Someone stands
on the forefinger of one hand atop a hundred-foot pole. Another walks a
tightrope across the chasm of Niagara Falls. Another springs from a board
and turns three somersaults in the air before landing on their feet. Still
another juggles a dozen balls at a time. W atching such performances, we are
astounded. How is it possible, we ask ourselves, for a human being to do
such things? It is possible because they have mastered the knack of
performing without thought. They have learned to shut of f the thinking of
their central self and to stand outside, as it were, grasping their whole action
as a continuous thing, seeing it as a single flowing, unbroken movement. As
a consequence, arms and legs move, muscles coordinate, ener gy is
expended, all at the behest of a complete picture held by their wider mind. They perform from the spine, unthinkingly , and respond only to the image
of what they want to do, just as someone else might walk down the street,
thinking only of where they want to go and never of the act of putting one
foot in front of the other . Trusting Y our Gr eater Self
 
The r eason why most people play such atr ocious golf is that they have
broken the golf swing down into a dozen differ ent small actions, each of
which r eceives the focus of their attention when they stand up to hit the golf
ball. It is a wonder they don’ t break their spines or snap a tendon. The
miracle is that they hit the ball at all, since they ar e thinking about
everything else but that. Those rar e specimens who master the art ofshooting par have master ed also the art of not thinking how . The gr eat
player stands up to the ball only after they have made up their mind wher e
they want to hit it. They don’ t think of how they will hit it. W e can adopt this
method in everything we do. W e can stop thinking how to do things and
start concentrating our attention only upon wher e we want to go. Once we
have made a decision, we must learn to trust our gr eater , outer mind for the
actual performance. There is a deep, underlying psychological reason for this. The brain and the
organs of the body are not to be trusted beyond the intelligence from which
they grew . To subject all performance to the limitation of human reason is
to subject all action to restriction and error . An infinite, eternal intelligence
grew the brain and body , and both now nestle in the lap of that intelligence,
are products of it, and never its master . We must stop forcing our ego to act
as an originator of action and thought, and instead learn to let thought
develop in us, action develop in us, as a result of a complete reliance upon
an outer and wider sense of being. Chuang-Tzu wrote:
 
A drunken man, when he falls out of a cart, though he may suf fer, does not
die. His bones are the same as other people’ s, but he meets the accident in a
different way . His spirit is in a condition of security . He is not conscious of
riding in the cart, neither is he conscious of falling out of it. Ideas of life,
death, fear , etc., cannot penetrate his breast, and so he does not suf fer from
contact with objective existences, and if such security is to be got from
wine, how much more is to be got from spontaneity? What we are driving at is an attempt to function through the totality of our
psychic being, rather than some small part of it, like the brain, or the reason,
or the memory . It should be obvious that the whole is always greater than its
parts, and if we can learn to think and act through the totality of all our
psychic functioning, then it is apparent that our ef fectiveness must be vastly
increased. The important, thing to remember is that the center of the mind’ sactivity is not in the conscious, thinking process, but in something greatly
above it, outside it, and yet in a manner within. Active Mind
 
When we learn to let our mind alone, it begins to function in a spontaneous
manner that is natural to it. It rids itself of inhibition and restriction, and our
effectiveness and ener gy are greatly increased. There are lar ge rewards to
be gained from learning how to function unconsciously . It is through
painful awareness of self that all our imperfections spring. W e are able to
stifle the nagging voice of self-consciousness through immersing it in the
great sea of being that is the Secret Self. There it mer ges and is lost, as a
drop of water mer ges and is lost in the ocean. W e become natural people
instead of artificial ones, and all our actions and all our thoughts take on a
spontaneity that springs directly out of the Divine. Unthinkable ingenuity
and creative power lie within universal mind, and to the degree that you
learn to trust your life and being to it, that much of its power is yours. The most remarkable thing about humanity is the mind. The mystery that
surrounds another person is the fact that they think, that their thoughts are
invisible and therefore strictly their own. W ithin the boundaries of their
own being, they live in a world that no one truly penetrates. It is populated
by shapes and structures, events and persons known only to them, with a
significance that is rooted in symbol. And this world in their mind has
greater meaning for them than the materialistic world in which they move. They retire from the material world when they go to bed, but even in sleep
the world in their mind is still with them. This mental world has even
greater meaning in sleep. Now the person’ s thoughts, though still couched
in materialistic terms, take on symbolistic significance, and the things they
dream come to them as disguised meanings, playing out upon the screen of
consciousness the conflicts that exist in their subconscious.We are with our minds twenty-four hours of every day , and we never cease
to think. W e are influenced a thousand times more by the thoughts that
cross our consciousness than we ever are by the situations we encounter in
the sensual world. W e are truly mental creatures, and those animal qualities
we possess are residual only , left over from an evolution whose great thrust,
in the first place, was its ef fort to produce mind. Just as consciousness has
evolved out of matter , to eventually control matter , so will it one day be free
of matter , for the very nature of being presupposes a greater existence than
any that is likely to occur as long as it is bound to the flesh. The cycle of
birth, growth, decay , and death is bound to a physical world with its
necessary constant production of dif ferent forms in an ef fort to find the
most ef fective one. Such a cycle, however , no longer is mandatory for the
mind, which has settled on an absolute form and no longer is changing in
kind, only in degree. Evolution has brought us to the point where a mental
being might best serve advancement by being free of the cycle of birth and
death. Such a step is undoubtedly part of the evolutionary plan; it may be
set for a time somewhere in the future or may be upon us now . Meantime,
the fact has become apparent that the pathway to our salvation lies in
emphasis on mental existence and gradual turning away from physical
bondage. To Think Is to Do
 
Up to now no one has been able to stop the physical aging of the body , and
currently everyone is subject in the end to a physical death. As long as our
activities, our pleasures, and our sensations are rooted in our physical
bodies, we have no alternative but to eventually suf fer pain, dissolution, and
decay . But when we turn away from our physical bodies and take up
residence in our minds, then we are able to experience a constant growth
that not only lends us a deep personal satisfaction but fulfills the fondest
wishes of life and evolution. T o once make up your mind that intellect is
superior to and supersedes matter is to take the most important step of all in
the living of a serene and ef fective life. The soul grows within even as thebody decays without, and those of us who are able in the end to mer ge our
sense of being with that of the Secret Self will have perpetuated ourselves
into eternity and achieved immortality . Images that play about in our minds lead us inevitably into action. This is a
law of life, and we can neither start nor stop it. Whatever we think about we
must do. Since we cannot stop our thinking, we inevitably are led into
action by our thoughts, even if this action be of the most negative kind. Since a human being is a dynamic entity , choosing not to do a thing is just
as much an action as doing it would be. Fear of failure, for example,
predisposes us not to attempt any venture that carries a risk. As a
consequence, we are apt to allow all things to pass us by , deterred from
taking action because of the nature of the images in our minds. Usually
these images are placed there by fear , or one of fear ’s cousins, and these
negative emotional qualities spring out of the subconscious and have been
placed there by the ego. W e may rid ourselves of them by achieving a
proper relationship between the ego and universal mind. W e may become
whole by getting rid of our sense of surface self, by immersing the ego in
our wider being and becoming one with all things and all people. Getting Rid of Mental Blocks
 
We cannot force ourselves to think dif ferent thoughts from those that we
habitually think. W e cannot exclude certain thoughts from our minds or
force others to enter by an ef fort of will. Thought originates in the deeper
recesses of our being, an area that lar gely is unavailable to our conscious
mind and one that for the most part simply will not respond to coercion. A
psychological transformation is not possible without a spiritual awakening,
and before we can change our kind and type of thinking, it first is necessary
that we alter our conception of self. A little reflection on the ego reveals
what a delusional trap it is, for it is primarily a sense of separateness and it
feeds upon a sense of comparison. It is pleased to be better than others,
extremely sad to be worse, and it performs all actions for selfish motives —avarice, applause, power . The greatest sickness in the world is to be
satisfied in the ego, for then we are blinded to the real nature of life and our
own potentiality . Only when we are dissatisfied in the ego through defeat or
disillusionment are we close to the veil that separates us from our true
selves. It is at this moment that we suddenly may see, that our eyes and
souls may open and penetrate into the deeper and wider being that gives a
universal quality to all people. We immensely improve our ability to visualize when we rid ourselves of the
mental blocks and prompters that are stored in our subconscious. These we
are able to clear away through a proper psychic balance between the ego
and the Secret Self, and we achieve this balance by surrendering ego and
turning our lives over to the Divine. This is not nearly so dif ficult as it
sounds. W e are not responsible for our existence in the first place. W e didn’ t
choose the bodies we inhabit or the life into which we were born, our
language, customs, education, even the people we know have been chosen
for us by a greater power . When we learn to trust this power completely , to
turn over to it our sense of self, our actions, our mind, our ability , our talent,
we are enlar ged by it because of that very act. It uses us for its purpose and
many times more ef fectively than we could ever use ourselves. There is
tremendous ener gy to be gained by surrender of the ego to the Secret Self. Each of us becomes a power doubled. W e suddenly seem free of restriction,
cleared of restraint; our health, ener gy, and resources know no limit. Letting Go
 
Terry was a brilliant youngster . She had a straight-A average in high school
and was awarded a scholarship at a leading western university . But she was
an intensely nervous and high-strung young woman who seemed constantly
fearful and apprehensive. She would jump at the slightest noise, was shy
and awkward in the presence of strangers, became tongue-tied when given
an opportunity to speak, was afraid of heights, was afraid of closed places,
was sick a good deal of the time. Even though she graduated from collegewith honors, she nevertheless had great dif ficulty in finding a job, so
unfavorable was the impression that she made upon prospective employers. Her record prevailed, however , and she eventually found employment in the
laboratory of a lar ge industrial firm, where she helped in the research
department. Then for no apparent reason she suf fered a nervous breakdown
and was confined to a sanatorium. Some months later she left the
sanatorium, but she was too distracted to readjust to life, and she was
directed by a friend to a religious retreat. The retreat house stood on the bluf fs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and on
a clear day a hundred miles of the California coastline could be seen. The
brown hump of Santa Catalina Island stood of fshore like a camel rising
from the sea, and a light breeze generally blew of f the ocean, carrying with
it the salty tang of seaweed and kelp. T erry sat for hours on a stone bench,
gazing out over this panorama. The magnificence of nature dwarfed her ,
and she could feel her ego subside. During such a mood, her adviser came
to her , and they sat on the stone bench and talked. “I see you are better now ,” the adviser said. “It stands in your eyes. Y ou are
not so concerned with yourself.”
“That’ s true,” answered T erry. “It’s because it’ s so peaceful here.”
“It is peaceful anywhere, if your soul is properly centered.”
“How does one properly center their soul?”
“By getting rid of self-consciousness.”
“That’ s very dif ficult to do when one has an inferiority complex.”
“An inferiority complex is a delusion.”
“It may seem a delusion to you,” answered T erry, “but it is not a delusion to
me. I am fearful and apprehensive in all I do because I feel inferior , because
I am afraid I will not do well.”“Then get rid of the sense of yourself as doer . Accept yourself only as
instrument. Make up your mind that a power greater than you is working
through you to accomplish its ends. It is not embarrassed or fearful or
apprehensive. It is dynamic, irresistible, and eternal. If you can manage to
put yourself in its hands completely , you never will be embarrassed or
fearful again, and you will accomplish such things as you never thought
possible.”
Terry listened to her adviser well. In the days that followed, she gazed out
upon the sea and sky , and the truth came to her . When she left the retreat
and returned to her home, her illness was gone, and she experienced a vigor
in mind and body that she had never known. She undertook her work with
serenity , became able to talk freely in front of people, mixed with them
gladly , eventually came to lead them. T oday she heads her own research
company . She is well-to-do and respected and has not had a sick day in
years. She credits everything to her religious awakening. “I always thought that I was the one who was carrying the ball,” she says,
“and the responsibility frightened me. Once I learned that the world and its
events and my life were in safer hands than mine, I was able to get myself
out of the way and see the working of a master intelligence everywhere. The things I seem to have accomplished have been accomplished by
something outside me. It works through me just as it will work through you. All I do is let it.”
 
