The Law of The
New ThoughtiThe Law of The New Thought

Writings
Thought Force in Business and Everyday Life
The Law of the New Thought
Nuggets of the New Thought
Memory Culture: The Science of Observing, Remembering and Recalling
Dynamic Thought or The Law of Vibrant Energy
Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World
Practical Mind‑Reading
Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing
The Mind Building of a ChildThe Secret of Mental Magic
Mental Fascination
Self‑Healing by Thought Force
Mind‑Power: The Law of Dynamic Mentation (The Secret of Mental Magic)
Practical Mental Influence
Reincarnation and the Law of Karma
The Inner Consciousness
The Secret of Success
The New Psychology of Healing
Memory: How to Develop, Train and Use It
Subconscious and the Superconscious Planes of Mind
Suggestion and Auto‑Suggestion
The Art of Logical Thinking or the Laws of Reasoning
The Will: It’s Nature, Power and Development
Thought‑Culture or Practical Mental Training
The New Psychology: Its Message, Principles and Practice
Human Nature: Its Inner States and Outer Forms
Mind and Body or Mental States and Physical Conditions
The Art of Expression and the Principles of Discourse
The Psychology of Salesmanship
The Psychology of Success or Mental Paths to Power
Telepathy: Its Theory, Facts and Proof
The Crucible of Modern Thought: A Study of the Prevailing Mental Unrest
Scientific Parenthood
The Message of the New Thought (New Thought: Its History and Principles)Your Mind and How to Use It: A Manual of Practical Psychology
The Mastery of Being: A Study of the Ultimate Principle of Realityii﻿

The Law of The
New Thought
A Study of Fundamental Principles
and Their Application
1902

William Walker Atkinson
1862–1932

信
YOGeBooks, Hollister, MO
2013:09:03:16:23:04
iii

The Law of The New Thought

Copyright
YOGeBooks by Roger L. Cole, Hollister, MO 65672© 2010 YOGeBooks by Roger L. ColeAll rights reserved. Electronic edition published 2010
isbn: 978‑1‑61183‑042‑2 (pdf)
isbn: 978‑1‑61183‑043‑9 (epub)
www.yogebooks.com

iv

Epigraph“O, let not the flame die out! Cherished age after age in its dark
caverns, in its holy temples cherished. Fed by pure ministers oflove—let not the flame die out.”—Edward Carpenter.

v

The Law of The New Thoughtvi

Contents
Chapter I.……………………………… “What is the ‘New Thought’?”
The question—Difficult to answer—The New Thought is the oldest thought—Known to the
few in all ages—Found at the heart of all religions and philosophies—In the songs of the poets
and the writings of the mystics—The flame kept alive through the long ages—Hard sayings anddark corners made clear—The first glimmer of recognition—A great wave of psychic thought
now passing over the world—What the New Thought stands for—No creeds or dogmas—
Individualism—The Supreme Power—Spiritual unfoldment—God’s love and presence—All
is One—What the idea of Oneness means—Man immortal—Assurance of immortality fromthe awakened spiritual consciousness—Theories not fundamental—Spiritual unfoldment—
Thoughts are things—The attractive power of thought—Mind is positive to the body—Latent
forces to be developed.

Chapter II.…………………………………… “Thoughts are Things.”
Thought waves—Vibrations—Telepathy—Thought‑transference—We are all affected bythought‑waves—Public opinion the result of thought‑waves—An almost irresistible influence,unless understood—The attractive power of thought—Like attracts like—The thought of acommunity—Making one’s self positive to the thoughts of others—Thought auras surroundevery one, affecting others—Attracting and repelling—Attracting the best thoughts fromoutside—The mind is a magnet—How to protect yourself from being unduly affected by theminds of others—Fix your keynote—The inner influence stronger than the outer—How you
may avail yourself of the world’s unexpressed thought—Unexpressed thought seeks eagerly forexpression—How to attract it.

Chapter III.…………………………………… The Law of Attraction.
This Law difficult to understand—Thought attracts not only persons but things—Exerts acontrol over circumstances—The Oneness of All affords a solution to the problem—The
atom attracts that which is needed for its development—The power of Desire—How the
Law operates in some circumstances—The Law operating through men—Illustrations of
the wonderful workings of the Law—Your thoughts place you in connection with the outerworld and its forces—Starting the forces into operation—The road to Success—Swept on byvii

The Law of The New Thought
irresistible forces—Faith and recognition of the Law, rewarded by immediate movement—One
gets very much what he looks for—The Law is either your master or your servant.

Chapter IV.……………………………………………… Mind Building.
Advanced Man has the power of consciously building his mind—Doing the building yourself
instead of letting others do it—The sub‑conscious warehouse—Moving along the lines ofleast resistance—Taking mental stock and discarding worthless material—Worthless mental
bric‑a‑brac—Man not a worm of the dust—Man’s destiny great and glorious—Man’s mind
just what he makes it—Training and developing the mind—How to acquire desired mental
traits—Moulding and shaping the mind according to the will—We are no longer servantsof our minds—Mental freedom—The mind an instrument to be used by the Real Self—
Auto‑suggestions and affirmations—The doctrine of “I Can and I Will”—What kind of mental
material are you using?

Chapter V.…………………………… The Dweller of the Threshold.
Bulwer Lytton’s creation—The frightful monster confronting the neophyte in the secretchamber—The real meaning of the occult figure of speech—Fear the great obstacle to successand happiness, and spiritual attainment—Stands at the door to Freedom—Keeps the race inbondage—No advancement possible until it is overcome—And it can be overcome—Confront
it boldly and it retreats—Assert the I Am—Fear is as much a magnet as Desire—Fear the parentof all the brood of negative thought—Illustrations—Fear has hypnotized the race—Fear never
did Man any good, and never will—The cry of “I’m afraid” has always been heard—Opposition
to new ideas—How Fear may be defeated—Fear a humbug and a bugaboo, without any real
power over us except that which we allow him.

Chapter VI.…………………………………………… Mind and Body.
Many persons attracted to the New Thought by the healing feature—This feature highly
important but not the highest good obtainable—Many theories but only one real force—The
secret of permanent cures—The claims of the different schools—All obtaining wonderfulresults—All forms of healing good, but cures can be made by one’s self—The healing power
latent in the individual—Called into force by outside treatment—The sub‑conscious plane inhealing—Absent treatment—Man has a latent recuperative power within him—Arouse therecuperative power—Vital force—Use of transference of Vital Force—Fear as a poison—Taking
off the brake—No special mystery about healing—Explanation of Nature’s processes in mental
healing.

Chapter VII.………………………………… The Mind and Its Planes.
The theory of the duality of the mind, and its weak points—Man has but one mind, but it
functions upon two planes—The Conscious and the Sub‑conscious—The Sub‑conscious not
the soul, but merely one field of mentation—Super‑conscious faculties really the source of
higher knowledge—Conscious thought is fresh from the mint—Sub‑conscious thought is
the results of preceding conscious thought of self or others—Thought impulses and habits—
Conscious thoughts meet new condition—Sub‑conscious thoughts handle familiar problems—
Man exhibits the highest form of Conscious mentation—Human sheep—The mind and theWill—The secret of the Oriental occultists—Evolutionary development still progressing.

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Contents

Chapter VIII.……………………………… The Sub‑conscious Plane.
The greater part of our thinking performed along sub‑conscious lines—Illustrations of thisfact—The sub‑conscious, the habit plane—Means by which the sub‑conscious mentality
is reached—A store‑house of thoughts—A mixture of wisdom and foolishness—How thesuper‑conscious faculties manifest first along sub‑conscious lines—A reservoir receiving
conscious thoughts—The desirability of a clear supplying stream—Auto‑suggestions andaffirmations—Did thought originate on the conscious, or sub‑conscious plane?—My views on
the subject—Filling the store‑house with proper material—Creating on the thought plane—
Our own thoughts, not others—Disease producing on the sub‑conscious plane—Thoughts
take form in action—As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Chapter IX.………………………… The Super‑conscious Faculties.
Faculties outside the realm of consciousness—Latent but unfolding—Super‑conscious
faculties not a part of a sub‑conscious mind, although often manifested along sub‑consciouslines—The distinction between sub‑conscious thoughts and those of the super‑conscious
faculties—Above consciousness, not below it—Developing super‑conscious faculties—The
sub‑conscious contains only what has been placed there—The super‑consciousness contains
knowledge heretofore unrevealed to Man—Drawing on the super‑consciousness—What thesuper‑consciousness reveals to Man—What it has revealed—The most important truths comein this way—The higher psychic powers latent within the super‑consciousness—Productions
which have “soul” in them come from the super‑conscious faculties—The dwelling place of theSpirit—The Spirit and its domain—Recognition of the Spirit.

Chapter X.……………………………………… The Soul’s Question.
Whence come I? Whither go I? What am I? What is the object of my existence?—Questions
asked in all ages, in this and other worlds—The question absolutely unanswered for mostmen—Struggles for freedom—Climbing the mountain of Knowledge—The task begun, notended—The spiritual hunger—Bread, not stones—The want is the prophecy of the means ofsatisfying it—The intellect will not answer the Riddle of the Universe—The answer must comefrom within—The Something Within—The development of Spiritual Consciousness—The
intelligent Faith which knows, not merely understands—Unexplored regions of the Soul—Not
contrary to intellect, but beyond it—A new world of knowledge opened out before the mental
gaze—Joy insuperable.

Chapter XI.……………………………………………… The Absolute.
God has begotten the Universe—The Universe has no boundaries or limits—God manifested
in every atom—The Causeless Cause—The Intellect and its troubles—Man may spirituallyknow the reality of God—Man’s different concepts of God—God’s attributes, Omnipotence,
Omniscience and Omnipresence, and their explanation—The Father‑Mother—The apparently
conflicting ideas regarding God, reconciled—God’s manifestations: Substance, Energy, andSpirit—All men really worshiping the one God, although apparently worshiping many—A
Personal God without the limitations of personality—God manifesting in Infinite Spirit—In
Infinite Energy—In Infinite Substance—Man growing in God‑consciousness—Nearer, my God,to Thee—All are children of God, with a share of his attributes.

Chapter XII.………………………………………… The Oneness of All.
There is but One—God’s manifestations apparently innumerable, but in reality but One—
Universal Oneness—Centre and circumference—The rays from the Centre reach all parts ofix

The Law of The New Thought
the circle—High and low; beautiful and hideous; exalted or depraved; all a part of the One—
Separateness but an illusion—God the only standard of perfection—Individuality does notdecrease but grows—Beginning to understand—Truth everywhere—Sin the result of a belief inseparateness—Invariable laws in operation—The fundamental consciousness of religion—The
Universal Presence—The Oneness of All explains psychic mysteries, and relationships between
persons and things—Human sympathy growing—The point towards which the race is traveling.

Chapter XIII.………………………… The Immortality of the Soul.
Man is, and will be—Life continues—The “I” is the Soul—Higher and lower forms of life—Lifeon different planes—Metempsychosis or Reincarnation—A higher view of the subject—The
Soul has existed for ages—Progressing from lower to higher forms, and still progressing—
Theories not fundamental when the consciousness of immortality is reached—Living in the
Now—Universal Law—Man’s concepts changing as he grows—We are babes in understanding,compared with those who have reached higher planes—Angels and archangels—The Universe
filled with forms of life, in different stages of development—Man but a manifestation of theSoul in one particular stage of development—Paul, the mystic, and his view.

Chapter XIV.………………………………………… The Unfoldment.
Man’s development along the lines of unfoldment—The power within—A mighty force—
Developing and unfolding like a plant—Life is growth Within and Without—The Divine
Paradox—Action and reaction—The internal urge and the external obstacles, both factors
in development—Relative and Absolute—The final, or ultimate, effect or product, is theunderlying cause of the unfoldment—Man the effect, is Man the Cause—In Man of to‑day
nestles the Higher Man of the future—The first last, and the last first—Growth always
accompanied with pain—Co‑operation with the law makes growth less painful—Folly of
opposing growth—The Something Within is pressing for unfoldment.

Chapter XV.………………………… The Growth of Consciousness.
Consciousness in the lower animals—Mere sensation at first; almost automatic—Growth—
Lower form of Consciousness—The development of Self‑consciousness—Definition of Simple
Consciousness and Self‑consciousness—The first conception of the “I”—“I” on the physicalplane—An animal happiness—All his troubles before him—The mental plane—“I” as theintellect—Worshiping Intellect as God—Different forms of mental development—Psychic
development—Man’s suffering begins when he reaches the mental plane of development—
Dissatisfaction and anxiety—Hemmed in at all sides—The eternal “Why”—No answer to thedemands of the intellect—The only possible avenue of escape.

Chapter XVI.………………………………… The Soul’s Awakening.
The Pilgrim on The Path—The path among the hills—An unknown road—One step at atime—A strange land—No landmarks—A stopping place and point of observation—A
wondrous view—The awakening of the Spiritual Consciousness—The knowing of the “I Am”—
Consciousness of immortality—Consciousness of one’s place in the Universe—Recognition of
one’s relation to other parts of the Whole—The border‑land of the Cosmic Knowing—A tiny
drop of Spirit from the Great Spirit Ocean—Recognition of the Universal Presence—Seeing
things as they are—God’s sunshine and his love, bestowed upon all—The “Lost Sheep” now
understood—Treading the Path—The Soul’s Awakening—Joy! Joy! Joy!—The song of the Soul.

x﻿The Law of The New
Thought

1

The Law of The New Thought

2Chapter I.

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”
The question—Difficult to answer—The New Thought is the oldest thought—Known to the
few in all ages—Found at the heart of all religions and philosophies—In the songs of the poets
and the writings of the mystics—The flame kept alive through the long ages—Hard sayings anddark corners made clear—The first glimmer of recognition—A great wave of psychic thought
now passing over the world—What the New Thought stands for—No creeds or dogmas—
Individualism—The Supreme Power—Spiritual unfoldment—God’s love and presence—All
is One—What the idea of Oneness means—Man immortal—Assurance of immortality fromthe awakened spiritual consciousness—Theories not fundamental—Spiritual unfoldment—
Thoughts are things—The attractive power of thought—Mind is positive to the body—Latent
forces to be developed.

H

ow often we hear this question: “What is the ‘New
Thought’?” And how difficult it is to answer such aquestion. The subject is so large, and the New Thoughtman or woman has grown into its truths so gradually that heor she finds it almost impossible to explain in a few words justwhat is meant by the term “New Thought.” This is renderedparticularly difficult by the fact that there are no creeds inthe “New Thought”. There are many cults and schools claiming
allegiance to The New Thought, who differ very materiallyfrom each other in doctrine and details, but there are certain
underlying principles to which all give adherence, thoughstating these principles in different ways, and using apparently
contradictory terms. To answer the question which forms the3The Law of The New Thought

title of this chapter, is no easy task, but let us see what we cando with it.
In the first place, The New Thought is the oldest thought inexistence. It has been cherished by the chosen few in all ages, themasses of the people not having been ready for its teachings. It
has been called by all names—has appeared in all guises. Everyreligion has within it certain esoteric teachings, not grasped by
the many, but understood by the few, which hidden teachings
contain much that is now being taught as The New Thought.
The New Thought contains certain hints at mighty truths
which have nestled in the bosom of the esoteric teachings of
all religions—in the philosophies of the past and present—in
the temples of the Orient—in the schools of ancient Greece. It
is to be found in the songs of the poets—in the writings of themystics. The advanced science of this age touches it without
recognizing it fully.
It is not a thing that can well be conveyed by words—it is
not easily comprehended by purely intellectual processes—it
must be felt and lived out by those who are ready for it—thosefor whom the time has come. It has been known to the few
throughout all ages and climes. All races have known it. It has
been handed down from teacher to pupil from the earliest days.
It contains the Truth to which Edward Carpenter refers, when
he sings:“O, let not the flame die out! Cherished age after age in its dark
caverns, in its holy temples cherished. Fed by pure ministers of love—
let not the flame die out.”

The flame has been tenderly cared for down the ages. Manylamps have been lighted at the shrine, and have carried awaywith them a tiny bit of the sacred fire. The few in all ages have
kept the flame alight by adding the oil of the spirit—that whichcomes from the inmost recesses of the soul. To protect thisflame many have suffered death—persecution—contumely—4

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”

revilement—disgrace. Some have been compelled to assume
an air of mystery and charlatanism in order to distract theattention of the masses, and thus keep sheltered this bit ofsacred flame. Ancient writers have carefully placed bits of thisesoteric truth among writings of wide circulation, knowing that
only those with the key could read, and the multitude would
not even suspect the existence of the grain of wheat among
the chaff. The advanced New Thought man of today may pickup the writings of all ages, and will see deep truths therein
set forth in language perfectly clear to him, but which means
nothing but words to the ordinary reader. The sacred books of
all religions may be read by one who has the key, and the Greek
philosophers, from Plato down, take on another meaning
when one understands the principles underlying the esotericteachings. And the modern writers also may be read with new
insight, when one has grown into touch with the underlying
principles. Shakespeare, Bacon, Pope, Browning, Emerson,
Whitman and Carpenter, have many dark corners and hardsayings which are illuminated and made plain when one has
obtained possession of the central thought—the Oneness ofAll.
Down, down through the ages has this Truth come to us,
but it seems reserved for this age to have it spread broadcast
among the people. And yet to many the message does notappeal. Some grasp a few scattering truths and think that they
have it, but fail to see the real underlying principle of Oneness.
Others reject it entirely, not being ready for it. Others who are
ready for it, seem to grasp it instinctively as if they had always
known it—they recognize their own, which has come to them.
The mere calling of the attention of some to the truth, seems
to awaken the first glimmer of recognition in them; others find it
necessary to reflect upon the idea and awaken to a recognitionof the Truth more slowly. To others, the time is not yet ripe forthe recognition of the great Truth, but the seed is planted andthe plant and blossom will appear in time. That which seems
5

The Law of The New Thought

like the veriest nonsense to them now, will be brought hometo them as the very truth when the time comes. A desire has
been created that will cause a mental unrest until more light isreceived. As old Walt Whitman has said: “My words will itch inyour ears till you understand them.” And as the great Americantranscendentalist, Emerson, says : “You cannot escape fromyour good.” These people who do not yet understand will
carry the thought with them, which, like the lotus, will unfold
naturally and gradually. The Truth once recognized cannot belost. There is no standing still in Nature.
It is difficult to convey a hint of this Truth to any but those
who are prepared to receive. To others it often seems likearrant folly. Emerson has well said: “Every man’s words, who
speaks from that life, must sound vain to those who do notdwell in the same thoughts on their own part. I dare not speak
for it. My words do not carry its august sense; they fall shortand cold. Only itself can inspire whom it will. … Yet I desire by
profane words, if sacred I may not use, to indicate the heavenof this deity, and to report what hints I have collected of thetranscendant simplicity and energy of the Highest Law.”“What is the new thought?” Let us see. In the first place it
is a name by which is best known that great wave of spiritualand psychic thought that is passing over the world, sweeping
away antiquated dogmas, creeds, materialism, bigotry,
superstition, unfaith, intolerance, persecution, selfishness, fear,
hate, intellectual tyranny and despotism, prejudice, narrowness,disease and perhaps even death. It is the wave that is bringing us
liberty, freedom, self‑help, brotherly love, fearlessness, courage,
confidence, tolerance, advancement, development of latentpowers, success, health and life.
It stands for all that makes for Man’s Betterment—
Freedom—Independence—Success—Health—Happiness. It
carries the banner of Tolerance—Broadness—Brotherhood—
Love—Charity and Self‑Help. It teaches Man to stand uponhis own feet—to work out his own salvation—to develop the6

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”powers latent within him—to assert his real Manhood—to be
Strong, Merciful and Kind. It preaches the doctrine of “I Can
and I Will”—the gospel of “I Do.” It calls upon Man to cease
his lamenting and repining, and urges him to stand erect andassert his right to live and be happy. It teaches him to be brave,as there is nothing to fear. It teaches him to abolish Fearthought
and Worry, and the other foul brood of negative thoughts, suchas Hate, Jealousy, Malice, Envy and Uncharitableness, that havebeen keeping him in the mire of Despair and Failure. It teaches
him these things, and much more. The New Thought stands
for the doctrine of The Fatherhood of God—the Oneness of
All—the Brotherhood of Man—the Kingship of Self.
The New Thought has no creeds or dogmas. It is composedof Individualists, each reserving the right to look at things withhis own eyes—to see the Truth as it presents itself to him—to
interpret that Truth by the light of his own reason, intuitionand spiritual discernment, and to let it manifest and express
itself through him in its own manner. Such a man cares nothingfor institutions—he finds within that which he seeks. He does
his own thinking, and recognizes no man or woman as an
authorized interpreter of that which can only be interpreted by
one’s own soul. New Thought people differ very materially fromeach other on minor points, words and manner of expression,
but underneath it all they understand one another, and a close
analysis shows that they are all standing firmly upon the soundrock of Fundamental Truth. They all have a bit of the Truth,
but no one of them has all of the Truth. Each is working to theCentre in his own way—along his own path. And yet, seen fromabove, each is found to be walking along the Great Path toward
the same Goal.
I will try to give you a hasty glance at what I conceive to be
the fundamental principles underlying that which is called The
New Thought, without considering the side‑issues affectedby many of us. My explanation must, of necessity, be crude
and imperfect, but I will do the best I can to make at least a
7

The Law of The New Thoughtpartially clear statement of the fundamental principle of The
New Thought.
In the first place The New Thought teaches that there is a
Supreme Power back of, underlying, and in all things. This
Supreme Power is Infinite, Illimitable, Eternal and Unchangeable.
It is, has always been, and always will be. It is Omnipresent(present everywhere); Omnipotent (all powerful, possessing
all the power that is); and Omniscient (all‑knowing, all‑seeing,knowing everything, seeing everything). This Supreme Power—
Universal Presence—All Mind—may be called Mind, Spirit,
Law, The Absolute, First Cause, Nature, Universal Principle,
Life, or whatever name best suits the taste of the person using
the term, but call it what you will you mean this SupremePower—the Centre. Personally I prefer the word God, and havetherefore used it in this book, but when I say God I mean thisgreat Universal Presence, and not the conception of a limited
God held by any man. I am not satisfied with any conceptionof God which limits him in the slightest. To me God must be
illimitable, and all of the Universe must be an emanation ofhim. I cannot accept any partial idea of God—to me God must
be the All. And I think that a careful inquiry will reveal thefact that this is a fundamental principle underlying The New
Thought, remembering, always that words count for nothing
and ideas for everything, and that the man or woman who
claims to have outgrown “God,” and talks of Nature, Life, Law,or what not, means his or her conception of that which myinner consciousness tells me is, and which I mean when I say“God.”The New Thought holds that Man is unfolding in
consciousness, and that many have now reached that stage ofspiritual consciousness whereby they become conscious of theexistence and immanence of God, and thus know rather thanentertain a belief based upon the authority, real or assumed, ofother men. This God‑consciousness to which the race is rapidly
tending, is the result of the unfoldment, development, and8

