MAN'S PLACE IN THE CREATIVE ORDER
In the preceding chapters we have found certain definite facts,--that
all known matter is formed out of one primordial Universal
Substance,--that the ether spreading throughout limitless space is a
Universal Medium, through which it is possible to convey force by means
of vibrations,--and that vibrations can be started by the power of
Sound. These we have found to be well established facts of ordinary
science, and taking them as our starting-point, we may now begin to
speculate as to the possible workings of the known laws under unknown
conditions.
One of the first things that naturally attract our attention is the
question,--How did Life originate? On this point I may quote two leading
men of science. Tyndall says: "I affirm that no shred of trustworthy
experimental testimony exists, to prove that life in our day has ever
appeared independently of antecedent life"; and Huxley says: "The
doctrine of biogenesis, or life only from life, is victorious along the
whole line at the present time." Such is the testimony of modern science
to the old maxim "Omne vivum exvivo." "All life proceeds from antecedent
life." Think it out for yourself and you will see that it could not
possibly be otherwise.
Whatever may be our theory of the origin of life on the physical plane,
whether we regard it as commencing in a vivified slime at the bottom of
the sea, which we call protoplasm, or in any other way, the question of
how life got there still remains unanswered. The protoplasm being
material substance, must have its origin like all other material
substances, in the undifferentiated etheric Universal Substance, no
particle of which has any power of operating upon any other particle
until some initial vibration starts the movement; so that, on any theory
whatever, we are always brought back to the same question: What started
the condensation of the ether into the beginnings of a world-system? So
whether we consider the life which characterizes organized matter, or
the energy which characterizes inorganic matter, we cannot avoid the
conclusion, that both must have their source in some Original Power to
which we can assign no antecedent. This is the conclusion which has been
reached by all philosophic and religious systems that have really tried
to get at the root of the matter, simply because it is impossible to
form any other conception.
This Living Power is what we mean when we speak of the All-Originating
Spirit. The existence of this Spirit is not a theological invention, but
a logical and scientific ultimate, without predicating which, nothing
else can be accounted for. The word "Spirit" comes from the Latin
"spiro" "I breathe," and so means "The Breath," as in Job xxxiii,
4,--"The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath
given me life"; and again in Ps. xxxiii, 6--"By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his
mouth."
In the opening chapter of Genesis, we are told that "the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters." The words rendered "the Spirit of
God" are, in the original Hebrew "rouah Ælohim," which is literally "the
Breathing of God"; and similarly, the ancient religious books of India,
make the "Swára" or Great Breath the commencement of all life and
energy. The word "rouah" in Genesis is remarkable. According to
rabbinical teaching, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a certain
symbolic significance, and when examined in this manner, the root from
which this word is derived conveys the idea of Expansive Movement. It is
the opposite of the word "hoshech," translated "darkness" in the same
passage of our Bible, which is similarly derived from a root conveying
the idea of Hardening and Compressing. It is the same idea that is
personified in the Zendavesta, the sacred book of the ancient Persians,
under the names of Ormuzd, the Spirit of Light; and Ahriman, the Spirit
of Darkness; and similarly in the old Assyrian myth of the struggle
between the Sun-God and Tiámat, the goddess of darkness.
This conception of conflict between two opposite principles, Light and
Darkness, Compression and Expansion, will be found to underlie all the
ancient religions of the world, and it is conspicuous throughout our own
Scriptures. But it should be borne in mind that the oppositeness of
their nature does not necessarily mean conflict. The two principles of
Expansion and Contraction are not necessarily destructive; on the
contrary they are necessary correlatives to one another. Expansion alone
cannot produce form; cohesion must also be present. It is the regulated
balance between them that results in Creation. In the old legend, if I
remember rightly, the conflict is ended by Tiámat marrying her former
opponent. They were never really enemies, but there was a
misunderstanding between them, or rather there was a misunderstanding on
the part of Tiámat so long as she did not perceive the true character of
the Spirit of Light, and that their relation to one another was that of
co-operation and not of opposition. Thus also St. John tells us that
"the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not"
(John i, 5). It is this want of comprehension that is at the root of all
the trouble.