The Perfect Leader
 
To free the mind of the restrictions imposed by egoistic thinking is the first
thing to be done. This is accomplished by turning your life over to the
Secret Self. Place your hopes, your dreams, your ambitions, your talents,
your very self, on a mental silver platter . Hand it over to the Secret Self. Say, “Here, you take it. Y ou run it. I will listen, follow your advice, execute
your will.” If you take this mental stand without reservation, your life willbe changed forthwith, and you will have embarked upon the highest
adventure possible. Moreover , from that time on, the images in your mind
will manifest in the world exactly as you visualize them. People who have never experienced a centering of the self outside the ego
believe that when they make the declaration that they no longer will take
action as a result of egoistic choice, then henceforth they will sit like lumps
on a log because there will be nothing to stir them once they have
surrendered volition. How wrong they are! W e never move ourselves into
action anyway . All our lives we are moved into action by the Secret Self. Our dif ficulties are all caused by the fact that we have a delusional sense of
self which clutters up the subconscious with negative emotions; causes
restrictive pictures of limitation, lack, and fear to be projected onto the
creative screen of mind; and therefore restricts the amount of ener gy that
can flow through us. The ego is an impediment in the natural dynamic of
being, yet even when it’ s present in all its full distortion, we are still
directed by the Secret Self, with our power filtered and inef fectual. The
person who has been cleared sits like no lump on a log. More likely , they
thunder across the human scene, such is the power that manifests through
them. Y et they themself do nothing. The power uses them to manifest
through, and they simply hitch a ride, acting in the midst of conflict
serenely and surely , an instrument of a power that has everything under
control. The Power of Thought
 
Once a psychological balance has been obtained, it is startling how clear
images become in our minds. It is as if the inner world takes on even more
reality than the outer — more dimension, more possibilities — for through
our new psychic perception we become aware that there is the same
consciousness in all things. When we visualize something in our mind we
thereby sense the manner in which we af fect the physical world; we see that
consciousness af fected in us af fects consciousness in the thing visualized.We become aware that it is impossible for anything to externalize in our
world without first being pictured in our minds. The simplest of actions
takes on a new significance. W e cannot reach for a pen, get up and walk to
the door , or answer the telephone without first having a mental picture of
such acts. W e become cognizant of this sequence as the natural cause and
effect of all things, and we become exquisitely aware of the fact that we can
by an act of mental visualization cease responding to stimuli from the
sensual world. If, when we hear the doorbell, we visualize not answering the door , we will
not answer it. In even this trivial circumstance we will find tremendous
significance, for it teaches us that we can, in any instance, refuse to draw
the mental picture decreed by sensual stimuli and draw the exact opposite. By that simple realization we become enlightened and disciplined beings,
free from bondage to the world of senses. The process by which thoughts
become things is rooted in the one intelligence from which all things are
made. Everything is conscious and has a form that is determined by the
awareness entrapped within. When the idea of a thing is changed within the
one supreme consciousness, then the thing itself changes, for it was nothing
but idea in the first place. The mind’ s image-making power is af fected by its knowledge of itself, and
by its inner sense of ef fectiveness. This sense of capability never is
sufficient when it springs out of the surface self, but it is always equal to the
task when it results from an identification of the individual with the
Supreme. Spiritual awakening allows us to visualize clearly , but even
before that awakening we can discipline ourselves to exercise faith and
belief in the things we desire. Jesus, who was certainly one of the great
mental teachers, stated that it is done unto us as we believe. He repeatedly
illustrated by deed and parable that the answers to our dreams come when
we first have accepted their reality in our minds. The person who achieves a
dynamic success in life has mastered the art of acting as if it were
impossible to fail. Such a bold approach frees within them an ener gy and
insight that fits them for every occasion. Nothing is impossible to anyone if
they are capable of envisioning it in their mind, clearly , without reservation. Universal Subconscious Mind is the doer of all things, and it responds to
the conceptions that we project into it with our conscious minds. Visualizing the Objective
 
There is no objective too important or too trivial for universal mind to
manifest it just exactly as it is visualized, but the truth is that few people
take the trouble or time to visualize the things they want. They let such
matters be decided for them by the events they encounter in the world. If,
for example, they meet a friend who has acquired a new car , they are likely
to avow to themselves and to family that what they want most of all is a
new car . Next day , however , this desire fades, for now an associate in
business has been promoted into a new job and they see that it is this they
want most of all, not the new car after all. Next day , it is something else; the
day after , something again. The desire of a week ago is long for gotten
unless some event occurs to inspire in them the same reaction. Such people
project a constant parade of changing pictures into the subconscious, which
moves this way and that and never gets anything done at all. Since they
really do not know what it is that they want, it is small wonder that they
achieve nothing. It takes mental discipline to want something and to stay
with it, to understand that all things are gained by sacrifice, that nothing is
free, easy , or simple. When we look upon people of prominence and wealth, it appears to us that
they have been favored by nature, gifted more in mind and body and with
material things. But if we have had a little spiritual awakening, we arrive at
an insight that allows us to see behind all successful people the years of
unremitting toil, sweat, and tears that have disciplined them into the
effective human beings they have become. Control and ef fectiveness do not
come lightly; they are the products of a good deal of surrender of self. An
aspiring youth, focused in ego and personal concern, has as little connection
with a successful person as does an acorn with an oak. A thousand egoistic
selves have paraded across the successful person’ s consciousness in the
years of growth. In a manner that person is all of them, in another , none. In
all things they rely upon a power outside themself, which they court daily . Affirmation
 
Visualize we must, and what we visualize manifests in our lives. If we
would change our lives, the tool with which to change them is imagination. We must learn to visualize at the behest of a conscious mental choice, and
we must teach ourselves to envisage all things clearly and concretely . An
effective way to accomplish this is to set aside a period of af firmation each
day, and the most beneficial time is just before going to sleep. Then the
image is able to settle down into the subconscious without the distractions
that result from activity . When we af firm our mental image, we have to
know what it is we wish to achieve, whether it is success or health,
improvement in personality , greater happiness, whatever . And we have to
clearly conceive ourselves as possessing it. Be sure that it is something that
is right for you, something that you are willing to devote time and ef fort to
obtain. The important things are a clear conception and a willingness to make all
necessary sacrifices to ef fect it. The picture we form in our minds should be
so clear we can almost touch it, and it should be projected with feeling. Affirm this image verbally . Write out a short and clear af firmation and be
able to repeat it to yourself as you visualize your objective. Consciously
relax your mind and body when you go through this af firmation period. Get
the feeling that you are not making something happen, only accepting it. Feel that this thing is real in your mind, where all true cause exists. Finish
your af firmation with a feeling of faith and expectancy and serenity . Know
that your image will manifest in the world just as surely as you keep it sharp
and clear in your mind. During the day , think and feel and act as if your
desire were already manifested. Y ou will then behave as if you have it, and
this complete change in your psychic position will attract the situation to
you. It is a wonderful thing to experience the power of mind over matter . Once
you have been able to bring some desired circumstance into your life by anact of faith and visualization, you will never again feel alone and friendless
and helpless. Y ou will know that you have within yourself the key to all
creation. Abundance and happiness and success and achievement are
unlimited. The power to provide all exists in your mind and your
imagination.OceanofPDF .com 
7
 
The Power of Choice
 
Ask a hundr ed people if their lives had turned out to be what they
wanted them to be, and pr obably not one in the hundr ed would answer
affirmatively . Most people live dissatisfied lives, unfulfilled in most
aspects of their natur es but unable to decide what these aspects ar e or
how to go about fulfilling them. They have turned out to be what they
are because they have not chosen for themselves but have allowed
events and cir cumstances to decide for them. They have been molded
by a million differ ent sensual stimuli, and they will continue to be so
molded as long as they fail to exer cise their power of decision. The Only T rue Action
 
Our only true action is our exercise of choice. How we grow and mature
and the kind of person we become reside in the countless decisions we
make as we journey through the years. The power of our choice is that it
makes us what we become. It is the hub of a wheel of countless spokes,
each spoke representing a way to be taken, and each of us stands always in
the center of an infinite number of possibilities. If our choice is made freely
and consciously , then we are enlightened and are consciously molding our
own life. If our choice is made as a result of emotional response to the
circumstances in which we finds ourselves, then we are automatons and life
is molding us. T o become free of reaction and to initiate thought fromwithin is the evolutionary goal of humankind. Once a person takes a step in
this direction, no matter how small or tentative, they are forever unchained. They have broken out of the reactionary prison of sensual response and
have discovered the completely transforming fact that there resides within
them a power to grow in any direction they choose. We can choose what we will think regardless of the circumstances around
us. W e can choose whatever our consciousness will be focused upon, and
thereby we can determine the direction in which we will grow . Whatever
we think about we become in the end, and it is this astounding law that
enables individuals to rise above their environments. A saint may emer ge
from the slums, a rich person from poverty , an enlightened mind out of
ignorance, the leader of a nation out of an obscure log cabin. The history of
humankind is a record of the overcoming of obstacles. The person who
refuses to accede to the limitations of their environment is led into such
aspiration by the images that form in their mind. They want something;
wanting, they visualize; visualizing, they are led into the action that will
lead to materialization of their desire. Linear Thinking
 
For the most part people are unaware of the fact that their lives are decided
by the thoughts they think. They are inclined to feel that circumstances are
either beyond their control or that power over them is gained only by an
intrinsic knowledge of their physical workings. A person’ s ability to af fect
their environment by the way that they feel has lar gely been lost sight of in
the W estern world. W estern education teaches us to be linear thinkers. W e
gain the overall idea of a thing by examining it piece by piece. Feeling or
intuition is lar gely ignored. Education in the older societies of the East
aimed at grasping an intuitional sense of the basic idea of a thing. The
Eastern athlete works at his event by feel, trying to grasp a sense of the
entire motion. The W estern athlete is more likely to break down the event
into a number of correlated small actions, a leg bent here, an arm crookedthere, a hip turned here, a shoulder turned there. As a result, they tend to
lose feel, and only constant repetition and practice allow proper action to
seep into their subconscious so that eventually they can perform
unthinkingly . It is very dif ficult to teach someone to dance by drawing diagrams of the
proper steps upon the floor , but a person who instinctively moves in rhythm
to music hardly needs to be taught at all, so apt a pupil are they . Eastern
musicians use only rough notations on their sheets of music to remind them
of the melody , preferring to play by feel. The more complicated method of
Western musicians is represented by a double scale of notes and half notes,
delineating completely both melody and harmony . This is not an apology
for W estern methods of education, for the W est produces its share of
inspirational thinkers and instinctive athletes. This is only to say that the
linear method of thinking, while proven ef fective in scientific investigation,
is certainly not the only or even the best approach to use in dealing with our
surroundings. Our contacts in our daily lives are so profuse that we never
can hope to understand them by trying to understand their parts. W e must
rely for our perceptions on an awareness of each thing achieved by an
intuitional understanding of it. Intuitive Thinking
 
It is often said that banking is a cold-blooded, logical business, based
entirely upon reason, but one of the leading bankers in the Southwest once
electrified his audience when he told how his bank processed loan
applications. Oh, the paperwork was done, all right, a financial statement
substantiated, receipts and expenditures examined, accounts receivable
assessed, and a record made of the applicant’ s background and capability in
his business. But when all these factors had been considered, the question
that the president always asked the examining of ficer was this: “What kind
of feeling do you get?” If the examining of ficer reported a favorable
feeling, the loan was made; if they stated they had mixed feelings, the loanwas tabled to be reconsidered later; if they said they had negative feelings,
the loan was denied. So in one of our leading financial institutions ultimate
decisions were being reached on the basis of intuition rather than the
reasoning power of the mind. It is interesting to note that the loss ratio of
this particular bank was the lowest in the Southwest. In our society in the past, intuition simply has not been considered
academically and philosophically respectable. Thus we have hardly begun
to realize its possibilities. No doubt within its scope is the potential
synthesis of all our more cumbersome calculations like mathematics,
theology , metaphysics, logic. When we have learned to exercise our power
of choice and to leave the working out of details to a greater intelligence
than is embodied in our conscious minds, we will have arrived at a position
of complete psychic ef fectiveness. The power of choice is inseparably allied with the power to perceive. Things influence us according to the possibilities that we see in them, and
we obviously cannot make a choice concerning that which we do not see. All possibilities are inherent in every situation, but we see only those which
our limited consciousness is able to perceive. The wider that consciousness,
the more possibilities are apparent, and the more significant become the
choices open to us. T o the Supreme all possibilities are actualities. The
Secret Self is engaged in creating infinite multiplicity out of its own
essential oneness, and this is its delight, its inscrutable play . To the human
being laid down amidst this incessant change, it is of paramount importance
not to become static and to seek constant growth, so that the field of choice
widens through the lifetime. The Exer cise of Divinity
 
