Part Eleven - The Master Key System

Letter Of Transmittal  

Your life is governed by Law - by actual, immutable principles that never vary. Law is in operation at all times; in all places. Fixed Laws underlie all human actions. For this reason, men who control giant industries are enabled to determine with absolute precision just what percentage of every hundred thousand people will respond to any given set of conditions.  

It is well, however, to remember that while every effect is the result of a cause, the effect in turn becomes a cause, which creates other effects, which in turn create still other causes; so that when you put the Law of Attraction into operation you must remember that you are starting a train of causation for good or otherwise which may have endless possibilities. 

We frequently hear it said, "A very distressing situation came into my life, which could not have been the result of my Thought, as I certainly never entertained any Thought which could have such a result". We fail to remember that like attracts like in the mental world, and that the Thought which we entertain brings to us certain friendships, companionships of a particular kind, and these in turn bring about conditions and environment, which in turn are responsible for the conditions of which we complain.  

PART ELEVEN 

1. Inductive reasoning is the process of the Objective Mind by which we compare a number of separate instances with one another until we see the common factor that gives rise to them all. 
2. Induction proceeds by comparison of facts; it is this method of studying nature which has resulted in the discovery of a reign of Law which has marked an epoch in human progress.  
3. It is the dividing line between superstition and intelligence; it has eliminated the elements of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives and substituted Law, reason and certitude.  
4. It is the "Watchman at the Gate" mentioned in a former lesson.  
5. When, by virtue of this principle, the world to which the senses were accustomed had been revolutionized; when the sun had been arrested in his course, the apparently flat earth had been shaped into a ball and set whirling around him; when the inert matter had been resolved into active elements, and the Universe presented itself wherever we directed the telescope and microscope, full of force, motion and life; we are constrained to ask by what possible means the delicate forms of organization in the midst of it are kept in order and repair.  
6. Like poles and like forces repel themselves or remain impenetrable to each other, and this course seems in general sufficient to assign a proper place and distance to stars, men and forces. As men of different virtues enter into partnership, so do opposite poles attract each other, elements that have no property in common like acids and gases cling to each other in preference and a general exchange is kept up between the surplus and the demand.    
7. As the eye seeks and receives satisfaction from colors complementary to those which are given, so does need, want and desire, in the largest sense, induce, guide and determine action.  
8. It is our privilege to become conscious of the principle and act in accordance with it. Cuvier sees a tooth belonging to an extinct race of animals. This tooth wants a body for the performance of its function, and it defines the peculiar body it stands in need of with such precision that Cuvier is able to reconstruct the frame of this animal.   
9. Perturbations are observed in the motion of Uranus. Leverrier needs another star at a certain place to keep the solar system in order, and Neptune appears in the place and hour appointed.  
10. The instinctive wants of the animal and the intellectual wants of Cuvier, the wants of nature and of the Mind of Leverrier were alike, and thus the results; here the Thoughts of an existence, there an existence. A well-defined lawful want, therefore, furnishes the reason for the more complex operations of nature. 
11. Having recorded correctly the answers furnished by nature and stretched our senses with the growing science over her surface; having joined hands with the levers that move the earth; we become conscious of such a close, varied and deep contact with the World Without, that our wants and purposes become no less identified with the harmonious operations of this vast organization, than the life, liberty, and happiness of the citizen is identified with the existence of his government.   
12. As the interests of the individual are protected by the arms of the country, added to his own; and his needs may depend upon certain supply in the degree that they are felt more universally and steadily; in the same manner does conscious citizenship in the Republic of nature secure us from the annoyances of subordinate agents by alliance with superior powers; and by appeal to the fundamental Laws of Resistance or inducement offered to mechanical or chemical agents, distribute the labor to be performed between them and man to the best advantage of the inventor.  
13. If Plato could have witnessed the pictures executed by the sun with the assistance of the photographer, or a hundred similar illustrations of what man does by induction, he would perhaps have been reminded of the intellectual midwifery of his master and, in his own Mind might have arisen the vision of a land where all manual, mechanical labor and repetition is assigned to the power of nature, where our wants are satisfied by purely mental operations set in motion by the will, and where the supply is created by the demand.  
14. However distant that Land may appear, induction has taught men to make strides toward it and has surrounded him with benefits which are, at the same time, rewards for past fidelity and incentives for more assiduous devotion.  
15. It is also an aid in concentrating and strengthening our faculties for the remaining part, giving unerring solution for individual as well as universal problems, by the mere operations of Mind in the purest form.  
16. Here we find a method, the Spirit of which is, to believe that what is sought has been accomplished, in order to accomplish it: a method, bequeathed upon us by the same Plato who, outside of this sphere, could never find how the ideas became realities.  
17. This conception is also elaborated by Swedenborg in his doctrine of correspondences; and a still greater teacher has said, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them". (Mark 11:24) The difference of the tenses in this passage is remarkable.  
18. We are first to believe that our desire has already been fulfilled, its accomplishment will then follow. This is a concise direction for making use of the creative power of Thought by impressing on the Universal Subjective Mind, the particular thing which we desire as an already existing fact. 
19. We are thus thinking on the plane of the absolute and eliminating all consideration of conditions or limitation and are planting a seed which, if left undisturbed, will finally germinate into external fruition.  
20. To review: Inductive reasoning is the process of the Objective Mind, by which we compare a number of separate instances with one another until we see the common factor that gives rise to them all. We see people in every civilized country on the globe, securing results by some process which they do not seem to understand themselves, and to which they usually attach more or less mystery. Our reason is given to us for the purpose of ascertaining the Law by which these results are accomplished.
21. The operation of this Thought process is seen in those fortunate natures that possess everything that others must acquire by toil, who never have a struggle with conscience because they always act correctly, and can never conduct themselves otherwise than with tact, learn everything easily, complete everything they begin with a happy knack, live in eternal harmony with themselves, without ever reflecting much what they do, or ever experiencing difficulty or toil.  
22. The fruit of this Thought is, as it were, a gift of the Gods, but a gift which few as yet realize, appreciate, or understand. The recognition of the marvelous power which is possessed by the Mind under proper conditions and the fact that this power can be utilized, directed, and made available for the solution of every human problem is of transcendental importance.   
23. All Truth is the same, whether stated in modern scientific terms or in the language of apostolic times. There are timid souls who fail to realize that the very completeness of Truth requires various statement - that no one human formula will show every side of it.   
24. Changing, emphasis, new language, novel interpretations, unfamiliar perspectives, are not, as some suppose, signs of departure from Truth but on the contrary, they are evidence that the Truth is being apprehended in new relations to human needs, and is becoming more generally understood.   
25. The Truth must be told to each generation and to every people in new and different terms, so that when the Great Teacher said - "Believe that ye receive and ye shall receive" or, when Paul said - "Faith is the substance of thing hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", or when modern science says - "The Law of Attraction is the Law by which Thought correlates with its object", each statement when subjected to analysis, is found to contain exactly the same Truth. The only difference being in the form of presentation.  
26. We are standing on the threshold of a new era. The time has arrived when man has learned the secrets of mastery and the way is being prepared for a new social order, more wonderful than anything every heretofore dreamed of. The conflict of modern science with theology, the study of comparative religions, the tremendous power of new social movements, all of these are but clearing the way for the new order. They may have destroyed traditional forms which have become antiquated and impotent, but nothing of value has been lost.  
27. A new faith has been born, a faith which demands a new form of expression, and this faith is taking form in a deep consciousness of power which is being manifested, in the present Spiritual activity found on every hand. 
28. The Spirit which sleeps in the mineral, breathes in the vegetable, moves in the animal and reaches its highest development in man is the Universal Mind, and it behooves us to span the gulf between being and doing, theory and practice, by demonstrating our understanding of the dominion which we have been given. 
29. By far the greatest discovery of all the centuries is the power of Thought. The importance of this discovery has been a little slow in reaching the general Consciousness, but it has arrived, and already in every field of research the importance of this greatest of all great discoveries is being demonstrated. 
30. You ask in what does the creative power of Thought consist? It consists in creating ideas, and these in turn objectify themselves by appropriating, inventing, observing, discerning, discovering, analyzing, ruling, governing, combining, and applying matter and force. It can do this because it is an intelligent creative power. 
31. Thought reaches its loftiest activity when plunged into its own mysterious depth; when it breaks through the narrow compass of Self and passes from Truth to Truth to the region of eternal light, where all which is, was or ever will be, melt into one grand harmony. 
32. From this process of Self contemplation comes inspiration which is creative intelligence, and which is undeniably superior to every element, force or Law of Nature, because it can understand, modify, govern and apply them to its own ends and purposes and therefore possess them. 
33. Wisdom begins with the dawn of reason, and reason is but an understanding of the knowledge and principles whereby we may know the true meaning of things. Wisdom, then, is illuminated reason, and this wisdom leads to humility, for humility is a large part of Wisdom.  
34. We all know many who have achieved the seemingly impossible, who have realized life-long dreams, who have changed everything including themselves. We have sometimes marveled at the demonstration of an apparently irresistible power, which seemed to be ever available just when it was most needed, but it is all clear now. All that is required is an understanding of certain definite fundamental principles and their proper application.  
35. For your exercise this week, concentrate on the quotation taken from the Bible, "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them"; notice that there is no limitation, "Whatsoever things" is very definite and implies that the only limitation which is placed upon us in our ability to think, to be equal to the occasion, to rise to the emergency, to remember that Faith is not a shadow, but a substance, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".   

