This is a chapter from Richard Ingalese's, The History and Power of Mind, copyright 1902.
The Law of Opulence.
In the preceding lectures you were taught how to acquire spiritual perception and mental qualities through the use of Cosmic forces. You have also been taught how by the power of Divine Mind to use your mental forces, not only for your own benefit, but for the benefit of others; and now, having learned something about the spiritual and mental planes of being we shall take into consideration the third and last plane. This is where man acquires or fails to acquire an abundance of worldly goods, and where he must understand something about the law of Opulence if he is to succeed. Since many persons believe the possession of material wealth is as essential to happiness as is the possession of perfect health, and since there are no accidents in the world, and every detail of our lives is governed by law, it seems absolutely necessary that we should thoroughly understand the law governing Opulence, so that we may control our finances instead of becoming victims of circumstances.
If you have not possessions then it is because you have not used the law of Opulence for your own benefit. It is a well-known fact in Occultism that everyone has now just what he deserves, and this is as true relative to Opulence as it is to spiritual and mental qualities. But before we discuss the law of Opulence in itself let us consider certain other aspects of the law of evolution which may have a bearing on what I shall say later.
If you have studied the creatures in the animal kingdom you know how a mother bird will work to feed her young until it reaches a certain age, but when the time has come for each little bird to work for his individual self, she crowds them all out of the nest and throws each one upon his own responsibility. Other animals are devoted to the care of their young until they reach a certain age and then desert them or quarrel with and drive them away to learn independence and to act for themselves. A wise man gives to his child a proper education and training during the years when its character is forming; but when it reaches its majority he sends it forth to assume the responsibility it must assume if it is to become individualized. And the great Universal Consciousness, Father-Mother, for the first half of the evolutionary period on a planet, stands behind man as the evolutionary impulse pushing him onward in his career until he develops to the point where he becomes self-reliant. Then this impulse is withdrawn and from that time on man must develop through his own inherent force, and through a knowledge of the laws of nature and their uses.
According to the Occultist's estimate the first half of the cycle on this planet was reached in 1898; at that time the childhood of the race ended. Before that the evolutionary law provided for Its children but since that date the Cosmic Consciousness has been gradually relaxing Its effort and henceforth each individual must learn to rely upon his own strength and knowledge of law for his success in life. This may sound cruel at first thought, but it is really kind and just, because it gives each man an opportunity to develop his best qualities.
It is of the greatest importance that we who represent principles somewhat in advance of the race should realize that all things are governed by law and that not one of the least of these is the law of Opulence. Deity does not give attributes or things to us because we are good. It does not give opulence as a reward for Spiritual acquirement; but if we want Spiritual qualities we must use certain laws to receive spiritual things, and if we want material things we must use the laws which govern the distribution of them.
In the first part of the period which ended in 1898 the old Adamic curse was upon humanity. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
But as the race advanced in evolution some men came from under that curse and were able consciously or unconsciously to use the laws of nature for their individual benefit. They found that by thinking and planning they were not obliged to earn bread by hard manual labour, but could assume the relationship of employer to other men and have the work done by those who had not the faculty for planning and managing. In this manner there arose between men the relationship of employer and employee. Please do not understand me to say that the employer, the thinker, ceased working when he laid down his tools and became the manager of his own business, because I do not wish to be so understood. Cessation from work means retrogression; and retrogression soon becomes degeneration and stagnation. Stagnation, whether it be spiritual, mental or material, causes death. The great Consciousness Itself works during each Cosmic Day and each and every child of God who desires to progress must also work.
A great mistake most people make is in limiting the meaning of the word "work" to purely physical labour. Work does not necessarily mean physical effort. Man is mind, and mental strength and growth can come only through the exercise of his mental powers. The misapprehensions of the meaning of the Scriptural quotation, and of the laws of life and the law of opulence are due to the misconception of the meaning of the word "work." Last year when these lectures were first delivered several persons said, "It is very wrong to teach that you can draw material things to yourself by the use of mental forces; you should teach that people must work for what they get."
It is obvious that these cautious souls have not developed beyond the physical plane and are unable to appreciate the fact that there may be mental as well as physical labour. Then there are other persons who do not desire to use Spiritual forces to draw to themselves material things and therefore protest against teaching this knowledge. It is quite reasonable to suppose that such persons find it difficult to manipulate spiritual forces and because they do not understand how to use them, they object to others using them. To such persons I have nothing to offer except good wishes for their progress along the lines of development they have chosen.
