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+Project Gutenberg's Within You is the Power, by Henry Thomas Hamblin
+
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+Title: Within You is the Power
+
+Author: Henry Thomas Hamblin
+
+Release Date: January, 2005 [EBook #7224]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on March 27, 2003]
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+Edition: 10
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+Language: English
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+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN YOU IS THE POWER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Wendy Crockett
+
+
+
+
+Within You is the Power.
+
+by
+
+HENRY THOMAS HAMBLIN
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+ PREFACE
+ CHAPTER I.--Infinite Life and Power
+ CHAPTER II.--The Overcoming of Life's Difficulties
+ CHAPTER III.--Fate or Free-Will?
+ CHAPTER IV.--Cause and Effect
+ CHAPTER V.--Success
+ CHAPTER VI.--Health
+ CHAPTER VII.--The Secret of Abundant Supply
+ CHAPTER VIII.--The Power and Limitations of the Sub-conscious Mind
+ CHAPTER IX.--The Use of the Spiritual or Super-conscious Mind
+ CHAPTER X.--Character Building and the Overcoming of Habit
+ CHAPTER XI.--Happiness and Joy
+ CHAPTER XII.--The Use and Mis-Use of Mental and Spiritual Powers
+ CHAPTER XIII.--Overcoming Limitations and Awakening Inward Powers
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+There is a power lying hidden in man, by the use of which he can rise
+to higher and better things.
+
+There is in man a greater Self, that transcends the finite self of
+the sense-man, even as the mountain towers above the plain.
+
+The object of this little book is to help men and women to bring their
+inward powers of mind and spirit into expression, wisely and in
+harmony with universal law; to build up character, and to find within
+themselves that wondrous Self, which is their real self, and which,
+when found, reveals to them that they are literally and truly sons
+of God and daughters of the Most High.
+
+There is no way whereby the discipline of life can be avoided. There
+is no means by which fate can be "tricked," nor cunning device by
+which the great cosmic plan can be evaded. Each life must meet its
+own troubles and difficulties: each soul must pass through its deep
+waters, every heart must encounter sorrow and grief. But none need
+be overwhelmed in the great conflicts of life, for one who has learned
+the great secret of his identity with the Universal life and Power,
+dwells in an impregnable city, built upon and into the Rock of Truth,
+against which the storms of life beat in vain.
+
+While this little work does not offer any vain promises of an easy
+life--for, if this were possible, it would be the greatest of all
+disasters--but rather endeavours to show how to become so strong that
+life looks almost easy by comparison (the life or fate does not change
+or become easier, but the individual alters and becomes stronger),
+yet, it does show the reader how to avoid making his life more
+difficult than it need be. Most people's lives would be less filled
+with trouble and suffering if they took life in the right spirit and
+acted in harmony with Universal Law.
+
+It is hoped that this little book may help many to come into harmony
+with life's law and purpose and thus avoid much needless suffering:
+to find the Greater Self within, which discovery brings with it a
+realization of absolute security: to bring into expression and wisely
+use their inner spiritual and mental forces and thus enter a life
+of overcoming and almost boundless power.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+INFINITE LIFE AND POWER.
+
+
+Man possesses, did he but know it, illimitable Power. [1] This Power
+is of the Spirit, therefore, it is unconquerable. It is not the power
+of the ordinary life, or finite will, or human mind. It transcends
+these, because, being spiritual, it is of a higher order than either
+physical or even mental. This Power lies dormant, and is hidden within
+man until he is sufficiently evolved and unfolded to be entrusted
+with its use.
+
+  [1] The powers of the sub-conscious mind are dealt with in other
+      chapters. The Powers of the Spirit are far greater and finer
+      than those of the sub-conscious mind.
+
+Thought is a spiritual power of tremendous potency, but this is not
+the power of which we speak. By thought, man can either raise himself
+up and connect himself with the "Power House" of the Universe, or
+cut himself off entirely from the Divine Inflow. His thought is his
+greatest weapon, because, by it he can either draw on the Infinite
+or sever himself (in consciousness, but not in reality) from his
+Divine Source.
+
+Through the Divine Spark within him, which is really his real Self,
+man is connected with the Infinite. Divine Life and Power are his,
+if he _realizes_ that they are his. So long as he is ignorant of his
+oneness with the Divine Source of all life, he is incapable of
+appropriating the power that is really his. If, however, he enters
+into this inner knowledge, he finds himself the possessor of infinite
+power and unlimited resources.
+
+This Power, then, is God's, yet it is also man's, but it is not
+revealed to him until he is fit to be entrusted with it. It is only
+when man realizes his oneness with his Divine Source that he becomes
+filled with Its power. Many teachers and initiates lament the fact
+that certain secrets are being spread broadcast to-day; secrets that,
+in the past, were kept closely guarded. They fear that unillumined
+and un-evolved people may make destructive use of spiritual power.
+This, to the writer, appears to be improbable. It is true that strong
+personalities, who have a great belief in their own power to achieve
+and succeed, draw unconsciously on hidden powers, and thus are able
+to raise themselves high above their fellows. The use, however, that
+they can make of spiritual power for base purposes is limited, and
+is not to be feared. There are others, of course, who are misusing
+their powers. These are black magicians, and while they may do a
+certain amount of harm, they become reduced, ultimately, to beggary
+and impotence. There are also others who spend the whole of their
+spare time searching for knowledge of this very subject. They read
+every occult book they can lay hands on, but they never find that
+for which they seek. There are spiritual powers and influences that
+withhold the eyes of the seekers from seeing, until they are ready
+for the revelation. When man, in his search for Truth, has given up
+all selfish striving after unworthy things, and has ceased to use
+his self-will in conflict with the greater Will of the Whole, he is
+ready for the revelation of his oneness with the Infinite. Yielding
+implicitly to the Will of the Whole may seem, to the unillumined,
+an act of weakness, yet it is the entrance to a life of almost
+boundless power.
+
+Man is not separate from his Divine Source and never has been. He
+is, in reality, one with the Infinite. The separation which he feels
+and experiences is mental, and is due to his blindness and unbelief.
+Man can never be separated from Spirit, for he himself is Spirit.
+He is an integral part of one complete whole. He lives and moves and
+has his being in God (Universal, Omnipresent Spirit), and God (Spirit)
+dwells in him. The majority of people are unaware of this intimate
+relationship with the Divine, and, because they are unaware, or
+because they refuse to believe it, they are, in one sense, separated
+from the inner life of God. Yet this separation is only in their
+thoughts and beliefs, and not in reality. Man is not separated and
+never can be, yet so long as he believes that he is separate and
+alone, he will be as weak and helpless as though he actually were.
+As soon as man realizes the truth of his relationship to the Infinite,
+he passes from weakness to power, from death unto life. One moment
+he is in the desert, afar off, weak, separate, and alone; the next,
+he realizes that he is nothing less than a son of God, with all a
+son's privileges and powers. He realizes, in a flash, that he is one
+with his Divine Source, and that he can never be separated. He awakens
+also to the fact that all the Power of the Infinite is his to draw
+upon; that he can never really fail, that he is marching on to
+victory.
+
+It will thus be seen how great is the power of man's thought. While
+thought is not the power of the Spirit, it is the power by which man
+either connects himself up with the Infinite Power, opening himself
+to the Divine Inflow, or cuts himself off and separates himself from
+his Spiritual Source. Thus, in a sense, man is what he thinks he is.
+If he thinks he is separate from God and cut off from His Power, then
+it is as though this were really the case, and he is just as impotent
+and miserable as though he actually existed apart from God. On the
+other hand, if he thinks and believes that he is one with the
+Infinite, he finds that it is gloriously true, and that he is really
+a son of God. If he believes and thinks that he is a mere material
+being, then he lives the limited life of a material being, and is
+never able to rise above it. But if, on the contrary, he thinks and
+believes that he is a spiritual being, then he finds that he possesses
+all the powers of a spiritual being.
+
+Again, if he thinks that his work is difficult and that he is not
+equal to his tasks, he finds that really his tasks are difficult and
+beyond his powers. Yet on the other hand, if he believes his work
+is easy, or, at any rate, within his powers, he finds that such is
+the case, and that he can do his work with ease.
+
+The power within is infinite, for, by faith in it, man is directly
+"coupled up" with the Spiritual Power of the Universe. The Divine
+Spark within him connects him to the Sacred Flame, thus making him
+potentially a god in the making.
+
+A change then, must take place within man before he can enter into
+his Divine inheritance. He must learn to think after the Spirit,
+_i.e._, as a spiritual being, instead of after the flesh, _i.e._,
+as a material creature. Like the prodigal son he must "come to
+himself," and leave the husks and the swine in the far country,
+returning to his Father's house, where there is bread (of life)
+enough and to spare.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE OVERCOMING OF LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES.
+
+
+The true object of life is that man may attain wisdom through
+experience. This cannot be accomplished by giving in to the
+difficulties of life, but only by overcoming them. The promises of
+God are not made to those who fail in life's battle, but to those
+who _overcome_. Neither are there any promises that man shall have
+an easy time and be happy ever afterwards. Yet, it is after this that
+the majority of people are for ever seeking--an easy life, a good
+time, freedom from suffering and care. But, in spite of all their
+seeking, they can never find that which they desire. There is always
+a fly in the ointment of their pleasure, something that robs them
+of true happiness; or, possibly, combinations of circumstances
+conspire to upset all their plans.
+
+Life is a paradox; the true object of life is not the attainment
+of happiness, yet if we attain the true object of life we find
+happiness. Those who are ignorant of life's true purpose and who
+seek happiness high and low, year after year, fail to find it. Like
+a will-o'-the-wisp, it for ever eludes them. On the other hand, those
+who recognize the true object of life, and follow it, attain happiness
+without seeking for it.
+
+In times past, people have made God a convenience. They have thought
+they could drift through life, learning none of its discipline and
+then, when in trouble, or things were not to their liking, they could
+pray to God and have the unpleasant circumstances taken away. The
+same idea is prevalent to-day. People have left the old orthodoxy
+and look to various "cults" and "isms" to get them out of their
+difficulties. They do not believe now that they can curry special
+favour with God by prayer, but they firmly believe that they can get
+what they want from the Invisible by demanding it. They think that
+by this means they can have their own way after all. By this they
+mean having a good time, with no unpleasant experiences, trials,
+difficulties, adversities. They are, however, merely chasing rainbows.
+The easy life they seek constantly eludes them, simply because there
+is no such thing. The only life that is easy is the life of the strong
+soul who has overcome. His life is not easy in reality, but appears
+relatively so because of his strength.
+
+It is impossible to have an easy life, and, if it were possible, then
+life would be not worth living, for the sole object of life is the
+building of character and the attainment of wisdom through experience.
+Life to all of us must always be full of difficulty, and it is to
+help those, who, hitherto, have found life rather too much for them
+that this book is being written. What the majority are seeking for
+is an easy life (which they will never find, but precisely the
+reverse) and for them I have no message. But to those wise and
+awakened souls who are seeking for Truth, no matter from whence it
+may come, and who desire to overcome life and its difficulties,
+instead of weakly giving in to them, this book, it is hoped, will
+bring a message.
+
+At this stage we cannot go into the subject of why we should meet
+with disasters and adversity in this life, nor why some people should
+have, apparently, a smoother life than others. [2] We must therefore
+be satisfied to know that we have to meet trouble and overcome
+difficulty, and that it is only by so doing that we can attain wisdom
+and build up character. The question, then, is not _whether_ we shall
+meet the trouble and adversity or not, but rather, _how_ we shall
+meet them. Shall we be victorious or shall we be submerged? Shall
+we overcome life's difficulties or shall we give in to them?
+
+  [2] This subject is dealt with in "The Path of Victory" by the
+      same author, and published by The Science of Thought Press.
+
+The majority of people are drifters on the sea of life. They are
+wafted here and blown there: they are also carried hither and thither
+by every current. It is only the few who realize that they have the
+Power of the Infinite within them by which they can rise superior
+to all their difficulties, overcome their own weaknesses, and, through
+victorious experience, attain wisdom.
+
+At this point some practical reader may say that attaining wisdom
+is all very well, but what he wants is practical help. He is perhaps
+out of work, has sickness in his house and is in debt. Or, he may
+be well-to-do, and yet in the deepest distress and misery. To all
+such I would say that they possess the Power by which they can
+overcome all their difficulties, and, through overcoming, attain
+wisdom. A man's success depends, more than anything, upon his
+faith--his faith in the good purpose of life: his faith in the Power
+of the Infinite within him and his ability to overcome every obstacle
+in his path.
+
+The extent of the Power that man can bring into his life is the
+measure of his faith in that Power. If his faith in It is small, then
+his life will be feeble and lacking in achievement. If his faith in
+the Power within him is large, then great will be the power
+manifesting in his life. The Power of the Infinite is illimitable
+and inexhaustible: all that is required is an unquenchable belief
+and trust in it. The weakest and most timid can make use of this
+Power. There is the same Power in the timid and weak as in the brave
+and strong. The weakness of the former is due to a lack of faith and
+belief in the Infinite Power within them.
