■■■■■m 
 
 ■bhbhi 
 
 r I he Light Of 
 The Spirit 
 
 Christian D.Larson 
 
 m»»M 
 
Book U3i7 . 
 
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 How Great Men Succeed. 
 
 
 Just Be Glad. 
 
 
 Mastery of Fate. 
 
 
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 On the Heights. 
 
 
 Perfect Health. 
 
 
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 The Hidden Secret. 
 
 
 Thinking for Results. 
 
 
IN THE 
 LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 BY 
 
 CHRISTIAN D. LARSON 
 
 Author of 
 
 "The Pathway of Roses," "The Ideal Made Real," 
 
 "The Hidden Secret," "On The Heights," 
 
 "Just Be Glad," "Mastery of Fate," 
 
 "The Great Within," "Your 
 
 Forces and How to Use 
 
 Them," etc. etc. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 
.L3I7 
 
 Copyright, 1916, 
 By CHRISTIAN D. LARSON 
 
 « , * 
 
 GCT 30 1916 
 s>ClA446149 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Leave It To God *••«»»» i 
 
 II. The Highest Prayer 6 
 
 III. The Religion of the Soul . . . . n 
 
 IV. The Spiritual Side of Life . . . .21 
 V. The Right Handed Path .... 29 
 
 VI. The Mysteries of the Kingdom ... 37 
 
 VII. The Secret of Spiritual Power . . 56 
 
 VIII. The Use of Spiritual Power . . . 62 
 
 IX. The Light of Inner Consciousness . 67 
 
 X. The Power of Spiritual Transparence 72 
 
 XI. Upon the Path Where All Is Good . 87 
 
 XII. The I Am Is the Way ..... 107 
 
 XIII. I Go Unto the Father 123 
 
 XIV. I Am With You Always 142 
 
 XV. It Is Well With the Soul . . . .159 
 
 XVI. The Spiritual Borderland . . . .171 
 
 XVII. When God So Wills 182 
 
 XVIII. Regions of Infinite Repose . . . .189 
 
IN THE LIGHT OF THE 
 SPIRIT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 LEAVE IT TO GOD 
 
 When you are confronted with problems that 
 you cannot solve, or find yourself in the midst 
 of conditions that are distressing and adverse, 
 do not permit yourself to become disturbed for 
 a moment. There is a simple secret that will in- 
 variably set you free and change everything for 
 the best. And the secret is this — "Leave It To 
 God." 
 
 When you do not know what course to pursue, 
 leave it to God. When you do not know where 
 to turn, or how to dispel the darkness that may 
 surround you, then leave it to God. When you 
 do not know where the path to the greatest good 
 may lie, and have not become conscious of that 
 supreme light of the soul through which all things 
 may be discerned — rest serenely in the faith that 
 you can leave it all to God. In his hands every- 
 
2 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 thing is safe ; and whatever we place in his hands, 
 will be disposed of in the best conceivable man- 
 ner. 
 
 It is remarkable how soon darkness takes 
 flight, how soon confusion is stilled, how soon 
 conditions adjust themselves and how soon ad- 
 versities change into blessings, when we can say, 
 in perfect faith, and in perfect sincerity of soul 
 — "Leave It To God." For thus we place every- 
 thing in the keeping of a Wisdom that knows 
 what should be done, and in the hands of a Power 
 that can do what is best for all concerned. 
 
 It is the best for everybody that we all desire ; 
 it is the happiest outcome of everything that we 
 pray for as the most perfect ideal of visible ex- 
 istence ; and we know full well that such an ideal 
 will surely be realized when we leave it to God. 
 The Infinite can solve our problems, and so ar- 
 range all things in life, that the greatest good will 
 come to pass, regardless of time, place or circum- 
 stances. And we should not hesitate to seek the 
 superior guidance of the Infinite in this regard, 
 whether our problems be great or small, mo- 
 mentous or insignificant. Whatever the matter 
 may be, we should leave it to God. The sun will 
 soon shine once more, and all will be well again. 
 
 There are many things we may wish to do, 
 but do not know whether to begin now or later. 
 There is some one, however, who does know; and 
 
LEAVE IT TO GOD 3 
 
 if we leave it to Him, something will happen to 
 delay the matter, if that is best, or to bring about 
 a speedy beginning, if that is best. And after- 
 wards, when we see how delightfully all things 
 worked out, we will be glad — very glad, that we 
 did say, when in doubt — "Leave It To God." 
 
 We frequently come to places where the whole 
 world seems to be against us ; when every friend 
 seems to be gone; and when adversity seems to 
 make life a useless desert of waste and desolation. 
 But at such times we should not be disheartened 
 or dismayed. There is a way to freedom. 
 There is a Light that is stronger than all the 
 darkness in the world. There is a Power that 
 can change everything in our entire destiny. 
 There is a Love that can bring to us the friend- 
 ship and the sympathy of all mankind. Then 
 why should we ever be discouraged or sad? 
 There is a royal path that leads out of, and away, 
 from all adversities. And we may find that path 
 if we leave it to God. 
 
 When we can say, in perfect faith and sin- 
 cerity of soul, that we will leave it to God, we 
 place ourselves in that state of being where the 
 power of the Infinite can work for us, and 
 through us, to the end that the best may surely 
 come to pass. The Infinite is always at hand, 
 waiting to be of service; but we must be will- 
 ing to accept such service ; and we do accept when 
 
4 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 we can say with depth of sincerity — "Leave It 
 To God." 
 
 Then we must know, and fully believe, that 
 what we leave to God to do, will be done right; 
 and we must realize that when anything is done 
 right, every trace of evil, sin, pain or sorrow is 
 eliminated completely. God will never bring 
 sickness, pain, want or death to any human soul. 
 It is not the will of God that any human being 
 should suffer, or be deprived of anything that is 
 good in the world. The ways of the Infinite do 
 not lead into pain and privation, but always into 
 greater freedom, greater good, greater power, 
 greater joy. 
 
 When we leave anything to God, we may know 
 that the wrong alone will be taken away; the 
 good will remain and be multiplied again and 
 again, without end and without measure. We 
 may rest assured, therefore, that nothing that is 
 worthy or good or beautiful will be lost when 
 we leave things to God. The kingdom of the 
 Supreme, with all its riches and glory, is for 
 man; but man must be willing to receive; and 
 he does express perfect willingness when he can 
 say, with the faith of the soul, that he will, hence- 
 forth, leave everything to God. 
 
 Whatever there is in life that we wish to 
 change, remedy or perfect, the simple secret is 
 this — "Leave It To God." And we should make 
 
LEAVE IT TO GOD 5 
 
 this statement in that deep feeling of the soul 
 that knows — that feeling that seems to say to us 
 that our wish will be realized, our prayer will 
 be answered — the best will come to pass. In 
 truth, how could it be otherwise? God would 
 not have it otherwise; therefore, when we leave 
 all things to Him, we may know that the out- 
 come will be all that we could have wished for 
 and infinitely more. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE HIGHEST PRAYER 
 
 We know that the prayer of the righteous 
 availeth much ; but we also know there are many 
 prayers that seemingly are not answered — 
 prayers that are sincere, and that come from souls 
 that we know to be righteous. And accordingly, 
 the question arises again and again, how we 
 should so pray that we may not pray in vain. 
 
 When we consider the subject of prayer, how- 
 ever, and examine the true spiritual significance 
 of prayer, we find that we have, in the past, mis- 
 taken both the purpose of prayer and the atti- 
 tude of the Infinite toward the needs of man. 
 We find, in the first place, that God has already 
 given his kingdom to man ; and therefore we need 
 not ask for anything whatever. There is noth- 
 ing we can ask for that we have not already re- 
 ceived. Why then should we ask again, or pray 
 in any form or manner ? 
 
 We find in the second place, that although God 
 has given us everything, still we do not always 
 gain personal possession of the gifts of his in- 
 
THE HIGHEST PRAYER 7 
 
 finite kindness and love. And therefore, this en- 
 tire theme becomes, for the time being, exceed- 
 ingly mysterious. But the mystery disappears 
 completely when we consider this theme through 
 the understanding of the highest prayer. And 
 the highest prayer may be expressed, in the sim- 
 plest and most beautiful manner, through this 
 remarkable statement: "My Father, I thank 
 thee that thou hearest me always." 
 
 [The highest prayer does not ask, directly, for 
 anything that may be desired; but gives con- 
 stant, and deep spiritual recognition, to the great 
 truth, that the Infinite has, from the very begin- 
 ning, given all things to man that may be needed 
 for growth and ascension throughout eternity. 
 And in addition to this recognition, gives expres- 
 sion to ceaseless gratitude, and sincere, unending 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 In the language of the highest prayer, we do 
 not ask God to give us what we need or desire; 
 we affirm, in spirit and in truth, that God is giv- 
 ing us all these things now. And we add, to all 
 our affirmations, this beautiful, inspiring state- 
 ment: "I thank thee that thou hearest me al- 
 ways." 
 
 When the body is ailing, we do not ask for 
 health. We affirm, "God is now and forever 
 giving me perfect health." And, "the perfect 
 health of the Infinite fills me through and 
 
8 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 through, because I am in God, and God is in me." 
 We affirm, "God is giving me power"; "God is 
 giving me peace"; "God is giving me increase"; 
 "God is giving me the gifts of the spirit." In 
 brief, whatever we find that we need in life, phys- 
 ically, mentally or spiritually, we affirm that God 
 is now giving us all these things. And this is 
 absolutely true. God is closer than breathing; 
 therefore knows what we need every hour, and 
 supplies every need at once, whatever that need 
 may be. 
 
 We shall find a remarkable difference in the 
 working out of all our circumstances, material 
 and spiritual, when we change our mode of 
 prayer; that is, when we no longer implore the 
 Infinite to give us what we need, but affirm, with 
 sincere thanksgiving, that God is giving us all 
 these things now. 
 
 God is eternally giving to man the all good of 
 life ; and God is giving to each human soul every 
 day w T hat is needed for that day. It would there- 
 fore be wrong to implore God to do what He al- 
 ready is doing. Instead, we should recognize 
 His goodness by speaking this truth — "God is 
 now giving me all that I need." And in addi- 
 tion, we should give expression to our most sin- 
 cere and heartfelt gratitude. 
 
 When we recognize, in spirit and in truth, 
 what God is doing for us, we enter into harmony 
 
THE HIGHEST PRAYER 9 
 
 with the act of his giving; and accordingly, we 
 receive every day everything that is given to us 
 for that day. But when we do not recognize this 
 great truth, we are not in harmony with any- 
 thing that the Supreme may be doing for us ; and 
 therefore we do not receive, at the right time 
 and place, what has truly been given to us as 
 our very own. And possibly we may never re- 
 ceive those gifts in this life, but may have to 
 depend altogether upon our own efforts for every- 
 thing — efforts that are sometimes disappointing, 
 and frequently ineffectual. 
 
 The truth is, however, that no soul is destined 
 to depend upon personal efforts alone. We all 
 must, indeed, use our powers and talents well; 
 but we can accomplish but little if we work en- 
 tirely alone, that is, apart from higher power and 
 divine guidance. Great souls invariably seek 
 constant assistance from the Supreme ; and wher- 
 ever they go, they always "walk with God." 
 Such souls invariably recognize the great law, 
 "My Father worketh and I work," and enter into 
 the spiritual realization of that law absolutely. 
 
 We must take God with us in all things, if we 
 would rise above mere existence, and be true to 
 the wonderful life we have been given the priv- 
 ilege to live. And we do take God with us in all 
 things when we constantly recognize the truth 
 that God is with us always, and that He is giving 
 
io IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 us every Hour what we need to make that hour 
 full, perfect and complete. 
 
 When we understand this law, that God is 
 constantly giving to man everything that is nec- 
 essary to make life all that we wish it to be, and 
 place ourselves in perfect harmony with that law, 
 we shall find that every need will be supplied in 
 its true place and time. The right way will al- 
 ways open through which we may gain what we 
 desire, and realize the ideals that the great eter- 
 nal now holds in store. 
 
 Every day will be full to overflowing with 
 blessings of every conceivable state or being. 
 Every succeeding day will become richer and 
 larger than the days that have gone before, as we 
 become more and more conscious of the great 
 truth, that God is giving us everything to-day 
 that is needed to make this the greatest day we 
 ever knew. And in all our efforts we will be 
 guided, to the end that we may invariably do 
 what is best — knowing that higher power will be 
 with us so long as we livfc and work for the larger 
 life and the greater good. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE RELIGION OF THE SOUL 
 
 Religion is always of the soul; its purpose in- 
 variably is to save the soul ; and it is only insofar 
 as it is absolutely true to that purpose that any 
 form of religion can retain its influence and 
 power. Whenever a religion no longer lives and 
 works exclusively for its original purpose, it be- 
 gins to fail; and there is nothing else that can 
 ever cause religion to fail, whatever its form or 
 creed may be. If it is true to its purpose, it 
 will live and grow, and advance in its methods 
 according to the changing needs of a growing 
 humanity. 
 
 What it means to save the soul, however, is 
 something that resolves itself largely into what 
 each individual may have realized in his own 
 spiritual attainments. But as most individuals 
 develop in groups, we find the human race sep- 
 arated into a number of spiritual divisions, all 
 having the same purpose in view — saving the 
 soul — but differing, more or less, both as to 
 method and as to the meaning of this one com- 
 mon purpose. 
 
 ii 
 
12 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 When we examine these spiritual divisions 
 more closely we find that they naturally arrange 
 themselves into two special divisions, one of these 
 much larger than the other. The larger division 
 takes the literal view, believing in literal methods 
 with which to save a literal soul from literal suf- 
 fering, in a literal, localized future. The smaller 
 division, however, takes the spiritual view, giv- 
 ing the literal phase of all life an insignificant 
 position. 
 
 In all ages we have found these two special 
 divisions, the two sometimes blending in places 
 so that a distinct line of demarcation could not 
 be readily drawn. But regardless of this inter- 
 blending, the two principal factors — the literal 
 and the spiritual — have always been prominent, 
 the one always standing apart from the other. 
 And the reason for this is readily found when 
 we know that we have had, in every age, what 
 may be called children in the faith ; that is, men 
 and women whose spiritual understanding has 
 not been developed sufficiently to enable them to 
 go beyond the literal significance of things. And 
 we have also had, in every age, the enlightened, 
 who could discern the spiritual elements that are 
 within all things. 
 
 We all are familiar with the literal conception 
 of the soul and its salvation; and we know that 
 it contains but a fragment of the whole truth. 
 
THE RELIGION OF THE SOUL 13 
 
 It is the best, however, that the children in the 
 faith can understand; therefore we must be tol- 
 erant, and also thankful that they have actually 
 entered upon the great spiritual journey — the 
 goal of which is complete emancipation, soul mas- 
 tery and spiritual illumination. But we are not 
 so familiar with the spiritual conception of this 
 eternal theme. And as the spiritual conception 
 will henceforth become more and more prom- 
 inent in all the great religions — the advancement 
 of the race towards the spiritual having become 
 more pronounced than ever before in history — 
 it will be well to give closer attention to its real 
 or interior significance. 
 
 According to the spiritual understanding of 
 life and its purpose, the saving of the soul means 
 the living of a life which will prevent the soul 
 from stepping outside of the path at any time ; in 
 brief, saving life from all those adverse conse- 
 quences that invariably follow when the soul, 
 even for a short time, steps out of the true path- 
 way of life. Salvation therefore according to 
 the spiritual view, is not merely for the future, 
 or for the great eternal now, but for every mo- 
 ment in eternity. 
 
 The true pathway of life is the eternal path of 
 an endless ascension — the soul rising ever and 
 ever into higher and higher states of existence. 
 It is the path of wisdom and light, the path of 
 
14 IN THE LIGHT OE THE SPIRIT 
 
 freedom and truth — the straight and narrow 
 path — the path leading directly towards the spir- 
 itual heights; but it is not a path of suffering. 
 There is neither suffering nor bondage upon this 
 path. It is only when we step outside this path 
 that we suffer. So long as we are on the path, 
 then all is well, and we are daily rising into more 
 perfect realizations of larger joys, higher states 
 of being and a greater measure of all that is 
 worthy and good. 
 
 This being true, we have everything to gain, 
 both of things temporal and of things eternal, by 
 so living that the soul is always on the path. 
 And what is more, every soul was created to 
 follow the path — must sooner or later begin to 
 follow the path absolutely in order to work out 
 its own sublime destiny. Knowing this, we real- 
 ize that we have nothing to gain through delay. 
 Every moment spent outside the path simply 
 means more suffering for the near future; while 
 every moment spent upon the path means more 
 real enjoyment, more wisdom, more power, a 
 greater measure of freedom and a larger life for 
 the near future. 
 
 It is absolutely true that what time we spend 
 outside the path is time wasted, for what expe- 
 rience we may gain on the outside is of no value 
 to the soul in its advancement towards master- 
 ship and illumination. On the contrary, such ex- 
 
THE RELIGION OE THE SOUIi 15 
 
 perience is a burden that will have to be cast 
 aside before we can proceed on our upward jour- 
 ney. Here we must remember that the only ex- 
 perience that will prove of value is that which 
 we gain while living uncompromisingly upon the 
 true eternal pathway. It is only sound princi- 
 ples that will avail when we meet problems for 
 solution. It is only light that can add to the 
 measure of light. And it is only on the path that 
 light can be found. 
 
 When the soul steps outside of this path, it is 
 lost ; and continues lost so long as it remains out- 
 side the path. But the moment the soul returns 
 to the path, it is saved — saved for the present, 
 but not necessarily for the entire future. We 
 are living only for the now — the great eternal 
 now, and every moment in the future must care 
 for itself. The steps we take to-day are suffi- 
 cient for this day ; therefore all our prayers must 
 be, "Just For To-day." 
 
 Salvation therefore is a spiritual process that 
 must ever be present — something we shall need 
 every hour. For although we may be saved now 
 — on the path now — we may at any time step out 
 again if we do not continue to live absolutely ac- 
 cording to the principles of divine truth. And 
 when we step out of the path, the soul is lost 
 again for the time being; it has gone astray, and 
 is going wrong, going contrary to the laws of its 
 
i6 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 being. The result will be pain and suffering, so 
 that the lost soul is more or less in torment; and 
 that torment never ceases so long as the soul con- 
 tinues to be lost, or continues on the outside of 
 the path. Here then we find the origin of the 
 belief in ceaseless or endless torment for the lost 
 soul; for torment is ceaseless on the outside of 
 the path. But the other side of that same truth 
 is this, that the soul can be saved at any time — 
 can at any time in eternity step in on the path 
 again and be free. 
 
 The cause of all suffering is found in this tend- 
 ency of the soul to step outside of the path — the 
 path provided by the infinite laws of eternal as- 
 cension. And the cause of this tendency is 
 found in the soul's natural desire for growth — 
 this desire, in its undeveloped stages, prompting 
 the mind to seek all places for experience and 
 truth. Thus the misdirection of mental action 
 is originated, and the soul turns frequently, both 
 to the left and the right, hoping to find the one 
 thing we all seek — the life more abundant, know- 
 ing instinctively that a greater measure of life 
 will bring a greater measure of all other things 
 needed in the living of a full life. 
 
 The life more abundant, however, can be real- 
 ized only as our living on the path becomes more 
 and more perfect. Therefore, the functions of 
 a true religion are to help man live continually 
 
THE RELIGION OF THE SOUIi VJ t 
 
 on the path, and to live the life on the path more 
 and more perfectly. Every effort made by real 
 religion must have this one object in view — to 
 help every soul to live on the path continually. 
 It is only in this way that a religion can be true 
 to its purpose — to save the soul — and to be what 
 it was founded to be — a religion of the soul. 
 
 This gives us a new view of religion — a much 
 larger view ; and it is a view that makes religion 
 indispensable. It makes religion the greatest 
 power in the life of man, both in the temporal 
 and the spiritual; for if religion applied its full 
 power, then every soul would be saved now, 
 would be on the path now, and therefore would 
 neither produce suffering for itself nor for 
 others. Every soul would be living for the good, 
 would be building for the good, and would con- 
 stantly add to the peace, the joy and the welfare 
 of all. And this is the very condition of life we 
 have all hoped to see established upon earth; but 
 we have not given sufficient attention to the prin- 
 cipal thing. 
 
 The principal thing is to keep the soul on the 
 path continually — to keep every soul on the path 
 continually. And this is the work of religion— 
 the true religion — the religion of the soul. We 
 realize therefore what a tremendous power the 
 religions of the world would become if they would 
 rise out of the literal into the spiritual; if they 
 
18 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 all would work ceaselessly to save every soul now 
 — not from future torment, but from wrong liv- 
 ing in the present ; if they would give less atten- 
 tion to the helping of man to die, and more at- 
 tention to the helping of man to live — to live on 
 the path, here and now in this world. 
 
 The coming religion, which will be in every 
 sense of the term a religion of the soul, will con- 
 cern itself directly with this great work — the 
 greatest work of all the world — that of guiding 
 the soul of man so perfectly that we all may live 
 continually on the path, and thus be saved from 
 every pain and ill now — a complete salvation 
 both for time and eternity. 
 
 In working for such a * salvation, however, the 
 coming religion will not forget the great truth 
 that the soul must, in order to continue on the 
 path, continue to move forward on the path. 
 For we know full well that we almost invariably 
 step out of the path the moment we cease to move 
 forward. Therefore, the true religion of the 
 soul must be prepared to teach the human race 
 all the principles of a continuous spiritual attain- 
 ment; and must possess a science of living 
 through which any individual can learn the sub- 
 lime art of living on the path. Thus we realize 
 that religion in the future will become a far 
 greater factor in human life than it has ever been 
 in the past. And instead of dying out, as some 
 
THE RELIGION OF THE SOUL 19 
 
 believe, religion is being born again — born into 
 the consciousness of its real mission — that of 
 helping the human race to live On the Path here 
 in this world — saving the soul of man from all 
 the ills of life in the great eternal now. 
 
 The spiritual conception of the saving of the 
 soul is in perfect harmony with the central idea 
 of salvation — that of going to heaven; for the 
 soul, when on the path, is going directly to 
 heaven; in truth, is in the beginning of a heav- 
 enly life, and is steadily rising into higher and 
 higher heavens eternally. 
 
 ,To be on the path is to be one with God ; and 
 to be one with God is surely a foretaste of 
 heaven; it is the beginnings of the joys that can- 
 not be measured, of the peace that passeth un- 
 derstanding, of the bliss that angels alone can 
 know. Then we must remember that to be on 
 the path is to be free from every ill in the world ; 
 and that in itself is heaven enough for many and 
 many a day. 
 
 To live on the path, however, is not merely a 
 secret to freedom from the ills of temporal life 
 as important as that may be. It is far more 
 than this, for it is a path — the only path that 
 leads to the spiritual heights, to all the glories 
 and splendors of cosmic existence, to all the sub- 
 lime attainments of the master state — to that 
 higher world of wisdom and power wherein the 
 
20 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 soul of man shall be able to fulfill the great prom- 
 ise, "What I have done, ye shall do, and even 
 greater things." 
 
 It is such a goal, high and wonderful as it may 
 be, that lies before us all. It is such a future 
 that is in store for every human soul. But to 
 reach that goal, and realize that future, we must 
 follow the path. Is it not important then — more 
 important than all else in the world — that we 
 live on the path continually, never for a moment 
 turning to the right nor to the left. And it is 
 indeed time that all religions and all spiritual 
 movements consecrate themselves absolutely to 
 this great and wonderful work. x 
 
 The world is awakening to the spiritual vision. 
 The race is no longer satisfied with the limita- 
 tions of the letter. And the individual wants a 
 plan of salvation that will save the soul both for 
 time and for eternity — that will give complete 
 emancipation now. And the religion of the soul 
 is coming to answer the call — a religion that will 
 help the soul of man to live, On the Path, here 
 in this world, in the great eternal now. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE 
 
 When we examine our mode of living, we shall 
 find that we dwell upon the spiritual side of life 
 only upon rare and occasional intervals, while 
 most of the time we permit consciousness to come 
 out into the personality and sometimes remain 
 for days, weeks, or months, upon the personal 
 side of existence; we find that during this period 
 soul activity becomes passive, and in consequence 
 the personality does not have the benefit of that 
 greater spiritual power which is necessary in or- 
 der that w r e may meet and overcome every prob- 
 lem and condition in life. 
 
 This being true, it is most important that we 
 learn to live, more and more, upon the spiritual 
 side of consciousness so that we may gain pos- 
 session of a larger measure of this higher power 
 which alone can give emancipation to the person- 
 ality and higher wisdom to mind and intellect. 
 
 We realize that we are not here to drift with 
 the stream, or to fold our arms passively and say 
 that we will let the best come to pass. The 
 truth is, that if there be anything we want, we 
 
 21 
 
22 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 must work for it. If we wish to make life ideal, 
 we must make it so ourselves. These things do 
 not come to us simply through mere passivity or 
 expectation. We know that we are living in an 
 imperfect world, a world which is in the process 
 of growth; therefore, we necessarily meet unde- 
 veloped conditions on every side; and if we re- 
 main in a passive condition, or simply drift with 
 the stream, many of those undeveloped conditions 
 will come into our own world, and not only dis- 
 turb the order of our personal existence, but pro- 
 duce a great many adverse conditions, both 
 within ourselves and in our environment. For 
 this reason, we must make ourselves stronger 
 than all those conditions; that is, we must rise 
 above adversity both in wisdom and in power; 
 and this is made possible only through the con- 
 tinuous expression of the soul. 
 
 To this end we must permit the spiritual side 
 of life to have full and continuous expression, 
 both in mind and in body; and we shall find, un- 
 der those circumstances, that we will continue 
 to have that mastery of self, of life, of feeling, 
 of conditions, of tendencies, that will always en- 
 able us to be equal to any condition that may 
 arise, and that will enable us to state positively 
 that "none of these things move me." In brief, 
 we will be above them all, and stronger than them 
 all, because we have permitted the life and the 
 
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE 23 
 
 power of the spiritual side to come forth in 
 greater and greater measure. 
 
 Herewith a question of vast importance will 
 arise ; and it refers to the idea of whether or not 
 it is desirable to live wholly upon the spiritual 
 side. There is a belief current that we may 
 weaken the personal side if we live too much in 
 the spiritual ; but nothing could be farther from 
 the truth. We know that when we are function- 
 ing on the spiritual side we are constantly placing 
 in action more and more of those higher spiritual 
 forces that we become conscious of upon the spir- 
 itual side ; and in consequence we give expression 
 to more life than we ever realized before. The 
 result will be, that both the life and the power 
 of the personality will increase remarkably; and 
 we shall have more strength, vitality and energy, 
 both in mind and in body, than we ever had be- 
 fore. 
 
 Realizing this truth, we know that if we wish 
 to meet a personality that is thoroughly filled 
 with life we must always look for a personality 
 with soul; and a personality with soul is a per- 
 sonality where the soul has begun to express it- 
 self to a much larger degree than usual. But 
 when we meet a personality without soul, we find 
 the reverse condition. True, the soul is there, 
 but it is not expressed; and the greater powers 
 are there, but they are not expressed, simply re- 
 
24 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 maining in passivity. So therefore, the reverse 
 of the above belief is the truth; and in conse- 
 quence, the more attention we give to the spir- 
 itual side, the stronger and more powerful we 
 become, not only in soul, but also in mind and 
 body. 
 
 There is, however, truth in the belief that cer- 
 tain people sometimes appear to become phys- 
 ically weak when they begin to give marked at- 
 tention to the spiritual side; but we shall find that 
 those people are in reality not giving attention 
 to the spiritual side. When we analyze their 
 minds we will find that they have not come in 
 contact with real spiritual power, but have sim- 
 ply been dreaming of the mystical; and such 
 states of mind are not conducive to physical, men- 
 tal, or spiritual power. 
 
