想人之所不敢想，成人之所不能成
通過前２０課的學習，我們已經基本了解了作為自然法則的潛能的特性。從本課開始的後四節當中，你將會在此基礎之上更上一層樓，學到如何在現實生活中通過積極思考去獲得靈感，以期獲得大智大慧，成就你最大的理想。
事實上一切曾在我們的意識中出現過的想法，都會在我們的潛意識中留下印跡，這種印跡被長期地貯存於我們的大腦中並逐漸形成其固有的運行模式，也正是借助於這種“運行模式”，我們可以創造性地解決生活中的一切問題。
- 緊隨宇宙精神的本質
當我們意識到宇宙精神能給我們帶來巨大的力量時，我們唯一要做的就是讓自己與宇宙精神保持和諧統一。讓你的潛意識緊隨宇宙精神的實質，就一定會使自己從局限、禁錮中解脫出來，並獲得可望可及的自由。
- 從潛意識中獲取力量
- 宇宙精神與我們同在
- 汲取宇宙精神的精華
- 從對宇宙精神的領悟中得到重生
成功者並非不會遇到困難，隻不過，與普通人不同，在遇到困難時，他們能夠依靠自己強大的精神力量，從困境中獲得重生。一個人精神力量的大小則取決於他對宇宙力量法則的認知與感悟。所以，當我們學會將自身的思想與宇宙精神高度一致協調起來時，我們就會從中獲得最強有力的能量去改造內心與外部的世界。
- 宏大的理念會摧毀渺小
如何在學習運用精神力量的路途中把握正確方向，以保證自己不被不良傾向所引誘？在精神的領域中有這樣一種法則，即宏大的理念可以瓦解、抵消，甚至摧毀渺小的理念。這個法則可以幫助我們清除前進路途中的種種怯懦的想法，得以進入更加開闊的思想領域之中。廣闊的思想就象是大海中的燈塔，會指引我們看到比以往更高更遠的人生目標。
- 對任何事物精神力量都可以應對自如
精神世界具有最強大的創造性，這使我們可以獲得內心向往的任何勝利與成功。一旦發掘了自身的潛能，就會擁有無以倫比的智慧與強大的能力，眼界更為開闊，胸懷更為寬廣。精神的能量也變得更加深不可測，無論你麵對的敵人有多麽強悍，精神的力量都能夠應對自如。
- 潛意識中的能量
我們必須意識到並且發掘潛意識中的能量，否則我們就會置手邊的一座金山不顧，卻向別人乞討。
- 要有正確的思維方式
必須擁有正確而又科學的思維方式，才能夠確保我們在現實中得到正確的結果。
- 精神決定生活
當思考的結果印記並留存於我們的頭腦之中，它就會引發我們的性格、能力、興趣等內部心理過程，以及行為、創造、努力等外部行為過程，最終這些內部心理過程與外部行為過程都會指向同一個目標，那就是我們的人生、生活。所以說精神決定生活，生活決定於精神。
- 引力法則
我們有什麽樣的心態，就有可能招引什麽樣的外部境遇，這就是“引力法則”，它對於我們的思想與生活的影響遠遠超出我們的想象。
- 改變自己的性格
如果我們希望將自己的人生加以改變，那麽最簡單可行的方法是將我們內心的思想加以改變。我們這種方法稱為“改變性格”。別忘了我們已經掌握的那條自然真理“思想決定存在”，來源於我們頭腦中的思想，在其發生改變以後，自然會改變我們身邊的的所有人、事物與環境。
- 不懈的努力
然而改變自身性格之路並非輕而易舉，隻有通過不懈的努力才有可能得以實現。當我們受到阻力時，就需要運用冥想的藝術來援助自己，即用積極的、令自己興奮的願景取代那些消極的、讓自己感到沮喪的願望，然後潛意識就會被激發，我們又重新充滿力量。
- 貯存精神的能量
在冥想內心的願望的同時，請不要忘記把要實現這些願景時所必須具備的決心、才華、勇氣、智慧、力量等精神要素一並貯存，把它們一並放在你的內心深處，因為這些圖像所必不可少的因素會更加容易地將你的精神與理性完全融合和對接，賦予頭腦中的精神圖像以勃勃生機。
- 擁有足夠的自信
隻要想到世界之真理已經在我們的手中，宇宙之能量就在我們的潛意識當中，就沒有任何理由再讓猶豫、遲疑、焦慮等等消極的觀念逗留在我們的思想當中。當我們追求自己的目標時，請相信自己完全可以達到理想中的最高境界，因為此時你已經被賦予了最強大的力量的支持，完全有能力應付眼前的一切。當你堅定不移地向著最高目標而努力，精神的能量就一定會把最高理想的新娘迎娶到你的家中。同時，如果我們努力避免壞習慣，也會使我們自然地從中解脫。雖然努力實踐的過程並非總是一帆風順，但是“付出必然有所得”，這個堅定的法則會帶領我們走每一個困境。
