Attaining Your Desires by Letting Your Subconscious Mind Work for You

Genevieve Behrend’s Attaining Your Desires by Letting Your Subconscious Mind Work for You is a magical book that conveys to us the method of scientific right thinking and compels us to use it to think only of those things you wish to see crystallized in a worthy achievement. To grasp and comprehend each thought completely, you need to think rationally and effectively on every word. It is very easy reading, very tightly written, and very enlightening. While many teachers remind us that we have the power to change our lives, few of them explain it as clearly as this book does.

–Harrison

Attainning Your Desires

by Letting Your Subconscious Mind Work for You

By Genevieve Behrend

DEDICATION

“There shall never one lost good! What was, shall live as before.”

–Browning.

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it. That which hath been is now; and that which is no be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

–Ecclesiastics 3:14.15

These pages, the outpouring of a full heart, I lay reverently upon the memory alter of a man who was sage and saint, teacher and guide, and my dearly beloved friend, Judge T. Troward.

FOREWORD

“All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist, not its semblance, but itself.” Browning.

The thing that which hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done.

Ecclesiastes 1:9.

The sages of the centuries, each one tincturing their thought with their own soul essence, have united in telling us that, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” It has been established by the experience of the ages that always the law is the same. But HOW shall one think in their heart, so that only goodness may blossom and ripen into rich deed and rare result? What is the apparently mysterious secret by which life’s dull metal is transmuted into precious mintage?

It is my purpose to tell you in this little book. I desire to crystallize the heart-coinings of my revered master, Judge Thomas T. Troward, as reflected through the mirror of my mind and soul. I have adopted as my means of expression, the dialogue style, familiar to all students of that greatest of all speculative philosophers, Plato. I am convinced, through years of study of this almost superhuman mind, that this literary form is the one most nearly calculated to convey the most subtle shades of meaning, the richest depth of soul-sounding. I know that my readers will agree with me that if they will put themselves in my place, as students, and let me answer them as my master answered me, it will clarify their interest and intensify their joy in these lessons.

What I wish particularly to convey to you within these pages is the method of scientific right thinking, and to awaken in you the desire to try to use this method in order to form the habit of thinking ONLY the thoughts you wish to see crystallized in a worthy achievement or result. In addition, I want to direct your thoughts toward a better understanding of that Spirit of God, or Good, which points the way to the roseate dawn of a new civilization. The rapidity with which the ideas of man are changing causes humanity to realize that this new civilization is already manifesting itself through a clearer understanding of the relation between man and his Maker.

The epochal keynote of the present generation is that mind is the kingdom in which man reigns supreme. As the poet says, “A brute I might have been, but I would not sink I’ the scale.”

In endeavoring to make conscious use of thought-power, causing it to produce desired material results, mankind is beginning to understand the indispensability of absolute control.

My chief idea in sending forth this message is to make it easier for you to live in hourly consciousness that you have been given dominion over every adverse circumstance and condition which may arise. The conscious use of the creative power of thought to protect and guide you, as well as to provide for you, is only attainable through understanding the “natural relations between mental action and material conditions.”

Your reading of these lessons should be with a steadfast determination to think rationally and effectively on every word, in order that the full meaning of each thought may be thoroughly grasped and comprehended. Thought-power is the kingdom of God in us, always creating results in our physical forms corresponding to our normal sustained thought. As Troward has said, “Thought is the only action of the mind. By your habitual thoughts you create corresponding external physical conditions, because you thereby create the nucleus which attracts to itself its own correspondence, in due order, until the finished work is manifested on the material plane.” This is the principle upon which we shall proceed to work out a simple and rational basis of thought and action whereby we may bring into outer expression any desired goal. Let us work together to this end.

G.B.

TROWARD.

PHILOSOPHER AND SAGE

One of the really great minds and souls of modern times – and indeed of any time – was Thomas Troward, late Divisional Judge of the Punjab, India. Of his writings, the late William James of Harvard said, “Far and away the ablest statement of that psychology that I have ever met, beautiful in its sustained clearness of thought and style, a really classic statement.” The Boston Transcript editorially stated, “The author reveals himself as easily the profoundest thinker we have ever met on this subject.” The late Archdeacon Wilberforce, when writing to Troward, signed himself, “Your grateful pupil.”

Responding to the many requests from Troward’s friends and admirers for a more intimate glimpse of this great man, I am pleased to present to you a few phases of his daily life as I saw them while studying with him. These may be all the more interesting because of the fact that I enjoyed the unique privilege of being the only pupil to whom he ever gave personal instruction.

The Early Life of a Genius.

Thomas Troward was born in Ceylon, India, in the year 1847, of English parents and Huguenot ancestors. When quite a young boy he was sent to England to be educated at Burmshtead Grammar School, but was most unhappy there, as he could not fully adapt himself to the humdrum life of the English schoolboy. Later on, when he continued his education in the beautiful Isle of Jersey, its charm entered into his blood, and he was thoroughly contented there. Perhaps the old Huguenot strain in him found a congenial element in the semi-French environment of the college. At the early age of eighteen the natural bent of his mind began to assert itself, and he won the Helford College gold medal for literature.

When his studies were completed, Troward went up to London for the Indian Civil Service examination, a very stiff one, which he passed with high credit. He returned to India at the age of twenty-two in the capacity of Assistant Commissioner. An incident which occurred during the course of his examination foreshadowed the trend of the life that was to replace the regulation judicial career when the twenty-five years of service had expired.

“Your Head Is No Common One, Young Man”

One of the subjects, left for the end of the examination, was metaphysics. Troward was quite unprepared for this, having had no time for research and no knowledge of what books to read on the subject, so he meditated upon it in the early hours of the morning, and filled in the paper with his own speculations. The examiner, on reading it, was amazed, and asked “What text-book did you use for this paper?” “I had no text-book sir.” Troward answered. “I wrote it out of my head.” “Well, then, young man,” was the examiner’s comment, “your head is no common one, and if I am not mistaken, we shall hear from you again.”

During Troward’s career in India his official work kept him very busy. His recreation was often spent with canvas, paints and brushes. He was an artist of no mean ability, especially in marine subjects, and had won several prizes at art exhibits in England. He loved to study the tombs of sacred Indian lore, or the scriptures of the Hebrews and of other ancient peoples. While studying these profound subjects, there was unfolded to him, as in a vision, a system of philosophy which carried with it not only peace of mind, but also physical results in health and happiness.