Man's evolution has enlarged the meaning of the word "work," and we now say, "In the sweat of thy face or through mental effort shalt thou earn bread." Employers, capitalists, and thinkers plan day after day and work very hard mentally, yet many of them never raise a hand to do physical labour, but leave that part of the work to be done by those persons who still believe they must earn bread in the sweat of their faces.
There are three classes of workers; first, the physical workers; second, the physico-mental workers; and the third, or purely mental workers, and each one of these classes marks a period of human evolution. By purely physical workers I mean the hewers of wood and the drawers of water-the mass of humanity. The physico-mental workers are those who, while recognizing that the laws of mind have a wonderful power to aid a man in his development and resources, use their minds for planning and enlarging their work and drawing Opulence to themselves and yet use physical means also for the purpose of manifesting it. The third class embraces all who are purely mental workers, those who have learned to use their minds along all lines and who use mental forces so fully and so completely that they receive whatever they desire without manual labour of any kind. These are conscious users of what is commonly called the Law of Opulence or the law which brings opulence. Some students call this the law of Demand and Supply. It really does not matter what it is called, it operates as unfailing on the plane of mind as it does in the realm of economics.
Each person places himself in one of these three classes of workers, according to his evolutionary development. In the first-mentioned class the law of opulence never manifests. Those who only work physically and individually can never acquire opulence. They earn a living plus a little more than an actual living and that is all. The law of opulence commences to manifest in the second class, the physico-mental workers, and passes by slow gradation up through it to the third class where it manifests in its fullness. Every person in the course of his evolutionary career must pass through each of these three classes, and most persons who have reached our point of development are in the second class. This class is working with the laws of nature consciously while having a centre through which to draw opulence. By a "centre" I mean a certain definite vocation or avocation through which money omes. For example, suppose you have a small business -a news-stand perhaps.
You have learned that there is such a thing as the law of mental supply and demand and you desire to use this law for your financial betterment. The small business is your centre, and having a centre you wish to enlarge it.
You make a mental picture of a larger business and see yourself with a cigar and news-stand combined. You continue to look at that picture day after day and mentally demand that it shall be yours. If you never destroy your picture, in the course of time your demand will be met and the ways and means will be provided for you to get what you want. But you should not stop with the news-stand and cigar store combined, because it is never well to be content with a little. You should immediately go about making another picture, as soon as your demand has been met, and in this one you should see yourself supplying other news-stands; you should become a dealer and distributor.
Or perhaps you do not wish to have a news-stand. You may be engaged in another kind of business and are working for a salary. Perhaps you would like an advancement in your salary and a better position. Then you should make a mental picture of yourself occupying the position you want and drawing the salary you require, and by using this position for your centre you will work upward and onward to any height you desire.
For illustration let us look at a woman who at the present time stands before the public as a teacher of metaphysics. I refer to Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy.
She began her work as a practising physician and after studying under Dr. Quimby learned that it was possible to make a practical application of the Berkeleyan philosophy for the purpose of healing the sick. She started with a very insignificant medical practice, which gradually grew to large proportions because of the remarkable cures she performed through mind. By the use of medicine and the knowledge that Dr. Quimby had given her, she proceeded to enlarge her centre, to draw more people to her from different parts of the country, who she healed and taught, receiving large sums of money for her services. Her centre grew until, it is said, she is possessed of more that a million dollars.
If we do not like our occupation there is no reason why we should continue to work at it for ever; but we should hold the thought that we shall use it only for the present until we can draw to ourselves a better and a higher one. Faith in the law and power of mind enables us to demonstrate over adverse financial conditions and make them when we desire.
A master of this art, whom I know, was once a newsboy. Born of poor parents in one of the poorest quarters of Paris, he lived like all other children of his class in great destitution. His father and mother were rag-pickers and lived in a cellar. One day when he had reached the age of eighteen or twenty years a great Soul came into his life, and after engaging the boy to do some work for him became interested in his welfare, and commenced to teach him something about the power of mind. He also gave him a manuscript and told him to study and practise the teachings he would find therein.
The boy took the manuscript home and spent his last penny for a candle to give him light while he read about the Law of Supply and Demand; and as he read he began to believe that he could use this law to help himself out of his wretched condition. Looking around the tiny place which he called his bedroom, with its bare walls and stone floor, he said; "I shall commence now to create opulence for myself and the first thing I need to make me comfortable is a piece of carpet three feet long, that I can stand on while dressing when I get out of bed on cold mornings." He made the mental picture of the carpet and held steadily to his creation. After a while a piece of new carpet was given him by a woman whom he had served and from the moment his first demonstration was made, his faith in the law never wavered. He became a master at making demonstrations and when I first met him was possessed of a
great many hundred thousand dollars.