- 大膽地去實踐
既然已經掌握了最真的真理，那麽，就不必再猶豫，為這條真理歡欣鼓舞，然後放心大膽地去實踐它！一切皆有可能，即使是最頑劣的兒童也可以被重新塑造，即使是最不可能實現的理想，也會成為現實。
- 堅定的信念
人的生命曆程並非坦途，有些人會被客觀世界所輕易地影響和改變，如若不依靠堅定的信念，思想本身就會受到眾多阻難。為此，我們必須要讓積極的、有建設性的思想同消極、負麵的想法不斷鬥爭，直至創造性的力量壓倒那些淺薄、目光短淺的負麵想法時，那時你就會獲得最執著的信念、最無與倫比的勇氣和最大的力量。
- 成功的先驅者
與那些消極應對生活的人不同的是，鍥而不舍的科學家、企業家和政治家們不會隻關注以往的經驗而不去開拓自身的力量與潛能。
- 創造者與循規蹈矩者
在追求更高生命意義的道路上，人們隻有一個選擇：逆水行舟，不進則退。生活最終將以嚴格的評判標準將人類區分為兩種：運用創造性思維奮力拚搏的追求者，與循規蹈矩、從不改變自我的保守者。對於變化萬千的世界，不努力進取，就隻能夠是原地踏步，甚至是後退。隻有這兩種選擇，非此則彼。
- 改變自己
每一天、每一分鍾世界都在發生著改變。那些麵對平庸的生活的人們，他們的苦悶、壓抑感越來越高，一種企圖改變、重塑自己的生活狀態的願望正如星星之火，以燎原之勢在他們的內心洶湧而來。
- 守舊者們
那些仍固守於舊秩序、舊世界的衛道士們正在新時代的黎明前，一方麵互相安慰，大肆談論固有生活的安定與完美，另一方麵卻焦躁不安，生怕即將到來的新世界會打碎他們的固有生活。他們將已經展現於眼前的未來趨勢掩耳盜鈴地置於腦後，對於新思維、新體製的恐懼使他們畏縮不前。
- 諸多社會問題將得到改善
人類智慧的不斷發展將帶來對宇宙本性認識的發展與更新。隨著人們的智慧的增加，並將它應用於人類的生存體製之中，諸多社會問題皆會因炎得到解決和改善。社會將會變得越來越尊重個體的創造與發明，而極少數人對整個社會的控製或特權將會一去不複返。
- 擁有最大限度的自由
因為與宇宙精神的一致，在本質上，人的創造力或行動力都擁有最大程度的自由，這種自由神聖而不可侵犯，也絕不允許舊有秩序的衛道士們打著各種幌子繼續其罪惡。
- 公正、強大的宇宙精神
當人們真正體悟到宇宙精神，並能夠將自己與其保持高度一致，就必將會得到它偏愛與眷顧，人類所向往的最高理想也都會變為現實。但宇宙精神有其自身的稟性，它是公正的、強大的、可信賴的。
本課重點
１、力量從何而來？
——來源於宇宙精神，萬物由此產生。
２、這種力量通過什麽方式得以顯現？
——人類個體是它彰顯自身的支流。
３、怎樣才能使自己與這種“全能力量”和諧統一？
——通過思考我們就可以領悟、掌握宇宙精神的法則，通過我們的行動可以在現實世界中彰顯宇宙精神的強大力量。
４、這一發現意味著什麽？
——意味著一個偉大的奇跡，它向我們們展開了前所未有、無窮無盡的機遇。
５、我們怎樣使不良的境遇得到改善？
——通過自我的內在精神與宇宙精神力量的高度統一。
６、偉大的先知先覺的創造者們與大多數人所異於何？
——他們總是思考大的理念，借此將內心中渺小而卑微的觀念消除、摧毀。
７、為什麽要改變自己的性格？
——如果我們希望將自己的人生加以改變，那麽最簡單可行的方法就將我們內心的思想加以改變。我們這種方法稱為“改變性格”。
８、創造者與循規蹈矩者的不同是什麽？
——前者會努力進取，實現心中的願景，後者會原地踏步，甚至是後退。
９、新舊體製之間有哪些區別？
——區別在於對宇宙本質的理解與認識。舊體製借助“神的選擇”控製眾生，新體製強調人類神性的一麵，確認人的自由與民主。
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Part Twenty-One
It is my privilege to enclose Part Twenty-One. In paragraph 7 you will find that one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master Mind is to think big thoughts.
