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SELF BUILDING 
 
 THBOUGH COMMON-SENSE METHODS 
 
 BY 
 
 CORRILLA BANISTER 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD 
 
 1904 
 

 OCT 22 1904 
 OooyrfsM Emrv 
 
 OLA83 <^XXo. No. 
 
 I COPY B 
 
 Copyright, 1904, by Corrilla Banister. 
 
 Published November, 1904. • 
 
 All Bights Reserved. 
 
 Self Building. 
 
 NortoooQ $resg 
 
 J. S. Cashing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
11 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 A celebrated preacher once began his ser- 
 mon with these words: "I am standing before 
 you like a tree. Many of you have come with 
 little hatchets, and when you go out of this 
 church some one among you will say, c I did not 
 quite like that remark about card parties/ Out 
 comes your hatchet and off goes the first limb. 
 Another will say, c That remark was not in good 
 taste.' Again the hatchet, and another branch 
 falls; and so on until nothing but the trunk 
 remains." 
 
 Whenever, in my presence, the hatchets of 
 human opinion are raised against a strong, noble 
 oak, I recall those words, and remember that 
 the preacher asked his hearers to bury their 
 hatchets and place themselves in a receptive 
 attitude, that they might be guided aright in 
 the search for truth. 
 
 I was made whole in health through these 
 various methods of body building, — physical, 
 mental, and spiritual health alike being devel- 
 
PREFACE 
 
 oped, — and in thankfulness of heart I have felt 
 impelled to point the way to those yet in the 
 shadow, and to help in uplifting the wanderers 
 who are straying in the wilderness of physical 
 misapprehension and error. When you have 
 read the message, I pray that you will go with 
 me through the valleys of sensuous allurements 
 and over the storm-beaten mountains of ill- 
 directed passion and ambition, and gather and 
 bring safely back into the path which leads to 
 life those mistaken and erring ones who know 
 not " the peace of God, which passeth all under- 
 standing." 
 
 If we do this with our hearts full of love, we 
 have the promise that we shall see the glorious 
 face of the Master-Shepherd, and be received 
 into the heavenly fold, for He said, " Inasmuch 
 as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
 my brethren, ye have done it unto me." 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTSK FAOK 
 
 I. Physical Perfection 7 
 
 IT. Freedom 20 
 
 III. Food 35 
 
 IV. Vibration 52 
 
 V. Simple Living ....... 63 
 
 VI. Bathing 78 
 
 VII. Environment 89 
 
 VIII. Correspondence . 106 
 
 IX. Radiations 112 
 
 X. Color 126 
 
 XI. Concentration 140 
 
 XII. Meditation 158 
 
 XIII. Breathing 172 
 
 XIV. Harmony 188 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 THROUGH COMMON-SENSE METHODS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 IN these days of advanced ideas we know that 
 a person must possess a perfect physical body 
 before the brain can do its best work. Spiritual 
 unfoldment depends largely upon the ability of 
 the brain to reason correctly. As threefold be- 
 ings, physical, mental, and spiritual, living in the 
 physical body, we inherit great powers, which we 
 are not manifesting, but which will come into 
 activity when we mentally demand wisdom and 
 attain a more spiritual plane. We have to learn 
 the import of the words of the Master, spoken 
 nineteen hundred years ago, before we can teach 
 those "which have eyes, and see not; which 
 have ears, and hear not." 
 
 The best inheritance that a mother can give her 
 child is a " sound mind in a sound body." The 
 brain, stationed in the citadel on the hill, has 
 
 7 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 authority over its officers and men, — the nerves 
 and muscles, — and it must act before a single 
 voluntary muscular movement can be made. In 
 beginning with Physical Culture, we are really 
 taking the first step towards strengthening and 
 increasing the power of the active brain fluids. 
 By exercising the different muscles of the body 
 three times daily we learn mental concentration, 
 which most persons lack to an alarming degree. 
 Physical culture is brain culture, inasmuch as 
 physical inharmony is largely due to the 
 deterioration of the gray matter which we so 
 thoughtlessly abuse and waste. 
 
 Many years ago I visited a wonderfully pre- 
 served woman who practised and taught Physical 
 Culture. She kept old age at bay, seeming to 
 grow more beautiful with advancing years. At 
 the age of sixty-two she was as lithe and supple 
 as a girl of twenty, with cheeks that rivalled the 
 roses on her table. She showed me a photograph 
 of herself taken before she gave her attention to 
 Physical Culture, and it did not seem possible 
 that the brilliant woman who stood before me 
 could have been the thin, round-shouldered, dull- 
 eyed invalid shown in the photograph. 
 
 Her terms excluded all but the wealthy, and 
 although my desire to acquire this health-giving 
 
 8 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 power was strong, I felt that I must wait, and 
 hope that the future would bring the teacher. 
 
 As if in answer to the thought, Dr. C , of 
 
 New York, came to my house in search of board. 
 He was forming a private class in Physical Cul- 
 ture for the instruction of ladies, and this class 
 was to be held in a club-house not more than a 
 block from my home. He agreed to teach me 
 in return for his board. When I began the class 
 work I located at once the weak spot in my 
 body, which some of our best physicians had been 
 unable to do ; and I met numbers of women at 
 the gymnasium who had also been helped. The 
 wife of a wealthy ranchman was cured of a cough 
 in a few weeks ; children with spinal troubles 
 seemed to grow better with each lesson; and I 
 deplored the fact that this opportunity was not 
 open to the poor. 
 
 A Russian lady came to Boston not long ago 
 to teach the art of attaining youthful health and 
 vigor. From her face one would judge her to be 
 a woman of thirty-five, while her body seemed 
 to belong to a girl of eighteen; she was really 
 seventy-five years old. Her beauty was a strong 
 argument in favor of her method of Physical 
 Culture for retaining mental and physical powers 
 in their original strength and activity. 
 
 9 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work to give 
 in detail any particular course to be followed, 
 but I will point out a few general principles upon 
 which to act. Physical Culture does not mean 
 athletic training; it is a persistent effort to 
 reach physical perfection through our daily 
 activities. The average individual uses certain 
 muscles, neglecting others, and the province of 
 gymnastic exercise is to bring the whole body 
 into harmony by training the disused mem- 
 bers. 
 
 For instance, the ball-and-socket joints require 
 daily exercise to keep the lime deposits from 
 accumulating. When old people complain of 
 stiff fingers and knees, it means that in the past 
 they have not taken sufficient exercise to prevent 
 these accumulations. Proper exercise, coupled 
 with copious drinking of pure water, will tend 
 to keep this old-age matter washed away. Dis- 
 tilled water is said to be the best beverage for 
 grown people, because of its freedom from 
 calcareous substances. 
 
 An artist in Maiden, Massachusetts, told me 
 that for years her neck had been stiff, rendering 
 it almost impossible for her to turn her head 
 from side to side. While at the World's Fair, 
 in Chicago, she visited the art rooms, which were 
 
 10 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 crowded, and, being unable to turn her whole 
 body freely when she wished to look at some 
 particular object she was compelled to attempt 
 to turn her head in spite of the pain the move- 
 ment caused. To her surprise the stiffness 
 disappeared within two weeks, and the trouble 
 has not returned. The constant exercise of the 
 muscles and tendons of the neck accomplished 
 for her what many physicians, with their blisters, 
 lotions, and tonics, had failed to do. This was 
 certainly a pleasant method of healing. 
 
 In all our cities are places where the Swedish 
 movements are used in the treatment of disease. 
 Machinery does the work of masseurs, and all 
 hospitals should be provided with proper facili- 
 ties for such treatment. 
 
 Certain exercises should be taken each day 
 according to our several needs. The force of 
 gravity is constantly pulling the organs down- 
 ward, and we should raise them by bringing the 
 body into line many times daily. Easy-fitting 
 garments should always be worn. 
 
 Walk down Huntington Avenue, Boston, and 
 you will see a large number of institutes devoted 
 to healing by osteopathy. Its adherents claim 
 that nearly all forms of disease are caused by 
 abnormal pressure occasioned by some form of 
 
 11 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 spinal curvature, and the osteopath's method 
 of cure is by treating the portion of the spine 
 governing the affected part of the body. In 
 New England this method is very popular. 
 Many like methods of cure might be cited, 
 among which is one that involves the manipula- 
 tion and spreading of the toes. 
 
 A well-known teacher of the principles of 
 Delsarte, who had been an invalid for many 
 years, was urged by a friend to try osteopathy. 
 Being unable to leave her room, she could not go 
 into a class, but she wrote to one of the best 
 teachers to learn her terms. The answer was, 
 " One hundred dollars a day." Despite the 
 almost prohibitive price she resolved to make 
 the trial, and the result was that after one day's 
 lessons and a few months' application she 
 became well and happy. She could not stay 
 idly at home when so many sick women wanted 
 the help which she could give, and in the name 
 of the one Source of Light she is now teaching 
 most earnestly the highest form of devotional 
 muscular movements of the human body ; that 
 is, concentration upon some helpful thought 
 while taking exercise. 
 
 A proper spinal poise is essential at all times. 
 I once heard a lady remark that she dated her 
 
 12 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 spiritual development from the day that she was 
 taught how to hold her body in line. When sit- 
 ting, keep spine, back of neck, and the shoulders 
 in a perfectly straight line. This will prevent 
 undue pressure from falling on any one part of 
 the spine. In the daily work of a stenographer, 
 typewriter, or sewing-machine operator, an erect 
 position will be found both easy and healthful. 
 The most rapid stenographer I have known, one 
 who has done marvellously heavy work, tells me 
 that her strength was retained by keeping her 
 body in perfect line. When riding in a car do 
 not lean back against the seat, as you thus deplete 
 your strength by throwing the pressure on the 
 lower part of the spine. Once, on my way to 
 give a lesson, a young lady in the same car 
 begged me to lean back and rest. I answered, 
 " No, I cannot afford to give my strength to the 
 electric car; it has enough power without taking 
 mine." 
 
 To gain poise of body, stand perfectly straight, 
 lift the arms to a level with the shoulders, and 
 draw in a deep, noiseless breath, at the same 
 time rising on the balls of the feet ; come down, 
 gently exhaling, and bring the arms gradually to 
 the side. Be careful to keep the heels from 
 touching the . floor, and balance yourself upon 
 
 13 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 the balls of your feet. Practise this exercise just 
 before eating. 
 
 For the head : turn to right and left ; bend for- 
 ward, sideways, and backward. 
 
 For the shoulders and chest : place hands in a 
 horizontal position at the chest, raise elbows to a 
 level with the shoulders, and stretch back, then 
 fling vigorously to the side outwardly, allowing 
 the arms to stretch to their utmost extent. Bring 
 the hands back to the chest, and repeat the fling- 
 ing movement. Also, place the hands at the arm- 
 pits with the elbows drawn closely to the waist, 
 and stretch upward, forward, sideways, and down- 
 ward. The first movement may be taken with 
 deep breathing. 
 
 For the abdomen : holding the chest well up, 
 and hands clasping the waist, bend the trunk 
 forward, sideways, and backward, letting the for- 
 ward movement counteract the backward, and 
 never allowing the backward movement to be too 
 great a strain. 
 
 Take a standing position, and lower the 
 body so that the heels nearly touch the hips. 
 Rise slowly. 
 
 For the lungs : inhale deeply, lifting the arms, 
 slowly counting five, keeping the mouth closed. 
 Exhale in like manner. Fill lungs and walk five 
 
 14 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 steps while holding the breath, five steps exhal- 
 ing, and five steps with the lungs empty. Repeat 
 five times. 
 
 Always breathe through the nose. Catarrh 
 and kindred diseases can be avoided if one is 
 careful to breathe through the nostrils even dur- 
 ing conversation. The passages in the nose are 
 constructed for the warming and sifting of the 
 air which we draw in, and many scientists con- 
 tend that one cannot take a contagious disease 
 if this precaution is used. The method of vibrat- 
 ing the muscles is perhaps the quickest form of 
 energizing the body. 
 
 In physical exercise of any sort, endeavor to 
 enjoy it. Rejoice that you live in this beautiful 
 world, and are given bodies adapted to the life 
 you must lead. See the advantage of each 
 exercise, for it must be appreciated to be ex- 
 hilarating. 
 
 A constant supply of pure, fresh air is 
 invaluable. Let nothing impure remain in or 
 about your dwelling, and every occupied apart- 
 ment, especially sleeping rooms, should be 
 ventilated day and night. Be cleanly in your 
 personal habits ; the whole surface of the body 
 should be often bathed in water at about blood 
 heat. Exercise is necessary to the health of the 
 
 15 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 body. It is a law of being that the powers of 
 both body and mind are strengthened by use 
 and weakened by disuse. Rest is essential to 
 both body and mind. Besides the time devoted 
 to sleep, there should be hours of entire relief 
 from all sorts of obligation to do anything, — 
 when you can be still and muse, and seek diver- 
 sion and recreation. Temperance is a binding 
 law of health. Everything the All-Father- 
 Mother has made is good in design and orderly 
 fulfilment, but good becomes evil by misuse, 
 therefore be temperate in all things. 
 
 Lack of health is usually the result of some 
 wilful violation of nature's laws. The renewal 
 of the mind is most important. Physical culture 
 is the primary form of mental culture. Illustrat- 
 ing this truth, an Oriental teacher of psychology 
 said : " Twice a day rest quietly upon your backs, 
 stretched full length, and practise mental gym- 
 nastics by throwing the full current of your 
 thoughts upon the outlines of your body ; begin 
 at the soles of your feet — up one side and down 
 the other — until you come to those vital organs, 
 the heart and solar plexus. Think of the latter 
 as radiating perfect spiritual and physical har- 
 mony through the entire structure." He also 
 stated that the above method is helpful in case 
 
 16 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 of illness, because a strong positive mental cur- 
 rent concentrated upon a weak organ, command- 
 ing the unruly member to do its work, will 
 certainly send the blood rushing to the rescue, 
 and thus stimulate the weak organ to a more 
 harmonious action. 
 
 Not long ago the daily press was calling 
 attention to the marvellous healing powers 
 exercised by a professional healer who gave 
 public exhibitions in one of the most widely 
 known church edifices in Boston. Being desi- 
 rous of witnessing the manifestations at first 
 hand, I went early and secured a seat in the 
 front row of chairs directly opposite the plat- 
 form. The first case will serve for my illustra- 
 tion. A man claiming to be sixty-five years old 
 came haltingly forward. He said that twelve 
 years before he had lost the power to lift or use 
 his right hand and arm, and, of course, he had 
 not been able to do a day's work in all those 
 years. The healer was a man of powerful 
 physique, teeming with animal magnetism. 
 First he gently stroked the helpless arm, then 
 his blows grew heavier and heavier, and when 
 the patient manifested signs of pain, the healer 
 said : " Grit your teeth and bear it, for I'm mak- 
 ing this arm do its duty. When you can no 
 
 17 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 longer stand the pain, open your mouth and yell, 
 then I'll work all the harder, for I shall know 
 that we are getting at the weak spot which held 
 your arm a cripple. " In spite of the groans the 
 operator lifted the elbow higher and higher, 
 stretched the arm up and down, and passed the 
 hand in a circle around the patient's head until 
 the old-age deposits were broken away. Before 
 the patient left the platform he lifted his arm 
 and used his hand for the first time in twelve 
 years. 
 
 Will to be well, then work to throw off physi- 
 cal inharmony, and you can accomplish for your- 
 self what the healer did for his patient. 
 
 A boy in Maiden had the measles. His little 
 sister affirmed that she was not going to take the 
 measles, and she escaped. Later in the school 
 season he caught scarlet fever, but the little girl 
 was firmer than before in her refusal to have 
 fever just because other children were having it. 
 She has escaped all the neighborhood ills, and 
 the grown-up people asked their ministers if it 
 were true that a child's will could ward off 
 disease. 
 
 "A sound mind in a sound body" is the high- 
 est exponent of the Divine upon earth. The 
 duty you owe your body is of very great impor- 
 
 18 
 
PHYSICAL PERFECTION 
 
 tance, second only to the duty you owe your 
 mind. Therefore particular attention should be 
 paid to both, for ability to think and reason 
 depends largely upon the physical condition. 
 
 19 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 FREEDOM 
 
 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, 
 neither do they spin : 
 
 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory 
 was not arrayed like one of these. 
 
 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to- 
 day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
 more clothe you, O ye of little faith ? — Matt. vi. 28-30. 
 
 TO the frivolous slave of fashion the burning 
 question is, " What shall I wear ? " and the 
 same question should receive its meed of atten- 
 tion from the thoughtful ones of earth. The 
 Master, in the words quoted above, gives us a 
 hint as to how important a place our garments 
 should take in our thought. We cannot be as 
 the lilies of the field literally, but so far as we 
 can follow nature's laws, and send out vibrations 
 of harmony and peace, so far should we "take no 
 thought " for raiment. Surely the day is not 
 far distant when the simple garments of earlier 
 days will be worn by all, and the pioneers in the 
 movement of dress reform will have ceased to be 
 targets for the scoffers. 
 
 20 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 Let us " begin at the top " and consider our 
 head-covering. Some one has remarked that a 
 little woman in a big head-covering unconsciously 
 proclaims that she wishes to increase her person- 
 ality. The brain is the ruler of the entire body, 
 therefore we must not stifle it with heavy hats 
 or bonnets, but wear light, well-ventilated cover- 
 ings over that organ. Many thinkers are now 
 teaching that hat and hair pins are very injurious 
 because of their pressure upon certain nerves. 
 At fashionable summer resorts women dispense 
 with hats entirely, going to entertainments and 
 tramping over the country with uncovered heads. 
 The sun is good, and they know the value of 
 light and air. Another thing is noticeable : no 
 one comes to the metaphysical schools decorated 
 with feathers or birds or with anything which 
 has caused pain or loss of life to a fellow-creature, 
 for the law which rules humanitarians is that of 
 love. I always grieve to see a woman with an 
 aigrette on her hat, for then I remember that 
 five little lives went out by slow starvation, and 
 one by violence, to furnish those soft, waving 
 feathers. In Florida two hundred thousand little 
 mothers are slaughtered each year in the nesting 
 season to furnish those much-sought ornaments. 
 These feathers grow in that season, and the 
 
 21 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 mother is shot just after the little ones are 
 hatched. 
 
 I once heard the Secretary of the Woman's 
 Suffrage League tell why her life had been given 
 to the Suffrage movement. Among many inci- 
 dents connected therewith she stated that at one 
 time she went to hear a humanitarian lecture, 
 wearing a bonnet with aigrettes on the side. 
 After hearing of these little mother-birds of 
 Florida, she went to her hotel and removed the 
 offending ornaments, her cheeks flushed with 
 shame at the thought that while working to 
 free her enslaved sisters, she was herself a party 
 to the murder of one of the least of them. Her 
 bonnet was not so fashionable, but her conscience 
 was clearer than when she was decked in stolen 
 plumage. 
 
 Taste and individuality may be exercised in 
 the manufacture of a bonnet, but let it show 
 that you are on the side of peace and love for 
 all things. A gentleman who belonged to a 
 Humanitarian Club told me that each member 
 was pledged to offer his seat in the cars to any 
 woman who wore a hat or bonnet free from the 
 plumage of birds. 
 
 Again, it has been proven by the best phy- 
 sicians that many of our throat and lung troubles 
 
 22 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 come from overheating this part of the body. 
 When the furs or feathers are removed, a chill 
 comes from the sudden closing of the pores. 
 
 Miss C was studying music abroad. She 
 
 contracted a throat trouble. While in Paris she 
 consulted an eminent specialist, who asked, im- 
 mediately after his examination of her throat, 
 if she wore furs. She told him that she was 
 wearing them for the first time in her life. 
 Treating her case with common-sense instead of 
 physic, he ordered her to leave off all her feathers 
 and furs, and to wear a thin net covering over 
 her chest and throat. 
 
 Surely the day is not far distant when men will 
 refuse to wear heavy, stiff, closely woven felt 
 hats which cause baldness, and will demand that 
 their head coverings be made of thin, well-venti- 
 lated material. Men of the Orient wear silk 
 scarfs wound about their heads, because they have 
 learned from experience that the hair, acting like 
 lightning-rods, gathers electrical vitality from the 
 atmosphere, and conducts it into the system for 
 the use of the brain and nerves. Those who are 
 inclined to question the above statement will 
 please remember that Samson lost his strength 
 when shorn of his hair. 
 
 Fashion is indeed a fickle mistress, and at all 
 23 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 times a hard one to serve. In India she has even 
 forced the women to burn themselves upon the 
 funeral pyres of their husbands. For a long time 
 we thought it was their religion which impelled 
 them to such a sacrifice, but now we know that 
 it was the goddess Fashion, at whose shrine so 
 many American women bow in reverence. 
 
 The bondage of corsets is little less than a slow 
 torture, far less merciful than that which the 
 heathen women endured. 
 
 When the great English reform writer, Charles 
 Reade, gave to the world " A Simpleton," he did 
 more to help the women of his country than all 
 the surgery taught or practised by Dr. Tate. 
 Had Parliament acted upon the question as it 
 did when " Hard Cash " called attention to the 
 evils of private insane asylums, it might have 
 passed a law forbidding the manufacture, sale, 
 or importation of corsets. What a pity the 
 Queen does not require English maidens to read 
 the book before leaving boarding-school or being 
 presented at Court ! She would thus do much to 
 aid in the development of women. 
 
 Undoubtedly most of the troubles peculiar to 
 women would be avoided, and the now crowded 
 hospitals be turned into schools for body-building, 
 if the overworked surgeons were paid a salary 
 
 24 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 to keep their patients in health, and were obliged 
 to return the same to the patient for any day's 
 illness. This custom prevails in some countries, 
 and we in America will certainly adopt it in time. 
 Then physicians will teach their patients the size 
 and location of the solar or epigastric plexus, and 
 the evil which must follow from pressure upon 
 it. Let me suggest that you borrow from your 
 physician the latest book on the subject of this 
 vital region. 
 
 When the day arrives when all garments are 
 hung from the shoulders, Bulwer's " Coming 
 Race " will be a reality. Then nature will have 
 a chance to renew the organs which are now 
 pressed out of their proper positions, and we 
 shall be able to resist the law of gravitation 
 which tends to pull the vital organs down, and 
 to lift them to their proper poise. We often 
 wonder why Mrs. Folly or Miss Fashion died at 
 forty-five instead of eighty ; and the answer is, 
 Because of the tight, heavy clothing which pulled 
 and pressed out of place the vital organs of her 
 body. Consequently, instead of going through 
 nature's change without ache or pain, the half- 
 paralyzed body succumbed when the life current 
 could no longer pass freely up and down. 
 
 Can we improve God's idea of the beautiful in 
 25 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 the human form ? No. Let us then free our- 
 selves from the worship of the goddess Fashion. 
 Harmony of being will enter the temple not 
 made with hands when the heart — the altar 
 of love — beats in freedom, sending messages 
 of strength to nerves, bones, and muscles. We 
 cannot be spiritually poised with our brain force 
 depleted by half. If perfectly centred physi- 
 cally, mentally, and spiritually, we show no signs 
 of advancing age or sickness or the desire for 
 mere money or position, which endure but for 
 a season. 
 
 I cannot refrain from giving a friend's experi- 
 ence with corsets. For years she had been an in- 
 valid. At the earnest request of her husband she 
 discarded them, and at once her health improved 
 wonderfully. However, when her friends ordered 
 the gowns which she was to wear as a widow, 
 she was persuaded to return to servitude. They 
 argued that she did not look well without them. 
 She pleaded that her health had vastly improved, 
 and that her husband's wish had been that she 
 should not wear such death-dealing instruments ; 
 but it was five to one, and her arguments proved 
 futile. When she returned home, her body was 
 again incased in steel and bones. She felt that 
 she should pay dearly for yielding to the impor- 
 
 26 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 tunities of her fashionable friends, and, sure 
 enough, a return to invalidism was the result. 
 
 A mother sent her strong, healthy daughter 
 to her fashionable relatives, that she might 
 receive instruction and advantages not to be 
 secured in her village home. What was the 
 mother's surprise upon meeting her child again 
 to find her dressed like a fashion plate, — waist 
 seventeen inches, feet incased in high-heeled 
 shoes much too small, and her fair face covered 
 with powder. She no longer walked with the 
 free step of an Indian maiden, and her first 
 thought was one of shame that her mother was 
 not dressed in the height of fashion. Her face 
 was an open book to her mother's tear-stained 
 eyes. Had her home been desolated that her 
 daughter might be made a stylish woman ? She 
 soon discovered that the poor girl was ill, being 
 obliged to remain out of school for two or three 
 days each month. She went to visit a girl friend 
 in another part of the state. This girl had de- 
 veloped heart disease, and a great specialist had 
 ordered that the weight of all her clothing come 
 upon her shoulders — nothing to be worn around 
 the waist. Her gowns were very attractive, and 
 the visiting friend was persuaded to adopt that 
 form of dress, as a constant pain in her left side 
 
 27 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 indicated the same form of heart trouble. She 
 soon grew well, never spending a day in bed, 
 playing tennis, and driving about the country 
 as in her childhood days. At the end of a year 
 she again visited her relatives, and their dismay 
 at her wrappers, as they were pleased to call her 
 dainty empire gowns, cannot be described. They 
 refused to allow her to appear in public until she 
 should have " decent " garments made. In vain 
 she explained that she had been free from pain 
 and illness since laying aside tight garments. 
 The stronger will of her elders triumphed, and 
 she yielded. Soon the old sufferings returned, 
 and she has since passed through hours of agony 
 not to be described. She is to-day a nervous 
 invalid. 
 
 I once asked a female physician, " Why do so 
 many women become almost deformed at the 
 age of forty-five or fifty, their abdomens becom- 
 ing so prominent?" She promptly answered: 
 " Because of a partial paralysis of the abdominal 
 muscles, induced by constant pressure of the 
 whalebone and steel of the corset. The slight- 
 est movement of the body brings these unyield- 
 ing substances to bear upon the abdominal 
 region ; the muscles are impeded in their work, 
 and being relaxed from non-use are no longer 
 
 28 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 able to sustain the weight of the bowels. Con- 
 sequently, they permit the attraction of gravi- 
 tation to have its way, and pull the organs 
 earthward. Because of this pressure, the poor, 
 foolish creatures must endure their gross 
 forms. " 
 
 No slight attention should be given to foot- 
 wear. Long ago, so it is said, a certain Pope 
 had a beautiful boy gilded that he might imper- 
 sonate a golden statue in a grand fete. In a 
 few hours the child died, on account of the clos- 
 ing of the pores. Air, the life-giver, was shut 
 away from his skin. In like manner, people of 
 to-day are injured by the close shoes which they 
 wear. Ask your physician what the results are 
 of keeping the air from any part of the body. 
 He will tell you that too little care is given to 
 this subject. All shoes should be ventilated. 
 Some dealers supply a ventilated shoe to cus- 
 tomers desiring such, and it is possible to have 
 the little eyelets made just above the instep by 
 the shoemaker. 
 
 Fashion is a potent factor in the matter of 
 shoes as well as corsets, and many deformed 
 feet were the result of the "needle-point" shoes 
 once so fashionable. W^ak-minded persons are 
 often ashamed of the size of their feet, and crowd 
 
 29 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 them into shoes much too small. Apart from 
 the injury to the flesh, corns and bunions are 
 the final result from undue pressure, and the 
 internal injury cannot be estimated. With the 
 circulation impeded, whether it be in the feet or 
 elsewhere, injury to the vital organs is likely to 
 result. 
 