Those who know only one thing exercise no choice. They proceed along a
single path because they see no other . All around them is an unknown
forest, and to their limited vision it would be unthinkable for them to veeroff the pathway before them. Knowledge illuminates. The more we
understand about our environment, the less strange that environment
appears. The more our consciousness expands, the more likely we are to
perceive the myriad pathways that lead of f the road we currently are
following. There are as many ways to arrive at salvation and ef fectiveness
as there are dif ferent people. The human soul is a direct opening into the
world of things from the secret presence of universal self — incomplete,
yes, partially manifested, yes — embarked upon a self-seeking journey
called life, and this is the drama of existence and evolution being played out
upon this mortal sphere. To choose is to exercise divinity within. It is choice alone that is indicative
of higher spiritual and mental development. By it we recognize both
intellect and character . The person who is able to transcend the limitations
and blandishments of the sensual world stands like a colossus on the
evolutionary stage of life. They have likened themself to God by
uncovering essential freedom within, through deciding the direction in
which they will grow . Choice always presupposes sacrifice, for one does
not decide in favor of one thing without deciding against another . Nothing
is ever achieved or gained without giving up something else. It is this law of
sacrifice under which all things live, by which they grow and evolve and
aspire. The acceptance and knowledge of sacrifice alleviates much pain, for
when we truly understand that we can have one thing only by giving up
another , we hold on to all possessions with loose hands, prepared to let
them go at any time. They do not belong to us alone; they are ideas
proceeding out of universal mind and therefore under the mutual ownership
of everyone. Pain and Gr owth
 
Life sometimes seems to bend us terrifically , to put us under a strain we
scarcely are able to bear , to involve us in conflicts that are beyond our scope
to solve; but we are what we are only because we aspire to be greater , andthe obstacles and the pain we meet with in life are only the result of our
efforts to break out of the encysting shell of the ego and to grow outward in
effectiveness and understanding. “The Archer ,” writes Kahlil Gibran, “sees
the mark upon the path of the Infinite, and He bends you with His might,
that His arrows may go swift and far .” The ends of things do not reveal
themselves to the finite human mind; they are only partially available to our
intuitive faculties and then only insofar as we understand that life’ s goals
and methods are in the hands of a greater power than us. Our real vocation
is to fathom our relationship to this power , to develop complete faith and
trust in it, to realize that nothing rests in our own hands except the
determination of the direction in which we will grow . Choice implies freedom, and whether we are free or automatons has long
been a favorite ar gument of religious sects and philosophers. Any power
capable of creating the world and overseeing the orderly process of
evolution must know exactly where it is going and how it intends to get
there. Its course cannot possibly be altered by any one of the finite minds it
has created. All the events that have happened in the world must have been
preordained, for only through their orderly occurrence has it been possible
for life to take the direction it has taken. Y et within the absolutely rigid
scope of the occurrence of these events each of us is free, because we have
innate within us the power to assume any of the roles that have to be played
within any event; and it is we, ourselves, who choose in the end the role we
will play . Since the universal self creates all things from itself, it is in actual
truth all things and therefore does not consider life in terms of people but
only in terms of events. Events would approximate thoughts in the mind of
a supreme being, whose split into myriad manifestations would be to ensure
that it participated in all areas of each event in a form best suited to that
participation. Thus the Secret Self permeates all events, and the countless
forms it assumes, the multiplicity of masks that it dons to play its various
roles, appear separate and unique only to other incompletely manifested
beings, never to itself. Freeing Psychic Energy 
Our egoistic sense of separateness is an illusion deliberately fostered in our
mental and psychic makeup so that we are able to perform within the scope
of the kind of people we are. Y et there is no absolute decree that we must do
so, for at the same time that the illusion was fostered in us, power to break
it was implanted also. By recognizing our ability to condition our own
consciousness, we can expand that consciousness to encompass any role we
choose to play , and that is why we inherently are free and why each person
carries within them the power to master their own fate. Decision looses a terrific psychic ener gy. It frees within us potentialities and
possibilities we are not even aware of. T o make up your mind is a wondrous
thing. It directs you toward your mental image, sets you on the path to its
realization with an ener gy that springs out of subterranean recesses. Whatever you do you will do twice as well if you make up your mind what
you wish to accomplish. Even such a simple thing as trying to cross a street
becomes easier once you make up your mind that you will not attempt it
until there is a break in the traf fic. Y ou will not stamp the pavement then,
apprehensively watching the approaching cars with an eye toward making a
sudden spurt. Y ou will know that such ener gy is wasted. Y ou will stand
patiently , serene and sure, because you have made up your mind. Every task
in life can be likened to this simple illustration. The person who enters into activity without making up their mind what they
want to do and how they wish to accomplish it wastes their ener gies
considering unsuitable possibilities as they proceed. Some people say that
to make up your mind gives you tunnel vision; you never alter course
because you cannot see your surroundings. But all possibilities are inherent
in all situations at all times. They exist in each situation before we enter it. Only those possibilities appear to us that we are able to envisage in our
minds, but the picture we have should be the result of our choice. People to
whom possibilities appear other than the one they set out to accomplish are
those who have not made definite decisions; they have allowed the images
in their minds to change, and this changing alters the situation in which they
find themselves. Decide and the T ools Ar e Given
 
Decision is such an important part of everyday living. The coach befor e his
team in the locker r oom attempts to inculcate in each member of that team a
decision to win. Failur e to make this decision is almost certain to r esult in
defeat, for without it the pictur es that form in the mind ar e too easily
changed in favor of defeat when negative cir cumstances develop. When you
decide to accomplish something, you mentally toughen yourself to under go
the rigors and privations necessary to attaining the goal. This, above all,
calls for tough-mindedness. The athlete who makes up their mind that they
will swim the English Channel has to make up their mind also that they will
continue swimming, no matter how tir ed they get. If they make a decision to
swim the channel and that decision does not include a knowledge of the
tiredness they ar e bound to encounter , then they have not truly made a
decision at all, and the first time tir edness seeps thr ough to their
consciousness, pictur es form of not swimming the channel, and they ar e
finished. The kind of mental picture that assures success is the kind that is set into the
mind with a conviction that is unshakable, that survives all onslaughts,
obstacles, detours. Such inner conviction inspires great courage and ener gy. It is the mental picture held by all who achieve and accomplish, who get
things done. Many people think they want things but simply do not have
sufficient desire to maintain their mental image in the face of negative
circumstances. One has to want something badly in order to persevere in the
face of misfortune and defeat. If we accept the sidetracking of our plans as
evidence that they never will be realized, then it is a certainty that we never
will accomplish anything. No path is easy except one that leads downhill. If
we aspire, we must climb, and climbing takes ef fort and sweat and a
willingness to continue in the face of all dif ficulties. People climb
mountains not just because the mountains are there but because they want
to get to the top. It is this inner instinct to overcome obstacles, to rise above
circumstance, to win out over all odds, that has carried life on its triumphal
emer gence from amoeba to astronaut. Mental T oughness
 
We have to be tough with ourselves because it is easy to sink into lethar gy
and for get our aspirations. If we want to hitch a ride on life’ s express and
really go somewhere, we have to be prepared to be shaken up en route; we
have to know we will under go pain, and we have to be prepared to endure
it. All of us are inclined to be too soft with ourselves. W e want to be sure
that we don’ t work too hard, that we guard against tension, but the truth is
that we make ourselves strong by lifting weights, by entering conflict. W e
achieve physical health by exercise, by the constant use of our bodies to
reach some goal. W e achieve mental health by the same path, by keeping
our mental ef forts bent on learning, by always seeking to grow . Sleep is a
panacea and one of nature’ s wonders, but worlds are never conquered by
people who lie abed, only by those who are out in the world and doing. People of purpose never have to decide between action and lassitude. The
image in a person’ s mind, if it is one of accomplishment, propels them into
action. Purpose, however , is more significant than just accomplishment. Lack of
purpose can destroy a person, bring sickness, alcoholism. It is purpose that
holds the or ganism together . When that purpose disappears, the or ganism
begins to disintegrate. People who retire from active lives are excellent
illustrations. Puttering around the garden, playing golf, and fishing are insuf ficient
purpose to hold a person together in their later years. The human or ganism
was not built for enjoyment, but for accomplishment. When we focus
ourselves on pleasure-seeking ends it is not long before we disintegrate both
intellectually and physically; even our senses become surfeited, and we are
no longer able to enjoy our pleasures. Those who work all their lives toward
the end of retirement usually are frustrated and confused after two or three
years of enforced leisure and seek desperately for some way to get back into
harness. Usually , however , their disintegration during this period has beenrapid, and they no longer can make a place for themselves in the world of
achievement. Then they become embittered and lonely , and old age really
sets in. How much better if they stayed on the job in the first place; if not in
the same job, then in another found on retiring, so that they can continue to
live each day with a purpose, so that they can feel part of the great human
effort to progress, so that their abilities and talents do not rust and
disintegrate but are kept sharp by constant use. Use or Lose
 
There is a law that is apparent throughout all life. Simply stated it is, “Use
or lose.” If we put our right arm in a cast for three months it has shriveled to
almost nothing when the cast is taken of f. Only months of regular exercise
will restore it to normality . As we grow older and our lives become more
sedentary , we cease to put regular strain on our muscles, and they become
flabby and flaccid. Abdomens tend to protrude; fat gathers on hips and
thighs; and if we are forced to run across the street we are out of breath and
fear a heart attack. W e lose our physical condition through failure to use the
muscles of the body , and as a consequence we are easy prey for disease and
malfunction. Regular and systematic use of our muscles prevents this, so
with the more intangible parts of our natures. We must use our courage or it deserts us; we must use our determination or
it leaves us; we must exercise our power of decision or we soon find that we
have none. T aking a mental stand on things is not only important to success
and achievement, but is also basic to mental health. Those who never know
where they stand and allow themselves to be swayed on every issue are
bound to put enormous strain on their emotional makeup, for they are led
from peak to valley of victory and defeat without the slightest idea of what
motivates them or what causes each circumstance to be attracted to them. Faith in oneself and one’ s destiny is the seed from which all decision
springs. Doubt is the essence of old age and death. Cynicism, pessimism,and despair are harbingers of failure, disease, and disaster . All things spring
from mental images and emotional projections, and the ability to decide, to
make up one’ s mind, is automatic to those of us who see our unity with all
creatures and our umbilical connection with the Secret Self. T o be unable to
make up one’ s mind, no matter how trivial the problem, is an act of
cowardice and contaminates the soul. T o be unable to come to a decision is
in fact a kind of quitting, a sort of refusal to enter conflict, and mentally
dams up the flow of ener gy that proceeds into the individual from out of the
universal, retarding, limiting, bringing about dissolution and decay . To be
unable to make up one’ s mind implies a moral weakness. Such lethar gy is
not to be coddled but to be overcome. Y ou will not conquer fear by
acceding to it; only by meeting it head-on; and if you do, your victory is
assured, for fear itself is a coward and never stands before a direct
onslaught. Making Y our Own Luck
 
Whatever you are afraid to do, do it, and you will be startled that you no
longer are afraid. Whatever you are unable to decide, decide it, and you will
be amazed how correct your decision has been. It is never the rightness or
wrongness of our decisions that we are afraid of, but the fact that once we
are committed to them we must stand and fight for them. It is the shying
away from conflict that renders us unable to make up our minds. It is easy
to lose your temper , to loaf and be mentally lazy , to eat what you want and
as much as you want, to go into debt, to feel sorry for yourself, to go down
and down, to put the blame elsewhere. But it takes courage to keep your
temper and to be patient, to exercise and keep your body fit, to push your
business and save your money , to accept complete responsibility for your
own actions, to have faith, not to worry . A sign on the wall of many football
locker rooms says, “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins.” It
sometimes seems that nothing more is going on in life than that nature
constantly tests us to see if we are afraid. There are cycles of good and bad
luck, to be sure. Every cardplayer knows them and plays their handsaccordingly . Such proverbs as “When it rains, it pours” and “Misfortunes
never come singly” are indicative of humankind’ s age-old recognition of
streaks of good and bad fortune. Nature deals us her crudest blows when she desires to make us grow . Once
we see the logic of this, we never again will quit in the face of adversity . When luck is running against you, that is the time to play harder , to cinch
up your belt, pluck up your courage, smile, and be unafraid; that is the time
to muster that little extra bit of mental alertness. Stick in there and fight. No
matter how bleak the prospect, no matter how dismal the outlook, stay in
there. Keep doing your very best, and above all things be unafraid. Visualize steel up your spine; call upon your inner resources for an
indomitableness that will not yield. Nature is watching you; the Secret Self
is watching you. Burdens and misfortunes are being placed upon your
shoulders for a reason, and if you do not become scared, if you just plain
stick in there and refuse to spook, you are satisfying the innermost purposes
of life, and sooner or later you will be handed the keys to the kingdom of
heaven. True and False Action
 
