Character-Building Thought Power

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UNCONSCIOUSLY we are forming habits every moment of our lives. Some are habits of a desirable nature; some are those of a most undesirable nature. Some, though not so bad in themselves, are e !eedingly bad in their !umulative effe!ts, and !ause us at times mu!h loss, mu!h "ain and anguish, while their o""osites would, on the !ontrary, bring as mu!h "ea!e and #oy, as well as a !ontinually in!reasing "ower. $ave we it within our "ower to determine at all times what ty"es of habits shall ta%e form in our lives& In other words, is habit'forming, !hara!ter'building, a matter of mere !han!e, or have we it within our own !ontrol& (e have, entirely and absolutely. )I will be what I will to be,) !an be said and should be said by every human soul. *fter this has been bravely and determinedly said, and not only said, but fully inwardly reali+ed, something yet remains. Something remains to be said regarding the great law underlying habit'forming, !hara!ter'building; for there is a sim"le, natural, and thoroughly s!ientifi! method that all should %now. * method whereby old, undesirable, earth'binding habits !an be bro%en, and new, desirable, heaven lifting habits !an be a!,uired, a method whereby life in "art or in its totality !an be !hanged, "rovided one is suffi!iently in earnest to %now and, %nowing it, to a""ly the law. -hought is the for!e underlying all. *nd what do we mean by this& Sim"ly this. Your every a!t ' every !ons!ious a!t ' is "re!eded by a thought. Your dominating thoughts determine your dominating a!tions. In the realm of our own minds we have absolute !ontrol, or we should have, and if at any time we have not, then there is a method by whi!h we !an gain !ontrol, and in the realm of the mind be!ome thorough masters. In order to get to the very foundation of the matter, let us loo% to this for a moment. /or if thought is always "arent to our a!ts, habits, !hara!ter, life, then it is first ne!essary that we %now fully how to !ontrol our thoughts. 1

$ere let us refer to that law of the mind whi!h is the same as is the law in Conne!tion with the refle nerve system of the body, the law whi!h says that whenever one does a !ertain thing in a !ertain way it is easier to do the same thing in the same way the ne t time, and still easier the ne t, and the ne t, and the ne t, until in time it !omes to "ass that no effort is re,uired, or no effort worth s"ea%ing of; but on the o""osite would re,uire the effort. -he mind !arries with it the "ower that "er"etuates its own ty"e of thought, the same as the body !arries with it through the refle nerve system the "ower whi!h "er"etuates and ma%es !ontinually easier its own "arti!ular a!ts. -hus a sim"le effort to !ontrol one0s thoughts, a sim"le setting about it, even if at first failure is the result, and even if for a time failure seems to be about the only result, will in time, sooner or later, bring him to the "oint of easy, full, and !om"lete !ontrol. 1a!h one, then, !an grow the "ower of determining, !ontrolling his thought, the "ower of determining what ty"es of thought he shall and what ty"es he shall not entertain. /or let us never "art in mind with this fa!t, that every earnest effort along any line ma%es the end aimed at #ust a little easier for ea!h su!!eeding effort, even if, as has been said, a""arent failure is the result of the earlier efforts. -his is a !ase where even failure is su!!ess, for the failure is not in the effort, and every earnest effort adds an in!rement of "ower that will eventually a!!om"lish the end aimed at. (e !an, then, gain the full and !om"lete "ower of determining what !hara!ter, what ty"e of thoughts we entertain. Shall we now give attention to some two or three !on!rete !ases& $ere is a man, the !ashier of a large mer!antile establishment, or !ashier of a ban%. In his morning "a"er he reads of a man who has be!ome suddenly ri!h, has made a fortune of half a million or a million dollars in a few hours through s"e!ulation on the sto!% mar%et. 2erha"s he has seen an a!!ount of another man who has done "ra!ti!ally the same thing lately. $e is not ,uite wise enough, however, to !om"rehend the fa!t that when he reads of one or two !ases of this %ind he !ould find, were he to loo% into the matter !arefully, one or two hundred !ases of men who have lost all they had in the same way. $e thin%s, however, that he will be one of the fortunate ones. $e does not fully reali+e that there are no short !uts to wealth honestly made. $e ta%es a "art of his savings, and as is true in "ra!ti!ally all !ases of this %ind, he loses all that he has "ut in, -hin%ing now that he sees why he lost, and

