,dore ,lectures on ,mental ,science1 by 
,thomas ,troward  ,,the ,,dore          
,,lectures ,,on ,,mental ,,science    by
 ,thomas ,troward          ,,entering   
,,into ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,it         
,,individuality  ,,the ,,new ,,thought  
,,and ,,the ,,new ,,order  ,,the ,,lips 
,,of ,,the ,,spirit  ,,alpha ,,and      
,,omega  ,,the ,,creative ,,power ,,of  
,,thought  ,,the ,,great ,,affirmative  
,,christ ,,the ,,fulfilling ,,of ,,the  
,,law  ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,eden  ,,the 
,,worship ,,of ,,ishi  ,,the ,,shepherd 
,,and ,,the ,,stone  ,,salvation ,,is   
,,of ,,the ,,jews      ,,foreword4      
,the addresses contained in this volume 
were delivered by me at  the ,dore      
,gallery1 ,bond ,street1 ,london1 on the
 ,sundays of the  first three months of 
the present year1 and are now published 
at  the kind request of many of my      
hearers1 hence their title of ,the      
,dore ,lectures4 ,a number of separate  
discourses on a variety of  subjects    
necessarily labours under the           

disadvantage of want of  continuity1 and
 also under that of a liability to the  
frequent  repetition of similar ideas   
and expressions1 and the reader will1   
,i trust1 pardon these defects as       
inherent in the circumstances of  the   
work4 ,at the same time it will be found
 that1 although not  specially so       
designed1 there is a certain progressive
 development  of thought through the    
dozen lectures which compose this       
volume1  the reason for which is that   
they all aim at expressing the same     
fundamental idea1 namely that1 though   
the laws of the universe  can never be  
broken1 they can be made to work under  
special  conditions which will produce  
results that could not be produced      
under the conditions spontaneously      
provided by nature4 ,this is a  simple  
scientific principle and it shows us the
 place which is  occupied by the        
personal factor1 that1 namely1 of an    
intelligence  which sees beyond the     
present limited manifestation of the    

,law  into its real essence1 and which  
thus constitutes the  instru-mentality  
by which the infinite possibilities of  
the ,law  can be evoked into forms of   
power1 usefulness1 and beauty4    ,the  
more perfect1 therefore1 the working of 
the personal factor1  the greater will  
be the results developed from the       
,universal ,law2  and hence our lines of
 study should be two-fold--on the one   
hand  the theoretical study of the      
action of ,universal ,law1 and on the   
other the practical fitting of ourselves
 to make use of it2 and  if the present 
volume should assist any reader in this 
two-fold  quest1 it will have answered  
its purpose4    ,the different subjects 
have necessarily been treated very      
briefly1 and the addresses can only be  
considered as suggestions  for lines of 
thought which the reader will be able to
 work out  for himself1 and he must     
therefore not expect that careful       
elabora-tion of detail which ,i would   
gladly have bestowed had ,i  been       

writing on one of these subjects        
exclusively4 ,this little  book must be 
taken only for what it is1 the record of
 somewhat  fragmentary talks with a very
 indulgent audience1 to whom ,i         
gratefully dedicate the volume4         
,,june #e1 #aiji4    ,t4,t4        ,,the
 ,,dore ,,lectures        ,,entering    
,,into ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,it4    ,we 
all know the meaning of this phrase in  
our everyday life4 ,the  ,spirit is that
 which gives life and movement to       
anything1 in fact  it is that which     
causes it to exist at all4 ,the thought 
of the  author1 the impression of the   
painter1 the feeling of the  musician1  
is that without which their works could 
never have come  into being1 and so it  
is only as we enter into the ,,idea     
which  gives rise to the work1 that we  
can derive all the enjoyment and        
benefit from it which it is able to     
bestow4 ,if we cannot enter  into the   
,spirit of it1 the book1 the picture1   
the music1 are  meaningless to us3 to   

appreciate them we must share the mental
  attitude of their creator4 ,this is a 
universal principle2 if we  do not enter
 into the ,spirit of a thing1 it is dead
 so far as we  are concerned2 but if we 
do enter into it we reproduce in        
ourselves the same quality of life which
 called that thing into  existence4     
,now if this is a general principle1 why
 can we not carry it to a  higher range 
of things8 ,why not to the highest point
 of all8 ,may  we not enter into the    
originating ,spirit of ,life itself1 and
 so  reproduce it in ourselves as a     
perennial spring of livingness8  ,this1 
surely1 is a question worthy of our     
careful consideration4    ,the spirit of
 a thing is that which is the source of 
its inherent  movement1 and therefore   
the question before us is1 what is the  
nature of the primal moving power1 which
 is at the back of the  endless array of
 life which we see around us1 our own   
life  included8 ,science gives us ample 
ground for saying that it is not        

material1 for science has now1 at least 
theoretically1 reduced  all material    
things to a primary ether1 universally  
distributed1  whose innumerable         
particles are in absolute equilibrium2  
whence  it follows on mathematical      
grounds alone that the initial  movement
 which began to concentrate the world   
and all material  substances out of the 
particles of the dispersed ether1 could 
not  have originated in the particles   
themselves4 ,thus by a necessary        
deduction from the conclusions of       
physical science1 we are  compelled to  
realize the presence of some immaterial 
power  capable of separating off certain
 specific areas for the display  of     
cosmic activity1 and then building up a 
material universe with  all its         
inhabitants by an orderly sequence of   
evolution1 in which  each stage lays the
 foundation for the development of the  
stage1  which is to follow--in a word we
 find ourselves brought face to  face   
with a power which exhibits on a        

stupendous scale1 the  faculties of     
selection and adaptation of means to    
ends1 and thus  distributes energy and  
life in accordance with a recognizable  
scheme of cosmic progression4 ,it is    
therefore not only ,life1 but  also     
,intelligence1 and ,life guided by      
,intelligence becomes  ,volition4 ,it is
 this primary originating power which we
 mean when  we speak of ,the ,spirit1   
and it is into this ,spirit of the whole
  universe that we must enter if we     
would reproduce it as a spring  of      
,original ,life in ourselves4    ,now in
 the case of the productions of artistic
 genius we know  that we must enter into
 the movement of the creative mind of   
the  artist1 before we can realize the  
principle which gives rise to  his work4
 ,we must learn to partake of the       
feeling1 to find  expression for which  
is the motive of his creative activity4 
,may  we not apply the same principle to
 the ,greater ,creative ,mind with      
which we are seeking to deal8 ,there is 

something in the work of  the artist    
which is akin to that of original       
creation4 ,his work1  literary1 musical1
 or graphic is original creation on a   
miniature  scale1 and in this it differs
 from that of the engineer1 which is    
constructive1 or that of the scientist  
which is analytical2 for  the artist in 
a sense creates something out of        
nothing1 and  therefore starts from the 
stand-point of simple feeling1 and not  
from that of a pre-existing necessity4  
,this1 by the hypothesis of  the case1  
is true also of the ,parent ,mind1 for  
at the stage where  the initial movement
 of creation takes place1 there are no  
existing conditions to compel action in 
one direction more than  another4       
,consequently the direction taken by the
 creative impulse  is not dictated by   
outward circumstances1 and the primary  
movement must therefore be entirely due 
to the action of the  ,original ,mind   
upon itself2 it is the reaching out of  
this ,mind  for realization of all that 

it feels itself to be4    ,the creative 
process thus in the first instance is   
purely a  matter of feeling--exactly    
what we speak of as motif in a work  of 
art4    ,now it is this original feeling
 that we need to enter into1  because it
 is the fons et origo of the whole chain
 of causation  which subsequently       
follows4 ,what then can this original   
feeling  of the ,spirit be8 ,since the  
,spirit is ,life-in-itself1 its feeling 
can only be for the fuller expression of
 ,life--any other sort of  feeling would
 be self-destructive and is therefore   
inconceivable4  ,then the full          
expression of ,life implies ,happiness1 
and ,happiness  implies ,harmony1 and   
,harmony implies ,order1 and ,order     
implies  ,proportion1 and ,proportion   
implies ,beauty2 so that in recognizing 
the inherent tendency of the ,spirit    
towards the production of  ,life1 we can
 recognise a similar inherent tendency  
to the  production of these other       
qualities also2 and since the desire to 

bestow the greater fulness of joyous    
life can only be described  as ,love1 we
 can sum up the whole of the feeling    
which is the  original moving impulse in
 the ,spirit as ,love and ,beauty--the  
,spirit finding expression through forms
 of beauty in centres of  life1 in      
harmonious reciprocal relation to       
itself4 ,this is a  generalized         
statement of the broad principle by     
which ,spirit  expands from the         
innermost to the outermost1 in          
accordance with a  ,law of tendency     
inherent in itself4    ,it sees itself1 
as it were1 reflected in various centres
 of life  and energy1 each with its     
appropriate form2 but in the first      
instance these reflections can have no  
existence except within  the originating
 ,mind4 ,they have their first beginning
 as mental  images1 so that in addition 
to the powers of ,intelligence and      
,selection1 we must also realise that of
 ,imagination as belonging  to the      
,divine ,mind2 and we must picture these

 powers as working  from the initial    
motive of ,love and ,beauty4    ,now    
this is the ,spirit that we need to     
enter into1 and the method  of doing so 
is a perfectly logical one4 ,it is the  
same method by  which all scientific    
advance is made4 ,it consists in first  
observing how a certain law works under 
the conditions  spontaneously provided  
by nature1 next in carefully considering
  what principle this spontaneous       
working indicates1 and lastly  deducing 
from this how the same principle would  
act under  specially selected           
conditions1 not spontaneously provided  
by  nature4    ,the progress of         
shipbuilding affords a good example of  
what ,i  mean4 ,formerly wood was       
employed instead of iron1 because wood  
floats in water and iron sinks2 yet now 
the navies of the world  are built of   
iron2 careful thought showed the law of 
floatation  to be that anything could   
float which1 bulk for bulk1 is lighter  
than the mass of liquid displaced by it2

 and so we now make iron  float by the  
very same law by which it sinks1 because
 by the  introduction of the ,,personal 
factor1 we provide conditions which  do 
not occur spontaneously--according to   
the esoteric maxim that  ,nature unaided
 fails4 ,now we want to apply the same  
process of  specializing a generic ,law 
to the first of all ,laws1 that of the  
generic life-giving tendency of ,spirit 
itself4 ,without the  element of        
,,individual ,,personality the ,spirit  
can only work  cosmically by a ,,generic
 ,law2 but this law admits of far higher
  specialization1 and this              
specialization can only be attained     
through the introduction of the personal
 factor4 ,but to introduce  this factor 
the individual must be fully aware of   
the ,,principle  which underlies the    
spontaneous or cosmic action of the law4
  ,where1 then1 will he find this       
principle of ,life8 ,certainly not  by  
contemplating ,death4 ,in order to get a
 principle to work in  the way we       

require it to1 we must observe its      
action when it is  working spon         
taneously in this particular direction4 
,we must ask  why it goes in the right  
direction as far as it does--and having 
learnt this we shall then be able to    
make it go further4 ,the law  of        
floatation was not discovered by        
contemplating the sinking of  things1   
but by contemplating the floating of    
things which floated  naturally1 and    
then intelligently asking why they did  
so4    ,the knowledge of a principle is 
to be gained by the study of its        
affirmative action2 when we understand  
,,that we are in a position  to correct 
the negative conditions which tend to   
prevent that  action4    ,now ,death is 
the absence of ,life1 and disease is the
 absence of  health1 so to enter into   
the ,spirit of ,life we require to      
contemplate it1 where it is to be found1
 and not where it is not-  -we are met  
with the old question1 ,why seek ye the 
living among  the dead8 ,this is why we 

start our studies by considering the    
cosmic creation1 for it is there that we
 find the ,life ,spirit  working through
 untold ages1 not merely as deathless   
energy1 but  with a perpetual advance   
into higher degrees of ,life4 ,if we    
could  only so enter into the ,spirit as
 to make it personally ,,in  ,,ourselves
 what it evidently is in ,,itself1 the  
magnum opus would  be accomplished4     
,this means realizing our life as drawn 
direct  from the ,originating ,spirit2  
and if we now understand that the       
,thought or ,imagination of the ,spirit 
is the great reality of  ,being1 and    
that all material facts are only        
correspondences1 then  it logically     
follows that what we have to do is to   
maintain our  individual place in the   
,thought of the ,parent ,mind4    ,we   
have seen that the action of the        
,originating ,mind must needs  be       
,,generic1 that is according to types   
which include multitudes  of            
individuals4 ,this type is the          

reflection of the ,creative ,mind  at   
the level of that particular ,,genius2  
and at the human level it  is ,man1 not 
as associated with particular           
circumstances1 but as  existing in the  
absolute ideal4    ,in proportion then  
as we learn to dissociate our conception
 of  ourselves from particular          
circumstances1 and to rest upon our     
,,absolute nature1 as reflections of the
 ,divine ideal1 we1 in our  turn1       
reflect back into the ,divine           
,imagination its original  conception of
 itself as expressed in generic or      
typical ,man1 and  so by a natural law  
of cause and effect1 the individual who 
realizes this mental attitude enters    
permanently into the ,spirit  of ,life1 
and it becomes a perennial fountain of  
,life springing up  spontaneously within
 him4    ,he then finds himself to be as
 the ,bible says1 the image and         
likeness of ,god4 ,he has reached the   
level at which he affords a  new        
starting point for the creative process1

 and the ,spirit1  finding a personal   
centre in him1 begins its work de nova1 
having  thus solved the great problem of
 how to enable the ,universal to  act   
directly upon the plane of the          
,particular4    ,it is in this sense1 as
 affording the requisite centre for a   
new  departure of the creative ,spirit1 
that man is said to be a  microcosm1 or 
universe in miniature2 and this is also 
what is  meant by the esoteric doctrine 
of the ,octave1 of which ,i may be  able
 to speak more fully on some other      
occasion4    ,if the principles here    
stated are carefully considered1 they   
will  be found to throw light on much   
that would otherwise be obscure1  and   
they will also afford the key to the    
succeeding essays4    ,the reader is    
therefore asked to think them out       
carefully for  himself1 and to note     
their connection with the subject of the
  next article4        ,,individuality4 
,individuality is the necessary         
complement of the ,universal  ,spirit1  

which was the subject of our            
consideration last ,sunday4  ,the whole 
problem of life consists in finding the 
true relation  of the individual to the 
,universal ,originating ,spirit2 and the
  first step towards ascertaining this  
is to realize what the  ,universal      
,spirit must be in itself4 ,we have     
already done this to  some extent1 and  
the conclusions we have arrived at      
are3--    ,that the essence of the      
,spirit is ,life1 ,love1 and ,beauty4   
,that its ,motive1 or primary moving    
impulse1 is to express the  ,life1 ,love
 and ,beauty which it feels itself to   
be4    ,that the ,universal cannot act  
on the plane of the ,particular  except 
by becoming the particular1 that is by  
expression through  the individual4     
,if these three axioms are clearly      
grasped1 we have got a solid  foundation
 from which to start our consideration  
of the subject  for to-day4    ,the     
first question that naturally presents  
itself is1    ,if these things be so1   

why does not every individual express   
the  life1 love1 and beauty of the      
,universal ,spirit8 ,the answer to  this
 question is to be found in the ,law of 
,consciousness4 ,we  cannot be conscious
 of anything except by realizing a      
certain  relation between it and        
ourselves4 ,it must affect us in some   
way1  otherwise we are not conscious of 
its existence2 and according to  the way
 in which it affects us we recognize    
ourselves as standing  related to it4   
,it is this self-recognition on our own 
part  carried out to the sum total of   
all our relations1 whether  spiritual1  
intellectual1 or physical1 that         
constitutes our  realization of life4   
,on this principle1 then1 for the       
,,realization  of its own ,livingness1  
the production of centres of life1      
through  its relation to which this     
conscious realization can be attained1  
becomes a necessity for the ,originating
 ,mind4 ,then it follows  that this     
realization can only be complete where  

the individual  has perfect liberty to  
withhold it2 for otherwise no true      
realization could have taken place4 ,for
 instance1 let us consider  the working 
of ,love4 ,love must be spontaneous1 or 
it has no  existence at all4 ,we cannot 
imagine such a thing as mechanically    
induced love4 ,but anything which is    
formed so as to automatically  produce  
an effect without any volition of its   
own1 is4nothing but  a piece of         
mechanism4 ,hence if the ,originating   
,mind is to realize  the reality of     
,love1 it can ,only be by relation to   
some being  which has the power to      
withhold love4 ,the same applies to the 
realization of all the other modes of   
livingness2 so that it is  only in      
proportion1 as the individual life is an
 independent  centre of action1 with the
 option of acting either positively or  
negatively1 that any real life has been 
produced at all4 ,the  further the      
created thing is from being a merely    
mechanical  arrangement1 the higher is  

the grade of creation4 ,the solar       
system is a perfect work of mechanical  
creation1 but to  constitute centres    
which can reciprocate the highest nature
 of  the ,divine ,mind1 requires not a  
mechanism1 however perfect1 but a       
mental centre which is1 in itself1 an   
independent source of  action4 ,hence by
 the requirements of the case man should
 be  capable of placing himself either  
in a positive or a negative  relation to
 the ,parent ,mind1 from which he       
originates2 otherwise  he would be      
nothing more than a clockwork figure4   
,in this necessity of the case1 then1 we
 find the reason why the  life1 love1   
and beauty of the ,spirit are not       
visibly reproduced  in every human      
being4 ,they ,,are reproduced in the    
world of nature1  so far as a mechanical
 and automatic action can represent     
them1  but their perfect reproduction   
can only take place on the basis  of a  
liberty akin to that of the ,originating
 ,spirit itself1 which  therefore       

implies the liberty of negation as well 
as of  affirmation4    ,why1 then1 does 
the individual make a negative choice8  
,because he  does not understand the law
 of his own individuality1 and  believes
 it to be a law of limitation1 instead  
of a ,law of  ,liberty4 ,he does not    
expect to find the starting point of the
  ,creative ,process reproduced within  
himself1 and so he looks to  the        
mechanical side of things for the basis 
of his reasoning  about life4           
,consequently his reasoning lands him in
 the  conclusion that life is limited1  
because he has assumed  limitation in   
his premises1 and so-logically cannot   
escape from  it in his conclusion4 ,then
 he thinks that this is the law and so  
ridicules the idea of transcending it4  
,he points to the sequence  of cause and
 effect1 by which death1 disease1 and   
disaster1 hold  their sway over the     
individual1 and says that sequence is   
law4  ,and he is perfectly right so far 
as he goes--it is a law2 but not  ,,the 