When relieved of his burdensome official duties in the Indian Court, he returned to England, where a manuscript of some hundred folios slowly came into existence. At that time he had no knowledge of Mental Science, Christian Science, New Thought, or any of the “isms” of modern thought. His views were the result of solitary meditation and a deep study of the scriptures. The first edition of the now famous “Edinburgh Lectures” was published in 1904. It was received with the almost unanimous opinion that its value could not be over-estimated, as was true of his subsequent volumes. “Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning” proved especially attractive to churchmen. His books, by sheer worth, have found their way almost all over the world. In the United States alone, more than 50,000 copies have been sold. Perhaps no one was more astonished at their warm reception than their simple-hearted, fun-loving author.

An Intimate Description

In physique Judge Troward was not the usual English type, but was more like a Frenchman, of medium stature, and not over five feet six or seven inches. He was dark complexioned, with small, bright eyes, a large nose, and a broad forehead. When I knew him, he had a drooping mustache sprinkled with grey. He had the bearing of a student and a thinker, as is indicated in his writings.

His manner was simple and natural, and he exemplified a spirit of moderation in all things. I never saw him impatient or heard him express an unkind word, and with his family he was always gentle and considerate. He seemed to depend entirely upon Mrs. Troward for the household management. Only in the intimacy of his home did he entirely reveal his charming geniality and radiating friendship. His after-dinner manner was one of quiet levity and a twinkling humor. He would enter into the conversations or parlor games of the family with the spirit of a boy. He did not care for public amusements.

One evening, after an excellent dinner of soup, joint of lamb, vegetables, salad, dessert, and wine, he rolled a cigarette, and, to my great surprise, offered it to me with the query, “Do you smoke?” Receiving a negative reply, he began to smoke it himself. Noticing my poorly concealed expression of surprise, he remarked, “Why should you be shocked at anything which you can thank God for? I can thank God for one cigarette after, possibly a second, but never a third.” After he had finished his smoke, his youngest daughter, Budeia, played the violin for us. I observed that he became completely absorbed in the beautiful harmony. He told me afterwards that, although he was intensely fond of listening to music, he was in no sense a musician.

Although Troward did not indulge in outdoor sports, he loved nature, and would sit for hours by the sea with his sketch-book, or tramp the lonely moors in solitary meditation. He said there were times when he obtained his best inspirations while walking in the open. He often invited me to go with him, although frequently he seemed to be unconscious of my presence, being entirely absorbed in his own thoughts.

Truth from the Trance

At times he would lapse into a trancelike swoon (his Maltese cat on the table by his side), the swoon sometimes lasting for hours. At such times the members of his family would take particular care not to disturb him. When he emerged from these lapses of the senses, he would write down the truths which had been revealed to him. Once he wrote on his memorandum pad, ” ‘I AM’ is the word of power. If you think your thought is powerful, your thought is powerful.”

It may be interesting to recall that such authorities as Barnett and the new American Encyclopedia, in their biography of Socrates, mention similar trancelike experiences of his. While serving in the Greek army, Socrates suddenly found his feet seemingly rooted to the earth, where he remained in a trance for twenty-four hours. He awakened with a spiritual knowledge that transformed his life, and, later, the lives of many others. The similarity of the life of this Athenian philosopher to that of Troward is that both relied chiefly upon intuition and common sense for their theory and system of living.

A difference between Troward’s teaching and that of Christian Science is that he does not deny the existence of a material world. On the contrary, he teaches that all physical existence is a concrete corresponding manifestation of the thought which gave it birth. One is a complement of the other.

I once asked him how one could impart to others the deep truths which he taught. “By being them,” he answered. “My motto is, ‘Being, and not possessing, is the great joy of living.'”

Following a Trusted Guide

Judge Troward, although modest and retiring in his habits of speech and slow to express a personal opinion, was always willing to discuss any current subject, but extremely reticent and diffident about his own writings. Never, to my knowledge, did he mention them unless approached on the subject. As a teacher, he was positive, direct, and always impersonal. When our lesson was given indoors, he always sat in a large morris chair, and, seeming not to be aware of my presence, he would think aloud. To follow his thought was like following a trusted guide through the most difficult places, the darkest and least explored regions of thought. As I followed, the personality of the man became obscure, and I was only conscious of the clear, commanding voice, and the light of the inward torch which he bore. It was beyond doubt quite natural that he who made so clear the true meaning of individuality should in his teaching betray little of the personal or emotional element.

After I had been carefully guided to the most comforting conclusions, in the same quiet, unassuming manner as in the beginning of our mental journey, my guide would gently remind me that he had given me a few suggestions which I might follow if I felt inclined, but which were offered only in the friendly spirit of a fellow-traveler. He always tried to impress upon me that every effort to accomplish mental control (which, in turn, meant control of circumstances) should be undertaken with absolute confidence of success.

The length of a lesson depended upon my ability to absorb what he was telling me. If he were convinced in fifteen or thirty minutes that I understood quite naturally the reason why, for example, “If a thing is true.” There is a way in which it is true,” that lesson was concluded. If it took me an hour or more to get into the spirit of his thought, the lesson was prolonged. At the end of a lesson he would quietly remark, “Never forget that ‘seeking’ has ‘finding’ as its correlative: ‘knocking,’ ‘opening.'” With this reassuring statement, he would light his lantern and step into the denseness of the night to walk three miles to his home.

A Home-Loving Philosopher

Being a home-loving man, Troward delighted in his flower garden, and in the intimacy of his home, which he had provided with every comfort. He particularly enjoyed the seclusion of his studio and study, which were arranged to meet his personal needs and moods. His studio was in the most remote part of the house, and here he would spend hours of relaxation with canvas and paints. His study, however, was on the ground floor, and to it he would retire for meditation and research, usually in the early hours of the morning. He rarely worked at night.

He had spent the greater part of the day he died sketching out of doors. When he did not join his family at the dinner hour, Mrs. Troward went in search of him. She found him in his studio, fully dressed, lying on the sofa in a state of physical collapse. About an hour later he passed away. The doctor said that death was caused by hemorrhage of the brain. I am sure that Troward would have said, “I am simply passing from the limited to the unlimited.” He died on May 16th, 1916, in his sixty-ninth year, on the same day that Archdeacon Wilberforce was laid at rest in Westminster Abbey. It was no ordinary link that bound these two men, as you will note in the reproduction of the letter that follows, Troward’s last letter to me.

Thomas Troward regarded death very much as he would regard traveling from one country to another. He remarked to me several times, that he was interested in the life beyond and was ready to go. His only concern seemed to be the sorrow that it would cause his wife and family. When the time came, his going was exactly what he would have wished it to be. I hope that these few intimate touches will give to Troward’s friends and admirers the information they desire concerning him. I will add a more personal touch for you by presenting herein one of his first letters to me with facsimile of his handwriting.