 A friend told me that for two or three months 
 she had suffered from a pain in her leg which 
 immediately disappeared when she removed the 
 suspenders which she had worn during that time. 
 Tight sleeves often cause pain in the chest ; tight 
 shoes frequently cause headaches, and even 
 finger rings have been known to cause serious 
 trouble. I met a lady who described a fainting 
 fit she had had after witnessing an accident. 
 The doctor who was summoned to resuscitate 
 her assured her that she had chronic heart dis- 
 ease, and prescribed rest and change. I asked 
 several questions concerning her case, and in- 
 quired if she had walked much just before dinner. 
 She said that she had walked across the town, 
 then had returned, and eaten her dinner in great 
 haste that she might attend to another errand 
 later. She had not changed her tight gown, 
 made according to the dressmaker's idea of 
 beauty. Her waist measured twenty-four inches, 
 
 30 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 and her weight was one hundred and sixty-five 
 pounds. Last of all, her wedding ring, made 
 for a slender young girl, still encircled her 
 finger, and was embedded in the flesh. Acting 
 upon my advice she removed her tight garments, 
 and had her ring cut from her finger, and no 
 return of the heart trouble has been noticed 
 since. Many a headache will pass away when 
 the tight, high collar is removed. These articles 
 of feminine and masculine dress are exceedingly 
 injurious because of their pressure on the spine 
 at a vital point. 
 
 Circulation is also retarded by doing the hair 
 tightly. It should hang loosely when in the 
 house that the " lightning-rods/' as the Ralston- 
 ites designate the hairs, may gather magnetism 
 for the brain and nervous system. 
 
 At a dinner where the ladies were all talking 
 on the subject of dress, I heard a Southern gentle- 
 man say, " that the ladies of my family could 
 grow feathers like the birds ! " Then thinking 
 a moment he added, " Yet they would import 
 famous European artists to decorate their plum- 
 age, and after all it is as cheap, perhaps, to buy 
 fashionable clothes." Such a remark should 
 lead the thoughtful woman to ask herself if it is 
 right to give so much of her time and money to 
 
 31 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 so insignificant and trifling a matter as rich 
 apparel. Her time could be better expended 
 in seeking after higher things, such as reading 
 helpful books, expressing the thoughts of great 
 minds of all lands, or seeking in God's world for 
 the wonderful works of His hands, thereby en- 
 riching her mind and heart that she might give 
 more abundantly of her spiritual gifts to those 
 in need of cheer and comfort everywhere. Her 
 money could be better expended in supplying 
 the temporal wants of her needy fellow-men. 
 Her own father or husband might be the first 
 to receive of the blessings she had to bestow; 
 at least, she might keep them from an everlast- 
 ing grind after money, money, money, in order 
 that her wants might be supplied. Let dress be 
 a vital question to her, but only in so far as it 
 contributes to the health and happiness of her 
 fellow-mortals. 
 
 My plea is for loose garments hung from the 
 shoulders. Union underwear is now common, 
 and should always be worn if possible, as it does 
 away with the harmful waistband. Wool should 
 never be worn next to the body. Cotton, linen, 
 or silk, thin-meshed, is best at all seasons of the 
 year. Care should be taken in the selection of 
 stockings ; they should be loose, and always white 
 
 32 
 
FREEDOM 
 
 or cream-colored. The coloring matter in hosiery 
 is easily absorbed by the skin, and cases have 
 been known where lameness has been caused by 
 this coloring matter. The pores in the soles of 
 the feet are large, and absorb foreign substances 
 easily. On one occasion I placed sulphur in my 
 stockings as a preventive of la grippe, and the 
 yellow color was soon deposited on my handker- 
 chief when I wiped the perspiration from my 
 hands. Let all clothing be light in weight and 
 pretty in color. 
 
 This brings me to the consideration of the 
 subject of mourning. I wish to emphasize this. 
 Mourning should never be worn, for it affects 
 sensitives in the most cruel manner, bringing 
 them into touch with vibrations of grief and 
 sorrow. Do not permit yourself to indulge in 
 woe because a loved one has taken a journey 
 when too negative to remain in the physical 
 body. I once visited a parish where it was the 
 custom for widows to wear caps and heavy black 
 veils for the balance of their lives. I have heard 
 them boast that they had worn these weeds of 
 woe for fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years. 
 The church looked like a huge nunnery, and I 
 was shocked and extremely depressed as I looked 
 over the congregation, Mothers often do more 
 
 33 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 harm to their children by wearing sombre gar- 
 ments than they can undo in years of effort. 
 
 Let us "think on these things/ ' and reach 
 out for a better understanding, that we may be 
 able, even by our dress, to help others unfold 
 spiritually. 
 
 34 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 FOOD 
 
 T"TTE must take reasonable thought for what 
 V V we eat and drink. The idea should be 
 constantly held in mind that if we wish to be 
 free from bondage to our physical appetites 
 and desires, we must cease to eat and drink for 
 the mere gratification of our senses. We should 
 confine ourselves to the use of that kind of food 
 which enlightened observation and experience 
 show to be best adapted to the building up of 
 pure, healthful, and vigorous physical temples 
 wherein the "soul may peacefully dwell.' ' By 
 drinking pure water, and eating pure glame- 
 filled 1 products of the tree and soil in which 
 are no vibrations of terror and mortal anguish, 
 we can hope to attain to a oneness with the 
 Infinite and become truly illumined. 
 
 Shall we live to eat or eat to live ? That 
 class of people which gives a large share of 
 attention to the pleasures of the table is most 
 
 1 Glame : that which is nature's life-giving principle — a 
 word coined by the Ralston s. 
 
 35 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 subject to the encroachment of disease, and its 
 members lose ground spiritually in proportion to 
 their devotion to such pleasures; while those 
 who make a practice of eating such things as 
 feed their bodies in the best possible manner 
 have health, perfect teeth, and agreeable dis- 
 positions. 
 
 I have seen people who were conscious of such 
 inner light that even the blindest might read the 
 message written on the physical. The source 
 of that light is love — love for all our fellow- 
 creatures, and love for the poor, dumb brutes, 
 because they both think and feel in a way. 
 Many years ago there came to my house a man 
 and his wife in search of board. They mentioned 
 the fact that they were Theosophists, and would 
 require for food neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. I 
 wanted them to explain their religion, and their 
 answer was : " We believe in Universal Brother- 
 hood as taught by the Master, Christ of Naza- 
 reth ; for all men were his brothers through his 
 oneness with the Creator. We would guard 
 even the sparrow, whose fall is marked by our 
 common Father. All things which breathe the 
 breath of life are sacred to us. We do not wish 
 to kill, neither do we desire others to destroy 
 life that we may eat." 
 
 36 
 
FOOD 
 
 This seemed ideal, but I very much feared 
 they would starve at my house, where meat was 
 eaten three times a day. They assured me that 
 vegetarians require less food than their carniv- 
 orous brothers. The man worked under great 
 strain to both brain and nerve, and I believed 
 they would succumb in a week, but to my 
 surprise they remained in health. On one 
 occasion I remonstrated with them, but they 
 declared that they would rather die than eat of 
 their fellow-creatures. 
 
 Mr. George Francis Train, the " citizen of the 
 world/' had a complexion like that of a girl of 
 sixteen, eyes bright, and step firm and free at 
 eighty. Mr. Train believed that the time is 
 near at hand of which his friend Bulwer wrote 
 in the " Coming Race." Vril means will, which 
 is created by a healthy brain in a perfect body — 
 soul-growth developed through a clean life full 
 of kindness and love for one's fellow-creatures 
 both great and small. 
 
 In San Francisco a large number of people 
 were stricken with a mysterious ailment. In- 
 vestigation proved that they had eaten meat 
 from the same butcher's shop. When the city 
 authorities questioned the butcher, they were 
 told that the meat was from a fine old steer ; 
 
 37 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 that the creature fought for his life to the very 
 last, seeming to realize that his case was one of 
 killing or being killed. Pain, fear, and rage had 
 poisoned the meat, and had seriously affected 
 those who ate it. Were we to witness the kill- 
 ing of the innocent creatures in the abattoirs 
 or in the small establishments of the country 
 butchers, we could not allow ourselves to become 
 parties to such frightful deeds. 
 
 We ought to avoid the eating of flesh, from a 
 purely humanitarian standpoint; but it can be 
 proved that health and strength can be better 
 preserved for an indefinite period without it. 
 Let us see. Wheat contains almost the exact 
 proportion of food elements necessary to the 
 nutrition of the human body. Southern corn 
 has a slight predominance of heat-producing 
 elements ; barley a still greater predominance 
 of carbonates, or heat producers. Wheat or 
 Southern corn used by itself will indefinitely 
 prolong life, barley with eggs will do the same. 
 The nitrates, given out in such abundance in 
 beef and mutton, are even more plentiful in 
 cheese. A diet of milk, eggs, cereals, whole 
 wheat bread, and cheese will more effectually 
 sustain life in perfection of health than the 
 usual diet met in the homes of the common 
 
 38 
 
FOOD 
 
 people of our land ; namely, meat, potatoes, white 
 bread, and pastry, all of which abound in heat- 
 producing qualities, and cause a thousand-and- 
 one skin diseases. I do not desire to give a 
 statistical table of foods, — you may find one at 
 the office of your physician or at a public library, 
 — but I do desire that you will be led to inquire 
 into this most important matter. 
 
 The food value of nuts is not duly considered. 
 They are rich in proteids, and in reality form an 
 excellent food when prepared in the form of 
 butter to be eaten with whole wheat bread. I 
 heard a man state before the Vegetarian Society 
 of New York that his entire family, consisting 
 of himself, his wife, and four children, had lived 
 all winter on English walnuts, and that they 
 had suffered neither from a day's illness nor 
 even from a slight cold. He was a picture 
 of health, strength, and beauty. Was it not 
 Acadia for the housewife ? She had an abun- 
 dance of time for lectures, reading, and outdoor 
 exercise, and she could enjoy a sunset and medi- 
 tate while her neighbor was struggling over a 
 stove. 
 
 I knew an old man who ate raw wheat, bar- 
 ley, fruit, and nuts, taking no cooked food. He 
 stated to me that in a few months after he com- 
 
 39 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 menced this diet a new growth of fine, dark 
 hair came upon his bald head, his eyes grew 
 brighter and stronger, and the lines of age 
 left his face. His appearance was strikingly 
 youthful. 
 
 Captain H , of Maiden, tells me that 
 
 during the many years he sailed on the south- 
 ern seas the sailors who ate nothing but rice, 
 and drank only water, were the ones who best 
 bore the storm and heat. They accomplished 
 more work, and enjoyed better health and 
 temper, than their flesh-eating, grog-drinking 
 companions. 
 
 The plantation negro can work with the ther- 
 mometer registering one hundred and seventeen 
 degrees in the shade without suffering the ills 
 which afflict his white brothers, who live upon 
 rich, animal food, fried chicken, and ices. The 
 poverty of the negro forces him to live all sum- 
 mer on corn bread, sorghum, buttermilk from 
 "ole missy's churn," green fruit which grows 
 near the fences, and the watermelon which 
 ripens in the "dark of the moon." 
 
 The president of the State Humanitarian 
 Society of Connecticut told me that the Italians 
 who did the digging and hardest work done by 
 men in his state ate black bread, and drank 
 
 40 
 
FOOD 
 
 water or beer. Each one occupied fully thirty 
 minutes of his noon rest in devouring a large 
 loaf of bread. I am reminded by this fact of a 
 similar case. The president of the New York, 
 Texas, and Mexican Railroad, himself an Italian, 
 imported his own countrymen to perform the 
 heavy labor in the building of his road. They 
 were not allowed any meat, but plenty of black 
 bread, macaroni, cereals, fruits, and vegetables 
 were supplied. The grade was carried across 
 the marshy plains of southern Texas with 
 scarcely any loss of life. At the same time 
 the death-rate in the construction of the Mem- 
 phis and Little Rock Railroad was calculated as 
 three engineers to each division, with men dying 
 by hundreds. 
 
 My own diet for eighteen months has been as 
 follows : — 
 
 Breakfast, sweet milk and Granose Flakes, or 
 any preparation of wheat rolled and baked. 
 
 Luncheon, Granose Flakes or other baked 
 grain, sweet milk, two Newtons or Fig Bars, 
 four to six English walnuts, and as many dates. 
 
 Supper, baked grain and milk, and, if teach- 
 ing at night followed by ten or twelve miles on 
 an electric car, more nuts and dates. 
 
 Since discarding meat, fish, and sweets, keep- 
 41 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 ing to the above diet, I have not known a day's 
 illness, and am learning to use my brain as 
 never before. Although my home was formerly 
 southern Texas, I spent a winter in a little hall 
 room in New York, never going near a fire 
 except in heated lecture rooms or churches, and 
 have suffered less from the cold than flesh-eaters 
 do. 
 
 Mrs. Bruce, of the Wayside Chapel, Maiden, 
 has lived upon bread and milk for fifteen years. 
 She will gladly tell any one how much better she 
 has been since her stomach has not been taxed 
 to digest heavy food. Many eminent physicians 
 are discarding drugs, and giving more attention 
 to the diet of their patients. A former president 
 of the United States Medical Association would 
 not allow his patients to eat bread made with 
 yeast. Corn bread was ordered. Little salt was 
 allowed to enter into the preparation of any 
 viand, and neither pepper nor vinegar ; milk was 
 the only animal product conceded. 
 
 I took a room in the house of a physician 
 whose success in the treatment of pneumonia and 
 other lung diseases was phenomenal. The diet 
 of a pneumonia patient was three quarts of sweet 
 milk taken in twenty-four hours. This doctor 
 claimed that four quarts in twenty-four hours 
 
 42 
 
FOOD 
 
 would cure tuberculosis, provided the patient had 
 any vitality, as the milk fed the germ, and it, 
 consequently, would not then feed upon the 
 tissues of the lung. A strictly vegetable diet is 
 ordered by doctors for victims of the whiskey or 
 morphine habit. 
 
 When we eat meat we consume a modicum of 
 the excrementitious matter of the animal. Our 
 own bodies are provided with organs for throw- 
 ing off the waste, but we overtax them when we 
 take in the waste matter which the animal had 
 not thrown off before being killed. Fishermen 
 often take large quantities of shell-fish from the 
 mouths of city sewers ; lobsters, in fact, have 
 been called the " swine of the deep," and it is al- 
 most certain that poison can be carried into the 
 human system in this way. Experts have de- 
 clared leprosy to be neither infectious nor con- 
 tagious, but state that it is produced by eating 
 badly cured salt fish; and we know that the 
 disease is peculiar to people who live near the 
 salt water. Why take such risks when we can 
 live upon clean, sweet, pure, glame-laden grains, 
 fruits, and nuts, prepared in the great laboratory 
 of Mother Nature ? 
 
 All women desire to be beautiful. Let them 
 deny themselves the pleasure, if such they deem 
 
 43 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 it, derived from the eating of gross flesh. One of 
 the most prominent women of the South is seventy- 
 three years old. Her eyes are bright, her cheeks 
 like the down of the rose leaf ; she dances with 
 a step as light as that of the youngest debutante, 
 and her brain is as clear as when, fifty years ago, 
 she led Washington society as the wife of a 
 United States senator. She lives almost entirely 
 upon oatmeal, rice, baked apples, and corn bread, 
 drinking unskimmed milk. 
 
 The queen of the Gonzales, a tribe of Spanish 
 gypsies, is a woman of middle age, beautiful in 
 face and form, with few equals mentally. She 
 told me that she had never tasted animal food. 
 
 Another case has come to my notice, and I 
 have followed it with great interest. A farmer's 
 wife in southern Alabama has three daughters : 
 the two older eat animal food, while the young- 
 est refuses to touch it, subsisting mainly on baked 
 apples and buttermilk, never drinking tea or 
 coffee. The contrast between the sisters is re- 
 markable, and the mother is often annoyed by 
 the questions asked by strangers, who cannot 
 believe that the lovely youngest daughter is 
 related in any way to her gross-looking sisters. 
 The mother was heard one day to explain the 
 seeming freak of nature in this way : " My two 
 
 44 
 
FOOD 
 
 older girls live almost entirely upon meat; the 
 youngest cannot be persuaded to touch it. I do 
 believe that is the reason her skin never sun- 
 burns and her hair is so pretty." I have always 
 kept trace of this family, and with added years 
 the change is more marked. The two older 
 women are not now as bright mentally as they 
 were at twelve. They have lived upon the 
 animal plane, and their flesh is coarse-grained 
 and their skins muddy. The youngest is a most 
 progressive woman, who has kept to a clean life, 
 clean food, and clean thoughts, and her soul has 
 better built the house in which she lives. 
 
 Although sweets are said to be nourishing, 
 they should be partaken of sparingly. We 
 have sugar supplied to us in the fruits, and they 
 are always wholesome, but the child who is 
 fed on candy is certain to pay the forfeit in bad 
 teeth and unhealthy skin. As sugar makes 
 fat, we need a certain amount in the compo- 
 sition of our food, but an oversupply must be 
 thrown off, and the usual channel is the skin. 
 A young person of my acquaintance, whose 
 complexion was almost repulsive because of 
 ugly eruptions, was completely cured of the 
 trouble by simply giving up the use of 
 butter and sugar for six months. I remon- 
 
 45 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 strated with, a mother who fed her little son 
 "upon candy, cake, and pie. She replied : " What 
 can I do ? He will have candy four or five 
 times between breakfast and luncheon." I 
 suggested giving malted milk tablets instead 
 of candy, and Granose Flakes and Grape Nuts 
 instead of doughnuts and cake. I told her of 
 a favorite carriage horse that had been killed 
 by giving him sugar several times a day. The 
 mother simply wanted a little instruction. A 
 few hints were enough, and in two weeks the 
 child grew better tempered, the color in his 
 cheeks improved, and he is outgrowing the 
 harm done by his thoughtless mother. 
 
 The need of pure food is hardly greater than 
 that of pure water. In our large cities the 
 water supply is usually from a near-by river or 
 lake. There would be less hopelessness in the 
 situation if the water were from a distance, as 
 then it might be conducted to individual faucets 
 with little contamination from the outside ; but 
 when, as in the case of Philadelphia, the water 
 supply is from a river within the city limits, 
 the danger from filth contamination is great. 
 Those in country places are scarcely more free. 
 In such places the drainage from the house and 
 stables often flows into the wells. Again, in 
 
 46 
 
FOOD 
 
 water pronounced pure by the chemists, there 
 are mineral deposits which are harmful to the 
 adult human being. 
 
 At birth a child's bones are soft, but in time 
 they become hardened by the lime contained in 
 the water and food which is taken. When 
 adult age is reached, the bones need a very 
 small amount of the ash necessary to keep them 
 strong. An excess of this so-called old-age 
 matter is deposited in the tissues, and a slow 
 process of ossification begins. Then perfectly 
 pure water should be taken. This is supplied 
 in fruits in considerable quantities, yet more is 
 necessary. Many fine springs are supplying 
 this product, and it is to be hoped that some 
 day cities will furnish it free to all. Marvellous 
 self-control develops when we free our bodies. 
 Exercise combined with plentiful draughts of 
 pure water displaces the old particles, allows 
 the rebuilding of new ones, and enables us to 
 obtain the best circulation of the blood. All 
 the body muscles are nourished by the blood- 
 vessels, and regulated by the nerves. One of 
 the muscles, the heart, beats about thirty mill- 
 ion times a year, and we must give Mother 
 Nature all the aid possible, so that the renewal 
 of the physical body every few weeks, brought 
 
 47 " 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 about by our manner of life, may be such that 
 these temples of the soul may be more enduring 
 and fit for better service. 
 
 When we have advanced to a certain spiritual 
 plane, perhaps we shall no longer desire to pam- 
 per our animal appetites, and then the question 
 will be, " What will aid in my spiritual unfold- 
 ment ? " Could one of our leading philosophers 
 have sent out those soul-awakening teachings 
 with which his books are filled had he fed his 
 body upon gross animal food? He says, "A 
 man can teach only as high as he lives.' ' 
 
 A sad case came to my notice a short time 
 ago. In New England a delicate, refined white 
 woman married a negro student, Soon after 
 marriage she realized that she had been psy- 
 chologized into what became to her a horrible 
 relation, for her husband's nature proved to be 
 that of a brute. The awakening was terrible. 
 What was she to do ? Where was she to hide ? 
 Her own family had cast her off, and she had 
 nowhere to go, but at once she left the man. 
 While living alone in one little room her child 
 came. It was a woolly-headed negro. For many 
 months she and the little child lived upon two 
 cents' worth of cornmeal a day — nothing else. 
 In three years her brain awakened to new life ; 
 
 48 
 
FOOD 
 
 new cells had been created under a higher rate 
 of vibration, and through poverty, loneliness, 
 and work for the helpless infant her soul un- 
 folded, and she began to write upon the question 
 of spiritual growth. She might never have 
 reached under smiling skies her present plane of 
 thought. Let us avoid a school where sorrow and 
 anguish are the teachers, and rather seek to at- 
 tain the heights amid the unfoldments of a happy, 
 harmonious home life. Let us strive to reach 
 this spiritual plane when the beauty and strength 
 of youth are ours, and not wait for sorrow, old 
 age, and death to bring its realization. 
 
 There is a story of a scientist who tried the 
 effect of flesh diet upon a dove, at the same time 
 giving an eagle grain. "When grown, their na- 
 tures were reversed. The dove became cruel, 
 feeding upon mice and other small animals; while 
 the eagle was gentle and kind, with no sign of 
 the ferocity of its ancestors. The people of the 
 Jain country, in India, have not had a murder 
 committed among them for a hundred years, and 
 it is a significant fact that there is not one 
 butcher in that Quaker-like land with its millions 
 of people. 
 
 When I think of the mobs and murders in 
 this Christian land, I say with Paul, " If meat 
 
 49 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh 
 while the world standeth." Think of the mur- 
 ders in America. You ask, " Why is life not 
 held more sacred?" I answer, "Animal food, 
 tobacco, and whiskey, upon which the men feed, 
 are responsible. " 
 
 A prominent Health Club recommends that 
 children be denied meat until they are fifteen 
 years of age, claiming that meat inflames the 
 passions. There is always a possibility that one 
 may be poisoned by eating the flesh of an ani- 
 mal killed in an excited condition, as in the case 
 cited. Why is it unreasonable to claim that we 
 may partake of the animal nature when eating 
 flesh ? The leaders of mobs are always men who 
 eat a large quantity of animal food. Take, for 
 example, the beautiful state of Kentucky. There 
 men cultivate the soil to produce tobacco, grain 
 for the manufacture of whiskey and beer, and 
 hemp to hang the poor fellow when he commits 
 murder under the high pressure of anger brought 
 about by a diet of meat, whiskey, and tobacco, 
 the poison of which has entered into every fibre 
 of his being so that he has ceased to manifest 
 any but brute qualities. 
 
 We should all give to those poorer than our- 
 selves ; but by poverty I do not mean lack of 
 
 50 
 
FOOD 
 
 money, for some of the poorest people I know 
 are those who have plenty of money. Look at 
 the faces of the women who drive in those mag- 
 nificent victorias on any fashionable street. If 
 we live a white life, we shall be able to read their 
 inmost thoughts, and the utter insignificance of 
 the ideas which hold sway in their hearts will 
 wring tears from our eyes. Are their appetites 
 not pampered every day ? Think of the number 
 of French chefs employed to pander to their 
 tastes ! 
 
 What wonder that Jesus was a man of tears. 
 He read the thoughts of those he met, and found 
 what others now find, — poverty of soul, a lack 
 of trust in humanity. Unless we can help the 
 children of the world to grow stronger, purer, 
 cleaner in life, happiness will not dwell with 
 us, and At-one-ment with the Father will be 
 impossible. 
 
 " Build thee more stately mansions, my soul, 
 
 As the swift seasons roll ! 
 
 Leave thy low-vaulted past ! 
 Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
 Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
 
 Till thou at length art free, 
 Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea ! " 
 
 51 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 VIBKATION 
 
 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacri- 
 ficeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that offereth an 
 oblation, as if he offered swine's blood ; he that burneth incense, 
 as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, 
 and their soul delighteth in their abominations. — Isa. lxvi. 3. 
 
 T)EAD the entire chapter, and mark well 
 JLAj the seventeenth verse. In eating animal 
 food we have caused our brother to offend, for 
 some one must slay that our appetites may be 
 ministered unto. 
 
 Idols : what are idols ? When we ask God's 
 blessing first upon our own children, relatives, 
 homes, and earthly possessions, are not these 
 gods set upon an altar ? Do we make the same 
 effort to help our neighbors' children to unfold ? 
 No, our first thought is for our own. We make 
 idols of them. How often mothers ask me to 
 help and teach their daughters, and how seldom 
 they bespeak help for others. Try to lose sight 
 of these idols ; think that all are your children, 
 brothers, or sisters. Christ called attention to 
 
 52 
 
VIBRATION 
 
 this truth when He said, " Who is my mother ? 
 and who are my brethren ? " And he looked 
 round about on them which sat about him, and 
 said, " Behold my mother and my brethren ! " 
 How can we say that one is our child when we 
 are only the means of bringing a body for the 
 soul to occupy ? The action of mental vibration 
 has caused the body's development, environment 
 doing its part, as we shall see. Household gods 
 are often taken that in the Garden of Gethsemane 
 the loosest may realize that earth still holds their 
 children and their people; for are we not all 
 one-in-one in search of happiness? When the 
 love of father or mother has ceased to enfold, 
 force will come to the lonely child, for this is 
 the season of unfoldment. Our very anxiety to 
 help our loved ones may bind them to earthly 
 conditions. Why not trust the Almighty ? 
 
 Why do we not deposit a bank account of 
 good deeds for others upon which to draw when 
 earthly things fail ? Let us open one to-day in His 
 name. It will be indeed a safe deposit. The 
 worthy deeds done by us in the days of our 
 financial prosperity return like bread cast upon 
 the waters. For instance, a woman gave an 
 overcoat to the husband of her old colored 
 nurse. Long after, when she sent out the 
 
 53 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 thought for money to provide for pressing 
 needs, a direct answer to her prayer came from 
 his wife in the form of a five-dollar bill. 
 
 Even among animals we perceive the law 
 of kindness carried out. While visiting in the 
 Cumberland Mountains the actions of a beautiful 
 mare attracted my attention. No lock could 
 fasten her out of the garden and apple orchard. 
 If some new invention were introduced to keep 
 her out, she never failed to discover the weak 
 spot, and would soon walk proudly in, followed 
 by a large drove of pigs. She would pull down 
 an apple for herself, and then give three or four 
 to her waiting friends. It was pleasant to wit- 
 ness her gentle care for them, and when the 
 pigs were hungry, nothing would keep her away 
 from those trees. Let us be considerate towards 
 those weaker than ourselves, and, like Blossom, 
 teach the lesson of love. 
 
 If we would understand how to enter into the 
 vibrations of the Universal Mind, we must think 
 pure thoughts, eat clean food, drink pure water, 
 and govern all carnal appetites and desires. To 
 attain an harmonious position we must live a 
 pure life. Let us begin by drinking pure water, 
 and work to induce cities to provide it for the 
 citizens. Coffee and tea cost more than pure 
 
 54 
 
VIBRATION 
 
 water : give them up, for they weaken your force, 
 and you need force if you would influence others 
 to consider these vital questions. If people 
 make a strong pull, hard pull, and a pull all 
 together, this country will enter into higher 
 moral vibrations than it has yet reached. 
 
 I am told that sensitives know at once when 
 they near Chicago — that city of slaughter. 
 They may be sleeping in their berths until they 
 come in contact with the harsh vibrations of 
 pain that radiate in every direction from that 
 great slaughter-house, when they awake to 
 suffer until again beyond the reach of those 
 pulsing throbs of anguish. We have a few such 
 places in the East, and their baneful effect can- 
 not be estimated. Killing animals daily for 
 market, and feeding upon their flesh, create 
 vibrations of murder. 
 