"Death Is But The Natural Process Whereby All Material Forms Are Thrown Into The Crucible For Reproduction In Fresh Diversity".   

STUDY QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS:-

1. What is inductive reasoning?
=> The process of the Objective Mind by which we compare a number of separate instances with each other until we see the common factor which gives rise to them all.

2. What has this method of studying accomplished?
=> It has resulted in the discovery of a reign of Law which has marked an epoch in human progress.

3. What is it that guides and determines action?
=> It is need, want and desire which is the largest sense induce, guide and determine action.

4. What is the formula for the unerring solution of every individual problem?
=> We are to believe that our desire has already been fulfilled, its accomplishment will then follow.

5. What great Teachers advocated it?
=> Jesus, Plato, Swedenborg.

6. What is the result of this Thought process?
=> We are thinking on the plane of the absolute and planting a seed, which if left undisturbed will germinate into fruition.

7. Why is it scientifically exact?
=> Because it is Natural Law.

8. What is Faith?
=> "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen".

9. What is the Law of Attraction?
=> The Law by which Faith is brought into manifestation.

10. What importance do you attach to an understanding of this Law?
=> It has eliminated the elements of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives and substituted law, reason and certitude.

Part Twenty Four - The Master Key System

Enclosed you will find Part Twenty Four, your final lesson of this course.  

If you have practiced each of the exercises a few minutes every day, as suggested, you will have found that you can get out of life exactly what you wish by first putting into life that which you wish, and you will probably agree with the student who said: "The Thought is almost overwhelming, so vast, so available, so definite, so reasonable and so usable".   

The fruit of this knowledge is, as it were, a gift of the Gods; it is the "Truth" that makes men free, not only free from every lack and limitation, but free from sorrow, worry and care, and, it is not wonderful to realize that this Law is no respecter of persons, that it makes no difference what your habit of Thought may be, the way has been prepared. 

If you are inclined to be religious, the greatest religious teacher the world has ever known made the way so plain that all may follow. If your mental bias is toward physical science, the Law will operate with mathematical certainty. If you are inclined to be philosophical, Plato or Emerson may be your teacher, but in either case, you may reach degrees of power to which it is impossible to assign any limit.  

An understanding of this principle, I believe, is the secret for which the ancient Alchemists vainly sought, because it explains how gold in the Mind may be transmuted into gold in the heart and in the hand.   