31 Stanwick Rd.,

West Kensington,

8th Nov. 1912

Dear Mrs. Swink,

I think I had better write you a few lines with regard to your proposed studies with me as I should be sorry for you to be under any misapprehension and so to suffer any disappointment.

I have studied the subject now for several years, and have a general acquaintance with the leading features of most of the systems which unfortunately occupy attention in many circles at the present time, such as Theosophy, the Tarot, the Kabala, and the like, and I have no hesitation in saying that to the best of my judgment all sorts and descriptions of so-called occult study are in direct opposition to the real Life-giving Truth; and therefore you must not expect any teaching on such lines as these. We hear a great deal in these days about “Initiation”; but, believe me, the more you try to become a so-called “Initiate” the further you will put yourself from Living Life. I speak after many years of careful study and consideration when I say that the Bible and its Revelation of Christ is the one thing really worth studying, and that is a subject large enough in all conscience, embracing as it does our outward life of everyday concerns, and also the inner springs of our life and all that we can in general terms conceive of the life in the unseen after putting off the body at death.

You have expressed a very great degree of confidence in my teaching, and if your confidence is such that you wish, as you say, to put yourself entirely under my guidance I can only accept it as a very serious responsibility, and should have to ask you to exhibit that confidence by refusing to look into such so-called “mysteries” as I would forbid you to look into. I am speaking from experience; but the result will be that much of my teaching will appear to be very simple, perhaps to some extent dogmatic, and you will say you had heard much of it before. Faith in God, Prayer and Worship, Approach to the Father through Christ –all this is in a certain sense familiar to you; and all I can hope to do is perhaps to throw a little more light on these subjects, so that they become to you, not merely traditional words, but present living facts. I have been thus explicit, as I do not want you to have any disappointment; and also I should say that our so-called “studies” will be only friendly conversations at such times as we can fit them in, either you coming to our house or I to yours as may be most convenient at the time. Also I will lend you some books which will be helpful, but they are very few and in no sense “occult.”

Now if all this falls in with your own ideas, we shall, I am sure, be very glad to see you at Ruan Manor, and you will find that the residents there, though few, are very friendly and the neighborhood is pretty. But on the other hand if you feel that you want some other sort of learning, do not mind saying so; only you will never find any substitute for Christ.

I trust you will not mind my writing to you like this, but I don’t want you to come all the way down to Cornwall and then be disappointed.

With kind regards

Yours sincerely,
(Signed) T. Troward

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Judge Thomas T. Troward, Philosopher And Sage

Lesson I – Interpreting the Word

Lesson II – How to Get What You Want

Lesson III – How to Overcome Adverse Conditions

Lesson IV – Strengthening Your Will

Lesson V – Making Your Subjective Mind Work for You

Lesson VI – Hourly Helps

Lesson VII – Putting Your Lessons into Practice

Attaining Your Desires

As told By

The Sage to His Pupil

The Sage: Troward Troward’s Philosophy as taught to his only personal pupil, Genevieve Behrend.

The Pupil: Humanity at large.

Lesson I

Interpreting the Word

Feeling that an explanation of some of the words employed in an unusual way in these lessons may be helpful to the student, I herein offer a list of such words, together with my interpretation and references from Troward.

Absolute

“That which is free from limit, restriction, or qualification.” (Webster.) “An idea from which the elements of time and space are entirely absent.” (Troward.)

Example: Thinking in the absolute would be simply dwelling upon the intrinsic qualities of love without reference to whom you love or the various forms through which love expresses itself.

Mind is absolute because of its self-reaction.

Being

Life, that unformed power of life which controls circumstances and conditions. Read Troward’s “Bible Meaning and Bible Mystery,” pages 77-79.

Belief

A certain quality in the creative power of thought, which manifests on the external plane in exact correspondence to the quality of belief entertained. If you believe that your body is subject to disease, then the creative power of thought of disease results in a diseased body. Read Troward’s “Edinburgh Lectures of Mental Science,” page 14.

Body

The instrument through which thoughts and feelings are expressed. The envelope of the soul.

Brain

The instrument through and in which the action of the Universal Parent Mind expresses itself in specific form as individual thoughts. Brain is not the mind, but the mind’s instrument.

Christ

A State of consciousness which is altogether good, and a quality of feeling which manifests in physical form. The most perfect spiritual concept.

Circumstances

The outward effect which corresponds to the inward tendency of thought.

Conception

William James says “…denotes neither the mental state nor what the mental state signifies, but the relation between the two.”

Concentration

“Bringing the mind into a condition of equilibrium which enables us to consciously direct the flow of spirit to a definite, recognized purpose and then carefully to guard our thoughts from inducing a flow in the opposite direction.” – Edinburgh Lectures of Mental Science. Page 88. (Troward.)

Conditions

The result of mental tendencies. Harmonious thought produces harmonious physical and material conditions, which still further react to sweeten thought.

Consciousness

Activity of mind which enables it to distinguish itself from the physical form in which it manifests.

Create

To bring into existence. Thought is creative, because it always brings into physical or objective existence forms which correspond to itself.

Death

Absence of life. Loss of consciousness, with no capacity to regain it. Example: If a thought has been absolutely eliminated from the consciousness and cannot be recalled, it is dead to you.

Faith

“The divine promises and individual faith are correlations.” Combine them, and there is no limit to what you can do through the creative power in this quality of thought.” Essential thought. Therefore every call to have faith in God is a call to have faith in the power of your own thought about God.” (Troward)

A confident expectant attitude of mind. Such a mental attitude renders your mind receptive to the creative action of the spirit of life. Have faith in the force of your own thought. You have many times experienced what it will do. Jesus’ statement, “Have faith in God and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” is not a mere figure of speech; it is a scientific fact, simply stated. Your individual thought is the specialized working of the creative power of life. (All Life.)

Intelligence

The Universal Infinite Mind. The highest intelligence is that mind which understands itself as the instrument through which the Intelligence which brought it into existence operates.

Love

Universal Life and Universal Law are one. The law of your being (your life) is that you are made in the image of God (the Creative Power which brought you into existence) because you are God’s very self specialized.

The law of your life is that your mind is “the individualization of Universal Mind at the state of self-evolution in which your mind attains the capacity for reasoning from the seen to the unseen and thus penetrating behind the veil of outward appearance. So because of the reproduction of the divine creative faculty in yourself, your mental states or modes of thought are bound to externalize themselves in your body and in your circumstances.” (Troward.)

Spirit

It is impossible to analyze the nature of Spirit (or Life), but we can realize that whatever else Spirit may be, it is a self-creating power which acts and reacts upon itself, reproducing itself in inconceivable forms from the cosmos to man. (Just as your mind acts and reacts upon itself when you are memorizing.) Origin of all visible things.