It is not dif ficult to distinguish between true psychic motivation and false
psychic motivation, to be able to recognize when one is following the will
of the Secret Self or simply the dictates of one’ s own ego. Action that
proceeds out of the will of the Divine is always dynamic and constructive. It is never ringed around with negative emotions and negative outlooks. It
carries with it an inner conviction and absolute serenity , so that we know
beyond all doubt that we are following the right course. Conversely , action
that comes from the ego is nearly always harassed by doubt. The ego-
initiated action is always an end-gaining action. When performing at the
behest of the ego, we seldom take joy from our work or are completely
engrossed in it. W e seek only the goal desired by the ego, and this endinvariably is glory , riches, power , prestige, or one of the other
accoutrements that bedazzle the little self. Still another test that we may apply to the psychic motivation of our actions
is whether or not they ar e effective. Action that is motivated by the Secr et
Self invariably is effective. The individual performing under universal will
is irr esistible, doing something that must be done. On the other hand, action
that is performed under the impulsion of the ego rar ely is effective, and is
only so in moments when ego-will coincidentally parallels divine will. Such
an occurr ence is rar e indeed, but when it happens the individual is carried
to dizzying heights with an absolutely err oneous idea of how it all
happened. They cr edit their achievement to the use of their ego-will, and so
they continue to exert it. In consequence it is not long befor e they make an
abrupt descent to the place wher e they started or even below it, becoming a
pictur e of complete confusion and absolute frustration and knowing not
which way to turn. Such people have been known to commit suicide. They
are the ones who suddenly seem to lose talent and ability , and turn to
alcohol and nar cotics. But sometimes, if humility becomes ingrained befor e
complete disintegration sets in, they find understanding and ar e able to
remake their lives fr om the pr oper psychic position. The General Manager Is Upstairs
 
Jim was a high-spirited, strong-willed young man, and when he was
dischar ged from the army after W orld W ar II, he was of fered a television
job in a W est Coast city . Jim was ambitious and vowed to rise to head his
station, then to make it the leader in its market. He worked hard, for he
wanted prestige and money , and within five years he had attained both. He
became general manager of the television station, and it became the leader
in its market. During this period, of course, the entire television industry mushroomed. It
grew ten times in size, and those employed in it were carried upward in theprocess. Then competition set in. T alent was recruited from advertising
agencies, radio stations, motion pictures studios, the Broadway stage. Jim
watched this influx of new faces and resolved to be better than all, to make
more money , to be the leader . He worked around the clock, but nevertheless
things began to go badly . No matter how well he laid his plans, something always upset them. No
matter how carefully he thought out a process, some unknown factor always
cropped up and spoiled it. He began to think he was unlucky . People whom
he was positive were inferior often bested him by what seemed an amazing
stroke of fortune. He grew bitter , suspicious, and hostile to associates. T wo
years later , he was fired. One day , when his spirits were at their lowest ebb and he had about given
up, he came across a book that depicted the joys of surrendering one’ s will
to universal will, and since he was about to give up anyway , he decided to
try this. He was astounded at the peace and serenity that came to him from
the simple act of psychological submission. He took a humble job in a new
television station and started on the road back. His friends noticed the change in him. He had ceased being an agitator . He
no longer undertook action for the primary reason of getting something
done, but now seemed to do things through an inner joy in their actual
doing. There was about him a quality of tolerance and understanding, of
humility , that made his presence on the team a delight to all. W ithin a few
months he was given a responsible job; within two years he headed the
station. The title “General Manager” no longer is on Jim’ s door , though. Asked why not, he replies, “The General Manager is upstairs.”
 
The Eternal Sour ce
 
The French biophysicist and philosopher Pierre Lecomte du Noüy wrote,
“Let every man remember that the destiny of mankind is incomparable, and
let him above all never for get that the divine spark is in him and him aloneand that he is free to disregard it, to kill it, or to come closer to God by
showing his eagerness to work with Him and for Him.” This, of course, is
the exact psychic position that we must strive for if we would lead an
effective and enlightened life. The knowledge of our eternal source and our
subsequent identification with it leads us into actions and attitudes that have
a broader and more universal viewpoint than any possible to the egoistic
self. Our power of decision enables us to grow in any direction that we
choose, and once we have shucked of f the limiting and restricting presence
of the surface self, we then are able to expand into a kind of cosmic
perception that enables us to perform all work intuitively and with an
effectiveness and skill heretofore denied us. You may be sur e that you will not be a victim of lethar gy when you
surrender your life to the Secr et Self. Instead, you will become much mor e
dynamic. The meaningless pattern of your human existence will be alter ed
completely , and you will come to see the invisible shape of your destiny . When the veil is lifted at last, you will find that the desir e to hasten or r etard
or change events has gone; what will be will be, and that is enough. Just to
be able to r ecognize that ther e is a gr eater plan enables one to abdicate
from any attempt to run it. This does not take one out of the ar ena; it
plunges one in mor e deeply . All that is sacrificed is the limited view of the
surface self. Y our outer mien may be full of action and thunder and
dynamics, but inwar dly you ar e ser ene, sur e about all things, because, as
Trimalchio says, “Our Mother , the earth, is in the middle, made r ound like
an egg, and has all good things in herself, like a honeycomb.”
 
Conditioning the Subconscious
 
As long as we are focused in the sensory area of our awareness, we are
never master of our own house, for our true motivations spring out of
subterranean areas that we are not aware of and do not control. That is why
people often are unable to achieve results through positive thinking. The
subconscious always directs us; the conscious mind is only its agent. Themore self-suf ficient the conscious mind seems, the more it is used as a tool
by the subconscious. Y ou cannot issue orders to the subconscious; that is
the wrong psychic approach. The subconscious must perceive, then accept. It does not respond to coercion. But even though the conscious mind cannot
order the subconscious about, it can condition it to react dif ferently . If we
are fearful, we cannot make ourselves brave by an act of will, but only by
conditioning our subconscious to promote feelings of bravery in us. For this reason periods of meditation are very important. Through them we
can change our awareness of prosperity , health, and happiness as the
conscious mind impinges a conditioning quality upon the subconscious. We can choose consciously the path to follow , but only the long lines of it. Our daily choices are enforced in us by the subconscious, for we always act
and think intuitively and instinctively . If we are displeased with our actions
and our circumstances, we must condition the subconscious to inspire in us
different thoughts and dif ferent actions. This power of auto-conditioning is
available to all. W e can accomplish it by daily periods of meditation or
simply by keeping within our consciousness at all times an awareness of the
thing that we want to become. Realize this: when the chips are flying, we
have to go with the personality and sense of self that already has been
installed in the subconscious, for in times of action all our thoughts and
movements are instinctive. Facing Hidden Facts
 
It takes firm-heartedness to face the fact that you have chosen every
circumstance and thing in your life, not consciously , of course, but
subconsciously . People who are sick usually are appalled at the idea that
they have chosen to be sick, dumbfounded at the ef frontery of anyone
suggesting that they can get well by simply choosing to be well. If
somebody explains the conditioning quality of positive thinking, they
sometimes try it for a time but usually without visible results, for they thinkpositively negatively , telling themselves that they are well while they know
that they are sick. People can become well by choosing to become well, but
they seldom become so the moment after making this choice. It first is
necessary for them to embark upon a program of conditioning their
consciousness into awareness of health. They have become sick because
their consciousness picked up an awareness of sickness; and this must be
cast out, replaced; and the task will not be accomplished in a day . Curiously ,
other people sometimes have more ef fect on our subconscious than we
ourselves do. A good hypnotist often is able to ef fect amazing cures. These
are usually temporary , however , because the hypnotist-instilled idea is soon
dissipated and replaced by the prompter that caused illness in the first place. The individual’ s conscious mind put the sickness prompter in the
subconscious and will continue to do so until the pattern of thinking is
changed. Grasping Shadows
 
There is no short and easy road to reconditioning your subconscious. Hypnotism and psychoanalysis are no panaceas. The reconditioning can be
done only by yourself, and it takes concentration and continued ef fort; but
there is always the great consolation that in the end you will be master of
your own life. It is curious how often the things that we set our minds to
evade us. It sometimes seems that the mere act of focusing our attention
upon some objective causes that objective to become impossible to
accomplish. Follow a shadow , it still flies you;
Seem to fly it, it will pursue:
So court a mistress, she denies you;Let her alone; she will court you. — BEN JONSON
 
There is a deep underlying psychological reason why our conscious
purposes are often defeated, and that is because they often are at odds with
our subconscious purposes. If we fail, it is because we subconsciously wish
for failure, even though our conscious minds seem to desire success above
all things. But the conscious mind itself can do nothing; it is always in the
grip of the subconscious. It can only condition the subconscious and
thereby receive its cooperation in the accomplishment of conscious
objectives. All decisions are made subconsciously , and if we do not fight
them, they are made swiftly and easily . Attempting to make our choices
consciously in the heat of action only sets up conflict between the conscious
mind and the subconscious mind, and in the end the choice is made by the
subconscious anyway . If the choices made by the two minds are opposed,
then we may see failure growing out of our ef forts at success, or illness
growing out of our ef forts at health, or hate growing out of our ef forts at
love. The sphere of ef fectiveness that the conscious mind has over the
subconscious is this: by it we can choose consciously to become the sort of
people we would like to be. W e can become courageous and ener getic and
loyal and trustworthy and full of love and kindness and tolerance by the
simple use of conscious conditioning methods, by concentrating our
attention on the things we would like to become, by allowing these
impressions to seep down to subconscious levels via our imagination. If we
do this continually and with regularity , sooner or later we begin to act and
think in just the way that our consciousness is focused upon. W e then are
able to behave in every situation instinctively and naturally , in the manner
we always have desired. W e literally have remade ourselves in the image of
our desires through focusing our attention upon that image and allowing it
to seep down into the subconscious. W e are able to act and think according
to a sense of self that we have made up in our minds. Our power of choice
stems from our power to become, and we are always a reflection of animage that we carry in our minds. W e can become anything we desire by
changing our psychological viewpoint. Clash of Opposites
 
To have a mind is a wondrous thing, but a responsible thing too. Rudyard
Kipling wrote, “There are forty million reasons for failure, but not a single
excuse.” And when we have come to a realization of the liberating and
creative nature of our minds, we soon are made aware that we are finding in
the world about us the images projected within consciousness. T ake the
time and have the courage to face the fact of the power of your choice. Y ou
have decided everything that has come into your life by taking a mental
stand about it, by allowing that stand to take form and shape in your
subconscious, by your willingness to accept it. If you are rich, you have
accepted an awareness of abundance; if you are poor , you have accepted an
awareness of poverty; if you are well and vigorous, you have accepted an
awareness of health; if you are sick, you have accepted an awareness of
illness. All of life is the clashing of opposites, the black and white of extremes, the
gray area in between. High, low , broad, narrow , dark, light, strength,
weakness — always we choose between them; and through our choices we
make ourselves into the kind of people we become, and shape the events
and circumstances of our lives. No one else is responsible at all, only
ourselves. Choice is always with us. W e make it, and thereby decide our
lives and our fate.OceanofPDF .com 
8
 
Overcoming Opposition
 
The world is populated by many differ ent kinds of people. The little
girl stripping petals fr om a daisy in quest of a futur e husband while she
recites the well-known chant is like each of us as we stand at the
threshold of life and seek our destiny . “Rich man, poor man, beggar
man, thief, doctor , lawyer , mer chant, chief.” Which shall I be? Some
become mer chants, others manufactur ers, some teachers, others artists,
some warriors, and the world appears differ ent to each, for what they
see ther e prompts them in their choice and dictates each step of their
way. The warrior sees opposition. T o them the world is girded ar ound
with opposing for ces, and in the clash and r esolution of these for ces
they seek to find their r ole. Competitiveness and conflict come fr om
perceiving obstacles. Sensing hostility in the envir onment makes every
person a warrior in a psychological sense. No matter the ar ea they have
chosen, whether schoolr oom or battlefield, mer cantile stor e or library ,
each encounters opposition in everything they do, for it is by the str ess
and strain of conflict and the r esolution of for ces and ideas that the
evolution of life itself is taking place on earth. Opposition Makes for Gr owth
 