Faith in something we cannot understand is hard to acquire and rarely amounts to anything more than a hope; but faith based upon immutable law grows to be knowledge. The small demonstrations made in the beginning of our work with the law are often the most important, because they prove to us that we have the power to put the law into operation.
In the class of the physico-mental workers we find the progressive student increasing his centre and also attempting to make demonstrations independently of it. Such persons have made a marked advance in their evolutionary progress. For example, let us take the attorney who knows how to use the law of demand. He says, "I want a good law practice," and pictures clients coming in large numbers into his office. After a time the clients come as he has pictured, and then he begins to make a distinction between them. He says: "I want to represent only those whose cases I can win," and in this way he works for the mutual benefit of all who are interested. Then he begins to create things separate and distinct from his law practice. He wishes to go to Congress, perhaps, and makes a picture of himself representing his district at the Capitol, and after holding the picture for a while an earnestly making his demands that it shall come to him, an opportunity will
be given and his pictures will materialize, because the law has been put into operation by his power of mind.
In the third class are those individuals who are able to draw to themselves whatever they desire irrespective of any centre. Constant practice has made these persons skilled operators of the law and with them faith has grown into absolute knowledge. When a person has reached this point in his development he may go out of business and go wherever he desires because he can draw to himself anything he wants at any time or in any place he may happen to be. Many students pass through the second stage, that of the physico-mental workers, very slowly. A few pass rapidly since some have more faith than others and after all it is largely a question of faith, for "Whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart so is he."
Mrs. Helen Wilmans-Post, the leader of the Mental Scientists, started, as you know, penniless in the world. She went to San Francisco with but a few dollars in her purse. When she arrived there she demanded and secured her first position on a newspaper, then she gradually drew to herself through that centre money enough to enable her to live more comfortably than previously. After a while, in answer to her demands she got a better position. In the beginning she used the law of demand unconsciously-by following her own intuitions. Then she began to gain something of a knowledge of the working of the law and soon her brilliant career began as a conscious worker with the law. From a journalist she became an author, wrote several books and finally added healing and teaching to her long list of accomplishments. Through it all she continued to draw more and more opulence to herself until she is now in possession of great wealth and has built a city in the state of Florida.
By her own example she has shown that she belongs to the second class of workers and makes the statement in her book, The Conquest of Poverty, that no one can draw wealth to himself independently of physical effort.
Dr. Emily Cady is a member of the third class. She has performed very remarkable cures and has helped the world through her writings as much as any metaphysician of this time. Dr. Cady had used the law in healing and her faith was great enough to believe she could make other demonstrations of a more material nature. She passed into the third class when she showed her implicit faith in the law by demanding and receiving a large sum of money, which she needed to reimburse herself for the time and money she had given to suffering humanity. She pictured the amount that she wanted and then claimed it for her own and within a short time after she made her creation, a stranger brought to her what she had demanded. According to her picture and her faith it was given unto her.
To put this law of opulence into operation it is necessary to realize
three things.
First. That everything you want exists now in Divine Mind. Do you want jewels, gold, silver? They are all in the market; besides, there are in mines as yet undiscovered all these things in great abundance. All these things exist and you can put into operation the law which will bring them to you. The history of the world shows that every mental demand of man has been met. Man grew tired of walking and carrying things and the cumbersome ox cart was evolved to supply his needs. But he was not satisfied with this crude vehicle and demanded something better. Then came the horse and a lighter wagon, and after that cam steam cars, bicycles, and automobiles; and still man is not satisfied; he wishes to fly and flying machines are in the process of evolution. By degrees, from the boat made by burning out the centre of an old log, has the modern steam yacht been evolved, and from the slow, tedious process of sending verbal messages by footmen from place to place has been
evolved the wireless telegraph. There is no lack of anything in the world; and there should be no envy or jealousy between men, because there is enough of everything for everyone who lives.
Second. Realize that all things belong to Deity and that you can only have a temporary use of them. We should not be so vainglorious as to think we own anything. We came into the world destitute of everything and go out of it with nothing except character- and some even go without that. While we remain here we may borrow of Deity something or nothing according to our manner of thinking.
Third. We should realize that all things are distributed by the Universal Consciousness according to law. One man is not poverty-stricken and another man a millionaire by chance, fatalism or caprice; but everything is distributed according to the law of mental demand, or of asking and receiving.
