The Game of Life and How to Play It, by Florence
Scovel Shinn
Chapter 1
THE GAME
Most people consider life a battle, but it
is not a battle, it is a game.
It is a game, however, which cannot be played
successfully without the knowledge of spiritual
law, and the Old and the New Testaments give
the rules of the game with wonderful clearness.
Jesus Christ taught that it was a great game
of Giving and Receiving.
"Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also
reap." This means that whatever man sends
out in word or deed, will return to him; what
he gives, he will receive.
If he gives hate, he will receive hate; if
he gives love, he will receive love; if he
gives criticism, he will receive criticism;
if he lies he will be lied to; if he cheats
he will be cheated. We are taught also, that
the imaging faculty plays a leading part in
the game of life.
"Keep thy heart (or imagination) with all
diligence, for out of it are the issues of
life." (Prov. 4:23.)
This means that what man images, sooner or
later externalizes in his affairs. I know
of a man who feared a certain disease. It
was a very rare disease and difficult to get,
but he pictured it continually and read about
it until it manifested in his body, and he
died, the victim of distorted imagination.
So we see, to play successfully the game of
life, we must train the imaging faculty. A
person with an imaging faculty trained to
image only good, brings into his life "every
righteous desire of his heart"--health, wealth,
love, friends, perfect self-expression, his
highest ideals.
The imagination has been called, "The Scissors
of The Mind, "and it is ever cutting, cutting,
day by day, the pictures man sees there, and
sooner or later he meets his own creations
in his outer world. To train the imagination
successfully, man must understand the workings
of his mind. The Greeks said: "Know Thyself."
There are three departments of the mind, the
subconscious, conscious and superconscious.
The subconscious, is simply power, without
direction. It is like steam or electricity,
and it does what it is directed to do; it
has no power of induction.
Whatever man feels deeply or images clearly,
is impressed upon the subconscious mind, and
carried out in minutest detail.
For example: a woman I know, when a child,
always "made believe" she was a widow. She
"dressed up" in black clothes and wore a long
black veil, and people thought she was very
clever and amusing. She grew up and married
a man with whom she was deeply in love. In
a short time he died and she wore black and
a sweeping veil for many years. The picture
of herself as a widow was impressed upon the
subconscious mind, and in due time worked
itself out, regardless of the havoc created.
The conscious mind has been called mortal
or carnal mind.
It is the human mind and sees life as it appears
to be. It sees death, disaster, sickness,
poverty and limitation of every kind, and
it impresses the subconscious.
The superconscious mind is the God Mind within
each man, and is the realm of perfect ideas.
In it, is the "perfect pattern" spoken of
by Plato, The Divine Design; for there is
a Divine Design for each person.
"There is a place that you are to fill and
no one else can fill, something you are to
do, which no one else can do."
There is a perfect picture of this in the
super-conscious mind. It usually flashes across
the conscious as an unattainable ideal--"something
too good to be true."
In reality it is man's true destiny (or destination)
flashed to him from the Infinite Intelligence
which is within himself.
Many people, however, are in ignorance of
their true destinies and are striving for
things and situations which do not belong
to them, and would only bring failure and
dissatisfaction if attained.
For example: A woman came to me and asked
me to "speak the word" that she would marry
a certain man with whom she was very much
in love. (She called him A. B.)
I replied that this would be a violation of
spiritual law, but that I would speak the
word for the right man, the "divine selection,"
the man who belonged to her by divine right.
I added, "If A. B. is the right man you can't
lose him, and if he isn't, you will receive
his equivalent." She saw A. B. frequently
but no headway was made in their friendship.
One evening she called, and said, "Do you
know, for the last week, A. B. hasn't seemed
so wonderful to me." I replied, "Maybe he
is not the divine selection--another man may
be the right one." Soon after that, she met
another man who fell in love with her at once,
and who said she was his ideal. In fact, he
said all the things that she had always wished
A. B. would say to her.
She remarked, "It was quite uncanny."
She soon returned his love, and lost all interest
in A. B.
This shows the law of substitution. A right
idea was substituted for a wrong one, therefore
there was no loss or sacrifice involved.
Jesus Christ said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom
of God and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you," and he said
the Kingdom was within man.
The Kingdom is the realm of right ideas, or
the divine pattern.
Jesus Christ taught that man's words played
a leading part in the game of life. "By your
words ye are justified and by your words ye
are condemned."
Many people have brought disaster into their
lives through idle words.
For example: A woman once asked me why her
life was now one of poverty of limitation.
Formerly she had a home, was surrounded by
beautiful things and had plenty of money.
We found she had often tired of the management
of her home, and had said repeatedly, "I'm
sick and tired of things--I wish I lived in
a trunk," and she added: "Today I am living
in that trunk." She had spoken herself into
a trunk. The subconscious mind has no sense
of humor and people often joke themselves
into unhappy experiences.
For example: A woman who had a great deal
of money, joked continually about "getting
ready for the poorhouse."
In a few years she was almost destitute, having
impressed the subconscious mind with a picture
of lack and limitation.
Fortunately the law works both ways, and a
situation of lack may be changed to one of
plenty.
For example: A woman came to me one hot summer's
day for a "treatment" for prosperity. She
was worn out, dejected and discouraged. She
said she possessed just eight dollars in the
world. I said, "Good, we'll bless the eight
dollars and multiply them as Jesus Christ
multiplied the loaves and the fishes," for
He taught that every man had the power to
bless and to multiply, to heal and to prosper.
She said, "What shall I do next?"
I replied, "Follow intuition. Have you a 'hunch'
to do anything, or to go anywhere?" Intuition
means, intuition, or to be taught from within.
It is man's unerring guide, and I will deal
more fully with its laws in a following chapter.
The woman replied: "I don't know--I seem to
have a 'hunch' to go home; I've just enough
money for carfare." Her home was in a distant
city and was one of lack and limitation, and
the reasoning mind (or intellect) would have
said: "Stay in New York and get work and make
some money." I replied, "Then go home--never
violate a hunch." I spoke the following words
for her: "Infinite Spirit open the way for
great abundance for -- --. She is an irresistible
magnet for all that belongs to her by divine
right." I told her to repeat it continually
also. She left for home immediately. In calling
on a woman one day, she linked up with an
old friend of her family.
Through this friend, she received thousands
of dollars in a most miraculous way. She has
said to me often, "Tell people about the woman
who came to you with eight dollars and a hunch."
There is always plenty on man's pathway; but
it can only be brought into manifestation
through desire, faith or the spoken word.
Jesus Christ brought out clearly that man
must make the first move.
"Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and
ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. (Mat. 7:7.)
In the Scriptures we read:
"Concerning the works of my hands, command
ye me.
Infinite Intelligence, God, is ever ready
to carry out man's smallest or greatest demands.
Every desire, uttered or unexpressed, is a
demand. We are often startled by having a
wish suddenly fulfilled.
For example: One Easter, having seen many
beautiful rose-trees in the florists' windows,
I wished I would receive one, and for an instant
saw it mentally being carried in the door.
Easter came, and with it a beautiful rose-tree.
I thanked my friend the following day, and
told her it was just what I had wanted.
She replied, "I didn't send you a rose-tree,
I sent you lilies!"
The man had mixed the order, and sent me a
rose-tree simply because I had started the
law in action, and I had to have a rose-tree.
Nothing stands between man and his highest
ideals and every desire of his heart, but
doubt and fear. When man can "wish without
worrying," every desire will be instantly
fulfilled.
I will explain more fully in a following chapter
the scientific reason for this and how fear
must be erased from the consciousness. It
is man's only enemy--fear of lack, fear of
failure, fear of sickness, fear of loss and
a feeling of insecurity on some plane. Jesus
Christ said: "Why are ye fearful, oh ye of
little faith?" (Mat. 8:26.) So we can see
we must substitute faith for fear, for fear
is only inverted faith; it is faith in evil
instead of good.
The object of the game of life is to see clearly
one's good and to obliterate all mental pictures
of evil. This must be done by impressing the
subconscious mind with a realization of good.
A very brilliant man, who has attained great
success, told me he had suddenly erased all
fear from his consciousness by reading a sign
which hung in a room. He saw printed, in large
letters this statement--"Why worry, it will
probably never happen." These words were stamped
indelibly upon his subconscious mind, and
he has now a firm conviction that only good
can come into his life, therefore only good
can manifest.
In the following chapter I will deal with
the different methods of impressing the subconscious
mind. It is man's faithful servant but one
must be careful to give it the right orders.
Man has ever a silent listener at his side--his
subconscious mind.
Every thought, every word is impressed upon
it and carried out in amazing detail. It is
like a singer making a record on the sensitive
disc of the phonographic plate. Every note
and tone of the singer's voice is registered.
If he coughs or hesitates, it is registered
also. So let us break all the old bad records
in the subconscious mind, the records of our
lives which we do not wish to keep, and make
new and beautiful ones.
Speak these words aloud, with power and conviction:
"I now smash and demolish (by my spoken word)
every untrue record in my subconscious mind.
They shall return to the dust-heap of their
native nothingness, for they came from my
own vain imaginings. I now make my perfect
records through the Christ within--The records
of Health, Wealth, Love and perfect self-Expression."
This is the square of life, The Game completed.
In the following chapters, I will show how
man can change his conditions by changing
his words. Any man who does not know the power
of the word, is behind the times.
"Death and Life are in the power of the tongue."
(Prov. 18:21.)
Chapter 2
THE LAW OF PROSPERITY
"Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense
and thou shalt have plenty of silver."
One of the greatest messages given to the
race through the scriptures is that God is
man's supply and that man can release, through
his spoken word, all that belongs to him by
divine right. He must, however, have perfect
faith in his spoken word.
Isaiah said, "My word shall not return unto
me void, but shall accomplish that where unto
it is sent." We know now, that words and thoughts
are a tremendous vibratory force, ever moulding
man's body and affairs.
A woman came to me in great distress and said
she was to be sued on the fifteenth of the
month for three thousand dollars. She knew
no way of getting the money and was in despair.
I told her God was her supply, and that there
is a supply for every demand.
So I spoke the word! I gave thanks that the
woman would receive three thousand dollars
at the right time in the right way. I told
her she must have perfect faith, and act her
perfect faith. The fifteenth came but no money
had materialized.
She called me on the 'phone and asked what
she was to do.
I replied, "It is Saturday, so they won't
sue you today. Your part is to act rich, thereby
showing perfect faith that you will receive
it by Monday." She asked me to lunch with
her to keep up her courage. When I joined
her at a restaurant, I said, "This is no time
to economize. Order an expensive luncheon,
act as if you have already received the three
thousand dollars."
"All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive." "You must act as if you
had already received. "The next morning she
called me on the 'phone and asked me to stay
with her during the day. I said "No, you are
divinely protected and God is never too late."
In the evening she 'phoned again, greatly
excited and said, "My dear, a miracle has
happened! I was sitting in my room this morning,
when the doorbell rang. I said to the maid:
'Don't let anyone in.' The maid however, looked
out the window and said, 'It's your cousin
with the long white beard.'
So I said, 'Call him back. I would like to
see him.' He was just turning the corner,
when he heard the maid's voice, and he came
back.
He talked for about an hour, and just as he
was leaving he said, 'Oh, by the way, how
are finances?'
I told him I needed the money, and he said,
'Why, my dear, I will give you three thousand
dollars the first of the month.'
I didn't like to tell him I was going to be
sued. What shall I do? I won't receive it
till the first of the month, and I must have
it tomorrow." I said, "I'll keep on 'treating.'"
I said, "Spirit is never too late. I give
thanks she has received the money on the invisible
plane and that it manifests on time." The
next morning her cousin called her up and
said, "Come to my office this morning and
I will give you the money." That afternoon,
she had three thousand dollars to her credit
in the bank, and wrote checks as rapidly as
her excitement would permit.
If one asks for success and prepares for failure,
he will get the situation he has prepared
for. For example: A man came to me asking
me to speak the word that a certain debt would
be wiped out.
I found he spent his time planning what he
would say to the man when he did not pay his
bill, thereby neutralizing my words. He should
have seen himself paying the debt.
