OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS AND AWAKENING INWARD POWERS.
Limitations can be overcome through a realization of Truth. When we
say this it is taken for granted that every effort will be made on
the physical plane. It is necessary to bathe, exercise and breathe
fresh air in order to be well: it is equally necessary to work hard,
and to give the best of which we are capable, in service, in exchange
for that which we receive in the way of supply, if we are to be
successful. If you keep a gardener, you must pay him. The money that
you pay him is part of what you have earned by the sweat of your
brain. Therefore you exchange the work of your brain for the labour
of his hands, and you are mutually helped and helpful to one another,
both giving and receiving, and each one serving life according to
his ability. Taking all this for granted, we will pass on to the
metaphysical side of our subject. This, by the way, is vastly the
more important, but the outer, practical work is indispensable
nevertheless.
In order to overcome limitations it is necessary to know the Truth
and to live in the consciousness of It. For instance, if ill-health
is our limitation, then, in order to become free it is necessary that
we live in the consciousness of the Wholeness of God and His Divine
Idea. If our limitation be restricted means, it is necessary that
we live in the consciousness of the inexhaustible and unlimited nature
of the Substance from which the Creator brings everything into
manifestation. If our limitation is disharmony and unhappiness, then
we must become attuned to the Divine harmony in such a way and to
such an extent as to cause it to be reflected into the outward life.
No matter what our limitation may be, we can find liberation and
deliverance by looking to our Divine Source, realizing that in the
Perfect Reality all our wants are supplied, and then living in the
consciousness of this truth.
Ill-health is, apart from physical causes, an outward sign of an
inward warfare or disharmony, caused by wrong thoughts, emotions,
beliefs and attitude of mind and soul towards life and God. In other
words, the life is lived in an "error" consciousness of disease and
sickness. First, the inward life has to be adjusted in such a way
as to harmonize with the laws of our own being and the Divine purpose
of life. There must be an inward surrender to the love principle,
after which the thoughts must be brought under control so that
health-destroying emotions may no longer impair the health. Further,
the whole consciousness must, as often as possible, be raised to a
realization of the perfect Wholeness which is the reality. If this
course is persevered with, a consciousness of health and wholeness
becomes a permanent mental state, with the result that health becomes
manifested in the life. The outward life is always a reflection or
external manifestation of what we are within, or our state of
consciousness. Therefore everything depends upon which kind of
consciousness it is in which we live.
One who lives in the mental atmosphere of Divine Wholeness, health
and harmony, unconsciously directs all the inner forces of nature
into health channels. On the other hand, one who lives in a mental
atmosphere of ill-health, as sick and unhealthy people very often
do, unconsciously directs all his sub-conscious activities in such
a way as to produce sickness and disease.
Again, with regard to lack of means, this state also can be overcome,
spiritually, only by living in a higher consciousness of abundance
and sufficiency. This affects, unconsciously, every action in such
a way as to bring about a better state of affairs. On the other hand,
one who lives in a mental atmosphere of limitation and lack,
unconsciously directs all his actions towards the production, in his
life, of penury and restricted means.
The same rule applies, no matter what the limitations of one's life
may be. Freedom can be gained only by realizing the truth about life
and being. When we realize the truth, live in the consciousness of
it, and become obedient to the laws of life and being, the life
becomes increasingly free. This does not mean that if we are plain
of feature, and of a stumpy figure, that we shall become beautiful
and graceful; but it does mean that these so-called drawbacks will
no longer fetter us, and that others will see in us something far
better than mere regularity of feature and beauty of form. When the
soul is _alive_ and the life filled with love, the homeliest face
becomes attractive. Neither does it mean that we shall not suffer
bereavements and sorrows, difficulties and adversities, but it does
mean that we shall cease intensifying these things and creating
further troubles by taking life's discipline in the wrong spirit.
It also means that we shall be able to overcome all life's
difficulties and trials, become a conqueror in the strife, and, in
so doing, build up character. Thus the storms of life, instead of
destroying us, can succeed only in _making us stronger_. Thus our
fate depends not on the storms of life, but upon how we meet them.
If we give in to them, or, thinking that they are evil and not a
necessary discipline, rebel against them and resist them, then we
become shipwrecked on a desolate shore. If, however, we are armed
with the knowledge of truth we can set our sails in such a way as
to compel the storms of life actually to help us towards the desired
haven.