As it is independent of time and space, it must be pure thought, the embodiment of stored consciousness.

A self-acting and self-reacting non-physical creative power or force. Its action can only be thought because thought is the only conceivable non-physical action.

Thought

The specialized action of the original, creative Spirit or Mind.

Truth

That which lives in you is truth to you.

Visualizing

Inward or mental vision. (Visioning). Life’s creating power taking particular form. The act of producing in your mind the picture of any contemplated idea.

Word

Your individual thought is the specialized word or action of the originating mind-power itself.

“That which starts the etheric vibration of life moving in a special direction,” corresponding to the word, which originates special movement.

“The seed which gives rise to the thing.” Plant your word-seed in the Subjective Mind of the universe, and you are sure to receive a corresponding thing, just as truly as poppy seed produces poppies.

Faith gives substance to things unseen. (The unseen word or thought.)

Lesson II

How to Get What You Want

“Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”–St. John 8:32

Sage: If a thing is true, there is a definite way in which it is true. And the truest thing in Life is that it contains inherent within itself absolute joy and liberty of mind, body, and affairs.

Pupil: Do you mean that my understanding of Life’s laws can give me the realization of perfect liberty in my individual life?

Sage: Yes, providing you do not make the common error of judging everything from a material standpoint only. Recent research in physical science has established the fact that there is enough power in a lump of clay to destroy a city. All the average mind is able to see is the inert clay, whereas, in reality, it is the physical instrument which contains the invisible power.

Pupil: Then when I understand the law of vibration, I can get anything I want; achieve anything I desire?

Sage: Life fills all space, and through the understanding and use of Life’s laws, you can give direction to a particular quality of creative force, which, if held in place by the will, is absolutely certain to reproduce in a corresponding physical form. What every human being wants is more liberty and more joy in life. From whatever angle you study the subject of Life, you will find that degrees of livingness and liberty are invariably manifested by varying degrees of intelligence. What you would term inanimate life represents the lower forms of intelligence; in plant life you recognize a higher degree of intelligence. To illustrate this, look at a flower. Is it not beautiful? Does it not prove to you the indisputable presence of a Great Intelligence which is expressing itself as beauty, form, and color, and above all, joy?

Pupil: Yes.

Sage: Still you will not find it difficult to recognize in the animal kingdom a quality of Life and Intelligence which is greatly in advance of that manifested in the flower. Then the intelligence which expresses itself in the mind of man as the power of initiative and selection is the highest expression of Intelligent Life. Thus you see that the inanimate, the plant, the animal, and the human all represent the same Universal Life, the only difference being in the varying degrees of intelligence.

For example: You are expressing a very high degree of intelligence in desiring to understand the laws of Life. When you have discovered some part of these laws, you will ascend the scale of intelligence as you make practical application of your discoveries. Another example: Two men leave college with the same degrees and situated very similarly relative to social and financial position. Both study the laws of Mind; both are obliged to struggle. One, by making a great mental effort, keeps mentally above the discouraging conditions, and finally becomes a smooth read, while the other one becomes disheartened and ill, barely eking out a miserable existence. You can readily see where the high form of intelligence was manifested in these two cases. Intelligence was there, but it could only grow by being used constructively.

How Degrees of Intelligence Prove Man’s Place in the Universe

Sage: The greater your intelligence, the more easily you can call into action the highest order of creative energy. The more highly you develop your intelligence (and I do not mean by this intellectuality or book learning –I mean self-education) the more you will find your old limited ideas of what you are not, cannot be, do, or have, imperceptibly slipping away. By using your intelligence and resting upon it to guide you Godward, you will come to recognize that you are as much a part of the very highest Intelligence as a drop of water in a part of the ocean. This steady recognition on your part, carried into your everyday affairs, will give you control over adverse circumstances, which you realize are, after all, only effects of lower degrees of intelligence, and will deliver you from falling a victim of a material universe. You are not a victim; you are a part of the Universe.

Pupil: Just what do you mean by “effects of lower degrees of intelligence?”

Sage: I mean, by a lower degree of intelligence, one that is unable to recognize itself as being one of the highest forms of life. The highest degree of intelligence is that form of life which is able to recognize itself as related to all existing Intelligence. For example: You can easily recall the last difficult situation you came through. It was the expression of the highest form of Intelligence which enabled you to think your way out of that.

The Intelligence Which Distinguishes Us from the Ape

Sage: You recognized your difficulty, but you also recognized your intelligence as being able to draw to itself, from out the whole Universe, ways and means of meeting that perplexing problem. The Law is ever the same. When you are convinced that every physical circumstances or thing has its origin in corresponding activities of the mind (thought), you are able to conquer adversity in any form, because you know you can always control your thoughts. You must always be determined do to your own thinking.

Pupil: It is not difficult for me to understand that the flower is the result of some invisible power, which must be Intelligence, but for me to realize that this same life and intelligent power in my life is not easy. I had not been taught to think in this way. However, you have made me realize that if I wish to learn, I must put into practice the directions you have given me. So when I needed to have five hundred dollars at a certain time and could not see any possible means of getting it, I tried to follow your instructions by mentally seeing myself as doing the thing I wished to do. I visualized myself paying my obligation, and in some way, which is still a mystery, I was able to feel quite calm about it. I made my mental picture and actually forgot to worry about the ways and means, and the money came. I did not quite understand then, and I do not know now, just how it happened. All that I am able to realize is that, by my obedience to your teaching, the day was saved for me, and I shall not forget it.

Now I would like to know if we inherit our tendencies of mind?

Sage: Most of us inherit our thoughts, just as we inherit the color of our eyes. If you intend to understand the relation existing between mental action and material conditions sufficiently well to control your circumstances, you must think for yourself, and in your own way, irrespective of what your ancestors thought, even though some of them might have brought desired results.

Pupil: That seems as impossible as reaching the horizon. However, if you tell me that I can arrive at the place where circumstances and conditions will be under my control, through a steady and determined effort to find out the truth along these lines, I shall do my own thinking from this moment. My present condition, however, seems beyond the control of any human being, much less myself and there have been times when I did control certain conditions, but at other times the same conditions were beyond my control. Why was that?

The Secret of Controlling Your Life Forces

Sage: The reason you succeeded, without understanding the power which you possesses, was that you used it unconsciously, according to the law of its own nature, and reached harmonious results (as in the incident that you have just related). Your ability, at all times, to use the unfailing power which is yours depends upon your recognition of its presence. The reason for your times of failure is that the distressing condition so wholly absorbs your attention that you are unable to think of anything else. At such times you entirely lose sight of the fact that your individual mind is the instrument through and in which the very highest form of intelligence and unfailing power is endeavoring to express itself. Also, that it always takes the form of your habitual thought. Therefore, when you believe that a situation is beyond your control, so it is.

