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Enclosed herewith I hand you Part Four. This part will show you why what you
think, or do, or feel, is an indication of what you are.
Thought is energy and energy is power, and it is because all the religions,
sciences and philosophies with which the world has heretofore been familiar
have been based upon the manifestation of this energy instead of the energy
itself, that the world has been limited to effects, while causes have been
ignored or misunderstood.
For
this reason we have God and the Devil in religion, positive and negative in
science, and good and bad in philosophy.
The
Master Key reverses the process; it is interested only in cause, and the
letters received from students tell a marvelous story; they indicate
conclusively that students are finding the cause whereby they may secure for
themselves health, harmony, abundance, and whatever else may be necessary
for their welfare and happiness.
Life is expressive and it is our business to express ourselves harmoniously
and constructively. Sorrow, misery, unhappiness, disease and poverty are not
necessities and we are constantly eliminating them.
But
this process of eliminating consists in rising above and beyond limitation
of any kind. He who has strengthened and purified his thought need not
concern himself about microbes, and he who has come into an understanding of
the law of abundance will go at once to the source of supply.
It
is thus that fate, fortune, and destiny will be controlled as readily as a
captain controls his ship, or an engineer, his train.
PART FOUR
1. The
"I" of you is not the physical body; that is simply an instrument which the
"I" uses to carry out its purposes; the "I" cannot be the Mind, for the mind
is simply another instrument which the "I" uses with which to think, reason,
and plan.
2. The
"I" must be something which controls and directs both the body and the mind;
something which determines what they shall do and how they shall act. When
you come into a realization of the true nature of this "I", you will enjoy a
sense of power which you have never before known.
3.
Your personality is made up of countless individual characteristics,
peculiarities, habits, and traits of character; these are the result of your
former method of thinking, but they have nothing to do with the real "I."
4.
When you say "I think" the "I" tells the mind what it shall think; when you
say "I go" the "I" tells the physical body where it shall go; the real
nature of this "I" is spiritual, and is the source of the real power which
comes to men and women when they come into a realization of their true
nature.
5. The
greatest and most marvelous power which this "I" has been given is the power
to think, but few people know how to think constructively, or correctly,
consequently they achieve only indifferent results. Most people allow their
thoughts to dwell on selfish purposes, the inevitable result of an infantile
mind. When a mind becomes mature, it understands that the germ of defeat is
in every selfish thought.
6. The
trained mind knows that every transaction must benefit every person who is
in any way connected with the transaction, and any attempt to profit by the
weakness, ignorance or necessity of another will inevitably operate to his
disadvantage.
7.
This is because the individual is a part of the Universal. A part cannot
antagonize any other part, but, on the contrary, the welfare of each part
depends upon a recognition of the interest of the whole.
8.
Those who recognize this principle have a great advantage in the affairs of
life. They do not wear themselves out. They can eliminate vagrant thoughts
with facility. They can readily concentrate to the highest possible degree
on any subject. They do not waste time or money upon objects which can be of
no possible benefit to them.
9. If
you cannot do these things it is because you have thus far not made the
necessary effort. Now is the time to make the effort. The result will be
exactly in proportion to the effort expended. One of the strongest
affirmations which you can use for the purpose of strengthening the will and
realizing your power to accomplish, is, "I can be what I will to be."
10.
Every time you repeat it realize who and what this "I" is; try to come into
a thorough understanding of the true nature of the "I"; if you do, you will
become invincible; that is, provided that your objects and purposes are
constructive and are therefore in harmony with the creative principle of the
Universe.
11. If
you make use of this affirmation, use it continuously, night and morning,
and as often during the day as you think of it, and continue to do so until
it becomes a part of you; form the habit.
12.
Unless you do this, you had better not start at all, because modern
psychology tells us that when we start something and do not complete it, or
make a resolution and do not keep it, we are forming the habit of failure;
absolute, ignominious failure. If you do not intend to do a thing, do not
start; if you do start, see it through even if the heavens fall; if you make
up your mind to do something, do it; let nothing, no one, interfere; the "I"
in you has determined, the thing is settled; the die is cast, there is no
longer any argument.
13. If
you carry out this idea, beginning with small things which you know you can
control and gradually increase the effort, but never under any circumstances
allowing your "I" to be overruled, you will find that you can eventually
control yourself, and many men and women have found to their sorrow that it
is easier to control a kingdom that to control themselves.
14.
But when you have learned to control yourself you will have found the "World
Within" which controls the world without; you will have become irresistible;
men and things will respond to your every wish without any apparent effort
on your part.
15.
This is not so strange or impossible as it may appear when you remember that
the "World Within" is controlled by the "I" and that this "I" is a part or
one with the Infinite "I" which is the Universal Energy or Spirit, usually
called God.
