious
+of.</p>
+
+<p>This may seem like an extract from "Paddy's Philosophy," but it makes it
+clear that consciousness can only be attained by the recognition of
+something which is not the recognizing <i>ego</i> itself--in other words
+consciousness is the realization of some particular sort of <i>relation</i>
+between the cognizing subject and the cognized object; but I want to get
+away from academical terms into the speech of human beings, so let us take
+the illustration of a broom and its handle--the two together make a broom;
+that is one sort of relation; but take the same stick and put a rake-iron
+at the end of it and you have an altogether different implement. The stick
+remains the same, but the difference of what is put at the end of it makes
+the whole thing a broom or a rake. Now the thinking and feeling power is
+the stick, and the conception which it forms is the thing at the end of the
+stick, so that the quality of its consciousness will be determined by the
+ideas which it projects; but to be conscious at all it must project ideas
+of some sort.</p>
+
+<p>Now of one thing we may be quite sure, that the Spirit of Life must
+<i>feel alive</i>. Then to feel alive it must be conscious, and to be
+conscious it must have something to be conscious of; therefore the
+contemplation of itself as standing related to something which is not its
+own originating self <i>in propria persona</i> is a necessity of the case;
+and consequently the Self-contemplation of Spirit can only proceed by its
+viewing itself as related to something standing out from itself, just as we
+must stand at a proper distance to see a picture--in fact the very word
+"existence" means "standing out." Thus things are called into existence or
+"outstandingness" by a power which itself does not stand out, and whose
+presence is therefore indicated by the word "subsistence."</p>
+
+<p>The next thing is that since in the beginning there is nothing except
+Spirit, its primary feeling of aliveness must be that of being alive <i>all
+over</i>; and to establish such a consciousness of its own universal
+livingness there must be the recognition of a corresponding <i>relation</i>
+equally extensive in character; and the only possible correspondence to
+fulfil this condition is therefore that of a universally distributed and
+plastic medium whose particles are all in perfect equilibrium, which is
+exactly the description of the Primary Substance or ether. We are thus
+philosophically led to the conclusion that Universal Substance must be
+projected by Universal Spirit as a necessary consequence of Spirit's own
+inherent feeling of Aliveness; and in this way we find that the great
+Primary Polarity of Being becomes established.</p>
+
+<p>From this point onward we shall find the principle of Polarity in
+universal activity. It is that relation between opposites without which no
+external Motion would be possible, because there would be nowhere to move
+from, and nowhere to move to; and without which external Form would be
+impossible because there would be nothing to limit the diffusion of
+substance and bring it into shape. Polarity, or the interaction of Active
+and Passive, is therefore the basis of all <i>Evolution</i>.</p>
+
+<p>This is a great fundamental truth when we get it in its right order; but
+all through the ages it has been a prolific source of error by getting it
+in its wrong order. And the wrong order consists in making Polarity the
+originating point of the Creative Process. What this misconception leads to
+we shall see later on; but since it is very widely accepted under various
+guises even at the present day it is well to be on our guard against it.
+Therefore I wish the student to see clearly that there is something which
+comes before that Polarity which gives rise to Evolution, and that this
+something is the original movement of Spirit <i>within itself</i>, of which
+we can best get an idea by calling it Self-contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>Now this may seem an extremely abstract conception and one with which we
+have no practical concern. I fancy I can hear the reader saying "The Lord
+only knows how the world started, and it is His business and not mine,"
+which would be perfectly true if this originating faculty were confined to
+the Cosmic Mind. But it is not, and the same action takes place in our own
+minds also, only with the difference that it is ultimately subject to that
+principle of Cosmic Unity of which I have already spoken. But, subject to
+that unifying principle, this same power of origination is in ourselves
+also, and our personal advance in evolution depends on our right use of it;
+and our use of it depends on our recognition that we ourselves give rise to
+the particular polarities which express themselves in our whole world of
+consciousness, whether within or without. For these reasons it is very
+important to realize that Evolution is not the same as Creation. It is the
+unfolding of potentialities involved in things already created, but not the
+calling into existence of what does not yet exist--<i>that</i> is
+Creation.</p>
+
+<p>The order, therefore, which I wish the student to observe is, first the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit producing Polarity, and next Polarity
+producing Manifestation in Form--and  also to realize that it is in this
+order his own mind operates as a subordinate center of creative energy.
+When the true place of Polarity is thus recognized, we shall find in it the
+explanation of all those relations of things which give rise to the whole
+world of phenomena;  from which we may draw the practical inference that if
+we want to change the manifestation we must change the polarity, and to
+change the polarity we must get back to the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+But in its proper place as the root-principle of all <i>secondary</i>
+causation, Polarity is one of those fundamental facts of which we must
+never lose sight. The term "Polarity" is adopted from electrical science.
+In the electric battery it is the connecting together of the opposite poles
+of zinc and copper that causes a current to flow from one to the other and
+so provides the energy that rings the bell. If the connection is broken
+there is no action. When you press the button you make the connection. The
+same process is repeated in respect of every sort of polarity throughout
+the universe. Circulation depends on polarity, and circulation is the
+<i>manifestation</i> of Life, which we may therefore say depends on the
+principle of polarity. In relation to ourselves we are concerned with two
+great polarities, the polarity of Soul and Body and the polarity of Soul
+and Spirit; and it is in order that he may more clearly realize their
+working that I want the student to have some preliminary idea of Polarity
+as a general principle.</p>
+
+<p>The conception of the Creative Order may therefore be generalized as
+follows. The Spirit wants to enjoy the reality of its own Life--not merely
+to vegetate, but to enjoy giving--and therefore by Self-contemplation it
+projects a polar opposite, or complementary, calculated to give rise to the
+particular sort of <i>relation</i> out of which the enjoyment of a certain
+mode of self-consciousness will necessarily spring. Let this sentence be
+well pondered over until the full extent of its significance is grasped,
+for it is the key to the whole matter Very well, then: Spirit wants to
+Enjoy Life, and so, by thinking of itself as <i>having</i> the enjoyment
+which it wishes, it produces the conditions which, by their re-action upon
+itself, give rise to the reality of the sort of enjoyment contemplated. In
+more scientific language an opposite polarity is induced, giving rise to a
+current which stimulates a particular mode of sensation, which sensation in
+turn becomes a fresh starting-point for still further action; and in this
+way each successive stage becomes the stepping-stone to a still higher
+degree of sensation--that  is, to a Fuller Enjoyment of Life.</p>
+
+<p>Such a conception as this presents us with a Progressive Series to which
+it is impossible to assign any limit. That the progression must be
+limitless is clear from the fact that there is never any change in the
+method. At each successive stage the Creating Power is the
+Self-consciousness of the Spirit, as realized at that stage, still reaching
+forward for yet further Enjoyment of Life, and so always keeping on
+repeating the <i>one</i> Creative Process at an ever-rising level; and
+since these are the sole working conditions, the progress is one which
+logically admits of no finality. And this is where the importance of
+realizing the Singleness of the Originating Power comes in, for with a
+Duality each member would limit the other; in fact, Duality as the
+Originating Power is inconceivable, for, once more to quote "Paddy's
+Philosophy," "finality would be reached before anything was begun."</p>
+
+<p>This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,
+while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by
+stage, each stage being necessary as a preparation for the one that is to
+follow. Let us then briefly sketch the stages by which things in our world
+have got as far as they have. The interest of the enquiry lies in the fact
+that if we can once get at the principle which is producing these results,
+we may discover some way of giving it personal application.</p>
+
+<p>On the hypothesis of the Self-contemplation of Spirit being the
+originating power, we have found that a primary ether, or universal
+substance, is the necessary correspondence to Spirit's simple awareness of
+its own being. But though awareness of being is the necessary foundation
+for any further possibilities it is, so to say, not much to talk about. The
+foundation fact, of course, is to know that I Am; but immediately on this
+consciousness there follows the desire for Activity--I want to enjoy my I
+Am-ness by doing something with it. Translating these words into a state of
+consciousness in the Cosmic Mind they become a Law of Tendency leading to
+<i>localised</i> activity, and, looking only at our own world, this would
+mean the condensation of the universal etheric substance into the primary
+nebula which later on becomes our solar system, this being the
+correspondence to the Self-contemplation of Spirit as passing into specific
+activity instead of remaining absorbed in simple awareness of Being. Then
+this self-recognition would lead to the conception of still more specific
+activity having its appropriate polar opposite, or material correspondence,
+in the condensation of the nebula into a solar system.</p>
+
+<p>Now at this stage Spirit's conception of itself is that of Activity, and
+consequently the material correspondence is Motion, as distinguished from
+the simple diffused ether which is the correspondence of mere awareness of
+Being, But what sort of motion? Is the material movement evolved at this
+stage bound to take any particular form? A little consideration will show
+us that it is. At this initial stage, the first awakening, so to say, of
+Spirit into activity, its consciousness can only be that of activity
+<i>absolute</i>; that is, not as related to any other mode of activity
+because as yet there is none, but only as related to an all-embracing
+Being; so that the only possible conception of Activity at this stage is
+that of <i>Self-sustained</i> activity, not depending on any preceding mode
+of activity because there is none. The law of reciprocity therefore demands
+a similar self-sustained motion in the material correspondence, and
+mathematical considerations show that the only sort of motion which can
+sustain a self-supporting body moving <i>in vacuo</i> is a rotary motion
+bringing the body itself into a spherical form. Now this is exactly what we
+find at both extremes of the material world. At the big end the spheres of
+the planets rotating on their axes and revolving round the sun; and at the
+little end the spheres of the atoms consisting of particles which, modern
+science tells us, in like manner rotate round a common center at distances
+which are astronomical as compared with their own mass. Thus the two
+ultimate units of physical manifestation, the atom and the planet, both
+follow the same law of self-sustained motion which we have found that, on
+<i>a priori</i> grounds, they ought in order to express the primary
+activity of Spirit. And we may note in passing that this rotary, or
+<i>absolute</i>, motion is the combination of the only two possible
+<i>relative</i> modes of motion, namely, motion from a point and motion to
+it, that is to say centrifugal and centripetal motion; so that in rotary,
+or absolute, motion we find that both the polarities of motion are
+included, thus repeating on the purely mechanical side the primordial
+principle of the Unity including the Duality in itself.</p>
+
+<p>But the Spirit wants something more than mechanical motion, something
+more alive than the preliminary Rota, and so the first step toward
+individualized consciousness meets us in plant life. Then on the principle
+that each successive stage affords the platform for a further outlook,
+plant life is followed by animal life, and this by the Human order in which
+the liberty of selecting its own conditions is immensely extended. In this
+way the Spirit's expression of itself has now reached the point where its
+polar complementary, or Reciprocal, manifests as Intellectual Man--thus
+constituting the Fourth great stage of Spirit's Self-recognition. But the
+Creative Process cannot stop here, for, as we have seen, its root in the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit renders it of necessity an Infinite
+Progression. So it is no use asking what is its ultimate, for it has no
+ultimate--its word is "Excelsior"--ever Life and "Life more Abundant."
+Therefore the question is not as to finality where there is none, but as to
+the next step in the progression. Four kingdoms we know: what is to be the
+Fifth? All along the line the progress has been in one direction, namely,
+toward the development of more perfect Individuality, and therefore on the
+principle of continuity we may reasonably infer that the next stage will
+take us still further in the same direction. We want something more perfect
+than we have yet reached, but our ideas as to what it should be are very
+various, not to say discordant, for one person's idea of better is another
+person's idea of worse. Therefore what we want to get at is some broad
+generalization of principle which will be in advance of our past
+experiences. This means that we must look for this principle in something
+that we have not yet experienced, and the only place where we can possibly
+find principles which have not yet manifested themselves is <i>in gremio
+Dei</i>--that is, in the innermost of the Originating Spirit, or as St.
+John calls it, "in the bosom of the Father." So we are logically brought to
+personal participation in the Divine Ideal as the only principle by which
+the advance into the next stage can possibly be made. Therefore we arrive
+at the question, What is the Divine Ideal like?</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap3">CHAPTER III</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE DIVINE IDEAL</h2>
+
+
+<p>What is the Divine Ideal? At first it might appear hopeless to attempt
+to answer such a question, but by adhering to a definite principle we shall
+find that it will open out, and lead us on, and show us things which we
+could not otherwise have seen--this is the nature of principle, and is what
+distinguishes it from mere rules which are only the application of
+principle under some particular set of conditions. We found two principles
+as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely its power
+of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as
+its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the LIVING for ever
+increasing Enjoyment of Life. Now with these three principles as the very
+essence of the All-originating Spirit to guide us, we shall, I think, be
+able to form some conception of that Divine Ideal which gives rise to the
+Fifth Stage of Manifestation of Spirit, upon which we should now be
+preparing to enter.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a
+<i>reciprocal</i>--it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to
+answer to it; otherwise by the inherent law of mind no consciousness, and
+consequently no enjoyment, could accrue; and therefore by the law of
+continuous progression the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being
+awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes
+into existence.</p>
+
+<p>Such an awakening cannot proceed from a comparison of one set of
+existing conditions with another, but only from the recognition of a Power
+which is independent of all conditions, that is to say, the absolute
+Self-dependence of the Spirit. A being thus awakened would be the proper
+correspondence of the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life at a stage not only above
+mechanical motion or physical vitality, but even above intellectual
+perception of existing phenomena, that is to say at the stage where the
+Spirit's Enjoyment consists in recognizing itself as the Source of all
+things. The position in the Absolute would be, so to speak, the awakening
+of Spirit to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability. I use the word
+"Artistic" as more nearly expressing an almost unstatable idea than any
+other I can think of, for the work of the artist approaches more closely to
+creation <i>ex nihilo</i> than any other form of human activity. The work
+of the artist is the expression of the self that the artist is, while that
+of the scientist is the comparison of facts which exist independently of
+his own personality. It is true that the realm of Art is not without its
+methods of analysis, but the analysis is that of the artist's own feeling
+and of the causes which give rise to it. These are found to contain in
+themselves certain principles which are fundamental to all Art, but these
+principles are the laws of the creative action of mind rather than those of
+the limitations of matter. Now if we may transfer this familiar analogy to
+our conception of the working of the All-Originating Mind we may picture it
+as the Great Artist giving visible expression to His feeling by a process
+which, though subject to no restriction from antecedent conditions, yet
+works by a Law which is inseparable from the Feeling itself--in fact the
+Law <i>is</i> the Feeling, and the Feeling <i>is</i> the Law, the Law of
+Perfect Creativeness.</p>
+
+<p>Some such Self-contemplation as this is the only way in which we can
+conceive the next, or Fifth, stage of Spirit's Self-recognition as taking
+place. Having got as far as it has in the four previous stages, that is to
+the production of intellectual man as its correspondence, the next step in
+advance must be on the lines I have indicated--unless, indeed, there were a
+sudden and arbitrary breaking of the Law of Continuity, a supposition which
+the whole Creative Process up to now forbids us to entertain. Therefore we
+may picture the Fifth stage of the Self-contemplation of Spirit as its
+awakening to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability, its own absolute
+freedom of action and creative power--just as in studio parlance we say
+that an artist becomes "free of his palette." But by the always present Law
+of Reciprocity, through which alone self-consciousness can be attained,
+this Self-recognition of Spirit in the Absolute implies a corresponding
+objective fact in the world of the Relative; that is to say, the coming
+into manifestation of a being capable of realizing the Free Creative
+Artistry of the Spirit, and of recognizing the same principle in himself,
+while at the same time realizing also the <i>relation</i> between the
+Universal Manifesting Principle and its Individual Manifestation.</p>
+
+<p>Such, it appears to me, must be the conception of the Divine Ideal
+embodied in the Fifth Stage of the progress of manifestation. But I would
+draw particular attention to the concluding words of the last paragraph,
+for if we miss the <i>relation</i> between the Universal Manifesting
+Principle and its Individual Manifestation, we have failed to realize the
+Principle altogether, whether in the Universal or in the Individual--it is
+just their interaction that makes each become what it does become--and in
+this further becoming consists the progression. This relation proceeds from
+the principle I pointed out in the opening chapter which makes it necessary
+for the Universal Spirit to be always harmonious with itself; and if this
+Unity is not recognized by the individual he cannot hold that position of
+Reciprocity to the Originating Spirit which will enable it to recognize
+itself as in the Enjoyment of Life at the higher level we are now
+contemplating--rather  the feeling conveyed would be that of something
+antagonistic, producing the reverse of enjoyment, thus philosophically
+bringing out the point of the Scriptural injunction, "Grieve not the
+Spirit." Also the re-action upon the individual must necessarily give rise
+to a corresponding state of inharmony, though he may not be able to define
+his feeling of unrest or to account for it. But on the other hand if the
+grand harmony of the Originating Spirit within itself is duly regarded,
+then the individual mind affords a fresh center from which the Spirit
+contemplates itself in what I have ventured to call its Artistic
+Originality--a boundless potential of Creativeness, yet always regulated by
+its own inherent Law of Unity.</p>
+
+<p>And this Law of the Spirit's Original Unity is a very simple one. It is
+the Spirit's necessary and basic conception of itself. A lie is a statement
+that something is, which is not. Then, since the Spirit's statement or
+conception of anything necessarily makes that thing exist, it is logically
+impossible for it to conceive a lie. Therefore the Spirit is Truth.
+Similarly disease and death are the negative of Life, and therefore the
+Spirit, as the Principle of Life, cannot embody disease or death in its
+Self-contemplation. In like manner also, since it is free to produce what
+it will, the Spirit cannot desire the presence of repugnant forms, and so
+one of its inherent Laws must be Beauty. In this threefold Law of Truth,
+Life, and Beauty, we find the whole underlying nature of the Spirit, and no
+action on the part of the individual can be at variance with the
+Originating Unity which does not contravert these fundamental
+principles.</p>
+
+<p>This it will be seen leaves the individual absolutely unfettered except
+in the direction of breaking up the fundamental harmony on which he
+himself, as included in the general creation, is dependent. This certainly
+cannot be called limitation, and we are all free to follow the lines of our
+own individuality in every other direction; so that, although the
+recognition of our relation to the Originating Spirit safeguards us from
+injuring ourselves or others, it in no way restricts our liberty of action
+or narrows our field of development. Am I, then, trying to base my action
+upon a fundamental desire for the opening out of Truth, for the increasing
+of Livingness, and for the creating of Beauty? Have I got this as an ever
+present Law of Tendency at the back of my thought? If so, then this law
+will occupy precisely the same place in My Microcosm, or personal world,
+that it does in the Macrocosm, or great world, as a power which is in
+itself formless, but which by reason of its presence necessarily impresses
+its character upon all that the creative energy forms. On this basis the
+creative energy of the Universal Mind may be safely trusted to work through
+the specializing influence of our own thought<sup><a href="#fn1"
+name="rfn1">[1]</a></sup> and we may adopt the maxim "trust your desires"
+because we know that they are the movement of the Universal in ourselves,
+and that being based upon our fundamental recognition of the Life, Love,
+and Beauty which the Spirit is, their unfoldments must carry these initial
+qualities with them all down the line, and thus, in however small a degree,
+becomes a portion of the working of the Spirit in its inherent
+creativeness.</p>
+
+<p>This perpetual Creativeness of the Spirit is what we must never lose
+sight of, and that is why I want the student to grasp clearly the idea of
+the Spirit's Self-contemplation as the only possible root of the Creative
+Process. Not only at the first creation of the world, but at all times the
+plane of the innermost is that of Pure Spirit,<sup><a href="#fn2"
+name="rfn2">[2]</a></sup> and therefore at this, the originating point,
+there is nothing else for Spirit to contemplate excepting itself; then this
+Self-contemplation produces corresponding manifestation, and since
+Self-contemplation or recognition of its own existence must necessarily go
+on continually, the corresponding creativeness must always be at work. If
+this fundamental idea be clearly grasped we shall see that incessant and
+progressive creativeness is the very essence and being of Spirit. This is
+what is meant by the Affirmativeness of the Spirit. It cannot <i>per se</i>
+act negatively, that is to say uncreatively, for by the very nature of its
+Self-recognition such a negative action would be impossible. Of course if
+<i>we</i> act negatively then, since the Spirit is always acting
+affirmatively, we are moving in the opposite direction to it; and
+consequently so long as we regard our own negative action as being
+affirmative, the Spirit's action must appear to us negative, and thus it is
+that all the negative conditions of the world have their root in negative
+or inverted thought: but the more we bring our thought into harmony with
+the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is, the less these inverted
+conditions will obtain, until at last they will be eliminated altogether.
+To accomplish this is our great object; for though the progress may be slow
+it will be steady if we proceed on a definite principle; and to lay hold of
+the true principle is the purpose of our studies. And the principle to lay
+hold of is the Ceaseless Creativeness of Spirit. This is what we mean when
+we speak of it as The Spirit of the Affirmative, and I would ask my readers
+to impress this term upon their minds. Once grant that the All-originating
+Spirit is thus the Spirit of the Pure Affirmative, and we shall find that
+this will lead us logically to results of the highest value.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, we keep this Perpetual and Progressive Creativeness of the
+Spirit continually in mind we may rely upon its working as surely in
+ourselves as in that great cosmic forward movement which we speak of as
+Evolution. It is the same power of Evolution working within ourselves, only
+with this difference, that in proportion as we come to realize its nature
+we find ourselves able to facilitate its progress by offering more and more
+favorable conditions for its working. We do not add to the force of the
+Power, for we are products of it and so cannot generate what generates
+<i>us</i>; but by providing suitable conditions we can more and more highly
+specialize it. This is the method of all the advance that has ever been
+made. We never create any force (<i>e.g.</i> electricity) but we provide
+special conditions under which the force manifests <i>itself</i> in a
+variety of useful and beautiful ways, unsuspected possibilities which lay
+hidden in the power until brought to light by the cooperation of the
+Personal Factor.</p>
+
+<p>Now it is precisely the introduction<sup><a href="#fn3"
+name="rfn3">[3]</a></sup> of this Personal Factor that concerns us, because
+to all eternity we can only recognize things from our own center of
+consciousness, whether in this world or in any other; therefore the
+practical question is how to specialize in our own case the <i>generic</i>
+Originating Life which, when we give it a name, we call "the Spirit." The
+method of doing this is perfectly logical when we once see that the
+principle involved is that of the Self-recognition of Spirit. We have
+traced the <i>modus operandi</i> of the Creative Process sufficiently far
+to see that the existence of the cosmos is the result of the Spirit's
+seeing itself <i>in</i> the cosmos, and if this be the law of the whole it
+must also be the law of the part. But there is this difference, that so
+long as the normal average relation of particles is maintained the whole
+continues to subsist, no matter what position any particular particle may
+go into, just as a fountain continues to exist no matter whether any
+particular drop of water is down in the basin or at the top of the jet.
+This is the <i>generic</i> action which keeps the race going as a whole.
+But the question is, What is going to become of ourselves? Then because the
+law of the whole is also the law of the part we may at once say that what
+is wanted is for the Spirit <i>to see itself in us</i>--in other words, to
+find in us the Reciprocal which, as we have seen, is necessary to its
+Enjoyment of a certain Quality of Consciousness. Now, the fundamental
+consciousness of the Spirit must be that of Self-sustaining Life, and for
+the full enjoyment of this consciousness there must be a corresponding
+<i>individual</i> consciousness reciprocating it; and on the part of the
+individual such a consciousness can only arise from the recognition that
+his own life is identical with that of the Spirit--not something sent forth
+to wander away by itself, but something included in and forming part of the
+Greater Life. Then by the very conditions of the case, such a contemplation
+on the part of the individual is nothing else than the Spirit contemplating
+itself from the standpoint of the individual consciousness, and thus
+fulfilling the Law of the Creative Process under such specialized
+conditions as must logically result in the perpetuation of the individual
+life. It is the Law of the Cosmic Creative Process transferred to the
+individual.</p>
+
+<p>This, it seems to me, is the Divine Ideal: that of an Individuality
+which recognizes its Source, and recognizes also the method by which it
+springs from that Source, and which is therefore able to open up in itself
+a channel by which that Source can flow in uninterruptedly; with the result
+that from the moment of this recognition the individual lives directly from
+the Originating Life, as being himself <i>a special direct creation</i>,
+and not merely as being a member of a generic race. The individual who has
+reached this stage of recognition thus finds a principle of enduring life
+<i>within himself</i>; so then the next question is in what way this
+principle is likely to manifest itself.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap4">CHAPTER IV</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE</h2>
+
+
+<p>We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or
+universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a
+principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth
+proceeding <i>from</i> the principle, that is to say, some Form in which
+the principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that,
+though a form is necessary for manifestation, <i>the</i> form is not
+essential, for the same principle may manifest through various forms, just
+as electricity may work either through a lamp or a tram-car without in any
+way changing its inherent nature. In this way we are brought to the
+conclusion that the Life-principle must always provide itself with a body
+in which to function, though it does not follow that this body must always
+be of the same chemical constitution as the one we now possess. We might
+well imagine some distant planet where the chemical combinations with which
+we are familiar on earth did not obtain; but if the essential
+life-principle of any individual were transported thither, then by the Law
+of the Creative Process it would proceed to clothe itself with a material
+body drawn from the atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the
+personality thus produced would be quite at home there, for all his
+surroundings would be perfectly natural to him, however different the laws
+of Nature might be there from what we know here.</p>
+
+<p>In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two leading
+principles to which I have drawn attention--first, the power of the Spirit
+to create <i>ex nihilo</i>, and secondly, the individual's recognition of
+the basic principle of Unity giving permanence and solidity to the frame of
+Nature. By the former the self-recognizing life-principle could produce any
+sort of body it chose; and by the latter it would be led to project one in
+harmony with the natural order of the particular planet, thus making all
+the facts of that order solid realities to the individual, and himself a
+solid and natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this
+would not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and
+so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal
+Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of his
+own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded with the
+conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded just as
+harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function on any number
+of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of them. He would in all
+respects resemble the other inhabitants with one all-important exception,
+that since he had attained to unity with his Creative Principle he would
+not be tied by the laws of matter as they were.</p>
+
+<p>Any one who should attain to such a power could only do so by his
+realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being the
+Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own extended
+powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic principle by
+employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the natural course of
+evolution in the world where he was. He might use them to help forward the
+evolution of others in that world, but certainly never to disturb it, for
+he would always act on the maxim that "Order is Heaven's First Law."</p>
+
+<p>Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets but
+to get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best out of this
+one until we realize that the power which will enable us to do so is so
+absolutely universal and fundamental that its application in this world is
+precisely the same as in any other, and that is why I have stated it as a
+general proposition applicable to all worlds.</p>
+
+<p>The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should
+postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and the
+best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point is not in
+time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we realize that this
+Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce something out of nothing,
+and that it does this in accordance with the natural order of substance of
+the particular world in which it is working, then the spiritual ego in
+ourselves, as proceeding direct from the Universal Spirit, should be able
+first, to so harmoniously combine the working of spiritual and physical
+laws in its own body as to keep it in perfect health, secondly to carry
+this process further and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of
+old age, and thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this
+renewed body as long as the individual might desire.</p>
+
+<p>If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has
+never given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly
+exclaim "Tommy rot!" even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He will
+at once appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his argument being
+that what has not been in the past cannot be in the future; yet he does not
+apply the same argument to aeronautics and is quite oblivious of the fact
+that the Sacred Volume which he reverences contains promises of these very
+things. The really earnest student must never forget the maxim that
+"Principle is not bound by Precedent"--if  it were we should still be
+primitive savages.</p>
+
+<p>To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that is
+to say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start with Pure
+Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to be found <i>in
+ourselves</i>, for this is what distinguishes the individual Creative
+Process from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of realizing only
+ONE Originating Power instead of two interacting powers comes in, for it
+means that we do not derive our power from any existing polarity, but that
+we are going to establish polarities which will start secondary causation
+on the lines which we thus determine. This also is where the importance
+comes in of recognizing that the only possible originating movement of
+spirit must be Self-contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to
+contemplate existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this
+contemplation of the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the
+Spirit from the standpoint of Human Individuality.</p>
+
+<p>Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we not
+demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is obviously
+correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only inference is
+that somewhere or other we have introduced something antagonistic to the
+fundamental principle, something not inherent in the principle itself and
+which therefore owes its presence to some action of our own. Now the error
+consists in the belief that the Creative Power is limited by the material
+in which it works. If this be assumed, then you have to calculate the
+resistances offered by the material; and since by the terms of the Creative
+Process these resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of
+calculation at all--in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and
+everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to remember that
+the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power, and that the
+interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a later stage, and is
+not creative, but only distributive--that  is to say, it localizes the
+Energy already proceeding from the Single Power. This is a fundamental
+truth which should never be lost sight of. So long, however, as we fail to
+see this truth we necessarily limit the Creative Power by the material it
+works in, and in practise we do this by referring to past experience as the
+only standard of judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the
+standard of the Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a
+being of the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which
+obtain in the First or Mineral Kingdom--to use Scriptural language we are
+seeking the Living among the dead.</p>
+
+<p>And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is beginning
+to open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the cure of disease
+by the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily increasing in number. The
+facts are now too patent to be denied--what we want is a better knowledge
+of the power which accounts for them. And if this beginning is now with us,
+by what reason can we limit it? The difference between the healing of
+disease and the renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life
+is only a difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual
+experience of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which
+we can logically set no limits.</p>
+
+<p>If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we
+shall see why we have hitherto had such small results.</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+Spirit creates by Self-contemplation;<br />
+Therefore, What it contemplates itself<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;as being, that it becomes.<br />
+You are individualized Spirit;<br />
+Therefore, What you contemplate as<br />
+the Law of your being becomes the<br />
+Law of your being.<br />
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the
+Material reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it, and
+you impress this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in yourself. Of
+course you cannot alter its inherent nature, but you cause it to work under
+negative conditions and thus make it produce negative results so far as you
+yourself are concerned.</p>
+
+<p>But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in
+the very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in
+yourself; and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically
+non-existent in the Creative Process, because they are products of it and
+not causes--look at things in this way and you will impress a corresponding
+conception upon the Spirit which, by the Law of Reciprocity, thus enters
+into Self-contemplation on <i>these</i> lines from the standpoint of your
+own individuality; and then by the nature of the Creative Process a
+corresponding externalization is bound to take place. Thus our initial
+question, How did anything come into existence at all, brings us to the
+recognition of a Law of Life which we may each specialize for ourselves;
+and in the degree to which we specialize it we shall find the Creative
+Principle at work within us building up a healthier and happier personality
+in mind, body, and circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit
+itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What distinguishes
+the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The Spirit is the
+Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form in which this
+principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by the Spirit of
+substance coordinate with the natural order of the plane on which the
+vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be built up comformably to
+that order. This building up is what we speak of as Growth; and since the
+principle which causes the growth is the individualized Spirit, the rate at
+which the growth will go on will depend on the amount of vitalizing energy
+the Spirit puts into it, and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on
+the degree in which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own
+livingness, and finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the
+quality of the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit
+as reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It nothing
+else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit proceeding from an
+individual and personal center. We must therefore not omit the Law of
+Growth in the vehicle from our conception of the working of the Spirit. As
+a matter of fact the vehicle has nothing to say in the matter for it is
+simply a projection from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation
+will be slow or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's
+vitalizing conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception
+that would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present
+we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power--not  as thinking it
+by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but as being far slower
+in operation now than we hope to see it in the future--and so we must not
+allow ourselves to be discouraged, but must hold our thought knowing that
+it is doing its creative work, and that the corresponding growth is slowly
+but surely taking place--thus following the Divine precept that men ought
+always to pray and not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these
+new lines our confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we
+shall be less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus
+the hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and
+more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.</p>
+
+<p>If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we
+should remember its threefold nature:--First the General Life-Principle,
+secondly the Localization of this principle in the Individual, and thirdly
+the Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected by the individualized spirit
+with more or less energy. It is a sequence of progressive condensation from
+the Undifferentiated Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost
+vehicle--a truth enshrined in the esoteric maxim that "Matter is Spirit at
+its lowest level."</p>
+
+<p>The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of
+Nature on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore
+perfectly different from forms temporarily consolidated out of material
+drawn from other living organisms. These latter phantasmal bodies are held
+together only by an act of concentrated volition, and can therefore only be
+maintained for a short time and with effort; while the body which the
+individualized spirit, or ego, builds for itself is produced by a perfectly
+natural process and does not require any effort to sustain it, since it is
+kept in touch with the whole system of the planet by the continuous and
+effortless action of the individual's sub-conscious mind.</p>
+
+<p>This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the
+body comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the aggregate of
+suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and if this suggestion
+is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws of the planet then a
+corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind will take place, a process
+which, so far from implying any effort, consists rather in a restful sense
+of unity with Nature.<sup><a href="#fn4" name="rfn4">[4]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>And if to this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal
+Sub-conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the
+sub-conscious mind does in ourselves--if to this there be superadded a
+sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the Soul of Nature
+flows, then through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such
+specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our past
+experiences without in any way violating the order of the universe. The Old
+Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life working under
+constricted conditions: the New Law is the manifestation of the same
+Principle working under expanding conditions. Thus it is that though God
+never changes we are said to "increase with the increase of God."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap5">CHAPTER V</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE PERSONAL FACTOR</h2>
+
+
+<p>I have already pointed out that the presence of a single all-embracing
+Cosmic Mind is an absolute necessity for the existence of any creation
+whatever, for the reason that if each individual mind were an entirely
+separate center of perception, not linked to all other minds by a common
+ground of underlying mentality independent of all individual action, then
+no two persons would see the same thing at the same time, in fact no two
+individuals would be conscious of living in the same world. If this were
+the case there would be no common standard to which to refer our
+sensations; and, indeed, coming into existence with no consciousness of
+environment except such as we could form by our own unaided thought, and
+having by the hypothesis no standard by which to form our thoughts, we
+could not form the conception of any environment at all, and consequently
+could have no recognition of our own existence. The confusion of thought
+involved even in the attempt to state such a condition shows it to be
+perfectly inconceivable, for the simple reason that it is
+self-contradictory and self-destructive. On this account it is clear that
+our own existence and that of the world around us necessarily implies the
+presence of a Universal Mind acting on certain <i>fixed lines of its
+own</i> which establish the basis for the working of all individual minds.
+This paramount action of the Universal Mind thus sets an unchangeable
+standard by which all individual mental action must eventually be measured,
+and therefore our first concern is to ascertain what this standard is and
+to make it the basis of our own action.</p>
+
+<p>But if the independent existence of a common standard of reference is
+necessary for our self-recognition simply as inhabitants of the world we
+live in, then <i>a fortiori</i> a common standard of reference is necessary
+for our recognition of the unique place we hold in the Creative Order,
+which is that of introducing the Personal Factor without which the
+possibilities contained in the great Cosmic Laws would remain undeveloped,
+and the Self-contemplation of Spirit could never reach those infinite
+unfoldments of which it is logically capable.</p>
+
+<p>The evolution of the Personal Factor is therefore the point with which
+we are most concerned. As a matter of fact, whatever theories we may hold
+to the contrary, we do all realize the same cosmic environment in the same
+way; that is to say, our minds all act according to certain generic laws
+which underlie all our individual diversities of thought and feeling. This
+is so because we are made that way and cannot help it. But with the
+Personal Factor the case is different. A standard is no less necessary, but
+we are not so made as to conform to it automatically. The very conception
+of automatic conformity to a <i>personal</i> standard is
+self-contradictory, for it does away with the very thing that constitutes
+personality, namely freedom of volition, the use of the powers of
+Initiative and Selection. For this reason conformity to the Standard of
+Personality must be a matter of choice, which amounts to the same thing as
+saying that it rests with each individual to form his own conception of a
+standard of Personality; but which liberty, however, carries with it the
+inevitable result that we shall bring into manifestation the
+<i>conditions</i> corresponding to the sort of personality we accept as our
+normal standard.</p>
+
+<p>I would draw attention to the words "Normal Standard." What we shall
+eventually attain is, not what we merely wish, but what we regard as
+normal. The reason is that since we sub-consciously know ourselves to be
+based upon the inherent Law of the Universal Mind we feel, whether we can
+reason it out or not, that we cannot force the All-producing Mind to work
+contrary to its own inherent qualities, and therefore we intuitively
+recognize that we cannot transcend the sort of personality which is normal
+according to the Law of Universal Mind. This thought is always at the back
+of our mind and we cannot get away from it for the simple reason that it is
+inherent in our mental constitution, because our mind is itself a product
+of the Creative Process; and to suppose ourselves transcending the
+possibilities contained in the Originating Mind would involve the absurdity
+of supposing that we can get the greater out of the less.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless there are some who try to do so, and their position is as
+follows. They say in effect, I want to transcend the standard of humanity
+as I see it around me. But this is the normal standard according to the Law
+of the Universe, therefore I have to get above the Law of the Universe.
+Consequently I cannot draw the necessary power from that Law, and so there
+is nowhere else to get it except from myself. Thus the aspirant is thrown
+back upon his own individual will as the ultimate power, with the result
+that the onus lies on him of concentrating a force sufficient to overcome
+the Law of the Universe. There is thus continually present to him a
+suggestion of struggle against a tremendous opposing force, and as a
+consequence he is continually subjecting himself to a strain which grows
+more and more intense as he realizes the magnitude of the force against
+which he is contending. Then as he begins to realize the inequality of the
+struggle he seeks for extraneous aid, and so he falls back on various
+expedients, all of which have this in common that they ultimately amount to
+invoking the assistance of other individualities, not seeing that this
+involves the same fallacy which has brought him to his present straits, the
+fallacy, namely, of supposing that any individuality can develop a power
+greater than that of the source from which itself proceeds. The fallacy is
+a radical one; and therefore all efforts based upon it are fore-doomed to
+ultimate failure, whether they take the form of reliance on personal force
+of will, or magical rites, or austerity practised against the body, or
+attempts by abnormal concentration to absorb the individual in the
+universal, or the invocation of spirits, or any other method--the same
+fallacy is involved in them all, that the less is larger than the
+greater.</p>
+
+<p>Now the point to be noted is that the idea of transcending the present
+conditions of humanity does not necessarily imply the idea of transcending
+the normal law of humanity. The mistake we have hitherto made has been in
+fixing the Standard of Personality too low and in taking our past
+experiences as measuring the ultimate possibilities of the race. Our
+liberty consists in our ability to form our own conception of the Normal
+Standard of Personality, only subject to the conditions arising out of the
+inherent Law of the underlying Universal Mind; and so the whole thing
+resolves itself into the question, What are those fundamental conditions?