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”evolution of Man for ages, and, when fully possessed by therace, will completely revolutionize our present conceptions oflife, our ethics, customs, conditions and economics.
The New Thought teaches that God is not a being afar off
from us, full of wrath and punishment, but that he is righthere with us; all around us, yes, even in us; understanding us
from the beginning; realizing our limitations; full of love; andpatiently seeing the gradual growth and unfoldment whichbrings us into a clearer understanding of him. The New Thought
does not know of the wrath of God—any such conception iscast into the shadow by the dazzling, overpowering sight ofGod’s love. As to the reason of God’s plans and laws, The New
Thought does not pretend to have knowledge, holding that thiscannot be known by Man in his present stage of development,
although by reason and intuition he is beginning to understandthat all is Good, and to see evidences of a loving, good, perfect,
just and wise plan, in all the experiences of life. And having that
Intelligent Faith which comes of the God‑consciousness, it rests
content, saying “God is—and all is well.”
The New Thought teaches that All is One—that all the
Universe, high and low, developed and undeveloped, manifest
and unmanifest, is One—all is an emanation of God. This
brings with it the corollary that everything in the universe is in
touch with every other thing, and all is in connection with theCentre—God. It holds, with modern science, that every atom isa part of a mighty whole, and that nothing can happen to any
atom without a corresponding effect upon every other part of
the whole. It holds that the sense of separateness is an illusionof the undeveloped consciousness, but an illusion necessary incertain stages for the working out of the plan, or as a recent
writer has said, “the sense of separateness is a working fictionof the Universe.” When man has so far progressed in spiritual
growth and unfoldment that certain heretofore dormant
faculties awaken to consciousness, or rather, when man’s
consciousness has so far developed that it takes cognizance9

The Law of The New Thoughtof certain faculties the existence of which has heretofore been
unknown to it, that man becomes conscious of the Onenessof All, and his relation to all that is. It is not merely a matter ofintellectual conception, it is the growth of a new consciousness.
The man who possesses this, simply knows; the man who has
it not, deems the idea allied to insanity. This Cosmic Knowing
comes to many as an illumination; to others it is a matter ofgradual and slow development.
This idea of the Oneness of All explains many problems that
Man has considered incapable of solution. It is at the heart of all
occult and esoteric teachings. It is at the centre of all religious
thought, although it is hidden until one finds the key. It is the Key
that opens all doors. It explains all contradictions—all paradoxes.
It welds together all discrepancies—all opposing theories—all
the different views of any subject. All is One—nothing can beleft out of that Oneness—all and everything is included. Man
cannot escape his Oneness with All, try as he may. Separatenessand selfishness are seen as merely the result of ignorance, fromwhich man is slowly emerging. Every man is doing the best hecan, in his particular stage of development. And every man is
growing, slowly but surely. Sin is but ignorance of the truth.
Selfishness and the sense of Separateness are at the bottom of
all that we call “sin.” And, under the Law, when we wilfully hurt
another, it rebounds upon ourselves. Evil, selfish thoughts andacts react upon ourselves. We cannot hurt another without
injuring ourselves. It is not necessary for God to punish us—
we punish ourselves. When the race finally understands and isconscious of the Oneness of All—when it has a knowledge of
the Law—when it has a consciousness of things as they are, thenwill Separateness and Selfishness drop away like a cast‑off cloak,
and that which we call sin and injustice can no longer exist for
the race. When the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhoodof Man, become realities in the consciousness of Man, insteadof beautiful ideals fondly cherished but considered impracticaland impossible of realization, then will Life be that which has
10“What is the ‘New Thought’?”

been dreamt of through the ages. This Oneness of All is one of
the fundamental truths of The New Thought, although manyof its followers seem to have but a faint conception of what itreally means, and are but slowly growing into an understandingof what it will mean for the world.
The New Thought teaches that Man is immortal. Its teachers
differ in their theories as to just how and where he will live inthe future, and of such speculations I do not purpose speaking
at length. I will say this, however, that when Man obtains
that wonderful assurance of immortality from his awakened
spiritual faculties, he sees no need of worrying about the “how”
and “where”. He knows that he is and will be. He has within him
such an abiding sense of existence, and deathlessness, that allof man’s speculations seem like idle theories to him—useful intheir place, of course, but of no vital importance to him. He
knows that there are no limits to the possible manifestations oflife—he knows that “infinity plus infinity” would not begin to
express the possibilities before him, and he frets not. He learns
to live in the Now, for he knows that he is in Eternity right now,
just as much as he ever will be, and he proceeds to Live. He
is concerned with Life, not with Death, and he Lives. He has
confidence in God and in the Divine Plan, and is content. He
knows that if our entire solar system, and every other system
the suns of which are visible to Man, were dissolved into their
original elements, he would still exist, and would be still in
the Universe. He knows that the Universe is large, and that heis a part of it—that he cannot be left out or banished fromthe Universe—that he is an important atom, and that his
destruction would disarrange and destroy the whole. He knowsthat while the Universe lasts—he lasts. That if he is destroyed
the Universe is destroyed. He know that God had use for him
or he would not be here, and he knows that God makes no
mistakes—changes not his mind—and destroys no soul that hehas expressed. He says: I am a Son of God; what I shall be doth
not yet appear; but come what will I am still a Son of God; what
11

The Law of The New Thought

my future may be, concerns me not—it is not my business—I
will place my hand in that of the Father and say “Lead Thou meon.”This idea of the Immortality of the Soul—that Man is a
Spiritual being, is also a fundamental principle of The New
Thought, although its teachers have differing ideas regarding
the methods and plans of the future life. To me, personally, I
can see Life only as being on an ascending scale, rising fromlower to higher, and then on to higher and higher and higher,
until my spiritual vision fails me. I believe that in the Universeare beings much lower than us in the spiritual scale; and that
there are also others much more advanced, much more highly
developed than ourselves, very gods as compared with us, andthat we are progressing along the Path until some day we will be
where they are; and that others now much lower will some day
be where we are now, and so on. This is but my finite view of an
infinite subject, and I do not know these things as I do know thefundamental fact. These particular views are not fundamental,
being nothing more than a dim perception, aided in certain
ways from outside sources, so do not accept them unless you
feel that they mean truth to you—form your own concept, if
you prefer. It will not make any difference to the fundamental
principle. If you have the consciousness of the fundamental
principle of immortality, then theories and views and concepts
are as nothing. Do not be satisfied with theories—mine oranyone else’s—there is no satisfaction until your feet are firmly
planted on the rock. Then, when you feel the solid rock beneathyou, you may amuse and instruct yourself by playing at building
houses, which you may tear down tomorrow to erect others
more in accordance with your advanced ideals. But the rock isthere all the time, and you are on it.
The New Thought teaches us that there is a spiritual evolution
going on in Man—that he is growing, developing and unfoldingin spiritual attainment. That his mind is developing and causing
to unfold new faculties which will lead him to higher paths of12

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”

attainment. That the Higher Reason is beginning to make itself
manifest. It teaches that the race is nearing the plane of Cosmic
Knowing. Teachers speak this Truth in different ways—using
different words—but the thing itself is a fundamental principleof The New Thought.
The New Thought teaches also that “thoughts are things” thatevery thought we think goes forth, carrying with it force which
affects others to a greater or less extent, depending upon theforce behind our thought, and the mental attitude of the otherpersons. And it teaches that like attracts like in the world ofthought—that a man attracts to himself thoughts in harmony
with his own—people in harmony with his thoughts—yes, thateven things are influenced by thought in varying degrees. It
teaches that “as a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” and thata man may change, and often does change, his entire characterand nature by a change of thoughts, an adjustment of his mental
attitude. It teaches that Fearthought and Worry and all the restof the foul brood of negative thoughts attract thoughts, people,
things, from the outside, and pull the man down to the level of
his thought‑pictures. And on the contrary a man may, by rightthinking, raise himself from the mire, and surround himself
with people and things corresponding to his thoughts. And it
teaches that thoughts take form in action. And it teaches that
the Mind is positive to the Body, and that a man may become
sick or well—diseased or free from disease, according to histhoughts and mental attitude. It teaches that the mind of Man
contains latent forces, lying dormant, awaiting the day of theirunfoldment, which may be developed and trained and used ina wondrous way. It teaches that Man is in his infancy regarding
the proper use of his mental powers. These things and similar
things, expressed in scores of forms, according to the views of
the respective teachers, are fundamental principles of The New
Thought.
I can do no more than merely mention these things now.
In the succeeding chapters, I will try to go into each phase of13

The Law of The New Thought

the subject a little more fully, but it would take many volumes
before I could feel that I had even penetrated beneath thesurface of the subject. And then remember that I am only
giving you my little bit of the Truth. Every other man or woman
has his or her bit, so that my portion is merely as a grain of sandon the seashore.
The New Thought is not a “fad” as many have supposed,
although many have made it the amusement of an idle hour. It
is no new religion as others have thought—it contains within
it only that which may be found in all the great religions of
the world, but generally so safely hidden that only those wholooked carefully could find it. It is no new religion, but it will
help to throw new light on every religion, or shade of religious
thought. It has no churches or temples—it allows its followers
to worship in the temples of their fathers, or, if they prefer,in the open field, on the ocean, in the forest, in their rooms;
anywhere—everywhere, for they cannot escape from the
Universe, and God is everywhere, and everyone is in constant
touch with him, and may feel the pressure of his hand if they
will but allow it—will hear the whisper of his voice if they will
but listen to it.
The man or woman who awakens into a consciousness of
the real principles underlying and making up that which wecall The New Thought, will have found a peace which exceeds
in comfort anything that has ever been known—will feel a
joy beyond anything that has ever been dreamt of—will haveacquired a knowledge exceeding all that has ever been deemed
possible. Words cannot express this thing—it must be seen, felt,
lived, to be realized.
This, my friends, is my answer to the question, “What is‘The New Thought’?” That it does not answer it, I am fully
aware, but I also see that one cannot answer such a question
in a few words—perhaps it could not be fully answered inas many volumes as I have used sentences. It is too great. Itmeans something to every man or woman who is attracted
14

“What is the ‘New Thought’?”

to it—each takes from it that suited to his needs, and leaves
the rest for others, And draw from it what we may, the supply
is never diminished. And so, it seems, I have merely answered
the question by telling of a little that The New Thought means
to me—just a little. So if it means something else to you—something more than I have mentioned—something different
from what I have stated—do not blame me or yourself—we
simply see that which we have drawn from the spring in ourlittle cup—the spring is still full and constantly flowing. Your
cupful is as good as mine—mine as good as yours—so let us
not dispute about it—nor yet compare cupfuls, Let us, instead,drink of the sparkling, life‑giving fluid that has been given us,
and shout aloud that others who are thirsty and are seeking thespring, may know that it is found. It is not yours, nor mine—itis the property of All.

15

The Law of The New Thought

16Chapter II.

“Thoughts are Things.”
Thought waves—Vibrations—Telepathy—Thought‑transference—We are all affected bythought‑waves—Public opinion the result of thought‑waves—An almost irresistible influence,unless understood—The attractive power of thought—Like attracts like—The thought of acommunity—Making one’s self positive to the thoughts of others—Thought auras surroundevery one, affecting others—Attracting and repelling—Attracting the best thoughts fromoutside—The mind is a magnet—How to protect yourself from being unduly affected by theminds of others—Fix your keynote—The inner influence stronger than the outer—How you
may avail yourself of the world’s unexpressed thought—Unexpressed thought seeks eagerly forexpression—How to attract it.

Every thought that we think starts in motion thought‑waves,or vibrations, which travel along with greater or lesser speed
and intensity, varying with the force of the original thought,
and which affect, more or less, people far removed from thepersons sending forth the thought. We are constantly sending
forth thought influence, and are constantly receiving thought
waves from others. I do not now refer to thoughts deliberately
sent out to the mind of another, or thoughts deliberately
received by one from the mind of another, according to thewell‑known, and well established, laws of Telepathy, but tothe equally real, but far less understood, unconscious sending
forth and receiving of thoughts, which is going on in each of
us all the time. Of course these are all different manifestationsof what we call Telepathy, or thought‑transference, but the17The Law of The New Thoughtterm is generally used to designate the conscious sending andreceiving of mental messages.
This power of thought‑transference is being continually
exercised by all people, generally indirectly and unconsciously.
Our thoughts create vibrations which are sent forth in waves
in all directions, and affect more or less all persons with whoseminds they come in contact. We can see instances of this in
every‑day life. Men are affected by the thoughts of others inbusiness, on the street, in the theatre, in church, and in fact
everywhere. Public opinion is largely formed by the thoughtsof a number of vigorous, positive thinkers, sent forth inthought‑waves, rapidly influencing the whole country, thethought‑wave gaining force as it progresses, being added to by
the thought vibrations of everyone whom it affects. Great wavesof popular feeling sweep over the country carrying before them
all except those who understand the laws of mental influence,
and who have protected themselves against these outside
impressions. The combined thought‑waves of the majority ofthe people beat against the mind of the individual and exercise
an almost irresistible influence.
There is one very important fact in this study of the powerof thought vibrations, which every man or woman should
constantly carry in mind. I refer to the fact that the law of “likeattracts like” maintains in the thought‑world, and that one
attracts to himself the thoughts of others which correspond inkind with those held by himself. A man who Hates will attract
to himself all the Hateful and Malicious thought‑waves withina large radius, and these added thoughts act as fuel to the fireof his base feelings, and render him more Hateful and Hating
than ever. One who thinks Love, and has outgrown the oldnegative thoughts of imperfect development, will not attract
these negative thoughts to him. They will pass him by, hurrying
on to some point of attraction in the minds of others who arethinking along the same lines. And the man who thinks Lovewill attract to himself all the Loving thoughts within his circle
18

“Thoughts are Things.”

of influence. Men instinctively recognize this force when theygather in the same neighborhood with others in the same line ofthought. Communities have their individualities just as persons
do. Every village, town, and city has its own peculiarities, which
are noticeable to those who enter it. And strangers moving
into these communities gradually take on the characteristics ofthe place, unless the same prove very uncongenial to them, inwhich case they manage to move away from the town as soon
as possible, and are not contented so long as they are within its
borders. It is well to be surrounded by those whose thoughts
are akin to our own, as we thus add to each other’s power andare comparatively free from outside disturbing influences. Of
course persons may by practice, and understanding, makethemselves positive to the thoughts of others, and may with
impunity allow themselves to be surrounded with personsof an entirely different line of thought, and may even, when
so doing, attract to themselves, from greater distances, thethoughts which harmonize with their own.
Every person is constantly surrounded with a thought‑aura
which affects those with whom he comes in contact. Somepeople attract us without a word being spoken, while others
repel us as soon as we come within the radius of their aura.
The aura of a man is composed of the essence of his prevailingthoughts—it reflects his general mental attitude. This aura is
felt not only by man, but also by the lower animals. Children
are very susceptible to its influences, and many unaccountable
likes and dislikes of children are explainable in no other way.
Some persons are very sensitive to the thought atmosphereof others, and will sense at once the mental attitude of thosewith whom they come in contact. Some psychics are able toperceive this aura, and state that it varies in density and shadeaccording to the prevailing quality of thought of the individual.
When one realizes the wonderful workings of the law ofthought‑attraction he sees the importance of so controlling
his thoughts that he may attract only the best and most
19

The Law of The New Thought

helpful thought of the world, instead of the depressing, hurtful,
negative thought which is being sent out from so many minds.
A man who maintains a hopeful, confident, fearless mental
attitude will attract to himself like thought from others, andwill be strengthened and helped by the influx of the outside
thought, and will go on from success to success, aided by the
combined force of the thoughts which he has attracted tohim. He becomes as a magnet drawing to himself that whichstrengthens and aids him. Equally true is the fact that the man
who maintains a negative, fearful, despondent mental attitude
will attract to himself like thoughts from the great field ofthought, which will pull and drag him down still deeper into
the Slough of Despond. Remember, always, “like attracts like” inthe thought world. And you may rest assured that whatsoever
you think will attract a corresponding thought which has been
sent out from the minds of others.
Have you ever noticed the attractive power of thought inthe cases of strangers brought into contact with each other?
Each draws to himself his kind. Place a hundred strange men
or women in a room, and inside of an hour they have formed
themselves into groups, each group representing a different
type—a different mental attitude. Each instinctively attracts
and is attracted by corresponding qualities in another.
If you would develop along certain lines the best plan is tothink along the desired lines as much as you can, endeavoring
to hold the thoughts relating to it as much as possible. By doing
so you will not only develop the mind by auto‑suggestion,
but will attract, from the great ocean of thought, the helpful
thoughts which have been sent out by others, and you willobtain the benefit of their thinking, as well as your own. Manyof us have been thinking along certain lines very intently andwith full powers of concentration, and suddenly a bright idea
will come into our minds from out of the Somewhere, and wewill be almost startled at suddenly coming in possession ofa valuable thought relating to the matter in hand. Vigorous,
20

“Thoughts are Things.”

positive, hopeful, expectant, concentrated thought on almost
any subject will bring to itself helpful and valuable thoughtsfrom others. There is no question but that many men havedeveloped powers in this direction that place them in touchwith the best minds working along similar lines. Many inventors
will find themselves producing the same invention, and writers
frequently find that the book that they have just written bears
a striking resemblance to one simultaneously produced byanother writer in perhaps a different country. Much harshfeeling is often engendered by a lack of understanding of theworkings of the law of thought.
I have spoken at considerable length upon this subject in myprevious work, entitled “Thought Force,” and can merely refer toit in the present volume. It, however, plays an important partin the teachings of The New Thought, and the student soon
realizes its wonderful bearing upon the affairs of everyday life.
There is no occasion for alarm on the part of any one becauseof the possibility of being unduly affected by the thoughts ofothers. The remedy is to place yourself in the proper key, thatyou may receive only the helpful vibrations corresponding
to the thoughts uppermost in your own mind. Every man ismaster of his own mind, and nothing will enter there unlesshe permits it. The inside influence is much stronger than theoutside. All one has to do is to keep his own mind free frombase, negative thoughts and the undesirable thoughts of others
will not be attracted to him. Only the thoughts that harmonize
will find a congenial shelter within his mind. He fixes his own
mental keynote and his mind will not respond to any otherkey. If he thinks Love, Hate will not come near him; if he thinks
Truth, Lying thoughts will flee from him. “As a man thinketh in
his heart, so is he,” applies here also.
Man has wonderful possibilities in the direction of sodeveloping his mind that he may attract to himself that which
he needs from the great world’s store‑house of unexpressedthought. He will find enormous quantities of unexpressed
21

The Law of The New Thought

thought longing for expression, which will eagerly pour into his
mind for that expression which was not given by the mind inwhich they originated. Thoughts are hungry for expression, andflock to the mind of him who has sufficient energy to express
the thoughts which come to him. Many men are too lazy toexpress the great thoughts which they originate, and it remains
for others to absorb these unexpressed thoughts and use them.
Nothing goes to waste, and what one man will not use anotherwill be found to avail himself of. Unexpressed thought is added
to the common store, to be drawn upon by all who need it andwill attract it to themselves.
Your mind is a magnet drawing to it thoughts in keepingwith your conscious or unconscious demands and desires. By
cultivating the proper mental attitude you may draw the very
best product of the world’s thinking. Is it not worth trying?

22

Chapter III.

The Law of Attraction.
This Law difficult to understand—Thought attracts not only persons but things—Exerts acontrol over circumstances—The Oneness of All affords a solution to the problem—The
atom attracts that which is needed for its development—The power of Desire—How the
Law operates in some circumstances—The Law operating through men—Illustrations of
the wonderful workings of the Law—Your thoughts place you in connection with the outerworld and its forces—Starting the forces into operation—The road to Success—Swept on byirresistible forces—Faith and recognition of the Law, rewarded by immediate movement—One
gets very much what he looks for—The Law is either your master or your servant.

T

he working of the Law of Attraction is something thatpuzzled me very much for a long time after I became
interested in The New Thought, and I am of the opinion
that others find it difficult to grasp. It is comparatively easy tounderstand the effect of the mind on the body—the mind on
the minds of others—the will‑power on the mind—the factthat a thought will attract a like thought, etc. But when one isfirst made aware that there is such a thing as a Law of Attraction
whereby one attracts things to him—exerts a control overcircumstances by reason of the character of his thoughts—heis apt to find it hard to grasp the fact, or to understand theLaw which operates in this way. There is a great difference,
apparently, between the effect of thought upon persons, andthe effect of thoughts upon things. But when one grasps theidea of the Oneness of All, he will begin to understand why one
23

The Law of The New Thoughtpart of the whole will affect another part of the whole, be that
other part a person or a thing. I have never heard a complete,
clear explanation of the inner working of the Law of Attraction,although many understand the general workings, and a fairidea may be obtained by reasoning by analogy. But that the
Law of Attraction exists, and is in full working force, many men
and women know by experience, and the beginner who cannot
understand will find it necessary to take the Law on faith at thestart, until he becomes convinced of its real existence, by the
results obtained by himself.
There seems to be a great law of Nature whereby an atom
attracts to itself that which is needed for its development.
And the force that brings about these results manifests itself
in Desire. There may be many Desires, but the predominant
one has the strongest attracting power. This law is recognizedthrough the various kingdoms of Nature, but it is only beginningto be realized that the same Law maintains in the kingdom of
the mind.
Our mental attitude causes us to draw things to us
corresponding in kind to our predominant thoughts anddesires. A thought firmly fixed in the mind, and held continually,
will attract to its holder the things represented by that thought,
excepting in such cases where other mental influences are atwork counteracting the power of the thought. For instance, if
two men were to earnestly wish for the same thing, the stronger
thought force would gain the object. But it is not always best to
wish for some special thing, as that particular thing may not be
the best thing for you in your present stage of development. The
better plan is to hold the thought of ultimate success, leaving
the details to the workings of the Law, and taking advantage ofthe things that occur, turning each one to your advantage, andallowing no chance to pass by without making use of it. It will
be found that the Law operates that way. I have seen people
who fixed their ambition and aspirations upon some particularthing, and after obtaining that thing would find out that it was
24

The Law of Attraction.

not what they wanted at all. The better plan, as I have stated, isto hold to the mental attitude of success and accomplishment,leaving the details to be worked out from day to day—taking
advantage of each feature of the plan as it presents itself, andfeeling, always, that the particular thing that is occurring is
the best possible thing that could happen, in view of ultimate
success.
I believe that much of the work of the Law of Attraction isaccomplished by means of one attracting to himself men ofsimilar ideas, who are likely to be interested in his plans, ideas,
business, etc., and at the same time causing one to be attracted
to other men who may be of use to him. It is a case of mutual
attraction, not a case of the influence of one mind over another.
Two men of similar mental attitudes will attract each otherand will come together for mutual advantage. And although
the result often seems to be the attracting of things, it will beseen that the things are moved by men. Many other importantresults occur by one having attracted to himself thoughts andideas from outside, which he puts into practice and thereby isenabled to realize his desire. But there are cases in which it isseen that the mind has a positive effect upon things. Some menseem to be immune from accidents, while others are always
running into them. Men of a fearless, daring nature seem to be
exempt from many things that occur to men who are full of fear.
Some men seem to bear charmed lives in battle, while others
are always being wounded. I have heard of a number of cases inwhich men have almost sought death, and could not find it. At
first glance it would appear that the thing they sought shouldhave come to them, but a little closer analysis shows us thatwhat they really did was to get rid of fear.
And the same thing seems true of business and everyday life.
The man who dares and seems devoid of fear, takes all sorts ofchances but generally comes out ahead in the end. If he fails, it
is generally because he loses his nerve at the last moment. Fearis one of the greatest attracting forces of the mind. It is equal
25The Law of The New Thought

to Confident Expectation, in fact Fear is a sort of confident
expectation of evil to come, the expectation varying in degreewith the amount of Fear.
Your thoughts place you in connection with the outside
world and its forces, and you attract and repel people, and things,
by the character of thought held. You and they are attracted
to each other, because your thoughts are pitched in the same
key. You are in close touch with all other parts of the whole,
but attract to yourself only such of the parts as correspondin kind with your mental attitude. If you think Success you
will find that you have started into operation the forces thatare conducive to that success, and from time to time, if you
maintain the same mental position, other things will fall intoline as they are needed, and will aid you in your efforts. Things
will seem to come your way in a most astonishing manner, andopportunities will arise which, if taken advantage of, will insure
to you success. You will find that new thoughts will come into
your mind which should be taken advantage of. You will meetwith people who will help you in many ways, by suggestions,
ideas and active help. Of course the work which you must do
yourself will not be performed for you by others, but the Law
will continually help and assist you. It will bring opportunities
and chances to your door, but you will have to take them in. It
will lead up to doors opening into advancement, but you will
have to open the doors yourself. It will undertake what willseem to be round‑about roads to get to a thing, but do not
let that worry you, for you will arrive at your journey’s end, nomatter how winding the road.
Sometimes it will take you away past the point at which
you thought you were aiming, and, as you go past, you will
smile to think how this point on the road which now seems so
unimportant, a little further back seemed to be your destination,
your reason for making the trip. Sometimes the thing which
seems to represent all that is worth having, and which inspires
you to make the effort, will have lost all interest for you when
26

The Law of Attraction.

you near it, and you will make no attempt to grasp it but passon, rapidly swept past by the irresistible forces which have been
set into operation.
Faith in the Law and recognition of it, seem to be rewarded
by immediate movement forward. Lack of faith, and denial ofit, seem to act as brakes to progress, although the law is always
in operation, because if we are not going forward it is pulling
us in some other direction, by reason of the forces of attraction
which we have put into operation, even though we do it
unconsciously. The Law works two ways, apparently, althoughboth ways are really only different manifestations of the one.
The thing you Fear attracts as much as the thing for which you
hope.
When one is looking for trouble he generally gets it, andwhen he feels his ability to stand all sorts of trouble and to
ride over it, the trouble does not seem to come. One gets verymuch what he looks for. The old saying that the world takesa man at his own valuation, although not strictly correct, isbased upon a recognition of this Law. A man who expects tobe kicked and buffeted around, generally has his expectations
realized, whereas a man who demands respect generally gets it.
As I have already said, the Law will not do a man’s work for
him, but it places tools and materials right at his hand, andkeeps him well supplied with both. The Law is constantly
bringing opportunities to each of us, and it remains for us totake advantage of them or to let them pass us by unheeded.
Thoughts, things, people, ideas, opportunities, chances, andother things which we attract are passing before us all the time.
But it takes Courage to grasp them. The successful man is he
who knows how to take advantage of the chances that othermen fail to see. He has confidence in himself and in his ability
to beat into shape the crude material at his hand. And so, henever feels that there are no more chances in the world for
him, or that all the good things have been passed around. He
knows that there are plenty more good things where the others
27

The Law of The New Thoughtcame from, and he simply keeps his eyes open, and after a bit
something comes along and he reaches out and takes it.
The Law of Attraction is in full operation. You are making
use of it constantly and unconsciously, every minute of yourlife. What kind of things are you attracting to you? What kindof things do you want? Do your thoughts correspond withthe things you want or the things you fear? Which? The Law
is either your Master or your Servant. Make your choice, andmake it Now.

