Book Description
P-R-A-I-S-E,
THE KINGDOM OF EXPANSION,
AS A MAN THINKETH, THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE, THE MASTER MIND.
Chapter
1 - P-R-A-I-S-E
DID YOU EVER NOTICE that if you leave off the "P"
from the
word Praise, what you have left is
"Raise"?
That is no mere accident, for wise men have realized for thousands of
years that to praise is to raise the spirits and increase the power of
the one praised. In the same way, praise of God and thankfulness for
His gifts raises the spirits of the one who sings those praises to the
heights of rare accomplishment.
Just as praise and thanksgiving freed Paul and Silas from the chains of
the dungeon, so can they free you from worry and fear and the dungeons
of dark despair. "I will sing unto Jehovah," sang the Psalmist of old,
"because He hath dealt bountifully with me." And if we would have Him
deal bountifully with us, it behooves us to praise and be thankful for
the good we now have, no matter how small that good may seem to be.
"The righteous doth sing and rejoice," we are told in the Scriptures.
And the Hebrew word used for "sing" means "to sing out loud, even to
shout for joy." To sing with joy is one of the long-neglected truths of
POWER. "The Sons of God shouted for joy."
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of Expansion, and the way to
expand what we have is through praise and joy and thanksgiving. Seldom
indeed in the Bible do you find that God provides supply out of thin
air. Almost always He requires the recipients of His bounty to start
with what they have. The widow with the oil and meal, that other widow
with a little oil, the feeding of the multitudes with the loaves and
fishes, and scores of other cases, all started with the supply in hand.
God expanded what they had. And God will expand what you have, if you
rightly use the power of praise and thanksgiving.
But mere expansion is not enough. You might expand all the water in the
world into steam, and get no good from it—if you had no engine in which
to use the steam. You must have a purpose in mind if you are to get the
utmost of good from your expansion. You must set a goal. You must plan
the
form in which that
expanded energy is to make itself manifest. It can be in your body, in
your circumstances, in your surroundings—in anything of good you may
desire.
Some years ago the Journal of Education had a story that expressed this
idea clearly. "There was once a prince," it read, "who had a crooked
back. He could never stand straight up like even the lowest of his
subjects. Because he was a very proud prince, his crooked back caused
him a great deal of mental suffering.
"One day he called before him the most skillful sculptor in his kingdom
and said to him: 'Make me a noble statue of myself, true to my likeness
in every detail, with this exception—make this statue with a straight
back. I wish to see myself as I might have been.'
"For long months the sculptor worked, hewing the marble carefully into
the likeness of the prince, and at last the work was done, and the
sculptor went before the prince and said: 'The statue is finished;
where shall I set it up?' One of the courtiers called out: 'Set it
before the castle gate where all can see it,' but the prince smiled
sadly and shook his head. 'Rather,' said he, 'place it in a secret nook
in the palace garden where only I shall see it.'
"The statue was placed as the prince ordered, and promptly
forgotten
by the world, but every morning and every noon and every evening, the
prince stole quietly away to where it stood and looked long upon it,
noting the straight back and the uplifted head and the noble brow. And
each time he gazed, something seemed to go out of the statue and into
him, tingling in his blood and throbbing in his heart.
"The days passed into months and the months into years; then strange
rumors began to spread throughout the land. Said one: 'The prince's
back is no longer crooked or my eyes deceive me.' Said another: 'Our
prince has the high look of a mighty man.' And these rumors came to the
prince, and he listened with a queer smile.
"Then went he out into the garden to where the statue stood and behold,
it was just as the people said, his back had become straight as the
statue's, his head had the same noble bearing; he was, in fact, the
noble man his statue proclaimed him to he."
2500 years ago, in the Golden Age of Athens, when its culture led the
world, Grecian mothers surrounded themselves with beautiful statues
that they might bring forth perfect children and that the children in
turn might develop into perfect men and women.
Eleven months from now, YOU will have an entirely new body, inside and
out. Not a single cell, not a single bit of tissue that is now in you
will be there then. What changes do you want made in that new body?
What improvements ?
Then start right now getting that new model clearly in mind. Buy
yourself a scrap book. Cut from the magazines a picture of the finest
figure of a man or woman that you can find, and paste it on page one.