+
+Difficulties and troubles there will be in every life, and sometimes
+disaster and heartbreak, when the very earth slides from under the
+feet, yet, by calling upon the Power within, it is possible to rise
+from the ruins of cherished hopes stronger and "greater" through
+experience. Happiness and true success depend upon how the troubles
+and difficulties of life are met. Adversity comes to all, but if it
+is met in the right manner even failure can be made the stepping-stone
+to success. Trouble comes to all, but, while it makes some people
+stronger and better in every way, it submerges others so that they
+never rise again. The trouble is the same, it is how it is met that
+makes the difference. Those who meet difficulty and adversity in
+the feeble strength of their finite minds and false personality are
+speedily overwhelmed and broken by the storms of life. But those who
+rely upon, and have faith in the Power within them, can never be
+overwhelmed, neither can they ever be defeated. The Power, being
+infinite, is always sufficient, no matter how great the need may be.
+
+One who realizes his own real spiritual identity, knows that he can
+never die, that he can never be defeated, that he can never really
+fail. He may lose his body through the change that is called death;
+but he, the true man, can never die. Neither can he fail, though he
+be defeated a thousand times--he _must_ rise again.
+
+Only have faith in the Spiritual Power within you and you can know
+all the joys of overcoming and achievement. All things will become
+yours. Seek first the Kingdom within you (your spiritual union with
+the Infinite, and harmony with the Divine Will and Purpose) and all
+these things shall be added unto you. You will have no need to fear
+the morrow, for you will know that all provision has already been
+made. There will be no need to hoard up wealth, for there will be
+the necessary daily supplies always available. There will be no need
+to live near a doctor, for God, the Infinite Life, shall be your
+health. There will be no need for regret or lamentation, for you shall
+know that all is well. There will be no fear of future happenings,
+for you shall realize that the Infinite One makes no mistakes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FATE OR FREE-WILL?
+
+
+Great has been the controversy in the past, over the vexed subject
+of fate versus free-will. On the one hand, fatalists claim that man
+is so closely bound to the wheel of fate it is impossible for him
+to live his life in any different way than that which is mapped out
+for him. He can bring a quantity of first-class evidence in support
+of his claim and believes in his theory with all his heart. On the
+other hand, the advocate of free-will believes just as whole-heartedly
+that man is not bound at all, being as free as air. He, too, can bring
+plenty of evidence in support of his theory, which confirms him in
+his belief. Each one of them thinks that the other is wrong, yet they
+cannot both be wrong! Let us therefore examine the subject for
+ourselves, for it is an important one, being intimately connected
+with the subject which this book discusses.
+
+First of all, let it be said, they are both wrong, in part, and right,
+in part. Man is bound to the wheel, yet, at the same time, he has
+free-will. Let us, therefore, explain this seeming paradox.
+
+It is an ancient truth of the inner teaching that man, when he is
+unevolved and before he is "unfolded," is bound to the wheel of fate
+very closely. The unevolved man follows his desires, thus creating
+for himself a future from which he cannot escape. When however, he
+becomes more evolved and emancipated, he begins to resist following
+his desires and strives, instead, to follow higher things. This
+creates for him a better future and thus he becomes free in comparison
+with his former slave state. Man is a slave to fate as long as he
+is a slave to the desires of the earth plane. He is, however, free
+to overcome lower things and thus rise to higher. When he does this
+he ceases to create a painful future for himself and thus becomes
+free.
+
+There is, therefore, fate which is self created. It is necessary to
+acknowledge this before we can proceed further. One who has not had
+much experience of life or who has not been a close observer, may
+deny that there is such a thing, but one who has had great changes
+in his life, against which he has fought and struggled in vain, knows
+that there is a purpose working behind the events of life, against
+which even kings and mighty men are powerless. There come times in
+man's life when he moves heaven and earth, figuratively speaking:
+prays until he can pray no more: sacrifices, it may be, his money,
+his health, his prospects, and does everything that is in the power
+of a human being in a vain attempt to stave off a threatened disaster.
+But, in spite of all his efforts, in spite of his cries to a pitiless
+heaven, the relentless march of fate cannot be stayed. It moves
+forward like a huge juggernaut and crushes his hopes, his dearest
+idol, his very life itself or all that then makes his life worth
+living--and leaves him desolate.
+
+"If then," you may ask, "fate is so pitiless and so powerful, what
+can be done with it and where does free-will enter into the matter?"
+In reply it must be admitted at once that it is no use fighting fate.
+The more man fights it, the more completely he gets broken. There
+are certain main events in each life which must come to pass. These
+events and changes are inevitable and it is hopeless to fight against
+them. While these things, which constitute what we call fate, are
+inevitable and therefore cannot be avoided, it rests with ourselves
+how we meet these adversities and disasters. If we meet them in the
+wrong way they break us. If, however, we meet them in the right way
+we become stronger through discipline and experience, thus becoming
+better fitted to bear life's responsibilities and to overcome its
+difficulties and temptations. One who meets the setbacks, griefs,
+bereavements and disasters of life in the right spirit becomes a
+strong and rich character. He becomes mellowed through experience,
+strong, stable, a helpful influence to all who meet him.
+
+When things go smoothly and life is a merry round, no philosophy or
+religion seems necessary, and "as for an inward power, what of it,
+we can do very well without it." So say the thoughtless and
+inexperienced, but there come times in every life, when, not only
+is a philosophy, and that a very sound one, necessary, but also a
+power, of which the finite self knows nothing, is needed in order
+to raise the soul out of the dust and ashes of its despair. It is
+one thing to try and meet trouble and adversity in the right spirit
+and quite another thing to have the power to do so. One who thinks
+that he has no power within him but that all the power is in
+circumstances, can never rise victorious over his troubles and become
+a conqueror over life's difficulties; but one who realizes that he
+possesses a wonderful power that can raise him up, no matter how
+crushed he may be, can never be a failure in life. No matter what
+may happen to him he will play the man and act a noble part. He will
+rise from the ruins of his life and build it anew in greater beauty
+and splendour.
+
+At this stage it is necessary to point out that there is a difference
+between "big fate" and the circumstances of life. "Big fate" as it
+sometimes is called antedates this present life and its cause does
+not come within the scope of this little book. [3] Sufficient if we
+say here that, through the ages, we reap as we sow, therefore our
+future depends upon how we meet life and its difficulties _now_. Big
+fate, then, cannot be successfully fought, simply because it is the
+working of Omnipotent Law, but our life generally and its
+circumstances depend upon how we meet "big fate," and how we recover
+from it. No matter how seemingly unkind "fate" may be, it is possible
+for us to make our life a beautiful thing. Inspired and energized
+by the Power within, we can rise from the ashes of our dead hopes
+to build anew our life in greater beauty and more in harmony with
+the Divine Ideal.
+
+  [3] In addition to the "fate" or "future" which every thought and
+      action builds, there is, behind all evolution, a gigantic plan.
+      This wonderful plan that embraces all, from the stupendous
+      conception of a limitless universe down to the smallest
+      electron, is being worked out through the ages with absolute
+      precision. Nothing can prevent this plan from being brought
+      into manifestation. It gathers up our past and weaves it into
+      our present life, just in the same way that it is busily
+      gathering up our present life and weaving it into future fate.
+      It works it all into the big plan, somehow, and with infinite
+      skill. The plan is bound to be followed (this, too, is fate)
+      but HOW we follow it, either with willingness and happiness,
+      or opposition or woe, rests with us (this is free will).
+
+Those who have studied the Occult sciences may say "what about
+planetary influences?" They will point out that, according to the
+ancient science of astrology, a man's life is determined by the "star"
+under which he is born. This is true, if he gives in to the influences
+around his path. At different times in his life man meets with
+influences that are sometimes "favourable" and at other times,
+adverse. These influences are, however, only influences after all,
+and one who will stand firm during periods of adversity and refuse
+to give in, relying upon the great Power within to carry him through,
+will find that he can weather all storms of life and come out of his
+trials greatly strengthened. He cannot prevent these influences from
+coming around his path of life, but he can rise superior to them.
+He will meet with failures and set-backs but he will make of these,
+stepping-stones to success. He will experience griefs and
+bereavements, but out of these he will build a finer character and
+rise to higher things. One, however, who gives in to these things,
+refusing to rise again and reconstruct his life, condemns himself
+to further suffering, thus making utter shipwreck of his life.
+
+Let the despairing take heart again. Believe in the Power within you
+and you will rise to heights before undreamed of. With this Power
+to help you, you can accomplish the apparently impossible.
+
+
+  APPENDIX TO CHAPTER III.
+
+
+Our life here is not governed by a capricious Being who blows first
+hot and then cold or who favours one person and tortures another.
+The Supreme Being works through laws that are absolutely just and
+unchanging. Therefore all disaster and trouble in the life is the
+effect of certain causes. These causes are our own wrong doing in
+the past, which set in motion forces, against which the power and
+wit and wisdom of man are powerless. [4] However, because the
+fundamental law of the Universe is love, it follows that the working
+of the law of cause and effect is not vindictive. Its object is our
+highest good, viz., to bring us into union with the Divine or in tune
+with the Infinite. Therefore, by rising up to a higher plane and
+coming more into harmony and union with the Divine, we rob even big
+fate of something of its power. We cannot oppose it, for by so doing
+we fight against Omnipotence, but we can _forestall_ it by doing
+willingly, and of our own accord, that very thing which experience
+comes to teach us.
+
+  [4] Another cause is that the soul has failed to learn certain
+      lessons, therefore, in this life, many painful experiences are
+      brought to bear, in such a way, as to teach the necessary
+      lessons. The lessons are, however, learnt only if painful or
+      unpleasant experiences are met in the right way. So long as
+      man believes that he is unjustly treated by fate and that he
+      does not "deserve" what life metes out to him, he intensifies
+      his troubles, both now and hereafter, through not learning the
+      lessons that life desires to teach. When, however man realizes
+      and admits that life is just and that the cause of all his
+      troubles is within himself, he, like the prodigal son comes
+      to himself and, soon afterwards, begins his homeward journey.
+      Yet another cause is that the soul is deficient in character.
+      Strength and stability of character can be built up through
+      the soul meeting trouble and difficulty. Again it must be
+      pointed out that they must be met in the right spirit.
+
+It will be seen then, that our future depends entirely upon the way
+we think and act in this life. Our future lies in our own hands. If
+we violate the law of love in this life, we create disaster and
+suffering for the future, which will have to be met, in the form of
+"big fate" of a painful character, some day. Therefore, by right
+thinking and right doing now, we not only ameliorate conditions in
+this life, but we also create a future that will be more harmonious
+and freer than anything we have experienced hitherto.
+
+It is also necessary to point out that, even in this life, some of
+its big disasters are the result of thoughts and actions committed
+during this present existence. A youth or young man may commit a
+folly that brings, in after life, a terrible retribution. Or he may
+do another man a grievous wrong and years afterwards someone else
+does the same wrong to him. It is always an eye for an eye and a
+tooth for a tooth on this plane of cause and effect, but the Great
+Way Shower, by His teaching of the power of love, enables us to rise
+above these lower things and live a life of harmony and peace.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+CAUSE AND EFFECT.
+
+
+Man is the cause of the disasters in his life. He reaps through the
+ages exactly as he sows. Life is perfectly just and rewards every
+man according to his works. The fate of the present is the reaping
+of his sowing in, it may be, a distant past. Therefore, the disasters
+and sufferings of this life, must not be attributed to the
+interference of a capricious and unreasonable God, for the truth is,
+they are due to the exact working of a perfectly just law. Fate, once
+created, is irrevocable. It can neither be fought nor evaded. By
+fighting against fate, man merely smashes himself to pieces. To do
+so, is equivalent to running his head against a stone cliff: the
+harder he charges, the greater the damage to his head--but the cliff
+is unaffected. Fate, although largely self-created, is really the
+Divine purpose of life: therefore, to resist it is to fight against
+God. Fate, again is not punishment, in any vindictive sense, it is
+the drawing together of certain remedial experiences, through which
+the soul can learn the lessons it has failed to learn in past ages
+and thus attain wisdom. The object of fate is the highest good of
+the individual, although it may entail suffering and painful
+experiences.
+
+Because the disasters in man's life are due to past wrong doing, it
+naturally follows that his future depends upon the kind of life that
+he lives to-day. If, in the past, he has created for himself a
+sequence of events and experiences, from which it is impossible for
+him to escape, it is obvious that his future lives depend entirely
+upon how he lives the present one. It will be seen that if man can
+learn the lessons of the present life, and live in such a way as to
+cease creating trouble for the future, he is beginning to climb the
+Path of Liberation, which is the road all advanced souls have to
+follow, or, rather, have the privilege of following. By following
+this path, man ceases to be bound to the wheel of fate.
+
+This little work does not teach reincarnation, but its teaching is
+based on a belief that man, in reality, is a spiritual being, a Divine
+Spark from the Sacred Fire. Spirit being immortal has no beginning
+or end therefore always lives. This present life is one of countless
+experiences, each one of which helps to build up character. There
+is no death, but only changes from one vehicle to another. There is
+no beginning, or end, or time in reality, these are mere limitations
+of the human mind. It is impossible for man to die: he can only leave
+his body. He cannot kill himself, try how he will: he can only force
+himself out of his body. Man must always go on, whether he likes it
+or not: he proceeds through the ages, _reaping exactly as he sows_.
