As electricity, in regard to motion, stands upon the poise, being completely balanced by the positive and negative forces, that equalize each other, so it is easily perceived, that if we mount one step higher, we must come to that substance whose nature is to move, and the result of that motion is thought and power. It is MIND.

Hence it will be distinctly perceived, in view of the argument now offered, that we cannot, as philosophers, stop short of motion in the highest and most sublime substance in being. This conclusion, as the result of argument, is absolutely and positively irresistible, and challenges refutation.

When we mount up in our contemplations through the various grades of matter, and see it continually brightening--as we press onward in our delightful career of rapture, until we arrive at that sublimated substance which can neither be seen or weighed; which moves with a velocity of twelve million miles per minute, and can travel around this globe in the eighth part of a second,--we are struck with astonishment and awe! But as this is not the last link in the immeasurable chain, we are forced to proceed onward till we arrive at the finest, most sublime, and brilliant substance in being--a substance that possesses the attributes of inherent or self-motion and living power, and from which all other motion and power through out the immeasurable universe are derived. This is the Infinite Mind, and possesses embodied form. it is a living being. This Infinite Mind comes in contact with electricity, gives to it motion, arms it with power, and through this mighty unseen agent, moves the universe, and carries on all the multifarious operations of nature.

Hence, there is not a motion that transpires amidst the immensity of His works, from rolling globes to the falling leaf, but what originates in the Eternal Mind, and by Him is performed, through electricity as His agent. mind is, therefore, the absolute perfection of all substances in being; and as it possesses self-motion as its grand attribute, so it is, in this respect, exactly the reverse of all other substances, which are, of themselves, motionless. Mind, or spirit, is above all, and absolutely disposes and controls all. Hence, Mind is imponderable--invisible, and eternal.”

SILENCE

In silence as the Universe conceived,

In silence doth the heart of man seek out

That other heart to rest on;

Nature’s soul Yearns ceaselessly to give its speechless calm

Unto her restless children as they roam

Far from that central place which is their home.

Wouldst know thy Mother Nature face to face?

Wouldst hear her silent heartbeats?

Close thine ears

And still they senses;

wouldst thou feel her arms Enfold they being?

Thou must give thyself

In uttermost abandon to her will

That she may teach thee the one truth--be still!

Be still--and from the Silence shall arise

A mem’ry of forgotten mysteries.

A healing peace descending on thy soul

Shall bear it up to regions beyond words

Where thou shalt learn the secrets of the earth,

Of wind and flame and how the stars have birth.

Then shalt thou know thy heritage of joy;

Borne on the pinions of the Bird of Life,

Tuned to the rhythm of revolving spheres,

Feeling with all that breathes, with all that strives

For union with its prototype above,

The silent comforter who name is--Love.

-Frances Poile.

Religion



Destiny is determined, for nations and for individuals, by factors and forces that are really fundamental--such as men’s attitude toward one another. Ideals and motives are more potent than events in shaping History. What people think about the abiding concerns of life means more than any contemporary agitation or upheaval.

A few centuries ago it was thought that we must choose between the Bible and Galilco. Fifty years ago it was thought that we must choose between the Bible and Darwin, but as Dean W. R. Inge, of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, says: “Every educated man knows that the main facts of organic evolution are firmly established, and that they are quite different from the legends borrowed by the ancient Hebrews from the Babylonians. We are not required to do violence to our reason by rejecting the assured results of modern research. Traditional Christianity must be simplified and spiritualized. It is at present encumbered by bad science and caricatured by bad economics and the more convinced we are of this, the less disposed we shall be to stake the existence of our faith on superstitions which are the religion of the irreligious and the science of the unscientific.

Modern discontent and unsatisfactory conditions are the symptoms of a deep-seated and destructive disease. Remedies applied to these symptoms in the form of legislation and suppression, may relieve the symptoms, but they do not cure the disease which will manifest in other and worse symptoms. Patches applied to an old decaying and obsolete garment in no way improve the garment. Constructive measures must be applied to the foundations of our civilization and that is our thought.