,law4 ,when we have only reached this   
stage of comprehension1  we have yet to 
learn that a higher law can include a   
lower one so  completely as entirely to 
swallow it up4    ,the fallacy involved 
in this negative argument1 is the       
assumption  that the law of limitation  
is essential in all grades of being4    
,it is the fallacy of the old           
shipbuilders as to the impossibility  of
 building iron ships4 ,what is required 
is to get at the  ,,principle which is  
at the back of the ,law in its          
affirmative  working1 and specialize it 
under higher conditions than are        
spontaneously presented by nature1 and  
this can only be done by  the           
introduction of the personal element1   
that is to say an  individual           
intelligence capable of comprehending   
the principle4  ,the question1 then1 is1
 what is the principle by which we came 
into being8 and this is only a personal 
application of the  general question1   
,how did anything come into being8 ,now1

 as ,i  pointed out in the preceding    
article1 the ultimate deduction from    
physical science is that the originating
 movement takes place in  the ,universal
 ,mind1 and is analogous to that of our 
own  imagination2 and as we have just   
seen1 the perfect ideal can only  be    
that of a being capable of reciprocating
 ,,all the qualities of  the            
,originating ,mind4 ,consequently man1  
in his inmost nature1 is  the product of
 the ,divine ,mind imaging forth an     
image of itself  on the plane of the    
relative as the complementary to its own
  sphere of the absolute4    ,if we will
 therefore go to the ,,inmost principle 
in ourselves1  which philosophy and     
,scripture alike declare to be made in  
the  image and likeness of ,god1 instead
 of to the outer vehicles which  it     
externalizes as instruments through     
which to function on the  various planes
 of being1 we shall find that we have   
reached a  principle in ourselves which 
stands in loco dei towards all our      

vehicles and also towards our           
environment4 ,it is above them all1  and
 creates them1 however unaware we may be
 of the fact1 and  relatively to them it
 occupies the place of first cause4 ,the
  recognition of this is the discovery  
of our own relation to the  whole world 
of the relative4 ,on the other hand this
 must not lead  us into the mistake of  
supposing that there is nothing higher1 
for1 as we have already seen1 this      
inmost principle or ego is  itself the  
effect of an antecedent cause1 for it   
proceeds from  the imaging process in   
the ,divine ,mind4    ,we thus find     
ourselves holding an intermediate       
position between  true ,first ,cause1 on
 the one hand1 and the world of         
secondary  causes on the other1 and in  
order to understand the nature of  this 
position1 we must fall back on the axiom
 that the ,universal  can only work on  
the plane of the ,particular through the
  individual4 ,then we see that the     
function of the individual is to        

,,differentiate the undistributed flow  
of the ,universal into  suitable        
directions for starting different trains
 of secondary  causation4    ,man's     
place in the cosmic order is that of a  
distributor of the  ,divine power1      
subject1 however1 to the inherent ,law  
of the power  which he distributes4 ,we 
see one instance of this in ordinary    
science1 in the fact that we never      
create force2 all we can do is  to      
distribute it4 ,the very word ,man means
 distributor or  measurer1 as in common 
with all words derived from the         
,sanderit  root ,,mn41 it implies the   
idea of measurement1 just as in the     
words moon1 month1 mens1 mind1 and man1 
the ,indian weight of #hj  #a;bs42 and  
it is for this reason that man is spoken
 of in  ,scripture as a steward1 or     
dispenser of the ,divine gifts4 ,as  our
 minds become open to the full meaning  
of this position1 the  immense          
possibilities and also the              
responsibility contained in it  will    

become apparent4    ,it means that the  
individual is the creative centre of his
 own  world4 ,our past experience       
affords no evidence against this1 but   
on the contrary1 is evidence for it4    
,our true nature is always  present1    
only we have hitherto taken the lower   
and mechanical  side of things for our  
starting point1 and so have created     
limitation instead of expansion4 ,and   
even with the knowledge of  the         
,creative ,law which we have now        
attained1 we shall continue to  do this1
 if we seek our starting point in the   
things which are  below us and not in   
the only thing which is above us1 namely
 the  ,divine ,mind1 because it is only 
there that we can find  illimitable     
,creative ,power4 ,life is ,,being1 it  
is the experience  of states of         
consciousness1 and there is an unfailing
  correspondence between these inner    
states and our outward  conditions4 ,now
 we see from the ,original ,creation    
that the state  of consciousness must be

 the cause1 and the corresponding       
conditions the effect1 because at the   
starting of the creation no  conditions 
existed1 and the working of the         
,creative ,mind upon  itself can only   
have been a state of consciousness4     
,this1 then1  is clearly the ,creative  
,order--from states to conditions4 ,but 
we  invert this order1 and seek to      
create from conditions to states4  ,we  
say1 ,if ,i had such and such conditions
 they would produce the  state of       
feeling which ,i desire2 and in so      
saying we run the risk  of making a     
mistake as to the correspondence1 for it
 may turn out  that the particular      
conditions which we fixed on are not    
such as  would produce the desired      
state4 ,or1 again1 though they might    
produce it in a certain degree1 other   
conditions might produce it  in a still 
greater degree1 while at the same time  
opening the way  to the attainment of   
still higher states and still better    
conditions4 ,therefore our wisest plan  

is to follow the pattern of  the ,parent
 ,mind and make mental self-recognition 
our starting  point1 knowing that by the
 inherent ,law of ,spirit the corelated 
conditions will come by a natural       
process of growth4 ,then the  great     
self-recognition is that of our relation
 to the ,supreme  ,mind4 ,that is the   
generating centre and we are            
distributing  centres2 just as          
electricity is generated at the central 
station  and delivered in different     
forms of power by reason of passing     
through appropriate centres of          
distribution1 so that in one place  it  
lights a room1 in another conveys a     
message1 and in a third  drives a tram  
car4 ,in like manner the power of the   
,universal ,mind  takes particular forms
 through the particular mind of the     
individual4 ,it does not interfere with 
the lines of his  individuality1 but    
works along them1 thus making him1 not  
less1  but more himself4 ,it is thus1   
not a compelling power1 but an          

expanding and illuminating one2 so that 
the more the individual  recognizes the 
reciprocal action between it and        
himself1 the more  full of life he must 
become4    ,then also we need not be    
troubled about future conditions because
  we know that the ,all-originating     
,power is working through us and  for   
us1 and that according to the ,law      
proved by the whole  existing creation1 
it produces all the conditions required 
for  the expression of the ,life1 ,love 
and ,beauty which it is1 so that  we can
 fully trust it to open the way as we go
 along4 ,the ,great  ,teacher's words1  
,take no thought for the morrow--and    
note that  the correct translation is   
,take no anxious thought-- are the      
practical application of the soundest   
philosophy4 ,this does not1  of course1 
mean that we are not to exert ourselves4
 ,we must do  our share in the work1 and
 not expect ,god to do ,,for us what ,he
  can only do ,,through us4 ,we are to  
use our common sense and  natural       

faculties in working upon the conditions
 now present4 ,we  must make use of     
them1 ,,as ,,far ,,as ,,they ,,go1 but  
we must not try and  go further than the
 present things require2 we must not try
 to  force things1 but allow them to    
grow naturally1 knowing that they  are  
doing so under the guidance of the      
,all-,creating ,wisdom4    ,following   
this method we shall grow more and more 
into the habit  of looking to mental    
attitude as the ,key to our progress in 
,life1  knowing that everything else    
must come out of that2 and we shall     
further discover that our mental        
attitude is eventually  determined by   
the way in which we regard the ,divine  
,mind4 ,then  the final result will be  
that we shall see the ,divine ,mind to  
be  nothing else than ,life1 ,love and  
,beauty--,beauty being identical  with  
,wisdom or the perfect adjustment of    
parts to whole--and we  shall see       
ourselves to be distributing centres of 
these primary  energies and so in our   

turn subordinate centres of creative    
power4 ,and as we advance in this       
knowledge we shall find that we         
transcend one law of limitation after   
another by finding the  higher law1 of  
which the lower is but a partial        
expression1 until  we shall see clearly 
before us1 as our ultimate goal1 nothing
  less than the ,perfect ,law of        
,liberty--not liberty without ,law      
which is anarchy1 but ,liberty according
 to ,law4 ,in this way we  shall find   
that the ,apostle spoke the literal     
truth1 when he  said1 that we shall     
become like ,him when we see ,him ,,as  
,,he ,,is1  because the whole process by
 which our individuality is produced  is
 one of reflection of the image existing
 in the ,divine ,mind4  ,when we thus   
learn the ,law of our own being we shall
 be able to  specialize it in ways of   
which we have hitherto but little       
conception1 but as in the case of all   
natural laws the  specialization cannot 
take place until the fundamental        

principle  of the generic law has been  
fully realized4 ,for these reasons the  
student should endeavour to realize more
 and more perfectly1 both  in theory and
 practice1 the law of the relation      
between the  ,universal and the         
,individual ,minds4 ,it is that of      
,,reciprocal  action4 ,if this fact of  
reciprocity is grasped1 it will be found
  to explain both why the individual    
falls short of expressing the  fulness  
of ,life1 which the ,spirit is1 and why 
he can attain to  the fulness of that   
expression2 just as the same law        
explains why  iron sinks in water1 and  
how it can be made to float4 ,it is the 
individualizing of the ,universal       
,spirit1 by recognizing its  reciprocity
 to ourselves1 that is the secret of the
 perpetuation  and growth of our own    
individuality4        ,,the ,,new       
,,thought ,,and ,,the ,,new ,,order4    
,in the two preceding lectures ,i have  
endeavoured to reach some  conception of
 what the ,all-originating ,spirit is in

 itself1 and  of the relation of the    
individual to it4 ,so far as we can form
  any conception of these things at all 
we see that they are  universal         
principles applicable to all nature1    
and1 at the human  level1 applicable to 
all men3 they are general laws the      
recognition of which is an essential    
preliminary to any further  advance1    
because progress is made1 not by setting
 aside the  inherent law of things1     
which is impossible1 but by specializing
  it through presenting conditions which
 will enable the same  principle to act 
in a less limited manner4 ,having       
therefore got a  general idea of these  
two ultimates1 the universal and the    
individual1 and of their relation to one
 another1 let us now  consider the      
process of specialization4 ,in what does
 the  specialization of a natural law   
consist8 ,it consists in making  that   
law or principle produce an effect which
 it could not  produce under the simply 
generic conditions spontaneously        

provided by nature4 ,this selection of  
suitable conditions is the  work of     
,intelligence1 it is a process of       
consciously arranging  things in a new  
order1 so as to produce a new result4   
,the  principle is never new1 for       
principles are eternal and universal2   
but the knowledge that the same         
principle will produce new  results when
 working under new conditions is the key
 to the  unfoldment of infinite         
possibilities4 ,what we have therefore  
to  consider is the working of          
,intelligence in providing specific     
conditions for the operation of         
universal principles1 so as to  bring   
about new results which will transcend  
our past  experiences4 ,the process does
 not consist in the introduction of  new
 elements1 but in making new            
combinations of elements which  are     
always present2 just as our ancestors   
had no conception of  carriages that    
could go without horses1 and yet by a   
suitable  combination of elements which 

were always in existence1 such  vehicles
 are common objects in our streets      
today4 ,how1 then1 is  the power of     
,intelligence to be brought to bear upon
 the generic  law of the relation       
between the ,individual and the         
,universal so  as to specialize it into 
the production of greater results than  
those which we have hitherto obtained8  
,all the practical attainments of       
science1 which place the  civilized     
world of to-day in advance of the times 
of ,king ,alfred  or ,charlemagne1 have 
been gained by a uniform method1 and    
that a  very simple one4 ,it is by      
always enquiring what is the            
affirmative factor in any existing      
combination1 and asking  ourselves why1 
in that particular combination1 it does 
not act  beyond certain limits4 ,what   
makes the thing a success1 so far as  it
 goes1 and what prevents it going       
further8 ,then1 by carefully            
considering the nature of the           
affirmative factor1 we see what  sort of

 conditions to provide to enable it to  
express itself more  fully4 ,this is the
 scientific method2 it has proved itself
 true  in respect of material things1   
and there is no reason why it  should   
not be equally reliable in respect of   
spiritual things  also4    ,taking this 
as our method1 we ask1 ,what is the     
affirmative factor  in the whole        
creation1 and in ourselves as included  
in the  creation1 and1 as we found in   
the first lecture1 this factor is       
,spirit--that invisible power which     
concentrates-the primordial  ether into 
forms1 and endows those forms with      
various modes of  motion1 from the      
simply mechanical motion of the planet  
up to the  volitional motion in man4    
,and1 since this is so1 the primary     
affirmative factor can only be the      
,feeling and the ,thought of the        
,universal ,spirit499 ,now1 by the      
hypothesis of the case1 the  ,universal 
,spirit must be the ,pure ,essence of   
,life1 and therefore  its feeling and   

thought can only be towards the         
continually  increasing expression of   
the livingness which it is2 and         
accordingly the specialization1 of which
 we are in search1 must  be along the   
line of affording it a centre from which
 it may more  perfectly realize this    
feeling and express this thought3 in    
other  words the way to specialize the  
generic principle of ,spirit is by      
providing new mental conditions in      
consonance with its own  original       
nature4    99 ,see my ,edinburgh        
,lectures on ,mental ,science4      ,the
 scientific method of enquiry therefore 
brings us to the  conclusion that the   
required conditions for translating the 
racial or generic operation of the      
,spirit into a specialized  individual  
operation is a new way of ,,thinking    
mode of thought  concurring with1 and   
not in opposition to1 the essential     
forward  movement of the ,creative      
,spirit itself4 ,this implies an entire 
reversal of our old conceptions4        