Those of you who are Christians know what the Nazarene said on that subject. Everyone who stops to think knows that the successful man of business has always been, is, and always will be, the man who can demand-i.e., make a positive picture of what he desires. If you want anything, create it mentally, demand it and according to your faith be it unto you.
There are certain rules whereby you may hasten your creations whether you work with or without a centre, and your experiences will demonstrate the accuracy of the rules.
Rule First. Meditate and ask Deity if there is any reason why you should not have the thing you desire to create.
This removes all uncertainty from your mind about the advisability of creating it. Uncertainty produces a negative condition, disturbs your aura and therefore delays the materialization of your creations. When you have received the answer from the Universal Consciousness that it is right and proper for you to have the thing that you desire, you are then in a positive condition of mind and can forcefully put the law into operation.
Rule Second. Having decided to create something make your mental picture of it and demand it unfalteringly until it comes.
A person after having received a favourable answer from Deity often commences his creations, but abandons them after a time because his objective mind suggests that he may have been mistaken about his answer from Deity, and that it is not best to continue with his demands. Do not listen to the suggestions from your objective mind, but once having decided upon your creations go on with them to the end.
Rule Three A positive demand accomplishes more and better results than a request or a petition. The mental attitude while making a demand should always be reverential but very positive. The Lord's Prayer is an excellent example of the proper attitude of mind to be assumed while demanding and we will analyse that prayer. Jesus said: "After this manner therefore pray ye."
"Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven." The attitude of mind manifested by the Nazarene while making the first part of this prayer was reverential, and His words expressed His desire of perfect harmony between Himself and the Father. Having established harmony between His individual mind and the Universal Mind He proceeded to make His demands in this manner:
"Give us this day our daily bread: And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." After this manner therefore pray ye.
There is not one negative thought in this prayer. There is a positive demand for everything desired rather than a petition. We can almost say that the demand was a respectful command that the things desired should come, and you will find that those of you who ask of the Universal in this manner and with this mental attitude will always receive what you ask for.
Now the contrast that the Nazarene Occultist had when He prayed, with the mental attitude of His so-called followers of the present day. He said: "When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing (kneeling) in the synagogues" (churches and cathedrals)...." But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathens do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (chanting, litanies and masses). If you wish to witness the contrast between the Master's and the modern forms of worship, go into some of the Churches on or near Fifth Avenue and listen to the words of the modern prayers. On Sunday you will hear Public Confessions of sins something like this:
"We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done: And there is no health in us." "Health" is defined by the Century Dictionary as meaning in this connection, "natural vigour of the faculties, moral or intellectual soundness."
If we were to say about these same good citizens what they publicly admit about themselves-that they are morally and intellectually depraved and are secretly doing things they ought not to do-we should very likely be sued for slander. But we do not wish to say or to believe that these good people are guilty of what they unthinkingly say with their lips in their forms of worship. The illustration given is but a type of modern prayers, for they are all the more or less self-depreciatory if not self-condemnatory. The thoughts behind them are negative and the prayers are repeated as a matter of form more than of faith. Many of these same good persons have their prayers answered, but the answered ones were not the formal prayers read from prayer books. They are those that were sent forth from the heart and were expressed in a positive form; they were whispered in the silence of the night when there was no one near to hear but God to whom they were addressed. These are the
prayers that are efficacious, for prayer to be efficacious must be a mental and not an emotional act.
4. Demand specifically what you want.
Every word of this rule is important. First you must make a demand. Then that demand must be specific. Make your mental picture clear-cut. The clearer you picture the sooner it will materialize. Demand specifically what you want-not what someone else wants you to have, not what you think you ought to have, not what you believe it your duty to want-but what you, yourself, wish to have.
The converse of this rule is equally important. Never demand what you do not want. If you want money do not demand work. Almost everyone makes that mistake when he begins to make demands, because it is difficult to break the customs of many years. Unpleasant environment is the result of demands we have made in the past for things we do not want now. Diseased bodies and unhappy conditions of mind are but the realizations of demands made in ignorance.
This rule is very likely to be misunderstood even by some metaphysicians. A local teacher of metaphysics who heard this rule given in last year's lectures said it was misleading; that if a person had a drug store, for instance, and wanted money, he should demand patrons because they would bring money. To an Occultist this is strange logic. The druggist might have a thousand patrons and sell his entire stock. If all his customers bought his goods on credit and neglected to pay for them afterwards, his desire for money would not be fulfilled although his demand for patrons had been fully met. It is best to demand the specific thing you want and then you will make no mistakes.
