心存一份信仰
每个人都有自己的追求与信仰。
有人会说，我不信神，我没有信仰，你的那套理论不适合我，其实不然。当我们追求高尚、美、财富、成功的时候，我们就已经“拜倒”在它们面前，膜拜它们。这时我们把全部意念集中在它们身上，而它们就以鲜活的形象在我们的心中呈现，这就是我们的神，我们的信仰。
如果你明白了因果相循的原理，就会明白，思想会决定现实。当我们心存信仰的时候，信仰就会转变为现实，所以，心中怀有追求，你就会得到你想要的结果。
- 思想决定行为
思想是一种高级的心智，它掌管着我们的一切行为。
- 通过洞察力才能获得真正的思想
我们靠五官去感知这个世界，但真正的知识的获得却必须通过更深层次的感知能力——我们的洞察力。通过洞察力，我们可以看到现象背后的本质，掌握潜藏在事物纷乱表面背后的真理，我们的思想因此得以产生。
- 专注而持久地学习
若想成为一个渊博的人，就必须专注而持久地学习。学习需要成年累月的精神集中，伟大的发现都是持久观察的结果。在专注的基础上，我们才能够做到全身心的投入，从而以最高的效率获取更多的知识。
- 全神贯注
只有在我们全神贯注地去做一件事情的时候，我们的潜力才可以得到最大的发挥。
- 专注会诱发你的灵感
完全沉浸在你的思想中，沉醉于你所关注的主题，其他一切不相干的事物都被抛在脑后。然后灵感就会在你的脑海中突现，直觉、洞察力、顿悟等等高级的思维过程接踵而来，你就会发现事物原来是如此的简单，本质透过现象的面纱，露出它的清晰的轮廓来。
- 心灵具有天然的“磁力”
我们的心灵就像一块磁铁，求知的渴望就是不可抗拒的“磁力”，它会吸引住一切知识和智慧，让它们为我所用，我们的一切知识都是这种力量的结果。
- 渴望存在于潜意识当中
对将来的渴望能够激发出我们的行动力，使一切困难的问题迎刃而解，而渴望主要存在于潜意识当中。了解自己需要什么，会有助于我们开发自己的潜意识，发挥自己的潜能。
- 专注有助于激发潜能
意念的集中能够激发潜意识，引导其中的能量向一个固定的目标前进，并且使我们坚定而充满自信。仅凭一时冲动的行为没有任何价值，想要实现目标，必须有极大的毅力才成。
- 可以拥有“份外”的想法
- 不要放弃努力
理想和现实有时会有很大的差距，心灵想要展翅高飞，很可能还没有等它飞得很高，就因为动脉乏力跌落在地。我们有时可能会把理想定得过高，却发现心有余而力不足。但是这一切，都不能成为我们不再进行下一次尝试的理由，不要放弃努力，只要目标正确，你的努力终究会得到足够的回报。
- 正视自己的软弱
软弱是一种由于身体的疲惫和精神的匮乏而产生的精神畏缩的状态。软弱是我们获得成就的最大障碍。一旦被软弱所困扰，那么打倒它的唯一办法就是正视它，打倒它，踩着它的身体走过去。重新尝试一下吧，不断的努力终究会让你获得游刃有余、应付自如的感觉。
- 专注造成知识
- 越是强烈的渴望，得到的回报就越多
渴望是一种最为强大的精神力量。一切精神成就都是热切的渴望加上专注的意念所致，我们的行为就越是坚强有力，我们得到的发现、取得的成就越是辉煌。
- 专注导致成功
意念的集中能打开疑惑、软弱、无力、自卑的桎梏，让你品尝到征服的乐趣。短期内把精神高度专注你的目标上，加上对取得成功的强烈渴望，可能会比成年累月被动、缓慢的努力更为有效。
- 心灵是行动的引擎
发电机的功率虽然强大，但是如果它没有被启动，就什么力量都发挥不出来。我们的心灵就是身体的发电机开关，只有心灵打开，才能使身体运转，产生能量，产生行动。心灵是行动的引擎，它的能量是我们前所未闻的。
- 专注产生直觉
如果你把精神集中在一些重要的事情上面，直觉的力量就开始运作了，它会帮助你排除各种困扰而直接发现问题的答案。集中意念就好象用放大镜聚集太阳光取火一样，一旦精神的力量得以“聚集”，直觉就会自然产生。
- 神秘的直觉
人类的直觉仿佛是冥冥中神的指引，它不需要那些繁冗的思考就可以获得问题的答案。在我们的理性对问题一筹莫展的时候，直觉常常不期而至，给你带来极大的惊喜。直觉往往会出奇不意地直接击中我们苦苦追寻许久的真理，让人感觉它似乎是来自某种神秘的力量。
