Journey

WEEK TWENTY ONE

The real secret of power is consciousness of power. The Universal Mind is unconditional; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional. We have become free!

Large ideas have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas, so it is well to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small or undesirable tendencies. This will remove innumerable petty and annoying obstacles from your path. You will also become conscious of a larger world of thought, thereby increasing your mental capacity as well as placing yourself in a position to accomplish something of value.

This is one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master Mind. He thinks big thoughts. The creative energies of mind find no more difficulty in handling large situations than small ones. Mind is just as much present in the Infinitely large as in the Infinitely small.

When we realize these facts concerning mind, we understand how we may bring ourselves any condition by creating the corresponding conditions in our consciousness, because everything which is held for any length of time in the consciousness, eventually becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern which the creative energy will weave into the life and environment of the individual.

In this way conditions are produced, and we find that our lives are simply the reflection of our predominant thoughts, our mental attitude. We see then than the science of correct thinking is the one science, that it includes all other sciences.

From this science we learn that every thought creates an impression on the brain, that these impressions create mental tendencies, and these tendencies create character, ability and purpose, and that the combined action of character, ability and purpose determines the experiences with which we shall meet in life.

These experiences come to us through the Law of Attraction; through the action of this law we meet in the outer world the experiences which correspond to our world within.

The predominant thought or the mental attitude is the magnet, and the law is that “like attracts like”, consequently the mental attitude will invariably attract such conditions as correspond to its nature.

This mental attitude is our personality, and is composed of the thoughts which we have been creating in our own mind; therefore, if we wish a change in conditions, all that is necessary is to change our thought. This will in turn change our mental attitude, which will in turn change our personality, which will in turn change the persons, things and conditions – the experiences – with which we meet in life.

It is, however, no easy matter to change the mental attitude; but by persistent effort it may be accomplished. The mental attitude is patterned after the mental pictures which have been photographed on the brain; if you do not like the pictures, destroy the negatives and create new pictures; this is the art of visualization.

As soon as you have done this, you will begin to attract new things, and the new things will correspond to the new pictures. To do this, impress on the mind a perfect picture of the desire which you wish to have objectified and continue to hold the picture in mind until results are obtained.

If the desire is one which requires determination, ability, talent, courage, power or any other spiritual power, these are necessary essentials for your picture; build them in; they are the vital part of the picture; they are the feeling which combines with thought and creates the irresistible magnetic power which draws the things you require to you. They give your picture life, and life means growth, and as soon as it begins to grow, the result is practically assured.

Do not hesitate to aspire to the highest possible attainments in anything you may undertake, for the mind’s forces are ever ready to lend themselves to a purposeful will in the effort to crystallize its highest aspirations into acts, accomplishments, and events. An illustration of how these forces operate is suggested by the method in which all our habits are formed. We do a thing, then do it again, and again, until it becomes easy and perhaps almost automatic; and the same rule applies in breaking any and all bad habits; we stop doing a thing, and then avoid it again and again until we are entirely free from it; and if we do fail now and then, we should by no means lose hope, for the law is absolute and invincible and gives us credit for every effort and every success, even though our efforts and successes are perhaps intermittent.

There is no limit to what this law can do for you. Dare to believe in your own idea; think of the ideal as an already accomplished fact.

WEEK TWENTY-TWO

The life processes are carried on by two distinct methods: first, the taking up and making use of nutritive material necessary for constructing cells; second, the breaking down and excreting the waste material.

All life is based upon these constructive and destructive activities, and as food, water and air are the only requisites necessary for the construction of cells, it would seem that the problem of prolonging life indefinitely would not be a very difficult one.

However strange it may seem, it is the second or destructive activity that is, with rare exception, the cause of all disease. The waste material accumulates and saturates the tissues, which causes auto-intoxication. This may be partial or general. In the first case the disturbance will be local; in the second place it will affect the whole system.

The problem before us in the healing of disease is to increase the inflow and distribution of vital energy throughout the system, and this can only be done by eliminating thought so fear, worry, care, anxiety, jealousy, hatred, and every other destructive thought, which tend to tear down and destroy the nerves and glands which control the excretion and elimination of poisonous and waste matter.

Nourishing foods and strengthening tonics cannot bestow life, because these are but secondary manifestations to life.

Knowledge is of priceless value, because by applying knowledge we can make our future what we wish it to be. When we realize that our present character, our present environment, our present ability, our present physical condition are all the result of past methods of thinking, we shall begin to have some conception of the value of knowledge.

If the state of our health is not all that could be desired, let us imagine our method of thinking; let us remember that every thought produces an impression on the mind; every impression is a seed which will sink into the subconscious and form a tendency; the tendency will be to attract other similar thoughts and before we know it we shall have a crop which must be harvested.