A Philosophy of life having as its basis blind optimism, a religion that won’t work seven days a week, or a proposition that isn’t practical appeals to the intelligent not at all. It is results that we want and to all such the acid test is: Will it work?

The apparent impossibilities are the very things that help us to realize the possible. We must go over the unbeaten trail of thought, cross the desert of ignorance, wade through the “Swamp of Superstition” and scale the mountains of rites and ceremonies if we ever expect to come into the “promised land of revelation.” Intelligence rules! Thought intelligently directed is a creative force which automatically causes its object to manifest on a material plane. Let him that hath an ear to hear, hear!

One of the characteristic signs of a general awakening is the optimism shining through the midst of doubt and unrest. This optimism is taking the form of illumination, and as the illumination becomes general, fear, anger, doubt, selfishness and greed pass away. We are anticipating a more general realization of the Truth which is to make men free. That there may be one man or one woman who shall first realize this Truth in the new era is barely possible, but the preponderance of evidence is for a more general awakening to the light of illumination.

Everything which we hold in our consciousness for any length of time becomes impressed upon our subconsciousness and so becomes a pattern which the creative energy will wave into our life and environment. This is the secret of the power of prayer.

The operation of this law has been known to a few in all ages, but nothing was more improbable than the unauthorized revelation of this information by any student of the great esoteric schools of philosophy. This was true because those in authority were afraid than an unprepared public mind might not be ready to make the proper use of the extraordinary power which the application of these principles disclosed.

We know that the universe is governed by law; that for every effect there must be a cause, and that the same cause, under the same conditions, will invariably produce the same effect. Consequently, if prayer has ever been answered, it will always be answered, if the proper conditions are complied with. This must necessarily be true; otherwise the universe would be a chaos instead of a cosmos. The answer to prayer is therefore subject to law, and this law is definite, exact and scientific, just as are the laws governing gravitation and electricity. An understanding oft his law takes the foundation of Christianity out of the realm of superstition and credulity and places it upon the firm rock of scientific understanding.

The Creative Principle of the Universe makes no exception, nor does it act through caprice or from anger, jealousy or wrath; neither can it be cajoled, flattered or moved by sympathy or petition; but when we understand our unity with this Universal Principle, we shall appear to be favored because we shall have found the source of wisdom and power.

It must be conceded by every thinking person that the answer to prayer furnishes the evidence of an all pervasive, omnipotent intelligence which is imminent in all things and all person. We have heretofore personalized this every present intelligence and called it God, but the idea of personality has become associated with form and form is a product of matter. The ever-present intelligence or mind must be the Creator of all form, the director of all energy, the source of all wisdom.

In order to secure the best thought of the world on the value of prayer, “The Walker Trust,” recently offered a prize of $100.00 for the best essay on “Prayer.” The meaning, the reality and the power of prayer, its place and value to the individual, to the church and the state, in the every day affairs of life, in the healing of disease, in times of distress and national danger, and in relation to national ideals and to world progress.”

In response to the invitation 1667 essays were received, they came from every quarter of the globe, they were written in nineteen different languages, the prize of $100.00 was awarded to the Rev. Samuel McComb, D.D., of Baltimore, Md. A comparative study of these essays is published by the MacMillan Company of New York. In giving his impressions Mr. David Russell of the Walker Trust says: “To practically all the contributors prayer is something real and of inestimable value, but unfortunately there is little information given as to the method by which the law is placed in operation.”

Mr. Russell, himself, agrees that the answer to prayer must be the operation of a Natural Law, he says: “We know, that to make use of a Natural Law, the intelligence must be able to comprehend its conditions and to direct or control its sequences. Can we doubt that to an intelligence great enough to encompass the spirit, there would be revealed a realm of spiritual law.” It seems that we are rapidly coming into an understanding of this law and understanding is control.