Pupil: Which means that my control of circumstances is entirely measured by my capacity to know that the life and intelligence in me is the same Life and Intelligence which brought me into existence? The same Life in trees and all nature, and I tune in with all Life? Will this steady recognition give me direct contact with all the power and intelligence which exists? Would simply dwelling on this thought solve any situation which might arise?

Sage: No. “Faith without works is dead.” God without expression is a nonentity. Thought without action is powerless. But your recognition that you are inseparably connected with the joy, life, intelligence, and power of the Great Whole, unwavering maintained and carried into practical application, will solve any problem, because your thought calls into specific action ideas of the very highest degree of intelligence and power, which naturally controls the lesser degrees. “The Lesser modes of life are in bondage to the law of their own being because they do not know the law.” Therefore, when you know the Laws of Life, this knowledge gives you ideas which enable you to control all adverse circumstances and conditions.

Pupil: This is all so new to me, I do not quite grasp your meaning. Will you please give me an illustration?

How to Light the Pathway of Your Life

Sage: Well, suppose you were in a room where every comfort had been provided for you, but the room was in total darkness, and you were unable to locate the things you desired, although you were conscious of their presence. You were told that the room was electrically lighted, and instinctively you began to grope your way along the wall, where you were accustomed to look for a light switch. For hours you passed your hands up and down the walls as far as you could reach until you were quite fatigued. You were about to give up the search and make the best of a bad situation, but, overlapping this thought, there came the resolve that you would not abandon your effort until you had located it. You were determined to enjoy the good things awaiting you, so you renewed your search with the feeling of assurance that ultimately you would find a way to turn on the light.

After more fruitless endeavor, you paused to rest, and to wonder where that switch could possibly be, “It must be here, and I shall find it,” you said to yourself, and again you passed your hands over the walls, although you felt certain that you had gone over every inch that you could reach. This time your thoughts and movements were not quite so tense, although equally determined. As your hands moved slowly up and down, your mind caught the idea that the switch might not be on the wall at all. You paused a moment, and the suggestion that it might be on the floor registered in your consciousness. But reason stepped in and argued, “Impossible. Whoever head of a light switch being placed on the floor!”

But, the suggestion persisted, “why not try” You have gone over what first seemed the most reasonable places to find it. Try the floor.”

So then you began to reach out uncertainly with your feet for some projection on the floor.” which might be a light switch.

Finding the Light

Almost instantly your feet came into contact with an unfamiliar object. You put your hand on what seemed to be a push button, but no light appeared. Nevertheless, you now felt quite sure that you had located the switch. You paused, and involuntarily asked yourself, “How does this thing work? It won’t push and it won’t pull.” Back came the answer within yourself like a spoken word. “Sidewise.” You moved it sidewise, and the room as flooded with light. Your joy at thus finding a responsive intelligence within yourself could not be expressed in words. It was a rapture of the heart which many have felt at times.

Pupil: Oh, I am so glad that the switch was found through clinging to the right mental attitude! Does such persistent effort always meet with such a satisfactory reward?

Sage: Yes, persistent, confident endeavor always brings satisfaction. In order to give you a complete picture from which you may logically reason in the future, let us consider the same situation from an opposite angle.

Imagine yourself in the same room under the same conditions. After several attempts at feeling around in the dark, you begin to feel tired, more or less discouraged, and you reason with yourself thus “Oh, what is the use? There may be a light switch in this room, and the room may contain everything I require, and again it may not.” But something indefinable in yourself convinces you that not only is the light there, but so, also, are the things you enjoy and desire. You answer right back to yourself, “Well, if everything is here which I need and would enjoy, what a pity that I cannot find the switch! What a strange and unreasonable way some people have of doing things! I wonder why the light was not already turned on for me.”

Pupil: You make it seem that one almost involuntarily and invariably blames circumstances or people for his failures.

“The Fault, Dear Brutus, Lies Not in the Stars, But in Ourselves, That We Are Underlings”

Sage: You must admit that it is rare to find anyone who realizes that the cause of his failure or continued misfortune lies within himself. The reason for this is an almost universal lack of understanding on the part of the individual that a certain quality of thought brings to the consciousness a recognition of an intelligent power capable of attracting to him, and directing him to, the fulfillment of his purpose and the attainment of his desire. On the other hand, the inversion of this same power effects a negative result.

Pupil: You mean that a certain quality of thought enables one to do and be what he wishes, while the misuse of the same power seems to thwart one’s purpose?

Sage: Yes. The idea is to use your power of thought and feeling positively, in order to attain positive results. Use it negatively, and you get negative results, because the unchangeable law is, “Intelligence always manifests in responsiveness.” The whole action of the evolutionary process of Life, from its first inanimate beginning up to its manifestation in human form, is one continual intelligent response.

If you would induce yourself to recognize the presence of a Universal Intelligence which permeates all nature, you must also recognize a corresponding hidden deep down in all things –in the trees, the weeds, and flowers, in the animals, and in fact, in everything –which is ever ready to spring into action when appealed to. It will respond to your call as a child would obey when bidden to come and play.

In your first experience in the dark room, your all-absorbing thought was not so much about the darkness as about the light, and how it could be turned on. The positive “I will” quality of your thought brought up from the depth of your inmost soul a steady flow of intelligent power, which finally penetrated through to your intellect and guided your hand to the switch.

Pupil: But the second time when I also thought I must find the switch, there was no enlightened response. It seems to me that this is one’s everyday experience. The first case seems like a miraculous coincidence.

Don’t Look for Coincidences in Life: Every Effect Has Its Cause

Sage: Oh, no. All is Life, and all is law and order. There are no coincidences in reality, no “happen so’s.” You will realize this if you will recall some of your own experiences similar to the ones used in the illustrations. You often feel that you must have “light,” and, after several attempts to avail yourself to it, your thought and feeling settle into the “I cannot do it” groove; “it may be possible for those who know how, but I don’t,” etc. The best method of learning the truth about this is to live your past experiences over again. Analyze what your thoughts and feelings were when you succeeded, and when you failed. Then draw your own deductions. No written or spoken words equal this kind of instruction.

Remember that all space is filled with a responsive Intelligence and Power ever ready to take any form which your sustaining thought-demand creates. This power can work only in terms of the thought instrument through which it operates. Humanity generally admits Jesus’ ability, Jesus’ power to use the spirit of intelligent life to produce material conditions –as in turning water into wine, but they doubt their ability to use the same Power in themselves, in spite of Jesus’ assurance, “All things are possible unto you.” Now this statement is either true or false. If true it is because your mind is the instrument in and through which this intelligent Principle of Life takes initiative action, and this action, in turn, is always in accordance with the laws of life, which are subjective in their nature.