28

Chapter IV.

Mind Building.
Advanced Man has the power of consciously building his mind—Doing the building yourself
instead of letting others do it—The sub‑conscious warehouse—Moving along the lines ofleast resistance—Taking mental stock and discarding worthless material—Worthless mental
bric‑a‑brac—Man not a worm of the dust—Man’s destiny great and glorious—Man’s mind
just what he makes it—Training and developing the mind—How to acquire desired mental
traits—Moulding and shaping the mind according to the will—We are no longer servantsof our minds—Mental freedom—The mind an instrument to be used by the Real Self—
Auto‑suggestions and affirmations—The doctrine of “I Can and I Will”—What kind of mental
material are you using?

To the advanced Man is reserved the proud privilege of
consciously building up his mind into any desired shape—
the privilege of altering, repairing, and adding to themental structure. In the lower animals, primitive man, and eventhe majority of men to‑day, the work of building up the mindis largely performed by forces outside of himself—environment,
associations, suggestions, etc., and, of course, even the mostadvanced man is subject to these influences. But the developed
man knows that he, himself, has a hand in the building up of
his mind. This building, of course, is done altogether in the
sub‑conscious field, the conscious thought supplying thematerial, and the “I” being the builder. In a previous chapter, I
have spoken of the Sub‑conscious Plane of the mind, and how it
is being added to, each day, by thoughts of the conscious plane
29

The Law of The New Thoughtof our own mind, the thoughts of others, suggestions, and soon. I have also compared the sub‑conscious plane of mentation
to a body of water into which a clear stream was flowing, andshowed how the character of the entire body of water depended
upon the quality of the water that was pouring in.
The sub‑conscious mind may also be compared to animmense warehouse, into which goods are being carried andstored. It will readily be seen that the character of the contentsof the warehouse must be determined by the grade and qualityof the goods being carried in from day to day. This being granted,
it will readily be seen how important becomes the selection ofthese mental goods which are being stored away.
The sub‑conscious plane of the mind is an immensestorehouse into which we are continually carrying goods tobe stored away for future use. And, moreover, these goods
are being constantly used. The greater part of our thinking
is done along the lines of sub‑conscious mentation, and thesub‑conscious plane of the mind can only use that which has
already been stored away in its space.
Mind moves along the lines of least resistance, and when
it becomes necessary for us to think upon a certain subject,
we find ourselves taking the easiest line of thought, which isalways the line which has been traveled most frequently inthe past. It tires us to think along new lines, while to thinkupon the old accustomed lines requires but little effort, andwe consequently move along the lines of least resistance. We
have in our sub‑conscious plane of mind many cut‑and‑dried
opinions, many ready made ideas, upon which we have neverseriously thought. Sometime, in the past, we have accepted
these opinions or ideas from some source, and we have neverseriously considered the other side of the question. And yet
when any of these subjects come up in conversation, or reading,we find that we have well‑settled opinions upon them and areoften quite bigoted regarding them. It is only when we areforced to take out the old opinion and idea and examine it30

Mind Building.

carefully and closely, look it over, that we find that there is no
merit at all in it, and we are annoyed to think that we havebeen keeping the old thing around the place so long, and we
discard it and replace it with a good sound thought of ourown manufacture. A good mental house‑cleaning will reveal
to us many such useless and imperfect articles around thesub‑conscious storeroom.
Among the many worthless articles of mental bric‑a‑brac
to be found in most minds may be seen the thoughts of Fear,
Worry, Jealousy, Hate, Malice, Envy, etc. A careful examinationof these articles will result in their being thrown on the mental
waste‑heap and suitable, up‑to‑date articles put in their places.
None of these articles will stand the tests of the Higher Reason.
And then the belief of man being a worm of the dust; a miserable
sinner worthy only of eternal damnation; a child of darkness
fit only for the fiery pit; all these beliefs have been passed on
to men and women, and they have stored them away in the
sub‑conscious storehouse and make use of them constantly.
How can any man believe himself to be a worm of the dust
and a child of darkness, and at the same time realize that he is a
Son of God with a destiny so great, so grand, and so brilliant, that
his mind cannot even conceive it? How can a man, with suchideas ruling him, throw off the sheaths which he has outgrown,
and step forward into a brighter spiritual consciousness?
And then the idea of Failure, Fear, Worry and the rest. Man
has had these things poured into him until he is so full ofthem that they influence all his actions and thoughts. And themore he thinks and acts along these lines the more likely heis to continue such thoughts and actions in the future. He is
traveling over and over the old road until it becomes second
nature to do it and harder to strike out into a new path.
Man should realize that he is what he thinks. He should
know that he is building up his mind, unconsciously it is true,by the character of the thoughts he is thinking. If he is thinking
bright, cheerful, happy, confident and courageous thoughts, he
31

The Law of The New Thought

is building up a mentality colored with these thoughts. And
equally true is it that if he is thinking thoughts of fear, worry,gloom and despair, his mentality will take on that color, andall his actions will be influenced by the prevailing shade of his
mental attitude.
In my previous work, entitled “Thought Force,” I give a longchapter on “Character Building by Mental Control,” which shows
how a man can practically make himself over by cultivatinga certain line of thought and letting it find lodgment in his
sub‑conscious mentality. One can, by continually keeping themind in certain channels, so train and develop the faculties thatthey will soon take up the new habit of thought and will, without
effort, follow the new mental path that has been mapped out
for them. Remember, each time you think a thought, or act out
a thought, you make it that much easier for your mind to do
the same thing over again.
If you wish to be Energetic and Active, think as manyenergetic and active thoughts as you can and endeavor to act
them out. Let your thoughts be constantly upon these subjects
and endeavor to manifest the thought in action as much as
possible. By following this course you will gradually makeyourself over, so far as those habits are concerned, and the
new way will be the natural way, and the old discarded habits
will seem very unreal to you. One can train his mind in any
direction desired, or considered needful. Remember, it is theconscious mentality training and shaping the sub‑conscious.
You are filling the sub‑conscious storehouse with the goods you
wish to use, and when you have occasion to bring out any ofthese mental goods you may expect to find only those which
you have placed there.
The sub‑conscious mentality may be trained just as one
would train a child or pet animal. It may be moulded andshaped according to the will. It requires perseverance, of course,
but it is an important thing to accomplish.
32

Mind Building.

We have been servants of our minds for so long that we havegrown to consider that state of affairs beyond remedy, and,
although we do not like it, we have about resigned ourselves tothe inevitable. The New Thought carries the message of mental
freedom to Man. It shows him that the mind is but a tool of theReal Self—an instrument to be used—a machine that can betaught to do his bidding. If the Desire is in a man he can mould
his mind to carry out his desires and aspirations.
If a man lacks certain qualities, he may develop and growthese desirable qualities by constantly carrying them in mind
and manifesting them in action as often as may be. And if one
wishes to overcome certain weak thoughts and tendencies hemay do so by holding the thought exactly opposite to the one
he wishes to overcome. He is in control if he will only assert
himself. He is master of the warehouse and has the power toadmit only such goods as he considers desirable.
Auto‑suggestions and affirmations are practically the same.
They consist of certain statements, which, constantly repeatedor affirmed by one, will cause to grow within him the qualities
corresponding to the auto‑suggestion or affirmation.
If one lacks confidence in himself and is timid, bashful or
faint‑hearted, the affirmation, “I can and I will,” will prove awonderful mental tonic. Let him repeat it over and over again,
not like a parrot, but with a full conception of its meaning,and before long he will find the “I Can and I Will” vibrations
beginning to manifest themselves in him. And when he issuddenly confronted with a proposition, or task, he will findthe thought, “I Can and I Will,” springing into being and theaction following on its heels. Before this change he felt nothing
but “I Can’t” and “I’m Afraid” when confronted with anything
new. He will have made himself over.
And so it is with any line of thought. Get into the habit ofthinking of yourself as you wish yourself to be, and before long
you will find yourself growing into just that thing.
33

The Law of The New Thought

You are building up your mind constantly—you are erecting
the edifice of character every day. How are you building it—
what materials are you using in the edifice? Are you using thebest material possible—the positive, bright, confident thoughtmaterials? Or are you using the defective, imperfect, negative,
fearful materials that so many have used?
While you are building up your mind, why don’t you do itright? Why don’t you insist upon nothing but the best material
being used and reject all of the undesirable kind? You have theoperation in hand—you are the builder. If you make a poor jobof it, don’t blame anyone but yourself. You are building today—
what kind of material are you using?

34

Chapter V.

The Dweller of the Threshold.
Bulwer Lytton’s creation—The frightful monster confronting the neophyte in the secretchamber—The real meaning of the occult figure of speech—Fear the great obstacle to successand happiness, and spiritual attainment—Stands at the door to Freedom—Keeps the race inbondage—No advancement possible until it is overcome—And it can be overcome—Confront
it boldly and it retreats—Assert the I Am—Fear is as much a magnet as Desire—Fear the parentof all the brood of negative thought—Illustrations—Fear has hypnotized the race—Fear never
did Man any good, and never will—The cry of “I’m afraid” has always been heard—Opposition
to new ideas—How Fear may be defeated—Fear a humbug and a bugaboo, without any real
power over us except that which we allow him.

M

any of you have read Edward Bulwer Lytton’s occult
story, “Zanoni,” and remember the “Dweller of theThreshold,” that frightful monster which confronted
the neophyte, Glyndon, in the secret chamber of the master,
Mejnour, and of which Mejnour speaks when he says: “Amidst
the dwellers of the Threshold is One, too, surpassing in malignity
and hatred all her tribe—one whose eyes have paralyzed thebravest and whose power increases over the spirit precisely inproportion to its fear.”In another chapter Glyndon seeks to penetrate the mysteriesof the secret chamber and meets the hideous keeper of thedoor, which is described thus: “… The casement becamedarkened with some object undistinguishable at the first gaze,
but which sufficed mysteriously to change into ineffable horror
35

The Law of The New Thought

the delight he had before experienced. By degrees this object
shaped itself to his sight. It was that of a human head, covered
with a dark veil, through which glared with livid and demoniac
fire eyes that froze the marrow of his bones. Nothing else of theface was distinguishable—nothing but those intolerable eyes. …
It seemed rather to crawl as some vast misshapen reptile; and,pausing at length, it cowered beside the table which held themystic volume and again fixed its eyes through the filmy veil on
the rash invoker. … Clinging with the grasp of agony to the wall,
his hair erect, his eye‑balls starting, he still gazed back upon thatappalling gaze. The Image spoke to him—his soul rather thanhis ear comprehended the words it said: ‘Thou hast entered theimmeasurable region. I am the Dweller of the Threshold’.”Those familiar with occult symbols and figures recognize
in Lytton’s Dweller of the Threshold that enemy of Man’s
progress—that frightful figure that stands before the door to
freedom—Fear
Fear is the first and great enemy to be overcome by the man
or woman who wishes to escape from bondage and attain
Freedom. The door to Freedom is pointed out and the seeker
makes a few steps in that direction, but is halted by the sight ofthe malignant Dweller of the Threshold—Fear. Lytton has notpainted it in too frightful form—words cannot describe thehideousness of this monster.
Fear stands in the road of all progress—all advancement—
escape. Fear is at the bottom of all of Man’s failures—sorrows—
unhappinesses. The Fear of the race keeps it in bondage—theFear of the individual keeps him a slave. Until Fear is overcome
there can be no advancement for either individual or race. This
enemy must be overcome before there can be escape. And it
can be overcome by those who will face it calmly and boldly.
Look Fear square in the eyes and her eyes drop and she retreats
before you. Assert the I am, and know, in the depths of your soul,that nothing can injure the real “I,” and Fear flies before you,36

The Dweller of the Threshold.

fearing that you will conquer her and bind her with chains—
she knows the power of the I am consciousness.
When a man allows Fear to enter his heart he attracts to him
all that which he fears. Fear is a powerful magnet and exercises
a wonderful attracting power. Besides this it paralyzes theefforts and energy of the man and prevents him from doingthat which he could easily do were he free of the monster. Man
succeeds in proportion as he frees himself from Fear. Show me
the successful man and I will show you a man who has daredand who has turned his back upon Fear.
Take your own life, for instance. You have had many
opportunities offered you which you have allowed to pass you
because of Fear. You have met with a fair degree of success, and,at the last moment, when the prize was in sight, you have drawn
back your hand and fled to the rear. Why? Because you “lostyour nerve” and Fear entered your heart. When the microbe of
Fear enters the system the entire body is paralyzed.
Fear is the parent of the entire brood of negative thoughts
which keep men in bondage. From her womb spring Worry,
Jealousy, Hate, Malice, Envy, Uncharitableness, Bigotry,
Intolerance, Condemnation, Anger and the rest of the foulbrood. You doubt this, do you? Well, let us see. You do notworry about things unless you fear them; you do not feel
jealous unless fear is also present; hate is always mingled withfear and springs from it—one does not hate a thing that isbeyond the power of hurting him; envy shows its origin; bigotry,
intolerance and condemnation all arise from fear—persecution
begins only when the object is feared; a close analysis will showthat anger springs from a vague sense of fear of the thing whichcauses the anger—a thing that is not feared causes amusementand derision rather than anger. Analyze closely and you will findthat all of these negative, hurtful thoughts bear a close family
resemblance to their parent—Fear. And if you will start in towork and will abolish Fear the foul brood of youngsters will die
for want of nourishment.
37

The Law of The New Thought

Fear has hypnotized the race for ages, and its effects are as
noticeable now as ever. We have taken in Fear with our mother’s
milk—yes, even before birth we have been cursed with thisthing. We have had it suggested into us from childhood. The“ifs,” “supposings,” “buts,” “what‑ifs” and “aren’t‑you‑afraids”
have always been with us. We have been taught to fear
everything in the heavens above, the earth beneath and thewaters under the earth. The bugaboos of childhood—thethings‑to‑be‑feared of manhood—are all off the same piece.
We are told all our lives that “the goblins will catch you if you
don’t look out.” Turn which way we may the suggestions ofFear are constantly being poured into us. Any one who knows
the power of repeated suggestions can realize what all this has
meant to the world. The brave band of New Thought people—
Don’t Worry people—and others of this line of thought, aredoing much toward pouring a stream of clear, living water into
the muddy, stagnant pool of Fearthought that the world has
allowed to accumulate, and others are adding to the stream
every day, but the pool is enormous.
Fear never accomplished any good and never will. It is anegative thought which has dragged its slimy form along theages, seeking to devour all which promised good to Mankind.
It is the greatest enemy of progress—the sworn foe of Freedom.
The cry, “I’m afraid,” has always been heard, and it is only whensome man or woman, or a number of them, has dared to laughin its face, that some bold deed has been done that has caused
the world to go forward a notch or so. Let some one advance a
new idea calculated to benefit the world, and at once you hear
the cry of Fear, with the accompanying yells of the whelps, Hate
and Anger, filling the air and awakening echoing yells, growls
and snarls from all the Fear‑kennels within hearing distance. Let
any one try to do a thing in a new way—improve upon some
accepted plan—teach the Truth in a new way—and the yell
goes up. Fear is the curse of the race.
38

The Dweller of the Threshold.

The man who is in bondage to Fear is a very slave, and no
crueler master ever existed. In proportion to his fear, Man sinksin the mud. And the pathetic, although somewhat humorous,
part of it all is, that all the time the man has sufficient power
to rise up and smite his task‑master a blow between the eyes
which will cause him to retreat in a hurry. Man is like a youngelephant which has not yet recognized its strength. When one
once realizes that nothing can hurt him, Fear flees from him.
The man who recognizes just what he is, and what is his place inthe Universe, parts company with Fear forever. And, before hereaches this stage, Fear loses its hold upon him as he advances
step by step toward that recognition.
And not only on this plane may Fear be defeated, but evenon the lower plane of self‑interest and self‑advancement Fear
may be gotten rid of. When Man recognizes that Fear is a sortof home‑made, pumpkin‑headed jack‑o’‑lantern, instead of thefiery‑eyed monster of the night he had supposed it to be, he will
walk up to it and knock it off the fence post where it had beenplaced to frighten him. He will see that the things that happen
are never so bad as the things that were feared. He will see that
the Fear of a thing is worse than the thing itself. He will see
that, as the anticipation of a desired thing is greater than therealization, so is the anticipation of a feared thing worse thanthe happening of it. And he will find that the majority of feared
things do not happen. And he will find that even when things
do happen, somehow matters are straightened out so that webear the burden much better than we had dreamt would bepossible—God not only tempers the wind to the shorn lamb,but he tempers the shorn lamb to the wind.
And Man finds that the very fearing of a thing often brings it
upon him while a fearless mental attitude sends the thing flying
away often at the last moment. Job cried out, “The thing that I
feared hath come upon me.”Some one has said, and I have often repeated it: “There isnothing to be feared but Fear.” Well, I go further than that
39

The Law of The New Thought

now and say that there is no sense in fearing even Fear, for, as
terrible as he appears on the outside, he is made of the flimsiest
material on the inside. He is “a lath painted to resemble iron.” A
few strong blows will smash him. He is a fraud—a yellow dog
wearing a lion’s skin. Stand up before him and smile boldly in hisface—look him in the eyes and smile. Do not mind his frightful
form—his hideous mask—he is a weakling when matchedwith Courage and Confidence. All these negative thoughts are
weaklings when compared with their opposites on the positiveplane.
Would you know how to get rid of Fear? Then listen. The way
to get rid of Fear is to ignore his existence and to carry before
you, and with you always, the ideals of Courage and Confidence.
Confidence in the great plan of which you are a part. Courage inyour strength as a part of the whole. Confidence in the workingsof the Law. Courage in your ability to work in accordance with
the Law. Confidence in your destiny. Courage in your knowledgeof the reality of the Whole and the illusions of separateness.
Courage and Confidence arising from the knowledge of the
Law of Attraction and the power of Thought‑force. Courage
and Confidence in your knowledge that the Positive always
overcomes the Negative.
Men often say that The New Thought principles arebeyond them—that they cannot comprehend—that theywant something that will be of use to them in their every day
lives. Well, here is something for such people. This idea of theabolishing of Fear will make them over and will give them apeace of mind that they have never been conscious of before. It
will give them sweet sleep after business hours; it will give theman even mind during business hours; it will make their paths
smoother and will obviate friction; it will soon be used to cause
things to “come their way.” And while it is doing these things forthem it will be making better men of them. It will be preparing
them for the recognition of higher truths.
40

The Dweller of the Threshold.

You neophyte, who are standing at the door of the secretchamber, longing to pass through its portals and thence toknowledge and freedom and power, be not dismayed at thesight of the Dweller of the Threshold. He is merely “gotten up
for the occasion.” Smile in his face and gaze steadily into hiseyes and you will see what an old humbug he is. Push him aside
and enter into the room of knowledge. Beyond that are otherrooms for you, which you will pass through in turn. Leave theDweller for timid mortals who are afraid that the “goblins will
get them.” Faint heart never won fair lady nor anything else
worth having in this world. And “none but the brave deserve
the fair,” or anything else. So drop your whining cry of “I Can’t”
or your sniveling “I’m afraid,” and, shouting boldly, “I can andI will,” brush past the Dweller of the Threshold, crowd him up
against the door‑post with your shoulder and walk into the
Room.

41

The Law of The New Thought

42Chapter VI.

Mind and Body.
Many persons attracted to the New Thought by the healing feature—This feature highly
important but not the highest good obtainable—Many theories but only one real force—The
secret of permanent cures—The claims of the different schools—All obtaining wonderfulresults—All forms of healing good, but cures can be made by one’s self—The healing power
latent in the individual—Called into force by outside treatment—The sub‑conscious plane inhealing—Absent treatment—Man has a latent recuperative power within him—Arouse therecuperative power—Vital force—Use of transference of Vital Force—Fear as a poison—Taking
off the brake—No special mystery about healing—Explanation of Nature’s processes in mental
healing.