that had he more money he would be able to get ba!% what he has lost, and "erha"s ma%e a handsome sum in addition, and ma%e it ,ui!%ly, the thought !omes to him to use some of the funds he has !harge of. In nine !ases out of ten, if not ten !ases in every ten, the results that inevitably follow this are %nown suffi!iently well to ma%e it unne!essary to follow him farther. (here is the man0s safety in the light of what we have been !onsidering& Sim"ly this. the moment the thought of using for his own "ur"ose funds belonging to others enters his mind, if he is wise he will instantly "ut the thought from his mind. If he is a fool he will entertain it. In the degree in whi!h he entertains it, it will grow u"on him; it will be!ome the absorbing thought in his mind; it will finally be!ome master of his will "ower, and through ra"idly su!!eeding ste"s, dishonor, shame, degradation, "enitentiary, remorse will be his. It is easy for him to "ut the thought from his mind when it first enters; but as he entertains it, it grows into su!h "ro"ortions that it be!omes more and more diffi!ult for him to "ut it from his mind; and by and by it be!omes "ra!ti!ally im"ossible for him to do it. -he light of the mat!h, whi!h but a little effort of the breath would have e tinguished at first, has im"arted a flame that is raging through the entire building, and now it is almost if not ,uite im"ossible to !on,uer it. Shall we noti!e another !on!rete !ase& * trite !ase, "erha"s, but one in whi!h we !an see how habit is formed, and also how the same habit !an be unformed. $ere is a young man, he may be the son of "oor "arents, or he may be the son of ri!h "arents; one in the ordinary ran%s of life, or one of high so!ial standing, whatever that means. $e is good hearted, one of good im"ulses generally s"ea%ing, a good fellow. $e is out with some !om"anions, !om"anions of the same general ty"e. -hey are out for a "leasant evening, out for a good time. -hey are a"t at times to be thoughtless, even !areless. -he suggestion is made by one of the !om"any, not that they get drun%, no, not at all; but merely that they go and have something to drin% together. -he young man whom we first mentioned, wanting to be genial, s!ar!ely listens to the suggestion that !omes into his inner !ons!iousness that it will be better for him not to fall in with the others in this. $e does not sto" long enough to reali+e the fa!t that the greatest strength and nobility of !hara!ter lies always in ta%ing a firm stand on the aide of the right, and allow himself to be influen!ed by nothing that will wea%en this stand. $e goes, therefore, with his !om"anions to the drin%ing "la!e. (ith 3

the same or with other !om"anions this is re"eated now and then; and ea!h time it is re"eated his "ower of saying )No) is gradually de!reasing. In this way he has grown a little li%ing for into i!ants, and ta%es them "erha"s now and then by himself. $e does not dream, or in the slightest degree reali+e, what way he is tending, until there !omes a day when he awa%ens to the !ons!iousness of the fa!t that he hasn3t the "ower nor even the im"ulse to resist the taste whi!h has gradually grown into a minor form of !raving for into i!ants. -hin%ing, however, that he will be able to sto" when he is really in danger of getting into the drin% habit, he goes thoughtlessly and !arelessly on. (e will "ass over the various intervening ste"s and !ome to the time when we find him a !onfirmed drun%ard. It is sim"ly the same old story told a thousand or even a million times over. $e finally awa%ens to his true !ondition; and through the shame, the anguish, the degradation, and the want that !omes u"on him he longs for a return of the days when he was a free man. 4ut ho"e has almost gone from his life. It would have been easier for him never to have begun, and easier for him to have sto""ed before he rea!hed his "resent !ondition; but even in his "resent !ondition, be it the lowest and the most hel"less and ho"eless that !an be imagined, he has the "ower to get out of it and be a free man on!e again. Let us see. -he desire for drin% !omes u"on him again. If he entertains the thought, the desire, he is lost again. $is only ho"e, his only means of es!a"e is this. the moment, aye, the very instant the thought !omes to him, if he will "ut it out of his mind he will thereby "ut out the little flame of the mat!h. If he entertains the thought the little flame will !ommuni!ate itself until almost before he is aware of it a !onsuming fire is raging, and then effort is almost useless. -he thought must be banished from the mind the instant it enters; dallian!e with it means failure and defeat, or a fight that will be indes!ribably fier!er than it would be if the thought is e#e!ted at the beginning.
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*nd here we must say a word regarding a !ertain great law that we may !all the )law of indire!tness.) * thought !an be "ut out of the mind easier and more su!!essfully, not by dwelling u"on it, not by, attem"ting to "ut it out dire!tly, but by throwing the mind on to some other ob#e!t by "utting some other ob#e!t of thought into the mind. -his may be, for e am"le, the ideal of full and "erfe!t self'mastery, or it may be something of a nature 4

entirely distin!t from the thought whi!h "resents itself, something to whi!h the mind goes easily and naturally. -his will in time be!ome the absorbing thought in the mind, and the danger is "ast. -his same !ourse of a!tion re"eated will gradually grow the "ower of "utting more readily out of mind the thought of drin% as it "resents itself, and will gradually grow the "ower of "utting into the mind those ob#e!ts of thought one most desires. -he result will be that as time "asses the thought of drin% will "resent itself less and less, and when it does "resent itself it !an be "ut out of the mind more easily ea!h su!!eeding time, until the time !omes when it !an be "ut out without diffi!ulty, and eventually the time will !ome when the thought will enter the mind no more at all. Still another !ase. You may be more or less of an irritable nature naturally, "erha"s, "rovo%ed easily to anger. Someone says something or does something that you disli%e, and your first im"ulse is to show resentment and "ossibly to give way to anger. In the degree that you allow this resentment to dis"lay itself, that you allow yourself to give way to anger, in that degree will it be!ome easier to do the same thing when any !ause, even a very slight !ause, "resents itself. It will, moreover, be!ome !ontinually harder for you to refrain from it, until resentment, anger, and "ossibly even hatred and revenge be!ome !hara!teristi!s of your nature, robbing it of its sunniness, its !harm, and its brightness for all with whom you !ome in !onta!t. If, however, the instant the im"ulse to resentment and anger arises, you !he!% it then and there, and throw the mind on to some other ob#e!t of thought, the "ower will gradually grow itself of doing this same thing more readily, more easily, as su!!eeding li%e !auses "resent themselves, until by and by the time will !ome when there will be s!ar!ely anything that !an irritate you, and nothing that !an im"el you to anger; until by and by a mat!hless brightness and !harm of nature and dis"osition will be!ome habitually yours, a brightness and !harm you would s!ar!ely thin% "ossible today. *nd so we might ta%e u" !ase after !ase, !hara!teristi! after !hara!teristi!, habit after habit. -he habit of faultfinding and its o""osite are grown in identi!ally the same way; the !hara!teristi! of #ealousy and its o""osite; the !hara!teristi! of fear and its o""osite. In this same way we grow either love or hatred; in this way we !ome to ta%e a gloomy, "essimisti! view of life, whi!h ob#e!tifies itself in a nature, a dis"osition of this ty"e, or we grow that sunny, 5