If these thoughts contain disease germs, the harvest will be sickness, decay, weakness, and failure; the question is, what are we thinking, what are we creating, what is the harvest to be?

If there is any physical condition which it is necessary to change, the law governing visualization will be found effective. Make a mental image of physical perfection, hold it in the mind until it is absorbed by the consciousness. Many have eliminated chronic ailments in a few weeks by this method, and thousands have overcome and destroyed all manner of ordinary physical disturbances by this method in a few days, sometimes in a few minutes.

It is through the law of vibration that the mind exercises this control over the body. We know that every mental action is a vibration, and we know that all form is simply a mode of motion, a rate of vibration. Therefore, any given vibration immediately modifies every atom in the body, every life cell is affected and an entire chemical change is made in every group of cells.

Everything in the Universe is what is by virtue of its rate of Vibration. Thought is a vibration. We can change the vibration and thus produce any condition which we desire to manifest in our bodies.

We are all using this power every minute. The trouble is that most of us are using it unconsciously and thus producing undesirable results. The challenge is to use it intelligently and produce only desirable results. This should not be difficult, because we have all had sufficient experience to know what produces pleasant vibration in the body, and we also know the causes which produce the unpleasant and disagreeable sensations.

All that is necessary is to consult our own experience. When our thought has been uplifted, progressive, constructive, courageous, noble, kind or in any other way desirable, we have set in motion vibrations which bring about certain results. When our thought has been filled with envy, hatred, jealousy, criticism of any of the thousand and one other forms of discord, certain vibrations have been set in motion which bring about certain other results of a different nature, and each of these rates of vibration, if kept up, crystallizes in form. In the first case the result is mental, moral and physical health, and in the second case discord, disharmony and disease.

The objective mind has certain effects on the body which are readily recognized. Someone says something to you which strikes you as ludicrous and you laugh, possibly until your whole body shakes, which shows that thought has control over the muscles of your body; or someone says something which excites your sympathy and your eyes fill with tears, which shows that thought controls the glands of your body; or someone says something which makes you angry and the blood mounts to your cheek, which shows that thought controls the circulation of your blood. But as these experiences are all the results of the action of your objective mind over the body, the results are of a temporary nature; they soon pass away and leave the situation as it was before.

Let us see how the action of the subconscious mind over the body differs. You receive a wound; thousands of cells begin the work of healing at once; and in a few days or a few weeks the work is complete. You may even break a bone. The surgeon may set the bone for you, and the subjective mind will immediately begin the process of welding the parts together, and in a short time the bone is as solid as it ever was. You may swallow poison; the subjective mind will immediately discover the danger and make violent efforts to eliminate it. You may become infected with a dangerous germ; the subjective will at once commence to build a wall around the infected area and destroy the infection by absorbing it in the white blood corpuscles which it supplies for this purpose.

These processes of the subconscious mind usually proceed without our knowledge or direction, and as long as we do not interfere the result is perfect; but as these millions of repair cells are all intelligent and respond to our thought, they are often paralyzed and rendered impotent by our thoughts of fear, doubt, and anxiety. They are like an army of workmen, ready to start an important piece of work, but every time they get started on the undertaking a strike is called, or plans changed, until they finally get discouraged and give up.

The way to health is founded on the law of vibration, which is the basis of all science, and this law is brought into operation by the mind, the “world within.” It is a matter of individual effort and practice. Our world of power is within; if we are wise we shall not waste time and effort in trying to deal with effects as we find them in the “world without,” which is only an external reflection.

We shall always find the cause in the world within; by changing the cause, we change the effect.

Every cell in your body is intelligent and will respond to your direction. The cells are all creators and will create the exact pattern which you give them.

Therefore, when perfect images are placed before the subjective, the creative energies will build a perfect body.

Brain cells are constructed in the same way. The quality of the brain is governed by the state of mind, or mental attitude, so that if undesirable mental attitudes are conveyed to the subjective, they will in turn be transferred to the boy. We can therefore readily see that if we wish the body to manifest health, strength, and vitality, this must be the predominant thought.

We know then that every element of the human body is the result of a rate of vibration.

We know that mental action is a rate of vibration.

We know that a higher rate of vibration governs, modifies, controls, changes, or destroys a lower rate of vibration.

We know that the rate of vibration is governed by the character of our brain cells.

We know how to create these brain cells.

Therefore, we know how to make any physical change we desire in the body, and having secured a working knowledge of the power of mind to this extent, we have come to know that there is practically no limit which can be placed upon our ability to place ourselves in harmony with Natural Law, which is omnipotent.

This influence or control over the body by the mind is coming to be more and more generally understood, and many physicians are now giving the matter their earnest attention. The power of mental therapeutics should be the subject of careful, special and scientific teaching in every medical school.

