Power depends
upon consciousness of power; unless we use it, we shall
lose it, and unless we are conscious of it, we cannot use it.
The use of
this power depends upon attention; the degree of attention
determines our capacity for the acquirement of knowledge which
is another name for power.
Attention
has been held to be the distinguishing mark of genius.
The cultivation of attention depends upon practice.
The
incentive of attention is interest; the greater the interest,
the greater the attention; the greater the attention, the greater
the interest, action and reaction; begin by paying attention;
before long you will have aroused interest; this interest will
attract more attention, and this attention will produce more interest,
and so on. This practice will enable you to cultivate the power
of attention.
All
wealth is the offspring ofpower; possessions are
of value only as they confer power. Events are significant only
as they affect power; all things represent certain forms and degrees
of power.
The secret of power is a perfect
understanding of the principles, forces, methods and combinations
of Mind, and a perfect understanding of our relationship to the
Universal Mind. It is well to remember that this principle is
unchangeable; if this were not so, it would not be reliable; all
principles are changeless
When you
begin to perceive that the essence of the Universal is within
yourself -- is you -- you begin to do things; you begin to
feel your power; it is the fuel which fires the imagination;
which lights the torch of inspiration; which gives vitality
to thought; which enables you to connect with all the invisible
forces of the Universe. It is this power which will enable
you to plan fearlessly, to execute masterfully.
But
perception will come only in the Silence; this seems to
be the condition required for all great purposes. You are a visualizing
entity. Imagination is your workshop. It is here that your ideal
is to be visualized.
As a perfect
understanding of the nature of this power is a primary condition
for its manifestation, visualize the entire method over and over
again, so that you may use it whenever occasion requires. The
infinity of wisdom is to follow the method whereby we may have
the inspiration of the omnipotent Universal Mind on demand
at any time.
We
can fail to recognize this world within, and so exclude it from
our consciousness, but it will still be the basic fact of all
existence; and when we learn to recognize it, not only in ourselves,
but in all persons, events, things and circumstances we shall
have found the "Kingdom of heaven" which we are
told is "within" us.
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Our
failures are a result of the operation of exactly the same principle;
the principle is unchangeable; its operation is exact,
there is no deviation; if we think lack, limitation, discord,
we shall find their fruits on every hand; if we think poverty,
unhappiness or disease, the thought messengers will carry the
summons as readily as any other kind of thought and the result
will be just as certain. If we fear a coming calamity, we shall
be able to say with Job, "the thing I feared has come upon
me"; if we think unkindly or ignorantly we shall thus attract
to ourselves the results of our ignorance.
This power
of thought, if understood and correctly used, is the greatest
labor-saving device ever dreamed of, but if not understood
or improperly used, the result will in all probability be disastrous,
as we have already seen; by the help of this power you can confidently
undertake things that are seemingly impossible, because this power
is the secret of all inspiration, all genius. ..........
To
become inspired means to get out of the beaten path,
out of the rut, because extraordinary results require extraordinary
means. When we come into a recognition of the Unity of all things
and that the source ofall power is within, we tap
the source of inspiration.
Inspiration
is the art of imbibing, the art of self-realization; the art of
adjusting the individual mind to that of the Universal Mind; the
art of attaching the proper mechanism to the source of all power;
the art of differentiating the formless into form; the art of
becoming a channel for the flow of Infinite Wisdom; the art of
visualizing perfection; the art of realizing the omnipresence
of Omnipotence.
An
understanding and appreciation of the fact that the infinite
power is omnipresent and is therefore in the infinitely small
as well as the infinitely large will enable us to absorb its essence;
a further understanding of the fact that this power is spirit
and therefore indivisible will enable us to appreciate its present
at all points at the same time.
An understanding
of these facts, first intellectually and then emotionally, will
enable us to drink deeply from this ocean of infinite power. An
intellectual understanding will be of no assistance; the emotions
must be brought into action; thought without feeling is cold.
The required combination is thought and feeling.
Inspiration
is from within. The Silence is necessary, the senses must
be stilled, the muscles relaxed, repose cultivated. When you have
thus come into possession of a sense of poise and power you will
be ready to receive the information or inspiration or wisdom which
may be necessary for the development of your purpose.