+
+We have already seen that man cannot avoid or fight successfully
+against fate, but that he can become free from the wheel of fate by
+living a life in harmony with Divine Law. [5] At this point it is
+necessary to point out that most of man's troubles are not caused
+by fate at all, but are due to his fighting against or trying to
+resist the great plan. If the experiences of life are resisted, or
+an attempt is made to evade its discipline, troubles and difficulties
+will repeat, becoming more painful and insistent until their lesson
+is learnt and the life changed accordingly. Therefore man has it in
+his power greatly to improve his present life, as well as to create
+a far better future, simply by living his life to-day in harmony with
+Divine Law. Further, it is necessary to point out that all thought
+and action have an _immediate_ as well as a far reaching effect. It
+is true that the full effect of life here is not reaped until after
+our little course on this plane has been run, but great differences
+are effected in the present life nevertheless. The way a youth makes
+use of, or throws away his opportunities, either makes or mars, to
+a very large extent, his adult career. Opportunities, once allowed
+to pass, can never be recalled. Sins committed and wrongs done to
+our fellow men have an unpleasant habit of repeating themselves in
+a reversed way later in life. For instance, a man may get on in life,
+and, in his selfish climb, may trample on one weaker than himself,
+ruining him and driving him to despair. Years afterwards, he will
+probably be treated in exactly the same way by someone stronger and
+more favourably situated than himself. Therefore, there is an
+immediate sowing and reaping that finds fruition in this life. By
+"immediate" is meant, within the compass of this life. The reaping
+may be delayed ten or twenty years, but in the writer's experience,
+it not infrequently comes. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
+also reap." Those, therefore, who think that life is not just, and
+who whine and complain about the way they are treated, are simply
+increasing their own troubles. Until man realizes that the cause of
+all his troubles is within himself he can never do anything to remedy
+matters, because, obviously, the only thing that is required is for
+him to change within. Man has to become changed within before his
+life can be altered. His thoughts, his ideals, his attitude towards
+life must all become transformed. When this change has been effected,
+he not only begins to repair his present life, but he creates a fairer
+and nobler life for the future.
+
+  [5] This is the inner secret of all esoteric teaching. The new
+      birth, or regeneration, means the awakening of the soul to
+      conscious immortality. The old self, that was bound to the
+      wheel of fate and the plane of cause and effect from which it
+      could never free itself, owing to the fact that it was
+      continually binding itself to the wheel afresh, through
+      following selfish desires, dies, and a new self is born. In
+      other words, the consciousness is raised from the plane of sin
+      and death, of sensuality and desire, of restriction and
+      captivity, to the higher plane of Spirit, where man realizes
+      that he is a son of God. He discovers that the Divine Spark
+      within is his true self. He realizes also that he has always
+      lived--in his real Spiritual Self. Beginning and end, like
+      change and decay, belong purely to the material plane and have
+      no place in Reality. They form part of this present three
+      dimensional existence but have no reality. Endless being is
+      the reality. Anything short of this is mere illusion. It is
+      not necessary, therefore, to believe in the theory of
+      reincarnation or that all our experiences must of necessity
+      take place on this plane. Sufficient to know that we can never
+      die, that we cannot escape from ourselves, and that to neglect
+      seeking with all our heart for union once again with our Divine
+      Source, is merely to prolong our sufferings.
+
+Man, then, has to change. His desires and aspirations, instead of
+being directed towards hate and evil must be transformed to love and
+good. Instead of wallowing in lust and selfishness he must lift
+himself to higher and better things. How can this be done? It cannot
+be accomplished by the finite man at all, but it can be achieved by
+the Infinite Power within. It is only when man realizes his oneness
+with the Infinite and _believes_ that Omnipotent Power is at his
+disposal, that the Spiritual Power within becomes available. So long
+as man has doubts and fears or disbeliefs, this special power is not
+available. It is his, but his state of heart and mind prevents him
+from either realizing the presence of the Power or making use of it.
+Before the machinery of a workshop can run it must be connected up
+with the engine room. In the same way, man, before he can live the
+new life, must become one with the Infinite Life and Power.
+
+Entering this new life of power, does not take away life's
+experiences, its trials, troubles and adversities, but the change
+within does prevent the creation of unnecessary troubles and
+suffering. Also even a so-called unkind fate loses much of its power
+to wound, for the higher man rises into union with God and Infinite
+Love, the less power it has in his life. It still operates, but it
+fails to wound so deeply, for man, seeing with illumined eyes, knows
+that it is good that has come to bless; and not evil that has come
+to slay. Painful fate loses its power to hurt when man ceases to
+resist it and meets it with open arms, seeking to learn the lessons
+that it has to teach.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+SUCCESS.
+
+
+What is meant here by success is the achievement of something worth
+while, that shall make the world better and richer, and add something
+to the common good. Our sphere in life may be very humble, but if
+we overcome our own weaknesses, help others along life's pathway,
+and do our daily work better than we need, our life cannot be other
+than successful. If, at the end of our life, we can be thankful for
+it, realizing that we have made the best possible use of it, we have
+achieved real success.
+
+Success, to the unillumined, may mean the accumulation of wealth and
+the winning of fame. Yet those who give up their lives to the
+acquirement of these things are the greatest failures in life. They
+gain wealth, it is true, but they find that their money can buy only
+those things that bring no satisfaction: that it cannot purchase for
+them any of the things which are really worth having. Success of this
+hollow kind, can be won, but at too great a price. The greatest
+Teacher of all once said: "For what shall it profit man, if he shall
+gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" What _does_ it profit
+a man if he "gets on" at the cost of happiness, health, joy of living,
+domestic life, and the ability to appreciate Nature's beauties and
+simple pleasures?
+
+Yet man must be a striver. He must be for ever seeking better things
+and to express himself more perfectly. One who drifts through life,
+making no effort to rise to better things, is not worthy of the name
+of citizen. Man, if he is to be worthy of the name, must be for ever
+striving, overcoming, rising. Failure in life is always due to
+weakness of character. It is only strong characters who can resist
+the buffetings of life and overcome its difficulties. The man who
+would make his life worthy of respect and who would rise to high
+achievement and service, will be confronted by difficulty at every
+turn. This is as it should be, for it weeds out the weaklings and
+unworthy aspirants, and awards the spoils to those who exhibit faith,
+courage, steadfastness, patience, perseverance, persistence,
+cheerfulness, and strength of character, generally. Success,
+especially material success, is not, in itself, of much benefit to
+the one who wins it. It does not satisfy for long, but it is valuable
+in other ways. For instance, success, based on service, is a benefit
+to the community. If, it were not for successful people of this type
+the ordinary man in the rut would have a bad time. Also, the winning
+of success builds up character. One who would be successful in the
+battle of life, must be prepared to be tested and tried in every
+possible way. One who survives them all is built up in character in
+almost every direction. Even in his success, however, he will be
+tempted and tried. One who is engaged in the harsh struggle of
+business, or who takes part in public life, may, if he does not watch
+himself very carefully, become hard and callous. Of all failures this
+is probably the worst. One who succeeds in other directions and
+becomes a "hard man," is, after all, a sorry failure.
+
+Again, people of the successful, striving, climbing type, are tempted
+far more than those who are afraid to venture and who remain in the
+valley of mediocrity. This is true, not only of those who seek to
+climb the steep path of spiritual attainment, but also of those who
+are successful in mundane affairs. In each case, they have placed
+in their keeping great powers and influence such as the ordinary man
+little dreams of. This is a grave responsibility, for if these powers
+are used for self-aggrandisement the results are disastrous. Thus,
+those who climb, are beset on all sides by temptations of a very
+subtle kind, which, if yielded to, will ruin the life and do grave
+injury to the soul.
+
+Life is a continual battle. To the ordinary person it is generally
+a fight with circumstances and the ordinary difficulties of life
+which are very important in his eyes. The more advanced soul is not
+troubled much by these things--he rises above them--but he is tempted
+and tried to a much greater degree, and in a far more subtle manner.
+Those who think that by following a certain "cult" or "ism," they
+will be able to have an uneventful walk through life are merely
+deluding themselves. As he learns to overcome the difficulties of
+life which baffle the ordinary individual, he will be tempted and
+tried in other and more subtle ways. This is because life is not for
+mere passing pleasure, but is for the building up of character,
+through experience. Therefore, one who would succeed must be strong,
+and wise and patient. Those who aspire to make their lives really
+worth while: who desire to serve their fellows more perfectly: who
+want to build up character through experience and overcome all their
+weaknesses, inherited or otherwise, must look within for power and
+wisdom.
+
+It must be pointed out, however, that man must not use his spiritual
+powers for selfish purposes and self-aggrandisement. There is an
+immutable law, which has been known to the inner teaching all through
+the ages, that forbids the use of spiritual powers for the creation
+of wealth or even of daily bread. Jesus was subject to the same
+spiritual law, and was tempted exactly in the same way as we. The
+tempter said: "Command this stone that it be made bread." If Christ
+had turned the stone into bread, He would have failed in His great
+mission, but He knew the law. There are thousands of people to-day
+who are trying, not only to turn, by the mis-use of their spiritual
+powers, stones into bread, but also into motor cars, fat bank balances
+and lands and houses. Such are heading to disaster, for they are
+working _against_ the combined Spiritual Power of the Universe. The
+Enemy of Souls offers those who have learned to tap the inexhaustible
+Power of the Universe, and who have discovered that they are sons
+of God, wealth, power, pomp, the applause of men--the glittering
+things that perish--if only they will mis-use their God-given power.
+Like Jesus, they must refuse. They must put service before self, and
+give instead of grasping.
+
+Thousands are being taught to-day to force their human will upon life
+and to use occult powers for the acquisition of wealth and power.
+They are taught to enter the Silence and demand "what they want."
+"How to get what you want" is the slogan of these modern teachers.
+Not merit, not service, not giving, but demanding, compelling by human
+will-power and by the use of occult forces. This is another device
+of the Enemy of Souls, and it is taking tens of thousands of seekers
+for Truth out of the Path. This subject is dealt with more fully in
+a separate chapter.
+
+If, however, man's ambition is to serve and to give, instead of to
+grasp and to grab: if, also, he seeks success through merit and not
+through the mis-use of his spiritual powers, he can go forward and
+the Power will go with him and will help him. When once the Power
+has been aroused, man must cease all purely selfish striving,
+although, of course, there will still be much selfishness in his
+motive. He must seek his success through service and through following
+noble aims: through merit and a fair exchange, instead of trying to
+wring success from life, no matter who may suffer thereby.
+
+Further, when this Power has been brought into expression it must
+only be used in love, for if it used otherwise it will destroy the
+user. Again, the Power must not be used by the finite human will,
+but an endeavour must be made to find what the Will of the Whole is,
+and to work in harmony with it.
+
+Behind each life is the Divine Will and Purpose. Each life is perfect
+as it is imaged in the Universal Mind. The highest success, indeed,
+the only true success, is to live the life according to the great
+Cosmic Purpose, or, in other words, as it is imaged in the One Mind.
+
+Do not imagine, however, that it is the Will of the Universal Mind
+that man should be a failure or lacking in achievement. Far from it,
+for we have only to contemplate the Universe to see that the Infinite
+Mind is for ever achieving and that it never fails. Man, too, must
+succeed, but let him mix wisdom with his ambition, and work for the
+benefit of the Whole, rather than for any purely selfish purpose.
+
+It is natural for man to "get on" in life, to a moderate extent. [6]
+In order to "get on" he must become more efficient, and thus serve
+life and his fellows better. Therefore, there is no harm in success
+of this kind. It is natural and laudable also for one in poor and
+unlovely surroundings to have an ambition to raise himself to better
+circumstances. It is only right that he should desire to make life
+brighter and better for his wife and family. So long as he indulges
+in ambition wisely, and if he seeks success through _better service_
+to his fellows, his is a laudable purpose. If, however, he does not
+curb and control his ambition but allows it to "run away" with him,
+he will lose all real joy in life, and, at the last, when it is too
+late, learn, to his sorrow, that his life, through too much "success,"
+has been a failure.
+
+  [6] It must not be deduced from this that the author deprecates
+      large achievement. There must always be the few who have to
+      bear huge responsibilities. The real success of the lives of
+      these great ones depends entirely upon their MOTIVE. If they
+      seek merely power, fame and self-aggrandisement, then their
+      life, no matter how it may APPEAR otherwise, can be only a
+      failure. If, however, their motive is SERVICE, then their life
+      is truly successful, no matter how it may appear to be
+      otherwise.
+
+The writer's experience has been that it is necessary that we should
+always be progressing, achieving, overcoming and endeavouring to
+succeed. One of the greatest laws of the Universe is progress,
+therefore it is fatal to stand still. We must go forward, we must
+achieve, we must accomplish things. If we do so, we may find that
+many things which cost us much effort, and hard work are not worth
+the having, yet all the time we are learning, through experience,
+and are being strengthened and prepared for greater things. Through
+repeated failure to find true satisfaction we arrive finally at true
+knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are wise then, if, with the
+world at our feet, we can be satisfied with a very moderate material
+success, and turn our attention and aspirations to higher and better
+things.