PART TWENTY-FOUR:- 

1. When the scientists first put the Sun in the center of the Solar System and sent the earth spinning around it, there was immense surprise and consternation. The whole idea was self-evidently false; nothing was more certain than the movement of the Sun across the sky, and anyone could see it descend behind the western hills and sink into the sea; scholars raged and scientists rejected the idea as absurd, yet the evidence has finally carried conviction in the Minds of all.  
2. We speak of a bell as a "sounding body", yet we know that all the bell can do is to produce vibrations in the air. When these vibrations come at the rate of sixteen per second, they cause a sound to be heard in the Mind. It is also possible for the Mind to hear vibrations up to the rate of 38,000 vibrations per second. When the number increases beyond this, all is silence again; so that we know that the sound is not in the bell, it is in our own Mind.   
3. We speak and even think of the Sun as "giving light". Yet we know it is simply giving forth energy which produces vibrations in the ether at the rate of four hundred trillion a second, causing what are termed light waves, so that we know we call light is simply a form of energy and that the only light there is, is the sensation caused in the Mind by the motion of the waves. When the number increases, the light changes in color, each change in color being caused by shorter and more rapid vibrations, so that although we speak of the rose as being red, the grass as being green, or the sky as being blue, we know that the colors exist only in our Minds, and are the sensations experienced by us as the result of the vibrations of light waves. When the vibrations are reduced below four hundred trillion a second, they no longer affect us as light, but we experience the sensation of heat. It is evident, therefore, that we cannot depend upon the evidence of the senses for our information concerning the realities of things; if we did we should believe that the sun moved, that the world was flat instead of round, that the stars were bits of light instead of vast suns.  
4. The whole range then of the theory and practice of any system of metaphysics consists in knowing the Truth concerning yourself and the world in which you live; in knowing that in order to express harmony, you must think harmony; in order to express health you must think health; and in order to express abundance you must think abundance; to do this you must reverse the evidence of the senses.   
5. When you come to know that every form of disease, sickness, lack and limitation are simply the result of wrong thinking, you will have come to know "the Truth which shall make you free". You will see how mountains may be removed. If these mountains consist only of doubt, fear, distrust or other forms of discouragement, they are none the less real, and they need not only to be removed but to be "cast into the sea".  
6. Your real work consists in convincing yourself of the Truth of these statements. When you have succeeded in doing this you will have no difficulty in thinking the Truth, and as has been shown, the Truth contains a vital principle and will manifest itself.  
7. Those who heal diseases by mental methods have come to know this Truth, they demonstrate it in their lives and the lives of others daily. They know that life, health and abundance are Omnipresent, filling all space, and they know that those who allow disease or lack of any kind to manifest, have as yet not come into an understanding of this great Law.   
8. As all conditions are Thought creations and therefore entirely mental, disease and lack are simply mental conditions in which the person fails to perceive the Truth; as soon as the error is removed, the condition is removed.  
9. The method for removing this error is to go into the Silence and know the Truth; as all Mind is one Mind, you can do this for yourself or anyone else. If you have learned to form mental images of the conditions desired, this will be the easiest and quickest way to secure results; if not, results can be accomplished by argument, by the process of convincing yourself absolutely of the Truth of your statement.  
10. Remember, and this is one of the most difficult as well as most wonderful statements to grasp....remember that no matter what the difficulty is, no matter where it is, no matter who is affected, you have no patient but yourself; you have nothing to do but to convince yourself of the Truth which you desire to see manifested.   
11. This is an exact scientific statement in accordance with every system of Metaphysics in existence, and no permanent results are ever secured in any other way.  
12. Every form of concentration, forming Mental Images, Argument, and Autosuggestion are all simply methods by which you are enabled to realize the Truth.   
13. If you desire to help someone, to destroy some form of lack, limitation or error, the correct method is not to think of the person whom you wish to help; the intention to help them is entirely sufficient, as this puts you in mental touch with the person. Then drive out of your own Mind any belief of lack, limitation, disease, danger, difficulty or whatever the trouble might be. As soon as you have succeeded in doing this the result will have been accomplished, and the person will be free.  
14. But remember that Thought is creative and consequently every time you allow your Thought to rest on any inharmonious condition, you must realize that such conditions are apparent only, they have no reality, that Spirit is the only reality and it can never be less than perfect.  
15. All Thought is a form of energy, a rate of vibration, but a Thought of the Truth is the highest rate of vibration known and consequently destroys every form of error in exactly the same way that light destroys darkness; no form of error can exist when the "Truth" appears, so that your entire mental work consists in coming into an understanding of the Truth. This will enable you to overcome every form of lack, limitation or disease of any kind.   
16. We can get no understanding of the Truth from the World Without; the World Without is relative only; Truth is absolute. We must therefore find it in the "World Within".   
17. To train the Mind to see Truth only is to express true conditions only, our ability to do this will be an indication as to the progress we are making.   
18. The absolute Truth is that the "I" is perfect and complete; the real "I" is Spiritual and can therefore never be less than perfect; it can never have any lack, limitation or disease. The flash of genius does not have origin in the molecular motion of the Brain; it is inspired by the ego, the Spiritual "I" which is one with the Universal Mind, and it is our ability to recognize this Unity which is the cause of all inspiration, all genius. These results are far reaching and have effect upon generations yet to come; they are the pillars of fire which mark the path that millions follow.  
19. Truth is not the result of logical training or of experimentation, or even of observation; it is the product of a developed Consciousness. Truth within a Caesar, manifests in a Caesar's deportment, in his life and his action; his influence upon social forms and progress. Your life and your actions and your influence in the world will depend upon the degree of Truth which you are enabled to perceive, for Truth will not manifest in creeds, but in conduct.   
20. Truth manifests in character, and the character of a man, should be the interpretation of his religion, or what to him is Truth, and this will in turn be evidenced in the character of his possession. If a man complains of the drifts of his fortune he is just as unjust to himself as if he should deny rational Truth, though it stand patent and irrefutable.  
21. Our environment and the innumerable circumstances and accidents of our lives already exist in the Subconscious personality which attracts to itself the mental and physical material which is congenial to its nature. Thus our future being determined from our present, and if there should be apparent injustice in any feature or phase of our personal life, we must look within for the cause, try to discover the mental fact which is responsible for the outward manifestation.   
22. It is this Truth which makes you "free" and it is the conscious knowledge of this Truth which will enable you to overcome every difficulty.  
23. The conditions with which you meet in the World Without are invariably the result of the conditions obtaining in the World Within, therefore it follows with scientific accuracy that by holding the perfect ideal in Mind you can bring about ideal conditions in your environment.  
24. If you see only the incomplete, the imperfect, the relative, the limited, these conditions will manifest in your life; but if you train your Mind to see and realize the Spiritual ego; the "I" which is forever perfect and complete, harmonious, wholesome, and healthful conditions only will be manifested.  
25. As Thought is creative, and the Truth is the highest and most perfect Thought which anyone can think, it is self-evident that to think the Truth is to create that which is true and it is again evident that when Truth comes into Being that which is false must cease to be. 
26. The Universal Mind is the totality of all Mind which is in existence. Spirit is Mind, because Spirit is intelligent. The words are, therefore, synonymous.  
27. The difficulty with which you have to contend is to realize that Mind is not individual. It is Omnipresent. It exists everywhere. In other words, there is no place where it is not. It is, therefore, Universal.  
28. Men have, heretofore, generally used the word "God" to indicate this Universal, creative principle; but the word "God" does not convey the right meaning. Most people understand this word to mean something outside of themselves; while exactly the contrary is the fact. It is our very life. Without it we would be dead. We would cease to exist. The minute the Spirit leaves the body, we are as nothing. Therefore, Spirit is really, all there is of us.  
29. Now, the only activity which the Spirit possesses is the power to think. Therefore, Thought must be creative, because Spirit is creative. This creative power is impersonal and your ability to think is your ability to control it and make use of it for the benefit of yourself and others.  
30. When the Truth of this statement is realized, understood, and appreciated, you will have come into possession of the Master-Key, but remember that only those who are wise enough to understand, broad enough to weigh the evidence, firm enough to follow their own judgment, and strong enough to make the sacrifice exacted, may enter and partake.  
31. This week, try to realize that this is truly a wonderful world in which we live, that you are a wonderful Being that many are awakening to a knowledge of the Truth, and as fast as they awake and come into a knowledge of the "things which have been prepared for them", they too, realize that "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man", the splendors which exist for those who find themselves in the Promised Land. They have crossed the river of judgment and have arrived at the point of discrimination between the true and the false, and have found that all they ever willed or dreamed, was but a faint concept of the dazzling reality.  

Though An Inheritance Of Acres May Be Bequeathed, An Inheritance Of Knowledge And Wisdom Cannot. The Wealthy Man May Pay Others For Doing His Work For Him, But It Is Impossible To Get His Thinking Done For Him By Another Or To Purchase Any Kind Of Self-Culture. 

- S. Smiles 

STUDY QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS:-

1. Upon what principle does the theory and practice of every system of Metaphysics in existence depend? 
=> Upon a knowledge of the "Truth" concerning yourself and the world in which you live.  

2. What is the "Truth" concerning yourself?  
=> The real "I" or ego is Spiritual and can therefore never be less than perfect.  

3. What is the method of destroying any form of error?  
=> To absolutely convince yourself of the "Truth" concerning the condition which you wish to see manifested.  

4. Can we do this for others? 
=> The Universal Mind in which "we live and move and have our Being" is one and indivisible, it is therefore just as possible to help others as to help ourselves.  

5. What is the Universal Mind? 
=> The totality of all Mind in existence.   

6. Where is the Universal Mind?  
=> The Universal Mind is Omnipresent, it exists everywhere. There is no place where it is not. It is therefore within us. It is the "World Within". It is our Spirit, our life.  

7. What is the nature of the Universal Mind? 
=> It is Spiritual and consequently creative. It seeks to express itself in form.  

8. How may we act on the Universal Mind? 
=> Our ability to think is our ability to act on the Universal Mind and bring it into manifestation for the benefit of ourselves or others.  

9. What is meant by thinking? 
=> Clear, decisive, calm, deliberate, sustained Thought with a definite end in view.  

10. What will be the result? 
=> You will also be able to say, "It is not I that doeth the work, but the "Father" that dwelleth within me, He doeth the works". You will come to know that the "Father" is the Universal Mind and that He does really and truly dwell within you, in other words, you will come to know that the wonderful promises made in the Bible are fact, not fiction, and can be demonstrated by anyone having sufficient understanding.  

Temples Have Their Sacred Images, And We See What Influence They Have Always Had Over A Great Part Of Mankind; But, In Truth, The Ideas And Images In Men's Minds Are The Invisible Powers That Constantly Govern Them; And To These They All Pay Universally A Ready Submission.  