Cut out other pictures, that show clearly different parts of your body
that need developing or perfecting, and paste them on other pages. Then
cut pictures of people doing the sort of things you would love to
do—dancing, swimming, riding horseback, rowing, fishing, playing golf
or tennis, anything you like—and paste them on different pages of your
scrap book.
At the top and bottom of each page, or alongside the pictures, put such
reminders and affirmations as these:
"Father God, I thank Thee for my glorious strength, my
abiding health, my tireless energy,"
"Vitalize Thy perfect image in me in perfect form."
"I am strong in the Lord and the power of His might."
"God made me in His own image. He is my strength and power. He maketh
my way perfect. The joy of the Lord is my strength."
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you?"
"Divine Love protects and sustains me. I am the open channel
through which the healing currents of life are now flowing. God is my
life. God is my health. In God is my trust."
Under a picture showing someone with a splendid chest, taking breathing
exercises, put—
"The Spirit of the Lord hath made me, and the breath of the almighty
giveth me life."
Under one bathing—
"Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
Under a picture of the eyes—
"Open thou mine eyes, that in Thy light I may see the light."
Or, if your eyes are weak or troublesome, put—
"Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind. Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God. I see God in my eyes, in their perfect life and
strength and wholeness. If thou can'st believe, all things are possible
to him that believeth. According to thy faith be it done unto you."
Under picture at a well-filled table—
"Thou shalt eat thy bread with joy."
Under sleep—
"They that rest in the Lord shall renew their strength like the eagle.
They shall walk and not faint, they shall run and not be weary. Thy
Spirit strengthens both my soul and my body, and I rest in peace of
wholeness and health."
Under vigorous, happy, healthy older people—
"As my days, so shall my
strength
be. Behold, all things are becoming new. Thou shall make me full of joy
in Thy presence. Passing years have no effect upon my spiritual body. I
am alive in Jesus Christ forever. I am a tower of strength and
stability in the realization that God is my health. God's life is
constant, unbroken, eternal. I am quickened in His consciousness of
life. His constant power and strength sustain me and I am healed. I AM
a perfect idea of God and all of life is with me now and always."
A long time ago, Epictetus said: "God has delivered YOU to YOUR care,
and this is what He says to you— 'I have no fitter to trust than YOU.
Preserve this body for me just as it is by nature; modest, beautiful,
faithful, noble, tranquil.'
You will find many affirmations to paste in your scrap book. Use any
and all that seem helpful. But that saying of Epictetus is a good one
to paste on the last page—a good one to bear always in mind. "God has
delivered you to your care." And God gave you dominion. So think of
yourself as well and strong. Think of your body as spiritual substance
that is not subject to the ills of the flesh. Think of it as constantly
changing, continually GROWING into the perfect image that you are
holding before it.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of Expansion. If you have but a
single perfect cell in your whole body, you can expand that cell into a
perfect body, provided only that you hold before it the image of health
and strength—not of sickness; provided only that you BELIEVE! "God made
man but little lower than the Angels."
"Give
Us This Day Our Daily Bread"
For your Prosperity and Abundant Supply Scrap Book, you cannot do
better than start with that line from the Lord's Prayer—"Give us this
day our daily bread."
Get a picture of a horn of plenty—a cornucopia— with all manner of good
things pouring out of it, and paste it on the first page of your Scrap
Book. Line the page with pictures of sparrows and lilies of the field,
to remind you of Jesus' promise, and then put at the bottom of the page
something like this :
"O God, beginning now I
shall
forever LET Thy Spirit Infinite become the sole dictator of my soul;
and I shall never more take anxious thought of anything, but grow as
the lilies grow, in peace and power, so that I shall have all I need,
forevermore."
The next page, I'd head with the line—"I can have what I want—
if I plant it."
Under it, paste pictures of farmers or gardeners planting seed, only
take a pen or pencil and change those seeds into $$$. Under these
pictures, put—"The riches of the Spirit now fill my mind and affairs. I
think prosperity, I talk prosperity and I know that prosperity and
success are mine."
On other pages, show pictures of growing grain or other plants, with
$$$ at the top instead of the usual grain or fruit. Use such
affirmations as—"God is my inexhaustible and omnipotent source of
abundant supply." "I accept the will of God, which is abundant
prosperity for me." If I continue to desire you, I shall have you,
because I trust in God for all things I desire."
