Casco Bay breeze. [volume] (South Harpswell, Me.) 1901-1917, 1905-08-24

o AoA uouy viii the higher
laws. their conscious aspiration has
not evolved above the elementary
plane Of contentment Just indicated
Tney have locked the inner doors of
the mind, and so. for the present, re-
main In true outer darkness.
II Is plain. therefore, that the fu,.
himent of the ideal expressed In the
heading OF this editorial can.
not be found by cropping
about in the wholly mega.
tive state of consciousness thus far
encountered. A vast gulf stretches
between seeming and real satisfac.
ton. II now we can determine what
constitutes that gulf, we have at once
solved the problem of true soul
growth. and bridged the great void
as we'll. Practical definitions often
help and a bright thought comes from
the dictionary. To be truly satisfied,
We are told, is to have discharged
claim or debt" and ito be freed
from doubt and suspense" and, final.
ly. ITO make atonement." Shorn of
verbiage, the underlying thought here
stands out as freedom (of the indivi
duaD through faith, and therein lies
the real constituency of the great
gulf just alluded to. The man gross
ly contented has failed to atone. He
Is in dense and cruel bondage to him.
self. and to an unenlightened public
opinion. In other words, he has not.
discharged the debt which everyone
of us owes to God. Although that
debt varies with the individual, its
fundamental Is, Believe and be born
again." Accept, dear friends. the ever.
present testimony of your inner self.
and cease to Judge your conduct and
that of your neighbor by the merely
external eye. II you will withdraw.
aspiring, into the silent place. and
draw close to the Eternal which
dwells within you, and which is You.
all light will be yours. The subtle.
but glorious faith chord in your be:
ing is, at that moment. swept by an
unseen hand. and that grand. sweet
melody OF Lie crashes into your be-
ing. and the stone is rolled away. You
have atoned TO the God in You. and
10 Him of whose substance you are.
For once the golden doors of the soul
are rolled back, and their hinges
cleansed of the spiritual rust of mac
ton. the higher selfhood shall assert
Its divine right-the reins of govern
ment are grasped, and with steady
hand, and the dauntless eye of the
spirit. that individual guides the char.
lot of his earth-life along the firm
roads of Truth and Divine Law. Sor-
did contentment has taken to itself
wings and flown to the place Of ap-
pearances. Your evolutionary TO-, ces
nave once more been quickened into
being. Stagnation has metamorphosed
into Life. Your soul has at last awak-
ened. for the Prince Charming of Di
vine Love has penetrated the cob
webs of sonnolent matter. The peri
cd of submerged soul-life is past.
But. you say, is this awakened soul
really satisfied. with nothing to de-
sire. nothing left undone? To say
yes would be to answer only the
truth, but we must not be miscon-
strued. Our individual development
has by no means ceased with this
awakening. Rather has 1t butt begun.
We aspire and yearn for our uplift-
ment to the higher and yet higher
realms of Gods boundless spaces. and
mans destiny takes him ever thither:
but all Fear. Doubt and Suspense are
gone. Bondage To- this and that opin-
ion. or this and that man-made creed
has been swept away, and as the
chains Of superstition drop from our
bodies, man lifts up his eyes unto the
things that Are, and is content-a Sat
isfied Soul.
Are you, then. dear friend. only
seemingly content, or really and glor-
iously satisfied? Have you stepped
calmly and with peace understandable
into that rarely trodden path where
the divine law of God touches all with
its benediction: OF have you yielded
TO the dead inertia of your surround.
ings. the scoffing and fiippant voices
of your friends, or the destructive
criticism Of the Pharisee? Are you
the blind led by the blind. or do you
dare demand Truth whate'er the
world may say? Obey the divine in.
sight of the Christ. and Seek We first
the Kingdom Of Heaven. which is
within you" That kingdom which
lies not in extrinsics. Is not depend.
ent upon materially tangible things.
books. or men, but Is God in You.
the veritable path Of the Soul. The
world reaches out blIndIy and impo-
tently. grasping az something II can
feel. lean upon and use as bulwark.
Its face Is Swallowed by Fear and
Gnnoraffffrn.