M

any persons are under the impression that thehealing of disease is the main object and underlying
principle of The New Thought. And it is probable thatthe majority of persons who become interested in this great
movement have been attracted, originally, by this particularfeature. The person whose attention is attracted by this feature,
however, soon sees the deeper phases of the thought and begins
to investigate them and before long the mere healing of disease,as important as it is, sinks into comparative insignificance.
Many begin by taking treatment from some practitioner ofmental healing (or spiritual healing, as some prefer to termit) and then work into the higher phases, while some become
interested in the higher truths, and find themselves becomingstronger physically, without any special effort on their part.
43

The Law of The New Thought

I do not purpose going into the theory of mental healing,or the influence of the mind upon the body, and can do no
more than to merely touch upon the subject in a general way.
There are many books treating fully upon this subject, andthe majority of my readers know from personal experience ofthe success that has attended this method of the treatment
of disease. Each particular school of mental healing seems tohave its own pet theories, and manner of giving treatments.
Some prefer personal treatments, others prefer what are called“absent treatments,” wherein the person giving the treatment
may be many miles from the patient, the healing thought being
communicated telepathically. Personally, I believe that all thesedifferent forms of treatment are but different forms of calling
into operation the same force—the wonderful power of themind over the body. I believe that the best plan of treatment
is to educate the patient to recognize the wonderful powersof his own mind in healing himself, and I also believe that no
permanent cure is effected, and future disease prevented, until
the patient grows into a recognition of this fact. But, as one
must crawl before he can walk, so is it often necessary for thepatient, grown weak in body and mind, and distrustful of his
own powers, to receive assistance in the shape of some form oftreatment from outside.
We hear a great deal of the claims of the several schools
and cults, each of which seems to think that its way is the only
way, and that all other methods are erroneous, or, at least, notquite the real thing. Some of this reasoning is very plausible
and convincing, until we look around and see that all theschools and cults are obtaining great results, and a little closer
investigation will show that the percentage of cures is about
the same in each case, notwithstanding the claims of eachparticular school or set of practitioners. I know that they all
obtain results, but, as I have already said, I believe that the bestpermanent results are obtained by those practitioners who,
while giving treatments, gradually educate their patients to44

Mind and Body.

help themselves and to stand upon their own feet, and assert
their God‑given power to manifest health.
I believe that the several practitioners of Christian Science,
Mental Science, Suggestive Therapeutics, Faith Cure, Divine
Science, and all the rest, are using the same great force, the only
difference being in the method of application. And I know also,
from personal experience, that it is quite possible for a man torealize the healing power within himself, and by applying same
to bring about a complete restoration of health and energy
without the assistance of any one else.
I believe that the healing power is latent within the individual,
and that, when he is treated and cured by another, the cure has
been effected by the practitioner calling into life and activity
that healing power. This awakening of the power within may
be accomplished by any of the various methods of personaltreatment or by absent treatment. In the latter case thepositive thought‑waves of the practitioner beat upon the mindof the patient (on the sub‑conscious plane) and awaken thelatent force therein, and the cure results. The effect of the mindof the practitioner, whether conveyed by verbal suggestionor telepathy, acts just as does the powerful and repeatedauto‑suggestion, or affirmation, of the patient himself. Bothreach the sub‑conscious plane of the patient and restore thenormal condition of that portion of the mind having chargeof the physical functions. And the mind, thus restored tonormal action, sends the proper impulses over the sympathetic
nervous system to the affected parts, supplying such parts withan increased nerve‑current and circulation of the blood, thus
repairing the worn‑out and broken‑down tissue and cells andcausing the organ to function properly.
In other words, I believe that the real work is done throughthe mind of the patient—through the healing power called into
force in one of several ways and working through the brain, or
brains, and nervous system of the patient. Every man or woman
has within him, or her, dormant in many cases and inactive in
45

The Law of The New Thought

many others, a certain recuperative power capable of restoring
lost function and strength to diseased organs and parts. Thispower may be aroused by the mental effort of the practitioner,
his suggestions, treatments, ceremonies, remedies, etc., andalso by the will power or faith within the patient himself. But
it is the same force awakened in all cases and the same powerthat does the healing work. I, of course, recognize that it ispossible for one person to transfer what has been called “vital
force” from his organism to that of a weakened patient, but
this vitality so transferred is but in the nature of a “tonic,” andmerely adds strength to the patient to carry him along until
the mental forces do their work. In the case of a patient verymuch weakened it is impossible for the mind to send correct
impulses to the body, because the brain has become weakened
by the waste of power, and it becomes necessary for the patient
to avail himself of the assistance afforded by the practitioner’s
highly developed vitality, until he regains enough strength tocarry on the work himself.
In many cases of sickness, particularly in cases of functional
disorders, the recuperative force of the patient is neutralized
by the mind of the patient being full of Fear thoughts, which
act as a cause of disease in many cases, and also prevent thepatient from using his own recuperative force given him by
Nature for that purpose. Fear is a poison that has killed millions,and Worry is its oldest child, who is striving hard to reach therecord established by its parent.
I have always held, in spite of the opposition of other writers,that a large percentage of the cures effected by New Thought
healing has been accomplished, not by the doing of any special
thing toward a cure, but simply by inducing the patient torefrain from worrying and fearing and harboring negative
thoughts. When the patient “takes off the brake” that he has
imposed upon his own recuperative mental forces, these forces
start in at once to do their work and a cure ensues. It is on
the same principle that it is not necessary for one to take a
46

Mind and Body.

shovel and start to work to shovel out the darkness from aroom—all that is necessary is to open the windows and “let alittle sunshine in.” When the windows are opened and Hopeand Courage are allowed to flow in, Fear, Worry and the rest of
the monsters of the darkness flee, and the sunny thoughts soon
destroy the microbes that have been infesting the mental room.
There is no special mystery about the way New Thoughtcures are effected. Nothing miraculous or astonishing, when
one learns something about Nature’s processes. Whenthe recuperative forces are aroused, or when the brake ofWrong Thinking has been raised, Nature proceeds to send anincreased nerve current to the affected part. This work is done
along sub‑conscious lines, over the great nerve centers andsympathetic nervous system. This nerve current is like a currentof electricity being sent to the parts from that great dynamo—
the Brain. This nerve current vitalizes the organ or part, andalso causes an increased circulation of the blood to the part.
Nature builds up bodies by means of the blood, which, flowing
through the arteries, carries liquid flesh and nourishment toevery part of the body—to every organ and part—building,repairing, replenishing, restoring, replacing and nourishing. The
blood on its return journey to the heart, through the veins,carries with it the broken‑down tissue, waste‑products andother garbage of the system, which is burned up and destroyedby the oxygen taken in the lungs and to which the blood is
exposed on its return journey. No part of the body—no organ—
can be properly nourished and stimulated unless it has a normal
nerve‑current and a proper supply of blood. And when a man’smind is filled with negative, worrying, fearful thoughts, or
thoughts of Hate, Malice or Jealousy, it is impossible for him tosend the proper nerve‑current to the parts of his body, and, thecirculation becoming affected, he begins to manifest what wecall Disease. When normal conditions of the mind are restored
normal conditions of the body follow.
47

The Law of The New Thought

The action of the heart is increased by certain emotions; thecheek flushes or pales from certain thoughts, the digestion is
impaired by certain thoughts; and so on. And the same thing is
manifested on a larger scale when improper thinking becomesa habit. Improper thinking results in improper living—the twogo hand in hand. Show me what a man thinks and I will show
you what he does and how he lives, and what is the state ofhis health. I have not space to tell you just how each particularthought affects one, but I can safely say that that miserable
thought Fear is the parent of the entire brood of negative
thought, and if you get rid of him, you will exterminate thewhole brood, as he not only begets but also nourishes each of
his offspring. Abolish him at once.

48

Chapter VII.

The Mind and Its Planes.
The theory of the duality of the mind, and its weak points—Man has but one mind, but it
functions upon two planes—The Conscious and the Sub‑conscious—The Sub‑conscious not
the soul, but merely one field of mentation—Super‑conscious faculties really the source of
higher knowledge—Conscious thought is fresh from the mint—Sub‑conscious thought is
the results of preceding conscious thought of self or others—Thought impulses and habits—
Conscious thoughts meet new condition—Sub‑conscious thoughts handle familiar problems—
Man exhibits the highest form of Conscious mentation—Human sheep—The mind and theWill—The secret of the Oriental occultists—Evolutionary development still progressing.

M

any modern writers have endeavored to explain theapparent duality of the mind of Man, by erecting
elaborate, theoretical edifices upon the firm
foundation of the dual functioning of the mind. Some of thesewriters have carried their reasoning to absurd lengths, andhave attempted to explain all of the problems of existence by
their theories of the duality of the mind. They have assumed
that because Man has a mind capable of functioning along
two different lines of effort, he must, necessarily, have two
minds. Some have styled these two minds, respectively, theObjective and Subjective. Others have preferred the terms
Conscious and Sub‑conscious. Still others, have thought thatthe terms Voluntary and Involuntary best conveyed the idea.
But all have assumed that Man had two distinct minds—someeven considering them as separate entities. They ignored the49The Law of The New Thought

fact that it was almost impossible to separate the two minds;
they failed to state that the qualities attributed to the two
respective minds seemed to shade into each other. They failed
to tell us just where the Objective left off and the Subjective
began. These theories have proved very useful as working
hypotheses, enabling us to work into better things, but aspermanent solutions of the problems of the mind, they havefailed of their purpose, and while tyros in the New Psychology
have accepted them eagerly as affording a solution of the entire
question, those who have gone deeper into the subject havefound it necessary to regard such theories as but imperfectworking hypotheses, at the best.
The idea that Man has two minds, is today regarded as only aworking‑fiction by many of the most careful investigators of thesubject. They realize that man has but one mind, functioning
along two different planes of effort. I will endeavor to state what
I consider a reasonable explanation of the matter. Of necessity,
I can merely state the general principles, my space preventing
me from going into detail. I am compelled to use terms familiar
to those who are acquainted with the theory of the dual minds,
but it will be noticed that I use these terms as indicating varying
forms of functioning of the same mind, and not as indicatingthat Man has two minds. I prefer the terms, Conscious thought
and Sub‑conscious thought to the other terms used by various
writers on the subject, as I consider these terms clearer andas more nearly representing the truth. To the reader who has
been accustomed to thinking of the Sub‑conscious mind as
the higher mind—the Soul, in fact—this chapter will provesomewhat confusing and perhaps disappointing. I must ask
such a reader to withhold his judgment until he has carefully
studied this and the next chapter. He will be able to do thismore readily when he remembers that the Sub‑conscious mind
which some writers have exalted over its Conscious brother,is also spoken of by the same writers as being the mind thatreceives all sort of absurd suggestions in the hypnotic state,
50

The Mind and Its Planes.

from the Conscious mind of another, and acts upon them.
These same writers speak of the Sub‑conscious mind as the Soulof Man, and then in the next chapter inform us that a man inwhom the Sub‑conscious is developed at the expense of theConscious becomes a lunatic. If this be true, when a man’s Soulleaves behind its Conscious brother, and passes into the stateof pure Sub‑consciousness, it becomes a lunatic, and the future
life a Bedlam. These people are mistaking half‑truths for Truth.
Beyond that which we speak of as Conscious andSub‑conscious, is something higher than either, which may becalled the Super‑conscious. I will take up that subject after I
have discussed the Conscious and Sub‑conscious functions of
the mind. Do not confuse the attributes of the Super‑conscious
faculties with the manifestation of the Sub‑conscious functionsof the mind.
Man has but one mind, but he has many mental faculties,
each faculty being capable of functioning along two different
lines of mental effort. There are no distinct dividing lines
separating the two several functions of a faculty, but they shade
into each other as do the colors of the spectrum.
A Conscious thought of any faculty of the mind is theresult of a direct impulse imparted at the time of the effort. A
Sub‑conscious thought of any faculty of the mind is the resultof either a preceding Conscious thought of the same kind; aConscious thought of another, along the lines of suggestion;
thought vibrations from the mind of another; thought impulses
from an ancestor, transmitted by the laws of heredity (including
impulses transmitted from generation to generation, from thetime of the original vibratory impulse imparted by the Primal
Cause, which impulses gradually unfold, and unsheath, when
the proper state of evolutionary development is reached).
The Conscious thought is new‑born—fresh from the mint,whilst the Sub‑conscious thought is of less recent creation,
and, in fact, is often the result of vibratory impulses imparted
in ages long past. The Conscious thought makes its own way,51

The Law of The New Thoughtbrushing aside the impeding vines, and kicking from its paththe obstructing stones. The Sub‑conscious thought usually
travels along the beaten path.
A thought‑impulse originally caused by a Conscious
thought of a faculty, may become by continued repetition, or
habit, strictly automatic, the impulse given it by the repeated
Conscious thought developing a strong momentum which
carries it on, along Sub‑conscious lines, until stopped by another
Conscious thought, or its direction changed by the same cause.
On the other hand, thought‑impulses continued along
Sub‑conscious lines, may be terminated or corrected by aConscious thought. The Conscious thought creates, changes ordestroys. The Sub‑conscious thought carries on the work given
it by the Conscious thought, and obeys orders and suggestions.
The Conscious thought produces the thought‑habit or
motion‑habit, and imparts to it the vibrations which carry it
on along the Sub‑conscious lines thereafter. The Conscious
thought also has the power to send forth vibrations which
neutralize the momentum of the thought‑habit; it also is able
to launch a new thought‑habit or motion‑habit with stronger
vibrations which overcomes and absorbs the first thought or
motion and substitutes the new one.
All thought‑impulses, once started on their errands,
continue to vibrate along Sub‑conscious lines until corrected or
terminated by subsequent impulses imparted by the Conscious
thought or other controlling power. The continuance of theoriginal impulse adds momentum and force to it, and renders
its correction or termination more difficult. This explains thatwhich is called “the force of habit.” I think that this will bereadily understood by those who have struggled to overcome ahabit which had been easily acquired. The Law applies to good
habits as well as bad. The moral is obvious.
Several of the faculties of the mind often combine to produce
a single manifestation. A task to be performed may call for the
combined exercise of several faculties, some of which may
52

The Mind and Its Planes.

manifest by Conscious thought and others by Sub‑conscious
thought.
The meeting of new conditions—new problems—calls forthe exercise of Conscious thought, whilst a familiar problem,or task, can be easily handled by the Sub‑conscious thought,
without the assistance of his more enterprising brother.
There is in nature an instinctive tendency of living organisms
to perform certain actions; the tendency of an organizedbody to seek that which satisfies the wants of its organism.
This tendency is sometimes called Appetency. It is really a
Sub‑conscious mental impulse, originating with the impetus
imparted by the Primal Cause, and transmitted along the lines
of evolutionary development, gaining strength and power as itprogresses, grows and unfolds.
Man, the highest type of life yet produced upon this planet,shows the highest form of Sub‑conscious mentation, and alsoa much higher development of Conscious mentation than isseen in the lower animals, and yet the degrees of that powervary widely among the different races of men. Even among menof our race, the different degrees of Conscious mentation areplainly noticeable, these degrees not depending, by any means,upon the amount of “culture,” social position, or educational
advantages possessed by the individual. Mental Culture andMental Development are two very different things.
You have but to look around you to see the different stagesof the development of Conscious mentation in man. The
reasoning of many men is little more than Sub‑conscious
mentation, exhibiting but little of the qualities of volitional
thought. They prefer to let other men think for them. Conscious
mentation tires them, and they find the instinctive, automatic,
Sub‑conscious mental process much easier. Their minds work
along the lines of least resistance. They are but little more thanhuman sheep.
Among the lower animals and the lower types of men,
Conscious mentation is largely confined to the grosser faculties—
53

The Law of The New Thought

the more material plane, the higher mental faculties working
along the instinctive, automatic lines of the Sub‑conscious
function.
As the lower forms of life progressed in the evolutionary scale,they unfolded new faculties, which were latent within them.
These faculties always manifested in the form of rudimentary
Sub‑conscious thought, and afterwards worked up, throughhigher Sub‑conscious forms, until the Conscious thought was
brought into play. The evolutionary process still continues, theinvariable tendency being toward the goal of highly developed
Conscious mentation.
This law of evolution is still in progress, and man is
beginning to develop new powers of mind, which, of course,
are first manifesting themselves along lines of Sub‑conscious
thought. Some men have developed these new faculties to aconsiderable degree, and it is possible that before long Man
will be able to exercise them along the line of their Conscious
functions. In fact, this power has already been attained by a few.
This is the secret of the Oriental occultists, and of some of theirOccidental brethren. We will have more to say on this subject
in succeeding chapters.
The amenability of the mind to the Will may be increased byproperly directed practice. That which we are in the habit ofreferring to as the “strengthening of the Will” is in reality thetraining of the mind to recognize and obey the Power Within.
The Will is strong enough; it does not need strengthening, but
the mind needs to be trained to receive and act upon thesuggestions of the Will. The Will is the outward manifestationof the I am. The Will current is flowing, in full strength, along thespiritual wires, but you must learn how to raise the trolley‑pole
to touch it before the mental car will move. This is a somewhat
different idea from that which you have been in the habit ofreceiving from writers on the subject of Will Power, etc., but it
is correct, as you will demonstrate to your own satisfaction if
54

The Mind and Its Planes.

you will follow up the subject by experiments along the properlines.
The attraction of The Absolute is drawing man upward, andthe vibratory force of the Primal Impulse has not yet exhausted
itself. The time of evolutionary development has come, when
man can help himself. The man who understands the Law, canaccomplish wonders, by means of the development of thepowers of the mind, whilst the man who turns his back upon
the truth will suffer from his lack of knowledge of the Law.
He who understands the laws of his mental being, develops
his latent powers and uses them intelligently. He does notdespise his Sub‑conscious mental expressions, but makes gooduse of them also, and charges them with the duties for which
they are best fitted, and is able to obtain wonderful resultsfrom their work, having mastered them and trained them to do
the bidding of the Higher Self. When they fail to do their work
properly, he regulates them, and his knowledge prevents himfrom meddling with them unintelligently, and thereby doing
himself harm. He develops the faculties and powers latent
within him, and learns how to manifest them along the line ofConscious mentation as well as Sub‑conscious. He knows thatthe real man within him is the master to whom both Conscious
and Sub‑conscious mentation are but tools. He has banishedFear, and enjoys Freedom. He has found himself. He has learned
the secret of I am.

55

The Law of The New Thought

56

Chapter VIII.

The Sub‑conscious Plane.
The greater part of our thinking performed along sub‑conscious lines—Illustrations of thisfact—The sub‑conscious, the habit plane—Means by which the sub‑conscious mentality
is reached—A store‑house of thoughts—A mixture of wisdom and foolishness—How thesuper‑conscious faculties manifest first along sub‑conscious lines—A reservoir receiving
conscious thoughts—The desirability of a clear supplying stream—Auto‑suggestions andaffirmations—Did thought originate on the conscious, or sub‑conscious plane?—My views on
the subject—Filling the store‑house with proper material—Creating on the thought plane—
Our own thoughts, not others—Disease producing on the sub‑conscious plane—Thoughts
take form in action—As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

We are so accustomed to thinking of the mind as
working along conscious lines that it comes as agreat surprise to us when our attention is directedto the fact that the greater part of the mental work being
performed by us is being manifested along sub‑conscious lines.
We are conscious of many of our thoughts and many of ouractions, but are almost or entirely unconscious of thousands ofthoughts and actions that are being expressed every hour.
When we take nourishment in the shape of food we do it
consciously, but the process of digestion and assimilation isdone unconsciously, although the impulse causing it comesfrom the mind just as much as if the act was consciously
performed. The food is converted into blood, and the bloodis carried to all parts of the body, and the various organs and
57

The Law of The New Thoughtparts of the body are built up—all unconsciously. The heartbeats—the stomach digests—the liver and kidneys performtheir functions—all unconsciously. But the work is done
precisely—carefully—and properly, under the direction of themind working on the sub‑conscious plane. These things do not
run themselves. The mind controls them just as surely as if thework was done on the conscious plane.
And so with many acts which we performed only withthe greatest care and trouble at first, but which afterwards
we were able to perform almost automatically. The woman
who runs her sewing machine—the painter who uses hisbrush—the workman who uses his tools—the operator who
runs his machine—all found their work required all their care
and attention at first, but now, the details of the work having
been mastered, the work seems to be performed almost
automatically—involuntarily—almost running by itself. Manya time have we been in a brown study and forgot the steps
we were taking, and all at once when we awoke from ourday‑dream we found ourselves at the door of our home, theaccustomed path having been followed unconsciously. I haveseen men in a so‑called “absent‑minded state” cross crowded
streets, passing before teams and carriages with the utmost
carefulness and intelligence, who were totally unconscious ofwhat they were doing, and who would look startled when toldof the risks they had run. I have been told by skilled workmenthat no man thoroughly understands his work until he can doit almost automatically. A man performing the same task every
day acquires the “knack” of doing it, with scarcely a trace of
conscious effort, or conscious attention. And yet no one would
think of asserting that his fingers or hands, of themselves,possessed sufficient intelligence to do the work undirectedby the brain. The unconscious impulse comes from the brain
working on the sub‑conscious plane of effort, and the work is
directed just as intelligently as if the entire consciousness was
focused upon it. This of course can only be done after the mind
58

The Sub‑conscious Plane.

has acquired the habit of performing that particular task. Let
something go wrong with the machine, and immediately themind slips back to the conscious plane and undertakes thecorrection of the trouble.
The subconscious plane of the mind is practically the habit
plane. As I have stated in the previous chapter, the subconscious
plane of the mind can manifest only (1) something which it has
previously learned from the conscious plane; (2) somethingwhich has been imparted to it by suggestion from anothermind; (3) something which has been communicated to it fromanother mind, by means of thought‑waves, etc.; (4) somethingwhich has been communicated along the lines of heredity,
including impulses transmitted from generation to generation,from the time of the original vibratory impulse imparted by thePrimal Cause, which impulses gradually unfold and unsheath,when the proper state of evolutionary development is reached.
The commonest habit of thought or motion may bealong subconscious lines, and the same is true of some of
the manifestations of the newly awakened superconscious
faculties (of which we will speak later). The subconscious plane
is a curious mixture of high and low; wisdom and foolishness;superstition and the highest philosophy. It is a storehouse of allsorts of mental furniture, tools, playthings, and what‑not. On
this plane may be found a curious conglomeration of wisdom
and folly passed on from our consciousness, inherited from ourancestors, and acquired from those with whom we come incontact. This collection is being continually added to.
And this is not all. Every once in a while some superconscious
faculty is awakened, perhaps only temporarily, and not havinggrown sufficiently to be taken up by the consciousness, it must
manifest along sub‑conscious lines. This has caused some writers
to speak of the sub‑conscious plane of the mind as the Soul, the“higher mind,” etc., etc. Seeing genius and inspiration manifested
along sub‑conscious lines, they have imagined that there was aseparate mind possessing all the higher faculties of the mind,
59