 When you become conscious of the soul you 
 come in contact with powerful forces; and you 
 will have to take control of them all and hold 
 them in your possession if you wish to realize 
 every gain that is made possible through the con- 
 sciousness of such forces. However, if you do 
 not take hold of those forces and control them 
 perfectly nothing will be gained. This is the 
 reason why a great many people, who touch the 
 spiritual at frequent intervals, simply have a 
 pleasing experience, but do not gain in spiritual 
 power. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE 25 
 
 Considering this subject further, we should re- 
 member the principle involved; that is, that the 
 building up of life on the personal side and on 
 the mental side, as well as on the spiritual side, 
 can be carried forward only through the training 
 of consciousness to make the spiritual side its 
 chief place of functioning; and we may well ask 
 what we should do first in order that this goal 
 may be realized. To begin, we must study the 
 spiritual side just as thoroughly as we have been 
 studying the physical side; and accordingly we 
 must begin at once to apply the scientific method 
 to the spiritual side; in other words, we should 
 take up the other side of science. 
 
 We know that we cannot function on the spir- 
 itual side to any extent until we become thor- 
 oughly familiar with the life and the nature of 
 the soul; for the truth is, as long as the inner 
 kingdom is a vague, mysterious something, we 
 cannot consciously function there. But when we 
 begin to analyze and explore the great spiritual 
 kingdom, and proceed to study all its elements 
 and principles, trying to get hold more and more 
 of the fundamental qualities involved, we shall 
 find that consciousness will gradually transfer 
 itself to the spiritual side; and as this is being 
 done, we shall find that increased power and in- 
 creased life will come forth into mind and per- 
 sonality. 
 
26 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 When this great change begins, we will find 
 ourselves gaining a deeper and deeper under- 
 standing of the mysteries of the kingdom. We 
 will become familiar with our own spiritual na- 
 ture ; and we may continue this process of higher 
 and greater understanding of the upper side of 
 existence for any length of time. Then we shall 
 find that whenever we take another step in that 
 direction, thus increasing the power of conscious- 
 ness to function spiritually, the soul will express 
 itself, both in mind and in body, in added meas- 
 ure to correspond. 
 
 Returning to the original idea — when the soul 
 is fully and completely expressed in the person- 
 ality, the physical or visible side of life will be 
 filled with the light and the power of the spirit ; 
 and the more perfectly we understand this truth, 
 the more fully we realize that physical weakness, 
 as well as weakness of character or of mind, will 
 naturally disappear as we advance in the expres- 
 sion of the soul through the life of the person- 
 ality. And we shall also find that the tendency 
 of the human mind to drift with the stream, or 
 to go under, when in the midst of adversity, is 
 due entirely to the fact that consciousness func- 
 tions too much on the outside, thereby being lim- 
 ited both in wisdom and in power; that is, the 
 personality under those circumstances is not 
 strong enough to overcome adversity, or to create 
 its own conditions and its own life. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE 27 
 
 The great change begins, however, when we 
 step over the border, and proceed to direct con- 
 sciousness to function more and more upon the 
 spiritual side; for the truth is, that the moment 
 consciousness begins to function in that higher 
 realm, the coming forth of the spiritual elements 
 and powers will begin in no uncertain manner. 
 Accordingly, from that time on there will be 
 steady increase in the power of mind, character, 
 physical existence, and the life force in general. 
 The great influx from the soul will proceed, and 
 the personality will be filled more and more with 
 life and power from above. 
 
 When we so live that this process may continue 
 indefinitely, and that consciousness may secure 
 positive hold of the higher side of life, the ex- 
 pression of the soul will become stronger and will 
 be continuous under every circumstance. Then 
 we will always live in the strong, masterful 
 state; we will always realize the power of the 
 spirit living in us; and we will feel, more and 
 more, that power surging through us, animating 
 and inspiring every atom, fiber and vein. Thus 
 we shall be able to transcend all discord, all inhar- 
 mony, all disease, all weakness, and in fact, any- 
 thing that does not belong to the true order of 
 a perfect state of being. 
 
 In order to further this study and train con- 
 sciousness in this wonderful work, we shall find 
 
28 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 the scientific method indispensable; and even 
 though we may not comprehend this method per- 
 fectly in the beginning, we shall find, if we apply 
 the principle involved, that we shall succeed re- 
 markably and upon an ever-increasing scale. 
 However, even if we do not go any farther than 
 simply taking this one step, that is, training con : 
 sciousness to live more and more upon the spir- 
 itual side, the gain will be nothing less than ex- 
 traordinary; and here we should remember that 
 consciousness invariably tends to enter into those 
 realms that we think of continually, or that we 
 think of deeply and with persistent desire. 
 
 Therefore, our purpose henceforth must be to 
 give continuous thought to the spiritual side — 
 with a strong, persistent desire to become more 
 and more conscious of the spiritual life with all 
 its elements, qualities and powers. The gain will 
 be unusual, and will appear in many forms, be- 
 cause the training of consciousness to enter into 
 the spiritual realm will not only enable us to un- 
 derstand more perfectly the mysteries of the 
 kingdom, but the experience will enrich the mind 
 to a remarkable degree. In addition, this mode 
 of living will add immensely to the joy of life; 
 indeed, we shall find upon the spiritual side an 
 ever-increasing measure of that which is per- 
 fectly beautiful and sublimely ideal. Further- 
 more, we shall find in this mode of life the secret 
 of the Great Life. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 (THE RIGHT HANDED PATH 
 
 In every generation, and in every clime, men 
 and women have appeared who were in posses- 
 sion of remarkable power; but they all did not 
 seem to gain their power from the same source. 
 Among them were many who depended upon the 
 Infinite alone, while others made no secret of the 
 fact that they were the instruments of invisible 
 entities. And in many instances the latter 
 seemed to exercise just as great a power, and just 
 as high a power, as the former. Much inquiry 
 therefore has arisen among all who are in search 
 of higher spiritual power, as to what course to 
 pursue; whether to go directly to God for this 
 power, or to go to mediators in the realms of the 
 invisible. 
 
 In all these things there is one infallible guide 
 — "by their fruits ye shall know them" — but in 
 searching for the fruits or the consequences, we 
 must not examine isolated circumstances only; 
 we must examine the whole life, from beginning 
 to end, of the one who has the power; and also 
 examine the results of that power upon all that 
 have come directly under its influence. 
 
 29 
 
30 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 When we pursue such a course, we shall find 
 that all those who are in possession of remark- 
 able power, naturally array themselves into two 
 separate and distinct groups; the one group de- 
 pending absolutely upon the Infinite for all spir- 
 itual power, and the other group depending prin- 
 cipally upon "invisible orders," "invisible help- 
 ers," or invisible entities of some kind. And as 
 we pursue this course to its ultimate state or con- 
 dition, we find that the one group follows un- 
 mistakably the right-handed path, leading di- 
 rectly into eternal light, while the other group 
 follows the left-handed path leading eventually 
 into utter darkness. 
 
 To all appearances, both groups may seem to 
 be, in the beginning, on the same path — the path 
 of true spiritual power; and they all may seem 
 to be prompted by the highest and purest mo- 
 tives ; but as the two groups advance, farther and 
 farther, upon their respective pathways, a marked 
 difference begins to arise between them ; and this 
 difference becomes greater and greater until it 
 finally becomes an impassable gulf. 
 
 At first sight, there may seem to be nothing 
 wrong in receiving higher power directly from 
 invisible entities; and there may be certain tem- 
 porary periods, or conditions, when such a course 
 may be permissible ; but no soul can continue very 
 long to receive, or "borrow" spiritual power from 
 
THE RIGHT HANDED PATH 31 
 
 other souls, in the invisible, without drifting di- 
 rectly into the left-handed path. And the very 
 moment any one finds himself upon the left- 
 handed path, the temptation, and the inclination, 
 to use higher power for unholy ends, becomes 
 stronger and stronger until the conscious self 
 gives in almost continually. Besides this, a 
 marked weakening of character and principle be- 
 gins almost at once the soul drifts into this 
 path ; and finally the desire to resist the tempta- 
 tion to misuse such power almost entirely disap- 
 pears. 
 
 The principal reason why it is wrong to seek 
 spiritual power from groups, or "orders," or in- 
 visible entities, and why such a course leads di- 
 rectly and inevitably into the left-handed path, 
 will be clearly understood when we realize what 
 it truly means to grow and advance in spiritual 
 things. Then we shall be fully convinced of the 
 great truth that there is only one way to the light 
 and the power of the spirit; and that one way 
 may be defined briefly, in the flaming words of 
 the prophet, "Return Ye Unto God." 
 
 We advance spiritually by becoming more and 
 more conscious of our oneness with the Infinite; 
 and all true spiritual growth depends directly 
 upon the realization of higher and higher degrees 
 of this very consciousness. But when we pro- 
 ceed to depend upon invisible entities for higher 
 
32 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 power, we turn our attention away from the real- 
 ization of oneness with God, and seek, instead, 
 a more perfect unity between ourselves and those 
 invisible groups from which we expect to receive 
 greater power. We turn away from the One 
 Source of power; and whenever we turn away 
 from that Source we step out of the right-handed 
 path into the left-handed path. 
 
 We cannot depend upon God unless we depend 
 upon him absolutely. Our eye must be single, 
 otherwise we cannot see the light. We must fol- 
 low the Supreme in all things, or we cannot fol- 
 low him truly in anything. We must turn either 
 to the right or to the left. There is no inter- 
 mediary path. If we turn to the left we turn 
 away from God. But we cannot turn to the 
 right unless we are prepared to depend upon God, 
 absolutely, for all spiritual wisdom, for all spir- 
 itual power, and for all the gifts that pertain to 
 the spiritual life. 
 
 The way is simple, and the inner truth is so 
 clear that all can understand. Know that you 
 are one with God, and you are on the way. Real- 
 ize that God is "closer than breathing, nearer 
 than hands and feet," and the dawn of spiritual 
 consciousness will have begun in your own life. 
 And as you grow in that consciousness you will 
 find yourself gaining possession, in greater and 
 greater measure, of higher spiritual power. 
 
THE RIGHT HANDED PATH 33 
 
 Your spiritual vision will open, more and more, 
 to the great eternal light; and you will know, in 
 your own soul, that you have found the way, the 
 truth, and the life. 
 
 When we pursue this wonderful study we shall 
 meet many minds that will reason in this fashion : 
 "We know that we are receiving our power from 
 invisible entities; but we are convinced that the 
 power is pure; and we feel that our acceptance 
 of this power will prepare us for a higher life 
 and a greater work. In the meantime, we are 
 doing a good work; we are helping many; we 
 are thoroughly sincere, and our purpose, both in 
 our life and in cur work, is the very highest con- 
 ceivable." 
 
 In reply, however, to this mode of reasoning, 
 plausible as it may seem to be, we must consider 
 the truth as it is for all time, and not judge 
 merely from a certain amount of good work that 
 may be carried on in the present. We cannot 
 judge from motives or intentions either, and 
 judge wisely, for we all know that any one can 
 have good motives; any one can be sincere; but 
 in the midst of his sincerity he may be mistaken. 
 He may be good and kind to-day, and still he 
 may gradually be drifting in the wrong direction. 
 
 The truth is this, that if you wish to be help- 
 ful to the world, you need not go to invisible en- 
 tities for your power. You can gain greater 
 
34 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 power and higher power by going directly to God. 
 You have no excuse, therefore, in that respect, 
 for attaching yourself to invisible groups, or ' 'or- 
 ders/' the true existence of which has been, and 
 always will be, very doubtful. For here we must 
 remember that invisible entities who really know 
 God, will never undertake to "lend" spiritual 
 power to man. Enlightened entities in higher 
 realms will forever seek to inspire man to go di- 
 rect to God for all spiritual power, for they well 
 know that any other course will inevitably lead 
 into ages of distress and darkness. 
 
 When we consider this phase of the subject, 
 we realize, in a most positive manner, that we 
 cannot "borrow" spiritual power from enlight- 
 ened entities in higher realms ; and we would not 
 want to receive power from those who are not 
 enlightened. We can, however, receive remark- 
 able power from invisible entities under circum- 
 stances favorable to that end; but such entities 
 do not know God; they do not know the way, the 
 truth and the life; if they did know, they would 
 not lead man away from God, by encouraging 
 him to accept power from them, instead of from 
 the Supreme. They are therefore "spirits of 
 darkness"; and they themselves are already on 
 the left-handed path. But even the "power of 
 darkness" can perform miracles at times, and do 
 "good work" for a season. Therefore, we must 
 
THE RIGHT HANDED PATH 35 
 
 not be misled by "signs," "wonder works" or 
 remarkable "appearances." We must first in- 
 quire the source of their power; then we shall 
 know, whether or not, they are on the path that 
 leads to eternal light. 
 
 Your work may at present be good, and your 
 intentions may be good; but if you are not re- 
 ceiving your power directly from the Infinite, you 
 are gradually and surely drifting away from the 
 true Source of light, power and truth. And be- 
 fore you may be aware of it, you will find your- 
 self on the left-handed path. In truth, you may 
 continue for years on this downward path with- 
 out knowing where you are drifting, for the way 
 to darkness does not always reveal its true na- 
 ture to the human soul, or warn any one from 
 going farther. Such warning must come from 
 the way of light ; but there is a simple secret that 
 will always inform us, truthfully, where we are. 
 Ask yourself from whence you receive your 
 power. If you know that you are receiving your 
 power from the Supreme, and if you are trying 
 to so live that you may realize, more and more 
 perfectly, your oneness with the Infinite — then 
 you are on the path of the light. But if you must 
 admit to yourself that you are depending princi- 
 pally upon other sources, both for power and 
 guidance, then heed instantly these inspiring 
 words of the prophet — "Return Ye Unto God." 
 
36 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 The first and greatest principle in all spiritual 
 advancement or attainment is this — "Enter more 
 and more perfectly into the conscious realization 
 of your oneness with God." This is the way; 
 this is the truth; this is the life. The whole of 
 human existence, therefore, must be so con- 
 structed that every thought and act will tend 
 directly to increase and deepen this conscious 
 realization. Our one greatest purpose must be 
 to know absolutely that we are eternally in the 
 Spirit of God, and forever one with God. And 
 everything in life that may, in any way, interfere 
 with the constant advancement of that purpose, 
 must be eliminated completely. 
 
 Herein we find the full meaning of the great 
 commandment, that we should seek no other gods 
 but the one only supreme God. The power we 
 may gain from lesser lights in the invisible world, 
 is but temporary; and their guidance leads inevi- 
 tably away from the light and the truth. They 
 alone are on the true spiritual path, who depend 
 absolutely upon the Supreme. They alone are 
 worthy to lead mankind who follow implicitly the 
 guidance of the pure, white light of the One 
 Spirit. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 
 
 When we inquire as to the greatest need of 
 mankind, our answer must invariably be, to know 
 more and more of the truth; and this answer is 
 based upon the principle that it is the increased 
 understanding of truth that alone can provide 
 the human soul with those essentials that are re- 
 quired to the living of life and the fulfillment of 
 destiny. 
 
 The need of more and more truth has been 
 deeply felt in every soul at every time ; and there- 
 fore we find the human race constantly in search 
 of the truth, although it is quite evident that the 
 majority do not realize, most of the time, why 
 they do want to know the truth. The soul, how- 
 ever, does know; and it is this prompting from 
 within that causes the mind to go out in every 
 direction, and employ every possible means to the 
 end that a greater measure of truth may be real- 
 ized. 
 
 The truth that we may know at any particular 
 time, provided it is all the truth that we can un- 
 derstand at that time, will satisfy our purpose 
 
 37 
 
38 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 for the living of a full life in that special period ; 
 but the very moment we come to a place where 
 the needs of life have been enlarged and made 
 more extensive, we shall feel at once the need of 
 a greater measure of truth. This leads the soul 
 into an attitude that we all have experienced — 
 an attitude that may be described as the hunger- 
 ing and thirsting for something within, or for 
 something higher that we do not seem able, at the 
 time, to gain possession of; but what we really 
 do want at those times is more truth ; and the mo- 
 ment we find the greater truth we are in search 
 of, the soul is satisfied, and the greater needs of 
 life, for the moment, are perfectly fulfilled. 
 
 When we examine the relationship that the 
 knowing of truth sustains to the living of life, 
 we find that the truth of to-day is for to-day 
 only; and that new truth and a greater measure 
 of truth becomes absolutely necessary as the soul 
 grows or advances into larger and higher states 
 of existence. We find therefore that whenever 
 a new step is taken, or something higher is un- 
 dertaken, the truth that we have known in the 
 past will prove insufficient. We find that we 
 must have new truth, and that we must gain a 
 higher and a larger understanding of life before 
 we can proceed with the new step or undertak- 
 ing in view. 
 
 However, if we do not succeed at once in gain- 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 39 
 
 ing this larger understanding, we shall experi- 
 ence a deep dissatisfaction with almost every- 
 thing in life; and we have all had this experience 
 at various times; but now we know what it 
 means ; and we can avoid such experiences in the 
 future if we will make proper provision for the 
 greater needs of the future by learning to search 
 the truth in all places, and by learning the art of 
 entering into a higher understanding of truth 
 according to the demands of human advance- 
 ment 
 
 In our search for the truth in the past, we have 
 confined ourselves almost exclusively to ways and 
 methods that have been more or less uncertain; 
 that is, we have not developed a definite system 
 for the seeking of truth, or for the finding of 
 truth, and this is especially true of spiritual truth. 
 Accordingly, the race has not advanced spirit- 
 ually to any degree of satisfaction, although 
 great advancement has been made along other 
 lines, because the search of truth in the material 
 world has been carried on more thoroughly, ac- 
 cording to science and system. 
 
 The soul must have more truth, however ; and 
 therefore we find large masses of people coming, 
 at frequent times, to places where they do not 
 know where to turn because the understanding 
 of the past does not serve any longer; and they 
 do not know how to find the greater understand- 
 
40 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 ing that is demanded. In brief, they wish to dis- 
 card old conditions and old beliefs, but do not 
 know where to go for new ones; therefore they 
 find themselves in conditions that are anything 
 but favorable to the highest welfare of man. 
 
 We find that this very thing has happened in 
 history, again and again; and during such sea- 
 sons of change and uncertainty, there have been 
 prolonged periods of spiritual darkness. The 
 cause of this we can readily understand, because 
 when the light of the past proves insufficient, and 
 the greater light desired is not at hand, the soul 
 must of necessity find itself in a state of dark- 
 ness, or at least in a state of confusion ; and men- 
 tal confusion almost invariably produces more or 
 less spiritual darkness. To avoid this, because 
 it should be avoided by all means, we must seek to 
 work out a more definite system for the search 
 of the greater and the greater truth, as demanded 
 by the growth and advancement of the soul. In 
 brief, we must provide for ourselves a method of 
 growth in the truth that will enable us to con- 
 tinue in the spiritual light constantly, without 
 meeting at any time those periods that invariably 
 follow when the supply for the higher is not at 
 hand to provide for greater demand. 
 
 We all realize the situation, and the needs of 
 such a situation ; but the question is, how a more 
 thorough system can be provided through which 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 41 
 
 we may find, for each day, all the truth that we 
 need for that day; but here we must remember 
 that it is not a system of belief that we are in 
 search of. We do not desire systems of belief, 
 but rather a definite system for mental and spir- 
 itual growth into a higher and higher under- 
 standing of truth. The finding of such a system, 
 however, will not prove so difficult as we might 
 think, because we have the principle in our very 
 midst. 
 
 When we look into the material world, we find 
 that in that world a perfect system has been 
 evolved for the search of more and more truth; 
 and that system is based upon the scientific 
 method — a method which is practically infallible, 
 and which can be applied in any domain, even the 
 spiritual domain. The value of the scientific 
 method in the material world becomes very evi- 
 dent when we discover the fact that the world 
 knew practically nothing about the material uni- 
 verse previous to the coming of the scientific 
 method ; but since that method has been employed 
 so extensively, in connection with all visible and 
 tangible objects and forces, the material universe 
 has become almost like an open book. We can 
 read nearly all its secrets at the present time ; and 
 its mysteries are no longer hidden, but have been 
 clearly revealed to all intelligent minds. The 
 fact is, that the scientific method has revealed the 
 
'42 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 material universe to us in such a wonderful man- 
 ner that we are now able to perform miracles al- 
 most every day in connection with tangible forces 
 and elements ; and still we realize that we are sim- 
 ply in the beginning of real knowledge in connec- 
 tion with material things. The discoveries that 
 have been made in connection with the tangible, 
 and the inventions that have been perfected, are 
 nothing less than extraordinary; but greater 
 things in connection with the visible universe will 
 be evolved and perfected from this time on, be- 
 cause we are learning to apply the scientific 
 method more perfectly every day, and upon a 
 much larger scale. 
 
 The advancement and the changes that have 
 been made upon the physical side of life since the 
 scientific method appeared, have been so numer- 
 ous and so wonderful that we really do not ap- 
 preciate them all. The reason is we have become 
 so accustomed to miracles in every-day life that 
 we do not stop to consider the principles and laws 
 through which all these things have been accom- 
 plished. Those principles and laws, however, are 
 based upon the scientific method; and it is that 
 method that deserves the credit for every com- 
 fort and every mode of advancement in life that 
 we enjoy at the present time. 
 
 Realizing this great fact, the question is, if we 
 pan apply the same method to the spiritual uni- 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 43 
 
 verse. We have searched the mysteries of the 
 physical kingdoms, and we have found thousands 
 of invaluable facts ; we are finding more and more 
 every day, and we are working them out in a prac- 
 tical manner for the greatest good of man; but 
 can we understand the mysteries of the spiritual 
 kingdom in the same way? Can we enter the 
 vastness of higher realms, and find greater and 
 greater truth in those realms, through the same 
 method that we have employed in the physical or 
 tangible world ? If we can, then the mysteries of 
 the kingdom will not be mysterious much longer ; 
 we shall soon learn to understand them all, and 
 gain possession of wisdom such as we have never 
 dreamed. 
 
 We are familiar with the physical side of 
 science; and our minds have been so engrossed 
 in this physical side that we have never paused 
 to ask ourselves the question if there might not 
 be another side to science — a side that would 
 relate itself directly to the spiritual realms. 
 For this reason, we have failed to appreciate the 
 power of the scientific method in connection with 
 higher and finer things. But now we know that 
 there is another side to science, and that this 
 other or higher side can be applied as successfully 
 in the spiritual world as the physical side of 
 science has been applied in the tangible world. 
 However, we do not refer to any special kind 
 
44 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 of science, but refer to the scientific principle 
 itself, without any modifications or specifications 
 whatever; that is, it is the idea involved in the 
 scientific method — the only method known for the 
 finding of truth — with which we are concerned; 
 and we have now come to the conclusion that it 
 is pure science that we must apply, not only to the 
 physical, but to the metaphysical, and also to the 
 spiritual, if we would know all truth and place 
 ourselves in a position where we can constantly 
 rise in the understanding of a greater and greater 
 measure of truth. 
 
 Appreciating this fact, the problem will be, how 
 to apply the scientific method in the search of 
 truth in the spiritual world. The Great Master 
 Mind declared, "It is for you to know the mys- 
 teries of the kingdom ;" but until recently we did 
 not give serious attention to that remarkable 
 statement ; and the reason may possibly be found 
 in the fact that our spiritual needs had not become 
 sufficiently strong to arouse our minds in a man- 
 ner where we really could not tolerate our limita- 
 tions any longer. In recent times, however, most 
 of us have come to places where we felt that we 
 simply would have to secure new light; and the 
 whole world almost is in that positon at the pres- 
 ent time. Nearly everybody feels the need of a 
 new life and a higher state of existence ; but the 
 majority do not know how to proceed in the search 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 45 
 
 of what their souls demand. They have a fear 
 of going out upon the seeming void, not realizing 
 that this seeming void is nothing less than a 
 greater world of substantial and finer reality. 
 But there are many who have eliminated that 
 fear, and who have begun to get out upon the 
 seeming void, finding there the solid rock of 
 greater truth, as all will do who take that most 
 important step. 
 
 We must remember, that in the search of truth, 
 there is no need of having fear of anything, be- 
 cause while we are in the search of truth, we can- 
 not go astray. If it is the truth that we want, 
 and if we are applying the best methods that we 
 know, we shall gain at least a measure of greater 
 truth ; and we will not go astray ; we will not be 
 lost even though we leave behind us all the be- 
 liefs of the past. We need not think that we will 
 enter the desert of uncertainty simply because we 
 leave the lesser in search of the greater ; for the 
 fact is, we cannot go very far in any direction, if 
 we are in search of truth, without finding some- 
 thing that will prove of greater value for the ad- 
 vancement and the enrichment of life than any- 
 thing we possessed before. Our ruling purpose 
 therefore from this time on should be, to go out 
 more and more into the vastness of the higher and 
 the greater realms of the spiritual world, know- 
 ing that the farther we go into that world, the 
 
46 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 more truth we shall find; and as we grow in the 
 truth, life will become larger, richer, more en- 
 joyable and more beautiful; and in addition, we 
 shall become living examples to the thousands 
 who are in search of those higher things that we 
 have found. 
 
 When we consider the mysteries of the king- 
 dom, we must remember that we are dealing 
 purely with the spiritual side of life; and we must 
 realize that the spiritual side, or the seeming un- 
 real, is the most real of all states of existence. 
 There is far greater reality in the life of the spirit 
 than there is in the life of the material ; indeed, it 
 is only in the spiritual that we find reality in its 
 true state of being; and when we realize this, 
 then it is that we shall begin to gain, not only a 
 higher understanding of all life, but a greater 
 degree of mastery, both of the mental world and 
 of the material world. 
 
 We are subject to physical conditions only so 
 long as Ave continue to believe that the body is 
 more real than the soul. The very moment, how- 
 ever, that we know absolutely that the soul is 
 more real than the body, then the soul will begin 
 to gain mastery over the body ; and when the soul 
 does gain mastery over the body, all imperfect 
 conditions in the physical life must disappear. 
 The principle is the same as that of turning on 
 the light; when the light comes, then darkness 
 must go. 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 47 
 
 We find that physical conditions are always 
 similar to the nature of the spiritual expression 
 that is taking place at any particular time; that 
 is, if the spiritual expression in your life is full 
 and complete, every condition in your body will, 
 of necessity, be full and complete, or similar to 
 the expression of the spirit; and as the spirit is 
 always in a state of harmony, peace, health, 
 wholeness and the fullness of life, conditions in 
 the physical life must be the same when the spir- 
 itual expression is full and perfect. The spirit 
 is always in a state of divine perfection; there- 
 fore, we must of necessity conclude that the body 
 would enjoy the same state of divine perfection 
 if the expression of the soul were full and com- 
 plete during every moment of personal existence. 
 
 The reason why there are imperfect conditions 
 on the physical side of mind or body is because the 
 spiritual expression of life is only partial in most 
 individuals; and in a great many individuals the 
 spiritual expression is actually insignificant, so 
 that it can hardly be spoken of as a true expres- 
 sion; that is, the soul is simply passively alive in 
 a great majority of people, and really does not 
 iexpress itself or its qualities in any form or man- 
 ner. And the cause of this conditon is due to the 
 fact that we have looked upon the body as more 
 real than the soul. 
 