In paragraph 8 you will find that everything which we hold in our consciousness for any length of time becomes impressed upon our subconsciousness and so becomes a pattern which the creative energy will wave into our life and environment. This is the secret of the wonderful power of prayer.
We know that the universe is governed by law; that for every effect there must be a cause, and that the same cause, under the same conditions, will invariably produce the same effect.
Consequently, if prayer has ever been answered, it will always be answered, if the proper conditions are complied with. This must necessarily be true; otherwise the universe would be a chaos instead of a cosmos. The answer to prayer is therefore subject to law, and this law is definite, exact and scientific, just as are the laws governing gravitation and electricity. An understanding of this law takes the foundation of Christianity out of the realm of superstition and credulity and places it upon the firm rock of scientific understanding.
But, unfortunately, there are comparatively few persons who know how to pray.
They understand that there are laws governing electricity, mathematics, and chemistry, but, for some inexplicable reason, it never seems to occur to them that there are also spiritual laws, and that these laws are also definite, scientific, exact, and operate with immutable precision.
PART TWENTY-ONE
1. The real secret of power is consciousness of power. The Universal Mind is unconditional; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional. We have become free!
2. As soon as we become conscious of the inexhaustible power in the world within, we begin to draw on this power and apply and develop the greater possibilities which this discernment has realized, because whatever we become conscious of, is invariably manifested in the objective world, is brought forth into tangible expression.
3. This is because the Infinite Mind, which is the source from which all things proceed, is one and indivisible, and each individual is a channel whereby this Eternal Energy is being manifested. Our ability to think is our ability to act upon this Universal Substance, and what we think is what is created or produced in the objective world.
4. The result of this discovery is nothing less than marvelous, and means that mind is extraordinary in quality, limitless in quantity, and contains possibilities without number. To become conscious of this power is to become a "live wire"; it has the same effect as placing an ordinary wire in contact with a wire that is charged. The Universal is the live wire. It carries power sufficient to meet every situation which may arise in the life of every individual. When the individual mind touches the Universal Mind it receives all the power it requires. This is the world within. All science recognizes the reality of this world, and all power is contingent upon our recognition of this world.
5. The ability to eliminate imperfect conditions depends upon mental action, and mental action depends upon consciousness of power; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with the source of all power, the greater will be our power to control and master every condition.
6. Large ideas have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas so that it is well to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small or undesirable tendencies. This will remove innumerable petty and annoying obstacles from your path. You also become conscious of a larger world of thought, thereby increasing your mental capacity as well as placing yourself in position to accomplish something of value.
7. This is one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master-Mind. He thinks big thoughts. The creative energies of mind find no more difficulty in handling large situations, than small ones. Mind is just as much present in the Infinitely large as in the Infinitely small.
8. When we realize these facts concerning mind we understand how we may bring ourselves any condition by creating the corresponding conditions in our consciousness, because everything which is held for any length of time in the consciousness, eventually becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern which the creative energy will wave into the life and environment of the individual.
9. In this way conditions are produced and we find that our lives are simply the reflection of our predominant thoughts, our mental attitude; we see then that the science of correct thinking is the one science, that it includes all other sciences.
10. From this science we learn that every thought creates an impression on the brain, that these impressions create mental tendencies, and these tendencies create character, ability and purpose, and that the combined action of character, ability and purpose determines the experiences with which we shall meet in life.