A member of last year's class who thought she understood this rule, said to me several weeks after the lecture course ended that she had created a trip to Europe. When I asked to describe her mental picture she said, "Oh, I just created a one-thousand-dollar bill which I shall use for my trip."
She had not created a trip to Europe, but had created the money to pay for one. This was no surety of her getting the trip, because when the money came an infinite number of things might occur to prevent her going. She should have created the picture of herself on board ship crossing the ocean; and should have seen herself landing safe and well on the other side.
5. Only demand when your desire is strong.
When you feel the need of a thing your desire for it is strongest. Many students begin enthusiastically to make their demands, but soon grow lukewarm. A good way to intensify your desires is to think of the pleasure the possession of the thing would give you, and when the desire for it comes sweeping over you then make your demand for it. Do not demand because the hour set apart for demanding has come, or because you regard it as a duty you have assumed. Demands made under such conditions amount to nothing, and the time put into work of that kind is wasted.
6. Mind works best when the body is still.
If you are drumming with your fingers or swinging your feet while making demands, a part of your mental force goes into the physical motions you are making; and your forces being divided the mental work is robbed of much of its power. You should conserve your force. At intervals during the day you may think of your demands and you can hold them subconsciously in mind much of the time; and while this kind of picture-making does not accomplish as much as when the body is at rest, yet it does have an effect.
7. Never demand when excited.
You may have a strong desire but no excitement. A demand made during intense excitement is always met forcefully. This is an important rule, the observance of which may save you much inconvenience. We are quite likely to become impatient at times and are often tempted to make positive and often violent demands. It is a dangerous thing to do, as I shall show you in an illustration.
There was a student of Occultism in this city who had met with several misfortunes. Disasters followed each other till everything he had on the material plane was swept away. But he was possessed of a great deal of force, and knowing how to make demands for what he wanted he commenced making new creations. Hedemanded ten thousand dollars, which to him was financial opulence. The demand was not met immediately, and the young man became impatient and finally angry. And when he wakened one morning to find himself without money enough to pay for his breakfast, he walked to the park, threw himself upon the ground, and lay there for several hours with his teeth set, hands clenched and with the perspiration standing out all over his body, so intense was his excitement while making his demand for money he had pictured.
The next day he boarded a freight train and, after the usual delays and inconveniences attended upon transportation of that kind, the student of Occultism managed to reach a Western town. But he had no sooner entered the place than a cyclone came along and swept it off the face of the earth. When the young man of the violent demands came to consciousness he was lying on the ground some distance from the place where he was at the last moment of his recollections. His body was a mass of bruises, and when he tried to rise to his feet he found one leg broken. Bodies of dead animals and men lay all around him, and wagon loads of debris were strewn in all directions; but just within reach of his arm law a plethoric leather wallet. The young man reached his best arm out and got the wallet and immediately examined its contents. There were just ten one-thousand-dollar bills in it and not a scrap of paper or a card to tell to whom it belonged. He placed his prize in
the pocket of his ragged coat and crept on his hands and knees for some distance till someone came to his relief. He was cared for and finally got well. The owner of the money could not be found, and the young man kept it as an answer to his violent demand, which so nearly cost him his life.
Please do not understand me to say that the young Occult student's violent demand created the cyclone, because it had nothing to with its creation. But the student was drawn into the cyclone, and suffered the horrors of it, because of his own tempestuous mental condition when making a demand, which had to be met after the manner it was made.
8. Always be deliberate and quiet but positive when demanding.
Never demand in a hurry. Mental perturbation engendered by hurry
delays the materialization of your creation.
9. Avoid speculating on the time when or the way in which your
demonstrations will be made.
When you begin speculating about the ways and means by which your demonstrations will come, immediately your force becomes scattered or divided and a repellent expectancy arises. There is an expectancy that draws and also one that repels. The quiet expectancy, such as is used in meditation, is helpful in drawing to you whatever you have demanded. But the impatient expectancy of the objective mind is repellent, because it causes your aura to become disturbed and then nothing you want can reach you.
For example: You have made a demand and have commenced to wonder through whom that demand will be met. You objective mind suggests Mr. Blank as the most probably person, and if you accept the suggestion when you meet Mr. Blank you are not mentally poised because of your impatient expectancy.
