,,self-,,development ,,and ,,the ,,way ,,to ,,power by ,l4 ,w4 ,,rogers ,price #be ,cents #aibb ,we may be either the suffering slaves of nature or the happy masters of her laws4 ,,self ,,development ,,and ,,the ,,way ,,to ,,power ,it is the natural right of every human being to be happy--to escape all the miseries of life4 ,happiness is the normal condition1 as natural as the landscapes and the seasons4 ,it is unnatural to suffer and it is only because of our ignorance that we do suffer4 ,happiness is the product of wisdom4 ,to attain perfect wisdom1 to comprehend fully the purpose of life1 to realize completely the relationship of human beings to each other1 is to put an end to all suffering1 to escape every ill and evil that afflicts us4 ,perfect wisdom is unshadowed joy4 ,why do we suffer in life8 ,because in the scheme of nature we are being forced forward in evolution and we lack the spiritual illumination that alone can light the way and enable us to move safely among the obstacles that lie before us4 ,usually we do not even see or suspect the presence of trouble until it suddenly leaps upon us like a concealed tiger4 ,one day our family circle is complete and happy4 ,a week later death has come and gone and joy is replaced with agony4 ,today we have a friend4 ,tomorrow he will be an enemy and we do not know why4 ,a little while ago we had wealth and all material luxuries4 ,there was a sudden change and now we have only poverty and misery and yet we seek in vain for a reason why this should be4 ,there was a time when we had health and strength2 but they have both departed and no trace of a reason appears4 ,aside from these greater tragedies of life innumerable things of lesser consequence continually bring to us little miseries and minor heartaches4 ,we most earnestly desire to avoid them but we never see them until they strike us1 until in the darkness of our ignorance we blunder upon them4 ,the thing we lack is the spiritual illumination that will enable us to look far and wide1 finding the hidden causes of human suffering and revealing the method by which they may be avoided2 and if we can but reach illumination the evolutionary journey can be made both comfortably and swiftly4 ,it is as though we must pass through a long1 dark room filled with furniture promiscuously scattered about4 ,in the darkness our progress would be slow and painful and our bruises many4 ,but if we could press a button that would turn on the electric light we could then make the same journey quickly and with perfect safety and comfort4 ,the old method of education was to store the mind with as many facts1 or supposed facts1 as could be accumulated and to give a certain exterior polish to the personality4 ,the theory was that when a man was born he was a completed human being and that all that could be done for him was to load him up with information that would be used with more or less skill1 according to the native ability he happened to be born with4 ,the theosophical idea is that the physical man1 and all that constitutes his life in the physical world1 is but a very partial expression of the self2 that in the ego of each there is practically unlimited power and wisdom2 that these may be brought through into expression in the physical world as the physical body and its invisible counterparts1 which together constitute the complex vehicle of the ego's manifestation1 are evolved and adapted to the purpose2 and that in exact proportion that conscious effort is given to such self-development will spiritual illumination be achieved and wisdom attained4 ,thus the light that leads to happiness is kindled from within and the evolutionary journey that all are making may be robbed of its suffering4 ,why does death bring misery8 ,chiefly because it separates us from those we love4 ,but when we have evolved the faculty of clairvoyance1 in our work of self-development1 the separation vanishes and our dead friends are as much with us as the living4 ,the only other reason why death brings grief or fear is because we do not understand it and comprehend the part it plays in human evolution4 ,but the moment our ignorance gives way to comprehension such fear vanishes and a serene happiness takes its place4 ,why do we have enemies from whose words or acts we suffer8 ,because in our limited physical consciousness we do not perceive the unity of all life and realize that our wrong thinking and doing must react upon us through other people--a situation from which there is no possible escape except through ceasing to think evil and then patiently awaiting the time when the causes we have already generated are fully exhausted4 ,when spiritual illumination comes1 and we no longer stumble in the night of ignorance1 the last enemy will disappear and we shall make no more forever4 ,why do people suffer from poverty and disease8 ,only because of our blundering ignorance that makes their existence possible for us1 and because we do not comprehend their meaning and their lessons1 nor know the attitude to assume toward them4 ,had we but the wisdom to understand why they come to people1 why they are necessary factors in their evolution1 they would trouble us no longer4 ,when nature's lesson is fully learned these mute teachers will vanish4 ,and so it is with all forms of suffering we experience4 ,they are at once reactions from our ignorant blunderings and instructors that point out the better way4 ,when we have comprehended the lessons they teach they are no longer necessary and disappear4 ,thus our evolution is going forward and has gone forward in the past4 ,we know that the human race has passed through a long evolution during which it has acquired five senses by which knowledge is gained4 ,nobody who has given thought to the subject will make the mistake of supposing that this evolution is completed and that the five senses are all we shall ever possess4 ,in this long evolutionary journey the next thing we shall do is to develop the sixth sense4 ,some people have already done so and all are approaching it4 ,this dawning sense is called clairvoyance4 ,fair investigation will show that the clairvoyant possesses certain powers not common to the majority of people4 ,this is merely the beginning of the development of the sixth sense1 and probably with the majority of clairvoyants it goes no further than etheric and lower astral sight4 ,in other words1 they are able to raise the consciousness only to a grade of matter a little beyond the grasp of ordinary vision1 while the properly developed1 trained clairvoyant raises his consciousness two full planes beyond4 ,the higher the consciousness is raised the further the horizon of knowledge extends and the clairvoyant is able to hand down information that appears quite miraculous2 but it is perfectly natural4 ,if a certain person were born blind and had never understood any more about eyesight than most people understand about clairvoyance2 if this person could know how many doorways were in