+The Law is that we cannot transcend the Normal; therefore comes the
+question, What is the Normal?</p>
+
+<p>I have endeavored to answer this question in the chapter on the Divine
+Ideal, but since this is the crucial point of the whole subject we may
+devote a little further attention to it. The Normal Standard of Personality
+must necessarily be the reproduction in Individuality of what the Universal
+Mind is in itself, because, by the nature of the Creative Process, this
+standard results from Spirit's Self-contemplation at the stage where its
+recognition is turned toward its own power of Initiative and Selection. At
+this stage Spirit's Self-recognition has passed beyond that of
+Self-expression through a mere Law of Averages into the recognition of what
+I have ventured to call its Artistic Ability; and as we have seen that
+Self-recognition at any stage can only be attained by the realization of a
+<i>relation</i> stimulating that particular sort of consciousness, it
+follows that for the purpose of this further advance expression through
+individuals of a corresponding type is a necessity. Then by the Law of
+Reciprocity such beings must possess powers similar to those contemplated
+in itself by the Originating Spirit, in other words they must be in their
+own sphere the image and likeness of the Spirit as it sees itself.</p>
+
+<p>Now we have seen that the Creating Spirit necessarily possesses the
+powers of Initiative and Selection. These we may call its <i>active</i>
+properties--the summing up of what it <i>does</i>. But what any power does
+depends on what it <i>is</i>, for the simple reason that it cannot give out
+what it does not contain; therefore at the back of the initiative and
+selective power of the Spirit we must find what the Spirit <i>is</i>,
+namely, what are its <i>substantive</i> properties. To begin with it must
+be Life. Then because it is Life it must be Love, because as the
+undifferentiated Principle of Life it cannot do otherwise than tend to the
+fuller development of life in each individual, and the pure motive of
+giving greater enjoyment of life is Love. Then because it is Life guided by
+Love it must also be Light, that is to say, the primary all-inclusive
+perception of boundless manifestations yet to be. Then from this proceeds
+Power, because there is no opposing force at the level of Pure Spirit; and
+therefore Life urged forward by Love or the desire for recognition, and by
+Light or the pure perception of the Law of Infinite Possibility, must
+necessarily produce Power, for the simple reason that under these
+conditions it could not stop short of action, for that would be the denial
+of the Life, Love, and Light which it is. Then because the Spirit is Life,
+Love, Light, and Power, it is also Peace, again for a very simple reason,
+that being the Spirit of the Whole it cannot set one part in antagonism
+against another, for that would be to destroy the wholeness. Next the
+Spirit must be Beauty, because on the same principle of Wholeness it must
+duly proportion every part to every other part, and the due proportioning
+of all parts is beauty. And lastly the Spirit must be Joy, because, working
+on these lines, it cannot do otherwise than find pleasure in the
+Self-expression which its works afford it, and in the contemplation of the
+limitlessness of the Creative Process by which each realized stage of
+evolution, however excellent, is still the stepping-stone to something yet
+more excellent, and so on in everlasting progression.</p>
+
+<p>For these reasons we may sum up the Substantive Being of the
+All-originating Spirit as Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy;
+and its Active Power as that of Initiative and Selection. These, therefore,
+constitute the basic laws of the underlying universal mentality which sets
+the Standard of Normal Personality--a standard which, when seen in this
+light, transcends the utmost scope of our thought, for it is nothing else
+than the Spirit of the Infinite Affirmative conceived in Human Personality.
+This standard is therefore that of the Universal Spirit itself reproduced
+in Human Individuality by the same Law of Reciprocity which we have found
+to be the fundamental law of the Creative Process--only now we are tracing
+the action of this Law in the Fifth Kingdom instead of in the Fourth.</p>
+
+<p>This Standard, then, we may call the Universal Principle of Humanity,
+and having now traced the successive steps by which it is reached from the
+first cosmic movement of the Spirit in the formation of the primary nebula,
+we need not go over the old ground again, and may henceforward take this
+Divine Principle of Humanity as our Normal Standard and make it the
+starting point for our further evolution. But how are we to do this? Simply
+by using the one method of Creative Process, that is, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. We now know ourselves to be Reciprocals of
+the Divine Spirit, centers in which It finds a fresh standpoint for
+Self-contemplation; and so the way to rise to the heights of this Great
+Pattern is by contemplating it as the Normal Standard of our own
+Personality.</p>
+
+<p>And be it noted that the Pattern thus set before us is Universal. It is
+the embodiment of all the great principles of the Affirmative, and so in no
+way interferes with our own particular individuality--<i>that</i> is
+something built up upon this foundation, something additional affording the
+differentiating medium through which this unifying Principle finds variety
+of expression, therefore we need be under no apprehension lest by resting
+upon this Pattern we should become less ourselves. On the contrary the
+recognition of it sets us at liberty to become more fully ourselves because
+we know that we are basing our development, not upon the strength of our
+own unaided will, nor yet upon any sort of extraneous help, but upon the
+Universal Law itself, manifesting through us in the proper sequence of the
+Creative Order; so that we are still dealing with Universal principles,
+only the principle by which we are now working is the Universal Principle
+of Personality.</p>
+
+<p>I wish the student to get this idea very clearly because this is really
+the crux of the passage from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. The great
+problem of the future of evolution is the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. The reason why this is so is very simple when we see it. To take a
+thought from my own "Dor&eacute; Lectures" we may put it in this way. In
+former days no one thought of building ships of iron because iron does not
+float; yet now ships are seldom built of anything else, though the relative
+specific gravities of iron and water remain unchanged. What has changed is
+the Personal Factor. It has expanded to a more intelligent perception of
+the law of flotation, and we now see that wood floats and iron sinks, both
+of them by the same principle working under opposite conditions, the law,
+namely, that anything will float which bulk for bulk is lighter than the
+volume of water displaced by it, so that by including in our calculations
+the displacement of the vessel as well as the specific gravity of the
+material, we now make iron float by the very same law by which it sinks.
+This example shows that the function of the Personal Factor is to analyze
+the manifestations of Law which are spontaneously afforded by Nature and to
+discover the Universal Affirmative Principle which lies hidden within them,
+and then by the exercise of our powers of Initiative and Selection to
+provide such specialized conditions as will enable the Universal Principle
+to work in perfectly new ways transcending anything in our past experience.
+This is how all progress has been achieved up to the present; and is the
+way in which all progress must be achieved in the future, only for the
+purpose of evolution, or growth from within, we must transfer the method to
+the spiritual plane.</p>
+
+<p>The function, then, of the Personal Factor in the Creative Order is to
+provide specialized conditions by the use of the powers of Selection and
+Initiative, a truth indicated by the maxim "Nature unaided fails"; but the
+difficulty is that if enhanced powers were attained by the whole population
+of the world without any common basis for their use, their promiscuous
+exercise could only result in chaotic confusion and the destruction of the
+entire race. To introduce the creative power of the Individual and at the
+same time avoid converting it into a devastating flood is the great problem
+of the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. For this purpose
+it becomes necessary to have a Standard of the Personal Factor independent
+of any individual conceptions, just as we found that in order for us to
+attain self-consciousness at all it was a necessity that there should be a
+Universal Mind as the <i>generic</i> basis of all individual mentality;
+only in regard to the generic build of mind the conformity is necessarily
+automatic, while in regard to the specializing process the fact that the
+essence of that process is Selection and Initiative renders it impossible
+for the conformity to the Standard of Personality to be automatic--the very
+nature of the thing makes it a matter of individual choice.</p>
+
+<p>Now a Standard of Personality independent of individual conceptions must
+be the <i>essence</i> of Personality as distinguished from individual
+idiosyncrasies, and can therefore be nothing else than the Creative Life,
+Love, Beauty, etc., viewed as a Divine Individuality, by identifying
+ourselves with which we eliminate all possibility of conflict with other
+personalities based on the same fundamental recognition; and the very
+universality of this Standard allows free play to all our particular
+idiosyncrasies while at the same time preventing them from antagonizing the
+fundamental principles to which we have found that the Self-contemplation
+of the Originating Spirit must necessarily give rise. In this way we attain
+a Standard of Measurement for our own powers. If we recognize no such
+Standard our development of spiritual powers, our discovery of the immense
+possibilities hidden in the inner laws of Nature and of our own being, can
+only become a scourge to ourselves and others, and it is for this reason
+that these secrets are so jealously guarded by those who know them, and
+that over the entrance to the temple are written the words "Eskato
+Bebeloi"--"Hence ye Profane."</p>
+
+<p>But if we recognize and accept this Standard of Measurement then we need
+never fear our discovery of hidden powers either in ourselves or in Nature,
+for on this basis it becomes impossible for us to misuse them. Therefore it
+is that all systematic teaching on these subjects begins with instruction
+regarding the Creative Order of the Cosmos, and then proceeds to exhibit
+the same Order as reproduced on the plane of Personality and so affording a
+fresh starting point for the Creative Process by the introduction of
+Individual Initiative and Selection. This is the doctrine of the Macrocosm
+and the Microcosm; and the transition from the generic working of the
+Creative Spirit in the Cosmos to its specific working in the Individual is
+what is meant by the doctrine of the Octave.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap6">CHAPTER VI</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY</h2>
+
+
+<p>We have now got some general idea as to the place of the personal factor
+in the Creative Order, and so the next question is, How does this affect
+ourselves? The answer is that if we have grasped the fundamental fact that
+the moving power in the Creative Process is the self-contemplation of
+Spirit, and if we also see that, because we are miniature reproductions of
+the Original Spirit, our contemplation of It becomes Its contemplation of
+Itself from the standpoint of our own individuality--if we have grasped
+these fundamental conceptions, then it follows that our process for
+developing power is to contemplate the Originating Spirit as the source of
+the power we want to develop. And here we must guard against a mistake
+which people often make when looking to the Spirit as the source of power.
+We are apt to regard it as sometimes giving and sometimes withholding
+power, and consequently are never sure which way it will act. But by so
+doing we make Spirit contemplate itself as having no definite action at
+all, as a plus and minus which mutually cancel each other, and therefore by
+the Law of the Creative Process no result is to be expected. The mistake
+consists in regarding the power as something separate from the Spirit;
+whereas by the analysis of the Creative Process which we have now made we
+see that the Spirit itself <i>is</i> the power, because the power comes
+into existence only through Spirit's self-contemplation. Then the logical
+inference from this is that by contemplating the Spirit <i>as</i> the
+power, and <i>vice versa</i> by contemplating the power <i>as</i> the
+Spirit, a similar power is being generated in ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>Again an important conclusion follows from this, which is that to
+generate any <i>particular sort</i> of power we should contemplate it in
+the abstract rather than as applied to the particular set of circumstances
+we have in hand. The circumstances indicate the sort of power we want but
+they do not help us to generate it; rather they impress us with a sense of
+something contrary to the power, something which has to be overcome by it,
+and therefore we should endeavor to dwell on the power <i>in itself</i>,
+and so come into touch with it in its limitless infinitude.</p>
+
+<p>It is here that we begin to find the benefit of a Divine Standard of
+Human Individuality. That also is an Infinite Principle, and by identifying
+ourselves with it we bring to bear upon the abstract conception of infinite
+Impersonal Power a corresponding conception of Infinite Personality, so
+that we thus import the Personal Factor which is able <i>to use</i> the
+Power without imposing any strain upon ourselves. We know that by the very
+nature of the Creative Process we are one with the Originating Spirit and
+therefore one with all the principles of its Being, and consequently one
+with its Infinite Personality, and therefore our contemplation of it as the
+Power which we want gives us the power to use that Power.</p>
+
+<p>This is the Self-contemplation of Spirit employed from the individual
+standpoint for the generating of power. Then comes the application of the
+power thus generated. But there is only one Creative Process, that of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit, and therefore the way to use this process for
+the application of the power is to contemplate ourselves as surrounded by
+the conditions which we want to produce. This does not mean that we are to
+lay down a hard and fast pattern of the conditions and strenuously endeavor
+to compel the Power to conform its working to every detail of our mental
+picture--to do so would be to hinder its working and to exhaust ourselves.
+What we are to dwell upon is the idea of an Infinite Power producing the
+happiness we desire, and because this Power is also the Forming Power of
+the universe trusting it to give that form to the conditions which will
+most perfectly react upon us to produce the particular state of
+consciousness desired.</p>
+
+<p>Thus neither on the side of in-drawing nor of out-giving is there any
+constraining of the Power, while in both cases there is an initiative and
+selective action on the part of the individual--for  the generating of
+power he takes the initiative of invoking it by contemplation, and he makes
+selection of the sort of power to invoke; while on the giving-out side he
+makes selection of the purpose for which the Power is to be employed, and
+takes the initiative by his thought of directing the Power to that purpose.
+He thus fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Creative Process by
+exercising Spirit's inherent faculties of initiative and selection by means
+of its inherent method, namely by Self-contemplation. The whole action is
+identical in kind with that which produces the cosmos, and it is now
+repeated in miniature for the particular world of the individual; only we
+must remember that this miniature reproduction of the Creative Process is
+based upon the great fundamental principles inherent in the Universal Mind,
+and cannot be dissociated from them without involving a conception of the
+individual which will ultimately be found self-destructive because it cuts
+away the foundation on which his individuality rests.</p>
+
+<p>It will therefore be seen that any individuality based upon the
+fundamental Standard of Personality thus involved in the Universal Mind has
+reached the basic principle of union with the Originating Spirit itself,
+and we are therefore correct in saying that union is attained through, or
+by means of, this Standard Personality. This is a great truth which in all
+ages has been set forth under a variety of symbolic statements; often
+misunderstood, and still continuing to be so, though owing to the inherent
+vitality of the idea itself even a partial apprehension of it produces a
+corresponding measure of good results. This falling short has been
+occasioned by the failure to recognize an Eternal Principle at the back of
+the particular statements--in a word the failure to see what they were
+talking about. All <i>principles</i> are eternal in themselves, and this is
+what distinguishes them from their particular manifestations as laws
+determined by temporary and local conditions.</p>
+
+<p>If then, we would reach the root of the matter we must penetrate through
+all verbal statements to an Eternal Principle which is as active now as
+ever in the past, and which is as available to ourselves as to any who have
+gone before us. Therefore it is that when we discern an Eternal and
+Universal Principle of Human Personality as necessarily involved in the
+Essential Being of the Originating Universal Spirit--<i>Filius in gremio
+Patris</i>--we have discovered the true Normal Standard of Personality.
+Then because this standard is nothing else than the principle of
+Personality expanded to infinitude, there is no limit to the expansion
+which we ourselves may attain by the operation in us of this principle; and
+so we are never placed in a position of antagonism to the true law of our
+being, but on the contrary the larger and more fundamental our conception
+of personal development the greater will be the fulfilment which we give to
+the Law. The Normal Standard of Personality is found to be itself the Law
+of the Creative Process working at the personal level; and it cannot be
+subject to limitation for the simple reason that the process being that of
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit, no limits can possibly be assigned to
+this contemplation.</p>
+
+<p>We need, therefore, never be afraid of forming too high an idea of human
+possibilities provided always that we take this standard as the foundation
+on which to build up the edifice of our personality. And we see that this
+standard is no arbitrary one but simply the Expression in Personality of
+the ONE all-embracing Spirit of the Affirmative; and therefore the only
+limitation implied by conformity to it is that of being prevented from
+running on lines the opposite of those of the Creative Process, that is to
+say, from calling into action causes of disintegration and destruction. In
+the truly Constructive Order, therefore, the Divine Standard of Personality
+is as really the basis of the development of specific personality as the
+Universal Mind is the necessary basis of generic mentality; and just as
+without this generic ultimate of Mind we should none of us see the same
+world at the same time, and in fact have no consciousness of existence, so
+apart from this Divine Standard of Personality it is equally impossible for
+us to specialize the generic law of our being so as to develop all the
+glorious possibilities that are latent in it.</p>
+
+<p>Only we must never forget the difference between these two statements of
+the Universal Law--the one is cosmic and generic, common to the whole race,
+whether they know it or not, a Standard to which we all conform
+automatically by the mere fact of being human beings; while the other is a
+personal and individual Standard, automatic conformity to which is
+impossible because that would imply the loss of those powers of Initiative
+and Selection which are the very essence of Personality; so that this
+Standard necessarily implies a personal selection of it in preference to
+other conceptions of an antagonistic nature.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap7">CHAPTER VII</a></h1>
+
+<h2>RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT</h2>
+
+
+<p>The steady following up of the successive stages of the Creative Process
+has led us to the recognition of an Individuality in the All-creating
+Spirit itself, but an Individuality which is by its very nature Universal,
+and so cannot be departed from without violating the essential principles
+on which the further expansion of our own individuality depends. At the
+same time it is strictly <i>individual</i>, for it is the Spirit of
+Individuality, and is thus to be distinguished from that merely
+<i>generic</i> race-personality which makes us human beings at all.
+Race-personality is of course the necessary <i>basis</i> for the
+development of this Individuality; but if we do not see that it is only the
+preliminary to further evolution, any other conception of our personality
+as members of the race will prevent our advance toward our proper position
+in the Creative Order, which is that of introducing the Personal Factor by
+the exercise of our individual power of initiative and selection.</p>
+
+<p>It is on this account that Race-thought, simply as such, is opposed to
+the attempt of the individual to pass into a higher order of life. It
+limits him by strong currents of negative suggestion based on the fallacy
+that the perpetuation of the race requires the death of the
+individual;<sup><a href="#fn5" name="rfn5">[5]</a></sup> and it is only
+when the individual sees that this is not true, and that his race-nature
+constitutes the ground out of which his new Individuality is to be formed,
+that he becomes able to oppose the negative power of race-thought. He does
+this by destroying it with its own weapon, that is, by finding in the
+race-nature itself the very material to be used by the Spirit for
+building-up the New Man. This is a discovery on the spiritual plane
+equivalent to the discovery on the physical plane that we can make iron
+float by the same law by which it sinks. It is the discovery that what we
+call the mortal part of us is capable of being brought under a higher
+application of the Universal Law of Life, which will transmute it into an
+immortal principle. When we see what we call the mortal part of us in this
+light we can employ the very principle on which the negative race-thought
+is founded as a weapon for the destruction of that thought in our own
+minds.</p>
+
+<p>The basis of the negative race-thought is the idea that physical death
+is an essential part of the Normal Standard of Personality, and that the
+body is composed of so much neutral material with which death can do what
+it likes. But it is precisely this neutrality of matter that makes it just
+as amenable to the Law of Life as to the Law of Death--it is simply neutral
+and not an originating power on either side; so then when we realize that
+our Normal Standard of Personality is not subject to death, but is the
+Eternal Essence and Being of Life itself, then we see that this neutrality
+of matter--its inability to make selection or take initiative on its own
+account--is just what makes it the plastic medium for the expression of
+Spirit in ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the generic or race-mind in the individual becomes the
+instrument through which the specializing power of the Spirit works toward
+the building up of a personality based upon the truly Normal Standard of
+Individuality which we have found to be inherent in the All-originating
+Spirit itself: and since the whole question is that of the introduction of
+the factor of personal individuality into the creative order of causation,
+this cannot be done by depriving the individual of what makes him a person
+instead of a thing, namely, the power of conscious initiative and
+selection.</p>
+
+<p>For this reason the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth
+cannot be forced upon the race either by a Divine fiat or by the generic
+action of cosmic law, for it is a <i>specialising</i> of the cosmic law
+which can only be effected by <i>personal</i> initiative and selection,
+just as iron can only be made to float under certain specialized
+conditions; and consequently the passage from the Fourth into the Fifth
+Kingdom is a strictly individual process which can only be brought about by
+a personal perception of what the normal standard of the New Individuality
+really is. This can only be done by the active laying aside of the old
+race-standard and the conscious adoption of the new one. The student will
+do well to consider this carefully, for it explains why the race cannot
+receive the further evolution simply as a race; and also it shows that our
+further evolution is not into a state of less activity but of greater, not
+into being less alive but more alive, not into being less ourselves but
+more ourselves; thus being just the opposite of those systems which present
+the goal of existence as re-absorption into the undifferentiated Divine
+essence. On the contrary our further evolution is into greater degrees of
+conscious activity than we have ever yet known, because it implies our
+development of greater powers as the consequence of our clearer perception
+of our true relation to the All-originating Spirit. It is the recognition
+that we may, and should, measure ourselves by this New Standard instead of
+by the old race-standard that constitutes the real New Thought. The New
+Thought which gives New Life to the individual will never be realized so
+long as we think that it is merely the name of a particular sect, or that
+it is to be found in the mechanical observance of a set of rules laid down
+for us by some particular teacher. It is a New Fact in the experience of
+the individual, the <i>reason</i> for which is indeed made clear to him
+through intellectual perception of the real nature of the Creative Process,
+but which can become an actual experience only by habitual personal
+intercourse with that Divine Spirit which is the Life, Love and Beauty that
+are at the back of the Creative Process and find expression through it.</p>
+
+<p>From this intercourse new thoughts will continually flow in, all of them
+bearing that vivifying element which is inherent in their source, and the
+individual will then proceed to work out these new ideas with the knowledge
+that they have their origin in the selection and initiative power of the
+All-creating Spirit itself, and in this way by combined meditation and
+action he will find himself advancing into increasing light, liberty and
+usefulness. The advance may be almost imperceptible from one day to
+another, but it will be perceptible at longer intervals, and the one who is
+thus moving forward with the Spirit of God will on looking back at any time
+always find that he is getting more livingness out of life than he was a
+year previously. And this without strenuous effort, for he is not having to
+manufacture the power from his own resources but only to <i>receive</i>
+it--and as for <i>using</i> it, that is only the exercise of the power
+itself. So following on these lines you will find that Rest and Power are
+identical; and so you get the real New Thought which grows in Newness every
+day.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap8">CHAPTER VIII</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE D&Eacute;NOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS</h2>
+
+
+<p>Then comes the question, What should logically be the d&eacute;nouement
+of the progression we have been considering? Let us briefly recapitulate
+the steps of the series. Universal Spirit by Self-contemplation evolves
+Universal Substance. From this it produces cosmic creation as the
+expression of itself as functioning in Space and Time. Then from this
+initial movement it proceeds to more highly specialized modes of
+Self-contemplation in a continually ascending scale, for the simple reason
+that self-contemplation admits of no limits and therefore each stage of
+self-recognition cannot be other than the starting-point for a still more
+advanced mode of self-contemplation, and so on <i>ad infinitum</i>. Thus
+there is a continuous progress toward more and more highly specialized
+forms of life, implying greater liberty and wider scope for enjoyment as
+the capacity of the individual life corresponds to a higher degree of the
+contemplation of Spirit; and in this way evolution proceeds till it reaches
+a level where it becomes impossible to go any further except by the
+exercise of conscious selection and initiative on the part of the
+individual, while at the same time conforming to the universal principles
+of which evolution is the expression.</p>
+
+<p>Now ask yourself in what way individual selection and initiative would
+be likely to act as expressing the Originating Spirit itself? Given the
+knowledge on the part of the individual that he is able by his power of
+initiative and selection to draw directly upon the All-originating Spirit
+of Life, what motive could he have for not doing so? Therefore, granted
+such a perfect recognition, we should find the individual holding precisely
+the same place in regard to his own individual world that the
+All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos; subject only to the same Law of
+Love, Beauty, &amp;c., which we found to be necessarily inherent in the
+Creative Spirit--a similarity which would entirely prevent the individual
+from exercising his otherwise limitless powers in any sort of antagonism to
+the Spirit of the Great Whole.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the individual would be quite aware that he was not the
+Universal Spirit <i>in propria persona</i>, but that he was affording
+expression to it through his individuality. Now Expression is impossible
+except through Form, and therefore form of some sort is a necessity of
+individuality. It is just here, then, that we find the importance of that
+principle of Harmony with Environment of which I spoke earlier, the
+principle in accordance with which a person who had obtained complete
+control of matter, if he wished to transport himself to some other planet,
+would appear there in perfect conformity with all the laws of matter that
+obtained in that world; though, of course, not subject to any limitation of
+the Life Principle in himself. He would exhibit the laws of matter as
+rendered perfect by the Law of Originating Life. But if any one now living
+on this earth were thus perfectly to realize the Law of Life he would be in
+precisely the same position <i>here</i> as our imaginary visitor to another
+planet--in other words the d&eacute;nouement of the Law of Life is not the
+putting off of the body, but its inclusion as part of the conscious life of
+the Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>This does not imply any difference in the molecular structure of the
+body from that of other men, for by the principle of Harmony of which I
+have just spoken, it would be formed in strict accordance with the laws of
+matter on the particular planet; though it would not be subject to the
+limitations resulting from the average man's non-recognition of the power
+of the Spirit. The man who had thus fully entered into the Fifth Kingdom
+would recognize that, in its relation to the denser modes of matter his
+body was of a similar dense mode. That would be its relation to external
+environment as seen by others. But since the man now knew <i>himself</i> as
+not belonging to these denser modes of manifestation, but as an
+individualization of Primary Spirit, he would see that relatively to
+himself all matter was Primary Substance, and that from this point of view
+any condensations of that substance into atoms, molecules, tissues, and the
+like counted for nothing--for him the body would be simply Primary
+Substance entirely responsive to his will. Yet his reverence for the Law of
+Harmony would prevent any disposition to play psychic pranks with it, and
+he would use his power over the body only to meet actual requirements.</p>
+
+<p>In this way, then, we are led to the conclusion that eternal life in an
+immortal physical body is the logical d&eacute;nouement of our evolution;
+and if we reflect that, by the conditions of the case, the owners of such
+bodies could at will either transport themselves to other worlds or put off
+the physical body altogether and remain in the purely subjective life while
+still retaining the power to reclothe themselves in flesh whenever they
+chose, we shall see that this d&eacute;nouement of evolution answers all
+possible questions as to the increase of the race, the final destruction of
+the planet, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the ultimate which we should keep in view; but the fact
+remains that, though there may be hidden ones who have thus attained, the
+bulk of mankind have not, and that the common lot of humanity is to go
+through the change which we call death. In broad philosophical terms death
+may be described as the withdrawal of the life into the subjective
+consciousness to the total exclusion of the objective consciousness. Then
+by the general law of the relation between subjective and objective mind,
+the subjective mind severed from its corresponding objective mentality has
+no means of acquiring fresh impressions <i>on its own account</i>, and
+therefore can only ring the changes on those impressions which it has
+brought with it from its past life. But these may be of very various sorts,
+ranging from the lowest to the highest, from those most opposed to that
+ultimate destiny of man which we have just been considering, to those which
+recognize his possibilities in a very large measure, needing little more to
+bring about the full fruition of perfected life. But however various may be
+their experiences, all who have passed through death must have this in
+common that they have lost their physical instrument of objective
+perception and so have their mode of consciousness determined entirely by
+the dominant mode of suggestion which they have brought over with them from
+the objective side of life.<sup><a href="#fn6" name="rfn6">[6]</a></sup> Of
+course if the objective mentality were also brought over this would give
+the individual the same power of initiative and selection that he possesses
+while in the body, and, as we shall see later on, there are exceptional
+persons with whom this is the case; but for the great majority the physical
+brain is a necessity for the working of the objective mentality, and so
+when they are deprived of this instrument their life becomes purely
+subjective and is a sort of dream-life, only with a vast difference between
+two classes of dreamers--those who dream as they must and those who dream
+as they will. The former are those who have enslaved themselves in various
+ways to their lower mentality--some  by bringing with them the memory of
+crimes unpardoned, some by bringing with them the idea of a merely animal
+life, others less degraded, but still in bondage to limited thought,
+bringing with them only the suggestion of a frivolous worldly life--in this
+way, by the natural operation of the Law of Suggestion, these different
+classes, either through remorse, or unsatisfied desires, or sheer
+incapacity to grasp higher principles, all remain earth-bound, suffering in
+exact correspondence with the nature of the suggestion they have brought
+along with them. The unchangeable Law is that the suggestion becomes the
+life; and this is equally true of suggestions of a happier sort. Those who
+have brought over with them the great truth that conditions are the
+creations of thought, and who have accustomed themselves while in objective
+life to dwell on good and beautiful ideas, are still able, by reason of
+being imbued with this suggestion, to mold the conditions of their
+consciousness in the subjective world in accordance with the sort of ideas
+which have become a second nature to them. Within the limits of these ideas
+the dominant suggestion to these entities is that of a Law which confers
+Liberty, so by using this Law of the constructive power of thought they can
+determine the conditions of their own consciousness; and thus instead of
+being compelled to suffer the nightmare dreams of the other class, they can
+mold their dream according to their will. We cannot conceive of such a life
+as theirs in the unseen as otherwise than happy, nevertheless its range is
+limited by the range of the conceptions they have brought with them. These
+may be exceedingly beautiful and thoroughly true and logical <i>as far as
+they go</i>; but they do not go the whole way, otherwise these spirits
+would not be in the category which we are considering but would belong to
+that still higher class who fully realize the ultimate possibilities which
+the Law of the Expression of Spirit provides.</p>
+
+<p>The otherwise happy subjective life of these more enlightened souls has
+this radical defect that they have failed to bring over with them that
+power of original selection and initiative without which further progress
+is impossible. I wish the student to grasp this point very clearly, for it
+is of the utmost importance. Of course the basis of our further evolution
+is conformity to the harmonious nature of the Originating Spirit; but upon
+this foundation we each have to build up the superstructure of our own
+individuality, and every step of advance depends on our personal
+development of power to take that step. This is what is meant by taking an
+initiative. It is making a New Departure, not merely recombining the old
+things into fresh groupings still subject to the old laws, but introducing
+an entirely new element which will bring its own New Law along with it.</p>
+
+<p>Now if this is the true meaning of "initiative"  then that is just the
+power which these otherwise happy souls do not possess. For by the very
+conditions of the case they are living only in their subjective
+consciousness, and consequently are living by the law of subjective mind;
+and one of the chief characteristics of subjective mind is its incapacity
+to reason inductively, and therefore its inability to make the selection
+and take the initiative necessary to inaugurate a New Departure. The well
+established facts of mental law show conclusively that subjective mind
+argues only deductively. It argues quite correctly from any given premises,
+but it cannot take the initiative in selecting the premises--that is the
+province of inductive reasoning which is essentially the function of the
+objective mind. But by the law of Auto-suggestion this discarnate
+individual has brought over his premises with him, which premises are the
+sum-total of his inductions made during objective life, the conception of
+things which he held at the time he passed over, for this constituted his
+idea of Truth. Now he cannot add to these inductions, for he has parted
+with his instrument for inductive reasoning, and therefore his deductive
+reasoning in the purely subjective state which he has now entered is
+necessarily limited to the consequences which may be deducted from the
+premises which he has brought along with him.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of the highly-developed individualities we are now
+considering the premises thus brought over are of a very far-reaching and
+beautiful character, and consequently the range of their subjective life is
+correspondingly wide and beautiful; but, nevertheless, it is subject to the
+radical defect that it is debarred from further progress for the simple
+reason that the individual has not brought over with him the mental faculty
+which can impress his subjective entity with the requisite forward movement
+for making a new departure into a New Order. And moreover, the higher the
+subjective development with which the individual passed over the more
+likely he will be to realize this defect. If during earth-life he had
+gained sufficient knowledge of these things he will carry with him the
+knowledge that his discarnate existence is purely subjective; and therefore
+he will realize that, however he may be able to order the pictures of his
+dream, yet it is still but a dream, and in common with all other dreams
+lacks the basis of solidity from which to take <i>really creative
+action</i>.</p>
+
+<p>He knows also that the condition of other discarnate individualities is
+similar to his own, and that consequently each one must necessarily live in
+a world apart--a world of his own creation, because none of them possess
+the objective mentality by which to direct their subjective currents so as
+to make them penetrate into the sphere of another subjective entity, which
+is the <i>modus operandi</i> of telepathy. Thus he is conscious of his own
+inability to hold intercourse with other personalities;  for though he may
+for his own pleasure create the semblance of them in his dream-life, yet he
+knows that these are creations of his own mind, and that while he appears
+to be conversing with a friend amid the most lovely surroundings the friend
+himself may be having experiences of a very different description. I am, of
+course, speaking now of persons who have passed over in a very high state
+of development and with a very considerable, though still imperfect,
+knowledge of the Law of their own being. Probably the majority take their
+dream-life for an external reality; and, in any case, all who have passed
+over without carrying their objective mentality along with them must be
+shut up in their individual subjective spheres and cease to function as
+centers of creative power so long as they do not emerge from that
+state.</p>
+
+<p>But the highly advanced individuals of whom I am now speaking have
+passed over with a true knowledge of the Law of the relation between
+subjective and objective mind and have therefore brought with them a
+<i>subjective</i> knowledge of this truth; and therefore, however otherwise
+in a certain sense happy, they must still be conscious of a fundamental
+limitation which prevents their further advance. And this consciousness can
+produce only one result, an ever-growing longing for the removal of this
+limitation--and this represents the intense desire of the Spirit, as
+individualized in these souls, to attain to the conditions under which it
+can freely exercise its creative power. Sub-consciously this is the desire
+of <i>all</i> souls, for it is that continual pressing forward of the
+Spirit for manifestation out of which the whole Creative Process arises;
+and so it is that the great cry perpetually ascends to God from all as yet
+undelivered souls, whether in or out of the body, for the deliverance which
+they knowingly or unknowingly desire.</p>
+
+<p>All this comes out of the well-ascertained facts of the law of relation
+between subjective and objective mind. Then comes the question, Is there no
+way of getting out of this law? The answer is that we can never get away
+from universal principles--<i>but we can specialise them</i>. We may take
+it as an axiom that any law which appears to limit us contains in itself
+the principle by which that limitation can be overcome, just as in the case
+of the flotation of iron. In this axiom, then, we shall find the clue which
+will bring us out of the labyrinth. The same law which places various
+degrees of limitation upon the souls that have passed into the invisible
+can be so applied as to set them free. We have seen that everything turns
+on the obligation of our subjective part to act within the limits of the
+suggestion which has been most deeply impressed upon it. Then why not
+impress upon it the suggestion that in passing over to the other side it
+has brought its objective mentality along with it?</p>
+
+<p>If such a suggestion were effectively impressed upon our subjective
+mind, then by the fundamental law of our nature our subjective mind would
+act in strict accordance with this suggestion, with the result that the
+objective mind would no longer be separated from it, and that we should
+carry with us into the unseen our <i>whole</i> mentality, both subjective
+and objective, and so be able to exercise our inductive powers of selection
+and initiative as well there as here.</p>
+
+<p>Why not? The answer is that we cannot accept any suggestion unless we
+believe it to be true, and to believe it to be true we must feel that we
+have a solid foundation for our belief. If, then, we can find a sufficient
+foundation for adequately impressing this suggestion upon ourselves, then
+the principles of mental law assure us that we shall carry our objective
+faculty of initiative and selection into the unseen. Therefore our quest is
+to find this Foundation. Then, since we cannot accept as true what we
+believe to be contrary to the ultimate law of the universe, if we are to
+find such a foundation at all it must be within that Law; and it is for
+this reason that I have laid so much stress upon the Normal Standard of
+Human Individuality. When we are convinced that this ideal completeness is
+quite normal, and is a spiritual fact, not dependent upon the body, but
+able to control the body, then we have got the solid basis on which to
+carry our objective personality along with us into the unseen, and the
+well-established laws of our mental constitution justify the belief that we
+can do so.</p>
+
+<p>From these considerations it is obvious that those who thus pass over in
+possession of their complete mentality must be in a very different position
+from those who pass into a condition of merely subjective life, for they
+have brought their powers of selection and initiative with them, and can
+therefore employ their experiences in the unseen as a starting-point for
+still further development. So, then, the question arises, What lines will
+this further development be likely to follow?</p>
+
+<p>We are now considering the case of persons who have reached a very high
+degree of development; who have succeeded in so completely uniting the
+subjective and objective portions of their spiritual being into a perfect
+whole that they can never again be severed; and who are therefore able to
+function with their whole consciousness on the spiritual plane. Such
+persons will doubtless be well aware that they have attained this degree of
+development by the Law of the Creative Process working in terms of their
+own individuality, and so they would naturally always refer to the original
+Cosmic Creation as the demonstration of the principle which they have to
+specialize for their own further evolution. Then they would find that the
+principle involved is that of the manifestation of Spirit in Form; and they
+would further see that this manifestation is not an illusion but a reality,
+for the simple reason that both mind and matter are equally projections
+from the Great Originating Spirit. Both alike are thoughts of the Divine
+Mind, and it is impossible to conceive any greater reality than the Divine
+Thought, or to get at any more substantial source of reality than that.
+Even if we were to picture the Divine Mind as laughing at its productions
+as being mere illusions <i>relatively to itself</i> (which I certainly do
+not), still the relation between the individual mind and material existence
+would be a reality for the individual, on the simple mathematical ground
+that like signs multiplied together invariably produce a positive result,
+even though the signs themselves be negative; so that, for us, at every
+stage of our existence substance must always be as much a reality as mind.
+Therefore the manifestation of Spirit in Form is the eternal principle of
+the Creative Process whether in the evolution of a world-system or in that
+of an individual.</p>
+
+<p>But when we realize that by the nature of the Creative Process substance
+must be an eternal verity we must not suppose that this is true also of
+<i>particular forms</i> or of <i>particular modes</i> of matter. Substance
+is a necessity for the expression of Spirit, but it does not follow that
+Spirit is tied down to any particular mode of expression. If you fold a
+piece of paper into the form of a dart it will fly through the air by the
+law of the form which you have given it. Again, if you take the same bit of
+paper and fold it into the shape of a boat it will float on water by the
+law of the new form that you have given it. The thing formed will act in
+accordance with the form given it, and the same paper can be folded into
+different forms; but if there were no paper you could put it into any shape
+at all. The dart and the boat are both real so long as you retain the paper
+in either of those shapes; but this does not alter the fact that you can
+change the shapes, though your power to do so depends on the existence of
+the paper. This is a rough analogy of the relation between ultimate
+substance and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor
+shape is an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit,
+only by the nature of the Creative Process the Spirit has power to
+determine what shape substance shall take at any particular time.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly we find the great Law that, as Spirit is the Alpha of the
+Creative Process, so solid material Form is its Omega; in other words the
+Creative Series is incomplete until solid material form is reached.
+Anything short of this is a condition of incompleteness, and therefore the
+enlightened souls who have passed over in possession of both sides of their
+mentality will realize that their condition, however beatific, is still one
+of incompleteness; and that what is wanted for completion is expression
+through a material body. This, then, is the direction in which such souls
+would use their powers of initiative and selection as being the true line
+of evolution--in a word they would realize that the principle of Creative
+Progression, when it reaches the level of fully developed mental man,
+necessarily implies the Resurrection of the Body, and that anything short
+of this would be retrogression and not progress.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time persons who had passed over with this knowledge would
+never suppose that Resurrection meant merely the resuscitation of the old
+body under the old conditions; for they would see that the same inherent
+law which makes expression in concrete substance the ultimate of the
+creative series also makes this ultimate form depend on the originating
+movement of the spirit which produces it, and therefore that, although
+<i>some</i> concrete form is essential for complete manifestation, and is a
+substantial reality so long as it is maintained, yet the maintaining of the
+particular form is entirely dependent on the action of the spirit of which
+the form is the external clothing. This resurrection body would therefore
+be no mere illusory spirit-shape, yet it would not be subject to the
+limitations of matter as we now know it: it would be physical matter still,
+but entirely subject to the will of the indwelling spirit, which would not
+regard the denser atomic relations of the body but only its absolute and
+essential nature as Primary Substance. I want the student to grasp the idea
+that the same thing may be very different when looked at, so to say, from
+opposite ends of the stick. What is solid molecular matter when viewed from
+the outside is plastic primary substance when viewed from the inside. The
+relations of this new body to any stimulus proceeding from outside would be
+those of the external laws of Nature; but its relation to the spiritual ego
+working from within would be that of a plastic substance to be molded at
+will. The employment of such power would, however, at all times be based
+upon the reverent worship of the All-creating Spirit; and it would
+therefore never be exercised otherwise than in accordance with the
+harmonious progress of the Creative Process. Proceeding on these lines the
+spirit in the individual would stand in precisely the same relation to his
+body that the All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the sort of body which the instructed would contemplate
+as that in which he was to attain resurrection. He would regard it, not as
+an illusion, but as a great reality;  while at the same time he would not
+need to trouble himself about its particular form, for he would know that
+it would be the perfect expression of his own conception of himself. He
+would know this because it is in accordance with the fundamental principle
+that external creation has its root in the Self-contemplation of
+Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Those passing over with this knowledge would obviously be in a very
+different position from those who passed over with only a subjective
+consciousness. They would bring with them powers of selection and
+initiative by which they could continue to impress fresh and expanding
+conceptions upon their subjective mind, and so cause it to carry on its
+work as the seed-ground of the whole individuality, instead of being shut
+up in itself as a mere circulus for the repetition of previously received
+ideas; and so in their recognition of the <i>principle</i> of physical
+resurrection they would have a clear and definite line of auto-suggestion.