- Jonathan Edwards 

The Use Of Spiritual Power

We must eliminate the idea that the metaphysical process requires hard work and strenuous effort on our part. We must also eliminate the idea that the cure is performed by the exercise of personal power. The higher Spiritual forces coming into personal expression perform all of this work; but our personal selves do not produce those forces; neither will hard personal work bring them into evidence. It is the consciousness of the Spiritual side of life that produces true emancipation and the absolute health and wholeness we have in view; and this is natural because the Spiritual alone contains absolute wholeness. That which is not health and wholeness cannot produce health and wholeness, but since Spirit is health and wholeness, perfect health and wholeness must manifest wherever the power of the Spiritual is expressed.  

It can truthfully be said that the Spirit is at hand waiting at the gate of every Mind. All that is required of us is to open, and the Spirit will come in, filling the entire mansion of man with its peace, its power, its healing and its light. But to open the door for the Spirit to enter does not require hard work, agonizing prayers, nor efforts that tear both Mind and body, as so many of our personal efforts do. To place ourselves in the consciousness of the Spiritual attitude is the secret of the highest and the most perfect form of healing, and when we place ourselves in that attitude we shall find that peace, health, freedom and power will inevitably come; because the Spirit is peace, the Spirit is health, the Spirit is freedom, and the Spirit is power.  

When you are in the Spirit of health you cannot be sick; and to be in the real life of the Spirit is to be in the Spirit of health, because Spirit is health. When you are in freedom you cannot be in bondage; and to be in the Spirit is to be in freedom, because everything that is in the Spirit must necessarily enjoy absolute freedom.  

When we try to help others with these higher powers, we frequently begin as if it were hard work.  

We think that we have to do this personally. We forget that it is the Spirit and the Spirit alone that has the real power. Our work is to place the matter in the hands of Infinite Wisdom, Infinite Power, Infinite Love; and we do this, not through hard personal efforts, but through pure Spiritual faith.  

It is not the will of the Infinite that any one should suffer pain or distress of any kind, but it is the will of the Infinite that all should be in the perfect freedom of Spirit and Truth. It is the will of the Infinite that everybody should be well now; therefore, whoever is placed in the hands of the Infinite now will be healed this very hour.  

In this connection we may ask if we are not already in God's care, since we live and move and have our Being in His Spirit; and what more, then, can we do to place ourselves in His hands? To answer this question, we will simply say that we are in the Spirit of the Infinite now, but we do not all know it; and we must know the Truth before the Truth can make us free. To place ourselves in the hands of the Supreme, is to enter consciously into Divine presence, so that we do not simply believe in God, but also feel the life and the power of His Spirit in every fiber of our Being. Where the Spirit is felt, there peace, health and power will also be felt, because where the Spirit is felt, there the Spirit is; and where the Spirit is, there peace and power are also. When you enter the Spirit you feel what you desire to have done is being done, and it is being done by a power that can do all things.  

When you actually and sincerely believe that healing and emancipation is taking place in your system, you open the door for the Spirit to enter; and when the Spirit comes in, the Spirit will do at once whatever we desire to have done. While the Spirit is at work, we are simply to be silent and receive, that the power of the Spirit may take full possession and make us every whit whole.  

Whatever we desire the power of the Spirit to do, that the Spirit will now proceed to do, provided we do not interfere; but we do interfere with that work whenever we think about it, or whenever we become strenuous, trying to push the power.  

To leave all things in the hands of the Supreme is to leave all things in those hands that will do things right, and that will do just what is best for us. What the Supreme thinks is best for us will give us far more good than anything that we could have planned for ourselves. And here we should remember that the Supreme does not think it is best for us to be sick or in trouble. God thinks it is best for us to be as He is, and He knows neither sickness, nor pain, nor sorrow. Therefore, when you place yourself absolutely in Divine hands, you will positively regain perfect health and wholeness. 

Many a parent thinks, "If I place my sick child in the hands of God and ask His will to be done, He may desire to take my child away"; but do not believe this for a moment. God wants you to have your child. He does not wish to give you sorrow; and if you are perfectly willing, He will heal your child so that both your child and your joy may remain. But you must be perfectly willing and have no doubt. We all have the privilege to live our own lives so that not even the Infinite will interfere with our individuality; and in order to enjoy this privilege it is necessary that we remain here for a long time and continue in health and freedom during that entire period. 

In this connection, we should remember that we do not have to leave the body in order to go to God. God does not have to take us out of the body to take us to Himself, because He is everywhere. 

We may go to God and be with Him absolutely and completely while still living in the visible form. When we understand this, we realize how absurd it is to believe that God wants to take us away from our grieving friends in order to have us to Himself. The Truth is, God does not wish to deprive any one of anything, and His way will never give sorrow to a living creature.  

The Infinite is radiant with supreme joy, and it is His will that we should be as He is; but as we are individualized Beings, we of course have our own will in all these matters. Nevertheless, the sooner we combine our will with Infinite will, the sooner we shall have freedom and gain possession of the highest and best that life can give. When we take this step, we soon discover that the ways of pleasantness and the paths of peace are found only when we place ourselves unreservedly in His hands, and open the door for the Spirit to come in and make all things right.  

To clearly discern this conception of the Infinite is of extreme importance if we would heal with the power of the Spirit, because the more completely we enter the Spirit, the greater is the power of the Spirit in us; and when the Spirit is strong in us, then it is that we reach that state where our prayers are extremely beneficial. Every word of Truth that we speak while in this power has healing on its wings; and every just desire that we may express at such times will surely be fulfilled.   

When the Spiritual physician is confronted with threatening failure, there is a tendency to become anxious, and the belief that harder work is required will almost invariably arise; but such beliefs should be put away at once. It is not harder work on our part that is required; it is more faith in the power of the Spirit that should be sought; and that faith is never disturbed by appearances, but remains beautifully calm, because it knows.  

It is the power of the Spirit that gives health and emancipation. We are the instruments through which that power is to find expression, therefore we should place ourselves in that high, silent, Spiritual state through which the unbounded power of the Spirit may find full and free expression. 

Our anxiety is always a hindrance. Our intense personal effort takes us out of the hands of the Spirit, and we cease to be instruments of its power. In this way failure is usually the result, though remarkable demonstrations of healing could easily have been attained. When we know that the power of the Spirit is always at hand, always ready to do anything that we may wish to have done; when we know that the power of the Spirit is limitless and can do all things; and when we know that it is the will of God that all should be healed now, what have we to fear or to be anxious about? What more do we need than this sublime Truth to give us unbounded faith? And as our faith is, so shall it be; therefore when our faith is unbounded every prayer will be answered, every desire will be fulfilled.  

When we are in this perfect faith we find the real secret. We discover that it is the power of the Spirit that heals; that the Spirit will heal whenever we enter into the Spirit; and that we enter into the Spirit whenever we pass through the door of pure Spiritual faith and place ourselves absolutely in the hands of Infinite Wisdom, Infinite Power, Infinite Love.  

To become a good Spiritual physician, or to apply the Spiritual powers within us in gaining and maintaining health, there are several fundamental essentials to which we should give our fullest attention. These are peace, love, faith, Spiritual consciousness, and the understanding of Truth. To cultivate these five essentials to the very highest possible degree, is to gain possession of that something within us that will not only give us the power to realize and express the power of the Spirit, but will also give us the power to help others in the same way. 

The necessity of perfect peace is evident, because without such a peace we cannot enter into the deeper realization of Truth and life. The disturbed Mind dwells on the surface and has little or no knowledge of absolute reality, therefore cannot understand that something within that is perfect and well at all times. What we realize in the within we express in the without. For this reason, everything that is necessary to our realization of the perfect health within must be fully supplied; and peace is one of these essentials. 