a large building only by groping along with his hands and thus acquiring the knowledge by touch1 and another person who could see should glance along the block and instantly tell the blind man the correct number1 that would be to the blind man a miracle4 ,now1 when a clairvoyant sees things at a distance where the physical eye cannot reach he really does nothing more remarkable4 ,when we see a thing we receive the vibrations caused by light4 ,that gives the information4 ,when the clairvoyant sees at a distance through what we mistakenly call solid substances he receives vibrations of matter so fine that it interpenetrates solids as the ether does4 ,every human being must make1 and is making1 this long evolutionary journey from spiritual infancy to godlike power and perfection1 but there are two ways in which it may be done4 ,we may1 as the vast majority do1 accept the process of unconscious evolution and submit to nature's whip and spur that continuously urge the thoughtless and indifferent forward until they finally reach the goal4 ,or1 we may choose conscious evolution and work intelligently with nature1 thus making progress that is comparatively of enormous rapidity and at the same time avoid much of what ,hamlet called the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune4 ,the degree to which mind can control circumstances and dominate matter is far greater than is generally believed4 ,our impressions about matter are very illusory4 ,no form of matter is permanent4 ,change goes on everywhere at every instant1 by physical laws in the physical body and by astral and mental laws in our invisible bodies4 ,we are not the same being1 physically1 mentally or spiritually1 any two days in succession4 ,the very soul itself is subject to this law of change4 ,it may expand and shine out through the physical organism resplendent1 or it may only faintly glimmer through a constantly coarsening body4 ,what is the law of soul growth8 ,through adherence to what principle may we reach spiritual illumination8 ,there are certain well established facts about the laws of growth that we should not overlook when seeking the way forward4 ,nothing whatever can grow without use1 without activity4 ,inaction causes atrophy4 ,physiologists tell us that if the arm be tied to the body so that it cannot be used it will in time become so enfeebled1 that it is of no further service4 ,it will wither away4 ,that is nature's law of economy4 ,she never gives life where it is useless1 where it can not1 or will not1 be utilized4 ,on the other hand1 exercise increases power4 ,to increase the size and strength of muscles we must use them4 ,this is just as true of mental and moral faculties as it is of the physical body4 ,the only way to make the brain keen and powerful is to exercise it by original thinking4 ,one way to gain soul powers is to give free play to the loftiest aspirations of which we are capable1 and to do it systematically instead of at random4 ,we grow to be like the things we think about4 ,now1 the reverse of all this must be equally true4 ,to give no thought to higher things1 to become completely absorbed in material affairs1 is to stifle the soul1 to invite spiritual atrophy4 ,turning our attention to nature we shall find in the parasite convincing proof of all this4 ,the parasite1 whether plant or animal1 is living evidence that to refuse or neglect to use an organ or faculty results in being deprived of it4 ,the dodder1 says ,drummond1 has roots like other plants1 but when it fixes sucker discs on the branches of neighboring plants and begins to get its food through them1 its roots perish4 ,when it fails to use them it loses them4 ,he also points to the hermit-crab as an illustration of this great fact in nature1 that disuse means loss1 and that to shirk responsibility is the road to degeneration4 ,the hermit-crab was once equipped with a hard shell and with as good means of locomotion as other crabs4 ,but instead of courageously following the hardy life of other crustaceans it formed the bad habit of taking up its residence in the cast-off shells of mollusks4 ,this made life easy and indolent4 ,but it paid the price of all shirking4 ,in time it lost four legs1 while the shell over the vital portion of its body degenerated to a thin membrane which leaves it practically helpless when it is out of its captured home4 ,and this is the certain result of all shirking of responsibility4 ,there may be an apparent temporary gain1 but it always means greater loss1 either immediate or remote4 ,so nature punishes inaction with atrophy4 ,whatever is not used finally ceases to be4 ,in plain language1 apathy1 inaction1 idleness1 uselessness1 is the road to degeneration4 ,on the other hand1 aspiration and activity mean growth1 development1 power4 ,so we grow1 physically1 mentally and morally1 by activity1 by exercise of the organs or the faculties we desire to possess4 ,it is only by the constant exercise of these things that we can grow at all4 ,when this great law of nature is understood we see at once how it is that life is full of trouble2 why it is that the whole visible world seems to be designed to keep us constantly at work physically and mentally1 to challenge our resourcefulness in improving our physical1 social and political conditions1 to continually try our patience and to forever test our courage4 ,it is the way of development4 ,it is the price of progress4 ,the universe is a training school for evolving intelligence--a vast gymnasium for the development of moral fibre4 ,we become mentally clever by playing at the game of life4 ,we match our courage against its adversities and acquire fearlessness4 ,we try our optimism against its disappointments and learn cheerfulness4 ,we pit our patience against its failures and gain persistence4 ,we are torn from the pinnacle of ambition by opponents and learn toleration of others4 ,we fall from the heights of vanity and pride1 and learn to be modest and humble4 ,we encounter pain and sorrow and learn sympathy with suffering4 ,it is only by such experiences that we can grow to rounded measure4 ,it is only in an environment thus adapted to our spiritual development that we can evolve the latent powers within us4 ,such is the universe in which we find ourselves and from it there is no escape4 ,no man can avoid life--not even the foolish one who1 when the difficulties before him appear for the moment overwhelming1 tries to escape them by suicide4 ,a man cannot die4 ,he can only choose how he will live4 ,he may either helplessly drift through the world suffering from all the ills and evils that make so many unhappy or he may choose the method of conscious evolution that alone makes life truly successful4 ,we may be either the suffering slaves of nature or the happy masters of her laws4 ,now1 all powers possessed by any human being1 no matter how exalted his position in evolution1 or how sublime his spiritual power1 are latent in all human beings and can1 in time1 be