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The Pathway of Roses · 5 of 20

Chapter VI: Give Your Best to the World

CHAPTER VI

GIVE YOUR BEST TO THE WORLD

We have looked far and wide for remedies, but in our search we have overlooked one of the greatest of all; and that is love. Not the love of the person; not mere sentiment or emotion, but that strong, spiritual feeling that makes every atom in your beingi thrill with the purest sympathy and the highest kindness; and that makes you feel that every creature in existence deserves your most tender care and attention.

When everything goes wrong with us, we blame fate, environment or the world; we forget that the world does to us what we have done to the world. When we blame the world for everything, the world will so act that it will be to Llame; but when we love the entire world with the whole heart, the world will change toward us accordingly and be kind.

When you do not succeed, when no one seems to care for your service, or for your talents, there are two things to do; do your best and love much. Do not condemn the race because it is slow to appreciate your worth; when you do this you push the world further away from yourself, and its appreciation will decrease instead of increase. Love the world, the whole world, and love with all the power of heart and soul; this will bring the world nearer to you; you will enter into friendly relationship with the world; the race will thereby discover what you have to give and will come at once to receive your talent.

True achievement in any sphere of action depends upon real ability, and a strong, deep, whole-souled love. Eeal ability can be cultivated, and we can all learn to love much; therefore .the future of any person may become far greater and more beautiful than the present.

When others speak wrongly against you, do not permit the slightest trace of ill-feeling; anger and indignation not only weaken your own system, but also cause you to attract disagreeable people and adverse conditions. Love those who have mistreated you; love them with the very deepest power of your soul and they will soon come to you to make everything right again. Love can change the worst hatred into the deepest love; and what is more, when you love everybody you attract only the best people and the best conditions.

Love much, and lovely souls will daily come into your life; and those people who are not as lovely as they might be, will become better because they have met you and felt the divine fires aflame in your soul.

When people are going wrong, just love them; not with the person, nor in a weak, sentimental sense, but

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with that strong, soul-love that comes from the very heart of the Infinite. Such love will lift anybody; and whoever is lifted up into the better becomes better. When we ascend in the scale of life we enter the truer and the higher; we enter the right and thereby become true and right.

When you have reason to think that others are trying to take advantage of you, have no fear. Do not condemn; do not think of the wrong they are planning to do; take God with you and love them; love as you never loved before, and the wrong they are holding against you will change and become a great power for your good instead. Love can change any condition or circumstance and every change that comes through love is a change for the better.

Love brings us into right relations with all persons and all things; love removes inharmony, perverted feelings, obstacles, barriers and all kinds of unnatural conditions, and produces that perfect oneness through which the beautiful life can come forth. He who has placed himself in oneness with man can easily find his unity with God; but no one can find God who does not love man. When we love the whole race with the whole heart, then we shall enter the presence of Him who is love.

It is the truth that “He is nearest to God who is nearest to man;” and the nearer we are to God, the more life and power we receive from above; in consequence, the more we can accomplish in the world, and the better off will the world be because we came here to live for a while.

To be at peace with everything is one of the greatest secrets to greatness, usefulness and high spiritual attainment; and he alone can find the peace that passeth understanding who loves everybody and loves much. But true spiritual love does not love because it expects to gain thereby; when we love in the spirit of gain our love is only material emotion, and does not come from the spiritual depths of the soul.

Pure soul love loves because it is love, and must love. It loves because it is its very life to love, and could not cease loving without ceasing to be. And it cannot cease to be because the love that is love is eternal love. Therefore to awaken the love of the soul is to place in action one of the highest powers in the universe; a power that can do so much because it is so much.

To feel the interior presence of this love, with its high, strong, invincible power, perfectly blended with the sweetest tenderness, not only produces a joy that can not be measured but also lifts you into a universe that is fairer by far than we ever imagined heaven to be. And truly it is heaven we enter when we love with such a love, when we love as God loves.

Pure love sees no evil, no sin, no wrong; it does not live in the world of illusion or darkness; it is a child of the light and radiates its spiritual glory wherever it may be. Where love is, there will the light be also;

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and neither darkness, sickness nor sin can exist in the light.

There is nothing that will not be blessed by the presence of love; and the soul that loves with the spirit, that loves much and loves always, will meet the good alone. He has given his best to the world, and the world will open its heart to him and be kind. As the years pass by, the world will lavish upon him the richest treasures within its power to give, and nothing will be too good to place at his door. Blessings of all kinds from every direction will come in greater and greater abundance, and his life will be full with the best that God and man can give; because he has given his best to the world, and loved much.

The practical mind may think that this is only sentiment, and therefore has no value, neither for the physical life nor for the spiritual life. But too often the practical mind looks for his treasure in the realm of effect instead of in the realm of cause; in consequence, he finds but little of real value anywhere in life. The great things in life do not come through minds that dwell merely on the surface, that cannot rise above the world of tangible results. Everything that is beautiful and of real worth, whether it appeals to the eye, the ear, the intellect or the soul, has come through the mind that had visions, the mind that could soar to supreme heights, and behold the real splendor and glory of the world.

To be practical is well and necessary; but there is something else that comes first. This something else brings forth the substance, the material upon which practical efforts may be applied; therefore, the practical mind cannot act until the dreamer has had his vision.

The higher nature of man must act before the external mind can find anything of value to do; the soul must live and think before the person can attain and achieve, and the greater the love, the greater the life and the thought of the soul.

Whatever has added to the welfare of man in any age has been the product of the mind with the vision. All the good things of life have come from the world of visions and dreams. Someone entered the finer realms of life for a moment and brought back a treasure. The practical mind turned it to use, and the world was richer and better than it was before.