,hitherto we have taken forms and       
conditions as the starting point of our 
thought and inferred that  they are the 
causes of mental states2 now we have    
learnt that the  true order of the      
creative process is exactly the reverse1
 and  that thought and feeling are the  
causes1 and forms and conditions  the   
effects4 ,when we have learnt this      
lesson we have grasped the  foundation  
principle on which individual           
specialization of the  generic law of   
the creative process becomes a practical
  possibility4    ,new ,thought1 then1  
is not the name of a particular sect1   
but is  the essential factor by which   
our own future development is to be     
carried on2 and its essence consists in 
seeing the relation of  things in a ,new
 ,order4 ,hitherto we have inverted the 
true order  of cause and effect2 now1 by
 carefully considering the real  nature 
of the ,principle of ,causation in      
itself--causa causans as  distinguished 
from cause causata--we return to the    

true order and  adopt a new method of   
thinking in accordance with it4    ,in  
themselves this order and this method of
 thinking are not new4  ,they are older 
than the foundation of the world1 for   
they are  those of the ,creative ,spirit
 itself2 and all through the ages  this 
teaching has been handed down under     
various forms1 the true  meaning of     
which has been perceived only by a few  
in each  generation4 ,but as the light  
breaks in upon any individual it is  a  
new light to him1 and so to each one in 
succession it becomes  the ,new         
,thought4 ,and when anyone reaches it1  
he finds himself in  a ,new ,order4 ,he 
continues indeed to be included in the  
universal  order of the cosmos1 but in a
 perfectly different way to what he  had
 previously supposed2 for1 from his new 
standpoint1 he finds  that he is        
included1 not so much as a part of the  
general effect1  but as a part of the   
general cause2 and when he perceives    
this he  then sees that the method of   

his further advance must be by  letting 
the ,general ,cause flow more and more  
freely into his own  specific centre1   
and he therefore seeks to provide       
thought  conditions which will enable   
him to do so4    ,then1 still employing 
the scientific method of following up   
the  affirmative factor1 he realizes    
that this universal causative  power1 by
 whatever name he may call it1 manifests
 as ,supreme  ,intelligence in the      
adaptation of means to ends4 ,it does so
 in  the mechanism of the planet1 in the
 production of supply for the  support  
of physical life1 and in the maintenance
 of the race as a  whole4 ,true1 the    
investigator is met at every turn with  
individual failure2 but his answer to   
this is that there is no  cosmic        
failure1 and that the apparent          
individual failure is  itself a part of 
the cosmic process1 and will diminish in
  proportion as the individual attains  
to the recognition of the  ,moving      
,principle of that process1 and provides

 the necessary  conditions to enable it 
to take a new starting point in his own 
individuality4 ,now1 one of these       
conditions is to recognize it as        
,intelligence1 and to remember that when
 working through our own  mentality it  
in no way changes its essential nature1 
just as  electricity loses none of its  
essential qualities in passing  through 
the special apparatus which enables it  
to manifest as  light4    ,when we see  
this1 our line of thought will run      
something as  follows3--,my mind is a   
centre of ,divine operation4 ,the       
,divine  operation is always for        
expansion and fuller expression1 and    
this  means the production of something 
beyond what has gone before1  something 
entirely new1 not included in past      
experience1 though  proceeding out of it
 by an orderly sequence of growth4      
,therefore1  since the ,divine cannot   
change its inherent nature1 it must     
operate in the same manner in me2       
consequently in my own special  world1  

of which ,i am the centre1 it will move 
forward to produce  new conditions1     
always in advance of any that have gone 
before4  ,this is a legitimate line of  
argument1 from the premises  established
 in the recognition of the relation     
between the  individual and the         
,universal ,mind2 and it results in our 
looking  to the ,divine ,mind1 not only 
as creative1 but also as directive--    
that is as determining the actual forms 
which the conditions for  its           
manifestation will take in our own      
particular world1 as well  as supplying 
the energy for their production4 ,we    
miss the point  of the relation between 
the individual and the universal1 if we 
do not see that the ,originating ,spirit
 is a ,,forming power4 ,it is  the      
forming power throughout nature1 and if 
we would specialize  it we must learn to
 trust its formative quality when       
operating  from its new starting point  
in ourselves4    ,but the question      
naturally arises1 ,if this is so1 what  

part is  taken by the individual8 ,our  
part is to provide a concrete centre    
round which the ,divine energies can    
play4 ,in the generic order of  being we
 exercise upon it a force of attraction 
in accordance  with the innate pattern  
of our particular individuality2 and as 
we begin to realize the ,law of this    
relation1 we1 in our turn1  are         
attracted towards the ,divine along the 
lines of least  resistance1 that is on  
those lines which are most natural to   
our  special bent of mind4 ,in this way 
we throw out certain  aspirations with  
the result that we intensify our        
attraction of  the ,divine forces in a  
certain specific manner1 and they then  
begin to act both through us and around 
us in accordance with our  aspirations4 
,this is the rationale of the reciprocal
 action be  tween the ,universal ,mind  
and the individual mind1 and this shows 
us that our desires should not be       
directed so much to the  acquisition of 
particular ,,things as to the           

reproduction in  ourselves of particular
 phases of the ,spirit's activity2 and  
this1 being in its very nature creative1
 is bound to externalize  as            
corresponding things and circumstances4 
,then1 when these  external facts appear
 in the circle of our objective life1 we
  must work upon them from the objective
 stand-point4 ,this is where  many fall 
short of completed work4 ,they realize  
the subjective or  creative process1 but
 do not see that it must be followed by 
an  objective or constructive process1  
and consequently they are  unpractical  
dreamers and never reach the stage of   
completed work4  ,the creative process  
brings the materials and conditions for 
the  work to our hands2 then we must    
make use of them with diligence  and    
common-sense--,god will provide the     
food1 but ,he will not cook  the dinner4
    ,this1 then1 is the part taken by   
the individual1 and it is thus  that he 
becomes a distributing centre of the    
,divine energy1  neither on the one hand

 trying to lead it like a blind force1  
nor  on the other being himself under a 
blind unreasoning impulsion  from it4   
,he receives guidance because he seeks  
guidance2 and he  both seeks and        
receives according to a ,law which he is
 able to  recognize2 so that he no more 
sacrifices his liberty or dwarfs  his   
powers1 than does an engineer who       
submits to the generic laws  of         
electricity1 in order to apply them to  
some specific purpose4  ,the more       
intimate his knowledge of this ,law of  
,reciprocity  becomes1 the more he finds
 that it leads on to ,liberty1 on the   
same principle by which we find in      
physical science that nature  obeys us  
precisely in the same degree to which we
 first obey  nature4 ,as the esoteric   
maxim has it ,what is a truth on one    
plane is a truth on all4 ,but the key to
 this enfranchisement of  body1 mind1   
and circumstances is in that new thought
 which  becomes creative of new         
conditions1 because it realizes the true

  order of the creative process4        
,therefore it is that1 if we would      
bring a new order of ,life1 ,light1 and 
,liberty into our lives we  must        
commence by bringing a new order into   
our thought1 and find  in ourselves the 
starting point of a new creative series1
 not by  the force of personal will1 but
 by union with the ,divine ,spirit1     
which in the expression of its inherent 
,love and ,beauty1 makes  all things    
new4        ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the     
,,spirit4    ,the three preceding       
lectures have touched upon certain      
fundamental truths in a definite        
order--first the nature of the          
,originating ,spirit itself1 next the   
generic relation of the  individual to  
this ,all-embracing ,spirit1 and lastly 
the way to  specialize this relation so 
as to obtain greater results from it    
than spontaneously arise by its merely  
generic action1 and we  have found that 
this can only be done through a new     
order of  thought4 ,this sequence is    

logical because it implies a ,power1 an 
,individual who understands the ,power1 
and a ,method of applying  the power    
deduced from understanding its nature4  
,these are  general principles without  
realizing which it is impossible to     
proceed further1 but assuming that the  
reader has grasped their  significance1 
we may now go on to consider their      
application in  greater detail4    ,now 
this application must be a personal one1
 for it is only  through the individual 
that the higher specialization of the   
power can take place1 but at the same   
time this must not lead us  to suppose  
that the individual1 himself1 brings the
 creative  force into being4 ,to suppose
 this is inversion2 and we cannot       
impress upon ourselves too deeply that  
the relation of the  individual to the  
,divine ,spirit is that of a            
distributor1 and not  that of the       
original creator4 ,if this is steadily  
borne in mind  the way will become      
clear1 otherwise we shall be led into   

confusion4    ,what1 then1 is the ,power
 which we are to distribute8 ,it is the 
,originating ,spirit itself4 ,we are    
sure that it is this because  the new   
order of thought always begins at the   
beginning of any  series which it       
contemplates bringing into              
manifestation1 and it  is based upon the
 fact that the origin of everything is  
,spirit4  ,it is in this that its       
creative power resides2 hence the person
  who is in the true new order of       
thought assumes as an axiomatic  fact   
that what he has to distribute1 or      
differentiate into  manifestation is    
nothing else than the ,originating      
,spirit4 ,this  being the case1 it is   
evident that the ,,purpose of the       
distribution must be the more perfect   
expression of the  ,originating ,spirit 
as that which it is in itself1 and what 
it is  in itself is emphatically ,life4 
,what is seeking for expression1  then1 
is the perfect ,livingness of the       
,spirit2 and this  expression is to be  

found1 through ourselves1 by means of   
our  renewed mode of thought4 ,let us   
see1 then1 how our new order of         
thought1 with regard to the ,principle  
of ,life1 is likely to  operate ,in our 
old order of thought we have always     
associated  ,life with the physical     
body--life has been for us the supreme  
physical fact4 ,now1 however1 we know   
that ,life is much more than  this2 but1
 as the greater includes the less1 it   
includes physical  life as one mode of  
its manifestation4 ,the true order does 
not  require us to deny the reality of  
physical life or to call it an          
illusion2 on the contrary it sees in    
physical life the completion  of a great
 creative series1 but it assigns it the 
proper place in  that series1 which is  
what the old mode of thought did not4   
,when we realize the truth about the    
,creative ,process1 we see that  the    
originating life is not physical3 its   
livingness consists in  thought and     
feeling4 ,by this inner movement it     

throws out  vehicles through which to   
function1 and these become living forms 
because of the inner-principle which is 
sustaining them2 so that  the ,life with
 which we are primarily concerned in the
 new order  is the life of thought and  
feeling in ourselves as the vehicle1  or
 distributing medium1 of the ,life of   
the ,spirit4    ,then1 if we have       
grasped the idea of the ,spirit as the  
great  ,,forming ,power1 as stated in   
the last lecture1 we shall seek in it   
the fountain-head of ,form as well as of
 ,power3 and as a logical  deduction    
from this we shall look to it to give   
form to our  thoughts and feelings4 ,if 
the principle is once recognised the    
sequence is obvious4 ,the form taken by 
our outward conditions1  whether of body
 or circumstance1 depends on the form   
taken by our  thoughts and feelings1 and
 our thoughts and feelings will take    
form from that source from which we     
allow them to receive  suggestion4      
,accordingly if we allow them to accept 

their  fundamental suggestions from the 
relative and limited1 they will  assume 
a corresponding form and transmit them  
to our external  environment1 thus      
repeating the old order of limitation in
 a  ceaselessly recurring round4 ,now   
our object is to get out of this  circle
 of limitation1 and the only way to do  
so is to get our  thoughts and feelings 
moulded into new forms continually      
advancing to greater and greater        
perfection4 ,to meet this  requirement1 
therefore1 there must be a forming power
 greater  than that of our own unaided  
conceptions1 and this is to be found  in
 our realization of the ,spirit as the  
,supreme ,beauty1 or  ,wisdom1 moulding 
our thoughts and feelings into shapes   
harmoniously adjusted to the fullest    
expression1 in and through  us1 of the  
,livingness which ,spirit is in itself4 
,now this is nothing more than          
transferring to the innermost plane  of 
origination1 a principle with which all 
readers who are in  the thought may be  

presumed to be quite familiar--the      
principle  of ,receptiveness4 ,we all   
know what is meant by a receptive mental
  attitude when applied to healing or   
telepathy2 and does it not  logically   
follow that the same principle may be   
applied to the  receiving of life itself
 from the ,supreme ,source8 ,what is    
wanted1  therefore1 is to place         
ourselves in a receptive mental attitude
  towards the ,universal ,spirit with   
the intention of receiving its  forming 
influence into our mental substance4 ,it
 is always the  presence of a definite  
intention that distinguishes the        
intelligent receptive attitude of mind  
from a merely sponge-like  absorbency1  
which sucks in any and every influence  
that may  happen to be floating round3  
for we must not shut our eyes to the    
fact that there are various influences  
in the mental atmosphere  by which we   
are surrounded1 and some of them of the 
most  undesirable kind4 ,clear and      
definite intention is therefore as      

necessary in our receptive attitude as  
in our active and creative  one2 and if 
our intention is to have our own        
thoughts and  feelings moulded into such
 forms as to express those of the       
,spirit1 then we establish that relation
 to the ,spirit which1 by  the          
conditions of the case1 must necessarily
 lead us to the  conception of new      
ideals vitalised by a power which will  
enable  us to bring them into concrete  
manifestation4 ,it is in this way  that 
we become differentiating centres of the
 ,divine ,thought  giving it expression 
in form in the world of space and time1 
and  thus is solved the great problem of
 enabling the ,universal to act  upon   
the plane of the particular without     
being hampered by those  limitations    
which the merely generic law of         
manifestation imposes  upon it4 ,it is  
just here that subconscious mind        
performs the  function of a bridge      
between the finite and the infinite as  
noted in my ,edinburgh ,lectures on     

,mental ,science 7page #ca71 and  it is 
for this reason that a recognition of   
its susceptibility to  impression is so 
important4    ,by establishing1 then1 a 
personal relation to the life of the    
,spirit1 the sphere of the individual   
becomes enlarged4 ,the reason  is that  
he allows a greater intelligence than   
his own to take the  initiative2 and    
since he knows that this ,intelligence  
is also the  very ,principle of ,life   
itself1 he cannot have any fear that it 
will act in any way to the diminution of
 his individual life1 for  that would be
 to stultify its own operation--it would
 be  self-destructive action which is a 
contradiction in terms to the           
conception of ,creative ,spirit4        
,knowing1 then1 that by its  inherent   
nature this ,intelligence can only work 
to the expansion  of the individual     
life1 we can rest upon it with the      
utmost  confidence and trust it to take 
an initiative which will lead to  far   
greater results than any we could       

forecast from the  stand-point of our   
own knowledge4 ,so long as we insist on 
dictating the particular form which the 
action of the ,spirit is  to take1 we   
limit it1 and so close against ourselves
 avenues of  expansion which might      
otherwise have been open to us2 and if  
we  ask ourselves why we do this we     
shall find that in the last  resort it  
is because we do not believe in the     
,spirit as a ,,forming  power4 ,we have1
 indeed1 advanced to the conception of  
it as  executive power1 which will work 
to a prescribed pattern1 but we  have   
yet to grasp the conception of it as    
versed in the art of  design1 and       
capable of elaborating schemes of       
construction1 which  will not only be   
complete in themselves1 but also in     
perfect  harmony with one another4 ,when
 we advance to the conception of  the   
,spirit as containing in itself the     
ideal of ,form as well as  of ,power1 we
 shall cease from the effort of trying  
to force  things into a particular      

shape1 whether on the inner or the outer
  plane1 and shall be content to trust  
the inherent harmoniousness  or ,beauty 
of the ,spirit to produce combinations  
far in advance of  anything that we     
could have conceived ourselves4 ,this   
does not  mean that we shall reduce     
ourselves to a condition of apathy1 in  
which all desire1 expectation and       
enthusiasm have been quenched1  for     
these are the mainspring of our mental  
machinery2 but on the  contrary their   
action will be quickened by the         
knowledge that  there is working at the 
back of them a ,formative ,principle so 
infallible that it cannot miss its mark2
 so that however good and  beautiful the
 existing forms may be1 we may always   
rest in the  happy expectation of       
something still better to come4 ,and it 
will  come by a natural law of growth1  
because the ,spirit is in itself  the   
,principle of ,increase4 ,they will grow
 out of present  conditions for the     
simple reason that if you are to reach  

some  further point it can only be by   
starting from where you are now4        
,therefore it is written1 ,despise not  
the day of small things4  ,there is only
 one proviso attached to this forward   
movement of  the ,spirit in the world of
 our own surroundings1 and that is that 
we shall co-operate with it2 and this   
co-operation consists in  making the    
best use of existing conditions in      
cheerful reliance  on the ,spirit of    
,increase to express itself through us1 
and for  us1 because we are in harmony  
with it4 ,this mental attitude will  be 
found of immense value in setting us    
free from worry and  anxiety1 and as a  
consequence our work will be done in a  
much  more efficient manner4 ,we shall  
do the present work ,,for ,,its ,,own   
sake1 knowing that herein is the        
principle of unfoldment2 and  doing it  
simply for its own sake we shall bring  
to bear upon it a  power of             
concentration which cannot fail of good 
results--and  this quite naturally and  

without any toilsome effort4 ,we shall  
then find that the secret of            
co-operation is to have faith in        
ourselves because we first have faith in
 ,god2 and we shall  discover that this 
,divine self-confidence is something    
very  different from a boastful egotism 
which assumes a personal  superiority   
over others4 ,it is simply the assurance
 of a man who  knows that he is working 
in accordance with a law of nature4 ,he 
does not claim as a personal achievement
 what the ,law does ,,for  him3 but on  
the other hand he does not trouble      
himself about  outcries against his     
presumptuous audacity raised by persons 
who  are ignorant of the ,law which he  
is employing4 ,he is therefore  neither 
boastful nor timorous1 but simply works 
on in cheerful  expectancy because he   
knows that his reliance is upon a ,law  
which  cannot be broken4    ,in this    
way1 then1 we must realize the ,life of 
the ,spirit as  being also the ,law of  
the ,spirit4 ,the two are identical1 and

  cannot deny themselves4 ,our          
recognition of them gives them a new    
starting point through our own          
mentality1 but they still continue  to  
be the same in their nature1 and unless 
limited or inverted by  our mental      
affirmation of limited or inverted      
conditions1 they  are bound to work out 
into fuller and continually fuller      
expression of the ,life1 ,love1 and     
,beauty which the ,spirit is in  itself4
 ,our path1 therefore1 is plain2 it is  
simply to  contemplate the ,life1 ,love1
 and ,beauty of the ,originating ,spirit
  and affirm that we are already giving 
expression to it in our  thoughts and in
 our actions however insignificant they 
may at  present appear4 ,this path may  
be very narrow and humble in its        
beginning1 but it ever grows wider and  
mounts higher1 for it is  the           
continually expanding expression of the 
,life of the ,spirit  which is infinite 
and knows no limits4        ,,alpha     
,,and ,,omega4    ,alpha and ,omega1 the