+And because this suggestion is derived from the undeniable facts of the
+whole cosmic creation, it is one which both subjective and objective mind
+can accept as an established fact, and so the suggestion becomes effective.
+This suggestion, then, becomes the self-contemplation of the individual
+spirit; and because it is in strict conformity with the generic principle
+of the Original Creative Activity, of which the individual mind is itself a
+product, this becomes also the Self-contemplation of the Originating Spirit
+as seeing itself reflected in the individual spirit; so that, by the basic
+law of the Creative Process, this suggestion is bound sooner or later to
+work out into its corresponding fact, namely, the production of a material
+body free from the power of death and from all those limitations which we
+now associate with our physical organism.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the hope of those who pass over in recognition of the
+great truth. But how about those who have passed over without that
+recognition? We have seen that their purely subjective condition precludes
+them from taking any initiative on their own account, for that requires the
+presence of objective mind. Their subjective mind, however, still retains
+its essential nature; that is, it is still susceptible to suggestion, and
+still possesses its inherent creativeness in working out any suggestion
+that is sufficiently deeply implanted in it. Here, then, opens up a vast
+field of activity for that other class who have passed over in possession
+of both sides of their mentality. By means of their powers of initiative
+and selection they can on the principle of telepathy cause their own
+subjective mind to penetrate the subjective spheres of those who do not
+possess those powers, and they can thus endeavor to impress upon them the
+great truth of the physical ultimate of the Creative Process--the  truth
+that any series which stops short of that ultimate is incomplete, and, if
+insisted upon as being ultimate, must become self-destructive because in
+opposition to the inherent working of the Universal Creative Spirit. Then,
+as the perception of the true nature of the Creative Process dawned upon
+any subjective entity, it would by reason of accepting this suggestion
+begin to develop an objective mentality, and so would gradually attain to
+the same status as those who had passed over in full possession of all
+their mental powers.</p>
+
+<p>But the more the objective mentality became developed in these
+discarnate personalities the more the need of a corresponding physical
+instrument would assert itself, both from their intellectual perception of
+the original cosmic process, and also from the inherent energy of the
+Spirit as centered in the ultimate ego of the individual. Not to seek
+material manifestation would be the contrary of all we have traced out
+regarding the nature of the Creative Process; and hence the law of tendency
+resulting from the conscious union of subjective and objective mind in the
+individual must necessarily be toward the production of a physical form.
+Only we must recollect, as I have already pointed out, that this
+concentration of these minds would be upon a principle and not upon a
+particular bodily shape. The particular form they would be content to leave
+to the inherent self-expressiveness of the Universal Spirit working through
+the particular ego, with the result that their expectation would be fixed
+upon a <i>general principle</i> of physical Resurrection which would
+provide a form suited to be the material instrument of the highest ideal of
+man as a spiritual and mental being. Then, since the subjective mind is the
+automatic builder of the body, the result of the individual's acceptance of
+the Resurrection principle must be that this mental conception will
+eventually work out as a corresponding fact. Whether on this planet or on
+some other, matters not, for, as we have already seen, the physical body
+evolved by a soul that is conscious of its unity with the Universal Spirit
+is bound to be in conformity with the physical laws of <i>any</i> planet,
+though from the standpoint of the conscious ego not limited by them.</p>
+
+<p>In this way we may conceive that those who have passed over in
+possession of both sides of their spiritual nature would find a glorious
+field of usefulness in the unseen in helping to emancipate those who had
+passed over in possession of their subjective side only. But from our
+present analysis it will be seen that this can only be effected on the
+basis of a recognition of the principle of the Resurrection of the Body.
+Apart from the recognition of this principle the only possible conception
+which the discarnate individual could form of himself would be that of a
+purely subjective being; and this carries with it all the limitations of a
+subjective life unbalanced by an objective one; and so long as the
+principle of physical resurrection is denied, so long the life must
+continue to be merely subjective and consequently unprogressive.<sup><a
+href="#fn7" name="rfn7">[7]</a></sup></p>
+
+
+<p>But it may be asked why those who have realized this great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen state are
+liable to the change which we call death. The answer is that though they
+have realized <i>the general principle</i> they have not yet divested
+themselves of certain conceptions by which they limit it, and consequently
+by the law of subjective mind they carry those limitations into the working
+of the Resurrection principle itself.</p>
+
+<p>They are limited by the race-belief that physical death is under all
+conditions a necessary law of Nature, or by the theological belief that
+death is the will of God; so then the question is whether these beliefs are
+well founded. Of course appeal is made to universal experience, but it does
+not follow that the universal experience of the past is bound to be the
+universal experience of the future--the universal experience of the past
+was that no man had ever flown across the English Channel, yet now it has
+been done. What we have to do, therefore, is not to bother about past
+experience, but to examine the inherent nature of the Law of Life and see
+whether it does not contain possibilities of further development. And the
+first step in this direction is to see whether what we have hitherto
+considered limitations of the law are really integral parts of the law
+itself. The very statement of this question shows the correct answer; for
+how can a force acting in one direction be an integral part of a force
+acting in the opposite direction? How can the force which pulls a thing
+down be an integral part of the force which builds it up? To suppose,
+therefore, that the limitations of the law are an integral portion of the
+law itself is a <i>reductio ad absurdum</i>.</p>
+
+<p>For these reasons the argument from the past experience of the race
+counts for nothing; and when we examine the theological argument we shall
+find that it is only the old argument from past experience in another
+dress. It is alleged that death is the will of God. How do we know that it
+is the will of God? Because the facts prove it so, is the ultimate answer
+of all religious systems with one exception; so here we are back again at
+the old race-experience as the criterion of truth. Therefore the
+theological argument is nothing but the materialistic argument disguised.
+It is in our more or less <i>conscious</i> acceptance of the materialistic
+argument, under any of its many disguises, that the limitation of life is
+to be found--not in the Law of Life itself; and if we are to bring into
+manifestation the infinite possibilities latent in that Law it can only be
+by looking steadily into the <i>principle</i> of the Law and resolutely
+denying everything that opposes it. The Principle of Life must of necessity
+be Affirmative, and affirmative throughout, without any negative
+anywhere--if we once realize this we shall be able to unmask the enemy and
+silence his guns.</p>
+
+<p>Now to do this is precisely the one object of the Bible; and it does it
+in a thoroughly logical manner, always leading on to the ultimate result by
+successive links of cause and effect. People will tell you that the Bible
+is their authority for saying that Death is the will of God; but these are
+people who read it carelessly; and ultimately the only reason they can give
+you for their manner of interpreting the Bible is that the facts prove
+their interpretation to be correct; so that in the last resort you will
+always find you have got back to the old materialistic argument from past
+race-experience, which logically proves nothing. These are good
+well-meaning people with a limited idea which they read into the Bible, and
+so limit its promises by making physical death an essential preliminary to
+Resurrection. They grasp, of course, the great central idea that Perfected
+Man possesses a joyous immortal Life permeating spirit, soul and body; but
+they relegate it to some dim and distant future, entirely disconnected from
+the present law of our being, not seeing that if we are to have eternal
+life it must necessarily be involved in some principle which is eternal,
+and therefore existing, at any rate latently, at the present moment. Hence,
+though their fundamental principle is true, they are all the time mentally
+limiting it, with the result that they themselves create the conditions
+they impose upon it, and consequently the principle will work (as
+principles always do) in accordance with the conditions provided for its
+action.</p>
+
+<p>Unless, therefore, this limiting belief is entirely eradicated, the
+individual, though realizing the fundamental principle of Life, is bound to
+pass out of physical existence; but on the other hand, since he does take
+the recognition of this fundamental principle with him, it is bound to bear
+fruit sooner or later in a joyous Resurrection, while the intermediate
+state can only be a peaceful anticipation of that supreme event. This is
+the answer to the question why those who have realized the great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen world are
+still liable to physical death; and in the last analysis it will be found
+to resolve itself into the remains of race belief based upon past
+experience. These are they who pass over in sure and certain hope of a
+glorious Resurrection--sure and certain because founded upon the very Being
+of God Himself, that inherent Life of the All-creating Divine Spirit which
+is the perpetual interaction of the Eternal Love and Beauty. They have
+grasped the Life-giving Truth, only they have postponed its operation,
+because they have the fixed idea that its present fruition is an absolute
+impossibility.</p>
+
+<p>But if we ask the reason for this idea it always comes back to the old
+materialistic argument from the experience of past conditions, while the
+whole nature of advance is in the opening up of new conditions. And in this
+advance the Bible is the pioneer book. Its whole purport is to tell us most
+emphatically that death is <i>not</i> the will of God. In the story of Eden
+God is represented as warning man of the poisonous nature of the forbidden
+fruit, which is incompatible with the idea of death as an essential feature
+of man's nature. Then from the point where man has taken the poison all the
+rest of the Bible is devoted to telling us how to get rid of it. Christ, it
+tells us, was manifested to bring Life and Immortality to light--to abolish
+death--to destroy the works of the devil, that is the death-dealing power,
+for "he that hath the power of death is the devil." It is impossible to
+reconcile this life-giving conception of the Bible with the idea that death
+at any stage or in any degree is the desire of God. Let us, therefore,
+start with the recognition that this negative force, whether in its minor
+degrees as disease or in its culmination as death, is that which it is the
+will of God to abolish. This also is logical; for if God be the Universal
+Spirit of Life finding manifestation in individual lives, how can the
+desire of this Spirit be to act in opposition to its own manifestation?
+Therefore Scripture and common-sense alike assure us that the will of God
+toward us is Life and not death.<sup><a href="#fn8"
+name="rfn8">[8]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>We may therefore start on our quest for Life with the happy certainty
+that God is on our side. But people will meet us with the objection that
+though God wills Life to us, He does not will it just yet, but only in some
+dim far-off future. How do we know this? Certainly not from the Bible. In
+the Bible Jesus speaks of two classes of persons who believe on Him as the
+Manifestation or Individualisation of the Spirit of Life. He speaks of
+those who, having passed through death, still believe on Him, and says that
+these <i>shall</i> live--a future event. And at the same time He speaks of
+those who are living and believe on Him, and says that they shall never
+die--thus contemplating the entire elimination of the contingency of death
+(John xi. 25).</p>
+
+<p>Again St. Paul expresses his wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed
+upon, which he certainly would not have done had he considered the latter
+alternative a nonsensical fancy. And in another place he expressly states
+that we shall not all die, but that some shall be transmuted into the
+Resurrection body without passing through physical death. And if we turn to
+the Old Testament we find two instances in which this is said to have
+actually occurred, those of Enoch and Elijah. And we may note in passing
+that the Bible draws our attention to certain facts about these two
+personages which are important as striking at the root of the notion that
+austerities of some sort are necessary for the great attainment. Of Enoch
+we are expressly told that he was the father of a large family, and of
+Elijah that he was a man of like nature with ourselves--thus showing us
+what is wanted is not a shutting of ourselves off from ordinary human life
+but such a clear realization of the Universal Principle, of which our
+personal life is the more or less conscious manifestation, that our
+commonest actions will be hallowed by the Divine Presence; and so the grand
+d&eacute;nouement will be only the natural result of our daily habit of
+walking with God. From the stand-point of the Bible, therefore, the
+attainment of physical regeneration without passing through death is not an
+impossibility, nor is it necessarily relegated to some far off future.
+Whatever any one else may say to the contrary, the Bible contemplates such
+a d&eacute;nouement of human evolution as a present possibility.</p>
+
+<p>Then if we argue from the philosophical stand-point we arrive at
+precisely the same result. Past experience proves nothing, and we must
+therefore make a fresh start by going back to the Original Creative action
+of the Spirit of Life itself. Then, if we take this as our starting point,
+remembering that at the stage of this <i>original</i> movement there can be
+no intervention by a second power, because there is none, why should we
+mentally impose any restriction upon the action of the Creative Power?
+Certainly not by its own Law of Tendency, for that must always be toward
+fuller self-expression; and since this can only take place through the
+individual, the desire of the Spirit must always be toward the increasing
+of the individual life. Nor yet from anything in the created substance, for
+that would either be to suppose the Spirit creating something in limitation
+of its own Self-expression, or else to suppose that the limiting substance
+was created by some other power working against the Spirit; and as this
+would mean a Duality of powers we should not have reached the Originating
+Power at all, and so we might put Spirit and Substance equally out of court
+as both being merely modes of secondary causation. But if we see that the
+Universal Substance must be created by emanation from the Universal Spirit,
+then we see that no limitation of Spirit by substance is possible. We may
+therefore feel assured that no limitation proceeds either from the will of
+the Spirit or from the nature of Substance.</p>
+
+<p>Where, then, does limitation come from? Limiting conditions are created
+by the same power which creates everything else, namely, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. This is why it is so important to realize
+that the individual mind forms a center from which the self-contemplating
+action of Spirit is specialized in terms of the individual's own mode of
+thinking, and therefore so long as the individual contemplates negative
+conditions as being <i>of the essence</i> of his own personality, he is in
+effect employing the Creative Power of the Self-contemplation of Spirit
+invertedly, destructively instead of constructively. The Law of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
+microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
+himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
+law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
+rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
+necessarily produce the opposite results.</p>
+
+<p>Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can
+see no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our
+own difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
+embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
+basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
+that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
+of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
+make clear to us the <i>infinitude</i> of the truly Normal Standard of
+Humanity is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this
+Standard is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who
+is at once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you
+will, to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule.
+In proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our
+own life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further
+development depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find
+that we also are children of God.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap9">CHAPTER IX</a></h1>
+
+<h2>CONCLUSION</h2>
+
+
+<p>We are now in a position to see the place occupied by the individual in
+the Creative Order. We have found that the originating and maintaining
+force of the whole Creative Process is the Self-contemplation of the
+Spirit, and that this necessarily produces a Reciprocal corresponding to
+the idea embodied in the contemplation, and thus manifesting that idea in a
+correlative Form. We have found that in this way the externalization of the
+idea progresses from the condensation of the primary nebula to the
+production of human beings as a race, and that at this point the simple
+<i>generic</i> reproduction of the idea terminates. This means that up to,
+and including, <i>genus homo</i>, the individual, whether plant, animal, or
+man, is what it is simply by reason of race conditions and not by exercise
+of deliberate choice. Then we have seen that the next step in advance must
+necessarily be by the individual becoming aware that he has power to mold
+the conditions of his own consciousness and environment by the creative
+power of his thought; thus not only enabling him to take a conscious part
+in his own further evolution but precluding him from evolving any further
+except by the right exercise of this power; and we have found that the crux
+of the passage from the Fourth to the Fifth Kingdom is to get people so to
+understand the nature of their creative power as not to use it
+destructively. Now what we require to see is that the Creative Process has
+always only one way of working, and that is by Reciprocity or Reflection,
+or, as we might say, by the law of Action and Re-action, the re-action
+being always equivalent and correspondent to the action which generated it.
+If this Law of Reciprocity be grasped then we see how the progress of the
+Creative Process must at length result in producing a being who himself
+possesses the power of independent spiritual initiative and is thus able to
+carry on the creative work from the stand-point of his own
+individuality.</p>
+
+<p>Now the great crux is first to get people to see that they possess this
+power at all, and then to get them to use it in the right direction. When
+our eyes begin to open to the truth that we do possess this power the
+temptation is to ignore the fact that our power of initiative is itself a
+product of the similar power subsisting in the All-originating Spirit. If
+this origin of our own creative faculty is left out of sight we shall fail
+to recognize the Livingness of the Greater Life within which we live. We
+shall never get nearer to it than what we may call its <i>generic</i>
+level, the stage at which the Creative Power is careful of the type or race
+but is careless of the individual; and so at this level we shall never pass
+into the Fifth Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Individuality--we have
+missed the whole point of the transition to the more advanced mode of
+being, in which the individual consciously functions as a creative center,
+because we have no conception of a Universal Power that works at any higher
+level than the generic, and consequently to reach a specific personal
+exercise of creative power we should have to conceive of ourselves as
+transcending the Universal Law. But if we realize that our own power of
+creative initiative has its origin in the similar faculty of the
+All-Originating Mind then we see that the way to maintain the Life-giving
+energy in ourselves is to use our power of spiritual initiative so as to
+impress upon the Spirit the conception of ourselves as standing related to
+It in a specific, individual, and personal way that takes us out of the
+mere category of <i>genus homo</i> and gives us a specific spiritual
+individuality of our own. Thus our mental action produces a corresponding
+re-action in the mind of the Spirit, which in its turn reproduces itself as
+a special manifestation of the Life of the Spirit in us; and so long as
+this circulation between the individual spirit and the Great Spirit is kept
+up, the individual life will be maintained, and will also strengthen as the
+circulation continues, for the reason that the Spirit, as the Original
+Creative Power, is a Multiplying Force, and the current sent into it is
+returned multiplied, just as in telegraphy the feeble current received from
+a distance at the end of a long line operates to start a powerful battery
+in the receiving office, which so multiplies the force as to give out a
+clear message, which but for the multiplication of the original movement
+could not have been done. Something like this we may picture the
+multiplying tendency of the Originating Mind, and consequently the longer
+the circulation between it and the individual mind goes on the stronger the
+latter becomes; and this process growing habitual becomes at last
+automatic, thus producing an endless flow of Life continually expanding in
+intelligence, love, power and joy.</p>
+
+<p>But we must note carefully that all this can only proceed from the
+individual's recognition that his own powers are a derivative from the
+All-originating Spirit, and that they can continue to be used
+constructively only so long as they are employed in harmony with the
+inherent Forward Movement of the Spirit. Therefore to insure this eternally
+flowing stream of Life from the Universal Spirit into the individual there
+must be <i>no inversion</i> in the individual's presentation of himself to
+the Originating Power: for through the very same Law by which we seek
+Life--the Life namely, of reciprocal action and re-action--every  inversion
+we bring with us in presenting ourselves to the Spirit is bound to be
+faithfully reproduced in a corresponding re-action, thus adulterating the
+stream of Pure Life, and rendering it less life-giving in proportion to the
+extent to which we invert the action of the Life-principle; so that in
+extreme cases the stream  flowing through and from the individual may be
+rendered absolutely poisonous and deadly, and the more so the greater his
+recognition of his own personal power to employ spiritual forces.</p>
+
+<p>The existence of these negative possibilities in the spiritual world
+should never be overlooked, and therefore the essential condition for
+receiving the Perfect Fulness of Life is that we should present ourselves
+before the Eternal Spirit free from every trace of inversion. To do this
+means to present ourselves in the likeness of the Divine Ideal; and in this
+self-presentation the initiative, so far as the individual is consciously
+concerned, must necessarily be taken by himself. He is to project into the
+Eternal Mind the conception of himself as identical with its Eternal Ideal;
+and if he can do this, then by the Law of the Creative Process a return
+current will flow from the Eternal Mind reproducing this image in the
+individual with a continually growing power. Then the question is, How are
+we to do this?</p>
+
+<p>The answer is that to take the initiative for inducing this flow of Life
+individually it is a <i>sine qua non</i> that the conditions enabling us to
+do so should first be presented to us universally. This is in accordance
+with the general principle that we can never create a force but can only
+specialize it. Only here the power we are wanting to specialize is the very
+Power of Specialization itself; and therefore, paradoxical as it may seem,
+what we require to have shown us is the Universality of Specialization.</p>
+
+<p>Now this is what the Bible puts before us in its central figure. Taking
+the Bible statements simply and literally they show us this unique
+Personality as the Principle of Humanity, alike in its spiritual origin and
+its material manifestation, carried to the logical extreme of
+specialization; while at the same time, as the embodiment of the original
+polarity of Spirit and Substance, this Personality, however unique, is
+absolutely universal; so that the Bible sets Jesus Christ before us as the
+answer to the philosophic problem of how to specialize the universal, while
+at the same time preserving its universality.</p>
+
+<p>If, then, we fix our thought upon this unique Personality as the
+embodiment of <i>universal</i> principles, it follows that those principles
+must exist in ourselves also, and that His actual specialization of them is
+the earnest of our potential specialization of them. Then if we fix our
+thought on this potential in ourselves as being identical with its
+manifestation in Him, we can logically claim our identity with Him, so that
+what He has done we have done, what He is, we are, and thus recognizing
+ourselves in Him we present <i>this</i> image of ourselves to the Eternal
+Mind, with the result that we bring with us no inversion, and so import no
+negative current into our stream of Life.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is that we reach "the Father" through "the Son," and that He is
+able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
+presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The Gospel of
+"the Word made flesh" is not the meaningless cant of some petty sect nor
+yet the cunning device of priestcraft, though it has been distorted in both
+these directions; but it can give a reason for itself, and is founded upon
+the deepest laws of the threefold constitution of man, embracing the
+<i>whole</i> man, body, soul and spirit. It is not opposed to Science but
+is the culmination of all science whether physical or mental. It is
+philosophical and logical throughout if you start the Creative Process
+where alone it can start, in the Self-contemplation of the Spirit. The more
+carefully we examine into the claims of the Gospel of Christ the more we
+shall find all the current objections to it melt away and disclose their
+own superficialness. We shall find that Christ is indeed the Mediator
+between God and Man, not by the arbitrary fiat of a capricious Deity, but
+by a logical law of sequence which solves the problem of making extremes
+meet, so that the Son of Man is also the Son of God; and when we see the
+reason why this is so we thereby receive power to become ourselves sons of
+God, which is the d&eacute;nouement of the Creative Process in the
+Individual.</p>
+
+<p>These closing lines are not the place to enter upon so great a subject,
+but I hope to follow it up in another volume and to show in detail the
+logic of the Bible teaching, what it saves us from and what it leads us to;
+to show while giving due weight to the value of other systems how it
+differs from them and transcends them; to glance, perhaps, for a moment at
+the indications of the future and to touch upon some of the dangers of the
+present and the way to escape from them. Nor would I pass over in silence
+another and important aspect of the Gospel contained in Christ's commission
+to His followers to heal the sick. This also follows logically from the Law
+of the Creative Process if we trace carefully the sequence of connections
+from the indwelling Ego to the outermost of its vehicles; while the effect
+of the recognition of these great truths upon the individuality that has
+for a time put off its robe of flesh, opens out a subject of paramount
+interest. Thus it is that on every plane Christ is the Fulfilling of the
+Law, and that "Salvation"  is not a silly shiboleth but the logical and
+vital process of our advance into the unfoldment of the next stage of the
+limitless capacities of our being. Of these things I hope to write in
+another volume, should it be permitted to me, and in the meanwhile I would
+commend the present abstract statement of principles to the reader's
+attention in the hope that it may throw some light on the fundamental
+nature of these momentous questions. The great thing to bear in mind is
+that if a thing is true at all there must be a reason why it is true, and
+when we come to see this reason we know the truth at first hand for
+ourselves and not from some one else's report--then it becomes really our
+own and we begin to learn how to use it. This is the secret of the
+individual's progress in any art, science, or business, and the same method
+will serve equally well in our search after Life itself, and as we thus
+follow up the great quest we shall find that on every plane the Way, the
+Truth, and the Life are ONE.</p>
+
+<p>"A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in
+philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."--<i>Bacon. Essay
+xvi</i>.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap10">CHAPTER X</a></h1>
+
+<h2>THE DIVINE OFFERING</h2>
+
+
+<p>I take the present opportunity of a new edition to add a few pages on
+certain points which appear to me of vital importance, and the connection
+of which with the preceding chapters will, I hope, become evident as the
+reader proceeds. Assuming the existence in each individual of a creative
+power of thought which, in relation to himself, reflects the same power
+existing in the Universal Mind, our right employment of this power becomes
+a matter of extreme moment to ourselves. Its inverted use necessarily holds
+us fast in the bondage from which we are seeking to escape, and equally
+necessarily its right use brings us into Liberty; and therefore if any
+Divine revelation exists at all its purpose must be to lead us away from
+the inverted use of our creative faculty and into such a higher
+specializing of it as will produce the desired result. Now the purpose of
+the Bible is to do this, and it seeks to effect this work by a dual
+operation. It places before us that Divine Ideal of which I have already
+spoken, and at the same time bases this ideal upon the recognition of a
+Divine Sacrifice. These two conceptions are so intimately interwoven in
+Scripture that they cannot be separated, but at the present day there
+<i>is</i> a growing tendency to attempt to make this separation and to
+discard the conception of a Divine Sacrifice as unphilosophical, that is as
+having no nexus of cause and effect. What I want, therefore, to point out
+in these additional pages is that there is such a nexus, and that so far
+from being without a sequence of cause and effect it has its root in the
+innermost principles of our own being. It is not contrary to Law but
+proceeds from the very nature of the Law itself.</p>
+
+<p>The current objection to the Bible teaching on this subject is that no
+such sacrifice could have been required by God, either because the
+Originating Energy can have no consciousness of Personality and is only a
+blind force, or because, if "God is Love," He could not demand such a
+sacrifice. On the former hypothesis we are of course away from the Bible
+teaching altogether and have nothing to do with it; but, as I have said
+elsewhere, the fact of our own consciousness of personality can only be
+accounted for by the existence, however hidden, of a corresponding quality
+in the Originating Spirit. Therefore I will confine my remarks to the
+question how Love, as the originating impulse of all creation, can demand
+such a sacrifice. And to my mind the answer is that God does not demand it.
+It is Man who demands it. It is the instinctive craving of the human soul
+for <i>certainty</i> that requires a demonstration so convincing as to
+leave no room for doubt of our perfectly happy relation to the Supreme
+Spirit, and consequently to all that flows from it, whether on the side of
+the visible or of the invisible. When we grasp the fact that such a
+standpoint of certainty is the necessary foundation for the building up in
+ourselves of the Divine Ideal then it becomes clear that to afford us this
+firm basis is the greatest work that the Spirit, in its relation to human
+personality, could do.</p>
+
+<p>We are often told that the offering of sacrifices had its origin in
+primitive man's conception of his gods as beings which required to be
+propitiated so as to induce them to do good or abstain from doing harm; and
+very likely this was the case. The truth at the back of this conception is
+the feeling that there is a higher power upon which man is dependent; and
+the error is in supposing that this power is limited by an individuality
+which can be enriched by selling its good offices, or which blackmails you
+by threats. In either case it wants to get something out of you, and from
+this it follows that its own power of supplying its own wants must be
+limited, otherwise it would not require to be kept in good temper by gifts.
+In very undeveloped minds such a conception results in the idea of numerous
+gods, each having, so to say, his own particular line of business; and the
+furthest advance this mode of thought is capable of is the reduction of
+these various deities to two antagonistic powers of Good and of Evil. But
+the result in either case is the same, so long as we start with the
+hypothesis that the Good will do us more good and the Evil do us less harm
+by reason of our sacrifices, for then it logically follows that the more
+valuable your sacrifices and the oftener they are presented the better
+chance you have of good luck. Doubtless some such conception as this was
+held by the mass of the Hebrew people under the sacrificial system of the
+Levitical Law, and perhaps this was one reason why they were so prone to
+fall into idolatry--for in this view their fundamental notion was
+practically identical in its nature with that of the heathen around them.
+Of course this was not the fundamental idea embodied in the Levitical
+system itself. The root of that system was the symbolizing of a supreme
+ideal of reconciliation hereafter to be manifested in action. Now a symbol
+is not the thing symbolized. The purpose of a symbol is twofold, to put us
+upon enquiry as to the reality which it indicates, and to bring that
+reality to our minds by suggestion when we look at the symbol; but if it
+does not do this, and we rest only in the symbol, nothing will come of it,
+and we are left just where we were. That the symbolic nature of the
+Levitical sacrifice was clearly perceived by the deeper thinkers among the
+Hebrews is attested by many passages in the Bible--"Sacrifice and burnt
+offering thou wouldest not" (Psalms xl: 6, and li: 16) and other similar
+utterances; and the distinction between these symbols and that which they
+symbolized is brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the argument
+that if those sacrifices had afforded a sufficient standpoint for the
+effectual realization of cleansing then the worshiper would not need to
+have repeated them because he would have no more consciousness of sin
+(Hebrews x: 2).</p>
+
+<p>This brings us to the essential point of the whole matter. What we want
+is the certainty that there is no longer any separation between us and the
+Divine Spirit by reason of sin, either as overt acts of wrong doing or as
+error of principle; and the whole purpose of the Bible is to lead us to
+this assurance. Now such an assurance cannot be based on any sort of
+sacrifices that require repetition, for then we could never know whether we
+had given enough either in quality or quantity. It must be a once-for-all
+business or it is no use at all; and so the Bible makes the
+once-for-allness of the offering the essential point of its teaching. "He
+that has been bathed does not need to be bathed again" (John xiii: 10).
+"There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans
+viii: i).</p>
+
+<p>Various intellectual difficulties, however, hinder many people from
+seeing the working of the law of cause and effect in this presentment. One
+is the question, How can moral guilt be transferred from one person to
+another? What is called the "forensic" argument (i.e., the court of law
+argument) that Christ undertook to suffer in our stead as our <i>surety</i>
+is undoubtedly open to this objection. Suretyship must by its very nature
+be confined to civil obligations and cannot be extended to criminal
+liability, and so the "forensic" argument may be set aside as very much a
+legal fiction. But if we realize the Bible teaching that Christ is the Son
+of God, that is, the Divine Principle of Humanity out of which we
+originated and subsisting in us all, however unconsciously to ourselves,
+then we see that sinners as well as saints are included in this Principle;
+and consequently that the Self-offering of Christ must actually include the
+self-offering of every human being in the acknowledgment (however unknown
+to his <i>objective</i> mentality) of his sin. If we can grasp this
+somewhat abstract point of view it follows that in the Person of Christ
+every human being, past, present, and to come, was self-offered for the
+condemnation of his sin--a <i>self</i>-condemnation and a
+<i>self</i>-offering, and hence a cleansing, for the simple reason that if
+you can get a man to realize his past error, really see his mistake, he
+won't do it again; and it is the perpetuation of sin and error that has to
+be got rid of--to do this universally would be to regain Paradise. Seen
+therefore in this light there is no question of transference of moral
+guilt, and I take it this is St. Paul's meaning when he speaks of our being
+partakers in Christ's death.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is the objection, How can past sins be done away with? If we
+accept the philosophical conclusion that Time has no substantive existence
+then all that remains is states of consciousness. As I have said in the
+earlier part of this book, the Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the cause of
+all our perception of existence and environment; and consequently if the
+Self-Contemplation of the Spirit from any center of individualization is
+that of entire harmony and the absence of anything that would cause any
+consciousness of separation, then past sins cease to have any part in this
+self-recognition, and consequently cease to have any place in the world of
+existence. The foundation of the whole creative process is the calling into
+Light out of Darkness--"that which makes manifest is light"--and
+consequently the converse action is that of sending out of Light into
+Darkness, that is, into Notbeing. Now this is exactly what the Spirit says
+in the Bible--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions"
+(Isaiah xliii: 25). Blotting out is the sending out of manifestation into
+the darkness of non-manifestation, out of Being into Not-being; and in this
+way the past error ceases to have any existence and so ceases to have any
+further effect upon us. It is "blotted out," and from this new standpoint
+has never been at all; so that to continue to contemplate it is to give a
+false sense of existence to that which in effect has no existence. It is
+that Affirmation of Negation which is the root of all evil. It is the
+inversion of our God-given creative power of thought, calling into
+existence that which in the Perfect Life of the Spirit never had or could
+have any existence, and therefore it creates the sense of inharmony,
+opposition, and separation. Of course this is only relatively to ourselves,
+for we cannot create eternal principles. They are the Being of God; and as
+I have already shown these great Principles of the Affirmative may be
+summed up in the two words Love and Beauty--Love in essence and Beauty in
+manifestation; but since we can only live from the standpoint of our own
+consciousness we can make a false creation built upon the idea of opposites
+to the all-creating Love and Beauty, which false creation with all its
+accompaniments of limitation, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death, must
+necessarily be real to us until we perceive that these things were not
+created by God, the Spirit of the Affirmative, but by our own inversion of
+our true relation to the All-creating Being.</p>
+
+<p>When, then, we view the matter in this light the Offering once for all
+of the Divine Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world is seen not to be a
+mere ecclesiastical dogma having no relation of cause and effect, but to be
+the highest application of the same principle of cause and effect by which
+the whole creation, ourselves included, has been brought into
+existence--the  Self-Contemplation of Spirit producing corresponding
+manifestation, only now working on the level of Individual Personality.</p>
+
+<p>As I have shown at the beginning of this book the cosmic manifestation
+of principles is not sufficient to bring out all that there is in them. To
+do this their action must be specialized by the introduction of the
+Personal Factor. They are represented by the Pillar Jachin, but it must be
+equilibriated by the Pillar Boaz, Law and Personality the two Pillars of
+the Universe; and in the One Offering we have the supreme combination of
+these two principles, the highest specialization of Law by the highest
+power of Personality. These are eternal principles, and therefore we are
+told that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world; and because
+"thoughts are things" this supreme manifestation of the creative
+interaction of Law and Personality was bound eventually to be manifested in
+concrete action in the world conditioned by time and space; and so it was
+that the supreme manifestation of the Love of God to meet the supreme need
+of Man took place. The history of the Jewish nation is the history of the
+working of the law of cause and effect, under the guidance of the Divine
+Wisdom, so as to provide the necessary conditions for the greatest event in
+the world's history; for if Christ was to appear it must be in <i>some</i>
+nation, in <i>some</i> place, and at <i>some</i> time: but to trace the
+steps by which, through an intelligible sequence of causes, these necessary
+conditions were provided belongs rather to an investigation of Bible
+history than to our present purpose, so I will not enter into these details
+here. But what I hope I have in some measure made clear is that there is a
+reason why Christ should be manifested, and should suffer, and rise again,
+and that so far from being a baseless superstition the Reconciling of the
+world to God through the One Offering once-for-all offered for the sin of
+the whole world, lays the immovable foundation upon which we may build
+securely for all the illimitable future.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1><a name="chap11">CHAPTER XI</a></h1>
+
+<h2>OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING</h2>
+
+
+<p>If we have grasped the principle I have endeavored to state in the last
+chapter we shall find that with this new standpoint a new life and a new
+world begin to open out to us. This is because we are now living from a new
+recognition of ourselves and of God. Eternal Truth, that which is the
+essential reality of Being, is <i>always</i> the same; it has never
+altered, for whatever is capable of passing away and giving place to
+something else is not eternal, and therefore the real essence of our being,
+as proceeding from God and subsisting in Him has always been the same. But
+this is the very fact which we have hitherto lost sight of; and since our
+perception of life is the measure of our individual consciousness of it, we
+have imposed upon ourselves a world of limitation, a world filled with the
+power of the negative, because we have viewed things from that standpoint.
+What takes place, therefore, when we realize the truth of our Redemption is
+not a change in our essential relation to the Parent Spirit, the Eternal
+Father, but an awakening to the perception of this eternal and absolutely
+perfect relation. We see that in reality it has never been otherwise for
+the simple reason that in the very nature of Being it <i>could</i> not be
+otherwise; and when we see this we see also that what has hitherto been
+wrong has not been the working of "the Father" but our conception of the
+existence of some other power, a power of negation, limitation, and
+destructiveness, the very opposite to all that the Creative Spirit, by the
+very fact of Its Creativeness, must be. That wonderful parable of the
+Prodigal Son shows us that he never ceased to be a son. It was not his
+Father who sent him away from home but his notion that he could do better
+"on his own," and we all know what came of it. But when he returned to the
+Father he found that from the Father's point of view he had never been
+otherwise than a son, and that all the trouble he had gone through was not
+"of the Father" but was the result of his own failure to realize what the
+Father and the Home really were.<sup><a href="#fn9"
+name="rfn9">[9]</a></sup></p>
+
+<p>Now this is exactly the case with ourselves. When we wake up to the
+truth we find that, so far as the Father is concerned, we have always been
+in Him and in His home, for we are made in His image and likeness and are
+reflections of His own Being. He says to us "Son, thou art ever with me and
+all that I have is thine." The Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the Creative
+Power creating an environment corresponding to the mode of consciousness
+contemplated, and therefore in proportion as we contemplate ourselves as
+centers of individualization for the Divine Spirit we find ourselves
+surrounded by a new environment reflecting the harmonious conditions which
+preexist in the Thought of the Spirit.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the sequence of Cause and Effect involved in the teaching
+of the Bible. Man is <i>in essence</i> a spiritual being, the reflection on
+the plane of individual personality of that which the All-Originating
+Spirit is in Itself, and is thus in that reciprocal relation to the Spirit
+which is Love. This is the first statement of his creation in Genesis--God
+saw all that He had made and behold it was very good, Man included. Then
+the Fall is the failure of the lower mentality to realize that God IS Love,
+in a word that Love is the only ultimate Motive Power it is possible to
+conceive, and that the creations of Love cannot be otherwise than good and
+beautiful. The lower mentality conceives an opposite quality of Evil and
+thus produces a motive power the opposite of Love, which is Fear; and so
+Fear is born into the world giving rise to the whole brood of evil, anger,
+hatred, envy, lies, violence, and the like, and on the external plane
+giving rise to discordant vibrations which are the root of physical ill. If
+we analyze our motives we shall find that they are always some mode either
+of Love or Fear; and fear has its root in the recognition of some power
+other than Perfect Love, which is God the ONE all-embracing Good. Fear has
+a creative force which invertedly mimics that of Love; but the difference
+between them is that Love is eternal and Fear is not. Love as the Original
+Creative Motive is the only logical conclusion we can come to as to why we
+ourselves or any other creation exists. Fear is illogical because to regard
+it as having any place in the Original Creative Motive involves a
+contradiction in terms.</p>
+
+<p>By accepting the notion of a dual power, that of Good <i>and</i> Evil,
+the inverted creative working of Fear is introduced with all its attendant
+train of evil things. This is the eating of the deadly tree which occasions
+the Fall, and therefore the Redemption which requires to be accomplished is
+a redemption from Fear--not merely from this or that particular fear but
+from the very Root of Fear, which root is unbelief in the Love of God, the
+refusal to believe that Love alone is the Creating Power in all things,
+whether small beyond our recognition or great beyond our conception.