This being true, it is the very height of wisdom to train ourselves to enter consciously and frequently into those finer realms and thus bring forth more of its hidden treasures. It is the best we all seek, and since the best comes from the ideal world, the better we understand the ideal, the richer and greater life will become. To be practical in the largest sense of that term is to so live that we can touch the sublime on the one hand and turn every ideal into a living reality on the other.

The great mind is the dreamer, the prophet, the soul with visions; the mind that can soar to empyrean

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heights and reveal to the race some higher truth, some hetter way, and thereby elevate the whole of mankind. This is the mind that brings real values to the world, that makes life worth while; and one of his principal secrets is love.

When we love in this supreme, spiritual sense, we give a power to our practical efforts that we never gave before. We give life to our work; we do more and better work; results double and more; we do this through a power that many ignore as mere useless sentiment; and we thus demonstrate that love, the deep, strong, soul love, is as practical as any tangible force in the world.

There is nothing to lose but failure, and everything to gain, when we learn to love in this strong, high, universal sense. To begin, love as much as you can; be directly interested in the highest welfare of everybody; feel in the depths of the soul that we are all working together for the greatest good to all the race; and make this feeling so strong that it thrills every fibre in your being.

But do not love for effect; love because you feel love; and train yourself to feel love by loving with all the power of love, and in the highest, purest sense you know. He who tries to ascend will go up; he who tries to become strong will enter power; and he who tries to love everybody with the deepest, highest, strongest love of the soul will daily enter more and more deeply into the very spirit .of that love that is love. And when you are awakened in the world of true spiritual love, real love takes possession of all your feelings and desires; and all your love will eternally love because it is love. From that moment you will constantly receive love from all the world and constantly give love to all the world. You will gain possession of one of the highest and one of the greatest powers in the universe, and the Infinite will always be with you. God is with every soul that loves much; because it is love, the deep, pure, spiritual love that gives man the power to know that My Father and I are One.

When there is anything you truly wish for, do not stand passively hoping that something may happen to make your wish come true; go out and make that wish come true; have the faith that you can; believe in the power that Cod has given you and Cod will give you more. Know that all the good in the universe lies in the path of him who has faith, and who will use the power of faith to make his own faith come true. He who only hopes, will see visions of good things, but will never reach them. But he who transforms his hope into faith and his faith into living works, will reach every lofty goal he has in view. To him nothing shall be impossible, for God is with him.

CHAPTER

GIVING MUCH AND RECEIVING MUCH

When you have attained or received something of exceptional worth, give God the glory. Do not praise yourself, or give your own personality the credit. All power comes from above, and the more we appreciate the source of this power the more we shall receive. The path to perpetual increase is to give God the glory for everything that comes, and when we realize that everything comes from God, everything that comes to us will have exceptional worth. Every moment will be a demonstration of the power of truth, every experience will be an open door to a larger, more beautiful world, and every person, thing or event that we may meet, will add to our welfare and joy. With God all things are possible, and when we give Him the glory for everything we are with Him in everything.

To live the life of the great eternal now in the consciousness of those spiritual elements in which the real man lives and moves and has his being, is to enter the new heaven and the new earth. In the spirit all things are forever new, and the life of the spirit is perpetual ascension into the newer, the larger, the more beautiful, the more sublime. When life seems barren and useless, we are not in the spirit, but the moment we enter the spirit, a million universes are revealed to mind, and the joy of existence becomes supreme. We are not required to search the world of things for happiness, worth, entertainment or events of interest; one moment in the spirit is far more interesting than a whole life of physical existence, and one hour in the cosmic world is a thousand ages of unbounded bliss.

Depend upon the Infinite and His power will see you through. We learn that the Lord fought for Israel in ages gone by, and he will do the same now, for He changeth never. The term “Israel” means one chosen of God, and every person who chooses to go with God will be chosen of God. Go with God, live with God, walk with God, depend upon God in all things, and you will be chosen of God. When you choose God as your leader and your King, He will fight your battles; He will be with you always, and you will never see anything but victory. We fail only when we depend upon ourselves, ignoring the presence and the goodness of the Supreme. We go wrong only when we follow the light of our own darkness, forgetting that the guiding light of the Most High is at hand. This light knows what we ought to do, and when we follow this light we will always do that which is best.

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The light of the spirit never leads into sickness, trouble or want. The light of the spirit invariably lead out of that which is evil, and into that which is good. To go with God is to go into freedom, into happiness and into everything that can add to the richness and beauty of life. God is rich and can give us everything we may need without depriving anyone of anything; and when God leads us on to victory no one will lose because we have gained. The best will happen to everybody, and the greatest good will come to all. The gain of one is the gain of the many, providing that gain was secured through higher power; and when the one ascends in the scale, millions will discover the light they so long have desired to see.

This is our purpose: To live the purest, the largest, the fairest, the most useful, the most beautiful and the most spiritual life possible, just for today. To be our very best here and now, with no desire to outshine some other being, but simply to be all that we are in divine being now. To fill the present moment with all the spiritual sunshine that we can possibly radiate through the crystal walls of love, peace, faith and joy; and to live so near to the Supreme that we may touch the hem of His garment whenever we so desire. This is life, and he who lives with such a purpose forever in view, shall never know an undesired moment.