Do not confuse
these methods with those of the clairvoyant; they have nothing
in common. Inspiration is the art of receiving and makes for all
that is best in life; your business in life is to understand and
command these invisible forces instead of letting them command
and rule you. Power implies service; inspiration implies power;
to understand and apply the method of inspiration is to become
a superman.
We can live
more abundantly every time we breathe, if we consciously breathe
with that intention. The IF is a very important condition
in this case, as the intention governs the attention, and
without the attention you can secure only the results which every
one else secures. That is, a supply equal to the demand.
In order
to secure the larger supply your demand must be increased, and
as you consciously increase the demand the supply will follow,
you will find yourself coming into a larger and larger supply
of life, energy and vitality.
The reason
for this is not difficult to understand, but it is another of
the vital mysteries of life which does not seem to be generally
appreciated. If you make it your own, you will find it one of
the great realities of life.
We are told
that "In Him we live and move and have our being," and
we are told that "He" is a Spirit, and again that "He"
is Love, so that every time we breathe, we breathe this life,
love, and spirit. This is Pranic Energy, or Pranic Ether, we could
not exist a moment without it. It is the Cosmic Energy; it is
the Life of the Solar Plexus.
Every time
we breathe we fill our lungs with air and at the same time vitalize
our body with this Pranic Ether which is Life itself, so that
we have the opportunity of making a conscious connection with
All Life, All Intelligence and All Substance.
A knowledge
of your relation and oneness with this Principle that governs
the Universe and the simple method whereby you can consciously
identify yourself with it gives you a scientific understanding
of a law whereby you may free yourself from disease, from
lack or limitation of any kind; in fact, it enables you to breathe
the "breath of life" into your own nostrils.
This "breath
of life" is a superconscious reality. It is the essence
of the "I am." It is pure "Being" or Universal
Substance, and our conscious unity with it enables us to localize
it, and thus exercise the powers of this creative energy. ..........................
Thought
is creative vibration and the quality of the conditions created
will depend upon the quality of our thought, because we cannot
express powers which we do not possess. We must "be"
before we can "do" and we can "do" only
to the extent to which we "are," and so what we do will
necessarily coincide with what we "are" and what we
are depends upon what we "think."
Every
time you think you start a train of causation which will create
a condition in strict accordance with the quality of the thought
which originated it. Thought which is in harmony with the Universal
Mind will result in corresponding conditions. Thought which is
destructive or discordant will produce corresponding results.
You may use thought constructively or destructively, but the immutable
law will not allow you to plant a thought of one kind and reap
the fruit of another. You are free to use this marvelous creative
power as you will, but you must take the consequences. .........................
This is the
danger from what is called Will Power. There are those who seem
to think that by force of will they can coerce this law; that
they can sow seed of one kind and by "Will Power" make
it bear fruit of another, but the fundamental principle of creative
power is in the Universal, and therefore the idea of forcing a
compliance with our wishes by the power of the individual will
is an inverted conception which may appear to succeed for a while
but is eventually doomed to failure - because it antagonizes the
very power which it is seeking to use.
It is the
individual attempting to coerce the Universal, the finite in conflict
with the Infinite. Our permanent well-being will be best conserved
by a conscious cooperation with the continuous forward movement
of the Great Whole.
Go into the
Silence and concentrate on the fact that "In him we live
and move and have our being" is literally and scientifically
exact! That you ARE because He IS, that if He is Omnipresent He
must be in you. That if He is all in all you must be in Him! That
He is Spirit and you are made in "His image and likeness"
and that the only difference between His spirit and your spirit
is one of degree, that a part must be the same in kind and quality
as the whole. When you can realize this clearly you will have
found the secret of the creative power of thought, you will have
found the origin of both good and evil, you will have found the
secret of the wonderful power of concentration, you will have
found the key to the solution of every problem whether physical,
financial, or environmental.
The
power to think consecutively and deeply and clearly, is an avowed
and deadly enemy to mistakes and blunders, superstitions, unscientific
theories, irrational beliefs, unbridled enthusiasm, fanaticism.
Haddock
The real secret of power is consciousness of power. The
Universal Mind is unconditional; therefore, the more conscious
we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall
become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated
or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional.
We have become free!
As soon as
we become conscious of the inexhaustible power in the world
within, we begin to draw on this power and apply and develop
the greater possibilities which this discernment has realized,
because whatever we become conscious of, is invariably manifested
in the objective world, is brought forth into tangible expression.