11. These experiences come to us through the Law of Attraction; through the action of this law we meet in the world without the experiences which correspond to our world within.
12. The predominant thought or the mental attitude is the magnet, and the law is that "like attracts like", consequently the mental attitude will invariably attract such conditions as correspond to its nature.
13. This mental attitude is our personality and is composed of the thoughts which we have been creating in our own mind; therefore, if we wish a change in conditions all that is necessary is to change our thought; this will in turn change our mental attitude, which will in turn change our personality, which will in turn change the persons, things and conditions, or, the experiences with which we meet in life.
14. It is, however, no easy matter to change the mental attitude, but by persistent effort it may be accomplished; the mental attitude is patterned after the mental pictures which have been photographed on the brain; if you do not like the pictures, destroy the negatives and create new pictures; this is the art of visualization.
15. As soon as you have done this you will begin to attract new things, and the new things will correspond to the new pictures. To do this: impress on the mind a perfect picture of the desire which you wish to have objectified and continue to hold the picture in mind until results are obtained.
16. If the desire is one which requires determination, ability, talent, courage, power or any other spiritual power, these are necessary essentials for your picture; build them in; they are the vital part of the picture; they are the feeling which combines with thought and creates the irresistible magnetic power which draws the things you require to you. They give your picture life, and life means growth, and as soon as it beings to grow, the result is practically assured.
17. Do not hesitate to aspire to the highest possible attainments in anything you may undertake, for the mind forces are ever ready to lend themselves to a purposeful will in the effort to crystallize its highest aspirations into acts, accomplishments, and events.
18. An illustration of how these mind forces operate is suggested by the method in which all our habits are formed. We do a thing, then do it again, and again, and again, until it becomes easy and perhaps almost automatic; and the same rule applies in breaking any and all bad habits; we stop doing a thing, and then avoid it again, and again until we are entirely free from it; and if we do fail now and then, we should by no means lose hope, for the law is absolute and invincible and gives us credit for every effort and every success, even though our efforts and successes are perhaps intermittent.
19. There is no limit to what this law can do for you; dare to believe in your own idea; remember that Nature is plastic to the ideal; think of the ideal as an already accomplished fact.
20. The real battle of life is one of ideas; it is being fought out by the few against the many; on the one side is the constructive and creative thought, on the other side the destructive and negative thought; the creative thought is dominated by an ideal, the passive thought is dominated by appearances. On both sides are men of science, men of letters, and men of affairs.
21. On the creative side are men who spend their time in laboratories, or over microscopes and telescopes, side by side with the men who dominate the commercial, political, and scientific world; on the negative side or men who spend their time investigating law and precedent, men who mistake theology for religion, statesmen who mistake might for right, and all the millions who seem to prefer precedent to progress, who are eternally looking backward instead of forward, who see only the world without, but know nothing of the world within.
22. In the last analysis there are but these two classes; all men will have to take their place on one side or the other; they will have to go forward, or go back; there is no standing still in a world where all is motion; it is this attempt to stand still that gives sanction and force to arbitrary and unequal codes of law.
23. That we are in a period of transition is evidenced by the unrest which is everywhere apparent. The complaint of humanity is as a roll of heaven's artillery, commencing with low and threatening notes and increasing until the sound is sent from cloud to cloud, and the lightning splits the air and earth.
24. The sentries who patrol the most advanced outposts of the Industrial, Political, and Religious world are calling anxiously to each other. What of the night? The danger and insecurity of the position they occupy and attempt to hold is becoming more apparent every hour. The dawn of a new era necessarily declares that the existing order of things cannot much longer be.
25. The issue between the old regime and the new, the crux of the social problem, is entirely a question of conviction in the minds of the people as to the nature of the Universe. When they realize that the transcendent force of spirit or mind of the Cosmos is within each individual, it will be possible to frame laws that shall consider the liberties and rights of the many instead of the privileges of the few.
26. As long as the people regard the Cosmic power as a power non-human and alien to humanity, so long will it be comparatively easy for a supposed privileged class to rule by Divine right in spite of every protest of social sentiment. The real interest of democracy is therefore to exalt, emancipate and recognize the divinity of the human spirit. To recognize that all power is from within. That no human being has any more power than any other human being, except such as may willingly be delegated to him. The old regime would have us believe that the law was superior to the law-makers; herein is the gist of the social crime of every form of privilege and personal inequality, the institutionalizing of the fatalistic doctrine of Divine election.