To believe in the Christ is to enter into the Christ consciousness; not simply to believe something about

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what He was, but to realize what He is; to feel the sublime life that He felt, and to know that touch of the spirit that He knew. We believe in the Christ only when we can mentally feel the power of His life in our own divine nature, and we believe in His name, the name that is above all names, when we can inwardly discern the full spiritual significance of that name. Belief in the Christ is not of the letter, but of the spirit; not to be definitely expressed in words, but to be inwardly felt in the soul. To ask in the name of the Christ is to enter into the spiritual understanding of that name, into the very soul of the power of that name, and in that sublime state offer our prayer. When we enter into that realization where we know what the name of Christ signifies in the spirit, we can ask in His name; and what we ask in His name we invariably receive.

When we enter into the spirit of the name of the Christ we are in the supreme power of the Christ; we inwardly know what the Christ is and what He can do; and being in His power, we are in that power that can do and will do whatever we wish to have done. We fail to receive only when we are outside of that power that can give; but we invariably enter into the power of the Christ when we inwardly know the spiritual meaning of His name. To end a prayer by simply saying, “We ask it in Christ’s name” is not sufficient; we ask in His name only when we can consciously feel that divinity that is defined by the

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name of the Christ. Words have no power unless they are spoken in the feeling of the spirit of that truth that the words are intended to convey. We speak to God only when we spiritually discern and inwardly feel what we say, and God answers only those prayers that are spoken to Him.

We should never try to eliminate evil. To resist evil, to give thought to evil, or to work against evil, is to give more life and power to the very thing you wish to remove. Overcome evil with good, but do not array the good against the evil, thinking that overcoming implies resistance or warfare. To overcome is to rise out of, forgetting the lesser by giving the whole of life to the greater. The purpose of life is to grow eternally into the greater good. Aim to fulfill this purpose and evil of every description will disappear. There is no wrong in the world that demands our attention. The good alone deserves our attention, and when the good receives all our attention, evil cannot exist any more. Build for the right; inspire every soul with an irresistible desire for the right, and everything you do will add to the power that makes for freedom. Think of the good, speak of the good, work for the good, live for the good, and the good only, and your life will be a light wherein darkness can never be.

The false prophet always predicts evil, trouble, misfortune and death. He can see only the weak side, the man made, the coming and going illusions. The true prophet can see that which lies behind the illusion, that which is possible, that which is in store, that which can be done and will be done. He keeps the eye single upon the high state, and thereby ascends into the reality of that vision which previously seemed but a dream. Every person who judges according to appearances is a false prophet; he forms conclusions that are not true to real life, and by following those conclusions causes that which is false and undesirable to come to pass. Every person who judges according to the divinity that is inherent in man is a true prophet; he brings truth into expression and thereby causes that which is true to prevail in tangible existence. The true prophet can see the greatness, the beauty and the perfection of the soul of man, and knowing that the soul is the master, predicts the coming of everything that is in the soul, or that the soul has the power to do; and all such predictions will come true.

God is sufficient. When you are in sickness, trouble, sorrow or want depend upon the Supreme. You need nothing else. Infinite power is greater than all power, and if you have perfect faith, this power will surely set you free, no matter what the condition of bondage may be. The ills of the world continue principally because we think that something else besides the Infinite is required. But to depend upon other things besides the one is idol worship. The true worship of God, the highest worship of God, is to live so near

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to God that we can, at all times, feel that power that can do everything, will do everything, is doing everything. When we worship God, in spirit and in truth, we do not seek help from things; we use things according to their nature, but we seek help from the Supreme alone.

There is no bondage in living according to the law; in brief, there is freedom only in that life that lives absolutely according to the law. A law is but a path to new realms, fairer than we have ever known before. To follow any law in life is to increase the greatness and the worth of life, and to follow all the laws of life is to grow perpetually into the highest good that body, mind and soul can possibly desire. And no one could wish for a greater freedom than this. To use the law is to gain our own; to misuse or ignore the law is to deprive ourselves of our own, and bring disorder, want and pain into life instead. The law never binds nor holds down; the power of all law moves eternally towards the heights, that supreme greatness that is waiting for man; and whoever follows the law will move with that power up unto those same heights.

Give God the glory for what you have and you will receive more. Be grateful for the measure that is coming to you and that measure will increase perpetually. This is the law and it will never fail unless you fail to do to others what God is doing to you. Giving and receiving must be equal in your life. We

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must give something for everything we receive; nothing is free; the universe is not built in that manner; but giving does not imply the gift of things. True giving and true being are one and the same in real life.

The act of giving produces just as much joy as the act of receiving, because both add to the richness of existence. When we give much we bring forth much from the depths of divine being, and what we bring forth becomes a permanent part of actual life. When we give much we add to life from the within; when we receive much we add to life from the without; and when the richness of the within is harmoniously blended with the richness of the without, then real living begins. But the two must be equal. When we give more than we receive, or receive more than we give, discord follows, and herein we find the cause of many troubles and ills. The lesser without cannot receive the greater within, nor can the greater without be appropriated and appreciated by the lesser within. The small, undeveloped mind cannot enjoy the sublime grandeur of nature, nor can the great, highly developed mind find contentment in crude, uncultivated surroundings. The without and the within must be in harmony if the highest happiness and the truest life is to be enjoyed, and this harmony is invariably secured when giving and receiving are equal. In truth, there is no other way; if we would have the real correspond with the ideal, and the ca-

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pacity to enjoy be as large as the good things we have found to enjoy, we must give as much as we receive and receive as much as we give.