This is because
the Infinite Mind, which is the source from which all things proceed,
is one and indivisible, and each individual is a channel whereby
this Eternal Energy is being manifested. Our ability to think
is our ability to act upon this Universal Substance, and what
we think is what is created or produced in the objective world.
The result
of this discovery is nothing less than marvelous, and means that
mind is extraordinary in quality, limitless in quantity, and contains
possibilities without number. To become conscious of this power
is to become a "live wire"; it has the same effect as
placing an ordinary wire in contact with a wire that is charged.
The Universal is the live wire. It carries power sufficient to
meet every situation which may arise in the life of every individual.
When the individual mind touches the Universal Mind it receives
all the power it requires. This is the world within. All science
recognizes the reality of this world, and all power is contingent
upon our recognition of the world within .
The ability
to eliminate imperfect conditions depends upon mental action,
and mental action depends upon consciousness of power; therefore,
the more conscious we become of our unity with the source of
all power, the greater will be our power to control and master
every condition.
Large ideas
have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas so that it is well
to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small
or undesirable tendencies. This will remove innumerable petty
and annoying obstacles from your path. You also become conscious
of a larger world of thought, thereby increasing your mental capacity
as well as placing yourself in position to accomplish something
of value.
This is one
of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory,
one of the accomplishments of the Master-Mind. He thinks big thoughts.
The creative energies of mind find no more difficulty in handling
large situations, than small ones. Mind is just as much present
in the Infinitely large as in the Infinitely small.
8.
When we realize these facts concerning mind we understand how
we may bring ourselves any condition by creating the corresponding
conditions in our consciousness, because everything which
is held for any length of time in the consciousness, eventually
becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern
which the creative energy will wave into the life and environment
of the individual. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''up
In this way conditions are produced and we find that our lives
are simply the reflection of our predominant thoughts, our
mental attitude; we see then that the science of correct thinking
is the one science, that it includes all other sciences.
From this
science we learn that every thought creates an impression on
the brain, that these impressions create mental tendencies,
and these tendencies create character, ability and purpose, and
that the combined action of character, ability and purpose determines
the experiences with which we shall meet in life.
These experiences
come to us through the Law of Attraction; through the action
of this law we meet in the world without the experiences which
correspond to our world within.
The predominant
thought or the mental attitude is the magnet, and the law is
that "like attracts like", consequently the mental
attitude will invariably attract such conditions as correspond
to its nature.
This mental
attitude is our personality and is composed of the thoughts which
we have been creating in our own mind; therefore, if we wish
a change in conditions all that is necessary is to change our
thought; this will in turn change our mental attitude, which
will in turn change our personality, which will in turn change
the persons, things and conditions, or, the experiences with which
we meet in life.
It is, however, no easy matter to change the mental attitude,
but by persistent effort it may be accomplished; the mental
attitude is patterned after the mental pictures which have been
photographed on the brain; if you do not like the pictures, destroy
the negatives and create new pictures; this is the art of visualization.
As soon as
you have done this you will begin to attract new things, and the
new things will correspond to the new pictures. To do this: impress
on the mind a perfect picture of the desire which you wish to
have objectified and continue to hold the picture in mind
until results are obtained......................................up
If the desire is one which requires determination, ability, talent,
courage, power or any other spiritual power, these are necessary
essentials for your picture; build them in; they are the vital
part of the picture; they are the feeling which combines with
thought and creates the irresistible magnetic power which draws
the things you require to you. They give your picture life, and
life means growth, and as soon as it begins to grow, the result
is practically assured.
Do not hesitate to aspire to the highest possible attainments
in anything you may undertake, for the mind forces are ever
ready to lend themselves to a purposeful will in the effort
to crystallize its highest aspirations into acts, accomplishments,
and events.
An illustration of how these mind forces operate is
suggested by the method in which all our habits are formed. We
do a thing, then do it again, and again, and again, until it becomes
easy and perhaps almost automatic; and the same rule applies in
breaking any and all bad habits; we stop doing a thing, and then
avoid it again, and again until we are entirely free from it;
and if we do fail now and then, we should by no means lose hope,
for the law is absolute and invincible and gives us credit for
every effort and every success, even though our efforts and successes
are perhaps intermittent.
There is
no limit to what this law can do for you; dare to believe in your
own idea; remember that Nature is plastic to the ideal; think
of the ideal as an already accomplished fact.