+
+In concluding this chapter let it be pointed out that success and
+achievement will not drop ready made from heaven into your lap. All
+who succeed are gluttons for work, toiling whilst others play and
+sleep. All teaching to the contrary is erroneous. To think that
+success is going to come to you when it is unmerited, simply because
+you make use of "affirmations" or employ mental "treatments," is folly
+of the first water. On the other hand, to use the inner forces in
+an occult way, so as to compel material things or "success,"
+so-called, in any shape or form, to come to you, is black magic. One
+who stoops to such practices becomes a black magician, earning for
+himself a terrible retribution. There is only one way to succeed in
+the affairs of life, and that is by raising oneself to greater
+usefulness and service. By doing things better than they have been
+done before, by bearing greater responsibility, you serve humanity
+better, and therefore merit success. "It is more blessed to give than
+to receive," said the Master, and this is true even in the practical
+and material affairs of life. First, you must give better and more
+valuable service: in other words, deserve and merit before you expect
+to see it materialize. You must sow before you can reap: you must
+become too big for your present position before you are capable of
+occupying a larger one. You must grow and expand in every possible
+way, and as you grow so will your success increase. Outward success
+is only a reflection, so to speak, of what you really are, and a
+result of greater and more valuable service to humanity. It requires
+great effort and determination to get out of the rut, but so long
+as your ambition is not ignoble or selfish, there will be found within
+you power sufficient for all your needs.
+
+To win success, either in the hurly-burly of life, or the more
+difficult path of spiritual progress, demands imagination, vision,
+courage, faith, determination, persistence, perseverance, hope,
+cheerfulness and other qualities. These are all to be found within.
+All these qualities lie more or less dormant within, and can be called
+into expression if we believe that Infinite Power is ours.
+
+Again, however, must the warning be repeated that this Power must
+not be used for selfish self-aggrandisement, still less may it be
+used, or, rather, mis-used, either to influence or dominate others.
+If this Power is mis-used the results are terrible and disastrous.
+Therefore, use the Power only for the achievement of good and noble
+aims and in service which shall enrich the life of your fellows,
+adding to the common good. Having arrived at this stage you must go
+forward. There can be no holding back. Ever onward, the Divine Urge
+is sending you, to greater achievement and accomplishment. Just as
+surely as the planets must revolve round the sun and fulfil their
+destiny, so also must you go forward. See to it, then, that your aims
+and ambitions are based upon eternal wisdom, for upon this does your
+whole future depend.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+HEALTH.
+
+
+It is impossible, in a little work of this description to explain
+why it is that one person inherits a weak and ailing body and another
+enjoys a strong and robust constitution. Sufficient for us here to
+notice that the days of rude, rugged health are passing, and that
+man is becoming more highly strung, nervous and psychic in his
+make-up. The old type of rude, unconscious health was due to the
+animal-like nature of man, which caused his body to be governed more
+completely by the instinctive mind. Less evolved humans are not
+affected, apparently, by the mental storms, psychic changes, and
+spiritual disharmonies that disturb the health of the more evolved
+types. We have an illustration of this in the case of some forms of
+insanity. The patient "goes out of his mind," with the result that
+his bodily health becomes wonderfully good. The instinctive mind takes
+control of things, and rude, robust animal health is the result. When
+the patient was sane and his mind filled with worry, ambitions, plans,
+cares, lusts, hates and griefs, he was probably very far from well.
+This would be due to the disturbing effects of his thoughts and
+uncontrolled emotions. When, therefore, his conscious mind gave way
+and he became happy in an imbecile way, he ceased to think of these
+disturbing things, with the result that the instinctive, animal mind
+was able to work undisturbed.
+
+It is of no use sighing for "the good old times," when people were
+rugged and strong in the way that savages are rugged and strong, for
+evolution has decreed that man shall change into a higher and more
+nervous and sensitive type. In this sensitive type wrong thoughts
+and emotions quickly produce pain and suffering. The majority of
+people do not know what good health is. Not only do they suffer from
+minor ailments, such as headaches, indigestion, rheumatism, neuritis,
+but they also never feel hearty or completely well. They are strangers
+to the joy of living. Life does not thrill them: nothing quickens
+their blood: they have no moments of vivid ecstasy--in other words,
+they do not live, they merely exist at a poor dying rate.
+
+Again, the majority of people are susceptible to infectious diseases
+and epidemics, yet, if they were really well, they would be immune.
+Instead, however, of seeking immunity through health, they are seeking
+it through the use of vaccines and serums, thus adding to the burdens
+which the body has to bear. All attempts in this direction are bound
+to end in failure, for, as fast as one disease is suppressed another
+one will appear.
+
+Many people look upon disease and sickness as inevitable, yet the
+truth is that health is the normal state and ill-health an
+abnormality. In tracing back ill-health to its source, we find, first
+of all, that it is due to disobedience of natural law. Large numbers
+of people break nearly every known natural law of health, and are
+surprised that they become ill. Yet the wonder is that they are as
+well as they are. Yet, while obedience to nature's laws and the use
+of nature-cure methods will carry us a certain part of the way, we
+find that there must be causes even deeper than those which are
+physical. We are confronted by the fact that there are many people
+who obey every known physical law of health, who bathe, exercise,
+breathe, eat and drink scientifically, who adopt nature-cure methods
+instead of drugs and serums, who yet cannot find health. Therefore
+we must search deeper and go to the mind in order to discover the
+cause of ill-health.
+
+When we look to the mind we find a prolific cause of sickness. Man
+thinks himself into ill-health and disease. It is well known that
+thinking about disease and sickness produces them in the body. People
+who are for ever thinking about disease, illness, operations and other
+morbid subjects, become a prey to these things. Those who believe
+that sickness is inevitable, manifest it in their life. Morbid
+thinking produces a morbid state of the body, causing it either to
+fall an easy prey to infection or to break down into chronic
+ill-health, or even disease. Allowing the thoughts to dwell upon
+morbid things is a sure way to sickness and invalidism.
+
+Man is not only made ill by his own negative thoughts and emotions,
+he is also under the hypnotic spell of the race mind. "The God of
+this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." We are
+all under the spell, more or less, of a huge illusion. The evil,
+disease, sickness and other imperfections that we see and experience,
+have no reality, _in reality_, but have an _existence_ in _unreality_.
+[7] Although they are not real in a real sense, yet they are terribly
+real to this present limited consciousness. By realizing the truth,
+and by thinking and living in its light and power, the hypnotic spell
+becomes broken, not completely, else we should not grow old, but to
+such an extent that a state of greatly improved health can be enjoyed.
+
+  [7] For a fuller explanation of this metaphysical statement see
+      Science of Thought Text Books, Nos. I. and II.
+
+We are also hypnotically affected by suggestion, which reaches us
+from a thousand different sources. The conversations of friends and
+acquaintances, affect us adversely. Their belief in disease and
+sickness as realities, and in its inevitableness, colours all their
+conversation, and, unless we guard against it, this unconsciously
+affects us. Newspapers, magazines, books, all steeped in the same
+error, also influence us unless we have become too positive to be
+affected. From innumerable sources it is subtly suggested to us that
+disease, sickness, infection are realities that cannot be evaded,
+and to which we are prone. The effect of all this, putting it in
+simple and elementary language, is to divert the life power into
+wrong channels, thus producing disease and ill-health in place of
+perfection. The normal state of health has to give place to an
+abnormal state of disease or sickness. The normal health-state is,
+however, restored when Truth is realized, and the life lived in Its
+light and power. Absolute Truth and Perfection stand behind all the
+illusion and imperfection of the sense life. It is by realizing the
+Truth and the perfection of the Reality, and by establishing the
+thought-life in Truth, so that our thoughts cease to be negative and
+based on error and illusion, that health is to be found.
+
+It is often said that ill-health is the result of sin. It is, for
+thinking about disease, sickness and ill-health, believing them to
+be inevitable, is one of the greatest of sins. The way of life is
+to walk (think and act) after the Spirit (which is perfect, whole,
+immortal and incorruptible) and not after the flesh (corruption,
+disease, sickness, death). By thinking "after the flesh" we dishonour
+God who is absolute Wholeness and Perfection, and cut ourselves off
+from the Divine Life and Power.
+
+But there are other ways by which wrong thinking destroys the health.
+Thinking thoughts of lust is a prolific cause of unhappiness, sickness
+and nervous disease. The divine forces of life are directed into a
+wrong channel, resulting either in indulgence and inevitable weakening
+of body, brain and will, or in repression and its consequent nervous
+diseases. If the thoughts are allowed to dwell upon impurity, evil
+results must follow in some form, either in action or ill-health,
+or both. Thought must be controlled and reversed continually. Not
+repressed, but reversed, be it noted, for there is a tremendous
+difference between the two. Repression creates nervous trouble, but
+by reversing or transmuting the thoughts the life becomes transformed,
+and the bodily health greatly improved.
+
+Further, indulging in thoughts of hate, resentment, ill-will, fear,
+worry, care, grief, and anxiety, produces ill-health, and, by lowering
+the tone of the body, lays it open to infection and disease. We
+therefore see that the state of the mind and the character of the
+thoughts are important factors which cannot be ignored. It is useless
+to treat either ill-health or disease if they are merely the external
+_effects_ of hidden causes of the mind. In order to effect a cure
+we have to get back to the cause of the trouble.
+
+Thought control [8] is a great assistance. Substituting a right or
+positive thought for a wrong one, will, in course of time, work
+wonders in the life. In the sub-conscious we have an illimitable power
+of extraordinary intelligence. According to our thoughts this
+wonderful power either builds up health, harmony and beauty in our
+life and body, or just the reverse. The power is good, the
+intelligence is apparently infinite, but it goes where-ever our
+thoughts direct it. By our thinking, therefore, we either create or
+destroy, produce either good or evil. If, therefore, all our thoughts
+are good, positive and constructive, it follows that both our body
+and our life must become built up in harmony and perfection. The
+question is, can this be done? It can be done if we have the desire,
+and are willing to discipline ourselves and persevere in the face,
+often, of seeming failure. Some readers may say, at this point, that
+they have no desire to be so frightfully good, that they are not
+prepared to give up lust, impurity, hate, anger, malice and thoughts
+and emotions of this kind. Very well, if this is so, they must go
+on and learn, through suffering, the lesson which they refuse to learn
+willingly. Others may say: "Yes, I want to control my thoughts, but
+how can I cease to worry when I have so much about which to worry,
+and how can I cease to hate when I have been so deeply wronged?" This
+brings us to an even deeper cause of ill-health than that of mind,
+viz., the attitude of the heart. Our scriptures tell us that "as a
+man thinketh in his _heart_ so is he." By "heart" is meant the soul
+or feeling, desiring part of man. It is here where the conflict
+between the self-will and the Divine Will, between the desires of
+the flesh and the longings of the Spirit take place. The real root
+cause of all unhappiness, disharmony and ill-health is spiritual,
+and not merely mental or physical. The latter are contributory causes,
+but the former is the fundamental cause. Spiritual disharmony is,
+in reality, the cause of all ill-health and disease. Until spiritual
+harmony is restored, man is a kingdom divided against itself, which,
+as our Lord said, cannot stand. Healing, then, must be of a spiritual
+character. Until this harmony exists there can be no overcoming of
+hate thoughts, fear thoughts or worry thoughts, and until these are
+overcome there can be no true healing. Our Lord's healing was a
+gracious healing of the Spirit. It restored inward harmony by
+forgiving sin, by changing the heart's desires, by bringing the will
+of the subject into harmony with the Divine Will of the Whole. Our
+Lord's healing was not accomplished by means of suggestion, neither
+was it achieved by human will power; it was done by a bringing into
+harmony of the heart and desires and will with the Divine Will. At
+the same time there must have been a revelation of the truth that
+the Will of God is love, wholeness, joy and perfection, and not
+disease, sickness and misery.
+
+  [8] See also "The Power of Thought" by the same author, published
+      by The Science of Thought Press, Chichester.
+
+Mental healing does not become possible until we have made our peace
+with God. Until we have surrendered entirely to the love principle,
+we cannot overcome our hate thoughts and malice thoughts or resentment
+thoughts, by transmuting them into thoughts of love. Until we
+surrender to the Divine Will and leave all our problems to the
+Infinite Mind, we cannot cease to worry and fear. Mental discipline
+and thought-control are necessary after this inward change has taken
+place, for we all have to work out our own salvation, but the
+essential thing is the inward heart surrender in love and trust. So
+long as we hate our brother, or fear what the morrow may bring forth,
+or worry about the things of this life, we can never be well. When,
+however, we have become attuned to the Divine Harmony, and have learnt
+to control our thoughts and emotions and to transmute fleshly and
+material desires into loving service, a state of wholeness is the
+inevitable result. Old, deeply-seated disorders die away, and a steady
+improvement in the state of health takes its place.
+
+In order to regain health it is necessary to raise oneself up
+continually to the Divine Ideal of health, harmony and perfection.
+But this is useless if there still remains a clashing of the personal
+will with the Divine Will, or if there is any hate, malice, envy,
+or fear in the heart. The will must be surrendered to the greater
+Will (this, in reality, is our highest good, for the fulfilment of
+the Divine Will is the happy destiny of man): the heart must forgive
+and be filled with love; fear must be cast out, and replaced by
+confidence and complete trust, before we can enter into that happy,
+care-free, restful state which is necessary for healing. Health is
+harmony--a delicate balance and adjustment between spirit, soul, mind
+and body. This harmony is dependent entirely upon the greater harmony
+between ourselves and God. So long as there is a conflict of will,
+so long as there is hate or resentment, so long as there is
+selfishness or while there is fear, this harmony cannot exist.
