,,the ,,freedom ,,of ,,life  ,,by       
,,annie ,,payson ,,call  ,author of     
,power ,through ,repose1  ,as a ,matter 
of ,course1 etc4        ,,freedom       
,,lord ,,god of ,israel1-- ,where ,thou 
art we are free6 ,call out ,thy people1 
,lord1 we pray1 ,from ,egypt unto ,thee4
 ,open our eyes that we may see ,our    
bondage in the past1-- ,oh1 help us1    
,lord1 to keep ,thy law1 ,and make us   
free at last6  ,lord ,god of ,israel1-- 
,where ,thou art we are free6 ,freed    
from the rule of alien minds1 ,we turn  
our hearts to ,thee4 ,the alien hand    
weighs heavily1 ,and heavy is our sin1--
 ,thy children cry to ,thee1 ,o ,lord1--
 ,their ,god1--to take them in4  ,lord  
,god of ,israel1-- ,where ,thou 'art we 
are free ,cast down our idols from on   
high1 ,that we may worship ,thee4 ,in   
freedom we will live ,thy ,love ,out    
from our inmost parts2 ,upon our        
foreheads bind ,thy ,law1-- ,engrave it 
on our hearts6  ,amen4       ,,contents 
,,introduction  ,,the ,,freedom ,,of    

,,life  ,,how ,,to ,,sleep ,,restfully  
,,resistance  ,,hurry1 ,,worry1 ,,and   
,,irritability  ,,nervous ,,fears       
,,self-,,consciousness  ,,the           
,,circumstances ,,of ,,life  ,,other    
,,people  ,,human ,,sympathy  ,,personal
 ,,independence  ,,self-,,control  ,,the
 ,,religion ,,of ,,it  ,,about          
,,christmas  ,,to ,,mothers             
,,introduction      ,,interior freedom  
rests upon the principle of             
non-resistance to all the things which  
seem evil or painful to our natural love
 of self4 ,but non-resistance alone can 
accomplish nothing good unless1 behind  
it1 there is a strong love for          
righteousness and truth4 ,by refusing to
 resist the ill will of others1 or the  
stress of circumstances1 for the sake of
 greater usefulness and a clearer point 
of view1 we deepen our conviction of    
righteousness as the fundamental law of 
fife1 and broaden our horizon so as to  
appreciate varying and opposite points  
of view4 ,the only non-resistance that  

brings this power is the kind which     
yields mere personal and selfish        
considerations for the sake of          
principles4 ,selfish and weak yielding  
must always do harm4 ,unselfish         
yielding1 on the other hand1 strengthens
 the will and increases strength of     
purpose as the petty obstacles of mere  
self-love are removed4 ,concentration   
alone cannot long remain wholesome1 for 
it needs the light of growing           
self-knowledge to prevent its becoming  
self-centred4 ,yielding alone is of no  
avail1 for in itself it has no          
constructive power4 ,but if we try to   
look at ourselves as we really are1 we  
shall find great strength in yielding   
where only our small and private        
interests are concerned1 and            
concentrating upon living the broad     
principles of righteousness which must  
directly or indirectly affect all those 
with whom we come into contact4       ,i
  ,the ,freedom of ,life      ,i ,,am so
 tired ,i must give up work1 said a     

young woman with a very strained and    
tearful face2 and it seemed to her a    
desperate state1 for she was dependent  
upon work for her bread and butter4 ,if 
she gave up work she gave up bread and  
butter1 and that meant starvation4 ,when
 she was asked why she did not keep at  
work and learn to do it without getting 
so tired1 that seemed to her absurd1 and
 she would have laughed if laughing had 
been possible4  ,i tell you the work has
 tired me so that ,i cannot stand it1   
and you ask me to go back and get rest  
out of it when ,i am ready to die of    
fatigue4 ,why don't you ask me to burn  
myself1 on a piece of ice1 or freeze    
myself with a red-hot poker8  ,but1 the 
answer was1 it is not the work that     
tires you at all1 it is the way you do  
it2 and1 after a little soothing talk   
which quieted the overexcited nerves1   
she began to feel a dawning             
intelligence1 which showed her that1    
after all1 there might be life in the   
work which she had come to look upon as 

nothing but slow and painful death4 ,she
 came to understand that she might do   
her work as if she were working very    
lazily1 going from one thing to another 
with a feeling as near to entire        
indifference as she could cultivate1    
and1 at the same time1 do it well4 ,she 
was shown by illustrations how she might
 walk across the room and take a book   
off the table as if her life depended   
upon it1 racing and pushing over the    
floor1 grabbing the book and clutching  
it until she got back to her seat1 or1  
how she might move with exaggerated     
laziness take the book up loosely1 and  
drag herself back again4 ,this          
illustration represents two extremes1   
and one1 in itself1 is as bad as the    
other2 but1 when the habit has been one 
of unnecessary strain and effort1 the   
lazy way1 practised for a time1 will not
 only be very restful1 but will         
eventually lead to movement which is    
quick as well4  ,to take another        
example1 you may write holding the pen  

with much more force than is needful1   
tightening your throat and tongue at the
 same time1 or you may drag your pen    
along the paper and relieve the tendency
 to tension in your throat and tongue by
 opening your mouth slightly and letting
 your jaw hang loosely4 ,these again are
 two extremes1 but1 if the habit has    
been one of tension1 a persistent       
practice of the extreme of looseness    
will lead to a quiet mode of writing in 
which ten pages can be finished with the
 effort it formerly took to write one4  
,sometimes the habit of needless strain 
has taken such a strong hold that the   
very effort to work quietly seems so    
unnatural as to cause much nervous      
suffering4 ,to turn the corner from a   
bad habit into a true and wholesome one 
is often very painful1 but1 the first   
pain worked through1 the right habit    
grows more and more easy1 until finally 
the better way carries us along and we  
take it involuntarily4  ,for the young  
woman who felt she had come to the end  

of her powers1 it was work or die2      
therefore1 when she had become rested   
enough to see and understand at all1 she
 welcomed the idea that it was not her  
work that tired her1 but the way in     
which she did it1 and she listened      
eagerly to the directions that should   
teach her to do it with less fatigue1   
and1 as an experiment1 offered to go    
back and try the lazy way for a week4   
,at the end of a week she reported that 
the lazy way had rested her remarkably1 
but she did not do her work so well4    
,then she had to learn that she could   
keep more quietly and steadily          
concentrated upon her work1 doing it    
accurately and well1 without in the     
least interfering with the lazy way4    
,indeed1 the better concentrated we are1
 the more easily and restfully we can   
work1 for concentration does not mean   
straining every nerve and muscle toward 
our work1--it means dropping everything 
that interferes1 and strained nerves and
 muscles constitute a very bondage of   

interference4  ,the young woman went    
back to her work for another week's     
experiment1 and this time returned with 
a smiling face1 better color1 and a new 
and more quiet life in her eyes4 ,she   
had made the lazy way work1 and found a 
better power of concentration at the    
same time4 ,she knew that it was only a 
beginning1 but she felt secure now in   
the certain knowledge that it was not   
her work that had been killing her1 but 
the way in which she had done it2 and   
she felt confident of her power to do it
 restfully and1 at the same time1 better
 than before4 ,moreover1 in addition to 
practising the new way of working1 she  
planned to get regular exercise in the  
open air1 even if it had to come in the 
evening1 and to eat only nourishing     
food4 ,she has been at work now for     
several years1 and1 at last accounts1   
was still busy1 with no temptation to   
stop because of overfatigue4  ,if any   
reader is conscious of suffering now    
from the strain of his work and would   

like to get relief1 the first thing to  
do is to notice that it is less the work
 that tires him than his way of doing   
it1 and the attitude of his mind toward 
it4 ,beginning with that conviction1    
there comes at first an interest in the 
process of dropping strain and then a   
new interest in the work itself1 and a  
healthy concentration in doing the      
merest drudgery as well as it can be    
done1 makes the drudgery attractive and 
relieves one from the oppressive fatigue
 of uninteresting monotony4  ,if you    
have to move your whole body in your    
daily work1 the first care should be to 
move the feet and legs heavily4 ,feel as
 if each foot weighed a ton1 and each   
hand also2 and while you work take long1
 quiet breaths1--breaths such as you see
 a man taking when he is very quietly   
and soundly sleeping4  ,if the work is  
sedentary1 it is a help before starting 
in the morning to drop your head forward
 very loosely1 slowly and heavily1 and  
raise it very slowly1 then take a long1 

quiet breath4 ,repeat this several times
 until you begin to feel a sense of     
weight in your head4 ,if there is not   
time in the morning1 do it at night and 
recall the feeling while you are        
dressing or while you are going to work1
 and then1 during your work1 stop       
occasionally just to feel your head     
heavy and then go on4 ,very soon you    
become sensitive to the tension in the  
back of your neck and drop it without   
stopping work at all4  ,long1 quiet     
breaths while you work are always       
helpful4 ,if you are working in bad air1
 and cannot change the air1 it is better
 to try to have the breaths only quiet  
and gentle1 and take long1 full breaths 
whenever you are out-of-doors and before
 going to sleep at night4  ,of course1 a
 strained way of working is only one    
cause of nervous fatigue2 there are     
others1 and even more important ones1   
that need to be understood in order that
 we may be freed from the bondage of    
nervous strain which keeps so many of us

 from our best use and happiness4  ,many
 people are in bondage because of doing 
wrong1 but many more because of doing   
right in the wrong way4 ,real freedom is
 only found through obedience to law1   
and when1 because of daily strain1 a man
 finds himself getting overtired and    
irritable1 the temptation is to think it
 easier to go on working in the wrong   
way than to make the effort to learn how
 to work in the right way4 ,at first the
 effort seems only to result in extra   
strain1 but1 if persisted in quietly1 it
 soon becomes apparent that it is       
leading to less and less strain1 and    
finally to restful work4  ,there are    
laws for rest1 laws for work1 and laws  
for play1 which1 if we find and follow  
them1 lead us to quiet1 useful lines of 
life1 which would be impossible without 
them4 ,they are the laws of our own     
being1 and should carry us as naturally 
as the instincts of the animals carry   
them1 and so enable us to do right in   
the right way1 and make us so sure of   

the manner in which we do our work that 
we can give all our attention to the    
work itself2 and when we have the right 
habit of working1 the work itself must  
necessarily gain1 because we can put the
 best of ourselves into it4  ,it is     
helpful to think of the instincts of the
 beasts1 how true and orderly they are1 
on their own plane1 and how they are    
only perverted when the animals have    
come under the influence of man4        
,imagine ,baloo1 the bear in ,mr4       
,kipling's ,jungle ,book1 being asked   
how he managed to keep so well and      
rested4 ,he would look a little         
surprised and say3 ,why1 ,i follow the  
laws of my being4 ,how could ,i do      
differently8 ,now that is just the      
difference between man and beast4 ,man  
can do differently4 ,and man has done   
differently now for so many generations 
that not one in ten thousand really     
recognizes what the laws of his being   
are1 except in ways so gross that it    
seems as if we had sunken to the        

necessity of being guided by a crowbar1 
instead of steadily following the       
delicate instinct which is ours by      
right1 and so voluntarily accepting the 
guidance of the ,power who made us1     
which is the only possible way to       
freedom4  ,of course the laws of a man's
 being are infinitely above the laws of 
a beast's4 ,the laws of a man's being   
are spiritual1 and the animal in man is 
meant to be the servant of his soul4    
,man's true guiding instincts are in his
 soul1--he can obey them or not1 as he  
chooses2 but the beast's instincts are  
in his body1 and he has no choice but to
 obey4 ,man can1 so to speak1 get up and
 look down on himself4 ,he can be his   
own father and his own mother4 ,from his
 true instinct he can say to himself1   
you must do this or ,you must not do    
that4 ,he can see and understand his    
tendency to disobedience1 and he can    
force himself to obey4 ,man can see the 
good and wholesome animal instincts in  
himself that lead to lasting health and 

strength1 and he can make them all the  
good servants of his soul4 ,he can see  
the tendency to overindulgence1 and how 
it leads to disease and to evil1 and he 
can refuse to permit that wrong tendency
 to rule him4  ,every man has his own   
power of distinguishing between right   
and wrong1 and his own power of choosing
 which way he shall follow4 ,he is left 
free to choose ,god's way or to choose  
his own4 ,through past and present      
perversions1 of natural habit he has    
lost the delicate power of              
distinguishing the normal from the      
abnormal1 and needs to be educated back 
to it4 ,the benefit of this education is
 an intelligent consciousness of the    
laws of life1 which not only adds to his
 own strength of mind and body1 but     
increases immeasurably his power of use 
to others4 ,many customs of to-day fix  
and perpetuate abnormal habits to such  
an extent that1 combined with our own   
selfish inheritances and personal       
perversions1 they dim the light of our  

minds so that many of us are working all
 the time in a fog1 more or less dense1 
of ignorance and bondage4 ,when a man   
chooses the right and refuses the wrong1
 in so far as he sees it1 he becomes    
wise from within and from without1 his  
power for distinguishing gradually      
improves1 the fog lifts1 and he finds   
within himself a sure and delicate      
instinct which was formerly atrophied   
for want of use4  ,the first thing to   
understand without the shadow of a      
doubt1 is that1 man is not in freedom   
when he is following his own selfish    
instincts4 ,he is only in the appearance
 of freedom1 and the appearance of      
freedom1 without the reality1 leads     
invariably to the worst bondage4 ,a man 
who loves drink feels that he is free if
 he can drink as much as he wants1 but  
that leads to degradation and delirium  
tremens4 ,a man who has an inherited    
tendency toward the disobedience of any 
law feels that he is free if he has the 
opportunity to disobey it whenever he   

wants to4 ,but whatever the law may be1 
the results have only to be carried to  
their logical conclusion to make clear  
the bondage to which the disobedience   
leads4 ,all this disobedience to law    
leads to an inevitable1 inflexible1     
unsurmountable limit in the end1 whereas
 steady effort toward obedience to law  
is unlimited in its development of      
strength and power for use to others4   
,man must understand his selfish        
tendencies in order to subdue and       
control them1 until they become subject 
to his own unselfish tendencies1 which  
are the spiritual laws within him4 ,thus
 he gradually becomes free1--soul and   
body1--with no desire to disobey1 and   
with steadily increasing joy in his work
 and life4 ,so much for the bondage of  
doing wrong1 and the freedom of doing   
right1 which it seems necessary to touch
 upon1 in order to show clearly the     
bondage of doing right in the wrong way1
 and the freedom of doing right in the  
right way4  ,it is right to work for our

 daily bread1 and for the sake of use to
 others1 in whatever form it may present
 itself4 ,the wrong way of doing it     
makes unnecessary strain1 overfatigue   
and illness4 ,the right way of working  
gives1 as we have said before1 new power
 and joy in the work2 it often turns    
even drudgery into pleasure1 for there  
is a special delight in learning to     
apply one's self in a true spirit to    
drudgery4 ,the process of learning such 
true application of one's powers often  
reveals new possibilities in work4  ,it 
is right for most people to sleep eight 
hours every night4 ,the wrong way of    
doing it is to go to sleep all doubled  
up1 and to continue to work all night in
 our sleep1 instead of giving up and    
resting entirely4 ,the right way gives  
us the fullest possible amount of rest  
and refreshment4  ,it is right to take  
our three meals a day1 and all the      
nourishing food we need4 ,the wrong way 
of doing it1 is to eat very fast1       
without chewing our food carefully1 and 

to give our stomachs no restful         
opportunity of preparation to receive   
its food1 or to take good care of it    
after it is received4 ,the right way    
gives us the opportunity to assimilate  
the food entirely1 so that every bit of 
fuel we put into our bodies is burnt to 
some good purpose1 and makes us more    
truly ready to receive more4  ,it is    
right to play and amuse ourselves for   
rest and recreation4 ,we play in the    
wrong way when we use ourselves up in   
the strain of playing1 in the anxiety   
lest we should not win in a game1 or    
when we play in bad air4 ,when we play  
in the right way1 there is no strain1 no
 anxiety1 only good fun and refreshment 
and rest4  ,we might go through the     
narrative of an average life in showing 
briefly the wonderful difference between
 doing right in the right way1 and doing
 right in the wrong way4 ,it is not too 
much to say that the difference in      
tendency is as great as that between    
life and death4  ,it is one thing to    

read about orderly living and to        
acknowledge that the ways described are 
good and true1 and quite another to have
 one's eyes opened and to act from the  
new knowledge1 day by day1 until a      
normal mode of life is firmly           
established4 ,it requires quiet1 steady 
force of will to get one's self out of  
bad1 and well established in good       
habits4 ,after the first interest and   
relief there often has to be steady     
plodding before the new way becomes     
easy2 but if we do not allow ourselves  
to get discouraged1 we are sure to gain 
our end1 for we are opening ourselves to
 the influence of the true laws within  
us1 and in finding and obeying these we 
are approaching the only possible       
,freedom of ,life4       ,,ii  ,how to  
,sleep ,restfully      ,,it would seem  
that at least one might be perfectly    
free in sleep4 ,but the habits of       
cleaving to mistaken ways of living     
cannot be thrown off at night and taken 
up again in the morning4 ,they go to    

sleep with us and they wake with us4    
,if1 however1 we learn better habits of 
sleeping1 that helps us in our life     
through the day4 ,and learning better   
habits through the day helps us to get  
more rest from our sleep4 ,at the end of
 a good day we can settle down more     
quickly to get ready for sleep1 and1    
when we wake in the morning1 find       
ourselves more ready to begin the day to
 come4  ,there are three things that    
prevent sleep1--overfatigue1 material   
disturbances from the outside1 and      
mental disturbances from1 within4  ,it  
is not uncommon to hear people say1 ,i  
was too tired to sleep--but it is not   
generally known how great a help it is  
at such times not to try to sleep1 but  
to go to work deliberately to get ,i    
rested in preparation for it4 ,in nine  
cases out of ten it is the unwillingness
 to lie awake that keeps us awake4 ,we  
wonder why we do not sleep4 ,we toss and
 turn and wish we could sleep4 ,we fret1
 and fume1 and worry1 because we do not 

sleep4 ,we think of all we have to do on
 the following day1 and are oppressed   
with the thought that we cannot do it if
 we do not sleep4 ,first1 we try one    
experiment to see if it will not make us
 sleep1 and when it fails1 we try       
another1 and perhaps another4 ,in each  
experiment we1 are watching to see if it
 will work4 ,there are many things to   
do1 any one of which might help us to   
sleep1 but the watching to see if they  
will work keeps us awake4  ,when we are 
kept awake from our fatigue1 the first  
thing to do is to say over and over to  
ourselves that we do not care whether we
 sleep or not1 in order to imbue        
ourselves with a healthy indifference   
about it4 ,it will help toward gaining  
this wholesome indifference to say ,i am
 too tired to sleep1 and therefore1 the 
first thing for me to do is to get      
rested in order to prepare for sleep4   
,when my brain is well rested1 it will  
go to sleep2 it cannot help it4 ,when it
 is well rested1 it will sleep just as  

naturally as my lungs breathe1 or as my 
heart beats4  ,in order to rest our     
brains we want to lie quietly1 relaxing 
all our muscles1 and taking even1 quiet 
breaths4 ,it is good when we can take   
long1 full breaths1 but sometimes that  
is too fatiguing2 and then we must not  
only take moderately long1 breaths1 but 
be careful to have them gentle1 quiet1  
and rhythmic4 ,to make a plan of        
breathing and follow it keeps the mind  
steadily concentrated on the breathing1 
and gives the rest of the brain1 which  
has been working on other things1 a     
chance to relax and find its own freedom
 and rest4 ,it is helpful to inhale     
while we count seven1 exhale while we   
count seven1 then rest and breathe      
naturally while we count seven1 and to  
repeat the series of three for seven    
times2 but to be strict with ourselves  
and see that we only do it seven times1 
not once more nor once less4 ,then we   
should wait a little and try it         
again1--and so keep on for a number of  

times1 repeating the same series2 and we
 should always be sure to have the air  
in our bedrooms as fresh as possible4   
,if the breathing is steady and         
rhythmical it helps very much1 and to   
inhale and exhale over and over for half
 an hour has a very pleasant1 quieting  
effect--sometimes such exercises make us
 nervous at first1 and1 if we are very  
tired1 that often happens2 but1 if we   
keep steadily at work1 the nervousness  
disappears and restful quiet follows    
which very often brings restoring and   
refreshing sleep4  ,another thing to    
remember--and it is very important--is  
that an overtired brain needs more than 
the usual nourishment4 ,if you have been
 awake for an hour1 and it is three     
hours after your last meal1 take half a 
cup1 or a cup of hot milk4 ,if you are  
awake for another two hours take half a 
cup more1 and so1 at intervals of about 
two4 hours1 so long as you are awake    
throughout the night4 ,hot milk is      
nourishing and a sedative4 ,it is not   