The reader should note, however, that I am here speaking of that
Primeval Substance, which necessarily has no light in itself, because
there is as yet no vibration in it, for there can be no light without
vibration. We must not make the mistake of supposing that Matter is evil
in itself: it is our misconception of it that makes it the vehicle of
evil; and we must distinguish between the darkness of Matter and moral
darkness, though there is a spiritual correspondence between them. The
true development of Man consists in the self-expansion of the Divine
Spirit working through his mind, and thence upon his psychic and
physical organisms, but this can only be by the individual's
_willingness to receive_ that Spirit. Where the hindrance to this
working is only caused by ignorance of the true relation between
ourselves and the Divine Spirit, and the desire for truth is present,
the True Light will in due course disperse the darkness. But on the
other hand, if the hindrance is caused by _unwillingness_ to be led by
the Divine Spirit, then the Light cannot be _forced_ upon any one, and
for this reason Jesus said: "This is the condemnation, that light is
come into the World, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he
that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in God" (John iii: 19-21). In physical
science these things have an exact parallel in "Ohm's Law" regarding the
resistance offered by the conductor to the flow of the electric
current. The correspondence is very remarkable and will be found more
fully explained in a later chapter. The Primary Darkness, both of
Substance and of Mind, has to be taken into account, if we would form an
intelligent conception of the twofold process of Involution and
Evolution continually at work in ourselves, which, by their combined
action, are able to lead to the limitless development both of the
individual and of the race.
According to all teaching, then, both ancient and modern, all life and
energy have their source in a Primary Life and Energy, of which we can
only say that IT IS. We cannot conceive of any time when it was not,
for, if there was a time when no such Primary Energizing Life existed,
what was there to energize it? So we are landed in a _reductio ad
absurdum_ which leaves no alternative but to predicate the Eternal
Existence of an All-Originating Living Spirit.
Let us stop for a moment to consider what we mean by "Eternal." When,
do you suppose, twice two began to make four? And when, do you
suppose, twice two will cease to make four? It is an eternal
principle, quite independent of time or conditions. Similarly with the
Originating Life. It is above time and above conditions--in a word it
is _undifferentiated_ and contains in itself the _potential_ of
infinite differentiation. This is what the Eternal Life is, and what
we want for the expansion of our own life is a truer comprehension of
it. We are like Tiámat, and must enter into intelligent and loving
union with the Spirit of Light, in order to realize the infinite
possibilities that lie before us. This is the ultimate meaning of the
maxim "Omne vivum ex vivo."
We see, then, that the material universe, including our own bodies, has
its origin in the undifferentiated Universal Substance, and that the
first movement towards differentiation must be started by some initial
impulse, analogous to those which start vibrations in the ether known to
science; and that therefore this impulse must, in the first instance,
proceed from some Living Power eternal in itself, and independent of
time and conditions. Now all the ancient religions of the world concur,
in attributing this initial impulse to the power of Sound; and we have
seen, that as a matter of fact, sound has the power of starting
vibrations, and that these vibrations have an exact correspondence with
the quality of the sound, what we now call synchronous vibration.
At this point, however, we are met by another fact. Cosmic activity
takes place only in certain definite areas. Solar systems do not jostle
each other in space. In a word the Sound, which thus starts the initial
impulse of creation, is guided by Intelligent Selection. Now sounds,
directed by purposeful intention, amount to Words, whether the words of
some spoken language or the tapping of the Morse code--it is the meaning
at the back of the sound that gives it verbal significance. It is for
this reason, that the concentration of creative energy in particular
areas, has from time immemorial been attributed to "The Word." The old
Sanskrit books call this selective concentrative power "Vach," which
means "Voice," and is the root of the Latin word "Vox," having the same
meaning. Philo, and the Neo-Platonists of Alexandria who follow him,
call it "Logos," which means the same; and we are all familiar with the
opening verses of St. John's Gospel and First Epistle in which he
attributes Creation to "The Word."