+Therefore to bring about this Redemption there must be such a manifestation
+of the Divine Love to Man as, when rightly apprehended, will leave no
+ground for fear; and when we see that the Sacrifice of the Cross was the
+Self-Offering of Love made in order to provide this manifestation, then we
+see that all the links in the chain of Cause and Effect are complete, and
+that Fear never had any place in the Creative Principle, whether as acting
+in the creation of a world or of a man. The root, therefore, of all the
+trouble of the world consists in the Affirmation of Negation, in using our
+creative power of thought invertedly, and thus giving substance to that
+which <i>as principle</i> has no existence. So long as this negative action
+of thought continues so long will it produce its natural effect; whether in
+the individual or in the mass. The experience is perfectly real while it
+lasts. Its unreality consists in the fact that there was never any real
+need for it; and the more we grasp the truth of the all-embracingness of
+the ONE Good, both as Cause and as Effect, on all planes, the more the
+experience of its opposite will cease to have any place in our lives.</p>
+
+<p>This truly New Thought puts us in an entirely new relation to the whole
+of our environment, opening out possibilities hitherto undreamt of, and
+this by an orderly sequence of law which is naturally involved in our new
+mental attitude; but before considering the prospect thus offered it is
+well to be quite clear as to what this new mental attitude really is; for
+it is our adoption of this attitude that is the Key to the whole position.
+Put briefly it is ceasing to include the idea of limitations in our
+conception of the working of the All-Creating Spirit. Here are some
+specimens of the way in which we limit the creative working of the Spirit.
+We say, I am too old now to start this or that new sort of work. This is to
+deny the power of the Spirit to vivify our physical or mental faculties,
+which is illogical if we consider that it is the same Spirit that brought
+us into any existence at all. It is like saying that when a lamp is
+beginning to burn low the same person who first filled it with oil cannot
+replenish it and make it burn brightly again. Or we say, I cannot do so and
+so because I have not the means. When you were fourteen did you know where
+all the means were coming from which were going to support you till now
+when you are perhaps forty or fifty? So you should argue that the same
+power that has worked in the past can continue to work in the future. If
+you say the means came in the past quite naturally through ordinary
+channels, that is no objection; on the contrary the more reason for saying
+that suitable channels will open in the future. Do you expect God to put
+cash into your desk by a conjuring trick? Means come through recognizable
+channels, that is to say we recognize the channels by the fact of the
+stream flowing through them; and one of our most common mistakes is in
+thinking that we ourselves have to fix the particular channel beforehand.
+We say in effect that the Spirit cannot open other channels, and so we stop
+them up. Or we say, our past experience speaks to the contrary, thus
+assuming that our past experiences have included all possibilities and have
+exhausted the laws of the universe, an assumption which is negatived by
+every fresh discovery even in physical science. And so we go on limiting
+the power of the Spirit in a hundred different ways.</p>
+
+<p>But careful consideration will show that, though the modes in which we
+limit it are as numerous as the circumstances with which we have to deal,
+the thing with which we limit it is always the same--it is by the
+introduction of our own personality. This may appear at first a direct
+contradiction of all that I have said about the necessity for the Personal
+Factor, but it is not. Here is a paradox.</p>
+
+<p>To open out into manifestation the wonderful possibilities hidden in the
+Creative Power of the Universe we require to do two things--to  see that we
+ourselves are necessary as centers for focussing that power, and at the
+same time to withdraw the thought of ourselves as contributing anything to
+its efficiency. It is not I that work but the Power; yet the Power needs me
+because it cannot specialize itself without me--in a word each is the
+complementary of the other: and the higher the degree of specialization is
+to be the more necessary is the intelligent and willing co-operation of the
+individual.</p>
+
+<p>This is the Scriptural paradox that "the son can do nothing of himself,"
+and yet we are told to be "fellow-workers with God." It ceases to be a
+paradox, however, when we realize the relation between the two factors
+concerned, God and Man. Our mistake is in not discriminating between their
+respective functions, and putting Man in the place of God. In our everyday
+life we do this by measuring the power of God by our past experiences and
+the deductions we draw from them; but there is another way of putting Man
+in the place of God, and that is by the misconception that the
+All-Originating Spirit is merely a cosmic force without intelligence, and
+that Man has to originate the intelligence without which no specific
+purpose can be conceived. This latter is the error of much of the present
+day philosophy and has to be specially guarded against. This was perceived
+by some of the medieval students of these things, and they accordingly
+distinguished between what they called Animus Dei and Anima Mundi, the
+Divine Spirit and the Soul of the Universe. Now the distinction is this,
+that the essential quality of Animus Dei is Personality--not A Person, but
+the very Principle of Personality itself--while the essential quality of
+Anima Mundi is Impersonality. Then right here comes in that importance of
+the Personal Factor of which I have already spoken. The powers latent in
+the Impersonal are brought out to their fullest development by the
+operation of the Personal. This of course does not consist in changing the
+nature of those powers, for that is impossible, but in making such
+combinations of them by Personal Selection as to produce results which
+could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, for example, Number is in itself
+impersonal and no one can alter the laws which are inherent in it; but what
+we can do is to select particular numbers and the sort of relation, such as
+subtraction, multiplication, etc., which we will establish between them;
+and then by the inherent Law of Number a certain result is bound to work
+out. Now our own essential quality is the consciousness of Personality; and
+as we grow into the recognition of the fact that the Impersonal is, as it
+were, crying out for the operation upon it of the Personal in order to
+bring its latent powers into working, we shall see how limitless is the
+field that thus opens before us.</p>
+
+<p>The prospect is wonderful beyond our present conception, and full of
+increasing glory if we realize the true foundation on which it rests. But
+herein lies the danger. It consists in not realizing that the Infinite of
+the Impersonal <i>is</i> and also that the Infinite of the Personal
+<i>is</i>. Both are Infinite and so require differentiation through our own
+personality, but in their essential quality each is the exact balance of
+the other--not in contradiction to each other, but as complementary to one
+another, each supplying what the other needs for its full expression, so
+that the two together make a perfect whole. If, however, we see this
+relation and our own position as the connecting link between them, we shall
+see only ourselves as the Personal Factor; but the more we realize, both by
+theory and experience, the power of human personality brought into contact
+with the Impersonal Soul of Nature, and employed with a Knowledge of its
+power and a corresponding exercise of the will, the less we shall be
+inclined to regard ourselves as the supreme factor in the chain of cause
+and effect Consideration of this argument points to the danger of much of
+the present day teaching regarding the exercise of Thought Power as a
+creative agency. The principle on which this teaching is based is sound and
+legitimate for it is inherent in the nature of things; but the error is in
+supposing that we ourselves are the ultimate source of Personality instead
+of merely the distributors and specializers of it. The logical result of
+such a mental attitude is that putting ourselves in the place of all that
+is worshiped as God which is spoken of in the second chapter of the Second
+Epistle to the Thessalonians and other parts of Scripture. By the very
+hypothesis of the case we then know no higher will than our own, and so are
+without any Unifying Principle to prevent the conflict of wills which must
+then arise--a  conflict which must become more and more destructive the
+greater the power possessed by the contending parties, and which, if there
+were no counterbalancing power, must result in the ultimate destruction of
+the existing race of men.</p>
+
+<p>But there is a counterbalancing power. It is the very same power used
+affirmatively instead of negatively. It is the power of the Personal with
+the Impersonal when used under the guidance of that Unifying Principle
+which the recognition of the ONE-ness of the Personal Quality in the Divine
+Spirit supplies. Those who are using the creative power of thought only
+from the standpoint of individual personality, have obviously less power
+than those who are using it from the standpoint of the Personality inherent
+in the Living Spirit which is the Source and Fountain of all energy and
+substance, and therefore in the end the victory must remain with these
+latter. And because the power by which they conquer is that of the Unifying
+Personality itself their victory must result in the establishment of Peace
+and Happiness throughout the world, and is not a power of domination but of
+helpfulness and enlightenment. The choice is between these two
+mottoes:--"Each for himself and Devil take the hindmost," or "God for us
+all." In proportion, therefore, as we realize the immense forces dormant in
+the Impersonal Soul of Nature, only awaiting the introduction of the
+Personal Factor to wake them up into activity and direct them to specific
+purposes, the wider we shall find the scope of the powers within the reach
+of man; and the more clearly we perceive the Impersonalness of the very
+Principle of Personality itself, the clearer our own proper position as
+affording the Differentiating Medium between these two Infinitudes will
+become to us.</p>
+
+<p>The Impersonalness of the Principle of Personality looks like a
+contradiction in terms, but it is not. I combine these two seemingly
+contradictory terms as the best way to convey to the reader the idea of the
+essential Quality of Personality not yet differentiated into individual
+centers of consciousness for the doing of particular work. Looked at in
+this way the Infinite of Personality must have Unity of Purpose for its
+foundation, for otherwise it would consist of conflicting personalities, in
+which case we have not yet reached the ONE all-originating cause. Or to put
+it in another way, an Infinite Personality divided against itself would be
+an Infinite Insanity, a creator of a cosmic Bedlam which, as a scientific
+fact, would be impossible of existence. Therefore the conception of an
+Infinite of Personality necessarily implies a perpetual Unity of Purpose;
+and for the same reason this Purpose can only be the fuller and fuller
+expression of an Infinite Unity of Consciousness; and Unity of
+Consciousness necessarily implies the entire absence of all that would
+impair it, and therefore its expression can only be as Universal Harmony.
+If, then, the individual realizes this true nature of the source from which
+his own consciousness of personality is derived his ideas and work will be
+based upon this foundation, with the result that as between ourselves peace
+and good will towards men must accompany this mode of thought, and as
+between us and the strictly Impersonal Soul of Nature our increasing
+knowledge in that direction would mean increasing power for carrying out
+our principle of peace and good will. As this perception of our relation to
+the Spirit of God and the Soul of Nature spreads from individual to
+individual so the Kingdom of God will grow, and its universal recognition
+would be the establishing of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the reader will ask why I say the Soul of Nature instead of
+saying the material universe. The reason is that in using our creative
+power of Thought we do not operate directly upon material elements--to do
+that is the work of construction from without and not of creation from
+within. The whole tendency of modern physical science is to reduce all
+matter in the final analysis to energy working in a primary ether. Whence
+this energy and this ether proceed is not the subject of physical analysis.
+That is a question which cannot be answered by means of the vacuum tube or
+the spectroscope. Physical science is doing its legitimate work in pushing
+further and further back the unanalyzable residuum of Nature, but, however
+far back, an ultimate unanalyzable residuum there must always be; and when
+physical science brings us to this point it hands us over to the guidance
+of psychological investigation just as in the Divina Commedia Virgil
+transfers Dante to the guidance of Beatrice for the study of the higher
+realms. Various rates of rapidity of motion in this primary ether,
+producing various numerical combinations of positively and negatively
+electrified particles, result in the formation of what we know as the
+different chemical elements, and thus explains the phenomena of their
+combining quantities, the law by which they join together to form new
+substances only in certain exact numerical ratios. From the first movement
+in the primary ether to solid substances, such as wood or iron or our own
+flesh, is thus a series of vibrations in a succession of mediums, each
+denser than the preceding one out of which it was concreted and from which
+it receives the vibratory impulse. This is in effect what physical science
+has to tell us. But to get further back we must look into the world of the
+invisible, and it is here that psychological study comes to our aid. We
+cannot, however, study the invisible side of Nature by working from the
+outside and so at this point of our studies we find the use of the
+time-honored teaching regarding the parallelism between the Macrocosm and
+the Microcosm. If the Microcosm is the reproduction in ourselves of the
+same principles as exist in the Macrocosm or universe in which we have our
+being, then by investigating ourselves we shall learn the nature of the
+corresponding invisible principles in our environment. Here, then, is the
+application of the dictum of the ancient philosophy, "Know Thyself." It
+means that the only place where we can study the principles of the
+invisible side of Nature is in ourselves; and when we know them there we
+can transfer them to the larger world around us.</p>
+
+<p>In the concluding chapters of my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science"
+I have outlined the way in which the soul or mind operates upon the
+physical instrument of its expression, and it resolves itself into
+this--that the mental action inaugurates a series of vibrations in the
+etheric body which, in their turn, induce corresponding grosser vibrations
+in the molecular substance until finally mechanical action is produced on
+the outside. Now transferring this idea to Nature as a whole we shall see
+that if our mental action is to affect it in any way it can only be by the
+response of something at the back of material substance analogous to mind
+in ourselves; and that there is such a "something" interior to the merely
+material side of Nature is proved by what we may call the Law of Tendency,
+not only in animals and plants, but even in inorganic substances, as shown
+for instance in Professor Bose's work on the Response of Metals. The
+universal presence of this Law of Tendency therefore indicates the working
+of some non-material and, so to say, semi-intelligent power in the material
+world, a power which works perfectly accurately on its own lines so far as
+it goes, that is to say in a generic manner, but which does not possess
+that Personal power of <i>individual selection</i> which is necessary to
+bring out the infinite possibilities hidden in it. This is what is meant by
+the Soul of Nature, and it is for this reason I employ that term instead of
+saying the material universe. Which term to employ all depends on the mode
+of action we are contemplating. If it is construction from without, then we
+are dealing with the purely material universe. If we are seeking to bring
+about results by the exercise of our mental power from within, then we are
+dealing with the Soul of Nature. It is that control of the lower degree of
+intelligence by the higher of which I have spoken in my Edinburgh
+Lectures.</p>
+
+<p>If we realize what I have endeavored to make clear in the earlier
+portion of this book, that the whole creation is produced by the operation
+of the Divine Will upon the Soul of Nature, it will be evident that we can
+set no limits to the potencies hidden in the latter and capable of being
+brought out by the operation of the Personal Factor upon it; therefore,
+granted a sufficiently powerful concentration of will, whether by an
+individual or a group of individuals, we can well imagine the production of
+stupendous effects by this agency, and in this way I would explain the
+statements made in Scripture regarding the marvelous powers to be exercised
+by the Anti-Christ, whether personal or collective. They are psychic
+powers, the power of the Soul of Man over the Soul of Nature. But the Soul
+of Nature is quite impersonal and therefore the moral quality of this
+action depends entirely on the human operator. This is the point of the
+Master's teaching regarding the destruction of the fig tree, and it is on
+this account He adds the warning as to the necessity for clearing our heart
+of any injurious feeling against others whenever we attempt to make use of
+this power (Mark xi: 20-26).</p>
+
+<p>According to His teaching, then, this power of controlling the Soul of
+Nature by the addition of our own Personal Factor, however little we may be
+able to recognize it as yet, actually exists; its employment depends on our
+perception of the inner principles common to both, and it is for this
+reason the ancient wisdom was summed up in the aphorism "Know thyself." No
+doubt it is a wonderful Knowledge, but on analysis it will be found to be
+perfectly natural. It is the Knowledge of the cryptic forces of Nature. Now
+it is remarkable that this ancient maxim inscribed over the portals of the
+Temple of Delphi is not to be found in the Bible. The Bible maxim is not
+"Know thyself" but "Know the Lord." The great subject of Knowledge is not
+ourself but "the Lord"; and herein is the great difference between the two
+teachings. The one is limited by human personality, the other is based on
+the Infinitude of the Divine Personality; and because of this it includes
+human personality with all its powers over the Soul of Nature. It is a case
+of the greater including the less; and so the whole teaching of Scripture
+is directed to bringing us into the recognition of that Divine Personality
+which is the Great Original in whose image and likeness we are made. In
+proportion as we grow into the recognition of <i>this</i> our own
+personality will explain, and the creative power of our thought will cease
+to work invertedly until at last it will work only on the same principles
+of Life, Love and Liberty as the Divine Mind, and so all evil will
+disappear from our world. We shall not, as some systems teach, be absorbed
+into Deity to the extinction of our individual consciousness, but on the
+contrary our individual consciousness will continually expand, which is
+what St. Paul means when he speaks of our "increasing with the increase of
+God"--the continual expanding of the Divine element within us. But this can
+only take place by our recognition of ourselves as <i>receivers</i> of this
+Divine element. It is receiving into ourselves of the Divine Personality, a
+result not to be reached through human reasoning. We reason from premises
+which we have assumed, and the conclusion is already involved in the
+premises and can never extend beyond them. But we can only select our
+premises from among things that we know by experience, whether mental or
+physical, and accordingly our reasoning is always merely a new placing of
+the old things. But the receiving of the Divine Personality into ourselves
+is an entirely New Thing, and so cannot be reached by reasoning from old
+things. Hence if this Divine ultimate of the Creative Process is to be
+attained it must be by the Revelation of a New Thing which will afford a
+new starting-point for our thought, and this New Starting-point is given in
+the Promise of "the Seed of the Woman" with which the Bible opens.
+Thenceforward this Promise became the central germinating thought of those
+who based themselves upon it, thus constituting them a special race, until
+at last when the necessary conditions had matured the Promised Seed
+appeared in Him of whom it is written that He is the express image of God's
+Person (Heb. I: 3)--that is, the Expression of that Infinite Divine
+Personality of which I have spoken. "No man hath seen God at any time or
+can see Him," for the simple reason that Infinitude cannot be the subject
+of vision. To become visible there must be Individualization, and therefore
+when Philip said "Show us the Father," Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me
+hath seen the Father." The Word must become flesh before St. John could
+say, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
+seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
+of the Word of Life." This is the New Starting-point for the true New
+Thought--the New Adam of the New Race, each of whom is a new center for the
+working of the Divine Spirit. This is what Jesus meant when he said,
+"Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man ye have no
+life in you. My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed--" such
+a contemplation of the Divine Personality in Him as will cause a like
+receiving of the Divine Personality into individualization in
+ourselves--this  is the great purpose of the Creative Process in the
+individual. It terminates the old series which began with birth after the
+flesh and inaugurates a New Series by birth after the Spirit, a New Life of
+infinite unfoldment with glorious possibilities beyond our highest
+conception.</p>
+
+<p>But all this is logically based upon our recognition of the Personalness
+of God and of the relation of our individual personality to this Eternal
+and Infinite Personality, and the result of this is Worship--not an attempt
+to "butter up" the Almighty and get Him into good temper, but the reverent
+contemplation of what this Personality must be in Itself; and when we see
+it to be that Life, Love, Beauty, etc., of which I spoke at the beginning
+of this book we shall learn to love Him for what He IS, and our prayer will
+be "Give me more of Thyself." If we realize the great truth that the
+Kingdom of Heaven is <i>within</i> us, that it is the Kingdom of the
+innermost of our own being and of all creation, and if we realize that this
+innermost is the place of the Originating Power where Time and Space do not
+exist and therefore antecedent to all conditions, then we shall see the
+true meaning of Worship. It is the perception of the Innermost Spirit as
+eternally subsisting independently of all conditioned manifestation, so
+that in the true worship our consciousness is removed from the outer sphere
+of existence to the innermost center of unconditioned being. There we find
+the Eternal Being of God pure and simple, and we stand reverently in this
+Supreme Presence knowing that it is the Source of our own being, and wrapt
+in the contemplation of This, the conditioned is seen to flow out from It.
+Perceiving this the conditioned passes out of our consideration, for it is
+seen not to be the Eternal Reality--we  have reached that level of
+consciousness where Time and Space remain no longer. Yet the reverence
+which the vision of this Supreme Center of all Being cannot fail to inspire
+is coupled with a sense of feeling quite at home with It. This is because
+as the Center of <i>all</i> Being it is the center of our own being also.
+It is one-with-ourselves. It is recognizing Itself from our own center of
+consciousness; so that here we have got back to that Self-contemplation of
+Spirit which is the first movement of the Creating Power, only now this
+Self-contemplation is the action of the All-Originating Spirit upon Itself
+from the center of our own consciousness. So this worship in the Temple of
+the Innermost is at once reverent adoration and familiar intercourse--not
+the familiarity that breeds contempt, but a familiarity producing Love,
+because as it increases we see more clearly the true Life of the Spirit as
+the continual interaction of Love and Beauty, and the Spirit's recognition
+of ourselves as an integral portion of Its own Life. This is not an
+unpractical dreamy speculation but has a very practical bearing. Death will
+some day cease to be, for the simple reason that Life alone can be the
+enduring principle; but we have not yet reached this point in our
+evolution. Whether any in this generation will reach it I cannot say; but
+for the rank and file of us the death of the body seems to be by far the
+more probable event. Now what must this passing out of the body mean to us?
+It must mean that we find ourselves without the physical vehicle which is
+the instrument through which our consciousness comes in touch with the
+external world and all the interests of our present daily life. But the
+mere putting off of the body does not of itself change the mental attitude;
+and so if our mind is entirely centered upon these passing interests and
+external conditions the loss of the instrument by which we held touch with
+them must involve a consciousness of desire for the only sort of life we
+have known coupled with a consciousness of our inability to participate in
+it, which can only result in a consciousness of distress and confusion such
+as in our present state we cannot imagine.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand if we have in this world realized the true principle
+of the Worship of the Eternal Source from which all conditioned life flows
+out--an inner communing with the Great Reality--we have already passed
+beyond that consciousness of life which is limited by Time and Space; and
+so when we put off this mortal body we shall find ourselves upon familiar
+ground, and therefore not wandering in confusion but quite at home,
+dwelling in the same light of the Eternal in which we have been accustomed
+to dwell as an atmosphere enveloping the conditioned life of to-day. Then
+finding ourselves thus at home on a plane where Time and Space do not exist
+there will be no question with us of duration. The consciousness will be
+simply that of peaceful, happy being. That a return to more active personal
+operation will eventually take place is evidenced by the fact that the
+basis of all further evolution is the differentiating of the
+Undifferentiated Life of the Spirit into specific channels of work, through
+the intermediary of individual personality without which the infinite
+potentialities of the Creative Law cannot be brought to light. Therefore,
+however various our opinions as to its precise form, Resurrection as a
+principle is a necessity of the creative process. But such a return to more
+active life will not mean a return to limitations, but the opening of a new
+life in which we shall transcend them all, because we have passed beyond
+the misconception that Time and Space are of the Essence of Life. When the
+misconception regarding Time and Space is entirely eradicated all other
+limitations must disappear because they have their root in this primary
+one--they are only particular forms of the general proposition. Therefore
+though Form with its accompanying relations of Time and Space is necessary
+for manifestation, these things will be found not to have any force in
+themselves thus creating limitation, but to be the reflection of the mode
+of thought which projects them as the expression of itself.</p>
+
+<p>Nor is there any inherent reason why this process should be delayed till
+some far-off future. There is no reason why we should not commence at once.
+No doubt our inherited and personally engendered modes of thought make this
+difficult, and by the nature of the process it will be only when <i>all</i>
+our thoughts are conformed to this principle that the complete victory will
+be won. But there must be a commencement to everything, and the more we
+habituate ourselves to live in that Center of the Innermost where
+conditions do not exist, the more we shall find ourselves gaining control
+over outward conditions, because the stream of conditioned life flows out
+from the Center of Unconditioned Life, and therefore this intrinsic
+principle of Worship has in it the promise both of the life that now is and
+of that which is to come. Only we must remember that the really availing
+worship is that of the Undifferentiated Source <i>because It is the
+Source,</i> and not as a backhanded way of diverting the stream into some
+petty channel of conditions, for that would only be to get back to the old
+circle of limitation from which we are seeking to escape.</p>
+
+<p>But if we realize these things we have already laid hold of the
+Principle of Resurrection, and in point of principle we are already living
+the resurrection life. What progress we may make in it depends on our
+practical application of the principle; but simply as principle there is
+nothing in the principle itself to prevent its complete working at any
+moment. This is why Jesus did not refer resurrection to some remote point
+of time but said, "I am the resurrection and the life." No principle can
+carry in itself an opposite and limiting principle contradictory of its own
+nature, and this is as true of the Principle of Life as of any other
+principle. It is we who by our thought introduce an opposite and limiting
+principle and so hinder the working of the principle we are seeking to
+bring into operation; but so far as the Principle of Life itself is
+concerned there is <i>in it</i> no reason why it should not come into
+perfect manifestation here and now.</p>
+
+<p>This, then, is the true purpose of worship. It is to bring us into
+conscious and loving intercourse with the Supreme Source of our own being,
+and seeing this we shall not neglect the outward forms of worship. From
+what we now know they should mean more to us than to others and not less;
+and in especial if we realize the manifestation of the Divine Personality
+in Jesus Christ and its reproduction in Man, we shall not neglect His last
+command to partake of that sacred memorial to His flesh and blood which He
+bequeathed to His followers with the words "This do in remembrance of
+Me."</p>
+
+<p>This holy rite is no superstitious human invention. There are many
+theories about it, and I do not wish to combat any of them, for in the end
+they all seem to me to bring us to the same point, that being cleansed from
+sin by the Divine Love we are now no longer separate from God but become
+"partakers of the Divine-Nature" (II Peter I: 4). This partaking of the
+Divine Nature could not be more accurately represented than by our
+partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Divine Substance and the
+Divine Life, thus made emblematic of the whole Creative Process from its
+beginning in the Divine Thought to its completion in the manifestation of
+that Thought as Perfected Man; and so it brings vividly before us the
+remembrance of the Personality of God taking form as the Son of Man. We are
+all familiar with the saying that thoughts become things; and if we affirm
+the creative power of our own thought as reproducing itself in outward
+form, how much more must we affirm the same of that Divine Thought which
+brings the whole universe into existence; so that in accordance with our
+own principles the Divine Idea of Man was logically bound to show itself in
+the world of time and space as the Son of God and the Son of man, not two
+differing natures but one complete whole, thus summing up the foundation
+principle of all creation in one Undivided Consciousness of Personality.
+Thus "the Word" or Divine Thought of Man "became flesh," and our partaking
+of the symbolic elements keeps in our remembrance the supreme truth that
+this same "Word" or Thought of God in like manner takes form in ourselves
+as we open our own thought to receive it. And further, if we realize that
+throughout the universe there is only ONE Originating Life, sending forth
+only ONE Original Substance as the vehicle for its expression, then it
+logically follows that <i>in essence</i> the bread is a portion of the
+eternal Substance of God, and the wine a portion of the eternal Life of
+God. For though the wine is of course also a part of the Universal
+Substance, we must remember that the Universal Substance is itself a
+manifestation of the Life of the All-Creating Spirit, and therefore this
+fluid form of the primary substance has been selected as representing the
+eternal flowing of the Life of the Spirit into all creation, culminating in
+its supreme expression in the consciousness of those who, in the
+recognition of these truths, seek to bring their heart into union with the
+Divine Spirit. From such considerations as these it will be seen how vast a
+field of thought is covered by Christ's words "Do this in remembrance of
+Me."</p>
+
+<p>In conclusion, therefore, do not let yourselves be led astray by any
+philosophy that denies the Personality of God. In the end it will be found
+to be a foolish philosophy. No other starting-point of creation is
+conceivable than the Self-Contemplation of the Divine Spirit, and the
+logical sequence from this brings us to the ultimate result of the Creative
+Process in the statement that "if any man be in Christ he is a New
+creature," or as the margin has it "a new creation" (II Cor. v: 17). Such
+vain philosophies have only one logical result which is to put
+<i>yourself</i> in the place of God, and then what have you to lean upon in
+the hour of trial? It is like trying to climb up a ladder that is resting
+against nothing. Therefore, says the Apostle Paul, "Beware lest any man
+spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man,
+after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. II: 8.) The
+teaching of the Bible is sound philosophy, sound reasoning, and sound
+science because it starts with the sound premises that all Creation
+proceeds out of God, and that Man is made in the image and likeness of his
+Creator. It nowhere departs from the Law of Cause and Effect, and by the
+orderly sequence of this law it brings us at last to the New Creation both
+in ourselves and in our environment, so that we find the completion of the
+Creative Process in the declaration "the tabernacle of God is with men"
+(Rev. xxi: 3), and in the promise "This is the Covenant that I will make
+with them after those days (i.e., the days of our imperfect apprehension of
+these things) saith the Lord, I will dwell <i>in them</i>, and walk <i>in
+them</i>, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will
+put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and
+their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. x: 16. II
+Cor. vi: 16. Jeremiah xxxi: 33).</p>
+
+<p>Truly does Bacon say, "A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to
+religion."--Bacon, Essay, xvi.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+<h1>FOOTNOTES</h1>
+
+
+
+<p><a href="#rfn1" name="fn1">1.</a>   See my Dor&eacute; Lectures,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn2" name="fn2">2.</a>   See my Edinburgh Lectures on Mental
+Science.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn3" name="fn3">3.</a>   See my Dor&eacute; Lectures,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn4" name="fn4">4.</a>   For the relation between conscious
+and sub-conscious mind see my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn5" name="fn5">5.</a>   See "Self-Synthesis" by Dr. Cornwall
+Round.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn6" name="fn6">6.</a>   For the relation between subjective
+and objective mind see my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn7" name="fn7">7.</a>   This view, it may be remarked, is
+not necessarily incompatible with the conception of reincarnation, on which
+theory the final resurrection or transmutation of the body would terminate
+the series of successive lives and deaths, thus bringing the individual out
+of the circle of generation, which is the circle of Karma. I may, perhaps,
+have the opportunity of considering this subject on some future
+occasion.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn8" name="fn8">8.</a>   See my "Bible Mystery and Bible
+Meaning."</p>
+
+<p><a href="#rfn9" name="fn9">9.</a>   See "Bible Mystery and Bible
+Meaning" by the present author.</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 10361-h.txt or 10361-h.zip *******</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Creative Process in the Individual, by
+Thomas Troward
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
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+
+
+
+
+Title: The Creative Process in the Individual
+
+Author: Thomas Troward
+
+Release Date: December 1, 2003  [eBook #10361]
+
+Language: English
+
+Chatacter set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE
+INDIVIDUAL***
+
+
+E-text prepared by John Hagerson, Kevin Handy, and Project Gutenberg
+Distributed Proofreaders
+
+
+
+THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE INDIVIDUAL
+
+BY T. TROWARD
+
+1915
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+In the present volume I have endeavored to set before the reader the
+conception of a sequence of creative action commencing with the formation
+of the globe and culminating in a vista of infinite possibilities
+attainable by every one who follows up the right line for their unfoldment.
+
+I have endeavored to show that, starting with certain incontrovertible
+scientific facts, all these things logically follow, and that therefore,
+however far these speculations may carry us beyond our past experience,
+they nowhere break the thread of an intelligible connection of cause and
+effect.
+
+I do not, however, offer the suggestions here put forward in any other
+light than that of purely speculative reasoning; nevertheless, no advance
+in any direction can be made except by speculative reasoning going back to
+the first principles of things which we do know and thence deducing the
+conditions under which the same principles might be carried further and
+made to produce results hitherto unknown. It is to this method of thought
+that we owe all the advantages of civilization from matches and
+post-offices to motor-cars and aeroplanes, and we may therefore be
+encouraged to hope such speculations as the present may not be without
+their ultimate value. Relying on the maxim that Principle is not bound by
+Precedent we should not limit our expectations of the future; and if our
+speculations lead us to the conclusion that we have reached a point where
+we are not only able, but also _required_, by the law of our own being, to
+take a more active part in our personal evolution than heretofore, this
+discovery will afford us a new outlook upon life and widen our horizon with
+fresh interests and brightening hopes.
+
+If the thoughts here suggested should help any reader to clear some mental
+obstacles from his path the writer will feel that he has not written to no
+purpose. Only each reader must think out these suggestions for himself. No
+writer or lecturer can convey an idea _into_ the minds of his audience. He
+can only put it before them, and what they will make of it depends entirely
+upon themselves--assimilation is a process which no one can carry out for
+us.
+
+To the kindness of my readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in
+Australia and New Zealand, I commend this little volume, not, indeed,
+without a deep sense of its many shortcomings, but at the same time
+encouraged by the generous indulgence extended to my previous books.
+
+T.T.
+
+June, 1910.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+       I THE STARTING-POINT
+      II THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+     III THE DIVINE IDEAL
+      IV THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+       V THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+      VI THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+     VII RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+    VIII THE DENOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+      IX CONCLUSION
+       X THE DIVINE OFFERING
+      XI OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+
+
+
+      I say no man has ever yet been half devout enough,
+      None has ever yet adored or worship'd half enough,
+      None has begun to think how divine he himself is, and
+    how certain the future is.
+      I say that the real and permanent grandeur of these States
+    must be their religion,
+      Otherwise there is no real and permanent grandeur.
+    --WALT WHITMAN.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE STARTING-POINT
+
+
+It is an old saying that "Order is Heaven's First Law," and like many other
+old sayings it contains a much deeper philosophy than appears immediately
+on the surface. Getting things into a better order is the great secret of
+progress, and we are now able to fly through the air, not because the laws
+of Nature have altered, but because we have learnt to arrange things in the
+right order to produce this result--the things themselves had existed from
+the beginning of the world, but what was wanting was the introduction of a
+Personal Factor which, by an intelligent perception of the possibilities
+contained in the laws of Nature, should be able to bring into working
+reality ideas which previous generations would have laughed at as the
+absurd fancies of an unbalanced mind. The lesson to be learnt from the
+practical aviation of the present day is that of the triumph of principle
+over precedent, of the working out of an _idea_ to its logical conclusions
+in spite of the accumulated testimony of all past experience to the
+contrary; and with such a notable example before us can we say that it is
+futile to enquire whether by the same method we may not unlock still more
+important secrets and gain some knowledge of the unseen causes which are at
+the back of external and visible conditions, and then by bringing these
+unseen causes into a better order make practical working realities of
+possibilities which at present seem but fantastic dreams? It is at least
+worth while taking a preliminary canter over the course, and this is all
+that this little volume professes to attempt; yet this may be sufficient to
+show the lay of the ground.
+
+Now the first thing in any investigation is to have some idea of what you
+are looking for--to have at least some notion of the general direction in
+which to go--just as you would not go up a tree to find fish though you
+would for birds' eggs. Well, the general direction in which we all want to
+go is that of getting more out of Life than we have ever got out of it--we
+want to be more alive in ourselves and to get all sorts of improved
+conditions in our environment. However happily any of us may be
+circumstanced we can all conceive something still better, or at any rate we
+should like to make our present good permanent; and since we shall find as
+our studies advance that the prospect of increasing possibilities keeps
+opening out more and more widely before us, we may say that what we are in
+search of is the secret of getting more out of Life in a continually
+progressive degree. This means that what we are looking for is something
+personal, and that it is to be obtained by producing conditions which do
+not yet exist; in other words it is nothing less than the exercise of a
+certain creative power in the sphere of our own particular world. So, then,
+what we want is to introduce our own Personal Factor into the realm of
+unseen causes. This is a big thing, and if it is possible at all it must be
+by some sequence of cause and effect, and this sequence it is our object to
+discover. The law of Cause and Effect is one we can never get away from,
+but by carefully following it up we may find that it will lead us further
+than we had anticipated.
+
+Now, the first thing to observe is that if _we_ can succeed in finding out
+such a sequence of cause and effect as the one we are in search of,
+somebody else may find out the same creative secret also; and then, by the
+hypothesis of the case, we should both be armed with an infallible power,
+and if we wanted to employ this power against each other we should be
+landed in the "impasse" of a conflict between two powers each of which was
+irresistible. Consequently it follows that the first principle of this
+power must be Harmony. It cannot be antagonizing itself from different
+centers--in other words its operation in a simultaneous order at every
+point is the first necessity of its being. What we are in search of, then,
+is a sequence of cause and effect so universal in its nature as to include
+harmoniously all possible variations of individual expression. This primary
+necessity of the Law for which we are seeking should be carefully borne in
+mind, for it is obvious that any sequence which transgresses this primary
+essential must be contrary to the very nature of the Law itself, and
+consequently cannot be conducting us to the exercise of true creative
+power.
+
+What we are seeking, therefore, is to discover how to arrange things in
+such an order as to set in motion a train of causation that will harmonize
+our own conditions without antagonizing the exercise of a like power by
+others. This therefore means that all individual exercise of this power is
+the particular application of a universal power which itself operates
+creatively on its own account independently of these individual
+applications; and the harmony between the various individual applications
+is brought about by all the individuals bringing their own particular
+action into line with this independent creative action of the original
+power. It is in fact another application of Euclid's axiom that things
+which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another; so that though
+I may not know for what purpose some one may be using this creative power
+in Pekin, I do know that if he and I both realize its true nature, we
+cannot by any possibility be working in opposition to one another. For
+these reasons, having now some general idea of what it is we are in search
+of, we may commence our investigation by considering this common factor
+which must be at the back of all individual exercise of creative power,
+that is to say, the Generic working of the Universal Creative Principle.
+
+That such a Universal Creative Principle is at work we at once realize from
+the existence of the world around us with all its inhabitants, and the
+inter-relation of all parts of the cosmic system shows its underlying
+Unity--thus the animal kingdom depends on the vegetable, the vegetable
+kingdom on the mineral, the mineral or globe of the earth on its relation
+to the rest of the solar system, and possibly our solar system is related
+by a similar law to the distribution of other suns with their attendant
+planets throughout space. Our first glance therefore shows us that the
+All-originating Power must be in essence Unity and in manifestation
+Multiplicity, and that it manifests as Life and Beauty through the unerring
+adaptation of means to ends--that is so far as its cosmic manifestation of
+ends goes: what we want to do is to carry this manifestation still further
+by operation from an individual standpoint. To do this is precisely our
+place in the Order of Creation, but we must defer the question why we hold
+this place till later on.
+
+One of the earliest discoveries we all make is the existence of Matter. The
+bruised shins of our childhood convince us of its solidity, so now comes
+the question, Why does Matter exist? The answer is that if the form were
+not expressed in solid substance, things would be perpetually flowing into
+each other so that no identity could be maintained for a single moment. To
+this it might be replied that a condition of matter is conceivable in
+which, though in itself a plastic substance, in a fluent state, it might
+yet by the operation of will be held in any particular forms desired. The
+idea of such a condition of matter is no doubt conceivable, and when the
+fluent matter was thus held in particular forms you would have concrete
+matter just as we know it now, only with this difference, that it would
+return to its fluent state as soon as the supporting will was withdrawn.
+Now, as we shall see later on, this is precisely what matter really is,
+only the will which holds it together in concrete form is not individual
+but cosmic.
+
+In itself the Essence of Matter is precisely the fluent substance we have
+imagined, and as we shall see later on the knowledge of this fact, when
+realized in its proper order, is the basis of the legitimate control of
+mind over matter. But a world in which every individual possessed the power
+of concreting or fluxing matter at his own sweet will irrespective of any
+universal coordinating principle is altogether inconceivable--the conflict
+of wills would prevent such a world remaining in existence. On the other
+hand, if we conceive of a number of individuals each possessing this power
+and all employing it on the lines of a common cosmic unity, then the result
+would be precisely the same stable condition of matter with which we are
+familiar--this would be a necessity of fact for the masses who did not
+possess this power, and a necessity of principle for the few who did. So
+under these circumstances the same stable conditions of Nature would
+prevail as at present, varied only when the initiated ones perceived that
+the order of evolution would be furthered, and not hindered, by calling
+into action the higher laws. Such occasions would be of rare occurrence,
+and then the departure from the ordinary law would be regarded by the
+multitude as a miracle. Also we may be quite sure that no one who had
+attained this knowledge in the legitimate order would ever perform a
+"miracle" for his own personal aggrandizement or for the purpose of merely
+astonishing the beholders--to do so would be contrary to the first
+principle of the higher teaching which is that of profound reverence for
+the Unity of the All-originating Principle. The conception, therefore, of
+such a power over matter being possessed by certain individuals is in no
+way opposed to our ordinary recognition of concrete matter, and so we need
+not at present trouble ourselves to consider these exceptions.
