THE GARDEN OF EDEN
The Garden of Eden typifies man's original state of perfection before he began to have experience. The Tree of Knowledge means the Life Principle which can be used both ways. It bore the fruit of the knowledge of both kinds of experience, good and evil, freedom and limitation. Man must choose which kind of fruit he will eat. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." Man makes his choice consciously but generally in ignorance. The serpent typifies the Life Principle viewed from the materialistic viewpoint; it casts man from his perfect state through his belief in duality and separation. Man chose to depart from Good, and man alone must choose to return to It. God lets him alone; for he is a free agent and may do as he wills with himself. When man decides to return to his Father's House, he will find that his Father is still there. "Act as though I am and I will be." "Onlook the Deity and the Deity will onlook thee." "Be firm and ye shall be made firm." "As though hast believed so be it done unto thee." "Ask and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." God's Creation is Perfect and we must wake to the fact and know that we are now in the Kingdom of Heaven.
SALVATION AND GRACE
As the fall of man was brought about through his own act, so the rise of man will be accomplished through his own act. God already Is. Salvation is not a thing but a Way; the way of salvation is through the realization of man's unity with the Whole. Grace is the givingness of the Spirit to Its Creation and is not a special law, but is a specialized one. In other words, Grace Is, but we need to recognize It. It is not something that God imposed upon us, but is the logical result of the correct acceptance of life and of a correct relationship to the Spirit.
We are saved by Grace to the extent that we believe in, accept and seek to embody, the Law of Good; for the Law of Good is ever a Law of Liberty and never one of limitation. Limitation is not a thing, but is a belief. Freedom is a Divine Reality, while limitation is an illusion, a false belief.
Salvation is an act of man and not an act of God. Man damned himself and man must save himself, if he ever is saved. He will save himself to the exact degree that he stops damning himself. He will live in Heaven when he stops living in hell. He will be healed when he stops being sick. He will become rich just as soon as he stops being poor. He will become as God when he stops masquerading as the devil. He will be happy when he stops being miserable. He will be at peace when he stops becoming confused. He will be filled with joy when he stops thinking sadness. He will live when he stops dying. He will be perfect when he stops looking upon imperfection; and he will be saved when he stops damning himself. HE WILL BE ONE WHEN HE STOPS BEING TWO. MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN, MAN; "The great Thou—I—and the great I—Thou."
THE PERFECT UNIVERSE
We must realize the Perfect Universe if we wish to embody the greatest good. If the Universe were not Perfect It could not exist for a single moment. It is self-evident that we live in a Perfect Universe; and, if so, then everything in It must also be perfect.
The Truth is Indivisible and Whole. God is Complete and Perfect. A Perfect Cause must produce a Perfect Effect. Disregarding all evidence to the contrary, the student of Truth will maintain that he lives in a Perfect Universe and among perfect people; he will regulate his thinking to meet this necessity and will refuse to believe in its opposite. At first he may appear to be weak; but as time goes on, he will prove to Itself that his position is a correct one; for that which appears imperfect will begin to slip from his experience.
To daily meditate on the Perfect Life and to daily embody the Great Ideal is the way to sure salvation; this is a royal road to freedom and is happiness to the soul of man. We cannot afford to believe in imperfection for a single instant. Let us learn to look as God must look, with a Perfect Vision; let us seek the Good and the True and believe in them with our whole heart; let us say daily to our inner selves: "Perfect God within me; Perfect Life within me, Which is God; Perfect Being within me, Which is God, come forth into expression through me and become that which I am; lead me into the paths of perfection and cause me to see only the Good."
By this practice, the soul will become illumined and will acquaint itself with God and be at peace. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in heaven is Perfect."
IMAGINATION AND WILL
Coué announced a great truth when he said that imagination is superior to the will; but he did not explain the philosophy behind this truth. It is a fact that what he said is true, but we wish to analyze the fact and discover the reason back of it; for if anything is true there is always a reason for its being true.
Will is an assumption, pure and simple. We do not will to live; we live because we have life and cannot help living. The use of the will could not make us anything that we are not; for it is not possible to get out of a bag anything that the bag does not contain. We live because life is within us. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, "Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature?"
We did not make Life and we cannot change It, but we can use It; and the use of Life is through the imagination; because this faculty has, at its roots, the very well-spring of life and action. Imagination carries with it feeling and conviction, which mean life and action; it awakens within us all the finer forces of nature and stirs into action latent powers which otherwise would never come to the surface.
At the very root of the whole matter we find that the Creative Power of the universe does not create through will, but through imagination, imaging, feeling, and knowing. To suppose that God must will things to happen would be to suppose that God had some opposing force to contend with.