Then on succeeding pages, show pictures of great piles of money—bags of
money, piles of paper money and currency all around the pages, and
pictures of yourself pasted in the center, surrounded by riches. If you
can find pictures of men digging up treasure hoards, put them in. Put
in all kinds of pictures that imply riches and prosperity. Put in
pictures of the sort of surroundings you will have, when you have
manifested the riches you desire. Get pictures of a beautiful home—the
home of your dreams. Show if possible, each room as you would have it
furnished. Show the outside, with a wide driveway, bordered by a
beautiful lawn, shrubbery around the house, trees in the background,
the kind of car you would like to own drawn up before the house. Show
even the wardrobes of fine clothes you would have, show horses or
bicycles or whatnot for the children, show the flowers in your garden.
"When I got the Lessons of
The God
in You," wrote Mrs. Caroline Kroll
of Indianapolis, in December, 1939. "I had only $12.00 a month. Now I
have a nice home and everything is paid for. I am so happy." Mrs. Kroll
had written us in the fall of 1937 expressing her great desire for a
home, and we suggested to her this Treasure Mapping method. She says in
her last letter—"I never faltered in my home making, and tonight I am
sitting in a good home of my own and never was any happier in my youth."
Remember, the first step in supplying a need is to know that it IS
already supplied in the Mind of God. God has already given you all of
good. It is yours for the taking, and the most perfect prayer is the
deep realization that your need is already supplied. You don't have to
waste energy wondering about the supply. All you have to do is to focus
your energy upon being one with it.
Your desires are like acorns—visions of the mighty oaks they can grow
to be. What you desire is and always has been yours. What man can
conceive, man can achieve. It is the eye that makes the horizon. No man
ever bettered his position by limiting himself in his own mind to the
one he had. No man ever made a success of his business by thinking
failure. Every success is achieved first in your own thoughts. You must
work first on yourself, because all trouble, limitation and the like
are states of consciousness. Change your thought and you change all.
You get the conditions that belong to your consciousness. As Emerson
put it—"No man was ever ridden down or talked down by anything but
himself."
Look within yourself for the source of all power. I AM the great power
of God expressing as ME. I AM the great abundance for all my needs and
a surplus to spare. That to which I give my attention reveals itself.
So give your attention to the things you want! Fill your Scrap Book
with pictures of them. Put over and under and around them such
affimations as these:
"God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the Power that worketh in us. I rejoice in the bounty of
God, constantly manifesting to meet my every need."
"If ye abide in Me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will
and it shall be done unto you. For herein is the Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit." "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of
before you ask Him. Fear not, for it is the Father's good pleasure to
give you the Kingdom. All that the Father hath is yours, and you are in
all ways prospered."
"I will give thee hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know
that I am the God of Israel." "If thou return to the Almightly, then
shall thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of
the brooks." "I will sing unto Jehovah, because He hath dealt
bountifully with me."
Remember that—"According to thy faith be it done unto you. "So believe
that you RECEIVE! If your beliefs are all for the future, you will get
them in the distant future but never NOW. You will never quite catch up
with them. "Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation."
Realize that all these good things are NOW coming into manifestation in
your life. Bless and thank God for them NOW.
"Instead of
pleading, 'God bless me,'
And making such a weary fuss,
How much better off we'd be
If we would smile awhile and
say,
'I thank you, God, for
blessing us today.'
"Instead of begging, 'God
give me
And mine the things which
our hearts crave,'
How much happier we'd be
If we would laugh with life,
and say,
'We thank you, God, for what
we have today.' "
—MARION B. SHOEN````````````````````````````.,,,,,,,
|
"But what shall we do about pressing debts?" many
will ask. First, make
a list of all of them. Then, thank God for having sent such trustful
people to your aid, thank Him for the confidence they have shown in
you. Next, see yourself in your mind's eye going the rounds of all your
creditors, paying them in full. See their thankful, smiling faces. Hear
yourself expressing to them your appreciation of their courtesy and
forbearance, hear them telling you that they were glad to be of help,
will be glad to extend the same credit to you in the future. Get
pictures of people paying money over to merchants, paste in your own
features over those of the debtors, and under them put such
affirmations as these:
"Divine Love prospers all of us together NOW. God is our supply,
through each of us to all, and through all of us to each. I speak for
all of us the word that multiplies money to all of us. And my word
accomplishes that whereunto I send it. In God is my trust."
"When I worry, I am not trusting God. When I trust God, I have nothing
to worry about."
"I put the payment of these debts lovingly in the hands of the Father
with a child-like trust. That which is for my highest good will come to
me."