Life’s Greatest Purpose Is to Express Joy, Beauty, and Power

Pupil: Am I right in concluding that this lesson in life, which is an ever-present, limitless, intelligent power, is ready at all times to be guided in any direction that my sustained thought may give it? If I permit to be anxious, discouraged, dissatisfied, I bring into action repelling, destructive forces? Life’s purpose is to give expression to Its joy, beauty, and power, through Its particular instrument, my thought. Is this right?

Sage: You have grasped the letter of the lesson in a remarkable way. Now it remains only for you to experience the happiness of what you have learned. Do this by putting your knowledge to practical application, never losing sight of the fact that no matter what justification you may think you have at the time, any feeling of discouragement, dissatisfaction, or anxiety causes the fulfillment of your right desire to recede further and further away from you. Whereas, by persistent and determined endeavor to trust your own desires and ambitions as the specific expression of the universal loving, guiding, and protecting Principle, you will find that your supply for their fulfillment will unfold to you greater and greater liberty in every direction.

Pupil: When one does not wish to entertain negative thoughts, how can the sense of discouragement and anxiety be shut out? I am sure that it is not because one enjoys feeling worried that it seems so difficult to eliminate it. Do you mean that it is as possible to snap out of a thought one doesn’t want as it is to step from one room to another? I should like to know how that is accomplished, as I have many unwelcome thoughts which I am wholly unable to dismiss at the time. After a period they leave, but it seems to me they use their own sweet will about it. I have honestly tried to rid myself of thoughts, which seemed to cling all the tighter when I tried to throw them off. It would be wonderful to cast off a thought as one would a garment! How can it be done?

Sage: By keeping a positive attitude of mind regarding your innermost desire as an accomplished fact, whether it be for a state of mind or for a thing. You cannot think positive and negative thoughts at the same time.

Pupil: Oh, is that true? It seems to me I have often been speaking to someone on a certain subject while my thoughts were on an entirely different one.

You Can Actually Think of Only One Thing at a Time

Sage: You were thinking one thing and saying another. You had only one thought. You automatically said one thing while thinking another. In short, your words were not the expression of the thought in your mind. Suppose you give yourself a test; try to think of yourself as a success and a failure at the same time. You will find it impossible to think positively and negatively simultaneously.

In our next lesson we will take this up more extensively and prove why it is true. Also why you, as an individual, can control circumstances, whether they be mental, physical, or financial, through the understanding of your personal relationship to the Intelligence which governs the universe.

Pupil: I know that what you say is true, but just what method should I employ to accomplish this? There are times when I become cross and impatient with myself because I give way to anxiety and fear (the very things which I know now will cause my defeat). And yet I will do it, just as I will eat something I like even though I know it will disagree with me. Could you give me a formula to use at such times?

How to Drive Anxiety Out of Your Mind

Sage: When the triad of enemies –fear, anxiety, and discouragement –assails you, poisoning your mind and body, weakening your power to attract what you want, begin instantly to take deep breaths, and repeat as fast as you can, aloud or silently, the following affirmation, which is an antidote to the poison and a powerful assurance and attraction of Good:

“The Life in me is inseverably connected with all the life that exists, and it is entirely devoted to my personal advancement.”

If you are alert and can make this affirmative thought overlap the negative, anxious suggestion, you will very soon free yourself. If the tendency to dwell on these erroneous beliefs keeps recurring, go where you can be alone, repeat your affirmation, and endeavor to lift your mind up to your words, much as you would lift your breath from the bottom to the top of your lungs. Never be impatient with yourself because you do not quite succeed in your every endeavor. It is your intention that counts, not necessarily the absolute fulfillment of the letter. The ALL-KNOWING POWER THAT IS understands and rewards accordingly. Be diligent and patient, and you will surely succeed.

Lesson III

How to Overcome Adverse Conditions

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” –Shakespeare.

Sage: If you wish to overcome adverse conditions or to maintain a favorable one, it is necessary to have some knowledge of the fundamental or originating Spirit, and your relation to It. The true order of these fundamental principles of life which you are endeavoring to understand does not require you to deny the reality of the existing physical world, or to call it an illusion. On the contrary, by admitting the existence of the physical, you thereby see the completion of a great invisible, creative process. This enables you to assign physical manifestations to their proper places in the creative series, which your former way of thinking did not enable you to do. You now realize that, while the origin of life is not in itself physical or material, it must throw out physical and material vehicles through which to function as its means of expression, in varying degrees of intelligence, such as the vegetable or the animal kingdom, and the human, as illustrated in our last lesson. All are forms of life, because of that inner Principle of being which sustains them. The Life Principle with which you are primarily concerned is the life of thought and feeling in yourself. You are a vehicle or distributing medium of the creative Spirit of Life. If you understand this, you will have some idea of what the originating Spirit of Life is in Itself, and your relation to It as an individual.

Pupil: Since thought and feeling are the origin of all things, would it not be necessary to get into the spirit of their origin in order to control circumstances? Is it true that my thoughts and feelings are the same as those of the limitless Power and Intelligence of the universe?

How You Can Control Circumstances and Erroneous Conditions

Sage: In essence they are the same. You are able to control the circumstances and conditions relative to your individual world, of which you are the center, by making your thoughts and feelings correspondent in quality (at least in a degree) to what you believe are those of the originating, intelligent forces of life.

Pupil: Is it true that the life in me contains everything that I, as an individual, could ever require? Are my thoughts and feelings the centralizing power of my particular world? If so, then Browning explains the situation when he says, “We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.” If I know and practice this great fact, the wonder of Life’s understanding power will come forth in me by its own divine right, and assume command over all my problems in exactly the same degree that I recognize it. Is that correct?

Sage: Yes, Browning has voiced the truth in that sentence. The divine Principle in you is complete, and is the only Life there is. But this should not lead you into the error of believing that you are not to exert yourself. Remember that the life-germ in you is an Intelligence which can call into specific action all of life’s forces from out the entire universe, but it can only work through your intelligence in correspondence to what you confidently believe it can and will do. Therefore, be practical in your reasoning, and diligent in your deeds.

Suppose I give you an example: You have a glass of dirty water. In order to have the clear water, you would continue to pour the clean water into the glass of dirty water until every drop of the dirty water had flowed out of it, wouldn’t you? The same rule applies to adverse conditions. Pour into them a steady stream of confidence in the power of God in you to change them, and they will change, correspondingly.