ho"eful, !heerful, buoyant nature that brings with it so mu!h #oy and beauty and "ower for ourselves, as well as so mu!h ho"e and ins"iration and #oy for all the world. -here is nothing more true in !onne!tion with human life than that we grow into the li%eness of those things we !ontem"late. Literally and s!ientifi!ally and ne!essarily true is it that )as a man thin%eth in his heart, so is he.) -he )is) "art is his !hara!ter. $is !hara!ter is the sum total of his habits. $is habits have been formed by5 his !ons!ious a!ts; but every !ons!ious a!t is, as we have found, "re!eded by a thought. *nd so we have it ' thought on the one hand, !hara!ter, life, and destiny on the other. *nd sim"le it be!omes when we bear in mind that it is sim"ly the thought of the "resent moment, and the ne t moment when it is u"on us, and then the ne t, and so on through all time. One !an in this way attain to whatever ideals he would attain to. -wo ste"s are ne!essary. first, as the days "ass, to form one0s ideals; and se!ond, to follow them !ontinually, whatever may arise, wherever they may lead him. *lways remember that the great and strong !hara!ter is the one who is ever ready to sa!rifi!e the "resent "leasure for the future good. $e who will thus follow his highest ideals as they "resent themselves to him day after day, year after year, will find that as 6ante, following his beloved from world to world, finally found her at the gates of 2aradise, so he will find himself eventually at the same gates. Life is not, we may say, for mere "assing "leasure, but for the highest unfoldment that one !an attain to, the noblest !hara!ter that one !an grow, and for the greatest servi!e that one !an render to all man%ind. In this, however, we will find the highest "leasure, for in this the only real "leasure lies. $e who would find it by any short !uts, or by entering u"on any other "aths, will inevitably find that his last state is always worse than his first; and if he "ro!eed u"on "aths other than these he will find that he will never find real and lasting "leasure at all.
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-he ,uestion is not, )(hat are the !onditions in our lives&) but, )$ow do we meet the !onditions that we find there&) *nd whatever the !onditions are, it is unwise and "rofitless to loo% u"on them, even if they are !onditions that we would have otherwise, in the attitude of !om"laint, for !om"laint will bring de"ression, and de"ression will wea%en and "ossibly even %ill

the s"irit that would engender the "ower that would enable us to bring into our lives an entirely new set of !onditions. In order to be !on!rete, even at the ris% of being "ersonal, I will say that in my own e "erien!e there have !ome at various times into my life !ir!umstan!es and !onditions that I gladly would have run from at the time7!onditions that !aused at the time humiliation and shame and anguish of s"irit. 4ut invariably, as suffi!ient time has "assed, I have been able to loo% ba!% and see !learly the "art that every e "erien!e of the ty"e #ust mentioned had to "lay in my life. I have seen the lessons it was essential for me to learn; and the result is that now I would not dro" a single one of these e "erien!es from my life, humiliating and hard to bear as they were at the time; no, not for the world. *nd here is also a lesson I have learned. whatever !onditions are in my life today that are not the easiest and most agreeable, and whatever !onditions of this ty"e all !oming time may bring, I will ta%e them #ust as they !ome, without !om"laint, without de"ression, and meet them in the wisest "ossible way; %nowing that they are the best "ossible !onditions that !ould be in my life at the time, or otherwise they would not be there; reali+ing the fa!t that, although I may not at the time see why they are in my life, although I may not see #ust what "art they have to "lay, the time will !ome, and when it !omes I will see it all, and than% 8od for every !ondition #ust as it !ame. 1a!h one is so a"t to thin% that his own !onditions, his own trials or troubles or sorrows, or his own struggles, as the !ase may be, are greater than those of the great mass of man%ind, or "ossibly greater than those of any one else in the world. $e forgets that ea!h one has his own "e!uliar trials or troubles or sorrows to bear, or struggles in habits to over!ome, and that his is but the !ommon lot of all the human ra!e. (e are a"t to ma%e the mista%e in this 7 in that we see and feel %eenly our own trials, or adverse !onditions, or !hara!teristi!s to be over!ome, while those of others we do not see so !learly, and hen!e we are a"t to thin% that they are not at all e,ual to our own. 1a!h has his own "roblems to wor% out. 1a!h must wor% out his own "roblems. 1a!h must grow the insight that will enable him to see what the !auses are that have brought the unfavorable !onditions into his life; ea!h must grow the strength that will enable him to fa!e these !onditions, and to set into o"eration for!es that will bring about a different set of !onditions. (e may be of aid to one another by way of 7