inconvenient to have milk by the side of
 one's bed1 and a little saucepan and   
spirit lamp1 so that the milk can be    
heated without getting up1 and the quiet
 simple occupation of heating it is     
sometimes restful in itself4  ,there are
 five things to remember to help rest an
 overtired brain3 #a4 ,a healthy        
indifference to wakefulness4 #b4        
,concentration of the mind on simple    
things4 #c4 ,relaxation of the body4 #d4
 ,gentle rhythmic breathing of fresh    
air4 #e4 ,regular nourishment4 ,if we do
 not lose courage1 but keep on steadily 
night after night1 with a healthy       
persistence in remembering and          
practising these five things1 we shall  
often find that what might have been a  
very long period of sleeplessness may be
 materially shortened and that the sleep
 which follows the practice of the      
exercises is better1 sounder1 and more  
refreshing1 than the sleep that came    
before4 ,in many cases a long or short  
period of insomnia can be absolutely    

prevented by just these simple means4   
,here is perhaps the place to say that  
all narcotics are in such cases1        
absolutely pernicious4  ,they may bring 
sleep at the time1 but eventually they  
lose their effect1 and leave the nervous
 system in a state of strain which      
cannot be helped by anything but time1  
through much suffering that might have  
been avoided4  ,when we are not         
necessarily overtired but perhaps only a
 little tired from the day's work1 it is
 not uncommon to be kept awake by a     
flapping curtain or a swinging door1 by 
unusual noises in the streets1 or by    
people talking4 ,how often we hear it   
said1 ,it did seem hard when ,i went to 
bed tired last night that ,i should have
 been kept awake by a noise like        
that--and now this morning1 ,i am more  
tired than when ,i went to bed4  ,the   
head nurse in a large hospital said once
 in distress3 ,i wish the nurses could  
be taught to step lightly over my head1 
so that they would not keep me awake at 

night4 ,it would have been a surprise to
 her if she had been told that her head 
could be taught to yield to the steps of
 the nurses1 so that their walking would
 not keep her awake4  ,it is resistance 
that keeps us awake in all such cases4  
,the curtain flaps1 and we resist it2   
the door swings to over and over again1 
and we resist it1 and keep ourselves    
awake by wondering why it does not stop2
 we hear noises in the street that we am
 unused to1 especially if we are        
accustomed to sleeping in the stillness 
of the country1 and we toss and turn and
 wish we were in a quiet place4 ,all the
 trouble comes from our own resistance  
to the noise1 and resistance is nothing 
but unwillingness to submit to our      
conditions4  ,if we are willing that the
 curtain should go on flapping1 the door
 go on slamming1 or the noise in the    
street continue steadily on1 our brains 
yield to the conditions and so sleep    
naturally1 because the noise goes       
through us1 so to speak1 and does not   

run hard against our unwillingness to   
hear it4  ,there are three facts which  
may help to remove the resistance which 
naturally arises at any unusual sound   
when we are tired and want to get rest4 
,one is that in almost every sound there
 is a certain rhythm4 ,if we yield to   
the sound enough to become sensitive to 
its rhythm1 that1 in itself1 is         
soothing1 and what before was keeping us
 awake now helps us to go to sleep4     
,this pleasant effect of finding the    
rhythm in sound is especially helpful if
 one is inclined to lie awake while     
travelling in sleeping cars4 ,the rhythm
 of sound and motion in sleeping cars   
and steamers is1 in itself1 soothing4   
,if you have the habit of feeling as if 
you could never get refreshing sleep in 
a sleeping car1 first be sure that you  
have as much fresh air as possible1 and 
then make up your mind that you will    
spend the whole night1 if necessary1 in 
noticing the rhythm of the motion and   
sound of the cars4 ,if you keep your    

mind steadily on it1 you will probably  
be asleep in less than an hour1 and1    
when the car stops1 you will wake only  
enough to settle comfortably into the   
sense of motion when it starts again4   
,it is pleasant to notice the gentleness
 with which a good engineer starts his  
train at night4 ,of course there is a   
difference in engineers1 and some are   
much more gentle in starting their      
engines than others1 but the delicacy   
with which the engine is started by the 
most expert is delightful to feel1 and  
gives us many a lesson on the use of    
gentle beginnings1 with other things    
besides locomotive engines1 and         
especially in our dealings with each    
other4  ,the second fact with regard to 
yielding1 instead of resisting1 in order
 to get to sleep is that listening      
alone1 apart from rhythm1 tends to make 
one sleepy1 and this leads us at once to
 the third fact1 that getting to sleep  
is nothing but a healthy form of        
concentration4  ,if true concentration  

is dropping everything that interferes  
with fixing our attention upon some     
wholesome object1 it means merely       
bringing the brain into a normal state  
which induces sleep when sleep is       
needed4 ,first we drop everything that  
interferes with the one simple subject1 
and then we drop that1 and are          
unconscious4  ,of course it may take    
some time to make ourselves willing to  
submit to an unusual noise if we have   
the habit of feeling that we must       
necessarily be disturbed by it1 and1 if 
we can stop the noise1 it is better to  
stop it than to give ourselves          
unnecessary tasks in non-resistance4    
,then again1 if we are overtired1 our   
brains are sometimes so sensitive that  
the effect of any noise is like that of 
being struck in a sore spot1 and then it
 is much more difficult to bear it1 and 
we can only make the suffering a little 
less by yielding and being willing that 
it should go on4 ,i cannot go to sleep  
while some one is knocking my lame arm1 

nor can ,i go to sleep while a noise is 
hitting my tired brain2 but in such     
cases we can give up expecting to go to 
sleep1 and get a great deal of rest by  
using our wills steadily not to resist2 
and sometimes1 even then1 sleep will    
come upon us unexpectedly4  ,with regard
 to the use of the will1 perhaps the    
most dangerous pitfall to be avoided is 
the use of drugs4 ,it is not too much to
 say that they never should be used at  
all for cases of pure sleeplessness1 for
 with time their power to bring sleep   
gradually becomes exhausted1 and then   
the patient finds himself worse off than
 before1 for the reactionary effect of  
the drugs leaves him with exhausted     
nerves and a weakened will4 ,all the    
strengthening1 moral effect which can be
 gained from overcoming sleeplessness in
 wholesome ways is lost by a recourse to
 drugs1 and character is weakened       
instead of strengthened4  ,when one has 
been in the habit of sleeping in the    
city1 where the noise of the street is  

incessant1 a change to the perfect      
silence of the country will often keep  
sleep off quite as persistently as      
noise4 ,so with a man who has been in   
the habit of sleeping under other       
abnormal conditions1 the change to      
normal conditions will sometimes keep   
him awake until he has adjusted himself 
to them1 and it is not uncommon for     
people to be so abnormal that they      
resist rhythm itself1 such as is heard  
in the rolling of the sea1 or the       
rushing of a river4  ,the re-adjustment 
from abnormal to normal conditions of   
sleeping may be made surely if we set   
about it with a will1 for we have all   
nature on our side4 ,silence is orderly 
for the night's rest1 and rhythm only   
emphasizes and enhances the silence1    
when it is the rhythm of nature4  ,the  
habit of resistance cannot be changed in
 a single day--it must take time2 but if
 the meaning1 the help1 and the normal  
power of non-resistance is clearly      
understood1 and the effort to gain it is

 persistent1 not only the power to      
sleep1 but a new sense of freedom may be
 acquired which is quite beyond the     
conception of those who are in the daily
 habit of resistance4  ,when we lie down
 at night and become conscious that our 
arms and our legs and our whole bodies  
are resting heavily upon the bed1 we are
 letting go all the resistance which has
 been left stored in our muscles from   
the activities of the day4  ,a cat1 when
 she lies down1 lets go all resistance  
at once1 because she moves with the     
least possible effort2 but there are    
very few men who do that1 and so men go 
to their rest with more or less         
resistance stored in their bodies1 and  
they must go through a conscious process
 of dropping it before they can settle  
to sleep as a normal child does1 without
 having to think about how it is done4  
,the conscious process1 however1 brings 
a quiet1 conscious joy in the rest1     
which opens the mind to soothing        
influences1 and brings a more profound  

refreshment than is given even to the   
child--and with the refreshment new     
power for work4  ,one word more about   
outside disturbances before we turn to  
those interior ones which are by far the
 most common preventatives of refreshing
 sleep4 ,the reader will say3 ,how can  
,i be willing that the noise should go  
on when ,i am not willing8 ,the answer  
is1 ,if you can see clearly that if you 
were willing1 the noises would not      
interfere with your sleep1 then you can 
find the ability within you to make     
yourself willing4  ,it is wonderful to  
realize the power we gain by compelling 
and controlling our desires or aversions
 through the intelligent use of the     
will1 and it is easier to compel        
ourselves to do right against temptation
 than to force ourselves to do wrong    
against a true conviction4 ,indeed it is
 most difficult1 if not impossible1 to  
force ourselves to do wrong against a   
strong sense of right4 ,behind an our   
desires1 aversions1 and inclinations    

each one of us possesses a capacity for 
a higher will1 the exercise of which1 on
 the side of order and righteousness1   
brings into being the greatest power in 
human life4 ,the power of character is  
always in harmony with the laws of truth
 and order1 and although we must        
sometimes make a great effort of the    
will to do right against our            
inclinations the ease of such effort    
increases as the power of character     
increases1 and strength of will grows   
steadily by use1 because it receives its
 life from the eternal will and is      
finding its way to harmony with that4   
,it is the lower1 selfish will that     
often keeps us awake by causing interior
 disturbances4  ,an actor may have a    
difficult part to play1 and feel that a 
great deal depends upon his success4 ,he
 stays awake with anxiety1 and this     
anxiety is nothing but resistance to the
 possibility of failure4 ,the first     
thing for him to do is to teach himself 
to be willing to fail4 ,if he becomes   

willing to fail1 then all his anxiety   
will go1 and he will be able to sleep   
and get the rest and new life which he  
needs in order to play the part well4   
,if he is willing to fail1 then all the 
nervous force which before was being    
wasted in anxiety is set free for use in
 the exercise of his art4  ,looking     
forward to what is going to happen on   
the next day1 or within a few days1 may 
cause so much anxiety as to keep us     
awake2 but if we have a good1 clear     
sense of the futility of resistance1    
whether our expected success or failure 
depends on ourselves or on others1 we   
can compel ourselves to a quiet         
willingness which will make our brains  
quiet and receptive to restful sleep1   
and so enable us to wake with new power 
for whatever task or pleasure may lie   
before us4  ,of course we are often kept
 awake by the sense of having done      
wrong4 ,in such cases the first thing to
 do is to make a free acknowledgment to 
ourselves of the wrong we have done1 and

 then to make up our minds to do the    
right thing at once4 ,that1 if the wrong
 done is not too serious1 will put us to
 sleep2 and if the next day we go about 
our work remembering the lesson we have 
learned1 we probably will have little   
trouble in sleeping4  ,if ,macbeth had  
had the truth and courage to tell ,lady 
,macbeth that both he and she were      
wicked plotters and murderers1 and that 
he intended1 for his part1 to stop being
 a scoundrel1 and1 if he had persisted  
in carrying out his good intentions1 he 
would never have murdered sleep4        
,,iii  ,resistance      ,a ,,man once   
grasped a very hot poker with his hand1 
and although he cried out with pain1    
held on to the poker4 ,his friend called
 out to him to drop it1 whereupon the   
man indignantly cried out the more4     
,drop it8 ,how can you expect me to     
think of dropping it with pain like     
this8 ,i tell you when a man is         
suffering1 as ,i am1 he can think of    
nothing but the pain4  ,and the more    

indignant he was1 the tighter he held on
 to the poker1 and the more he cried out
 with pain4  ,this story in itself is   
ridiculous1 but it is startlingly true  
as an illustration of what people are   
doing every day4  ,there is an instinct 
in us to drop every hot poker at once2  
and probably we should be able to drop  
any other form of unnecessary           
disagreeable sensation as soon as       
possible1 if we had not lost that       
wholesome instinct through want of use4 
,as it is1 we must learn to re-acquire  
the lost faculty by the deliberate use  
of our intelligence and will4  ,it is as
 if we had lost our freedom and needed  
to be shown the way back to it1 step by 
step4 ,the process is slow but very     
interesting1 if we are in earnest2 and  
when1 after wandering in the bypaths1 we
 finally strike the true road1 we find  
our lost faculty waiting for us1 and all
 that we have learned in reaching it is 
so much added power4  ,but at present we
 are dealing in the main with a world   

which has no suspicion of such instincts
 or faculties as these1 and is suffering
 along in blind helplessness4 ,a man    
will drop a hot poker as soon as he     
feels it burn1 but he will tighten his  
muscles and hold on to a cold in his    
head so persistently that he only gets  
rid of it at all because nature is      
stronger than he is1 and carries it off 
in spite of him4  ,how common it is to  
see a woman entirely wrapped up1 with a 
handkerchief held to her nose1--the     
whole body as tense as it can           
be1--wondering ,why does it take so long
 to get rid of this cold8 ,to get free  
from a severe cold there should be open 
and clear circulation throughout the    
whole body4 ,the more the circulation is
 impeded1 the longer the cold will last4
 ,to begin with1 the cold itself impedes
 the circulation2 and if1 in addition1  
we offer resistance to the very idea of 
having a cold1 we tighten our nerves and
 our bodies and thereby impede our      
circulation still further4 ,it is       

curious that the more we resist a cold  
the more we hold on to it1 but it is a  
very evident fact2 and so is its logical
 corollary1 that the less we resist it  
the sooner it leaves us4  ,it would seem
 absurd to people who do not understand1
 to say3--  ,i have caught cold1 ,i must
 relax and let it go through me4  ,but  
the literal truth is that when we relax1
 we open the channels of circulation in 
our bodies1 and so allow the cold to be 
carried off4 ,in addition to the        
relaxing1 long1 quiet breaths help the  
circulation still more1 and so help the 
cold to go off sooner4  ,in the same way
 people resist pain and hold on to it2  
when they are attacked with severe pain1
 they at once devote their entire       
attention to the sensation of pain1     
instead of devoting it to the best means
 of getting relief4 ,they double        
themselves up tight1 and hold on to the 
place that hurts4 ,then all the nervous 
force tends toward the sore place and   
the tension retards the circulation and 

makes it difficult for nature to cure   
the pain1 as she would spontaneously if 
she were only allowed to have her own   
way4  ,i once knew a little girl who1   
whenever she hit one elbow1 would at    
once deliberately rub the other4 ,she   
said that she had discovered that it    
took her mind away from the elbow that  
hurt1 and so stopped its hurting sooner4
 ,the use of a counterirritant is not   
uncommon with good physicians1 but the  
counter-irritant only does what is much 
more effectually accomplished when the  
patient uses his will and intelligence  
to remove the original irritant by      
ceasing to resist it4  ,a man who was   
troubled with spasmodic contraction of  
the throat once went to a doctor in     
alarm and distress4 ,the doctor told him
 that1 in any case1 nothing worse than  
fainting could happen to him1 and that1 
if he fainted away1 his throat would be 
relieved1 because the fainting would    
relax the muscles of the throat1 and the
 only trouble with it was contraction4  

,singularly1 it did not seem to occur to
 the doctor that the man might be taught
 to relax his throat by the use of his  
own will1 instead of having to faint    
away in order that nature might do it   
for him4 ,nature would be just as ready 
to help us if we were intelligent1 as   
when she has to knock us down1 in order 
that she may do for us what we do not   
know enough to do for ourselves4  ,there
 is no illness that could not be much   
helped by quiet relaxing on the part of 
the patient1 so as to allow nature and  
remedial agencies to do their work more 
easily4  ,that which keeps relief away  
in the case of the cold1 of pain1 and of
 many illnesses1 is the contraction of  
the nerves and muscles of the body1     
which impedes the curative power of its 
healing forces4 ,the contraction of the 
nerves and muscles of the body is caused
 by resistance in the mind1 and         
resistance in the mind is unwillingness3
 unwillingness to endure the distress of
 the cold1 the pain1 or the illness1    

whatever it may be2 and the more        
unwilling we are to suffer from illness1
 the more we are hindering nature from  
bringing about a cure4  ,one of the     
greatest difficulties in life is illness
 when the hands are full of work1 and of
 business requiring attention4 ,in many 
eases the strain and anxiety1 which     
causes resistance to the illness1 is    
even more severe1 and makes more trouble
 than the illness itself4  ,suppose1 for
 instance1 that a man is taken down with
 the measles1 when he feels that he     
ought to be at his office1 and that his 
absence may result in serious loss to   
himself and others4 ,if he begins by    
letting go1 in his body and in his mind1
 and realizing that the illness is      
beyond his own power1 it will soon occur
 to him that he might as well turn his  
illness to account by getting a good    
rest out of it4 ,in this frame of mind  
his chances of early recovery will be   
increased1 and he may even get up from  
his illness with so much new life and   

with his mind so much refreshed as to   
make up1 in part1 for his temporary     
absence from business4 ,but1 on the     
other hand1 if he resists1 worries1     
complains and gets irritable1 he        
irritates his nervous system and1 by so 
doing is likely to bring on any one of  
the disagreeable troubles that are known
 to follow measles2 and thus he may keep
 himself housed for weeks1 perhaps      
months1 instead of days4  ,another      
advantage in dropping all resistance to 
illness1 is that the relaxation         
encourages a restful attitude of mind1  
which enables us to take the right      
amount of time for recovery1 and so     
prevents either a possible relapse1 or  
our feeling only half well for a long   
time1 when we might have felt wholly    
well from the time we first began to    
take up our life again4 ,indeed the     
advantages of nonresistance in such     
cases are innumerable1 and there are no 
advantages whatever in resistance and   
unwillingness4  ,clear as these things  

must be to any intelligent person whose 
attention is turned in the right        
direction1 it seems most singular that  
not in one case in a thousand are they  
deliberately practised4 ,people seem to 
have lost their common sense with regard
 to them1 because for generations the   
desire for having our own way has held  
us in bondage1 and confused our standard
 of freedom2 more than that1 it has     
befogged our sense of natural law1 and  
the result is that we painfully fight to
 make water run up hill when1 if we were
 to give one quiet look1 we should see  
that better things could be             
accomplished1 and our own sense of      
freedom become keener1 by being content 
to let the water quietly run down and   
find its own level4  ,it is not normal  
to be ill and to be kept from our       
everyday use1 but it is still less      
normal for a healthy1 intelligent mind  
to keep its body ill longer than is     
necessary by resisting the fact of      
illness4 ,every disease1 though it is   

abnormal in itself1 may frequently be   
kept within bounds by a certain normal  
course of conduct1 and1 if our suffering
 from the disease itself is unavoidable1
 by far our wisest course is to stand   
aside1 so to speak1 and let it take its 
own course1 using all necessary remedies
 and precautions in order that the      
attack may be as mild as possible4      
,many readers1 although they see the    
common sense of such non-resistance1    
will find it difficult to practise it1  
because of their inheritances and       
personal habits4  ,the man who held the 
hot poker only needed to drop it with   
his fingers2 the man who is taken ill   
only needs to be willing with his mind  
and to relax with his nerves in order to
 hasten his recovery4  ,a very useful   
practice is to talk to ourselves so     
quietly and earnestly as to convince our
 brains of the true helpfulness of being
 willing and of the impediment of our   
unwillingness4 ,tell the truth to       
yourself over and over1 quietly and     

without emotion1 and steadily and firmly
 contradict every temptation to think   
that it is impossible not to resist4 ,if
 men could once be convinced of the very
 real and wonderful power they have of  
teaching their own brains1 and exacting 
obedience from them1 the resulting new  
life and ability for use would make the 
world much happier and stronger4  ,this 
power of separating the clear1 quiet    
common sense in ourselves from the      
turbulent1 willful rebellion and        
resistance1 and so quieting our selfish 
natures and compelling them to normal   
behavior1 is truly latent in us all4 ,it
 may be difficult at first to use it1   
especially in cases of strong1 perverted
 natures and fixed habits1 because in   
such cases our resistances are harder   
and more interior1 but if we keep       
steadily on1 aiming in the right        
direction1--if we persist in the        
practice of keeping ourselves separate  
from our unproductive turbulences1 and  
of teaching our brains what we know to  