The value of Prayer depends upon the law of spiritual activity. Spirit is the Creative Principle of the Universe and is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. Thinking is a spiritual activity, and consists of the reaction of the Individual against the Universal Mind. “I think, therefore I am,” when “I cease to think, I cease to exist.” Thinking is the only activity which spirit possesses. Spirit is creative, thinking therefore is a creative process, but as the larger part of our thinking processes are subjective rather than objective, most of our creative work is carried on the subjectively. But because this work is spiritual work it is none the less real, we know that all the great eternal forces of Nature are invisible rather than visible, spiritual rather than material, subjective rather than objective.

But exactly because thinking is a creative process, most of us are creating destructive conditions, we are thinking death rather than life, we are thinking lack rather than abundance, we are thinking disease rather than health, we are thinking inharmony rather than harmony, and our experiences and the experiences of our loved ones eventually reflect the attitude of Mind which we habitually entertain, for be it known that if we can pray for those we love, we can also injure them by entertaining and harboring destructive thoughts concerning them. We are free moral agents and may freely choose what we think, but the result of our thought is governed by an immutable law; this is the modern scientific phraseology for the Scriptural statement: “Be not deceived for God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Prayer is thought in the form of a petition, and an affirmation is a statement of Truth, and when reinforced by Faith, another powerful form of thought, they become invincible, because “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” this substance is spiritual substance which contains within itself the Creator and the Created, the germ, the Elohim, that which enters in, goes forth and becomes one with its object.

But prayers and affirmations are not the only forms of creative thought. The architect when he plans to erect a wonderful new building, seeks the quiet of his studio, calls on his imagination for new or novel features embodying additional comforts or utilities and is seldom disappointed in the results.

The engineer who designs to span a chasm or river, visualizes the entire structure before making any attempt to embody it in form, this visualization is the mental image which precedes and predetermines the character of the structure which will eventually take form in the objective world.

The chemist seeks the quiet of his laboratory and then becomes receptive to the ideas from which the world will eventually profit by some new comfort or luxury.

The financier retires to his office or counting room and concentrates on some problem in organization or finance and soon the world learns of another co-ordination of industry requiring millions of additional capital.

Imagination, Visualization, Concentration are all spiritual faculties, and are all creative, because spirit is the one Creative Principle of the Universe, and he who has found the secret of the creative power of thought has found the secret of the ages. The law stated in scientific terms is, that thought will correlate with its object, but unfortunately the large majority are allowing their thoughts to dwell upon lack, limitation, poverty and every other form of destructive thought,. As this law is no respecter of persons their things become objectified in their environment.

Finally, there is love, which is also a form of thought. Love is nothing material and yet no one will deny that it is something very real. St. John tells us that “God is Love;” again he says: “Now are we all sons of God?” which means that Love is the Creative Principle of the Universe and St. Paul tells us “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

Love is a product of the emotions, the emotions are governed by the Solar Plexus and the sympathetic nervous system. It is therefore a subconscious activity and is entirely under the control of the involuntary system of nerves. For this reason it is frequently actuated by motives which are neither dictated by reason or intellect. Every political demagogue and religious revivalist takes advantage of this principle, they know that if they can arouse the emotions, the result is assured, so that the demagogue always appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience never to the reason. The revivalist always appeals to the emotions through the love nature and never to the intellect, they both known that when the emotions are aroused intellect and reason are stilled.

Here we find the same result obtained through opposite polarities, one appealing to hatred, revenge, class prejudices and jealousy; the other appealing to love, service, hope and joy, but the principle is the same. One attracts, the other repels; one is constructive, the other destructive; one is positive, the other negative; the same power is being placed in operation in the same way, but for different purposes. Love and hatred are simply the opposite polarities of the same force, just as Electricity or any other force may be used for destructive purposes just as readily as it may be used for constructive purposes.

Some will say that if God is Spirit and is Omnipotent and Omnipresent, how can He be responsible for destructive conditions; He cannot bring about disaster, want, disease and death. Certainly not, but we can bring these things upon ourselves by a non-compliance with the spiritual laws. If we do not know that thought is creative, we may entertain thoughts of inharmony, lack and disease, which will eventually result in the condition of which these thoughts are the seed forms, but by an understanding of the law we can reverse the process and thereby bring about a different result.