We have a wonderful illustration of this in
the bible, relating to the three kings who
were in the desert, without water for their
men and horses. They consulted the prophet
Elisha, who gave them this astonishing message:
"Thus saith the Lord--Ye shall not see wind,
neither shall ye see rain, yet make this valley
full of ditches."
Man must prepare for the thing he has asked
for, when there isn't the slightest sign of
it in sight.
For example: A woman found it necessary to
look for an apartment during the year when
there was a great shortage of apartments in
New York. It was considered almost an impossibility,
and her friends were sorry for her and said,
"Isn't it too bad, you'll have to store your
furniture and live in a hotel." She replied,
"You needn't feel sorry for me, I'm a superman,
and I'll get an apartment."
She spoke the words: "Infinite Spirit, open
the way for the right apartment." She knew
there was a supply for every demand, and that
she was "unconditioned," working on the spiritual
plane, and that "one with God is a majority."
She had contemplated buying new blankets,
when "the tempter," the adverse thought or
reasoning mind, suggested, "Don't buy the
blankets, perhaps, after all, you won't get
an apartment and you will have no use for
them." She promptly replied (to herself):
"I'll dig my ditches by buying the blankets!"
So she prepared for the apartment--acted as
though she already had it.
She found one in a miraculous way, and it
was given to her although there were over
two hundred other applicants.
The blankets showed active faith.
It is needless to say that the ditches dug
by the three kings in the desert were filled
to over-flowing. (Read, II Kings.)
Getting into the spiritual swing of things
is no easy matter for the average person.
The adverse thoughts of doubt and fear surge
from the subconscious. They are the "army
of the aliens" which must be put to flight.
This explains why it is so often, "darkest
before the dawn."
A big demonstration is usually preceded by
tormenting thoughts.
Having made a statement of high spiritual
truth one challenges the old beliefs in the
subconscious, and "error is exposed" to be
put out.
This is the time when one must make his affirmations
of truth repeatedly, and rejoice and give
thanks that he has already received. "Before
ye call I shall answer." This means that "every
good and perfect gift" is already man's awaiting
his recognition.
Man can only receive what he sees himself
receiving.
The children of Israel were told that they
could have all the land they could see. This
is true of every man. He has only the land
within his own mental vision. Every great
work, every big accomplishment, has been brought
into manifestation through holding to the
vision, and often just before the big achievement,
comes apparent failure and discouragement.
The children of Israel when they reached the
"Promised Land," were afraid to go in, for
they said it was filled with giants who made
them feel like grasshoppers. "And there we
saw the giants and we were in our own sight
as grass-hoppers." This is almost every man's
experience.
However, the one who knows spiritual law,
is undisturbed by appearance, and rejoices
while he is "yet in captivity." That is, he
holds to his vision and gives thanks that
the end is accomplished, he has received.
Jesus Christ gave a wonderful example of this.
He said to his disciples: "Say not ye, there
are yet four months and then cometh the harvest?
Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes
and look on the fields; for they are ripe
already to harvest." His clear vision pierced
the "world of matter" and he saw clearly the
fourth dimensional world, things as they really
are, perfect and complete in Divine Mind.
So
man must ever hold the vision of his journey's
end and demand the manifestation of that which
he has already received. It maybe his perfect
health, love, supply, self-expression, home
or friends.
They are all finished and perfect ideas registered
in Divine Mind (man's own superconscious mind)
and must come through him, not to him. For
example: A man came to me asking for treatments
for success. It was imperative that he raise,
within a certain time, fifty-thousand dollars
for his business. The time limit was almost
up, when he came to me in despair. No one
wanted to invest in his enterprise, and the
bank had flatly refused a loan. I replied:
"I suppose you lost your temper while at the
bank, therefore your power. You can control
any situation if you first control yourself."
"Go back to the bank," I added, "and I will
treat." My treatment was: "You are identified
in love with the spirit of everyone connected
with the bank. Let the divine idea come out
of this situation." He replied, "Woman, you
are talking about an impossibility. Tomorrow
is Saturday; the bank closes at twelve, and
my train won't get me there until ten, and
the time limit is up tomorrow, and anyway
they won't do it. It's too late." I replied,
"God doesn't need any time and is never too
late. With Him all things are possible." I
added, "I don't know anything about business,
but I know all about God." He replied: "It
all sounds fine when I sit here listening
to you, but when I go out it's terrible."
He lived in a distant city, and I did not
hear from him for a week, then came a letter.
It read: "You were right. I raised the money,
and will never again doubt the truth of all
that you told me."
I saw him a few weeks later, and I said, "What
happened? You evidently had plenty of time,
after all." He replied "My train was late,
and I got there just fifteen minutes to twelve.
I walked into the bank quietly and said, 'I
have come for the loan,' and they gave it
to me without a question."
It was the last fifteen minutes of the time
allotted to him, and Infinite Spirit was not
too late. In this instance the man could never
have demonstrated alone. He needed someone
to help him hold to the vision. This is what
one man can do for another.
Jesus Christ knew the truth of this when he
said: "If two of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which
is in heaven." One gets too close to his own
affairs and becomes doubtful and fearful.
The friend or "healer" sees clearly the success,
health, or prosperity, and never wavers, because
he is not close to the situation.
It is much easier to "demonstrate" for someone
else than for one's self, so a person should
not hesitate to ask for help, if he feels
himself wavering.
A keen observer of life once said, "no man
can fail, if some one person sees him successful."
Such is the power of the vision, and many
a great man has owed his success to a wife,
or sister, or a friend who "believed in him"
and held without wavering to the perfect pattern!
Chapter 3
THE POWER OF THE WORD
"By thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
A person knowing the power of the word, becomes
very careful of his conversation. He has only
to watch the reaction of his words to know
that they do "not return void." Through his
spoken word, man is continually making laws
for himself.
I knew a man who said, "I always miss a car.
It invariably pulls out just as I arrive."
His daughter said: "I always catch a car.
It's sure to come just as I get there." This
occurred for years. Each had made a separate
law for himself, one of failure, one of success.
This is the psychology of superstitions.
The horse-shoe or rabbit's foot contains no
power, but man's spoken word and belief that
it will bring him good luck creates expectancy
in the subconscious mind, and attracts a "lucky
situation." I find however, this will not
"work" when man has advanced spiritually and
knows a higher law. One cannot turn back,
and must put away "graven images." For example:
Two men in my class had had great success
in business for several months, when suddenly
everything "went to smash." We tried to analyze
the situation, and I found, instead of making
their affirmations and looking to God for
success and prosperity, they had each bought
a "lucky monkey." I said: "Oh I see, you have
been trusting in the lucky monkeys instead
of God." "Put away the lucky monkeys and call
on the law of forgiveness," for man has power
to forgive or neutralize his mistakes.
They decided to throw the lucky monkeys down
a coalhole, and all went well again. This
does not mean, however, that one should throw
away every "lucky" ornament or horse-shoe
about the house, but he must recognize that
the power back of it is the one and only power,
God, and that the object simply gives him
a feeling of expectancy.
I was with a friend, one day, who was in deep
despair. In crossing the street, she picked
up a horseshoe. Immediately, she was filled
with joy and hope. She said God had sent her
the horseshoe in order to keep up her courage.
It was indeed, at that moment, about the only
thing that could have registered in her consciousness.
Her hope became faith, and she ultimately
made a wonderful demonstration. I wish to
make the point clear that the men previously
mentioned were depending on the monkeys, alone,
while this woman recognized the power back
of the horseshoe.
I know, in my own case, it took a long while
to get out of a belief that a certain thing
brought disappointment. If the thing happened,
disappointment invariably followed. I found
the only way I could make a change in the
subconscious, was by asserting, "There are
not two powers, there is only one power, God,
therefore, there are no disappointments, and
this thing means a happy surprise." I noticed
a change at once, and happy surprises commenced
coming my way.
I have a friend who said nothing could induce
her to walk under a ladder. I said, "If you
are afraid, you are giving in to a belief
in two powers, Good and Evil, instead of one.
As God is absolute, there can be no opposing
power, unless man makes the false of evil
for himself. To show you believe in only One
Power, God, and that there is no power or
reality in evil, walk under the next ladder
you see." Soon after, she went to her bank.
She wished to open her box in the safety-deposit
vault, and there stood a ladder on her pathway.
It was impossible to reach the box without
passing under the ladder. She quailed with
fear and turned back. She could not face the
lion on her pathway. However, when she reached
the street, my words rang in her ears and
she decided to return and walk under it. It
was a big moment in her life, for ladders
had held her in bondage for years. She retraced
her steps to the vault, and the ladder was
no longer there! This so often happens! If
one is willing to do a thing he is afraid
to do, he does not have to.
It is the law of nonresistance, which is so
little understood.
Someone has said that courage contains genius
and magic. Face a situation fearlessly, and
there is no situation to face; it falls away
of its own weight.
The explanation is, that fear attracted the
ladder on the woman's pathway, and fearlessness
removed it.
Thus the invisible forces are ever working
for man who is always 'pulling the strings"
himself, though he does not know it. Owing
to the vibratory power of words, whatever
man voices, he begins to attract. People who
continually speak of disease, invariably attract
it.
After man knows the truth, he cannot be too
careful of his words. For example: I have
a friend who often says on the 'phone, "Do
come to see me and have a fine old-fashioned
chat." This "old-fashioned chat" means an
hour of about five hundred to a thousand destructive
words, the principal topics being loss, lack,
failure and sickness.
I reply: "No, I thank you, I've had enough
old-fashioned chats in my life, they are too
expensive, but I will be glad to have a new-fashioned
chat, and talk about what we want, not what
we don't want." There is an old saying that
man only dares use his words for three purposes,
to "heal, bless or prosper." What man says
of others will be said of him, and what he
wishes for another, he is wishing for himself.
"Curses, like chickens, come home to roost."
If a man wishes someone "bad luck," he is
sure to attract bad luck himself. If he wishes
to aid someone to success, he is wishing and
aiding himself to success.
The body may be renewed and transformed through
the spoken word and clear vision, and disease
be completely wiped out of the consciousness.
The metaphysician knows that all disease has
a mental correspondence, and in order to heal
the body one must first "heal the soul."
The soul is the subconscious mind, and it
must be "saved" from wrong thinking.
In the twenty-third psalm, we read: "He restoreth
my soul." This means that the subconscious
mind or soul, must be restored with the right
ideas, and the "mystical marriage" is the
marriage of the soul and the spirit, or the
subconscious and super-conscious mind. They
must be one. When the subconscious is flooded
with the perfect ideas of the superconscious,
God and man are one. "I and the Father are
one." That is, he is one with the realm of
perfect ideas; he is the man made in God's
likeness and image (imagination) and is given
power and dominion over all created things,
his mind, body and affairs.
It is safe to say that all sickness and unhappiness
come from the violation of the law of love.
A new commandment I give unto you, "Love one
another," and in the Game of Life, love or
good-will takes every trick.
For example: A woman I know, had, for years
an appearance of a terrible skin disease.
The doctors told her it was incurable, and
she was in despair. She was on the stage,
and she feared she would soon have to give
up her profession, and she had no other means
of support. She, however, procured a good
engagement, and on the opening night, made
a great "hit." She received flattering notices
from the critics, and was joyful and elated.
The next day she received a notice of dismissal.
A man in the cast had been jealous of her
success and had caused her to be sent away.
She felt hatred and resentment taking complete
possession of her, and she cried out, "Oh
God don't let me hate that man." That night
she worked for hours "in the silence."
She said, "I soon came into a very deep silence.
I seemed to be at peace with myself, with
the man, and with the whole world. I continued
this for two following nights, and on the
third day I found I was healed completely
of the skin disease!" In asking for love,
or good will, she had fulfilled the law, ("for
love is the fulfilling of the law") and the
disease (which came from subconscious resentment)
was wiped out.
Continual criticism produces rheumatism, as
critical, inharmonious thoughts cause unnatural
deposits in the blood, which settle in the
joints.
False growths are caused by jealousy, hatred,
unforgiveness, fear, etc. Every disease is
caused by a mind not at ease. I said once,
in my class, "There is no use asking anyone
'What's the matter with you?' we might just
as well say, 'Who's the matter with you?'"
