,,in ,,tune ,,with ,,the ,,infinite or ,fullness of ,peace1 ,power1 and ,plenty by ,,ralph ,,waldo ,,trine ,author of ,what ,all the ,world's ,a-,seeking1 ,the ,greatest ,thing ,ever ,known1 ,every ,living ,creature4 ,within yourself lies the cause of whatever enters into your life4 ,to come into the full realization of your own awakened interior powers1 is to be able to condition your life in exact accord with what you would have it4 ,seventy-,seventh ,thousand in ,england and ,america ,london ,george ,bell ,sons #aijc ,first ,english ,edition1 ,dec4 #ahii ,reprinted ,april and ,october #aijj ,february and ,june #aija2 ,april #aijb2 ,january #aijc ,,preface4 ,there is a golden thread that runs through every religion in the world4 ,there is a golden thread that runs through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets1 seers1 sages1 and saviours in the world's history1 through the lives of all men and women of truly great and lasting power4 ,all that they have ever done or attained to has been done in full accordance with law4 ,what one has done1 all may do4 ,this same golden thread must enter into the lives of all who today1 in this busy work-a-day world of ours1 would exchange impotence for power1 weakness and suffering for abounding health and strength1 pain and unrest for perfect peace1 poverty of whatever nature for fullness and plenty4 ,each is building his own world4 ,we both build from within and we attract from without4 ,thought is the force with which we build1 for thoughts are forces4 ,like builds like and like attracts like4 ,in the degree that thought is spiritualized does it become more subtle and powerful in its workings4 ,this spiritualizing is in accordance with law and is within the power of all4 ,everything is first worked out in the unseen before it is manifested in the seen1 in the ideal before it is realized in the real1 in the spiritual before it shows forth in the material4 ,the realm of the unseen is the realm of cause4 ,the realm of the seen is the realm of effect4 ,the nature of effect is always determined and conditioned by the nature of its cause4 ,to point out the great facts in connection with1 and the great laws underlying the workings of the interior1 spiritual1 thought forces1 to point them out so simply and so clearly that even a child can understand1 is the author's aim4 ,to point them out so simply and so clearly that all can grasp them1 that all can take them and infuse them into every-day life1 so as to mould it in all its details in accordance with what they would have it1 is his purpose4 ,that life can be thus moulded by them is not a matter of mere speculation or theory with him1 but a matter of positive knowledge4 ,there is a divine sequence running throughout the universe4 ,within and above and below the human will incessantly works the ,divine will4 ,to come into harmony with it and thereby with all the higher laws and forces1 to come then into league and to work in conjunction with them1 in order that they can work in league and in conjunction with us1 is to come into the chain of this wonderful sequence4 ,this is the secret of all success4 ,this is to come into the possession of unknown riches1 into the realization of undreamed-of powers4 ,r4,w4,t4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,,prelude ,,ii4 ,,the ,,supreme ,,fact ,,of ,,the ,,universe ,,iii4 ,,the ,,supreme ,,fact ,,of ,,human ,,life ,,iv4 ,,fullness ,,of ,,life--,,bodily ,,health ,,and ,,vigor ,v4 ,,the ,,secret1 ,,power1 ,,and ,,effects ,,of ,,love ,,vi4 ,,wisdom ,,and ,,interior ,,illumination ,,vii4 ,,the ,,realization ,,of ,,perfect ,,peace ,,viii4 ,,coming ,,into ,,fullness ,,of ,,power ,,ix4 ,,plenty ,,of ,,all ,,things--,,the ,,law ,,of ,,prosperity ,x4 ,,how ,,men ,,have ,,become ,,prophets1 ,,seers1 ,,sages1 ,,and ,,saviours ,,xi4 ,,the ,,basic ,,principle ,,of ,,all ,,religions--,,the ,,universal ,,religion ,,xii4 ,,entering ,,now ,,into ,,the ,,realization ,,of ,,the ,,highest ,,riches ,,fullness ,,of ,,peace1 ,,power1 ,,and ,,plenty4 ,,prelude4 ,the optimist is right4 ,the pessimist is right4 ,the one differs from the other as the light from the dark4 ,yet both are right4 ,each is right from his own particular point of view1 and this point of view is the determining factor in the life of each4 ,it determines as to whether it is a life of power or of impotence1 of peace or of pain1 of success or of failure4 ,the optimist has the power of seeing things in their entirety and in their right relations4 ,the pessimist looks from a limited and a one-sided point of view4 ,the one has his understanding illumined by wisdom1 the understanding of the other is darkened by ignorance4 ,each is building his world from within1 and the result of the building is determined by the point of view of each4 ,the optimist1 by his superior wisdom and insight1 is making his own heaven1 and in the degree that he makes his own heaven is he helping to make one for all the world beside4 ,the pessimist1 by virtue of his limitations1 is making his own hell1 and in the degree that he makes his own hell is he helping to make one for all mankind4 ,you and ,i have the predominating characteristics of an optimist or the predominating characteristics of a pessimist4 ,we then are making1 hour by hour1 our own heaven or our own hell2 and in the degree that we are making the one or the other for ourselves are we helping make it for all the world beside4 ,the word heaven means harmony4 ,the word hell is from the old ,english hell1 meaning to build a wall around1 to separate2 to be helled was to be shut off from4 ,now if there is such a thing as harmony there must be that something one can be in right relations with2 for to be in right relations with anything is to be in harmony with it4 ,again1 if there is such a thing as being helled1 shut off1 separated from1 there must be that something from which one is held1 shut off1 or separated4 ,,the ,,supreme ,,fact ,,of ,,the ,,universe4 ,the great central fact of the universe is that ,spirit of ,infinite ,life and ,power that is behind all1 that animates all1 that manifests itself in and through all2 that self-existent principle of life from which all has come1 and not only from which all has come1 but from which all is continually coming4 ,if there is an individual life1 there must of necessity be an infinite source of life from which it comes4 ,if there is a quality or a force of love1 there must of necessity be an infinite source of love whence it comes4 ,if there is wisdom1 there must be the all-wise source behind it from which it springs4 ,the same is true in regard to peace1 the same in regard to power1 the same in regard to what we call material things4 ,there is1 then1 this ,spirit of ,infinite ,life and ,power behind all which is the source of all4 ,this ,infinite ,power is creating1 working1 ruling through the agency of great immutable laws and forces that run through all the universe1 that surround us on every side4 ,every act of our every-day lives is governed by these same great laws and forces4 ,every flower that blooms by the wayside1 springs up1 grows1 blooms1 fades1 according to certain great immutable laws4 ,every snowflake that plays between earth and heaven1 forms1 falls1 melts1 according to certain great unchangeable laws4 ,in a sense there is nothing in all the great universe but law4 ,if this is true there must of necessity be a force behind it all that is the maker of these laws and a force greater than the laws that are made4 ,this ,spirit of ,infinite ,life and ,power that is behind all is what ,i call ,god4 ,i care not what term you may use1 be it ,kindly ,light1 ,providence1 the ,over ,soul1 ,omnipotence1 or whatever term may be most convenient4 ,i care not what the term may be as long as we are agreed in regard to the great central fact itself4 ,god1 then1 is this ,infinite ,spirit which fills all the universe with ,himself alone1 so that all is from ,him and in ,him1 and there is nothing that is outside4 ,indeed and in truth1 then1 in ,him we live and move and have our being4 ,he is the life of our life1 our very life itself4 ,we have received1 we are continually receiving our life from ,him4 ,we are partakers of the life of ,god2 and though we differ from ,him in that we are individualized spirits1 while ,he is the ,infinite ,spirit including us as well as all else beside1 yet in essence the life of ,god and the life of man are identically the same1 and so are one4 ,they differ not in essence1 in quality2 they differ in degree4 ,there have been and are highly illumined souls who believe that we receive our life from ,god after the manner of a divine inflow4 ,and again1 there have been and are those who believe that our life is one with the life of ,god1 and so that ,god and man are one4 ,which is right8 ,both are right2 both right when rightly understood4 ,in regard to the first3 if ,god is the ,infinite ,spirit of ,life behind all1 whence all comes1 then clearly our life as individualized spirits is continually coming from this ,infinite ,source by means of this divine inflow4 ,in the second place1 if our lives as individualized spirits are directly from1 are parts of this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life1 then the degree of the ,infinite ,spirit that is manifested in the life of each must be identical in quality with that ,source1 the same as a drop of water taken from the ocean is1 in nature1 in characteristics1 identical with that ocean1 its source4 ,and how could it be otherwise8 ,the liability to misunderstanding in this latter case1 however1 is this3 in that although the life of ,god and the life of man in essence are identically the same1 the life of ,god so far transcends the life of individual man that it includes all else beside4 ,in other words1 so far as the quality of life is concerned1 in essence they are the same2 so far as the degree of life is concerned1 they are vastly different4 ,in this light is it not then evident that both conceptions are true8 and more1 that they are one and the same8 ,both conceptions may be typified by one and the same illustration4 ,there is a reservoir in a valley which receives its supply from an inexhaustible reservoir on the mountain side4 ,it is then true that the reservoir in the valley receives its supply by virtue of the inflow of the water from the larger reservoir on the mountain side4 ,it is also true that the water in this smaller reservoir is in nature1 in quality1 in characteristics identically the same as that in the larger reservoir which is its source4 ,the difference1 however1 is this3 the reservoir on the mountain side1 in the amount of its water1 so far transcends the reservoir in the valley that it can supply an innumerable number of like reservoirs and still be unexhausted4 ,and so in the life of man4 ,if1 as ,i think we have already agreed1 however we may differ in regard to anything else1 there is this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life behind all1 the life of all1 and so1 from which all comes1 then the life of individual man1 your life and mine1 must come by a divine inflow from this ,infinite ,source4 ,and if this is true1 then the life that comes by this inflow to man is necessarily the same in essence as is this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life4 ,there is a difference4 ,it is not a difference in essence4 ,it is a difference in degree4 ,if this is true1 does it not then follow that in the degree that man opens himself to this divine inflow does he approach to ,god8 ,if so1 it then necessarily follows that in the degree that he makes this approach does he take on the ,god-powers4 ,and if the ,god-powers are without limit1 does it not then follow that the only limitations man has are the limitations he sets to himself1 by virtue of not knowing himself8 ,,the ,,supreme ,,fact ,,of ,,human ,,life4 ,from the great central fact of the universe in regard to which we have agreed1 namely1 this ,spirit of ,infinite ,life that is behind all and from which all comes1 we are led to inquire as to what is the great central fact in human life4 ,from what has gone before1 the question almost answers itself4 ,the great central fact in human life1 in your life and in mine1 is the coming into a conscious1 vital realization of our oneness with this ,infinite ,life1 and the opening of ourselves fully to this divine inflow4 ,this is the great central fact in human life1 for in this all else is included1 all else follows in its train4 ,in just the degree that we come into a conscious realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 and open ourselves to this divine inflow1 do we actualize in ourselves the qualities and powers of the ,infinite ,life4 ,and what does this mean8 ,it means simply this3 that we are recognizing our true identity1 that we are bringing our lives into harmony with the same great laws and forces1 and so opening ourselves to the same great inspirations1 as have all the prophets1 seers1 sages1 and saviours in the world's history1 all men of truly great and mighty power4 ,for in the degree that we come into this realization and connect ourselves with this ,infinite ,source1 do we make it possible for the higher powers to play1 to work1 to manifest through us4 ,we can keep closed to this divine inflow1 to these higher forces and powers1 through ignorance1 as most of us do1 and thus hinder or even prevent their manifesting through us4 ,or we can intentionally close ourselves to their operations and thus deprive ourselves of the powers to which1 by the very nature of our being1 we are rightful heirs4 ,on the other hand1 we can come into so vital a realization of the oneness of our real selves with this ,infinite ,life1 and can open ourselves so fully to the incoming of this divine inflow1 and so to the operation of these higher forces1 inspirations1 and powers1 that we can indeed and in truth become what we may well term1 ,god-men4 ,and what is a ,god-man8 ,one in whom the powers of ,god are manifesting1 though yet a man4 ,no one can set limitations to a man or a woman of this type2 for the only limitations he or she can have are those set by the self4 ,ignorance is the most potent factor in setting limitations to the majority of mankind2 and so the great majority of people continue to live their little1 dwarfed1 and stunted lives simply by virtue of the fact that they do not realize the larger life to which they are heirs4 ,they have never as yet come into a knowledge of the real identity of their true selves4 ,mankind has not yet realized that the real self is one with the life of ,god4 ,through its ignorance it has never yet opened itself to the divine inflow1 and so has never made itself a channel through which the infinite powers and forces can manifest4 ,when we know ourselves merely as men1 we live accordingly1 and have merely the powers of men4 ,when we come into the realization of the fact that we are ,god-men1 then again we live accordingly1 and have the powers of ,god-men4 ,in the degree that we open ourselves to this divine inflow are we changed from mere men into ,god-men4 ,a friend has a beautiful lotus pond4 ,a natural basin on his estate--his farm as he always calls it--is supplied with water from a reservoir in the foothills some distance away4 ,a gate regulates the flow of the water from the main that conducts it from the reservoir to the pond4 ,it is a spot of transcendent beauty4 ,there1 through the days of the perfect summer weather1 the lotus flowers lie full blown upon the surface of the clear1 transparent water4 ,the ,june roses and other wild flowers are continually blooming upon its banks4 ,the birds come here to drink and to bathe1 and from early until late one can hear the melody of their song4 ,the bees are continually at work in this garden of wild flowers4 ,a beautiful grove1 in which many kinds of wild berries and many varieties of brakes and ferns grow1 stretches back of the pond as far as the eye can reach4 ,our friend is a man1 nay more1 a ,god-man1 a lover of his kind1 and as a consequence no notice bearing such words as ,private grounds1 no trespassing allowed1 or ,trespassers will be prosecuted1 stands on his estate4 ,but at the end of a beautiful by-way that leads through the wildwood up to this enchanting spot1 stands a notice bearing the words ,all are welcome to the ,lotus ,pond4 ,all love our friend4 ,why8 ,they can't help it4 ,he so loves them1 and what is his is theirs4 ,here one may often find merry groups of children at play4 ,here many times tired and weary looking men and women come1 and somehow1 when they go their faces wear a different expression1--the burden seems to be lifted2 and now and then ,i have heard them when leaving1 sometimes in a faint murmur1 as if uttering a benediction1 say1 ,god bless our brother-friend4 ,many speak of this spot as the ,garden of ,god4 ,my friend calls it his ,soul ,garden1 and he spends many hours in quiet here4 ,often have ,i seen him after the others have gone1 walking to and fro1 or sitting quietly in the clear moonlight on an old rustic bench1 drinking in the perfume of the wild flowers4 ,he is a man of a beautifully simple nature4 ,he says that here the real things of life come to him1 and that here his greatest and most successful plans1 many times as by a flash of inspiration1 suggest themselves to him4 ,everything in the immediate vicinity seems to breathe a spirit of kindliness1 comfort1 good-will1 and good cheer4 ,the very cattle and sheep as they come to the old stone-fence at the edge of the grove and look across to this beautiful spot seem1 indeed1 to get the same enjoyment that the people are getting4 ,they seem almost to smile in the realization of their contentment and enjoyment2 or perhaps it seems so to the looker-on1 because he can scarcely help smiling as he sees the manifested evidence of their contentment and pleasure4 ,the gate of the pond is always open wide enough to admit a supply of water so abundant that it continually overflows a quantity sufficient to feed a stream that runs through the fields below1 giving the pure mountain water in drink to the cattle and flocks that are grazing there4 ,the stream then flows on through the neighbors' fields4 ,not long ago our friend was absent for a year4 ,he rented his estate during his absence to a man who1 as the world goes1 was of a very practical turn of mind4 ,he had no time for anything that did not bring him direct practical returns4 ,the gate connecting the reservoir with the lotus pond was shut down1 and no longer had the crystal mountain water the opportunity to feed and overflow it4 ,the notice of our friend1 ,all are welcome to the ,lotus ,pond1 was removed1 and no longer were the gay companies of children and of men and women seen at the pond4 ,a great change came over everything4 ,on account of the lack of the life-giving water the flowers in the pond wilted1 and their long stems lay stretched upon the mud in the bottom4 ,the fish that formerly swam in its clear water soon died and gave an offensive odor to all who came near4 ,the flowers no longer bloomed on its banks4 ,the birds no longer came to drink and to bathe4 ,no longer was heard the hum of the bees2 and more1 the stream that ran through the fields below dried up1 so that the cattle and the flocks no longer got their supply of clear mountain water4 ,the difference between the spot now and the lotus pond when our friend gave it his careful attention was caused1 as we readily see1 by the shutting of the gate to the pond1 thus preventing the water from the reservoir in the hills which was the source of its life1 from entering it4 ,and when this1 the source of its life1 was shut off1 not only was the appearance of the lotus pond entirely changed1 but the surrounding fields were deprived of the stream to whose banks the flocks and cattle came for drink4 ,in this do we not see a complete parallel so far as human life is concerned8 ,in the degree that we recognize our oneness1 our connection with the ,infinite ,spirit which is the life of all1 and in the degree that we open ourselves to this divine inflow1 do we come into harmony with the highest1 the most powerful1 and the most beautiful everywhere4 ,and in the degree that we do this do we overflow1 so that all who come in contact with us receive the effects of this realization on our part4 ,this is the lotus pond of our friend1 he who is in love with all that is truest and best in the universe4 ,and in the degree that we fail to recognize our oneness with this ,infinite ,source1 and so close1 shut ourselves to this divine inflow1 do we come into that state where there seems to be with us nothing of good1 nothing of beauty1 nothing of power2 and when this is true1 those who come in contact with us receive not good1 but harm4 ,this is the spot of the lotus pond while the farm was in the hands of a renter4 ,there is this difference between the lotus pond and your life and mine4 ,it has no power in itself of opening the gate to the inflow of the water from the reservoir which is its source4 ,in regard to this it is helpless and dependent upon an outside agency4 ,you and ,i have the power1 the power within us1 to open or to close ourselves to this divine inflow exactly as we choose4 ,this we have through the power of mind1 through the operation of thought4 ,there is the soul life1 direct from ,god4 ,this it is that relates us to the ,infinite4 ,there is1 then1 the physical life4 ,this it is that relates us to the material universe about us4 ,the thought life connects the one with the other4 ,it is this that plays between the two4 ,before we proceed farther let us consider very briefly the nature of thought4 ,thought is not1 as is many times supposed1 a mere indefinite abstraction1 or something of a like nature4 ,it is1 on the contrary1 a vital1 living force1 the most vital1 subtle1 and irresistible force there is in the universe4 ,in our very laboratory experiments we are demonstrating the great fact that thoughts are forces4 ,they have form1 and quality1 and substance1 and power1 and we are beginning to find that there is what we may term a science of thought4 ,we are beginning also to find that through the instrumentality of our thought forces we have creative power1 not merely in a figurative sense1 but creative power in reality4 ,everything in the material universe about us1 everything the universe has ever known1 had its origin first in thought4 ,from this it took its form4 ,every castle1 every statue1 every painting1 every piece of mechanism1 everything had its birth1 its origin1 first in the mind of the one who formed it before it received its material expression or embodiment4 ,the very universe in which we live is the result of the thought energies of ,god1 the ,infinite ,spirit that is back of all4 ,and if it is true1 as we have found1 that we in our true selves are in essence the same1 and in this sense are one with the life of this ,infinite ,spirit1 do we not then see that in the degree that we come into a vital realization of this stupendous fact1 we1 through the operation of our interior1 spiritual1 thought forces1 have in like sense creative power8 ,everything exists in the unseen before it is manifested or realized in the seen1 and in this sense it is true that the unseen things are the real1 while the things that are seen are the unreal4 ,the unseen things are cause2 the seen things are effect4 ,the unseen things are the eternal2 the seen things are the changing1 the transient4 ,the power of the word is a literal scientific fact4 ,through the operation of our thought forces we have creative power4 ,the spoken word is nothing more nor less than the outward expression of the workings of these interior forces4 ,the spoken word is then1 in a sense1 the means whereby the thought forces are focused and directed along any particular line2 and this concentration1 this giving them direction1 is necessary before any outward or material manifestation of their power can become evident4 ,much is said in regard to building castles in the air1 and one who is given to this building is not always looked upon with favor4 ,but castles in the air are always necessary before we can have castles on the ground1 before we can have castles in which to live4 ,the trouble with the one who gives himself to building castles in the air is not that he builds them in the air1 but that he does not go farther and actualize in life1 in character1 in material form1 the castles he thus builds4 ,he does a part of the work1 a very necessary part2 but another equally necessary part remains still undone4 ,there is in connection with the thought forces what we may term1 the drawing power of mind1 and the great law operating here is one with that great law of the universe1 that like attracts like4 ,we are continually attracting to us from both the seen and the unseen side of life1 forces and conditions most akin to those of our own thoughts4 ,this law is continually operating whether we are conscious of it or not4 ,we are all living1 so to speak1 in a vast ocean of thought1 and the very atmosphere around us is continually filled with the thought forces that are being continually sent or that are continually going out in the form of thought waves4 ,we are all affected1 more or less1 by these thought forces1 either consciously or unconsciously2 and in the degree that we are more or less sensitively organized1 or in the degree that we are negative and so are open to outside influences1 rather than positive1 thus determining what influences shall enter into our realm of thought1 and hence into our lives4 ,there are those among us who are much more sensitively organized than others4 ,as an organism their bodies are more finely1 more sensitively constructed4 ,these1 generally speaking1 are people who are always more or less affected by the mentalities of those with whom they come in contact1 or in whose company they are4 ,a friend1 the editor of one of our great journals1 is so sensitively organized that it is impossible for him to attend a gathering1 such as a reception1 talk and shake hands with a number of people during the course of the evening1 without taking on to a greater or less extent their various mental and physical conditions4 ,these affect him to such an extent that he is scarcely himself and in his best condition for work until some two or three days afterward4 ,some think it unfortunate for one to be sensitively organized4 ,by no means4 ,it is a good thing1 for one may thus be more open and receptive to the higher impulses of the soul within1 and to all higher forces and influences from without4 ,it may1 however1 be unfortunate and extremely inconvenient to be so organized unless one recognize and gain the power of closing himself1 of making himself positive to all detrimental or undesirable influences4 ,this power every one1 however sensitively organized he may be1 can acquire4 ,this he can acquire through the mind's action4 ,and1 moreover1 there is no habit of more value to anyone1 be he sensitively or less sensitively organized1 than that of occasionally taking and holding himself continually in the attitude of mind--,i close myself1 ,i make myself positive to all things below1 and open and receptive to all higher influences1 to all things above4 ,by taking this attitude of mind consciously now and then1 it soon becomes a habit1 and if one is deeply in earnest in regard to it1 it puts into operation silent but subtle and powerful influences in effecting the desired results4 ,in this way all lower and undesirable influences from both the seen and the unseen side of life are closed out1 while all higher influences are invited1 and in the degree that they are invited will they enter4 ,and what do we mean by the unseen side of life8 ,first1 the thought forces1 the mental and emotional conditions in the atmosphere about us that are generated by those manifesting on the physical plane through the agency of physical bodies4 ,second1 the same forces generated by those who have dropped the physical body1 or from whom it has been struck away1 and who are now manifesting through the agency of bodies of a different nature4 ,the individual existence of man begins on the sense plane of the physical world1 but rises through successive gradations of ethereal and celestial spheres1 corresponding with his ever unfolding deific life and powers1 to a destiny of unspeakable grandeur and glory4 ,within and above every physical planet is a corresponding ethereal planet1 or soul world1 as within and above every physical organism is a corresponding ethereal organism1 or soul body1 of which the physical is but the external counterpart and materialized expression4 ,from this etherealized or soul planet1 which is the immediate home of our arisen humanity1 there rises or deepens in infinite gradations spheres within and above spheres1 to celestial heights of spiritualized existence utterly inconceivable to the sense man4 ,embodiment1 accordingly1 is two-fold1--the physical being but the temporary husk1 so to speak1 in and by which the real and permanent ethereal organism is individualized and perfected1 somewhat as 'the full corn in the ear' is reached by means of its husk1 for which there is no further use4 ,by means of this indestructible ethereal body and the corresponding ethereal spheres of environment with the social life and relations in the spheres1 the individuality and personal life is preserved forever4 ,the fact of life in whatever form means the continuance of life1 even though the form be changed4 ,life is the one eternal principle of the universe and so always continues1 even though the form of the agency through which it manifests be changed4 ,in my ,father's house are many mansions4 ,and surely1 because the individual has dropped1 has gone out of the physical body1 there is no evidence at all that the life does not go right on the same as before1 not commencing1--for there is no cessation1--but commencing in the other form1 exactly where it has left off here2 for all life is a continuous evolution1 step by step2 there one neither skips nor jumps4 ,there are in the other form1 then1 mentalities and hence lives of all grades and influences1 the same as there are in the physical form4 ,if1 then1 the great law that like attracts like is ever operating1 we are continually attracting to us from this side of life influences and conditions most akin to those of our own thoughts and lives4 ,a grewsome thought that we should be so influenced1 says one4 ,by no means1 all life is one2 we are all bound together in the one common and universal life1 and especially not when we take into consideration the fact that we have it entirely in our own hands to determine the order of thought we entertain1 and consequently the order of influences we attract1 and are not mere willowy creatures of circumstance1 unless indeed we choose to be4 ,in our mental lives we can either keep hold of the rudder and so determine exactly what course we take1 what points we touch1 or we can fail to do this1 and failing1 we drift1 and are blown hither and thither by every passing breeze4 ,and so1 on the contrary1 welcome should be the thought1 for thus we may draw to us the influence and the aid of the greatest1 the noblest1 and the best who have lived on the earth1 whatever the time1 wherever the place4 ,we cannot rationally believe other than that those who have labored in love and with uplifting power here are still laboring in the same way1 and in all probability with more earnest zeal1 and with still greater power4 ,and ,elisha prayed1 and said1 ,lord1 ,i pray thee1 open his eyes1 that he may see4 ,and the ,lord opened the eyes of the young man2 and he saw3 and1 behold1 the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about ,elisha4 ,while riding with a friend a few days ago1 we were speaking of the great interest people are everywhere taking in the more vital things of life1 the eagerness with which they are reaching out for a knowledge of the interior forces1 their ever increasing desire to know themselves and to know their true relations with the ,infinite4 ,and in speaking of the great spiritual awakening that is so rapidly coming all over the world1 the beginnings of which we are so clearly seeing during the closing years of this1 and whose ever increasing proportions we are to witness during the early years of the coming century1 ,i said1 ,how beautiful if ,emerson1 the illumined one so far in advance of his time1 who labored so faithfully and so fearlessly to bring about these very conditions1 how beautiful if he were with us today to witness it all6 how he would rejoice6 ,how do we know1 was the reply1 that he is not witnessing it all8 and more1 that he is not having a hand in it all1--a hand even greater1 perhaps1 than when we saw him here8 ,thank you1 my friend1 for this reminder4 ,and1 truly1 are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation8 ,as science is so abundantly demonstrating today1--the things that we see are but a very small fraction of the things that are4 ,the real1 vital forces at work in our own lives and in the world about us are not seen by the ordinary physical eye4 ,yet they are the causes of which all things we see are merely the effects4 ,thoughts are forces2 like builds like1 and like attracts like4 ,for one to govern his thinking1 then1 is to determine his life4 ,says one of deep insight into the nature of things3 ,the law of correspondences between spiritual and material things is wonderfully exact in its workings4 ,people ruled by the mood of gloom attract to them gloomy things4 ,people always discouraged and despondent do not succeed in anything1 and live only by burdening some one else4 ,the hopeful1 confident1 and cheerful attract the elements of success4 ,a man's front or back yard will advertise that man's ruling mood in the way it is kept4 ,a woman at home shows her state of mind in her dress4 ,a slattern advertises the ruling mood of hopelessness1 carelessness1 and lack of system4 ,rags1 tatters1 and dirt are always in the mind before being on the body4 ,the thought that is most put out brings its corresponding visible element to crystallize about you as surely and literally as the visible bit of copper in solution attracts to it the invisible copper in that solution4 ,a mind always hopeful1 confident1 courageous1 and determined on its set purpose1 and keeping itself to that purpose1 attracts to itself out of the elements things and powers favorable to that purpose4 ,every thought of yours has a literal value to you in every possible way4 ,the strength of your body1 the strength of your mind1 your success in business1 and the pleasure your company brings others1 depends on the nature of your thoughts4 4 4 4 ,in whatever mood you set your mind does your spirit receive of unseen substance in correspondence with that mood4 ,it is as much a chemical law as a spiritual law4 ,chemistry is not confined to the elements we see4 ,the elements we do not see with the physical eye outnumber ten thousand times those we do see4 ,the ,christ injunction1 ',do good to those who hate you1' is based on a scientific fact and a natural law4 ,so1 to do good is to bring to yourself all the elements in nature of power and good4 ,to do evil is to bring the contrary destructive elements4 ,when our eyes are opened1 self-preservation will make us stop all evil thought4 ,those who live by hate will die by hate3 that is1 'those who live by the sword will die by the sword4' ,every evil thought is as a sword drawn on the person to whom it is directed4 ,if a sword is drawn in return1 so much the worse for both4 ,and says another who knows full well whereof he speaks3 ,the law of attraction works universally on every plane of action1 and we attract whatever we desire or expect4 ,if we desire one thing and expect another1 we become like houses divided against themselves1 which are quickly brought to desolation4 ,determine resolutely to expect only what you desire1 then you will attract only what you wish for4 4 4 4 ,carry any kind of thought you please about with you1 and so long as you retain it1 no matter how you roam over land or sea1 you will unceasingly attract to yourself1 knowingly or inadvertently1 exactly and only what corresponds to your own dominant quality of thought4 ,thoughts are our private property1 and we can regulate them to suit our taste entirely by steadily recognizing our ability so to do4 ,we have just spoken of the drawing power of mind4 ,faith is nothing more nor less than the operation of the thought forces in the form of an earnest desire1 coupled with expectation as to its fulfillment4 ,and in the degree that faith1 the earnest desire thus sent out1 is continually held to and watered by firm expectation1 in just that degree does it either draw to itself1 or does it change from the unseen into the visible1 from the spiritual into the material1 that for which it is sent4 ,let the element of doubt or fear enter in1 and what would otherwise be a tremendous force will be so neutralized that it will fail of its realization4 ,continually held to and continually watered by firm expectation1 it becomes a force1 a drawing power1 that is irresistible and absolute1 and the results will be absolute in direct proportion as it is absolute4 ,we shall find1 as we are so rapidly beginning to find today1 that the great things said in regard to faith1 the great promises made in connection with it1 are not mere vague sentimentalities1 but are all great scientific facts1 and rest upon great immutable laws4 ,even in our very laboratory experiments we are beginning to discover the laws underlying and governing these forces4 ,we1 are now beginning1 some at least1 to use them understandingly and not blindly1 as has so often and so long been the case4 ,much is said today in regard to the will4 ,it is many times spoken of as if it were a force in itself4 ,but will is a force1 a power1 only in so far as it is a particular form of the manifestation of the thought forces2 for it is by what we call the will that thought is focused and given a particular direction1 and in the degree that thought is thus focused and given direction1 is it effective in the work it is sent out to accomplish4 ,in a sense there are two kinds of will1--the human and the divine4 ,the human will is the will of what1 for convenience' sake1 we may term the lower self4 ,it is the will that finds its life merely in the realm of the mental and the physical1--the sense will4 ,it is the will of the one who is not yet awake to the fact that there is a life that far transcends the life of merely the intellect and the physical senses1 and which when realized and lived1 does not do away with or minify these1 but which1 on the contrary1 brings them to their highest perfection and to their powers of keenest enjoyment4 ,the divine will is the will of the higher self1 the will of the one who recognizes his oneness with the ,divine1 and who consequently brings his will to work in harmony1 in conjunction with the divine will4 ,the ,lord thy ,god in the midst of thee is mighty4 ,the human will has its limitations4 ,so far and no farther1 says the law4 ,the divine will has no limitations4 ,it is supreme4 ,all things are open and subject to you1 says the law1 and so1 in the degree that the human will is transmuted into the divine1 in the degree that it comes into harmony with and so1 acts in conjunction with the divine1 does it become supreme4 ,then it is that ,thou shalt decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee4 ,the great secret of life and of power1 then1 is to make and to keep one's conscious connection with this ,infinite ,source4 ,the power of every life1 the very life itself1 is determined by what it relates itself to4 ,god is immanent as well as transcendent4 ,he is creating1 working1 ruling in the universe today1 in your life and in mine1 just as much as ,he ever has been4 ,we are too apt to regard ,him after the manner of an absentee landlord1 one who has set into operation the forces of this great universe1 and then taken ,himself away4 ,in the degree1 however1 that we recognize ,him as immanent as well as transcendent1 are we able to partake of ,his life and power4 ,for in the degree that we recognize ,him as the ,infinite ,spirit of ,life and ,power that is today1 at this very moment1 working and manifesting in and through all1 and then1 in the degree that we come into the realization of our oneness with this life1 do we become partakers of1 and so do we actualize in ourselves the qualities of ,his life4 ,in the degree that we open ourselves to the inflowing tide of this immanent and transcendent life1 do we make ourselves channels through which the ,infinite ,intelligence and ,power can work4 ,it is through the instrumentality of the mind that we are enabled to connect the real soul life with the physical life1 and so enable the soul life to manifest and work through the physical4 ,the thought life needs continually to be illumined from within4 ,this illumination can come in just the degree that through the agency of the mind we recognize our oneness with the ,divine1 of which each soul is an individual form of expression4 ,this gives us the inner guiding which we call intuition4 ,intuition is to the spiritual nature and understanding practically what sense perception is to the sensuous nature and understanding4 ,it is an inner spiritual sense through which man is opened to the direct revelation and knowledge of ,god1 the secrets of nature and life1 and through which he is brought into conscious unity and fellowship with ,god1 and made to realize his own deific nature and supremacy of being as the son of ,god4 ,spiritual supremacy and illumination thus realized through the development and perfection of intuition under divine inspiration1 gives the perfect inner vision and direct insight into the character1 properties1 and purpose of all things to which the attention and interest are directed4 4 4 4 ,it is1 we repeat1 a spiritual sense opening inwardly1 as the physical senses open outwardly2 and because it has the capacity to perceive1 grasp1 and know the truth at first hand1 independent of all external sources of information1 we call it intuition4 ,all inspired teaching and spiritual revelations are based upon the recognition of this spiritual faculty of the soul1 and its power to receive and appropriate them4 4 4 4 ,conscious unity of man in spirit and purpose with the ,father1 born out of his supreme desire and trust1 opens his soul through this inner sense to immediate inspiration and enlightenment from the ,divine ,omniscience1 and the co-operative energy of the ,divine ,omnipotence1 under which he becomes a seer and a master4 ,on this higher plane of realized spiritual life in the flesh the mind holds the impersonal attitude and acts with unfettered freedom and unbiased vision1 grasping truth at first hand1 independent of all external sources of information4 ,approaching all beings and things from the divine side1 they are seen in the light of the ,divine ,omniscience4 ,god's purpose in them1 and so the truth concerning them1 as it rests in the mind of ,god1 are thus revealed by direct illumination from the ,divine ,mind1 to which the soul is opened inwardly through this spiritual sense we call intuition4 ,some call it the voice of the soul2 some call it the voice of ,god2 some call it the sixth sense4 ,it is our inner spiritual sense4 ,in the degree that we come into the recognition of our own true selves1 into the realization of the oneness of our life with the ,infinite ,life1 and in the degree that we open ourselves to this divine inflow1 does this voice of intuition1 this voice of the soul1 this voice of ,god1 speak clearly2 and in the degree that we recognize1 listen to1 and obey it1 does it speak ever more clearly1 until by-and-by there comes the time when it is unerring1 absolutely unerring1 in its guidance4 ,,fullness ,,of ,,life--,,bodily ,,health ,,and ,,vigor4 ,god is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,life4 ,if we are partakers of this life1 and have the power of opening ourselves fully to its divine inflow1 it means more1 so far as even the physical life is concerned1 than we may at first think4 ,for very clearly1 the life of this ,infinite ,spirit1 from its very nature1 can admit of no disease2 and if this is true1 no disease can exist in the body where it freely enters1 through which it freely flows4 ,let us recognize at the outset that1 so far as the physical life is concerned1 all life is from within out4 ,there is an immutable law which says3 ,as within1 so without2 cause1 effect4 ,in other words1 the thought forces1 the various mental states and the emotions1 all have in time their effects upon the physical body4 ,some one says3 ,i hear a great deal said today in regard to the effects of the mind upon the body1 but ,i don't know as ,i place very much confidence in this4 ,don't you8 ,some one brings you sudden news4 ,you grow pale1 you tremble1 or perhaps you fall into a faint4 ,it is1 however1 through the channel of your mind that the news is imparted to you4 ,a friend says something to you1 perhaps at the table1 something that seems very unkind4 ,you are hurt by it1 as we say4 ,you have been enjoying your dinner1 but from this moment your appetite is gone4 ,but what was said entered into and affected you through the channel of your mind4 ,look6 yonder goes a young man1 dragging his feet1 stumbling over the slightest obstruction in the path4 ,why is it8 ,simply that he is weak-minded1 an idiot4 ,in other words1 a falling state of mind is productive of a falling condition of the body4 ,to be sure minded is to be sure footed4 ,to be uncertain in mind is to be uncertain in step4 ,again1 a sudden emergency arises4 ,you stand trembling and weak with fear4 ,why are you powerless to move8 ,why do you tremble8 ,and yet you believe that the mind has but little influence upon the body4 ,you are for a moment dominated by a fit of anger4 ,for a few hours afterwards you complain of a violent headache4 ,and still you do not seem to realize that the thoughts and emotions have an effect upon the body4 ,a day or two ago1 while conversing with a friend1 we were speaking of worry4 ,my father is greatly given to worry1 he said4 ,your father is not a healthy man1 ,i said4 ,he is not strong1 vigorous1 robust1 and active4 ,i then went on to describe to him more fully his father's condition and the troubles which afflicted him4 ,he looked at me in surprise and said1 ,why1 you do not know my father8 ,no1 ,i replied4 ,how then can you describe so accurately the disease with which he is afflicted8 ,you have just told me that your father is greatly given to worry4 ,when you told me this you indicated to me cause4 ,in describing your father's condition ,i simply connected with the cause its own peculiar effects4 ,fear and worry have the effect of closing up the channels of the body1 so that the life forces flow in a slow and sluggish manner4 ,hope and tranquillity open the channels of the body1 so that the life forces go bounding through it in such a way that disease can rarely get a foothold4 ,not long ago a lady was telling a friend of a serious physical trouble4 ,my friend happened to know that between this lady and her sister the most kindly relations did not exist4 ,he listened attentively to her delineation of her troubles1 and then1 looking her squarely in the face1 in a firm but kindly tone said3 ,forgive your sister4 ,the woman looked at him in surprise and said3 ,i can't forgive my sister4 ,very well1 then1 he replied1 keep the stiffness of your joints and your kindred rheumatic troubles4 ,a few weeks later he saw her again4 ,with a light step she came toward him and said3 ,i took your advice4 ,i saw my sister and forgave her4 ,we have become good friends again1 and ,i don't know how it is1 but somehow or other from the very day1 as ,i remember1 that we became reconciled1 my troubles seemed to grow less1 and today there is not a trace of the old difficulties left2 and really1 my sister and ,i have become such good friends that now we can scarcely get along without one another4 ,again we have effect following cause4 ,we have several well-authenticated cases of the following nature3 ,a mother has been dominated for a few moments by an intense passion of anger1 and the child at her breast has died within an hour's time1 so poisoned became the mother's milk by virtue of the poisonous secretions of the system while under the domination of this fit of anger4 ,in other cases it has caused severe illness and convulsions4 ,the following experiment has been tried a number of times by a well-known scientist3 ,several men have been put into a heated room4 ,each man has been dominated for a moment by a particular passion of some kind2 one by an intense passion of anger1 and others by different other passions4 ,the experimenter has taken a drop of perspiration from the body of each of these men1 and by means of a careful chemical analysis he has been able to determine the particular passion by which each has been dominated4 ,practically the same results revealed themselves in the chemical analysis of the saliva of each of the men4 ,says a noted ,american author1 an able graduate of one of our greatest medical schools1 and one who has studied deeply into the forces that build the body and the forces that tear it down3 ,the mind is the natural protector of the body4 4 4 4 ,every thought tends to reproduce itself1 and ghastly mental pictures of disease1 sensuality1 and vice of all sorts1 produce scrofula and leprosy in the soul1 which reproduces them in the body4 ,anger changes the chemical properties of the saliva to a poison dangerous to life4 ,it is well known that sudden and violent emotions have not only weakened the heart in a few hours1 but have caused death and insanity4 ,it has been discovered by scientists that there is a chemical difference between that sudden cold exudation of a person under a deep sense of guilt and the ordinary perspiration2 and the state of the mind can sometimes be determined by chemical analysis of the perspiration of a criminal1 which1 when brought into contact with selenic acid1 produces a distinctive pink color4 ,it is well known that fear has killed thousands of victims2 while1 on the other hand1 courage is a great invigorator4 ,anger in the mother may poison a nursing child4 ,rarey1 the celebrated horse-tamer1 said that an angry word would sometimes raise the pulse of a horse ten beats in a minute4 ,if this is true of a beast1 what can we say of its power upon human beings1 especially upon a child8 ,strong mental emotion often causes vomiting4 ,extreme anger or fright may produce jaundice4 ,a violent paroxysm of rage has caused apoplexy and death4 ,indeed1 in more than one instance1 a single night of mental agony has wrecked a life4 ,grief1 long-standing jealousy1 constant care and corroding anxiety sometimes tend to develop insanity4 ,sick thoughts and discordant moods are the natural atmosphere of disease1 and crime is engendered and thrives in the miasma of the mind4 ,from all this we get the great fact we are scientifically demonstrating today1--that the various mental states1 emotions1 and passions have their various peculiar effects upon the body1 and each induces in turn1 if indulged in to any great extent1 its own peculiar forms of disease1 and these in time become chronic4 ,just a word or two in regard to their mode of operation4 ,if a person is dominated for a moment by1 say a passion of anger1 there is set up in the physical organism what we might justly term a bodily thunder-storm1 which has the effect of souring1 or rather of corroding1 the normal1 healthy1 and life-giving secretions of the body1 so that instead of performing their natural functions they become poisonous and destructive4 ,and if this goes on to any great extent1 by virtue of their cumulative influences1 they give rise to a particular form of disease1 which in turn becomes chronic4 ,so the emotion opposite to this1 that of kindliness1 love1 benevolence1 good-will1 tends to stimulate a healthy1 purifying1 and life-giving flow of all the bodily secretions4 ,all the channels of the body seem free and open2 the life forces go bounding through them4 ,and these very forces1 set into a bounding activity1 will in time counteract the poisonous and disease-giving effects of their opposites4 ,a physician goes to see a patient4 ,he gives no medicine this morning4 ,yet the very fact of his going makes the patient better4 ,he has carried with him the spirit of health2 he has carried brightness of tone and disposition2 he has carried hope into the sick chamber2 he has left it there4 ,in fact1 the very hope and good cheer he has carried with him has taken hold of and has had a subtle but powerful influence upon the mind of the patient2 and this mental condition imparted by the physician has in turn its effects upon the patient's body1 and so through the instrumentality of this mental suggestion the healing goes on4 ,know1 then1 whatever cheerful and serene ,supports the mind1 supports the body1 too4 ,hence the most vital movement mortals feel ,is hope2 the balm and life-blood of the soul4 ,we sometimes hear a person in weak health say to another1 ,i always feel better when you come4 ,there is a deep scientific reason underlying the statement4 ,the tongue of the wise is health4 ,the power of suggestion so far as the human mind is concerned is a most wonderful and interesting field of study4 ,most wonderful and powerful forces can be set into operation through this agency4 ,one of the world's most noted scientists1 recognized everywhere as one of the most eminent anatomists living1 tells us that he has proven from laboratory experiments that the entire human structure can be completely changed1 made over1 within a period of less than one year1 and that some portions can be entirely remade within a period of a very few weeks4 ,do you mean to say1 ,i hear it asked1 that the body can be changed from a diseased to a healthy condition through the operation of the interior forces8 ,most certainly2 and more1 this is the natural method of cure4 ,the method that has as its work the application of drugs1 medicines and external agencies is the artificial method4 ,the only thing that any drug or any medicine can do is to remove obstructions1 that the life forces may have simply a better chance to do their work4 ,the real healing process must be performed by the operation of the life forces within4 ,a surgeon and physician of world-wide fame recently made to his medical associates the following declaration3 ,for generations past the most important influence that plays upon nutrition1 the life principle itself1 has remained an unconsidered element in the medical profession1 and the almost exclusive drift of its studies and remedial paraphernalia has been confined to the action of matter over mind4 ,this has seriously interfered with the evolutionary tendencies of the doctors themselves1 and consequently the psychic factor in professional life is still in a rudimentary or comparatively undeveloped state4 ,but the light of the nineteenth century has dawned1 and so the march of mankind in general is taken in the direction of the hidden forces of nature4 ,doctors are now compelled to join the ranks of students in psychology and follow their patrons into the broader field of mental therapeutics4 ,there is no time for lingering1 no time for skepticism or doubt or hesitation4 ,he who lingers is lost1 for the entire race is enlisted in the movement4 ,i am aware of the fact that in connection with the matter we are now considering there has been a great deal of foolishness during the past few years4 ,many absurd and foolish things have been claimed and done2 but this says nothing against1 and it has absolutely nothing to do with the great underlying laws themselves4 ,the same has been true of the early days of practically every system of ethics or philosophy or religion the world has ever known4 ,but as time has passed1 these foolish1 absurd things have fallen away1 and the great eternal principles have stood out ever more and more clearly defined4 ,i know personally of many cases where an entire and permanent cure has been effected1 in some within a remarkably short period of time1 through the operation of these forces4 ,some of them are cases that had been entirely given up by the regular practice1 materia medica4 ,we have numerous accounts of such cases in all times and in connection with all religions4 ,and why should not the power of effecting such cures exist among us today8 ,the power does exist1 and it will be actualized in just the degree that we recognize the same great laws that were recognized in times past4 ,one person may do a very great deal in connection with the healing of another1 but this almost invariably implies co-operation on the part of the one who is thus treated4 ,in the cures that ,christ performed he most always needed the co-operation of the one who appealed to him4 ,his question almost invariably was1 ,dost thou believe8 ,he thus stimulated into activity the life-giving forces within the one cured4 ,if one is in a very weak condition1 or if his nervous system is exhausted1 or if his mind through the influence of the disease is not so strong in its workings1 it may be well for him for a time to seek the aid and co-operation of another4 ,but it would be far better for such a one could he bring himself to a vital realization of the omnipotence of his own interior powers4 ,one may cure another1 but to be permanently healed one must do it himself4 ,in this way another may be most valuable as a teacher by bringing one to a clear realization of the power of the forces within1 but in every case1 in order to have a permanent cure1 the work of the self is necessary4 ,christ's words were almost invariably1--,go and sin no more1 or1 thy sins are forgiven thee1 thus pointing out the one eternal and never-changing fact1--that all disease and its consequent suffering is the direct or the indirect result of the violation of law1 either consciously or unconsciously1 either intentionally or unintentionally4 ,suffering is designed to continue only so long as sin continues1 sin not necessarily in the theological1 but always in the philosophical sense1 though many times in the sense of both4 ,the moment the violation ceases1 the moment one comes into perfect harmony with the law1 the cause of the suffering ceases2 and though there may be residing within the cumulative effects of past violation1 the cause is removed1 and consequently there can be no more effects in the form of additions1 and even the diseased condition that has been induced from past violation will begin to disappear as soon as the right forces are set into activity4 ,there is nothing that will more quickly and more completely bring one into harmony with the laws under which he lives than this vital realization of his oneness with the ,infinite ,spirit1 which is the life of all life4 ,in this there can be no disease1 and nothing will more readily remove from the organism the obstructions that have accumulated there1 or in other words1 the disease that resides there1 than this full realization and the complete opening of one's self to this divine inflow4 ,i shall put ,my spirit in you1 and ye shall live4 ,the moment a person realizes his oneness with the ,infinite ,spirit he recognizes himself as a spiritual being1 and no longer as a mere physical1 material being4 ,he then no longer makes the mistake of regarding himself as body1 subject to ills and diseases1 but he realizes the fact that he is spirit1 spirit now as much as he ever will or can be1 and that he is the builder and so the master of the body1 the house in which he lives2 and the moment he thus recognizes his power as master he ceases in any way to allow it the mastery over him4 ,he no longer fears the elements or any of the forces that he now in his ignorance allows to take hold of and affect the body4 ,the moment he realizes his own supremacy1 instead of fearing them as he did when he was out of harmony with them1 he learns to love them4 ,he thus comes into harmony with them2 or rather1 he so orders them that they come into harmony with him4 ,he who formerly was the slave has now become the master4 ,the moment we come to love a thing it no longer carries harm for us4 ,there are almost countless numbers today1 weak and suffering in body1 who would become strong and healthy if they would only give ,god an opportunity to do ,his work4 ,to such ,i would say1 ,don't shut out the divine inflow4 ,do anything else rather than this4 ,open yourselves to it4 ,invite it4 ,in the degree that you open yourselves to it1 its inflowing tide will course through your bodies a force so vital that the old obstructions that are dominating them today will be driven out before it4 ,my words are life to them that find them1 and health to all their flesh4 ,there is a trough through which a stream of muddy water has been flowing for many days4 ,the dirt has gradually collected on its sides and bottom1 and it continues to collect as long as the muddy water flows through it4 ,change this4 ,open the trough to a swift-flowing stream of clear1 crystal water1 and in a very little while even the very dirt that has collected on its sides and bottom will be carried away4 ,the trough will be entirely cleansed4 ,it will present an aspect of beauty and no longer an aspect of ugliness4 ,and more1 the water that now courses through it will be of value2 it will be an agent of refreshment1 of health and of strength to those who use it4 ,yes1 in just the degree that you realize your oneness with this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life1 and thus actualize your latent possibilities and powers1 you will exchange dis-ease for ease1 inharmony for harmony1 suffering and pain for abounding health and strength4 ,and in the degree that you realize this wholeness1 this abounding health and strength in yourself1 will you carry it to all with whom you come in contact2 for we must remember that health is contagious as well as disease4 ,i hear it asked1 ,what can be said in a concrete way in regard to the practical application of these truths1 so that one can hold himself in the enjoyment of perfect bodily health2 and more1 that one may heal himself of any existing disease8 ,in reply1 let it be said that the chief thing that can be done is to point out the great underlying principle1 and that each individual must make his own application2 one person cannot well make this for another4 ,first let it be said1 that the very fact of one's holding the thought of perfect health sets into operation vital forces which will in time be more or less productive of the effect1--perfect health4 ,then speaking more directly in regard to the great principle itself1 from its very nature1 it is clear that more can be accomplished through the process of realization than through the process of affirmation1 though for some affirmation may be a help1 an aid to realization4 ,in the degree1 however1 that you come into a vital realization of your oneness with the ,infinite ,spirit of ,life1 whence all life in individual form has come and is continually coming1 and in the degree that through this realization you open yourself to its divine inflow1 do you set into operation forces that will sooner or later bring even the physical body into a state of abounding health and strength4 ,for to realize that this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life can from its very nature admit of no disease1 and to realize that this1 then1 is the life in you1 by realizing your oneness with it1 you can so open yourself to its more abundant entrance that the diseased bodily conditions--effects--will respond to the influences of its all-perfect power1 this either quickly or more tardily1 depending entirely upon yourself4 ,there have been those who have been able to open themselves so fully to this realization that the healing has been instantaneous and permanent4 ,the degree of intensity always eliminates in like degree the element of time4 ,it must1 however1 be a calm1 quiet1 and expectant intensity1 rather than an intensity that is fearing1 disturbed1 and non-expectant4 ,then there are others who have come to this realization by degrees4 ,many will receive great help1 and many will be entirely healed by a practice somewhat after the following nature3 ,with a mind at peace1 and with a heart going out in love to all1 go into the quiet of your own interior self1 holding the thought1--,i am one with the ,infinite ,spirit of ,life1 the life of my life4 ,i then as spirit1 ,i a spiritual being1 can in my own real nature admit of no disease4 ,i now open my body1 in which disease has gotten a foothold1 ,i open it fully to the inflowing tide of this ,infinite ,life1 and it now1 even now1 is pouring in and coursing through my body1 and the healing process is going on4 ,realize this so fully that you begin to feel a quickening and a warming glow imparted by the life forces to the body4 ,believe the healing process is going on4 ,believe it1 and hold continually to it4 ,many people greatly desire a certain thing1 but expect something else4 ,they have greater faith in the power of evil than in the power of good1 and hence remain ill4 ,if one will give himself to this meditation1 realization1 treatment1 or whatever term it may seem best to use1 at stated times1 as often as he may choose1 and then continually hold himself in the same attitude of mind1 thus allowing the force to work continually1 he will be surprised how rapidly the body will be exchanging conditions of disease and inharmony for health and harmony4 ,there is no particular reason1 however1 for this surprise1 for in this way he