thou wouldst trust in God himself. Thy soul
Is but an emanation from the whole.
“Thou dost not dream what forces lie in thee,
Vast and unfathomed as the grandest sea.
Thy silent mind o'er diamond caves may roll;
Go seek them, but let Pilot Will control
Those passions which thy favoring winds can be.
“No man shall place a limit to thy strength;
Such triumphs as no mortal ever gained
May yet be thine if thou wilt but believe
In thy Creator and in thyself. At length
Some feet will tread all heights now unattained—
Why not thine own? Press onI achieve! achieve!”
When we once touch power, when we once feel the thrill of the great central force which comes from the heart of truth, of being, we shall no longer doubt, no longer hesitate, no longer be satisfied with the superficial, the temporary, the material. When the soul once tastes its native food, once feels the thrill of the infinite pulse, it no longer is content to grovel.
When a man realizes that he is divine, when he sees that he is a part of the everlasting principle which is the very essence of reality, nothing can throw him off his physical or mental balance. He is centred in the everlasting truth, intrenched there in infinite power from the taint of fear, or anxiety, or worry, or accident, because he is conscious that he is principle himself, a part of the eternal verity. The feeling that he is in touch with the power which made and upholds the universe, that nothing can wrench him from this divine presence, gives a sense of security and peace. When he awakens in the morning, refreshed and rejuvenated, he feels that he has been in touch with the divinity that created him; that he has passed the borderland of sense and has come into the presence of an infinite power, an infinite life; that he has been created anew, and hence when he is tired and weary and sad, how he longs to get back to this divine presence, to be made over, to quench his thirst at the great fountain-head of life.
Man will never attain his highest power until he learns that his principle is as indestructible, as impossible of harm, as the laws of mathematics. Suppose all the mathematical books in the world were destroyed by fire, two and two would still make four. The principle itself would not be in the least affected. So when the real man arrives at his dominion, he will not in the least be disturbed by anything that may happen; he will maintain his equanimity, his mental poise, through all sorts of disaster without a tremor. The Creator has not made a mistake; his highest creation is not placed at the mercy of chance or accident.
Serenity of spirit, poise of mind, is one of the last lessons of culture, and comes from a perfect trust in the all-controlling force of the universe. The moment man realizes that he is a part of a great cause, that he is made to dominate and not to be dominated, he will rise to meet every situation in a masterly instead of in a cringing manner.
When he comes to the full realization of his divinity, he will not be thrown from his base, nor will his peace be disturbed in the least by the vexatious happenings which trouble those who have not risen to their dominion, or who have not yet learned the secret of power.
“It is the greatest manifestation of power to be calm,” says Swami Vivekanandis. “It is easy to be active. Let the reins go, and the horses will drag you down. Any one can do that; but he who can stop the plunging horses is the strong man. Which requires the greater strength—letting go, or restraining? The calm man is not the man who is dull. You must not mistake calmness for dulness or laziness. . . . Activity is the manifestation of the lower strength, calmness of the superior strength.”
What have panics, or fires, or financial losses to do with the well-balanced man whom God made?
Suppose I should lose my property, what if my ships, my stores, and my houses should burn up, what has that really to do with me? It is true it may inconvenience me somewhat, and it may take some temporary power from my hand, but I cannot believe that an all-wise Creator has put my real self at the mercy of a panic, a fire, or any such emergency. Some people can so thoroughly impregnate themselves with thoughts of health, harmony, joy, gladness, and peace that accidents, misfortunes, and discordant moods cannot touch them.
I do not believe that the coming man, the ideal man, the man of the highest civilization, would be any more affected by a fire which destroyed his property than the laws of harmony would be affected by the burning up of all the musical instruments in the world.
The coming man will be so much master of his thought that he will be able to make himself one great magnet for attracting only those things which will add to his prosperity and enhance his happiness. He will be able to keep his body in perfect harmony by harboring only the health thought, and knowing how to exclude the disease thought, the sickly thought.
The coming man will always be cheerful, because he will entertain only the thoughts which produce happiness; he will not allow the clouds of worry or anxiety, or the darkness of melancholy, the blackness of jealousy and envy, to enter his mind. He will never mourn, but will always rejoice.
The coming man will no more allow the poisonous thoughts of pessimism, of disease, of wretchedness, of discord, to enter his mind, than he would take poisonous drugs into his stomach. He will be as able to control the kind and quality of his thoughts, as he is able to control the character of the guests he entertains in his home. He will invite only those he wants, only those whose influence he craves, and will exclude the enemy thoughts.
The coming man will not have the word “can’t ” in his vocabulary, for he will not have any doubt in his mind. The coming man will not know fear, which is now the greatest enemy of the human race, for he will not harbor the fear thought, which really results from a feeling of inefficiency, or inability to cope with the exigencies which may arise.
The coming man will always be prosperous because he will not allow the poverty thought, the limitation thought, to enter his mind. He will always hold thoughts of prosperity and abundance.
The coming man will live in an atmosphere of love and joyousness, for he himself will always feel and express love and joy. He will be healthy because soul and mind and body will be in that harmony which is perfect health.
Is it worth nothing to be able to think oneself out of discord into harmony, out of darkness into light, out of hatred into love, out of disease into health? Is it worth nothing to be able to rise into one’s dominion, to reign as a sovereign instead of grovelling as an abject slave? Such an attainment is worthy of the highest aspiration and the greatest effort. What it may mean to an individual is beautifully expressed by Ralph Waldo Trine:
“With this awakening and realization one is brought at once en rapport with the universe. He feels the power and the thrill of life universal. He goes out from his own little garden spot, and mingles with the great universe; and the little perplexities, trials, and difficulties of life that to-day so vex and annoy him, fall away of their own accord by reason of their very insignificance. The intuitions become keener and ever more keen and unerring in their guidance. There comes more and more the power of reading men, so that no harm can come from this source. There comes more and more the power of seeing into the future, so that more and more true becomes the old adage that coming events cast their shadows before. Health in time takes the place of disease; for all disease and its consequent suffering is merely the result of the violation of law, whether consciously or unconsciously. There comes a spiritual power which, as it is sent out, is
