CHAPTER XXXV.
"Build on resolve, and not upon regret, The structure of thy future. Do not grope Among the shadows of old sins, but let Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope, And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears Upon the blotted record of lost years, But turn the leaf, and smile, oh smile to see The fair, white pages that remain for thee."
--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox._
"MARLOW, October ----.
"I suppose this is the last letter I will write on the lessons inChristian Healing, but I will be faithful as ever, even though I tell itall over again when I see you.
"Everybody looked regretful enough when they went into the class roomto-day, but a hundred fold more so when we went out and the good-byeswere said. It means so much to us all. We have passed through twelvelessons which may symbolize twelve epochs or stages through which weproceed from ignorance to understanding, and understanding to completedemonstration.
"We have been together scarcely three weeks, and yet so much has beenuncovered that we stand face to face with our real selves. All that wasconventional has been laid aside in our intercourse, and the best andsweetest and most sacred phases of our lives laid bare, so that we havehad a clear glimpse of God's children as they are, not as they usuallyappear; and indeed it gives us better courage and stronger faith to goforth into the world again, knowing that the possibilities of one arethe possibilities of all, for 'God is no respecter of persons.'
"I know, perhaps better than some of the rest, that we shall be walkingin the valleys many times when our eyes are on the sun-crowned heights,but if we can be patient and earnest, our feet shall reach the fertileslopes and sunny grass lands of well attained effort. My experience ofthe past shall be only a stronger incentive to perseverance in thefuture, and while it seems human to fall, it is divine to rise, andknowing the divine privilege of proving divinity, I trust God to workthrough me in my daily effort. So said we all when we left the classroom to-day, and with a holy consecration to our new-born faith, wetrust we shall ever grow in grace and wisdom as God's children,according to the promise.
"Mrs. Pearl spoke of our method as the science of silence, and told usnot to be zealous without judgment, not to speak when silence would begolden, not to act so as to bring reproach upon our cause or ourselves,but remember to 'avoid even the appearance of evil.' She said many intheir first joyous enthusiasm and overwhelming conviction wouldindiscreetly tell people 'there is no matter,' for instance, so eagerwere they to bring everybody into the sweet liberty of the spirit; butthe world not being ready to properly consider the subject, would ofcourse ridicule and argue hotly against such a statement, so that falseopinions would spring up and most absurd practices and claims beattributed to Christian Healing.
"Our system should have a dignified place in the world's opinion, and ifwe want to help give it that place, we should aim to be livingrepresentatives of the principles, maintain a dignified attituderegarding it, and if we can answer any questions pertaining to it, letour answer and manners be ennobling and Christ-like.
"We never argue audibly with unbelievers. Argument kills the spirit ofany religion, and the person who desires to prove his position byargument is not ready to be convinced by the spirit. If you are obligedto carry on a conversation with an argumentative person, silently denyall his statements of error, and with calm positiveness affirm for himintelligence, wisdom, and a desire to know truth. In other words,recognize his spiritual self, which is in perfect peace and harmony, andthe outward disturbance or inharmony, which is simply nothingnessexpressed by him, is annulled. Possibly you may seem obliged to submitand listen to him. Never mind. Carry on your silent thoughtsscientifically, and constantly think truth. Thus you will plant a seedthat shall bring forth beauteous blossoms, excellent fruit.
"Whenever you hear error talked, deny it. This is 'shutting your earsfrom hearing of blood, and your eyes from seeing evil.' _Any_ error mustbe denied in order to see the proof of its opposite truth.
"If everybody would learn to deny all the slander or gossip they hear,we should soon have a new social world. Cruel tongues would cease theirwagging, timid hearts could breathe again, and fair names bloom in everyhome.
"This would be the beginning of a much needed reform in the daily press.Poor editors, they are obliged to fill orders, like the cooks andwaiters serving the gentlemen and ladies in the elegant dining-room,ladies' _ordinary_ and ground-floor _cafe_. Alas! that the discoveryshould not be made by everybody, so they could send in different orders.How gladly would the bill of fare be changed!
"But there is nothing more certain to change it, than the little leavenof truth dropped in the highways and byways of daily life. We must 'bediligent in season and out of season,' silently as a rule, but at timesaudibly, perchance forcibly, for some minds seem so dull and sluggish asto need a startling thunder-clap to awaken them from their slumber ofignorance. Thus some patients that come to be healed must be toldsharply and definitely how to think or what to say, for sometimes it isnecessary to make them say their own word of healing, they are socompletely absorbed in material beliefs.
"We grow more in wisdom and spiritual judgment as we proceed faithfullyalong our way of scientific thought and living, and thus have anunerring insight into what we shall do and say in order to give to eachthe healing gospel.
"When we go to church we ought to acknowledge and emphasize every truestatement made by the clergyman with our silent affirmation, and asemphatically deny every erroneous statement, that we may turn the tideof Truth into a broad stream of spiritual uplifting for the wholecongregation.
"Should the minister be inclined to speak about the awfulness and powerof God's wrath and punishment, we can silently assure him that God is aGod of love, not wrath, and tell him he desires to present only the_true_ side of religion. Some people might say this would be wrong, todictate to any one how they should talk, but you will notice that it isnot dictation of action, but rather recognition of motive--the truemotive of the true self. We have a right to recognize the highest andbest of every person. Indeed, we are going directly opposite God'scommands if we acknowledge any but the good creation, which is thespiritual.