Then do your part by using some of whatever money you receive to pay
these just debts, and as you pay out the money, bless it in some such
wise as this: "I bless thee . . . and be thou a blessing! As I pay out
this money, I bless it. May it enrich everyone who touches it. The
value of this substance I hold in my hand is this day magnified, for I
perceive that it is truly a symbol of my heavenly Father's
inexhaustible riches. Go forth, increase, multiply and bring forth
fruit and hundredfold!"
Here is a prayer suggested by R. A. D., in a recent issue of
Nautilus, to be used in connection
with your list of debts:
"Father, I thank Thee that
thou
hast opened the way for me to pay every bill on this list, sending the
money for each one before it is due. I place this expense sheet
absolutely and unconditionally in Thy hands, and from the depths of a
rich consciousness, I thank and praise Thee that the money for each
separate item already is provided, awaiting only my claim to bring it
into evidence. The glory of Thy radiance shining before me, Infinite
Father, has opened the way for my unfailing prosperity and for a
success greater than I ever before have experienced. I put from me
every thought of limitations or lack and go free to have an abundance
of all good."
The right job is the most pressing problem for many people. And you can
help yourself or others to that right work through "Treasure Mapping"
in the same way that you can bring riches or health or any other good
thing.
The first essential, of course, is to know what you want. What kind of
work would you most like to do? What are you best fitted for? What is
your ultimate ambition? Get a Scrap Book and paste in it first a
picture of yourself. After deciding on the line of work you want to
devote yourself to, take inventory of yourself and think in what
position you are now fitted to start. Then get a picture from the
magazines of someone working in that position, paste in in your Scrap
Book, and if you have a snap-shot of yourself that you can substitute
for the face in the picture, do so.
Decide then what is the next position you will be fitted for in the
line of work you have adopted, and paste a picture of someone in that
position on the next page of your Scrap Book. Fill succeeding pages
with logical steps in your progress, right on up to the very top. When
you feel that your work will entitle you to a private office, paste in
a picture of someone representing yourself seated at a desk in a
sumptuously furnished office, with their title lettered on the door or
on the side of the desk, and then letter in your name over the title.
And remember, no one ever got a good job by limiting themselves
mentally to a poor one. Admit to yourself that you are good. Then let
others find it out by the service you give. That is the key to any door
you wish to unlock. Yourself PLUS is your fortune. Your affairs PLUS is
success.
Paste over and under and around your pictures such affirmations as
these: "God is with me in all that I do." "If God be for you, who can
be against you?" "Know ye not that ye are Gods, sons of the Most High?"
What should your situation be like? What is it like in the Divine Mind,
in the Eternal Plan?
"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before you ask Him.
Fear not, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
All that the Father has is yours, and you are in all ways prospered."
"If ye abide in Me and My words abide unto you, ye shall ask what ye
will and it shall be done unto you. For herein is the Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit." "With good will, doing service as to the Lord
and not to man." "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do,
do all to the glory of God."
The same principles that help you to a better position will help you to
make your business grow and prosper, when you have a business of your
own. Many a man and woman has started with practically nothing, and
built a fortune, simply by taking God into partnership with them.
Start your Scrap Book with a picture of yourself and of your business
as it is now. Then on each succeeding page, show it growing bigger and
better. Picture the service you want to give your customers. Picture
thousands of them taking advantage of that service. Picture yourself
and your helpers serving ever greater numbers, picture your product in
the hands of more and more users, picture its manufacture in great
volume, its shipping, its sale, everything you can connected with it.
And let every picture show progress, growth,
expansion. See yourself serving the
world.
Under those pictures, put inspiring affirmations. "I am a partner and
co-worker with God." It is the purpose of Universal Mind to see people
prosper, that they may express more of life, love, happiness and
understanding, thus reflecting more of God. Our product is the
connecting link between this demand and God's supply. The need is
expanding continually and we have the will and the intelligence to see
and meet it. Therefore, there is a continually growing demand for our
product, that increases as I realize the spiritual significance of my
work and make better products for my customers. It is in my power to
make my customers better qualified, through the equipment that I
provide, for prosperity and success. I delight in that power. I
increase that power by using it for the honor, glory and pleasure of my
customers and myself."
"Father, this business has to be good, so You handle it for me. I put
it and all my affairs lovingly in Your hands, with a child-like faith.