Now we know, as a scientific fact, that solar systems have a definite
beginning in the gyration of nebulous matter, circling through vast
fields of interstellar space, as the great nebula in Andromeda does at
the present day. Æons upon æons elapse, before the primary nebula
consolidates into a solar system such as ours is now; but science shows,
that from the time when the nebula first spreads its spiral across the
heavens, the mathematical element of Law asserts itself, and it is by
means of our recognition of the mathematical relations between the
forces of attraction and repulsion, that we have been able to acquire
any knowledge on the subject. I do not for an instant wish to suggest
that the Spiritual Power has not continued to be in operation also, but
a centre for the working of a Cosmic Law being once established, the
Spiritual Power works through that Law and not in opposition to it. On
the other hand, the selection of particular portions of space for the
manifestation of cosmic activity, indicates the action of free volition,
not determined by any law except the obvious consideration of allowing
room for the future solar system to move in. Similarly also with regard
to time. Spectroscopic analysis of the light from the stars, which are
suns many of them much greater than our own, shows that they are of
various ages--some quite young, some arrived at maturity, and some
passing into old age. Their creation must therefore be assigned to
different epochs, and we thus see the Originating Spirit exercising the
powers of Selection and Volition as to the time when, as well as to the
place where, a new world-system shall be inaugurated.
Now it is this power of inauguration that all the ancient systems of
teaching attribute to the Divine Word. It is the passing of the
undifferentiated into differentiation, of the unmanifested into
manifestation, of the unlocalized into localization. It is the ushering
in of what the Brahminical books call a "Manvantara" or world-period,
and in like manner our Bible says that "In the beginning was the Word."
The English word "word" is closely allied to the Latin word "verbum"
which signifies both _word_ and _verb_. Grammarians tell us that the
verb "to be" is a verb-substantive, that is, it does not indicate any
action passing from the subject to the object. Now this exactly
describes the Spirit in its Eternity. We cannot conceive of It except as
always BEING; but the distribution of world-systems both in time and
space shows that it is not always cosmically active. In itself, apart
from manifestation, it is Pure Beingness, if I may coin such a word; and
it is for this reason that the Divine Name announced to Moses was "I
AM." But the fact that Creation exists, shows that from this Substantive
Pure Being there flows out a Verb Active, which reproduces in action,
what the I AM is in essence. It is just the same with ourselves. We must
first _be_ before we can _do_, and we can _do_ only to the extent to
which we _are_. We cannot express powers which we do not possess; so
that our doing necessarily coincides with the quality of our being.
Therefore the Divine Verb reproduces the Divine Substantive by a natural
sequence. It is _generated_ by the Divine "I AM," and for this reason it
is called "The Son of God." So we see that The Verb, The Word, and The
Son of God, are all different expressions for the same Power.
Creative vibration in the Universal Substance can, therefore, only be
conceived of, as being inaugurated by the "Word" which _localizes_ the
activity of the Spirit in particular centres. This idea, of the
localization of the Spirit through the "Word," should be fully realized
as the energizing principle on the scale of the Macrocosm or "Great
World," because, as we shall find later on, the same principle acts in
the same way on the scale of the Microcosm or "Small World," which is
the individual man. This is why these things have a personal interest
for us, otherwise they would not be worth troubling about. But a mistake
to be avoided at this point, is that of supposing that the "Word" is
something which dictates to the Spirit when and where to operate. The
"Word" is the word of the Spirit itself, and not that of some higher
authority, for the Spirit being First Cause there can be nothing
anterior to dictate to it; there can be nothing before that which is
First. The "Word" which centralizes the activity of the Spirit, is
therefore that of the Spirit itself. We have an analogy in our own case.
If I go to New York the first movement in that direction is that of my
Thought or Desire. It is true that in my present state of evolution I
have to follow the usual methods of travel, but so far as my Thought is
concerned, I have been there all the time. Indeed, such a case as the
one I have mentioned, of my being seen in Edinburgh while I was
physically in London, seems to point to the actual transference of some
part of the personality to another locality, and similarly with my visit
to Lanercost Abbey; and the reader must remember, that such phenomena
are by no means uncommon--they are the natural action of some part of
our personality, and must therefore follow some natural law, even though
we may at present know very little of how it works.