27. The Divine Mind is the Universal Mind; it makes no exceptions, it plays no favorites; it does not act through sheer caprice or from anger, jealousy or wrath; neither can it be flattered, cajoled or moved by sympathy or petition to supply man with some need which he thinks necessary for his happiness or even his existence. The Divine Mind makes no exceptions to favor any individual; but when the individual understands and realizes his Unity with the Universal principle he will appear to be favored because he will have found the source of all health, all wealth, and all power.
28. For your exercise this week, concentrate on the Truth. Try to realize that the Truth shall make you free, that is, nothing can permanently stand in the way of your perfect success when you learn to apply the scientifically correct thought methods and principles. Realize that you are externalizing in your environment your inherent soul potencies. Realize that the Silence offers an ever-available and almost unlimited opportunity for awakening the highest conception of Truth. Try to comprehend that Omnipotence itself is absolute silence, all else is change, activity, limitation. Silent thought concentration is therefore the true method of reaching, awakening, and then expressing the wonderful potential power of the world within.
The possibilities of thought training are infinite, its consequence eternal, and yet few take the pains to direct their thinking into channels that will do them good, but instead leave all to chance.
Marden
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Study Questions with Answers
world, is brought forth into tangible expression.
202. What is the source of this power?
The Universal Mind, from which all things proceed, and which is one and indivisible.
203. How is this power being manifested?
Through the individual, each individual is a channel whereby this energy is being differentiated in form.
204. How may we connect with this Omnipotence?
Our ability to think is our ability to act on this Universal Energy, and what we think is what is produced or created in the objective world.
205. What is the result of this discovery?
The result is nothing less than marvelous, it opens unprecedented and limitless opportunity.
206. How, then, may we eliminate imperfect conditions?
By becoming conscious of our Unity with the source of all power.
207. What is one of the distinctive characteristics of the Master Mind?
He thinks big thoughts, he holds ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all petty and annoying obstacles.
208. How do experiences come to us?
Through the law of attraction.
209. How is this law brought into operation?
By our predominant mental attitude.
210. What is the issue between the old regime and the new?
A question of conviction as to the nature of the Universe. The old regime is trying to cling to the fatalistic doctrine of Divine election. The new regime recognizes the divinity of the individual, the democracy of humanity.
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Part Twenty-One
It is my privilege to enclose Part Twenty-One. In paragraph 7 you will find that one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master Mind is to think big thoughts.
In paragraph 8 you will find that everything which we hold in our consciousness for any length of time becomes impressed upon our subconsciousness and so becomes a pattern which the creative energy will wave into our life and environment. This is the secret of the wonderful power of prayer.
We know that the universe is governed by law; that for every effect there must be a cause, and that the same cause, under the same conditions, will invariably produce the same effect.
Consequently, if prayer has ever been answered, it will always be answered, if the proper conditions are complied with. This must necessarily be true; otherwise the universe would be a chaos instead of a cosmos. The answer to prayer is therefore subject to law, and this law is definite, exact and scientific, just as are the laws governing gravitation and electricity. An understanding of this law takes the foundation of Christianity out of the realm of superstition and credulity and places it upon the firm rock of scientific understanding.
But, unfortunately, there are comparatively few persons who know how to pray.
They understand that there are laws governing electricity, mathematics, and chemistry, but, for some inexplicable reason, it never seems to occur to them that there are also spiritual laws, and that these laws are also definite, scientific, exact, and operate with immutable precision.
PART TWENTY-ONE
1. The real secret of power is consciousness of power. The Universal Mind is unconditional; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional. We have become free!
2. As soon as we become conscious of the inexhaustible power in the world within, we begin to draw on this power and apply and develop the greater possibilities which this discernment has realized, because whatever we become conscious of, is invariably manifested in the objective world, is brought forth into tangible expression.
3. This is because the Infinite Mind, which is the source from which all things proceed, is one and indivisible, and each individual is a channel whereby this Eternal Energy is being manifested. Our ability to think is our ability to act upon this Universal Substance, and what we think is what is created or produced in the objective world.