- 给直觉以礼遇
直觉可以培养、可以开发。为了培养直觉，就必须认识它、欣赏它。如果直觉做客你家，你就要认真地体验它，品味它，这样它还会再次光临。你对它的接待越是热忱，它的光临就越是频繁。但如果你对它不理不睬、视而不见，它的拜访就会越来越少，与你渐行渐远。
- 潜意识是最大的能量宝库
让你的愿望与自然法则、与宇宙精神保持和谐一致，潜意识就会从你的心灵深处解放出来，赋予你战无不胜的能力与勇气。你取得何种程度的成就完全取决于你的目标有多高。
- 要充满自信
对自己充满信心，我们就会跨越每一个障碍，不断地取得胜利。而在跨越障碍和取得胜利之后，又会进一步增强我们的信心，这样，我们就会有更大的勇气去赢得更多的胜利。所以，你能否成功完全取决于你的精神状态，如果你表现出成功自信的精神状态，面对挫折也不折不挠，那么你就会从肉眼无法看到的环境中汲取到无尽的力量，供你任意使用。
- 搞清楚你真正应该追求的是什么
我们有时候弄不清楚自己想要的到底是什么。名声、地位、金钱、权力等等，这些都可能是我们追逐的东西。然而对这些身外之物，在你刚刚追上它们的时候，你就会发现它们只不过是过眼烟云而已。你真正需要的并不是这些，而是潜能的释放，对自然法则的领悟，只要对心灵中的这些想法保持忠贞，至死不渝，那些身外之物就会随之而来。
- 认识到真正的力量之源
一个人为了财富而终日奔波劳碌，等到他口袋里真正装满沉甸甸的黄金的时候他就会发现，大量的金钱不过是一个象征而已。许多人以金钱为自己的人生追求，但是如果他认识到了真正的力量之源，就可以不必再理睬这些符号了。因为，金钱仅仅是那股力量之源所带来的副产品之一了，此外还有更多。
- 把思想投向内部
把思想投向外部，它就会带来外在世界的变革；如果把思想的指针转向内在的世界，它同样会有神奇的功效。一切事物的基本准则会尽在我们的掌握之中，万事万物的核心和精神为我们所用。
- 把握事物的本质
如果你能把握事物的本质，领会它们，它们就会听命于你。这是我们强大的力量源泉。
- 力量来自于放松
有心栽花花不开，无心插柳柳面荫。紧张反而导致沮丧，力量则来自于放松。完全放松下来，不要再对前途忧心忡忡。集中注意力，对你所关注的目标凝神思考，直到你的意念完全与它合而为一，直到你再也意识不到别的东西存在，这时力量就会渐渐浮现出来。
本课重点
１、集中意念的正确方法是什么？
——集中注意力在你希望关注的对象上，然后摒除一切与此无关的事物。
２、这样集中意念的结果是什么？
——这样做可以触发看不见的力量，你的境遇将困此改变。
３、专注会诱发什么？
——诱发灵感，使我们可以直接得到问题的答案，却不必经过繁冗的思考。
４、为什么越是强烈的渴望，得到的回报就越多？
——因为渴望越是强烈持久，我们的行为就越是坚强有力，我们得到的发现、取得的成就越是辉煌。
５、为什么要给直觉以礼遇？
——因为你要认真地体验它，品味它，它还会再次光临。如果你对它不理不睬，它就会与你渐行渐远。
６、在一切商业活动中，决定性的因素是什么？
——是精神因素。
７、最大的能量宝库是什么？
——潜意识。
８、把思想投向内部会有什么结果？
——一切事物的基本准则会尽在我们的掌握之中，万事万物的核心和精神为我们所用。
９、为什么要使自己完全“沉寂”下来？
——在你完全放松下来、再也意识不到别的东西存在，力量就会自然地浮现出来。
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Part Seventeen
The kind of Deity which a man, consciously or unconsciously, worships, indicates the intellectual status of the worshipper.