be the truth1 we shall finally find     
ourselves walking on level ground1      
instead of climbing painfully up hill4  
,then we shall be only grateful for all 
the hard work which was the means of    
bringing us into the clear air of       
freedom4  ,there could not be a better  
opportunity to begin our training in    
non-resistance than that which illness  
affords4       ,,iv  ,hurry1 ,worry1 and
 ,irritability      ,,probably most     
people have had the experience of       
hurrying to a train with the feeling    
that something held them back1 but not  
many have observed that their muscles1  
under such conditions1 actually do pull 
them back4  ,if any one wants to prove  
the correctness of this observation let 
him watch himself1 especially if it is  
necessary for him to go downstairs to   
get to the station1 while he is walking 
down the steps4 ,the drawing back or    
contracting of the muscles1 as if they  
were intelligently trying to prevent us 
from reaching the train on time1 is most

 remarkable4 ,of course all that        
impeding contraction comes from         
resistance1 and it seems at first sight 
very strange that we should resist the  
accomplishment of the very thing we want
 to do4 ,why should ,i resist the idea  
of catching a train1 when at the same   
time ,i am most anxious to do so8 ,why  
should my muscles reflect that          
resistance by contracting1 so that they 
directly impede my progress8 ,it seems a
 most singular case of a house divided  
against itself for me to want to take a 
train1 and for my own muscles1 which are
 given me for my command1 to refuse to  
take me there1 so that ,i move toward   
the train with an involuntary effort    
away from it4 ,but when the truth is    
recognized1 all this muscular           
contraction is easily explained4 ,what  
we are resisting is not the fact of     
taking the train1 but the possibility of
 losing it4 ,that resistance reflects   
itself upon our muscles and causes them 
to contract4 ,although this is a        

practical truth1 it takes us some time  
to realize that the fear of losing the  
train is often the only thing that      
prevents our catching it4 ,if we could  
once learn this fact thoroughly1 and    
live from our clearer knowledge1 it     
would be one of the greatest helps      
toward taking all things in life quietly
 and without necessary strain4 ,for the 
fact holds good in all hurry4 ,it is the
 fear of not accomplishing what is      
before us in time that holds us back    
from its accomplishment4  ,this is so   
helpful and so useful a truth that ,i   
feel it necessary to repeat it in many  
ways4 ,fear brings resistance1          
resistance impedes our progress4 ,our   
faculties are paralyzed by lack of      
confidence1 and confidence is the result
 of a true consciousness of our powers  
when in harmony with law4 ,often the    
fear of not accomplishing what is before
 us is the only thing that stands in our
 way4  ,if we put all hurry1 whether it 
be an immediate hurry to catch a train1 

or the hurry of years toward the        
accomplishment of the main objects of   
our lives1--if we put it all under the  
clear light of this truth1 it will      
eventually relieve us of a strain which 
is robbing our vitality to no end4      
,first1 the times that we must hurry    
should be minimized4 ,in nine cases out 
of ten the necessity for hurry comes    
only from our own attitude of mind1 and 
from no real need whatever4 ,in the     
tenth case we must learn to hurry with  
our muscles1 and not with our nerves1   
or1 ,i might better say1 we must hurry  
without excitement4 ,to hurry quietly is
 to most people an unknown thing1 but   
when hurry is a necessity1 the process  
of successive effort in it should be    
pleasant and refreshing4  ,if in the act
 of needful hurry we are constantly     
teaching ourselves to stop resistance by
 saying over and over1 through whatever 
we may be doing1 ,i am perfectly willing
 to lose that train1 ,i am willing to   
lose it1 ,i am willing to lose it1 that 

will help to remove the resistance1 and 
so help us to learn how to make haste   
quietly4  ,but the reader will say1 ,how
 can ,i make myself willing when ,i am  
not willing8  ,the answer is that if you
 know that your unwillingness to lose   
the train is preventing you from        
catching it1 you certainly will see the 
efficacy of being willing1 and you will 
do all in your power toward yielding to 
common sense4 ,unwillingness is         
resistance1--resistance in the mind     
contracts the muscles1 and such         
contraction prevents our using the      
muscles freely and easily4 ,therefore   
let us be willing4  ,of course there1 is
 a lazy1 selfish indifference to        
catching a train1 or accomplishing      
anything else1 which leaves the tendency
 to hurry out of some temperaments      
altogether1 but with that kind of a     
person we are not dealing now4 ,and such
 indifference is the absolute opposite  
of the wholesome indifference in which  
there is no touch of laziness or        

selfishness4  ,if we want to avoid hurry
 we must get the habit of hurry out of  
our brains1 and cut ourselves off1      
patiently and kindly1 from the          
atmosphere of hurry about us4 ,the habit
 gets so strong a hold of the nerves1   
and is impressed upon them so forcibly  
as a steady tendency1 that it can be    
detected by a close observer even in a  
person who is lying on a lounge in the  
full belief that he is resting4 ,it     
shows itself especially in the          
breathing4 ,a wise athlete has said that
 our normal breathing should consist of 
six breaths to one minute4 ,if the      
reader will try this rate of breathing1 
the slowness of it will surprise him4   
,six breaths to one minute seem to make 
the breathing unnecessarily slow1 and   
just double that seems about the right  
number for ordinary people2 and the     
habit of breathing at this slower rate  
is a great help1 from a physical        
standpoint1 toward erasing the tendency 
to hurry4  ,one of the most restful     

exercises any one can take is to lie at 
full length on a bed or lounge and to   
inhale and exhale1 at a perfectly even1 
slow rate1 for half an hour4 ,it makes  
the exercise more restful if another    
person counts for the breathing1 say1   
ten slowly and quickly to inhale1 and   
ten to exhale1 with a little pause to   
give time for a quiet change from one   
breath to another4  ,resistance1 which  
is the mental source of hurry1 is       
equally at the root of that most harmful
 emotion--the habit of worrying4 ,and   
the same truths which must be learned   
and practised to free ourselves of the  
one habit are applicable to the other4  
,take the simple example of a child who 
worries over his lessons4 ,children     
illustrate the principle especially     
well1 because they are so responsive    
that1 if you meet them quietly with the 
truth in difficulties of this kind they 
recognize its value and apply it very   
quickly1 and it takes them1             
comparatively1 a very little time to get

 free4  ,if you think of telling a child
 that the moment he finds himself       
worrying about his lesson he should     
close his book and say3  ,i do not care 
whether ,i get this lesson or not4  ,and
 then1 when he has actually persuaded   
himself that he does not care1 that he  
should open his book and study1--it     
would seem1 at first sight1 that he     
would find it difficult to understand   
you2 but1 on the contrary1 a child      
understands more quickly than older     
people1 for the child has not had time  
to establish himself so firmly in the   
evil habit4  ,i have in mind a little   
girl in whom the habit had begun of     
worrying lest she should fail in her    
lessons1 especially in her ,latin4 ,her 
mother sent her to be taught how not to 
worry4 ,the teacher1 after giving her   
some idea of the common sense of not    
worrying1 taught her quieting exercises 
which she practised every day2 and when 
one day1 in the midst of one of her     
lessons1 ,margaret seemed very quiet and

 restful1 the teacher asked3--          
,margaret1 could you worry about your   
,latin now if you tried8  ,yes1 said    
,margaret1 ,i am afraid ,i could4       
,nothing more was said1 but she went on 
with her lessons1 and several days      
after1 during the same restful quiet    
time1 the teacher ventured again4  ,now1
 ,margaret1 could you worry about your  
,latin if you tried8  ,then came the    
emphatic answer1 ,no1 ,i could not4     
,after that the little girl would say3  
,with the part of me that worries1 ,i do
 not care whether ,i get my ,latin or   
not2 with the part of me that does not  
worry1 ,i want to get my ,latin very    
much2 therefore ,i will stay in the part
 of me that does not worry1 and get my  
,latin4  ,a childish argument1 and one  
that may be entirely incomprehensible to
 many minds1 but to those who do        
comprehend1 it represents a very real   
and practical help4  ,it is1 in most    
cases1 a grave mistake to1 reason with a
 worry4 ,we must first drop the worry1  

and then do our reasoning4 ,if to drop  
the worry seems impossible1 we can      
separate ourselves from it enough to    
prevent it from interfering with our    
reasoning1 very much as if it were      
neuralgia4 ,there is never any real     
reason for a worry1 because1 as we all  
know1 worry never helps us to gain1 and 
often is the cause of our losing1 the   
things which we so much desire4         
,sometimes we worry because we are      
tired1 and in that case1 if we can      
recognize the real cause1 we should use 
our wills to withdraw our attention from
 the object of worry1 and to get all    
possible rest at once1 in the confident 
belief that rest will make things clear1
 or at least more clear than they were  
when we were tired4 ,it would be hard to
 compute the harm that has been done by 
kindly disposed people in reasoning with
 the worry of a friend1 when the anxiety
 is increased by fatigue or illness4 ,to
 reason with one who is tired or ill and
 worried1 only increases the mental     

strain1 and every effort that is made to
 reason him out of it aggravates the    
strain2 until1 finally1 the poor brain1 
through kindly meant effort1 has been   
worked into an extreme state of         
irritation or even inflammation4 ,for   
the same reason1 a worried mind should  
not be laughed at4 ,worries that are    
aroused by fatigue or illness are often 
most absurd1 but they are not absurd to 
the mind that is suffering from them1   
and to make fun of them only brings more
 pain1 and more worry4 ,gentle1 loving  
attention1 with kindly1 truthful        
answers1 will always help4 ,by such     
attention we are really giving no       
importance to the worry1 but only to our
 friend1 with the hope of soothing and  
quieting him out of his worries1 and    
when he is rested he may see the truth  
for himself4  ,we should deal with      
ourselves1 in such cases1 as gently as  
we would with a friend1 excepting that  
we can tell the truth to ourselves more 
plainly than we can to most friends4    

,worrying is resistance1 resistance is  
unwillingness4 ,unwillingness interferes
 with whatever we may want to           
accomplish4 ,to be willing that this1   
that1 or the other should happen seems  
most difficult1 when to our minds1 this1
 that1 or the other would bring         
disaster4 ,and yet if we can once see   
clearly that worrying resistance tends  
toward disaster rather than away from   
it1 or1 at the very least1 takes away   
our strength and endurance1 it is only a
 matter of time before we become able to
 drop our resistance altogether4 ,but it
 is a matter of time2 and1 when once we 
are faced toward freedom1 we must be    
patient and steady1 and not expect to   
gain very rapidly4 ,theirs is indeed a  
hard lot who have acquired this habit of
 worry1 and persist in doing nothing to 
gain their freedom4  ,now ,i have got   
something to worry about for the rest of
 my life1 remarked a poor woman once4   
,her face was set toward worrying2      
nothing but her own will could have     

turned it the other way1 and yet she    
deliberately chose not to use it1 and so
 she was fixed and settled in prison for
 the rest of her life4  ,to worry is    
wicked2 it is wickedness of a kind that 
people often do not recognize as such1  
and they are not fully responsible until
 they do2 but to prove it to be wicked  
is an easy matter1 when once we are     
faced toward freedom2 and1 to get over  
it1 as ,i have said1 is a matter of     
steady1 persistent patience4  ,as for   
irritability1 that is also resistance2  
but there are two kinds of              
irritability1--physical and moral4      
,there is an irritability that comes    
when we are hungry1 if we have eaten    
something that disagrees with us1 if we 
are cold or tired or uncomfortable from 
some other physical cause4 ,when we feel
 that kind of irritability we should    
ignore it1 as we would ignore a little  
snapping dog across the street1 while at
 the same time removing its cause as    
quickly as we can4 ,there is nothing    

that delights the devil more than to    
scratch a man with the irritability of  
hunger1 and have him respond to it at   
once by being ugly and rude to a friend2
 for then the irritation immediately    
becomes moral1 and every bit of         
selfishness rushes up to join it1 and to
 arouse whatever there may be of evil in
 the man4 ,it is simple to recognize    
this merely physical form of            
irritability1 and we should no more     
allow ourselves to speak1 or act1 or    
even think from it1 than we should allow
 ourselves to walk directly into foul   
air1 when the good fresh air is close to
 us on the other side4  ,but moral      
irritability is more serious2 that comes
 from the soul1 and is the result of our
 wanting our own way4 ,the immediate    
cause may be some physical disturbance1 
such as noise1 or it may be aroused by  
other petty annoyances1 like that of    
being obliged to wait for some one who  
is unpunctual1 or by disagreement in an 
argument4 ,there are very many causes   

for irritability1 and we each have our  
own individual sensitiveness or         
antipathy1 but1 whatever the secondary  
cause1 the primary cause is always the  
same1--resistance or unwillingness to   
accept our circumstances4  ,if we are   
fully willing to be disturbed1 we cease 
to be troubled by the disturbance2 if we
 are willing to wait1 we are not annoyed
 by being kept waiting1 and we are in a 
better1 more quiet humor to help our    
friend to the habit of promptness1 if we
 are willing that another should differ 
from us in opinion1 we can see more     
clearly either to convince our friend1  
if he is wrong1--or to admit that he is 
right1 and that we are wrong4 ,the      
essential condition of good argument is 
freedom from personal feeling1 with the 
desire only for the truth1--whether it  
comes from one party or the other4      
,hurry1 worry1 and irritability all come
 from selfish resistance to the facts of
 life1 and the only permanent cure for  
the waste of force and the exhausting   

distress which they entail1 is a        
willingness to accept those facts1      
whatever they may be1 in a spirit of    
cheerful and reverent obedience to law4 
,v  ,nervous ,fears      ,,to argue with
 nervous anxiety1 either in ourselves or
 in others1 is never helpful4 ,indeed it
 is never helpful to argue with nerves  
at all4 ,arguing with nervous excitement
 of any kind is like rubbing a sore4 ,it
 only irritates it4 ,it does not take   
long to argue excited or tired nerves   
into inflammation1 but it is a long and 
difficult process to allay the          
inflammation when it has once been      
aroused4 ,it is a sad fact that many    
people have been argued into long       
nervous illnesses by would-be kind      
friends whose only intention was to     
argue them out of illness4 ,even the    
kindest and most disinterested friends  
are apt to lose patience when they      
argue1 and that1 to the tired brain     
which they are trying to relieve1 is a  
greater irritant than they realize4 ,the

 radical cure for nervous fears is to   
drop resistance to painful circumstances
 or conditions4 ,resistance is          
unwillingness to endure1 and to drop the
 resistance is to be strongly willing4  
,this vigorous willingness is so        
absolutely certain in its happy effect1 
and is so impossible that it should     
fail1 that the resistant impulses seem  
to oppose themselves to it with extreme 
energy4 ,it is as if the resistances    
were conscious imps1 and as if their    
certainty of defeat--in the case of     
their victim's entire willingness       
--roused them to do their worst1 and to 
hold on to their only possible means of 
power with all the more determination4  
,indeed1 when a man is working through a
 hard state1 in gaining his freedom from
 nervous fears1 these imps seem to hold 
councils of war1 and to devise new plans
 of attack in order to take him by      
surprise and overwhelm him in an        
emergency4 ,but every sharp attack1 if  
met with quiet willingness1 brings a    

defeat for the assailants1 until finally
 the resistant imps are conquered and   
disappear4 ,occasionally a stray imp    
will return1 and try to arouse          
resistance on what he feels is old      
familiar ground1 but he is quickly      
driven off1 and the experience only     
makes a man more quietly vigilant and   
more persistently willing4  ,perhaps one
 of the most prevalent and one of the   
hardest fears to meet1 is that of       
insanity1--especially when it is known  
to be a probable or possible            
inheritance4 ,when such fear is         
oppressing a man1--to tell him that he  
not only can get free from the fear1 but
 free from any possibility of insanity1 
through a perfect willingness to be     
insane1 must seem to him at first a     
monstrous mockery2 and1 if you cannot   
persuade him of the truth1 but find that
 you are only frightening him more1     
there is nothing to do then but to be   
willing that he should not be persuaded1
 and to wait for a better opportunity4  

,you can show him that no such          
inheritance can become an actuality1    
unless we permit it1 and that the very  
knowledge of an hereditary tendency1    
when wholesomely used1 makes it possible
 for us to take every precaution and to 
use every true safeguard against it4    
,the presence of danger is a source of  
strength to the brave2 and the source of
 abiding courage is not in the nerves1  
but in the spirit and the will behind   
them4 ,it is the clear statement of this
 fact that will persuade him ,the fact  
may have to be stated many times1 but it
 should never be argued4 ,and the more  
quietly and gently and earnestly it is  
stated1 the sooner it will convince1 for
 it is the truth that makes us free4    
,fear keeps the brain in a state of     
excitement4 ,even when it is not        
consciously felt1 it is felt            
sub-consciously1 and we ought to be glad
 to have it aroused1 in order that we   
may see it and free ourselves1 not only 
from the particular fear for the time   

being1 but from the subconscious        
impression of fear in general4  ,is     
seems curious to speak of grappling with
 the fear of insanity1 and conquering it
 by being perfectly willing to be       
insane1 but it is no more curious than  
the relation of the centrifugal and the 
centripetal forces to each other4 ,we   
need our utmost power of concentration  
to enable us to yield truly1 and to be  
fully willing to submit to whatever the 
law of our being may require4 ,fear     
contracts the brain and the nerves1 and 
interrupts the circulation1 and want of 
free circulation is a breeder of        
disease4 ,dropping resistance relaxes   
the tension of the brain and nerves1 and
 opens the channels for free            
circulation1 and free circulation helps 
to carry off the tendency to disease4   
,if a man is wholesomely willing to be  
insane1 should such an affliction       
overtake him1 he has dropped all        
resistance to the idea of insanity1 and 
thus also to all the mental and physical

 contractions that would foster         
insanity4 ,he has dropped a strain which
 was draining his brain of its proper   
strength1 and the result is new vigor to
 mind and body4 ,to drop an inherited   
strain produces a great and wonderful   
change1 and all we need to bring it     
about is to thoroughly understand how   
possible and how beneficial it is4 ,if  
we once realize the benefit of dropping 
the strain1 our will is there to        
accomplish the rest1 as surely as it is 
there to take our hand out of the fire  
when it burns4  ,then there is the fear 
of contagion4 ,some people are haunted  
with the fear of catching disease1 and  
the contraction which such resistance   
brings induces a physical state most    
favorable to contagion4 ,there was once 
a little child whose parents were so    
full of anxious fears that they         
attempted to protect him from disease in
 ways that were extreme and ridiculous4 
,all his toys were boiled1 everything he
 ate or drank was sterilized1 and many  

other precautions were taken1--but along
 with all the precautions1 the parents  
were in constant fear2 and it is not    
unreasonable to feel that the reflection
 upon the child of the chronic          
resistance to possible danger with which
 he was surrounded1 had something to do 
with the fact that the dreaded disease  
was finally caught1 and that1 moreover1 
the child did not recover4 ,if          
reasonably healthy conditions had been  
insisted upon1 and the parents had felt 
a wholesome trust in the general order  
of things1 it would have been likely to 
make the child more vigorous1 and would 
have tended to increase his capacity for
 throwing off contagion4  ,children are 
very sensitive1 and it is not unusual to
 see a child crying because its mother  
is out of humor1 even though she may not
 have spoken a cross word4 ,it is not   
unusual to see a child contract its     
little brain and body in response to the
 fears and contractions of its parents1 
and such contraction keeps the child in 

a state in which it may be more         
difficult to throw off disease4  ,if you
 hold your fist as tight as you can hold
 it for fifteen minutes1 the fatigue you
 will feel when it relaxes is a clear   
proof of the energy you have been       
wasting4 ,the waste of nervous energy   
would be much increased if the fist were
 held tightly for hours2 and if the     
waste is so great in the useless        
tightening of a fist1 it is still       
greater in the extended and continuous  
contraction of brain and nerves in      
useless fears2 and the energy saved     
through dropping the fears and their    
accompanying tension can bring in the   
same proportion a vigor unknown before1 
and at the same time afford protection  
against the very things we feared4  ,the
 fear of taking cold is so strong in    
many people that a draught of fresh air 
becomes a bugaboo to their contracted1  
sensitive nerves4 ,draughts are imagined
 as existing everywhere1 and the        
contraction which immediately follows   