+
+Another theory is that matter has no existence at all but is merely an
+illusion projected by our own minds. If so, then how is it that we all
+project identically similar images? On the supposition that each mind is
+independently projecting its own conception of matter a lady who goes to be
+fitted might be seen by her dressmaker as a cow. Generations of people have
+seen the Great Pyramid on the same spot; but on the supposition that each
+individual is projecting his own material world in entire independence of
+all other individuals there is no reason why any two persons should ever
+see the same thing in the same place. On the supposition of such an
+independent action by each separate mind, without any common factor binding
+them all to one particular mode of recognition, no intercourse between
+individuals would be possible--then, without the consciousness of relation
+to other individuals the consciousness of our own individuality would be
+lost, and so we should cease to have any conscious existence at all. If on
+the other hand we grant that there is, above the individual minds, a great
+Cosmic Mind which imposes upon them the necessity of all seeing the same
+image of Matter, then that image is not a projection of the individual
+minds but of the Cosmic Mind; and since the individual minds are themselves
+similar projections of the Cosmic Mind, matter is for them just as much a
+reality as their own existence. I doubt not that material substance is thus
+projected by the all-embracing Divine Mind; but so also are our own minds
+projected by it, and therefore the relation between them and matter is a
+real relation and not a merely fictitious one.
+
+I particularly wish the student to be clear on this point, that where two
+factors are projected from a common source their relation to each other
+becomes an absolute fact in respect of the factors themselves,
+notwithstanding that the power of changing that relation by substituting a
+different projection must necessarily always continue to reside in the
+originating source. To take a simple arithmetical example--by my power of
+mental projection working through my eyes and fingers I write 4 X 2. Here I
+have established a certain numerical relation which can only produce eight
+as its result. Again, I have power to change the factors and write 4 X 3,
+in which case 12 is the only possible result, and so on. Working in this
+way calculation becomes possible. But if every time I wrote 4 that figure
+possessed an independent power of setting down a different number by which
+to multiply itself, what would be the result? The first 4 I wrote might set
+down 3 as its multiplier, and the next might set down 7, and so on. Or if I
+want to make a box of a certain size and cut lengths of plank accordingly,
+if each length could capriciously change its width at a moment's notice,
+how could I ever make the box? I myself may change the shape and size of my
+box by establishing new relations between the bits of wood, but for the
+pieces of wood themselves the proportions determined by my mind must remain
+fixed quantities, otherwise no construction could take place.
+
+This is a very rough analogy, but it may be sufficient to show that for a
+cosmos to exist at all it is absolutely necessary that there should be a
+Cosmic Mind binding all individual minds to certain _generic_ unities of
+action, and so producing all things as realities and nothing as illusion.
+The importance of this conclusion will become more apparent as we advance
+in our studies.
+
+We have now got at some reason why concrete material form is a necessity of
+the Creative Process. Without it the perfect Self-recognition of Spirit
+from the Individual standpoint, which we shall presently find is the means
+by which the Creative Process is to be carried forward, would be
+impossible; and therefore, so far from matter being an illusion, it is the
+necessary channel for the self-differentiation of Spirit and its Expression
+in multitudinous life and beauty. Matter is thus the necessary Polar
+Opposite to Spirit, and when we thus recognize it in its right order we
+shall find that there is no antagonism between the two, but that together
+they constitute one harmonious whole.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SELF-CONTEMPLATION OF SPIRIT
+
+
+If we ask how the cosmos came into existence we shall find that ultimately
+we can only attribute it to the Self-Contemplation of Spirit. Let us start
+with the facts now known to modern physical science. All material things,
+including our own bodies, are composed of combinations of different
+chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, &c. Chemistry
+recognizes in all about seventy of these elements each with its peculiar
+affinities; but the more advanced physical science of the present day finds
+that they are all composed of one and the same ultimate substance to which
+the name of Ether has been given, and that the difference between an atom
+of iron and an atom of oxygen results only from the difference in the
+number of etheric particles of which each is composed and the rate of their
+motion within the sphere of the atom, thus curiously coming back to the
+dictum of Pythagoras that the universe has its origin in Number and Motion.
+We may therefore say that our entire solar system together with every sort
+of material substance which it contains is made up of nothing but this one
+primary substance in various degrees of condensation.
+
+Now the next step is to realize that this ether is everywhere. This is
+shown by the undulatory theory of light. Light is not a substance but is
+the effect produced on the eye by the impinging of the ripples of the ether
+upon the retina. These waves are excessively minute, ranging in length from
+1-39,000th of an inch at the red end of the spectrum to 1-57,000th at the
+violet end. Next remember that these waves are not composed of advancing
+particles of the medium but pass onwards by the push which each particle in
+the line of motion gives to the particle next to it, and then you will see
+that if there were a break of one fifty-thousandth part of an inch in the
+connecting ether between our eye and any source of light we could not
+receive light from that source, for there would be nothing to continue the
+wave-motion across the gap. Consequently as soon as we see light from any
+source however distant, we know that there must be a continuous body of
+ether between us and it. Now astronomy shows us that we receive light from
+heavenly bodies so distant that, though it travels with the incredible
+speed of 186,000 miles per second, it takes more than two thousand years to
+reach us from some of them; and as such stars are in all quarters of the
+heavens we can only come to the conclusion that the primary substance or
+ether must be universally present.
+
+This means that the raw material for the formation of solar systems is
+universally distributed throughout space; yet though we find that millions
+of suns stud the heavens, we also find vast interstellar spaces which show
+no sign of cosmic activity. Then something has been at work to start cosmic
+activity in certain areas while passing over others in which the raw
+material is equally available. What is this something? At first we might be
+inclined to attribute the development of cosmic energy to the etheric
+particles themselves, but a little consideration will show us that this is
+mathematically impossible in a medium which is equally distributed
+throughout space, for all its particles are in equilibrium and so no one
+particle possesses _per se_ a greater power of originating motion than any
+other. Consequently the initial movement must be started by something
+which, though it works on and through the particles of the primary
+substance, is not those particles themselves. It is this "Something" which
+we mean when we speak of "Spirit."
+
+Then since Spirit starts the condensation of the primary substance into
+concrete aggregation, and also does this in certain areas to the exclusion
+of others, we cannot avoid attributing to Spirit the power of Selection and
+of taking an Initiative on its own account.
+
+Here, then, we find the _initial_ Polarity of Universal Spirit and
+Universal Substance, each being the complementary of the other, and out of
+this relation all subsequent evolution proceeds. Being complementary means
+that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together
+thus make complete wholeness. Now this is just the case here. Spirit
+supplies Selection and Motion. Substance supplies something from which
+selection can be made and to which Motion can be imparted; so that it is a
+_sine qua non_ for the Expression of Spirit.
+
+Then comes the question, How did the Universal Substance get there? It
+cannot have made itself, for its only quality is inertia, therefore it must
+have come from some source having power to project it by some mode of
+action not of a material nature. Now the only mode of action not of a
+material nature is Thought, and therefore to Thought we must look for the
+origin of Substance. This places us at a point antecedent to the existence
+even of primary substance, and consequently the initial action must be that
+of the Originating Mind upon Itself, in other words, Self-contemplation.
+
+At this primordial stage neither Time nor Space can be recognized, for both
+imply measurement of successive intervals, and in the primary movement of
+Mind upon itself the only consciousness must be that of Present Absolute
+Being, because no external points exist from which to measure extension
+either in time or space. Hence we must eliminate the ideas of time and
+space from our conception of Spirit's _initial_ Self-contemplation.
+
+This being so, Spirit's primary contemplation of itself as simply Being
+necessarily makes its presence universal and eternal, and consequently,
+paradoxical as it may seem, its independence of Time and Space makes it
+present throughout all Time and Space. It is the old esoteric maxim that
+the point expands to infinitude and that infinitude is concentrated in the
+point. We start, then, with Spirit contemplating itself simply as Being.
+But to realize your being you must have consciousness, and consciousness
+can only come by the recognition of your relation to something else. The
+something else may be an external fact or a mental image; but even in the
+latter case to conceive the image at all you must mentally stand back from
+it and look at it--something like the man who was run in by the police at
+Gravesend for walking behind himself to see how his new coat fitted. It
+stands thus: if you are not conscious of something you are conscious of
+nothing, and if you are conscious of nothing, then you are unconscious, so
+that to be conscious at all you must have something to be conscious of.
+
+This may seem like an extract from "Paddy's Philosophy," but it makes it
+clear that consciousness can only be attained by the recognition of
+something which is not the recognizing _ego_ itself--in other words
+consciousness is the realization of some particular sort of _relation_
+between the cognizing subject and the cognized object; but I want to get
+away from academical terms into the speech of human beings, so let us take
+the illustration of a broom and its handle--the two together make a broom;
+that is one sort of relation; but take the same stick and put a rake-iron
+at the end of it and you have an altogether different implement. The stick
+remains the same, but the difference of what is put at the end of it makes
+the whole thing a broom or a rake. Now the thinking and feeling power is
+the stick, and the conception which it forms is the thing at the end of the
+stick, so that the quality of its consciousness will be determined by the
+ideas which it projects; but to be conscious at all it must project ideas
+of some sort.
+
+Now of one thing we may be quite sure, that the Spirit of Life must _feel
+alive_. Then to feel alive it must be conscious, and to be conscious it
+must have something to be conscious of; therefore the contemplation of
+itself as standing related to something which is not its own originating
+self _in propria persona_ is a necessity of the case; and consequently the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit can only proceed by its viewing itself as
+related to something standing out from itself, just as we must stand at a
+proper distance to see a picture--in fact the very word "existence" means
+"standing out." Thus things are called into existence or "outstandingness"
+by a power which itself does not stand out, and whose presence is therefore
+indicated by the word "subsistence."
+
+The next thing is that since in the beginning there is nothing except
+Spirit, its primary feeling of aliveness must be that of being alive _all
+over_; and to establish such a consciousness of its own universal
+livingness there must be the recognition of a corresponding _relation_
+equally extensive in character; and the only possible correspondence to
+fulfil this condition is therefore that of a universally distributed and
+plastic medium whose particles are all in perfect equilibrium, which is
+exactly the description of the Primary Substance or ether. We are thus
+philosophically led to the conclusion that Universal Substance must be
+projected by Universal Spirit as a necessary consequence of Spirit's own
+inherent feeling of Aliveness; and in this way we find that the great
+Primary Polarity of Being becomes established.
+
+From this point onward we shall find the principle of Polarity in universal
+activity. It is that relation between opposites without which no external
+Motion would be possible, because there would be nowhere to move from, and
+nowhere to move to; and without which external Form would be impossible
+because there would be nothing to limit the diffusion of substance and
+bring it into shape. Polarity, or the interaction of Active and Passive, is
+therefore the basis of all _Evolution_.
+
+This is a great fundamental truth when we get it in its right order; but
+all through the ages it has been a prolific source of error by getting it
+in its wrong order. And the wrong order consists in making Polarity the
+originating point of the Creative Process. What this misconception leads to
+we shall see later on; but since it is very widely accepted under various
+guises even at the present day it is well to be on our guard against it.
+Therefore I wish the student to see clearly that there is something which
+comes before that Polarity which gives rise to Evolution, and that this
+something is the original movement of Spirit _within itself_, of which we
+can best get an idea by calling it Self-contemplation.
+
+Now this may seem an extremely abstract conception and one with which we
+have no practical concern. I fancy I can hear the reader saying "The Lord
+only knows how the world started, and it is His business and not mine,"
+which would be perfectly true if this originating faculty were confined to
+the Cosmic Mind. But it is not, and the same action takes place in our own
+minds also, only with the difference that it is ultimately subject to that
+principle of Cosmic Unity of which I have already spoken. But, subject to
+that unifying principle, this same power of origination is in ourselves
+also, and our personal advance in evolution depends on our right use of it;
+and our use of it depends on our recognition that we ourselves give rise to
+the particular polarities which express themselves in our whole world of
+consciousness, whether within or without. For these reasons it is very
+important to realize that Evolution is not the same as Creation. It is the
+unfolding of potentialities involved in things already created, but not the
+calling into existence of what does not yet exist--_that_ is Creation.
+
+The order, therefore, which I wish the student to observe is, first the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit producing Polarity, and next Polarity
+producing Manifestation in Form--and also to realize that it is in this
+order his own mind operates as a subordinate center of creative energy.
+When the true place of Polarity is thus recognized, we shall find in it the
+explanation of all those relations of things which give rise to the whole
+world of phenomena; from which we may draw the practical inference that if
+we want to change the manifestation we must change the polarity, and to
+change the polarity we must get back to the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+But in its proper place as the root-principle of all _secondary_ causation,
+Polarity is one of those fundamental facts of which we must never lose
+sight. The term "Polarity" is adopted from electrical science. In the
+electric battery it is the connecting together of the opposite poles of
+zinc and copper that causes a current to flow from one to the other and so
+provides the energy that rings the bell. If the connection is broken there
+is no action. When you press the button you make the connection. The same
+process is repeated in respect of every sort of polarity throughout the
+universe. Circulation depends on polarity, and circulation is the
+_manifestation_ of Life, which we may therefore say depends on the
+principle of polarity. In relation to ourselves we are concerned with two
+great polarities, the polarity of Soul and Body and the polarity of Soul
+and Spirit; and it is in order that he may more clearly realize their
+working that I want the student to have some preliminary idea of Polarity
+as a general principle.
+
+The conception of the Creative Order may therefore be generalized as
+follows. The Spirit wants to enjoy the reality of its own Life--not merely
+to vegetate, but to enjoy giving--and therefore by Self-contemplation it
+projects a polar opposite, or complementary, calculated to give rise to the
+particular sort of _relation_ out of which the enjoyment of a certain mode
+of self-consciousness will necessarily spring. Let this sentence be well
+pondered over until the full extent of its significance is grasped, for it
+is the key to the whole matter Very well, then: Spirit wants to Enjoy Life,
+and so, by thinking of itself as _having_ the enjoyment which it wishes, it
+produces the conditions which, by their re-action upon itself, give rise to
+the reality of the sort of enjoyment contemplated. In more scientific
+language an opposite polarity is induced, giving rise to a current which
+stimulates a particular mode of sensation, which sensation in turn becomes
+a fresh starting-point for still further action; and in this way each
+successive stage becomes the stepping-stone to a still higher degree of
+sensation--that is, to a Fuller Enjoyment of Life.
+
+Such a conception as this presents us with a Progressive Series to which it
+is impossible to assign any limit. That the progression must be limitless
+is clear from the fact that there is never any change in the method. At
+each successive stage the Creating Power is the Self-consciousness of the
+Spirit, as realized at that stage, still reaching forward for yet further
+Enjoyment of Life, and so always keeping on repeating the _one_ Creative
+Process at an ever-rising level; and since these are the sole working
+conditions, the progress is one which logically admits of no finality. And
+this is where the importance of realizing the Singleness of the Originating
+Power comes in, for with a Duality each member would limit the other; in
+fact, Duality as the Originating Power is inconceivable, for, once more to
+quote "Paddy's Philosophy," "finality would be reached before anything was
+begun."
+
+This Creative Process, therefore, can only be conceived of as limitless,
+while at the same time strictly progressive, that is, proceeding stage by
+stage, each stage being necessary as a preparation for the one that is to
+follow. Let us then briefly sketch the stages by which things in our world
+have got as far as they have. The interest of the enquiry lies in the fact
+that if we can once get at the principle which is producing these results,
+we may discover some way of giving it personal application.
+
+On the hypothesis of the Self-contemplation of Spirit being the originating
+power, we have found that a primary ether, or universal substance, is the
+necessary correspondence to Spirit's simple awareness of its own being. But
+though awareness of being is the necessary foundation for any further
+possibilities it is, so to say, not much to talk about. The foundation
+fact, of course, is to know that I Am; but immediately on this
+consciousness there follows the desire for Activity--I want to enjoy my I
+Am-ness by doing something with it. Translating these words into a state of
+consciousness in the Cosmic Mind they become a Law of Tendency leading to
+_localised_ activity, and, looking only at our own world, this would mean
+the condensation of the universal etheric substance into the primary nebula
+which later on becomes our solar system, this being the correspondence to
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit as passing into specific activity instead
+of remaining absorbed in simple awareness of Being. Then this
+self-recognition would lead to the conception of still more specific
+activity having its appropriate polar opposite, or material correspondence,
+in the condensation of the nebula into a solar system.
+
+Now at this stage Spirit's conception of itself is that of Activity, and
+consequently the material correspondence is Motion, as distinguished from
+the simple diffused ether which is the correspondence of mere awareness of
+Being, But what sort of motion? Is the material movement evolved at this
+stage bound to take any particular form? A little consideration will show
+us that it is. At this initial stage, the first awakening, so to say, of
+Spirit into activity, its consciousness can only be that of activity
+_absolute_; that is, not as related to any other mode of activity because
+as yet there is none, but only as related to an all-embracing Being; so
+that the only possible conception of Activity at this stage is that of
+_Self-sustained_ activity, not depending on any preceding mode of activity
+because there is none. The law of reciprocity therefore demands a similar
+self-sustained motion in the material correspondence, and mathematical
+considerations show that the only sort of motion which can sustain a
+self-supporting body moving _in vacuo_ is a rotary motion bringing the body
+itself into a spherical form. Now this is exactly what we find at both
+extremes of the material world. At the big end the spheres of the planets
+rotating on their axes and revolving round the sun; and at the little end
+the spheres of the atoms consisting of particles which, modern science
+tells us, in like manner rotate round a common center at distances which
+are astronomical as compared with their own mass. Thus the two ultimate
+units of physical manifestation, the atom and the planet, both follow the
+same law of self-sustained motion which we have found that, on _a priori_
+grounds, they ought in order to express the primary activity of Spirit. And
+we may note in passing that this rotary, or _absolute_, motion is the
+combination of the only two possible _relative_ modes of motion, namely,
+motion from a point and motion to it, that is to say centrifugal and
+centripetal motion; so that in rotary, or absolute, motion we find that
+both the polarities of motion are included, thus repeating on the purely
+mechanical side the primordial principle of the Unity including the Duality
+in itself.
+
+But the Spirit wants something more than mechanical motion, something more
+alive than the preliminary Rota, and so the first step toward
+individualized consciousness meets us in plant life. Then on the principle
+that each successive stage affords the platform for a further outlook,
+plant life is followed by animal life, and this by the Human order in which
+the liberty of selecting its own conditions is immensely extended. In this
+way the Spirit's expression of itself has now reached the point where its
+polar complementary, or Reciprocal, manifests as Intellectual Man--thus
+constituting the Fourth great stage of Spirit's Self-recognition. But the
+Creative Process cannot stop here, for, as we have seen, its root in the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit renders it of necessity an Infinite
+Progression. So it is no use asking what is its ultimate, for it has no
+ultimate--its word is "Excelsior"--ever Life and "Life more Abundant."
+Therefore the question is not as to finality where there is none, but as to
+the next step in the progression. Four kingdoms we know: what is to be the
+Fifth? All along the line the progress has been in one direction, namely,
+toward the development of more perfect Individuality, and therefore on the
+principle of continuity we may reasonably infer that the next stage will
+take us still further in the same direction. We want something more perfect
+than we have yet reached, but our ideas as to what it should be are very
+various, not to say discordant, for one person's idea of better is another
+person's idea of worse. Therefore what we want to get at is some broad
+generalization of principle which will be in advance of our past
+experiences. This means that we must look for this principle in something
+that we have not yet experienced, and the only place where we can possibly
+find principles which have not yet manifested themselves is _in gremio
+Dei_--that is, in the innermost of the Originating Spirit, or as St. John
+calls it, "in the bosom of the Father." So we are logically brought to
+personal participation in the Divine Ideal as the only principle by which
+the advance into the next stage can possibly be made. Therefore we arrive
+at the question, What is the Divine Ideal like?
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE DIVINE IDEAL
+
+
+What is the Divine Ideal? At first it might appear hopeless to attempt to
+answer such a question, but by adhering to a definite principle we shall
+find that it will open out, and lead us on, and show us things which we
+could not otherwise have seen--this is the nature of principle, and is what
+distinguishes it from mere rules which are only the application of
+principle under some particular set of conditions. We found two principles
+as essential in our conception of the Originating Spirit, namely its power
+of Selection and its power of Initiative; and we found a third principle as
+its only possible Motive, namely the Desire of the LIVING for ever
+increasing Enjoyment of Life. Now with these three principles as the very
+essence of the All-originating Spirit to guide us, we shall, I think, be
+able to form some conception of that Divine Ideal which gives rise to the
+Fifth Stage of Manifestation of Spirit, upon which we should now be
+preparing to enter.
+
+We have seen that the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life is necessarily a
+_reciprocal_--it must have a corresponding fact in manifestation to answer
+to it; otherwise by the inherent law of mind no consciousness, and
+consequently no enjoyment, could accrue; and therefore by the law of
+continuous progression the required Reciprocal should manifest as a being
+awakening to the consciousness of the principle by which he himself comes
+into existence.
+
+Such an awakening cannot proceed from a comparison of one set of existing
+conditions with another, but only from the recognition of a Power which is
+independent of all conditions, that is to say, the absolute Self-dependence
+of the Spirit. A being thus awakened would be the proper correspondence of
+the Spirit's Enjoyment of Life at a stage not only above mechanical motion
+or physical vitality, but even above intellectual perception of existing
+phenomena, that is to say at the stage where the Spirit's Enjoyment
+consists in recognizing itself as the Source of all things. The position in
+the Absolute would be, so to speak, the awakening of Spirit to the
+recognition of its own Artistic Ability. I use the word "Artistic" as more
+nearly expressing an almost unstatable idea than any other I can think of,
+for the work of the artist approaches more closely to creation _ex nihilo_
+than any other form of human activity. The work of the artist is the
+expression of the self that the artist is, while that of the scientist is
+the comparison of facts which exist independently of his own personality.
+It is true that the realm of Art is not without its methods of analysis,
+but the analysis is that of the artist's own feeling and of the causes
+which give rise to it. These are found to contain in themselves certain
+principles which are fundamental to all Art, but these principles are the
+laws of the creative action of mind rather than those of the limitations of
+matter. Now if we may transfer this familiar analogy to our conception of
+the working of the All-Originating Mind we may picture it as the Great
+Artist giving visible expression to His feeling by a process which, though
+subject to no restriction from antecedent conditions, yet works by a Law
+which is inseparable from the Feeling itself--in fact the Law _is_ the
+Feeling, and the Feeling _is_ the Law, the Law of Perfect Creativeness.
+
+Some such Self-contemplation as this is the only way in which we can
+conceive the next, or Fifth, stage of Spirit's Self-recognition as taking
+place. Having got as far as it has in the four previous stages, that is to
+the production of intellectual man as its correspondence, the next step in
+advance must be on the lines I have indicated--unless, indeed, there were a
+sudden and arbitrary breaking of the Law of Continuity, a supposition which
+the whole Creative Process up to now forbids us to entertain. Therefore we
+may picture the Fifth stage of the Self-contemplation of Spirit as its
+awakening to the recognition of its own Artistic Ability, its own absolute
+freedom of action and creative power--just as in studio parlance we say
+that an artist becomes "free of his palette." But by the always present Law
+of Reciprocity, through which alone self-consciousness can be attained,
+this Self-recognition of Spirit in the Absolute implies a corresponding
+objective fact in the world of the Relative; that is to say, the coming
+into manifestation of a being capable of realizing the Free Creative
+Artistry of the Spirit, and of recognizing the same principle in himself,
+while at the same time realizing also the _relation_ between the Universal
+Manifesting Principle and its Individual Manifestation.
+
+Such, it appears to me, must be the conception of the Divine Ideal embodied
+in the Fifth Stage of the progress of manifestation. But I would draw
+particular attention to the concluding words of the last paragraph, for if
+we miss the _relation_ between the Universal Manifesting Principle and its
+Individual Manifestation, we have failed to realize the Principle
+altogether, whether in the Universal or in the Individual--it is just their
+interaction that makes each become what it does become--and in this further
+becoming consists the progression. This relation proceeds from the
+principle I pointed out in the opening chapter which makes it necessary for
+the Universal Spirit to be always harmonious with itself; and if this Unity
+is not recognized by the individual he cannot hold that position of
+Reciprocity to the Originating Spirit which will enable it to recognize
+itself as in the Enjoyment of Life at the higher level we are now
+contemplating--rather the feeling conveyed would be that of something
+antagonistic, producing the reverse of enjoyment, thus philosophically
+bringing out the point of the Scriptural injunction, "Grieve not the
+Spirit." Also the re-action upon the individual must necessarily give rise
+to a corresponding state of inharmony, though he may not be able to define
+his feeling of unrest or to account for it. But on the other hand if the
+grand harmony of the Originating Spirit within itself is duly regarded,
+then the individual mind affords a fresh center from which the Spirit
+contemplates itself in what I have ventured to call its Artistic
+Originality--a boundless potential of Creativeness, yet always regulated by
+its own inherent Law of Unity.
+
+And this Law of the Spirit's Original Unity is a very simple one. It is the
+Spirit's necessary and basic conception of itself. A lie is a statement
+that something is, which is not. Then, since the Spirit's statement or
+conception of anything necessarily makes that thing exist, it is logically
+impossible for it to conceive a lie. Therefore the Spirit is Truth.
+Similarly disease and death are the negative of Life, and therefore the
+Spirit, as the Principle of Life, cannot embody disease or death in its
+Self-contemplation. In like manner also, since it is free to produce what
+it will, the Spirit cannot desire the presence of repugnant forms, and so
+one of its inherent Laws must be Beauty. In this threefold Law of Truth,
+Life, and Beauty, we find the whole underlying nature of the Spirit, and no
+action on the part of the individual can be at variance with the
+Originating Unity which does not contravert these fundamental principles.
+
+This it will be seen leaves the individual absolutely unfettered except in
+the direction of breaking up the fundamental harmony on which he himself,
+as included in the general creation, is dependent. This certainly cannot be
+called limitation, and we are all free to follow the lines of our own
+individuality in every other direction; so that, although the recognition
+of our relation to the Originating Spirit safeguards us from injuring
+ourselves or others, it in no way restricts our liberty of action or
+narrows our field of development. Am I, then, trying to base my action upon
+a fundamental desire for the opening out of Truth, for the increasing of
+Livingness, and for the creating of Beauty? Have I got this as an ever
+present Law of Tendency at the back of my thought? If so, then this law
+will occupy precisely the same place in My Microcosm, or personal world,
+that it does in the Macrocosm, or great world, as a power which is in
+itself formless, but which by reason of its presence necessarily impresses
+its character upon all that the creative energy forms. On this basis the
+creative energy of the Universal Mind may be safely trusted to work through
+the specializing influence of our own thought[1] and we may adopt the maxim
+"trust your desires" because we know that they are the movement of the
+Universal in ourselves, and that being based upon our fundamental
+recognition of the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is, their
+unfoldments must carry these initial qualities with them all down the line,
+and thus, in however small a degree, becomes a portion of the working of
+the Spirit in its inherent creativeness.
+
+This perpetual Creativeness of the Spirit is what we must never lose sight
+of, and that is why I want the student to grasp clearly the idea of the
+Spirit's Self-contemplation as the only possible root of the Creative
+Process. Not only at the first creation of the world, but at all times the
+plane of the innermost is that of Pure Spirit,[2] and therefore at this,
+the originating point, there is nothing else for Spirit to contemplate
+excepting itself; then this Self-contemplation produces corresponding
+manifestation, and since Self-contemplation or recognition of its own
+existence must necessarily go on continually, the corresponding
+creativeness must always be at work. If this fundamental idea be clearly
+grasped we shall see that incessant and progressive creativeness is the
+very essence and being of Spirit. This is what is meant by the
+Affirmativeness of the Spirit. It cannot _per se_ act negatively, that is
+to say uncreatively, for by the very nature of its Self-recognition such a
+negative action would be impossible. Of course if _we_ act negatively then,
+since the Spirit is always acting affirmatively, we are moving in the
+opposite direction to it; and consequently so long as we regard our own
+negative action as being affirmative, the Spirit's action must appear to us
+negative, and thus it is that all the negative conditions of the world have
+their root in negative or inverted thought: but the more we bring our
+thought into harmony with the Life, Love, and Beauty which the Spirit is,
+the less these inverted conditions will obtain, until at last they will be
+eliminated altogether. To accomplish this is our great object; for though
+the progress may be slow it will be steady if we proceed on a definite
+principle; and to lay hold of the true principle is the purpose of our
+studies. And the principle to lay hold of is the Ceaseless Creativeness of
+Spirit. This is what we mean when we speak of it as The Spirit of the
+Affirmative, and I would ask my readers to impress this term upon their
+minds. Once grant that the All-originating Spirit is thus the Spirit of the
+Pure Affirmative, and we shall find that this will lead us logically to
+results of the highest value.
+
+If, then, we keep this Perpetual and Progressive Creativeness of the Spirit
+continually in mind we may rely upon its working as surely in ourselves as
+in that great cosmic forward movement which we speak of as Evolution. It is
+the same power of Evolution working within ourselves, only with this
+difference, that in proportion as we come to realize its nature we find
+ourselves able to facilitate its progress by offering more and more
+favorable conditions for its working. We do not add to the force of the
+Power, for we are products of it and so cannot generate what generates
+_us_; but by providing suitable conditions we can more and more highly
+specialize it. This is the method of all the advance that has ever been
+made. We never create any force (_e.g._ electricity) but we provide special
+conditions under which the force manifests _itself_ in a variety of useful
+and beautiful ways, unsuspected possibilities which lay hidden in the power
+until brought to light by the cooperation of the Personal Factor.
+
+Now it is precisely the introduction[3] of this Personal Factor that
+concerns us, because to all eternity we can only recognize things from our
+own center of consciousness, whether in this world or in any other;
+therefore the practical question is how to specialize in our own case the
+_generic_ Originating Life which, when we give it a name, we call "the
+Spirit." The method of doing this is perfectly logical when we once see
+that the principle involved is that of the Self-recognition of Spirit. We
+have traced the _modus operandi_ of the Creative Process sufficiently far
+to see that the existence of the cosmos is the result of the Spirit's
+seeing itself _in_ the cosmos, and if this be the law of the whole it must
+also be the law of the part. But there is this difference, that so long as
+the normal average relation of particles is maintained the whole continues
+to subsist, no matter what position any particular particle may go into,
+just as a fountain continues to exist no matter whether any particular drop
+of water is down in the basin or at the top of the jet. This is the
+_generic_ action which keeps the race going as a whole. But the question
+is, What is going to become of ourselves? Then because the law of the whole
+is also the law of the part we may at once say that what is wanted is for
+the Spirit _to see itself in us_--in other words, to find in us the
+Reciprocal which, as we have seen, is necessary to its Enjoyment of a
+certain Quality of Consciousness. Now, the fundamental consciousness of the
+Spirit must be that of Self-sustaining Life, and for the full enjoyment of
+this consciousness there must be a corresponding _individual_ consciousness
+reciprocating it; and on the part of the individual such a consciousness
+can only arise from the recognition that his own life is identical with
+that of the Spirit--not something sent forth to wander away by itself, but
+something included in and forming part of the Greater Life. Then by the
+very conditions of the case, such a contemplation on the part of the
+individual is nothing else than the Spirit contemplating itself from the
+standpoint of the individual consciousness, and thus fulfilling the Law of
+the Creative Process under such specialized conditions as must logically
+result in the perpetuation of the individual life. It is the Law of the
+Cosmic Creative Process transferred to the individual.
+
+This, it seems to me, is the Divine Ideal: that of an Individuality which
+recognizes its Source, and recognizes also the method by which it springs
+from that Source, and which is therefore able to open up in itself a
+channel by which that Source can flow in uninterruptedly; with the result
+that from the moment of this recognition the individual lives directly from
+the Originating Life, as being himself _a special direct creation_, and not
+merely as being a member of a generic race. The individual who has reached
+this stage of recognition thus finds a principle of enduring life _within
+himself_; so then the next question is in what way this principle is likely
+to manifest itself.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE MANIFESTATION OF THE LIFE PRINCIPLE
+
+
+We must bear in mind that what we have now reached is a principle, or
+universal potential, only we have located it in the individual. But a
+principle, as such, is not manifestation. Manifestation is the growth
+proceeding _from_ the principle, that is to say, some Form in which the
+principle becomes active. At the same time we must recollect that, though a
+form is necessary for manifestation, _the_ form is not essential, for the
+same principle may manifest through various forms, just as electricity may
+work either through a lamp or a tram-car without in any way changing its
+inherent nature. In this way we are brought to the conclusion that the
+Life-principle must always provide itself with a body in which to function,
+though it does not follow that this body must always be of the same
+chemical constitution as the one we now possess. We might well imagine some
+distant planet where the chemical combinations with which we are familiar
+on earth did not obtain; but if the essential life-principle of any
+individual were transported thither, then by the Law of the Creative
+Process it would proceed to clothe itself with a material body drawn from
+the atmosphere and substance of that planet; and the personality thus
+produced would be quite at home there, for all his surroundings would be
+perfectly natural to him, however different the laws of Nature might be
+there from what we know here.
+
+In such a conception as this we find the importance of the two leading
+principles to which I have drawn attention--first, the power of the Spirit
+to create _ex nihilo_, and secondly, the individual's recognition of the
+basic principle of Unity giving permanence and solidity to the frame of
+Nature. By the former the self-recognizing life-principle could produce any
+sort of body it chose; and by the latter it would be led to project one in
+harmony with the natural order of the particular planet, thus making all
+the facts of that order solid realities to the individual, and himself a
+solid and natural being to the other inhabitants of that world. But this
+would not do away with the individual's knowledge of how he got there; and
+so, supposing him to have realized his identity with the Universal
+Life-Principle sufficiently to consciously control the projection of his
+own body, he could at will disintegrate the body which accorded with the
+conditions of one planet and constitute one which accorded just as
+harmoniously with those of another, and could thus function on any number
+of planets as a perfectly natural being on each of them. He would in all
+respects resemble the other inhabitants with one all-important exception,
+that since he had attained to unity with his Creative Principle he would
+not be tied by the laws of matter as they were.
+
+Any one who should attain to such a power could only do so by his
+realization of the all-embracing Unity of the Spirit as being the
+Foundation of all things; and this being the basis of his own extended
+powers he would be the last to controvert his own basic principle by
+employing his powers in such a way as to disturb the natural course of
+evolution in the world where he was. He might use them to help forward the
+evolution of others in that world, but certainly never to disturb it, for
+he would always act on the maxim that "Order is Heaven's First Law."
+
+Our object, however, is not to transfer ourselves to other planets but to
+get the best out of this one; but we shall not get the best out of this one
+until we realize that the power which will enable us to do so is so
+absolutely universal and fundamental that its application in this world is
+precisely the same as in any other, and that is why I have stated it as a
+general proposition applicable to all worlds.
+
+The principle being thus universal there is no reason why we should
+postpone its application till we find ourselves in another world, and the
+best place and time to begin are Here and Now. The starting point is not in
+time or locality, but in the mode of Thought; and if we realize that this
+Point of Origination is Spirit's power to produce something out of nothing,
+and that it does this in accordance with the natural order of substance of
+the particular world in which it is working, then the spiritual ego in
+ourselves, as proceeding direct from the Universal Spirit, should be able
+first, to so harmoniously combine the working of spiritual and physical
+laws in its own body as to keep it in perfect health, secondly to carry
+this process further and renew the body, thus eradicating the effects of
+old age, and thirdly to carry the process still further and perpetuate this
+renewed body as long as the individual might desire.
+
+If the student shows this to one of his average acquaintances who has never
+given any thought to these things, his friend will undoubtedly exclaim
+"Tommy rot!" even if he does not use a stronger expletive. He will at once
+appeal to the past experience of all mankind, his argument being that what
+has not been in the past cannot be in the future; yet he does not apply the
+same argument to aeronautics and is quite oblivious of the fact that the
+Sacred Volume which he reverences contains promises of these very things.
+The really earnest student must never forget the maxim that "Principle is
+not bound by Precedent"--if it were we should still be primitive savages.
+
+To use the Creative Process we must Affirm the Creative Power, that is to
+say, we must go back to the Beginning of the series and start with Pure
+Spirit, only remembering that this starting-point is now to be found _in
+ourselves_, for this is what distinguishes the individual Creative Process
+from the cosmic one. This is where the importance of realizing only ONE
+Originating Power instead of two interacting powers comes in, for it means
+that we do not derive our power from any existing polarity, but that we are
+going to establish polarities which will start secondary causation on the
+lines which we thus determine. This also is where the importance comes in
+of recognizing that the only possible originating movement of spirit must
+be Self-contemplation, for this shows us that we do not have to contemplate
+existing conditions but the Divine Ideal, and that this contemplation of
+the Divine Ideal of Man is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit from the
+standpoint of Human Individuality.
+
+Then the question arises, if these principles are true, why are we not
+demonstrating them? Well, when our fundamental principle is obviously
+correct and yet we do not get the proper results, the only inference is
+that somewhere or other we have introduced something antagonistic to the
+fundamental principle, something not inherent in the principle itself and
+which therefore owes its presence to some action of our own. Now the error
+consists in the belief that the Creative Power is limited by the material
+in which it works. If this be assumed, then you have to calculate the
+resistances offered by the material; and since by the terms of the Creative
+Process these resistances do not really exist, you have no basis of
+calculation at all--in fact you have no means of knowing where you are, and
+everything is in confusion. This is why it is so important to remember that
+the Creative Process is the action of a Single Power, and that the
+interaction of two opposite polarities comes in at a later stage, and is
+not creative, but only distributive--that is to say, it localizes the
+Energy already proceeding from the Single Power. This is a fundamental
+truth which should never be lost sight of. So long, however, as we fail to
+see this truth we necessarily limit the Creative Power by the material it
+works in, and in practise we do this by referring to past experience as the
+only standard of judgment. We are measuring the Fifth Kingdom by the
+standard of the Fourth, as though we should say that an intellectual man, a
+being of the Fourth Kingdom, was to be limited by the conditions which
+obtain in the First or Mineral Kingdom--to use Scriptural language we are
+seeking the Living among the dead.
+
+And moreover at the present time a new order of experience is beginning to
+open out to us, for well authenticated instances of the cure of disease by
+the invisible power of the Spirit are steadily increasing in number. The
+facts are now too patent to be denied--what we want is a better knowledge
+of the power which accounts for them. And if this beginning is now with us,
+by what reason can we limit it? The difference between the healing of
+disease and the renewal of the entire organism and the perpetuation of life
+is only a difference of degree and not of kind; so that the actual
+experience of increasing numbers shows the working of a principle to which
+we can logically set no limits.
+
+If we get the steps of the Creative Process clearly into our minds we shall
+see why we have hitherto had such small results.