That which is for my highest good will come to me. One on God's side is
a majority, and I am together with You, so all things are working
together for my good and I am working with them in the wisdom and the
power of the Spirit."
"God is in control. God is Spirit, good omnipotent. Apart from Him,
there is no overcoming power. God is life, love and peace. God's will
now fulfilled in me is abundant work for our business."
"The Spirit that multiplied the loaves and fishes for Jesus increases
my substance, and I manifest prosperity."
But remember to give "good measure"
to all, customers and co-workers alike, for "All who joy
would win must share it—
Happiness was
born a twin."
Many who have no business to worry about have homes or pieces of
property or whatnot that they wish to sell, and at times this is a
problem. Yet it is a problem that lends itself to the same methods
outlined above, as you can judge from the following letter dated May
15th, 1940, from one of the subscribers to
The God in You:
"When I received Robert Collier's Course
The God in You,
we were in debt and sometimes wondered what the next meal was to be,
even though we owned our cottage and three lots. It seemed we couldn't
get a buyer, nor could we even borrow on the property, even though it
was clear, as it was in a run-down neighborhood.
"Since reading the Course, we have sold all St. Louis County property
and purchased this 96-acre farm at Belle, paying cash for it and
clearing ourselves of debt, as we sold most of the property for cash, a
thing we could not have done without the help of
The God in You.
I believe we are about to see another manifestation of God's goodness
as we have deposits under our ground which may indeed show God's
goodness through riches to us."
The first essential is to BLESS the property you wish to sell. Know
that it is a perfect image in the Divine Mind, made for the express
purpose of manifesting good to someone, and declare that it is now sold
to the right party at the right price.
Paste a picture of it in your Scrap Book. Think of every possibility
for its development, and paste such pictures in your book, too. Show
pictures of people looking at similar properties, of a sale being made,
of the developments that will take place on it.
L. C. B. told in a recent issue of Unity how
she put her house "lovingly in the hands of the Father", then used this
affirmation: "You, Christ, will find for us the perfect purchasers, who
will love our home as we have loved it and recognize it for theirs and
have sufficient cash to pay for it and have it NOW. Only through You
are we fully aware of our omnipresent good." Within a short time, the
article states, the house was sold for cash, and at their own price!
In Nautilus sometime ago,
there was a similar story, the affirmation used in that case being the
following: "God's loving Presence in all of us brings the right buyer
NOW, who will pay the right price for the property and who will make
money on the deal, while at the same time I will make money, God's
money, in the selling. Divine Love now multiplies God's money and His
Good to both buyer and seller, so that all shall be satisfied. All
things now work together for good to me and to the new buyer of this
property. We are the open channels through which Divine Love is now
flowing to this property and through it to all the world. All the
barriers are now dissolved by Divine Love and my customer comes quickly
and gloriously. God is our prosperity here and now. In God I trust and
I know that all things work together to manifest the good we desire."
Whatever your problem, whatever your difficulty, you can get guidance
if you will seek it. Give the facts to the God in You, ask Him for the
solution, then leave the problem with Him and FORGET it in the serene
confidence that He can and will find the answer. Never force the issue.
Have faith in that God in You, and wait for a leading. "And thine ear
shall hear a voice behind thee saying, this is the path; walk ye in it."
Our physical senses are able to discern only such objects as are on the
same or a lower material plane than ourselves. Our ears, for instance,
are attuned to but a few octaves of sound. Those of higher or lower
wave lengths are inaudible to us. Yet the radio has taught us that all
about us are sounds of music, of laughter, of drama and instruction.
The same is true with our eyes. We see only those things that are on
the median light waves. The air may be full of television pictures, yet
with our unaided eyes, we get none of them. Is it therefore so hard to
believe that when the servant of the Prophet Elisha was fearful,
because of the enemies all around, Elisha prayed and said —"Lord, I
pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes
of the young man; and he saw; And behold, the mountain was full of
horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
May not the air around you be just as full of God's angels? May not
Elisha's advice be just as good today— "Fear not, for they that be with
us are more than they that be with them."
The Psalmist of old testified, you remember—"I have been young, and now
am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread."