Unforgiveness is the most prolific cause of
disease. It will harden arteries or liver,
and affect the eye-sight. In its train are
endless ills.
I called on a woman, one day, who said she
was ill from having eaten a poisoned oyster.
I replied, "Oh, no, the oyster was harmless,
you poisoned the oyster. What's the matter
with you?" She answered, "Oh about nineteen
people." She had quarrelled with nineteen
people and had become so inharmonious that
she attracted the wrong oyster.
Any inharmony on the external, indicates there
is mental inharmony. "As the within, so the
without."
Man's only enemies are within himself. "And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household."
Personality is one of the last enemies to
be overcome, as this planet is taking its
initiation in love. It was Christ's message--"Peace
on Earth, good will towards man." The enlightened
man, therefore, endeavors to perfect himself
upon his neighbor. His work is with himself,
to send out goodwill and blessings to every
man, and the marvelous thing is, that if one
blesses a man he has no power to harm him.
For example: A man came to me asking to "treat"
for success in business. He was selling machinery,
and a rival appeared on the scene with what
he proclaimed, was a better machine, and my
friend feared defeat. I said, "First of all,
we must wipe out all fear, and know that God
protects your interests, and that the divine
idea must come out of the situation. That
is, the right machine will be sold, by the
right man, to the right man." And I added,
"Don't hold one critical thought towards that
man. Bless him all day, and be willing not
to sell your machine, if it isn't the divine
idea." So he went to the meeting, fearless
and nonresistant, and blessing the other man.
He said the outcome was very remarkable. The
other man's machine refused to work, and he
sold his without the slightest difficulty.
"But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which spitefully
use you and persecute you."
Good-will produces a great aura of protection
about the one who sends it, and "No weapon
that is formed against him shall prosper.
"In other words, love and good-will destroy
the enemies within one's self, therefore,
one has no enemies on the external!
"There is peace on earth for him who sends
goodwill to man!"
Chapter 4
THE LAW OF NONRESISTANCE
"Resist not evil. Be not overcome of evil,
but overcome evil with good."
Nothing on earth can resist an absolutely
nonresistant person.
The Chinese say that water is the most powerful
element, because it is perfectly nonresistant.
It can wear away a rock, and sweep all before
it.
Jesus Christ said, "Resist not evil," for
He knew in reality, there is no evil, therefore
nothing to resist. Evil has come of man's
"vain imagination," or a belief in two powers,
good and evil.
There is an old legend, that Adam and Eve
ate of "Maya the Tree of Illusion," and saw
two powers instead of one power, God.
Therefore, evil is a false law man has made
for himself, through psychoma or soul sleep.
Soul sleep means, that man's soul has been
hypnotized by the race belief (of sin, sickness
and death, etc.) which is carnal or mortal
thought, and his affairs have out-pictured
his illusions.
We have read in a preceding chapter, that
man's soul is his subconscious mind, and whatever
he feels deeply, good or bad, is out pictured
by that faithful servant. His body and affairs
show forth what he has been picturing. The
sick man has pictured sickness, the poor man,
poverty, the rich man, wealth.
People often say, "why does a little child
attract illness, when it is too young even
to know what it means?"
I answer that children are sensitive and receptive
to the thoughts of others about them, and
often out-picture the fears of their parents.
I heard a metaphysician once say, "If you
do not run your subconscious mind yourself,
someone else will run it for you."
Mothers often, unconsciously, attract illness
and disaster to their children, by continually
holding them in thoughts of fear, and watching
for symptoms.
For example: A friend asked a woman if her
little girl had had the measles. She replied
promptly, "not yet!" This implied that she
was expecting the illness, and, therefore,
preparing the way for what she did not want
for herself and child.
However, the man who is centered and established
in right thinking, the man who sends out only
good-will to his fellow-man, and who is without
fear, cannot be touched or influenced by the
negative thoughts of others. In fact, he could
then receive only good thoughts, as he himself,
sends forth only good thoughts.
Resistance is Hell, for it places man in a
"state of torment."
A metaphysician once gave me a wonderful recipe
for taking every trick in the game of life,
it is the acme of nonresistance. He gave it
in this way; "At one time in my life, I baptized
children, and of course, they had many names.
Now I no longer baptize children, but I baptize
events, but I give every event the same name.
If I have a failure I baptize it success,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost!"
In this, we see the great law of transmutation,
founded on nonresistance. Through his spoken
word, every failure was transmuted into success.
For example: A woman who required money, and
who knew the spiritual law of opulence, was
thrown continually in a business-way, with
a man who made her feel very poor. He talked
lack and limitation and she commenced to catch
his poverty thoughts, so she disliked him,
and blamed him for her failure. She knew in
order to demonstrate her supply, she must
first feel that she had received--a feeling
of opulence must precede its manifestation.
It dawned upon her, one day, that she was
resisting the situation, and seeing two powers
instead of one. So she blessed the man and
baptized the situation "Success"! She affirmed,
"As there is only one power, God, this man
is here for my good and my prosperity" (just
what he did not seem to be there for). Soon
after that she met, through this man, a woman
who gave her for a service rendered, several
thousand dollars, and the man moved to a distant
city, and faded harmoniously from her life.
Make the statement, "Every man is a golden
link in the chain of my good," for all men
are God in manifestation, awaiting the opportunity
given by man, himself, to serve the divine
plan of his life.
"Bless your enemy, and you rob him of his
ammunition." His arrows will be transmuted
into blessings.
This law is true of nations as well as individuals.
Bless a nation, send love and good-will to
every inhabitant, and it is robbed of its
power to harm.
Man can only get the right idea of nonresistance,
through spiritual understanding. My students
have often said: "I don't want to be a door-mat."
I reply "when you use nonresistance with wisdom,
no one will ever be able to walk over you."
Another example: One day I was impatiently
awaiting an important telephone call. I resisted
every call that came in and made no out-going
calls myself, reasoning that it might interfere
with the one I was awaiting.
Instead of saying, "Divine ideas never conflict,
the call will come at the right time," leaving
it to Infinite Intelligence to arrange, I
commenced to manage things myself--I made
the battle mine, not God's and remained tense
and anxious. The bell did not ring for about
an hour, and I glanced at the 'phone and found
the receiver had been off that length of time,
and the 'phone was disconnected. My anxiety,
fear and belief in interference, had brought
on a total eclipse of the telephone. Realizing
what I had done, I commenced blessing the
situation at once; I baptized it "success,"
and affirmed, "I cannot lose any call that
belongs to me by divine right; I am under
grace, and not under law."
A friend rushed out to the nearest telephone,
to notify the Company to reconnect.
She entered a crowded grocery, but the proprietor
left his customers and attended to the call
himself. My 'phone was connected at once,
and two minutes later, I received a very important
call, and about an hour afterward, the one
I had been awaiting.
One's ships come in over a calm sea.
So long as man resists a situation, he will
have it with him. If he runs away from it,
it will run after him.
For example: I repeated this to a woman one
day, and she replied, "How true that is! I
was unhappy at home, I disliked my mother,
who was critical and domineering; so I ran
away and was married--but I married my mother,
for my husband was exactly like my mother,
and I had the same situation to face again."
"Agree with thine adversary quickly."
That means, agree that the adverse situation
is good, be undisturbed by it, and it falls
away of its own weight. "None of these things
move me," is a wonderful affirmation.
The inharmonious situation comes from some
inharmony within man himself.
When there is, in him, no emotional response
to an inharmonious situation, it fades away
forever, from his pathway.
So we see man's work is ever with himself.
People have said to me, "Give treatments to
change my husband, or my brother." I reply,
"No, I will give treatments to change you;
when you change, your husband and your brother
will change."
One of my students was in the habit of lying.
I told her it was a failure method and if
she lied, she would be lied to. She replied,
"I don't care, I can't possibly get along
without lying."
One day she was speaking on the 'phone to
a man with whom she was very much in love.
She turned to me and said, "I don't trust
him, I know he's lying to me." I replied,
"Well, you lie yourself, so someone has to
lie to you, and you will be sure it will be
just the person you want the truth from."
Sometime after that, I saw her, and she said,
"I'm cured of lying."
I questioned: "What cured you?"
She replied: "I have been living with a woman
who lied worse than I did!"
One is often cured of his faults by seeing
them in others.
Life is a mirror, and we find only ourselves
reflected in our associates.
Living in the past is a failure method and
a violation of spiritual law.
Jesus Christ said, "Behold, now is the accepted
time." "Now is the day of Salvation."
Lot's wife looked back and was turned into
a pillar of salt.
The robbers of time are the past and the future.
Man should bless the past, and forget it,
if it keeps him in bondage, and bless the
future, knowing it has in store for him endless
joys, but live fully in the now.
For example: A woman came to me, complaining
that she had no money with which to buy Christmas
gifts. She said, "Last year was so different;
I had plenty of money and gave lovely presents,
and this year I have scarcely a cent."
I replied, "You will never demonstrate money
while you are pathetic and live in the past.
Live fully in the now, and get ready to give
Christmas presents. Dig your ditches, and
the money will come." She exclaimed, "I know
what to do! I will buy some tinsel twine,
Christmas seals and wrapping paper." I replied,
"Do that, and the presents will come and stick
themselves to the Christmas seals."
This too, was showing financial fearlessness
and faith in God, as the reasoning mind said,
"Keep every cent you have, as you are not
sure you will get any more."
She bought the seals, paper and twine, and
a few days before Christmas, received a gift
of several hundred dollars. Buying the seals
and twine had impressed the subconscious with
expectancy, and opened the way for the manifestation
of the money. She purchased all the presents
in plenty of time.
Man must live suspended in the moment.
"Look well, therefore, to this Day! Such is
the salutation of the Dawn."
He must be spiritually alert, ever awaiting
his leads, taking advantage of every opportunity.
One day, I said continually (silently), "Infinite
Spirit, don't let me miss a trick," and something
very important was told to me that evening.
It is most necessary to begin the day with
right words.
Make an affirmation immediately upon waking.
For example:
"Thy will be done this day! Today is a day
of completion; I give thanks for this perfect
day, miracle shall follow miracle and wonders
shall never cease."
Make this a habit, and one will see wonders
and miracles come into his life.
One morning I picked up a book and read, "Look
with wonder at that which is before you!"
It seemed to be my message for the day, so
I repeated again and again, "Look with wonder
at that which is before you."
At about noon, a large sum of money, was given
me, which I had been desiring for a certain
purpose.
In a following chapter, I will give affirmations
that I have found most effective. However,
one should never use an affirmation unless
it is absolutely satisfying and convincing
to his own consciousness, and often an affirmative
is changed to suit different people.
For example: The following has brought success
to many:
"I have a wonderful work, in a wonderful way,
I give wonderful service, for wonderful pay!"
I gave the first two lines to one of my students,
and she added the last two.
It made a most powerful statement, as there
should always be perfect payment for perfect
service, and a rhyme sinks easily into the
subconscious. She went about singing it aloud
and soon did receive wonderful work in a wonderful
way, and gave wonderful service for wonderful
pay.
Another student, a business man, took it,
and changed the word work to business.
He repeated, "I have a wonderful business,
in a wonderful way, and I give wonderful service
for wonderful pay." That afternoon he made
a forty-one-thousand dollar deal, though there
had been no activity in his affairs for months.
Every affirmation must be carefully worded
and completely "cover the ground."
For example: I knew a woman, who was in great
need, and made a demand for work. She received
a great deal of work, but was never paid anything.
She now knows to add, "wonderful service for
wonderful pay."
It is man's divine right to have plenty! More
than enough!
"His barns should be full, and his cup should
flow over!" This is God's idea for man, and
when man breaks down the barriers of lack
in his own consciousness, the Golden Age will
be his, and every righteous desire of his
heart fulfilled!
Chapter 5
THE LAW OF KARMA
and
THE LAW OF FORGIVENESS
Man receives only that which he gives. The
Game of Life is a game of boomerangs. Man's
thoughts, deeds and words, return to him sooner
or later, with astounding accuracy.
This is the law of Karma, which is Sanskrit
for "Comeback." "Whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap."