 Herewith we must remember that so long as 
 
48 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 we live in the belief that the body is more real 
 than the soul, the soul will be looked upon in our 
 consciousness as a negative factor. It will sim- 
 ply be passive, because our material belief does 
 not permit of active expression from the spiritual 
 side. And when we look at the life of the great 
 majority, we discover at once that the spiritual 
 life in them all is purely passive; life in them is 
 simply a state of existence ; they do not live in the 
 true sense of the term; they do not express real 
 life; and the expression of the spiritual or the di- 
 vine reality within them has not begun. It is 
 true, however, that the very moment material be- 
 lief is eliminated, spiritual expression will begin. 
 But we do not eliminate material belief until we 
 begin to live in the soul ; and we begin to live in 
 the soul the very moment we realize that the soul 
 is more real than either mind or body. It is in 
 this very place that we find the parting of the 
 ways in the life of every individual, or the begin- 
 ning of a new order of things in the world of any 
 individual. 
 
 When the human entity begins to realize that 
 the spiritual side is more real than the physical 
 side, consciousness will begin to function more 
 definitely upon the spiritual side; that is, life will 
 be lived, not from the body, but from the soul; 
 and when we live in the soul, and from the soul, 
 we will give expression to an ever-increasing 
 measure of life, wisdom and power. 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 49 
 
 When we consider our past consciousness, we 
 remember that our conscious existence was con- 
 cerned almost entirely with the outer life of the 
 personality; that is, we really lived in the body, 
 and looked upon the soul as a vague something 
 that no one could understand. We could con- 
 sciously feel the existence of the body, but we did 
 not have any conscious realization of the existence 
 of the soul. We possibly believed that we had a 
 soul, but it was merely a belief; and we did not 
 possess sufficient conscious realization of the 
 spiritual life to prove to ourselves that such a life 
 had actual existence. 
 
 In the present age, however, a large percentage 
 have come to a wonderful change in conscious- 
 ness. These human entities know that the soul 
 has existence; they do not simply believe it, but 
 are beginning to know it as an absolute truth. 
 And if you are a member of this fortunte com- 
 pany you realize exactly what has brought about 
 this change. You are beginning to feel inwardly 
 that you are a soul, and you are beginning to live 
 consciously in the soul world. Your chief abode 
 is no longer in the body, but is in the spiritual 
 state of your life. You have moved, literally 
 speaking, from the external to the internal, or 
 from the lower to the higher; and you are now 
 living, actually and truly, in the higher. The re- 
 sult is that you are giving expression to the ele- 
 
So IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 ments and powers that exist in the higher; and 
 as a consequence, you are finding that physical 
 conditions are changing to respond more and 
 more perfectly to this expression of finer life from 
 above. 
 
 And here it is well to remember that we cannot 
 give expression to the powers of the soul, and to 
 the superior qualities of the soul, unless we live 
 in the soul. So long as we live in the body, we 
 have to depend exclusively upon material condi- 
 tions, material forces and material things; but 
 the moment we begin to live in the soul, we be- 
 come actually conscious of the greater powers 
 and the higher qualities that exist in the soul ; and 
 whatever we become conscious of, that we in- 
 variably express in the personality. 
 
 The result of these higher conditions we all 
 have experienced. We all have proven conclu- 
 sively the great truth that we can eliminate ad- 
 verse physical conditions by entering a higher 
 spiritual realization ; for the moment we enter the 
 spirit we become conscious of the power of the 
 spirit, and according to the law, grve expression 
 to that power through every part of mind and 
 body; in brief, we send forth the light from the 
 soul, and the darkness of the body must disap- 
 pear. 
 
 We have also found that this higher spiritual 
 realization will invariably eliminate discord and 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 51 
 
 adversity from the mind, increase the richness of 
 life in every manner, and enlarge consciousness, 
 both in the visible and in the invisible, so that new 
 kingdoms are added again and again to the world 
 in which we live. We all have experienced and 
 proven this great truth; and all these experiences 
 are based upon the principle that we invariably 
 give expression to the higher and the finer life of 
 the soul the moment we begin to live in the soul. 
 
 The principal idea to be considered in our study 
 of this important theme is, that conscious activity 
 invariably takes place wherever we feel that we 
 live; that is, if we feel that we live in the body, 
 our consciousness will act principally in the body, 
 and we will deal almost exclusively with the phy- 
 ical side of life. But when we begin to feel that 
 we live in the soul, consciousness will become ac- 
 tive among the spiritual elements and forces, and 
 we will place in action more and more of those 
 higher forces. Accordingly, we are no longer 
 confined to the limitations of the physical, but 
 may proceed to enter more and more into the con- 
 scious realization of the limitless life of the 
 spiritual. 
 
 The truth is, that the moment we transfer the 
 principal place of conscious functioning from the 
 body to the soul, we find that the higher spiritual 
 forces will begin to express themselves, and 
 thereby enlarge, enrich and perfect the entire do- 
 
52 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 main of human existence — physical, mental and 
 spiritual; in other words, wherever you are con- 
 scious, there you awaken activity. This is the 
 simple truth that underlies this entire field of 
 study. Therefore, when you are conscious on 
 the spiritual side, you awaken spiritual activity; 
 and when you awaken spiritual activity, you cause 
 the expression of spiritual life and spiritual 
 power, and in fact, the expression of everything 
 that pertains to the wonders of the spiritual 
 world. You have taken conscious possession of 
 that higher, richer life, and have begun to bring 
 forth that life into every part of your entire be- 
 ing. Thus your entire being will be lifted up, 
 perfected, made better and higher, and existence 
 itself, on all planes, more beautiful and more en- 
 joyable. 
 
 When we understand this great truth in all its 
 fullness, we will begin to realize its many possi- 
 bilities, and we must come invariably to the con- 
 clusion that if we should actually live for a num- 
 ber of years on the spiritual side of our conscious- 
 ness, the spiritual expression of everything per- 
 taining to the soul would become so strong that 
 it would be impossible for adverse conditions to 
 ever find place in the body ; that is, the body would 
 be so thoroughly filled with the life and the power 
 of the spirit that no adverse condition could ever 
 begin for a moment upon the physical side. This 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM S3 
 
 would be only one of the many wonderful things 
 that would happen; and another would be the 
 continuous enlargement of the mind, because the 
 expression of the soul has a tendency to build up, 
 to develop, and to further the growth of every 
 thing that is natural and true in any part of the 
 mental world. All in all, therefore, we would 
 realize perpetual health and physical perfection 
 on the tangible side, and become giants of char- 
 acter, power and talent on the mental side; but 
 such a remarkable realization could not take place 
 unless we lived for a number of years on the 
 spiritual side exclusively, and during every mo- 
 ment of existence. 
 
 But there are many who may say that they have 
 tried for some years to function entirely upon the 
 spiritual side, and yet have realized neither physi- 
 cal emancipation nor higher mental attainments 
 — a situation that may appear to contradict the 
 truth of the statement just made; but we must 
 remember that when we face the fact as it is in 
 our own life, and ask ourselves if we have always 
 functioned on the spiriual side during every mo- 
 ment of existence, we must invariably reply, that 
 we have functioned on the spiritual side only at 
 rare moments. We have not made the spiritual 
 side the principal place of conscious activity; and 
 that is the reason we have not gained the results 
 that we think should have followed our efforts 
 
54 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 in that direction. If we would realize all the 
 fruits of the spirit, we must give every moment 
 to the spirit ; and this we can do without interfer- 
 ing with the duties and privileges of the physical 
 side of life. 
 
 We can live continually on the spiritual side of 
 consciousness, and at the same time give full jus- 
 tice to everything that may demand our attention 
 on the tangible side. Besides, the more per- 
 fectly we live in the spiritual, the more life and 
 power we will give to the body, due to the fact 
 that greater spiritual activity in consciousness 
 will arouse a greater abundance of life; and the 
 more life we have, the more power, the more 
 virility, the more strength and the more harmony 
 we shall have, and the better will be the health 
 both of mind and body. 
 
 The first step to be taken in the further under- 
 standing of truth, and in the search of the secrets 
 of the kingdom, is to train consciousness to live 
 more and more upon the spiritual side of life; 
 and here we must remember that we cannot un- 
 derstand the mysteries of the kingdom, no matter 
 how much we may study or investigate the sub- 
 ject, until we consciously live in the soul. If we 
 live in the body, or in the mind, we cannot under- 
 stand the spirit, and the mysteries of the kingdom 
 will continue to be mysterious in every form and 
 manner ; but the moment we begin to realize that 
 
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 55 
 
 we are spiritual beings, and begin to live in the 
 soul, so that we actually feel that we are living 
 upon the spiritual side, we become conscious of 
 spiritual things ; and the moment we become con- 
 scious of spiritual things, we gain the power to 
 understand spiritual things. The consciousness 
 of the spiritual must come first; that is, we must 
 actually be in the spiritual world before we can 
 study the spiritual world ; and therefore we must 
 live in the soul, and consciously function in the 
 soul, before we can proceed further in the search 
 of truth. Having taken this first step, we will 
 not only gain immensely, both physically and men- 
 tally, but we will also have entered consciously 
 the real light of the spiritual world; and when 
 we have entered that light, we shall be able to see 
 clearly how to proceed farther, — how to apply 
 the other side of science to all the mysteries of 
 the kingdom. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE SECRET OF SPIRITUAL POWER 
 
 In every age spiritual giants have appeared — 
 wonderful souls, that have almost continually 
 been in perfect touch with that vast, inexhausti- 
 ble world of supernal light and transcendant 
 power that surrounds us all, and that permeates 
 the entire cosmos in all its unbounded domains. 
 These rare and exceptional souls have been the 
 prophets of the race, and have been the saviors of 
 mankind ; they have beheld the vision ; they have 
 proclaimed the kingdom of higher and greater 
 things; they have revealed the light of "another 
 and a better world;" they have prepared the way 
 for the whole of humanity "to come up higher" 
 and enter the joys and the riches of pure, spiritual 
 existence. And they have also manifested 
 marked possession of spiritual power, the secret 
 of which has been a mystery to the greater part 
 of the race. 
 
 In years gone by we did not consider it possible 
 for man to understand the inner mysteries of the 
 kingdom ; but now we know that it is for all man- 
 kind to understand these mysteries ; and therefore 
 
 56 
 
SECRET OF SPIRITUAL POWER 57 
 
 we have begun a ceaseless and unlimited re- 
 search, the end in view being nothing less than 
 the full realization of the one eternal truth. And 
 among the many higher and finer domains, upon 
 which we are turning the wonderful eye of the 
 soul, the secrets of these spiritual giants is in no 
 wise the least. 
 
 When the soul is awakened, there comes a 
 strong and increasing desire for higher wisdom 
 and higher power. The spirit within begins to 
 hunger and thirst for more light; and there is a 
 feeling in the deeper depths of consciousness, that 
 proclaims unmistakably the nearness of a power 
 that is truly akin to the power of the Supreme. 
 In truth, the awakened soul can almost touch this 
 power, it seems so near; but many a soul con- 
 tinues for years on the verge of touching this 
 power, but never being able to lay hold upon its 
 elements, or realize its conscious possession even 
 to a slight degree. And the cause of this strange 
 delay has been a deep mystery to many. 
 
 To fathom this mystery we have turned our 
 attention to the spiritual giants of every age, 
 thinking we might find in them the secret; and 
 we have not gone to them in vain. Their lives 
 have revealed to us what we sought to know. 
 They have prepared the way ; and we may pursue 
 the same course if we will learn to understand 
 the state and the motive of the interior, spiritual 
 life. 
 
58 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 To begin, we must know and feel that we "live 
 and move and have our being" in an infinite sea 
 of pure spirit. And we must enter so deeply 
 into the consciousness of this omnipresent spir- 
 itual world that we can actually feel the "pres- 
 ence" of the power in every element of body, mind 
 and soul. In brief, the spiritual world must be- 
 come so real to us that the material world appears 
 to be mere mist in comparison. 
 
 We may know the presence of the spirit, and 
 continue in this knowing all through life with- 
 out gaining possession of the power; but when 
 we begin to "feel" the presence of the spirit, then 
 indeed shall we be able to lay hold upon the power, 
 and make it our very own. 
 
 Herein we find the secret of the prophets and 
 the mighty in spirit. They could feel the pres- 
 ence of this higher power in every fibre and vein ; 
 they could touch it with their hands in the atmos- 
 phere all about them ; they could charge their very 
 thoughts with the elements of this power; they 
 could direct the tremendous forces of this power 
 into every word they might utter or declare ; and 
 they could, through the use of divine will, give 
 expression to this power through the higher laws 
 of nature, and thus perform what, to the world, 
 has seemed miraculous. 
 
 When we can feel the presence of spiritual 
 power, then we know that we actually have en- 
 
SECRET OF SPIRITUAL POWER 59 
 
 tered into the real, interior life of that power; 
 and the law is, that whenever we "enter into" 
 any measure or state of spiritual power, that 
 measure of power becomes our own. Another 
 great law that we find herein is this, that the 
 power of the spirit obeys implicitly the desire of 
 the higher human will. And therefore, when- 
 ever we feel the presence of the power, that power 
 will act for us upon any purpose or goal towards 
 which the higher will of the soul may be directed. 
 When we actually feel the power of the spirit, 
 that power will invariably do whatsoever we may 
 will to do, provided the desires and motives of 
 the will are inspired by the pure and lofty aspira- 
 tions of the soul. 
 
 The first and great secret, therefore, is to feel 
 the presence of the spirit, and enter into the very 
 life of higher spiritual power. Having taken 
 this important step, the steps that follow can in 
 no wise be difficult; and the reason for this we 
 shall understand when we find how readily these 
 higher forces respond to the masterful attitude 
 of the soul. The soul should be and, in truth, is 
 the ruling principle in the human domain. And 
 every awakened soul does lay positive hold, more 
 and more, upon this divine prerogative. The 
 awakened soul therefore soon comes to a place 
 where the absolute right to govern life and des- 
 tiny is fully recognized; and at that period the 
 
60 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 need of higher power becomes very great indeed. 
 
 When the awakened soul arrives at this, the 
 parting of the ways, and learns that life can no 
 longer drift with the stream, but must be directed, 
 with wisdom and power, towards the supreme 
 goal of the illumined spiritual heights — when the 
 soul comes face to face with this astounding 
 truth, the desire for the necessary wisdom and 
 the necessary power becomes invincible. And 
 there is no rest until this indispensable need is 
 supplied. If the supply is not forthcoming, both 
 mind and soul will continue in a state of incon- 
 solable distress, a state that, in many instances, 
 fails to depart during existence in this world. 
 The cause, however, is simply the failure to gain 
 the higher power required for the new order and 
 the new time. 
 
 Herein we find the reason why so many among 
 awakened souls have not realized the perfect 
 peace of the spirit and the higher joys of divine 
 existence. They are living in a period of unrest 
 and distress, that frequently becomes unendur- 
 able pain; and the cause is always this, that they 
 have awakened to the need of higher power, but 
 have not gained conscious possession of that 
 power. They have entered upon the responsi- 
 bilities and privileges of a higher life, but have 
 not gained the necessary power to partake of the 
 privileges or meet the responsibilities. Their 
 
SECRET OF SPIRITUAL POWER 61 
 
 spiritual sight is opened, and they can clearly see 
 the supreme goal of human destiny ; but they have 
 not the power to press on towards those sublime 
 and radiant heights. They have awakened to 
 the true meaning of life, but have not the wisdom 
 or the power to live according to the higher light 
 they have received. In consequence, the soul is 
 in distress, yearning eternally for that wonderful 
 something that seems so near, and still so utterly 
 unattainable. 
 
 This wonderful something, however, seems to 
 be unattainable for no other reason than this, we 
 have nofToVind the simple secret of entering into 
 the very life of the spirit. We may know that 
 we live and move and have our being in an in- 
 finite sea of pure spirit ; but we may not feel the 
 "presence" of the power. It is the "presence" 
 of the power that we must feel; and when we do 
 feel this presence, then indeed will the pain of the 
 soul disappear. The great need will be supplied. 
 The wisdom and the power that is required to 
 live the life will be out of reach no more; and the 
 soul can begin in earnest to press on towards the 
 spiritual goal of glorified human destiny. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE USE OF SPIRITUAL POWER 
 
 When you accomplish something that is re- 
 markable, or unusual, through the use of spiritual 
 power, do not permit yourself to think or say that 
 you were the author of this work. In truth, do 
 not consider yourself, in any form or manner, as 
 having done what has seemingly been done by 
 you. Keep the eye single upon the Source of the 
 power, with which this great work was per- 
 formed, and give all honor and glory to the Su- 
 preme Author of all that is great and wonderful 
 in the world. 
 
 When we consider the great truth, that he 
 who exalts himself shall be humbled, that he who 
 humbles himself before the Most High shall be 
 exalted, we are dealing with one of the greatest 
 of laws in the spiritual kingdom. And when we 
 understand this law, we shall know the inner 
 secret of the seers and the prophets, and of all 
 the spiritual giants that have appeared upon any 
 planet in the cosmos. 
 
 There is but one Source of true spiritual power ; 
 
 62 
 
THE USE OF SPIRITUAL POWER 63 
 
 and that Source is the Infinite; but the man who 
 exalts himself does not look to the Infinite for 
 his power; he looks to his own mind and soul. 
 But here we must remember that although the 
 human soul can give expression to marvelous 
 power, still all of that power must come from the 
 Supreme. And no one can receive power from 
 the Supreme unless the eye is single upon the 
 Supreme throughout the period of conscious ex- 
 istence. We receive from the Source only when 
 we think constantly of the Source, and open mind 
 and soul to the divine influx from On High. 
 
 When we humble ourselves before God, we do 
 not depreciate our own worth ; we still know that 
 we are created in his image ; and we realize most 
 keenly that we are forever one with God ; but we 
 recognize the great truth that all power comes 
 from above, and that God is the source of every- 
 thing that is real and true in life. We do not 
 exalt ourselves and say, "I have power of my 
 own; I can depend upon myself. " Nor do we 
 think of ourselves as poor, insignificant creatures ; 
 for how can the noblest creation of the Supreme 
 be insignificant? In truth, how can those crea- 
 tions be otherwise than wonderful? They are 
 indeed wonderful; far more wonderful than we 
 have ever dreamed. This we realize perfectly; 
 but in the midst of this realization, we know that 
 all power comes from God, and that we receive 
 
64 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 from God only as we depend absolutely upon Him 
 for all things we may need or desire. 
 
 When you exalt yourself, you do not depend 
 upon God ; you do not look to God ; you turn away 
 from Him, and therefore disconnect yourself 
 from the only source of power. The result will 
 be, that you will steadily decrease, until you are 
 poverty-stricken in body, mind and soul. Then 
 you shall have to begin once more on the upward 
 path, and from the very beginning. But when 
 you look to God for all your power, you enter into 
 more perfect harmony with His spirit and His 
 life; in brief, you draw nearer and nearer to God; 
 and in consequence, you become filled more and 
 more, with His power until you become a giant 
 in mind and soul. The very moment you draw 
 nearer to God, you begin to increase; and the 
 nearer you come to Him, the more power you re- 
 ceive. Thus we understand why they who have 
 exalted themselves have been humbled, while 
 they who have humbled themselves before the 
 Most High, have continued to rise, higher and 
 higher, finally becoming joint-heirs with Christ 
 in all the power and glory of the kingdom. 
 
 There is one thing herewith that we positively 
 must understand; and it is this, that we cannot 
 receive power from the Supreme unless we fix the 
 whole of heart and mind and soul upon the Su- 
 preme. But the moment we think of ourselves 
 
THE USE OF SPIRITUAL POWER 65 
 
 as "having the power," or as "doing the work," 
 we transfer attention from the Supreme to our 
 own personality. Then we no longer receive 
 power from above, and will soon begin to weaken. 
 This we all realize, for how can we be in touch 
 with the Source after we have turned away from 
 the Source? And how can we receive more and 
 more from the Source unless we draw nearer and 
 nearer to the Source? 
 
 Absolute oneness with God is necessary if we 
 are to gain possession of remarkable spiritual 
 power; and this oneness we all can realize if we 
 look to God for everything, and depend upon Him 
 for everything in the faith that all our prayers 
 will be answered without a single exception what- 
 ever. But the moment we begin to think of our- 
 selves as sufficient, we turn away; we separate 
 ourselves, to a degree, from the Infinite ; the open 
 door between our own soul and the world of spir- 
 itual power begins to close in more and more; 
 and if we continue in our self-sufficiency, that 
 door will close almost entirely until the light and 
 the power of the spirit is, for the time being, shut 
 out from our world. 
 
 Your own personality may be the channel for 
 the expression of marvelous spiritual power; but 
 never say that "this is my work;" and never think 
 that you are the author. Your work is to seek 
 oneness with God; the power will follow. And 
 
66 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 it is the power of the Most High, living and work* 
 ing in you, that is the author of that wonderful 
 work that seemingly comes from your mind and 
 soul. This truth we must know. This truth we 
 must realize more and more perfectly; and the 
 more perfect the realization of this truth becomes, 
 the deeper will become our realization of oneness 
 with God. More and more will follow. Grad- 
 ually and surely we will rise towards the sublime 
 spiritual heights. The riches of the kingdom 
 will come into our world in greater and greater 
 measure; and whenever we are prepared to re- 
 ceive our full inheritance, then everything that 
 heart and mind and soul may desire, shall become 
 our own. All things belong to God ; but we are 
 the heirs; and our full inheritance is ready for 
 us to enjoy whenever we are fully prepared to re- 
 ceive. And when we are willing to depend upon 
 God for everything, then we are prepared to re- 
 ceive everything that God has to give. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ,THE LIGHT OF INNER CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 When we function through outer conscious- 
 ness only, we are able to appreciate only those 
 things that appeal to the physical senses, or to 
 reason, or to the usual states of emotion ; that is, 
 we live almost exclusively in the material world, 
 and therefore can have no real understanding of 
 things spiritual. We may believe in the spiritual, 
 and be more or less conscious of the finer things 
 in life; and yet, if we look upon all things through 
 the light of outer consciousness, we can have no 
 true conception of the spiritual world, or the 
 spiritual life. We do not realize, in the least, 
 what it means to be spiritual, or what it means to 
 be in touch with higher, spiritual power ; and, for 
 this reason, can neither possess spiritual power, 
 nor respond to the healing or emancipating influ- 
 ence of that power. 
 
 To possess spiritual power, we must be able to 
 function, at least to some degree, through the ele- 
 ments of inner consciousness. And the same is 
 true if we wish to respond to such power. If we 
 wish to be healed by spiritual power, we must live 
 
 67 
 
68 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 largely in the world of inner consciousness, be- 
 cause spiritual power acts only through that 
 world. When our minds are living and moving 
 in the world of inner consciousness, we can be 
 reached by spiritual power ; that is, we are, more 
 or less, in that world where spiritual power 
 naturally finds expression, and therefore, this 
 power may work through us fully and freely as 
 we desire. 
 
 There are many who seemingly cannot be 
 healed by spiritual power ; and the reason why is 
 simply this, that they have not entered inner con- 
 sciousness. They are living on the outside of the 
 spiritual realm; they do not come in contact in 
 any way with the finer, spiritual forces ; and there- 
 fore they are never touched by these forces in any 
 mode or manner. Everybody can, however, 
 learn to enter inner consciousness; and this is in- 
 deed something we all should learn to the most 
 perfect degree this very day. 
 
 They who do live, to some degree, in the world 
 of inner consciousness, can be healed of anything 
 through the full and proper administration of 
 spiritual power; and they may proceed, at any 
 time, to employ that same power in the building 
 of a richer, larger life, for body, mind and soul. 
 They will respond invariably to the influence of 
 higher spiritual power, whatever the need or the 
 goal may be. And it is well to know, that the 
 
LIGHT OF INNER CONSCIOUSNESS 69 
 
 number of human souls who are in touch with 
 inner consciousness, is very large, although many 
 of them are not aware of the privilege they en- 
 jjoy. However, the very moment they give their 
 attention to the spiritual side of life, they find that 
 they can be helped, and helped wonderfully, by 
 spiritual means. They were ready to receive 
 higher power ; and they were ready because they 
 were living largely in that finer realm through 
 which the spiritual forces live and move and have 
 their being. 
 
 Great souls live constantly, both in the world 
 of outer consciousness and in the world of inner 
 consciousness. They are therefore in possession 
 of higher spiritual power at all times, and may 
 give that power expression in any way desired. 
 It is not necessary, however, to live absolutely in 
 the world of inner consciousness in order to re- 
 spond to spiritual power; but this is necessary be- 
 fore we can personally possess and employ spir- 
 itual power. 
 
 Even though but a corner of your mind should 
 extend, ever so little, into the world of inner con- 
 sciousness, that would mean that the door was 
 open. Spiritual power could then come into your 
 mind and body; and if fully administered, could 
 act in you with sufficient force to banish every 
 ailment, weakness or wrong that might exist in 
 your system. 
 
70 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 If you should wish, however, to gain posses* 
 sion of remarkable spiritual power to be em- 
 ployed in the emancipation of others, and for the 
 furthering of your own higher development, it 
 would be necessary to extend your whole mind 
 into the wonderful world of inner consciousness. 
 In brief, you would find it necessary to enter so 
 fully into that consciousness that you could 
 actually feel the tremendous forces of the spirit, 
 surging through your entire system, like a mighty, 
 invincible current. And you would always be 
 conscious of the all-powerful Presence. 
 
 To learn to enter more and more deeply into 
 the world of inner consciousness, we must con- 
 sider the great law, that the human mind tends 
 to develop in that direction where we express our 
 deepest desires, our strongest thought and our 
 highest faith. The way therefore is simple. 
 There are no mysterious methods to employ, or 
 rigid rules to follow. The first step is to know 
 that inner consciousness is the consciousness of 
 that interior life that permeates all life; and the 
 consciousness of the spiritual world — a world 
 that is to the visible cosmos what the soul is to the 
 visible form of man. 
 
 When you enter interior consciousness, you not 
 only become conscious of your own soul, but you 
 also become conscious of the soul of the universe. 
 You gain the power to discern the spiritual side 
 
LIGHT OF INNER CONSCIOUSNESS 71 
 
 of all things, because your mind has been ex- 
 tended into that vast interior realm where the 
 spiritual elements and the spiritual forces forever 
 have their being. 
 
 The second step is to desire inner consciousness 
 with a deeper and a stronger desire than you have 
 ever felt before. In truth, this desire should be- 
 come a soul passion — continuous and invincible ; 
 and the power of that desire will draw the mind 
 farther and farther into the world of interior con- 
 sciousness until you actually live and move in that 
 world. Then to the power of this desire we 
 must add the power of our strongest and most 
 concentrated thought. "Think on these things;" 
 and think with such power and feeling that your 
 whole mental life enters into the very spirit of 
 those things — into the very soul of the spiritual 
 world. Then crown your efforts with faith — 
 pure, interior, unbounded faith. Know that your 
 mind is entering more deeply and more perfectly 
 into the illumined world of interior consciousness. 
 Believe this absolutely, and enter into the spirit 
 of that belief — into the very life of that faith 
 that has limitless faith in faith. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE POWER OF SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 
 
 When we examine those conditions that are 
 usually spoken of as evil, and trace them back to 
 their possible origin, or last analysis, it is impos- 
 sible to find any actual evidence in support of the 
 belief that evil is real, or that it has independent 
 existence. On the. contrary, all evidence is on 
 the other side, and we are impelled to accept the 
 idea that evil is non-existent. But the question 
 is, why does evil seem to be real; and why is it 
 here affecting the life of man in such a positive 
 manner ? 
 
 Deep thinkers in every age have given the 
 larger parts of their lives to these questions ; and 
 naturally various conclusions have been formu- 
 lated. Among the best known of these conclu- 
 sions is the belief that evil is merely a condition 
 arising from the misuse of the good; but in the 
 full analysis of this belief a difficulty is met with 
 that no thinker along that line has as yet over- 
 come. And it is this, that if evil has no real ex- 
 istence, there can be no natural evil in man ; and 
 
 72 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 73 
 
 if there be no natural evil in man there can be no 
 desire or tendency to misuse anything. 
 