The Law of The New Thought

and which they called the “subjective mind,” the “sub‑conscious
mind,” etc., etc. They were so carried away with the higher
manifestations that they entirely overlooked the foolish, petty,
nonsensical things to be found there—entirely forgot that theirso‑called “higher mind” was constantly amenable to suggestion
and auto‑suggestion from the conscious mind of the owner orof some other person. They did not seem to consider that thelower faculties of the mind manifested upon the sub‑conscious
plane, as well as the highest.
The sub‑conscious plane of the mind, therefore, is verymuch what it has been made by past conscious thinking. A
well‑known writer, Henry Wood, of Boston, has compared it to“a reservoir or cistern into which there is flowing a small streamof conscious thinking.” This being the case, it will be seen thatthe utmost care should be preserved in keeping the stream pureand clean. If one’s mind has been polluted by allowing a streamof negative thought to pour into it in the past, the remedy is tobe found in so changing the quality of the in pouring streamthat it may be as clear as crystal, and the body of water in thecistern may gradually become clearer and clearer, until it is as
pure and clear as the stream itself. And the greater the quantityof clear thinking we pour in, the sooner will the cistern be
relieved of its foulness.
This is where auto‑suggestion plays such a prominent part in
the re‑building of character, and in the development of the man.
The auto‑suggestions form a steady, strong stream pouring
in and clearing the muddy waters of the mind. Whether wecall them auto‑suggestions, or affirmations, or statements, ordeclarations, it matters not. They are all the same thing, under
different names.
There has been a dispute between students of the subject
as to whether Man’s knowledge came to him first through thesub‑conscious plane and then reached the conscious, or whether
he acquired knowledge through the conscious plane and thenpassed it on to the sub‑conscious. Many good arguments have60

The Sub‑conscious Plane.

been advanced by both sides. Personally, it seems to me thatboth sides are right. Many things that a man knows came tohim by the use of his conscious functions of the mind, andwere afterwards passed on to the sub‑conscious or habit
plane. Other things came to him, owing to the unfoldment ofsuper‑conscious faculties, first manifesting along sub‑consciouslines, and then passing into the field of consciousness. Then,after having been well mastered, the knowledge was passed
back to the habit‑plane, or sub‑consciousness. Man often “feels”
that a thing is so, before he “sees” that it is true; then after he“sees” it, and accepts it intellectually, he passes it back again to
the “feeling” plane, stamped with the seal of approval of the“seeing” plane of mentation. I think that this will be plainer toyou after you have read the chapter on the Super‑conscious
faculties.
As Man advances on the Conscious plane, his store of
Sub‑conscious knowledge becomes to a great extent the resultof his own Conscious mentation, and less the result of thethoughts and suggestions of others. A man of limited reasoning
ability—one who uses his Conscious powers of thinking but
little—has a Sub‑conscious store almost entirely composed ofimpressions which he has obtained from others. The suggestions
and thought‑impulses of others go to make up nearly his entire
stock of knowledge. He has thought but little himself—in fact,
scarcely knows how to think for himself, and depends almost
entirely upon others for his mental concepts. As Man advancesin reasoning powers he thinks out things for himself, and passes
along the result of that thinking to the great sub‑conscious
store‑house. And such a Man realizes what he is—feels andrecognizes the existence of the Real Self, and begins to create on
the thought‑plane. He is no longer a mere automaton—he has
begun to act for himself. And as he progresses this power grows.
He makes use of the Sub‑conscious plane of thought, but he fills
the store‑house with new, fresh, impressions and conclusions,and gradually but surely eradicates the old negative, erroneous
61

The Law of The New Thought

impressions that formerly filled his Sub‑consciousness. A strong,
vigorous, positive thought, sent fresh from the Conscious plane,
will neutralize a dozen negative thoughts that have been lodged
in his Sub‑consciousness and which have been doing much todrag the man down, and keep him down.
If we do not think thoughts for ourselves, somebody
else’s thoughts and suggestions will fill up our sub‑conscious
storehouse, and we will be a creature of their thoughts, insteadof having a stock of self‑made original thoughts. Many of us
have placidly accepted the world’s thoughts of Fear, Superstition,
Worry, Disease, Poverty, Narrowness, Condemnation, Bigotry,
etc., without hesitation, and our mental store‑house has been
filled with such trash. When we break our fetters and shake off
our bonds, and are free, then we dare to think for ourselves andwe soon begin to stock up our Sub‑consciousness with bright,
fresh, new thoughts of our own, and the old negative thoughts
find themselves crowded out or neutralized by the positive
thoughts which are now pouring in.
New fields of consciousness are opening out before Man,and he is progressing rapidly in knowledge. He is drawing on
the Super‑conscious faculties for knowledge, and after bringing
the results into the field of consciousness, he passes themalong, mentally digested, to the Sub‑conscious plane, to be
used without effort whenever needed. All that which is in our
Sub‑consciousness is having a continual influence upon ourlives, our actions, our health, our character. To a man whose
Sub‑consciousness has been filled with thoughts of disease
it is the easiest thing in the world to become sick. Of course,
all the work of producing the disease is on the Sub‑conscious
plane, and the work is done silently and quietly, but surely, allwithout his conscious knowledge. All at once he finds himself
sick, without knowing how it happened. When he changes his
front, and begins to steadily send healthy thoughts along to
the Sub‑consciousness, he finds that he no longer is troubled
with the old complaints which formerly made life a burden to62

The Sub‑conscious Plane.

him. The Sub‑consciousness no longer has the old materials
to work with, and consequently starts to work and uses the
new materials, and, instead of producing sickness, it builds up astrong, healthy body.
If you will carry in your minds the idea of the Sub‑consciousness
being a great store‑house, filled with thoughts which you havepassed along to it from the Conscious plane, and which thoughts
are constantly manifesting themselves in action, you will becareful to allow nothing but the very best thought material topass along to be stored up. You will refuse admittance to thenegative thoughts arising in your own mind, and you will refuse
admittance to the adverse suggestions of others.
What would you think of a man who was laying in a stock ofsupplies for the winter who would fill his cellars with poisonous
foods, disease producing things, death‑giving articles? You
would think that he was worse than insane, would you not?
And yet that is just what many of you have been doing. You
have been filling up this storehouse of the mind with the vilest
things. Poisons, deadly things, filthy objects, all of which havesooner or later injured you. Away with them. Cast them out.
Fill their places with the strong, healthy thoughts which arecoming into your minds since you have become acquainted
with The New Thought.
Remember thoughts take form in action. This being
true, what kind of thoughts do you wish to take form in action
within you, and through you? Ask yourselves this question, andact accordingly. When you find yourselves thinking along acertain line, ask yourselves the question, “Do I wish this thought
to take form in action?” If the answer is “Yes!” pass the thought
along. If the answer is “No!” stop thinking along those lines
at once and start to work thinking of things exactly opposedto the objectionable line of thoughts. Remember, a positive
thought will always neutralize a negative thought. By a positive
thought I mean a thought of Courage, Hope, Fearlessness,
Determination—an “I Can and I Will” thought. By a negative
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The Law of The New Thought

thought I mean a thought of Fear, Worry, Hate, Malice, Disease,“I Can’t,” “I’m Afraid.”“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,” is true for the reason
that a man is largely the result of his store of Sub‑conscious
thoughts, and that Sub‑conscious store is dependent to a very
great degree upon what the Conscious thought has made it.
You are laying in your supplies of Thoughts, and thesethoughts will sooner or later take form in action. Be carefulin your choice. The best is none too good for you, and is justas cheap as the inferior grade. Use a little common sense andselect a good supply of the best in the market

64Chapter IX.

The Super‑conscious Faculties.
Faculties outside the realm of consciousness—Latent but unfolding—Super‑conscious
faculties not a part of a sub‑conscious mind, although often manifested along sub‑consciouslines—The distinction between sub‑conscious thoughts and those of the super‑conscious
faculties—Above consciousness, not below it—Developing super‑conscious faculties—The
sub‑conscious contains only what has been placed there—The super‑consciousness contains
knowledge heretofore unrevealed to Man—Drawing on the super‑consciousness—What thesuper‑consciousness reveals to Man—What it has revealed—The most important truths comein this way—The higher psychic powers latent within the super‑consciousness—Productions
which have “soul” in them come from the super‑conscious faculties—The dwelling place of theSpirit—The Spirit and its domain—Recognition of the Spirit.

There are in the mind of Man many faculties which areoutside of the realm of consciousness. They seem to be
faculties which have lain latent, and which, from time
to time, are unfolded into the realm of consciousness. Of
some of these faculties we have at the present time no actual
knowledge; of others, a few advanced men in all ages havebecome aware, and of this class many of us are now catchingoccasional glimpses, but as yet do not see clearly, and will not
until the process of unfoldment has progressed further. Other
super‑conscious faculties, which were once hidden from man,
have unfolded and we are becoming more and more aware of
their existence.
Many writers have treated these faculties as forming apart of that which they called the “Subjective Mind” or the65The Law of The New Thought“Sub‑conscious Mind,” etc., but a little reflection will show thatthe sub‑conscious mentality only contains that which has
been placed there by the Conscious plane of the mind; thesuggestions of others, either verbal or by thought‑transference,
heredity, etc., or by the reflection from these super‑conscious
faculties before they have unfolded into the conscious plane.
The sub‑conscious mentality contains only that which has
been placed there, while the super‑conscious faculties containthat which Man has never known before, either consciously or
sub‑consciously .
Just as the sub‑conscious field of mentation is below
consciousness, so are these super‑conscious faculties above
consciousness. And just as that which is on the conscious
plane to‑day will be passed on to the sub‑conscious to‑morrow,so will much of that which is now locked up in the latent
super‑conscious faculties be unfolded into consciousness
at a later period. Much that is now a part of our every daylife was at an earlier stage in man’s evolution a part of his
super‑consciousness and afterwards unfolded into its present
consciousness, then was mentally digested and assimilated andpassed on to the sub‑conscious plane.
A man by concentration, meditation, and other means ofspiritual development may at times so awaken some of thelatent super‑conscious faculties that he will receive distinct
impressions and knowledge from them, and will be able to use
them. Many so‑called mystics and occultists both in the Orient
and the Occident have been able to accomplish this, but the
majority of us have to be content with the occasional gleams,
or the faint reflections, of the light coming from the unfolding
faculties. Some of these faculties will not unfold until Man hasreached a much higher plane of spiritual development than is
now possible; others are just beginning to unfold, and none but
the most advanced has any knowledge of them, while others
are now well under way in the unfoldment, and a greater
66

The Super‑conscious Faculties.

number of people are becoming aware of this inner awakening
every year.
A man who descends into the depths of his sub‑consciousness
finds only that which has been stored up there. This alone isenough to give a man a wonderful knowledge of the past—of
the process of evolution—of much miscellaneous information
which is stored up there—of things long forgotten by the
conscious mind—some say that even a memory of past lives
may be obtained there by those who know how to look for it.
But all that can be obtained from the sub‑consciousness is what
has been stored there. On the contrary, those who have beenable to catch a gleam of that contained in the super‑conscious
faculties know that the knowledge so obtained is above
man’s experience. It is a glimpse into an unknown world—
an illumination. The man who has caught a glimpse of theknowledge contained in some of the super‑conscious faculties
is a changed man—life is no longer the same to him—where
before he believed, he now knows.
At the best, the little field of consciousness known to theaverage man, even if to it may be added the entire field of
the sub‑conscious, is but small and petty. Most of the things
which are the most important are outside of its scope, andhis only knowledge of them comes to him as a reflection fromthe field of super‑consciousness. Of course, the consciousness
has grown—is growing—by reason of the unfoldment of thesuper‑conscious faculties, but Man has merely touched theouter edge of super‑consciousness.
Man cannot tell, by the exercise of his conscious faculties,
whether there is a God, the fact cannot be grasped by
the conscious mentality, and yet the faint glimpse of
super‑consciousness makes him feel that there is a God, andas he progresses he will know what he now feels. So it is with
the question of the immortality of the Soul. The consciousness
cannot prove it, and yet the super‑consciousness makes us
feel the truth of what we cannot prove or see. And yet these67

The Law of The New Thought

two questions exceed in importance any other questions
before us to‑day. All of our ethical principles—all of ourmorality—all of our plans of life—are based upon these twofacts, which we do not know by reason of our consciousness,but which we feel are so because of the gradual unfoldmentof the super‑consciousness. As this unfoldment goes on ourideas of God become less crude—less childish. We see him as amuch greater Presence than ever dreamt of by our forefathers,
who could see in Him but a magnified man, with all of man’s
failings, weaknesses and limitations. And Man of the future
will have a concept as much higher than ours as ours is higher
than that of the savage. And as this unfoldment goes on, ourcertainty of immortality becomes stronger. It becomes more ofa matter of knowing than belief. In some of us the unfoldment
has approached the field of consciousness, and some haveawakened into a state of consciousness of immortality.
Just stop to think for a moment, and consider fromwhence come our feelings of Justice, Mercy, Love, Sympathy,
Kindness. Not from the old consciousness surely. The Intellectdoes not tell us these things. Why should man show Love or
Comradeship or Sympathy for another, if the Intellect alone
decides the question? Why should not every man look out forhimself and leave his brother to starve and suffer? Why should
he not trample his brother in the mire and take his belongings?
Is there anything in cold Intellect to tell you to do otherwise?
Not a thing—not a thing. Then why do you not do these things?
I’ll tell you why. Because you cannot. Because from the innerrecesses of your Soul comes a protest. You do not stop to reason
about the matter—you listen to the voice from within—gaze atthe light that comes from the unfolding super‑consciousness.
But you say, all men have always had these feelings, and thatyou do not see what unfolding super‑consciousness has to dowith the question. Stop a moment! Did Man always feel thus?
Was human sympathy always as marked as to‑day? Were menalways so broad in their love as to‑day? No!—it is a gradual68The Super‑conscious Faculties.

unfoldment—a steady opening. We are to‑day little morethan barbarians in some things, but we are growing as theunfoldment goes on, and some of these days it will be impossible
for us to do that which seems perfectly natural for us to‑day. In
not so many years men will look back with amazement upon
our record of warfare, bloodshed, killing, exterminating, andall the rest, and will wonder how a people of our intellectual
development could have suffered these things to be done.
They will view our acts as we view the crimes of the arena ofancient Rome. And our economic and social inhumanity to ourbrothers will seem horrible to the men and women of that day.
It will seem incredible to them, as they will have reached a stageof spiritual unfoldment which will render it simply impossible
for them to do the things which to‑day seem perfectly naturaland unavoidable to us. To them the Brotherhood of Man will
be no idle dream, but a live everyday truth, worked out in theirlives. They cannot avoid this—it will come with unfoldment.
From this region of the super‑conscious comes that which is
not contrary to reason, but which is beyond reason. This is thesource of the illumination—enlightenment—inspiration. Thisis the region from which the poet obtains his inspiration—thewriter his gift—the seer his vision—the prophet his knowledge.
Many have received messages of this kind from the recesses ofthe super‑consciousness, and have thought that they heard thevoices of God—of angels—of spirits, but the voice came fromwithin. In this region are to be found the sources of intuition.
Some of these super‑conscious faculties are higher than others,
but each has its own part to play.
Many of the higher psychic powers lie latent within theregion of the super‑conscious. Some of us are able to use these
gifts to a greater or lesser degree, but to all but a few this use
is always more or less on the unconscious plane—we find it
hard to manifest psychic powers to order. But by practice,and by growth, these gifts are brought within the realm of
consciousness and we are enabled to use them just as we
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The Law of The New Thought

would use any other faculty of the mind or body. When man
has attained this power he will have mastered wonderful forces,
and will have at his disposal instruments and tools of which
but few dream at this time. It is a wise provision of the Law
that Man shall not acquire the use of these powers until he isready for them. When he is ready for them, they come, and hethen knows enough not to use them improperly. As the higher
psychic faculties unfold, the spiritual faculties also unfold, thus
making it impossible for the possessor to use his new foundforces improperly. The man who aspires to high psychic powers
must come with clean hands and clean heart. In truth, the very
fact that he seeks power for the sake of power, shows that heis not the proper possessor of these gifts. It is only when hecares naught for power, that power comes. Strange paradox—
wonderful wisdom.
This field of super‑consciousness is a source of the highest
happiness to the man who recognizes its existence, and who
will open himself to the knowledge coming from it, eventhough the faculty be not fully unfolded. (You understand thatthe complete unfoldment of such a faculty brings it full into
the field of consciousness, and it is no longer a super‑conscious
faculty, but belongs to our conscious mentality.) Many a man
has received inspiration from within and has been given a
message which astonished the world. Many poets, painters,
writers, sculptors have acted upon the inspiration received
from their super‑consciousness. And you will notice thatcertain poems, certain writings, certain pictures, certain statues,
have about them an undefinable something which appeals tous, and makes us feel their strength, which is absent from theproductions of mere mental effort. Some of us are in the habitof saying that such productions have “soul” in them, and weare far nearer the truth than we realize when we say this. Some
writers satisfy the intellect but fail to cause the reader to feel,
while another writer will write a few verses or a short story andlo! the world is thrilled with the message. This is also true of the70

The Super‑conscious Faculties.

orator or speaker, who thrills an audience with a few simple
words coming straight from the inner self, while a far morepolished speaker attracts merely an intellectual interest.
Our super‑conscious faculties are our only means ofcommunication with the Centre of Life—with Higher Powers.
Through them come the messages to the Soul. There are times
when, through these faculties, our vision penetrates beyond
the boundaries of personality, and our souls blend with andcommune with the Divine. Through the channels of thesuper‑conscious are we made acquainted with the Real Self—
through them are we made aware of the I am. Through thesame sources are we made cognizant of the Oneness of things—
of our relation to the Whole. Through them are we made sureof the existence and presence of God—of the immortality of
the Soul. The only answers to the vital questions of Life andExistence are received through these channels.
In the inmost recesses of the super‑consciousness is found
the resting‑place of the Soul—the holy of holies. Here dwells
the Divine Spark which is our most precious inheritance from
God—that which we mean when we say “the Spirit”. It is thesoul of the Soul—the centre of the Real Self. Words cannot
convey an idea of the real meaning of the Spirit—to understandit one would need to understand God, for it is a drop from theSpirit Ocean—a grain of sand from the shores of the Infinite—aparticle of the Sacred Flame. It is that part of us, toward thefull recognition and consciousness of which, all this process ofevolution, growth, development and unfoldment is tending.
When we learn to recognize the existence and reality of theSpirit, it will respond by sending us flashes of enlightenment—
illumination. As one grows in spiritual development he becomesaccustomed to this voice from within, and learns to distinguishit from messages from the different planes of the mind—learns
to follow its leadings, and allows it to work through him for
good.
71

The Law of The New ThoughtSome men have so far developed in spiritual understandingthat they live the life of the Spirit—are led by the Spirit. The Spirit
is influencing all of us much more than we are aware, and we
can bring ourselves into a conscious realization of its leadings if
we will but trust it, and look toward it for light. I cannot attempt
to go further into this subject, as it is something for which one
fails to find words wherewith to describe it. Those who haveawakened to an awareness of it, will understand what I mean,
and those who have not yet been made conscious of it would
simply misunderstand me if I were to attempt to state an awful
inward feeling foreign to their experience.
The Spirit is that within man which closest approaches theCentre—is nearest to God. And when one becomes in close
conscious touch with it he feels his nearness to the Universal
Presence—he feels the touch of the Unseen Hand.
Many of you who read these words have had moments inyour lives, when you were for the moment conscious of being
in the awful presence of the Unknown. These moments may
have come whilst you were engaged in religious thought—
while reading a poem bearing a message from one soul toanother—when on the ocean and impressed with a sense of
the greatness of the Universe—in some hour of affliction whenhuman words seemed but mockery—in a moment when
all seemed lost and you were forced to seek comfort from a
power higher than yourself. But no matter how or when theseexperiences have come to you, there was no mistaking theirreality—no doubting the abiding sense of peace, strength,
and love of which you became conscious. In these moments
you were conscious of the Spirit within you, and of its close
relationship with the Center. Through the medium of the Spirit,
God makes himself known to Man.

72

Chapter X.

The Soul’s Question.
Whence come I? Whither go I? What am I? What is the object of my existence?—Questions
asked in all ages, in this and other worlds—The question absolutely unanswered for mostmen—Struggles for freedom—Climbing the mountain of Knowledge—The task begun, notended—The spiritual hunger—Bread, not stones—The want is the prophecy of the means ofsatisfying it—The intellect will not answer the Riddle of the Universe—The answer must comefrom within—The Something Within—The development of Spiritual Consciousness—The
intelligent Faith which knows, not merely understands—Unexplored regions of the Soul—Not
contrary to intellect, but beyond it—A new world of knowledge opened out before the mental
gaze—Joy insuperable.

W“

hat am I? Whence come I? Whither go I? What is
the object of my existence?” These questions havebeen asked by Man in all ages—all countries—allclimes. And if the countless worlds surrounding the millionsof suns in the Universe are inhabited—and I believe that they
are—these questions have been asked there—have perhaps
been answered by some of the dwellers of worlds wherein Lifeis manifested in higher forms than we have yet attained in this.
All men have asked themselves this question—that is, all men
who have attained to the stage where their minds recognizedthat a problem existed, for many men seem unaware of theexistence of an unanswered problem—their mental vision is
not clear enough for them to recognize that there is anythingwhich needs an answer. To most of us the question remains
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The Law of The New Thought

absolutely unanswered—the smallest detail of the inquiry
remains unsolved. We have cried aloud in agony of mind—have
shouted to the Infinite a demand that we be told somethingof ourselves, but nothing comes back to us but the despairing
echo of our own cry. As the poet has so pathetically expressedit:“For what am I?
An infant crying in the night;
An infant crying for the light;
And with no language but a cry.”We are like the squirrel in the cage, who exhausts himself
in travelling the long road of the wheel, only to find himself,
at the end of his journey, just where he started. Or worse still,like the newly‑caged wild bird, we dash ourselves against thebars of our mental prison, again and again, in our efforts to gain
freedom, until at last we lie weak and bleeding, a captive still.
We have sought to climb the mountain of Knowledge, urged
on by the thought of the place of blissful rest at the summit. We
have toiled wearily up the steep and stony sides, and finally withbleeding hands and tired feet—with body and mind exhausted
by our efforts, we reach the summit, and congratulate ourselves
upon the ending of our task. But when we look around us, lo!
our mountain is but a foothill—far above us, towering higher
and higher, rise range after range of the real mountains, thehighest peaks being hidden among the clouds.
We have felt that hunger for Spiritual knowledge thattranscended the hunger for bread. We have sought this way
and that way for the Bread of Life—and found it not. We haveasked this authority, and that authority, for the bread thatwould nourish the Soul, but we were given nothing but thestone of Dogma and Creeds. At last, we sank exhausted, and feltthat there was no bread to be had—that it was all a delusion,and a will‑o’‑the‑wisp of the mind—that there was no reality
74

The Soul’s Question.

to it. And we wept. But we forgot, that just as the hunger ofthe body implies that somewhere in the world is to be foundthat which will satisfy it—that just as the hunger of the mind
implies that somewhere is to be found mental nourishment—so the mere fact that this Soul hunger exists, is a sure indicationthat somewhere there exists that which the Absolute has
intended to satisfy it. The want is the proof of the possibilityof the fulfillment. The trouble is that we have been seeking
outside that which we can find only within. “The Kingdom of
Heaven is within you.”
If you prefer to try to solve the Problem of Life—the Riddleof the Universe—by scientific investigation, by exact reasoning,formal thought, mathematical demonstration—by all means
follow this method. You will be taught the lesson of the power
and the limitations of the human Intellect. You will travel
round and round the circle of thought, and will find that you
are but covering the ground over and over again. You will findthat you have run into the intellectual cul de sac—the blindalley of Logic.
After you have beaten your wings against the cage of the
Unknowable, and fall bruised and exhausted—after you havedone all of which your Intellect is capable, and have thus learned
your lesson—then listen to the Voice Within, see the tiny flame
which burns steadily and cannot be extinguished, feel thepressure of the Something Within, and let it unfold. You willthen begin to understand that as the mind of Man developed,by slow stages, from sensation to simple consciousness—from
simple consciousness into self consciousness (in its lowest andhighest degrees) so is there a consciousness in store for Man(and some few have attained it), higher than we have heretofore
imagined, which is now beginning to manifest itself. You willthen understand that there may be an Intelligent Faith whichknows, not merely believes. These and other lessons you willlearn in time.
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The Law of The New Thought

As you progress along the lines of spiritual unfoldment you
will find other sources of knowledge, seemingly apart fromthe Intellect, although, in reality, allied to it. You will find that
there are regions of the Soul, heretofore unexplored, which you
are invited to enter. You will find that you will be able to gain
knowledge regarding these great questions which have defied
your intellectual efforts, and although the information will notcome to you through the door of the Intellect, yet it will not be
repugnant to the Intellect. It will not be contrary to Intellect—
but will be beyond Intellect. Instead of reaching the Ego throughthe portals of the Intellect, it will seem to come from a higher
source—the Higher Reason—and will be then passed down to
the Intellect, that the latter may assimilate it, and combine itwith what it already has stored up. You will find that you have a
new world of knowledge opened out before your mental gaze,and you will rejoice at the sight.
And, when you have reached the stage where you feelthe promptings of the Higher Reason, and are able to live inaccordance therewith, you will say with Edward Carpenter:“Lo! the healing power descending from within, calming theenfevered mind, spreading peace among the grieving nerves. Lo! theeternal saviour, the sought after of all the world, dwelling hidden (tobe disclosed) within each … O joy insuperable.”76

Chapter XI.