There can be no doubt that few patients are aware of how much they can do for themselves.

This realization and recognition of this Omnipresent power will quickly destroy any and every form of sickness or suffering and substitute harmony and perfection.

Opportunity follows perception, action follows inspiration, growth follows knowledge, eminence follows progress. Always the spiritual first, then the transformation into the infinite and limitless possibilities of achievement.

WEEK TWENTY-THREE

The money consciousness is an attitude of mind; it is the open door to the arteries of commerce. It is the receptive attitude. Desire is the attractive force which sets the current in motion, and fear is the great obstacle by which the current is stopped or completely reversed, turned away from us.

Fear is just the opposite from money consciousness; it is poverty consciousness, and as the law is unchangeable we get exactly what we give; if we fear we get what we feared. Money weaves itself into the entire fabric of our very existence; it engages the best thought of the best minds.

We make money by making friends, and we enlarge our circle of friends by making money for them, by helping them, by being of service to them. The first law of success then is service, and this in turn is built on integrity and justice. The man who at least is not fair in his intention is simply ignorant; he has missed the fundamental law of all exchange; he is impossible; he will lose surely and certainly. He may not know it; he may think he is winning, but he is doomed to certain defeat. He cannot cheat the Infinite. The law of compensation will demand of him an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

The forces of life are volatile; they are composed of our thoughts and ideals, and these in turn are moulded into form. Our problem is to keep an open mind, to constantly reach out for the new, to recognize opportunity, to be interested in the race rather than the goal, for the pleasure is in the pursuit rather than the possession.

You can make a money magnet of yourself, but to do so you must first consider how you can make money for other people. If you have the necessary insight to perceive and utilize opportunities and favourable conditions and recognize values, you can put yourself in position to take advantage of them, but your greatest success will come as you are enabled to assist others. What benefits one must benefit all.

A generous thought is filled with strength and vitality, a selfish thought contains the germs of dissolution; it will disintegrate and pass away. Our greatest success will come as we recognize that it is just as essential to give as to get.

If we recognize the Omnipotent power that is the source of all supply, we will adjust our consciousness to this supply in such a way that it will constantly attract all that is necessary to itself, and we shall find that the more we give the more we get. Giving in this sense implies service.

The banker gives his money, the merchant gives his goods, the author gives his thought, the workman gives his skill; all have something to give, but the more they give, the more they get, and the more they get the more they are able to give.

The average person is entirely innocent of any deep thinking. He accepts the ideas of others, and repeats them, in very much the same way as a parrot; this is readily seen when we understand the method which is used to form public opinion, and this docile attitude on the part of a large majority who seem perfectly willing to let a few people do all their thinking for them is what enables a few men in a great many countries to usurp all the avenues of power and hold the millions in subjugation. Creative thinking requires attention.

The power of attention is called concentration; this power is directed by the will, and for this reason we must refuse to concentrate or think of anything except the things we desire. Many constantly concentrate upon sorrow, loss and discord of every kind; as thought is creative, it necessarily follows that this concentration inevitably leads to more loss, more sorrow and more discord. How could it be otherwise? On the other hand, when we meet with success, gain, or any other desirable condition, we naturally concentrate upon the effects of these things and thereby create more, and so it follows that much leads to more.

“Spirit, whatever else it may or may not be, must be considered as the Essence of Consciousness, the Substance of Mind, the reality underlying Thought. And as all ideas are phases of the activity of Consciousness, Mind or Thought, it follows that in Spirit, and in it alone, is to be found the Ultimate Fact, the Real Thing, or Idea”

Spirituality is quite practical, very practical, intensely practical. It teaches that Spirit is the Real Thing, the Whole Thing, and that Matter is but plastic stuff, which Spirit is able to create, mould, manipulate, and fashion to its will. Spirituality is the most practical thing in the world – the only really and absolutely practical thing that there is!

Q.) What is the first law of success?
A.) Service.

Q.) How many we be of most service?
A.) Have an open mind; be interested in the race rather than the goal, in the pursuit rather than possession.

Q.) How will our greatest success be achieved?
A.) By a recognition of the fact that it is just as essential to give as to receive.

Q.) What is the effect of concentrating upon sorrow and loss?
A.) More sorrow and more loss.

Q.) What is the effect of concentrating upon gain?
A.) More gain.

WEEK TWENTY-FOUR

The final lesson.

If you have practised each of the exercises a few minutes every day, as suggested, you will have found that you can get out of life exactly what you wish by first putting into life that which you wish.