+Therefore, the bed-rock cause of health is spiritual harmony, all
+healing being a restoration of harmony between man and his Divine
+Source. When this harmony is restored, man is no longer a kingdom
+divided against itself, for he becomes established in _unity_: he
+works with the Universe and the Divine Laws of his being, instead
+of against them. The Divine Life and Power flow through him unimpeded,
+promoting perfect sub-conscious functioning. His thoughts become
+cleansed at their source ("Create in me a clean heart, O God, and
+renew a right spirit within me," "Cleanse Thou me from _secret_
+faults"). He becomes free from the hypnotic spell of the race mind:
+his eyes, through the influence of the Divine Spirit, become opened
+to the Truth; therefore he is no longer blinded by the Prince of this
+world. In the Divine Union he becomes free. (In Christ all are made
+alive).
+
+The subject of grief and its effect upon health has purposely been
+left to the last. No amount of right thinking will prevent
+bereavements in this life. These form part of the necessary discipline
+of life, and it depends entirely upon how we meet our trials whether
+they shall be hurtful or the greatest possible blessing. By rebelling
+against life's discipline, griefs become hurtful, but the hurt is
+not in the bereavement itself, but in the attitude of the mind and
+heart. Until the soul is able to drink the cup of sorrow willingly,
+and say "Thy Will be done," bereavement is hurtful, destroying both
+health and happiness. The cause of the hurt is, however, in the
+hardness of heart, and not in the bereavement itself. There must,
+therefore, be submission and an acknowledgment that the discipline
+is necessary. This does not imply, however, a weak giving-in to grief
+and mourning. One who has been bereaved can never, it is true, be
+the same again, for he or she becomes more chastened, more loving,
+more sympathetic, richer and more mellow in character. The loved one
+can never be forgotten, but that is no reason why the heart should
+be bowed down by grief and the life made desolate by sorrow. In such
+cases true religion, not religiousness, is the only thing that can
+satisfy the soul, harmonize the mind, and heal the body. To be
+established in Truth, knowing that all is well: that God makes no
+mistakes and that there is, in reality, no death but only change,
+is the only way by which bereavement can be made to be a blessing
+in disguise. When this stage is reached, grief is overcome, death
+being swallowed up in victory. The only panacea for all life's
+troubles is conscious harmony with our Divine Source and the Divine
+Will and Purpose which desire only our highest good.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE SECRET OF ABUNDANT SUPPLY.
+
+
+It is a metaphysical truth that the outward life is a reflection of
+the thought life. Our life is affected by our habit of thinking and
+attitude of mind, in two ways: first, all our actions are
+unconsciously influenced by our thoughts, thus helping to bring into
+manifestation, or attracting to us, an environment that corresponds
+to our thoughts. [9] Secondly, we discharge or emit an influence,
+silent and invisible, that no doubt affects other people. They are
+probably not aware of it, but they are either repelled or attracted
+by this silent influence. Thus, if our thoughts and mental attitude
+are of the wrong type, not only are our actions affected thereby,
+but also we exert a silent influence that assists in driving the right
+type of friends, opportunity, success and every possible good away
+from us. The reverse also is equally true. By right thoughts and a
+correct mental attitude we naturally attract to us all the good of
+which our present life is capable.
+
+  [9] This may seem, at first sight, to be a sweeping statement, but
+      two homely illustrations will prove its reasonableness. First
+      we will take the case of a man committed to prison for
+      law-breaking. His environment is obviously due to his wrong
+      actions, the latter being the offspring of his thoughts, for
+      all actions spring from thoughts. Next let us take the case
+      of a man who is the trusted head of an efficient business.
+      Obviously his position is the result of his actions, for he
+      has climbed to it by hard work and faithful service, all due
+      in the first place to constructive thinking and a right attitude
+      of mind.
+
+The Bible tells us that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. It
+is equally true to say that as a man _is_, so does he _think_, and,
+that as he thinks, so do his outer life and circumstances become.
+Therefore, as a man _is_, so is his environment. This may sound rather
+metaphysical, but it is really quite simple, and proof meets us at
+every turn. Take a man from slumdom and put him in nice surroundings,
+and note what happens. Very soon he either drifts back to a slum or
+turns his new house into a slum dwelling. Take a man of a higher type,
+and put him in a slum, and soon he will either leave the slum or
+change his slum dwelling into a more decent habitation. Put a slut
+in a mansion, and she will turn it into a pig-sty, but put a woman
+of a higher type in a hovel and she will make it clean enough to
+entertain royalty. Therefore, before you can change a person's
+environment it is necessary to change inwardly the person himself.
+When a man becomes inwardly changed and filled with new ambitions,
+ideals and hopes, he, in course of time, rises above his sordid
+surroundings and _attracts to himself an environment that corresponds
+to his new state of mind_. It would be useless to tidy up the house
+of a slut for her, for she would soon make it like a pig-sty again,
+but if you could get a new ideal of neatness, cleanliness, order and
+spotlessness into her mind, she would not rest satisfied until her
+immediate environment corresponded, in some measure at least, to her
+mental ideal or image.
+
+Very often, the failures of a man's life, and its disharmonies and
+poverty, either comparative or real, are outward symbols of his
+weakness of character. He may have ability in plenty, but he may lack
+application or steadfastness, and thus he fails in all his
+undertakings, and has to be kept by his wife and daughters. He will
+assure you that his circumstances are due to ill-fortune, but the
+actual cause of his failure is in his character, or, rather, lack
+of character.
+
+If, therefore, a man's poverty and lack, or financial difficulties
+are due to weakness of character which manifest in his work and
+dealings with others, in the form of inefficiency, poor service and
+bad judgment, it follows that he, himself, must change before his
+circumstances can be permanently altered for the better. The
+difficulty in dealing with unsuccessful people is in getting them
+to realize that they, themselves, are the cause of all their troubles.
+[10] Until, however, they do realize this, their case is hopeless,
+and it is impossible to help them, but when they acknowledge that
+the fault is theirs, they can be shown that there is a remedy for
+their ills and a way out of their difficulties, by means of
+self-improvement. Let them then search for hidden weaknesses, and
+build up those weak places in their character, such as lack of grit,
+determination, steadfastness, persistence, patience, probity,
+decision, which are the cause of their troubles, and they will find
+that their circumstances will gradually change for the better.
+Everything comes from within--first within, then out, this is the
+law--therefore the change must always take place within.
+
+ [10] See also "The Fundamentals of True Success," by the same author
+      and published by The Science of Thought Press, Chichester.
+
+Going more deeply into the subject and becoming more metaphysical,
+it is necessary to point out that the cause of all manifestation is
+Mind. We have already seen that a man's mind and character are
+reflected in his circumstances; now let us think, for a moment, about
+the Mind that is Infinite. The whole universe, which is, of course,
+infinite in extent, has its origin in the Divine Mind, and _is
+contained within this Infinite Mind_, just in the same way that you
+can hold a mental picture in your own mind. God's Universe, _as it
+is imaged in the Divine Mind_, is perfect. We see it as imperfect,
+because we only receive a finite sense-perception of that which is
+perfect and infinite, from this forming, in our minds, an image that
+is necessarily imperfect and finite, which we project outwards, and,
+not knowing any better, think is real. But the universe, _as imaged
+in the Divine Mind_, and as it actually is in reality, is both
+infinite and perfect: it is also infinitely perfect. There is no
+poverty or lack in a universe that is infinitely perfect, whole and
+complete in the Divine Mind. Poverty and lack have their origin in
+the mind of man: they have no place in the Mind of God.
+
+We cannot, in a little elementary work of this kind, go more deeply
+into this extremely fascinating subject. Sufficient if we say here
+that the only Reality is infinite perfection and wholeness, therefore
+there cannot be any lack at all (in reality). The obvious lack and
+poverty that we see around us are the product of the human mind. Those
+who live in a consciousness of poverty and lack, go through life
+closely fettered by limitation. They can never escape from poverty,
+it dogs their footsteps like their shadow. In fact, it is a shadow
+or reflection, in the outer life, of their state of mind and mental
+attitude.
+
+On the other hand, those who live in a consciousness of sufficiency,
+are not troubled about supply. Their circumstances reflect their type
+of mind and mental attitude. It does not follow that they will be
+rich, for many of them prefer to live from hand to mouth, and quite
+large numbers of people have no desire whatever to possess wealth
+of any kind, but they have no worry about supply, for their needs
+are always met by sufficiency.
+
+Many of our readers look upon the possession of wealth as an iniquity.
+Personally, I do not see how, at this stage, it can be altogether
+avoided. Capital is necessary for the conducting of business and for
+the carrying out of enterprises, but, as far as the hoarding of wealth
+is concerned, I certainly think that it is both unwise and
+unnecessary. There is nothing more deadening to the spiritual life
+than riches. There is always hope for the drunkard and the harlot,
+but it is most difficult although, of course, not impossible, for
+one who is burdened by wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven. Some
+are able to do so, but they are allowed to enter simply because they
+hold their wealth as of no importance, merely as something of which
+they are stewards for a season.
+
+The hoarding of wealth is just as unnecessary as poverty. They are
+both based upon a fundamental error. This error is in thinking that
+all supply, being material, must necessarily have a material source:
+that it is limited in quantity, and therefore must be grabbed at and
+fought over. The truth is, of course, that the source of supply is
+Spiritual, and therefore without limit; consequently, one who realizes
+the truth has no thoughts of poverty or lack, and ceases to fear it.
+On the other hand, he has no incentive to hoard or to grab wealth,
+for of what use are riches to one whose supply is for ever assured?
+
+All who enter into this truth regarding supply, either despise riches
+or hold them very lightly indeed. They cease to have any desire for
+wealth. Why should they have any such desire? People hanker after
+wealth because they fear poverty with a deadly fear, and long for
+wealth because they think that its possession would release them from
+their fears. When, however, they know the truth, they also KNOW that
+their wants will always be supplied, therefore they no longer desire
+wealth and its cares and responsibilities.
+
+Wealth is just as abnormal as poverty. Our Lord showed this to be
+the case by choosing to be poor (but not in poverty) and by His
+teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. What Jesus promised was adequate
+supply, but not wealth or riches, to those who had sufficient faith
+in their "Heavenly Father." Many people live this planless life of
+utter dependence upon their Spiritual Source. They never become rich,
+but all their needs are supplied. Something always arrives in time
+to meet their requirements. Such a life requires a very live and
+active faith, but its results are as certain as the rising of the
+sun.
+
+An understanding of the truth regarding supply is a necessary
+foundation for the faith without which the planless life is
+impossible. It is necessary to _know_ the utter falseness and
+unreality of poverty and lack before we can trust in Divine Providence
+or the working of Spiritual (at the same time, mental) law. It is
+necessary to know that the universe is Spiritual: that God is Spirit,
+in whom we live and move and have our being, and that because we are
+a part, very small, but yet a part, of the Whole, all our wants, all
+through the ages, must be supplied. Supply, sufficient for all our
+needs, is the reality. Poverty and lack, the product of lack of faith,
+of fear, of ignorance, of weakness of character, have their origin
+in the human mind, and are the unreality--the negative which has no
+permanence or reality.
+
+When we have learnt the truth, it is necessary to live in the
+Consciousness of it, and to think and act and praise God as though
+sufficiency were already ours. Not to spend money that we cannot
+afford to spend, nor to incur debt, but to live mentally in an
+atmosphere of abundant supply. We have to remember that the change
+in consciousness must take place first and become well-established,
+before its effects can be seen to manifest in the outer life.
+
+The entering of this higher consciousness where we know and realize
+the truth, viz., that the Source of all our supply is Spirit, and
+that the Divine Source is limitless, is not easy, although it is less
+difficult to some than to others. It demands constant mental activity
+and watchfulness: it requires persistence and perseverance in right
+thinking, yet it is possible to those who are in earnest. By living
+in the consciousness of God's Supply and exercising a lively faith,
+the life becomes affected, principally due to both conscious and
+unconscious change of action.
+
+Having dealt with the esoteric or inner side of the subject of supply,
+I will now treat it more from the outer or practical side, the latter
+being, of course, just as important as the former.
+
+The teaching of this chapter does not discourage industry and thrift,
+far from it. After the Lord Christ had fed the five thousand, all
+the leavings were carefully collected so that nothing should be
+wasted. This is in accord with Universal law. There is a law of
+economy both in the natural and spiritual worlds. Nature appears,
+on the surface, to be very wasteful and prodigal, but, actually, she
+never wastes anything, if it can be avoided. Therefore, the action
+of the disciples was in accord with universal law. What a lesson for
+us! To be careful and saving is a mark of superiority both in mind
+and character. The wastefulness of the helpless poor is notorious.