A metaphysical treatment should never begin until we have become absolutely still in Mind and Thought, though this stillness must not simply be a passive stillness. It must be a state wherein you feel very still and very strong. When you feel that the power within is awakened in peace, you are ready to begin. During the treatment, the same peaceful attitude should be maintained, and the feeling of a strong calm should permeate all Thought and effort. 

The attitude of real peace is one that can be cultivated to a very high degree, because it does not consist in simply being quiet. It is a living peace, and since life is boundless this living peace can be deepened, and deepened for an indefinite period; and the greater the peace the greater the power when the power is surely awakened, because to enter that peace that is a living peace is to enter the higher life and the greater power of the Spirit. 

Before we can help anyone through Spiritual and metaphysical means, we must realize a Spiritual oneness between ourselves and those whom we desire to help. We must enter their world, so to speak, and must feel that we are in perfect touch with their inner and true selves. We must be able to Spiritually touch the perfect life within them before we can awaken that life, and it is the awakening of that life that we have in view. The perfect life within is health and wholeness, therefore when the inner life, the life more abundant, takes possession of the person, every phase of sickness or pain must vanish.  

To enter into Spiritual oneness with another Mind, or to produce perfect oneness between the outer life and the inner life in ourselves, love is the secret, because love is Spiritual unity. No one can heal to any extent, or realize the power of the Spirit in himself, unless he loves much; loves everybody, and loves with the whole heart and soul. But in this connection we must remember that pure Spiritual love is not in any way related to ordinary sympathy. Ordinary sympathy sympathizes with sickness and distress, and enters into the world of discord and pain, thereby making evil more real than it previously seemed to be. This, however, is never done through real Spiritual love. This love sympathizes with the Divine in man, and this makes the Divine seem more real and far stronger than it ever seemed before. The result is that the true and the perfect side of man is recognized and accepted as real. 

When man recognizes the Divinity within, he admits Divine qualities into his consciousness; and whatever is admitted into consciousness is expressed in the person. Consequently, by recognizing the Divine that is within us, all that is true, all that is real, all that is wholesome, and all that is perfect in the soul of man will be brought forth into actual, tangible expression. The new life thus enters the body, and as this new life is health, all disease must vanish. When health comes, disease is no more; and health does come whenever the inner life is awakened and expressed. 

The mission of true Spiritual love is therefore very high, and what is more, it is indispensable to this great work. You cannot heal any one without entering into a Spiritual unity with that one's soul life; and this unity is attained only through pure Spiritual love. The love that we speak of is impersonal, a love that can love every creature without effort, and regardless of appearance or present conditions of life. The person, therefore, who has such a love, is a perpetual benediction to everybody, and could heal at any time by simply wishing to do so.  

The necessity of faith in this connection is so evident that nothing need be said as to why we must have faith in order to heal; but a great deal could be said and should be said concerning the real meaning of faith. Faith is not a mere belief, but a gift. It is a high state of Mind that transcends all limitations and discerns the real, the perfect and the good everywhere. Faith knows that all things are possible, because it has the power to see and understand the limitless life and power that is working in man and all about man.  

Faith makes all things possible because it awakens the greater, the larger and the superior in man. No one can fail who has faith, because faith gives to the Mind all the wisdom and all the power that is necessary to realize the object in view. Faith has constantly greater things in store, and keeps the Mind on the verge of higher revelations and more beautiful experiences every day. To have faith is to live on the heights, and to constantly ascend to greater heights. When faith comes, all despair; all discouragement and all disappointments disappear for all time. No dark conditions can remain after faith has taken possession, because faith positively proves to the Mind that all things are possible, that we can accomplish what we have undertaken, that destiny is in our own hands, and that the future is just as bright as we may desire to make it. 

In metaphysical and Spiritual healing, faith is not disturbed about threatening symptoms, because it knows that there is a power at hand that can put to flight all kinds of symptoms and diseases at once. In this conviction faith works, consequently it cannot fail. Faith sees the real man and knows that the real man is well, therefore there is nothing to fear, nothing to cause anxiety or unrest. What we inwardly know, that we become conscious of; and what we become conscious of, that we express in Mind and body. Therefore, to know that the real man is well, is to bring the health and the power of the real man into the personal man; and since faith does know that the real man is well, anyone who has faith will accordingly be healed through faith.  

Spiritual consciousness is the consciousness of the soul, the Divine in man, or that which is created in the image of God. The value of this consciousness, not only in the work of healing and emancipation, but in all important or higher attainments, as well as the further development of man, becomes very evident when we realize that it is only those things that we become conscious of that find expression through us.  

The great truth that man is created in the image and likeness of the Infinite, is the foundation of pure Spiritual metaphysics; and from this great truth we conclude that man is in reality what God is. Not that man is equal with God, because God is infinite while man is individualized; but the same attributes and qualities that exist in the Infinite exist also in man - the real man. To be conscious of the real man, and to know and feel that you yourself are the real man, is to have Spiritual consciousness. 

You are spiritually conscious when you know that you are a Spiritual Being. Many people believe that they have souls; others believe that they are souls; but this is not sufficient. You should actually feel that you are a soul; and this feeling should be based upon actual conscious realization. When you know that you are a Spiritual Being; when you know that you are created in the likeness of God; when you know that you are living in a Spiritual world; when you know that you are one with the Infinite, and that you are in your real Being perfect, good, true and absolutely whole, as God is, then you have attained Spiritual consciousness. This consciousness is not mere intellect, but a realization that is felt and known without the aid of ordinary intellectual processes. It is not something that is arrived at through logical reason, but comes as a special illumination to the Mind that has been developed up to that necessary state. 

When you become fully conscious of your Spiritual nature, you enter into the wholeness, the life, the peace and the power of the Mind. You no longer live in conditions of discord, sickness, weakness or confusion. You have entered the perfect world which permeates everything, and have appropriated all the high states of the perfect world. To believe in the Spirit, and to be conscious of the Spirit, are two wholly different states of Mind. Many depend upon the former, and depend in vain. It is the latter that we must secure. 

To be conscious of the Spirit is to be in the Spirit; and to be in the Spirit is to be in peace, health and power, because the Spirit is peace, health and power. When you attain Spiritual consciousness, you know that you are one with the Infinite, and to know this is surely the greatest thing in the world. To know that you live, and move, and have your Being in the Supreme; that you are so near to God that God is closer than breathing; to know that you are inseparable from God; and that you shall never, never be separated from His life or presence, but continue to be one with Him through all eternity - to know this is to know that which is greater than all other things in the world. It is a Thought too beautiful for tongue to ever describe, and many believe this Thought because it is so beautiful; but when you enter Spiritual consciousness you will absolutely know that this Thought is the Truth; and that realization alone should be sufficient to inspire every Mind to seek the Spiritual heights this very day. 

The value of Spiritual consciousness in healing is found in its power to illuminate the Mind with the light of real Truth, and thus reveal man to himself. The average man looks upon the body and calls that himself. He looks upon the beliefs and the opinions that he has inherited and calls them his light and his understanding. The result is the blind leading the blind, mental illusions and false beliefs creating more illusions and false beliefs, and thus perpetuating discord, sickness and failure.  

When Spiritual consciousness comes, man discovers that he is not the body or the Mind, but that he is an eternal soul, a Spiritual Being, the exact likeness of the Infinite. He discovers that he is neither sick, nor weak, nor depraved, but that he has in the reality of his Being the purity of God, the health of God, the power of God, the light of God. He finds that though he is manifesting himself in a visible Universe, he is actually living in a Spiritual Universe; and he learns that this Spiritual Universe is the kingdom of heaven that is within everybody and within everything. In other words, it is God's own true world, where all is well - always well.  