is simply allowing the ,omnipotent ,power to do the work1 which will have to do it ultimately in any case4 ,if there is a local difficulty1 and one wants to open this particular portion1 in addition to the entire body1 to this inflowing life1 he can hold this particular portion in thought1 for to fix the thought in this way upon any particular portion of the body stimulates or increases the flow of the life forces in that portion4 ,it must always be borne in mind1 however1 that whatever healing may be thus accomplished1 effects will not permanently cease until causes have been removed4 ,in other words1 as long as there is the violation of law1 so long disease and suffering will result4 ,this realization that we are considering will have an influence not only where there is a diseased condition of the body1 but even where there is not this condition it will give an increased bodily life1 vigor1 and power4 ,we have had many cases1 in all times and in all countries1 of healing through the operation of the interior forces1 entirely independent of external agencies4 ,various have been the methods1 or rather1 various have been the names applied to them1 but the great law underlying all is one and the same1 and the same today4 ,when the ,master sent his followers forth1 his injunction to them was to heal the sick and the afflicted1 as well as to teach the people4 ,the early church fathers had the power of healing1 in short1 it was a part of their work4 ,and why should we not have the power today1 the same as they had it then8 ,are the laws at all different8 ,identically the same4 ,why1 then8 ,simply because1 with a few rare exceptions here and there1 we are unable to get beyond the mere letter of the law into its real vital spirit and power4 ,it is the letter that killeth1 it is the spirit that giveth life and power4 ,every soul who becomes so individualized that he breaks through the mere letter and enters into the real vital spirit1 will have the power1 as have all who have gone before1 and when he does1 he will also be the means of imparting it to others1 for he will be one who will move and who will speak with authority4 ,we are rapidly finding today1 and we shall find even more and more1 as time passes1 that practically all disease1 with its consequent suffering1 has its origin in perverted mental and emotional states and conditions4 ,the mental attitude we take toward anything determines to a greater or less extent its effects upon us4 ,if we fear it1 or if we antagonize it1 the chances are that it will have detrimental or even disastrous effects upon us4 ,if we come into harmony with it by quietly recognizing and inwardly asserting our superiority over it1 in the degree that we are able successfully to do this1 in that degree will it carry with it no injury for us4 ,no disease can enter into or take hold of our bodies unless it find therein something corresponding to itself which makes it possible4 ,and in the same way1 no evil or undesirable condition of any kind can come into our lives unless there is already in them that which invites it and so makes it possible for it to come4 ,the sooner we begin to look within ourselves for the cause of whatever comes to us1 the better it will be1 for so much the sooner will we begin to make conditions within ourselves such that only good may enter4 ,we1 who from our very natures should be masters of all conditions1 by virtue of our ignorance are mastered by almost numberless conditions of every description4 ,do ,i fear a draft8 ,there is nothing in the draft--a little purifying current of ,god's pure air--to cause me trouble1 to bring on a cold1 perhaps an illness4 ,the draft can affect me only in the degree that ,i myself make it possible1 only in the degree that ,i allow it to affect me4 ,we must distinguish between causes and mere occasions4 ,the draft is not cause1 nor does it carry cause with it4 ,two persons are sitting in the same draft4 ,the one is injuriously affected by it1 the other experiences not even an inconvenience1 but he rather enjoys it4 ,the one is a creature of circumstances2 he fears the draft1 cringes before it1 continually thinks of the harm it is doing him4 ,in other words1 he opens every avenue for it to enter and take hold of him1 and so it--harmless and beneficent in itself--brings to him exactly what he has empowered it to bring4 ,the other recognizes himself as the master over and not the creature of circumstances4 ,he is not concerned about the draft4 ,he puts himself into harmony with it1 makes himself positive to it1 and instead of experiencing any discomfort1 he enjoys it1 and in addition to its doing him a service by bringing the pure fresh air from without to him1 it does him the additional service of hardening him even more to any future conditions of a like nature4 ,but if the draft was cause1 it would bring the same results to both4 ,the fact that it does not1 shows that it is not a cause1 but a condition1 and it brings to each1 effects which correspond to the conditions it finds within each4 ,poor draft6 ,how many thousands1 nay millions of times it is made the scapegoat by those who are too ignorant or too unfair to look their own weaknesses square in the face1 and who instead of becoming imperial masters1 remain cringing slaves4 ,think of it1 what it means6 ,a man created in the image of the eternal ,god1 sharer of ,his life and power1 born to have dominion1 fearing1 shaking1 cringing before a little draft of pure life-giving air4 ,but scapegoats are convenient things1 even if the only thing they do for us is to aid us in our constant efforts at self-delusion4 ,the best way to disarm a draft of the bad effects it has been accustomed to bring one1 is first to bring about a pure and healthy set of conditions within1 then1 to change one's mental attitude toward it4 ,recognize the fact that of itself it has no power1 it has only the power you invest it with4 ,thus you will put yourself into harmony with it1 and will no longer sit in fear of it4 ,then sit in a draft a few times and get hardened to it1 as every one1 by going at it judiciously1 can readily do4 ,but suppose one is in delicate health1 or especially subject to drafts8 ,then be simply a little judicious at first2 don't seek the strongest that can be found1 especially if you do not as yet in your own mind feel equal to it1 for if you do not1 it signifies that you still fear it4 ,that supreme regulator of all life1 good common sense1 must be used here1 the same as elsewhere4 ,if we are born to have dominion1 and that we are is demonstrated by the fact that some have attained to it1--and what one has done1 soon or late all can do1--then it is not necessary that we live under the domination of any physical agent4 ,in the degree that we recognize our own interior powers1 then are we rulers and able to dictate2 in the degree that we fail to recognize them1 we are slaves1 and are dictated to4 ,we build whatever we find within us2 we attract whatever comes to us1 and all in accordance with spiritual law1 for all natural law is spiritual law4 ,the whole of human life is cause and effect2 there is no such thing in it as chance1 nor is there even in all the wide universe4 ,are we not satisfied with whatever comes into our lives8 ,the thing to do1 then1 is not to spend time in railing against the imaginary something we create and call fate1 but to look to the within1 and change the causes at work there1 in order that things of a different nature may come1 for there will come exactly what we cause to come4 ,this is true not only of the physical body1 but of all phases and conditions of life4 ,we invite whatever comes1 and did we not invite it1 either consciously or unconsciously1 it could not and it would not come4 ,this may undoubtedly be hard for some to believe1 or even to see1 at first4 ,but in the degree that one candidly and open-mindedly looks at it1 and then studies into the silent1 but subtle and1 so to speak1 omnipotent workings of the thought forces1 and as he traces their effects within him and about him1 it becomes clearly evident1 and easy to understand4 ,and then whatever does come to one depends for its effects entirely upon his mental attitude toward it4 ,does this or that occurrence or condition cause you annoyance8 ,very well2 it causes you annoyance1 and so disturbs your peace merely because you allow it to4 ,you are born to have absolute control over your own dominion1 but if you voluntarily hand over this power1 even if for a little while1 to some one or to some thing else1 then you of course1 become the creature1 the one controlled4 ,to live undisturbed by passing occurrences you must first find your own centre4 ,you must then be firm in your own centre1 and so rule the world from within4 ,he who does not himself condition circumstances allows the process to be reversed1 and becomes a conditioned circumstance4 ,find your centre and live in it4 ,surrender it to no person1 to no thing4 ,in the degree that you do this will you find yourself growing stronger and stronger in it4 ,and how can one find his centre8 ,by realizing his oneness with the ,infinite ,power1 and by living continually in this realization4 ,but if you do not rule from your own centre1 if you invest this or that with the power of bringing you annoyance1 or evil1 or harm1 then take what it brings1 but cease your railings against the eternal goodness and beneficence of all things4 ,i swear the earth shall surely be complete ,to him or her who shall be complete2 ,the earth remains jagged and broken ,only to him who remains jagged and broken4 ,if the windows of your soul are dirty and streaked1 covered with matter foreign to them1 then the world as you look out of them will be to you dirty and streaked and out of order4 ,cease your complainings1 however2 keep your pessimism1 your poor1 unfortunate me to yourself1 lest you betray the fact that your windows are badly in need of something4 ,but know that your friend1 who keeps his windows clean1 that the ,eternal ,sun may illumine all within and make visible all without1--know that he lives in a different world from yours4 ,then1 go wash your windows1 and instead of longing for some other world1 you will discover the wonderful beauties of this world2 and if you don't find transcendent beauties on every hand here1 the chances are that you will never find them anywhere4 ,the poem hangs on the berry-bush ,when comes the poet's eye1 ,and the whole street is a masquerade ,when ,shakspeare passes by4 ,this same ,shakspeare1 whose mere passing causes all this commotion1 is the one who put into the mouth of one of his creations the words3 ,the fault1 dear ,brutus1 is not in our stars1 but in ourselves1 that we are underlings4 ,and the great work of his own life is right good evidence that he realized full well the truth of the facts we are considering4 ,and again he gave us a great truth in keeping with what we are considering when he said3 ,our doubts are traitors1 ,and make us lose the good we oft might win ,by fearing to attempt4 ,there is probably no agent that brings us more undesirable conditions than fear4 ,we should live in fear of nothing1 nor will we when we come fully to know ourselves4 ,an old ,french proverb runs ,some of your griefs you have cured1 ,and the sharpest you still have survived2 ,but what torments of pain you endured ,from evils that never arrived4 ,fear and lack of faith go hand in hand4 ,the one is born of the other4 ,tell me how much one is given to fear1 and ,i will tell you how much he lacks in faith4 ,fear is a most expensive guest to entertain1 the same as worry is3 so expensive are they that no one can afford to entertain them4 ,we invite what we fear1 the same as1 by a different attitude of mind1 we invite and attract the influences and conditions we desire4 ,the mind dominated by fear opens the door for the entrance of the very things1 for the actualization of the very conditions it fears4 ,where are you going8 asked an ,eastern pilgrim on meeting the plague one day4 ,i am going to ,bagdad to kill five thousand people1 was the reply4 ,a few days later the same pilgrim met the plague returning4 ,you told me you were going to ,bagdad to kill five thousand people1 said he1 but instead1 you killed fifty thousand4 ,no1 said the plague4 ,i killed only five thousand1 as ,i told you ,i would2 the others died of fright4 ,fear can paralyze every muscle in the body4 ,fear affects the flow of the blood1 likewise the normal and healthy action of all the life forces4 ,fear can make the body rigid1 motionless1 and powerless to move4 ,not only do we attract to ourselves the things we fear1 but we also aid in attracting to others the conditions we in our own minds hold them in fear of4 ,this we do in proportion to the strength of our own thought1 and in the degree that they are sensitively organized and so influenced by our thought1 and this1 although it be unconscious both on their part and on ours4 ,children1 and especially when very young1 are1 generally speaking1 more sensitive to their surrounding influences than grown people are4 ,some are veritable little sensitive plates1 registering the influences about them1 and embodying them as they grow4 ,how careful in their prevailing mental states then should be those who have them in charge1 and especially how careful should a mother be during the time she is carrying the child1 and when every thought1 every mental as well as emotional state has its direct influence upon the life of the unborn child4 ,let parents be careful how they hold a child1 either younger or older1 in the thought of fear4 ,this is many times done1 unwittingly on their part1 through anxiety1 and at times through what might well be termed over-care1 which is fully as bad as under-care4 ,i know of a number of cases where a child has been so continually held in the thought of fear lest this or that condition come upon him1 that the very things that were feared have been drawn to him1 which probably otherwise never would have come at all4 ,many times there has been no adequate basis for the fear4 ,in case there is a basis1 then far wiser is it to take exactly the opposite attitude1 so as to neutralize the force at work1 and then to hold the child in the thought of wisdom and strength that it may be able to meet the condition and master it1 instead of being mastered by it4 ,but a day or two ago a friend was telling me of an experience of his own life in this connection4 ,at a period when he was having a terrific struggle with a certain habit1 he was so continually held in the thought of fear by his mother and the young lady to whom he was engaged1--the engagement to be consummated at the end of a certain period1 the time depending on his proving his mastery1--that he1 very sensitively organized1 continually felt the depressing and weakening effects of their negative thoughts4 ,he could always tell exactly how they felt toward him2 he was continually influenced and weakened by their fear1 by their questionings1 by their suspicions1 all of which had the effect of lessening the sense of his own power1 all of which had an endeavor-paralyzing influence upon him4 ,and so instead of their begetting courage and strength in him1 they brought him to a still greater realization of his own weakness and the almost worthless use of struggle4 ,here were two who loved him dearly1 and who would have done anything and everything to help him gain the mastery1 but who1 ignorant of the silent1 subtle1 ever-working and all-telling power of the thought forces1 instead of imparting to him courage1 instead of adding to his strength1 disarmed him of this1 and then added an additional weakness from without4 ,in this way the battle for him was made harder in a three-fold degree4 ,fear and worry and all kindred mental states are too expensive for any person1 man1 woman1 or child1 to entertain or indulge in4 ,fear paralyzes healthy action1 worry corrodes and pulls down the organism1 and will finally tear it to pieces4 ,nothing is to be gained by it1 but everything to be lost4 ,long-continued grief at any loss will do the same4 ,each brings its own peculiar type of ailment4 ,an inordinate love of gain1 a close-fisted1 hoarding disposition will have kindred effects4 ,anger1 jealousy1 malice1 continual fault-finding1 lust1 has each its own peculiar corroding1 weakening1 tearing-down effects4 ,we shall find that not only are happiness and prosperity concomitants of righteousness1--living in harmony with the higher laws1 but bodily health as well4 ,the great ,hebrew seer enunciated a wonderful chemistry of life when he said1--,as righteousness tendeth to life1 so he that pursueth evil1 pursueth it to his own death4 ,on the other hand1 ,in the way of righteousness is life2 and in the pathway thereof there is no death4 ,the time will come when it will be seen that this means far more than most people dare even to think as yet4 ,it rests with man to say whether his soul shall be housed in a stately mansion of ever-growing splendor and beauty1 or in a hovel of his own building1--a hovel at last ruined and abandoned to decay4 ,the bodies of almost untold numbers1 living their one-sided1 unbalanced lives1 are every year1 through these influences1 weakening and falling by the wayside long before their time4 ,poor1 poor houses6 ,intended to be beautiful temples1 brought to desolation by their ignorant1 reckless1 deluded tenants4 ,poor houses6 ,a close observer1 a careful student of the power of the thought forces1 will soon be able to read in the voice1 in the movements1 in the features1 the effects registered by the prevailing mental states and conditions4 ,or1 if he is told the prevailing mental states and conditions1 he can describe the voice1 the movements1 the features1 as well as describe1 in a general way1 the peculiar physical ailments their possessor is heir to4 ,we are told by good authority that a study of the human body1 its structure1 and the length of time it takes it to come to maturity1 in comparison with the time it takes the bodies of various animals and their corresponding longevity1 reveals the fact that its natural age should be nearer a hundred and twenty years than what we commonly find it today4 ,but think of the multitudes all about us whose bodies are aging1 weakening1 breaking1 so that they have to abandon them long before they reach what ought to be a long period of strong1 vigorous middle life4 ,then1 the natural length of life being thus shortened1 it comes to be what we might term a race belief that this shortened period is the natural period4 ,and as a consequence many1 when they approach a certain age1 seeing that as a rule people at this period of life begin to show signs of age1 to break and go down hill as we say1 they1 thinking it a matter of course and that it must be the same with them1 by taking this attitude of mind1 many times bring upon themselves these very conditions long before it is necessary4 ,subtle and powerful are the influences of the mind in the building and rebuilding of the body4 ,as we understand them better it may become the custom for people to look forward with pleasure to the teens of their second century4 ,there comes to mind at this moment a friend1 a lady well on to eighty years of age4 ,an old lady1 some1 most people in fact1 would call her1 especially those who measure age by the number of the seasons that have come and gone since one's birth4 ,but to call our friend old1 would be to call black white4 ,she is no older than a girl of twenty-five1 and indeed younger1 ,i am glad to say1 or ,i am sorry to say1 depending upon the point of view1 than many a girl of this age4 ,seeking for the good in all people and in all things1 she has found the good everywhere4 ,the brightness of disposition and of voice that is hers today1 that attracts all people to her and that makes her so beautifully attractive to all people1 has characterized her all through life4 ,it has in turn carried brightness and hope and courage and strength to hundreds and thousands of people through all these years1 and will continue to do so1 apparently1 for many years yet to come4 ,no fears1 no worryings1 no hatreds1 no jealousies1 no sorrowings1 no grievings1 no sordid graspings after inordinant ,transcriber's note3 inordinate8 gain1 have found entrance into her realm of thought4 ,as a consequence her mind1 free from these abnormal states and conditions1 has not externalized in her body the various physical ailments that the great majority of people are lugging about with them1 thinking in their ignorance1 that they are natural1 and that it is all in accordance with the eternal order of things that they should have them4 ,her life has been one of varied experiences1 so that all these things would have found ready entrance into the realm of her mind and so into her life were she ignorant enough to allow them entrance4 ,on the contrary she has been wise enough to recognize the fact that in one kingdom at least she is ruler1--the kingdom of her mind1 and that it is hers to dictate as to what shall and what shall not enter there4 ,she knows1 moreover1 that in determining this she is determining all the conditions of her life4 ,it is indeed a pleasure as well as an inspiration to see her as she goes here and there1 to see her sunny disposition1 her youthful step1 to hear her joyous laughter4 ,indeed and in truth1 ,shakspeare knew whereof he spoke when he said1--,it is the mind that makes the body rich4 ,with great pleasure ,i watched her but recently as she was walking along the street1 stopping to have a word and so a part in the lives of a group of children at play by the wayside1 hastening her step a little to have a word with a washerwoman toting her bundle of clothes1 stopping for a word with a laboring man returning with dinner pail in hand from his work1 returning the recognition from the lady in her carriage1 and so imparting some of her own rich life to all with whom she came in contact4 ,and as good fortune would have it1 while still watching her1 an old lady passed her1--really old1 this one1 though at least ten or fifteen years younger1 so far as the count by the seasons is concerned4 ,nevertheless she was bent in form and apparently stiff in joint and muscle4 ,silent in mood1 she wore a countenance of long-faced sadness1 which was intensified surely several fold by a black1 sombre headgear with an immense heavy veil still more sombre looking if possible4 ,her entire dress was of this description4 ,by this relic-of-barbarism garb1 combined with her own mood and expression1 she continually proclaimed to the world two things1--her own personal sorrows and woes1 which by this very method she kept continually fresh in her mind1 and also her lack of faith in the eternal goodness of things1 her lack of faith in the love and eternal goodness of the ,infinite ,father4 ,wrapped only in the thoughts of her own ailments1 and sorrows1 and woes1 she received and she gave nothing of joy1 nothing of hope1 nothing of courage1 nothing of value to those whom she passed or with whom she came in contact4 ,but on the contrary she suggested to all and helped to intensify in many1 those mental states all too prevalent in our common human life4 ,and as she passed our friend one could notice a slight turn of the head which1 coupled with the expression in her face1 seemed to indicate this as her thought1--,your dress and your conduct are not wholly in keeping with a lady of your years4 ,thank ,god1 then1 thank ,god they are not4 ,and may ,he in ,his great goodness and love send us an innumerable company of the same rare type2 and may they live a thousand years to bless mankind1 to impart the life-giving influences of their own royal lives to the numerous ones all about us who stand so much in need of them4 ,would you remain always young1 and would you carry all the joyousness and buoyancy of youth into your maturer years8 ,then have care concerning but one thing1--how you live in your thought world4 ,this will determine all4 ,it was the inspired one1 ,gautama1 the ,buddha1 who said1--,the mind is everything2 what you think you become4 ,and the same thing had ,ruskin in mind when he said1--,make yourself nests of pleasant thoughts4 ,none of us as yet know1 for none of us have been taught in early youth1 what fairy palaces we may build of beautiful thought1--proof against all adversity4 ,and would you have in your body all the elasticity1 all the strength1 all the beauty of your younger years8 ,then live these in your mind1 making no room for unclean thought1 and you will externalize them in your body4 ,in the degree that you keep young in thought will you remain young in body4 ,and you will find that your body will in turn aid your mind1 for body helps mind the same as mind builds body4 ,you are continually building1 and so externalizing in your body conditions most akin to the thoughts and emotions you entertain4 ,and not only are you so building from within1 but you are also continually drawing from without1 forces of a kindred nature4 ,your particular kind of thought connects you with a similar order of thought from without4 ,if it is bright1 hopeful1 cheerful1 you connect yourself with a current of thought of this nature4 ,if it is sad1 fearing1 despondent1 then this is the order of thought you connect yourself with4 ,if the latter is the order of your thought1 then perhaps unconsciously and by degrees you have been connecting yourself with it4 ,you need to go back and pick up again a part of your child nature1 with its careless and cheerful type of thought4 ,the minds of the group of children at play are unconsciously concentrated in drawing to their bodies a current of playful thought4 ,place a child by itself1 deprive it of its companions1 and soon it will mope and become slow of movement4 ,it is cut off from that peculiar thought current and is literally 'out of its element4' ,you need to bring again this current of playful thought to you which has gradually been turned off4 ,you are too serious or sad1 or absorbed in the serious affairs of life4 ,you can be playful and cheerful without being puerile or silly4 ,you can carry on business all the better for being in the playful mood when your mind is off your business4 ,there is nothing but ill resulting from the permanent mood of sadness and seriousness1--the mood which by many so long maintained makes it actually difficult for them to smile at all4 ,at eighteen or twenty you commenced growing out of the more playful tendency of early youth4 ,you took hold of the more serious side of life4 ,you went into some business4 ,you became more or less involved in its cares1 perplexities and responsibilities4 ,or1 as man or woman1 you entered on some phase of life involving care or trouble4 ,or you became absorbed in some game of business which1 as you followed it1 left no time for play4 ,then as you associated with older people you absorbed their old ideas1 their mechanical methods of thinking1 their acceptance of errors without question or thought of question4 ,in all this you opened your mind to a heavy1 care-laden current of thought4 ,into this you glided unconsciously4 ,that thought is materialized in your blood and flesh4 ,the seen of your body is a deposit or crystallization of the unseen element ever flowing to your body from your mind4 ,years pass on and you find that your movements are stiff and cumbrous1--that you can with difficulty climb a tree1 as at fourteen4 ,your mind has all this time been sending to your body these heavy1 inelastic elements1 making your body what now it is4 4 4 4 ,your change for the better must be gradual1 and can only be accomplished by bringing the thought current of an all-round symmetrical strength to bear on it1--by demanding of the ,supreme ,power to be led in the best way1 by diverting your mind from the many unhealthy thoughts which habitually have been flowing into it without your knowing it1 to healthier ones4 4 4 4 ,like the beast1 the bodies of those of our race have in the past weakened and decayed4 ,this will not always be4 ,increase of spiritual knowledge will show the cause of such decay1 and will show1 also1 how to take advantage of a ,law or ,force to build us up1 renew ever the body and give it greater and greater strength1 instead of blindly using that ,law or ,force1 as has been done in the past1 to weaken our bodies and finally destroy them4 ,full1 rich1 and abounding health is the normal and the natural condition of life4 ,anything else is an abnormal condition1 and abnormal conditions as a rule come through perversions4 ,god never created sickness1 suffering1 and disease2 they are man's own creations4 ,they come through his violating the laws under which he lives4 ,so used are we to seeing them that we come gradually1 if not to think of them as natural1 then to look upon them as a matter of course4 ,the time will come when the work of the physician will not be to treat and attempt to heal the body1 but to heal the mind1 which in turn will heal the body4 ,in other words1 the true physician will be a teacher2 his work will be to keep people well1 instead of attempting to make them well after sickness and disease comes on2 and still beyond this there will come a time when each will be his own physician4 ,in the degree that we live in harmony with the higher laws of our being1 and so1 in the degree that we become better acquainted with the powers of the mind and spirit1 will we give less attention to the body1--no less care1 but less attention4 ,the bodies of thousands today would be much better cared for if their owners gave them less thought and attention4 ,as a rule1 those who think least of their bodies enjoy the best health4 ,many are kept in continual ill health by the abnormal thought and attention they give them4 ,give the body the nourishment1 the exercise1 the fresh air1 the sunlight it requires1 keep it clean1 and then think of it as little as possible4 ,in your thoughts and in your conversation never dwell upon the negative side4 ,don't talk of sickness and disease4 ,by talking of these you do yourself harm and you do harm to those who listen to you4 ,talk of those things that will make people the better for listening to you4 ,thus you will infect them with health and strength and not with weakness and disease4 ,to dwell upon the negative side is always destructive4 ,this is true of the body the same as it is true of all other things4 ,the following from one whose thorough training as a physician has been supplemented by extensive study and observations along the lines of the powers of the interior forces1 are of special significance and value in this connection3 ,we can never gain health by contemplating disease1 any more than we can reach perfection by dwelling upon imperfection1 or harmony through discord4 ,we should keep a high ideal of health and harmony constantly before the mind4 4 4 4 ,never affirm or repeat about your health what you do not wish to be true4 ,do not dwell upon your ailments1 nor study your symptoms4 ,never allow yourself to be convinced that you are not complete master of yourself4 ,stoutly affirm your superiority over bodily ills1 and do not acknowledge yourself the slave of any inferior power4 4 4 4 ,i would teach children early to build a strong barrier between themselves and disease1 by healthy habits of thought1 high thinking1 and purity of life4 ,i would teach them to expel all thoughts of death1 all images of disease1 all discordant emotions1 like hatred1 malice1 revenge1 envy1 and sensuality1 as they would banish a temptation to do evil4 ,i would teach them that bad food1 bad drink1 or bad air makes bad blood2 that bad blood makes bad tissue1 and bad flesh bad morals4 ,i would teach them that healthy thoughts are as essential to healthy bodies as pure thoughts to a clean life4 ,i would teach them to cultivate a strong will power1 and to brace themselves against life's enemies in every possible way4 ,i would teach the sick to have hope1 confidence1 cheer4 ,our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities4 ,no man's success or health will ever reach beyond his own confidence2 as a rule1 we erect our own barriers4 ,like produces like the universe through4 ,hatred1 envy1 malice1 jealousy1 and revenge all have children4 ,every bad thought breeds others1 and each of these goes on and on1 ever reproducing itself1 until our world is peopled with their offspring4 ,the true physician and parent of the future will not medicate the body with drugs so much as the mind with principles4 ,the coming mother will teach her child to assuage the fever of anger1 hatred1 malice1 with the great panacea of the world1--,love4 ,the coming physician will teach the people to cultivate cheerfulness1 good-will1 and noble deeds for a health tonic as well as a heart tonic2 and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine4 ,the health of your body1 the same as the health and strength of your mind1 