the sensation of a draught is the best  
means of preparing to catch a cold4     
,fear of accident keeps one in a        
constant state of unnecessary terror4   
,to be willing that an accident should  
happen does not make it more likely to  
happen1 but it prevents our wasting     
energy by resistance1 and keeps us quiet
 and free1 so that if an emergency of   
any kind arises1 we are prepared to act 
promptly and calmly for the best4 ,if   
the amount of human energy wasted in the
 strain of nervous fear could be        
measured in pounds of pressure1 the     
figures would be astonishing4 ,many     
people who have the habit of nervous    
fear in one form or another do not throw
 it off merely because they do not know 
how4 ,there are big and little nervous  
fears1 and each and all can be met and  
conquered1--thus bringing a freedom of  
life which cannot even be imagined by   
those carrying the burden of fear1 more 
or less1 throughout their lives4  ,the  
fear of what people will think of us is 

a very common cause of slavery1 and the 
nervous anxiety as to whether we do or  
do not please is a strain which wastes  
the energy of the greater part of       
mankind4 ,it seems curious to measure   
the force wasted in sensitiveness to    
public opinion as you would measure the 
waste of power in an engine1 and yet it 
is a wholesome and impersonal way to    
think of it1--until we find a better    
way4 ,it relieves us of the morbid      
element in the sensitiveness to say1 ,i 
cannot mind what so-and-so thinks of me1
 for ,i have not the nervous energy to  
spare4 ,it relieves us still more of the
 tendency to morbid feeling1 if we are  
wholesomely interested in what others   
think of us1 in order to profit by it1  
and do better4 ,there is nothing morbid 
or nervous about our sensitiveness to   
opinion1 when it is derived from a love 
of criticism for the sake of its        
usefulness4 ,such a rightful and wise   
regard for the opinion of others results
 in a saving of energy1 for on the one  

hand1 it saves us from the mistakes of  
false and shallow independence1 and1 on 
the other1 from the wasteful strain of  
servile fear4  ,the little nervous fears
 are countless4 ,the fear of not being  
exact4 ,the fear of not having turned   
off the gas entirely4 ,the fear of not  
having done a little daily duty which we
 find again and again we have done4     
,these fears are often increased1 and   
sometimes are aroused1 by our being     
tired1 and it is well to realize that1  
and to attend at once carefully to      
whatever our particular duty may be1 and
 then1 when the fear of not having done 
it attacks us1 we should think of it as 
if it were a physical pain1 and turn our
 attention quietly to something else4   
,in this way such little nagging fears  
are relieved2 whereas1 if we allowed    
ourselves to be driven by them1 we might
 bring on nervous states that would take
 weeks or months to overcome4 ,these    
nervous fears attack us again and again 
in subtle ways1 if we allow ourselves to

 be influenced by them4 ,they are all   
forms of unwillingness or resistance1   
and may all be removed by dropping the  
resistance and yielding1--not to the    
fear1 but to a willingness that the fear
 should be there4  ,one of the small    
fears that often makes life seem        
unbearable is the fear of a dentist4 ,a 
woman who had suffered from this fear   
for a lifetime1 and who had been        
learning to drop resistances in other   
ways1 was once brought face to face with
 the necessity for going to the dentist1
 and the old fear was at once           
aroused1--something like the feeling one
 might have in preparing for the        
guillotine1--and she suffered from it a 
day or two before she remembered her new
 principles4 ,then1 when the new ideas  
came back to her mind1 she at once      
applied them and said1 ,yes1 ,i am      
afraid1 ,i am awfully afraid4 ,i am     
perfectly willing to be afraid1 and the 
ease with which the fear disappeared was
 a surprise1--even to herself4  ,another

 woman who was suffering intensely from 
fear as to the after-effects of an      
operation1 had begun to tremble with    
great nervous intensity4 ,the trembling 
itself frightened her1 and when a friend
 told her quietly to be willing to      
tremble1 her quick1 intelligence        
responded at once4 ,yes1 she said1 ,i   
will1 ,i will make myself tremble1 and1 
by not only being willing to tremble1   
but by making herself tremble1 she got  
quiet mental relief in a very short     
time1 and the trembling disappeared4    
,the fear of death is1 with its         
derivatives1 of course1 the greatest of 
all2 and to remove our resistance to the
 idea of death1 by being perfectly      
willingly to die is to remove the       
foundation of all the physical cowardice
 in life1 and to open the way for the   
growth of a courage which is strength   
and freedom itself4 ,he who yields      
gladly to the ordinary facts of life1   
will also yield gladly to the supreme   
fact of physical death1 for a brave and 

happy willingness is the characteristic 
habit of his heart3--  ,under the wide  
and starry sky1 ,dig the grave and let  
me lie4 ,glad did ,i live and gladly    
die1 ,and ,i laid me down with a will4  
,there is a legend of the ,arabs in     
which a man puts his head out of his    
tent and says1 ,i will loose my camel   
and commit him to ,god1 and a neighbor  
who hears him says1 in his turn1 ,i will
 tie my camel and commit him to ,god4   
,the true helpfulness from              
non-resistance does not come from       
neglecting to take proper precautions   
against the objects of fear1 but from   
yielding with entire willingness to the 
necessary facts of life1 and a sane     
confidence that1 whatever comes1 we     
shall be provided with the means of     
meeting it4 ,this confidence is1 in     
itself1 one of the greatest sources of  
intelligent endurance4       ,,vi       
,self-,consciousness                    
,,self-,,consciousness may be truly     
defined as a person's inability to get  

out of his own way4 ,there are1 however1
 some people who are so entirely and    
absolutely self-conscious that          
everything they do1 even though it may  
appear spontaneous and ingenuous1 is    
observed and admired and approved of by 
themselves1--indeed they are supported  
and sustained by their                  
self-consciousness4 ,they are so        
completely in bondage to themselves that
 they have no glimpse of the possibility
 of freedom1 and therefore this bondage 
is pleasant to them4  ,with these people
 we have1 at present1 nothing to do2 it 
is only those who have begun to realize 
their bondage as such1 or who suffer    
from it1 that can take any steps toward 
freedom4 ,the self-satisfied slaves must
 stay in prison until they see where    
they are--and it is curious and sad to  
see them rejoicing in bondage and       
miscalling it freedom4 ,it makes one    
long to see them struck by an emergency1
 bringing a flash of inner light which  
is often the beginning of an entire     

change of state4 ,sometimes the         
enlightenment comes through one kind of 
circumstance1 sometimes through another2
 but1 if the glimpse of clearer sight it
 brings is taken advantage of1 it will  
be followed by a time of groping in the 
dark1 and always by more or less        
suffering4 ,when1 however1 we know that 
we are in the dark1 there is hope of our
 coming to the light2 and suffering is  
nothing whatever after it is over and   
has brought its good results4  ,if we   
were to take away the prop of           
self-approval entirely and immediately  
from any one of the habitually          
self-satisfied people1 the probable     
result would be an entire nervous       
collapse1 or even a painful form of     
insanity2 and1 in all changes of state  
from bondage to freedom1 the process is 
and must be exceedingly slow4 ,no one   
ever strengthened his character with a  
wrench of impatience1 although we are   
often given the opportunity for a firm  
and immediate use of the will which     

leaves lasting strength behind it4 ,for 
the main growth of our lives1 however1  
we must be steadily patient1 content to 
aim in the true direction day by day1   
hour by hour1 minute by minute4 ,if we  
fall1 we must pick ourselves up and go  
right on1--not stop to be discouraged   
for one instant after we have recognized
 our state as a temptation4 ,whatever   
the stone may be that we have tripped   
over1 we have learned that it is there1 
and1 while we may trip over the same    
stone many times1 if we learn our lesson
 each time1 it decreases the possible   
number of stumbles1 and smooths our     
paths more than we know4  ,there is no  
exception to the necessity for this     
patient1 steady plodding in the work    
required to gain our freedom from       
self-consciousness4 ,it is when we are  
aware of our bondage that our           
opportunity to gain our freedom from it 
really begins4 ,this bondage brings very
 real suffering1 and we may often1      
without exaggeration1 call it torture4  

,it is sometimes even extreme torture1  
but may have to be endured for a        
lifetime unless the sufferer has the    
clear light by which to find his        
freedom2 and1 unfortunately1 many who   
might have the light will not use it    
because they are unwilling to recognize 
the selfishness that is at the root of  
their trouble4 ,some women like to call 
it shyness1 because the name sounds     
well1 and seems to exonerate them from  
any responsibility with regard to their 
defect4 ,men will rarely speak of their 
self-consciousness1 but1 when they do1  
they are apt to speak of it with more or
 less indignation and self-pity1 as if  
they were in the clutches of something  
extraneous to themselves1 and over which
 they can never gain control4 ,if1 when 
a man is complaining of                 
self-consciousness and of its           
interference with his work in life1 you 
tell him in all kindness that all his   
suffering has its root in downright     
selfishness1 he will1 in most cases1    

appear not to hear1 or he will beg the  
question1 and1 having avoided           
acknowledging the truth1 will continue  
to complain and ask for help1 and       
perhaps wonder whether hypnotism may not
 help him1 or some other form of cure4  
,anything rather than look the truth in 
the face and do the work in himself     
which1 is the only possible road to     
lasting1 freedom4 ,self-pity1 and what  
may be called spiritual laziness1 is at 
the root of most of the self-torment in 
the world4  ,how ridiculous it would    
seem if a man tried to produce an       
electric burner according to laws of his
 own devising1 and then sat down and    
pitied himself because the light would  
not burn1 instead of searching about    
until he had found the true laws of     
electricity whose application would make
 the light shine successfully4 ,how     
ridiculous it would seem if a man tried 
to make water run up hill without       
providing that it should do so by       
reaching its own level1 and then got    

indignant because he did not succeed1   
and wondered if there were not some cure
 by means of which his object might be  
accomplished4 ,and yet it is no more    
strange for a man to disobey habitually 
the laws of character1 and then to      
suffer for his disobedience1 and wonder 
why he suffers4  ,there is an external  
necessity for obeying social laws which 
must be respected1 or society would go  
to pieces2 and there is just as great an
 internal necessity for obeying         
spiritual laws to gain our proper       
self-control and power for use2 but we  
do not recognize that necessity because1
 while disregarding the laws of         
character1 we can still live without the
 appearance of doing harm to the        
community4 ,social laws can be respected
 in the letter but not in the spirit1   
whereas spiritual laws must be accepted 
by the individual heart and practiced by
 the individual will in order to produce
 any useful result4 ,each one of us must
 do the required work in himself4 ,there

 is no cure1 no help from outside which 
can bring one to a lasting freedom4  ,if
 self-consciousness makes us blush1 the 
more we are troubled the more it        
increases1 until the blushing may become
 so unbearable that we are tempted to   
keep away from people altogether2 and   
thus life1 so far as human fellowship   
goes1 would become more and more        
limited4 ,but1 when such a limitation is
 allowed to remain within us1 and we    
make no effort of our own to find its   
root and to exterminate it1 it warps us 
through and through4 ,if                
self-consciousness excites us to talk1  
and we talk on and on to no end1 simply 
allowing the selfish suffering to goad  
us1 the habit weakens our brains so that
 in time they lose the power of strong  
consecutive thought and helpful brevity4
  ,if self-consciousness causes us to   
wriggle1 and strain1 and stammer1 and we
 do not recognize the root of the       
trouble and shun it1 and learn to yield 
and quietly relax our nerves and        

muscles1 of course the strain becomes   
worse4 ,then1 rather than suffer from it
 any longer1 we keep away from people1  
just as the blushing man is tempted to  
do4 ,in that case1 the strain is still  
in us1 in the back of our brains1 so to 
speak--because we have not faced and    
overcome it4  ,stage fright is an       
intense form of self-consciousness1 but 
the man who is incapable of stage fright
 lacks the sensitive temperament        
required to achieve great power as an   
artist4 ,the man who overcomes stage    
fright by getting out of his own way1   
and by letting the character he is      
playing1 or the music he is             
interpreting1 work through him as a     
clear1 unselfish channel receives new   
power for his work in the proportion    
that he shuns his own interfering       
selfishness4  ,but it is with the       
self-consciousness of everyday life that
 we have especially to do now1 and with 
the practical wisdom necessary to gain  
freedom from all its various            

discomforts2 and1 even more than that1  
to gain the new power for useful service
 which comes from the possession of that
 freedom4  ,the remedy is to be found in
 obedience to the law of unselfishness1 
carried out into the field of nervous   
suffering4  ,whatever one may think1    
however one may try to dodge the truth  
by this excuse or that1 the conditions  
to be fulfilled in order to gain freedom
 from self-consciousness are absolutely 
within the individual who suffers4 ,when
 we once understand this1 and are faced 
toward the truth1 we are sure to find   
our way out1 with more or less rapidity1
 according to the strength with which we
 use our wills in true obedience4       
,first1 we must be willing to accept the
 effects of self-consciousness4 ,the    
more we resist these effects the more   
they force themselves upon us1 and the  
more we suffer from them4 ,we must be   
willing to blush1 be willing to realize 
that we have talked too much1 and       
perhaps made ourselves ridiculous4 ,we  

must be willing to feel the discomforts 
of self-consciousness in whatever form  
they may appear4 ,then--the central     
point of all--we must know and          
understand1 and not dodge in the very   
least the truth that the root of        
self-consciousness is selfishly caring  
what other people think of us1--and     
wanting to appear well before them4     
,many readers of this article who suffer
 from self-consciousness will want to   
deny this2 others will acknowledge it1  
but will declare their inability to live
 according to the truth2 some1--perhaps 
more than a few1--will recognize the    
truth and set to work with a will to    
obey it1 and how happily we may look    
forward to the freedom which will       
eventually be theirs6  ,a wise man has  
said that when people do not think well 
of us1 the first thing to do is to look 
and see whether they are right4 ,in most
 cases1 even though they way have unkind
 feelings mingled with their criticism1 
there is an element of truth in it from 

which we may profit4 ,in such cases we  
are much indebted to our critics1 for1  
by taking their suggestions1 we are     
helped toward strength of character and 
power for use4 ,if there is no truth in 
the criticism1 we need not think of it  
at all1 but live steadily on1 knowing   
that the truth will take care of itself4
  ,we should be willing that any one    
should think anything of us1 so long as 
we have the strength of a good          
conscience4 ,we should be willing to    
appear in any light if that appearance  
will enhance our use1 or is a necessity 
of growth4 ,if an awkward appearance is 
necessary in the process of our journey 
toward freedom1 we must not resist the  
fact of its existence1 and should only  
dwell on it long enough to shun its     
cause in so far as we can1 and gain the 
good result of the greater freedom which
 will follow4  ,it is because the       
suffering from self-consciousness is    
often so intense that freedom from it   
brings1 by contrast1 so happy and so    

strong a sense of power4  ,there is a   
school for the treatment of stammerers  
in this country in which the pupils are 
initiated into the process of cure by   
being required to keep silence for a    
week4 ,this would be a most helpful     
beginning in a training to overcome     
self-consciousness4 ,we should recognize
 first that we must be willing to endure
 the effects of self-consciousness      
without resistance4 ,secondly1 we should
 admit that the root of                 
self-consciousness lies entirely in a   
selfish desire to appear well before    
others4 ,if1 while recognizing these two
 essential truths and confirming them   
until they are thoroughly implanted in  
our brains1 we should quietly persist in
 going among people1 the practice of    
silent attention to others would be of  
the greatest value in gaining real      
freedom4 ,the practice of attentive and 
sympathetic silence might well be       
followed by people in general far more  
than it is4 ,the protection of a loving1

 unselfish silence is very great3 a     
silence which is the result of shunning 
all selfish1 self-assertive1 vain1 or   
affected speech2 a silence which is     
never broken for the sake of making     
conversation1 showing off1 or covering  
selfish embarrassment2 a silence which  
is full of sympathy and interest1--the  
power of such a silence cannot be       
overestimated4  ,if we have the evil    
habit of talking for the sake of winning
 approval1 we should practise this      
silence2 or if we talk for the sake of  
calling attention to ourselves1 for the 
sake of winning sympathy for our selfish
 pains and sorrows1 or for the sake of  
indulging in selfish emotions1 nothing  
can help us more than the habit of      
loving and attentive silence4  ,only    
when we know how to practise this--in an
 impersonal1 free and quiet spirit1 one 
which is not due to outward repression  
of any kind--are we able to talk with   
quiet1 loving1 helpful speech4 ,then may
 we tell the clean truth without giving 

unnecessary offence1 and then may we    
soothe and rest1 as well as stimulate   
in1 wholesome ways2 then1 also1 will our
 minds open to receive the good that may
 come to us through the words and       
actions of others4       ,,vii  ,the    
,circumstances of ,life      ,,it is not
 the circumstances of life that trouble 
or weigh upon us1 it is the way we take 
them4 ,if a man is playing a difficult  
game of chess1 the more intricate the   
moves the more thoughtfully he looks    
over his own and his opponent's men1 and
 the more fully he is aroused to make   
the right move toward a checkmate4 ,if1 
when the game became difficult1 the     
player stopped to be depressed and      
disheartened1 his opponent would        
probably always checkmate him2 whereas1 
in most cases1 the more difficult the   
game the more thoroughly the players are
 aroused to do their best1 and a        
difficult game is invariably a good     
one1--the winner and the loser both feel
 it to be so1--even though the loser may

 regret his loss4 ,but--the reader will 
say--a game of chess is a game          
only1--neither one's bread and butter   
nor one's life depend upon winning or   
losing it4 ,if1 however1 we need to be  
cool and quiet and trustful for a game1 
which is merely an amusement1 and if we 
play the game better for being cool and 
quiet and trustful1 why is not a quiet  
steadiness in wrestling with the        
circumstances of life itself just as    
necessary1 not only that we may meet the
 particular problem of the moment truly1
 but that we may gain all the experience
 which may be helpful in meeting other  
difficult circumstances as they present 
themselves4  ,we must first convince    
ourselves thoroughly of the truth that  
,,circumstances1 ,,however ,,difficult1 
,,are ,,always--,,without ,,exception1  
,,opportunities1 ,,and ,,not            
,,limitations4  ,they are not by any    
means opportunities for taking us in the
 direction that our own selfishness     
would have us go2 they are opportunities

 which are meant to guide us in the     
direction we most need to follow1--in   
the ways that will lead us to the       
greatest strength in the end4  ,the most
 unbelieving of us will admit that there
 is a destiny which shapes our ends1    
rough hew them as we may1 and it is in  
the stupid resistance to having our ends
 shaped for us that we stop and groan at
 what we call the limitations of        
circumstances4  ,if we were quickly     
alert to see where circumstances had    
placed the gate of opportunity1 and then
 steadily persisted in going through it1
 it would save the loss of energy and   
happiness which results from obstinately
 beating our heads against a stone wall 
where there is no gate1 and where there 
never can be a gate4  ,probably there is
 hardly a reader who will not recall a  
number of cases in which circumstances  
appear to have been only limitations to 
him or to his friends2 but if he will   
try with a willing mind to find the gate
 of opportunity which was not used1 he  

will be surprised to learn that it was  
wide open all the time1 and might have  
led him into a new and better country4  
,the other day a little urchin playing  
in the street got in the way of a horse1
 and just saved himself from being run  
over by a quick jump2 he threw up his   
arms and in a most cheerful voice called
 out1 ,it's all right1 only different6  
,if the horse had run over him1 he might
 have said the same thing and found his 
opportunity to more that was good and   
useful in life through steady patience  
on his bed4 ,the trouble is that we are 
not willing to call it all right unless 
it is the same1--the same in this case  
meaning whatever may be identical with  
our own personal ideas of what is all   
right4 ,that expressive little bit of   
slang is full of humor and full of      
common sense4  ,if1 for instance1 when  
we expect something and are             
disappointed1 we could at once yield out
 of our resistance and heartily exclaim1
 it is all right1 only different1 how   

much sooner we should discover the good 
use in its being different1 and how soon
 we should settle into the sense of its 
being all right6 ,when a circumstance   
that has seemed to us all wrong can be  
made1 through our quiet way of meeting  
it1 to appear all right1 only different1
 it very soon leads to a wholesome      
content in the new state of affairs or  
to a change of circumstances to which we
 can more readily and happily adjust    
ourselves4  ,a strong sense of          
something's being all right means a     
strong sense of willingness that it     
should be just as it is4 ,with that     
clear willingness in our hearts in      
general1 we can adjust ourselves to     
anything in particular1--even to very   
sudden and unexpected changes4 ,it is   
carrying along with us a background of  
powerful non-resistance which we can    
bring to the front and use actively at a
 moment's notice4  ,it seems odd to     
think of actively using non-resistance1 
and yet the expression is not as        