We see, therefore, both from _a priori_ reasoning, and from observed
facts, that it is the Word, Thought, or Desire of the Spirit, that
localizes its activity in some definite centre. The student should bear
this in mind as a leading principle, for he will find that it is of
general application, alike in the case of individuals, of groups of
individuals, and of entire nations. It is the key to the relation
between Law and Personality, the opening of the Grand Arcanum, the
equilibrating of Jachin and Boaz, and it is therefore of immediate
importance to ourselves.
We may take, then, as a starting-point for further enquiry, the maxim
that Volition creates Centres of Spiritual Activity. But perhaps you
will say: "If this be true, what word or words am I to employ?" This is
a question which has puzzled a good many people before you. This "Word"
which so many have been in search of, has been variously called "the
Lost Word," "the Word of Power," "the Schemhammaphorasch or Secret Name
of God," and so on. A quaint Jewish legend of the Middle Ages says that
the "Hidden Name" was secretly inscribed in the innermost recesses of
the Temple; but that, even if discovered, which was most unlikely, it
could not be retained because, guarding it, were sculptured lions, which
gave such a supernatural roar as the intruder was quitting the spot,
that all memory of the "Hidden Name" was driven from his mind. Jesus,
however, says the legend, knew this and dodged the lions. He transcribed
the Name, and cutting open his thigh, hid the writing in the incision,
which, by magical art, he at once closed up; then, after leaving the
Temple, he took the writing out and so retained the knowledge of the
Name. In this way the legend accounts for his power to work miracles.
Jesus, indeed, possessed the Word of Power, though not in the way
told in the legend, and he repeatedly proclaimed it in his
teaching:--"According to your Faith be it unto you"--"Verily, I say unto
you, whosoever shall say to this mountain, 'Be thou taken up and cast
into the sea'; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that
what he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith"
(Mark xi, 23). And similarly in the Old Testament we are told that the
Word is nigh to us, even in our hearts and in our mouth (Deut. xxx, 14).
What keeps the Word of Power hidden, is our belief that nothing so
simple could possibly be it.
At the same time, simple though it be, it has Law and Reason at the back
of it, like everything else. The ancient Egyptians seem to have had
clearer ideas on this subject than we have. "The name was to the
Egyptians the _idea_ of the thing, without which it could not exist, and
the knowledge of which therefore gave power over that which answered to
it." "The _idea_ of the thing represented its _soul_."[2] This is the
same conception as the "archetypal ideas" of Plato, only carried
further, so as to apply, not only to classes, but to each individual of
the class, and, as we shall see later, there is a good deal of truth in
it. Put broadly, the conception is this--every external fact must have
a spiritual origin, an internal energizing principle, which causes it to
exist in the particular form in which it does. The outward fact is
called the Phenomenon, and the corresponding inward principle is called
the Noumenon. The dictionary definition of these two words is as
follows: "Phenomenon--the appearance which anything makes to our
consciousness as distinguished from what it is in itself." "Noumenon--an
unknown and unknowable substance or thing as it is in itself--the
opposite to the Phenomenon or form through which it becomes known to the
senses or the understanding" (Chambers' Twentieth Century Dictionary).
Whether the dictionary be right in saying that the "noumena" of things
are entirely unknowable, the reader must decide for himself; but the
present book is an attempt to learn something about the "noumena" of
things in general, and of ourselves in particular, and what I want to
convey is, that the "noumenon" of anything is its essence, _in terms of
the Universal Energy and the Universal Substance, in their relation to
the particular Form in question_. Probably the Latin word "Nomen," a
Name, is derived from this Greek word, and in this sense everything has
its "hidden name"; and the region in which Thought-Power works, is this
region of spiritual beginnings. It deals with "hidden names"--that
inward essence which determines the outward form of things, persons, and
circumstances alike; and it is in order to make this clearer, that I
have commenced by sketching briefly the general principles of Substance
and Energy as now recognized by modern science.