Opposition is the natural environment of life. Remove opposition from a
person’ s surroundings, and they shortly wither and die. A muscle growsstrong by exercising it. Calluses protect the hand that daily performs hard
work. The mind that is used constantly becomes alert and facile. But when
we are unopposed we flounder and are frustrated, and our or ganism goes to
pieces through lack of intent and purpose. W e grow by meeting obstacles
and overcoming them. By this ef fort and aspiration we are refined into
better persons, into more intelligent and aware beings than we ever could
become if we vegetated in a completely benign environment.
_OceanofPDF.com_The_Magic_in_Your_Mind_-_Eckhart_TolleForeword_U_S_Andersen.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Someone stands
on the forefinger of one hand atop a hundred-foot pole. Another walks a
tightrope across the chasm of Niagara Falls. Another springs from a board
and turns three somersaults in the air before landing on their feet. Still
another juggles a dozen balls at a time. W atching such performances, we are
astounded. How is it possible, we ask ourselves, for a human being to do
such things. It is possible because they have mastered the knack of
performing without thought. They have learned to shut of f the thinking of
their central self and to stand outside, as it were, grasping their whole action
as a continuous thing, seeing it as a single flowing, unbroken movement. As
a consequence, arms and legs move, muscles coordinate, ener gy is
expended, all at the behest of a complete picture held by their wider mind. They perform from the spine, unthinkingly, and respond only to the image
of what they want to do, just as someone else might walk down the street,
thinking only of where they want to go and never of the act of putting one
foot in front of the other. Trusting Y our Gr eater Self
 
The r eason why most people play such atr ocious golf is that they have
broken the golf swing down into a dozen differ ent small actions, each of
which r eceives the focus of their attention when they stand up to hit the golf
ball. It is a wonder they don’ t break their spines or snap a tendon. The
miracle is that they hit the ball at all, since they ar e thinking about
everything else but that. Those rar e specimens who master the art ofshooting par have master ed also the art of not thinking how. The gr eat
player stands up to the ball only after they have made up their mind wher e
they want to hit it. They don’ t think of how they will hit it. W e can adopt this
method in everything we do. W e can stop thinking how to do things and
start concentrating our attention only upon wher e we want to go. Once we
have made a decision, we must learn to trust our gr eater, outer mind for the
actual performance. There is a deep, underlying psychological reason for this. The brain and the
organs of the body are not to be trusted beyond the intelligence from which
they grew. To subject all performance to the limitation of human reason is
to subject all action to restriction and error. An infinite, eternal intelligence
grew the brain and body, and both now nestle in the lap of that intelligence,
are products of it, and never its master. We must stop forcing our ego to act
as an originator of action and thought, and instead learn to let thought
develop in us, action develop in us, as a result of a complete reliance upon
an outer and wider sense of being. Chuang-Tzu wrote:
 
A drunken man, when he falls out of a cart, though he may suf fer, does not
die. His bones are the same as other people’ s, but he meets the accident in a
different way. His spirit is in a condition of security. He is not conscious of
riding in the cart, neither is he conscious of falling out of it. Ideas of life,
death, fear, etc. , cannot penetrate his breast, and so he does not suf fer from
contact with objective existences, and if such security is to be got from
wine, how much more is to be got from spontaneity. What we are driving at is an attempt to function through the totality of our
psychic being, rather than some small part of it, like the brain, or the reason,
or the memory. It should be obvious that the whole is always greater than its
parts, and if we can learn to think and act through the totality of all our
psychic functioning, then it is apparent that our ef fectiveness must be vastly
increased. The important, thing to remember is that the center of the mind’ sactivity is not in the conscious, thinking process, but in something greatly
above it, outside it, and yet in a manner within. Active Mind
 
When we learn to let our mind alone, it begins to function in a spontaneous
manner that is natural to it. It rids itself of inhibition and restriction, and our
effectiveness and ener gy are greatly increased. There are lar ge rewards to
be gained from learning how to function unconsciously. It is through
painful awareness of self that all our imperfections spring. W e are able to
stifle the nagging voice of self-consciousness through immersing it in the
great sea of being that is the Secret Self. There it mer ges and is lost, as a
drop of water mer ges and is lost in the ocean. W e become natural people
instead of artificial ones, and all our actions and all our thoughts take on a
spontaneity that springs directly out of the Divine. Unthinkable ingenuity
and creative power lie within universal mind, and to the degree that you
learn to trust your life and being to it, that much of its power is yours. The most remarkable thing about humanity is the mind. The mystery that
surrounds another person is the fact that they think, that their thoughts are
invisible and therefore strictly their own. W ithin the boundaries of their
own being, they live in a world that no one truly penetrates. It is populated
by shapes and structures, events and persons known only to them, with a
significance that is rooted in symbol. And this world in their mind has
greater meaning for them than the materialistic world in which they move. They retire from the material world when they go to bed, but even in sleep
the world in their mind is still with them. This mental world has even
greater meaning in sleep. Now the person’ s thoughts, though still couched
in materialistic terms, take on symbolistic significance, and the things they
dream come to them as disguised meanings, playing out upon the screen of
consciousness the conflicts that exist in their subconscious. We are with our minds twenty-four hours of every day, and we never cease
to think. W e are influenced a thousand times more by the thoughts that
cross our consciousness than we ever are by the situations we encounter in
the sensual world. W e are truly mental creatures, and those animal qualities
we possess are residual only, left over from an evolution whose great thrust,
in the first place, was its ef fort to produce mind. Just as consciousness has
evolved out of matter, to eventually control matter, so will it one day be free
of matter, for the very nature of being presupposes a greater existence than
any that is likely to occur as long as it is bound to the flesh. The cycle of
birth, growth, decay, and death is bound to a physical world with its
necessary constant production of dif ferent forms in an ef fort to find the
most ef fective one. Such a cycle, however, no longer is mandatory for the
mind, which has settled on an absolute form and no longer is changing in
kind, only in degree. Evolution has brought us to the point where a mental
being might best serve advancement by being free of the cycle of birth and
death. Such a step is undoubtedly part of the evolutionary plan; it may be
set for a time somewhere in the future or may be upon us now. Meantime,
the fact has become apparent that the pathway to our salvation lies in
emphasis on mental existence and gradual turning away from physical
bondage. To Think Is to Do
 
Up to now no one has been able to stop the physical aging of the body, and
currently everyone is subject in the end to a physical death. As long as our
activities, our pleasures, and our sensations are rooted in our physical
bodies, we have no alternative but to eventually suf fer pain, dissolution, and
decay. But when we turn away from our physical bodies and take up
residence in our minds, then we are able to experience a constant growth
that not only lends us a deep personal satisfaction but fulfills the fondest
wishes of life and evolution. T o once make up your mind that intellect is
superior to and supersedes matter is to take the most important step of all in
the living of a serene and ef fective life. The soul grows within even as thebody decays without, and those of us who are able in the end to mer ge our
sense of being with that of the Secret Self will have perpetuated ourselves
into eternity and achieved immortality. Images that play about in our minds lead us inevitably into action. This is a
law of life, and we can neither start nor stop it. Whatever we think about we
must do. Since we cannot stop our thinking, we inevitably are led into
action by our thoughts, even if this action be of the most negative kind. Since a human being is a dynamic entity, choosing not to do a thing is just
as much an action as doing it would be. Fear of failure, for example,
predisposes us not to attempt any venture that carries a risk. As a
consequence, we are apt to allow all things to pass us by, deterred from
taking action because of the nature of the images in our minds. Usually
these images are placed there by fear, or one of fear ’s cousins, and these
negative emotional qualities spring out of the subconscious and have been
placed there by the ego. W e may rid ourselves of them by achieving a
proper relationship between the ego and universal mind. W e may become
whole by getting rid of our sense of surface self, by immersing the ego in
our wider being and becoming one with all things and all people. Getting Rid of Mental Blocks
 
We cannot force ourselves to think dif ferent thoughts from those that we
habitually think. W e cannot exclude certain thoughts from our minds or
force others to enter by an ef fort of will. Thought originates in the deeper
recesses of our being, an area that lar gely is unavailable to our conscious
mind and one that for the most part simply will not respond to coercion. A
psychological transformation is not possible without a spiritual awakening,
and before we can change our kind and type of thinking, it first is necessary
that we alter our conception of self. A little reflection on the ego reveals
what a delusional trap it is, for it is primarily a sense of separateness and it
feeds upon a sense of comparison. It is pleased to be better than others,
extremely sad to be worse, and it performs all actions for selfish motives —avarice, applause, power. The greatest sickness in the world is to be
satisfied in the ego, for then we are blinded to the real nature of life and our
own potentiality. Only when we are dissatisfied in the ego through defeat or
disillusionment are we close to the veil that separates us from our true
selves. It is at this moment that we suddenly may see, that our eyes and
souls may open and penetrate into the deeper and wider being that gives a
universal quality to all people. We immensely improve our ability to visualize when we rid ourselves of the
mental blocks and prompters that are stored in our subconscious. These we
are able to clear away through a proper psychic balance between the ego
and the Secret Self, and we achieve this balance by surrendering ego and
turning our lives over to the Divine. This is not nearly so dif ficult as it
sounds. W e are not responsible for our existence in the first place. W e didn’ t
choose the bodies we inhabit or the life into which we were born, our
language, customs, education, even the people we know have been chosen
for us by a greater power. When we learn to trust this power completely, to
turn over to it our sense of self, our actions, our mind, our ability, our talent,
we are enlar ged by it because of that very act. It uses us for its purpose and
many times more ef fectively than we could ever use ourselves. There is
tremendous ener gy to be gained by surrender of the ego to the Secret Self. Each of us becomes a power doubled. W e suddenly seem free of restriction,
cleared of restraint; our health, ener gy, and resources know no limit. Letting Go
 
Terry was a brilliant youngster. She had a straight-A average in high school
and was awarded a scholarship at a leading western university. But she was
an intensely nervous and high-strung young woman who seemed constantly
fearful and apprehensive. She would jump at the slightest noise, was shy
and awkward in the presence of strangers, became tongue-tied when given
an opportunity to speak, was afraid of heights, was afraid of closed places,
was sick a good deal of the time. Even though she graduated from collegewith honors, she nevertheless had great dif ficulty in finding a job, so
unfavorable was the impression that she made upon prospective employers. Her record prevailed, however, and she eventually found employment in the
laboratory of a lar ge industrial firm, where she helped in the research
department. Then for no apparent reason she suf fered a nervous breakdown
and was confined to a sanatorium. Some months later she left the
sanatorium, but she was too distracted to readjust to life, and she was
directed by a friend to a religious retreat. The retreat house stood on the bluf fs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and on
a clear day a hundred miles of the California coastline could be seen. The
brown hump of Santa Catalina Island stood of fshore like a camel rising
from the sea, and a light breeze generally blew of f the ocean, carrying with
it the salty tang of seaweed and kelp. T erry sat for hours on a stone bench,
gazing out over this panorama. The magnificence of nature dwarfed her,
and she could feel her ego subside. During such a mood, her adviser came
to her, and they sat on the stone bench and talked. “I see you are better now,” the adviser said. “It stands in your eyes. Y ou are
not so concerned with yourself. ”
“That’ s true,” answered T erry. “It’s because it’ s so peaceful here. ”
“It is peaceful anywhere, if your soul is properly centered. ”
“How does one properly center their soul. ”
“By getting rid of self-consciousness. ”
“That’ s very dif ficult to do when one has an inferiority complex. ”
“An inferiority complex is a delusion. ”
“It may seem a delusion to you,” answered T erry, “but it is not a delusion to
me. I am fearful and apprehensive in all I do because I feel inferior, because
I am afraid I will not do well. ”“Then get rid of the sense of yourself as doer. Accept yourself only as
instrument. Make up your mind that a power greater than you is working
through you to accomplish its ends. It is not embarrassed or fearful or
apprehensive. It is dynamic, irresistible, and eternal. If you can manage to
put yourself in its hands completely, you never will be embarrassed or
fearful again, and you will accomplish such things as you never thought
possible. ”
Terry listened to her adviser well. In the days that followed, she gazed out
upon the sea and sky, and the truth came to her. When she left the retreat
and returned to her home, her illness was gone, and she experienced a vigor
in mind and body that she had never known. She undertook her work with
serenity, became able to talk freely in front of people, mixed with them
gladly, eventually came to lead them. T oday she heads her own research
company. She is well-to-do and respected and has not had a sick day in
years. She credits everything to her religious awakening. “I always thought that I was the one who was carrying the ball,” she says,
“and the responsibility frightened me. Once I learned that the world and its
events and my life were in safer hands than mine, I was able to get myself
out of the way and see the working of a master intelligence everywhere. The things I seem to have accomplished have been accomplished by
something outside me. It works through me just as it will work through you. All I do is let it. ”
 