depends upon what you relate yourself with4 ,this ,infinite ,spirit of ,life1 this ,source of all ,life1 can from its very nature1 we have found1 admit of no weakness1 no disease4 ,come then into the full1 conscious1 vital realization of your oneness with this ,infinite ,life1 open yourself to its more abundant entrance1 and full and ever-renewing bodily health and strength will be yours4 ,and good may ever conquer ill1 ,health walk where pain has trod2 ',as a man thinketh1 so is he1' ,rise1 then1 and think with ,god4 ,the whole matter may then be summed up in the one sentence1 ,god is well and so are you4 ,you must awaken to the knowledge of your real being4 ,when this awakening comes1 you will have1 and you will see that you have1 the power to determine what conditions are externalized in your body4 ,you must recognize1 you must realize yourself as one with ,infinite ,spirit4 ,god's will is then your will2 your will is ,god's will1 and with ,god all things are possible4 ,when we are able to do away with all sense of separateness by living continually in the realization of this oneness1 not only will our bodily ills and weaknesses vanish1 but all limitations along all lines4 ,then delight thyself in the ,lord1 and ,he shall give thee the desires of thine heart4 ,then will you feel like crying all the day long1 ,the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places2 yea1 ,i have a goodly heritage4 ,drop out of mind your belief in good things and good events coming to you in the future4 ,come now into the real life1 and coming1 appropriate and actualize them now4 ,remember that only the best is good enough for one with a heritage so royal as yours4 ,we buy ashes for bread2 ,we buy diluted wine2 ,give me the true1-- ,whose ample leaves and tendrils curled ,among the silver hills of heaven1 ,draw everlasting dew4 ,,the ,,secret1 ,,power1 ,,and ,,effects ,,of ,,love4 ,this is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,love4 ,the moment we recognize ourselves as one with it we become so filled with love that we see only the good in all4 ,and when we realize that we are all one with this ,infinite ,spirit1 then we realize that in a sense we are all one with each other4 ,when we come into a recognition of this fact1 we can then do no harm to any one1 to any thing4 ,we find that we are all members of the one great body1 and that no portion of the body can be harmed without all the other portions suffering thereby4 ,when we fully realize the great fact of the oneness of all life1--that all are partakers from this one ,infinite ,source1 and so that the same life is the life in each individual1 then prejudices go and hatreds cease4 ,love grows and reigns supreme4 ,then1 wherever we go1 whenever we come in contact with the fellow-man1 we are able to recognize the ,god within4 ,we thus look only for the good1 and we find it4 ,it always pays4 ,there is a deep scientific fact underlying the great truth1 ,he that takes the sword shall perish by the sword4 ,the moment we come into a realization of the subtle powers of the thought forces1 we can quickly see that the moment we entertain any thoughts of hatred toward another1 he gets the effects of these diabolical forces that go out from us1 and has the same thoughts of hatred aroused in him1 which in turn return to the sender4 ,then when we understand the effects of the passion1 hatred or anger1 even upon the physical body1 we can see how detrimental1 how expensive this is4 ,the same is true in regard to all kindred thoughts or passions1 envy1 criticism1 jealousy1 scorn4 ,in the ultimate we shall find that in entertaining feelings of this nature toward another1 we always suffer far more than the one toward whom we entertain them4 ,and then when we fully realize the fact that selfishness is at the root of all error1 sin1 and crime1 and that ignorance is the basis of all selfishness1 with what charity we come to look upon the acts of all4 ,it is the ignorant man who seeks his own ends at the expense of the greater whole4 ,it is the ignorant man1 therefore1 who is the selfish man4 ,the truly wise man is never selfish4 ,he is a seer1 and recognizes the fact that he1 a single member of the one great body1 is benefited in just the degree that the entire body is benefited1 and so he seeks nothing for himself that he would not equally seek for all mankind4 ,if selfishness is at the bottom of all error1 sin1 and crime1 and ignorance is the basis of all selfishness1 then when we see a manifestation of either of these qualities1 if we are true to the highest within us1 we will look for and will seek to call forth the good in each individual with whom we come in contact4 ,when ,god speaks to ,god1 then ,god responds1 and shows forth as ,god4 ,but when devil speaks to devil1 then devil responds1 and the devil is always to pay4 ,i sometimes hear a person say1 ,i don't see any good in him4 ,no8 ,then you are no seer4 ,look deeper and you will find the very ,god in every human soul4 ,but remember it takes a ,god to recognize a ,god4 ,christ always spoke to the highest1 the truest1 and the best in men4 ,he knew and he recognized the ,god in each because he had first realized it in himself4 ,he ate with publicans and sinners4 ,abominable1 the ,scribes and ,pharisees said4 ,they were so wrapped up in their own conceits1 their own self-centredness1 hence their own ignorance1 that they had never found the ,god in themselves1 and so they never dreamed that it was the real life of even publicans and sinners4 ,in the degree that we hold a person in the thought of evil or of error1 do we suggest evil and error to him4 ,in the degree that he is sensitively organized1 or not well individualized1 and so1 subject to the suggestions of the thought forces from others1 will he be influenced2 and so in this way we may be sharers in the very evil-doing in which we hold another in thought4 ,in the same way when we hold a person in the thought of the right1 the good1 and the true1 righteousness1 goodness1 and truth are suggested to him1 and thus we have a most beneficent influence on his life and conduct4 ,if our hearts go out in love to all with whom we come in contact1 we inspire love1 and the same ennobling and warming influences of love always return to us from those in whom we inspire them4 ,there is a deep scientific principle underlying the precept--,if you would have all the world love you1 you must first love all the world4 ,in the degree that we love will we be loved4 ,thoughts are forces4 ,each creates of its kind4 ,each comes back laden with the effect that corresponds to itself and of which it is the cause4 ,then let your secret thoughts be fair-- ,they have a vital part1 and share ,in shaping words and moulding fate2 ,god's system is so intricate4 ,i know of no better practice than that of a friend who continually holds himself in an attitude of mind that he continually sends out his love in the form of the thought1--,dear everybody1 ,i love you4 ,and when we realize the fact that a thought invariably produces its effect before it returns1 or before it ceases1 we can see how he is continually breathing out a blessing not only upon all with whom he comes in contact1 but upon all the world4 ,these same thoughts of love1 moreover1 tokened in various ways1 are continually coming to him from all quarters4 ,even animals feel the effects of these forces4 ,some animals are much more sensitively organized than many people are1 and consequently they get the effects of our thoughts1 our mental states1 and emotions much more readily than many people do4 ,therefore whenever we meet an animal we can do it good by sending out to it these thoughts of love4 ,it will feel the effects whether we simply entertain or whether we voice them4 ,and it is often interesting to note how quickly it responds1 and how readily it gives evidence of its appreciation of this love and consideration on our part4 ,what a privilege and how enjoyable it would be to live and walk in a world where we meet only ,gods4 ,in such a world you can live4 ,in such a world ,i can live4 ,for in the degree that we come into this higher realization do we see only the ,god in each human soul2 and when we are thus able to see ,him in every one we meet1 we then live in such a world4 ,and when we thus recognize the ,god in every one1 we by this recognition help to call it forth ever more and more4 ,what a privilege1--this privilege of yours1 this privilege of mine6 ,that hypocritical judging of another is something then with which we can have nothing to do2 for we have the power of looking beyond the evolving1 changing1 error-making self1 and seeing the real1 the changeless1 the eternal self which by and by will show forth in the full beauty of holiness4 ,we are then large enough also to realize the fact that when we condemn another1 by that very act we condemn ourselves4 ,this realization so fills us with love that we continually overflow it1 and all with whom we come in contact feel its warming and life-giving power4 ,these in turn send back the same feelings of love to us1 and so we continually attract love from all quarters4 ,tell me how much one loves and ,i will tell you how much he has seen of ,god4 ,tell me how much he loves and ,i will tell you how much he lives with ,god4 ,tell me how much he loves and ,i will tell you how far into the ,kingdom of ,heaven1--the kingdom of harmony1 he has entered1 for love is the fulfilling of the law4 ,and in a sense love is everything4 ,it is the key to life1 and its influences are those that move the world4 ,live only in the thought of love for all and you will draw love to you from all4 ,live in the thought of malice or hatred1 and malice and hatred will come back to you4 ,for evil poisons2 malice shafts ,like boomerangs return1 ,inflicting wounds that will not heal ,while rage and anger burn4 ,every thought you entertain is a force that goes out1 and every thought comes back laden with its kind4 ,this is an immutable law4 ,every thought you entertain has moreover a direct effect upon your body4 ,love and its kindred emotions are the normal and the natural1 those in accordance with the eternal order of the universe1 for ,god is love4 ,these have a life-giving1 health-engendering influence upon your body1 besides beautifying your countenance1 enriching your voice1 and making you ever more attractive in every way4 ,and as it is true that in the degree that you hold thoughts of love for all1 you call the same from them in return1 and as these have a direct effect upon your mind1 and through your mind upon your body1 it is as so much life force added to your own from without4 ,you are then continually building this into both your mental and your physical life1 and so your life is enriched by its influence4 ,hatred and all its kindred emotions are the unnatural1 the abnormal1 the perversions1 and so1 out of harmony with the eternal order of the universe4 ,for if love is the fulfilling of the law1 then these1 its opposites1 are direct violations of law1 and there can never be a violation of law without its attendant pain and suffering in one form or another4 ,there is no escape from this4 ,and what is the result of this particular form of violation8 ,when you allow thoughts of anger1 hatred1 malice1 jealousy1 envy1 criticism1 or scorn to exercise sway1 they have a corroding and poisoning effect upon the organism2 they pull it down1 and if allowed to continue will eventually tear it to pieces by externalizing themselves in the particular forms of disease they give rise to4 ,and then in addition to the destructive influences from your own mind you are continually calling the same influences from other minds1 and these come as destructive forces augmenting your own1 thus aiding in the tearing down process4 ,and so love inspires love2 hatred breeds hatred4 ,love and good will stimulate and build up the body2 hatred and malice corrode and tear it down4 ,love is a savor of life unto life2 hatred is a savor of death unto death4 ,there are loyal hearts1 there are spirits brave1 ,there are souls that are pure and true2 ,then give to the world the best you have1 ,and the best will come back to you4 ,give love1 and love to your heart will flow1 ,a strength in your utmost need2 ,have faith1 and a score of hearts will show ,their faith in your word and deed4 ,i hear it said1--,how in regard to one who bears me hatred1 towards whom ,i have entertained no such thoughts and feelings1 and so have not been the cause of his becoming my enemy8 ,this may be true1 but the chances are that you will have but few enemies if there is nothing of an antagonistic nature in your own mind and heart4 ,be sure there is nothing of this nature4 ,but if hatred should come from another without apparent cause on your part1 then meet it from first to last with thoughts of love and good-will4 ,in this way you can1 so to speak1 so neutralize its effects that it cannot reach you and so cannot harm you4 ,love is positive1 and stronger than hatred4 ,hatred can always be conquered by love4 ,on the other hand1 if you meet hatred with hatred1 you simply intensify it4 ,you add fuel to the flame already kindled1 upon which it will feed and grow1 and so you increase and intensify the evil conditions4 ,nothing is to be gained by it1 everything is to be lost4 ,by sending love for hatred you will be able so to neutralize it that it will not only have no effect upon you1 but will not be able even to reach you4 ,but more than this1 you will by this course sooner or later be able literally to transmute the enemy into the friend4 ,meet hatred with hatred and you degrade yourself4 ,meet hatred with love and you elevate not only yourself but also the one who bears you hatred4 ,the ,persian sage has said1 ,always meet petulance with gentleness1 and perverseness with kindness4 ,a gentle hand can lead even an elephant by a hair4 ,reply to thine enemy with gentleness4 ,opposition to peace is sin4 ,the ,buddhist says1 ,if a man foolishly does me wrong ,i will return him the protection of my ungrudging love4 ,the more evil comes from him the more good shall go from me4 ,the wise man avenges injuries by benefits1 says the ,chinese4 ,return good for evil1 overcome anger by love2 hatred never ceases by hatred1 but by love1 says the ,hindu4 ,the truly wise man or woman will recognize no one as an enemy4 ,occasionally we hear the expression1 ,never mind2 ,i'll get even with him4 ,will you8 ,and how will you do it8 ,you can do it in one of two ways4 ,you can1 as you have in mind1 deal with him as he deals1 or apparently deals1 with you1--pay him1 as we say1 in his own coin4 ,if you do this you will get even with him by sinking yourself to his level1 and both of you will suffer by it4 ,or1 you can show yourself the larger1 you can send him love for hatred1 kindness for ill-treatment1 and so get even with him by raising him to the higher level4 ,but remember that you can never help another without by that very act helping yourself2 and if forgetful of self1 then in most all cases the value to you is greater than the service you render another4 ,if you are ready to treat him as he treats you1 then you show clearly that there is in you that which draws the hatred and ill-treatment to you2 you deserve what you are getting and should not complain1 nor would you complain if you were wise4 ,by following the other course you most effectually accomplish your purpose1--you gain a victory for yourself1 and at the same time you do a great service for him1 for which it is evident he stands greatly in need4 ,thus you may become his saviour4 ,he in turn may become the saviour of other error-making1 and consequently care-encumbered men and women4 ,many times the struggles are greater than we can ever know4 ,we need more gentleness and sympathy and compassion in our common human life4 ,then we will neither blame nor condemn4 ,instead of blaming or condemning we will sympathize1 and all the more we will ,comfort one another1 ,for the way is often dreary1 ,and the feet are often weary1 ,and the heart is very sad4 ,there is a heavy burden bearing1 ,when it seems that none are caring1 ,and we half forget that ever we were glad ,comfort one another ,with the hand-clasp close and tender1 ,with the sweetness love can render1 ,and the looks of friendly eyes4 ,do not wait with grace unspoken1 ,while life's daily bread is broken-- ,gentle speech is oft like manna from the skies4 ,when we come fully to realize the great fact that all evil and error and sin with all their consequent sufferings come through ignorance1 then wherever we see a manifestation of these in whatever form1 if our hearts are right1 we will have compassion1 sympathy and compassion for the one in whom we see them4 ,compassion will then change itself into love1 and love will manifest itself in kindly service4 ,such is the divine method4 ,and so instead of aiding in trampling and keeping a weaker one down1 we will hold him up until he can stand alone and become the master4 ,but all life-growth is from within out1 and one becomes a true master in the degree that the knowledge of the divinity of his own nature dawns upon his inner consciousness and so brings him to a knowledge of the higher laws2 and in no way can we so effectually hasten this dawning in the inner consciousness of another1 as by showing forth the divinity within ourselves simply by the way we live4 ,by example and not by precept4 ,by living1 not by preaching4 ,by doing1 not by professing4 ,by living the life1 not by dogmatizing as to how it should be lived4 ,there is no contagion equal to the contagion of life4 ,whatever we sow1 that shall we also reap1 and each thing sown produces of its kind4 ,we can kill not only by doing another bodily injury directly1 but we can and we do kill by every antagonistic thought4 ,not only do we thus kill1 but while we kill we suicide4 ,many a man has been made sick by having the ill thoughts of a number of people centred upon him2 some have been actually killed4 ,put hatred into the world and we make it a literal hell4 ,put love into the world and heaven with all its beauties and glories becomes a reality4 ,not to love is not to live1 or it is to live a living death4 ,the life that goes out in love to all is the life that is full1 and rich1 and continually expanding in beauty and in power4 ,such is the life that becomes ever more inclusive1 and hence larger in its scope and influence4 ,the larger the man and the woman1 the more inclusive they are in their love and their friendships4 ,the smaller the man and the woman1 the more dwarfed and dwindling their natures1 the more they pride themselves upon their exclusiveness4 ,any one--a fool or an idiot--can be exclusive4 ,it comes easy4 ,it takes and it signifies a large nature to be universal1 to be inclusive4 ,only the man or the woman of a small1 personal1 self-centred1 self-seeking nature is exclusive4 ,the man or the woman of a large1 royal1 unself-centred nature never is4 ,the small nature is the one that continually strives for effect4 ,the larger nature never does4 ,the one goes here and there in order to gain recognition1 in order to attach himself to the world4 ,the other stays at home and draws the world to him4 ,the one loves merely himself4 ,the other loves all the world2 but in his larger love for all the world he finds himself included4 ,verily1 then1 the more one loves the nearer he approaches to ,god1 for ,god is the spirit of infinite love4 ,and when we come into the realization of our oneness with this ,infinite ,spirit1 then divine love so fills us that1 enriching and enrapturing our own lives1 from them it flows out to enrich the life of all the world4 ,in coming into the realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 we are brought at once into right relations with our fellowmen4 ,we are brought into harmony with the great law1 that we find our own lives in losing them in the service of others4 ,we are brought to a knowledge of the fact that all life is one1 and so that we are all parts of the one great whole4 ,we then realize that we can't do for another without at the same time doing for ourselves4 ,we also realize that we cannot do harm to another without by that very act doing harm to ourselves4 ,we realize that the man who lives to himself alone lives a little1 dwarfed1 and stunted life1 because he has no part in this larger life of humanity4 ,but the one who in service loses his own life in this larger life1 has his own life increased and enriched a thousand or a million fold1 and every joy1 every happiness1 everything of value coming to each member of this greater whole comes as such to him1 for he has a part in the life of each and all4 ,and here let a word be said in regard to true service4 ,peter and ,john were one day going up to the temple1 and as they were entering the gate they were met by a poor cripple who asked them for alms4 ,instead of giving him something to supply the day's needs and then leaving him in the same dependent condition for the morrow and the morrow1 ,peter did him a real service1 and a real service for all mankind by saying1 ,silver and gold have ,i none1 but such as ,i have ,i give unto thee4 ,and then he made him whole4 ,he thus brought him into the condition where he could help himself4 ,in other words1 the greatest service we can do for another is to help him to help himself4 ,to help him directly might be weakening1 though not necessarily4 ,it depends entirely upon circumstances4 ,but to help one to help himself is never weakening1 but always encouraging and strengthening1 because it leads him to a larger and stronger life4 ,there is no better way to help one to help himself than to bring him to a knowledge of himself4 ,there is no better way to bring one to a knowledge of himself than to lead him to a knowledge of the powers that are lying dormant within his own soul4 ,there is nothing that will enable him to come more readily or more completely into an awakened knowledge of the powers that are lying dormant within his own soul1 than to bring him into the conscious1 vital realization of his oneness with the ,infinite ,life and ,power1 so that he may open himself to it in order that it may work and manifest through him4 ,we will find that these same great truths lie at the very bottom of the solution of our social situation2 and we will also find that we will never have a full and permanent solution of it until they are fully recognized and built upon4 ,,wisdom ,,and ,,interior ,,illumination4 ,this is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,wisdom1 and in the degree that we open ourselves to it does the highest wisdom manifest itself to and through us4 ,we can in this way go to the very heart of the universe itself and find the mysteries hidden to the majority of mankind1--hidden to them1 though not hidden of themselves4 ,in order for the highest wisdom and insight we must have absolute confidence in the ,divine guiding us1 but not through the channel of some one else4 ,and why should we go to another for knowledge and wisdom8 ,with ,god is no respect of persons4 ,why should we seek these things second hand8 ,why should we thus stultify our own innate powers8 ,why should we not go direct to the ,infinite ,source itself8 ,if any man lack wisdom let him ask of ,god4 ,before they call ,i will answer1 and while they are yet speaking1 ,i will hear4 ,when we thus go directly to the ,infinite ,source itself we are no longer slaves to personalities1 institutions1 or books4 ,we should always keep ourselves open to suggestions of truth from these agencies4 ,we should always regard them as agencies1 however1 and never as sources4 ,we should never recognize them as masters1 but simply as teachers4 ,with ,browning1 we must recognize the great fact that-- ,truth is within ourselves2 it takes no rise ,from outward things1 whate'er you may believe4 ,there is an inmost centre in us all1 ,where truth abides in fullness4 ,there is no more important injunction in all the world1 nor one with a deeper interior meaning1 than ,to thine own self be true4 ,in other words1 be true to your own soul1 for it is through your own soul that the voice of ,god speaks to you4 ,this is the interior guide4 ,this is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,this is conscience4 ,this is intuition4 ,this is the voice of the higher self1 the voice of the soul1 the voice of ,god4 ,thou shalt hear a voice behind thee1 saying3 ,this is the way1 walk ye in it4 ,when ,moses was on the mountain it was after the various physical commotions and manifestations that he heard the still1 small voice1 the voice of his own soul1 through which the ,infinite ,god was speaking4 ,if we will but follow this voice of intuition1 it will speak ever more clearly and more plainly1 until by and by it will be absolute and unerring in its guidance4 ,the great trouble with us is that we do not listen to and do not follow this voice within our own souls1 and so we become as a house divided against itself4 ,we are pulled this way and that1 and we are never certain of anything4 ,i have a friend who listens so carefully to this inner voice1 who1 in other words1 always acts so quickly and so fully in accordance with his intuitions1 and whose life as a consequence is so absolutely guided by them1 that he always does the right thing at the right time and in the right way4 ,he always knows when to act and how to act1 and he is never in the condition of a house divided against itself4 ,but some one says1 ,may it not be dangerous for us to act always upon our intuitions8 ,suppose we should have an intuition to do harm to some one8 ,we need not be afraid of this1 however1 for the voice of the soul1 this voice of ,god speaking through the soul1 will never direct one to do harm to another1 nor to do anything that is not in accordance with the highest standards of right1 and truth1 and justice4 ,and if you at any time have a prompting of this kind1 know that it is not the voice of intuition2 it is some characteristic of your lower self that is prompting you4 ,reason is not to be set aside1 but it is to be continually illumined by this higher spiritual perception1 and in the degree that it is thus illumined will it become an agent of light and power4 ,when one becomes thoroughly individualized he enters into the realm of all knowledge and wisdom2 and to be individualized is to recognize no power outside of the ,infinite ,power that is back of all4 ,when one recognizes this great fact and opens himself to this ,spirit of ,infinite ,wisdom1 he then enters upon the road to the true education1 and mysteries that before were closed now reveal themselves to him4 ,this must indeed be the foundation of all true education1 this evolving from within1 this evolving of what has been involved by the ,infinite ,power4 ,all things that it is valuable for us to know will come to us if we will but open ourselves to the voice of this ,infinite ,spirit4 ,it is thus that we become seers and have the power of seeing into the very heart of things4 ,there are no new stars1 there are no new laws or forces1 but we can so open ourselves to this ,spirit of ,infinite ,wisdom that we can discover and recognize those that have not been known before2 and in this way they become new to us4 ,when in this way we come into a knowledge of truth we no longer need facts that are continually changing4 ,we can then enter into the quiet of our own interior selves4 ,we can open the window and look out1 and thus gather the facts as we choose4 ,this is true wisdom4 ,wisdom is the knowledge of ,god4 ,wisdom comes by intuition4 ,it far transcends knowledge4 ,great knowledge1 knowledge of many things1 may be had by virtue simply of a very retentive memory4 ,it comes by tuition4 ,but wisdom far transcends knowledge1 in that knowledge is a mere incident of this deeper wisdom4 ,he who would enter into the realm of wisdom must first divest himself of all intellectual pride4 ,he must become as a little child4 ,prejudices1 preconceived opinions and beliefs always stand in the way of true wisdom4 ,conceited opinions are always suicidal in their influences4 ,they bar the door to the entrance of truth4 ,all about us we see men in the religious world1 in the world of science1 in the political1 in the social world1 who through intellectual pride are so wrapped in their own conceits and prejudices that larger and later revelations of truth can find no entrance to them2 and instead of growing and expanding1 they are becoming dwarfed and stunted1 and still more incapable of receiving truth4 ,instead of actively aiding in the progress of the world1 they are as so many dead sticks in the way that would retard the wheels of progress4 ,this1 however1 they can never do4 ,such always in time get bruised1 broken1 and left behind1 while ,god's triumphal car of truth moves steadily onward4 ,when the steam engine was still being experimented with1 and before it was perfected sufficiently to come into practical use1 a well-known ,englishman--well known then in scientific circles--wrote an extended pamphlet proving that it would be impossible for it ever to be used in ocean navigation1 that is1 in a trip involving the crossing of the ocean1 because it would be utterly impossible for any vessel to carry with it sufficient coal for the use of its furnace4 ,and the interesting feature of the whole matter was that the very first steam vessel that made the trip from ,england to ,america1 had among its cargo a part of the first edition of this carefully prepared pamphlet4 ,there was only the one edition4 ,many editions might be sold now4 ,this seems indeed an amusing fact2 but far more amusing is the man who voluntarily closes himself to truth because1 forsooth1 it does not come through conventional1 or orthodox1 or heretofore accepted channels2 or because it may not be in full accord with1 or possibly may be opposed to1 established usages or beliefs4 ,on the contrary-- ,let there be many windows in your soul1 ,that all the glory of the universe ,may beautify it4 ,not the narrow pane ,of one poor creed can catch the radiant rays ,that shine from countless sources4 ,tear away ,the blinds of superstition3 let the light ,pour through fair windows1 broad as truth itself ,and high as heaven4 4 4 4 ,tune your ear ,to all the worldless music of the stars ,and to the voice of nature1 and your heart ,shall turn to truth and goodness as the plant ,turns to the sun4 ,a thousand unseen hands ,reach down to help you to their peace-crowned heights1 ,and all the forces of the firmament ,shall fortify your strength4 ,be not afraid ,to thrust aside half-truths and grasp the whole4 ,there is a great law in connection with the coming of truth4 ,it is this3 ,whenever a man or a woman shuts himself or herself to the entrance of truth on account of intellectual pride1 preconceived opinions1 prejudices1 or for whatever reason1 there is a great law which says that truth in its fullness will come to that one from no source4 ,and on the other hand1 when a man or a woman opens himself or herself fully to the entrance of truth from whatever source it may come1 there is an equally great law which says that truth will flow in to him or to her from all sources1 from all quarters4 ,such becomes the free man1 the free woman1 for it is the truth that makes us free4 ,the other remains in bondage1 for truth has had no invitation and will not enter where it is not fully and freely welcomed4 ,and where truth is denied entrance the rich blessings it carries with it cannot take up their abode4 ,on the contrary1 when this is the case1 it sends an envoy carrying with it atrophy1 disease1 death1 physically and spiritually as well as intellectually4 ,and the man who would rob another of his free and unfettered search for truth1 who would stand as the interpreter of truth for another1 with the intent of remaining in this position1 rather than endeavoring to lead him to the place where he can be his own interpreter1 is more to be shunned than a thief and a robber4 ,the injury he works is far greater1 for he is doing direct and positive injury to the very life of the one he thus holds4 ,who has ever appointed any man1 whoever he may be1 as the keeper1 the custodian1 the dispenser of ,god's illimitable truth8 ,many indeed are moved and so are called to be teachers of truth2 but the true teacher will never stand as the interpreter of truth for another4 ,the true teacher is the one whose endeavor is to bring the one he teaches to a true knowledge of himself and hence of his own interior powers1 that he may become his own interpreter4 ,all others are1 generally speaking1 those animated by purely personal motives1 self-aggrandizement1 or personal gain4 ,moreover1 he who would claim to have all truth and the only truth1 is a bigot1 a fool1 or a knave4 ,in the ,eastern literature is a fable of a frog4 ,the frog lived in a well1 and out of his little well he had never been4 ,one day a frog whose home was in the sea came to his well4 ,interested in all things1 he went in4 ,who are you8 ,where do you live8 said the frog in the well4 ,i am so and so1 and my home is in the sea4 ,the sea8 ,what is that8 ,where is that8 ,it is a very large body of water1 and not far away4 ,how big is your sea8 ,oh1 very big4 ,as big as this8 pointing to a little stone lying near4 ,oh1 much bigger4 ,as big as this8 pointing to the board upon which they were sitting4 ,oh1 much bigger4 ,how much bigger1 then8 ,why1 the sea in which ,i live is bigger than your entire well2 it would make millions of wells such as yours4 ,nonsense1 nonsense2 you are a deceiver and a falsifier4 ,get out of my well4 ,get out of my well4 ,i want nothing to do with any such frogs as you4 ,ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free1 is the promise4 ,ye shall close yourselves to truth1 ye shall live in your own conceits1 and your own conceits shall make fools and idiots of you1 would be a statement applicable to not a few1 and to not a few who pride themselves upon their superior intellectual attainments4 ,idiocy is arrested mental growth4 ,closing one's self for whatever reason to truth and hence to growth1 brings a certain type of idiocy1 though it may not be called by this name4 ,and on the other hand1 another type is that arrested growth caused by taking all things for granted1 without proving them for one's self1 merely because they come from a particular person1 a particular book1 a particular institution4 ,this is caused by one's always looking without instead of being true to the light within1 and carefully tending it that it may give an ever-clearer light4 ,with brave and intrepid ,walt ,whitman1 we should all be able to say-- ,from this hour ,i ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines1 ,going where ,i list1 my own master total and absolute1 ,listening to others1 considering well what they say1 ,pausing1 searching1 receiving1 contemplating1 ,gently1 but with undeniable will divesting myself of the holds that would hold me4 ,great should be the joy that ,god's boundless truth is open to all1 open equally to all1 and that it will make each one its dwelling place in proportion as he earnestly desires it and opens himself to it4 ,and in regard to the wisdom that guides us in our daily life1 there is nothing that it is right and well for us to know that may not be known when we recognize the law of its coming1 and are able wisely to use it4 ,let us know that all things are ours as soon as we know how to appropriate them4 ,i hold it as a changeless law1 ,from which no soul can sway or swerve1 ,we have that in us which will draw ,whate'er we need or most deserve4 ,if the times come when we know not what course to pursue1 when we know not which way to turn1 the fault lies in ourselves4 ,if the fault lies in ourselves then the correction of this unnatural condition lies also in ourselves4 ,it is never necessary to come into such a state if we are awake and remain awake to the light and the powers within us4 ,the light is ever shining1 and the only thing that it is necessary for us diligently to see to is that we permit neither this thing nor that to come between us and the light4 ,with ,thee is the fountain of life2 in ,thy light shall we see light4 ,let us hear the words of one of the most highly illumined men ,i have ever known1 and one who as a consequence is never in the dark1 when the time comes1 as to what to do and how to do it4 ,whenever you are in doubt as to the course you should pursue1 after you have turned to every outward means of guidance1 let the inward eye see1 let the inward ear hear1 and allow this simple1 natural1 beautiful process to go on unimpeded by questionings or doubts4 4 4 4 ,in all dark hours and times of unwonted perplexity we need to follow one simple direction1 found1 as all needed directions can be found1 in the dear old gospel1 which so many read1 but alas1 so few interpret4 ',enter into thine inner chamber and shut the door4' ,does this mean that we must literally betake ourselves to a private closet with a key in the door8 ,if it did1 then the command could never be obeyed in the open air1 on land or sea1 and the ,christ loved the lakes and the forests far better than the cramping rooms of city dwelling houses2 still his counsels are so wide-reaching that there is no spot on earth and no conceivable situation in which any of us may be placed where we cannot follow them4 ,one of the most intuitive men we ever met had a desk in a city office where several other gentlemen were doing business constantly and often talking loudly4 ,entirely undisturbed by the many various sounds about him1 this self-centred1 faithful man would1 in any moment of perplexity1 draw the curtains of privacy so completely about him that he would be as fully enclosed in his own psychic aura1 and thereby as effectually removed from all distractions as though he were alone in some primeval wood4 ,taking his difficulty with him into the mystic silence in the form of a direct question1 to which he expected a certain answer1 he would remain utterly passive until the reply came1 and never once through many years' experience did he find himself disappointed or misled4 ,intuitive perceptions of truth are the daily bread to satisfy our daily hunger2 they come like the manna in the desert day by day2 each day brings adequate supply for that day's need only4 ,they must be followed instantly1 for dalliance with them means their obscuration1 and the more we dally the more we invite erroneous impressions to cover intuition with a pall of conflicting moral phantasy born of illusions of the terrence will4 ,one condition is imposed by universal law1 and this we must obey4 ,put all wishes aside save the one desire to know truth2 couple with this one demand the fully consecrated determination to follow what is distinctly perceived as truth immediately it is revealed4 ,no other affection must be permitted to share the field with this all-absorbing love of truth for its own sake4 ,obey this one direction and never forget that expectation and desire are bride and bridegroom and forever inseparable1 and you will soon find your hitherto darkened way grow luminous with celestial radiance1 for with the heaven within1 all heavens without incessantly co-operate4 ,this may be termed going into the silence4 ,this it is to perceive and to be guided by the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,this it is to listen to and be guided by the voice of your own soul1 the voice of your higher self4 ,the soul is divine and in allowing it to become translucent to the ,infinite ,spirit it reveals all things to us4 ,as man turns away from the ,divine ,light do all things become hidden4 ,there is nothing hidden of itself4 ,when the spiritual sense is opened1 then it transcends all the limitations of the physical senses and the intellect4 ,and in the degree that we are able to get away from the limitations set by them1 and realize that so far as the real life is concerned it is one with the ,infinite ,life1 then we begin to reach the place where this voice will always speak1 where it will never fail us1 if we follow it1 and as a consequence where we will always have the divine illumination and guidance4 ,to know this and to live in this realization is not to live in heaven hereafter1 but to live in heaven here and now1 today and every day4 ,no human soul need be without it4 ,when we turn our face in the right direction it comes as simply and as naturally as the flower blooms and the winds blow4 ,it is not to be bought with money or with price4 ,it is a condition waiting simply to be realized1 by rich and by poor1 by king and by peasant1 by master and by servant the world over4 ,all are equal heirs to it4 ,and so the peasant1 if he find it first1 lives a life far transcending in beauty and in real power the life of his king4 ,the servant1 if he find it first1 lives a life surpassing the life of his master4 ,if you would find the highest1 the fullest1 and the richest life that not only this world but that any world can know1 then do away with the sense of the separateness of your life from the life of ,god4 ,hold to the thought of your oneness4 ,in the degree that you do this you will find yourself realizing it more and more1 and as this life of realization is lived1 you will find that no good thing will be withheld1 for all things are included in this4 ,then it will be yours1 without fears or forebodings1 simply to do today what your hands find to do1 and so be ready for tomorrow1 when it comes1 knowing that tomorrow will bring tomorrow's supplies for the mental1 the spiritual1 and the physical life4 ,remember1 however1 that tomorrow's supplies are not needed until tomorrow comes4 ,if one is willing to trust himself fully to the ,law1 the ,law will never fail him4 ,it is the half-hearted trusting to it that brings uncertain1 and so1 unsatisfactory results4 ,nothing is firmer and surer than ,deity4 ,it will never fail the one who throws himself wholly upon it4 ,the secret of life then1 is to live continually in this realization1 whatever one may be doing1 wherever one may be1 by day and by night1 both waking and sleeping4 ,it can be lived in while we are sleeping no less than when we are awake4 ,and here shall we consider a few facts in connection with sleep1 in connection with receiving instruction and illumination while asleep8 ,during the process of sleep it is merely the physical body that is at rest and in quiet2 the soul life with all its activities goes right on4 ,sleep is nature's provision for the recuperation of the body1 for the rebuilding and hence the replacing of the waste that is continually going on during the waking hours4 ,it is nature's great restorer4 ,if sufficient sleep is not allowed the body1 so that the rebuilding may equalize the wasting process1 the body is gradually depleted and weakened1 and any ailment or malady1 when it is in this condition1 is able to find a more ready entrance4 ,it is for this reason that those who are subject to it will take a cold1 as we term it1 more readily when the body is tired or exhausted through loss of sleep than at most any other time4 ,the body is in that condition where outside influences can have a more ready effect upon it1 than when it is in its normal condition4 ,and when they do have an effect they always go to the weaker portions first4 ,our bodies are given us to serve far higher purposes than we ordinarily use them for4 ,especially is this true in the numerous cases where the body is master of its owner4 ,in the degree that we come into the realization of the higher powers of the mind and spirit1 in that degree does the body1 through their influence upon it1 become less gross and heavy1 finer in its texture and form4 ,and then1 because the mind finds a kingdom of enjoyment in itself1 and in all the higher things it becomes related to1 excesses in eating and drinking1 as well as all others1 naturally and of their own accord fall away4 ,there also falls away the desire for the heavier1 grosser1 less valuable kinds of food and drink1 such as the flesh of animals1 alcoholic drinks1 and all things of the class that stimulate the body and the passions rather than build the body and the brain into a strong1 clean1 well-nourished1 enduring1 and fibrous condition4 ,in the degree that the body thus becomes less gross and heavy1 finer in its texture and form1 is there less waste1 and what there is is more easily replaced1 so that it keeps in a more regular and even condition4 ,when this is true1 less sleep is actually required4 ,and even the amount that is taken does more for a body of this finer type than it can do for one of the other nature4 ,as the body in this way grows finer1 in other words1 as the process of its evolution is thus accelerated1 it in turn helps the mind and the soul in the realization of ever higher perceptions1 and thus body helps mind the same as mind builds body4 ,it was undoubtedly this fact that ,browning had in mind when he said3 ,let us cry ',all good things ,are ours1 nor soul helps flesh1 more now1 ,than flesh helps soul4' ,sleep1 then1 is for the resting and the rebuilding of the body4 ,the soul needs no rest1 and while the body is at rest in sleep the soul life is active the same as when the body is in activity4 ,there are some1 having a deep insight into the soul's activities1 who say that we travel when we sleep4 ,some are able to recall and bring over into the conscious1 waking life the scenes visited1 the information gained1 and the events that have transpired4 ,most people are not able to do this and so much that might otherwise be gained is lost4 ,they say1 however1 that it is in our power1 in proportion as we understand the laws1 to go where we will1 and to bring over into the conscious1 waking life all the experiences thus gained4 ,be this1 however1 as it may1 it certainly is true that while sleeping we have the power1 in a perfectly normal and natural way1 to get much of value by way of light1 instruction1 and growth that the majority of people now miss4 ,if the soul life1 that which relates us to ,infinite ,spirit1 is always active1 even while the body is at rest1 why may not the mind so direct conditions as one falls asleep1 that while the body is at rest1 it may continually receive illumination from the soul and bring what it thus receives over into the conscious1 waking life8 ,this1 indeed1 can be done1 and is done by some to great advantage2 and many times the highest inspirations from the soul come in this way1 as would seem most natural1 since at this time all communications from the outer1 material world no longer enter4 ,i know those who do much work during sleep1 the same as they get much light along desired lines4 ,by charging the mind on going to sleep as to a particular time for waking1 it is possible1 as many of us know1 to wake on the very minute4 ,not infrequently we have examples of difficult problems1 problems that defied solution during waking hours1 being solved during sleep4 ,a friend1 a well-known journalist1 had an extended newspaper article clearly and completely worked out for her in this way4 ,she frequently calls this agency to her aid4 ,she was notified by the managing editor one evening to have the article ready in the morning1--an article requiring more than ordinary care1 and one in which quite a knowledge of facts was required4 ,it was a matter in connection with which she knew scarcely anything1 and all her efforts at finding information regarding it seemed to be of no avail4 ,she set to work1 but it seemed as if even her own powers defied her4 ,failure seemed imminent4 ,almost in desperation she decided to retire1 and putting the matter into her mind in such a way that she would be able to receive the greatest amount of aid while asleep1 she fell asleep and slept soundly until morning4 ,when she awoke her work of the previous evening was the first thing that came into her mind4 ,she lay quietly for a few minutes1 and as she lay there1 the article1 completely written1 seemed to stand before her mind4 ,she ran through it1 arose1 and without dressing took her pen and transcribed it on to paper1 literally acting simply as her own amanuensis4 ,the mind acting intently along a particular line will continue so to act until some other object of thought carries it along another line4 ,and since in sleep only the body is in quiet while the mind and soul are active1 then the mind on being given a certain direction when one drops off to sleep1 will take up the line along which it is directed1 and can be made1 in time1 to bring over into consciousness the results of its activities4 ,some will be able very soon to get results of this kind2 for some it will take longer4 ,quiet and continued effort will increase the faculty4 ,then by virtue of the law of the drawing power of mind1 since the mind is always active1 we are drawing to us even while sleeping1 influences from the realms kindred to those in which we in our thoughts are living before we fall asleep4 ,in this way we can put ourselves into relation with what ever kinds of influence we choose and accordingly gain much during the process of sleep4 ,in many ways the interior faculties are more open and receptive while we are in sleep than while we are awake4 ,hence the necessity of exercising even greater care as to the nature of the thoughts that occupy the mind as we enter into sleep1 for there can come to us only what we by our own order of thought attract4 ,we have it entirely in our own hands4 ,and for the same reason1--this greater degree of receptivity during this period1--we are able by understanding and using the law1 to gain much of value more readily in this way than when the physical senses are fully open to the material world about us4 ,many will find a practice somewhat after the following nature of value3 ,when light or information is desired along any particular line1 light or information you feel it is right and wise for you to have1 as1 for example1 light in regard to an uncertain course of action1 then as you retire1 first bring your mind into the attitude of peace and good-will for all4 ,you in this way bring yourself into an harmonious condition1 and in turn attract to yourself these same peaceful conditions from without4 ,then resting in this sense of peace1 quietly and calmly send out your earnest desire for the needed light or information2 cast out of your mind all fears or forebodings lest it come not1 for in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength4 ,take the expectant attitude of mind1 firmly believing and expecting that when you awake the desired results will be with you4 ,then on awaking1 before any thoughts or activities from the outside world come in to absorb the attention1 remain for a little while receptive to the intuitions or the impressions that come4 ,when they come1 when they manifest themselves clearly1 then act upon them without delay4 ,in the degree that you do this1 in that degree will the power of doing it ever more effectively grow4 ,or1 if for unselfish purposes you desire to grow and develop any of your faculties1 or to increase the health and strength of your body1 take a corresponding attitude of mind1 the form of which will readily suggest itself in accordance with your particular needs or desires4 ,in this way you will open yourself to1 you will connect yourself with1 and you will set into operation within yourself1 the particular order of forces that will make for these results4 ,don't be afraid to voice your desires4 ,in this way you set into operation vibratory forces which go out and which make their impress felt somewhere1 and which1 arousing into activity or uniting with other forces1 set about to actualize your desires4 ,no good thing shall be withheld from him who lives in harmony with the higher laws and forces4 ,there are no desires that shall not be satisfied to the one who knows and who wisely uses the powers with which he or she is endowed4 ,your sleep will be more quiet1 and peaceful1 and refreshing1 and so your power increased mentally1 physically1 and spiritually1 simply by sending out as you fall asleep1 thoughts of love and good-will1 thoughts of peace and harmony for all4 ,in this way you are connecting yourself with all the forces in the universe that make for peace and harmony4 ,a friend who is known the world over through his work along humane lines1 has told me that many times in the middle of the night he is awakened suddenly and there comes to his mind1 as a flash of inspiration1 a certain plan in connection with his work4 ,and as he lays there quietly and opens himself to it1 the methods for its successful carrying out all reveal themselves to him clearly4 ,in this way many plans are entered upon and brought to a successful culmination that otherwise would never be thought of1 plans that seem1 indeed1 marvelous to the world at large4 ,he is a man with a sensitive organism1 his life in thorough harmony with the higher laws1 and given wholly and unreservedly to the work to which he has dedicated it4 ,just how and from what source these inspirations come he does not fully know4 ,possibly no one does1 though each may have his theory4 ,but this we do know1 and it is all we need to know now1 at least1--that to the one who lives in harmony with the higher laws of his being1 and who opens himself to them1 they come4 ,visions and inspirations of the highest order will come in the degree that we make for them the right conditions4 ,one who has studied deeply into the subject in hand has said3 ,to receive education spiritually while the body is resting in sleep is a perfectly normal and orderly experience1 and would occur definitely and satisfactorily in the lives of all of us1 if we paid more attention to internal and consequently less to external states with their supposed but unreal necessities4 4 4 4 ,our thoughts make us what we are here and hereafter1 and our thoughts are often busier by night than by day1 for when we are asleep to the exterior we can be wide awake to the interior world2 and the unseen world is a substantial place1 the conditions of which are entirely regulated by mental and moral attainments4 ,when we are not deriving information through outward avenues of sensation1 we are receiving instruction through interior channels of perception1 and when this fact is understood for what it is worth1 it will become a universal custom for persons to take to sleep with them the special subject on which they most earnestly desire particular instruction4 ,the ,pharaoh type of person dreams1 and so does his butler and baker2 but the ,joseph type1 which is that of the truly gifted seer1 both dreams and interprets4 ,but why had not ,pharaoh the power of interpreting his dreams8 ,why was ,joseph the type of the truly gifted seer8 ,why did he not only dream1 but had also the power to interpret both his own dreams and the dreams of others8 ,simply read the lives of the two4 ,he who runs may read4 ,in all true power it is1 after all1 living the life that tells4 ,and in proportion as one lives the life does he not only attain to the highest power and joy for himself1 but he also becomes of ever greater service to all the world4 ,one need remain in no hell longer than he himself chooses to2 and the moment he chooses not to remain longer1 not all the powers in the universe can prevent his leaving it4 ,one can rise to any heaven he himself chooses2 and when he chooses so to rise1 all the higher powers of the universe combine to help him heavenward4 ,when one awakes from sleep and so returns to conscious life1 he is in a peculiarly receptive and impressionable state4 ,all relations with the material world have for a time been shut off1 the mind is in a freer and more natural state1 resembling somewhat a sensitive plate1 where impressions can readily leave their traces4 ,this is why many times the highest and truest impressions come to one in the early morning hours1 before the activities of the day and their attendant distractions have exerted an influence4 ,this is one reason why many people can do their best work in the early hours of the day4 ,but this fact is also a most valuable one in connection with the moulding of every-day life4 ,the mind is at this time as a clean sheet of paper4 ,we can most valuably use this quiet1 receptive1 impressionable period by wisely directing the activities of the mind along the highest and most desirable paths1 and thus1 so to speak1 set the pace for the day4 ,each morning is a fresh beginning4 ,we are1 as it were1 just beginning life4 ,we have it entirely in our own hands4 ,and when the morning with its fresh beginning comes1 all yesterdays should be yesterdays1 with which we have nothing to do4 ,sufficient is it to know that the way we lived our yesterday has determined for us our today4 ,and1 again1 when the morning with its fresh beginning comes1 all tomorrows should be tomorrows1 with which we have nothing to do4 ,sufficient to know that the way we live our today determines our tomorrow4 ,every day is a fresh beginning1 ,every morn is the world made new2 ,you who are weary of sorrow and sinning1 ,here is a beautiful hope for you1 ,a hope for me and a hope for you4 ,all the past things are past and over1 ,the tasks are done1 and the tears are shed4 ,yesterday's errors let yesterday cover2 ,yesterday's wounds1 which smarted and bled1 ,are healed with the healing which might has shed4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,let them go1 since we cannot relieve them1 ,cannot undo and cannot atone4 ,god in ,his mercy receive1 forgive them6 ,only the new days are our own4 ,today is ours1 and today alone4 ,here are the skies all burnished brightly2 ,here is the spent earth all reborn2 ,here are the tired limbs springing lightly ,to face the sun and to share with the morn ,in the chrism of dew and the cool of dawn4 ,every day is a fresh beginning1 ,listen1 my soul1 to the glad refrain1 ,and1 spite of old sorrow and older sinning1 ,and puzzles forecasted1 and possible pain1 ,take heart with the day and begin again4 ,simply the first hour of this new day1 with all its richness and glory1 with all its sublime and eternity-determining possibilities1 and each succeeding hour as it comes1 but not before it comes4 ,this is the secret of character building4 ,this simple method will bring any one to the realization of the highest life that can be even conceived of1 and there is nothing in this connection that can be conceived of that cannot be realized somehow1 somewhen1 somewhere4 ,this brings such a life within the possibilities of all1 for there is no one1 if really in earnest and if he really desires it1 who cannot live to his highest for a single hour4 ,but even though there should be1 if he is only earnest in his endeavor1 then1 through the law that like builds like1 he will be able to come a little nearer to it the next hour1 and still nearer the next1 and the next1 until sooner or later comes the time when it becomes the natural1 and any other would require the effort4 ,in this way one becomes in love and in league with the highest and best in the universe1 and as a consequence1 the highest and best in the universe becomes in love and in league with him4 ,they aid him at every turn2 they seem literally to move all things his way1 because forsooth1 he has first moved their way4 ,,the ,,realization ,,of ,,perfect ,,peace4 ,this is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,peace1 and the moment we come into harmony with it there comes to us an inflowing tide of peace1 for peace is harmony4 ,a deep interior meaning underlies the great truth1 ,to be spiritually minded is life and peace4 ,to recognize the fact that we are spirit1 and to live in this thought1 is to be spiritually minded1 and so to be in harmony and peace4 ,oh1 the thousands of men and women all about us weary with care1 troubled and ill at ease1 running hither and thither to find peace1 weary in body1 soul1 and mind2 going to other countries1 traveling the world over1 coming back1 and still not finding it4 ,of course they have not found it and they never will find it in this way1 because they are looking for it where it is not4 ,they are looking for it without when they should look within4 ,peace is to be found only within1 and unless one find it there he will never find it at all4 ,peace lies not in the external world4 ,it lies within one's own soul4 ,we may travel over many different avenues in pursuit of it1 we may seek it through the channels of the bodily appetites and passions1 we may seek it through all the channels of the external1 we may chase for it hither and thither1 but it will always be just beyond our grasp1 because we are searching for it where it is not4 ,in the degree1 however1 that we order the bodily appetites and passions in accordance with the promptings of the soul within will the higher forms of happiness and peace enter our lives2 but in the degree that we fail in doing this will disease1 suffering1 and discontent enter in4 ,to be at one with ,god is to be at peace4 ,the child simplicity is the greatest agency in bringing this full and complete realization1 the child simplicity that recognizes its true relations with the ,father's life4 ,there are people ,i know who have come into such a conscious realization of their oneness with this ,infinite ,life1 this ,spirit of ,infinite ,peace1 that their lives are fairly bubbling over with joy4 ,i have particularly in mind at this moment a comparatively young man who was an invalid for several years1 his health completely broken with nervous exhaustion1 who thought there was nothing in life worth living for1 to whom everything and everybody presented a gloomy aspect1 and he in turn presented a gloomy aspect to all with whom he came in contact4 ,not long ago he came into such a vital realization of his oneness with this ,infinite ,power1 he opened himself so completely to its divine inflow1 that today he is in perfect health1 and frequently as ,i meet him now he cannot resist the impulse to cry out1 ,oh1 it is a joy to be alive4 ,i know an officer on our police force who has told me that many times when off duty and on his way home in the evening1 there comes to him such a vivid and vital realization of his oneness with this ,infinite ,power1 and this ,spirit of ,infinite ,peace so takes hold of and so fills him1 that it seems as if his feet could scarcely keep to the pavement1 so buoyant and so exhilarated does he become by reason of this inflowing tide4 ,he who comes into this higher realization never has any fear1 for he has always with him a sense of protection1 and the very realization of this makes his protection complete4 ,of him it is true1--,no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper2 ,there shall no ill come nigh thy dwelling2 ,thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field1 and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee4 ,these are the men and the women who seem to live charmed lives4 ,the moment we fear anything we open the door for the entrance of the actualization of the very thing we fear4 ,an animal will never harm a person who is absolutely fearless in regard to it4 ,the instant he fears he opens himself to danger2 and some animals1 the dog for example1 can instantly detect the element of fear1 and this gives them the courage to do harm4 ,in the degree that we come into a full realization of our oneness with this ,infinite ,power do we become calm and quiet1 undisturbed by the little occurrences that before so vex and annoy us4 ,we are no longer disappointed in people1 for we always read them aright4 ,we have the power of penetrating into their very souls and seeing the underlying motives that are at work there4 ,a gentleman approached a friend the other day1 and with great show of cordiality grasped him by the hand and said1 ,why1 ,mr4 ------1 ,i am so glad to see you4 ,quick as a flash my friend read him1 and looking him steadily in the eye1 replied1 ,no1 you are mistaken1 you are not glad to see me2 but you are very much disconcerted1 so much so that you are now blushing in evidence of it4 ,the gentleman replied1 ,well1 you know in this day and age of conventionality and form we have to put on the show and sometimes make believe what we do not really feel4 ,my friend once more looked him in the face and said1 ,again you are mistaken4 ,let me give you one little word of advice3 ,you will always fare better and will think far more of yourself1 always to recognize and to tell the truth rather than to give yourself to any semblance of it4 ,as soon as we are able to read people aright we will then cease to be disappointed in them1 we will cease to place them on pedestals1 for this can never be done without some attendant disappointment4 ,the fall will necessarily come1 sooner or later1 and moreover1 we are thus many times unfair to our friends4 ,when we come into harmony with this ,spirit of ,peace1 evil reports and apparent bad treatment1 either at the hands of friends or of enemies1 will no longer disturb us4 ,when we are conscious of the fact that in our life and our work we are true to that eternal principle of right1 of truth1 of justice that runs through all the universe1 that unites and governs all1 that always eventually prevails1 then nothing of this kind can come nigh us1 and come what may we will always be tranquil and undisturbed4 ,the things that cause sorrow1 and pain1 and bereavement will not be able to take the hold of us they now take1 for true wisdom will enable us to see the proper place and know the right relations of all things4 ,the loss of friends by the transition we call death will not cause sorrow to the soul that has come into this higher realization1 for he knows that there is no such thing as death1 for each one is not only a partaker1 but an eternal partaker1 of this ,infinite ,life4 ,he knows that the mere falling away of the physical body by no means affects the real soul life4 ,with a tranquil spirit born of a higher faith he can realize for himself1 and to those less strong he can say-- ,loving friends6 be wise and dry ,straightway every weeping eye2 ,what you left upon the bier ,is not worth a single tear2 ',tis a simple sea-shell1 one ,out of which the pearl has gone4 ,the shell was nothing1 leave it there2 ,the pearl--the soul--was all1 is here4 ,and so far as the element of separation is concerned1 he realizes that to spirit there are no bounds1 and that spiritual communion1 whether between two persons in the body1 or two persons1 one in the body and one out of the body1 is within the reach of all4 ,in the degree that the higher spiritual life is realized can there be this higher spiritual communion4 ,the things that we open ourselves to always come to us4 ,people in the olden times expected to see angels and they saw them2 but there is no more reason why they should have seen them than that we should see them now2 no more reason why they should come and dwell with them than that they should come and dwell with us1 for the great laws governing all things are the same today as they were then4 ,if angels come not to minister unto us it is because we do not invite them1 it is because we keep the door closed through which they otherwise might enter4 ,in the degree that we are filled with this ,spirit of ,peace by thus opening ourselves to its inflow does it pour through us1 so that we carry it with us wherever we go4 ,in the degree that we thus open ourselves do we become magnets to attract peace from all sources2 and in the degree that we attract and embody it in ourselves are we able to give it forth to others4 ,we can in this way become such perfect embodiments of peace that wherever we go we are continually shedding benedictions4 ,but a day or two ago ,i saw a woman grasp the hand of a man 7his face showed the indwelling ,god71 saying1 ,oh1 it does me so much good to see you4 ,i have been in anxiety and almost in despair during the past few hours1 but the very sight of you has rolled the burden entirely away4 ,there are people all around us who are continually giving out blessings and comfort1 persons whose mere presence seems to change sorrow into joy1 fear into courage1 despair into hope1 weakness into power4 ,it is the one who has come into the realization of his own true self who carries this power with him and who radiates it wherever he goes1--the one who1 as we say1 has found his centre4 ,and in all the great universe there is but one centre1--the ,infinite ,power that is working in and through all4 ,the one who then has found his centre is the one who has come into the realization of his oneness with this ,infinite ,power1 the one who recognizes himself as a spiritual being1 for ,god is spirit4 ,such is the man of power4 ,centred in the ,infinite1 he has thereby1 so to speak1 connected himself with1 he has attached his belts to1 the great power-house of the universe4 ,he is constantly drawing power to himself from all sources4 ,for1 thus centred1 knowing himself1 conscious of his own power1 the thoughts that go from his mind are thoughts of strength2 and by virtue of the law that like attracts like1 he by his thoughts is continually attracting to himself from all quarters the aid of all whose thoughts are thoughts of strength1 and in this way he is linking himself with this order of thought in the universe4 ,and so to him that hath1 to him shall be given4 ,this is simply the working of a natural law4 ,his strong1 positive1 and hence constructive thought is continually working success for him along all lines1 and continually bringing to him help from all directions4 ,the things that he sees1 that he creates in the ideal1 are through the agency of this strong constructive thought continually clothing themselves1 taking form1 manifesting themselves in the material4 ,silent1 unseen forces are at work which will sooner or later be made manifest in the visible4 ,fear and all thoughts of failure never suggest themselves to such a man2 or if they do1 they are immediately sent out of his mind1 and so he is not influenced by this order of thought from without4 ,he does not attract it to him4 ,he is in another current of thought4 ,consequently the weakening1 failure-bringing thoughts of the fearing1 the vacillating1 the pessimistic about him1 have no influence upon him4 ,the one who is of the negative1 fearing kind not only has his energies and his physical agents weakened1 or even paralyzed through the influence of this kind of thought that is born within him1 but he also in this way connects himself with this order of thought in the world about him4 ,and in the degree that he does this does he become a victim to the weak1 fearing1 negative minds all around him4 ,instead of growing in power1 he increases in weakness4 ,he is in the same order of thought with those of whom it is true1--and even that which they have shall be taken away from them4 ,this again is simply the working of a natural law1 the same as is its opposite4 ,fearing lest ,i lose even what ,i have ,i hide it away in a napkin4 ,very well4 ,i must then pay the price of my fearing lest ,i lose4 ,thoughts of strength both build strength from within and attract it from without4 ,thoughts of weakness actualize weakness from within and attract it from without4 ,courage begets strength1 fear begets weakness4 ,and so courage begets success1 fear begets failure4 ,it is the man or the woman of faith1 and hence of courage1 who is the master of circumstances1 and who makes his or her power felt in the world4 ,it is the man or the woman who lacks faith and who as a consequence is weakened and crippled by fears and forebodings1 who is the creature of all passing occurrences4 ,within each one lies the cause of whatever comes to him4 ,each has it in his own hands to determine what comes4 ,everything in the visible1 material world has its origin in the unseen1 the spiritual1 the thought world4 ,this is the world of cause1 the former is the world of effect4 ,the nature of the effect is always in accordance with the nature of the cause4 ,what one lives in his invisible1 thought world1 he is continually actualizing in his visible1 material world4 ,if he would have any conditions different in the latter he must make the necessary change in the former4 ,a clear realization of this great fact would bring success to thousands of men and women who all about us are now in the depths of despair4 ,it would bring health1 abounding health and strength to thousands now diseased and suffering4 ,it would bring peace and joy to thousands now unhappy and ill at ease4 ,and oh1 the thousands all about us who are continually living in the slavery of fear4 ,the spirits within that should be strong and powerful1 are rendered weak and impotent4 ,their energies are crippled1 their efforts are paralyzed4 ,fear is everywhere1--fear of want1 fear of starvation1 fear of public opinion1 fear of private opinion1 fear that what we own today may not be ours tomorrow1 fear of sickness1 fear of death4 ,fear has become with millions a fixed habit4 ,the thought is everywhere4 ,the thought is thrown upon us from every direction4 4 4 4 ,to live in continual dread1 continual cringing1 continual fear of anything1 be it loss of love1 loss of money1 loss of position or situation1 is to take the readiest means to lose what we fear we shall4 ,by fear nothing is to be gained1 but on the contrary1 everything is to be lost4 ,i know this is true1 says one1 but ,i am given to fear2 it's natural to me and ,i can't help it4 ,can't help it6 ,in saying this you indicate one great reason of your fear by showing that you do not even know yourself as yet4 ,you must know yourself in order to know your powers1 and not until you know them can you use them wisely and fully4 ,don't say you can't help it4 ,if you think you can't1 the chances are that you can't4 ,if you think you can1 and act in accordance with this thought1 then not only are the chances that you can1 but if you act fully in accordance with it1 that you can and that you will is an absolute certainty4 ,it was ,virgil who in describing the crew which in his mind would win the race1 said of them1--,they can because they think they can4 ,in other words1 this very attitude of mind on their part will infuse a spiritual power into their bodies that will give them the strength and endurance which will enable them to win4 ,then take the thought that you can2 take it merely as a seed-thought1 if need be1 plant it in your consciousness1 tend it1 cultivate it1 and it will gradually reach out and gather strength from all quarters4 ,it will focus and make positive and active the spiritual force within you that is now scattered and of little avail4 ,it will draw to itself force from without4 ,it will draw to your aid the influence of other minds of its own nature1 minds that are fearless1 strong1 courageous4 ,you will thus draw to yourself and connect yourself with this order of thought4 ,if earnest and faithful1 the time will soon come when all fear will loose its hold2 and instead of being an embodiment of weakness and a creature of circumstances1 you will find yourself a tower of strength and a master of circumstances4 ,we need more faith in every-day life1--faith in the power that works for good1 faith in the ,infinite ,god1 and hence faith in ourselves created in ,his image4 ,and however things at times may seem to go1 however dark at times appearances may be1 the knowledge of the fact that the ,supreme ,power has us in its charge as it has the suns and endless systems of worlds in space1 will give us the supreme faith that all is well with us1 the same as all is well with the world4 ,thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on ,thee4 ,there is nothing firmer1 and safer1 and surer than ,deity4 ,then1 as we recognize the fact that we have it in our own hands to open ourselves ever more fully to this ,infinite ,power1 and call upon it to manifest itself in and through us1 we will find in ourselves an ever increasing sense of power4 ,for in this way we are working in conjunction with it1 and it in turn is working in conjunction with us4 ,we are then led into the full realization of the fact that all things work together for good to those that love the good4 ,then the fears and forebodings that have dominated us in the past will be transmuted into faith1 and faith when rightly understood and rightly used is a force before which nothing can stand4 ,materialism leads naturally to pessimism4 ,and how could it do otherwise8 ,a knowledge of the ,spiritual ,power working in and through us as well as in and through all things1 a power that works for righteousness1 leads to optimism4 ,pessimism leads to weakness4 ,optimism leads to power4 ,the one who is centred in ,deity is the one who not only outrides every storm1 but who through the faith1 and so1 the conscious power that is in him1 faces storm with the same calmness and serenity that he faces fair weather2 for he knows well beforehand what the outcome will be4 ,he knows that underneath are the everlasting arms4 ,he it is who realizes the truth of the injunction1 ,rest in the ,lord1 wait patiently for ,him and ,he shall give thee thy heart's desire4 ,all shall be given1 simply given1 to him who is ready to accept it4 ,can anything be clearer than this8 ,in the degree1 then1 that we work in conjunction with the ,supreme ,power do we need the less to concern ourselves about results4 ,to live in the full realization of this fact and all that attends it brings peace1 a full1 rich1 abiding peace1--a peace that makes the present complete1 and that1 going on before1 brings back the assurance that as our days1 so shall our strength be4 ,the one who is thus centred1 even in the face of all the unrest and the turmoil about us1 can realize and say-- 99 99 99 99 ,i stay my haste1 ,i make delays1 ,for what avails this eager pace8 ,i stand amid eternal ways1 ,and what is mine shall know my face4 ,asleep1 awake1 by night or day1 ,the friends ,i seek are seeking me2 ,no wind can drive my bark astray1 ,nor change the tide of destiny4 99 99 99 99 ,the waters know their own1 and draw ,the brooks that spring in yonder height2 ,so flows the good with equal law ,unto the soul of pure delight ,the stars come nightly to the sky2 ,the tidal wave unto the sea2 ,nor time1 nor space1 nor deep1 nor high1 ,can keep my own away from me4 ,,coming ,,into ,,fullness ,,of ,,power4 ,this is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,power1 and in the degree that we open ourselves to it does power become manifest in us4 ,with ,god all things are possible1--that is1 in conjunction with ,god all things are possible4 ,the true secret of power lies in keeping one's connection with the ,god who worketh all things2 and in the degree that we keep this connection are we able literally to rise above every conceivable limitation4 ,why1 then1 waste time in running hither and thither to acquire power8 ,why waste time with this practice or that practice8 ,why not go directly to the mountain top itself1 instead of wandering through the by-ways1 in the valleys1 and on the mountain sides8 ,that man has absolute dominion1 as taught in all the scriptures of the world1 is true not of physical man1 but of spiritual man4 ,there are many animals1 for example1 larger and stronger1 over which from a physical standpoint he would not have dominion1 but he can gain supremacy over even these by calling into activity the higher mental1 psychic1 and spiritual forces with which he is endowed4 ,whatever can't be done in the physical can be done in the spiritual4 ,and in direct proportion as a man recognizes himself as spirit1 and lives accordingly1 is he able to transcend in power the man who recognizes himself merely as material4 ,all the sacred literature of the world is teeming with examples of what we call miracles4 ,they are not confined to any particular times or places4 ,there is no age of miracles in distinction from any other period that may be an age of miracles4 ,whatever has been done in the world's history can be done again through the operation of the same laws and forces4 ,these miracles were performed not by those who were more than men1 but by those who through the recognition of their oneness with ,god became ,god-men1 so that the higher forces and powers worked through them4 ,for what1 let us ask1 is a miracle8 ,is it something supernatural8 ,supernatural only in the sense of being above the natural1 or rather1 above that which is natural to man in his ordinary state4 ,a miracle is nothing more nor less than this4 ,one who has come into a knowledge of his true identity1 of his oneness with the all-pervading ,wisdom and ,power1 thus makes it possible for laws higher than the ordinary mind knows of to be revealed to him4 ,these laws he makes use of2 the people see the results1 and by virtue of their own limitations1 call them miracles and speak of the person who performs these apparently supernatural works as a supernatural being4 ,but they as supernatural beings could themselves perform these supernatural works if they would open themselves to the recognition of the same laws1 and consequently to the realization of the same possibilities and powers4 ,and let us also remember that the supernatural of yesterday becomes1 as in the process of evolution we advance from the lower to the higher1 from the more material to the more spiritual1 the common and the natural of today1 and what seems to be the supernatural of today becomes in the same way the natural of tomorrow1 and so on through the ages4 ,yes1 it is the ,god-man who does the things that appear supernatural1 the man who by virtue of his realization of the higher powers transcends the majority and so stands out among them4 ,but any power that is possible to one human soul is possible to another4 ,the same laws operate in every life4 ,we can be men and women of power or we can be men and women of impotence4 ,the moment one vitally grasps the fact that he can rise he will rise1 and he can have absolutely no limitations other than the limitations he sets to himself4 ,cream always rises to the top4 ,it rises simply because it is the nature of cream to rise4 ,we hear much said of environment4 ,we need to realize that environment should never be allowed to make the man1 but that man should always1 and always can1 condition the environment4 ,when we realize this we will find that many times it is not necessary to take ourselves out of any particular environment1 because we may yet have a work to do there2 but by the very force we carry with us we can so affect and change matters that we will have an entirely new set of conditions in an old environment4 ,the same is true in regard to hereditary traits and influences4 ,we sometimes hear the question asked1 ,can they be overcome8 ,only the one who doesn't yet know himself can ask a question such as this4 ,if we entertain and live in the belief that they cannot be overcome1 then the chances are that they will always remain4 ,the moment1 however1 that we come into a realization of our true selves1 and so of the tremendous powers and forces within1--the powers and forces of the mind and spirit1--hereditary traits and influences that are harmful in nature will begin to lessen1 and will disappear with a rapidity directly in proportion to the completeness of this realization4 ,there is no thing we cannot overcome2 ,say not thy evil instinct is inherited1 ,or that some trait inborn makes thy whole life forlorn1 ,and calls down punishment that is not merited4 ,back of thy parents and grandparents lies ,the ,great ,eternal ,will6 ,that too is thine ,inheritance1--strong1 beautiful1 divine1 ,sure lever of success for one who tries4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is no noble height thou canst not climb2 ,all triumphs may be thine in ,time's futurity1 ,if1 whatso'er thy fault1 thou dost not faint or halt2 ,but lean upon the staff of ,god's security4 ,earth has no claim the soul cannot contest2 ,know thyself part of the ,eternal ,source2 ,naught can stand before thy spirit's force2 ,the soul's ,divine ,inheritance is best4 ,again there are many who are living far below their possibilities because they are continually handing over their individualities to others4 ,do you want to be a power in the world8 ,then be yourself4 ,don't class yourself1 don't allow yourself to be classed among the second-hand1 among the they-say people4 ,be true to the highest within your own soul1 and then allow yourself to be governed by no customs or conventionalities or arbitrary man-made rules that are not founded upon principle4 ,those things that are founded upon principle will be observed by the right-minded1 the right-hearted man or woman1 in any case4 ,don't surrender your individuality1 which is your greatest agent of power1 to the customs and conventionalities that have gotten their life from the great mass of those who haven't enough force to preserve their individualities1--those who in other words have given them over as ingredients to the mush of concession which one of our greatest writers has said characterizes our modern society4 ,if you do surrender your individuality in this way1 you simply aid in increasing the undesirable conditions2 in payment for this you become a slave1 and the chances are that in time you will be unable to hold even the respect of those whom you in this way try to please4 ,if you preserve your individuality then you become a master1 and if wise and discreet1 your influence and power will be an aid in bringing about a higher1 a better1 and a more healthy set of conditions in the world4 ,all people1 moreover1 will think more of you1 will honor you more highly for doing this than if you show your weakness by contributing yourself to the same mush of concession that so many of them are contributing themselves to4 ,with all classes of people you will then have an influence4 ,a great style of hero draws equally all classes1 all extremes of society to him1 till we say the very dogs believe in him4 ,to be one's self is the only worthy1 and by all means the only satisfactory1 thing to be4 ,may it not be good policy1 says one1 to be governed sometimes by one's surroundings8 ,what is good policy8 ,to be yourself1 first1 last1 and always4 ,this above all1--to thine own self be true2 ,and it must follow1 as the night the day1 ,thou canst not then be false to any man4 ,when we appeal to the ,supreme and our life is governed by a principle1 we are not governed either by fear of public opinion or loss of others' approbation1 and we may be sure that the ,supreme will sustain us4 ,if in any way we try to live to suit others we never shall suit them1 and the more we try the more unreasonable and exacting do they become4 ,the government of your life is a matter that lies entirely between ,god and yourself1 and when your life is swayed and influenced from any other source you are on the wrong path4 ,when we find the kingdom within and become centred in the ,infinite1 then we become a law unto ourselves4 ,when we become a law unto ourselves1 then we are able to bring others to a knowledge of laws higher than they are governed or many times even enslaved by4 ,when we have found this centre1 then that beautiful simplicity1 at once the charm and the power of a truly great personality1 enters into our lives4 ,then all striving for effect1--that sure indicator of weakness and a lack of genuine power1--is absent4 ,this striving for effect that is so common is always an indicator of a lack of something4 ,it brings to mind the man who rides behind a dock-tailed horse4 ,conscious of the fact that there is not enough in himself to attract attention1 in common with a number of other weaklings1 he adopts the brutal method of having his horse's tail sawed off1 that its unnatural1 odd appearance may attract from people the attention that he of himself is unable to secure4 ,but the one who strives for effect is always fooled more than he succeeds in fooling others4 ,the man and the woman of true wisdom and insight can always see the causes that prompt1 the motives that underlie the acts of all with whom he or she comes in contact4 ,he is great who is what he is from nature and who never reminds us of others4 ,the men and the women who are truly awake to the real powers within are the men and women who seem to be doing so little1 yet who in reality are doing so much4 ,they seem to be doing so little because they are working with higher agencies1 and yet are doing so much because of this very fact4 ,they do their work on the higher plane4 ,they keep so completely their connection with the ,infinite ,power that ,it does the work for them and they are relieved of the responsibility4 ,they are the care-less people4 ,they are care-less because it is the ,infinite ,power that is working through them1 and with this ,infinite ,power they are simply co-operating4 ,the secret of the highest power is simply the uniting of the outer agencies of expression with the ,power that works from within4 ,are you a painter8 ,then in the degree that you open yourself to the power of the forces within will you become great instead of mediocre4 ,you can never put into permanent form inspirations higher than those that come through your own soul4 ,in order for the higher inspirations to come through it1 you must open your soul1 you must open it fully to the ,supreme ,source of all inspiration4 ,are you an orator8 ,in the degree that you come into harmony and work in conjunction with the higher powers that will speak through you will you have the real power of moulding and of moving men4 ,if you use merely your physical agents1 you will be simply a demagogue4 ,if you open yourself so that the voice of ,god can speak through and use your physical agents1 you will become a great and true orator1 great and true in just the degree that you so open yourself4 ,are you a singer8 ,then open yourself and let the ,god within pour forth in the spirit of song4 ,you will find it a thousand times easier than all your long and studied practice without this1 and other things being equal1 there will come to you a power of song so enchanting and so enrapturing that its influence upon all who hear will be irresistible4 ,when my cabin or tent has been pitched during the summer on the edge or in the midst of a forest1 ,i have sometimes lain awake on my cot in the early morning1 just as the day was beginning to break4 ,silence at first4 ,then an intermittent chirp here and there4 ,and as the unfolding tints of the dawn became faintly perceptible1 these grew more and more frequent1 until by and by the whole forest seemed to burst forth in one grand chorus of song4 ,wonderful6 wonderful6 ,it seemed as if the very trees1 as if every grass-blade1 as if the bushes1 the very sky above1 and the earth beneath1 had part in this wonderful symphony4 ,then1 as ,i have listened as it went on and on1 ,i have thought4 ,what a study in the matter of song6 ,if we could but learn from the birds4 ,if we could but open ourselves to the same powers and allow them to pour forth in us1 what singers1 what movers of men we might have6 ,nay1 what singers and what movers of men we would have6 ,do you know the circumstances under which ,mr4 ,sankey sang for the first time ,the ,ninety and ,nine8 ,says one of our able journals3 ,at a great meeting recently in ,denver1 ,mr4 ,ira ,w4 ,sankey1 before singing ',the ,ninety and ,nine1' which1 perhaps1 of all his compositions is the one that has brought him the most fame1 gave an account of its birth4 ,leaving ,glasgow for ,edinburg with ,mr4 ,moody1 he stopped at a news-stand and bought a penny religious paper4 ,glancing over it as they rode on the cars1 his eye fell on a few little verses in the corner of the page4 ,turning to ,mr4 ,moody he said1 ',i've found my hymn4' ,but ,mr4 ,moody was busily engaged and did not hear a word4 ,mr4 ,sankey did not find time to make a tune for the verses1 so he pasted them in his music scrapbook4 ,one day they had an unusually impressive meeting in ,edinburg1 in which ,dr4 ,bonar had spoken with great effect on ',the ,good ,shepherd4' ,at the close of the address ,mr4 ,moody beckoned to his partner to sing4 ,he thought of nothing but the ,twenty-third ,psalm1 but that he had sung so often4 ,his second thought was to sing the verses he had found in the newspaper1 but the third thought was1 how could it be done when he had no tune4 ,then a fourth thought came1 and that was to sing them anyway4 ,he put the verses before him1 touched the keys of the organ1 opened his mouth and sang1 not knowing where he was going to come out4 ,he finished the first verse amid profound silence4 ,he took a long breath and wondered if he could sing the second the same way4 ,he tried and succeeded2 after that it was easy to sing it4 ,when he finished the hymn the meeting was all broken down and the throngs were crying4 ,mr4 ,sankey says it was the most intense moment of his life4 ,mr4 ,moody said he never heard a song like it4 ,it was sung at every meeting1 and was soon going over the world4 ,when we open ourselves to the highest inspirations they never fail us4 ,when we fail to do this we fail in attaining the highest results1 whatever the undertaking4 ,are you a writer8 ,then remember that the one great precept underlying all successful literary work is1 ,look into thine own heart and write4 ,be true4 ,be fearless4 ,be loyal to the promptings of your own soul4 ,remember that an author can never write more than he himself is4 ,if he would write more1 then he must be more4 ,he is simply his own amanuensis4 ,he in a sense writes himself into his book4 ,he can put no more into it than he himself is4 ,if he is one of a great personality1 strong in purpose1 deep in feeling1 open always to the highest inspirations1 a certain indefinable something gets into his pages that makes them breathe forth a vital1 living power1 a power so great that each reader gets the same inspirations as those that spoke through the author4 ,that that's written between the lines is many times more than that that's written in the lines4 ,it is the spirit of the author that engenders this power4 ,it is this that gives that extra twenty-five or thirty per cent that takes a book out of the class called medium and lifts it into the class called superior1--that extra per cent that makes it the one of the hundred that is truly successful1 while the ninety-nine never see more than their first edition4 ,it is this same spiritual power that the author of a great personality puts into his work1 that causes it to go so rapidly from reader to reader2 for the only way that any book circulates in the ultimate is from mouth to mouth1 any book that reaches a large circulation4 ,it is this that many times causes a single reader1 in view of its value to himself1 to purchase numbers of copies for others4 ,a good poem1 says ,emerson1 goes about the world offering itself to reasonable men1 who read it with joy and carry it to their reasonable neighbors4 ,thus it draws to it the wise and generous souls1 confirming their secret thoughts1 and through their sympathy really publishing itself4 ,this is the type of author who writes not with the thought of having what he writes become literature1 but he writes with the sole thought of reaching the hearts of the people1 giving them something of vital value1 something that will broaden1 sweeten1 enrich1 and beautify their lives2 that will lead them to the finding of the higher life and with it the higher powers and the higher joys4 ,it most always happens1 however1 that if he succeeds in thus reaching the people1 the becoming literature part somehow takes care of itself1 and far better than if he aimed for it directly4 ,the one1 on the other hand1 who fears to depart from beaten paths1 who allows himself to be bound by arbitrary rules1 limits his own creative powers in just the degree that he allows himself so to be bound4 ,my book1 says one of the greatest of modern authors1 shall smell of the pines and resound with the hum of insects4 ,the swallow over my window shall interweave that thread or straw he carries in his bill into my web also4 ,far better1 gentle sage1 to have it smell of the pines and resound with the hum of insects than to have it sound of the rules that a smaller type of man gets by studying the works of a few great1 fearless writers like yourself1 and formulating from what he thus gains a handbook of rhetoric4 ,of no use are the men who study to do exactly as was done before1 who can never understand that today is a new day4 ,when ,shakspeare is charged with debts to his authors1 ,landor replies3 ,yet he was more original than his originals4 ,he breathed upon dead bodies and brought them into life4 ,this is the type of man who doesn't move the world's way1 but who moves the world his way4 ,i had rather be an amanuensis of the ,infinite ,god1 as it is my privilege literally to be1 than a slave to the formulated rules of any rhetorician1 or to the opinions of any critic4 ,oh1 the people1 the people over and over6 ,let me give something to them that will lighten the every-day struggles of our common life1 something that will add a little sweetness here1 a little hope there1 something that will make more thoughtful1 kind1 and gentle this thoughtless1 animal-natured man1 something that will awaken into activity the dormant powers of this timid1 shrinking little woman1 powers that when awakened will be irresistible in their influence and that will surprise even herself4 ,let me give something that will lead each one to the knowledge of the divinity of every human soul1 something that will lead each one to the conscious realization of his own divinity1 with all its attendant riches1 and glories1 and powers1--let me succeed in doing this1 and ,i can then well afford to be careless as to whether the critics praise or whether they blame4 ,if it is blame1 then under these circumstances it is as the cracking of a few dead sticks on the ground below1 compared to the matchless music that the soft spring gale is breathing through the great pine forest4 ,are you a minister1 or a religious teacher of any kind8 ,then in the degree that you free yourself from the man-made theological dogmas that have held and that are holding and limiting so many1 and in the degree that you open yourself to the ,divine ,breath1 will you be one who will speak with authority4 ,in the degree that you do this will you study the prophets less and be in the way of becoming a prophet yourself4 ,the way is open for you exactly the same as it has ever been open for anyone4 ,if when born into the world you came into a family of the ,english-speaking race1 then in all probability you are a ,christian4 ,to be a ,christian is to be a follower of the teachings of ,jesus1 the ,christ2 to live in harmony with the same laws he lived in harmony with3 in brief1 to live his life4 ,the great central fact of his teaching was this conscious union of man with the ,father4 ,it was the complete realization of this oneness with the ,father on his part that made ,jesus the ,christ4 ,it was through this that he attained to the power he attained to1 that he spake as never man spake4 ,he never claimed for himself anything that he did not claim equally for all mankind4 ,the mighty works performed by ,jesus were not exceptional1 they were the natural and necessary concomitants of his state2 he declared them to be in accordance with unvarying order2 he spoke of them as no unique performances1 but as the outcome of a state to which all might attain if they chose4 ,as a teacher and demonstrator of truth1 according to his own confession1 he did nothing for the purpose of proving his solitary divinity4 4 4 4 ,the life and triumph of ,jesus formed an epoch in the history of the race4 ,his coming and victory marked a new era in human affairs2 he introduced a new because a more complete ideal to the earth1 and when his three most intimate companions saw in some measure what the new life really signified1 they fell to the earth1 speechless with awe and admiration4 ,by coming into this complete realization of his oneness with the ,father1 by mastering1 absolutely mastering every circumstance that crossed his path through life1 even to the death of the body1 and by pointing out to us the great laws which are the same for us as they were for him1 he has given us an ideal of life1 an ideal for us to attain to here and now1 that we could not have without him4 ,one has conquered first2 all may conquer afterward4 ,by completely realizing it first for himself1 and then by pointing out to others this great law of the at-one-ment with the ,father1 he has become probably the world's greatest saviour4 ,don't mistake his mere person for his life and his teachings1 an error that has been made in connection with most all great teachers by their disciples over and over again4 ,and if you have been among the number who have been preaching a dead ,christ1 then for humanity's sake1 for ,christ's sake1 for ,god's sake1 and ,i speak most reverently1 don't steal the people's time any longer1 don't waste your own time more1 in giving them stones in place of bread1 dead form for the spirit of living truth4 ,in his own words1 let the dead bury their dead4 ,come out from among them4 ,teach as did ,jesus1 the living ,christ4 ,teach as did ,jesus1 the ,christ within4 ,find this in all its transcendent beauty and power1--find it as ,jesus found it1 then you also will be one who will speak with authority4 ,then you will be able to lead large numbers of others to its finding4 ,this is the pearl of great price4 ,it is the type of preacher whose soul has never as yet even perceived the vital spirit of the teachings of ,jesus1 and who as a consequence instead of giving this to the people1 is giving them old forms and dogmas and speculations1 who is emptying our churches4 ,this is the type whose chief efforts seem to be in getting men ready to die4 ,the ,germans have a saying1 ,never go to the second thing first4 ,we need men who will teach us first how to live4 ,living quite invariably precedes dying4 ,this also is true1 that when we once know how to live1 and live in accordance with what we know1 then the dying1 as we term it1 will in a wonderfully beautiful manner take care of itself4 ,it is in fact the only way in which it can be taken care of4 ,it is on account of this emptying of our churches1 for the reason that the people are tiring of mere husks1 that many short-sighted people are frequently heard to say that religion is dying out4 ,religion dying out8 ,how can anything die before it is really born8 ,and so far as the people are concerned1 religion is just being born1 or rather they are just awaking to a vital1 every-day religion4 ,we are just beginning to get beyond the mere letter into its real1 vital spirit4 ,religion dying out8 ,impossible even to conceive of4 ,religion is as much a part of the human soul as the human soul is a part of ,god4 ,and as long as ,god and the human soul exist1 religion will never die4 ,much of the dogma1 the form1 the ceremony1 the mere letter that has stood as religion1--and honestly1 many times1 let us be fair enough to say1--this1 thank ,god1 is rapidly dying out1 and never so rapidly as it is today4 ,by two methods it is dying4 ,there is1 first1 a large class of people tired of or even nauseated with it all1 who conscientiously prefer to have nothing rather than this4 ,they are simply abandoning it1 the same as a tree abandons its leaves when the early winter comes4 ,there is1 second1 a large class in whom the ,divine ,breath is stirring1 who are finding the ,christ within in all its matchless beauty and redeeming power4 ,and this new life is pushing off the old1 the same as in the spring the newly awakened life in the tree pushes off the old1 lifeless leaves that have clung on during the winter1 to make place for the new ones4 ,and the way this old dead leaf religion is being pushed off on every hand is indeed most interesting and inspiring to witness4 ,let the places of those who have been emptying our churches by reason of their attempts to give stones for bread1 husks and chaff for the life-giving grain1 let their places be taken even for but a few times by those who are open and alive to these higher inspirations1 and then let us again question those who feel that religion is dying out4 ,it is the live coal that kindles others1 not the dead4 ,let their places be taken by those who have caught the inspiration of the ,divine ,breath1 who as a consequence have a message of mighty value and import for the people1 who by virtue of this same fact are able to present it with a beauty and a power so enrapturing that it takes captive the soul4 ,then we will find that the churches that today are dotted here and there with a few dozen people will be filled to overflowing1 and there will not be even room enough for all who would enter4 ,let the shell perish that the pearl may appear4 ,we need no new revelations as yet4 ,we need simply to find the vital spirit of those we already have4 ,then in due time1 when we are ready for them1 new ones will come1 but not before4 ,what the human soul1 all the world over1 needs1 says ,john ,pulsford1 is not to be harangued1 however eloquently1 about the old1 accepted religion1 but to be permeated1 charmed1 and taken captive by a warmer and more potent ,breath of ,god than they ever felt before4 ,and ,i should not be true to my personal experience if ,i did not bear testimony that this ,divine ,breath is as exquisitely adapted to the requirements of the soul's nature as a ,june morning to the planet4 ,nor does the morning breath leave the trees freer to delight themselves and develop themselves under its influence than the ,breath of ,god allows each human mind to unfold according to its genius4 ,nothing stirs the central wheel of the soul like the ,breath of ,god4 ,the whole man is quickened1 his senses are new senses1 his emotions new emotions2 his reason1 his affections1 his imagination1 are all new-born4 ,the change is greater than he knows2 he marvels at the powers in himself which the ,breath is opening and calling forth4 ,he finds his nature to be an unutterable thing2 he is sure therefore that the future must have inconceivable surprises in store4 ,and herein lies the evidence1 which ,i commend to my readers1 of the existence of ,god1 and of the ,eternal human ,hope4 ,let ,god's ,breath kindle new spring-time in the soul1 start into life its deeply buried germs1 lead in heaven's summer2 you will then have as clear evidence of ,god from within as you have of the universe from without4 ,indeed1 your internal experience of life1 and illimitable ,hope in ,god will be nearer to you1 and more prevailing1 than all your external and superficial experience of nature and the world4 ,there is but one source of power in the universe4 ,whatever then you are1 painter1 orator1 musician1 writer1 religious teacher1 or whatever it may be1 know that to catch and take captive the secret of power is so to work in conjunction with the ,infinite ,power1 in order that it may continually work and manifest through you4 ,if you fail in doing this1 you fail in everything4 ,if you fail in doing this1 your work1 whatever it may be1 will be third or fourth rate1 possibly at times second rate1 but it positively never can be first rate4 ,absolutely impossible will it be for you ever to become a master4 ,whatever estimate you put upon yourself will determine the effectiveness of your work along any line4 ,as long as you live merely in the physical and the intellectual1 you set limitations to yourself that will hold you as long as you so live4 ,when1 however1 you come into the realization of your oneness with the ,infinite ,life and ,power1 and open yourself that it may work through you1 you will find that you have entered upon an entirely new phase of life1 and that an ever increasing power will be yours4 ,then it will be true that your strength will be as the strength of ten because your heart is pure4 ,o ,god6 ,i am one forever ,with ,thee by the glory of birth2 ,the celestial powers proclaim it ,to the utmost bounds of the earth4 ,i think of this birthright immortal1 ,and my being expands like a rose1 ,as an odorous cloud of incense ,around and above me flows4 ,a glorious song of rejoicing ,in an innermost spirit ,i hear1 ,and it sounds like heavenly voices1 ,in a chorus divine and clear4 ,and ,i feel a power uprising1 ,like the power of an embryo god2 ,with a glorious wall it surrounds me1 ,and lifts me up from the sod4 ,,plenty ,,of ,,all ,,things--,,the ,,law ,,of ,,prosperity4 ,this is the ,spirit of ,infinite ,plenty1 the ,power that has brought1 that is continually bringing1 all things into expression in material form4 ,he who lives in the realization of his oneness with this ,infinite ,power becomes a magnet to attract to himself a continual supply of whatsoever things he desires4 ,if one hold himself in the thought of poverty1 he will be poor1 and the chances are that he will remain in poverty4 ,if he hold himself1 whatever present conditions may be1 continually in the thought of prosperity1 he sets into operation forces that will sooner or later bring him into prosperous conditions4 ,the law of attraction works unceasingly throughout the universe1 and the one great and never changing fact in connection with it is1 as we have found1 that like attracts like4 ,if we are one with this ,infinite ,power1 this source of all things1 then in the degree that we live in the realization of this oneness1 in that degree do we actualize in ourselves a power that will bring to us an abundance of all things that it is desirable for us to have4 ,in this way we come into possession of a power whereby we can actualize at all times those conditions that we desire4 ,as all truth exists now1 and awaits simply our perception of it1 so all things necessary for present needs exist now1 and await simply the power in us to appropriate them4 ,god holds all things in ,his hands4 ,his constant word is1 ,my child1 acknowledge me in all your ways1 and in the degree that you do this1 in the degree that you live this1 then what is mine is yours4 ,jehovah-jireh1--the ,lord will provide4 ,he giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not4 ,he giveth liberally to all men who put themselves in the right attitude to receive from ,him4 ,he forces no good things upon any one4 ,the old and somewhat prevalent idea of godliness and poverty has absolutely no basis for its existence1 and the sooner we get away from it the better4 ,it had its birth in the same way that the idea of asceticism came into existence1 when the idea prevailed that there was necessarily a warfare between the flesh and the spirit4 ,it had its origin therefore in the minds of those who had a distorted1 a one-sided view of life4 ,true godliness is in a sense the same as true wisdom4 ,the one who is truly wise1 and who uses the forces and powers with which he is endowed1 to him the great universe always opens her treasure house4 ,the supply is always equal to the demand1--equal to the demand when the demand is rightly1 wisely made4 ,when one comes into the realization of these higher laws1 then the fear of want ceases to tyrannize over him4 ,are you out of a situation8 ,let the fear that you will not get another take hold of and dominate you1 and the chances are that it may be a long time before you will get another1 or the one that you do get may be a very poor one indeed4 ,whatever the circumstances1 you must realize that you have within you forces and powers that you can set into operation that will triumph over any and all apparent or temporary losses4 ,set these forces into operation and you will then be placing a magnet that will draw to you a situation that may be far better than the one you have lost1 and the time may soon come when you will be even thankful that you lost the old one4 ,recognize1 working in and through you1 the same ,infinite ,power that creates and governs all things in the universe1 the same ,infinite ,power that governs the endless systems of worlds in space4 ,send out your thought1--thought is a force1 and it has occult power of unknown proportions when rightly used and wisely directed1--send out your thought that the right situation or the right work will come to you at the right time1 in the right way1 and that you will recognize it when it comes4 ,hold to this thought1 never allow it to weaken1 hold to it1 and continually water it with firm expectation4 ,you in this way put your advertisement into a psychical1 a spiritual newspaper1 a paper that has not a limited circulation1 but one that will make its way not only to the utmost bounds of the earth1 but of the very universe itself4 ,it is an advertisement1 moreover1 which if rightly placed on your part1 will be far more effective than any advertisement you could possibly put into any printed sheet1 no matter what claims are made in regard to its being the great advertising medium4 ,in the degree that you come into this realization and live in harmony with the higher laws and forces1 in that degree will you be able to do this effectively4 ,if you wish to look through the want columns of the newspapers1 then do it not in the ordinary way4 ,put the higher forces into operation and thus place it on a higher basis4 ,as you take up the paper1 take this attitude of mind3 ,if there is here an advertisement that it will be well for me to reply to1 the moment ,i come to it ,i will recognize it4 ,affirm this1 believe it1 expect it4 ,if you do this in full faith you will somehow feel the intuition the moment you come to the right one1 and this intuition will be nothing more nor less than your own soul speaking to you4 ,when it speaks then act at once4 ,if you get the situation and it does not prove to be exactly what you want1 if you feel that you are capable of filling a better one1 then the moment you enter upon it take the attitude of mind that this situation is the stepping-stone that will lead you to one that will be still better4 ,hold this thought steadily1 affirm it1 believe it1 expect it1 and all the time be faithful1 absolutely faithful to the situation in which you are at present placed4 ,if you are not faithful to it then the chances are that it will not be the stepping-stone to something better1 but to something poorer4 ,if you are faithful to it1 the time may soon come when you will be glad and thankful1 when you will rejoice1 that you lost your old position4 ,this is the law of prosperity3 ,when apparent adversity comes1 be not cast down by it1 but make the best of it1 and always look forward for better things1 for conditions more prosperous4 ,to hold yourself in this attitude of mind is to set into operation subtle1 silent1 and irresistible forces that sooner or later will actualize in material form that which is today merely an idea4 ,but ideas have occult power1 and ideas1 when rightly planted and rightly tended1 are the seeds that actualize material conditions4 ,never give a moment to complaint1 but utilize the time that would otherwise be spent in this way in looking forward and actualizing the conditions you desire4 ,suggest prosperity to yourself4 ,see yourself in a prosperous condition4 ,affirm that you will before long be in a prosperous condition4 ,affirm it calmly and quietly1 but strongly and confidently4 ,believe it1 believe it absolutely4 ,expect it1--keep it continually watered with expectation4 ,you thus make yourself a magnet to attract the things that you desire4 ,don't be afraid to suggest1 to affirm these things1 for by so doing you put forth an ideal which will begin to clothe itself in material form4 ,in this way you are utilizing agents among the most subtle and powerful in the universe4 ,if you are particularly desirous for anything that you feel it is good and right for you to have1 something that will broaden your life or that will increase your usefulness to others1 simply hold the thought that at the right time1 in the right way1 and through the right instrumentality1 there will come to you or there will open up for you the way whereby you can attain what you desire4 ,i know of a young lady who a short time ago wanted some money very badly4 ,she wanted it for a good purpose2 she saw no reason why she shouldn't have it4 ,she is one who has come into an understanding of the power of the interior forces4 ,she took and held herself in the attitude of mind we have just pointed out4 ,in the morning she entered into the silence for a few moments4 ,in this way she brought herself into a more complete harmony with the higher powers4 ,before the day closed a gentleman called1 a member of a family with which she was acquainted4 ,he asked her if she would do for the family some work that they wanted done4 ,she was a little surprised that they should ask her to do this particular kind of work1 but she said to herself1 ,here is a call4 ,i will respond and see what it will lead to4 ,she undertook the work4 ,she did it well4 ,when she had completed it there was put into her hands an amount of money far beyond what she had expected4 ,she felt that it was an amount too large for the work she had done4 ,she protested4 ,they replied1 ,no2 you have done us a service that transcends in value the amount we offer to pay you4 ,the sum thus received was more than sufficient for the work she wished to accomplish4 ,this is but one of many instances in connection with the wise and effective use of the higher powers4 ,it also carries a lesson1--,don't fold your hands and expect to see things drop into your lap1 but set into operation the higher forces and then take hold of the first thing that offers itself4 ,do what your hands find to do1 and do it well4 ,if this work is not thoroughly satisfactory to you1 then affirm1 believe1 and expect that it is the agency that will lead you to something better4 ,the basis for attracting the best of all the world can give to you is to first surround1 own1 and live in these things in mind1 or what is falsely called imagination4 ,all so-called imaginings are realities and forces of unseen element4 ,live in mind in a palace and gradually palatial surroundings will gravitate to you4 ,but so living is not pining1 or longing1 or complainingly wishing4 ,it is when you are 'down in the world1' calmly and persistently seeing yourself as up4 ,it is when you are now compelled to eat from a tin plate1 regarding that tin plate as only the certain step to one of silver4 ,it is not envying and growling at other people who have silver plate4 ,that growling is just so much capital stock taken from the bank account of mental force4 ,a friend who knows the power of the interior forces1 and whose life is guided in every detail by them1 has given a suggestion in this form3 ,when you are in the arms of the bear1 even though he is hugging you1 look him in the face and laugh1 but all the time keep your eye on the bull4 ,if you allow all of your attention to be given to the work of the bear1 the bull may get entirely out of your sight4 ,in other words1 if you yield to adversity the chances are that it will master you1 but if you recognize in yourself the power of mastery over conditions then adversity will yield to you1 and will be changed into prosperity4 ,if when it comes you calmly and quietly recognize it1 and use the time that might otherwise be spent in regrets1 and fears1 and forebodings1 in setting into operation the powerful forces within you1 it will soon take its leave4 ,faith1 absolute dogmatic faith1 is the only law of true success4 ,when we recognize the fact that a man carries his success or his failure with him1 and that it does not depend upon outside conditions1 we will come into the possession of powers that will quickly change outside conditions into agencies that make for success4 ,when we come into this higher realization and bring our lives into complete harmony with the higher laws1 we will then be able so to focus and direct the awakened interior forces1 that they will go out and return laden with that for which they are sent4 ,we will then be great enough to attract success1 and it will not always be apparently just a little ways ahead4 ,we can then establish in ourselves a centre so strong that instead of running hither and thither for this or that1 we can stay at home and draw to us the conditions we desire4 ,if we firmly establish and hold to this centre1 things will seem continually to come our way4 ,the majority of people of the modern world are looking for things that are practical and that can be utilized in every-day life4 ,the more carefully we examine into the laws underlying the great truths we are considering1 the more we will find that they are not only eminently practical1 but in a sense1 and in the deepest and truest sense1 they are the only practical things there are4 ,there are people who continually pride themselves upon being exceedingly practical1 but many times those who of themselves think nothing about this are the most practical people the world knows4 ,and1 on the other hand1 those who take great pride in speaking of their own practicality are many times the least practical4 ,or again1 in some ways they may be practical1 but so far as life in its totality is concerned1 they are absurdly impractical4 ,what profit1 for example1 can there be for the man who1 materially speaking1 though he has gained the whole world1 has never yet become acquainted with his own soul8 ,there are multitudes of men all about us who are entirely missing the real life1 men who have not learned even the a1 b1 c of true living4 ,slaves they are1 abject slaves to their temporary material accumulations4 ,men who thinking they possess their wealth are on the contrary completely possessed by it4 ,men whose lives are comparatively barren in service to those about them and to the world at large4 ,men who when they can no longer hold the body1--the agency by means of which they are related to the material world1--will go out poor indeed1 pitiably poor4 ,unable to take even the smallest particle of their accumulations with them1 they will enter upon the other form of life naked and destitute4 ,the kindly deeds1 the developed traits of character1 the realized powers of the soul1 the real riches of the inner life and unfoldment1 all those things that become our real and eternal possessions1 have been given no place in their lives1 and so of the real things of life they are destitute4 ,nay1 many times worse than destitute4 ,we must not suppose that habits once formed are any more easily broken off in the other form of life than they are in this4 ,if one voluntarily grows a certain mania here1 we must not suppose that the mere dropping of the body makes all conditions perfect4 ,all is law1 all is cause and effect4 ,as we sow1 so shall we also reap1 not only in this life but in all lives4 ,he who is enslaved with the sole desire for material possessions here will continue to be enslaved even after he can no longer retain his body4 ,then1 moreover1 he will have not even the means of gratifying his desires4 ,dominated by this habit1 he will be unable to set his affections1 for a time at least1 upon other things1 and the desire1 without the means of gratifying it will be doubly torturing to him4 ,perchance this torture may be increased by his seeing the accumulations he thought were his now being scattered and wasted by spendthrifts4 ,he wills his property1 as we say1 to others1 but he can have no word as to its use4 ,how foolish1 then1 for us to think that any material possessions are ours4 ,how absurd1 for example1 for one to fence off a number of acres of ,god's earth and say they are his4 ,nothing is ours that we cannot retain4 ,the things that come into our hands come not for the purpose of being possessed1 as we say1 much less for the purpose of being hoarded4 ,they come into our hands to be used1 to be wisely used4 ,we are stewards merely1 and as stewards we shall be held accountable for the way we use whatever is entrusted to us4 ,that great law of compensation that runs through all life is wonderfully exact in its workings1 although we may not always fully comprehend it1 or even recognize it when it operates in connection with ourselves4 ,the one who has come into the realization of the higher life no longer has a desire for the accumulation of enormous wealth1 any more than he has a desire for any other excess4 ,in the degree that he comes into the recognition of the fact that he is wealthy within1 external wealth becomes less important in his estimation4 ,when he comes into the realization of the fact that there is a source within from which he can put forth a power to call to him and actualize in his hands at any time a sufficient supply for all his needs1 he no longer burdens himself with vast material accumulations that require his constant care and attention1 and thus take his time and his thought from the real things of life4 ,in other words1 he first finds the kingdom1 and he realizes that when he has found this1 all other things follow in full measure4 ,it is as hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven1 said the ,master1--he who having nothing had everything1--as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle4 ,in other words1 if a man give all his time to the accumulation1 the hoarding of outward material possessions far beyond what he can possibly ever use1 what time has he for the finding of that wonderful kingdom1 which when found1 brings all else with it4 ,which is better1 to have millions of dollars1 and to have the burden of taking care of it all1--for the one always involves the other1--or to come into the knowledge of such laws and forces that every need will be supplied in good time1 to know that no good thing shall be withheld1 to know that we have it in our power to make the supply always equal to the demand8 ,the one who enters into the realm of this higher knowledge1 never cares to bring upon himself the species of insanity that has such a firm hold upon so many in the world today4 ,he avoids it as he would avoid any loathsome disease of the body4 ,when we come into the realization of the higher powers1 we will then be able to give more attention to the real life1 instead of giving so much to the piling up of vast possessions that hamper rather than help it4 ,it is the medium ground that brings the true solution here1 the same as it is in all phases of life4 ,wealth beyond a certain amount cannot be used1 and when it cannot be used it then becomes a hindrance rather than an aid1 a curse rather than a blessing4 ,all about us are persons with lives now stunted and dwarfed who could make them rich and beautiful1 filled with a perennial joy1 if they would begin wisely to use that which they have spent the greater portion of their lives in accumulating4 ,the man who accumulates during his entire life1 and who leaves even all when he goes out for benevolent purposes1 comes far short of the ideal life4 ,it is but a poor excuse of a life4 ,it is not especially commendable in me to give a pair of old1 worn-out shoes that ,i shall never use again to another who is in need of shoes4 ,but it is commendable1 if indeed doing anything we ought to do can be spoken of as being commendable1 it is commendable for me to give a good pair of strong shoes to the man who in the midst of a severe winter is practically shoeless1 the man who is exerting every effort to earn an honest living and thereby take care of his family's needs4 ,and if in giving the shoes ,i also give myself1 he then has a double gift1 and ,i a double blessing4 ,there is no wiser use that those who have great accumulations can make of them than wisely to put them into life1 into character1 day by day while they live4 ,in this way their lives will be continually enriched and increased4 ,the time will come when it will be regarded as a disgrace for a man to die and leave vast accumulations behind him4 ,many a person is living in a palace today who in the real life is poorer than many a one who has not even a roof to cover him4 ,a man may own and live in a palace1 but the palace for him may be a pool-house still4 ,moth and rust are nature's wise provisions--,god's methods--for disintegrating and scattering1 in this way getting ready for use in new forms1 that which is hoarded and consequently serving no use4 ,there is also a great law continually operating whose effects are to dwarf and deaden the powers of true enjoyment1 as well as all the higher faculties of the one who hoards4 ,multitudes of people are continually keeping away from them higher and better things because they are forever clinging on to the old4 ,if they would use and pass on the old1 room would be made for new things to come4 ,hoarding always brings loss in one form or another4 ,using1 wisely using1 brings an ever renewing gain4 ,if the tree should as ignorantly and as greedily hold on to this year's leaves when they have served their purpose1 where would be the full and beautiful new life that will be put forth in the spring8 ,gradual decay and finally death would be the result4 ,if the tree is already dead1 then it may perhaps be well enough for it to cling on to the old1 for no new leaves will come4 ,but as long as the life in the tree is active1 it is necessary that it rid itself of the old ones1 that room may be made for the new4 ,opulence is the law of the universe1 an abundant supply for every need if nothing is put in the way of its coming4 ,the natural and the normal life for us is this1--,to have such a fullness of life and power by living so continually in the realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life and ,power that we find ourselves in the constant possession of an abundant supply of all things needed4 ,then not by hoarding but by wisely using and ridding ourselves of things as they come1 an ever renewing supply will be ours1 a supply far better adapted to present needs than the old could possibly be4 ,in this way we not only come into possession of the richest treasures of the ,infinite ,good ourselves1 but we also become open channels through which they can flow to others4 ,,how ,,men ,,have ,,become ,,prophets1 ,,seers1 ,,sages1 ,,and ,,saviours4 ,i have tried thus far to deal fairly with you in presenting these vital truths1 and have spoken of everything on the basis of our own reason and insight4 ,it has been my aim to base nothing on the teachings of others1 though they may be the teachings of those inspired4 ,let us now look for a moment at these same great truths in the light of the thoughts and the teachings as put forth by some of the world's great thinkers and inspired teachers4 ,the sum and substance of the thought presented in these pages is1 you will remember1 that the great central fact in human life is the coming into a conscious1 vital realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 and the opening of ourselves fully to this divine inflow4 ,i and the ,father are one1 said the ,master4 ,in this we see how he recognized his oneness with the ,father's life4 ,again he said1 ,the words that ,i speak unto you ,i speak not of myself3 but the ,father that dwelleth in me1 ,he doeth the works4 ,in this we see how clearly he recognized the fact that he of himself could do nothing1 only as he worked in conjunction with the ,father4 ,again1 ,my ,father works and ,i work4 ,in other words1 my ,father sends the power1 ,i open myself to it1 and work in conjunction with it4 ,again he said1 ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1 and all these things shall be added unto you4 ,and he left us not in the dark as to exactly what he meant by this1 for again he said4 ,say not ,lo here nor lo there1 