developed and brought into action4 ,of course there is no magic rule by which the ignoramus can instantly become wise or by which a brutal man can be at once transformed into a saint4 ,it may require scores of incarnations to accomplish a work so great1 but when a man reaches the point in his evolution where he begins to comprehend the purpose of life1 and to evolve the will to put forth his energies in co-operation with nature1 his rise to wisdom and power may be swift indeed4 ,but this transformation from the darkness of ignorance to spiritual illumination1 from helplessness in the fell clutch of circumstance to power over nature1 must be brought about by his own efforts1 for it is a process of evolution--of forcing the latent to become the active4 ,therefore one must resolve to take oneself in hand for definite and systematic self-development4 ,nobody else can do the work for us4 ,certain moral qualities must be gained before there can be spiritual illumination and genuine wisdom and such qualities1 or virtues1 have to be evolved by the laws under which all growth occurs4 ,it is just as impossible to acquire a moral quality by reading about its desirability as to evolve muscular strength by watching the performance of a group of athletes4 ,to gain muscular strength one must take part in the physical activities that produce it4 ,he must live the athletic life4 ,to win spiritual strength and supremacy he must live the spiritual life4 ,there is no other way4 ,he must first learn what mental and moral qualities are essential1 and how to gain them1 and then set earnestly about the work of acquiring them4 ,the first thing necessary is to get a clear understanding of the fact that the physical body is not the self but only a vehicle or instrument through which the self is being manifested in the visible world4 ,the body is as much your instrument as the hand is1 or as your pen is4 ,it is a thing which you1 the self1 use and a clear conception of this fact--a feeling that this is the fact--is the first step toward that absolute control of the physical body that lays the foundation for success in conscious evolution4 ,when we feel that in managing the physical body we are controlling something that is not ourself we are fairly started on the right road4 ,now1 there are three things that a person must possess to be successful in self-development4 ,if he has not these three qualifications he will make but little progress2 but1 fortunately1 any lacking quality can be evolved and if one does not possess these three necessities his first work is to create them4 ,these three things are an ardent desire1 an iron will and an alert intelligence4 ,why are these three qualifications essential to success and what purpose do they serve8 ,desire is nature's motor power--the propulsive force that pushes everything forward in its evolution4 ,it is desire that stimulates to action4 ,desire drives the animal into the activities that evolve its physical body and sharpen its intelligence4 ,if it had no desire it would lie inert and perish4 ,but the desire for food1 for drink1 for association with its kind1 impel it to action1 and the result is the evolution of strength1 skill and intelligence in proportion to the intensity of its desires4 ,to gratify these desires it will accept battle no matter how great may be the odds against it and will unhesitatingly risk life itself in the combat4 ,desire not only induces the activity that develops physical strength and beauty1 but also has its finer effects4 ,hunger compels the animal not only to seek food1 but to pit its cunning against that of its prey4 ,driven forward by desire it develops1 among other qualities1 strength1 courage1 patience1 endurance1 intelligence4 ,desire plays the same role with man at his higher stage of evolution4 ,it stimulates him to action2 and always as his activity satisfies his original desire a new one replaces the old and lures him on to renewed exertion4 ,the average young man beginning his business career1 desires only a comfortable cottage4 ,but when that is attained he wants a mansion4 ,he soon tires of the mansion and wants a palace4 ,then he wants several--at the seaside1 in the city1 and on the mountains4 ,at first he is satisfied with a horse2 then he demands an automobile1 and finally a steam yacht4 ,he sets out as a youth to earn a livelihood and welcomes a small salary4 ,but the desire for money pushes him into business for himself and he works tirelessly for a competence4 ,he feels that a small fortune should satisfy anybody but when he gets it he wants to be a millionaire4 ,if he succeeds in that he then desires to become a multi-millionaire4 ,whether the desire is for wealth1 or for fame1 or for power1 the same result follows--when the desire is satisfied a greater one takes its place and spurs the ambitious one to still further exertion4 ,he grasps the prize he believes to contain complete satisfaction only to discover that while he was pursuing it desire had grown beyond it1 and so the goal he would attain is always far ahead of him4 ,thus are we tricked and apparently mocked by nature until we finally awake to the fact that all the objects of desire--the fine raiment1 the jewels1 the palaces1 the wealth1 the power1 are but vain and empty things2 and that the real reward for all our efforts to secure them is not these objects at all but the new powers we have evolved in getting them2 powers that we did not before possess and which we should not have evolved but for nature's great propulsive force--desire4 ,the man who accumulates a fortune by many years of persistent effort in organizing and developing a business enterprise1 by careful planning and deep thinking1 may naturally enough look upon the fortune he will possess for a few years before it passes on to others1 as his reward4 ,but the truth is that it is a very transient and perishable and worthless thing compared to the new powers that were unconsciously evolved in getting it--powers that will be retained by the man and be brought into use in future incarnations4 ,desire1 then1 plays a most important role in human evolution4 ,it awakens1 stimulates1 propels4 ,what wind is to the ship1 what steam is to the locomotive1 desire is to the human being4 ,it has been written in a great book1 ,kill out desire1 and elsewhere it is written1 ,resist not evil4 ,we may find1 in similar exalted pronouncements1 truths that are very useful to disciples but which might be confusing and misleading to the man of the world if he attempted to literally apply them4 ,perhaps for the average mortal kill out desire might be interpreted transmute desire4 ,without desire man would be in a deathlike and dangerous condition--a condition in which further progress would be impossible4 ,but by transmuting the lower desires into the higher he moves steadily forward and upward without losing the motive power that urges him forever onward4 ,to transmute desire1 to continually replace the lower with the higher1 