contradictory as it would appear1 for   
the strength of will it takes to attain 
an habitual attitude of wholesome       
non-resistance is far beyond the        
strength of will required to resist     
unwholesomely4 ,the stronger1 the more  
fixed and immovable the centre1 the more
 free and adaptable are the             
circumferences of action2 and1 even     
though our central principle is fixed   
and immovable1 it must be elastic enough
 to enable us to change our point of    
view whenever we find that by so doing  
we can gain a broader outlook and       
greater power for use4  ,to acquire the 
strength of will for this habitual      
non-resistance is sometimes a matter of 
years of practice4 ,we have to compel   
ourselves to be willing1 over and over  
again1 at each new opportunity2         
sometimes the opportunities seem to     
throng us2 and this1 truly considered1  
is only a cause for gratitude4  ,in life
 the truest winning often comes first   
under the guise of failure1 and it is   

willingness to accept failure1 and      
intelligence in understanding its       
causes1 and using the acquired knowledge
 as a means to a higher end1 that       
ultimately brings true success4 ,if we  
choose1 a failure can always be used as 
a means to an end rather than as a      
result in itself4  ,how often do we hear
 the complaint1 ,i could do so well if  
it were not for my circumstances4 ,how  
many people are held down for a lifetime
 by the habitual belief in circumstances
 as limitations1 and by ignoring the    
opportunities which they afford4  ,so   
long as ,i must live with these people  
,i can never amount to anything4 ,if    
this complaint could be changed to the  
resolve3 ,i will live with these people 
until ,i have so adjusted myself to them
 as to be contented1 a source of        
weakness would be changed into a source 
of strength4 ,the quiet activity of mind
 required to adjust ourselves to        
difficult surroundings gives a zest and 
interest to life which we can find in no

 other way1 and adds a certain strength 
to the character which cannot be found  
elsewhere4 ,it is interesting to        
observe1 too1 how often it happens that1
 when we have adjusted ourselves to     
difficult circumstances1 we are removed 
to other circumstances which are more in
 sympathy with our own1 thoughts and    
ways3 and sometimes to circumstances    
which are more difficult still1 and     
require all the strength and wisdom     
which our previous discipline has taught
 us4  ,if we are alive to our own true  
freedom1 we should have an active       
interest in the necessary warfare of    
life4 ,for life is a warfare--not of    
persons1 but of principles--and every   
man who loves his freedom loves to be in
 the midst of the battle4 ,our          
tendencies to selfish discontent are    
constantly warring against our love of  
usefulness and service1 and he who      
wishes to enjoy the full activity of    
freedom must learn to fight and to      
destroy the tendencies within himself   

which stand in the way of his own       
obedience to law4 ,but he needs1 for    
this1 the truthful and open spirit which
 leads to wise self-knowledge2 a quiet  
and a willing spirit1 to make the       
necessary sacrifice of selfish pride4   
,his quiet earnestness will give him the
 strength to carry out what his clear   
vision will reveal to him in the light  
of truth ,he will keep his head lifted  
up above his enemies round about him1 so
 that he may steadily watch and clearly 
see how best to act4 ,after periods of  
hard fighting the intervals of rest will
 be full of refreshment1 and will always
 bring new strength for further         
activity4 ,if1 in the battle with       
difficult circumstances1 we are thrown  
down1 we must pick ourselves up with    
quick decision1 and not waste a moment  
in complaint or discouragement4 ,we     
should emphasize to ourselves the       
necessity for picking ourselves up      
immediately1 and going directly on1 over
 and over again1--both for our own      

benefit1 and the benefit of those whom  
we have the privilege of helping4  ,in  
the ,japanese training of ,jiu ,jitsu1  
the idea seems to be to drop all        
subjective resistance1 and to continue  
to drop it1 until1 through the calmness 
and clearness of sight that comes from  
quiet nerves and a free mind1 the       
wrestler can see where to make the fatal
 stroke4 ,when the right time has       
arrived1 the only effort which is       
necessary is quick1 sharp and           
conclusive4 ,this wonderful principle is
 often misused for selfish ends1 and in 
such cases it leads eventually to       
bondage because1 by the successful      
satisfaction of selfish motives1 it     
strengthens the hold of our selfishness 
upon us2 but1 when used in an unselfish 
spirit1 it is an ever-increasing source 
of strength4 ,in the case of difficult  
circumstances1--if we cease to          
resist1--if we accept the facts of      
life1--if we are willing to be poor1 or 
ill1 or disappointed1 or to live with   

people we do not like1--we gain a       
quietness of nerve and a freedom of mind
 which clears off the mists around us1  
so that our eyes may see and recognize  
the gate of opportunity1--open before   
us4  ,it is the law of concentration and
 relaxation4 ,if we concentrate on being
 willing1 on relaxing until we have     
dropped every bit of resistance to the  
circumstances about us1 that brings us  
to a quiet and well-balanced point of   
view1 whence we can see clearly how to  
take firm and decided action4 ,from such
 action the re-action is only renewed   
strength1--never painful and contracting
 weakness4 ,if we could give up all our 
selfish desires and resistances1        
circumstances1 however difficult1 would 
have no power whatever to trouble us4   
,to reach such absolute willingness is a
 long journey1 but there is a straight  
path leading nearer and nearer to the   
happy freedom which is our goal4        
,self-pity is one of the states that    
interferes most effectually with making 

the right use of circumstances4 ,to pity
 one's self is destruction to all       
possible freedom4 ,if the reader finds  
himself in the throes of this weakness  
and is helped through these words to    
recognize the fact1 let him hasten to   
shun it as he would shun poison1 for it 
is progressively weakening to soul and  
body4 ,it will take only slight         
difficulties of any kind to overthrow   
us1 if we are overcome by this          
temptation4  ,imagine a man in the      
planet ,mars wanting to try his fortunes
 on another planet1 and an angel        
appearing to him with permission to     
transfer him to the earth4  ,but1 the   
angel says1 of course you can have no   
idea of what the life is upon the new   
planet unless you are placed in the     
midst of various circumstances which are
 more or less common to its inhabitants4
  ,certainly1 the ,martian answers1 ,i  
recognize that1 and ,i want to have my  
experience on this new planet as        
complete as possible2 therefore the more

 characteristic and difficult my        
circumstances are the better4 ,then     
imagine the interest that man would     
have1 from the moment he was placed on  
the earth1 in working1 his way through1 
and observing his experience as he      
worked4  ,his interest would be alive   
vivid1 and strong1 from the beginning   
until he found himself1 with earthly    
experience completed1 ready to return to
 his friends in ,mars4 ,he would never  
lose courage or be in any way           
disheartened4 ,the more difficult his   
earthly problem was1 the more it would  
arouse his interest and vigor to solve  
it4 ,so many people prefer a difficult  
problem in geometry to an easy one1 then
 why not in life8 ,the difference is    
that in mathematics the head alone is   
exercised1 and in life the head and the 
heart are both brought into play1 and   
the first difficulty is to persuade the 
head and heart to work together4 ,in the
 visitor from ,mars1 of course1 the     
heart would be working with the head1   

and so the whole man would be centred on
 getting creditably through his         
experience and home again4 ,if our      
hearts and heads were together equally  
concentrated on getting through our     
experience for the sake of the greater  
power of use it would bring1--and1 if we
 could trustfully believe in getting    
home again1 that is1 in getting         
established in the current of ordinary  
spiritual and natural action1 then life 
would be really alive for us1 then we   
should actually get the scent of our    
true freedom1 and1 having once had a    
taste of it1 we should have a fresh     
incentive in achieving it entirely4     
,there is one important thing to        
remember in an effort to be free from   
the bondage of circumstances which will 
save us from much unnecessary suffering4
 ,this has to do with the painful       
associations which arise from           
circumstances which are past and over4  
,a woman1 for example1 suffered for a   
year from nervous exhaustion in her     

head1 which was brought on1 among other 
things1 by over-excitement in private   
theatricals4 ,she apparently recovered  
her health1 and1 because she was fond of
 acting1 her first activities were      
turned in that direction4 ,she accepted 
a part in a play2 but as soon as she    
began to study all her old head symptoms
 returned1 and she was thoroughly       
frightened1 thinking that she might     
never be able to use her head again4    
,upon being convinced1 however1 that all
 her discomfort came from her own       
imagination1 through the painful        
associations connected with the study of
 her part1 she returned to her work     
resolved to ignore them1 and the        
consequence was that the symptoms       
rapidly disappeared4  ,not uncommonly we
 hear that a person of our acquaintance 
cannot go to some particular place      
because of the painful events which     
occurred there4 ,if the sufferer could  
only be persuaded that1 when such       
associations are once bravely faced1 it 

takes a very short time for the painful 
effects to disappear entirely1 much     
unnecessary and prolonged discomfort    
would be saved4  ,people have been kept 
ill for weeks1 months and years1        
through4 holding on to the brain        
impression of some painful event4       
,whether the painful circumstances are  
little or great1 the law of association 
is the same and1 in any case1 the brain 
impression can be dropped entirely1     
although it may take time and patience  
to do it4 ,we must often talk to our    
brains as if we were talking to another 
person to eliminate the impressions from
 old associations4 ,tell your brain in  
so many words1 without emotion1 that the
 place or the circumstance is nothing1  
nothing whatever1--it is only your idea 
about it1 and the false association can 
be changed to a true one4  ,so must we  
yield our selfish resistances and be    
ready to accept every opportunity for   
growth that circumstances offer2 and1 at
 the same time1 when the good result is 

gained1 throw off the impression of the 
pain of the process entirely and        
forever4 ,thus may we both live and     
observe for our own good and that of    
others2 and he who is practising this   
principle in his daily life can say from
 his heart3--,now shall my head be      
lifted up above mine enemies round about
 me4       ,,viii  ,other ,people       
,,however disagreeable other people may 
be1--however unjust they may be1 however
 true it may be that the wrong is all on
 their side and not at all on           
ours1--whatever we may suffer at their  
hands1--we can only remedy the          
difficulty by looking first solely to   
ourselves and our own conduct2 and1 not 
until we are entirely free from         
resentment or resistance of any kind1   
and not until we are quiet in our own   
minds with regard to those who may be   
oppressing or annoying us1 should we    
make any effort to set them right4      
,this philosophy is sound and absolutely
 practical1--it never fails2 any        

apparent failure will be due to our own 
delinquency in applying it2 and1 if the 
reader will think of this truth         
carefully until he feels able to accept 
it1 he will see what true freedom there 
is in it1--although it may be a long    
time before he is fully able to carry it
 out4  ,how can ,i remain in any        
slightest bondage to another when ,i    
feel sure that1 however wrong he may be1
 the true cause of my discomfort and    
oppression is in myself8 ,i am in       
bondage to myself1 and it is to myself  
that ,i must look to gain my freedom4   
,if a friend is rude and unkind to me1  
and ,i resent the rudeness and resist   
the unkindness1 it is the resentment and
 resistance that cause me to suffer4 ,i 
am not suffering for my friend1 ,i am   
suffering for myself2 and ,i can only   
gain my freedom by shunning the         
resentment and resistance as sin against
 all that is good and true in           
friendship4 ,when ,i am free from these 
things in myself1--when1 as far as ,i am

 concerned1 ,i am perfectly and entirely
 willing that my friend should be rude  
or unjust1 then only am ,i free from    
him4 ,it is impossible that he should   
oppress me1 if ,i am willing that he    
should be unjust or unkind2 and the     
freedom that comes from such strong and 
willing non-resistance is like the fresh
 air upon a mountain4 ,such freedom     
brings with it also a new understanding 
of one's friend1 and a new ability to   
serve him4  ,unless we live a life of   
seclusion1 most of us have more than one
 friend1 or acquaintance1 or enemy1 with
 whom we are brought into constant or   
occasional contact1 and by whom we are  
made to suffer2 not to mention the      
frequent irritations that may come from 
people we see only once in our lives4   
,imagine the joy of being free from all 
this irritability and oppression2       
imagine the saving of nervous energy    
which would accompany such freedom2     
imagine the possibility of use to others
 which would be its most helpful result6

  ,if we once catch even the least      
glimpse of this quiet freedom1 we shall 
not mind if it takes some time to       
accomplish so desirable a result1 and   
the process of achieving it is deeply   
interesting4  ,the difficulty at first  
is to believe that so far as we are     
concerned1 the cause ,of the trouble is 
entirely within1 ourselves4 ,the        
temptation is to think3--  ,how can ,i  
help resenting behavior like that6 ,such
 selfishness and lack of consideration  
would be resented by any one4  ,so any  
one might resent it1 but that is no     
reason why we should4 ,we are not to    
make other people's standards our own   
unless we see that their standards are  
higher than ours2 only then should we   
change1--not to win the favor of the    
other people1 but because we have       
recognized the superior value of their  
standards and are glad to put away what 
is inferior for what is better4         
,therefore we can never excuse ourselves
 for resentment or resistance because   

other people resent or resist4 ,there   
can be no possible excuse for resistance
 to the behavior of others1 and it is   
safe to say that we must never pit our  
wills against the wills of other people4
 ,if we want to do right and the other  
man wants us to do wrong1 we must pass  
by his will1 pass under it or over it1  
but never on any account resist it4     
,there has been more loss of energy1    
more real harm done1 through this futile
 engagement of two personal wills than  
can ever be computed1 and the freedom   
consequent upon refusing such contact is
 great in proportion4 ,obedience to this
 law of not pitting our wills against   
the wills of other people leads to new  
freedom in all sorts of ways1--in       
connection with little1 everyday        
questions1 as to whether a thing is one 
color or another1 as well as in the     
great and serious problems of life4 ,if1
 in an argument1 we feel confident that 
all we want is the truth1--that we do   
not care whether we or our opponents are

 in the right1 as long as we find the   
right itself1--then we are free1 so far 
as personal feeling is concerned2       
especially if1 in addition1 we are      
perfectly willing that our opponents    
should not be convinced1 even though the
 right should ultimately prove to be on 
our side4  ,with regard to learning how 
always to look first to                 
ourselves1--first we must become        
conscious of our own resentment and     
resistance1 then we must acknowledge it 
heartily and fully1 and then we must go 
to work firmly and steadily to refuse to
 harbor it4 ,we must relax out of the   
tension of our resistance with both soul
 and body2 for of course1 the resistance
 contracts the nerves of our bodies1    
and1 if we relax from the contractions  
in our bodies1 it helps us to gain      
freedom from resistance in our hearts   
and minds4 ,the same resistance to the  
same person or the same ideas may       
return1 in different forms1 many times  
over2 but all we have to do is to       

persist in dropping it as often as it   
returns1 even if it be thousands of     
times4  ,no one need be afraid of losing
 all backbone and becoming a mush of    
concession through the process of       
dropping useless resistance1 for the    
strength of will required to free       
ourselves from the habit of pitting     
one's own will against that of another  
is much greater than the strength we use
 when we indulge the habit4 ,the two    
kinds of strength can no more be        
compared than the power of natural law  
can be compared to the lawless efforts  
of human waywardness4 ,for the will that
 is pitted against the will of another  
degenerates into obstinacy1 and weakens 
the character2 whereas the will that is 
used truly to refuse useless resistance 
increases steadily in strength1 and     
develops power and beauty of character4 
,again1 the man who insists upon pitting
 his will against that of another is    
constantly blinded as to the true       
qualities of his opponent4 ,he sees     

neither his virtues nor his vices       
clearly2 whereas he who declines the    
merely personal contest becomes         
constantly clarified in his views1 and  
so helped toward a loving charity for   
his opponent1--whatever his faults or   
difficulties may be1--and to an         
understanding and love of the good in   
him1 which does not identify him with   
his faults4  ,when we resent and resist1
 and are personally wilful1 there is a  
great big beam in our eye1 which we     
cannot see through1 or under1 or        
over1--but1 as we gain our freedom from 
all such resistance1 the beam is        
removed1 and we are permitted to see    
things as they really are1 and with a   
truer sense of proportion1 our power of 
use increases4  ,when a person is       
arguing with all the force of personal  
wilfulness1 it is both pleasant and     
surprising to observe the effect upon   
him if he begins to feel your perfect   
willingness that he should believe in   
his own way1 and your willingness to go 

with him1 too1 if his way should prove  
to be right4 ,his violence melts to     
quietness because you give him nothing  
to resist4 ,the same happy effect comes 
from facing any one in anger1 without   
resistance1 but with a quiet mind and a 
loving heart4 ,if the anger does not    
melt--as it often does--it is modified  
and weakened1 and--as far as we are     
concerned--it cannot touch or hurt us4  
,we must remember always that it is not 
the repression or concealment of        
resentment and resistance1 and          
forbearing to express them1 that can    
free us from bondage to others2 it is   
overcoming any trace of resentment or   
resistance within our own hearts and    
minds4 ,if the resistance is in us1 we  
are just as much in bondage as if we    
expressed it in our words and actions4  
,if it is in us at all1 it must express 
itself in one way or another1--either in
 ill-health1 or in unhappy states of    
mind1 or in the tension of our bodies4  
,we must also remember that1 when we are

 on the way to freedom from such habits 
of resistance1 we may suffer from them  
for a long time after we have ceased to 
act from them4 ,when we are turning     
steadily away from them1 the            
uncomfortable effects of past resistance
 may linger for a long while before     
every vestige of them disappears4 ,it is
 like the peeling after scarlet         
fever1--the dead skin stays on until the
 new1 tender skin is strong underneath1 
and after we think we have peeled       
entirely1 we discover new places with   
which we must be patient4 ,so1 with the 
old habits of resistance1 we must1      
although turning away from them firmly1 
be steadily patient while waiting for   
the pain from them to disappear4 ,it    
must take time if the work is to be done
 thoroughly1--but the freedom to be     
gained is well worth waiting for4  ,one 
of the most prevalent forms of bondage  
is caring too much in the wrong way what
 people think of us4 ,if a man          
criticises me ,i must first look to see 

whether he is right4 ,he may be partly  
right1 and not entirely1--but1 whatever 
truth there is in his criticism1 ,i want
 to know it in order that ,i may see the
 fault clearly myself and remedy it4 ,if
 his criticism is ill-natured it is not 
necessarily any the less true1 and ,i   
must not let the truth be obscured by   
his ill-nature4 ,all1 that ,i have to do
 with the ill-nature is to be sorry1 on 
my friend's account1 and help him out of
 it if he is willing2 and there is      
nothing that is so likely to make him   
willing as my recognizing the justice of
 what he says and acting upon it1 while1
 at the same time1 ,i neither resent nor
 resist his ill-nature4 ,if the man is  
both ill-natured and unjust1--if there  
is no touch of what is true in his      
criticism1--then all ,i have to do is to
 cease resenting it4 ,i should be       
perfectly willing that he should think  
anything he pleases1 while ,i1 so far as
 ,i can see1 go on and do what is right4
  ,the trouble is that we care more to  

appear right than to be right4 ,this    
undue regard for appearances is very    
deep-seated1 for it comes from long     
habit and inheritance2 but we must      
recognize it and acknowledge it in      
ourselves1 in order to take the true    
path toward freedom4 ,so long as we are 
working for appearances we are not      
working for realities4 ,when we love to 
be right first1 then we will regard     
appearances only enough to protect what 
is good and true from needless          
misunderstanding and disrespect4        
,sometimes we cannot even do that       
without sacrificing the truth to        
appearances1 and in such cases we must  
be true to realities first1 and know    
that appearances must harmonize with    
them in the end4 ,if causes are right1  
effects must be orderly1 even though at 
times they may not seem so to the       
superficial observer4 ,fear of not being
 approved of is the cause of great      
nervous strain and waste of energy2 for 
fear is resistance1 and we can          

counteract that terrified resistance    
only by being perfectly willing that any
 one should think anything he likes4    
,when moving in obedience to            
law--natural and spiritual--a man's     
power cannot be overestimated2 but in   
order to learn genuine obedience to law1
 we must be willing to accept our       
limitations and wait for them to be     
gradually removed as we gain in true    
freedom4 ,let us not forget that if we  
are overpleased--selfishly pleased--at  
the approval of others1 we are just as  
much in bondage to them as if we were   
angry at their disapproval4 ,both       
approval and disapproval are helpful if 
we accept them for the use they can be  
to us1 but are equally injurious if we  
take them to feed our vanity or         
annoyance4  ,it is hard to believe1     
until our new standard is firmly        
established1 that only from this true   
freedom do we get the most vital sense  
of loving human intercourse and         
companionship1 for then we find         

ourselves working hand in hand with     
those who are united to us in the love  
of principles1 and we are ready to      
recognize and to draw out the best in   
every one of those about us4  ,if this  
law of freedom from others--which so    
greatly increases our power of use to   
them and their power of use to us--had  
not been proved absolutely practical1 it
 would not be a law at all4 ,it is only 
as we find it practical in every detail1
 and as obedience to it is proved to be 
the only sure road to established       
freedom that we are bound to accept it4 
,to learn to live in such obedience we  
must be steady1 persistent and          
patient1--teaching ourselves the same   
truths many times1 until a new habit of 
freedom is established within us by the 
experience of our daily lives4 ,we must 
learn and grow in power from every      
failure2 and we must not dwell with     
pride and complacency on good results1  
but always move steadily and quietly    
forward4       ,,ix  ,human ,sympathy   