For example: A friend told me this story of
herself, illustrating the law. She said, "I
make all my Karma on my aunt, whatever I say
to her, someone says to me. I am often irritable
at home, and one day, said to my aunt, who
was talking to me during dinner. 'No more
talk, I wish to eat in peace.'"
"The following day, I was lunching with a
woman with whom I wished to make a great impression.
I was talking animatedly, when she said: 'No
more talk, I wish to eat in peace!'"
My friend is high in consciousness, so her
Karma returns much more quickly than to one
on the mental plane.
The more man knows, the more he is responsible
for, and a person with a knowledge of Spiritual
Law, which he does not practice, suffers greatly,
in consequence. "The fear of the Lord (law)
is the beginning of wisdom." If we read the
word Lord, law, it will make many passages
in the Bible much clearer.
"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the
Lord" (law). It is the law which takes vengeance,
not God. God sees man perfect, "created in
his own image," (imagination) and given "power
and dominion."
This is the perfect idea of man, registered
in Divine Mind, awaiting man's recognition;
for man can only be what he sees himself to
be, and only attain what he sees himself attaining.
"Nothing ever happens without an on-looker"
is an ancient saying.
Man sees first his failure or success, his
joy or sorrow, before it swings into visibility
from the scenes set in his own imagination.
We have observed this in the mother picturing
disease for her child, or a woman seeing success
for her husband.
Jesus Christ said, "And ye shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you free."
So, we see freedom (from all unhappy conditions)
comes through knowledge--a knowledge of Spiritual
Law.
Obedience precedes authority, and the law
obeys man when he obeys the law. The law of
electricity must be obeyed before it becomes
man's servant. When handled ignorantly, it
becomes man's deadly foe. So with the laws
of Mind!
For example: A woman with a strong personal
will, wished she owned a house which belonged
to an acquaintance, and she often made mental
pictures of herself living in the house. In
the course of time, the man died and she moved
into the house. Several years afterwards,
coming into the knowledge of Spiritual Law,
she said to me: "Do you think I had anything
to do with that man's death?" I replied: "Yes,
your desire was so strong, everything made
way for it, but you paid your Karmic debt.
Your husband, whom you loved devotedly, died
soon after, and the house was a white elephant
on your hands for years."
The original owner, however, could not have
been affected by her thoughts had he been
positive in the truth, nor her husband, but
they were both under Karmic law. The woman
should have said (feeling the great desire
for the house), "Infinite Intelligence, give
me the right house, equally as charming as
this, the house which is mine by divine right."
The divine selection would have given perfect
satisfaction and brought good to all. The
divine pattern is the only safe pattern to
work by.
Desire is a tremendous force, and must be
directed in the right channels, or chaos ensues.
In demonstrating, the most important step
is the first step, to "ask aright."
Man should always demand only that which is
his by divine right.
To go back to the illustration: Had the woman
taken this attitude: "If this house, I desire,
is mine, I cannot lose it, if it is not, give
me its equivalent," the man might have decided
to move out, harmoniously (had it been the
divine selection for her) or another house
would have been substituted. Anything forced
into manifestation through personal will,
is always "ill-got," and has "ever bad success."
Man is admonished, "My will be done not thine,"
and the curious thing is, man always gets
just what he desires when he does relinquish
personal will, thereby enabling Infinite Intelligence
to work through him.
"Stand ye still and see the salvation of the
Lord" (law).
For example: A woman came to me in great distress.
Her daughter had determined to take a very
hazardous trip, and the mother was filled
with fear.
She said she had used every argument, had
pointed out the dangers to be encountered,
and forbidden her to go, but the daughter
became more and more rebellious and determined.
I said to the mother, "You are forcing your
personal will upon your daughter, which you
have no right to do, and your fear of the
trip is only attracting it, for man attracts
what he fears." I added, "Let go, and take
your mental hands off; put it in God's Hands,
and use this statement:" "I put this situation
in the hands of Infinite Love and Wisdom;
if this trip is the Divine plan, I bless it
and no longer resist, but if it is not divinely
planned, I give thanks that it is now dissolved
and dissipated." A day or two after that,
her daughter said to her, "Mother, I have
given up the trip," and the situation returned
to its "native nothingness."
It is learning to "stand still," which seems
so difficult for man. I will deal more fully
with this law in the chapter on nonresistance.
I will give another example of sowing and
reaping, which came in the most curious way.
A woman came to me saying, she had received
a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, given to
her at the bank. She was much disturbed, for,
she said, "The people at the bank will never
acknowledge their mistake."
I replied, "Let us analyze the situation and
find out why you attracted it." She thought
a few moments and exclaimed: "I know it, I
sent a friend a lot of stage money, just for
a joke." So the law had sent her some stage
money, for it doesn't know anything about
jokes.
I said, "Now we will call on the law of forgiveness,
and neutralize the situation."
Christianity is founded upon the law of forgiveness--Christ
has redeemed us from the curse of the Karmic
law, and the Christ within each man is his
Redeemer and Salvation from all inharmonious
conditions.
So I said: "Infinite Spirit, we call on the
law of forgiveness and give thanks that she
is under grace and not under law, and cannot
lose this twenty dollars which is hers by
divine right."
"Now," I said, "Go back to the bank and tell
them, fearlessly, that it was given you, there
by mistake."
She obeyed, and to her surprise, they apologized
and gave her another bill, treating her most
courteously.
So knowledge of the Law gives man power to
"rub out his mistakes." Man cannot force the
external to be what he is not.
If he desires riches, he must be rich first
in consciousness.
For example: A woman came to me asking treatment
for prosperity. She did not take much interest
in her household affairs, and her home was
in great disorder.
I said to her, "If you wish to be rich, you
must be orderly. All men with great wealth
are orderly--and order is heaven's first law."
I added, "You will never become rich with
a burnt match in the pincushion."
She had a good sense of humor and commenced
immediately, putting her house in order. She
rearranged furniture, straightened out bureau
drawers, cleaned rugs, and soon made a big
financial demonstration--a gift from a relative.
The woman, herself, became made over, and
keeps herself keyed-up financially, by being
ever watchful of the external and expecting
prosperity, knowing God is her supply.
Many people are in ignorance of the fact that
gifts and things are investments, and that
hoarding and saving invariably lead to loss.
"There is that scattereth and yet increaseth;
and there is that withholdeth more than is
meet, but it tendeth to poverty."
For example: I knew a man who wanted to buy
a fur-lined overcoat. He and his wife went
to various shops, but there was none he wanted.
He said they were all too cheap-looking. At
last, he was shown one, the salesman said
was valued at a thousand dollars, but which
the manager would sell him for five-hundred
dollars, as it was late in the season.
His financial possessions amounted to about
seven hundred dollars. The reasoning mind
would have said, "You can't afford to spend
nearly all you have on a coat," but he was
very intuitive and never reasoned.
He turned to his wife and said, "If I get
this coat, I'll make a ton of money!" So his
wife consented, weakly.
About a month later, he received a ten-thousand-dollar
commission. The coat made him feel so rich,
it linked him with success and prosperity;
without the coat, he would not have received
the commission. It was an investment paying
large dividends!
If man ignores these leadings to spend or
to give, the same amount of money will go
in an uninteresting or unhappy way.
For example: A woman told me, on Thanksgiving
Day, she informed her family that they could
not afford a Thanksgiving dinner. She had
the money, but decided to save it.
A few days later, someone entered her room
and took from the bureau drawer the exact
amount the dinner would have cost.
The law always stands back of the man who
spends fearlessly, with wisdom.
For example: One of my students was shopping
with her little nephew. The child clamored
for a toy, which she told him she could not
afford to buy.
She realized suddenly that she was seeking
lack, and not recognizing God as her supply!
So she bought the toy, and on her way home,
picked up, in the street, the exact amount
of money she had paid for it.
Man's supply is inexhaustible and unfailing
when fully trusted, but faith or trust must
precede the demonstration. "According to your
faith be it unto you." "Faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not see--"for faith holds the vision steady,
and the adverse pictures are dissolved and
dissipated, and "in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not."
Jesus Christ brought the good news (the gospel)
that there was a higher law than the law of
Karma--and that that law transcends the law
of Karma. It is the law of grace, or forgiveness.
It is the law which frees man from the law
of cause and effect--the law of consequence.
"Under grace, and not under law."
We are told that on this plane, man reaps
where he has not sown; the gifts of God are
simply poured out upon him. "All that the
Kingdom affords is his." This continued state
of bliss awaits the man who has overcome the
race (or world) thought.
In the world thought there is tribulation,
but Jesus Christ said: "Be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world."
The world thought is that of sin, sickness
and death. He saw their absolute unreality
and said sickness and sorrow shall pass away
and death itself, the last enemy, be overcome.
We know now, from a scientific standpoint,
that death could be overcome by stamping the
subconscious mind with the conviction of eternal
youth and eternal life.
The subconscious, being simply power without
direction, carries out orders without questioning.
Working under the direction of the superconscious
(the Christ or God within man) the "resurrection
of the body" would be accomplished.
Man would no longer throw off his body in
death, it would be transformed into the "body
electric," sung by Walt Whitman, for Christianity
is founded upon the forgiveness of sins and
"an empty tomb."
Chapter 6
CASTING THE BURDEN
Impressing the Subconscious
When man knows his own powers and the workings
of his mind, his great desire is to find an
easy and quick way to impress the subconscious
with good, for simply an intellectual knowledge
of the Truth will not bring results.
In my own case, I found the easiest way is
in "casting the burden."
A metaphysician once explained it in this
manner. He said, "The only thing which gives
anything weight in nature, is the law of gravitation,
and if a boulder could be taken high above
the planet, there would be no weight in that
boulder; and that is what Jesus Christ meant
when he said: "My yoke is easy and my burden
is light."
He had overcome the world vibration, and functioned
in the fourth dimensional realm, where there
is only perfection, completion, life and joy.
He said: "Come to me all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
"Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy
and my burden is light."
We are also told in the fifty-fifth Psalm,
to "cast thy burden upon the Lord." Many passages
in the Bible state that the battle is God's
not man's and that man is always to "stand
still" and see the Salvation of the Lord.
This indicates that the superconscious mind
(or Christ within) is the department which
fights man's battle and relieves him of burdens.
We see, therefore, that man violates law if
he carries a burden, and a burden is an adverse
thought or condition, and this thought or
condition has its root in the subconscious.
It seems almost impossible to make any headway
directing the subconscious from the conscious,
or reasoning mind, as the reasoning mind (the
intellect) is limited in its conceptions,
and filled with doubts and fears.
How scientific it then is, to cast the burden
upon the superconscious mind (or Christ within)
where it is "made light," or dissolved into
its "native nothingness."
For example: A woman in urgent need of money,
"made light" upon the Christ within, the superconscious,
with the statement, "I cast this burden of
lack on the Christ (within) and I go free
to have plenty!"
The belief in lack was her burden, and as
she cast it upon the Superconscious with its
belief of plenty, an avalanche of supply was
the result.
We read, "The Christ in you the hope of glory."
Another example: One of my students had been
given a new piano, and there was no room in
her studio for it until she had moved out
the old one. She was in a state of perplexity.
She wanted to keep the old piano, but knew
of no place to send it. She became desperate,
as the new piano was to be sent immediately;
in fact, was on its way, with no place to
put it. She said it came to her to repeat,
"I cast this burden on the Christ within,
and I go free."
A few moments later, her 'phone rang, and
a woman friend asked if she might rent her
old piano, and it was moved out, a few minutes
before the new one arrived.
I knew a woman, whose burden was resentment.
She said, "I cast this burden of resentment
on the Christ within, and I go free, to be
loving, harmonious and happy." The Almighty
superconscious, flooded the subconscious with
love, and her whole life was changed. For
years, resentment had held her in a state
of torment and imprisoned her soul (the subconscious
mind).
The statement should be made over and over
and over, sometimes for hours at a time, silently
or audibly, with quietness but determination.
I have often compared it to winding-up a victrola.
We must wind ourselves up with spoken words.
I have noticed, in "casting the burden," after
a little while, one seems to see clearly.
It is impossible to have clear vision, while
in the throes of carnal mind. Doubts and fear
poison the mind and body and imagination runs
riot, attracting disaster and disease.