Ask the Indian of God, and he will describe to you a powerful chieftain of a glorious tribe. Ask the Pagan of God, and he will tell you of a God of fire, a God of water, a god of this, that, and the other.
Ask the Israelite of God, and he will tell you of the God of Moses, who conceived it expedient to rule by coercive measures; hence, the Ten Commandments. Or of Joshua, who led the Israelites into battle, confiscated property, murdered the prisoners, and laid waste to cities.
The so-called heathen made "graven images" of their Gods, whom they were accustomed to worship, but among the most intelligent, at least, these images were but the visible fulcrums with which they were enabled to mentally concentrate on the qualities which they desired to externalize in their lives.
We of the twentieth century worship a God of Love in theory, but in practice we make for ourselves "graven images" of "Wealth," "Power," "Fashion," "Custom" and "Conventionality." We "fall down" before them and worship them. We concentrate on them and they are thereby externalized in our lives.
The student who masters the contents of Part Seventeen will not mistake the symbols for the reality; he will be interested in causes, rather than effects. He will concentrate on the realities of life, and will then not be disappointed in the results.
PART SEVENTEEN
1. We are told that Man has "dominion over all things"; this dominion is established through Mind. Thought is the activity which controls every principle beneath it. The highest principle by reason of its superior essence and qualities necessarily determines the circumstances, aspects and relation of everything with which it comes in contact.
2. The vibrations of mental forces are the finest and consequently the most powerful in existence. To those who perceive the nature and transcendency of mental force, all physical power sinks into insignificance.
3. We are accustomed to look upon the Universe with a lens of five senses, and from these experiences our anthropomorphic conceptions originate, but true conceptions are only secured by spiritual insight. This insight requires a quickening of the vibrations of the Mind, and is only secured when the mind is continuously concentrated in a given direction.
4. Continuous concentration means an even, unbroken flow of thought and is the result of patient, persistent, persevering and well-regulated system.
5. Great discoveries are the result of long-continued investigation. The science of mathematics requires years of concentrated effort to master it, and the greatest science -- that of the Mind -- is revealed only through concentrated effort.
6. Concentration is much misunderstood; there seems to be an idea of effort or activity associated with it, when just the contrary is necessary. The greatness of an actor lies in the fact that he forgets himself in the portrayal of his character, becoming so identified with it, that the audience is swayed by the realism of the performance. This will give you a good idea of true concentration; you should be so interested in your thought, so engrossed in your subject, as to be conscious of nothing else. Such concentration leads to intuitive perception and immediate insight into the nature of the object concentrated upon.
7. All knowledge is the result of concentration of this kind; it is thus that the secrets of Heaven and Earth have been wrested; it is thus that the mind becomes a magnet and the desire to know draws the knowledge, irresistibly attracts it, makes it your own.
8. Desire is largely subconscious; conscious desire rarely realizes its object when the latter is out of immediate reach. Subconscious desire arouses the latent faculties of the mind, and difficult problems seem to solve themselves.
9. The subconscious mind may be aroused and brought into action in any direction and made to serve us for any purpose, by concentration. The practice of concentration requires the control of the physical, mental, and physical being; all modes of consciousness whether physical, mental, or physical, must be under control.
10. Spiritual Truth is therefore the controlling factor; it is this which will enable you to grow out of limited attainment and reach a point where you will be able to translate modes of thought into character and consciousness.
11. Concentration does not mean mere thinking of thoughts, but the transmutation of these thoughts into practical values; the average person has no conception of the meaning of concentration. There is always the cry "to have" but never the cry "to be"; they fail to understand that they cannot have one without the other, that they must first find the "kingdom" before they can have the "things added." Momentary enthusiasm is of no value; it is only with unbounded self-confidence that the goal is reached.
12. The mind may place the ideal a little too high and fall short of the mark; it may attempt to soar on untrained wings and instead of flying, fall to earth; but that is no reason for not making another attempt.
13. Weakness is the only barrier to mental attainment; attribute your weakness to physical limitations or mental uncertainties and try again; ease and perfection are gained by repetition.