 But the good is misused as we all know; then 
 from whence comes that tendency in man to want 
 to misuse the good ? Such a tendency cannot be 
 good; and therefore cannot originate in the good. 
 However, if all is good, where are we to find that 
 from which the tendency to misuse can originate? 
 There is a great difficulty here that must be over- 
 come or explained if we are to demonstrate the 
 belief that evil is merely the misuse of the good. 
 But this difficulty has not thus far been explained; 
 and yet when we examine evil closely we find that 
 it certainly is non-existent. 
 
 There is another belief, not so well known, that 
 will prove itself far more satisfactory to the pure 
 reasoner, and that will, not only explain the 
 various difficulties that are met with in its analy- 
 sis, but that also presents a method for eliminat- 
 ing evil that is far more perfect than anything 
 else ever conceived of by the mind of man. It 
 will be interesting therefore to consider this be- 
 lief; although it will be necessary to be brief, the 
 subject being so large that a volume would be re- 
 quired for a full and complete elucidation. 
 
 According to this new belief, evil is but a 
 shadow — a shadow that is cast by the life of man 
 himself when he is in the light, and only when 
 he is in the light, it being impossible to cast a 
 
74 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 shadow when in the dark. In other words, evil 
 exists only as a shadow, it having no reality or 
 permanency in itself. Thus evil is known only 
 to those who have evolved sufficiently from the 
 lower states of consciousness to have come up into 
 the light, as it is not possible for those to know 
 shadows who have never been in the light. 
 
 If we are to accept this belief — and there is 
 nothing to disprove it, while all the evidence ob- 
 tainable is in its favor — we must, in one sense, 
 rejoice in the fact that there is evil in the world — 
 that our lives do cast a shadow, for this at least 
 proves that we are in the light. But although 
 we may rejoice in the fact that we are in the 
 light, still we cannot rejoice in the fact that our 
 lives do cast a shadow, and that these shadows 
 have occasioned so much misunderstanding, so 
 much stumbling and so much pain in the world. 
 We must find, therefore, the reason why the life 
 of man does cast a shadow. 
 
 When we go in search of this reason why, we 
 soon discover that the life of man casts a shadow 
 because the light does not pass through his life — 
 his life is not transparent. If the light of truth 
 and goodness and perfection — in brief, the divine 
 light of being, could pass through his life, there 
 would be no shadow, and man would not know 
 evil in any form. 
 
 This is self-evident. But before we can go 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 75 
 
 further in the demonstration of this belief, we 
 must find the reason why the life of man is not 
 transparent. This is our greatest problem; and 
 although the solution can not be made so clear 
 that it will be intelligible to everybody, still it is in 
 our possession, and can be proven, by any thinker 
 of spiritual insight, to be the exact solution. The 
 many, however, may not concern themselves so 
 much with the reason why the life of man casts 
 a shadow as they may with the finding of practi- 
 cal methods for the elimination of the shadow. 
 And here this particular belief has a decided ad- 
 vantage over all others; it does present methods 
 for the elimination of the shadow that all can un- 
 derstand and apply. 
 
 The principle is that if the life of man is to 
 cease to cast a shadow, his spiritual nature must 
 become transparent; his life must attain unto 
 spiritual transparence; and the way to spiritual 
 transparence can be found and followed by any 
 earnest, awakened soul. 
 
 When we proceed to examine the problem of 
 evil more closely, and from the viewpoint of this 
 belief, we come to several self-evident conclu- 
 sions. We find that the life of man does cast a 
 shadow; that some lives cast a darker and a 
 heavier shadow than others ; and that this shadow 
 not only causes our minds to believe in darkness 
 and evil, its presence being always with us, but it 
 
76 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 also gives origin to all the ills known in the world. 
 This last statement may seem to be too far-reach- 
 ing, but it can be proven to be true. 
 
 When we look upon this shadow, our thoughts 
 are created in the image of darkness; and any 
 thought that is not created in the image of light 
 must necessarily be an evil thought — a thought 
 that will affect human life adversely. Such 
 thoughts darken the mind, confuse the mind, mis- 
 direct the mind; and we have, in consequence, a 
 number of mental actions that can only end in 
 undesirable results. Thus, by thinking of the 
 shadow, believing it to be real, the mind is pre- 
 vented from doing all its thinking in the light; 
 and here we find the final cause of good and evil 
 in man. The good in him comes from his think- 
 ing in the light; the evil in him comes from his 
 thinking in the shadow, and by following the 
 shadow during a large portion of his daily ex- 
 istence. It is clearly evident therefore that if 
 there were no shadow, all the thinking of man 
 would be in the light; and as such thinking can 
 result only in the good, there would be no further 
 evil in his life or in his world. 
 
 Our reasoning thus far is on solid ground, and 
 our conclusions, as far as we have gone, cannot 
 be gainsaid. But we still have to find the reason 
 why the life of man does cast a shadow ; or why 
 the light of divine being does not pass through the 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 77 
 
 human being. True, a number of the rays of 
 that light do pass through the nature of many, 
 and there are not a few who are approaching 
 spiritual transparence, or who are on the verge 
 of such transparence at frequent intervals. The 
 lives of these are, at certain periods, almost like 
 windows, through which we discern quite dis- 
 tinctly the majestic glory of the spiritual side of 
 existence. That spiritual transparence can be 
 attained, is being attained by a constantly grow- 
 ing number, we know therefore full well ; but be- 
 fore this attainment can be completed by the few 
 and made possible by the many, we must know 
 the original cause of the shadow. 
 
 It is evident that the life of man cannot become 
 transparent so long as he thinks in the shadow ; 
 and he will think more or less in the shadow so 
 long as he believes the shadow to be real ; for the 
 truth is that we shape our thoughts largely after 
 those things we believe to be real ; and also, what 
 we believe to be real we make a part of our own 
 minds. Thus the shadow has come into the mind 
 of man, due to the fact that he has considered the 
 shadow, believed in it, thought of it as real be- 
 cause it was always with him. 
 
 But we can well understand that no mind can 
 think clearly so long as there are shadows in that 
 mind. Under such conditions thinking would be 
 confused; and it is impossible for the light to 
 
78 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 pass through a confused mind. Thus the mind, 
 by believing in the shadow, and by making the 
 shadow a part of itself, becomes instrumental in 
 producing that very condition in the life of man 
 that casts a shadow, or that prevents the divine 
 light from passing through. In other words, the 
 windows of such a mind will not be clear; they 
 will not transmit the light. And the atmosphere 
 of such a mind will be shadowy and dense, so that 
 the mental sky will be overcast, more or less, with 
 dark and heavy clouds. The light therefore can- 
 not pass through, and the life of that man will 
 cast a shadow. 
 
 From these facts we learn how man, through 
 his recognition of the shadow, making it more or 
 less a part of his mind, actually perpetuates in 
 himself those very conditions that caused his life 
 to cast a shadow in the first place. But why did 
 his life cast a shadow in the first place? Simply 
 because he did not understand the light when he 
 first came up into the light. He came up from 
 simple states of consciousness ; in fact, from the 
 darkness, and therefore could not think in the 
 language of light the very moment he came into 
 the light. 
 
 Man was not created a finished being. He was 
 created with certain powers and possibilities — all 
 of them marvelous and limitless ; but he was left 
 free to use his gifts in the making of himself, in 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 79 
 
 the unfoldment of what was inherent in his na- 
 ture, in the finishing of that remarkable piece of 
 work that the Supreme had, through the laws of 
 nature, begun in him. We realize therefore that 
 man could not, at first, be in the spiritual light. 
 He came up gradually into this light, and earned 
 every step of the way. But as he came into the 
 light he naturally would be ignorant of the na- 
 ture of that light, and in consequence would form 
 many wrong conclusions, which in turn would 
 confuse the mind. And as a confused mind does 
 not transmit the light, his life would at the very 
 beginning cast a shadow. Besides, his mind 
 would be literally filled with imperfections as he 
 came up in the scale; in brief, he was, in a sense, 
 crude in his mental nature when he began to 
 awaken to his birthright, and a crude mental na- 
 ture will not transmit the light, but will instead 
 cast a shadow. 
 
 We clearly understand therefore how the life 
 of man came to cast a shadow as he began to rise 
 from darkness into light; and we can naturally 
 understand how this shadow came to attract his 
 attention ; how he came to think of it as real ; and 
 how he came to make it more and more a part of 
 his own mentality, thereby confusing the mind 
 and perpetuating those very conditions in him- 
 self which caused his life to cast a shadow in the 
 first place. In this way then evil has continued; 
 
80 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 but it has continued only as a shadow, and has 
 caused pain and sorrow in the world in this way, 
 that by attracting the attention of man it has 
 prevented him from doing all his thinking in the 
 light. And thinking that is not in the light will 
 naturally produce conditions that are incompati- 
 ble with living in the light. Wherever we live, 
 all conditions must be in harmony with the sphere 
 in which we live. If we live in the dark, all our 
 conditions will be of the darkness and cannot con- 
 fuse each other. But if we live in the light we 
 cannot permit conditions that come from the 
 darkness or there will be confusion and disorder, 
 which mean pain, sorrow and tribulation. 
 
 The problem of evil therefore resolves itself 
 into this, that since man is now in the light he 
 must live wholly for the light, giving no thought 
 whatever to darkness or to the shadow that may 
 follow his life for a time. He must begin now 
 to think wholly in the light ; and by doing this his 
 mind will soon become so harmonious and clear 
 that the divine light will pass through; in brief, 
 he will become spiritually transparent and his life 
 will not cast any shadow any more. 
 
 If we are casting a shadow, be it very dark or 
 very faint, we are obstructing the light to that 
 extent, and thereby interfering with the best wel- 
 fare of the world. Besides, we are not fulfilling 
 our purpose in life ; for we are not here simply to 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 81 
 
 see the light ; we must also transmit light ; there- 
 fore, to eliminate the shadow must become one of 
 our leading aims in life; and to begin, we must 
 consider the cause of the shadow first, and then 
 means through which it may be removed. 
 
 We find that the cause of the shadow is found 
 in confused thinking — thinking partly in the light 
 and partly in the dark; and we find that we think 
 in the dark much of the time because we believe 
 the shadow to be real. Therefore, at the very 
 outset we must refuse absolutely to think of the 
 shadow as real. We must know that it is noth- 
 ing but a shadow, and that it will disappear the 
 very moment we begin to think wholly in the 
 light. 
 
 In like manner, we must refuse to think of any 
 evil as real in itself, coming as it does from no 
 other cause than that of our believing a shadow 
 to be a reality. In other words, we must take 
 consciousness above and back of our usual mode 
 of confused thinking, and begin to think only in 
 the terms of light — knowing that the shadow, 
 with all its train of shadows, are one and all mere 
 shadows, not to be considered or recognized in 
 the least. Then we must also know that when 
 we begin to think wholly in the light, that entire 
 train of shadows will disappear as completely as 
 if there never had been such things in the world. 
 
 In training the mind to abandon the old way of 
 
82 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 thinking — thinking both in the darkness and in 
 the light, and to adopt the new way of thinking 
 in the light only, we must mentally face that state 
 of being which will be realized when the condi- 
 tions desired have been attained. In other 
 words, if we wish to eliminate the shadows we 
 must turn all the actions of the mind upon that 
 state in which we shall find ourselves when we no 
 longer cast a shadow. And that state is spiritual 
 transparence. Our strongest desire therefore 
 must be to become spiritually transparent ; for as 
 that desire becomes an active part in all the work- 
 ings of the mind, every power in the mind will be 
 directed upon the ideal of spiritual transparence. 
 Accordingly, the entire mind will begin to trans- 
 form itself into a finer and finer degree of trans- 
 parence; for the law is that the mind invariably 
 tends to become like that ideal to which all its 
 powers are directed, provided all the actions of 
 those powers are inspired with an invincible de- 
 sire to attain unto that ideal. 
 
 Thus, by placing spiritual transparence before 
 our mental vision as the one supreme state we 
 wish to realize, we cause everything within us to 
 conform more and more with the law of trans- 
 parence. In consequence, these conditions that 
 obstruct the light will gradually disappear, not 
 being produced any more ; the mental atmosphere 
 will be cleared ; and our thinking will become so 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 83 
 
 clarified that every part of the mind will transmit 
 all the light that may come upon us from higher 
 realms. The result will be that more and more 
 of the divine light will shine through our lives 
 and natures; the shadows therefore will become 
 less and less evident until they do not appear 
 again. Then we shall be surrounded entirely by 
 the light; we shall live in the full light; all our 
 thinking will be in the light; and when every 
 thought is born of the light, in the light, there 
 can be no evil, no sorrow, no wrong any more. 
 Then will begin the emancipated life, the glorified 
 life — the life we shall live when "our eyes are 
 stayed on Thee" — when we live so deeply in the 
 spirit and in the truth that we know only that 
 which is wholly, completely and eternally of the 
 truth. 
 
 When we consider the lives of those who have 
 lived largely, who have lived richly, who have 
 lived beautifully, we find that they have invaria- 
 bly transcended the mere demands of the senses; 
 they have taken higher ground; they have gone 
 up into the lofty, the sublime, the empyrian, and 
 have trained their minds to be in constant touch 
 with the finer elements of the soul world. In 
 consequence, their minds have continually reached 
 out for those vast worlds that lie beyond the realm 
 of sense ; and in these worlds they have found a 
 universe, the richness, the beauty and the splen- 
 
84 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 dor of which no tongue or pen can ever describe. 
 There indeed have they found something to live 
 for; in truth, they have literally reveled in gor- 
 geous mansions of celestial luxury. 
 
 They have not, however, lived apart from the 
 world of things. On the contrary, they have 
 lived more closely to things than before because 
 they have learned to see the finer world in all 
 things. They have learned to hold that secret 
 communion with the soul of nature's visible forms 
 i — they have entered into that sweet and strange 
 relationship with the beautiful everywhere which 
 has always been the privilege of the great soul, 
 and which has always added so mtich to the loveli- 
 ness, the joy and the real worth of life. 
 
 When we have learned to live constantly in 
 touch with that finer world, we have learned a 
 great secret — a secret that will serve us wonder- 
 fully well whatever conditions may be in that ex- 
 ternal world in which we now may live. If we 
 are bountifully supplied with everything in the 
 visible and the tangible, we shall be able to en- 
 joy these things infinitely more if we can also 
 see and appreciate the finer elements of worth 
 and beauty which those things may contain. In 
 truth, no one can enjoy the things that are seen 
 unless he can also discern the glory and the splen- 
 dor of the unseen. 
 
 Then if all external sources of supply and en- 
 
SPIRITUAL TRANSPARENCE 85 
 
 joyment should fail us, as they sometimes do tem- 
 porarily where all is change and reconstruction, 
 we need not be affected thereby in the least if we 
 are in touch with the greater good in the finer 
 world. This higher source never fails and we 
 may draw upon it sufficiently to make life won- 
 derfully rich and beautiful regardless of the ab- 
 sense or presence of external possessions. We 
 may enjoy the finer things to the full wherever 
 we may be. And he who enjoys the finer things 
 to the full is living a life that is not only great 
 and wonderful, but is also sublimely beautiful. 
 
 We must not infer, however, that we need 
 neglect the worthy and the beautiful in the ex- 
 ternal world in order that we may enjoy the 
 greater riches of the finer world. On the con- 
 trary, we find that if we would live largely in the 
 world of finer things, it is a great advantage to 
 give our attention to the perfecting and the beau- 
 tifying of external things. Our great aim must 
 be, the best, the richest and the most beautiful 
 for everybody on all planes. But the finer things 
 must hold the first place in all that we think and 
 do, because the w T orld of finer things is the rich- 
 est world and the most beautiful world of all ; be- 
 sides, it is only as we live for the finer things 
 that we gain the power to enjoy the good and the 
 beautiful that may exist in all other things. And 
 to rise perpetually into the purity, the light and 
 
86 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 the glory of the finer world — this is how we attain 
 to spiritual transparence; this is how we so re- 
 fine and clarify the mind that the Great Light may 
 shine through ; and our own thinking and living 
 will cast no shadow any more. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 UPON THE PATH WHERE ALL IS GOOD 
 
 At the present time the statement that all is 
 good is heard frequently, and as it seems to be a 
 contradiction of human experience, it has nat- 
 urally led to many arguments and much re- 
 search into metaphysics, as well as the funda- 
 mental cause of things. There is, however, a 
 large number that is convinced that in some form 
 or manner all is in reality good ; but the majority 
 still cling to the idea that much is evil and wrong. 
 
 When we consider the subject from the stand- 
 point of what we may call eternal reality, defin- 
 ing the term "reality" as consisting of that some- 
 thing from which everything proceeds, it is not 
 difficult to prove that all is good in its original 
 state; in other words, that all that is real is good, 
 just as we might say that all substance is good, 
 and that all law is good. We know that no law 
 has evil intentions, fundamentally, and we real- 
 ize that every law has possibilities for good, in 
 one or many directions, although the results from 
 the use of any law will depend upon whether the 
 original purpose of the law was applied, or 
 
 87 
 
88 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 whether there was a misuse of the original pur- 
 pose. We know that the same is true with re- 
 gard to principle, and with regard to all the ele- 
 ments and forces in nature. They all are good in 
 themselves, and we must naturally conclude that 
 all things, wherever they exist, must necessarily 
 be good in themselves. We realize, therefore, 
 that when we deal with reality, or the funda- 
 mental side of things, we find that all is good. 
 
 However, when we deal with the whole of life, 
 or life as it appears in its various forms of ex- 
 pression, the question is if we can say, in this 
 broad and general manner, that all is good. To 
 answer this question, we shall have to ask our- 
 selves what we are living for, or what we are 
 here for ; and we need not go very deeply into the 
 analysis of that phase of the subject before we 
 convince ourselves that we are here to learn some 
 most important lesson. We are here to acquire 
 certain qualities, certain attainments, and to de- 
 velop towards a certain supreme goal; and we 
 soon find, in viewing the subject in this manner, 
 that we shall, in order to fulfill our purpose in 
 this life, find it necessary to follow a certain path; 
 that is, the one path that naturally leads to the 
 goal we have in view. This path we may speak 
 of as the straight and narrow path ; and although 
 it is not narrow in the sense that it restricts us to 
 an extent where we do not have privileges out- 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 89 
 
 side of a certain system of life or thought, still it 
 does restrict us from the enjoyment of those 
 things that are not conducive to the great pur- 
 pose we all have in view. 
 
 Here we must remember that the enjoyment of 
 life is a part of the great purpose of life; and 
 therefore the great pathway must necessarily 
 provide, not only for enjoyment, but for the high- 
 est form of enjoyment, and at every step of the 
 way. When we learn this, we find that the prin- 
 cipal reason why we have not had more happiness 
 in the past is because we have been drilled so long 
 to believe that the moment we were becoming 
 happy we were on the wrong path. We were of 
 the opinion that happiness and pleasure lead to 
 destruction; but the new doctrine declares that 
 you cannot be good unless you are living in the 
 highest form of happiness that you can appre- 
 ciate at the time. The contrary of the old doc- 
 trine declares that if you are not happy you are 
 not good ; that is, if you are not thoroughly enjoy- 
 ing life you are not living upon the great pathway 
 of life. 
 
 Knowing this, we realize that if we are un- 
 happy there is something about our living that is 
 contrary to the great law of the ever ascending 
 life; or we may be practically off the path, so 
 that the remedy would be to seek the great path 
 once more; and we shall find, after we have en- 
 
90 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 tered into the realization of this new idea, that 
 it will be much easier to gain that fullness of 
 happiness and joy that we all desire so much. 
 
 We may begin our analysis of this subject, 
 therefore, by making the statement that we are 
 here to learn a great lesson, a lesson that is so 
 large and so wonderful that the objective mind 
 cannot possibly comprehend it under any circum- 
 stances; but as we develop the higher form of 
 understanding, we realize more and more the 
 fullness of its meaning, and we also realize that 
 this lesson can be learned or worked out only as 
 we follow the great path. 
 
 To proceed further therefore in our study, we 
 must understand the meaning of the great path ; 
 and we find that it is not some restricted mode of 
 living, but a mode of living that we enter into 
 when our whole attention is directed upon the 
 great light of Supreme Wisdom. In other words, 
 we are on the path when the whole of life has 
 been consecrated to the best, to the highest, to 
 the truest, to the richest and to the ideal, includ- 
 ing the best that can be found everywhere on all 
 planes of life. Briefly stated, we are on the path 
 when we are inspired with that great and won- 
 derful purpose. 
 
 But do we always follow this path? We find 
 that we step outside frequently. We turn to the 
 right and to the left almost every day, and in fact, 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 91 
 
 almost every hour ; and when we do step outside 
 we experience pain, adversity, sickness, want and 
 all those conditions that we have spoken of as 
 evil. 
 
 Now the question is, if those things really are 
 evil. We have thought of them as such, but we 
 must analyze further before we find the real truth 
 upon this important subject. We all know, 
 through experience, that whenever we step out- 
 side the path we have pain, and we also know that 
 this pain reminds us of the fact that we are off 
 the path. Is this pain therefore an evil ? It can- 
 not possibly be an evil if it reminds us of our 
 duty to our highest light. On the contrary, it is 
 a good friend, and the moment we take the ad- 
 vice of this good friend and return to the path, 
 there will be no more pain. 
 
 From this brief analysis we must conclude that 
 pain is good; that is, it acts as a friend under 
 every circumstance to encourage us to return to 
 the path. We shall find that the same is true of 
 all these other conditions that we call evil ; they 
 are reminders, some existing on the left side of 
 the path, others on the right side of the path ; and 
 whenever we step outside, then these reminders 
 inform us that we are off the path. Therefore, 
 we must think of them as good, for indeed they 
 are very good. If it were not for those remind- 
 ers we would possibly remain outside of the path 
 
92 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 for ages, and thus be deprived, for all that time, 
 of the wonderful realizations that are in store for 
 us as we advance in the scale of eternal ascension. 
 
 The truth is that all of these reminders, or so- 
 called evils, are good; and we shall need them just 
 so long as we continue to step outside the path. 
 They are necessities for the time being; but the 
 very moment we decide that we will never step 
 outside of the path again, we shall never know 
 those reminders any more; we meet them only 
 when we step aside, and they are there to tell us 
 to return; therefore they are good. 
 
 We all have had periods of experience proving 
 the fact that when we continued on the path for 
 some length of time we realized that we were not, 
 during that time, in touch with adversity, sick- 
 ness or pain on any side. We knew nothing 
 about those things in our own experience. The 
 reason was we were on the path ; and those con- 
 ditions do not exist on the path. But when some- 
 thing happened that caused us to step outside the 
 path once more, we met pain, adversity and other 
 reminders, informing us instantly that we had 
 stepped aside from the true way of existence. 
 
 The question then will naturally be why we 
 step off the path ; and the answer is, that we are 
 learning our lesson ; and a mind that is learning is 
 not complete in its knowledge. Such a mind may 
 form misconceptions now and then, and may se- 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 93 
 
 cure impressions that are not in harmony with 
 what we speak of as absolute truth. In other 
 words, those impressions or ideas are fragments 
 of what is really true; and such ideas may cause 
 the mind to turn, occasionally, from the path of 
 the absolutely true. We understand this per- 
 fectly ; and even though we shall not be able, for a 
 long time, to see the whole truth upon any subject, 
 still we know that no matter how many imperfect 
 impressions we may form in the future about life, 
 law or existence — we know that the very moment 
 we step outside of the path, whether we do so 
 through the suggestions of adverse impressions, 
 imperfect impressions, or whatever the cause may 
 be, we have a group of good friends on either side 
 that will tell us to return to the path at once. 
 Those good friends are pain, sorrow, trouble, ad- 
 versity and their companions. To act according 
 to wisdom, therefore, we would take their ad- 
 vice and return, and henceforth so live that we 
 shall never step outside the path again. 
 
 We all know, through experience, that these 
 so-called evils produce effects upon mind and body 
 that are anything but pleasant ; then how can we 
 think of these things as good. But here we re- 
 member that if those conditions produced a pleas- 
 ant effect upon us we would not return to the 
 path. We would remain on the outside and 
 never accomplish what we are created to accom- 
 
94 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 plish. So therefore, the fact that these so-called 
 evils, or good friends, are painful in their effect 
 is also a positive good. It is quite necessary that 
 their effect should be si;ch, otherwise we would 
 not accept their advice and return to the great 
 work we have in store. 
 
 In this connection it is most important to 
 consider the fact that if we would always look 
 upon those conditions as good friends, instead of 
 thinking about them as evils, thereby filling our 
 minds with a mass of useless impressions — if we 
 changed our attitude in this matter, we would find 
 that several things would happen. In the first 
 place, we would find that all the energy that we 
 had been sending out to annihilate those good 
 friends to no purpose whatever, could be used to 
 build up soul, mind, character and life on the 
 great path. We all have experimented along this 
 line, living for weeks and months in an attitude 
 where we did not antagonize anything or anybody 
 in any form whatever; and we discovered that, 
 during such a period, we had more energy and 
 life than ever before, and we accomplished far 
 more than in the past ; besides, our work was bet- 
 ter, and we enjoyed life to a far greater degree ; 
 in fact, we had more life to enjoy, because we 
 were not wasting life trying to remove evil, or 
 trying to remove those conditions that are abso- 
 lutely necessary where they are, acting as eternal 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 95 
 
 reminders to the human race in order that no in- 
 dividual may remain on the outside of the path 
 for any length of time. 
 
 We know the value of the great law, "Resist 
 not evil;" and if we would never resist these so- 
 called evils, never turn energy out to the right, or 
 to the left, where it cannot be used for any pur- 
 pose whatever, but on the contrary, use all our 
 time, energy and attention in building for a 
 greater life and in learning the great lesson, we 
 would find the greatest difference in the world; 
 we would find that where we took one step for- 
 ward under the old mode of living, we would be 
 able to take ten or twenty under the new mode. 
 
 We all know the effect of periods of grief and 
 worry, how those conditions use up life and en- 
 ergy to no purpose; and the cause is simply this, 
 that we are turning our energies out against con- 
 ditions that cannot be removed, and therefore, all 
 such energy is wasted. Instead of trying to re- 
 move evil, we should let it alone, and return to the 
 great path. Evils do not exist upon the path ; but 
 they do exist outside the path; and it is absolutely 
 necessary that they do exist there. No one, how- 
 ever, need turn to the left or to the right ; there- 
 fore, no one need meet evil if living be always on 
 the path. We shall meet them, however, just as 
 long as we make it a practice to turn to the left 
 or to the right at frequent intervals. 
 
96 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 Accepting this idea, we will proceed to turn our 
 energy where it can be used for some purpose; 
 that is, in building for the great life that lies be- 
 fore us. And when we realize that every pain or 
 adversity may have some good advice, some in- 
 formation that we need, we will, if we seek such 
 information, gain decidedly; we will learn some- 
 thing of importance whenever we meet one of 
 these good friends; and instead of antagonizing 
 the so-called evil, we would ask what it all means, 
 and what good advice this friend has to give us 
 at this particular time. 
 
 Whenever we meet any condition that is not 
 pleasing, we may know there is something for us 
 to learn. We know that we have stepped outside 
 the path, and we must investigate, so as to ascer- 
 tain the reason why. We should meet these good 
 friends, therefore, as monitors on the way, for 
 that is what they really are ; and if we look for in- 
 formation whenever we meet evil, instead of re- 
 sisting and deploring our experience, we shall 
 find what we are looking for and learn much. 
 