In steadily repeating the affirmation, "I
cast this burden on the Christ within, and
go free," the vision clears, and with it a
feeling of relief, and sooner or later comes
the manifestation of good, be it health, happiness
or supply.
One of my students once asked me to explain
the "darkness before the dawn." I referred
in a preceding chapter to the fact that often,
before the big demonstration "everything seems
to go wrong," and deep depression clouds the
consciousness. It means that out of the subconscious
are rising the doubts and fears of the ages.
These old derelicts of the subconscious rise
to the surface, to be put out.
It is then, that man should clap his cymbals,
like Jehoshaphat, and give thanks that he
is saved, even though he seems surrounded
by the enemy (the situation of lack or disease).
The student continued, "How long must one
remain in the dark" and I replied, "until
one can see in the dark," and "casting the
burden enables one to see in the dark."
In order to impress the subconscious, active
faith is always essential.
"Faith without works is dead." In these chapters
I have endeavored to bring out this point.
Jesus Christ showed active faith when "He
commanded the multitude to sit down on the
ground," before he gave thanks for the loaves
and the fishes.
I will give another example showing how necessary
this step is. In fact, active faith is the
bridge, over which man passes to his Promised
Land.
Through misunderstanding, a woman had been
separated from her husband, whom she loved
deeply. He refused all offers of reconciliation
and would not communicate with her in any
way.
Coming into the knowledge of Spiritual law,
she denied the appearance of separation. She
made this statement: "There is no separation
in Divine Mind, therefore, I cannot be separated
from the love and companionship which are
mine by divine right."
She showed active faith by arranging a place
for him at the table every day; thereby impressing
the subconscious with a picture of his return.
Over a year passed, but she never wavered,
and one day he walked in.
The subconscious is often impressed through
music. Music has a fourth dimensional quality
and releases the soul from imprisonment. It
makes wonderful things seem possible, and
easy of accomplishment!
I have a friend who uses her victrola, daily,
for this purpose. It puts her in perfect harmony
and releases the imagination.
Another woman often dances while making her
affirmations. The rhythm and harmony of music
and motion carry her words forth with tremendous
power.
The student must remember also, not to despise
the "day of small things."
Invariably, before a demonstration, come "signs
of land."
Before Columbus reached America, he saw birds
and twigs which showed him land was near.
So it is with a demonstration; but often the
student mistakes it for the demonstration
itself, and is disappointed.
For example: A woman had "spoken the word"
for a set of dishes. Not long afterwards a
friend gave her a dish which was old and cracked.
She came to me and said, "Well, I asked for
a set of dishes, and all I got was a cracked
plate."
I replied, "The plate was only signs of land.
It shows your dishes are coming--look upon
it as birds and seaweed," and not long afterwards
the dishes came.
Continually "making-believe," impresses the
subconscious. If one makes believe he is rich,
and makes believe he is successful, in "due
time he will reap."
Children are always "making believe," and
"except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter the Kingdom of
Heaven."
For example: I know of a woman who was very
poor, but no one could make her feel poor.
She earned a small amount of money from rich
friends, who constantly reminded her of her
poverty, and to be careful and saving. Regardless
of their admonitions, she would spend all
her earnings on a hat, or make someone a gift,
and be in a rapturous state of mind. Her thoughts
were always centered on beautiful clothes
and "rings and things," but without envying
others.
She lived in the world of the wondrous, and
only riches seemed real to her. Before long
she married a rich man, and the rings and
things became visible. I do not know whether
the man was the "Divine Selection," but opulence
had to manifest in her life, as she had imaged
only opulence.
There is no peace or happiness for man, until
he has erased all fear from the subconscious.
Fear is misdirected energy and must be redirected,
or transmuted into Faith.
Jesus Christ said, "Why are ye fearful, O
ye of little faith?" "All things are possible
to him that believeth."
I am asked, so often by my students, "How
can I get rid of fear?"
I reply, "By walking up to the thing you are
afraid of."
"The lion takes its fierceness from your fear."
Walk up to the lion, and he will disappear;
run away and he runs after you.
I have shown in previous chapters, how the
lion of lack disappeared when the individual
spent money fearlessly, showing faith that
God was his supply and therefore, unfailing.
Many of my students have come out of the bondage
of poverty, and are now bountifully supplied,
through losing all fear of letting money go
out. The subconscious is impressed with the
truth that God is the Giver and the Gift;
therefore as one is one with the Giver, he
is one with the Gift. A splendid statement
is, "I now thank God the Giver for God the
Gift."
Man has so long separated himself from his
good and his supply, through thoughts of separation
and lack, that sometimes, it takes dynamite
to dislodge these false ideas from the subconscious,
and the dynamite is a big situation.
We see in the foregoing illustration, how
the individual was freed from his bondage
by showing fearlessness.
Man should watch himself hourly to detect
if his motive for action is fear or faith.
"Choose ye this day whom we shall serve,"
fear or faith.
Perhaps one's fear is of personality. Then
do not avoid the people feared; be willing
to meet them cheerfully, and they will either
prove "golden links in the chain of one's
good," or disappear harmoniously from one's
pathway.
Perhaps one's fear is of disease or germs.
Then one should be fearless and undisturbed
in a germ-laden situation, and he would be
immune.
One can only contract germs while vibrating
at the same rate as the germ, and fear drags
men down to the level of the germ. Of course,
the disease laden germ is the product of carnal
mind, as all thought must objectify. Germs
do not exist in the superconscious or Divine
Mind, therefore are the product of man's "vain
imagination."
"In the twinkling of an eye," man's release
will come when he realizes there is no power
in evil.
The material world will fade away, and the
fourth dimensional world, the "World of the
Wondrous," will swing into manifestation.
"And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth--and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain; for the former things are passed away."
Chapter 7
LOVE
Every man on this planet is taking his initiation
in love. "A new commandment I give unto you,
that ye love one another." Ouspensky states,
in "Tertium Organum," that "love is a cosmic
phenomenon," and opens to man the fourth dimensional
world, "The World of the Wondrous."
Real love is selfless and free from fear.
It pours itself out upon the object of its
affection, without demanding any return. Its
joy is in the joy of giving. Love is God in
manifestation, and the strongest magnetic
force in the universe. Pure, unselfish love
draws to itself its own; it does not need
to seek or demand. Scarcely anyone has the
faintest conception of real love. Man is selfish,
tyrannical or fearful in his affections, thereby
losing the thing he loves. Jealousy is the
worst enemy of love, for the imagination runs
riot, seeing the loved one attracted to another,
and invariably these fears objectify if they
are not neutralized.
For example: A woman came to me in deep distress.
The man she loved had left her for other women,
and said he never intended to marry her. She
was torn with jealousy and resentment and
said she hoped he would suffer as he had made
her suffer; and added, "How could he leave
me when I loved him so much?"
I replied, "You are not loving that man, you
are hating him," and added, "You can never
receive what you have never given. Give a
perfect love and you will receive a perfect
love. Perfect yourself on this man. Give him
a perfect, unselfish love, demanding nothing
in return, do not criticise or condemn, and
bless him wherever he is."
She replied, "No, I won't bless him unless
I know where he is!"
"Well," I said, "that is not real love."
"When you send out real love, real love will
return to you, either from this man or his
equivalent, for if this man is not the divine
selection, you will not want him. As you are
one with God, you are one with the love which
belongs to you by divine right."
Several months passed, and matters remained
about the same, but she was working conscientiously
with herself. I said, "When you are no longer
disturbed by his cruelty, he will cease to
be cruel, as you are attracting it through
your own emotions."
Then I told her of a brotherhood in India,
who never said, "Good morning" to each other.
They used these words: "I salute the Divinity
in you." They saluted the divinity in every
man, and in the wild animals in the jungle,
and they were never harmed, for they saw only
God in every living thing. I said, "Salute
the divinity in this man, and say, 'I see
your divine self only. I see you as God sees
you, perfect, made in His image and likeness.'"
She found she was becoming more poised, and
gradually losing her resentment. He was a
Captain, and she always called him "The Cap."
One day, she said, suddenly, "God bless the
Cap wherever he is."
I replied: "Now, that is real love, and when
you have become a 'complete circle,' and are
no longer disturbed by the situation, you
will have his love, or attract its equivalent."
I was moving at this time, and did not have
a telephone, so was out of touch with her
for a few weeks, when one morning I received
a letter saying, "We are married."
At the earliest opportunity, I paid her a
call. My first words were, "What happened?"
"Oh," she exclaimed, "a miracle! One day I
woke up and all suffering had ceased. I saw
him that evening and he asked me to marry
him. We were married in about a week, and
I have never seen a more devoted man."
There is an old saying: "No man is your enemy,
no man is your friend, every man is your teacher."
So one should become impersonal and learn
what each man has to teach him, and soon he
would learn his lessons and be free.
The woman's lover was teaching her selfless
love, which every man, sooner or later, must
learn.
Suffering is not necessary for man's development;
it is the result of violation of spiritual
law, but few people seem able to rouse themselves
from their "soul sleep" without it. When people
are happy, they usually become selfish, and
automatically the law of Karma is set in action.
Man often suffers loss through lack of appreciation.
I knew a woman who had a very nice husband,
but she said often, "I don't care anything
about being married, but that is nothing against
my husband. I'm simply not interested in married
life."
She had other interests, and scarcely remembered
she had a husband. She only thought of him
when she saw him. One day her husband told
her he was in love with another woman, and
left. She came to me in distress and resentment.
I replied, "It is exactly what you spoke the
word for. You said you didn't care anything
about being married, so the subconscious worked
to get you unmarried."
She said, "Oh yes, I see. People get what
they want, and then feel very much hurt."
She soon became in perfect harmony with the
situation, and knew they were both much happier
apart.
When a woman becomes indifferent or critical,
and ceases to be an inspiration to her husband,
he misses the stimulus of their early relationship
and is restless and unhappy.
A man came to me dejected, miserable and poor.
His wife was interested in the "Science of
Numbers," and had had him read. It seems the
report was not very favorable, for he said,
"My wife says I'll never amount to anything
because I am a two."
I replied, "I don't care what your number
is, you are a perfect idea in divine mind,
and we will demand the success and prosperity
which are already planned for you by that
Infinite Intelligence."
Within a few weeks, he had a very fine position,
and a year or two later, he achieved a brilliant
success as a writer. No man is a success in
business unless he loves his work. The picture
the artist paints for love (of his art) is
his greatest work. The pot-boiler is always
something to live down.
No man can attract money if he despises it.
Many people are kept in poverty by saying:
"Money means nothing to me, and I have a contempt
for people who have it."
This is the reason so many artists are poor.
Their contempt for money separates them from
it.
I remember hearing one artist say of another,
"He's no good as an artist, he has money in
the bank."
This attitude of mind, of course, separates
man from his supply; he must be in harmony
with a thing in order to attract it.
Money is God in manifestation, as freedom
from want and limitation, but it must be always
kept in circulation and put to right uses.
Hoarding and saving react with grim vengeance.
This does not mean that man should not have
houses and lots, stocks and bonds, for "the
barns of the righteous man shall be full."
It means man should not hoard even the principal,
if an occasion arises, when money is necessary.
In letting it go out fearlessly and cheerfully
he opens the way for more to come in, for
God is man's unfailing and inexhaustible supply.
This is the spiritual attitude towards money
and the great Bank of the Universal never
fails!
We see an example of hoarding in the film
production of "Greed." The woman won five
thousand dollars in a lottery, but would not
spend it. She hoarded and saved, let her husband
suffer and starve, and eventually she scrubbed
floors for a living.
She loved the money itself and put it above
everything, and one night she was murdered
and the money taken from her.
This is an example of where "love of money
is the root of all evil." Money in itself,
is good and beneficial, but used for destructive
purposes, hoarded and saved, or considered
more important than love, brings disease and
disaster, and the loss of the money itself.
Follow the path of love, and all things are
added, for God is love, and God is supply;
follow the path of selfishness and greed,
and the supply vanishes, or man is separated
from it.
For example; I knew the case of a very rich
woman, who hoarded her income. She rarely
gave anything away, but bought and bought
and bought things for herself.