 ,first and the ,last4 ,what does this  
mean8 ,it  means the entire series of   
causation from the first originating    
movement to the final and completed     
result4 ,we may take this on  any scale 
from the creation of a cosmos to the    
creation of a  lady's robe4 ,everything 
has its origin in an idea1 a thought2   
and  it has its completion in the       
manifestation of that thought in  form4 
,many intermediate stages are necessary1
 but the ,alpha and  ,omega of the      
series are the thought and the thing4   
,this shows us  that in essence the     
thing already existed in the thought4   
,omega  is already potential in ,alpha1 
just as in the ,pythagorean system  all 
numbers are said to proceed from unity  
and to be resolvable  back again into   
it4 ,now it is this general principle of
 the  already existence of the thing in 
the thought that we have to lay  hold   
of1 and as we find it true in an        
architect's design of the  house that is
 to be1 so we find it true in the great 

work of the  ,architect of the          
,universe4 ,when we see this we have    
realized a  general principle1 which we 
find at work everywhere4 ,that is the   
meaning of a general principle3 it can  
be applied to any sort of  subject2 and 
the use of studying general principles  
is to give  them particular application 
to anything we may have to deal with4   
,now what we have to deal with most of  
all is ourselves1 and so we  come to the
 consideration of ,alpha and ,omega in  
the human being4  ,in the vision of ,st4
 ,john1 the speaker of the words1 ,i am 
,alpha  and ,omega1 the ,first and the  
,last1 is described as ,like unto a  son
 of man--that is1 however transcendent  
the appearance in the  vision1 it is    
essentially human1 and thus suggests to 
us the  presence of the universal       
principle at the human level4 ,but the  
figure in the apocalyptic vision is not 
that of man as we  ordinarily know him4 
,it is that of ,omega as it subsists    
enshrined  in ,alpha3 it is the ideal of

 humanity as it subsists in the  ,divine
 ,mind which was manifested in objective
 form to the eyes of  the seer1 and     
therefore presented the ,alpha and      
,omega of that  idea in all the majesty 
of ,divine glory4    ,but if we grasp   
the truth that the thing is already     
existent in  the thought1 do we not see 
that this transcendent ,omega must be   
already existent in the ,divine ideal of
 every one of us8 ,if on  the plane of  
the absolute time is not1 then does it  
not follow  that this glorified humanity
 is a present fact in the ,divine       
,mind8 ,and if this is so1 then this    
fact is eternally true  regarding every 
human being4 ,but if it is true that the
 thing  exists in the thought1 it is    
equally true that the thought finds     
form in the thing2 and since things     
exist under the relative  conditions of 
time and space1 they are necessarily    
subject to a  law of ,growth1 so that   
while the subsistence of the thing in   
the  thought is perfect ab initio1 the  

expression of the thought in  the thing 
is a matter of gradual development4     
,this is a point  which we must never   
lose sight of in our studies2 and we    
must  never lose sight of the perfection
 of the thing in the thought  because we
 do not yet see the perfection of the   
thought in the  thing4 ,therefore we    
must remember that man1 as we know him  
now1  has by no means reached the       
ultimate of his evolution4 ,we are  only
 yet in the making1 but we have now     
reached a point where we  can facilitate
 the evolutionary process by conscious  
co-operation  with the ,creative        
,spirit4 ,our share in this work        
commences with  the recognition of the  
,divine ideal of man1 and thus finding  
the  pattern by which we are to be      
guided4 ,for since the person to be     
created after this pattern is ourself1  
it follows that1 by  whatever processes 
the ,divine ideal transforms itself into
  concrete reality1 the place where     
those processes are to work  must be    

within ourselves2 in other words1 the   
creative action of  the ,spirit takes   
place through the laws of our own       
mentality4 ,if  it is a true maxim that 
the thing must take form in the thought 
before the thought can take form in the 
thing1 then it is plain  that the       
,divine ,ideal can only be externalized 
in our objective  life in proportion as 
it is first formed in our thought2 and  
it  takes form in our thought only to   
the extent to which we  apprehend its   
existence in the ,divine ,mind4 ,by the 
nature of the  relation between the     
individual mind and the ,universal ,mind
 it is  strictly a case of reflection2  
and in proportion as the mirror of  our 
own mind blurs or clearly reflects the  
image of the ,divine  ideal1 so will it 
give rise to a correspondingly feeble or
  vigorous reproduction of it in our    
external life4    ,this being the       
rationale of the matter1 why should we  
limit our  conception of the ,divine    
ideal of ourselves8 ,why should we say1 

,i am too mean a creature ever to       
reflect so glorious an image--  or ,god 
never intended such a limitless ideal to
 be reproduced in  human beings4 ,in    
saying such things we expose our        
ignorance of  the whole ,law of the     
,creative ,process4 ,we shut our eyes to
 the  fact that the ,omega of completion
 already subsists in the ,alpha  of     
conception1 and that the ,alpha of      
conception would be nothing  but a lying
 illusion if it was not capable of      
expression in the  ,omega of completion4
 ,the creative process in us is that we 
become  the individual reflection of    
what we realize ,god to be relatively   
to ourselves1 and therefore if we       
realize the ,divine ,spirit as  the     
,,infinite potential of all that can    
constitute a perfected  human being1    
this conception must1 by the ,law of the
 ,creative  ,process1 gradually build up
 a corresponding image in our mind1     
which in turn will act upon our external
 conditions4    ,this1 by the laws of   

mind1 is the nature of the process and  
it  shows us what ,st4 ,paul means when 
he speaks of ,christ being  formed in us
 7,gal4 iv4 #ai7 and what in another    
place he calls  being renewed in        
knowledge after the image of ,him that  
created us  7,col4 iii4 #aj74 ,it is a  
thoroughly logical sequence of cause and
  effect1 and what we require is to see 
more clearly the ,law of  this sequence 
and use it intelligently--that is why   
,st4 ,paul says  it is being renewed in 
knowledge3 it is a ,new ,knowledge1 the 
recognition of principles which we had  
not previously  apprehended4 ,now the   
fact which1 in our past experience1 we  
have  not grasped is that the human mind
 forms a new point of departure  for the
 work of the ,creative ,spirit2 and in  
proportion as we see  this more and more
 clearly1 the more we shall find        
ourselves  entering into a new order of 
life in which we become less and  less  
subject to the old limitations4 ,this is
 not a reward  arbitrarily bestowed upon

 us for holding dogmatically to certain 
mere verbal statements1 but it is the   
natural result of  understanding the    
supreme law of our own being4 ,on its   
own plane  it is as purely scientific as
 the law of chemical reaction2 only     
here we are not dealing with the        
interaction of secondary causes  but    
with the ,self-originating action of    
,spirit4 ,hence a new force  has to be  
taken into account which does not occur 
in physical  science1 the power of      
,feeling4 ,thought creates form1 but it 
is  feeling that gives vitality to      
thought4 ,thought without feeling  may  
be constructive as in some great        
engineering work1 but it can  never be  
creative as in the work of the artist or
 musician2 and  that which originates   
within itself a new order of causation  
is1  so far as all pre-existing forms   
are concerned1 a creation ex  nihilo1   
and is therefore ,thought expressive of 
,feeling4 ,it is  this indissoluble     
union of ,thought and ,feeling that     

distinguishes  creative thought from    
merely analytical thought and places it 
in  a different category2 and therefore 
if we are to afford a new               
starting-point for carrying on the work 
of creation it must be by  assimilating 
the feeling of the ,originating ,spirit 
as part and  parcel of its thought--it  
is that entering into the ,mind of the  
,spirit of which ,i spoke in the first  
address4    ,now the images in the ,mind
 of the ,spirit must necessarily be     
,,generic4 ,the reason for this is that 
by its very nature the  ,principle of   
,life must be prolific1 that is1 tending
 to  ,multiplicity1 and therefore the   
original ,thought-image must be         
fundamental to whole races1 and not     
exclusive to particular  individuals4   
,consequently the images in the ,mind of
 the ,spirit  must be absolute types of 
the true essentials of the perfect      
development of the race1 just what      
,plato meant by architypal  ideas4 ,this
 is the perfect subsistence of the thing

 in the  thought4 ,therefore it is that 
our evolution as centres of  ,,creative 
activity1 the exponents of new laws1 and
 through them of  new conditions1       
depends on our realizing in the ,divine 
,mind the  architype of mental          
perfection1 at once as thought and      
feeling4  ,but when we find all this in 
the ,divine ,mind1 do we not meet with  
an infinite and glorious ,personality8  
,there is nothing lacking of  all that  
we can understand by ,personality1      
excepting outward  form2 and since the  
very essence of telepathy is that it    
dispenses with the physical presence1 we
 find ourselves in a  position of       
interior communion with a ,personality  
at once ,divine  and ,human4 ,this is   
that ,personality of the ,spirit which  
,st4 ,john  saw in the apocalyptic      
vision1 and which by the very conditions
  of the case is the ,alpha and ,omega  
of ,humanity4    ,but1 as ,i have said1 
it is simply ,,generic in itself1 and it
  becomes active and specific only by a 

purely personal relation to  the        
individual4 ,but once more we must      
realize that nothing can  take place    
except according to ,law1 and therefore 
this specific  relation is nothing      
arbitrary1 but arises out of the generic
 ,law  applied under specific           
conditions4 ,and since what makes a law 
generic is precisely the fact that it   
does not supply the  specific           
conditions1 it follows that the         
conditions for the  specializing of the 
,law must be provided by the individual4
 ,then  it is that his recognition of   
the originating creative movement1  as  
arising from combined ,thought and      
,feeling1 becomes a practical  working  
asset4 ,he realizes that there is a     
,heart and ,mind of the  ,spirit        
reciprocal to his own heart and mind1   
that he is not  dealing with a filmy    
abstraction1 nor yet with a mere        
mathematical sequence1 but with         
something that is pulsating with  a     
,life as warm and vivid and full of     

interest as his own--nay1  more so1 for 
it is the ,infinite of all that he      
himself is4 ,and  his recognition goes  
even further than this1 for since this  
specialization can only take place      
through the individual  himself1 it     
logically follows that the ,life1 which 
he thus  specializes1 become ,,his ,,own
 life4 ,quoad the individual it does    
not know itself apart from him4 ,but    
this self-recognition through  the      
individual cannot in any way change the 
inherent nature of  the ,creative       
,spirit1 and therefore to the extent to 
which the  individual perceives its     
identification with himself1 he places  
himself under its guidance1 and so he   
becomes one of those who  are led by the
 ,spirit4 ,thus he begins to find the   
,alpha and  ,omega of the ,divine ideal 
reproduced in himself--in a very small  
degree at present1 but containing the   
principle of perpetual  growth into an  
infinite expansion of which we can as   
yet form no  conception4    ,st4 ,john  

sums up the whole of this position in   
his memorable  words3--,beloved now are 
we the ,sons of ,god1 and it doth not   
yet  appear what we ,,shall be2 but we  
know that when ,he shall appear  7i4e41 
become clear to us7 we shall be like    
,him2 for 7i4e41 the  reason of all     
this7 we shall see ,him as ,he is 7,i4  
,john iii4 #b74        ,,the ,,creative 
,,power ,,of ,,thought4    ,one of the  
great axioms in the new order of ideas1 
of which ,i  have spoken1 is that our   
,thought possesses creative power1 and  
since the whole superstructure depends  
on this foundation1 it is  well to      
examine it carefully4 ,now the starting 
point is to see  that ,thought1 or      
purely mental action1 is the only       
possible  source from which the existing
 creation could ever have come into     
manifestation at all1 and it is on this 
account that in the  preceding addresses
 ,i have laid stress on the origin of   
the  cosmos4 ,it is therefore not       
necessary to go over this ground  again1

 and we will start this morning's       
enquiry on the assumption  that every   
manifestation is in essence the         
expression of a ,divine  ,thought4 ,this
 being so1 our own mind is the          
expression of a  ,divine ,thought4 ,the 
,divine ,thought has produced something 
which  itself is capable of thinking2   
but the question is whether its         
thinking has the same creative quality  
as that of the ,parent  ,mind4    ,now  
by the very hypothesis of the case the  
whole ,creative ,process  consists in   
the continual pressing so forward of the
 ,universal  ,spirit for expression     
through the individual and particular1  
and  ,spirit in its different modes is  
therefore the ,life and ,substance  of  
the universe4 ,hence it follows that if 
there is to be an  expression of        
thinking power it can only be by        
expressing the  same thinking power     
which subsists latent in the            
,originating  ,spirit4 ,if it were less 
than this it would only be some sort of 

mechanism and would not be thinking     
power1 so that to be thinking  power at 
all it must be identical in kind with   
that of the  ,originating ,spirit4 ,it  
is for this reason that man is said to  
be  created in the image and likeness of
 ,god2 and if we realize that  it is    
impossible for him to be otherwise1 we  
shall find a firm  foundation from which
 to draw many important deductions4     
,but if our thought possesses this      
creative power1 why are we  hampered by 
adverse conditions8 ,the answer is1     
because hitherto  we have used our power
 invertedly4 ,we have taken the starting
  point of our thought from external    
facts and consequently created  a       
repetition of facts of a similar nature1
 and so long as we do  this we must     
needs go on perpetuating the old circle 
of  limitation4 ,and1 owing to the      
sensitiveness of the subconscious  mind 
to suggestion--7,see ,edinburgh         
,lectures1 chapter ,v47--we are  subject
 to a very powerful negative influence  

from those who are  unacquainted with   
affirmative principles1 and thus        
race-beliefs  and the thought-currents  
of our more immediate environment tend  
to consolidate our own inverted         
thinking4 ,it is therefore not          
surprising that the creative power of   
our thought1 thus used in a  wrong      
direction1 has produced the limitations 
of which we  complain4 ,the remedy1     
then1 is by reversing our method of     
thinking1 and instead of taking external
 facts as our starting  point1 taking   
the inherent nature of mental power as  
our starting  point4 ,we have already   
gained two great steps in this          
direction1  first by seeing that the    
whole manifested cosmos could have had  
its origin nowhere but in mental power1 
and secondly by realizing  that our own 
mental power must be the same in kind   
with that of  the ,originating ,mind4   
,now we can go a step further and see   
how this power in ourselves  can be     
perpetuated and intensified4 ,by the    

nature of the creative  process your    
mind is itself a thought of the ,parent 
,mind2 so1 as  long as this thought of  
the ,universal ,mind subsists1 you will 
subsist1 for you are it4 ,but so long as
 you think this thought it  continues to
 subsist1 and necessarily remains       
present in the  ,divine ,mind1 thus     
fulfilling the logical conditions       
required for  the perpetuation of the   
individual life4 ,a poor analogy of the 
process may be found in a               
self-influencing dynamo where the       
magnetism generates the current and the 
current intensifies the  magnetism with 
the result of producing a still stronger
 current  until the limit of saturation 
is reached2 only in the substantive     
infinitude of the ,universal ,mind and  
the potential infinitude of  the        
,individual ,mind there is no limit of  
saturation4 ,or we may  compare the     
interaction of the two minds to two     
mirrors1 a great  and a small one1      
opposite each other1 with the word ,life

  engraved on the large one4 ,then1 by  
the law of reflection1 the  word ,life  
will also appear on the image of the    
smaller mirror  reflected in the        
greater4 ,of course these are only very 
imperfect  analogies2 but if you car    
once grasp the idea of your own         
individuality as a thought in the       
,divine ,mind which is able to          
perpetuate itself by thinking of itself 
as the thought which it  is1 you have   
got at the root of the whole matter1 and
 by the same  process you will not only 
perpetuate your life but will also      
expand it4    ,when we realize this on  
the one hand1 and on the other that all 
external conditions1 including the body1
 are produced by thought1  we find      
ourselves standing between two          
infinites1 the infinite of  ,mind and   
the infinite of ,substance--from both of
 which we can  draw what we will1 and   
mould specific conditions out of the    
,universal ,substance by the ,creative  
,power which we draw in from  the       