"What can the spirit, which is perfect, made in God's image andlikeness, have to say of God's anger or punishment, when it knowsneither, inasmuch as it is pure as the Father in heaven? 'Shall not thejudge of all the earth do right?'
"Not only in the social circle and in the church, but in all kinds ofwork, in all affairs of business, and above all, in the home, must wethus live up to our principles which soon prove our sublimest theory byour sublimest practice. And, blessed privilege, we do not need tounderstand all, before we can begin to demonstrate our preciousreligion.
"We need not worry about the burden of to-morrow and thus drop that ofto-day, but only carry that of to-day with the strength that is givenfor the day. 'Consider the lilies of the field, _how they grow_;' dailyappropriating their portion of sunshine and air and dew, they unfold andblossom, exhale their fragrance, display their matchless beauty, thusfulfilling their appointed mission; so we may unfold and blossom intorare excellence and strength of character. Refreshed by the dew of apure purpose, nourished by the sunlight of true thoughts, fed by theall-abounding manna--the living word, we soon grow strong enough towithstand driving tempest or boisterous gale.
"Mentally we are quickened, learning to discern the opposing force inourselves, and meeting it with the sharp sword of truth, lay it low atonce. But it requires practice to wield this spiritual weapon; it takesjudgment faculty to discover whence comes selfishness that exhausts andweakens; whence comes the material or sensual thought that sickens andwearies, or the jealousy that poisons and embitters the life-forces.
"Faithfully and diligently do we use the word of denial, that sets usand our patients free from these subtle enemies; faithfully andearnestly we affirm all truth and purity and goodness as our portion, asour strength, our refuge, and our defense.
"By the blessed law, when w
e have thus cleansed ourselves, we become atone with the one Life. We intuitively draw to ourselves the best qualityof friendship and give forth the best; we seek the most uplifting andspiritual literature, because it gives us a fresh baptism of spirituallight, which in turn we give to others, so there is a continualreceiving and giving, a continual blessing and being blessed.
"'Henceforth I call you not servants, but friends,' said the Masterbefore his departure. Now 'the servant abideth not in the house forever,but the son abideth forever.' We came as servants to be taught. While inour ignorance, we were the servants or inferiors; knowing the Truth webecame free, and henceforth are brothers, sisters, 'heirs of God andjoint heirs with Christ.' We now claim our inheritance, the privilege toenter into the kingdom and possess the land, our royal birthright. Inthis kingdom are 'hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.'
"The patient who comes to us must on this day be told of the royal giftof health, and we may say: 'Now are ye clean through the word I havespoken unto you.' He, too, must now become the friend, and need nolonger be the servant. When he first came to us he was like a littlechild that had lost his way. We could not show him the way to the velvetslopes of health without taking hold of his hand and leading him throughthe thickets and underbrush in which he was lost. So we graciouslyreached down to him, by talking of things with which he was familiar, ofanimal passions, of selfishness, of sin. We gently and kindly showed himthey were not the true, proved to him that his belief in them had ledhim off the right path, and talked to him of brighter, better, truerthoughts that led to smiling skies of hope, to balmy airs of peace.
"Each day we assured him of his true inheritance, and now we confidentlyassert that he is in full possession of it. Now he is ready to believethe affirmation without the denial, because he is convinced that theaffirmations are true, and he comes to us this day with clear, cleaneyes, and a child-like joy in his recovered health. We give him thefinal word, the benediction, the binding assurance of his birthright.
"Realizing as we must ourselves the wondrous truth concerning his realself and all which that implies, we impressively and with the mostthrilling conviction affirm for him that only health, strength, joy,courage, peace, satisfaction, can come to him as the child of God, theidea of Mind _in_ the power of the Thought that thinks him into being.We assure him that he can recognize and reflect nothing but Good, thathe can manifest only the Father whose son he knows himself to be.Nothing but Mind can affect him. He is like a column of light againstwhich no darkness can be thrown; like a true answer to a problem whichany number of wrong answers can not change. Spiritual like God, he canonly recognize and appropriate what is God-like. Henceforth he knowshimself and his Father, knows that whatever he may ask (realize) will begranted unto him. Knows that he must acknowledge the Truth, and he willabide in the kingdom of Good.
"We send him forth with all the blessings he can desire, because we haverealized for him the possession of those blessings. Knowing that God isall there is, and that our patient lives, is moved and has his being inGod, we point with unerring finger to the sunny uplands of health. Hecan never more relapse as he will ever walk in the open fields of Truth.We bid him God speed on his journey, and thank God that he has comeinto the consciousness of life everlasting, into health and joy withoutmeasure. So be it forever more.
"The thought of perfection should be held steadfastly, even though thepatient do not manifest health at once. No matter if the cure is noteffected in one, two, three weeks, or even as many months, hold fast,with unwavering faith (even if you do not give regular treatments allthe time, and it may be well to skip a week or so occasionally),_knowing_ that good seed _must_ bring forth good fruit; when, where orhow, you nor no other may know. Time is unthinkable with God. We aredealing with Principle, not time. We plant the seed, 'God giveth theincrease.'
"Do the best you know, and work out your own problems. No one else cando that for you. Jesus gave us the key, showed us the way; more thanthat he could not do. We must live our lives and maintain our place byour own efforts. It is 'he that overcometh' who receives the supremegift of eternal life."
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