The Absolute.
God has begotten the Universe—The Universe has no boundaries or limits—God manifested
in every atom—The Causeless Cause—The Intellect and its troubles—Man may spirituallyknow the reality of God—Man’s different concepts of God—God’s attributes, Omnipotence,
Omniscience and Omnipresence, and their explanation—The Father‑Mother—The apparently
conflicting ideas regarding God, reconciled—God’s manifestations: Substance, Energy, andSpirit—All men really worshiping the one God, although apparently worshiping many—A
Personal God without the limitations of personality—God manifesting in Infinite Spirit—In
Infinite Energy—In Infinite Substance—Man growing in God‑consciousness—Nearer, my God,to Thee—All are children of God, with a share of his attributes.

G

od has begotten and governs by Law that which wecall the Universe. And that Universe is not the petty
thing that many of us have been considering it to be. It
is not the Earth as a centre, with Sun, Moon and Stars circlingaround it, all designed to contribute to the comfort, welfare
and well‑being of the inhabitants of that speck of dirt—the
Earth. It is a Universe, the very idea of which cannot be grasped
by the human mind. It is Infinite. It has no boundaries, nolimits. All parts of Space are filled with manifestations of The
Absolute. Countless Suns exist, each having their planetarysystems. Worlds are coming into existence every day, andeach day worlds are passing out of existence. Of course, when
I say coming into existence, and going out of existence, I
mean that they are changing form—being gathered together,
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The Law of The New Thoughtor being dissolved. There is no destruction in Nature—only
change of form. Man in his egotism has imagined himself tobe the highest possible form of created life—has thought ofthis tiny grain of matter, the Earth, as the only bit of matter
containing Life. When he realizes that there are millions upon
millions of worlds containing Life in higher or lower forms—
when he realizes that this old Earth is but as a grain of sandupon the sea‑shore of the Universe—when he realizes that inother spheres there exist beings as much higher than Man as
Man is higher than the amoeba—then he begins to realize thecomparative insignificance of Man and the greatness of God.
And then, when he begins to realize these things, he will
begin to acquire that spiritual consciousness that will make itevident to him that he is on a long journey, and that wonderful
possibilities are ahead of him. He will realize that as he advancesalong the Path he will acquire new powers, new intelligence,
new attributes, that will make him as a very god comparedto his present state, although the grandest and highest statethat he can imagine for himself will make him, as compared
to God, only as a tiny speck of dust playing in the sunbeam ascompared with the Sun itself.
God manifests himself in every atom of matter—in
every atom of Energy—in every atom of Intelligence. His
manifestations, although apparently innumerable, are all
simply different manifestations of the same thing. There is reallybut One manifestation of God, taking upon itself countlessforms and appearances. We are the expressions of God’s power,
limited, it is true, but yet constantly growing, impelled upwardby the attraction from above, and developing into a realizationof our relation to all the other expressions of God, and to God
himself.
God exists, has always existed, and will always exist. He is the
only thing in the Universe that has no preceding cause. He is
his own cause. He is the Cause of Causes. He is the causelesscause.
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The Absolute.

The human intellect, unaided, is incapable of grasping theidea of a thing without a cause, or of a cause without a preceding
cause. The human intellect adheres closely to the doctrine of
the universal law of cause and effect, and finds it impossible todiscard it or to admit that there is a single exception to that law,as such exception would violate the law.
The intellect is forced to assume one of two things (1) that
there is a first cause, or (2) that the chain of cause and effectis infinite. And either conclusion leaves the intellect in a poor
position, because if it admits a first cause, its chain of cause andeffect is broken; and if, on the contrary, it assumes that the chainof cause and effect is infinite, it is met with the fact that a thingthat has no beginning can have no cause—that a beginninglessthing is a causeless thing, besides which, as the Infinite cannot
be grasped by the finite mind, it has, in its endeavor to avoid
admitting that it could not explain things, given an explanation
which it, itself, cannot grasp or understand. Poor intellect! It
is the most valuable mental working instrument possessed byMan, yet when it makes the mistake of supposing that it is Man
instead of one of his tools, it puts itself in a ridiculous position.
It does not realize the wonderful possibilities before it, when,
blended with the thought emanating from the higher planes of
the Soul, it will produce results now scarcely dreamt of except
by those who have reached the higher planes of consciousness.
Because the intellect has its limitations, we should not lose
confidence in it, nor accept things told us by others which
are contrary to intellect, merely because someone else claims
these things as truth. Accept the decision of the intellect,unless you receive the truth from the higher consciousness, inwhich case it will not be contrary to Intellect, but will merely
go beyond intellect, teaching that which intellect cannot graspby itself, and then calling on intellect to do its part of the workin carrying out the mutual task. Blind belief is a very different
thing from inspiration—do not confound them.
79The Law of The New Thought

I feel safe in saying that the intellect, unaided, is incapableof grasping the idea of a Causeless Cause, but our higher
consciousness is aware of the existence of that which theintellect cannot grasp. Because the intellect cannot conceive ofa Cause without a preceding cause, it does not follow that nosuch thing exists. The blind man cannot image or understandcolor, but color exists. The fish at the bottom of the sea cannot
understand or image things on land, but those things exist. Nor
could a man form a mental concept of Sugar, if he had neverseen it or tasted anything sweet. It is all a matter of experience
or consciousness, and without these things nothing can beunderstood. The intellect, recognizing all its limitations, iscapable of deciding matters within its own domain. When thetime comes for us to know things outside of the domain of theintellect, we find that we have higher states of consciousness
than we have heretofore deemed possible, and we are able to
make use of them.
On the intellectual plane of consciousness, everything of
which we have any knowledge has a preceding cause—every
object a maker. And consequently, the intellect, unaided, isunable to form a mental concept of a thing without a cause—athing without a maker. This because it has had no experience ofsuch a thing, and has no consciousness of the existence of sucha thing. Therefore, Man can never form an intellectual conceptof God. He may believe in God, because he feels consciousof his existence, but he cannot through intellect explain or
understand the mystery. He will admit that God made Man,but he cannot answer the child’s question: “But who madeGod?” And yet he is unable to form a mental concept of athing without a cause—without a maker. For his assurance ofGod’s existence he must go to a higher source of consciousness.
Many men believe in God because they have been told that heexisted—others feel a dim perception of his existence—a few
have attained to a consciousness of his existence; they know it.
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The Absolute.

As Man grows in Spiritual Consciousness he grows torecognize more and more clearly the reality of God. From
blind belief to a glimmering of consciousness, then to a clearer
conception, then to a dawning realization, then to a knowingof his being; then to a faint understanding of his Law, and on
and on and on. God is not known through the intellect, but
through the Higher Consciousness. And after He is known inthis way, the intellect begins to reconcile the objects on its
plane to the new conception. Until Man knows everything,
he will have need of intellect to use as a tool, in connection
with, and in harmony with, his higher source of knowledge. To
a man who feels that God exists, no amount of argument tothe contrary is of avail; and to the man who does not so feel, noamount of argument will create the feeling. It is something hemust get from within, not from without. I am, of course, notspeaking of any special conception of God. Some men who callit “Nature” have a higher conception of God than have others
who think of God as a being with all the limitations of a man.
Names matter nothing; it is the conception that shows what
degree of God‑consciousness a man has.
Mankind has had all sorts of ideas about God, ranging
from that of the stick, stone or tree, to the graven image, sun,anthropomorphic being, up to higher concepts. But all men
who ever worshiped a God, be it a stone, an idol, the sun, Joss,
Baal, Brahma, Buddha, Isis, Jupiter, or Jehovah, worshiped inreality that Causeless Cause glimpses of which came to themdistorted by the imperfections of mental or spiritual vision of
the worshiper. The gods of the primitive man seem very small to
us as we look back upon them, and the gods of their successors
seem but a slight improvement, in fact, some of the latter werepossessed of less desirable attributes than the cruder ideal. It
has been said that a man’s God is simply a magnified image of
himself, possessing all the attributes of the viewer. This is but
another way of saying that a man’s concept of God is but areflection of his own state of spiritual consciousness and mental
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The Law of The New Thought

development. As an object grows larger as one approaches it,
so does God seem to grow as we draw nearer to him. And yet,in both cases the change is not in the object, but in ourselves. If
you know a man’s idea of God, you know what he is himself, orrather what state of growth he has reached.
The highest idea of God possessed by man carries with it the
attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence. Many
persons admit this, and use these terms lightly, without having
the faintest conception of their real meaning. Let us see whatthese words mean, and then perhaps we will understand better
what we mean when we say: “God.”
Omnipotent means all mighty; all powerful. This, of course,means that God is possessed of all power; that all power is his;
not some power, but all power; that there is no other power,
and consequently all power is God’s power. This leaves noroom for any other power in the Universe, and consequently, allmanifestations of power in the Universe must be forms of thepower of God, whether we call the results of that manifestationof power “good” or “bad.” It is all the power of God.
Omniscient means all knowing; all wise; all seeing. It
means that God is possessed of all knowledge; that he knows
everything; that there is no place that he cannot see; no thingthat he does not know; no thing that he does not understandfully. If there is the slightest thing that God does not know;
if there is the slightest thing that he does not see; if there is
the slightest thing he does not understand, then the word ismeaningless. God knoweth, seeth and understandeth all things,
and must have, for all eternity. Such a being cannot makemistakes; cannot change his mind; cannot act or deal unjustly.
Infinite Wisdom is his.
Omnipresent means all present; everywhere present at thesame time. It means that God is present in all space; all places;
all things; all persons; in every atom. If this is not true, then
the word is meaningless. And if God is everywhere, there is no82

The Absolute.

room for anything else. And if this is true, then everything must
be a part of God—a part of a mighty Whole.
So you see that these words which we have been using solightly, and carelessly, mean everything. When we can see andfeel the meaning of these three words, then we are beginningto understand something about the greatness of God. We, ofcourse, cannot grasp with our finite minds more than the mostapparent parts of this great Truth, but we are growing, we are
growing.
If we will accept these three words—attributes of God—
Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, as meaning justwhat they do mean, we open up our minds to a wonderful inflow
of knowledge regarding the nature of what we call God. We areable to see harmony where inharmony reigned—unity where
diversity was present—peace where conflict was manifested.
We will receive a flood of light on the subject, illuminating
places that were before shrouded in darkness—making clear
and understandable many dark sayings.
With this understanding of these words, we will see that
God is the sum of all knowledge, and that we cannot charge
ignorance to him on even the slightest point, or the greatest
problem. He knows all that is to be known—all that can be
known. We will also see that all power is his; that there cannot
be room for any power outside of his power, for he has all
the power there is or can be. We can conceive of no power
opposing the all power. All power must be vested in God,and all manifestation of power must come from him. We will
also see that God being everywhere, he must be present in all
things, people, places—in us. We will see that God dwells in the
humblest object—that we are all parts of the Whole—parts ofGod’s Universe. Small parts, it is true, but still parts—and eventhe smallest part is dear to the heart of the whole. The Wholeis the sum of its parts, and all persons and things are but partsof the Whole. And no part can be greater than the Whole; andno part is equal to the Whole; and the Whole is the sum of83

The Law of The New Thought

the greatness of all its parts, Manifest and Unmanifest. And we,the Manifest, cannot understand the Unmanifest, to which the
Manifest is but as the drop in the ocean.
All things are comprised in the idea of God—Spirit, Mind,
Matter, Intelligence, Motion, Force, Life, Love, Justice. Thisidea of God—the Causeless Cause—has been held by men of
all nations, tribes, races, countries, climes, ages. The sage, seer,
philosopher, prophet, priest, scientist, of all times and peoples,here and there, scattered and few, saw this Truth—recognized
the existence of the Whole, each expressing the thought by adifferent word. The religious man called this concept God; thephilosopher and scientist, the First Cause, or the Unknowable,or the Absolute; the materialist, Nature; the skeptic, Life. And
the followers of the different creeds have variously called it
Jehovah, Buddha, Brahma, Allah, and many other names. But
they all meant the same thing—God.
And this great Whole, of which we are parts, how shall we
regard it? Not with fear, surely, for why should a part fear the
Whole; why should the most humble atom in the body of the
Universe fear the Soul that directed and governed the body?
Why should the circumference fear the Center? When we realize
just what we are, and what relation we bear to the whole, wewill feel that “Love which casteth out all fear,” for Him “in whom
we live, and move and have our being.”
In speaking of God, in this book, I have written the word incapital letters to indicate that I mean the broader, greater andgrander conception of the Supreme, the Absolute, the CauselessCause, in contra‑distinction to the anthropomorphic idea of
God—a being with all the limitations, finite intelligence, andchildish ideas, passions and motives of a man. When I refer tothe anthropomorphic idea of God—to a God bearing a personal
name—I have written the word in the usual way. I have, you will
notice, used the words “him,” “his,” etc., in referring to God, notbecause I consider him as being masculine or more like manthan like woman, but merely because it is more convenient
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The Absolute.

to follow the usual form and to avoid the use of the word “it,”which we usually apply to inanimate or lower things. God has
no sex. Or perhaps it would be better to say that he combines
within himself both the Father‑Mother elements, which appear
separately in his manifestations. This idea of attributing to his
God the attribute of the male alone, is probably explained by
the fact that primitive man considered woman an inferior being,
and preferred to think of his God as being like himself—a male.
The mind of Man has instinctively revolted at this idea, and wefind many races creating for themselves concepts of a female
deity who reigns in connection with the male deity. The Catholic
Church instinctively felt this, and the high place accorded theVirgin Mary was evidently the instinctive expression of thisconception of the truth. I remember hearing of the story ofa Catholic woman who was in great trouble and had sought
the altar of the Holy Virgin for comfort. A Protestant, notunderstanding, asked her why she did not pray to God direct.
She answered, “I feel better when praying to the Holy Virgin.
She is a woman and can understand me better.” When weremember how when in trouble, in childhood, we preferred
to take our troubles to our mother rather than to our father,
we can understand this feeling, and can better appreciate themotive inspiring the Catholic worshiper.
Of the inner nature of God, man can know practicallynothing at this stage of development. He is just beginning to
be conscious of his existence—just aware of his reality. He isjust beginning to be able to grasp the meaning of the One
Life—just able to see God by means of his manifestations. To
some the idea of God appears that of some great impersonal
Power—some great Infinite and Eternal Principle. To others
God appears as a Personal God. To the first class the idea of
imputing personality to God seems almost like sacrilege—alimitation of an illimitable principle—an idea belonging to
the childhood of the race. To the second class, the thoughtof God as a Principle seems to rob Him of all feeling and love85

The Law of The New Thought

and compassion and understanding—seems like a conceptionof him as a blind Force or Principle like Electricity, Light, Heat,
Gravitation, etc., and their souls revolt at the thought. They cryout that they are being robbed of their Loving Father, whose
presence they have felt—of whose nearness they have been
often aware.
Still another class—the Materialists—see The Absolute as
Infinite and Eternal Matter, from which springs all things—of
which all else is but an attribute or manifestation. This view
while apparently satisfying to certain who hold to materialistic
teachings, is most repugnant to those who feel that Matter isthe crudest form of the manifestations of God.
Strange as it may appear to those who have not grasped theTruth, all of these views are partly correct and yet none of themis entirely correct. The Divine Paradox manifests itself here.
Those who have caught a glimpse of the Truth, know that
God himself is beyond the highest conception of the mind of
Man to‑day, but they also know that he manifests himself inthree different ways: (1) substance, or matter; (2) energy, orforce; (3) spirit, Intelligence, or Mind. All of these terms areunsatisfactory, but the terms: Substance, Energy, and Spirit, arethe best available terms with which to attempt to explain an
unexplainable thing.
God in his three manifestations gives us Infinite and Eternal
Spirit; Infinite and Eternal Energy; Infinite and Eternal Substance.
To those who prefer to think of God as a personal God, themanifestation of Infinite and Eternal Spirit appeals moststrongly and satisfies the cravings of their soul. To those whose
intellects have refused to be satisfied with the conception of
God as a Person, and yet who are unwilling to think that there
is nothing but manifestations of Matter, the manifestation ofInfinite and Eternal Energy satisfies the intellectual demand.
To those whose hearts no longer crave the belief in a Divine
Father, and who can see nothing but Matter as the cause of all
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The Absolute.

life, the manifestation of Infinite and Eternal Substance seems
to explain all.
When we realize that no matter whether we be Materialists,
Occultists, or orthodox believers, we are all, in reality, looking
to the same Causeless Cause—God—as seen through someparticular manifestation, we will cease to find fault and abuseeach other. We will see that we are all children of the same
Father—all brothers and sisters looking to that Father as thesource of our being and as our strength and comfort. We willthen get, for the first time, the real idea of the Fatherhood of
God and the Brotherhood of Man.
The savage who bows down to a few sticks and feathers—
the heathen who bows down to the graven image—thesun worshiper who worships the glorious center of the solar
system—the primitive man who worships the God he cannot
see, and which God is merely a reflection of himself—the man
who has developed and worships a high ideal of a personal
God—the followers of Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism,
Mohammedism, Confucianism, Taoism, the differing sectsof the Christian church in all their many and varied forms—
all worship their conception of God—all feel the impelling
attraction toward God—all instinctively know that he exists,
although their minds see him through cloudy glasses or clearer
glasses, according to their development—all are doing the best
they know how. And the scientist who finds himself confronted
with what he calls the First Cause, Nature, or the Unknowable—
and the Materialist who sees Matter as All—all have their faces
turned toward God.
God is all that one can conceive of a personal God, and more.
He is the personal God without the limitations of personality. He
comprises all that we have loved to look for in a personal God,and more. He is the God we have always worshiped, but now
that we are nearer to him we see that he is much greater, muchgrander, much more Divine than we had ever conceived him as
being. He is all that we could wish, and yet more. He combines
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the love of Father, Mother, Brother, Sister—yea the love of every
human relation—and yet these attributes are but as an atomof his capacity for Love. In the manifestation of Spirit, God
fills our every expectation, wish, hope and desire, and then far
transcends them. The finite cannot begin to grasp the Love of
the Infinite.
And God in his manifestation of Energy comprises all theEnergy and power that can be conceived of by man—and more.
All Energy and Power is that of God. He is Omnipotent—all
powerful.
And God in his manifestation of Spirit, is Omniscient. He
possesses all knowledge. There can be no knowledge outside ofhimself. He is the sum of all Knowledge and Wisdom. He makes
no mistakes—he changes not his Mind—he repents not—helearns not—he knows and has always known.
And God in his manifestation of Substance, is Omnipresent—
his Substance is everywhere, and there is no other Substance.
The Materialist is correct when he states that Matter is
Omnipresent—present everywhere—but he mistakes the
manifestation for that which lies back of it—the manifestation
for the manifestor.
The metaphysician, the occultist and the physical scientist
have arrived at the same stage. From their differing pointsof view they see that Spirit, Energy and Substance (or as thescientists term them, Intelligence, Force and Matter) are Infinite
and Eternal. Many have agreed upon this point, and have been
unable to analyze further. They have stated that there werethese three Principles in the Universe, and that further backthey could not reason. They are right, but they fail to see thatthese things are not Causes but are the manifestation of the
One—the Causeless Cause—God.
We cannot form the faintest idea of God except throughhis three manifestations, and their combinations. We arejust reaching the stage in mental development where we are
beginning to understand some little about these manifestations
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The Absolute.

and their laws. We are just beginning to avail ourselves of ourlittle knowledge regarding them, and are learning to turn our
knowledge to account, in the direction of making use of someof the wonderful forms of Energy which we have discovered.
We have, as yet, only the most elementary knowledge of thesemanifestations of God, and we might go on for millions ofages, and still be in the kindergarten stage. And until we can atleast faintly grasp the meaning and nature of these wonderfulmanifestations of God itself, we cannot hope to even dimly
imagine that which lies behind them—God himself.
And why attempt to fathom the unfathomable at this time?
Why attempt to master the higher mathematics of life, when
we are just learning that two and two make four? What folly.
Let us learn as much about these manifestations as we can—let
us grow into the broader knowledge of them that is coming
to us from without and from within—and rejoice. Let us lookforward to the worlds we have still to conquer—the ages ofblissful knowledge that lie ahead of us—and be glad. Let us
rejoice and shout that at last we have found the Path—and let
us travel it with confidence and courage and joy.
Let us not weep, now that we have found that God is somuch greater than we ever dreamed of. Let us not feel that hehas been set so much farther away from us, for such is far frombeing the case. When we once get our new bearings, we will seethat as our idea of God has grown, we, ourselves, have grownin proportion. Let us realize that with the consciousness of theexistence of God we have gained a consciousness of being nearer
to him—of being a part of The Whole—of not being merely
created by God, but of being begotten of him—as possessing
an atom of his spirit—a portion of his Substance—a particle ofhis power—of being of him, and not from him—of being a partof Him, and not apart from him. And let us know that as wegrow, unfold and develop, we will acquire a greater share of allof his attributes, Knowledge, Power, and command over Space.
Let us remember that we are begotten of him, and as the child89

The Law of The New Thought

possesses all the qualities of the Father, in a less developed form,
so do we, the Children of God, possess a particle of each of His
attributes. Think of it for a moment, and then remember that
we are growing.
“Thou great eternal Infinite, the great unbounded Whole.
Thy body is the Universe—thy spirit is the soul.
If thou dost fill immensity; if thou art all in all;If thou wert here before I was, I am not here at all.
How could I live outside of thee? Dost thou fill earth and air?
There surely is no place for me outside of everywhere.
If thou art God, and thou dost fill immensity of space,
Then I’m of God, think as you will, or else I have no place.
And if I have no place at all, or if I am not here,‘Banished’ I surely cannot be, for then I be somewhere.
Then I must be a part of God, no matter if I’m small;
And if I’m not a part of him, there’s no such God at all.”—Anonymous.

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Chapter XII.