The Perfect Leader
 
To free the mind of the restrictions imposed by egoistic thinking is the first
thing to be done. This is accomplished by turning your life over to the
Secret Self. Place your hopes, your dreams, your ambitions, your talents,
your very self, on a mental silver platter. Hand it over to the Secret Self. Say, “Here, you take it. Y ou run it. I will listen, follow your advice, execute
your will. ” If you take this mental stand without reservation, your life willbe changed forthwith, and you will have embarked upon the highest
adventure possible. Moreover, from that time on, the images in your mind
will manifest in the world exactly as you visualize them. People who have never experienced a centering of the self outside the ego
believe that when they make the declaration that they no longer will take
action as a result of egoistic choice, then henceforth they will sit like lumps
on a log because there will be nothing to stir them once they have
surrendered volition. How wrong they are. W e never move ourselves into
action anyway. All our lives we are moved into action by the Secret Self. Our dif ficulties are all caused by the fact that we have a delusional sense of
self which clutters up the subconscious with negative emotions; causes
restrictive pictures of limitation, lack, and fear to be projected onto the
creative screen of mind; and therefore restricts the amount of ener gy that
can flow through us. The ego is an impediment in the natural dynamic of
being, yet even when it’ s present in all its full distortion, we are still
directed by the Secret Self, with our power filtered and inef fectual. The
person who has been cleared sits like no lump on a log. More likely, they
thunder across the human scene, such is the power that manifests through
them. Y et they themself do nothing. The power uses them to manifest
through, and they simply hitch a ride, acting in the midst of conflict
serenely and surely, an instrument of a power that has everything under
control. The Power of Thought
 
Once a psychological balance has been obtained, it is startling how clear
images become in our minds. It is as if the inner world takes on even more
reality than the outer — more dimension, more possibilities — for through
our new psychic perception we become aware that there is the same
consciousness in all things. When we visualize something in our mind we
thereby sense the manner in which we af fect the physical world; we see that
consciousness af fected in us af fects consciousness in the thing visualized. We become aware that it is impossible for anything to externalize in our
world without first being pictured in our minds. The simplest of actions
takes on a new significance. W e cannot reach for a pen, get up and walk to
the door, or answer the telephone without first having a mental picture of
such acts. W e become cognizant of this sequence as the natural cause and
effect of all things, and we become exquisitely aware of the fact that we can
by an act of mental visualization cease responding to stimuli from the
sensual world. If, when we hear the doorbell, we visualize not answering the door, we will
not answer it. In even this trivial circumstance we will find tremendous
significance, for it teaches us that we can, in any instance, refuse to draw
the mental picture decreed by sensual stimuli and draw the exact opposite. By that simple realization we become enlightened and disciplined beings,
free from bondage to the world of senses. The process by which thoughts
become things is rooted in the one intelligence from which all things are
made. Everything is conscious and has a form that is determined by the
awareness entrapped within. When the idea of a thing is changed within the
one supreme consciousness, then the thing itself changes, for it was nothing
but idea in the first place. The mind’ s image-making power is af fected by its knowledge of itself, and
by its inner sense of ef fectiveness. This sense of capability never is
sufficient when it springs out of the surface self, but it is always equal to the
task when it results from an identification of the individual with the
Supreme. Spiritual awakening allows us to visualize clearly, but even
before that awakening we can discipline ourselves to exercise faith and
belief in the things we desire. Jesus, who was certainly one of the great
mental teachers, stated that it is done unto us as we believe. He repeatedly
illustrated by deed and parable that the answers to our dreams come when
we first have accepted their reality in our minds. The person who achieves a
dynamic success in life has mastered the art of acting as if it were
impossible to fail. Such a bold approach frees within them an ener gy and
insight that fits them for every occasion. Nothing is impossible to anyone if
they are capable of envisioning it in their mind, clearly, without reservation. Universal Subconscious Mind is the doer of all things, and it responds to
the conceptions that we project into it with our conscious minds. Visualizing the Objective
 
There is no objective too important or too trivial for universal mind to
manifest it just exactly as it is visualized, but the truth is that few people
take the trouble or time to visualize the things they want. They let such
matters be decided for them by the events they encounter in the world. If,
for example, they meet a friend who has acquired a new car, they are likely
to avow to themselves and to family that what they want most of all is a
new car. Next day, however, this desire fades, for now an associate in
business has been promoted into a new job and they see that it is this they
want most of all, not the new car after all. Next day, it is something else; the
day after, something again. The desire of a week ago is long for gotten
unless some event occurs to inspire in them the same reaction. Such people
project a constant parade of changing pictures into the subconscious, which
moves this way and that and never gets anything done at all. Since they
really do not know what it is that they want, it is small wonder that they
achieve nothing. It takes mental discipline to want something and to stay
with it, to understand that all things are gained by sacrifice, that nothing is
free, easy, or simple. When we look upon people of prominence and wealth, it appears to us that
they have been favored by nature, gifted more in mind and body and with
material things. But if we have had a little spiritual awakening, we arrive at
an insight that allows us to see behind all successful people the years of
unremitting toil, sweat, and tears that have disciplined them into the
effective human beings they have become. Control and ef fectiveness do not
come lightly; they are the products of a good deal of surrender of self. An
aspiring youth, focused in ego and personal concern, has as little connection
with a successful person as does an acorn with an oak. A thousand egoistic
selves have paraded across the successful person’ s consciousness in the
years of growth. In a manner that person is all of them, in another, none. In
all things they rely upon a power outside themself, which they court daily. Affirmation
 
Visualize we must, and what we visualize manifests in our lives. If we
would change our lives, the tool with which to change them is imagination. We must learn to visualize at the behest of a conscious mental choice, and
we must teach ourselves to envisage all things clearly and concretely. An
effective way to accomplish this is to set aside a period of af firmation each
day, and the most beneficial time is just before going to sleep. Then the
image is able to settle down into the subconscious without the distractions
that result from activity. When we af firm our mental image, we have to
know what it is we wish to achieve, whether it is success or health,
improvement in personality, greater happiness, whatever. And we have to
clearly conceive ourselves as possessing it. Be sure that it is something that
is right for you, something that you are willing to devote time and ef fort to
obtain. The important things are a clear conception and a willingness to make all
necessary sacrifices to ef fect it. The picture we form in our minds should be
so clear we can almost touch it, and it should be projected with feeling. Affirm this image verbally. Write out a short and clear af firmation and be
able to repeat it to yourself as you visualize your objective. Consciously
relax your mind and body when you go through this af firmation period. Get
the feeling that you are not making something happen, only accepting it. Feel that this thing is real in your mind, where all true cause exists. Finish
your af firmation with a feeling of faith and expectancy and serenity. Know
that your image will manifest in the world just as surely as you keep it sharp
and clear in your mind. During the day, think and feel and act as if your
desire were already manifested. Y ou will then behave as if you have it, and
this complete change in your psychic position will attract the situation to
you. It is a wonderful thing to experience the power of mind over matter. Once
you have been able to bring some desired circumstance into your life by anact of faith and visualization, you will never again feel alone and friendless
and helpless. Y ou will know that you have within yourself the key to all
creation. Abundance and happiness and success and achievement are
unlimited. The power to provide all exists in your mind and your
imagination. OceanofPDF. com 
7
 
The Power of Choice
 
Ask a hundr ed people if their lives had turned out to be what they
wanted them to be, and pr obably not one in the hundr ed would answer
affirmatively. Most people live dissatisfied lives, unfulfilled in most
aspects of their natur es but unable to decide what these aspects ar e or
how to go about fulfilling them. They have turned out to be what they
are because they have not chosen for themselves but have allowed
events and cir cumstances to decide for them. They have been molded
by a million differ ent sensual stimuli, and they will continue to be so
molded as long as they fail to exer cise their power of decision. The Only T rue Action
 
Our only true action is our exercise of choice. How we grow and mature
and the kind of person we become reside in the countless decisions we
make as we journey through the years. The power of our choice is that it
makes us what we become. It is the hub of a wheel of countless spokes,
each spoke representing a way to be taken, and each of us stands always in
the center of an infinite number of possibilities. If our choice is made freely
and consciously, then we are enlightened and are consciously molding our
own life. If our choice is made as a result of emotional response to the
circumstances in which we finds ourselves, then we are automatons and life
is molding us. T o become free of reaction and to initiate thought fromwithin is the evolutionary goal of humankind. Once a person takes a step in
this direction, no matter how small or tentative, they are forever unchained. They have broken out of the reactionary prison of sensual response and
have discovered the completely transforming fact that there resides within
them a power to grow in any direction they choose. We can choose what we will think regardless of the circumstances around
us. W e can choose whatever our consciousness will be focused upon, and
thereby we can determine the direction in which we will grow. Whatever
we think about we become in the end, and it is this astounding law that
enables individuals to rise above their environments. A saint may emer ge
from the slums, a rich person from poverty, an enlightened mind out of
ignorance, the leader of a nation out of an obscure log cabin. The history of
humankind is a record of the overcoming of obstacles. The person who
refuses to accede to the limitations of their environment is led into such
aspiration by the images that form in their mind. They want something;
wanting, they visualize; visualizing, they are led into the action that will
lead to materialization of their desire. Linear Thinking
 
For the most part people are unaware of the fact that their lives are decided
by the thoughts they think. They are inclined to feel that circumstances are
either beyond their control or that power over them is gained only by an
intrinsic knowledge of their physical workings. A person’ s ability to af fect
their environment by the way that they feel has lar gely been lost sight of in
the W estern world. W estern education teaches us to be linear thinkers. W e
gain the overall idea of a thing by examining it piece by piece. Feeling or
intuition is lar gely ignored. Education in the older societies of the East
aimed at grasping an intuitional sense of the basic idea of a thing. The
Eastern athlete works at his event by feel, trying to grasp a sense of the
entire motion. The W estern athlete is more likely to break down the event
into a number of correlated small actions, a leg bent here, an arm crookedthere, a hip turned here, a shoulder turned there. As a result, they tend to
lose feel, and only constant repetition and practice allow proper action to
seep into their subconscious so that eventually they can perform
unthinkingly. It is very dif ficult to teach someone to dance by drawing diagrams of the
proper steps upon the floor, but a person who instinctively moves in rhythm
to music hardly needs to be taught at all, so apt a pupil are they. Eastern
musicians use only rough notations on their sheets of music to remind them
of the melody, preferring to play by feel. The more complicated method of
Western musicians is represented by a double scale of notes and half notes,
delineating completely both melody and harmony. This is not an apology
for W estern methods of education, for the W est produces its share of
inspirational thinkers and instinctive athletes. This is only to say that the
linear method of thinking, while proven ef fective in scientific investigation,
is certainly not the only or even the best approach to use in dealing with our
surroundings. Our contacts in our daily lives are so profuse that we never
can hope to understand them by trying to understand their parts. W e must
rely for our perceptions on an awareness of each thing achieved by an
intuitional understanding of it. Intuitive Thinking
 
It is often said that banking is a cold-blooded, logical business, based
entirely upon reason, but one of the leading bankers in the Southwest once
electrified his audience when he told how his bank processed loan
applications. Oh, the paperwork was done, all right, a financial statement
substantiated, receipts and expenditures examined, accounts receivable
assessed, and a record made of the applicant’ s background and capability in
his business. But when all these factors had been considered, the question
that the president always asked the examining of ficer was this: “What kind
of feeling do you get. ” If the examining of ficer reported a favorable
feeling, the loan was made; if they stated they had mixed feelings, the loanwas tabled to be reconsidered later; if they said they had negative feelings,
the loan was denied. So in one of our leading financial institutions ultimate
decisions were being reached on the basis of intuition rather than the
reasoning power of the mind. It is interesting to note that the loss ratio of
this particular bank was the lowest in the Southwest. In our society in the past, intuition simply has not been considered
academically and philosophically respectable. Thus we have hardly begun
to realize its possibilities. No doubt within its scope is the potential
synthesis of all our more cumbersome calculations like mathematics,
theology, metaphysics, logic. When we have learned to exercise our power
of choice and to leave the working out of details to a greater intelligence
than is embodied in our conscious minds, we will have arrived at a position
of complete psychic ef fectiveness. The power of choice is inseparably allied with the power to perceive. Things influence us according to the possibilities that we see in them, and
we obviously cannot make a choice concerning that which we do not see. All possibilities are inherent in every situation, but we see only those which
our limited consciousness is able to perceive. The wider that consciousness,
the more possibilities are apparent, and the more significant become the
choices open to us. T o the Supreme all possibilities are actualities. The
Secret Self is engaged in creating infinite multiplicity out of its own
essential oneness, and this is its delight, its inscrutable play. To the human
being laid down amidst this incessant change, it is of paramount importance
not to become static and to seek constant growth, so that the field of choice
widens through the lifetime. The Exer cise of Divinity
 