know ye not that the kingdom of heaven is within you8 ,according to his teaching1 the kingdom of ,god and the kingdom of heaven were one and the same4 ,if1 then1 his teaching is that the kingdom of heaven is within us1 do we not clearly see that1 putting it in other words1 his injunction is nothing more nor less than1 ,come ye into a conscious realization of your oneness with the ,father's life4 ,as you realize this oneness you find the kingdom1 and when you find this1 all things else shall follow4 ,the story of the prodigal son is another beautiful illustration of this same great teaching of the ,master4 ,after the prodigal had spent everything1 after he had wandered in all the realms of the physical senses in the pursuit of happiness and pleasure1 and found that this did not satisfy but only brought him to the level of the animal creation1 he then came to his senses and said1 ,i will arise and go to my ,father4 ,in other words1 after all these wanderings1 his own soul at length spoke to him and said1 ,you are not a mere animal4 ,you are your ,father's child4 ,arise and go to your ,father1 who holds all things in ,his hands4 ,again1 the ,master said1 ,call no man your ,father upon the earth3 for one is your ,father1 which is in heaven4 ,here he recognized the fact that the real life is direct from the life of ,god4 ,our fathers and our mothers are the agents that give us the bodies1 the houses in which we live1 but the real life comes from the ,infinite ,source of ,life1 ,god1 who is our ,father4 ,one day word was brought to the ,master that his mother and his brethren were without1 wishing to speak with him4 ,who is my mother and who are my brethren8 said he4 ,whosoever shall do the will of my ,father which is in heaven1 the same is my brother1 and my sister1 and mother4 ,many people are greatly enslaved by what we term ties of relationship4 ,it is well1 however1 for us to remember that our true relatives are not necessarily those who are connected with us by ties of blood4 ,our truest relatives are those who are nearest akin to us in mind1 in soul1 in spirit4 ,our nearest relatives may be those living on the opposite side of the globe1--people whom we may never have seen as yet1 but to whom we will yet be drawn1 either in this form of life or in another1 through that ever working and never failing law of attraction4 ,when the ,master gave the injunction1 ,call no man your father upon the earth3 for one is your ,father1 which is in heaven1 he here gave us the basis for that grand conception of the fatherhood of ,god4 ,and if ,god is equally the ,father of all1 then we have here the basis for the brotherhood of man4 ,but there is1 in a sense1 a conception still higher than this1 namely1 the oneness of man and ,god1 and hence the oneness of the whole human race4 ,when we realize this fact1 then we clearly see how in the degree that we come into the realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life1 and so1 every step that we make ,godward1 we aid in lifting all mankind up to this realization1 and enable them1 in turn1 to make a step ,god-ward4 ,the ,master again pointed out our true relations with the ,infinite ,life when he said1 ,except ye become as little children ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,when he said1 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of ,god1 he gave utterance to a truth of far greater import than we have as yet commenced fully to grasp4 ,here he taught that even the physical life can not be maintained by material food alone1 but that one's connection with this ,infinite ,source determines to a very great extent the condition of even the bodily structure and activities4 ,blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see ,god4 ,in other words1 blessed are they who in all the universe recognize only ,god1 for by such ,god shall be seen4 ,said the great ,hindu sage1 ,manu1 ,he who in his own soul perceives the ,supreme ,soul in all beings1 and acquires equanimity toward them all1 attains the highest bliss4 ,it was ,athanasius who said1 ,even we may become ,gods walking about in the flesh4 ,the same great truth we are considering is the one that runs through the life and the teachings of ,gautama1 he who became the ,buddha4 ,people are in bondage1 said he1 because they have not yet removed the idea of ,i4 ,to do away with all sense of separateness1 and to recognize the oneness of the self with the ,infinite1 is the spirit that breathes through all his teachings4 ,running through the lives of all the mediaeval mystics was this same great truth1--union with ,god4 ,then1 coming nearer to our own time1 we find the highly illumined seer1 ,emanuel ,swedenborg1 pointing out the great laws in connection with what he termed1 the divine influx1 and how we may open ourselves more fully to its operations4 ,the great central fact in the religion and worship of the ,friends is1 the inner light1--,god in the soul of man speaking directly in just the degree that the soul is opened to ,him4 ,the inspired one1 the seer who when with us lived at ,concord1 recognized the same great truth when he said1 ,we are all inlets to the great sea of life4 ,and it was by opening himself so fully to its inflow that he became one inspired4 ,all through the world's history we find that the men and the women who have entered into the realm of true wisdom and power1 and hence into the realm of true peace and joy1 have lived in harmony with this ,higher ,power4 ,david was strong and powerful and his soul burst forth in praise and adoration in just the degree that he listened to the voice of ,god and lived in accordance with his higher promptings4 ,whenever he failed to do this we hear his soul crying out in anguish and lamentation4 ,the same is true of every nation or people4 ,when the ,israelites acknowledged ,god and followed according to ,his leadings they were prosperous1 contented1 and powerful1 and nothing could prevail against them4 ,when they depended upon their own strength alone and failed to recognize ,god as the source of their strength1 we find them overcome1 in bondage1 or despair4 ,a great immutable law underlies the truth1 ,blessed are they that hear the word of ,god and do it4 ,then follows all4 ,we are wise in the degree that we live according to the higher light4 ,all the prophets1 seers1 sages1 and saviours in the world's history became what they became1 and consequently had the powers they had1 through an entirely natural process4 ,they all recognized and came into the conscious realization of their oneness with the ,infinite ,life4 ,god is no respecter of persons4 ,he doesn't create prophets1 seers1 sages1 and saviours as such4 ,he creates men4 ,but here and there one recognizes his true identity1 recognizes the oneness of his life with the ,source whence it came4 ,he lives in the realization of this oneness1 and in turn becomes a prophet1 seer1 sage1 or saviour4 ,neither is ,god a respecter of races or of nations4 ,he has no chosen people2 but here and there a race or nation becomes a respecter of ,god and hence lives the life of a chosen people4 ,there has been no age or place of miracles in distinction from any other age or place4 ,what we term miracles have abounded in all places and at all times where conditions have been made for them4 ,they are being performed today just as much as they ever have been when the laws governing them are respected4 ,mighty men1 we are told they were1 mighty men who walked with ,god2 and in the words who walked with ,god lies the secret of the words mighty men4 ,cause1 effect4 ,the ,lord never prospers any man1 but the man prospers because he acknowledges the ,lord1 and lives in accordance with the higher laws4 ,solomon was given the opportunity of choosing whatever he desired2 his better judgment prevailed and he chose wisdom4 ,but when he chose wisdom he found that it included all else beside4 ,we are told that ,god hardened ,pharaoh's heart4 ,i don't believe it4 ,god never hardens any one's heart4 ,pharaoh hardened his own heart and ,god was blamed for it4 ,but when ,pharaoh hardened his heart and disobeyed the voice of ,god1 the plagues came4 ,again1 cause1 effect4 ,had he1 on the contrary1 listened1--in other words1 had he opened himself to and obeyed the voice of ,god1 the plagues would not have come4 ,we can be our own best friends or we can be our own worst enemies4 ,in the degree that we become friends to the highest and best within us1 we become friends to all2 and in the degree that we become enemies to the highest and best within us1 do we become enemies to all4 ,in the degree that we open ourselves to the higher powers and let them manifest through us1 then by the very inspirations we carry with us do we become in a sense the saviours of our fellow-men1 and in this way we all are1 or may become1 the saviours one of another4 ,in this way you may become1 indeed1 one of the world's redeemers4 ,,the ,,basic ,,principle ,,of ,,all ,,religions--,,the ,,universal ,,religion4 ,the great truth we are considering is the fundamental principle running through all religions4 ,we find it in every one4 ,in regard to it all agree4 ,it is1 moreover1 a great truth in regard to which all people can agree1 whether they belong to the same or to different religions4 ,people always quarrel about the trifles1 about their personal views of minor insignificant points4 ,they always come together in the presence of great fundamental truths1 the threads of which run through all4 ,the quarrels are in connection with the lower self1 the agreements are in connection with the higher self4 ,a place may have its factions that quarrel and fight among themselves1 but let a great calamity come upon the land1 flood1 famine1 pestilence1 and these little personal differences are entirely forgotten and all work shoulder to shoulder in the one great cause4 ,the changing1 the evolving self gives rise to quarrels2 the permanent1 the soul self unites all in the highest efforts of love and service4 ,patriotism is a beautiful thing2 it is well for me to love my country1 but why should ,i love my own country more than ,i love all others8 ,if ,i love my own and hate others1 ,i then show my limitations1 and my patriotism will stand the test not even for my own4 ,if ,i love my own country and in the same way love all other countries1 then ,i show the largeness of my nature1 and a patriotism of this kind is noble and always to be relied upon4 ,the view of ,god in regard to which we are agreed1 that ,he is the ,infinite ,spirit of ,life and ,power that is back of all1 that is working in and through all1 that is the life of all1 is a matter in regard to which all men1 all religions can agree4 ,with this view there can be no infidels or atheists4 ,there are atheists and infidels in connection with many views that are held concerning ,god1 and thank ,god there are4 ,even devout and earnest people among us attribute things to ,god that no respectable men or women would permit to be attributed to themselves4 ,this view is satisfying to those who cannot see how ,god can be angry with his children1 jealous1 vindictive4 ,a display of these qualities always lessens our respect for men and women1 and still we attribute them to ,god4 ,the earnest1 sincere heretic is one of the greatest friends true religion can have4 ,heretics are among ,god's greatest servants4 ,they are among the true servants of mankind4 ,christ was one of the greatest heretics the world has ever known4 ,he allowed himself to be bound by no established or orthodox teachings or beliefs4 ,christ is preminently a type of the universal4 ,john the ,baptist is a type of the personal4 ,john dressed in a particular way1 ate a particular kind of food1 belonged to a particular order1 lived and taught in a particular locality1 and he himself recognized the fact that he must decrease while ,christ must increase4 ,christ1 on the other hand1 gave himself absolutely no limitations4 ,he allowed himself to be bound by nothing4 ,he was absolutely universal and as a consequence taught not for his own particular day1 but for all time4 ,this mighty truth which we have agreed upon as the great central fact of human life is the golden thread that runs through all religions4 ,when we make it the paramount fact in our lives we will find that minor differences1 narrow prejudices1 and all these laughable absurdities will so fall away by virtue of their very insignificance1 that a ,jew can worship equally as well in a ,catholic cathedral1 a ,catholic in a ,jewish synagogue1 a ,buddhist in a ,christian church1 a ,christian in a ,buddhist temple4 ,or all can worship equally well about their own hearth-stones1 or out on the hillside1 or while pursuing the avocations of every-day life4 ,for true worship1 only ,god and the human soul are necessary4 ,it does not depend upon times1 or seasons1 or occasions4 ,anywhere and at any time ,god and man in the bush may meet4 ,this is the great fundamental principle of the universal religion upon which all can agree4 ,this is the great fact that is permanent4 ,there are many things in regard to which all cannot agree4 ,these are the things that are personal1 non-essential1 and so as time passes they gradually fall away4 ,one who doesn't grasp this great truth1 a ,christian1 for example1 asks ,but was not ,christ inspired8 ,yes1 but he was not the only one inspired4 ,another who is a ,buddhist asks1 ,was not ,buddha inspired8 ,yes1 but he was not the only one inspired4 ,a ,christian asks1 ,but is not our ,christian ,bible inspired8 ,yes1 but there are other inspired scriptures4 ,a ,brahmin or a ,buddhist asks1 ,are not the ,vedas inspired8 ,yes1 but there are other inspired sacred books4 ,your error is not in believing that your particular scriptures are inspired1 but your error is--and you show your absurdly laughable limitations by it--your inability to see that other scriptures are also inspired4 ,the sacred books1 the inspired writings1 all come from the same source1--,god1 ,god speaking through the souls of those who open themselves that ,he may thus speak4 ,some may be more inspired than others4 ,it depends entirely on the relative degree that this one or that one opens himself to the ,divine voice4 ,says one of the inspired writers in the ,hebrew scriptures1 ,wisdom is the breath of the power of ,god1 and in all ages entering into holy souls she maketh them friends of ,god and prophets4 ,let us not be among the number so dwarfed1 so limited1 so bigoted as to think that the ,infinite ,god has revealed ,himself to one little handful of ,his children1 in one little quarter of the globe1 and at one particular period of time4 ,this isn't the pattern by which ,god works4 ,of a truth ,i perceive that ,god is no respecter of persons1 but in every nation he that revereth ,god and worketh righteousness is accepted of ,him1 says the ,christian ,bible4 ,when we fully realize this truth we will then see that it makes but little difference what particular form of religion one holds to1 but it does make a tremendous difference how true he is to the vital principles of this one4 ,in the degree that we love self less and love truth more1 in that degree will we care less about converting people to our particular way of thinking1 but all the more will we care to aid them in coming into the full realization of truth through the channels best adapted to them4 ,the doctrine of our master1 says the ,chinese1 consisted solely in integrity of heart4 ,we will find as we search that this is the doctrine of every one who is at all worthy the name of master4 ,the great fundamental principles of all religions are the same4 ,they differ only in their minor details according to the various degrees of unfoldment of different people4 ,i am sometimes asked1 ,to what religion do you belong8 ,what religion8 ,why1 bless you1 there is only one religion1--the religion of the living ,god4 ,there are1 of course1 the various creeds of the same religion arising from the various interpretations of different people1 but they are all of minor importance4 ,the more unfolded the soul the less important do these minor differences become4 ,there are also1 of course1 the various so-called religions4 ,there is in reality1 however1 but one religion4 ,the moment we lose sight of this great fact we depart from the real1 vital spirit of true religion and allow ourselves to be limited and bound by form4 ,in the degree that we do this we build fences around ourselves which keep others away from us1 and which also prevent our coming into the realization of universal truth2 there is nothing worthy the name of truth that is not universal4 ,there is only one religion4 ,whatever road ,i take joins the highway that leads to ,thee1 says the inspired writer in the ,persian scriptures4 ,broad is the carpet ,god has spread1 and beautiful the colors he has given it4 ,the pure man respects every form of faith1 says the ,buddhist4 ,my doctrine makes no difference between high and low1 rich and poor2 like the sky1 it has room for all1 and like the water1 it washes all alike4 ,the broad minded see the truth in different religions2 the narrow minded see only the differences1 says the ,chinese4 ,the ,hindu has said1 ,the narrow minded ask1 ',is this man a stranger1 or is he of our tribe8' ,but to those in whom love dwells1 the whole world is but one family4 ,altar flowers are of many species1 but all worship is one4 ,heaven is a palace with many doors1 and each may enter in his own way4 ,are we not all children of one ,father8 says the ,christian4 ,god has made of one blood all nations1 to dwell on the face of the earth4 ,it was a latter-day seer who said1 ,that which was profitable to the soul of man the ,father revealed to the ancients2 that which is profitable to the soul of man today revealeth ,he this day4 ,it was ,tennyson who said1 ,i dreamed that stone by stone ,i reared a sacred fane1 a temple1 neither pagoda1 mosque1 nor church1 but loftier1 simpler1 always open-doored to every breath from heaven1 and ,truth and ,peace and ,love and ,justice came and dwelt therein4 ,religion in its true sense is the most joyous thing the human soul can know1 and when the real religion is realized1 we will find that it will be an agent of peace1 of joy1 and of happiness1 and never an agent of gloomy1 long-faced sadness4 ,it will then be attractive to all and repulsive to none4 ,let our churches grasp these great truths1 let them give their time and attention to bringing people into a knowledge of their true selves1 into a knowledge of their relations1 of their oneness1 with the ,infinite ,god1 and such joy will be the result1 and such crowds will flock to them1 that their very walls will seem almost to burst1 and such songs of joy will continually pour forth as will make all people in love with the religion that makes for every-day life1 and hence the religion that is true and vital4 ,adequacy for life1 adequacy for everyday life here and now1 must be the test of all true religion4 ,if it does not bear this test1 then it simply is not religion4 ,we need an everyday1 a this-world religion4 ,all time spent in connection with any other is worse than wasted4 ,the eternal life that we are now living will be well lived if we take good care of each little period of time as it presents itself day after day4 ,if we fail in doing this1 we fail in everything4 ,,entering ,,now ,,into ,,the ,,realization ,,of ,,the ,,highest ,,riches4 ,i hear the question1 ,what can be said in a concrete way in regard to the method of coming into this realization8 ,the facts underlying it are1 indeed1 most beautiful and true1 but how can we actualize in ourselves the realization that carries with it such wonderful results8 ,the method is not difficult if we do not of ourselves make it difficult4 ,the principal word to be used is the word1--,open4 ,simply to open your mind and heart to this divine inflow which is waiting only for the opening of the gate1 that it may enter4 ,it is like opening the gate of the trough which conducts the water from the reservoir above into the field below4 ,the water1 by virtue of its very nature1 will rush in and irrigate the field if the gate is but opened4 ,as to the realization of our oneness with this ,infinite ,life and ,power1 after seeing1 as ,i think we have clearly seen by this time1 the relations it bears to us and we to it1 the chief thing to be said is simply1--,realize your oneness with it4 ,the open mind and heart whereby one is brought into the receptive attitude is the first thing necessary4 ,then the earnest1 sincere desire4 ,it may be an aid at first to take yourself for a few moments each day into the quiet1 into the silence1 where you will not be agitated by the disturbances that enter in through the avenues of the physical senses4 ,there in the quiet alone with ,god1 put yourself into the receptive attitude4 ,calmly1 quietly1 and expectantly desire that this realization break in upon and take possession of your soul4 ,as it breaks in upon and takes possession of the soul1 it will manifest itself to your mind1 and from this you will feel its manifestations in every part of your body4 ,then in the degree that you open yourself to it you will feel a quiet1 peaceful1 illuminating power that will harmonize body1 soul1 and mind1 and that will then harmonize these with all the world4 ,you are now on the mountain top1 and the voice of ,god is speaking to you4 ,then1 as you descend1 carry this realization with you4 ,live in it1 waking1 working1 thinking1 walking1 sleeping4 ,in this way1 although you may not be continually on the mountain top1 you will nevertheless be continually living in the realization of all the beauty1 and inspiration1 and power you have felt there4 ,moreover1 the time will come when in the busy office or on the noisy street you can enter into the silence by simply drawing the mantle of your own thoughts about you and realizing that there and everywhere the ,spirit of ,infinite ,life1 ,love1 ,wisdom1 ,peace1 ,power1 and ,plenty is guiding1 keeping1 protecting1 leading you4 ,this is the spirit of continual prayer4 ,this it is to pray without ceasing4 ,this it is to know and to walk with ,god4 ,this it is to find the ,christ within4 ,this is the new birth1 the second birth4 ,first that which is natural1 then that which is spiritual4 ,it is thus that the old man ,adam is put off and the new man ,christ is put on4 ,this it is to be saved unto life eternal1 whatever one's form of belief or faith may be2 for it is life eternal to know ,god4 ,the ,sweet ,by and ,by will be a song of the past4 ,we will create a new song--,the ,beautiful ,eternal ,now4 ,this is the realization that you and ,i can come into this very day1 this very hour1 this very minute1 if we desire and if we will it4 ,and if now we merely set our faces in the right direction1 it is then but a matter of time until we come into the full splendors of this complete realization4 ,to set one's face in the direction of the mountain and then simply to journey on1 whether rapidly or more slowly1 will bring him to it4 ,but unless one set his face in the right direction and make the start1 he will not reach it4 ,it was ,goethe who said3 ,are you in earnest8 ,seize this very minute3 ,what you can do1 or dream you can1 begin it2 ,boldness has genius1 power1 and magic in it4 ,only engage and then the mind grows heated2 ,begin and then the work will be completed4 ,said the young man1 ,gautama ,siddhrtha1 ,i have awakened to the truth and ,i am resolved to accomplish my purpose1--,verily ,i shall become a ,buddha4 ,it was this that brought him into the life of the ,enlightened ,one1 and so into the realization of ,nirvana right here in this life4 ,that this same realization and life is within the possibilities of all here and now was his teaching4 ,it was this that has made him the ,light ,bearer to millions of people4 ,said the young man1 ,jesus1 ,know ye not that ,i must be about my ,father's business8 ,making this the one great purpose of his life he came into the full and complete realization1--,i and the ,father are one4 ,he thus came into the full realization of the ,kingdom of ,heaven right here in this life4 ,that all could come into this same realization and life here and now was his teaching4 ,it was this that has made him the ,light ,bearer to millions of people4 ,and so far as practical things are concerned1 we may hunt the wide universe through and we shall find that there is no injunction more practical than1 ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness and all other things shall be added unto you4 ,and in the light of what has gone before1 ,i think there is no one who is open to truth and honest with himself who will fail to grasp the underlying reason and see the great laws upon which it is based4 ,personally ,i know lives that have so fully entered into the kingdom through the realization of their oneness with the ,infinite ,life and through the opening of themselves so fully to its divine guidance1 that they are most wonderful concrete examples of the reality of this great and all-important truth4 ,they are people whose lives are in this way guided not only in a general way1 but literally in every detail4 ,they simply live in the realization of their oneness with this ,infinite ,power1 continually in harmony with it1 and so continually in the realization of the kingdom of heaven4 ,an abundance of all things is theirs4 ,they are never at a loss for anything4 ,the supply seems always equal to the demand4 ,they never seem at a loss in regard to what to do or how to do it4 ,their lives are care-less lives4 ,they are lives free from care because they are continually conscious of the fact that the higher powers are doing the guiding1 and they are relieved of the responsibility4 ,to enter into detail in connection with some of these lives1 and particularly with two or three that come to my mind at this moment1 would reveal facts that no doubt to some would seem almost incredible if not miraculous4 ,but let us remember that what is possible for one life to realize is possible for all4 ,this is indeed the natural and the normal life1 that which will be the every-day life of every one who comes into and who lives in this higher realization and so in harmony with the higher laws4 ,this is simply getting into the current of that divine sequence running throughout the universe2 and when once in it1 life then ceases to be a plodding and moves along day after day much as the tides flow1 much as the planets move in their courses1 much as the seasons come and go4 ,all the frictions1 all the uncertainties1 all the ills1 the sufferings1 the fears1 the forebodings1 the perplexities of life come to us because we are out of harmony with the divine order of things4 ,they will continue to come as long as we so live4 ,rowing against the tide is hard and uncertain4 ,to go with the tide and thus to take advantage of the working of a great natural force is safe and easy4 ,to come into the conscious1 vital realization of our oneness with the ,infinite ,life and ,power is to come into the current of this divine sequence4 ,coming thus into harmony with the ,infinite1 brings us in turn into harmony with all about us1 into harmony with the life of the heavens1 into harmony with all the universe4 ,and above all1 it brings us into harmony with ourselves1 so that body1 soul1 and mind become perfectly harmonized1 and when this is so1 life becomes full and complete4 ,the sense life then no longer masters and enslaves us4 ,the physical is subordinated to and ruled by the mental2 this in turn is subordinated to and continually illumined by the spiritual4 ,life is then no longer the poor1 one-sided thing it is in so many cases2 but the three-fold1 the all-round life with all its beauties and ever increasing joys and powers is entered upon4 ,thus it is that we are brought to realize that the middle path is the great solution of life2 neither asceticism on the one hand nor license and perverted use on the other4 ,everything is for use1 but all must be wisely used in order to be fully enjoyed4 ,as we live in these higher realizations the senses are not ignored but are ever more fully perfected4 ,as the body becomes less gross and heavy1 finer in its texture and form1 all the senses become finer1 so that powers we do not now realize as belonging to us gradually develop4 ,thus we come1 in a perfectly natural and normal way1 into the super-conscious realms whereby we make it possible for the higher laws and truths to be revealed to us4 ,as we enter into these realms we are then not among those who give their time in speculating as to whether this one or that one had the insight and the powers attributed to him1 but we are able to know for ourselves4 ,neither are we among those who attempt to lead the people upon the hearsay of some one else1 but we know whereof we speak1 and only thus can we speak with authority4 ,there are many things that we cannot know until by living the life we bring ourselves into that state where it is possible for them to be revealed to us4 ,if any man will do ,his will1 he shall know of the doctrine4 ,it was ,plotinus who said1 ,the mind that wishes to behold ,god must itself become ,god4 ,as we thus make it possible for these higher laws and truths to be revealed to us1 we will in turn become enlightened ones1 channels through which they may be revealed to others4 ,when one is fully alive to the possibilities that come with this higher awakening1 as he goes here and there1 as he mingles with his fellow-men1 he imparts to all an inspiration that kindles in them a feeling of power kindred to his own4 ,we are all continually giving out influences similar to those that are playing in our own lives4 ,we do this in the same way that each flower emits its own peculiar odor4 ,the rose breathes out its fragrance upon the air and all who come near it are refreshed and inspired by this emanation from the soul of the rose4 ,a poisonous weed sends out its obnoxious odor2 it is neither refreshing nor inspiring in its effects1 and if one remain near it long he may be so unpleasantly affected as to be made even ill by it4 ,the higher the life the more inspiring and helpful are the emanations that it is continually sending out4 ,the lower the life the more harmful is the influence it continually sends out to all who come in contact with it4 ,each one is continually radiating an atmosphere of one kind or the other4 ,we are told by the mariners who sail on the ,indian ,seas1 that many times they are able to tell their approach to certain islands long before they can see them by the sweet fragrance of the sandalwood that is wafted far out upon the deep4 ,do you not see how it would serve to have such a soul playing through such a body that as you go here and there a subtle1 silent force goes out from you that all feel and are influenced by2 so that you carry with you an inspiration and continually shed a benediction wherever you go2 so that your friends and all people will say1--,his coming brings peace and joy into our homes1 welcome his coming2 so that as you pass along the street1 tired1 and weary1 and even sin-sick men and women will feel a certain divine touch that will awaken new desires and a new life in them2 that will make the very horse as you pass him turn his head with a strange1 half-human1 longing look8 ,such are the subtle powers of the human soul when it makes itself translucent to the ,divine4 ,to know that such a life is within our living here and now is enough to make one burst forth with songs of joy4 ,and when the life itself is entered upon1 the sentiment of at least one song will be3 ,oh6 ,i stand in the ,great ,forever1 ,all things to me are divine2 ,i eat of the heavenly manna1 ,i drink of the heavenly wine4 ,in the gleam of the shining rainbow ,the ,father's ,love ,i behold1 ,as ,i gaze on its radiant blending ,of crimson and blue and gold4 ,in all the bright birds that are singing1 ,in all the fair flowers that bloom1 ,whose welcome aromas are bringing ,their blessings of sweet perfume2 ,in the glorious tint of the morning1 ,in the gorgeous sheen of the night1 ,oh6 my soul is lost in rapture1 ,my senses are lost in sight4 ,as one comes into and lives continually in the full1 conscious realization of his oneness with the ,infinite ,life and ,power1 then all else follows4 ,this it is that brings the realization of such splendors1 and beauties1 and joys as a life that is thus related with the ,infinite ,power alone can know4 ,this it is to come into the realization of heaven's richest treasures while walking the earth4 ,this it is to bring heaven down to earth1 or rather to bring earth up to heaven4 ,this it is to exchange weakness and impotence for strength2 sorrows and sighings for joy2 fears and forebodings for faith2 longings for realizations4 ,this it is to come into fullness of peace1 power1 and plenty4 ,this it is to be in tune with the ,infinite4