+
+    Spirit creates by Self-contemplation;
+    Therefore, What it contemplates itself
+      as being, that it becomes.
+    You are individualized Spirit;
+    Therefore, What you contemplate as
+    the Law of your being becomes the
+    Law of your being.
+
+Hence, contemplate a Law of Death arising out of the Forces of the Material
+reacting against the Power of the Spirit and overcoming it, and you impress
+this mode of self-recognition upon Spirit in yourself. Of course you cannot
+alter its inherent nature, but you cause it to work under negative
+conditions and thus make it produce negative results so far as you yourself
+are concerned.
+
+But reverse the process, and contemplate a Law of Life as inherent in the
+very Being of the Spirit, and therefore as inherent in spirit in yourself;
+and contemplate the forces of the Material as practically non-existent in
+the Creative Process, because they are products of it and not causes--look
+at things in this way and you will impress a corresponding conception upon
+the Spirit which, by the Law of Reciprocity, thus enters into
+Self-contemplation on _these_ lines from the standpoint of your own
+individuality; and then by the nature of the Creative Process a
+corresponding externalization is bound to take place. Thus our initial
+question, How did anything come into existence at all, brings us to the
+recognition of a Law of Life which we may each specialize for ourselves;
+and in the degree to which we specialize it we shall find the Creative
+Principle at work within us building up a healthier and happier personality
+in mind, body, and circumstances.
+
+Only we must learn to distinguish the vehicles of Spirit from Spirit
+itself, for the distinction has very important bearings. What distinguishes
+the vehicles from the Spirit is the Law of Growth. The Spirit is the
+Formless principle of Life, and the vehicle is a Form in which this
+principle functions. Now the vehicle is a projection by the Spirit of
+substance coordinate with the natural order of the plane on which the
+vehicle functions, and therefore requires to be built up comformably to
+that order. This building up is what we speak of as Growth; and since the
+principle which causes the growth is the individualized Spirit, the rate at
+which the growth will go on will depend on the amount of vitalizing energy
+the Spirit puts into it, and the amount of vitalizing energy will depend on
+the degree in which the individualized Spirit appreciates its own
+livingness, and finally the degree of this appreciation will depend on the
+quality of the individual's perception of the Great All-originating Spirit
+as reflecting itself in him and thus making his contemplation of It nothing
+else than the Creative Self-contemplation of the Spirit proceeding from an
+individual and personal center. We must therefore not omit the Law of
+Growth in the vehicle from our conception of the working of the Spirit. As
+a matter of fact the vehicle has nothing to say in the matter for it is
+simply a projection from the Spirit; but for this very reason its formation
+will be slow or rapid in exact proportion to the individual spirit's
+vitalizing conception. We could imagine a degree of vitalizing conception
+that would produce the corresponding form instantaneously, but at present
+we must allow for the weakness of our spiritual power--not as thinking it
+by any means incapable of accomplishing its object, but as being far slower
+in operation now than we hope to see it in the future--and so we must not
+allow ourselves to be discouraged, but must hold our thought knowing that
+it is doing its creative work, and that the corresponding growth is slowly
+but surely taking place--thus following the Divine precept that men ought
+always to pray and not to faint. Gradually as we gain experience on these
+new lines our confidence in the power of the Spirit will increase, and we
+shall be less inclined to argue from the negative side of things, and thus
+the hindrances to the inflow of the Originating Spirit will be more and
+more removed, and greater and greater results will be obtained.
+
+If we would have our minds clear on this subject of Manifestation we should
+remember its threefold nature:--First the General Life-Principle, secondly
+the Localization of this principle in the Individual, and thirdly the
+Growth of the Vehicle as it is projected by the individualized spirit with
+more or less energy. It is a sequence of progressive condensation from the
+Undifferentiated Universal Spirit to the ultimate and outermost vehicle--a
+truth enshrined in the esoteric maxim that "Matter is Spirit at its lowest
+level."
+
+The forms thus produced are in true accord with the general order of Nature
+on the particular plane where they occur, and are therefore perfectly
+different from forms temporarily consolidated out of material drawn from
+other living organisms. These latter phantasmal bodies are held together
+only by an act of concentrated volition, and can therefore only be
+maintained for a short time and with effort; while the body which the
+individualized spirit, or ego, builds for itself is produced by a perfectly
+natural process and does not require any effort to sustain it, since it is
+kept in touch with the whole system of the planet by the continuous and
+effortless action of the individual's sub-conscious mind.
+
+This is where the action of sub-conscious mind as the builder of the body
+comes in. Sub-conscious mind acts in accordance with the aggregate of
+suggestion impressed upon it by the conscious mind, and if this suggestion
+is that of perfect harmony with the physical laws of the planet then a
+corresponding building by the sub-conscious mind will take place, a process
+which, so far from implying any effort, consists rather in a restful sense
+of unity with Nature.[4]
+
+And if to this sense of union with the Soul of Nature, that Universal
+Sub-conscious Mind which holds in the cosmos the same place that the
+sub-conscious mind does in ourselves--if to this there be superadded a
+sense of union with the All-creating Spirit from which the Soul of Nature
+flows, then through the medium of the individual's sub-conscious mind such
+specialized effects can be produced in his body as to transcend our past
+experiences without in any way violating the order of the universe. The Old
+Law was the manifestation of the Principle of Life working under
+constricted conditions: the New Law is the manifestation of the same
+Principle working under expanding conditions. Thus it is that though God
+never changes we are said to "increase with the increase of God."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE PERSONAL FACTOR
+
+
+I have already pointed out that the presence of a single all-embracing
+Cosmic Mind is an absolute necessity for the existence of any creation
+whatever, for the reason that if each individual mind were an entirely
+separate center of perception, not linked to all other minds by a common
+ground of underlying mentality independent of all individual action, then
+no two persons would see the same thing at the same time, in fact no two
+individuals would be conscious of living in the same world. If this were
+the case there would be no common standard to which to refer our
+sensations; and, indeed, coming into existence with no consciousness of
+environment except such as we could form by our own unaided thought, and
+having by the hypothesis no standard by which to form our thoughts, we
+could not form the conception of any environment at all, and consequently
+could have no recognition of our own existence. The confusion of thought
+involved even in the attempt to state such a condition shows it to be
+perfectly inconceivable, for the simple reason that it is
+self-contradictory and self-destructive. On this account it is clear that
+our own existence and that of the world around us necessarily implies the
+presence of a Universal Mind acting on certain _fixed lines of its own_
+which establish the basis for the working of all individual minds. This
+paramount action of the Universal Mind thus sets an unchangeable standard
+by which all individual mental action must eventually be measured, and
+therefore our first concern is to ascertain what this standard is and to
+make it the basis of our own action.
+
+But if the independent existence of a common standard of reference is
+necessary for our self-recognition simply as inhabitants of the world we
+live in, then _a fortiori_ a common standard of reference is necessary for
+our recognition of the unique place we hold in the Creative Order, which is
+that of introducing the Personal Factor without which the possibilities
+contained in the great Cosmic Laws would remain undeveloped, and the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit could never reach those infinite unfoldments
+of which it is logically capable.
+
+The evolution of the Personal Factor is therefore the point with which we
+are most concerned. As a matter of fact, whatever theories we may hold to
+the contrary, we do all realize the same cosmic environment in the same
+way; that is to say, our minds all act according to certain generic laws
+which underlie all our individual diversities of thought and feeling. This
+is so because we are made that way and cannot help it. But with the
+Personal Factor the case is different. A standard is no less necessary, but
+we are not so made as to conform to it automatically. The very conception
+of automatic conformity to a _personal_ standard is self-contradictory, for
+it does away with the very thing that constitutes personality, namely
+freedom of volition, the use of the powers of Initiative and Selection. For
+this reason conformity to the Standard of Personality must be a matter of
+choice, which amounts to the same thing as saying that it rests with each
+individual to form his own conception of a standard of Personality; but
+which liberty, however, carries with it the inevitable result that we shall
+bring into manifestation the _conditions_ corresponding to the sort of
+personality we accept as our normal standard.
+
+I would draw attention to the words "Normal Standard." What we shall
+eventually attain is, not what we merely wish, but what we regard as
+normal. The reason is that since we sub-consciously know ourselves to be
+based upon the inherent Law of the Universal Mind we feel, whether we can
+reason it out or not, that we cannot force the All-producing Mind to work
+contrary to its own inherent qualities, and therefore we intuitively
+recognize that we cannot transcend the sort of personality which is normal
+according to the Law of Universal Mind. This thought is always at the back
+of our mind and we cannot get away from it for the simple reason that it is
+inherent in our mental constitution, because our mind is itself a product
+of the Creative Process; and to suppose ourselves transcending the
+possibilities contained in the Originating Mind would involve the absurdity
+of supposing that we can get the greater out of the less.
+
+Nevertheless there are some who try to do so, and their position is as
+follows. They say in effect, I want to transcend the standard of humanity
+as I see it around me. But this is the normal standard according to the Law
+of the Universe, therefore I have to get above the Law of the Universe.
+Consequently I cannot draw the necessary power from that Law, and so there
+is nowhere else to get it except from myself. Thus the aspirant is thrown
+back upon his own individual will as the ultimate power, with the result
+that the onus lies on him of concentrating a force sufficient to overcome
+the Law of the Universe. There is thus continually present to him a
+suggestion of struggle against a tremendous opposing force, and as a
+consequence he is continually subjecting himself to a strain which grows
+more and more intense as he realizes the magnitude of the force against
+which he is contending. Then as he begins to realize the inequality of the
+struggle he seeks for extraneous aid, and so he falls back on various
+expedients, all of which have this in common that they ultimately amount to
+invoking the assistance of other individualities, not seeing that this
+involves the same fallacy which has brought him to his present straits, the
+fallacy, namely, of supposing that any individuality can develop a power
+greater than that of the source from which itself proceeds. The fallacy is
+a radical one; and therefore all efforts based upon it are fore-doomed to
+ultimate failure, whether they take the form of reliance on personal force
+of will, or magical rites, or austerity practised against the body, or
+attempts by abnormal concentration to absorb the individual in the
+universal, or the invocation of spirits, or any other method--the same
+fallacy is involved in them all, that the less is larger than the greater.
+
+Now the point to be noted is that the idea of transcending the present
+conditions of humanity does not necessarily imply the idea of transcending
+the normal law of humanity. The mistake we have hitherto made has been in
+fixing the Standard of Personality too low and in taking our past
+experiences as measuring the ultimate possibilities of the race. Our
+liberty consists in our ability to form our own conception of the Normal
+Standard of Personality, only subject to the conditions arising out of the
+inherent Law of the underlying Universal Mind; and so the whole thing
+resolves itself into the question, What are those fundamental conditions?
+The Law is that we cannot transcend the Normal; therefore comes the
+question, What is the Normal?
+
+I have endeavored to answer this question in the chapter on the Divine
+Ideal, but since this is the crucial point of the whole subject we may
+devote a little further attention to it. The Normal Standard of Personality
+must necessarily be the reproduction in Individuality of what the Universal
+Mind is in itself, because, by the nature of the Creative Process, this
+standard results from Spirit's Self-contemplation at the stage where its
+recognition is turned toward its own power of Initiative and Selection. At
+this stage Spirit's Self-recognition has passed beyond that of
+Self-expression through a mere Law of Averages into the recognition of what
+I have ventured to call its Artistic Ability; and as we have seen that
+Self-recognition at any stage can only be attained by the realization of a
+_relation_ stimulating that particular sort of consciousness, it follows
+that for the purpose of this further advance expression through individuals
+of a corresponding type is a necessity. Then by the Law of Reciprocity such
+beings must possess powers similar to those contemplated in itself by the
+Originating Spirit, in other words they must be in their own sphere the
+image and likeness of the Spirit as it sees itself.
+
+Now we have seen that the Creating Spirit necessarily possesses the powers
+of Initiative and Selection. These we may call its _active_ properties--the
+summing up of what it _does_. But what any power does depends on what it
+_is_, for the simple reason that it cannot give out what it does not
+contain; therefore at the back of the initiative and selective power of the
+Spirit we must find what the Spirit _is_, namely, what are its
+_substantive_ properties. To begin with it must be Life. Then because it is
+Life it must be Love, because as the undifferentiated Principle of Life it
+cannot do otherwise than tend to the fuller development of life in each
+individual, and the pure motive of giving greater enjoyment of life is
+Love. Then because it is Life guided by Love it must also be Light, that is
+to say, the primary all-inclusive perception of boundless manifestations
+yet to be. Then from this proceeds Power, because there is no opposing
+force at the level of Pure Spirit; and therefore Life urged forward by Love
+or the desire for recognition, and by Light or the pure perception of the
+Law of Infinite Possibility, must necessarily produce Power, for the simple
+reason that under these conditions it could not stop short of action, for
+that would be the denial of the Life, Love, and Light which it is. Then
+because the Spirit is Life, Love, Light, and Power, it is also Peace, again
+for a very simple reason, that being the Spirit of the Whole it cannot set
+one part in antagonism against another, for that would be to destroy the
+wholeness. Next the Spirit must be Beauty, because on the same principle of
+Wholeness it must duly proportion every part to every other part, and the
+due proportioning of all parts is beauty. And lastly the Spirit must be
+Joy, because, working on these lines, it cannot do otherwise than find
+pleasure in the Self-expression which its works afford it, and in the
+contemplation of the limitlessness of the Creative Process by which each
+realized stage of evolution, however excellent, is still the stepping-stone
+to something yet more excellent, and so on in everlasting progression.
+
+For these reasons we may sum up the Substantive Being of the
+All-originating Spirit as Life, Love, Light, Power, Peace, Beauty, and Joy;
+and its Active Power as that of Initiative and Selection. These, therefore,
+constitute the basic laws of the underlying universal mentality which sets
+the Standard of Normal Personality--a standard which, when seen in this
+light, transcends the utmost scope of our thought, for it is nothing else
+than the Spirit of the Infinite Affirmative conceived in Human Personality.
+This standard is therefore that of the Universal Spirit itself reproduced
+in Human Individuality by the same Law of Reciprocity which we have found
+to be the fundamental law of the Creative Process--only now we are tracing
+the action of this Law in the Fifth Kingdom instead of in the Fourth.
+
+This Standard, then, we may call the Universal Principle of Humanity, and
+having now traced the successive steps by which it is reached from the
+first cosmic movement of the Spirit in the formation of the primary nebula,
+we need not go over the old ground again, and may henceforward take this
+Divine Principle of Humanity as our Normal Standard and make it the
+starting point for our further evolution. But how are we to do this? Simply
+by using the one method of Creative Process, that is, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. We now know ourselves to be Reciprocals of
+the Divine Spirit, centers in which It finds a fresh standpoint for
+Self-contemplation; and so the way to rise to the heights of this Great
+Pattern is by contemplating it as the Normal Standard of our own
+Personality.
+
+And be it noted that the Pattern thus set before us is Universal. It is the
+embodiment of all the great principles of the Affirmative, and so in no way
+interferes with our own particular individuality--_that_ is something built
+up upon this foundation, something additional affording the differentiating
+medium through which this unifying Principle finds variety of expression,
+therefore we need be under no apprehension lest by resting upon this
+Pattern we should become less ourselves. On the contrary the recognition of
+it sets us at liberty to become more fully ourselves because we know that
+we are basing our development, not upon the strength of our own unaided
+will, nor yet upon any sort of extraneous help, but upon the Universal Law
+itself, manifesting through us in the proper sequence of the Creative
+Order; so that we are still dealing with Universal principles, only the
+principle by which we are now working is the Universal Principle of
+Personality.
+
+I wish the student to get this idea very clearly because this is really the
+crux of the passage from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. The great
+problem of the future of evolution is the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. The reason why this is so is very simple when we see it. To take a
+thought from my own "Dore Lectures" we may put it in this way. In former
+days no one thought of building ships of iron because iron does not float;
+yet now ships are seldom built of anything else, though the relative
+specific gravities of iron and water remain unchanged. What has changed is
+the Personal Factor. It has expanded to a more intelligent perception of
+the law of flotation, and we now see that wood floats and iron sinks, both
+of them by the same principle working under opposite conditions, the law,
+namely, that anything will float which bulk for bulk is lighter than the
+volume of water displaced by it, so that by including in our calculations
+the displacement of the vessel as well as the specific gravity of the
+material, we now make iron float by the very same law by which it sinks.
+This example shows that the function of the Personal Factor is to analyze
+the manifestations of Law which are spontaneously afforded by Nature and to
+discover the Universal Affirmative Principle which lies hidden within them,
+and then by the exercise of our powers of Initiative and Selection to
+provide such specialized conditions as will enable the Universal Principle
+to work in perfectly new ways transcending anything in our past experience.
+This is how all progress has been achieved up to the present; and is the
+way in which all progress must be achieved in the future, only for the
+purpose of evolution, or growth from within, we must transfer the method to
+the spiritual plane.
+
+The function, then, of the Personal Factor in the Creative Order is to
+provide specialized conditions by the use of the powers of Selection and
+Initiative, a truth indicated by the maxim "Nature unaided fails"; but the
+difficulty is that if enhanced powers were attained by the whole population
+of the world without any common basis for their use, their promiscuous
+exercise could only result in chaotic confusion and the destruction of the
+entire race. To introduce the creative power of the Individual and at the
+same time avoid converting it into a devastating flood is the great problem
+of the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth. For this purpose
+it becomes necessary to have a Standard of the Personal Factor independent
+of any individual conceptions, just as we found that in order for us to
+attain self-consciousness at all it was a necessity that there should be a
+Universal Mind as the _generic_ basis of all individual mentality; only in
+regard to the generic build of mind the conformity is necessarily
+automatic, while in regard to the specializing process the fact that the
+essence of that process is Selection and Initiative renders it impossible
+for the conformity to the Standard of Personality to be automatic--the very
+nature of the thing makes it a matter of individual choice.
+
+Now a Standard of Personality independent of individual conceptions must be
+the _essence_ of Personality as distinguished from individual
+idiosyncrasies, and can therefore be nothing else than the Creative Life,
+Love, Beauty, etc., viewed as a Divine Individuality, by identifying
+ourselves with which we eliminate all possibility of conflict with other
+personalities based on the same fundamental recognition; and the very
+universality of this Standard allows free play to all our particular
+idiosyncrasies while at the same time preventing them from antagonizing the
+fundamental principles to which we have found that the Self-contemplation
+of the Originating Spirit must necessarily give rise. In this way we attain
+a Standard of Measurement for our own powers. If we recognize no such
+Standard our development of spiritual powers, our discovery of the immense
+possibilities hidden in the inner laws of Nature and of our own being, can
+only become a scourge to ourselves and others, and it is for this reason
+that these secrets are so jealously guarded by those who know them, and
+that over the entrance to the temple are written the words "Eskato
+Bebeloi"--"Hence ye Profane."
+
+But if we recognize and accept this Standard of Measurement then we need
+never fear our discovery of hidden powers either in ourselves or in Nature,
+for on this basis it becomes impossible for us to misuse them. Therefore it
+is that all systematic teaching on these subjects begins with instruction
+regarding the Creative Order of the Cosmos, and then proceeds to exhibit
+the same Order as reproduced on the plane of Personality and so affording a
+fresh starting point for the Creative Process by the introduction of
+Individual Initiative and Selection. This is the doctrine of the Macrocosm
+and the Microcosm; and the transition from the generic working of the
+Creative Spirit in the Cosmos to its specific working in the Individual is
+what is meant by the doctrine of the Octave.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE STANDARD OF PERSONALITY
+
+
+We have now got some general idea as to the place of the personal factor in
+the Creative Order, and so the next question is, How does this affect
+ourselves? The answer is that if we have grasped the fundamental fact that
+the moving power in the Creative Process is the self-contemplation of
+Spirit, and if we also see that, because we are miniature reproductions of
+the Original Spirit, our contemplation of It becomes Its contemplation of
+Itself from the standpoint of our own individuality--if we have grasped
+these fundamental conceptions, then it follows that our process for
+developing power is to contemplate the Originating Spirit as the source of
+the power we want to develop. And here we must guard against a mistake
+which people often make when looking to the Spirit as the source of power.
+We are apt to regard it as sometimes giving and sometimes withholding
+power, and consequently are never sure which way it will act. But by so
+doing we make Spirit contemplate itself as having no definite action at
+all, as a plus and minus which mutually cancel each other, and therefore by
+the Law of the Creative Process no result is to be expected. The mistake
+consists in regarding the power as something separate from the Spirit;
+whereas by the analysis of the Creative Process which we have now made we
+see that the Spirit itself _is_ the power, because the power comes into
+existence only through Spirit's self-contemplation. Then the logical
+inference from this is that by contemplating the Spirit _as_ the power, and
+_vice versa_ by contemplating the power _as_ the Spirit, a similar power is
+being generated in ourselves.
+
+Again an important conclusion follows from this, which is that to generate
+any _particular sort_ of power we should contemplate it in the abstract
+rather than as applied to the particular set of circumstances we have in
+hand. The circumstances indicate the sort of power we want but they do not
+help us to generate it; rather they impress us with a sense of something
+contrary to the power, something which has to be overcome by it, and
+therefore we should endeavor to dwell on the power _in itself_, and so come
+into touch with it in its limitless infinitude.
+
+It is here that we begin to find the benefit of a Divine Standard of Human
+Individuality. That also is an Infinite Principle, and by identifying
+ourselves with it we bring to bear upon the abstract conception of infinite
+Impersonal Power a corresponding conception of Infinite Personality, so
+that we thus import the Personal Factor which is able _to use_ the Power
+without imposing any strain upon ourselves. We know that by the very nature
+of the Creative Process we are one with the Originating Spirit and
+therefore one with all the principles of its Being, and consequently one
+with its Infinite Personality, and therefore our contemplation of it as the
+Power which we want gives us the power to use that Power.
+
+This is the Self-contemplation of Spirit employed from the individual
+standpoint for the generating of power. Then comes the application of the
+power thus generated. But there is only one Creative Process, that of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit, and therefore the way to use this process for
+the application of the power is to contemplate ourselves as surrounded by
+the conditions which we want to produce. This does not mean that we are to
+lay down a hard and fast pattern of the conditions and strenuously endeavor
+to compel the Power to conform its working to every detail of our mental
+picture--to do so would be to hinder its working and to exhaust ourselves.
+What we are to dwell upon is the idea of an Infinite Power producing the
+happiness we desire, and because this Power is also the Forming Power of
+the universe trusting it to give that form to the conditions which will
+most perfectly react upon us to produce the particular state of
+consciousness desired.
+
+Thus neither on the side of in-drawing nor of out-giving is there any
+constraining of the Power, while in both cases there is an initiative and
+selective action on the part of the individual--for the generating of
+power he takes the initiative of invoking it by contemplation, and he makes
+selection of the sort of power to invoke; while on the giving-out side he
+makes selection of the purpose for which the Power is to be employed, and
+takes the initiative by his thought of directing the Power to that purpose.
+He thus fulfils the fundamental requirements of the Creative Process by
+exercising Spirit's inherent faculties of initiative and selection by means
+of its inherent method, namely by Self-contemplation. The whole action is
+identical in kind with that which produces the cosmos, and it is now
+repeated in miniature for the particular world of the individual; only we
+must remember that this miniature reproduction of the Creative Process is
+based upon the great fundamental principles inherent in the Universal Mind,
+and cannot be dissociated from them without involving a conception of the
+individual which will ultimately be found self-destructive because it cuts
+away the foundation on which his individuality rests.
+
+It will therefore be seen that any individuality based upon the fundamental
+Standard of Personality thus involved in the Universal Mind has reached the
+basic principle of union with the Originating Spirit itself, and we are
+therefore correct in saying that union is attained through, or by means of,
+this Standard Personality. This is a great truth which in all ages has been
+set forth under a variety of symbolic statements; often misunderstood, and
+still continuing to be so, though owing to the inherent vitality of the
+idea itself even a partial apprehension of it produces a corresponding
+measure of good results. This falling short has been occasioned by the
+failure to recognize an Eternal Principle at the back of the particular
+statements--in a word the failure to see what they were talking about. All
+_principles_ are eternal in themselves, and this is what distinguishes them
+from their particular manifestations as laws determined by temporary and
+local conditions.
+
+If then, we would reach the root of the matter we must penetrate through
+all verbal statements to an Eternal Principle which is as active now as
+ever in the past, and which is as available to ourselves as to any who have
+gone before us. Therefore it is that when we discern an Eternal and
+Universal Principle of Human Personality as necessarily involved in the
+Essential Being of the Originating Universal Spirit--_Filius in gremio
+Patris_--we have discovered the true Normal Standard of Personality. Then
+because this standard is nothing else than the principle of Personality
+expanded to infinitude, there is no limit to the expansion which we
+ourselves may attain by the operation in us of this principle; and so we
+are never placed in a position of antagonism to the true law of our being,
+but on the contrary the larger and more fundamental our conception of
+personal development the greater will be the fulfilment which we give to
+the Law. The Normal Standard of Personality is found to be itself the Law
+of the Creative Process working at the personal level; and it cannot be
+subject to limitation for the simple reason that the process being that of
+the Self-contemplation of Spirit, no limits can possibly be assigned to
+this contemplation.
+
+We need, therefore, never be afraid of forming too high an idea of human
+possibilities provided always that we take this standard as the foundation
+on which to build up the edifice of our personality. And we see that this
+standard is no arbitrary one but simply the Expression in Personality of
+the ONE all-embracing Spirit of the Affirmative; and therefore the only
+limitation implied by conformity to it is that of being prevented from
+running on lines the opposite of those of the Creative Process, that is to
+say, from calling into action causes of disintegration and destruction. In
+the truly Constructive Order, therefore, the Divine Standard of Personality
+is as really the basis of the development of specific personality as the
+Universal Mind is the necessary basis of generic mentality; and just as
+without this generic ultimate of Mind we should none of us see the same
+world at the same time, and in fact have no consciousness of existence, so
+apart from this Divine Standard of Personality it is equally impossible for
+us to specialize the generic law of our being so as to develop all the
+glorious possibilities that are latent in it.
+
+Only we must never forget the difference between these two statements of
+the Universal Law--the one is cosmic and generic, common to the whole race,
+whether they know it or not, a Standard to which we all conform
+automatically by the mere fact of being human beings; while the other is a
+personal and individual Standard, automatic conformity to which is
+impossible because that would imply the loss of those powers of Initiative
+and Selection which are the very essence of Personality; so that this
+Standard necessarily implies a personal selection of it in preference to
+other conceptions of an antagonistic nature.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+RACE THOUGHT AND NEW THOUGHT
+
+
+The steady following up of the successive stages of the Creative Process
+has led us to the recognition of an Individuality in the All-creating
+Spirit itself, but an Individuality which is by its very nature Universal,
+and so cannot be departed from without violating the essential principles
+on which the further expansion of our own individuality depends. At the
+same time it is strictly _individual_, for it is the Spirit of
+Individuality, and is thus to be distinguished from that merely _generic_
+race-personality which makes us human beings at all. Race-personality is of
+course the necessary _basis_ for the development of this Individuality; but
+if we do not see that it is only the preliminary to further evolution, any
+other conception of our personality as members of the race will prevent our
+advance toward our proper position in the Creative Order, which is that of
+introducing the Personal Factor by the exercise of our individual power of
+initiative and selection.
+
+It is on this account that Race-thought, simply as such, is opposed to the
+attempt of the individual to pass into a higher order of life. It limits
+him by strong currents of negative suggestion based on the fallacy that the
+perpetuation of the race requires the death of the individual;[5] and it is
+only when the individual sees that this is not true, and that his race-
+nature constitutes the ground out of which his new Individuality is to be
+formed, that he becomes able to oppose the negative power of race-thought.
+He does this by destroying it with its own weapon, that is, by finding in
+the race-nature itself the very material to be used by the Spirit for
+building-up the New Man. This is a discovery on the spiritual plane
+equivalent to the discovery on the physical plane that we can make iron
+float by the same law by which it sinks. It is the discovery that what we
+call the mortal part of us is capable of being brought under a higher
+application of the Universal Law of Life, which will transmute it into an
+immortal principle. When we see what we call the mortal part of us in this
+light we can employ the very principle on which the negative race-thought
+is founded as a weapon for the destruction of that thought in our own
+minds.
+
+The basis of the negative race-thought is the idea that physical death is
+an essential part of the Normal Standard of Personality, and that the body
+is composed of so much neutral material with which death can do what it
+likes. But it is precisely this neutrality of matter that makes it just as
+amenable to the Law of Life as to the Law of Death--it is simply neutral
+and not an originating power on either side; so then when we realize that
+our Normal Standard of Personality is not subject to death, but is the
+Eternal Essence and Being of Life itself, then we see that this neutrality
+of matter--its inability to make selection or take initiative on its own
+account--is just what makes it the plastic medium for the expression of
+Spirit in ourselves.
+
+In this way the generic or race-mind in the individual becomes the
+instrument through which the specializing power of the Spirit works toward
+the building up of a personality based upon the truly Normal Standard of
+Individuality which we have found to be inherent in the All-originating
+Spirit itself: and since the whole question is that of the introduction of
+the factor of personal individuality into the creative order of causation,
+this cannot be done by depriving the individual of what makes him a person
+instead of a thing, namely, the power of conscious initiative and
+selection.
+
+For this reason the transition from the Fourth Kingdom into the Fifth
+cannot be forced upon the race either by a Divine fiat or by the generic
+action of cosmic law, for it is a _specialising_ of the cosmic law which
+can only be effected by _personal_ initiative and selection, just as iron
+can only be made to float under certain specialized conditions; and
+consequently the passage from the Fourth into the Fifth Kingdom is a
+strictly individual process which can only be brought about by a personal
+perception of what the normal standard of the New Individuality really is.
+This can only be done by the active laying aside of the old race-standard
+and the conscious adoption of the new one. The student will do well to
+consider this carefully, for it explains why the race cannot receive the
+further evolution simply as a race; and also it shows that our further
+evolution is not into a state of less activity but of greater, not into
+being less alive but more alive, not into being less ourselves but more
+ourselves; thus being just the opposite of those systems which present the
+goal of existence as re-absorption into the undifferentiated Divine
+essence. On the contrary our further evolution is into greater degrees of
+conscious activity than we have ever yet known, because it implies our
+development of greater powers as the consequence of our clearer perception
+of our true relation to the All-originating Spirit. It is the recognition
+that we may, and should, measure ourselves by this New Standard instead of
+by the old race-standard that constitutes the real New Thought. The New
+Thought which gives New Life to the individual will never be realized so
+long as we think that it is merely the name of a particular sect, or that
+it is to be found in the mechanical observance of a set of rules laid down
+for us by some particular teacher. It is a New Fact in the experience of
+the individual, the _reason_ for which is indeed made clear to him through
+intellectual perception of the real nature of the Creative Process, but
+which can become an actual experience only by habitual personal intercourse
+with that Divine Spirit which is the Life, Love and Beauty that are at the
+back of the Creative Process and find expression through it.
+
+From this intercourse new thoughts will continually flow in, all of them
+bearing that vivifying element which is inherent in their source, and the
+individual will then proceed to work out these new ideas with the knowledge
+that they have their origin in the selection and initiative power of the
+All-creating Spirit itself, and in this way by combined meditation and
+action he will find himself advancing into increasing light, liberty and
+usefulness. The advance may be almost imperceptible from one day to
+another, but it will be perceptible at longer intervals, and the one who is
+thus moving forward with the Spirit of God will on looking back at any time
+always find that he is getting more livingness out of life than he was a
+year previously. And this without strenuous effort, for he is not having to
+manufacture the power from his own resources but only to _receive_ it--and
+as for _using_ it, that is only the exercise of the power itself. So
+following on these lines you will find that Rest and Power are identical;
+and so you get the real New Thought which grows in Newness every day.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE DENOUEMENT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
+
+
+Then comes the question, What should logically be the denouement of the
+progression we have been considering? Let us briefly recapitulate the steps
+of the series. Universal Spirit by Self-contemplation evolves Universal
+Substance. From this it produces cosmic creation as the expression of
+itself as functioning in Space and Time. Then from this initial movement it
+proceeds to more highly specialized modes of Self-contemplation in a
+continually ascending scale, for the simple reason that self-contemplation
+admits of no limits and therefore each stage of self-recognition cannot be
+other than the starting-point for a still more advanced mode of
+self-contemplation, and so on _ad infinitum_. Thus there is a continuous
+progress toward more and more highly specialized forms of life, implying
+greater liberty and wider scope for enjoyment as the capacity of the
+individual life corresponds to a higher degree of the contemplation of
+Spirit; and in this way evolution proceeds till it reaches a level where it
+becomes impossible to go any further except by the exercise of conscious
+selection and initiative on the part of the individual, while at the same
+time conforming to the universal principles of which evolution is the
+expression.
+
+Now ask yourself in what way individual selection and initiative would be
+likely to act as expressing the Originating Spirit itself? Given the
+knowledge on the part of the individual that he is able by his power of
+initiative and selection to draw directly upon the All-originating Spirit
+of Life, what motive could he have for not doing so? Therefore, granted
+such a perfect recognition, we should find the individual holding precisely
+the same place in regard to his own individual world that the
+All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos; subject only to the same Law of
+Love, Beauty, &c., which we found to be necessarily inherent in the
+Creative Spirit--a similarity which would entirely prevent the individual
+from exercising his otherwise limitless powers in any sort of antagonism to
+the Spirit of the Great Whole.
+
+At the same time the individual would be quite aware that he was not the
+Universal Spirit _in propria persona_, but that he was affording expression
+to it through his individuality. Now Expression is impossible except
+through Form, and therefore form of some sort is a necessity of
+individuality. It is just here, then, that we find the importance of that
+principle of Harmony with Environment of which I spoke earlier, the
+principle in accordance with which a person who had obtained complete
+control of matter, if he wished to transport himself to some other planet,
+would appear there in perfect conformity with all the laws of matter that
+obtained in that world; though, of course, not subject to any limitation of
+the Life Principle in himself. He would exhibit the laws of matter as
+rendered perfect by the Law of Originating Life. But if any one now living
+on this earth were thus perfectly to realize the Law of Life he would be in
+precisely the same position _here_ as our imaginary visitor to another
+planet--in other words the denouement of the Law of Life is not the putting
+off of the body, but its inclusion as part of the conscious life of the
+Spirit.
+
+This does not imply any difference in the molecular structure of the body
+from that of other men, for by the principle of Harmony of which I have
+just spoken, it would be formed in strict accordance with the laws of
+matter on the particular planet; though it would not be subject to the
+limitations resulting from the average man's non-recognition of the power
+of the Spirit. The man who had thus fully entered into the Fifth Kingdom
+would recognize that, in its relation to the denser modes of matter his
+body was of a similar dense mode. That would be its relation to external
+environment as seen by others. But since the man now knew _himself_ as not
+belonging to these denser modes of manifestation, but as an
+individualization of Primary Spirit, he would see that relatively to
+himself all matter was Primary Substance, and that from this point of view
+any condensations of that substance into atoms, molecules, tissues, and the
+like counted for nothing--for him the body would be simply Primary
+Substance entirely responsive to his will. Yet his reverence for the Law of
+Harmony would prevent any disposition to play psychic pranks with it, and
+he would use his power over the body only to meet actual requirements.
+
+In this way, then, we are led to the conclusion that eternal life in an
+immortal physical body is the logical denouement of our evolution; and if
+we reflect that, by the conditions of the case, the owners of such bodies
+could at will either transport themselves to other worlds or put off the
+physical body altogether and remain in the purely subjective life while
+still retaining the power to reclothe themselves in flesh whenever they
+chose, we shall see that this denouement of evolution answers all possible
+questions as to the increase of the race, the final destruction of the
+planet, and the like.
+
+This, then, is the ultimate which we should keep in view; but the fact
+remains that, though there may be hidden ones who have thus attained, the
+bulk of mankind have not, and that the common lot of humanity is to go
+through the change which we call death. In broad philosophical terms death
+may be described as the withdrawal of the life into the subjective
+consciousness to the total exclusion of the objective consciousness. Then
+by the general law of the relation between subjective and objective mind,
+the subjective mind severed from its corresponding objective mentality has
+no means of acquiring fresh impressions _on its own account_, and therefore
+can only ring the changes on those impressions which it has brought with it
+from its past life. But these may be of very various sorts, ranging from
+the lowest to the highest, from those most opposed to that ultimate destiny
+of man which we have just been considering, to those which recognize his
+possibilities in a very large measure, needing little more to bring about
+the full fruition of perfected life. But however various may be their
+experiences, all who have passed through death must have this in common
+that they have lost their physical instrument of objective perception and
+so have their mode of consciousness determined entirely by the dominant
+mode of suggestion which they have brought over with them from the
+objective side of life.[6] Of course if the objective mentality were also
+brought over this would give the individual the same power of initiative
+and selection that he possesses while in the body, and, as we shall see
+later on, there are exceptional persons with whom this is the case; but for
+the great majority the physical brain is a necessity for the working of the
+objective mentality, and so when they are deprived of this instrument their
+life becomes purely subjective and is a sort of dream-life, only with a
+vast difference between two classes of dreamers--those who dream as they
+must and those who dream as they will. The former are those who have
+enslaved themselves in various ways to their lower mentality--some by
+bringing with them the memory of crimes unpardoned, some by bringing with
+them the idea of a merely animal life, others less degraded, but still in
+bondage to limited thought, bringing with them only the suggestion of a
+frivolous worldly life--in this way, by the natural operation of the Law of
+Suggestion, these different classes, either through remorse, or unsatisfied
+desires, or sheer incapacity to grasp higher principles, all remain
+earth-bound, suffering in exact correspondence with the nature of the
+suggestion they have brought along with them. The unchangeable Law is that
+the suggestion becomes the life; and this is equally true of suggestions of
+a happier sort. Those who have brought over with them the great truth that
+conditions are the creations of thought, and who have accustomed themselves
+while in objective life to dwell on good and beautiful ideas, are still
+able, by reason of being imbued with this suggestion, to mold the
+conditions of their consciousness in the subjective world in accordance
+with the sort of ideas which have become a second nature to them. Within
+the limits of these ideas the dominant suggestion to these entities is that
+of a Law which confers Liberty, so by using this Law of the constructive
+power of thought they can determine the conditions of their own
+consciousness; and thus instead of being compelled to suffer the nightmare
+dreams of the other class, they can mold their dream according to their
+will. We cannot conceive of such a life as theirs in the unseen as
+otherwise than happy, nevertheless its range is limited by the range of the
+conceptions they have brought with them. These may be exceedingly beautiful
+and thoroughly true and logical _as far as they go_; but they do not go the
+whole way, otherwise these spirits would not be in the category which we
+are considering but would belong to that still higher class who fully
+realize the ultimate possibilities which the Law of the Expression of
+Spirit provides.
+
+The otherwise happy subjective life of these more enlightened souls has
+this radical defect that they have failed to bring over with them that
+power of original selection and initiative without which further progress
+is impossible. I wish the student to grasp this point very clearly, for it
+is of the utmost importance. Of course the basis of our further evolution
+is conformity to the harmonious nature of the Originating Spirit; but upon
+this foundation we each have to build up the superstructure of our own
+individuality, and every step of advance depends on our personal
+development of power to take that step. This is what is meant by taking an
+initiative. It is making a New Departure, not merely recombining the old
+things into fresh groupings still subject to the old laws, but introducing
+an entirely new element which will bring its own New Law along with it.