,universal ,mind4 ,but we must recollect
 that this is not by the  force of      
personal will upon the substance1 which 
is an error that  will land us in all   
sorts of inversion1 but by realizing our
 mind  as a channel through which the   
,universal ,mind operates upon          
substances in a particular way1         
according to the mode of thought  which 
we are seeking to embody4 ,if1 then1 our
 thought is  habitually concentrated    
upon principles rather than on          
particular  things1 realizing that      
principles are nothing else than the    
,divine ,mind in operation1 we shall    
find that they will  necessarily        
germinate to produce their own          
expression in  corresponding facts1 thus
 verifying the words of the ,great      
,teacher1 ,seek ye first the ,kingdom of
 ,god and ,his righteousness  and all   
these things shall be added unto you4   
,but we must never lose sight of the    
reason for the creative power  of our   
thought1 that it is because our mind is 

itself a thought  of the ,divine ,mind1 
and that consequently our increase in   
livingness and creative power must be in
 exact proportion to our  perception of 
our relation to the ,parent ,mind4 ,in  
such  considerations as these is to be  
found the philosophical basis of  the   
,bible doctrine of ,sonship1 with its   
culmination in the  conception of the   
,christ4 ,these are not mere fancies but
 the  expression of strictly scientific 
principles1 in their  application to the
 deepest problems of the individual     
life2 and  their basis is that each     
one's world1 whether in or out of the   
flesh1 must necessarily be created by   
his own consciousness1 and1  in its     
turn1 his mode of consciousness will    
necessarily take its  colour front his  
conception of his relation to the       
,divine ,mind--  to the exclusion of    
light and colour1 if he realizes no     
,divine  ,mind1 and to their building up
 into forms of beauty in proportion  as 
he realizes his identity of being with  

that ,all-,originating  ,spirit which is
 ,light1 ,love1 and ,beauty in itself4  
,thus the great  creative work of       
,thought in each of us is to make us    
consciously  sons and daughters of the  
,almighty1 realizing that by our  divine
 origin we can never be really separated
 from the ,parent  ,mind which is       
continually seeking expression through  
us1 and that  any apparent separation is
 due to our own misconception of the    
true nature of the inherent relation    
between the ,universal and  the         
,individual4 ,this is the lesson which  
the ,great ,teacher has so  luminously  
out before us in the parable of the     
,prodigal ,son4        ,,the ,,great    
,,affirmative4    ,the ,great           
,affirmative appears in two modes1 the  
cosmic and the  individual4 ,in its     
essence it is the same in both1 but in  
each it  works from a different         
standpoint4 ,it is always the principle 
of  ,being--that which is1 as           
distinguished from that which is not2   

but to grasp the true significance of   
this saying we must  understand what is 
meant by that which is not4 ,it is      
something  more than mere non-existence1
 for obviously we should not trouble    
ourselves about what is non-existent4   
,it is that which bath is  and is not at
 the same time1 and the thing that      
answers to this  description is         
,conditions4 ,the little affirmative is 
that which  affirms particular          
conditions as all that it can grasp1    
while the  great affirmative grasps a   
wider conception1 the conception of     
that which gives rise to conditions4    
,cosmically it is that power  of ,spirit
 which sends forth the whole creation as
 its expression  of itself1 and it is   
for this reason that ,i have drawn      
attention  in the preceding lectures to 
the idea of the creation ex nihilo  of  
the whole visible universe4 ,as ,eastern
 and ,western ,scriptures  alike tell us
 it is the breathing-forth of ,original 
,spirit2 and  if you have followed what 

,i have said regarding the reproduction 
of this ,spirit in the individual--that 
by the very nature of the  creative     
process the human mind must be of the   
same quality with  the ,divine          
,mind--then we find that a second mode  
of the  ,originating ,spirit becomes    
possible1 namely that of operation      
through the individual mind4 ,but       
whether acting cosmically or  personally
 it is always the same ,spirit and      
therefore cannot lose  its inherent     
character which is-that of the ,power   
which creates  ex nihilo4 ,it is the    
direct contradiction of the maxim ex    
nihilo  nihil fit--nothing can be made  
out of nothing2 and it is the           
recognition of the presence in ourselves
 of this power1 which can  make         
something out of nothing1 that is the   
key to our further  progress4 ,as the   
logical outcome of the cosmic creative  
process1  the evolutionary work reaches 
a point where the ,originating ,power   
creates an image of itself2 and thus    

affords a fresh point of  departure from
 which it can work specifically1 just as
 in the  cosmic process it works        
generically4 ,from this new standpoint  
it  does not in any way contradict the  
laws of the cosmic order1 but  proceeds 
to specialize them1 and thus to bring   
out results  through the individual     
which could not be otherwise attained4  
,now the ,spirit does this by the same  
method as  in the ,original  ,creation1 
namely by creating em nihilo2 for       
otherwise it would be  bound by the     
limitations necessarily inherent in the 
cosmic form  of things1 and so no fresh 
creative starting point would have  been
 attained4 ,this is why the ,bible lays 
such stress on the  principle of        
,monogenesis1 or creation from a single 
power instead  of from a pair or syzegy2
 and it is on this account that we are  
told that this ,one-ness of ,god is the 
foundation of all the  commandments1 and
 that the ,son of ,god is declared to be
  monogenes or one-begotten1 for that is

 the correct translation  of the ,greek 
word4 ,the immense importance of this   
principle of  creation from a single    
power will become apparent as we realize
  more fully the results proceeding from
 the assumption of the  opposite        
principle1 or the dualism of the        
creative power2 but as  the discussion  
of this great subject would require a   
volume to  itself1 ,i must1 at present1 
content myself with saying that this    
insistence of the ,bible upon the       
singleness of the ,creative ,power  is  
based upon a knowledge which goes to the
 very root of esoteric  principles1 and 
is therefore not to be set aside in     
favour of  dualistic systems1 though    
superficially the latter may appear     
more consonant to reason4    ,if1 then1 
it is possible to put the ,great        
,affirmation into words  it is that ,god
 is ,,one and that this ,,one finds     
centre in  ourselves2 and if the full   
meaning of this statement is realized1  
the logical result will be found to be a

 new creation both in and  from         
ourselves4 ,we shall realize in         
ourselves the working of a  new         
principle whose distinguishing feature  
is its simplicity4 ,it  is ,,one-ness   
and is not troubled about any second4   
,hence what it  contemplates is not how 
its action will be modified by that of  
some second principle1 something which  
will compel it to work in  a particular 
manner and so limit it2 but what it     
contemplates is  its own ,unity4 ,then  
it perceives that its ,unity consists in
 a  greater and a lesser movement1 just 
as the rotation of the earth  on its    
axis does not interfere with its        
rotation round the sun  but are both    
motions of the same unit1 and are       
definitely related  to each other4 ,in  
like manner we find that the ,spirit is 
moving  simultaneously in the macrocosm 
of the universe and in the  microcosm of
 the individual1 and the two movements  
harmonize  because they are that of the 
same ,spirit1 and the latter is         

included in the former and pre-supposes 
it4 ,the ,great  ,affirmation1          
therefore1 is the perception that the ,i
 ,,am is ,,one1  always harmonious with 
itself1 and including all things in this
  harmony for the simple reason that    
there is no second creative  power2 and 
when the individual realizes that this  
always-single  power is the root of his 
own being1 and therefore has centre in  
himself and finds expression through    
him1 he learns to trust its  singleness 
and the consequent harmony of its action
 in him with  what it is doing ,,around 
him4 ,then he sees that the affirmation 
,i  and my ,father are ,,one is a       
necessary deduction from a correct      
apprehension of the fundamental         
principles of being2 and then1 on  the  
principle that the less must be included
 in the greater1 he  desires that       
harmonious unity of action be maintained
 by the  adaptation of his own          
particular movement to the larger       
movement  of the ,spirit working as the 

,creative ,principle through the great  
whole4 ,in this way we become centres   
through which the creative  forces find 
specialization by the development of    
that personal  factor on which the      
specific application  of general laws   
must  always depend4 ,a specific sort of
  individuality is formed1  capable of  
being the link between  the great       
,spiritual ,power of  the universal and 
the manifestation of the relative in    
time and  space because it consciously  
partakes of both2 and because the       
individual of this class recognizes the 
singleness of the ,spirit  as the       
starting  point of all things1 he       
endeavours to withdraw  his mind from   
all arguments derived from external     
conditions1  whether past or present1   
and to fix it upon the forward movement 
of the ,spirit which he knows to be     
always identical both in the  universe  
and in himself4 ,he ceases the attempt  
to dictate to the  ,spirit1 because he  
does not see in it a mere blind force1  

but  reveres it as the ,supreme         
,intelligence3 and on the other hand he 
does not grovel before it in doubt and  
fear1 because he knows it  is one with  
himself and is realizing itself through 
him1 and  therefore cannot have any     
purpose antagonistic to his own         
individual welfare4 ,realizing this he  
deliberately places his  thoughts under 
the guidance of the ,divine ,spirit1    
knowing that  his outward acts and      
conditions must thereby be brought into 
harmony with the great forward movement 
of the ,spirit1 not only  at the stage  
he has now reached1 but at all future   
stages4 ,he  does not at all deny the   
power of his own thought as the creative
  agent in his own personal world1--on  
the contrary it is precisely  on the    
knowledge of this fact that his         
perception of the true  adjustment      
between the principles of ,life is      
based2 but for this  very reason he is  
the more solicitous to be led by that   
,wisdom  which can see what he cannot   

see1 so that his personal control  over 
the conditions of his own life may be   
employed to its  continual increase and 
development4    ,in this way our        
affirmation of the ,i am ceases to be   
the  petulant assertion of our limited  
personality and becomes the  affirmation
 that the ,great ,i ,,am affirms its own
 ,i ,,am-ness both in  us and through   
us1 and thus our use of the words       
becomes in very  truth the ,great       
,affirmative1 or that which is the root 
of all  being as distinguished from that
 which has no being in itself but  is   
merely externalized by being as the     
vehicle for its  expression4 ,we shall  
realize our true place as subordinate   
creative centres1 perfectly independent 
of existing conditions  because the     
creative process is that of monogenesis 
and requires  no other factor than the  
,spirit for its exercise1 but at the    
same  time subordinate to the ,divine   
,spirit in the greatness of its         
inherent forward movement because there 

is only ,,one ,spirit and it  cannot    
from one centre antagonize what it is   
doing from another4  ,thus the ,great   
,affirmation makes us children of the   
,great ,king1  at once living in        
obedience to that ,power which is above 
us1 and  exercising this same power over
 all that world of secondary  causation 
which is below us4    ,thus in our      
measure and station each one of us will 
receive the  mission of the ,i ,,am4    
,,christ ,,the ,,fulfilling ,,of ,,the  
,,law4    ,think not that ,i am come to 
destroy the law or the proph4ets3 ,i  am
 not come to destroy but to fulfil4     
7,matt4 v4 #ag47    ,christ is the end  
of the law for righteousness to everyone
 that  believeth4 7,rom4 x4 #d47    ,if 
these words are the utterance of a mere 
sectarian superstition  they are        
worthless2 but if they are the statement
 of a great  principle1 then it is worth
 our while to enquire what that         
principle is4 ,the fulfilling of        
anything is the bringing into  complete 

realization of all that it potentially  
contains1 and so  the filling of any law
 to its fulness means bringing out all  
the  possibilities which are hidden in  
it4 ,this is precisely the  method which
 has brought forth all the advances of  
material  civilization4 ,the laws of    
nature are the same now that they were  
in the days of our rugged ,anglo-,saxon 
ancestors1 but they brought  out only an
 infinitesimal fraction of the          
possibilities which  those laws contain3
 now we have brought out a good deal    
more1 but  we have by no means exhausted
 them1 and so we continue to  advance1  
not by contradicting natural laws1 but  
by more fully  realizing their capacity4
 ,why should we not1 then1 apply the    
same  method to ourselves and see       
whether there are no potentialities     
hidden away in the law of our own being 
which we have not as yet  by any means  
brought to their fulfilment8 ,we talk of
 a good time  coming and of the         
ameliorating of the race2 but do we     

reflect  that the race is composed of   
individuals and that therefore real     
advance is to be made only by individual
 improvement1 and not by  ,act of       
,parliament8 and if so1 then the        
individual with whom to  begin is       
ourself4    ,the complete manifestation 
of the ,law of ,individuality is the end
  or purpose of the ,bible teaching     
concerning ,christ4 ,it is a  teaching  
based upon ,law1 spiritual and mental1  
fully recognizing  that no effect can be
 produced except by the operation of an 
adequate cause1 and ,christ is set      
before us both as explaining  the causes
 and exhibiting the full measure of the 
effects4 ,all  this is according to     
,law2 and the importance of its being   
according to ,law is that ,law is       
universal1 and the potentialities  of   
the ,law are therefore inherent in      
everyone there is no special  law for   
anybody1 but anybody can specialize the 
law by using it  with a fuller          
understanding of how much can be got out

 of it2 and  the purpose of the         
,scripture teaching regarding ,christ is
 to help  us to do this4    ,the        
preceding lectures have led us step by  
step to see that the  ,originating      
,spirit1 which first brought the world  
into existence1  is also the root of our
 own individuality1 and is therefore    
always ready1 by its inherent nature1 to
 continue the creative  process from    
this individual stand-point as soon as  
the necessary  conditions are provided1 
and these conditions are                
thought-conditions4 ,then by realizing  
the relation of ,christ to  the         
,originating ,mind1 the ,parent ,spirit 
or ,father1 we receive a  ,,standard of 
thought which is bound to act creatively
 bringing out  all the potentialities of
 our hidden being4 ,now the relation of 
,christ to the ,father is that of the   
,architypal ,idea in the  ,all-creating 
,mind of which ,i have previously       
spoken1 and so we  arrive at the        
conception of the ,christ-idea as a     

universal  principle1 and as being an   
idea therefore capable of reproduction  
in the individual ,mind1 thus explaining
 ,st4 ,paul's meaning when  he speaks of
 ,christ being formed in us4 ,it is here
 that the  principle of monogenesis     
comes in1 that principle which ,i have  
endeavoured to describe in the earlier  
part of the present series  as          
originating the whole manifested        
creation by an internal  action of the  
,spirit upon itself2 and it is the      
entire absence of  control by any second
 power that renders the realization in  
external actuality of a purely mental   
ideal possible4 ,for this  reason       
systematic spiritual study commences    
with the  contemplation of the existing 
cosmos1 and we then transfer the        
conception of the monogenetic power of  
the ,spirit from the cosmos  to the     
individual and realize that the same    
,spirit is able to do  the same thing in
 ourselves4 ,this is the ,new ,thought  
which in  time will fulfil itself in the

 ,new ,order1 and we thus provide new   
thought-conditions which enable the     
,spirit to carry on its  creative work  
from a new stand-point1 that of our own 
individuality4 ,this attainment by the  
,spirit of a new  starting-point is what
 is meant by the esoteric doctrine of   
the  ,octave4 ,the ,octave is the       
starting-point of a new series          
reduplicating the starting-point of the 
previous series at a  different level1  
just as does the octave note in music4  
,we find  this principle constantly     
referred to in ,scripture--the          
completion of a prior series in the     
number ,seven1 and the  starting of a   
new series by the number ,eight1 which  
takes the  same place in the second     
series that the number ,one did in the  
first4 ,the second series comes out of  
the first by natural growth  and could  
not come into existence without it1     
hence the ,first or  ,originating number
 of the second series is the ,eighth if 
we  regard the second series as the     

prolongation of the first4 ,seven  is   
the numerical correspondence of complete
 manifestation because  it is the       
combination of three and four1 which    
respectively  represent the complete    
working of the spiritual and material   
factors--involution and evolution--and  
thus together constitute  the finished  
whole4 ,students of the ,tarot will here
 realize the  process by which the ,yod 
of ,yod becomes the ,yod of ,he4 ,it is 
for  this reason that the primary or    
cosmic creation terminates in the  rest 
of the ,seventh ,day1 for it can proceed
 no further until a  fresh              
starting-point is found2 ,but when this 
fresh starting-point  is found in ,man  
realizing his relation to the ,father1  
we start  a new series and strike the   
,creative ,octave and therefore the     
,resurrection takes place1 not on the   
,sabbath or ,seventh ,day1 but  on the  
,eighth day which then becomes the      
,first day of the new  creak five week4 
,the principle of the ,resurrection is  

the  realization by man of his          
individualization of the ,spirit and his
  recognition of the fact that1 since   
the ,spirit is always the same  ,spirit1
 it becomes the ,alpha of a new creation
 from his own  centre of being4    ,now 
all this is necessarily an interior     
process taking place on  the mental     
plane2 but if we realize that the       
creative process is  always primarily   
one of involution1 or formation in the  
spiritual  world1 we shall grasp        
something of the meaning of ,christ as  
,the  ,son of ,god--the concentration of
 the ,universal ,spirit into a          
,personality on the spiritual plane     
correlatively to the  individuality of  
each one who affords the necessary      
thought-conditions4 ,to all who         
apprehend it there is then  discovered  
in the ,universal ,spirit the presence  
of a ,divine  ,individuality reciprocal 
to that of the individual man1 the      
recognition of which is the practical   
solution of all  metaphysical problems  

regarding the emanation of the          
individual  soul from the ,universal    
,spirit and the relations arising       
therefrom2 for it takes these matters   
out of the region of  intellectual      
speculation1 which is never creative but
 only  analytical1 and transfers it to  
the region of feeling and  spiritual    
sensation which is the abode of the     
creative forces4  ,this personal        
recognition of the ,divine then affords 
us a new  basis of ,affirmation1 and we 
need no longer trouble to go further    
back in order to analyze it1 because we 
know experimentally that  it is there2  
so now we find the starting-point of the
 new  creation ready-made for us        
according to the architypal pattern in  
the ,divine ,mind itself and therefore  
perfectly correctly formed4  ,when once 
this truth is clearly apprehended1      
whether we reach it  by an intellectual 
process or by simple intuition1 we can  
make it  our starting-point and claim to
 have our thought permeated by the      