suggestion, by way of bringing to one another a %nowledge of !ertain higher laws and for!es 7 laws and for!es that will ma%e it easier to do that whi!h we would do. -he doing, however, must be done by ea!h one for himself. *nd so the way to get out of any !onditioning we have got into, either %nowingly or inadvertently, either intentionally or unintentionally, is to ta%e time to loo% the !onditions s,uarely in the fa!e, and to find the law whereby they have !ome about. *nd when we have dis!overed the law, the thing to do is not to rebel against it, not to resist it, but to go with it by wor%ing in harmony with it. If we wor% in harmony with it, it will wor% for our highest good, and will ta%e us wheresoever we desire. If we o""ose it, if we resist it, if we fail to wor% in harmony with it, it will eventually brea% us to "ie!es. -he law is immutable in its wor%ings. 8o with it, and it brings all things our way; resist it, and it brings suffering, "ain, loss, and desolation. 4ut a few days ago I was tal%ing with a lady, a most estimable lady living on a little New 1ngland farm of some five or si a!res. $er husband died a few years ago, a good'hearted, industrious man, but one who s"ent "ra!ti!ally all of his earnings in drin%. (hen he died the little farm was un"aid for, and the wife found herself without any visible means of su""ort, with a family of several to !are for. Instead of being dis!ouraged with what many would have !alled her hard lot, instead of rebelling against the !ir!umstan!es in whi!h she found herself, she fa!ed the matter bravely, firmly believing that there were ways by whi!h she !ould manage, though she !ould not see them !learly at the time. She too% u" her burden where she found it, and went bravely forward. /or several years she has been ta%ing !are of summer boarders who !ome to that "art of the !ountry, getting u" regularly, she told me, at from half'"ast three to four o0!lo!% in the morning, and wor%ing until ten o0!lo!% ea!h night. In the winter time, when this means of revenue is !ut off, she has gone out to do nursing in the !ountry round about. In this way the little farm is now almost "aid for; her !hildren have been %e"t in s!hool, and they are now able to aid her to a greater or less e tent. -hrough it all she has entertained no fears nor forebodings; she has shown no rebellion of any %ind. She has not %i!%ed against the !ir!umstan!es whi!h brought about the !onditions in whi!h she found herself, but she has "ut herself into harmony with the law that would bring her into another set of !onditions. *nd through it all, she told me, she has been !ontinually grateful that she

has been able to wor%, and that whatever her own !ir!umstan!es have been, she has never yet failed to find some one whose !ir!umstan!es were still a little worse than hers, and for whom it was "ossible for her to render some little servi!e. 9ost heartily she a""re!iates the fa!t, and most grateful is she for it, that the little home is now almost "aid for, and soon no more of her earnings will have to go out in that !hannel. -he dear little home, she said, would be all the more "re!ious to her by virtue of the fa!t that it was finally hers through her own efforts. -he strength and nobility of !hara!ter that have !ome to her during these years, the sweetness of dis"osition, the sym"athy and !are for others, her faith in the final trium"h of all that is honest and true and "ure and good, are ,ualities that thousands and hundreds of thousands of women, yes, of both men and women, who are a""arently in better !ir!umstan!es in life, !an #ustly envy. *nd should the little farm home be ta%en away tomorrow, she has gained something that a farm of a thousand a!res !ould not buy. 4y going about her wor% in the way she has gone about it the burden of it all has been lightened, and her wor% has been made truly en#oyable.
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Let us ta%e a moment to see how these same !onditions would have been met by a "erson of less wisdom, one not so far' sighted as this dear, good woman has been. /or a time "ossibly her s"irit would have been !rushed. /ears and forebodings of all %inds would "robably have ta%en hold of her, and she would have felt that nothing that she !ould do would be of any avail. Or she might have rebelled against the agen!ies, against the law whi!h brought about the !onditions in whi!h she found herself, and she might have be!ome embittered against the world, and gradually also against the various "eo"le with whom she !ame in !onta!t. Or again, she might have thought that her efforts would be unable to meet the !ir!umstan!es, and that it was the duty of someone to lift her out of her diffi!ulties. In this way no "rogress at all would have been made towards the a!!om"lishment of the desired results, and !ontinually she would have felt more %eenly the !ir!umstan!es in whi!h she found herself, be!ause there was nothing else to o!!u"y her mind. In this way the little farm would not have be!ome hers, she would not have been able to do anything for others, and her nature would have be!ome embittered against everything and everybody. 9