Pupil: I understand. You mean that I should use my common sense, coupled with a steady faith in God and earnest, concentrated mental effort?

Common Sense and Your Mental Faculties

Sage: That is it. Use your common sense and all your mental faculties as far as they will take you. However, you should never try to force a situation. Always allow for the Law of Growth. Remember that conditions will grow into the correlative shape of your firmly held mental attitude “under the guidance of the All Creating Wisdom.” If you will follow this method of reasoning, you will soon form the habit of examining your own attitude of mind for the key to your progress and enjoyment of life. Endeavor to keep before your mind’s eye the thought that every physical or material condition in your life corresponds to your habitual thought tendency, and your thought tendency will eventually become the reproduction of the way you regard your personal life, as related to all life.

Pupil: Shall I be able to overcome one limitation after another, as I develop the knowledge and feeling of regarding the Life Principle in me as the source of all physical experience? As I advance along these lines, shall I grow into the liberty of enjoying life in my own way?

Sage: In studying the law of your own being, the important thing to realize is that you, as an individual, are a specializing center, through which the power or essence of Life takes forms which correspond exactly to your most habitual conceptions. Try to realize more and more thoroughly, both in theory and in practice, that the relation between your individual mind and the Universal Parent Mind is one of reciprocal action. Grasp the principle of reciprocity, and you will comprehend why you fall short sometimes of enjoying life, and how you can attain to full enjoyment; just as the law of gravitation shows why iron sinks in water, and can also be made to float.

Pupil: It is rather difficult for me to understand what you mean by the reciprocal action between my individual mind and the Universal Parent Mind.

Suppose I am facing a big financial problem, and I endeavor to bring my mind into a state of confident expectancy through meditation upon the ever-present supply in all forms of life, and by repeating an affirmation which seems logical. Would that do it? Where does the reaction come in? And how? If my happiness in life depends upon this understanding, and upon living in a state of conscious reciprocity with the Parent Mind, it seems just now that it is a long way off, because I do not grasp your meaning. Should I feel a reaction within myself when striving for a certain state of consciousness?

How Your Mind Is Related to the Universal Mind

Sage: We said in our last lesson that your mind was at outcome of the great Universal Parent Mind which brought you into existence for the direct purpose of expressing Itself through you. The reciprocal action between your mind and the Parent Mind might be compared with a tree and its branches. Your mind is the specific expression of the Universal Mind from which it draws its power to think. Just as a branch of a tree is a specific part of a tree, not apart from it, but a part of it. Thus, between the Universal Mind or Life and its own specialized expression (which is your mind), there is a perpetual interaction, as with the tree and its parts; its branches and its leaves are continually drawing sustenance from the parent trunk. Your thought action is the specialized, identical action of the Universal Mind.

Example: Imagine yourself feeling a bit downcast, when suddenly you are handed a telegram with the news that the one person in the world whom you love the most is on his way to see you, and the messenger of some wonderful news! Can you not imagine what a definite reaction you would have from news like that! Well, you can stimulate the same quality of thought, that same feeling of joy and surety between your individual mind and its source, through mentally picturing yourself as doing the things that you enjoy. See yourself happy, and lift your mind up to it by constantly repeating a happy affirmation, and you will readily realize the reaction in kind.

Pupil: I see. The way that adverse conditions are to be overcome is through my recognition of the reciprocal action going on continually between my mind and the One great Universal Mind, which brings about the same kind of a reaction that I would have from an agreeable experience on the physical plane. I used to think that conditions were overcome by ignoring them, and setting aside the inherent law that caused them. I begin to realize now (theoretically at least) that the laws of life cannot be ignored nor destroyed, but, on the contrary, must be made to work for us to produce a harmonious existence.

Sage: Adverse circumstances are overcome by reversing the originating cause, which is your own thought. Anxiety and fear always attract conditions of their own kind. Reverse this tendency and entertain only those thoughts which register harmony and confident assurance, and the adverse circumstances will recede, and in their place will appear the conditions which correspond to your changed mentality.

Pupil: Am I to regard my mind as a branch of the Universal Mind from which I draw all my substance?

Sage: Yes. You now have a fairly good general idea of the two ultimates: the Universal and the individual, and their relation to each other. I think we should now consider the process of specialization, that is, how to make nature’s laws produce a particular effect which “could not be produced under the simple generic conditions spontaneously provided by nature.”

How to Remedy Nature’s Shortcomings

Pupil: How can one create conditions not provided by nature?

Sage: Do not overlook the word “spontaneous.” By consciously and intelligently arranging your thoughts in the new order, by looking within yourself for the solutions of your problems, instead of without, you will certainly find that ideas will come to you, which, if followed, will produce new conditions other than those provided by nature.

Pupil: How can I do this? Is this brought about by causing my thoughts to correspond to those which I think the Universal Mind must have?

Sage: Let me give you an illustration of what I mean. Take the case of a miller who has been grinding his grain by hand. His instinctive feeling is that there should be a more efficient way of grinding grain, and he meditates a good deal on what this way might be. One day, while walking in the country, his attention is attracted, for the first time, to the power in a stream of water as it rushes past him. He pauses, and reflects on how this power could be utilized for his particular purpose.

“Why not harness it and make it grind my grain?” he asks himself. This unexpected inspiration thrills him through and through, not only because of its possibilities, but because of his feeling of assurance that it can be accomplished. Immediately, the desired result begins to picture itself in his mind. By the side of the stream he sees his gristmill working under conditions, with a great wheel attached to it revolved by the force of the running water, and thus grinding his grain. The force of the water spontaneously provided by nature has not been changed; it has been specialized to meet an individual requirement.

How Nature Working Through Mind Can Grind the Grain

Pupil: Naturally the power of the water could not of itself have ground the grain, but through the interaction of the individualized Universal Intelligence in the miller’s mind, he made this power “spontaneously provided by nature” do his bidding, just as Burbank specialized nature’s laws by making cactus grow without thorns, and blackberries without seeds.

Sage: Yes, you have grasped my meaning. Your comprehension of the interaction between the water-power, or nature, and the individualized Intelligence in the mind of man is scientifically correct. You see now that it is an entire reversal of your old conception. Formerly, you took forms and conditions as symbols, and inferred that they were the causes of mental states and material conditions; now you are learning that the true order of the creative process is exactly the reverse, that thought and feeling are the originating causes which form corresponding external conditions. This is the foundation principle upon which you can specialize the generic law of the whole creative process, and cause it to bring all of its Intelligence and Power to bear, in meeting your particular necessity.