Before we can receive those things in the without that have worth, we must bring forth wortli from the within. What we bring forth from the within we always give to the world, because no person can enrich his own spiritual life without enriching the whole world thereby. Before we can receive the best of all things in the without, we must bring forth the best of all things from the within. But to desire to give to the world from the richness of our own nature is not sufficient; many have done this and have found themselves in want, both physical and spiritual. To desire to receive is just as necessary as to desire to give. The two desires should be equally strong, and together should hourly grow in strength. The desire to receive is just as good as the desire to give, providing the two desires are equally dear to the heart. The more we receive the more we can give, and the more we give the greater our capacity to receive. Therefore, by placing ourselves in that position where we can constantly give more and more and constantly receive more and more, we not only add more and more to the richness and beauty and perfection of our own life, but we become a great power for good in the world. And this is our highest aim.

Before we can live a great life and receive from the external world those things that naturally belong to a great life, we must give forth into real life more and more of our own inherent greatness. Before we can receive as much from the world of things as our largest personal needs and desires may demand, we must unfold, develop and use those powers and talents that are necessary to the building of greater and greater things. Be of great use in the world and you give more and more to the world. In response the world will bring your own to you. He who actively is much, gives much; and he gives the most who serves the best.

To serve the human race in the largest and highest sense, we must bring forth into living expression the truest, the best and the greatest that we can possibly find in the depths of our own sublime being. And to this end we need all the inspiration we can receive from nature, all the love and friendship we can receive from man, and all the wisdom and power we can receive from God.

To become all that we are destined to become, we must receive the largest possible measure from ever}7 source, but we cannot receive the largest possible measure from any source unless we give all we have the power to give whenever we have the privilege to do so. And this privilege is ever present. Whatever our field of action may be we may give the very best that there is within us; and we will not do so in vain. Live a great life where you are; hide nothing that has worth; use every talent in full measure; bring forth

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into life and usefulness the highest powers that you know you possess, and you will enter into a greater and greater life, until you finally reach the supreme heights of exalted spiritual attainments. Awaken everything within you that can, in any manner, enrich, beautify and perfect the whole of life. Do not limit the giving of your greatest self to any one part or any one group of parts. Live for the universe and all that the vastness of the cosmos may contain.

The more we all give to the whole of life the more we all shall receive from the whole of life. We therefore have everything to gain by giving more and more everywhere, and by receiving more and more from every source in order that they may give again in still greater measure. And herein we find the secret to that beautiful life that God has prepared for them that love Him.

“JBe not anxious for your /i/e.*’ Live your life according to the very highest light that is within you; use fully and Well all the powers that you have received; give your best to the world at all times and under every circumstance, and depend upon the Infinite for everything that existence may need or desire. You will receive it. You need not be anxious about anything. Cod is greater than anything that can possibly happen. Have faith in Him and He will see you safely through. Things go wrong only when you fail to be your best and fail to take God with you in everything you do. It is therefore in your power to place yourself in that position where everything will go right. The lilies of the field are all that beautiful lilies can possibly be, and they depend wholly upon the powers divine that are within them. Accordingly, they are an inspiration to all the world.

CHAPTEE VIII

AND ALL, THINGS SHALL BE ADDED

But seek ye first his kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.— Mat. 6:33.

The kingdom of God is within, and manifests through man as the spiritual life. His righteousness is the right use of all that is contained in the elements of the spiritual life. The spiritual life being the complete life, the full expression of life in body, mind and soul, it is evident that the right use of the spiritual life will produce and bring everything that man may need or desire. The source of everything has the power to produce everything, providing the power within that source is used according to exact spiritual law.

The spiritual life being the source of all that is necessary to a full and perfect life, and the kingdom of God .within being the source of the spiritual life, we can readily understand why the kingdom should be sought first; and also, why everything that we may require will be added when the first thought is given to spiritual living and righteous action. Eighteous

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action, however, is not simply moral action, but the right use of the elements of life in all action.

To seek His kingdom first, it is not necessary to withdraw from the world, nor to deny oneself the good things that exist in the world; to seek the kingdom first, is to givef one’s strongest thought to the spiritual life, and to make spiritual thought the predominating thought in everything that one may do in life. In other words, go to God first for everything, place your greatest dependence upon His power to carry you through everything, and live so close to His kingdom within that you are fully conscious of that kingdom every moment.

To seek the kingdom first, the heart must be in the spirit; that is, to live the spiritual life must be the predominating desire; but the mental conception of the spiritual life must not be narrow; in brief, that conception must contain the perfection of everything that can possibly appear in life. To think of the spiritual life as being distinct from mind and body is to deter the spiritual life from being expressed in mind and body; but what is not expressed is not lived. To think about the spiritual, or to feel the emotional power of the spiritual is not sufficient; but that is as far as the spiritual life has been taken by the average person; that the other things were not added is therefore no fault of the law.

The spiritual life must be thoroughly lived in mind and body; the power of the spirit must be made the

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soul of all power, and the law of spiritual action must be made the rule and guide in all action. When the spiritual is lived in all life, the richness, the quality and the worth of the spiritual will be produced in all life, and spiritual worth is the sum-total of all worth.

To enter the kingdom within is to enter health, harmony and happiness, because these three great principles reign supremely in the spiritual life of man. Therefore, by seeking the kingdom, health will be added, harmony will be added, happiness will be added. It is impossible to be sick in the spiritual life; and discord and unhappiness can no more exist in such a life than darkness can exist in the most brilliant light. But to seek the kingdom is not sufficient; we must also seek his righteousness. If we misuse any organ, faculty, function or power anywhere in body, mind or soul, we cannot remain in health no matter how spiritual we may try to be.