14. The astronomer centers his mind on the stars and they give forth their secrets; the geologists centers his mind on the construction of the earth and we have geology; so with all things. Men center their minds on the problems of life, and the result is apparent in the vast and complex social order of the day.
15. All mental discovery and attainment are the result of desire plus concentration; desire is the strongest mode of action; the more persistent the desire, the more authoritative the revelation. Desire added to concentration will wrench any secret from nature.
16. In realizing great thoughts, in experiencing great emotions that correspond with great thoughts, the mind is in a state where it appreciates the value of higher things.
17. The intensity of one moment's earnest concentration and the intense longing to become and to attain may take you further than years of slow normal and forced effort; it will unfasten the prison bars of unbelief, weakness, impotence and self-belittlement, and you will come into a realization of the joy of overcoming.
18. The spirit of initiative and originality is developed through persistence and continuity of mental effort. Business teaches the value of concentration and encourages decision of character; it develops practical insight and quickness of conclusion. The mental element in every commercial pursuit is dominant as the controlling factor, and desire is the predominating force; all commercial relations are the externalization of desire.
19. Many of the sturdy and substantial virtues are developed in commercial employment; the mind is steadied and directed; it becomes efficient. The principal necessity is the strengthening of the mind so that it rises superior to the distractions and wayward impulses of instinctive life and thus successfully overcomes in the conflict between the higher and lower self.
20. All of us are dynamos, but the dynamo of itself is nothing; the mind must work the dynamo; then it is useful and its energy can be definitely concentrated. The mind is an engine whose power is undreamed; thought is an omni-working power. It is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form. Physical energy is nothing in comparison with the omnipotence of thought, because thought enables man to harness all other natural power.
21. Vibration is the action of thought; it is vibration which reaches out and attracts the material necessary to construct and build. There is nothing mysterious concerning the power of thought; concentration simply implies that consciousness can be focalized to the point where it becomes identified with the object of its attention. As food absorbed is the essence of the body, so the mind absorbs the object of its attention, gives it life and being.
22. If you concentrate on some matter of importance, the intuitive power will be set in operation, and help will come in the nature of information which will lead to success.
23. Intuition arrives at conclusions without the aid of experience or memory. Intuition often solves problems that are beyond the grasp of the reasoning power. Intuition often comes with a suddenness that is startling; it reveals the truth for which we are searching, so directly that it seems to come from a higher power. Intuition can be cultivated and developed; in order to do this it must be recognized and appreciated; if the intuitive visitor is given a royal welcome when he comes, he will come again; the more cordial the welcome the more frequent his visits will become, but if he is ignored or neglected he will make his visits few and far apart.
24. Intuition usually comes in the Silence; great minds seek solitude frequently; it is here that all the larger problems of life are worked out. For this reason every businessman who can afford it has a private office, where he will not be disturbed; if you cannot afford a private office you can at least find somewhere, where you can be alone a few minutes each day, to train the thought along lines which will enable you to develop that invincible power which is necessary to achieve.
25. Remember that fundamentally the subconscious is omnipotent; there is no limit to the things that can be done when it is given the power to act. Your degree of success is determined by the nature of your desire. If the nature of your desire is in harmony with Natural Law or the Universal Mind, it will gradually emancipate the mind and give you invincible courage.
26. Every obstacle conquered, every victory gained, will give you more faith in your power, and you will have greater ability to win. Your strength is determined by your mental attitude; if this attitude is one of success, and is permanently held with an unswerving purpose, you will attract to you from the invisible domain the things you silently demand.
27. By keeping the thought in mind, it will gradually take tangible form. A definite purpose sets causes in motion which go out in the invisible world and find the material necessary to serve your purpose.
28. You may be pursuing the symbols of power, instead of power itself. You may be pursuing fame instead of honor, riches instead of wealth, position instead of servitude; in either event you will find that they turn to ashes just as you overtake them.
29. Premature wealth or position cannot be retained because it has not been earned; we get only what we give, and those who try to get without giving always find that the law of compensation is relentlessly bringing about an exact equilibrium.
30. The race has usually been for money and other mere symbols of power, but with an understanding of the true source of power, we can afford to ignore the symbols. The man with a large bank account finds it unnecessary to load his pockets down with gold; so with the man who has found the true source of power; he is no longer interested in its shams or pretensions.