The Oneness of All.
There is but One—God’s manifestations apparently innumerable, but in reality but One—
Universal Oneness—Centre and circumference—The rays from the Centre reach all parts ofthe circle—High and low; beautiful and hideous; exalted or depraved; all a part of the One—
Separateness but an illusion—God the only standard of perfection—Individuality does notdecrease but grows—Beginning to understand—Truth everywhere—Sin the result of a belief inseparateness—Invariable laws in operation—The fundamental consciousness of religion—The
Universal Presence—The Oneness of All explains psychic mysteries, and relationships between
persons and things—Human sympathy growing—The point towards which the race is traveling.

T“here is but One.” God’s manifestations are apparently
innumerable, but from the Cosmic view All is but One,in the last analysis. The mind cannot grasp this idea fully
without the aid of symbols, or figures of speech. The man of theCosmic knowing is conscious of this Oneness of All but cannot
clearly express it in words to others. The mind creates a symbol
in an attempt to express the inexpressible. The mystics haveattempted to express this idea of Oneness by a symbol—a circle
with a central point, with rays emanating from the central point
and reaching to the circumference, touching it at all points.
The circle represents the Universal Oneness, the central point
representing the Central Intelligence, Power, Presence—God—
surrounded by his emanations. This symbol is inadequate, forthe pictured circle has dimensions—there is something outsideof it. The circle of God’s emanations has no such dimensions—91

The Law of The New Thought

no such limitations—and there is no outside. All is included andnothing is left out. There is no out—all is in. And, in the symbol,
the rays emanating from the Center have spaces between them,leaving some part of the space uncovered by the rays, while
in reality the Central rays touch and cover every part of theemanated Universe—there is no place, person, or thing not
in touch with the Center—not in communication with God.
God’s Love, Presence, Power, and Spirit reach all, and are still apart of him, just as the rays of the sun spread in all directions
and are still parts of the sun. But any symbol, figure of speech,or form of expression is inadequate. The inexpressible cannot
be expressed. The finite cannot express the infinite.
All is One. The most beautiful thing—the most loathsome
object; the life‑giving draught from the crystal spring—themost deadly poison; the beautiful mountain—the destroying
volcano; the spiritual man—the bloated drunkard in the gutter;the man teaching and living the highest Truth—the murdererawaiting the gallows; the noblest type of womanhood—theleering denizen of the pavement; the harmless dove—thevenomous cobra; all are included in the circle. None is left out—
none can be left out. We must include the lowest as well as thehighest. On other planes of life are radiant creatures as muchhigher than Man, as we know him, as Man is higher than theamoeba. And on still other planes are forms of life lower than
any known to us. And they likewise are included. They are all in
the circle—archangel and elemental form. They are one with
us—the higher and the lower. And the higher know, and do notshrink from the relationship—nor does the man who sees theTruth shrink from the relationship. All is One. And the One isin All.
Separateness is but an illusion—a dream of the undeveloped
consciousness. As man unfolds into the Cosmic Knowing, hesees the folly of the idea of Separateness—of exclusion—of
condemnation—of any real difference between parts of
the Whole. He sees degrees and grades—stages of growth—92

The Oneness of All.

planes—but no real difference in the last analysis. He sees that
God alone is perfect—that all the rest is but relative. As theCenter is approached, the approaching thing rises in the scale.
And the farther away from the Center the thing is, the lower inthe relative scale does it appear. But higher or lower, it is a partof the Whole—a thing begotten by God. The only standard ofperfection is God.
Each is a part of All. Not only a part, but a part intimately
related to, and connected with, every other part. And All isin continual motion—constantly advancing—progressing—developing—unfolding—nearing the Center. All Life is on The
Path. And as the part progresses along The Path, it becomes
more and more conscious of its connection with All, and with
the Center—realizes more and more the lack of separateness,and the Oneness of things. This consciousness is the proof of thestage of the journey which has been reached by the traveler—
the milestone on The Path. The consciousness of Individuality
does not decrease—on the contrary, the Individuality
enlarges—grows—takes on more substance. The traveler
sees his relationship to, and his connection with, a larger andlarger part of the Whole, until, far along The Path, he becomes
conscious of his nearness to All, and the sense of separatenesspasses away, never to return. The traveler along The Path may
rest for long periods—may even wander from The Path, and beapparently lost—but he never turns backward—and stray away
as he may, he always returns.
When one begins to see things as they are, he becomesaware of rapidly broadening sympathies and understanding.
Prejudice after prejudice drops away, until the vision is clear.
One then begins to “understand.” He sees in others that whichis in himself—he sees in himself that which is in others. And heloses the feeling of superiority—and he ceases to condemn. He
pities, but does not condemn. He has a broader insight into themotives of men—a clearer insight into their weaknesses, theirtemptations. He sees them as fellow travelers on The Path—
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The Law of The New Thoughtsome a little ahead, some a little behind—some stumbling andsoiling themselves with the dust and mire of the road—but all
travelers on The Path, all journeying toward the same place.
He sees some Truth in all sciences, all religions, all philosophies,
but knows that none of them has all the Truth. The Truth is
too great and large a thing to be held in one place—or by any
one person. All have a bit of it. When one realizes this, he sees
the folly of the bickerings, jealousies, condemnation, prejudices,and bitterness between people of differing beliefs—adherentsof different faiths. He recognizes that they are all looking toward
the Truth from different points of view—that all are doing thebest they know how—all are reporting the Truth as they see it.
As the feeling of separateness drops away, so does the feeling of
opposition and difference pass.
To one who has this sense of Oneness, the world broadens
out immeasurably, in fact to such a one, the Universe is theworld, and all that it contains seems akin to himself. All men
are his brothers—all places his home—all pleasures are his—all
pain, his pain (though, in reality, not pain at all)—all life, his life.
He feels close to everything—man, beast, plant, mineral—all
are parts of the One.
And such a one sees that all that we have been calling “sin”
arises from the sense of separateness—a lack of recognition of
the Oneness of All. When Man finally sees that All is One, andthat separateness is but an illusion, he will find it impossible to“sin.” The relation of man to man will then be adjusted on the basisof the Oneness of All, and injustice will then be impossible. The
sense of separateness is responsible for Man’s woes—distress—
misery—selfishness—lack of Human Brotherhood. In the daythat is coming, Man’s law will have outlived its usefulness andwill be forgotten. The Divine law of Oneness will be written in
the hearts of men, and will form an unfailing guide. The welfare
of one will be the welfare of all. The Fatherhood of God andthe Brotherhood of Man will be living truths and principles of94

The Oneness of All.

action. There will be but one code of ethics and morals, andthat will be engraved on the heart of Man.
Throughout that part of the Universe with which we areacquainted, we perceive that invariable laws are in operation—
everywhere the same. From the humblest form of life to thehighest, all are under the Law. And from what we know of theOneness of All, we know that these same laws are in operation
throughout all the Universe, on and on and on—always thesame. The suns, surrounded by their systems, obey the samelaw that controls the movements of the tiniest atom of matter.
All is One, and yet the variety of manifestation and expression
is infinite. Each is a part of the Whole, and yet the Whole
expresses itself differently in each. The separate experienceof the part goes to make up the combined experience of theWhole.
Men differ in details, yet in the main agree upon the essentials.
Take all the different forms of religion and analyze them, andwhat do you find after discarding the useless material? Simply
this—a consciousness, coming from within, that there is, backof all things, and in all things, a Universal Presence which loves
that which has emanated from it. This is the fundamental
consciousness of religion. What more do you want? All the rest
has been built around it by Man’s ignorance, conceit and desire
to rule his fellows by a show of superior knowledge. Aroundthis Divine Spark, priest‑craft has built temples intended toshelter it, but which really have almost shut it out from view.
Tear down the obstructions and gaze fearlessly and without
hindrance upon the Light of the Spirit.
And, as Man gazes at the Light, he grows conscious that all
the Universe is pervaded by that Universal Presence—that the
Universal Intelligence knows all—that the Universal Power iseverywhere in operation—that All is One—All an emanationof God.
When this idea of Oneness of Life is recognized, one
begins to understand the wonderful relationships between
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The Law of The New Thought

persons and things—the psychic mysteries of Telepathy,
Thought‑transference, Clairvoyance and other phenomena ofthat kind. All that which is included in what we call The New
Thought is understandable only when this idea of Oneness isgrasped. Many dark places are illumined—many hard sayings
understood—many difficult facts assimilated and absorbed—
when we recognize this idea of Oneness.
Human sympathy, love, affection, pity, compassion,tenderness, brotherly love, humanity, are understood in noother way. As man grows into this understanding his sympathies
increase. At the beginning, Man cared only for himself; thenfor himself and family; then his tribe was included: then theconfederation of tribes; then his principality; then his nation;then friendly nations; then nations with whom he was brought
into contact; and so on and on, until finally he will feel a brotherly
feeling for all mankind, and wars between different peoples will
be no more. As he grows in the idea of Oneness, unconsciously
at first, he grows in sympathy. As Man progresses in the scale,
his sympathies broaden, and his prejudices disappear.
This is the point toward which the race is traveling. Some
individuals have stepped a little forward, and are deemedvisionaries by the mass of people. Others have dropped to
the rear, and lag along, the mass of people considering thembarbarous and devoid of human kindness. But all are moving
forward. The knell of Selfishness is being sounded—a better day
is dawning for Man as he marches onward. The day of Universal
Peace and Human Brotherhood may seem afar off, but weare approaching it. Amid the noise of Materialism, Cupidity,
Selfishness and Greed, there is another note being sounded. It
is not loud, but it is clear and strong, and is constantly growing
in volume. Men are stopping to listen, and wondering what it
all means. Soon they will find that the clear note is vibrating
through them, and they will rally around the standard which
is heralded by that note. And the note will then be so piercing
and world‑filling that the legions of Mammon and Selfishness
96The Oneness of All.

will drop their arms and be irresistibly drawn along with therest. This is not a dream—it is a prophecy of the future. Man
cannot escape this. It may come with pain and suffering—butcome it must. The note is sounding. Listen to it. It is swellingand growing in strength. Soon it will fill the world. And whena man hears it he will understand, and will await anxiously
the day when he will find it possible to lay down the weapons
with which he has been fighting his brother, not only on thebattlefield, but in the market‑place. He will hail with gladness
the coming day, when he will be relieved from the struggleconsequent upon his constant attempt to rob his brother, andat the same time keep another brother from robbing him. He
will hail the day when Love, not Fear, will rule. These things arecoming to pass because of the consciousness of the Oneness of
All unfolding within the minds of men.
It is hard when we grow to see the folly of all this selfishness
and struggle of brother with brother, and yet find ourselves
unable to escape from it. No one can escape until all escape,but each one who grows to feel and understand, forms oneof a growing army, which will sooner or later form a majority.
Some day the race will be astonished to find how many of its
number are ready for the new dispensation, and then will risea joyous shout of deliverance and the mutual strife will haveended. Speed the day.
In that day the teachings and philosophy of Christ will befound to be practical and practicable, and the spirit of the
Master’s teachings will be lived up to. Men will no longer fear
to live out these teachings which they now profess to believe
but pronounce “impractical” as principles of living. Then will
the Sermon on the Mount be capable of realization—then will
the Golden Rule be in every man’s heart and mind. With theconsciousness of the Oneness of All comes the true conceptionof Christ’s mission, and the belief in its ultimate fulfilment.

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98Chapter XIII.

The Immortality of the Soul.
Man is, and will be—Life continues—The “I” is the Soul—Higher and lower forms of life—Lifeon different planes—Metempsychosis or Reincarnation—A higher view of the subject—The
Soul has existed for ages—Progressing from lower to higher forms, and still progressing—
Theories not fundamental when the consciousness of immortality is reached—Living in the
Now—Universal Law—Man’s concepts changing as he grows—We are babes in understanding,compared with those who have reached higher planes—Angels and archangels—The Universe
filled with forms of life, in different stages of development—Man but a manifestation of theSoul in one particular stage of development—Paul, the mystic, and his view.

M

an is. He lives and always will live. He cannot die.
The thing that we call Death is no more death thanis the sleep into which we sink at night, and fromwhich we emerge in the morning, refreshed, brightened, andstrengthened. It is a temporary loss of consciousness—nothing
more. And Life is continuous—continuous progression,
unfoldment and development. There are no sudden breaks—
no startling changes—no miraculous transformations. All issteady growth.
To many who believe that they will live beyond the grave, it
seems as if something which they call “my soul” will arise fromthe ruins of their body and will live on forever. To those inwhom spiritual consciousness has been awakened, a different
concept presents itself. They feel the I am consciousness strong
within them, and know that, no matter what may happen to99The Law of The New Thought

the body, the Real Self will live on. They know that that which
they call “I” is the soul, and are not deceived by the thoughtthat the soul is something that is going to put in an appearance
after the “I” lies down in death. Stop and think for a moment.
There is every difference between the two concepts. The wholequestion hinges on this distinction. The Soul is not a thing apartfrom yourself—it is you—you are the Soul.
“Lord of a thousand worlds am I,
And I reign since time began;
And Night and Day in cyclic sway,
Shall pass while their deeds I scan.
Yet time shall cease, ere I find release,
For I am the Soul of Man.”—Orr.

It is you who lives on forever, not some intangible thing thatdevelops from you at the hour of death. This you is living in
eternity as much now as it ever will be. This is Eternity—rightnow. Many of us, before we grow into an understandingof things, feel that this life is of no consequence—that it is amiserable thing and that true living will not begin until we getout of the body and become a Spirit. Why, you are a Spirit asmuch now as ever. It is true that you have a body of flesh, andthat at some future time you will not be so burdened. But you
may rest assured that you have a body because you need abody—because in this stage of growth a body is indispensable
to your development. When you outlive the necessity of abody, you will be relieved of it. And then there are bodies andbodies. Those among men, who in all ages have kept alive theflame of esoteric knowledge, have taught that on other planesof existence—in other worlds—there were beings who had
bodies far more ethereal than the ones we use. And also thaton lower planes of life were to be found beings whose bodies
were far more material and gross than the ones furnished us.
100The Immortality of the Soul.

They have taught that when we had lived out the experiencesof Earth‑life, and had fitted ourselves for life on a higher plane,
we would pass on to the higher plane and would incarnate inbodies suited for our advanced stage of development. And theyalso taught that before we had incarnated on Earth, we had
dwelt elsewhere, using bodies fitted for our development atthat time, which bodies were far lower in the scale than those
we now have. The body is always the instrument of the Soul,and the Soul is given the instrument best fitted for its stage ofdevelopment.
Some schools teach the doctrine of Metempsychosis, orReincarnation, as it is more generally termed. They believe thatafter death we return to occupy another earthly body, to which
body we are attracted by the law of attraction or Karma. I havealways felt that there was much in this idea, although I havealso felt that some of its advocates have claimed too much for
it. It is indisputable that in the theory of Metempsychosis there
is found the only possible explanation of the inequalities andapparent injustices of life. It is the only theory that squares with
Justice. But to assume that Life is merely one round of repeatedearthly incarnations in bodies as we know them—here on
Earth—is to take but a narrow view of the subject.
I believe that the Soul has existed for ages. I believe that it
has always existed as a part of the Whole, and that manifested
as a separate, or apparently separate entity, it has existed foruntold ages, working its way upward through different forms ofexpression, from lower to higher, always progressing—always
growing. And I believe that it will continue to progress andgrow and unfold and develop during the ages, progressing fromlower to higher forms, and then on to higher and higher andhigher. The man who has unfolded sufficiently to get a glimpseof that which is hidden in his Soul, is enabled to see a little
ahead of his fellows—is able to pierce the darkness for a shortdistance—but beyond that he cannot see. A few have beenable to grasp truths apparently far beyond the understanding
101

The Law of The New Thoughtof the multitude, but even this is as nothing compared to theWhole Truth. God’s plan is revealed to Man only as Man is able
to grasp it. As Man grows in spiritual understanding, there will
be found new portions of the Truth awaiting him.
It does not make much difference whether one believes
in Metempsychosis or whether he does not. At the best it is
not worth while disputing about. When the consciousness of
Eternal Life comes to one he does not care how many bodies he
may have used as he progressed along the Path, or how many
more he may have occasion to use before he passes on to ahigher plane. He does not care much for these things, except
as a matter of speculation. He knows that he is, and always willbe. He feels that every moment is now and he lives it out. He
knows that he cannot be destroyed, or annihilated. He knowsthat the smallest thing in the Universe is governed by the
Universal Law—that God is aware of his existence and is fully
cognizant of all that befalls him. He knows that he cannot be
blotted out—cannot be separated from the whole—cannot
be placed outside of the Universe—cannot be forgotten or
ignored. And knowing these things, he does not fret about
what is before him. He knows that whatever it is, it must be
good. He knows that the Universe is very large, and that thereis plenty of room for him somewhere in it, and that the very
best place for him will be the particular place where he will befound at any time. He knows that he cannot escape his own
good—that he cannot get away from God. And knowing thesethings, he is content—he lives on, day by day, enjoying the playof life in him and around him.
Whether future growth is to come through additional
incarnations on this earth, or in other worlds, or whether theSoul once released from the bonds of earthly flesh, goes into
other planes of existence, there to grow, is not fundamental—
not material. The Universe is large, and it is just possible that
we may be given an opportunity of visiting all parts of it in ourdevelopment, in which case it would seem that we are on a
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The Immortality of the Soul.

comparatively low plane of life just now—are just awakening
into a consciousness of what it all means, and in the future wewill be conscious of our growth and progress and development.
A babe grows and develops, without knowing anything about it.
Then it becomes self conscious and grows in understanding, andremembers and thinks and draws conclusions. And so it may
be that we are in the infantile stage of spiritual development,
and are just beginning to “notice.”
Fretting about the future life is as unprofitable a thing as
worrying about next week, or next month, or next year. The
man of attained growth regards one as ridiculous as the other.
Neither accomplishes any good. The true philosophy is to livein the now. Don’t you bother yourselves about the future life.
Better leave that in the hands of God. He takes everything
into consideration—foresees all obstacles—knows all about
you and your requirements—and really is able to conduct
the affairs of the Universe without any particular suggestions
from you. Man’s ideas about the hereafter change from time
to time as he grows. Some of the old ideas were very childish,and some of our best ideas no doubt appear just as childish
to the minds of beings who have attained the higher stages ofexistence. What babes in understanding we must appear tosome of those radiant creatures who have long since passedalong the Path that we are now treading, and have reached thestage of spiritual manhood. Where these beings are and whatis their state, I do not know, but I feel very confident that they
exist, and that it is a part of God’s plan to allow them to lenda helping hand to those who are in our stage of development.
I believe that the old doctrine of angels and arch‑angels wasfounded on truth, and was but man’s imperfect way of expressing
a fact in the spiritual world beyond his comprehension. We, in
our conceit, are apt to imagine that God exhausted his creative
power in supplying the earth with the forms which we seearound us, and that there are no other forms of life anywhere
else in the Universe. This is an idea about as absurd as that103

The Law of The New Thought

formerly possessed by man, namely, that this little earth—thisgrain of sand—was the center of the Universe and that the sunand moon and the stars were made for the sole benefit of acertain one of its inhabitants called Man. Man has graduatedout of that idea, but still clings to the equally absurd notion thatthe earth is the center of spiritual life, and that Man as we know
him is the highest and only creature having a soul. Men will see
later on that God’s Universe is large, and that this world of ours
is very small in comparison with the whole, and that Man as weknow him is but a manifestation of the Soul in one particular
stage of development. These may seem like hard sayings tosome, but they will gradually grow into an understanding ofthem. Man—the real Man—is a wonderful being, but Man in
his present form of expression, is an undeveloped, crude, grossand primitive creature.
I have not attempted to present a theory of future life. I havemy own views on the subject, and have hinted at them here, but
I have no desire to force any special theory upon you. If you havea theory or conception that gives you comfort and satisfaction,by all means hold to it. The chances are that we are all right, butthat no one of us is altogether right in his conceptions. I do notsee how Man, in his present stage of development, can attempt
to conceive of the details of future existence. He can see a little
further into the darkness, but he cannot grasp more than abare idea of the truth. I think that when one has awakened
to the consciousness of eternal life—when he feels sure that
he lives—that he is—he will not attach much importance totheories regarding the details or arrangements of the future life.
He will feel perfectly safe in trusting to the Law. I think that Paul,the mystic, summed up the matter when he said : “We are allsons of God, but what we shall be does not as yet appear.”104

Chapter XIV.

The Unfoldment.
Man’s development along the lines of unfoldment—The power within—A mighty force—
Developing and unfolding like a plant—Life is growth Within and Without—The Divine
Paradox—Action and reaction—The internal urge and the external obstacles, both factors
in development—Relative and Absolute—The final, or ultimate, effect or product, is theunderlying cause of the unfoldment—Man the effect, is Man the Cause—In Man of to‑day
nestles the Higher Man of the future—The first last, and the last first—Growth always
accompanied with pain—Co‑operation with the law makes growth less painful—Folly of
opposing growth—The Something Within is pressing for unfoldment.

