Part Nine
In this Part you may learn to fashion the tools by which you
may build for yourself any condition you desire. If you wish to
change conditions you must change yourself. Your whims, your wishes,
your fancies, your ambitions may be thwarted at every step, but your
inmost thoughts will find expression just as certainly as the plant
springs from the seed.
Suppose, then, we desire to change conditions, how are we to
bring this about? The reply is simple: By the law of growth. Cause
and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of
thought as in the world of material things.
Hold in mind the condition desired; affirm it as an already
existing fact. This indicates the value of a powerful affirmation.
By constant repetition it becomes a part of ourselves. We are
actually changing ourselves; are making ourselves what we want to
be.
Character is not a thing of chance, but it is the result of
continued effort. If you are timid, vacillating, self-conscious, or
if you are over-anxious or harassed by thoughts of fear or impending
danger, remember that is axiomatic that "two things cannot exist in
the same place at the same time."
Exactly the same thing is true in the mental and spiritual world;
so that your remedy is plainly to substitute thoughts of courage,
power, self-reliance and confidence, for those of fear, lack and
limitation.
The easiest and most natural way to do this is to select an
affirmation which seems to fit your particular case.
The positive thought will destroy the negative as certainly as
light destroys darkness, and the results will be just as effectual.
Act is the blossom of thought, and conditions are the result of
action, so that you constantly have in your possession the tools by
which you will certainly and inevitably make or unmake yourself, and
joy or suffering will be the reward.
PART NINE
1. There are only three things which can possibly be desired in
the "world without" and each of them can be found in the "world
within." The secret of finding them is simply to apply the proper
"mechanism" of attachment to the omnipotent power to which each
individual has access.
2. The three things which all mankind desires and which are
necessary for his highest expression and complete development are
Health, Wealth and Love. All will admit that Health is absolutely
essential; no one can be happy if the physical body is in pain. All
will not so readily admit that Wealth is necessary, but all must
admit that a sufficient supply at least is necessary, and what would
be considered sufficient for one, would be considered absolute and
painful lack for another; and as Nature provides not only enough but
abundantly, wastefully, lavishly, we realize that any lack or
limitation is only the limitation which has been made by an
artificial method of distribution.
3. All will probably admit that Love is the third, or maybe some
will say the first essential necessary to the happiness of mankind;
at any rate, those who possess all three, Health, Wealth, and Love,
find nothing else which can be added to their cup of happiness.
4. We have found that the Universal substance is "All Health,"
"All Substance" and "All Love" and that the mechanism of attachment
whereby we can consciously connect with this Infinite supply is in
our method of thinking. To think correctly is therefore to enter
into the "Secret Place of the Most High."
5. What shall we think? If we know this we shall have found the
proper mechanism of attachment which will relate us to "Whatsoever
things we desire." This mechanism may seem very simple when I give
it to you, but read on; you will find that it is in reality the
"Master Key," the "Aladdin's lamp," if you please; you will find
that it is the foundation, the imperative condition, the absolute
law of well-doing, which means, well-being.
6. To think correctly, accurately, we must know the "Truth." The
truth then is the underlying principle in every business or social
relation. It is a condition precedent to every right action. To know
the truth, to be sure, to be confident, affords a satisfaction
beside which no other is at all comparable; it is the only solid
ground in a world of doubt, conflict and danger.
7. To know the Truth is to be in harmony with the Infinite and
Omnipotent power. To know the truth is, therefore, to connect
yourself with a power which is irresistible and which will sweep
away every kind of discord, inharmony, doubt or error of any kind,
because the "Truth is mighty and will prevail."
8. The humblest intellect can readily foretell the result of any
action when he knows that it is based on truth, but the mightiest
intellect, the most profound and penetrating mind loses its way
hopelessly and can form no conception of the results which may ensue
when his hopes are based on a premise which he knows to be false.
9. Every action which is not in harmony with Truth, whether
through ignorance or design, will result in discord, and eventual
loss in proportion to its extent and character.
10. How then are we to know the truth in order to attach this
mechanism which will relate us to the Infinite?
11. We can make no mistake about this if we realize that truth is
the vital principle of the Universal Mind and is Omnipresent. For
instance, if you require health, a realization of the fact that the
"I" in you is spiritual and that all spirit is one; that wherever a
part is the whole must be, will bring about a condition of health,
because every cell in the body must manifest the truth as you see
it. If you see sickness; they will manifest sickness; if you see
perfection they must manifest perfection. The affirmation, "I am
whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy",
will bring about harmonious conditions. The reason for this is
because the affirmation is in strict accordance with the Truth, and
when truth appears every form of error or discord must necessarily
disappear.
12. You have found that the "I" is spiritual, it must necessarily
then always be no less than perfect, the affirmation. "I am whole,
perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy" is
therefore an exact scientific statement.
13. Thought is a spiritual activity and spirit is creative,
therefore the result of holding this thought in mind, must
necessarily bring about conditions in harmony with the thought.
14. If you require Wealth a realization of the fact that the "I"
in you is one with the Universal mind which is all substance, and is
Omnipotent, will assist you in bringing into operation the law of
attraction which will bring you into vibration with those forces
which make for success and bring about conditions of power and
affluence in direct proportion with the character and purpose of
your affirmation.
15. Visualization is the mechanism of the attachment which you
require. Visualization is a very different process from seeing;
seeing is physical, and is therefore related to the objective world,
the "world without," but Visualization is a product of the
imagination, and is therefore a product of the subjective mind, the
"world within." It therefore possesses vitality; it will grow. The
thing visualized will manifest itself in form. The mechanism is
perfect; it was created by the Master Architect who "doeth all
things well," but unfortunately sometimes the operator is
inexperienced or inefficient, but practice and determination will
overcome this defect.