-rue it is, then, not, )(hat are the !onditions in one0s life&) but, )$ow does he meet the !onditions that he finds there&) -his will determine all. *nd if at any time we are a"t to thin% that our own lot is about the hardest there is, and if we are able at any time to "ersuade ourselves that we !an find no one whose lot is #ust a little harder than ours, let us then study for a little while the !hara!ter 2om"ilia, in 4rowning0s "oem and after studying it, than% 8od that the !onditions in our life are so favorable; and then set about with a trusting and intre"id s"irit to a!tuali+e the !onditions that we most desire. -hought is at the bottom of all "rogress or retrogression, of all su!!ess or failure, of all that is desirable or undesirable in human life. -he ty"e of thought we entertain both !reates and draws !onditions that !rystalli+e about it, !onditions e a!tly the same in nature as is the thought that gives them form. -houghts are for!es, and ea!h !reates of its %ind, whether we reali+e it or not. -he great law of the drawing "ower of the mind, whi!h says that li%e !reates li%e, and that li%e attra!ts li%e, is !ontinually wor%ing in every human life, for it is one of the great immutable laws of the universe. /or one to ta%e time to see !learly the things he would attain to, and then to hold that ideal steadily and !ontinually before his mind, never allowing faith 7 his "ositive thought'for!es 7 to give way to or to be neutrali+ed by doubts and fears, and then to set about doing ea!h day what his hands find to do, never !om"laining, but s"ending the time that he would otherwise s"end in !om"laint in fo!using his thought'for!es u"on the ideal that his mind has built, will sooner or later bring about the full materiali+ation of that for whi!h he sets out. -here are those who, when they begin to gras" the fa!t that there is what we may term a )s!ien!e of thought,) who, when they begin to reali+e that through the instrumentality of our interior, s"iritual, thought'for!es we have the "ower of gradually molding the everyday !onditions of life as we would have them, in their early enthusiasm are not able to see results as ,ui!%ly as they e "e!t and are a"t to thin%, therefore, that after all there is not very mu!h in that whi!h has but newly !ome to their %nowledge. -hey must remember, however, that in endeavoring to over!ome an old habit or to grow a new habit, everything !annot be done all at on!e. In the degree that we attem"t to use the thought'for!es do we !ontinually be!ome able to use them more effe!tively. 2rogress is slow at first, more ra"id as we "ro!eed. 2ower grows by 10

using, or, in other words, using brings a !ontinually in!reasing "ower. -his is governed by law the same as are all things in our lives, and all things in the universe about us. 1very a!t and advan!ement made by the musi!ian is in full a!!ordan!e with law. No one !ommen!ing the study of musi! !an, for e am"le, sit down to the "iano and "lay the "ie!e of a master at the first effort. $e must not !on!lude, however, nor does he !on!lude, that the "ie!e of the master !annot be "layed by him, or, for that matter, by anyone. $e begins to "ra!ti!e the "ie!e. -he law of the mind that we have already noti!ed !omes to his aid, whereby his mind follows the musi! more readily, more ra"idly, and more surely ea!h su!!eeding time, and there also !omes into o"eration and to his aid the law underlying the a!tion of the refle nerve system of the body, whi!h we have also noti!ed, whereby his fingers !o'ordinate their movements with the movements of his mind more readily, more ra"idly, and more a!!urately ea!h su!!eeding time; until by and by the time !omes when that whi!h he stumbles through at first, that in whi!h there is no harmony, nothing but dis!ord, finally reveals itself as the musi! of the master, the musi! that thrills and moves masses of men and women. So it is in the use of the thought'for!es. It is the reiteration, the !onstant reiteration of the thought that grows the "ower of !ontinually stronger thought'fo!using, and that finally brings manifestation. -here is !hara!ter'building not only for the young but for the old as well. *nd what a differen!e there is in elderly "eo"le: $ow many grow old gra!efully, and how many grow old in ways of ,uite a different nature. -here is a sweetness and !harm that !ombine for attra!tiveness in old age the same as there is something that !annot be des!ribed by these words. Some grow !ontinually more dear to their friends and to the members of their immediate households, while others be!ome "ossessed of the idea that their friends and the members of their households have less of a regard for them than they formerly had, and many times they are not far wrong. -he one !ontinually sees more in life to en#oy, the other sees !ontinually less. -he one be!omes more dear and attra!tive to others, the other less so. *nd why is this& -hrough !han!e& 4y no means. 2ersonally I do not believe there is any su!h thing as !han!e in the whole of human life, nor even in the world or the great universe in whi!h we live. -he one great law of !ause and effe!t is absolute; and effe!t is always %indred to its own "e!uliar !ause, although we may have at times to go ba!% !onsiderably farther than we are

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a!!ustomed to in order to find the !ause, the "arent of this or that effe!t, or a!tuali+ed, though not ne!essarily "ermanently a!tuali+ed, !ondition.
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(hy, then, the vast differen!e in the two ty"es of elderly "eo"le& -he one %ee"s from worryings, and fearings, and frettings, and foundationless imaginings, while the other seems es"e!ially to !ultivate these, to give himself or herself es"e!ially to them. *nd why is this& *t a !ertain time in life, differing somewhat in different "eo"le, life'long mental states, habits, and !hara!teristi!s begin to fo!us themselves and !ome to the surfa!e, so to s"ea%. 2redominating thoughts and mental states begin to show themselves in a!tuali+ed ,ualities and !hara!teristi!s as never before, and no one is immune. In the lane leading to the or!hard is a tree. /or years it has been growing only )natural fruit.) Not long sin!e it was grafted u"on. -he s"ring has !ome and gone. One'half of the tree was in bloom and the other half also. -he blossoms on ea!h "art !ould not be distinguished by the !asual observer. -he blossoms have been followed by young fruit whi!h hangs abundantly on the entire tree. -here is but a slight differen!e in it now; but a few wee%s later the differen!e in form, in si+e, in !olor, in flavor, in %ee"ing ,ualities, will be so mar%ed that no one !an fail to tell them a"art or have diffi!ulty in !hoosing between them. -he one will be a small, somewhat hard and gnarled, tart, yellowish' green a""le, and will %ee" but a few wee%s into the fall of the year. -he other will be a large, deli!ately flavored a""le, mellow, dee" red in !olor, and will %ee" until the tree whi!h bore it is in bloom again. 4ut why this in!ident from nature0s garden& -his. U" to a !ertain "eriod in the fruit0s growth, although the interior, forming ,ualities of the a""les were slightly different from the beginning, there was but little to distinguish them. *t a !ertain "eriod in their growth, however, their differing interior ,ualities began to e ternali+e themselves so ra"idly and so mar%edly that the two fruits be!ame of su!h a vastly different ty"e that, as we have seen, no one !ould hesitate in !hoosing between them. *nd %nowing on!e the soul, the forming, the determining ,ualities of ea!h, we !an thereafter tell beforehand with a !ertainty that is ,uite absolute what it, the e ternali+ed "rodu!t of ea!h "ortion of the tree, will be.