 Many times I have found in the dog which 
 met me at the door a perfect reflection of the 
 man or woman within. I want no better insight 
 into the home vibration than that which the dog 
 gives. A physician once told me that he had 
 watched and studied the effect of the law of 
 vibration upon animals. A certain Sunday- 
 school superintendent whom he knew always 
 owned the meanest dogs in the village. If one 
 
 55 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 died, and he bought a quiet, gentle creature to 
 take its place, in a short time it changed into 
 a vicious animal. Years passed, and that man, 
 the saint of the village, suddenly revealed his 
 true character, and absconded with the funds 
 intrusted to his keeping. 
 
 In many States it is unlawful for a butcher 
 to serve on a criminal jury, because, daily shed- 
 ding blood, he cannot justly judge a fellow- 
 creature. Let us think when we eat flesh that 
 the one who murders the animal must become 
 an outlaw. When an animal suffers, it sends 
 out vibrations of pain, which may touch, in turn, 
 our own loved ones. Wireless telepathy has 
 proved that wholesale slaughter of animals in 
 Chicago may cause an angry Southern man to 
 slay his brother. 
 
 Study vibrations, and we will speak less of the 
 faults of others. When we condemn a weakness 
 in our fellow-beings, we hold them to error, and 
 make it hard for them to resist the evil influ- 
 ences of our thoughts regarding their condition. 
 When perfectly harmonious vibrations are sent 
 out upon this earth, sickness will cease, and it 
 will be possible for the "peace of God which 
 passe th all understanding " to dwell in our hearts 
 and minds. Men will no longer be elected to 
 
 56 
 
VIBRATION 
 
 office because they have a " pull " with the bar- 
 room and money-getting element ; but pure men 
 and women will meet to pass laws, doing away 
 with party lines in their desire to lift humanity 
 a step nearer the ideal. Then our United States 
 government will no longer be a giant wholesale 
 barkeeper, receiving its revenue on every gallon 
 of whiskey distilled in this country. 
 
 The government has a silent hand in each 
 murder committed under the influence of whis- 
 key. The coffers of the treasury are filled in 
 part with the sums which the liquor sellers give 
 for the privilege of selling that which inevitably 
 ruins their customers. Then the commonwealth 
 hangs its victim, whose anger has been inflamed 
 by the liquor he drank, the vibrations of greed 
 for gold having entered into the manufacture of 
 the whiskey. Free yourselves, friends, body and 
 soul, that you may gain strength to help break 
 the shackles of greed which now bind the law- 
 makers, and thus protect innocent, weak sen- 
 sitives from being drawn into vibrations of 
 bar-room influences. 
 
 We cannot see the force which creates the tor- 
 nado, yet its power to bring ruin and death clearly 
 demonstrates this law of vibration. Many a 
 human being makes his home in the very track 
 
 57 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 of these inharmonious mental tornadoes — vibra- 
 tions which no human strength can withstand, 
 since they are all the more deadly by being in- 
 visible to the physical senses. We might as well 
 try to see the air we breathe, yet we know the 
 air surrounds us. It is the same with vibratory 
 force. We know that it is working, because we 
 can stand aside and watch it spend its force on 
 those poor men or women who have pursued 
 dollars and cents solely for personal gain, without 
 thought of the result of their acts. 
 
 A few anecdotes will serve to illustrate the 
 power of vibration upon those who are striving 
 to approach the perfect life. Many such are about 
 us, and we should try to help them in every way 
 in our power by sending thoughts of purity and 
 harmony into the ether. 
 
 The following was told me by a pupil. " At 
 one time my sister and her husband were in great 
 trouble. Knowing that the knowledge would 
 disturb me, they agreed that I was not to be told 
 of it until afterward. During that time, how- 
 ever, I felt very sorrowful. Not knowing the 
 cause, I could scarcely keep the tears back. I 
 would awake in the night and cry, and when the 
 clock struck, it gave me great pain, for it sounded 
 like a death-knell. I told my husband that there 
 
 58 
 
VIBRATION 
 
 was certainly trouble in the family, or, if not, that 
 something was impending. He had known the 
 facts all along, but withheld them until he saw 
 that I was becoming ill. He then told me 
 all, and my relief from suspense was indescrib- 
 able." 
 
 A lady residing near Boston related that, sit- 
 ting at her window, she felt certain that her son 
 was drowning in the Charles River. She changed 
 her dress, arranged a bed, and sat down to await 
 the coming of the friends who were to bring him 
 home. His companion had rescued and resusci- 
 tated him, and brought him home very weak and 
 ill to lie on the bed which his mother had pre- 
 pared for him two hours before. 
 
 While spending the winter in Del Rio, Texas, 
 I awoke one morning and remarked to my sister 
 that my daughter, who was a thousand miles 
 away from me, was very ill. She answered : 
 " You will certainly make yourself sick by imag- 
 ining such things. Three days ago you received 
 a letter from her, and she was then quite well." — 
 " That is true," I replied ; " yet I know that she 
 is suffering to-day, and will be no better for three 
 or four weeks." However, as I knew the cause, 
 I knew that she would recover, and I was hope- 
 fully expectant. I knew that she had trans- 
 
 59 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 gressed a natural law, and inharmony was the 
 inevitable result. A month passed ; I received 
 a letter from her stating that she had been ill 
 of the disease which I had mentioned, but that 
 she was recovering. 
 
 While attending a summer school, I received 
 a letter from a young girl whom I loved very 
 much. The message was not one of gladness 
 and happiness, and the writer had a secret which 
 was not mentioned. As I read it I knew that 
 the girl was engaged, and expected to be married ; 
 in fact, I entered into her most secret thoughts. 
 The letter brought other messages than those 
 which the writer had expressed with her pen. 
 Later events proved the correctness of my con- 
 clusions. I read this letter in Maine, and the 
 writer was in the extreme South. 
 
 On a Southern plantation a mother and her 
 little child were driving in a wicker phaeton 
 drawn by two horses, when a pair of mules 
 drawing a heavy load bore down upon them. 
 There seemed no hope of escape, as the roadway 
 was narrow, and the drunken negro seated in 
 the wagon was incapable of controlling his 
 frightened animals. In a low tone of voice the 
 mother exclaimed, " My God, we shall be killed ! " 
 Her niece, lying on a couch in a house a mile 
 
 60 
 
VIBRATION 
 
 and a half away, distinctly heard the words, 
 " My God, we shall be killed," and jumping to 
 her feet started wildly down the lane. On 
 meeting the phaeton, she inquired, "What is 
 the matter ? " Her aunt told her that she had 
 experienced a miraculous escape from death. 
 
 This incident is related to show that thoughts 
 are things which vibrate through the ether and 
 thus reach the consciousness. We telegraph to- 
 day without wires ; when the law of vibration 
 is better understood, communication will be pos- 
 sible anywhere. 
 
 If we cannot live happily with our relatives 
 and friends, it is better to separate from them at 
 once, for we are drawn into vibrations injuri- 
 ous to soul growth. Of course, there are times 
 when a moral consideration is involved, and then 
 there must be the personal decision for the right 
 and the best. I knew a sensitive who attempted 
 to live in the home of her sister, who was a most 
 unhappy wife. When she arrived she was 
 perfectly well, but began at once to fail physi- 
 cally under the constant calls upon her sympa- 
 thies. She was very ill for a long time without 
 apparent cause. She had no organic trouble, 
 and recovered at once when removed to a more 
 harmonious environment. 
 
 61 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 Keep in the vibrations of workers and think- 
 ers. Christ understood the laws governing 
 vibrations when He chose His disciples ; also 
 when He said, " Suffer little children, and for- 
 bid them not to come unto me : for of such is 
 the kingdom of heaven." You will awake some 
 day in the atmosphere of love, innocence, and 
 happiness which is sent to us from child life. 
 Let us strive to create a strong, helpful atmos- 
 phere of thought force which will be a lifting 
 power for all creatures. 
 
 Finally, look within yourself when the world 
 seems to go wrong, for we create evil by evil 
 thinking. Epictetus said : " It is the peculiar 
 quality and character of an undisciplined man 
 and a man of the world to expect no advantage 
 and to apprehend no mischief from himself, but 
 all from objects without him. Whereas the 
 philosopher, quite contrary, looks only inward, 
 and apprehends no good or evil can happen to 
 him but from himself alone." 
 
 Chesterfield said : " Aim at perfection in every- 
 thing, though in most things it is unattainable. 
 However, those who aim at it, and persevere, 
 will come much nearer to it than those whose 
 laziness and despondency make them give it up 
 as unattainable." 
 
 62 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 " At length his lonely cot appears in view, 
 Beneath the shelter of an aged tree ; 
 The expectant wee-things, toddlin, stacher through 
 To meet their Dad, wi' flichterin noise an' glee. 
 His wee bit ingle, blinking bonnilie, 
 His clean hearth-stane, his thrif tie wifie's smile, 
 The lisping infant prattling on his knee, 
 Does a' his weary carking cares beguile, 
 An' makes him quite forget his labour an' his toil." 
 
 — Burns. 
 
 WHAT is simple living ? Justice to your- 
 self, and as such a lesson most of us 
 have yet to learn. Every home should be a 
 refuge to those who have toiled all day in the 
 busy world — a place where the " thrif tie wifie " 
 does not weary herself too much to smile when 
 she greets the workers on their return at night. 
 A mother owes more to her husband and chil- 
 dren than to her house, however perfect it may 
 be in its appointments. 
 
 First, attention should be given to the great 
 sin of shutting out God's air and sunshine from 
 the home. In the South it is considered almost 
 
 63 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 unpardonable to entertain a visitor in a room 
 where the fresh air is not freely circulating ; con- 
 sequently, shades are never drawn except in a 
 house of mourning. If any woman hints that 
 she is afraid of dust or of having carpets or cur- 
 tains faded, even the negroes call her " po' white 
 trash; gotten dem fine things to jes' make er 
 sho', like real quality." No matter how much 
 a frugal housewife might enjoy keeping the 
 sunlight from her carpets, she is not courageous 
 enough to brave public opinion by having the 
 windows in her home closed, which would stamp 
 her as close, saving, foolish, even to a sin. And 
 it is a real and great crime to shut out the two 
 things which nourish and feed the body as much 
 as the food we eat. 
 
 The sun is man's best friend. Sunlight sweet- 
 ens and purifies our houses. How can human 
 beings expect to be physically strong when they 
 attempt to live in close, overheated houses ? I 
 believe that health in New England would be 
 almost perfect if the people would learn this les- 
 son from the South. Many Northern people are 
 dying from slow starvation, due to lack of air 
 and sunshine in homes and business offices. 
 
 One very hot summer day I went for a long 
 ride on the electric cars. I seldom saw a win- 
 
 64 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 dow open, and never more than one in a house. 
 I called at the house of a friend who lived near 
 the ocean. As I entered, a young girl was sit- 
 ting by an open window, which she hurriedly 
 closed, and said, " I am so sorry I opened it ; 
 had I known that you were coming with mother, 
 I would not have let in the dust." I thought 
 what a pity it was that she had not lived in 
 a country where people, by public opinion, are 
 obliged to allow the sun and air and even dust to 
 enter both night and day. I was once asked, 
 " If air and sunlight are so good, and you have 
 such an abundance of both, how does it hap- 
 pen that you have so much yellow fever ? " I 
 answered in one word, " Filth." We have no 
 adequate sewerage. Furthermore, the people of 
 the South eat too much meat and the men drink 
 too much whiskey. The drinkers succumb to the 
 disease first; the meat eaters follow. Improper 
 drainage, of course, impedes cure in all cases. 
 The power of the sun is shown in the fact that 
 it is possible for a person to come and go in an 
 infected district without fear of taking the dis- 
 ease if he enters it after the sun is well up in 
 the sky, and leaves before it sets. 
 
 Why is this true? Because mosquitoes and 
 other vermin do not thrive in the light of day, 
 
 65 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 but swarm out at night burdened with conta- 
 gion for their sleeping victims. Wire screens 
 for doors and windows, insect powder and other 
 things which prevent the entrance and growth 
 of vermin in the house, crude petroleum thrown 
 upon stagnant cisterns, mud-holes, and hog- 
 wallows, will do much to prevent that which 
 drainage fails to accomplish. 
 
 Another asks, how about small-pox in Boston, 
 Philadelphia, and New York ; can it be stamped 
 out by other means than the much dreaded vac- 
 cination ? Most assuredly ! I have lived in 
 many cities, and I have never found a house 
 perfectly free from water-bugs, mice, etc. It 
 is now a proven fact that they carry contagion, 
 if they are not the source from which it springs. 
 
 Cleveland discovered this after she had tried 
 vaccination in vain. 1 For several years half a 
 
 1 The city of Cleveland has not had a case of small-pox in 
 five months, although for the past two and a half years it has 
 not been without from ten to one hundred cases. Immunity 
 has been gained not through vaccination, but through disin- 
 fection. Dr. Friedrich was made health officer last July and 
 stopped the vaccination crusade. He said that vaccination had 
 caused seven cases of lockjaw. He instituted a house-to-house 
 disinfection. Sticks of formaldehyde were burned and unsani- 
 tary conditions corrected in every way. Cleanliness and dis- 
 infection are more effective against small -pox and all other 
 contagious diseases than anything else known. — The Reasoner. 
 
 m 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 dozen or more cases of small-pox were reported 
 each week ; but when it was proved that the bite 
 of mosquitoes produced yellow fever, members 
 of their city council began using their brains 
 to some purpose, which resulted in a general 
 house-cleaning of the city. Every citizen was 
 forced to use the latest and best vermin de- 
 stroyer. From palace to tenement, from tene- 
 ment to hovel, the law was enforced. The 
 city gave the preparations required where the 
 inmates were too poor to purchase ; in the worst 
 districts the city had the work done. The out- 
 come was that for months they did not have 
 a case of small-pox within their city. This 
 motherly house-cleaning care should be prac- 
 tised twice a year by all city fathers, for few 
 houses are without some form of vermin, and 
 vermin means death to the sleeping inmates 
 of even a palace. Sulphur candles burned in 
 closed rooms will often destroy vermin in the 
 walls. 
 
 The Hindoos value the power of fresh air, 
 and have a room set apart in each house 
 where the inmates concentrate, meditate, and 
 practise deep breathing. Would that some of 
 our closed sitting and sewing rooms could be 
 turned into shrines of rest, quiet, and peace. 
 
 67 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 Prentice Mulford's " Marsh Queen " teaches a 
 fine lesson on this subject. How can the 
 masses be free with so much to pull them 
 earthward, — bad, limey water; tight, heavy, 
 dark clothes; vermin-filled houses in which 
 are close, stifling rooms; appetites and desires 
 which should be killed before man can become 
 more than animal? 
 
 The South could teach another lesson to the 
 North, — simplicity in house furnishing. The 
 wealthy Southern homes would seem very plain 
 even to the poorest New England housewife. 
 Furniture costs more there than North, but they 
 have more windows, more sunlight, and less 
 to fade. My work in the North has taken 
 me into many hundreds of homes, and I have 
 often thought, " How beautiful this would 
 be if they would take half the furniture out 
 of these rooms." At one house I found the 
 hall and veranda packed with odd pieces of fur- 
 niture. The lady explained that her son had 
 married and gone to housekeeping, and she was 
 seeing how much furniture she could spare him. 
 Many times I have wished that others would 
 follow her example. Find some poor couple 
 and give away your burdens. 
 
 Many times I select an attic room because I 
 68 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 find matting on the floor, and fewer things to 
 fade. Also, it is farthest away from the sharp 
 eyes and ready hands which pull my windows 
 down the moment I leave the room. Many 
 have told me that they did not wish to heat the 
 entire city when I insisted upon sitting in my 
 room with the window open. They forget that 
 one case of la grippe or a fnneral would cost as 
 much as the coal for an entire winter. 
 
 Do not buy furniture which cannot be washed 
 with a weak solution of carbolic acid and water. 
 I do not like to sit upon chairs or sofas which 
 are upholstered, for they are sure to contain 
 some kind of poisonous matter which has been 
 thrown off by the human body. Clean out your 
 rubbish in attics and cellars, — old-fashioned 
 beds, quilts, etc. Such articles may hold poison- 
 ous germs, magnetism, and vibrations enough 
 to kill a whole regiment of soldiers. Our outer 
 garments, coming in contact with car seats, 
 collect the decaying and diseased particles therein 
 caught and held, and our health, and that of our 
 friends, is menaced. Skirts touching the ground 
 are always full of microbes, because people are 
 allowed to expectorate upon sidewalks, street 
 crossings, and floors of public buildings. The 
 Boston street-car companies have secured the 
 
 69 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 passage of a law which makes expectorating 
 upon the floors of their cars an offence punish- 
 able by a fine of one hundred dollars or six 
 months' imprisonment. The law works success- 
 fully in the cars; why not ask the lawmakers 
 to apply it to sidewalks and street crossings ? 
 Violation of the law should be punishable as is 
 any misdemeanor. Then we should not carry 
 upon our shoes and clothing so many menaces to 
 the general health of human beings. 
 
 Again, let us not forget the mission of sun- 
 light and air, but carefully and frequently 
 expose all our clothing to these natural dis- 
 infectants. If our clothes closets were made 
 with windows, we should derive great benefit. 
 
 The thousand unnecessary articles in our 
 homes are only indications of foolish pride. 
 Rugs and carpets require sweeping, dusting, and 
 steam renovating to keep them in the condition 
 of cleanliness where the breeding of disease will 
 be impossible. Under no circumstances should 
 rugs or carpets be in halls or living rooms. 
 Were I to build a house, I would have both walls 
 and floors made of a material upon which a hose 
 could be turned, — tiling or glass would be 
 perfect. A German bacteriologist has built a 
 glass house in Japan into which the supply of 
 
 70 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 air is forced through pipes, and strained through 
 cotton wool to cleanse it from bacteria. 
 
 Why should a mother have paper — which is 
 certainly an enemy to human life — on the walls 
 of the nursery? A New Brunswick woman 
 went as a bride to her new home. She did not 
 like the paper in one of her bedrooms, and she 
 decided to scrape the walls and put on new 
 paper. Just as she finished the room she was 
 taken with small- pox and died within a few 
 days. It then transpired that a man had been 
 ill with small-pox years before in that very room. 
 
 It is often the case that steam-cleansing does 
 not destroy the germs of disease. Those who do 
 the work do not realize the importance, usually 
 because they have not been taught. A friend 
 lost a little son by diphtheria. All the beautiful 
 rugs, stuffed furniture, and hangings were packed 
 and stored, and the family went to Texas. 
 More than a year later they decided to keep 
 house, and sent for their things. They were no 
 sooner settled than their children were again 
 stricken with the dread disease, and another 
 child passed over. The mother did not care to 
 remain where she had suffered so much, and the 
 things were again fumigated and packed. Two 
 years later her husband bought a house in a 
 
 71 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 healthy Western town, and the rugs, furs, and 
 carpets were opened for the third time. Again 
 diphtheria made its appearance, and the throats 
 of the children were so weakened that the par- 
 ents had to take them away in search of health 
 — all because of a vain love for useless trap- 
 pings which harbored virulent germs. 
 
 I met a lady in San Antonio who had brought 
 her young brother to the South, hoping that a 
 change of climate would restore him to health. 
 This is her story. She lived in her father's 
 house while her brother was at college. The 
 father had tuberculosis, which proved fatal. 
 Then the brother came home to live. Before he 
 occupied the room used by his father it was re- 
 furnished and the walls scraped, but in less than 
 a year the young man's health began to fail. 
 She consulted a specialist, who inquired, " Where 
 does he sleep ? " — " In my father's old room," 
 she answered, and then added that the room had 
 been renovated. The doctor insisted that some 
 infected article had been left in the room, and 
 she remembered that the damask curtains had 
 been sent to a cleaner, then used again, as they 
 were very handsome. Those curtains had not 
 been thoroughly disinfected, and the poison car- 
 ried to her brother's lungs was the cause of 
 
 72 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 his premature death. Feather pillows are per- 
 fect distributors of infection. For instance, I 
 found a woman in the last stage of tuberculosis. 
 She said : " None of my people ever had weak 
 lungs, yet when my father-in-law died with con- 
 sumption I had everything sent to us from his 
 home washed and boiled. After hearing your 
 talk I remembered that we used his feather pil- 
 lows upon which he died; perhaps they brought 
 it into my room, because my cough came the first 
 winter I began sleeping upon those pillows." 
 
 When women begin to model their house- 
 keeping on simple, hospitable lines, we shall 
 have fewer cases of sickness, especially of scarlet 
 fever, diphtheria, and small-pox. When mothers 
 study how to prevent the recurrence of a disease 
 in the household, the doctor will have time to 
 teach his patients how to keep well. Very often 
 the remark is made, " I have so much to learn, 
 and life is so short ! " We should learn from 
 the Indians and Japanese, who live so close to 
 nature. Most mothers spend hours making 
 fancy dress for their children, but not one 
 moment to the important consideration of what 
 they can do or upon what they can feed their 
 children in order to prevent colds, la grippe, 
 and fevers. These troubles may be avoided by 
 
 73 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 simplifying the home life. Mothers thus gain 
 poise through freedom from the slavery of house- 
 work, for is not all unnecessary labor slavery ? 
 Think not for a moment that home-making has 
 a hint of drudgery in it ; there is no nobler 
 occupation for women. But to be free from care 
 and overwork means to gain strength of mind. 
 When we make our homes places of rest, con- 
 secrated to holy living, teaching, and thinking, 
 they will become shrines from which to draw 
 strength for body and soul. We need more time 
 for the mountains, hills, and ocean, for blessed 
 exercise under God's sky, and that time must be 
 taken from the endless dish-washing, sweeping, 
 and scrubbing. 
 
 Yerily we are nothing of ourselves ; but if we 
 follow God-given rules, we shall be lifted into 
 such high vibrations that force will come to us 
 from the unseen. Live upon the plane that was 
 reached by Dante, Epictetus, and Swedenborg. 
 It is in exile and poverty that most great souls 
 unfold : Dante lost Beatrice, and fled from home 
 and friends to save his life ; Epictetus, famed for 
 his philosophy and the truths he taught of the 
 Christian life, was a slave; and Socrates, that 
 grand old Greek, went to a felon's death, rejoic- 
 ing in the belief of the immortality of the soul. 
 
 74 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 Buddha was the only prince who attained the 
 plane where wisdom brought soul-unfoldment, 
 and he attained it by leaving his beautiful and 
 beloved princess, his children, wealth, and coun- 
 try, going out alone as beggar and outcast, that 
 he might return with the light which was to 
 radiate through India and the world. Self- 
 denial always lights the way for those who 
 grope and fall in the shadow of their own 
 ignorance. 
 
 It may be argued that I preach the doctrine 
 of fear ; but few persons can delude themselves 
 into a belief that they are above all consid- 
 erations of germs and atmospheric conditions. 
 When exposed to danger, if our thought is posi- 
 tive, we are immune ; but we are not all on that 
 high plane of perfect realization of Oneness 
 with the Infinite, and, therefore, are not pro- 
 tected from ignorance, disease, old age, and that 
 form of self-love which brings fear and often 
 manifests itself in some form of physical ailment. 
 Until we reach that plane, we need to have 
 presented to our mental view youth, strength, 
 harmony, and love. Affirming Oneness with 
 the Infinite counts only as idle words unless the 
 life corresponds. Living counts more than idle 
 affirmations, or we shall make the very angels 
 
 75 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 weep for shame, for they will know us as we 
 are. We must mount, step by step, to the 
 mountain tops if we would reach vibrations 
 where a Christ-like physical being can exist. 
 Eat ideal food, think the ideal thought, do the 
 ideal deed, live the ideal life, then your example 
 will send out helpful vibrations, and will teach 
 the lesson of the higher life even to those who 
 believe themselves your superiors. 
 
 I was asked to visit a wealthy family to teach 
 two relatives of the hostess, invalid women. 
 One of these women was a rich widow. I sug- 
 gested that she would feel better if she were to 
 go out and help some human being. She had 
 given her bones, nerves, and muscles no work 
 to do, and consequently shook like a leaf. She 
 answered my suggestion by saying, " I do help 
 my sister's daughter." — " You are only helping 
 yourself when you help your own family/' I 
 replied. " All women are your sisters, but she 
 is most your relative who is weak, and in 
 need of money, kindness, or love." She an- 
 swered, " I have built a church on my own land, 
 and given it to the neighborhood." Still the 
 temple in her own heart was empty, for her gifts 
 were not made in the spirit of love. An act of 
 apparent generosity may sometimes be an indi- 
 
 76 
 
SIMPLE LIVING 
 
 cation of pride. In this home of wealth there 
 was pitiable poverty of soul. 
 
 Few of us know how to give ; few of us know 
 how to apply the lesson Christ taught to the 
 rich man who had to bestow all his goods upon 
 the poor before he could receive eternal life. 
 Much seeming evil reigns upon earth to-day, 
 largely in the form of avarice, which touches 
 even those who have unfolded mentally suffi- 
 ciently to heal disease by the law of suggestion. 
 
 Fear no evil, and work much good. 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 BATHING 
 Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. — Psalm li. 7. 
 
 IF " cleanliness is next to godliness,' ' the daily 
 bath for the entire body is one of the high- 
 est forms of prayer. Those teachers who, from 
 time to time, have come to earth with a spirit- 
 ual message have paid much attention to this 
 important subject. When we read the Koran 
 we are surprised to see how strenuously Moham- 
 med taught the necessity of frequent bathing. I 
 was amazed when I read his simple yet profound 
 teachings upon the laws which were to govern 
 the daily life of his disciples. 
 
 All hygienic teachings insist upon the vital 
 importance of frequent internal and external 
 ablutions. The skin has over two million perspi- 
 ration glands which regulate the internal tem- 
 perature, and communicate with the surface of 
 the body by ducts which have a total length of 
 two and one-half miles. We must keep these 
 sewers clean if we would be in health and good 
 
 78 
 
BATHING 
 
 to look upon. Some go farther, and say that 
 bathing is a factor in purifying the thoughts. 
 
 I knew a lady who was a great sufferer from 
 internal trouble. A surgeon told her that she 
 had a tumor ; his charges for its removal were 
 to be six hundred dollars. She returned to her 
 home to get together the money when I met her 
 and persuaded her to go to the hospital of the 
 King's Daughters in Louisville, Kentucky. The 
 specialist for diseases of the abdominal region 
 told her that nothing was the matter excepting 
 that a collection of old decaying soil had clogged 
 the organs which should have been kept clear by 
 exercise and internal flushing. For fear of burst- 
 ing the cysts, she had taken almost no exercise, 
 at the same time eating whatever she fancied, 
 without realizing that exercise must be practised 
 to carry off the waste, or that the drinking of 
 pure water in large quantities was necessary to 
 inward cleanliness. Through ignorance, she had 
 lived in dread for many years until a few days 
 of treatment at the hospital restored her to a 
 normal condition. One reason why poor people 
 are generally in better health than the wealthy 
 and idle is that their exercise carries off what 
 they do not use. The vaginal douche is said to 
 carry off matter which would otherwise be taken 
 
 79 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 up and used as brain force ; and as much of the 
 life force is generated in that part of the body, 
 and should be retained, the daily bath is all the 
 cleansing required for health; but that should 
 not be omitted. 
 