When man discovers that he is actually living now in a Spiritual world where everything is perfect and absolutely good, he realizes that everything must be well with him; and this is the Truth that can make him free. When man becomes conscious of the great Truth that all is well with him now because he is the image of God, and is living in God's world, where all is well, the counteracting evidences of the senses must be dealt with. The real and the seeming frequently contradict each other. At any rate, they seem to do so; and to establish perfect peace throughout the system, harmony between the without and the within must be secured.  

This requires a clear understanding of Truth, both Spiritual and intellectual, because what is true to Spiritual consciousness must be true to objective reason; and it will be true to objective reason when the Mind can see Truth so clearly that a perfect and immediate discrimination between the true and the false is made possible. When we see the Truth clearly, the light of Truth so fills the Mind that there is no room for darkness. Even reason becomes illumined, accepting conclusively what the Spirit has to reveal. 

One of the greatest essentials in securing emancipation for the personal man is to be able to prove to the senses and the outer Mind that the real man is well, because as soon as the outer man receives this Truth there will be nothing to perpetuate disease. Disease and discord can live in the human system only so long as we continue to recognize their existence. Disease does not exist by itself or from itself. It is an effect; and the underlying cause of disease is the belief that man is a material Being, subject to all kinds of ills. 

Therefore, when it is demonstrated through the intellect, and to every phase of consciousness, that man is a Spiritual Being, and that he is always absolutely well, the outer Mind will no longer create false beliefs; and when false beliefs cease to be, the effect of false belief, that is, disease, must also cease to be.   

False beliefs, created by the outer Mind, are the causes of the conditions of disease that fill the body; consequently, when the outer Mind discerns the Truth, that the real man is well, false beliefs about man will no longer be created. The result is that the cause of disease is taken away, and therefore the disease itself must of necessity disappear also. 

It has been said that the senses must be blinded if we are to see pure Spiritual Truth, and that reason must be held in abeyance when we try to comprehend the reality of the Spirit; but this is not true. The physical senses can be trained to work in harmony with the Spiritual senses and reason can be educated to corroborate the revelations of Spiritual consciousness.  

The Universe is one with many parts but within each part we find Spirit; - pure, perfect, eternal Spirit. The Being of man is one with many parts and all parts are necessary to each other, and each part has a Spiritual basis. When all the faculties of man are trained to function properly, they will all work together to demonstrate the one Truth. The Spiritual faculties will recognize the physical side of all things, and the physical faculties will be able to demonstrate the reality of the Spiritual side of all things. This is the true harmony of Being, when all parts of being work together for the larger life and the greater good. 

The senses should not work against the Spirit; neither should we imagine that the senses are nothing in the eyes of the Spirit. When the senses refuse to recognize the Spirit they are not properly trained; and that reason that cannot logically demonstrate the existence of the Spirit lacks true cultivation. 

In the understanding of the Truth, therefore, three things are implied: First, to know the real, that which is eternal and absolutely perfect; second, to know the nature and the exact purpose of the temporal; and third, to know the Law through which the within and the without may work as one for the greater good of man. 

To combine these three essentials in the understanding of Truth may seem to be an undertaking too large for the average Mind; but it is very simple, and when it is accomplished, man's entire world is illumined. Everything becomes clear, for he can see things as they are. To see things as they are in themselves is to know the Truth; and to know the Truth is to gain freedom, harmony, health and peace.  

To simplify the understanding of Truth we should base all Thought upon the statement that man is a Spiritual Being, created in the likeness of the Infinite, and that every part of the Mind and body of man is created for the purpose of perpetually unfolding the Divine qualities and attributes that are inherent in the Spirit of man. By realizing that man himself is perfect, absolutely good, and every way whole, all Thought will be the Thought of Truth, and will produce only true conditions in the life of man.  

By trying to unite all the senses and faculties, physical and Spiritual, upon the one purpose of building a larger life, complete harmony will be established throughout the human entity, and the within and the without will become as one. The result will not only be perfect health and wholeness to body and Mind, but also the unfolding of a greater and more beautiful soul.   

The Magnetic Power Of Your Mind

Our Mind is immensely powerful. Just like a magnet attracts some and repels some objects, our Minds too have similar characteristics. You can confirm this by examining the people around you. They pass through some common and some dissimilar circumstance and events. Some of these events or tasks can be completed by some of them easily and some find it extremely tough to accomplish those tasks.  

Our Mind is nothing but a generator of Thoughts. These Thoughts become magnets and send out magnetic currents. Any action or idea will be perceived by you as you see and think about it. The more optimistic you are, the event becomes good for you. On the contrary, if you develop a negative attitude, you are sure to attract negative things into your life.  

The more you think about a certain issue, the higher are the chances that they will get attracted into your life. Having said that, it does not mean that all you think will become real. Thoughts need a particular strength to materialize. Weak magnets do not attract much, and so do weak Thoughts.  

All of us aware about the fact the magnet can attract metals. The stronger and bigger the magnet, the bigger objects get attracted. Another characteristic typical of magnets is that while one side attracts, it can repel objects too.  

Attraction, is an unbiased or neutral power. The magnet attracts everything that is iron, irrespective of whether it is useful or not. Same is the case with our Mind and Thoughts. Be positive and optimistic if you want good things happen in your life, and if you act otherwise you are sure to end up with a lot of negative things in your life.  

Like I mentioned earlier, our Brains are like magnets. If they can attract, they can repel too. Any negative Thoughts like incompetence, fear, inferiority complex, self-doubt will drive a lot of good things away from your life.  

You can definitely train your Brain to have positive energy. Concentration, passion and belief are some of the tools you can use and apply to charge up your Brain with positive Thoughts and energy.  

For many, powering up Mind becomes a constant activity. They are not even aware that their Minds are charging up. It becomes so much part of their daily routine. You just have to know the correct method and you too can empower your Brain so as to change your life in a positive way.  

There are many techniques you can try out to empower your Mind. Visualization, passion, repeating Thoughts, focusing on Thoughts are some. Whatever you think, they get transmitted and may match waves transmitted by other people. This may lead to collaboration between you and people who have Thoughts similar to yours. You will find numerous opportunities that come up your way. You will find such experiences very positive and will boost your confidence a lot.  

Isn't it prudent to channel your Thoughts to be positive and beneficial to you. This will make positive things get attracted into your life. Believe me, your Mind has a lot of untapped magnetic power which you can utilize to attract positive people, circumstances and opportunities into your life.  

The basic rule is pretty simple. Whatever you think about with great desire and focus will invariably get attracted to you. It may something Spiritual or materialistic, but it will come into your life. The power of concentration is Omnipresent and applicable to all. It is one of the prime sources due to which our world exists today. 

THOUGHT CULTURE by Swami Sivananda

This is also another vital subject. Very few people know this art or science. Even the so-called educated people are unaware of this fundamental education. All have random thinking. All sorts of loose Thoughts of diverse kinds come and go in the mental factory. There is neither order nor harmony. There is neither rhythm nor reasoning. There is neither concord nor organized working. There is neither system nor discipline. All is in utter chaos and confusion. There is no clarification of ideas. You cannot think of one subject even for two minutes in an orderly and systematic manner. You have no understanding of the Laws of Thought and the Laws of the mental plane. There is a perfect menagerie inside. All sorts of sensual Thoughts fight amongst themselves to enter the Mind of a sensualist and gain the upper hand. The eye Indriya struggles to bring its own Thoughts. It wants to have sight-seeing. The ear Indriya wants to hear radio music, and so on. In the vast majority of persons, only base Thoughts, lustful Thoughts, Thoughts of hatred, jealousy and fear, exist. They cannot entertain a single sublime Divine Thought even for a second. Their Minds are so framed that the mental energy runs into sensual grooves.  