16. If you require Love try to realize that the only way to get
love is by giving it, that the more you give the more you will get,
and the only way in which you can give it, is to fill yourself with
it, until you become a magnet. The method was explained in another
lesson.
17. He who has learned to bring the greatest spiritual truths
into touch with the so-called lesser things of life has discovered
the secret of the solution of his problem. One is always quickened,
made more thoughtful, by his nearness of approach to great ideas,
great events, great natural objects, and great men. Lincoln is said
to have begotten in all who came near him the feeling awakened when
one approaches a mountain, and this sense asserts itself most keenly
when one comes to realize that he has laid hold upon things that are
eternal, the power of Truth.
18. It is sometimes an inspiration to hear from someone who has
actually put these principles to the test, someone who has
demonstrated them in their own life. A letter from Frederick Andrews
offers the following insight:
19. I was about thirteen years old when Dr. T. W. Marsee, since
passed over, said to my mother: "There is no possible chance, Mrs.
Andrews. I lost my little boy the same way, after doing everything
for him that it was possible to do. I have made a special study of
these cases, and I know there is no possible chance for him to get
well."
20. She turned to him and said: "Doctor, what would you do if he
were your boy?" and he answered, "I would fight, fight, as long as
there is a breath of life to fight for."
21. That was the beginning of a long drawn-out battle, with many
ups and downs, the doctors all agreeing that there was no chance for
a cure, though they encouraged and cheered us the best they could.
22. But at last the victory came, and I have grown from a little,
crooked, twisted, cripple, going about on my hands and knees, to a
strong, straight, well formed man.
23. Now, I know you want the formula, and I will give it to you
as briefly and quickly as I can.
24. I built up an affirmation for myself, taking the qualities I
most needed, and affirming for myself over and over again, "I am
whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy." I
kept up this affirmation, always the same, never varying, till I
could wake up in the night and find myself repeating, "I am whole,
perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy." It was the
last thing on my lips at night and the first thing in the morning.
25. Not only did I affirm it for myself, but for others that I
knew needed it. I want to emphasize this point. Whatever you desire
for yourself, affirm it for others, and it will help you both. We
reap what we sow. If we send out thoughts of love and health, they
return to us like bread cast upon the waters; but if we send out
thoughts of fear, worry, jealousy, anger, hate, etc., we will reap
the results in our own lives.
26. It used to be said that man is completely built over every
seven years, but some scientists now declare that we build ourselves
over entirely every eleven months; so we are really only eleven
months old. If we build the defects back into our bodies year after
year, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
27. Man is the sum total of his own thoughts; so the question is,
how are we going to entertain only the good thoughts and reject the
evil ones? At first we can't keep the evil thoughts from coming, but
we can keep from entertaining them. The only way to do this is to
forget them -- which means, get something for them. This is where
the ready-made affirmation comes into play.
28. When a thought of anger, jealousy, fear or worry creeps in,
just start your affirmation going. The way to fight darkness is with
light -- the way to fight cold is with heat -- the way to overcome
evils is with good. For myself, I never could find any help in
denials. Affirm the good, and the bad will vanish. - Frederick Elias
Andrews
29. If there is anything you require, it will be well for you to
make use of this affirmation; it cannot be improved upon. Use it
just as it is; take it into the silence with you, until it sinks
into your subconsciousness, so that you can use it anywhere, in your
car, in the office, at home; this is the advantage of spiritual
methods; they are always available. Spirit is omnipresent, every
ready; all that is required is a proper recognition of its
omnipotence, and a willingness or desire to become the recipient of
its beneficent effects.
30. If our predominant mental attitude is one of power, courage,
kindliness and sympathy, we shall find that our environment will
reject conditions in correspondence with these thoughts; if it is
weak, critical, envious and destructive, we shall find our
environment reflecting conditions corresponding to these thoughts.
31. Thoughts are causes and conditions are effects. Herein is the
explanation of the origin of both good and evil. Thought is creative
and will automatically correlate with its object. This is a
Cosmological law (a universal law), the law of Attraction, the law
of Cause and Effect; the recognition and application of this law
will determine both beginning and end; it is the law by which in all
ages and in all times the people were led to believe in the power of
prayer. "As thy faith is, so be it unto thee," is simply another,
shorter and a better way of stating it.
32. This week visualize a plant; take a flower, the one you most
admire, bring it from the unseen into the seen, plant the tiny seed,
water it, care for it, place it where it will get the direct rays of
the morning sun, see the seed burst; it is now a living thing,
something which is alive and beginning to search for the means of
subsistence. See the roots penetrating the earth, watch them shoot
out in all directions and remember that they are living cells
dividing and subdividing, and that they will soon number millions,
that each cell is intelligent, that it knows what is wants and knows
how to get it. See the stem shoot forward and upward, watch it burst
through the surface of the earth, see it divide and form branches,
see how perfect and symmetrical each branch is formed, see the
leaves begin to form, and then the tiny stems, each one holding
aloft a bud, and as you watch you see the bud begin to unfold and
your favorite flower comes to view; and now if you will concentrate
intently you will become conscious of a fragrance; it is the
fragrance of the flower as the breeze gently sways the beautiful
creation which you have visualized.
33. When you are enabled to make your vision clear and complete
you will be enabled to enter into the spirit of a thing; it will
become very real to you; you will be learning to concentrate and the
process is the same, whether you are concentrating on health, a
favorite flower, an ideal, a complicated business proposition or any
other problem of life.
34. Every success has been accomplished by persistent
concentration upon the object in view.
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