 It is a noticeable fact that many children pass 
 out when their mothers cease to nurse and bathe 
 them. A reading woman, and a member of a 
 Club, said to a neighbor, " Have you dared to 
 bathe your little son this spring ? " The neigh- 
 bor showed a lack of comprehension, and the 
 woman explained that she had not ventured to 
 bathe either of her two little girls since the be- 
 ginning of cold weather in the fall. Literature 
 on the subject of health had evidently been 
 omitted in her extensive reading. 
 
 Almost all patients who come to the hospitals 
 for treatment of skin diseases and eye troubles 
 are people who rarely bathe. I once persuaded 
 an old mountaineer to try a bath and change of 
 clothing each week. His speedy recovery seemed 
 miraculous. I knew the secret; it was clean 
 clothing and plenty of water. 
 
 Kain and snow are full of glame, or vitalized 
 oxygen. The most beautiful woman I have 
 ever known is accustomed when it rains to 
 stand under the falling drops clad in a thin, 
 
 80 
 
BATHING 
 
 loose wrapper that all her body may be thoroughly 
 wet. She ascribes her wonderfully preserved 
 youth to the practice of physical culture, deep 
 breathing, and her daily bath. 
 
 Man is a gregarious animal. Being much 
 with his kind he takes on his neighbor's physical 
 and mental conditions, and the bath is a great 
 help as a protection against the unseen forces 
 which tend to deplete his strength. We cannot 
 see thought, neither do we understand the law 
 governing the thought realm; but we know 
 thought exists, and we know some of the con- 
 ditions governing that realm. For instance, 
 when I sit by a person I feel the moral nature 
 of the soul and the physical nature of the body. 
 Through sympathetic vibration I seem to feel at 
 once the pain or pleasure of the person. All are 
 sensitive, but most of us have not lived in the 
 right way to gain conscious control of the power 
 to throw off the influences of other minds upon 
 our own. 
 
 One feels better after the washing away of old 
 conditions. Many specialists believe that a daily 
 bath and exercise in the fresh air will help to 
 keep weak persons from moral intemperance. 
 Lawmakers should be urged to remember this, 
 and provide easy bathing facilities for all classes. 
 
 81 
 
SELF BUILDING- 
 
 In the home too much cannot be done to secure 
 fine bathing facilities for growing children, and 
 also for servants. Both are placed under the 
 care of the mother, and she should prove worthy 
 of the trust. 
 
 Every country has its inspired writers and 
 teachers, since God leaves none of his children 
 in spiritual darkness. Just as soon as the 
 people or nation begins to unfold, the teacher 
 comes to bear the message which is as complete 
 as its hearers are able to comprehend. Since the 
 days of Naaman, dipping has been ordered as a 
 means of curing leprosy ; now it is believed that 
 moral lepers can be healed by the daily bath, 
 combined with long walks in the sunshine and 
 fresh air. It is stated that men who drink until 
 two o'clock in the morning often take a Turkish 
 bath, and are thus enabled to appear at their 
 offices at the usual morning hour, refreshed and 
 sober enough to resume work. Those who 
 desire to give up tobacco or abandon flesh 
 eating would do well to begin with a Turkish 
 bath, and continue the baths weekly for several 
 months. 
 
 If people would indulge in two Turkish baths 
 a year, they would live longer and look younger. 
 These baths cost but a dollar, and are worth 
 
 $2 
 
BATHING 
 
 vastly more than twenty operas or plays. The 
 first time I took one, I asked the Swedish 
 attendant, " Why are you not using soap ? " 
 She was scrubbing my body with hot water and 
 fibre from the bark of the cocoa tree. Her reply 
 was, " If I used soap when I began, you would 
 not have a Turkish bath; for the old matter, 
 which, as you see, comes off in flakes, would only 
 stick tighter if soap were used." Soap was used 
 freely after these flakes were moved. The same 
 rule applies in the washing of clothes and all 
 ordinary bathing. 
 
 A wealthy woman told me that she had to 
 take a journey to Europe to learn how to bathe. 
 The chaperon of the party insisted on having all 
 take a bath morning and evening. They travelled 
 many months, constantly walking as they visited 
 the numberless places of interest. The entire 
 party kept in health — the bath at night re- 
 freshing them, the morning bath bracing them 
 for the new day. Since her return home 
 she had kept this practice up with the best 
 results. 
 
 A bath can be effectual or not according to the 
 method used. The main thing is to have the first 
 water warm, to scrub the body with a flesh brush 
 or bark, then to apply soap. I use tepid water, 
 
 83 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 rubbing briskly all parts of the body to remove 
 the dead cuticle and oily deposits, then letting 
 the water cool gradually; I take no cold, and 
 avoid shock. Three times a week I use soap, 
 and have the water warmer. On leaving the 
 bath, rub with a soft towel, and then, after 
 allowing the air to strike your entire body for 
 a few moments, rub briskly with a Turkish 
 towel, thinking all the while, " I wash my body 
 that my soul may be clean also, for ' cleanliness 
 is next to godliness.' " 
 
 An American clergyman in Japan one day 
 passed a tub in which was seated a Japanese 
 repeating again and again while throwing water 
 over his body, "Me wash me heart clean, me 
 wash me heart clean." Some unhesitatingly 
 declare such an act a wicked heathen custom ; 
 but I am sure that if that man was in earnest, 
 his heart could have been made clean. I wish 
 those who consider themselves above material 
 teachings would, like this modern Diogenes, 
 take to the tub for about one month. 
 
 The part the hair plays as an electric con- 
 ductor is not fully appreciated. I asked the 
 head nurse in a hospital what I should do to 
 retain the color of my hair. She directed me 
 to wash it once a week, explaining that my brain 
 
 84 
 
BATHING 
 
 would act more quickly, and grow stronger, be- 
 cause each hair carries magnetic force to the 
 brain from the atmosphere. In these days the 
 custom is obtaining of allowing the hair to grow 
 longer. Mothers should not allow their boys to 
 wear their hair less than three inches long. 
 Young lawyers and athletes are often ridiculed 
 on account of the length of their hair, but they 
 have taken the hint from the story of Samson. 
 The Hindoo sages always wear their hair three 
 inches long in order not to deplete the brain 
 force. 
 
 It is to be sincerely hoped that thinking people 
 will awake to their responsibility in the matter 
 of personal cleanliness, and, alert to its impor- 
 tance, will not allow such a vital need to be 
 classed as a fad. 
 
 The medical profession is more fully appreciat- 
 ing the bath in the treatment of disease. My 
 adherence to the custom of a daily bath had 
 made it a necessary part of my existence when 
 I was attacked with measles in the most malig- 
 nant form. The doctor feared that the case 
 would develop into pneumonia, and remonstrated 
 with me when I insisted on my daily ablutions. 
 However, he advised that the water bath be 
 followed by the alcohol bath, and so refreshing 
 
 85 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 did it prove, that not only once, but thrice a 
 day did the nurse sponge my body, thereby 
 reducing my fever. My recovery was rapid 
 and satisfactory in every way. When another 
 member of the family fell a victim to the disease, 
 the same treatment was used with like gratifying 
 results. We drank quantities of lemon juice 
 mixed with crushed ice. 
 
 Medicated baths are now common, and cabinets 
 are made that are within the reach of nearly 
 every purse. With these, a substitute for the 
 Turkish bath can be taken, or medications can 
 be used. It is a marvel that so much waste 
 matter, as the vapor-bath causes the body to 
 throw off, can be so near the surface and yet 
 invisible. 
 
 In Hardin County, southern Texas, is a won- 
 derful resort for invalids, called Sour Lake. The 
 Indians learned its value in healing disease be- 
 fore the white man came, and now a large hotel 
 accommodates hundreds of invalids. Besides 
 springs where the water, efficacious in certain 
 diseases, is served to the sufferers, there are baths 
 where the most virulent skin diseases are healed. 
 Sometimes the sulphurous soil is spread upon the 
 bodies of the invalids, and they are directed to 
 lie in the sun in the roofless bathhouses until 
 
 86 
 
BATHING 
 
 the dried mud falls off. Serious cases are cured 
 in a few weeks. A leper went there years ago, 
 but he was not allowed to remain. He crossed 
 to the other side of the lake, and there dug a 
 hole in the ground in which he lay for some 
 weeks, leaving it just long enough to eat. He 
 was fully cured. 
 
 A sun bath has almost as great an effect upon 
 the system as one in which water is used. Its 
 advantages after a water bath cannot be over- 
 estimated. It will prolong life, and give power 
 of which we can hardly dream. In the treat- 
 ment of consumption it is a most wonderful and 
 important factor. A teacher of psychology living 
 in a tent at a summer school was joined by his 
 cousin, a country boy. This young man slept on 
 a blanket spread upon the ground, with his tent 
 open at both ends, bathed in the salt water once 
 a day, lying stretched out in the sun on the sand 
 for two hours after his bath, ate but once a day, 
 and then partook of the lightest cereals, with 
 milk and fruit. Within two weeks he had 
 gained so much intuition that he could say 
 whether or not the fishermen had left Ports- 
 mouth or give the time of day without con- 
 sulting his watch. Such are the rewards of 
 living close to nature, and concentrating your 
 
 87 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 thoughts upon the good and beautiful which are 
 in the universe. 
 
 While doing our utmost to cleanse our bodies, 
 think of the grand results where " cleanliness is 
 next to godliness." 
 
 88 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ENVIRONMENT 
 
 THAT the conditions under which we are 
 placed, or, in other words, our environments, 
 have a potent influence in the formation of the 
 individual character will be admitted by every 
 one who has given any serious thought to the 
 subject. It needs no labored argument to sus- 
 tain the claim, for it is so obviously a truism 
 that, to use a common expression, it " goes with- 
 out saying." But mere assent to the truth is 
 not always sufficient ; we need a realizing sense 
 of the importance of any fact in order to make 
 it a helping factor in the ordering of our lives. 
 It is my purpose in this chapter to give " precept 
 upon precept, line upon line," of living examples, 
 and thus drive home to your active perceptions 
 the fact that we are to a great extent the makers 
 of our own environment. 
 
 Mrs. B , of Atlanta, Georgia, attended the 
 
 Passion Play at Oberammergau, and after the 
 performance joined the thousands who were 
 
 89 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 making their way up the mountain side to see 
 the great wooden cross. The friend with her 
 was not strong enough to make the journey, and 
 they were obliged to return to the valley. While 
 
 resting upon the hillside, Mrs. B secured a 
 
 few stones as souvenirs. Years after, she col- 
 lected some of the curiosities which she had 
 gathered on her travels, intending to send them 
 to the college where her son had been graduated. 
 While using the microscope she detected a 
 peculiarity in one of these stones; further ex- 
 amination revealed the fact that upon one side 
 was a perfect head of Christ in lines so delicate 
 that it would seem impossible for any instru- 
 ment to have chiselled them — even the drops 
 of blood were visible in dark red. Upon turn- 
 ing the stone another way the head of a lion 
 was seen ; her fancy made it the " Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah." This stone has been shown to 
 kings, queens, and emperors. While travelling 
 in England a coachman accosted its owner with 
 the remark : " I have heard much about your 
 stone. Would you be willing to show to me 
 the head of Christ, who loved the poor and 
 lowly?" She at once took him to view the 
 stone. Thousands of people make the pilgrim- 
 age to Oberammergau every ten years, and 
 
 90 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 reverently witness the production of the "Pas- 
 sion " by the humble peasants of that little Bava- 
 rian province. The thoughts of both players 
 and audience are concentrated upon the Christ 
 life, and this stone very wonderfully expresses 
 the fact. 
 
 A friend who had a sickly, fretful baby went 
 for a few weeks' rest to a resort upon the shore 
 of a lake. The mountains were in the distance, 
 and when her child had been particularly trying 
 she would steal away for a few moments, and 
 fix her eyes upon the highest peaks, thinking, 
 " I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from 
 whence cometh my help." And strength came 
 with the thought. 
 
 The effects of environment are very noticeable 
 at places where there are strong, helpful teachers. 
 Higher lessons can be revealed to sensitives, even 
 though they may not leave their tents or hear 
 a word spoken, provided they are living in har- 
 mony with the laws of their being. Telepathy 
 brings the messages they would hear. Sensitives 
 who wish to absorb what is being taught at 
 Harvard or Yale should live either at Cam- 
 bridge or New Haven. 
 
 I once saw a strong man fall upon Broadway, 
 New York. Afterwards, when passing the corner, 
 
 91 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 I always remembered him, and sent helpful 
 thoughts his way. No matter who was with 
 me or how hurried I was, the environment had 
 been created, and I tried to do my duty. 
 
 Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes understood the 
 effect of environment, and playfully related in 
 the " Autocrat " how the mind works in circles. 
 He was asked to dine at a certain house after 
 a lecture. The hostess said, "Dr. Holmes, you 
 must grow very weary of travelling and lectur- 
 ing constantly." He answered, "Madam, I am 
 like the Huma, — I never rest." Thirteen years 
 later he went again to that town, sat again at 
 the table with the same hostess, and heard from 
 her lips again the same question. He replied in 
 the same words he had used before. Instantly he 
 recalled their last meeting, and thought that this 
 lady must believe that he made that same com- 
 parison at every house where he was entertained, 
 when in reality he had used it but twice in his 
 life, and both times in her presence. 
 
 Music often creates mental environments. 
 For example, while I was reading a description 
 of a tragic scene in a coal mine, two people 
 were playing a most beautiful arrangement of 
 an opera. The explosion, the anguish at the en- 
 trance of the mine, the sufferings under ground, 
 
 92 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 were thrillingly depicted by the writer, whose 
 name I have forgotten as well as the name of the 
 book ; yet let me hear one chord of the air which 
 was played years ago as I read, and the picture 
 again unfolds. I am again at the mine suffer- 
 ing with the wives of the entombed men. We 
 should understand these unseen laws, and create 
 an environment which will in the next circle of 
 the brain bring harmonious mental pictures. 
 
 Almost every town or village has its haunted 
 house. In a suburb of Boston a beautiful 
 house is said to bring misfortune to any one 
 who moves into it ; all are forced to leave 
 the place very soon. The house is always in 
 perfect order, and its surroundings charming; 
 but although the rent is very low, it stands idle 
 most of the year. Strangers often go there to 
 live, but some calamity soon forces them to 
 leave. 
 
 Another such house is to be found in the 
 adjoining town. This is a mansion set upon a 
 high hill, with a tower overlooking the surround- 
 ing towns and the ocean. The owner took his life 
 by hanging himself there. No one has been 
 able to live in the house for any length of time. 
 The children in the neighborhood tell the story 
 with bated breath, some placing the tragedy in 
 
 93 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 the cellar, some in the stable, while the older 
 ones declare that it occurred in the tower. 
 
 In an aristocratic neighborhood in Dallas, 
 Texas, there is a house which seems marked 
 with evil. If a happy, prosperous merchant 
 moves in, at once his business success wanes, 
 and he is forced to sell. Another family takes 
 possession, — death comes within a month and 
 snatches away the father and husband. And 
 so the story is repeated again and again. A 
 friend of mine, ignorant of its past history, took 
 his family to live in it, and within two weeks a 
 beautiful child was taken away. 
 
 I was shown over a lovely home in an- 
 other suburb of Boston. Both house and sur- 
 roundings seemed ideal, yet my hostess said her 
 husband would be forced to sell it. They had 
 been unhappy since entering, and although they 
 had lived there but three months, they were 
 willing to dispose of it at a loss. When the 
 owner came home he explained that the con- 
 tractor who built the house found that he should 
 lose money on his contract, and did most of the 
 work himself. His wife worried over the matter 
 until she became insane, and while her husband 
 worked he was filled with fear lest while he was 
 away she should do some rash deed. Thus the 
 
 94 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 vibrations of fear and anxiety went out with each 
 nail driven, and they now affect any sensitive 
 person who lives there. Does this not point a 
 moral ? Pay well for all work done, whether it 
 be done by dressmaker, washerwoman, carpenter, 
 or preacher, in order that no poisonous magnetism 
 be left behind when their work is finished. 
 
 Another contractor agreed to build a house 
 for less than the cost of the materials, and to 
 save himself from embarrassment cheated the 
 lumbermen out of several hundred dollars. The 
 first man who occupied the house lost his posi- 
 tion after moving in, and all the other occu- 
 pants were unfortunate in some way. Now the 
 house stands tenantless, no one having ventured 
 to occupy it for several years. It is still working 
 out the deadly law of environment which that 
 contractor created when, to save himself from fi- 
 nancial loss, he deliberately cheated his neighbor. 
 
 While the yellow fever was raging in Colum- 
 bus a lady occupied an old country house which 
 was believed to be haunted. She often described 
 the supernatural visitations of a drunkard who 
 smacked his lips when she prepared egg-nog for 
 the fever patients, and such an impression was 
 made upon her mind by frequent repetition of 
 the story that she finally began to entertain men 
 
 95 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 who drank, thus creating for herself such an 
 environment that she was herself a " haunted 
 house." Her husband obtained a divorce from 
 her, and she went out into the world a slave to 
 the animal passions which dominated the drunk- 
 ard about whom she talked so much. 
 
 I am very sensitive to physical environment, 
 and in passing a house I can feel the influences 
 which the occupants send out. I spent three 
 months in the home of a dressmaker, and while 
 there I wanted to sew all day, although I had 
 previously detested to use a needle. Again, I 
 lived in the home of a woman who was practi- 
 cally a spendthrift, and I sought bargains until 
 I actually bought sheets for a bed which I hoped 
 to possess ! At another time I took a room 
 where a materializing medium had lived, and I 
 became clairvoyant, seeing luminous golden balls 
 and rainbow colors. Now I have learned to 
 secure, if possible, a room where young, happy 
 people have lived. And as I grow more positive 
 I steel myself against all evil influences. 
 
 One of my pupils told me that she once took 
 a room in a house which was sweet, clean, and 
 pleasant, but such unrest possessed her from 
 the first night's stay that she was unable to con- 
 centrate or think of anything but the evil which 
 
 96 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 might befall the members of her family. At 
 last a lady called, and in the course of conver- 
 sation told her that her room was the one 
 in which a former occupant had indulged in 
 drunken sprees, almost breaking his wife's heart 
 and frightening her with his violence. 
 
 One of our great writers went to live in New 
 York. He spent several months hoping inspi- 
 ration would come, but he could write nothing 
 worth reading, and finally returned to his home 
 in the Maine forests. In the old environment 
 his ability to work returned at once. 
 
 A friend bought a house built by an artist. 
 She is constantly entertaining artists, and much 
 of the conversation is upon pictures and painters. 
 On my last visit to that home the little daughter 
 of the house presented me with a picture which 
 she herself had painted, saying she wished me to 
 have it as a reminder of my pleasant visit. The 
 environment created by the artist who built that 
 house has affected every member of the family 
 for good. 
 
 Hudson, in his " Laws of Psychic Phenomena/ ' 
 mentions a woman who, on taking up her abode 
 in a certain house, felt an irresistible desire to 
 paint, which grew so strong that she engaged 
 teachers, and began the study of art. To-day 
 
 9" 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 she is a well-known artist. Later she learned 
 that the man who had formerly lived in her 
 home had struggled a lifetime trying to paint, 
 but had accomplished nothing worthy. She, 
 taking on the conditions which his enthusiasm 
 had left behind, achieved success. When she 
 went to another home much of her enthusiasm 
 vanished, and she was unable to explain her 
 settled melancholy. Upon making inquiries she 
 learned that the former occupant of her present 
 home was most unhappy, suffering the shame 
 of a drunken and unfaithful husband. When 
 another removal took her into a better environ- 
 ment, her love for art returned, and she was 
 again happy and successful. 
 
 Near the beautiful Middlesex Fells a family 
 lived who were obliged to leave their old home 
 on account of financial embarrassment. Next 
 to their home was the house of a lady who had 
 recently lost her husband. A little farther on 
 were whole blocks nearly empty of tenants. 
 Finding such a condition in one locality, I be- 
 gan to make inquiries. It transpired that the 
 builders erected these showy houses to coin 
 money, and had sacrificed substantiality to mere 
 external beauty. On the other side of the town 
 were more houses built under like conditions, 
 
 98 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 which were also empty. I worked hard trying 
 to teach and lift those tenants to a higher plane 
 where they would not be affected by the envi- 
 ronment of fraud thrown around them by the 
 unscrupulous contractors. One woman told me 
 that her husband's business had been ruined, 
 and that he had gone West in search of employ- 
 ment ; another said that her husband's business 
 failure was imminent. Their neighbors were in 
 similar circumstances : all were unhappy and 
 anxious to get away from such conditions. 
 People who know how these unseen laws oper- 
 ate can energize themselves against inharmoni- 
 ous vibrations. 
 
 There is a beautiful hotel in a Southern town 
 where four gentlemen have committed suicide. 
 They had all formed the habit of drinking to 
 excess, and the last one was the victim of the 
 morphine habit. He married a lovely woman 
 and engaged board at this hotel. Three months 
 later he sent his wife down to dinner, saying 
 that he would follow. As he did not come she 
 went to find him, to discover that the force of 
 environment had made her husband's rash act 
 easier to perform. 
 
 When I hear so many stories of the effects of 
 bad environment in dwelling houses, in weakness 
 
 99 
 
 ;Lo*C. 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 I say, " Give me a clean, new tent with a cot 
 and camp-stool, for summer at least." I would 
 rather brave the New England autumn in such 
 a home than to enter winter quarters before I 
 had learned the circumstances under which the 
 house was built, and the daily life under its 
 roof. But knowing the laws of environment, 
 in strength I say, " I can make myself positive 
 to any unseen influence." The safer plan would 
 be to refuse to occupy a house built at great 
 loss to carpenter, contractor, or lumberman, or 
 one where inharmony and discontent have been 
 the lot of any former occupant. I prefer a 
 humble, new house to a mansion which has stood 
 a generation. If we are positive and full of 
 faith, and have power to resist evil influences, 
 we are, of course, not subject to anything from 
 without. 
 
 " Quo Vadis " and " Old St. Paul's " have 
 taught me much concerning this subject. It is 
 said that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. I 
 was taught to believe him either brutally wicked 
 or insane. Whether he was either or whether a 
 thinker in advance of his time, may be a ques- 
 tion. If he understood the law of environment, 
 his joy at seeing his capital burn might well 
 have been great, for it was one way to lift the 
 
 100 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 Roman masses out of their pernicious surround- 
 ings. With their household gods in ashes they 
 were forced to leave their wicked haunts and flee 
 to the country, where with trees and sky for 
 shelter and the earth for beds a better side of 
 their natures developed, and moral and physical 
 health was the result of the change. When they 
 returned to the city, they had no invisible condi- 
 tions to overcome. Then it was that the Chris- 
 tian religion took such deep root, and Rome was 
 made the seat of the church. 
 
 Again, would London have reached the dis- 
 tinction of being the greatest city in the world 
 but for its great fire while the plague raged ? 
 Nothing but fire could have stayed its death 
 march. Peace, health, and harmony came to 
 those stricken people, and the new London rose 
 from the ashes with possibilities not hers before. 
 
 Our own great fire in Chicago was remembered 
 as a calamity; but who now dares affirm that 
 it really was? The burning of the old conditions 
 made possible the advancement for which the 
 city is celebrated to-day. When she was dow- 
 ered with beauty for ashes, it opened the way for 
 progressive thought, and her vibrations reached 
 New England's army of advanced thinkers. 
 
 A sensitive person who is forced to live in 
 101 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 many different places during a year can properly 
 estimate the value of a fire. Our physical bodies 
 are constantly throwing off waste matter ; even 
 so our minds radiate forces for good or evil which 
 are more powerful in their effects than the germ 
 of tuberculosis or tetanus. We can wash or 
 breathe away many physical conditions ; for 
 some conditions fire is the only purifier. 
 
 It is our duty to be charitable, just, and hon- 
 est ; therefore reasoning man should seek to 
 leave no poisonous environment for others to 
 overcome. Live so that those who follow will 
 be helped and strengthened as they pass through 
 this world. The attending physician at the 
 hospital of the King's Daughters in Louisville 
 had a little slip of paper on which his creed was 
 printed, — " do it now." Whatever good we 
 can do, whatever kindness we can show, to a 
 single human being, let us do it now, not neglect 
 or defer it, but do it now, for we " shall not pass 
 this way again." 
 
 Passing down an Eastern street I noticed a 
 pine growing out of a great stone or boulder. 
 No opening was visible, yet there, high upon the 
 hillside, stood the brave, scraggy tree. Near by 
 stood another pine, perfect and beautiful. It 
 did not seem that the two could be members of 
 
 102 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 the same family, but environment had had its 
 effect upon both. All the force of the first tree 
 went to its roots, which had to be sent beyond 
 the stone in search of nourishment. In the 
 effort to conquer environment it had gained 
 great force, although spent and hidden in the 
 ground. The other received nourishment with- 
 out unusual effort in the roots, and was able to 
 send out larger limbs and richer foliage which 
 pleased the eye of every beholder. How often 
 we misjudge our friends through ignorance of 
 their environment. Instead of criticism, often 
 harsh and unjust, let us help them to roll the 
 stone away, that light and harmony may enter 
 their lives. 
 
 Let those who live in the city go alone for a 
 few months each year to the country in order 
 that their view of the natural world may be 
 broadened. For the same reason, those who 
 live on farms would profit by a brief visit to 
 the ocean. The mental view of a street-car con- 
 ductor broadens from hourly seeing hills, rivers, 
 trees, or ocean. Don't blame a merchant for 
 being what a planter would call "little." It 
 is hard for shut-ins to grow kindly and broad. 
 Those who live on cliffs and between mountains, 
 where the daily view is upon rocks, are often 
 
 103 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 hard to reach, and sometimes even cruelly rud^ 
 to strangers ; climb to the mountain top, and 
 the nature of the people living there is as broad 
 and open as the expanse upon which their eyes 
 rest. The nature of the lofty height has reached 
 them. We see this principle illustrated by the 
 great teachers of India who have lived for years 
 upon the summits of the Himalayas. Ocean 
 breadth of view seems to have a similar effect. 
 Finally, when we ourselves have lifted our 
 eyes unto the hills, and gained strength and 
 spiritual power by which to help our weaker 
 brothers, what will be the results ? In ever 
 widening circles the influence will reach out 
 until those in high places are inspired to better 
 things. The people, imbued with clean thoughts 
 and with temptation to grossness removed, will 
 attain a more perfect spiritual development, and 
 that new day will dawn in which each man shall 
 be his own master in the truest, highest sense. 
 Sensuality, drunkenness, crime, will be words of 
 history, and even that history which treats of 
 bloodshed and villany will be eliminated so far 
 as possible that we may reach out into the future 
 for good rather than gaze back into the centuries 
 where immaturity of thought led to mistakes 
 better forgotten. 
 
 104 
 
ENVIRONMENT 
 
 Professor Drummond says : " These silent and 
 patient processes, elaborating, eliminating, de- 
 veloping all from the first of time, conducting 
 the evolution from millennium to millennium with 
 unaltering purpose and unfaltering power, are 
 the early stages of the redemptive work, — the 
 unseen approach of that kingdom whose strange 
 mark is that it 'cometh without observation.' 
 And these kingdoms rising tier upon tier in ever 
 increasing sublimity and beauty, their foundations 
 visibly fixed in the past, their progress and the 
 direction of their progress being facts in nature 
 still, are the signs which, since the Magi saw 
 His star in the east, have never been wanting 
 from the firmament of truth, and which in every 
 age with growing clearness to the wise, and with 
 ever gathering mystery to the uninitiated, pro- 
 claim that ' the kingdom of God is at hand.' ' 
 
 The kingdom of God dwells within that 
 human consciousness which is positive against 
 all forms of fear thought, and beauty for ashes 
 must follow this mental attitude. 
 