 Under those circumstances we should be scien- 
 tists, and proceed to investigate instead of being 
 anxious or permitting grief and worry. We 
 should look for the facts in the case, the lesson to 
 be learned, for the law to be discovered ; and in 
 every instance, these so-called evils will prove to 
 be instructors, giving us valued and timely infor- 
 mation along many lines. 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 97 
 
 When we learn to look upon these conditions on 
 the left or on the right as necessary advisers, 
 knowing that we are here to continue on the path, 
 training ourselves to see that in the ultimate, or 
 in the fundamental, all things are good, the ef- 
 fect upon the mind will be wonderful. The mo- 
 ment we begin to live in the conviction that all 
 things have a good purpose, whether we may see 
 it now or not, we will find the mind becoming 
 more wholesome, becoming stronger and more 
 active, and that life will be elevated and enriched 
 in many ways. We then enter into what has been 
 called healthy mindedness, and we all appreciate 
 the fact that such an attitude holds immense 
 power for greater things. We shall also find 
 the mind becoming more constructive, because, 
 instead of a large percentage of the elements and 
 forces of the mind being turned aside, warring 
 with outside conditions to no purpose, these en- 
 ergies will be used in building for the greater en- 
 richment of existence. Thus the mind will be 
 enlarged, consciousness expanded, and life be- 
 come deeper, higher, more beautiful and more 
 perfect in every form and manner. 
 
 We all know the value of filling the mind brim- 
 ful of good thoughts ; we know what a difYerence 
 it makes; we know how much it adds both to joy 
 and power; and there is no better way in which 
 we can do this than to live in the conviction that 
 
98 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 all is good. And we shall not find it difficult to 
 live in this conviction when we know that after 
 all, the so-called evils of the world are good 
 friends existing on the right and on the left of the 
 path to remind us when we step aside, so that we 
 may return at once. 
 
 Another important gain is this, that if we real- 
 ize that all is good, we will want to look for the 
 real good and the greater good that must neces- 
 sarily exist within all conditions, beyond all con- 
 ditions, above all conditions. If we train the 
 mind in this manner, complying with the great 
 law, "He who seeks shall find," making it a prac- 
 tice to look for the greater good in everything and 
 in everybody, we will find that consciousness will 
 steadily expand, reaching out more and more, 
 coming in contact with more desirable things, 
 more things of value and worth than we ever 
 were conscious of before. 
 
 We understand that when the mind dwells con- 
 tinually in an attitude where attention is con- 
 centrated upon the imperfect, we are not coming 
 in contact with greater worth nor meeting the 
 superior in life anywhere. Such a mind may be 
 satisfied in a certain sense, for a brief time, but 
 can gain nothing from life that will have a real 
 or permanent value; and in every instance, the 
 temporary satisfaction that was secured from 
 contacting with the imperfect will give way to a 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 99 
 
 state of mental and physical disease, due to the 
 fact that such a mind will soon find itself outside 
 the path. 
 
 It is the mind that touches the worthy, the 
 superior, the higher, the finer and the richer on 
 all sides that really gains happiness, and that 
 really gains possession of the highest and the best 
 that life can give. If we seek for the greater 
 good in all places and in all modes of life, we will 
 not simply find the good, but the greater good 
 and the greater worth ; and if there is one thing 
 that we all need very much, it is this training of 
 the mind to reach out for the greater, the 
 worthier, the superior in all thought and action. 
 
 We frequently ask ourselves what might be 
 the greatest need upon this planet at the present 
 time; and the answer is simple — a larger number 
 of superior men and women. We need more 
 such men and women in order that they may be- 
 come inspirations to the race. The entire world, 
 almost, is now convinced of the truth that our 
 destiny is upward and onward. The race can 
 advance, and must advance to be true to life; but 
 the question is, how we are to find those elements 
 and methods through which continuous advance- 
 ment may be realized. Here we should remem- 
 ber the statement, "When I am lifted up." It is 
 the same with every individual; it was not sim- 
 ply true of Jesus Christ, although true of him to 
 
ioo IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 a larger degree than any one else. We know, 
 through experience and observation, that when- 
 ever any individual takes higher ground, that in- 
 dividual becomes an inspiration to scores, to hun- 
 dreds, to thousands. Therefore, we want more 
 superior men and women in the world, men and 
 women who have found the real worth of life, 
 who have found the upper side, the real side, the 
 true side, the superior side, the lofty side — that 
 side of life that is teeming, we might say, with 
 the rich, the beautiful and the ideal. We want 
 more such men and women to become inspira- 
 tions to the race ; and to that end we should give 
 more attention to this wonderful law of seeing 
 the greater good everywhere. 
 
 However, we are not going to find this greater 
 good if we give most of our time and attention 
 trying to eliminate those conditions that exist 
 on the outside of the path. If we think that 
 those things are bad and try to remove them, we 
 are wasting time. They are perfectly harmless 
 where they are; and we need not go out where 
 they are. It is not intended that we should go 
 out where they are; it is intended that we should 
 remain on the path where we shall never find pain, 
 trouble, sorrow, sickness or adversity in any form 
 or manner. 
 
 Henceforth, therefore, our object should be to 
 let those harmless things on the outside alone; 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 101 
 
 and instead of trying to remove them, we should 
 give our time and attention to the training of the 
 race to remain on the path. That would solve 
 the great problems of evil all over the world. 
 
 In analyzing the subject further, we find that, 
 although all things are good, fundamentally 
 speaking, some things are better; that is, there 
 are many things that contain possibilities for 
 greater and greater good ; but we cannot find the 
 better or the greater anywhere unless we conse- 
 crate life absolutely to the idea that all is really 
 good — that all things can and do, in themselves, 
 serve a great purpose. 
 
 When we look at human society and note the 
 so-called ills and troubles of certain modes of life, 
 we may ask what we are to do about those things. 
 We may also ask if it is necessary that people 
 live in those adverse realms of society; in brief, 
 if those people need such a life. But the answer 
 to all these questions is very simple. The fact is, 
 that every individual is in contact with the path, 
 and whether he may be in the first step on the 
 way, or higher up in the scale, he will be abso- 
 lutely free from pain, adversity and ailments of 
 all kinds the very moment he steps into the path. 
 It is not necessary to be a master mind or an il- 
 lumined soul in order to continue on the path. 
 It is only necessary that we live on the path where 
 we are, whether we are at the early stages of 
 growth or upon the sublime heights. 
 
102 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 The fact that thousands and thousands of peo- 
 ple are ignorant of this great truth should con- 
 vince us of the importance of dealing scientifically 
 with this great subject. We all are more or less 
 responsible for every condition that exists in the 
 world; and therefore we must all work together 
 to the end that every individual may find the path, 
 and also that every individual may be trained to 
 continue uninterruptedly upon the path ; but this 
 will necessitate an absolute revolution of prac- 
 tically all the ideas that we have inherited from 
 the past, and a large percentage of more recent 
 ideas. However, the moment we understand 
 that we are here to learn a great lesson, and that 
 we can learn that lesson by remaining on the path, 
 and also that we suffer pain and adversity only 
 when we step off the path, we shall not find it 
 difficult to solve the great problem before us. 
 
 But this idea is not a recent revelation. The 
 truth is that all the illumined souls of history 
 have declared this very same thing. We cannot 
 find a single exception. The wise men and 
 women of all ages, including all the prophets, all 
 the scientists and all the students of the higher 
 life, whether they were in the first stages of wis- 
 dom or higher in the scale — they all declared that 
 we are here to learn a great lesson ; we are here 
 to find the kingdom; we are here to rise in the 
 scale; we are here to find and continue upon the 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 103 
 
 great path. That is the message of every great 
 soul that has ever lived; and the corresponding 
 truth of this message, that is, that we suffer pain 
 and adversity only when w r e are off the path — 
 this has also been declared by every mind in his- 
 tory who saw the light. 
 
 We should therefore, once and for all time, ac- 
 cept this great message as absolutely true be- 
 cause we can prove it to be true ; and we should 
 eliminate from mind and thought every doctrine 
 in the world that contradicts this message in any 
 form or manner. 
 
 If we could conceive of human society waking 
 up to the realization of this great message, we 
 can readily imagine the result. The great mass 
 of humanity would at once return to the path, 
 and suffering from pain, sickness or adversity 
 would speedily be reduced to a minimum. 
 
 The great purpose of the future must be to 
 convey this message to all the world, and to teach 
 mankind how to find the path. We know full 
 well that there is not an awakened soul upon earth 
 who would want to remain on the outside of the 
 path. Every awakened soul can see what lies 
 on before; and such a soul will not care to step 
 out even for a moment. There is nothing to be 
 gained by turning to the left or to the right, even 
 though such experiences may appear tempting 
 at times. It is all loss and no gain ; and the very 
 
104 IN THE LIGHT 0E THE SPIRIT 
 
 moment we do step out, our good friend on the 
 outside — evil — will declare at once, "You are off 
 the path, return this very moment. ,, 
 
 From whatever point of view we may consider 
 the subject we invariably come to the same con- 
 clusion ; that is, that the purpose of life is good, 
 as it leads to greater and greater good, to greater 
 happiness and to more and more of everything 
 that can add to the worth and joy of existence; 
 and although if we should for the time being, in 
 our study of life, gain imperfect impressions and 
 sometimes step outside, or be tempted to investi- 
 gate darkness, as learners are liable to do, we 
 shall always find these good friends on the out- 
 side declaring, "This is no place for you; you 
 belong on the great path; you are a Son of God; 
 you are destined for glory ; therefore return unto 
 God." This is invariably the message of pain 
 and of all the so-called evils of the world; and 
 we cannot speak of those things as evil when their 
 one advice to every human soul is this, "Return 
 ye unto God." 
 
 But again, we shall not need the advice of those 
 good friends on the outside after we have re- 
 ceived this great message that the awakened of 
 every age have received; that is, that w T e all be- 
 long on the path ; and that we meet sin, pain and 
 adversity only when we step outside of the path. 
 
 Knowing this great truth, we shall want to give 
 
WHERE ALL IS GOOD 105 
 
 our whole time and attention henceforth to a bet- 
 ter understanding of how we may so live that we 
 shall always continue on the path; but as we pro- 
 ceed we must not come to the conclusion that this 
 path is so narrow that we are necessarily re- 
 stricted from the majority of those things that 
 we meet in life upon this planet. The fact is, 
 that we can enjoy everything in life as we proceed 
 upon the path, provided we are true to the pur- 
 pose of life; that is, provided our one purpose is, 
 through all life and through all enjoyment, to 
 reach out for the higher, the better, the truer, the 
 richer, the more wonderful, the ideal, the sub- 
 lime. 
 
 We are entitled to all the pleasures of physical, 
 mental and spiritual existence; and we can enjoy 
 them all and remain upon the path; but the spirit 
 of all such enjoyment and all modes of life must 
 invariably be upward and onward. And when 
 life is inspired through and through with a de- 
 sire for the highest and the best on all planes, 
 we shall find that every atom in our being will 
 work steadily and surely for the true, the per- 
 fect, the wholesome, the beautiful and the ideal. 
 The result will be that the upward current of life 
 will become so strong that we will invariably 
 be drawn upward and onward by an irresistible 
 force; and thus the inclination to turn to the left 
 or to the right will disappear completely. 
 
io6 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 When the desire of life for the higher becomes 
 so strong that the whole of life is inspired by. 
 that desire, there will no longer be any desire in 
 mind or body to step outside of the path. The 
 one desire will be to live on the path; and that 
 desire will be supreme. It is possible therefore, 
 through the development of that powerful spir- 
 itual desire, to place the human system in a po- 
 sition where it will be protected from temptations 
 on all sides; and then, regardless of what may 
 come or transpire, we shall always continue on 
 the path — always ascending towards the greater 
 life, the greater glory, the greater light, the 
 greater joy. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE I AM IS THE WAY 
 
 When we consider the many statements that 
 were made by Jesus Christ during his life upon 
 earth, we find that those statements separate 
 themselves into two distinct divisions; and the 
 difference between the two is so marked that we 
 come naturally to the conclusion that they were 
 made in two different states of consciousness. 
 The first division seems to emanate from a con- 
 sciousness that is almost human, or at any rate, 
 so close to the human that we might say it was 
 human nature in its highest form giving expres- 
 sion to its thought and feeling. The outer divi- 
 sion, however, seems to emanate from a con- 
 sciousness that is so lofty that we conclude that 
 it is the Supreme that is speaking. 
 
 The reason why the statements made by Jesus 
 Christ separate themselves into these two divi- 
 sions is easily explained, because he did possess 
 two distinct forms of consciousness — concious- 
 ness of the human and consciousness of the di- 
 vine. 
 
 When we consider the human race we find that 
 
 107 
 
io8 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 the majority are conscious only of the human, 
 and therefore give expression only to thoughts 
 that are decidedly human. A few, however, 
 among the more advanced in the human family 
 are developing the consciousness of the divine; 
 and many are learning to understand this con- 
 sciousness more and more, so that there are mo- 
 ments when we reach such a high and such a fine 
 state of realization that we almost feel as if the 
 wisdom of the Divine were thinking in us or 
 speaking through us. The greater part of the 
 time, however, we are conscious only upon the 
 human plane, and are chiefly concerned with the 
 manifested side of existence. 
 
 With Jesus it was different, because he had de- 
 veloped that higher spiritual side of his life, and 
 therefore could live consciously, and in fact ab- 
 solutely, both in the human and in the divine. 
 He could, when he so desired, come down into the 
 life of the human personality, although his hu- 
 man living was indeed of a very high order. 
 Then, at other times, he could ascend to such 
 heights of spiritual wisdom and power that his 
 words were indeed expressions of the eternal I 
 Am; and one of the most remarkable of those 
 expressions is this, "I Am the Way, the Truth 
 and the Life." 
 
 In considering this statement we are referred 
 to a corresponding statement that appears earlier 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 109 
 
 in sacred literature; that is, "Be still and know 
 that I Am God," or paraphrased might read, "Be 
 still and know that the eternal I Am is God"; 
 and indeed the eternal I Am is the Way, the 
 Truth and the Life. We know that it is the eter- 
 nal I Am that is in reality God, the term "I Am," 
 being but another term for the Divine, the Su- 
 preme, the Most High; and therefore we can 
 readily appreciate the great statement, "I Am the 
 Way, the Truth and the Life." 
 
 When we consider this statement through our 
 highest spiritual understanding, we realize that 
 we must enter through the consciousness of the 
 I Am if we would find the way, or enter upon 
 that perfect path that leads to the lofty places of 
 the soul. The same is true if we would find the 
 truth; that is, the absolute truth, the truth that 
 makes man free; the truth that is in reality truth. 
 We must seek this truth through the conscious- 
 ness of the I Am, and it is only in that conscious- 
 ness that divine truth in its fullness and perfec- 
 tion can be realized. In like manner, if we wish 
 to enter into the life eternal, and gain possession 
 of the life more abundant, or partake of that 
 higher state of being which has neither begin- 
 ning nor end, which is immortal, glorified and 
 spiritualized — if we wish to enter into that life 
 we must seek it through the consciousness of the 
 I Am; and when we are in that consciousness we 
 
no IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 enter into that perfect stillness of the soul where 
 we may indeed know God. 
 
 In the past, the majority who believe in the 
 mission of Jesus Christ tried to find the way the 
 truth and the life in some mysterious manner 
 through the personality of Jesus; but when we 
 examine everything that was said upon that lofty 
 theme, we find that the personal Jesus never made 
 any such claim. The personal man Jesus did not 
 claim to be the Way. It was when the eternal 
 I Am in him was speaking that this lofty state- 
 ment was made ; and when the I Am was speak- 
 ing through him he spoke as one having author- 
 ity, which indeed he did have at the time. It 
 was the great spiritual Light finding expression 
 through his highly refined and developed person- 
 ality; and we know that all expressions coming 
 from the Great Spiritual Light are expressions 
 emanating directly from the consciousness of the 
 Most High. 
 
 We must remember that the I Am, which in- 
 deed is the Way, the Truth and the Life, does not 
 dwell exclusively in any one personality. The I 
 Am may find expression through any personality, 
 and indeed does dwell in the soul of every human 
 being. The eternal I Am is enthroned in the 
 spiritual life of every individual soul ; and when 
 we enter into the perfect stillness of the soul — 
 the peace that passeth understanding — that peace 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY ill 
 
 that does pass understanding because in that 
 state there is no understanding large enough or 
 wonderful enough to measure the peace we real- 
 ize — it is in that state of peace which is above 
 reason, which is above ordinary mental activity, 
 which is even above what we usually call think- 
 ing, where we may know or discern the presence 
 of the I Am. 
 
 When we are in that peace we are in absolute 
 Light, and we do not really think about anything, 
 for the truth is that when we are in the Light we 
 know. It is not necessary to think there in the 
 usual sense of that term, because we know; and 
 here let us remember that there is a marked dis- 
 tinction between thinking and knowing, and be- 
 tween understanding and realization. The proc- 
 ess of thinking is a process through which we 
 create thoughts about something that we are try- 
 ing to understand; but when we know, then we 
 do not have to try to understand or create tem- 
 porary thoughts about what we are seeking to 
 know. When we know, then the mind is in a 
 state of illumination, and dwells serenely in the 
 perfect realization of the Great Spiritual Light. 
 
 We understand therefore that when we are in 
 the peace that passeth understanding, we are 
 above actual mental activities; we are in a state 
 where all these things are felt and realized as 
 absolute states of being; and it is in that realiza- 
 
112 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 tion that we become conscious of the presence 
 and the power of the Eternal I Am. 
 
 If we should try to define the I Am to objective 
 intellect, we might liken the I Am to a great 
 White Light enthroned in the soul, and giving 
 expression to its wisdom and power through 
 those higher states of consciousness into which 
 we enter when we are in the glory and light of 
 the soul world. We realize therefore that when 
 we ascend in our consciousness, higher and 
 higher into our own spiritual being, we draw 
 nearer and nearer to the Great White Light that 
 exists upon the spiritual heights of that realm in 
 ;which the soul forever dwells serene. 
 
 When we enter into this lofty state, we meet 
 a wonderful experience; and it is this, that as 
 we become conscious of the life and the presence 
 of the Great White Light, we enter in a measure 
 into that Light, and we feel that we are so per- 
 fectly in that Light that we partake of the con- 
 sciousness of the Eternal I Am. In brief, we 
 feel as if we have become one with the I Am, and 
 can actually make the same great statement, "I 
 Am the Way, the Truth and the Life." In a 
 measure this is true, because we all are one with 
 the I Am in spirit; and when we become con- 
 scious of that sublime unity, we partake of the 
 same wisdom and the same power, and also be- 
 come channels, so to speak, through which the 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 113 
 
 Most High may speak the Word of Eternal 
 Truth. 
 
 The statement that "My Father and I are one," 
 illustrates this same experience, because every 
 human entity, spiritually speaking, is one with 
 the Supreme; and when this oneness becomes a 
 reality in consciousness, the Infinite does speak 
 through us, or we give expression to what is in 
 reality the Word of God. 
 
 The eternal I Am is individualized in every 
 soul, and therefore we can say that the I Am in 
 ourselves, that is, the Great White Light of the 
 soul, does constitute the Gates Ajar, in our own 
 spiritual being, to the Way, the Truth and the 
 Life. What is more, we find that it is the con- 
 sciousness of the I Am in our own spiritual ex- 
 istence that constitutes the only secret path to 
 that lofty state wherein we find the Way, the 
 Truth and the Life. We cannot find the Way, 
 the Truth and the Life through any external 
 source — not even through the personality of 
 Jesus, or through the personality of any extraor- 
 dinary soul that might have appeared, or that 
 may appear upon earth. The secret path to the 
 Way is found only in our own interior conscious- 
 ness of the I Am individualized in us, or our own 
 spiritual consciousness of the Great White Light 
 enthroned in the secret realms of our own soul. 
 
 If we would find the Way, we must become 
 
114 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 conscious of the I Am in ourselves; and it mat- 
 ters not how we may proceed, what system of 
 thought or religion we may follow; those things 
 are of secondary importance. The one thing of 
 supreme importance is that we have this great 
 object in view in every effort, or study of life — 
 to become conscious more and more of the I Am 
 — the Supreme Spiritual Light reigning su- 
 premely within our own spiritual kingdom. 
 
 When our attention is concentrated entirely 
 upon that goal, it does not matter what we may 
 call ourselves or what systems of thought we may 
 follow. If we all have that goal, we all are mov- 
 ing in the same direction; and we all are realiz- 
 ing an ever-increasing measure of that Great 
 Light into which we some day shall enter per- 
 fectly, and there meet, face to face, the I Am — 
 the Infinite— the Most High. 
 
 It is the truth that so long as we all have that 
 lofty goal in view, our minor differences are of 
 no importance whatever ; and therefore we should 
 lay them all aside, and try to serve each other 
 more perfectly, so that we may rise in the scale 
 of consciousness to a far greater degree than 
 ever before. Thus we shall gain more and more 
 of that wisdom and realization that constitutes 
 the key to the mansions of Freedom, of Truth 
 and of Light. 
 
 Where the human race has erred in the past is 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 115 
 
 in this, that we have sought the Way, the Truth 
 and the Life through the existence of some per- 
 sonality instead of seeking it through the con- 
 sciousness of the I Am in our own spiritual king- 
 dom; and the race has also mistaken in trying to 
 gain spiritual power through various external 
 methods, or by means that are not identified with 
 the consciousness of the Great White Light 
 within our own spiritual existence; that is, we 
 have gone out on by-paths, so to speak, and have 
 sought wisdom and power through various ex- 
 ternal sources, thinking that we might climb up 
 some other way. But there is only one way ; and 
 the I Am is the Way — the consciousness of the 
 I Am enthroned in our own spiritual kingdom. 
 
 The more spiritual we become the more per- 
 fectly we realize that those who try to seek spir- 
 itual power or wisdom through any other source 
 than through the consciousness of the I Am, are 
 trying to climb up some other way; and Jesus 
 did make some very strong statements in that 
 regard, emphasizing, in no uncertain terms, the 
 uselessness of such a course. 
 
 When we study history, especially the spirit- 
 ual side of history, we discover that those who 
 have tried to seek spiritual power in some other 
 way have invariably come to grief ; and they have 
 in all ages been looked upon as the "black sheep ,, 
 of the fold. It is always true, that whenever we 
 
n6 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 turn away from the one central path and try to 
 gain higher power in some other way, we enter 
 into a state of living that becomes more or less 
 uncanny. In other words, we become abnormal, 
 both mentally and physically, and the world tends 
 to shrink from us, feeling instinctively that we 
 are on the wrong path, and therefore will have 
 nothing to do with our doctrines or our person- 
 alities. The world as a whole may be more or 
 less in the dark, but humanity does instinctively 
 feel whether an individual is on the path to the 
 Pure White Light, or is living on one of the by- 
 paths, which is indeed a violation of spiritual 
 law; and no one can violate spiritual law with- 
 out surrounding himself with an atmosphere that 
 is repulsive to sensitive human souls. 
 
 On the other hand, it does not matter what our 
 religious beliefs may be, if we are sincere in that 
 connection and do proceed with the one lofty pur- 
 pose in view — that is, to find the Spiritual Light 
 within ourselves, seeking that Light neither 
 through signs and manifestations, nor through 
 the study of the psychical, the occult or the mys- 
 tical, but proceed directly and sincerely through 
 the highest light of spiritual consciousness that 
 we may have — if we proceed in that manner, 
 there is something about us that the world in- 
 variably regards with respect. And even though 
 the world may disagree with us in a measure, 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 117 
 
 still there is that feeling on the part of the world 
 that we are sincere, and that we are seeking the 
 highest good. In brief, the world discerns in- 
 tuitively that we are on the right path, and that 
 our consciousness of the Light, as far as we have 
 gone, is the consciousness of the Pure White 
 Light. 
 
 We shall find a marked difference in all our 
 efforts when we make this our supreme purpose ; 
 that is, to become more and more conscious of 
 the Eternal I Am enthroned in our own spiritual 
 kingdom; and when we follow Jesus Christ we 
 do so, not in the sense of depending upon his 
 personality, or expecting to gain anything 
 through his personal existence, but we follow 
 him in this sense, that he revealed, in his life 
 and in his wonderful teachings, the secret path 
 to this sublime consciousness within ourselves 
 through which we may find the I Am which in- 
 deed is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 
 
 We can readily understand that the conscious- 
 ness of the I Am as outlined above, must neces- 
 sarily constitute the true way, because when we 
 are looking for the Way, we are looking for that 
 path that leads into higher states of conscious- 
 ness, into great spiritual wisdom, into the il- 
 lumined state, and into the conscious possession 
 of that sublime power that will enable us to un- 
 derstand life — to make life as rich, as high, as 
 
n8 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 beautiful, as wonderful and as ideal as the true 
 spiritual life can and will be made. 
 
 When we become conscious of the I Am we 
 become conscious of the Light of Wisdom and 
 Truth; we become conscious of that Higher 
 Power that exists inherently in every human 
 soul ; and we know that whatever we become con- 
 scious of, that we will manifest in mind and 
 body. When we ascend into higher realizations 
 of this same consciousness we find that the mind 
 will go higher and higher into the Light, into 
 the Wisdom and into the Power; and thus we 
 find those very things that do indeed constitute 
 the Way — the Way to the Christ consciousness, 
 the Christ life and the life of sublime unity with 
 the Most High. 
 
 We also realize that this same consciousness 
 of the I Am must indeed be the truth, because the 
 light of the I Am is the Light of the Eternal, 
 and it is the Pure White Light — the Light that 
 reveals the absolute Truth, and Truth of the All 
 in All. 
 
 In like manner, we understand how this same 
 consciousness of the I Am within our own spir- 
 itual kingdom must reveal to us the life we seek 
 — the life eternal, the glorified life, the spiritual- 
 ized life, the life more abundant, the life that is, 
 was and ever more shall be. We knew that the 
 nearer we draw in consciousness to this deeper, 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 119 
 
 higher state of spiritual being, the more fully we 
 realize the existence and the expression of the 
 life that is real life; and therefore our growth 
 in that consciousness must necessarily be fol- 
 lowed by larger expressions of all that abides 
 within that life. 
 
 We all have experienced, while in silent mo- 
 ments, something in this connection that illus- 
 trates clearly the idea that we here have in mind. 
 While resting in those silent moments, we have 
 felt something wonderful within ourselves, within 
 the kingdom of the soul, inspiring the mind to 
 take wings so that we have arisen to those sub- 
 lime states of realization where we have felt the 
 presence of a power and a life that we knew at 
 once to be the life and the power of the spirit. 
 This life and power thrilled every atom of our 
 being, and we felt as if we were surcharged with 
 a living essence that could not be otherwise than 
 immortal and eternal. 
 
 It is in that state that we have become con- 
 scious of the life more abundant ; for in truth, a 
 great influx of higher spiritual life has entered 
 consciousness, mind and personality, sometimes 
 to such a great degree that we were literally over- 
 whelmed with glory and power from On High. 
 It is in this experience that we fully realize the 
 meaning of the great statement, "I came that ye 
 might have life, and that ye might have it more 
 
120 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 abundantly"; for the truth is, that when the I 
 Am comes into consciousness ; or in other words, 
 when we ascend in consciousness so that we meet 
 the presence of the I Am in us, it is then that 
 this wonderful influx of spiritual life appears 
 in our own being. When we touch the I Am 
 within ourselves, we naturally receive the greater 
 life of the I Am; and we always touch the I Am 
 within when we enter into the spiritual conscious- 
 ness of the I Am. 
 
 The same great truth is emphasized by the 
 statement "Follow Me" ; because we must follow 
 the Christ or the Christ consciousness if we 
 would enter into this wonderful realm of spir- 
 itual illumination. But it is not the personal 
 man, or the personality of Jesus that we are to 
 follow. It is the Great Light that the Christ re- 
 vealed that we are to follow ; and we follow that 
 light when we consecrate thought upon the mar- 
 velous spiritual within, and seek the kingdom of 
 God in our own interior life and soul. 
 