+Those who are "well to do" are far more careful and conserving than
+the very poor. There are exceptions, it is true, but the rule is that
+a man who cannot save money has not it in him to command success in
+life. Inability to deny himself certain things shows a weakness of
+character and lack of purpose which make success impossible. Two men
+that I knew very well built fortunes upon P5, which they saved out
+of meagre earnings. It is always the start that is difficult: if you
+cannot overcome the preliminary difficulties you have not the
+steadfast purpose to hold your own in the battle of life. On the other
+hand, once the initial difficulties have been overcome, it is not
+difficult to get your barque into the currents of prosperity. When
+once you realize that there is unlimited abundance in which you can
+share: when once you learn to live in the consciousness of this
+abundance, at the same time living within your present income and
+doing your present work as well as it is possible for it to be done,
+you have set out on the path to affluence. One who realizes and really
+believes that there is abundance and plenty for _him_, puts into
+operation a powerful law which will surely bring opportunity to him,
+sooner or later. Many, however, ruin their hopes by not knowing that
+for a time they must live a kind of double life. They must be opulent
+in consciousness, but careful and thrifty in actual practice. The
+time will come when their means will largely increase, then, if they
+are wise, they will live on part of their income, instead of living
+up to it. This will give them a wide margin for charitable purposes,
+for the taking up of further opportunities and for extensions. Many
+business men have to let golden opportunities pass, simply because
+they have saved little or nothing, owing to lavish private
+expenditure, or they have to let other people in to share their
+schemes who, in addition to taking a large share of the profits may
+prove a serious handicap and hindrance in other ways.
+
+While in its essence, the Source of Supply is spiritual, it comes
+to us through material channels, and, in order to have a share in
+it, it is necessary to earn it. We have to give something in exchange
+for what we draw from life in the way of supply. We must give in order
+to receive, and what we give must be something that the world wants
+or needs.
+
+The secret of supply is, then, to realize that there is unlimited
+abundance and to live in the consciousness of it, as completely as
+though no material channels existed, and, at the same time, to work
+as zealously and be as careful as though there were no such thing
+as spiritual supply. At the same time we must give the world something
+that it wants, or otherwise serve in some useful capacity, exercising
+honesty, probity and justice in all our affairs. It is folly to expect
+abundance to drop ready-made in our lap; it must be earned by
+intelligent and faithful service. [11]
+
+ [11] This subject is treated fully in "The Fundamentals of True
+      Success," by the same author. Published by The Science of
+      Thought Press, Chichester.
+
+Being a retired business man who started life with nothing, not even
+good health, I have looked at this subject from a business man's point
+of view. The principle applies, however, to every walk in life, and
+each reader can adapt the teaching of this lesson to his or her
+particular needs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND.
+
+
+The sub-conscious mind is the mind of Nature. It possesses
+extraordinary powers and intelligence, but no inspiration. It is
+instinctive: it is animal: it is natural: but there is nothing
+god-like about it--it is of the earth and the physical plane. It can
+be described as the inner forces of Nature resident within our body.
+Having said this we have said nearly all there is to be said about
+the sub-conscious, yet this is the mind of which some people have
+made a veritable god.
+
+The sub-conscious mind, if led aright, is a very good friend, reducing
+all repeated thoughts and actions into habit, which, in time, become
+settled and part of the very life itself. Thus, by conscious right
+thinking and conscious right action, a good habit is formed, which
+becomes, in course of time, practically automatic. This, of course,
+builds up the character, which, in turn, affects the life. It will
+be seen then, how important is the right use of this willing and
+faithful servant. It is no god, it has no inspiration, but it is a
+very useful servant, as we shall see.
+
+Most of our actions or movements are done or made sub-consciously.
+The reason that "practice makes perfect" is that the sub-conscious
+mind learns to do the task, and, by so doing, takes it off our hands.
+How difficult it is to learn to drive a motor-car. How carefully,
+at first, we have to double de-clutch and obtain the right engine
+speed for a noiseless "change," yet, after a time, the whole action
+is performed sub-consciously. It is the same with pianoforte playing.
+Many players, some better than others, can play the most difficult
+classical music without _consciously_ recalling it to mind. As soon
+as they _try to remember_ the whole "piece" leaves them, but as long
+as they leave the whole matter to the sub-conscious (which never
+forgets) they can keep on playing. I and my conscious mind are not
+doing much of the actual writing of this book. We think the thoughts
+and have something to do with the formation of the sentences, but
+the sub-conscious mind writes them down. If I had to think of each
+word and letter, my task would be hopeless, and I should become half
+dead with fatigue.
+
+The sub-conscious mind, however, is even more helpful, for it does
+the bulk of our thinking, and can be taught to do a great deal more.
+If we had to think everything out laboriously, according to the laws
+of logic, life would be unbearable. Instead of this our sub-conscious
+mind does the bulk or our thinking, and, if we give it a chance, will
+do it in an extremely accurate manner, strictly according to the laws
+of logic and _without the slightest fatigue_. The more that we train
+the sub-conscious to do our ordinary thinking for us, the less we
+suffer from fatigue. Fatigue is unknown to the sub-conscious mind,
+therefore we can never tire it or overwork it.
+
+The sub-conscious mind can be made to do more and more work for us
+if we will delegate definite work for it to deal with. One who has
+learnt thought control, who can take up a matter, consider it in all
+its bearings, and then dismiss the subject from his conscious thought,
+is able to increase his efficiency a hundred per cent., and reduce
+his mental fatigue almost to vanishing point. Instead of laboriously
+working out his problems and worrying and scheming over them, he
+simply dismisses them to his sub-conscious mind to be dealt with by
+a master mind which works unceasingly, with great rapidity, extreme
+accuracy and entirely without effort. It is necessary, however, to
+give the sub-conscious every available information, for it possesses
+no inspiration or super-human wisdom, but works out logically,
+according to the facts supplied to it.
+
+This great, natural, untiring "mind downstairs," as it has been
+called, is also capable of doing even more useful work still. A writer
+or speaker, or preacher can collect notes and ideas for his article,
+book, speech or sermon, and pass them down to his sub-conscious mind
+with orders that they be arranged in suitable order, division,
+sub-division and so on. When he comes either to write or prepare the
+notes of his speech or sermon, he will find all the work done for
+him, and all that he has to do is to write it down, entirely without
+effort or fatigue.
+
+Again, a business man who has learnt to make use of his sub-conscious
+mind in this way, need not juggle or worry or fatigue himself by
+planning and scheming for the future. All that he need do is to submit
+the facts to the "greater mind downstairs," and all the planning will
+be done for him, entirely without effort, and far more efficiently
+than he would have done it through laborious conscious thinking.
+
+The following, which has just been brought to my notice, is a striking
+confirmation of the teaching of this chapter.
+
+In a recent issue of _Collier's Magazine_, an interview with Henry
+Ford appeared. He spoke of the way with which big business men deal
+with problems, and pointed out that they did not spend a lot of time
+pondering and puzzling over plans or ideas. He said: "An idea comes
+to us: we think of it for a little while, and then _we put it in the
+pot to boil_. We let it simmer for a time, and then take it out."
+What Henry Ford means, of course, is precisely what we have been
+saying, viz., that the idea or problem is dismissed to the
+sub-conscious mind, which works it out, and presents it to the
+conscious mind for judgment.
+
+Yet again, an inventor or one who is constructing something
+mechanical, can make use of the sub-conscious mind in precisely the
+same way. Let him sum up the whole problem, arrange all his facts
+and available information, and pass them all to his sub-conscious
+mind, when, if a successful result is within the range of possibility,
+an answer or idea will be forthcoming. All this being done, mark you,
+without any effort whatever.
+
+All this may seem, especially to some readers, rather wonderful and
+far-fetched, yet there is nothing occult or mysterious about it. I
+am perfectly sure that there is no great writer, politician or
+business man who does not make use of his sub-conscious mind in this
+way. He probably does so unconsciously, but his procedure is the same.
+Some employ the whole of their mind naturally. These become men of
+achievement, who occupy responsible positions, and who bear immense
+burdens without strain, worry or care. Responsibility sits lightly
+upon them, and they are serene and untroubled when in positions, and
+when confronted by tasks and difficulties, such as would drive an
+ordinary individual out of his mind. Such men develop their powers
+of attention and concentration (anyone who is in earnest can do this)
+to a very high degree. They are at great pains to get to the root
+of a problem, and obtain all the available data possible, but, after
+that, it is their sub-conscious mind that does all the work, and which
+arrives at a decision.
+
+While it comes natural to a few to use their sub-conscious mind in
+the correct way, the majority of people find themselves unable to
+do so. Such, however, can acquire the art by training. First, it is
+necessary to learn thought-control, so as to be able to take up a
+problem or dismiss it entirely from the mind _at will_. When a problem
+is passed on to the sub-conscious to be worked out, the subject must
+be dismissed entirely from the conscious mind. The problem must not
+be worried over, nor the thoughts allowed to dwell upon it; it must
+be left entirely to the sub-conscious. Second, every possible detail
+and information connected with the problem must be grasped by the
+conscious mind, and the whole matter, pro and con, visualized before
+being passed to the sub-conscious. It will be seen, then, that
+thought-control of a high order is necessary, also powers of attention
+and concentration. These can all be developed by anyone who is really
+in earnest.
+
+A good way of starting the use of the sub-conscious mind is to hold
+the problem in the mind just as one is going to sleep. There must
+not, upon any account, be any attempt made to solve the problem or
+to worry over it. Instead, the main facts of the case, on both sides,
+must be marshalled, and the case presented to the sub-conscious mind
+in much the same way as you would place it before your lawyer. Having
+done this, dismiss the whole matter to your sub-conscious mind, and
+in most cases you will find in the morning that a solution has been
+arrived at without any effort or fatigue on your part.
+
+This, of course, is only one of the many ways in which the
+sub-conscious mind can, and does, serve its master, or the one who
+should be master. This great invisible force of Nature is for ever
+working. Whatever ideal is held in the mind becomes woven into the
+life through the tireless working of the sub-conscious mind. Only
+set your attention upon high and lofty achievement, and you will focus
+all the invisible inward forces of Nature upon its accomplishment.
+In course of time you will reap as you sow. If you will direct your
+attention into the right channel, backing it up with energetic,
+conscious action, your sub-conscious will help you day and night,
+thus making success and achievement possible.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE USE OF THE SPIRITUAL OR SUPER-CONSCIOUS MIND.
+
+
+We have already seen that the sub-conscious mind, wonderful though
+it be, is instinctive merely, lacking inspiration and what we call
+originality.
+
+All inspiration comes from the Universal Mind, via the super-conscious.
+All poets and inspired writers get their inspiration in this way.
+This higher mind is not recognized by Psychologists, but it has long
+been known to searchers for spiritual truth.
+
+What we get from the sub-conscious is the outcome of facts and
+knowledge supplied to it. What we get from the super-conscious is
+direct inspiration from higher planes. This higher mind might also
+be called the Mind of Illumination, for those who can enter into it
+become illumined, being able to know the Truth and to see things as
+they really are, and not as they falsely appear to the senses.
+
+This limited consciousness in which we live is bounded by our five
+senses. The universe that we see around us is partly real and partly
+an illusion. The real universe is Spiritual and infinite: what we
+sense is a limited, partial conception of a fragment of it. Our
+limited, finite conception of the universe is entirely misleading
+and erroneous, and so long as we rely on sense evidence and the human
+mind, we remain in darkness and uncertainty. When, however, we can
+rise into the super-conscious realm, our consciousness expands,
+transcending the senses and the limitations of the physical plane.
+
+The Spiritual mind is, of course, only accessible to those who are
+more delicately attuned to its finer vibrations. Nothing that is worth
+having can be had without effort, and it is only after much
+self-discipline that it becomes possible for the student to raise
+his consciousness to this higher realm and understand life from the
+standpoint of the Universal Mind.
+
+There is nothing, either mystical or psychical, about the use of this
+higher mind. One who makes use of it becomes spiritually-minded, that
+is all. He does not go into trances, nor need he become clairvoyant:
+he simply remains a sane, normal individual, with this difference
+only--he makes use of more of his mind than does the ordinary
+individual.
+
+One who is able to use this higher mind develops that which has been
+termed "the divine quality of originality." If ever a person is to
+rise above the dead level of mediocrity it must be through direct
+inspiration from higher planes, through his super-conscious mind.
+If ever a person is to bring forth a new idea which shall enrich
+humanity and add to the common good, it must come through the higher
+mind.
+
+One who is properly attuned, becomes, through the super-conscious
+mind, a recipient of knowledge that is above human, and wisdom that
+is divine. He knows by direct knowing: he becomes wise through an
+influx of Divine Wisdom. He is able to distinguish between the real
+and the sham, between the gold and the dross: he is also able to see
+and recognize the right path in life--a thing utterly impossible to
+the mind of the senses--and to tread it, thus being led into the only
+true success and real good of which his life is capable.
+
+Let it be said here that all Wisdom must come from within. While
+books and the written word may be helpful, it is the Spirit within
+the reader that illumines the word, and makes it real and true to
+the seeker after Wisdom. One who realizes that he is illumined within
+by the Divine Spirit, and that this alone can bring him into real
+knowledge is well advanced on the path that leads to realization.
+
+The wisdom of the human mind always leads to disappointment. It is
+based on the evidence of the senses, which is erroneous, therefore
+its findings must always be lacking in _real_ wisdom. One who relies
+upon the inspiration of Divine Wisdom has often to decide to take
+a course of action which, apparently, is opposed to his best
+interests. Yet, if he follows the inward Wisdom, he finds that he
+is always guided aright, and, later, has cause to be devoutly thankful
+that he followed the gleam.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CHARACTER BUILDING AND THE OVERCOMING OF HABIT.