To seek his righteousness is to use everything in our world as God uses everything in His world; which means, in harmony with its own nature, in harmony with its sphere of action and in harmony with the law that tends upward and onward forever. Bighteous action is that action that is always harmonious, and that always works for better things, greater things, higher things.

To enter the kingdom within is to enter more power, because there is no limit to the power of the spirit; and the more power we enter into or become conscious of, the more power we will give to mind and body. In consequence, the more spiritual we become the stronger we become, the more able we become, the more competent we become, and the more we can accomplish whatever our work may be. And he who can do good work in the world invariably receives the good things in the world. To his life will be added all those things that can make personal existence rich and beautiful.

To enter the kingdom is to enter the life of freedom. There is no bondage in the spirit, and as we grow in the spirit we grow out of all bondage; one adverse condition after another disappears until absolute freedom is gained. All bondage comes from incompleteness in living, and misuse of life in doing. But the spiritual life is full and complete, and it follows the law of righteous action in all doing; therefore, when we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, perfect freedom in all things and at all times will invariably be added.

When we seek first the kingdom, all other things are not added in some mysterious manner; nor do they come of themselves regardless of our conscious effort to work in harmony with the law of life; that is, the law of being and doing all that lies within the power of life. We receive from the kingdom only what we are prepared to use in the living of a great life, and in the doing of great and noble things in the world. We receive only in proportion to what we

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give; and it is only as we work well that we produce results; but by entering the spiritual life we receive as much as we may require in order to give as much as we desire; and we gain the power to do everything that is necessary to give worth and superiority to our present state of existence.

When we enter the spiritual life we gain every quality that is required in making life full and complete in our own state of being; and we gain the power to produce and create in the external world whatever we may need or desire. In other words, we receive everything we want from the within, and we gain the power to produce everything we want in the without. We therefore need never take anxious thought about these ‘ ‘ other things. ‘ ‘ By seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, we shall positively receive them. The way will be opened, and we shall be abundantly supplied with the best that life can give.

Depend upon me. I will provide. This is the Word, eternally spoken from on high; and every awakened soul has learned the message, but the few alone have discerned its real interpretation.

God is rich, and nothing is too good for the children of God. The Spirit of the Infinite will provide; not bare necessities, but everything. Ask what thou wilt and I will answer thee.

It is the will of God that we should seek everything that is good, worthy and beautiful. The life of man should be full and complete; human existence should be rich in body, mind and soul, for this is the great divine purpose.

To think that we must live on bare necessities in order to be spiritual, is to limit our faith in the goodness and the power of God. The kingdom of God is at hand now; we are expected to enter now, and this kingdom is abundantly supplied with everything that can enrich, perfect and beautify human life.

Seek ye first the kingdom, and all other things shall be added; not simply enough to live on, but all things. The love of God is infinite, and we cannot think of infinite love as wanting to give less than all. God has the power to give all. He also has the desire to give all, and therefore every soul may, at any time, receive all that present development can take possession of.

The more we ask of God the more we please God. To give is the highest pleasure of true love, and God is true love. To ask Him for everything, the most of everything and the best of everything is to enter into the life of the highest joy of heaven; and to live in such a life is to live indeed.

When we do not have what we want or what we need, we should remember that Spirit can provide, and that Spirit will provide if we only so desire. Depend upon me. I will not forsake thee nor leave thee. I am thy Eedeemer, I will care for thee.

Take God at His word. Have faith in the message

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that comes from on high. Believe with all the power of mind and soul that God will do what love will do, because God is love. Open the heart to the influx of infinite love, and all that God can give will come with His love.

Do not hesitate to ask God for material things. God owns the universe. Everything is the product of His creative power; therefore it is all good, and what is good is good for man. What you can use to promote the welfare of everybody, including yourself, you may receive. Only remember this, that things spiritual must come first in your thought. You may have abundances of things material; there is more than enough to provide everybody with all the luxuries of life. You will not deprive anybody of anything by accepting from God all that His love can give. Others may receive as much from the same source; but seek first the things of the spirit, for this is the law.

Consider the lilies of the field. Why should not you be arrayed like one of these 1 It is the will of God that you should be, and you will give Him great pleasure by asking Him to clothe you even more gorgeously than they. But we must remember that we are not to take these things from others; we are to receive them from God. There is a great difference between the two methods, and there are few in the world that can see it.

To receive from God we must love the spiritual the best, though we must neither despise nor ignore the material. All is from God, and all will minister to the joy and beauty of life when used in harmony with a life that is lived in God. When we live in God, all things will be turned to good account, and when we work with God, all things will work together for greater good.

The world tries to get from man; the perfect way is to receive from God; and the moment we adopt the latter method, the way will be opened. Spirit will lead; we will know at each step what we are to do, and what step to take next will always be clear. Live close to God and have faith; no matter what may come or not, depend upon the spirit to lead and provide, and you will always do what is best.

However, we must never think that it is best for anyone to live in poverty, trouble and pain; no, this is never best, not even for a moment. The Infinite can provide something better here and now, and it is His will and good pleasure to do so.

When days of darkness are at hand, cling to the great truth, spirit will provide. Think of it constantly; live in the very soul of its presence; believe in it from the very depths of the heart. Things will take a turn. The door of opportunity will open. The desired change will come. There is nothing in the world that the Spirit cannot change for the better; therefore we may with perfect faith ask for any change desired. The best is intended for all of us. God is ever ready to give everything. Ask what them wilt and I will answer thee.

To think of thee and feel thy presence near. To rise above the world of doubt and fear. To enter where the many mansions be, To hold communion face to face with thee.