She was very fond of necklaces, and a friend
once asked her how many she possessed. She
replied, "Sixty-seven." She bought them and
put them away, carefully wrapped in tissue
paper. Had she used the necklaces it would
have been quite legitimate, but she was violating
"the law of use." Her closets were filled
with clothes she never wore, and jewels which
never saw the light.
The woman's arms were gradually becoming paralyzed
from holding on to things, and eventually
she was considered incapable of looking after
her affairs and her wealth was handed over
to others to manage.
So man, in ignorance of the law, brings about
his own destruction.
All disease, all unhappiness, come from the
violation of the law of love. Man's boomerangs
of hate, resentment and criticism, come back
laden with sickness and sorrow. Love seems
almost a lost art, but the man with the knowledge
of spiritual law knows it must be regained,
for without it, he has "become as sounding
brass and tinkling cymbals."
For example: I had a student who came to me,
month after month, to clean her consciousness
of resentment. After a while, she arrived
at the point where she resented only one woman,
but that one woman kept her busy. Little by
little she became poised and harmonious, and
one day, all resentment was wiped out.
She came in radiant, and exclaimed "You can't
understand how I feel! The woman said something
to me and instead of being furious I was loving
and kind, and she apologized and was perfectly
lovely to me.
No one can understand the marvelous lightness
I feel within!"
Love and good-will are invaluable in business.
For example: A woman came to me, complaining
of her employer. She said she was cold and
critical and knew she did not want her in
the position.
"Well," I replied, "Salute the Divinity in
the woman and send her love."
She said "I can't; she's a marble woman."
I answered, "You remember the story of the
sculptor who asked for a certain piece of
marble. He was asked why he wanted it, and
he replied, 'because there is an angel in
the marble,' and out of it he produced a wonderful
work of art."
She said, "Very well, I'll try it." A week
later she came back and said, "I did what
you told me to, and now the woman is very
kind, and took me out in her car."
People are sometimes filled with remorse for
having done someone an unkindness, perhaps
years ago.
If the wrong cannot be righted, its effect
can be neutralized by doing some one a kindness
in the present.
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before."
Sorrow, regret and remorse tear down the cells
of the body, and poison the atmosphere of
the individual.
A woman said to me in deep sorrow, "Treat
me to be happy and joyous, for my sorrow makes
me so irritable with the members of my family
that I keep making more Karma."
I was asked to treat a woman who was mourning
for her daughter. I denied all belief in loss
and separation, and affirmed that God was
the woman's joy, love and peace.
The woman gained her poise at once, but sent
word by her son, not to treat any longer,
because she was "so happy, it wasn't respectable."
So "mortal mind" loves to hang on to its griefs
and regrets.
I knew a woman who went about bragging of
her troubles, so, of course, she always had
something to brag about.
The old idea was if a woman did not worry
about her children, she was not a good mother.
Now, we know that mother-fear is responsible
for many of the diseases and accidents which
come into the lives of children.
For fear pictures vividly the disease or situation
feared, and these pictures objectify, if not
neutralized.
Happy is the mother who can say sincerely,
that she puts her child in God's hands, and
knows therefore, that he is divinely protected.
For example: A woman awoke suddenly, in the
night, feeling her brother was in great danger.
Instead of giving in to her fears, she commenced
making statements of Truth, saying, "Man is
a perfect idea in Divine Mind, and is always
in his right place, therefore, my brother
is in his right place, and is divinely protected."
The next day she found that her brother had
been in close proximity to an explosion in
a mine, but had miraculously escaped.
So man is his brother's keeper (in thought)
and every man should know that the thing he
loves dwells in "the secret place of the most
high, and abides under the shadow of the Almighty."
"There shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."
"Perfect love casteth out fear. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love," and "Love is
the fulfilling of the Law."
Chapter 8
INTUITION OR GUIDANCE
"In all thy ways acknowledge Him and
He shall direct thy paths."
There is nothing too great of accomplishment
for the man who knows the power of his word,
and who follows his intuitive leads. By the
word he starts in action unseen forces and
can rebuild his body or remold his affairs.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance
to choose the right words, and the student
carefully selects the affirmation he wishes
to catapult into the invisible.
He knows that God is his supply, that there
is a supply for every demand, and that his
spoken word releases this supply.
"Ask and ye shall receive."
Man must make the first move. "Draw nigh to
God and He will draw nigh to you."
I have often been asked just how to make a
demonstration.
I reply: "Speak the word and then do not do
anything until you ge t a definite lead."
Demand the lead, saying, "Infinite Spirit,
reveal to me the way, let me know if there
is anything for me to do."
The answer will come through intuition (or
hunch); a chance remark from someone, or a
passage in a book, etc., etc. The answers
are sometimes quite startling in their exactness.
For example: A woman desired a large sum of
money. She spoke the words: "Infinite Spirit,
open the way for my immediate supply, let
all that is mine by divine right now reach
me, in great avalanches of abundance." Then
she added: "Give me a definite lead, let me
know if there is anything for me to do."
The thought came quickly, "Give a certain
friend" (who had helped her spiritually) "a
hundred dollars." She told her friend, who
said, "Wait and get another lead, before giving
it." So she waited, and that day met a woman
who said to her, "I gave someone a dollar
today; it was just as much for me, as it would
be for you to give someone a hundred."
This was indeed an unmistakable lead, so she
knew she was right in giving the hundred dollars.
It was a gift which proved a great investment,
for shortly after that, a large sum of money
came to her in a remarkable way.
Giving opens the way for receiving. In order
to create activity in finances, one should
give. Tithing or giving one-tenth of one's
income, is an old Jewish custom, and is sure
to bring increase. Many of the richest men
in this country have been tithers, and I have
never known it to fail as an investment.
The tenth-part goes forth and returns blessed
and multiplied. But the gift or tithe must
be given with love and cheerfulness, for "God
loveth a cheerful giver." Bills should be
paid cheerfully; all money should be sent
forth fearlessly and with a blessing.
This attitude of mind makes man master of
money. It is his to obey, and his spoken word
then opens vast reservoirs of wealth.
Man, himself, limits his supply by his limited
vision. Sometimes the student has a great
realization of wealth, but is afraid to act.
The vision and action must go hand in hand,
as in the case of the man who bought the fur-lined
overcoat.
A woman came to me asking me to "speak the
word" for a position. So I demanded: "Infinite
Spirit, open the way for this woman's right
position." Never ask for just "a position";
ask for the right position, the place already
planned in Divine Mind, as it is the only
one that will give satisfaction.
I then gave thanks that she had already received,
and that it would manifest quickly. Very soon,
she had three positions offered her, two in
New York and one in Palm Beach, and she did
not know which to choose. I said, "Ask for
a definite lead."
The time was almost up and was still undecided,
when one day, she telephoned, "When I woke
up this morning, I could smell Palm Beach."
She had been there before and knew its balmy
fragrance.
I replied: "Well, if you can smell Palm Beach
from here, it is certainly your lead." She
accepted the position, and it proved a great
success. Often one's lead comes at an unexpected
time.
One day, I was walking down the street, when
I suddenly felt a strong urge to go to a certain
bakery, a block or two away.
The reasoning mind resisted, arguing, "There
is nothing there that you want."
However, I had learned not to reason, so I
went to the bakery, looked at everything,
and there was certainly nothing there that
I wanted, but coming out I encountered a woman
I had thought of often, and who was in great
need of the help which I could give her.
So often, one goes for one thing and finds
another.
Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does
not explain, but simply points the way.
A person often receives a lead during a "treatment."
The idea that comes may seem quite irrelevant,
but some of God's leadings are "mysterious."
In the class, one day, I was treating that
each individual would receive a definite lead.
A woman came to me afterwards, and said: "While
you were treating, I got the hunch to take
my furniture out of storage and get an apartment."
The woman had come to be treated for health.
I told her I knew in getting a home of her
own, her health would improve, and I added,
"I believe your trouble, which is a congestion,
has come from having things stored away. Congestion
of things causes congestion in the body. You
have violated the law of use, and your body
is paying the penalty."
So I gave thanks that "Divine order was established
in her mind, body and affairs."
People little dream of how their affairs react
on the body. There is a mental correspondence
for every disease. A person might receive
instantaneous healing through the realization
of his body being a perfect idea in Divine
Mind, and, therefore, whole and perfect, but
if he continues his destructive thinking,
hoarding, hating, fearing, condemning, the
disease will return.
Jesus Christ knew that all sickness came from
sin, but admonished the leper after the healing,
to go and sin no more, lest a worse thing
come upon him.
So man's soul (or subconscious mind) must
be washed whiter than snow, for permanent
healing; and the metaphysician is always delving
deep for the "correspondence."
Jesus Christ said, "Condemn not lest ye also
be condemned."
"Judge not, lest ye be judged."
Many people have attracted disease and unhappiness
through condemnation of others.
What man condemns in others, he attracts to
himself.
For example: A friend came to me in anger
and distress, because her husband had deserted
her for another woman. She condemned the other
woman, and said continually, "She knew he
was a married man, and had no right to accept
his attentions."
I replied. "Stop condemning the woman, bless
her, and be through with the situation, otherwise,
you are attracting the same thing to yourself."
She was deaf to my words, and a year or two
later, became deeply interested in a married
man, herself.
Man picks up a live-wire whenever he criticises
or condemns, and may expect a shock.
Indecision is a stumbling-block in many a
pathway. In order to overcome it, make the
statement, repeatedly, "I am always under
direct inspiration; I make right decisions,
quickly."
These words impress the subconscious, and
soon one finds himself awake and alert, making
his right moves without hesitation. I have
found it destructive to look to the psychic
plane for guidance, as it is the plane of
many minds and not "The One Mind."
As man opens his mind to subjectivity, he
becomes a target for destructive forces. The
psychic plane is the result of man's mortal
thought, and is on the "plane of opposites."
He may receive either good or bad messages.
The science of numbers and the reading of
horoscopes, keep man down on the mental (or
mortal) plane, for they deal only with the
Karmic path.
I know of a man who should have been dead,
years ago, according to his horoscope, but
he is alive and a leader of one of the biggest
movements in this country for the uplift of
humanity.
It takes a very strong mind to neutralize
a prophecy of evil. The student should declare,
"Every false prophecy shall come to naught;
every plan my Father in heaven has not planned,
shall be dissolved and dissipated, the divine
idea now comes to pass."
However, if any good message has ever been
given one, of coming happiness, or wealth,
harbor and expect it, and it will manifest
sooner or later, through the law of expectancy.
Man's will should be used to back the universal
will. "I will that the will of God be done."
It is God's will to give every man, every
righteous desire of his heart, and man's will
should be used to hold the perfect vision,
without wavering.
The prodigal son said: "I will arise and go
to my Father."
It is, indeed, often an effort of the will
to leave the husks and swine of mortal thinking.
It is so much easier, for the average person,
to have fear than faith; so faith is an effort
of the will.
As man becomes spiritually awakened he recognizes
that any external inharmony is the correspondence
of mental inharmony. If he stumbles or falls,
he may know he is stumbling or falling in
consciousness.
One day, a student was walking along the street
condemning someone in her thoughts. She was
saying, mentally, "That woman is the most
disagreeable woman on earth," when suddenly
three boy scouts rushed around the corner
and almost knocked her over. She did not condemn
the boy scouts, but immediately called on
the law of forgiveness, and "saluted the divinity"
in the woman. Wisdom's way are ways of pleasantness
and all her paths are peace.
When one has made his demands upon the Universal,
he must be ready for surprises. Everything
may seem to be going wrong, when in reality,
it is going right.
For example: A woman was told that there was
no loss in divine mind, therefore, she could
not lose anything which belonged to her; anything
lost, would be returned, or she would receive
its equivalent.
Several years previously, she had lost two
thousand dollars. She had loaned the money
to a relative during her lifetime, but the
relative had died, leaving no mention of it
in her will. The woman was resentful and angry,
and as she had no written statement of the
transaction, she never received the money,
so she determined to deny the loss, and collect
the two thousand dollars from the Bank of
the Universal. She had to begin by forgiving
the woman, as resentment and unforgiveness
close the doors of this wonderful bank.