Paste in your Scrap Book some of those old Biblical pictures of Angels
guiding the children of God, of Guardian Angels, and over and under
them put such affirmations as these: "God goes before me and opens the
way." "Infinite Wisdom tells me just what to do." "I thank you, God,
that you are here with us, and no matter what happens, we are all
right." "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the
arrow that flieth by day. He will cover thee with his pinions, and
under his wings shalt thou take refuge." Grace Crowell had a beautiful
little poem along these lines in Unity Magazine:
"So often
through God's Holy Book
there shines
Some clear-cut word,
some
strong
and simple phrase
That gleams like
diamonds
gathered
from deep mines,
Set polished there to
light
our
earthly days;
'And God was with, the
lad.'
The
words, how brief,
And yet what vital
meaning
in
their sound,
As spoken of that
ancient
child of
grief
Once left to die upon
the
hot,
parched ground.
" 'And God was with
the
lad,' One
need not look
For further
information; all
is
told.
No gifted hand on
earth
could pen
a book
Of strange biography
that
would
unfold
With clearer words,
nor
could it
tell as well
The God-companioned
life of
Ishmael."
......................................................................................................
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Such
affirmations cannot
help but bring you peace and serenity. In Esquire Magazine
some time ago there was an article telling about the fear-scent the
body gives off, which is exceedingly irritating to any animal that
senses it. "It is this fear-scent," said the article, "which causes
dogs to attack people who have not molested them. A dog will respond
quickly both in friendship and in training when he is approached
without fear, but no one can fool him for a minute with a fearless
exterior concealing a quaking heart, for the fear-scent is there.
"It is usually the fear that a canoe will tip over that causes the
occupant to move suddenly in the wrong direction and thereby upset it.
The fear of drowning, when suddenly thrown into the water, causes one
to struggle frantically, and incidentally force themselves under. It is
an interesting scientific fact that a baby, until 24 hours old, can
swim. Beyond that, it starts to realize fear and will sink. Fear is
really the mental hazard of crossing your bridges before you come to
them."
Is it not likely that the strong odor of our "fear-scent" registers on
all we come in contact with, even though it be but subconsciously with
human beings? Certain it is that when we approach people fearfully, we
seem to repel them, for we seldom make a favorable impression, seldom
get from them what we want.
The remedy? To BLESS the Divinity in all we come in contact with. You
remember how often Jesus used the greeting—"Peace!" "Peace I leave with
you; my peace I give unto you." And to the wind and waves, He bade—
"Peace! Be still." And immediately the storm abated. "Acquaint now
thyself with God and be at peace."
When trouble threatens in your home or your business, bless all
concerned and mentally affirm—"Peace! The love of God is at work here.
All of my forces are peaceful and harmonious. There is no resistance in
me against the Spirit of God's peaceful life. Every anxious thought is
stilled. Thy mighty confidence and Thy peace enfold me. The Spirit of
God fills my mind, and abundance is everywhere manifest." Then go up to
the thing you fear, confidently, serenely. Or if it is something you
must do, do it! Once you have lost the fear of it, you will find It
easy.
Evil? There is really no such thing. It is merely the lack of Good.
Summon the Good and the evil vanishes. The same is true of enemies.
Summon love for them, salute the Divinity in them and bless them, and
you will find hate turned to love. Say mentally to the Divinity in
those who appear to be your enemies—"I recognize you. You can't
disguise yourself. You are a radiant child of God. God's creations are
all excellent. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ. Because you are
a child of God, you speak the truth and you are ever honest, just and
harmonious. My world is filled with splendid people, and I love them
all."
Be noble, and the nobleness that lies in other men, sleeping but never
dead, will rise in majesty to meet thine own. Trust men, and they will
be true to you. Treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.
Love overcometh, for all motion is cyclic. It circulates to the limits
of its possibilities and then returns to its starting point. Thus any
unselfish expenditure of energy returns to you laden with gifts. Any
unselfish act done for another's benefit is giving part of yourself. It
is an outward flow of power that completes its cycle and returns laden
with energy.
The thoughts that we send forth always return with a harvest of their
kind. That which we put into the thought comes back into our life. For
our every thought there is a response, a return of the pendulum that we
have started swinging. It is Emerson's Law of Compensation.
So you can see the wisdom in the dictum—"Into whatsoever house ye
enter, first say—'Peace be to this house!' "
But do more than bless those you come in contact with.
Act the
part.
Think kindly of them
as well.
"Believe not
each accusing tongue,
As most weak
people
do;
But still believe that
story
wrong
Which ought not to be
true." |
It is as easy to add, you know,
as it is to subtract. Love adds. Fear
and hatred subtract. You can reinforce your efforts with all the
universe through love, as easily as you can separate yourself from
everyone through hatred and fear.