31. Thought ordinarily leads outwardly in evolutionary directions, but it can be turned within where it will take hold of the basic principles of things, the heart of things, the spirit of things. When you get to the heart of things it is comparatively easy to understand and command them.
32. This is because the Spirit of a thing is the thing itself, the vital part of it, the real substance. The form is simply the outward manifestation of the spiritual activity within.
33. For your exercise this week concentrate as nearly as possible in accordance with the method outlined in this lesson; let there be no conscious effort or activity associated with your purpose. Relax completely, avoid any thought of anxiety as to results. Remember that power comes through repose. Let the thought dwell upon your object, until it is completely identified with it, until you are conscious of nothing else.
34. If you wish to eliminate fear, concentrate on courage.
35. If you wish to eliminate lack, concentrate on abundance.
36. If you wish to eliminate disease, concentrate on health.
37. Always concentrate on the ideal as an already existing fact; this is the germ cell, the life principle which goes forth and sets in motion those causes which guide, direct and bring about the necessary relation, which eventually manifest in form.
Thought is the property of those only who can entertain it.
Emerson
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Study Questions with Answers
161. What is the true method of concentration?
To become so identified with the object of your thought that you are conscious of nothing else.
162. What is the result of this method of concentration?
Invisible forces are set in motion which irresistibly bring about conditions in correspondence with your thought.
163. What is the controlling factor in this method of thought?
Spiritual Truth.
164. Why is this so?
Because the nature of our desire must be in harmony with Natural Law.
165. What is the practical value of this method of concentration?
Thought is transmuted into character, and character is the magnet which creates the environment of the individual.
166. What is the controlling factor in every commercial pursuit?
The mental element.
167. Why is this so?
Because Mind is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form.
168. How does concentration operate?
By the development of the powers of perception, wisdom, intuition, and sagacity.
169. Why is intuition superior to reason?
Because it does not depend upon experience or memory and frequently brings about the solution to our problems by methods concerning which we are in entire ignorance.
170. What is the result of pursuing the symbol of the reality?
They frequently turn to ashes just as we overtake them, because the symbol is only the outward form of the spiritual activity within, therefore unless we can possess the spiritual reality, the form disappears.
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Part Seventeen
The kind of Deity which a man, consciously or unconsciously, worships, indicates the intellectual status of the worshipper.
Ask the Indian of God, and he will describe to you a powerful chieftain of a glorious tribe. Ask the Pagan of God, and he will tell you of a God of fire, a God of water, a god of this, that, and the other.
Ask the Israelite of God, and he will tell you of the God of Moses, who conceived it expedient to rule by coercive measures; hence, the Ten Commandments. Or of Joshua, who led the Israelites into battle, confiscated property, murdered the prisoners, and laid waste to cities.
The so-called heathen made "graven images" of their Gods, whom they were accustomed to worship, but among the most intelligent, at least, these images were but the visible fulcrums with which they were enabled to mentally concentrate on the qualities which they desired to externalize in their lives.
We of the twentieth century worship a God of Love in theory, but in practice we make for ourselves "graven images" of "Wealth," "Power," "Fashion," "Custom" and "Conventionality." We "fall down" before them and worship them. We concentrate on them and they are thereby externalized in our lives.
The student who masters the contents of Part Seventeen will not mistake the symbols for the reality; he will be interested in causes, rather than effects. He will concentrate on the realities of life, and will then not be disappointed in the results.
PART SEVENTEEN
1. We are told that Man has "dominion over all things"; this dominion is established through Mind. Thought is the activity which controls every principle beneath it. The highest principle by reason of its superior essence and qualities necessarily determines the circumstances, aspects and relation of everything with which it comes in contact.
2. The vibrations of mental forces are the finest and consequently the most powerful in existence. To those who perceive the nature and transcendency of mental force, all physical power sinks into insignificance.
3. We are accustomed to look upon the Universe with a lens of five senses, and from these experiences our anthropomorphic conceptions originate, but true conceptions are only secured by spiritual insight. This insight requires a quickening of the vibrations of the Mind, and is only secured when the mind is continuously concentrated in a given direction.
4. Continuous concentration means an even, unbroken flow of thought and is the result of patient, persistent, persevering and well-regulated system.
5. Great discoveries are the result of long-continued investigation. The science of mathematics requires years of concentrated effort to master it, and the greatest science -- that of the Mind -- is revealed only through concentrated effort.