4. The result of this discovery is nothing less than marvelous, and means that mind is extraordinary in quality, limitless in quantity, and contains possibilities without number. To become conscious of this power is to become a "live wire"; it has the same effect as placing an ordinary wire in contact with a wire that is charged. The Universal is the live wire. It carries power sufficient to meet every situation which may arise in the life of every individual. When the individual mind touches the Universal Mind it receives all the power it requires. This is the world within. All science recognizes the reality of this world, and all power is contingent upon our recognition of this world.
5. The ability to eliminate imperfect conditions depends upon mental action, and mental action depends upon consciousness of power; therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with the source of all power, the greater will be our power to control and master every condition.
6. Large ideas have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas so that it is well to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small or undesirable tendencies. This will remove innumerable petty and annoying obstacles from your path. You also become conscious of a larger world of thought, thereby increasing your mental capacity as well as placing yourself in position to accomplish something of value.
7. This is one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master-Mind. He thinks big thoughts. The creative energies of mind find no more difficulty in handling large situations, than small ones. Mind is just as much present in the Infinitely large as in the Infinitely small.
8. When we realize these facts concerning mind we understand how we may bring ourselves any condition by creating the corresponding conditions in our consciousness, because everything which is held for any length of time in the consciousness, eventually becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern which the creative energy will wave into the life and environment of the individual.
9. In this way conditions are produced and we find that our lives are simply the reflection of our predominant thoughts, our mental attitude; we see then that the science of correct thinking is the one science, that it includes all other sciences.
10. From this science we learn that every thought creates an impression on the brain, that these impressions create mental tendencies, and these tendencies create character, ability and purpose, and that the combined action of character, ability and purpose determines the experiences with which we shall meet in life.
11. These experiences come to us through the Law of Attraction; through the action of this law we meet in the world without the experiences which correspond to our world within.
12. The predominant thought or the mental attitude is the magnet, and the law is that "like attracts like", consequently the mental attitude will invariably attract such conditions as correspond to its nature.
13. This mental attitude is our personality and is composed of the thoughts which we have been creating in our own mind; therefore, if we wish a change in conditions all that is necessary is to change our thought; this will in turn change our mental attitude, which will in turn change our personality, which will in turn change the persons, things and conditions, or, the experiences with which we meet in life.
14. It is, however, no easy matter to change the mental attitude, but by persistent effort it may be accomplished; the mental attitude is patterned after the mental pictures which have been photographed on the brain; if you do not like the pictures, destroy the negatives and create new pictures; this is the art of visualization.
15. As soon as you have done this you will begin to attract new things, and the new things will correspond to the new pictures. To do this: impress on the mind a perfect picture of the desire which you wish to have objectified and continue to hold the picture in mind until results are obtained.
16. If the desire is one which requires determination, ability, talent, courage, power or any other spiritual power, these are necessary essentials for your picture; build them in; they are the vital part of the picture; they are the feeling which combines with thought and creates the irresistible magnetic power which draws the things you require to you. They give your picture life, and life means growth, and as soon as it beings to grow, the result is practically assured.
17. Do not hesitate to aspire to the highest possible attainments in anything you may undertake, for the mind forces are ever ready to lend themselves to a purposeful will in the effort to crystallize its highest aspirations into acts, accomplishments, and events.
18. An illustration of how these mind forces operate is suggested by the method in which all our habits are formed. We do a thing, then do it again, and again, and again, until it becomes easy and perhaps almost automatic; and the same rule applies in breaking any and all bad habits; we stop doing a thing, and then avoid it again, and again until we are entirely free from it; and if we do fail now and then, we should by no means lose hope, for the law is absolute and invincible and gives us credit for every effort and every success, even though our efforts and successes are perhaps intermittent.
19. There is no limit to what this law can do for you; dare to believe in your own idea; remember that Nature is plastic to the ideal; think of the ideal as an already accomplished fact.
20. The real battle of life is one of ideas; it is being fought out by the few against the many; on the one side is the constructive and creative thought, on the other side the destructive and negative thought; the creative thought is dominated by an ideal, the passive thought is dominated by appearances. On both sides are men of science, men of letters, and men of affairs.