Every man has got his own mental world, his own mode of thinking, his own ways of understanding things, and his own ways of acting. Just as the face and voice of every man differ from those of another man, the mode of thinking and understanding also differs. That is the reason why misunderstanding easily occurs between friends. One is not able to understand rightly the views of another. Hence friction, rupture and quarrel occur within a minute even amongst fast friends. The friendship does not last long. One should be in tune with the mental vibrations or Thought vibrations of another man. Then only one can easily understand another. Lustful Thoughts, Thoughts of hatred, jealousy and selfishness, produce distorted images in the Mind and cause clouding of understanding, perversion of intellect, loss of memory, and confusion in the Mind. 

Every Thought has got image, form, dimension, weight, shape, colour, etc. Thought is as much matter as a piece of stone. Thought moves, and passes from one man to another. Thought influences people. A man of powerful Thought can influence readily people of weak Thoughts. Telepathy is a branch of occult science wherein the Yogi can transmit messages to any man in any part of the world. Telepathy is the first telegraphic or telephonic system in this world, known to Yogins and occultists of ancient days.  

A Thought of anger or hatred sends arrows from the mental factory towards the person aimed at, harms the individual, sets up discord and disharmony in the Thought-world, and comes back again to the sender and harms the sender also. If one can understand the effect and power of Thought, he will be very careful in the manufacture of his Thoughts in his mental laboratory. One should develop the faculty of producing only pure Sattvic Thoughts by protracted mental discipline, dietetic adjustments, repetition of good Slokas with meaning, good company, study of Divine books, Japa, meditation, Pranayama, prayer, etc. A good man can help his friend, even though he lives at a long distance, by good Thoughts. You must not allow any evil Thought to enter your mental factory. Watch always your Thoughts. Avoid useless and base thinking, and reserve or conserve your mental energy. Energy is wasted in idle thinking.  

Keep yourself always occupied in doing virtuous actions and the study of religious books. You can thereby cultivate good and sublime Thoughts. Destroy random thinking. Take a subject, and think on its different aspects and bearings. When you think so on one subject, never allow any other Thought to enter the Conscious Mind. Again withdraw the Mind to the subject on hand. Take for instance: you begin to think on the life and teachings of Jadadguru Adi Sankaracharya. Think of his birthplace, his early life, his character, his personality, his virtues, his preachings, his writings, his philosophy, some of the important utterings in his works or Slokas, the Siddhis that he exhibited from time to time, his Digvijaya, his four disciples, his four Maths, his commentary on the Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Think of these items one by one, in order. Exhaust them. Again and again bring the Mind to the point. Then take up another subject. By this practice, you will develop organized thinking. The mental images will gain intense strength and force. They will become clear-cut and well-defined. In ordinary persons, the mental images are distorted and undefined. Every Thought has got an image. A table is a mental image plus some external something. Whatever you see outside has got its counterpart in the Mind. The pupil is a small round thing in the eye. Retina is a small structure. How is it that the image of a big mountain seen through a small aperture or structure is cast on the Mind? How does the big form of a mountain enter a tiny hole in the eye? This is a Marvel of marvels. The image of a mountain already exists in the Mind. The Mind is like a big, vast sheet of canvas cloth that contains all the pictures of the objects seen outside.  

You must have a knowledge of the Mental Laws, viz., the Law of Association, the Law of Relativity, and the Law of Contiguity. Then you can develop Thought-culture very easily. You can remember things through the "Law of Association". Brahmacharya and pure Sattvic diet are essential for Thought-culture. Get up at 4a.m. Sit on Virasana or Padmasana or Siddhasana. Repeat your Mantra-Om or Ram or Hari-Om for ten minutes, and then practice Thought-culture. Have another sitting at night. When you think on one subject, do not allow other Thoughts to enter. When you think of rose, think of the different kinds of roses only. Do not allow other Thoughts to enter. When you think of mercy, think of mercy and mercy only. Do not think of forgiveness and tolerance. When you study the Gita, do not think of tea or a cricket match. Be wholly occupied on the subject on hand. 

Napoleon controlled his Thoughts in this manner: "When I want to think of things more pleasant, I close up the cupboards of my Mind revealing the more unpleasant things of life, and open up the cupboards containing the more pleasant Thoughts. If I want to sleep, I close up all cupboards of my Mind!". 

Thought is both force and motion. Thought is dynamic. Thoughts move. There are various kinds of Thoughts. There are instinctive Thoughts. There are visual Thoughts. There are auditory Thoughts (thinking in terms of hearing). There are symbolic Thoughts (thinking in terms of symbols). Some Thoughts are habitual. There are kinaesthetic Thoughts (thinking in terms of movement, as in playing a game). There are emotional Thoughts. If there is mental fatigue, the processes of Thought change from visual to auditory, and from auditory to kinaesthetic. There is intimate connection between thinking and respiration, as there is close relation between Mind and Prana. Where the Mind is concentrated, breathing becomes slow. If one thinks fast, the respiration also becomes fast. There is a Thought-reading machine, known as psychograph, which registers correctly the type of Thoughts. 

Spiritual Life - A Perspective

Most significant journeys in a human life begin at a certain point at which the person recognizes the need to undertake the journey, assesses his or her available resources and accounts for the possible difficulties as well as the potential rewards. The journey into the Spiritual life can sometimes begin in mysterious ways. A profound thought may suddenly appear in the Mind, one may read a great book, a stunning sight in nature may strike one dumb with awe, an insightful comment from a friend may touch a part in the person that had never been previously reached, meeting with a great Saint or a word of wisdom from them may occur, a meaningful glance, a bit of inspiring music - any number of apparently random things can get a person thinking about the ultimate meaning of life.  

The true Spiritual path is an attempt to seek out and find definitive and non-relative ideals. The sections that follow are meant to serve as a possible catalyst that can spur a person to begin the Spiritual journey. The first section is, "What is the Spiritual Life?" and introduces a beginner to the psychological, social and personal circumstances that help lead a person to search for meaning. The second section is "Spiritual Practices", and various practical approaches to the Spiritual life are suggested and explained. The third section is "Suggested Books", and some reading material from Swami Sivananda, Swami Chidananda, Swami Krishnananda and Swami Venkatesananda is described for the benefit of the interested reader.  

Source:- The Divine Life Society 

CHAPTER 12 - Thought-Power For A New Civilization

Pure Thoughts - Their Impact On The World 

The western psychologists and occultists lay great emphasis and stress on the purity of Thoughts. Thought-culture is an exact Science. One should cultivate right thinking and should drive out all sorts of vain and worldly Thoughts.  

He who entertains evil Thoughts causes great harm unto himself and to the world at large. He pollutes the Thought-world. His evil Thoughts enter the Minds of others who live at a long distance, because Thought moves with a tremendous lightning speed.  

Evil Thoughts are the direct cause for all sorts of diseases. All diseases take their origin at first from an impure Thought. He who entertains good, sublime and Divine Thoughts does immerse good unto himself and to the world also. He can radiate joy, hope, solace and peace to his friends who live at a distance.  

Thought-Power For World-Weal  

Karma is action and also the Law of Cause and Effect. All kingdoms below the human kingdom are "Mindless". Therefore, they cannot generate Thoughts. Further they have no idea of right and wrong, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done and so they cannot create Karma. 

Thoughts are solid things, more solid than a lump of sugar-candy. They have tremendous force or power. Utilize this Thought power carefully. It can serve you nicely in a variety of ways. But do not misuse this power at random. If you misuse this power, you will have quick downfall or a terrible reaction. Utilize it to help others.  