really is killing desire out but it is doing it by the slow and safe evolutionary process4 ,as to crushing it suddenly1 that is simply impossible2 but substitution may work wonders4 ,suppose1 for example1 that a young man is a gambler and his parents are much distressed about it4 ,the common and foolish course is to lecture him on the sin of gambling and to tearfully urge him to associate only with very proper young men4 ,but the young gambler is not in the least interested in that sort of a life1 which appears to him to be a kind of living death1 and such entreaty does not move him4 ,his parents would do better by looking more closely into the case4 ,why is he a gambler8 ,he desires money4 ,he seeks excitement4 ,he wants to live in an atmosphere of intense life and activity4 ,very well4 ,these desires are quite right in themselves4 ,it is useless to try to crush them4 ,it is nonsense to argue that he does not want these things4 ,clearly enough he does want them and that is precisely why he gambles4 ,then do not attempt the impossibility of killing the desire but change the objects of his desires4 ,say to him3 ,you desire money and a life full of turbulence and excitement4 ,well1 you can get all that in a better and a legitimate way and have the respect of your friends besides4 ,you can go into politics4 ,that is a field within the pale of the law and in it you can have scope for all the energy and activity and intensity of life you long for1 with all the element of chance which you find so attractive4 ,and when the young man has had his fling there and tires of it then something else can be attempted4 ,but to try to crush desire and curb the outrushing life is both foolish and impossible4 ,we can only direct it4 ,there are1 of course1 certain gross desires that must be gotten rid of by the most direct and least objectionable method1 and when one really desires to be free from a given vice or moral weakness and sets earnestly and intelligently about it his release is not so difficult as the complete tyranny of most vices would lead one to suppose4 ,there is a process by which any of us may be free if we will take the trouble to patiently put it into practice4 ,this method will apply to any desire from which we wish to be released4 ,for example1 let us take the person who has a settled desire for alcoholic stimulants but really wishes to be rid of it forever4 ,many people who are thus afflicted to the point where they occasionally become intoxicated feel1 when they recover their normal condition1 that no price would be too great to pay for freedom from this humiliating habit4 ,as a rule such a man tries to close his eyes to his shame and forget it1 promising himself that he will be stronger when the temptation again assails him4 ,but it is just this putting it aside1 this casting it out of his mind1 that perpetuates his weakness4 ,he instinctively shrinks from dwelling upon the thought of whither he is drifting4 ,so he puts the unpleasant subject aside altogether and when the inner desire asserts itself again he finds himself precisely as helpless as before4 ,now1 his certain method of escape from this tyranny of desire is to turn his mind resolutely to an examination of the whole question4 ,let him look the facts in the face1 however humiliating they may be4 ,he should call his imagination to his assistance4 ,it should be used to picture to himself his future if he does not succeed in breaking up the unfortunate slavery of the desire nature4 ,he should think of the fact that as he grows older the situation grows worse4 ,he should picture himself as the helpless1 repulsive sot1 with feeble body and weakening mind1 and reflect upon the humiliation he must endure1 the poverty he must face1 and the physical and mental pain he must bear in the future if he now fails to break the desire ties that bind him4 ,this creates in him a feeling of repulsion toward the cause of it all2 and if he continues to think daily upon this hideous picture of what he is slowly drifting toward--if he daily regards it all with a feeling of slight repulsion--then even within a month or two he will find that his desire for drink is slowly fading out4 ,this is as true of all other desires that enslave us4 ,the desire for alcoholic stimulants merely illustrates the principle involved4 ,any desire from which one wishes to be free may be escaped by the same method4 ,but one who would free himself from the desire-nature should not make the mistake of creating a feeling of intense hostility toward the thing he seeks to escape2 for hatred is also a tie4 ,he should merely reach a position of complete indifference4 ,he should think of it not with settled hostility1 but with slight repulsion2 and if he does that daily1 mentally dwelling upon the pain and humiliation it causes1 he will find the ties loosening1 the desire weakening4 ,desire is a force that may be beneficial or detrimental1 according to its use4 ,as we may eradicate a desire so may we create a desire4 ,how1 then1 may one who seeks the highest self-development use desire1 this propulsive force of nature1 to help himself forward8 ,he should desire spiritual progress most earnestly1 for without such desire he cannot succeed4 ,therefore if the aspirant does not have the ardent desire for spiritual illumination he must create it4 ,to accomplish this let him again call imagination to his assistance4 ,let him picture himself as having his power for usefulness many times multiplied by occult development4 ,he should think of himself as possessing the inner sight that enables him to understand the difficulties of others and to comprehend their sorrows4 ,he should daily think of the fact that this would so broaden and quicken his sympathies that he would be enormously more useful in the world than he can now possibly be and that he could become a source of happiness to thousands4 ,let him reflect that as he gets farther along in occult development and in unselfishness and spirituality he may have the inestimable privilege of coming into contact with some of the exalted intelligences that watch over and assist the struggling aspirants on their upward way4 ,he should daily recall the fact that he is now moving forward toward a freer1 richer1 more joyous life than he has yet known and that every effort brings him nearer to its realization4 ,thus dwelling on the subject in its various aspects he creates the ardent desire that serves to propel him forward4 ,if he feels that these things make an ideal a little too high for him at present he may reach that point by degrees4 ,he may at first dwell in thought upon the personal satisfaction that would come from the possession of astral sight4 ,let him reflect upon what it would mean to be conscious of the invisible world2 to have all its wonders laid open before him2 to be able to consciously meet the so-called dead1 including his own friends and relatives2 to be able to have the positive personal proof that we survive the death of