The first step in the direction of knowledge of the truth is right
thinking. Every negative thought must be transmuted into its positive
opposite, [12] for instance, hate and dislike into love and goodwill,
fear into confident trust, poverty into abundance, evil into absolute
good, and so on. This will be found to be not easy, but it is
possible, and the power to control one's thoughts increases if one
perseveres continually, with the passing of the years. A beginner
cannot, naturally, expect to be able to exercise the same control
as one who has been perseveringly seeking self-mastery for years,
but he can make substantial progress and learn from day to day.
[12] See also "The Power of Thought" and "The Way of Escape," by
the same author and publisher.
The result of thinking in this way is surprising. The reversal of
thought may appear at first to be simplicity itself, and to lead
nowhere in particular, but after a time the vastness of the subject
becomes almost appalling. The cultivation and practice of right
thinking gradually lead to a knowledge of the Truth. Not an
intellectual knowledge of truth, but a realization, by the soul, of
_the_ Truth. This is the knowing of the Truth which sets men free.
We can then look through all the ages and know that all is well. The
heavy burden which has oppressed us so long, rolls from our shoulders,
and we become free.
AROUSING INWARD POWERS.
Man is heir to wonderful and illimitable powers, but until he becomes
aware of them and consciously identifies himself with them, they lie
dormant and unexpressed, and might just as well not exist at all as
far as their use to man, in his unawakened state, is concerned. When,
however, man becomes awakened to the great truth that he is a
spiritual being: when he learns that the little petty self and finite
personality are not his real self at all, but merely a mask to the
real man: when he realizes that the Spiritual Ego, a true Divine Spark
of, or branch or twig of the Eternal Logos, [13] is _his real Self_:
when he understands that his body is not himself, that his mind is
not himself, that even his soul is not himself, being but vehicles
through which he seeks expression, but that he is spirit, deathless,
diseaseless, eternal, forming an integral part of the One Spirit and
being identical with It, he enters a new life of almost boundless
power.
[13] "I am the Vine, ye are the branches."--Jesus.
It is unwise to engage in any mystical practices in an attempt to
"force" development and unfoldment. Mystic trances are highly
dangerous and are also unnecessary. Psychic experiences and the
awakening of psychic centres are also dangerous and lead away from
our goal. Breathing exercises, whose object is to awaken inward
powers, are _highly dangerous_ and are to be condemned in consequence.
The cultivation of negative passivity such as inhibiting all thought
and making oneself quite passive and open to any influence, is also
highly dangerous and should be strictly avoided.
In place of all these unwise practices a short time should be set
aside each night and also morning, if possible, for getting into touch
with Reality. You should then endeavour to realize that the body,
mind and soul are but vehicles of expression, mere servants of the
true Self or Ego. This will bring about in time, a consciousness of
identity with the One Eternal Spirit. What Jesus called "our Father
in Heaven."
One might proceed after this fashion:--
"My body is not myself, but is merely something that enables me to
live this material life and gain experience.
"My mind is not myself, but merely an instrument which I use and which
obeys my will.
"My soul is not myself, but merely a garment of my spirit.
"My will is not myself, but is something of which I, the true Self,
make use."
And so on. By this means you gradually approach the great truth which
cannot be put into words and which can only become yours through
realization or inward spiritual understanding.
In addition one can use a positive statement of Truth, reverently,
but with full confidence, such as: "I am a branch in the True Vine."
In course of time you will become possessed of a feeling of tremendous
and unlimited power and security. This is a great responsibility for
this power must be used only in service and not for selfish purposes.
If it is used for the acquisition of wealth and the gaining of
temporal power, great disaster will be the inevitable result. Yet,
if used aright, it is bound to have a great, though unconscious,
influence for good on the life, and for this you are not responsible.
Constantly endeavour to serve and bless others, then, because you
do not seek them, crowds of blessings will come into your life
unbidden, great happiness being one of the chief. Having found the
kingdom of heaven it will be your experience that all needed good
will be added unto you.
This power may also be used to strengthen character, to overcome in
the conflicts of the soul, and to build up the spiritual body which
will be our vehicle of expression in higher realms.
THE END.
End of Project Gutenberg's Within You is the Power, by Henry Thomas Hamblin