+
+Now if this is the true meaning of "initiative" then that is just the
+power which these otherwise happy souls do not possess. For by the very
+conditions of the case they are living only in their subjective
+consciousness, and consequently are living by the law of subjective mind;
+and one of the chief characteristics of subjective mind is its incapacity
+to reason inductively, and therefore its inability to make the selection
+and take the initiative necessary to inaugurate a New Departure. The well
+established facts of mental law show conclusively that subjective mind
+argues only deductively. It argues quite correctly from any given premises,
+but it cannot take the initiative in selecting the premises--that is the
+province of inductive reasoning which is essentially the function of the
+objective mind. But by the law of Auto-suggestion this discarnate
+individual has brought over his premises with him, which premises are the
+sum-total of his inductions made during objective life, the conception of
+things which he held at the time he passed over, for this constituted his
+idea of Truth. Now he cannot add to these inductions, for he has parted
+with his instrument for inductive reasoning, and therefore his deductive
+reasoning in the purely subjective state which he has now entered is
+necessarily limited to the consequences which may be deducted from the
+premises which he has brought along with him.
+
+In the case of the highly-developed individualities we are now considering
+the premises thus brought over are of a very far-reaching and beautiful
+character, and consequently the range of their subjective life is
+correspondingly wide and beautiful; but, nevertheless, it is subject to the
+radical defect that it is debarred from further progress for the simple
+reason that the individual has not brought over with him the mental faculty
+which can impress his subjective entity with the requisite forward movement
+for making a new departure into a New Order. And moreover, the higher the
+subjective development with which the individual passed over the more
+likely he will be to realize this defect. If during earth-life he had
+gained sufficient knowledge of these things he will carry with him the
+knowledge that his discarnate existence is purely subjective; and therefore
+he will realize that, however he may be able to order the pictures of his
+dream, yet it is still but a dream, and in common with all other dreams
+lacks the basis of solidity from which to take _really creative action_.
+
+He knows also that the condition of other discarnate individualities is
+similar to his own, and that consequently each one must necessarily live in
+a world apart--a world of his own creation, because none of them possess
+the objective mentality by which to direct their subjective currents so as
+to make them penetrate into the sphere of another subjective entity, which
+is the _modus operandi_ of telepathy. Thus he is conscious of his own
+inability to hold intercourse with other personalities; for though he may
+for his own pleasure create the semblance of them in his dream-life, yet he
+knows that these are creations of his own mind, and that while he appears
+to be conversing with a friend amid the most lovely surroundings the friend
+himself may be having experiences of a very different description. I am, of
+course, speaking now of persons who have passed over in a very high state
+of development and with a very considerable, though still imperfect,
+knowledge of the Law of their own being. Probably the majority take their
+dream-life for an external reality; and, in any case, all who have passed
+over without carrying their objective mentality along with them must be
+shut up in their individual subjective spheres and cease to function as
+centers of creative power so long as they do not emerge from that state.
+
+But the highly advanced individuals of whom I am now speaking have passed
+over with a true knowledge of the Law of the relation between subjective
+and objective mind and have therefore brought with them a _subjective_
+knowledge of this truth; and therefore, however otherwise in a certain
+sense happy, they must still be conscious of a fundamental limitation which
+prevents their further advance. And this consciousness can produce only one
+result, an ever-growing longing for the removal of this limitation--and
+this represents the intense desire of the Spirit, as individualized in
+these souls, to attain to the conditions under which it can freely exercise
+its creative power. Sub-consciously this is the desire of _all_ souls, for
+it is that continual pressing forward of the Spirit for manifestation out
+of which the whole Creative Process arises; and so it is that the great cry
+perpetually ascends to God from all as yet undelivered souls, whether in or
+out of the body, for the deliverance which they knowingly or unknowingly
+desire.
+
+All this comes out of the well-ascertained facts of the law of relation
+between subjective and objective mind. Then comes the question, Is there no
+way of getting out of this law? The answer is that we can never get away
+from universal principles--_but we can specialise them_. We may take it as
+an axiom that any law which appears to limit us contains in itself the
+principle by which that limitation can be overcome, just as in the case of
+the flotation of iron. In this axiom, then, we shall find the clue which
+will bring us out of the labyrinth. The same law which places various
+degrees of limitation upon the souls that have passed into the invisible
+can be so applied as to set them free. We have seen that everything turns
+on the obligation of our subjective part to act within the limits of the
+suggestion which has been most deeply impressed upon it. Then why not
+impress upon it the suggestion that in passing over to the other side it
+has brought its objective mentality along with it?
+
+If such a suggestion were effectively impressed upon our subjective mind,
+then by the fundamental law of our nature our subjective mind would act in
+strict accordance with this suggestion, with the result that the objective
+mind would no longer be separated from it, and that we should carry with us
+into the unseen our _whole_ mentality, both subjective and objective, and
+so be able to exercise our inductive powers of selection and initiative as
+well there as here.
+
+Why not? The answer is that we cannot accept any suggestion unless we
+believe it to be true, and to believe it to be true we must feel that we
+have a solid foundation for our belief. If, then, we can find a sufficient
+foundation for adequately impressing this suggestion upon ourselves, then
+the principles of mental law assure us that we shall carry our objective
+faculty of initiative and selection into the unseen. Therefore our quest is
+to find this Foundation. Then, since we cannot accept as true what we
+believe to be contrary to the ultimate law of the universe, if we are to
+find such a foundation at all it must be within that Law; and it is for
+this reason that I have laid so much stress upon the Normal Standard of
+Human Individuality. When we are convinced that this ideal completeness is
+quite normal, and is a spiritual fact, not dependent upon the body, but
+able to control the body, then we have got the solid basis on which to
+carry our objective personality along with us into the unseen, and the
+well-established laws of our mental constitution justify the belief that we
+can do so.
+
+From these considerations it is obvious that those who thus pass over in
+possession of their complete mentality must be in a very different position
+from those who pass into a condition of merely subjective life, for they
+have brought their powers of selection and initiative with them, and can
+therefore employ their experiences in the unseen as a starting-point for
+still further development. So, then, the question arises, What lines will
+this further development be likely to follow?
+
+We are now considering the case of persons who have reached a very high
+degree of development; who have succeeded in so completely uniting the
+subjective and objective portions of their spiritual being into a perfect
+whole that they can never again be severed; and who are therefore able to
+function with their whole consciousness on the spiritual plane. Such
+persons will doubtless be well aware that they have attained this degree of
+development by the Law of the Creative Process working in terms of their
+own individuality, and so they would naturally always refer to the original
+Cosmic Creation as the demonstration of the principle which they have to
+specialize for their own further evolution. Then they would find that the
+principle involved is that of the manifestation of Spirit in Form; and they
+would further see that this manifestation is not an illusion but a reality,
+for the simple reason that both mind and matter are equally projections
+from the Great Originating Spirit. Both alike are thoughts of the Divine
+Mind, and it is impossible to conceive any greater reality than the Divine
+Thought, or to get at any more substantial source of reality than that.
+Even if we were to picture the Divine Mind as laughing at its productions
+as being mere illusions _relatively to itself_ (which I certainly do not),
+still the relation between the individual mind and material existence would
+be a reality for the individual, on the simple mathematical ground that
+like signs multiplied together invariably produce a positive result, even
+though the signs themselves be negative; so that, for us, at every stage of
+our existence substance must always be as much a reality as mind. Therefore
+the manifestation of Spirit in Form is the eternal principle of the
+Creative Process whether in the evolution of a world-system or in that of
+an individual.
+
+But when we realize that by the nature of the Creative Process substance
+must be an eternal verity we must not suppose that this is true also of
+_particular forms_ or of _particular modes_ of matter. Substance is a
+necessity for the expression of Spirit, but it does not follow that Spirit
+is tied down to any particular mode of expression. If you fold a piece of
+paper into the form of a dart it will fly through the air by the law of the
+form which you have given it. Again, if you take the same bit of paper and
+fold it into the shape of a boat it will float on water by the law of the
+new form that you have given it. The thing formed will act in accordance
+with the form given it, and the same paper can be folded into different
+forms; but if there were no paper you could put it into any shape at all.
+The dart and the boat are both real so long as you retain the paper in
+either of those shapes; but this does not alter the fact that you can
+change the shapes, though your power to do so depends on the existence of
+the paper. This is a rough analogy of the relation between ultimate
+substance and particular forms, and shows us that neither substance nor
+shape is an illusion; both are essential to the manifestation of Spirit,
+only by the nature of the Creative Process the Spirit has power to
+determine what shape substance shall take at any particular time.
+
+Accordingly we find the great Law that, as Spirit is the Alpha of the
+Creative Process, so solid material Form is its Omega; in other words the
+Creative Series is incomplete until solid material form is reached.
+Anything short of this is a condition of incompleteness, and therefore the
+enlightened souls who have passed over in possession of both sides of their
+mentality will realize that their condition, however beatific, is still one
+of incompleteness; and that what is wanted for completion is expression
+through a material body. This, then, is the direction in which such souls
+would use their powers of initiative and selection as being the true line
+of evolution--in a word they would realize that the principle of Creative
+Progression, when it reaches the level of fully developed mental man,
+necessarily implies the Resurrection of the Body, and that anything short
+of this would be retrogression and not progress.
+
+At the same time persons who had passed over with this knowledge would
+never suppose that Resurrection meant merely the resuscitation of the old
+body under the old conditions; for they would see that the same inherent
+law which makes expression in concrete substance the ultimate of the
+creative series also makes this ultimate form depend on the originating
+movement of the spirit which produces it, and therefore that, although
+_some_ concrete form is essential for complete manifestation, and is a
+substantial reality so long as it is maintained, yet the maintaining of the
+particular form is entirely dependent on the action of the spirit of which
+the form is the external clothing. This resurrection body would therefore
+be no mere illusory spirit-shape, yet it would not be subject to the
+limitations of matter as we now know it: it would be physical matter still,
+but entirely subject to the will of the indwelling spirit, which would not
+regard the denser atomic relations of the body but only its absolute and
+essential nature as Primary Substance. I want the student to grasp the idea
+that the same thing may be very different when looked at, so to say, from
+opposite ends of the stick. What is solid molecular matter when viewed from
+the outside is plastic primary substance when viewed from the inside. The
+relations of this new body to any stimulus proceeding from outside would be
+those of the external laws of Nature; but its relation to the spiritual ego
+working from within would be that of a plastic substance to be molded at
+will. The employment of such power would, however, at all times be based
+upon the reverent worship of the All-creating Spirit; and it would
+therefore never be exercised otherwise than in accordance with the
+harmonious progress of the Creative Process. Proceeding on these lines the
+spirit in the individual would stand in precisely the same relation to his
+body that the All-originating Spirit does to the cosmos.
+
+This, then, is the sort of body which the instructed would contemplate as
+that in which he was to attain resurrection. He would regard it, not as an
+illusion, but as a great reality; while at the same time he would not need
+to trouble himself about its particular form, for he would know that it
+would be the perfect expression of his own conception of himself. He would
+know this because it is in accordance with the fundamental principle that
+external creation has its root in the Self-contemplation of Spirit.
+
+Those passing over with this knowledge would obviously be in a very
+different position from those who passed over with only a subjective
+consciousness. They would bring with them powers of selection and
+initiative by which they could continue to impress fresh and expanding
+conceptions upon their subjective mind, and so cause it to carry on its
+work as the seed-ground of the whole individuality, instead of being shut
+up in itself as a mere circulus for the repetition of previously received
+ideas; and so in their recognition of the _principle_ of physical
+resurrection they would have a clear and definite line of auto-suggestion.
+And because this suggestion is derived from the undeniable facts of the
+whole cosmic creation, it is one which both subjective and objective mind
+can accept as an established fact, and so the suggestion becomes effective.
+This suggestion, then, becomes the self-contemplation of the individual
+spirit; and because it is in strict conformity with the generic principle
+of the Original Creative Activity, of which the individual mind is itself a
+product, this becomes also the Self-contemplation of the Originating Spirit
+as seeing itself reflected in the individual spirit; so that, by the basic
+law of the Creative Process, this suggestion is bound sooner or later to
+work out into its corresponding fact, namely, the production of a material
+body free from the power of death and from all those limitations which we
+now associate with our physical organism.
+
+This, then, is the hope of those who pass over in recognition of the great
+truth. But how about those who have passed over without that recognition?
+We have seen that their purely subjective condition precludes them from
+taking any initiative on their own account, for that requires the presence
+of objective mind. Their subjective mind, however, still retains its
+essential nature; that is, it is still susceptible to suggestion, and still
+possesses its inherent creativeness in working out any suggestion that is
+sufficiently deeply implanted in it. Here, then, opens up a vast field of
+activity for that other class who have passed over in possession of both
+sides of their mentality. By means of their powers of initiative and
+selection they can on the principle of telepathy cause their own subjective
+mind to penetrate the subjective spheres of those who do not possess those
+powers, and they can thus endeavor to impress upon them the great truth of
+the physical ultimate of the Creative Process--the truth that any series
+which stops short of that ultimate is incomplete, and, if insisted upon as
+being ultimate, must become self-destructive because in opposition to the
+inherent working of the Universal Creative Spirit. Then, as the perception
+of the true nature of the Creative Process dawned upon any subjective
+entity, it would by reason of accepting this suggestion begin to develop an
+objective mentality, and so would gradually attain to the same status as
+those who had passed over in full possession of all their mental powers.
+
+But the more the objective mentality became developed in these discarnate
+personalities the more the need of a corresponding physical instrument
+would assert itself, both from their intellectual perception of the
+original cosmic process, and also from the inherent energy of the Spirit as
+centered in the ultimate ego of the individual. Not to seek material
+manifestation would be the contrary of all we have traced out regarding the
+nature of the Creative Process; and hence the law of tendency resulting
+from the conscious union of subjective and objective mind in the individual
+must necessarily be toward the production of a physical form. Only we must
+recollect, as I have already pointed out, that this concentration of these
+minds would be upon a principle and not upon a particular bodily shape. The
+particular form they would be content to leave to the inherent
+self-expressiveness of the Universal Spirit working through the particular
+ego, with the result that their expectation would be fixed upon a _general
+principle_ of physical Resurrection which would provide a form suited to be
+the material instrument of the highest ideal of man as a spiritual and
+mental being. Then, since the subjective mind is the automatic builder of
+the body, the result of the individual's acceptance of the Resurrection
+principle must be that this mental conception will eventually work out as a
+corresponding fact. Whether on this planet or on some other, matters not,
+for, as we have already seen, the physical body evolved by a soul that is
+conscious of its unity with the Universal Spirit is bound to be in
+conformity with the physical laws of _any_ planet, though from the
+standpoint of the conscious ego not limited by them.
+
+In this way we may conceive that those who have passed over in possession
+of both sides of their spiritual nature would find a glorious field of
+usefulness in the unseen in helping to emancipate those who had passed over
+in possession of their subjective side only. But from our present analysis
+it will be seen that this can only be effected on the basis of a
+recognition of the principle of the Resurrection of the Body. Apart from
+the recognition of this principle the only possible conception which the
+discarnate individual could form of himself would be that of a purely
+subjective being; and this carries with it all the limitations of a
+subjective life unbalanced by an objective one; and so long as the
+principle of physical resurrection is denied, so long the life must
+continue to be merely subjective and consequently unprogressive.[7]
+
+But it may be asked why those who have realized this great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen state are
+liable to the change which we call death. The answer is that though they
+have realized _the general principle_ they have not yet divested themselves
+of certain conceptions by which they limit it, and consequently by the law
+of subjective mind they carry those limitations into the working of the
+Resurrection principle itself.
+
+They are limited by the race-belief that physical death is under all
+conditions a necessary law of Nature, or by the theological belief that
+death is the will of God; so then the question is whether these beliefs are
+well founded. Of course appeal is made to universal experience, but it does
+not follow that the universal experience of the past is bound to be the
+universal experience of the future--the universal experience of the past
+was that no man had ever flown across the English Channel, yet now it has
+been done. What we have to do, therefore, is not to bother about past
+experience, but to examine the inherent nature of the Law of Life and see
+whether it does not contain possibilities of further development. And the
+first step in this direction is to see whether what we have hitherto
+considered limitations of the law are really integral parts of the law
+itself. The very statement of this question shows the correct answer; for
+how can a force acting in one direction be an integral part of a force
+acting in the opposite direction? How can the force which pulls a thing
+down be an integral part of the force which builds it up? To suppose,
+therefore, that the limitations of the law are an integral portion of the
+law itself is a _reductio ad absurdum_.
+
+For these reasons the argument from the past experience of the race counts
+for nothing; and when we examine the theological argument we shall find
+that it is only the old argument from past experience in another dress. It
+is alleged that death is the will of God. How do we know that it is the
+will of God? Because the facts prove it so, is the ultimate answer of all
+religious systems with one exception; so here we are back again at the old
+race-experience as the criterion of truth. Therefore the theological
+argument is nothing but the materialistic argument disguised. It is in our
+more or less _conscious_ acceptance of the materialistic argument, under
+any of its many disguises, that the limitation of life is to be found--not
+in the Law of Life itself; and if we are to bring into manifestation the
+infinite possibilities latent in that Law it can only be by looking
+steadily into the _principle_ of the Law and resolutely denying everything
+that opposes it. The Principle of Life must of necessity be Affirmative,
+and affirmative throughout, without any negative anywhere--if we once
+realize this we shall be able to unmask the enemy and silence his guns.
+
+Now to do this is precisely the one object of the Bible; and it does it in
+a thoroughly logical manner, always leading on to the ultimate result by
+successive links of cause and effect. People will tell you that the Bible
+is their authority for saying that Death is the will of God; but these are
+people who read it carelessly; and ultimately the only reason they can give
+you for their manner of interpreting the Bible is that the facts prove
+their interpretation to be correct; so that in the last resort you will
+always find you have got back to the old materialistic argument from past
+race-experience, which logically proves nothing. These are good
+well-meaning people with a limited idea which they read into the Bible, and
+so limit its promises by making physical death an essential preliminary to
+Resurrection. They grasp, of course, the great central idea that Perfected
+Man possesses a joyous immortal Life permeating spirit, soul and body; but
+they relegate it to some dim and distant future, entirely disconnected from
+the present law of our being, not seeing that if we are to have eternal
+life it must necessarily be involved in some principle which is eternal,
+and therefore existing, at any rate latently, at the present moment. Hence,
+though their fundamental principle is true, they are all the time mentally
+limiting it, with the result that they themselves create the conditions
+they impose upon it, and consequently the principle will work (as
+principles always do) in accordance with the conditions provided for its
+action.
+
+Unless, therefore, this limiting belief is entirely eradicated, the
+individual, though realizing the fundamental principle of Life, is bound to
+pass out of physical existence; but on the other hand, since he does take
+the recognition of this fundamental principle with him, it is bound to bear
+fruit sooner or later in a joyous Resurrection, while the intermediate
+state can only be a peaceful anticipation of that supreme event. This is
+the answer to the question why those who have realized the great principle
+sufficiently to carry their objective mentality into the unseen world are
+still liable to physical death; and in the last analysis it will be found
+to resolve itself into the remains of race belief based upon past
+experience. These are they who pass over in sure and certain hope of a
+glorious Resurrection--sure and certain because founded upon the very Being
+of God Himself, that inherent Life of the All-creating Divine Spirit which
+is the perpetual interaction of the Eternal Love and Beauty. They have
+grasped the Life-giving Truth, only they have postponed its operation,
+because they have the fixed idea that its present fruition is an absolute
+impossibility.
+
+But if we ask the reason for this idea it always comes back to the old
+materialistic argument from the experience of past conditions, while the
+whole nature of advance is in the opening up of new conditions. And in this
+advance the Bible is the pioneer book. Its whole purport is to tell us most
+emphatically that death is _not_ the will of God. In the story of Eden God
+is represented as warning man of the poisonous nature of the forbidden
+fruit, which is incompatible with the idea of death as an essential feature
+of man's nature. Then from the point where man has taken the poison all the
+rest of the Bible is devoted to telling us how to get rid of it. Christ, it
+tells us, was manifested to bring Life and Immortality to light--to abolish
+death--to destroy the works of the devil, that is the death-dealing power,
+for "he that hath the power of death is the devil." It is impossible to
+reconcile this life-giving conception of the Bible with the idea that death
+at any stage or in any degree is the desire of God. Let us, therefore,
+start with the recognition that this negative force, whether in its minor
+degrees as disease or in its culmination as death, is that which it is the
+will of God to abolish. This also is logical; for if God be the Universal
+Spirit of Life finding manifestation in individual lives, how can the
+desire of this Spirit be to act in opposition to its own manifestation?
+Therefore Scripture and common-sense alike assure us that the will of God
+toward us is Life and not death.[8]
+
+We may therefore start on our quest for Life with the happy certainty that
+God is on our side. But people will meet us with the objection that though
+God wills Life to us, He does not will it just yet, but only in some dim
+far-off future. How do we know this? Certainly not from the Bible. In the
+Bible Jesus speaks of two classes of persons who believe on Him as the
+Manifestation or Individualisation of the Spirit of Life. He speaks of
+those who, having passed through death, still believe on Him, and says that
+these _shall_ live--a future event. And at the same time He speaks of those
+who are living and believe on Him, and says that they shall never die--thus
+contemplating the entire elimination of the contingency of death (John xi.
+25).
+
+Again St. Paul expresses his wish not to be unclothed but to be clothed
+upon, which he certainly would not have done had he considered the latter
+alternative a nonsensical fancy. And in another place he expressly states
+that we shall not all die, but that some shall be transmuted into the
+Resurrection body without passing through physical death. And if we turn to
+the Old Testament we find two instances in which this is said to have
+actually occurred, those of Enoch and Elijah. And we may note in passing
+that the Bible draws our attention to certain facts about these two
+personages which are important as striking at the root of the notion that
+austerities of some sort are necessary for the great attainment. Of Enoch
+we are expressly told that he was the father of a large family, and of
+Elijah that he was a man of like nature with ourselves--thus showing us
+what is wanted is not a shutting of ourselves off from ordinary human life
+but such a clear realization of the Universal Principle, of which our
+personal life is the more or less conscious manifestation, that our
+commonest actions will be hallowed by the Divine Presence; and so the grand
+denouement will be only the natural result of our daily habit of walking
+with God. From the stand-point of the Bible, therefore, the attainment of
+physical regeneration without passing through death is not an
+impossibility, nor is it necessarily relegated to some far off future.
+Whatever any one else may say to the contrary, the Bible contemplates such
+a denouement of human evolution as a present possibility.
+
+Then if we argue from the philosophical stand-point we arrive at precisely
+the same result. Past experience proves nothing, and we must therefore make
+a fresh start by going back to the Original Creative action of the Spirit
+of Life itself. Then, if we take this as our starting point, remembering
+that at the stage of this _original_ movement there can be no intervention
+by a second power, because there is none, why should we mentally impose any
+restriction upon the action of the Creative Power? Certainly not by its own
+Law of Tendency, for that must always be toward fuller self-expression; and
+since this can only take place through the individual, the desire of the
+Spirit must always be toward the increasing of the individual life. Nor yet
+from anything in the created substance, for that would either be to suppose
+the Spirit creating something in limitation of its own Self-expression, or
+else to suppose that the limiting substance was created by some other power
+working against the Spirit; and as this would mean a Duality of powers we
+should not have reached the Originating Power at all, and so we might put
+Spirit and Substance equally out of court as both being merely modes of
+secondary causation. But if we see that the Universal Substance must be
+created by emanation from the Universal Spirit, then we see that no
+limitation of Spirit by substance is possible. We may therefore feel
+assured that no limitation proceeds either from the will of the Spirit or
+from the nature of Substance.
+
+Where, then, does limitation come from? Limiting conditions are created by
+the same power which creates everything else, namely, the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit. This is why it is so important to realize
+that the individual mind forms a center from which the self-contemplating
+action of Spirit is specialized in terms of the individual's own mode of
+thinking, and therefore so long as the individual contemplates negative
+conditions as being _of the essence_ of his own personality, he is in
+effect employing the Creative Power of the Self-contemplation of Spirit
+invertedly, destructively instead of constructively. The Law of the
+Self-contemplation of Spirit as the Creative Power is as true in the
+microcosm as in the macrocosm, and so the individual's contemplation of
+himself as subject to the law of sin and death keeps him subject to that
+law, while the opposite self-contemplation, the contemplation of himself as
+rejoicing in the Life of the Spirit, the Perfect Law of Liberty, must
+necessarily produce the opposite results.
+
+Why, then, should not regeneration be accomplished here and now? I can see
+no reason against it, either Scriptural or philosophical, except our own
+difficulty in getting rid of the race-traditions which are so deeply
+embedded in our subjective minds. To get rid of these we require a firm
+basis on which to receive the opposite suggestion. We need to be convinced
+that our ideal of a regenerated self is in accord with the Normal Standard
+of Humanity and is within the scope of the laws of the universe. Now to
+make clear to us the _infinitude_ of the truly Normal Standard of Humanity
+is the whole purpose of the Bible; and the Manifestation of this Standard
+is set before us in the Central Personality of the Scriptures who is at
+once the Son of God and the Son of Man--the Great Exception, if you will,
+to man as we know him now, but the Exception which proves the Rule. In
+proportion as we begin to realize this we begin to introduce into our own
+life the action of that Personal Factor on which all further development
+depends; and when our recognition is complete we shall find that we also
+are children of God.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+We are now in a position to see the place occupied by the individual in the
+Creative Order. We have found that the originating and maintaining force of
+the whole Creative Process is the Self-contemplation of the Spirit, and
+that this necessarily produces a Reciprocal corresponding to the idea
+embodied in the contemplation, and thus manifesting that idea in a
+correlative Form. We have found that in this way the externalization of the
+idea progresses from the condensation of the primary nebula to the
+production of human beings as a race, and that at this point the simple
+_generic_ reproduction of the idea terminates. This means that up to, and
+including, _genus homo_, the individual, whether plant, animal, or man, is
+what it is simply by reason of race conditions and not by exercise of
+deliberate choice. Then we have seen that the next step in advance must
+necessarily be by the individual becoming aware that he has power to mold
+the conditions of his own consciousness and environment by the creative
+power of his thought; thus not only enabling him to take a conscious part
+in his own further evolution but precluding him from evolving any further
+except by the right exercise of this power; and we have found that the crux
+of the passage from the Fourth to the Fifth Kingdom is to get people so to
+understand the nature of their creative power as not to use it
+destructively. Now what we require to see is that the Creative Process has
+always only one way of working, and that is by Reciprocity or Reflection,
+or, as we might say, by the law of Action and Re-action, the re-action
+being always equivalent and correspondent to the action which generated it.
+If this Law of Reciprocity be grasped then we see how the progress of the
+Creative Process must at length result in producing a being who himself
+possesses the power of independent spiritual initiative and is thus able to
+carry on the creative work from the stand-point of his own individuality.
+
+Now the great crux is first to get people to see that they possess this
+power at all, and then to get them to use it in the right direction. When
+our eyes begin to open to the truth that we do possess this power the
+temptation is to ignore the fact that our power of initiative is itself a
+product of the similar power subsisting in the All-originating Spirit. If
+this origin of our own creative faculty is left out of sight we shall fail
+to recognize the Livingness of the Greater Life within which we live. We
+shall never get nearer to it than what we may call its _generic_ level, the
+stage at which the Creative Power is careful of the type or race but is
+careless of the individual; and so at this level we shall never pass into
+the Fifth Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Individuality--we have missed the
+whole point of the transition to the more advanced mode of being, in which
+the individual consciously functions as a creative center, because we have
+no conception of a Universal Power that works at any higher level than the
+generic, and consequently to reach a specific personal exercise of creative
+power we should have to conceive of ourselves as transcending the Universal
+Law. But if we realize that our own power of creative initiative has its
+origin in the similar faculty of the All-Originating Mind then we see that
+the way to maintain the Life-giving energy in ourselves is to use our power
+of spiritual initiative so as to impress upon the Spirit the conception of
+ourselves as standing related to It in a specific, individual, and personal
+way that takes us out of the mere category of _genus homo_ and gives us a
+specific spiritual individuality of our own. Thus our mental action
+produces a corresponding re-action in the mind of the Spirit, which in its
+turn reproduces itself as a special manifestation of the Life of the Spirit
+in us; and so long as this circulation between the individual spirit and
+the Great Spirit is kept up, the individual life will be maintained, and
+will also strengthen as the circulation continues, for the reason that the
+Spirit, as the Original Creative Power, is a Multiplying Force, and the
+current sent into it is returned multiplied, just as in telegraphy the
+feeble current received from a distance at the end of a long line operates
+to start a powerful battery in the receiving office, which so multiplies
+the force as to give out a clear message, which but for the multiplication
+of the original movement could not have been done. Something like this we
+may picture the multiplying tendency of the Originating Mind, and
+consequently the longer the circulation between it and the individual mind
+goes on the stronger the latter becomes; and this process growing habitual
+becomes at last automatic, thus producing an endless flow of Life
+continually expanding in intelligence, love, power and joy.
+
+But we must note carefully that all this can only proceed from the
+individual's recognition that his own powers are a derivative from the
+All-originating Spirit, and that they can continue to be used
+constructively only so long as they are employed in harmony with the
+inherent Forward Movement of the Spirit. Therefore to insure this eternally
+flowing stream of Life from the Universal Spirit into the individual there
+must be _no inversion_ in the individual's presentation of himself to the
+Originating Power: for through the very same Law by which we seek Life--the
+Life namely, of reciprocal action and re-action--every inversion we bring
+with us in presenting ourselves to the Spirit is bound to be faithfully
+reproduced in a corresponding re-action, thus adulterating the stream of
+Pure Life, and rendering it less life-giving in proportion to the extent to
+which we invert the action of the Life-principle; so that in extreme cases
+the stream flowing through and from the individual may be rendered
+absolutely poisonous and deadly, and the more so the greater his
+recognition of his own personal power to employ spiritual forces.
+
+The existence of these negative possibilities in the spiritual world should
+never be overlooked, and therefore the essential condition for receiving
+the Perfect Fulness of Life is that we should present ourselves before the
+Eternal Spirit free from every trace of inversion. To do this means to
+present ourselves in the likeness of the Divine Ideal; and in this
+self-presentation the initiative, so far as the individual is consciously
+concerned, must necessarily be taken by himself. He is to project into the
+Eternal Mind the conception of himself as identical with its Eternal Ideal;
+and if he can do this, then by the Law of the Creative Process a return
+current will flow from the Eternal Mind reproducing this image in the
+individual with a continually growing power. Then the question is, How are
+we to do this?
+
+The answer is that to take the initiative for inducing this flow of Life
+individually it is a _sine qua non_ that the conditions enabling us to do
+so should first be presented to us universally. This is in accordance with
+the general principle that we can never create a force but can only
+specialize it. Only here the power we are wanting to specialize is the very
+Power of Specialization itself; and therefore, paradoxical as it may seem,
+what we require to have shown us is the Universality of Specialization.
+
+Now this is what the Bible puts before us in its central figure. Taking the
+Bible statements simply and literally they show us this unique Personality
+as the Principle of Humanity, alike in its spiritual origin and its
+material manifestation, carried to the logical extreme of specialization;
+while at the same time, as the embodiment of the original polarity of
+Spirit and Substance, this Personality, however unique, is absolutely
+universal; so that the Bible sets Jesus Christ before us as the answer to
+the philosophic problem of how to specialize the universal, while at the
+same time preserving its universality.
+
+If, then, we fix our thought upon this unique Personality as the embodiment
+of _universal_ principles, it follows that those principles must exist in
+ourselves also, and that His actual specialization of them is the earnest
+of our potential specialization of them. Then if we fix our thought on this
+potential in ourselves as being identical with its manifestation in Him, we
+can logically claim our identity with Him, so that what He has done we have
+done, what He is, we are, and thus recognizing ourselves in Him we present
+_this_ image of ourselves to the Eternal Mind, with the result that we
+bring with us no inversion, and so import no negative current into our
+stream of Life.
+
+Thus it is that we reach "the Father" through "the Son," and that He is
+able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
+presence of the Divine glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). The Gospel of
+"the Word made flesh" is not the meaningless cant of some petty sect nor
+yet the cunning device of priestcraft, though it has been distorted in both
+these directions; but it can give a reason for itself, and is founded upon
+the deepest laws of the threefold constitution of man, embracing the
+_whole_ man, body, soul and spirit. It is not opposed to Science but is the
+culmination of all science whether physical or mental. It is philosophical
+and logical throughout if you start the Creative Process where alone it can
+start, in the Self-contemplation of the Spirit. The more carefully we
+examine into the claims of the Gospel of Christ the more we shall find all
+the current objections to it melt away and disclose their own
+superficialness. We shall find that Christ is indeed the Mediator between
+God and Man, not by the arbitrary fiat of a capricious Deity, but by a
+logical law of sequence which solves the problem of making extremes meet,
+so that the Son of Man is also the Son of God; and when we see the reason
+why this is so we thereby receive power to become ourselves sons of God,
+which is the denouement of the Creative Process in the Individual.
+
+These closing lines are not the place to enter upon so great a subject, but
+I hope to follow it up in another volume and to show in detail the logic of
+the Bible teaching, what it saves us from and what it leads us to; to show
+while giving due weight to the value of other systems how it differs from
+them and transcends them; to glance, perhaps, for a moment at the
+indications of the future and to touch upon some of the dangers of the
+present and the way to escape from them. Nor would I pass over in silence
+another and important aspect of the Gospel contained in Christ's commission
+to His followers to heal the sick. This also follows logically from the Law
+of the Creative Process if we trace carefully the sequence of connections
+from the indwelling Ego to the outermost of its vehicles; while the effect
+of the recognition of these great truths upon the individuality that has
+for a time put off its robe of flesh, opens out a subject of paramount
+interest. Thus it is that on every plane Christ is the Fulfilling of the
+Law, and that "Salvation" is not a silly shiboleth but the logical and
+vital process of our advance into the unfoldment of the next stage of the
+limitless capacities of our being. Of these things I hope to write in
+another volume, should it be permitted to me, and in the meanwhile I would
+commend the present abstract statement of principles to the reader's
+attention in the hope that it may throw some light on the fundamental
+nature of these momentous questions. The great thing to bear in mind is
+that if a thing is true at all there must be a reason why it is true, and
+when we come to see this reason we know the truth at first hand for
+ourselves and not from some one else's report--then it becomes really our
+own and we begin to learn how to use it. This is the secret of the
+individual's progress in any art, science, or business, and the same method
+will serve equally well in our search after Life itself, and as we thus
+follow up the great quest we shall find that on every plane the Way, the
+Truth, and the Life are ONE.
+
+"A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in
+philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."--_Bacon. Essay xvi_.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+I take the present opportunity of a new edition to add a few pages on
+certain points which appear to me of vital importance, and the connection
+of which with the preceding chapters will, I hope, become evident as the
+reader proceeds. Assuming the existence in each individual of a creative
+power of thought which, in relation to himself, reflects the same power
+existing in the Universal Mind, our right employment of this power becomes
+a matter of extreme moment to ourselves. Its inverted use necessarily holds
+us fast in the bondage from which we are seeking to escape, and equally
+necessarily its right use brings us into Liberty; and therefore if any
+Divine revelation exists at all its purpose must be to lead us away from
+the inverted use of our creative faculty and into such a higher
+specializing of it as will produce the desired result. Now the purpose of
+the Bible is to do this, and it seeks to effect this work by a dual
+operation. It places before us that Divine Ideal of which I have already
+spoken, and at the same time bases this ideal upon the recognition of a
+Divine Sacrifice. These two conceptions are so intimately interwoven in
+Scripture that they cannot be separated, but at the present day there _is_
+a growing tendency to attempt to make this separation and to discard the
+conception of a Divine Sacrifice as unphilosophical, that is as having no
+nexus of cause and effect. What I want, therefore, to point out in these
+additional pages is that there is such a nexus, and that so far from being
+without a sequence of cause and effect it has its root in the innermost
+principles of our own being. It is not contrary to Law but proceeds from
+the very nature of the Law itself.
+
+The current objection to the Bible teaching on this subject is that no such
+sacrifice could have been required by God, either because the Originating
+Energy can have no consciousness of Personality and is only a blind force,
+or because, if "God is Love," He could not demand such a sacrifice. On the
+former hypothesis we are of course away from the Bible teaching altogether
+and have nothing to do with it; but, as I have said elsewhere, the fact of
+our own consciousness of personality can only be accounted for by the
+existence, however hidden, of a corresponding quality in the Originating
+Spirit. Therefore I will confine my remarks to the question how Love, as
+the originating impulse of all creation, can demand such a sacrifice. And
+to my mind the answer is that God does not demand it. It is Man who demands
+it. It is the instinctive craving of the human soul for _certainty_ that
+requires a demonstration so convincing as to leave no room for doubt of our
+perfectly happy relation to the Supreme Spirit, and consequently to all
+that flows from it, whether on the side of the visible or of the invisible.
+When we grasp the fact that such a standpoint of certainty is the necessary
+foundation for the building up in ourselves of the Divine Ideal then it
+becomes clear that to afford us this firm basis is the greatest work that
+the Spirit, in its relation to human personality, could do.
+
+We are often told that the offering of sacrifices had its origin in
+primitive man's conception of his gods as beings which required to be
+propitiated so as to induce them to do good or abstain from doing harm; and
+very likely this was the case. The truth at the back of this conception is
+the feeling that there is a higher power upon which man is dependent; and
+the error is in supposing that this power is limited by an individuality
+which can be enriched by selling its good offices, or which blackmails you
+by threats. In either case it wants to get something out of you, and from
+this it follows that its own power of supplying its own wants must be
+limited, otherwise it would not require to be kept in good temper by gifts.
+In very undeveloped minds such a conception results in the idea of numerous
+gods, each having, so to say, his own particular line of business; and the
+furthest advance this mode of thought is capable of is the reduction of
+these various deities to two antagonistic powers of Good and of Evil. But
+the result in either case is the same, so long as we start with the
+hypothesis that the Good will do us more good and the Evil do us less harm
+by reason of our sacrifices, for then it logically follows that the more
+valuable your sacrifices and the oftener they are presented the better
+chance you have of good luck. Doubtless some such conception as this was
+held by the mass of the Hebrew people under the sacrificial system of the
+Levitical Law, and perhaps this was one reason why they were so prone to
+fall into idolatry--for in this view their fundamental notion was
+practically identical in its nature with that of the heathen around them.