To find the secret place where all is still,

To feel thy joy and life my being thrill,

To know that health and wholeness now are

mine, To see thy light within forever shine,

To feel the peace that passeth thought and

speech,

To know that I the endless heights shall reach. That I thy Son for evermore shall be, These are the sweetest thoughts of life to me.

CHAPTEE IX

WHEN LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

To establish permanently the living of life in the spiritual state of being is the greatest need of man,, But this is not possible so long as we live in that conception of spirituality that forgets the body. The body is the temple of the spirit, and must therefore receive just as much thought and attention as we give to the spirit. To neglect the body is to make real spirituality impossible, because real spirituality is a living thing, and must have a highly developed personality through which this living may be expressed. Spirituality is not simply in thought, feeling or abstract contemplation; there is no spirituality without the actual coming forth of real soul life; but the life of the soul does not come forth into tangible personal living unless the body is trained to respond to that life.

The spirituality that we seek is that full expression of the soul that fills every atom in the body and gives the sublime wholeness of divinity to the entire being of man. To be spiritual is to be complete in body, mind and soul; to live the fullness of real life in every element of life, and to bring forth the truest, the best and the most beautiful that exists within us. To become spiritual is to refine everything, perfect everything, beautify everything, and make the ideal real, not only in thought but in every part of physical life, mental life and spiritual life. To grow in spirituality is to continue perpetually to spiritualize the body, as well as mind and soul, until the visible man is as pure, as strong, as wholesome and as beautiful as the highest state of divine existence.

True spirituality will give health and vigor to the body, power and brilliancy to the mind, strength and perfection to the character, and sublime loveliness to the soul. The more spiritual you become the more beautiful you become in person, the more refined you become in all the elements of your nature, the more powerful you become in every thought and action, and the more comfort, happiness and real satisfaction you will receive from everything you may do in life. When spirituality is highly developed you live constantly on the heights; you see all things as they are in the real; you know that you are created in the image and likeness of God; you are in constant touch with the beauty and splendor of the cosmic world, and your joy is supreme. You are living in the light of the spirit, and your mind at times is so illumined by that light that your understanding of higher wisdom becomes extraordinary. You thus enter those lofty realms from which all true prophets have received

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their inspiration, and, accordingly, you become one of those who are chosen to be taught of God.

To enter real spirituality is to anchor the mind in that very power that holds and guides the universe; and such a mind is always safe. Such a mind will not go wrong; and even though it be strongly tempted, it will be removed from danger before it is too late. There is something in the higher world about us that can and does protect the soul; and those who are fixed on high in the spirit are ever in the care of this divine protection. Dangers, calamities or catastrophes will never touch them; they are invariably taken out safely, no matter what may happen; they are ever in the hands of God, and all is always well.

This higher guiding power, however, does not simply protect the chosen ones from that which is not desired; but those who have supreme faith in the spirit will be led on and on into the larger and larger realization of that which is desired. The spirit contains all, and to grow in the spirit is to receive all. Not simply that all that satisfies the demands of the intellect or the feelings of the soul, but that all that fully supplies every want, desire or need of the whole man. Spirituality is the highest good of all life realized in full living expression. In the spiritual life there is no need, neither is there any false desire. Every desire is true to the great purpose of eternal life, and every desire is fulfilled. In spiritual life every prayer is inspired by the wisdom of the spirit, and such prayers are always answered. Whatever God may lead us to do He will always give us the power to do.

The spiritual state of being is the great foundation of all being, and the source of everything that comes forth into perfect being; therefore, the more deeply we enter into the life and the power of the spirit the more fully conscious we become of those greater things that real life has in store; and whatever we become conscious of we invariably bring forth into tangible existence. The spiritual life contains real life, real power, real wisdom, real love, real harmony, real health, real purity, real peace, real joy, and to develop spirituality is to realize more and more of the real of these things until the perfection of divine being is unfolded and lived in the present personal form. In consequence, when we are in the spiritual life we need sacrifice nothing that has real value, while we gain more and more of everything that has greater value. When we begin to live the spiritual ]ife we begin to feel that we are now upon the solid rock of eternal being, and we feel absolutely secure. We realize that we are in safety, in divinity, in the protecting care of higher power. We are becoming more and more conscious of the cosmic atmosphere, and this gives added assurance of complete protection, because this higher, sublimated atmosphere is so surcharged with living spirit that no ill from the world can possibly pass through. We are absolutely

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out of the ills of the world when we are in the spirit, just as we are absolutely out of darkness when we are in the light. And to grow in the spirit the first essential is to take what spiritual life we can now understand and give that life full, living expression in every atom of body, soul and mind.

There can be no real spirituality developed so long as we try to make such developments a matter of the soul alone; mind and body must be included or our efforts simply result in feelings and sentiments that are neither wholesome nor harmless. Spirituality is not a matter of sentiment, nor is it wholly concerned with a future state of existence. Spirituality is a full life just for to-day. It is a life that is all that it is now, and those who are in the spirit know that the time that now is, is eternal.

One touch of the spirit and all is well. Darkness and pain will vanish, sickness and sorrow take flight; weakness and bondage will pass away, and troubles can exist no more. To be touched by the spirit is to be filled through and through with the spirit, and where the spirit is there evil is not. What we have seen in our visions shall come to remain. What is revealed from on high shall come and abide with us always. Therefore let the soul dream on. Disturb not the peace of those sweet celestial slumbers, for what to us may appear to be spiritual sleep is but life in a greater world. And thus something from above comes to tell us, “ dream on, fair soul, dream on.”