She made this statement, "I deny loss, there
is no loss in Divine Mind, therefore, I cannot
lose the two thousand dollars, which belong
to me by divine right. "As one door shuts
another door opens."
She was living in an apartment house which
was for sale; and in the lease was a clause,
stating that if the house was sold, the tenants
would be required to move out within ninety
days.
Suddenly, the landlord broke the leases and
raised the rent. Again, injustice was on her
pathway, but this time she was undisturbed.
She blessed the landlord, and said, "As the
rent has been raised, it means that I'll be
that much richer, for God is my supply."
New leases were made out for the advanced
rent, but by some divine mistake, the ninety
days clause had been forgotten. Soon after,
the landlord had an opportunity to sell the
house. On account of the mistake in the new
leases, the tenants held possession for another
year.
The agent offered each tenant two hundred
dollars if he would vacate. Several families
moved; three remained, including the woman.
A month or two passed, and the agent again
appeared. This time he said to the woman,
"Will you break your lease for the sum of
fifteen hundred dollars?" It flashed upon
her, "Here comes the two thousand dollars."
She remembered having said to friends in the
house, "We will all act together if anything
more is said about leaving." So her lead was
to consult her friends.
These friends said: "Well, if they have offered
you fifteen hundred they will certainly give
two thousand." So she received a check for
two thousand dollars for giving up the apartment.
It was certainly a remarkable working of the
law, and the apparent injustice was merely
opening the way for her demonstration.
It proved that there is no loss, and when
man takes his spiritual stand, he collects
all that is his from this great Reservoir
of Good.
"I will restore to you the years the locusts
have eaten."
The locusts are the doubts, fears, resentments
and regrets of mortal thinking.
These adverse thoughts, alone, rob man; for
"No man gives to himself but himself, and
no man takes away from himself, but himself."
Man is here to prove God and "to bear witness
to the truth," and he can only prove God by
bringing plenty out of lack, and justice out
of injustice.
"Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of
hosts, if I will not open you the windows
of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it."
Chapter 9
PERFECT SELF-EXPRESSION
or
THE DIVINE DESIGN
"No wind can drive my bark astray
nor change the tide of destiny."
There is for each man, perfect self-expression.
There is a place which he is to fill and no
one else can fill, something which he is to
do, which no one else can do; it is his destiny!
This achievement is held, a perfect idea in
Divine Mind, awaiting man's recognition. As
the imaging faculty is the creative faculty,
it is necessary for man to see the idea, before
it can manifest.
So man's highest demand is for the Divine
Design of his life.
He may not have the faintest conception of
what it is, for there is, possibly, some marvelous
talent, hidden deep within him.
His demand should be: "Infinite Spirit, open
the way for the Divine Design of my life to
manifest; let the genius within me now be
released; let me see clearly the perfect plan."
The perfect plan includes health, wealth,
love and perfect self-expression. This is
the square of life, which brings perfect happiness.
When one has made this demand, he may find
great changes taking place in his life, for
nearly every man has wandered far from the
Divine Design.
I know, in one woman's case, it was as though
a cyclone had struck her affairs, but readjustments
came quickly, and new and wonderful conditions
took the place of old ones.
Perfect self-expression will never be labor;
but of such absorbing interest that it will
seem almost like play. The student knows,
also, as man comes into the world financed
by God, the supply needed for his perfect
self-expression will be at hand.
Many a genius has struggled for years with
the problem of supply, when his spoken word,
and faith, would have released quickly, the
necessary funds.
For example: After the class, one day, a man
came to me and handed me a cent.
He said: "I have just seven cents in the world,
and I'm going to give you one; for I have
faith in the power of your spoken word. I
want you to speak the word for my perfect
self-expression and prosperity."
I "spoke the word," and did not see him again
until a year later. He came in one day, successful
and happy, with a roll of yellow bills in
his pocket. He said, "Immediately after you
spoke the word, I had a position offered me
in a distant city, and am now demonstrating
health, happiness and supply."
A woman's perfect self-expression may be in
becoming a perfect wife, a perfect mother,
a perfect home-maker and not necessarily in
having a public career.
Demand definite leads, and the way will be
made easy and successful.
One should not visualize or force a mental
picture. When he demands the Divine Design
to come into his conscious mind, he will receive
flashes of inspiration, and begin to see himself
making some great accomplishment. This is
the picture, or idea, he must hold without
wavering.
The thing man seeks is seeking him--the telephone
was seeking Bell!
Parents should never force careers and professions
upon their children. With a knowledge of spiritual
Truth, the Divine Plan could be spoken for,
early in childhood, or prenatally.
A prenatal treatment should be: "Let the God
in this child have perfect expression; let
the Divine Design of his mind, body and affairs
be made manifest throughout his life, throughout
eternity."
God's will be done, not man's; God's pattern,
not man's pattern, is the command we find
running through all the scriptures, and the
Bible is a book dealing with the science of
the mind. It is a book telling man how to
release his soul (or subconscious mind) from
bondage.
The battles described are pictures of man
waging war against mortal thoughts. "A man's
foes shall be they of his own household."
Every man is Jehoshaphat, and every man is
David, who slays Goliath (mortal thinking)
with the little white stone (faith).
So man must be careful that he is not the
"wicked and slothful servant" who buried his
talent. There is a terrible penalty to be
paid for not using one's ability.
Often fear stands between man and his perfect
self-expression. Stage-fright has hampered
many a genius. This may be overcome by the
spoken word, or treatment. The individual
then loses all self-consciousness, and feels
simply that he is a channel for Infinite Intelligence
to express Itself through.
He is under direct inspiration, fearless,
and confident; for he feels that it is the
"Father within" him who does the work.
A young boy came often to my class with his
mother. He asked me to "speak the word" for
his coming examinations at school.
I told him to make the statement: "I am one
with Infinite Intelligence. I know everything
I should know on this subject." He had an
excellent knowledge of history, but was not
sure of his arithmetic. I saw him afterwards,
and he said: "I spoke the word for my arithmetic,
and passed with the highest honors; but thought
I could depend on myself for history, and
got a very poor mark." Man often receives
a set-back when he is "too sure of himself,"
which means he is trusting to his personality
and not the "Father within."
Another one of my students gave me an example
of this. She took an extended trip abroad
one summer, visiting many countries, where
she was ignorant of the languages. She was
calling for guidance and protection every
minute, and her affairs went smoothly and
miraculously. Her luggage was never delayed
nor lost! Accommodations were always ready
for her at the best hotels; and she had perfect
service wherever she went. She returned to
New York. Knowing the language, she felt God
was no longer necessary, so looked after her
affairs in an ordinary manner.
Everything went wrong, her trunks delayed,
amid inharmony and confusion. The student
must form the habit of "practicing the Presence
of God" every minute. "In all thy ways acknowledge
him;" nothing is too small or too great.
Sometimes an insignificant incident may be
the turning point in a man's life.
Robert Fulton, watching some boiling water,
simmering in a tea kettle, saw a steamboat!
I have seen a student, often, keep back his
demonstration, through resistance, or pointing
the way.
He pins his faith to one channel only, and
dictates just the way he desires the manifestation
to come, which brings things to a standstill.
"My way, not your way!" is the command of
Infinite Intelligence. Like all Power, be
it steam or electricity, it must have a nonresistant
engine or instrument to work through, and
man is that engine or instrument.
Over and over again, man is told to "stand
still". "Oh Judah, fear not; but to-morrow
go out against them, for the Lord will be
with you. You shall not need to fight this
battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and
see the salvation of the Lord with you."
We see this in the incidents of the two thousand
dollars coming to the woman through the landlord
when she became nonresistant and undisturbed,
and the woman who won the man's love "after
all suffering had ceased."
The student's goal is Poise! Poise is Power,
for it gives God-Power a chance to rush through
man, to "will and to do Its good pleasure."
Poised, he thinks clearly, and makes "right
decisions quickly." "He never misses a trick."
Anger blurs the visions, poisons the blood,
is the root of many diseases, and causes wrong
decision leading to failure.
It has been named one of the worst "sins,"
as its reaction is so harmful. The student
learns that in metaphysics sin has a much
broader meaning than in the old teaching.
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
He finds that fear and worry are deadly sins.
They are inverted faith, and through distorted
mental pictures, bring to pass the thing he
fears. His work is to drive out these enemies
(from the subconscious mind). "When Man is
fearless he is finished!" Maeterlinck says,
that "Man is God afraid."
So, as we read in the previous chapters: Man
can only vanquish fear by walking up to the
thing he is afraid of. When Jehoshaphat and
his army prepared to meet the enemy, singing
"Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth forever,"
they found their enemies had destroyed each
other, and there was nothing to fight.
For example: A woman asked a friend to deliver
a message to another friend. The woman feared
to give the message, as the reasoning mind
said, "Don't get mixed-up in this affair,
don't give that message."
She was troubled in spirit, for she had given
her promise. At last, she determined to "walk
up to the lion," and call on the law of divine
protection. She met the friend to whom she
was to deliver the message. She opened her
mouth to speak it, when her friend said, "So-and-So
has left town." This made it unnecessary to
give the message, as the situation depended
upon the person being in town. As she was
willing to do it, she was not obliged to;
as she did not fear, the situation vanished.
The student often delays his demonstration
through a belief in incompletion. He should
make this statement:
"In Divine Mind there is only completion,
therefore, my demonstration is completed.
My perfect work, my perfect home, my perfect
health." Whatever he demands are perfect ideas
registered in Divine Mind, and must manifest,
"under grace in a perfect way." He gives thanks
he has already received on the invisible,
and makes active preparation for receiving
on the visible.
One of my students was in need of a financial
demonstration. She came to me and asked why
it was not completed.
I replied: "Perhaps, you are in the habit
of leaving things unfinished, and the subconscious
has gotten into the habit of not completing
(as the without, so the within)."
She said, "You are right. I often begin things
and never finish them.
"I'll go home and finish something I commenced
weeks ago, and I know it will be symbolic
of my demonstration."
So she sewed assiduously, and the article
was soon completed. Shortly after, the money
came in a most curious manner.
Her husband was paid his salary twice that
month. He told the people of their mistake,
and they sent word to keep it.
When man asks, believing, he must receive,
for God creates His own channels!
I have been sometimes asked, "Suppose one
has several talents, how is he to know which
one to choose?" Demand to be shown definitely.
Say: "Infinite Spirit, give me a definite
lead, reveal to me my perfect self-expression,
show me which talent I am to make use of now."
I have known people to suddenly enter a new
line of work, and be fully equipped, with
little or no training. So make the statement:
"I am fully equipped for the Divine Plan of
my life," and be fearless in grasping opportunities.
Some people are cheerful givers, but bad receivers.
They refuse gifts through pride, or some negative
reason, thereby blocking their channels, and
invariably find themselves eventually with
little or nothing. For example: A woman who
had given away a great deal of money, had
a gift offered her of several thousand dollars.
She refused to take it, saying she did not
need it. Shortly after that, her finances
were "tied up," and she found herself in debt
for that amount. Man should receive gracefully
the bread returning to him upon the water--freely
ye have given, freely ye shall receive.
There is always the perfect balance of giving
and receiving, and though man should give
without thinking of returns, he violates law
if he does not accept the returns which come
to him; for all gifts are from God, man being
merely the channel.
A thought of lack should never be held over
the giver.
For example: When the man gave me the one
cent, I did not say: "Poor man, he cannot
afford to give me that." I saw him rich and
prosperous, with his supply pouring in. It
was this thought which brought it. If one
has been a bad receiver, he must become a
good one, and take even a postage stamp if
it is given him, and open up his channels
for receiving.
The Lord loveth a cheerful receiver, as well
as a cheerful giver.
I have often been asked why one man is born
rich and healthy, and another poor and sick.
Where there is an effect there is always a
cause; there is no such thing as chance.
This question is answered through the law
of reincarnation. Man goes through many births
and deaths, until he knows the truth which
sets him free.
He is drawn back to the earth plane through
unsatisfied desire, to pay his Karmic debts,
or to "fulfill his destiny."