Remember, evil is usually in the eye of the beholder. There is an old
poem that depicts this graphically:
"Mistress
Polly Wittenhouse
Lived on Whetstone
Alley,
And she was like an
angel
To little orphan
Sally,
And she was like a
harlot
To the lass across the
way,
A 'good-un' to the
slavey
Who made her bed each
day.
And she was like a
siren
With the devil in her
eye
To any roving sailor
man
As he was passing by.
"So Mistress Polly
Wittenhouse
Was either good or
bad,
According to the need
or
greed
Each of her judges
had,
According as her
living
Threw a shadow on
their own.
The sailors flung her
kisses
And the lass she cast
a
stone.
And Sally and the
slavey
They prayed for her
each
night,
And all of them that
judged
her
Knew that they judged
her
right."
...............................................................
|
A Scrap
Book
on Love is
probably the most valuable one you can make.
Put in it pictures of all your friends, all those you would have for
friends. Paste in it pictures of the home of your dreams, of each
separate room in it, of the furnishings, of everything about it.
Put in it every motto of peace and love and happiness you can find. Put
in it pictures of children and toys and fireside scenes, dinners and
parties and all the intimate happy things you can think of. Love that
house and everything about it. Live in it mentally. Believe in it, and
before long you will find that you ARE in it in actuality.
"God lights
the way, no more we
grope
Nor stumble on
in
troubled hope.
We sow no seeds of
care or
strife,
But those of love and
joy
and
life.
No more we strive to
plan
our lot,
The Father fills our
cup,
unsought." |
Sow the seeds in your Scrap Book
and in your life of love and joy and
happiness, then leave it to the Father to provide the means of making
these seeds grow and bear fruit. "I have planted, Apollos watered, but
God gaveth the increase."
Remember, the I AM in you is your part of Divinity. Some sage put
it—"Whatever the Creator is, I AM." How often have you said—"I AM poor,
I AM sick, I AM ignorant, I AM weak"—and thus fastened these evils upon
yourself? You acknowledged a lack of something. What can you build with
minus quantities? Only emptiness, void.
Reverse all that. Whenever you say "I AM", whenever you thus call upon
the God in You, make it something you WANT. "I AM rich. I AM powerful.
I AM well and whole and strong. I AM happy. I AM perfect in every way."
Make an I AM Scrap Book, with your picture on the first page, then
pictures of supermen or genii or whatever your idea of power may be
scattered throughout the pages of the book. Put in it pictures of all
the things you would like to be and do. And fill it with such
affirmations as these :
"The Spirit of Prosperity fills my mind and overflows into my affairs.
God is my perfect will; through me it is done." "There is only one
Presence and one Power in my life—God, the Good Omnipotent. God is my
inexhaustible source of abundant supply. The riches of the Spirit now
fill my mind and affairs. I think prosperity. I talk prosperity, and I
know that prosperity and success are mine."
God
gave man power and
dominion over all that is below him. "I said—Ye
are Gods, and all of you Sons of the Most High." "As many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them that
believe on His name."
Will YOU receive Him? Will you believe in and accept the power He
offers you? "God is able to do abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the Power that worketh in us." Will you accept His
Divine Sonship? Will you BE the God-man you were intended to be? Then
cast off all fear of debt and lack and sickness and evil. Live in the
world of love and plenty that was intended for you. Use the God-given
power that is yours to first visualize the things you want—"In the
beginning was the Word", the mental image, you remember—and then bring
those mental images into actuality through your faith and your
work.
Treasure Maps help to re-educate your mind, help you to visualize and
hold in thought the images you wish to create. But visualizing and
asking God's guidance is only half the battle. The other half is to
make your start, to dig in and DO the first thing necessary towards
bringing your desires into actuality.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of Expansion, but there must be
something to expand. You can start a house with a single brick. You can
start a fortune with a single dollar. But there must be that brick or
that dollar or that first step to put your leaven into before you can
make it expand and grow into the perfect structure of your dreams. So
do the thing, whatever it may be, that is necessary to your start.
Make your picture, draw your Treasure Map, then take the first step
that may be necessary towards bringing it into actuality. To begin is
to be half done. You will be amazed how quickly you will reach your
goal.
"The
Law of the Higher Potential" by Robert Collier
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