Mr. Blank feels your mental condition, and if he were inclined to form a business connection with you he would hesitate and become uncertain because of your perturbed condition; thus the ways and means that you expected to bring your demonstration would not be used because of your repellent expectancy. The person who violates rule nine is like to make very bad investments.
10. Anger, discontent, envy and lack of self-control repel and delay
a demonstration.
If you make a mental picture of a thing and hold it for a time it will materialize, but it will be delayed if you indulge in any of the mental attitudes just mentioned; because any of these puts your aura into a perturbed condition, which is repellent. Divine Mind may be likened to the ocean which is bearing a boat laden with your creations to you who are standing upon the shore. If you are perturbed your mind acts upon Divine Mind as the wind off-shore acts upon the ocean. It is for ever driving back the craft in which are the things you desire.
This rule is one of the hardest to observe, but like anything else it can be followed. It is the disregard of this rule which leads investigators and beginners to disbelieve in the law or power of mind, and which makes so many students finally abandon in despair their efforts to use the forces of nature. But if we do not use nature's forces then we shall be used by them.
11. The earnestness with which a demand is made, the frequency with which it is made and the persistency with which the mental image is consciously held in mind hastens the demonstration.
In another lecture you were told how your mental picture becomes a matrix, and that from this matrix goes forth a vibratory force like a blue magnetic cord which connects with the thing you desire. The material thing is then drawn by this blue magnetic cord closer and closer to you every time you concentrate your thoughts upon your creation until the thing finally reaches you. The earnestness, the frequency and the persistency of your demands and concentration draw it faster and faster. An Occultist never destroys any of his mental pictures.
12. The realization that you are using an immutable law hastens your
demonstrations.
Get out of the old theological belief that because you are good God is going to give you a reward. Get out of the thought that you are a chosen child of God and that He is looking upon you with special favour. Get into the thought that you are a student of Occultism and that by working with mental law you are going to be able to make quick demonstrations and a better environment. Realize that you are using an immutable law and that what you demand comes to you because you are using a law and that nothing can prevent its coming, that God Himself cannot prevent it without violating His own nature-a thing inconceivable.
13. After your creation is made and you have demanded it, the declaration, "God has met my demand," hastens the material manifestation of the demonstration.
For example, suppose you have made a picture, have held it, have demanded that it should materialize and you have followed faithfully all the foregoing rules. But after a while your objective mind says: "that demonstration will never come." Then I would suggest that you change your form of demand, and instead of saying "Give me this," say, "God has met my demand. It is mine now." Claim it. You know your demand has been met on the mental plane, and since it is law that you are using, it is your as much before it has materialized as it will be afterwards. This declaration gives you a positive realization of possession which has a tendency to bring more quickly your creations and removes anxiety and perturbation from your mind.
If this lecture on opulence has been made clear, you will understand that I am not teaching a mental-get-rich-quick affair, nor the getting of something for nothing; but that you must work mentally in order to accomplish whatever you desire. The particular advantage of this system of mental work over physical work is this: you can select your own time to do it, and arrange your own compensation. The results are absolutely certain if the law is complied with. But when a person says he has complied with the rules given here and has not got results he has made a mistake somewhere. He has not complied.
Your experiences with prosperous business men and all successful persons in the world show that unconsciously they work along these lines. I say unconsciously because the majority of them as yet only unconsciously put the law into operation. Observation of the metaphysicians of the present day who are semi-consciously using the law -and their name is legion- will show that even with their limited knowledge they are repeatedly making remarkable demonstrations. A large percentage of those who listened to these lectures last season have been enabled to demonstrate health for themselves and many have brought health to others; some have demonstrated happiness, others have enlarged their business and many have drawn to themselves money. All have increased their store of knowledge and a few have become ennobled in character and have gained spiritual qualities. This shows that the law has worked on the three planes of being with this band of students and if a few can accomplish many can.
If you will but persist in your faith there can be no limit to your possibilities. If you can demonstrate a piece of carpet three feet long you can demonstrate a million dollars. If you can cure a headache you can cure in the course of time any disease; if you can demonstrate a seat in the street car you can demonstrate a seat in Congress, in time. If you can be happy a week you can be happy for a lifetime, because what can be done in a small degree can, with persistency, be done in a large degree.
It rests with you whether you will or will not use this law consciously. There are some of you who will. There is always a percentage of persons who succeed and a percentage who do not. Each of you can do with your knowledge what you choose. This much is true, if you persist for two years to use consciously these laws if your daily affairs of life, by the end of that time your environment will have changed sufficiently, and demonstrations enough will have been made, to prove to you that you are dealing with Law.