 105 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 IT is becoming an accepted fact with advanced 
 thinkers that there is a universal law of 
 correspondence between the natural world and 
 the spiritual ; that unseen evil is manifest in 
 things hurtful and repulsive, and unseen good 
 in things useful and beautiful, and that all 
 things in earth, sky, sea, and air are but the 
 representatives of unseen things in the mind 
 of man. How essential, then, is the good, and 
 how important that every energy should be 
 bent towards its manifestation. 
 
 When we criticise the actions or speech of an- 
 other, we put ourselves in touch with the lower 
 order of earthly thought vibrations. Then active 
 harm is done, for the veil is pulled closer and 
 closer over our faces, thus shutting out, for the 
 time, spiritual perception. 
 
 We shall especially consider in this chapter 
 the effect of unwholesome thought upon the 
 physical body, and the treatment of diseased 
 
 106 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 conditions by removing their mental and spirit- 
 ual causes. To those who always assign a physi- 
 cal cause to a physical effect, we echo Hamlet's 
 words, " There are more things in heaven and 
 earth, Horatio, that are dreamt of in your 
 philosophy.' ' Truth understood is all that is 
 needed to set man free. 
 
 Let us consider the effects of a man's thought 
 upon the physical body. Heart troubles are 
 often caused by thoughts of resentment and 
 anger against those from whom we believe we 
 have received an injury. Ossification follows 
 when one cherishes bitter thoughts for a long 
 period of time. A woman with three grown-up 
 daughters received into her family the beautiful 
 niece of her husband. The girl was much ad- 
 mired, both for her beauty and charm of man- 
 ner, and received more attention than her 
 cousins. Trouble began at once. Her life 
 became martyrdom, and she was often made 
 ill by the slurs cast upon her by her relatives, 
 who begrudged comforts to the dependent niece 
 because on account of them they were forced 
 to go without some piece of finery. The aunt 
 allowed the seeds of anger and resentment to 
 take such deep root that she succumbed to a 
 severe heart trouble, from which she suffered 
 
 107 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 for four years. Finally her niece left, and the 
 heart trouble disappeared, to return ten years 
 later when her daughter-in-law went to live 
 with her. The oldest daughter still remained 
 under the parental roof. She was an ill-natured 
 spinster. Her mother's jealousy and hatred were 
 now directed against her daughter-in-law, because, 
 forsooth, that unsuspecting young person gained 
 many friends. This second recurrence of the 
 heart trouble is said to have caused the old 
 lady's death. 
 
 Shut your spiritual ears to the great truths 
 of life, and physical deafness may follow ; wrap 
 yourself up in thoughts of self, permitting your- 
 self to see only your side of a disputed question, 
 and physical blindness may ensue. By non-use 
 the ear-drum ceases to vibrate, and through in- 
 activity the optic nerve becomes sluggish and 
 unreceptive. Very plain women are often suf- 
 ferers because they have heard no pleasant com- 
 pliments concerning themselves. We love to 
 hear what pleases and natters, but how our faces 
 change when friends tell us our faults. 
 
 Throat trouble is often caused by jealousy ; I 
 have known several such cases. Colds are caused 
 by imprudence in eating or intolerance. Corns 
 and bunions correspond to hard thoughts of an- 
 
 108 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 other. Lameness is sometimes brought on by 
 fear of failure in business. Paralysis is caused 
 by over-indulgence of the animal appetites ; it is 
 especially induced by the sin of gluttony. How 
 many victims are claimed by this deadly enemy 
 to human life ! Those who eat for nutriment, 
 and not for sense-gratification, rarely fall a prey 
 to this disease. It is to me as great a crime to 
 die of paralysis so caused as to die of delirium 
 tremens. Both maladies are the results of 
 intemperance. 
 
 A mental science teacher told me of a patient 
 suffering from paralysis who had been nursing 
 a private grudge against a man who had been 
 dead twenty years. The patient's family were 
 anxious that he should try mental healing, and 
 as soon as the teacher began her inquiries, she 
 recognized that it was anger that had bound him 
 for so many years. Immediately she attempted 
 to divert his thoughts from hate to love and 
 good-will, and after the first treatment she was 
 told by the relatives that a change was per- 
 ceptible — that he was using his limbs more 
 freely than before. It was plain, however, that 
 he must work out his own salvation, as he could 
 not hope to be forgiven unless he was willing to 
 forgive. Would that some of those who inhabit 
 
 109 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 our planet might become so transformed and 
 renewed in their minds that they would be will- 
 ing to do by others as they would that others 
 should do by them. 
 
 Pride of family or of money causes swelling 
 of the legs and tumors. Shaking palsy is often 
 caused by greed so strong that the vibrations 
 touch the body with a shock. Passion and 
 anger often cause biliousness. Anger is the 
 " snake in the grass/' and the green poison, in- 
 troduced into the system, kills quickly. Hurry 
 projects the psychic body ahead of the physical, 
 causing weakness. We are then open to in- 
 fluences which retard the perfect action of the 
 organs of the body. Cancers are often caused by 
 miserliness. 
 
 A New York teacher told his class that worry 
 about business and fear of failure brought people 
 into the vibrations of falling. Once when treat- 
 ing a wealthy merchant he found three people 
 in one house, all using crutches. The husband 
 had injured his leg in a fall, and the wife and 
 daughter were in a similar plight. On inquiring 
 about the mental condition of his patients, he 
 found that they were very anxious concerning 
 their financial position — the merchant having 
 been in fear of failure for six weeks. The doctor 
 
 110 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 took on the condition of his patients, and on 
 leaving the house fell, injuring his arm. After 
 hearing his story, a pupil said that after she left 
 the lecture room she fell twice on the icy side- 
 walk before she could pull herself out of such 
 vibrations. 
 
 How great, then, is our responsibility! Our 
 attitude towards every condition determines its 
 effect upon our physical body. Nothing can hurt 
 our real selves, and nothing can hurt our con- 
 scious selves but our attitude towards our envi- 
 roning conditions. Hence it follows that, so far 
 as we hold ourselves positive to all influences of 
 error, refusing absolutely to see aught but good, 
 we shall enter into that dominion which is our 
 birthright. 
 
 Ralph Waldo Trine says: " Thoughts of strength 
 both build strength from within and attract it 
 from without. Thoughts of weakness actualize 
 weakness from within and attract it from with- 
 out. Courage begets strength, fear begets weak- 
 ness. And so courage begets success, fear begets 
 failure.'' 
 
 Ill 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 KADIATIONS 
 
 THE nebular theory is that the sun and the 
 planets revolving around it were once a 
 confused mass of fiery matter revolving rapidly 
 in space. As this mass cooled and condensed, 
 it formed our solar system. The planets were 
 thrown off in rings which, in the rapid revolu- 
 tion, were finally rolled into balls. The sun, or 
 centre of the system, attracts all these planets by 
 gravitation, so that they remain in the same rela- 
 tive position to each other and to the central 
 mass. This being the case, it is easy to see that 
 the sun must have great effect upon the earth, 
 and it is easy to suppose that there is inter- 
 planetary attraction. As heat and electricity 
 are both derived from the sun, let us see how 
 great a part they play in the phenomena of 
 life. 
 
 Scientists believe that the strength of all animal 
 life culminates when the sun is overhead, in the 
 hours between ten a.m. and two p.m., and the 
 
 112 
 
EADIATIONS 
 
 " Science of a New Life " shows why a new life 
 should be created between those hours. 
 
 Astrologers are able to forecast the future of 
 an individual by studying the relations of the 
 planets and the sun at the date of birth. An 
 English astrologer sat carefully studying the stars 
 when his son was born, and said to the mother, 
 " Our son will not be able to talk before he is 
 nineteen years old, when a certain star will cease 
 to rule his house, and he will learn to speak, and 
 will follow in my footsteps." His prediction was 
 true in every respect. The youth never learned 
 to talk until he was nineteen years old, but after 
 that his progress was rapid, and he is now a cele- 
 brated reader of fate by the stars. 
 
 Walking idly along the streets of Hartford, 
 Connecticut, one bright spring morning, my 
 eyes were attracted by an astrologer's sign, and 
 I entered the office, desiring to be drawn into 
 the vibrations of a mind which went higher 
 than earth to look for cause and effect. I ex- 
 plained that for many years I had been an in- 
 valid, and was now a homeless wanderer, seeking 
 instruction, and strangely led to what I required ; 
 but just then I could see nothing ahead — no 
 hope for the future. I knew that I was not 
 asleep, that was all. I told him that I had but 
 
 113 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 a few dollars, and that he must not talk with 
 me if his time was valuable. He asked the date 
 of my birth, and after studying a few moments, 
 said : " Madam, you cannot go forward, for you 
 are under Cancer, the Crab, whose path is back- 
 ward. You live in the past, think in the past, 
 talk in the past; but on the day you learn to 
 rule your stars by strong will power, you will 
 take a step forward. This will come when you 
 refuse to let thoughts of the past enter your 
 mind." I answered, " Friend, you have spoken 
 truly. I am a child of the past, revelling in its 
 sorrows, and calling upon my friends to mourn 
 with me. I never give the future a thought. 
 I am bowed down with the weight of a sorrow- 
 ful past, and yet, by sending forth vibrations to 
 touch all Cancer children, helping to bind them 
 in chains which pulled them backward, what 
 evil I have done ! " When I left, the astrologer 
 said, " You will find it impossible to do any re- 
 munerative business before the twentieth of May, 
 but good will follow if you cease to look back. 
 Keep your thoughts fixed upon the future. 
 Image what you wish it to bring, and it may 
 appear. All Cancer children have the ability to 
 lecture or write books. Any work on this line 
 will be a success." As I went away I began to 
 
 114 
 
RADIATIONS 
 
 wonder how I was to live if I was to earn no 
 money until nearly the first of June, but my 
 next thought was to give thanks for the lesson 
 I had received. Then and there I resolved to 
 follow the astrologer's advice and look forward, 
 not backward ; and I determined to turn my face 
 towards a certain school where students were 
 taught how to, rule their thoughts. While in 
 Boston that which the seer foretold came to pass. 
 A Boston mother consulted an astrologer con- 
 cerning her young daughter. A chart was given 
 her, and she was told to watch how the girl's 
 future unfolded with the horoscope. It was 
 predicted that in two years there would be a 
 planetary influence which might work her ruin 
 within three days if the girl was not watched 
 carefully. The mother forgot the warning, and 
 when a relative was taken ill and sent for her, 
 she went, leaving her daughter in a boarding- 
 house during the fateful three days. A week 
 later she entered the office of the astrologer 
 with the sad story of her daughter's betrayal; 
 but he refused her comfort, since she had been so 
 heedless of his careful warning. But where en- 
 vironment works such evil to negative people, 
 planetary influence may, perhaps, bring unseen 
 force to help in the development of one's higher 
 
 115 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 self. Spirit being higher than matter, higher 
 than any influences from planets or otherwise, 
 the spiritual minded person may become immune 
 from such baleful effects. Thoughts are things, 
 and a positive thought attitude against danger 
 will either ward off or overcome negative plane- 
 tary radiations, if such there be. 
 
 A lady once told me that for six years she 
 had suffered from vibrations left by another in a 
 beautiful home. An astrologer, who heard her 
 remark, made a few calculations, and said, " I 
 find that in those years certain planets made you 
 more liable to melancholia, so that the house and 
 the stars all worked together to create inharmony 
 and unrest within your mind." 
 
 If a few degrees of heat, more or less, will ex- 
 tinguish human life, the question arises how to 
 keep one's body at an equable temperature. As 
 food generates heat, we should carefully study 
 what to eat and what not to eat. We know that 
 when heavy, animal food is taken into the body, 
 a form of blood heat is produced which reddens 
 the eyes, coarsens the skin, incites to anger, and 
 engenders unrest. Can we imagine hatred, anger, 
 and malice produced in the heart of a fellow- 
 creature by a diet of fruits, nuts, and cereals ? 
 They never kill because they are never overheat- 
 
 116 
 
RADIATIONS 
 
 ing. Absence of heat is as fatal to life as excess 
 of heat, and we should strive to regulate this 
 force by simplicity of life and purity of thought. 
 First, we learn what foods produce heat, and what 
 forms of heat are generated. We know that the 
 heat of intoxication affects the will and the con- 
 science. I have known men, truthful when sober, 
 to tell falsehoods when under the influence of 
 liquor. The most impure men and women I have 
 ever met ate rare meat and drank blood-heating 
 fluids. Pork, of all meats, is perhaps the most 
 heating. It is said that on one side of a street 
 in London were a number of Hebrew families ; 
 on the opposite side were families of various 
 faiths. The death-rate among the Hebrews, who 
 tabooed pork, was thirty per cent less than that 
 of the Gentile families. 
 
 To do our best work we must cool our bodies 
 by rest, clean thoughts, and clean food. We 
 shall then be lifted out of the material plane, 
 and all creatures will thus be raised a step nearer 
 the Infinite. " I will draw all men unto me," 
 was not an idle saying, but came from a cool 
 brain and a normal heart. 
 
 Those countries lying near the equator are 
 materially affected by the directness and inten- 
 sity of the sun's rays. We must know a country 
 
 117 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 before we can judge its people. I once visited 
 the desert plains of Texas and found the charac- 
 ter of the people corresponding with the nature 
 of the cactus and mesquite, which are the most 
 common forms of vegetable life in that region. 
 It was beautiful to see how Mother Nature fought 
 for her children. The mesquite trees were bushes 
 barely above ground ; but their roots were very 
 large in order that they might seek nourishment 
 far below the surface. These roots were used by 
 the natives as fuel, while the beans furnished 
 food for both men and cattle. The mesquite 
 grass, which will live for more than a year with- 
 out rain, rolls itself into balls which retain such 
 moisture as comes in dew, and the cattle find in 
 it both food and water. There is a decided lack 
 of energy and thought force among the inhab- 
 itants of southern countries ; even in our Southern 
 States, where the conditions of climate are im- 
 proved over equatorial regions, we must make 
 allowance for the eight months of summer which 
 must be borne. There human life is taken under 
 the heat of passion. In the North, where the 
 pure, white snow of winter falls to wrap the 
 earth in bridal garments, there is less crime, and 
 indeed a Northern man who commits crime is far 
 more guilty than his Southern brother. 
 
 118 
 
RADIATION'S 
 
 The seasons affect life and character as much 
 as the poets declare, if not more. The analogy 
 between the fall season and the autumn of life 
 can be closely drawn. It is a time of mental 
 activity after the exuberance of summer. Win- 
 ter comes; Nature seems dead. But in the 
 spring how happy and strong and well we feel, 
 taking on new life and hope as does the veg- 
 etable kingdom ! Love seems to dominate all 
 mankind. Later, when the sun is baking the 
 Southern cotton fields, religious fervor reaches 
 its height, and camp meetings are the order of 
 the day. It is a season of extremes, especially 
 in the South ; for at the same time a camp meet- 
 ing is in progress a revolting crime may be com- 
 mitted near by. The most ignorant shouters 
 become entranced, see visions, compose religious 
 chants, and attain great power with which to 
 conjure, and their ungoverned passions often 
 lead them into the most atrocious crimes. 
 
 Modes of building and materials affect the 
 heat question. Perhaps in the future, electricity 
 will be used to harden glass, making it more 
 durable than wood, iron, or steel, and it will 
 replace these articles for building purposes. In 
 the next hundred years glass houses may be 
 common. They will certainly be far more 
 
 119 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 beautiful than those we have now, and as they 
 will keep clean easily, health will improve. It 
 is predicted that electricity will supplant all 
 other forms of heating, lighting, and motive 
 power, thus doing away with unwholesome 
 smoke and coal dust. 
 
 As foreshadowed in the " Coming Age," each 
 individual may be taught how to use his own 
 magnetic forces. I once heard a psychic say 
 that we should learn to store up electricity 
 which would set in motion a machine which 
 would lift us into the ether, and enable us to 
 take journeys through space. Be that as it may, 
 certain modes of life bring about, at least, hints 
 of this wonderful force, as proven by telepathy. 
 After practising deep breathing, sleeping in a 
 cold room, bathing daily in cold water, and 
 eating cereals and nuts, one is amazed and even 
 startled to find the hair so charged with elec- 
 tricity that sparks fly as from a fire, and flames 
 run up and down the comb. I have often seen 
 such exhibitions, reminding me of a display of 
 fireworks. This phenomenon should always be 
 witnessed in a darkened room. The hands are 
 also full of this magnetism. All persons possess 
 this wonderful healing force, and rejoice when 
 it develops. 
 
 120 
 
RADIATIONS 
 
 In the chapter on Environment, reference was 
 made to the advantages of occasional fires in our 
 great cities. I am not an incendiary, but I rec- 
 ognize heat as a most potent factor in the de- 
 struction of disease germs. The indifference of 
 authorities in regard to this most important 
 matter is astonishing. Many politicians, for 
 example, will refuse to lend their influence to 
 the establishment of crematories, because they 
 fear the loss of votes from the members of cer- 
 tain religious bodies that favor the old method 
 of burial. When persons die of malignant, con- 
 tagious diseases, the germs are buried with them, 
 perhaps to do no more harm, quite possibly to 
 carry contagion through the surrounding earth 
 and water to living creatures. 
 
 I visited a friend who lived near a beautiful 
 lake, and in the course of our conversation 1 
 asked her if she ever bathed in it. She an- 
 swered, " No, the city does not permit bathing, 
 because sometimes the water is used for drinking 
 purposes." I looked across the lake, and be- 
 hold ! there were the white tombstones, some 
 almost at the water's edge. The pity of it, that 
 innocent children could not wash their living 
 bodies in that lovely lake, but dead bodies could, 
 drain into it, and it was taken to quench thirst ! 
 
 121 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 I remained in the home for a month, but I drank 
 not a drop of water, using sweet milk instead. 
 On my way to Boston I passed a lake surrounded 
 by a large town without proper drainage, and 
 learned that a part of Boston's drinking water 
 came from that place. Again I was obliged to 
 resort to milk as a beverage, for I could not al- 
 low myself to taste water which was contami- 
 nated by surface drainage. 
 
 Very often a cemetery is set upon an elevation, 
 with the city below, and it is impossible that the 
 drainage from the graves will not, in some meas- 
 ure, pass into the near-by streams and the cellars 
 of the adjacent houses. There is a case of this 
 kind in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where entire 
 families are buried in a grave which costs one 
 dollar. In the cellars of the houses near the 
 cemetery were little pools of ill-smelling water, 
 covered with a greasy slime. Walking from house 
 to house I found sickness and death on every side. 
 What wonder ? Similar cases without number 
 could be cited. 
 
 So stirred was I by the dreadful conditions in 
 Dorchester that I visited a physician, and asked 
 his help in ridding the city of such a festering 
 spot. He informed me that it was impossible to 
 do anything. I asked him if the priest would do 
 
 122 
 
RADIATIONS 
 
 anything to save those little children living in 
 the flat lands near the cemetery, and he informed 
 
 me that Father B would feel that it was 
 
 none of his business, and none of mine. I was in 
 despair. I consulted the wife of a Boston alder- 
 man, but she said that it was as bad in her town, 
 or worse. I asked her if her husband could do 
 anything. In alarm she exclaimed : " Oh, no, no, 
 do not think of such a thing ! It would not do 
 to attempt it ! " Then I asked her for her hus- 
 band's city address, and it was promised to me ; 
 but she clearly avoided me from that time, and 
 left the place where I was staying without offer- 
 ing to keep her word. 
 
 How long will superstitious organizations be 
 allowed to contaminate earth, air, and water with 
 dead bodies ? Is the process of disintegration 
 which goes on in the grave less revolting than 
 that which takes place in the crematory ? Both 
 are processes of combustion, — one slow, the 
 other rapid. Shall we sacrifice human life that 
 our sensibilities be not shocked ? We have had 
 " dust to dust " long enough ; let us now have a 
 period of " ashes to ashes." The world will be 
 more wholesome, the air will be sweeter, and the 
 ancient custom will soon lose all its repellent 
 features. The people of a Texas city have 
 
 123 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 burned the crematories three times, so great was 
 their aversion to this method of disposing of the 
 dead, and their immense cemetery on a high hill 
 towers above the valley city and of course drains 
 into its beautiful river, which furnishes drink- 
 ing water for sixty thousand people. In a little 
 town in the Cumberland Mountains the feeling 
 against cremation ran so high that one speaking 
 in favor of it was almost in danger of being- 
 burned alive. People will have to be educated 
 up to the idea, until they realize that — 
 
 " What ye lift upon the bier 
 Is not worth a wistful tear. 
 7 Tis an empty sea-shell, one 
 Out of which the pearl is gone ; 
 The shell is broken." 
 
 When, as in some of the smaller cities within 
 a few miles of Boston, several bodies are buried 
 in one grave, the last laid away being barely 
 covered with earth, how terrible must be the 
 results ! Mrs. Bruce, of the Wayside Chapel, 
 Maiden, worked years to get her city to pass an 
 ordinance forbidding the burial of more than one 
 body in a grave. At first no one was willing to 
 lift a hand, but her courage and determination 
 at last carried the day, and the law was passed. 
 Would there were more like her ! 
 
 124 
 
RADIATIONS 
 
 While conditions exist as they are now, there 
 will always be down-trodden, superstitious poor. 
 Our duty is to lift them up. The first thing to 
 be done is to feed their bodies. Places should 
 be provided where they can get pure food at 
 lowest cost, and then they will be more ready to 
 listen to reason regarding the disposal of their 
 bodies when they have left them behind. Cities 
 should establish crematories, where the bodies of 
 the poor can be reduced to sweet, clean ashes at 
 no expense. 
 
 He who would sit always in the sunlight must 
 be continually changing his position. No matter 
 how human beings grope in darkness, we realize 
 that the sun must, at some time, touch them, 
 bringing mental growth. Ignorance and preju- 
 dice will vanish and new beauty develop. 
 These qualities were always within, and the soul, 
 apparently asleep, was only waiting until the 
 springtime brought warmth, color, and har- 
 mony to drive away the barriers to its perfect 
 unfoldment. 
 
 125 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 COLOR 
 
 WHEN by a white life — a life of pure 
 thoughts and desires — we have brought 
 ourselves into a condition where all sound is 
 music, all color a delight, then we are a step 
 nearer the Infinite, our ears are opened, and we 
 rejoice and call upon the hills, birds, trees, and 
 man to enjoy with us this heaven upon earth. 
 Since heaven is within the mind, it is no more 
 gained when the soul leaves the body for the last 
 time than when a trip is taken from New Eng- 
 land to San Francisco. We must so live here 
 and now " in tune with the Infinite," sending out 
 so much love for all, that we may thereby lift 
 ourselves into the vibrations of the higher, Uni- 
 versal Mind. Our eyes and ears will then be 
 opened to receive from Nature as she reveals her 
 secrets in the color of the ocean waves or in the 
 rustle of the leaves upon the trees. We are helped 
 and sustained by Nature's green when we realize 
 the similarity between the trees and the life of 
 
 126 
 
COLOR 
 
 man. Prentice Mulford wrote of it in " God in 
 the Trees," and since reading it I strive to see 
 God in stones and flowers. Color should always 
 draw us nearer to nature. 
 
 In winter, when viewing the glistening fields, 
 think, " My soul must be as white as this earth's 
 carpet." Then turn your eyes to the blue of the 
 skies, and new thought power will be created 
 by the vibrations. When you see a bright red 
 cloak, instead of thinking of the pronounced 
 taste, contact that color, and gain strength for 
 body and soul, and thank God that some one 
 has the courage to wear that which will help you 
 gain and grow. A color specialist said if he 
 had a young child to train, he would once every 
 day shut him alone in a room where the walls 
 were covered with red, shaded from white pink 
 to deep black red, everything in the room to be 
 of the same hues, and would give him blocks to 
 play with of the same colors. He maintained 
 that increase in brain and physical strength 
 would certainly follow. 
 
 When you have ridden for two days over 
 prairies which are a mass of gorgeous blossom, 
 you feel strong and happy, and it is certainly a 
 most life-giving stimulant that you have uncon- 
 sciously been drinking in as you looked from the 
 
 127 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 car window. I once rode from Waco to San 
 Antonio in the spring when the prairies were 
 in full bloom. A little girl who went with me 
 had read Mayne Reid's books, and the vibratory 
 force gained therefrom was so strong that the 
 little musician saw and felt the art atmosphere, 
 talking of nothing else but the glorious colors 
 with which nature had bespangled the prairies. 
 This child had heard a singer whose voice was 
 exquisite in tone and quality, and in describing 
 the voice she said, "His voice was amber, — a 
 clear, beautiful amber." On questioning her it 
 was ascertained that all tones appealed to her as 
 color. Take a child like that on a journey, and 
 you will be well repaid if you wish to study 
 color and its effect on the human mind. 
 
 It is now claimed that brain can be awakened 
 and built through contact with color. The sick 
 are healed, and Mexicans have proven that 
 small-pox does not mark a patient if the light 
 in the room comes through red blankets. The 
 violet rays of Finzen heal lupus and kindred 
 ailments, and I have seen marvellous cures 
 made by application of the X-rays. Music is 
 taught in some of our schools with or by color. 
 The cotton fields of the South, as well as the 
 Northern snow, help to build new brain cells, the 
 
 128 
 
COLOR 
 
 dark tree trunks having a strong place in the 
 mental picture. With each change of season 
 come the colors arranged by nature, and if we 
 learn how to " contact " color, great awakening 
 ensues. Consciously or unconsciously unfold- 
 ment goes on, for nature is all the time working 
 to lift man above the lower material or animal 
 plane. The snow fields give to the world 
 strong thinkers, while wild flowers, Southern 
 skies and fields create idealists, such as Father 
 Ryan and Edgar Poe. A consul to a French 
 port told me that along the Rhine, in seasons 
 of dark rainy weather, the government station 
 guards to prevent mercurial people from commit- 
 ting suicide by jumping into the river, and not- 
 withstanding the greatest care, many take their 
 own lives after a storm has veiled the sun for a 
 few days. 
 
 When we begin to awaken to the world of color, 
 we find beauty revealed in clouds, trees, stones, 
 water, birds, animals, people ; in fact, this earth 
 soon becomes heaven. When clean, the hair con- 
 tains all the rainbow colors ; calm, luminous eyes 
 become the possession of a man when he ceases 
 to feed upon his fellow-creatures, and lives in 
 harmony with the animal world. Then his eyes 
 open to the symphony of color given by Nature's 
 
 129 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 mother-hand to all forms of life, that her 
 children may enjoy and be lifted one step nearer 
 the higher vibrations, or Universal Mind. As 
 the poet beautifully sings : — 
 
 " Would ye but understand, 
 
 Joy is on every hand ; 
 Shut your eyes and call it night, 
 Ye grope and fall in seas of light ; 
 
 Would ye but understand, 
 
 Joy is on every hand." 
 
 Think how Mother Nature has spread a carpet 
 of golden-rod from the far North to the Mexican 
 border ; no state is without this help to spiritual 
 unfoldment. 
 
 At Harvard there is an instrument so delicate 
 that fastened to the wrist of a sensitive it reflects 
 various changes in the color of blood under 
 certain thoughts : red is the color of anger, 
 green, of envy, and yellow, of jealousy. Like 
 the chameleon, we take on new colors continually 
 by our thoughts and feelings. To be happy and 
 healthy, keep the mind free from all forms of 
 lower vibrations, and lift yourself into the 
 sapphire sea of higher light. 
 