creative power of the ,spirit on this   
basis4    ,but vast as is the conception
 thus reached we must remember that  it 
is still a starting-point4 ,it1 indeed1 
transcends our previous  range of ideas 
and so presents a culmination of the    
cosmic  creative series which passes    
beyond that series and thus brings  us  
to number ,eight or the ,octave2 but on 
this very account it is  the number ,one
 of a new creative series which is      
personal to the  individual4    ,then1  
because the ,spirit is always the same1 
we may look for a  repetition of the    
creative process at a higher level1 and1
 as we  all know1 that process consists 
first of the involution of ,spirit  into
 ,substance1 and consequently of the    
subsequent evolution of  ,substance into
 forms continually increasing in fitness
 as  vehicles for ,spirit3 so now we may
 look for a repetition of this          
universal process from its new          
starting-point in the individual  mind  
and expect a corresponding              

externalization in accordance  with our 
familiar axiom that thoughts are things4
    ,now it is as such an external      
manifestation of the ,divine ideal  that
 the ,christ of the ,gospels is set     
before us4 ,i do not wish to  dogmatize1
 but ,i will only say that the more     
clearly we realize  the nature of the   
creative process on the spiritual side  
the more  the current objections to the 
,gospel narrative lose their force2  and
 it appears to me that to deny that     
narrative as a point-blank              
impossibility is to make a similar      
affirmation with regard to the  power of
 the ,spirit in ourselves4 ,you cannot  
affirm a principle  and deny it in the  
same breath2 and if we affirm the       
externalizing power of the ,spirit in   
our own case1 ,i do not see  how we can 
logically lay down a limit for its      
action and say that  under highly       
specialized conditions it could not     
produce highly  specialized effects4 ,it
 is for this reason that ,st4 ,john puts

 the  question of ,christ manifest in   
the flesh as the criterion of the  whole
 matter 7,i4 ,john iv41 #b74 ,if the    
,spirit can create at all  then you     
cannot logically limit the extent or    
method of its  working2 and since the   
basis of our expectation of individual  
expansion is the limitless creative     
power of the ,spirit1 to  reject the    
,christ of the ,gospels as an           
impossibility is to cut  away the ground
 from under our own feet4 ,it is one    
thing to say  ,i do not understand why  
the ,spirit should have worked in that  
way--that is merely an honest statement 
of our present stage of  knowledge1 or  
we may even go the length of saying that
 we do not  feel convinced that it did  
work in that way--that is a true        
confession of our intellectual          
difficulty--but certainly those  who are
 professedly relying on the power of the
 ,spirit to produce  external results   
cannot say that it does not possess that
 power1  or possesses it only in a      

limited degree3 the position is         
logically self-destructive4 ,what we    
should do therefore1 is to  suspend     
judgment and follow the light as far as 
we can see it1  and bye-and-bye it will 
become clearer to us4 ,there are1 it    
appears to me1 occult heights in the    
doctrine of ,christ designed  by the    
,supreme ,wisdom to counteract          
corresponding occult depths  in the     
,mystery of ,darkness4 ,i do not think  
it is at all  necessary1 or even        
possible1 for us to scale these heights 
or  fathom those depths1 with our       
present infantile intelligence1 but  if 
we realize how completely the law of our
 being receives its  fulfilment in      
,christ as far as we know that law1 may 
we not well  conceive that there are yet
 deeper phases of that law the          
existence of which we can only faintly  
surmise by intuition8  ,occasionally    
just the fringe of the veil is lifted   
for some of  us1 but that momentary     
glance is enough to show us that there  

are  powers and mysteries beyond our    
present conception4 ,but even  there    
,law reigns supreme1 and therefore      
taking ,christ as our  basis and        
starting-point1 we start with the ,law  
already  fulfilled1 whether in those    
things which are familiar to us or in   
those realms which are beyond our       
thought1 and so we need have nc  fear of
 evil4 ,our starting-point is that of a 
divinely ordained  security from which  
we may quietly grow into that higher    
evolution which is the fulfilment of the
 law of our own being4        ,,the     
,,story ,,of ,,eden4    ,the whole      
,bible and the whole history of the     
world1 past1 present  and future1 are   
contained in embryo in the story of     
,eden1 for  they are nothing else than  
the continuous unfolding of certain     
great principles which are there        
allegorically stated4 ,that this  is by 
no means a new notion is shown by the   
following quotation  from ,origen3--,who
 is there so foolish and without        

common-sense  as to believe that ,god   
planted trees in the ,garden of ,eden   
like a  husbandman2 and planted therein 
the tree of life perceptible to  the    
eyes and to the senses1 which gave life 
to the eater2 and  another tree which   
gave to the eater a knowledge of good   
and  evil8 ,i believe that everybody    
must regard these as figures under      
which a recondite sense is concealed4   
,let us1 then1 follow up  the suggestion
 of this early ,father of the ,church1  
and enquire  what may be the recondite  
sense concealed under this figure of    
the two trees4 ,on the face of the story
 there are two roots1 one  of ,life and 
the other of ,death1 two fundamental    
principles  bringing about diametrically
 opposite results4 ,the distinctive     
mark of the latter is that it is the    
knowledge of good and evil1  that is to 
say1 the recognition of two antagonistic
 principles1  and so requiring a        
knowledge of the relations between them 
to  enable us to continually make the   

needful adjustments to keep  ourselves  
going4 ,now1 in appearance this is      
exceedingly specious4  ,it looks so     
entirely reasonable that we do not see  
its ultimate  destructiveness2 and so we
 are told that ,eve ate the fruit       
because she saw that the tree was       
pleasant to the eyes4 ,but  careful     
consideration will show us in what the  
destructive nature  of this principle   
consists4 ,it is based on the fallacy   
that good  is limited by evil1 and that 
you cannot receive any good except      
through eliminating the corresponding   
evil by realizing it and  beating it    
back4 ,in this view life becomes a      
continual combat  against every         
imaginable form of evil1 and after we   
have racked  our brains to devise       
precautions against all possible evil   
happenings1 there remains the chance1   
and much more than the  chance1 that we 
have by no means exhausted the category 
of  negative possibilities1 and that    
others may arise which no amount  of    

foresight on our part could have        
imagined4 ,the more we see  into this   
position the more intolerable it        
becomes1 because from  this stand-point 
we can never attain any certain basis of
 action1  and the forces of possible    
evil multiply as we contemplate them4   
,to set forth to out-wit all evil by our
 own knowledge of its  nature is to     
attempt a task the hopelessness of which
 becomes  apparent when we see it in its
 true light4    ,the mistake is in      
supposing that ,life can be generated in
  ourselves by an intellectual process2 
but1 as we have seen in the  preceding  
lectures1 ,life is the primary movement 
of the ,spirit1  whether in the cosmos  
or in the individual4 ,in its proper    
order  intellectual knowledge is        
exceedingly important and useful1 but   
its place in the order of the whole is  
not that of the  ,originator4 ,it is not
 ,life in itself1 but is a function of  
life2  it is an effect and not the      
cause4 ,the reason why this is so is    

because intellectual study is always the
 study of the various  laws which arise 
from the different ,,relations of things
 to one  another2 and it therefore      
presupposes that these things together  
with their laws are already in          
existence4 ,consequently it does  not   
start from the truly creative           
stand-point1 that of creating  something
 entirely new1 creation ex nihilo as    
distinguished from  ,,construction1 or  
the laying-together of existing         
materials1 which  is what the word      
literally means4 ,to recognize evil as a
 force to  be reckoned with is therefore
 to give up the creative stand-point    
altogether4 ,it is to quit the plane of 
,first ,cause and descend  into the     
realm of secondary causation and lose   
ourselves amid the  confusion of a      
multiplicity of relative causes and     
effects  without grasping any unifying  
principle behind them4    ,now the only 
thing that can release us from the      
inextricable  confusion of an infinite  

multiplicity is the realization of an   
underlying unity1 and at the back of all
 things we find the  presence of one    
,great ,affirmative principle without   
which nothing  could have existence4    
,this1 then1 is the ,root of ,life2 and 
if we  credit it with being able1 not   
only to supply the power1 but also  the 
form for its manifestation we shall see 
that we need not go  beyond this        
,,single ,power for the production of   
anything4 ,it is  ,spirit producing     
,substance out of its own essence1 and  
the  ,substance taking ,form in         
accordance with the movement of the     
,spirit4 ,what we have to realize is1   
not only that this is the way  in which 
the cosmos is brought into existence1   
but also that1  because the ,spirit     
finds a new centre in ourselves1 the    
same  process is repeated in our own    
mentality1 and therefore we are         
continually creating ex nihilo whether  
we know it or not4  ,consequently1 if we
 look upon evil as a force to be        

reckoned  with1 and therefore requiring 
to be studied1 we are in effect         
creating it2 while on the other hand if 
we realize that there is  only ,,one    
force to be considered1 and that        
absolutely good1 we are  by the law of  
the creative process bringing that good 
into  manifestation4 ,no doubt for this 
affirmative use of our creative  power  
it is necessary that we start from the  
basic conception of  a ,,single         
originating power which is absolutely   
good and  life-giving2 but if there were
 a self-originating power which was     
destructive then no creation could ever 
have come into existence  at all1 for   
the positive and negative               
self-originating powers  would cancel   
each other and the result would be zero4
 ,the fact1  therefore1 of our own      
existence is a sufficient proof of the  
singleness and goodness of the          
,originating ,power1 and from this      
starting-point there is no second power 
to be taken into  consideration1 and    

consequently we do not have to study the
 evil  that may arise out of existing or
 future circumstances1 but  require to  
keep our minds fixed only upon the good 
which we  intend to create4 ,there is a 
very simple reason for this4 ,it is     
that every new creation necessarily     
carries its own law with it  and by that
 law produces new conditions of its own4
 ,a balloon  affords a familiar         
illustration of my meaning4 ,the balloon
 with  its freight weighs several       
hundredweight1 yet the introduction of  
a new factor1 the gas1 brings with it a 
law of its own which  entirely alters   
the conditions1 and the force of gravity
 is so  completely overcome that the    
whole mass rises into the air4 ,the     
,law itself is never altered1 but we    
have previously known it only  under    
limiting conditions4 ,these conditions1 
however1 are no part  of the ,law       
itself2 and a clearer realization of the
 ,law shows us  that it contains in     
itself the power of transcending them4  

,the  law which every new creation      
carries with it is therefore not a      
contradiction of the old law but its    
specialization into a higher  mode of   
action4    ,now the ultimate ,law is    
that of production ex nihilo by the     
movement of the ,spirit within itself1  
and all subordinate laws  are merely the
 measurements of the relations which    
spontaneously  arise between different  
things when they are brought into       
manifestation1 arid therefore1 if an    
entirely new thing is  created it must  
necessarily establish entirely new      
relations and  so produce entirely new  
laws4 ,this is the reason why1 if we    
take  the action of pure unmanifested   
,spirit as our starting-point1 we  may  
confidently trust it to produce         
manifestations of law which1  though    
perfectly new from the stand-point of   
our past experience1  are quite as      
natural in their own way as any that    
have gone  before4 ,it is on this       
account that in these addresses ,i lay  

so  much stress on the fact that ,spirit
 creates ex nihilo1 that is1  out of no 
pre-existing forms1 but simply by its   
own movement  within itself4 ,if1 then1 
this idea is clearly grasped1 it        
logically follows from it that the ,root
 of ,life is not to be  found in the    
comparison of good and evil1 but in the 
simple  affirmation of the ,spirit as   
the ,all-creating power of ,good4 ,and  
since1 as we have already seen1 this    
same all-creating ,spirit  finds a      
centre and fresh starting-point of      
operation in our own  minds1 we can     
trust it to follow the ,law of its own  
being there  as much as in the creation 
of the cosmos4    ,only we must not     
forget that it is working through our   
own minds4  ,it thinks through our mind1
 and our mind must be made a suitable   
channel for this mode of its operation  
by conforming itself to  the broad      
generic lines of the ,spirit's thinking4
 ,the reason for  this is one which ,i  
have sought to impress throughout these 

lectures1 namely1 that the              
specialization of a law is never the    
denial of it1 but on the contrary the   
fuller recognition of its  basic        
principles2 and if this is the case in  
ordinary physical  science it must be   
equally so when we come to specialize   
the  great ,law of ,life itself4 ,the   
,spirit can never change its  essential 
nature as the essence of ,life1 ,love1  
and ,beauty2 and if  we adopt these     
characteristics1 which constitute the   
,law of the  ,spirit1 as the basis of   
our own thinking1 and reject all that is
  contrary to them1 then we afford the  
broad generic conditions for  the       
specialized thinking of the ,spirit     
through our own minds3 and  the thinking
 of the ,spirit is that ,,involution1 or
 passing of  spirit into form1 which is 
the whole being of the creative         
process4    ,the mind which is all the  
time being thus formed is our own4 ,it  
is not a case of control by an external 
individuality1 but the  fuller          

expression of the ,universal through an 
organized mentality  which has all along
 been a less perfect expression of the  
,universal2 and therefore the process is
 one of growth4 ,we are not  losing our 
individuality1 but are coming into      
fuller possession  of ourselves by the  
conscious recognition of our personal   
share  in the great work of creation4   
,we begin in some slight measure to     
understand what the ,bible means when it
 speaks of our-being  partakers of the  
,divine nature 7,,ii4 ,peter i4 #d7 and 
we realize  the significance of the     
unity of the ,spirit 7,ephesians iv4    
#c74  ,doubtless this will imply changes
 in our old mode of thinking2  but these
 changes are not forced upon us1 they   
are brought about  naturally by the new 
stand-point from which we now see       
things4  ,almost imperceptibly to       
ourselves we grow into a ,new ,order of 
,thought which proceeds1 not from a     
knowledge of good and evil1  but from   
the ,principle of ,life itself4 ,that is

 what makes the  difference between our 
old thought and our new thought4 ,our   
old  thought was based upon a comparison
 of limited facts3 our new  thought is  
based upon a comprehension of           
principles4 ,the  difference is like    
that between the mathematics of the     
infant1  who cannot count beyond the    
number of apples or marbles put  before 
him1 and that of the senior wrangler who
 is not dependent  upon visible objects 
for his calculations1 but plunges boldly
  into the unknown because he knows that
 he is working by  indubitable          
principles4 ,in like manner when we     
realize the  infallible ,principle of   
the ,creative ,law we no longer find we 
need to see everything cut and dried    
beforehand1 for if so1 we  could never  
get beyond the range of our old         
experiences2 but we  can move steadily  
forward because we know the certainty of
 the  creative principle by which we are
 working1 or rather1 which is  working  
through us1 and that our life1 in all   

its minutes  details1 is its harmonious 
expression4 ,thus the ,spirit thinks    
through our thought only its thought is 
greater than ours4 ,it is  the paradox  
of the less containing the greater4 ,our
 thought will  not be objectless or     
unintelligible to ourselves4 ,it will be
  quite clear as far as it goes4 ,we    
shall know exactly what we want  to do  
and why we want to do it1 and so will   
act in a reasonable  and intelligent    
manner4 ,but what we do not know is the 
greater  thought that is all the time   
giving rise to our smaller thought1  and
 which will open out from it as our     
lesser thought progresses  into form4   
,then we gradually see the greater      
thought which  prompted our smaller one 
and we find ourselves working along its 
lines1 guided by the invisible hand of  
the ,creative ,spirit into  continually 
increasing degrees of livingness to     
which we need  assign no limits1 for it 
is the expansion of the ,infinite within
  ourselves4    ,this1 as it appears to 

me1 is the hidden meaning of the two    
trees  in ,eden1 the ,garden of the     
,soul4 ,it is the distinction between a 
knowledge which is merely that of       
comparisons between different  sorts of 
conditions1 and a knowledge which is    
that of the ,life  which gives rise to  
and therefore controls conditions4 ,only
 we  must remember that the control of  
conditions is not to be  attained by    
violent self-assertion which is only    
recognizing them  as substantive        
entities to be battled with1 but by     
conscious  unity with that ,all-creating
 ,spirit which works silently1 but      
surely1 on its own lines of ,life1      
,love1 and ,beauty4    ,not by might1   
nor by power1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith 
the ,lord of  ,hosts4        ,,the      
,,worship ,,of ,,ishi4    ,in ,hosea ii4
 #af we find this remarkable            
statement3--,and it shall  be at that   
day1 saith the ,lord1 that thou shalt   
call ,me ,ishi1 and  shalt no more call 
,me ,baali2 and with this we may couple 

the  statement in ,isaiah lxii4         
#d3--,thou shalt be called ,hephzibah1  
and thy land ,beulah2 for the ,lord     
delighteth in thee1 and thy  land shall 
be married4    ,in both these passages  
we find a change of name2 and since a   
name  stands for something which        
corresponds to it1 and in truth only    
amounts to a succinct description1 the  
fact indicated in these  texts is a     
change of condition answering to the    
change of name4    ,now the change from 
,baali to ,ishi indicates an important  
alteration in the relation between the  
,divine ,being and the  worshipper2 but 
since the ,divine ,being cannot change1 
the altered  relation must result from a
 change in the stand-point of the       
worshipper3 and this can only come from 
a new mode of looking at  the ,divine1  
that is1 from a new order of thought    
regarding it4  ,baali means ,lord1 and  
,ishi means husband1 and so the change  
in  relation is that of a female slave  
who is liberated and married  to her    