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*nd it is ,uite the same in human life. If one would have a beautiful and attra!tive old age, he must begin it in youth and in middle life. If, however, he has negle!ted or failed in this, he !an then wisely ada"t himself to !ir!umstan!es and give himself +ealously to "utting into o"eration all ne!essary !ounter' balan!ing for!es and influen!es. (here there is life nothing is ever irretrievably lost, though the en#oyment of the higher good may be long delayed. 4ut if one would have an es"e!ially beautiful and attra!tive old age he must begin it in early and in middle life, for there !omes by and by a sort of )rounding'u") "ro!ess when long'lived'in habits of thought begin to ta%e unto themselves a strongly dominating "ower, and the thought habits of a lifetime begin to !ome to the surfa!e. /ear and worry, selfishness, a hard'fisted, grabbing, holding dis"osition, a !ar"ing, fault'finding, nagging tenden!y, a slavery of thought and a!tion to the thin%ing or to the o"inions of others, a la!%ing of !onsideration, thought, and sym"athy for others, a la!% of !harity for the thoughts, the motives, and the a!ts of others, a la!% of %nowledge of the "owerful and inevitable building ,ualities of thought, as well as a la!% of faith in the eternal goodness and love and "ower of the Sour!e of our being, all !ombine in time to ma%e the old age of those in whom they find life, that barren, !heerless, unwel!ome something, unattra!tive or even re"ellent to itself as well as to others, that we not infre,uently find, while their o""osites, on the !ontrary, !ombine, and seem to be hel"ed on by heavenly agen!ies, to bring about that !heerful, ho"eful, hel"ful, beautified, and hallowed old age that is so wel!ome and so attra!tive both to itself and to all with whom it !omes in !onta!t. 4oth ty"es of thoughts, ,ualities, and dis"ositions, moreover, e ternali+e themselves in the voi!e, in the "e!uliarly different ways in whi!h they mar% the fa!e, in the stoo" or la!% of stoo" in the form, as also in the healthy or unhealthy !onditions of the mind and body, and their sus!e"tibility to disorders and wea%nesses of various %inds.
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It is not a bad thing for ea!h one early to get a little )"hiloso"hy) into his life. It will be of mu!h aid as he advan!es in life; it will many times be a sour!e of great !omfort, as well as of strength, in trying times and in later life. (e may even, though gently "erha"s, ma%e s"ort of the one who has his little "hiloso"hy, but unless we have something similar the time will 13

!ome when the very la!% of it will deride us. It may be at times, though not ne!essarily, that the one who has it is not always so su!!essful in affairs when it !omes to a "urely money or business su!!ess, but it su""lies many times a very real something in life that the one of money or business su!!ess only is starving for, though he doesn0t %now what the real la!% is, and although he hasn0t money enough in all the world to buy it did he %now. It is well to find our !entre early, and if not early then late; but, late or early, the thing to do is to find it. (hile we are in life the one essential thing is to "lay our "art bravely and well and to %ee" our a!tive interest in all its varying "hases, the same as it is well to be able to ada"t ourselves always to !hanging !onditions. It is by the winds of heaven blowing over it !ontinually and %ee"ing it in !onstant motion, or by its !ontinual onward movement, that the water in "ool or stream is %e"t sweet and !lear, for otherwise it would be!ome stagnant and !overed with slime. If we are attra!tive or unattra!tive to ourselves and to others the !ause lies in ourselves; this is true of all ages, and it is well for us, young or old, to re!ogni+e it. It is well, other things being e,ual, to ada"t ourselves to those about us, but it is hardly fair for the old to thin% that all the ada"ting should be on the "art of the young, with no %indred duty on their "art. 9any times old'age loses mu!h of its attra!tiveness on a!!ount of a "e!uliar notion of this %ind. -he "rin!i"le of re!i"ro!ity must hold in all ages in life, and whatever the age, if we fail to observe it, it results always sooner or later in our own undoing. (e are all in Life0s great "lay7 !omedy and tragedy, smiles and tears, sunshine and shadow, summer and winter, and in time we ta%e all "arts. (e must ta%e our "art, whatever it may be, at any given time, always bravely and with a %een a""re!iation of every o""ortunity, and a %een alertness at every turn as the "lay "rogresses. * good )entran!e) and a good )e it) !ontribute strongly to the "laying of a deservedly worthy role. (e are not always able "erha"s to !hoose #ust as we would the details of our entran!e, but the manner of our "laying and the manner of our e it we !an all determine, and this no man, no "ower !an deny us; this in every human life !an be made indeed most glorious, however humble it may begin, or however humble it may remain or e alted it may be!ome, a!!ording to !onventional standards of #udgment.