6. Concentration is much misunderstood; there seems to be an idea of effort or activity associated with it, when just the contrary is necessary. The greatness of an actor lies in the fact that he forgets himself in the portrayal of his character, becoming so identified with it, that the audience is swayed by the realism of the performance. This will give you a good idea of true concentration; you should be so interested in your thought, so engrossed in your subject, as to be conscious of nothing else. Such concentration leads to intuitive perception and immediate insight into the nature of the object concentrated upon.
7. All knowledge is the result of concentration of this kind; it is thus that the secrets of Heaven and Earth have been wrested; it is thus that the mind becomes a magnet and the desire to know draws the knowledge, irresistibly attracts it, makes it your own.
8. Desire is largely subconscious; conscious desire rarely realizes its object when the latter is out of immediate reach. Subconscious desire arouses the latent faculties of the mind, and difficult problems seem to solve themselves.
9. The subconscious mind may be aroused and brought into action in any direction and made to serve us for any purpose, by concentration. The practice of concentration requires the control of the physical, mental, and physical being; all modes of consciousness whether physical, mental, or physical, must be under control.
10. Spiritual Truth is therefore the controlling factor; it is this which will enable you to grow out of limited attainment and reach a point where you will be able to translate modes of thought into character and consciousness.
11. Concentration does not mean mere thinking of thoughts, but the transmutation of these thoughts into practical values; the average person has no conception of the meaning of concentration. There is always the cry "to have" but never the cry "to be"; they fail to understand that they cannot have one without the other, that they must first find the "kingdom" before they can have the "things added." Momentary enthusiasm is of no value; it is only with unbounded self-confidence that the goal is reached.
12. The mind may place the ideal a little too high and fall short of the mark; it may attempt to soar on untrained wings and instead of flying, fall to earth; but that is no reason for not making another attempt.
13. Weakness is the only barrier to mental attainment; attribute your weakness to physical limitations or mental uncertainties and try again; ease and perfection are gained by repetition.
14. The astronomer centers his mind on the stars and they give forth their secrets; the geologists centers his mind on the construction of the earth and we have geology; so with all things. Men center their minds on the problems of life, and the result is apparent in the vast and complex social order of the day.
15. All mental discovery and attainment are the result of desire plus concentration; desire is the strongest mode of action; the more persistent the desire, the more authoritative the revelation. Desire added to concentration will wrench any secret from nature.
16. In realizing great thoughts, in experiencing great emotions that correspond with great thoughts, the mind is in a state where it appreciates the value of higher things.
17. The intensity of one moment's earnest concentration and the intense longing to become and to attain may take you further than years of slow normal and forced effort; it will unfasten the prison bars of unbelief, weakness, impotence and self-belittlement, and you will come into a realization of the joy of overcoming.
18. The spirit of initiative and originality is developed through persistence and continuity of mental effort. Business teaches the value of concentration and encourages decision of character; it develops practical insight and quickness of conclusion. The mental element in every commercial pursuit is dominant as the controlling factor, and desire is the predominating force; all commercial relations are the externalization of desire.
19. Many of the sturdy and substantial virtues are developed in commercial employment; the mind is steadied and directed; it becomes efficient. The principal necessity is the strengthening of the mind so that it rises superior to the distractions and wayward impulses of instinctive life and thus successfully overcomes in the conflict between the higher and lower self.
20. All of us are dynamos, but the dynamo of itself is nothing; the mind must work the dynamo; then it is useful and its energy can be definitely concentrated. The mind is an engine whose power is undreamed; thought is an omni-working power. It is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form. Physical energy is nothing in comparison with the omnipotence of thought, because thought enables man to harness all other natural power.
21. Vibration is the action of thought; it is vibration which reaches out and attracts the material necessary to construct and build. There is nothing mysterious concerning the power of thought; concentration simply implies that consciousness can be focalized to the point where it becomes identified with the object of its attention. As food absorbed is the essence of the body, so the mind absorbs the object of its attention, gives it life and being.
22. If you concentrate on some matter of importance, the intuitive power will be set in operation, and help will come in the nature of information which will lead to success.