,a ,,nurse who had been only a few weeks
 in the hospital training-school1 once  
saw--from her seat at the               
dinner-table--a man brought into the    
house who was suffering intensely from a
 very severe accident4 ,the young woman 
started up to be of what service she    
could1 and when she returned to the     
table1 had lost her appetite entirely1  
because of her sympathy for the         
suffering man4 ,she had hardly begun her
 dinner1 and would have gone without it 
if it had not been for a sharp reprimand
 from the superintendent4  ,if you      
really sympathize with that man1 she    
said1 you will eat your dinner to get   
strength to take care of him4 ,here is a
 man who will need constant1 steady1    
healthy attention for some days to      
come1--and special care all this        
afternoon and night1 and it will be your
 duty to look out for him4 ,your        
'sympathy' is already pulling you down  
and taking away your strength1 and you  
are doing what you can to lose more     

strength by refusing to eat your dinner4
 ,such sympathy as that is poor stuff2  
,i call it weak sentimentality4  ,the   
reprimand was purposely sharp1 and1 by  
arousing the anger and indignation of   
the nurse1 it served as a               
counter-irritant which restored her     
appetite4 ,after her anger had subsided1
 she thanked the superintendent with all
 her heart1 and from that day she began 
to learn the difference between true and
 false sympathy4 ,it took her some time1
 however1 to get thoroughly established 
in the habit of healthy sympathy4 ,the  
tendency to unwholesome sympathy was    
part of her natural inheritance1 along  
with many other evil tendencies which   
frequently have to be overcome before a 
person with a very sensitive nervous    
system can find his own true strength4  
,but as she watched the useless         
suffering which resulted in all cases in
 which people allowed themselves to be  
weakened by the pain of others1 she     
learned to understand more and more     

intelligently the practice of wholesome 
sympathy1 and worked until it had become
 her second nature4 ,especially did she 
do this after having proved many times1 
by practical experience1 the strength   
which comes through the power of        
wholesome sympathy to those in pain4    
,unwholesome sympathy incapacitates one 
for serving others1 whether the need be 
physical1 mental1 or moral4 ,wholesome  
sympathy not only gives us power to     
serve1 but clears our understanding2    
and1 because of our growing ability to  
appreciate rightly the point of view of 
other people1 our service can be more   
and more intelligent4  ,in contrast to  
this unwholesome sympathy1 which is the 
cause of more trouble in the world than 
people generally suppose1 is the        
unwholesome lack of sympathy1 or        
hardening process1 which is deliberately
 cultivated by many people1 and which   
another story will serve to illustrate4 
,a poor negro was once brought to the   
hospital very ill2 he had suffered so   

keenly in the process of getting there  
that the resulting weakness1 together   
with the intense fright at the idea of  
being in a hospital1 which is so common 
to many of his class1 added to the      
effects of his disease itself1 were too 
much for him1 and he died before he had 
been in bed fifteen minutes4 ,the nurse 
in charge looked at him and said1 in a  
cold1 steady tone3--  ,it was hardly    
worth while to make up the bed4  ,she   
had hardened herself because she could  
not endure the suffering of unwholesome 
sympathy1 and yet must do her work4 ,no 
one had taught her the freedom and power
 of true sympathy4 ,her finer senses    
were dulled and atrophied1--she did not 
know the difference between one human   
soul and another4 ,she only knew that   
this was a case of typhoid fever1 that a
 case of pneumonia1 and another a case  
of delirium tremens4 ,they were all one 
to her1 so far as the human beings went4
 ,she knew the diagnosis and the care of
 the physical disease1--and that was    

all4 ,she did the material work very    
well1 but she must have brought torture 
to the sensitive mind in many a poor1   
sick body4  ,another form of false      
sympathy is what may be called          
professional sympathy4 ,some people     
never find that out1 but admire and get 
comfort from the professional sympathy  
of a doctor or a nurse1 or any other    
person whose profession it is to care   
for those who are suffering4 ,it takes a
 keen perception or a quick emergency to
 bring out the false ring of            
professional sympathy4 ,but the         
hardening process that goes on in the   
professional sympathizer is even greater
 than in the case of those who do not   
put on a sympathetic veneer4 ,it seems  
as if there must be great tension in the
 more delicate parts of the nervous     
system in people who have hardened      
themselves1 with or without the         
veneer1--akin to what there would be in 
the muscles if a man went about his work
 with both fists tightly clenched all   

day1 and slept with them clenched all   
night4 ,if that tension of hard         
indifference could be reached and       
relaxed1 the result would probably be a 
nervous collapse1 before true1 wholesome
 habits could be established1 but       
unfortunately it often becomes so rigid 
that a healthy relaxation is out of the 
question4 ,professional sympathy is of  
the same quality as the selfish sympathy
 which we see constantly about us in men
 or women who sympathize because the    
emotion attracts admiration and wins the
 favor of others4  ,when people         
sympathize in their selfishness instead 
of sympathizing in their efforts to get 
free1 the force of selfishness is       
increased1 and the world is kept down to
 a lower standard by just so much4  ,a  
thief1 for instance1 fails in a         
well-planned attempt to get a large sum 
of money1 and confides his attempt and  
failure to a brother thief1 who         
expresses admiration for the sneaking   
keenness of the plan1 and hearty        

sympathy in the regret for his failure4 
,the first thief immediately pronounces 
the second thief a good fellow4 ,but1 at
 the same time1 if either of these      
apparently friendly thieves could get   
more money by cheating the other the    
next day he would not hesitate to do so4
  ,to be truly sympathetic1 we should be
 able so to identify ourselves with the 
interests of others that we can have a  
thorough appreciation of their point of 
view1 and can understand their lives    
clearly1 as they appear to themselves2  
but this we can never do if we are      
immersed in the fog1--either of their   
personal selfishness or our own4 ,by    
understanding others clearly1 we can    
talk in ways that are1 and seem to them1
 rational1 and gradually lead them to a 
higher standard4  ,if a woman is in the 
depths of despair because a dress does  
not fit1 ,i should not help her by      
telling her the truth about her         
character1 and lecturing her upon her   
folly in wasting grief upon trifles1    

when there are so many serious troubles 
in the world4 ,from her point of view1  
the fact that her dress does not fit is 
a grief4 ,but if ,i keep quiet1 and let 
her see that ,i understand her          
disappointment1 and at the same time    
hold my own standard1 she will be led   
much more easily and more truly to see  
for herself the smallness of her        
attitude4 ,first1 perhaps1 she will be  
proud that she has learned not to worry 
about such a little thing as a new      
dress2 and1 if so1 ,i must remember her 
point of view1 and be willing that she  
should be proud4 ,then1 perhaps1 she    
will come to wonder how she ever could  
have wasted anxiety on a dress or a hat1
 and later she may perhaps forget that  
she ever did4  ,it is like leading a    
child4 ,we give loving sympathy to a    
child when it breaks its doll1 although 
we know there is nothing real to grieve 
about ,there is something for the child 
to grieve about1 something very real to 
her2 but we can only sympathize         

helpfully with her point of view by     
keeping ourselves clearly in the light  
of our own more mature point of view4   
,from the top of a mountain you can see 
into the valley round about1--your      
horizon is very broad1 and you can      
distinguish the details that it         
encompasses2 but1 from the valley1 you  
cannot see the top of the mountain1 and 
your horizon is limited4  ,this         
illustrates truly the breadth and power 
of wholesome human sympathy4 ,with a    
real love for human nature1 if a man has
 a clear1 high standard of his own1--a  
standard which he does not attribute to 
his own intelligence--his understanding 
of the lower standards of other men will
 also be very clear1 and he will take   
all sorts and conditions of men into the
 region within the horizon of his mind4 
,not only that1 but he will recognize   
the fact ,when the standard of another  
man is higher than his own1 and will be 
ready to ascend at once when he becomes 
aware of a higher point of view4 ,on the

 other hand1 when selfishness is        
sympathizing with selfishness1 there is 
no ascent possible1 but only the one    
little low place limited by the         
personal1 selfish interests of those    
concerned4  ,nobody else's trouble seems
 worth considering to those who are     
immersed in their own1 or in their      
selfish sympathy with a friend whom they
 have chosen to champion4 ,this is      
especially felt among conventional      
people1 when something happens which    
disturbs their external habits and      
standards of life4 ,sympathy is at once 
thrown out on the side of               
conventionality1 without any rational   
inquiry as to the real rights of the    
case4 ,selfish respectability is most   
unwholesome in its unhealthy sympathy   
with selfish respectability4  ,the      
wholesome sympathy of living human      
hearts sympathizes first with what is   
wholesome1--especially in those who     
suffer1--whether it be wholesomeness of 
soul or body2 and true sympathy often   

knows and recognizes that wholesomeness 
better than the sufferer himself4 ,only 
in a secondary way1 and as a means to a 
higher end1 does it sympathize with the 
painful circumstances or conditions4 ,by
 keeping our sympathies steadily fixed  
on the health of a brother or friend1   
when he is immersed in and overcome by  
his own pain1 we may show him the way   
out of his pain more truly and more     
quickly4 ,by keeping our sympathies     
fixed on the health of a friend's soul1 
we may lead him out of selfishness which
 otherwise might gradually destroy him4 
,in both cases our loving care should be
 truly felt1--and felt as real          
understanding of the pain or grief      
suffered in the steps by the way1 with  
an intelligent sense of their true      
relation to the best interests of the   
sufferer himself ,such wholesome        
sympathy is alert in all its perceptions
 to appreciate different points of view1
 and takes care to speak only in        
language which is intelligible1 and     

therefore useful4 ,it is full of loving 
patience1 and never forces or persuades1
 but waits and watches to give help at  
the right time and in the right place4  
,it is more often helpful with silence  
than with words4 ,it stimulates one to  
imagine what friendship might be if it  
were alive and wholesome to the very    
core4 ,for1 in such friendship as this1 
a true friend to one man has the        
capacity of being a true friend to all  
men1 and one who has a thoroughly       
wholesome sympathy for one human being  
will have it for all4 ,his general      
attitude must always be the             
same--modified only by the relative     
distance which comes from variety in    
temperaments4  ,in order to sympathize  
with the best possibilities in others1  
our own standards must be high and      
clear1 and we must be steadily true to  
them4 ,such sympathy is freedom         
itself1--it is warm and glowing1--while 
the sympathy which adds its weight to   
the pain or selfishness of others can   

really be only bondage1 however good it 
may appear4       ,x  ,personal         
,independence      ,,in proportion as   
every organ of the human body is free to
 perform its own functions1 unimpeded by
 any other1 the body is perfectly       
healthy and vigorous2 and1 in proportion
 as every organ of the body is receiving
 its proper support from every other1   
the body as a whole is vigorous1 and in 
the full use of its powers4  ,these are 
two self-evident axioms1 and1 if we     
think of them quietly for a little      
while1 they will lead us to a clear     
realization of true personal            
independence4  ,the lungs cannot do the 
work of the heart1 but must do their own
 work1 independently and freely2 and    
yet1 if the lungs should suddenly say to
 themselves3  ,this is all              
nonsense1--our depending upon the heart 
in this way2 we must be independent6 ,it
 is weak to depend upon the other organs
 of the body6 ,and if they should repel 
the blood which the heart pumped into   

them1 with the idea that they could     
manage the body by themselves1 and were 
not going to be weakly dependent upon   
the heart1 the stomach1 or any other    
organ1--if the lungs should insist upon 
taking this independent stand1 they     
would very soon stop breathing1 the     
heart would stop beating1 the stomach   
would stop digesting1 and the body would
 die4 ,or1 suppose that the heart should
 refuse to supply the lungs with the    
blood necessary to provide oxygen2 the  
same fatal result would of course       
follow4 ,or1 even let us imagine all the
 organs of the body agreeing that it is 
weak to be dependent1 and asserting     
their independence of each other4 ,at   
the very instant that such an agreement 
was carried into effect1 the body would 
perish4  ,then1 on the other hand1--to  
reverse the illustration1--if the lungs 
should feel that they could help the    
heart's work by attending to the        
circulation of the blood1 if the heart  
should insist that it could inhale and  

exhale better than the lungs1 and should
 neglect its own work in order to advise
 and assist the lungs in the breathing1 
the machinery of the body would be in   
sad confusion for a time1 and would very
 soon cease altogether4  ,this imaginary
 want of real independence in the       
working of the different organs of the  
body can be illustrated by the actual   
action of the muscles4 ,how often we see
 a man working with his mouth while     
writing1 when he should be only using   
his hands2 or1 working uselessly with   
his left hand1 when what he has to do   
only needs the right6 ,how often we see 
people trying to listen with their arms 
and shoulders6 ,such illustrations might
 be multiplied indefinitely1 and1 in all
 cases1 the false sympathy of           
contraction in the parts of the body    
which are not needed for the work in    
hand comes from a wrong                 
dependence1--from the fact that the pats
 of the body that are not needed1 are   
officiously dependent upon those that   

are properly active1 instead of minding 
their own affairs and saving energy for 
their own work4  ,the wholesome working 
of the human organism1 is so perfect in 
its analogy to the healthy relations of 
members of a community1 that no reader  
should pass it by without very careful  
thought4  ,john says3--  ,i am not going
 to be dependent upon any man4 ,i am    
going to live my own life1 in my own    
way1 as ,i expect other men to live     
theirs4 ,if they will leave me alone1 ,i
 will leave them alone1 and ,john       
flatters himself that he is asserting   
his own strength of personality1 that he
 is emphasizing his individuality4 ,the 
truth is that ,john is warping himself  
every day by his weak dependence upon   
his own prejudices4 ,he is unwilling to 
look fairly at another main's opinion   
for fear of being dependent upon it4 ,he
 is not only warping himself by his     
independence1 which is puffed up with   
the false appearance of strength1 but he
 is robbing his fellow-men2 for he      

cannot refuse to receive from others    
without putting it out of his own power 
to give to others4 ,real giving and     
receiving must be reciprocal in spirit1 
and absolutely dependent upon each      
other4  ,it is a curious and a sad study
 to watch the growing slavery of such   
independent people4  ,james1 on the     
other hand1 thinks he cannot do anything
 without asking another man's advice or 
getting another man's help2 sometimes it
 is always the same man1 sometimes it is
 one of twenty different men4 ,and so1  
,james is steadily losing the power of  
looking life in the face1 and of judging
 for himself whether or not to take the 
advice of others from a rational        
principle1 and of his own free will1 and
 he is gradually becoming a             
parasite1--an animal which finally loses
 all its organs from lack of use1 so    
that only its stomach remains1--and has1
 of course1 no intelligence at all4 ,the
 examples of such men as ,james are much
 more numerous than might be supposed4  

,we seldom see them in such flabby      
dependence upon the will of an          
individual as would make them           
conspicuous2 but they are about us every
 day1 and in large numbers1 in their    
weak dependence upon public             
opinion1--their bondage to the desire   
that other men should think well of     
them4 ,the human parasites that are     
daily feeding on social recognition are 
unconsciously in the process of losing  
their individuality and their           
intelligence2 and it would be a sad     
surprise to them if they could see      
themselves clearly as they really are4  
,public opinion is a necessary and true 
protection to the world as it is1       
because if it were not for public       
opinion1 many men and women would dare  
to be more wicked than they are4 ,but   
that is no reason why intelligent men   
should order their lives on certain     
lines just because their neighbors      
do1--just because it is the custom4 ,if 
the custom is a good custom1 it can be  

followed intelligently1 and because we  
recognize it as good1 but it should not 
be followed only because our neighbors  
follow it4 ,then1 if our neighbors      
follow the custom for the same          
intelligent reason1 it will bring us and
 them into free and happy sympathy4     
,neither should a man hesitate to do    
right1 positively and fearlessly1 in the
 face of the public assertion that he is
 doing wrong4 ,he should1 of course1    
look himself over many times to be sure 
that he is doing right1 according to his
 own best light1 and he should be       
willing to change his course of action  
just as fearlessly if he finds he has   
made a mistake2 but1 having once        
decided1 he will respect public opinion 
much more truly by acting quietly       
against it with an open mind1 than he   
would if he refused to do right1 because
 he was afraid of what others would     
think of him4 ,to defy carelessly the   
opinion of others is false independence1
 and has in it the elements of fear1    

however fearless it may seem2 but to    
respectfully ignore it for the sake of  
what is true1 and good1 and useful1 is  
sure to enlarge the public heart and to 
help1 it eventually to a clearer        
charity4 ,individual dependence and     
individual independence are absolutely  
necessary to a well-adjusted balance4   
,it is just as necessary to the         
individual men of a community as to the 
individual organs of the body4  ,it is  
not uncommon for a person to say3--  ,i 
must give up ,so-and-so2 ,i must not see
 so much of him1--,i am getting so      
dependent upon him4  ,if the apparent   
dependence on a friend is due to the    
fact that he has valuable principles to 
teach which may take time to learn1 but 
which lead in the end to greater        
freedom1 then to give up such           
companionship1 out of regard for the    
criticism of others would1 of course1 be
 weakness and folly itself4 ,it is often
 our lot to incur the severest blame for
 the very weaknesses which we have most 

entirely overcome4  ,many people will   
say3--  ,i should rather be             
independently wrong than dependently    
right1 and others will admire them for  
the assertion4 ,but the truth is1 that  
whenever one is wrong1 one is           
necessarily dependent1 either upon man  
or devil2 but it is impossible to be    
dependently right1 excepting for the    
comparatively short time that we may    
need for a definite1 useful purpose4 ,if
 a man is right in his mental and moral 
attitude merely because his friend is   
right1 and not because he wants the     
right himself1 it will only be a matter 
of time before his prop is taken away1  
and he will fall back into his own moral
 weakness4 ,of course1 a man can begin  
to be right because his friend is       
right2--but it is because there is      
something in him which responds to the  
good in his friend4 ,strong men are true
 to their friendships and convictions1  
in spite of appearances and the clamor  
of their critics4  ,true independence is

 never afraid of appearing dependent1   
and true dependence leads always to the 
most perfect independence4  ,we cannot1 
really enjoy our own freedom without the
 growing desire and power to help other 
people to theirs4 ,our own love of      
independence will bring with it an equal
 love for the independence of our       
neighbor2 and our own love of true      
dependence--that is1 of receiving wise  
help from any one through whom it may be
 sent--will give us an equal love for   
giving help wherever it will be welcome4
 ,our respect for our own independence  
will make it impossible that we should  
insist upon trying to give help to      
others where it is not wanted2 and our  
own respect for true dependence will    
give us a loving charity1 a true respect
 for those who are necessarily and      
temporarily dependent1 and teach us to  
help them to their true balance4  ,we   
should learn to keep a margin of reserve
 for ourselves1 and to give the same    
margin to others4 ,not to come too near1

 but to be far enough away from every   
one to give us a true perspective4      
,there is a sort of familiarity that    
arises sometimes between friends1 or    
even mere acquaintances1 which closes   
the door to true friendship or to real  
acquaintance4 ,it does not bring people 
near to one another1 but keeps them     
apart4 ,it is as if men thought that    
they could be better friends by bumping 
their heads together4  ,our freedom     
comes in realizing that all the energy  
of life should come primarily from a    
love of principles and not of persons1  
excepting as persons relate to          
principles4 ,if one man finds another   
living on principles that are higher    
than his own1 it means strength and     
freedom for him to cling to his friend  
until he has learned to understand and  
live on those principles himself4 ,then 
if he finds his own power for usefulness
 and his own enjoyment of life increased
 by his friendship1 it would indeed be  
weak of him to refuse such companionship