former master4 ,we could not have a more
 perfect analogy4  ,relatively to the   
,universal ,spirit the individual soul  
is  esoterically feminine1 as ,i have   
pointed out in ,bible ,mystery  and     
,bible ,meaning1 because its function is
 that of the receptive  and formative4  
,this is necessarily inherent in the    
nature of the  creative process4 ,but   
the individual's development as the     
specializing medium of the ,universal   
,spirit will depend entirely  upon his  
own conception of his relation to it4   
,so long as he only  regards it as an   
arbitrary power1 a sort of slave owner1 
he will  find himself in the position of
 a slave driven by an inscrutable       
force1 he knows not whither or for what 
purpose4 ,he may worship  such a ,god1  
but his worship is only the worship of  
fear and  ignorance1 and there is no    
personal interest in the matter except  
to escape some dreaded punishment4 ,such
 a worshipper would gladly  escape from 
his divinity1 and his worship1 when     

analyzed1 will be  found to be little   
else than disguised hatred4 ,this is the
  natural result of a worship based upon
 ,,unexplained traditions  instead of   
intelligible principles1 and is the very
 opposite of  that worship in ,spirit   
and in truth which ,jesus speaks of as  
the  true worship4    ,but when the     
light begins to break in upon us1 all   
this becomes  changed4 ,we see that a   
system of terrorism cannot give         
expression  to the ,divine ,spirit1 and 
we realize the truth of ,st4 ,paul's    
words1 ,he hath not given us the spirit 
of fear1 but of power1  and of love1 and
 of a sound mind4 ,as the true nature of
 the  relation between the individual   
mind and the ,universal ,mind  becomes  
clearer1 we find it to be one of mutual 
action and  re-action1 a perfect        
reciprocity which cannot be better      
symbolized than by the relation between 
an affectionate husband  and wife4      
,everything is done from love and       
nothing from  compulsion1 there is      

perfect confidence on both sides1 and   
both  are equally indispensable to each 
other4 ,it is simply the  carrying out  
of the fundamental maxim that the       
,universal cannot  act on the plane of  
the ,particular except through the      
,particular2  only this philosophical   
axiom develops into a warm living       
intercourse4    ,now this is the        
position of the soul which is indicated 
by the  name ,hephzibah4 ,in common with
 all other words derived from the       
,semitic root hafz it implies the idea  
of guarding1 just as in  the ,east a    
hasfiz is one who guards the letter of  
the ,koran by  having the whole book by 
heart1 and in many similar expressions4 
,hephzibah may therefore be translated  
as a guarded one1 thus  recalling the   
,new ,testament description of those who
 are guarded  into salvation4 ,it is    
precisely this conception of being      
guarded  by a superior power that       
distinguishes the worship of ,ishi from 
that of ,baali4 ,a special relation has 

been established between  the ,divine   
,spirit and the individual soul1 one of 
absolute  confidence and personal       
intercourse4 ,this does not require any 
departure from the general law of the   
universe1 but is due to  that           
specializing of the law through the     
presentation of special  conditions     
personal to the individual1 of which ,i 
have spoken  before4 ,but all the time  
there has been no change in the         
,universal ,spirit1 the only change has 
been in the mental attitude  of the     
individual--he has come into a new      
thought1 a clearer  perception of ,god4 
,he has faced the questions1 ,what is   
,god8 ,where  is ,god8 ,how does ,god   
work8 and he has found the answer in the
  apostolic statement that ,god is over 
all1 through all1 and in  all1 and he   
realises that ,god is the root of his   
7the  individual's7 own being1 ever     
present ,,in him1 ever working          
,,through him1 and universally present  
around him4    ,this realization of the 

true relation between the ,originating  
,spirit and the individual mind is what 
is esoterically spoken of  as the       
,mystical ,marriage in which the two    
have ceased to be  separate and have    
become one4 ,as a matter of fact they   
always  were one1 but since we can      
apprehend things only from the          
stand-point of our own consciousness1 it
 is our recognition of  the fact that   
makes it a practical reality for        
ourselves4 ,but an  intelligent         
recognition will never make a confusion 
of the two  parts of which the whole    
consists1 and will never lead the       
individual to suppose that he is        
handling a blind force or that a  blind 
force is handling him4 ,he will neither 
dethrone ,god1 nor  lose himself by     
absorption in deity1 but he will        
recognize the  reciprocity of the       
,divine and the human as the natural and
  logical outcome of the essential      
conditions of the creative  process4    
,and what is the ,whole which is thus   

created8 ,it is our conscious           
,,personality2 and therefore whatever we
 draw from the ,universal  ,spirit      
acquires in us the quality of           
personality4 ,it is that  process of    
differentiation of the universal into   
the particular  of which ,i have so     
often spoken1 which1 by a rude analogy1 
we may  compare to the differentiation  
of the universal electric fluid  into   
specific sorts of power by its passage  
through suitable  apparatus4 ,it is for 
this reason that relatively to ourselves
 the  ,universal ,spirit must           
necessarily assume a personal aspect1   
and  that the aspect which it will      
assume will be in exact  correspondence 
with our own conception of it4 ,this is 
in  accordance with mental and spiritual
 laws inherent in our own  being1 and it
 is on this account that the ,bible     
seeks to build up  our conception of    
,god on such lines as will set us free  
from all  fear of evil1 and thus leave  
us at liberty to use the creative  power

 of our thought affirmatively from the  
stand-point of a calm  and untroubled   
mind4 ,this stand-point can only be     
reached by  passing beyond the range of 
the happenings of the moment1 and  this 
can only be done by the discovery of our
 immediate relation  to the             
undifferentiated source of all good4 ,i 
lay stress on these  words immediate and
 undifferentiated because in them is    
contained the secret of the whole       
position4 ,if we could not draw         
immediately from the ,universal ,spirit 
our receiving would be  subject to the  
limitations of the channel through which
 it  reached us2 and if the force which 
we receive were not  undifferentiated in
 itself it could not take appropriate   
form in  our own minds and become to    
each of us just what we require it to   
be4 ,it is this power of the human soul 
to differentiate  limitlessly from the  
,infinite that we are apt to overlook1  
but as  we come to realize that the soul
 is itself a reflection and image  of   

the ,infinite ,spirit--and a clear      
recognition of the cosmic  creative     
process shows that it cannot be anything
 else--we find  that it must possess    
this power1 and that-in fact it is our  
possession of this power which is the   
whole raison d'etre of the  creative    
process3 if the human soul did not      
possess an unlimited  power of          
differentiation from the ,infinite1 then
 the ,infinite  would not be reflected  
in it1 and consequently the ,infinite   
,spirit would find no outlet for its    
,,conscious recognition of  itself as   
the ,life1 ,love1 and ,beauty which it  
is4 ,we can never  too deeply ponder the
 old esoteric definition of ,spirit as  
the  ,power which knows itself3 the     
secret of all things1 past1  present1   
and future is contained in these few    
words4 ,the self  -recognition or       
self-contemplation of ,spirit is the    
primary  movement out of which all      
creation proceeds1 and the attainment   
in the individual of a fresh centre for 

self-recognition is what  the ,spirit   
,,gains in the process--this ,,gain     
accruing to the ,spirit  is what is     
referred to in the parables where the   
lord is  represented as receiving       
increase from his servants4    ,when the
 individual perceives this relation     
between himself and  ,infinite ,spirit1 
he finds that he has been raised from a 
position  of slavery to one of          
reciprocity4 ,the ,spirit cannot do     
without  him any more than he can do    
without the ,spirit3 the two are as     
necessary to each other as the two poles
 of an electric battery4  ,the ,spirit  
is the unlimited essence of ,love1      
,wisdom1 and ,power1  all three in one  
undifferentiated and waiting to be      
differentiated by ,,appropriation1 that 
is1 by the individual  ,,claiming to be 
the channel of their differentiation4   
,it only  requires the claim to be made 
with the recognition that by the  ,law  
of ,being it is bound to be answered1   
and the right feeling1  the right       

seeing1 and the right working for the   
particular matter  we have in hand will 
flow in quite naturally4 ,our old       
enemies1  doubt and fear1 may seek to   
bring us back under bondage to ,baali1  
but our new stand-point for the         
recognition of the  ,all-originating    
,spirit as being absolutely unified with
 ourselves  must always be kept         
resolutely in mind2 for1 short of this1 
we  are not working on the creative     
level--we are creating1 indeed1  for we 
can never divest ourselves of our       
creative power1 but we  are creating in 
the image of the old limiting and       
destructive  conditions1 and this is    
merely perpetuating the cosmic ,law of  
,averages1 which is just what the       
individual has to rise superior  to4    
,the creative level is where new laws   
begin to manifest  themselves in a new  
order of conditions1 something          
transcending  our past experiences and  
thus bringing about a real advance2 for 
it is no advance only to go on in the   

same old round even if we  kept at it   
for centuries3 it is the steady go-ahead
 nature of the  ,spirit that has made   
the world of to-day an improvement upon 
the  world of the pterodactyl and the   
icthiosaurus1 and we must look  for the 
same forward movement of the ,spirit    
from its new  starting-point in         
ourselves4    ,now it is this special1  
personal1 and individual relation of the
  ,spirit to ourselves which is typified
 by the names ,ishi and  ,hephzibah4    
,from this stand-point we may say that  
as the  individual wakes up to the      
oneness with the ,spirit1 the ,spirit   
wakes up to the same thing4 ,it becomes 
conscious of itself  through the        
consciousness of the individual1 and    
thus is solved  the paradox of          
individual self-recognition by the      
,universal  ,spirit1 without which no   
new-creative power could be exercised   
and all things would continue to proceed
 in the old merely cosmic  order4 ,it is
 of course true that in the merely      

generic order the  ,spirit must be      
present in every form of ,life1 as the  
,master  pointed out when ,he said that 
not a sparrow falls to the ground       
without the ,father4 ,but as the        
sparrows ,he alluded to had been  shot  
and were on sale at a price which shows 
that this was the  fate of a good many  
of them1 we see here precisely that     
stage of  manifestation where the       
,spirit has not woke up to individual   
self-recognition1 and remains at the    
lower level of  self-recognition1 that  
of the generic or race-spirit4 ,the     
,master's comment1 ,ye are of more value
 than many sparrows  points out this    
difference3 in us the generic creation  
has  reached the level which affords the
 conditions for the waking up  of the   
,spirit to self-recognition in the      
,individual4    ,and we must bear in    
mind that all this is perfectly natural4
  ,there is no posing or straining after
 effect about it4 ,if ,,you  have to    
pump up the ,life1 who is going to put  

the ,life into you  to pump it8         
,therefore it is spontaneous or nothing4
 ,that is why  the ,bible speaks of it  
as the free gift of ,god4 ,it cannot be 
anything else4 ,you cannot originate the
 originating force2 it  must originate  
you3 but what you can do is to          
distribute it4  ,therefore immediately  
you experience any sense of friction be 
sure there is something wrong somewhere2
 and since ,god can never  change1 you  
may be sure that the friction is being  
caused by some  error in your own       
thinking--you are limiting the ,spirit  
in some  way3 set to work to find out   
what it is4 ,it is always ,,limiting    
the ,spirit that does this4 ,you are    
tying it down to conditions  somewhere1 
saying it is bound by reason of some    
existing forms4  ,the remedy is to go   
back to the original starting point of  
the  ,cosmic ,creation and ask1 ,where  
were the pre-existing forms that        
dictated to the ,spirit then8 ,then     
because the ,spirit never  changes it is

 ,,still ,,the ,,same1 and is just as   
independent of  existing conditions now 
as it was in the beginning2 and so we   
must pass over all existing conditions1 
however apparently  adverse1 and go     
straight to the ,spirit as the          
originator of new  forms and new        
conditions4 ,this is real ,new ,thought1
 for it does  not trouble about the old 
things1 but is going straight ahead     
from where we are now4 ,when we do this1
 just trusting the ,spirit1  and not    
laying down the particular details of   
its action--just  telling it what we    
want without dictating ,,how we are to  
get it--  we shall find that things will
 open out more and more clearly day  by 
day both on the inner and the outer     
plane4 ,remember that the  ,spirit is   
alive and working here and now1 for if  
ever the ,spirit  is to get from the    
past into the future it must be by      
passing  through the present2 therefore 
what you have to do is to acquire  the  
habit of living direct -from the ,spirit

 here and now4 ,you  will soon find that
 this is a matter of personal           
intercourse1  perfectly natural and not 
requiring any abnormal conditions for   
its production4 ,you just treat the     
,spirit as you would any other          
kind-hearted sensible person1           
remembering that it is always           
there--closer than hands and feet1 as   
,tennyson says--and you  will gradually 
begin to appreciate its reciprocity as a
 very  practical fact indeed4    ,this  
is the relation of ,hephzibah to ,ishi1 
and is that worship in  ,spirit and in  
truth which needs neither the temple in 
,jerusalem  nor yet in ,samaria for its 
acceptance1 for the whole world is the  
temple of the ,spirit and you yourself  
its sanctuary4 ,bear this in  mind1 and 
remember that nothing is too great or   
too small1 too  interior or too         
external1 for the ,spirit's recognition 
and  operation1 for the ,spirit is      
itself both the ,life and the           
,substance of all things and it is also 

,self-recognition from the  stand-point 
of your own individuality2 and          
therefore1 because the                  
,self-recognition of ,spirit is the     
,life of the creative process1  you     
will1 by simply trusting the ,spirit to 
work according to its  own nature1 pass 
more and more completely into that ,new 
,order  which proceeds from the thought 
of ,him who says1 ,behold ,i make  all  
things new4        ,,the ,,shepherd     
,,and ,,the ,,stone4    ,the metaphor of
 the ,shepherd and the ,sheep is of     
constant  occurrence throughout the     
,bible and naturally suggests the idea  
of the guiding1 guarding1 and feeding   
both of the individual  sheep and of the
 whole flock and it is not difficult to 
see the  spiritual correspondence of    
these things in a general sort of  way4 
,but we find that the ,bible combines   
the metaphor of the  ,shepherd with     
another metaphor that of the ,stone1 and
 at first  sight the two seem rather    
incongruous4    ,from thence is the     

,shepherd the ,stone of ,israel1 says   
the ,old  ,testament 7,genesis xlix4    
#bd71 and ,jesus calls himself both ,the
  ,good ,shepherd and ,the ,stone which 
the builders rejected4 ,the  ,shepherd  
and the ,stone are thus identified and  
we must therefore  seek the             
interpretation in some conception which 
combines the  two4 ,a shepherd suggests 
,personal care for the welfare of the   
sheep1 and an intelligence greater than 
theirs4 ,a stone suggests  the idea of  
,building1 and consequently of          
measurement1 adaptation  of parts to    
whole1 and progressive construction     
according to  plan4 ,combining these two
 conceptions we get the idea of the     
building of an edifice whose stones are 
persons1 each taking  their more or less
 conscious part in the                  
construction--thus a  building1 not     
constructed from without1 but           
self-forming by a  principle of growth  
from within under the guidance of a     
,supreme  ,wisdom permeating the whole  

and conducting it stage by stage to     
ultimate completeness4 ,this points to a
 ,divine ,order in human  affairs with  
which we may more or less consciously   
co-operate3  both to our personal       
advantage and also to the furtherance of
 the  great scheme of human evolution as
 a whole2 the ultimate purpose  being to
 establish in ,,all men that principle  
of ,the ,octave to  which ,i have       
already alluded2 and in proportion as   
some  adumbration of this principle is  
realized by individuals and by  groups  
of individuals they specialize the law  
of  race-development1 even though they  
may not be aware of the fact1  and so   
come under a ,,specialized working of   
the fundamental ,law1  which thus       
differentiates them from other          
individuals and  nationalities1 as by a 
peculiar guidance1 producing higher     
developments which the merely generic   
operation of the ,law could  not4       
,now if we keep steadily in mind that1  
though the purpose1 or ,law  of         