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-o me we are here for divine self'reali+ation through e "erien!e. (e "rogress in the degree that we mani"ulate wisely all things that enter into our lives, and that ma%e the sum total of ea!h one0s life e "erien!e. Let us be brave and strong in the "resen!e of ea!h "roblem as it "resents itself and ma%e the best of all. Let us hel" the things we !an hel", and let us be not bothered or !ri""led by the things we !annot hel". -he great 8od of all is wat!hing and mani"ulating these things most wisely and we need not fear or even have !on!ern regarding them. -o live to our highest in all things that "ertain to us, to lend a hand as best we !an to all others for this same end, to aid in righting the wrongs that !ross our "ath by means of "ointing the wrongdoer to a better way, and thus aiding him in be!oming a "ower for good, to remain in nature always sweet and sim"le and humble, and therefore strong, to o"en ourselves fully and to %ee" ourselves as fit !hannels for the 6ivine 2ower to wor% through us, to o"en ourselves, and to %ee" our fa!es always to the light, to love all things and to stand in awe or fear of nothing save our own wrong'doing, to re!ogni+e the good lying at the heart of all things, waiting for e "ression all in its own good way and time7this will ma%e our "art in life0s great and as yet not fully understood "lay truly glorious, and we need then stand in fear of nothing, life nor death, for death is life. Or rather, it is the ,ui!% transition to life in another form; the "utting off of the old !oat and the "utting on of a new; the falling away of the material body and the ta%ing of the soul to itself a new and finer body, better ada"ted to its needs and surroundings in another world of e "erien!e and growth and still greater divine self'reali+ation; a going out with all that it has gained of this nature in this world, but with no "ossessions material; a "assing not from light to dar%ness, but from light to light; a ta%ing u" of life in another from #ust where we leave it off here; an e "erien!e not to be shunned or dreaded or feared, but to be wel!omed when it !omes in its own good way and time.
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*ll life is from within out. -his is something that !annot be reiterated too often. -he s"rings of life are all from within. -his being true, it would be well for us to give more time to the inner life than we are a!!ustomed to give to it, es"e!ially in this (estern world. 15

-here is nothing that will bring us su!h abundant returns as to ta%e a little time in the ,uiet ea!h day of our lives. (e need this to get the %in%s out of our minds, and hen!e out of our lives. (e need this to form better the higher ideals of life. (e need this in order to see !learly in mind the things u"on whi!h we would !on!entrate and fo!us the thought'for!es. (e need this in order to ma%e !ontinually anew and to %ee" our !ons!ious !onne!tion with the Infinite. (e need this in order that the rush and hurry of our everyday life does not %ee" us away from the !ons!ious reali+ation of the fa!t that the s"irit of Infinite life and "ower that is ba!% of all, wor%ing in and through all, the life of all, is the life of our life, and the sour!e of our "ower; and that outside of this we have no life and we have no "ower. -o reali+e this fa!t fully, and to live in it !ons!iously at all times, is to find the %ingdom of 8od, whi!h is essentially an inner %ingdom, and !an never be anything else. -he %ingdom of heaven is to be found only within, and this is done on!e for all, and in a manner in whi!h it !annot otherwise be done, when we !ome into the !ons!ious, living reali+ation of the fa!t that in our real selves we are essentially one with the 6ivine life, and o"en ourselves !ontinually so that this 6ivine life !an s"ea% to and manifest through us. In this way we !ome into the !ondition where we are !ontinually wal%ing with 8od. In this way the !ons!iousness of 8od be!omes a living reality in our lives; and in the degree in whi!h it be!omes a reality does it bring us into the reali+ation of !ontinually in!reasing wisdom, insight, and "ower. -his !ons!iousness of 8od in the soul of man is the essen!e, indeed, the sum and substan!e, of all religion. -his identifies religion with every a!t and every moment of everyday life. -hat whi!h does not identify itself with every moment of every day and with every a!t of life is religion in name only and not in reality. -his !ons!iousness of 8od in the soul of man is the one thing uniformly taught by all the "ro"hets, by all the ins"ired ones, by all the seers and mysti!s in the world0s history, whatever the time, wherever the !ountry, whatever the religion, whatever minor differen!es we may find in their lives and tea!hings. In regard to this they all agree; indeed, this is the essen!e of their tea!hing, as it has also been the se!ret of their "ower and the se!ret of their lasting influen!e. It is the attitude of the !hild that is ne!essary before we !an enter into the %ingdom of heaven. *s it was said, )1 !e"t ye be!ome as little !hildren, ye !annot enter into the %ingdom of heaven.) /or we then reali+e that of ourselves we !an do