The man born rich and healthy has had pictures
in his subconscious mind, in his past life,
of health and riches; and the poor and sick
man, of disease and poverty. Man manifests,
on any plane, the sum total of his subconscious
beliefs.
However, birth and death are man-made laws,
for the "wages of sin is death"; the Adamic
fall in consciousness through the belief in
two powers. The real man, spiritual man, is
birthless and deathless! He never was born
and has never died--"As he was in the beginning,
he is now, and ever shall be!"
So through the truth, man is set free from
the law of Karma, sin and death, and manifests
the man made in "His image and likeness."
Man's freedom comes through fulfilling his
destiny, bringing into manifestation the Divine
Design of his life.
His lord will say unto him: "Well done thou
good and faithful servant, thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee
ruler over many things (death itself); enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord (eternal life)."
Chapter 10
DENIALS AND AFFIRMATIONS
"Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall
be established unto thee."
All the good that is to be made manifest in
man's life is already an accomplished fact
in divine mind, and is released through man's
recognition, or spoken word, so he must be
careful to decree that only the Divine Idea
be made manifest, for often, he decrees, through
his "idle words," failure or misfortune.
It is, therefore, of the utmost importance,
to word one's demands correctly, as stated
in a previous chapter.
If one desires a home, friend, position or
any other good thing, make the demand for
the "divine selection."
For example: "Infinite Spirit, open the way
for my right home, my right friend, my right
position. I give thanks it now manifests under
grace in a perfect way."
The latter part of the statement is most important.
For example: I knew a woman who demanded a
thousand dollars. Her daughter was injured
and they received a thousand dollars indemnity,
so it did not come in a "perfect way." The
demand should have been worded in this way:
"Infinite Spirit, I give thanks that the one
thousand dollars, which is mine by divine
right, is now released, and reaches me under
grace, in a perfect way."
As one grows in a financial consciousness,
he should demand that the enormous sums of
money, which are his by divine right, reach
him under grace, in perfect ways.
It is impossible for man to release more than
he thinks is possible, for one is bound by
the limited expectancies of the subconscious.
He must enlarge his expectancies in order
to receive in a larger way.
Man so often limits himself in his demands.
For example: A student made the demand for
six hundred dollars, by a certain date. He
did receive it, but heard afterwards, that
he came very near receiving a thousand dollars,
but he was given just six hundred, as the
result of his spoken word.
"They limited the Holy One of Israel." Wealth
is a matter of consciousness. The French have
a legend giving an example of this. A poor
man was walking along a road when he met a
traveler, who stopped him and said: "My good
friend, I see you are poor. Take this gold
nugget, sell it, and you will be rich all
your days."
The man was overjoyed at his good fortune,
and took the nugget home. He immediately found
work and became so prosperous that he did
not sell the nugget. Years passed, and he
became a very rich man. One day he met a poor
man on the road. He stopped him and said:
"My good friend, I will give you this gold
nugget, which, if you sell, will make you
rich for life." The mendicant took the nugget,
had it valued, and found it was only brass.
So we see, the first man became rich through
feeling rich, thinking the nugget was gold.
Every man has within himself a gold nugget;
it is his consciousness of gold, of opulence,
which brings riches into his life. In making
his demands, man begins at his journey's end,
that is, he declares he has already received.
"Before ye call I shall answer."
Continually affirming establishes the belief
in the subconscious.
It would not be necessary to make an affirmation
more than once if one had perfect faith! One
should not plead or supplicate, but give thanks
repeatedly, that he has received.
"The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the
rose." This rejoicing which is yet in the
desert (state of consciousness) opens the
way for release. The Lord's Prayer is in the
form of command and demand, "Give us this
day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors," and ends in praise,
"For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and
the Glory, forever. Amen." "Concerning the
works of my hands, command ye me." So prayer
is command and demand, praise and thanksgiving.
The student's work is in making himself believe
that "with God all things are possible."
This is easy enough to state in the abstract,
but a little more difficult when confronted
with a problem. For example: It was necessary
for a woman to demonstrate a large sum of
money within a stated time. She knew she must
do something to get a realization (for realization
is manifestation), and she demanded a "lead."
She was walking through a department store,
when she saw a very beautiful pink enamel
papercutter. She felt the "pull" towards it.
The thought came. "I haven't a paper cutter
good enough to open letters containing large
cheques."
So she bought the papercutter, which the reasoning
mind would have called an extravagance. When
she held it in her hand, she had a flash of
a picture of herself opening an envelope containing
a large cheque, and in a few weeks, she received
the money. The pink papercutter was her bridge
of active faith.
Many stories are told of the power of the
subconscious when directed in faith.
For example: A man was spending the night
in a farmhouse. The windows of the room had
been nailed down, and in the middle of the
night he felt suffocated and made his way
in the dark to the window. He could not open
it, so he smashed the pane with his fist,
drew in draughts of fine fresh air, and had
a wonderful night's sleep.
The next morning, he found he had smashed
the glass of a bookcase and the window had
remained closed during the whole night. He
had supplied himself with oxygen, simply by
his thought of oxygen.
When a student starts out to demonstrate,
he should never turn back. "Let not that man
who wavers think that he shall receive anything
of the Lord."
A student once made this wonderful statement,
"When I ask the Father for anything, I put
my foot down, and I say: Father, I'll take
nothing less than I've asked for, but more!"
So man should never compromise: "Having done
all--Stand." This is sometimes the most difficult
time of demonstrating. The temptation comes
to give up, to turn back, to compromise.
"He also serves who only stands and waits."
Demonstrations often come at the eleventh
hour because man then lets go, that is, stops
reasoning, and Infinite Intelligence has a
chance to work.
"Man's dreary desires are answered drearily,
and his impatient desires, long delayed or
violently fulfilled."
For example: A woman asked me why it was she
was constantly losing or breaking her glasses.
We found she often said to herself and others
with vexation, "I wish I could get rid of
my glasses." So her impatient desire was violently
fulfilled. What she should have demanded was
perfect eye-sight, but what she registered
in the subconscious was simply the impatient
desire to be rid of her glasses; so they were
continually being broken or lost.
Two attitudes of mind cause loss: depreciation,
as in the case of the woman who did not appreciate
her husband, or fear of loss, which makes
a picture of loss in the subconscious.
When a student is able to let go of his problem
(cast his burden) he will have instantaneous
manifestation.
For example: A woman was out during a very
stormy day and her umbrella was blown inside-out.
She was about to make a call on some people
whom she had never met and she did not wish
to make her first appearance with a dilapidated
umbrella. She could not throw it away, as
it did not belong to her. So in desperation,
she exclaimed: "Oh, God, you take charge of
this umbrella, I don't know what to do."
A moment later, a voice behind her said: "Lady,
do you want your umbrella mended?" There stood
an umbrella mender.
She replied, "Indeed, I do."
The man mended the umbrella, while she went
into the house to pay her call, and when she
returned, she had a good umbrella. So there
is always an umbrella mender at hand, on man's
pathway, when one puts the umbrella (or situation)
in God's Hands.
One should always follow a denial with an
affirmation.
For example: I was called on the 'phone late
one night to treat a man whom I had never
seen. He was apparently very ill. I made the
statement: "I deny this appearance of disease.
It is unreal, therefore cannot register in
his consciousness; this man is a perfect idea
in Divine Mind, pure substance expressing
perfection."
There is no time or space, in Divine Mind,
therefore the word reaches instantly its destination
and does not "return void." I have treated
patients in Europe and have found that the
result was instantaneous.
I am asked so often the difference between
visualizing and visioning. Visualizing is
a mental process governed by the reasoning
or conscious mind; visioning is a spiritual
process, governed by intuition, or the superconscious
mind. The student should train his mind to
receive these flashes of inspiration, and
work out the "divine pictures," through definite
leads. When a man can say, "I desire only
that which God desires for me," his false
desires fade from the consciousness, and a
new set of blueprints is given him by the
Master Architect, the God within. God's plan
for each man transcends the limitation of
the reasoning mind, and is always the square
of life, containing health, wealth, love and
perfect self-expression. Many a man is building
for himself in imagination a bungalow when
he should be building a palace.
If a student tries to force a demonstration
(through the reasoning mind) he brings it
to a standstill. "I will hasten it," saith
the Lord. He should act only through intuition,
or definite leads. "Rest in the Lord and wait
patiently. Trust also in him, and he will
bring it to pass."
I have seen the law work in the most astonishing
manner. For example: A student stated that
it was necessary for her to have a hundred
dollars by the following day. It was a debt
of vital importance which had to be met. I
"spoke the word," declaring Spirit was "never
too late" and that the supply was at hand.
That evening she 'phoned me of the miracle.
She said that the thought came to her to go
to her safety-deposit box at the bank to examine
some papers. She looked over the papers, and
at the bottom of the box, was a new one hundred
dollar-bill. She was astounded, and said she
knew she had never put it there, for she had
gone through the papers many times. It may
have been a materialization, as Jesus Christ
materialized the loaves and fishes. Man will
reach the stage where his "word is made flesh,"
or materialized, instantly. "The fields, ripe
with the harvest," will manifest immediately,
as in all of the miracles of Jesus Christ.
There is a tremendous power alone in the name
Jesus Christ. It stands for Truth Made Manifest.
He said, "Whatsoever ye ask the Father, in
y name, he will give it to you."
The power of this name raises the student
into the fourth dimension, where he is freed
from all astral and psychic influences, and
he becomes "unconditioned and absolute, as
God Himself is unconditioned and absolute."
I have seen many healings accomplished by
using the words, "In the name of Jesus Christ."
Christ was both person and principle; and
the Christ within each man is his Redeemer
and Salvation.
The Christ within, is his own fourth dimensional
self, the man made in God's image and likeness.
This is the self which has never failed, never
known sickness or sorrow, was never born and
has never died. It is the "resurrection and
the life" of each man! "No man cometh to the
Father save by the Son," means, that God,
the Universal, working on the place of the
particular, becomes the Christ in man; and
the Holy Ghost, means God-inaction. So daily,
man is manifesting the Trinity of Father,
Son and Holy Ghost.
Man should make an art of thinking. The Master
Thinker is an artist and is careful to paint
only the divine designs upon the canvas of
his mind; and he paints these pictures with
masterly strokes of power and decision, having
perfect faith that there is no power to mar
their perfection and that they shall manifest
in his life the ideal made real.
All power is given man (through right thinking)
to bring his heaven upon his earth, and this
is the goal of the "Game of Life."
The simple rules are fearless faith, nonresistance
and love!
May each reader be now freed from that thing
which has held him in bondage through the
ages, standing between him and his own, and
"know the Truth which makes him free"--free
to fulfill his destiny, to bring into manifestation
the "Divine Design of his life, Health, Wealth,
Love and Perfect Self-Expression." "Be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Chapter 11
DENIALS AND AFFIRMATIONS
(For Prosperity)
God is my unfailing supply, and large sums
of money come to me quickly, under grace,
in perfect ways.
(For Right Conditions)
Every plan my Father in heaven has not planned,
shall be dissolved and dissipated, and the
Divine Idea now comes to pass.
(For Right Conditions)
Only that which is true of God is true of
me, for I and the Father are ONE.
(For Faith)
As I am one with God, I am one with my good,
for God is both the Giver and the Gift. I
cannot separate the Giver from the gift.
(For Right Conditions)
Divine Love now dissolves and dissipates every
wrong condition in my mind, body and affairs.
Divine Love is the most powerful chemical
in the universe, and dissolves everything
which is not of itself!
(For Health)
Divine Love floods my consciousness with health,
and every cell in my body is filled with light.
(For the Eyesight)
My eyes are God's eyes, I see with the eyes
of spirit. I see clearly the open way; there
are no obstacles on my pathway. I see clearly
the perfect plan.
(For Guidance)
I am divinely sensitive to my intuitive leads,
and give instant obedience to Thy will.
(For the Hearing)
My ears are God's ears, I hear with the ears
of spirit. I am nonresistant and am willing
to be led. I hear glad tidings of great joy.
(For Right Work)
I have a perfect work
In a perfect way;
I give a perfect service
For perfect pay.
(For Freedom from all Bondage)
I cast this burden on the Christ within, and
I go free!