the physical body2 to be able to become one of the invisible helpers of the world2 to have available the priceless advantages of the astral region and to bring the consciousness of all this into the physical life4 ,that is certainly something worth all the time and effort required to attain it4 ,thus thinking constantly of the widened life and added powers it would confer1 the desire to move forward in self-development will be greatly stimulated4 ,but the student should always keep it in mind that the real purpose of acquiring new powers is to increase his capacity for service to the race1 and that he who falls short of that ideal walks upon dangerous ground4 ,the second requisite is a firm will4 ,it should not be forgotten that an unusual and difficult thing is being attempted in which a person of weak will cannot possibly hope to succeed4 ,even in the ordinary life of the world considerable will power is essential to success4 ,to succeed in business1 to become expert in a profession1 or to completely master an art1 requires strong will1 determination1 perseverance4 ,the difficulties in occult development are still greater and1 while it is true that any degree of effort is well worth while1 the weaklings will not go far4 ,only those with the indomitable will that knows neither surrender nor compromise may hope for a large measure of success4 ,once the will is thoroughly aroused and brought into action every hindrance in the way will be swept aside4 ,the human will1 that force unseen1 ,the offspring of a deathless soul1 ,can hew a way to any goal ,tho' walls of granite intervene4 99 99 99 99 99 ,be not impatient of delay1 ,but wait as one who understands4 ,when spirit rises and commands ,the gods are ready to obey4 ,mighty1 indeed1 is this force when aroused4 ,but a person may be easily deceived about his will4 ,he is likely to think that his will is much stronger than it really is4 ,he may say to himself1 ,oh1 yes1 ,i would go through anything for the sake of the higher life and spiritual illumination4 ,but that is no guarantee that after a few months of monotonous work he may not abandon it unless he adopts the wise plan of strengthening his will as he moves forward4 ,let him begin this by testing his present strength of will1 but let him not be discouraged by the result4 ,he should remember that whatever he lacks in will power he can evolve by proper effort4 ,to find out whether he really has much strength of will a person may begin to observe to what extent he permits his daily plans to be modified1 or entirely changed1 by the things that run counter to his will4 ,does he hold steadfastly to his purpose or does he weakly surrender to small obstacles8 ,has he the will power to even begin the day as he has planned it8 ,the evening before he decides that he will rise at six o'clock the next morning4 ,he knows there are certain excellent reasons why he should do so and he retires with the matter fully decided4 ,it is positively settled that at exactly six o'clock the day's program shall begin4 ,but when the clock strikes that hour the next morning he feels strongly disinclined to obey the summons4 ,it involves some bodily discomfort to rise at that moment and he concludes that1 after all1 perhaps he was a bit hasty the evening before in fixing upon that hour6 ,whereupon he reconsiders the matter and makes it seven2 and when that time arrives he generously extends it to eight o'clock4 ,the hour1 of course1 is unimportant4 ,but whatever may have been the hour that was previously determined upon the keeping of that determination is of the greatest importance and the failure to put the resolution into effect is evidence of the possession of a weak will4 ,now all this proves that such persons have very little real will power1 for they permit the desire for trifling bodily comfort to set their plans aside4 ,such persons are still slaves to the physical body and weakly permit it to upset carefully outlined programs4 ,they are not yet ready for good work in occult development1 where real success can come only to those who have steadfast strength of purpose4 ,people who fail to assert the will and bring the body into complete subjection probably little realize what a price they pay for a trifling physical pleasure2 for until we voluntarily take the right course we have not escaped the evolutionary necessity of compulsion and may reasonably expect sooner or later to be thrown into an environment that will apply the stimulus we still need to arouse the will4 ,it may be unpleasant while it is occurring1 but what better fortune could befall an indolent man than to find himself in circumstances where his poverty or other necessity compels him to subordinate bodily comfort to the reign of the will8 ,nature provides the lessons we require4 ,we may wisely co-operate with her and thus escape the sting4 ,but so long as we need the lesson we may be quite sure that it awaits us4 ,all the business activities of the world are developing the will4 ,through them will and desire work together in evolving latent powers4 ,desire arouses will power4 ,a man desires wealth and the desire plunges him into business activities and stimulates the will by which he overcomes all the difficulties that lie in his way4 ,ardent desire for an education arouses the will of the student and the awakened will triumphs over poverty and all other barriers between him and the coveted diploma4 ,if a man stands at a lower point in evolution where he has not the ambition for intellectual culture nor for fame nor for wealth1 but only the desire for shelter and food1 still that primitive desire forces him into action2 and while his will power will be evolved only in proportion to the strength of the desire that prompts him1 it must nevertheless grow4 ,instead of rising at a certain hour because the will decrees it he may rise only because he knows his livelihood depends upon it4 ,but he is learning the same lesson--the overcoming of the inertia of the physical body--albeit it is compulsory instead of voluntary4 ,but all this is unconscious evolution4 ,it is the long1 slow1 painful process4 ,it is the only way possible for those who are not wise enough to co-operate with nature in her evolutionary work and thus rise above the necessity of compulsion4 ,how1 then1 may we develop the will when it is so weak that we are still the slaves of nature instead of the masters of destiny8 ,will power1 like any other faculty1 may be cultivated and made strong4 ,to do this one may plan in advance what he will do under certain circumstances and then carry out the program without evasion or hesitation when the time arrives4 ,his forethought will enable him to do this if he does not undertake things too difficult at first4 ,let him resolve to do at a certain hour some small thing which1 in the ordinary course of his duties1 he sees is necessary but unpleasant2 and then firmly resolve in advance that exactly at the appointed time he will do it4 ,thus fortified