 In southern Texas you may see a lizard resting 
 under a mesquite bush ; drop a stone near it and 
 it becomes a bright green, just the color of 
 
 130 
 
COLOR 
 
 the grass upon which it crawls, instead of the 
 dull brown of a moment before. According to 
 modern scientists, we resemble the lizard in 
 certain ways. The vision of some people is so 
 open that they see all the rainbow colors about 
 our heads. I have been told that a certain New 
 York psychic can tell when, by constant thinking 
 upon one line, a color in our aura is drawn out 
 of place, thereby causing physical illness. He 
 advised a lady of his acquaintance to wear pink 
 continually to keep herself rightly poised in the 
 world of color. When we begin to study colors 
 for the purpose of gaining strength physically, 
 mentally, and morally, and consequently learn 
 how harmful it is to others to look upon our 
 black dresses, we shall wear colors as a spiritual 
 duty, and thus help instead of retarding people. 
 The church has its colors for each season as 
 nature has. Learn your lessons from nature. 
 Many a hot June day in Texas I have gained 
 strength by fixing my eyes upon the top of a 
 green tree, forgetting thereby the one hundred 
 and seventeen degrees in the shade. I seemed 
 lifted above the sun-baked earth, and in a new 
 world where I gained new brain power to hold my 
 nerves in check. Each bright cloud can bring us 
 
 from the lower to the higher vibrations, and I find 
 
 131 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 nothing so helpful as lulling the conscious mind, 
 and coming in contact with the ether when those 
 white, fleecy clouds are passing. On shipboard, in 
 the Gulf of Mexico, one can sit for hours and gaze 
 upon the constantly changing colors in the water, 
 — now deep blue over the coral reefs, then a white 
 palace, and as you get into Florida Keys, you 
 will find the colors of the prairie flowers in the 
 water. In the spring we need green after so 
 much white of winter, or Nature would not have 
 put it on as her universal gown. I watch for 
 the first unfolding of the baby leaves, contrasting 
 the various colors. The autumn foliage in the 
 fells can produce and build strength for the 
 winter. White and red symbolize strength and 
 fire. 
 
 In the Wayside Chapel, colors have been put 
 on every stone and board from cellar to observa- 
 tory ; lessons are thus taught in these pictures of 
 life's journey. An amusing incident is related 
 of one of the picture scenes in the cellar. A bit 
 of lake is represented with cat-tails growing 
 therein. A mother was viewing this when she 
 recalled a remark of her little daughter who 
 visited the country for the first time the previous 
 summer. The mother said, " See, Ethel, all 
 those cat-tails." The child burst out crying, and 
 
 132 
 
 
COLOR 
 
 when her sobs allowed her to speak, wailed, 
 "Oh, mamma, all the poor cats are drowned, 
 and their tails are sticking out of the muddy 
 water.' ' 
 
 When my friends began to have their bed- 
 chambers done in one or two colors, I regarded 
 it as a fashionable fad ; but now I understand 
 how much was gained, for let me walk or ride 
 through fields of golden-rod, or watch a sunset, 
 and I am greatly helped in body, mind, and 
 soul. Learn to watch for the color in stones, 
 the lights and shadows upon the ocean, the 
 colors in the clouds and in the eyes of God's 
 creatures ; watch for the color in the cheeks of 
 little children before they have grown coarse by 
 eating gross flesh — even the hair of such chil- 
 dren is more beautiful, for clean hair throws 
 out many colors. 
 
 When you purchase an article of dress, choose 
 that which will bring help to those whom you 
 pass on life's journey. Many times I have been 
 strengthened by a cloak worn by an artist, which 
 was of green lined with grayish pink stuff, and 
 the garment was a perfect inspiration to me. 
 I chanced to meet another artist who wore a 
 bright scarlet cape; again I was helped. Try 
 to do your part in aiding nature, and lifting the 
 
 133 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 children of earth one step nearer the ideal. To 
 ascend to a higher plane where we find truth 
 and help, we must desire to bring earth's weak 
 ones strength required in life's battle. We must 
 open their eyes to beauty, holding them so 
 firmly by the hand that it will be impossible 
 to grope, stumble, or fall. Glorious visions of 
 color may come to us when a dark storm rages 
 outside. 
 
 A popular and talented actress indicates by 
 the color of her gowns the various emotions 
 of the heart which she so realistically depicts. 
 Red, she declares, means passionate love, and 
 if the mood is vengeful, she adds a red hat. In- 
 tense red always indicates an increased activity 
 of the blood. Pink is appropriate for tender and 
 confiding love. Subdued gray, or russet, bor- 
 rowed from the hue of the falling leaves, best- 
 expresses the feelings when sadness overshadows 
 the heart and " all the world is brown." White 
 or the tender green of the opening spring buds 
 is symbolical of the pure joyousness of girlhood. 
 Dark blue is indicative of a martial spirit, while 
 pale blue befits the dreamer and builder of fan- 
 ciful castles in Spain. Purple expresses repent- 
 ance, and black, abject woe. 
 
 Think how the apple blossoms begin. First 
 134 
 
COLOR 
 
 there are the beautiful pink buds, and later the 
 paler blossoms; then white leaves cover the 
 ground, and in their place, the little green fruit 
 comes. And behold ! within one short week the 
 entire dress of the tree has been transformed. 
 Instead of pink, it is now a beautiful green; 
 later the ripe fruit brings a stronger color, and 
 after that the rest and sleep in the bed with 
 white snow blankets for covering. But, mark 
 you, all the time it gives out some color which 
 helps man develop the thinking power, either 
 consciously or subconsciously. 
 
 Think of the little girl with her wealth of 
 curls like spun glass ; a few years pass, and her 
 hair is the color of her wedding ring. As time 
 goes on, the brown takes the place of the gold ; it 
 deepens and gives strength of perfect woman- 
 hood, until, like the tree, her tresses fade, and 
 the prints of time leave the snownakes in her 
 hair to soften and give new beauty to the face. 
 
 What secrets are told to the student by the 
 hair ! The red or tawny hair — how much 
 power it holds ! People who possess this hair 
 feel ofttimes that they are accursed ; we should 
 show them what a mine of love and affection 
 may be hidden under the Titianesque tresses. 
 They are full of the power and strength which 
 
 135 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 the color they represent gives to us when we 
 understand that nature does nothing without a 
 reason. It is for a deep and wise purpose that 
 nature revels in color, and it is to the end that 
 the children of earth shall grow up and not 
 down. 
 
 Those who have travelled over the desert, 
 where all trees and plants grow largely under 
 ground, note with surprise the effect of the 
 absence of color upon the natives. The study 
 is worth a trip across the continent. If human 
 beings have a musical key-note, they have also 
 a color key-note. After three months spent in 
 a desert I returned to the beautiful fields of 
 Kentucky. I did not understand my depression 
 in body and mind until I took a drive on Third 
 Avenue, leading to Louisville's most beautiful 
 park, and when we came to the noble trees I 
 said : " This is what I wanted. I was ill because 
 I saw no color, no trees — I am well now." A 
 child born on the desert, never seeing a tree 
 until eight months of age, was taken to San 
 Antonio and put on a blanket under an umbrella 
 china tree, and the little fellow would lie for 
 hours on his back watching the beautiful leaves 
 which spread over him — Nature's green um- 
 brella. So thick and dense is the shade of these 
 
 136 
 
COLOR 
 
 trees that they often afford shelter from a sum- 
 mer shower. They seem to be created just for 
 the climate of southern Texas. 
 
 Certain stones take color from the wearer, 
 changing from deep blue to green. Look at those 
 crystals in the Boston Art Museum, and note the 
 color. I sometimes go in just to stand before that 
 thirty-six thousand dollar crystal with the smaller 
 ones grouped about the case. A psychic whom 
 I know claims to read the future in one which 
 once belonged to a Hindoo temple, or religious 
 order. I am told that it takes a religious person 
 a lifetime to polish one of those crystals with 
 the hand, as no instrument of steel is allowed to 
 touch the sacred stone in which sensitives are to 
 read past and future events. 
 
 Many years ago I met the wife of a locomotive 
 engineer who wore an opal ring which changed 
 color with the wearer's mood. If her husband's 
 train was not on time, or she felt anxious about 
 anything, you could tell it by the dull milky 
 color of the opal, and one look at that woman's 
 ring would always show her mental or physical 
 condition. When happy and well, its transpar- 
 ency would show all the rainbow colors. 
 
 Blue Point, Gay Head, and other colored cliffs 
 are given to help the people of earth. No longer 
 
 137 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 pass these things by as only fit for painter or 
 poet, but use them to draw yourself into artistic 
 vibrations which will be reflected upon your 
 physical body. Watch the eyes accustomed to 
 gaze upon beauty ; they reflect the colors, and 
 we should grasp color when it is presented in 
 any form. 
 
 Some persons use ordinary colored balls in- 
 stead of crystals for concentration ; but I say use 
 the things Nature has given us, for she colors 
 everything which she creates. 
 
 I was told by a lady that she once took charge 
 of a child who was considered an idiot, and reached 
 his brain through a prism ; concentrating upon 
 color, his brain unfolded. Through their great 
 love for color many dull children learn to use their 
 minds — I mean those who could never learn a 
 lesson in an overheated schoolroom. Let them 
 walk on the banks of a creek, under the trees, 
 listening to the music of falling water over a dis- 
 tant mill-dam, and the love of knowledge will 
 come. They will listen to the song of the katy- 
 did or the various notes of a mocking-bird. The 
 lessons on the dull-printed pages will often make 
 them ill, while the piano and the wild flowers help 
 to keep them alive after toiling in an overcrowded 
 room. Dull children usually love beauty in any 
 
 138 
 
COLOR 
 
 form; in fact, while watching a graceful pose, 
 bright eyes, pink cheeks, and pretty colors in the 
 hair of their fellow-pupils, how can they look at 
 books ? Even the horses, ponies, and donkeys, 
 staked out in the distance waiting to bear the 
 children to their homes, are much more likely 
 to attract attention than a dictionary or spell- 
 ing book. We may often find in fragrance and 
 color of flowers the secret of dealing with this 
 class, and instead of punishing them, we should 
 give them pretty thoughts about harmonious 
 colors, and aid them by pleasant surroundings. 
 By contacting color we practise concentration 
 of sight which, in turn, reaches the brain. 
 
 On looking from an attic window upon the 
 red chimneys one gains strength, the green tree- 
 tops give help, and there is nothing between the 
 vision and the blue sky except an occasional 
 strong-winged bird. Thus, in every position 
 in life, we find compensation. 
 
 139 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 CONCENTRATION 
 
 THE practical truth of the trite maxim, " In 
 union there is strength," has been demon- 
 strated many times by personal experience; but 
 the real value of union is based on a fact 
 which has a deeper significance than that of the 
 simple conjunction of several bodies otherwise 
 disconnected. These may be placed side by 
 side, but this position is not the one best fitted 
 to give the greatest strength. A round column 
 gives a greater support than a square one of the 
 same material and diameter, although the super- 
 ficial area of the latter is greater and it contains 
 greater mass. The reason is that the particles 
 of a round column are all arranged with refer- 
 ence to a common centre ; that is, the resisting 
 force is more concentrated. The real, or basic 
 principle of strength, therefore, is concentration, 
 the true value of which will be more clearly 
 manifested when we consider radiation, which 
 is directly opposed to it. For instance, a beam 
 of white light results from the combination of 
 
 140 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 a number of colored rays, each having its own 
 special property, but none having the complete 
 series of properties possessed by the white beam 
 formed by them. The result is more than the 
 simple addition of similar qualities, and the 
 white beam is endowed not only with a special 
 quality of its own, but also with the special 
 qualities of all its component colored rays, and 
 in their greatest strength, that is, in the highest 
 degree of concentration. 
 
 This principle is applicable to the senses of all 
 animal organisms. When an organism has been 
 deprived of one or more of its special senses, the 
 remaining ones often exhibit an increased activ- 
 ity, as if to make up for the deprivation. The 
 deaf child learns to hear with the eyes; the 
 blind child learns to see with the fingers. The 
 loss sustained cannot, of course, be perfectly 
 compensated, yet a very good recompense is 
 made. The white light formed by the com- 
 bination of two or three of the color rays has 
 not all the perfection belonging to the white 
 beam containing all the color rays, yet it gives 
 the partial effect of the perfect white light. 
 The activity of a single sense will always be 
 attended with some good results, though neces- 
 sarily limited in scope. Therefore best results 
 
 141 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 can be obtained when all the senses cooperate 
 so that their action is concentrated. This ac- 
 counts for the acuteness of certain senses some- 
 times exhibited by animals as well as men. 
 Senses and instincts are physical habits of the 
 organism, and we may conclude that, other 
 things being equal, the fewer the special in- 
 stincts or senses, the more acute will be those 
 that are developed, owing to there being greater 
 concentration at these particular points. 
 
 It has long been known, especially to the 
 Oriental philosophers, that by mental concentra- 
 tion the mind is able to construct a fresh field of 
 view. Mr. Spence Hardy, in his " Legends a,nd 
 Theories of the Buddhists," tells us that there 
 are certain mystic powers possessed by Hindoo 
 devotees which are to be obtained only through 
 the meditative concentration of all the mind 
 faculties. He says that the devotee who has 
 practised this profound meditation aright acquires 
 control over the invisible world. " Being one, 
 he is multiplied and becomes many; being many, 
 he individualizes and becomes one ; he makes 
 himself visible or invisible; he can distinguish 
 the sounds made by men and i devas ' that are 
 not audible to others, whether near or distant ; 
 he can know the minds of all beings ; he acquires 
 
 142 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 divine vision , by which he sees sentient beings 
 as they pass from one state of existence to 
 another ; he also acquires divine knowledge, by 
 which he knows the cause of the beginning or 
 cessation of sorrow and evil. He becomes the 
 master of the ' Sacred Word,' the efficacy of 
 which depends mainly upon the form in which 
 it is uttered." 
 
 Here may be seen the power of concentration, 
 for the " Word " is a concentrated expression of 
 the will. The development of the power of the 
 will through concentration accounts for many of 
 the phenomena of hypnotism, for the suggestion 
 which forms the basis of the control of the hyp- 
 notist over his subject is really volitional, and not 
 simply suggestive in the ordinary sense of the 
 term. That the will can be exercised at a dis- 
 tance is fully established, although how it oper- 
 ates is a mystery. Perhaps the mind is able to 
 put an ethereal medium in vibration, and thus 
 convey its commands in a manner analogous to 
 the way the electric current is transmitted to a 
 predetermined point without a wire or other 
 special conductor. In either case great initial 
 concentration must be required. Everything in 
 nature is a centre of radiate force, and this must 
 be especially true of the brain, which is the mate- 
 
 143 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 rial organ, or centre of force for the mind. We 
 know the mind can affect the physical body 
 through the brain. As thought is a spiritual 
 activity expressed through a material organism, 
 every human being may be regarded as a centre 
 from which proceeds spiritual good or evil. With 
 the concentration of thought this influence is in- 
 tensified, awakening in other minds correspond- 
 ing thoughts, as the vibration of one electrified 
 wire arouses into activity another wire in sym- 
 pathy with it. We speak to our fellows, uncon- 
 sciously it may be, but in tones whose vibrations 
 reach the soul, and thus we are aided in reaching 
 ideals which otherwise might have faded away 
 like a passing dream. 
 
 Concentration is, therefore, the principle of 
 force which stands in opposition to the principle 
 of radiation, which, taken by itself, is expressive 
 of weakness ; taken together, however, they in- 
 sure progress in that which constitutes physical 
 and psychical evolution, and which applies alike 
 to man and to the infinite universe of which man 
 is a finite expression. 
 
 In order that any government may win victory 
 over an enemy, its troops must be concentrated, 
 army and navy working together to strengthen 
 the weakest and most exposed parts of the field. 
 
 144 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 There must be no neglect, however, among officers 
 or men of the daily practice required in time of 
 peace, so that they may work together in perfect 
 unison when the watchmen on guard signal the 
 approach of the foe. 
 
 So it is with our citadel on the hill — the 
 brain. We must take the same precautions if 
 we would acquire enough physical, mental, and 
 spiritual power to rout the foes which draw near 
 in the shape of fear, anger, pride, covetousness, 
 discontent, hurry, and avarice, and which cause 
 the neglect of the " temple not made with 
 hands." 
 
 People should concentrate upon the most triv- 
 ial things which their hands find to do ; for in- 
 stance, an old and homeless woman was wont to 
 pass her time with relatives and friends. When 
 asked to visit strangers, she would answer : " I 
 shall be glad to go if you will let me dry the 
 dishes after each meal. I find it very helpful 
 to use this mode of concentration, thinking all 
 the time I work, i I wish to keep my mind and 
 soul just as bright and fair to look upon as this 
 china and silver. ' Her dishes are always 
 carefully and thoroughly done, and her soul has 
 unfolded marvellously. 
 
 The habit of doing one thing and thinking of 
 145 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 another, scatters one's forces to a great degree. 
 For example, while taking your morning bath, 
 think, " Cleanliness is next to godliness," or call 
 to mind the ancient form of baptism. By watch- 
 ing your thoughts you will understand how hard 
 it is to concentrate them upon one subject, but 
 keep practising until your will is the master 
 which directs the brain work. After the bath 
 give the muscles and joints a few moments' ex- 
 ercise, thinking, " I will lift up mine eyes unto 
 the hills, from whence cometh my help," or of 
 some positive lesson, for instance, " There are no 
 limitations in my world." With each movement 
 of the body, new and beautiful thoughts should 
 fill the mind. Some highly developed mystics 
 prefer to eat alone as they can then concentrate 
 on the power contained in the clean food, which 
 is creating their strength. They picture to them- 
 selves how grain looked when it first sprang 
 from Mother Earth ; then, as time passed and 
 concentration began within its heart, how its 
 power increased, and how full of strength and 
 life it became. The figs, which grow upon trees 
 so fragrant that even the dried leaves emit a 
 dainty perfume when crushed in the hand, bring 
 to them pictures of the blue sky and the warm 
 sun under which they grew, and of the generous, 
 
 146 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 warm-hearted men and women who, perchance, 
 sat under the trees and enjoyed the fresh fruit. 
 Dates and nuts, which contain such abundant 
 nutriment, also grow amid scenes upon which 
 their minds dwell with profit. The mighty trees 
 have borne the storms and heat through many 
 years, and are yet sending out new life. Sweet 
 milk is full of strength ; while drinking it they 
 concentrate upon thoughts of freedom for the 
 animals, which also means the freedom of man 
 from sickness, ignorance, and premature death. 
 
 When their eyes are lifted higher than earthly 
 things, they claim power to awaken all souls to 
 higher and better views, and they believe that it 
 will come. As they pass along in the roar and 
 rush of a great city, they think, " I am one with 
 the power which creates this noise, and these 
 people are my brothers and sisters." They afnrai 
 gladness and wisdom for those who carry sadness 
 and ignorance written upon their faces. 
 
 A friend related how anxious she was to hold 
 the people of her church for a few moments in 
 silent prayer. She had learned the power of si- 
 lence, and, though disliking to make a formal re- 
 quest, her heart was so hopeful that the church 
 would learn the lesson which she had learned 
 that she was not surprised to see the congrega- 
 
 147 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 tion, just as she entered, about to kneel to offer 
 silent thanksgiving. She had concentrated upon 
 that thought for some days, and her prayer was 
 answered. 
 
 In the morning, when you awake, mentally 
 magnetize yourself, saying, " Each particle of this 
 body shall be kept to the honor and glory of 
 God." Then image what you wish to do, and if 
 it is what you need for your soul unfoldment, it 
 will come with blessing ; otherwise it might be a 
 curse. For instance, a woman wanted money, 
 and concentrated upon the thought until it came, 
 but alas ! from people who had no more than 
 they needed. One five-dollar bill came from a 
 place infected with small-pox, and although she 
 tried to protect the people into whose innocent 
 hands it fell, the curse came, and she learned a 
 lesson, — never to use the power of concentration 
 for mere personal gain or material wants. I 
 have been told that a person who desired a cer- 
 tain article of wearing apparel concentrated 
 thought upon it until some one sent the article 
 or brought the money to buy it. However, people 
 suffer for this misuse of power, and will be forced 
 eventually to work out their lesson. With power 
 exhausted, some are suffering from physical ail- 
 ments, and- are obliged to resort to others for 
 
 148 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 help. Better never try to gain centre or poise 
 if we are to use it as vampires against our igno- 
 rant neighbors. 
 
 Concentration can be gained by the use of a 
 watch. Hold it in the hand with the eyes rest- 
 ing upon it and thought directed to it alone. At 
 first a few seconds of concentrated attention can 
 be given ; but the length of time will increase 
 with repeated trials, until one can sit fifteen min- 
 utes three times a day. Nothing will bring such 
 large returns as thus centring the mental powers. 
 New brain cells will form, and the senses become 
 keener, bringing power worth more than much 
 fine gold. 
 
 The Hindoos tell us to sit quietly and fix our 
 minds upon the likeness existing between the 
 heart of man and the lotus flower. The lotus 
 begins in the mud, but finally lifts its head to the 
 sun — the source of life upon earth. The flower 
 sways with the tides, but never breaks, keeping 
 on the surface of the water, where it spreads 
 its green leaves. When the sun has touched its 
 heart, the higher unfoldment begins, and its 
 color, grace, and beauty gladden the children of 
 the world. Man must feel his oneness with the 
 Source of all life if he would unfold. By sitting 
 quietly alone in the stillness, in order that the 
 
 149 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 celestial light may be reflected, rays of it will 
 touch the soul until it opens and expands, thereby 
 causing new beauty and strength to lift all who 
 come in contact with the plane on which the 
 man lives. The Hindoos also enjoin quiet and 
 rest as a means of gaining power. People should 
 claim a few weeks or months of every year to go 
 alone to some quiet place where force can be gen- 
 erated which will help them far more than years 
 of saving and economy.' It is claimed that the 
 people of the Western world concentrate too 
 much on the frivolities of life. We are assured 
 by Oriental teachers that the returns are very 
 great when one comes in touch with the vibra- 
 tions of the Universal Mind. 
 
 The practice of concentration has helped me 
 very much, for it has enabled me to enter into 
 the thought realm, where I can learn that which 
 I would know. A Boston physician told me 
 that by practising concentration he had gained 
 the power to see into any home, city, or country, 
 and could bring before his physical vision either 
 a friend or an enemy. To do this requires great 
 power of concentration, growing out of years of 
 constant practice. 
 
 One way of acquiring concentration is by 
 imaging to yourself what you wish to become, 
 
 150 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 and where you wish to be placed in the world. 
 It is claimed by Buddha's followers that it was 
 by the power of concentration that he remem- 
 bered his many incarnations, being perfectly fa- 
 miliar with each separate life that he had lived 
 upon earth. Hence his ability to teach, for he 
 did not have to begin afresh — he did not have 
 to learn all in one life. Oriental sages claim 
 that the practice of concentration opens up or 
 unlocks the fountain of wisdom gained in past 
 lives. 
 
 No one can be expected to believe in reincar- 
 nation unless he knows of his own past, and 
 some teachers claim that comes through daily 
 practice of concentration before each meal. One 
 summer a boy of eight years came to live in the 
 tent next to mine. Our tables were close to- 
 gether at the inn, and I was able to observe him 
 closely. He was very intelligent, but his parents 
 felt great uneasiness because of one peculiarity. 
 He was born three months before his expected 
 birth, and just as soon as he began to talk he 
 told of a land where he had last lived, describing 
 the people and their laws. From his descriptions 
 it was plain that the people he had known were 
 in an advanced stage of development — the boy 
 himself showed a knowledge superior to that of 
 
 151 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 his parents. Despite the wonderful discernment 
 exhibited by this child, the neighbors called him 
 crazy. The mother took him to a wise Hindoo 
 priest who was teaching in the Monsalvat School, 
 and was told that in the case of children pre- 
 maturely born, a recollection of the previous 
 life was often retained. He said that the soul 
 of this child entered the body just as the boy was 
 born, for the theory is that the soul enters in the 
 sixth month of the period of gestation. The 
 sleep which lulls the spirit to forgetfulness had 
 not fallen upon the soul of this boy, hence the 
 behavior which the Scots would call " uncanny." 
 He is a lovely child, but never cares to be with 
 other children, because he is a man in thought, 
 talking of people and events of which those 
 around him have no knowledge. According 
 to statements regarding his last home life, 
 women rule the country by the power of mental 
 and moral superiority. 
 
 Another instance is found in the case of a 
 young woman now residing in New York. Her 
 memory of another life makes her present life 
 very bitter, as her friends refuse to believe any 
 of her statements. She writes stories of India, 
 making a good income, and she tells me that 
 every one of her stories is written about inci- 
 
 152 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 dents connected with her previous life. She 
 describes the villages, homes, and people as 
 clearly as a native could. I heard a Hindoo 
 pundit declare that she must have seen them 
 because the pictures are so perfect. 
 
 Concentration is within the reach of every one 
 who desires to train the subconscious mind for 
 the unfoldment of selfhood. Never concentrate 
 for selfish ends, but if we wish to keep the 
 physical instrument of the soul in perfect order, 
 we should practise some form of concentration. 
 A few moments in the subconscious state will 
 do more to right the physical body than six 
 hours' sleep. Take time for this, therefore; 
 practice is the road to power. Would a musician 
 understand music if he had not concentrated his 
 thoughts upon it day after day, thereby bring- 
 ing himself into harmonious vibrations with 
 the Invisible Source of all harmony ? Could the 
 great fortunes of to-day have been amassed but 
 for this power which develops "vril" or will? 
 
 When you lift your physical body into har- 
 mony with itself by freeing your joints and 
 muscles, in part you free your mental dynamo, 
 and this must be done if you wish to be nearer 
 the Infinite Source of power, the Universal 
 Mind. Practise concentration that you may 
 
 153 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 become positive to the lower vibrations, which 
 pull you earthward and are opposed to the 
 vibrations whereby you gain wisdom and soul- 
 unfoldment. 
 
 Mr. B is a man totally uneducated, yet 
 
 his instruction is stronger spiritually than that of 
 any teacher I have known. By lulling the con- 
 scious mind and concentrating his desire for 
 spiritual wisdom upon the higher spheres, he 
 claims that he is able to project his astral body 
 into those higher realms as Swedenborg did, 
 returning with strange and wondrous informa- 
 tion for those to whom he speaks. 
 
 Examples of the Power of Concentration 
 
 While dining with a friend, I noticed a very 
 beautiful picture hanging on the wall opposite 
 the table. I remarked, " What a beautiful pic- 
 ture of your little girl!" My friend did not 
 seem to hear, and I asked, " Where did you find 
 an artist who could do such work as that ? " 
 Still she remained silent, apparently intent upon 
 the needs of her children on the other side of the 
 table. When I spoke again of the picture, she 
 said, " After dinner I will explain." Later she 
 told me that several months before her little 
 daughter was born she bought this picture, and 
 
 154 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 by looking at it daily, and concentrating her 
 mind upon its beauty, she had photographed the 
 face upon her unborn child. 
 
 The following shows the effects of concen- 
 trated anger. Professor S , of Washington, 
 
 D. C.j told me this personal experience. He and 
 two others, a Philadelphian and a New Yorker, 
 were partners in a business enterprise. The 
 professor and the man from Philadelphia wished 
 to sell, as a good offer had been made for the 
 property, and the New Yorker was notified to 
 that effect. He, however, sent a curt refusal, 
 which so enraged the Philadelphian that while 
 reading the letter he struck the desk a sharp 
 blow with his fist, saying, " I'll kill him ! " The 
 New Yorker at that moment fell upon the floor 
 of his office with what the doctor called an apo- 
 plectic stroke. He passed away in about three 
 
 days. Professor S said that his remaining 
 
 partner declared that he murdered his friend by 
 that fit of concentrated angry thought force. 
 