The real battle of life is one
of ideas; it is being fought out by the few against the many;
on the one side is the constructive and creative thought, on the
other side the destructive and negative thought; the creative
thought is dominated by an ideal, the passive thought is dominated
by appearances. On both sides are men of science, men of letters,
and men of affairs.
On
the creative side are men who spend their time in laboratories,
or over microscopes and telescopes, side by side with the men
who dominate the commercial, political, and scientific world;
on the negative side or men who spend their time investigating
law and precedent, men who mistake theology for religion, statesmen
who mistake might for right, and all the millions who seem to
prefer precedent to progress, who are eternally looking backward
instead of forward, who see only the world without, but know nothing
of the world within.
In the last
analysis there are but these two classes; all men will have to
take their place on one side or the other; they will have to go
forward, or go back; there is no standing still in a world
where all is motion; it is this attempt to stand still that gives
sanction and force to arbitrary and unequal codes of law.
That we are
in a period of transition is evidenced by the unrest which is
everywhere apparent. The complaint of humanity is as a roll of
heaven's artillery, commencing with low and threatening notes
and increasing until the sound is sent from cloud to cloud, and
the lightning splits the air and earth.
The sentries
who patrol the most advanced outposts of the Industrial, Political,
and Religious world are calling anxiously to each other. What
of the night? The danger and insecurity of the position they occupy
and attempt to hold is becoming more apparent every hour. The
dawn of a new era necessarily declares that the existing order
of things cannot much longer be.
The issue between the old regime and the new, the crux of the
social problem, is entirely a question of conviction in the minds
of the people as to the nature of the Universe. When they realize
that the transcendent force of spirit or mind of the Cosmos is
within each individual, it will be possible to frame laws that
shall consider the liberties and rights of the many instead of
the privileges of the few.
As long as
the people regard the Cosmic power as a power non-human and alien
to humanity, so long will it be comparatively easy for a supposed
privileged class to rule by Divine right in spite of every protest
of social sentiment. The real interest of democracy is
therefore to exalt, emancipate and recognize the divinity of
the human spirit. To recognize that all power is from within.
That no human being has any more power than any other human being,
except such as may willingly be delegated to him. The old regime
would have us believe that the law was superior to the law-makers;
herein is the gist of the social crime of every form of privilege
and personal inequality, the institutionalizing of the fatalistic
doctrine of Divine election.
The Divine
Mind is the Universal Mind; it makes no exceptions, it
plays no favorites; it does not act through sheer caprice or from
anger, jealousy or wrath; neither can it be flattered, cajoled
or moved by sympathy or petition to supply man with some need
which he thinks necessary for his happiness or even his existence.
The Divine Mind makes no exceptions to favor any individual; but
when the individual understands and realizes his Unity with the
Universal principle he will appear to be favored because he will
have found the source of all health, all wealth, and all power.
EXERCISE
For your exercise this week, concentrate on the Truth. Try to
realize that the Truth shall make you free, that is, nothing can
permanently stand in the way of your perfect success when you
learn to apply the scientifically correct thought methods and
principles. Realize that you are externalizing in your environment
your inherent soul potencies. Realize that the Silence offers
an ever-available and almost unlimited opportunity for awakening
the highest conception of Truth. Try to comprehend that Omnipotence
itself is absolute silence, all else is change, activity, limitation.
Silent thought concentration is therefore the true method of reaching,
awakening, and then expressing the wonderful potential power of
the world within.
The possibilities of thought training are infinite, its consequence
eternal, and yet few take the pains to direct their thinking into
channels that will do them good, but instead leave all to chance.
Marden
The consciousness of power, because whatever we become conscious
of, is invariably manifested in the objective world, is brought
forth into tangible expression.
What is the source of this power?
The Universal Mind, from which all things proceed, and which is
one and indivisible.
How is this power being manifested?
Through the individual, each individual is a channel whereby this
energy is being differentiated in form.
How may we connect with this Omnipotence?
Our ability to think is our ability to act on this Universal Energy,
and what we think is what is produced or created in the objective
world.
What is the result of this discovery?
The result is nothing less than marvelous, it opens unprecedented
and limitless opportunity.
What is the issue between the old regime and the new?
A question of conviction as to the nature of the Universe. The
old regime is trying to cling to the fatalistic doctrine of Divine
election. The new regime recognizes the divinity of the individual,
the democracy of humanity.