When the scientists first put the Sun in the centre of the Solar System and sent the earth spinning around it, there was immense surprise and consternation. The whole idea was self-evidently false; nothing was more certain than the movement of the Sun across the sky, and anyone could see it descend behind the western hills and sink into the sea; scholars raged and scientists rejected the idea as absurd, yet the evidence has finally carried conviction in the minds of all.

The whole range of theory and practice of any system of metaphysics consists in knowing the Truth concerning yourself and the world in which you live; in knowing that in order to express harmony, you must think harmony; in order to express health you must think health; and in order to express abundance you must think abundance; to do this you must reverse the evidence of the senses.

When you come to know that every form of disease, sickness, lack, and limitation are simply the result of wrong thinking, you will have come to know the Truth which shall make you free.

Your real work consists in convincing yourself of the truth of these statements. When you have succeeded in doing this, you will have no difficulty in thinking the truth; and as has been shown, the truth contains a vital principle and will manifest itself.

Those who heal diseases by mental methods have come to know this truth; they demonstrate it in their lives and the lives of others daily. They know that life, health and abundance are Omnipresent, filling all space, and they know that those who allow disease or lack of any kind to manifest have as yet not come into an understanding of this great law.

As all conditions are thought-creations and therefore entirely mental, disease and lack are simply mental conditions in which the person fails to perceive the truth; as soon as the error is removed, the condition is removed.

The method for removing this error is to go into the Silence and know the Truth. As all mind is one mind, you can do this for yourself or anyone else. If you have learned to form mental images of the conditions desired, this will be the easiest and quickest way to secure results; if not, results can be accomplished by argument, by the process of convincing yourself absolutely of the truth of your statement.

Remember – and this is one of the most difficult as well as most wonderful statements to grasp – remember that no matter what the difficult is, no matter where it is, no matter who is affected, you have no patient but yourself; you have nothing to do but to convince yourself of the truth which you desire to see manifested.

This is an exact scientific statement in accordance with every system of Metaphysics in existence, and no permanent results are ever secured in any other way.

Every form of concentration, forming Mental Images, Argument, and Auto-Suggestion are all simply methods by which you are able to realize the Truth.

If you desire to help someone, to destroy some form of lack, limitation, or error, the correct method is not to think of the person whom you wish to help; the intention to help them is entirely sufficient, as this puts you in mental touch with the person. Then drive out of your own mind any belief of lack, limitation, disease, danger, difficulty, or whatever the trouble might be. As soon as you have succeeded in doing this, the result will have been accomplished, and the person will be free.

But remember that thought is creative, and consequently every time you allow your thought to rest on any inharmonious condition, you must realize that such conditions are appearances only; they have no reality, that spirit is the only reality and it can never be less than perfect.

All thought is a form of energy, a rate of vibration, but a thought of the Truth is the highest rate of vibration known and consequently destroys every form of error in exactly the same way that light destroys darkness. No form of error can exist when the Truth appears, so that your entire mental work consists in coming into an understanding of the Truth. This will enable you to overcome every form of lack, limitation, or disease of any kind.

We can get no understanding of the truth from the world without; the world without is relative only. Truth is absolute. We must therefore find it in the world within.

The absolute truth is that the “I” is perfect and complete; the real “I” is spiritual and can therefore never be less than perfect; it can never have any lack, limitation, or disease.

Your life and your actions and your influence in the world will depend upon the degree of truth which you are able to perceive, for truth will not manifest in creeds, but in conduct.

If you see only the incomplete, the imperfect, the relative, the limited, these conditions will manifest in your life; but if you train your mind to see and realize the spiritual ego, the “I” which is forever perfect and complete, then harmonious; wholesome, and healthful conditions only will be manifested.

As thought is creative, and the truth is the highest and most perfect thought which anyone can think, it is self-evident that to think the truth is to create that which is true and it is again evident that when the truth comes into being that which is false must cease to be.

Q.) Upon what principle does the theory and practice of every system of Metaphysics in existence depend?
A.) Upon a knowledge of the Truth concerning yourself and the world in which you live.

Q.) What is the “Truth” concerning yourself?
A.) The real “I” or ego is spiritual and can therefore never be less than perfect.

Q.) What is the method of destroying any form of error?
A.) To absolutely convince yourself of the Truth concerning the condition which you wish to see manifested.

Q.) What is the Universal Mind?
A.) The totality of all mind in existence.

Q.) Where is the Universal Mind?
A.) The Universal Mind is omnipresent, it exists everywhere. There is no place where it is not. It is therefore within us. It is “The World within.” It is our spirit, our life.

Q.) How may we act on the Universal Mind?
A.) Our ability to think is our ability to act on the Universal Mind and bring it into manifestation for the benefit of ourselves or others.

Q.) What is meant by thinking?
A.) Clear, decisive, calm, deliberate, sustained thought with a definite end in view.