M

an’s development has been along the lines of a
gradual unfoldment of consciousness. I call yourattention to the fact that I speak of unfoldment,
rather than acquirement, although the process of growth anddevelopment includes both the unfoldment, or growth fromwithin, and the acquirement, or growth from without. Thereis something within that exerts a steady urge in the directionof unfoldment, and there is an attracting power that draws
to one, and appropriates that which is needed from outside.
It will be remembered, of course, that I use the words within,
and without, in the relative sense, recognizing fully the fact thatfrom the Absolute point of view within and without are one
and the same thing.
There is in each of us a mighty force pressing forth forexpression and growth in the direction of the ultimate Good—
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impelling us to unfold and develop—casting off sheath after
sheath in its progressive development and unfoldment—
impelled by the impulse imparted by the Causeless Cause—
attracted upward by the attraction of the Absolute. Like a plant,
we are impelled to grow on slowly, but surely—steadily—fromseed to blossom—until our potentialities are fully expressed.
We grow as does the lily, freely and steadily, unfolding leaf after
leaf, until the plant stands in its complete beauty, crowned
with its divine flower.
There is in the center of our being a Something which directsa mighty urge toward unfoldment and development, and wewill follow these impulses so long as there remains within us
one atom of Life. The seed in the ground will express itself in
its little shoot, often moving weights a thousand times heavier
than itself in its efforts to reach the rays of the sun. The sapling
may be bent and confined to the ground but its branches,
following the laws of its being, will instinctively shoot upward,
moving along the lines of least resistance, and growing toward
the sun, in spite of all efforts to restrict it. Like the plant—likethe sapling—this Something within us will not allow us tosubmit to the confining bonds—will not allow us to conformto the false standards set up for our observance from time totime. Submitting as long as it must, it stores up reserve strength
day by day, keeping up a continuous pressure in the direction ofits desire, until some day, by a supreme effort, it throws off therestraining obstacles, and, obeying the laws of its being, again
grows toward the sun.
Life is growth. It moves along, pressing this way and that way,along the lines of least resistance, drawing to itself that which
it needs today, and discarding it tomorrow, after it has served
its purpose, after its helpful qualities have been extracted. It
assumes many forms in its growth, discarding sheath after
sheath when outgrown. Any attempt to compel it to retain asheath which has become outgrown, will cause the life‑nature
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The Unfoldment.

to revolt, and, in the end, with a mighty effort, it will burst forth,tearing the restraining sheath into fragments.
The philosophic mind, considering the great questions
underlying Life, soon is brought in contact with what has beencalled the Divine Paradox. He finds himself forced to recognize
apparently conflicting aspects of the same thing—finds two
equally satisfactory answers to the same question, either ofwhich would suit were it not for the other. This state of affairs
places the philosopher in the position of being able to answer
any great question relatively by either “Yes,” or “No.” And yet
if the Center is once recognized, the philosopher sees not
only that neither answer is strictly correct (speaking from theabsolute position), but that both answers combined give theonly approach to a correct answer. One is forced to answer: “Itis and it isn’t.” The explanation is partially understood when weremember that no absolute truth can be conveyed in relative
terms. This Divine Paradox confronts the novitiate entering
the Path. Do not let it frighten you off—it is terrible only inappearance—when you know it well you see that it is a friend
and a helper.
This Divine Paradox confronts us when we come to consider
the question of the growth, development and unfoldmentof Man. One set of thinkers will contend that Man grows
and develops only by causes external to himself—that he isa creature of heredity, environment, circumstances. Anotherschool will teach that his growth is entirely from within, andthat external causes have no effect whatever upon him. Bothwill confront you with splendid arguments, striking illustrations
and examples, and for the moment you are almost convinced,
until the other side of the question occurs to you. Then you aretorn with contradictions, and unless you recognize the Divine
Paradox, you will finally be forced into the position of saying: “I
do not know.”
There are two general causes operating in the developmentof the Ego—one internal, and the other external. These causes
107The Law of The New Thought

are, from the relative position, conflicting; from the absolute,one. Neither of these relative causes determines or controls
the development of Man. There is a constant play or reactionof these two forces. The internal urge meets with numerous
obstacles, hindrances, barriers and obstructions, which,apparently, turn aside the Ego from its path laid out for it by thePower Within. And yet, the inner force urges forward and either
surmounts, overcomes, climbs over, undermines, or passes
around the external obstacle. It might, at first glance seem likethe old proposition of “the irresistible force coming in contact
with the immovable body”, which proposition is beyond theunderstanding of the mind of man, but the comparison is notexact, because whilst the two forces continually play one upon
the other, the inner urge modified by the external hindrances isin the end victorious, and the plant of Life rises toward the sun.
The mighty river on its way to the ocean, was forced to turn thisway and that way—forced to bend here and tunnel there—butin the end the ocean was reached, and the water of the river
reached home at last.
I wish to say here that my philosophy teaches me that in the
final analysis the internal force and the opposing obstacle will
be seen as but different manifestations of one thing, and thatin the apparent inharmony is to be found the highest form of
harmony. In speaking of relative things, one must use relative
terms in order to be understood at all. In fact, if one wished to
speak solely from the absolute position, he would find no words
to express himself, and would be forced to remain mute. I say
this now, in order that I may not be misunderstood later. For
the purpose of delivering my message, I must assume that thisinner force, urging toward unfoldment, is the prime factor inman’s advancement, and that the external forces playing uponthat inner force are in the nature of obstacles. I trust, however,before we are through with each other, to cause you to see thatboth are vital factors in the development of Man.
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The Unfoldment.

One feature of this process of unfoldment is most necessary
to remember, and that is that the final, or ultimate, effect or
product, is practically the underlying cause of the unfoldment
itself. The blossom or the fruit urging for expression, causes
the seed to sprout, the plant to grow a stalk, put forth leaves
and fulfill all the laws of its growth. The potential oak within
the acorn, eager for expression, causes the entire growth anddevelopment of the tree. In the lowest form of Life was to befound the potential Man, urging for expression and development
through millions of years. Man the effect, was Man the cause.
The last to appear, in point of time, was the first in point ofcause. And in Man of today nestles the potential Higher Man of
the future, and perhaps beyond him in ascending order beings
as much superior to Man as man is to the lowest form of life
known to science. Verily, “the first shall be last, and the last shallbe first”, in more senses than one.
In looking at a growing plant, or flower, one is apt to be
impressed at the ease and naturalness of the growth—atthe absence of effort or pain, and we may wonder why thisprocess is not carried out in the higher forms of development.
We wonder why Man cannot develop his Ego in like manner,without all the pains of growth, struggle and effort. Alas, weare blind. Could we but look at the plant through a sufficiently
large and strong microscope, we would see there a continual
tearing down and building up—destruction—effort—pain—
tearing asunder—discarding—replacing. Change—change
always. But the plant, true to the instincts of nature, does notneedlessly oppose the laws of its growth, and pain is reduced
to a minimum, and may even afford a certain sense of pleasure(for pain and pleasure are not so far apart), but Man seems tooppose each step of growth, and holds himself in, fearing thechange and prolonging and intensifying his pain. Poor Man—but he is learning.
We will have more to say about this process of unfoldment
in other parts of this book, and will leave the subject for the109

The Law of The New Thoughtpresent, in order to take up the different forms of Man’s
unfoldment. Carry this in your minds, however, that there
is Something Within, pressing forth for development andunfoldment. And that Something is that which will in the end
appear as the divine flower upon our plant of Life. It is not athing foreign to us—not something from the outside—but isthe Higher Self, which will one day be what we mean when we
say “I”. At present the “I” is our consciousness of the highest
stage of our present development. Your “I” of today, is far
different from your “I” of ten years ago, and your “I” of ten years
from now will be far different from your “I” of today. And when
we realize that this process is to be continued throughout ages,
our reasoning powers fail us for the moment—we cannot grasp
this wondrous truth, pregnant with such marvelous possibilities.

110Chapter XV.

The Growth ofConsciousness.
Consciousness in the lower animals—Mere sensation at first; almost automatic—Growth—
Lower form of Consciousness—The development of Self‑consciousness—Definition of Simple
Consciousness and Self‑consciousness—The first conception of the “I”—“I” on the physicalplane—An animal happiness—All his troubles before him—The mental plane—“I” as theintellect—Worshiping Intellect as God—Different forms of mental development—Psychic
development—Man’s suffering begins when he reaches the mental plane of development—
Dissatisfaction and anxiety—Hemmed in at all sides—The eternal “Why”—No answer to thedemands of the intellect—The only possible avenue of escape.

It is important to understand something about the growthand development of consciousness in Man—the unfoldmentof the “I” consciousness within him.
In the lower order of animals there is a very small amountof what we call consciousness. The consciousness of thelower forms of life is little more than mere sensation—thesubconscious plane of life is in the ascendant, and even thatupon only the grosser faculties, the higher faculties remaining
dormant and undeveloped. Life in the lower forms is almost
automatic. In the mineral world there appears to be no life at all,so almost completely is the life principle smothered in matter.
And yet the occultists tell us that even in the mineral world
there is the first faint indication of life, and some of the more
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advanced scientists are beginning to recognize that matter is
not entirely dead—that there is nothing absolutely dead in
Nature—that intelligence is merely a matter of degree—that
the mineral has its law of life which it follows.
There is in Nature an instinctive tendency of living organisms
to perform certain actions—the tendency of an organized bodyto seek that which satisfies the wants of its organism. It is a simple
form of mental effort, apparently wholly along sub‑consciouslines. In plant life this tendency is plainly discernible, ranging
from the lesser exhibitions in the lower types, to the greaterin the higher types. It is this which is often spoken of as the“life force” in plants. In some of the higher forms of plant life,
however, there appears a faint color of independent “lifeaction”—a faint indication of consciousness—a faint exhibitionof conscious effort.
In the lower animal kingdom, we see a much higher gradeof consciousness, varying in degree in the several family andspecies, from the almost plant‑like forms of the lowest animal
forms to the almost human intelligence of the highest forms.
The degree of consciousness in the highest of the so‑called“lower animals”, almost approaches that of the lowest form of
the human race, and certainly reaches that of the young child.
As a child, before birth, shows in its body the stages of physicalevolution of Man; so does a child, before and after birth—until
maturity—manifest the stages of the mental evolution of Man.
As Man progressed in development and unfoldment, hebegan to manifest the first indications of what is known as
Self Consciousness, which is higher in the scale than Simple
Consciousness. It is very difficult to convey in words the ideaof consciousness in its different forms, in fact many writerson psychology state that, strictly speaking, it is incapable ofdefinition. To describe a thing it is necessary to compare itwith something else, and as there is nothing else in nature likeconsciousness, we have nothing with which we can compare it.
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The Growth of Consciousness.

To my mind the best idea of consciousness is conveyed by thewords: “awareness”; “knowing”.
Simple consciousness is an awareness of outward things—of things other than the inner self. Self‑consciousness is anawareness of the inner self—a result of turning the mental
gaze inward. The great majority of people scarcely know what
self‑consciousness is. They are in the habit of taking themselves
as a matter of course, and never deem it necessary to takemental stock of themselves. On the other hand some become
morbidly self‑conscious, and find it difficult to turn their gazeaway from themselves. It is the old principle of the outer andinner, which manifests itself in so many forms.
With the advent of Self‑consciousness, came to Man aconception of the “I”. Heretofore he had never formed themental concept “I”. At first the concept was hazy and dim. Man
began to think of himself as compared to others of his kind. He
began to notice himself, make deductions the results of which
he applied to others. The concept of “I” began to grow. Let us
leave primitive man, in whom this “I” realization is unfolding,and come down to man of today. A little thought will show usthat each of us has an “I” in a different stage of development.
We think of ourselves in different ways.
Many of us think of ourselves on the physical plane alone.
We think of the “I” as a physical being, having a head, body,
limbs and organs ranging from brain to liver. To one in thisstage of development, the Body is the real self, and the Mindbut a dimly understood appendage of the Body—somethingnecessary for the uses of the body. Such a man speaks of “mymind” or “my soul”, as things belonging to him (the Body) andwhich he uses, but which are not him. To him “my mind” or “mysoul” are but as “my hat”, “my coat”, “my shoes”—something
attached to or used, but not “I”. The “I” is on the physical plane
alone, the higher part of the man is his “not I”, just as are thethings he wears or otherwise uses.
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The Law of The New Thought

The man on the physical plane lives the physical life. He eats,
drinks, sleeps, and performs other physical acts which comeeasy and seem pleasant to him. He finds his sole pleasure in thephysical—he knows nothing else. His emotions and passions are
but slightly in advance of the brute and he fails to understandanother man who has grown beyond this stage. Of course wecannot blame such a man, or condemn him, for he can only
see what he is, and if we were in his stage of development, we
would do just the same. It is a necessary stage of development,
through which each has passed, or is passing. It is the childhood
stage. Such a man is like a young bear—all his troubles are
before him. He has a comparatively easy time—the only pain
he recognizes is pain to the body, or what is its equivalent, adeprivation of that which would gratify the sensual nature. He
does not realize that his is not the highest life, and he feels asense of pity or contempt for those who find pleasure in otherthings. He enjoys a sort of animal happiness, and it seems to berather a pity that he has to be awakened, and face the pain of
the next stage—but Life is inexorable—the child must grow, inspite of pain—yes, by means of pain.
Some of us have grown out of the physical stage of
consciousness, into the mental stage. To one who has reachedthis plane, the “I” is pictured as Intellect, or Mind, having controlof the body and its organs, and having its abode in the brainor brains of the human being. It makes very little difference
whether these people think of Mind as does the materialist—asubstance evolved from, or secreted by, the brain; or whether
they regard it as a somewhat intangible substance manifesting
through the brain. Either view is a matter of Intellectual opinion
with them, and they feel the same in either case—in either casetheir picture of the “I” is the same—they have a feeling thatthe center of their consciousness is in the Intellect. To such a
man the Intellect seems to be the real self, in fact he may even
get to the point where he will bow down to his Intellect andworship it as a God. He realizes the wonderful powers of the114

The Growth of Consciousness.

mind, and begins to cultivate and develop them (all of which isa very necessary part of growth) and often attains results little
short of marvelous. Some of these men will follow the path ofpure Intellectual abstraction; others will develop the creative
power of the mind, and manifest it in wonderful inventions,
great discoveries, etc.; others will develop the Imagination,and become poets, writers, artists; others will combine theoperative and imaginative qualities, and become “captains ofindustry,” etc., etc. Each will follow the line of least resistanceand will develop upon lines which prove more attractive, but
their “I” is always the Mind. Some will proceed along certain
lines of psychic development, which is merely one form of
manifestation along the mental plane. Psychic power is by many
considered to be identical with spiritual power, but is really on
the mental plane of consciousness, although the higher formof psychic power is available only to those who have attained
a certain stage of spiritual development. The lower formsof psychic power may be acquired by those who develop
the mind along certain lines, and they belong strictly to themental plane, although apparently far removed from ordinary
mental development. The higher forms of psychic power canbe attained only by those who have reached a certain stage ofspiritual unfoldment.
To the men on the Mental plane, the Mind is all. They realize
its mastery of the body; are aware of the wonderful powers of
the Mind over the particular body under its control; the bodies
of others; the minds of others. To them the Mind is the highest
self—identical with Spirit. They are conscious of the wonderfulworkings of the Mind, but are conscious of nothing higher. To
some of them death seems to end all, their idea being that alldies with the brain. Others feel, somehow, that their Intellect
will maintain its existence, but it is merely a belief or hope,based upon the words or opinions of others who have claimed
authority to speak. But they have no awareness of Eternal Life—no perception of the Real Self which knows itself to be Eternal.
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The Law of The New Thought

When a man enters fully upon the mental plane ofconsciousness, his troubles commence. He grows dissatisfied.
He feels new longings, which he strives to satisfy. Tolstoi saysof this state: “As soon as the mental part of a person takes
control, new worlds are opened, and desires are multiplieda thousand‑fold. They become as numerous as the radii of acircle; and the mind, with care and anxiety, sets itself first to
cultivate and then gratify these desires, thinking that happinessis to be had in that way.” But although the mental stage brings
its own happiness, it brings its own pains and unhappiness.
Man finds himself hemmed in at all quarters by the limits of
the Intellect. He crys: “Why?” And he finds no answer in theenclosure of his intellect. He grows beyond accepting things
just because someone else has said them, and he demands
an answer of his reasoning faculties—he directs his Intellectto lead him, but he finds out after a while that the Intellect isleading him a wearisome journey round and round a well worn
path, and he finds himself far away from that which he seeks.
The further Man advances along purely Intellectual lines, themore unhappiness he opens himself up to. The more he suffers
the more he knows. And yet Intellect is the finest tool withwhich the Spirit works, and when one attains the higher stagesof consciousness—enters the realm of Spiritual Consciousness,he takes great delight in wielding the polished weapon of theIntellect, not in the old way but as a valuable instrument in thehands of the Spirit.
Man’s only possible escape from the pain of the mental planeis through the channel of spiritual unfoldment—the growth of
consciousness along spiritual lines—the turning of the lightof consciousness into the heretofore unexplored field of thespiritual faculties. Here alone is peace.
In the next chapter I will speak of the spiritual unfoldment.

116

Chapter XVI.

The Soul’s Awakening.
The Pilgrim on The Path—The path among the hills—An unknown road—One step at atime—A strange land—No landmarks—A stopping place and point of observation—A
wondrous view—The awakening of the Spiritual Consciousness—The knowing of the “I Am”—
Consciousness of immortality—Consciousness of one’s place in the Universe—Recognition of
one’s relation to other parts of the Whole—The border‑land of the Cosmic Knowing—A tiny
drop of Spirit from the Great Spirit Ocean—Recognition of the Universal Presence—Seeing
things as they are—God’s sunshine and his love, bestowed upon all—The “Lost Sheep” now
understood—Treading the Path—The Soul’s Awakening—Joy! Joy! Joy!—The song of the Soul.

M

an has progressed along the Lines of unfoldment,
growth and development, traveling, in turn, throughthe stages of the physical plane, then into the large
and broader mental plane in all its varied phases. From thecomparatively care‑free physical plane, he has passed on to themental plane with all its worries, doubts, struggles, agnosticism,
denial, longings, dissatisfaction, unhappiness. Finally he seesa new path winding up the hills, and although he knows notwhere it leads, he, in despair, seeks to travel it, hoping, almost
against hope, that it may lead him to the Promised Land of
Peace.
He travels along. He notices the marks of the feet of those
who have traveled before, but sees also that but few have
traveled that path. He feels doubtful, for instead of being able
to see whither the road leads him, he finds that the path is117

The Law of The New Thought

winding, and he can see scarcely more than a few steps ahead.
But carried on by a longing which he scarcely comprehends, hetakes the few steps with faith in his heart, and having taken them
he is conscious of ascending the hills, and other steps open up
before him. He remembers the words of the old, familiar hymn:… “I do not ask to see the distant scene;
One step enough for me. Lead Thou me on.”Soon he becomes conscious that he has entered into a new
and unknown land—has crossed the borders of a new country.
He finds himself in a strange land—there are no familiar
landmarks—he does not recognize the scene. He realizes thegreat distance between himself and the friends he has left at
the foot of the hill. He cries aloud for them to follow him, butthey can scarcely hear him, and seem to fear for his safety. They
wave their arms, and beckon with their hands for him to return.
They fear to follow him, and despair of his safety. But he seems
possessed of a new courage, and a strange impulse within him
urges him on and on. To what point he is traveling, he knows
not, but a fierce joy takes possession of him, and he presses on
and on and on.
After a bit, when he has traveled a particularly difficult bitof road, he comes to a turn of the path, and steps forward
upon a broad bit of flat ground, which gives him a feeling ofrest—he knows it as a stopping place—a stage for halting andobservation. He finds that he has a wondrous view. On one
side he can see those on the plains below, striving this way andthat way in a pitiful manner—seeking to progress. Away backon various paths he sees men and women struggling on, andstrange to say he instinctively feels and realizes that they are
all seeking for the path upon which he has entered and which
he has followed for a little way. On the other side he sees abeautiful, new country—a land of sunshine and brightness. He
sees, afar off, groups of people, traveling up the higher paths
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The Soul’s Awakening.

of the journey, and, borne from afar, the sound of their voices
reach him—they are singing with joy. He feels for the first time
what the real “I” is. He recognizes both body and mind as useful
instruments, tools, servants, but he has a distinct recognitionof the “I” apart from them, and using them.
He becomes conscious of having always existed—existing
now—and being intended for existence forever. He does notreason out these things—he knows them, just as before he had
felt that he existed at any particular moment. The “I Am” hastaken on a new meaning—has apparently grown, although heknows that it has not really grown, but that he for the first time
has arrived at a stage of consciousness capable of recognizing
himself as he is.
He knows that he has traveled a long road leading to his
present position, and that he has a long journey before him,
but from now on he will travel knowingly, and not blindly. He
looks down and sees others covered with the mire and dust of
the road, traveling on the plane below, but knowing that he
too has traveled the same paths, he does not condemn themfor the mire and dust. He has shared their journey with all its
discomfort and dirt. He knows that he is in but the borderlandof the Cosmic Knowing—and that beyond lie regions ofmarvelous beauty which in turn will be traveled. He sees endlessphases of existence opening up to the vision.
The Soul when it reaches this stage, awakens, and sees itself as
it is, in all its beauty—with all its wonderful possibilities. It feels akeen pleasure in existence—in the now. It feels itself to be a partof the whole—knows that the Universe is its home. It knows
itself to be a tiny drop of Spirit from the Great Spirit Ocean—a
ray from the Supreme Sun—a particle of Divine Being, encasedin a material body, using that body and something called mind,
with which to manifest itself. It frets not about the Past—it
worries not about the Future. It realizes that it is and always
will be, and therefore lives in the now. It knows that it cannot
be injured or destroyed—that it exists in accordance with Law
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The Law of The New Thought(and that Law is Good). It seeks no explanation, knowing thatas the time comes, it will progress through matter, discarding
sheath after sheath in its unfoldment, attaining greater andgreater degrees of knowing.
It recognizes the existence of The Universal Presence—it
becomes aware of God and his nearness. It realizes for the
first time the reality of that which it had so glibly spoken of
before, but never with understanding—the Omnipresence,
Omnipotence, and Omniscience of God. And seeing andknowing these things—it is content. And it sees its Onenesswith All. It knows that progress for one means progress for all—that no one part of the Whole is separate from the Whole, orfrom any part of the Whole. It sees these things, and is amazed.
Seeing these things the feelings of the old life—Hate, Fear, Envy,
Jealousy, Malice—drop from it. It cannot Despise or Condemn.
It sees Ignorance instead of Evil. It sees Separateness andSelfishness, where before it saw sin. It finds itself possessed ofbut one feeling toward Mankind and the whole world—Love.
Aye, Love for the lowest creature that exists—for the vilest
man—the most degraded woman—for it knows that eventhese cannot be left out of the grand scheme of Life, and thateven these cannot escape their good, eventually. And it feels its
relationship and connection with all Life—knows them to be
inseparably connected—and knows that what is good for the
one is for the good of all, and that what hurts the one, hurts all.
It sees that God’s love extends to all, no matter how far
back on the path they may be. It sees that God’s Love—likeGod’s sunshine—is bestowed upon all alike—Saint and Sinnerpartaking of both. It sees that there is no living creature sohumble, or so sunk in the mire of ignorance, but that God still
remembers it, and is ready and anxious to lend a helping hand,
and that sooner or later the helping hand will be grasped by
the unfortunate, and he will be raised up. It realizes for the firsttime what means the parable of “The Lost Sheep”, and it sighs
to think how little it had grasped of its meaning, in the old life.
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The Soul’s Awakening.

It sees Death and Life as one. It sees Death as Birth. It loses all
its fear of Death, knowing it as it is. It sees behind the hideousmask of Death, the beautiful face of the radiant creature—Life.
These and other experiences come to the Soul when it
awakens. And it does not stop seeing, for new visions come toit continually, and its eyes become clearer from time to time.
Life takes on a new meaning when one reaches the bordersof Spiritual Consciousness, and takes a few steps beyond theborders. Words cannot convey the idea—it must be experienced
to be comprehended. You are perhaps at the foot of the hill—at the beginning of the narrow path. You can see but the firststep—take it, take it. Never mind the steps beyond—they will
be seen by you when you are ready for them. Step boldly forth
upon the Path, and look not backward. The Path is narrow andwinding, but it has been trodden by the Elect of all the ages,
and many are ready for it now. You may find it necessary tocast aside many worthless things which you are now carrying—much that is really a burden to you, but to which you have beenclinging as if it were most precious. Prejudices—narrowness—hates—dislikes—enviousness—feelings of superiority toyour brethren—lack of charity for others—condemnation—
bigotry—worn‑out husks of sheaths which have reached
the period of discarding—forms—musty and mouldy ideas,
heirlooms from the past—self‑righteousness—these and otheruseless things will impede your progress, and will be cast aside
one by one as you proceed up The Path. Things which you
have been carrying around and upon which you have prided
yourself very much, will be seen as worse than worthless, andwill be thrown aside with relief, although at first with pain.
Much finery with which you have bedecked yourself, will betorn from you by the stones and thorns of the road, or will bediscarded as too heavy for the shoulders to carry. Yes, and after
you have reached the higher stages of the journey, you will beglad to discard all of the clothing with which you have tried to121The Law of The New Thought

cover the spirit, and finally the Soul will stand forth naked andbeautiful and not ashamed.
See! the light is stealing over the hills, and the rays of therising sun have penetrated your chamber and are shining fullupon your face. You are shaking off the weight of the heavy
sleep—you feel the drowsiness of the half‑waking state. Open
your eyes—great things are before you today—rise from yourcouch, and go to your window, and let the bright health‑givingrays of the sun fall upon you. All seems beautiful to you—Life isworth the living—the hideous visions of the night have flown—
you are at last wide awake and smiling. You hear the voice of theSoul singing “Joy! Joy! Joy!” It is the hour of the Soul’s Awakening.

122

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