Those who know only one thing exercise no choice. They proceed along a
single path because they see no other. All around them is an unknown
forest, and to their limited vision it would be unthinkable for them to veeroff the pathway before them. Knowledge illuminates. The more we
understand about our environment, the less strange that environment
appears. The more our consciousness expands, the more likely we are to
perceive the myriad pathways that lead of f the road we currently are
following. There are as many ways to arrive at salvation and ef fectiveness
as there are dif ferent people. The human soul is a direct opening into the
world of things from the secret presence of universal self — incomplete,
yes, partially manifested, yes — embarked upon a self-seeking journey
called life, and this is the drama of existence and evolution being played out
upon this mortal sphere. To choose is to exercise divinity within. It is choice alone that is indicative
of higher spiritual and mental development. By it we recognize both
intellect and character. The person who is able to transcend the limitations
and blandishments of the sensual world stands like a colossus on the
evolutionary stage of life. They have likened themself to God by
uncovering essential freedom within, through deciding the direction in
which they will grow. Choice always presupposes sacrifice, for one does
not decide in favor of one thing without deciding against another. Nothing
is ever achieved or gained without giving up something else. It is this law of
sacrifice under which all things live, by which they grow and evolve and
aspire. The acceptance and knowledge of sacrifice alleviates much pain, for
when we truly understand that we can have one thing only by giving up
another, we hold on to all possessions with loose hands, prepared to let
them go at any time. They do not belong to us alone; they are ideas
proceeding out of universal mind and therefore under the mutual ownership
of everyone. Pain and Gr owth
 
Life sometimes seems to bend us terrifically, to put us under a strain we
scarcely are able to bear, to involve us in conflicts that are beyond our scope
to solve; but we are what we are only because we aspire to be greater, andthe obstacles and the pain we meet with in life are only the result of our
efforts to break out of the encysting shell of the ego and to grow outward in
effectiveness and understanding. “The Archer,” writes Kahlil Gibran, “sees
the mark upon the path of the Infinite, and He bends you with His might,
that His arrows may go swift and far. ” The ends of things do not reveal
themselves to the finite human mind; they are only partially available to our
intuitive faculties and then only insofar as we understand that life’ s goals
and methods are in the hands of a greater power than us. Our real vocation
is to fathom our relationship to this power, to develop complete faith and
trust in it, to realize that nothing rests in our own hands except the
determination of the direction in which we will grow. Choice implies freedom, and whether we are free or automatons has long
been a favorite ar gument of religious sects and philosophers. Any power
capable of creating the world and overseeing the orderly process of
evolution must know exactly where it is going and how it intends to get
there. Its course cannot possibly be altered by any one of the finite minds it
has created. All the events that have happened in the world must have been
preordained, for only through their orderly occurrence has it been possible
for life to take the direction it has taken. Y et within the absolutely rigid
scope of the occurrence of these events each of us is free, because we have
innate within us the power to assume any of the roles that have to be played
within any event; and it is we, ourselves, who choose in the end the role we
will play. Since the universal self creates all things from itself, it is in actual
truth all things and therefore does not consider life in terms of people but
only in terms of events. Events would approximate thoughts in the mind of
a supreme being, whose split into myriad manifestations would be to ensure
that it participated in all areas of each event in a form best suited to that
participation. Thus the Secret Self permeates all events, and the countless
forms it assumes, the multiplicity of masks that it dons to play its various
roles, appear separate and unique only to other incompletely manifested
beings, never to itself. Freeing Psychic Energy 
Our egoistic sense of separateness is an illusion deliberately fostered in our
mental and psychic makeup so that we are able to perform within the scope
of the kind of people we are. Y et there is no absolute decree that we must do
so, for at the same time that the illusion was fostered in us, power to break
it was implanted also. By recognizing our ability to condition our own
consciousness, we can expand that consciousness to encompass any role we
choose to play, and that is why we inherently are free and why each person
carries within them the power to master their own fate. Decision looses a terrific psychic ener gy. It frees within us potentialities and
possibilities we are not even aware of. T o make up your mind is a wondrous
thing. It directs you toward your mental image, sets you on the path to its
realization with an ener gy that springs out of subterranean recesses. Whatever you do you will do twice as well if you make up your mind what
you wish to accomplish. Even such a simple thing as trying to cross a street
becomes easier once you make up your mind that you will not attempt it
until there is a break in the traf fic. Y ou will not stamp the pavement then,
apprehensively watching the approaching cars with an eye toward making a
sudden spurt. Y ou will know that such ener gy is wasted. Y ou will stand
patiently, serene and sure, because you have made up your mind. Every task
in life can be likened to this simple illustration. The person who enters into activity without making up their mind what they
want to do and how they wish to accomplish it wastes their ener gies
considering unsuitable possibilities as they proceed. Some people say that
to make up your mind gives you tunnel vision; you never alter course
because you cannot see your surroundings. But all possibilities are inherent
in all situations at all times. They exist in each situation before we enter it. Only those possibilities appear to us that we are able to envisage in our
minds, but the picture we have should be the result of our choice. People to
whom possibilities appear other than the one they set out to accomplish are
those who have not made definite decisions; they have allowed the images
in their minds to change, and this changing alters the situation in which they
find themselves. Decide and the T ools Ar e Given
 
Decision is such an important part of everyday living. The coach befor e his
team in the locker r oom attempts to inculcate in each member of that team a
decision to win. Failur e to make this decision is almost certain to r esult in
defeat, for without it the pictur es that form in the mind ar e too easily
changed in favor of defeat when negative cir cumstances develop. When you
decide to accomplish something, you mentally toughen yourself to under go
the rigors and privations necessary to attaining the goal. This, above all,
calls for tough-mindedness. The athlete who makes up their mind that they
will swim the English Channel has to make up their mind also that they will
continue swimming, no matter how tir ed they get. If they make a decision to
swim the channel and that decision does not include a knowledge of the
tiredness they ar e bound to encounter, then they have not truly made a
decision at all, and the first time tir edness seeps thr ough to their
consciousness, pictur es form of not swimming the channel, and they ar e
finished. The kind of mental picture that assures success is the kind that is set into the
mind with a conviction that is unshakable, that survives all onslaughts,
obstacles, detours. Such inner conviction inspires great courage and ener gy. It is the mental picture held by all who achieve and accomplish, who get
things done. Many people think they want things but simply do not have
sufficient desire to maintain their mental image in the face of negative
circumstances. One has to want something badly in order to persevere in the
face of misfortune and defeat. If we accept the sidetracking of our plans as
evidence that they never will be realized, then it is a certainty that we never
will accomplish anything. No path is easy except one that leads downhill. If
we aspire, we must climb, and climbing takes ef fort and sweat and a
willingness to continue in the face of all dif ficulties. People climb
mountains not just because the mountains are there but because they want
to get to the top. It is this inner instinct to overcome obstacles, to rise above
circumstance, to win out over all odds, that has carried life on its triumphal
emer gence from amoeba to astronaut. Mental T oughness
 
We have to be tough with ourselves because it is easy to sink into lethar gy
and for get our aspirations. If we want to hitch a ride on life’ s express and
really go somewhere, we have to be prepared to be shaken up en route; we
have to know we will under go pain, and we have to be prepared to endure
it. All of us are inclined to be too soft with ourselves. W e want to be sure
that we don’ t work too hard, that we guard against tension, but the truth is
that we make ourselves strong by lifting weights, by entering conflict. W e
achieve physical health by exercise, by the constant use of our bodies to
reach some goal. W e achieve mental health by the same path, by keeping
our mental ef forts bent on learning, by always seeking to grow. Sleep is a
panacea and one of nature’ s wonders, but worlds are never conquered by
people who lie abed, only by those who are out in the world and doing. People of purpose never have to decide between action and lassitude. The
image in a person’ s mind, if it is one of accomplishment, propels them into
action. Purpose, however, is more significant than just accomplishment. Lack of
purpose can destroy a person, bring sickness, alcoholism. It is purpose that
holds the or ganism together. When that purpose disappears, the or ganism
begins to disintegrate. People who retire from active lives are excellent
illustrations. Puttering around the garden, playing golf, and fishing are insuf ficient
purpose to hold a person together in their later years. The human or ganism
was not built for enjoyment, but for accomplishment. When we focus
ourselves on pleasure-seeking ends it is not long before we disintegrate both
intellectually and physically; even our senses become surfeited, and we are
no longer able to enjoy our pleasures. Those who work all their lives toward
the end of retirement usually are frustrated and confused after two or three
years of enforced leisure and seek desperately for some way to get back into
harness. Usually, however, their disintegration during this period has beenrapid, and they no longer can make a place for themselves in the world of
achievement. Then they become embittered and lonely, and old age really
sets in. How much better if they stayed on the job in the first place; if not in
the same job, then in another found on retiring, so that they can continue to
live each day with a purpose, so that they can feel part of the great human
effort to progress, so that their abilities and talents do not rust and
disintegrate but are kept sharp by constant use. Use or Lose
 
There is a law that is apparent throughout all life. Simply stated it is, “Use
or lose. ” If we put our right arm in a cast for three months it has shriveled to
almost nothing when the cast is taken of f. Only months of regular exercise
will restore it to normality. As we grow older and our lives become more
sedentary, we cease to put regular strain on our muscles, and they become
flabby and flaccid. Abdomens tend to protrude; fat gathers on hips and
thighs; and if we are forced to run across the street we are out of breath and
fear a heart attack. W e lose our physical condition through failure to use the
muscles of the body, and as a consequence we are easy prey for disease and
malfunction. Regular and systematic use of our muscles prevents this, so
with the more intangible parts of our natures. We must use our courage or it deserts us; we must use our determination or
it leaves us; we must exercise our power of decision or we soon find that we
have none. T aking a mental stand on things is not only important to success
and achievement, but is also basic to mental health. Those who never know
where they stand and allow themselves to be swayed on every issue are
bound to put enormous strain on their emotional makeup, for they are led
from peak to valley of victory and defeat without the slightest idea of what
motivates them or what causes each circumstance to be attracted to them. Faith in oneself and one’ s destiny is the seed from which all decision
springs. Doubt is the essence of old age and death. Cynicism, pessimism,and despair are harbingers of failure, disease, and disaster. All things spring
from mental images and emotional projections, and the ability to decide, to
make up one’ s mind, is automatic to those of us who see our unity with all
creatures and our umbilical connection with the Secret Self. T o be unable to
make up one’ s mind, no matter how trivial the problem, is an act of
cowardice and contaminates the soul. T o be unable to come to a decision is
in fact a kind of quitting, a sort of refusal to enter conflict, and mentally
dams up the flow of ener gy that proceeds into the individual from out of the
universal, retarding, limiting, bringing about dissolution and decay. To be
unable to make up one’ s mind implies a moral weakness. Such lethar gy is
not to be coddled but to be overcome. Y ou will not conquer fear by
acceding to it; only by meeting it head-on; and if you do, your victory is
assured, for fear itself is a coward and never stands before a direct
onslaught. Making Y our Own Luck
 
Whatever you are afraid to do, do it, and you will be startled that you no
longer are afraid. Whatever you are unable to decide, decide it, and you will
be amazed how correct your decision has been. It is never the rightness or
wrongness of our decisions that we are afraid of, but the fact that once we
are committed to them we must stand and fight for them. It is the shying
away from conflict that renders us unable to make up our minds. It is easy
to lose your temper, to loaf and be mentally lazy, to eat what you want and
as much as you want, to go into debt, to feel sorry for yourself, to go down
and down, to put the blame elsewhere. But it takes courage to keep your
temper and to be patient, to exercise and keep your body fit, to push your
business and save your money, to accept complete responsibility for your
own actions, to have faith, not to worry. A sign on the wall of many football
locker rooms says, “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins. ” It
sometimes seems that nothing more is going on in life than that nature
constantly tests us to see if we are afraid. There are cycles of good and bad
luck, to be sure. Every cardplayer knows them and plays their handsaccordingly. Such proverbs as “When it rains, it pours” and “Misfortunes
never come singly” are indicative of humankind’ s age-old recognition of
streaks of good and bad fortune. Nature deals us her crudest blows when she desires to make us grow. Once
we see the logic of this, we never again will quit in the face of adversity. When luck is running against you, that is the time to play harder, to cinch
up your belt, pluck up your courage, smile, and be unafraid; that is the time
to muster that little extra bit of mental alertness. Stick in there and fight. No
matter how bleak the prospect, no matter how dismal the outlook, stay in
there. Keep doing your very best, and above all things be unafraid. Visualize steel up your spine; call upon your inner resources for an
indomitableness that will not yield. Nature is watching you; the Secret Self
is watching you. Burdens and misfortunes are being placed upon your
shoulders for a reason, and if you do not become scared, if you just plain
stick in there and refuse to spook, you are satisfying the innermost purposes
of life, and sooner or later you will be handed the keys to the kingdom of
heaven. True and False Action
 