 The one thing of importance to be considered 
 herewith is this, that we may find the Way, the 
 Truth and the Life only through the inner con- 
 sciousness of the I Am — that sublime expression 
 of the Most High that is enthroned in every soul. 
 The I Am is the Great Eternal Light centralized 
 in the soul and enthroned in the spiritual kingdom 
 of every individual soul. We must look to that 
 
THE I AM IS THE WAY 121 
 
 light, consecrate attention upon that light, and 
 never try to find the secret path in some other 
 way. 
 
 We must enter through the door of the I Am ; 
 and we do enter through the door of the I Am 
 when we become conscious more and more of the 
 life, the power and the spirit of the eternal I Am 
 existing within our own spiritual being. Every 
 moment that we might spend in trying to secure 
 these things in some other way is so much time 
 and effort lost. We realize therefore that we all 
 might advance wonderfully, both in mind and 
 spirit, and rise remarkably in the scale of exist- 
 ence, if we would give every attention to this one 
 sublime source. Our purpose in the future must 
 be to consecrate attention upon the real door of 
 the Spirit, the consciousness of the I Am; and 
 seek the Way, the Truth and the Life through 
 the spirit of the I Am as it Is upon the heights 
 of our own spiritual world; and to this end we 
 must learn to understand the great statement 
 "Be still and know that I Am God," for the 
 Eternal I Am is indeed God. 
 
 When objective thought or objective reason is 
 stilled, it is then that the soul may ascend into 
 that calm serene attitude — in search of the Light 
 in its purity, in search of the peace that passeth 
 understanding, in search of supernal heights, in 
 search of the Great White Light. And when 
 
122 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 all these things are found, then the soul does find 
 the Way, the Truth and the Life — the soul does 
 meet in reality the radiant countenance of the 
 Christ, the Glorified Presence of the Most High. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 I GO UNTO THE FATHER 
 
 When we consider the statement "Greater 
 things than these shall ye do," we must not omit 
 the second part of the statement, "because I go 
 unto the Father," although this second part is 
 usually not quoted. However, it is the second 
 part of the statement that explains why the 
 greater works shall follow; and we shall under- 
 stand presently the reason why. 
 
 There are two interpretations that can be given 
 to this statement, and both of them are true, al- 
 though the one is necessarily only a part of the 
 whole truth. 
 
 We know that Jesus had taught his disciples 
 and friends the mysteries of the kingdom, and 
 therefore they understood these higher laws and 
 these higher powers that we, in this age, have re- 
 discovered, and are trying so faithfully to 
 study and apply. He had performed remark- 
 able things, and some of his disciples had also 
 performed what would seem miraculous to the 
 people at large. However, he declared that they 
 
 should perform still greater things later; and he 
 
 123 
 
124 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 gave as a reason, "because I go unto the Father." 
 At first thought, we discern very clearly the 
 reason why they should accomplish more after 
 he had gone, because while he was with them 
 they naturally depended very largely upon him to 
 do what they themselves might do if left upon 
 their own individuality; and here it is worthy 
 our time to pause a moment to consider a very 
 important principle. 
 
 If we w r ant to do the greater works, whatever 
 they may be, or if we want to gain higher power 
 and enter into higher discernment, we must not 
 depend too much upon individuals aside from our- 
 selves ; we must not be dependent, but on the con- 
 trary must try to give expression to all the life, 
 power and talent that we, ourselves, possess. 
 
 We know that there has been a tendency all 
 along in the history of the human race, especially 
 among those who have tried to understand higher 
 things, to select some great soul upon which to 
 depend; and we know that a very large portion 
 of the world is depending upon the personality 
 of Jesus for everything pertaining to the spirit- 
 ual life. We find, however, among the millions 
 and millions that depend absolutely upon Jesus, 
 but very few who have any spiritual power of 
 their own. They are, spiritually speaking, neg- 
 ative entities, and they have no control over 
 physical ailments or conditions, and are unable 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 125 
 
 to master any situation in their environment to 
 any satisfactory degree. They are largely en- 
 tities drifting with the stream of fate; and with 
 regard to spiritual understanding, most of them 
 have not even entered the "a b c" class. They 
 are depending upon that wonderful personality, 
 and depend so absolutely upon that personality 
 that their own spiritual powers continue to be 
 latent, having in most instances never been awak- 
 ened in the least. 
 
 In this connection we realize that if the vast 
 Orthodox world, with its perfect organizations, 
 would add spiritual power to its many factors, 
 we would soon experience one of the greatest 
 revivals the world has ever seen; and it would 
 be a permanent revival, transforming practically 
 the entire race from materiality to spirituality, 
 and thereby eliminating from this planet prac- 
 tically all the ills and wrongs that may exist in 
 the world to-day. But the vast Orthodox world 
 is not manifesting any degree of spiritual power, 
 and it is practically impossible to find a soul 
 among them who is doing the greater works. 
 Their spirituality, as it is called, is nothing more 
 than a passive goodness, which in most instances, 
 is not strong enough to maintain itself in the 
 midst of temptation without a constant supply 
 of external aid. We have here, therefore, a pow- 
 erful illustration, and a far reaching illustration, 
 
126 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 of the mistake of depending upon any personal- 
 ity, or worshiping any personality, no matter how 
 wonderful that personality may be. 
 
 The truth in this regard is, that we should not 
 depend upon any entity whatever that may have 
 appeared in manifestation; but should depend 
 exclusively upon the Infinite; and in reality we 
 find that we do not depend absolutely upon the 
 Infinite, because the act of depending upon the 
 Infinite becomes rather an act of cooperation 
 with divine power ; that is, we are simply uniting 
 with God, instead of depending absolutely upon 
 his wisdom and power. 
 
 When we enter into the spiritual understand- 
 ing of this divine unity, we realize the full mean- 
 ing of the statement, "My Father worketh and I 
 work" ; and this is the attitude we should assume. 
 The human soul should enter into harmony with 
 higher spiritual power — that power that is gained 
 through this higher consciousness of oneness 
 with God. We should not assume the attitude 
 that our whole personality is acted upon by 
 Higher Power, for the fact is we must do our 
 part just as positively and continually; that is, 
 we must work, doing our utmost in the fulfill- 
 ment of the purpose we have in view ; but if we 
 are conscious of oneness with the Infinite while 
 we work, we are constantly receiving aid and 
 assistance from Higher Power; and we live ac- 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 127 
 
 cording to the statement, "My Father worketh 
 and I work." 
 
 We know that the great prophets of all ages, 
 as well as the seers and the wonderful souls that 
 have appeared upon earth, all walked with God. 
 They were constantly living in such close spir- 
 itual contact with the Supreme that they could 
 truthfully consider the Supreme their companion 
 under all circumstances. They did not leave 
 everything to be done by the Supreme ; they did 
 not fold their arms and say, "I am an instrument 
 in the hands of Higher Power ; do with me what 
 you like." On the contrary, they sought con- 
 stantly to give expression to their own individ- 
 uality, trying to ascend in the scale of spiritual 
 life and illumination ; but whatever they were do- 
 ing, they always walked with God, and whatever 
 they attempted to do, they always sought divine 
 aid. 
 
 We find that an awakened soul never assumes 
 the attitude of a mere instrument in the hands 
 of Higher Power ; an awakened soul is not a mere 
 instrument to be played upon by any power ; and 
 it is not the will of God that any soul should be 
 a mere passive entity, to be used by outside forces, 
 regardless of the purpose or consequence. The 
 truth is, we are here to work out a wonderful 
 destiny, and it is only as we do something our- 
 selves, and work for this purpose ourselves, that 
 we reach the high goal in view. 
 
128 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 However, we never go alone. The moment 
 we are awakened and assume the true attitude 
 towards this theme, we find that we are con- 
 stantly walking in conscious oneness with God, 
 and that higher power is being given to us con- 
 tinually as we may require. 
 
 In this connection we must remember that man 
 alone can do very little; and we also know that 
 if any individual assumes the attitude of a mere 
 instrument, to be acted upon by outside forces, 
 he is placing his own talents in the ground ; and 
 Jesus clearly emphasized the mistake of such a 
 course. 
 
 Under every circumstance we must use the tal- 
 ents we possess, and must try to develop those 
 talents as far as possible, and all through life; 
 but as we continue to use and develop our tal- 
 ents, we shall find that our advancement will be 
 far greater, and the results far greater, if we 
 assume the attitude of unity with the Supreme. 
 
 The proper course to take, therefore, is to en- 
 ter into harmony with the Infinite, and to walk 
 with God ; and while in that attitude, which should 
 be perpetual, we should proceed to work out our 
 own destiny, using all our own powers, and work- 
 ing individually, as well as in harmony with the 
 Supreme, for the great goal we have in view. 
 In brief, we should give expression to all the 
 power that we are conscious of, and try to 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 129 
 
 awaken more ; but in all our doing, we should al- 
 ways be conscious of the one great truth, that 
 God is with us, and it matters not what our work 
 may be, whether it be material, mental or spirit- 
 ual, if we proceed with our work in the conscious- 
 ness of that wonderful truth, that God is with us, 
 and that "My Father worketh and I work," we 
 will realize that we are in touch with something 
 that adds immensely to our power, to our wis- 
 dom, to our courage, to our determination, to 
 our inspiration, and to our faith. We shall find, 
 therefore, that much is added from higher 
 sources to that which we already possess; and 
 whatever our work may be, we will accomplish 
 more, and in less time ; and instead of our work 
 being wearisome, it will become a pleasure. 
 
 The results of such an attitude will make all 
 the difference in the world; but we are not de- 
 pending upon the Higher; we are not asking the 
 Higher to do everything for us; we are doing 
 our part, and doing all that we possibly can, giv- 
 ing full expression to all that is in us, and yet, 
 at the same time, we realize that the Higher is 
 working with us, and that we are filled and sur- 
 rounded with the limitless power of the Supreme. 
 
 We know that there can be nothing greater 
 than the realization of this wonderful truth; and 
 they who have learned to work in that realization 
 have certainly reached a place in life that is val- 
 uable far beyond any price. 
 
130 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 Understanding this important truth, we realize 
 that when Jesus went away, he left his friends 
 and disciples upon their own resources; hence- 
 forth, they would have to depend upon them- 
 selves, and upon the wisdom they had already 
 received; that is, it would be required of them 
 to make full application of their own life and 
 talent instead of looking to some superior per- 
 sonality to do everything for them. It was 
 clearly evident therefore that they would, in the 
 course of time, do far greater things than they 
 had been able to do while depending largely upon 
 that superior wisdom and power that had been 
 with them during that wonderful period. 
 
 We understand fully that we may accomplish 
 certain things fairly well while imitating some 
 one who understands; but if we learn to apply 
 the full power of our individuality according to 
 the wisdom that we have acquired through our 
 contact with some superior soul, we will give ex- 
 pression to our own greater activity, to our own 
 greater power; and in consequence, greater 
 things must inevitably follow. Knowing this, 
 we must avoid the tendency to depend upon those 
 who may seem to be more competent than we are ; 
 and although we should be in harmony with 
 everybody, and try to learn from everybody, still 
 we should not depend entirely upon any one, not 
 even upon the Infinite, because our true relation 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 131 
 
 to God is not to depend upon God, but to live, 
 walk, and work with God. 
 
 The truth is, that so long as we depend upon 
 any power, visible or invisible, to do things for 
 us, we will have no real spirituality of our own ; 
 that is, our own spiritual life will not awaken. 
 We may to a certain extent be conscious of the 
 finer spiritual elements, but we will not know how 
 to apply them ; nor will we know how to proceed 
 towards the attainment of the master state in 
 sublime spiritual consciousness. 
 
 We are all aware of the fact that there is a 
 strong tendency among students of the mystical 
 and the invisible, to become fascinated with the 
 idea that we can gain wonderful help from in- 
 visible sources; and this is true to a certain ex- 
 tent, but we must remember that wherever we 
 may gain help or inspiration, we must avoid ab- 
 solutely the tendency to become dependent upon 
 any personality or intelligence anywhere in the 
 universe. We may receive instruction along 
 any line from some one who has become familiar 
 with the subject; but if we depend absolutely 
 upon that instructor, to lead us all the way, we 
 will soon come to a place where we simply re- 
 member what has been told, but are incapable of 
 working the thing out for ourselves; so there- 
 fore where is the gain; we have not advanced a 
 single step. 
 
132 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 We know that every soul is a teacher, and that 
 every soul is a learner. We can teach every- 
 body and learn from everybody; and the soul that 
 takes this attitude, trying to gain wisdom from 
 every source, and at the same time trying to add 
 to the light of every mind, either by word or by 
 individual living, has taken a position where the 
 gain will be great in every possible form or man- 
 ner. But in each instance, this soul must give 
 first attention to its own individuality, and must 
 depend directly upon its own efforts and powers 
 to apply in life and in destiny what may have 
 been gained in all these many ways. 
 
 In pursuing this study, we shall find very soon 
 that the most valuable truths come to us through 
 our own extension of consciousness, or through 
 our own effort to find greater truth according to 
 the laws and methods that have been suggested 
 to us by great souls of any age. When your own 
 soul is in touch with the vast sea of wisdom, and 
 yet not depending upon any personality for wis- 
 dom, that is the attitude through which the high- 
 est light is received. In other words, it is the 
 light that we can see with our own vision that 
 illumines the mind to the greatest degree, al- 
 though we are permitted to be instructed by 
 others, for a period, as to the most perfect meth- 
 ods in the finding of the light. The spirit of 
 truth is everywhere, and we all may open our 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 133 
 
 minds to the light of the spirit of truth, regard- 
 less of who we are, or where we may be in the 
 cosmos. 
 
 The first interpretation, therefore, of this state- 
 ment, would infer that the greater things must 
 invariably follow when we learn to depend upon 
 our own higher wisdom and power, and thus as- 
 sume that attitude of life where we may give ex- 
 pression to the highest and best that is w T ithin 
 ourselves, while at the same time living and work- 
 ing in harmony with all that is good, all that is 
 high and all that is sublime anywhere in the 
 world. 
 
 The second interpretation of this remarkable 
 statement is much deeper and goes much far- 
 ther; and this interpretation does not refer to 
 Jesus as a personality, but refers to the Christ 
 as the only begotton son of the Most High. 
 Let us try to forget, therefore, for the time be- 
 ing, the personality of Jesus, and let us try to 
 think of Christ, the Eternal Spirit, that is en- 
 throned in every soul, and one with the Father. 
 
 To try to differentiate between God the Fa- 
 ther and God the Son, and also to try to under- 
 stand the distinction between the first and second 
 person in the Trinity, and the third person, or the 
 Holy Spirit will lead us into a very deep meta- 
 physical study; and yet, as we grow in spiritual 
 understanding, we shall be able to discern how 
 
134 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 these three are one, and yet in a certain sense dis- 
 tinct. The usual conception of the Trinity has 
 been so materialistic that we have failed to find 
 the real truth involved; but the spiritual under- 
 standing will give us the full light on this won- 
 derful theme. 
 
 In an external sense we find that the term 
 "three in one" is merely a wonderful symbol; 
 but as every external symbol is related to a cor- 
 responding truth, in the absolute of the spiritual, 
 we realize that the triune idea is by no means a 
 metaphysical speculation only, but in fact a spir- 
 itual truth of wonderful meaning. 
 
 To try to analyze, through spiritual conscious- 
 ness, the difference between God the Father and 
 God the Son would require much time and much 
 fine analytical thinking; but we can simplify the 
 matter and state it briefly by saying that God is 
 the Infinite, the Omnipresent Spirit, and that 
 Christ, being the Son, is God individualized in 
 every soul. The Christ is enthroned in every 
 soul, and is, therefore, God made manifest in 
 man ; and that is how the idea of mediation orig- 
 inates; how we reach God through Christ, al- 
 though it is not through the personal Jesus, but 
 through the Universal Christ, the purely spirit- 
 ual Son, because the Christ is the Spirit of God 
 living and manifesting in the human soul. 
 
 When we grow in spiritual consciousness, we 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 135 
 
 realize how the Christ is related to God by being 
 the individualization of God, and in every human 
 soul, and how we are related to Christ through 
 the wonderful truth that the Christ is enthroned 
 in every soul. And in the same way, we shall 
 understand the significance of the Holy Spirit, 
 and why our growth in pure spiritual truth must 
 come through the ministrations of the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 Turning now to this wonderful statement, 
 "Greater things than these shall ye do, because 
 I go unto the Father," we realize that the higher 
 our consciousness of the Christ, within us, as- 
 cends towards the consciousness of the Infinite, 
 the greater becomes our spiritual power. 
 
 The meaning of the term, "because I go unto 
 the Father," is this, that the consciousness of the 
 human soul ascends towards the consciousness 
 of the Supreme; and we know that our own spir- 
 ituality depends upon how high we can go in the 
 consciousness of the Christ that is enthroned 
 within us. The truth is, that our own conscious- 
 ness of the Christ is eternally going to the Fa- 
 ther; this consciousness is eternally ascending 
 into higher and higher realizations of the Omni- 
 present Spirit of God ; and we may continue eter- 
 nally to go deeper and higher into the real spir- 
 itual life of the Infinite, or into the Kingdom of 
 God, because there is neither limit nor end to 
 the vastness of that life in the kingdom. 
 
136 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 We do not simply go at a certain time to the 
 Kingdom, and then remain forever in a certain 
 place in the spiritual life; that is the materialistic 
 view; but the materialistic view never contains 
 the whole truth, although it may contain an indi- 
 cation of the truth. The purely spiritual view 
 declares that the human soul, created in the im- 
 age and likeness of God, is eternally going to the 
 Father, eternally rising in the wonderful spir- 
 itual scale; and the spiritual cosmos is so vast 
 that we may rise for all eternity to still higher 
 states, and still there will be greater and greater 
 glories on before. 
 
 But here we must remember that the human 
 soul, ascending eternally, higher and higher, into 
 the spiritual life of the Infinite, can do so only 
 through the Christ that is enthroned in the soul; 
 that is, we must become conscious of the Christ 
 within us before we can begin to go to the Fa- 
 ther. So that the very moment the Christ be- 
 gins to go to the Father, or our consciousness of 
 the Christ within us is gained so that we may go 
 with the Christ, in consciousness, into the higher 
 spiritual realization of the Divine, this wonder- 
 ful change begins to take place. We no longer 
 live in materiality, and we no longer depend upon 
 that which is personal; but we begin to advance 
 steadily and surely in higher spiritual conscious- 
 ness, and thereby secure possession of higher 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 137 
 
 spiritual power. The result must be that the 
 greater works will inevitably follow. 
 
 When we realize that the Christ is God en- 
 throned in the human soul — enthroned in every 
 soul in the vastness of the cosmos ; that the spirit 
 of Christ is the central principle of every soul; 
 and that the human soul is the real man, the you, 
 the me, the "I Am," we discover that it is im- 
 possible to separate ourselves as spiritual entities 
 from the Son or from the Father. There is a 
 unity there that cannot be defined in words ; but 
 there is also a differentiation there that cannot 
 be defined in words ; but those who are spiritually 
 awakened can spiritually discern how we are eter- 
 nally individuals, and eternally spiritual entities, 
 and at the same time, realize that the chief prin- 
 ciple in every soul is the Son of God, the Christ — 
 God enthroned in the real spiritual man. 
 
 When we grow in spirituality, and discern that 
 wonderful unity on the spiritual side, uniting the 
 soul with the Christ, and the Christ with God, 
 and all spiritual life with the Holy Spirit in man- 
 ifestation, we discover the wonderful meaning 
 of the Holy Trinity; and therefore, that term is 
 no longer a mere phrase, or a mere expression, 
 but a divine truth of wonderful meaning — a truth 
 that can be discerned only by those who are spir- 
 itually awakened. And they who do discern the 
 real meaning of the Trinity have wisdom indeed ; 
 
138 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 and still the understanding of that sublime truth 
 is simply the beginning of real spiritual wisdom. 
 
 We remember the statement, "To know God 
 is the beginning of Wisdom," and we know God 
 for the first time when we discover this interior 
 spiritual relationship — how we, as spiritual en- 
 tities, have the Christ enthroned within us, and 
 how the Christ is God in manifestation, God liv- 
 ing and reigning in every soul in the vastness of 
 the cosmos. 
 
 Returning to the original statement, that the 
 greater works must follow when the Christ goes 
 to the Father, we find that this is not something 
 that begins in us at any particular time. The 
 Christ does not begin to go to the Father at any 
 certain time, because the Christ is eternally going 
 to the Father ; but the discovery, however, of this 
 eternal truth may come to our consciousness at 
 any time. The fact is, that there are a great 
 many things that have been taking place for eter- 
 nity, and yet those things have seemingly been 
 hidden from us ; in other words, we are just awak- 
 ening to the realization of the wonderful things 
 that have been going on upon higher planes for 
 ages and eternities. 
 
 God has been giving everything to this count- 
 less number of human souls for all time, but we 
 may not have known this great truth. However, 
 at a certain time we all awaken to that truth ; and 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 139 
 
 at our first awakening, it seems as if God just 
 began to do these things for us. But as we be- 
 come more fully awake in the spirit, w r e learn that 
 God has been doing these things for us during 
 all eternity, although we were not ready to accept 
 His gifts or enter into unity with Him in work- 
 ing out the wonderful destiny that we all have 
 in store. 
 
 Knowing this truth, we realize that higher 
 spiritual power has been pouring down upon us 
 for ages and ages; but we did not receive that 
 power, not being spiritually awakened. When 
 we awaken in the spirit, however, then we begin 
 to appropriate more and more of this power, and 
 the greater life and the greater work must fol- 
 low. 
 
 The same is true of the Christ going to the 
 Father. The Christ in us is eternally rising in 
 the vast spiritual world; and when we become 
 conscious of this, we enter into harmony with 
 that wonderful ascension, that is, the ascension 
 of the Christ eternally taking place in our own 
 soul; and when we make this discovery, or when 
 we awaken to that wonderful spiritual process, 
 it is clearly evident that great spiritual power is 
 added; accordingly, greater works must follow. 
 
 What these greater works are to be will de- 
 pend largely upon our own ability and power in 
 life. There are very few of us who really feel 
 
140 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 the need of what may be called miracles, although 
 as we grow in spirituality, we are liable at any 
 time, to experience demonstrations in our very 
 presence that are truly miraculous. But the 
 greater works, in many instances, will be the 
 greater awakening of spiritual consciousness, the 
 elimination of ailments and imperfection, the 
 overcoming of the world and of all things that 
 pertain to this world, the complete mastery over 
 mind and body, and the conscious possession of 
 those greater powers within us through which we 
 may attain and accomplish the highest purpose 
 or the most wonderful goal that imagination can 
 picture in the lofty world of the ideal. 
 
 Whatever the greater work may be in the pres- 
 ent life of each one of us, the essential principle 
 is this, that we gain the power to do the greater 
 things because the Christ enthroned in us is eter- 
 nally going to the Father. However, we must 
 become conscious of that eternal ascension, be- 
 cause it is only as we become conscious of that 
 ascension that our own consciousness takes 
 higher and higher ground. 
 
 We know through our own experience, that as 
 we ascend spiritually into loftier realms, into 
 higher states, that the power is greater, the light 
 more brilliant, and the wisdom more wonderful ; 
 we realize gain in every conceivable manner. 
 We grow in wisdom, in understanding, in power 
 
I GO UNTO THE FATHER 141 
 
 and in spirituality; and the result must always 
 be that the greater works will follow; and this 
 is the spiritual meaning of the great statement 
 under consideration. 
 
 The whole truth of this statement is purely 
 spiritual; but this whole truth is so vast that we 
 may ascend into it, higher and higher, for all 
 eternity, forever rising into the greater power, 
 the greater wisdom and the greater light; and 
 forever manifesting the greater and the greater 
 works that invariably follow. There is no end 
 to that life, to that attainment, to that ascension 
 in spirituality; and therefore, we can truthfully 
 say, that however great the work of any exalted 
 soul may be to-day, that soul will perform still 
 greater work in the higher life of the wonderful 
 future. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 
 
 To know the Christ — the real Christ — to un- 
 derstand the full significance of the first coming 
 of the Christ — and to know when and how the 
 second coming is to take place — these are vital 
 and living themes among all who are deeply and 
 sincerely interested in the realities of the spirit- 
 ual world. 
 
 In order to know the real Christ, we shall find 
 it absolutely necessary to make a clear distinc- 
 tion between Jesus of Nazareth and the universal 
 Christ. We know that the Christ was incar- 
 nated in Jesus of Nazareth, but there is a distinc- 
 tion between the two that must not be ignored. 
 We know that Jesus of Nazareth was a person- 
 ality, but the Christ is not a personality, although 
 spoken of as the second person in the Trinity. 
 We also know that Jesus of Nazareth did not 
 claim to be the savior; but we know that the 
 Christ is the savior, so that what we have been 
 taught in this regard is practically true, although 
 our spiritual conception of salvation is very dif- 
 ferent from the literal conception. 
 
 142 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 143 
 
 To appreciate the mission and need of a savior, 
 we must understand that God creates man for a 
 certain purpose; or rather sends the human soul 
 out into the manifested world to create an ever- 
 ascending destiny. For a time the soul is seem- 
 ingly separated from God, or from the Creator, 
 and it appears as if the soul was left alone for 
 the time being to work out its own life ; but here 
 we must not forget that beautiful statement, 
 "God so loved the world that he gave his only 
 Son." 
 
 However, this giving of His only Son does not 
 simply refer to the appearance of the Christ 
 through Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years 
 ago. The truth is that God is eternally giving 
 his only Son to every soul in the vastness of the 
 cosmos. Whenever a soul is sent out into the 
 world to work out its destiny, the Christ inva- 
 riably goes with that soul ; and although there are 
 times in the life of that soul when it seems to be 
 drifting upon the sea of existence, and that the 
 Christ is apparently asleep in the ship ; or to state 
 the exact truth — the soul itself is not awakened 
 to the presence of the Christ in the ship; but the 
 Christ is there ; and whenever the Christ is called 
 upon he will arise in the life of that soul and 
 still the storm. 
 
 When we enter spiritual consciousness, we 
 realize that the Christ is the Universal Spirit; 
 
144 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 that is, the only begotten of God — God manifest- 
 ing himself — going forth to follow and be with 
 every soul upon the great journey of life. And 
 here we should remember another beautiful 
 statement: "I will not forsake thee nor leave 
 thee; I am thy redeemer; I will care for thee." 
 And this is literally true. The Christ never for- 
 sakes a single soul. The Christ is always with 
 us and is always waiting at the door of conscious- 
 ness to be of service to us whenever we are ready 
 to change our life and return to the higher states 
 of existence. 
 
 In this connection, we find the ancient doctrine 
 of the second person in the Trinity as the savior, 
 to be absolutely true, although the spiritual un- 
 derstanding of that doctrine is far different from 
 what we have been taught in the literal sense. 
 It would be very interesting to enlarge exten- 
 sively upon this phase of the subject, but here 
 we need simply remember that every soul, as it 
 goes out into the vastness and richness of life's 
 domain, does not go alone; the Christ goes with 
 every soul ; the Christ may be found in the ship 
 of every life; and there is a wonderful reason 
 why. 
 
 The soul goes into the manifested life to work 
 out a marvelous destiny. The soul is potentially 
 divine, and is endued with power from on High ; 
 but as the soul is born in materiality, the light of 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 145 
 
 the Spirit may for a time be partly or seemingly 
 hidden ; and in order that the soul may work out 
 its wonderful purpose, it must not be wholly sep- 
 arated from its divine source. It must not be 
 left alone ; it must not be permitted to go astray ; 
 and God so loved the world that he brought forth 
 his only Son — the only perfect manifestation of 
 his own divinity — and declared that this only Son 
 should follow every soul upon the great journey 
 of life — to guide and lead, so that every soul 
 might be saved from going astray — the wonder- 
 ful destiny of every soul finally perfected — the 
 individual soul in time comes forth upon the spir- 
 itual heights, clothed with the glory of sublime 
 victory. 
 