 from fear of being dependent4 ,the     
surest and strongest basis of freedom in
 friendship is a common devotion to the 
same fundamental principles of life2 and
 this insures reciprocal usefulness as  
well as personal independence4 ,we must 
remember that the very worst and weakest
 dependence is not a dependence upon    
persons1 but upon a sin1--whether the   
sin be fear of public opinion or some   
other more or less serious form of      
bondage4  ,the only true independence is
 in obedience to law1 and if1 to gain   
the habit of such obedience1 we need a  
helping hand1 it is truly independent   
for us to take it4  ,we all came into   
the world alone1 and we must go out of  
the world alone1 and yet we are         
exquisitely and beautifully dependent   
upon one another4  ,a great ,german     
philosopher has said that there should  
be as much space between the atoms of   
the body1 in relation to its size1 as   
there is between the stars in relation  
to the size of the universe1--and yet   

every star is dependent upon every other
 star1--as every atom in the body is    
dependent upon every other atom for its 
true life and action4 ,this principle of
 balance in the macrocosm and the       
microcosm is equally applicable to any  
community of people1 whether large or   
small4 ,the quiet study and appreciation
 of it will enable us to realize the    
strength of free dependence and         
dependent freedom in the relation of    
persons to one another4 ,the more truly 
we can help one another in freedom      
toward the dependence upon law1 which is
 the axis of the universe1 the more     
wholesome and perfect will be all our   
human relations4       ,,xi             
,self-control      ,,to most people     
self-control means the control of       
appearances and not the control of      
realities4 ,this is a radical mistake1  
and must be corrected1 if we are to get 
a clear idea of self-control1 and if we 
are to make a fair start in acquiring it
 as a permanent habit4  ,i am what ,i am

 by virtue of my own motives of thought 
and action1 by virtue of what my mind   
is1 what my will is1 and what ,i am in  
the resultant combination of my mind and
 will2 ,i am not necessarily what ,i    
appear from the outside4  ,if a man is  
ugly to me1 and ,i want to knock him    
down1 and refrain from doing so simply  
because it would not appear well1 and is
 not the habit of the people about me1  
my desire to knock him down is still a  
part of myself1 and ,i have not         
controlled myself until ,i am absolutely
 free from that interior desire4 ,so    
long as ,i am in hatred to another1 ,i  
am in bondage to my hatred2 and if1 for 
the sake of appearances1 ,i do not act  
or speak from it1 ,i am none the less at
 its mercy1 and it will find an outlet  
wherever it can do so without debasing  
me in the eyes of other men more than ,i
 am willing to be debased4 ,the control 
of appearances is merely outward        
repression1 and a very common instance  
of this may be observed in the effort to

 control a laugh4 ,if we repress it1 it 
is apt to assert itself in spite of our 
best efforts2 whereas1 if we relax our  
muscles1 and let the sensation go       
through us1 we can control our desire to
 laugh and so get free from it4 ,when we
 repress a laugh1 we are really holding 
on to it1 in our minds1 but1 when we    
control it by relaxing the tension that 
comes from the desire to laugh1 it is as
 if the sensation passed over and away  
from us4  ,it is a well-known fact among
 surgeons that1 if a man who is badly   
frightened1 takes ether1 no matter how  
well he controls his outward behavior1  
no matter how quiet he appears while the
 ether is being administered1 as soon as
 he loses control of his voluntary      
muscles1 the fear that has been         
repressed rushes out in the form of     
excitement4 ,this is a practical        
illustration of the fact that control of
 appearances is merely control of the   
muscles1 and that1 even so far as our   
nervous system goes1 it is only         

repression1 and self-repression is not  
self-control4  ,if ,i repress the       
expression of irritability1 anger1      
hatred1 or any other form of evil1 it is
 there1 in my brain1 just the same2 and1
 in one form or another1 ,i am in       
bondage to it4 ,sometimes it expresses  
itself in little meannesses2 sometimes  
it affects my body and makes me ill2    
often it keeps me from being entirely   
well4 ,of one thing we may be sure1--it 
makes me the instrument of evil1 in one 
way or another4 ,repressed evil is not  
going to lie dormant in us forever2 it  
will rise in active ferment1 sooner or  
later4 ,its ultimate action is just as  
certain as that a serious impurity of   
the blood is certain to lead to physical
 disease1 if it is not counteracted4    
,knowing this to be true1 we can no     
longer say of certain people ,so-and-so 
has remarkable self-control4 ,we can    
only say1 ,so-and-so represses his      
feelings remarkably well3 what a good   
actor he is6 ,the men who have real     

self-control do exist1 and they are the 
leaven that saves the race4 ,it is good 
to know that this habitual repression   
comes1 in many cases1 from want of      
knowledge of the fact that              
self-repression is not self-control4    
,but the reader may say1 what am ,i to  
do1 if ,i feel angry1 and want to hit a 
man in the face2 ,i am not supposed to  
hit him am ,i1 rather than to repress my
 feelings8  ,no1 not at all1 but you are
 supposed to use your will to get in    
behind the desire to hit him1 and1 by   
relaxing in mind and body1 and stopping 
all resistance to his action1 to remove 
that desire in yourself entirely4 ,if   
once you persistently refuse to resist  
by dropping the anger of your mind and  
the tension of your body1 you have      
gained an opportunity of helping your   
brother1 if he is willing to be helped2 
you have cleared the atmosphere of your 
own mind entirely1 so that you can      
understand his point of view1 and give  
him the benefit of reasonable           

consideration2 or1 at the very least1   
you have yourself ceased to be ruled by 
his evils1 for you can no longer be     
roused to personal retaliation4 ,it is  
interesting and enlightening to         
recognize the fact that we are in       
bondage to any man to the extent that we
 permit ourselves to be roused to anger 
or resentment by his words or actions4  
,when a man's brain is befogged by the  
fumes of anger and irritability it can  
work neither clearly nor quietly1 and1  
when that is the case1 it is impossible 
for him to serve himself or his neighbor
 to his full ability4 ,if another person
 has the power to rouse my anger or my  
irritability1 and ,i allow the anger or 
the irritability to control me1 ,i am1  
of course1 subservient to my own bad    
state1 and at the mercy of the person   
who has the power to excite those evil  
states just in so far as such excitement
 confuses my brain4  ,every one has in  
him certain inherited and personal      
tendencies which are obstacles to his   

freedom of mind and body1 and his       
freedom is limited just in so far as he 
allows those tendencies to control him4 
,if he controls them by external        
repression1 they are then working havoc 
within him1 no matter how thoroughly he 
may appear to be master of himself4 ,if 
he acknowledges his mistaken tendencies 
fully and willingly and then refuses to 
act1 speak1 or think from them1 he is   
taking a straight path toward freedom of
 life and action4  ,one great difficulty
 in the way of self-control is that we  
do not want to get free from our anger4 
,in such cases we can only want to want 
to1 and if we use the strength of will  
that is given us to drop our resistance 
in spite of our desire to be angry we   
shall be working toward our freedom and 
our real self-control4  ,there is always
 a capacity for unselfish will1 the will
 of the better self1 behind the personal
 selfish will1 ready and waiting for us 
to use it1 and it grows with use until  
finally it overrules the personal       

selfish will with a higher quality of   
power4 ,it is only false strength that  
supports the personal will1--a false    
appearance of strength which might be   
called wilfulness and which leads       
ultimately to the destruction of its    
owner4 ,any true observer of human      
nature will recognize the weakness of   
mere selfish wilfulness in another1 and 
will keep entirely free from its        
trammels by refusing to meet it in a    
spirit of resentment or retaliation4    
,real self-control1 as compared to      
repression1 is delightful in its        
physical results1 when we have any      
difficult experience to anticipate or to
 go through4 ,take1 for instance1 a     
surgical operation4 ,if ,i control      
myself by yielding1 by relaxing the     
nervous tension which is the result of  
,,my fear1 true self-control then       
becomes possible1 and brings a helpful  
freedom from1 reaction after the trouble
 is over4 ,or the same principle can be 
applied if ,i have to go through a hard 

trial with a friend and must control    
myself for his sake1--dropping          
resistance in my mind and in my body1   
dropping resistance to his suffering1   
yielding my will to the necessities of  
the situation1--this attitude will leave
 me much more clear to help him1 will   
show him how to help himself1 and will  
relieve him from the reaction that      
inevitably follows severe nervous       
strain4 ,the power of use to others is  
increased immeasurably when we control  
ourselves interiorly1 and do not merely 
outwardly repress4  ,it often happens   
that a drunkard who is supposed to be   
cured1 returns to his habit1 simply     
because he has wanted his drink all the 
time1 and has only been taught to       
repress his appetite2 if he had been    
steadily and carefully taught real      
self-control1 he would have learnt to   
control and drop his interior desire1   
and thus keep permanently free4 ,how    
often we see intemperance which had     
shown itself in drink simply turned into

 another channel1 another form of       
selfish indulgence1 and yet the victim  
will complacently boast of his          
self-control4 ,an extreme illustration  
of this truth is shown in the case of a 
well-known lecturer on temperance4 ,he  
had given up drink1 but he ate like a   
glutton1 and his thirst for applause was
 so extreme as to make him appear almost
 ridiculous when he did not receive it4 
,the opportunities for self-control are1
 of course1 innumerable2 indeed they    
constitute pretty much the whole of     
life4 ,we are living in freedom and use1
 real living use1 in proportion as we   
are in actual control of our selfish    
selves1 and led by our love of useful   
service4 ,in proportion as we have      
through true self-control brought       
ourselves into daily and hourly         
obedience to law1 are we in the freedom 
that properly belongs to our lives and  
their true uses4  ,when once we have won
 our freedom from resistance1 we must   
use that freedom in action1 and put it  

directly to use4 ,sometimes it will     
result in a small action1 sometimes in a
 great one2 but1 whatever it is1 it must
 be done4 ,if we drop the resistance1   
and do not use the freedom gained       
thereby for active service1 we shall    
simply react into further bondage1 from 
which it will be still more difficult to
 escape4 ,having dropped my antagonism  
to my most bitter enemy1 ,i must do     
something to serve him1 if ,i can4 ,if  
,i find that it is impossible to serve  
him1 ,i can at least be of service to   
someone else2 and this action1 if       
carried out in the true spirit of       
unselfish service1 will go far toward   
the permanent establishment of my       
freedom4  ,if a circumstance which is   
atrociously wrong in itself makes us    
indignant1 the first thing to do is to  
drop the resistance of our indignation1 
and then to do whatever may be within   
our power to prevent the continuance of 
such wrong4 ,many people weaken their   
powers of service by their own          

indignation1 when1 if they would cease  
their excited resistance1 they would see
 clearly how to remedy the wrong that   
arouses their antagonism4 ,action1 when 
accompanied by personal resistance1     
however effective it may seem1 does not 
begin to have the power that can come   
from action1 without such resistance4   
,as1 for instance1 when we have to train
 a child with a perverse will1 if we    
quietly assert what is right to the     
child1 and insist upon obedience without
 the slightest antagonistic feeling to  
the child's naughtiness1 we accomplish  
much more toward strengthening the      
character of the child than if we try to
 enforce our idea by the use of our     
personal will1 which is filled with     
resistance toward the child's obstinacy4
 ,in the latter case1 it is just pitting
 our will against the will of the child1
 which is always destructive1 however it
 may appear that we have succeeded in   
enforcing the child's obedience4 ,the   
same thing holds true in relation to an 

older person1 with the exception that1  
with him or her1 we cannot even attempt 
to require obedience4 ,in that case we  
must1--when it is necessary that we     
should speak at all1--assert the right  
without antagonism to what we believe to
 be their wrong1 and without the        
slightest personal resistance to it4 ,if
 we follow this course1 in most cases   
our friend will come to the right point 
of view1--sometimes the result seems    
almost miraculous1--or1 as is often the 
case1 we1 because we are wholesomely    
open-minded1 will recognize any mistake 
in our own point of view1 and will      
gladly modify it to agree with that of  
our friend4  ,the trouble is that very  
few of us feel like working to remedy a 
wrong merely for the sake of the right1 
and therefore we must have an impetus of
 personal feeling to carry us on toward 
the work of reformation4 ,if we could   
once be strongly started in obedience to
 the law from love of the law itself1 we
 should find in that impersonal love a  

clear light and power for effective     
action both in the larger and in the    
smaller questions of life4  ,there is a 
popular cry against introspection and an
 insistence that it is necessarily      
morbid1 which works in direct opposition
 to true self-control4 ,introspection   
for its own sake is self-centred and    
morbid1 but we might as well assert that
 it is right to have dirty hands so long
 as we wear gloves1 and that it is      
morbid to want to be sure that our hands
 are clean under our gloves1 as to      
assert that introspection for the sake  
of our true spiritual freedom is morbid4
 ,if ,i cannot look at my selfish       
motives1 how am ,i going to get free    
from them8 ,it is my selfish motives    
that prevent true self-control4 ,it is  
my selfish motives that prompt me to the
 false control of repression1 which is  
counterfeit and for the sake of         
appearances alone4 ,we must see these   
motives1 recognize and turn away from   
them1 in order to control ourselves     

interiorly into line with law4 ,we      
cannot possibly see them unless we look 
for them4 ,if we look into ourselves for
 the sake of freedom1 for the sake of   
our greater power for use1 for the sake 
of our true self-control1 what can be   
more wholesome or what can lead us to a 
more healthy habit of looking out from  
ourselves into the lives and interests  
of others8 ,the farther we get          
established in motives that are truly   
unselfish1 the sooner we shall get out  
of our own light1 and the wider our     
horizon will be2 and the wider our      
horizon1 the greater our power for use4 
,there must1 of course1 be a certain    
period of self-consciousness in the     
process of finding our true             
self-control1 but it is for the sake of 
an end which brings us more and more    
fully into a state of happy1 quiet      
spontaneity4 ,if we are working         
carefully for true self-control we shall
 welcome an unexpected searchlight from 
another mind4 ,if the searchlight brings

 into prominence a bit of irritation    
that we did not know was there1 so much 
the better4 ,how could we free ourselves
 from it without knowing that it was    
there8 ,but as soon as we discover it we
 can control and cast it off4 ,a healthy
 introspection is merely the use of a   
searchlight which every one who loves   
the truth has the privilege of using for
 the sake of his own growth and         
wilfulness1 and circumstances often turn
 it full upon us1 greatly to our        
advantage1 if we do not wince but act   
upon the knowledge that it brings4 ,it  
is possible to acquire an introspective 
habit which is wholesome and true1 and  
brings us every day a better sense of   
pro4 portion and a clearer outlook4     
,with regard to the true control of the 
,pleasurable emotions1 the same         
principle applies4  ,people often grow  
intensely excited in listening to       
music1--letting their emotions run      
rampant and suffering in consequence a  
painful reaction of fatigue4 ,if they   

would learn to yield so that the music  
could pass over their nerves as it      
passes over the strings of a musical    
instrument1 and then1 with the new life 
and vigor derived from the enjoyment1   
would turn to some useful work1 they    
would find a great expansion in the     
enjoyment of the music as well as a new 
pleasure in their work4  ,real          
self-control is the subjugation of      
selfishness in whatever form it may     
exist1 and its entire subordination to  
spiritual and natural law4 ,real        
self-control is not self-centred4 ,in so
 far as we become established in this   
true self-control1 we are upheld by law 
and guided by the power behind it to the
 perfect freedom and joy of a useful    
life4       ,,xii  ,the ,religion of ,it
      ,,the religion of it is the whole 
of it4 ,all religion has relation to    
life and the life of religion is to do  
good4 ,if religion does not teach us to 
do good in the very best way1 in the way
 that is most truly useful to ourselves 

and to other people1 religion is        
absolutely useless and had better be    
ignored altogether4 ,we must beware1    
however1 of identifying the idea of     
religion with the men and the women who 
pervert it4 ,if an electrician came to  
us to light our house1 and the lights   
would not burn1 we would not immediately
 condemn all electric lighting as bosh  
and nonsense1 or as sentimental theory2 
we should know1 of course1 that this    
especial electrician did not understand 
his business1 and would at once look    
about to find a man who did1 and get him
 to put our lights in order4 ,if no     
electrician really seemed to know his   
business1 and we wanted our lights very 
much1 the next thing to do would be to  
look into the laws of electricity       
ourselves1 and find out exactly where   
the trouble was1 and so keep at work    
until we had made our own lights burn1  
and always felt able1 if at any time    
they failed to burn1 to discover and    
remedy the difficulty ourselves4 ,there 

is not a man or woman who does not feel1
 at some time1 the need of an inner     
light to make the path clear in the     
circumstances of life1 and especially in
 dealing with others4 ,many men and     
women feel that need all the time1 and  
happy are those who are not satisfied   
until the need is supplied and they are 
working steadily in daily practical     
life1 guided by a light that they know  
is higher than theory4 ,when the light  
is once found1 and we know the direction
 in which we wish to travel1 the path is
 not by any means always clear and      
smooth1 it is often1 full of hard1 rough
 ,places1 and there are sometimes miles 
to go over where our light seems dim2   
but if we have proved our direction to  
be right1 and keep steadily and strongly
 moving forward1 we are always sure to  
come into open resting places where we  
can be quiet1 gather strength1 and see  
the light more clearly for the next     
stage of the journey4  ,it is wonderful1
 some one remarked1 how this theory of  

non-resistance has helped me2 life is   
quite another thing since ,i have       
practised it steadily4 ,the reply was it
 is not wonderful when we realize that  
the ,lord meant what ,he said when ,he  
told us not to resist evil4 ,at this    
suggestion the speaker looked up with   
surprise and said3 ,why1 is that in the 
,new ,testament8 ,where1 in what part of
 it8 ,she never had thought of the      
sermon on the ,mount as a working plan1 
or1 indeed1 of the ,new ,testament as a 
handbook of life1--practical and        
powerful in every detail4 ,if we once   
begin to use it daily and hourly as a   
working plan of life1 it is marvellous  
how the power and the efficiency of it  
will grow on us1 and we shall no more be
 able to get along without it than an   
electrician can get along without a     
knowledge of the laws of electricity4   
,some people have taken the ,new        
,testament so literally that they have  
befogged themselves entirely with regard
 to its real meaning1 and have put it   

aside as impracticable2 others have     
surrounded it with an emotional idea1 as
 something to theorize and rhapsodize   
about1 and have befogged themselves in  
that way with regard to its real power4 
,most people are not clear about it     
because of the tradition that has come  
to us through generations who have read 
it and heard it read in church1 and     
never have thought of living it outside4
 ,we can have a great deal of church    
without any religion1 but we cannot have
 religion without true worship1 whether 
the worship is only in our individual   
souls1 or whether it is also the        
function of a church to which we belong1
 with a building dedicated to the       
worship of the ,lord to which we go for 
prayer and for instruction4 ,if we could
 clear ourselves from the deadening     
effects of tradition1 from              
sentimentality1 from nice theory1 and   
from every touch of emotional and       
spurious peace1 and take up the ,new    
,testament as if we were reading it for 

the first time1 and then if we could use
 it faithfully as a working plan for a  
time1 simply as an experiment1--it would
 soon cease to be an experiment1 and we 
should not need to be told by any one   
that it is a divine revelation2 we would
 be confident of that in our own souls4 
,indeed that is the only way any one can
 ever be sure of revelation2 it must    
come to each of us alone1 as if it had  
never come to any one before2 and yet   
the beauty and power of it is such that 
it has come to myriads before us and    
will come to myriads after us in just   
the same way4  ,but there is no real    
revelation for any one until he has     
lived what he sees to be true4 ,i may   
talk like an angel and assert with a    
shining face my confident faith in ,god 
and in all ,his laws1 but my words will 
mean nothing whatever1 unless ,i have so
 lived my faith that it has been        
absorbed1 into my character and so that 
the truths of my working plan have      
become my second nature4  ,many people  

have discovered that the ,lord meant    
what ,he said when ,he said3 ,resist not
 evil1 and have proved how truly        
practical is the command1 in their      
efforts to be willing to be ill1 to be  
willing that circumstances should seem  
to go against them1 to be willing that  
other people should be unjust1 angry1 or
 disagreeable4 ,they have seen that in  
yielding to circumstances or people     
entirely1--that is1 in dropping their   
own resistances1--they have gained      
clear1 quiet minds1 which enables them  
to see1 to understand1 and to practise a
 higher common sense in the affairs of  
their lives1 which leads to their       
ultimate happiness and freedom4 ,it is  
now clear to many people that much of   
the nervous illness of to-day is caused 
by a prolonged state of resistance to   
circumstances or to people which has    
kept the brain in a strained and        
irritated state so that it can no longer
 do its work2 and that the patient has  
to lay by for a longer or a shorter     