If I have made my meaning clear, you will see that what is wanted is
not the knowledge of particular words, but an understanding of general
principles. At the same time I would not assert that the reciting of
certain forms of words, such as the Indian "mantras" or the word AUM,
to which Oriental teachers attach a mystic significance, is entirely
without power. But the power is not in the words _but in our belief in
their power_. I will give an amusing instance of this. On several
occasions I have been consulted by persons who supposed themselves to
be under the influence of "malicious magnetism," emanating in some
cases from known, and in others from unknown, sources; and the remedy I
have prescribed has been this. Look the adverse power, mentally, full
in the face, and then assuming an attitude of confidence say
"Cock-a-doodle-doo." The enquirers have sometimes smiled at first, but
in every case the result has been successful. Perhaps this is why
Æsculapius is represented as accompanied by a cock. Possibly the
ancient physicians were in the habit of employing the
"Cock-a-doodle-doo" treatment; and I might recommend it to the faculty
to-day as very effective in certain cases. Now I do not think the
reader will attribute any particularly occult significance to
"Cock-a-doodle-doo." The power is in the mental attitude. To
"cock-a-doodle-doo" at any suggestion is to treat it with scorn and
derision, and to assume the very opposite of that receptive attitude
which enables a suggestion to affect us. That is the secret of this
method of treatment, and the principle is the same in all cases.
It matters, then, very little what particular words we use. What does
matter is the intention and faith with which we use them. But perhaps
some reader will here take the rôle of cross-examining counsel, and say:
"You have just said it is a case of synchronous vibration--then surely
it is the actual sound of the particular syllables that counts--how do
you square this with your present statement?" The answer is that the Law
is always the same, but the mode of response to the Law is always
according to the nature of the medium in which it is operating. On the
plane of physical matter the vibrations are in tune with physical
sounds, as in the experiments with the eidophone; and similarly, on the
plane of ideas or "noumena," the response is in terms of that plane. The
word which creates "noumena," or spiritual centres of action, must
itself belong to the world of "noumena," so that it is not illogical to
say that it is the intention and faith that counts, and not the external
sound. In this is the secret of the Power of Thought. It is the
reproduction, on the miniature scale of the individual, of the same mode
of Power that makes the worlds. It is that Power of Personality, which,
combined with the action of the Law, brings out results which the Law
alone could never do--as the old maxim has it, "Nature unaided fails."
This brings us to another important question--is not the creative power
of the Word limited by the immutability of the Law? If the Law cannot be
altered in the least particular, how can the Word be free to do what it
likes? The answer to this is contained in another maxim: "Every creation
carries its own mathematics along with it." You cannot create anything
without at the same time creating its relation to everything else, just
as in painting a landscape, the contour you give to the trees will
determine that of the sky. Therefore, whenever you create anything, you
thereby start a train of causation, which will work out in strict
accordance with the sort of thought that started it. The stream always
has the quality of its source. Thought which is in line with the Unity
of the Great Whole, will produce correspondingly harmonious results, and
Thought which is disruptive of the great Principle of Unity, will
produce correspondingly disputive results--hence all the trouble and
confusion in the world. Our Thought is perfectly free, and we can use it
either constructively or destructively as we choose; but the immutable
Law of Sequence will not permit us to plant a thought of one kind, and
make it bear fruit of another.
Then the question very naturally suggests itself: Why did not God create
us so that we could not think negative or destructive thoughts? And the
answer is: Because He could not. There are some things which even God
cannot do. He cannot do anything that involves a contradiction in terms.
Even God could not make twice two either more or less than four. Now I
want the student to see clearly why making us incapable of
wrong-thinking would involve a contradiction in terms, and would
therefore be an impossibility. To see this we must realize what is our
place in the Order of the Universe. The name "Man" itself indicates
this. It comes from the Sanscrit root MN, which, in all its derivatives,
conveys the idea of Measurement, as in the word Mind, through the Latin
_mens_, the faculty which compares things and estimates them
accordingly; Moon, the heavenly body whose phases afford the most
obvious standard for the periodical measurement of time; Month, the
period thus measured; "Man," the largest of the Indian weights; and so
on. Man therefore means "The Measurer," and this very aptly describes
our place in the order of evolution, for it indicates the relation
between Personal Volition and Immutable Law.