before the trial comes he will probably go successfully through with it4 ,after once deciding upon the time there should be no postponement and not an instant's delay when the moment arrives4 ,one of the things we have to learn is to overcome the inertia of the physical body and many people are not really awake on the physical plane because they have not done so4 ,to a certain extent they are dead within the physical body for it is a condition much nearer death than that supposed death of one who no longer has the physical body4 ,the inert mass of physical matter in which such people are functioning leaves them only half alive until they have aroused themselves from its domination4 ,they remind one of the lines3 ,life is a mystery1 death is a doubt1 ,and some folks are dead ,while they're walking about6 ,this inertia of the physical body that so often renders people nearly useless is very largely a matter of habit and can be overcome to a surprising degree by simply using a little will-power4 ,everybody is familiar with the fact that it is sometimes much easier to think and act than at other times4 ,but perhaps it is not so well known that the dull periods can invariably be overcome by an effort of the will and the physical body be made to do its proper work4 ,an actor or lecturer after months of continuous work may find the brain and body growing tired and dull4 ,he may feel when going before his audience that he has not an idea nor the wit to express it were someone else to furnish it4 ,yet by an effort of the will he can quickly overcome the condition and change from stupidity to mental alertness and intensity of thought4 ,the self is never tired4 ,it is only the physical body that grows weary4 ,it is true that it has its limitations and must not be overtaxed and driven beyond endurance as a tired horse is sometimes cruelly urged forward with whip and spur4 ,judgment must always be used in determining one's capacity for work4 ,but that which is to be done should never be done draggingly1 with the inertia of the physical body marring the work4 ,we should be fully awake instead of dead while we are walking about4 ,if a person resolves to be the master of the body he may soon acquire the power to arouse it to activity and alertness during all his waking hours1 very much as one may acquire the habit of keen observation and be conscious of what is occurring in his vicinity instead of being carelessly unconscious of the major portion of what is going on immediately about him4 ,this matter of giving attention to the things that may properly engage the mind1 and of using the will to arouse and control it1 is of very great importance4 ,is it not what we call paying attention that makes the connection between the ego and the objective world8 ,giving attention is a process of consciousness4 ,the person who fails in attention misses the purpose of life and throws away valuable time and opportunity4 ,to give attention is to be alive and awake and in a condition to make the most of limited physical life4 ,yet many people cannot give sustained attention to an ordinary conversation nor direct the mind with sufficient precision to state a simple fact without wandering aimlessly about in the effort1 bringing in various incidental matters until the original subject1 instead of being made clear1 is obscured in a maze of unimportant details or lost sight of altogether4 ,such habits of mind should be put resolutely aside by one who would hasten self-development4 ,the attention should be fixed deliberately upon the subject in hand1 whatever it may be1 and nothing should be permitted to break the connection between that and the mind4 ,whether it is a conversation or a book1 or a manual task1 or a problem being silently worked out intellectually1 it should have undivided attention until the mind is ready for something else4 ,perhaps few of us give to any subject the close attention which alone can prove its own effectiveness and demonstrate the fact that there goes with such steadily sustained attention a subtle power of extended1 or accentuated1 consciousness4 ,when ten minutes is given to a certain subject and other thoughts are constantly intruding1 so that when the ten minutes have passed only five minutes have actually been devoted to the subject1 the result is by no means a half of what would have been accomplished had the whole of the ten minutes been given to uninterrupted attention4 ,the time thus spent in wavering attention is practically without effect4 ,the connection between mind and subject has not been complete4 ,mind and subject were1 so to say1 out of focus4 ,attention must be sustained to the point where it becomes concentration4 ,the mind must be used as a sun-glass can be used4 ,hold the glass between sun and paper1 out of focus1 for an hour and nothing will happen4 ,a yellow circle of light falls on the paper and that is all4 ,but bring it into perfect focus1 concentrating the rays to the finest possible point1 and the paper turns brown and finally bursts into the fire that will consume it4 ,they are the same rays that were previously ineffective4 ,concentration produced results4 ,the mind must be brought under such complete control of the will that it can be manipulated like a search-light1 turned in this direction or that1 or flung full upon some obscure subject and held steadily there till it illuminates every detail of it1 as the search-light sends a dazzling ray through space and shows every rock and tree on a hillside far away through the darkness of the night4 ,the third necessity is keen intelligence4 ,the force of desire1 directed by the will1 must be supplemented by an alert mind4 ,there is a popular notion that good motives are sufficient in themselves and that when one has the desire to attain spiritual illumination1 plus the will to achieve1 nothing more is needed but purity of purpose4 ,but this is a misconception4 ,it is true that the mystic makes devotion the vital thing in his spiritual growth2 and it is also true that the three paths of action1 knowledge and devotion blend and become one at a higher stage4 ,but while there are methods of development in which intellect is not at first made a chief factor it can by no means be ignored in the long-run2 nor are we now considering those methods4 ,a good intellect1 therefore1 is a necessary part of the equipment4 ,good motives play a most important part1 indeed1 in occult progress4 ,they safeguard the aspirant on his upward way4 ,without pure motives1 without a large measure of unselfishness1 the greatest dangers would encompass him4 ,but good motives cannot take the place of good sense and relieve him of the necessity of thinking4 ,he must develop judgment and discrimination4 ,there are things he must know1 and he must use his knowledge1 or difficulties will follow no matter how noble may be his intentions4 ,suppose1 for illustration1 that two men set out upon a dark might to cross a wild and rugged piece of ground--one with bad