+
+
+Character building is the greatest object in life. It has been said
+that character is the only thing we can take with us when we depart
+this life. This is perfectly true, therefore the object of all
+religion (not religiousness), mental training and development should
+be the building of character. A religion that does not build up
+character is worthless. Those who think that they can "flop" through
+life, avoid, as far as possible, its discipline, make no effort to
+improve their character, and through believing in a certain creed
+can miraculously become perfect, simply by dying, are deceiving
+themselves. We do not become "perfect," _i.e._, of a strong and
+perfect character, either by believing in a creed or through dying,
+but by attainment. God helps those who help themselves, and those
+people who will not strive after better things cut themselves off
+from all the glorious and wonderful possibilities of attainment.
+
+Before, however, thinking about such lofty things as entering the
+Path of Attainment, and becoming changed into, and modelled after
+the Divine Image, the average person may wish to know how to overcome
+bad habits and weaknesses of character which are keeping him down
+in life, and, possibly, undermining his health. Most people are
+conscious of some wrong habits that ought to be overcome, and
+weaknesses of character which should be eradicated. Possibly they
+have fought against their habits or weaknesses for years, prayed until
+they are tired of praying, made innumerable attempts at turning over
+a new leaf, yet all in vain, for they are as firmly in the toils as
+ever. Many people give up the struggle and endeavour to lead a sort
+of Jekyll and Hyde existence, being outwardly a Christian or righteous
+person, but inwardly something quite different. Yet they find no
+satisfaction in this dual life, for they know that they are drifting
+towards an abyss.
+
+Yet there is a way of escape that is open to all. The Infinite One
+has provided man with powers that are apparently unlimited: powers
+which can be used either to build up the life and character or to
+destroy them. These powers are those of the sub-conscious mind. This
+mind is a reservoir of unlimited, tireless forces, and becomes, if
+we use it aright, our best friend, or, if we mis-use it, our worst
+enemy.
+
+Every time a bad action is indulged in, wonderful changes take place
+in the nervous system, and energy becomes stored up in certain cells,
+so as to make it easier to do the wrong act on a future occasion.
+It is equally true that every time a good action is done, similar
+changes, but in a reverse direction, take place, that make the doing
+of the same action easier in the future. This explains the tremendous
+power of habit. Our body, brain and nervous system become changed,
+either for the worse or the better, according to the type of action
+indulged in.
+
+We do not yet fully realize what a wonderful adventure life is. We
+are entrusted with tremendous powers, and by their use or mis-use
+we can either destroy ourselves or build up our character in every
+possible direction. What a responsibility, yet what a glorious
+opportunity!
+
+In order, however, to find a way of escape from evil habit and
+weaknesses of character, we must go deeper than actual deeds, for
+actions are effects of hidden causes. The cause of all action is
+thought. A thought, someone has said, is an action in the process
+of being born. It is true that we possess primitive desires and
+impulses, but these can be transmuted into noble actions and high
+achievement simply by directing the thoughts and attention to higher
+and better things. For instance, the powers of sex become transmuted
+into brain power if the thoughts and attention are completely
+transferred from sex to intellectual pursuits. If, however, the
+thoughts are allowed to dwell upon sex or passion, then the kingdom
+becomes divided against itself, and man begins to drift towards the
+abyss. The strain of modern life is filling our asylums, yet there
+are those who can work fifteen or even eighteen hours a day and thrive
+on it, although engaged in severely-trying brain work. These have
+learnt to transmute their lower powers into higher. This is not done
+by means of esoteric or occult practices, but by obeying the Divine
+Injunction to set our affections on things above. In other words,
+to keep our thoughts and attention fixed upon higher and better aims,
+ambitions and pursuits.
+
+It is impossible to overcome bad habits by fighting them, for the
+more we fight them the stronger they become. The injunction to "resist
+not evil" is very applicable to habit. The way of escape is not by
+fighting evil or wrong habit, no matter what its character may be,
+but by concentrating upon building a good habit that shall cut the
+ground from under the feet of the bad one, or by turning the attention
+to higher and better things.
+
+Whatever we fix our attention upon, or whatever it is that we
+idealize, our sub-conscious mind endeavours to actualize and make
+real in our life. By fighting a habit we direct sub-conscious
+attention to it, and this is fatal. If, however, we turn our whole
+attention to something entirely different and which is higher and
+better, all the powers of the sub-conscious are directed towards the
+production, in the life and body, of the new object of attention.
+
+We see, therefore, that we do not have to overcome habit. If we did
+our task would be hopeless, for the human will is helpless before
+the power of the sub-conscious mind. The sub-conscious powers can
+be led by the imagination, but they cannot be coerced by the will.
+The will must be used not to fight the habit, but in raising and
+directing the attention to something higher and better. By this means
+a new habit is formed. The attention of the sub-conscious mind is
+taken away from the bad habit, and all its powers directed towards
+the creation of a new and better one. The sub-conscious does not care
+what the habit is. It is indifferent as to whether it is good or bad.
+It is just as willing to produce a good habit as a bad one. We, each
+of us, therefore, hold our fate in our own hands. We can, by
+controlling our thoughts and imagination and by directing our
+attention to better things, focus all the powers of the sub-conscious
+on the building up of good habits, or, on the other hand, we can,
+by allowing our thoughts and mental pictures to dwell upon undesirable
+things and our attention to be directed to low or weak ideals, fall
+into undesirable habits. The power that produces the habits is the
+same in each case; it is the way in which this power is directed that
+is the vital and essential thing.
+
+It is very necessary to point out that right thinking and correct
+use of the imagination must be accompanied by corresponding right
+action. Many people make use of auto-suggestion and expect it to
+destroy their bad habits and build up better ones, but it never will,
+or can do so, unaided. Auto-suggestion is useless if it is not
+followed by constructive action. Young people should expend their
+energies in physical culture and games. Older people should interest
+themselves in hobbies and intellectual pursuits. It is only advanced
+students who can control their thoughts so that they can govern their
+life forces by mental means. Those less advanced, when attacked by
+evil or weak thoughts, must get up and _do_ something quite different,
+and thus get their minds off the forbidden subject and interested
+in the new object of attention. It is a case of directing the desires
+and life forces into different channels, by controlling the thoughts
+and attention. Here is seen the value of true religion, for it brings
+fresh ideals into the life and directs the attention to higher and
+better things. The writer realizes that a change must take place in
+the heart of the individual before he can desire these better things.
+When, however, this change has taken place, the battle has only just
+begun, for each one has to work out his own salvation.
+
+At first, then, most people will find it necessary to do something
+in order to attract their attention and guide their thoughts to
+something quite different from the forbidden subject. Later on,
+however, when they become more advanced in the science of right
+thinking, they will be able to direct their thoughts into any desired
+direction. This necessitates constant vigilance. Each thought has
+to be carefully scrutinized before being allowed to pass the threshold
+of the mind. By reversing every negative or unworthy or ignoble
+thought into its opposite, a change is wrought in the brain and
+nervous system. The cells formerly used for wrong thinking and for
+the production of wrong action go out of use as new cells are brought
+into use for the production of right action.
+
+This stage leads to one higher still, when it becomes a settled habit
+to reverse bad thoughts into good ones and perform right actions
+instead of bad or weak ones. The power of the sub-conscious mind,
+which at one time seemed so evil, produces right action more or less
+automatically. When once the habit of cleaning the teeth is
+established there is experienced an uncomfortable feeling until they
+have been attended to. When once a dirty person has learnt to wash
+himself thoroughly and keep himself decent, he will feel uncomfortable
+if he gets dirty. The same rule applies in the more important things
+and habits of life. If those who are in the bondage of habit will
+only direct their thoughts and attention to the building up of good
+habits, their old weaknesses will die a natural death.
+
+It must not be thought that the victory over life-long habits is easy.
+It may seem so at first, but sooner or later temptation will come
+with added force, which may result in a sad fall. If this should
+happen it is most important that too much attention should not be
+paid to the incident. Instead, the beginner should pick himself up,
+and, making a mental note of the immediate cause of his downfall,
+thus benefiting by the experience, press on again towards freedom.
+It is most helpful to realize that not only is the sub-conscious mind
+willing to be guided aright, if we will only persevere long enough
+(until persevering itself becomes a habit), but that we also have
+behind us all the Spiritual powers of God. The Infinite One sees to
+it that the odds are not overwhelmingly against us. Our difficulties
+are not insuperable, although they may appear to be so. We can always
+win through if we faint not. Heaven looks on with sympathetic interest
+and rejoices with the struggler when he succeeds, and mourns with
+him when he fails. The struggle is a stiff one, for it is only by
+this that the seeker after God can become strong in character, but
+the victory can always be won. When the situation appears hopeless,
+let the struggling one remember that there is a way of escape
+somewhere, and that God, who is his freedom and deliverer, will reveal
+it to him if he faints not. If all who seek deliverance will realize
+that the Power of the Infinite is on their side, and that they are
+bound to become victors if they will only keep on, they must succeed.
+And what a joy is theirs! There is no happiness quite like that which
+comes to one who has fought the good fight and overcome habit and
+weaknesses of character.
+
+May every reader experience this supreme joy of overcoming.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+HAPPINESS AND JOY.
+
+
+Deep down in every heart is an unquenchable desire for happiness. The
+advanced soul desires happiness just as much as the pleasure-seeking
+worldling, the difference between them is simply that the former,
+through knowledge and experience, does not search for happiness,
+knowing that it can never be found by direct seeking, but finds it
+through service and love to others and in victory over self; while
+the latter seeks happiness, like a will-o'-the-wisp, in every form
+of pleasure, and finds it not.
+
+Man is never satisfied with his life: he is for ever seeking something
+that is better. Until he learns wisdom, he looks for it in pleasure,
+in sense gratification of various kinds, in wealth, luxury and
+possession. The less evolved a man is the more convinced he is that
+happiness can be gained in these ways, and the lower are his desires.
+For instance, those who form what is called the underworld of our
+cities, seek happiness in vice and debauchery. Those who are more
+evolved seek pleasure in more refined things, hoping to find happiness
+in intellectual pursuits, friendships, and in pure human loves. These
+more evolved types get much more pleasure through the senses than
+do those who are more elemental, but they are capable also of greater
+and more acute suffering. They can derive great pleasure from a
+picture gallery, whereas a savage would see nothing interesting at
+all: they can also suffer from things which a savage would not be
+capable of feeling. Yet, in spite of this developed refinement and
+ability to derive pleasure from art, science, literature, etc.,
+happiness is still as far off as ever. All attempts at finding
+happiness lead finally to "emptiness." There is no satisfaction,
+either in wealth and all that it can command, getting on in life,
+or in fame and power. They allure at first and promise happiness,
+but they fail us, and finally are seen to be but vanity and vexation
+of spirit.
+
+This desire for happiness is good, for it leads us through innumerable
+experiences so that the soul can realize, by practical experience,
+the emptiness of all self-seeking, and thus learn wisdom. After
+running the whole gamut of experience the soul learns at last that
+happiness is not something that can be found by seeking it, but is
+an inward mental state.
+
+Although work, well done, brings a quiet sense of satisfaction, and
+success in one's career may also be a source of gratification for
+a short time, yet even these cannot satisfy the deep longing of the
+soul.
+
+Happiness, however, is to be found in service. Not if we seek
+happiness in service, and serve in order to be happy, but if we serve
+others for the sake of serving we find the only happiness that will
+endure and satisfy.
+
+One has only to observe the lives of those who are always selfishly
+seeking and grabbing, who are hard in their dealings, and always
+"looking after number one," in order to see how impossible it is for
+self-seekers to be happy. It does not matter whether they acquire
+riches or remain poor--they are equally unhappy. In contrast to this,
+you have only to go out of your way to do a kind and perfectly
+disinterested action and experience the glow of sheer happiness that
+it brings, in order to realize that you are dealing with a law of
+life that is as sure and unalterable as the law of gravitation.
+
+There must be a purpose in life, and this must have for its object
+the betterment of the lives of others, either few or many. The law
+of service must be obeyed, otherwise there can be no happiness. This
+may fill some readers with dismay, for they may be employed in an
+occupation that apparently does no good to anybody. They may feel
+that if they were engaged in some noble enterprise for the uplift
+of humanity, then they could truly serve, but in their present
+occupation this is impossible. To think thus is very natural, yet
+the truth is we can all obey the law of service, and can begin now,
+in our present occupation, no matter what it may be. We have only
+to do our daily work, not as a task which must be "got through," in
+order to bring us a living, or because it is expected of us that we
+should work, but as an offering of love to life and the world, in
+order to come into harmony with the great law of service. Our ideas
+of values with regard to occupations are altogether erroneous, from
+the "inner wisdom" point of view. The scrubbing of a doorstep, if
+faithfully done in a true spirit of service, is of as much value and
+real importance as the writing of a deathless poem, or dying for one's
+country. We can never truthfully say that one act of service is of
+greater value, or is more important than another. All that the higher
+law looks at is the _motive_. Therefore, if your motive is right,
+you can be engaged in the humblest and, apparently, most useless
+occupation, and yet be happy because you satisfy the law of service.
+
+Another road to happiness is the conquest of the lower nature, the
+overcoming of weaknesses, the climbing to higher and better things.
+There is intense happiness in realizing daily that old habits are
+being overthrown, weak points in the character built up, and an
+ever-increasing state of liberty and freedom entered into. Thank God,
+we do not have to remain as we once were, but can progress upwards,
+indefinitely, for there is no limit to our upward climb.