Thought Power For Cultivation Of Courage And Love 

Destroy ruthlessly the fear-Thoughts, selfish Thoughts, the hate-Thoughts, lustful Thoughts, and other morbid negative Thoughts. These evil Thoughts induce weakness, disease, disharmony, depression and despair.  

Cultivate positive Thoughts such as mercy, courage, love and purity. The negative Thoughts will die by themselves. Try this and feel your strength. Pure Thoughts will infuse in you a new exalted life. 

Sublime Divine Thoughts produce tremendous influence in the Mind and drive away evil Thoughts and change the mental substance. Mind is wholly changed into light by entertaining Divine Thoughts.  

Thought Power For An Ideal Life 

Entertain loftiest Thoughts. Your character will be exalted. Your life will be noble and ideal.  

But, different people have different mental backgrounds. People vary in their capacities, mental and intellectual, and in physical and mental strength to do things. Therefore each of you should have an ideal which is suited to your temperament, your capacity, and realize it with great enthusiasm and dynamic action.  

The ideal of one person will not suit another. If one keeps an ideal that he cannot realize, an ideal that is beyond his reach and capacity, he will get disappointment. He will give up this effort and become Tamasic.  

You should have your own ideal. You may realize it this moment or after ten years with faltering steps. It does not matter much. Everyone should endeavour his or her level best to live up to this ideal. Your whole energy, nerve-force and will must be put in the realization of this ideal.  

You can chalk out your own ideal yourself according to your own standard. If you are unable to do this, have your guide and he will select for you the ideal that is suitable to your capacity and standard.  

One should not treat a man, who has a low ideal, with contempt. He may be a baby-soul, who is just crawling now in his moral or Spiritual path. Your duty is to help him in all possible ways in the realization or accomplishment of his ideal. You should give him all sorts of encouragement in his sincere endeavour to live up to his own highest ideal.  

It is highly deplorable to note that the vast majority of persons have no ideal at all. Even educated persons do not cherish any ideal. They lead an aimless life and therefore are drifted hither and thither like a piece of straw.  

They make no progress in life. Is this not a very sad plight? Highly lamentable indeed! It is very difficult to get a human birth and yet people do not realize the importance of keeping up an ideal and living up to the ideal.  

The idea of "Eat, drink and be merry", is adopted by the Epicureans, the gluttons and rich people. This school of Thoughts has countless followers and the number is increasing by leaps and bounds daily.  

This is the ideal of Virochana. This is the ideal of Asuras and Rakshasas. This ideal will lead a man to the dark region of misery and sorrow.  

Blessed is the man who elevates his Thoughts, keeps up an ideal and struggles hard to live up to his own ideal, for he will soon attain God-consciousness.  

Thought-Energy For Service And Spiritual Progress 

Even as energy is wasted in idle talk and gossiping, so also energy is wasted in entertaining useless Thoughts. Therefore, you should not waste even a single Thought. Do not waste even an iota of energy in useless thinking.  

Conserve all mental energy. Utilize it for higher Spiritual purposes, in Divine contemplation, Brahma-Chintana and Brahma-Vichara. Conserve all Thought-energy and utilize it for meditation and helpful service to humanity.  

Drive away from your Mind all unnecessary, useless and obnoxious Thoughts. Useless Thoughts impede your Spiritual growth; obnoxious Thoughts are stumbling blocks to Spiritual advancement.  

You are away from God when you entertain useless Thoughts. Substitute Thoughts of God. Entertain only Thoughts that are helpful and useful.  

Useful Thoughts are the stepping-stones to Spiritual growth and progress. Do not allow the Mind to run into the old grooves and have its own ways and habits. Be on the careful watch.  

Help The World By Good Thoughts 

Like attracts like. If you entertain an evil Thought, that Thought attracts all sorts of evil Thoughts from other people. You pass on those Thoughts to others also.  

Thought moves. Thought is a living dynamic force. Thought is a thing. If you allow your Mind to dwell on a sublime Thought, this Thought will attract good Thoughts from others. 

You pass on that good Thought to others. You pollute the world with your bad Thoughts. 

Thought-Power And The Conditions Of A New Civilization  

Thought makes man. Man makes civilization. There is a powerful Thought-force behind every great event in life and in the history of the world.  

Behind all discoveries and inventions, behind all religions and philosophies, behind all life-saving or life-destroying devices is Thought.  

Thought is expressed in words and executed in deeds. Word is the handmaid of Thought, and deed is the end-result. Hence, the saying, "As you think, so you become". 

How to build a new civilization? 

By generating a new Thought-force.  

How to build a civilization that will ensure the peace of mankind, the prosperity of society, the salvation of the individual?  

By generating a Thought-force that will invariably result in man enjoying peace of Mind, that will instill in his heart the Divine virtues of compassion, of service to his fellow-men, love of God, and of an intense desire to realize Him. 

If but a fraction of the wealth and the time spent on wasteful pursuits and destructive activities is devoted to the creation of a GOOD THOUGHT, there will be a new civilization right now.  

Atomic and hydrogen bombs, I.C.B.M. and a host of other inventions drive mankind inevitably to destruction.  

They waste your wealth; they destroy your neighbours; they pollute the atmosphere of the whole world, and generate fear, hatred, and suspicion in your heart, the Mind is unbalanced and the body is subjected to diseases. Stop this trend.   

Promote research in Spirituality, in religion, in all the good things of life. Support the philosophers and Saints - the real benefactors of Mankind. Encourage them in their study of religion, researches in ancient Spiritual literature, and the projection of a great Thought-force for the good.  

Ban all literature that pollutes the Thoughts of the young. Flood the young Brain with healthy Thoughts, ideas and ideals.  

The man who commits murder, the man who steals your purse, the man who cheats you - Law punishes him. But this crime is insignificant when compared to the crime committed by the wicked intellectual who instills a wicked idea into the Mind of youth.  

He is the author of many murders that take place on earth; he steals your greatest wealth, viz., wisdom; he cheats you by presenting you with poison in the name of sweet elixir. The Law of the new civilization will deal very severely with such Asuric Beings.  

The new civilization will give every encouragement to those who wish to study philosophy, religion and Spiritual Thought. It will make their study compulsory in schools and colleges. It will award scholarships to students of philosophy. It will confer prizes and titles on those who conduct researches in religion and philosophy. The deepest urge in man - the Spiritual urge - will be given the fullest scope to realize its goal.  

The fruits of the New Civilization are well-worth all that everybody can do towards building it up. In the New Civilization man will want to lead a righteous life, he will be eager to serve his fellow-Beings and share with them what he has; he will love all, realizing that his own Self dwells in all; he will be devoted to the welfare of all Beings.  

What an ideal society it will be, where people share with others all that they possess, and will serve everybody! Where will be the need for taxes and duties in such a society in which everyone will voluntarily work for all? Where is the need for police and the army when people are devoted to virtue? 

This then is the ideal. Towards this end, let everyone strive to generate a Thought-force.

May God bless you all! 


Other Chapters Of THOUGHT-POWER By Sri Swami Sivananda:- 

Chapter 1: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-1-thought-power-its-physics-and.html

Chapter 2: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-2-thought-power-its-laws-and.html

Chapter 3: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-3-value-and-uses-of-thought.html

Chapter 4: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-4-functions-of-thought-power.html

Chapter 5: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-5-development-of-thought-power.html

Chapter 6: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-6-thought-their-varities-and.html

Chapter 7: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-7-positive-methods-for-thought.html

Chapter 8: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-8-patterns-of-thought-culture.html

Chapter 9: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-9-from-thoughts-to-thought.html

Chapter 10: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2013/12/chapter-10-metaphysics-of-thought-power.html

Chapter 11: http://mhafyz.blogspot.com/2014/01/chapter-11-thought-power-for-god.html