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To worship God in spirit and in truth, is to so live that we can always feel that he is with us no matter what we may think or say or do. To worship God is to take Him with us in everything, ask Him for everything, have faith that He will give us everything, and be grateful to Him because we inwardly know that we are receiving everything. To worship is not to believe and adore, but to live and love; not simply to accept the truth but to make the truth the living soul of every thought and word and deed. When we worship God in truth, we enter into His presence knowing that He is divine perfection and that we are created in His image and likeness. To believe that we are depraved beings, base sinners or imperfect human creatures, is not to be in the truth, because to be in the truth we are as God is. Therefore, while we have those beliefs we cannot worship God in truth. To worship God in truth we must enter the truth, and to enter the truth is to know that man is even now the perfect image of the Most High.

To worship God in the spirit, is to forget the letter and enter into the spiritual realization of His omnipresent life. When we are in the spirit we do not worship with audible words or visible attitudes, but with that exalted spiritual feeling that enters into the very soul of the Infinite and there awakens to the great eternal truth that i * My Father and I are one. ‘ ‘ When we are in the spirit we inwardly know that “God is closer than breathing, nearer than hands and

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feet,” and we can feel that sublime nearness thrill every atom in our being. We need nothing to prove to us that we are one with God, for we can feel that it is the truth. Nor do we question any more whether God be personal or not. We know that we are with Him and that He is with us; and that is sufficient. His personal presence is more real to us than our own existence; we therefore need not reason on that subject. W”e have seen Him in the spirit, but that which is in the spirit, form cannot measure, nor words define.

The word of God is the word of truth. All truth is Scripture wherever found or by whom presented; and all Scripture is written when the mind is in the spirit. Therefore, to understand the Scripture we must enter the spirit, and read while illumined by the spirit. We shall then find, upon every page, “the bread of heaven, “ “the waters of life,” “the meat that ye know not of.” The key to the Scriptures is not some system of symbolical interpretation, nor some special method of metaphysical or spiritual analysis. The key is simply to enter the spirit when you begin to read. The spirit reveals everything that is sacred and true.

To live exclusively in materiality, that is, in the lower story of being, is the cause of all weakness and weariness. The remedy for such conditions will therefore be found in spirituality, which means to live in the upper story. So long as the mind is “high” in the world of consciousness there can be no weakness or weariness in the person. We cannot be weary while we are filled with the strength of the Most High, and we are in perfect touch with this great strength while the mind is living in the ‘ ‘ high places ‘ ‘ of the spirit. When we come down to the earth, earthy we lose this superior power and become weak as mere men; we are limited in every respect and have to watch ourselves at every turn lest we overtax the system. But when we do all things in the realization that we are spiritual beings filled with supreme power from on high, there is no limit to what we can do. Our strength is eternally renewed because we are waiting upon the Lord; we are living with Him, doing all things for Him, and in return we receive all things from Him.

When the mind lives constantly in the higher states of being, more perfect oneness with the Infinite is attained. We come nearer and nearer to the Life and the Spirit of the Supreme, and, in consequence, we are supplied with new life and power every moment. We are going into the source of all power; we are beginning to live and move and have our being in the very essence of that power, and we are becoming stronger by far than all the weakness and the weariness in the world. We are no longer subject to the laws of material existence; what holds true in the life of mere man does not hold true for us any more; we have entered a new life and are ascending triumphantly to the supreme heights of that life. The

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seeming weakness of the flesh has given place to the limitless strength of the Spirit, for the very moment we begin to live in the spirit, the power of the spirit begins to live in us, and that which lives in us lives in every element of the body as well as in every attribute of mind and soul.

Spirituality is the perfect remedy for all the ills of life, and to live the spiritual life is the greatest thing that man can do. Therefore, to promote spiritual growth among all minds that are ready, is of more importance than all other objects and aims combined. Thousands realize this, and, in consequence, are ever in search for methods through which the life of the spirit may be found. Methods, however, are of secondary importance. When the heart begins to feel the need of the spirit, and all the powers of mind begin to desire the spirit, the perfect way will be opened. To promote spiritual growth we must live in the spiritual center of the divine that is within us, but that divine center is not found through methods. No system of mental gymnastics can open the gates to the kingdom within; nor can any system of logical reasoning in abstract truth cause the mind to be illumined with light from on high. Spiritual illumination does not come through a mere intellectual process, however exact; it comes only when the desires of the heart are spiritualized by a power that is infinitely greater than man.

To think the truth, even with absolute exactness. will not avail unless we think in the spirit of truth. The intellectual form of the truth has no power; it is the inner spirit of the truth that gives life, freedom and illumination to man. And when we begin to know this inner spirit of the truth our minds have entered into the very soul of the real. Then it is that we gain power that to many seems superhuman; then it is that we take full possession of our own life and our own destiny; then it is that we find the faith that moves mountains, and through the life of this faith we press on and on to the great goal we have in view, removing every barrier in the way, overcoming every difficulty, surmounting every obstacle, rising higher than ever before every time we fall, transforming every seeming defeat into a great and glorious victory, passing through the fires of tribulation without even a hair being scorched, and coming out of every trying experience with greater purity and greater strength, realizing one ideal after another, ascending from one pinnacle of attainment to one that is higher still, finding answer after answer to the prayers we prayed in days gone by, until every desire is fulfilled and every dream of the soul made true.