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nothing, but that it is only as we reali+e that it is the 6ivine life and "ower wor%ing within us, and it is only as we o"en ourselves that it may wor% through us, that we are or !an do anything. It is thus that the sim"le life, whi!h is essentially the life of the greatest en#oyment and the greatest attainment, is entered u"on. In the Orient the "eo"le as a !lass ta%e far more time in the ,uiet, in the silen!e, than we ta%e. Some of them !arry this "ossibly to as great an e treme as we !arry the o""osite, with the result that they do not a!tuali+e and ob#e!tify in the outer life the things they dream in the inner life. (e give so mu!h time to the a!tivities of the outer life that we do not ta%e suffi!ient time in the ,uiet to form in the inner, s"iritual, thought'life the ideals and the !onditions that we would have a!tuali+ed and manifested in the outer life. -he result is that we ta%e life in a %ind of ha"ha+ard way, ta%ing it as it !omes, thin%ing not very mu!h about it until, "erha"s, "ushed by some bitter e "erien!es, instead of molding it, through the agen!y of the inner for!es, e a!tly as we would have it. (e need to stri%e the ha""y balan!e between the !ustom in this res"e!t of the 1astern and (estern worlds, and go to the e treme of neither the one nor the other. -his alone will give the ideal life; and it is the ideal life only that is the thoroughly satisfa!tory life. In the Orient there are many who are day after day sitting in the ,uiet, meditating, !ontem"lating, ideali+ing, with their eyes fo!used on their stoma!hs in s"iritual revery, while through la!% of outer a!tivities, in their stoma!hs, they are a!tually starving. In this (estern world, men and women, in the rush and a!tivity of our a!!ustomed life, are running hither and thither, with no !entre, no foundation u"on whi!h to stand, nothing to whi!h they !an an!hor their lives, be!ause they do not ta%e suffi!ient time to !ome into the reali+ation of what the !entre, of what the reality of their lives is. If the Oriental would do his !ontem"lating, and then get u" and do his wor%, he would be in a better !ondition; he would be living a more normal and satisfa!tory life. If we in the O!!ident would ta%e more time from the rush and a!tivity of life for !ontem"lation, for meditation, for ideali+ation, for be!oming a!,uainted with our real selves, and then go about our wor% manifesting the "owers of our real selves, we would be far better off, be!ause we would be living a more natural, a more normal life. -o find one0s !entre, to be!ome !entred in the Infinite, is the first great essential of every satisfa!tory life; and 17

then to go out, thin%ing, s"ea%ing, wor%ing, loving, living, from this !entre.
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In the highest !hara!ter'building, su!h as we have been !onsidering, there are those who feel they are handi!a""ed by what we term heredity. In a sense they are right; in another sense they are totally wrong. It is along the same lines as the thought whi!h many before us had in!ul!ated in them through the !ou"let in the New 1ngland 2rimer. )In *dam0s fall, we sinned all.) Now, in the first "la!e, it is rather hard to understand the #usti!e of this if it is true. In the se!ond "la!e, it is rather hard to understand why it is true. *nd in the third "la!e there is no truth in it at all. (e are now dealing with the real essential self, and, however old *dam is, 8od is eternal. -his means you; it means me; it means every human soul. (hen we fully reali+e this fa!t we see that heredity is a reed that is easily bro%en. -he life of every one is in his own hands and he !an ma%e it in !hara!ter, in attainment, in "ower, in divine self'reali+ation, and hen!e in influen!e, e a!tly what he wills to ma%e it. *ll things that he most fondly dreams of are his, or may be!ome so if he is truly in earnest; and as he rises more and more to his ideal, and grows in the strength and influen!e of his !hara!ter, he be!omes an e am"le and an ins"iration to all with whom he !omes in !onta!t; so that through him the wea% and faltering are en!ouraged and strengthened; so that those of low ideals and of a low ty"e of life instin!tively and inevitably have their ideals raised, and the ideals of no one !an be raised without its showing forth in his outer life. *s he advan!es in his gras" u"on and understanding of the "ower and "oten!y of the thought'for!es, he finds that many times through the "ro!ess of mental suggestion he !an be of tremendous aid to one who is wea% and struggling, by sending him now and then, and by !ontinually holding him in, the highest thought, in the thought of the highest strength, wisdom and love. -he "ower of )suggestion,) mental suggestion, is one that has tremendous "ossibilities for good if we will but study into it !arefully, understand it fully, and use it rightly. -he one who ta%es suffi!ient time in the ,uiet mentally to form his ideals, suffi!ient time to ma%e and to %ee" !ontinually his !ons!ious !onne!tion with the Infinite, with the 6ivine life and for!es, is the one who is best ada"ted to the strenuous life. $e 18

it is who !an go out and deal, with saga!ity and "ower, with whatever issues may arise in the affairs of everyday life. $e it is who is building not for the years but for the !enturies; not for time, but for the eternities. *nd he !an go out %nowing not whither he goes, %nowing that the 6ivine life within him will never fail him, but will lead him on until he beholds the /ather fa!e to fa!e. $e is building for the !enturies be!ause only that whi!h is the highest, the truest, the noblest, and best will abide the test of the !enturies. $e is building for eternity be!ause when the transition we !all death ta%es "la!e, life, !hara!ter, self' mastery, divine self'reali+ation 7 the only things that the soul when stri""ed of everything else ta%es with it 7 he has in abundan!e, in life, or when the time of the transition to another form of life !omes, he is never afraid, never fearful, be!ause he %nows and reali+es that behind him, within him, beyond him, is the Infinite wisdom and love; and in this he is eternally !entred, and from it he !an never be se"arated. (ith (hittier he sings. I know not where His islands lift Their fronded palms in air; I only know I cannot drift Beyond His love and care

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