23. Intuition arrives at conclusions without the aid of experience or memory. Intuition often solves problems that are beyond the grasp of the reasoning power. Intuition often comes with a suddenness that is startling; it reveals the truth for which we are searching, so directly that it seems to come from a higher power. Intuition can be cultivated and developed; in order to do this it must be recognized and appreciated; if the intuitive visitor is given a royal welcome when he comes, he will come again; the more cordial the welcome the more frequent his visits will become, but if he is ignored or neglected he will make his visits few and far apart.
24. Intuition usually comes in the Silence; great minds seek solitude frequently; it is here that all the larger problems of life are worked out. For this reason every businessman who can afford it has a private office, where he will not be disturbed; if you cannot afford a private office you can at least find somewhere, where you can be alone a few minutes each day, to train the thought along lines which will enable you to develop that invincible power which is necessary to achieve.
25. Remember that fundamentally the subconscious is omnipotent; there is no limit to the things that can be done when it is given the power to act. Your degree of success is determined by the nature of your desire. If the nature of your desire is in harmony with Natural Law or the Universal Mind, it will gradually emancipate the mind and give you invincible courage.
26. Every obstacle conquered, every victory gained, will give you more faith in your power, and you will have greater ability to win. Your strength is determined by your mental attitude; if this attitude is one of success, and is permanently held with an unswerving purpose, you will attract to you from the invisible domain the things you silently demand.
27. By keeping the thought in mind, it will gradually take tangible form. A definite purpose sets causes in motion which go out in the invisible world and find the material necessary to serve your purpose.
28. You may be pursuing the symbols of power, instead of power itself. You may be pursuing fame instead of honor, riches instead of wealth, position instead of servitude; in either event you will find that they turn to ashes just as you overtake them.
29. Premature wealth or position cannot be retained because it has not been earned; we get only what we give, and those who try to get without giving always find that the law of compensation is relentlessly bringing about an exact equilibrium.
30. The race has usually been for money and other mere symbols of power, but with an understanding of the true source of power, we can afford to ignore the symbols. The man with a large bank account finds it unnecessary to load his pockets down with gold; so with the man who has found the true source of power; he is no longer interested in its shams or pretensions.
31. Thought ordinarily leads outwardly in evolutionary directions, but it can be turned within where it will take hold of the basic principles of things, the heart of things, the spirit of things. When you get to the heart of things it is comparatively easy to understand and command them.
32. This is because the Spirit of a thing is the thing itself, the vital part of it, the real substance. The form is simply the outward manifestation of the spiritual activity within.
33. For your exercise this week concentrate as nearly as possible in accordance with the method outlined in this lesson; let there be no conscious effort or activity associated with your purpose. Relax completely, avoid any thought of anxiety as to results. Remember that power comes through repose. Let the thought dwell upon your object, until it is completely identified with it, until you are conscious of nothing else.
34. If you wish to eliminate fear, concentrate on courage.
35. If you wish to eliminate lack, concentrate on abundance.
36. If you wish to eliminate disease, concentrate on health.
37. Always concentrate on the ideal as an already existing fact; this is the germ cell, the life principle which goes forth and sets in motion those causes which guide, direct and bring about the necessary relation, which eventually manifest in form.
Thought is the property of those only who can entertain it.
Emerson
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Study Questions with Answers
161. What is the true method of concentration?
To become so identified with the object of your thought that you are conscious of nothing else.
162. What is the result of this method of concentration?
Invisible forces are set in motion which irresistibly bring about conditions in correspondence with your thought.
163. What is the controlling factor in this method of thought?
Spiritual Truth.
164. Why is this so?
Because the nature of our desire must be in harmony with Natural Law.
165. What is the practical value of this method of concentration?
Thought is transmuted into character, and character is the magnet which creates the environment of the individual.
166. What is the controlling factor in every commercial pursuit?
The mental element.
167. Why is this so?
Because Mind is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form.
168. How does concentration operate?
By the development of the powers of perception, wisdom, intuition, and sagacity.
169. Why is intuition superior to reason?
Because it does not depend upon experience or memory and frequently brings about the solution to our problems by methods concerning which we are in entire ignorance.
170. What is the result of pursuing the symbol of the reality?
They frequently turn to ashes just as we overtake them, because the symbol is only the outward form of the spiritual activity within, therefore unless we can possess the spiritual reality, the form disappears.
