Part Eighteen
In order to grow we must obtain what is necessary for our
growth. This is brought about through the law of attraction. This
principle is the sole means by which the individual is
differentiated from the Universal.
Think for a moment, what would a man be if he were not a husband,
father, or brother, if he were not interested in the social,
economical, political or religious world. He would be nothing but an
abstract theoretical ego. He exists, therefore, only in his relation
to the whole, in his relation to other men, in his relation to
society. This relation constitutes his environment and in no other
way.
It is evident, therefore, that the individual is simply the
differentiation of the one Universal Mind "which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world," and his so-called individuality or
personality consists of nothing but the manner in which he relates
with the whole.
This we call his environment and is brought about by the law of
attraction. Part Eighteen, which follows, has something more to say
concerning this important law.
PART EIGHTEEN
1. There is a change in the thought of the world. This change is
silently transpiring in our midst, and is more important than any
which the world has undergone since the downfall of Paganism.
2. These present revolution in the opinions of all classes of
men, the highest and most cultured of men as well as those of the
laboring class, stands unparalleled in the history of the world.
3. Science has of late made such vast discoveries, has revealed
such an infinity of resources, has unveiled such enormous
possibilities and such unsuspected forces, that scientific men more
and more hesitate to affirm certain theories as established and
beyond doubt or to deny other theories as absurd or impossible.
4. A new civilization is being born; customs, creeds, and
precedent are passing; vision, faith and service are taking their
place. The fetters of tradition are being melted off from humanity,
and as the impurities of materialism are being consumed, thought is
being liberated and truth is rising full robed before an astonished
multitude.
5. The whole world is on the eve of a new consciousness, a new
power, and a new realization within the self.
6. Physical Science has resolved matter into molecules, molecules
into atoms, atoms into energy, and it has remained for Mr. J. A.
Fleming, in an address before the Royal Institution, to resolve this
energy into mind. He says, "In its ultimate essence, energy may be
incomprehensible by us except as an exhibition of the direct
operation of that which we call Mind or Will."
7. And this mind is the indwelling and ultimate. It is imminent
in matter as in spirit. It is the sustaining, energizing, all
pervading Spirit of the universe.
8. Every living thing must be sustained by this omnipotent
Intelligence, and we find the difference in individual lives to be
largely measured by the degree of this intelligence, which they
manifest. It is greater intelligence that places the animal in a
higher scale of being than the plant, the man higher than the
animal, and we find that this increased intelligence is again
indicated by the power of the individual to control modes of action
and thus to consciously adjust himself to his environment.
9. It is this adjustment that occupies the attention of the
greatest minds, and this adjustment consists in nothing else than
the recognition of an existing order in the universal mind, for it
is well known that this mind will obey us precisely in proportion as
we first obey it.
10. It is the recognition of Natural Laws that has enabled us to
annihilate time and space, to soar in the air and to make iron
float, and the greater the degree of intelligence the greater will
be our recognition of these Natural Laws and the greater will be the
power we can possess.
11. It is the recognition of the self as an individualization of
this Universal Intelligence that enables the individual to control
those forms of intelligence which have not yet reached this level of
self-recognition; they do not know that this Universal Intelligence
permeates all things ready to be called into action; they do not
know that it is responsive to every demand, and they are therefore
in bondage to the law of their own being.
12. Thought is creative and the principle on which the law is
based is sound and legitimate and is inherent in the nature of
things; but this creative power does not originate in the
individual, but in the universal, which is the source and foundation
of all energy and substance; the individual is simply the channel
for the distribution of this energy.
13. The individual is simply the means by which the universal
produces the various combinations which result in the formation of
phenomena, which depends upon the law of vibration, whereby various
rates of rapidity of motion in the primary substance form new
substances only in certain exact numerical ratios.
14. Thought is the invisible link by which the individual comes
into communication with the Universal, the finite with the Infinite,
the seen with the Unseen. Thought is the magic by which the human is
transformed into a being who thinks and knows and feels and acts.
15. As the proper apparatus has enabled the eye to discover
worlds without number millions of miles away, so, with the proper
understanding, man has been enabled to communicate with the
Universal Mind, the source of all power.
16. The Understanding which is usually developed is about as
valuable as a VCR without a videotape; in fact, it is usually
nothing more than a "belief", which means nothing at all. The
savages of the Cannibal Islands believe something; but that proves
nothing.
17. The only belief which is of any value to anyone is a belief
that has been put to a test and demonstrated to be a fact; it is
then no longer a belief, but has become a living Faith or Truth.
18. And this Truth has been put to the test by hundreds of
thousands of people and has been found to be the Truth exactly in
proportion to the usefulness of the apparatus which they used.
19. A man would not expect to locate stars hundreds of millions
of miles away without a sufficiently strong telescope, and for this
reason Science is continually engaged in building larger and more
powerful telescopes and is continually rewarded by additional
knowledge of the heavenly bodies.
20. So with understanding; men are continually making progress in
the methods which they use to come into communication with the
Universal Mind and its infinite possibilities.
21. The Universal Mind manifests itself in the objective, through
the principle of attraction that each atom has for every other atom,
in infinite degrees of intensity.
22. It is by this principle of combining and attracting that
things are brought together. This principle is of universal
application and is the sole means whereby the purpose of existence
is carried into effect.
23. The expression of growth is met in a most beautiful manner
through the instrumentality of this Universal Principle.
24. In order to grow we must obtain what is essential for our
growth, but as we are at all times a complete thought entity, this
completeness makes it possible for us to receive only as we give;
growth is therefore conditioned on reciprocal action, and we find
that on the mental plane like attracts like, that mental vibrations
respond only to the extent of their vibratory harmony.
25. It is clear, therefore, that thoughts of abundance will
respond only to similar thoughts; the wealth of the individual is
seen to be what he inherently is. Affluence within is found to be
the secret of attraction for affluence without. The ability to
produce is found to be the real source of wealth of the individual.
It is for this reason that he who has his heart in his work is
certain to meet with unbounded success. He will give and continually
give; and the more he gives, the more he will receive.
26. What do the great financiers of Wall Street, the captains of
industry, the statesmen, the great corporation attorneys, the
inventors, the physicians, the authors -- what do each of these
contribute to the sum of human happiness but the power of their
thought?
27. Thought is the energy which the law of attraction is brought
into operation, which eventually manifests in abundance.
28. The Universal Mind is static Mind or Substance in
equilibrium. It is differentiated into form by our power to think.
Thought is the dynamic phase of mind.
29. 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.
30. 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.
31. Attention has been held to be the distinguishing mark of
genius. The cultivation of attention depends upon practice.
32. 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.
33. This week concentrate upon your power to create; seek
insight, perception; try to find a logical basis for the faith which
is in you. Let the thought dwell on the fact that the physical man
lives and moves and has his being in the sustainer of all organic
life air, that he must breathe to live. Then let the thought rest on
the fact that the spiritual man also lives and moves and has his
being in a similar but subtler energy upon which he must depend for
life, and that as in the physical world no life assumes form until
after a seed is sown, and no higher fruit than that of the parent
stock can be produced; so in the spiritual world no effect can be
produced until the seed is sown and the fruit will depend upon the
nature of the seed, so that the results which you secure depend upon
your perception of law in the mighty domain of causation, the
highest evolution of human consciousness.
There is no thought in my mind but it quickly
tends to convert itself into a power and organizes a huge
instrumentality of means.
Emerson |