 In this very place we might consider the fact 
 that it would have been possible for the Infinite 
 to have created us all perfect ; that is, not simply 
 perfect in potentiality, but perfect in actuality; 
 but when we ask ourselves the great question, 
 " Would we rather be created perfect, or would 
 we rather be given the privilege to work out our 
 own perfection ?" we all would answer, "Give 
 me the privilege to earn what I receive; give me 
 the privilege to work out this wonderful life my- 
 self; and when I have reached the supreme 
 heights, let me be able to say that I, myself, have 
 lived and worked for every step of the way, and 
 am the personal creator of the great victory and 
 triumph that I now have realized. ,, 
 
146 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 When we look at life in this manner we in- 
 variably conclude that the plan of life is very 
 good. There are some dark moments in exist- 
 ence; still we would not have the plan changed. 
 We feel like saying with the Creator in the dis- 
 tant past, "Behold, it is all very good." 
 
 We are given the privilege to work out this 
 wonderful destiny that lies before us ; but we are 
 not left alone. The spirit of the Christ — the only 
 begotten of God — is watching over every soul, 
 always ready to lead, guide, direct, save; and 
 although the soul frequently becomes confused 
 while still living in materiality, nevertheless, 
 there need be no anxiety as to the future, because 
 the Christ is here with us all ; and his promise is 
 ever the same, "I will not forsake thee nor leave 
 thee, I am thy redeemer, I will care for thee." 
 
 When we consider the first coming of the 
 Christ we shall have to come to a somewhat dif- 
 ferent conclusion from the one to which we are 
 accustomed. We all have heard a thousand 
 times the story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, 
 and we know the world in general looks upon 
 that birth as the first coming of the Christ. 
 However, the truth is that that wonderful birth 
 was only a part of the first appearance. The 
 first coming of the Christ is that coming of the 
 Christ that we discern when the Christ spirit 
 manifests to us through other personalities; and 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 147 
 
 there have been, and now are many partial man- 
 ifestations of the Christ everywhere in the world. 
 Wherever you see tenderness, kindness, love, for- 
 giveness, sympathy, or the finer things in life 
 expressed through any personality; or whenever 
 you discern those higher and more beautiful hu- 
 man traits, it is the manifestation of the Christ 
 Spirit that you discern, appearing to a limited 
 degree through human entities here and there. 
 It is a portion of the first appearance — that ap- 
 pearance that can be discerned only by the phys- 
 ical sense of man. 
 
 When you go about in the world you may see 
 many a human soul that happens to be in an 
 attitude where the Christ Spirit is given an op- 
 portunity to express itself wonderfully; and you 
 feel that you have witnessed an appearance that 
 is higher than that of mere man ; and we know 
 that there is not a single human being, no matter 
 how far down in the scale that being may be, that 
 does not at certain times give expression to the 
 Christ Spirit; and the reason is evident, because 
 the Spirit of the Christ, the only begotten, is in 
 the ship of every life. The Spirit of the Christ 
 is hovering over every soul, waiting for every 
 opportunity to manifest, and thereby lift that 
 life to higher realms. 
 
 We have frequently looked upon the faces of 
 those that we have considered depraved, and at 
 
148 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 certain times we could see something beautiful 
 there, a finer touch, a more sublime expression, 
 indicating unmistakably that Divinity was not 
 far away; and whenever we have met such expe- 
 riences, our faith in humanity and the future 
 glory of the race has been wonderfully renewed. 
 The truth is, when the beautiful spirit of the 
 Christ can find expression, even through those 
 personalities that are at the very lowest place in 
 the scale of life, then what may we not expect 
 from those who are on the way to the lofty 
 heights of pure, spiritual illumination? 
 
 Many a time we meet people where the Christ 
 Spirit is manifesting wonderfully — where their 
 sympathy is universal — where their spirit of for- 
 giveness is sublime — where the tenderness and 
 sweetness of character and life is something that 
 is too high and too beautiful for words to define ; 
 and again it is the Christ leading the soul into 
 the beautiful pathways of sublime existence. It 
 is the Christ appearing through another person- 
 ality. It is another instance of the first coming. 
 
 All of this is perfectly natural, inasmuch as the 
 Christ Spirit continues to go with every soul 
 everywhere; and it is perfectly natural that the 
 Christ Spirit should give expression to the lofty, 
 the pure and the beautiful whenever sublime mo- 
 ments appear in the life of the soul. 
 
 In this connection we realize that if we would 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 149 
 
 give greater opportunity for the manifestation of 
 the Christ Spirit ; in brief, train ourselves to live 
 more and more in touch with the lofty, the sub- 
 lime and the spiritual, we would find that the 
 Christ Spirit would manifest far more fre- 
 quently, and in a far more wonderful manner. 
 
 The appearance of the Christ through Jesus 
 of Nazareth was, in truth, the most wonderful 
 in history; that is, when we consider the first 
 appearance; but it differed only in degree from 
 the Christ appearance in other personalities. It 
 was indeed the highest expression of the first 
 appearance — the only begotten Son manifesting 
 through a human personality ; and the reason was 
 that Jesus of Nazareth lived in a personality that 
 gave permission to the fullest manifestation of 
 the Christ. 
 
 When we realize that the first coming of the 
 Christ simply means the appearance of the Christ 
 through any or every personality in such a man- 
 ner that this Spirit becomes evident to the phys- 
 ical senses, we may think for a moment that the 
 appearance of the Christ through Jesus of Naz- 
 areth does not occupy as important a position as 
 we previously believed ; but we need not come to 
 any such conclusion, because that appearance was 
 nothing less than marvelous ; and the effect upon 
 the world for all time was extraordinary. 
 
 We do not lose any of the beauty or the power 
 
■ISO IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 of this remarkable first coming by accepting the 
 idea that the first coming of the Christ is con- 
 stantly taking place in every human personality 
 whenever the divine is given expression. The 
 truth is, we gain immensely by accepting this 
 idea, because it is, indeed, both beautiful and con- 
 soling to know that the Christ did not leave the 
 world two thousand years ago, after manifesting 
 in that wonderful manner for a few years only, 
 but continues to dwell constantly as before, with 
 every human soul — "I will not forsake thee nor 
 leave thee" — always ready to lead and inspire — 
 always at hand, manifesting in many places, man- 
 ifesting through all souls at certain times. And 
 if we would draw more closely to the realization 
 of this wonderful truth, our salvation from ma- 
 teriality, from limitation, from bondage to 
 things, would be realized instantaneously. 
 
 We know that while we are out upon the sea 
 of life, the ship is tempest tossed ; and not know- 
 ing that the Christ is there with us, we try to 
 work our way as well as we possibly can; but it 
 is frequently difficult. It may take years and 
 years before we succeed in coming out of the 
 stormy conditions; but if we would remember 
 that the Christ is in the ship, and call upon him, 
 he would arise at once and still the storm. 
 
 We remember the statement, "Man's extrem- 
 ity is God's opportunity," and we all have come 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 151 
 
 to places where we realized that we could not do 
 anything any more personally. Then we turned 
 to God; we remembered, "I am with you always," 
 and we called upon the Christ who was asleep in 
 the ship; we gave up absolutely to the guidance 
 of the Spirit; and in a wonderful and seemingly 
 miraculous manner, things took a turn. Some- 
 thing unusual happened, and we were set free. 
 We found ourselves emancipated from bondage, 
 and we found ourselves in the presence of new 
 conditions, new environments, new experiences; 
 and everything became beautiful and ideal. 
 
 There is remarkable power, as well as consola- 
 tion, in the great truth that the Christ is always 
 with us — that the Christ goes out with every soul 
 upon the journey of life, frequently manifesting 
 in various ways through the personality of every 
 soul; and all such manifestations — manifesta- 
 tions that are evident to the physical sense of us 
 all — such manifestations we speak of as the first 
 coming — the first appearance of the Christ to the 
 human race. 
 
 The second coming of the Christ is purely spir- 
 itual, and takes place within the higher states of 
 consciousness of every individual soul. When 
 you can turn consciousness upon the spiritual 
 within, or upon the reality of your own soul, you 
 will awaken to the great truth that the Christ is 
 within; and the Christ will appear to you in the 
 
152 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 spiritual within. This is the second coming, and 
 is the final coming of the Christ to you, because 
 everything that we can realize from w T ithin is 
 final; that is, it leads us to the highest that we 
 can know in this realm of existence. 
 
 The more perfectly we understand the lofty 
 significance of the second coming, as a purely 
 spiritual appearance of the Christ to the soul, 
 the more wonderful it becomes; but before pass- 
 ing further in that spiritual study, it is well to 
 speak more definitely about Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 There is one thing that adds immensely to our 
 spiritual experience; and it is this, that when- 
 ever we can see the spiritual meaning of things, 
 we find that the literal meaning is not eliminated, 
 but rather illuminated. There are thousands of 
 people to-day who believe in the literal com- 
 ing, and believe in both the first and second 
 coming as purely literal; and the reason is evi- 
 dent. The human race thus far, living largely 
 in materiality, has a tendency to demand the 
 literal expression of everything; the tendency 
 is to want to see this wonderful coming in the 
 sky; and such people demand a literal, tangible 
 appearance. Then there is another class that 
 looks upon every appearance of the Christ as 
 purely spiritual. They declare that Jesus did 
 not live, that the Virgin Mary was only a symbol, 
 and that the resurrection, as well as everything 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 153 
 
 else spoken of in the life of Jesus — all were spir- 
 itual symbols. 
 
 However, when we discern the spiritual mean- 
 ing of it all, we realize that the spiritual side is 
 universal, and that the literal or tangible mani- 
 festation is only one out of many manifestations, 
 all having their source in the spiritual; but the 
 literal manifestations, even though temporary 
 and partial, are nevertheless real. 
 
 Jesus of Nazareth did live, and he was so in- 
 spired by the spirit of the Christ, the only be- 
 gotten Son, that his personality and the Christ 
 Spirit became for the time being as one ; but here 
 we must not forget that other great souls may 
 reach the same height; that is, become so in- 
 spired by the Spirit of the Christ that their per- 
 sonalities may appear to be as one with the Christ. 
 
 The Virgin Mary lived, and was the natural 
 mother of Jesus; and here let us consider, what 
 is indeed one of the greatest revelations in his- 
 tory ; but it is a revelation that has scarcely been 
 recognized. When the Christ comes or appears 
 to the human soul, we cannot discern the Christ, 
 or spiritually conceive of the Christ, unless our 
 mental and spiritual conceptions are immaculate, 
 that is, absolutely pure. 'The pure in heart 
 shall see God." The pure in mind can conceive 
 of these lofty spiritual truths; and every mind 
 must be pure and immaculate in its mental and 
 
154 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 spiritual conceptions before it can discern the 
 Christ. This is the real immaculate conception; 
 and it is both mental and spiritual — absolutely- 
 necessary if the Christ is to be born into the life 
 of any individual. 
 
 However, we find this same truth manifesting 
 upon the physical plane in a certain way; and 
 herein we shall discover something of unusual 
 importance. We know that God created nature 
 and its laws, and it is not necessary for God to 
 change the laws of nature in order to bring a 
 remarkable soul into the world; but here we 
 should remember what was said of the Virgin 
 Mary. "She was overshadowed by the Holy 
 Spirit"; and that is the reason she became the 
 mother of that great and illumined soul; and it 
 is indeed true that if every mother would enter 
 into that sublime state of consciousness, where 
 she could realize the presence of the Holy Spirit 
 during the prenatal period, every child born into 
 the world would be endowed with higher spirit- 
 ual power, and would be gifted in a wonderful 
 manner. 
 
 We can understand perfectly that if the ma- 
 ternal mind is material during the prenatal pe- 
 riod, that is, thinks only of tangible things, and 
 lives only in the world of things, the unborn 
 child will have nothing but materiality upon 
 which to draw for physical, mental or spiritual 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 155 
 
 sustenance; and it does not require any logic to 
 prove that such a child will be just an ordinary 
 child. On the other hand, if the maternal mind 
 would, during that period, be overshadowed by 
 the Holy Spirit — if the maternal mind would live 
 in the consciousness of the high, the sublime, the 
 lofty and the beautiful, constantly communing 
 with wonderful spiritual realms, and continuing 
 in this sublime state of mind, feeling, life and 
 consciousness during that important period — we 
 can readily understand that the child would be 
 remarkable. Such a child would, during the 
 formative period, have the privilege to be nour- 
 ished by thoughts that were rich, elements that 
 were inspired, forces that contained within them- 
 selves all that is high and wonderful in human 
 life; in brief, Higher Power would constantly 
 thrill the unborn creature; finer elements would 
 go to make up the substance of the body, the 
 power of the mind and the nature of the soul. 
 That child, therefore, would certainly appear as 
 a prodigy, or as a great master mind, or as a 
 marvelous genius, or as a great prophet, or il- 
 lumined soul. 
 
 The Virgin Mary lived in that lofty state dur- 
 ing the prenatal period of the child Jesus. She 
 was in constant touch with the sublime world of 
 the spirit, and she was spoken of as a Virgin 
 because she was pure, meaning that she lived in 
 
156 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 the purity of the lofty, the beautiful, the spirit- 
 ual and the sublime. The Holy Spirit, there- 
 fore, could enter into her life and into the life 
 of her unborn child. In truth, every thought, 
 every feeling, every element and every vein in 
 her entire being — all were thrilled and inspired 
 by power from on High. The result was that 
 Jesus of Nazareth appeared as the highest and 
 the most wonderful personality that was ever 
 born into the world. 
 
 We realize in this connection that the human 
 race has been given a wonderful truth, one of the 
 most wonderful and most sublime that has even 
 been revealed to human consciousness. And in 
 recent years this great truth is being recognized ; 
 we are beginning to understand the spiritual 
 meaning of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the 
 mother of every unborn child. We are fast com- 
 ing into this remarkable understanding; and 
 when we begin to realize the full meaning of this 
 truth, we cannot fail to understand that mother- 
 hood is indeed the greatest privilege upon this 
 planet, and will be considered as such by every- 
 body in coming days. 
 
 We know that we are here upon this planet 
 to work out a wonderful destiny ; in brief, we are 
 here to bring the kingdom of heaven upon earth ; 
 and one of the greatest essentials to that end is 
 to bring forth upon this planet a finer race of 
 
I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS 157 
 
 people — loftier minds, more refined and more 
 beautiful bodies, more perfect human entities, 
 and in truth, master minds and spiritual giants. 
 We need them all if we are to convert this planet 
 into the wonderful world which we know it is 
 destined to become; and here we have the secret 
 — a most powerful illustration of which took 
 place two thousand years ago. But the mean- 
 ing of it all has been misunderstood, due to literal 
 interpretation; and the race thus far has gained 
 but little from that remarkable revelation. 
 However, we know, that with the Supreme, one 
 day is as a thousand years, so that even though 
 the race may have neglected this revelation for 
 two thousand years, we need not be disturbed, 
 inasmuch as we have eternity before us. But, 
 whenever we do receive a great revelation, and 
 understand it, we should proceed at once to make 
 use of it in real life. 
 
 We must proceed, therefore, to make this reve- 
 lation a part of real life upon this planet from 
 this day on; and we know that there is nothing 
 more wonderful, or more inspiring than to meet 
 a human entity that is highly developed, filled 
 with the lofty, the marvelous and the sublime. 
 There is nothing upon this planet that is superior 
 to a real man or a real woman; and the experi- 
 ence of the Virgin Mary has given us the secret 
 through which such men and women may appear 
 
158 IN THE LIGHT OE THE SPIRIT 
 
 on this planet by the thousands, tens of thou- 
 sands, and by the millions. 
 
 Considering again, the true significance of the 
 second coming, we must remember that this com- 
 ing is never an external event, but an internal 
 and purely spiritual event; an event that trans- 
 pires again and again in the finer consciousness 
 of every highly developed soul. 
 
 The spirit of the Christ will come to you, in 
 your own soul, whenever you are spiritually 
 awakened, and lead you on and on, to greater 
 and greater heights, until you reach the power 
 and the splendor of the master state — when you 
 can say, in truth, "My Father and I are One" — 
 when you know that, "All that the Father hath 
 is mine" — and when your own life becomes so 
 wonderfully illumined by the glory of His pres- 
 ence, that your face will shine as the sun, and 
 your garments become white as the light. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUL 
 
 When we enter the innermost and uppermost 
 realms of the soul, we find a wonderful world 
 of peace, of joy, of light, of splendor — seemingly 
 apart from all other worlds in existence. And 
 it is a world wherein all things are always well. 
 This wonderful and sublime world has been 
 spoken of, by the illumined of all ages, as the 
 Secret Places of the Most High; and this is what 
 it is in truth. It is a secret place because when 
 you are in that world you are apart from all 
 else; you are free from all conditions and things; 
 you are alone with the Most High, in the glory 
 of His radiant presence. It is evident therefore 
 that when you are in that world you are where 
 all is always well. 
 
 The existence of this secret place is not known 
 to many; but it is something, concerning which, 
 all the world should know. Everybody should 
 know that there is a place somewhere in the up- 
 per regions of our own spiritual existence where 
 the ills of life can never enter, but into which we 
 may enter now, to-day, or at any time. And 
 
 159 
 
160 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 more, we may learn to live in that sublime state 
 almost continually, and thus gain the perfect free- 
 dom of the soul now, and realize, all through life, 
 the peace that passeth understanding. 
 
 This secret place is the abiding place of the 
 Most High in us ; it is that world of light within 
 our own soul existence where we may enter and 
 meet the Infinite face to face ; it is that transcend- 
 ent state of spiritual realization in which we al- 
 ways feel that God is closer than breathing, 
 nearer than hands and feet; it is that inner con- 
 sciousness of the singleness of all life wherein 
 we can say with the Master Mind, "My Father 
 and I are one" ; it is that exalted height of spir- 
 itual attainment where we behold, for the first 
 time, with our own vision, what God has pre- 
 pared for them that love Him; it is the kingdom 
 of heaven in us wherein the Christ reigns for- 
 evermore. 
 
 This secret place is not merely a place of which 
 we can speak during our lofty moments; it is a 
 place of which we can speak whenever the soul 
 looks unto the heights — a place to which we may 
 go whenever we feel the need of God. And all 
 consecrated souls feel the need of God every mo- 
 ment of every day. For it is the truth that with- 
 out God no moment can be complete — no hour can 
 be what the highest and best holds in store. It 
 is only when God is taken into the life of every 
 
•IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUL 161 
 
 moment — into the tangible activities of every 
 hour, that we can say that the best has come, 
 and that the greatest good possible to-day has 
 been realized. 
 
 The entire world should know of the existence 
 of this sublime state, because it is the one place 
 of refuge, of freedom, of peace. When we are 
 in this state we are absolutely free; we know 
 nothing of physical ills for we are where ills 
 can never enter. We are not affected by ex- 
 ternal conditions; nor do the coming or going 
 of things disturb us in the least. We are where 
 all is always well ; we are above everything that 
 is passing, that is temporal, that is imperfect, that 
 is wrong. We are where God is ; and while there 
 with Him, in the secret places, we can truthfully 
 say, "It is well, it is well, with the soul." 
 
 But it is not only well with the soul when we 
 are there in that wonderful, beautiful world. It 
 is also well with all else in our world, internal and 
 external. For here we must know a great truth. 
 It is this, that when we enter where all is well 
 we cause things to become well, not only in tho 
 soul, but also in body and mind. When we en- 
 ter where pain can never come, w T e cause all pain 
 to cease throughout our entire being, physical, 
 mental and spiritual. When we enter where 
 there is always perfect freedom, we secure at the 
 same time complete emancipation from all 
 
162 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 wrongs and ills in our state of existence. When 
 we enter where all is wholeness and purity, we 
 cause all things to become whole and pure in us 
 — in body, mind and soul at the self-same mo- 
 ment. For the truth is that we cause all things 
 in our own world to become as we are ; therefore, 
 all will be well with all things in our world when 
 we are in the secret places, because in these places 
 all is always well. 
 
 How important therefore that all mankind 
 should learn to enter this innermost and upper- 
 most realm of the soul. And what a change 
 would come over the world if all could know 
 how to enter this secret place whenever the need 
 or desire was present. It would mean the pass- 
 ing of all ills, and the coming of the Great Day — 
 the Day wherein every soul shall find rest, eman- 
 cipation and light. It would mean the coming 
 of the Golden Age — an age of which every 
 prophet has dreamed. And this age will come; 
 that dream will be realized ; but it will not come 
 through repeated attempts to change conditions 
 in the without; it will come when we learn to find 
 the kingdom within — when we learn to enter this 
 wonderful world in the soul where all is always 
 well. 
 
 However, we shall not give all our attention 
 to the dreams of the future, but rather consider 
 what we may realize in the present as we learn, 
 
IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUL 163 
 
 more and more perfectly, to enter these secret 
 places of the lofty within. Knowing that all is 
 always well within these secret places, we must 
 know that emancipation from every ill must fol- 
 low the very moment the gates for us swing ajar. 
 And as we pass within, and find ourselves in that 
 world of peace and light, we are free — free abso- 
 lutely in all things. None of "these things" 
 move us any more. We are not anxious about 
 anything, because we are where all is well; and 
 to be where all is well is to cause all things to 
 continue to be well. 
 
 In this realm we consider only that which is 
 good, and the good that is everywhere in a state 
 of becoming. We do not consider, in the least, 
 that which does not seem to be good; for the 
 truth is that while we are in the secret places, 
 there is nothing that does not appear good. We 
 see things from the upper side. We can see the 
 real. We see that upon which the eternal light 
 is ever shining. We do not see the shadow; nor 
 is it necessary that we should, for a shadow holds 
 nothing, is nothing, means nothing. In this up- 
 per realm we see the real, the true, the eternal; 
 and although we are aware of imperfections, they 
 are not imperfections to us ; they are simply roses 
 in the bud. Then why should we be anxious 
 or disturbed? Why should we doubt the com- 
 ing of the bloom, or try to force each individual 
 
164 IN THE LIGHT OE THE SPIRIT 
 
 flower to bloom in advance of its own time and 
 day? 
 
 The ways of the world, or the thoughts of the 
 world, do not affect you so long as you live in 
 the secret places ; for in these places all ways are 
 good ways, and all thoughts are in the image of 
 truth. You are in the right, living in the full 
 realization of that which is right ; you are in the 
 truth, thinking the truth ; and therefore the ways 
 and thoughts of the world can no more be where 
 you are than darkness can be where all is light. 
 Thus you are at peace, regardless of what the 
 world may think, say or do. 
 
 The coming or going of external possession 
 does not disturb you while your life is fixed on 
 high among the marvelous riches of the soul. 
 You have found the most precious and costly of 
 all precious things — you are in the consciousness 
 of the wealth untold, compared with which all 
 the riches in the world are mere trifles indeed. 
 Nor can you ever be disturbed by external places 
 or environments. You have found the secret 
 places of all that is good and beautiful and ideal ; 
 you have found the blessed abode of sublime ex- 
 istence; you have found the peace that passeth 
 understanding, and the contentment that is 
 deeper than the depth of the fathomless sea. 
 You have found that glorified state wherein your 
 soul delights forevermore, and therefore cannot 
 
IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUL 165 
 
 be downcast if external environments should fail 
 to please. the desires of sense. If those environ- 
 ments do please your senses, you are glad; but 
 if they do not please just now, you are not dis- 
 pleased in any form or manner. You have 
 found that which pleases infinitely more than all 
 the delights of the external world — you have 
 found the secret places — you have met Him face 
 to face, and you now live in the splendor and joy 
 of His glory. 
 
 We must remember, however, that although 
 we may live constantly in this sublime state of 
 peace — in this uppermost kingdom where all is 
 always well — we are not indifferent to things 
 about us, nor do we neglect the needs of others. 
 This wonderful meeting with God does not sep- 
 arate us from man; nor does this freedom from 
 the ills of the world take us away from our 
 spheres of helpfulness to mankind. The truth is 
 that after we have found that place where there 
 are no ills, we devote far more attention than 
 ever before to the gaining of the same emancipa- 
 tion for others. We are far more watchful of 
 the needs of others, but we are above their suffer- 
 ings and ills; we are not affected by their pains 
 or tribulations; we have taken higher ground; 
 we are living where pains can never come; we 
 have arisen from the lowlands of weakness and 
 ailment; we have gone up into the majestic 
 
166 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 heights of freedom and strength; and therefore 
 we are far more able than before to help those 
 who are still in bondage. And also, our desires 
 to help others to reach the same lofty places of 
 rest and peace, are infinitely stronger than in the 
 past. Thus we realize that whenever another 
 soul finds entrance into the secret places of the 
 Most High, a new savior has been given to the 
 world. 
 
 In considering this wonderful message for 
 daily use, the great truth to be always held in 
 mind is this that there is an upper realm in every 
 soul where all is always well., There is such a 
 realm in your own spiritual world ; and you may 
 enter at any time. You may live constantly, or 
 almost constantly, in that realm of peace and 
 freedom now while here upon this earth. In 
 that realm no ill can ever enter. Therefore, take 
 refuge there, and free yourself from suffering, 
 tribulations and pain. These do not belong to 
 you. Go where they are not. Live where you 
 will be above them. Depart from them even 
 now, and the moment you say to them, farewell, 
 they exist to you no more. 
 
 There is a sacred kingdom within us where all 
 is sweetly serene. It is a land of indescribable 
 delight, so far above the world of pain and 
 wrong, that the storms of unenlightened life can 
 never beat upon its fair elysian shore. It is the 
 
IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUL 167 
 
 paradise we long have sought. We must learn 
 to live there. All the world must learn to live 
 there. Then shall indeed the reign of peace and 
 righteousness come down upon the world, and 
 the glories of heaven shall cover the earth as the 
 waters cover the sea. 
 
 'And it must be so, for ills and wrongs can exist 
 only so long as we reproduce them. But when 
 we go and live where ills and wrongs can never 
 be, we shall neither produce them nor reproduce 
 them any more. Thus we shall have risen above 
 ills; we also shall have put out of existence those 
 conditions from which ills have sprung in the 
 past. We shall have gone from the world of 
 darkness, and with the same act given light to 
 all that world. 
 
 But how shall these things be? What must 
 we do that we may find the way to that sacred 
 realm of freedom, peace and joy? What secret 
 wisdom must we search and understand before 
 those gates will turn ajar? What must we be- 
 come, attain or achieve before our spiritual 
 strength becomes sufficient to scale those heights 
 of splendor, beyond whose brilliant glories this 
 world of light is found? 
 
 We must do much; we must do all that any 
 soul that is sincere can ever do, if wc would al- 
 ways live beyond those heights, and thus abide 
 forever where all is always well. But now, even 
 
168 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 before we have attained to that majestic state of 
 wisdom, light and power where we can rise at 
 will to those supernal heights, we may step in 
 beyond the gates, and feel the joy, the peace, the 
 life, the bliss that this fair kingdom holds in 
 store. And all we needs must do is simply this, 
 to know that this most sacred realm is here 
 within the spirit of us all. 
 
 Know that the secret places are within the 
 highest spirit of your soul, and you have found 
 the way. But there must be no doubt — never 
 the least shadow of a doubt. If there be doubt 
 the knowing is not complete; and knowing is not 
 knowing unless it is complete. Know therefore 
 that there is a world within you where all is al- 
 ways well, and you have found the key that can 
 unlock the gate. Henceforth, you may, at any 
 time, take refuge there within the soul, where ills 
 and pains can never come — where grief and 
 wrong can never enter — where sins and tribula- 
 tions are as naught. 
 