Will power may be necessary in its place, but as a creative agency it is non-existent; it is not creative but directive; and used from this standpoint it is a wonderful force; whereas, used from any other angle, it becomes destructive and will mentally weary the one using it. To feel that we have to will things to happen casts doubt into the face of Creation and presupposes that Life is not Self-Existent and Self-Propelling.
Imagination taps the very roots of Being and utilizes the same Power that brought the worlds forth from Chaos. "The worlds were framed by the word of God." Imagination is the power of the word, while will is the directive agency, denoting the purpose for which the word is spoken.
Man reproduces the power to create and, in his own life, controls his destiny through the activity of his word. This word cannot be willed; but it can be imagined, or imaged forth, into expression.
HOW TO VISUALIZE
Visualizing means mentally seeing the things that you wish to have or to do. When you mentally see the things you desire, and see them very clearly, you are presenting Universal Mind with images of thought; and, like the creative soil of the ground, It at once tends to project them into form. If the thought image is clear it provides a good mold; if it is imperfect the mold is a poor one. This does not mean that one must set his mind or hold thought; it simply means that he must think clearly. There is no power in holding thoughts; indeed, the real secret of successful mental work is to loose thought and let Mind operate upon it.
The first thing to do is to decide what you wish to image into Mind. After having become composed in thought, begin to see the complete outcome of your desires, in mental pictures. Suppose that you wish to demonstrate a home; you should know just what kind of home you wish. Of course, if you simply thought of house you would get something, but the more definite the picture the better the results will be. In order to make the picture complete, decide just what kind of a home you wish to live in; then, in the silence of your thought, mentally look at this house; go from room to room, stopping here and there to look at some piece of furniture or at some picture on the wall. Make the whole thing real, as far as possible; enter the house, sit down and feel that you are actually living there, saying, "I am now living in this house." You have set a word in motion through the Law which will bring a realization of your desire, unless you, yourself, neu
tralize the picture by doubting it. Do this every day until the house appears. Use the same process in visualizing anything.
In order that you may fully understand just what I mean, I will illustrate by drawing a mental picture which I will ask you to follow as you read these lines. Imagine that you are with me; we will suppose that I am a man about six feet tall, with light hair and complexion. We are sitting on the front porch of a house that is painted green; it is a two-story house and sits quite far back from the road; there are tall trees standing in front of the house through which the sun is shining. We can see the little shadows as they play upon the porch through the open spaces between the trees. The breeze is gently blowing and the leaves are waving back and forth. I am talking to you, saying, "Let us take a walk together." We immediately rise from our seats, which are made of wicker, and walk down three stone steps to a gravel walk, leading to the street. As we go out through a stone gate we are suddenly met by a dog which is running along the street; he is a large, yellow dog, and is running rapidly. We watch him as he runs, barking, down the street, till he turns a corner,—and our picture is at an end. Now, if you have carefully imaged each step in the above picture, you will understand what visualizing means.
THE SEQUENCE OF THE CREATIVE ORDER
In the creation of any form it is necessary for its image to exist in Mind before it can come into realization in the external. The Law, being only a neutral force, cannot initiate anything, and cannot, of Itself, choose to create anything. It is a Doer only, not a Knower. The Word alone knows; so we may assume that each word is a law unto itself, through the One great Law of all Life.
MAN'S CREATIVE POWER MARVELOUS
Man's creative power in his world is marvelous; for every time he thinks he sets the Law in motion. As his thought sets the Law in motion it is specializing It for some definite purpose; and in this way his word becomes the law unto the thing which he speaks. Of course man never really creates, but his use of Creative Power makes his word creative through the Medium of Mind. This should give to all a sense of freedom and a realization that there is neither competition nor monopoly. It leaves each to work out his own salvation, not with fear or even trembling, but with a calm sense of peace and assurance.
CONCENTRATION
To concentrate means to bring to a point. To concentrate the mentality means to bring the thinking to bear on one point of interest and to hold it there. Concentration has little to do with will power. Indeed, the misuse of will often renders concentration impossible.
The simplest practice for concentration is always the best. Nature always works along the lines of least resistance; and mental power is only a force of nature and should always be thought of in a natural way.
If you wish to concentrate on some particular idea or thought, bring the attention to it; then hold it there, but without effort. At first you may find that the thought wavers; do not oppose this, but mentally brush the wrong thought aside, much as you would brush a fly from the face with the hand. Be sure that you make no great mental effort, feel at ease and at peace, gently bringing the thought back to the point of attention.
Let us illustrate this by supposing that one is going to concentrate on the thought of happiness. Taking the word "happy" into the mentality, say, "I am happy"; without effort or mentally trying, just think the words, "I am happy." In a few minutes you may find that your thought has begun to wander. Right here be sure and not bring the attention back with a bang; just say again, "I am happy," making no effort to destroy the other thought, but returning to the starting point, "I am happy." Make the whole thing easy and natural, and soon you will find that you can hold the attention as long as you desire.