 I was told at a lecture that a physician re- 
 ceived a telegram from his mother two hundred 
 miles away, saying that she must submit to a 
 surgical operation at once. The doctor went 
 into the subconscious state, entered into the 
 details of the case, and then wired : " Do not 
 
 155 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 allow them to operate. I will meet the doctors 
 in your room." The surgeons came, and the 
 physician by concentration threw his body into 
 a state of trance, and then projected his astral 
 body into his mother's room and showed the others 
 what to do. When he returned to consciousness 
 in his own room, he found that his soul had trav- 
 elled two hundred miles in twenty minutes ; that 
 is, he regained consciousness twenty minutes after 
 he went into the subconscious state. 
 
 This form of power is gained by years of 
 constant practice of concentration three times a 
 day before eating ; active brain work draws the 
 blood from the stomach, and, after eating, the 
 blood is required to digest our food. 
 
 A lady whose brother smoked incessantly 
 asked to have him mentally treated, or sug- 
 gested, psychologically, that smoking was bad 
 for himself and his friends. At night he was 
 sent a thought current to arouse his higher 
 nature into action. The next day he said that 
 at four o'clock in the morning a voice aroused 
 him out of a sound sleep, and abused him, as he 
 expressed it, for contaminating the environment 
 hi which ladies must live. He also said that he 
 plainly saw the psychologist standing by his 
 bed. At four o'clock that morning she (the 
 
 156 
 
CONCENTRATION 
 
 psychologist) was resting on her bed, giving him 
 a mental treatment. Three days later he gave 
 up smoking and threw away pipes and tobacco. 
 His mind was aroused to a realization of the 
 weakness which he manifested by constant self 
 indulgence, and at the same time helped by re- 
 newing his faith in himself to overcome the 
 habit. In this way many people are able to 
 heal disease simply by renewing the mind of 
 the patient. By suggestion, mental and moral 
 diseases can be treated most successfully. 
 
 Dr. M told me the following story. His 
 
 little niece had found a bird's nest into which 
 she could look when she stood on his shoulder. 
 She watched the nest day after day until it con- 
 tained some tiny eggs. After that she was 
 taken ill with scarlet fever, yet she talked of 
 the bird, its nest, and the little ones she ex- 
 pected to come out of the eggs. Time passed, 
 and as her body was being consumed, her mind 
 was still concentrated upon the nest in the tree. 
 One day she exclaimed, " The little birdies have 
 come ; two are out, and another is opening the 
 shell." The doctor went out, and there they 
 were, as the little psychic had described. The 
 next day she entered the field of clearer vision 
 for the last time. 
 
 157 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 MEDITATION 
 
 ASWAMI tells of a Hindoo who wished to 
 gain immortality, therefore he decided to 
 withdraw from human companionship and se- 
 clude himself within the depth of the forest, 
 that through uninterrupted meditation he might 
 better prepare himself for the change called 
 death. Since in the simplicity of his life in 
 the wilderness he would need very little of this 
 world's goods, he proposed giving all his vast 
 wealth to his wife, but she inquired, " What is 
 immortality?" When she understood that it 
 meant life after death, she told her husband that 
 his wealth must be given to some one else, for 
 she desired also to enter the forest. 
 
 The desire for immortality springs eternal 
 within the human heart, and all thoughtful 
 people at some period of their lives desire to 
 " enter the forest." The forest may be a back 
 hall room in a crowded city or an isolated cabin 
 among the hills. It means the giving up of 
 
 158 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 earthly desires for the peace of God which 
 passeth understanding. Then when so-called 
 death comes to us, it should simply mean the 
 abandonment of one house to enter a new and 
 more beautiful one created by pure thoughts, 
 kind deeds, and unselfish lives. Let us help 
 others to see the light, holding no human being 
 in bondage, for freedom must come to the soul be- 
 fore it can gain by concentration and meditation. 
 To win the battle of life we must concentrate 
 our forces by going at least fifteen minutes three 
 times a day into the silence, thus stilling the 
 conscious mind and letting the subconscious 
 dwell for a time where it may receive vibrations 
 from the Universal Mind. If we are engaged in 
 modern warfare, we must use the latest approved 
 methods of conquering our foes. To know the 
 country surrounding the field upon which the 
 battle is fought is all-important. So a wise 
 general orders out the balloon forces, and thus 
 obtains a more lofty view than any mountain or 
 hill can give of the enemy's position and the 
 obstacles to be overcome. By concentration of 
 various gases power is gained to lift that frail 
 craft into space where the air is purer and colder 
 and the knowledge is obtained which may save 
 the army from destruction. Force had to be 
 
 159 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 created to gain the power to ascend, but there 
 must be another force to bring back the knowl- 
 edge acquired. So meditation, which in reality 
 is mind-using, is the second power. After the 
 stillness, fix your mental force upon one subject, 
 and wait for the messages which will come just 
 as fast as they can be received. Man possesses 
 the power to enter the mental body, which in 
 turn leads to that lighter astral force which will 
 lift him as the gas does the balloon. But now 
 comes the moment when you want the trained 
 eye to photograph the country, and bring back 
 the vision ; there, again, the memory must be 
 trained in a new school or you may come and 
 go for six hours out of the twenty-four, and yet 
 retain no picture of what you have seen, heard, 
 or felt. If man lives upon the pure spiritual 
 plane, the memory of the vision will be stronger, 
 leaving a deeper impression. 
 
 Meditate upon strength when you sit in a 
 street car, and then give up your place to an 
 old man, the tired shop girl, or the feeble woman. 
 Even make way for the dusty laborer, the condi- 
 tion of whose hands and garments has made 
 him ashamed to ask a well-dressed woman to 
 make room for him. Single out the weakest, and 
 declare and attract strength by giving up your 
 
 160 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 seat, thinking : " I am strong. I am full of the 
 power of life and spirit, and, knowing this, I can 
 stand for hours, that those who believe themselves 
 weak may rest." Instead of becoming weary, you 
 gain double strength ; for a physical, mental, 
 and spiritual development follows this sort of 
 meditation. 
 
 Again, some one you love passes into the 
 higher life ; you wish to build a marble monu- 
 ment or place flowers upon the grave to show 
 the world that you remember. Meditate upon 
 how to help that loved one, and on the next 
 anniversary do a kindness for some fellow-crea- 
 ture. The opportunity will come just as soon 
 as you leave your house to help some one in his 
 or her name. It may be a lame child selling 
 papers, an old woman whose burden you can 
 carry or for whom you can supply coal. Once 
 begin celebrating holidays, birthdays, or death- 
 days by planting these immortelles, and your 
 absent friends will gather the beauty of the 
 blossoms. Earthly flowers wither almost before 
 placed upon a grave, and the other is the better 
 and lasting way. 
 
 Meditate upon affluence and plenty, and hold 
 that you are one with the world which is so 
 rich. Your part in it will be received just as 
 
 161 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 soon as you learn how to bestow. Of late I 
 have meditated upon the question of spending 
 money. When I buy a ticket at a railway sta- 
 tion, I think : " I have plenty. I love to spend ; 
 it is a joy to spend that." Double will be re- 
 turned to me. When teaching others try to be- 
 stow upon them the fulness that you have 
 accumulated upon life's journey, withholding 
 nothing. What more are they seeking ? What 
 more can you give than to point out the way 
 over which you have been led from the jungle, 
 where savage creatures seemed hidden behind 
 each tree, to the "green pastures," where no 
 dangers threaten ? Often you will be warned to 
 tread lightly upon those who are armed by 
 nature to dispute every foot of the way with the 
 pilgrim journeying alone in the darkness. By 
 non-resistance you will escape the harpies who 
 would pluck from you your worldly goods ; one 
 by one your burdens may be taken. To be freed 
 from self one must often see all taken, and stand 
 healed of mark or scar of battle — free. Having 
 lost all burdens, great speed is gained. When 
 you lose, know that your journey will be all the 
 quicker into paths of peace, for you have gained 
 speed to flee from the jungle before night gives 
 added ferocity to the beasts of prey. 
 
 162 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 Silence is golden, therefore you should travel 
 alone. In talking to companions, the force 
 is spent which gives fleetness to your steps. 
 Meditate upon this and learn the lesson. Walk 
 alone, note how strong and fresh you feel. 
 Walk and talk with some friend, and if you are 
 in a dusty, noisy city, you will lose on all sides. 
 Silence should always rule in your walks. When 
 you climb a hill, think of life's journey as lead- 
 ing to the heights. Think when you walk with 
 heavy burdens that they are developing new and 
 greater strength, so that when you come to the 
 place where your burdens are taken, you will 
 have developed new strength and power. When 
 your physical is mounting hills, meditate upon 
 strength ; look into the clear blue sky, and say, 
 " I am slowly gaining power to come nearer to 
 the sunlight." For those who wish to : meditate 
 there is much to be gained by living upon a hill 
 or mountain. 
 
 When it snows, think of the earth dressed as 
 a bride to welcome the bridegroom — spring. 
 Love the rain and snow, and they will treat you 
 kindly. Use the polished surface of the water 
 as you would a crystal, and it will give you 
 thought for meditation. The colors of the rain- 
 bow are in each drop of water, waiting until the 
 
 163 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 rays of the sun strike upon it to bring illumination. 
 I was once on the deck of a steamer where the 
 Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic meet, watching 
 the approach of a storm as the water changed 
 from green to blue. Never have I seen anything 
 more beautiful than that wealth of ocean color. 
 Last summer, in watching the sands under my 
 feet while bathing in a river, I often found that 
 each wave created its little rainbow. I called 
 several artists to view it, and although they had 
 often bathed in that river, they had not dis- 
 covered this beautiful color picture created by 
 the motion of the waves. 
 
 When you meditate upon environment, send 
 out thoughts which will enable some one to step 
 up into a position where more light will reach 
 the hidden beauty of the soul and bring out 
 the harmony of life. Meditate upon light, and 
 give also of your oil to the foolish who have 
 waited until the last and the dark hour is falling. 
 On exemplifying the truths upon which we medi- 
 tate, we gain power to journey on through the 
 valley and shadow. If we would come to-day 
 into the sunlight, we must do it by helping the 
 weak who are travelling along life's highway. 
 Charity does not always mean the giving of 
 alms ; it is often bestowed in a word, a look, or 
 
 164 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 a smile. Sometimes a gentle rebuke is the true- 
 est charity. Help from concentrated thought 
 force is the most powerful aid which a psy- 
 chologist can give. 
 
 " Let the words of my mouth, and the medi- 
 tation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 
 Lord, my Strength, and my Kedeemer." " The 
 words of my mouth" are placed before "the 
 meditation of my heart," so we should learn 
 that lesson first. When we understand the law 
 of vibration we shall realize that the speaker of 
 harsh, unkind words is causing the greatest in- 
 jury to himself by drawing his soul and mind 
 into a coarse, earthly current, thereby clouding 
 the divine light which should radiate from a 
 healthy mind in a healthy body. The harm to 
 others is no less serious, for even though every 
 word is true, the repetition of unkind criticism 
 holds the unhappy victim to error. We are all 
 sensitive enough to see the color change in the 
 physical when by words of censure we hold a 
 weak brother to evil. Let the tongue be drilled 
 to become an instrument to send out sounds of 
 love and good-will. The heart is out of tune if 
 we, knowing the laws, defy them, and allow our- 
 selves to add to the vibrations of the lower, 
 harsher, and death-dealing forces. 
 
 165 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 When in the presence of scandal-mongers, 
 although we may know that the words uttered 
 are true, we should realize the power that makes 
 the person voice the ugly words, and instead of 
 being weak and willing listeners, we should be 
 brave enough to rebuke the spreader of scandal. 
 Once I lived almost entirely alone. During the 
 time a poor creature came to me for instruction, 
 and repeated to me a revolting story of the sin 
 of others. It was more detrimental than any 
 infection she might have brought into that quiet 
 room. It seemed impossible for me to ask her 
 to return, so I said, u I will go to you if you 
 require more teaching." At intervals of two 
 or three days her offensive story presented itself 
 to my mind. Resolve to bring nothing unclean 
 into your neighbor's environment. In "The 
 Red Cardinal" the master had a sitting room, 
 over the mantelpiece of which, in large, plain 
 letters, were the words, " We will speak no evil 
 here." When a neighbor began to repeat a bit 
 of unpleasant gossip, the master would look at 
 the words, then at the speaker. It sufficed; 
 silence reigned for a few seconds. If the story 
 was told after that, it was told in another room. 
 When repeating unpleasant gossip, what are we 
 doing? Sending out vibrations of inharmony 
 
 166 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 which will sound on and on through the 
 universe, bringing harm to all life upon the 
 lower planes. When the effect of evil words 
 rebounds upon us with great strength, we 
 ignorantly wonder why we grow old and ugly, 
 and sutler bodily ills. We should strive to make 
 temples of our homes. Would one willingly sit 
 down with a man who was suffering with small- 
 pox or leprosy? Yet those who are prone to 
 see faults in their neighbors are moral lepers, 
 and do more harm even than physical lepers 
 because of the unseen laws governing environ- 
 ment and vibrations. 
 
 " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
 draw all men unto me." If one person wishes 
 to wallow in the mire, he need not pull others 
 into a mud bath, whether they will or no. A 
 false idea of politeness has made us unwilling 
 victims long enough. Our duty is to speak the 
 word which will end the harsh criticism. By 
 listening we do almost as much harm as the 
 speaker. I thought, at one time, that I had 
 awakened in some degree to the soul life ; but 
 when visiting a friend the name of a woman was 
 mentioned, and I delivered a dissertation upon 
 her faults. The lady with whom I was convers- 
 ing made little comment, and I felt that her| 
 
 167 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 silence was a rebuke. Those who are earnestly- 
 fighting for mastery over the tongue can imagine 
 my mortification on leaving the house. A few 
 weeks later I again visited my friend and met 
 a sister of the hostess, and again the old topic 
 was introduced. As though impelled by unseen 
 demons, I repeated the unkind criticisms which 
 I had voiced before, adding many more disagree- 
 able facts. In a moment came the reaction, and 
 I resolved that I would never again yield to that 
 temptation. A third time I called, and the wom- 
 an's name was mentioned; I mentally said, 
 " Get thee behind me, Satan ! " I said aloud : 
 "She will come out all right. We 'must hold 
 her to the highest and best, and help her to be 
 strong.'' I was well rewarded, for when I left 
 the woman whose house I had twice contami- 
 nated by evil speaking, she looked me in the eyes 
 and said : " You are stronger, much stronger. I 
 can see that you have gained poise in the last 
 month." I knew that she had sent me thoughts 
 of help and counsel which had lifted me to a 
 higher plane, where I had realized that I had 
 unconsciously been doing evil. 
 
 By daily practice in concentration and medita- 
 tion one can hold one thought, as the thought of 
 light, and gain a fuller knowledge of its hidden 
 
 168 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 meaning and deepest purpose. Teachers of con- 
 centration give the following abstract ideas upon 
 which to meditate, — life, light, color, beauty, 
 strength, love, kindness, charity, wisdom, justice, 
 and mercy. By letting the mind dwell upon one 
 of these ideas for a time, great fields of light will 
 open, especially when we endeavor to get into 
 the finer mental vibrations of great thinkers 
 upon the same subject. " A man is known by 
 the company he keeps " is eminently true. If 
 we are in the company of great minds, we shall 
 be influenced by them for advancement. It is 
 said that people who have lived together for a 
 long time grow to look alike. If we can become 
 physically similar, it follows that a spiritual re- 
 semblance is possible also. Let us pray to be 
 given the power to radiate a sweet, pure influ- 
 ence upon all with whom we come in contact, 
 directly or indirectly. 
 
 Meditate upon the seasons and try to see the 
 deeper significance of each. Draw an analogy 
 between the changes that nature makes in her 
 annual round and the seasons of youth, manhood, 
 and age. Find and learn to appreciate what is 
 best in each period. Meditate upon the rest time 
 which nature brings. Rest must come to all who 
 would grow to new and greater things. Watch 
 
 169 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 the rest between the ocean waves. Meditate 
 upon them, and rest as you meditate. We make 
 a fatal mistake when we keep our minds fixed 
 constantly upon material things. 
 
 Look always for color, beauty, gladness, and 
 harmony. Listen for words of peace and good- 
 will. Think, " My meditations are attuned to 
 the higher spheres, therefore I shall not pull 
 my brother down." Affirm that you are draw- 
 ing your fellow-creatures to ideal thoughts and 
 lives, even to the standard given by our Elder 
 Brother of Nazareth. Meditate upon His words. 
 A book containing an index of subjects upon 
 which the Master spoke, and indicating the 
 place in the Scriptures where each could be 
 found, greatly helped me. 
 
 Take something good which you find in the 
 life of another and meditate upon it. Never 
 think of the weakness in another's life. You 
 will grow to resemble that upon which you 
 meditate ; think, then, of the brave, strong 
 side of human nature. Look about you to 
 find those who are striving to live "in tune 
 with the Infinite." God is in all things which 
 He hath made. Look everywhere for the good, 
 the true, and the beautiful, and it will have a 
 chance to unfold. When your tongue takes on 
 
 170 
 
MEDITATION 
 
 the sharpness of a two-edged sword, it is time 
 to say : " Get thee behind me, Satan. I will 
 have no such enemies within as you would 
 create out of my tongue. By controlling my 
 thoughts I rule this house which I inhabit. 
 Go ! and come no more." 
 
 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh 
 to you." Let us so live that God may draw 
 near to us in our homes, at our work, and in 
 all the walks of life. Affirm that teachers will 
 be given strength and power to point the way, 
 going out daily with strength as of the mighty 
 ocean, bearing frail crafts safely into port. 
 
 171 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 BKEATHING 
 
 And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life ; and man became 
 a living soul. — Gen. ii. 7. 
 
 THERE is a deeper significance in the word 
 " breathed " than the mere inhaling and 
 exhaling of air. The Latin word is spiro, and 
 the word " spirit " comes from the same root. We 
 learn that God breathed into man the breath 
 of life, whereby he became a " living soul." 
 Then shall we not say that the physical mean- 
 ing is the least in order of importance ? Every 
 act of life should have its spiritual prototype, 
 and my chief object in introducing this chapter 
 is to show how we may breathe "to the honor 
 and glory of God." 
 
 In previous chapters we considered first, how 
 to free the joints and muscles of the body in 
 order that they might act together in harmony ; 
 second, how to dress that we might best declare 
 oneness with the Infinite, showing that any gar- 
 
 172 
 
BREATHING 
 
 ment which impeded freedom of movement in 
 any part of the body was harmful, bodily and 
 spiritually ; third, what to eat that would best 
 nourish our bodies, and subserve renunciation 
 of animal appetites ; fourth, how to order our 
 daily life so that worldly cares should not absorb 
 too much time and attention ; fifth, the cleans- 
 ing of our bodies as a means of learning self- 
 control. At a casual glance these would all 
 seem merely material considerations ; but those 
 who are seeking self-unfoldment know that the 
 highest, truest, best meaning of any act is its 
 spiritual meaning. The later chapters deal 
 more directly with the spiritual side of life, but 
 that which is called the purely physical should 
 not be neglected. One thing should be borne in 
 mind : unless one is willing to pledge himself 
 to abstain from blood-heating food, he need not 
 hope to acquire power ; unless the fleshly desires 
 are in subjection, spiritual growth is impossible. 
 Does it seem too great a denial? Think, then, 
 of the rewards ! 
 
 One sure means of gaining power is in breath- 
 ing exercises. With the muscles of the dia- 
 phragm free to act, the lungs may be fully 
 inflated without injury. Let the action be slow. 
 Think while inhaling, "I am awakening, and 
 
 173 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 obtaining through the medium of this breath 
 which I draw the omnipotent force which is 
 within myself." While exhaling, think, " I 
 would infuse omnipotence into every relation 
 of my life." Let us imagine our breath as a 
 carrying power for thought energy, sending out 
 love to all the world in the exhalation, and in 
 inhalation attracting all that is needful to our- 
 selves. During breathing exercises listen care- 
 fully that you make no noise. 
 
 Just after a full meal never practise deep 
 breathing, concentration, or meditation. Rather 
 let four hours pass. Rest, not activity, is re- 
 quired after eating. My teacher from India 
 warned all who came into his class to abstain 
 from flesh-eating, explaining that the blood 
 produced by animal food was in no condition to 
 be forced into new channels. Let the stomach 
 be empty, even of water. The best time for 
 breathing practice is in the morning before 
 breakfast and immediately following the bath. 
 It will also be beneficial just before luncheon, at 
 bedtime, and it will be found an advantageous 
 time when walking on a quiet street or country 
 road. When about to ascend a flight of stairs, 
 slowly fill the lungs with a deep breath and hold 
 it until you reach the top- This practice will 
 
 174 
 
BREATHING 
 
 take away the unpleasant effects of stair-climb- 
 ing to a great extent. 
 
 Learn to watch your sleep. Whenever you 
 turn you breathe on the upper side of the head, 
 and by frequent changing you rest these organs. 
 Never sleep with another person, as you will 
 keep each other from turning, and will stay too 
 long on one side of the body. Again it is very 
 injurious for two people to sleep in the same 
 room, as the air is vitiated more rapidly than it 
 can be purified by ordinary methods of ventilation. 
 Air should enter from the bottom of a window, 
 and another window should be opened at the 
 top that the exhausted air may escape. We 
 live upon air as much as food. We can store 
 up enough food to keep us alive for many days ; 
 but let the supply of air be taken away but for 
 a few moments, and we are quickly freed from 
 the physical body. Windows are made that 
 sunlight and air may enter. Some time ago a 
 woman, the mother of ten children, entered 
 my class. Her youngest child was a boy, four 
 years old, and the only one of the family in deli- 
 cate health. She asked advice. My first ques- 
 tion was, " With whom does he sleep ? " She 
 replied, "With his elder brother." I learned 
 later that this older boy was in delicate health 
 
 175 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 before his brother slept with him. My direc- 
 tions were simple, but imperative. " Feed him 
 upon Granose and milk, let him sleep alone even 
 if it has to be in the attic, and bathe him every 
 day." Soon after I heard that the child had 
 regained his health. No small part of this im- 
 provement was due to his better conditions. 
 
 The subjects of concentration, meditation, and 
 deep breathing are so important and so closely 
 allied that the following remarks from my 
 former teacher, Swami Abhedananda, of India, 
 published in the New York Sun, may prove 
 helpful : — 
 
 " Man can do certain things with matter which 
 his ancestors could not do, and as he grows wiser 
 and better he can learn to do things beside which 
 the miracles of our time will pale into insignifi- 
 cance. 
 
 " In India, more than two thousand years ago, 
 monks sat in their caves and made complete and 
 accurate astronomical calculations without an 
 instrument of any kind. In their silent medita- 
 tions they saw and recognized the whole move- 
 ment of the stellar world, which required years 
 of observation from such men as Galileo, Sir 
 Isaac Newton, and Sir William Herschel to work 
 out with their telescopes and mathematical in- 
 
 176 
 
BREATHING 
 
 struments. The difference between their calcu- 
 lations of the solar eclipses and those of the 
 Western astronomers was but a few seconds in 
 time. Without laboratories, they discovered 
 many of the laws of chemistry. Some of these 
 discoveries are on record in India. 
 
 " How did they do these things ? By psychic 
 control, the result of long mental concentration, 
 whereby the mind may attain to complete 
 domination over matter. You see, our minds 
 in the ordinary condition are very closely asso- 
 ciated with our bodies. But we know that our 
 mind and our body are two very different things. 
 Now, the more the mind, or rather the soul, is 
 separated from the body, the more powerful and 
 independent does it become, because this mind- 
 soul is immortal. By concentration it is able, 
 as it were, to detach itself from the body, and 
 the more complete this detachment the greater 
 will be its knowledge of matter. Now conceive, 
 if you can, of a person who has learned by con- 
 centration to take his mind out of his body, so 
 to speak, and to look at the body and all other 
 bodies as outside objects. If the separation of 
 the mind is complete enough, that person will 
 discover the secrets of nature without so much 
 as going out of the room. Anything that the 
 
 177 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 mind happens to address itself to in this state it 
 will grasp and understand. 
 
 "Any person with a healthy body and mind 
 can attain a considerable degree of mental con- 
 centration by hard practice of the physical and 
 mental exercises adopted by our yogis. All your 
 hypnotists, clairvoyants, mind readers, and the 
 like are illustrations of what a comparatively 
 limited degree of concentration will do for the 
 mind. Such persons use their minds for selfish 
 ends as a rule. No Hindoo yogi ever does that. 
 Any mind to become supremely powerful must 
 have no material attachments or desires. It is 
 therefore possible for comparatively few mortals 
 at one time to rise to a very high psychic state, 
 for the conditions involve not only the vows of 
 chastity and poverty, a strictly vegetable diet, 
 absolute honesty, and universal love, but days 
 and months of continuous meditation. Some 
 persons are born predisposed to this psychic state, 
 as persons are born geniuses, and others seem to 
 blunder upon it without knowing just how they 
 got their powers. Every great genius, great re- 
 former, and, in fact, great character of any sort 
 must have more or less of it. 
 
 "The state of the mind at all times is de- 
 pendent physiologically upon three things, — the 
 
 178 
 
BREATHING 
 
 brain, the spinal cord, and the breath. These 
 three must work in absolute harmony before the 
 mind can fully concentrate itself upon itself or 
 any object without. Concentration is the goal. 
 Now it has been found that the brain, the spinal 
 cord, and the breathing can be trained to work 
 in such unison that a powerful rhythmic flow of 
 nervous energy can be created. This tremendous 
 current of nervous energy, upon reaching the 
 brain, produces entirely new reactions. Every 
 thought or idea produced by means of the brain 
 is the result of some sort of reaction taking place. 
 The vividness of such ideas depends upon the in- 
 tensity of the reaction, and the intensity of the 
 reaction depends upon the strength of the nerve 
 current producing it. These nerve currents are 
 rushing to the brain and resulting in reactions 
 every moment of our lives, although we are not 
 conscious of a great many of them. Now, if one 
 can manage to send new and greatly increased 
 nerve currents to one's brain, they are sure to 
 produce new and greater reactions. That is just 
 what occurs when the brain, the spinal cord, and 
 the breathing are working in harmony, for then 
 the motion of the current is rhythmic, circulating 
 from foot to head. 
 
 " The manner of breathing has much to do 
 179 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 with the result. When the breath passes into 
 the lungs, just opposite the thorax, it sets in, or 
 rather keeps up, the two nerve currents that pass 
 up and down the spinal column to the brain and 
 other parts of the body. Every inhalation and 
 exhalation completely controls the motion of 
 these currents. If the inhalation and exhalation 
 are irregular, the currents are of necessity irregu- 
 lar. Irregular currents are without rhythm, and 
 it is the rhythmic motion of the currents that pro- 
 duces the wonderful thrilling reaction of the brain. 
 " But what is rhythm in this case ? All elec- 
 tric currents are by nature rhythmic; that is, the 
 motion is all in the same direction. In an ordi- 
 narily quiet room there is a good deal of motion, 
 almost enough to knock us down if it were all 
 in the same direction ; but being in all directions 
 we do not feel it. Let it move in the same direc- 
 tion and you would see what a whirlwind would 
 take possession of the room. Just such motion 
 
 — uninterrupted electric motion, as it were, 
 
 — is wanted for the nerve currents. But there 
 is scarcely a person in a million who breathes in 
 a rhythmic manner, or who has any sort of con- 
 trol over the breath. This must be acquired by 
 hard practice. One of the great difficulties for 
 an unhealthy person to overcome in acquiring 
 
 180 
 
BREATHING 
 
 the art of rhythmic breathing is the irregular 
 change of breath from one nostril to the other. 
 In a perfectly well person the breath changes 
 from one nostril to the other about every two 
 hours ; but in poor health the breath sometimes 
 remains in one nostril for hours and even days 
 at a time. In such condition it is impossible to 
 maintain rhythmic circulation. 
 