Showing the Silver Lining of the Cloud

Pupil: You are right. I have been inverting the order of cause and effect. It always seemed to me that conditions both created and controlled my thoughts, that is, I involuntarily accepted the thoughts which the conditions suggested.

For example: Suppose I want to be at a certain place at a certain time. My appointment is important and I shall be late. What a terrible thing it will be! There seems nothing to be done. That is the way I used to think.

Now, in the new order of thinking, I shall endeavor to mentally see myself as keeping my appointment, etc. I shall get into the spirit of the thought that nothing can impede my progress or thwart my purpose, and I am sure that a way will open enabling me to materialize this thought on the physical plane. I am sure that in some unforeseen way my engagement will be kept, satisfactorily to myself and to the other person. In fact, I have experienced similar episodes.

Sage: Yes, almost everyone has had such experiences as you have related, but very few profit by them. The law is, “As a man thinks so it becomes.” If you wish to withdraw from an undesirable situation, you must adopt the scientific method of affirmative thinking, and follow it up as a permanent factor in life.

You will find that the universal causative Power (call it what you will) always manifests as supreme Intelligence in the adaptation of means to ends. For instance, there is something which you wish to do –build a house, sell something, or do a kind act for someone. It is this supreme Intelligence manifested through you that guides your activities. Without it, you would be unable to outline your intention, much less accomplish your purpose. Your intelligence is the instrument through which the One Great Intelligence of the universe is constantly taking specific form. This being true, every idea which registers in your mind was first formed in this One Infinite Mind. A continual recognition of this fact will enable you to find your way out of any sense of limitation which may arise in your individual experience.

I once heard of a man who had an intense desire to do big things. He asked his teacher to think with him along the lines just discussed –that the Intelligence of the universe was taking specific form in his individual intelligence. His teacher agreed providing the student’s desire was great enough to force him to arise every morning and take a two-mile walk, meanwhile meditating upon this interaction between the Universal Intelligence and its special form, his mind. The student also was instructed to form the practice of making mental pictures for the precise purpose of developing his intuition and imagination. One suggestion was that he should mentally see himself walking along a beautiful, clear, flowing river, hearing the rippling water, and seeing the reflection of the trees on its clear surface, and then to transfer his mental picture to one depicting his own desire.

After following this practice for six months, an idea of almost overwhelming magnitude came to his mind. This did not seem unnatural, however, as it was so completely in accord with his recent habit of picturing his all-absorbing desire. He joyously continued his walks, his meditation, and visualization, and finally the Universal Intelligence manifested in its specific form (his mind) by giving specific directions to bring the big idea into successful operation.

Pupil: Could his mind have captured this big idea without the help of a teacher?

Always Learn to Do Your Own Thinking

Sage: Certainly. The idea did not come through the teacher’s mind; he simply started the student on the right track. No one can think for another. It was the result of his determined effort to recognize his own individual intelligence as the instrument in which the Greater Intelligence was constantly taking form. All that the teacher did (all that anyone could do) was to help him to hold his thought along the path he desired to go. The help of the teacher strengthened his conviction and faith in the power in himself.

Pupil: Is this originating power of life a forming power as well as a creating and direction one, and did the teacher’s thinking along the same lines steady the student’s thoughts? Without the support of a more advanced mind, could anyone succeed in a great undertaking?

Sage: Certainly. If you are sufficiently convinced of the absolute truth of your method, you do not need any sustaining force outside of your own conviction. You miss the point of your relationship to the great whole if you do not realize that it is not only an originating, but also a forming power. Do you not recognize its forming power throughout nature? You would not think of trying to make a lily a rose. If you know that the same Power that created the flowers also made your mind for the specific purpose of operating in it, you would soon learn to trust its formative nature in its operation through your intelligence.

Pupil: I understand. It is the power of Life in man which originates, creates, directs, and forms. In reality, there seems to be nothing whatever for man to do in this great scheme of things except to enjoy life, if he can only learn how!

God and Company, Ltd.

Sage: The Law of Life is God and Company. You are the Company, and you cannot in any sense be an idle partner, if you wish to profit by the partnership. Your part is a big one, and there is plenty for you to do in providing a concrete center around which the universal divine energies can operate.

Pupil: Does this mean that to realize my oneness with the joy of life I shall not find it as simple as it seems?

Sage: No doubt there will be times when you will find it difficult to transfer your thought from externals to the interior realm of the originating principle, and to joyfully hold it there until external conditions correspond with the ideas you have in mind, but there should never be any strain. You are attracted to the Universal Mind as your source of supply, along the lines of least resistance. That is to say, along these lines which are the most natural to your individual and particular bent of mind. In this way you infuse into the Universal Mind your desires and ambitions, thus intensifying your power of attraction (relative to the desire uppermost in your mind) from the infinite forces.

For instance, let us suppose that you feel very much alone, not altogether lonely, but alone (there is a difference, you know), and yearn for congenial companionship. At a certain night and morning, go where you will not be interrupted, and mentally picture yourself walking with a companionable friend (no person whom you know, but an ideal one); then see yourself riding with this same friend, and the two of you doing many happy things together. Keep your picture in mind until all sense of aloneness has disappeared, and you feel an unmistakable sense of companionship.

About Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes is the Founder of BCG Attorney Search and a successful legal recruiter himself. Harrison is extremely committed to and passionate about the profession of legal placement. His firm BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys. BCG Attorney Search works with attorneys to dramatically improve their careers by leaving no stone unturned in a search and bringing out the very best in them. Harrison has placed the leaders of the nation’s top law firms, and countless associates who have gone on to lead the nation’s top law firms. There are very few firms Harrison has not made placements with. Harrison’s writings about attorney careers and placements attract millions of reads each year. He coaches and consults with law firms about how to dramatically improve their recruiting and retention efforts. His company LawCrossing has been ranked on the Inc. 500 twice. For more information, please visit Harrison Barnes’ bio.

About BCG Attorney Search

BCG Attorney Search matches attorneys and law firms with unparalleled expertise and drive that gets results. Known globally for its success in locating and placing attorneys in law firms of all sizes, BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys in law firms in thousands of different law firms around the country. Unlike other legal placement firms, BCG Attorney Search brings massive resources of over 150 employees to its placement efforts locating positions and opportunities that its competitors simply cannot. Every legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search is a former successful attorney who attended a top law school, worked in top law firms and brought massive drive and commitment to their work. BCG Attorney Search legal recruiters take your legal career seriously and understand attorneys. For more information, please visit www.BCGSearch.com.

Filed Under : Featured, Self Improvement Books

Tagged: attaining your desires, attorney jobs, career advice, career advice | a harrison barnes, how to find a job, job market, job search, job search blog, job seeker, legal recruiter, new job opportunities, subconscious mind work