It is always a mistake to oppose thoughts that interfere; when one begins to do this he will at once find that he is resisting something, thereby disrupting his whole meditation.
It is unnecessary to concentrate on an external object; for CONCENTRATION IS ALWAYS FROM WITHIN AND NEVER FROM WITHOUT. The only place that the mind can know is within itself.
In concentrating, lay aside all will power and resistance, letting the thought realize the words upon which you wish to concentrate. This will be found a simple but most effective method, and by far the most prolific of results.
In teaching a child to concentrate, it is well to have him take something in which he is particularly interested. As a child's mind wanders more or less aimlessly about, it is well to have him write some thought on paper; and, looking at it, see how long he can center his interest on the mental picture that the words suggest.
THE MIRROR OF THE SUBJECTIVE
It has truly been said that Mind is a mirror. If we could realize how completely this law works, no doubt we would greatly alter our manner of thinking. It is impossible to create even the slightest thought without causing some reflex action in Mind; and the deeper the emotion the deeper will be the penetration of thought and the more complete will be the reaction.
Thought is the most subtle of all the forces which we know anything about, and but few understand what a tremendous power it has, either for good or for ill. To learn how to control one's thought means knowing how to control one's body and destiny.
Subjective mind can reason only deductively; consequently, it is compelled, by reason of its nature, to accept whatever thought gains entrance to it. So the mirror of Mind is, in reality, the working of the law of cause and effect through the mentality. The subjective mind, being the seat of memory, must contain all the thoughts which have ever gone into it, whether these thoughts have been conscious or not. But when a person is told that he has thoughts which he never consciously created it is a little hard to understand. He must realize, however, that constant contact with life opens the door to many impressions which were never consciously created. This fact, together with the realization that whatever falls into the subjective mind must be acted upon, answers the question.
Of course, we do not imagine that certain things are going to happen to us; but we do think certain kinds of thoughts which, brought to their logical conclusions, would produce definite effects. Remember that the subjective mind reasons deductively only; and all this becomes quite evident.
The subjective side of thought, being the creative agency within, must at once set to work to produce anything which is given it, no matter what the emotion may be. How wonderful! But this shows how very careful one should be in choosing the kind and type of emotion to be made into form; for something must happen to all the thoughts which submerge.
The subjective mind never argues nor contradicts what is put into it; the thought is at once accepted and acted upon. If one says that he is sick, it at once begins to create a sick condition; for, like a mirror, it reflects; and being creative, what it reflects it tends to create and to cast forth as a condition.
Like any other natural force, subjective mind was not created by man and he cannot change its mode of operation; but, while he may not change a natural force, he may change his manner of approach to it. Man cannot change his own inherent nature; but he can, and should, learn to make the best use of all his forces. Subjective mind will never change its own nature, but will always reflect to the thinker what he thinks into it. Man did not make this law nor can he change it; but, like any other law, once understood, it becomes an obedient servant.
The use of this law is entirely mental and is within the grasp of every one; it is so simple that all can understand; it is the law of mind in action, and this law is set in motion by correct thinking and knowing.
But how few know why they think or what they think! How few control even the slightest emotion or allow the emotions to express in a constructive manner! No doubt the time will come when a complete control of the subjective will be gained and man will then be much less limited.
But the race is made up of individuals, and the place to begin is right at home. We, who have affirmed these great laws of mind to be realities in the human experience, must so prove them in our expressions of life that the
rest, looking on, may read the sign and follow the signal. It is possible to do this, and the reward is great.
At first the road may be hard and beset with many difficulties; there may be failures and discouragements; but the end is certain. We fall, only to rise again into a greater realization of life and action; and, like the pilgrim of old, to renew the journey. We shall need a backbone instead of a wishbone here as in all other places. It is not in wishing but in knowing and in doing that we shall find the reward of true merit. It behooves each one to make the effort to consciously control the processes of his thought.
This does not mean sitting around in some dark corner with the hand at the brow, impersonating Socrates or Plato; it means out in the world, in the midst of affairs, at home and abroad, wherever our work takes us. We need not leave the world; for we may engage in all of its activities without being controlled by them; we may be in the world of affairs as masters and not as slaves.
Surely this hope, held before the waiting thought, will so stimulate our endeavors that we shall go forth into life and the great game of living with a new song upon our lips and a new joy within, springing forth into the dawn of a new day.
PERSONALITY
Personality is the result of man's experience; it is the sum total of all that he has said, done, felt, thought, hoped for and believed in; it is the result of his reactions to the events of life as they come and go. Factors to be considered in the development of personality are heredity, race-suggestion, environment, child training, education, auto-suggestion and, indeed, anything and everything that impinges upon consciousness. Therefore, we are what we are and where we are because of the nature of our accumulated consciousness.
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