+
+But there is a state that is far higher than happiness, and this is
+JOY. Happiness comes through service and overcoming, but joy comes
+only to one who realizes his oneness with his Divine Source. The
+_reality_ is ineffable joy. Behind this world of shadows is the real,
+spiritual world of splendour and delight. When the soul, after its
+immense journey through matter, time and space, at last finds its
+way back to its Divine Source, it becomes aware of this intense joy,
+too great to be described in words. It not only realizes that the
+_reality_ is joy, and the universe filled, not with groans or sighing,
+but with the sweet, quiet laughter of freed souls! it also is filled
+itself with this ineffable joy.
+
+What has all this got to do with practical, everyday life, it may
+be asked? Everything, for the one who possesses this quiet joy can
+never be defeated in life's battles. He has something within him that
+can never be quenched and which will lead him from victory to victory.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE USE AND MIS-USE OF MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL POWERS.
+
+
+The average individual knows nothing of mental forces, and, although
+he may suffer from the effects of unconscious wrong thinking, yet
+he is in no danger of making deliberate mis-use of the inner powers.
+One, however, who has learnt how to use these interior forces must
+be very careful to use them aright or he will find that the invisible
+powers of mind and spirit are far more powerful and destructive than
+dynamite. It is not meant by this that he can blow himself up thereby,
+but it does mean that he can injure himself, not only in this life,
+but for ages to come, and, in addition, seriously retard his spiritual
+evolution.
+
+All use of the mind to coerce other people or to influence them by
+means of suggestion, not for their benefit, but for your advantage,
+is highly destructive, not to them actually, _but to you_. On the
+face of it, it looks an easy road to success and prosperity, but,
+actually, it leads to failure and poverty. The mis-use of the mental
+powers in this way is really a form of black magic, and the fate of
+all black magicians is very terrible. Even the use of the mind to
+coerce other people _for their good_ is not desirable. It never does
+any real good, although it may seem beneficial for a time, and its
+use, therefore, is to be deprecated. Healing, so-called, by
+hetero-suggestion, is not permanent, for as soon as the healer ceases
+to "pump" suggestion into the patient the latter begins to relapse
+into his former state. Far better results accrue if the patient is
+taught to use auto or self-suggestion for himself. It is seen, then,
+that the use of the mind to influence others is distinctly harmful
+if it is used selfishly, and of no real use if used unselfishly.
+Hypnotism is harmful, no matter which way it is used, and is also
+detrimental to the patient. Because of this some of our more
+thoughtful neurologists have given up its use.
+
+We have no right to endeavour to influence other people by the use
+of our inner forces, even if our object is their good. Each soul has
+the right to live its life in its own way, and choose for itself
+either good or evil. That is the object of life, so that each evolving
+soul should learn wisdom through the lessons learnt as a result of
+its own mistakes. Far worse is it if others are coerced, not in order
+to help them, but to defraud them or to make them buy goods they do
+not require, or sign agreements they would not otherwise put their
+name to.
+
+One who mis-uses his mental and spiritual powers literally smashes
+his life up. He works against the laws of life and the universe, and
+encompasses his own ruin.
+
+There is, however, a far more subtle way of mis-using the mental
+and spiritual forces than by coercion, mind domination and
+hetero-suggestion. This method is equally destructive, and if
+persisted in builds up a painful future. With this method other people
+are not influenced or dominated, but the finer forces of Nature are
+coerced by the human will. Mental demands are made on the invisible
+substance from which, we are told, all things are made, and wealth
+is compelled to appear. In addition to this, sickness, so it is
+claimed, is banished, and the invisible forces of life are compelled
+to operate in such a way as to make life's pathway a bed of roses,
+without thorns, so that life becomes shorn of all its discipline and
+experience.
+
+Its devotees "enter the Silence," and there visualize exactly what
+they think they want, and compel it to appear, in material form, by
+the strength of their desire or through the exercise of their will.
+
+Some followers of this cult may be able to make an apparent success
+of it, but I have never yet met any. If they do, however, they will
+live to regret it, for they are merely practitioners of black magic.
+Their efforts are of the same nature as sorcery. All such methods
+build up a heavy debt of future suffering, and seriously hinder the
+soul in its evolutionary journey.
+
+Entering the Silence is a good thing: it is really entering the inner
+silence of the soul, the inner sanctuary where the Divine Spirit
+abides in fulness. To mis-use this inward power for selfish and
+material ends, and for forcing our human will upon life, so as to
+make it conform to what _we_ think it ought to be is a crime of the
+first magnitude, which can result only in ultimate failure and
+disaster.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS AND AWAKENING INWARD POWERS.
+
+
+Limitations can be overcome through a realization of Truth. When we
+say this it is taken for granted that every effort will be made on
+the physical plane. It is necessary to bathe, exercise and breathe
+fresh air in order to be well: it is equally necessary to work hard,
+and to give the best of which we are capable, in service, in exchange
+for that which we receive in the way of supply, if we are to be
+successful. If you keep a gardener, you must pay him. The money that
+you pay him is part of what you have earned by the sweat of your
+brain. Therefore you exchange the work of your brain for the labour
+of his hands, and you are mutually helped and helpful to one another,
+both giving and receiving, and each one serving life according to
+his ability. Taking all this for granted, we will pass on to the
+metaphysical side of our subject. This, by the way, is vastly the
+more important, but the outer, practical work is indispensable
+nevertheless.
+
+In order to overcome limitations it is necessary to know the Truth
+and to live in the consciousness of It. For instance, if ill-health
+is our limitation, then, in order to become free it is necessary that
+we live in the consciousness of the Wholeness of God and His Divine
+Idea. If our limitation be restricted means, it is necessary that
+we live in the consciousness of the inexhaustible and unlimited nature
+of the Substance from which the Creator brings everything into
+manifestation. If our limitation is disharmony and unhappiness, then
+we must become attuned to the Divine harmony in such a way and to
+such an extent as to cause it to be reflected into the outward life.
+No matter what our limitation may be, we can find liberation and
+deliverance by looking to our Divine Source, realizing that in the
+Perfect Reality all our wants are supplied, and then living in the
+consciousness of this truth.
+
+Ill-health is, apart from physical causes, an outward sign of an
+inward warfare or disharmony, caused by wrong thoughts, emotions,
+beliefs and attitude of mind and soul towards life and God. In other
+words, the life is lived in an "error" consciousness of disease and
+sickness. First, the inward life has to be adjusted in such a way
+as to harmonize with the laws of our own being and the Divine purpose
+of life. There must be an inward surrender to the love principle,
+after which the thoughts must be brought under control so that
+health-destroying emotions may no longer impair the health. Further,
+the whole consciousness must, as often as possible, be raised to a
+realization of the perfect Wholeness which is the reality. If this
+course is persevered with, a consciousness of health and wholeness
+becomes a permanent mental state, with the result that health becomes
+manifested in the life. The outward life is always a reflection or
+external manifestation of what we are within, or our state of
+consciousness. Therefore everything depends upon which kind of
+consciousness it is in which we live.
+
+One who lives in the mental atmosphere of Divine Wholeness, health
+and harmony, unconsciously directs all the inner forces of nature
+into health channels. On the other hand, one who lives in a mental
+atmosphere of ill-health, as sick and unhealthy people very often
+do, unconsciously directs all his sub-conscious activities in such
+a way as to produce sickness and disease.
+
+Again, with regard to lack of means, this state also can be overcome,
+spiritually, only by living in a higher consciousness of abundance
+and sufficiency. This affects, unconsciously, every action in such
+a way as to bring about a better state of affairs. On the other hand,
+one who lives in a mental atmosphere of limitation and lack,
+unconsciously directs all his actions towards the production, in his
+life, of penury and restricted means.
+
+The same rule applies, no matter what the limitations of one's life
+may be. Freedom can be gained only by realizing the truth about life
+and being. When we realize the truth, live in the consciousness of
+it, and become obedient to the laws of life and being, the life
+becomes increasingly free. This does not mean that if we are plain
+of feature, and of a stumpy figure, that we shall become beautiful
+and graceful; but it does mean that these so-called drawbacks will
+no longer fetter us, and that others will see in us something far
+better than mere regularity of feature and beauty of form. When the
+soul is _alive_ and the life filled with love, the homeliest face
+becomes attractive. Neither does it mean that we shall not suffer
+bereavements and sorrows, difficulties and adversities, but it does
+mean that we shall cease intensifying these things and creating
+further troubles by taking life's discipline in the wrong spirit.
+It also means that we shall be able to overcome all life's
+difficulties and trials, become a conqueror in the strife, and, in
+so doing, build up character. Thus the storms of life, instead of
+destroying us, can succeed only in _making us stronger_. Thus our
+fate depends not on the storms of life, but upon how we meet them.
+If we give in to them, or, thinking that they are evil and not a
+necessary discipline, rebel against them and resist them, then we
+become shipwrecked on a desolate shore. If, however, we are armed
+with the knowledge of truth we can set our sails in such a way as
+to compel the storms of life actually to help us towards the desired
+haven.
+
+The first step in the direction of knowledge of the truth is right
+thinking. Every negative thought must be transmuted into its positive
+opposite, [12] for instance, hate and dislike into love and goodwill,
+fear into confident trust, poverty into abundance, evil into absolute
+good, and so on. This will be found to be not easy, but it is
+possible, and the power to control one's thoughts increases if one
+perseveres continually, with the passing of the years. A beginner
+cannot, naturally, expect to be able to exercise the same control
+as one who has been perseveringly seeking self-mastery for years,
+but he can make substantial progress and learn from day to day.
+
+ [12] See also "The Power of Thought" and "The Way of Escape," by
+      the same author and publisher.
+
+The result of thinking in this way is surprising. The reversal of
+thought may appear at first to be simplicity itself, and to lead
+nowhere in particular, but after a time the vastness of the subject
+becomes almost appalling. The cultivation and practice of right
+thinking gradually lead to a knowledge of the Truth. Not an
+intellectual knowledge of truth, but a realization, by the soul, of
+_the_ Truth. This is the knowing of the Truth which sets men free.
+We can then look through all the ages and know that all is well. The
+heavy burden which has oppressed us so long, rolls from our shoulders,
+and we become free.
+
+
+  AROUSING INWARD POWERS.
+
+
+Man is heir to wonderful and illimitable powers, but until he becomes
+aware of them and consciously identifies himself with them, they lie
+dormant and unexpressed, and might just as well not exist at all as
+far as their use to man, in his unawakened state, is concerned. When,
+however, man becomes awakened to the great truth that he is a
+spiritual being: when he learns that the little petty self and finite
+personality are not his real self at all, but merely a mask to the
+real man: when he realizes that the Spiritual Ego, a true Divine Spark
+of, or branch or twig of the Eternal Logos, [13] is _his real Self_:
+when he understands that his body is not himself, that his mind is
+not himself, that even his soul is not himself, being but vehicles
+through which he seeks expression, but that he is spirit, deathless,
+diseaseless, eternal, forming an integral part of the One Spirit and
+being identical with It, he enters a new life of almost boundless
+power.
+
+ [13] "I am the Vine, ye are the branches."--Jesus.
+
+It is unwise to engage in any mystical practices in an attempt to
+"force" development and unfoldment. Mystic trances are highly
+dangerous and are also unnecessary. Psychic experiences and the
+awakening of psychic centres are also dangerous and lead away from
+our goal. Breathing exercises, whose object is to awaken inward
+powers, are _highly dangerous_ and are to be condemned in consequence.
+The cultivation of negative passivity such as inhibiting all thought
+and making oneself quite passive and open to any influence, is also
+highly dangerous and should be strictly avoided.
+
+In place of all these unwise practices a short time should be set
+aside each night and also morning, if possible, for getting into touch
+with Reality. You should then endeavour to realize that the body,
+mind and soul are but vehicles of expression, mere servants of the
+true Self or Ego. This will bring about in time, a consciousness of
+identity with the One Eternal Spirit. What Jesus called "our Father
+in Heaven."
+
+One might proceed after this fashion:--
+
+"My body is not myself, but is merely something that enables me to
+live this material life and gain experience.
+
+"My mind is not myself, but merely an instrument which I use and which
+obeys my will.
+
+"My soul is not myself, but merely a garment of my spirit.
+
+"My will is not myself, but is something of which I, the true Self,
+make use."
+
+And so on. By this means you gradually approach the great truth which
+cannot be put into words and which can only become yours through
+realization or inward spiritual understanding.
+
+In addition one can use a positive statement of Truth, reverently,
+but with full confidence, such as: "I am a branch in the True Vine."
+
+In course of time you will become possessed of a feeling of tremendous
+and unlimited power and security. This is a great responsibility for
+this power must be used only in service and not for selfish purposes.
+If it is used for the acquisition of wealth and the gaining of
+temporal power, great disaster will be the inevitable result. Yet,
+if used aright, it is bound to have a great, though unconscious,
+influence for good on the life, and for this you are not responsible.
+Constantly endeavour to serve and bless others, then, because you
+do not seek them, crowds of blessings will come into your life
+unbidden, great happiness being one of the chief. Having found the
+kingdom of heaven it will be your experience that all needed good
+will be added unto you.
+
+This power may also be used to strengthen character, to overcome in
+the conflicts of the soul, and to build up the spiritual body which
+will be our vehicle of expression in higher realms.
+
+
+  THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Within You is the Power, by Henry Thomas Hamblin
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WITHIN YOU IS THE POWER ***
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