21. On the creative side are men who spend their time in laboratories, or over microscopes and telescopes, side by side with the men who dominate the commercial, political, and scientific world; on the negative side or men who spend their time investigating law and precedent, men who mistake theology for religion, statesmen who mistake might for right, and all the millions who seem to prefer precedent to progress, who are eternally looking backward instead of forward, who see only the world without, but know nothing of the world within.
22. In the last analysis there are but these two classes; all men will have to take their place on one side or the other; they will have to go forward, or go back; there is no standing still in a world where all is motion; it is this attempt to stand still that gives sanction and force to arbitrary and unequal codes of law.
23. That we are in a period of transition is evidenced by the unrest which is everywhere apparent. The complaint of humanity is as a roll of heaven's artillery, commencing with low and threatening notes and increasing until the sound is sent from cloud to cloud, and the lightning splits the air and earth.
24. The sentries who patrol the most advanced outposts of the Industrial, Political, and Religious world are calling anxiously to each other. What of the night? The danger and insecurity of the position they occupy and attempt to hold is becoming more apparent every hour. The dawn of a new era necessarily declares that the existing order of things cannot much longer be.
25. The issue between the old regime and the new, the crux of the social problem, is entirely a question of conviction in the minds of the people as to the nature of the Universe. When they realize that the transcendent force of spirit or mind of the Cosmos is within each individual, it will be possible to frame laws that shall consider the liberties and rights of the many instead of the privileges of the few.
26. As long as the people regard the Cosmic power as a power non-human and alien to humanity, so long will it be comparatively easy for a supposed privileged class to rule by Divine right in spite of every protest of social sentiment. The real interest of democracy is therefore to exalt, emancipate and recognize the divinity of the human spirit. To recognize that all power is from within. That no human being has any more power than any other human being, except such as may willingly be delegated to him. The old regime would have us believe that the law was superior to the law-makers; herein is the gist of the social crime of every form of privilege and personal inequality, the institutionalizing of the fatalistic doctrine of Divine election.
27. The Divine Mind is the Universal Mind; it makes no exceptions, it plays no favorites; it does not act through sheer caprice or from anger, jealousy or wrath; neither can it be flattered, cajoled or moved by sympathy or petition to supply man with some need which he thinks necessary for his happiness or even his existence. The Divine Mind makes no exceptions to favor any individual; but when the individual understands and realizes his Unity with the Universal principle he will appear to be favored because he will have found the source of all health, all wealth, and all power.
28. For your exercise this week, concentrate on the Truth. Try to realize that the Truth shall make you free, that is, nothing can permanently stand in the way of your perfect success when you learn to apply the scientifically correct thought methods and principles. Realize that you are externalizing in your environment your inherent soul potencies. Realize that the Silence offers an ever-available and almost unlimited opportunity for awakening the highest conception of Truth. Try to comprehend that Omnipotence itself is absolute silence, all else is change, activity, limitation. Silent thought concentration is therefore the true method of reaching, awakening, and then expressing the wonderful potential power of the world within.
The possibilities of thought training are infinite, its consequence eternal, and yet few take the pains to direct their thinking into channels that will do them good, but instead leave all to chance.
Marden
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Study Questions with Answers
world, is brought forth into tangible expression.
202. What is the source of this power?
The Universal Mind, from which all things proceed, and which is one and indivisible.
203. How is this power being manifested?
Through the individual, each individual is a channel whereby this energy is being differentiated in form.
204. How may we connect with this Omnipotence?
Our ability to think is our ability to act on this Universal Energy, and what we think is what is produced or created in the objective world.
205. What is the result of this discovery?
The result is nothing less than marvelous, it opens unprecedented and limitless opportunity.
206. How, then, may we eliminate imperfect conditions?
By becoming conscious of our Unity with the source of all power.
207. What is one of the distinctive characteristics of the Master Mind?
He thinks big thoughts, he holds ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all petty and annoying obstacles.
208. How do experiences come to us?
Through the law of attraction.
209. How is this law brought into operation?
By our predominant mental attitude.
210. What is the issue between the old regime and the new?
A question of conviction as to the nature of the Universe. The old regime is trying to cling to the fatalistic doctrine of Divine election. The new regime recognizes the divinity of the individual, the democracy of humanity.