+Of course this was not the fundamental idea embodied in the Levitical
+system itself. The root of that system was the symbolizing of a supreme
+ideal of reconciliation hereafter to be manifested in action. Now a symbol
+is not the thing symbolized. The purpose of a symbol is twofold, to put us
+upon enquiry as to the reality which it indicates, and to bring that
+reality to our minds by suggestion when we look at the symbol; but if it
+does not do this, and we rest only in the symbol, nothing will come of it,
+and we are left just where we were. That the symbolic nature of the
+Levitical sacrifice was clearly perceived by the deeper thinkers among the
+Hebrews is attested by many passages in the Bible--"Sacrifice and burnt
+offering thou wouldest not" (Psalms xl: 6, and li: 16) and other similar
+utterances; and the distinction between these symbols and that which they
+symbolized is brought out in the Epistle to the Hebrews by the argument
+that if those sacrifices had afforded a sufficient standpoint for the
+effectual realization of cleansing then the worshiper would not need to
+have repeated them because he would have no more consciousness of sin
+(Hebrews x: 2).
+
+This brings us to the essential point of the whole matter. What we want is
+the certainty that there is no longer any separation between us and the
+Divine Spirit by reason of sin, either as overt acts of wrong doing or as
+error of principle; and the whole purpose of the Bible is to lead us to
+this assurance. Now such an assurance cannot be based on any sort of
+sacrifices that require repetition, for then we could never know whether we
+had given enough either in quality or quantity. It must be a once-for-all
+business or it is no use at all; and so the Bible makes the
+once-for-allness of the offering the essential point of its teaching. "He
+that has been bathed does not need to be bathed again" (John xiii: 10).
+"There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans
+viii: i).
+
+Various intellectual difficulties, however, hinder many people from seeing
+the working of the law of cause and effect in this presentment. One is the
+question, How can moral guilt be transferred from one person to another?
+What is called the "forensic" argument (i.e., the court of law argument)
+that Christ undertook to suffer in our stead as our _surety_ is undoubtedly
+open to this objection. Suretyship must by its very nature be confined to
+civil obligations and cannot be extended to criminal liability, and so the
+"forensic" argument may be set aside as very much a legal fiction. But if
+we realize the Bible teaching that Christ is the Son of God, that is, the
+Divine Principle of Humanity out of which we originated and subsisting in
+us all, however unconsciously to ourselves, then we see that sinners as
+well as saints are included in this Principle; and consequently that the
+Self-offering of Christ must actually include the self-offering of every
+human being in the acknowledgment (however unknown to his _objective_
+mentality) of his sin. If we can grasp this somewhat abstract point of view
+it follows that in the Person of Christ every human being, past, present,
+and to come, was self-offered for the condemnation of his sin--a _self_-
+condemnation and a _self_-offering, and hence a cleansing, for the simple
+reason that if you can get a man to realize his past error, really see his
+mistake, he won't do it again; and it is the perpetuation of sin and error
+that has to be got rid of--to do this universally would be to regain
+Paradise. Seen therefore in this light there is no question of transference
+of moral guilt, and I take it this is St. Paul's meaning when he speaks of
+our being partakers in Christ's death.
+
+Then there is the objection, How can past sins be done away with? If we
+accept the philosophical conclusion that Time has no substantive existence
+then all that remains is states of consciousness. As I have said in the
+earlier part of this book, the Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the cause of
+all our perception of existence and environment; and consequently if the
+Self-Contemplation of the Spirit from any center of individualization is
+that of entire harmony and the absence of anything that would cause any
+consciousness of separation, then past sins cease to have any part in this
+self-recognition, and consequently cease to have any place in the world of
+existence. The foundation of the whole creative process is the calling into
+Light out of Darkness--"that which makes manifest is light"--and
+consequently the converse action is that of sending out of Light into
+Darkness, that is, into Notbeing. Now this is exactly what the Spirit says
+in the Bible--"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions"
+(Isaiah xliii: 25). Blotting out is the sending out of manifestation into
+the darkness of non-manifestation, out of Being into Not-being; and in this
+way the past error ceases to have any existence and so ceases to have any
+further effect upon us. It is "blotted out," and from this new standpoint
+has never been at all; so that to continue to contemplate it is to give a
+false sense of existence to that which in effect has no existence. It is
+that Affirmation of Negation which is the root of all evil. It is the
+inversion of our God-given creative power of thought, calling into
+existence that which in the Perfect Life of the Spirit never had or could
+have any existence, and therefore it creates the sense of inharmony,
+opposition, and separation. Of course this is only relatively to ourselves,
+for we cannot create eternal principles. They are the Being of God; and as
+I have already shown these great Principles of the Affirmative may be
+summed up in the two words Love and Beauty--Love in essence and Beauty in
+manifestation; but since we can only live from the standpoint of our own
+consciousness we can make a false creation built upon the idea of opposites
+to the all-creating Love and Beauty, which false creation with all its
+accompaniments of limitation, sin, sorrow, sickness, and death, must
+necessarily be real to us until we perceive that these things were not
+created by God, the Spirit of the Affirmative, but by our own inversion of
+our true relation to the All-creating Being.
+
+When, then, we view the matter in this light the Offering once for all of
+the Divine Sacrifice for the sin of the whole world is seen not to be a
+mere ecclesiastical dogma having no relation of cause and effect, but to be
+the highest application of the same principle of cause and effect by which
+the whole creation, ourselves included, has been brought into existence--
+the Self-Contemplation of Spirit producing corresponding manifestation,
+only now working on the level of Individual Personality.
+
+As I have shown at the beginning of this book the cosmic manifestation of
+principles is not sufficient to bring out all that there is in them. To do
+this their action must be specialized by the introduction of the Personal
+Factor. They are represented by the Pillar Jachin, but it must be
+equilibriated by the Pillar Boaz, Law and Personality the two Pillars of
+the Universe; and in the One Offering we have the supreme combination of
+these two principles, the highest specialization of Law by the highest
+power of Personality. These are eternal principles, and therefore we are
+told that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world; and because
+"thoughts are things" this supreme manifestation of the creative
+interaction of Law and Personality was bound eventually to be manifested in
+concrete action in the world conditioned by time and space; and so it was
+that the supreme manifestation of the Love of God to meet the supreme need
+of Man took place. The history of the Jewish nation is the history of the
+working of the law of cause and effect, under the guidance of the Divine
+Wisdom, so as to provide the necessary conditions for the greatest event in
+the world's history; for if Christ was to appear it must be in _some_
+nation, in _some_ place, and at _some_ time: but to trace the steps by
+which, through an intelligible sequence of causes, these necessary
+conditions were provided belongs rather to an investigation of Bible
+history than to our present purpose, so I will not enter into these details
+here. But what I hope I have in some measure made clear is that there is a
+reason why Christ should be manifested, and should suffer, and rise again,
+and that so far from being a baseless superstition the Reconciling of the
+world to God through the One Offering once-for-all offered for the sin of
+the whole world, lays the immovable foundation upon which we may build
+securely for all the illimitable future.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+OURSELVES IN THE DIVINE OFFERING
+
+
+If we have grasped the principle I have endeavored to state in the last
+chapter we shall find that with this new standpoint a new life and a new
+world begin to open out to us. This is because we are now living from a new
+recognition of ourselves and of God. Eternal Truth, that which is the
+essential reality of Being, is _always_ the same; it has never altered, for
+whatever is capable of passing away and giving place to something else is
+not eternal, and therefore the real essence of our being, as proceeding
+from God and subsisting in Him has always been the same. But this is the
+very fact which we have hitherto lost sight of; and since our perception of
+life is the measure of our individual consciousness of it, we have imposed
+upon ourselves a world of limitation, a world filled with the power of the
+negative, because we have viewed things from that standpoint. What takes
+place, therefore, when we realize the truth of our Redemption is not a
+change in our essential relation to the Parent Spirit, the Eternal Father,
+but an awakening to the perception of this eternal and absolutely perfect
+relation. We see that in reality it has never been otherwise for the simple
+reason that in the very nature of Being it _could_ not be otherwise; and
+when we see this we see also that what has hitherto been wrong has not been
+the working of "the Father" but our conception of the existence of some
+other power, a power of negation, limitation, and destructiveness, the very
+opposite to all that the Creative Spirit, by the very fact of Its
+Creativeness, must be. That wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son shows us
+that he never ceased to be a son. It was not his Father who sent him away
+from home but his notion that he could do better "on his own," and we all
+know what came of it. But when he returned to the Father he found that from
+the Father's point of view he had never been otherwise than a son, and that
+all the trouble he had gone through was not "of the Father" but was the
+result of his own failure to realize what the Father and the Home really
+were.[9]
+
+Now this is exactly the case with ourselves. When we wake up to the truth
+we find that, so far as the Father is concerned, we have always been in Him
+and in His home, for we are made in His image and likeness and are
+reflections of His own Being. He says to us "Son, thou art ever with me and
+all that I have is thine." The Self-Contemplation of Spirit is the Creative
+Power creating an environment corresponding to the mode of consciousness
+contemplated, and therefore in proportion as we contemplate ourselves as
+centers of individualization for the Divine Spirit we find ourselves
+surrounded by a new environment reflecting the harmonious conditions which
+preexist in the Thought of the Spirit.
+
+This, then, is the sequence of Cause and Effect involved in the teaching of
+the Bible. Man is _in essence_ a spiritual being, the reflection on the
+plane of individual personality of that which the All-Originating Spirit is
+in Itself, and is thus in that reciprocal relation to the Spirit which is
+Love. This is the first statement of his creation in Genesis--God saw all
+that He had made and behold it was very good, Man included. Then the Fall
+is the failure of the lower mentality to realize that God IS Love, in a
+word that Love is the only ultimate Motive Power it is possible to
+conceive, and that the creations of Love cannot be otherwise than good and
+beautiful. The lower mentality conceives an opposite quality of Evil and
+thus produces a motive power the opposite of Love, which is Fear; and so
+Fear is born into the world giving rise to the whole brood of evil, anger,
+hatred, envy, lies, violence, and the like, and on the external plane
+giving rise to discordant vibrations which are the root of physical ill. If
+we analyze our motives we shall find that they are always some mode either
+of Love or Fear; and fear has its root in the recognition of some power
+other than Perfect Love, which is God the ONE all-embracing Good. Fear has
+a creative force which invertedly mimics that of Love; but the difference
+between them is that Love is eternal and Fear is not. Love as the Original
+Creative Motive is the only logical conclusion we can come to as to why we
+ourselves or any other creation exists. Fear is illogical because to regard
+it as having any place in the Original Creative Motive involves a
+contradiction in terms.
+
+By accepting the notion of a dual power, that of Good _and_ Evil, the
+inverted creative working of Fear is introduced with all its attendant
+train of evil things. This is the eating of the deadly tree which occasions
+the Fall, and therefore the Redemption which requires to be accomplished is
+a redemption from Fear--not merely from this or that particular fear but
+from the very Root of Fear, which root is unbelief in the Love of God, the
+refusal to believe that Love alone is the Creating Power in all things,
+whether small beyond our recognition or great beyond our conception.
+Therefore to bring about this Redemption there must be such a manifestation
+of the Divine Love to Man as, when rightly apprehended, will leave no
+ground for fear; and when we see that the Sacrifice of the Cross was the
+Self-Offering of Love made in order to provide this manifestation, then we
+see that all the links in the chain of Cause and Effect are complete, and
+that Fear never had any place in the Creative Principle, whether as acting
+in the creation of a world or of a man. The root, therefore, of all the
+trouble of the world consists in the Affirmation of Negation, in using our
+creative power of thought invertedly, and thus giving substance to that
+which _as principle_ has no existence. So long as this negative action of
+thought continues so long will it produce its natural effect; whether in
+the individual or in the mass. The experience is perfectly real while it
+lasts. Its unreality consists in the fact that there was never any real
+need for it; and the more we grasp the truth of the all-embracingness of
+the ONE Good, both as Cause and as Effect, on all planes, the more the
+experience of its opposite will cease to have any place in our lives.
+
+This truly New Thought puts us in an entirely new relation to the whole of
+our environment, opening out possibilities hitherto undreamt of, and this
+by an orderly sequence of law which is naturally involved in our new mental
+attitude; but before considering the prospect thus offered it is well to be
+quite clear as to what this new mental attitude really is; for it is our
+adoption of this attitude that is the Key to the whole position. Put
+briefly it is ceasing to include the idea of limitations in our conception
+of the working of the All-Creating Spirit. Here are some specimens of the
+way in which we limit the creative working of the Spirit. We say, I am too
+old now to start this or that new sort of work. This is to deny the power
+of the Spirit to vivify our physical or mental faculties, which is
+illogical if we consider that it is the same Spirit that brought us into
+any existence at all. It is like saying that when a lamp is beginning to
+burn low the same person who first filled it with oil cannot replenish it
+and make it burn brightly again. Or we say, I cannot do so and so because I
+have not the means. When you were fourteen did you know where all the means
+were coming from which were going to support you till now when you are
+perhaps forty or fifty? So you should argue that the same power that has
+worked in the past can continue to work in the future. If you say the means
+came in the past quite naturally through ordinary channels, that is no
+objection; on the contrary the more reason for saying that suitable
+channels will open in the future. Do you expect God to put cash into your
+desk by a conjuring trick? Means come through recognizable channels, that
+is to say we recognize the channels by the fact of the stream flowing
+through them; and one of our most common mistakes is in thinking that we
+ourselves have to fix the particular channel beforehand. We say in effect
+that the Spirit cannot open other channels, and so we stop them up. Or we
+say, our past experience speaks to the contrary, thus assuming that our
+past experiences have included all possibilities and have exhausted the
+laws of the universe, an assumption which is negatived by every fresh
+discovery even in physical science. And so we go on limiting the power of
+the Spirit in a hundred different ways.
+
+But careful consideration will show that, though the modes in which we
+limit it are as numerous as the circumstances with which we have to deal,
+the thing with which we limit it is always the same--it is by the
+introduction of our own personality. This may appear at first a direct
+contradiction of all that I have said about the necessity for the Personal
+Factor, but it is not. Here is a paradox.
+
+To open out into manifestation the wonderful possibilities hidden in the
+Creative Power of the Universe we require to do two things--to see that we
+ourselves are necessary as centers for focussing that power, and at the
+same time to withdraw the thought of ourselves as contributing anything to
+its efficiency. It is not I that work but the Power; yet the Power needs me
+because it cannot specialize itself without me--in a word each is the
+complementary of the other: and the higher the degree of specialization is
+to be the more necessary is the intelligent and willing co-operation of the
+individual.
+
+This is the Scriptural paradox that "the son can do nothing of himself,"
+and yet we are told to be "fellow-workers with God." It ceases to be a
+paradox, however, when we realize the relation between the two factors
+concerned, God and Man. Our mistake is in not discriminating between their
+respective functions, and putting Man in the place of God. In our everyday
+life we do this by measuring the power of God by our past experiences and
+the deductions we draw from them; but there is another way of putting Man
+in the place of God, and that is by the misconception that the
+All-Originating Spirit is merely a cosmic force without intelligence, and
+that Man has to originate the intelligence without which no specific
+purpose can be conceived. This latter is the error of much of the present
+day philosophy and has to be specially guarded against. This was perceived
+by some of the medieval students of these things, and they accordingly
+distinguished between what they called Animus Dei and Anima Mundi, the
+Divine Spirit and the Soul of the Universe. Now the distinction is this,
+that the essential quality of Animus Dei is Personality--not A Person, but
+the very Principle of Personality itself--while the essential quality of
+Anima Mundi is Impersonality. Then right here comes in that importance of
+the Personal Factor of which I have already spoken. The powers latent in
+the Impersonal are brought out to their fullest development by the
+operation of the Personal. This of course does not consist in changing the
+nature of those powers, for that is impossible, but in making such
+combinations of them by Personal Selection as to produce results which
+could not otherwise be obtained. Thus, for example, Number is in itself
+impersonal and no one can alter the laws which are inherent in it; but what
+we can do is to select particular numbers and the sort of relation, such as
+subtraction, multiplication, etc., which we will establish between them;
+and then by the inherent Law of Number a certain result is bound to work
+out. Now our own essential quality is the consciousness of Personality; and
+as we grow into the recognition of the fact that the Impersonal is, as it
+were, crying out for the operation upon it of the Personal in order to
+bring its latent powers into working, we shall see how limitless is the
+field that thus opens before us.
+
+The prospect is wonderful beyond our present conception, and full of
+increasing glory if we realize the true foundation on which it rests. But
+herein lies the danger. It consists in not realizing that the Infinite of
+the Impersonal _is_ and also that the Infinite of the Personal _is_. Both
+are Infinite and so require differentiation through our own personality,
+but in their essential quality each is the exact balance of the other--not
+in contradiction to each other, but as complementary to one another, each
+supplying what the other needs for its full expression, so that the two
+together make a perfect whole. If, however, we see this relation and our
+own position as the connecting link between them, we shall see only
+ourselves as the Personal Factor; but the more we realize, both by theory
+and experience, the power of human personality brought into contact with
+the Impersonal Soul of Nature, and employed with a Knowledge of its power
+and a corresponding exercise of the will, the less we shall be inclined to
+regard ourselves as the supreme factor in the chain of cause and effect
+Consideration of this argument points to the danger of much of the present
+day teaching regarding the exercise of Thought Power as a creative agency.
+The principle on which this teaching is based is sound and legitimate for
+it is inherent in the nature of things; but the error is in supposing that
+we ourselves are the ultimate source of Personality instead of merely the
+distributors and specializers of it. The logical result of such a mental
+attitude is that putting ourselves in the place of all that is worshiped as
+God which is spoken of in the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the
+Thessalonians and other parts of Scripture. By the very hypothesis of the
+case we then know no higher will than our own, and so are without any
+Unifying Principle to prevent the conflict of wills which must then
+arise--a conflict which must become more and more destructive the greater
+the power possessed by the contending parties, and which, if there were no
+counterbalancing power, must result in the ultimate destruction of the
+existing race of men.
+
+But there is a counterbalancing power. It is the very same power used
+affirmatively instead of negatively. It is the power of the Personal with
+the Impersonal when used under the guidance of that Unifying Principle
+which the recognition of the ONE-ness of the Personal Quality in the Divine
+Spirit supplies. Those who are using the creative power of thought only
+from the standpoint of individual personality, have obviously less power
+than those who are using it from the standpoint of the Personality inherent
+in the Living Spirit which is the Source and Fountain of all energy and
+substance, and therefore in the end the victory must remain with these
+latter. And because the power by which they conquer is that of the Unifying
+Personality itself their victory must result in the establishment of Peace
+and Happiness throughout the world, and is not a power of domination but of
+helpfulness and enlightenment. The choice is between these two mottoes:--
+"Each for himself and Devil take the hindmost," or "God for us all." In
+proportion, therefore, as we realize the immense forces dormant in the
+Impersonal Soul of Nature, only awaiting the introduction of the Personal
+Factor to wake them up into activity and direct them to specific purposes,
+the wider we shall find the scope of the powers within the reach of man;
+and the more clearly we perceive the Impersonalness of the very Principle
+of Personality itself, the clearer our own proper position as affording the
+Differentiating Medium between these two Infinitudes will become to us.
+
+The Impersonalness of the Principle of Personality looks like a
+contradiction in terms, but it is not. I combine these two seemingly
+contradictory terms as the best way to convey to the reader the idea of the
+essential Quality of Personality not yet differentiated into individual
+centers of consciousness for the doing of particular work. Looked at in
+this way the Infinite of Personality must have Unity of Purpose for its
+foundation, for otherwise it would consist of conflicting personalities, in
+which case we have not yet reached the ONE all-originating cause. Or to put
+it in another way, an Infinite Personality divided against itself would be
+an Infinite Insanity, a creator of a cosmic Bedlam which, as a scientific
+fact, would be impossible of existence. Therefore the conception of an
+Infinite of Personality necessarily implies a perpetual Unity of Purpose;
+and for the same reason this Purpose can only be the fuller and fuller
+expression of an Infinite Unity of Consciousness; and Unity of
+Consciousness necessarily implies the entire absence of all that would
+impair it, and therefore its expression can only be as Universal Harmony.
+If, then, the individual realizes this true nature of the source from which
+his own consciousness of personality is derived his ideas and work will be
+based upon this foundation, with the result that as between ourselves peace
+and good will towards men must accompany this mode of thought, and as
+between us and the strictly Impersonal Soul of Nature our increasing
+knowledge in that direction would mean increasing power for carrying out
+our principle of peace and good will. As this perception of our relation to
+the Spirit of God and the Soul of Nature spreads from individual to
+individual so the Kingdom of God will grow, and its universal recognition
+would be the establishing of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
+
+Perhaps the reader will ask why I say the Soul of Nature instead of saying
+the material universe. The reason is that in using our creative power of
+Thought we do not operate directly upon material elements--to do that is
+the work of construction from without and not of creation from within. The
+whole tendency of modern physical science is to reduce all matter in the
+final analysis to energy working in a primary ether. Whence this energy and
+this ether proceed is not the subject of physical analysis. That is a
+question which cannot be answered by means of the vacuum tube or the
+spectroscope. Physical science is doing its legitimate work in pushing
+further and further back the unanalyzable residuum of Nature, but, however
+far back, an ultimate unanalyzable residuum there must always be; and when
+physical science brings us to this point it hands us over to the guidance
+of psychological investigation just as in the Divina Commedia Virgil
+transfers Dante to the guidance of Beatrice for the study of the higher
+realms. Various rates of rapidity of motion in this primary ether,
+producing various numerical combinations of positively and negatively
+electrified particles, result in the formation of what we know as the
+different chemical elements, and thus explains the phenomena of their
+combining quantities, the law by which they join together to form new
+substances only in certain exact numerical ratios. From the first movement
+in the primary ether to solid substances, such as wood or iron or our own
+flesh, is thus a series of vibrations in a succession of mediums, each
+denser than the preceding one out of which it was concreted and from which
+it receives the vibratory impulse. This is in effect what physical science
+has to tell us. But to get further back we must look into the world of the
+invisible, and it is here that psychological study comes to our aid. We
+cannot, however, study the invisible side of Nature by working from the
+outside and so at this point of our studies we find the use of the
+time-honored teaching regarding the parallelism between the Macrocosm and
+the Microcosm. If the Microcosm is the reproduction in ourselves of the
+same principles as exist in the Macrocosm or universe in which we have our
+being, then by investigating ourselves we shall learn the nature of the
+corresponding invisible principles in our environment. Here, then, is the
+application of the dictum of the ancient philosophy, "Know Thyself." It
+means that the only place where we can study the principles of the
+invisible side of Nature is in ourselves; and when we know them there we
+can transfer them to the larger world around us.
+
+In the concluding chapters of my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science" I
+have outlined the way in which the soul or mind operates upon the physical
+instrument of its expression, and it resolves itself into this--that the
+mental action inaugurates a series of vibrations in the etheric body which,
+in their turn, induce corresponding grosser vibrations in the molecular
+substance until finally mechanical action is produced on the outside. Now
+transferring this idea to Nature as a whole we shall see that if our mental
+action is to affect it in any way it can only be by the response of
+something at the back of material substance analogous to mind in ourselves;
+and that there is such a "something" interior to the merely material side
+of Nature is proved by what we may call the Law of Tendency, not only in
+animals and plants, but even in inorganic substances, as shown for instance
+in Professor Bose's work on the Response of Metals. The universal presence
+of this Law of Tendency therefore indicates the working of some
+non-material and, so to say, semi-intelligent power in the material world,
+a power which works perfectly accurately on its own lines so far as it
+goes, that is to say in a generic manner, but which does not possess that
+Personal power of _individual selection_ which is necessary to bring out
+the infinite possibilities hidden in it. This is what is meant by the Soul
+of Nature, and it is for this reason I employ that term instead of saying
+the material universe. Which term to employ all depends on the mode of
+action we are contemplating. If it is construction from without, then we
+are dealing with the purely material universe. If we are seeking to bring
+about results by the exercise of our mental power from within, then we are
+dealing with the Soul of Nature. It is that control of the lower degree of
+intelligence by the higher of which I have spoken in my Edinburgh Lectures.
+
+If we realize what I have endeavored to make clear in the earlier portion
+of this book, that the whole creation is produced by the operation of the
+Divine Will upon the Soul of Nature, it will be evident that we can set no
+limits to the potencies hidden in the latter and capable of being brought
+out by the operation of the Personal Factor upon it; therefore, granted a
+sufficiently powerful concentration of will, whether by an individual or a
+group of individuals, we can well imagine the production of stupendous
+effects by this agency, and in this way I would explain the statements made
+in Scripture regarding the marvelous powers to be exercised by the
+Anti-Christ, whether personal or collective. They are psychic powers, the
+power of the Soul of Man over the Soul of Nature. But the Soul of Nature is
+quite impersonal and therefore the moral quality of this action depends
+entirely on the human operator. This is the point of the Master's teaching
+regarding the destruction of the fig tree, and it is on this account He
+adds the warning as to the necessity for clearing our heart of any
+injurious feeling against others whenever we attempt to make use of this
+power (Mark xi: 20-26).
+
+According to His teaching, then, this power of controlling the Soul of
+Nature by the addition of our own Personal Factor, however little we may be
+able to recognize it as yet, actually exists; its employment depends on our
+perception of the inner principles common to both, and it is for this
+reason the ancient wisdom was summed up in the aphorism "Know thyself." No
+doubt it is a wonderful Knowledge, but on analysis it will be found to be
+perfectly natural. It is the Knowledge of the cryptic forces of Nature. Now
+it is remarkable that this ancient maxim inscribed over the portals of the
+Temple of Delphi is not to be found in the Bible. The Bible maxim is not
+"Know thyself" but "Know the Lord." The great subject of Knowledge is not
+ourself but "the Lord"; and herein is the great difference between the two
+teachings. The one is limited by human personality, the other is based on
+the Infinitude of the Divine Personality; and because of this it includes
+human personality with all its powers over the Soul of Nature. It is a case
+of the greater including the less; and so the whole teaching of Scripture
+is directed to bringing us into the recognition of that Divine Personality
+which is the Great Original in whose image and likeness we are made. In
+proportion as we grow into the recognition of _this_ our own personality
+will explain, and the creative power of our thought will cease to work
+invertedly until at last it will work only on the same principles of Life,
+Love and Liberty as the Divine Mind, and so all evil will disappear from
+our world. We shall not, as some systems teach, be absorbed into Deity to
+the extinction of our individual consciousness, but on the contrary our
+individual consciousness will continually expand, which is what St. Paul
+means when he speaks of our "increasing with the increase of God"--the
+continual expanding of the Divine element within us. But this can only take
+place by our recognition of ourselves as _receivers_ of this Divine
+element. It is receiving into ourselves of the Divine Personality, a result
+not to be reached through human reasoning. We reason from premises which we
+have assumed, and the conclusion is already involved in the premises and
+can never extend beyond them. But we can only select our premises from
+among things that we know by experience, whether mental or physical, and
+accordingly our reasoning is always merely a new placing of the old things.
+But the receiving of the Divine Personality into ourselves is an entirely
+New Thing, and so cannot be reached by reasoning from old things. Hence if
+this Divine ultimate of the Creative Process is to be attained it must be
+by the Revelation of a New Thing which will afford a new starting-point for
+our thought, and this New Starting-point is given in the Promise of "the
+Seed of the Woman" with which the Bible opens. Thenceforward this Promise
+became the central germinating thought of those who based themselves upon
+it, thus constituting them a special race, until at last when the necessary
+conditions had matured the Promised Seed appeared in Him of whom it is
+written that He is the express image of God's Person (Heb. I: 3)--that is,
+the Expression of that Infinite Divine Personality of which I have spoken.
+"No man hath seen God at any time or can see Him," for the simple reason
+that Infinitude cannot be the subject of vision. To become visible there
+must be Individualization, and therefore when Philip said "Show us the
+Father," Jesus replied, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." The
+Word must become flesh before St. John could say, "That which was from the
+beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
+have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life." This is
+the New Starting-point for the true New Thought--the New Adam of the New
+Race, each of whom is a new center for the working of the Divine Spirit.
+This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Except ye eat the flesh and drink
+the blood of the Son of Man ye have no life in you. My flesh is meat
+indeed, and my blood is drink indeed--" such a contemplation of the Divine
+Personality in Him as will cause a like receiving of the Divine Personality
+into individualization in ourselves--this is the great purpose of the
+Creative Process in the individual. It terminates the old series which
+began with birth after the flesh and inaugurates a New Series by birth
+after the Spirit, a New Life of infinite unfoldment with glorious
+possibilities beyond our highest conception.
+
+But all this is logically based upon our recognition of the Personalness of
+God and of the relation of our individual personality to this Eternal and
+Infinite Personality, and the result of this is Worship--not an attempt to
+"butter up" the Almighty and get Him into good temper, but the reverent
+contemplation of what this Personality must be in Itself; and when we see
+it to be that Life, Love, Beauty, etc., of which I spoke at the beginning
+of this book we shall learn to love Him for what He IS, and our prayer will
+be "Give me more of Thyself." If we realize the great truth that the
+Kingdom of Heaven is _within_ us, that it is the Kingdom of the innermost
+of our own being and of all creation, and if we realize that this innermost
+is the place of the Originating Power where Time and Space do not exist and
+therefore antecedent to all conditions, then we shall see the true meaning
+of Worship. It is the perception of the Innermost Spirit as eternally
+subsisting independently of all conditioned manifestation, so that in the
+true worship our consciousness is removed from the outer sphere of
+existence to the innermost center of unconditioned being. There we find the
+Eternal Being of God pure and simple, and we stand reverently in this
+Supreme Presence knowing that it is the Source of our own being, and wrapt
+in the contemplation of This, the conditioned is seen to flow out from It.
+Perceiving this the conditioned passes out of our consideration, for it is
+seen not to be the Eternal Reality--we have reached that level of
+consciousness where Time and Space remain no longer. Yet the reverence
+which the vision of this Supreme Center of all Being cannot fail to inspire
+is coupled with a sense of feeling quite at home with It. This is because
+as the Center of _all_ Being it is the center of our own being also. It is
+one-with-ourselves. It is recognizing Itself from our own center of
+consciousness; so that here we have got back to that Self-contemplation of
+Spirit which is the first movement of the Creating Power, only now this
+Self-contemplation is the action of the All-Originating Spirit upon Itself
+from the center of our own consciousness. So this worship in the Temple of
+the Innermost is at once reverent adoration and familiar intercourse--not
+the familiarity that breeds contempt, but a familiarity producing Love,
+because as it increases we see more clearly the true Life of the Spirit as
+the continual interaction of Love and Beauty, and the Spirit's recognition
+of ourselves as an integral portion of Its own Life. This is not an
+unpractical dreamy speculation but has a very practical bearing. Death will
+some day cease to be, for the simple reason that Life alone can be the
+enduring principle; but we have not yet reached this point in our
+evolution. Whether any in this generation will reach it I cannot say; but
+for the rank and file of us the death of the body seems to be by far the
+more probable event. Now what must this passing out of the body mean to us?
+It must mean that we find ourselves without the physical vehicle which is
+the instrument through which our consciousness comes in touch with the
+external world and all the interests of our present daily life. But the
+mere putting off of the body does not of itself change the mental attitude;
+and so if our mind is entirely centered upon these passing interests and
+external conditions the loss of the instrument by which we held touch with
+them must involve a consciousness of desire for the only sort of life we
+have known coupled with a consciousness of our inability to participate in
+it, which can only result in a consciousness of distress and confusion such
+as in our present state we cannot imagine.
+
+On the other hand if we have in this world realized the true principle of
+the Worship of the Eternal Source from which all conditioned life flows
+out--an inner communing with the Great Reality--we have already passed
+beyond that consciousness of life which is limited by Time and Space; and
+so when we put off this mortal body we shall find ourselves upon familiar
+ground, and therefore not wandering in confusion but quite at home,
+dwelling in the same light of the Eternal in which we have been accustomed
+to dwell as an atmosphere enveloping the conditioned life of to-day. Then
+finding ourselves thus at home on a plane where Time and Space do not exist
+there will be no question with us of duration. The consciousness will be
+simply that of peaceful, happy being. That a return to more active personal
+operation will eventually take place is evidenced by the fact that the
+basis of all further evolution is the differentiating of the
+Undifferentiated Life of the Spirit into specific channels of work, through
+the intermediary of individual personality without which the infinite
+potentialities of the Creative Law cannot be brought to light. Therefore,
+however various our opinions as to its precise form, Resurrection as a
+principle is a necessity of the creative process. But such a return to more
+active life will not mean a return to limitations, but the opening of a new
+life in which we shall transcend them all, because we have passed beyond
+the misconception that Time and Space are of the Essence of Life. When the
+misconception regarding Time and Space is entirely eradicated all other
+limitations must disappear because they have their root in this primary
+one--they are only particular forms of the general proposition. Therefore
+though Form with its accompanying relations of Time and Space is necessary
+for manifestation, these things will be found not to have any force in
+themselves thus creating limitation, but to be the reflection of the mode
+of thought which projects them as the expression of itself.
+
+Nor is there any inherent reason why this process should be delayed till
+some far-off future. There is no reason why we should not commence at once.
+No doubt our inherited and personally engendered modes of thought make this
+difficult, and by the nature of the process it will be only when _all_ our
+thoughts are conformed to this principle that the complete victory will be
+won. But there must be a commencement to everything, and the more we
+habituate ourselves to live in that Center of the Innermost where
+conditions do not exist, the more we shall find ourselves gaining control
+over outward conditions, because the stream of conditioned life flows out
+from the Center of Unconditioned Life, and therefore this intrinsic
+principle of Worship has in it the promise both of the life that now is and
+of that which is to come. Only we must remember that the really availing
+worship is that of the Undifferentiated Source _because It is the Source,_
+and not as a backhanded way of diverting the stream into some petty channel
+of conditions, for that would only be to get back to the old circle of
+limitation from which we are seeking to escape.
+
+But if we realize these things we have already laid hold of the Principle
+of Resurrection, and in point of principle we are already living the
+resurrection life. What progress we may make in it depends on our practical
+application of the principle; but simply as principle there is nothing in
+the principle itself to prevent its complete working at any moment. This is
+why Jesus did not refer resurrection to some remote point of time but said,
+"I am the resurrection and the life." No principle can carry in itself an
+opposite and limiting principle contradictory of its own nature, and this
+is as true of the Principle of Life as of any other principle. It is we who
+by our thought introduce an opposite and limiting principle and so hinder
+the working of the principle we are seeking to bring into operation; but so
+far as the Principle of Life itself is concerned there is _in it_ no reason
+why it should not come into perfect manifestation here and now.
+
+This, then, is the true purpose of worship. It is to bring us into
+conscious and loving intercourse with the Supreme Source of our own being,
+and seeing this we shall not neglect the outward forms of worship. From
+what we now know they should mean more to us than to others and not less;
+and in especial if we realize the manifestation of the Divine Personality
+in Jesus Christ and its reproduction in Man, we shall not neglect His last
+command to partake of that sacred memorial to His flesh and blood which He
+bequeathed to His followers with the words "This do in remembrance of Me."
+
+This holy rite is no superstitious human invention. There are many theories
+about it, and I do not wish to combat any of them, for in the end they all
+seem to me to bring us to the same point, that being cleansed from sin by
+the Divine Love we are now no longer separate from God but become
+"partakers of the Divine-Nature" (II Peter I: 4). This partaking of the
+Divine Nature could not be more accurately represented than by our
+partaking of bread and wine as symbols of the Divine Substance and the
+Divine Life, thus made emblematic of the whole Creative Process from its
+beginning in the Divine Thought to its completion in the manifestation of
+that Thought as Perfected Man; and so it brings vividly before us the
+remembrance of the Personality of God taking form as the Son of Man. We are
+all familiar with the saying that thoughts become things; and if we affirm
+the creative power of our own thought as reproducing itself in outward
+form, how much more must we affirm the same of that Divine Thought which
+brings the whole universe into existence; so that in accordance with our
+own principles the Divine Idea of Man was logically bound to show itself in
+the world of time and space as the Son of God and the Son of man, not two
+differing natures but one complete whole, thus summing up the foundation
+principle of all creation in one Undivided Consciousness of Personality.
+Thus "the Word" or Divine Thought of Man "became flesh," and our partaking
+of the symbolic elements keeps in our remembrance the supreme truth that
+this same "Word" or Thought of God in like manner takes form in ourselves
+as we open our own thought to receive it. And further, if we realize that
+throughout the universe there is only ONE Originating Life, sending forth
+only ONE Original Substance as the vehicle for its expression, then it
+logically follows that _in essence_ the bread is a portion of the eternal
+Substance of God, and the wine a portion of the eternal Life of God. For
+though the wine is of course also a part of the Universal Substance, we
+must remember that the Universal Substance is itself a manifestation of the
+Life of the All-Creating Spirit, and therefore this fluid form of the
+primary substance has been selected as representing the eternal flowing of
+the Life of the Spirit into all creation, culminating in its supreme
+expression in the consciousness of those who, in the recognition of these
+truths, seek to bring their heart into union with the Divine Spirit. From
+such considerations as these it will be seen how vast a field of thought is
+covered by Christ's words "Do this in remembrance of Me."
+
+In conclusion, therefore, do not let yourselves be led astray by any
+philosophy that denies the Personality of God. In the end it will be found
+to be a foolish philosophy. No other starting-point of creation is
+conceivable than the Self-Contemplation of the Divine Spirit, and the
+logical sequence from this brings us to the ultimate result of the Creative
+Process in the statement that "if any man be in Christ he is a New
+creature," or as the margin has it "a new creation" (II Cor. v: 17). Such
+vain philosophies have only one logical result which is to put _yourself_
+in the place of God, and then what have you to lean upon in the hour of
+trial? It is like trying to climb up a ladder that is resting against
+nothing. Therefore, says the Apostle Paul, "Beware lest any man spoil you
+through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of man, after the
+rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. II: 8.) The teaching
+of the Bible is sound philosophy, sound reasoning, and sound science
+because it starts with the sound premises that all Creation proceeds out of
+God, and that Man is made in the image and likeness of his Creator. It
+nowhere departs from the Law of Cause and Effect, and by the orderly
+sequence of this law it brings us at last to the New Creation both in
+ourselves and in our environment, so that we find the completion of the
+Creative Process in the declaration "the tabernacle of God is with men"
+(Rev. xxi: 3), and in the promise "This is the Covenant that I will make
+with them after those days (i.e., the days of our imperfect apprehension of
+these things) saith the Lord, I will dwell _in them_, and walk _in them_,
+and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and I will put my
+laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their
+sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. x: 16. II Cor. vi:
+16. Jeremiah xxxi: 33).
+
+Truly does Bacon say, "A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to
+atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."
+--Bacon, Essay, xvi.
+
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES
+
+
+
+Footnote 1:   See my Dore Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 2:   See my Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science.
+
+Footnote 3:   See my Dore Lectures, 1909.
+
+Footnote 4:   For the relation between conscious and sub-conscious mind see
+my "Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 5:   See "Self-Synthesis" by Dr. Cornwall Round.
+
+Footnote 6:   For the relation between subjective and objective mind see my
+"Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science."
+
+Footnote 7:   This view, it may be remarked, is not necessarily
+incompatible with the conception of reincarnation, on which theory the
+final resurrection or transmutation of the body would terminate the series
+of successive lives and deaths, thus bringing the individual out of the
+circle of generation, which is the circle of Karma. I may, perhaps, have
+the opportunity of considering this subject on some future occasion.
+
+Footnote 8:   See my "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning."
+
+Footnote 9:   See "Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning" by the present author.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE
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