 The only barriers to that fair kingdom are 
 made of mental states that do not know. There- 
 fore, to him who knows, and knows so deeply and 
 so well that doubt has ceased to be, such barriers 
 are no more. To him the way is cleared; the 
 gates are wide ajar; and he may go and come 
 according to his will. 
 
 The first great truth that we must know is this, 
 
IT IS WELL WITH THE SOUU 169 
 
 that all is possible when we know. And the sec- 
 ond is akin to this, declaring with conviction and 
 with power, that all things are truly possible, 
 even now. The only obstacle in the world is 
 doubt ; the only barrier is not to know. It is only 
 doubt and mental darkness that holds the human 
 race in weakness, and that causes man to live in 
 limitations. These therefore must be put away; 
 and when they are, the soul of man shall rise to 
 greater heights and richer splendors than even 
 seers have seen before. The visions of the 
 prophets shall be surpassed, and the highest re- 
 gions of life that thought has ever pictured for 
 the future goal of man, shall prove to be no more 
 than early steps in the soul's triumphant flight. 
 
 It is when we know that we know the way; 
 for when we know, it is then we are in the light ; 
 and he who is in the light can see most clearly 
 where to go, and how and when. Know there- 
 fore that there is a sacred realm within where all 
 is always well, and you shall see the way. It 
 is this knowing that has given you the light ; and 
 he who has the light will need no further guid- 
 ance. 
 
 Wherever we may be today, this message 
 should be taken to the heart, and made a part of 
 life. For it is true that man can even now be 
 free; there is a realm within his soul where free- 
 dom is and ever more shall be. And every soul, 
 
170 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 by knowing this, can enter there today. It is 
 what all the world should know. It is a message 
 we should all proclaim — declaring with convic- 
 tion and with power — there is a realm within us 
 all where all is always well. It is the secret 
 places where God abides in man, and where we 
 meet Him face to face. It is where God and man 
 commune in spirit and in truth — where all that 
 is in God is given unto man — where the soul 
 comes forth in wisdom and in glory, knowing 
 that the human is divine. And that which is 
 divine must needs have peace and joy and free- 
 dom evermore. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 
 
 We have learned much concerning the subjec- 
 tive, or the subconscious — that immense world 
 of mentality that lies beneath the waking con- 
 sciousness of man ; but we have not learned much 
 concerning the superconscious — that far greater 
 world of mentality that is above the usual or 
 waking consciousness of man. And although 
 the subconscious is a great marvel, the greatest 
 marvel known to science, still the superconscious 
 is a far greater marvel — in truth, so great that it 
 is beyond the reach and comprehension of modern 
 science. It is only those minds therefore that 
 are highly developed in spiritual or transcenden- 
 tal consciousness, and who can clearly discern 
 the higher and finer things, that can reach and 
 comprehend the superconscious. And to these 
 minds, this upper realm in the mental world is 
 marvelous indeed, far beyond the power of words 
 to describe. 
 
 If we would know more of the superconscious, 
 we must develop greater spirituality and train 
 our own minds in higher and finer lines of 
 
 171 
 
172 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 thought; for the superconscious is a world that 
 those alone can appreciate who can go up among 
 its indescribable wonders and see for themselves. 
 But regardless of this fact, there is much that can 
 be said, concerning the superconscious, that will 
 be intelligible to all minds who live more or less 
 on the borderland of the spiritual world. 
 
 To state something definite concerning this 
 upper world of the mind of man, it is well, at the 
 outset, to make a general comparison between 
 the superconscious and the other two fields of 
 consciousness ; that is, the conscious and the sub- 
 conscious. And here we must remember that 
 there are three fields of consciousness in the whole 
 mind of man. The first is the conscious, that 
 field in which the mind functions during its 
 usual waking activities. The second is the sub- 
 conscious, that field into which the mind enters 
 more or less during the waking state, whenever 
 thought or feeling is deep, and into which the 
 mind enters completely during normal sleep. 
 The third is the superconscious, that field into 
 which the mind enters when it takes wings, so to 
 speak, and ascends to the upper realms of the 
 wonderful mental world. 
 
 Whenever our thoughts are very high, and 
 we feel that the mind is sailing about among the 
 glories and splendors of empyrean heights, we 
 have, for the time being, gone up into the super- 
 
THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 173 
 
 conscious. In truth, we are frequently very high 
 in the superconscious whenever we know that 
 we are in mental touch with the transcendent and 
 the sublime; and we are frequently lifted into 
 such realms by music that is truly of the soul. 
 We are also lifted into these realms by a number 
 of other things in life that tend to inspire the 
 mind towards the lofty, the beautiful, the ideal, 
 the noble, the majestic and the true. 
 
 In comparing these three phases of conscious- 
 ness we may liken the conscious mind to the mov- 
 ing billows on the surface of the sea — always in 
 action, but only on the surface. We may liken 
 the subconscious to the deep waters beneath the 
 surface of the sea ; and we may liken the super- 
 conscious to the vaulted sky above — seemingly 
 having limitations, yet being in reality so great 
 in height and so far-reaching in extent that no 
 limit, so far as we have gone, can possibly be 
 found. 
 
 From this illustration, even if taken literally, 
 we secure a clear idea of what a vast immensity 
 the superconscious world really is; but when 
 taken spiritually, with its internal meaning, which 
 we must to secure the true idea, it becomes 
 greater still; in truth, it is then we fully realize 
 that the superconscious is surely as high as the 
 heavens, and as limitless, in mental reach, as the 
 vastness of the vaulted blue. Accordingly, we 
 
174 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 conclude that the mind may reach out, farther 
 and farther, higher and higher, into this lofty, 
 expansive realm, and never reach its highest pos- 
 sibilities, or its greatest marvels. And con- 
 sciousness itself may be expanded perpetually 
 into the same wonderful vastness, and never 
 come to a place where it may not be expanded 
 still farther. This fact is extraordinary indeed, 
 but it becomes far more so when we remember 
 that all of these things are in the great within — 
 both the subconscious and the superconscious 
 exist in the great within, the one being beneath, 
 the other above; and the great within, with all 
 these astounding marvels, does exist in every in- 
 dividual mind. How this can be possible we 
 know when we begin to realize that direction in 
 the great within goes, not away from the center, 
 as it does in the great without, but towards the 
 center; and also that the center, in the great 
 within, is as far away from any given point as 
 the boundary line of the sky is from any point in 
 external space. But to understand this we must 
 have spiritual discernment; we must be able to 
 understand the inner meaning of things, and 
 comprehend the life of the inner world. And 
 when we do, these seemingly incomprehensible 
 marvels become as clear as the light of the day. 
 The fact that consciousness can be expanded 
 indefinitely into the great superconscious world 
 
THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 175 
 
 is of far-reaching value and interest ; and proves 
 conclusively that there is no end to the upward 
 and onward advancement of man; for the truth 
 is that the more we expand consciousness, the 
 larger the mind becomes, the greater our measure 
 of life and power becomes, and the richer and 
 more wonderful becomes the mental and spiritual 
 worlds in which we live. 
 
 We may live in a very interesting world to- 
 day — a world holding a thousand things of most 
 remarkable fascination ; and yet, we may, by sim- 
 ply expanding consciousness another measure 
 into the superconscious, find ourselves living in 
 a world many times as large and many times as 
 fascinating as the world we lived in the moment 
 before. In brief, where there were a thousand 
 wonders before, there would now be ten thou- 
 sand; and all of them would be far beyond the 
 most wonderful of anything known in the past. 
 
 It is well known that souls having the power 
 to enter frequently into the superconscious, meet 
 such experiences almost continually. At times 
 they live for days in the full consciousness of a 
 higher universe that can only be described as a 
 thousand wonderworlds blended into one. And 
 not infrequently they ascend to heights from 
 which they behold a sight so incredibly marvelous 
 that it can only be thought of as a million 
 thoroughfares extending from one end of the 
 
176 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 cosmos to the other, with all the splendors of the 
 most gorgeously described heavens, arrayed in 
 shining glory on every side. Thus we can 
 imagine what experiences such souls meet on their 
 "ten million mile" journeys through the inner 
 universes of the superconscious world. And our 
 interest in all these things will be heightened re- 
 markably when we learn that such experiences 
 are not imaginary, but are actual journeys of 
 consciousness in realms that have actual ex- 
 istence in the vastness of the superconscious 
 mind. 
 
 Considering the subject from the practical 
 viewpoint, we may employ another illustration 
 with a still further comparison of the three 
 phases of the mind. We may liken the con- 
 scious mind to the sower, the tiller of the soil in 
 the great mental garden; we may liken the sub- 
 conscious to the fertile soil in which every seed 
 is placed — where every seed, that is, everything 
 we think, say or do, is to grow, develop, multiply 
 itself, come forth and express itself in the outer 
 world of actual living and being. And we may 
 liken the superconscious to the sunlight from 
 above — that great power from higher realms 
 coming down upon the mental garden with its 
 warmth, its light and its life-giving elements, so 
 that every seed in the garden may grow freely 
 and develop into the full grown flower of under- 
 standing, character and spirituality. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 177 
 
 But here we must remember that if the con- 
 scious mind — the sower, does not make a wise se- 
 lection of seed, there will be thornbushes and 
 other objectionable growths in the mental gar- 
 den; because the subconscious gives its fertility 
 to every seed, and the superconscious gives its 
 light and life to every seed, be it good or other- 
 wise. It is highly important therefore that the 
 conscious mind, the tiller of the garden, be scien- 
 tific both in the art of seed-selection and culti- 
 vation. And it is unthinkable that any mind 
 should be negligent any more after learning what 
 marvelous powers and possibilities the subcon- 
 scious and superconscious hold in store. With 
 such extraordinary powers at our command — 
 powers that we can use and control as we will, 
 we positively can not give too much attention to 
 the science and art of thought selection and mind 
 cultivation* 
 
 From the illustration just given we realize, 
 first, that the conscious mind is always the sower 
 of the seed. The mind we use in our daily wide 
 awake experiences is the mind that selects the 
 seed and that places every selected seed in the 
 subconscious field. And as we are fully awake 
 when using the conscious mind, and have full 
 control over all its actions, we can select what- 
 ever seed we may desire, thereby determining ab- 
 solutely what we would reap — what we would be- 
 
178 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 come — what we would have for our future. We 
 realize, further, that since the subconscious is 
 the field in which every seed is placed to take 
 root, grow, develop and ripen, we must cultivate 
 that field both deeply and well. In brief, our 
 mental actions must not be on the surface only, 
 but must be deeply felt so that more and more 
 of the subconscious life and fertility is liberated 
 for the growth and development of every flower 
 in the garden. And all such mental actions must 
 be scientifically applied; that is, in perfect har- 
 mony with the laws of right thinking, so that the 
 cultivation of the subconscious may be accord- 
 ing to the highest art known in the field of true 
 mental culture. 
 
 We realize, finally, that it is from the super- 
 conscious that we receive the sunshine required 
 for the growth of this garden ; and therefore our 
 mental sky must be clear. The clouds of doubt, 
 fear, discontent, ignorance, misunderstanding 
 and materiality must be removed completely, so 
 that the great sun of truth may send its life- 
 giving rays upon every flower and tree growing 
 in this remarkable garden. And it is materiality 
 that is the heaviest cloud — that attitude of the 
 mind that closes all consciousness to the light 
 from above, and dwells only in the contempla- 
 tion of the earth, earthy. Such an attitude will 
 also cause the mind to direct its actions towards 
 
THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 179 
 
 the limitations of things and towards the lesser, 
 thereby turning all faculties and talents away 
 from the real light of wisdom from above. In 
 consequence, but very little of that light will be 
 received, and the mental garden will bring forth 
 but meagerly. 
 
 If we would receive the full light of the sun 
 of wisdom and truth, and thus expand our minds 
 perpetually in the realization of greater light in 
 all ways, we must turn the mind fully upon the 
 vastness of the superconscious world. We must 
 look up, look unto the hills, turn all thought to- 
 wards the high places, so that the strong light 
 from the great Eternal Sun may come upon us, 
 fully and directly, thereby giving us, not only its 
 sunshine and life-giving powers, but also its bril- 
 liancy and inspiring illumination. 
 
 In the field of attainment we find it most im- 
 portant to enter into closer and closer touch 
 with the superconscious, and to reach out con- 
 tinually into the brilliancy and the mental rich- 
 ness of that higher world. And the reason is 
 that it is from the superconscious that we re- 
 ceive our inspiration, our greatest thoughts, our 
 most brilliant ideas, our original concepts and 
 our higher understanding of truth. It is thus 
 evident that it is the mind that can go the far- 
 thest up into the superconscious that is the great- 
 est mind, the richest mind and the most inspired 
 mind. 
 
i8o IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 The mind that is in harmony with the super- 
 conscious, and that is turned fully towards the 
 light of truth from above, receives its thought 
 directly from the supreme fountain of truth; 
 such a mind therefore speaks as one having au- 
 thority; speaks as the prophet and the seer; 
 speaks as one who has seen the divine light with 
 his own awakened vision. And in the thought 
 of such a mind there is both depth and height, 
 and a superior quality that reveals most clearly 
 its higher source. 
 
 Therefore, we need never be mistaken as to the 
 source of anything that is expressed. And 
 whether it be expressed now, or was expressed 
 in the distant past, we may know whether or not 
 it has a higher source. If it comes from above, 
 through the marvelous superconscious world, the 
 thought expressed invariably reveals a higher 
 something that no one can mistake. It is in- 
 spired, for all inspiration comes through the 
 same channel — through the light and wisdom of 
 the superconscious. For this reason we cannot 
 give too much attention to our study of this upper 
 mental world. It holds untold possibilities, and 
 in every imaginable direction that the mind may 
 wish to reach out or develop. But a marked de- 
 gree of spiritual development, combined with the 
 mental discernment of the finer things in life, is 
 necessary before we can go very high in that 
 
THE SPIRITUAL BORDERLAND 181 
 
 world. These essentials, however, we all can 
 acquire; and when we secure them we shall be 
 able at any time to go, both far and high, into the 
 wonderworld of the superconscious ; for a won- 
 derwork! it is — in truth, ten million wonder- 
 worlds, each one more extensive and more mar- 
 velous than the one we passed through before. 
 Then who shall say that man, who is in posses- 
 sion of such a mind, is not created in the image 
 of the Most High? The truth is that when we 
 really know man we find that he is far more won- 
 derful than we ever could in the past imagine 
 God to be. And from this larger vision God 
 becomes infinitely more wonderful than we could 
 think before. But this vision shall become even 
 larger than it is now. Where then is the end? 
 And again we may ask, "Eternity, what has thou 
 in store for me?" 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 WHEN GOD SO WILLS 
 
 Your aspirations may be lofty and wonderful; 
 you may have begun to dream the great dream ; 
 you may feel tempted to wish for everything con- 
 ceivable; you may feel an irresistible desire to 
 pray for the very highest that the soul can dis- 
 cern. And if so, you have seen the vision. You 
 are no longer living with mere man. You have 
 become a friend and companion of the gods. 
 
 This you know ; but what of the future ? Will 
 your prayers be answered ? Will your innumer- 
 able wishes come true? Or, will your only re- 
 ward be in this, that you have had your dream. 
 Sometimes you may think that this is all; but 
 during your lofty and inspired moments you think 
 differently. Something seems to speak to the 
 soul at such moments; and in answer to your 
 questioning mind, the Voice seems to say, "When 
 God So Wills." 
 
 You may not be able, however, to find the 
 secret interpretation of that wonderful state- 
 ment, and therefore may continue to hover be- 
 tween faith and doubt as to your realization for 
 
 182 
 
WHEN GOD SO WILLS 183 
 
 the future. But you cannot give up your lofty 
 aspirations. Regardless of adversity or fate, 
 you will continue to cling to the clouds; you will 
 continue to reach out, in every conceivable mode 
 and manner, for that invisible sublime something 
 that you feel you must have — that alone can sat- 
 isfy. You have taken the upper pathway, and 
 you cannot, would not, return — not for every- 
 thing that the world might offer or contain. 
 
 These are your convictions; and yet you feel 
 that you should receive everything that the world 
 can give; you almost feel it is your privilege to 
 wish for everything — everything in the visible 
 life and everything in the spiritual life. And 
 indeed, why not? That all is not too much for 
 those who have become companions of the gods. 
 Surely there can be neither restrictions nor lim- 
 itations upon the upper pathway. 
 
 In your personal effort to live life as it should 
 be lived, you meet many things that seem neces- 
 sary, not only among higher things, but also 
 among material things; and when obstacles in- 
 tervene so that these things seem to pass out of 
 your world forever, you may think that you have 
 wished for that which was not best ; and although 
 the passing of these ideals may cause your life, 
 for a time, to be nothing more than a desert of 
 distressing emotions, nevertheless you decide, 
 sooner or later, that you will leave it all to God. 
 
184 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 You are on the upper pathway and cannot become 
 wholly disheartened. Even when the clouds on 
 every hand are black and heavy, you know that 
 the light is shining above. You- have seen the 
 vision. You still have your wonderful dream. 
 
 There is much pleasure in this fact ; more than 
 that, it is a rare privilege; but your mind will 
 question again and again if dreams were not 
 made to come true. Therefore, when you see 
 passing out of your world those very things that 
 you wanted more than all else, should you give 
 up hope? Could it be possible that God might 
 will to bring all those things back to you at an- 
 other and a better time. 
 
 You know that nothing is impossible; never- 
 theless, what assurance do you have that the fu- 
 ture will smile sweetly upon your every wish and 
 desire. When things are gone, they seem to be 
 gone forever ; when you cannot, at present, have 
 what you want, you can only try to be strong, 
 and send up to the heavens some other prayer. 
 When obstacles intervene that seem to be insur- 
 mountable, what are you to do but try to find 
 peace and joy and love some other way? 
 
 These may be your thoughts; but are you 
 wholly right in this regard? Is it not true that 
 everything you have wished for shall come to you 
 when God so wills? And might it not be possi- 
 ble that God is waiting to will you everything, 
 
WHEN GOD SO WILLS 185 
 
 provided you will prove that you merit every- 
 thing. 
 
 Again, is it not true that you can, through your 
 own faith and life, cause the Supreme to come 
 on your side — not on your side against someone 
 else, but on your side for everything that you 
 have wished for and prayed for. And when the 
 Supreme is on your side, is there anything that 
 can prevent your dream from coming true ? 
 
 When God declares that "this" shall come to 
 pass, then the great Word will be spoken; and 
 when the limitless power of the Word comes 
 forth, is there anything that can stand in the 
 way? Indeed, difficulties, confusions, misunder- 
 standings, complexities and unthinkable obsta- 
 cles may seem to intervene, but what are these 
 before the invincible onrush of Higher Power? 
 
 We imagine that we may as well cease our 
 prayer when all hope seems to be gone ; but why 
 judge according to the seeming? It is not a mat- 
 ter of whether there is much hope or no hope. 
 .Your prayer will be answered when God so wills ; 
 and God is waiting for you to be worthy of your 
 prayer. 
 
 The very thing that you desire may be on the 
 other side of the earth; but the Supreme is every- 
 where. Higher Power can, at any time, bring 
 about a series of events that will cause you and 
 that which you desire to meet face to face. The 
 
186 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 hand of God may work mysteriously, but when it 
 is decreed that certain things shall come to pass, 
 they will come to pass, regardless of circum- 
 stances or fate. 
 
 tYour dream may seem impossible to-day; but 
 to-morrow everything may be changed in your 
 favor. Your own deeds, your own thoughts or 
 your own life may have wrought those changes, 
 and because you were true to your prayer; you 
 continued in the faith ; you paid heed to the guid- 
 ance of the Voice ; you placed yourself in accord 
 with Higher Power; you were prepared to act 
 when God so wills. 
 
 But it is not the Supreme that decides what 
 God is to will for you; it is you, yourself, that de- 
 cides all these things. It is your own soul that 
 writes upon the book of destiny, and decrees 
 therein what shall come to pass; and when you 
 have proven that you are worthy of that which 
 was written, then your prayer will be answered. 
 The Great Word will be spoken for you. Higher 
 Power will appear upon the scene and utterly 
 banish every obstacle or adversary. Then what 
 you wanted will become your own, and what you 
 saw in the heavens will come to dwell upon 
 earth. 
 
 There is no longer occasion, therefore, to 
 hover between faith and doubt, or to think that 
 you have prayed for that which was not best. If 
 
WHEN GOD SO WILLS 187 
 
 you feel in your own soul that your dearest wish 
 was inspired, and that it should be realized, then 
 live in the faith. God will find a way. God can 
 do everything, even to change the minds of every 
 entity upon earth. God will answer your prayer, 
 if you really want the answer, and prove that you 
 are worthy of that prayer. 
 
 God is your God, and will serve you in every 
 conceivable manner; but you must decide what 
 you wish to have done; and you must, without 
 fail, be as great, as good and as wonderful as 
 your wish. Continue therefore to dream the 
 great dream — to wish for everything conceivable 
 — to pray for the very highest that the soul can 
 know. 
 
 When God so wills, then everything shall come 
 to pass; and God wills everything to those who 
 make themselves worthy of everything. This is 
 the principle and the law; but we need not wait 
 for the distant future to fulfill this extraordinary 
 law; for indeed, the soul, being limitless in power 
 and possibility, can so live in the great eternal 
 now that personal existence may deserve and 
 merit everything now. What the vision may 
 reveal in the present, that very thing our own 
 inherent power, working with God, can make 
 real in the present. Therefore, we all may re- 
 joice with infinite joy; we are on the upper path- 
 way, and may, at any time, find that greatest 
 
188 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 something which we have longed for, prayed for, 
 lived for — when God so wills. And God does 
 not live in the future, but in the never-ending 
 present. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 REGIONS OF INFINITE REPOSE 
 
 There is a wonderful realm somewhere in the 
 upper regions of spiritual consciousness, far be- 
 yond the ever-moving thoughts and feelings of 
 man, where silence is absolute and eternal ; where 
 the soul can be still and know ; and in this won- 
 derful realm all life abides in a luminous state 
 of unending repose. 
 
 To find this charmed state or region — this is 
 ever the purpose of those who have taken higher 
 ground — those who have discerned the nearness 
 of the spiritual calm, and who have felt, during 
 exalted moments, the presence of the peace that 
 passeth all thought and speech. And they who 
 seek shall always find, even though it be not un- 
 til the eleventh hour. 
 
 In the finer and the higher worlds of soul and 
 spirit there are no disappointments. No effort 
 is in vain. Every endeavor brings its full and 
 expected consequence. Every desire and prayer 
 is granted. Every dream and vision is fulfilled 
 to the uttermost. Therefore, they who are in 
 search of the wonderful realm of unending re- 
 
 189 
 
190 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 pose shall, at the right time, find the goal of their 
 heart's desire. 
 
 There are so many states and regions within 
 the vastness of this wonderful realm; and the 
 higher we go, the greater becomes the stillness 
 and the calm, until we reach the sublime heights 
 of spiritual being — there we find the very soul 
 of Silence — the apex of infinite repose. 
 
 We may realize many varying stages or con- 
 ditions of stillness, and experience states of se- 
 renity that are very deep and very high; but all 
 of these may merely give peace and rest to mind 
 and personality — nothing more, although peace 
 and rest in full measure have value beyond com- 
 putation. When we approach the sublime 
 heights of stillness, however, we find more than 
 merely peace and rest; we also find light and 
 power. 
 
 The mind of the greatest wisdom is the mind 
 that is forever still — the mind that is so com- 
 pletely in the light of the spirit that no effort is 
 required to think or know. Such a mind is il- 
 lumined with the light that is all of The Light — 
 the light that does not shine forth through action, 
 but that abides in the perfect calm — in the lumin- 
 ous states of unending repose. 
 
 The mind of the greatest power is the mind 
 that can remain for all time in that wonderful 
 realm where silence is absolute and eternal. To 
 
REGIONS OF INFINITE REPOSE 191 
 
 be alive and at the same time to be still — abso- 
 lutely still in thought, feeling and consciousness 
 — that is the secret of power. And the longer 
 the mind can continue in absolute stillness, while 
 being fully and tremendously alive, the greater 
 becomes the power, until the soul becomes a spir- 
 itual giant. 
 
 They who would find the path to the greatest 
 and the most wonderful that man can become or 
 attain, will remember that the gates ajar are 
 these: To increase the measure of life and to 
 deepen the realization of stillness — the life more 
 abundant and ever more abundant, and constant 
 approach towards the soul of the Silence — these 
 are the gates that open upon the wonderful path- 
 way. 
 
 The higher we go in the realization of the One 
 Life and the soul of the Silence, the greater be- 
 comes our wisdom and power. The more com- 
 pletely we can live ; and the more deeply we can 
 feel the spirit that is ever still the higher we rise 
 in the scale, and the more wonderful we become 
 in everything that pertains to human worth and 
 spiritual attainment. 
 
 Thus we may go higher and higher in the 
 realization of life and the realization of stillness, 
 until we enter the soul of the Silence, the deep- 
 est and highest conceivable state of Silence — 
 where life is so absolutely still that being abides 
 
IQ2 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 upon the very heights of unending repose — the 
 apex of infinite repose. And in that most lofty 
 realm we find the all wisdom and the all power. 
 
 The deeper and the higher the silence of a liv- 
 ing soul, the greater the power. Therefore, 
 when the soul abides in the deepest and the high- 
 est silence, the all power is inevitably realized. 
 In like manner, the all wisdom. Life is not 
 merely in touch with the One Source, but actually 
 abides in the One Source. Hence, infinite re- 
 pose, for the One Source is forever still, being 
 within itself the all in all. 
 
 It is only limitation that calls forth effort — ef- 
 fort to overcome limitation and enter the bound- 
 less. That which lives in part must work to live 
 more so as to finally live the all. But that which 
 does live the all can abide forever in perfect re- 
 pose. And the One Source does live the all. 
 Likewise, the soul. The personal man lives only 
 in part; therefore, must work and express ef- 
 fort. But the soul lives the all, and need not 
 express effort. The soul can be still and know. 
 The soul can enjoy the ecstasy of unending re- 
 pose. The soul can, now and f orevermore, abide 
 at the very apex of infinite repose. And you are 
 the soul. 
 
 To know that you are the soul, living in the 
 upper regions of that wonderful realm, and that 
 the personal man can, during moments of pause 
 
REGIONS OF INFINITE REPOSE 193 
 
 and serenity, draw so near to those upper regions 
 that consciousness can actually touch the hem 
 of the pure white garment of peace — the peace 
 that passeth understanding — and for the moment 
 partake of the same infinite repose — what a joy 
 and a privilege. And when the personal man 
 will learn to take advantage of that sublime privi- 
 lege, the days of weariness and sadness will have 
 gone forever. 
 
 Whatever may transpire in the outer world, 
 there is no need of sorrow or despair. Far be- 
 yond the ever-moving thoughts and feelings of 
 man there is a realm where all is still, and where 
 all is forever well. Consciousness may go for 
 rest and refuge at any time to that wonderful 
 realm on high, and abide there for a season with 
 the soul. 
 
 And when consciousness returns to its work 
 in the outer world, it will return illumined with 
 wisdom and clothed with power. For, indeed, 
 the soul lives in the very spirit of the One Source ; 
 and, therefore, one moment with the soul, and all 
 is well. Consciousness is thus prepared for any 
 life, for any fate ; and the personal man may re- 
 sume his divine mission upon earth. 
 
 In due time that mission will be fulfilled ; and 
 consciousness will arise to abide for ages and 
 aeons with the soul — abide in the very life of the 
 Silence, the Silence of sublime and luminous 
 
194 IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 heights — abide in the glory and the ecstasy of in- 
 finite repose — that repose that contains within 
 itself the fullness of all life, all wisdom, all light, 
 all power, all joy — the unending peace of God. 
 
 THE END 
 
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