,tendency1 or the ,originating ,spirit  
must always be universal  in its nature1
 it must necessarily be individual in   
its  operation1 we shall see that this  
universal purpose can only be           
accomplished through the instrumentality
 of specific means4 ,this  results from 
the fundamental proposition that the    
,universal can  only work on the plane  
of the ,particular by becoming the      
individual and particular2 and when we  
grasp the conception that  the merely   
generic operation of the ,creative ,law 
has now brought  the human race as far  
as it can1 that is to say it has        
completely  evolved the merely natural  
,,genus home1 it follows that if any    
further development is to take place it 
can only be by the  co-operation of the 
individual himself4 ,now it is the      
spread of  this individual co-operation 
that the forward movement of the        
,spirit is leading us to1 and it is the 
gradual extension of this  universal    
principle that is alluded to in the     

prophecy of ,daniel  regarding the      
,stone cut out without hands that       
spreads until it  fills the whole earth 
7,daniel ii4 #cd and #dd74 ,according to
 the  interpretation given by ,daniel1  
this ,stone is the emblem of a          
spiritual ,kingdom1 and the identity of 
the ,stone and the ,shepherd  indicates 
that the ,kingdom of the ,stone must be 
also the ,kingdom  of the ,shepherd2 and
 the ,master1 who identified himself    
with both  the ,stone and the ,shepherd1
 emphatically declared that this        
,kingdom was1 in its essence1 an        
interior ,kingdom--the ,kingdom of      
,heaven is within you4 ,we must look for
 its foundation therefore1  in a        
spiritual principle or mental law       
inherent in the  constitution of all men
 but waiting to be brought into fuller  
development by more accurate compliance 
with its essential  requirements2 which 
is precisely the method by which science
 has  evoked powers from the laws of    
nature which were undreamt of in  former

 ages2 and in like manner the           
recognition of our true  relation to the
 ,universal ,spirit1 which is the source
 of all  individual being1 must lead to 
an advance both for the race and  for   
the individual such as we can at present
 scarcely form the  faintest idea of1   
but which we dimly apprehend through the
  intuition and speak of as the ,new    
,order4 ,the approach of this ,new      
,order is everywhere making itself      
vaguely felt2 it is1 as the  ,french    
say1 in the air1 and the very vagueness 
and mystery  attending it is causing a  
feeling of unrest as to what form it    
may assume4 ,but to the student of      
,spiritual ,law this should not  be the 
case4 ,he knows that the ,form is always
 the expression of  the ,spirit1 and    
therefore1 since he is in touch with the
 forward  movement of the ,spirit1 he   
knows that he himself will always be    
harmoniously included in any form of    
development which the ,great  ,forward  
,movement may take4 ,this is the        

practical and personal  benefit arising 
from the realization of the ,principle  
which is  symbolized under the two-fold 
metaphor of the ,shepherd and the       
,stone4 and in all those new            
developments which are perhaps even  now
 within measurable distance1 we can rest
 on the knowledge that  we are under the
 care of a kind ,shepherd1 and under the
 formation  of a wise ,master ,builder4 
,but the principle of the ,shepherd and 
the ,stone is not something  hitherto   
unheard of which is only to conne into  
existence in the  future4 ,if there were
 no manifestations of this principle in 
the  past1 we might question whether    
there were any such principle at  all2  
but a careful study of the subject will 
show us that it has  been at work all   
through the ages1 sometimes in modes    
more  immediately bearing the aspect of 
the ,shepherd1 and sometimes in  modes  
more immediately bearing the aspect of  
the ,stone1 though  the one always      
implies the other1 for they are the same

 thing  seen from different points of   
view4 ,the subject is one of immense    
interest1 but covering such a wide range
 of study that all ,i can  do here is to
 point out that such a field of         
investigation exists  and is worth      
exploration2 and the exploration brings 
its reward  with it1 not only by putting
 us in possession of the key to the     
history of the past1 but by showing us  
that it is the key to the  history of   
the future also1 and furthermore by     
making evident on  a large scale the    
working of the same principle of        
,spiritual ,law  by cooperation with    
which we may facilitate the process of  
our  own individual evolution4 ,it thus 
adds a vivid interest to life1  giving  
us something worth looking forward to   
and introducing us  to a personal future
 which is not limited by the proverbial 
three-score years and ten4    ,now1 we  
have seen that the first stage in the   
,creative ,process is  always that of   
,feeling--a reaching-out by the ,spirit 

in a  particular direction1 and         
therefore we may look for something of  
the same kind in the development of the 
great principle which we  are now       
considering4 ,and we find this first    
vague movement of  this great principle 
in the intuitions of a particular race  
which  appears from time immemorial to  
have combined the two  characteristics  
of nomad wandering with their flocks and
 herds  and the symbolization of their  
religious beliefs in monuments of       
stone4 ,the monuments themselves have   
taken different forms in  different     
countries and ages1 but the identity of 
their symbolism  becomes clear under    
careful investigation4 ,together with   
this  symbolism we always find the nomad
 character of the builders and  that    
they are invested with an aura of       
mystery and romance such  as we find    
nowhere else1 though we always find it  
surrounding  these builders1 even in    
countries so far apart as ,india and    
,ireland4 ,then1 as we pass beyond the  

merely monumental stage1 we  find       
threads of historical evidence          
connecting the different  branches of   
this race1 increasing in their          
complexity and  strengthening in their  
cumulative force as we go on1 until at  
last we are brought to the history of   
the age in which we live2  and finally  
most remarkable affinities of language  
put the  finishing touch to the mass of 
proofs which can be gathered along  all 
these different lines4 ,in this magic   
circle countries so  remote from one    
another as ,ireland and ,greece1 ,egypt 
and ,india1  ,palestine and ,persia1 are
 brought into close contiguity--a       
similar tradition1 and even a similar   
nomenclature1 unite the  mysterious     
builders of the ,great ,pyramid with the
 equally  mysterious builders of the    
,round ,towers of ,ireland--and the     
,great  ,pyramid itself1 perhaps        
antedating the call of ,abraham1        
re-appears as the official seal of the  
,united ,states2 while  tradition traces

 the crowning-stone in ,westminster     
,abbey back to  the time of ,solomon's  
temple and even earlier4 ,for the most  
part  the erewhile wanderers are now    
settled in their destined homes1  but   
the ,anglo-,saxon race--the ,people of  
the ,corner-,stone--are  still the      
pioneers among the nations1 and there is
 something  esoteric in the old joke    
that when the ,north ,pole is reached a 
,scotchman will be found there4 ,and not
 least in the chain of  evidence is the 
link afforded by a tribe who are        
wanderers still1  the ,gipsies with     
their duplicate of the ,pyramid in the  
pack of  cards--a volume which has been 
called ,the ,devil's ,picture ,book  by 
those who know it only in its misuse and
 inversion1 but which  when interpreted 
in the light of the knowledge we are now
  gaining1 affords a signal instance of 
that divine policy by which  as ,st4    
,paul says1 ,god employs the foolish    
things of this world to  confute the    
wise2 while a truer apprehension of the 

,gipsies  themselves indicates their    
unmistakable connection with that race  
who through all its wanderings has ever 
been the guardian of the  ,stone4    ,in
 these few paragraphs ,i have only been 
able to point out very  briefly the     
broad lines of enquiry into a subject of
 national  importance to the ,british   
and ,american peoples1 and which        
interests us personally1 not only as    
members of these nations1  but as       
affording proof on the largest scale of 
the same  specialization of universal   
laws which each of us has to effect     
individually for ourself4 ,but whether  
the process be individual  or national  
it is always the same1 and is the       
translation to the  very highest        
plane--that of the ,all-originating     
,life itself--of  the old maxim that    
,nature will obey us exactly in         
proportion as  we first obey ,nature2 it
 is the old parable of the lord who1    
finding his servants girt and awaiting  
him1 then girds himself  and serves them

 7,luke xii4 #ce to #cg74 ,the nation or
 the  individual who thus realizes the  
true principle of the ,shepherd  and the
 ,stone1 comes under a special ,divine  
guidance and  protection1 not by a      
favouritism incompatible with the       
conception  of universal ,law1 but by   
the very operation of the ,law itself4  
,they have come into touch with its     
higher possibilities1 and to  recur to  
an analogy which ,i have already        
employed1 they learn to  make their iron
 float by the very same law by which it 
sinks2 and  so they become the flock of 
the ,great ,shepherd and the building   
of the ,great ,architect1 and each one1 
however insignificant his  or her sphere
 may appear1 becomes a sharer in the    
great work1 and  by a logical           
consequence begins to grow on new lines 
of  development for the simple reason   
that a new principle  necessarily       
produces new modes of manifestation4 ,if
 the reader  will think over these      
things he will see that the promises    

contained in the ,bible whether national
 or personal1 are nothing  else than    
statements of the universal law of      
,cause and ,effect  applied to the      
inmost principles of our being1 and that
 therefore  it is not mere rhapsody1 but
 the figurative expression of a great   
truth when the ,psalmist says ,the ,lord
 is my ,shepherd1 and  ,thou art my ,god
 and the ,rock of my salvation4         
,,salvation ,,is ,,of ,,the ,,jews4     
,what does this saying of the ,master's 
mean8 ,certainly not a mere  arrogant   
assumption in favour of ,his own        
nationality--such an  idea is negatived1
 not only by the universality of all    
,his other  teaching1 but also by the   
very instruction in which these words   
occur1 for ,he declared that the ,jewish
 temple was equally with  the ,samaritan
 of no account in the matter4 ,he said  
that the true  worship was purely       
spiritual and entirely independent of   
places  and ceremonies1 while at the    
same time ,he emphasized the ,jewish    

expectation of a ,messiah1 so that in   
this teaching we are met by  the paradox
 of a universal principle combined with 
what at first  sight appears like a     
tribal tradition quite incompatible with
 any  recognition of the universal reign
 of law4 ,how to reconcile these        
apparent opposites1 therefore1 seems to 
be the problem which ,he  here sets     
before us4 ,its solution is to be found 
in that  principle which ,i have        
endeavoured to elucidate throughout     
these  lectures1 the specializing of    
universal law4 ,opinions may differ  as 
to whether the ,bible narrative of the  
birth of ,christ is to be  taken        
literally or symbolically1 but as to the
 spiritual  principle involved there    
can1 ,i think1 be no difference of      
opinion4 ,it is that of the             
specialization by the individual of  the
 generic relation of the soul to the    
,infinite ,spirit from  which it        
proceeds4 ,the relation itself is       
universal and results  from the very    

nature of the creative process1 but the 
law of the  universal relation admits of
 particular specialization exactly in   
the same way as all other natural       
laws--it is simply applying to  the     
supreme ,law of ,life the same method by
 which we have learnt  to make iron     
float1 that is to say by a fuller       
recognition of  what the ,law is in     
itself4 ,whatever other meanings we may 
apply  to the name ,messiah1 it         
undoubtedly stands for the absolutely   
perfect manifestation in the individual 
of all the infinite  possibilities of   
the ,principle of ,life4    ,now it was 
because this grand ideal is the basis on
 which the  ,hebrew nationality was     
founded that ,jesus made this statement4
  ,this foundation had been lamentably  
misconceived by the ,jewish  people2 but
 nevertheless1 however imperfectly1 they
 still held by  it1 and from them this  
ideal has spread throughout the         
,christian  world4 ,here also it        
continues to be lamentably misconceived1

  nevertheless it is still retained1 and
 only needs to be  recognized in its    
true light as a universal principle1    
instead of  an unintelligible dogma1 to 
become the salvation of the world4      
,hence1 as affording the medium through 
which this supreme ideal  has been      
preserved and spread1 it is true that   
,salvation is of  the ,jews4    ,their  
fundamental idea was right but their    
apprehension of it was  wrong--that is  
why the ,master at the same time sweeps 
away the  national worship of the temple
 and preserves the national idea of  the
 ,messiah2 and this is equally true of  
the ,christian world at  the present    
day4 ,if salvation is anything real it  
must have its  cause in some law1 and if
 there is a law it must be founded upon 
some universal principle3 therefore it  
is this principle which we  must seek if
 we would understand this teaching of   
the ,master's4    ,now whether we take  
the ,bible story of the birth of ,christ
  literally or symbolically1 it teaches 

one great lesson4 ,it  teaches that the 
,all-originating ,spirit is the true    
,parent of the  individual both in soul 
and body4 ,this is nothing else than    
realizing from the stand-point of the   
individual what we cannot  help         
realizing in regard to the original     
creation of the cosmos--  it is the     
realization that the ,all-originating   
,spirit is at once  the ,life and the   
,substance in each individual here and  
now1 just  as it must have been in the  
origin of all things4 ,human parentage  
counts for nothing--it is only the      
channel through which  ,universal       
,spirit has acted for the concentration 
of an individual  centre2 but the       
ultimate cause of that centre1 both in  
life and  substance1 continues at every 
moment to be the ,one same  ,originating
 ,spirit4    ,this recognition cuts away
 the root of all the power of the       
negative1 and so in principle it        
delivers us from all evil1 for  the root
 of evil is the denial of the power of  

the ,spirit to  produce good4 ,when we  
realize that the ,spirit is finding its 
own  individualization in us in its     
two-fold essence as ,life and           
,substance1 then we see that it must be 
both able and willing to  create for us 
all good4 ,the only limit is that which 
we ourselves  impose by denying its     
operation1 and when we realize the      
inherent  creativeness of ,spirit we    
find that there is no reason why we     
should stop short at any point and say  
that it can go no further4  ,our error  
is in looking on the life of the body as
 separate from  the life of the ,spirit1
 and this error is met by the           
consideration that1 in its ultimate     
nature1 ,substance must  emanate from   
,spirit and is nothing else than the    
record of  ,spirit's conception of      
itself as finding expression in space   
and  time4 ,and when this becomes clear 
it follows that ,substance need  not be 
taken into calculation at all4 ,the     
material form stands in  the same       

relation to ,spirit that the image      
projected on the  screen stands to the  
slide in the lantern4 ,if we wish to    
change  the exhibited subject we do not 
manipulate the reflection on the        
screen1 but we alter the slide2 and in  
like manner1 when we come  to realize   
the true nature of the creative process1
 we learn that  the exterior things are 
to be changed by a change of the        
interior  spiritual attitude4 ,our      
spiritual attitude will always be       
determined by our conception of our     
relation to ,god or ,infinite  ,spirit2 
and so when we begin to see that this   
relation is one of  absolute            
reciprocity--that it is the             
self-recognition of ,infinite  ,spirit  
from our own centre of                  
consciousness--then we find that  the   
whole ,secret of ,life consists in      
simple reliance upon the  ,allcreating  
,spirit as consciously identifying      
itself with us4 ,it  has1 so to say1    
awakened to a new mode of               

self-recognition  peculiar to ourselves1
 in which we individually form the      
centre  of its creative energy4 ,to     
realize this is to specialize the       
,principle of ,life4 ,the logic of it is
 simple4 ,we have found that  the       
originating movement of ,spirit from    
which all creation  proceeds can only be
 ,self-contemplation4 ,then1 since the  
,original  ,spirit cannot change its    
nature its self-contemplation through   
our own minds must be as creative in1   
for1 and through us as it  ever was in  
the beginning2 and consequently we find 
the original  creative process repeated 
in ourselves and directed by the        
conscious thought of our own minds4     
,in all this there is no place for the  
consideration of  outward  conditions1  
whether of body or  circumstances2 for  
they are only  effects and not the      
cause2 and therefore when we reach this 
stand-point  we cease to take them into 
our calculations4 ,instead  we employ   
the method of self-contemplation knowing

  that this is  the creative method1 and
 so we  contemplate ourselves as allied 
to the infinite ,love  and ,wisdom of   
the ,divine ,spirit which will  take    
form  through our conscious thought1 and
 so act creatively  as a ,special       
,providence entirely devoted to         
guarding1  guiding1  providing for1 and 
illuminating us4 ,the whole  thing is   
perfectly  natural when seen from a     
clear  recognition of what the creative 
working of ,spirit  must be in itself2  
and when it is realized in  this        
perfectly natural manner all strain and 
effort to  compel  its action ceases--we
 are at one with the ,all-creating      
,power  which has now found a new centre
 in  ourselves from which to  continue  
its creative work to  more perfect      
manifestation than  could be attained   
through the unspecialized generic       
conditions  of the  merely cosmic order4
    ,now this is what ,messiah stands   
for1 and therefore it is written  that  
to them gave ,he power to become sons of

 ,god1 even to as  many as believe on   
,his ,name4 ,this belief is the         
recognition of  a universal principle   
and personal reliance upon it as a law  
which cannot be broken2 for it is the   
,law of the whole creative  process     
specialized in our own individuality4   
,then1 too1 however  great may be the   
mystery1 the removal and cleansing away 
of all  sin follows as an essential part
 of this realization of new life2  and  
it is in this sense that we may read all
 that the ,bible tells  us on this      
aspect of the subject4 ,the ,,principle 
of it is ,love2  for when we are        
reunited to the ,parent ,spirit in      
mutual  confidence and love1 what room  
is there on either side for any         
remembrance of our past failures8       
,this1 then is what ,messiah stands for 
to the individual2 but if  we can       
conceive a nation based upon such a     
recognition of its  special relation to 
the ,directing ,power of the ,universe1 
such a  people must of necessity become 

the leader of the nations1 and  those   
who oppose it must fail by a            
self-destructive principle  inherent in 
the very nature of the position they    
take up4 ,the  leadership resulting from
 such a national self-recognition1 will 
not be based upon conquest and          
compulsion1 but will come  naturally4   
,other nations will enquire the reason  
for the  phenomenal success and         
prosperity of the favoured people1 and  
finding this reason in a universal ,law1
 they will begin to apply  the same law 
in the same manner1 and thus the same   
results will  spread from country to    
country until at last the whole earth   
will  be full of the glory of the ,lord4
 ,and such a nation1 and rather  company
 of nations1 exists4 ,to trace its      
present development from  its ancient   
beginnings is far beyond the scope of   
this volume1  and still more to         
speculate upon its further growth2 but  
to my  readers on both sides of the     
,atlantic ,i may say that this people   

is the ,anglo-,saxon race throughout the
 world4 ,i write these lines  upon the  
historic ,hill of ,tara2 this will      
convey a hint to many  of my readers4   
,at some future time ,i may enlarge upon
 this  subject2 but at present my aim is
 merely to suggest some lines of        
thought arising from the ,master's      
saying that ,salvation is of  the ,jews4