There is no reason whatever why anyone should become discouraged, or be tempted to give up because the good things desired are not realized when expected. That which is your own will positively come to you, and everything is your own that you can use in the building of a greater and more beauti-

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ful life. Continue in the faith that you will now begin to realize the fullness of life, and enter into the inner spirit of that faith. Some of the greatest things in the world have been gained after many years of constant faith and prayer— things that would not have been gained if those who prayed had lived in discouragement and doubt. If there is anything that you can use in the building of a great life, pray for it until you receive it no matter how many months or years may be required to cause your prayer to come true. Pray in the inner spirit of faith and when the time is ripe, be it to-morrow or twenty years from now, your prayer will be answered.

When your prayers are not answered at once, do not come to the conclusion that it is not best for you to have it; if that which you pray for will add to the welfare of somebody’s life, it is best for you to have it. Therefore, continue to pray for it until you receive it. It is best that you should have everything that is good and true and beautiful. All that is good is good for man, and it is the will of God that man should receive it. But God gives us only that which we desire. We have individual choice, and we must express our desire in the true spirit of faith. What we ask for will come when our faith is right and our life prepared to properly use the great good desired;

To promote spiritual growth the inner light must shine in the outer life, and the inner world of divine truth must be expressed in every part of mind and

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body. The expression of the divinity within is absolutely necessary, and must be in every direction. Thousands to-day are expressing truth only for the purpose of securing health of body and peace of mind, and though they are having good results they will find ere long that in trying to perfect only a part of the outer life they have failed to bring forth the whole of the inner life. They will also find that the marvelous powers of the within have been permitted to sleep. After some years such minds will find that they have accomplished nothing more than being well and comfortable physically. But this is not all that we are living for. A genius is asleep in the subconscious of every mind; a spiritual giant is within us awaiting recognition; and in the soul is the Christ knocking at the door. These must not be kept waiting age after age while we are only concerned with being well and happy on the surface. / It is not right to live a small life no matter how comfortable that life may be when we have received the gifts of the supreme life from on high.

The expression of the spirit should be universal in all the actions of man. The labor of the hands should be filled with the life of the spirit; the work of the mind should be animated with the one power of spirit, and every act of consciousness should feel the divine presence of the spirit. There are few, however, who think of expressing divine spirit in every day work, and consequently, the spiritual life becomes a thing

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apart. But when the personal life is separated from the spirit, darkness, confusion, sickness and trouble begin; existence becomes a burden, and though we may possess the wealth of the world, life has nothing of worth to give. There is no joy in things unless the power of the spirit is in the world of things. There is nothing to live for unless we live for the spirit, and when we begin to live for the spirit all things, from the least importance in the physical realm to the most precious elements in the highest spiritual realms —all become ministering angels, adding eternally to the worth, the beauty and the joy of personal life. To him who lives in the spirit, everything in life has much to give, and to him, the best alone is given.

When we think, the mind should be filled with the spirit, and our intellects will become brilliant in the true sense of that term. When we read, our eyes should be filled with the spirit, and our sight will ever become stronger and better. When we work, every muscle in the body should be filled with the spirit, and we should renew our strength from the source divine. We thus cause the outer life and the inner life to become one life, and it is such a life that we are here to live now. Say that life is beautiful, no matter how things may appear on the surface. Say that you are strong and well no matter how the body may feel. You will thus speak the truth about the true state of being; and what you say, you create. Say that you are well and you create health. Say that life is divinely beautiful and you create such a life. And what we create today, we shall realize tomorrow.

There are a number of methods through which the spiritual nature of man can be developed and brought into larger and larger expression, but the majority of those methods are so complex that they lead more into intellectuality than into spirituality. To develop the mind, with its many faculties, complex methods are, as a rule, necessary, but to develop the soul, the simpler the methods are, the better. The secret is to keep the eye single upon the sublime spiritual state, to form the highest possible conception of the most perfect spiritual qualities imaginable, and to think of those things. The power of concentration is truly extraordinary whenever it may be applied, and its effectiveness is nowhere as thorough as in the world of the spirit. To think constantly of things spiritual, with an effort to enter more and more into the real life of the spirit, is to spiritualize all the elements of thought, all the phases of consciousness, and all the active states of realization. In consequence, everything in human life will become more spiritual.

What we think of we create; therefore the more we think of things spiritual the more spirituality we shall develop; and when the whole of thought is concentrated constantly upon our highest spiritual ideal, we shall actually move into the real spiritual state. There is a spiritual state of consciousness immedi-

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ately above the usual conscious state, and it is the lifting of mind and thought up into this higher state that produces spirituality; therefore, spiritual development will necessarily require the ascending tendency in every action in life. This requirement, however, is invariably supplied, when the power of attention is constantly directed upon the spiritual state. When we think of that which is spiritual, everything in life begins to ascend towards the higher spiritual states; that is, when our thinking of the spiritual is inspired with a deep soul desire to rise and live on the heights.

Live with the beautiful side in human nature and your own life will grow more and more beautiful until you become an inspiration to all the world. Look f°r the greater good in all things and you will find God in all things. And when you find Cod in all things God will be with you in all things.

Say that life is beautiful, no matter how things may appear on the surface. Say that you are strong and well no matter how the body may feel. You will thus speak the truth about the true state of being; and what you say, you create. Say that you are well and you create health. Say that life is divinely beautiful and you create such a life. And what we create today, we shall realize tomorrow.

The pure in heart shall see God, and to be pure in heart is to think pure thoughts — the thought of sublime spiritual truth. The reason we do not see God is found in the fact that we have clouded our minds with impure thoughts — thought that is out of harmony with the divine order of things. Pure water is transparent; the same is true of a pure mind. The deep things of God are easily discerned through a pure mind, just as easily as the rocks of the river bed when the water is pure and still.