period1 according to his ability to drop
 the resistances1 and so allay the      
irritation and let his brain and nervous
 system rest and heal4  ,then with      
regard to dealing with others1 some of  
us have found out the practical common  
sense of taking even injustice quietly  
and without resistance1 of looking to   
our own faults first1 and getting quite 
free from all resentment and resistance 
to the behavior of others1 before we can
 expect to understand their point of    
view1 or to help them to more           
reasonable1 kindly action if they are in
 error4 ,very few of us have recognized 
and acknowledged that that was what the 
,lord meant when ,he said3 ,judge not   
that ye be not judged4 ,for with what   
judgment ye judge1 ye shall be judged3  
and with what measure ye mete1 it shall 
be measured to you again4 ,and why      
beholdest thou the mote that is in thy  
brother's eye1 but considerest not the  
beam that is in thine own eye8 ,or how  
wilt thou say to thy brother1 ,let me   

pull out the mote out of thine eye2 and1
 behold1 a beam is in thine own eye8    
,thou hypocrite1 first cast out the beam
 out of thine own eye2 and then shalt   
thou see clearly to cast out the mote   
out of thy brother's eye4  ,it comes    
with a flash of recognition that is     
refreshingly helpful when we think we   
have discovered a practical truth that  
works1 and then see that it is only     
another way of putting what has been    
taught for the last two thousand years4 
,many of us understand and appreciate   
the truth that a man's true character   
depends upon his real1 interior motives4
 ,he is only what his motives are1 and  
not1 necessarily1 what his motives      
appear to be4 ,we know that1 if a man   
only controls the appearance of anger   
and hatred1 he has no real self-control 
whatever4 ,he must get free from the    
anger itself to be free in reality1 and 
to be his own master4 ,we must stop and 
think1 however1 to understand that this 
is just what the ,lord meant when ,he   

told us to clean the inside of the cup  
and the platter1 and we need to think   
more to realize the strength of the     
warning1 that we should not be whitened 
sepulchres4  ,we know that we are really
 related to those who can and do help us
 to be more useful men and women1 and to
 those whom we can serve in the most    
genuine way2 we know that we are        
wholesomely dependent upon all from whom
 we can learn1 and we should be glad to 
have those freely dependent upon us whom
 we can truly serve4 ,it is most        
strengthening when we realize that this 
is the true meaning of the ,lord's      
saying1 ,for whosoever shall do the will
 of ,god1 the same is my brother1 and my
 sister1 and mother4 ,that the ,lord    
,himself1 with all ,his strength1 was   
willing to be dependent1 is shown by the
 fact that1 from the cross1 ,he said to 
those who had crucified ,him1 ,i thirst4
 ,they had condemned ,him1 and crucified
 ,him1 and yet ,he was willing to ask   
them for drink1 to show ,his willingness

 to be served by them1 even though ,he  
knew they would respond only with a     
sponge filled with vinegar4  ,we know   
that when we are in a hard place1 if we 
do the duty that is before us1 and keep 
steadily at work as well as we can1 that
 the hard problem will get worked       
through in some way4 ,we know that this 
is true1 for we have proved it over and 
over2 but how many people realize that  
it is because the ,lord meant what ,he  
said when ,he told us3 to take no       
thought for the morrow1 for the morrow  
will take thought for the things of     
itself4  ,i am reasoning from the proof 
of the law to the law itself4  ,there is
 no end to the illustrations that we    
might find proving the spiritual common 
sense of the ,new ,testament and1 if by 
working first in that way1 we can get   
through this fog of tradition1 of       
sentimentality1 and of religious        
emotion1 and find the living power of   
the book itself1 then we can get a more 
and more clear comprehension of the laws

 it teaches1 and will1 every day1 be    
proving their practical power in all our
 dealings with life and with people4    
,whether we are wrestling with nature in
 scientific work1 whether we are working
 in the fine arts1 in the commercial    
world1 in the professional world1 or are
 dealing with nations1 it is always the 
same1--we find our freedom to work fully
 realized only when we are obedient to  
law1 and it is a wonderful day for any  
human being when he intelligently       
recognizes and finds himself getting    
into the current of the law of the ,new 
,testament4 ,the action of that law he  
sees is real1 and everything outside he 
recognizes as unreal4 ,in the light of  
the new truth1 we see that many things  
which we have hitherto regarded as      
essential1 are of minor importance in   
their relation to life itself4  ,the old
 lady who said to her friend1 ,my dear1 
it is impossible to exaggerate the      
unimportance of things1 had learned what
 it meant to drop everything that       

interferes1 and must have been truly on 
her way to the concentration which      
should be the very central power of all 
life1--obedience to the two great       
commandments4  ,concentration does not  
mean straining every nerve and muscle   
toward obedience1 it means dropping     
every thing that interferes4 ,if we drop
 everything that interferes with our    
obedience to the two great commandments1
 and the other laws which are given us  
all through the ,new ,testament to help 
us obey1 we are steadily dropping all   
selfish resistance1 and all tendency to 
selfish responsibility2 and in that     
steady effort1 we are on the only path  
which can by any possibility lead us    
directly to freedom4       ,,xiii       
,about ,christmas      ,,there was once 
a family who had a guest staying with   
them2 and when they found out that he   
was to have a birthday during his visit 
they were all delighted at the idea of  
celebrating it4 ,days before--almost    
weeks before--they began to prepare for 

the celebration4 ,they cooked and stored
 a large quantity of good things to eat1
 and laid in a stock of good things to  
be cooked and prepared on the happy day4
 ,they planned and arranged the most    
beautiful decorations4 ,they even       
thought over and made1 or selected1     
little gifts for one another2 and the   
whole house was in hurry and confusion  
for weeks before the birthday came4     
,everything else that was to be done was
 postponed until after the birthday2    
and1 indeed1 many important things were 
neglected4  ,finally the birthday came1 
the rooms were all decorated1 the table 
set1 all the little gifts arranged1 and 
the guests from outside of the house had
 all arrived4 ,just after the           
festivities had begun a little child    
said to its mother3 ,mamma1 where is the
 man whose birthday it is--  ,hush1     
hush1 the mother said1 don't ask        
questions4  ,but the child persisted1   
until finally the mother said3 ,well1 ,i
 am sure ,i do not know1 my dear1 but ,i

 will ask4  ,she asked her neighbor1 and
 the neighbor looked surprised and a    
little puzzled4  ,why1 she said1 it is a
 celebration1 we are celebrating his    
birthday1 and he is a guest in the      
house4  ,then the mother got interested 
and curious herself4  ,but where is the 
guest8 ,where is the man whose birthday 
it is8 ,and1 this time she asked one of 
the family4 ,he looked startled at      
first1 and then inquired of the rest of 
the family4  ,where is the guest whose  
birthday it is8 ,alas ,i nobody knew4   
,there they were1 all excited and trying
 to enjoy themselves by celebrating his 
birthday1 and he1--some of them did not 
even know who he was6 ,he was left out  
and forgotten6  ,when they had wondered 
for a little while they immediately     
forgot again1 and went on with their    
celebrations1--all except the little    
child4 ,he slipped out of the room and  
made up his mind to find the man whose  
birthday it was1 and1 finally1 after a  
hard search1 he found him upstairs in   

the attic1--lonely and sick4  ,he had   
been asked to leave the guestroom1 which
 he had occupied1 and to move upstairs1 
so as to be out of the way of the       
preparations for his birthday4 ,here he 
had fallen ill1 and no one had had time 
to think of him1 excepting one of the   
humbler servants and this little child4 
,they had all been so busy preparing for
 his birthday festival that they had    
forgotten him entirely4  ,this is the   
way it is with most of us at ,christmas 
time4  ,whenever we think of a friend1  
or even an acquaintance1 we think of his
 various qualities1--not always in      
detail1 but as forming a general        
impression which we associate with his  
name4 ,if it is a friend whom we love   
and admire1 we love1 especially on his  
birthday1 to dwell on all that is good  
and true in his character2 and at such  
times1 though he may be miles away in   
body1 we find ourselves living with him 
every hour of the day1 and feel his     
presence1 and1 from that feeling1 do our

 daily tasks with the greater           
satisfaction and joy4  ,every one in    
this part of the world1 of course1 knows
 whose birthday we celebrate on the     
twenty-fifth of ,december4 ,if we       
imagine that such a man never really    
existed1 that he was simply an ideal    
character1 and nothing more1--if we were
 to take ,christmas ,day as the festival
 of a noble myth1--the ideal which it   
represents is so clear1 so true1 so     
absolutely practical in the way it is   
recorded in the book of his life1 that  
it would be a most helpful joy to       
reflect upon it1 and to try and apply   
its beautiful lessons on the day which  
would especially recall it to our minds4
  ,or1 let us suppose that such a man   
really did exist1--a man whose character
 was transcendently clear and true1     
quiet1 steady1 and strong1--a man who   
was full of warm and tender love for    
all1--who was constantly doing good to  
others without the slightest display or 
self-assertion1--a man who was simple   

and humble1--who looked the whole world 
in the face and did what was            
right1--even though the whole           
respectable world of his day disapproved
 of him1 and even though this same world
 attested in the most emphatic manner   
that he was doing what was dangerous and
 wicked1--a man with spiritual sight so 
keen that it was far above and beyond   
any mere intellectual power1--a sight   
compared to which1 what is commonly     
known as intellectual keenness is1      
indeed1 as darkness unto light2 a man   
with a loving consideration for others  
so true and tender that its life was    
felt by those who merely touched the hem
 of his garment4 ,suppose we knew that  
such a man really did live in this      
world1 and that the record of his life  
and teachings constitute the most       
valuable heritage of our race1--what new
 life it would give us to think of him1 
especially on his birthday1--to live    
over1 so far as we were able1 his       
qualities as we knew them2 and to gain1 

as a result1 new clearness for our own  
everyday lives4 ,the better we knew the 
man1 the more clearly we could think of 
him1 and the more full our thoughts     
would be of living1 practical           
suggestions for daily work4  ,but now   
just think what it would mean to us if  
we really knew that this humble1 loving 
man were the ,creator of the            
universe--the very ,god--who took upon  
,himself our human nature with all its  
hereditary imperfections2 and1 in that  
human nature met and conquered every    
temptation that ever was1 or ever could 
be possible to man2 thus--by            
self-conquest--receiving all the divine 
qualities into his human nature1 and    
bringing them into this world within    
reach of the hearts and minds of all    
men1 to give light and warmth to their  
lives1 and to enable them to serve each 
other2--if we could take this view of   
the man's life and work1 with what quiet
 reverence and joy should we celebrate  
the twenty-fifth of ,december as a day  

set apart to celebrate ,his birth into  
the world6  ,if we ourselves loved a    
truthful1 quiet way of living better    
than any other way1 how would we feel to
 see our friends preparing to celebrate 
our birthday with strain1 anxiety1 and  
confusion8 ,if we valued a loving       
consideration for others more than      
anything else in the world1 how would it
 affect us to see our friends preparing 
for the festival with a forced sense of 
the conventional necessity for giving8  
,who gives himself with his gift feeds  
three1-- ,himself1 his hungry neighbor1 
and ,me4  ,that spirit should be in     
every ,christmas gift throughout        
,christendom4 ,the most thoughtless man 
or woman would recognize the truth if   
they could look at it quietly with due  
regard for the real meaning of the day4 
,but after having heard and assented to 
the truth1 the thoughtless people would1
 from force of habit1 go on with the    
same rush and strain4  ,it is           
comparatively easy to recognize the     

truth1 but it is quite another thing to 
habitually recognize your own           
disobedience to it1 and compel yourself 
to shun that disobedience1 and so       
habitually to obey1--and to obey it is  
our only means of treating the truth    
with real respect4 ,when you ask a man1 
about holiday time1 how his wife is1 not
 uncommonly he will say3--  ,oh1 she is 
all tired out getting ready for         
,christmas4  ,and how often we hear the 
boast3--  ,i had one hundred ,christmas 
presents to buy1 and ,i am completely   
worn out with the work of it4  ,and     
these very women who are tired and      
strained with the ,christmas work1 put  
on an expression and talk with emotion  
of the beauty of ,christmas1 and the joy
 there is in the ,christmas feeling4    
,just so every one at the birthday party
 of the absent guest exclaimed with     
delight at all the pleasures provided1  
although the essential spirit of the    
occasion contradicted directly the      
qualities of the man whose birthday it  

was supposed to honor4  ,how often we   
may hear women in the railway cars      
talking over their ,christmas           
shopping3--  ,i got so and so for       
,james1--that will do for him1 don't you
 think so8  ,and1 when her companion    
answers in the affirmative1 she gives a 
sigh of relief1 as if to say1 now he is 
off my mind6  ,poor woman1 she does not 
know what it means to give herself with 
her gift4 ,she is missing one of the    
essentials of the true joy of ,christmas
 ,day4 ,indeed1 if all her gifts are    
given in that spirit1 she is directly   
contradicting the true spirit of the    
day4 ,how many of us are unconsciously  
doing the same thing because of         
our--habit of regarding ,christmas gifts
 as a matter of conventional obligation4
  ,if we get the spirit of giving       
because of ,him whose birthday it is1 we
 shall love to give1 and our hearts will
 go out with our gifts1--and every gift1
 whether great or small1 will be a      
thoughtful message of love from one to  

another4 ,there are now many people1 of 
course1 who have this true spirit of    
,christmas giving1 and they are the     
people who most earnestly wish that they
 had more4 ,then there are many more who
 do not know the spirit of a truly      
thoughtful gift1 but would be glad to   
know it1 if it could once be brought to 
their attention4  ,we cannot give in a  
truly loving spirit if we give in order 
that we may receive4  ,we cannot give   
truly in the spirit of ,christmas if we 
rush and hurry1 and feel strained and   
anxious about our gifts4  ,we cannot    
give truly if we give more than we can  
afford4  ,people have been known to give
 nothing1 because they could not give   
something expensive2 they have been     
known to give nothing in order to avoid 
the trouble of careful and appropriate  
selection3 but to refrain from giving   
for such reasons is as much against the 
true spirit of ,christmas as is the     
hurried1 excited gift-making of         
conventionality4  ,even now there is joy

 in the ,christmas time1 in spite of the
 rush and hurry and selfishness1 and the
 spirit of those who keep the joy alive 
by remembering whose birthday it is1    
serves as leaven all over the world4    
,first let us remember what ,christmas  
stands for1 and then let us try to      
realize the qualities of the great      
personality which gave the day its      
meaning and significance1--let us honor 
them truly in all our celebrations4 ,if 
we do this1 we shall at the same time be
 truly honoring the qualities1 and      
respecting the needs of every friend to 
whom we give1 and our gifts1 whether    
great or small1 will be full of the     
spirit of discriminating affection4 ,let
 us realize that in order to give truly1
 we must give soberly and quietly1 and  
let us take an hour or more by ourselves
 to think over our gifts before we begin
 to buy or to make them4 ,if we do that 
the helpful thoughts are sure to come1  
and new life will come with them4  ,a   
wise man has described the difference   

between heaven and hell by saying that  
in heaven1 every one wants to give all  
that he has to every one else1 and that 
in hell1 every one wants to take away   
from others all they have4 ,it is the   
spirit of heaven that belongs to        
,christmas4       ,,xiv  ,to ,mothers   
,,most mothers know that it is better   
for the baby to put him into his crib   
and let him go quietly to sleep by      
himself1 than to rock him to sleep or   
put him to sleep in his mother's arms4  
,most mothers know also the difficulty  
of getting the baby into the right habit
 of going to sleep2 and the prolonged   
crying that has to be endured by both   
mother and baby before the habit is     
thoroughly established4  ,many a mother 
gets worn out in listening to her crying
 child1 and goes to bed tired and jaded1
 although she has done nothing but sit  
still and listen4 ,many more1 after     
listening and fretting for a while1 go  
and take up the baby1 and thus they     
weaken him as well as their own         

characters4  ,a baby who finds out1 when
 he is two months old1 that his mother  
will take him up if he cries1 is also   
apt to discover1 if he cries or teases  
enough1 that his mother will let him    
have his own way for the rest of his    
life4  ,the result is that the child    
rules the mother1 rather than the mother
 the child2 and this means sad trouble  
and disorder for both4  ,strong1 quiet  
beginnings are a most valuable help to  
all good things in life1 and if a young 
mother could begin by learning how to   
sit quietly and restfully and let her   
baby cry until he quieted down and went 
to sleep1 she would be laying the       
foundation for a very happy life with   
her children4  ,the first necessity1    
after having seen that nothing is       
hurting him and that he really needs    
nothing1 is to be willing that he should
 cry4 ,a mother can make herself willing
 by saying over and over to herself1 ,it
 is right that he should cry2 ,i want   
him to cry until he has learned to go to

 sleep quietly by himself ,he will be a 
stronger and a more healthy man for     
getting into all good habits as a child4
  ,often the mother's spirit is willing1
 or wants to be willing1 but her nerves 
rebel if1 while she is teaching herself 
to listen quietly1 she will take long1  
quiet breaths very steadily for some    
time1 and will occupy herself with      
interesting work1 she will find it a    
great help toward dropping nervous      
resistance4  ,children are much more    
sensitive than most people know1 and    
readily respond to the mother's state of
 mind2 and even though the mother is in 
the next room1 if she is truly dropping 
her nervous resistance and tension1 the 
baby will often stop his crying all the 
sooner1 and besides1 his mother will    
feel the good effects of her quiet      
yielding in her care of the baby all day
 long4 ,she will be rested instead of   
tired when the baby has gone to sleep4  
,she will have a more refreshing sleep  
herself1 and she will be able to care   

for the baby more restfully when they   
are both awake4  ,it is a universal rule
 that the more excited or naughty the   
children are1 the more quiet and clear  
the mother should be4 ,a mother who     
realizes this for the first time1 and   
works with herself until she is free    
from all excited and strained           
resistance1 discovers that it is through
 her care for her children that she     
herself has learned how to live4        
,blessed are the children who have such 
a mother1 and blessed is the mother of  
those children6  ,it is                 
resistance--resistance to the           
naughtiness or disobedience in the child
 that not only hurts and tires the      
mother1 but interferes with the best    
growth of the child4  ,what6 a mother   
may say1 should ,i want my child to be  
naughty8 ,what a dreadful thing6  ,no1  
we should not want our children to be   
naughty1 but we should be willing that  
they should be4 ,we should drop         
resistance to their naughtiness1 for    

that will give us clear1 quiet minds to 
help them out of their troubles4  ,all  
vehemence is weak2 quiet1 clear decision
 is strong2 and the child not only feels
 the strength of the quiet1 decisive    
action1 but he feels the help from his  
mother's quiet atmosphere which comes   
with it4 ,if all parents realized fully 
that the work they do for their children
 should be done in themselves first1    
there would soon be a new and wonderful 
influence perceptible all about us4     
,the greatest difficulty often comes    
from the fact that children have        
inherited the evil tendencies of their  
parents1 which the parents themselves   
have not acknowledged and overcome4 ,in 
these cases1 most of all1 the work to be
 done for the child must first be done  
in the parents4  ,a very poor woman1 who
 was living in one room with her husband
 and three children1 once expressed her 
delight at having discovered how to     
manage her children better3 ,i see6 she 
said1 the more ,i hollers1 the more the 

children hollers2 now ,i am not going to
 holler any more4  ,there is hollering  
of the voice1 and there is hollering of 
the spirit1 and children echo and suffer
 from both4  ,the same thing is true    
from the time they are born until they  
are grown up1 when it should be right   
for them to be their own fathers and    
mothers1 so far as their characters are 
concerned1 that they can receive the    
greatest possible help from their       
parents through quiet non-resistance to 
their naughtiness1 combined with firm   
decision in demanding obedience to      
law1--a decision which will derive its  
weight and influence from the fact that 
the parents themselves obey the laws to 
which they require obedience4  ,thus    
will the soul of the mother be mother to
 the soul of her child1 and the         
development of mother and child be      
happily interdependent4  ,it is1 of     
course1 not resisting to be grieved at  
the child's naughtiness1--for that grief
 must come as surely as penitence for   

our own wrongdoing4  ,the true dropping 
of resistance brings with it a sense    
that the child is only given to us in   
trust1 and an open1 loving willingness  
leaves us free to learn the highest way 
in which the trust may be fulfilled4