motives and the other with good4 ,one is going out to rob a house and if need be1 to kill anybody who might try to interfere with his plans4 ,his motives are very bad but he has perfect knowledge of the dangerous ground he is to cross and he will therefore travel over it in safety4 ,the other man has the best of motives4 ,he is going to spend the night with a sick and helpless neighbor4 ,but he has no knowledge of the rough and treacherous ground he must cross in the darkness and his good motives will not insure him against stumbling over the stones or falling into a ditch and breaking his arm4 ,good motives are not enough4 ,we must know6 ,progress in occultism is impossible without knowledge4 ,but how is a keen1 alert intelligence to be acquired if we do not possess it8 ,like any other latent faculty or power it may be evolved4 ,as the physical strength may be steadily increased by constant exercise of the muscles1 so mind may increase in power by systematic work4 ,it should be exercised in original thinking4 ,a stated period1 if only a quarter of an hour daily1 can be set aside for the purpose4 ,a book on a serious subject will furnish material but the too common method of reading1 of following the author lazily and accepting whatever he sets forth as a matter of course1 is of little value4 ,one must read with discrimination1 receiving the ideas offered as a juryman would receive testimony from a witness1 considering it from every possible viewpoint1 examining it in the light of known facts1 turning it over in the mind1 weighing it thoughtfully1 and accepting or rejecting according to its reasonableness or its lack of reason4 ,in such mental work for intellectual growth each paragraph can be considered by itself and only a small portion of the time should be given to the reading while the remainder is devoted to pondering over what has been read4 ,of course a specific study is an advantage and perhaps nothing is better than to study occultism1 thinking deeply upon the problems of human evolution4 ,another method that goes admirably with such work is the close observation and study of all the life in manifestation about us4 ,we should try to comprehend people1 to observe and understand them4 ,every word1 act and facial expression has its meaning to be caught and interpreted4 ,all this will not only sharpen the wits but also strengthen human sympathy for it enables us the better to know the difficulties and sorrows of others4 ,if such practices are followed faithfully day by day the growth will be steady4 ,still another useful practice is to exercise the imagination1 the art of creating mental pictures with no physical object present4 ,the face of an absent friend can be called up in the mind and reproduced in every detail--the color of the eyes and hair1 the various moods and expressions4 ,or one's childhood home can be recalled and the imagination made to reconstruct it4 ,the house being complete the landscape can be reproduced1 with the hills1 trees and roads4 ,repeated practice at seeing mentally is of the greatest value in occult development4 ,while the aspirant is thus working to improve the three essential qualifications of desire1 will and intelligence--to intensify his desire to possess powers for the helping of others1 to strengthen the will to get such powers1 and to steadily improve the intellect--he should also be giving most earnest attention to meditation1 for it is through this practice that the most remarkable results may be produced in the transformation of his bodies1 visible and invisible1 through which the ego manifests itself in the physical world4 ,in the degree that these are organized and made sensitive and responsive they cease to be limitations of consciousness4 ,such sensitiveness and responsiveness may be brought about by meditation1 together with proper attention to the purification of the physical and astral bodies2 for purity and sensitiveness go together4 ,meditation is a subject so very important to the aspirant that specific instructions should guide him4 ,the average person1 used to the turbulent life of occidental civilization1 will find it a sufficiently difficult matter to control the mind1 and to finally acquire the power to direct it as he desires1 even with all the conditions in his favor4 ,the serene hours of morning are the most favorable of the twenty-four for meditation4 ,regularity has a magic of its own and the hour should be the same each morning4 ,to be alone in surroundings as quiet as possible is another essential4 ,the most desirable time for meditation is soon after awakening in the morning4 ,before turning the mind to any of the business affairs of the day let the aspirant sit calmly down and mediate upon any wholesome thought1 like patience1 courage or compassion1 keeping the mind steadily upon the subject for five minutes4 ,two very important things are being accomplished by such meditation4 ,first1 we are getting control of the mind and learning to direct it where and how we choose2 and1 second1 we are attracting and building into the bodies we possess certain grades of imponderable matter that will make thinking and acting along these lines easier and easier for us until they are established habits and we actually become in daily life patient1 courageous and compassionate4 ,whatever qualities or virtues we desire to possess may be gained through the art of meditation and the effort to live up to the ideal dwelt upon daily by the mind4 ,while it is absolutely true that any human being can make of himself that which he desires to be--can literally raise himself to any ideal he is capable of conceiving--it must not be supposed that it can be done in a short time and by intermittent effort4 ,we sometimes hear it said that all we need do is to realize that all power is within us1 when1 presto6 we are the thing we would be6 ,it is quite true that we must realize their existence before we can call the latent powers into expression2 but the work of arousing the latent into the active is a process of growth1 of actual evolutionary change4 ,the physical body as it is now is not sensitive enough to respond to subtle vibrations4 ,its brain is not capable of receiving and registering the delicate vibrations sent outward by the ego1 and the task of changing it so that it can do so is not a trifling or easy one4 ,but every effort produces its effect and to the persistent and patient devotee of self-development the final result is certain4 ,but it is not a matter of miraculous accomplishment4 ,it is a process of inner growth4 ,there are1 it is quite true1 cases in which people who have entered upon this method of self-development have1 in a short time1 attained spiritual illumination1 becoming fully conscious of the invisible world and its inhabitants while awake in the physical body2 extending the horizon of consciousness to include both worlds1 and coming into possession of the higher clairvoyance that enables one to trace past causes and modify