16.
This is not a mere statement or theory made for the purpose of confirming or
establishing an idea, but it is a fact which has been accepted by the best
religious thought as well as the best scientific thought.
17.
Herbert Spender said: "Amid all the mysteries by which we are surrounded,
nothing is more certain than that we are ever in the presence of an Infinite
and Eternal Energy from which all things proceed."
18.
Lyman Abbott, in an address delivered before the Alumni of Bangor
Theological Seminary, said: "We are coming to think of God as dwelling in
man rather than as operating on men from without."
19.
Science goes a little way in its search and stops. Science finds the
ever-present Eternal Energy, but Religion finds the Power behind this energy
and locates it within man. But this is by no means a new discovery; the
Bible says exactly the same thing, and the language is just as plain and
convincing: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of the living God?" Here,
then, is the secret of the wonderful creative power of the "World Within."
20.
Here is the secret of power, of mastery. To overcome does not mean to go
without things. Self-denial is not success. We cannot give unless we get; we
cannot be helpful unless we are strong. The Infinite is not a bankrupt and
we who are the representatives of Infinite power should not be bankrupts
either, and if we wish to be of service to others we must have power and
more power, but to get it we must give it; we must be of service.
21.
The more we give the more we shall get; we must become a channel whereby the
Universal can express activity. The Universal is constantly seeking to
express itself, to be of service, and it seeks the channel whereby it can
find the greatest activity, where it can do the most good, where it can be
of greatest service to mankind.
22.
The Universal cannot express through you as long as you are busy with your
plans, your own purposes; quiet the senses, seek inspiration, focus the
mental activity on the within, dwell in the consciousness of your unity with
Omnipotence. "Still water runs deep;" contemplate the multitudinous
opportunities to which you have spiritual access by the Omnipresence of
power.
23.
Visualize the events, circumstances and conditions which these spiritual
connections may assist in manifesting. Realize the fact that the essence and
soul of all things is spiritual and that the spiritual is the real, because
it is the life of all there is; when the spirit is gone, the life is gone;
it is dead; it has ceased to exist.
24.
These mental activities pertain to the world within, to the world of cause;
and conditions and circumstances which result are the effect. It is thus
that you become a creator. This is important work, and the higher, loftier,
grander and more noble ideals which you can conceive, the more important the
work will become.
25.
Over-work or over-play or over-bodily activity of any kind produces
conditions of mental apathy and stagnation which makes it impossible to do
the more important work which results in a realization of conscious power.
We should, therefore, seek the Silence frequently. Power comes through
repose; it is in the Silence that we can be still, and when we are still, we
can think, and thought is the secret of all attainment.
26.
Thought is a mode of motion and is carried by the law of vibration the same
as light or electricity. It is given vitality by the emotions through the
law of love; it takes form and expression by the law of growth; it is a
product of the spiritual "I", hence its Divine, spiritual, and creative
nature.
27.
From this it is evident that in order to express power, abundance or any
other constructive purpose, the emotions must be called upon to give feeling
to the thought so that it will take form. How may this purpose be
accomplished? This is the vital point; how may we develop the faith, the
courage, the feeling, which will result in accomplishment?
28.
The reply is, by exercise; mental strength is secured in exactly the same
way that physical strength is secured, by exercise. We think something,
perhaps with difficulty the first time; we think the same thing again, and
it becomes easier this time; we think it again and again; it then becomes a
mental habit. We continue to think the same thing; finally it becomes
automatic; we can no longer help thinking this thing; we are now positive of
what we think; there is no longer any doubt about it. We are sure; we know.
29.
Last week I asked you to relax, to let go physically. This week, I am going
to ask you to let go mentally. If you practiced the exercise given you last
week fifteen or twenty minutes a day in accordance with the instructions,
you can no doubt relax physically; and anyone who cannot consciously do this
quickly and completely is not a master of himself. He has not obtained
freedom; he is still a slave to conditions. But I shall assume that you have
mastered the exercise and are ready to take the next step, which is mental
freedom.
30.
This week, after taking your usual position, remove all tension by
completely relaxing, then mentally let go of all adverse conditions, such as
hatred, anger, worry, jealousy, envy, sorrow, trouble or disappointment of
any kind.
31.
You may say that you cannot "let go" of these things, but you can; you can
do so by mentally determining to do so, by voluntary intention and
persistence.
32.
The reason that some cannot do this is because they allow themselves to be
controlled by the emotions instead of by their intellect. But those who will
be guided by the intellect will gain the victory. You will not succeed the
first time you try, but practice makes perfect, in this as in everything
else, and you must succeed in dismissing, eliminating and completely
destroying these negative and destructive thoughts; because they are the
seed which is constantly germinating into discordant conditions of every
conceivable kind and description. |