If we grant the truth of the maxim "Nature unaided fails" the whole
thing becomes clear, and the entire progress of applied science proves
the truth of this maxim. To recur to an illustration I have employed in
my previous books, the old ship-builders thought that ships were bound
to be built of wood and not of iron, because wood floats in water and
iron sinks; but now nearly all ships are made of iron. Yet the specific
gravities of wood and iron have not altered, and a log of wood floats
while a lump of iron sinks, just the same as they did in the days of
Drake and Frobisher. The only difference is, that people thought out the
_underlying principle_ of the law of flotation, and reduced it to the
generalized statement that anything will float, the weight of which is
less than that of the mass displaced by it, whether it be an iron ship
floating in water, or a balloon floating in air. So long as we restrict
ourselves to the mere recollection of observed facts, we shall make no
progress; but by carefully considering _why_ any force acted in the way
it did, under the particular conditions observed, we arrive at a
generalization of principle, showing that the force in question is
capable of hitherto unexpected applications if we provide the necessary
conditions. This is the way in which all advances have been made on the
material side, and on the principle of Continuity we may reasonably
infer that the same applies to the spiritual side also.
We may generalize the whole position thus. When we first observe the
working of the Law under the conditions spontaneously provided by
Nature, it appears to limit us; but by seeking the _reason_ of the
action exhibited under these limited conditions, we discover the
principle, and true nature, of the Law in question, and we then learn
from the Law itself, what conditions to supply in order to give it more
extended scope, and direct its energy to the accomplishment of definite
purposes. The maxim we have to learn is that "Every Law _contains in
itself_ the principle of its own Expansion," which will set us free from
the limitation which that Law at first appeared to impose upon us. The
limitation was never in the Law, but in the conditions under which it
was working, and our power of selection and volition enables us to
provide new conditions, not spontaneously provided by Nature, and thus
to _specialize_ the Law, and disclose immense powers which had always
been latent in it, but which would for ever remain hidden unless brought
to light by the co-operation of the Personal Factor. The Law itself
never changes, but we can _specialize_ it by realizing the principle
involved and providing the conditions thus indicated. This is our place
in the Order of the Universe. We give definite direction to the action
of the Law, and in this way our Personal Factor is always acting upon
the law, whether we know it or not; and the Law, under the influence
thus impressed upon it, is all the time re-acting upon us.
Now we cannot conceive any limit to Evolution. To suppose a point where
it comes to an end is a contradiction in terms. It is to suppose that
the Eternal Life Principle is used up, which is to deny its Eternity;
and, as we have seen, unless we assume its Eternity, it is impossible to
account either for our own existence or that of anything else.
Therefore, to say that a point will ever be reached where it will be
used up, is as absurd as saying that a point will be reached where the
sequence of numbers will be used up. Evolution, the progress from lower
to higher modes of manifestation of the underlying Principle of Life, is
therefore eternal, but, in regard to the human race, this progress
depends entirely on the extent to which we grasp the principles of the
Law of our own Being, and so learn to specialize it in the right
direction. Then if this be our place in the Universal Order, it becomes
clear that we could not occupy this place unless we had a perfectly free
hand to choose the conditions under which the Law is to operate; and
therefore, in order to pass beyond the limits of the mineral, vegetable
and animal kingdoms, and reach the status of being Persons, and not
things, we must have a freedom of selection and volition, which makes it
equally possible for us to select either rightly or wrongly; and the
purpose of sound teaching is to make us see the eternal principles
involved, and thus lead us to impress our Personality upon the Law, in
the way that will bring out the infinite possibilities of good which the
Law, rightly employed, contains. If it were possible to do this by an
automatic Law, doubtless the Creative Wisdom would have made us so. This
is why St. Paul says: "If there had been a law given which could have
given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law" (Gal. iii,
21). Note the words "a law _given_," that is to say, imposed by external
command; but it could not be. The laws of the Universe are Cosmic. In
themselves they are _impersonal_, and the infinite possibilities
contained in them, can only be brought out by the co-operation of the
Personal Factor. It is only as we grasp the true relation between Jachin
and Boaz, that we can enter into the Temple either of our own
Individuality, or of the boundless Universe in which we live. The
reason, therefore, why God did not make us mechanically incapable of
wrong thinking, is simply because the very idea involves a contradiction
in terms, which negatives all possibility of Creation. The conception
lands us in a _reductio ad absurdum_.