 "Did you ever observe the manner of your 
 breathing when the mind is aglow with some 
 great idea or engrossed with some tremendous 
 problem ? How regular and quiet the breathing 
 becomes in such moments, but the motion is 
 perfectly rhythmic. The nerve currents are 
 moving through their channels without the 
 slightest obstacle. The mind at such moments 
 is in a profound state of concentration, which 
 has been accomplished by the regularity of the 
 breath, which has in its turn produced the regu- 
 lar nerve currents. We speak of watching a 
 play or hearing a speech with breathless inter- 
 est. "We yogis in India try to emulate this 
 lesson from nature. We go to some quiet place, 
 assume an easy posture, in which the chest, 
 neck, and head will be on a perpendicular line 
 and the spinal cord will hang straight down. 
 Then we practise this slow, measured breathing 
 
 181 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 three or four times a day, until we have acquired 
 the habit. The exercises are begun in childhood, 
 and a yogi's breath is as regular as the tick of 
 a watch, under any circumstances, for he has 
 acquired absolute mastery of it. 
 
 " Now a person who has not acquired this 
 habit should begin by practising fifteen minutes 
 at a time, at sunrise, or on resting at noon, at 
 sunset, and on retiring. After a few weeks of 
 such practice, if it has been done with a desire 
 to concentrate the mind, he will notice that a 
 change is coming over his nerves. He has be- 
 come calmer and more serene, less liable to irri- 
 tation and disturbance from his circumstances. 
 If he continues to persevere, the health will 
 greatly improve, wrinkles will depart from the 
 skin, and it will acquire a sort of clearness and 
 transparency indicative of high thinking and 
 clean living. The voice will grow soft. No 
 yogi ever had a harsh, creaking voice, for the 
 breath has as much control over the voice as 
 over the nerves. It not only creates the 
 rhythmic nerve currents, but it purifies and 
 strengthens the nerves as well. 
 
 "But we in India have another breathing 
 exercise that enables us to reach a much higher 
 state of psychic action. This is forcing the 
 
 182 
 
BREATHING 
 
 change of breath from nostril to nostril. The 
 greater the reaction in any part of the brain 
 the greater the concentration of all other parts 
 to that part. Why do we speak of one's being 
 absent-minded while walking along the street? 
 Because his mind is detached from the things 
 about him and is busy with some strong reac- 
 tion produced from within. Now, when we 
 force the breath we increase the rhythmic 
 nervous flow, and consequently the reaction in 
 the brain cells. 
 
 " The spinal cord in every human being con- 
 tains two regular nerve fibres, — one down the 
 right side and the other down the left side. In 
 the centre of the cord is a very small hollow 
 tube, open through the medulla, which connects 
 the cord with the brain, and this tube reaches to 
 the lower end of the cord. Western physiologists 
 have never known what this hollow tube was for, 
 for it is completely closed up at the lower end 
 of the cord in the average person, who employs 
 only the nerve fibres on either side for the 
 transmission of the nerve currents. But the 
 yogi has found a most important use for this 
 hollow tube, once he has succeeded in opening 
 its lower end. 
 
 " Connected with the cord at its lower end is 
 183 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 a small bundle of nerve fibres in the form of a 
 triangle. This bundle or coil is a great battery, 
 supplying nervous energy. By forcing breath 
 from side to side and increasing the rhythm, 
 one will be able to arouse this coil and to force 
 open its connection with the hollow tube in the 
 cord. This done, a sweeping current is sent up 
 the hollow tube to the brain. It is precisely like 
 telegraphing without wires. Now the current is 
 open and every inhalation and exhalation of the 
 breath keeps the current in rhythmic motion, 
 passing through the great potential nerve coil at 
 the lower end of the spinal cord, sweeping up 
 through this hollow tube, and reacting into the 
 gray-coated cells of the brain. This nerve cir- 
 cuit is open in all real yogis, and that is why 
 they can sit for hours and meditate and bring 
 their minds to the highest state of detachment. 
 
 "Begin this exercise by closing the right 
 nostril with the thumb and slowly inhaling for 
 four seconds through the left nostril. Imagine 
 while doing this that you are sending a current 
 down the spinal column. Hold your breath for 
 sixteen seconds and try to imagine that you are 
 forcing the current through this triangular nerve 
 coil. Then close your left nostril and open your 
 right, through which you are now to exhale the 
 
 184 
 
BREATHING 
 
 breath at the rate of eight seconds. In this last 
 you must try to imagine that you are drawing 
 the current up the spinal cord. Then inhale 
 through the right and exhale through the left. 
 Do this for four times at a sitting and practise 
 three times a day, — morning, noon, and even- 
 ing ; always assume an upright, easy posture, in 
 which the ribs will support the body and the 
 spinal cord hang free. While in this exercise 
 allow no one to disturb you. 
 
 " Some persons will begin to feel the effects 
 of this exercise in a very short time. For others 
 it will take months. But its success means a 
 revolution in the psychic existence of any per- 
 son. A person of evil mind and body may 
 acquire some power in this way, but only tempo- 
 rarily, for right thinking and right living are 
 absolutely necessary to reach and hold a high 
 state of such psychic existence, and there is danger 
 for any person who follows these exercises and 
 leads an unchaste life of becoming insane. 
 
 " When one is well on the road to success, the 
 mental phenomena sometimes appearing will 
 often startle him. One will now and then see 
 flashes of beautiful light, hear sounds of sweet 
 music, and smell most fragrant odors, which 
 would be entirely imperceptible to the ordinary 
 
 185 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 senses. As the mind gains control the body 
 seems to become slighter and much less sensi- 
 tive to pain, hunger, thirst, and other animal 
 feelings. The rhythmic thrill and the mental 
 calmness and indifference to ordinary desires 
 and troubles cannot be described to one who has 
 not experienced this exalted state. You lie 
 down and you sleep to rest your body and mind, 
 but you scarcely know what real rest is until 
 you have successfully practised these exercises. 
 A real yogi never sleeps as you do. He simply 
 rests in a state of consciousness. 
 
 "To aid further the concentration of the 
 mind, there are a number of purely mental 
 exercises, such as fixing the eyes for fifteen 
 minutes on the tip of the nose, fixing the im- 
 agination on some point in the heart or some 
 other part of the body, and tracing the feeling 
 of the clothing on the skin from the foot to the 
 head. In many cases the mind is set to wander- 
 ing and made to watch its rambling. Then we 
 discover that something in us which does the 
 watching like a mother over her child, that 
 something none of us can understand, for that 
 is the soul. ,, 
 
 The swami was asked if these exercises would 
 help to make a genius of the average mind. 
 
 186 
 
BREATHING 
 
 "Yes," he immediately answered, "the per- 
 ceptive faculties of the mind are greatly benefited 
 by the purification of the nerves in these breath- 
 ing exercises. Genius is memory of world facts 
 and concentration, and by such training the mind 
 can more readily concentrate itself upon any sub- 
 ject. The inclination, however, of every person 
 who has attained to a high psychic state is to 
 withdraw himself from the affairs of the world, 
 for he finds more happiness in company with his 
 soul. But, as I said a while ago, the subjective 
 training of the mind will prove to be superior to 
 its objective training for the understanding of 
 the physical nature. The mind is capable of 
 understanding all the secrets of matter without 
 so much as making an objective examination of 
 them. This is the goal of the mind. Do not for- 
 get that." 
 
 187 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HARMONY 
 
 THE subject of harmony is one of great im- 
 portance because it touches our relations 
 with the Infinite. A high authority has happily 
 expressed it, " Harmony with one's self is health ; 
 harmony with others is love ; and harmony with 
 the Universe is immortality. " 
 
 What is harmony in self building ? It is be- 
 ing " in tune with the Infinite/' and the question 
 to be answered is, How tune the physical instru- 
 ment so that it may vibrate in unison with the 
 music of the celestial spheres ? We must begin 
 by so ordering our sleeping moments that we 
 shall awake in harmony with the light of a new 
 day. Never allow yourself to fall asleep as soon 
 as you lie down. Rest quietly on the back, re- 
 laxing joints and muscles, and, composing the 
 mind, fix the subconsciousness upon high and 
 holy desires. On awaking, give thanks for the 
 new day ; in other words, throw open the mental 
 gates that the light of harmony may enter your 
 
 188 
 
HAKMONY 
 
 soul. Opening these flood-gates brings the reali- 
 zation of harmony — heaven — here and now. It 
 is possible to live so near to nature that use of 
 a more exalted, luminous body may be gained 
 long before the mortal body is laid aside. 
 
 A mother tells this story : " One evening, 
 while thinking of my only child, from whom I 
 was separated by force of circumstance, the de- 
 sire to see her became so strong that I fell asleep 
 silently praying for her and for the strength to 
 bear my burden of loneliness. In the night I 
 awoke, and again took up the prayer. Soon I 
 found myself in a far-away Southern home. 
 Kind, gentle hands had set me free to move 
 about ; my hands and feet moved as when swim- 
 ming, and the undulating motion was like the 
 rise and fall of the prairie grass swaying to and 
 fro under the impulse of a gentle breeze. At once 
 I thought, ' I am not afraid, for I have gained 
 consciousness in the astral body,' and I could see 
 and feel distinctly the form of this new instru- 
 ment which concentrated love and prayer had 
 helped me to consciously use as a means of eas- 
 ing my almost broken mother-heart. How beau- 
 tiful was this fair, luminous new body ! I knew 
 that the other body was resting in a tent far 
 away, and that in this light, shadowy form I 
 
 189 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 was more awake to all things than before. Just 
 then I passed through an article of furniture, yet 
 I seemed material enough. I saw my daughter 
 sleeping, and I wondered if my hand would pass 
 through her dear face. Inexpressibly happy that 
 I had the privilege of seeing her, I laid my hand 
 upon her cheek. This must have aroused her, 
 for the next thing I knew I struck my physical 
 body, and entered it with such force that it was 
 like a strong, electric current passing over me. 
 Then I heard a voice saying, ( Magnetize your- 
 self ! Magnetize yourself ! ' How could I do 
 that ? Then the thought came, ' May each par- 
 ticle of this body be kept to the honor and 
 glory of God ! ' I arose and left my tent, and, 
 gazing upon the first rays of light, joy pos- 
 sessed my soul, for space was nothing to me. 
 I had learned a great secret of life, and would 
 use it to grow better in word and deed, help- 
 ing others for the sake of those who had taken 
 pity upon my anguish and given me the power 
 to see my little one far away, No matter what 
 happened now, I was master of the material 
 body, and understood that concentrated thought 
 could eliminate and overcome space." 
 
 On telling this mother's experience to a great 
 Hindoo sage, he said : " She is a most fortunate 
 
 190 
 
HARMONY 
 
 woman, for she can know all things now she is 
 free, and will need no teachers. It is the 
 greatest blessing, and comes only to those who 
 lead pure lives. All wisdom follows in its train, 
 for she can go where she wishes and learn all 
 laws now that she has entered the open door." 
 Another friend informed me that she had gained 
 consciousness in a shadow body, but that no one 
 whom she had told was willing to believe it, for 
 they were living on their lowest plane, and were 
 unable to realize other than material matters. A 
 woman whose illumination was never questioned 
 told me that for six years she had used a finer 
 body, and perhaps Christ used His astral body 
 when He walked upon the water. It is indeed 
 a fact that many men and women to-day are able 
 to do a grand work in the world by going con- 
 sciously into their astral bodies. 
 
 In my class in Lynn, Massachusetts, were two 
 pupils whose eyes plainly declared them psychics. 
 Just before the class closed, a lady gained this 
 power, though not consciously. A gentleman 
 who was interested in the study was sitting in 
 his room when she entered through the closed 
 door and approached him. He at once recog- 
 nized her as a member of the class. She 
 advanced toward him and said, " I wish to 
 
 191 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 thank you for taking so much interest in my 
 friend's work." He replied, " As I have never 
 spoken to you before, how do you know 
 that I am interested ? " His visitor smiled, and 
 answered, " We know all things without being 
 told." She then began to retreat, assuring him 
 that her purpose was simply to thank him. 
 Meantime her physical body was resting upon 
 her bed several blocks away. 
 
 When you hear the hum of an electric car, 
 think what power that sound represents. Claim 
 strength from all earth vibrations, and in time 
 it will come, even from the music of a hand- 
 organ or hurdy-gurdy. Never pass one by with- 
 out a contribution, for a work is being done by 
 these humble musicians ; in a measure they are 
 lifting people out of earthly conditions. When 
 passing down a street intent upon a business 
 engagement, the music from a harp and two 
 violins arrested my attention, and I waited to 
 listen. Others were enjoying it as much as I, 
 yet no one felt disposed to help on the good work. 
 How joyful would have been the strains had all 
 joined with me in giving a bright piece of sil- 
 ver ! We should not reward such people with 
 copper, for they are doing so much to lift hu- 
 manity heavenward. Thank God for the street 
 
 192 
 
HARMONY 
 
 musicians who enable us to enter the world of 
 harmony. Be kind to them, for they are a part 
 of God's band of messengers to busy people as 
 well as to idlers and children. 
 
 Why send out thoughts of hatred, avarice, 
 distrust, and uncharitableness, thereby creating 
 inharmonious vibrations which rebound and injure 
 the sender ? We should live in this " house not 
 made with hands " as a teacher tells me they 
 live in the higher spheres — there in trans- 
 parent houses, where all that is thought or done 
 can be seen and heard by those who pass. In 
 this way all teaching is done, all help extended. 
 It would be well to resolve to begin the founda- 
 tions of such homes on earth, and live with the 
 thought of helping others by the example of our 
 private lives. Living with this purpose, how we 
 should hesitate when tempted to mention the 
 weakness of a brother or sister ; if we thought 
 the angels were listening to the discordant 
 sounds, how careful we should be ! I learned 
 from a teacher that in the spirit realm, human 
 thoughts, if inharmonious, cause such a commo- 
 tion that a psychic, leaving the mortal body for a 
 time, is bewildered by the din. How often every 
 day do we add to the confusion by the inward 
 expression of our desire for mere material 
 
 193 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 advantage springing from selfishness ! No 
 wonder that a friend, when first projecting 
 himself upon the psychic plane, declared that 
 the sound as of a mighty ocean reached his 
 ears. He asked the masters, " What sound is 
 that?" The answer was, "The thoughts of 
 the people of earth." Let us try to keep our 
 thoughts so pure, clean, full of love, trust, and 
 pity for our enemies that the music above the 
 earth will grow more and more harmonious, and 
 our bodies will then grow more healthy and 
 beautiful in form and expression. 
 
 I can imagine the ocean of sound by having 
 heard a Texas norther blowing over the un- 
 broken prairies, striking the telegraph wires as 
 Beethoven struck those grand chords in his 
 wondrous sonatas. He, too, must have listened 
 to such an aeolian harp as that. 
 
 A child of the prairie soon learns to find 
 music in the running brook, the fall of water 
 over some distant mill-dam, the bleating of the 
 flocks, and in the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle of those 
 little brass-throated bells pulsing out upon the 
 sultry air as the cattle graze from place to place. 
 How well I remember one afternoon in Maine 
 when my ear was startled with the sound of a 
 bell ! It seemed like a sound from home. I was 
 
 194 
 
HARMONY 
 
 again a child, with mother, father, friends, and 
 home. The picture grew under the music, and 
 my heart grew young and happy. The music I 
 heard was only the tinkle of a little bell on the 
 neck of a sheep feeding on the hillside, but was 
 it not blessed that such a lowly instrument 
 should bring such beautiful pictures and produce 
 such harmony ? Would that I could teach 
 others to find solace and comfort in listening to 
 the little people of the grass ! What is sweeter 
 than the cricket's chirp? Dickens must have 
 listened to it, and so gained inspiration to arouse 
 the English people to feel pity for Joe or drop a 
 tear for Nell. 
 
 In Seguin, Texas, one bright, sunny day, as I 
 chanced to pass a beautiful private park, I heard 
 such music as mortals are seldom privileged to 
 hear. The Mexican concert birds had come, 
 thousands strong, and were singing their love 
 songs. In color they were like the leaves of 
 trees on which they perched, and the harmony 
 from their yellow-green throats was glorious. I 
 seemed to be listening to the Choir Invisible. 
 First there was a grand burst of music, then a 
 solo, then a quartette, and finally the brilliant 
 chorus. A friend once gave the money to me to 
 purchase five tickets for the concerts of a famous 
 
 195 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 symphony orchestra to receive inspiration. I 
 went once, but, compared with the music of the 
 Mexican birds, the man-made music seemed so 
 spiritless that I bought seed and went into the 
 woods and fed the brave little birds who re- 
 mained with me in this snow-covered country. 
 Poor, fine, grand symphony ! I tried hard to 
 be pleased with it. The little Mexican birds 
 were singing for joy that they had found such 
 a beautiful wood in which to rest after their 
 journey ; the Boston men had not the gladness 
 which speaks to the child of the prairie — their 
 melody was so full of brain that soul inspiration 
 was lacking. From a coarse, gross body fed 
 upon beer and animal food how can we expect 
 the music which would lift us to a higher state 
 of enjoyment, where the vibrations would be 
 perfectly harmonious? Had these men fasted 
 for days, as the concert-birds had done, perhaps 
 the soul would have been more manifest in the 
 music. Bulwer taught the lesson in " Zanoni." 
 Violet was doing her work to help another, and 
 her denial of self appealed to the listening mys- 
 tic. If our musicians worked more for the love 
 of the art, or to help others, how it would tell 
 in their songs ! The music would carry a new 
 power which would draw us nearer the Infinite 
 
 196 
 
HARMONY 
 
 Source of all harmony. We must try to under- 
 stand that all our daily thoughts and acts should 
 be one continual rhythm of love and good-will. 
 The very passing along the street of one who 
 lives in the higher, nobler, cleaner vibrations 
 gives strength to the weak. 
 
 One should be able to hear music in the voice 
 of a child ; for it is innocence which speaks to 
 trained ears like the cooing of a dove to its mate. 
 
 I have stood long and listened to the fall of 
 a tiny, clear stream singing its way down a New 
 England hillside, and watched the rainbow colors 
 flashing out from the icicles about the brink into 
 which it fell. And oh, the sea! How often 
 have I listened to the voice of the mighty deep, 
 and realized that the strength of the waves is 
 His also ! Lull your conscious thought, go into 
 the deep subconscious mind, and listen to the 
 wash of the waves upon the shore. Then think, 
 " I am one with its strength, breadth, and music." 
 
 Happy is the human being who has been 
 taught to listen to notes which teach the Mas- 
 ter's message to His children. Send no more 
 earthly thoughts to fill space with inharmony. 
 To-day the scientist has learned that he can 
 heal the sick with musical sounds, and the 
 insane are freing successfully restored to their 
 
 197 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 right minds by music. Every person has a 
 key-note. Take a violin and find the key-note 
 of a bridge, and play faster and faster, and 
 the vibrations in the structure will shatter it. 
 For this reason soldiers are bidden to break 
 rank step when crossing a bridge. Thoughts 
 of fear, hatred, and malice will likewise shatr 
 ter the human body. 
 
 Each inanimate thing has its key-note; why 
 should not man, also? When we reach a cer- 
 tain rate of vibration, and hear the sound of 
 a voice, we can tell on what plane the speaker 
 spends most of his time. And often we meet 
 persons who go from one psychic plane to 
 another as the fleshy instrument vibrates from 
 one key to another. I remember one friend 
 in whom the change is most marked. I know 
 at once whether she is on the physical, mental, 
 psychical, or spiritual plane. Perhaps it would 
 be possible to remain longer upon the latter 
 if people lived more harmoniously. Spiritual 
 power would not then be forced to depart and 
 make way for earthly cares; for many fall to 
 the minor when their true key is major, 
 hence so much physical discord. 
 
 A physician said: "Your name is familiar; 
 I once had an old friend by that name. He 
 
 198 
 
HARMONY 
 
 was an inventor, and had been very wealthy, 
 but at the time I knew him he was old and 
 poor, yet he was as happy a human being as 
 I ever met. He would tell visitors that he 
 heard the music of an invisible orchestra, and 
 would say, ' Take that bar over again — you 
 did not do it quite correctly.' He never cared 
 to leave his room or go to a concert, for he 
 had that grand orchestra to do his bidding." 
 I, too, have heard of one of the name who 
 was very pure and clean of life. He was ill 
 for a year, and days before his death, with his 
 mind perfectly clear, he said to those about 
 his bed, " The music which I hear is not fitted 
 to mortal ears." A legend of the family is 
 that invisible bands discoursing sweet music 
 pass over the old Virginia homestead when a 
 member of the family is about to leave for 
 the spirit world. Servants as well as relatives 
 hear the strains. In the case of the old 
 man described by the physician, perhaps these 
 heavenly messengers did not wait for death, 
 but brought cheer and blessing to him in his 
 loneliness. Let us live in such harmony that 
 to our listening ears, also, may come the angelic 
 strains of a supernatural melody too ethereal 
 for mortal ears to hear. 
 
 199 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 We do much harm when we criticise a neigh- 
 bor's weakness, for in mentioning that weakness 
 to another we create inharmonious vibrations 
 which may return and retard our own spiritual 
 growth. We carry the mirror and see what we 
 reflect. How can we expect harmony when, 
 having brought the soul by high thinking into 
 a state of finer vibration, we fail to employ the 
 tuner to set the physical in order ? One of my 
 spiritual teachers told me that a magazine con- 
 taining an unfavorable criticism was once brought 
 to him to read. He said, " I'll subscribe for that 
 magazine and read the whole article." After the 
 visitor had departed he heard a voice saying, 
 " Go into the council chamber." He went, feel- 
 ing that he was to go in for some teaching on his 
 own account, and the voice said : " You enjoy 
 hearing that some one is trying to tear down a 
 work or temple which another has built. Just 
 as sure as you take a hand in pulling down a 
 neighbor's temple, your own must fall. Take 
 care how you enjoy even listening to such talk 
 as that, for it pulls you into vibrations of strife 
 and discord, and you want to be in harmony to 
 hear the Father's message." 
 
 If a piano tuner talks of the bad state of the 
 instrument he is called upon to tune, instead: of 
 
 200 
 
HARMONY 
 
 setting to work with hammer and fork to bring 
 into harmony, his time is wasted, and nothing is 
 accomplished. Let our tongues be tuned into 
 tuning-forks, that we may bring others into har- 
 mony, instead of falling to their pitch by speak- 
 ing of their inharmony. Why do we require 
 our friends to stand always in the sunlight? 
 The night comes to those even in high places. 
 Do not open your eyes in astonishment when you 
 cannot see the unfoldment because of the dark- 
 ness which has fallen. Trust and hope. Think 
 of the night-blooming jasmine and cereus ; they 
 give out sweetness while nature sleeps, and 
 shall we say that they are not open because the 
 night shadows have dimmed our sight ? 
 
 Learn to watch yourselves when you sleep. 
 Many blessings come to mankind when they have 
 learned to sleep consciously. I am told that an 
 adept who reaches a high state of spiritual devel- 
 opment is perfectly conscious when the physical 
 body is resting. It is in the night that most 
 people see into the future. Often it will be the 
 sickness of a favorite child, and that child may 
 be a thousand miles away. What the trouble 
 is, even how long the sickness will last, will be 
 clearly seen. When prepared to enter upon the 
 psychic or spiritual planes, a new life is opened:, 
 
 201 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 and one realizes that these are the real and pre- 
 cious moments, more to be desired than days of 
 life upon the purely physical plane. 
 
 When we have learned how to spend our time 
 in these higher realms, " we awake in tune with 
 the Infinite,' ' where all is harmony, peace, and 
 love. But is it all ease ? By no means. Our 
 friends will very likely think us strange, and 
 often criticise us unmercifully for what, to them, 
 seem impossible assertions. They have lived so 
 long on the material plane that anything which 
 has not come to them seems heresy. 
 
 The following story was told me by a poor 
 woman : " Twenty-two years ago I had a vision 
 of going out alone, penniless, hopeless, friendless, 
 childless, yet I had done no evil to a human 
 being, and even felt pity for those who had 
 driven me forth like Hagar of old, except that 
 they had taken my Ishmael. I saw the faces 
 of my old friends turn away as I went past. 
 In the vision I saw the cars loaded with fright- 
 ened people fleeing from the plague of yellow 
 fever. With summer twenty-four years later 
 the vision began to unfold. There came poverty, 
 persecution, hatred, and the loss of my lovely 
 daughter through my inability to provide her 
 with a home. My one friend, a woman poorer 
 
 202 
 
HARMONY 
 
 than myself, and treated with almost as little 
 consideration by those for whom she willingly 
 worked without receiving remuneration, gave 
 me shelter. But hatred and malice found me 
 out, and my protector was urged to let me drift. 
 I said, ' My vision is unfolding ; when we have 
 yellow fever and the people begin to flee from 
 their homes, I, too, will be going.' In spite of 
 the threats against my protector if she did not 
 turn me out into the world, she bravely sheltered 
 me, saying, 6 1 am seventy-three years old, and I 
 have never refused succor to one of God's crea- 
 tures, and I will not send away this feeble 
 woman.' The woman of hate said, 'She will 
 be in your house until Christmas.' The noble 
 woman replied, ■ Then she shall eat Christmas 
 dinner with me, and welcome.' God bless her 
 for those words. But I did not remain until 
 the season of c peace on earth, good-will to men.' 
 Fever appeared, and the force compelling me 
 was so strong that I set forth. On the cars 
 we had to show passes, telling whence we came. 
 Fear possessed the people on every hand. On 
 arriving at a more northern city, I found that 
 nearly all hotels in the city were thought to 
 be infected — even the railroad station was 
 tainted. Knowing not where to turn, I finally 
 
 203 
 
SELF BUILDING 
 
 made my way to a home for children, where I 
 had stayed six weeks during a previous visit 
 to the city. I had spent those weeks begging 
 for comforts for the homeless little ones, and I 
 hoped that I, now homeless, might again be 
 received. The Sister met me at the door with 
 the announcement that the plague had entered 
 there. I was invited to remain, but feared that 
 I should fall a victim to the disease and have 
 to be buried at the expense of the city, so on 
 I went. I remembered the words of the Christ, 
 ' The foxes have holes, and the birds of the 
 air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not 
 where to lay his head/ and I felt nearer to Him 
 than ever before. While walking down the 
 street I met an old friend coming out of a 
 store. Her handsome trap and spirited horses 
 were waiting at the curb. She said: 'Come 
 home with me. I shall be glad to hear all the 
 news from the old home. Drive home, John.' 
 The joy of it ! This beautiful mansion out of 
 the fever-stricken district to be my first home 
 on the road in search of Divine Truth ! The 
 beautiful room, the soft bed with its cool, fresh 
 linen — how good it felt to my weary limbs ! 
 At last harmony was mine. What a thanks- 
 giving I sent up to the throne of God ! I smiled 
 
 204 
 
HARMONY 
 
 as I folded my hands in sleep — the first smile 
 since the vision began to unfold, live months 
 before. Was not the coming of this friend a 
 real manifestation of spirit power to help and 
 care for a modern Hagar? It seemed so to 
 me, and all along the road each day thereafter 
 was provided just what I required, — money, 
 teachers, rest, friends.' ' 
 
 Let us hold ourselves responsive to the notes 
 of love, peace, joy, and good-will, and refuse to 
 see visions such as the above by taking a positive 
 mental attitude against them when presented. 
 Then the frowns and criticisms of our fellows can- 
 not harm us, and we shall be able to say with 
 Paul, " None of these things move me, neither 
 count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might 
 finish my course with joy." 
 
 205 
 
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