Part Five
Enclosed herewith you will find Part Five. After studying this
part carefully, you will see that every conceivable force or object
or fact is the result of mind in action.
Mind in action is thought, and thought is creative. Men are
thinking now as they never thought before.
Therefore, this is a creative age, and the world is awarding its
richest prizes to the thinkers. Matter is powerless, passive, inert.
Mind is force, energy, power. Mind shapes and controls matter. Every
form which matter takes is but the expression of some pre-existing
thought.
But thought works no magic transformations; it obeys natural
laws; it sets in motion natural forces; it releases natural
energies; it manifests in your conduct and actions, and these in
turn react upon your friends and acquaintances, and eventually upon
the whole of your environment. You can originate thought, and, since
thoughts are creative, you can create for yourself the things you
desire.
PART FIVE
1. At least ninety per cent of our mental life is subconscious,
so that those who fail to make use of this mental power live within
very narrow limits.
2. The subconscious can and will solve any problem for us if we
know how to direct it. The subconscious processes are always at
work; the only question is, are we to be simply passive recipients
of this activity, or are we to consciously direct the work? Shall we
have a vision of the destination to be reached, the dangers to be
avoided, or shall we simply drift?
3. We have found that mind pervades every part of the physical
body and is always capable of being directed or impressed by
authority coming from the objective or the more dominant portion of
the mind.
4. The mind, which pervades the body, is largely the result of
heredity, which, in turn, is simply the result of all the
environments of all past generations on the responsive and
ever-moving life forces. An understanding of this fact will enable
us to use our authority when we find some undesirable trait of
character manifesting.
5. We can consciously use all the desirable characteristics with
which we have been provided and we can repress and refuse to allow
the undesirable ones to manifest.
6. Again, this mind which pervades our physical body is not only
the result of hereditary tendencies, but is the result of home,
business and social environment, where countless thousands of
impressions, ideas, prejudices and similar thoughts have been
received. Much of this has been received from others, the result of
opinions, suggestions or statements; much of it is the result of our
own thinking, but nearly all of it has been accepted with little or
no examination or consideration.
7. The idea seemed plausible, the conscious received it, passed
it on to the subconscious, where it was taken up by the Sympathetic
System and passed on to be built into our physical body. "The word
has become flesh."
8. This, then, is the way we are consistently creating and
recreating ourselves; we are today the result of our past thinking,
and we shall be what we are thinking today, the Law of Attraction is
bringing to us, not the things we should like, or the things we wish
for, or the things some one else has, but it brings us "our own,"
the things which we have created by our thought processes, whether
consciously or unconsciously. Unfortunately, many of us are creating
these things unconsciously.
9. If either of us were building a home for ourselves, how
careful we would be in regard to the plans; how we should study
every detail; how we should watch the material and select only the
best of everything; and yet how careless we are when it comes to
building our Mental Home, which is infinitely more important than
any physical home, as everything which can possibly enter into our
lives depends upon the character of the material which enters into
the construction of our Mental Home.
10. What is the character of this material? We have seen that it
is the result of the impressions which we have accumulated in the
past and stored away in our subconscious Mentality. If these
impressions have been of fear, of worry, of care, of anxiety; if
they have been despondent, negative, doubtful, then the texture of
the material which we are weaving today will be of the same negative
material. Instead of being of any value, it will be mildewed and
rotten and will bring us only more toil and care and anxiety. We
shall be forever busy trying to patch it up and make it appear at
least genteel.
11. But if we have stored away nothing but courageous thought, if
we have been optimistic, positive, and have immediately thrown any
kind of negative thought on the scrap pile, have refused to have
anything to do with it, have refused to associate with it or become
identified with it in any way, what then is the result? Our mental
material is now of the best kind; we can weave any kind of material
we want; we can use any color we wish; we know that the texture is
firm, that the material is solid, that it will not fade, and we have
no fear, no anxiety concerning the future; there is nothing to
cover, there are no patches to hide.
12. These are psychological facts; there is no theory or
guesswork about these thinking processes; there is nothing secret
about them; in fact, they are so plain that every one can understand
them. The thing to do is to have a mental house-cleaning, and to
have this house-cleaning every day, and keep the house clean.
Mental, moral and physical cleanliness are absolutely indispensable
if we are to make progress of any kind.
13. When this mental house-cleaning process has been completed,
the material which is left will be suitable for the making of the
kind of ideals or mental images which we desire to realize.