It is not dif ficult to distinguish between true psychic motivation and false
psychic motivation, to be able to recognize when one is following the will
of the Secret Self or simply the dictates of one’ s own ego. Action that
proceeds out of the will of the Divine is always dynamic and constructive. It is never ringed around with negative emotions and negative outlooks. It
carries with it an inner conviction and absolute serenity, so that we know
beyond all doubt that we are following the right course. Conversely, action
that comes from the ego is nearly always harassed by doubt. The ego-
initiated action is always an end-gaining action. When performing at the
behest of the ego, we seldom take joy from our work or are completely
engrossed in it. W e seek only the goal desired by the ego, and this endinvariably is glory, riches, power, prestige, or one of the other
accoutrements that bedazzle the little self. Still another test that we may apply to the psychic motivation of our actions
is whether or not they ar e effective. Action that is motivated by the Secr et
Self invariably is effective. The individual performing under universal will
is irr esistible, doing something that must be done. On the other hand, action
that is performed under the impulsion of the ego rar ely is effective, and is
only so in moments when ego-will coincidentally parallels divine will. Such
an occurr ence is rar e indeed, but when it happens the individual is carried
to dizzying heights with an absolutely err oneous idea of how it all
happened. They cr edit their achievement to the use of their ego-will, and so
they continue to exert it. In consequence it is not long befor e they make an
abrupt descent to the place wher e they started or even below it, becoming a
pictur e of complete confusion and absolute frustration and knowing not
which way to turn. Such people have been known to commit suicide. They
are the ones who suddenly seem to lose talent and ability, and turn to
alcohol and nar cotics. But sometimes, if humility becomes ingrained befor e
complete disintegration sets in, they find understanding and ar e able to
remake their lives fr om the pr oper psychic position. The General Manager Is Upstairs
 
Jim was a high-spirited, strong-willed young man, and when he was
dischar ged from the army after W orld W ar II, he was of fered a television
job in a W est Coast city. Jim was ambitious and vowed to rise to head his
station, then to make it the leader in its market. He worked hard, for he
wanted prestige and money, and within five years he had attained both. He
became general manager of the television station, and it became the leader
in its market. During this period, of course, the entire television industry mushroomed. It
grew ten times in size, and those employed in it were carried upward in theprocess. Then competition set in. T alent was recruited from advertising
agencies, radio stations, motion pictures studios, the Broadway stage. Jim
watched this influx of new faces and resolved to be better than all, to make
more money, to be the leader. He worked around the clock, but nevertheless
things began to go badly. No matter how well he laid his plans, something always upset them. No
matter how carefully he thought out a process, some unknown factor always
cropped up and spoiled it. He began to think he was unlucky. People whom
he was positive were inferior often bested him by what seemed an amazing
stroke of fortune. He grew bitter, suspicious, and hostile to associates. T wo
years later, he was fired. One day, when his spirits were at their lowest ebb and he had about given
up, he came across a book that depicted the joys of surrendering one’ s will
to universal will, and since he was about to give up anyway, he decided to
try this. He was astounded at the peace and serenity that came to him from
the simple act of psychological submission. He took a humble job in a new
television station and started on the road back. His friends noticed the change in him. He had ceased being an agitator. He
no longer undertook action for the primary reason of getting something
done, but now seemed to do things through an inner joy in their actual
doing. There was about him a quality of tolerance and understanding, of
humility, that made his presence on the team a delight to all. W ithin a few
months he was given a responsible job; within two years he headed the
station. The title “General Manager” no longer is on Jim’ s door, though. Asked why not, he replies, “The General Manager is upstairs. ”
 
The Eternal Sour ce
 
The French biophysicist and philosopher Pierre Lecomte du Noüy wrote,
“Let every man remember that the destiny of mankind is incomparable, and
let him above all never for get that the divine spark is in him and him aloneand that he is free to disregard it, to kill it, or to come closer to God by
showing his eagerness to work with Him and for Him. ” This, of course, is
the exact psychic position that we must strive for if we would lead an
effective and enlightened life. The knowledge of our eternal source and our
subsequent identification with it leads us into actions and attitudes that have
a broader and more universal viewpoint than any possible to the egoistic
self. Our power of decision enables us to grow in any direction that we
choose, and once we have shucked of f the limiting and restricting presence
of the surface self, we then are able to expand into a kind of cosmic
perception that enables us to perform all work intuitively and with an
effectiveness and skill heretofore denied us. You may be sur e that you will not be a victim of lethar gy when you
surrender your life to the Secr et Self. Instead, you will become much mor e
dynamic. The meaningless pattern of your human existence will be alter ed
completely, and you will come to see the invisible shape of your destiny. When the veil is lifted at last, you will find that the desir e to hasten or r etard
or change events has gone; what will be will be, and that is enough. Just to
be able to r ecognize that ther e is a gr eater plan enables one to abdicate
from any attempt to run it. This does not take one out of the ar ena; it
plunges one in mor e deeply. All that is sacrificed is the limited view of the
surface self. Y our outer mien may be full of action and thunder and
dynamics, but inwar dly you ar e ser ene, sur e about all things, because, as
Trimalchio says, “Our Mother, the earth, is in the middle, made r ound like
an egg, and has all good things in herself, like a honeycomb. ”
 
Conditioning the Subconscious
 
As long as we are focused in the sensory area of our awareness, we are
never master of our own house, for our true motivations spring out of
subterranean areas that we are not aware of and do not control. That is why
people often are unable to achieve results through positive thinking. The
subconscious always directs us; the conscious mind is only its agent. Themore self-suf ficient the conscious mind seems, the more it is used as a tool
by the subconscious. Y ou cannot issue orders to the subconscious; that is
the wrong psychic approach. The subconscious must perceive, then accept. It does not respond to coercion. But even though the conscious mind cannot
order the subconscious about, it can condition it to react dif ferently. If we
are fearful, we cannot make ourselves brave by an act of will, but only by
conditioning our subconscious to promote feelings of bravery in us. For this reason periods of meditation are very important. Through them we
can change our awareness of prosperity, health, and happiness as the
conscious mind impinges a conditioning quality upon the subconscious. We can choose consciously the path to follow, but only the long lines of it. Our daily choices are enforced in us by the subconscious, for we always act
and think intuitively and instinctively. If we are displeased with our actions
and our circumstances, we must condition the subconscious to inspire in us
different thoughts and dif ferent actions. This power of auto-conditioning is
available to all. W e can accomplish it by daily periods of meditation or
simply by keeping within our consciousness at all times an awareness of the
thing that we want to become. Realize this: when the chips are flying, we
have to go with the personality and sense of self that already has been
installed in the subconscious, for in times of action all our thoughts and
movements are instinctive. Facing Hidden Facts
 
It takes firm-heartedness to face the fact that you have chosen every
circumstance and thing in your life, not consciously, of course, but
subconsciously. People who are sick usually are appalled at the idea that
they have chosen to be sick, dumbfounded at the ef frontery of anyone
suggesting that they can get well by simply choosing to be well. If
somebody explains the conditioning quality of positive thinking, they
sometimes try it for a time but usually without visible results, for they thinkpositively negatively, telling themselves that they are well while they know
that they are sick. People can become well by choosing to become well, but
they seldom become so the moment after making this choice. It first is
necessary for them to embark upon a program of conditioning their
consciousness into awareness of health. They have become sick because
their consciousness picked up an awareness of sickness; and this must be
cast out, replaced; and the task will not be accomplished in a day. Curiously,
other people sometimes have more ef fect on our subconscious than we
ourselves do. A good hypnotist often is able to ef fect amazing cures. These
are usually temporary, however, because the hypnotist-instilled idea is soon
dissipated and replaced by the prompter that caused illness in the first place. The individual’ s conscious mind put the sickness prompter in the
subconscious and will continue to do so until the pattern of thinking is
changed. Grasping Shadows
 
There is no short and easy road to reconditioning your subconscious. Hypnotism and psychoanalysis are no panaceas. The reconditioning can be
done only by yourself, and it takes concentration and continued ef fort; but
there is always the great consolation that in the end you will be master of
your own life. It is curious how often the things that we set our minds to
evade us. It sometimes seems that the mere act of focusing our attention
upon some objective causes that objective to become impossible to
accomplish. Follow a shadow, it still flies you;
Seem to fly it, it will pursue:
So court a mistress, she denies you;Let her alone; she will court you. — BEN JONSON
 
There is a deep underlying psychological reason why our conscious
purposes are often defeated, and that is because they often are at odds with
our subconscious purposes. If we fail, it is because we subconsciously wish
for failure, even though our conscious minds seem to desire success above
all things. But the conscious mind itself can do nothing; it is always in the
grip of the subconscious. It can only condition the subconscious and
thereby receive its cooperation in the accomplishment of conscious
objectives. All decisions are made subconsciously, and if we do not fight
them, they are made swiftly and easily. Attempting to make our choices
consciously in the heat of action only sets up conflict between the conscious
mind and the subconscious mind, and in the end the choice is made by the
subconscious anyway. If the choices made by the two minds are opposed,
then we may see failure growing out of our ef forts at success, or illness
growing out of our ef forts at health, or hate growing out of our ef forts at
love. The sphere of ef fectiveness that the conscious mind has over the
subconscious is this: by it we can choose consciously to become the sort of
people we would like to be. W e can become courageous and ener getic and
loyal and trustworthy and full of love and kindness and tolerance by the
simple use of conscious conditioning methods, by concentrating our
attention on the things we would like to become, by allowing these
impressions to seep down to subconscious levels via our imagination. If we
do this continually and with regularity, sooner or later we begin to act and
think in just the way that our consciousness is focused upon. W e then are
able to behave in every situation instinctively and naturally, in the manner
we always have desired. W e literally have remade ourselves in the image of
our desires through focusing our attention upon that image and allowing it
to seep down into the subconscious. W e are able to act and think according
to a sense of self that we have made up in our minds. Our power of choice
stems from our power to become, and we are always a reflection of animage that we carry in our minds. W e can become anything we desire by
changing our psychological viewpoint. Clash of Opposites
 
To have a mind is a wondrous thing, but a responsible thing too. Rudyard
Kipling wrote, “There are forty million reasons for failure, but not a single
excuse. ” And when we have come to a realization of the liberating and
creative nature of our minds, we soon are made aware that we are finding in
the world about us the images projected within consciousness. T ake the
time and have the courage to face the fact of the power of your choice. Y ou
have decided everything that has come into your life by taking a mental
stand about it, by allowing that stand to take form and shape in your
subconscious, by your willingness to accept it. If you are rich, you have
accepted an awareness of abundance; if you are poor, you have accepted an
awareness of poverty; if you are well and vigorous, you have accepted an
awareness of health; if you are sick, you have accepted an awareness of
illness. All of life is the clashing of opposites, the black and white of extremes, the
gray area in between. High, low, broad, narrow, dark, light, strength,
weakness — always we choose between them; and through our choices we
make ourselves into the kind of people we become, and shape the events
and circumstances of our lives. No one else is responsible at all, only
ourselves. Choice is always with us. W e make it, and thereby decide our
lives and our fate.
Mastering the knack of performing without thought, by shutting off the thinking of the central self and trusting the wider mind.
What is the key to achieving great performances, according to the text?
The ego and the limitations of human reason.
What is the main obstacle to success, according to the text?
The author emphasizes the importance of intuition in decision-making, stating that it is a natural and essential part of the evolutionary process.
What is the author's view on the importance of intuition in decision-making?
The author views the ego as an illusion and a source of limitation, and advises readers to surrender it to the Secret Self.
What is the author's view on the role of the ego in our lives?
The author advises readers to focus on their mental image, make a clear and decisive choice, and then trust in the power of the Secret Self to manifest their desires.
What is the author's advice for overcoming obstacles and achieving success?