impending effects4 ,but such people are those who have given so much attention to self-development in past lives that they have now but little more to do in order to come into full possession of occult powers4 ,sometimes it requires little more than the turning of their attention to the matter4 ,becoming a member of the ,theosophical ,society or seriously taking up theosophical studies is sometimes the final step that leads to the opening of the inner sight4 ,but how can one know to what point he may have advanced in the past and where he now stands8 ,how may we know whether there is but a little work ahead or a great deal8 ,we cannot know2 nor is it important to know4 ,the person who should take up the task merely because he thinks there is little to do would certainly fail4 ,the very fact that he would not venture upon the undertaking if he thought the task a difficult one is evidence that he has not the qualifications necessary for the success of the occult student4 ,unless he is filled with a longing to possess greater power to be used in the service of humanity1 and fired with an enthusiasm that would hesitate at no difficulties1 he has not yet reached the point in his evolution where he awaits only the final steps that will make him a disciple4 ,but even the absence of the keen desire for spiritual progress1 which is the best evidence of the probability of success1 should not deter anybody from entering upon the systematic study of theosophy and devoting to it all the time and energy he can2 nor should the thought that many years might pass without producing any very remarkable results lead him to conclude that the undertaking would not be a profitable one4 ,the time will come with each human being when he will step out of the great throng that drifts with the tide and enter upon the course of conscious evolution1 assisting nature instead of ignoring her beneficent plan2 and since it is but a question of time the sooner a beginning is made the better1 for the sooner will suffering cease4 ,there should be a word of warning about the folly of trying to reach spiritual illumination by artificial methods4 ,astral sight is sometimes quickly developed by crystal gazing and also by a certain regulation of the breathing4 ,for two reasons such methods should be avoided4 ,one is that any powers thus gained can not be permanent1 and the other is that they may be more or less dangerous4 ,many people have made physical wrecks of themselves or have become insane by some of these methods4 ,there are those who advertise to quickly teach clairvoyance1 for a consideration1 as though spiritual powers could really be conferred instead of evolved6 ,it is true that efforts toward the evolution of such powers may be enormously aided by teachers1 but such instruction can not be bought1 and the offer to furnish it for money is the best evidence of its worthlessness4 ,those who teach this ancient wisdom select their own pupils from the morally fit1 and tuition can be paid only in devotion to truth and service to humanity4 ,that is the only road that leads to instruction worth having1 and until the aspirant is firmly upon that sound moral ground he is much better off without powers1 the selfish use of which would lead to certain disaster4 ,but how shall the pupil find the teacher8 ,he need not find him1 at first1 so far as the limited consciousness is concerned4 ,long before he knows anything of it in his waking hours he may be receiving instruction while he is out of the physical body during the hours of sleep4 ,the teacher finds the pupil long before the pupil suspects that the teacher exists2 and since it is the pupil who has the limited consciousness it is quite natural that it should be so4 ,thus it is inevitable that all who enter upon the way that leads to spiritual illumination must long remain ignorant of the fact that any teachers are interested in them or that anybody is giving the slightest attention to them4 ,naturally enough one cannot know until the moment arrives when his brain has become sufficiently sensitive to retain a memory of at least a fragment of his superphysical experiences4 ,but what leads to the selection of the pupil8 ,his earnestness1 his unselfishness1 his devotion1 his spiritual aspirations4 ,there is an old occult maxim to the effect that when the pupil is ready the ,master is waiting4 ,they have need of many more than are ready to be taught4 ,those who lead and enlighten watch eagerly for all who will qualify themselves to enter upon the upward way4 ,every human being gets exactly what he fits himself to receive4 ,he cannot possibly be overlooked4 ,by his spiritual aspiration each lights the lamp in the window of his soul and to the watchers from the heights that light against the background of the overwhelming materiality of our times must be as the sun in a cloudless sky4 ,other things come later but these simpler things1 to realize the necessity for conscious evolution1 to comprehend the method of soul development1 to take full control of the mind and the physical body1 to resolutely curb the grosser desires and to give free rein to the higher aspirations are the first infant steps in the self-development that leads to illumination4 ,then we begin to discover that this very desire for greater spiritual power is generating a force that carries us forward and upward4 ,we soon begin to observe actual progress4 ,the brain becomes clearer1 the intellect keener4 ,our sphere of influence grows wider1 our friendships become warmer4 ,aspiration lifts us into a new and radiant life1 and the wondrous powers of the soul begin to become a conscious possession4 ,and to this soul growth there is no limit4 ,the aspirant will go on and on in this life and others with an ever-extending horizon of consciousness until he has the mental grasp of a ,plato1 the vivid imagination of a ,dante1 the intuitive perception of a ,shakespeare4 ,it is not by the outward acquirement of facts that such men become wise and great4 ,it is by developing the soul from within until it illuminates the brain with that flood of light called genius4 ,and when1 through the strife and storm1 we finally reach the tranquility of the inner peace we shall comprehend the great fact that life really is joy when lived in the possession of spiritual power and in perfect harmony with the laws of the universe4 ,with even these first steps in occult achievement the aspirant enters upon a higher and more satisfactory life than he has ever known4 ,literally he becomes a new man4 ,gradually the old desires and impulses fade away and new and nobler aspirations take their place4 ,he has learned obedience to law only to find that obedience was the road to conquest4 ,he has risen above the gross and sensuous by the power of conscious evolution2 and1 looking back upon what he has been with neither regret nor apology1 he comprehends that significant thought of ,tennyson3 ,on stepping stones of their dead selves men rise to higher things4