Therefore, we are free to use our powers of Personality as we will, only
we must take the consequences. Now one error we are all very apt to fall
into, is the mistaken use of the Will. Its proper function is to keep
our other faculties in line with the Law, and thus enable us to
specialize it; but many people seem to think that by force of will they
can somehow manage to coerce the Law; in other words, that by force of
will they can sow a seed of one kind and make it bear fruit of another.
The Spirit of Life seeks to express itself in our individuality, through
the three avenues of reason, feeling, and will; but as in the Masonic
legend of the murder of Hiram Abif, the architect of Solomon's Temple,
it is beaten back on the side of reasoning, by the plummet of a logic
based on false premises; on the side of feeling, by the level of
conventional ideas; and on the side of will, by the hammer of a
short-sighted self-will, which gives the finishing blow; and it is not
until the true perception of the Principle of Life is resurrected within
us, that the Temple can be completed according to the true plan.
It should be remembered that the will is _not_ the Creative Faculty in
us. It is the faculty of Conception that is the creative agent, and the
business of the Will is to keep that faculty in the right direction,
which will be determined by an enlightened Reason. Conception creates
ideas which are the seed, that, in due time, will produce fruit after
its own kind. In a broad sense we may call it the Imaging Faculty, only
we must not suppose that this necessarily implies the visualizing of
mental images, which is only a subsidiary mode of using this faculty. An
"immaculate conception" is therefore the only means by which the New
Liberated Man can be born in each of us. The sequence is always the
same. The Will holds the Conception together, and the idea thus formed
gives direction to the working of the Law. But this direction may be
either true or inverted; and the impersonal Law will work constructively
or destructively, according to the conception which it embodies. In this
way, then, will-power may be used to hold together an inverted
conception--the conception that our personal force of will is sufficient
to bear down all opposition. But this mental attitude ignores the fact,
that the fundamental principle of creative power is the Wholeness of the
Creation; and that, therefore, the idea of forcing compliance with our
wishes, by the power of our individual will, is an inverted conception,
which, though it may appear to succeed for a time, is bound to fail
eventually, because it antagonizes the very power it is seeking to use.
This inverted use of the Will is the basis of "Black Magic," a term some
readers will perhaps smile at, but which is practised at the present day
to a much greater extent than many of us have any idea of--not always,
indeed, with a full consciousness of its nature, but in many ways which
are the first steps on the Left-hand Path. Its mark is the determination
to act by Self-will, rather than using our will to co-operate with that
continuous forward movement of the Great Whole, which is the Will of
God. This inverted will entirely misses the point regarding the part we
are formed to play in the Creative Order, and so we miss the development
of our own individuality, and retrograde instead of going forward.
But if we work _with_ the Law instead of against it, we shall find that
our word, that is to say our conception, will become more and more the
Word of Power, because it specializes the general Law in some particular
direction. The Law will serve us exactly to the extent to which we first
observe the Law. It is the same in everything. If the electrician tries
to go counter to the fundamental principle, that the electric current
always flows from a higher to a lower potential, he will be able to do
nothing with it; but let him observe this fundamental law and there is
nothing that electricity will not do for him within the field of its own
nature. In this sense, then, of specializing the general Law in a
particular direction, we may lay down the maxim that "The Law flows from
the Word, and not _vice versa_."
When we use our Word in this way, not as expressing a self-will that
seeks to crush all that does not submit to it, but as a portion, however
small, of the Universal Cause, and therefore with the desire of acting
in harmony with that Cause, then our word becomes a constructive,
instead of a destructive power. Its influence may be very small at
first, because there is still a great mass of doubt at the back of our
mind, and every doubt is, in reality, a Negative Word warring against
our Affirmative Word; but, by adhering to our principle, we shall
gradually gain experience in these things, and the creative value of our
word will grow accordingly.