14. There is a fine estate awaiting a claimant. Its broad acres,
with abundant crops, running water and fine timber, stretch away as
far as the eye can see. There is a mansion, spacious and cheerful,
with rare pictures, a well-stocked library, rich hangings, and every
comfort and luxury. All the heir has to do is to assert his heirship,
take possession, and use the property. He must use it; he must not
let it decay; for use is the condition on which he holds it. To
neglect it is to lose possession.
15. In the domain of mind and spirit, in the domain of practical
power, such an estate is yours. You are the heir! You can assert
your heirship and possess, and use this rich inheritance. Power over
circumstances is one of its fruits, health, harmony and prosperity
are assets upon its balance sheet. It offers you poise and peace. It
costs you only the labor of studying and harvesting its great
resources. It demands no sacrifice, except the loss of your
limitations, your servitudes, your weakness. It clothes you with
self-honor, and puts a scepter in your hands.
16. To gain this estate, three processes are necessary: You must
earnestly desire it. You must assert your claim. You must take
possession.
17. You admit that those are not burdensome conditions.
18. You are familiar with the subject of heredity. Darwin,
Huxley, Haeckel, and other physical scientists have piled evidence
mountain high that heredity is a law attending progressive creation.
It is progressive heredity which gives man his erect attitude, his
power of motion, the organs of digestions, blood circulation, nerve
force, muscular force, bone structure and a host of other faculties
on the physical side. There are even more impressive facts
concerning heredity of mind force. All these constitute what may be
called your human heredity.
19. But there is a heredity which the physical scientists have
not compassed. It lies beneath and antecedent to all their
researches. At a point where they throw up their hands in despair,
saying they cannot account for what they see, this divine heredity
is found in full sway.
20. It is the benignant force which decrees primal creation. It
thrills down from the Divine, direct into every created being. It
originates life, which the physical scientist has not done, nor ever
can do. It stands out among all forces supreme, unapproachable. No
human heredity can approach it. No human heredity measures up to it.
21. This Infinite Life flows through you; is you. Its doorways
are but the faculties which comprise your consciousness. To keep
open these doors is the Secret of Power. Is it not worthwhile to
make the effort?
22. The great fact is, that the source of all life and all power
is from within. Persons, circumstances and events may suggest need
and opportunities, but the insight, strength and power to answer
these needs will be found within.
23. Avoid counterfeits. Build firm foundations for your
consciousness upon forces which flow direct from the Infinite
source, the Universal Mind of which you are the image and likeness.
24. Those we have come into possession of this inheritance are
never quite the same again. They have come into possession of a
sense of power hitherto undreamed of. They can never again be timid,
weak, vacillating, or fearful. They are indissolubly connected with
Omnipotence. Something in them has been aroused; they have suddenly
discovered that they possess a tremendous latent ability of which
they were heretofore entirely unconscious.
25. This power is from within, but we cannot receive it unless we
give it. Use is the condition upon which we hold this inheritance.
We are each of us but the channel through which the Omnipotent power
is being differentiated into form; unless we give, the channel is
obstructed and we can receive no more. This is true on every plane
of existence and in every field of endeavor and all walks of life.
The more we give, the more we get. The athlete who wishes to get
strong must make use of the strength he has, and the more he gives
the more he will get. The financier who wishes to make money must
make use of the money he has, for only by using it can he get more.
26. The merchant who does not keep his goods going out will soon
have none coming in; the corporation which fails to give efficient
service will soon lack customers; the attorney who fails to get
results will soon lack clients, and so it goes everywhere; power is
contingent upon a proper use of the power already in our possession;
what is true in every field of endeavor, every experience in life,
is true of the power from which every other power known among men is
begotten -- spiritual power. Take away the spirit and what is left?
Nothing.
27. If then the spirit is all there is, upon the recognition of
this fact must depend the ability to demonstrate all power, whether
physical, mental or spiritual.
28. All possession is the result of the accumulative attitude of
mind, or the money consciousness; this is the magic wand which will
enable you to receive the idea, and it will formulate plans for you
to execute, and you will find as much pleasure in the execution as
in the satisfaction of attainment and achievement.
29. Now, go to your room, take the same seat, the same position
as heretofore, and mentally select a place which has pleasant
associations. Make a complete mental picture of it, see the
buildings, the grounds, the trees, friends, associations, everything
complete. At first, you will find yourself thinking of everything
under the sun, except the ideal upon which you desire to
concentrate. But do not let that discourage you. Persistence will
win, but persistence requires that you practice these exercises
every day without fail.
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